Memory and Time Essay -- Informative, Episodic Memory

Critically assess the theory that our memory for the past is a crucial element in imagining the future. Human beings do not have the ability to travel in time; therefore the only way to detach themselves from the present is through their mental world, where they can access past recollections as well as prospective expectations. The only memory system allowing individuals to mentally time travel is episodic memory. Bartlett (1932) proposed the idea that memory is not an actual reproduction of the past, but a constructive process in which distinct pieces of information from various sources are drawn together. Therefore episodic memory does not just hold and retrieve exact replicas of past experiences but rather holds detailed distinctive informations which allow individuals to recollect past events. Schacter and Addis (2007) argued that details from the past episodes are also crucial for fabricating or imagining future scenes and occurring. This ability is referred to as prospection or episodic future thinking. Re-experiencing of past events and the capacity of the pre-experience episodes in the future are enabled by the same episodic memory system. However as the future is not an exact duplication of the past, they argue that simulating of the future happenings is enabled by a constructive, rather than reproductive system, able to extract and recombine elements from the past experiences in order to imagine the future. If this claim is correct there should be a considerable overlap in psychological as well as in neural processes involved in remembering the past and imagining the future. Shao, Yao, Ceci and Wang (2010) reject Schacter and Addis’ idea, claiming that future scenarios are not merely a reflection of the past but ... ...nd into the future operates on the same cognitive capacities. The argument was supported with presenting brief descriptions of behavioural studies and neuroimaging experiments, presenting evidence for the claims that recollecting the past and envisioning the future involve a shared brain network and that imagining future scenarios requires collecting and amending details from the past. Contradictory to this view, the essay presented Shao, Yao, Ceci and Wang’s theory of the importance of individual concept of self on envisioning future events, showing differences in peoples past and future self concepts. Furthermore, the essay was summed up with the idea that both views should meet on a common ground, as mental time travel into the past and the future is enabled by a shared brain network, however it is also influenced by acquired non personal knowledge of the world.

Oscar Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest Essay -- Oscar Wilde Imp

Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest Webster’s dictionary defines earnest as â€Å"characterized by or proceeding from an intense and serious state of mind.† This definition is subject to total upheaval by Oscar Wilde in The Importance of Being Earnest. The title suggests a treatise on the value of solemnity in everyday life. However, Wilde presents us with an ironic play that leaves us with the opposite lesson. None of the characters benefit from propriety. The least serious characters, Algernon and Jack are rewarded in the end for their frivolous behavior throughout the play, implying that there is very little, if any, importance to being earnest, excepting that you give the appearance of such, for example the name. In several instances, even indirectly, Wilde draws back the curtain of convention in the Victorian age and shows us the ridiculousness of such a passionate attachment to gravity. Before the name or adjective is even used the reader is presented with two men, Algernon (the purveyor of un-earnestness) and Jack, his protà ©gà © in deceit and jocularity. The discussion on their alternate personas’ escapades introduces us to the irony of the title. â€Å"You have always told me it was Ernest. I have introduced you to everyone as Ernest. You answer to the name of Ernest. You look as if your name was Ernest. You are the most earnest-looking person I ever saw in my life. It is perfectly absurd your saying that you name isn’t Ernest.† (Act I p. 14) Not only does Wilde put the concept of â€Å"being earnest† into question throughout the play but he doubles the irony by adding such importance to the name itself. For Algernon to tell Jack he is being ridiculous by asserting he has been lying about his name and... ... on Victorian culture, the modern day reader is left with disdain for the earnest ideal. The characters rely on it only superficially. Through the play the meaning of the word is manipulated until its meaning is lost and the remaining value of the word is to essentially mask the true natures of the people who use the word (or name) too freely. The implication is that the characters in the play are silly as well as hypocritical, and as representatives of Victorian culture, Wilde is leading the reader to the conclusion that much of the decorum expounded by society is just as silly and hypocritical. Luckily for the proponents of the stiff propriety in the Victorian age, the blow of this conclusion is softened immensely by the comical nature of the play, and we are left with the lesson that there is really no importance in being earnest, but merely being named Ernest.

Symbolism of White and Green in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

The Great Gatsby is full of symbolism, colors, for example. Throughout the book the author uses them to represent different themes of the novel. Some of these colors are white, yellow, grey, green, pink, red and blue. However, I picked white and green for my commentary because I think these colors have a special meaning different from the others. White is mainly used to describe the character’s innocence, fakeness, and corruption. While green represents Gatsby’s hopes, ambitions, and dreams. In addition, sometimes green symbolizes the jealousy of certain characters. The color white appeared many times throughout the book. It is used in the first chapter by Nick when he sees Daisy and Jordan in East Egg. â€Å"They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house.† (Pg. 8) In this passage, white is used to describe Daisy’s and Jordan’s innocence and purity. However, in page 24 the real characteristics of Daisy are revealed, â€Å"Our white girlhood was passed together there our beautiful white†, this tells us that when Daisy was younger she was innocent, but now she has changed. In page 116, the author talks about Jordan: â€Å"Jordan’s fingers, powdered white over their tan, rested for a moment in mine.† This symbolizes fakeness, it tells us that Jordan is a superficial woman just like Daisy. They try to pretend to be something that they are not, just because they want to fit into the high society. Fitzgerald also refers to the steps to Gatsby’s house as being white. Even the windows at Daisy’s house are white. â€Å"The windows were ajar and gleaming white.† (Pg.13) this tells us that Daisy and Gatsby look innocent from the outside but not from the inside, instead they are corrupted people. This thought is also expressed when Gatsby takes Nick for a ride in his car. When he is stopped by a policeman, Gatsby shows the officer a white card, which symbolizes corruption. When the commissioner sees this, he lets Gatsby go. Nick thought it was a Christmas card sent to him by the officer, but later on we learn that Gatsby had bribed the police officer. White might also be related to Tom, who is a racist man. He is very concerned about a book he read called â€Å"The Rise of the Coloured Empire†.

The Oppression of Women as Women

The oppression of women as women PHIL 202 – Assignment 1 26/01/2012 The patriarchal society in which we live has systematically oppressed women for centuries. It is not until extremely recent history, with the Women’s Liberation Movement, that women have been able to take meaningful strides towards a more equal and just society. We have come a long way since that time, women can now vote, work, practice politics and live independently of men: it seems as though we have come very close to the equality that we have worked so hard to achieve. However that statement has proven to be incredibly false.If we examine Marilyn Frye’s metaphor of the bird cage and apply it to the changes that have been brought upon our society we can see how the oppression of women not only still exists, but has gained new dimensions. By inspecting the progress women have made to integrate into patriarchal society we can see that we have succeeded to remove some of the wires that have held us back from escaping the cage, however the removal of these wires has added new responsibilities for the female gender and it is these new responsibilities that have added completely new wires to our cages.By examining Marilyn Frye’s article Oppression we will examine why she believes that â€Å"women are oppressed as women† (Frye, p. 16) and why it is that, even though men face barriers and difficulties, she believes that they are not â€Å"oppressed as men† (Frye, p. 16) Whilst reading Frye’s article I was truly disagreeing with the points she was making. How can she state that men are not also oppressed in some way: they have the burden of supporting their families, they cannot express any emotions without seeming weak, and they don’t have the choice of spending as much time with their children?These facts made me certain that men too were oppressed, however in a different way than women. As I neared the end of the article I came to a sudden re alization: the opinions I had formed were a product of my microscopic view of the situation and I was not able to see that the burdens men faced were only barriers held in place in order to preserve the patriarchal society that has been created and they were not faced with systematic oppression. In order to illustrate this point we can take a look at an example from the side of two opposing genders. The workplace seems to be following the path f equality, even though certain issues remain (men earning more than women on average, men holding higher positions etc†¦) they seem to be miniscule problems compared to the ones faced by the women decades before us. The wire on the cage that we would have named â€Å"ability to pursue a career† seems to be a rusty weak wire that is falling apart, no longer capable of holding women back. It may seem as if this is a victory, however, the oppressing society we live in has ensured that the destruction of that single wire has been ackn owledged and replaced by a new strong and sturdy set of wires in order to ensure systematic oppression.Now that women are able to work they are perceived as lazy and old-fashioned if they don’t, however if they do work they are perceived as being intimidating, bad mothers and sometimes masculine. Therefore it seems as if the situation where a women is perceived as hard-working, intelligent, ambitious and modern as well as feminine and an excellent mother and homemaker does not exist, yet it is actively expected of them; if any of the aforementioned characteristics are not present she will be given a dreadful label by society.It is clear that the advancements we have made have lead to an entirely new dimension of oppression. If we now continue on to examine the role of a man in the workplace we can see that they do face barriers but they are in absolutely no way systematically oppressed. If we examine a single barrier they face, for example, the burden of having to support the ir family, as this is the norm with regards to sex roles. The man must go to work and must earn money to pay the mortgage, to feed their children and to buy his wife the dishwasher she has been nagging him to get.This is a responsibility that he is expected to fulfill, however he is no way oppressed. In order to obtain an adequate job a man may go to school, earn a degree and find a stable and well-paying job. He will find this job with much more ease than a woman with the same qualifications and will get payed more than the aforesaid women. Being a man will be an advantage to his search and will in no way place any obstacles in his way, as opposed to woman whose gender is â€Å"significantly attached to whatever disadvantages and deprivations she suffers, be they great or small. †(Frye, p. 6) By obtaining a job, he has now earned the labels of intelligent, ambitious, and hard-working; of course, in our age and time a woman might be able to acquire all of these labels as well . However the labels describing her femininity and home-life might not be as pleasant.What about a man? He is now supporting his family therefore he is now masculine and worthy, he is also seen as a good father as he is supporting his children (the fact that he might not spend an adequate amount of time with them is of no importance as in our society financial support takes precedent of emotional support. Therefore our society has given him the burden of supporting his family but we can see that this is only a barrier put in place in order to for men to be able to exclude women from political and economic life and therefore control it. It may be a disadvantage in some ways, however it is important to recognize that it is a necessary disadvantage in order to maintain control and can in no way be labelled as oppression.The simple term â€Å"oppression† must be understood because without understanding its rightful meaning it is â€Å"much misused, and sometimes not innocentlyâ €  (Frye, p. 0) We must come to the understanding that men do face obstacles and barriers however they do not face the systematic oppression that women do as a result of their gender. Of course there are oppressed men living all around the world, but this oppression does not stem from the simple fact of their sex but many other factors such as socio-economic situation, sexual orientation, political situations etc†¦ Simply put, there are thousands, maybe millions of men around the world who are in no way oppressed, but not one single woman because her gender is the defining characteristic for her oppression.

Nature of Partnerships Essay

Nature of Partnerships When starting a business, it can be with a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or as a company. A partnership is the most popular and the easiest to form. Partnerships combine individual talents and skills together for a hopefully successful business enterprise venture. Man has realized that it is easier to do something with the help of others than singly. Partners, also, provide a greater chance of obtaining equity capital for their business venture, while sharing the risks that go along with a rapidly growing business. There are basically three types of partnerships: the general artnership, the limited partnership, and the limited liability partnership. This paper discusses the general partnership. The definition of a partnership is â€Å"the association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners of a business for profit . † Partnerships may be formed as a formal agreement or informally with a handshake. Either way, a partnership agreement should be written up with all the aspects of the partnership covered. Once the partnership agreement is filled out and agreed on by all partners, each partner will need to sign stating they are in agreement. A artnership agreement helps to alleviate any conflicts that may arise at any future date. When accounting for a partnership, it will depend on the accounting method stated in the partnership agreement. If any noncash assets were contributed, these will need to be assigned a fair value. Any noncash assets brought to the partnership are the property of the partnership . Each partner investing capital will have to be agreed upon by all partners. This investment will determine the ratio or percentage of net profit or loss to be divided between each partner. If there is no ratio or ercentage stated in the partnership agreement, then everything is divided equally. When setting up the accounting for the business, most accounting methods have multiple accounts for each partner. These accounts are the capital account, which shows the initial investment of each partner, the drawing account, showing any withdrawals taken over a years’ time, and the loan account, where partners can take a loan from the business. The capital account can be maintained in two different ways: the fluctuating capital method or the fixed capital method . The division of net profit equally. To account for this division, say S, T, and U decided to set up a partnership. S contributes $40,000, T contributes $30,000, and U contributes $30,000. This would be a ratio of 4:3:3. The total contributed to the partnership is $100,000. Profit for the first year is $300,000. Because the ratio is 4:3:3, S’s net capital would be $120,000. T and Us net capital would be $90,000 each, for a total of $300,000. If the partnership decides to add a partner, whatever was determined in the partnership agreement will determine what steps to take for adding this new partner. Adding a new partner normally adds profitability. If the partners decide to cease operations, there are two alternatives to help them decide which approach is better for the business: liquidation or dissolution. â€Å"Liquidation refers to the complete sale of the business’ assets and dissolution refers to the closure of a business, often on voluntary terms of the business owner. Liquidation means that the business is closing its doors and liquidating all noncash assets and liabilities. Dissolution may mean that the partnership is dissolving and a new partnership, another partnership or business is buying out the business, or the business is dissolving. When considering dissolution, there are two types, a technical dissolution and a general dissolution . A technical dissolution is when there is a change in the composi tion of the business. A general dissolution is a complete dissolution or winding up of the partnership and the business. The dissolution may result with a mutual agreement of all partners, a partner being served notice, a court order, fraud, misrepresentation, or illegal activity, or where the business is not making a profit. Whether liquidating or winding up a business, transactions to process are the collection of receivables, conversion of oncash assets to cash, payments to creditors, liabilities closed out, and the remaining distribution of net balance to the partners, in cash . When starting a business with a partnership, it is with the intent purpose of longevity.

Dickens a Christmas Carol and Priestley’s Essay

By bragging about his knighthood and talking about his strong capitalist views; â€Å"A man has to make his own way,† â€Å"community and all that nonsense,† Birling makes himself unpopular to the audience which is Preistley’s intension when Birling talks about the â€Å"Titanic being absolutely unsinkable,† and the fact that, â€Å"nobody wants war,† this creates dramatic irony as the audience know that the Titanic would sink on its maiden voyage, there would be two world wars, depression and strikes however, the characters don’t know this and in this case they don’t know that Birling is completely wrong in what he is saying. All of this creates a negative diction in which Priestley creates this wealthy, prosperous almost perfect family that looks splendid but is the opposite as they are ignorant and the lowest of low, especially to Priestley who strongly disagrees with their capitalist views. Birling can be compared to scrooge in â€Å"A Christmas carol,† as they both are prosperous, both don’t play a part in their community and they are both set up by Dickens and Priestly to be unsympathetic by using the same techniques like negative diction and them both being ignorant. In the opening scene we also learn about Birling’s family; his wife Sybil Birling who plays little part in the opening act, his son Eric who seems shy and close to being drunk, his â€Å"pretty† daughter Sheila who â€Å"is very pleased with life,† and her light hearted conversation shows she is youthful and enthusiastic. There is also one visitor present, Sheila’s fianci Gerald who is, â€Å"attractive,† and â€Å"the easy well-bred young man-about-town. † His father owns a large business; Crofts Limited and when making his speech, Birling says that, â€Å"we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together,† which means that Birling being the man we now know him to be, sees his daughters engagement as a clear opportunity for a business deal. However things seem unstable between Sheila and Gerald when she mentions, â€Å"last summer,† in a â€Å"half playful, half serious,† tone. Priestly does this to show that although they look perfect, they all obviously have problems creates unease in the atmosphere and causes conflict and anxiety. The Inspectors arrival instantly adds tension as the lighting is changed on stage to be, â€Å"brighter and harder,† which signals a change of mood in the play and also seems to add menace to the Birling family. Priestley describes the Inspector to be man who; â€Å"creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness. † This tells the audience that this character is important and the fact that he speaks, â€Å"carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard of the person he addresses before actually speaking,† also gives the impression that he knows, hopefully as well as the audience, how ignorant and wrong the family is. The inspector speaks to each of them: â€Å"gravely,† â€Å"dryly,† â€Å"slowly,† â€Å"steadily,† â€Å"plainly,† â€Å"coolly,† â€Å"with authority,† â€Å"massively,† and â€Å"sharply,† which builds up a moralising tone. From this early stage Priestley presents him as a judge and jury of the family’s wrong doings and almost a philosopher and social observer rather than a policeman. For example â€Å"it’s my duty to ask questions,† and in the case of Eva Smith, â€Å"what happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide,† comments like these would be out of place being said by a police man. In â€Å"A Christmas Carol,† Dickens voiced his opinions through different characters, in â€Å"An Inspector Calls,† Priestley voices his socialist views through the Inspector when he describes Eva Smith by; using the repetition of no; â€Å"No work, no money,† listing; â€Å"few friends, lonely, half starved,† and emotive language. He also uses biblical reference similar to Dickens, â€Å"we are members of one body,† which is part of a communion prayer which means that we are all equal in the sight of God and that he sees no class barriers. Another example is, â€Å"fire and blood and anguish,† which is a biblical reference to hell and links to World War 1 which Priestley fought in. Also like Dickens he unites the speaker and the audience by using the plural, personal pronoun, â€Å"we,† which emphasises his positive views on the idea of community. The Inspector, referring to Eva Smith says, â€Å"There are a lot of young women living that sort of existence in every city and big town in the country,† â€Å"If there weren’t, the factories and warehouses wouldn’t know where to look for cheap labour,† this is a general social point Priestley is making as well as the fact that there is no clear dividing line between different elements of society, for example, Gerald says, â€Å"we’re respectable citizens not criminals! † to which the Inspector replies, â€Å"Sometimes there isn’t as much difference as you think. † This brings out Priestley’s positive views on the community, that we are all responsible for each other, that we are all part of humanity and we need to share our problems. Also like Dickens’ â€Å"A Christmas Carol,† Priestley gives the Inspector the role of mystic, all knowing power; Shelia notices this when she says to him â€Å"I don’t understand you. † This can be linked to Ouspensky’s theory that existence is a cycle of lives, which we can only escape from if we change them with the help of a gifted or extraordinary person; in this case that person is the Inspector. Through the whole play the Inspector rids the Birling family of their respectability as the audience feel, with the persuasive techniques of the Inspector, that not only are they on trial but the whole of the people in their advantaged social position for treating people like Eva Smith badly; â€Å"Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges,† the antithesis in this emphasises Priestley’s just spoken message. Before the Inspector leaves he makes a powerful, prophet like speech, which summarises the play’s philosophy; â€Å"We don’t live alone,† and â€Å"We are responsible for each other;† a biblical message, shows Priestley’s sense for community and the antithesis of â€Å"if men will not learn that lesson they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish. † represents the two World Wars to come as the play is set in 1912 and it was performed in 1945, to tell the audience that we haven’t learnt anything. The Inspectors speech is very compelling and is used to voice Priestley’s views to the audience. The repetition of â€Å"we,† is a persuasive technique that he uses as well as Dickens’ to captivate the audience and to make them realise that it also involves them. There is a huge difference in the older and younger generations of the family to the reaction of Eva smith. The eldest, for example Mr Birling is not nearly as effect by the story as Shelia who reacts emotionally. She also readily agrees that she has behaved badly and is prepared to admit her faults. She also is keen to change her behaviour; â€Å"I’ll never, never do it again. † Her brother Eric is also anxious to change his ways for the future and is deeply sorry for what he did, together they are also ashamed of their parents; Eric says to his mother, â€Å"You don’t understand anything. You never did. You never even tried. † She and her husband however are less remorseful, Birling in particular as he refuses to take any responsibility for Eva Smith’s death and seems to be more concerned about the money Eric stole from him than Eric’s treatment to Eva Smith. He is also concerned about keeping his ever so important social status when he says to his wife that, â€Å"It isn’t going to do us much good,† and, â€Å"The press might easily take it up,† this shows how ignorant he is and that he represents Priestley’s disgust of capitalist businessmen who are only interested in making money. From this it is clear that it is left up to the younger generation to learn from their mistakes and to change the future to which the Inspector adds, â€Å"They’re more impressionable. † Priestley makes crucial parts of the play more dramatic by using tension; before the Inspector arrives there is a slight unease as Sheila brought up, â€Å"last summer,† to Gerald, which tells us that something already isn’t quite right in the family, there is also irony as Gerald jokingly suggests that, â€Å"Eric has been up to something,† Eric is not amused and uncomfortable at this remark, Gerald insists it’s a â€Å"joke,† but we later find out he has been up to something. The Inspector enters straight after this and again there is more tension built up by him questioning Birling and Sheila but even more so when he begins to question Gerald who reveals that he was with Eva Smith â€Å"last summer,† the act then ends as the Inspector enters and says, â€Å"Well? † This leaves the audience in huge suspense and anticipating what will happen next. After questioning Gerald and Mrs Birling, which adds even more tension when she says that the boy who got Eva Smith pregnant should be, â€Å"compelled to confess in public,† not realising that this boy was her own son Eric, who enters after the Inspector tells her who the boy is. There is huge anxiety and stress now as the inspector has interrogated them all, he leaves with a compelling speech and after this the tension fades away as the family question the Inspectors presence. Was he an Inspector? Was Eva Smith real? They all start to relax apart from the youngest who are ashamed of their behaviour, the eldest seem to be, â€Å"amused,† and the word, â€Å"joke,† reappears, to which straight away the telephone rings, a moments silence creates worry and large amounts of anxiety build up. As Birling tells his family a police Inspector is on his way they all â€Å"stare guiltily and dumbfounded† as the curtain falls. Ending the play here would leave the play open for the audience to make their own decision on what would happen next again this would add tension. Priestley’s intention when adding tension at crucial parts in the play is to make them more memorable and for the audience to really think about the characters involved. It also highlights his message that he is trying to get across; we should all live as a community and see each other as equals. â€Å"A Christmas Carol,† and â€Å"An Inspector Calls,† are similar as they both contain the supernatural and the idea of fate. â€Å"A Christmas Carol,† involves ghosts and spirits, which give us the message that if we do not change our ways for the better we will be punished. This is also true for, â€Å"An Inspector Calls,† as it has a philosophical theme that society needs to change, however, the supernatural is only hinted at as the characters suspect that the Inspector wasn’t real and they have no proof that he was. The Inspector had a moralising almost prophet like presence similar to the spirits. Priestley’s play follows Ouspensky’s theory, as the Inspector is the extraordinary person who changes the lives of the Birling household. Even though Dickens did not know this theory it can be compared to it, as his novel is based on a very similar theme. In, â€Å"A Christmas Carol,† the gifted or extraordinary people who change lives are the spirits. Both texts also follow the concept that in our lives there are significant moments we make which can lead to disaster or salvation; in â€Å"An Inspector Calls,† the Inspector analyses these moments and tries to make the characters see where they have gone wrong. In, â€Å"A Christmas Carol,† Scrooge sees his past present and future and realises that he too has made the wrong decisions in life and plans to change them. The Characters in both stories can also be compared for their similarities; there are the villains; Scrooge and Birling, who are written to be disliked. Both are ignorant, arrogant and have no sense of community that both authors are for. They both symbolise the capitalist businessmen who turn a blind eye to everyone else. In both narratives there are also the victims of the villains behaviour and actions; Tiny Tim and Eva Smith. These characters symbolise the poor; Eva Smith represents the lives of many women of that time. We learn that even though she has been hard done to, she still has the highest morals; she didn’t accept the stolen money that Eric offered her and reclined his offer of marriage, as he didn’t love her. Preistly writes her this way to show that these women are not bad people and that they should not be judged on their social class. Tiny Tim symbolises the poor in, â€Å"A Christmas Carol,† as he creates sympathy for the reader; he is ill and still tries to enjoy life. In both texts, the victims die as part of the villain cruel and unjust behaviour. Both also have a theme of repentance; Eric and Shelia are deeply sorry and ashamed of how they behaved and plan to change their ways if possible. Marley also carries this theme of regret when he comes and warns Scrooge to alter. Each of these characters represents the authors beliefs that we should change become a stronger community and disregard each other’s differences. In both texts there are differences, the obvious being that one is a novel and one is a play. This variation effects how the messages are conveyed; â€Å"A Christmas Carol,† shows the message clearly, and goes into more detail about characters emotions. â€Å"An Inspector Calls,† illustrates the message in a less obvious way and leaves the audience thinking more about its message. The characters emotions can only really be displayed when acting which would give the audience a much clearer image. The more realistic of the two is, â€Å"An Inspector Calls,† because it contains less of the supernatural which makes it easier to believe. â€Å"A Christmas Carol,† could be called a fairytale, as the idea of ghosts and spirits is very unrealistic. Scrooge changes his attitudes through out the novel and is a totally different person from the beginning to the end. This can be said for the younger members of the Birling family; Sheila and Eric both feel wrong and guilty. They too, plan to change how they behave and act. Nevertheless, Mr Birling and Mrs Birling show no signs of changing their capitalist beliefs and they don’t plan to act any differently than before.

Research Qualitative Review

This paper will critique the qualitative study written by Peiters, et al. (2011), which looks at the journey and barriers older women diagnosed with breast cancer must hurdle to receive treatment. This research was to reveal the complexities of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and life in general for women greater than seventy-years old. To achieve this task, Peiters, et al. , (2011) implemented the constructivist grounded theory. The data analysis approach appropriately utilized for this research was constructivist grounded theory. This theory allows for self reflection during data gathering and analysis, which divulges any influential prejudices that may arise from both researcher and study subject. Influencing this theory is symbolic interactionism which emphasizes ones’ ultimate ambition and the lifelong social synergy that transpires to achieve it (Peiters, et al. , 2011). The recruitment of participants was obtained by posting flyers in public areas in Southern California and two bordering states. The locations targeted were oncology departments, cancer support agencies, oncologist offices, churches, senior community centers, and retirement centers. Newspaper advertisements, as well were used to elicit participation. Purposive and snowballing techniques were utilized. Screening for eligibility, clearly defined, was done via telephone for inclusions which ended with eighteen women all over the age of seventy, completed treatment for treatment for breast cancer within the last three to fifteen months. Informed consent was obtained and interviews took place mainly in homes or apartments lasting up to two and a half hours. One limitation of the study was that second interviews stopped at only ten women and may have excluded valuable new incite to the study, although researchers claim that second interviews revealed no new data, hence implying data saturation. Adequate thick description was given of the participants, setting and study processes to ensure transferability (Polit & Beck, 2012). Interviews were guided by a questionnaire and responses were tape recorded, followed by verbatim transcription. Examples of interview questions were provided for the reader to convey effectiveness of the process (Polit & Beck, 2012). Other helpful tables provided were the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Category schemes revealed are three barriers that theses breast cancer survivors faced, which were lack of information, preexisting co-morbidities and multiple health care appointments. These schemes prove logical for the study as they helped elaborate the purpose of the research. Multiple passages from the participants were extracted to give evidence of well interpreted data and emotional state of the participants. Data analysis was systematic initial coding, followed by focused coding using ATLAS. ti, version 6. to magnify reoccurring data. To create a audit trail, memos, field notes and diagrams were written. Two researchers, one of them being the principle investigator and the other well versed in grounded theory analysis, were responsible for coding and analyzing the data. In nursing the level of evidence provides assurance for the methods that were utilized for the study (Polit & Beck, 2012). This research would qualify as level VI, given that it is a single descriptive, qualitative, physiologic study specific to women aged seventy or older and their journey through life with breast cancer. The goals of this research are affirmed by the extensive detailed interviews of eighteen older women and their struggles with breast cancer. Each participant plummeted through barricades to recieveing health care. The importance of an oncology nurse navigator emerged as a valuable role to help clarify the process of obtaining services for healthcare. Meticulous care was taken in the transcription of taped interviews and explicit excerpts were bestowed to the reader to ensure trustworthiness.