Preventing Caregiver Abuse Essay Example for Free

Preventing Caregiver Abuse Essay The term â€Å"caregiver† is used to refer to an individual who assists another who cannot act freely due to certain chronic conditions. There are two main types of caregivers: the â€Å"informal caregivers† are family members or sympathetic friends who care for impaired older people living at home. The â€Å"formal caregivers,† on the other hand, are hired or volunteer workers who are connected either with the health care systems or social service agencies. The tasks associated with caregiving are grouped under two categories, namely: the ‘Activities of Daily Living† (ADLs) and the â€Å"Instrumental Activities of Daily Living† (IADLs). Included under ADLs are activities like getting in or out of bed, taking a bath, getting dressed, and the general toilet use. IADLs, on the other hand, may include meal preparation, general household chores, grocery shopping, and the management of the care receiver’s medication (Nerenberg, 2002). Studies have shown that the greatest negative consequence to caregiving is â€Å"stress† which is believed caused by fatigue due to lack of sleep, improper nutrition, and lack of exercise. Stress is also believed caused by the â€Å"burden† being experienced by caregivers. This burden increases as the level of disability of the care receiver increases, thereby needing a greater extent of care. Some quarters suspect that stress is one of the main reasons for caregivers to â€Å"go over the edge† and consequently abuse their patients (Nerenberg, 2002). For others, however, stress is not a cause but merely an aggravating factor. Abuse, which does not only mean physical injury but also includes â€Å"mental anguish, unreasonable confinement, sexual abuse or exploitation, or financial exploitation† of defenseless older people, are believed by some to be caused by factors like the caregiver’s frustration, sense of isolation, insufficient support from the community, behavior of the care receiver, and the nature of his or her daily tasks (Bratteli, 2003). Bratteli (2003) offered several legal remedies which are expected to prevent caregiver abuse in care facilities, namely: †¢ The care receiver should accomplish a â€Å"Financial Power of Attorney,† a legal document which would appoint his or her attorney-in-fact who will attend to his or her financial matters. This is usually a trusted relative or friend, the appointment of whom will prevent financial exploitation especially when the care receiver is staying in an institution. †¢ Accomplishment of a â€Å"Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. † This is another legal document which appoints an agent who will decide for the care receiver on matters of healthcare. It contains the care receiver’s preferred method of treatment and would prevent neglect on the part of the caregiver in an institution. Nerenberg (2002), on the other hand, pointed to some techniques and services which are now available which could reduce the risk of abuse on the part of caregivers who care for older people at home. According to her, these techniques and services were specifically developed in order to meet the needs of caregivers in terms of assistance and support. One of these is a program aimed at providing relief. Under this program, employees or volunteer workers visit the patient at home and spend several hours with him or her in order to allow the caregiver to have some rest. Other programs arrange for the care receiver to stay for several days in a care facility to allow the caregiver to enjoy an extended break. Some support services take the form of friendly visits and reassuring telephone calls to address the feeling of isolation by providing â€Å"social contact and emotional support. † These practices also relieve the anxiety being felt by the caregiver. Finally, caregivers should also be provided with informative materials which would teach them the techniques for reducing stress like exercise and proper diet (Nerenberg, 2002). References Bratteli, M. (2003). CAREGIVER ABUSE, NEGLECT AND EXPLOITATION: The Journey Through Caregiving. North Dakota Family Caregiver Project, North Dakota State University. Nerenberg, L. (2002). Caregiver Stress and Elder Abuse. National Center on Elder Abuse. Retrieved April 17, 2008 from http://www. ncea. aoa. gov/NCEAroot/Main_Site/pdf/family/caregiver. pdf

Essay on Exploring Death in Death in Venice -- Death in Venice Essays

Exploring Death in Death in Venice      Ã‚  Ã‚   Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, is a story that deals with mortality on many different levels. There is the obvious physical death by cholera, and the cyclical death in nature: in the beginning it is spring and in the end, autumn. We see a kind of death of the ego in Gustav Aschenbach's dreams. Venice itself is a personification of death, and death is seen as the leitmotif in musical terms. It is also reflected in the idea of the traveler coming to the end of a long fatiguing journey.    It must also be noted there are no women in the story with prominent roles. The hero's wife is long dead and his daughter has been married and gone for many years. Any women in the story are merely in the background, unnamed and colorless-totally insignificant. Mann has purposely left them out because they are life givers, the symbol of fertility and birth. (The only one scene where women have an active role is in the degrading and violently promiscuous dream.) There are definite homosexual overtones evident almost from the moment Aschenbach sees Tadzio-the object of his obsession. By far the most important level of death appears in the crumbling of Aschenbach's life principles: the giving up and letting go of all those ideals that molded his character and had shaped his work and guided every aspect of his entire life. It is a complete handing over of oneself to all that was heretofore anathema to him. The mind, reason, rationality, and all that goes with it: service, dignity, and restraint all buckle and die-all fall in the wake of the onslaught of passion and chaos.    Dreams play a major role in the story, and, throughout the history of literature, sleep has often been consid... ...one can surmise perhaps Aschenbach's shade would then have been rowed across the Styx (in a black gondola), or more possibly he would have followed Tadzio's outwardly pointing finger and joined Poseidon's ranks, plunging "into an immensity of richest expectation" (75) seeking "refuge . . . in the bosom of the simple and vast" [ocean] (31). Gustav thought of the boy as Phaeax, one of the sea god's sons (29). He had seen this godlike creature "with dripping locks . . . emerging from the depths of sea and sky" (33).    What more fitting manner of leaving the earthly fray than by returning to "the birth of form . . . the origin of the gods" (33)? Works Cited Freud, Sigmund. Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis. Chps. 9, 14. Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia Vol. 24, p. 388. Mann, Thomas. Death in Venice. 1911. New York: Vintage, 1958.   

Fhazel Johnnesse †A Young Man’s Thoughts Before June 16th Essay

Summary: The poem communicates the thoughts and feelings of one of the students in 1976 who would lose his life during the protests of June 16th This was the protest of bantu education by thousands of black schoolchildren, many of whom were shot and killed by the police. The poem concentrates on the human aspects rather than political convictions. The student has no feelings of bitterness toward anyone and expresses an acceptance of his impending fate. Tone: nostalgia melancholy longing acceptance Enjambment: Reflects natural speech patterns and adds to the conversational mood of the poem. Structure: Lack of punctuation and free verse: Reflects flow of thoughts. Breaks from normal format – protest for change (see synopsis). Suggests inferior education. A lack of control over the situation. Interpretation: Key: Green – important connotation Yellow – alliteration Line 1 The student looks to tomorrow; the day of the protest. ‘i’ suggests the student’s insignificance in the perspective of improving education for all non-white school goers and his acceptance of the sacrifice he will make to achieve this. That the student will ‘travel on a road’ suggests the well-known metaphor of life being a journey. Line 2 The student’s journey in life is full of difficulty, as suggested by ‘winds’ and ‘hill’. It also suggests the student’s determination as persistence is needed to navigate a winding, uphill road. The student’s life is aimed at achieving a specific goal or summative achievement, in this case the improvement of non-white education. Line 3 – 4 The student takes only his memories on the winding road for comfort. The memories are clearly important to the speaker which emphasises the importance of the human aspects of the protest rather than the political (see synopsis). Line 5 The student realises the heartache and grief his death will bring to his mother. Line 6 The student longs for a time when his life was simpler, and for the social presence of his friends. This shows the student to possess strong interpersonal bonds. Line 7 The student recollects a simple instance with friends. This further emphasises that the student is merely a normal young man. Line 8 In remembrance the student asks only that he be mourned with a song. This may suggest that he wishes his friends and family not to grieve for long over his passing. Line 9 The women who is to sing for him (assumedly his mother) has downturned eyes. This could either be seen as a way to hide her grief or as a sign of submission to the oppressor (the apartheid government). Line 10 The student would also have an old man (assumedly his father) to grieve by means of the song. Line 11 The man has a ‘broken brow’. This may suggest physical scarring but may also suggest that it is furrowed from emotion. This may be from the grief of the student’s death or from the years of oppression suffered under apartheid. Line 12 The student asks others to sing for him which may suggest that he is already dead, as he cannot sing for himself. Line 13 The student describes the end of his life (‘sunset’) as red. Red has connotations of anger, passion, blood and violence, all of which detail the occurrences during the protest. ‘Drenched’ suggests his complete hopelessness of escape from the violence and bloodshed. It also adds to the image of blood and suggests a large number of death. Alliteration: ‘B’ (line 7)- Links with belching onomatopoeia. ‘S’ (line 8-9, 12)- Creates mood- hushed, mellow, sorrowful.

Fainting Goat Facts

The fainting goat is a breed of domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) that stiffens when startled. Although the goat may fall over and appear to faint, it remains fully conscious in a state of myotonia. Since it doesnt actually faint, the animal is properly known as the myotonic goat. Fainting goats have a hereditary disorder called myotonia congenita. Although the goat freezes when panicked, it suffers no harm and leads a normal, healthy life. Fast Facts: Fainting Goat Scientific Name: Capra aegagrus hircusCommon Names: Fainting goat, myotonic goat, falling goat, Tennessee goat, stiff-legged goatBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 17-25 inches tallWeight: 60-174 poundsLifespan: 15-18 yearsDiet: HerbivoreHabitat: Originally from Tennessee, USAPopulation: 10,000Conservation Status: Not Evaluated Description Fainting goats are a breed of small meat goats (heavily muscled). A typical adult ranges from 17 to 25 inches tall and weighs between 60 and 174 pounds. The breed has distinctive prominent eyes set in high sockets. While the most common fainting goat coat color is black and white, the breed occurs in most color combinations. Either long or short hair is possible, but there is no angora strain of fainting goat. Fainting goats come in a variety of colors and coat lengths. passion4nature / Getty Images Why Fainting Goats Faint All fainting goats have an inherited muscle condition called myotonia congenita or Thomsens disease. The disorder is caused by a missense mutation of the CLCN1 gene that reduces chloride ion conductance in the chloride channels of muscle fibers. When the animal is startled its muscles tense up and dont immediately relax, causing the goat to fall down. Specifically, startling the goat causes its eyes and ears to send an electrical signal to the brain initiating the fight or flight response. When the response is initiated, the brain determines whether to stay or flee and the voluntary muscles momentarily tense. In myotonic goats, the balance between positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged chloride ions is out of balance, so muscles have enough sodium to relax, but not enough chloride. It can take 5 to 20 seconds for the ion balance to resolve and the muscles to relax. The severity of the condition varies according to individual, age, water availability, and taurine supplementation. Younger goats stiffen and fall more often than older goats, in part because mature individuals have adapted to the condition and are less easily startled. Based on understanding of myotonia congenita in humans, its known that the condition is painless and has no effect on the individuals muscle tone, consciousness, or life expectancy. Young kids are more susceptible to fainting than older adults. Redleg / Wikimedia Commons Habitat and Distribution Fainting goats were brought to Marshall County, Tennessee, in the 1880s. Today, they are kept throughout the world, although they remain most numerous in the United States. Diet and Behavior Like other goats, fainting goats are herbivores that feed on vines, shrubs, trees, and some broad leaf plants. While goats taste most objects to gain information about them, they dont actually eat everything. Nightshade plants and moldy feed may be deadly to fainting goats. Like other goats, this breed is naturally inquisitive. They are intelligent and can solve simple puzzles. Goat are social animals, but they will form herds with animals of other species, such as sheep, and can form close bonds with humans. Reproduction and Offspring Goats reach sexual maturity between the ages of 3 and 15 months, ideally when they have reached 70% of their adult weight. Females (does) come into estrus every 21 days and indicate willingness to mate by vigorous tail wagging. Males (bucks) curl their upper lips (flehmen response) and urinate on their forelegs and face to increase their odor. Gestation lasts around 150 days, usually resulting in twin births. Does start milk production when they give birth or kid. Domestic goats typically live 15 to 18 years. Conservation Status Because fainting goats are domestic, the IUCN has not evaluated the breed to assign a conservation status. However, the Livestock Conservancy lists it as threatened. According to the International Fainting Goat Association, there are around 10,000 fainting goats in the world. Fainting Goats and Humans Because of their rarity, fainting goats typically arent raised for meat. The animals are usually kept as pets or show animals. Fainting goats are easier to care for than most other breeds because they are smaller, have a friendly disposition, and dont jump fences over 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) high. Sources Beck, C. L., Fahlke, C., George, A. L. Molecular basis for decreased muscle chloride conductance in the myotonic goat. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 93(20), 11248-11252, 1996. doi:10.1073/pnas.93.20.11248Bryant, S. H. Myotonia in the Goat. University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 1979.Conte Camerino, D.; Bryant, S.H.; Mambrini, M.; Franconi, F.; Giotti, A. The action of taurine on muscle fibers of normal and congenitally myotonic goats. Pharmacological Research. 22: 93–94, 1990. doi:10.1016/1043-6618(90)90824-wHegyeli, A., Szent-Gyorgyi, A. Water and Myotonia in Goats. Science, 133(3457), 1961. doi:10.1126/science.133.3457.1011Lorenz, Michael D.; Coates, Joan R.; Kent, Marc. Handbook of Veterinary Neurology (5th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier/Saunders, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4377-0651-2.