Emily Grierson Essay Example for Free

Emily Grierson Essay The object of fascination in the story. An eccentric recluse, Emily is a mysterious figure who changes from a vibrant and hopeful young girl to a cloistered and secretive old woman. Devastated and alone after her father’s death, she is an object of pity for the townspeople. After a life of having potential suitors rejected by her father, she spends time after his death with a newcomer, Homer Barron, although the chances of his marrying her decrease as the years pass. Bloated and pallid in her later years, her hair turns steel gray. She ultimately poisons Homer and seals his corpse into an upstairs room. Colonel Sartoris A former mayor of Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris absolves Emily of any tax burden after the death of her father, which later causes consternation to succeeding generations of town leaders. Tobe Emilys servant. Tobe, his voice supposedly rusty from lack of use, is the only lifeline Emily has to the outside world and he cares for her and tends to her needs. After her death, he walks out the back door and never returns. Judge Stevens A mayor of Jefferson. Eighty years old, Judge Stevens attempts to delicately handle the complaints about the smell emanating from the Grierson property. To be respectful of Emily’s pride and former position in the community, he and the aldermen decide to sprinkle lime on the property in the middle of the night. Homer Barron A foreman from the North. Homer is a large man with a dark complexion, a booming voice, and light-colored eyes. A gruff and demanding boss, he wins many admirers in Jefferson because of his gregarious nature and good sense of humor. He develops an interest in Emily and takes her for Sunday drives in a yellow-wheeled buggy. Despite his attributes, the townspeople view him as a poor, if not scandalous, choice for a mate. He disappears in Emilys house and decomposes in an attic bedroom after she poisons him. PART 2 1. The metaphor used to describe Emily in the first paragraph was a fallen monument. 2. The house is given a personality in the second paragraph in this way, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay . 3. Colonel Sartoris had the idea of and helped abate the taxes on the Grierson property. 4. Mailed her the tax papers. 5. Small, fat woman; short, spare skeleton, bloated and pallid; eyes like lumps of coal in dough of her face. 6. 32 years. 7. A bad smell; He explained that the smell was the result of a dead snake or rat that the servant had killed. 8. She told the ladies who called on her that he was not dead for three days. 9. Homer Barron , he runned a construction company. 10. Miss Emily Griersons neighbors in Jefferson were mystified with her sudden coupling with newcomer Homer Barron. They cant believe Emily would be interested in a common Yankee. 11. We learned that Miss Emily had been to the jewelers and ordered a mans toilet set in silver, with the letters H. B. on each piece. Two days later we learned that she had bought a complete outfit of mens clothing, including a nightshirt, and we said, They are married. We were really glad. We were glad because the two female cousins were even more Grierson than Miss Emily had ever been. 12. He was let into Emilys kitchen door at dusk one evening. 13. They spinkled lime because of a foul smell emanating from the house. 14. They find Homers corpse on the bed and they realize that the space next to him has been used, and they find one of Emilys gray hairs on the pillow. 15. Homer Baron was murdered and on the other pillow was some grey hair from Miss Emily.

Barriers to Sustainable Construction Contractors

Barriers to Sustainable Construction Contractors Abstract: This research aims to investigate Sustainable Construction barriers implementation to SMEs (Small and Medium sized Enterprises) in the UK. The undertaken investigation mostly emphasises the Production/Construction phase, referred to as the RIBA Plan of Work Stage K. Research shows that barriers to the implementation of Sustainable Construction were most prominent during this stage. Through an extensive literature review the main barriers presenting themselves to SMEs have been identified at the beginning of this stage of investigation. Later, these barriers will be questioned through the investigation of the literature acquired and the most noteworthy will be scrutinized in greater detail. There were found to be six key barriers to be considered while implementing Sustainable Construction Techniques in the Production/Construction phase of a project, these are as follows: Cost Time People Technology Market Legal Even though progress in the UK construction industry as a whole is showing great potential and is showing a steady line of progression (however still lagging behind other European countries such as France, Germany and Spain), implementation by SME construction firms is limited and poor. This is mainly due to the fact that sustainable construction is considered to be expensive, complicated and time-consuming. It needs greater support from every party involved including clients, suppliers, sub-contractors, government and local authorities to achieve the goal of satisfactory implantation. Introduction As the construction industry is such a main contributor to the economy of the UK, contributing 10% of UK GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and employs 1.5 million people, the environmental impact of the industry is extraordinary; contributing 70 million tonnes of waste to landfills and a huge 50% of energy produced is used by this sector. (Addis, B. Talbot, R., 2001: 21) It is estimated that UK SMEs are responsible for as much as 60% of carbon dioxide emissions. (Marshall Report, 1998) It is also estimated that 60% of commercial waste and 8 out of 10 pollution accidents are caused by this sector. (Environment Agency, 2003 Environment Agency, Business survey reveals lack of environmental awareness, Environment Action (2003) (37).Environment Agency, 2003) Studies have found that SMEs tend to have low levels of engagement with environmental agendas. (Hillary, 2000a) Most of the literature available focuses on the larger construction companies (LEs or Large Enterprises), which is why the author hopes to undertake a study of SMEs, particularly general contractors with less than 50 employees. In 2004 the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) conducted a survey showing that there were 170,000 construction contractors working in the UK and that 93% of this figure employed less than 8 people. Initiatives by the construction SMEs indicate that this group is often ignored and hence, they are under-performed compared to larger construction companies. (Sexton, M.G. Barrett, P.S., 2003a) It is anticipated that the result of this enquiry will help the construction industry to support more medium and small construction firms in the implementation of sustainable techniques and principles suggested by the UK government. This exploration is limited to SMEs which employ 50 people or less, and also to the construction site (known as Stage K, the production/construction phase of a project). Aims and Objectives Aim: How to get SMEs to implement sustainable techniques through managing time, teams and possibly new methods of construction to maximise profit without having to police each individual contractor? Objectives: To discover the most relevant procedures to sustainable construction practices at production and construction phase. To recognize exactly the current level of understanding and implementation, of sustainable construction at the production and construction phase of a project. To identify the main barriers in incorporating sustainable construction and embracing new techniques involved in the construction process to SMEs. Facility executives building green for the first time may find that the process requires as much unlearning of old ways as it does learning of new ones. The process of building green forces facility executives to think about the design and construction process in non-traditional ways. From integrated design to commissioning, almost every step of the green building process is heavily focused on how building elements fit together to optimize efficiency and sustainability. The catch is that the process, at least the first time, is more time and cost. While the strategies used may be similar to justifying expenditures in equipment upgrades, justifying processes may be a bit more difficult. Its more difficult to pinpoint specific costs for more hours of design time. There are a few simple sustainable ways of management for a contractor to utilise, and these cost saving measures help to maximise profit, here are some suggestions: Make use of grants or funding available for sustainable construction. Contact your Local Authority or Regional Development Agency about local projects and grants. Employers registered with CITB-Construction Skills can claim Training Plan or Short Duration grant to support sustainability training. Use recycled or sustainable materials whenever possible. Give preference to locally produced products. Crushed concrete and brick can be used to replace primary aggregates and avoid Aggregates Tax. Use timber only from sustainably managed woodland ask for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) timber. Only order the materials you need and store them safely. Plan ahead when ordering materials. Work with suppliers/manufacturers to minimise and return packaging and pallets. Store materials in a secure and protected area and keep liquids/sands away from drains. Minimise road journeys to and from the site. Use local suppliers wherever possible. Plan deliveries to site: during the day time in residential areas and at night and in city centres. If you have a van, ensure it can carry a variety of small materials to prevent unnecessary trips to suppliers. Separate and recycle waste then dispose of the remainder legally. Separate different types of waste and mark containers clearly. Recycle as much as possible. Use registered waste carriers and keep the paperwork. Avoid causing pollution to land, water or air. Stop uncontrolled water entering or leaving excavations, especially run-off from earth works. Avoid spillages on site and clean up if accidents happen. Dont burn waste materials recycle or dispose of them responsibly. The UK government has urged industries to take on environmental measures on their own accord on the basis that it will be good for business, a qualitative study investigating the environmental procedures of small and medium-sized construction firms found that the views of owner-managers had little resonance with this win-win approach. Respondents might not be aware of the financial returns to be obtained from eco-efficiency processes to be substantial enough to warrant the short-term investment in time and resources required to engage in them. In addition, the market was not indicating that product value could be raised or that clientele could be won by implementing environmental best practice. Respondents consistently highlighted that the enormous competitive pressures on small firms made cost and speed of build the number one priorities whilst environmental management remained a peripheral concern. At the top of the supply chain, architects claimed that whilst lip service was paid to sustainability issues within the industry, there was currently little in the way of environmental design occurring in the UK, and sustainability tended to be a peripheral issue in their own work. Although it was acknowledged that architects should be at the forefront of sustainability, most respondents felt that it was difficult to push an environmental agenda forward because clients tended to be driven by commercial rather than environmental or social concerns. Most architects thus did not promote environmental issues for fear of alienating clients, and environmental designs were only explored if it was expressly asked of them. Overall the builder cannot become environmentally friendly because the client does not want to specify certain techniques to the architect because they think itll cost too much, theyre more interested in the economic side and the architect doesnt want to specify sustainable techniques in case of maybe excluding some clients. These market dynamics were clearly having a knock-on effect down the supply chain as builders perceived a low demand for sustainable buildings and construction methods, and therefore were not incentivised to improve their environmental performance or to differentiate themselves on environmental credentials. Suppliers wont stock things that arent being sought after and that arent being specified. How can the SMEs get these sustainable products then, without maybe having to travel to a specific supplier and look themselves, making it time consuming and not cost effective. Respondents claimed that the usual criteria for choosing products was price, as buying the cheapest equivalent product was one way for builders to squeeze a profit out of tight budgets. Some builders confess that they rarely considered the environmental impacts of materials, and beyond the use of timber from sustainable sources, most were not even aware of which materials might be greener than others. Information about environmental impacts was thought to be difficult and time-consuming to obtain, and many respondents highlighted that building suppliers could do much more to encourage the use of green materials in construction, such as eco-labelling schemes to differentiate products with lower environmental impacts. The key issue for firms in this study was that customers invariably focused on value for money at the expense of environmental concerns. Many architects were of the opinion that there was not much of a business case for sustainable design to present to clients, who were unwilling to pay the premium for a more sustainable building. Respondents highlighted that there was little financial incentive to save energy on site as the mains electricity used was paid for by the client. Some felt that energy efficiency was more of an issue for designers than builders as it was in the end-use of a building that most energy savings could be made. However, most claimed that little was reused (apart from the odd expensive item such as certain slates and metals), because the cost of keeping material was often more than buying it new, once storage and labour costs had been factored in. Also, the used material was usually not quite to the specification required for the next job, so many builders felt that it was just easier and cheaper to throw it away. Recycling was similarly dismissed because of the management and labour time involved in ensuring proper waste separation procedures: It takes too long. It affects the labour. I mean if Ive got 10 labourers on site, Im not going to bring another labourer in just to make sure that copper is over there and plasterboards there and metals over there (Builder 4, 85 staff) Because small firms are typically more concerned with short-term survival than the long-term environmental impacts of their business, eco-efficiency measures may thus be rejected if the pay-back is not perceived to be immediate. Objective 1: To Discover the Most Relevant Procedures to Sustainable Construction Practices at Production and Construction Phase. Following the Egan Report the Government of the UK published Building a Better Quality of Life in 2000. Inside this publication it has been suggested a few key topics for which can be used in the construction industry: The re-use of existing building assets Designing for minimum waste Aiming for lean construction The minimisation of energy in construction Not to pollute Enhance and preserve biodiversity The conservation of water Respect people and the local environment Monitor and report in order to set benchmarks In 2005 the Government published Sustainable Development Strategy, Securing the Future which was a substitute to Building a Better Quality of Life. This proposed the following four key terms: Sustainable communities Natural resources protection and environmental enhancement Climate change and energy Sustainable consumption and production Environmental Impacts: The Environmental Agency tells us that the construction industry is responsible for: Using over 420 million tonnes of material resources Converting 6,500 hectares of land from rural to urban use per annum 13% of all materials delivered to site go into the skip without ever being used. 90 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste (three more waste than all households in the UK combined) Responsible for 21% of UKs hazardous waste 10% of the UKs energy consumption is used in the transport and production of construction products and materials Due to building on flood plains 185,000 commercial properties and 1.85 million residential homes are at risk of flooding and this figure looks set to rise Waste Management: Waste Segregation: Separating recyclable materials such as timber, plastic, plasterboard, hard-core, cardboard and general waste.Also materials such as concrete, bricks and blocks, stones and slates can be used as filling for roads, footpaths etc. Recycling: Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) claims that 30% of materials used on site can be recycled elsewhere at no extra cost.Recycled timber (off cuts) can be used in stud partition walling and can also be used in flower plant bedding. Purchasing Policy with Suppliers: Packaging waste and unused materials can be returned to the builders merchant and used several times over. Energy Consumption Reduction: Simple steps like using energy efficient heating equipment and lighting, supervising the usage of mains electricity according to equipment requirements. Water Conservation: Where practical the use of low-flow water fixtures, rain water harvesting and recycling of grey water where hygiene is not a priority. Material Selection: The focus for this section is to identify products with a relatively high sustainability score at no significant increase in capital cost over a traditional material option. Many modern building materials are now being linked with environmental and health concerns. Alternatives do exist which eliminate many of these potential impacts and risks to end users, constructors, developers and investors. Timber or Aluminium instead of PVC where possible. Formaldehyde free MDF Insulation: Recycled cellulose insulation, Rockwool, Foamed glass.Solid Concrete with primary aggregate Permeable pavements Concrete with recycled aggregate (RCA) or glass Window Frames:uPVC Durable timber framed windows, renewable source without health impacts from disposal of PVC. Double glazed units with low emissive coatings (Argon filled). Flooring:Ground Flooring: Solid concrete, hollow concrete elements with reclaimed aggregate/limestone. Hollow concrete uses less material. Solid Walls:Clay brick: recycled Bricks (recycled content 15-100%)/Reclaimed Bricks. Reclaimed bricks can also aid in character requirements of refurbishments. Partitions: Can be built from recycled wood used in construction.Timber quicker to erect and saves material costs. Pitched Roof Plywood from non FSC MDF chipboard (low Construction: formaldehyde), reduces carcinogens from standard chipboard Construction: Pitched Roof Reclaimed slates, tiles/Sedum (turf)/Fibre cement tiles. Covering: Turf can reduce urban water run off.Green roofs typically last 3x long as standard roof. Plasterwork:Lime mortar re-absorbs some of the CO2 given off during the firing process when it sets. Sewers:Clay pipe can be recycled to make new pipe, brick and roof tiles. Paving:Concrete slabs with recycled content e.g. recycled glass. Reclaimed slabs and stone can be sourced free often paying only haulage costs. Semi Hard Paving:Paving Gravel, Wood chippings/Recycled glass, sand. Wood chippings can be derived from off cuts in construction. Local Sourcing of Materials and Labour: Obtaining construction material from local outlets or from the existing site; The use of locally sourced materials should be promoted when issues involve cost, embodied energy and meeting local character requirements are considered. A local sourcing policy costs nothing to implement and requires no specialist expertise. Locally sourced materials minimise the impact of fuel transport costs/emissions and support the local economy. Stone, earth and timber (assuming it comes from a sustainable source). Salvaged materials from existing construction or demolition such as steel can also be used. This previous abstract demonstrates that significant improvements in building sustainability performance can be achieved at very little additional cost. These minimal cost increases also provide added value elsewhere. For example, in the case of sustainable buildings, in-use cost savings of fuel for heating can be generated over the life of the building. With increased uncertainty over future energy costs, a very short pay back period of a sustainable approach can be realised. Necessities, Not Luxuries Key to justifying some of these ostensible add-ons is not to view them as add-ons in the first place. Commissioning, for instance, is a critical step in the green building process and a requirement for facility executives planning to certify their buildings with LEED, an internationally recognized green building certification system. On traditional construction projects, commissioning may be considered a luxury. But, according to a study by the National Institute of Building Sciences, commissioning a building can mean it will cost 8 to 20 percent less to operate than a non-commissioned building. Objective 2:To Recognize Exactly the Current Level of Understanding and Implementation, of Sustainable Construction at the Production and Construction Phase of a Project. The incentive to innovate among construction SMEs often starts with having an awareness to seize an opportunity or a need to response to market, development or client conditions. Her are a three motivational needs as described below: Survival: Project based innovation focuses more on survival of a company due to the type of market operated in by contractors. Stability: When survival has been established firms will look then towards stabilizing and consolidating their position to ensure prosperous conditions over the medium term. Development: Once this stability has been attained the motivation necessary to exploit this becomes apparent and the firm will begin to develop and grow. When SMEs find themselves in survival posture firms do not tend to take as much risks and are more aware of outgoing costs. Not all firms are want to grow in size indefinitely, companies want to stabilize at a certain that is compatible with the aspirations of the owner. Innovation activities can be grouped into two areas, improving the effectiveness and the efficiency of the company, meaning making sure the company is doing the right activities and doing them well. Adoption of new Innovations: This is dependant on several key capabilities and motivations which are time, financial, companys structure and people. Time and Financial: The dominant role of the contractor allows for quick decision making if need be which means that in an ever changing market modernizations in sustainability can always be updated. Due to a contractors own resources a contractor will only bid on work according to their own capabilities in terms of types of work and size. Most would also prefer to work directly with clients as main contractors rather than just sub-contractors, this tends to limit risks and costs and is typical of a survival posture. Companys Structure: SMEs cannot afford to do as LEs do and have numerous departments assigned to carry out various roles and tasks. It is the job of many directors and owners to obtain information and knowledge for innovation and also to gain business contacts. Many directors find it hard to manage time for all of this, which could include attending trainings and workshops. External Supports and Motivations: These largely come from government policies but are mainly appropriate for large companies and have to be altered to suit the small and medium sized enterprise. Market Network: Rapidly shifting client demands and market conditions requires construction SMEs to involve themselves in a number of businesss of varying complexity in order to provide knowledge and expertise to their own enterprise. Access to these companies is achieved through supply and client interactions, research institutions, professional associations and government bodies. Access to Technology: Technology can be exploited to increase competitiveness among SMEs but this can only be effective when the knowledge characteristics of the technology can be transferred easily. SMEs tend to use technologies which can contribute to the growth of a company, financially, quickly and easily, dovetailing into capabilities already possessed by the firm. Technology that is out of that league and that requires more effort to invest risk, time, effort and money are generally shifted out swiftly and intuitively. Objective 1:To Identify the Main Barriers in Incorporating Sustainable Construction and Embracing New Techniques involved in the Construction Process to SMEs. Key Barriers to Sustainable Construction: Facility executives building green for the first time may find that the process requires as much unlearning of old ways as it does learning of new ones. The processes of building green forces facility executives to think about the design and construction process in non-traditional ways. From integrated design to commissioning, almost every step of the green building process is heavily focused on how building elements fit together to optimize efficiency and sustainability. The catch is that the process, at least for the first time, is more time and cost. While the strategies used may be similar to justifying expenditures in equipment upgrades, justifying processes may be a bit more difficult. Its more difficult to pinpoint specific costs for more hours of design time. The Barriers to Sustainable Construction have been classified under six key headings: Cost Time People Technology Market Legal These subsequent barriers will be challenged and validated in the following chapter. Cost: Increased Construction Costs: There has been a perception by many construction companies that sustainable construction practices may incur additional or perhaps higher capital cost (Cameron, R., 2003; KDG, 2006) The added cost is normally related with additional labour hours necessary to perform activities such as recycling and separation of waste on site. There is also the argument that sustainable materials bring upon higher search costs; this is the time spent searching for these illusive materials, and other connected costs like driving, phone calls etc. All of these increase the total cost of a development and eat into a seemingly already tight budget for the contractor and therefore are looked upon as an unnecessary and irrelevant expense. Many construction companies are forced to submit a low bid for a particular project, and this comes about by reducing construction costs rather than increasing the value gained by building sustainably. This is also on the increase in the areas of project partnership, where a fixed price tender means priority will be given to the lowest price rather than value for money. Time: Time is crucial in any phase of any type of project, most particular in construction projects. As the phrase goes, time is money, and construction developments are often under tight time constraints. Slow advancement towards a change in attitude: Because this industry is such a large and dynamic market it involves so many individual players, which means that it becomes so much harder to get everyone concerned to get into the same frame of mind and not to be just concerned with just profit. There is a feeling that there is too much effort involved and learning new initiatives become too difficult in comparison to just continuing with the tried and trusted methods of known construction techniques already in practice throughout all construction sites in the UK at this present moment. There is also the point that there is inadequate information on sustainable materials easily available, which means that getting access to manufacturers who supply such materials becomes more intricate and making them prepared within the time constraint of a project becomes too arduous to make the endeavour for. Training: Larger construction companies (LEs) usually have their own Research and Development departments but as for SMEs, they are more inclined to rely on directors to research new innovations. Directors also are relied upon to transfer this knowledge and information to staff. Due to their already hectic workload, directors may find it difficult to set time aside for training programmes, seminars, and workshops involved in development initiatives. Likewise because of limited staff in small and medium enterprises, it is frequently difficult to attend such time-consuming activities, or to attend such trainings. Without these regular meetings contractors may find it extremely difficult to establish business contacts. Emphasis is more on short term performance and speed of construction: As construction companies are pushed on deadlines and short term maximisation of profit they are mostly interested in traditional construction as they know from experience how long a particular project will take and do not want to be taking risks on new innovations and techniques which could run on longer than previously thought. The temporary nature of a development, along with short term dealings with people means that the sharing and transfer of information between teams can lead to be strenuous and extremely difficult. (Sexton. M.G. and Barrett, P.S., 2003a; CPN, 1997) People: Lack of Knowledge and Skills: Most small companies do not have the resources to gain access to information and acquire the knowledge and the skills necessary to partake in such developments, or in some circumstances to investigate and research new alternatives and the benefits involved in such construction. Lack of motivation: New legislations and technologies can be seen as off-putting or even as a threat to SMEs who may not be willing to change with known traditions without substantial financial gain. Poor Integration with New Procedure: Failure of communication between contractors, sub-contractors, architects and clients may result in difficulty of implementation throughout a project. Down to the littlest details like the separation of recyclable material and where to dispense certain products may cause disruption further down the line. Short Term Interest: Given the nature of the construction business speed is of the essence, trying to get a building taken off of a contractors hands as quickly as possible is key and therefore, as many developments have to be taken place within certain time limits and contracts are written up to enforce this, the contractor may have more pressing interests nearing the end of a job. Technology: Complicated: Sustainable design may involve MMC (Modern Methods of Construction), which means that the making up of major house elements in factories including panels (including ready-made walls, floors and roofs. Panels may also have wiring and plumbing already inside, making construction even faster) and modules (ready-made rooms, which can then be pieced together to make a whole house or flat but are used most frequently for bathrooms or kitchens, where all the fittings are added in the factory; known as pods). Both of these products require skilled workers to install them, cranes and may require supplementary tools and machines to operate and fix these prefabricated structures into position. There is also a lack of familiarity with these new technologies. Where the clients and the architects specify such methods but contractors do not get the opportunity to try out these new systems. Market: It is widely felt that there is a lack of demand within the supply chain, this is generally due to the unfamiliarity associated with the costs and benefits. Lack of Marketing for Sustainable Materials: Sustainable materials are secondary materials; recycle, reclaim and re-use materials, and there are currently no marketing advertisements or such information on these resources. Waste materials are usually perceived to be risky and a cheap solution to a problem and are thought to not perform to as high a standard as primary materials. These may also incur greater search costs as they have a more dispersed location. Dominance by Larger Suppliers: If a supplier is larger than the contractor then the supplier has more power and is able to dictate to the supplier how the processes involved should be carried out. And as is with the case of most SMEs this is almost always the case. If the supplier does not have a particular product which a small contractor requests then, more often than not, the supplier doesnt feel the need to oblige the contractor as the supplier is more interested with the Les, meaning that the SMEs are often overlooked. Legal: These aspects include government legislation, policies, and planning procedures. Limited Enforcement: Standard of inspections has repelled many companies who may have been interested in building sustainably. The companies themselves would have to push for higher

Health Literacy in the USA

Health Literacy in the USA Social Determinants of Health Constantin Vintilescu Health Literacy Predicting future trends in any profession cautions careful review of present and past trends. Over the last two decades, health care in the United States has undergone major changes due to simultaneous advances in the fields of health information and information technology. Advances in health care and life expectancy also have created dramatic changes. Subsequent gains in life expectancy have surpassed the gains achieved, between the years 1940 and 1964 with the advent of antibiotics. In fact, recent gains have exceeded that of any other time this century. The life expectancy projections for the rest of this century may turn out to be even more significant. The educations of the public about health literacy issues and the rights of the elderly have become another dimension of advancement, along with the â€Å"rights† of patients and minority groups including the physically handicapped. In the United States, the term literacy is generally defined as the ability to read and speak English (Andrus, 2002). In the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), the U.S. Department of Education (1993) defined literacy as: â€Å"the ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.† Although no precise point defines the difference between literacy and illiteracy, the commonly accepted working definition of what is meant to be literate is the ability to write and to read, understand, and interpret information written at the eight-grade level or above. Health literacy refers to how well an individual can read, interpret, and comprehend the health information for maintaining an optimal level of wellness. It is an essential aspect for access to health care and health-related services. Limited health literacy leads to poor health outcomes. In fact, literacy skills are â€Å"a stronger predictor of an individual’s health status than age, income, employment status, education level, and racial or ethnic group† (Weiss, 2003). Health literacy is also important for people’s maintenance of health and wellness. Health literacy is very important because requires peoples to have a more active role in health decision and their management. Based on available statistics over the past twenty years, it is evident that the United States has significant health literacy problems. Health literacy has been termed the â€Å"silent epidemic,† the â€Å"silent barrier,† the â€Å"silent disability,† and â€Å"the dirty little secret† (Conlin Schumann, 2002). In fact, the United States only ranked among the middle of other industrialized nations in most measures of adult literacy; and yet many of our educators, elected representatives, and social advocates have remained blind on this significant problem (Kogut, 2004). Over the past two decades, the literacy of the American population has been the subject of increasing interest and concern by educators as well as by government officials, employers, and the media. Health literacy continues to be a major problem in the United States despite public efforts to address the issue and developing health literacy training programs. In our society, many people do not possess the basic literacy to navigate the increasingly complex health care field. Some people have difficulty in reading and comprehending information well enough to be able to fill out job and insurance applications, tax forms, or apply for a driver’s license. In the early 1980s, President Reagan launched the National Adult Literacy Initiative, which was followed by the United Nation’s declaration of 1990 as the International Literacy year (Belton, 1991). In light of the relatively recent attention given to health literacy in the last twenty years, we must acknowledge the efforts of two organizations Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc., and Lauback Literacy International – that served for many years as advocates for the most marginalized adult populations in United States and around the globe. Of particular concern to the health care industry are the numbers of consumers who are illiterate, functionally illiterate, or marginally literate. People with poor reading and comprehension skills have disproportionately higher medical costs, increased number of hospitalizations, readmissions, and more perceived physical and psychosocial problems than do literae persons (Baker, 1998). Today the health care literacy problem has grave consequences, because patients are expected to assume responsibility for their self-care and health promotion. If people with low literacy abilities cannot fully benefit from given information, then they ca nnot be expected to maintain their health independently. Computer literacy is also an increasingly popular concern of health literacy. Many health care providers and consumers are relying on computers as educational tools. â€Å"Those clients who are well educated and career oriented are already likely to own a computer and be computer literate, but those with limited resources, literacy skills, and technological know-how are being left behind† (Zarcadoolas et al., 2006). Health care providers relied for many years on printed education brochures as a cost-effective way to communicate health instructions with people. For many years, nurses and doctors thought that written materials given to the patients were sufficient to ensure informed consent for different test or procedures. This way they promoted compliance with treatment regimens and discharge instructions. Kessels (2003) pointed out that 40-80% of medical information provided by health professionals is forgotten immediately, because not only medical terminology is too difficult to understand, but also because too much information contributes to poor recall. He also noted that half of the information remembered is incorrect. Recently the health care providers have begun to realize that if the scientific and technical terminology in education materials are not written at a level and style appropriate for their intended audiences, people cannot be expected to be able or willing to accept responsibility for self-care. In improving written health materials and in implementing health education it is important to know the literacy skills of the patients in the community and their families. Nurses play an important role in assessing patient’s literacy skills because nurses interact more with the patients and their families than the physicians do. The nurses can evaluate the ability of the healthcare client to understand printed health information by assessing the patients’ comprehension and reading skill level. There are specific guidelines for writing effective health education materials and teaching strategies for patients and their families. An individual‘s functional health literacy is likely to be significantly worse than his or her general literacy skills, because of the more complicated language used by health care providers. Now that manage care insurance companies are requiring subscribers to take more responsibility for their self-care, poor health literacy can increasingly lead to negative consequences and escalated morbidity, and mortality. People with low health literacy don’t have knowledge or are misinformed about the body and the causes of illnesses. Because they do not have the proper knowledge, they don’t understand the relationship between lifestyle factors, like diet and exercise, and wellness .Those people with limited knowledge may not know how to seek care. Health literacy tactics that improve written health materials may include: Written health materials should have plain language for better understanding and ease of sharing with people. Written health materials should be scientifically accurate and culturally appropriate. If the client does not fluently speaks English, provide the written health information in his/hers native language. If such information is unavailable, and a translator must be employed, it is critical to assess the client’s understanding of the written material. Written health information should include pictures for better understanding. Personal electronic devices such as cell phones, tablets, palm pilots, and talking kiosks can be a new method for sending health information to the patients. Before health providers make a health education brochure, they should also consider alternate methods such as individual, group, organizational, community and mass media. Use a short brochure that presents â€Å"bottom line† information, systematic instructions, and uses pictures with visual cues that highlight most important information to be absorbed. Health brochures should align health information with recommendations to services, resources, and other available support. Removing the barrier to communication between individuals and health care providers is a good opportunity for nurses to function as facilitators and work in collaboration with other health care professionals for improvement of quality of care. As Advanced Practice Nurses, it is our mandated responsibility to teach in non-complicated terms so our patients can understand an fully benefit from our nursing interventions. References Andrus, M.R., Roth, M.T. (2002). Health literacy: A review. Pharmacotherapy, 22(3), 282- 302. Baker, D. W., Parker,R. M., Williams , M. V, Clark , W. S. (1998). Health literacy and the risk of hospital admission. Journal of Internal Medicine, 13, 791-798. Belton, A. B. (1991).Reading levels of patients in a general hospital. Beta Release, 15 (1), 21-24.California HealthCare Foundation. 2005. Consumers in Health Care: The Burden of Choice. Available at http://www.chcf.org Conlin, K. K., Schumann, L. (2002). Literacy in the health care system: A study on open heart surgery patients. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 14 (1), 38-42. Institute of Medicine. 2004. Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. National Academies Press: Washington, DC. Kessels, R.P.C. (2003). Patients’ memory for medical information. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 96,219-22. Kogut, B.(2004).Why adult literacy matters. Pbi Kappa Pbi Forum, 26-28. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Making Health Communication Programs Work. National Cancer Institute: Washington, DC. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2003. Communicating Health: Priorities and Strategies for Progress. Washington, DC. Weiss, B. D. (2003). Health literacy: A manual for clinicians. Chicago: American Medical Association and American Medical Association Foundation. Zarcadoolas. C., Pleasant, A. F., Greer, D. J. (2006). Advancing health literacy: A framework for understanding and action. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Social and Intellectual Barriers in the Classroom Essay -- School Girl

Social and Intellectual Barriers in the Classroom Peggy Orenstein's School Girls is a book about adolescent girls, and how low levels of self-esteem and confidence can hinder a positive self-image and contribute to poor academic performance. Orenstein compares and contrasts the experiences of girls from two different junior high schools, Weston and Audubon, and finds that factors such as family, culture, teacher attitude and social class affect girls differently. By looking at both Audubon and Weston from an academic standpoint, one would find that there are more barriers between Audubon students and education, than there are for students at Weston. Ninety percent of the students at Audubon represent everything but "the white and the wealthy" (136): they are "African-American, Latino, Asian, or Filipino" (137). According to Orenstein, two-thirds of these students are poverty-stricken and come from lower class, and perhaps single parent households. Unlike economically advantaged school districts, lower class students are reminded daily that they will never excel beyond their current status, and will only represent or contribute to a national statistic of academic failure. Not only are the students at Audubon reminded of their race and class status, they are ignored in the classroom. In Mr. Krieger's English class, students are given a license to conduct their own lessons--lessons on conversation skills and classroom chaos: "Within fifteen minutes, however, he has mined that vein to exhaustion, and the class degenerates into chaos†¦one of the boys is stuffing a friend into a supply closet with the assistance of roughly half t he class, while Mr. Krieger sits at the front of the room chatting†¦" (139). An educational environm... ...ool, the students from both schools academically perform in accordance with what is expected of them. Because the students from Audubon come from low-income families, teachers and administrators set minimal expectations for student performance. There are more barriers between Audubon students and education because they are reminded daily that economic constraints equal underachievement; and thus, the students are being deprived of an education. On the other hand, the students at Weston Middle School have every opportunity to learn, and do--they learn how to fulfill gender roles in the classroom. The girls at Weston find passive resistance acceptable behavior because not only do gender biases exist in the classroom, they exist in the home and the workplace. Thus, these girls are taught that it is acceptable to be ignored, overpowered and reduced to just "girls."

Child Developement :: essays research papers

Volunteering at the YMCA was a great experience. I conducted a two-hour craft class with approximately seventeen children between five to seven years of age. Two â€Å"Y† counselors assisted me with the children. The project I selected was a magazine collage based on nutrition and fitness. The children enthusiastically participated. I brought a large scaled laminated version of the food pyramid. We began by discussing the food groups and they assisted in the assembly of the pyramid. We then discussed the importance of breakfast, good after school snacks and junk food. They energetically engaged in conversation. The children were given black construction paper and magazines to look through to find pictures, they would cut or tear the pictures into small pieces and sort the pieces and glue the pieces onto their paper. The children were sensitive to the needs and feelings of the others around them. They varied widely in a number of different ways. Some of the children could make their own decisions and work independently, while others looked for adult approval. Some worked very quietly when others were noisy. Others were wiggle worms when some were concentrating and working intensely. One beautiful little girl was acting out, vying for even negative attention, when she was no longer the center of attention. She reacted emotionally when she received a written referral from the counselor. When one asked to go to the bathroom suddenly half a dozen children had to go to the bathroom! Based on the Eight Stages of Development developed by psychiatrist, Erik Erikson in 1956 stages three and four were present. Stage (age) Psychosocial crisis Significant relations Psychosocial modalities Psychosocial virtues Maladaptations & malignancies III (3-6) -- preschooler initiative vs. guilt family to go after, to play purpose, courage ruthlessness -- inhibition IV (7-12 or so) -- school-age child industry vs. inferiority neighborhood and school to complete, to make things together competence narrow virtuosity -- inertia 3. Learning Initiative Versus Guilt (Purpose) Erikson believed that this third psychosocial crisis occurs during what he calls the "play age," or the later preschool years. During it, the healthily developing child learns: (1) to imagine, to broaden his skills through active play of all sorts, including fantasy (2) to cooperate with others (3) to lead as well as to follow. Immobilized by guilt, he is: (1) fearful (2) hangs on the fringes of groups (3) continues to depend unduly on adults and (4) is restricted both in the development of play skills and in imagination 4. Industry Versus Inferiority (Competence) Erikson believed that the fourth psychosocial crisis is handled, for better or worse, during what he calls the "school age," presumably up to and possibly including some of junior high school.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Essay

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is probably the most famous German writer. He has often been called â€Å"the last true polymath to walk the earth†. Although he was not born there, he spent most of his life in Weimar in the former East Germany. Write a brief research paper in English (500 words), make sure to include the following information: Which other talents did he possess that earned him the name polymath? Where and when did he die? Name three of his most important novels. Use sites you find on the Internet and remember to include a WORKS CITED section so that your teacher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in August 28, 1749, Frankfurt. He was not an aristocrat but raised in a middle class family. Goethe grew up close to art and literature, at age 8 he wrote a poem; at 13 he first published his very own collection of poetry. He studied law in college and opened up his own office as told by his father, but his interest was already leaned toward literature world. Since then he gathered around with other writers, focus on more variety of books, and study poetries and dramas. In 1772, Goethe stays at Wetzlar and met Johann Kestner. Kestner had a finace named Charlotte Buff, Goethe fell in love with her at the first sight and secretly admires her. After coming back to Frankfurt, he hears a news saying that one of his friend died in situation similar to his. With his experience and the story of his friend, he writes ‘The Sorrow of Young Werther’ which became popular with its publication. Goethe became famous at early twenties. In 1775, Goethe leaves Frankfurt and goes to what became his second hometown, Weimer. In this small dukedom with population about 6,000, he gains trust of Duke Carl August. Carl August gave Goethe several official positions in his court and Goethe became his chief adviser. Although he was very successful in his career, his anxiety that arose with his thirst for art and literature was getting bigger every day. Even his relationships with Charlotte von Stein, his lover, and contemporary intellectual Hether did not satisfy his thirst. Finally, he left Weimer, where he stayed for ten years and wander around. In 1786, Goethe travels around Italy for three years, he visits  Rome, sees and experience new things. In 1788, he comes back to Weimer. His experience at Italy was indeed revolutionary and set a turning point in Goethe’s career. Beautiful art pieces he has seen at Italy influenced Goethe to become a Classicist, however he lost his old friends who could not understand changed Goethe. But luckily he met Schiller, who was another great figure in German literature. They sometimes worked together, influenced together, and inspired each other. During these years, pieces like Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, Iphigenie auf Tauris, Egmont, Torquato Tasso, and Reineke Fuchs came out. But in 1805, Schiller died of age 48. This shocked Goethe, but overall he lived a peaceful life from 1809 to his death with his artistic fervent at its peak. Faust, Elective Affinities, the West-Eastern, From My Life: Poetry and Truth, all came out during this period. Goethe not only was a guru in literary world but also he was an expert in science, religious studies, and politics, which gained him the name polymath. He was deeply involved in natural science and showed interest in morphology and color theory. Some of his works include, Metamorphosis of Plants and Theory of Colours. Also, being born in Lutheran family and having experience serving Duke Carl August made him influential in those areas as well. In March 22nd, 1832 in Weimer, he died at age of 83. During his 80 years of life he published quantity amount of poems, dramas, novels, and so on. His works had both depth and width and this significantly elevated German literature which were known to be underdeveloped at the time. He is still regarded as a great literary guru to these days and will be remembered forever. Work Cited C.D. Merriman, Literature Network: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. http://www.online- literature.com/goethe/ 2012 December 13.

American Architecture

Beaux Arts, French for â€Å"fine arts,† describes a type of American architecture that was popular from 1890 to 1920. They have two roof styles: flat or low-pitched hip roof or a mansard roof. These buildings often feature decorative garlands, floral patterns, or shields on their walls. The facade often has quoins, pilasters, or columns with Ionic or Corinthian capitals, and masonry walls of light-colored and smooth stone. Arched, pedimented windows were common. The first story uses stonework joints that are exaggerated, giving it a rusticated look, although the facade is usually symmetrical.There are several reasons why Beaux Arts style was a dominant choice of public building architecture from 1890 to 1920. Beaux Arts buildings were a popular architecture choice in prosperous urban settings in cities such as Washington, D. C. , New York, Boston, St. Louis and San Francisco, as well as Newport, Rhode Island. They were big, elaborate buildings to build, and their construction one was a way to show off your wealth if you were rich. Beaux Arts buildings were the style of choice for rich American industrial barons, for example.However, when the Great Depression hit in the late 1920s, these large buildings became too costly to build and maintain, and over time several were destroyed. Some have been preserved as public museums, schools, and clubhouses. Another reasons why they were dominant in public building style in America is the French influence. Americans who served in France during World War I saw examples of these buildings and helped make the style popular when they returned home. Americans who studied at France's Ecole des Beaux-Arts, the best architectural school in the world at that time, advocated for this style of building when they returned to America.The Ecole also favored formal planning for the spatial relationships between buildings. This helped drive the American City Beautiful movement, which was popular during this time period. This idea also influenced AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE PAGE 3 the Beaux Arts-style employed by designer Richard Morris Hunt for Chicago's 1893 World Columbian Exposition. After this, other large cities, including Cleveland, Philadelphia and Washington D. C., used these formal design ideas in planning suburbs with massive parks and boulevards that were lined with landmark Beaux Arts-style houses. A further reason why Beaux Arts was a popular architectural choice is their roof's appearance. The mansard roof became popular in attached urban town houses because it reduces the apparent height of the upper-floor living space as compared to other nearby buildings. It also gave the homeowner a full upper story of attic space to use, and so it became popular to use this style of roof in remodeling older buildings as well as for new ones.There were tax implications for this style here as well: in France, where the mansard roof originated, expanding a home ‘s â€Å"footprint† – adding addi tional rooms on the ground and increasing square footage – meant that the owner would be required to pay heavier taxes on the structure. Building â€Å"upward† – expanding square footage vertically rather than horizontally – constituted a â€Å"loophole† which helped the property owner to avoid increased taxation on his home. The Great Depression may have brought an end to the cost feasibility and popularity of these lovely structures.From about 1933 onward, homes that were constructed were smaller, plainer and more utilitarian. Fortunatly for us, but happily several of the old Beaux Arts have been preserved for our enjoyment and study in cities across the country, including San Francisco, Portland Oregon, Chicago and Rochester New in cities across the country, including San Francisco, Portland Oregon, Chicago and Rochester New York. Even in times during which real estate markets fall, classic old homes such as Beaux Arts houses and buildings conti nue to command top prices.