Leonardo Da Vinci Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leonardo Da Vinci - Research Paper Example His extensive art work has been split up and most of it is wasted as it was on paper. Like his vast variety of themes and genres, he used different medium for his artistic works. However, no matter which medium he uses, the quality of work remains the same. He used oil paints, pen, tempera etc. on walls, paper, poplar and gesso proving that art is not reliant on a single medium. The sfumato technique admired me the most. Leonardo’s expertise in this technique gave lifelong charm to his artistic works. It creates a smoky or cloudy look which may not be incorporated in other artists’ work that well (Leonardo & Goldscheider, 1959 pp. 173-177). The most important thing is the reputation and overwhelming distinction given to Leonardo’s work. Mona Lisa is one of the first art works that appear in people’s mind when they think about art. Having heard about Leonardo’s artistic abilities, I chose writing on his art work. His placement of objects, color choices, expertise of giving prominence to one object and making less prominent the other, his ideas and knowledge of color art provides a deeper insight of his work. His art cannot be categorized in purely impressionism, art nouvea or any other. The distinct qualities of his works can be identified by simply analyzing two extremely different pieces of his art like ‘Vitruvian Man’ and ‘last

The Independent Review Essay Example for Free

The Independent Review Essay E. M. Forster (1879-1790) was the author of many well-known novels, and also several volumes of short-stories, essays and criticism. He is best-known for his 1924 novel A Passage to India, which has enjoyed a world-wide audience ever since its publication. Today he is considered as one of the prominent figures of British literature of the first half of the twentieth century. Forster once wrote, â€Å"Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice. † Edward Morgan Forster himself began his ‘bewildering practice’ on 1 January 1879, in London. When he was eight-years old, he inherited an amount ? 8000 from his great-aunt, Marianne Thornton, of whom he would later write a biography. This inheritance was sufficient to let Forster pursue his education and literary career in relative freedom from financial constraints and worries. Upon his graduation from Tonbridge School, Forster secured admission into Kings College, Cambridge where he studied classics and history, and was partly under the tutelage of Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, of whom he would later write a biography. At Cambridge, he was exposed to the values of liberal humanism and cultivated a respect for the freedom of individuality of human beings. Under the influence of the philosopher G. E. Moore, Forster developed an aesthetic belief that contemplating beauty of art constituted a nobler purpose in life. He also became a strong believer in the value of friendships, and struck lasting friendships which meant a great deal to him throughout his life. He would later travel to India with a group of university friends. â€Å"If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country,† he would later say. During these years of higher education, Forster was a member of an intellectual clique at Cambridge called the Apostles, and through them came into contact with the members of the Bloomsbury Group, with which he would associate more closely in the subsequent years (Childs 6). Completing his education at Cambridge, he left England on a long trip to Italy and Austria, which would last for one year. Forster would spend a significant period of his life traveling. It was around this time, in 1901, that he began exercising his writing skills. He then started working at Working Mens College and subsequently taught at the extra-mural department of the Cambridge Local Lectures Board. Forsters literary career began in 1903, when he began writing for The Independent Review, a liberal publication that he co-founded with Lowes Dickinson and used as a platform for advocating anti-imperialism. Soon, Forster became a published author with the appearance of his first novel Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905). Forster used his knowledge of Italy to create a story that juxtaposed and contrasted the passionate world of Italy with the constricting values of suburban England. The result is a social comedy, which rather interestingly ends up as a tragedy dealing with rather unsavory aspects of death and frustrated love. It is the story of a young English widow, Lilia, who falls in love with an Italian, but the members of her family cannot accept this and try to wrest her back. This work was not well received by the public. By 1910, Forster would have written three more novels. The Longest Journey (1907) and A Room with a View (1908) exhibit a growing maturity in literary skills and artistic scope, and Howards End (1910) saw his rise to fame. Forster wrote most of his short stories and four novels before 1910. In the sixty years he lived after that, he would write only two novels, Maurice, in 1914, and A Passage to India, in 1924 (Tambling 2). After publishing his first novel, Forster left for Germany and worked for several months as tutor to the Countess von Arnim, in a place called Nassenheide. This experience would serve him in the characterization of Schlegel sisters in Howards End. Back in England, in 1907, he took on the role of a private tutor for an Indian Muslim, with whom he developed a close relationship that could be seen as homosexual love. Forsters famous work A Passage to India would be dedicated to this person. Forster was a covert homosexual all through his life. The posthumous publishing of his homosexual novel Maurice (1971) offers strong testimony to his sexual orientation, although it is difficult to ascertain how far his homosexual orientation may have influenced his work in general. However, he certainly felt frustrated for not being able to write about homosexual themes openly and it is possible that he stopped writing novels half-way through his life out of such frustration. In 1907, Forster wrote and published a novel about his Cambridge days, The Longest Journey. It tells the story of an undergraduate and a struggling writer, Rickie Elliot, who abandons friendship for the sake marriage, but is enlightened by his pagan half-brother. The Longest Journey was also Forsters favorite novel, despite the poor response it got from the critics and the public. Around this time, Forster was closely associated with the Bloomsbury Group, and was interacting with people such as Lytton Strachey and Rogery Fry. In his third novel, A Room with a View, which is also his second Anglo-Italian novel partly set in Florence and partly in English suburbia, Forster displays his contempt for English snobbery. It is a light and optimistic tale, a story of misunderstandings which however ends on a happy note as Lucy Honeychurch, the protagonist, acknowledges her love for the impulsive George Emerson over her feelings for the intellectual Cecil Vyse. Forster’s novels have already begun to display a common theme of sensitive characters struggling with the inflexibility of social codes that they are encumbered with as well the relative insensitivity of those around them. It can be conjectured that Forster’s frustration at the opposition of the conservative values of his time to his homosexuality may have taken a general form portraying the oppression of social rigidness in his novels. In 1910 came Howards End which is a social novel about sections of the middle classes, focusing on the question of who will inherit â€Å"Howards End,† which is Forsters metonym for England. The story centers on the relationship between the intellectual German Schelgel sisters and the practical, male-dominated, business-oriented Wilcox family. In the novel, Forster attempted to find a way for Wilcox money to become the support for Schlegel culture, and also for the future of rural England to be taken away from the influence of urban, commercial interests and placed once more in the hands of the farmers. The novel presents an ambitious social message, though not wholly practical or convincing. Howards End finally secured Forsters reputation and established him as a novelist. However, he would only publish one novel in the rest of his long life, besides sporadic publication of short stories, essays and so on. In 1911, Forster brought out a collection of short stories entitled The Celestial Omnibus. In 1912-13 he made his first visit to India, with R. C. Trevelyan, Dickinson and G. H. Luce. Here, he had the chance to observe the British colonial administration first-hand. After this trip, he wrote most of the first section of A Passage to India, but it was not until after a second visit, in 1921, when he spent six months as private secretary to a Hindu Maharajah, that he completed it. His masterpiece was published in 1924 and was unanimously praised by literary critics. Around this time he also worked on the homosexual novel Maurice: A Romance. Though it would not be published until after his death, it was circulated privately at the time, and is a story of cross-class homosexual love the kind of which Forster himself yearned for. During World War I, he worked with the International Red Cross and was stationed in Alexandria, Egypt. He also became a strong supporter of the Alexandrian poet C. P. Cavfy. During his stay in Alexandria, he struck an acquaintance with a teenaged tram conductor, Mohammed el-Adl, with whom he fell in deep love. Mohammed would die of tuberculosis in Alexandria in spring of 1922, and this loss weighed heavily on Forster for the rest of his life. Forster returned to England in 1919, after the war, but set off traveling again in 1921. On this trip to India he worked as the private secretary to the Maharajah of Dewas Senior, and his letters home from the two Indian trips were later published as The Hill of Devi (1953). In 1922 he published Alexandria: A History and a Guide, but could get it into circulation only in 1938. Pharos and Pharillon, which is a collection of Forsters essays on Alexandria together with some translations of Cavafys poems, was published in 1923. All through this time, Forster had been reworking on A Passage to India, which was published in 1924, almost a decade and a half after his previous novel Howards End. It is a novel about the clash between Eastern and Western cultures during British rule in India, and is generally considered among major literary works of the twentieth century. It is the story of Adela Quested and Mrs. Moores journey to India to visit Adelas fiance, and Mrs Moores son, Ronny Heaslop. There they meet a college teacher, Cyril Fielding, who is an avatar of Forster himself, the Hindu Brahmin Dr Godbole and the Muslim Dr Aziz. The novel revolves around Dr Azizs alleged assault Adela. Ms. Quested reports of an attempted assault by the Dr. Aziz and subsequently retracts her complaint. Once again, misunderstanding features prominently in Forster’s narrative. A Passage to India was widely acclaimed. For example, a critic at New York Times wrote: â€Å"The crystal-clear portraiture, the delicate conveying of nuances of thought and life, and the astonishing command of his medium show Mr. Forster at the height of his powers† (Forster, front flap). But mysteriously, at the height of his powers, Forster would choose to renounce novel writing. Some have speculated this could be because he felt he could not write openly and honestly about homosexual relations which he longed to write about. In 1927 he gave the Clark lectures at Cambridge University, which were published as Aspects of the Novel the same year. He was also offered a fellowship at Kings College, Cambridge. In 1928, his second collection of short stories, The Eternal Moment, was published. It is a collection of six stories predominated by fantasy and romance. For a while during the 30’s and 40’s, Forster became popular as a broadcaster on BBC radio. In 1934, he published his first biography Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson. By this time he had been an active member of PEN, which was an association of writers founded in 1921 to promote the interests of literature. His opposition against the suppression of Radclyffe Halls lesbian novel The Well of Romance in 1928 helped him to become the first president of the National Council for Civil Liberties, in 1934. He was also seen as a noteworthy personage associated with the British Humanist Association. Around this time, Forster enjoyed a fulfilling personal life. He was involved in a happy relationship with a constable in the London Metropolitan Police, and was on friendly terms with his wife. He was part of social circle, which included the writer and editor of The Listener J. R. Ackerley, the psychologist W. J. H. Sprott, the composer Benjamin Britten, and such noted figures of the society. Forster also associated with many writers such as the poet Siegfried Sassoon and the Belfast-based novelist Forrest Reid. In 1936, Forster published his first collection of essays and occasional pieces, Abinger Harvest. At this point, he was elected Honorary Fellow of Kings, which entitled him to live at the college, as he did for the rest of his life. In 1947, he set out on lecture tours in the United States, and two years later he was offered and refused knighthood from the King. The same year he wrote the libretto for Benjamin Brittens opera Billy Budd, based on Herman Melvilles novella. The year 1951 saw the publication of Forsters second collection of essays and articles, Two Cheers for Democracy. In the immediately following years there was the publication of The Hill of Devi and two short-story volumes, under the generic name Collected Short Stories. The last published work of his life was Marianne Thornton, the biography of his great-aunt whose gift allowed him to go to Cambridge. In 1969 Forster was awarded the Order of Merit. He died shortly thereafter. E. M. Forster has never lacked for readers, is widely studied, has had his novels turned into highly marketable films, and has encouraged criticism usually of a strongly liberal-humanist kind, notes Tambling in his introduction to a book of critical essays on E. M. Forster. Forster explored the shortcomings of the English middle class and their emotional deficiencies, employing irony and wit. Today he is remembered for the impeccable style of writing that is evident in all of his novels and short stories. References: Childs, Peter. 2002. â€Å"A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on E. M. Forsters A Passage to India† (Routledge Literary Sourcebooks). London : Routledge. Forster, E. M. â€Å"A Passage to India. † 1989. Orlando, FL : Harcourt Brace Tambling, Jeremy. â€Å"E. M. Forster: Contemporary Critical Essays† (New Casebooks). 1995. New York : St. Martins Press.

Communication In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Palliative Care Nursing Essay

Communication In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Palliative Care Nursing Essay The following is an evaluation of enhanced communication techniques in palliative care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with reference to a case study. COPD is a debilitating terminal condition that is distinguished by a progressive airflow obstruction, primarily caused by smoking. It is usually not fully irreversible (NICE, 2010). For an airflow obstruction to qualify, post bronchiodilation FEV1/FVC is less than 0.7 ( FEV: forced expiratory volume in one second, FVC: forced vital capacity). The course of COPD is highlighted as being an illness characterised by a long inexplorable disease, punctuated with protracted periods of disabling breathlessness, reducing exercise tolerance, causing recurrent hospital admissions and premature death (Buckley, 2008). Diagnosis of COPD is not entirely dependent on severity of breathlessness but also history, physical examination and also spirometry confirmation of airway obstruction (Buckley, 2008; NICE, 2010). Because of the difficulty with the prognosis of COPD, it presents a challenge for physicians and healthcare practitioners to provide adequate care to patients (Curtis, 2006; NICE, 2010). Due to the nature of symptoms associated COPD (such as dyspnoea), patients more often die with COPD or related than from it (NICE, 2010) with mortality rate for men steadily reduced from 1970 while womens has seen a small but steady rise, although COPD mortality is on the general rise. Buckley (2008) reported that there was a relatively higher proportion, (72%) of COPD who die in hospital care, compared with 12% at home and none in hospices. Palliative Care Palliative care has several definitions but has similar concepts according to Campbell (2009). NICE (2010) guidelines define palliative care as active holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness. Curtis (2006) defines palliative care as the goal being to prevent and relieve suffering and support the best possible loyalty of life for patients and their families and their families, regardless of the state of disease or the need for other therapies. The general aim of palliative care is to improve the quality of care through alleviation of symptoms and promoting comfort over treatment as some treatment involve mechanical aids which patients might find taxing (Curtis, 2006). This has brought about the suggestion for the need of specialised centres (Curtis, 2006) considering how little attention palliative care quality has received. Curtis (2006) then went on to report that there was a very low number of patients who talked about end of life care with their physicians, which can be made even more difficult with loss of emotional control or fear of having little training (Wittenberg-Lyles et al., 2008). There is also a need for patients to show more confidence in their carers (Curtis, 2006). The Gold Standards Framework GSF (2006) Prognostic Indicator Guidance (PIG) lists the criteria that would assist in making a prognosis for requirement of palliative care as: Severity of disease, such as FEV1 being less than 30% predicted Recurrent hospital admissions Long term oxygen therapy Shortness of breath with 4/5 grade on the Medical Research Council (MRC) Dyspnoea scale Signs and symptoms of right heart failure Other factor such as non invasive ventilation (NIV) The GSF (2006) PIG summarises which three steps are key to determine which patient needs palliative care. They are Identifying patient based on criteria Assessing needs Planning administration The above steps are dependent on patients satisfying chronic condition criteria listed earlier. Communication Communication is the process of enhancing thoughts or information between individuals through different media: spoken or written and through body language gestures (Payne et al., 2004). Buckley (2008) states that good communication is the key to the delivery of effective supportive palliative care services as it has an interpersonal perspective that is about health professionals and patients engaging emotionally (Wittenberg-Lyles et al., 2008). Delivering bad news is not an easy or comfortable feat. The United States EPEC (Education for Physicians on End of life) is a training program based on SPIKES model (Setting, Perception, Invitation, Knowledge, Empathy, and Strategy/Summary), that has listed steps to follow that in the delivery of bad news, summarised below: Preparing to meet i.e. location setting Assess what patient knows about condition Determine amount of information to give patient Delivery of news Respond to any questions from patient and/ or family Make follow up plan Case Study: Patient profile The subject used in the case study was an eighty year old man in a nursing home who presented as generally quiet, with long standing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Consent was obtained from him to participate in the study with the potential benefits explained to him. The subject had history of chain smoking and was diagnosed with heart murmurs in 1986. Long term smoking causes the damage to the lung tissues and repeated chest infections (NICE, 2010) and is a major contributor to COPD. The subject was prescribed bronchodilator salbutamol 2.5mg/2.5ml nebuliser liquid unit dose vial, administered by mask one or two ampoules four times a day. It was used as and when it was required although he did not usually exceed three doses daily. The subject had shortness of breath with basic living tasks and dependent on staff. The subject had several GP visits for COPD associated chest infections in the last twelve months and had to be supported by pillows in an almost upright position to sleep to reduce the discomfort caused by the dyspnoea. The subject was chosen as he satisfied most of the criteria from the GSF (2006) in terms of shortness of breath, reliance on the bronchiodilator, several GP visits for chest infections and long history of smoking. The do not resuscitate (DNR) forms were filled in passed on to the multidisciplinary team that include the Ambulance service with the family aware. Communication in Palliative care with COPD Different communication techniques were employed when it came to dealing with the subject to reassure him and the family skills i.e. maintaining appropriate eye contact, low tone of voice is the key to the delivery of effective supportive palliative care service (Buckley, 2008). A SPIKES model approach was employed with the current case study. Discussion It is essential for nurses to establish a therapeutic relationship with patients as they interact more with the patient, employing strategies such as empathy, spending more time listening and being more initiative (Edwards, et al 2006). Communication sometimes can also been limited by workplace policies or insufficient training (Edwards, et al 2006), which raises the need for proper training to better these relationships (Davidson et al., 2002). The current case study was able to overcome the difficulties of communicating with the patient and family as they had been there already offering support, and hence during the meeting to discuss the end of life they stated that they were satisfied with the progress as part of the continued care. The subject did not seem to be happy with the nebulisation therapy at first and he expressed fear and anxieties because it was a new therapy, which was not unusual (Stevens et al., 2009). Curtis (2006) study argues that health care for patients with COPD was often initiated proactively based on a previously developed plan for managing their disease. The subject was given a choice if he wanted a member of his family to be present and if the time was appropriate to which he had no objection, being emotionally functional and able to make his decisions (Lemmens et al. 2008). It was also noted that the subject became more relaxed when the nebulisation therapy was explained to him that it would reduce the dyspnoea, rattly chest, symptoms that he acknowledged made his breathing difficult and other symptoms such as wheezing and sleep disturbance. It is important to have a suitable location where there would be few disturbances when breaking bad news (Stevens et al, 2009; Wittenberg- Lyle, 2006). In the case study, the subjects family was contacted in order to arrange a meeting to discuss his diagnosis, the way forward regarding his treatment and control of his symptoms and also make them aware of any changes that would need to be made in terms of his care. This afforded the subject and family to be to be reassured that the patient would be made as comfortable as possible to alleviate the symptoms of his condition through to end of life and bereavement. Conclusion Palliative care for COPD has not received much attention until recently. Communication is a very important aspect for high standards of care particularly in end of life care. Nurse to patient relationships are even more important as they play a major role; liaising with the family and multidisciplinary team to make the end of life as comfortable as possible. There is still much to be done in terms of communication training for nurses and also getting more physicians involved. The role of a multidisciplinary team is highly valued as it helps streamline the planning and administration of palliative care. The current case study found that the patient was happy with the way that the way that his care was planned.

Power of Attorney :: essays research papers

POWER OF ATTORNEY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Notice: The powers granted by this document are broad and sweeping. They are not defined in te Colorado Statutes, Sections 15-1-101 to 15-1-1202, inclusive, of the General Statutes, which expressly permits the use of any other or different form of power of attorney desired by the parties concerned.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Know All Men By These Presents, which are intended to constitute an IRREVOCABLE GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY pursuant to Colorado Statutes:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  That I_________________ do hereby appoint Piotr Bieniek my attorney- in-fact TO ACT:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First: In my name, place, and stead in any way which I myself could do, if I were personally present, which respect to the following matters as each of them is defined in the Colorado Statutes to the extent that I am permitted by law to act through an agent:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Only Selection I or Selection II should be completed NOT BOTH If both Selections are completed, this Power of Attorney IS NOT VALID Selection I   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  REQUIRED ARE BOTH THE SIGNATURE AND THE INITIALS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  OF THE PRINCIPAL WITHIN THIS SELECTION I. BOTH   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  REQUIREMENTS CONSTITUTE A FULL GENERAL POWER OF   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ATTORNEY WITHOUT ANY LIMITATION OR RESTRICTION.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  X ( )   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SCRIBE ET SCRIBE DEBERE EQUIPARANTUR IN JURE Selection II   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Strike out and initial in the opposite box any one or more of the subdivisions as to which the principal does NOT desire to give the agent authority. Such elimination of any one or more of subdivision (A) to (K), inclusive, shall automatically constitute an elimination also of subdivision (L).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To strike out any subdivision the principal must draw a line through the text of that subdivision AND write his initials in the opposite box. (A)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  real estate transactions; ( ) (B)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  chattel and goods transactions; ( ) (C)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  bond, share, and commodity transactions; ( ) (D)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  banking transactions; ( ) (E)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  business operating transactions; ( ) (F)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  insurance transactions; ( ) (G)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  estate transactions; ( ) (H)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  claims and litigation; ( ) (I)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  personal relationships and affairs; ( ) (J)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  benefits from military service; ( ) (K)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  records, reports, and statements; ( ) (L)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  all other matters; ( ) (hand written by the principal, in the principal’s own handwriting) ( )   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second: With full and unqualified authority to delegate any or all of the foregoing powers to any person or persons whom my attorney-in-fact shall select.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Third: Hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney(s) or substitute(s) do cause to be done.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fourth: To induce any third party to act hereunder, I hereby agree that any third party receiving a duly executed copy or facsimile of this instrument may act hereunder, and that

Analysis and Review of Source Code Movie

Source Code with it's unique twist on the classic time-loop scenario, brings mystery, action and a refreshing sci-fi structure for the audiences amazement. This film, like many sci-fi thrillers of the past, plays on societal issues with technology and it's potentially dangerous implications to the world. The plot, although minimalistic at a glance, unfolds with twists and turns that carry this sci-fi thriller to places never before seen by the sci-fi genre. As film reviewer, Peter Bradshaw, put it, â€Å"with twists and turns, and at breathtaking speed, this film runs on rails. [1] Science Fiction is a genre that is almost entirely based upon societies complicated relationship with technology and it's potential implications on society. In the film, the main technology presented is a program unsurprisingly called â€Å"Source Code. † The program allows our lead character, Colter Stevens', brain to access the body of a man who is already dead. The technology works by accessing the last eight minutes of person's memory and turning it into an alternate reality. It is described by its creator, Dr. Rutledge, as a tool for revisiting rather than revising time. Through source code, Colter Stevens becomes Sean, a victim of a train-bombing outside Chicago. Although the train-bombing has already occurred, other acts of terror are imminent in downtown Chicago. If Stevens is to use source code as expected he is to find out who is responsible for the train bombing and relay his findings to the people of the present so they may prevent further incidents. Each time his eight minutes are up, Stevens finds himself within a pod wired with a video screen. This screen is his only link Dr. Rutledge's unit and Stevens' commanding officer, Colleen Goodwin. The pod is a metaphysical set created to explain Stevens' thoughts and feelings. The room is essentially his mind and all that is going within it. The environment of the pod changes as Stevens' comprehension of the situation increases. The metaphysical nature of this set seems extremely intentional as there are essentially only three different sets used throughout the films entirety. The use of this â€Å"pod like† set is very similar in nature to that of the sets from 2001: A Space Odyssey in the sense that they are combining wholly human elements nto technological environments. [2] Each time Stevens returns to the train, he gathers more information about the bomb, the bomber, and the other people on the train, including Christina, the love interest. Once Stevens returns with the name of the bomber his mission is over. At this point in the film, Stevens learns that he died in the helicopter over Afghanistan and now only exists within the source code. After learning this, he c onvinces Goodwin to allow him back in one more time to save everyone on the train and die knowing they were all saved. However, once everyone has been saved, he does not die and will live as Sean for the rest of his life. Source Code is similar to many movies from the 1950s and '60s because of its use of relevant political issues to strike fear within the viewer. Much like how the Cold War paranoia permeated science fiction through features like War of the Worlds (1954) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), the current fear of terrorism trickles through Source Code's plot. [3] An obvious manifestation of this fear is the bomber himself. Derek Frost appears to be a young, white, suburban male and because his appearance is not that of a stereotypical terrorist, Stevens overlooks him as a suspect initially. By using the least likely suspect as the antagonist, Source Code is challenging our current beliefs on terrorism that only non-American's can be classified as terrorists. By creating this unlikely villain, source code creates relevance to the disaster, and realism to the situation. The unlikely villain shows that through technology anyone can really become a threat to society. The introduction of this average citizen villain prompts us to question our responsibility with technology. Here technology's power is illustrated because it transforms our â€Å"average† Derek into a super-villain capable of catastrophic events. On the other hand, we are also confronted with the potential life saving ability of the source code. Dr. Rutledge believed source code was only capable of saving lives that had not been already lost. However, the program enabled Stevens to not only save lives on the train, but also his own. Stevens doesn’t just jump through action-flick hoops, he also confronts some Big Questions — Are we alone? Are we free? Do we have free will? — the importance of which become clear as the outlines of Stevens’s true circumstances are revealed. †[4] The implication of this notion is very apparent as Stevens becomes more aware of his situation. His initial experiences within source code are consumed by selfish tasks s uch as trying to locate his father and find out what has happened to him. However, as he begins to understand source code and believes that his life no longer exists, his motives quickly change. Once Stevens begins to use source code for the greater good, he himself is also freed. This is a direct commentary on our usage of technology itself in that we need to use technology for the greater good and not for selfish means. It is this notion that we the audience is left to ponder. Will technology bring humanity to a never before seen existence or destroy our being entirely? Bibliography Cook, David A. A History of Narrative Film. New York: W.W. Norton. 498-499, 925-927. Bradshaw, Peter. â€Å"Source Code Review.â€Å" The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/mar/31/source-code-review (accessed April 12, 2011). Dargis, Manohla. â€Å"Don't Know Who You Are, but Don't Know Who I Am.† The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/04/01/movies/jake-gyllenhaal-in-source-code-review.html (accessed April 12, 2011).

Interest Is the Best Teacher Essays - Educational Psychology

Interest Is the Best Teacher Essays - Educational Psychology Interest Is the Best Teacher 2011051183 Interest Is the Best Teacher The great ideologist Confucius had a prominent saying: knowing a thing is not as good as liking it, while enjoying it ranks the best. The saying points out a truth that interest is the best teacher. A man who is fond of what he learns will more likely to have a higher achievement than those who arent. Learning is a kind of hard work to a certain degree. It is a process of reading, deep thinking, repeated exercises and practices which need great perseverance and diligence to resist temptations and keep on. Interest can endow us with the power to go through the hard process and even transform it into a joy. Second, interest ensures a positive attitude during learning so that we can learn better. The Apple founder Steve Jobs said stay hungry, stay foolish as an advisement to the students at the end of his speech in Stanford University. The words mean a man should always keep unsatisfied and curious in study. Interest is the best way to keep us thirsty for knowledge and then we will make unceasing progress. Whats more, learning itself is not the ultimate goal but using is. With interest, we can devote ourselves to the career we enthusiastic about, to verify and develop what we learn through the practices. Being lazy is always easier compared to learning. Interest is the mainspring that keeps us away from laziness and maintain moving forward.