Evidence Based Practice Essay Example for Free

Evidence Based Practice Essay The institute of Medicine has set a goal that by 2020, 90% of all health care decisions will be evidence based (Mazurek et al. , 2009). On entering the words Evidence Based Practice into the Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature( CINAHL) database in December 2012, the amount of articles to be found by the author of this assignment was 5694. It could be said that this shows the importance of evidence based practice in todays world of nursing. In 2012, the words accreditation, in private health care settings, Health Information and Quality Authority ( H. I. Q.  A) standards, in the public sector and indeed Clinical Governance are spoken every day! Cranston (2002) stated that for the organisation, clinical governance lies at the heart of quality assurance and that clinical governance is linked to clinical effectiveness which is the goal of evidence based practice. Inevitably as a result of this all health care professionals are required to use evidence based practice in their every day working lives. Thus promoting accountability and quality patient care. However we must ask ourselves is there a down side to all this evidence based practice? What is wrong with the way we always did things? As already stated above it is a necessity for all health care professionals to use evidence based practice, however for the purpose of this assignment the author will concentrate on the nursing profession, looking at how the use of evidence based practice is important for the patient, the nurse and finally the organisation. On the other hand the author will also look at the barriers of evidence based practice for nurses. The methodology used is that of a literature review on evidence based practice in nursing. In addition a S. W. O. T. analysis was undertaken by the author looking at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and also the threats to evidence based practice. At the outset it is important to firstly look at what evidence based practice is. It has been defined as the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients (Sackett D. L, 1996) In addition it is further described as the integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values (Sackett, 2000). On speaking about Professor Archie Cochrane, Barker ( 2010) stated that he argued there was a need to ensure treatment was delivered in the most effective way and to ensure that available evidence was used (p. 5). The dictionary definition of evidence is a â€Å"grounds for belief or disbelief; data on which to base proof or establish truth or falsehood† (Collins 1998) So where you may ask do we obtain this evidence? Well the range of different sources of evidence that can inform practice includes personal reflection, journal articles, policies, guidelines, reports and professional consensus, as well as research and audit. However, the literature generally implies research is the strongest form of evidence (Dale, 2005). So why is it important to use evidence based practice to the nursing profession? For this section the author has divided it into three; the patient, the nurse and finally the organisation. Improvement in the quality of care received by the patient. The Department of Health and Children (2001) stated that improving quality in the Irish Healthcare system requires the implementation of internationally recognised evidence based guidelines and protocols. Furthermore Craig and Smyth (2007) stated that the main aim of evidence based practice is to obtain the best outcomes for patients by selecting interventions that have the greatest chance of success cited by Leufer and Cleary-Holdforth (2009). Every working day a nurse carries out daily duties; a bed bath, medication administration, mobilising patients post joint replacement, and many more, the list is endless; but how does the nurse know that what he or she is doing is the best way to do it and indeed perhaps what he or she is doing may be impeding the healing for the patient. Evidence based practice has been demonstrated to yield improved patient outcomes ( Killeen and Barnfather, 2005). Recent research carried out on the use of anticoagulation therapy for the prevention of post operative development of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism following a total knee or total hip replacement surgery, showed the effect of the anticoagulants appears to be influenced by the time of initiation of coagulation more than the effect of the drug itself. (Salazar, et al. , 2011). Therefore it can be said that the previous practice of commencing the anticoagulant post operatively is not the best for the patient. Indeed commencement pre operatively greatly reduces the risk of developing a deep venous thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism, thus improving the patient outcome. When evidence is used to define best practices rather than to support existing practices, nursing care keeps pace with the latest technological advances and takes advantage of new knowledge developments. ( Youngblut and Brooten 2001). Accountability and Ongoing Education for the nurse as a practicing professional. In addition to the before mentioned benefit to patient outcomes another strength to evidence based practice is that to the nurse as a professional. The Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Ireland states that each registered nurse is accountable for his or her own practice An Bord Altranais ( 2000). In order for the practicing nurse to be accountable for his or her practice he or she must be able to substantiate the decisions they have made on a foundation of professional expertise which clearly includes using relevant evidence to inform practice (McSherry, et al. 2006) Nurses and midwives form the bulk of the clinical health workforce and play a central role in all health service delivery (Buscher, et al. , 2009). Therefore it could be said that nurses can improve the quality of healthcare provided to their patients if they were to use the best evidence based practice. Moreover by carrying out evidence based practice the nurse is maintaining and improving his or her knowledge continuously. Therefore increasing his or her confidence while carrying out his or her daily nursing duties, as he or she is confident that the care he or she is administrating is based on researched findings. Furthermore in their article on a Spirit of Inquiry Melnyk et al. stated that findings in some studies indicated that when nurses engage in evidence based practice, they experience greater autonomy in their practices and a higher level of job satisfaction. This is of huge importance in these difficult times of staff shortages, cost saving and unfortunately emigration. There is a need to retain the nurses that we have and indeed job satisfaction goes a long way to aid this retention. The Organisation: Finally in this section the author looks at the organisation as a beneficiary of evidence based practice. Leufer et. al (2009) stated that evidence based practice is highly relevant in a social and healthcare environment that has to deal with consumerism, budget cuts, accountability, rapidly advancing technology, demands for ever-increasing knowledge and litigation. Furthermore in the USA there is a system where health care follows a business model, it is imperative for organisations to provide the best care based on the best available evidence to attract customers. (Fitzsimmons Cooper, 2012). This indeed could also be said for the healthcare system in Ireland at present, with the increasing demands on health care facilities either public or private to show that they are compliant with strict standards of care. Furthermore some of the many health insurance providers in Ireland will not continue to provide cover to the private hospitals if they do not hold an accreditation award. Moreover as has been seen in recent years H. I. Q. A. ill without a doubt close down healthcare facilities if they do not show themselves to be compliant with the H. I. Q. A. standards. It could be said that the best way to ensure obtaining and retaining these standards is through the use of evidence based practice. As already mentioned in the introduction clinical governance is also of paramount importance in todays hospitals; Sale 2005 stated that achieve clinical governance, organisations are expected to set and monitor standards that are evidence-based. as cited by Dale (2006). In addition in these highly litigious times, an organisation that uses internationally approved evidence based practice could perhaps be less likely to attract litigation cases. However if such a case were to arise the organisation could successfully defend itself, again if it is providing care which is of international best practice standard. Finally in relation to the benefits of evidence based practice to the organisation it could perhaps be claimed that evidence based practice may lead to a change in practice; as a result of said change, indeed cost saving may occur. For an example of this the author would again like to refer to the afore mentioned study on anticoagulants, if the use of the anticoagulant preoperatively is to reduce the risk of developing thrombosis, this in turn will lead to a reduction in hospital length of stay, when no thrombosis occurs, thus in the long term introducing a cost saving to the organisation. However, even with all the benefits of evidence based practiced as already discussed, throughout the literature review, it was difficult for the author not to discover the weaknesses, or indeed the pitfalls to the use of and the implementation of same. Lack of understanding! Perhaps one of the main barriers to evidence based practice is indeed the very lack of understanding of what it is! Evidence based practice is a well known concept, yet practitioners appear to lack knowledge of the principles that underpin it (Dale, 2006). It could be said that definitions of evidence in nursing are very broad, Is it literature review? Is it clinical expertise? Is it nursing knowledge? Is it nursing theory? Is it local? Is it organisational? As evidence based practice is a relatively new phenomenon to the profession of nursing, only really being born in the 90s, there are a lot of nurses trained before this time who do not understand the concept of evidence based practice. This in turn perhaps leads to another pitfall of evidence based practice! Conflict between professionals: There may indeed be a lack of team effort in implementing evidence based practice in the work place. As previously mentioned the old fashioned trained nurses may not understand what evidence based practice is and may feel that I have always done it this way or youre only qualified what would you know Resistance to change is very common in all areas of life. The extent to which different healthcare professionals work well together can affect the quality of the health care that they provide. If there are problems in how healthcare professionals communicate and interact with each other, then problems in patient care can occur. (Zwarenstein, et al. , 2009). In addition there may interdisciplinary conflict as a result of nurses carrying out evidence based practice. As already mentioned above in the research carried out by Salazar, et al. in 2011, it is of more benefit to administer anticoagulant therapy pre total hip or total knee replacement; however the nurse does not prescribe these medications and perhaps he or she may not feel they have the autonomy or authority to propose this or indeed even show the consultant or the anaesethist these findings. There could be a perceived lack of authority to change practice on reflection of research findings Medical disinterest is a significant barrier to evidence-based standards (Sams, et al. , 2004) Unfortunately it would appear from the authors own experience that some surgeons still see the nurses as only nurses. Therefore the nurse may feel this is a waste of time. Speaking of time this leads onto another pitfall in the use of evidence based practice. Time Constraints: In these times of cost savings, high staff turn over, emmigration and staff shortages, there may be a perceived lack of time to carry out any research or data. It can be said that staff work hard and perhaps they feel as if research is not part of their job, as it is not spelt out in the their job description. However as discussed earlier it is the responsibility of every registered nurse is accountible for his or her own practice. In addition it could be said that in this nday and age nurses feel that they do too much writing and have less time for hands on care therefore they feel that they really do not have the time for researching data. Because we are so busy doing the real work of caring for patients in the operating room, it is hard to even contemplate activities that would result in more work! We often believe we dont have the time, that our energies are better directed toward patient care, and that research is something to be conducted by academics; (Knoll Leifso, 2009). If however the time was made available, another question to be asked is; Is there the library facilities available? Lack of study facilities or library facilities: Yes if perhaps the nurse works in a teaching hospital then it could perhaps be presumed that there would be very good library and research facilities to hand to aid in research. However in some organisations there may be a lack of resources to support changing practice to reflect research findings (Hewitt-Taylor, et al. , 2012). However not all hospitals are teaching hospitals, so where does the information come from. In an ideal world the organisation would provide such facilities, however what if there is a: Lack of Organisational Support: Is there managerial support provided? Do management understand the process and the importance of the process for the organisation? Is there a cost involved to the organisation? If there is going to be a change in practice will it be cost effective. Is there organisational readiness to change?

Introduction To The Criminal Justice System

Introduction To The Criminal Justice System What do we mean by the Criminal Justice System (CJS)? This essay aims to answer the question What do we mean by the Criminal Justice System? In order to do this, we will start by looking at an introduction to the criminal justice system and briefing talking through the different agencies it is comprised of. We will then go on to look at the three main government departments and map out their responsibilities. This essay then intends to question whether or not the CJS is actually a system and to discuss conflict that may arise between the different agencies. In order to understand the system, it must be broken down into three stages. These stages include the police, the courts and the prisons. These can be evaluated to determine whether or not the CJS is effective. The Criminal Justice System is one of the main public services in the UK. It is made up of specific agencies that respond to the commission of offences. These work together and share similar aims and objectives. These agencies include the Police Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, Her Majestys Court Service, The National Offender Management Service and the Youth Justice Board (cjsonline.gov.uk march 2010). All of these agencies are directed by three main government departments. These are the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Office of Attorney General. These departments work together and each of these is responsible for different services within the system. The Home Office was set up in the 18th century and although many changes have been made since this time, its key objective is to protect the public therefore it is responsible for areas such as policing and security. This makes it responsible for all 43 police forces within England and Wales. It is run by the Home Secretary who sets agendas and has management boards in order to make sure its aims and objectives are carried out and their services are being delivered to the public. The Ministry of Justice was established in 2007 and took over some of the responsibilities of the Home Office. It is in charge of the justice system with areas such as criminal law and sentencing. One of its departmental strategic objectives is to ensure a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system for victims and the public (http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/justice-annual-report-08-09ii.pdf p48). It is now headed by the Lord Chancellor which can also be known as the Secret ary of State for Justice and like the Home Office, it also has a management board. The Ministry of Justice now also carries out the duties for the Department for Constitutional Affairs which manages the Legal Services Commission and certain courts. The Office of the Attorney General was established to provide advice to law officials. One of its main responsibilities is to guard the rule of the law and of public interest (http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/AboutUs/Pages/default.aspx). It is accountable for the law offenders department which is made up of agencies like the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Fraud Authority. In order to certify that these three departments work together, Local Criminal Justice Boards were set up. There are 42 of these boards and ensure that all of the aims of the three boards are carried out in their local area. Ashworth (2010) claims that the CJS is not a system. It quotes that To refer to it as a system is merely a convenience and an aspiration (p71) although Newburn (2007) believes that there is evidence to show that they work in partnership and share similar goals (p549). Despite these similar goals overall, each stage of the CJS sometimes has different objectives which may result in conflict between the different agencies. For example, the courts may sentence a person to prison to be punished, while probation officers would attempt to rehabilitate them. With these differing objectives, the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) was set up to ensure these agencies collaborated effectively and delivered the aims of the CJS. These aims are to prevent and detect more crime, to give victims and witnesses more support and to punish and rehabilitate more offenders http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/the_cjs/how_it_works/. These aims must be carried out in order for the criminal justice system to be effective. Each of these aims can be applied to the different stages within the CJS. These stages consist of the police, the courts and also the prisons. Each has a different role within the system with different objectives. The police are there to prevent and detect more crime; this can be done through arrests while the courts are there to sentence offenders and the prisons to punish. The police are the primary stage in the prevention of crime (Joyce p84). In most cases the agencies never respond at all as the CJS starts with the arrest of a suspect or with the reporting of a crime. The police have the authority to refer a person to the next stage of the CJS. This is done as they have to enforce the law with the intention to keep the peace. The courts have the power to sentence an offender and a custodial sentence is the toughest punishment the courts can impose while the prisons function is to punish an offender. From this it would appear that the CJS is based upon punishment, however this is not the case. Only specific agencies focus solely on the penal system. Once an offender is sentenced by the court, the offender enters the penal system (Cavadino p1). The penal system is a system that exists to punish and otherwise deal with those who have been convicted of criminal offences (Cavadino p408). The CJS in the UK is not only about punishment but also about the rehabilitation of offenders. Therefore, it protects the public in both the long and short term http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/downloads/application/pdf/CJS_Review.pdf. Rehabilitation believes that punishment can reduce the incidence of crime by taking a form which will improve the individual offenders character or behaviour and make him or her less likely to reoffend in future (Cavadino p41) The three stages mentioned earlier collaborate well as all three have the objective to protect the public. In order to find out whether or not each of these stages are effective, they can be measured by a number of different means. BCS Police statistics Clear up rates Sentencing has increased in recent years. This can be proved by the increase in prisoners. Since 1980 the prison population increased from 42,000 to 85,000 in 2009 (REF). Despite this increase, it cannot be proved that there is an increase in crime as it may be due to stricter and harsher sentences being imposed by the courts. Regardless of this, respondents to the BCS were asked whether they thought sentences were too tough, about right or too lenient, with over three quarters (76%) feeling that sentences were too lenient (Home Office Policing and criminal justice p12). Due to this increase in the prison population, it has been claimed that the conditions prisoners live in has made it difficult to rehabilitate offenders (Joyce p365) and that it is possible that the prisons may be violating Article three of the Convention (Ashworth p316). One of the problems that an increase in prison population has caused is overcrowding. This can lead to inmates being contained to their cells for l ong periods of time (Ashworth p316) and the denial to rehabilitative programmes (Joyce p377). These overcrowded prisons can lead to aggression and can damage a persons health and wellbeing. Other issues that are concerned with prison conditions include an increase in drug use, security problems and also the financing of the prisons. These conditions may also affect reoffending rates due to not being able to rehabilitate a person. Victimisation surveys is a survey which interviews a sample of the public and provide a relatively accurate measure of crime rates (Newburn p62) as they include crimes that have not been reported to or recorded by the police. Despite this, they still cannot be 100% accurate and reliable due to the fact that they exclude victimless crimes such as Punishment completions Self report surveys Issues influencing the CJSs ability to be effective Confidence levels/ satisfaction Reliability of stats The media can influence a persons perception of the CJS. GOOD The media presents information to the public of crimes. This can be done through new reporting and also television programmes such as Crimewatch which give the public accounts of events through real life footage and reconstructions (Newburn p104). BAD

Interpretation of Robert Brownings My Last Duchess :: essays research papers

I read a critical article on Robert Browning’s â€Å"My Last Duchess†. I confess it was harder to find something in the NCLC’s than I would’ve thought. There was a considerable accumulation of critiques on Browning’s work, but very little on â€Å"My Last Duchess†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article I found concentrated mostly on the Duke in the poem, and our reactions to him, stating that â€Å"[t]he utter outrageousness of the Duke’s behavior makes condemnation the least interesting response†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The title of the article was â€Å"Sympathy versus Judgment†. Some of its points are that the Duke controls the entire poem, that it being a monologue was significant, and that he is almost easy to sympathize with and like. The article discusses Ferarra’s nature and his self-involvement which allows the goodness of the Duchess to â€Å"shine through the Duke’s utterance.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It goes on to speak about sympathy in general and how Browning â€Å"delighted in making a case for the apparently immoral position†, how he found dramatic monologues the best form to do so, and how he went about it.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It keeps going for a couple more pages on things which I will not go into because they have little relevance to any interpretation of â€Å"My Last Duchess†. The article as it pertained to my poem was fine; I wish I could have found one which went into more depth as opposed to just discussing immoral characters and our empathy for them. I didn’t particularly care for the lawyerly torrent of words that were used, either. I am not ignorant and appreciate the need for words of longer than two syllables when discussing literature (or anything more serious than an episode of â€Å"Friends†, in fact), but I found it more difficult than usual to get through this article. I found it unconscionably wordy and it felt at times as though he was just stringing fancy words together because they looked all important lined up. However, that’s just my opinion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I was gratified to see that this critic agreed with my interpretation of the Duchess’s demise, viz., the Duke had her murdered. The theory advanced by my brilliant and magnificent Professor had been that the Duke gave her so many orders and restrictions that she pined away. I had been looking at his famous line â€Å"And I choose/never to stoop.† He married her for her beauty but would never lower himself to tell her when she angered him.

Vietnamization (real Version) Essay -- essays research papers fc

Vietnam Controversy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s January 27th, 1973 and the Vietnam War is over. Peace agreements were signed in Paris by the South Vietnam Communist forces, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the United States. The meeting lasted for several hours and in that time they agreed on many objectives, including: that U.S. troops would gradually withdraw from Vietnam and all prisoners of war would be released, South Vietnam had the right to choose their own future (whether or not to unite with North Vietnam), and North Vietnamese troops were given the right to remain in South Vietnam with idea that the troops could not be reinforced (â€Å"Vietnam War†). Even after the peace talks, fighting continued between the North and South Vietnamese. After the majority of American soldiers had left, North Vietnam went against all that was agreed on at the peace talks. On December 13, 1974 North Vietnam had started the invasion on the south. By April 30th, 1976, North Vietnamese tanks had occupied Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, with no trouble, and an evacuation began (see picture 1 & 2). On July 2nd, 1976, the country was united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (â€Å"Vietnam War†). If the U.S. had stayed to finish the Vietnamization, there might have been a South Vietnam today. I feel that the U.S. should have never been involved in the war in the first place, however, under the unavoidable circumstances we should have stayed in South Vietnam and helped the country defend themselves on something we made them believe in. We poured so many resources into the war fighting for a cause that many Americans and people in general did not believe in, and to retreat from the South Vietnamese when they needed America’s help the most was very unfair. The Perspectives By comparing the views of Von Don’s Our Endless War Inside Vietnam and some views of â€Å"In Our Times†, I was able to conclude that some of the views from the 1970’s and some of the views of the 1990’s are very alike. Von Don saw differently than the average American, and had incredible insight as to what went wrong towards the fall of South Vietnam. The book seemed to back up everything that Von Don seemed to have a perspective on. I can at least say that the two statements did not conflict. Personal Conclusions Through reviewing both perspectives I came up with several conclusion about t... ... learn. Works Cited Brigham, Robert K. â€Å"The Fall of South Vietnam.† American Journey. Online.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 March 2000. â€Å"Debate Between Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wisc.) And Sen. Barry   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Goldwater (R-Ariz.) over Aid to South Vietnam.† U.S. Congress, 1974.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American Journey. Online. 15 March 2000. â€Å"Part Six: Vietnam.† In class handout. â€Å"Protest note from the Government of the Republic of Vietnam (South   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vietnam) to the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (North Vietnam).† Embassy in Washington Press. Washington Press.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Release No. 15/73, September 10, 1973. Rosenberg, Norman L. & Emily S. In Our Times: America Since World War  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   II. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. 1999. Van Don, Tran. Our Endless War Inside Vietnam: Memoir of South   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vietnamese General. 1978. â€Å"Vietnam War.† Encarta 1998. CD-ROM. Redmond, WA: Microsoft, 1993 –  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1997.

Nursing Process Change Paper -- pre-operative management

The pre-operative stage is an important phase in patient’s surgery process. This is the time where the patients is experiencing a lot of anxiety issues and have questions regarding the impending procedure. To help ensure good patient outcomes, it is imperative to provide complete preoperative instructions and discharge instructions (Allison & George, 2014). It is the nurses’ duty to safe guard and protects the patient’s welfare during the surgical experience. Effective preoperative preparation is known to enhance postoperative pain management and recovery. Health professionals need to be cognizant of the contextual factors that influence patients’ preoperative experiences and give context appropriate care (Aziato & Adejumo, 2014). This essays attempts to address the elements of pre-operative management and issues that could potentially cause surgery delays or cancelation at the Veterans Affairs Southern Nevada Healthcare System (VASNHS) Surgical Spec ialty Outpatient department. Moreover, it also depicts the need for a new pre-operative management system. Assessment New consults for the Surgical Specialty Outpatient department comes from the primary care provider. During the initial visit the surgeon evaluates the patient and discusses the plan of care. If patient requires surgery, the surgeon orders pre-operative tests such as blood work, urine test, electrocardiogram (EKG) and chest X-rays. After completing the â€Å"buck slip,† a hand written operating room (OR) request form, the surgeon hands it to the primary care nurse of that particular Surgical Specialty clinic. The nurse then turns in a copy of the buck slip to the operating room scheduler and another copy to the nurse pre-operative unit. There are instances... ... 26, 2014. Mitchell, M. (2013). Anaesthesia type, gender and anxiety. Journal Of Perioperative Practice, 23(3), 41-46. Retrieved from http://ozone.nsc.edu:8080/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2012030991&site=ehost-live on on April 27, 2014. Pritchard, M. (2012). Pre-operative assessment of elective surgical patients. Nursing Standard, 26(30), 51-56. Retrieved from http://ozone.nsc.edu:8080/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2011513584&site=ehost-live on April 26, 2014. Shapiro, F. E., Punwani, N., & Urman, R. D. (2013). Putting the Patient Into Patient Safety Checklists. AORN Journal, 98(4), 413-418. doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2013.08.003. Retrieved from http://ozone.nsc.edu:8080/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2012318462&site=ehost-live on April 26, 2014.

Themes in the Cremation of Sam Mcgee

The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service is an incredible example of a narrative ballad. It tells it’s story through internal and external rhyming couplets Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.? Why he left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole, God only knows. (Service) with a cadence which holds true through out the whole poem (Team, Shmoop Editorial). Service’s application of literary devices like alliteration enhances the flow of the poem; â€Å"roam 'round, cursed cold, foul or fair, half hid, and brawn and brains† (Service).The cold of the Arctic is a major theme and Service uses an assortment of other literary devices to convey his message (Team, Shmoop Editorial). He sets the tone with the oxymoron at the end of the first stanza; â€Å"midnight sun† (Service) where midnight speaks to cold and sun to warmth. Then again in the first quatrain he uses a metaphor to tell of how ones â€Å"blood runs cold† (Service) in the Arctic. Service employs juxtaposition in the second quatrain when he puts Sam’s home in warm Tennessee â€Å"where the cotton blooms and blows† (Service) beside his present residence of the Arctic where â€Å"He [is] was always cold† (Service).He utilizes a simile in such a manner that the reader can feel the relentless, penetrating cold â€Å"Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold it stabbed like a driven nail† (Service). His use of personification â€Å"heavens scowled† (Service) and â€Å"I wrestled with grisly fear† (Service) paints an image of cold so effectively that we can see the dark sky and feel the shiver of fear. Another theme that comes alive through the use of literary devices is the peculiar (Team, Shmoop Editorial).Service’s first quatrain is peppered with metaphors; â€Å"The Arctic trails have their secret tales [and] The Northern Lights have seen queer sights† (Service) which set the m ood for the strange. Later in the seventh quatrain Service uses a metaphor to emphasis the cold and the darkness of the Arctic he finds himself in with Sam’s corpse: â€Å"There wasn't a breath in that land of death†. The paradox of Sam wishing that â€Å"he'd sooner live in hell† is an odd statement for any human.The imagery Service creates with his word choice allows you to see the narrator â€Å"sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin† (Service), â€Å"burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, and †¦ stuff in Sam McGee† (Service) or â€Å"there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar† (Service). Whether it is literal or figurative is open to question. One could see a person singing to a corpse but to have the corpse grin back is weird.Now to stuff a corpse into a furnace of glowing coals and then to have the corpse came back to life and enjoy the fiery abode is not something anyone would actually d o or witness and thus it takes the reader to a world of peculiar. A final theme to be introduced is that of friendship (Team, Shmoop Editorial). An interesting alliance is between the humans and the dogs. The dogs are symbiotic with the men and their actions are relayed to us using internal rhyming and a metaphor â€Å"the huskies †¦ howled out their woes to the homeless snows — O God! ow I loathed the thing† (Service) or â€Å"And on I went, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low† (Service). Sam and the narrator’s friendship is displayed to us by Service†s love of internal rhyming, â€Å"A pal's last need is a thing to heed† or â€Å"The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in. † He also uses a metaphor to communicate the commitment between them even in death: â€Å"Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code† (Service). Robert Service is truly a ge nius with the written word.His poem The Cremation of Sam McGee creates a timeless tale for past, present and future generations. The spell it casts on its listeners is produced through the placement of the words Service chooses. The Cremation of Sam McGee deserves to be the best poem in the world. Works Cited â€Å"Literary Devices. † Literary Devices. N. p. , 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. Service, Robert. â€Å"RobertWService. Com. † Robert W Service. com. Tacoma Technologies, 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2013. Team, Shmoop Editorial. â€Å"The Cremation of Sam McGee. † Shmoop. com. Shmoop University Inc. , 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.

Literary Analysis of Tell-Tale Heart

A Doll's House was a controversial play in its time because of Ibsen's bold questioning of society's basic rules and norms. One of the most pressing questions in the play is that of the unequal treatment of women. Ibsen questions Is it right to treat women as inferiors? ‘ Through the relationship between Nora and Helmer, Ibsen presents unequal power sharing in a negative light, trying to provoke the audience into questioning what was accepted as the norm in that period. One of the subtler techniques used is Helmer's language and diction.He uses animal terms to refer to her, such as skylark' and squirrel'. This suggests that Helmer does not love Nora as an equal, and treats her like a pet'. Worse, he calls her his possession', as if she were a thing, not an individual with her own separate identity. This use of patronizing, demeaning terms highlights the social norm of treating women as inferior, and provokes the audience to question the validity of that norm. Moreover, for the larger part of the play, Helmer is portrayed as having the most power in the relationship.He controls all the money, and gives it to Nora as gifts. Nora's statement that she has lived by performing tricks' and by being pretty and charming, makes the audience aware of the demeaning, unethical aspects of inequality, and again questions the validity of this social norm, which, unfortunately, has not been completely eroded even in modern society. Nevertheless, the question of inequality between the sexes is only part of the major question Ibsen poses: Is it right to force people into social roles without giving them the freedom to explore who they are and what they want to be? Ibsen presents this question by first characterizing Nora and Helmer as faithful conformists to social roles and then dramatizing the negative effects of those roles in an effort to provoke audiences of that period to think about their deeply ingrained beliefs. Nora seems to fulfill the role of a dutiful wife and mother. She does not work but stays at home and takes care of her children. Ibsen then reveals that, firstly, she is not really fulfilled, or self-actualized, through this role.The role of wife and mother does not bring out all her potential. He shows this through Nora's fond reminiscence about doing a bit of copying' to pay off her debts: It was almost like being a man'. She finds the experience fun' and gratifying, and does it for a good cause. However, she has to work in secret as her role does not permither to work. The audience is shown the negative effects of confining men and women to stereotypical roles. Ibsen in questioning, through Nora, whether it is right to constrain men and women to certain roles in society.Moreover, Ibsen reveals that forcing individuals into roles because of gender might be an exercise in futility as not everyone is suitable for their roles. Nora, for instance, in not a very good mother. The maids spend more time than her with the children (though it is possible that this is also a social convention), and she plays with them like dolls'. Helmer, too, is a victim of society's expectations. He tells Nora that he loves her so much he wishes that she were in danger so that he could risk everything' for her sake.He sees himself as bold and strong, doubtless part of his identity he has received from social conditioning. However, when Nora is really in danger from Krogstad's blackmailing, Helmer's reaction shows the audience that he is a coward and cares only for himself when there is danger. He is unable to fulfill the role expected of him. This not only shatters the perfect model husband stereotype, but also leads the audience to question whether it is right to force such unjust expectations onto individuals without giving them freedom to grow by themselves.Finally, this leads us to the most important question Ibsen presents: Should individuals not be free to create their own identity, uninfluenced by society? ‘ We have seen t he negative effects of Nora being forced into the role of wife and mother. She feels suppressed as can be seen through her comments that she would simply love to say Damn' in front of Helmer (in that period, the word damn' was seen as extremely rude and vulgar). She enjoys working, but cannot because her role does not allow her to.The question presented here is that would it not be better if society did not determine roles based on gender and let individuals decide by themselves what they want to be? Ibsen reveals a common failing of society through Nora's reminiscences of childhood: her father formed his opinions, and Nora just accepted them, never voicing her own. And when she married Helmer, she merely acquired his tastes'. She has had no chance of gaining of more experience of the world and to learn more about herself. All those years, she has been what her father and husband, symbols of society, want her to be.The aforementioned question is presented beautifully in that last co nflict between Helmer and Nora. Helmer says that Nora's sacred duty' is to her husband and children. Nora replies that first and foremost [she is] an individual', and leaves her doll's house' to gain experience and knowledge, and to find out more about herself. The play does not tell us her eventual fate. Such as ending merely presents the audience with questions regarding the validity of deeply ingrained social norms, roles and values, and whether it would be better if individuals, like Nora, used their freedom to find their own way in life.These questions were highly relevant in the period in which A Doll's House was written, and are still significant now. Even in modern society, men and women are still expected to take on certain roles and identities and are persecuted for going against cultural and social norms. And because these questions are presented through the lives of ordinary men and women like us, whom we can identify with and whose situations are not so dissimilar to ou r own, those questions become even more significant to us and the problems we face in our daily lives.