Critical Thinking Essay

Today is the era of information culture and most facts come from critical thinking. More and more people are faced regularly with information they have to make proper decisions about. Critical thinking is the vital component of decision-making process and business world. Critical thinking is defined as the process of determining the accuracy, authenticity and worth of data and information, arguments, knowledge and claims. Critical thinking is generating, analyzing and examining ideas, learning to be cautious and sympathetic, learning to manipulate. The key point of critical thinking is to find and marshal good arguments and information, to avoid distortion and manipulation, to define truth and fallacies before product advertising. Actually, it helps expert to develop new approaches, to attract new customers and to retain the power on the old ones. Decision-making should be critical in its thinking and deliver properly selected and analyzed promotional plans, find technical solutions to existing problems, design new production lines, etc. (Feldman 2002) The purpose of critical thinking is rather three-fold: it has to be relevant to the segment of target market; it has to be memorable and recognizable beyond the moment of its exposure; it has to attract attention of indented viewer. In decision-making process critical thinking is a generative and lateral force, because it allows: to examine all ideas and arguments, to separate the ideas from their vehicles, to define false from true, and to separate accurate from distorted, incomplete from complete, etc. (Harris 1998) Example from Personal Experience I really appreciate the role of critical thinking in decision-making process. Sometimes, decision may seem less effective, though in perspective it will appear a winning one. Such situation happened to me. Once I had been working at confectionery. The idea was to put cake mixes on the market and manufacturers decided to put the highest quality into mixes. Women were required simply to add water, but, unfortunately, mixes fail to be sold good. I had to refer to my critical thinking to realize the women might feel guilty for not being good wives as they had to take shortcut to make a cake. I thought it would be better to take off milk and eggs as it would allow women to do something. Despite the fact that solution appeared to less efficient in theoretical terms, it was more practical. It was the first time I admitted the importance of critical thinking in decision-making. (Harris 1998) Benefits and Importance of Critical Thinking Critical thinking gives business experts and employees an opportunity to develop new fresh solutions to problems. Critical thinking gives the possibility to enjoy analyzing data and information and then to develop opinions and conclusions. In many cases employees analyze what is wrong with the idea or on-going process and then try to point out how to make this process right. Critical thinking in decision-making is used when it is necessary: to increase brand loyalty, to increase visibility and awareness of the goods and services that are being delivered, to stimulate increase in sales, to create opportunities to display products, to be socially responsible, and to entertain customers and prospects. (Harris 1998) Critical thinking is used when it is required to develop the habit of analyzing and to think about problematic issues instead of reacting to them. Thus, critical thinking sets them apart and then sees what is going on with them. One more benefit of critical thinking is developing attention. Critical thinking is necessary when paying attention to the opportunities opened ahead. It is a matter of fact that many original ideas are lost because of lack of attention and lazy attitude towards information. Critical thinking helps employees to find the best words and phrases to create a strong impression and impact on customers. Further, critical thinking develops awareness in decision-making process. It means that employees are able to look a round and to encompass the universe of thought. Employees possessing developed critical thinking won’t be fixed within the narrow confines of own perspective. They will be aware of different approaches available to problem solving. Critical thinking together with strong imagination is the best combination for a strong leader, because they allow him/her to play with data and to sort it in many different ways. Simply saying, critical thinking is optimistic curiosity, because really critically thinking employees want to know things. (Feldman 2002) Critical leaders are able to view opposing arguments with interest and sympathy. They prefer to listen thoughtfully and patiently to other workers and consider them carefully. Therefore, critical thinking provides them with knowledge what is going on in information society and with possible ways of verbal and non-verbal manipulations. They will create different meanings and impressions. It is a matter of fact that critical thinking gives the opportunity to form independent judgments that are based good evidence. Critically thinking people are able to not only to collect necessary data, but also to put them together into something new and meaningful. (Feldman 2002) Critical thinking is necessary for decision-making process, because it gives excellent possibilities to expand their own boundaries of thoughts and to broaden their ideas and perspectives in many ways by talking to people whose point of view is completely different, by listening to customers with respect to their needs and desires, by reading books and articles with deeper understanding of changes in society, by understanding different lifestyle and different cultures. (Harris 1998) Critical thinking is useful for driving growth in corporate and social marketing strategies, for building and maintaining markets and to make positive social contribution. What is more important is that critical thinking is the showcase of social responsibility. Employees with critical thinking can find ways how to increase influence and impact on customers’ behavior and how to contribute ethical reputation of the company or organization. (Feldman 2002) References Feldman, Daniel. (2002). Critical Thinking: Strategies for Decision Making. Boston, MA: Thomson Place. Harris, Robert. (1998, July 1). Introduction to Critical Thinking. Retrieved January 30, 2007, from http://www. virtualsalt. com/crebook1. htm

Discipline and Management Comparison

Runninghead: DISCIPLINE AND MANAGEMENT: DIFFERENT YET RELATED COMPARISON Discipline and Management: Different Yet Related Comparison Essay Corwin K. Richardson Grand Canyon University Discipline and Management: Different Yet Related Comparison Essay Thinking on classroom management and the ability to effectively teach and guide students of several different backgrounds tends to be a daunting thought. One that has pressed the hearts and minds of teachers and administrators for many days past and which will probably continue to press for many days to come.Being confident that you are aware; management alone is a skill that requires several years of practice to become proficient at, not to mention the management of students and their personalities. This essay will deal with the comparisons of discipline and management as it relates to the comparison of behavior versus misbehavior. Each term will be defined in personal understanding and then expounded upon with citations from noted autho rities in each subject matter. There similarities and differences will be presented in addition to there apparent relationship with each other.Discipline is something that is the result of an unwanted act. It can be seen as a corrective action that is taken to discourage a behavior that needs to be discontinued. Ex. Mr. Brown quickly removed the unruly student from the classroom. In this example, Mr. Brown chose to remove the disruptive student from the classroom as a method of discipline. However, discipline may be seen as a measure of self-control that someone applies to themselves. This is in any case, a measure of correction.According to Charles, discipline is defined as a teacher’s efforts to maintain classroom decorum and secure students’ cooperation in learning and exercising self-control (p. 45, 2008). This understanding opens up the window of possibilities as to what measure is taken by means of discipline that is deemed necessary to keep the classroom flowing with full cooperation in learning. Regarding self-control; this is a willful act on the student’s part based upon their understanding of order and how it affects their life, even in the classroom.The responsibility of teaching students the need for order can be argued to be the parents; but somehow it ends up being the teachers’. Management is the order in which someone takes things and place them in a systematic way that they can manage them better. Ex. Ms. Wendy moved all of the noisy students’ seats in a way that brought quiet and focus to the class. In this example Ms. Wendy’s management system was to arrange the classroom in such a way that all the class could benefit from the lesson.A collaborative definition of management as expressed by Canter is an environment created by a teacher who motivates and believes in the students; one who effectively plans to manage student behavior in all classroom activities and instructional strategies; a teacher wh o has the trust of all the students (pp. 6-7, 2006). Behavior is simply the way someone conducts themself. Ex. Bobby obeys every word his father says. In the example, Bobby’s behavior was obedient. This is clearly a defining point in behavior that illustrates how someone acts in an environment or situation.Some authorities such as Canter believe that behavior is greatly influenced by a teacher’s ability to establish a classroom that promotes academic success for all students from the very first day of school (p. 31, 2006). Misbehavior is when someone conducts themselves in a way that is unacceptable. Ex. Janie has random outbursts in class and doesn’t respect her teachers. This shows that Janie is misbehaving by not respecting her teachers and by her outbursts. Canter also suggests that students don’t like or respect teachers who let them get away with misbehavior (p. 6, 2006). This would indicate that the disrespect that some students show their teachers is a direct result of the teacher’s inability to convey their authority and order in the classroom with their students. In other words, the students may feel as though the teachers are â€Å"push-over’s†. In conclusion, discipline is a product of management which is directly related to the effectiveness by which management is executed, which determines the level of discipline needed to maintain it.On the other wise, behavior is the product of discipline and is directly influenced towards acceptable or unacceptable conduct by the effectiveness of the management plan. If the management system is proficient then a good disciplinary plan will be in place and if so, then behavior will be appropriate and almost all misbehavior will be eliminated. References Charles, C. M. (2008). Building classroom discipline (10th ed. ). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Canter, L. (2006). Lee Canter’s classroom management for academic success. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

Business Management

Business Management Essay Task: Choose a company and identify all motivational (employee-centered) programs that the company has in place. Then ascertain the significance and objectives of these programs. Next provide a critique of these programs. Finally, recommend changes that will improve on the programs and/or new programs that will better meet the objectives articulated above. Overview: The company that I have chosen as the subject of my research is the AAA Travel Agency. More specifically, I have interviewed several travel agents from the Reno, Pennsylvania location, which serves patrons from Western Pennsylvania as well as West Virginia. The bulk of the information for my analysis has come directly from the in-office interviews with Ms. Tiffany Pacior, the senior travel agent for the Reno office. She has provided me with information directly out of the AAA employee handbook as well as personal information covering the positive and negative effects she has experienced from the programs I will be discussing. There can be little doubt that the backbone of every successful business or company is its staff of employees. Employees are the vital parts of the business machine that can aid in its success or contribute to its failure. It is for this reason that it is imperative to possess the ability to acquire and maintain effective employees. The chief method by which a business or company can accomplish this task is through employee-centered motivational programs. The goal of these programs is to encourage employees to maximize their performance by targeting three specific motivational stimuli. These include morale, satisfaction, and rewards. After researching their policies and interviewing employees, I have came to the conclusion that AAA of Reno, Pennsylvania has adopted Fredrick Taylors approach to motivating their employees. In this paper I will demonstrate how AAA applies Taylors scientific management approach to target the three motivational stimuli stated above. I will also provide some insight from the employees perspective as to how effective the programs are at what they are designed to achieve. The scientific management approach to motivation evolved from the work of Frederick Taylor. He believed that when highly productive people discover they are being compensated basically the same as less productive people, then the output of highly productive people will decrease. Consequently, the scientific management approach to motivation is based on the assumption that money is the primary motivator. This seems to be the ideology that AAA has adopted to produce high morale, achieve satisfaction, and reward their employees. Morale, as it applies here, may be defined as the overall feeling of the members of an organization. Generally speaking, a company with a high morale among its employees enjoys above average performance and a lower than average employee termination rate. AAA has several programs in practice, which support the scientific management approach to motivation to produce high morale. First, it is not uncommon for a travel agent to work beyond the scheduled forty-hour workday to complete the tasks of a heavy business day. It was for this reason that the company offers overtime compensation for the dedication of their employees. The company pays one and a half times their regular hourly rate of pay when an agent works more than their scheduled hours per week. Also, for those individual days when an agent works more than ten hours per day, they are entitled to overtime dinner pay. The employees stressed that this is a worthwhile program because it allows overtime workers to order dinner from local delivery shops. The objective here is simple, no one likes to work on an empty stomach and so why not use a little give and take to make the employees feel like they are not being taken advantage of. It has proven to be effective from the opinions of the employees I interviewed. The final program I was made aware of designed to bolster company morale is the paid time off program. This allows employees to take time off from their work for various reasons and to be regularly paid as if they were working for that period of time. Acceptable reasons for this privilege cover a wide spectrum including personal vacation, minor illness, funeral leave, jury duty, holidays, military leave, and marriage. READ: Business Law and Ethics : Physicians and Professio Essay Ms. Pacior explained that although these programs .

The Future of Retail Sector in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Future of Retail Sector in UK - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that retailing includes all the activities involved in selling products or services directly to the final consumers for their personal, non-business use. Many institutions are the retailer but in recent years non-store retailing has been growing faster than the store retailing. That means non-store retailing includes selling to final consumers through direct mail, catalogs, telephone, internet, TV home shopping shows, home & office parties, door-to-door contact, vending machines & other direct selling approaches. Retailing is one of the major economic sectors of UK as retail sales of about 22l billion, about 3 million people are employed here and about 300,000 shops are on an operation. At both the business and the store level the scale of polarization is noticed. There are huge retailers & the existence of multinational businesses those are dominating the sector in the country. Retail stores come in all shapes & sizes, & new retail types kee p emerging. Thus they can be classified in terms of the amount of offered service, the breadth & depth of the product lines, the relative prices that are charged, & the organization module. Retailers operate in a harsh & fast changing environment which offers threats as well as opportunities, to become successful, retailers will have to choose target segments carefully & position themselves strongly. In this view, the airlines business of UK is one of the best examples of the retail sector. It is more competitive today than ever before, it serves consumers more choice as well as cheaper fares than before. There is no surprise that the number of passengers of UK airports is continuously increasing, from 70 million in 2000, 86 million have been flown in 2004. Retailers are always searching for new market strategies to attract & hold customers. Service differentiation has also eroded. Retailers first decide their target markets & then decide how they will position themselves in this ma rket. The product assortment should differentiate the retailer while matching target shoppers expectation. Then the price policy must fit its target market & positioning, service assortment & competition. After, to use one or all-promotional tools - advertising, selling, sales promotion, & direct marketing are required to reach to the customers. Place decision points to three critical factors in retailing success: location, location & location. The environmental analysis should be a continuous flow of planning aspect.

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES - Essay Example In addition to its aesthetic beauty of multicoloured carbonate roofs and floors dark-coloured lava walls, fortress-like Seongsan Ilchulbong tuff cone, rising out of the ocean and a dramatic landscape, is Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes contains an unequalled quality of Geomunoreum lava tube system. In addition the magnificent exhibition of diverse and accessible volcanic features is an excellent tourism attraction as it provides exhilarating beauty as well as understanding of global volcanism. Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes is declared to be a Unesco World Heritage site in June 27, 2007and is therefore protected by the convention on world heritage. Being such, the Tourism Organization controls it under cultural heritage administration. The issues that confront Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tube are management and administration issues of avoiding the potential impact of agriculture on the underground environment of the Lava Tube. Another concern is also to limit the number of visitors to the property to avoid its degradation. The property might also be extended to include other significant lava tube systems and volcanic features of Jeju that may be discovered in the future. I will visit this site. I am intrigue how could a volcano has a beautiful landscape with matching waterfalls. It may be a nice place to relax because it is nature at its finest. Perhaps it will also be a good place to understand volcanoes as it will show the most intricate lava system in the

Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Employment Law - Essay Example The long run effect of the law is emergence of an active and vibrant economy. However, implementation of the Act has faced various challenges. For instance, there are many ways of defining comparable worth that creates confusion.Despite enactment of the law, statistics shows that the labour market is still gender biased when valuing work. Females are still underpaid compared to male workers. The Family Medical Leave and the Pregnancy Discrimination Acts provide protection for family related situations. What are the four most critical elements an employer needs to know about the Family Medical Leave Act. Identify examples of pregnancy discrimination. Indicate whether there is any justifiable reason to deny a pregnant woman a job and explain why or why not. The employer should give a twelve week unpaid leave to employees that have served the organization for more than twelve months. The employer must continue providing group health plan benefits despite the worker’s absence from work. Under the Act, employers are required to publish a notice informing employees of their rights to leave (Meyers, 2005). Employees are supposed to notify their bosses of the intended leave thirty days prior to the leave. An employee that calls in sick is entitled to leave. An example of pregnancy discrimination is where an employer takes punitive measures on a pregnant employee who fails to fulfill her obligations due to medical complications related to her pregnancy. Additionally, failing to hire or promote a woman due to her pregnancy is pregnancy discrimination. Sometimes a pregnant woman can be denied a job, and this might not constitute to pregnancy discrimination. If the job to be undertaken is risky and poses a threat to a woman’s pregnancy then denying her the job is not discriminatory. However, such denial of job can be discriminatory if it is evident that the work is not reasonably risky to her

Fast Food in US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fast Food in US - Essay Example They are modeled after success, and as long as you go away with food in hand, they really could care less about the effects it has on you, or your life down the long road. This is what Eric Schlosser took a deep look into in the book Fast Food Nation. Using witty examples and biting realism, Schlosser was able to tear apart the wrapper surrounding the Big Mac that is the fast food industry. Showing the whole what they really were eating, Schlosser offered a unique journalistic look into the making, formation, and distribution of the one of the most beloved things in America: Food. The companies probably weren't expecting this to happen. They were safe under the wrappers they had made, and didn't want people to know how unhealthy the food is, and how it really is all part of a consumer fraud in a way, where the supplier is supplying the consumer with something that is unhealthy while making no attempts to change this. One of the main reasons the companies do as good as they do is their products. In today's fast paced society, everybody is busy, hustling around, always moving. We live in a very fast paced society, and time is money. And everybody needs to eat, but not everybody can find the time to sit down at an expensive meal. Money is also an issue here. Some people can't afford to eat out all the time. The state of families is not what is was years ago, and in effect, is causing more people to eat out compared to what they used to. So here comes fast food to save the day. Offering a quick and easy solution to each of these problems, fast food is quick, easy, cheap and simple. It offers a quick hamburger to a busy businessman, or to a family who only has a spare few minutes in which time they need to eat dinner. Fast food offers all of these solutions, and with new to go orders and serving sizes, the convenience only continues to grow. As popularity grows, so does the message, you can come here and get a quick food in the middle of your fast passed life. No busy lines, no busy sit down restaurants, just a cheap easy and quick meal. Than it itself offers a lot to customers and really widens the fan base of such fast food joints. Convenience and price are two factors of the product, but only a small part of the large picture of the product. Mass producing the product is important, and I am not just talking about mass producing the product actually, but in the people's minds. Images of good looking fast food sandwiches are thrown every, on build boards, on commercials on tv, on magazine ads, everywhere you look is the image of a good tasting burger. This is very in your face advertising, but when a person needs something quick, they remember that add and that image and go back to that fast food place to eat. The image of the product that is displayed is just as important as the actual product, and the fast food companies make sure to display a good quality image, and to display it all over the place, well engrained into people's memories. All of these are strong factors to the product of fast food, but one of the next items is how the food is actually presented. Although most fast food is not different from one another, they would have you believe that it is way better than the other guys, and the competition between the chains keeps more and more original

From a social psychological perspective, what is stereotyping and how Essay

From a social psychological perspective, what is stereotyping and how does it operate - Essay Example According to the second premise of the continuum model proposed by the authors, â€Å"ease of information fit between category and attribute determines the processes people use,† i.e. categorization or individuation (p.237). Attribute-oriented process is launched in case the target does not fit into the perceiver’s category and confirmation categorization shows itself as unsuccessful. Further individuation is done through re-categorization of the target. Re-categorization occurs through subcategorizing, usage of exemplars or creation of new categories. If the target continues being incompatible with the perceiver’s categories, piecemeal, attribute-by-attribute analysis occurs. However, this is done only in case the perceiver has sufficient time, attentional resources and motivation. The initial categorization process is an automatic perceptual process, while the rest of processes – confirmation categorization, re-categorization and piecemeal integration â €“ are thoughtful, reflective ones. Our experience is coded in our nervous system. This makes us act and react automatically, repeating once learnt reactions again and again. The category filter of individual’s perceptions makes us perceive only selected information. We see what we are focused on, registering positive comments on those we like, negative comments on those we dislike and ignoring the rest. Further, we organize and interpret information following the usual scheme. This automatic perception leads to a number of perceptual errors. Self-fulfilling prophecy (â€Å"behaviour confirmation effect†) and halo-effect (â€Å"cognitive confirmation effect†) are the two widely spread perceptual errors. Self-fulfilling prophecy is about acting according to our beliefs as if they are true. The cognitive confirmation effect takes place when we interact with a person at a distance. Then our

Slave resistance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Slave resistance - Essay Example the behaviors exhibited by individuals are observable and does not necessarily require the observation of their mental states in order to explain their behaviors in the environments that they live in (New & Cochran, 2007). However, Watson indicated that observable behaviors are the only ones that can be included in the observation rather than those that include subjective emotions. Drawing on this, this essay will delve into the concept of behaviorism with a focus on learning behavior based on the research findings of Pavlov’s dogs and Skinner’s rats. Essentially, behaviorists deem that people can receive training in order for them to execute various tasks irrespective of their genetic composition or their personalities as long as the conditioning is the right one. In this regard, the two types of conditioning are classical and operant conditioning in which most of the adherents of behaviorism abide by. In essence, operant conditioning is a learning method that involves the inclusion of rewards or punishments depending on the behavior exhibited. On the other hand, classical conditioning is another form of behavioral training method whereby there is a natural response in terms of behavior to the stimulating factor applied (New & Cochran, 2007). The terms used to define the two factors applied in this form of conditioning are conditioned stimulus and response. Based on this school of thought, Russian Psychologist Pavlov applied the conditioned response drawing from the behavior that his dogs portrayed when it came to them salivatin g whether or not their master brought food during his entry into the room that they were in. Through research, Pavlov discovered the salivating behavioral trait that dogs tend to have is not a trainable behavior, meaning that the response is unconditioned indicating food is not the only stimulant that provokes this response. In the course of Pavlov’s research, this psychologist unearthed that dogs salivated or exhibited the same

Philosophy of Education Essay Example for Free

Philosophy of Education Essay The word education is used sometimes to signify the activity, process, or enterprise of educating or being educated and sometimes to signify the discipline or field of study taught in schools of education that concerns itself with this activity, process, or enterprise. As an activity or process, education may be formal or informal, private or public, individual or social, but it always consists in cultivating dispositions (abilities, skills, knowledges, beliefs, attitudes, values, and character traits) by certain methods. As a discipline, education studies or reflects on the activity or enterprise by asking questions about its aims, methods, effects, forms, history, costs, value, and relations to society. Definition The philosophy of education may be either the philosophy of the process of education or the philosophy of the discipline of education. That is, it may be part of the discipline in the sense of being concerned with the aims, forms, methods, or results of the process of educating or being educated; or it may be metadisciplinary in the sense of being concerned with the concepts, aims, and methods of the discipline. However, even in the latter case it may be thought of as part of the discipline, just as metaphilosophy is thought of as a part of philosophy, although the philosophy of science is not regarded as a part of science. Historically, philosophies of education have usually taken the first form, but under the influence of analytical philosophy, they have sometimes taken the second. In the first form, philosophy of education was traditionally developed by philosophers–for example, Aristotle, Augustine, and John Locke–as part of their philosophical systems, in the context of their ethical theories. However, in the twentieth century philosophy of education tended to be developed in schools of education in the context of what is called foundations of education, thus linking it with other parts of the discipline of education–educational history, psychology, and sociology–rather than with other parts of philosophy. It was also developed by writers such as Paul Goodman and Robert M. Hutchins who were neither professional philosophers nor members of schools of education. Types As there are many kinds of philosophy, many philosophies, and many ways of philosophizing, so there are many kinds of educational philosophy and ways of doing it. In a sense there is no such thing as the philosophy of education; there are only philosophies of education that can be classified in many different ways. Philosophy of education as such does not describe, compare, or explain any enterprises to systems of education, past or present; except insofar as it is concerned with the tracing of its own history, it leaves such inquiries to the history and sociology of education. Analytical philosophy of education is meta to the discipline of education–to all the inquiries and thinking about education–in the sense that it does not seek to propound substantive propositions, either factual or normative, about education. It conceives of its task as that of analysis: the definition or elucidation of educational concepts like teaching, indoctrination, ability, and trait, including the concept of education itself; the clarification and criticism of educational slogans like Teach children, not subjects; The exploration of models used in thinking about education (e.g. , growth); and the analysis and evaluation of arguments and methods used in reaching conclusions about education, whether by teachers, administrators, philosophers, scientists, or laymen. To accomplish this task, analytical philosophy uses the tools of logic and linguistics as well as techniques of analysis that vary from philosopher to philosopher. Its results may be valued for their own sake, but they may also be helpful to those who seek more substantive empirical of normative conclusions about education and who try to be careful about how they reach them. This entry is itself an exercise in analytical philosophy of education. Normative philosophies or theories of education may make use of the results of such analytical work and of factual inquiries about human beings and the psychology of learning, but in any case they propound views about what education should be, what dispositions it should cultivate, why it ought to cultivate them, how and in whom it should do so, and what forms it should take. Some such normative theory of education is implied in every instance of educational endeavor, for whatever education is purposely engaged in, it explicitly or implicitly assumed that certain dispositions are desirable and that certain methods are to be used in acquiring or fostering them, and any view on such matters is a normative theory of philosophy of education. But not all such theories may be regarded as properly philosophical. They may, in fact, be of several sorts. Some simply seek to foster the dispositions regarded as desirable by a society using methods laid down by its culture. Here both the ends and the means of education are defined by the cultural tradition. Others also look to the prevailing culture for the dispositions to be fostered but appeal as well to experience, possibly even to science, for the methods to be used. In a more pluralistic society, an educational theory of a sort may arise as a compromise between conflicting views about the aids, if not the methods, of education, especially in the case of public schools. Then, individuals or groups within the society may have conflicting full-fledged philosophies of education, but the public philosophy of education is a working accommodation between them. More comprehensive theories of education rest their views about the aims and methods of education neither on the prevailing culture nor on compromise but on basic factual premises about humans and their world and on basic normative premises about what is good or right for individuals to seek or do. Proponents of such theories may reach their premises either by reason (including science) and philosophy or by faith and divine authority. Both types of theories are called philosophies of education, but only those based on reason and philosophy are properly philosophical in character; the others might better be called theologies of education. Even those that are purely philosophical may vary in complexity and sophistication. In such a full-fledged philosophical normative theory of education, besides analysis of the sorts described, there will normally be propositions of the following kinds: 1.Basic normative premises about what is good or right; 2. Basic factual premises about humanity and the world; 3. Conclusions, based on these two kinds of premises, about the dispositions education should foster; 4. Further factual premises about such things as the psychology of learning and methods of teaching; and 5. Further conclusions about such things as the methods that education should use. For example, Aristotle argued that the Good equals happiness equals excellent activity; that for a individual there are two kinds of excellent activity, one intellectual (e.g. , doing geometry) and one moral (e. g. , doing just actions); that therefore everyone who is capable of these types of excellent activity should acquire a knowledge of geometry and a disposition to be just; that a knowledge of geometry can be acquired by instruction and a disposition to be just by practice, by doing just actions; and that the young should be given instruction in geometry and practice in doing just actions. In general, the more properly philosophical part of such a full normative theory of education will be the proposition it asserts in (1),(2), and (3); for the propositions in (4) and hence (5) it will, given those in (3), most appropriately appeal to experience and science. Different philosophers will hold different views about the propositions they use in (1) and (2) and the ways in which these propositions may be established. Although some normative premises are required in (1) as a basis for any line of reasoning leading to conclusions in (3) or (5) about what education should foster or how it should do this, the premises appearing in (2) may be of various sorts–empirical, scientific, historical, metaphysical, theological, or epistemological. No one kind of premise is always necessary in (2) in every educational context. Different philosophers of education will, in any case, have different views about what sorts of premises it is permissible to appeal to in (2). All must agree, however, that normative premises of the kind indicated in (1) must be appealed to. Thus, what is central and crucial in any normative philosophy of education is not epistemology, metaphysics, or theology, as is sometimes thought, but ethics, value theory, and social philosophy. Role Let us assume, as we have been doing, that philosophy may be analytical, speculative, or narrative and remember that it is normally going on in a society in which there already is an educational system. Then, in the first place, philosophy may turn its attention to education, thus generating philosophy of education proper and becoming part of the discipline of education. Second, general philosophy may be one of the subjects in the curriculum of higher education and philosophy of education may be, and presumably should be, part of the curriculum of teacher education, if teachers are to think clearly and carefully about what they are doing. Third, in a society in which there is a single system of education governed by a single prevailing theory of education, a philosopher may do any of four things with respect to education: he may analyze the concepts and reasoning used in connection with education in order to make peoples thinking about it as clear, explicit, and logical as possible; he may seek to support the prevailing system by providing more philosophical arguments for the dispositions aimed at and the methods used; he may criticize the system and seek to reform it in the light of some more philosophical theory of education he has arrived at; or he may simply teach logic and philosophy to future educators and parents in the hope that they will apply them to educational matters. Fourth, in a pluralistic society like the United States, in which the existing educational enterprise or a large segment of it is based on a working compromise between conflicting views, a philosopher may again do several sorts of things. He may do any of the things just mentioned. In the United States in the first half of the twentieth century professional philosophers tended to do only the last, but at the end of the twentieth century they began to try to do more. Indeed, there will be more occasions for all of these activities in a pluralistic society, for debate about education will always be going on or threatening to be resumed. A philosopher may even take the lead in formulating and improving a compromise theory of education. He might then be a mere eclectic, but he need not be, since he might defend his compromise plan on the basis of a whole social philosophy. In particular, he might propound a whole public philosophy for public school education, making clear which dispositions it can and should seek to promote, how it should promote them, and which ones should be left for the home, the church, and other private means of education to cultivate. In any case, he might advocate appealing to scientific inquiry and experiment whenever possible. A philosopher may also work out a fully developed educational philosophy of his own and start an experimental school in which to put it into practice, as John Dewey did; like Dewey, too, he may even try to persuade his entire society to adopt it.Then he would argue for the desirability of fostering certain dispositions by certain methods, partly on the basis of experience and science and partly on the basis of premises taken from other parts of his philosophy–from his ethics and value theory, from his political and social philosophy, or from his epistemology, metaphysics, or philosophy of mind. It seems plausible to maintain that in a pluralistic society philosophers should do all of these things, some one and some another. In such a society a philosopher may at least seek to help educators concerned about moral, scientific, historical, aesthetic, or religious education by presenting them, respectively, with a philosophy of morality, science, history, art, or religion from which they may draw conclusions about their aims and methods. He may also philosophize about the discipline of education, asking whether it is a discipline, what its subject matter is, and what its methods, including the methods of the philosophy of education, should be. Insofar as the discipline of education is a science (and one question here would be whether it is a science) this would be a job for the philosopher of science in addition to one just mentioned. Logicians, linguistic philosophers, and philosophers of science may also be able to contribute to the technology of education, as it has come to be called, for example, to the theory of testing or of language instruction. Finally, in a society that has been broken down by some kind of revolution or has newly emerged from colonialism, a philosopher may even supply a new full-fledged normative philosophy for its educational system, as Karl Marx did for Russia and China. In fact, as in the case of Marx, he may provide the ideology that guided the revolution in the first place. Plato tried to do this for Syracuse, and the philosophes did it for France in the eighteenth century. Something like this may be done wherever the schools dare to build a new society, as many ask schools to do. Dewey once said that since education is the process of forming fundamental dispositions toward nature and our fellow human beings, philosophy may even be defined as the most general theory of education. Here Dewey was thinking that philosophy is the most general normative theory of education, and what he said is true if it means that philosophy, understood in its widest sense as including theology and poetry as well as philosophy proper, is what tells us what to believe and how to feel about humanity and the universe. It is, however, not necessarily true if it refers to philosophy in the narrower sense or means that all philosophy is philosophy of education in the sense of having the guidance of education as its end. This is not the whole end of classical philosophy or even of philosophy as reconstructed by Dewey; the former aimed at the truth rather than at the guidance of practice, and the latter has other practical ends besides that of guiding the educational enterprise. Certainly, analytical philosophy has other ends. However, although Dewey did not have analytical philosophy in mind, there is nevertheless a sense in which analytical philosophy can also be said to be the most general theory of education. Although it does not seek to tell us what dispositions we should form, it does analyze and criticize the concepts, arguments, and methods employed in any study of or reflection upon education. Again it does not follow that this is all analytical philosophy is concerned with doing. Even if the other things it does–for example, the philosophy of mind or of science–are useful to educators and normative theorists of education, as, it is hoped, is the case, they are not all developed with this use in mind. See also: ARISTOTLE; AUGUSTINE, ST. ; BAGLEY, WILLIAM C. ; BODE, BOYD H. ; BRAMELD, THEODORE; CHILDS, JOHN L. ; COMENIUS, JOHANN; COUNTS, GEORGE S. ; DEWEY, JOHN; FREIRE, PAULO; HERBERT, JOHANN; JAMES, WILLIAM; KILPATRICK, WILLIAM H. ; MONTESSORI, MARIA; NEILL, A. S. ; PESTALOZZI, JOHANN; PLATO; ROUSSEAU, JEAN-JACQUES; WHITEHEAD, ALFRED NORTH. BIBLIOGRAPHY ANDERSON, R. N. , et al. 1968. Foundation Disciplines and the Study of Education. Toronto: Macmillan. ARCHAMBAULT, REGINALD D. , ed. 1965. Philosophical Analysis and Education. New York: Humanities Press. FRANKENA, WILLIAM K. , ed. 1965. Philosophy of Education. New York: Macmillan. JARRET, JAMES L. , ed. 1969. Philosophy for the Study of Education. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. LUCAS, CHRISTOPHER J. 1969. What Is Philosophy of Education? New York: Macmillan. MORRIS, VAN CLEVE. 1969. Modern Movements in Educational Philosophy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCONNOR, DANIEL JOHN. 1957. Introduction to the Philosophy of Education. London: Routledge. PARK, JOE. 1968. Selected Readings in the Philosophy of Education, 3rd edition. New York: Macmillan. SCHEFFLER, ISRAEL, ed. 1966. Philosophy and Education, 2nd edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. WILLIAM K. FRANKENA Philosophy of education is a field characterized not only by broad theoretical eclecticism but also by a perennial dispute, which started in the mid-twentieth century, over what the scope and purposes of the discipline even ought to be. In the Philosophy of Education article that was included in the previous edition of this encyclopedia, William Frankena wrote, In a sense there is no such thing as the philosophy of education (p. 101). During certain periods of the history of the philosophy of education, there have been dominant perspectives, to be sure: At one time, the field was defined around canonical works on education by great philosophers (Plato of ancient Greece, the eighteenth-century Swiss-born Frenchman Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and others); at other times, the field was dominated, in the United States at least, by the figure of John Dewey (1859–1952) and educational Progressivism; at other times, the field was characterized by an austere analytical approach that explicitly rejected much of what had come before in the field as not even being proper philosophy at all. But even during these periods of dominance there were sharp internal disputes within the field (such as feminist criticisms of the Great Man approach to philosophy of education and vigorous critiques of the analytical method). Such disputes can be read off the history of the professional societies, journals, and graduate programs that institutionalize the field, and they can be documented through a succession of previous encyclopedia articles, which by definition attempt to define and delimit their subject matter. These sorts of struggles over the maintenance of the disciplinary boundary, and the attempt to define and enforce certain methods as paramount, are hardly unique to philosophy of education. But such concerns have so preoccupied its practitioners that at times these very questions seem to become the substance of the discipline, nearly to the exclusion of thinking about actual educational problems. And so it is not very surprising to find, for example, a book such as Philosophers on Education. Consisting of a series of essays written by professional philosophers entirely outside the discipline of philosophy of education, the collection cites almost none of the work published within the discipline; because the philosophers have no doubts about the status of the discipline of philosophy of education, they have few qualms about speaking authoritatively about what philosophy has to say to educators. On the other  hand, a fruitful topic for reflection is whether a more self-critical approach to philosophy of education, even if at times it seems to be pulling up its own roots for examination, might prove more productive for thinking about education, because this very tendency toward self-criticism keeps fundamental questions alive and open to reexamination. Any encyclopedia article must take a stance in relation to such disputes. However much one attempts to be comprehensive and dispassionate in describing the scope and purpose of a field, it is impossible to write anything about it without imagining some argument, somewhere, that would put such claims to challenge. This is especially true of categorical approaches, that is, those built around a list of types of philosophy of education, or of discrete schools of thought, or of specific disciplinary methods. During the period of particular diversity and interdisciplinarity in the field that has continued into the twenty-first century, such characterizations seem especially artificial–but even worse than this, potentially imperial and exclusionary. And so the challenge is to find a way of characterizing the field that is true to its eclecticism but that also looks back reflexively at the effects of such characterizations, including itself, in the dynamics of disciplinary boundary maintenance and methodological rule-setting that are continually under dispute. One way to begin such an examination is by thinking about the impulses that draw one into this activity at all: What is philosophy of education for? Perhaps these impulses can be more easily generalized about the field than any particular set of categories, schools of thought, or disciplinary methods. Moreover, these impulses cut across and interrelate approaches that might otherwise look quite different. And they coexist as impulses within broad philosophical movements, and even within the thought of individual philosophers themselves, sometimes conflicting in a way that might help explain the tendency toward reflexive self-examination and uncertainty that so exercises philosophy of education as a field. The Prescriptive Impulse The first impulse is prescriptive. In many respects this is the oldest and most pervasive inclination: to offer a philosophically defended conception of what the aims and activities of teaching ought to be. In some instances, as in Platos Republic, these prescriptions derive from an overall utopian vision; in other instances, such as seventeenth-century English philosopher John Lockes Some Thoughts Concerning Education or Rousseaus Emile, they derive from a fairly detailed reconception of what the day-to-day activities of teaching should look like; in still other instances, such prescriptions are derived from other social or moral principles, as in various Kantian views of education (even though eighteenth-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant himself had very little to say on the subject). These prescriptive inclinations are in many respects what people expect from philosophy of education: a wiser perspective, a more encompassing social vision, a sense of inspiration and higher purpose. It is what people usually mean when they talk about having a philosophy of education. A broad range of perspectives in the field share this prescriptive impulse: many of these perspectives can be comprised in what was once called the isms approach (perennialism, idealism, realism, Thomism, and so on)–the idea that a set of philosophical premises could generate a comprehensive and consistent educational program. For many years, working out the details of these philosophies of education was considered the main substance of the field, and the debates among the isms were typically at the very basic level debates among fundamentally different philosophical premises. An implication of this approach was that disagreements tended to be broadly paradigmatic in the sense that they were based on all-or-none commitments; one could not, of course, talk about a synthesis of realist and idealist worldviews. One wag has suggested that the isms have more recently been replaced by the ists–less purely philosophical and more social/political theories that now typify many scholars working in philosophy of education (Marxists, feminists, multiculturalists, postmodernists, and so on). These will be characterized as critically oriented philosophies below, but at this stage it is important to see that these perspectives can be equally driven by the prescriptive impulse: many writers (for example, neo-Marxist advocates of Paulo Freires critical pedagogy) offer quite explicit accounts of how education ought to proceed, what it is for, and whose interests it ought to serve. The Analytical Impulse The second impulse that drives much of philosophy of education is analytical. In a broad sense this includes not only philosophical approaches specifically termed analytical philosophy (such as conceptual analysis or ordinary language analysis), but also a broader orientation that approaches the philosophical task as spelling out a set of rational conditions that educational aims and practices ought to satisfy, while leaving it up to other public deliberative processes to work out what they might be in specific. In this enlarged sense, the analytical impulse can be seen not only in analytical philosophy per se but also in studies that focus on the logical and epistemological criteria of critical thinking; in the diagnosis of informal fallacies in reasoning; In certain kinds of liberal theory that spell out broad principles of rights and justice but that remain silent on the specific ends that education ought to serve; and even in some versions of German philosopher Jurgen Habermass theory, which proposes a structure of communicative deliberation in which conversations must satisfy what he calls a set of general validity claims, but which does not specify or constrain in advance what that process of deliberation might yield. The analytical impulse is often seen as expressing a certain philosophical modesty: that philosophers do not prescribe to others what their educational choices ought to be, but simply try to clarify the rational procedures by which those choices should be arrived at. Here metaphors such as referees who try to adjudicate an ongoing activity but remain nonpartisan within it, or groundskeepers who pull up weeds and prepare the soil but do not decide what to plant, tend to predominate in how this version of philosophy of education is presented and justified to others. The idea that philosophy provides a set of tools, and that doing philosophy of education (as opposed to having a philosophy of education) offers a more workmanlike self-conception of the philosopher, stands in sharp contrast with the idea of philosophy as a system-building endeavor. Of course, it must be said that this impulse is not entirely free of the prescriptive inclination, either. For one thing, there is a prescriptiveness about the very tools, criteria, principles, and analytical distinctions that get imported into how problems are framed. These are implicitly (and often explicitly) presented as educational ideals themselves: promoting critical thinking or fostering the conditions for Habermasian communication in the classroom, for example. However rationally defended these might be, they will undoubtedly appear to some as imposed from on high. Moreover, at a deeper level, the analytic/prescriptive distinction is less than clear-cut: a theory of logic, or a theory of communication, however purely procedural it aspires to be, always expresses conceptions of human nature, of society, of knowledge, of language, that contains social and cultural elements that might appear natural or neutral to the advocates of those procedures, but that will be regarded as foreign and particularistic by others (why must I justify my educational choices by your criteria? ). This is not meant as a criticism of the analytical orientation, but it just shows how these impulses can and do coexist, even within accounts that regard themselves as primarily one or the other. The Critical Impulse Similarly, the third impulse, a critical orientation, can coexist with either or both of the others. The critical impulse, like the analytical one, shares the characteristic of trying to clear the ground of misconceptions and ideologies, where these misrepresent the needs and interests of disadvantaged groups; like the prescriptive impulse, the critical impulse is driven by a positive conception of a better, more just and equitable, society. Where the critical impulse differs from the others is in its conception of the contribution philosophy can play in serving these ends. From this orientation, philosophy is not just a set of tools or an abstract, programmatic theory; it is itself a substantive personal and political commitment, and it grows out of deeper inclinations to protect and serve the interests of specific groups. Hence the key philosophical ideas stressed in critically oriented philosophies of education (reflection, counterhegemony, a critique of power, an emphasis upon difference, and so on) derive their force from their capacity to challenge a presumably oppressive dominant society and enable put-upon individuals and groups to recognize and question their circumstances and to be moved to change them. As there are prescriptive and analytical elements in critically oriented philosophies of education, so there can be critical elements in the others. Philosophers of education more driven by a prescriptive or analytical impulse can and do share many of the same social and political commitments as critically oriented philosophers of education; and some of them may see their work as ultimately serving many of the same goals of criticizing hegemonic ideologies and promoting human emancipation. This is why these three impulses or orientations must not be seen as simple categories to which particular philosophies (or philosophers) can be assigned. Stressing their character as impulses highlights the motivational qualities that underlie, and frequently drive, the adoption of particular philosophical views. While philosophers tend to stress the force of argument in driving their adoption of such views, and while they do certainly change their minds because of argument and evidence, at some deeper level they are less prone to changing the very impulses that drive and give vigor to their philosophical investigations. By stressing the ways in which all three impulses can coexist within different philosophical schools of thought, and even within the inclinations of a given philosopher, this account highlights the complex and sometimes even contradictory character of the philosophical spirit. When philosophers of education teach or speak about their views, although they certainly put forth arguments, quotations of and references to literature, and so forth, at a deeper level they are appealing to a shared impulse in their audience, one that is more difficult to argue for directly, and without which the arguments themselves are unlikely to take hold. Implications of the Impulses for Philosophy of Education Given the existence of these three impulses, how can they help in providing an overview of the field of philosophy of education that does not fall into arguments about disciplinary boundary maintenance? First, these very broad orientations are in many respects easier to generalize within the field than would be any specific set of disciplinary criteria; many different kinds of philosophy of education can manifest these sorts of inclinations. Indeed, it makes for strange bedfellows when people consider that despite their vigorous paradigmatic differences they are actually motivated by very similar underlying philosophical commitments. Perhaps this recognition might create a stronger incentive for them to engage one another respectfully across those differences. Second, it is beneficial for philosophers to consider that the validity they attribute to certain kinds of arguments may not be driven simply by the objective force of those arguments, but also by a particular appeal those kinds of arguments have for them. This sort of reflectiveness might be fruitful for various reasons, but a significant benefit could be in raising a persons appreciation for why others may not be moved by the arguments that seem so patently obvious to that person; and why the force of argument alone may not be sufficient to generate philosophical agreement or reconcile disagreement. Given the pervasively eclectic and interdisciplinary nature of the field of philosophy of education, such a spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness, while not needing to be unbounded entirely, would be a valuable corrective to the historical tendency to establish the methodsor the philosophical school that will separate proper philosophy of education from the imposters. Advocates of more prescriptive approaches typically buttress their case for dominance by reference to canonical Great Works (Plato, ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, Dewey). This sort of system-building across epistemological, ethical, and social/political issues is what the great philosophers do, and it is revealing that for them philosophy of education was rarely seen as a distinct area of inquiry but merely the working out in p

Chronic Urinary Tract Infections Treatment Case Nursing Essay

Chronic Urinary Tract Infections Treatment Case Nursing Essay RP, a 72-year-old Caucasian female, was brought to the emergency room (E.R) from Hillcrest Adult Foster Care via ambulance. Preadmission report to F-300 stated that she came to E.R confused, lethargic and weak, complaining of acute pain upon urination. She also urinated small amounts ( Upon arrival to F-300 RPs labs revealed significantly lowered thyroid stimulation hormone (TSH), a lowered red blood cell (RBC) count, along with decreased hemoglobin and hematocrit (HH). Her white blood (WBC) count was elevated, as expected with a urinary tract infection (UTI). Primary Diagnosis and Priority Secondary diagnosis The primary medical diagnosis was chronic urinary tract infections, with a secondary diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Patient History RP has a history of chronic UTIs, hypothyroidism, chronic kidney disease (stage III), and chronic anemia. She has several admissions the past few months related mainly to UTIs and dehydration. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY/ETILOGY OF THE PRIMARY DIAGNOSIS AND PRIORITY SECONDARY DIAGNOSIS UTIs are the results of infection, mainly from bacteria, fungi, viruses, or parasites. This leads to a condition referred to as cystitis (inflammation of the bladder). Most common of the UTIs are from infection known as infectious cystitis. A bacterium, the most common cause of infectious cystitis, is from the external urethra, this spreads inwards to the bladder (distal to proximal). Once a bacterium migrates to the bladder and starts the process of growing, it can migrate to other parts of the body (Ignatavicius Workman, 2006). UTIs present with symptoms that include frequency, urgency, retention, burning, foul odor, and incontinence. According to Wikipedia, four stages must be met in order for bacteria to grow. These include an infectious agent, one that must be able to grow, multiply and enter the body. Once we have the agent, the bacteria must find a portal of entry, (how it enters the body). Once in the body it needs an adequate reservoir, a place where organisms can thrive and multiply and the susceptibility of host, how bacteria affects the body after entry. Determents include age, overall health and other co-morbidities of the host and the susceptibility to pathogens. Most UTIs first grow in the perineal area due to irritation; in RPs case this may have been caused by lack of personal hygiene due to being overly fatigued, brought on by her hypothyroidism. Minton (2009) stated, Thyroid is the most important hormone in the body. Because it stimulates the production of cellular energy, production of all other hormones will be negatively impacted when thyroid hormone levels are less than optimal. Every aspect of health is affected by low thyroid function. Hypothyroidism is signaled by fatigue and loss of energy. According to textbook, hypothyroidism is the result of decreased metabolism from low levels of thyroid hormones (THs). Low levels of THs may be a result of several different reasons: thyroid cells may fail to produce sufficient amounts, or the cells themselves are damaged. The patient may not be ingesting enough of the substances needed to make THs, especially iodide and tyrosine. Low levels of THs affect most tissue and organs causing decreased cellular energy. The patient could become confused, lethargic, and have slowing of intellectual functions. ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL IMPACT OF RELEVANT MEDICAL HISTORY ON THE PRIMARY DIAGNOSIS AND PRIORITY SECONDARY DIAGNOSIS RP has a history of chronic UTIs that has caused numerous admits to the hospital over the last few months. UTIs that are left untreated may and can cause damage to the kidneys and start the process of renal failure. Chronic infection of the kidneys causes scar tissue, which decreases the function of the renal system. With renal failure, the body cannot rid itself of certain toxins that may contribute to UTIs. Chronic UTIs may lead to chronic pyelonephritis, repeated upper tract infection of bacteria that migrates from the bladder superior (toward the kidney) to the kidneys. RPs diagnosis of chronic renal failure may be heightened by the chronic UTIs. Hypothyroidism and anemia, that cause fatigue and loss of energy, will discourage you from providing adequate hygiene. This encourages bacterial growth, which may start the chain of events leading up to a UTI. RP resides at an extended care facility that may not have adequate staff to assure that she receives the necessary amounts of iodide and tyrosine needed stimulate TH production. She is also very confused which would decrease her understanding of the importance of proper nutritional intake. MEDICAL MANAGEMENT: CHRONIC URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS And Hypothyroidism A urine sample must be obtained either by a clean catch method or if client unable, by straight catheter method. A catheter method was used on RP, due to her confusion and retention. Urinalysis testing for leukocyte esterase (n=negative) and nitrate (n=none), along with a WBC (n= 0-4) are specifically for diagnosis of a UTIs (Mosbys 2006). Normal urine should appear clear with a yellow tint present (Mosbys 2006). A noticeable smell should not be present in uninfected urine; RPs urine had a pungent odor noted. RPs leukocyte esterase was 3+ and her nitrate was positive. WBCs were to numerous to count. These results determined that RP did have a UTI. Blood work was noted that RPs thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was 0.05 (n=2-10). This confirmed the diagnosis of hypothyroidism. NURSING MANAGEMENT: URINARY TRACT INFECTION Recommended textbook intervention is to monitor for signs of UTIs. This includes, but not limited to: frequency, urgency, dysuria, incontinence, pyuria. In some older adults the only sign may be an increase in mental confusion or frequent, unexplained falls. RP was on Q-4 hour vital sign assessment, paying close attention to any increase in temperature and/or heart rate. The patient remained afebrile throughout admission. Heart rate remained between 80-90 beats per minute. Respiratory rate remained between 16-20 breaths per minute. Due to her confusion, bed alarms and padded side rails were used. She had a high fall risk assessment; therefore fall risk precautions were implemented upon admission. She was placed on strict intake and output (IO), and her fluids were monitored. She was instructed to drink required amount of fluid per day (1500ml). Staff member offered bedside commode every two hours to encouraging voiding. She and family members were informed as to the importance of RP to remain dry. This will limit the environmental factors needed for bacterial growth. RN (preceptor) communicated with adult foster care on the needs of the client after discharge. Lab results were also monitored closely for any change that would indicate worsening infection. PHARMACOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT: URINARY TRACT INFECTION AND HYPOTHYROIDISM Textbook recommends medications that treat bacteria and the promotion of client comfort. Cure is dependent on the antibiotic level achieved in the urine. Long-term antibiotic therapy is recommended for chronic UTIs (Ignatavicius Workman, 2006). RP received, via intravenous therapy (IV), Azactam (antibiotic) per Dr. order, to treat her infection. Paroxetine mesylate (antianxiety agent, antidepressant) 30 mg by mouth daily, used to decrease anxiety. Also given Levothyroxine (hormone) as a thyroid supplement. PROVIDER AND MANAGER ROLE: NURSING CARE PLAN Priority Nursing Diagnosis P Impaired urinary elimination R Incontinence due to urinary tract infection C Acute lower tract pain 7/10 upon urination, Priority Patient Goal The patient will be able to state absence of pain or excessive urination by discharge AEB: Pain upon urination 0/10, Decreased urge to void, Empting bladder completely Three Priority Nursing Interventions The nurse will monitor patient for incomplete emptying of bladder by using bladder scan post void. The nurse will encourage patient to drink water at each meal. The nurse will instruct patient on the signs and symptoms of a urinary tract infection. Evaluation of Progress toward Patient Goal The patient was able to recite some signs of UTIs to nurse. She recognized pain on urination and foul odor as signs of an infection. The patient was reluctant to drink water at any one time. She continued to have incontinent periods, but this was less frequent on day of discharge. The patient partially met the goals put forth for her. PROVIDER AND MANAGER ROLE Member of the discipline and the Role of the Multi-Disciplinary Team As a member of the discipline I was inclined to have verbal interactions with the ER staff before RP had arrived to F-300. Consulted with housekeeping to assure the RPs room was cleaned and ready for admission. Ward clerk assured that tests were ordered. Dietician was consulted to help with nutritional needs. Discharged planner made transportation arrangement to return patient to long care facility. Social worker discussed local community resources of support with the family. Provider of Care Role As provider of care for this patient, I kept this patient cleaned and dry when incontinent. I utilized the fall risk precautions to provided safety. Implemented steps to encourage patient to accept and understand a bladder training routine. Monitored patient labs and reported abnormal results to the doctor. Manager of Care Role As manager of care I evaluated the client for her fall risk and implemented fall risk precautions. Delegated the placement of bed alarms and tabs to the LPN assigned to us. My preceptor and I discussed the possible ways to teach client prevention of developing UTIs. Collaborated with nursing home staff on ways to improve clients care at extended care facility. Growth in the Manager of Care Role In completing these tasks I was able to see the complete picture of the patient. I was educated on the disease process and the effect other co-morbidities had on providing an environment that encourages an infection. In caring for RP I was able to developed and strengthen my delegating skills, learning to rely on others and not solely on myself.

Its Time for Immigration Reform Essay -- Illegal Immigration, Illegal

It's Time for Immigration Reform    News article after news article on immigration characterizes anyone who opposes the current level of immigration as anti-immigrant. This is biased and deceitful. It's like saying that anyone who doesn't want 10 or 12 children is anti-children. The truth is that many people are pro-immigration but recognize that the present level of immigration is unsustainable and will eventually be detrimental to Americans and immigrants alike.    One often-used irrelevant argument is that we are a nation of immigrants. While true, it does not shed light on the question of how many immigrants should be admitted annually and what should be the criteria for admission. To understand the issue, we must focus on the numbers involved. Although the Census Bureau has not released the number of immigrants for fiscal 1997, most analysts believe that at least 1 million legal and between 300,000 to 500,000 illegal immigrants are entering the U.S. each year. This is about four times the number who came to America annually during the 1950s and 1960s.    Even this does not put the issue in perspective, however. The crux of the problem is the cumulative impact. At present rates of immigration, the U.S. population will increase by up to 200 million persons in the next 50 to 60 years. Even if all immigration were halted today--and few persons are suggesting such a draconian policy--we will still add up to 80 million people due to the children and grandchildren from the wave of immigrants that have entered the U.S. since 1970.    So what? Isn't this unending supply of cheap, compliant, hardworking labor good for America... ...impossible task of building a school every day.    Although poll after poll indicates that most American would like to see immigration cut back to traditional levels (about 250,000 a year), present immigration policy has been determined by a coalition of businesses who benefit from a limitless supply of cheap labor, immigration lawyers, immigrant lobbies and naive do-gooders who think that bringing in 1 million of the world's 4 billion poor will somehow reduce world poverty.    Americans, like most people, tend to live for the moment, with little thought for the future. The hundreds of billions of dollars that are being expended to correct the Y2K computer problem were totally unnecessary with just a modicum of forethought. What can a nation do when it discovers it is overpopulated? Ask China and India.   

No Child Left Behind Act Essay -- Politics Education School Learning E

No Child Left Behind Act President Bush quoted, â€Å"Clearly, our children are our future†¦Too many of our neediest children are being left behind† (www.ed.gov). The â€Å"No Child Left Behind† Act expands the federal government’s role in elementary and secondary education. The NCLB emphasizes accountability and abiding by policies set by the federal government. This law sets strict requirements and deadlines for states to expand the scope and frequency of student testing, restore their accountability system and guarantee that every classroom is staffed by a teacher qualified to teach in his or her subject area. Furthermore, the NCLB requires states to improve the quality of their schools from year to year. The NCLB pushes state governments and educational systems to help low-achieving and low-efficiency learners in high-poverty schools meet the same academic standards that apply to all other students.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many important aspects of the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† Act. I think the most important area of the act is the parents. Parents play just as an important role to the educational system as anyone else. NCLB expands parental options. NCLB supports learning in the early years, thereby preventing many learning difficulties that may arise later in the student's life. In fact, research shows that most reading problems faced by adolescents and adults are the result of problems that could have been prevented through good instruction in their early childhood years (Snow, Burns and Griffin 1998). NCLB provides more information for parents about their child’s progress. Reading and math assessments are done several times and provide parents with objective data on where their child stands academically. NCLB requires states and school districts to give parents easy-to-read, detailed report cards on schools and districts, telling them which ones are suc ceeding and why. These report cards are detailed with extensive data. NCLB ensures that parents have important information regarding the schools their children attend and whether they are performing well or not. In addition, under NCLB, such schools that are considered low-performing must use their federal funds to make needed improvements. In the event of a school’s continued poor performance, parents have the option to ensure that their children receive the high-quality education to which they are entitled. This... ...dards are one of the main topics of educational and political rhetoric and debate in this decade. One of the major reasons for this controversy is that it is almost impossible to separate standards from assessment of student progress and teacher and school accountability. Therefore, parents are at somewhat of a crossroad.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the right amount of funding and the proper objectives from government, the education reform could grow to be a huge success. As for right now, it is still under reform, and with certain changes comes certain conflicts. The goal at hand seems to be an effort to put all students, no matter what race, gender, income-status, etc. at the same academic standing as all other students. This is an extremely difficult task with many students being at different learning abilities. President Bush is not going to give up and maintain his fight for better education. Our country, noted as the greatest nation in the world, deserves to give our children the right to an excellent education. The children of today are the men and women of the future. Therefore, the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† Act is a great step forward for teachers, parents and students across the country.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) Essay -- Hyperactivity C

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You have probably heard and may even have used the term hyperactivity. The notion is a modern one: there were no hyperactive children 50 to 60 years ago. Today, if anything, the term is applied too often and too widely. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) estimates that all teachers have in their classrooms at least one child with ADHD (Simmons, RG. 1993).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Actually, hyperactivity is not one particular condition: it is â€Å"a set of behaviors† such as excessive restlessness and short attention span that are quantitatively and qualitatively different from those children of the same sex, mental age, and socioeconomic status (Gutskey, T.R. 1991).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today most psychologists agree that the main problem for children labeled hyperactive is directing and maintaining attention, not simply controlling their physical activity. The American Psychiatric Association has established a diagnostic category called attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to identify children with this problem. What are the signs of ADHD   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Professionals who diagnose ADHD use the diagnostic criteria set forth by the American Psychiatric Association (1994) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: the fourth edition of this manual, known as the DSM-IV, was released in May 1994 (Soar, R.S. & Soar, R.M. 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The primary features associated with the disability are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. A child with ADHD is usually described as having a short attention span and as being distractible. In actuality, distractibility and inattentiveness are not synonymous.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Distractibility refers to the short attention span and the ease with which some children can be pulled off task. Attention, on the other hand, is a process that has different parts. We focus (pick something on which to pay attention), we select (pick something that needs attention at that moment), and we sustain (pay attention for as long as is needed). We also resist (avoid things that remove our attention from where it needs to be), and we shift (move our attention to something else when needed). When we refer to someone as distractible, we are saying that a part of that person’s attention process is disrupted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children with ADHD can have difficulty with one or all parts of the attention process. Some children may... ...to become effective. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Deliver negative consequences in a firm, business-like way without emotion, lectures, or long-winded explanations (Cohan, E.G. 1986).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that teachers and parents need to be aware of the symptoms of ADHD. It is essential to understand how those symptoms impact the child's ability to function at home, in school, and in social situations. When the adults in the child's life understand the nature of the disorder, they are better able to structure situations to enable the child to behave appropriately and achieve success. It is important to remember that the child who has difficulty with attention, impulse control, and in regulating physical activity needs help and encouragement to manage these problems. I feel that a classroom environment that is rich in structure, support and encouragement can nurture success in all students. Completing this research paper has been an effective tool in reinforcing these concepts. Brain scan images produced by positron emission tomography (PET) show the differences between an individual with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (right) and someone without the disease (left) (Zametkin et. al. 1990).

Living in the

Torso's City 3 eye characteristics: average individual incomes decreased by 20% or more between 1970 and 2005 relative to the Toronto average individual income Neighborhoods comprise about 39% of the city neighborhoods Key issues deterministic-planning a lack of regard for the post-colonial and immigrant experiences of the families that live there large concentration of poverty and lives lived amid crowded high-rise buildings and housing projects the constant surveillance and media representations of violence perpetuated by the City of Toronto Police, Housing Corporation, and media outlets Defining the Ghetto (A first approach) The 40% criterion: â€Å"an area in which the overall poverty rate in a census tract is greater than 40 percent. The ghetto poor are then those poor, of any race or ethnic group, who live in such high-poverty census tracts†¦ Visits to various cities confirmed that the 40 percent criterion came very close to identifying areas that looked like ghettos in t erms of their housing conditions. Moreover, the areas selected by the 40 percent criterion corresponded closely with the neighborhoods that city officials and local census urea officials considered ghettos†¦ Let is important to distinguish our definition of ghetto tracts based on a poverty criterion from a definition based on racial composition.Not all majority black tracts are ghettos under our definition nor are all ghettos black. Arrows and Bane 1991:239-241) Defining the Ghetto (A second Approach) â€Å"the ghettos' of space and group-specific institutions all four major ‘elementary forms' of racial domination, namely, categorization, discrimination, segregation and exclusionary violence† (Loci Yucatan: Urban Outcasts, 1995) â€Å"the hypertext' Is moreover defined by the â€Å"physical dilapidation, social decay and stunning depopulation† that has further led to a â€Å"collective demutualization† and â€Å"absent presence† of the state ( course reading) What researchers find in Torso's inner city Schools?Violence and Cultural Complexity This is where the documentary intervenes: The film looks into how violence is based on a logic of reciprocity (code of honor) and how this logic/dynamic can be interrupted It assumes/demonstrates how former actors of violence (gang leaders) take on a new role as interrupters of violence It lows insights into people's aspirations and dimensions of everyday life (resilience and where alternatives originate) What needs to be discussed Does the film reproduce an ‘ecology-centered' discourse or does it allow for seeing the cultural complexity of violence in a broader perspective? The Interrupters (Documentary) Dir. Steve James Film about â€Å"violence interrupters† in Chicago â€Å"who use their own personal experience and street credibility to work in the communities† (film synopsis) Discuss along with L. Waistcoat's article (same context)

Thorn Queen Chapter Nineteen

I returned to my castle in shock-and in a downpour. My control of water let me shift the rain away from me, but after a while, I didn't feel like wasting the mental effort on it. It felt kind of good after such a hot day, and besides, I had a few other things on my mind. Like if it was going to rain every time I got aroused. That was not cool. I guessed I could handle it so long as it rained other times as well. I didn't want the connection to be so obvious. Hey, it's raining! The queen must have gotten laid. Ooh†¦is that hail? Must have been into some kinky shit today†¦. I was also debating whether or not having a guy stick his hand up your skirt and get you off was technically cheating or not. Okay, I supposed there wasn't much â€Å"technically† about it. I was getting caught up in gender stereotypes. If I'd gotten him off-say, like, by going down on him-there would have been no question of infidelity. So, this was no different. Fuck. How had it happened? One minute we'd been arguing†¦the next? Grope central. There'd been emotion and magic, and it had all happened so fast. I shivered, thinking of all the warnings about using strong magic. Was that to blame? Or just my own weakness? And at the same time, I couldn't also help but think that strong magic could solve a few of my problems. Excepting, of course, the problem of whether or not I should tell Kiyo what had happened between Dorian and me†¦ â€Å"Your majesty!† Nia went crazy when she saw my drenched state. She had a hundred remedies for me, but all I wanted was a simple towel and the jeans and shirt I'd arrived in earlier. Waiting for the servants to draw hot baths around here took too much time and effort; I could get back to Tucson and into my own shower or sauna much more easily. And after still being unnerved by Dorian, I was particularly anxious to return to what I saw as safety. Though lately, I was starting to think no place was safe anymore. Before leaving, I exchanged brief updates with Rurik and Shaya. I told Rurik that we had a date for demon hunting, and that Jasmine would indeed be going with us. His feelings on that were mixed. He knew her power was useful, but secretly-or, well, not so secretly-he was part of the camp that felt I should kill her. He seemed a little reassured about her, at least, because Girard had brought the custom cuffs as promised. They provided greater mobility for her but were even more limiting for magic. Judging from Jasmine's dismayed reaction, Rurik felt they'd been successful. Well, that was something, I supposed. And from the look on Shaya's face, Dorian's help with the ore was a good thing too-even if it had come with strings attached. â€Å"That was very kind of my lord,† she said. Both Shaya and Rurik often used the honorific â€Å"my lord† when discussing Dorian, as though he were still their master. I considered their old loyalty endearing but wondered if they'd ever feel like they truly worked for me. â€Å"It's expedited things immensely. You can't imagine how quickly things will move once the ore is processed.† She grinned, eyes gleaming as all sorts of plans and organizational thoughts swirled in her mind. â€Å"You must have been very pleased at what my lord did for you.† Well, â€Å"pleased† was one way of looking at it, I supposed. Oh, and I was happy about the expedited ore too. A strange feeling settled over me, that same one I got each time Dorian did something nice for me-sexual gratification aside. I had no idea what his role in my life was anymore, save that he was helping me a lot. Judging from Shaya's face, this was a big favor he'd done for me. An idea for repayment came to me. â€Å"Shaya†¦is Girard still here?† She nodded. â€Å"I gave him a room for the night, so that he wouldn't have to travel in the rain. Is that all right?† â€Å"Yeah, yeah. I just want to talk to him for a sec.† She led me to his room, and like before, he was overjoyed and overeager to see me. Seeing him reminded me of Leith, which gave me a small pang of regret. I still felt badly about what had happened with the Rowan prince, but there was nothing to be done about it. I couldn't return his feelings. Girard, fortunately, was a different matter. He wanted prestige and position for his talents, and I was more than willing to give that after explaining to him the project I wanted to commission. â€Å"Yes, your majesty. I can most certainly do that. Why, I can start sketching right now.† No doubt he was happy to work on something that wasn't part of Katrice's woodland animal collection. I left him to it, gushing with praise and how much it would mean to me. Girard was a nice guy, despite his ambition, and I decided I'd rather surround myself with those wanting job promotion over getting me into bed. I returned to Tucson at last, grateful to find the house quiet. Tim was out, but he'd left me macaroni and cheese-the good homemade kind with bread crumbs on top-and a note: Bitch receptionist called and wants to make sure you don't forget your job tomorrow. I hadn't forgotten the job tomorrow, but the reminder was a good one with as much as had been going on lately. One of the cats rubbed against my leg as I microwaved my dinner, and I absentmindedly scratched her on the head, wishing it was actually Kiyo's fox form circling my ankles. I didn't like the way he and I had left things, even if they'd ostensibly been friendly. There was still tension between us, and I couldn't shake the feeling that he just wasn't understanding me lately†¦and that Dorian was. Argh. Dorian. As I tossed my clothes on the bathroom floor-including that damned thong-I couldn't help but think of him again. Stop it, Eugenie. You're obsessing. Surely†¦surely I would have said no if we hadn't been interrupted earlier, right? Right? And Kiyo, Kiyo†¦what was I going to tell Kiyo? Just because we were having friction in our relationship, it didn't mean I had license to do what I'd done today. I had no respect for lies or any other subtle dishonesty. I didn't like that behavior in others. I didn't like it in myself. But after standing in scalding water for twenty minutes, no real answers about anything came to my mind. I finally emerged, my skin sufficiently plump and pink, and toweled off. After that, it was into comfy pajamas: blue and gray flannel shorts and a white cotton tank top. It might have been raining in the Thorn Land, but here it was dry and hot. Night had cooled the air somewhat, and I'd opened all the windows to air out the house. As a light breeze blew in, it took everything in me not to start tinkering around with the air. I could sense every particle, and the thought of controlling them sent a shiver through me. No, I scolded myself. I'd done enough today. I needed to have a no-magic-in-Tucson rule, I decided. Establishing that magic and men were issues that were not going to be solved tonight, I set out to work on another. It wasn't quite ten yet, which meant Roland would be up. Sprawling on the couch in front of the breezy patio screen door, I dialed him on my phone. â€Å"Eugenie,† he said with delight. â€Å"We've been wondering what happened to you. You haven't been returning calls. Your mother was worried, but I told her you were probably just busy.† I smiled. It was nice to have Roland in my life, someone who understood the ups and downs of this job. â€Å"I have been. Really busy.† I almost started to offer him the overflow of jobs I'd had Lara turn down for me and stopped myself at the last minute. If he knew I wasn't keeping up with my work, it would only trigger an alarm for him and subject me to questions I wasn't ready to answer. â€Å"Did you ever talk to Art and Abigail?† he asked. â€Å"Yeah,† I said, â€Å"and that's actually why I was calling you. I think†¦well, I think they're trafficking in gentry girls or something.† There were several moments of silence. â€Å"Trafficking? What does that mean, exactly?† â€Å"It means I think they're abducting girls and†¦I don't know. Either pimping them out or selling them or something equally disgusting. It's like a fairy sex trade.† One of the cats, a calico, came and made herself comfortable on my stomach. â€Å"Eugenie†¦I've known Art for almost ten years. I've known Abigail longer. What you're saying is absurd. You have to be getting bad information.† â€Å"They've both been sighted in the Otherworld, right around where their gate opens! I even talked to one girl who all but identified Art! She was totally traumatized, Roland. And both Art and Abigail live better than they should be†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"That's not evidence,† he said. â€Å"They're probably doing good business.† â€Å"In a town that size? Even with a gate like that, they can't have enough work to afford the stuff they have. You and I have a ton more jobs than they do, and we don't live that well.† â€Å"It's a moot point. This whole thing is far-fetched, and your evidence is sketchy. I mean, have you seen gentry girls tied up in his house?† â€Å"No,† I admitted. â€Å"Largely because he won't ever let me inside. Which is also suspicious.† â€Å"No, Eugenie, it's really not.† Roland sounded tired. â€Å"Look, it sounds like all you've got is circumstantial gentry evidence. And you know how they are.† â€Å"I know that their people are being taken against their will and possibly having horrible things done to them.† â€Å"Key words: their people.† â€Å"Are you saying it's okay for girls to be sold into a sex trade? After what happened to Mom?† â€Å"How can you ask me that?† he exclaimed. â€Å"But this isn't the same thing. We're not police who work both worlds. We protect humans. There must be someone over there whose job it is to protect them.† There is, I thought. Me. â€Å"Can you at least talk to Art?† I asked. â€Å"And what? Ask him if he's kidnapping gentry girls?† â€Å"Well†¦maybe you could pose it a bit more delicately.† I squelched a yowl of pain as the cat leapt up off me and onto the back of the couch. Her hair puffed up, and she twitched her tail in agitation. Not surprising. Both dogs had just entered the room. â€Å"I can't ask him that,† said Roland. â€Å"And what if he says yes? Then what are you going to do?† Dorian's words came back to me. Kill them. â€Å"Look, I don't know yet, but I just need to find out if-â€Å" I heard a low growl from one of the dogs and was about to yell at them to knock it off. The cats and dogs didn't usually fight, but every once in a while, there would be a brawl. I couldn't see the dogs, though, and the bristling calico's attention seemed to be on the screen door, not the floor. I sat up and saw the dogs sitting right in front of the door, staring out into the night as well. â€Å"Eugenie? Are you still there?† â€Å"Yeah, hang on a sec.† Balancing the phone on my shoulder, I stood up and instinctively reached for my weapons, which were on the coffee table. I shoved the wand and my silver athame under the elastic waistband of my shorts and took the gun and iron athame with my hands. One of the dogs growled again, and I slowly approached them at the door. â€Å"Eugenie? What's going on?† Roland's voice was worried now. â€Å"I'm going to have to call you back.† I managed to disconnect the phone and drop it on the floor without losing the athame. Outside, the night was still, the only noises coming from the wind in the trees and the faint sounds of traffic on the far side of my quiet neighborhood. I closed my eyes a moment, reaching out to search for anything that didn't feel right in this world. Some shamans had this ability, but not many. The more time I spent in the Otherworld and among gentry, the more developed my senses became. Finally, I caught it. The sense of something Otherworldly. The animals, God love them, had noticed before me. Whatever this interloper was, it was keeping to the farthest edges of the house's property. It had apparently been lurking for a while, which seemed odd. â€Å"Ah,† I realized with a soft chuckle. â€Å"Stopped by the wards, huh, you son of a bitch?† I'd had a witch lay protective lines and spells all around the house when the attacks on me first started. It was kind of a magical home-security system. It wouldn't keep out everything, but it definitely thinned out a lot of my nuisances. I could have simply ignored whatever was out there, but the idea of Otherworldly creatures loose in my neighborhood didn't sit well with me. Sliding open the door, I slipped outside, every nerve in my body on high alert. I walked the perimeter of my backyard, keeping inside the ward's lines. My house was on a cul-de-sac, backing up to a small stretch of open, scrubby land before giving way to the next neighborhood over. I doubted whatever this was would be out in the front of the house, where it would be in sight of neighbors. Ah, no-not an it. They. I could sense more than one. Standing on tiptoe to peer over the wooden fence, I nearly missed his eyes on my first sweep. A rock elemental-that is, one of the gentry who lacked the strength to travel to my world in his full form. He was blocky and unwieldy looking, his stone body mottled black and white. I had only a second to make my assessment before he charged. His weight and strength cracked the wooden fence, and then-he hit the ward. It was like an invisible wall that bounced him back. His disorientation gave me what I needed. I dropped the gun and reached for my wand. Silver bullets weren't as effective against gentry as steel ones anyway, and I certainly wasn't going to fire off shots and possibly get the police called if I could help it. I channeled my will into the wand, ripping open a path to the Otherworld. My snake tattoo burned on my arm as I summoned the power of Hecate. I recited the incantation to finish the ritual. The elemental felt the magic of the banishing seize him but couldn't fight it. He was too weak. In a moment, he dissolved from this world, sent back to his own, leaving only a pile of rubble behind. Another shape appeared beside where he'd been, and I saw the dim lighting shine off water. Another gentry who hadn't been able to cross in his true body. He'd appeared as a water elemental, a man-shaped body of liquid that dripped and sloshed with each step. Stupid, stupid, I thought. Whoever he was should have known better. I didn't need a wand for this. My own magic would rip him apart- A hand suddenly jerked me backward, and I felt a knife at my throat. The hand gripping it was solid and flesh but tingling with magic. A powerful gentry, then. One with enough power to cross my wards and come over in body. Without hesitation, I kicked backward, dodging out of his grasp skillfully enough that the blade only nicked me. I turned to face him, glad I'd held on to the iron athame. He was no one I knew, young and good-looking, even with a scar on his cheek. He was well-muscled from physical activity, and the leather armor he wore over his red tunic suggested a possible military or guarding profession back in the Otherworld. In a weird flash, Jasmine's words came back to me. I know the difference between a bunch of gross beggars and trained soldiers. A coincidence, I decided. Any gentry brave enough to come seek me in my own world would likely have to be a good fighter. We circled, and there was a small smile on his face as he waited for an opening. I wasn't afraid. One-on-one combat I could handle, and I had long since developed the ability to banish while fighting. It was tricky but hardly impossible. Of course, as he lunged and I ducked, I realized I didn't need anything so complicated. Almost like an inhalation of breath, I sucked the air from around us, creating a miniwhirlwind that pulled the dust and sand from within my yard. I blasted it forward at him. He cried out as the sand blinded his eyes and immediately started rubbing them-which wouldn't do him any favors. I was about to start the banishing when I faintly heard the sound of chanting and a tingle of shamanic magic. Startled, I turned to find the source and instead saw the water elemental come charging through the opening in the fence his friend had made. Someone had broken the wards. I held out my iron athame to block him, though I knew it would only give me a few seconds. That was all I needed as I began to work the water magic that would tear him apart. A blow to my back suddenly shoved me forward, straight into him. Despite being made of water, he was solid, and his hands instantly grabbed hold of me. I twisted my head back and saw that the other gentry had recovered himself enough to come striding forward, though I could see tears streaking his face from where the sand had stung his eyes. I tried breaking free of the elemental's grip but couldn't match that physical force. Again, I summoned water magic and heard him groan in pain as his substance began to rip apart. Then, the other gentry was on me, punching me again and breaking my concentration. He started to reach around me once more with the copper blade, and then I heard a startled cry of pain from him as he was pulled away from me. I didn't look back to see what had happened but instead completed the magic on the water elemental. He exploded in a downpour that soaked me-great, twice in one day-and I immediately turned to see what else had happened. The other gentry was distracted, squaring off with someone else: Roland. Roland's own athame was out in his left hand, and he was simply relying on the strength of his other fist-which was considerable-to sock the gentry in the face. The gentry was strong, though, and got a few good blows in on Roland. Seeing my stepfather take those punches kindled an anger in me. Rather than begin a banishing, I called to the air again, sucking it from around the gentry just as I had Ysabel. Eyes widening, he dropped the blade, his hands going to his throat in an instinctive gesture to draw breath. There was none to be had, though. I leapt on him, knocking him to the ground and delivering a solid punch to the face in exchange for what he'd done to Roland. Around us, I felt the tingling of a banishing. Roland was opening up a hole to the Otherworld. He chanted the words and then snapped, â€Å"Eugenie, get away!† I did, jerking backward lest I get sucked in with the choking gentry. Power crackled around him, and a moment later, he disappeared, shoved back to his own world. Silence fell. I was sitting on the now-muddy ground, soaking wet with my heart pounding. Roland walked over and extended his hand to help me up. â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked. He snorted. â€Å"You can't end a call like that and not expect me to show up.† â€Å"True,† I said. I was weak and woozy from the combat and the magic, and my bare legs were skinned up from the fight. I'd need some soap and antiseptic. â€Å"Thanks.† Roland shrugged, not needing my thanks. Even in the dimness, I could see the angry look in his eyes. â€Å"What the hell did you think you were doing?† Seeing as I'd just done several things, I wasn't entirely sure which he was referring to. â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"That.† He pointed to the spot where we'd banished the gentry. â€Å"You were†¦you were using magic to choke him!† â€Å"I was keeping him subdued while you banished him,† I growled, unwilling to admit I was kind of freaked out myself. It had all happened so fast. My only impulse had been to incapacitate the gentry. The means had just sort of happened. Realizing what I'd done-again-gave me a sick feeling. I'd sworn I'd never do it. â€Å"Pinning him with the athame would have worked! Where the hell did you learn to do that?† â€Å"I've picked up a few things here and there.† Roland's face was a mask of fury. â€Å"You have no business using that kind of magic, Eugenie. None.† My own anger was growing. â€Å"In case you've forgotten, that magic is in my blood.† â€Å"No,† he said softly. â€Å"I haven't forgotten. Which is why it's so important you don't use it. What else can you do? How long have been using this kind of power?† â€Å"It's not important. I can do a few things-things that have kept me alive when assholes like this come try to rape me-and it's not a problem. I can control it.† â€Å"You need to stop this. You need to stay away from the gentry. You're getting too involved with their world, with their magic†¦.† â€Å"It's part of who I am. You can't change that. And if you didn't want me taking drastic steps, then why'd you break the wards?† Roland frowned. â€Å"I didn't. I thought that gentry had.† â€Å"No, he crossed them, but his buddies were locked out-for a while, at least. Then I heard someone undoing them. It was our kind of magic. I thought it was you.† â€Å"Why on earth would I do that?† â€Å"Then some other shaman did.† The accusing tone in my voice provided no need for elaboration. â€Å"Stop this. Art and Abigail aren't out doing what you think. They certainly wouldn't break the wards so gentry could attack you. You think they're out in your neighborhood right now? One of the gentry must have done it. You were probably distracted.† â€Å"Have you lost all faith in me? All you keep saying tonight is that I'm wrong, that I'm mistaken. Roland, I know what shamanic magic feels like. Just like I know what gentry magic feels like, especially considering-as you keep pointing out-I use it all the time.† I'm not sure which part of my tirade did it, but I could tell he was done with the conversation. There was something weary in his face that made him look older than he was. â€Å"I'm not going to stand out here in the dark and argue with you, Eugenie. All I can ask is that if you can't control yourself for my sake, then think of your mother. Otherwise, do what you want.† â€Å"Roland†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But he was already walking away into the night, and as I watched the man I'd always regarded as my father leave, I uneasily wondered whose daughter I truly was.