Critical thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 14

Critical thinking - Essay Example Another definition of critical thinking is that given by Michael Scriven and Richard Paul, in a presentation at the 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, Summer of 1987.They defined critical thinking as the intellectually disciplined way of active and skillful conceptualization, application, analysis and evaluation of data collected by observing, experiencing, reflecting, reasoning, and communicating, as a guidance to believing and acting. Paul and Elder (2008), defines the term as Critical thinking as the way of thinking - about something, where the person who is thinking develops the quality of his or her thinking by being skillful when taking care of the structures involved in thinking and forcing intellectual standards on them. In my understanding, for this reason, critical thinking means, thinking outside the box, having creative thoughts, and internalizing the thoughts. Critical thinking involves general intellectual values. Critical thinking includes several skills. These skills include rationality, self-awareness, honesty, open-mindedness, discipline, and judgment. Rationality is based on the fact one is thinking critically when he or she relies on reason and not emotions; when one requires prove, not ignoring evidence, and follow where the evidence leads. Also being rational in critical thinking is concerned more with coming up with the rightful way of explaining other than being right through analysis of apparent confusion and asking questions. Self-awareness in critical thinking involves comparing the effects of motives and bias, recognition of one’s assumptions, biases and point of view. Being honest in thinking critically, is evident when one recognizes emotional impulses, selfish motives, nefarious purposes, or other ways of deceiving ones-self. One is thinking critically, with an open mind when all reasonable inferences are evaluated, considerations of various viewpoints or

Hinduism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hinduism - Essay Example Vedas are meant to guide all the Hindus. The religion has really expanded its wings worldwide since its initiation. It is believed that consecration to the religion even interfered with the British stranglehold. This essay explains some of the facts and issues concerning Hinduism ritual. Hinduism is believed to have started in the Indus valley and a larger percentage of followers are found in India. Most of the facts and important issues about Hinduism are preserved in the Vedas. The Aryans took with them the Persian and the Western concepts to the Hindu culture. Hindu’s divinity were said to be normal supremacies of heaven and earth and they revered their gods via conducting animal sacrifices (Matthews 72-74). The Aryans’ gods were shining objects which portrayed nice things for human beings. Hindus believe that Asuras are evil powers that signify hurtful things to humans. Intermingling of Aryans and the natives (Dravidians) led to sharing of rites and customs with the natives. However, most of the Hindus rituals are majorly formed by the Aryans’ culture and practices. The Aryan practices dominated the Davidians for reasons not known. Some scholars blame the Aryans dominant culture on stratification while others think that the Aryans were just superior to the natives (Rinehart 123-127). There are four collections of the Vedas and the popular Veda is known as the Ring Veda. Other Vedas include the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Artharva Veda. These Vedas have many different roles in the religion. For instance, some Vedas contain prayers and other information regarding devotion while others have people’s daily worries such as lust (Matthews 75-80). The Vedas are regarded as the basis and the roots for Hinduism since they contain variety of clarifications concerning the religion. The Hindus’ leaders are called Brahmins who execute rites under their powers. Brahmins have the responsibility of inspiring devotees and influence other people worldwide to favor their religion (Rinehart 123-127). Hindus have several gods that include the Agni that ascend from Purusha and the Indra deity, the Soma which is regarded as very important god and finally the Varina who is considered as the preserver of truth. There are some groups that branched from the original Hinduism such as Upanishads. Contemporarily, Hinduism has established four main goals which they regard as important in pursuing the peak of release in their lifespan. Hindus regard Dharma as the right way of living and studying to achieve lasting happiness while Karma is considered as the law of cause and effect (Matthews 75-80). Bhagavad Gita came up with distinct tracks for Hindu devotees to walk through. Bhagavad Gita was followed by the Puranas and the Tantaras which have engrained detailed information regarding the divinities and service to the deities. Hinduism is a very unique religion which greatly honors the Vedas as well as traditional customs and practices unlike the Western religions that believe in the progress of events since their initiation. Hinduis believe that there are cycles of events that take place in their religion and that whatever is exact for the universe also applies to mankind (Fuller 62-65). The most interesting things about Hinduism are their rituals and symbols. Just like any other religion from across the world, rites and rituals are very important aspects of the religion. These rites and rituals play vital role in identification of the religion in question. To Hindus, most of these customs are compulsory but very flexible since devotees in different regions follow different customs. These rituals further ensure that the devotees do not go off the spiritual life

BioMedical Waste Management in an Indian Hospital

BioMedical Waste Management in an Indian Hospital Introduction: The waste produced in the course of healthcare activities carries a higher potential for infection and injury than any other type of waste. Inadequate and inappropriate knowledge of handling of healthcare waste may have serious health consequences and a significant impact on the environment as well. According to Bio-Medical Waste (management and handling) rules, 1998 of India, Bio Medical Waste (BMW) means any solid, fluid, or liquid waste including its containers and any intermediate product which is generated during the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities pertaining there or in the production or testing of biological and includes categories for same 1 The large volumes of health care waste if not managed properly can lead to a global hazard. This could not only lead to the spread of highly contagious diseases but the hazardous chemical waste produced by the use of items can cause considerable damage to the ecosystem and the environment.2 Majority of waste (75-90%) produced by the healthcare providers is non-risk or general and it is estimated that the remaining (10-25%) healthcare waste is regarded as hazardous the potential for creating a variety of health problems.3 Infectious waste may contain any of a great variety of pathogenic microorganisms. Pathogens in infectious waste may enter the human body via number of routes: through a puncture, abrasion, or cut in the skin; through the mucous membranes; by inhalation; by ingestion .4 Bio medical waste collection and proper disposal has become a significant concern for both the medical and general community. Among all health problems, there is a particular concern with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, for which there is a strong evidence of transmission through healthcare waste.5In the healthcare sector alone, the World Health Organization estimates that unsafe injections cause approximately 30,000 new HIV infections, 8 million HBV infections, and 1.2 million HCV infections worldwide every year.6The BMW rule applies to all those who generate, collect, receive, store, transport, treat, dispose or handle BMW in any manner and also to every institution that generate BMW. Effective management of biomedical waste is not only a legal necessity but also a social responsibility. Hence, there is a need for resource material to help administrators, doctors, nurses and paramedical staffs. The purpose of Bio-Medical Waste are mainly to reduce waste generation, to ensure its efficient collection, handling, as well as safe disposal in such a way that it controls infection and improves safety for employees working in the system. For this, a conscious, coordinated and cooperative effort has to be made from all Hospital staff7. India already has biomedical waste management regulations including a ban on the incineration of biomedical waste with the exception of human and animal waste at the Union level, but their implementation and enforcement throughout the country has been inconsistent. The present cross sectional questionnaire study was conducted in Ahmedabad city, Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of interns, graduates post graduates at private dental colleges in Ahmedabad regarding biomedical waste management. Material and Method Ahmedabad is the largest city and former capital of the Gujarat. Ahmedabad is located on the banks of river Sabarmati, 32 km from the state capital Gandhinagar.7 The study sample includes intern, graduates and post graduates from private dental college in Ahmedabad. This study was conducted in private dental colleges in Ahmedabad City, Gujarat, India. A total of 135 dentists were selected, from which interns, graduates and postgraduates were divided equally. The selection of samples for the study was carried out by using simple random sampling technique. To make the sample more representative 45 Dentists from each private dental college were selected randomly. The sample size of 135 was determined. From each group from each college we have taken 15 subjects. Participants who do not want to participate in the study, not responding after repeated reminders and incompletely filled questionnaires were excluded from the study. The survey was scheduled to spread over a period of 1 month. A detailed weekly schedule was prepared well in advance. Although a detailed schedule was prepared meticulously, few adjustments and changes were done due to logistic reasons. Two days in a week were allotted for conducting the study. A questionnaire related to biomedical waste in the form of multiple choices was given to each participant and the response sheets were collated after a week. Principal Investigator collected the data. A pilot study was conducted on 20% of the total sample size to check the feasibility of the study and to validate the questionnaire. Prior to study a questionnaire was pre-tested and validated. The questionnaire was validated for construct and content validity, reliability and ease of use. Content and construct validity shows no significant changes. Questionnaire showed high degree (0.89) of agreement during test-retest of questionnaire. Those individuals who participated in the pilot study were not considered for the main study to prevent possible bias. The purpose and procedure of the study was informed to each participant and also participant information sheet was provided to each participant, which explains all aspects of the study. It was explained to them that they had no obligation to complete the questionnaire and could abandon it at any point without stating a reason. After explaining the purpose of the study, the informed consent was obtained from each participant who was willing to participate in the study. Data was collected by using pre-tested self-designed questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed in English only because it was expected that all doctors and nurses were able to comprehend English. The questions were framed in three sets; knowledge, attitude and practices of interns, graduates and postgraduates in relation to Bio-medical waste management. Each participant was given a separate copy of the questionnaire personally by investigator and requested to fill it up within seven days. Collected data was coded, compiled and tabulated. The data was analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Analysis was carried out using SPSS package version 17. Result: The present study was conducted to access â€Å"knowledge, attitude and practices of interns, graduates p.g. Students at private dental colleges in Ahmedabad regarding biomedical waste management. A total of 135 participants from private dental colleges of Ahmedabad city were included in the study population. Table 1. illustrates the distribution of subjects according to their gender. Out of 135 participants 79 (58.5%) were male and 56 (41.5%) were female. We can see the answers given by the participants in table 2 which is self explanatory. Table 3. illustrates that the majority of the participants were having good knowledge regarding bio medical waste management. Whereas their attitude towards the same was found little low which is an alarming situation (table 4) and they were doing fair practice of the same which is shown in (table 5). Table 1: The distribution of subjects according to their gender Table 2: Answers given by participants Table 3: shows overall knowledge of subjects: Table 4: shows overall attitude of subjects: Table 5: shows overall practice of subjects: Discussion: The participants involved in this study were assessed for knowledge, attitude and practice of BMW management. Interestingly, this study revealed that the awareness and proper practice of biomedical waste management was satisfactory which is correlating with the study of Sachan R.. According to World Health Organization, The humans element is more important than the technology. Almost any system of treatment and disposal that is operated by well-trained, and well-motivated staff can provide more protection for staff, patients and the community than an expensive or sophisticated system that is managed by staff who do not understand the risks, and the importance of their contribution8 (World Health Organization) For effective management of hospital waste it is essential that personnel hold positive attitude towards care of the environment, occupational health and safety and teamwork. Hospital waste management has major attitudinal and behavioral components9 Literature search show poor knowledge, attitude and practices of biomedical waste management among staff and have reported that there is urgent need to train and educate all the staff, in order to adopt an effective waste management practice. Which is not exactly matching with our studies. A chain is as strong as the weakest link in it, thus the entire staff involved in waste management at some point or the other should be trained properly. Our study shows almost all of the participants were having good knowledge of bio medical waste, which is not in siding with the study of Sudhakar V10. Before providing the training program, it is mandatory to understand the existing gaps and deficiencies in the study participants knowledge, perceptions, and behavior towards hospital waste management. Knowledge, attitude and practices of the personnel play an important role. Lack of these, even with good infrastructure and technology, is of little or no use in proper waste management. Knowing this, the training program can be aimed to make participants understand-environment friendly, healthy and economically viable in-house management systems, to ensure that the waste is carried responsibly from cradle to grave. Conclusion: Optimal waste management is at best, a moving target. Usually attenders are responsible for spearheading the waste management initiatives. Waste handling is left to lower-level workers who operate without any training, guidance, and supervision. Managing waste requires effective management of people who produce the waste, not just those who handle it. Its primarily the dentists who are responsible for waste generation. But currently, as most of us are aware it is mainly the resistant attitude of dentists that is responsible for poor results on this front. Dentist at the high end of hierarchy should take this issue, which needs to be addressed not as a burden difficult to bear. Proper management of dental hospital waste should be addressed with dignity, by concerted action as duty, and by no uncertain terms as responding to pressure. They probably should not do it because there is legislation, but they need to do it, as they are also socially accountable. References: Sharma AK, Bio Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules. Bhopal: Suvidha Law House; 1998. Aruna.C, Assessment of the knowledge, attitude and Practices regarding Biomedical Waste Management amongst the Medical and Paramedical Staff in Tertiary Health Care Centre, Int J Scientific Research, Vol. 2(7): 2012 Safe Management of waste from health care activities. WHO, Geneva; 1999. 4. Prà ¼ss A, Giroult E, Rushbrook P, Safe management of wastes from healthcare activities, Edited by  © 1999, WHO 5. Central Pollution Control Board. Environmental standard and guidelines for management of Hospital waste. CPCB, Ministry of Environment and Forest, New Delhi, 1996. 6. Analysis of Priority Waste Streams: Healthcare Waste. Final Information Document Commission of the European Communities (CEC), 1993 7. Khan KDL (4 June 2011), â€Å"The Symbol of Ahmedabad†. Navhind Times, retrived 24 Sept, 2013. 8. World Health Organization. Suggested guiding principles and practices for sound management of hazardous hospital waste. New Delhi: Regional Office for South-East Asia, World Health Organization; 2000. p. 3-5. 9.Rasheed S, Iqbal S, Baig LA, Mufti K. Hospital waste management in the teaching hospitals of Karachi. J Pak Med Assoc 2005;55:192-5. 10. Saini S, Nagarajan SS, Sharma RK. Knowledge, Attitude and practices of bio-medical waste management amongst staff of a tertiary level Hospital in India. J Acad Hosp 2005;17:54-9

Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou :: Poem Poetry Poems

With the poem, Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou, she describes the basic feelings and descriptions of a person that does not need loathing or people to try and lift her up. She shows us that she and all those oppressed in general are strong. We are shown some of the thoughts and feelings people have displayed against her, but the reality is she won't let them get her down. Her moral opulence allows her to rise above where her ancestors fell to slavery, carrying herself as a strong woman. Her ancestors' dream was to have a life in society without fear of what might happen (to them). The author is portrayed as this dream - this gift - her ancestors imagined. Still I Rise is a sublime, straightforward poem that acknowledges that we need not depend upon anyone else's opinion but our own. Maya expresses not only her good qualities, but also her unfavourable ones, yet even these are turned into positive ideas. This poem can only be read by us now because she has confidence in herself, her writing, and can express it so freely. I believe this poem can be interpreted as a call to assertiveness and pride for coloured people. It is an outcry to the humiliation, prejudice, and constant drubbing this group was subjected to. Parallels can be seen between (black) slavery, drug addicts, racism and other groups that face constant thrashing by oppressors. Still I Rise has the uncanny ability to incite these groups to rise, and stop pining in sorrow while another tries to burry their soul. Literary devices such as similes frequent this poem, such as Maya rising like dust or " Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high " we are confirmed of the beauty and assurance of hope she has. Especially imaginative was the comparison of " shoulders falling down like teardrops",

Pescriptive Versus Emergent

When described with historical perspective since it arrived in the mid 1960s, strategic or prescriptive planning has been embraced as a way of â€Å"outflanking competitors with big plays that yield long term rent from a sustainable advantage† (Bhide, 1986).Although it faltered in the 1980s and 1990s mainly due to the unstable economy in that period and the rise of emergent strategy, it is still being practised today (John A Pearce II, 1987). Emergent strategy is the view that â€Å"strategy emerges as intentions collide with a changing reality† (Moore, 2011). This literature review places the article ‘Crafting strategy’ (Mintzberg, 1987) in the wider context of prescriptive and emergent debate followed by strengths and weakness of the article. Placing the article in wider literature debateIn ‘Crafting strategy’ Mintzberg distinguishes between planning strategy and crafting strategy. Mintzberg view on strategic planning is clear. â€Å"Strateg ic planning isn’t strategic thinking. One is analysis and the other is synthesis† (Mintzberg, 1994). According to Mintzberg the current practise of strategic planning ‘separates thinking from doing’. He claims the current implementation of strategic planning can be best described as strategic programming, â€Å"the articulation and elaboration of strategies, or visions that already exists† (Mintzberg, 1994)Thereby limiting intuition and creativity. Mintzberg idea on strategic planning is further emphasised by Brian Boyd who suggest prescriptive strategy limits organisation creativity and innovative skills (Boyd, 1991). Psychologist on prescriptive planning says â€Å"Articulation of strategy locks it into place, thereby impeding willingness to change it† (Kiesler, 1971). The fact is that organisations who implement prescriptive strategy plan not to be flexible but to realize detailed intentions.According to Mintzberg the key to crafting strate gy is  the ‘intimate connection between thought and action’. [p68]. John Oliver emphasised in his book the importance of effective use of the action learning process hence emergent strategy in developing a future business strategy. (Oliver, 2006) The inflexible nature of deliberate strategy greatly reduces its litheness for creative and reactive process. Emergent strategy therefore possesses a much greater adaptability, particularly in tentative times and more difficult business environmental conditions.However Michael Porter argues that Industry structure drives competition and profitability. Success is not determined by whether an industry is mature or emerging (Porter, 1979). This is a typically prescriptive view on strategy, as it suggests breaking down intentions into communicated steps and formularizing those steps into the structure of the organisation. This premise is contradicted by various perspectives, as they believe accumulated learning and experience pro vides rare advantage that is difficult for other competitors to copy (Gerry Johnson, 2008).This suggests that strategy can be crafted as organisations learn from previous success and failures. Mintzberg in ‘Crafting strategy’ promotes the idea that prescriptive strategy ‘misguides organisations that embrace it unreservedly.’[p66]. He pushes the idea that crafting strategy is a more effective representation of strategy. ‘Craft evokes traditional skills perfection through the mastery of detail†¦.developed through experience and commitment.’[p66]. This is essentially emergent strategy as it describes â€Å"patterns realized despite or in the absence of intentions† (Henry Mintzberg, 1985) James Moncrieff (Moncrieff, 1999) states in his article â€Å"deliberate responses to issues emerging within the competitive environment can still usually be labelled emergent strategy as it is based on response to emerging opportunities and threat.â € Mintzberg supports Moncrieff idea by using National Film Board of Canada as an example ‘Strategies like the NFB’ that appear without clear intentions-or in spite of them-emergent strategies’ [p69]. This shows when actions are taken in responds to a new challenge patterns eventually forms. However, it would be ignorant and inaccurate to place the article solely as emergent. In this article Mintzberg states there is no such thing as ‘Purely deliberate strategy or a purely emergent one’. [p69] Emergent strategy as an extreme is essentially the absence of strategy (Andrew Inkpen, 1995).The  crafting of strategy is definitely far from deliberate strategy but would be implausible to be classified as purely emergent strategy. In Mintzberg words ‘Strategy making walks on two feet, one deliberate and the other emergent’ In other words learning must be used in conjunction with control. Mintzberg expands on this idea when he said â€Å"We t hink in order to act†¦..but we also act in order to think.† (Mintzberg, 1994) This in turn converges into practical pattern that becomes strategy. This article best supports ‘deliberately emergent approach’ or umbrella approach as Mintzberg conveyed the idea that processes should be consciously managed to ‘allow strategies to emerge en route.’ In this case senior management provides broad guidance and leaves the detail to those lower down in the organisation.Strengths and WeaknessesKey strength in this article is Mintzberg ability to utilize pathos, logos and ethos effectively to appeal to his readers. The article is brilliantly written and well structured thereby appealing to readers from all intellectual level. In addition, Mintzberg paints a vivid picture of the ideal form of strategy in the readers mind with the use of crafting as a metaphor. He intertwines the quality of a good porter to that of a manger, consequently illustrating the role o f a manager in crafting strategy ‘Managers are craftsmen and strategy is their clay.’ Mintzberg deliberately uses the metaphor to differentiate his concept of strategy from the mechanized models of deliberate planning that is void of creativity.A key element emphasised in ‘Crafting strategy’ is the ability for businesses to learn from experiences and ‘allow strategies to emerge en route.’ However what is not clearly indicated is if such type of approach is applicable to all sectors. McKiernan (McKiernan, 1997) argues that Mintzberg theory places too much emphasis on established businesses as new entrants won’t have the available experience to learn from. Furthermore Burgelman (Robert A. Burgelman 1991, Andres S. Grove, 2007) believes such approach can only be applicable to businesses without existing strategy, as strategy is embedded with experience and learning, thereby making it harder for management to implement constant incremental c hanges in responds to the environment.In this article, Mintzberg fails to discuss on the weakness of emergent strategy. He proposes that businesses should learn from mistakes that occur, however he neglects the consequences of mistakes such as the cost and wasted time due to trials and errors. These unrealistic expectations of emergent strategies are identified by Lynch. (Lynch, 2006) Mintzberg’s failing to discuss on the weakness of emergent strategy limits the usefulness of emergent strategy in practice. However authors such as Snyder and Cummings (William Snyder, 1998) carried out empirical study and designed models which aimed to align organisational learning with performance. Adcrof (Adcroft, 2009) also emphasises purely emergent strategy would be â€Å"a trial and error driven activity where intuition is wrong as often as it is right, which gives rise to levels of risk that may be unacceptable† ConclusionIn conclusion, initially Mintzberg favoured emergent strate gy over prescriptive strategy. However, he stated both strategy are needed in order to successfully implement strategy and advised the used of deliberately emergent and umbrella approach to strategy. Overall Mintzberg idea of strategy is still relevant to the world today as they reflect the fact that plans do fail and the age of five years plans are slowly fading away as businesses are becoming more responsive to the ever changing environment.

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 20

The Implied Ending That night I try to read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Nikki used to talk about how important Plath's novel is, saying, â€Å"Every young woman should be forced to read The Bell Jar.† I had Mom check it out of the library, mostly because I want to understand women so I can relate to Nikki's feelings and whatnot. The cover of the book looks pretty girly, with a dried rose hung upside down, suspended over the title. Plath mentions the Rosenbergs' execution on the first page, at which point I know I'm in for a depressing read, because as a former history teacher, I understand just how depressing the Red Scare was, and McCarthyism too. Soon after making a reference to the Rosenbergs, the narrator starts talking about cadavers and seeing a severed head while eating breakfast. The main character, Esther, has a good internship at a New York City magazine, but she is depressed. She uses fake names with the men she meets. Esther sort of has a boyfriend named Buddy, but he treats her horribly and makes her feel as though she should have babies and be a housewife rather than become a writer, which is what she wants to be. Eventually Esther breaks down and is given electroshock therapy, tries to kill herself by taking too many sleeping pills, and is sent to a bad place like the one I was in. Esther refers to a black man who serves food in her bad place as â€Å"the Negro.† This makes me think about Danny and how mad the book would make my black friend, especially because Esther was white and Danny says only black people can use controversial racial terms such as â€Å"Negro.† At first, even though it is really depressing, this book excites me because it deals with mental health, a topic I am very interested in learning about. Also, I want to see how Esther gets better, how she will eventually find her silver lining and get on with her life. I am sure Nikki assigns this book so that depressed teenage girls will see there's hope if you just hold on long enough. So I read on. Esther loses her virginity, hemorrhages during the process, and almost bleeds to death – like Catherine in A Farewell to Arms – and I do wonder why women are always hemorrhaging in American literature. But Esther lives, only to find that her friend Joan has hung herself. Esther attends the funeral, and the book ends just as she steps into a room full of therapists who will decide if Esther is healthy enough to leave her bad place. We do not get to see what happens to Esther, whether she gets better, and that made me very mad, especially after reading all night. As the sun begins to shine through my bedroom window, I read the biographical sketch at the back of the book and find out that the whole â€Å"novel† is basically the story of Sylvia Plath's life and that the author eventually stuck her head in an oven, killing herself just like Hemingway – only without the gun – which I understand is the implied ending of the book, since everyone knows the novel is really Sylvia Plath's memoir. I actually rip the book in half and throw the two halves at my bedroom wall. Basement. Stomach Master 6000. Five hundred crunches. Why would Nikki make teenagers read such a depressing novel? Weight bench. Bench press. One-hundred-thirty-pound reps. Why do people read books like The Bell Jar? Why? Why? Why? I'm surprised when Tiffany shows up the next day for our sunset run. I don't know what to say to her, so I say nothing – like usual. We run. We run again the next day too, but we don't discuss the comments Tiffany made about my wife.