Fahrenheit 451 Essay Example for Free

Fahrenheit 451 Essay Fahrenheit 451 is a book that was published by Ray Bradbury in 1953. This book tells the story in which intellectual thought and books are illegal. According to the book, the futuristic firemen have the responsibility of setting fire to the books and any place that they reside. Numerous significant symbols occur in this book. In my opinion, fire, the Hearth and the Salamander, and the Phoenix are three of the most important symbols. The title of the book is an important symbol in and of itself. Ray Bradbury titled the book Fahrenheit 451 because 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns. Fire is a symbol of destruction. It’s significant because the main character, Guy Montag, and the rest of the firemen burn books because they are illegal. When seventeen-year-old Clarisse McClellan asks if Montag ever reads any of the books he burns, he laughs and replies â€Å"That’s against the law!† When Clarisse and Montag begin to talk more, Montag is taken aback by the different knowledge that Clarisse expresses to him. She tells him that firemen used to be sent out to stop fires, not start them. Montag couldn’t fight the sudden burning curiosity that over took all of his past beliefs. He began to collect books from each book burning and read them. The Hearth and the Salamander is the title of the first section of the book. Hearths are fireplaces that are traditionally placed in the center of the home and are a source of warmth. They represent the constructive use of fire, which Clarisse unintentionally shows Montag. After walking and talking with Clarisse, he realizes that he is not happy. The book states, â€Å"He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now blown out. Darkness. He was not happy.† The salamander on the other hand was once believed to be able to live in fire without being consumed by it. This represents the destructive side of fire. Salamanders are the names given to the fire trucks and are the official symbols of the firemen. When Clarisse meets Montag for the first time the book describes her as being, â€Å"hypnotized by the salamander on his arm.† The Phoenix is a huge symbol that is mentioned in the novel. Toward the end of the story, the city is completely destroyed. The Phoenix was a mystical bird that would burn itself up and then rise again. Granger explains the legend of the Phoenix to Montag when they are watching the fire. It’s used to symbolize the renewal of mankind. Like the Phoenix, they have the ability to rise from the ashes, and rebuild their society. These extremely significant symbols are what make the novel a fantastic story. Fire, the Hearth and the Salamander, and the Phoenix are three symbols that I chose to go into detail about. They each express a different meaning of the book. The thought of firemen starting fires is something that could possibly change when rebuilding the city. At the end of the book they have one thing in mind and that is to change people’s minds about books.

Task Centred Approach in Mental Health

Task Centred Approach in Mental Health â€Å"Write a case study illustrating a social work intervention with an individual or family drawn from your current practice placement. The case study should illustrate the application of a social work method / approach (such as crisis intervention, systemic approaches, solution focused approach, CBT etc) to a practice situation and should contain a critical analysis of the chosen methodology.† Within this assignment I will discuss a case that I am managing within my placement by providing details of the case and other professional bodies that are currently involved. In relation to this case I will discuss the relevant theories and methods that I have used with this client and critically analyse my choice of method. I will also mention other methods or approaches that I feel may have been beneficial to my work with the client. In order to provide evidence of this session with my client I will also attach a process recording to illustrate my chosen method. Michael is a 47 year old male that is a service user of the Mental Health Team in Ballyfermot. Michael has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and a mild intellectual disability. He currently lives alone in the community with the support of the Mental Health Team. I am managing this case with the supervision of my practice teacher. At the moment Michael has the support of the outreach team in which they manage his medication and food shopping, whereas the social work department manage his finances in regards to his bills and give Michael a daily allowance each week. I am currently working one to one with Michael on a weekly basis in regards to the goals he has set for the following weeks. Each week Michael and I meet to discuss relevant issues that may have arisen for him during the week. Michael and I worked in partnership to complete the recovery star and made a plan to tackle some of the areas in his life that he would like to improve on. An example of this would be attending litera cy classes, learning how to text and learning how to cook at home and also finding a job. I am working in partnership with Michael to achieve these goals. For this session, I planned to discuss and start the recovery star with Michael in order to understand his lifestyle at this present time. In order to complete the recovery star I used a task centred approach. The theory that I used for this session was behaviourism. Behaviourism is based on the theories of Pavlov, Skinner and Watson (Trevthick.P, 2005). According to Trevthick.P (2005) it was seen that through observable and measureable responses that behaviours are learned and in result behaviours can also be unlearned (Trevthick.P, 2005). According to Trevthick.P (2005) it also states that there are four types of techniques which are systematic desensitization, aversion therapy, operant conditioning, and modelling. In regards to working with Michael in this session, I used one of these techniques which were operant conditioning. â€Å"Operant conditioning is a technique where ‘the environment has been specifically programmed to support certain behaviours and discourage other s’ (Sheldon, 1995) by altering the consequences that follow† (Trevthick.P,2005:P.96). While working with Michael and arranging to have our sessions in the civic centre every week it is evident through our sessions that the environment around him would have an effect on his behaviour. For example if the civic centre was busy Michael would sometimes seem a little anxious, whereas if the centre was quiet, Michael’s mood would be quite calm. Through operant conditioning it also discusses the possibility of reinforcements in regards to behaviours. Through this it is evident that through our weekly sessions, Michael would understand his reinforcement by participating within the session would be his daily allowance. This has become clear on a number of occasions as Michael has become quite engaging in regards to the sessions that would take place on a weekly basis. Whereas before if Michael received his daily allowance before his weekly sessions he would become disengag ing and would abandon the session. Through this theory I then decided to use the method of task centred work with Michael. According to Adams, R et al (2002) â€Å"Task centred casework was described as a method to help people with problems of living.† (Adams.R et al, 2002). According to Payne.M (1997) task centred work looks at problems with the client and ensuring that the client accepts and acknowledges the problems that they have. Also understanding that their problems can be resolved by their actions outside the ongoing work they may have with the social worker and that the problems can be defined clearly. While also having certain issues in the clients lives that they feel that they can change and that these problems are realised by the client and not others that are in the client’s life (Payne. M, 1997). It is also discussed that it should be assessed of the â€Å"direction and strengths of clients wants† (Payne. M, 1997), this is explained in regards that the clients want can start an action, although the clients belief system can shape the want while also providing an accept able way of accomplishing those wants. In result according to Payne. M (1997) a belief can steer an action and by completing certain cognitive therapies these beliefs can be changed. According to Payne. M (1997) this was called a point of leverage. A point of leverage is accuracy, scope and consistency. Accuracy is when a social worker would discuss how accurate a client’s belief is then discuss the scope in which they discuss the range of beliefs that client has and explored with the client when they think these beliefs are limited. And lastly consistency in which the social worker would tackle misrepresentations due to a disagreement between one belief and another in which the social worker would be able to remove these and discuss it with the client. Through this emotions can arise for the client when there is a collaboration of their belief and want. This can then follow onto an action which would be shown by a behaviour which would be carried with intent which then follo ws on to a plan (Payne. M, 1997). A plan is a portray of intentions which is formed from the interaction of the belief, want and emotion (Payne. M, 1997). Through this a plan can be set in regards to exploring alternative options that may not have been tried by doing so this can give feedback to the client and social worker to understand if the method was successful or not. Through this method it also allows the client to resolve any problems they may have while also providing them with the skills for situations that may arise in the future. In result the client would be able to tackle a future issue that may arise without the need of the social worker. As cited in Payne. M (1997), Reid (1978) discusses the various stages of task centred practice. These are as follows step one â€Å"identify potential problems† (Payne.M, 1997) identifying specific problems the client is having and allowing them to express these problems in their own words in order to gain a full understanding of the situation. Step two is â€Å"reaching tentative agreements† (Payne.M, 1997), by doing this you can explore the main problems the client may be facing. Step three is â€Å"challenge unresolvable or undesirable problems† (Payne.M, 1997) by completing this with the client the social worker can challenge these problems so the client will not be encouraged to obtain an unrealistic goal. Step four is â€Å"raising additional problems† (Payne.M, 1997), through this step the social worker can challenge and allow the client to realise other problems they may be having. Step five is â€Å"seek others involvement† (Payne.M, 1997) through this it may be beneficial to seek others that can be supportive or can contribute to finding a solution. Step six is â€Å"jointly assess the reason for referral† (Payne.M, 1997); in this step it would be useful to discuss the reason why the client was referred to the service especially if the client was forced to do so. Step seven is â€Å"get precise details† (Payne.M, 1997), it would be very important for the social worker to get accurate details into when and where the problems are occurring for the client. Step eight is to specify the problem for the client, step nine would be to identify the clear baselines and lastly step ten would be to decide on the changes the client would like to make (Payne.M, 1997).Throughout this process it is vital that the client and social worker have a similar understanding of what needs to be achieved and also provide feedback at the end of each session in order to understand if certain aspects of their work is not proving su ccessful. Adams. R et al (2002) discusses this that task centred work is a systematic model which examines what works well for the client and what doesn’t work so well in regards to achieving the desired goals that are put in place (Adams.R et al,2005). In regards to this the main reason why I used this approach with Michael was because he has a mild intellectual disability and it can be difficult to engage Michael in activities for a long period of time. So when starting the recovery star I explained to Michael that we would complete three sections and then continue the rest the following week. Throughout this session Michael became agitated and annoyed as he wanted to receive his daily allowance and leave. Although when continuing to proceed with the recovery star and using the task centred approach it became clear to myself and Michael what improvements he would like to make in the different areas of his life. With this new knowledge, Michael and I were able to set a basic map. While working in this session with Michael, I decided to use the basic map of task centred practice that is discussed by Trevthick.P (2005). The reason I used this specific map instead of the other process described by Payne.M (1997) was because the basic map overall described four basic steps that would be beneficial to the sessions I had with Michael. According to Trevthick.P (2005) a basic map of a task centred approach consists of four steps. These steps are as follows, step one would be targeting three main problems the client has. Through the recovery star there were certain areas Michael wanted to improve on, which was his living skills i.e. cooking and cleaning and also his literacy skills. Step two consisted of a contract which was setting up a plan to achieve these goals successfully and set a time frame for when these would be completed. This was competed by researching the resources that were in the community in regards to the literacy classes and possible cooking classes and looking at the time scale of when Michael would like to accomplish these goals. Step three consists of problem solving which would be solving any problems that would arise for me or Michael in regards to the sessions that take place. For example whil e working towards improving Michaels literacy skills it was evident that Michael would need one to one tutoring and this wouldn’t be possible for several months, although Michael was adamant to start in which he decided to start in a group. In result as the student social worker I know I will have to support, encourage and motivate Michael in this process as he may find it challenging to be part of a group of sixteen. Finally step four is termination in which will commence when I start to finish up in my placement and hope that Michael will continue with his goals with his own social worker. At this present time because of Michael’s background and his diagnosis this method has been successful to date. I have also been able to use a person centred approach along with the task centred approach with Michael throughout this process in order to allow Michael to open up about his feelings and be honest about what is going on for him at that time and in result has allowed Mic hael to achieve positive outcomes within our daily sessions. In regards to the task centred approach that I have undertaken with Michael, at present it has been successful as it looks at the three main problems that he would like to improve on within the short space of time that I will be working with him. By using this approach it was evident that Michael felt motivated to complete these goals as he focused on the three main issues he had in his life. According to Trevthick.P (2005) it can be very difficult to engage in the underlining issues that may be present. In my opinion and the evidence from conducting sessions with Michael this is quite accurate as it can be difficult to engage Michael in certain difficult conversations from his past from a task centred approach. Although by using a person centred approach when discussing these difficult conversations can be suitable as this approach allows him to discuss these issues calmly and reflect on the situation that he may find difficult. For example by using this approach, it allowed Michael to open up about his daughters and the relationship he has with them and how he wants it to improve. He was also able to realise that he wanted to do something about his literacy skills and how this issue could be a barrier for him when searching for a job. By conducting a task centred approach and completing the recovery star I discovered this about Michael and was able to use the person centred approach to discuss it in more depth. Although even though it is discussed that a task centred approach is chosen because it allows the goals to be achievable, it can be difficult for those who may suffer from a mental health illness. Some individuals may find it difficult to achieve the goals that have been set, although at that time it is important for the social worker and client to be able to feedback any difficulties that have arisen and be able to change in accordance with the individual. For example while working with Michael it can be difficult for him in regards to his mental heal th, so throughout our sessions I ensure that near the end of each session Michael is able to understand what was discussed and his understanding and ensure that he is still motivated in regards to the goals that he has set for himself. In conclusion, it is evident that the ongoing weekly sessions with Michael have been beneficial in regards to a task centred approach. The reason for this is that Michael can concentrate on three specific goals at a time and doesn’t feel overloaded. From working with Michael on a one to one basis, his history and mental health status, this approach is working in a positive way in regards to what Michael wants to achieve. From previous case notes it has been noted of other methods that have been tried and failed to motivate and encourage Michael. This approach does have its limits for example it doesn’t allow the client to discuss their issues in detail, although that is when the social worker can incorporate other approaches into their work with the client. Throughout my work with Michael this approach has been favourable as with this client it has achieved positive results, while I am also aware that this may not be the case with every client that I encounter. Although while managing this case I plan to continue with this method and incorporate various approaches as needed in order to work in partnership with Michael to achieve his goals while anticipating a positive outcome. References Adams. R, Dominelli, Payne.M (2002). Social Work: Themes, Issues and Critical Debates. 2nd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave. P191-199 Teater. B (2010). An Introduction to Applying Social Work Theories and Methods. Berkshire: Open University Press, McGraw Hill Education. P178-193 Nelson – Jones. R (1992). The Theory and Practice of Counselling Psychology. London: Holt, Rinehart and Winston LTD. P107-120 Payne. M (1997). Modern Social Work Theory. 2nd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave. P104-112 Trevithick. P (2005). Social Work Skills: A practice handbook. 2nd ed. Berkshire: Open University Press, McGraw Hill Education. P95-98, P275-277 Recovery Star

The Braden Scale :: The Braden Scale

The Braden Scale is a clinically valued tool that is used to predict pressure ulcers. The scale is broken down into six sub-scales; these subscales determine the risk factors associated with skin break down. Multiple aspects of a patients condition are examined, (sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, friction and shear), to limit the patients susceptibility for skin break down. Since pressure ulcers are a financial burden and a cause for patient discomfort and possible infection, predicting and assessing risk has enormous benefit and significance. This study was conducted to determine the validity of the mobility subscale of the Braden scale. The subscale of mobility is defined as the patients ability to change and control body positions. The research was conducted in a veteran hospital, and participants ranged in age from 45-95 years. The tools that were used were the Braden scale and actigraphy which measures movement. It was placed on the patient’s non-dominant ankle in order to observe the larger movements of the patient. The researcher defined each score in relation to movement. They hypothesized that the increase in movement would cause an increase in score of the mobility subscale. As predicted, the mobility subscale scores increased as movement increased. A similar study to predict risk of ulcers in pediatric patients was conducted to test the validity of using the Braden Q scale. A modified version of the Braden Scale, only containing three subscales, was used to utilize a shorter comparable tool. The Braden Q Scale is a revision of the Braden scale that is applicable in pediatrics. The two tools that were used were: the Braden Q Scale and skin assessments. The sample study consisted of 322 patients who were on bed rest for at least 24 hours. The patients were observed three times per week, for two weeks, and then weekly until discharge, which totaled 887 individual assessments. It was determined that both the Braden Q, as well as the modified Braden Scale was adequate tools to measure skin breakdown. Both studies modified the original Braden Scale to test the validity of their modifications. The first study was based solely on the mobility scale of the Braden scale, while the second study used three of the original sub-scales to prove comparable results to the overall scale. Both studies were designed to simplify the Braden scale in order to determine the effectiveness of the subscales alone.

Interesting people in History: Bjork :: essays research papers

Bjà ¶rk first came to prominence as one of the lead vocalists of the avant-pop Icelandic sextet the Sugarcubes, but when she launched a solo career after the group's 1992 demise, she quickly eclipsed her old band's popularity. Instead of following in the Sugarcubes' arty guitar rock pretensions, Bjà ¶rk immersed herself in dance and club culture, working with many of the biggest names in the genre, including Nellee Hooper, Underworld, and Tricky. Debut, her first solo effort (except for an Icelandic-only smash released when she was just 11 years old), not only established her new artistic direction, but it became an international hit, making her one of the '90s most unlikely stars. Though the title of Debut implied that it was Bjà ¶rk's first-ever solo project, she had actually been a professional vocalist since she was a child. When she was in elementary school in Reykjavik, she studied classical piano and, eventually, her teachers submitted a tape of her singing Tina Charles' "I Love to Love" to Iceland's Radio One. After "I Love to Love" was aired, a record label called Falkkin offered Bjà ¶rk a record contract. At the age of 11, her eponymous first album was released; the record contained covers of several pop songs, including the Beatles' "Fool on the Hill," and boasted artwork from her mother and guitar work from her stepfather. Bjà ¶rk became a hit within Iceland and was not released in any other country. Bjà ¶rk's musical tastes were changed by the punk revolution of the late '70s; in 1979, she formed a post-punk group called Exodus and, in the following year, she sang in Jam 80. In 1981, Bjà ¶rk and Exodus bassist Jakob Magnusson formed Tappi Tikarrass, which released an EP, Bitid Fast I Vitid, on Spor later that year; it was followed by the full-length Miranda in 1983. Following Tappi Tikarrass, she formed the goth-tinged post-punk group KUKL with Einar Orn Benediktsson. KUKL released two albums, The Eye (1984) and Holidays in Europe (1986), on Crass Records before the band metamorphosed into the Sugarcubes in the summer of 1986. The Sugarcubes became one of the rare Icelandic bands to break out of their native country when their debut album, Life's Too Good, became a British and American hit in 1988. For the next four years, the group maintained a successful cult following in the U.K. and the U.S. while they were stars within Iceland. During 1990, Bjà ¶rk recorded a set of jazz standards and originals with an Icelandic bebop group called Trio Gudmundar Ingolfssonar.

The United States as a Global Police Force :: International Police Force

If you had to choose a nation to take on the power of protecting the world basically as a global police force who would you choose to take on this big responsibility? Well most of the countries are choosing the U.S. well the troops feel different on this topic they feel like it is not our duty to try and solve everyone else’s problem. They also need to help with issues that this is needed and we are the best trained and best equipped to react to any scenario. Because the united states is making two new brigades that are trained to resolve issues without violence and to depend more on social skills but still trained well enough to fight in a pinch, and we have thousands of troops deployed already as peacekeepers which are basically global police. So we already have a start on the job but what about the cost who is gonna even the costs so we arent losing money. But is the cost of all this worth it the cost of human lives worth everyone elses protection how do the men in unifor m feel about being a global cop when there country is not in harm some of them feel like this â€Å"troops have a hard time dealing with the fact that their missions represent no clear threat to our national interests making it more difficult for them to be separated from their families for long periods of time†. (O’Meara) As stated before some soldiers feel this is not there job they did not join the military to be a cop they joined to be a soldier and protect their freedom no one elses. They think that a global police force would be a good thing but they want it to be a job you sign up for cause they just want their freedom to be protected cause they think it is not what they signed on for. The reason in the past 20-25 years this has become a big deal because of the past terrorist attacks, so they want to keep the terrorist groups under control. The next issue that came up is our defense budget, if we became the global police force then it would cost us a lot of money like it already does â€Å"the U.S. defense debt is more than $280 billion more than $1000 for every man, woman, and child in the united states†.

Royal Mail Privatization

According to the Business News on ‘BBC’ which was updated on 8 October 2013, the government intended in privatizing Royal Mail as this had been planned for many years. Royal Mail employees have been given 10% of the shares as part of a stock market flotation. Business Secretary Vince Cable described it as â€Å"the biggest employee share scheme for almost 30 years†. Meanwhile, the public have been given the opportunity to apply to buy shares online until 8 October.An amount of 750 pounds will be the minimum investment for public while the minimum investment for those Royal Mail employees who wished to buy additional shares is 500 pounds. However, an additional 15% of the government’s stake will be sold if the demand for the shares is very high in what is called an ‘over-allotment’ option. â€Å"The company needs access to private capital in order to grow and compete. † said the government and Royal Mail management.Parcel delivery from in ternet shopping is far more important to Royal Mail’s business compared to the delivery of letters, which is shrinking. Furthermore, in order to try to cut public from spending and borrowing more money, the government has been reluctant to invest large sums of money at a time. Moreover, Royal Mail has also been facing competition from private operators such as ‘TNT’ and ‘UK Mail’. Post Office will not be affected in the privatization because it is now a separate company from Royal Mail.The government said that they want to invest more money in the Post Office network as they want to prevent branch closures and eventually set it up as a mutual business. In conclusion, the reason I have chose this particular topic is because Royal Mail is one the most popular and fast delivery postal service Company in the United Kingdom and I personally agree in Royal Mail being privatized as it is giving them a chance to grow and compete in business.

Joseph Andrew

â€Å"Joseph Andrews† as a Picaresque Novel ________________________________________________ What is a picaresque novel? The term picaresque has been derived from the Spanish word picaro which means a rogue or a villain. Originally, a type of romance that dealt with rogues or villains was called picaresque. A picaresque novel presented , in an extravagant style, a series of adventures , and misadventures , mostly on the highways . The earliest examples of the picaresque novel are Lizaritle de Tormes and Guzman de Alfarachi. Fielding was considerably influenced by Gil Blass and Don Quixote.In fact there are marked resemblance between Joseph Andrews and Don Quixote. Parson Adam is clearly a Quixotic figure. The Picaresque element in the novel is introduced in Book 1 chapter 10 with Joseph setting out on his journey in the moonlight. From here onwards to the end of Book 111, it follows the picaresque tradition closely. Joseph soon gets robbed and is thrown into a ditch , stripped and half dead. The stage – coach episode provides Fielding with an opportunity to expose their hypocrisy and callousness of the respected people.Joseph and Parson Adams run into the picaresque journey that began with satirical exposure of the society assumes a partially humors tone. In a part of the book 1 and the middle two Books where the picaresque motif is followed, Fielding brings his major characters in contact with different strata of society- country squires, divines and philosophers , lawyers and surgeons , landladies , beggars and highway men- and exposes the contemporary social evils as well as human follies and foibles of a more general nature.Finally , the rambling or destructive narrative of Joseph Andrews also enforces the picaresque motif of the novel. Fielding employs here a very lose plot, for his purpose is the depiction of the society and the plot is not given much importance. How does Fielding as a satirist project his moral vision? / Discuss Joseph Andr ews as a social document. Fielding is considered to be the pioneer of the realistic novel in England. Defoe’s novels, apparently grounded in reality , are romantic in spirit. In fact, Fielding based all his novels on actual experience.In â€Å"Joseph Andrews†, Fielding presents a very realistic picture of the life of the English countryside in the first half of the 18th century. The first thing that strikes us about the society is its extra- ordinary callousness, even downright cruelty. Most of the members are selfish, insensible and hard- hearted. The stage-coach episode where Joseph , half killed and stripped naked by robbers , is reluctantly rescued by the passengers in the stage coach, but receives no sympathy or comfort from any except the poor postilion, full brings out this callous temper.The surgeon refuses to leave his bed to attend Joseph just because he has no means of paying HIS FEE. Mrs. Tow-Wouse forbids her husband to lend him a shirt . Parson Trulliber can’t afford even 14 shillings to assist Parson Adams; on the contrary , he accuses him of being a vagabond. Lawyer Scout is of the opinion that there are far too many poor, and that we’ we ought to have an Act to hang or transport half of them. The novel also depicts the wide gulf that seems to separate the high people from the low people. The distinction between these two groups is quite rigid. Lady Booby refers to her country neighbors as brutes. She grossly insults Adams on his insistence on publishing the banns of marriage. These high class people show utter disregard of the rights and interests of the poor people. For example, Lady Booby is not concerned whether pr not servants get their wages in time.