Measurement of Free

Measurement of Free-Fall Acceleration Essay Introduction Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), the man first accredited with the correct notion of free-fall with uniform acceleration, stated that if one were to remove entirely the resistance of the medium, all materials would descend with equal speed. Today, this statement holds true for all objects in free-fall near the Earths surface. The purpose of this experiment is to verify Galileos assertion that acceleration is constant. In addition, the magnitude of acceleration will be calculated. Theory By definition, acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with respect to time. Instantaneous acceleration is the derivative of velocity with respect to time. a(t) = dv / dt. Average acceleration is the change in velocity during a time interval, Dt, divided by the length of that interval, aave = Dv / Dt. In this experiment, average acceleration of gravity will be determined by measuring the change in position of a falling object at regularly timed intervals. With this, average velocities for these intervals will be calculated. A graph of the average velocities versus time should give a straight line whose slope is the acceleration of gravity (g). Apparatus To determine the acceleration of gravity the Behr apparatus will be used. The device consists of two vertical conducting wires, a thin strip of paper held  between them, and a metal-girdled weight designed to fall between the wires along the length of the paper strip. A spark timer transmits a high voltage electric pulse to the wires approximately 60 times a second. Every time a pulse is transmitted, two main sparks flow through the system. One spark passes from one wire to the metal girdle around the weight. The second spark causes a small burn in the paper, marking the location of the weight at that instant. Procedure Turn on the electromagnetic power supply and suspend the weight from the end of it. Confirm that the weight falls smoothly into the cup at the base of the apparatus when the electromagnet switch is turned off. Run this test run about three or four times before you continue. Next, draw a fresh strip of paper from the base of the device and clamp it in place. Turn on the electromagnet, and suspend the weight at the end of the magnet. Hold down the spark switch, and then immediately turn off the eleectromagnet power supply. The weight should fall down to the base of the apparatus, causing sparks to pass between the two wires and itself. Turn off the power to the spark timer and inspect the paper strip. A series of burns should be visible along the length of the paper. Remove the paper strip from the apparatus and immediately mark the spots with a pen or pencil to see them more clearly. Data and Results The following table shows the data calculated for the experiment. The spots found on the paper strip are shown as (n). The distance of the metal girdle along the strip is denoted by (x). Velocity is (v) and acceleration is (a). The estimated time (Dt) for this test was 60.2  ± 0.7s-1. Calculations of distance, velocity, and acceleration of metal girdle. n x n (cm) xn+1 x n (cm) xn+1 x n / Dt = v n (cm/s) vn+1 v n (cm/s) vn+1 v n / Dt = a (cm/s2) 1 0.00 2 0.70 0.70  ± .02 42.1  ± 2 3 1.43 0.73  ± .04 43.9  ± 3 1.8  ± 5 108  ± 302 4 2.43 1.00  ± .04 60.2  ± 3 16.3  ± 6 981  ± 373 5 3.72 1.29  ± .04 77.7  ± 3 17.5  ± 6 1054  ± 373 6 5.27 1.55  ± .04 93.3  ± 3 15.6  ± 6 939  ± 372 7 7.07 1.80  ± .04 108.4  ± 4 15.1  ± 7 909  ± 432 8 9.16 2.09  ± .04 125.8  ± 4 17.4  ± 8 1047  ± 494 9 11.5 2.32  ± .04 139.7  ± 4 13.9  ± 8 837  ± 491 10 14.1 2.61  ± .04 157.1  ± 4 17.4  ± 8 1047  ± 494 11 17.0 2.90  ± .04 174.6  ± 4 17.5  ± 8 1054  ± 494 12 20.1 3.15  ± .04 189.6  ± 5 15.0  ± 9 903  ± 552 13 23.6 3.45  ± .04 207.7  ± 5 18.1  ± 10 1090  ± 615 14 27.2 3.65  ± .04 219.7  ± 5 12.0  ± 10 722  ± 610 15 31.2 3.98  ± .04 239.6  ± 5 19.9  ± 10 1198  ± 616 16 35.4 4.20  ± .04 252.8  ± 5 13.2  ± 10 795  ± 611 17 39.9 4.52  ± .04 272.1  ± 6 19.3  ± 11 1162  ± 676 18 44.7 4.72  ± .04 284.1  ± 6 12.0  ± 12 722  ± 731 19 49.7 5.00  ± .04 301.0  ± 6 16.9  ± 12 1017  ± 734 20 55.0 5.33  ± .04 320.9  ± 6 19.9  ± 12 1198  ± 736 21 60.6 5.60  ± .04 337.1  ± 6 16.2  ± 12 975  ± 734 22 66.5 5.87  ± .04 353.4  ± 7 16.3  ± 13 981  ± 794 23 72.5 6.07  ± .04 365.4  ± 7 12.0  ± 14 722  ± 851 24 78.9 6.35  ± .04 382.3  ± 7 16.9  ± 14 1017  ± 855 25 85.8 6.68  ± .04 402.1  ± 7 19.8  ± 14 1192  ± 857 26 92.7 6.93  ± .04 417.2  ± 7 15.1  ± 14 909  ± 853 27 99.9 7.15  ± .04 430.4  ± 7 13.2  ± 14 795  ± 852 28 107.4 7.46  ± .04 449.1  ± 8 18.7  ± 15 1126  ± 916 29 115.0 7.74  ± .04 465.9  ± 8 16.8  ± 16 1011  ± 975 30 123.1 8.01  ± .04 482.2  ± 8 16.3  ± 16 981  ± 975 31 131.1 8.20  ± .04 493.6  ± 8 11.4  ± 16 686  ± 971 32 139.9 8.55  ± .04 515.0  ± 8 21.4  ± 16 1288  ± 978 33 148.7 8.80  ± .04 530.0  ± 9 15.0  ± 18 903  ± 1034 aAVE = 9.47  ± .69 m/s2 s = 9.47  ± .78 m/s2 slope (m) of graph = 8.9 Conclusions The average value of acceleration for each time interval is closer to the desired value of 9.8 m/s2 than the calculated slope of the velocity-time graph. The average of uncertainties for the calculated accelerations is a better as choice of uncertainty because it provides a narrower field of uncertainty than does standard deviation. In conclusion, the calculated value of 9.47  ± .69 m/s2 for acceleration is acceptable.

Singlish As A Language In Singapore

Singlish As A Language In Singapore To begin, we need to establish the difference between English and Singlish. English in this essay refers to standard international English that is used by native speakers of English and bilingual users of English for cross-cultural communication. (McKay 2002:132) It is the language formally used in public administration, law and education in Singapore. On the other hand, Singlish refers to Singapore Colloquial English, which is used by many Singaporeans. It is fused with the terms and intonations with the native mother tongues such as Bahasa Malayu, Chinese, Hokkien, Cantonese and Tamil. Singlish can be spoken both by people who do not have a good grasp of English, as well as those who have a strong command of international standard English. Firstly, Singaporeans understand the need for proper English for economical purposes. In the increasingly globalised and interconnected world, the government realizes the need to be able to communicate fluently with others not from Singapore. Singapore is an economically prominent city and does much of its trade with other countries, America being the second largest consumer of Singaporean exports after China. (Statistics Singapore: Ministry of Trade and industry, 2008) The economic situation of Singapore requires the people to be fluent in English so as to be able to communicate well with foreigners who are doing business with them. As such, the government has put in place measures to ensure that Singaporeans are able to speak English fluently. The first language of the Singaporean education system is English and very recently, in September 2009, the Education Minister Ng Eng Hen mentioned in his ministrys work plan seminar that raising the standard of English of students will be a main goal for schools in the coming years. He indicated that they would realize this by allowing students to speak up more often in class. Another government measure to raise help Singaporeans speak proper English is the initiation of the Speak Good English Movement that started in 2000 and is still in effect. The then deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke at the launch of the Speak Good English Movement 2001, and voicing that there is a need for Singapore to grow into an attractive economic hub for foreign companies and foreign talent. Through out his speech, DPM Lee Hsien Loong constantly draws the link between Singapore being an economic center and the need for Singaporeans to be fluent in English. From these examples, we can see that th e government in Singapore recognizes the need for English and thereby initiates practices in education and public campaigns to increase the use of English in Singapore. I personally feel that greater emphasis on standard English in the Singaporean education system is in the right direction. I had previously tried relief teaching at a neighborhood school for a few months. On many occasions, I had the opportunity to read the English essays of the students and was rather unsettled by the fact that the students could not express themselves clearly in proper English. Many times, it was apparent that they used the sentence structure of mandarin and translated it to their written English. On many occasions, I find that the students are unable to switch between the use of standard English and Singlish, even when speaking. If they continue to use English and Singlish interchangeably, there is no doubt that people from other countries would not be able to understand them. Due to this, I agree that there is a need to raise the standard of English in Singapore. The government is not the only party who is aware of the need for proper English. Many Singaporeans are aware of this as well, especially when it comes to representing Singapore to the global world. This is clearly exemplified in the recent controversy over Miss Singapore World beauty queen, Ris Low. A local news channel, Razor TV, interviewed Low and it was revealed that her standard of spoken English was not up to the standards of many Singaporeans. Viewers were appalled that she was chosen to represent Singapore despite her low standard of spoken English. Soon after, it was made known that she was charged for credit card fraud. Nonetheless, there were many requests by the public who wrote in to the Straits Times forum, as well as other online forums, to oppose her being chosen as Miss Singapore World even before her credit card fraud case was publicized. This shows that Singaporeans understand the need to speak proper English when portraying Singapore to other countries. Together with their call for the usage of proper English in Singapore, government figures have also expressed concern over the use if Singlish in Singapore. In the opening speech at the launch of the Speak Good English Movement 2000 by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, he expressed concern over Singlish, instead of English, becoming Singapores common language. He maintained that if Singaporeans continue to use Singlish, something he referred to as a corrupted form of English not understood by others, we would lose our competitiveness in the economy. He also mentioned, if they (young Singaporeans) speak Singlish when they can speak good English, they are doing a disservice to Singapore. DPM Lee Hsien Loong highlighted a similar concern regarding this issue in his speech the following year. DPM Lee stated that on top of having more people speaking English, it is equally, if not more important to get Singaporeans to speak good, standard English à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ rather than Singlish, a local dialect unique to Singapore. He added that if we want to reinforce our identity as Singaporeans, we should choose something other than Singlish. Through this, we can see that together with their call for proper English, DPM Lee and PM Goh were also calling for a reduced usage of Singlish. Although I agree with the implementations in educational policies and public campaigns for the usage of proper English due to the need for economic competitiveness, I think that Singlish has a role to play in Singaporean Society. Singlish is unique to Singapore as it is a direct result of the interactions between people of different races and native tongues and is part of the national identity because people are connected to the language and to each other when they use it. Language is fundamentally a tool for us to communicate with one another and Singlish enables Singaporeans to do this effectively among ourselves. In fact, Singlish came about precisely to perform this function. Singapore, before and during the colonial times, already had a wide variety of people from different native tongues working here. Due to its situation as a port along the naval Spice Route, there were many emigrants from the region, such as southern Chinese and Indian laborers. Coupled with the indigenous Malay speaking population, this made Singapore a place with diverse language background. English was introduced when the British colonists used English as the medium for administration. Soon after independence in 1965, the government made English that main medium of education in Singapore. (Low, Brown, 2005, 20) Gradually, English came to be localized with terms from the native tongues of the people in Singapore. Malay, Mandarin and its dialects, and Tamil words were incorpor ated into this local version of English. This is especially so for words which seem to have no direct English equivalent, such as kiasu, blanjah or shiok. Singlish also often takes on the syntax of Chinese and Malay. (Wee, 2009, 56-59) It is seen that the Singaporean version of English, or Singlish, has come about as a result of the interactions between the different cultures and languages here and this mix is not observed anywhere else in the world. Wee (2009, 63-66) states that the formation of Singlish was not from a committee who sat down and discussed the structure, grammar and vocabulary of Singlish. Rather, Singlish was a natural result of the people from different native tongues and cultures in Singapore, communicating and interacting with one another. It is precisely because of the fact that Singlish is a cultural product that came about naturally from Singaporeans that makes it relevant to Singaporean society. While English can be used by everyone in Singapore and allow them to communicate with one another effectively, Singlish has an added quality to it. It allows Singlish speakers to feel a sense of connection to and through the language because Singlish is localized and English does not possess this trait. From my personal experience as a student in Singapore, it is apparent that my teachers try to use proper English during lessons where it is in a formal setting. As a student, I would answer and pose questions to my teachers in standard English. However, I would use Singlish when conversing with my friends because it is an informal setting. In fact, sometimes when we hear someone speaking in proper English in an informal setting, my friends would comment that that person was pretentious and that there was no need to use proper English among friends. In another experience, where I went for an inter- secondary school leadership camp, we were put in groups with students from other schools and backgrounds. During the first group discussion session, I had taken to speaking in standard English because I had thought that it would be more appropriate. However, I realized that some of my group mates were not responsive so I decided to switch to Singlish, hoping that they would open up and contribute more. As I had hoped, they immediately started to speak up more during the discussion. In the following group discussion sessions, I realized that when the facilitator posed a question in standard English, my group mates did not seem forthcoming with their thoughts, but once someone contributed to the discussion in Singlish, they would speak up more and subsequent contributions were in Singlish. Perhaps they initially didnt contribute because they had trouble understand that question or topic of discussion. However, I do not think that they had any trouble grasping what was being asked or discussed. Rather, they started to open up because Singlish provided us the opportunity t o establish a bond with each other. Although simple, these examples show us that Singlish connects Singaporeans together through a common colloquial language in which we are comfortable in expressing our thoughts. Singlish is also used in the media in Singapore to give it an authentic sense of being Singaporean. Singaporean sitcoms like Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, My Sassy Neighbor, Police and Thief, Under One Roof and Growing Up are seen as portraying the lives of Singaporeans and the characters in these shows speak in Singlish. Local films like I Not Stupid, Money No Enough and Just Follow Law had actors speaking in Singlish throughout the film. Even their titles are in Singlish. Musicals like Beauty World, Dim Sum Dollies and $ing Dollar incorporate Singlish as well. In fact, Beauty World was originally a play and it is seen as one of the more successful creative literature locally and has been produced into a musical a few times. It is about a girl called Ivy from Malaysia who comes to Singapore to find the true identity of her father. Her boyfriend, Frankie, accompanies her to Singapore as well. As noted by Low and Brown, both Ivy and Frankie speak in standard English throughout the show while the other Singaporean characters speak in Singlish (Low, Brown, 2005, p. 181). This amplifies how the use of English and Singlish by different characters help identify their nationalities in the show. These shows target the local audience and as a result, include the Singlish language to depict an authentic local portrayal. The Singapore tourism Board portrays Singapore as Uniquely Singapore and a common question asked is whether Singapore has anything to call their own. Singlish is definitely something that is uniquely Singaporean. A poll by NUS Students Political Association done on 750 undergrads revealed that Singlish was considered most Singaporean with 75.3% of the votes (Leo, 2005). Similarly, in a recent Political Science forum, the topic of debate was whether Singapore had a national identity. Singlish came up quite often because many forum participants recognized people who speak Singlish as being Singaporean. Whenever I visited Malaysia, my sister and I would even play a game where we would try to distinguish if a person was Malaysian or Singaporean simply by the way they spoke. Despite the fact that Manglish (Malaysian English) and Singlish are somewhat similar, we were still able to find something distinctive and unique in the way that Singaporeans speak. In this sense, Singlish can be said to be part of Singapores national identity because it differentiates us from people of other places and nations. In conclusion, I do agree that there is a need for Singaporeans to be fluent in standard English so as to be competitive in the global world and raising the standard of English is indeed the right course of action by the Singaporean government. However, I do not think that Singlish should be excluded from being used in Singapore. Not only does it transcend people of different racial identities in Singapore, it allows people to feel a sense of connection to the language itself, which English does not offer. Singlish is part of the nation identity because people are connected to the language and to each other when they use it.

From Mind to Supermind: A Statement of Aurobindonian Approach :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

From "Mind" to "Supermind": A Statement of Aurobindonian Approach ABSTRACT: In contrast to Western theories of mind, Aurobindo’s theory is comprehensive and holistic. This theory derives from his ontology. With respect to mind, Aurobindo contends that evolution will not stop with homo sapien. Rather, he posits higher levels of consciousness: Higher Mind, Illumined Mind, Intuitive Mind, Overmind, and Supermind. Higher Mind is an intermediary between the Truth-light above and the human mind. Illumined Mind is Spiritual light. Intuitive Mind possesses swift revelatory vision and luminous insight. Overmind acts as an intermediary between Supermind and Intuitive Mind. Supermind contains the self-determining truths of Divine Consciousness; it is the Real-Idea inherent in all cosmic force and existence. The various concepts and theories of mind prevalent today have had their origin and development in the West. They can be classified as : Psycho-analytical (cf., Sigmund Freud, Karl Jung, A. Adler), Behavioural (cf., Gilbert Ryle), Gestalt (cf., Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler), Physiological (cf., J. J. C. Smart, U. T. Place, Feigl), Psycho-physical (cf., Karl Popper), Evolutionary (cf., Henry Bergson, Samuel Alexander, Whitehead), Functional (cf., R. Rorty, Peter Smith, O. R. Jones), and Mental or Homo Sapiens-oriented (cf., Roger Penrose). The outcome of all such discussions is that "mind" is mysterious and beyond all scientific explanation. According to the main contemporary view, in particular, `there is something essential in human understanding that is not possible to simulate by any computational means’. This indicates that the nature of mind continues to remain a source of acute discomfort to the Western thinkers. Even their new empirical findings regardin g the highly complex mental acitivity is dubious. The object of this paper is to submit that in this context of the West’s indecisiveness and perplexity, Aurobindo’s approach to mind comes as a breath of fresh air. Aurobindo’s theory of mind is as much "inclusive" of the essence of the Western schools of thinkers cited above, as it is "contrastive". The pioneers in this area from William James and McDougall through Freud, Jung and Adler etc, established the paradigm of the "iceberg" with reference to the nature of mind. This can be designated as the "infra-structural" theory of the entity. The views of the "evolutionists" (Darwin, Laplace, Bergson, S. Alexander, Whitehead, for instance,) are "different" but not "enriching". All of them fail to recognise that any infra-structure can, and must have, logically speaking, a "supra-structure" as well, in order to be complete and holistic.

Pride and Dignity in No One Writes to the Colonel, by Gabriel Garcia Ma

In a state of martial law one individual does not have much to say. This statement holds true in the novel, No One Writes to the Colonel, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The author discusses the political climate of one man, the Colonel, who after fighting to create the government in power is being controlled by the bureaucracy. A corrupt government can ruin a man, sap his will, and drive him mindless with hunger; although times are hard the Colonel keeps his dignity and pride.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The government, through the use of martial law, controls the people quite readily. The government maintains itself through "Big-Brother" tactics that include the use of censors, secret police, and ordinances like "TALKING POLITICS FORBIDDEN." The sweeping control that is present under this martial law is evident in the every day life of the Colonel and the people of his town. The first example of the nature of their lives is shown through the funeral. A poor musician has died of natural causes; the first in a long period of time. The government in attempt to avoid a demonstration and possibly a riot, reroutes his funeral procession to avoid the police barracks. Since the musician is a first to have died of natural causes, we can assume that martial law has resulted in the untimely death of many people. Another example is the death of the Colonel's son, Agustin, Whom after his death has become the embodiment of the underground. It is rightly so, being that he was the writer of the "clandestine" papers.   Ã‚  Ã‚   "'Agustin wrote.'   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Colonel observed the deserted street.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   'What does he say?'   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   'The same as always.'   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They gave him the clandestine sheet of paper" (p.32)    Martial law has restricted the free flow of id... ...is moment the Colonel feels "pure, explicit, invincible" (p.64) in replying "shit." (p.64)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This novel takes place somewhere in South America and it is evident that because of the type of government, conditions are difficult during this period for the group of people fighting tyranny. The Colonel has little material wealth after a life of work and service to his country. These monetary circumstances dictate how he and his wife must live day by day; and this hardship is in addition to the medical problems they both endure requiring the service of a doctor.   And yet through it all, the Colonel with steadfast resolve awaits his letter from Congress regarding his pension. This corrupt and unjust government has ruined this man, but has not broken him. His pride enables him to retain his dignity through it all.

Hadyn Middletons Lie of the Land :: Middleton Lie of the Land Essays

Hadyn Middleton's Lie of the Land The mystical premise William Blake uses as the basis for his poetic work is not one based on a transcendent God, but the "Universal Man" who is himself God and who incorporates the cosmos as well. Blake elsewhere describes this founding image as "the human Form Divine" and names him "Albion." After becoming more familiar with the "myth" William Blake uses in his poetry, it is clear that Hadyn Middleton doesn't simply refer to Blake throughout the telling of Lie of the Land, his myths live quite comfortably inside within it. Nennius is not simply inspired by the work of Blake, he becomes Blake's work. Nennius becomes Albion. Blake's attempt to articulate a full myth of humanity's present, past, and future is clearly mirrored in Middleton's beginning, middle and end. What both Blake and Middleton explore is the fall of a man from humanity into a lower "state" of being. The fall, in Blake's myth, is not the fall of humanity away from God but a falling apart of primal people, a "fall into Division." In this event the original sin is what Blake calls "Selfhood," the attempt of an isolated part to be self-sufficient. The breakup of the all-inclusive Universal Man in Eden into exiled parts identifies the Fall with the creation-- the creation not only of man and of nature as we ordinarily know them but also of a sky god who is alien from humanity (20-21, here and throughout, page numbers refer to The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6h ed. v.2). Middleton takes Nennius and plops him smack dab in the middle of Blake's poetic structure, in the middle of what ultimately becomes the lie of the land. When Nennius discovers the "woman's" presence, as a very young boy, he begins his "separation" into a state of selfhood; perhaps without really being conscious of this movement. He gives his life over to the power he thinks the woman possesses. He lives his life believing the "end" will eventually be brought to him from the spirit. Thus, he retreats into a world of his own making. Nennius imposes exile upon himself. The world excludes his wife, his child and all forms of human pleasure as well as human pain. Further into Blake's myth, Universal Man divides first into the "Four Mighty Ones" who are the Zoas, or chief powers and component aspects of humanity, and these in turn divide sexually into male Spectres and female Emanations (21). Hadyn Middleton's Lie of the Land :: Middleton Lie of the Land Essays Hadyn Middleton's Lie of the Land The mystical premise William Blake uses as the basis for his poetic work is not one based on a transcendent God, but the "Universal Man" who is himself God and who incorporates the cosmos as well. Blake elsewhere describes this founding image as "the human Form Divine" and names him "Albion." After becoming more familiar with the "myth" William Blake uses in his poetry, it is clear that Hadyn Middleton doesn't simply refer to Blake throughout the telling of Lie of the Land, his myths live quite comfortably inside within it. Nennius is not simply inspired by the work of Blake, he becomes Blake's work. Nennius becomes Albion. Blake's attempt to articulate a full myth of humanity's present, past, and future is clearly mirrored in Middleton's beginning, middle and end. What both Blake and Middleton explore is the fall of a man from humanity into a lower "state" of being. The fall, in Blake's myth, is not the fall of humanity away from God but a falling apart of primal people, a "fall into Division." In this event the original sin is what Blake calls "Selfhood," the attempt of an isolated part to be self-sufficient. The breakup of the all-inclusive Universal Man in Eden into exiled parts identifies the Fall with the creation-- the creation not only of man and of nature as we ordinarily know them but also of a sky god who is alien from humanity (20-21, here and throughout, page numbers refer to The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6h ed. v.2). Middleton takes Nennius and plops him smack dab in the middle of Blake's poetic structure, in the middle of what ultimately becomes the lie of the land. When Nennius discovers the "woman's" presence, as a very young boy, he begins his "separation" into a state of selfhood; perhaps without really being conscious of this movement. He gives his life over to the power he thinks the woman possesses. He lives his life believing the "end" will eventually be brought to him from the spirit. Thus, he retreats into a world of his own making. Nennius imposes exile upon himself. The world excludes his wife, his child and all forms of human pleasure as well as human pain. Further into Blake's myth, Universal Man divides first into the "Four Mighty Ones" who are the Zoas, or chief powers and component aspects of humanity, and these in turn divide sexually into male Spectres and female Emanations (21).

Psychiatry and control of human behavior Essay

I. In order to create such a resolution and usually to resolve an ethical dilemma nurses use four fundamental ethical principles of nursing care and practice, which are considered by many experts as a cornerstone of ethical guidelines. Autonomy The first one is autonomy. This principle means â€Å"that individuals have a right to self-determination, that is, to make decisions about their lives without interference from others† (Silva, M. Ludwick, R., 1999b, p. 4). It is also possible to define empirically that autonomy consists of two elements: data acquired or proposed as a presupposition and reaching the decision as the action. Beneficence The second is beneficence. This principle is thought to be a basis of day-to-day nursing care and practice. â€Å"The principle of beneficence and utilitarianism direct health care professionals to make an ethical decision to provide the maximum benefit and to minimize harm to the greatest number of people involved† (Silva, M. Ludwick, R., 1999b, p. 4). Beauchamp and Childress (1994, p. 192) state that â€Å"Each of †¦ three forms of beneficence requires taking action by helping – preventing harm, removing harm and promoting good†¦.† (cited by Silva, M. and Ludwick, R., 1999b, p. 4). This ethical principle may cause some ethical questions when a dilemma regarding performing of a mentally ill patient’s wishes appears. Nonmaleficence The third fundamental ethical principle is nonmaleficence or â€Å"do no harm†, which is easily connected with the obligation of a nurse to defend safe keeping of the mentally ill patient. â€Å"Born out of the Hippocratic Oath, this principle dictates that we do not cause injury to our mentally ill patients† (Silva, M. Ludwick, R., 1999b, p. 6). Justice The fourth basic ethical principle is justice. This principle implies â€Å"giving each person or group what he/she or they are due† (Silva, M. Ludwick, R., 1999b, p. 7). This principle applies to parity, integrity or another point that may be fundamental for the justice decision. In nursing care and practice the principle of justice usually centered on rightful admission to nursing care and on rightful allocation of scarce resource. Rightful admission to the care means that nurses are easy of access to provide nursing care and a mentally ill patient as well as any member of a society realizes that nursing care is completely accessible. â€Å"The principle of justice †¦ guides health care professionals to treat every client with fairness and equity regardless the prognosis of illness, social and economic status of clients, the social and financial consequences impose on others† (Wilcockson, M., 1999, p. 21). Though it is necessary to remember what actually has the priority if we will compare it with nurse’s good, a nurse sometimes mixes up with what the nurse considers to be a mentally ill patient’s good. It is questionable what composes â€Å"good† for a mentally ill patient without violating his or her autonomy or allowing the mentally ill patient to suffer bitterly. And can it be ethical to abolish the choice of the mentally ill patients. For example Beauchamp and Childress (1994, pp. 277-278) maintain that paternalism can obtain two forms a weak and a strong one. They assert that weak form paternalism implies is that a nurse defends the mentally ill patient’s good when he or she is incapable to resolve some questions as a consequence of problems like depression or the effect of medicaments. But a strong form of paternalism, they say â€Å"†¦involves interactions intended to benefit a person despite the fact that the person’s risky choices and actions are informed, voluntary, and autonomous† (cited by Silva, M. and Ludwick, R., 1999b, p.5). II. In the proposed case study the old lady didn’t write DNR order, thus, the nurse behaved just adequately. She remembered about her duty to a mentally ill patient to preserve her autonomy but it was no possibility for her and for her mentally ill patient to â€Å"identifying and addressing problems in the decision-making process† as the lady was too depressed. Her quality of life was decreasing ad she couldn’t live independently but it was still questionable were these reasons adequate enough to make end-of-life decision. On this ground it is necessary to investigate the notion of â€Å"quality of life†. This obscure notion implied the situations when decisions concerning the question of withdrawing nursing care are formed and â€Å"†¦based on the likely low levels of self-awareness, reasoning, communication and activity that the mentally ill patient will have and the low probability of improvement† (Thompson, E., Melia, K. M. and Boyd, K. M., 2001, p. 44). Usually it is not up to mentally ill patient to make quality-of-life decisions as they are often reached by doctors or relatives. In other words â€Å"quality of life† should be determined by mentally ill patients themselves being able to evaluate it adequately. The unproved understanding of notion is often used in statements like: â€Å"After all, we shouldn’t waste any more money on this person because their quality of life will be so low, anyway† (Hunt, G., 1994, p. 125) Considering the case study we may that the â€Å"quality of life† of the old lady was not so low as to bring to end-of-life solution. However it was up to the mentally ill patient to decide that problem independently as it was her right to create DNR order but she didn’t do it, besides her depressed state and, thus, low self-determination was among the main reasons for reasonable nurse’s acts. III. If we try to use these four fundamental ethical principles to the case study that was chosen for our investigation beforehand we will be able to evaluate the deeds of nurse from ethical point of view. For example, it is clearly evident that nurse violated the principle of autonomy because autonomy of a mentally ill patient means the opportunity to make decisions about his or her life without interference of others. If taking into account this principle then it was up to a seventy three year old woman to decide either she needs to obtain emergency CPR or not. This principle was thus violated by the nurse, and the reasons for such behavior are not deciding in this matter. She might have ignored this principle basing on the other principles that prevent a nurse from doing harm, meaning to rescue the life of her mentally ill patient because human life is valuable and unique. But while the nurse deprived her mentally ill patient of the possibility to choose life or death, the nurse thus made herself responsible for this decision, which is evidently wrong. At least, the nurse should have noted that the mentally ill patient didn’t want to be rescued. As for beneficence, we may suppose, on the other hand, that it was a demonstration of weak form of paternalism. In such case the nurse protected the good of a seventy three year old lady as she was incapable to resolve end-of-life questions as a result of her depression and decreasing of the quality of her life. Consequently the deeds of the nurse were well-taken and righteous. But the nature of the action is also ambivalent, as the nurse might have been directed by her own notion of good, or the notion that the nurse obtained while studying ethics. The nurse shouldn’t have been define independently if the woman was really unable to make reasonable decisions, the nurse must have at least objectively estimate the problems and conditions of the mentally ill patient that led to such mentally ill patient’s intention.   This thought may also be confirmed and at the same time called in question by the principle of nonmaleficence. The nurse protected the safety of her mentally ill patient, but without mentally ill patient’s wish. It is questionable, would be the note of DNR be regarded as the injury caused to the mentally ill patient. If the life and conditions of this old woman were so poor, they made her suffer; the nurse must have taken it into account while deciding what would be more or less painful for her mentally ill patient. This may be regarded as the intention to take off responsibility from the nurse. Observing the last principle of ethics, justice, it is necessary to note that this principle was violated by the nurse. Her mentally ill patient was at least due to be heard. Her wishes and demands should have been taken into consideration, moreover, the mentally ill patient did not ask to help her die, and she just wanted to prevent her from suffering in future. Thus taking into consideration these four main principles, the case seems to be contradictory. It seems that the nurse acted basing upon her own notion of what is good, safe and just for her mentally ill patient, without taking into account the demands, wishes, living conditions and problems of her mentally ill patient. Of course, definite peculiarities of these principles allow justifying the actions of the nurse, if we look at the situation form the point of view of value of human life. One more issue that should be examined is the absence of mentally ill patient’s order for DNR. This may also be a reason to justify the actions of the nurse. But as soon as the demands was heard by the nurse, the nurse should have defined this problems with the mentally ill patient and helped the woman write a necessary order, if it was her wish. Nurses often can’t decide what their actual point of view about some ethical dilemmas is and how far those perceptions go. Anyway nurses should have to do with their own system of moral values but at the same time to determine whether it â€Å"fits into the big picture† (Stacey, J., 1998, p.8). It is necessary for a nurse to take a turn for the better foreshortening of problems and challenges in the area of care by forming at any rate a â€Å"bifocal view† of the problems (Stacey, J., 1998, p.7) Of course, not all ethical dilemmas concern death. â€Å"Nurses deal with ethics on every eight-hour shift. †¦for example, the Nursing Code of Ethics says to hold all things confidential, but sometimes there is information others need to know,† explains Freeman (cited by Stacey, J., 1998, p.4). However nurses often can appear in the situation of resolving of a complex moral dilemma that regards an appeal for assisted death. This problem is one of the most complicated issues in nursing practice. This question is also a key one in the case study that we have in some way already investigated earlier. Given the poor quality of life that seventy-three years old woman would probable suffer she demanded not to perform any heroic measures in the event of cardiac arrest. So she does not want to live anymore. But when the nurse sees the mentally ill patient next she is being resuscitated as there was no Do Not Resuscitate order (DNR) in her notes. Reference List Hunt, G. (1994) Ethical issues in nursing. Routledge. Silva, M. and Ludwick, R (1999a). Ethical Thoughtfulness and Nursing Competency. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 10 December, 1999. Available from http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/ethicol/ethics_2.htm [Accessed 17 February 2006] Silva, M. and Ludwick, R. (1999b). Interstate Nursing Practice and Regulation: Ethical Issues for the 21st Century. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 2 July, 1999. Available from http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/ethicol/ethics_1.htm [Accessed 14 February 2006] Silva, M. and Ludwick, R. (2002). Ethical Grounding for Entry into Practice: Respect, Collaboration, and Accountability. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 30 August, 2002. Available from http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/ethicol/ethics_9.htm [Accessed 14 February 2006] Silva, M. Ludwick, R., (2003) Ethical Challenges in the Care of Elderly Person. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19 December, 2003. Available from http://nursingworld.org/ojin/ethicol/ethics_14.htm   [Accessed 15 February 2006] Stacey J. (1998) A Question of Ethics. Emory Nursing University[online]. Available from http://www.whsc.emory.edu/_pubs/en/ [Accessed 17 February 2006] Thompson, E., Melia, K. M. and Boyd, K. M. (2001) Nursing Ethics. 4th ed. [n.p.] Wilcockson, M. (1999) Issues of life and death. [n.p.]

Final Reflection

The most important lesson I feel I have learned from this course was in Week 1, when we discussed the value of keeping an open mind and viewing all aspects of a problem or situation from multiple perspectives versus limiting myself to my own perspective. Being able to apply what I have learned about creating strong arguments will make me more confident in writing research and persuasive papers for college.It will also undoubtedly assist me in any future career. I will be more able to confidently defend or argue my points of views and opinions in an unbiased way. This will, in turn, make me an overall better communicator. From the beginning of this course I have applied what I learned to the way I approached life in general and it has allowed me to better understand other people.Since Week 1, I have tried to implement what I learned from the â€Å"This Is Water† video ND I am happy to say it has already started to change my life for the better. Although I have always known it w as best to view life In this way, PHI 103 has pushed me to be more aware of my thought processes. There Is a huge different between knowing or understanding something and putting it to practice. My goals are to keep increasing my awareness of other perspectives and to continue being objective upon approaching any argument.