Compare and Contrast the Ways in Which Two Poets Create Sympathy for Their Characters †‘on a Portrait of a Deaf Man’ and ‘the River God’. Essay

The poems ‘On a Portrait of a Deaf Man’, written by John Betjeman and ‘The River God’, written by Stevie Smith appear as two very different poems; one in monologue form and the other in a regular form; but they are in fact two very similar poems. ‘On a Portrait of a Deaf Man’ presents a character mourning the death of a deaf man who was very close to him/her, and ‘The River God’ presents a lonely God who is abused by people and resorts to murdering women to keep himself company. Both characters are lonely and the portrayal of this loneliness causes you – the reader – to feel sympathetic towards them. The ‘River God’ is lonely because he is only used by others, no one stays to be with him, they leave – ‘and I like the people who bathe in me . . . or will she go away?’ suggesting that he enjoys their company but doesn’t want them to go as he get’s lonely. In ‘On a Portrait of a Deaf Man’ the mourner feels lonely because he/she has lost someone very close to them – ‘the kind old face . . . he took me on long silent walks . . . when young’ implying they were close as they have known each other since a young age. Both blame others for the situations that they have found themselves in. The ‘River God’ blames the women who ‘bathe in [him]’ for his loneliness, meaning that out of desperation he tries to keep the women with him but by doing so ends up killing them ‘she lies in my beautiful deep river bed with many a weed’. I believe he understands though that he has killed them and that is why he keeps them in the ‘beautiful deep river bed’; this causes you to feel some sympathy for him as he accidentally kills them but then out of love keeps them in his ‘beautiful deep river bed’. The mourner blames God for the death of the ‘deaf man’: ‘You, God, who treat him thus and thus, /Say ‘Save his soul and pray.’/You ask me to believe You and / I only see decay’ describing how God should be, but then the reality of asking God for things which aren’t achieved. This causes you to feel sympathetic because you see someone who asked God to save him yet he still died – ‘see decay’. The poems both begin with descriptions of characters. ‘The River God’ begins ‘the kind old face, the egg-shaped head’ and ‘On a Portrait of a Deaf Man’ begins ‘I may be smelly and I may be old’; the first description makes you feel sad that someone kind and good has died and the second makes you feel pitiful for the river, it’s not the river’s fault that it’s that way as it’s reflective of old age and the abuse it has had by mankind, all of which you would be distraught if you found yourself in so you can feel sympathetic towards them. The poets use the death of a person to draw sympathy from you. In ‘The River God’ a woman dies, one that he was fond of and he was against her dying; in ‘On a Portrait of a Deaf Man’ a friendly deaf man dies, presumably suddenly; these draw your sympathy because it suggests that they are lonely, in a state of mourning and vulnerable – all of which are states in which you would not want to find yourself and when you see someone else in such a state, you will feel sympathetic and be able to relate to the emotions they are feeling. The poets use the deaths of characters in their poems to create side-personas for the characters through the persona of the main-speaking character. ‘The River God’ uses the dead woman to give another perspective of what’s going on, ‘This beautiful lady, or will she go away?’ shows this perfectly. The questioning gives her perspective that she wants to leave but she is being held, leading you to feel sympathetic for her as this large ‘River’ is holding her captive and she cannot leave. However, it shows the misunderstanding of the ‘River God’ as she is drowned, ‘Oh who would guess what a beautiful white face lies there’, ‘white face’ implying she is dead, leading you to feel sympathetic again towards him as he is totally ignorant of everything going on around him. ‘On a Portrait of a Deaf Man’, the writer uses the deaf man to display what exactly he/she has lost through his death, Ã¢â‚¬Ë œHe knew the names of ev’ry bird’. This shows how caring he was and this would presumably translate to how he acts to people – kind and caring – and lead to sympathy as you would never want to lose a person so good to die. The poem also describes what further potential to do good he had if he knew what was coming, ‘He would have liked to say good-bye/Shake hands with many friends.’ This causes a sympathetic response from the reader because again even though he was dying he would have wanted to show respect to his friends rather than just leaving. It also creates sympathy because the person who has lost this ‘kind’ man would be very upset about his/her death. We see this when he/she blames God for his death as he didn’t save him/her, ‘’Save his soul and pray.’/ You ask me to believe You and/ I only see decay.’ – this shows a stage of mourning in which you blame others for the death you have experienced. In conclusion, the poets create sympathy for their characters very effectively through: descriptions, meanings and powers out of the characters control; all of which attract the reader to feel some understanding, pity or empathy towards them. The poets both use the deaths of characters to contrast the feeling of the characters and the feelings of the dead to create sympathy.

Raymond Carver Cathedral Response

The story â€Å"Cathedral† by Raymond Carver is about one man's understanding and acceptance of a blind man. The narrator represents the story's dominant theme of overcoming prejudice of the blind through personal experience as well as mutual respect. The narrator, who remains nameless, holds deeply unfounded beliefs and stereotypes of what a blind person should be, yet over a relatively short period of time he develops a bond with the blind man, whom at first he privately mocked. The narrator's preconceived notions about blind people are proved false when he meets the blind man (Robert) for the first time.The narrator is not looking forward to having a blind man stay at his home. â€Å"Now this same blind man was coming to sleep in my house† (230). Yet once Robert arrives at his home he is shocked that he does not conform to his idea of the blind. â€Å"But he didn't use a cane and he didn't wear dark glasses. I'd always thought dark glasses were a must for the blindà ¢â‚¬  (232). At supper the narrator begins to see Robert as a capable human being rather than a burden and he remarks that he watched with admiration as Robert used his knife and fork on the meat. He'd cut two pieces of meat, fork the meat into his mouth, and then go all out for the scalloped potatoes, the beans next, and then he'd tear off a hunk of buttered bread and eat that† (233). Suddenly the narrator no longer has much to base his prejudices on. The narrator's understanding of Robert is enhanced when Robert agrees to smoke dope with the narrator despite never trying it before. This brings the narrator and Robert closer together as they share a moment like old friends. Now the narrator is beginning to

The Golden Lily Chapter 16

I WASTED NO TIME in getting the group together. This was big. I still didn't know the level of danger we were facing, but I refused to take any chances. I chose Clarence's house as a meeting spot, seeing as the hunters didn't know about it yet. It still made me nervous. I would've been nervous even if we'd been meeting in an Alchemist bunker. And apparently, â€Å"hunters† wasn't even the right term. According to their low-quality pamphlet, they called themselves â€Å"The Warriors of Light.† I wasn't sure they deserved that fancy title, especially since in their mission statement, they spelled â€Å"abyss† as â€Å"abiss.† The pamphlet was really very sparse, simply stating that there was an evil walking among humanity and that the Warriors were the force there to destroy it. They urged their fellow humans to be ready and stay pure. None of the vampires were mentioned by name, for which I was glad. The pamphlet also didn't mention much about any of the shared history they claimed to have with the Alchemists. Before we went to Clarence's, Eddie scoured Latte for any sort of tracking device. The very idea creeped me out, the same way being watched at Adrian's did. There was a feeling of violation to it all. It was only my lack of faith in their technology that made me feel somewhat better. â€Å"It seems unlikely they'd be that advanced,† I told Eddie, as he wiggled under the car. â€Å"I mean, that pamphlet looked like it had been made on a 1980s copy machine. I don't know if that's because they've had the pamphlets sitting around that long or if that's the actual machine they still use†¦ but regardless, they don't scream high tech to me.† â€Å"Maybe,† he agreed, voice slightly muffled. â€Å"But we can't take any chances. We don't know what they're capable of. And for all we know, they're trying to hook up with the Alchemists to score technology.† Chills ran through me. It was an outrageous thought: that the Alchemists and this violent fringe group could be related. It had been crazy when Adrian and I had speculated about it and was hard to accept even in the face of mounting evidence. At least now I had enough information to take to my superiors without being ridiculed. Even though I'd never heard of hunters like this, it seemed plausible that somewhere, at some point, they'd tried to connect with my organization. Hopefully someone in the Alchemists could help. Eddie scooted out from under Latte. â€Å"You're clean. Let's head out.† Jill and Angeline were waiting nearby, both tense and anxious. Jill gave Eddie an admiring smile. â€Å"I didn't know you knew how to do any of this. I never would have even thought about it.† He wiped sweat off his forehead. â€Å"You thought guardian training was all about hitting and kicking?† She flushed. â€Å"Pretty much, yeah.† â€Å"Can you tell me about some of this stuff sometime?† asked Angeline. â€Å"Seems like I should know it.† â€Å"Sure,† said Eddie, sounding like he meant it. She beamed. He'd been much easier around her ever since her attitude had become more serious and restrained. I think some of that good behavior had played a role in me getting permission for her to join us tonight. She was still technically on suspension, but I'd managed to get a special exemption on the grounds of our family's so-called religion. I'd used a similar excuse when Jill had been suspended last month, in order to take her to feedings. Even still, we were on very strict orders with Angeline tonight. She couldn't be out for more than two hours, and the price was adding an extra day of suspension to her sentence. We took an abnormal route to Clarence's, and Eddie watched behind us carefully, looking for any signs of pursuit. He tried to explain some of the things I needed to watch for when I was on my own. I was so nervous, I hardly heard. After a tense ride, we made it safely to Clarence's. There, we found Adrian already waiting for us. Dimitri had apparently been downtown earlier and picked Adrian up – no doubt taking all the same precautions Eddie had for travel. I'd given Eddie and Dimitri some of the info on the hunters, but everyone else required a more thorough explanation. We gathered in our usual spot, the formal living room, and Dimitri paced around the room, bracing for an attack at any moment. Clarence looked on from his chair with that typical distracted gaze. When I held up the pamphlet, however, he came to life. â€Å"That's them!† he cried. I thought he might actually spring up from the chair and rip the pamphlet from my hands. â€Å"Those are their symbols!† Most of the same alchemical symbols that had been on the sword were strewn across the pamphlet's front. â€Å"That circle. I remember that circle.† â€Å"The gold symbol,† I confirmed. â€Å"Or, I guess in their case, the sun symbol since they're so obsessed with light and dark.† Clarence looked around frantically. â€Å"They're back! We have to get out of here. I came to this city to escape them, but they've found me. We have no time. Where's Dorothy? Where's Lee? I must pack!† â€Å"Mr. Donahue,† I said, in as a gentle a tone as I could manage, â€Å"they don't know you're here. You're safe.† I didn't know if I believed that and hoped I was convincing. â€Å"She's right,† said Dimitri. â€Å"And even if they did, you know I wouldn't let them hurt you.† There was such confidence and strength in the way Dimitri spoke that I had a feeling that we'd believe him even if a group of Strigoi were invading, and he said, â€Å"It's fine, you're safe.† â€Å"If what you're saying is true,† said Sonya, â€Å"I'm the one that's in danger.† She seemed much calmer than I would be in that situation. â€Å"They're not going to hurt you either,† said Dimitri sharply. â€Å"Especially if you don't leave this house.† â€Å"The research – † she began. † – is nothing compared to your safety,† he finished. There was a look in his eyes that said he would tolerate no arguments. â€Å"You need to get back to Court. You were planning on it anyway. Just make the trip early.† Sonya didn't look happy about that. â€Å"So I leave the rest of you in danger?† â€Å"Maybe we aren't,† said Eddie, though the tension in his body said otherwise. â€Å"From what Sydney said – and their mini-manifesto – their focus seems to be Strigoi, not Moroi.† He glanced over at Jill. â€Å"Not that we can let our guard down. If they've mistaken Sonya for a Strigoi, who knows what other craziness they might do? Don't worry. I won't let them near you.† Jill looked ready to swoon. â€Å"That's a good idea,† I said. â€Å"They still think the Moroi are a threat but not as much as the Strigoi.† â€Å"Kind of like the Alchemists,† said Adrian. He was sitting in a corner armchair and had been quiet this whole time. I hadn't seen him since the night of the dance or had any communication with him, which was odd. Even when he wasn't sending me pathetic e-mails about the experiments, he almost always had some witty quip to pass along. â€Å"True,† I admitted, with a smile. â€Å"But we're not trying to kill any of you. Not even Strigoi.† â€Å"And there's the problem,† said Dimitri. â€Å"These warriors are convinced Sonya used to be a Strigoi and is using some trick to disguise herself.† â€Å"Maybe they have some tracking or inventory system,† Sonya mused. â€Å"They keep tabs on various Strigoi in the country and then try to hunt them down.† â€Å"And yet they didn't know about you,† I pointed out to Dimitri. His face stayed neutral, but I knew it was hard for him to be reminded of his Strigoi days. â€Å"And from what I know†¦ you were much more of a, um, notable figure than Sonya.† He'd essentially been a Strigoi mobster. â€Å"So, if you're off their radar, they probably don't have an international presence – or at least not a Russian one.† Angeline leaned forward, hands clasped, and regarded Clarence with a smile sweet enough to justify her name. â€Å"How do you know about them? How did you first run into them?† At first, he looked too terrified to answer, but I think her kindly attitude soothed him. â€Å"Well, they killed my niece, of course.† We all knew Lee had killed Clarence's niece, but the old man didn't believe this any more than he believed Lee was dead. â€Å"Did you see them when they did it?† asked Angeline. â€Å"Did you ever see them at all?† â€Å"Not when Tamara died, no,† he admitted. His eyes got a faraway look, as though he were staring straight into the past. â€Å"But I knew what signs to look for. I'd run into them before that, you see. Back when I was living in Santa Cruz. They like California, you know. And the Southwest. Goes back to their sun fixation.† â€Å"What happened in Santa Cruz?† asked Dimitri. â€Å"A group of their young ones began stalking me. Trying to kill me.† The rest of us exchanged glances. â€Å"So they do go after Moroi,† said Eddie. He actually moved closer to Jill. Clarence shook his head. â€Å"Not usually. From what Marcus told me, they prefer Strigoi. These were young, undisciplined members of their order going off on their own, without the knowledge of their superiors. I assume it was the same type who killed Tamara.† â€Å"Who's Marcus?† I asked. â€Å"Marcus Finch. He saved me from them a few years ago. Fended them off during an attack and later got in touch with their order to keep those ruffians away from me.† Clarence shivered at the memory. â€Å"Not that I stayed around after that. I took Lee and left. That was when we moved to Los Angeles for a while.† â€Å"This Marcus,† I said. â€Å"Was he a guardian?† â€Å"A human. He was about your age then. He knew all about the hunters.† â€Å"I suppose he would if he got in touch with them,† Dimitri speculated. â€Å"But he must be friendly to Moroi if he helped you?† â€Å"Oh, yes,† said Clarence. â€Å"Very much so.† Dimitri looked over at me. â€Å"Do you think – â€Å" â€Å"Yes,† I said, guessing his question. â€Å"I'll see if we can find this Marcus guy. It'd be nice to get a source of info that's not one of these crazy warriors. I'm also going to report on all of this, actually.† â€Å"Me too,† said Dimitri. Although Clarence wasn't the expert on the hunters that this mysterious Marcus was, the old Moroi still had a surprising amount of info to share – info none of us had wanted to hear before. He verified what we'd already deduced, about the hunters' â€Å"devotion to the light.† The group's focus was Strigoi (for now), and all of their hunts were carefully planned and organized. They had a ritualized set of behaviors, particularly in regard to their younger members – which was why the rogue group harassing Clarence had been stopped. From what Clarence had gathered, the group was quite tough on their new recruits, emphasizing discipline and excellence. With the clock ticking down on Angeline's reprieve, we needed to wrap things up shortly thereafter. I was also in charge of taking Adrian home, since we figured it'd be best to eliminate any chance of Dimitri being followed back to Clarence's. Besides, I could tell Dimitri was anxious to begin putting certain things in motion. He wanted to finalize Sonya's departure and also confer with the guardians – in case Jill needed to be removed. Her face reflected what I felt about that possible outcome. We'd both become attached to Amberwood. While he was giving some last-minute instructions to Eddie, I pulled Sonya aside for a quiet word. â€Å"I†¦ I've been thinking about something,† I told her. She studied me carefully, probably reading my aura and other body language. â€Å"What is it?† she asked. â€Å"If you want†¦ if you really want it, you can have some of my blood.† It was a huge, huge admission. Was it something I wanted to do? No. Absolutely not. I still had the same instinctive fears about giving my blood to Moroi, even for scientific purposes. And yet, yesterday's events – and even the alley attack – had begun making me re-analyze my worldview. Vampires weren't the only monsters out there. They were hardly monsters at all, especially next to these vampire hunters. How could I judge the enemy on race? I was being reminded more and more that humans were just as capable as vampires of evil – and that vampires were capable of good. It was actions that mattered, and Sonya and Dimitri's were noble ones. They were fighting to destroy the ultimate evil of all, and as squeamish as I felt about giving my blood, I knew the right thing was to help them. Sonya knew what a sacrifice this was for me. Her face stayed calm – no whoops of joy – and she nodded solemnly. â€Å"I have my collection kit here. I can take a sample before you leave, if you're sure.† So soon? Well, why not. It was best to get it over with – especially if Sonya would be leaving town soon anyway. We did it in the kitchen, which seemed slightly more sanitary than the living room. Sonya was no doctor, but whatever training she'd had, it was right in line with what I'd observed when getting physicals. Antiseptic, gloves, a new syringe. All the right procedures were followed, and after a quick poke of the needle, she had my blood sample. â€Å"Thank you, Sydney,† she said, handing me a plastic bandage. â€Å"I know how difficult this must have been for you. Believe me, this could really help us.† â€Å"I want to help,† I told her. â€Å"I really do.† She smiled. â€Å"I know. And we need all the help we can get. After being one of them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her smile faded. â€Å"Well, I believe more than ever that their evil needs to be stopped. You might be the key.† For one second, her words inspired me – that I might somehow play a greater role in the fight against evil and possibly even stop it. Immediately, that thought was replaced by my old panic. No. No. I wasn't special. I didn't want to be. I would make a good faith effort to help, but surely nothing would come of it. I returned to fetch the others. Adrian and Jill were having some earnest conversation in the corner. Eddie and Angeline were also talking, and I overheard her say, â€Å"I'll stay with Jill more at school, just to be safe. We can't have her be part of some accident or mistaken identity.† Eddie nodded and looked impressed that she'd suggested it. â€Å"Agreed.† Amazing, I thought. I left soon with my carpool and swung by downtown to drop Adrian off. As I pulled up in front of his building, I saw something that made my jaw drop. Awe and disbelief rolled through me. In what was probably the most ungraceful parking job I'd ever done in my life, I brought Latte to an abrupt stop and was out of the car the second I pulled my keys from the ignition. The others followed moments later. â€Å"What,† I breathed. â€Å"Is that?† â€Å"Oh,† said Adrian casually. â€Å"That's my new car.† I took a few steps forward and then stopped, afraid to approach it in the same way someone hesitated before royalty. â€Å"It's a 1967 Ford Mustang convertible,† I said, knowing my eyes were probably bugging out of my face. I began walking around it. â€Å"The year they did a major overhaul and increased the size to keep up with other high-powered competition. See? It's the first model with the concave tail lights but the last to have the Ford block lettering up front until 1974.† â€Å"What in the world is that color?† asked Eddie, not sounding impressed at all. â€Å"Springtime Yellow,† Adrian and I said in unison. â€Å"I would've guessed Lemon Chiffon,† said Eddie. â€Å"Maybe you can get it repainted.† â€Å"No!† I exclaimed. I tossed my purse over onto the grass and carefully touched the car's side. Brayden's beautiful new Mustang suddenly seemed so ordinary. â€Å"It's been touched up, obviously, but this is a classic color. Which engine code is this? C, right?† â€Å"Um†¦ not sure,† said Adrian. â€Å"I know it's got a V-8 engine.† â€Å"Of course it does,† I said. It was hard not to roll my eyes. â€Å"A 289. I want to know what the horsepower is.† â€Å"It's probably in the paperwork,† Adrian said lamely. It was at that moment that I really processed Adrian's earlier words. I looked up at him, knowing my face must be filled with disbelief. â€Å"This is really your car?† â€Å"Yup,† he said. â€Å"I told you. The old man spotted me the money for one.† â€Å"And you got this one?† I peered in through the window. â€Å"Nice. Black interior, manual transmission.† â€Å"Yeah,† said Adrian, a note of unease in his voice. â€Å"That's the problem.† I glanced back. â€Å"What is? The black is great. And the leather's condition is fantastic. So is the rest of the car.† â€Å"No, not the interior. The transmission. I can't drive a stick.† I froze. â€Å"You can't drive a stick?† â€Å"Neither can I,† said Jill. â€Å"You don't have a license,† I reminded her. Although, my mother had taught me to drive before I had a license – both automatic and manual transmission. I knew I shouldn't be surprised the stick was a lost art, as savage as such a lack seemed to me. That paled, of course, in comparison to the other obvious problem. â€Å"Why on earth would you buy a car like this if you can't drive a stick? There are dozens of cars – new cars – that have automatic transmission. It'd be a million times easier.† Adrian shrugged. â€Å"I like the color. It matches my living room.† Eddie snorted. â€Å"But you can't drive it,† I pointed out. â€Å"I figure it can't be that hard.† Adrian sounded remarkably unconcerned about what I found blasphemous. â€Å"I'll just practice taking it around the block a few times and figure it out.† I couldn't believe what I was hearing. â€Å"What? Are you out of your mind? You'll ruin it if you don't know what you're doing!† â€Å"What else am I supposed to do?† he asked. â€Å"Are you going to teach me?† I turned back to the beautiful Mustang. â€Å"Yes,† I said adamantly. â€Å"If that's what it takes to save it from you.† â€Å"I can show you too,† said Eddie. Adrian ignored him and focused on me. â€Å"When we can start?† I ran through my school schedule, knowing I'd have to make talking to the Alchemists about the Warriors of Light my top priority. Then, the obvious hit me. â€Å"Oh. When we see Wolfe this week. We'll take this out there.† â€Å"Is that really to help me?† asked Adrian. â€Å"Or do you just want to drive the car?† â€Å"Both,† I said, not embarrassed to admit it. Angeline's clock at school was ticking, so the rest of us had to leave. I'd driven three blocks away when I realized I'd left my purse on the grass. With a groan, I looped around and returned to his building. My purse was there, but the Mustang was gone. â€Å"Where's the car?† I asked, panicked. â€Å"No one could have stolen it that fast.† â€Å"Oh,† said Jill from the backseat, sounding slightly nervous. â€Å"I saw through the bond. He, um, moved it.† It was handy having the bond as a source of information, but her words made me panic more than if the car actually had been stolen. â€Å"He what?† â€Å"Not far,† she said quickly. â€Å"Just behind the building. This street's got weird overnight parking rules.† I grimaced. â€Å"Well, I'm glad it won't get towed, but he should've had me move it! Even if it's not far, he could ruin the transmission.† â€Å"I'm sure it's fine,† said Jill. There was a strange note to her voice. I didn't respond. Jill was no car expert. None of them were. â€Å"It's like letting a toddler loose in a room full of china,† I muttered. â€Å"What was he thinking? About any of this?† No one had an answer for that. I got us back to Amberwood in time for Angeline's curfew and retreated to the sanity and calm of my room. As soon as I was satisfied my friends were safe and secure for the night, I e-mailed Donna Stanton – a high-up Alchemist whom I'd inexplicably developed a good relationship with – about the hunters and what we'd learned. I even took pictures of the pamphlet and e-mailed those as well. Once that was done, I sat back and tried to think if there was anything else at all I could provide her with that might help. It was only when I'd exhausted all options (and refreshed my inbox a few times to see if she'd responded already) that I finally moved on to homework. As usual, I was pretty much caught up on every assignment – save one. Ms. Terwilliger's. That stupid book was on my desk, staring back at me, daring me to open it. I still had a number of days before her spell was due, time during which I could continue to procrastinate. I was beginning to accept, however, that this assignment wasn't going to go away. Considering how long some of the prep on these took, maybe it'd be best to bite the bullet and get it out of the way. Resolved, I brought the book over to my bed and opened it to the table of contents, scanning some of the spells she'd gone over with me. My stomach twisted at most of them, every instinct telling me how wrong it was to even be attempting these. Magic is for vampires, not humans. I still believed that to be true, but the analytical part of my mind couldn't help but apply some of the defensive spells to various situations. Much like my decision to give blood, recent events had made me look at the world differently. Was magic wrong? Yes. But that blindness spell would have certainly been useful in the alley. Another spell, one that temporarily immobilized people, could've been used if I'd wanted to flee from the hunters at the cafe. Sure, it only lasted thirty seconds, but that was more than enough time for me to have escaped. On and on, I went down the list. They were all so wrong and yet†¦ so useful. If I hadn't seen the fire charm I'd made ignite a Strigoi, I wouldn't have believed any of these were possible. But by all accounts, they were. So much power†¦ the ability to protect myself†¦ Immediately, I rebuked myself for such a thought. I had no need for power. That kind of thinking was what led freaks like Liam to want to be Strigoi. Although†¦ was it really the same? I didn't want immortality. I didn't want to hurt others. I just wanted to protect myself and those I cared about. Wolfe had a lot to teach me, but his preventative techniques wouldn't help if determined vampire hunters cornered Sonya and me again. As time went on, it was becoming clear that the hunters were very determined. I returned to the table of contents, finding several that would be useful and well within my capabilities to make. According to Ms. Terwilliger, someone like me had excellent potential for magic because of inborn talent (which I didn't entirely believe) and the rigorous Alchemist training in measurement and attention to detail. It wasn't difficult to figure out how long it would take me to produce any of these likely candidates. The question was which spell did I make? Which did I have time to make? The answer was eerily simple. I had time to make all of them.

Portfolio Reflection Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Portfolio Reflection Paper - Assignment Example Etiology is a process that goes hand in hand with pathophysiology because it involves the evaluation and study of causative agents or factors behind an ailment. Pathogenesis entails the mechanism(s) through which a causative agent leads to the development of a disease in an individual or organism. It also refers to the development and origin of an ailment along with its mode of transmittance and propagation. All the above-mentioned processes are used in the medical professional to map out the development and manifestation of diseases in organisms. Through these processes, medical professionals are able to develop interventionist, preventive and curative manoeuvres to combat disease causing agents and factors. Individuals have various manifestations and reactions to diseases, these reactions provide valuable indicators as to the nature and seriousness of an ailment. Physiological responses to illnesses are the first indicators that are sought by medical professionals to act as sign po sts of the nature of an ailment. They can be typically observed and measured quantitatively like fever or qualitatively like the amount of virus or pathogen present in an individual’s system. ... Pathophysiology enables medical personnel ascertain the level of severity of a disease condition and determine appropriate measures to eradicate or curb its spread. Through proper and competent analysis of various predisposing factors, medical personnel are placed in position that enables them to identify the most effective and efficient intervention to treat an illness. NUR515: Advanced Pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine concerned with the study of the body’s reaction with compounds introduced in the body for the purposes of combating disease causing agents. According to Hamric, Spross & Hanson (2008), pharmacokinetics is concerned investigating and evaluating the path taken by compounds introduced into the body in an effort to combat disease-causing agents. The biochemical and physiological reaction and interaction of compounds introduced into the body to act as a drug against pathogens are called pharmacodynamics. Proficiency in pharmacology enables an indivi dual to administer drug regimens to individuals with regard to their diverse predisposition culturally, traditionally and spiritually. This is because there are multiple treatment or curative measures for a single disease, but with different requirements and side effects that should be put into consideration when prescribing drugs. Pharmacological competence enables a medical practitioner to prescribe treatment regimens that are in line with the medical requirements for the disease. It also enables prescriptions to be based on economic, cultural and spiritual consideration of the patient. Pharmacological competence ensures that the health of patients is assured in terms of guaranteed prescription of drugs that maximize their ability to combat pathogens

The Labor Supply and China Economics Term Paper

The Labor Supply and China Economics - Term Paper Example This paper will discuss labor supply in China. It will highlight the concept of wages and employment in the Chinese economy and the outcomes of human resource development. Discussion Wages and Employment in the Chinese Economy The economic transitions that China has experienced in recent years are characterized by the adjustment of wage and employment by private enterprises in order to maximize profits. The government controls the wages and employment of the enterprises that are owned by the state. This is in an attempt to improve the quality of the income for the workers and to curb inflation. The government achieves this through setting a wage ceiling for each enterprise. The wages of the enterprises that are better performing are regulated strictly (Chow 53). Despite the strict regulation of the wages and employment for these enterprises in China, the firms have some influence on the wage and employment. The determination of wage and employment is like a bargaining process with th e social security and labor bureau playing a huge role. In the process, the government aims to lower wage and higher employment while the enterprises aim at reaching huge profits (Chow 53). Collective Bargaining and Its Effects on the Wages and Employment Collective bargaining has been used in many economies as a means of regulating wages and employment conditions. This instrument has been used in China to address the issue of decreasing labor supply, which needs immediate attention. It has become the most important source of strategies for the regulation of conditions relating to wages and employment in countries such as China. The coverage of the bargaining agreements is very high in China with the public sector witnessing the coverage of all the wage earners in all jobs. The private sector has a lower coverage of the collective agreements with this coverage varying significantly between various branches and employee categories. The corrective bargaining agreements contain compreh ensive regulations for the relationship of the employment with the inclusion of aspects that are regulated in other countries through the constitution or various statutes. Trade unions are of great importance in the achievement of the collective bargaining agreements as their importance is not limited to the establishment of conditions in the employment and wage sectors but they are also important in application and supervision of law in the firms. Employees are unlikely to realize their contractual rights in the absence of support from the trade unions (Li and Zax 3). In China, the collective bargaining agreements became the main form of regulation for wages and employment in the 20th century with the first agreements offering price lists for various kinds of work. These agreements became more comprehensive later as they encompassed rules that not only included time but also work rules, work time, freedom of association and peace obligations. The collective bargaining agreements we re at first concluded at the local basis, which covered limited enterprises. During this period, the collective bargaining concept had not been integrated into China’s legal system. Henceforth, individuals were not aware of the legal status and effects of such agreements (Ni, Wang and Yao 19). Macroeconomic Outcomes of Human Resource Development

Construction Contract Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Construction Contract Law - Research Paper Example Joint Contracts Tribunal (J.C.T), on the other hand, refers to another family of contracts custom-built for complex and large construction projects. This contract legally binds all the stakeholders working on the project from the employer to all the contracted individuals in the project (Rowlinson 2011, p. 4). Construction engineers are often at a crossroads when picking either of the two families of contracts. The differences are quite clear starting with the administrator or project manager of the project. In this essay will compare the two families of contracts to determine which is superior. The two contractual families, despite achieving similar results, have different approaches in handling a project’s stakeholders. The first major difference is how both contracts handle a project’s programme. The NEC contract, for instance, follows the last accepted programme in timing compensation (Eggleston & Eggleston 2006, p. 9). This Accepted Programme refers to the programme identified by the contract or the programme approved by the project manager. Once the project manager approves the latest programme, this programme will supersede all previous programmes. In the JCT 2011 contract, the master programme refers to the critical paths that the project must undergo during the course of the programme. In contrast to the NEC programme, the JCT 2011 programme is amendable during the course of the project (Chappell 2012, p. 62). The amendment period usually spans 14 days and the contractor is the one tasked with making the appropriate amendments. The second difference between the two contracts is the handling of time extension. The JCT contract, according to clause 2.27, states that delays that might occur during the Works the contractor is tasked with giving notice to the contract administrator (Chappell 2012, p. 38). The contractor is required to state the material circumstances that led to the causation of the delay. If an

IDiscusson board reply Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

IDiscusson board reply - Coursework Example The verse refers to the centurion’s servant as â€Å"dear.† The centurion sees the servant as important, and he values his wellbeing too. The employers expect respect in return if they treat their employees well as it creates a good working environment. The Bible says, â€Å"We should sincerely obey, respect and serve a boss as if he were Christ,† (Ephesians 6.5-8). That verse illustrates that employees need to respect the employers. Nevertheless, they must work hard to earn it. It is only through exercising good deeds will they obtain it. Additionally, employers and employees interact in human relationships built on trust and friendship. Therefore, the employers should treat the employees the way they expect to be treated if they were in the same position and should avoid judging other. In support for this postulation the Bible says in Mark 12:31, that â€Å"you shall love your neighbor as yourself,† that is a proof the employers should not act in favor of policies that harm their employees. Instead, the policies must empower the workers to live better lives. Lastly, the employer implements those policies as a matter of expressing kindness. Human relationships dictate that people be kind so that they share freely. Even though, the employees also have a responsibility of reciprocating to their employers; employers should set the pace by formulating and implementing favorable policies to employees’

Critical thinking Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical thinking - Article Example Brief Summary The authors Edwards and Hewitt enumerated the three possible options on how to therapeutically respond to patients who self-harm. These include preventing self-harm, allowing self-harm and supervising self-harm. The first option, to prevent it, presented two advantages which include a) prevention of inflicting harm and b) demonstration of commitment to patients which make them feel important. However, these positive arguments were countered by four criticisms. The first is that it will lead to increased risk of suicide. Another argument is that it will increase the risk that patients will self-harm covertly that they will become desperate to try more drastic forms. Third criticism points that removing this coping mechanism of patients means their self-integrity will be undermined. Lastly, this option sends the message to the patients that they cannot be trusted. The second approach, non-interference or to allow it, gives the patients their sense of control over their si tuation and at the same time respects their autonomy. However, this approach may cause more damage and unforeseen harm which might eventually lead to suicide, as well as lessen their self-worth due to abandonment and may also desensitize the nurses to this disturbing situation. The authors supported the last option, to supervise self-harm, because they believe that this will not compromise the autonomy of the patients as well as make them feel being cared for and the nurses will also understand the patients by befriending them. The article As the authors Edwards and Hewitt discussed and evaluated the three contending options on how to deal with patients who self-harm, it can be said that they really are aiming to recommend the last option of supervising patients and being with them during self-harm. This is because as they presented the advantages of preventing and allowing self-harm, there were more arguments against these two choices. There weren't any sustainable evidences that w ill prove the effectiveness of the above mentioned approaches. This poses a problem because it can be said that these advantages are merely claims without any proof to support. However, the flow of the article is clear and straight. There is no long discussion of any other topics aside from those needed to create this article. The aim of the Edwards and Hewitt were achieved so as to ensure that the readers will be convinced to support the supervision of self-harm as against preventing or allowing it. The approach can be considered as biased because during the introduction of the article, opposition and arguments of allowing and preventing self-harm were already being pointed out by Edwards and Hewitt. The authors questioned if suppression and noninterference are justifiable. The authors failed to provide more support and evidences to their claim that supervising the patients during self-harm is the most effective. This poses a questionable conclusion. However, the arguments of the a uthors are consistent. They have clearly stated from start to end of the article that they supported the supervision of self-harm rather than the two other strategies that they explained. There is clear hypothesis and problem stated. The authors claimed that of the three options, the prevention strategy is the least plausible while there is a clear support to a supervised self-harm. This is because according to the qualitative exploration of Hume and Platt as presented by

Advantages and Disadvantages of Intercultural Communication Assignment - 2

Advantages and Disadvantages of Intercultural Communication - Assignment Example Some differences were noted to be variations in interest, beliefs, ambitions, philosophies, and goals. The approach taken by the authors will be analyzed as a step in the right direction, given that most people have failed to take advantage of the benefits that come with effective intercultural communication, only because they do not know the right approaches to take in getting their communications put across properly. Chapter 12 is the part of the book where the authors bring readers close to ways and means by which they can engage in, and ensure effective communication in an intercultural context. This is done by emphasizing areas of competence where people can learn to improve as part of effective intercultural communication. Analyzing the approach to the chapter, it can be said that the authors were very transcending with their discussion because they viewed competence from several perspectives, including social science, interpretive, and critical perspectives. Once this was done, it was possible to feed the reader with information on strategies for achieving effective communication as it pertains to each of these areas of competence. The book turned out to be a very useful source in understanding and appreciating the interaction of context and intercultural communication. From the knowledge developed from the book, it can be said that context refers to the premise and circumstance under which a person makes an analogy, speech or sends a message. Intercultural communication, on the other hand, is a form of communication that is taking place among people from a different cultural background. The relationship that exists between these two is that people from different cultures have different contexts for the same ideas or messages that are put across. Consequently, while communicating, it is important to emphasize and focus on the need to presenting one’s message in a manner that can be understood and interpreted in the very context in which he seeks to communicate.  Ã‚  

My ambitions in life Essay Example for Free

My ambitions in life Essay My name is Jennis Dave Mirafuentes, I am now 16 years old. Were all 5 children in my father side, why I say in my father side only? It is because my father before was having his first family but they were separated because of some instances. We have 3 girls that is daughter of my father in his first wife and we are 2 in my mother side and we are both boys. We are now living in Km. 8 Ulas, Davao City. I finnish my primary study in Talomo Central Elementary School and my secondary in Talomo National High School. My first ambition in life when I was only a child is to become an architect because I love making an illustration of an house before but it was changed when I grow up because I realize that having an architecture course is difficult. When I was in my fourth year in high school I was still thinking of what course I will take in college. And from that time I realize in myself what if I will follow the steps of my mother. I will continue her job in teaching other people because before my mother was graduated of education and she is also a board passer but when the time that she raise me and my younger brother she doesn’t have enough time in teaching so that she decide to stop teaching and focus in caring of us. That’s why I decided to become a BS-Math student, Math because it was my favorite subject. Why I should become a teacher? Maybe now I still don’t have an ability to teach wisely other people but I didn’t refuse my ambition because the reason I studied is to learn the techniques on how to become an effective teacher. Maybe now I was only holding one quality to become a teacher and that is my determination and willingness to teach.

Benefits of Systems Thinking

Benefits of Systems Thinking INTRODUCTION Systems thinking is a well organised approach of understanding the dynamic relationship between components of a system, so that we can make better choices and avoid unintentional consequences. It’s a conceptual framework for problem-solving which understands and considers the problems in their entirety (Hall, 1999 and Senge 1990). In other words, it can be defined as a view which looks at the ‘system as a whole’ first with its fit and relationship to external environment being a primary concern as compared to the constituent elements that make up the system (Morgan, 2005). It can be used to understand how systems work and how individuals can deal with them, while looking for patterns of interaction and underlying structures which shapes the systems behaviour. As system is a combination of several parts people who understand systems thinking keep one eye on the big picture (i.e. system as a whole) and one on the detail (i.e. constituent’s components), as the y recognise that problem in one part of the system can impact other parts and forces patterns of behaviour in the system that lead to crisis (Morgan 2005). Systems view is a way of positioning and looking into an organisational or systems issue where system boundaries are to be set to determine what parts are contained inside the system and what parts are considered external environment. The environment will certainly influence the problem solving capabilities of the system, but it’s not the part of the whole system (Ackoff, 1971). Outcomes will depend heavily on how a system is defined because system thinking investigates relationships between various parts of the system and its external environment (Montano et. al, 2001). ADOPTION OF SYSTEMS THINKING A number of methods, tools and principles cover the concept of systems thinking with a common goal of understanding relationships within the system, as systems thinking works on the hypothesis that there are certain evolving properties of systems that do not exist when systems are disintegrated into individual parts. For example consider a driver who is constantly hitting red lights on the road. If the driver is only noticing one part of the system i.e. red lights, then he will simply decide to speed up to in-order to make the next light before it turns to red. But, if he considers other parts of the system i.e. his car, condition of the road, driving style and the distance between two lights, he will notice that every time he tries to speedup to make a light, it changes to red. His speed is tripping the lights to force him to drive slower. So if he is observing this pattern, he can simply reduce his speed to drive thorough all green lights. In systems view, the focus spreads in a variety of different directions compared to the conventional linear style of thinking. It focuses on processes, patterns and relationships and their flow and movement and puts much emphasis on understanding the effects of the interactions in the system as opposed to putting efforts to predict the outcomes (Morgan, 2005). It’s argued that the emphasis on systems view should begin when a project is started and should continue till the final lessons have been learnt even after completion (Stewart and Fortune, 1995). Advantages of Systems Thinking Adopting a view of system thinking can complement conventional styles of research in projects in certain ways: It suggests different levels of analysis and synthesis for different kinds of problems, ranging from the simple activity levels to the more complex hierarchical levels. Systems thinking complements reductionism (the principle that everything can be reduced to its individual parts), analytical analysis (breaking down a system to its smallest components), cause and effect thinking (environment-independent, linear but without feedback loops, closed and defined boundaries), complete determinism (illusion of control) with complexity (a sub-system of larger network), blended structure (explaining the whole system in terms of functions and inter-relationship between parts), circular contributing effects (explaining external environmental influences, performance and feedback) and belief in uncertainty which leads to probabilistic thinking (Schiuma et.al, 2012). It provides a conceptual framework which utilizes different theories, tools and techniques like the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), which helps in constructing a holistic, reliant perspective and practise aimed at disclosing the relationships characterizing a system (Joham et al., 2009 and Pourdehnad, 2007). Such approaches use a non-linear model where different elements are connected through cyclical rather linear cause-and-effect chains. This shows how a system is structured and also shows the nature of interactions among components of the system, which helps in understanding the behavioural patterns characterizing the system under investigation (Schiuma et.al, 2012). Having a reductionist thinking tends to push the project towards a closed systems view of the environmental i.e. the different phenomenon could be explained as individual and isolated events, which shows that the system and the context are separate, deterministic and predictable. In addition, the casual relationship between different elements is linear in the sense that A affects B which affects B, so such a approach can be used as a process or procedure to track and access results and performance on a operational level rather than on a broader system level. Project managers can use systems thinking to assist them in the scoping of a project where the project and its relationship to the environment are examined to underline potential risk areas and also to look at the project performance and thus to facilitate organizational learning (Stewart and Fortune, 1995). Disadvantages of Systems Thinking Although adoption of systems thinking/view is beneficial in some aspects while executing consulting projects, there are still certain problems which are associated with this approach. Some of them are as follow: Concept of systems thinking totally ignores or much worse destroys the most important aspects of human systems, for e.g. the interconnections or inter-relationships amongst and between the constituent sub-systems (Morgan, 2005). The project and its sub-tasks are totally ignored. Reductionism is no longer appropriate for dynamic projects which comprises of mostly human activities. It encourages fragmentation and isolation of the project which causes undue concern with the individual project activities or sub-systems. This method is makes us smart in micro-level thinking with regard to projects whereas on the other hand it’s allowing us to be dumb on the macro-level analysis. Under this thinking the project management loses the capability of making sense of how and why things work in a certain patter/manner. Reductionism can’t be implemented in every project. It tries to deal with the issues of the project one at a time, which leads to the problem of backing up which make things much worse. Also it is not helpful in dealing with multiple or delayed causality, as it is leading us to the simplistic way of thinking where individuals instead of focusing on the core problem focus on ‘either-or’ choices and blame mentality (Morgan, 2005). The simple approach to cause and effect can’t be implemented in consulting projects with high level of complexity, as it can’t keep up with the complexity of the project. As systems thinking focus on dealing with symptoms of the problem, interventions aimed at fixing things can end up sometimes making things better in the short run but worse in the long term. The over-reliance on reductionism will create an imaginary environment in which individuals think that prediction and control are the usable approaches to deal with complex projects. Endless varieties of tools and frameworks would be applied to ensure project success and when all such things fail they will try to explain the causes of system failure using the reductionist explanations of personal failure, resistance to change etc. So, the cycle goes on repeating itself and people, organisations get trapped into fixes which are doomed to fail. Having a systems perspective enables the project to exert control over people and its processes. But such a view tends to act against innovation and adaptation which are fundamental qualities for long-term effectiveness. Adopting a systems view can threatens some of the established policies and procedures in managing consulting projects, for e.g. in areas like monitoring and evaluation, performance management and assessment. Most of the practitioners have doubted its operational use, as it has not provided specific answers to the cases when the system has encountered problems. Some of its ideas such as emergence can be unattractive with project management teams, who are constantly under pressure to give results in short run. Systems view can also have a disengaging effect on people and organisations that are used to a structured system where projects are planned and targets are met. So, adopting a system thinking view can increase the effect of uncertainty in project consulting and management rather than reducing it. System thinking can also be demanding in terms of intellectual resources as it requires multi-disciplinary approaches to handle wide range of issues and patterns. It requires a significant investment in terms of skills, organisational structure where people are trained across a series of interrelated issues to make systems thinking work, because if they give up on the practise of systems views they will probably get back to much easier conventional approaches (Morgan, 2005). Conclusion The implications of systems thinking can be far reaching as it’s not clear how it will fit with other methods of analyzing situations. Questions will be asked about its contribution to monitoring and evaluation as the some of the sub-systems may be inadequate in generating data needed for analysis which leads to reluctance in trusting the conclusions (Morgan, 2005). Though it’s best in synthesis, it needs help in terms of practical analysis, so the question arises that can it supplement present methods of doing things or does it have to replace them in some way? In conclusion, adopting a systems view can contribute in planning and controlling the complexity and uncertainty by embedding flexibility in consulting activities. When implemented and aligned properly, systems view can alleviate the flaws present in the existing frameworks to produce a more general framework which includes both prescriptive and descriptive elements (Montano et. al, 2001). Also, it facilitates the links between project management initiatives and the strategic goals and objectives of an organisation helping in maintain a clear vision of what is being done and why it is being done (Ackoff and Emery, 1972).

Effects of Ultrasound Therapy on MCL Injuries

Effects of Ultrasound Therapy on MCL Injuries The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is one of the most frequently injured ligaments of the knee joint. Fortunately, most patients who sustain MCL injuries are able to achieve their previous level of activity without the need for surgical treatment. However, the most severe injuries, especially those involving multiple ligaments, may require operative repair. This study will explore the effectiveness of a conservative treatment, namely ultrasound therapy and exercise therapy, in the treatment of MCL injuries of the knee joint. In a review by Phisitkul, James, Wolf, and Amendola (2006), treatment with early range of motion (ROM) exercises and progressive strengthening has been shown to produce very good results. Ultrasound therapy has been a widely used and well-accepted physical therapy modality for musculoskeletal conditions for many years. Wong, Schumann, Townsend, and Phelps (2007) performed a survey about the use of ultrasound by physical therapists who are orthopaedic specialists, and found that ultrasound therapy is a popular adjunct in orthopaedic physical therapy and that it is perceived as important. However, the lack of studies confirming its benefits has led many to question this traditional view. Indeed, many studied which explored the effectiveness of ultrasound therapy failed in establishing a definite conclusion. Nevertheless, it cannot be assumed that this lack of evidence implies that ultrasound therapy is ineffective, and thus further research is needed to establish the adequacy of its use. This study aims at answering the following crucial questions: In patients with MCL injuries of the knee, can ultrasound improve pain, disability and general recovery? Is it more effective than exercise therapy in improving symptoms? An answer to these questions will help to better direct physiotherapy treatment for these patients, and thus optimize recovery. Subsequent chapters will discuss the current literature available on the subject, followed by the methodology used in this study. The results are then presented and analysed. The interpretation of results in the context of previous research will be discussed in the discussion chapter, including the strengths and limitation of the study. Literature Review Ultrasound therapy has become commonly used in soft tissue injuries (Speed, 2001). Research carried out in the past few decades regarding the effects of ultrasound on body tissues will be discussed below. My aim is to review the research available from the past years in attempt to find conclusive and consistent results regarding the effects of ultrasound, and thus to justify the use of ultrasound in the clinical setting, specifically to treatment of medial collateral ligament injuries. As will be discussed in this chapter, when ultrasound enters the body, it is thought to exert an effect on it through thermal and non-thermal mechanisms (Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, 2006, p.266). Some of these effects may stimulate healing; however others may be dangerous and may cause damage. Thermal effects of ultrasound As ultrasound waves travel trough body tissues, they cause oscillation of particles, thus converting sonic energy into heat energy. The amount of heat produced will greatly depend upon the intensity given and the rate of energy absorption, but also on certain tissue properties, such as the heat capacity, efficiency of heat transfer, and the tissue distribution and space (Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, 2006, p.266). Some authors have suggested pre-heating the area of treatment to achieve a greater increase in tissue temperature (Draper et al 1998a). Living tissue will be affected by an increase in temperature in various different ways. According to Speed (2001), the thermal effects of ultrasound include an increased extensibility in tissues, enhanced blood flow, pain modulation, decreased joint stiffness and muscle spasm, together with a mid inflammatory response. These could explain why a temporary increase in range of motion is observed after ultrasound treatment (Draper et al., 1998b; Knight et al., 2001). Hayes, Merrick, Sandrey and Cordova (2004) studied the extent of heating in tissue at 2.5cm depth and found that 3MHz ultrasound was more effective in heating the tissues at this depth than 1MHz, reaching a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius after 4 minutes. Unfortunately the production of heat may place the patient at risk of a skin burn if applied incorrectly (Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, 2006, p.290). Physical effects of ultrasound Cavitation Cavitation is the formation of tiny gas bubbles in the tissues as a result of ultrasound vibration (Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, 2006, p.267). Johns (2002) explains how as sound waves travel through the tissues, the characteristic compression and rarefaction causes microscopic gas bubbles present in the tissue fluid to contract and expand. Injury to the cell may occur when these gas bubbles expand and collapse rapidly. Nevertheless, cavitation has been found to occur only when using high intensities, and thus it is unlikely to occur in vivo with therapeutic levels (Nyborg, 2001). However according to a review by Baker, Robertson, and Duck (2001), there are a few studies which suggest the existence of in vivo cavitation. Baker and his colleagues argue that these studies were not replicated and that results obtained may have been due to difficulty with the analysis of B-scan imaging, which were used to measure cavitation. A recent study investigated the method by which cavitation is de tected. The wavelet approach was identified as a new tool for studying bubble cavitation (Zhou, 2008). Cavitation becomes clinically relevant during ultrasound applications in water, as bubbles that form between the skin and the treatment head may block transmission of ultrasonic waves (Ward Robertson, 1996). Acoustic streaming Acoustic streaming may be described as a flow of liquid caused by a generation of pressure along the axis of the beam of energy and on any other structures which reflect it (Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, 2006, p.268). There are two types of acoustic streaming: microstreaming and bulk streaming (Duck, as cited in Baker, Robertson Duck, 2001). Bulk streaming occurs in any fluid and develops as the ultrasound beam is propagated, while microstreaming occurs at a microscopic level and is formed as eddies of flow flanking to an oscillating surface (Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, 2006, p.268). Unfortunately bulk streaming is much less mechanically powerful, with microstreaming being the only type of acoustic streaming which is able to stimulate cell activity and change membrane permeability (Duck, as cited by Baker, Robertson, Duck, 2001). Microstreaming can produce stress on the cell membrane and wash away any molecules and ions which accumulate outside the cell membrane (Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, 2006, p.268). According to Duck (as cited by Baker, Robertson, Duck, 2001), only bulk streaming occurs in vivo, because microstreaming only occurs secondary to cavitation. In vitro studies show increased growth factor production by macrophages (Young and Dyson, 1990a), increased calcium uptake (Mortimer and Dyson, 1988), increased secretion and degranulation of mast cell (Fyfe and Chahl, 1984) and increase cell membrane permeability (McCance and Huether, as cited by Baker, Robertson, Duck, 2001) by microstreaming. This however will have minimal relevance in the clinical se tting if one assumes that cavitation will not occur. Nevertheless, Manasseh, Tho, Ooi, Petkovic-Duran, and Zhu, (2010), suggest that microstreaming which occurs secondary to cavitation will play a role in the action of microbubbles in therapeutic ultrasound. Standing waves Standing waves are formed when reflected sound waves are superimposed with incident waves, and are characterized by high pressure peaks, the antinodes and zones of low pressure known as nodes (Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, 2006, p.267-8). Ter Haar and Wyard (1978) put forward that blood cell stasis may occur with ultrasound, with cells forming at half wavelength intervals in the blood vessels at antinodes. These results match those by Dyson, Pond, Woodward, and Broadbent (1974). The latter studied the effect of a stationary wave on blood cell stasis and endothelial damage in blood vessels of chick embryos. The cells form bands half a wavelength apart inside blood vessels. They suggest that under optimum conditions, the minimum intensity of less than 0.5 Wcm-2 at 3 MHz with continuous irradiation is required for stasis to occur. Damage to some endothelial cells of vessels in which stasis has occurred was revealed by an electron microscope. Thus, it is suggested that the treatment head is continuously moved during the treatment to minimize the formation of standing waves (Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, 2006, p.268). The effect of ultrasound on repair of body tissues According the following research, ultrasound therapy may have an effect on cells involved in repair of body tissues, including: Levels of prostaglandins and leukotrienes Leung, Ng, and Yip (2004) performed a randomized, case-control study to study the effect of ultrasound during the acute inflammation of soft-tissue injuries. They measured the levels of leukotriene B4 and prostaglandin E2 in the medial collateral ligament of rats and found that pulsed ultrasound (1:4) applied for five minutes at different durations and intensities may stimulate acute inflammation by increasing the levels of the above mentioned leukotriene and prostaglandin. Release of fibroblast from macrophages Young and Dyson (1990a) studied if ultrasound therapy can increase the release of fibroblast mitogenic factors from macrophages in vitro, and assessed fibroblast proliferation over five days. This study showed an increased secretion of already formed fibroblasts in macrophages at 0.75 MHz ultrasound, which may be caused by permeability changes. On the other hand, at 3 MHz frequency, ultrasound appeared to encourage both the synthesis and secretion of fibroblast mitogenic factors. The reason why these two frequencies cause different effects may be explained by the different physical mechanisms involved. Williams (as cited in Young, 2002, p. 217), argues that cavitation is more liable to occur at lower frequencies, while at a higher frequency heating is more likely. Platelets and ÃŽÂ ²-thromboglobulin Williams, Chater, Allen, Sherwood, and Sanderson (1978) investigated the effect of ultrasound on platelets and established that more ÃŽÂ ²-thromboglobulin, a platelet specific protein, was released by ultrasound therapy. They suggest that this protein is released both by the disruption of platelets by cavitation and by other aggregating agents liberated in parallel with it which cause a release reaction in the adjacent platelets. This however, has not been proved to happen in vivo. Histamine release from mast cells Fyfe and Chahl (1984) suggest that ultrasound applied in the therapeutic range causes a significant increase in degranulated mast cells and thus an increase in histamine release, in rats. They suggest the possibility that ultrasound increases the permeability of mast cells to calcium causing them to degranulate, resulting in an increase in local blood flow. On the other hand, when Hogan, Burke, and Franklin (1982) investigated the change in blood flow in rat muscle on insonation, they found that arterioles vasoconstrict transiently in response to insonation, but improve perfusion after long-term treatment. Increase membrane permeability to calcium Change in the permeability of membranes to calcium has been demonstrated when using therapeutic ultrasound. According to Al-Karmi, Dinno, Stoltz, Crum, and Matthews (1994), applying ultrasound for two minutes will cause a significant boost in ionic conductance in the presence of calcium ions, thus confirming that calcium ions influence the biological effects of ultrasound. Dinno et al. (1989) also used a frog skin model to study the effect of ultrasound on membranes. They argue that the increase in the concentration of calcium ions inside cells which occurs after the application of ultrasound, may decrease the permeability of gap junctions and uncouple cells in the way by which cells differentiate. Therefore, they concluded that ultrasound can affect cell differentiation and consequently histogenesis, and thus its use should be avoided over embryonic tissue. Growth factor secretion Ito, Azuma, Ohta, and Komoriva (2000) applied ultrasound to a co-culture system of human osteoblastic and endothelial cells and studied their effect on growth factor secretion. Their study showed that ultrasound increases the levels of platelet-derived growth factor. This may be the reason for improved fracture healing rate with ultrasound treatment, as discussed later. Fibroblasts and Collagen synthesis Ramirez, Schwane, McFarland, and Starcher (1997), conducted an investigation to determine the effect of ultrasound on the rate of cell proliferation and collagen synthesis by using cultured fibroblasts form the Achilles tendons of neonatal rats. They found an increase in collagen synthesis and rate of thymidine incorporation and DNA content after ultrasound treatment, suggesting that ultrasound stimulates the synthesis of collagen in tendon fibroblasts and cell division after injury. In a more recent study Chiu, Chen, Huang, and Wang (2009), studied the effect of ultrasound on the proliferation of human skin fibroblasts at different frequencies. They applied ultrasound for three minutes daily for three days and found an increase in fibroblast proliferation by both 1 and 3 MHz frequencies, with less stimulation when using 0.5 MHz frequency. Chiu et al., also took into account temperature changes and found a change of only one degree Celsius after insonation, thereby implying that the results observed where due to non-thermal effects. This can be explained by the increase in protein synthesis found to occur in fibroblasts after ultrasound treatment. Harvey, Dyson, Pond and Grahame (1975) suggest that therapeutic ultrasound at 3 MHz frequency and at an intensity of 0.5 2.0 Wcm-2, can directly stimulate protein synthesis in fibroblasts, without any other cells acting as mediators. In fact they attributed this to membrane-associated changes. Nevertheless, the increase in fibroblast proliferation may occur as a result of the effects of ultrasound on macrophages, which release fibroblasts mitogenic factors (Young Dyson, 1990a), as previously discussed. Ultrasound not only stimulates fibroblasts to produce more collagen (Ramirez et al. 1997), but the collagen produced also has a higher tensile strength and is better organized and aggregated. Okita et al. (2009) studied joint mobility and collagen fibril arrangement in the endomysium of immobilized rat soleus muscle, and showed that therapeutic ultrasound may prevent changes in joint mobility and collagen fibril movement which occur with immobility. In contrast, when Larsen, Kristensen, Thorlacius-Ussing and Oxlund (2005) studied the influence of pulsed ultrasound at 3 MHz frequency and different intensities, on the mechanical properties of healing tendons in rabbits, they found greater extensibility after insonation with higher intensities, however there was no significant change of the point of rupture when the tendons were loaded, suggesting that pulsed ultrasound did not improve the mechanical properties of the healing tendons. Angiogenesis Therapeutic ultrasound may also affect the rate of angiogenesis. Young and Dyson (1990b) considered the formation of new blood vessels in full-thickness lesions of flank skin in adult rats and found that by day 5 post-injury, ultrasound treated wounds had developed a greater number of blood vessels, and were thus at a more advanced stage in the repair process. However by the seventh day, there was no significant difference between the groups. Therapeutic mechanism On the basis of these conflicting results, two schools of thought were developed. The evidence-based or factual school considers heat as the only effect of ultrasound therapy and thus emphasise the use of high doses and give little value to low intensity and pulsed treatment. This view is found in most American writing about this subject. On the other hand, the other school of thought is largely European, and is more involved in the biological and mechanical effects of pulsed low-intensity treatments (Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, 2006, p. 269). Robertson, Ward, Low, Reed, (2006, p. 269) suggest that clinical studies may be used to investigate which doses produce better outcomes. In vitro studies can provide a dose-response relationship which may provide information about the most effective dose. Nevertheless, effects demonstrated in vitro, such as cavitation and acoustic streaming have not yet been shown to occur in vivo, since it is difficult to produce doses in vivo which are comparable to dose in vitro. They argue that in vitro, ultrasound is applied to only a thin layer of cells, and thus the noted changes do not necessarily occur when applied to a much larger volume of tissue in vivo. Moreover, in vitro the energy is confined to a very small volume and thus the power density will be much higher than in vivo. Therapeutic effects of Ultrasound Ultrasound therapy has been claimed effective in a wide range of clinical conditions, however there are still difficulties in establishing the effectiveness of ultrasound with certainty and in identifying a dose-response relationship, if there is any. Some of the alleged effects of ultrasound include promotion of fracture healing, soft tissue healing, articular cartilage repair, pain relief, increase local blood flow, change the extensibility of scar tissue and for the diagnosis of a stress fracture, and will be discussed below. Fracture healing Ultrasound has been proposed to promote the processes involved in fracture healing and thus increase its rate. Sun et al., (2001) investigated the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on bone cells in vitro, and found a significant increase in osteoblast cell counts and a significant decrease in osteoclast cell count after stimulation, suggesting a positive effect on the bone-healing process. Nolte et al., (2001) also studied the in vitro effects of low intensity ultrasound. The latter used foetal mouse metatarsal rudiments and found an increase in length of the calcified diaphysis, which was significantly greater in the ultrasound treated groups compared to the untreated groups, after 7 days. Therefore they concluded that low-intensity ultrasound directly affects osteoblasts and ossifying cartilage, with consequential more active ossification. Cyclooxygenase-2 regulates the production of Prostaglandin E2 by osteoblasts, both of which are thought to be an essential part of fracture healing (Zhang et al., 2002). Ultrasound stimulation has been found to increase cyclooxygenase-2 expression and to promote bone formation in osteoblast via various signalling pathways (Tang et al., 2006). Together with prostaglandins, nitric oxide is a crucial mediator in early mechanically induced bone formation. Reher et al., (2002), investigated the effect of traditional (1MHz, pulsed 1:4) and a long-wave (45 kHz, continuous) ultrasound on nitric oxide induction and prostaglandin E2 production in vitro, on human mandibular osteoblasts. A control group was set which was treated with sham ultrasound. They found a significant increase in both induced nitrate and prostaglandin E2 production. Long wave ultrasound was found to be more effective than the traditional ultrasound. Other studies suggest that ultrasound may have an effect on the regulation of genes necessary for osteogenesis. Suzuki and his colleagues (2009) studied the typical osteoblastic cell line in the presence or absence of daily low intensity pulsed ultrasound stimulation at 1.5 MHz frequency, and 30 mW/cm2 intensity, for 20 minutes, for 2 weeks. They concluded that stimulation with these parameters directly affected osteogenic cells, leading to mineralized nodule formation, thus low intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy is likely to have an influence on the activities of osteoblasts in alveolar bone. Clinical studies gave controversial conclusions in this area. In a review, Busse et al., (2002) concluded that evidence form randomised controlled trials suggest that low intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy may significantly reduce the time of fracture healing for non-operatively treated fractures. Five years later, Walker, Denegar, and Preische, (2007) confirmed this finding through another review. Moreover, Della Rocca (2009) reviewed studies about the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound treatment in fracture healing and found a large body of animal and cellular research which shows this to be beneficial in simulating faster normal fracture healing. However, from a review to of randomised controlled trials to determine the effectiveness of low intensity pulsed ultrasound in fracture healing, Busse et al., (2009), concluded that the evidence available has a moderate to very low quality and provides conflicting results. Pain relief There are a very small number of studies which investigate the effectiveness of ultrasound in pain relief. Nevertheless, assuming that ultrasound promotes healing and resolves inflammation, pain should consequently decrease. Levent, Ebru, and Gulis (2009), used a randomised controlled trial to study the effect of ultrasound therapy in knee osteoarthritis. They applied ten sessions of five minutes of continuous ultrasound at 1 MHz to the experimental group and sham ultrasound to the control group to act as a placebo. They assessed pain by a visual analogue scale (VAS) and found that the decrease in pain in the experimental group is statistically significantly more than the control group. Thus they concluded that therapeutic ultrasound can be used effectively as a pain relief modality in patient suffering from knee osteoarthritis. An earlier review by Brosseau et al., (2001), did not show ultrasound as clinically important for pain relief in people with patellofemoral pain syndrome. However, they were unable to draw a conclusion regarding its use due to methodological flaws and limitations in the studies included in this review. Soft tissue injuries Wilkin, Merrick, Kirby and Devor (2004) studied the effect of pulsed ultrasound applied once daily for a week, on the healing of skeletal muscle in eighty rats. The results suggest that pulsed ultrasound as administered did not accelerate or improve regeneration of skeletal muscle tissue after contusion. Similarly, Markert, Merrick, Kirby and Devor (2005), using a randomized controlled trial with rats, found no evidence that specific continuous ultrasound and exercises protocols enhance skeletal muscle tissue regeneration following contusion injury. Takakura et al. (2002) investigated the effect of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on the rate of healing of injured medial collateral ligaments of rat knees and found a significant improvement in the mechanical properties on the twelfth day, which however was lost by the twenty-first day. Nevertheless they also observed a larger mean fibril diameter in the ligaments treated with ultrasound, concluding that low intensity pulsed ultrasound enhances the early healing of medial collateral ligament injuries. Ebenbichler et al., (1999) investigated the effect of ultrasound in the treatment of calcific tendinitis. This study suggests better outcomes with ultrasound treatment. Since only patients with calcific tendinitis diagnosed by diagnostic imaging were included in the study, results are more valid than if numerous shoulder pathologies with different cellular process were included. This study was included in the review by Alexander et al., (2010). The latter carried out a review from various electronic databases and identified eight randomised controlled trials out of a total of seven hundred and twenty seven, which met their inclusion criteria. All the studies reviewed focused on shoulder musculoskeletal disorders. They concluded that statistically significant improvements were observed generally in studies which used higher levels of total energy and those who used longer exposure times. They noted favourable outcomes when at least 2,250J per treatment session was applied. This is fur ther suggested by the frequency resonance hypothesis, which suggests that the mechanical energy produced by the ultrasound wave may be absorbed by proteins, altering the structure of individual proteins or changing the function of a multi-molecular complex. Thus it may affect enzymatic proteins, inducing temporary conformational shifts, and thus alter the enzyme activity and cell function. This hypothesis implies that different frequencies will cause unique resonant or shearing forces which will therefore have specific effects at cellular and molecular levels (Johns, 2002). Thus further reviews should address different parameters used in different studies, in attempt to establish effective doses. Blood flow Noble, Lee, and Griffith-Noble (2007) applied ultrasound at 3 MHz frequency and 1 Wcm-2 for 6 minutes to assess its effect upon cutaneous blood flow by laser Doppler flowmetry. They also measured skin temperature. They concluded that cutaneous blood flow increased significantly with ultrasound even though no significant changes in temperature had occurred. Nevertheless, blood flow changes in skeletal muscles have not yet been established. Robinson and Buono (1995), investigated the effect of continuous ultrasound on blood flow using 1.5 Wcm2 intensity for 5 minutes and found no significant change in skeletal muscle blood flow. Wound healing Other authors have studied the healing rates varicose ulcers by ultrasound and found more marked healing of insonated ulcers (Dyson, Franks, Suckling, 1976). However more recent studies suggest that ultrasound does not have an influence on the acceleration of healing or final stage of the wound healing (Dolibog, Franeki, Taradai, Blaszczak, Cierpka, 2008). Different findings may be attributed to the different nature of the injuries studied and the different way by which the effectiveness of ultrasound is assessed. Diagnosis of stress fractures Romani and his colleagues (2001), were some of the few people who investigated the effectiveness of ultrasound therapy in the diagnosis of stress fractures. They used 1 MHz of continuous ultrasound therapy in twenty-six subjects with pain in the tibia since less than 2 weeks. Each subject completes a visual analogue scale after each different intensity was applies to assess the pain response to ultrasound. An MRI was taken to ascertain the diagnosis. However none of those who were found to have a stress fracture by MRI were correctly diagnosed by ultrasound. Following this review of literature, it is suggested that there may be a specific therapeutic window for ultrasound therapy. Conflicting results were obtained, possibly due to the different doses and frequencies used in various studies, indicating the need for further future research to identify the most effective parameters. Fortunately, none of the studies reviewed mentioned any negative effects on patients, making ultrasound a relatively safe modality when precautions are taken, and thus would make an important physiotherapy modality if its use is justified.

Country study comparison Indian vs. Brazilian women :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the United States, equality between a husband and a wife continues to progress, globally, especially in third world countries the oppressed position of women in the household continues to be a prevalent problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In both India and Brazil, women are not equal to their male counter parts within the household. Factors that cause this inequality to manifest and continue can be attributed to, male dominant and patriarchal histories of the countries, employment opportunities, legal issues, especially the rights of women to control reproduction, educational opportunities for girls, marriage customs and vulnerability of women within the family due to fears of violence, domestic abuse and rape.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The colonization of Brazil occurred primarily by men of Portuguese decent. In creating this society, they instilled the values of machismo, which is highly prevalent in most Latin American countries. This concept provides men with both authority and strength while women are placed in a position of sub-ordinance and identified as weak (Aboim, 2004). The tradition of machismo as well as the patriarchy of the Catholic Church places men in dominance (Aboim, 2004). With this â€Å"superiority† comes the sexual double standard. Men are expected to demonstrate their masculinity and virility through premarital and extramarital sexual experiences. Women on the other hand are expected to remain virginal until marriage and to be faithful to their husbands throughout the union (Lewis, 1997). These values are difficult to put into practice at times because of poverty, isolation and unequal ratios of men and women. As a result, illegitimacy and prostitution are common. Although this paradox exists, the traditional view is the most widely accepted (ibid). Women have, despite their oppression, been allowed open access to schools and employment, and in 1933 were granted suffrage on a national level. With this equality they were still not recognized as equal with men in matters of the home. Men were automatically considered the heads of h ousehold and women were legally subordinate to their husbands. Under a Civil Code reform put into place in 1962 women were considered to be in the same legal category as minors (Aboim, 2004). Women of middle and upper classes could not legally represent their family or administer the families’ assets. Nor were they able to work outside of the house without the consent of the male head of household (Alvim, 2000). Before the creation of the new Brazilian Constitution of 1988 which granted men and women equality under the law, the father or husband of a woman had the right to control any employment contract she entered into.

Globalization and Anthropology :: Outsourcing, Offshoring, Free Trade

1. We live in a world where nothing is sacred if selling it can make a buck. Be it â€Å"tourist† indigenous memorabilia or your own â€Å"extra† kidney, you can bet there’s a viable market, and someone’s willing to buy. Given the fantastic stealth of international transactions, globalized markets evoke particularly ominous possibilities for the marginalized in our capitalistic economy. Exposing obscure global issues from â€Å"tourist† art to bio-piracy, Schneider and Scheper-Hughes complicate our understanding of globalization by questioning one’s responsibility to the agency of others in an increasingly interrelated world. According to Schneider, defining â€Å"authenticity† is a battle between indigenous peoples and the tourists who purchase their arts and crafts. As â€Å"tourist† art grows with the realization of international tourism as means of development and economic growth in marginalized communities, foreign assumptions affect the perception of indigenous arts and crafts as â€Å"legitimately† indigenous. Indigenous peoples readily â€Å"transform† functional items into feasible commodities; â€Å"goods such as â€Å"indigenous blouses and shawls† easily become â€Å"alien place mates and pillow cases,† enabling indigenous peoples to survive (Schneider 80). Schneider asks, does this practice rob peoples of their culture, or simply generate a new kind of survival market culture? In seeking â€Å"to recognize and question Eurocentric imaginings of the world,† the discipline of anthropology complicates the right of tourists to judge the commodities of indigenous communities, as it questions the right of a global economy that forces peoples to produce such commodities to survive (Schneider 83). In her more gruesome study of organ theft in impoverished communities, Scheper-Hughes similarly demands that consumers understand the implications of â€Å"neo-cannibalism† on an international scale. Rejecting the idea of impoverished peoples as â€Å"uneducated and gullible informants,† Scheper-Hughes questions the meaning of doctors, organ brokers and prestigious anthropologists denying people voice about body-snatching (35, 39). Her research proves that â€Å"eviscerated bodies† do appear in allies and morgues, and verifies the accounts of poor peoples denied as mere â€Å"inventions† by authorities (36, 38).

Audience Reactions and Attitudes to Much Ado About Nothing Essay

In â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing† Shakespeare captures many of the social standards in Elizabethan society whether they are fair or not. In Act 2 Scene 2 of the play, Don John plots to frame Hero and make it look like she has been unfaithful to her fiancà ©e the night before they are due to marry. This then sparks outrage from the male characters, which in turn shows a male bias in their society. The way Hero’s father takes a mans word over hers shows how strong trust and respect was for men compared to that shown towards women. Even though this play was written in a time when England was ruled by a woman (Queen Elizabeth) society was still dominated by men. Even Queen Elizabeth said she had the stomach of a man, implying that men are tougher than women purely because they are of a different gender. This left women with two roles in society; they were seen as prostitutes to be bought or wives to be owned. On top of this, women were also used as scapegoats for the faults of the world, this idea spawns from the beginning of time and Eve eating the apple and having mankind banished from the garden of Eden. This attitude is similar to the opinion of the Nazis towards the Jews, blaming the Jews for all the bad and evil in the world. At the start of act 4 scene 1, the arranged marriage between Claudio and Hero is about to take place, Claudio, Don Pedro and Don Pedro think that Hero has been unfaithful and is no longer a virgin. However, they have been misled and the other characters are not yet aware of their feelings. As Claudio turns down Hero at the altar and lets everyone know, men’s attitudes towards women become clear. The first person to speak on the subject is Claudio, he turns to Leonato and says â€Å"Give me this maid your Daughter?† He is making a statement because as far as he knows Hero is not a â€Å"Maid† (virgin), he is challenging Leonato because he has been given Hero like a gift but she is not what he expected. This quote is also interesting because is shows us that women are seen as possessions of their fathers. Claudio has to ask for permission from her father to â€Å"give† Hero to him, almost like a present. This would spark a  reaction with a modern day audience as women are now seen as equals and independent in society. However, in Elizabethan times this is what they were used to so they would probably not give it a second thought. Claudio then refers to Hero as â€Å"a rich and precious gift,† this confirms what I have already said that women were seen as possessions to be given to people. Claudio then goes on to say, â€Å"Give not this rotten orange to your friend.† He is using the orange as a metaphor for Hero, a rotten orange can appear fine until you peel it or taste it and see what is inside. He is saying that Hero appeared to be an innocent virgin but now he has seen that maybe that isn’t true. He is saying she is â€Å"spoilt goods.† However, this quote also shows us that Claudio is putting part of the responsibility of Hero’s actions onto Leonato, he is saying that Leonato should not have given a woman who isn’t a virgin to him. Because Leonato gave Hero to Claudio like a gift he is now responsible for any mishaps she may have with Claudio. This really shows how women were thought of as objects, that a woman could be compared to an orange, which is amongst the lowest forms of living things. I think this would have an impact on a modern audience as they would be more sensitive towards sexist treatment of women, and women being treated as objects. Claudio then uses Dian and Venus to show what he thinks of Hero. He says that Hero â€Å"seemed† like Dian, Dian was a true virgin so he is using this imagery to show that he feels Hero deceived his as being a virgin. He then uses Venus the adulteress as the other extreme, saying that Hero is more intemperate than Venus. These two extremes give us a scale on which to picture Hero he has given us the best (Dian) and the worst (Venus), he has then left us thinking that Hero is at the worst end of the scale with Venus. Claudio later says, â€Å"like a maid she blushes there,† he is saying she is deceitful, pretending to be a virgin when she isn’t. I think this would be effective both modern and Elizabethan audiences because of the frustration it makes an audience feel. The â€Å"dramatic irony† would be especially popular with an Elizabethan audience as it was a popular form of humour at the time and common in Shakespeare’s comedies. The audience really feel Hero’s frustration because they know that she is innocent and have to watch on helplessly as Claudio makes a huge mistake because the audience know more than his character does. One of the first real comments on the situation by Leonato is, â€Å"Hath no man’s dagger here a point for me?† This really shows the shame Leonato feels that his own daughter has done such a thing; it also shows how he feels it is all about him. He is not worried about his daughter but by how she has affected him, she has damaged his honour and pride, these things would have been very important in Elizabethan times and not something you can get back as easily as you can lose. This shows the importance in Elizabethan England of the family name and how you can be judged by your name. It also shows the responsibility Leonato has for giving his â€Å"wanton† daughter to Claudio, he wants to kill himself due to the shame and guilt she he has brought upon himself because of his daughter. Leonato next says, â€Å"death is the fairest cover for her shame,† he feels that she has brought such shame upon herself that it would be fair for her to die for it. This woul d have a large impact upon an audience, for them to hear a father saying his daughter should die before he even hears her side of the story or even before he really finds out what has happened. It is especially effective because the audience knows that she is innocent and the fact that she is being told she should die for her crime leads the audience to think that there is no justice. However, an Elizabethan audience may sympathise with Leonato as they would be likely to react in a similar way if it happened to them, as this play is a real reflection of Elizabethan society it would have happened therefore his situation would be very real to them. Leonato then has a long speech in which he seems to no longer love his daughter, where shortly before the wedding he could not have been happier for her. This really shows the strength of opinions on pre-marital sex and adultery in Elizabethan times. Probably one of the most shocking and effective statements made by Leonato in his speech is, â€Å"Myself would on the reward of reproaches strike at thy life.† If it was not shock enough to an audience to hear Leonato say he it was fair for his daughter to die, he is now saying that he is willing to kill her himself. Especially in modern times it is almost unthinkable for a mentally sane father to threaten his daughter with death when he cannot be 100% sure that she is guilty of what is a unthinkable crime. This shows us two things,  firstly it shows yet again how strong views were on adultery, but it also shows us how strong a man’s word was against a woman’s in Elizabethan England. Leonato is threatening to kill his daughter purely on the word of a few men who he does not know that well, he wont believe his daughter who he has raised and known all her life. It is like he has just switched of all his love and trust for his daughter, this shows that he values his respect and honour more than he values her. Friar Francis is interesting in this scene because as a vicar he is maybe expected to speak the side of the church, which we would expect to be very against what Hero has allegedly done. However, Friar Francis plays the middle man in the way that he does not condone what she has supposed to have done. But he sees that she may not be guilty of the accusations so he defends her when almost nobody else will. This may be to represent the church as a voice of reason and as a comfort in times of trouble, the belief that if she has done wrong then God will right it himself. The first thing Friar Francis says during the accusations is â€Å"have comfort lady,† the audience will be relieved that someone is seeing reason and will possibly warm to the character of the Friar. However, they might be slightly shocked to see this comfort coming from a man of the church as it does say in the bible â€Å"thou shalt not commit adultery.† After everyone has said what they think about Hero , Friar Francis interrupts with â€Å"hear me a little.† The effect of this is almost like a hero coming to the rescue, he has seen that Hero is defenceless and he now steps in to reason with everyone and protect her. He refers to her â€Å"maiden truth,† this shows us that he really has faith in her as a person while everyone else takes the word of the princes. By â€Å"maiden truth† he is saying that she is telling the truth when she says she is a virgin, this is interesting from an audience perspective because they would expect these words to come from her father. Friar Francis then makes a plan to save Hero’s dignity. He decides that they should pretend that she died with shock or shame and then Claudio would feel guilty and love her more than when she was alive. They can then reveal that she is still alive and they can happily marry again. At this point it becomes clear why Friar Francis has to be the one to save Hero, it is because he is a trusted man in society and seen as a respectable figure of the church. This puts him in a  position to advise people as Benedick says after the Friar’s speech, â€Å"Signior Leonato, let the Friar advise you.† It works as they all agree with his idea and the Friar has saved Hero from shame making himself almost the true Hero of the play. When you analyse Hero’s self defence and appeal of innocence it becomes less surprising that she was thought to be guilty and that the mans words were taken over hers. Her defence is weak and spoken with little passion or convincing tone, she says very little to her defence except that she is guilty but cannot prove it or offer any alternative solution to how the mistake came about. She says, â€Å"O God defend me,† this shows how helpless she is that she is calling upon God to help her because she cannot help herself. This may make an audience angry because she is so weak, especially in a modern audience where women are seen as stronger and more independent. Women were seen as the weaker gender in Elizabethan society but with Hero’s terrible defence and cry to God for help, she is causing herself to be treated weak because she is acting in that way. I think that audiences would also be amazed at the happy ending to the play when Hero appears to accept the mistakes that were made and forgive for the insults they made without a second thought. This really shows how weak she is and how she is expected to react as a female. An audience would be expecting her to make some kind of speech at the end along the lines of â€Å"I told you so† or something on the way she was appallingly treated by most of the men. However, she says nothing and is happily married to Claudio forgetting about anything that was previously said. I feel this would shock an audience because it gives the message that you can treat women like that and get away with it because they are in no position to argue back. An Elizabethan audience may expect her to be submissive because it is what they are used to, however, a modern audience would be disappointed in the message she is giving. They would be especially disappointed because they have seen Beatrice act strongly and independently against the stereotype placed on women, this makes Hero look even worse because if Beatrice has managed to be strong then there is no reason why Hero cant do the same. I found that what was most shocking in this play was not how the Hero was treated, but how she was representing women and just took all the mislead abuse without any kind of defence or anger. What I found interesting about this play is how it appears to have different appeals for a modern audience and an Elizabethan audience. I felt that a modern audience would be very sympathetic on Hero’s side but also slightly angry at her lack of defence and self respect. They would also feel shocked by the male characters and their treatment of Hero as a woman. However, an Elizabethan audience would sympathise with Hero because she is innocent but they would not be shocked by her lack of defence as that is what they would expect in their society. Similarly, they would sympathise with Leonato and the men where we would be angry, this is because they would be used to a similar reaction in their lives if a woman was thought to have been unfaithful. They would understand the shame Leonato feels in the play. This shows how amazingly Shakespeare can cross not just generation but centuries, his plays are made to entertain a wide range of people with different beliefs and social or religious views. I believe that it is because of this that Shakespeare is seen as one of the greatest playwrights of all time.