Wednesday, May 6, 2020
A Study of the Modernism Elements in William Faulkners...
Introduction At first talking about the author can be essential to go through the topic. William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi in 1897. He became Famous from the set of novels that explore the Southââ¬â¢s historical legacy, fraught and violent present. His works are usually rooted in his fictional city in the county of Mississippi, Yoknapatawpha. This setting which was the microcosm of the south he imaginarily knew it very well. He could look into as binoculars which he could go through the society and people. He was particularly interested in the moral implications in the history. It - ââ¬Å"A ROSE for Emilyâ⬠- was first published on April 30, 1930. This is the time of the high modernism with the rise of its elements. Faulkner onceâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦The narrators talks about the conflict between Emily and the ââ¬Å"new generationâ⬠on the tax notices they send and she is not willing to pay due to theColonel Sartoris, the townââ¬â¢s previous mayor who suspended Emily`s tax after her father`s death, because once he had loaned to the city. In the next section, it is flashbacked thirty years ago. The time when her father has already dead and she has just abandoned by her beloved man. In section three and four, after her father`s death, the summer after. She was sick for a long time. The streets were being paved by new contracts with a northerner, Homer Baren who was Emily`s beloved. She poisoned and murdered him. Many years passes until her death. And in the last section, it is the funeral ceremony taking place and after when the secret is revealed after forty years when Homer was disappeared.According to Schwab, William Faulkner told the story after Emilys death in a series of flashbacks to show time standing still for Emily.The narrator seeks through the character`s mind and shifts the sign as an element of a modernism text. Another remarkable form of writing which is significant form of modernism text is the use first person narr ation while it is not usually seen in the traditional ones. Of investigating the theme of the story ââ¬â tradition versus change ââ¬â it can be discussed about the monuments represented in the story. When Emily dies the whole town went to the funeral of a
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Research in Intellectual Disabilities Free Samples for Students
Question: Discuss about the relationship between challenging behaviours, mood and Interest/Pleasure in adults with severe and profound Intellectual Disabilities. Answer: Research Methodologies The article by (van Timmeren, et al., 2017) examines cross-sectional studies to determine the prevalence of health problems among adults suffering from severe or profound intellectual and motor disabilities (SPIMD). Although previous studies have shown that patients often experience different patterns of health issues, little is known on their high level of risk of secondary health complications if not detected and diagnosed in time. To achieve this end, they adopted the use of systematic review as the most appropriate method to assess relevant research studies that addressed the research area of interest. The authors relied on secondary data to gather relevant information on the subject area of interest. Thus they conducted a database search using a broad range of terms related to physical health as opposed to specific health terms to ensure that all potentially relevant studies were captured for the review. In the end, a total of 20 studies were sampled to be analyzed(van Timmeren, et al., 2017). The study population included relevant cross-sectional studies and peer-reviewed articles published in English in the years between 2004 and 2015(van Timmeren, et al., 2017). The sampling procedure involved the selection of literature that had a focus on physical health, and thus all studies that concentrated on mental and behavioral disorders were excluded from the study. Further, the study adopted cross-sectional study design which according to (Green Thorogood, 2013) is the most appropriate in quantifying the prevalence of health-related issue in health sciences. Two independent reviewers were set to analyze the characteristics of the included studies and extract relevant data utilizing a protocol designed specifically for the review. Univariate data analysis was adopted to examine the rate of prevalence of physical health problems in the included studies(van Timmeren, et al., 2017). According to (Burke Heller, 2016), many adults suffering from intellectual and development disabilities are often encountered with yet another problem of many unmet needs such as lack of proper housing, employment assistance, and basic health care. To them, the number of people waiting for these services is on the rise, thus presenting the need to identify the discrepancies in the extant literature about the unmet requirements of the patients in the adult service provision programs in the United States. However, considerably little empirical research has been done to clearly state who among the patients have the greatest needs that are not met and thus are eligible for the limited funding from the government(Burke Heller, 2016). The study used qualitative research design where survey questionnaires were used to collect primary data from a target population of 10,894 people who were suffering from intellectual and developmental disabilities. The authors used a simple random sampling technique to get a manageable size of 3000 which comprised of the caregivers of the patients who were either on or off of the waiting list. Pointedly, the authors targeted specifically those caregivers who were 18 years and above and their offspring were also over 18 years at the time of the data collection. All respondents whose family members were receiving services from the Medicaid waiver were excluded from participating in the study(Burke Heller, 2016). Moreover, upon receipt of the completed survey questions, all responses that had incomplete data or were completed by state caregivers were excluded from the final entry and subsequent coding and analysis. They used univariate analysis as well as multiple regression methods to determine how the caregivers and the PDD contributed to the increasing number of unmet service needs(Burke Heller, 2016). The growing need to stimulate a sense of independence and self-determination among people with development disabilities (PDD) has seen many scholars examining the travel requirements and behavior of these groups of individuals. Arguably, the ability to move to wherever one desires is one essential element in determining the level of ones autonomy to choose whatever one needed. However, the extant literature places a lot of emphasis on the people with only physical disabilities with little attention given to those individuals with non-sensory developmental incapacities. Thus, in their paper, (Wasfi, Steinmetz-Wood, Levinson, 2016) sought to establish the reasons for the desired but unmet transportation needs of adults who have developmental disability. In other words, the study attempted to bridge the existing gap in previous studies by presenting empirical evidence that(Green Thorogood, 2013) transportation desires but unmet needs are not only limited on the physically disabled. The study used descriptive research design which according to(Green Thorogood, 2013) involved observing the subjects in their natural environments without interference. To this end, primary data was used in the study partly because there was no adequate secondary data for the particular population of interest. The researchers used a survey to gather data from the field and this conducted in the residential areas of the individual participants in order to compute their neighborhood walkability. This involved computing connectivity of the streets, access to leisure parks and activities as well as land use mix (Wasfi, Steinmetz-Wood, Levinson, 2016). Although people with developmental disabilities form approximately 1.2 or 1.65 percent of the United States total population at the time of the study, the study population included only those either working or living in Hennepin County, Minnesota. The sampling procedure was done through collaborative efforts with the disability and commun ity services organizations in the region(Wasfi, Steinmetz-Wood, Levinson, 2016). The study utilized logistic regression analysis to determine the given reasons for the inability of PDD to make desired but untaken expeditions. The study by(Bernstein, Visconti, Csorba, Rojahn, 2015) is founded on the premises set by previous studies by Hayes et al. (2011) who attempted to expand and replicate the findings of Ross and Oliver (2002). Using 52 institutionalized patients with ID, Hayes et al. (2011) observed that the occurrence and severity of challenging conduct varied significantly between those who had behavior problems on the one hand and those who did have on the other. Thus in the efforts to expound of the findings of the previous scholars, (Bernstein, Visconti, Csorba, Rojahn, 2015) sought to examine whether the mood and interest of adults suffering from either moderate or profound intellectual disability (ID) had predictive challenging behavior or not. However, contrary to the extant literature, the researchers used a combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs. According to (Jacobsen, 2016) a combination of the study designs provided the researchers an opportunity to study and cr itically compare many different variables at the same time while observing the developmental changes in the target population both at individual and group levels. The study used primary data that was gathered from a study population of 50 adult participants who were living in the habilitation home located in Budapest, Hungary. The residential facility was deemed fit for the study because it provided accommodation for adults (over 18 years old) who were suffering from intellectual disabilities. Secondary data was also used to supplement the findings of the data gathered from the field. The sampling procedure for the potential participants in the study involved the selection of only those patients who displayed either severe behavioral or mental health problems to demand closer professional attention (Bernstein, Visconti, Csorba, Rojahn, 2015). Both comparative and multiple regressions analysis was used to determine whether the rating of mood and interest of the patients were predictive of their changing behavior. Evidently, the authors used the former analysis method to provide a comparative synthesis of their findings and the previous study o utcomes. At the same time they wanted to predict the value of the patients mood and interest on the basis of the value of their challenging behaviors such as which included stereotypic, aggressive and self-injurious (Bernstein, Visconti, Csorba, Rojahn, 2015). References Bernstein, A. M., Visconti, K. J., Csorba, J. R., Rojahn, J. (2015). The relationship between challenging behaviours, mood and interest/pleasure in adults with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 59(11) 1033-1041. Burke, M. M., Heller, T. (2016). Disparities in Unmet Service Needs Among Adults with Intellectual and Other Developmental Disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. Green, J. . Thorogood (2013). Qualitative methods for health research. California: Sage Publications. Jacobsen, K. H. (2016). Introduction to health research methods. . Burlington: Jones Bartlett Publishers. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.sa/books/about/Introduction_to_Health_Research_Methods.html?id=j0F-8jQ4FvICredir_esc=y van Timmeren, E. A., Schans, C. P., Putten, A. A., Krijnen, W. P., Steenbergen, H. A., Schrojenstein Lantman?de Valk, H. M., Waninge, A. (2017). Physical health issues in adults with severe or profound intellectual and motor disabilities: a system. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 61 (1)30-49. Wasfi, R., Steinmetz-Wood, M., Levinson, D. (2016). Measuring the transportation needs of people with developmental disabilities: A means to social inclusion. Disability and health journal.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Summary How Group-Think Makes Killers Essay Example
Summary How Group-Think Makes Killers Paper The article starts by describing the setting in which an experiment, which was designed by psychologist Philip G. Zanzibar of the University of Stanford was conducted. The experiment involved college students who are to be divided into two groups one, the prison guards, and two, the inmates. However, six days after the experiment started, the experiment had to be stopped due to the abusive and sadistic behavior of the prison guards towards the inmates. Zanzibar explained the sudden change in behavior of the young men by saying that in a large group, one loud disregard any laws as he becomes nameless with respect to the crowd. Today, it is often cited to support the idea of the evil collection. Although groups do sway their members into doing things which they would not be doing in their normal daily life, those actions are as equally likely to be positive as it is to be negative. The same experiment, aired by BBC, was conducted by British psychologists Stephen D. We will write a custom essay sample on Summary How Group-Think Makes Killers specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Summary How Group-Think Makes Killers specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Summary How Group-Think Makes Killers specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Richer and S. Alexander Hassle and was met by a different scenario, that is, the guards in in their experiment acted insecurely which led them to conclude that the behavior of a roof depends on the members expectations of the social role they should play. Although psychologists may disagree over how individuals might behave in a crowd, they do agree on one fundamental point: lost in a collective, the individual outgrows himself, for good or bad. Giving Up l for We The BBC experiment refutes the widespread negative view that in a crowd, an individuals identity dissolves and the person is carried away to commit immoral, irrational deeds. Psychologists have demystified collective behavior, showing that normal, scientifically explainable psychological actions are taking place and that it is tot pathological. However, when an individual Joins a social group, he or she is somehow stripped off of his or her individual identity. Gustavo El Bon, a French physician and sociologist, maintained that individuals in a group lose their identity and thus, self-control; and guided only by emotions and instincts, they operate under a primitive force he called the racial unconscious. Fanatical Norms William McDougall, a British-born psychologist, who formulated the so-called group- mind hypothesis, said that however Joins a crowd, gives up his identity in favor of a collective soul. Another experiment in the sass consisted of participants that were randomly assigned to groups according to trivial criteria and although the assignment was arbitrary, it created a strong group sense and analogous behavior. Henry Taffeta and John C. Turner, psychologists if the University of Bristol in England and the Australian National University in Canberra, formulated in the sass the social identity theory which states that belonging to a group created a we feeling in an individual, a sense of a collective self. Summary How Group-Think Makes Killers By Snowboard
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Prince Obike Essays - Movements For Civil Rights, Free Essays
Prince Obike Essays - Movements For Civil Rights, Free Essays Prince Obike AFRO 133 Dr. Joshua Myers 18 October 2018 There is a River "Vincent Harding's, "There is a River" illustrates the black experience in America while providing a historical summary of how African Americans have struggled for justice in the United States. "There is a River" describes black radicalism by using the river as a metaphor for the black struggle to convey the tradition of black protest and other forms of reaction to white oppression.In Harding's view, the river symbolizes expectation for a greater future for African Americans. African Americans are the river, Harding states that African Americans struggles are "long continuous movement, flowing...sometimes powerful,tumultuous, and rolling with life; and at other times meandering and turgid; covered with ice and snow of seemingly endless winters, all too often streaked and running with blood".Vincent Harding's "There is a River" uses the metaphor of a river to not only describe the complicated experiences of African Americans, but also uses the metaphor to connect the past an d the present predicaments of blacks in America in terms of internal battles within the black community, white hegemonic attacks against black communities and businesses, and ultimately the metaphor can be used as a rallying cry for the future expansion of black rights and dignity. Harding uses the river metaphor to equate water to many existing methods of illustrating the black experience. For example, the river can represent a continuous story of the struggle for civil rights. Water and the river are used as metaphor for freedom. When Harding describes African Americans struggles a a "long continuous movement" such as a river I believe that is also a reference to time. When the North America was first colonized by Europeans, the was a lot of land that needed work. Labour was needed to work the land so that the colonies could begin to profit from the land . Women and men both participated in the labor. It even got to point to where other europeans who were indentured servants were sent over to help with the land. Eventually around the 17th century the europeans decided to send over a boat of slaves to help with the land. The used these slaves to help with crops such as tobacco, which was the America's most profitable crop.By the time the American Revoluti on started and ended the south was flourishing because of how well the tobacco industry was going.This was the spark of a "long continuous movement" because soon after Eli whitney invented the cotton gin. This invention made it possible for textile mills to use the type of cotton most easily grown in the South.With the cotton gin so popular, slaves were needed in large numbers again. At this time white people began to dehumanize African Americans.They argued that black people were similar to children. They believe they were doing African Americans a favor because they were incapable of caring for themselves Not only were they caring for African Americans but that also kept them fed, clothed, and occupied. As time progressed African Americans began to become "radical" and know that they were above what they were being told. The Underground Railroad was organized to help slaves escape north to freedom. After years of "stealing" the freedom they were born with , slaves were "freed" in the year 1863, but their "long continuous movement" along that river was nowhere near finished. The new struggle African Americans have to fight with was segregation. This also ushered in the The Civil Rights Movement, that lasted for years, Even though many of the most important achievements in The Civil Rights Movement happened in the 1950s for African Americans, segregation, and racial acts took place every day. African Americans had been fighting against racial segregation since they were brought to the continent.Although he Civil Rights Movement tried to help with the social, economic, physical and political disadvantages they faced it did not solve the hatred rooted in some individuals hearts. The divide between whites and blacks was so severe that many citizens risked their lives to pursue and gain equal rights for the black population. Even the law was set up against African Americans. A "long continuous movement". We are still flowing down
Thursday, February 27, 2020
The Existence of Plate Tectonics on Mars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
The Existence of Plate Tectonics on Mars - Essay Example However, observations of the planet's current state shows Mars at much higher level of deterioration that that of Earth. NASA's latest Mars project, Phoenix, made a successful landing on Mars and spent five months collecting data that has yet to be fully analyzed on the planet's climate, soil, and atmosphere. This mission yielded further proof that there was a type of water on or near the surface of Mars. Soil samples collected prove that there could have once been sustainable life on the planet (Cowing). There have also been findings in recent years suggesting that Mars once had a molten inner core, much like our own. The presence of stripes along the crust layer of Mars, believed to be formed from the crust renewing itself through use of the molten core, lends further proof to the idea that there were once tectonic plates resembling those of Earth (Cain). "The theory of plate tectonics is based on the movement of rigid plates on the planet's surface. Plates are bounded a ridge wher e new crust is created, a trench or subduction zone, where the crust is consumed, and transform faults, along which plates slip" (Connerney, et al. 2005, p. 4). The question as to the existence of tectonic plates on Mars remains a very highly debated issues among scientists. In its current state, Mars is essentially a dead planet, meaning there is no life present and little to no activity on behalf of the planet itself. The lakes and riverbeds have dried up and what is left of the atmosphere is being blown away in chunks by massive wind shears (Cain). Though it is believed that Mars could have once supported life, that seems virtually impossible now. New theories are supported by scientific evidence which suggest that the layers of Mars once greatly resembled the layers of Earth, including a molten core, tectonic plates, and a changing crust layer. It is believed that the molten core of the planet slowly cooled, leaving the stripes currently observable in the hardened crust. Proof of the tectonic plates was recorded by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor in a 1999 (NASA Press Release). While the initial findings only showed the striping of Mar's magnetic field in the southern hemisphere, new data shows that the magnetic field covers the entire surface of the pl anet in a pattern similar to that of Earth (NASA Status Report).(NASA/JPL) Along the striped lines of the magnetic field there are also fault formations and other geographic signs that point toward the existence of a tectonic plate system similar to that of our own planet. As an example of this, the Tharsis volcanoes on Mars are actually aligned in a straight line and it is now believed that, like the Hawaiian Islands, these volcanoes formed over a hot spot in the mantle (Cain). Fault formations, similar to the Martian ones, can only be formed by tectonic plates shifting, pushing new molten crust up from the planet's mantle and changing magnetic polarity of the area as it hardens (Cain). Unfortunately an exhaustive analysis of the geology of Mars has yet to be conducted. Therefore many of the currently accepted theories of the inner workings of the planet are based on what has been observed and studied on Mars combined with what is known about its sister planet, Earth. Whatever plate tectonics previously existed on
Monday, February 10, 2020
Radiohead - No Surprises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words
Radiohead - No Surprises - Essay Example But suddenly, all over the world, gothic culture broke out, arresting conservatism and demanding the right to be musically deranged. Alice Cooper drank chicken blood on stage. For some reason, Ozzy Osborne bit the head off of a bat. Graphic tattoos, pythons and tongue piercings had become boring. Out of nowhere, a musical emancipation pronounced darker theories of death and pain that drew many punk rockers and pop culture fans into the dark. John Lennon was replaced by Marilyn Manson. Novelist Tom Wolfe labeled the 70s as the ââ¬ËMeââ¬â¢ Decade in ââ¬Å"The ââ¬ËMeââ¬â¢ Decade and the Third Great Awakening". By the late 1970s, a culture of black lipstick, blood and men adopting female names had grown into its own genre. The State of California was easing its ban of marijuana and by 1979, the Gay Movement was red hot. Roughly between 1971 and 1984, everybody was in some type of artistic movement and expressed themselves through music. It was this era that inspired the gothic music genre unification of punk rockers, heavy metal fans, and even some conservative Rock-n-Rollers through the World Wide Web. In 1985, Jonny and Colin Greenwood, Thom York, Ed Oââ¬â¢Brien, and Phil Selway joined the melodic movement of the misunderstood as Radiohead in Oxfordshire, England. Influenced by alternative rock, American indie and surges of punk and Britpop that surrounded them locally, the band brought their own kind of ââ¬Ëstrangeââ¬â¢ to Rock. This paper is an exploration of a new era genre of music; particularly that of the fairly new punk rock band Radiohead. The focus of the study of the linguistic analysis of the musical style and songs including, Ok Computers, The Bends, and Radioheadââ¬â¢s 1997 release No Surprises, within the context of popular music idioms and rock. 1.1 Radiohead Radiohead was formed in Oxford because all the band members grew up and attended secondary school in Oxfordshire (Osborne, 2004: 15). Through their use of harmony, disruptive melodic figuration and rhythm, Radiohead has been able to build a reputation by accumulating a distinctive musical language, and by drawing from a musical palette characterized by a strained relationship between mainstream expectation and convention. The bandââ¬â¢s music style is based upon garage band effects: loud and expressive, much like the American grunge bands Nirvana, Sound Garden and Pearl Jam (Hiburn, 1998:7). A significant part of Radioheadââ¬â¢s reputation as original composers and performers of music, punk-ish rock that did not conform to stereotypical pop-music expectations and norms. A vital part of engaging with their music is being able to track the events that form associations for the Radiohead-listener with equal events in a single Radiohead song or album (Moore, 2003: 58). Radioheadââ¬â¢s early music was rather mainstream. Radioheadââ¬â¢s first two studio recordings seemed quite primitive due to lack of a provocative esotericism that came to be associated in their later works. The making of OK Computers played a large role as a significant paradigm shift for the band, arti stically and musically (Tate, 2005: 14). Both of their first two albums, 1993ââ¬â¢s Pablo Honey and 1995ââ¬â¢
Friday, January 31, 2020
The Legalization of Physician Assisted Suicide Essay Example for Free
The Legalization of Physician Assisted Suicide Essay The Legalization of Physician Assisted Suicide Of all the controversial topics to I could have chosen to discuss, the topic of physician assisted death is one that seems to be very taboo, even to date. Oregon is the only state to successfully pass a bill legalizing the practice; this bill is called the Death With Dignity Act (DWDA). Some may confuse physician-assisted death with euthanasia, yet they are two completely different acts. Euthanasia requires a physician, or other entity, to administer a deadly concoction; physician-assisted death is at the request of a terminally ill patient, the doctor provides a prescription of lethal medication which the patient takes of their own free will when they decide the time has come. The legalization of physician-assisted suicide will open up just one more option for patients suffering from terminal illnesses and allow them to die with a little dignity. Terminally ill patients donââ¬â¢t have a lot of options, most suffer greatly on a day-to-day basis. The addition of just one more option to such a short list can do a lot to psychologically comfort a patient. In his essay ââ¬Å"Physician-Assisted Death in the United States: Are the Existing Last Resorts Enough?â⬠Timothy E. Quill outlines several aspects of physician-assisted death, specifically the fact that terminally ill patients need as many options as they can get. Terminally ill patients suffer a great deal; they know that eventually they will die. He states that there are ââ¬Å"several ââ¬Ëlast resortââ¬â¢ options, including aggressive pain management, foregoing life-sustaining therapies, voluntarily stopping eating and drinking, and sedation to unconsciousness [â⬠¦]â⬠(17-22). Some of the suggested last-resort methods seem to be no better than physician-assisted suicide. Take, for example, the method of voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED); for a patient, who is already suffering from the chronic pain of illness, is it fair to ask them to add the suffering of voluntary hunger and dehydration? Sedation to unconsciousness seems to be no better of a solution; the patient is put into a comatose state until they eventually die. This solution seems to ease the suffering of the patient, yet extend the suffering of the family. Aside from VSED and sedation, to forgo life-sustaining therapies seems to be no better. If a pati ent is currently undergoing palliative care to treat symptoms that are causing them to suffer, why stop the treatment and increase the suffering rather than endà the suffering once and for all? Quill goes on to discuss the fact that the choices available to a terminally ill patient are so few that there should be no harm in adding just one more to the very short list. For example, Quill states that ââ¬Å"some patients will need a way out, and arbitrarily withholding one important option from patients whose options are so limited seems unfairâ⬠(17-22). Quill makes the point that a patient suffering from a terminal illness will want a way out; not necessarily a way out of life, but a way out of the suffering. There are very few options for someone with chronic suffering, as relief is difficult to come by for someone who is dying. Physician-assisted suicide is just one of these options, and itââ¬â¢s an option that should not be overlooked. In addition, Quill goes further to state that the option of physician-assisted suicide is only an option, just one choice a patient can make about their own health care. ââ¬Å"Most patients will be reassured by the possibility of an escape, and the vast majority will never need to activate that possibilityâ⬠(17-22). This is a very powerful quote, as it brings forth the point of legalizing physician -assisted suicide doesnââ¬â¢t mean that the act will result in a large amount of deaths. The legalization of the act will simply add one more possibility to the list of last-resorts available to a patient. The quote also goes as far as to say that the vast majority of patients will simply be reassured that, should all other options be exhausted, there is still the possibility of a final escape; never actually needing to use it, should palliative care and hospice suffice in controlling the symptoms of suffering. With the examples provided, we can see that the need for legalizing physician-assisted death is important for patients who suffer from day today. Opening just one more option, when there are so few to choose from, will give the patients a sense of reassurance that they can still have control over their lives. Physician-assisted death is intended as a last resort option; denying the patient a final escape, when all other options have been exhausted, is unfair. Now that weââ¬â¢ve established that a terminally ill patient will benefit from knowing that they have the option of a final escape, letââ¬â¢s talk about why a patient would resort to using physician-assisted suicide. Among the most sensible reasons to end oneââ¬â¢s life, the thought of an end to suffering comes to mind. However, we already know that end-of-life palliative care is put into place in order to helpà ease the suffering and pain of a terminal illness. This is true, but when is too much? Going back to Timothy Quill, he states that ââ¬Å"there will always be a small percentage of cases where suffering sometimes becomes unacceptably severe [â⬠¦]â⬠(17-22). While suffering is a constant, there are several degrees of suffering; sometimes this suffering can be easily controlled with palliative care and aggressive pain management. However, Quill notes that there are times where the suffering cannot be easily controlled, and there comes a point when it becomes simply unacceptable. When suffering reaches this point, it is time for a patient to start thinking about last resort options; looking for a way to end the suffering. A patient living with terminal cancer is, without a doub t, suffering. Palliative care and hospice care are programs put into place with no intent other than to alleviate the suffering. In her essay ââ¬Å"Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: There is an Alternativeâ⬠, Sylvia Dianne Ledger describes suffering as such, ââ¬Å"It occurs when a person perceives the impending destruction of themselves, and it is associated with a loss of hopeâ⬠(81-94). This description of human suffering is excellent when trying to advocate an end to said suffering. Ledger states that a person suffers when they sense their own destruction, when they realize that their end is near. Facing oneââ¬â¢s own mortality is not an easy thing to do. The thought of being unable to stop your own demise can, indeed, cause great suffering. Ledger goes as far as to say that this realization of oneââ¬â¢s own mortality is associated with a loss of hope, a sense of despair. Along with a loss of hope, there are several reasons why a patient would choose physician-assisted suicide as a last resort option. In an article titled ââ¬Å"The Case for Physician-Assisted Suicide: How can it Possibly be Proven?â⬠from the Journal of Medical Ethics, E Dahl and N Levy report that, according to Oregonââ¬â¢s Death With Dignity Act, ââ¬Å"the most frequently reported reasons for choosing physician-assisted death under the DWDA are ââ¬Ëloss of autonomyââ¬â¢, ââ¬Ëloss of dignityââ¬â¢, and ââ¬Ëloss of the ability to enjoy the activities that make life worth livingââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ (335-338). This report notes that the top reasons for a patient to choose physician-assisted suicide as the final option donââ¬â¢t even include an escape from the physical pain. Being terminally ill makes life simply un-enjoyable. The number one reason given for physician-assisted death is a loss of autonomy. To lose the ability to haveà control over oneââ¬â¢s life can be psychologically devastating. The loss of dignity and the ability to enjoy life came in closely behind to round out the top three reasons for wanting death as a final escape. When palliative care doesnââ¬â¢t sufficiently ease the pain experienced on a daily basis, last-resort options should be made available to a patient. When chronic pain and illness take away oneââ¬â¢s ability to enjoy life, take away oneââ¬â¢s dignity, and take away the human right of autonomy, an option to end the suffering once and for all should be made available. Even the sick deserve to maintain some semblance of their former selves and die with a little dignity. Those who are against physician-assisted suicide have a valid argument, there are always options to ease suffering and control symptoms. Both hospice and palliative care are viable options in the case of terminally ill patients. While discussing alternative options to physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, Sylvia Dianne Ledger discusses how far end-of-life care programs have come in helping the terminally ill cope with their disease. She notes that ââ¬Å"with the rise of the hospice movement and the availability of its knowledge and experience in the control of distressing symptoms in terminal disease, there is no longer any real indication for euthanasiaâ⬠(81-94). Ledger notes that both forms of end-of-life care have improved greatly over the years, becoming more and more viable when considering end-of-life options. She notes that they have improved in ease of access, becoming more available to patients through reimbursement programs due their growing popularity. Hospice and palliative care are not only more easily accessible to patients with a need for end-of-life treatment, but their mode of delivery has become more efficient; nurses can now come to nursing homes, hospitals, even patient homes, in order to provide care specific to each patientââ¬â¢s needs. While these programs continue to improve the quality of care they provide, Ledger notes that they also remain a standard among end-of-life care programs and that their implementation leave no room for more drastic options. With such wonderful programs in place and so easily accessible, E. Dahl and N. Levy note that the topic of physician-assisted suicide can actually lead into a discussion about other end-of-life options. They state that ââ¬Å"a request for aà prescription can be an opportunity for a medical provider to explore with patients their fears and wishes around end of life care, and to makeà patients aware of other optionsâ⬠(335-338). This means that when a patient believes that their suffering requires a more direct and aggressive action, perhaps suicide shouldnââ¬â¢t be the first option. For a patient to request aid in dying opens up the chance to discuss other options for end of life care. These options are, more often than not, palliative and hospice care. A patient has access to medication to control pain as well as a wide variety of other symptoms. Only after discussing these options should a patient consider ending their life. While discussing how talks about physician-assisted suicide have shed a new light on the palliative care option, Wesley J. Smith addresses the ideas of suicide among patients who are currently enrolled in such programs. He states that ââ¬Å"[â⬠¦] suicide prevention, when needed, is an essential part of the package, crucial to fulfilling a hospiceââ¬â¢s call to value the lives and intrinsic dignity of each patient until the moment of natural deathâ⬠(85-86). The argument with this phrase is that hospice care programs are aware of the suffering, and realize that patients who are already enrolled in their programs are possibly contemplating an end to their lives. He notes that suicide prevention is actually one of the many services offered by hospice programs. This service is offered because the idea of a hospice is to make a patient as comfortable as possible before their lives end of natural causes. He continues by saying that suicide prevention is crucial to maintaining the values of hospice care: to value the life and basic dignities of patients enrolled in their programs. There are several wonderful arguments for why patients should choose a long (or short) term care program over suicide, these programs are set up to control pain and other symptoms. These programs have improved greatly over the last several years, and are now able to provide better care; reimbursement programs have also become available, as both hospice and palliative care have become a very widely accepted form of last-resort treatments among the terminally ill. While end-of-life care programs are excellent, and offer relief from many of the symptoms affecting patients, these programs seem to do little to overcome the underlying issues causing a patient to desire a final escape. The biggest issue with the ever-expanding hospice and palliative care programs is a lack of manpower. Timothy Quill addresses this issue when discussing last resort options. He states that ââ¬Å"there remain serious challenges. There are not enough skilledà palliative care clinicians to meet the growing needs [â⬠¦]â⬠(17-22). This is definitely a problem with the end-of-life programs which are growing rapidly. With programs such as Medicaid who are willing to reimburse patients who truly need palliative care, many more patients who are actively dying will be enrolling in these programs. If these programs are not fully prepared and staffed to meet their growing clientele, there wonââ¬â¢t be enough nurses available to treat patients. Quill goes on to state that even if a patient is fully educated on palliative care options, enrolled, and being treated by a nurse, this may not be a reason to rule out the final escape. He notes that ââ¬Å"all last resort options, including physician-assisted death, make sense only if excellent palliative care is already being providedâ⬠(17-22). This argument directly refutes the oppositionââ¬â¢s view that hospice and palliative care are acceptable altern atives to physician-assisted-death. He states that the last resort options only become acceptable if all other options have been exhausted. Once a patient has enrolled in hospice care and an aggressive pain management system has been implemented, what if they continue to suffer. At this point, once palliative care has failed to control the suffering, physician-assisted death is an option that should be considered. When discussing how physician-assisted suicide has corrupted palliative care programs, Wesley J. Smith provides data which further refutes the oppositionââ¬â¢s claim. He states that ââ¬Å"according to the state, approximately 86 percent of people who died by swallowing poisonous overdoses under the Oregon law were receiving hospice care at the time they committed suicideâ⬠(85-86). Itââ¬â¢s clear that the alternative to physician-assisted suicide is not doing a well-enough job of keeping patientsââ¬â¢ suffering to a minimum. In Oregon, where physician-assisted death is legal, a vast majority of patients who take advantage of this option have already tried the alternatives. Hospice care may work, for a time, but if the suffering continues while the patient is receiving treatment to control the symptoms, there is still one option left. Through these examples it can be seen that, while hospice and palliative care are programs that are designed to control symptoms and comfort a patient in their last moments, they canââ¬â¢t be the absolute answer. Pain is not the only thing causing patients to suffer. A terminally ill patient who has little control over what is left of their time deserve to maintain their dignity in death;à legalizing physician-assisted suicide will give patients one last moment of control over their lives. A patient doesnââ¬â¢t have a lot of options when the prognosis is death, and the options on the list arenââ¬â¢t necessarily the best. When suggestions such as voluntarily stopping eating and drinking, or sedation into permanent unconsciousness are suggested, it seems almost unfair to deny a patient the option of a final, absolute escape. While hospice and palliative care have a come a long way, and are indeed viable programs for symptom management, there are still aspects of suffering that they cannot control. Pain is just symptom of a terminally patient. Reports of loss of autonomy, loss of dignity, and an inability to enjoy life seem to be at the top of the list when patients begin discussing the desire for death. While the arguments against physician-assisted death hold weight, and make good points, the fact remains that denying someone one last option to control their life is unfair. When someone has lost the ability to enjoy life, lost the sense of control over their own destiny, the availability of a final escape is comforting. Physician-assisted death should be legalized, in order to provide patients just one more option on a list that is so incredibly short. The simple availability of this option should, at the very least, comfort patients if they know that they have a final resort should all other possibilities be exhausted. Works Cited Dahl, E. and Levy, N. ââ¬Å"The Case for Physician Assisted Suicide: How Can It Possibly Be Proven?â⬠Journal of Medical Ethics 32.6 (2006): 335-338. ProQuest Research Library. 10 Apr 2012 Ledger, Sylvia Dianne. ââ¬Å"Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: There is an Alternative.â⬠Ethics Medicine 23.2 (2007): 81-94. ProQuest Research Library. 10 Apr 2012. Smith, Wesley J. ââ¬Å"Assisted Suicide and the Corruption of Palliative Care.â⬠Human Life Review 34.2 (2008): 85-86. ProQuest Research Library. 12 Apr 2012 Quill, Timothy E. ââ¬Å"Physician-Assisted Death in the United States: Are the Existing ââ¬ËLast Resortsââ¬â¢ Enough?â⬠The Hasting Center Report 38.5 (2008): 17-22. JSTOR. 10 Apr 2012
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