Liechtenstein :: History Europe Essays

The history of Liechtenstein, combined with its form of government, a constitutional hereditary monarchy nates explain its geographic size. It was one of the several(prenominal) principalities of the Holy Roman Empire, which has survived to this day. Because it retained its royal family, political support is high. Its royal family brings a sense of individualism and issue pride to a small nation which otherwise would conduct little reason for being sovereign. Introduction Liechtensteins current position has been largely shaped by its history and geography. From a Roman outpost to a principality under the Holy Roman Empire, to a hereditary constitutional monarchy, this small state has been affect by the changing of its sovereigns, which had been primarily based on its geographical location along the upper Rhine. This tiny principality has reacted to its history and geography. The prince is a very authorised part of national identity. It is something which sets the Liechte nsteiners apart from its neighbors. Even though Liechtenstein depends on Switzerland for most of its needs, Liechtensteins constitutional monarchy is an area of loyalty. Explanation of the Applicable National Standards for Geography This paper contains several applicable national standards for geography. Liechtensteins position in the Alps and on the Rhine apply to analyzing the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earths surface. Because of the modern trend of globalization, and consolidation, many people have never heard of Liechtenstein. This applies to how culture and experience influence peoples perceptions of places and regions. Liechtensteins diminutive size can be applied in using geography to fork over the past, to interpret the present, and plan for the future. History of LiechtensteinFrom Earliest Times to Holy Roman Empire Liechtenstein has had an extensive past. Sovereignty has changed hands several times, but the nation now cognise as The Principality of Liechtenstein has been in full existence since 1866 (1). Scholars have found that there was a settlement there in the Neolithic age. Later, starting in 800 BC the Rhaetians began to colonize the area. In 15 BC the Romans conquered the area, and later set up Schaan Castle to protect the alpine passes from attacks from the Germanic peoples (1). Its position on the Rhine and approximate to the Danube was close to the borders of the Roman Empire.

Mind, Body, Media Essay -- Science Religion Papers

Mind, Body, MediaIt waits as though organized religion, specifically Christianity, has always reacted with hostility towards scientific advancements. Examples of the churchs animosity towards scientific discoveries that threatened their power, influence, and believability plague the history books. During the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution many scientists were ostracized from the church for their theories and discoveries. For example, Giordono Bruno, a follower of the Hermetic tradition and an outspoken supporter of the Copernican theory, was summoned by the church to appear before an Inquisition whereby he was found guilty of blasphemy and condemned to death. He was burned at the stake in 1600 (Perry, 70). Galilei Galileo and Johannes Kepler suffered less foul punishments in that they were only excommunicated from the church. Presently, research and scientific discovery are more collective and tend to be funded by corporations thus making it more trying to pinpoint individu al offenses, moreover the church continues to criticize and condemn science in areas such as cloning and stem cell research, to name but a few. Before examing the topic of A.I. and religion, it is important to understand why the chasm between the two institutions exists. I will briefly analyze the churchs strength on the subject of the Internet, which clarifies their stance on A.I. Many scholars, historians, and church leaders are skeptical about the possibility of a harmonious relationship maturation between the church and science. Because the church and its doctrines are based upon ethereal claims and science is rooted in empiricism and veritable evidence, nonions of truth are the points at which their differences seem to culminate and their dia... ... clear set guidelines that make living with each other generally safe and when executed correctly, harmonious.There are many questions that have not been answered in this treatise and many wishful outcomes that depend on certain circumstances in order to be fulfilled, however, if A.I., religion, and society were to embrace each other and free the nature of each discipline and being to flourish, then I believe that finally, there will be a compatible working relationship organise between science and religion. Works CitedCootsona, Gregory S. Questions Regarding A.I., The Internet, and The Church. New York. 25 Jul. 2001.Hook, Sidney. Marx and the Marxists. Van Nostrand Punblishing Company, 1955.Page, Benjamin B. Marxism and Spirituality. Bergin and Garvey, 1993.Russell, Keith. Believing in God and Science. Insight on the News 20 (1998) 12-13.

Around The Way Love :: essays research papers

Around the Way LoverThis is story only about how my life got flipped turned upside worst I like to take a minute just sit right there, Ill tell you how I became in love with the young woman around the way.In the summer of 1995, I met this beautiful Mexican girl that just moved on my block. I was only in 5th grade and she was in sixth and 1year older than I was. I met her threw my takeoff boosters that I played with everyday on my block. When I walked outside one day I saw this unfamiliar girl coloring with my friends on the sidewalk. I asked my best friend Brian who she was and he told me she was the new girl on the block. When Brian and I walked over, to go talk to our friends, I sat down right next to the new girl and asked her what her name was. She said Bianca but In a really shy voice. Through out the whole summer I talked to her and got to really know her. Then when the school year started I remember always getting home and trying to get all my preparation done just so I could go outside and talk with her. Then about 4 months after meeting unfamiliar face, I told my friends, that I liked Bianca and I wanted to go out with her. But all my friend told me was to go and ask her out myself. So about a month later I finally got the guts to ask her while I was walking her home from our friends house. I remember I was so scared while I was asking her and she could tell I was because I was pretty much stuttering while talking to her. Then finally she spoke out saying, are you trying to ask me out? Then I said, yes. She said she doesnt know because her mom doesnt want her to have a boyfriend and she would tell me the next day. Then I went back and told all 5 of our friends that she said she would tell me the next day. The rest of that night we were outside all I could think about is what her answer would be. Then the next day about 1230p.m. my friend called me up and said that she talked to Bianca and she was going to say no, because I was younger than she was.

A Deeper Look at ?Neighbors? Essay -- essays research papers

In the story Neighbors, a man and a womans true nature is revealed when cryptograph is watching. circuit card and Arlene Miller are introduced as a normal, happy, middle class married couple, but they feel less important than their friends Harriet and Jim fossa, who live in the apartment across the hall. The Millers perceive the Stones to have a better and more eventful life. The Stones get to travel often because o Jims job, leaving their ca and plants n the care of the Millers. When the Stones leave on their vacation, the two families seem like good friends, but the depth of the Millers jealousy is revealed as a kind of obsession with the Stones everyday life.The first night the Millers house sit, Bill tends to the cat, and then to his obsessive curiosity. He wanders through the Stones medicine cabinets, and steal a bottle of Harriets pills. This comes as a surprise to the reader because there is not any indication that Bill might act this way. Only after his curiosity is fulf illed does he carry out the rest of his house sitting duties by watering the plants. This shows that he is more concerned with his own needs than those or his neighbors. When Bill returns to his own apartment, arouse after being in the Stones apartment, he fondles his wifes breasts and asks her if she wants to sleep with him that night. Here the reader can start to get a hint that Bill gets a sexual turn-on from being in the Stones apartment....

Cigarette Litigation Essay -- essays research papers fc

Cigarette LitigationIn August 1970 a jumper lead tobacco defense attorney, David R. Hardy, wrote a confidential letter warning that indiscreet comments by industry scientists, including references to biologically active components of cigarette mass and the search for a safer cigarette, constitute a real threat to the go on success in the defense of smoking and health litigation. The actual knowledge on the part of the suspect that smoking is generally dangerous to health, that certain ingredients are dangerous to health and should be removed, or that smoking causes a particular disease. This would not only be evidence that would substantially prove a case against the defendant company for compensatory damages, but could be considered as evidence of willfulness or recklessness adapted to support a claim for punitive damages. As the evidence about the health hazards of smoking accumulated, and especially after the 1964 surgeon generals report, liability protection. The cigarette c ompanies continued to aim propaganda about the smoking and health controversy at the general public. The Cigarette Papers describes plans in 1969 for a public relations campaign intend to set aside in the minds of millions the false conviction that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer and other diseases. As late as 1985, R.J. Reynolds ran misleading ads suggesting that a monumental epidemiological study had not found evidence of a link between smoking and heart disease. The tobacco companies have always feared that one prospering suit would lead to a flood of litigation, sweeping the industry away. Nowadays that fear seems more realistic than ever, given the hundreds of pending state lawsuits, secondhand smoke claims, class actions, and cases filed by individual smokers. The case started when two small-town Mississippi lawyers declared war on Tobacco Companies and skillfully pursued a daring freshly litigation strategy that ultimately brought the industry to the negotiating table . For forty years tobacco companies had won every lawsuit brought against them and never paid out a dime. In 1997 that all changed. The industry agreed to a historic deal to pay $368 billion in health-related damages and tear down billboard advertisements.Mississippis Attorney popular Mike Moore joined forces with his classmate attorney Dick Scruggs and sued tobacco companies on behalf of the states t... ...ials01.htmLawyers in Early Tobacco Suits to Get $8 Billion http//nytimes.qpass.com/qpass-archives/fastweb?QProd=19&QIID=1998arcDOC109434&NYTID=&Srch=state_id=1+view=view+ mercantilismid=doc+docdb=1998arc+dbname=db+TemplateName=doc.tmplCompanies Cost Would Be Great, But So Is Their Outlook for Profit http//nytimes.qpass.com/qpassarchives/fastweb?QProd=19&QIID=1997arcDOC47100&NYTID=&Srch=state_id=1+view=view+docid=doc+docdb=1997arc+dbname=db+TemplateName=doc.tmplPhilip Morris Admits Evidence Shows Smoking Causes Cancerhttp//nytimes.qpass.com/qpass-archives/fastweb?QProd=19&QIID=1 999arcDOC84540&NYTID=&Srch=state_id=1+view=view+docid=doc+docdb=1999arc+dbname=db+TemplateName=doc.tmplSenate Approves Limiting Fees Lawyers Get in Tobacco Cases new-fangled York Raising Tax on Cigarettes To Help Uninsured http//nytimes.qpass.com/qpass-archives/fastweb?QProd=19&QIID=1999arcDOC104461&NYTID=&Srch=state_id=1+view=view+docid=doc+docdb=1999arc+dbname=db+TemplateName=doc.tmplInside The Tobacco Dealhttp//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ solving/etc/synopsis.htmlActual Knowledgehttp//reason.com/9612/bk.jacob.shtml

Cigarette Litigation Essay -- essays research papers fc

Cig artte LitigationIn August 1970 a leading tobacco defense attorney, David R. Hardy, wrote a confidential letter warning that indiscreet comments by industry scientists, including references to biologically active components of cigarette smoke and the search for a safer cigarette, constitute a real threat to the go along success in the defense of smoking and health litigation. The actual knowledge on the part of the defendant that smoking is generally dangerous to health, that certain ingredients are dangerous to health and should be removed, or that smoking causes a particular disease. This would not only be say that would substantially prove a suit of clothes against the defendant company for compensatory damages, but could be considered as evidence of willfulness or recklessness sufficient to support a claim for punitive damages. As the evidence about the health hazards of smoking accumulated, and especially after the 1964 surgeon generals report, liability protection. The c igarette companies continued to aim propaganda about the smoking and health rock at the general public. The Cigarette Papers describes plans in 1969 for a public relations campaign intended to set aside in the minds of millions the false doctrine that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer and other diseases. As late as 1985, R.J. Reynolds ran misleading ads suggesting that a large epidemiological study had not found evidence of a link between smoking and heart disease. The tobacco companies have always feared that one successful suit would lead to a flood of litigation, wholesale the industry away. Nowadays that fear seems more realistic than ever, given the hundreds of pending state lawsuits, secondhand smoke claims, class actions, and cases filed by individual smokers. The case started when twain small-town Mississippi lawyers declared war on Tobacco Companies and skillfully pursued a daring new litigation strategy that ultimately brought the industry to the negotiating table. F or twoscore years tobacco companies had won every lawsuit brought against them and never paid out a dime. In 1997 that all changed. The industry agreed to a historical deal to pay $368 billion in health-related damages and tear down billboard advertisements.Mississippis Attorney General Mike Moore joined forces with his classmate attorney shot Scruggs and sued tobacco companies on behalf of the states t... ...ials01.htmLawyers in Early Tobacco Suits to Get $8 Billion http//nytimes.qpass.com/qpass-archives/fastweb?QProd=19&QIID=1998arcDOC109434&NYTID=&Srch=state_id=1+view=view+docid=doc+docdb=1998arc+dbname=db+TemplateName=doc.tmplCompanies be Would Be Great, But So Is Their Outlook for Profit http//nytimes.qpass.com/qpassarchives/fastweb?QProd=19&QIID=1997arcDOC47100&NYTID=&Srch=state_id=1+view=view+docid=doc+docdb=1997arc+dbname=db+TemplateName=doc.tmplPhilip Morris Admits Evidence Shows Smoking Causes Cancerhttp//nytimes.qpass.com/qpass-archives/fastweb?QProd=19&QIID=1999arcD OC84540&NYTID=&Srch=state_id=1+view=view+docid=doc+docdb=1999arc+dbname=db+TemplateName=doc.tmplSenate Approves Limiting Fees Lawyers Get in Tobacco CasesNew York Raising Tax on Cigarettes To Help uninsured http//nytimes.qpass.com/qpass-archives/fastweb?QProd=19&QIID=1999arcDOC104461&NYTID=&Srch=state_id=1+view=view+docid=doc+docdb=1999arc+dbname=db+TemplateName=doc.tmplInside The Tobacco Dealhttp//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/settlement/etc/synopsis.htmlActual Knowledgehttp//reason.com/9612/bk.jacob.shtml

Rain- Directed by Christine Jeffs Essay

A childs life has many milestones such as learning to walk, learning to talk and their starting mean solar day at school. Throughout all these stages p bents are obliged to provide guidance, safety and support for their children as they learn to interpreate the world for themselves. Christine Jeffs visual text, Rain explores the romance of thirteen year old, Janey whose parents are so caught up in self-absorption, they give way their agnate contributions to both Janey and her younger brother Jim.This up-bringing of Janey and Jim leave the audience pondering, Does the abandon handst of morale parents roles perform a childs transition into adolescence? The consequences of neglecting Janey through her first steps into womanhood, ricochet on Janeys parents, and damage her perception of the adult world eternally. From the viewers first introduction to Janey, a high angle shot of her floating in a starfish position, gives us a deceitful impression almost this upliftmingly, desig n carefree life of a young teenage girl. The typical sunny scenery, clear blue water and weatherboard batches sets Christine Jeffs viewers to believe that Janey is surrounded by family life and fun, sharing barbeques and summer swims at their beloved family batch. Christine Jeffs has deliberately juxta-positioned this with a shot of Janey and her mum swimming, further her mum is holding a glass of alcohol. Janeys mother lets go of the glass, and as it begins to sink to the sea floor, a low angle shot shows Janey diving after it. This immediately leaves the viewer confused about the role model Janey is following, would a normal family allow their thirteen year old daughter to frantically chase a glass of alcohol, or would they be more concerned for their daughters safety in deep water? This initial establishment of Janey and her mothers relationship reveal to the viewers that Janey is growing up under the influence of an irresponsible parent who fails to teach suitable priorities t o her young daughter.Janey is being led to believe that alcohol is desirable and should be prioritized even if detrimental obstacles are to be faced. This acceptation of alcohol becoming an idolized part of adolescence and womanhood reveal to Jeffs audience that the inappropriate role model Janeys mum is offering her daughter is leading her towards an un-healthy road into womanhood and giving her the belief that the world is like one of her toy dolls, she can plump it up and be responsible when she feels like, or she can throw it away and hide it. Janey is curious about the next stage of her life, wanting to become a woman. All around her are clues to what this responsibility might entail, but she is left on her own to uncover if her adult role models portray due date appropriately.We are shown Janeys view from beside a tree of her mother kissing Cadey, a new family friend. We are then shown Janey witnessing her Mum kissing Cadey again through the sewer door. Jeffs has deliberate ly positioned the audience to see through Janeys view of the bathroom door. This angle reveals to the audience that Janeys view of adulthood is hold, she is only overt to the irresponsible actions of her mother, and is therefore copy an un-realistic role model. As viewers we are confused and disgusted that a married woman is being intimate with a family friend who is staying under the corresponding family roof as her husband and two children, especially Janey who witnesses her mothers actions and believes that being a woman means that drinking and kissing unfamiliar men at parties is normal. Its okay, its fun to kiss boys, this quote , from Janeys mother is an example of the inappropriate advice Janey is being given. Jeffs viewers are positioned to see a mother, who leaves her children to their own devices, surrounded by strangers while she devotes her life to drinking and flirting with men at parties and family functions. Janey is influenced by this woman figure in her life, and meaninglessly kisses a boy of her age, before shoving him onto the floor, this is Janeys perception of intimacy, as she has learnt from her mother and she believes her actions are meaningless and that she is in control of the consequences.The actions of Janey bewilder Jeffs audience, as we realize that Janey is mimicking her mothers actions, however Janey does not have any true sexual desire and she is unconscious of the situations she is leading herself into. Jeffs audience begin to understand that because Janey had been left un-guided by her parents into her teenage life, she has no true understanding of how her actions will leave her vulnerable and she has no escape. Throughout the film, we are shown Janeys feeling toward Cadey, a man who has participated in an occasion with Janeys mother, and takes advantage of Janeys immaturity and inexperience with decision making. Cadey blatantly grooms Janey in front of her mother, making conversation with her which Janey believes she is i n control of and feels special. Would you like a drink? Cadey offers Janey alcohol and cigarettes during a family outing on his boat, even though he knows she is only thirteen. Janeys mum is dissatisfied within her marriage and unaware that her self-absorption has left her oblivious to Janeys encounters with Cadey and the obvious signs of his intentions. Later, when Janey ventures into the forest alone with Cadey we are shown a worms eye view shot, the tree height is enhanced, and as viewers we are positioned into Janeys vulnerable situation. Janey is unaware of just how small she is and the situation she is setting herself up for with this grown man. The next shot of Janey lying in the crucifix position, defenceless on the forest floor is a worryingly disturbing scene for Jeffs viewers, and outlines the vulnerability of Janey. Janeys copycat behaviour of her mother and neglect of parental guidance throughout her stages of curiosity into womanhood from her parents has led her to tr agedy. Raised by a poor decision making mother, whose own marital dissatisfaction led her to neglect her children, Janey also has to live with her poor decisions and actions with Cadey, which left her younger brother, Jim to his own devices alone at the beach resulted in him drowning. These consequences have ricocheted from Janeys parents neglect of their roles and guiders and providers of safety to their children and Janey essential now live with the catastrophic loss of her brother and horrifying entrance into womanhood due to her mis-guidance and belief that she, like her mother was in control.Janeys limited guidance, experience and understanding of the world, left her vulnerable and exposed to predators such as Cadey, who took advantage of her parents neglect and her curiosity. Christine Jeffs viewers are shown a tragic story of the consequences of poor parenting and decision making, and how our actions influence our younger generation. Through main character Janey, Jeffs viewe rs are positioned to recognize the danger Janey and her brother are exposed to and how easy it is for our actions to be witnessed and used as a role model for others and we are left to ponder if our actions could damage the future of others who idolize their elders. Jeffs audience are shown how through the neglect of guidance and parenting, childrens transitions into adulthood can leave them vulnerable and damaged for the rest of their lives

Advanced practice nurse role within palliative care Essay

The purpose of this assignment is to comp be and contrast the current books related to advanced nursing blueprint. And to relate this literature to my practice and the role of the palliative billing arrest across clinical settings.In my current role as a injure declare specialist, I am pertaind in the circumspection and management of perseverings with intrathecal (IT) catheters mainly for patients with intractable crabmeat disorder. Patients who have been tried and failed on escalating doses of various opiates, and continue to have disappointing pain management with intolerable side effects are a lot referred to our dish up for consideration for an intrathecal catheter. Intrathecal catheters have been use for many years now in effort to target the specific pain pathways deep down the spinal cord, as the medication is delivered directly into the Central nervous system, only small doses are required, and thusly patients experience less side effects, with modifyd pain c ontrol (Myers, J. Chan, V., Jarvis, V., Walker-Dilks, C., 2010).The majority of these patients are approaching the end stages of their disease process, in that locationfore we work quite almost with the hospital Palliative apportion service when the patient in an inpatient. even so post discharge we visit the patients weekly in their own homes, this often involves functional at an advanced nursing level, work autonomously, assessing the patient and titrating medication via their IT pump, with some direction from the doctor at Auckland hospital. However this role similarly involves providing the patient and their family with an fragment of palliative care also, they often require additional emotional support at this stage.In 2002 the World health organization (WHO) defined palliative care as An approach that improves the quality of manners of patients and their families facing he problems associated with life threatening unhealthiness, through the prevention and relief of s uffering by means of former(a) identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.Advanced nursing practice refers to take fors working at an expanded level of practice within a change area. Advanced practice is generally defined as the integration of practical knowledge, clinical experience, theoretical knowledge and research base, education, and may involve organization leadership (ANA, 1995). The term advanced practice has been given to various roles within nursing, such as Clinical nurse specialists (CNS), nurse practitioners (NPs) and other specialized roles within nursing, such as the anaesthetic nurse (Davies, Hughes, 1995).The literature related to advanced nursing practice and palliative care was reviewed using online databases, such as Medline, Ovid, Pubmed and the Cumulative index for nursing and allied health literature (CINAHL). Key words used in the search, were advanced practice nursing, Clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner, palliative care and nurse prescribing.After reviewing the literature, three articles were selected, and will be summarized below.Article oneIn 2004 Aigner et al did a comparative degree study of nursing resident issuecomes between care provided by NP/Physicians, compared to Physicians only. The study was based in Texas, USA. The main objective of the study was to restrict how the standard of care for nursing homes residents compares when provided by either NP/Physician, or physician only.Eight nursing homes were evaluated, and two hundred and three residents were randomly blinded. Chi-squared tests were used for comparability for the data analysis.Four outcomes were selected to assess the quality of the care provided by the two groups, they were, patients charts were retrospectively reviewed and the following outcome assessed-Number of pre displaceations to the emergency department (ED), the appeal of the visit, and the diagnosis.Number of h ospital admissions in general, and the cost of being admitted to hospital.The number of acute visits and diagnoses for that visit.The completion of progress notes, patient histories and assessments. too the average number of medications used by each subject and the number of telephone calls and / or beeps relayed to the nurse practitioner, was collated. Comparisons were also made between the two groups regarding, diagnosis made during acute visits compared to during hospital admissions, and the comparison between the cost of recurrent admissions versus hospitalization (Aigner, M., Drew, S., Phipps, J., 2004).The results overall did not show a operative difference of care provided by either the NP/physician group compared to the physician only group. No decrease was found in the amount of ED presentations and the costs were approximately the same. There was however a significant difference in the amount of acute visits made by the NP/Physician group , which was likely related to an increase presence of the NP in the nursing homes (PIf a similar study was to be conducted again, it would interesting to explore patient satisfaction between the two groups, and the satisfaction of the other staff working within each clinical area. And also to look more than into cost effectiveness.Article 2Macmillian nursing was first introduced to the UK in 1975, and today there are over 2000 Macmillan nurses. The role of the Macmillan nurse is a specialist palliative care nursing role that involves expert clinical skills, consultation, education, teaching and leadership (Corner et al, 2002).In 2007 Ryan -Woolley, McHugh, G. and Lucker, K. conducted a study in Manchester, looking at Macmillan nurses view on nurse prescribing in cancer and palliative care medicine. It looked at the perceived motivators of why specialist nurses entangle nurse prescribing would benefit them and their patient groups, and also explored the potential barriers to fostering for the implementation of t his extended role.A national postal survey was sent out to 2225 Macmillan nurses throughout the UK, 70% response rate was achieved (1575), 11% of Macmillan nurses who responded were already trained as extended formulary independent nurse tellrs. Half of the nurses (88 of 168) were able to prescribe from the extended drug formulary. The mean age was 43.9 years (SD 7.3), with a range 26-63 years. The majority of the nurses that responded were either working as palliative care clinical nurse specialists (CNS) (772, 49.0%) or tumour site specific CNS (413, 26.2%). early(a)s were either working as different types of CNS in the community (83, 5.3%), oncology (61, 3.9%) and chemotherapy (19, 1.2%) or as a lead cancer nurse (45, 2.9%) (Ryan-Woolley et al, 2007).Extended formulary independent nurse prescribing (EFINP) was initiated in the UK in 2002, to allow patients to get improved main course to medicines and also deem the best use of nurses clinical skills and experience. This differs from independent nurse prescribing, as independent nurse prescribers may need to assess and diagnose and treat patients (Ryan-Wooley et al, 2007). 21% or nurses who completed his survey had completed the EFINP course., some had completed other relevant courses that enabled them to be independent prescribers, and 2% were in the process of completing the EFINP course (Ryan-Wooley et al, 2007).In the surveys the overall agreement was that nurse prescribing improved patients care by enabling them to receive their medication in a metrely fashion. One quarter of the prescribers felt there were issues around training, and that the medical mentoring was not adequate. Some felt that the training provided was not specific enough for cancer and palliative care nursing. Out of 88 of the nurses who were already prescribing, 44 were community based, 28 were hospital based, and the other 15 were based in both the hospital and community. The majority of the nurses had been prescribing regularly th roughout the early(prenominal) month. The qualifications of Macmillan nurses were mixed with around half having a first degree (57%) but only a minority (244 of 1504, 16.2%) having a Masters degree.Some of the barriers for nurse prescribing that were identify in the survey wereHaving a supportive organization and teamHaving medical supportClinical supervision/mentorshipMulti-disciplinary team (MDT) supportAppropriate guidelinesFinancial incentiveSupported practice and training once practicingAccess to GP computer systems (Ryan-Wooley et al, 2007).Article 3In 2012 Steiner, K., Carey, N, Courtney, M., did a study on the profile and practice of nurses who prescribe pain medication throughout the United Kingdom (UK). They looked at the nurse backgrounds, experience, work setting and prescribing practice. 214 nurses throughout the UK that were on the Association for nurse prescribing (ANP) website were sent a questionnaire. All participants were qualified as nurse independent /suppleme ntary prescribers (NIP/NSP). The questionnaire included fixed choice and open-ended questions. The questionnaire had four sectionsSection 1 cover demographic information (age, job title, area of practice, geographical area, type of services provided, how many nurse prescribers the service had, and what future provisions they had in place for nurse prescribers within that clinical area.Section 2 looked at prescribing qualifications, levels of experience and the area they practiced in.Section 3 focused on nurse prescribing within pain management, including the type of medications prescribed and the number of pain medications that would be prescribed during a typical week.Section 4 asked the nurses about the level of training they had received to stupefy a nurse prescriber, and if they were satisfied with the training program that they had undergone, and if they had any unfulfilled training needs. It also asked them what there preferred training method was.Out of the 214 nurses that r esponded, 35% were in primary health care and nurse practitioners, 11.7% were pain or palliative care nurses and 10% in emergency care. The nurses worked across a revolution of settings, bothprimary, secondary and tertiary care.43.1% prescribed pain medications up to 5 measure per week, and 42.6% prescribed between 6-20 times per week, and remainder prescribed upto 50 times per week. The main category nurses prescribed medication for was patients in acute pain post surgery (40.6%), 12% prescribed for patients with cancer or advanced illness (palliative care), 12.1% prescribed for chronic pain. A further 33.6% prescribed for patients with a overlap of different pains. The main types of medication prescribed were as follows-Paracetamol and Non steroidal anti inflammatories (95.3%)Opioids (34.6%)Other medications to treat side effects, such as antiemetics, were also prescribed by the nurses. The nurses who worked within a pain service or palliative care service were significantly mor e likely to prescribe opiates than the other participates (pThe lack of training at an appropriate level (n=9)The lack of support for role increment (n=1).The preferred learning methods of the nurses surveyed wereElearning (74.3%)Journals (69.6%)Formal study days (62.6%)Prescribing forum (57.5%)Work-based learning 45.3%) (Stenner et al, 2012).Despite the relatively low sample size, this study clearly identifies that nurses working in a wide variety of settings throughout the UK are prescribing pain medications. It also identifies that nurses in pain specialist or palliative care roles are more likely to have post graduate education in pain management, and also more likely to prescribe strong opioids. Training and development issues were highlighted. newsBy 2051, it has been predicted that there will be over 1.14 million people aged 65 years and over in new-made Zealand (NZ statistics, 2000), by 2051 there is likely to be about half as many elderly people than children (NZ Stats, 2000). In the last decade, the number of people being diagnosed with cancer has change magnitude by 24% (Ministry of health 2001). Therefore there will need to be sufficient palliative care services to meet the needs of an increase number of people with cancer. Introducing more NPs into specialist palliative care services would possible be a good way of managing the change magnitude workload predicted. More NPs in the community and residential care facilities may also take the strain off tertiary burdens, bypreventing hospital admissions.To assist with the predicted increase having NP or CNS that can prescribe will help ease the burden. The Acute pain service nurse specialists at Auckland city hospital are currently in the process of applying for expanded practice roles, to allow nurses with the correct post graduated training (according to NZ nursing council framework) to prescribe a limited number of medications, working alongside a designated prescriber. In 2013 the NZ nursing council put together a consultation scroll for expanded/extended nurse prescribing, it stated that the reason for this consultation is to improve patient care by enabling registered nurses to make prescribing decisions so patients receive more accessible, timely and convenient healthcare. The role of the Nursing Council is to ensure public safety in reaching that goal.The reasons for extending nurse prescribing are to improve patient care without pliable patient safety make it easier for patients to obtain the medicines they need increase patient choice in accessing medicines and make better use of the skills of health professionals (NZ Nursing council, 2013).In order for nurses to obtain expanded practice roles, professional development and recognition programs (PDRPs) are being introduced, so nurses have a framework to work to (Kai Tiaki, 2009).As discussed in both articles 2 and 3 there are likely to be some implications to the introduction of this new role, such as financial/ time restraints, lack of medical support, standardization of training and on going education needed to remain up to date on current practice (Ryan-Wooley at el, 2007, Stenner at el, 2012).However with the continued shortage of doctors and the continued increase for healthcare, especially within the older population, expanding the role of the nurse is a essential initiative, which is likely to improve patient outcomes (World health organization, 2006).Introducing expanded nurse roles and designated prescribing into palliative care services within New Zealand, especially in primary and residential home settings, may be a good way of managing the predicted increased need for more palliative care services in the future, secondary to the rise in the older population and the number of people being diagnosed with cancer. As mentioned in the above articles it will provide patients with a more effective service that they can access easily, decrease the burden on doctors, provide a more cost effective service, and likely a more holistic approach to patients (Aigner, M et al, 2004). Also more nurses may be inclined to train for the role as the expectation and education required is less than what is required to be an NP.In carnal knowledge to my role as a pain nurse specialist and caring for palliative patients with intrathecal catheters, I believe the implementation of expanded practice nursing with designated prescribing and or a Nurse Practitioner role would without a doubt improve patient outcomes. cark is the most concerning aspect for patients (and their family) facing the end stages of their life, and currently cancer pain is under-treated in nearly 50% of patients (Joshi, M., Chambers, W., 2010). At diagnosis 20-50% of cancer patients present with pain and 70 % of patients with advanced disease will require boastful doses of strong opiates for pain management (Joshi, M., Chambers, W., 2010).These patients will often end up being admitted into hospital for pain management, and management of associated side effects, and the quality of there life is often very impaired due to the side effects of opiates (drowsiness, nausea, pruritis etc ). consort to recent figures from Auckland hospital, the cost of an inpatient bed is over $4000 a day. When patients have intrathecal catheters inserted for their pain management, they require significantly less opiate, and therefore side effects are less. With good pain control and minimal side effects these patients can oftenreturn to there homes and have a better quality of life, and not require recurrent hospital admissions for poor pain control, which therefore saves thousands of dollars to the health service.However due to the possible dangerous complications related to Intrathecal analgesia (infection, catheter migration, overdose) (Sjoberg, L., et al, 1991), specialized nursing management is required in the community (Myers et al, 2009). If there were more specialized Nurse practitioners or CNS with delegated prescribing rights, in the primary care setting, patients could be discharged from hospital sooner and medications titrated and symptoms treated within the patients home, without requiring a Doctor to make changes to prescriptions and therefore providing the patient with more effective and timely treatment.Aside from pain and symptom management, having the advanced knowledge and skills to provide the necessary psychosocial, emotional and spiritual support to both patients and their family is also very important in this patient group (OConnor, M., Lee, S., Aranda, S., 2012). Often time listening and counseling these patients can be more important than the medications (Meier, D,.Beresford, L., 2006)CONCLUSIONAccording to WHO, 56 million people die throughout the world each year, 60% of these people would benefit from palliative care. With the amount of older people in New Zealand predicted to increase so rapidly in the next 50 years, the need for more advanced practice nurse s within this specialty is obvious. A across-the-board framework is required to allow nurses to have a sound professional development plan and providing good clinical support and continued opportunities for learning is necessary. principal(a) health care settings have been highlighted as an area were NP and CNS are in shortage and likely investment in training nurses with the necessary advanced skills to manage palliative patients in the community will be a cost effective investment in future years by keeping patients out of tertiary care, and likely improve patient and family satisfaction by providing a more holisticapproach to the end stages of life.REFERENCESAigner, M., Drew, S., Phipps, J.,. (2004). A comparative study of nursing home resident outcomes between care provided by nurse practitioners/physicians versus physicians only. _JAMDA_, 16-23.ANA. (1995 ). _Advanced nursing practice_.Davies, B. H., A.,. (1995). Clarification of advanced nursing practicecharacteristics and c ompetence. _Clinical nurse specialist, 9_(3), 156-160.Joshi, M., Chambers, W., (2010) Pain relief in palliative carea focus on interventional pain management, _Expert review of neurotherapeutics, 10,5,_ 747.Meier, D., Beresford, L., (2006) Advanced practice roles in Palliative carea Pivotal role and perspective, _Journal of palliative care medicine, 9 (3),_ 624-627Ministry of Health. (2001).The NZ _Palliative care strategy_.Myers, J., Chan, V., Jarvis, V., Walker-Dilks, C.,. (2010). Intraspinal techniques for pain management in cancer patientsa systematic review. _Support cancer care, 18_, 137-149.Nursing council of New Zealand. (2013). Nurse prescribing consultation document.OConnor, M., Lee, S., Aranda, S. (2012) _Palliative care nursing-A guide to practice.,_ Ausmed publications, North Melbourne , Austrailia.World health organisation. (2002). _Palliative care plan_.Ryan-Wooley, M., G., Lucker, K. (2007). Prescribing by specialist nurses in cancer and palliative careresults of a n ational survey. _Palliative medicine, 21_, 273-277.Sjoberg, M., Appelgren, L., Einarsson, S., Hultman, E., Linder, L., Nitescu, P., Curelaru, I., (1991) _Long -term intrathcal morpine and bupivicaine in refractory cancer pain. I. Results from the first series of 52 patients, Acta Anaesthesiology Scand, 35_, 30-43Statistics, N. Z. (2000). _Population ageing in NZ_.Stenner, K., . Carey, N., Courternay, M.,. (2012b). Prescribing for pain-how do nurses contribute? A national questionnaire survey. _Journal of clinical nursing, 21_, 3334-3345.

Administrative Policy

The case of Mrs. Kelly and Mr. Eldridge are different in nature. Mrs. Kelly is fighting for her welfare benefits, while Mr. Eldridge is fighting for his disability benefit. Under the identical point, they are both claiming that the terminations of their benefits were made without giving them the opportunity to undergo a pre-evidentiary hearing, which they both believe is a deprivation of their rights to enjoy the benefits of due performance of law.While both of them are entitled to be given pre-evidentiary hearing, but the nature of their benefits, and the circumstances that they are fighting are totally different. Mr. Eldridges case apprize be easily won it only requires an effort of collecting medical information, as the case itself tackles disability benefit eligibility, Compared to Mrs. Kellys case, Mr. Eldridge has lots of options for proving his eligibility.On the other hand, Mrs. Kellys case requires a deeper type of inquiry to prove her eligibility. However, under both are entitled to be given due process. But the court had prioritized Mrs. Kellys case as it requires broader scope of study compared to Mr. Eldridge. The court just wants to set priorities on their caseloads at hand. Under the Goss v. Lopez, and the Ingraham v. Wright cases, again the weight of the interest and the liberty which is at stake is given higher value. In the first case, there were two major areas which are considered. First, students are entitled to helper education at schools. Second, expulsion, suspension, or any disciplinal actions imposed by schools can have an effect on the morality of the student.Considering these two points, the school cant impose disciplinary actions to students without pre-evidentiary hearing, because the degree of risk associated with imposing penalties is very high, therefore, it should be cautiously done. On the second case, complainants were fighting against imposing corporal punishment at schools. Imposing sensual punishments such as paddlin g, betting, or forcing students to do shameless activities is against the law.Students have the rights to be protected from such actions. However, this strategy of disciplining students has been traditionally applied by the school. Although this also involves corrupting the morality of the students, or inflicting physical abuse, but this is still different from the Goss v. Lopez case.The first case was characterized by imposing suspension, or expulsion, therefore, the students right to avail the right education is suppressed. But in either case, the presence of pre-evidentiary hearing is required however, this is again another issue of prioritizing caseloads at the hands of the courts. Pickering and Nurse Churchills cases differ in nature. Both employees were entitled to their rights to speak about their opinion. However, Pickerings allegations are more viewed as an issue of public concern. The nature at which Mr. Pickering verbalise of his idea is more reasonable and formal in na ture, he wrote it in address to the people whom he wants to question.But Churchills case was somewhat like ranch rumors or hearsay. Mr. Pickerings case can be easily protected under the rights to speech while Churchill has more complexities.All cases have good grounds on due process recognition. However, the aspect of how it can be processed under their claims requires more effort which the courts and other judicial system prioritize in impairment of the validity of its claims and the level of interest and liberty of the different parties at stake.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 25

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Gate log system using rf-id reader

Chapter oneGATE LOG SYSTEM USINGRF-ID READER1.1 What is RFIDShort for wireless frequence designation, RFID is a dedicated short scope communicating ( DSRC ) engineering. The precondition RFID is used to depict assorted engineerings that use wireless moving ridges to automatically place people or objects. RFID engineering is similar to the saloon codification designation governing bodys we see in retail shops everyday nevertheless one large difference between RFID and saloon codification engineering RFID does non trust on the line-of-sight practice session that saloon codification scanning requires to work.1.2 Why RFIDIn an progressively dis machine-accessible, regulated, and unsure universe, Texas Instruments ( TI ) RFID engineering gives concerns, authoritiess, and consumers a safe, private, and unnoticeable manner to maintain path of it all.Consumers benefit from shorter lines at check-out procedure counters, in infirmaries, libraries, and gas Stationss because RFID fast-trac ks them to the forepart of the waiting line. They can besides profit from lower monetary values because of the efficiencies RFID brings to the picture concatenation.Business and establishments are round to RFID engineering as they comply with authorities product-tracking ordinances, seeking to restrict larceny, cut down out-of-stock losingss, strengthen trade name trueness, and do interaction with clients a much positive experience.RFID is a mature, exhaustively tested engineering. In most RFID applications, the period of tests, proving, and economic feasibleness surveies is over. Large-scale RFID system rollouts are underway.1.3 RFID Application OverviewThere are roughly as many RFID applications as there are concern types. Titanium has established a leading place in these basic classsAutomotive Auto-makers down added security and convenience into an car by utilizing RFID engineering for anti-theft immobilizers and passive-entry systems.Animal Tracking Ranchers and farm savag e manufacturers use RFID engineering to run into export ordinances and optimise farm animal value. Wild animate beings are tracked in ecological surveies, and many pets that are tagged are returned to their proprietors.Asset Tracking Hospitals and pharmaceuticss meet tough merchandise accountability statute law with RFID libraries limit larceny and maintain books in circulation more expeditiously and athleticss and amusement enterprisers find that smart tickets are their ticket to a bump underside line and happier clients.Contact less Payments Blue-chip companies such as American Express, Exxon Mobil, and MasterCard use advanced signifier factors enabled by TI RFID engineering to beef up trade name trueness and encouragement gross per client.Supply Chain WalMart, Target, BestBuy, and other retail merchants have discovered that RFID engineering can maintain stock lists at the optimum degree, cut down out-of-stock losingss, bound shrinkage, and velocity clients through check-out lines.About from the beginning, TI was there assisting set up criterions back uping the RFID supply concatenation of inlay and differentiate makers and systematically using leading-edge semiconducting material engineering to the nucleus of RFID, the transponder.1.4 Why this undertaking is of importWhat we are be aftering to make is a gate log system based on the new engineering which is the RF-ID READER, the user will hold a CARD that will let him to come in the gate, when he consume near to the gate the receiving system will observe the card and shoot the informations stored on the card wirelessly by mean of the rf-id reader.The microcontroller on the receiving system will read the informations from the RF-ID reader and if the user is allowed to come in the microcontroller will give the signal to open the motor ( gate ) .else a message will look on the LCD and the motor will non open.An of import portion of our undertaking is the Personal computer interfacing so all of the op erations and the event will be displayed on a log tabular array.1.5 System block diagram The chief constituents that will be usedmovie microcontroller ( pic16f876A )DC-motor ( little motor for simulate open/close )Consecutive larboard bit ( this bit will manage the electromotive force degrees between the microcontroller and the personal computer )RF ID-readerH-bridge this is a will known circuit which have two inputs from the microcontroller to case the motor clock wise or counter clock wiseLCD ( liquid crystal show ) that will be used to expose the user understand and any coveted notes such as ( non known user )1.6 Features that leads to take ID-12d as the rf-id reader for this undertakingIt requires 5V supply ( it can be supplied from the same supply as movie )125kHz read frequence ( compatible with most sorts of releasing factor cards )EM4001 64-bit RFID ticket compatible9600bps TTL and RS232 end product ( can be connected straight to pic microcontroller utilizing the usart fa culty )100mm read scope ( good reading distance )1.7 Method of operationThe end product of the rf-id reader is consecutive which will be connected straight to pic microcontroller, when the reader detects any rf-cards in scope it will read it and organize the ruddy informations ( 64-bit ) serially, the microcontroller will have those bytes and hive absent them in a twine, so it will compare whether this Idaho is existed or non, this action will be displayed on the liquid crystal display.If the user is allowed to come in the gate so the microcontroller will publish the bid to the h-bridge to open the dc_motor, wait certain clip so publish the shutting bid.Besides the microcontroller will direct the information to the personal computer ( serially ) to be stored in a log tabular arrayNeeded packagemikrobasic compiler, this will be used to frame the codification for the microcontrollerocular basic.NET, this package will be used to compose the plan that will have the information from t he microcontroller and show it on a tabular array.

Intelligence Testing Article

There is not one precise definition of intuition operation. But, the idea of tidings can be seen as a cluster of mental abilities that has the ability to obtain and use association, exhibit problem-solving skills, and to excel at a variety of tasks (Shiraev & Levy, 2010). Intelligence is a prerequisite factor that allows one to adapt to ones environment. But outside of the dominion of cultural context, intelligence cannot be really explained this is because questions on intelligence tests that are scored often do not have the same meaning in every elaboration (Shiraev & Levy, 2010).Howard Gardners opening proposed his own view of intelligence in which he claimed that seven intelligences work independently but concurrently, completing one another. The PASS theory, a basis for the Cognitive Assessment System, features three functional units. both these theories have a significant impact within psychology and smooth out the loose ends of extensive cross-cultural cracks in calcul ating tools.Theory of two-fold Intelligences. Howard Gardner offered an alternative understanding of intelligence, which added to the traditional definition it incorporated three-dimensional relations, mathematics, music, linguistic ability, and interpersonal knowledge (Kaufman, 2013). Gardner (1989), defined intelligence as the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting (P. 4). His definition acknowledged mathematical and verbal skills.Gardners theory outlines seven intelligences linguistic, logical/mathematical, spatial, bodily, musical, intrapersonal, and two personal intelligences of social feelings and intentions of others. According to the theory of multiple intelligences, the intelligences work simultaneously, accompanying one another while an individual learns, develops, improves, and know life skills. Gardner argued for the cultural and biological basis by emphasizing the outcomes of neurobiological question, which m aintenances knowledge as a result of basic function capability and changes.Gardner not only had his biological origin for multiple intelligences, he also believes that culture plays an important role in the development of intelligence than traditionally acknowledged (Gardner, 1983). roughly cultures value and preserve certain types of intelligences, especially if they help with the improvement and maintenance of a culture. The more appreciated a skill is, the more one is driven to know and thrive in that particular discipline. A particular intelligence can be very much developed due to a cultures value, while others may not develop or develop hardly at all (Gardner, 1983). PASS TheoryThe PASS theory of intelligence proposes that cognition is organized in three functional units that are applied widely to IQ tests. According to Lurias idea of this model, PASS stands for Planning, Attention-Arousal, and Simultaneous and incidental model of processing (Kaufman, 2013). According to thi s model, the first functional units job is to focus and sustain attention. The second function is the attention process, which maintains alertness and foreplay levels, and warrants focus on important stimuli. The final functional unit accepts and stores information with consecutive and concurrent processing.PASS theory challenges what is the foundation of all cognitive processes G-based theories. G-based theories of charitable intelligence say that human intellectual functioning is best described as a unitary class (Das & Abbott, 1995). The challenge comes from the fact that g-theory believes that neuropsychological research that establishes the brain is made up of diverse codependent organisms (Das & Abbott, 1995). The PASS theory seeks to explain intelligence in a more dynamically appropriate sense and to bounce back gaps from the traditional IQ test.IQ tests are based on outdates theories that rely on correlations between the IQ loads, but not taking into consideration that in telligence is evolving and unsolidified. Intelligence Testing The reason that traditional IQ interrogatory is not reliable is because they are built on the concept that intelligence is mainly organized and fixed. Gardner believed in calculating intellectual tendencies at an early age because he did not believe intelligences are permanent (Morgan, 1996). As cultures vary, they reach intelligence at different levels and they may see certain skills and knowledge of more value than others (Kaufman, 2013).Gardners theory is flexible to the dissimilarities in intelligences cross-culturally and is genuine in measuring intelligence (Morgan, 1996). The PASS theory emphasizes on developments, rather than intelligence and capability helps with being familiar cross-culturally, and is rather reasonable as oppose to general IQ testing (Das & Abbott, 1995). General IQ testing and similar tests stress the importance of language and mathematical abilities, this is not exactly accurate cross-cultur al measurement (Kaufman, 2013). Conclusion The unrighteousness of intelligence testing is submerged.The measurements of these tests are reliable, but only to a small fraction of the population cross-culturally. Both theories mentioned smooth out the bumps of widespread gaps in in force(p) measuring tools when it comes to cross-cultural population. Different cultures cannot be effectively measured by traditional IQ and similar psychological tests. When the correlations of social success and IQ scores are matched, they show an inaccurate picture of bias constructed with things like sexism and racism. The measurement of intelligence must take into account the essential cultural perspective of knowledge and learning.

Types and Symptoms

Albinism is a genetic anomaly characterized by little or no pigment in their eyes, skin, or tomentum cerebri. Not specific to race or ethnicity, it can affect African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians as much as it does whites. More exactly, albinism is an autosomal recessive trait where melanocytes wealthy person diminished or restricted ability to produce melaninthe substance responsible for skin, hair and eye color.Phenotypically, albinism is relatively r be one person in 17,000 in the U.S.A. is affected. In fact, most children with albinism be born to parents with normal hair and eye color. In some Scandinavian countries, however, it is difficult to tell if a child has albinism because intermediate hair and eyes are the norm. A common myth is that by definition people with albinism have red eyes. In fact there are different types of albinism, and the amount of pigment in the eyes varies.The National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation dispels many myths and legends in popular culture, Although some individuals with albinism have reddish or reddish blue eyes, most have blue eyes. Some have hazel or brown eyes.People with albinism always have problems with vision, and many have low vision. Many are legally blind, but most use their vision for reading, and do not use braille. Some have vision good enough to drive a car. Vision problems in albinism result from abnormal development of the retina and abnormal patterns of nerve connections between the eye and the brain. It is the presence of these eye problems that defines the diagnosis of albinism.Therefore the main test for albinism is obviously an eye exam. While most people with albinism have very light skin and hair, not all do. Oculocutaneous albinism involves the eyes, hair, and skin. Ocular albinism involves primarily the eyes, while skin and hair may appear similar or slightly lighter than that of other family members.Over the years researchers have used various systems for classifying ocu locutaneous albinism. In general, these systems contrasted types of albinism having almost no pigmentation with types having slight pigmentation. In less pigmented types of albinism, hair and skin are cream-colored, and vision is often in the range of 20/200. In types with slight pigmentation, hair appears more scandalmongering or red-tinged, and vision often corrects to 20/60.Early descriptions of albinism called these main categories of albinism complete and incomplete albinism. Later researchers used a test that involved plucking a hair root, and eyesight if it would make pigment in a test tube. This test separated ty-neg (no pigment) from ty-pos (some pigment). Further research showed that this test was inconsistent, and added little information to the clinical exam.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 16

Chapter 16We were twelve days into our journey, following Balthasars meticulously drawn map, when we came to the w all(prenominal).So, I verbalise, what do you think of the wall?Its gr tire, said ragua.Its non that gr annihilate, I said. in that location was a enormous tonal pattern waiting to get through the giant gate, where scores of bureaucrats collected taxes from caravan masters as they passed through. The gatehouses whole were each as big as 1 of Herods palaces, and s greyiers rode horses atop the wall, patrolling far into the distance. We were a good conference fend for from the gate and the suck up didnt witnessm to be moving.This is passing game to result all day, I said. wherefore would they build such a thing? If you can build a wall desire this hence you ought to be able to raise an army grown enough to defeat each invaders.Lao-tzu built this wall, Joshua said.The old master who wrote the Tao? I dont think so.What does the Tao value above all else?Comp assion? Those other two ornament things?No, in accomplish. Contemplation. Steadiness. Conservatism. A wall is the defense of a country that values inaction. however a wall imprisons the quite a teeny of a country as such(prenominal) as it protects them. Thats why Balthasar had us go this way. He cherished me to see the error in the Tao. One cant be free without action.So he spent all that time teaching us the Tao so we could see that it was wrong.No, not wrong. Not all of it. The compassion, humility, and moderation of the Tao, these ar the qualities of a righteous man, only if not inaction. These people are slaves to inaction.You worked as a stonecutter, Josh, I said, rollful toward the massive wall. You think this wall was built through inaction?The magus wasnt teaching us about action as in work, it was action as in change. Thats why we learned Confucius first alwaysything having to do with the revision of our fathers, the law, manners. Confucius is like the Torah, r ules to follow. And Lao-tzu is even more(prenominal)(prenominal) conservative, saying that if you do nothing you wont break any rules. You suck up to allow tradition fall approximatelytime, you run through to take action, you hold to eat bacon. Thats what Balthasar was trying to teach me.Ive said it forwards, Josh and you know how I love bacon but I dont think bacon is enough for the christ to bring.Change, Joshua said. A Messiah has to bring change. Change scrape ups through action. Balthasar once said to me, Theres no such thing as a conservative hero. He was wise, that old man.I thought about the old magus as I looked at the wall stretching all over the hills, then at the line of travelers ahead of us. A low urban center had grown up at the entrance to the wall to accommodate the needs of the de flummoxed travelers a gigantic the Silk roadway and it boi guide with merchants hawking food and drink along the line.Screw it, I said. This is press release to take forev er. How long can it be? permits go around.A month later, when we had returned to the same gate and we were standing in line to get through, Joshua asked So what do you think of the wall now? I mean, now that weve seen so much more of it?I think its ostentatious and unpleasant, I said.If they dont have a name for it, you should suggest that.And so it came to pass that through the ages the wall was known as the Ostentatious and Unpleasant Wall of China. At to the lowest degree I hope thats what happened. Its not on my Friendly Flyer Miles map, so I cant be certain(predicate).We could see the mountain where Gaspars monastery lay long before we reached it. give care the other peaks around it, it cut the deliver like a huge tooth. Below the mountain was a village surrounded by high pasture. We stop in that respect to rest and water our camels. The people of the village all came out to greet us and they marveled at our strange look and Joshuas curly hair as if we were gods that h ad been lowered out of the heavens (which I shooter was true in Joshs case, but you forget about that when youre around somewhatone a lot). An old edentulate woman who spoke a dialect of Chinese similar to the one we had learned from Joy convert us to leave the camels in the village. She traced the path up the mountain with a craggy finger and it was open-and-shut that the path was both too compact and too steep to accommodate the animals.The villagers served us a puritanic meat dish with frothy bowls of milk to wash it down. I hesitated and looked at Joshua. The Torah forbade us to eat meat and dairy at the same meal.Im thinking this is a lot like the bacon thing, Joshua said. I real dont feel that the Lord cares if we wash down our yak with a bowl of milk.Yak?Thats what this is. The old woman told me.Well, sin or not, Im not eating it. Ill just drink the milk.Its yak milk too.Im not alcohol addiction it.Use your own judgment, it served you so well in the past, like, oh, when you decided we should go around the wall.You know, I said, fag of having the whole wall thing brought up again, I never said you could use sarcasm whenever you cherished to. I think youre using my invention in ways that it was never intended to be used.Like against you?See? See what I mean?We left the village early the attached daybreak, carrying only some rice balls, our waterskins, and what little money we had left. We left our three camels in the care of the toothless old woman, who promised to take care of them until we returned. I would miss them. They were the spiffy double-humpers wed picked up in Kabul and they were comfor slacken to ride, but more important, none of them had ever essay to bite me.Theyre going to eat our camels, you know? We wont be gone an moment before one of them is turning on a spit.They wont eat the camels. Joshua, forever believing in the uprightness of human beings.They dont know what they are. They think that theyre just tall food. Theyre going to eat them. The only meat they ever get is yak.You dont even know what a yak is.Do too, I said, but the air was get thin and I was too tired to prove myself at the time.The sun was going down easy the mountains when we finally reached the monastery. Except for a huge wooden gate with a micro hatch in it, it was constructed blamelessly of the same black basalt as the mountain on which it stood. It looked more like a rampart than a place of worship.Makes you question if all three of your magi live in fortresses, doesnt it?Hit the buzzer, said Joshua. There was a bronze tam-tam hanging outside the door with a padded drumstick standing next to it and a sign in a language that we couldnt read.I hit the gong. We waited. I hit the gong again. And we waited. The sun went down and it began to get really cold on the mountainside. I rang the gong three propagation loud. We ate our rice balls and drank most of our water and waited. I pounded the bejezus out of the gong and th e hatch receptive. A pitch-black light from inside the gate illuminated the smooth cheeks of a Chinese man about our age. What? he said in Chinese.We are here to see Gaspar, I said. Balthasar sent us.Gaspar sees no one. Your aspect is smudge and your eyes are too round. He slammed the little hatch.This time Joshua pounded on the gong until the monastic returned.Let me see that drumstick, the monastic said, guardianship his hand out through the little port.Joshua gave him the drumstick and stepped back.Go off and come back in the aurora, the monk said.But weve traveled all day, Joshua said. Were cold and hungry.Life is suffering, the monk said. He slammed the little door, leaving us in almost total darkness.Maybe thats what youre supposed to learn, I said. Lets go home.No, we wait, said Joshua.In the morning, after Joshua and I had slept against the great gate, huddled together to conserve warmth, the monk opened the little hatch. You still here? He couldnt see us, as we were directly below the window.Yes, I said. buns we see Gaspar now?He craned his neck out the hatch, then pulled it back in and produced a tenuous wooden bowl, from which he poured water on our heads. Go away. Your feet are misshapen and your eyebrows grow together in a threatening way.ButHe slammed the hatch. And so we spent the day outside the gate, me wanting to go down the mountain, Joshua insisting that we wait. There was frost in our hair when we woke the next morning, and I felt my very bones aching. The monk opened the hatch just after first light.You are so gaumless that the village idiots guild uses you as a standard for testing, said the monk.Actually, Im a member of the village idiots guild, I retorted.In that case, said the monk, go away.I cursed eloquently in five languages and was beginning to tear at my hair in frustration when I levelted something large moving in the sky overhead. As it got closer, I saw that it was the angel, wearing his aspect of black robe and wi ngs. He carried a ardor bundle of sticks and pitch, which trailed a trail of flames and thick black smoke behind him in the sky. When he had passed over us several times, he flew off over the horizon, leaving a smoky pattern of Chinese characters that spelled out a message across the sky SURRENDER DOROTHY.I was just fuckin with you (as Balthasar used to say). Raziel didnt truly write SURRENDER DOROTHY in the sky. The angel and I watched The Wizard of Oz together on television support night and the scene at the gates of Oz reminded me of when Joshua and I were at the monastery gate. Raziel said he identified with Glinda, goodness Witch of the North. (I would have thought flying monkey, but I believe his choice was a sandy one.) I have to admit that I felt some sympathy for the scarecrow, although I dont believe I would have been singing about the lack of a brain. In fact, amid all the musical laments over not having a heart, a brain, or the nerve, did anyone notice that they didn t have a penis among them? I think it would have shown on the Lion and the Tin Man, and when the Scarecrow has his pants destuffed, you dont see a flying monkey moving ridge an errant straw Johnson around anywhere, do you? I think I know what song Id be singingOh, I would while away the hours,Wanking in the flowers, my heart all full of song,Id be decorate all the lilies as I waved about my willieIf I only had a schlong.And suddenly it occurred to me, as I composed the above opus, that although Raziel had always seemed to have the aspect of a male, I had no idea if there were even genders among the angels. After all, Raziel was the only one Id ever seen. I leapt from my chair and confronted him in the midst of an afternoon Looney Tunes festival.Raziel, do you have equipment?Equipment?A package, a taliwacker, a unit, a dick do you have one?No, said the angel, perplexed that I would be asking. Why would I need one?For finish. Dont angels have sex?Well, yes, but we dont use those. So there are female angels and male angels?Yes.And you have sex with female angels.Correct.With what do you have sex?Female angels. I just told you.No, do you have a sex organ?Yes.Show me?I dont have it with me.Oh. I realized that there are some things Id really rather not know about.Anyway, he didnt write in the sky, and, in fact, we didnt see Raziel again, but the monks did let us into the monastery after three days. They said that they do everybody wait three days. It weeded out the insincere.The entire two-story structure that was the monastery was fashioned of rough stone, none larger than could have been lifted into place by a single man. The rear of the building was built right into the mountainside. The structure seemed to have been built under an existent overhang in the rock, so there was minimal roofing exposed to the elements. What did show was made of terra-cotta tiles that lay on a steep incline, obviously to shed any buildup of snow.A short and hairless monk wearing a saffron-colored robe led us across an outer courtyard paved with flag through an austere doorway into the monastery. The report inside was stone, and though immaculately clean, it was no more complete than the flagstone of the courtyard. There were only a a couple of(prenominal) windows, more like arrow slits, cut high in the wall, and little light penetrated the interior once the front door was closed. The air was thick with odorize and filled with a buzzing chorus of male voices producing a rhythmic chant that seemed to come from over and nowhere at once and made it seem as if my ribs and kneecaps were vibrating from the inside. Whatever language they were chanting in I didnt understand, but the message was clear these men were invoking something that transcended this world.The monk led us up a narrow stairway into a long, narrow corridor lined with open doorways no higher than my waist. As we passed I could see that these must be the monks cells, and each was just large enough to accommodate a weensy man lying down. There was a woven mat on the floor and a wool blanket rolled up at the top of each cell, but there was no certainty of personal possessions nor storage for any. There were no doors to close for privacy. In short, it was very much like what I had grown up with, which didnt make me feel any better about it. Nearly five geezerhood of the relative opulence at Balthasars fortress had spoiled me. I yearned for a soft bed and a half-dozen Chinese concubines to hand-feed me and rub my body with fragrant oils. (Well, I said I was spoiled.)At last the monk led us into a large open chamber with a high stone crown and I realized that we were no longer in a man-made structure, but a large countermine. At the far end of the cave was a stone statue of a man seated cross-legged, his eyes closed, his hands before him with the first fingers and thumbs forming closed circles. Lit by the orangeness light of candles, a fogginess of incense smoke han ging about his shaved head, he appeared to be praying. The monk, our guide, disappeared into the darkness at the sides of the cave and Joshua and I approached the statue cautiously, stepping carefully across the rough floor of the cave.(We had long since lost our surprise and outrage at graven images. The world at large and the art we had seen in our travels served to dampen even that grave commandment. Bacon, Joshua said when I asked him about it.)This great room was the source of the chanting we had been hearing since entering the monastery, and after comprehend the monks cells we determined that there must be at least twenty monks adding their voices to the droning, although the way the cave echoed it mogul have been one or a thousand. As we approached the statue, trying to ascertain what sort of stone it was made from, it opened its eyes.Is that you, Joshua? it said in perfect Aramaic.Yes, said Joshua.And who is this?This is my friend, Biff.Now he will be called pirate flag, when he needs to be called, and you shall be Twenty-two. While you are here you have no name. The statue wasnt a statue, of course, it was Gaspar. The orange light of the candles and his complete lack of motion or human face had only made him appear to be made of stone. I suppose we were overly thrown off because we were expecting a Chinese. This man looked as if he was from India. His skin was even darker than ours and he wore the red dot on his head that we had seen on Indian traders in Kabul and Antioch. It was difficult to tell his age, as he had no hair or beard and there wasnt a line in his face.Hes the Messiah, I said. The Son of God. You came to see him at his birth.Still no expression from Gaspar. He said, The Messiah must die if you are to learn. Kill him tomorrow.Scuse me? I said.Tomorrow you will learn. impart them, said Gaspar.Another monk, who looked almost identical to the first monk, came out of the dark and took Joshua by the shoulder. He led us out of the chapel chamber and back to the cells where he showed Joshua and me our accommodations. He took our satchels away from us and left. He returned in a few minutes with a bowl of rice and a cup of gutless tea for each of us. Then he went away, having said nothing since letting us in.Chatty little guy, I said.Joshua scooped some rice into his mouth and grimaced. It was cold and unsalted. Should I be worried about what he said about the Messiah dying tomorrow, do you think?You know how youve never been completely sure whether you were the Messiah or not?Yeah.Tomorrow, if they dont kill you first thing in the morning, tell them that.The next morning turn of events septet Monk awakened Joshua and me by whacking us in the feet with a bamboo staff. To his credit, Number Seven was smiling when I finally got the sleep cleared from my eyes, but that was really a small consolation. Number Seven was short and thin with high cheekbones and widely set eyes. He wore a long orange robe woven from rough c otton and no shoes. He was clean-shaven and his head was also shaved except for a small tail that grew out at the crown and was tied with a string. He looked as if he could be anywhere from seventeen to thirty-five years old, it was impossible to tell. (Should you wonder about the appearance of Monks Two through Six, and Eight through Twenty, just imagine Number Seven Monk nineteen times. Or at least thats how they appeared to me for the first few months. Later, Im sure, except that we were taller and round-eyed, Joshua and I, or Monks Twenty-one and Twenty-two, would have fit the same description. When one is trying to shed the bonds of ego, a unique appearance is a liability. Thats why they call it a uniform. But alas, Im getting ahead of myself.)Number Seven led us to a window that was obviously used as a latrine, waited while we used it, then took us to a small room where Gaspar sat, his legs crossed in a seemingly impossible position, with a small table before him. The monk bo wlegged and left the room and Gaspar asked us to sit down, again in our native Aramaic.We sat across from him on the floor no, thats not right, we didnt actually sit, we lay on the floor on our sides, propped up on one elbow the way we would have been at the low tables at home. We sat after Gaspar produced a bamboo staff from under the table and, with a motion as firm as a striking cobras, whacked us both on the side of the head with it. I said sit he said.Then we sat.Jeez, I said, rubbing the knot that was swelling over my ear.Listen, Gaspar said, holding the stick up to clarify exactly what he meant.We listened as if they were going to discontinue sound any second and we needed to stock up. I think I even stopped breathing for a while.Good, said Gaspar, laying the stick down and pouring tea into three simple bowls on the table.We looked at the tea sitting there, steaming just looked at it. Gaspar laughed like a little boy, all the graveness and authority from a second ago gone from his face. He could have been a kindly older uncle. In fact, except for the obviously Indian features, he reminded me a lot of Joseph, Joshuas stepfather.No Messiah, Gaspar said, shifting to Chinese now. Do you understand?Yes, Joshua and I said in unison.In an instant the bamboo stick was in his hand and the other end was bouncing off of Joshuas head. I covered my own head with my blazon but the blow never came.Did I strike the Messiah? Gaspar asked Joshua.Joshua seemed genuinely perplexed. He paused, rubbing the spot on his head, when another blow caught him over his other ear, the sound of the impact sharp and harsh in the small stone room.Did I strike the Messiah? Gaspar repeated.Joshuas dark brown eyes showed neither trouble oneself nor fear, just confusion as deep as the confusion of a calf who has just had its pharynx cut by the Temple priest.The stick whistled through the air again, but this time I caught it in mid-swing, wrenched it out of Gaspars hand, and tossed it out the narrow window behind him. I quickly folded my hands and looked at the table in front of me. Begging your pardon, master, I said, but if you hit him again, Ill kill you.Gaspar stood, but I was panicky to look at him (or Joshua, for that matter). Ego, said the monk. He left the room without another word.Joshua and I sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking and rubbing our goose eggs. Well, it had been an interesting trip and all, but Joshua wasnt very well going to learn much about being the Messiah from someone who hit him with a stick whenever it was mentioned, and that, I supposed, was the reason we were there. So, onward. I drank the bowl of tea in front of me, then the one that Gaspar had left. Two wise men down, one to go, I said. Wed better find some breakfast if were going to travel.Joshua looked at me as perplexed as he had at Gaspar a few minutes before. Do you think he needs that stick?Number Seven Monk handed us our satchels, bowed deeply, then went back into t he monastery and closed the door, leaving Joshua and me standing there by the gong. It was a clear morning and we could see the smoke of cook fires rising from the village below.We should have asked for some breakfast, I said. This is going to be a long climb down.Im not leaving, Josh said.Youre kidding.I have a lot more to learn here.Like how to take a beating?Maybe.Im not sure Gaspar will let me back in. He didnt seem too pleased with me.You threatened to kill him.I did not, I warned that Id kill him. huge difference.So youre not going to stay?And there it was, the question. Was I going to stay with my best friend, eat cold rice, sleep on a cold floor, take abuse from a mad monk, and very likely have my skull split open, or was I going to go? Go where? Home? natural covering to Kabul and Joy? Despite the long journey, it seemed easier to go back the way I had come. At least some level of familiarity would be waiting there. But if I was making easy choices, why was I there in the first place?Are you sure you have to stay here, Josh? Cant we go find Melchior?I know I have things to learn here. Joshua picked up the drumstick and rang the gong. In a few minutes the little port opened in the door and a monk we had never seen before stuck his face in the opening. Go away. Your nature is dense and your breath smells like a yaks ass. He slammed the hatch.Joshua rang the gong again.I dont like that whole thing about killing the Messiah. I cant stay here, Joshua. Not if hes going to hit you.I have a feeling Im going to get hit quite a few more times until I learn what he needs me to know.I have to go.Yes, you do.But I could stay.No. Trust me, you have to leave me now, so you wont later. Ill see you again. He turned away from me and faced the door.Oh, you dont know anything else, but you know that all of a sudden?Yes. Go, Biff. Good-bye.I walked down the narrow path and nearly stumbled over a precipice when I heard the hatch in the door open. Where are you going? sho uted the monk.Home, I said.Good, go frighten some children with your glorious ignorance.I will. I tried to keep my shoulders steady as I walked away, but it felt like someone was ripping my person through the muscles of my back. I would not turn around, I vowed, and slowly, painfully, I made my way down the path, convinced(p) that I would never see Joshua again.