Since The Evolution Of Man, Infants Have Been Born With Severe Illness

Since the evolution of man, infants have been born with severe illnesses. These infants may be able to survive due to advancing technologies, but are left with possible and probable defects. Many infants will die even though they are being treated because they are not equipped to sustain life. These circumstances have led to the debatable issue of infant euthanasia, or mercy killing, to allow these babies an end to their suffering, and die peacefully. While many people feel that euthanasia is murder, infant euthanasia should be legalized to spare terminally ill newborns of long, painful deaths, and to spare them of possible life-long disabilities. Euthanasia is said to be morally wrong by pro-life groups. They point out that infant's may not be suffering while they are dying. They also emphasize that advances in pain management make it possible to relieve all or almost all pain. These people say that children should be saved at all costs, no matter how great the disability may be. They accentuate that the infants may be saved due to advancing technology, and that there are also therapy treatments for their possible disabilities. However, in considering whether or not to treat a newborn, the main goal should be to spare infants of long, painful deaths. Most experts believe that the primary answer to this issue is to follow what's in the child's best interests. If his mental and physical handicaps are overwhelming and it would be inhumane to prolong his life, then treatment should be withheld or withdrawn. After all, saving an infant for a life of suffering is hardly a humane and loving act. An infant was born with a skin condition similar to third-degree burns over almost all of its body for which there was no cure. The baby's mother was young, unwed, and indigent. Providing basic nursing care caused tearing away of the skin. The infant could not be fed orally because of blistering in the mouth and throat. Any movement of the infant seemed to cause it pain. Even with intensive care its life expectancy, at most, was believed to be days. It would have been reasonable, merciful, and justifiable to have short ened the baby's dying by an intended direct action chosen by the parent and the neonatologists. In cases relevantly like this, it is not immoral or morally wrong to intend and effect a merciful end to a life that, all things considered, will be meaningless to the one who lives it and an unwarranted burden for others to support. Among the women who work in the Stanford intensive care nursery, several said that if they were to have an extremely premature baby, they would not want it to be treated aggressively. One woman said that if she knew what was about to happen she would stay away from a hospital with a sophisticated intensive care unit. Others say they would make sure they were under the care of a doctor who would not press the extremes on survival. Many parents would make a similar choice but are not given the opportunity. It has been called a violation of God's commandment not to kill. "...in effect, the demand that physicians fight death at all costs is a demand that they pl ay God. It is a demand that they conquer nature, thereby declaring themselves more powerful than God's order." Perhaps the ideal of conquest will be replaced by the ideal of living in agreement with nature. The most benign technology works in harmony with natural causes rather than intruding on them. The "Baby Doe" rule is a list of guidelines stating that a baby should be treated aggressively with very few exceptions. These exceptions to the rule are when "the infant is chronically and irreversibly comatose", when the treatment would merely prolong dying, not be effective in ameliorating or correcting all of the infant's life-threatening conditions, or otherwise be futile in terms of the survival of the infant", and when "treatment would be virtually futile in terms of the survival of the infant and the treatment itself under such circumstances would be inhumane..." This policy rather loudly states that parents and professionals may not consider the salvageable infant's life prospe cts no matter

Red Means Stop! Professor Ramos Blog

Red Means Stop! From the time I was a little kid, I wanted to drive. Growing up I remember wanting to drive my Barbie dolls car, and later I would dream of driving a Lamborghini. I even went through a phase where I wanted to drive a Volkswagon Beetle. Now that I am driving, I really enjoy it, and my usual vehicle is a great big, blue, 2001 Ford Excursion that my family has dubbed â€Å"Bubbie.† I should probably add that Bubbie, with her giant size and blue color, is a whale of a car, so we named her after a whale from the cartoon, The Marvelous Misadventures of  Flapjack. The day I decided that driving was an achievable goal occurred when I was six years old. My little brother was just born, and in between visiting times with my mom, my dad would let my older brother and I take turns steering our car around the hospital parking lot. At the time I thought I was actually driving; I hadn’t yet realized that steering is a very small part of being a driver. By the end of that day I had made up my mind, I was going to learn to drive one day. As I got older, I became more eager to start driving. I was about fourteen when I started to practice driving my parents’ green 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. We live on a Native American Reservation and the rules aren’t the same as a regular neighborhood, so I could drive without a license quite legally. While the reservation allowed me to practice to a certain extent, I was still not prepared to even have a driver’s permit. I had to wait because I was too young to have one. When I was old enough, I had to consider the fact that to get the driver’s permit, not only would I have to reach the age requirement of fifteen and a half, but I also had to take the test. In order to qualify for the test, I had to study the driver’s manual as if it were a sacred manuscript. For a few weeks, I read that tiny book over and over. Then, when I had practically memorized the entire book, I was finally ready to take that test and get that permit. The test was a piece of cake, and by the end of the day, I had earned my driving permit. I had taken my first step toward getting my driver’s license. I was now allowed to drive outside of the reservation, which was a scary thought for me and for my parents as well. In all honesty, I was an awful driver. I often practiced driving with my parents, but it took me a long time to progress. This was the most difficult time of my training as a driver. Every time I made a mistake, I felt terrible. I felt I was putting whoever I was driving with in danger. I would drive too slow and hesitate when it wasn’t necessary, or I would make a decision hastily and end up doing something reckless. I was simply a beginner, and I’m sure now that it is normal to make mistakes while just starting to drive. At the time, though, I was discouraged. Every time I drove, I would make a mistake. This made me want to give up. I told my parents, â€Å"Maybe I will just be someone who doesn’t drive.† They wouldn’t let me give up though, so I learned to make less mistakes. There was a whole other area that I had to cover as well to get my driver’s license, driver’s training classes. â€Å"You just ran a red light, remember red means stop,† I recall my driving teacher, a blonde woman who liked to talk about The Walking Dead, telling me after I carelessly drove across an intersection. It was early in my driver’s training, and I had never run a red light in my life. I was surprised at myself and disappointed that I had done that simply because I was nervous.   This basically sums up my driver’s training, being nervous while driving with a new person and making really stupid mistakes. My teacher wasn’t angry when I ran the red light, only flustered. She told me this, â€Å"If you were taking the driving test, that dangerous maneuver would have been an automatic fail.† As aforementioned my main obstacle in learning to drive was my annoying tendency to either be too cautious or to be just downright careless. On this occasion, I was guilty of doing both. I looked both ways while crossing the intersection, but I didn’t care to check whether the light was green or not. Something else happened on this occasion though; I decided that day that I would never be so careless while driving again, and that I would work harder to become a safe driver. I can’t go around saying that getting my driver’s license was my doing only. Had it not been for my parents, I would have given up on driving shortly after I got my permit. I don’t like doing things wrong, and every mistake I made was like a punch to the face. My parents went about this in different ways, of course. My mom, who looks like an Irish princess but curses like an Irish sailor, is the positive reinforcement type and would say, â€Å"You are just a beginner,† and that my older brother was â€Å"just as bad† when he first started driving. My dad, a long haired Native American man who is always wearing 49ers football shirts, had a more honest approach. I recall an occasion in which I didn’t move out of the way in time when there were debris on the freeway. He told me, â€Å"That is just bad driving.† He was right, I had run over a part of a bicycle on the freeway. When he told me that, I felt bad, but it also made me want to co nduct myself better behind the wheel so that I wouldn’t feel so sheepish while driving. I eventually finished my driver’s training and was able to take my driving test. I remember the anticipation of the week before the test, I was so scared. I was too close to give up now though, and the worst that could have happened was failing and just trying again another day. I did not want to fail though, so I did what I do best; study. I read the driver’s manual again and I drove around the reservation a lot by myself, being sure to stop at every stop sign and to use my turn signals. I memorized where every little button was in the Excursion (Bubbie) in case I was asked to point them out at the beginning of the test. I practiced pulling up to the curb with my tires perfectly aligned with the sidewalk. I practiced, and when I was done practicing one thing, I practiced doing a completely different thing. I wasn’t going to fail that test, I was going to try to pass it with the best score a person could get driving an Excursion. After taking the test, I found ou t that the only checks the test giver had to make on his sheet were that I turned too wide and too narrow at times. I was fine with that because I passed the test and I was officially a licensed driver. Though I finally have my driver’s license, my driving still isn’t perfect, and my parents continue to help me try harder to become a good driver. I wouldn’t be the driver I am today without them.   My parents taught me the real lesson in learning to drive which is that it isn’t easy, and that you can’t just give up when it gets frustrating. I started my journey to becoming a driver thinking it was going to be piece of cake, but it was one of the most difficult things that I have ever learned to do. As I mentioned before, I often felt like giving up while learning to drive, but I kept practicing, and now I get to enjoy being a licensed driver.

Selfe refelaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Selfe refelaction paper - Essay Example Based on the discussions undertaken in this course, students learned that child counseling is a way of giving children the kind of assistance they need to develop in a holistic and healthy approach. It provides them guidance in properly adapting to the various life circumstances. It allows them to grow properly within a complex environment. Child counseling is no easy task because it certainly needs a special kind of knowledge and skill in attending to the needs of the kids, entering their delicate world, and connecting to them. It has been learned as well that as a child counselor, it is vital that the counselor recognizes and understands the importance of the children, and respects this importance to further comprehend the child situation of every child. The very nature of counseling—providing guidance and advices for future decision making process—makes it usually confused with psychotherapy, but counseling and psychotherapy are actually different. Psychotherapy pert ains to a wider range of providing treatment and is usually concerned in emotional issues and complexities. As the name implies, psychotherapy involves psychological methods of ascertaining the root cause of the problem and deeper understanding of the child’s emotional problems (Henderson & Thompson, 2010). Counseling, on the other hand, is the more specialized kind of treatment and assistance as it centers on a more specific circumstances. Counseling is sometimes provided as an additional assistance to patients who undergo the psychotherapy process. Unlike the psychotherapy process, counseling focuses more on the behavior pattern of the patient and is usually a short treatment. Psychotherapy, on the contrary, is a longer treatment with the client. Counseling can help children in many ways, especially in treating impacts of any abuse in the past. Through proper counseling, the sufferings of the children who have had endured an abuse—emotional, physical, sexual—i n the past can be healed. The point of counseling is definitely not to remove all the sufferings of a child, but to help that child understand and accept his or her sufferings. It is quite not possible to remove all the sufferings of a child because suffering itself is deeply rooted in a child’s system that it has already become part of the child’s life. The various circumstances that make a child suffer would always be part of his or her past and the child’s definition of who he or she really is. If counseling means removing all the sufferings, then it is like removing those parts of a child’s life that define him or her further. Hence, the pain remains in the suffering child while the suffering child is becoming a stranger to him or herself. Real counseling must not aim to remove these sufferings. Instead, real counseling must help suffering people to become aware and sensitive of their miseries to learn their own stories and rediscover themselves. In t his course, the students learned that it is very essential for a counselor to have a compassionate heart to listen to the stories of the patient. Listening is very important in the process of healing because it is not only the counselor who learns about the sufferings of people, but people themselves learn about their very own sufferings that eventually helps them understand their circumstances and accepts their present, and only then, I can effectively suggest directions to go. This course also assisted in realizing that the concept of defense

Is Capitalism a Driving Force of Consumerism Globally Essay

Is Capitalism a Driving Force of Consumerism Globally - Essay Example As the discussion outlines mostly related to the free market economy, it encourages the profit motive and investment by the private sector. This allows those with the necessary capital to gain profits and does not allow a high degree of government interference. The investors in the business sector are known as capitalists as they are the ones who own the means of production. Therefore, in the capitalist system it is the forces of demand and profit motive that dictate the use of the resources. The government has little or no say in the allocation or rationing of resources. The closest we can see to the purely capitalist system is in United States of America. From this paper it is clear that sudies have indicated that mercantilism seems the most primitive appearances of capitalism that existed in the city of Rome and various Middle Eastern regions. In such a system, distribution of goods was the major mode for the realization of profit. Goods were bought at one site for a certain price, moved to another site, and sold at a higher price. As the Romans looked to expand their empires, the mercantilism expanded, and these ideas set in the history of humankind. Similar developments can be compared with the expansion of the Islamic empire spreading their influence in Africa, Asia and even in Europe. Experts believe that Muslims were the inspiration of medieval Europeans who were able to acquire the skills of mercantilism from them. One of the major reasons of such a hypothesis is due to a number of terms in European languages, such as tariff, traffic, etc indicate the touch of Arabic language. Thus, how is capitalism and mercantilism related? I n this regard, analysis has indicated that mercantilism went through a process of evolution in the European region that resulted in its evolution in the form of economic activities, which now exist as Capitalism. The sources of production in modern times: land, materials, tools etc are all capital for the people and its owners are called capitalists.  

In considering your personal, educational, and employment background, Essay

In considering your personal, educational, and employment background, in what ways do you hope or expect to contribute to the academic and professional community at USC Rossier - Essay Example I have also done a lot of volunteer in community churches and schools. Evidently, this has instilled values of care and open-mindedness. My passion for education has made me traversed different professional and career paths. I have completed Bachelor’s Degree in Management as well as Masters Degrees in Science of Management and Elementary education. My main aspiration now is to acquire an EdD in Educational Change Leadership. With this, I hope to solidify my long learning goals in school administration. Additionally, I am looking forward to share the knowledge and educational background to influence positively the professional community of USC Rossier. Finally, I have spent my employment background as an elementary teacher and school administrator. Most importantly, it has given me positive experience to be a better mentor in the education field. The most significant project I would like to work on is to assist an innovative and visionary group of teachers with learning strategies, which are relevant to their individual needs. Additionally, I would like to properly train educators to create initiatives that will improve the quality of education. This will be done through collaborative engagements geared towards improving students’

Task Based Approach to Language Learning

Task Based Approach to Language Learning The past decade has witnessed the advent of task-based instructional approaches in different names including problem-based learning, situated learning and case-based learning. Though varied in names, they all seem to have one thing in common; they get learners involved with tasks or problems as contrasted with more traditional topic-centered curriculum approaches. (Merrill, 2007). Proponents of task-based learning believe that learners involved with real-world problems form appropriate schema and mental models as they collaboratively solve problems and reflect on their experience. Task-based instructional approaches have been widely adopted across a wide variety of discipline areas including medical training, social work, design, and language learning. This paper will discuss the implication of the task-based approach to second language learning where the method has been increasingly adopted and tried in many language classrooms across the world in the recent past. In this paper, the impact of task-based language learning will be explored with special regard to adult learners whose distinctive characteristics make task-based approaches more plausible and beneficial. Task-based instruction is a small, yet fast growing, trend in contemporary second language teaching. To give an example, the ERIC database shows over 120 articles on this issue since the beginning of this millennium. In order to discuss task-based learning properly, it is important to understand what the term task means. Task has been defined by various researchers including Nunan (2004) who wrote that a task is a piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language (p.9). Earlier than Nunan, Jane Willis (1996) defined task as an activity where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome (p.23). While definitions vary somewhat among scholars, they all emphasize that pedagogical task involves communicative language use where users attention is focused on meaning rather than grammatical form (Nunan, 2006, p.17). Stemming from the constructivist theory of learning, task-based instruction has emerged in response to the limitations of the traditional PPP (presentation, practice and performance) paradigm (Ellis, 2003). While the PPP approach is relatively straightforward and well-structured to be easily understood by both students and beginner teachers, it has also been criticized considerably for the characteristic that it is far too teacher-oriented and over controlled. Furthermore, the trend of globalization has urged educators and governments to improve communicative competence among second language learners, and the PPP approach has not been effective in fulfilling the mission. Short, Harste Burke argued that the behaviorist PPP approach in language instruction has been to set up desired goals independently of the learners or the situation, present language in a structured and linear fashion, then attempt to reinforce the content through non-contextualized practices. As a result, learners end up knowing about the language but not how to use it (as cited in Abdullah, 1998). As an alternative to the PPP paradigm, task-based lesson is designed around authentic and meaningful real-world tasks, which learners are asked to complete collaboratively as they interact among each other making use of all available language resources they own. The approach is based on the fundamental assumption that, as Jeon (2006) noted, language learning is a developmental process promoting communication and social interaction rather than a product acquired by practicing language items, and that learners learn the target language more effectively when they are naturally exposed to meaningful task-based activities.(p.193) Task-based approach is recognized as an effective means of developing students language output and interaction. More student-centered learning environment helps learners exercise greater flexibility in using language, develop linguistic fluency, and allows for meaningful communication. Authentic tasks carefully drawn from real-world situations will keep learners engaged and motivated more easily, which will result in better learning. As Harrington, Oliver and Reeves (2003) have pointed out, more contextualized exercises, as contrasted with academic and decontextualized vacuum, will create a learning environment which will have learners immersed in problem solving within realistic situations. The approach ultimately help teachers bridge the gap between language practically used in real world and unnatural language used within the world of school. In spite of growing evidence of success, task-based instruction shows some limitations as well. One of the most significant and frequently voiced criticisms is that the method is not as effective or appropriate to lower level language learners with limited prior linguistic knowledge as it is to higher level students. Due to the significant amount of cognitive burden it poses on learners, beginning language learners who are asked to complete a challenging task in the target language often find the situation frustrating and, as a result, develop resistance to the learning method. When asked to use all the language they can muster to express themselves, beginning language learners who are unfamiliar with the learning context may not feel comfortable or productive as if they are thrown to a deep sea when they cannot swim (Willis, 1996). In task-based learning classrooms, frustration is not only with learners but with teachers as well. In his survey conducted among English as Second Langu age (ESL) teachers in East Asian countries, Littlewood (2007) found out that key obstacles to adopting task-based instructional approach in their classrooms were; 1) difficulties getting unmotivated students participate in tasks that usually require a higher level of motivation and enthusiasm from learners, and 2) inability to manage classroom as students get easily distracted and become noisy as they engage in group interaction to complete tasks collaboratively. While these difficulties tend to arise more conspicuously in classrooms involving younger students, adult learners may benefit more from task-based instruction. In general, adult learners demonstrate distinctive characteristics that set them apart from younger learners, and some of these learning characteristics make task-based approach more plausible and appropriate for adult learners. Knowles (1990) developed adult learning theory of Andragogy based on the following assumptions: (1) Adults need to know why they need to learn something, (2) Adults need to learn experientially, (3) Adults are life-centered (or task- or problem-centered) in their orientation to learning, (4) Adults become ready to learn when their life situation create a need to learn, (5) Adults have a self-concept of being responsible for their own decisions, and (6) Adults are motivated to learn by internal factors rather than external ones. According to these assumptions, adult learners are more motivated and more eager to learn than younger learners, have clearer goals and needs than younger learners who often might be learning a language only because it is required, and take control of their own learning. They are also oriented towards problem-solving learning and they learn best when knowledge is presented in real-life context. Obviously, constructivist task-based instructional approach and Andragogy share many aspects in common as they both emphasize ownership of the learning process by learners, experiential learning and a problem-solving approach to learning (Huang, 2002). Therefore, task-based approach can be seen as an ideal match for adult learners who in general are less likely to pose above mentioned concerns voiced by teachers. As compared to traditional pedagogy, task-based instructional method demands increased competencies from teachers who will play a key role in making task-centered language learning successful. As a facilitator, teachers need to infuse the spirit of adventurism in the class to turn students into active learners who are willing to take a risk. It is also important that teachers allow learners time to make gradual adjustment to the unfamiliar learning method, provide necessary encouragement in the process, and build confidence (Curran, Deguent, Lund, Miletto, Straeten, 2000). Effective teachers in the task-based learning environment should also be able to vary the level of tasks to accommodate the needs of beginner or lower level learners in their classrooms. Effective language classroom instruction strategies require more than a simple understanding of the significance of communication skills. To help learners become active communicators, teachers should be able to employ instructional strategies that allow and support sufficient practicing of the language they have learned. Task-based instructional approach creates a learning environment where learners take control of their own learning and freely explore communicative skills focusing on tasks that are drawn from authentic real-world situations. Despite some limitations, task-based approach is still an attractive method in the field of language learning. The approach can be particularly useful in classrooms involving adult learners since their distinctive learning characteristics well match the constructivist elements of the task-based learning. With a wide variety of learning options such as distance learning readily available to todays adult learners, the number of classrooms involvin g adult learners has increased significantly in recent years. Although no single method fits all classrooms and learners in all contexts, task-based approach seems to be a highly viable option especially for adult language learners. Amidst more language classrooms moving away from traditional teacher-centered learning activities to student-centered learning environments, the responsibilities of instructors have become even greater in the instructional design process to devise adequate strategies to guide learners towards successful learning.

Lysistrata Essay -- essays research papers

Lysistrata A play about making war – and not making love†¦ The Talbot Theatre production of Lysistrata both entertained and delighted this member of the audience, who was there partly because of an English assignment requirement, but mainly because of the opportunity to enjoy a live theatre production. The theatre company employed many different components to bring this antiwar play to life that evening on the stage. These components can be broken into three categories, which visually enhanced the text of the play. The first of these categories is the setting, the stage lighting, and the props. The second component is the symbolism of some of those props, and the third component is the character portrayals by the actors on the stage. To take us back to ancient Greece, the props master employed a very simple interpretation using columns on a raised set of steps, with a backdrop of blue. To add to the feel of the era, a statue stands in the middle of the platform. This platform serves double duty as the Akropolis and as the Citadel, both of which the women have occupied. When the men light a fire below the walls of the Akropolis, smoke pours out of the bundle of sticks, making it appear as if a fire has really been ignited. Fortunately the women are ready and the fire is extinguished and the men all doused with water, which is portrayed well with buckets and actions that look as if the men are being driven away by the water. When Kinesias comes to see Myrrhine, and they he...