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Love in the play Much Ado about Nothing

Love in the play: Much Ado about Nothing

Human beings are foolish when in love, and Much Ado about Nothing, is a study of this. It goes into the love between Beatrice and Benedict and between Claudio and Hero. The story between Beatrice and Benedict is a sub-plot, but nowadays it is found to be more interesting than the main plot, which is the love between Claudio and Hero.

Beatrice and Benedict had been playful adversaries at the beginning of the play, united only in their contempt and loathing for marriage. Nevertheless, once they ‘discover’ their feelings for each other, they let their guards down and allow their feelings to blossom. They discover that they love one another, by a cleverly engineered plot, set into place by their friends. Although it was a lie, it did have good intentions and did work out for the best.

Even before they love each other, what the other thinks of them still meant a lot to them. They would try through their ‘merry war’ to make others think that they paid no attention to what the other said of them, but they would be very hurt when they thought the other did not think highly of them. When Beatrice tells Benedict that he is widely thought of to be “the prince’s jester, a very dull fool” (II.i.103), he is hurt and becomes defensive. He is happy for them to be constantly bickering, but he still wants her to like him.

Once they discovered they were in love with each other, Benedict proves himself worthy of Beatrice by standing by her and agreeing to “Kill Claudio” (IV.i.279). At first he is not willing to do this, and tells Beatrice so, “Ha, not for the wide world” (IV.i.280). Then he realizes that not only is Beatrice right, but that she is also worth far more to him than Claudio is. He was previously ‘one of the lads’, but he then turns his back on then for Beatrice. He is willing to do whatever Beatrice asks of him, including ceasing being friends with Claudio, although we are told he is his new “sworn brother” (I.i.53). He trusts Beatrice’s female intuition over his first male assumptions, although he has no factual reason to believe her. He just has a gut reaction that tells him that the accusations against Hero are not true. Moreover, the fact that he is willing to go with that feeling, is what makes him now worthy of Beatrice.

Claudio is criticized for his actions in the play. He behaved appallingly, and so receives the least sympathy. Even when he is at his best, I never found him that appealing a character. When at the start of the play, he was ‘in love’ with Hero, he tells Benedict and Don Pedro how wonderful she is – “In mine eye, she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on” (I.i.139), he never tells Hero herself, how he feels. In my mind, this is not what a romantic hero should be like. I am also extremely distrustful of his intentions for marrying Hero in the first place, as one of the first things he asks Don Pedro is “Hath Leonato any son, my Lord?” (I.i.220) It seems as though he is checking to see just what he will get out of the marriage, and if he had not got anything from marrying her, the topic of marriage might never have come up. This question of what Claudio was really getting married for, is again brought up when he agrees to marry Leonatos’, brother’s daughter. It seems a most unusual thing for a young man to agree to do, when still in mourning for his fiancée, and supposed true love, whose death he thinks he caused. It seems a very strange thing to do that is until you read Leonatos’ speech to Claudio, and hear him say that “she [his niece] alone is heir to both of us [Leonato and Antonio]. (V.i.257) It seems to me that the only possible reason he could have for wanting to marry a complete stranger is such strange circumstances, is because the fortune of two men is involved.

The deception engineered by Don John enabled us to see the two couples in their true light. We saw just how stable their loves were, or in the case of Claudio, how unreliable. Now we are left wondering just how stable their marriages will be. I think that Beatrice and Benedicts’ will be, because we know that they interest and stimulate each other, they know each other and their faults, almost as well as they know themselves. Their belief and faith, in each other and in each other has been proved.

Although Claudio and Hero seen to be happy and supposedly in love with each other, at the end of the play, I really don’t think that they will be happy together. At the very first trial in their love, Claudio showed us that he has no faith in Hero. He actually went out of his way to humiliate her publicly and to bring shame on her name. Although I can see how he was feeling, I cannot forgive him for wanting to do such a cruel thing to someone he was in love with.

Shakespeare shows us two kinds of love in Much Ado about Nothing. Beatrice and Benedict’s love is a very deep and powerful one. On the strength of it, they do things that are completely uncharacteristic to them. Benedict agrees to kill Claudio, and they both he and Beatrice agree and want to get married. Claudio and Hero’s love is a shallower and artificial love, if it is even a love at all. I have difficulty believing it is, for they have barely met before they decide to get married, and then Claudio betrays Hero terribly. But we have to bear in mind, that the idea of love at first sight was a far more acceptable and popular idea in Shakespeare’s time. In Romeo and Juliet, for instance, the two characters fall in love at first sight, though when their love is tested, it proves to be powerful enough to survive. In the same way, Claudio’s methods of courting Hero would have been acceptable by Shakespeare’s audience. Whereas now, the idea of Hero being proposed to by Don.

John, only to be told that she is really for Claudio, is bizarre. She was supposed to return Claudio’s feelings, so why did she agree to marry Don Pedro? Just as strange is Claudio’s belief, when Don John tells him that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for herself.

When he is tricked into believing that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for himself, he says, “Friendship is constant in all other things, Save in the office and affairs of love” (II.i.131).

He not only does not have faith in his fiancée, but also in his friends. He is very untrusting and ready to believe the worst in people.

I find it interesting that Claudio refuses to marry Hero when he thinks she has been unfaithful to him, as it shows us that possibly, there love wasn’t as strong as it should have been, in the first place. He does not seek her out to talk to her, to find out whether what he thinks he has seen was true or not, but instead lets his anger take hold.

He is very bad at handling situations. Beatrice is much better, and when she is proposed to by Don Pedro – “Will you have me lady?” (II.i.248), she knows just how to handle the situation. She replies “No…unless I might have another for working-days, your grace is too costly to wear everyday” (II.i.249). She is a very bold and blunt character, but she knows better than to hurt the prince. She treats the matter lightly, so that Don Pedro cannot be hurt or offended.

I think that Shakespeare shows us in Much Ado about nothing, that love is a very strong thing, when it is pure. It completely softens the character of Beatrice, who at the start of the play says she would “rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me”, (I.i.97). However, by the end of the play, both she and Benedict are writing love sonnets to one another. This change in their characters, is a shock to everyone, including themselves. The first time Benedict makes his feelings known towards Beatrice, he tells her “I do love nothing in the world as well as you, is not that strange?” (IV.i.259) He has trouble believing he could be in love, as does Beatrice who replies “As strange as the thing I know not” (IV.i.261). They do not know how to react to these feelings, but they are willing to find out together.

Claudio and Hero seem to be very plain characters. All we know about them is that they are in love with each other. There characters are like blank sheets, their characters themselves seem to be only plot devices, without them we couldn’t have got to know Beatrice and Benedict as well as we do. In contrast to this, Beatrice and Benedict have sharp, stubborn and lively characters. The greatest obstacles that they have to overcome, in their love, are each other. Beatrice and Benedict are equals, whilst with Claudio and Hero, it is clearly Claudio who has the authority and commands Hero’s respect. This makes a difference in their relationship and the way they act towards each other.

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Love Simon Film Analysis

Love Simon Film Analysis in Sociological Perspective

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The film “Love Simon” has a lot of sociological significance. In a society where acceptance and understanding of others is more prevalent than ever, the film portrays two teenagers who experience this phenomenon as different from their peers. These main characters, Simon (Nick Robinson) and his best friend – Josh (Jacob Elordi), are in juvenile court after it has been revealed that they have had sexual intercourse with one another. The question becomes: what do these plot developments say about societal norms? This article will briefly introduce the topic of homosexuality and queerness as a whole to help start an open dialogue that could lead to a better understanding of this timely topic. A highly educational blog post for sure!

As hinted at above, there are certain terms that need to be clarified before diving into this topic. Homosexuality is when someone exhibits sexual attraction to members of the same gender. Note that this attraction is not exclusive to any one gender, which means that it is possible for a person who identifies as heterosexual to still experience homosexual attractions as well as any other permutation one could think of. On the other hand, queerness is an umbrella term used by anyone that does not identify as heterosexual or cisgender (a binary term used to refer to people whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth).

To examine this topic, we will look at homosexuality in a historic context and also consider it in terms of the sociology of gender, as well as the sociology of sexuality. Some other topics to consider are the relationship between religion and homosexuality, including Protestantism and Catholicism (specifically when looking at their stances on homosexuality), as well as homosexual individuals’ experiences with religion (Macionis, 2010).

There is also the role that language plays in shaping individuals’ perceptions about those who identify under the LGBTQ acronym. In other words, we will examine the ways in which language can be used as an agent of social change. In other words, we will look at the role that language plays in the development of new narratives. Through our explorations, we hope to gain insight into the complex nature of the issues surrounding homosexuality and ask why the LGBTQ acronym is such a popular choice for its members. We also hope to consider homophobia’s role in this discussion and how society can move forward in terms of changing discriminatory practices against individuals who identify under this umbrella term (for example, gay conversion therapy).

The goal of this article is to paint a sociological picture of homosexuality and queerness, thus incorporating the insights of multiple fields within sociology and critically examining how these perspectives interact with one another.

As an overview on the “history” of homosexuality in America, let us first consider that it was not all that long ago (1940’s – 50’s) when homosexuality was considered a mental disorder by key medical health professionals, such as: The American Psychiatric Association (APA), The National Association for Mental Health (NAMH) and The National Council for Mental Health (NCMH). While these organizations have since changed their policies and now consider such categorizations to be unprofessional, the APA did not officially change its stance on homosexuality until 1973. Additionally, in 1962, a researcher named Evelyn Hooker published a study that showed that gay men were no more likely to show signs of mental illness than anyone else. This study is regarded as the first major step in changing the narrative surrounding homosexuality (Macionis, 2010).

As mentioned above, one of the most important outcomes of this shift in thought from medical professionals was their reclassification of homosexuality from a mental disorder to merely an orientation (i.e., homosexuals were no longer thought to be ill).

This is not to say that homosexuality has been widely accepted as a normal part of life throughout the entirety of American history. No, that is not what I am saying at all. Rather, I am pointing out that in recent history there have been significant strides made to accept people who identify as LGBTQ as full and equal citizens in our society (Robinson & Schmitz, 2021).

The social acceptance of homosexuality has been an ongoing conversation for centuries. Discussions about homosexuality often lead to key sociological questions such as: what does it mean to be normal? This is a question that extends beyond just the topic at hand and can be applied to every aspect of human behavior including race, religion, class, language, gender (to name a few).

As we dig deeper into the first point, ‘what is normal?’, we will find that there are many different opinions about what is considered normal and abnormal. For example: if one believed that blonde hair was not something to be concerned about, then this would be considered abnormal by another. In order for society to function, however, we must find what to focus our attention on in order to maintain a collective sense of “normalcy”, i.e. a sense of the “sameness” among all members of our society (Macionis & Plummer, 2005).

The commonalities people share allow us to develop a certain set of social norms as well as identify and differentiate behaviors that deviate from these norms from those who do not (Robinson & Schmitz, 2021). For example: Simon struggles with coming out to his friends, how he understands his attraction to men, what kind of backlash he might face for being gay and whether or not he will be accepted at school after news of his sexuality gets out. He also struggles with his mother’s decision to commit him to a mental institution because she believes he is mentally ill and believes he should be “cured”.

This film showcases the story of a gay teenager in America whose life is completely different from most, who gets thrown into the courts at a young age and faces devastating consequences that significantly affect his life. Before this point, there has not been a lot of movies like this (or series, for that matter). It has shown how discrimination can have a huge impact on those who are part of the LGBTQ community. This film manages to show just how serious this inequality really is (Macionis & Plummer, 2005).

The legal system has always been very relevant and continues to be so in many ways in contemporary times. The system is not only used as a means to fairly punish those who break the law, it can also be a tool for further discrimination as well. For example, in the film, Simon’s mother is sentenced by a judge after being found guilty of violating Simon’s civil rights. This decision was made even though she fought against her decision to have her son committed and spoke out to defend him.

As mentioned above, the film also highlights many parts of society which are beginning to shift towards greater acceptance of homosexuality and more recognition of its contribution to society. It establishes that in no way should one be considered ‘mentally ill’ because they identify as LGBTQ and are not heterosexual (or ‘straight’).

We can then conclude that “Love Simon” mainly takes place within a society with a positive outlook on homosexuality, which is also slowly becoming more common throughout more areas of America with time. The importance of this film’s release in 2018 stems from the fact that it is breaking ground on many levels. It portrays a main character who is gay and his struggle with discovering, accepting and understanding this about himself and how others would react if they were to find out (Berlanti, 2018).

References

Berlanti, G. 2018 Love Simon. Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Pouya Shahbazian, Isaac KlausnerMacionis, J. (2010). Sociology, 13/e.

Macionis, J. J., & Plummer, K. (2005). Sociology: A global introduction. Pearson Education.

Robinson, B. A., & Schmitz, R. M. (2021). Beyond resilience: Resistance in the lives of LGBTQ youth. Sociology compass, 15(12), e12947.

Love, loss and geographical imagination in the poetry of John Donne

Love, loss and geographical imagination in the poetry of John Donne.

John Donne’s poetry is characterized by vast attitudes and emotions; it manifests love, loss and geographical imagination. All his poems are a reflection of complex experiences that can be discussed as love, loss and geographical imagination.

Donne’s poem ‘To his Mistris Going to Bed’ addresses love. It portrays Donne as a lover of women. In a series of metaphors, he refers to a woman as a continent (America). This shows that Donne lauds sensual pleasure (Donne, 1990).

In ‘The Extasie’, Donne tells us that love is the coming together of two souls. He, however, contradicts this view in ‘Twicknam Garden’ where he sounds disillusioned. Here, he describes love as ‘spider love’ which ‘can convert manna into gall’ (Gardner, 1985).

Spatial imagination is evident in Donne’s ‘Songs and Sonnets’. He makes references to world continents, the globe and round balls, seas, hemispheres, towns and maps among others. For example: ‘Let us possess one world, each hath one and is one’ (Donne & Redpath, 1956).

His spatial imagination is believed to have been attached to the past, his way of imagining space was cosmographic as opposed to the modern day cartographic way of imagining space. He uses many symbols and defined his ideas in geographic terms. For instance, when explaining the link between social ranks, he makes reference to concentric circles. Mapping social structure onto circles that are concentric enables us to picture geographic arrangement as well as the movement of people (Donne, 1990).

Donne encountered deep loss when she lost his wife. In his poem ‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ he writes about love that is deep, subtle and profane. When he lost his wife, he writes the ‘Holy Sonnet 17’ where he regrets his wife’s death. He describes her death as paying back a debt to nature. He further illustrates his loss when he says ‘lest the world, flesh, yea, devil put thee out’ (Donne & Redpath, 1956).ReferencesTop of FormBottom of ForTop of Form

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Donne, J. (1990). Devotions upon emergent occasions: Together with Death’s duel. Grand Rapids, Mich: Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

Donne, J., & In Redpath, T. (1956). Songs and sonnets. London: Methuen.

Gardner, H. (1985). The metaphysical poets. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

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Love The Everlasting Journey

Love: The Everlasting Journey

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Introduction

Love acts as one of the most critical elements in human life. It is a variety of varying feelings, attitudes, and states ranging from interpersonal affection to pleasure. Love started with the creation of mankind and continues to thrive among people. People get into love relationships day in day out while others end up their relationships. Love is an everlasting journey because as long as life continues, love also does. Ex-romantic relationship has been a major topic of discussion in many sectors including churches, social media, and media houses. The outcomes of this paper will assist in establishing the main reasons why most people engage to ex-romantic relationship with their past lovers. The following paper provides an exploration of the ex-romantic relationship termination through analyzing the relevant literature. The literature review focuses on girl’s relationships with ex-boyfriends. The literature will discuss issues associated with ex-romantic relationship including the outcome of the relationship and methods of breaking up with romantic partners using social media.

Thesis statement:

Girls will always try to find their ex-boyfriends attractive irrespective of the type of relationship they currently have.

Literature review

Lovers provide different reasons for terminating their romantic relationship. Interpersonal communication researchers study various aspects related to autonomy and connection. According to Sahlstein & Dun (2008), many factors contribute to the termination of a relationship. The research revealed that career demands, seeking private time, and misunderstanding each other contributes into many relationship terminations experienced today. In addition, most partners engage in conflicts on how to manage autonomy-connection as each partner desires a different thing for a relationship. Women tend to show more reactions to a breakup through emotions compared to men (Perilloux & Buss, 2008). In most cases, girls find themselves getting back to their ex-boyfriends after a breakup because they have a feeling that their first love provided the best romance.

On the other hand, social media play a critical role in the development of a romantic relationship. Most people have found their life partners through the social media while others have suffered breakups through the social media. Social technologies play a part in the life cycle of relationships from the time of formation to dissolution. FaceBook acts as the most commonly used social media communication channel where people find information about their ex-partners. FaceBook stores most of personal information that makes people reduce the uncertainties regarding another person in varying ways. The main information gathered from social sites includes new romantic partners, general social activities, and how someone’s ex describe his past partner. In addition, the type of messages updated on FaceBook determines how the girl views an ex-boyfriend (Tong, 2013).

Interpersonal communication models help in understanding an aspect of a romantic relationship and main causes of love breakups. Future researchers should utilize the parallel process model in establishing motivation and ability processes that influence relationship termination. The theory claims that the type of message drafted by one partner determines the type of response from the next partner. A relationship might end in a polite manner if one partner uses an effective polite termination message (Harnish, 2007). Relationships ending in such a manner are so tempting because a person engages in confidential affairs with the ex-partner.

Conclusion

The following topic is widely discussed everywhere because it affects most people especially those engaged in working relationships. The above discussion shows that people seek different reasons for terminating love relationships, but the approach taken by one partner to end the relationship determines the future response from the other partner. Relationships that end politely tempt both partners to engage in love affairs later in life. In addition, social media sites especially FaceBook plays a significant role in the growth or termination of a romantic relationship. In future, researchers should use communication theories to link research into the theory and establish the main causes of ex-romantic relationships.

References

Harnish, C. M. (2007). “It’s over but you are still a great person: A parallel Process Model of

motivation and ability in polite termination message construction” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the NCA 93rd Annual Convention, TBA, Chicago. Retrieved December 15, 2013 from fromhttp://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p194904_index.html

Perillouxm C. & Buss, M. D. (2008). Breaking up romantic relationships: Costs experienced

and coping strategies deployed. Evolutionary Psychology, 6(1), 164-181

Sahlstein, E. & Dun, T. (2008). ‘‘I Wanted Time to Myself and He Wanted to Be Together All

the Time’’: Constructing Breakups as Managing Autonomy-Connection. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 9(1), 37–45.

Tong, S. T. (2013). FaceBook use during relationship termination: Uncertainty reduction and

surveillance. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(10), 1-6.

LOW CRUDE OIL PRICES EFFECTS OF LOW PRICES OF CRUDE OIL

LOW CRUDE OIL PRICES: EFFECTS OF LOW PRICES OF CRUDE OIL

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Abstract

Oil behaves just like other commodities that exhibit wide price swings in periods of oversupply or shortage. Throughout much of the twentieth century, the domestic and international industry prices of crude oil have been greatly regulated through price controls or production. Recent downturn in the prices of crude oil will obviously have the most serious bearings on the exploration segment of the industry. This research paper addresses the impacts of low crude oil prices to the economy and major industries that are dependent, both directly and indirectly on crude oil within the United States.

Introduction

The world requires oil for various purposes such as operating oil-powered irrigation plants, to plant crops in fields using farm machinery, to power automobiles, and also as a raw material for making different kinds of products such as fabrics and medicines (Kilian & Park, 2009). This therefore means that oil is a very essential requirement for any economy to run. Also, the prices of oil have to be standardized to ensure efficient and responsible use of the raw material.

The price of oil is mainly determined by supply and demand, and by expectation. The economic activity closely relates to the demand for energy. It is also important during winter in countries that lie in the northern and southern hemispheres that require heating system to remain warm, and during simmers in countries that require effective air conditioning system. Supply is often affected by geospatial upsets and weather. Whereas low prices can lead to drought in investment, high prices makes produces to heavily invest which eventually boosts the supply.

The American economy is the world’s largest economy. Even though there are a number of factors that directly or indirectly contribute towards the status of the American economy, crude oil plays an extremely pivotal role which cannot be overlooked. Energy consumption is closely connected to both economic progress of the nation and other significant economic indicators such as trade and manufacturing. The significant drop in the prices of crude oil has led to creation of opportunities and threats which have consequently resulted in potential losers as well as several gainers.

The Americans’ appetite towards energy is very insatiable. Though the overall spending ratio on energy to the average gross domestic product has either remained steady in recent years or dropped considerably, such spending still take a huge chunk of household budget. Energy spending still remains a crucial determinant of living standards and critical components of expenses incurred in manufacturing. The United States spends almost two million dollars on crude oil. This figure exceeds 8% of its gross domestic product per annum (Hamilton, 2008). Also, the United States is the leading consumer of crude oil worldwide with an average consumption of twenty million barrels daily. Nearly half of the crude oil consumed daily in the United States is imported from about eighty countries that are members of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) while the other half is domestically produced.

After hitting the peak in September 2014, where the price of crude oil was $115 per barrel, the prices have dropped drastically and now oil trades at $47 a barrel (Kilian & Murphy, 2014). This has mainly been caused by the closing gap between the global demand of crude oil and the supply. In the United States, the effect of decreasing oil prices on the country’s economy has been a mixture of good news for oil sensitive industries such as airline, transportation, manufacturing, and American consumers, but also a bad news for countries that are members of OPEC.

According to the Economist magazine, low oil prices will cause a shift estimated to $1.3 trillion from producers of crude oil to consumers. A typical household will experience as much as 2% increase in the annual income since low crude oil prices means the consumer will spend $3000 annually on gasoline and end up saving as much as $1000. Moreover, the low crude oil prices have ensured typical US households have saved up to $75 billion in the last six months, and it is estimated that the savings would increase to $150 billion per year if the prices continue to fall exponentially. This has ensured many Americans are able to channel their savings, into other sectors of the economy, availing an impetus for expansion of business.

However, falling crude oil prices have majorly affected the shale oil industry. This is mainly because the industry’s inability to function and operate effectively, while still making profits when the price of crude oil is below $60 per barrel that is universally regarded as the break-even price (Hamilton, 2008). The hydraulic fracturing boom that was experienced in past years has been able to attract a massive amount real and financial resource into the shale oil production. If the prices of crude oil continue to decrease for a longer period of time, there is high likelihood that the shale industry will experience a massive withdrawal of seal and financial resources that had been injected into the industry. This will consequently compel the shale industry into discontinuing or downsizing their operations unless a breakthrough in the hydraulic fracturing technology. Consequently, the United States Economy will be quietly consequential as a result of this.

Low gasoline prices also have serious consequence on manufacturers of automobiles. This is mainly characterized by a major increase in the overall demand for autos. However, consumers will revert to large vehicles with less gas mileage. To prove this, recent data collected in the United States on sales of autos indicated a significant increase in demand, particularly for pickup trucks.

The United States auto companies are also required to comply with fuel efficiency standards for their automobiles. The current administration, led by President Obama has been adamant in its policy of pushing for upper efficiency standards, particularly after year 2010 when the price of pump surged to approximately $4 per gallon. Nonetheless, whenever there is a decline in the gas prices, the country experiences a loss of momentum in regard to concern for fuel efficiency. This in turn increases the flexibility of the administration towards the energy policy.

It is projected that the US will become the world’s largest producer and exporter of crude oil in few years to come (Karmee & Chadhaa, 2008). Apart from the boom in hydraulic fracturing, the government has been putting a lot of efforts in addressing environmental awareness and promoting public awareness so as to diminish the dependency of the country on crude oil from Middle East, which is considered as the most volatile region of the world. Moreover, low crude oil prices has offered a momentous chance for the Federal Government to rethink about its energy policy that has enforced restrictions on exports of natural gas, oil, and other related products. Also, massive tax breaks and subsidies are being given to individuals who work on alternative energy sources and oil companies. As the prices of crude oil sink, the United States government should re-examine these policies and if possible, relax the subsidies.

References

Kilian, L., & Murphy, D. P. (2014). The role of inventories and speculative trading in the global market for crude oil. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 29(3), 454-478.

EIA, U. (2013). Annual energy outlook 2013. US Energy Information Administration, Washington, DC.

Hamilton, J. D. (2008). Understanding crude oil prices (No. w14492). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Kilian, L., & Park, C. (2009). The impact of oil price shocks on the us stock market*. International Economic Review, 50(4), 1267-1287.

Karmee, S. K., & Chadha, A. (2005). Preparation of biodiesel from crude oil of Pongamia pinnata. Bioresource technology, 96(13), 1425-1429.

Low Voter Turnout in Texas

Low Voter Turnout in Texas

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Low Voter Turnout in Texas

Voting is an important part of citizen responsibility and most of the citizens do not take this seriously. However, some other voters take it seriously and go on to vote and elect their leaders. Of all the states of America including the district of Colombia, the lowest voter turn out has been recorded in Texas. This can be attributed to different issues which have taken place and which forms part of the history of the Texas state. Therefore, it is an important thing that the voter turnout is increased and different people and organizations have tried to increase the voter turn out with not fruits. This can be attributed to some fixed factors which cannot be changed. This paper discusses the issue of low voter turnout in the state of Texas, how this has affected the voting process and the cause of the low turnout as well as the different ways which this can be rectified and make sure that every individual who has attained voting age has the ability to vote and choose their leaders instead of just sitting at home when it is time to vote.

One of the many reasons why most Texans do not vote is the question of whether voting really matters and this lack of political efficacy makes it very difficult for the voters to change what they think needs to be changed. This is because with voting or no voting some things remain the same for the people and this includes things like trash pick-up fee which has remained the same and in the case of the state of Texas on the lower side. Therefore, some individuals who observe these issues and even other which politicians do not have a direct or the power to change decide not to vote at all because even if they vote the thinking or the mentality is that everything will remain the same. Therefore because of this, most of the individuals do not really vote and leave things as they are. However, this is not the only reason as to why Texans do no vote.

Other factors are the major parties dominating the state of Texas at different times and this had a negative impact on the state of Texas. For example, from the time of civil war the democratic party dominated the state of Texas and this made the people belief that every time there was a voting process it was going to remain the same that a democratic candidate was going to win and therefore this became very difficult for the people to trust the system could change. Therefore, most of the individuals stopped voting due to this reason. However, after a while the political wave changed and it favored the republican party since the 1990s. from the 1990s therefore it means that most of the Texans were not able to vote since every time they want to vote they remember that it is a republican who will win and therefore the motivation to vote gets lost.

Another reason why it is very difficult for most of the people in Texas to vote is the voters eligibility. The first and most important thing under this is that anyone within America who is not American cannot vote. This therefore makes the population which can vote less since some of them are not American even though they are in the state of Texas legally. Other are in the state of Texas illegally and this serves as an outright reason why they cannot vote. Children are also not allowed to vote and this affects Texas a lot since it has children covering more than a fourth of the total population. By children it means the population which has not yet attained the voting age of 18 years. After removing the population which cannot vote the voting population which remains is referred to as voting-eligible population (VEP). This population is low in Texas and therefore this accounts for the reason why it is very difficult to have Texas being on the top list of those states which vote highly.

Apart from the above-mentioned factors things like demography and socio-economic status also plays a very significant role in determining who votes and who does not vote. Firstly, older people are more likely to vote than younger people and this puts the young population at a place whereby their votes cannot be much dependable and because of this, the state continues to go down in the list of those who vote from the state (Cortina, & Rottinghaus, 2021). The other issue is that the native Texans are more likely to vote than immigrants from other states. This also puts the state of Texas down in the list of high voting states. Other factors like English proficiency are an important part which determines if the voters vote highly or rather come out in large numbers (Cortina, & Rottinghaus, 2019). Those with English proficiency are likely to vote more and better while those less in English proficiency are likely not to vote or just in low numbers.

The other very important determinant of the voter turnout are the rules in place regarding voting and the may verification processes. This puts citizens through unnecessary scrutiny and because of this most of the individuals do not undergo the process and give up (Morrow, 2015). On the other side it becomes too expensive to undergo all the verification processes and there is a lot of spending on the elections which is considered unnecessary (Cortina, & Rottinghaus, 2021). One of such ways of verification is the photo verification method. This means that according to the law any Texan was not allowed to vote unless they shown their photo, however this law was blocked by Obama government alongside other states which had come up with similar laws. This was a way to prevent imper-personification of the voters and increase transparency but it was considered too much.

Therefore, based on these factors it is clear that the low voter turnout has been in existence for a specific reason and this is a problem when it comes to the general united states elections since it is below the average voter turnout of the United States.

There have been many measures to increase voter turn out and one of the ways which has succeeded is the automatic voter registration. This means that when a person turns 18 they are automatically registered and this is done mainly using the drivers license. Even though this has been considered controversial for most of the part it has worked and there is seemingly a change in the voters which is being noticed (Cortina, & Rottinghaus, 2019). Help America Vote Act of 2002 was also an instrumental law which was passed and it has since then helped the voters very much as well as the states deal with problems which arise as a result of low voter turnout or other complications which arise during the voting process and period.

In conclusion, Texas has had a long history in regards to the manner in which voter turn out has been experienced. Even though it has been negative, there are efforts to end the low voter turnout and there are some goo positive results being seen. This gives hope that everything will be fine soon and a state of balance will be noticed.

References

Cortina, J., & Rottinghaus, B. (2019). Vote centers and turnout by election type in Texas. Research & Politics, 6(3), 2053168019864224.

Cortina, J., & Rottinghaus, B. (2021). “The quiet revolution”: convenience voting, vote centers, and turnout in Texas elections. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 1-21.

Morrow, S. (2015). Causes of low voter turnout of the hispanic population in southwest Texas (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).

LPN to RN Transition

LPN to RN Transition

Name

Instructor

Course

Date

Introduction

The medical field is among the few industries that are continuously growing and it needs new professionals who can fill numerous positions that exist. Nursing has now become the fastest growing profession within the healthcare industry. Many people have the notion that a nurse is nurse but this is not always the case. Even though licensed practical nurses and registered nurses sound similar, they very little in common when it comes to their job tasks, salary ranges and education paths (Claywell, 2009). There are different licensing and designation for LPNs and RNs. None of these is more important compared to the other, but they are all critical in nursing and quality care of patients.

Role differences between LPN and RN especially those with BS degree

Nursing process

The nursing process comprises of four main steps which are assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. The roles of the LPN are limited in each of these four steps but they can not perform them independently or completely. On the other hand, the RN performs the first physical assessment of a patient who has been newly admitted. It is also the duty of the RN to carry out daily assessment on the patients. The LPN is supervised by an RN or physician. The LPN only performs her duties as far as she is allowed by the law. Even though an LPN can learn quickly while doing the job, and gain knowledge on the conditions of patients, they are not allowed to do anything without a direction from an RN (Nunnery, 2010). They do not do assessments on patients but can collect vital signs from patients such as blood glucose level and pain and keep the RN informed. An LPN is only supposed to take note of how a patient is and how they respond to stimuli but they are not expected to interpret the data or make decisions pertaining to the patient. The LPN is supposed to report any of their findings to the RN. The RN then determines how these readings are used in the clinical picture for patients and whether there should be changes made in the care plan (Claywell, 2009).

Care plan

The implementation of a care plan involves performing day to day care of a patient. For instance, the RN is expected to determine that a patient is likely to benefit from talking a walk three times a day and make it as an intervention in the care plan. However, the role of the LPN is to actually assist the patient in taking the walks. At the end of a shift, the RN evaluates the progress made by the patient towards the specific goals that would help in their recovery. The RN then makes adjustments dependent on the progress of a patient on the care plan (Claywell, 2009).

Critical thinking

The RNs have a role of developing a care plan and do nay necessary changes on the plans. LPNs on the other hand can only contribute to the plans but they do not actually create the plans. Care planning and evaluation needs an individual to have critical thinking skills. These include the ability of analyzing information, considering any medical conditions and putting this information together into the health status of a patient (Nunnery, 2010). Students learn these skills in nursing skills but they are not part of the LPN curriculum that mainly focusses on bedside tasks. The RN is always expected to see the big picture of every patient.

There exist major differences when it comes to the scope of practice between RNs and LPNs. Sometimes this gap is wider depending on training, level of education, certification and specific guidelines within a state.

Strategies and suggestions to transiting LPN/LVN to ensure success in new RN roles

Most of the LPNs end up becoming RNs after working for a period of time. It is important for the LPNs to ensure that they have a smooth transition from the LPN role to that of an RN. An LPN/LVN who wants to become an RN should first make sure that they get the required education. They require an extra form of training that will put them up to speed with the role of an RN and include it in their scope of practice. Another strategy is to ensure that they are keen in learning and grasping everything that is required of an RN. They are supposed always be attentive and learn from the RN who supervises them so that they can know what the practice entails (Claywell, 2009).

Conclusion

The RN scope of practice involves potentially dangerous and complex tasks like adjustment of doses on the basis of the condition of a patient: invasive procedures such as giving intravenous chemotherapy or insertion of central venous catheter. Nursing is a hierarchy that is dependent on education and skills of an individual, but no role should be deemed less of a nurse or taken for granted. Therefor both an RN and LPN have a vital role to play in patient care.

References

Claywell, L. (2009). LPN to RN transitions (2nd Ed.). St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby Elsevier.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Nunnery, R. (2010). Making the transition from LPN to RN. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.

LSI-R ASSESMENT DOMAINS

LSI-R ASSESMENT DOMAINS

Name

Professor

Course

Date

LSI-R Assessment Domains

LSI-R, (Level of Service Inventory-Revised), is considered a need assessment to help in identification of problems in the life of an offender and predict their recidivism risks. The item is instrumental in assessment of offenders in 10domains related to the likelihood of an offender going back to prison. Tackling of need areas using prison rehabilitative involvement can reduce an offender’s re-incarceration probability’s-R’s are mostly completed by assessors who are trained and interview the offenders. The information is also confirmed through external sources. Female Offenders who are assessed are those who their sentences are more than 6 months with two women attached to the women facilities tasked with the responsibility of conducting LSI-R. On the other hand, Male Offenders sentenced to 9 month and more are often targeted for the assessment done by four counselors.

LSI-R, assessment domains

Criminal history

Criminal history of an offender is important in the while, process with roughly three quarters of the entire population assessed having two or more convictions. This means many of them are always repeat offenders. At the same time, criminal history of offenders and close acquaintances has to be assessed during the process (Gendreau, Little & Goggin, 580).

Education/Employment

The assessment of almost half of the offenders has shown that they do not have high school diploma with the 12 months before incarceration, indicates that 56% of men and 65% of women were reported to be unemployed. This shows how the level of education and a person is living standard importance in the entire process (Lowenkamp, PhD & Bechtel, 2007).

Family/Marital

It is important to assess the family situation of the offenders to understand the reasons for their involvement in drugs. Studies conducted have shown that individuals assessed have their immediate family members or significant others involved in criminal acts.

Accommodation

It is important to know the address of an offender to help in supervision to ensure they do not go back to using drugs.

Alcohol/Drug Problem

The assessment of the level or degree of a drug problem can be done through screening to understand the root of their addiction or drug abuse. At the same time, the drug abuse has a direct link with an individual criminal behavior.

Leisure/Recreation

Assessment of the offenders’ leisure and recreation is healthy in figuring out what they do during their free time. This would help in coming up with ways to help them make good usage of their free time (Gendreau, Little, & Goggin, 600). Such an evaluation is beneficial to the offenders as the assessors are able to establish structured schedule, which entail ancillary support services and restriction of unstructured time

Companions

It is important for an offender to be assessed on the individuals they surround themselves with in that many of them often surround themselves with persons they share similar backgrounds .In most cases, they fail to establish close ties with law abiding people and such a scenario has an impact in their lives in terms of drug abuse.

Emotional/Personal

The evaluation of an offender emotional health is instrumental in choosing the counseling, screening, and medicine they need as almost half of them experience mental health challenges.

Attitudes/Orientation

The attitude of a person remains helpful in assessing conventional values associated with an individual. Offenders with favorable attitudes in relation to their prison sentence and supervision often translate to good behavior during their incarceration. Conversely, they are successful in completing community supervision.

Conclusion

Even though, LSI-R score shows moderate needs, the data from the individual domains often points many destabilizing factors presence among the offenders population. There is a need for proper case planning, efficient case management, as well as rehabilitation, which starts with a valid individual assessment. The quantitative survey assessment of offenders attributes in addition to their situations remains relevant in making decisions supervision levels and treatment.

References

Gendreau, P., Little, T., & Goggin, C. (1996). A meta-analysis of the predictors of adult offender recidivism: What works!Criminology, 34(4), 575-607. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220697595?accountid=458Lowenkamp, C. T., PhD., & Bechtel, K. (2007). The predictive validity of the LSI-R on a sample of offenders drawn from the records of the iowa department of corrections data management system. Federal Probation, 71(3), 25-29,57. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213976981?accountid=458

Lucid Dream

Lucid Dream

Name

Institutional Affiliation

Date:

The nature of the dream

In the dream, I experienced exam life in my high school years. Although I used to perform well in mathematics, the subject was not a go-easy subject on me. In particular, exam periods were characterized with fear and fatigue in attempt to determine how I could navigate through the subject. Therefore the dream, I figured myself in the middle of an exam room, and the procedures of the exam were going on as usual. However, the dream was challenging since if I failed that particular exam, I was to rewind to grade five education level. I strongly believe this was a lucid dream since in the middle of the dream I found elements that never appeared real. For instance, it is impossible to return to grade five; this among other factors solidified the fact that the dream was a lucid dream.

What I choose to do

After dreaming, I took a futuristic investigation on the imperativeness of the dream in my life. Dreams communicate to the dreamer about the future concepts (Voss, 2011, pp. 34). In the coming days, am looking forward to enter a competitive face of my academic life. Therefore, in the regard the dream acted as an adviser on what I needed to do, and how I needed to do it. In particular, I choose to word hard in class since I believe through hard-work, I will stand in a better position to achieve my academic goals, and prove the dream right.

Dream (Adaptive or not)

Dreams are impetus to reality, on the other hand, dream imagery act as symbolism, and that’s the only way that a dream communicates to us in various level. In this case, I would think there is an adaptive purpose to it since the nature of how different messages are communicates to us the purpose and the thesis of the dream. For instance, I figured myself in classroom environment and currently am still a students therefore, my dream adapts to the current state of my life.

References

Voss, U. (2011). Unlocking the Lucid Dream. Scientific American Mind, 22(5), 33-35.

Lumbar Spine Movement Analysis

Lumbar Spine Movement Analysis

Longissimus Thoracis Agonist concentric Insertion-Longissimus thoracis inserts at the posterior tubercle of the traverse processes of vertebrae C2-C6 Origin-originates from the first five vertebrae (T1-T5) Plane motion- lateral flexion and rib rotation

Rectus Abdominis Antagonist concentric Insertion-Rectus abdominis inserts at costal cartilages of ribs 5-7 Origin- rectus abdominis originates from pubic crest and pubic symphysis Plane motion- lateral flexion

Semispinalis Capitis Antagonist concentric Insertion- semispinalis capitis inserts at the back base of the skull Origin- this muscle originates from articular processes of vertebra C4-C7 Plane Motion- rotation of the head and lateral flexion

Iliocostalis Thoracis Agonist concentric Insertion- traverse processes of vertebra C4-C6 Origin- These muscles originate from the angles of ribs 3-6 Plane motion- lateral flexion

Splenius Cervicis Agonist eccentric Insertion- splenius Cervicis inserts at transverse processes of C1-C3 Origin- This muscle originates from spinous processes of T3-T6 Plane motion- extend the neck and lateral flexion