The women in Othello are presented by Shakespeare as victims

This question requires knowledge of how women were treated during the period ‘Othello' was written and how they are treated during modern days. When this play was written, The Jacobean era, an overwhelming amount of evidence suggests that women were treated as inferiors to men. Women would usually be viewed as pure and divine before having sexual intercourse, but afterwards, they were often treated as low down human beings. In general, they were allowed to be beaten, forced into labour and most did not have the right to an education. So the church would play an important role in everyday life for women, it was an occasion to look forward to. Every female church-goer would learn about the two biblical stereotypes for women, Mary and Eve. Mary was worshipped for being pure and flawless but Eve was castigated for her impurity and deceitfulness towards God. At the beginning of the play, Desdemona was apotheosised especially by Roderigo. She was named a white ewe in Act I, which highlighted her gentleness and purity. But similar in the way Mary and Eve are contrasted, Emilia is reified and treated as an object by Iago; this was the usual treatment for women during Jacobean times. In ‘Othello' Desdemona is introduced as a woman that contradicts the stereotype of women during Jacobean times. She is described like a goddess by many men during the play, ‘She is indeed perfection' is how Cassio describes her in Act I. Othello begins to think of her as his trophy and prized possession, but despite all the attention and praise she receives, she does not become arrogant or boastful and remains eloquent and lady-like, showing how she is worthy of being deified. Even when Othello is strangling her, he comments on her soft, white skin, he says it feels â€Å"as smooth as a monumental alabaster† This very surprising for the audience because at the point of nearly killing her he still treats her like a goddess. However, Emilia is treated as an object of no value by Iago. He often rejects her and He refuses to treat her with even a semblance of kindness. She is treated like a whore because Iago believes she has slept with another man without any hard evidence. She completes a mischievous deed for Iago, displaying her loyalty and desperation for any sort of love shown back to her. Desdemona seems to be praised a lot during the first act. But in fact, she is treated like an object. Iago says to Brabantio â€Å"Zounds Sir, you've been robbed. † This is reifying her because he is describing her like an item. Iago then mentions â€Å"The wine she drinks is made of grapes,† which is showing the audience that he has a strong belief that there is nothing special about her and she is just another possession. Desdemona is then called â€Å"A Land carrack,† which Othello has boarded. This further proves that Iago has a condescending attitude towards Desdemona and women in general. When Othello and Iago are in Venice, Iago pounces on this opportunity to tell Othello of the fallacious women of Venice. He says â€Å"In Venice they do let Heaven see the pranks they dare not show their husbands. † He says this to make Othello think of how he and Desdemona compare to this statement, preying on Othello's ignorance. Shakespeare uses a lot of animal imagery during the play, sometimes in a complimentary fashion but most often, in a degrading manor. Audience from modern times will be shocked at the amount of sexist and racist animal imagery used. Iago calls her a â€Å"White Ewe† which many will probably view as a compliment, reflecting on her innocence and gentleness. But some might view it as an insult, saying that she is common and nothing special. Even Othello uses abusive terms towards women, he says to Desdemona â€Å"thou art false as hell† highlighting his complete lack of trust for Desdemona, both as his wife and as a woman. Yet Desdemona does not say anything of an abusive nature to Othello. In ‘Othello' many people do not think of Cassio as the sexist type, he is portrayed to be well mannered and respectful up until he calls Emilia a ‘common thing'. This surprises many of the audience who thought of Cassio as the sole man in the play who respects women. But Shakespeare was obliged to do this if he wanted to show the audience that Cassio was a ‘normal' Jacobean man. This suggests that he thought it was standard for men to call women such belittling phrases. Emilia is portrayed as naive and desperate when she is first introduced, she is so distant from her husband that she has no idea of what Iago has been trying to do. The most astonishing example is that after he steals the handkerchief for Iago, she still appears to have no idea of what he is trying to do, she just wants to do â€Å"nothing but please his fantasy. † Despite being made out to be the most naive woman in the play, she is the only woman to show signs of courage and feminism in her words. One of the first moments to do this is when she refers to men as ‘stomachs'. Even more significant is when she says â€Å"husbands fault if their wives do fall. † This is one of the earliest signs of feminism, or at the very least defiance in Shakespeare's play. Bianca is the only other woman in ‘Othello' along with Emilia and Desdemona. She is at first portrayed to be a prostitute and whore, although there isn't any evidence that this is indeed her profession. The men in ‘Othello' treat her like a ‘strumpet' and a stereotype of impure women during the Jacobean times. She is able to prove her stereotype wrong by standing up to some of the abuse she takes from Iago. In a manipulative fashion, Iago tries to use the condescending view towards Bianca to his advantage. He assumes nobody will believe her or take her seriously because many of the male characters believe she is a lying and deceitful whore. So he blames the injury of Cassio and death of Roderigo on her. When talking about the incident he says â€Å"this is the fruit of whoring,† which is referring to the fact he wants people to believe it was her. This statement is about whether Shakespeare has written a misogynistic play by presenting the women as victims'. Having established how the women are treated differently and similarly in the play, we can look at a very important scene which shows how the women in the play talk about their husbands. This scene is the willow scene where they talk about events that have happened and how their husbands are behaving. Emilia says that she would do something impure and evil if it would lead to her earning money. This is because Emilia has come from a poor background where money was scarce and very precious. But in Contrast, Desdemona says she would never do such a thing because money is not so important to her due to a wealthy background, this shows She uses morals as motivation rather than money. Then, to confirm to any doubters in the audience, she says she would rather die than cheat on her husband Othello. This is a very bold action that Shakespeare uses to highlight her purity and faithfulness. Desdemona has proved many stereotypes for white, wealthy women in Jacobean times wrong; she has married a Black man and firmly stated that she believes in strong morals. This proves that she is strong enough to stand up for herself despite the abuse and criticism she receives. It would be very unusual for this to be true, not that a woman would do these things, but that she would be able to stand up to the racism and sexism of those around her. Shakespeare is very quick to use the derogatory nature of men's views on women to add extra effect to the play. For many people, he is too quick and too eager to perceive women as victims. The definition of a victim is a ‘a person who is deceived or cheated, as by his or her own emotions or ignorance, by the dishonesty of others, or has suffered from destructive or injurious action'. But Shakespeare, during Jacobean times, may not have been seen to present women as particular victims of this play. In modern day life many people will agree that he is on the border of extremity with the amount of sexism in ‘Othello' whether or not he wanted women to be victims of this play. Many people will agree that the women are victimised by Iago and the people Iago he has manipulated. Othello was an equal if not greater victim than Desdemona, not because he died but he was a victim of his own gullibility, ‘his or her own emotions or ignorance'. He did not once think of believing what Desdemona said or even placing all his trust in her, his wife. So he is a much greater victim in this play than Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca put together. Although there are an overwhelming amount of incidents to show that women have suffered from this play, Shakespeare may have hidden a few signs of feminism in what Emilia said and the way Bianca stood up against the Jacobean stereotypes. We will never know why Shakespeare wrote this play, whether it was to be derogatory towards black men or perhaps to explore the possibilities of defying the sexist and racist stereotypes of Jacobean times.

Nonverbal Communication in an Emergency Room

For this project I had to decide upon and visit an environment that I would not normally be in. This environment had to be different from my normal and more comfortable surroundings, in which I thought the nonverbal communication patterns would differ from my own. I made my observations over two days. The environment I chose to observe was an emergency room waiting area. I chose this because I figured the people that I would be observing would not necessarily be very different from me, but I figured that they would be in a different emotional state then I was. I was just an observer in the emergency room while everyone else was there because of some sort of serious medical issue. During my observations I tried to identify any emblems, adaptors, affect displays, eye gaze patterns, regulators, and illustrators and interpret why they might be occurring and what they mean. I also studied and interpreted the impact of the environment itself and what effect it might have had on the people in it. I took a seat toward the back of the room to get the largest possible view of the waiting room. The overall feeling was fairly comfortable and it was not intimidating. The first thing I noticed was that the lighting in the waiting room was dimmer than the lighting in the rest of the hospital. It seemed like mood lighting to me and compared to the fluorescent lit rooms in the rest of the hospital it was more relaxing. The wall facing the outside was basically a wall of tinted windows looking into the parking lot. The windows were tinted to let in a comfortable amount of sunlight without it being too bright. I think the goal was to allow as much natural light in as possible. This would be a good idea in a waiting room because the windows can help reduce the feeling of being â€Å"stuck† there. There were a couple televisions mounted on the wall. Obviously, these were put there to help waiting patients and visitors pass the time. But I would also argue that the televisions were placed there to make the waiting room more familiar and comfortable like someone’s living room. The color of the wallpaper was a very dull, khaki, color. I think that color was picked because it is a neutral color that would not evoke any emotion. Another thing I took note of was how the seating arrangement was laid out. The room was a rectangle shape. The chairs lined the walls and outlined the shape of he room. Other chairs were placed in the middle of the room around a couple of coffee tables. It didn’t seem to make sense at first. However, the more I stared at it, the more it made sense. The chairs seemed arranged to accommodate the different types of groups that would be sitting there. Some rows were long and straight without any other rows opposite them, which I thought would be suitable for somebody waiting alone and might not want to be facing any strangers and keep to themselves. Other rows were arranged to give you the option to sit face to face with someone. There were also some rows that were arranged in a square facing each other but further apart, possibly so that if you wanted to talk to somebody you didn’t know, you had the option to do so, without it feeling obligated or awkward. At the end of the rectangle-shaped room, in the back left and right corners, were two additional areas. One was a â€Å"family consultation room† and the other area was the â€Å"children’s play area. † These two environments differed from the rest of the waiting room. The children’s play area was in the corner and was made to be a fun environment. There was a small, pink, round table with four matching chairs. The ceiling dropped down and was lower than the rest of the room as you entered the play area. I felt this made it cozier for children because the ceiling height was more in proportion to a smaller child’s height. The paint on the walls changed also. It had the same color wall as the rest of the waiting room but there was a big, blue, zigzag pattern that started half way up the wall and wrapped around the perimeter of the play area. It seemed appropriate because even without the label on the wall, the area was clearly a children’s play area. The pattern also set a playful mood. The emergency room can be a stressful place and having to a specific place for children to feel comfortable in was a good idea. The second area was a â€Å"family consultation room. † This was an additional room in the back right corner. This room is for families that have received devastating information about a patient in the emergency room. The room has a door but it was open and unoccupied at the times I was there. This room also had a different feel then the waiting room just outside. As you would imagine it had a very comforting feel. The walls were a light blue color that seemed to be painted on with a sponge. This room also had a wall of windows but it had an optional pull-down shade to cover the windows if desired. The chairs in this room were different too. There were a set of two normal chairs, a couch and a two-seat bench. The couch had room for three people and the bench had room for two. The couch and bench were different from the seats in the other rooms because these did not have any dividers between the seats. I think the idea behind that was that the room was an area to be close with friends and family. Having places to sit were you can be close to someone next to you was essential for the purpose of the room. After making notes about the environment I started making notes on everything I saw people doing, and taking note of the different types of people I was observing. I also intentionally put on headphones so that I would only be interpreting non verbal behaviors. Some of the emblems I saw were unique to the individual, while others were repeated among a lot of people. One that I saw a lot of people doing was to put an arm around the person sitting next to them. Along that same line, people were holding each other’s hands, as well as putting a hand on somebody’s leg. The triage nurse that was calling new arrivals into triage rooms used her hands and body movement to direct people to come with her and to direct them into specific rooms. She would call out someone’s name and when that person acknowledged that they heard her she would invite them over with a wave of her hand. I also saw her point to one of the triage rooms without saying anything when a doctor walked into the waiting room. The doctor had come in and looked at her with a questioning facial expression. She answered his non verbal question with a non verbal answer. She pointed to the second of two triage rooms. That was the answer the doctor was looking for because he entered the triage room without a word. Other conversational examples that were simpler were things such as a person shaking or nodding their head as a response to someone else talking to them. One woman was actually nodding and shaking her head in response to whoever she was talking to on her cell phone. There were a lot of adaptors throughout the entire room, visitors, patients and hospital staff alike. A few of them were actually common throughout the room, not always simultaneous, but at some point or another they were repeated by others. One such adaptor was bouncing a leg up and down while talking or waiting. A couple of people also kept shifting in their chairs while talking. The two most common I saw with people’s hands were drumming their fingers on the arm rest, or rubbing their hands incessantly. One that I only saw once was a girl who every few minutes had to switch the position of her feet that were propped up on a coffee table in front of her. She seemed to be doing it out of boredom or restlessness. I felt she was doing it too often for it to have been the result of her feet being uncomfortable from being in the same position for too long. Others that I noticed were small. A security guard that passed through a few times had the consistent habit of playing with his set of keys attached to his belt. I spotted one of the nurses at the information desk had a habit of tapping the end of her pen gently on her two front teeth while she was pausing to look up anything on her computer. Most of the affect displays throughout the room were revealers, and very similar to each other, without much change from when I entered to when I left. The first thing I noticed was that nobody was smiling. The only smiles I noticed were fake smiles. The person smiling was forcing the smile. This occurred a lot within groups sitting together when they weren’t talking. A mother â€Å"smiled† at her son but her eyebrows were furrowed and pulled together, and her eyes remained unexpressive. The mother’s â€Å"smile† was a sign of reassurance and maybe it was interpreted by her son as a real smile, but the mother was clearly worried. Most of the people in the room had blank expressions or just a slight frown. It seemed as if everyone was in deep thought and most people did not look thrilled to be there. Eye gaze patterns throughout the room varied quite a bit depending on the person's situation. A group that was sitting together in the area of chairs facing each other kept the most eye contact with each other while talking and seemed very comfortable with it. There was another group that was not as good at making eye contact. The group consisted of an elderly woman in a wheelchair along with a middle aged man and woman. The man looked very agitated. He sat with his body positioned forward toward his companions, but his head was turned completely to the side so that he was looking out the windows. He had his elbow propped on the back of the chair next to him, his chin was resting in his hand and his fingers were covering his mouth. When one of the women talked to him his eyes darted to the one speaking to him but quickly went back to the windows as he answered. The women exchanged glances with each other that seemed to let the other know that they both picked up on his agitation and should probably let him be. A few people’s gazes were all over the place. Those people seemed to be the ones that had nothing to do. They were sitting there without a magazine or anything to distract them. Another person sitting alone also mainly looked at their lap or the ground, occasionally locking eyes with a stranger sitting across from them and quickly looking away. The same thing happened to me with a girl sitting opposite of me. We kept making eye contact when I was looking around the room for examples. I’m pretty sure she was trying to figure out what I was doing. I do think she did figure out that I was making some sort of observations and recording them because she started to avert her eyes more quickly the next two times we made eye contact. Regulators were hard to spot because, for the most part, nobody was talking to each other, with the exception of the two groups near me. In the corner what I noticed was, while the man was listening to the woman, he sat back in his chair, body turned towards her, and nodded his head. When it was his turn to speak, he did the opposite and sat up and leaned more towards her and looked around more. The family was all fairly reserved while listening; hands in their laps, bodies turned towards the speaker, but were more animated with their hands and body shifting as they spoke. The illustrators I saw were mostly emphasizing or helping illustrate something somebody was saying. I watched one funny example play out between the two girls in front of me. I never heard what they were talking about but at one point they both put their arms out to their sides and touched the tip of their noses with their pointer fingers. They were discussing either a field sobriety test given by a police officer or a balance test given by a doctor. Another example like this helping explain speech was a young man holding both of his closed fists together and snapping them apart while talking to a woman he was with. I determined he was explaining what had happened to his leg since he was in a wheelchair and his leg was wrapped. Those were the only specific illustrators I saw that seemed to have some type of meaning, where the most common thing was just random gesturing of people’s hands as they spoke. This did not always seem to have any direct connection to what they were speaking about. The adaptors I saw had clear and similar messages with each other. One man came off as stressed and anxious because he was rubbing and squeezing his hands together very roughly without seeming to be aware of it. Fidgeting with his hands seemed to help him take away from the stress he was feeling. Similar to the man rubbing his hands was the girl shifting the position of her propped up feet. She was releasing energy through movement of her feet. It seemed as though she didn’t want to be sitting and would rather be moving around. Most of the prescriptive interpretations I came up with for the behaviors observed came to me immediately as I saw them, as most of them seemed to convey a very clear message in my mind. Almost all of the emblems I saw were various people putting an arm around the person’s shoulder sitting next to them, holding their hand, or putting their hand on their leg. Touch is a powerful form communication. These all were ways of conveying to the other person that they were there for them, to comfort them and help them in this emotional time, and that everything would be alright. I didn’t have to do too much adjusting once I entered the room. I didn’t stick out anymore than anybody else did as far as my clothing went. Since this is an emergency clinic, I assumed that none of these people planned to be here so there really was no particular style of dress. Also, the fact that I was there alone and not talking to anybody actually helped me blend in. There were plenty of people alone and keeping to themselves. The only time I felt like I wasn’t blending in was when the girl in front of me noticed I was writing about the room. That happened on the first day. The second day I went into the emergency waiting room, I wore a hat to better conceal my face and what my eyes were doing. Overall I thought what I found was pretty interesting because I have been in this environment before, noticing most of these things, but the observations this time were put in a whole new perspective because I had to consciously interpret each one, instead of casually noting them. What I think was unique and interesting about this environment was the fact that, although everybody in the room could have easily been of a different ethnicity, gender, age, religion, or political affiliation than each other, they all still had a very similar communication style and seemed to convey the same general emotions. The overall communication was mostly nonverbal simply for the fact that there was very little talking. However, the non verbal communication that was happening was easily interpreted by the people I was observing. There are few places you can go where the overall internal state of mind and emotions will be so universally contained within one room and made this an excellent location. This exercise made me realize how much and how effectively we communicate as humans without even talking.

It’s anti-life Essay

Now I’m not going to delve into the argument of whether an unborn fetus is life because that’s a complete and utter waste of time. But I do want to know if life is as valuable as everybody claims. Do you really think about how valuable the life of a beggar is when you meet him or her down the street? Do you value the life of a murderer when you’re facing him at gunpoint? Do you value the life of a corrupt government official when he is using his power for profit? The truth is we only value life when the absence of life is there. The rest of the time we don’t really give a crap about it. We waste life, we self-destruct, we kill, we steal and yet when we see a loved one die or when we find out we’re dying we start valuing life. Isn’t that simply hypocrisy? The truth is, the only life that’s valuable to us is our own life and the lives of those who are close to us. You people rant about how important human life is yet when exposed in our vulnerable state all you see is a facade of hypocrisy to shield your irrational beliefs. You brag about valuing the human life yet all you really care about is your own selfish life. It isn’t life that’s important to humans. What’s important is the â€Å"person† inside each and every human being. You can tell me that the reason why some people don’t care about life is because there is good and there is evil when it comes to people. If that is so then that means that life is also either good or bad. And when it comes to human nature, people almost never put any value into anything that is bad. Euthanasia is defined as the practice of ending a life prematurely in order to end pain and suffering. The process is also sometimes called Mercy Killing. Euthanasia can fall into several categories. Voluntary Euthanasia is carried out with the permission of the person whose life is taken. Involuntary euthanasia is carried out without permission, such as in the case of a criminal execution. The moral and social questions surrounding these practices are the most active fields of research in Bioethics today. Many Supreme Court cases, such as Gonzales v. Oregon and Baxter vs. Montana, also surround this issue. Voluntary euthanasia is typically performed when a person is suffering from a terminal illness and is in great pain. When the patient performs this procedure with the help of a doctor, the term assisted suicide is often used. This practice is legal in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. It is also legal in the state of Oregon, Washington and Montana. Passive euthanasia is carried out by terminating a medication that is keeping a patient alive or not performing a life-saving procedure. Active euthanasia involves the administration of a lethal drug or otherwise actively ending the life. These two types of procedures carry different moral and social issues. Euthanasia Debate Controversy There is a lot of controversy surrounding the issue of euthanasia and whether or not it should be legal. From a legal standpoint, the Encyclopedia of American Law categorizes mercy killing as a class of criminal homicide. Judicially, not all homicide is illegal. Killing is seen as excusable when used as a criminal punishment, but inexcusable when carried out for any other reason. In most nations, euthanasia is considered criminal homicide: however, in the jurisdictions mentioned above, it is placed on the other side of the table with criminal punishment. Arguments regarding the euthanasia debate often depend on the method used to take the life of the patient. The Oregon Death with Dignity Act made it legal for residents to request a lethal injection from a doctor. This is seen in other jurisdictions as being a criminal form of homicide. However, passive euthanasia through denial of drugs or procedures is considered to be legal in almost all jurisdictions. Those who argue for euthanasia feel that there is no difference. Those who are against it disagree. Euthanasia and Religion Many arguments also hinge on religious beliefs. Many Christians believe that taking a life, for any reason, is interfering with God’s plan and is comparable to murder. The most conservative of Christians are against even passive euthanasia. Some religious people do take the other side of the argument and believe that the drugs to end suffering early are God-given and should be used. One of the main groups of people who are involved with the euthanasia debate is physicians. One survey in the United States recorded the opinions of over 10,000 medical doctors and found that sixteen percent would consider stopping a life-maintaining therapy at the recommendation of family or the patient. Fifty five percent would never do such. The study also found that 46 percent of doctors believe that physician assisted suicide should be allowed in some cases. The controversy surrounding euthanasia involves many aspects of religion, medical and social sciences. As this is one of the most studied fields of bioethics, one can rest assured that more studies will be performed to learn more about this issue and how to best address it. Firstly, I disagree with your definition of euthanasia. Euthanasia is the putting to death, by painless method, of a terminally-ill or severely debilitated person through the omission (intentionally withholding a life-saving medical procedure, also known as passive euthanasia) or commission of an act (active euthanasia), as defined by the leanlegal dictionary online. I also find your first point confusing; in what way does the legalisation of euthanasia affect the close family ties in Filipinos? I, being a Filipino, can relate, and I fail to see your point. Secondly, define what you mean by â€Å"the doctor’s ethics†? In a case to case basis, a doctor will not be performing euthanasia if he/she is against it, therefore it is a fallacy to generalise to all doctors. Lastly, euthanasia is against the constitution, that is why the topic is should it be legalised. Saying it is currently not legal is restating the topic, no relevance. Now for my arguments. Firstly, the financial costs of keeping a person on a life support machine are enormous, not to mention hospital bills and 24-hour medical care. 80% of the Filipinos live in poverty, how many people can afford this? What happens then if the family cannot afford keeping the relative on life support? Do they get arrested? Secondly, the emotional distress that is caused by seeing your loved one in a vegetative state for an extended period of time while doctors continually tell you that there is no hope for recovery is potentially traumatizing. Some people who consider this as suffering for the vegetable loved one will want euthanasia, but they haven’t the option. Legalising this will not force everyone to take this course, but rather only provide an option. Lastly, the medical facilities and time that is devoted towards the vegetative patient with low chances of recovery could be spent helping someone else in greater need. Already in the Philippines we have a shortage of medical personnel and equipment, this additional burden will only cause more damage.

BUS305, Competitive Analysis and Business Cycles Mod 2 Case Assignment Essay

BUS305, Competitive Analysis and Business Cycles Mod 2 Case Assignment - Essay Example The proponents of rent control cite inflation and lack of affordability of housing units, arguing that shelter is a basic need that government policy should address. High rents would discourage industries because relocation of workers would be costly, and the arbitrary or unreasonable raising of rents of landlords, exercising their market power, can force workers to move out of areas of employment, with attendant high costs to them. Therefore some kind of control is necessary. The proponents also argue that present conditions are not really that bad for the landlords because of "vacancy decontrol" allowed, when they can raise the rent to about market clearing level once a tenant moves out. Also in some areas, new construction is exempt from rent control, no doubt a compromise solution to the possible incidence of urban decay caused by lack of maintenance of rental properties subject to rent control. There are also tax deductions that landlords are allowed to make on the properties - such as those that pertain to depreciation and real estate taxes. In some jurisdictions, landlords are allowed to raise rents at a certain ratio in relation to the increase in the Consumer Price Index, say, 60 per cent. It is not as bad for landlords as it is often portrayed. Those who are against rent control are numerous and preponderant. Many studies have confirmed that rent control benefits tenants and harms landlords (Nicholson, 1997). Even in the 1950s, waiting times for new apartments in Sweden were said to have reached 3 years because of the shortage. Secondly, rent controls affect housing quality: Landlords can refuse to do maintenance and repair work on the pertinent unit thus reducing their quality and the supply of units. If tenants insist that maintenance work be done, landlords can always tell them to leave if they are unhappy. The deterioration of housing units subject to rent control is such that Vietnamese Foreign Minister

Management of Occupational Health & Safety Essay

Management of Occupational Health & Safety - Essay Example The incident was caused by the night crew putting a condensate injection pump into service, that earlier in the day had been taken out of service for maintenance. Additionally, the magnitude of the disaster was multiplied since a pressure safety valve had been removed for recertification. Such non-routine work increases risk of a catastrophic accident taking place (AICE, 2007: 287). Primarily, operator errors should have been prevented. Written, standardized procedures and permits applying to the entire facility or to the equipment, are a practical necessity for effectively and consistently controlling non-routine work related to high-risk activities. This includes two-way communication through checklists or permits to authorize the work, which highlight particular hazards that might be encountered and specify appropriate safeguards. Permits for non-routine work should be issued and reviewed by a trained person. Additionally, a preventive system of maintenance department locks should be in place (AICE, 2007: 293-295, 298). Further, the offshore installation manager (OIM) at the Piper Alpha was untrained to cope with the emergency. He did not communicate or take crucial decisions to cut off oil production, block supply of gas to the pipelines from the neighbouring facility, call for helicopters for rescue work, delegate authority or alleviate stress in the men (Flin et al, 1996: 262). Engineering design of the different components in the facility was faulty, such as interdependent couplings and linkages among the components of the facility, and with neighbouring installations. Hence, there was no provision for automatic shutdown of production, or for alarm, public address, and other critical systems. The mutual proximity of control room, radio room, electric generators, diesel room, with production modules caused a chain action of component failures due to fire propagation and explosions. The design of fire protection such as

Chapter 8. WE TAKE NOTHING BY CONQUEST, THANK GOD Assignment

Chapter 8. WE TAKE NOTHING BY CONQUEST, THANK GOD - Assignment Example Though now when everything is forgotten, and it seems absolutely habitual and reasonable that these states belong to the US as they have become its pride and attraction. While several centuries ago these events caused numerous human victims and provoked serious disputes in the society. The question if this expansion can be considered justified or it is only a byproduct of the growing America`s pride and ambitions was raised in the society. Is there any way to persuade society and church that annexing the territories belonging to other nation is a necessary step for the country? Of course, there is! Such mechanisms as provoking revenge, manipulating socialoseopinion, and telling lies worked in the circumstances and will work as long as the human race exists. I was impressed by the thoughts of Colonel Hitchcock who managed to show the essence of this conflict and express the ambiguity of this choice for the nation: â€Å"I have said from the first that the United States are the aggressors. . . . We have not one particle of right to be here. ... It looks as if the government sent a small force on purpose to bring on a war, so as to have a pretext for taking California and as much of this country as it chooses, for, whatever becomes of this army, there is no doubt of a war between the United States and Mexico. . .. My heart is not in this business ... but, as a military man, I am bound to execute orders†. So after the horrible and cunning provocation which lead to the murder of the American General the country started acting more violently and forcefully. That was the time when the concept of the â€Å"manifest destiny† appeared and Americans felt the right to decide whom to live and whom to die. It is strange how the feeling of superiority can infect even religious people. The following quote evoked strong paradoxical feelings in me: â€Å"The Reverend Theodore Parker, Unitarian minister in Boston, combined eloquent criticism of

Setting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Setting - Essay Example The first scene is in his twenties where he is lonely, cold, bitter but also hopeful when he enters the circus. Although this early life is characterized by rough times, he still manages to get an escape to the circus when his parents died. The other scene is set in the nursing home with Jacob is in his nineties. In the nursing home, he is lonely too but life here is more permanent that in the circus setting. The fact that the story is set during the depression is very relevant. This is because the main theme of the story is based on the poor conditions and tough lives of the Americans during the great depression. As such, it emphasizes the high poverty levels. The people were too poor to afford even the food supplies due to loss of economic benefits. If it had been set in the Roaring 20s when jobs were plentiful and spirits high, it could not have expressed the theme of this story because people would have had plenty of resources to live comfortably. Apart from taking people from place to place, the train represents lack of permanence to the circus people. They have no permanent residence due to poor economic conditions and therefore, they have to move from place to place for commerce purposes. As such, the train is a representation of hope that the circus’s poor conditions will get

Those the year 1968 has benefits us Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Those the year 1968 has benefits us - Essay Example Martin Luther King and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy had their lives extinguished through the barrel of a gun. For many Americans then, the year 1968 came to signify the end of innocence and the dawn of a new era of dashed hopes and unfulfilled promises (Sibley 2009; Hobsbawm 244-270). Events on the international stage further added to this perspective as the Cold War started to heat up and the ramifications of the capitalist-communist split were coming to the fore. It is important to remember that this was the height of the Cold War and as Czechoslovakia sought increased liberalization as a member of the Soviet block, the USSR and Warsaw Pact’s military might crushed any appearances of dissent emanating from Prague and its environs. On August 20, 1968, Warsaw Pact forces invaded Czechoslovakia culminating in the largest internal Eastern offensive since the dawn of the Iron Curtain leading to the forced occupation of this fraternal communist country. Troops from Bulgaria, East Germany, Poland, Hungary and the USSR were coordinated in the effort to crush the spring liberation emanating from Czechoslovakia. Accordingly, more than 500,000 troops effectively occupied this country in what became known as a devastating moment in world history. For Americans and o ther Westerners, the occupation of Czechoslovakia during the height of the Cold War confirmed fears of the authoritarian nature of communism and brought home the importance of maintain a staunch anti-communist foreign policy during this period. The war in Vietnam was another reminder of the precarious situation which existed between the capitalist and communist world and the Vietcong launched the Tet Offensive during this period. With the successful Vietcong attack on the US Embassy in Vietnam, the Tet Offensive effectively ratcheted up the battle for supremacy in Vietnam between North and South Vietnamese forces as well

Midterm assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Midterm assignment - Essay Example It was published in 2011 indicating that the factors which were present during that time, influenced Fetterolf to write on issues that affected women. In fact, the title reveals that, during that time, there existed gender disparity and women were treated unequal members of the society. This situation influenced Fetterolf to reveal woman as the subject in his article (Fetterolf, 2011). In his article, Fetterolf claim to carry out a study that examines the future gender equality expectations of young women in their marriages and careers, upon getting higher education. In my suggestion, I believe that gender equality will never be achieved, despite women’s level of education, because of the conflicting responsibilities in marriages and career opportunities. Argument: This deduction from the article is a fallacy based on fact that the information is generalized based on the general appeal that people in well paying careers work must work for longer hours to match their payment. Fallacy: Greater education of participants,’ possible selves would lead them to evaluate themselves more favorably, anticipate greater emotional well-being, and perceive goals concerning finances, respect and power, and career as more

High School Essay Example for Free

High School Essay My freshman year of high school was scary. Two rival middles schools coming together to make one freshman class did not seem like the best idea, the classes were harder, and the stress levels were higher. In eighth grade I was so excited to be in high school, but once I got there I could not wait for that year to be over. Then I realized I still had three more long school years ahead of me. Dont get me wrong, I had plenty of fun times freshman year. I met so many new people and made a lot of new friends. The majority of my friends then are still my friends now. But I was ready to grow up. I think every teenager thinks like this at one point or throughout every year of high school. Most teenagers are ready to move from home and start a new and more independent life in college during most years of high school. I know that I thought this way for quite sometime. I thought that life in college would be a million times more eventful than life in high school. Sophomore and junior year were also similar to freshman year. Friendships became stronger, classes were continuing to get more difficult, and even though I involved myself more in extracurricular activities, I was ready to get out of town and start college more than ever. I had picked out my dream school and already had so many plans for my freshman year of college. But instead of time speeding up like I wished it would, it felt like it was slowing down. Summer going into senior year I began getting bored with the town and I felt like I was always saying there is nothing to do here. I thought I needed more adventure and was becoming tired of just going through the motions. Although I felt like that then, a few weeks into senior year my mindset had completely changed. Even though senior year has been the toughest year yet, my class has created a culture. There is so many things that define us as a class and set us apart from everyone else. From traditions started at football games, to the things that we do as a group, we have created our own culture and identity. I have realized that even though I have wanted the past three years to fly by, all I want is for this year to slow down. My friends and I have all created extremely close bonds and we have become almost like a family. I feel like throughout the past three years I have taken a lot of things for granted and have not really appreciated all the memories I have had that came from good experiences. I have learned not to take any special moments for granted because I could look back on these days and remember all of the good times and how much I enjoyed my senior year. At times I regret wanting to grow up so fast because I know now that these are some of the best times of my life and I wish I would have appreciated them before. Although I do regret that, Im thankful I get to spend this year with every single one of my closest friends. I still have a long time to make memories, but as the saying goes, time flies when youre having fun.

Light Pollution In Hong Kong Environmental Sciences Essay

Light Pollution In Hong Kong Environmental Sciences Essay Hong Kong is well-known as the Pearl of the Orient because of its bright lights of skyline at night. It is generally acknowledged by business parties that the brighter the lights in the city, the more business opportunities they will grab. (Lau, 2012) Nevertheless, behind this glamorous metropolitan city, the overuse of outdoor lighting facilities sacrifices Hong Kongs valuable natural resources and citizens good living environment. Light pollution caused by it has been increasing rapidly and is an environmental problem, which also has similar adverse impacts as other pollution such as air, noise, plagued Hong Kong in this decade. Thus, the Government has taken a pragmatic approach to tackle the problem with an issue of Guidelines on Industry Best Practices for External Lighting Installations at the beginning of this year. (Environment Bureau, et al., 2012) However, it is deemed to be far less than enough to ease serious light pollution in this flourishing city. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to discuss how light pollution affect the environment and residents; and (2) to analyze relation between light pollution problem and different aspect which include public awareness, business and law. Background of Light Pollution Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is the alteration of natural light levels in the outdoor environment owing to artificial light sources. The increase in night sky brightness due to light pollution diminishes the view of stars and planets. (Cinzano, et al., 2000) Generally, outdoor lights initially are designed for illuminating a specific area on the ground or wall, but in reality, some light spill out to a much larger area. (Pun So, 2009) Some lighting facilities even direct upward and this cause a much more serious light pollution. In Hong Kong, according to the data collected by the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong since 2003, the urban night sky is on average 100 times brighter than the darkest rural sites. (Pun So, 2009) This indicates that high population and lighting densities can aggravate light pollution problem. Excessive use of strong spotlights for illuminating advertising billboards and huge neon signs on commercial building are the main factors of light pollution problem in Hong Kong. Other pollution sources include street lamps with poor design of lampshades and pointing direction and other artificial lighting with little regard to fixture shielding. To narrow the scope of light pollution source discussed in this paper, it will mainly focus at lighting facilities for commercial use. Adverse Impact of Light Pollution Light Pollution has adverse effect on natural environment and human beings, such as energy wastage disruption to ecosystem and health problems. (Cheung, 2010) Excessive use of lights leads to a wastage of energy. Some neon signs and lights for illuminating advertising billboards switch on even at midnight when there are only a few people on the street who may have a chance to look at the advertisements. This energy wastage may aggravate air pollution as well as global warning problem because Hong Kongs electricity is generated using coal and natural gas. (HK Electric, 2011) The generation of electricity emits carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Its increase in atmosphere causes an increase of the temperature world-wide. (Narisada Schreuder, 2004) The excessive use of lighting facilities for commercial use is not essential in our lives and this not only leads to light pollution but also other pollution problem such as global warming and exhaustion of non-renewable resources. As for ecosystem, being an important stop-over point of the East Asia-Australasian Flyway for migratory birds, Hong Kongs excessive outdoor lightings may affect migratory as well as non-migratory birds. It may disorient physiological cycles and the movement of animals. (Travis Catherine, 2004) The breeding patterns of nocturnal animals and insect populations and management of metabolism, development and life programmes of plants are also affected adversely. (Deda, et al., 2007) Human beings may also be the victim of light pollution mainly because their living environment is brighter due to the strong light pollution source such as neon sign. A brighter night area will make them difficult to have a satisfactory sleeping at night. Sleep disruption may cause irritability, tiredness and nervousness in the following day. (Wu Wong, 2012) Their immunity to disease may also decrease and in turn lead to a longer-term health risks. (The Campaign for Dark Skies, 2009) Disruption of sleeping is the most concerned adverse impact by the public since it is the most apparent effect observed in their lives. Light Pollution and Public Awareness Light pollution problem is complicated by public ignorance. In the past, the general public was oblivious to the damage being done and did not value what was destroyed by light pollution. (Berry, 1976) Fortunately, the increasing evidence of adverse effects mentioned above make people start to pay more attention on this issue, but still it is not the most concerned pollution problem in Hong Kong. When local residents were asked about which environmental issues they are most concerned in 2008, more than a half answered drinking water pollution, air pollution, and global warning. (DeGolyer, 2008) Light pollution even did not appear in the choice of answers. This may be because light pollution problem only start to get high publicity in this decade while the public has been educated about other pollution problem for a long time. Public awareness with intrinsic knowledge has played an important role in solving environmental problem. (Bickerstaff Walker, 2001) Take air pollution as an ex ample, the community at large is aware of this problem. The Government, environmental groups, individuals who are environmentalism and other stakeholders have taken a lot of actions to tackle the problem such as implementing mitigation measures, raising public awareness on this issue and trying their little effort to take practical action. Therefore, public awareness contributes to the ease of pollution even though the pollution level has not met an acceptable level yet. It may be pleasing to note that the public awareness of light pollution problem seems to be arising but this may be because more light pollution sources which are mainly from commercial parties exists in urban area. There is a growing number of people lodging complaints about light pollution to the authorities. According to the statistic provided by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr. Edward Yau at the Legislative Council in 2010, complaints about light pollution had increased from 103 in 2007 to 389 in 2009. (Hong Kongs Information Services Department, 2010) This indicates that more light pollution exists in Hong Kong and thus more people are concerned about this pollution problem because it directly affects their living quality to some extent. This increase of public awareness has helped to ease light pollution in Hong Kong. There are more people to urge the Government to have more pragmatic measures in addressing the problem. When complaints are received from abutting residents , some commercial building owners such as The One shopping complex in Tsim Sha Tsui are also willing to reduce the brightness of their lighting facilities. (Cheung, 2011) However, the level of public awareness on light pollution in Hong Kong is far less than enough for a success in solving this problem. Education and publicity measures could be used to increase it so that it can motivate the community to tackle light pollution problem with more effort. Light Pollution and Business Hong Kongs economy relies on commercial and tourism industry heavily. These two industries correlate closely with the increasingly serious light pollution problem. Commercial sector relies on lighting to attract business. So, use of lighting facilities is understandable. However, overuse and over-brightness of their lighting facilities are the main factor of light pollution and should be reduced. Business parties generally pay little attention on light pollution caused by them, even though they emphasize corporate social responsibility. Some of them think that switching off the lights required by the public will eliminate Hong Kongs economic activities at night and deprive local residents of a late dinner break. If residents nearby are not satisfied with their bright lights, they can choose to live in a dimmer district. (Cheung, 2011) So, most of them do not take any practical action to alleviate light pollution problem caused by them. Another problem is due to Hong Kongs famous skyline at night which entices tourists. A majority of tourists visit Hong Kong mainly due to its reputation on neon lights. They look forward to enjoy a spectacular night view in Victoria Harbour with many neon signs on skyscrapers on two sides of the harbour. Since Hong Kongs economy is reliant on tourism, the Government introduced A Symphony of Lights which combines interactive lights of building around Victoria Harbour in 2004 to boost tourism industry. (Tourism Commission, 2005) So, business parties may think that light pollution is only a small side-effect of flourishing tourism industry and fast economic development. These lights and huge neon signs are part of Hong Kongs culture and are often used by commercial sector and even the Government as a tool for attracting tourists and local customers to buy their product and thus stimulate economy. However, in an opinion survey conducted in 2010, people who visited areas of intensive external lighting, including tourists, customers, have a higher proportion considering external lighting signs bright or too bright than shop owners, building owners and property management. (Policy 21 Limited, 2010) So, this indicates that business parties do not need to use such high level of brightness of lighting signs so to attract local and foreign customers. They can adjust the brightness to an acceptable level so that people nearby will not be adversely affected by them while they could still use lighting signs to attract customers. Light Pollution and the Law In Hong Kong, there is no specific ordinance with regard to light pollution. (Legislative Council, 2011) Even the public and green groups have urged the Government to introduce law to combat light pollution, which is similar to what they did to solve other pollution problems, the Government only issued a guideline, namely Guidelines on Industry Best Practices for External Lighting Installations, in January 2012. Different from an ordinance, the voluntary guideline only suggests the Government departments and private sector to have a better external lighting installations. (Environment Bureau, et al., 2012) It is deemed to be toothless to alleviate this increasingly severe environmental problem as no one could enforce business partes. (Cheung, 2011) One of the agruments for no legislation in Hong Kong is that some Asian countries which have similar economies to Hong Kong do not adopt any mandatory regulation over external lighting. (Legislative Council, 2011) However, the urban planning of Hong Kong and these countries should also be considered. Hong Kong has a relatively poor urban planning in the past because of rare land available for development, so residential and commercial buildings were always buit next to each other in urban area, such as Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui; while for other Asian countries, their business area has a clear speration from residential area. Thus, they do not need to use legislation on external lighting of commercial building to solve light pollution problem. In fact, there are many countries, such as Britiain and the United States with mandatory action in regulation of external light. (Legislative Council, 2011) Hong Kong Legislative Council should consider the citys special culture and take partia l approach in mandatory regulation, such as only restricting the applicability of regularoty framework to new lighting installation. In addition, the light from huge neon signs and flashing lights on the top of commercial buildings can even bleed into residential flats nearby with double curtains on windows. This problem cannot be solved only by the residents. Even though they compain to relative authorities, the officials cannot reduce the brightness of the pollution source due to lack of ordinance. So, one of the reugulation may empower the officials to enforce commercial buildings to mitigate their light pollution source to an acceptable level after a complaint about their lighting facilities is lodged. As a result, the citys culture City of the Night will not be altered a lot after the introduction of law regarding external lighting. A mandatory approach to solve light pollution problem should be much better than a voluntary guideline. Conclusion Light pollution has been a widely-discussed topic in Hong Kong in this decade. There has been a call to the Government for working in full swing to map out strategies to solve this environmental problem effectively. A series of short to long term measures, including education, publicity and law enforcement should be implemented. Apart from the Government, all sectors families, communities and public and private organizations at every level must also recognize their roles in alleviating light pollution problem in Hong Kong. In fact, the environment is a public resource that requires collaborative efforts of the whole community to conserve. It would be pleasing to note that everyone is enthusiastic in solving this problem and in the near future, we will create for ourselves and our further generation a better and light-pollution-free city in which to live and work.

How Reliable is Eyewitness Testimony?

How Reliable is Eyewitness Testimony? This essays attempts to reach a conclusion regarding eyewitness testimonies and the extent of its reliability. This was done by identifying factors in three different processes stages. The acquisition stage is the period where the witness experiences the event. The retention stage is the period between the time the event ends and the time the witness are asked for a recount or questioned about the event. The retrieval stage is the period where the witness is providing information from their recall. During the acquisition stage, research regarding exposure time, estimation of factors concerning the event (for example, time), violence of the event, weapon focus and witness stress was analysed. During the retention stage, research regarding post-event information, introduction of conflicting information and introduction of misleading information was analysed. During the retrieval stage, research regarding method of questioning, leading questions and a case study of an actual event was analysed. Experiments and case studies regarding these factors were then evaluated to weigh the impact that it had on eyewitness testimony. In conclusion, it was found that experiments regarding eyewitness testimony hold little evidence to support its reliability but there are also some findings that dispute this. Thus, it was concluded that it is reliable only to a small extent though it can be highly accurate under certain conditions. Applications of this conclusion includes jurors being more aware of the factors regarding eyewitness testimony and taking into account when deciding on a verdict especially if the main evidence is based solely on eyewitness recounts. Word Count: 252 words Introduction Eyewitness testimony is usually a verbal account given by an individual who has experienced an event, typically of a crime. Eyewitness testimony relies heavily on the capability of the individuals to accurately recount the event. In a trial, the jury is most often persuaded due to the statement(s) of the witnesses. Also, in cases where little material evidence can be collected, eyewitnesses are the focus for reaching a verdict. It has been argued that because testimonies are largely based on fallible memory which can be influenced by a variety of factors, it should not be depended upon. The contention of this essay is to identify and evaluate the extent of accuracy of this claim by identifying and evaluating factors that affect memory and by reviewing experiments and case studies to reach a conclusion on this matter. Memory and thus eye-witness reliability has become an issue of importance due to the high percentage of errors in identifying and prosecuting accused individuals. Thus, the reliability of eyewitness testimonies and impact on trials should be reviewed. Memory is defined as a kind of repository in which facts (information) may be retained over some period of time (Loftus, 1979). According to the Atkinson and Shiffrin model of memory storage (1971), memory is made up of three different types of information stores, each with different duration, capacity and function. The first is Sensory Memory. This type of store lasts for the spilt second when individuals collect information from their sensory systems and preserves information in its original sensory form. The sense organs are limited in their ability to store information about the world in an unprocessed way for more than a second. Thus, information is filtered through or selected by attention for further memory processing into the next type of memory store. This process of experiencing and filtering information is called acquisition. The next memory store is Short-term memory allows individuals to retain information long enough to be used and lasts approximately between 15 to 30 s econds. Miller (1956, cited in Weiten, 2005) proposed that Short-term Memory had a capacity of about 7 chunks of information. If certain actions are carried out, the information will be transferred to the last type of memory store, Long-term Memory. Long-term Memory provides retention of information which can last between minutes to a lifetime and has a limitless capacity. The process of information deposited in the short-term and long-term memory store is called retention. Information is constantly being transferred between these stores. When witnesses are asked to give recount of what they witnessed, information is taken from the long-term memory store and this process is called retrieval. Events during these three processes may affect the quality of the eyewitness testimony. During the acquisition process information may not have been perceived in the first place, information may be forgotten or interfered during the retention process or information may be inaccessible during questioning or during the retrieval process. Analysis of Factors that may affect Eye-witness Testimony during the Acquisition Process During the acquisition process, there are a number of factors that can affect an eyewitness report of an event such as exposure time or stress. This can be divided into event factors and witness factors. This section of the essay will evaluate the effect of these factors on the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Exposure time to the event or object of focus is an event factor. Laughery et al (1971, cited in Loftus, 1979) tested subjects on their recall based on the exposure time to a picture, showed one at a time of different positions of a human face. Two Caucasian male target faces were used, one with fair-colored hair and complexion with glasses and another with a darker-colored hair and complexion without glasses. The independent variable is the time the subjects viewed the pictures, which ranged from ten seconds to thirty-two seconds. The subjects were them asked, approximately eight minutes after exposure to identify the target within a series of 150 slides of human faces. The dependant variable is the accuracy of the subjects recall. Fifty-eight percentof the subjects who viewed the pictures for thirty-two seconds correctly identified the target but only forty-seven percent of the subjects who viewed the pictures for ten seconds correctly identified the target. This suggests that the more time a witness has to view the target, the more accurate their recall will be. This research is significant as it is very scientific and precisely tested a specific variable that affects memory and recall. Although this is so, it was also conducted in an artificial environment and thus, has low ecological validity. The research may also contain cultural and gender bias as it only tested for Caucasian males as the target. Thus, its application to targets of different cultures or gender is questionable. Estimating factors such as time, speed or distance is often asked of eyewitnesses. This involves perceiving the event and accurately inferring information from it. Marshalls (1966, cited in Loftus, 1979) experiment tested subjects estimation of time. Four hundred and ninety-one subjects watched a forty-two second film and a week after they had given their written and oral reports of the event, they were questioned as to the duration of the event. On average, subjects gave an estimate of about ninety seconds. The results show that witnesses can inaccurately estimate certain factors of an event. Although the results are significant, the study was conducted in a controlled environment which gives it little ecological validity. To further assess the accuracy of this study, an additional study that can be considered is Buckhout et al. (1975, cited in Loftus, 1979)s study on the effects if eyewitness testimony in a real situation by staging an attack where a student attacked a professor in front of 141 witnesses. The attack lasted for thirty-four seconds but when interviewed later on, the average estimate of the duration of the event was eighty-one seconds, almost twice the actual time. This study supports Marshalls study which shows that there is a tendency for witnesses to overestimate the duration in an event. This is significant in most cases, especially for cases of self-defense where the time between the attack and the retaliation is very significant in the categorization of the action. Another event factor is the violence of the event. A research done by Clifford and Scott (1978, cited in Loftus, 1979) investigated the ability of eyewitnesses to perceive violent and non-violent events. Forty-eight subjects with equal number of men and women watched either one of two tapes. In the non-violent version, the characters were involved in a verbal exchange and weak restraining movements. In the violent version, one of the characters physically assaults another character. In an effort to be even, the start and end of the tapes were manipulated to be identical. It was found that regardless of gender, the level of recall is significantly lower for those who viewed the more violent tape. It is inferred that this is due to the greater amount of stress that is produced in response to the violent event. This shows that eyewitness testimony of a violent event should be considered with the possibility of a higher rate of inaccuracy. Though the results are significant due to the hi gh reliability of the scientific method used, it also lacks ecological validity as it was conducted in an artificial environment where witnesses do not actually experience the event. An event factor that is linked to the witness factor, stress, is weapon focus. Easterbrook (1959) found that under high stress, individuals tend to concentrate more on a few features of their environment and less attention to other features. Weapon focus is where a crime victim is faced with an assailant who is brandishing a weapon. This rises the stress level of the crime victim and thus, they will only concentrate on a few features, mainly the weapon and will have trouble recollecting other factors such as the assailants features. Loftus et al (1987) tested this with an experiment where thirty-six students were showed a series of slides which showed one of two scenarios at a fast food restaurant. Half the subjects saw a customer pointing a gun at the cashier while the other half, the control group saw a customer handing the cashier a check. A part of the experiment tested the memory of the students based on a series of seven questions on the customer. It was found that the level of accuracy of the weapon group was fifty-six percent while the level of accuracy for the control group was sixty-seven percent. As the results show that the accuracy level of the weapon group is lower than the control group, this is highly significant in showing that eye-witnesses acquisition process might be seriously hampered by the presence of a weapon. The results of the experiment are highly valid as it was conducted in a controlled environment which allowed a direct cause and effect outcome. While this is so, the participants did not experience the event and thus their response may be different to an actual witness which means that the experiment lacks ecological validity. During an event, stress is a witness factor that should be taken into account. This refers to the level of stress or fear that a witness experiences which may influence their perception during the acquisition process of the event. A simulated case study done by Berkun (1962, cited in Loftus, 1979) placed army recruits in a stressful situation. They were isolated with the exception of a telephone link. Then, they were told that they were in danger to induce anxiety and were required to repair a broken radio by following a series of complicated instructions. It was found that the high level of anxiety impaired performance of the subjects. As this case study was conducted during a period of different ethical standards than today, there are ethical implications to be considered. Nevertheless, the results of this case study significantly support the Yerkes-Dodson law (1908, cited in Green) which states that emotional arousal facilitates learning and performance up to a point after which t here is a decrement. This can be applied to eyewitnesses who experience stress. Their senses may be stimulated but after a point, their acquisition process will be negatively affected. Although this is so, this case study has only looked at male soldiers, thus when applied to the general population, it lacks ecological validity. Analysis of Factors that may affect Eye-witness Testimony during the Retention Process Eye-witnesses are being tested on their retention of information from their Long-term Memory. Because retained information and thus, memory is being transferred between memory stores, it is possible that it can be influenced, enhanced or even distorted during or in between transfers. This section of the essay will focus on the numerous researches that have been carried out to investigate the accuracy of this or the extent of the influence that may occur. After an event occurs, sometimes witnesses discuss what they saw with each other and the information that is exchanged can result in an enhancement of memory in the form of modification or addition. An experiment was conducted by Loftus (1975) on one hundred and fifty participants. They were showed a film of a car crash where a car failed to stop at a stop sign and turned right to enter traffic, causing a five-car collision. After the film which lasted for less than a minute, participants were asked a series of ten questions. Half of the participants were asked about the stop sign in the first question while the other half were asked about the right turn. All other questions were the same. The independent variable here is the first question and the dependant variable is the last question which asked participants if they remembered seeing a stop sign. Loftus found that there was a higher percentage of participants who recalled seeing a stop sign if the first question related to a stop sign than the control group, fifty-three percent and thirty-five percent respectively. This shows that by mentioning an object, there is a higher chance of it being recalled. The results are highly significant as it was calculated using precise results with a specific variable tested. It can be argued that the experiment lacks ecological validity as it was conducted in an artificial environment but this allowed a specific variable to be tested which would have been impossible with a case study. As demonstrated by this experiment, eye-witnesses memory may be influenced by post-event information that they receive and thus, the more information that the witness is exposed to after the event, the higher the chance that their memory might be compromised. A modification to the previous variable is the question as to what happens when a witness learns new information which is different from what they experienced. Loftus (1975) conducted an experiment where forty participants were shown a three-minute video which involved a group of eight demonstrators noisily interrupting a lecture. The participants then had to answer a series of twenty questions. All the questions for the participants were identical except for one. Half of the participants were asked, Was the leader of the twelve demonstrators who entered the classroom a male? and the other half were asked, Was the leader of the four demonstrators who entered the classroom a male? All questions had to be answered with a yes or no. A week later, participants had to answer another set of questions. The critical question was How many demonstrators did you see enter the classroom? It was found that participants who previously answered the question with the word twelve reported an average of 8.9 demonstrators while the other half reported an average of 6.4 demonstrators. It can be argued that this experiment lacks ecological validity as it was conducted in an artificial environment and that participants only viewed the event and did not actually witness it. The results may not be fully applicable to the general population. Although this is so, the controlled environment showed a direct cause and effect of a specific variable. The results of this experiment can be applied to eye-witness testimony where witnesses may be mislead in their testimony as their memory might be compromised by the introduction of conflicting information. Similar to the experiment above is an experiment conducted by Loftus and Zanni (1975, cited in Hill, 1998) which was a modification of the original Loftus and Palmer research. The aim of the experiment was to investigate the effect of adding post event information on memory. Participants were shown a film of a car accident after which they had to answer a series of questions. Half of the participants were required to answer, Did you see the broken headlight which implied that there was a broken headlight while the other half were asked, Did you see a broken headlight which only required participants to recall if it was there. It was found that half of the participants, who were asked using the word the, incorrectly reported seeing a broken headlight. As most of the other variables were controlled in the experiment, and only a specific variable was changed, the results signify that memory can be modified by post event information. It can be argued that the participants did not experie nce the incident and thus the experiment lacks ecological validity when applied to actual witnesses but as a specific variable was examined, it can be concluded that the cause and effect was to a large extent connected. This experiment shows that eyewitnesses may be influenced by post event information which may negatively affect their account. McCloskey and Zaragaza (1985) also conducted experiments concerning the effect of misleading post event information on participants. After watching a series of slides depicting an event, participants received a narrative of the event. Participants in the mislead condition will receive a narration with receive the narrative with misleading information about a detail of the event, a hammer was referred to as a screwdriver instead while the control group werent provided details of the specific event. Participants then had to answer a series of questions about the event. The critical question concerning the tool had the original item as an option (hammer) and a new item (wrench). It was found that accuracy for the control group was seventy-five percent and seventy-two percent for the mislead condition group. The fact that there was little difference between the two groups points to the idea that misleading post event information does not distort memory of an event. This experiment suppor ts the validity of eyewitness testimony and due to the controlled setting; the results are highly valid though it lacks ecological validity. Analysis of Factors that may affect Eye-witness Testimony during the Retrieval Process Most evidence from eyewitnesses are a result of their accounts of the event. This involves the retrieval process of information from their long term memory store. This section of the essay aims to analyse and evaluate research conducted in relation to the techniques of retrieving information from eyewitnesses such as question wording or method of questioning. This is to evaluate the extent of influence of such techniques on the reliability of eyewitness accounts and in relation, memory. The method of questioning during the retrieval process plays an important role in the accuracy of eye-witness testimony as investigated by Lipton (1977, cited in Wells, 1978). Lipton conducted an experiment where participants watched a film of a murder in a courtroom setting. He found that unstructured testimony which allowed free recall resulted in ninety-one percent accuracy. This is a significant value as compared to other types of questioning such as open ended questions with eighty-three percent accuracy, leading questions with seventy-two percent accuracy and multiple choice questions with fifty-six percent accuracy. These results show that the type of questioning that the witness is subjected to affects the accuracy of their recount. When applied to trial testimonies, jurors should take into account the type of questioning to predict or get an idea of the level of accuracy of the testimony. Though conclusive to a certain extent, the experiment lacks ecological validity as the participants did not actually experience the event, merely perceive it but as it is a controlled environment, the reliability of the cause and effect factors is high. Loftus and Palmer (1974 cited in Hill, 1998) carried out an experiment to investigate the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of participants in recalling a car crash. Fourty-five participants were separated into seven groups and each group watched a video of traffic accidents. The videos lasted from five to thirty seconds. After watching the video, participants had to give an account of what they had just seen. The independent variable is the question About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?. The word hit is replaced with the words smashed, contacted, bumped and collided for different groups. The participants answer as to the estimate of the cars speed is the dependant variable. Loftus and Palmer found that the mean estimate of speed for more aggressive words such as smashed is higher than less aggressive words such as contacted. The results are highly significant, p Contending the results of this experiment is Yuille and Cutshalls (1986) case study of a real life event. 13 participants were interviewed using Loftus and Palmers (1974 cited in Hill, 1998) technique in their recall four to five months after witnessing an attempted robbery in daylight where one individual was killed and another, seriously wounded. It was found that there was a very high level of similarity between the accounts given by the witnesses, the accounts did not alter in response to leading questions and that the witnesses were able to recall the event in detail. Additionally, accounts of those who were more distressed had a higher accuracy level. These results are different to Loftus and Palmer (1974 cited in Hill, 1998). The eye witnesses did not alter their accounts greatly in response to leading questions. As this is a case study, it holds high ecological validity unlike laboratory experiments. Although this may be true, Yuille and Cutshalls case study was of an event t hat was relatively traumatic event and was viewed in ideal conditions. Most incidents do not mirror this setting. Also, it was an investigation of only one case study. Hence, the application of these findings is debatable when applied to general eye witness testimonies. Conclusion This essay evaluated the extent of accuracy of the claim that eyewitness testimony should not be depended upon. This was done by focusing on the different factors that can affect human memory, and in relation, eyewitness testimony as it is fundamentally based on memory. Experiments and case studies related to factors in three different memory stages were identified and evaluated. Research concerning the acquisition process such as exposure time, estimation of factors concerning the event, for example, time, violence of the event, weapon focus and witness stress level during the event was analysed. Results point to a correlation of high levels of inaccuracy when more traumatic factors are included in the event. This is also reflected in research concerning the retention process and the retrieval process although there is some evidence that supports the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Overall analysis criticised the low ecological validity of controlled experiments but also supported the high level of validity that comes with it as it essentially provides a cause and effect relationship between specific variables tested. Case studies were found to be very specific with regards to certain factors, which leads to a debate about their general application. Since experiments are only replications of real-life events, it cant be fully taken as the actual process . This may have some influence on the results obtained as it can be argued that the participants are not really experiencing the event, thus essential factors like, atmosphere, or even interest in the event may be compromised. In this manner, results of case studies hold a higher level of reliability. As indicated by the numerous researches on different factors during the process of collecting, processing and retrieving information from memory, eye witness testimony is reliable only to a small extent. Under such fallibility, it can be questioned if eyewitness testimony should be relied on at all. Though eyewitness testimony has been proved accurate in a number of researches, the amount of investigations concluding on the fact that it is highly imperfect far outweighs it. Though a large number of researches do not support the reliability of eyewitness testimony, there is also evidence to support it like Yuille and Cutshalls (1986) case study. This suggests that although eyewitness testimony can be unreliable, under certain conditions, it is highly accurate. Implications for application of the analysis in this essay could include jurors being more wary of eyewitness testimony and the conditions relating to it when deciding upon a verdict. Further research could include more case studies to increase the ecological validity of the theories produced by experiments analysed in this essay. References Atkinson, R. C. Shriffin, R. M. (1971), The Control Processes of Short-term Memory, Stanford, California, Stanford University Easterbrook J. A. (1959), The Effect of Emotion on Cue Utilisation and the Organisation of Behaviour, Psychological Review, Vol 66(3), 183-201 Green, C. D, (n.d.) Classics in the History of Psychology Yerkes and Dodson (1908), Toronto, Ontario, York University, Retrieved from psychclassics.yorka.ca: http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Yerkes/Law/ Hill, G. (1998), Oxford Revision Guides, AS A Level Psychology, New York, Oxford University Press Loftus, E. F; Loftus, G. R; Messo, J. (1987), Some facts about Weapon Focus, Law and Human Behaviour, Vol 11(1), 55-62 Loftus, E. F. (1975), Leading Questions and the Eyewitness Repost, Cognitive Psychology, Vol 7, 550-572, University of Washington Loftus E. F. (1979), Eyewitness Testimony, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England, USA, Harvard University Press Yullie J. C. Cutshall J. L. (1986), A case study of eyewitness memory of a crime, Journal of Applied Psychology, Volume 71(2), May 1986, 291-301 Weiten, W. (2005), Psychology: Themes and Variations, The United States of America, Thomson Learning Inc. Wells, G. L. (1978), Applied Eyewitness-Testimony Research: System Variables and Estimator Variables, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Volume 36, No. 12, 1547-1557, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

thomas cole Essay -- essays research papers fc

Thomas Cole Painting landscapes was very important during the 19th century. Thomas Cole was one of the most important figures in landscape painting in the United States. He went to many places searching for nature, which he painted to show the unmatchable beauty nature creates. His works of art helped people see and take pride in their great land, which was called America. Cole’s works were often made people feel like they needed to go out in nature and discover the inspiring world of mother earth. Thomas Cole, born on February 1, 1801 in Lancashire, England, found himself at fourteen working as a textile printer and wood engraver in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Cole returned to his parents in 1819 in Ohio; this is were he learned how to oil paint and how to use different kinds of oil painting techniques under the supervision of a portrait painter, Stein. Cole was very impressed and impacted by the landscapes of the â€Å"new world† and how magnificent they were compared to where he came from, which was England. Cole found that art came naturally to him and eventually taught himself how to observe nature and still life. He started by illustrating American trees, plants, animals, and even Native Americans. With his sketches of nature he made several different paintings including his famous â€Å"The Course of Empire†, â€Å"The wood chopper†, and â€Å"The Oxbow.† In early 1826, Thomas Cole was most famous for being the creator of the National Academy of Design. As the founder, Cole was urged by fans to paint American scenery, but Cole desired to create a landscape painting that could express moral and religious meanings. He painted and painted and then in 1836 he married and settled in Catskill, New York to Maria Bartow. In Catskill he made a beautiful landscape painting of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River. He is said to have made a big impact on artists like Frederick Church and Albert Bierstadt. Sadly, Cole died early of a disease on February 11, 1848. But his life wasn’t fruitless, he helped lead the first school of landscape called the Hudson River School into the making; were many more leading artists came. Thomas Dougherty, Asher Brown Durand, Albert Bierstadt, and others came from the Hudson River School and they all became romantic realists and painted about the American country sides. These realists joined detail panoramic images with moral insights, which ... ...ce with some trees shot out on the nearside of the painting. The image is painted as if the viewers are taken in a moment of time. The artist can’t be seen at a first glance because he is greatly tiny in the picture, but he is in the image. It seems that Cole tries to get the viewer to see beyond their field of vision to see nature’s colors, lights, and artistry. The storm can be seen as humans who will eventually wipeout the wild and replace it with its own possessions. Thomas Cole is one of the best realists out there. He made Americans and non-Americans see beauty in nature, opportunities, possibilities, and a future in America. He didn’t only inspire a nation, but he also inspired many artists to reach their goals in the art world. Cole was a brilliant, talented artist, and did a mighty fine job in effecting the art world. Works Cited The Hudson River School: American Landscape Artists. New York: Smithmark Publishers, 1996. http://faculty.evansville.edu/ Lucie-Smith, Edward. American Realism. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994. Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Rev. ed. Vol.2. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995. 973-974. Yaeger, Bert D.

The Success of Wemmick in Great Expectations Essay examples -- Great E

The Success of Wemmick in Great Expectations  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Wemmick provides a complicated, yet interesting separation of his home life and work life. His home and work lives are as different in physical appearances as they are in personality differences. Many of his home habits allow him to express his care and decency, which contrasts with his mechanical work which lacks good value. Wemmick dedicates himself to separating the two so that he may keep his virtues intact while he works in the filth of Newgate. Wemmick is alone in his success of separation when compared to others such as Jaggers and Pip. Such dedication to keeping good values alive gives Wemmick so much integrity that he immediately becomes a favorite character.   The castle in Walworth has a drawbridge, a cannon, and a fountain. We see the effects of these defenses first when he raises the drawbridge "it was very pleasant to see the pride with which he hoisted it up and made it fast; smiling as he did so, with a relish and not merely mechanically"(229). He "relishes" or gains pleasure in the working of the drawbridge; as opposed to his mechanical office mode, he really smiles. With this first insight into Wemmick's other side, a simple integrity is revealed. The cannon, named Stinger, is mounted upon "a separate fortress, constructed of lattice-work. It was protected from the weather by an ingenious little tarpaulin contrivance in the nature of an umbrella"(229). The latticework and umbrella cover express Wemmick's imagination in planning the castle. Another of Wemmick's contraptions is his fountain. A mill and a cork run it. The water splashes out enough that it lands on any viewer of the fountain, which the Aged greatly enjoys. He lists his skills and says "and ... ...s the victor in the battle of lifestyles, because his is definitely much more agreeable. In regards to Pip, he cannot separate his home life from his expectations. He is uncaring towards his family and doesn't associate with them. He lives only in expectations as Jaggers does work. Only Wemmick succeeds in separating the two. Those of us who are suffering from a work-centered life should look to Wemmick for inspiration. We can learn from him how to allow ourselves to be able to enjoy life at home, without sacrificing out integrity at the workplace. Wemmick attains a freedom to live life to the fullest and he does it with incredible integrity. He is alone in his success, all the other characters have failed miserably, and have been left unfulfilled. Works Cited: Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Ed. Janice Carlisle.Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996.

Modernism vs. the era of realism in art history

Modernism in art history is used to refer to art forms that according to Witcombe (2000) date back roughly from 1860 to 1970, starting with the paintings of Édouard Manet in the 1860s. The issue of historical dating or definition of art forms in art history is a debated one, but this paper will not undertake debates relating to the dating of different epochs in art history. Going by Witcombe’s definition, it could be said that different categorizations or ‘sub-eras’ under modernism can be made – e.g. Postimpressionism, Symbolism, Fauvism and Expressionism, Constructivism, and Surrealism. (Chipp 1968) Modernism as a general concept symbolises the age of enlightenment that began in Europe from the seventeenth through to the eighteenth centuries and witnessed the ascendancy of science and reason and the rejection of absolute beliefs passed down from theology and classical writers. The break with the ‘ancients’ and the focus on the ‘modern’ man as the center of intellectual activity and knowledge thus typified the modernist era. The use of science and reason was seen as presenting humans with the ability to solve the problems that face human society. In the area of art as well, the era of modernism also signalled the break with the classical depiction of beauty that idealised beauty in an unattainable form. In this sense, Realism can be said to be part of the modernist definition in art history. (Witcombe, 2000) New forms of ‘beauty’ that were not idealistic were explored through paintings and other art forms like sculpture and architecture. The term Realism or the Realist School refers to the nineteenth century art movement that departed from the art forms of the Neoclassicalists and the Romantics.   The painting of artists like Gustave Courbet, Honorà © Daumier, John Singleton Copley, Thomas Eakins, and Ignace Henri Theodore Fantin-Latour, typified the Realist era in art history. The paintings of the Realists depicted everyday characters and situations instead of the idealist and theatrical presentations in the paintings of the Neoclassicalists and the Romantics. Realism thus sought to present paintings that are as original as the subject matter being painted. Gustave Courbet for instance saw his paintings as the pursuit of truth and as such presented nature in sometimes unsettling truths that ruffled the sensibilities of the society. In his L'Origine du monde (origin of the world) painted in 1866 for instance, Courbet depicted in graphic detail, a nude woman and her genitalia, in a very natural and realistic manner without any embellishments of an idealized beauty. The realist era could in a sense can also be said to be an interface between modernism and the neoclassical era. The pursuit and depiction of truth in its honest and sometimes ugly reality could be said to be the precursor of the modernist era in art history. The depiction of nature and natural everyday situations in paintings in the Realist era could thus be found in the paintings of the Postimpressionist painter Paul Cezanne.   Cezanne for instance stated in a letter in 1866 (October 19 1866) to his boyhood friend, Emile Zola, that: â€Å"†¦ all pictures painted inside, in the studio, will never be as good as the things done outside. When out-of-door scenes are represented, the contrasts between figures and the ground are astounding and the landscape is magnificent. I see some superb things and I shall have to make up my mind only to do things out-of-doors.† (cited by Chipp 1968, 16) Vincent van Gogh also commented about the realistic presentation of his painting – The Potato Eaters, 1885. He stated in a letter to his brother in 1885 that he wanted the Potato Eaters painting to â€Å"†¦ prove to be the real peasant picture. I know it is. But he who prefers to see peasants in their Sunday-best may do as he likes. I personally am convinced I get better results by painting them in their roughness than by giving them a conventional charm.† (cited by Chipp 1968, 31) It must be noted however that whereas Realism typified the art form of a particular ‘school of art’ notably in France and England (the Barbizon School and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood), different ‘schools of art’ or epochs in art history can be categorized under modernism. As stated earlier Postimpressionist painters like Cezanne van Gogh explored a naturalist subject matter in their paintings. However, the Postimpressionists broke away from the impressionistic/naturalist ethos of Realism and explored a more emotional and colourful presentation of nature in their paintings. The Postimpressionist era with its emphasis on the vibrant use of colours and emotion thus paved the way for other modernist art forms like Symbolism, Cubism, and Fauvism to emerge. Symbolism for example started exploring the depiction of the artist’s personal feelings in paintings. (Chipp 1968, 48) The subject matter was thus not issues that were exterior to the artist and could only be found in nature. A subjective form of expressing the artists feelings even in the portrayal of exterior subject matter became the emphasis. This was done through ‘sensual’ presentations in the use of colors and form. Selz (in Chipp 1968, 124) thus argues that: â€Å"The Symbolist’s attitude of evoking sensations by means of forms and colors established the basis for the trend toward abstraction which is central to the art of the twentieth century†. References Herschel B. Chipp (with contributions by Peter Selz and Joshua C. Taylor) Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968) Christopher L.C.E. Witcombe, ‘Modernism’ (2000) http://witcombe.sbc.edu/modernism/roots.html   (accessed on 18/03/08) ;

Gingivitis Cause and Treatment

Gingivitis: Cause and Treatment Gingivitis is a form of periodontal disease which involves inflammation and infection of the gums. This inflammation and infection lead to destruction of tissues that support the teeth including the gums, the ligaments and the tooth sockets. Causes: Gingivitis does not form overnight. It is one of the long-term effects of plaque deposits due to improper brushing and flossing. Plaque is a sticky material made of bacteria, mucus, and food debris that grows on exposed parts of the teeth. It is a major cause of tooth decay as plaque, when not removed, turns into a hard deposit called tartar. Tartar then becomes trapped at the base of the tooth. Plaque and tartar are capable of irritating the gums and making it inflamed. Bacteria and the toxins they produce cause the gums to become infected, swollen and tender. Tender gums easily bleed. Moreover, injury to the gums due to exceedingly vigorous brushing or flossing of the teeth can also cause gingivitis. Medications and birth control pills and heavy metals such as lead and bismuth can also contribute to the development of gingivitis. Misaligned teeth, rough edges of fillings, and ill-fitting or unclean mouth device such as braces, dentures, bridges, and crowns can irritate the gums and also increase the risk of gingivitis. Along with these, general illness, poor dental hygiene, pregnancy and uncontrolled diabetes raise the risk of developing gingivitis. Gingivitis comes at a varying degree on people from all walks of life. It usually develops during puberty or early adulthood due to hormonal changes and may recur frequently depending on the health of the teeth and gums. Symptoms may include bleeding gums, gums that are tender when touched, bright red or red-purple appearance of gums, mouth sores, shiny appearance of gums and swollen gums. Treatment: If you schedule a check-up with the dentist, he will examine your mouth and teeth and look for soft, swollen, red-purple gums. The gums are usually painless or mildly tender. Once symptoms of gingivitis are found, more often than not, you will end up with a painful surgical gingivitis treatment. But then, dental health complications can be totally avoided with good oral practices. Oral health experts highly recommend proper care of the oral and dental regions with the use of high quality and effective mouth care products such as toothpaste and mouthwash. As the cliche goes, â€Å"prevention is better than cure† as it can truly be difficult to treat gingivitis once it has taken over the dental regions. Gingivitis and gum diseases can be prevented from developing at the onset. Regular daily brushing with the use of botanical toothpaste and finishing it with a botanical mouthwash is a more effective treatment for gingivitis.