Essay On Critical Incident Analysis During Placement Nursing Essay

Essay On Critical Incident Analysis During Placement Nursing Essay This essay will reflect on critical incident which took place at my placement. It will outline how critical incident analysis is incorporated in the care provision of people with mental health problems particularly from a nursing perspective. I will also attempt to point out the weakness and the values of reflection and analyse care provision in a more structured therapeutic approach. Bandman and Bandman, (2002) suggest that in order to analyse an incident we need to think critically, reflecting on our beliefs, ideas, feelings and use of language. Gamble and Brennan, (2000) suggest that relationship between reflection and critical thinking emphasises the need for critical thinking to be based on reflective thinking. In this essay I shall also draw on Johns Reflective Cycle (Pearson et al 1996) to give the reader a clear understanding and analysis of the incident, highlighting risk management as a major issue of concern. I will also highlight the daily risks, which Mental Health Nurse s face in relation to the ethics, policies and procedures that guide them. All names have been changed for reasons of confidentiality Nursing and Midwifery Council, (2008). Drawing upon an incident within my most recent placement, the discussion will reflect on the therapeutic intervention of family therapy as long-term psychotherapeutic intervention to treat an identified patient diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. It will also critically analyse the benefits and shortfalls of this intervention. Description Reflecting on the incident described later in this essay, I found it more appropriate to use Johns Reflective Cycle, (Pearson et al 1996) because it focuses on both the patient and the nurse unlike other models that lack a user focus reflection mainly on the nurses feelings, ideas, beliefs and judgements. Johns Reflective Cycle (Pearson et al 1996) places great emphasis on the feelings, emotions and insight of the client as well as the practitioner, which I feel is of greater significance as it offers a more objective perspective. The reflective cycle is also very clear, easy to follow, easy to understand and gives the reader a clear analysis of the incident which is very important in making sense of the whole reflective process. Johns reflective cycle illustrates the following framework; first stage- phenomenon, second stage-rationale, third sage-causal essential factors, fourth stage-reflection, fifth stage-alternative actions, sixth stage-conclusion. Following this guideline it is that one can structure their reflection and bring out sense to the whole reflective process. I chose to write about this incident because I feel it emphasizes the risks mental health nurses face when working with mentally disturbed people. It shows how policies and procedures can disempower professionals, placing them at increased risk of aggressive or disruptive behaviour. I also found it easy to use the critical incident analysis technique to evaluate possible therapeutic intervention in patient care. The risk posed by the patient in this scenario could have been reduced if the nurses involved in the patient care used psychosocial interventions. The incident described in this essay call into question the policies and procedures used in Community Mental Health Services on dealing with crisis or emergency situation and the duty of care as a role the nurse. Legally and ethically nurses are not allowed to search patients in the community, (Thomas et al 1997) which places staff in a very vulnerable position which is very evident after reading and reflecting on the scenario. Zack suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia. Following is a brief summary on Schizophrenia in order to give the reader a picture of the patients condition. Schizophrenia is a broad term given to group of mental illness which are traditionally characterised by thought disorder, auditory and visual hallucinations, delusional beliefs along with emotional and behavioural disorder leading to progressive deterioration and social withdrawal Ironbar and Hopper, (1989). This patient in-particular suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia, distinguished by intense thought disorder, delusions and hallucinations, the sufferer having perceptions, beliefs and ideas of reference that things are being said about them and things being done to them which they believe may cause them harm Thomas et al (1997). Medical treatment involves long-term use of psychotropic medications such as anti-psychotic drugs and mood stabilisers. From a social model approach research has shown that long-term psychotherapy programme s such as family therapy have proven effective Thomas et al (1997). Patient Profile and Context Zack is 28 year old male outpatient known to the Mental Health Services since 2001 with a diagnosis of Paranoid Schizophrenia. Zack is an asylum seeker from Algeria and of Muslim origin, though he is not very strict with the religion. He visits the clinic every fortnight for his depot (Depixol) injection. When is unwell, he develops ideas that Jews and homosexuals are conspiring against him and believes he has special powers. Both his parents are alive; they believe he brings shame to the family due to his mental illness. There has been growing concerns about Zacks family not doing enough to help him through his illness and neglecting his needs. Staff has raised the need to engage the family in family therapy as a way of helping Zack and family cope with his illness but as yet no family members has agreed to this type of intervention. Scenario/Phenomenon-Reflection The Depot clinic normally opens at eleven oclock following the weekly Community Mental Health Team meeting. Zack was due for his depot injection that day but he arrived two hours early looking unkempt. The Community Psychiatry Nurse (CPN) and I went to talk to Zack and told him that we were having a meeting therefore he had to come back when the clinic opens. Zack said he wanted to have his injection early because he wished attend the Muslim celebrations taking place locally that day. He displayed signs of being mentally disturbed, talking and muttering to himself about apparently meaningless and strange things. Zack appeared to be very hostile and provocative with fluctuating thoughts. The CPN insisted Zack had to wait but he was adamant on receiving the depot immediately. Zack became increasingly agitated, pacing up and down, raising his voice shouting abusive words to us. Zack began to make treats of arson, claiming he had a knife. He suggested he would stab one of us if we did not adhere to his demands. As soon as he said that and having observed his behaviour, I was perplexed on the one hand the need to do something about this patient who was clearly unwell and in need of support and treatment, while also being mindful of the risk to both the CPN and myself. The CPN decided to minimise the risk by agreeing to give Zack his injection and getting him out of the building as quickly as possible. I felt this was a risky decision because if Zack did have a knife we were potentially placing ourselves in greater danger by engaging with him further. I pulled the CPN to the side I let my feelings known. The CPN responded by informing me that Zack did not have a history of violent or aggressive behaviour nor was he known to carry knives. I felt we needed to make sure Zack was not carrying any knives or sharps before we went into the clinical room to give him his injection. The CPN then asked Zack calmly and politely if he was carrying the knife at this point Zack produced a knife from inside his jacket. We followed the Trust policy for dealing with armed and dangerous patients that you must call for back-up; we pressed the alarm alerting other staff for assistance. The police were called and arrived very quickly they seized the knife Zack was also found to be carrying a screwdriver. He was taken to an acute admissions ward of a nearby hospital under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act (1983) for further assessment of his mental state. His family were informed but they seemed not to be concerned. Influencing Factors Family therapy involves the whole family in the treatment process based on the understanding that a particular symptom or group of symptoms, exhibited by a family member. Reflecting on Zacks relationship with his family it is important to note that due to their culture the family had negative attitude towards the illness and they felt it brought shame to the family. By educating the family, which is a major component of family therapy, it helps gain understanding into the illness, how they can monitor, support and supervise the patient which contributes to the development of insight and helps reduce risk of relapse and hospital admission. Fadden, (1999) cited by (Gillam 2002, p106) defines psycho educational interventions as those interventions where the patient and family members are seen together, where is acquisition component in addition to a didactic element where the primary aim is reduction of relapse in the patient It has been shown that those patients who have family who are willing to engage in the patients care in a supportive manner have an enhanced probability of maintaining stability in their mental state. Therefore, use of family therapy as a long-term psychosocial intervention reduces the risk of relapse, which is what happened in this scenario with Zack. Engaging with the patient is very important in providing care and monitoring people with schizophrenia and it would be very important for the patient and his family. The family also feel supported by the therapist who works with them to help develop an understanding of the illness and reduce their fear and misguided prejudices. As a nurse/therapist it would be important to understand effects of culture in this situation and try to bring awareness to the family that mental illness is very common and maybe show the family statistics on how many people live with mental illness. It would also be important to educate the family on understanding the improvement rate for people who engage into family therapy and benefits. Evidence based practice would be very important when working with this family as it shows proof that treatment can actually work and has been proven to do so in many cases. Family therapy has been found to be effective, as an adjunct to drug therapy in the management of schizophrenia Birchwood, (1994), therefore the family should monitor that patient is taking medication as required. By encompassing family therapy, psycho education it encompass the involvement and support of family members in the care of an individual Gillam, (2002) which is very important in this scenario. This helps the family gain understanding into the illness and accepts it even though this might be difficult due their cultural beliefs. Staffs are always at risk of aggressive patients and therefore there is great need for risk assessment. Clinical risk is concerned with the danger in which an individual might pose to themselves or others Gamble and Brennan, (2000). Research has identified that the occurrence of violence, arson and homicide depends on additional situational factors and their accumulation lead to increased risk. In this situation having observed the incident from the beginning, I observed Zacks escalating behaviour, presentation such as speech, voice tone, gestures and they determine a lot in ones mental state Gamble and Brennan, (2000). There are other precipitating factors leading to this incident such as the psychosocial environment and stimuli in this case the day of the depot coinciding with the celebrations. If it was a different day, maybe Zack would not been very paranoid and carrying a knife. Also the fact that staff could not meet his needs, it made him more aggressive and in a way no one would have known he was carrying a knife. Psychiatry nurses face importance of risk assessment due to the restrictions they have in searching people who they suspect to be dangerous. The fact that Mental Health Clinics have no enough security measures to detect people who bring in weapons, it increases the risk. Staffs are limited in the procedures of working with patients and it is illegal and unethical to go through patients things or searching them without their consent Thomas et al, (1997). Mental illnesses can manifest in a way that can cause distress to both the patient family and carers but with the help of such therapies as family therapy I recommend it. I believe that Zack could benefit more from it. This intervention has been proven useful by research in the management of schizophrenia Gamble and Brennan, (2000), therefore it is useful to use such therapies inform our care as part of evidence based practice. Rowland and Goss, (2000), writes about evidence based practice as the aspirations nurses should deliver care and therapy based on procedures that are known through research to be effective. Family therapy help the patient cope with their condition and improve their quality of life. Relatives and carers also benefit and by empowering the patient, the family members help the patient change their behaviour Slade and Haddock, (1996) cited by Gamble and Brennan (2000). Research carried out in the last twenty years on high Expressed Emotion (EE) by the Social Psychiatry Unit at the Institute of Psychiatry provided evidence of negative impact of high (EE) on the course of the family of a schizophrenic patient Gamble and Brennan, (2000 ). Families find distress in copying with the condition but they are also showed hostile behaviour by the sufferer and eventually become emotionally over involved. These developments led to the development of family therapy intervention. Family therapy reduces the effect of schizophrenia such as hospitalisation and relapse Ironbar and Hooper, (1989). If Zacks family was involved in care, this incident might not have happened. Family therapy also improves patients functioning and lowers the burden on the family. If one receives support from family, he is more likely to improve adherence to medication, less violent and lower negative family effect. A component of family therapy includes engagement of families and patients, behaviour, self-management, maintenance of skills, dealing with violence, risk management, assessment, cultural issues, over involvement and interpersonal boundaries, Gamble and Brennan, (2000). In Zacks situation all the above on family therapy would be helpful and it involves issue on culture hence Zacks family feels he is a disgrace to the family, which is part of their cultural beliefs. Making them understand the illness would be more helpful in coping with Zacks illness. Research has also found out that these psychosocial interventions are more useful than taking routine medication treatment and not only benefit patient, but also family carers and relatives Ironbar and Hooper, (1989). In helping this patient, this type of intervention should help him gain insight and doing individualised care with the nurse in the therapy it can be achieved. Gillam, (2002) suggests the importance of using drug treatment therapy in conjunction with family therapy for maximum benefit to the patient, family and carers. Reflecting more on this scenario, it brings out issues of concern and critical incident analysis would be very important to guide the whole reflecting process. Developing skills on reflecting enables one to learn more effectively from practice situation and identify what you have learned in practice John, (2000). There is also emphasis that reflection is related to a complex and deliberate process of conscious thinking about interpreting experience in order to learn from it. In this incident I used my knowledge on risk management to lower the risks Mental Health Nurses face in working with mentally ill patients. I was trying to minimise the occurrence of an event that would be dangerous. Considering the importance of critical incident analysis to analyse this scenario was because it gives me an understanding and appreciation of the whole Clinical Incident Analysis (CIT) process. I also chose family therapy because as noted before the family could offer a lot of help to the patient, but only if they can engage with the patient and understand the mental illness and how they can lower the fear and prejudices of living with somebody with a mental illness. Before this incident happened, I felt very nervous that being a student nurse involved in such a difficult situation. However, my feelings changed later when Zack was found to be carrying a knife. Having not emphasised on the nurse to check if the patient actually had the knife, this could have lead into someone getting hurt or even killed by the patient. This was also a learning process for me I learnt that besides taking medication like in this situation, the patient was on medication, there are other therapeutic interventions which can be used to lower the stresses in the family of a schizophrenic patient and help the patient manage and cope with his own illness. Critical incident analysis was very important in giving structure to the whole reflection process and gain appreciation to therapeutic interventions that nurses can use in managing schizophrenia. On the other hand I knew it was unethical and illegal to search this patient, but I felt in such incident, nurses should have the power to search thought to be dangerous or threatening to staff. Evidently, according to reports from Department of Health (DH) (2008), there has been an increase in the violent incidents involving staff working with patients with mental health problems. The issue of risk management, risk assessment is something not to ignore in Mental Health Nursing. Risk management is intended purpose of assessment process, reducing severity of identified risks though they vary over time and circumstances Gamble and Brennan, (2000). Gates et al (2000) identifies clinical risk assessment as an established tenet of Psychiatry Nursing treatment. The establishments of National Service Framework and Guidelines (DOH, 2008) have emphasised on practitioners on the importance of risk assessment. There have been a large number of tragedies and homicidal incidents involving psychiatry patients therefore there have been high expectations in considering risk assessment as a major tool in mental health nursing. Alternative Strategies In this incident I felt I had to remind the CPN on the danger Zack was posing to us, reflecting on practice Thomas et al (1997). This is achieved by assessing situations and judge how dangerous they could be or how best you can deal with them in a professional and ethical way. NMC, (2008) states that professionalism and accountability in all our practices and by being accountable, you have a good cause to justify your actions in this situation safety was a priority. In future if I face the same situation, I would act quicker and take precautions to safety in time. I would also use good interpersonal skills to try and talk to the patient. I would also use my knowledge of risk management and safety precautions since nurses have a duty to look after themselves as well as public, than just looking after the patient Stern and Drummond, (1995). I would also consider that when working with people with schizophrenia there is great need to engage into psychotherapy interventions, family therapy a priority adjunct to drug therapy. Conclusion- Learning In conclusion, the essay clearly considers the values of family therapy as a possible psychotherapeutic intervention to be used in the management of schizophrenia. It also gives appreciation of the whole process. The essay also demonstrates the importance of ongoing clinical supervision and the role of a Psychiatry Nurse. Evidently throughout the essay, it is clear that mental health nurses face a great risk in their day to day practices in working with mentally ill patients. Highlighted is the importance of reflecting and using Clinical Incident Analysis (CIT) process as a major tool to help the whole reflective process. The stages of Johns reflective cycle were used in the essay as it enabled the writer to identify the phenomenon. The need for risk assessment and critical thinking you are able to analyse and reflect on an incident and bring more sense to the reader. Word Count: 3294

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 20

Part IV Spirit He who sees in me all things, and all things in me, is never far from me, and I am never far from him. THE BHAGAVAD GITA Chapter 20 The road was just wide enough for the two of us to walk side by side. The grass on either side was as high as an elephant's eye. We could see blue sky above us, and exactly as far along the path as the next curve, which could have been any distance away, because there's no perspective in an unbroken green trench. We'd been traveling on this road most of the day, and passed only one old man and a couple of cows, but now we could hear what sounded like a large party approaching us, not far off, perhaps two hundred yards away. There were men's voices, a lot of them, footsteps, some dissonant metal drums, and most disturbing, the continuous screams of a woman either in pain, or terrified, or both. â€Å"Young masters!† came a voice from somewhere near us. I jumped in the air and came down in a defensive stance, my black glass knife drawn and ready. Josh looked around for the source of the voice. The screaming was getting closer. There was a rustling in the grass a few feet away from the road, then again the voice, â€Å"Young masters, you must hide.† An impossibly thin male face with eyes that seemed a size and a half too large for his skull popped out of the wall of grass beside us. â€Å"You must come. Kali comes to choose her victims! Come now or die.† The face disappeared, replaced by a craggy brown hand that motioned for us to follow into the grass. The woman's scream hit crescendo and failed, as if the voice had broken like an overtightened lute string. â€Å"Go,† said Joshua, pushing me into the grass. As soon as I was off of the road someone caught my wrist and started dragging me through the sea of grass. Joshua latched onto the tail of my shirt and allowed himself to be dragged along. As we ran the grass whipped and slashed at us. I could feel blood welling up on my face and arms, even as the brown wraith pulled me deeper into the sea of green. Above the rasping of my breath I heard men shouting from behind us, then a thrashing of the grass being trampled. â€Å"They follow,† said the brown wraith over his shoulder. â€Å"Run unless you want your heads to decorate Kali's altar. Run.† Over my shoulder to Josh, I said, â€Å"He says run or it will be bad.† Behind Josh, outlined against the sky, I saw long, swordlike spear tips, the sort of thing one might use for beheading someone. â€Å"Okey-dokey,† said Josh. It had taken us over a month to get to India, most of the journey through hundreds of miles of the highest, most rugged country we had ever seen. Amazingly enough, there were villages scattered all through the mountains, and when the villagers saw our orange robes doors were flung wide and larders opened. We were always fed, given a warm place to sleep, and welcomed to stay as long as we wished. We offered obtuse parables and irritating chants in return, as was the tradition. It wasn't until we came out of the mountains onto a brutally hot and humid grassland that we found our mode of dress was drawing more disdain than welcome. One man, of obvious wealth (he rode a horse and wore silk robes) cursed us as we passed and spit at us. Other people on foot began to take notice of us as well, and we hurried off into some high grass and changed out of our robes. I tucked the glass dagger that Joy had given me into my sash. â€Å"What was he going on about?† I asked Joshua. â€Å"He said something about tellers of false prophecies. Pretenders. Enemies of the Brahman, whatever that is. I'm not sure what else.† â€Å"Well, it looks like we're more welcome here as Jews than as Buddhists.† â€Å"For now,† said Joshua. â€Å"All the people have those marks on their foreheads like Gaspar had. I think without one of those we're going to have to be careful.† As we traveled into the lowlands the air felt as thick as warm cream, and we could feel the weight of it in our lungs after so many years in the mountains. We passed into the valley of a wide, muddy river, and the road became choked with people passing in and out of a city of wooden shacks and stone altars. There were humped-back cattle everywhere, even grazing in the gardens, but no one seemed to bear them any mind. â€Å"The last meat I ate was what was left of our camels,† I said. â€Å"Let's find a booth and buy some beef.† There were merchants along the road selling various wares, clay pots, powders, herbs, spices, copper and bronze blades (iron seemed to be in short supply), and tiny carvings of what seemed to be a thousand different gods, most of them having more limbs than seemed necessary and none of them looking particularly friendly. We found grain, breads, fruits, vegetables, and bean pastes for sale, but nowhere did we see any meat. We settled on some bread and spicy bean paste, paid the woman with Roman copper coin, then found a place under a large banyan tree where we could sit and look at the river while we ate. I'd forgotten the smell of a city, the fetid mlange of people, and waste, and smoke and animals, and I began to long for the clean air of the mountains. â€Å"I don't want to sleep here, Joshua. Let's see if we can find a place in the country.† â€Å"We are supposed to follow this river to the sea to reach Tamil. Where the river goes, so go the people.† The river – wider than any in Israel, but shallow, yellow with clay, and still against the heavy air – seemed more like a huge stagnant puddle than a living, moving thing. In this season, anyway. Dotting the surface, a half-dozen skinny, naked men with wild white hair and not three teeth apiece shouted angry poetry at the top of their lungs and tossed water into glittering crests over their heads. â€Å"I wonder how my cousin John is doing,† said Josh. All along the muddy riverbank women washed clothes and babies only steps from where cattle waded and shat, men fished or pushed long shallow boats along with poles, and children swam or played in the mud. Here and there the corpse of a dog bobbed flyblown in the gentle current. â€Å"Maybe there's a road inland a little, away from the stench.† Joshua nodded and climbed to his feet. â€Å"There,† he said, pointing to a narrow path that began on the opposite bank of the river and disappeared into some tall grass. â€Å"We'll have to cross,† I said. â€Å"Be nice if we could find a boat to take us,† said Josh. â€Å"You don't think we should ask where the path leads?† â€Å"No,† said Joshua, looking at a crowd of people who were gathering nearby and staring at us. â€Å"These people all look hostile.† â€Å"What was that you told Gaspar about love was a state you dwell in or something?† â€Å"Yeah, but not with these people. These people are creepy. Let's go.† The creepy little brown guy who was dragging me through the elephant grass was named Rumi, and much to his credit, amid the chaos and tumble of a headlong dash through a leviathan marshland, pursued by a muderous band of clanging, shouting, spear-waving decapitation enthusiasts, Rumi had managed to find a tiger – no small task when you have a kung fu master and the savior of the world in tow. â€Å"Eek, a tiger,† Rumi said, as we stumbled into a small clearing, a mere depression really, where a cat the size of Jerusalem was gleefully gnawing away on the skull of a deer. Rumi had expressed my sentiments exactly, but I would be damned if I was going to let my last words be â€Å"Eek, a tiger,† so I listened quietly as urine filled my shoes. â€Å"You'd think all the noise would have frightened him,† Josh said, just as the tiger looked up from his deer. I noticed that our pursuers seemed to be closing on us by the second. â€Å"That is the way it is usually done,† said Rumi. â€Å"The noise drives the tiger to the hunter.† â€Å"Maybe he knows that,† I said, â€Å"so he's not going anywhere. You know, they're bigger than I imagined. Tigers, I mean.† â€Å"Sit down,† said Joshua. â€Å"Pardon me?† I said. â€Å"Trust me,† Joshua said. â€Å"Remember the cobra when we were kids?† I nodded to Rumi and coaxed him down as the tiger crouched and tensed his hind legs as if preparing to leap, which is exactly what he was doing. As the first of our pursuers broke into the clearing from behind us the tiger leapt, sailing over our heads by half again the height of a man. The tiger landed on the first two men coming out of the grass, crushing them under his enormous forepaws, then raking their backs as he leapt again. After that all I could see was spear points scattering against the sky as the hunters became, well, you know. Men screamed, the woman screamed, the tiger screamed, and the two men who had fallen under the tiger crawled to their feet and limped back toward the road, screaming. Rumi looked from the dead deer, to Joshua, to me, to the dead deer, to Joshua, and his eyes seemed to grow even larger than before. â€Å"I am deeply moved and eternally grateful for your affinity with the tiger, but that is his deer, and it appears that he has not finished with it, perhaps†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Joshua stood up. â€Å"Lead on.† â€Å"I don't know which way.† â€Å"Not that way,† I said, pointing in the direction of the screaming bad guys. Rumi led us through the grass to another road, which we followed to where he lived. â€Å"It's a pit,† I said. â€Å"It's not that bad,† said Joshua, looking around. There were other pits nearby. People were living in them. â€Å"You live in a pit,† I said. â€Å"Hey, ease up,† Joshua said. â€Å"He saved our lives.† â€Å"It is a humble pit, but it is home,† said Rumi. â€Å"Please make yourself comfortable.† I looked around. The pit had been chipped out of sandstone and was about shoulder deep and just wide enough to turn a cow around in, which I would find out was a crucial dimension. The pit was empty except for a single rock about knee high. â€Å"Have a seat. You may have the rock,† said Rumi. Joshua smiled and sat on the rock. Rumi sat on the floor of the pit, which was covered with a thick layer of black slime. â€Å"Please. Sit,† said Rumi, gesturing to the floor beside him. â€Å"I'm sorry, we can only afford one rock.† I didn't sit. â€Å"Rumi, you live in a pit!† I pointed out. â€Å"Well, yes, that is true. Where do Untouchables live in your land?† â€Å"Untouchable?† â€Å"Yes, the lowest of the low. The scum of the earth. None of the higher caste may acknowledge my existence. I am Untouchable.† â€Å"Well, no wonder, you live in a fucking pit.† â€Å"No,† Joshua said, â€Å"he lives in a pit because he's Untouchable, he's not Untouchable because he lives in a pit. He'd be Untouchable if he lived in a palace, isn't that right, Rumi?† â€Å"Oh, like that's going to happen,† I said. I'm sorry, the guy lived in a pit. â€Å"There's more room since my wife and most of my children died,† said Rumi. â€Å"Until this morning it was only Vitra, my youngest daughter and me, but now she is gone too. There is plenty of room for you if you wish to stay.† Joshua put his hand on Rumi's narrow shoulder and I could see the effect it had, the pain evaporating from the Untouchable's face like dew under a hot sun. I stood by being wretched. â€Å"What happened to Vitra?† Joshua asked. â€Å"They came and took her, the Brahmans, as a sacrifice on the feast of Kali. I was looking for her when I saw you two. They gather children and men, criminals, Untouchables, and strangers. They would have taken you and day after tomorrow they would have offered your head to Kali.† â€Å"So your daughter is not dead?† I asked. â€Å"They will hold her until midnight on the night of the feast, then slaughter her with the other children on the wooden elephants of Kali.† â€Å"I will go to these Brahmans and ask for your daughter back,† Joshua said. â€Å"They'll kill you,† Rumi said. â€Å"Vitra is lost, even your tiger cannot save you from Kali's destruction.† â€Å"Rumi,† I said. â€Å"Look at me, please. Explain, Brahmans, Kali, elephants, everything. Go slow, act as if I know nothing.† â€Å"Like that takes imagination,† Joshua said, clearly violating my implied, if not expressed, copyright on sarcasm. (Yeah, we have Court TV in the hotel room, why?) â€Å"There are four castes,† said Rumi, â€Å"the Brahmans, or priests; Kshatriyas, or warriors; Vaisyas, who are farmers or merchants; and the Sudras, who are laborers. There are many subcastes, but those are the main ones. Each man is born to a caste and he remains in that caste until he dies and is reborn as a higher caste or lower caste, which is determined by his karma, or actions during his last life.† â€Å"We know from karma,† I said. â€Å"We're Buddhist monks.† â€Å"Heretics!† Rumi hissed. â€Å"Bite me, you bug-eyed scrawny brown guy,† I said. â€Å"You are a scrawny brown guy!† â€Å"No, you're a scrawny brown guy!† â€Å"No, you are a scrawny brown guy!† â€Å"We are all scrawny brown guys,† Joshua said, making peace. â€Å"Yeah, but he's bug-eyed.† â€Å"And you are a heretic.† â€Å"You're a heretic!† â€Å"No, you are a heretic.† â€Å"We're all scrawny brown heretics,† said Joshua, calming things down again. â€Å"Well, of course I'm scrawny,† I said. â€Å"Six years of cold rice and tea, and not a scrap of beef for sale in the whole country.† â€Å"You would eat beef? You heretic!† shouted Rumi. â€Å"Enough!† shouted Joshua. â€Å"No one may eat a cow. Cows are the reincarnations of souls on their way to the next life.† â€Å"Holy cow,† Josh said. â€Å"That is what I am saying.† Joshua shook his head as if trying to straighten jumbled thoughts. â€Å"You said that there were four castes, but you didn't mention Untouchables.† â€Å"Harijans, Untouchables, have no caste, we are the lowest of the low. We may have to live many lifetimes before we even ascend to the level of a cow, and then we may become higher caste. Then, if we follow our dharma, our duty, as a higher caste, we may become one with Brahma, the universal spirit of all. I can't believe you don't know this, have you been living in a cave?† I was going to point out that Rumi was in no position to criticize where we had been living, but Joshua signaled me to let it go. Instead I said, â€Å"So you are lower on the caste system than a cow?† I asked. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"So these Brahmans won't eat a cow, but they will take your daughter and kill her for their goddess?† â€Å"And eat her,† said Rumi, hanging his head. â€Å"At midnight on the night of the feast they will take her and the other children and tie them to the wooden elephants. They will cut off the children's fingers and give one to the head of each Brahman household. Then they will catch her blood in a cup and everyone in the household will taste it. They may eat the finger or bury it for good luck. After that the children are hacked to death on the wooden elephants.† â€Å"They can't do that,† Joshua said. â€Å"Oh yes, the cult of Kali may do anything they wish. It is her city, Kalighat.† [â€Å"Calcutta† on the Friendly Flyer map.] â€Å"My little Vitra is lost. We can only pray that she is reincarnated to a higher level.† Joshua patted the Untouchable's hand. â€Å"Why did you call Biff a heretic when he told you that we were Buddhist monks?† â€Å"That Gautama said that a man may go directly from any level to join Brahma, without fulfilling his dharma, that is heresy.† â€Å"That would be better for you, wouldn't it? Since you're on the bottom of the ladder?† â€Å"You cannot believe what you do not believe,† Rumi said. â€Å"I am an Untouchable because my karma dictates it.† â€Å"Oh yeah,† I said. â€Å"No sense sitting under a bodhi tree for a few hours when you can get the same thing through thousands of lifetimes of misery.† â€Å"Of course, that's ignoring the fact that you're a gentile and going to suffer eternal damnation either way,† said Josh. â€Å"Yeah, leaving that out altogether.† â€Å"But we'll get your daughter back,† Joshua said. Joshua wanted to rush into Kalighat and demand the return of Rumi's daughter and the release of all the other victims in the name of what was good and right. Joshua's solution to everything was to lead with righteous indignation, and there is a time and a place unto that, but there is also a time for cunning and guile (Ecclesiastes 9 or something). I was able to talk him into an alternate plan by using flawless logic: â€Å"Josh, did the Vegemites smite the Marmites by charging in and demanding justice at the end of a sword? I think not. These Brahmans cut off and eat the fingers of children. I know there's no finger-cutting commandment, Josh, but still, I'm guessing that these people think differently than we do. They call the Buddha a heretic, and he was one of their princes. How do you think they'll receive a scrawny brown kid claiming to be the son of a god who doesn't even live in their area?† â€Å"Good point. But we still have to save the child.† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"How?† â€Å"Extreme sneakiness.† â€Å"You'll have to be in charge then.† â€Å"First we need to see this city and this temple where the sacrifices will be held.† Joshua scratched his head. His hair had mostly grown back, but was still short. â€Å"The Vegemites smote the Marmites?† â€Å"Yeah, Excretions three-six.† â€Å"I don't remember that. I guess I need to brush up on my Torah.† The statue of Kali over her altar was carved from black stone and stood as tall as ten men. She wore a necklace of human skulls around her neck and a girdle made of severed human hands at her hips. Her open maw was lined with a saw blade of teeth over which a stream of fresh blood had been poured. Even her toenails curved into vicious blades which dug into the pile of twisted, graven corpses on which she stood. She had four arms, one holding a cruel, serpentine sword, another a severed head by the hair; the third hand she held crooked, as if beckoning her victims to the place of dark destruction to which all are destined, and the fourth was posed downward, in a manner presenting the goddess's hand-girded hips, as if asking the eternal question, â€Å"Does this outfit make me look fat?† The raised altar lay in the middle of an open garden that was surrounded by trees. The altar was wide enough that five hundred people could have stood in the shadow of the black goddess. Deep grooves had been cut in the stone to channel the blood of sacrifices into vessels, so it could be poured through the goddess's jaws. Leading to the altar was a wide stone-paved boulevard, which was lined on either side by great elephants carved from wood and set on turntables so they could be rotated. The trunks and front feet of the elephants were stained rusty brown, and here and there the trunks exhibited deep gouges from blades that had hewn through a child into the mahogany. â€Å"Vitra isn't being kept here,† Joshua said. We were hiding behind a tree near the temple garden, dressed as natives, fake caste marks and all. Having lost when we drew lots, I was the one dressed as a woman. â€Å"I think this is a bodhi tree,† I said, â€Å"just like Buddha sat under! It's so exciting. I'm feeling sort of enlightened just standing here. Really, I can feel ripe bodhies squishing between my toes.† Joshua looked at my feet. â€Å"I don't think those are bodhies. There was a cow here before us.† I lifted my foot out of the mess. â€Å"Cows are overrated in this country. Under the Buddha's tree too. Is nothing sacred?† â€Å"There's no temple to this temple,† Joshua said. â€Å"We have to ask Rumi where the sacrifices are kept until the festival.† â€Å"He won't know. He's Untouchable. These guys are Brahmans – priests – they wouldn't tell him anything. That would be like a Sadducee telling a Samaritan what the Holy of Holies looked like.† â€Å"Then we have to find them ourselves,† Joshua said. â€Å"We know where they're going to be at midnight, we'll get them then.† â€Å"I say we find these Brahmans and force them to stop the whole festival.† â€Å"We'll just storm up to their temple and tell them to stop it?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And they will.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"That's cute, Josh. Let's go find Rumi. I have a plan.†

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Essay

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals recognizes the chair, salutes the delegates and it’s deeply honored to participate in this council with such a world pressing topic. People for Ethical Treatment of Animals deeply concerned by the millions of animals being locked up in laboratories across the world with unimaginable pain and suffering due to all the chemicals that are being tested on them by so called scientists for a later human use. Seeks the halt of all types of experimentation on living creatures whom are being used as nothing more than laboratory materials for reaserch wich most of the times provide misleading or incorrect results. We believe that every creature with a will to live has a right to live free from pain and suffering. PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk has said, â€Å"When it comes to pain, love, joy, loneliness, and fear, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. Each one values his or her life and fights the knife.† People for Ethical Treatment of Animals are completely, totally and irrefutably against animal testing for any kind of product or drugs.Further deploring for every nation to use alternative research methods and not animal testing. Ergo People for Ethical Treatment of Animals urgently requests that: * Having devoted attention to all the suffering animals go through by getting tested on, governments should start investing money in in vitro experimentation and research. Instead of spending it on animal testing. These methods should vigorously be promoted to all companies around the world. * Encourages people to get informed of what is going on with all the animal testing by having the 1,300 aprox. companies in our â€Å"Do not test† list make campaigns to invite other companies to join this list, and consumers to only use their cruelty free preoducts. Along with the publicity we (PETA) do. * Calls upon the countries to start banning products tested on animals and only allow cruelty free products, requesting more companies to start using non-animal methods in their research and production. People for Ethical Treatment of Animals trusts that a strong message will be issued from this committee and that action will be taken in order to strongly condemn product testing in animals.

Sara Simpson . Brandon Gillette . Philosophy . 22 February

Sara Simpson Brandon Gillette Philosophy 22 February 2017 Argument Analysis Article: College athletes are being educated, not exploited. CNN Wire, 30 Mar. 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A447834169/OVIC?u=lees33148xid=2b3ade47. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017. (All quotations are from article listed above.) The article stated above advocates that college athletes already are compensated through scholarships and other various expenses. It states, â€Å"College is a time for learning. If what they learn is how to get paid as a student for playing a sport, education will never be the same again. And that would be true madness.† (College athletes). My argument that college athletes are compensated through†¦show more content†¦My argument I found it to be valid, and for my premises to be true. It is also true that for an argument to be sound the conclusion must also be true, which also makes my argument a good one. In the article an evaluative term I identified was exploited. I used this term as a semantic term. A semantic is the meaning of a word or a phrase. â€Å"In recent years, trial lawyers chasing big money settlements and other critics of college sports have alleged that these students are exploited.† In this quote the word exploited could mean more than one thing. In this sense it means that someone is using them for their money. The colleges are taking advantage of college athletes. This article uses assuring terms to show further evidence and to explain evidence provided. Examples include â€Å"In recent years† and â€Å"The critics say.† These introduce evidence found in the article. â€Å"A recent study† shows the speaker s confidence in a claim made further on in the article. Using the term, â€Å"In recent years† supports the premise above on premise one from above. Students benefit from playing sports in college. Using the term â€Å"The critics say†, does not support premise three from above on how college athletes are being benefited from scholarships, being debt free, and earning income. â€Å"The students should get a salary, the critics say, because their schools make money from the TV contracts that allow the public to watch the games.† The because in