My essay of mice and mMen Essay Example for Free

My essay of mice and mMen Essay In the novel Of Mice And Mice Lenny and George are on there travels to look for work but everything seems to go wrong Because Lenny can not control his anger or his strength and George is all ways there to get Lenny out of trouble but George treats Lenny like it his is own brother. The novel is set in Weed and it is very hard to find work and live a living so Lenny and George set them selves of to look for work Lenny on his journey who has a heart of gold would never hurt any one or hurt anything finds a mouse a dead mouse he wants t play and tamper with the mouse but George says no and grabs the mouse and throws the mouse into the bushes but then Lenny gets really upsets and starts crying and shouting out load all I want to do is tamper and play with the mouse because I like tampering animals George says . Never mind Lenny I will get you a puppy you can tamper and play with no Lenny says I want a mouse ok then George says what about if we get a job on the farm you cam tamper some rabbits , can I can I said Lenny of course you can just as long as your good and dont pick up dead mousse which might have dieses and we wont want you catching something. Has Lenny and George carry on with there journey there become hungry and they settle down by the river and they drink the water and then they start a fire and has Lenny collects wood for the fire George prepares the food. Or they have is beans which Lenny starts getting angry I only want beans with tomato ketchup if we have no ketchup I dont want any but we dont have none said George you will have to do with what we have ok , but I want ketchup , we have not got none so stop moaning. George starts getting mad with Lenny and says to Lenny I bet you if I was on my own I would have a job and nice food but no I am stuck with you moaning all the time can I tamper the rabbits can I tamper the rabbits you just get on my nerves Lenny gets upset and says if you want me to go I will, I will go up in the mountains and find a cave and live in there I will be ok then I wont get on your nerves no Lenny you will never survive with out me it is best if we stick together. There one more thing I have to tell you if you get in any trouble all I want you to do is to run to this bush here and hide till I come for you ok. Lenny and George carry on with there travels they come to a farm to have a interview for a job they get there and meet up with a man called Candy who is very old and needs very good looking after and takes them to the manager to see if there have the job. They get they job and Lenny and George are very excited but the only thing that keeps coming out of Lennys mouth is now can I tend the rabbits George says if you are good. The job they are given is to pick wheat bags up and stack them on to the carriage but they are very and it takes two men to lift one bag, but then every one is stunned to watch has Lenny picks up one bag all by himself but no one knows how strong Lenny is. George lets Lenny tend the rabbits but has Lenny is tending the rabbits in the barn the managers son Curly HE goes to work and Curly wife follows Lenny into the barn. She starts talking to Lenny telling him that she hates Curly and she hates working here and that she wants to become a Hollywood star and then she asks Lenny what hw would like to do he says have a big house for him and George and have there own business and also he would love to tend the rabbits. But has she was going to reply Curly walked in and says to Lenny why are you not doing you work get out there and finish of your job then George walks in whats happening says George then Curly and his wife walks out. Lenny if you have any trouble of him or any one you tell me then they all get back to work. George gives Lenny a puppy for his hard work Lenny is very excited and goes in the barn on his own and starts tending the puppy and guess who walks in Curlys wife sorry for my husbands behavior I dont want to talk to you says Lenny why says Curlys wife , George has told me to stay away from you we dont want any trouble so go away, but im friendly I only want to make friends no says Lenny. She walks away but seconds later she comes back and then Curly walks in I have told you hundreds of times to stay away from my wife then George walks in again to see Curly hitting and arguing with Lenny, Lenny stays there and George shouts out Lenny defend yourself and has Lennys face is pouring with blood and cut eyes half way closed Curly goes to punch him and curlys little hand is trapped between Lennys big hand and Lenny squeezes his hand and hurts Curly badly. Then Lennys says to George can I still tend the puppy of course you can you did nothing wrong says George. They are getting along with there lives fine carrying on with there work keeping them selves to them selves then Lenny asks George can I tend the puppy George says yea sure, Lenny is in the barn tending the puppy and then he tends the puppy so hard he kills the puppy and then barn door opens so Lenny is frightened so he quickly hides the puppy under the hay, and Curlys wife walks in hello Lenny and she noticed he had hidden something under the hay so she removes the hay to find that Lenny had hidden the puppy and she saw the puppy was dead, Lenny says dont tell George it was an accident. I was tending it to hard she says ok then she starts to talk to Lenny and she starts to get all emotional with Lenny she goes to kiss him and Lenny kisses her back and then he hugs her but with out him knowing his own strength he was hugging her to tight and he snaps her neck and she dies . Lenny is scared and frightened so he remembers what George said if you are in a lot of trouble run to this bush and hide until I find you so Lenny runs and hides. Curly has noticed that his wife has been killed and he knows who his responsible the first name he say is Lenny and George says how you know Curly says look my wife has been killed and Lenny is know where to be seen we need to find and I am going to kill him no says George you dont know the whole story. As everyone at the works are looking for Lenny, George goes to the bush and he sees Lenny sitting there, Lenny is very upset and dont know what to say George says I know what you have done it was an accident Lenny says. George says Lenny look over the river were we was drinking and keep looking down, George pulls out a gun at the side of his pocked holding it down between his spine join and then up to his head Lenny want to go to a nice place were we have loads of money loads of food and loads of animals and a big farm were no one can hurt us and you can not hurt any one yes please says Lenny can we go now Lenny says with excitement , yea of course just keep looking at the river , ok Lenny says. Georges gut is hurting but without a word he presses the trigger BANG Lenny just lowers his body with out a noise and just lays there. George is upset for what he had done bur he knew that Lenny was safe now and that he is living the life that he has always wanted to live. George has learnt that you can not get anything that you wish for in life you just have to grab it why you have the chance. Eben if you loose the closes friend you have. THE END Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.

Virginia Woolfs The Death Of The Moth

Virginia Woolfs The Death Of The Moth In Virginia Woolfs The Death of the Moth, she wrote about a pathetic moths death process. Although its struggling and fighting against death moved her, the moth died in the end. The Death of the Moth reveals a world filled up with common objects: the moth, downs, sunlight, rooks, men etc. The connection between them, however, is extraordinary. The center of this world is frozen on a moribund moth and everything else is background. They are here to see and to contrast the death of the moth. In this world, life and death changed in a wink and this death process is released in a condensed way, striking us readers simple and quiet life. Woolf was a person who suffered mental illness throughout her life. In this essay, she commonly used personification. She considered the moth as herself. By condensing the human lifetime to a day life of a hay-colored moth, she demonstrated that death was inevitable. Even though due to the true nature of life, living beings tend to fight against the oncom ing doom (107), any effort against the power will fail eventually. Surprisingly, Woolf created a window that separated the moth and her from the outside world. At the beginning of this essay, she wrote about the pleasant summer morning. Everything outside was inspired by the vigor. The keener smell of air, the early work in the field, the utmost clamor and vociferation of rooks shows us this scene of vitality (106). In addition, she chose to write many big, strong and significant things on purpose, such as the scoring plough, the horses, the ploughmen, the rooks etc. She aimed to foreshadow the contrast between the moth and outside living beings: That was all he could do, in spite of the size of the downs, the width of the sky, the far-off smoke of houses, and the romantic voice, now and then, of a steamer out at sea (106, 107). Compared to the world outside the window, the moth was pathetic and little or nothing but life (107). The universe was larger than the moth can notice. However, compared to the oncoming doom, even the large and strong outsid e world was fragile and insignificant, let alone the little moth: as long as it chose to, the oncoming doom could submerge an entire city, not merely a city, but masses of human beings; nothing, I knew, has any chance against death (108). The world inside the window was individual and different from the world outside. Woolf wrote about the moth flying around the window, from one corner to another, or across them. Not only the moth was tiny, but also its life, though somehow vigorous at that moment, was actually boring. There was nothing else left for it to do besides flying. Outside world was bright and colorful, but the moth was somewhat lonely, just like Woolf herself. The window was like a barrier, keeping her away from enjoying the optimistic and positive life. She felt pity for the moth, just as if she felt sympathy for herself. Eventually, the moth settled on the windowsill, maybe because it was tired. It wanted to fly again, but failed. It seemed that this little creature was exhausted. Its movement and struggling was awkward. It failed several times and finally fell down and lay on its back. Death crept up on this poor and pathetic moth. Woolf tended to help it, but suddenly realized that this was the token of death. She knew death was inevitable, and she accepted that. In her mind, nothing people can do to stop the power of death. Hence, she chose not to interfere with the natural process. The moth was struggling. She was moved by its extremely strong will to live. Its tiny little legs fluttered repeatedly. The last protest was a success, but this instant victory did not save it from taking away by death. At the last few sentences of the last paragraph, she repeated the word death for six times, trying to emphasize that nothing can win the battle against oncoming doom. Except using repetition here that adds force, the whole passage was trying to avoid this. Synonyms were commonly seen in her words, such as pity, pathetic, sympathies; also useless, helplessness, futile, vainly and failure; death, oncoming doom, the power, fate etc. From her words it was superb this last protest, ones sympathies, of cause, were all on the side of life, moved one strangely etc., we can see that Woolf admired, respected and praised the life (108). Thus, she utilized personification throughout her essay. The moth is she, and she is the moth, struggling and fighting all her life. Virginia Woolf suffered mental illness during her lifetime. Actually, the date when she wrote this essay was very close to her suicide. As she said in the end of the essay death is stronger than I am, her illness was torturing her and she wanted an end (108). The moths life is actually her life. She condensed it to a day. Her life is not colorful and interesting like the world outside the window, but boring, plain and dull. She had a same window deep down in her mind. A barrier, through which she could see the world, but she fail to blend in it. Maybe for the reason of her mental illness, she can see the world differently than common people and can understand her inner thoughts more thoroughly, thus creating her magnificent achievements in mastering the technique stream of consciousness. She can write complex sentences as her wish, and mix her true feelings into her words: Yet, because he was so small, and so simple a form of the energy that was rolling in at the open window and driving its way through so many narrow and intricate corridors in my own brain and in those of other human beings, there was something marvelous as well as pathetic about him (107). In this essay, Virginia Woolf seemingly wrote about the moth, while actually she wrote about herself. Pessimistic emotion flooded this essay. No one can stop the natural process. No one can escape from death.

Microbial Mats: A Bioreactor of Lithification

Microbial Mats: A Bioreactor of Lithification Microbial mats: a bioreactor of lithification and an indicator of Earths evolution Introduction Microbial mat is a general term that is used to describe a variety of microbial communities that are found at interfaces between different types of material, mostly on submerged or moist surfaces such as estuarine environment and salt marshes (Krumbein et al., 1977; Nicholson et al., 1987). Bacteria and archaea are two main microbes forming the layers. Microbial mats contain a variety of different but essential trophic groups including primary producers, consumers, and decomposers. This is why even though microbial mats are, to an extreme extent, geographically small, they are ecosystems from an ecological perspective. Microbial mats are dynamic ecosystems in which a wide range of metabolic processes take place. Inside this tiny ecosystem, different physical and chemical environments are distinguished by a variety of gradients, include but not limited to light, oxygen and sulfide (Visscher and van den Ende, 1994). The gradients may not be always constant. For example, oxygen concentration may have varied from diurnally to seasonally. In some aquatic systems, it will drop from supersaturated to undetectable within a few centimeters. The light penetration depth is fluctuated because of change of seasons or just with cloud covering. All these temporal environmental oscillations mentioned above, will result in coupled reactions, that are critical to the biogeochemical cycle, like reduction and oxidation of elements such as carbon and sulfur. Therefore, heterogeneity of microbe habitat is a common character that exhibits among all microbial mats.   Microbial mat ecosystems can be viewed as a semiclosed system which require little more than sunlight to function, as such it is efficient in all kinds of reactions and element cycling. The relatively simple but functional structures make it, to a certain extent, easy to reach equilibrium and mass balances. Generally, microbial mats tend to have high rates of oxygenic photosynthesis, aerobic respiration, sulfate reduction, and sulfide oxidation (Canfield and Des Marais, 1993; Revsbech et al., 1986), when compared to other benthic ecosystems. A classical view of a microbial mat (Figure 1)(Visscher et al., 2000) is that a fixed sequence of microbial groups exists: starting with oxygenic cyanobacteria as a surface community, underlain by oxygenic phototropic bacteria and sulfate-reducing bacteria as subsequent layer (Krumbein, 1983). This view, however, was later questioned and revised. Structure and the layers are not a result of different metabolic reaction types, on the contrary, they might be found in association with the cyanobacterial layer. Some research showed that the sulfur reducing bacteria was also found in the surface layer (Frà ¼nd and Cohen, 1992; Visscher et al., 1992). Microbial mats and mineral interaction In microbial ecosystems, when the precipitation rate of minerals is faster than that of dissolution, lithification will occur. Precipitations mediated by microbial mats is not limited to carbonates but also constituted by other minerals, such as gypsum and anhydrite (Ehrlich, 1998). Among all these precipitation types, carbonate precipitation is perhaps the most important process as it is directly related to the global carbon cycling. Therefore, in this section, a main focus will be put on sedimentary biofilms in hypersaline environments to help with the interpretation of the rock record. 2.1 Stromatolites and carbonate precipitation Stromatolites are lithifying organic sedimentary structures formed by microorganisms (Figure 2). Carbonate precipitation activities of microbial mats are trapped and recorded in stromatolites layered structures. As such, microbial mats can be viewed as bioreactors (Dupraz et al., 2004a). The stromatolites structure is characterized as an alternating soft and hard layers whose heights ranges from a few centimeters to two meters. The evolutionary processes of stromatolites remain largely uncharacterized (Zavarzin, 2002). There are two major hypotheses. Des Marais (1997) speculated that microbial lithification is a result of by-product of microbial metabolism. On the other hand, McConnaughey and Whelen (1997) suggested that this could be directly related to the consequence of microbes harvesting energy from protons released during calcium carbonate precipitation. However, regardless of origin, stromatolites have thrived for a long history that could be seen as a major evolutionary advan ce for us to study the Earths early history and global biogeochemical cycles. Cyanobacteria have played a crucial role in carbonate precipitation as shown in Figure 3. Two microbially as well as physicochemically controlled factors determine carbonate precipitation: the saturation index (SI) and exopolymeric substances (Lozano-Garcà ­a et al.). SI = log(IAP/Ksp), where IAP denotes the ion activity product (i.e. [Ca2+]*[CO2-]) and Ksp, the solubility product of the corresponding mineral (10-6.37 for calcite at 25 °C, 1bar atmospheric pressure and 35 PSU salinity (Zeebe and Wolf-Gladrow, 2001)). If IAP > Ksp, the solution is supersaturated, and when SI > 0.8, calcite carbonate tends to precipitates (Kempe and Kazmierczak, 1994). Or else, calcite carbonate will dissolve. The [CO32-] depends on the carbonate equilibrium, which comprises three species as followed: H2CO3, HCO3 and CO32-. In another word, pH is influencing the precipitation. Therefore, before investigating how microbial metabolism affect the CaCO3 precipitation, understanding production and consum ption of inorganic carbon and the environmental pH change is a prerequisite. EPS act as a chelator for cations and the template for crystal nucleation (Costerton et al., 1995; Decho, 2000). It is constantly modified by including but not limited to UV radiation, pH and microbial degradation (e.g. through hydrolysis, decarboxylation). 2.2 Microbial mats and lithification Contemporary microbial mats, vertically laminated ecosystems, resemble the layered sedimentary structures of stromatolites. As such, they have been attracting extensively research interests for being analogues for stromatolites. Shown in Figure 3, there are 6 different functional groups of microbes exist in microbial mats. From top of the figure to the bottom are: Cyanobacteria act as primary producers, which are believed to affect the trapping and biding of sediments; Aerobic heterotrophic bacteria, which gain energy from oxygen respiration and organic carbon; Anoxygenic phototrophs, mainly purple and green bacteria, which using HS- for photosynthesis; Sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), which respiring organic carbon with SO2- while producing HS; Sulfide oxidizing bacteria (SOB), chemolithoautotrophs that oxidize HS with oxygen or nitrate while fixing CO2; fermenters, using organic carbon or sulfur compounds as electron donor and acceptor. However, this view of the mat composition is facing challenge because nucleic acid sequences will undoubtedly reveal more diverse and complex community structures than the simple classified ones. Cyanobacteria is more like an important mediator of biogeochemical cycle of the mats ecosystem. It produces oxygen for the whole system to be functional (Fenchel, 1998). As mentioned before, the mat ecosystem is very efficient and productive. The relatively high photosynthetic rates, which shows a diurnal fluctuation, will reach its peak in the afternoon. Aerobic heterotrophs respire during the daytime when there is abundant oxygen, thereby creating an anoxia environment at twilight. Fermenters degrade complex organic molecules into smaller ones and benefit the SRB. SOB and anoxyphototrophs have contributed less to carbon fixation comparing with cyanobacteria and the role of fermentation remains ambiguous. All these activities above have resulted in steep vertical geochemical gradients with extreme diel fluctuations (Figure 3). To understand the role of microbial mats in precipitation and dissolution, it is important to determine both the abundance and metabolic activity of these key functional groups. Because the quality and quantity of EPS are largely determined by the metabolic activity of the community. In the previous researches, several microbial mat systems have been found to produce carbonate phases: travertine in hot springs in Yellowstone (Fouke et al., 2000), dolomite in Lagoa Vermelha, Brazil (Vasconcelos and McKenzie, 1997) and Salt Pan, Bahamas (Dupraz et al., 2004a). However, there are still mats that will no lithify or fossilize. So here comes the question, what determines the lithification potential? A previous study, using a combination of geological and microbial techniques, of lithifying microbial mat systems in hypersaline lake system was carried on in Salt Pan in Eleuthera, Bahamas (Dupraz et al., 2004a). The lake is not deep with an average depth less than 60cm. From the shoreline towards the center of the lake, a gradient from lithifying mats to jellylike soft mats exists (Figure 4). The shallow water column was found to contain cyanobacterial pigments that efficiently quench the sunlight. Not surprisingly, the photosynthesis, aerobic respiration, sulfate reduction are generally higher and geochemical gradients are steeper in the shallower lithifying mats. Moreover, EPS is easily destructed by strong UV radiation in shallower mats. This process helps with removing inhibition of precipitation by releasing more Ca2+ into the environment. The combination of these processes benefits carbonate precipitation. 2.3 Microstructure of precipitation and EPS UV radiation will cause browning reactions, dehydration and alkalinity. However, EPS production in stromatolite mat can prevent damages such as desiccation of the mat, retains essential nutrients, and provides water channels for transporting metabolites and signaling compounds (Costerton et al., 1995; Decho, 2000). Decho, A.W. et al. (Decho et al., 2005) had shown that EPS production in a stromatolite mat accounted only for 8% of 14HCO3uptake during the light, and a rapid turnover followed during the dark. They concluded that despite the fast rate of production, the net EPS production was low. The production and consumption are in equilibrium. Once being hydrolyzed, EPS components were readily consumed by the mat community, particularly anaerobes instead of aerobes. This is somehow surprising that when Schizothrix EPS, xanthan, or sugar and amino acid monomers and polymers that comprise EPS were supplied in mats, stimulation of anaerobic heterotrophic activity stimulation was greater than aerobic heterotrophs activity (Decho et al., 2005; Visscher et al., 2000). The combined action of fermentative organisms and SRB could be responsible for this high consumption rate. Oxygen levels are influenced by the rapid and extensive diurnal fluctuations as well as cloud cover and O2-consuming cell clusters in the EPS can produce anoxic microenvironments, therefore, the anaerobic pathway plays an important role in microbial EPS degradation. EPS can not only release Ca2+and HCO3 during microbial alteration, but also influence chemical gradients, which will in turn affect the mineral phases. The EPS matrix preferably slows down the mobility of hydrated Mg2+, therefore, temporarily increase relative abundance of Ca2+(Figure 5). The delay of Mg diffusion would lead to a decrease of the Mg2+:Ca2+ ratio of mineral products forming inside the EPS (Verrecchia et al., 1995). As mentioned above, changes in the amount or type of EPS could influence the rate of precipitation or types of crystals formed. 2.4 Microbial metabolism and saturation index Simple redox reactions form the basis of microbial metabolism. These metabolic reactions often involve C and either O, S or N (Figure 3;(Fenchel, 1998)). Daytime and nighttime metabolism of the six key functional groups is typically different, especially when it is influenced by oxygen and sunlight. Chemical alterations of the microenvironment that result from different metabolic reactions might change the alkalinity and thus facilitate carbonate precipitation or dissolution (Visscher and Stolz, 2005). Microbial mats have a high metabolic activities, thus it is not surprising that the rapid SI changes, despite the internal buffering capacity of the carbonate system, would result in a chemical alteration of the microenvironment. High rates of cyanobacterial photosynthesis cause a rapid depletion of CO2, which challenge the resilience or reestablishment of the carbonate equilibrium, and the increasing alkalinity will results in carbonateprecipitation through removal of the Hthat is pro duced in the latter reaction. It should be noted that in these reactions, organic carbon is assumed to be CH2O and different outcomes are expected with different organic compounds. For example, CO2produced bythe decomposition of carboxylic acids, will potentially increase the carbonate alkalinity by CO2degassing(Visscher et al., 1992). As such, this could probably explain why heterotrophic aerobes have been shown to precipitate carbonate. Microbial mats as an indicator of sulfur evolution The sulfur cycle has evolved over the long history of the Earth, with the concentration and the isotopic fractional abundance much different between Precambrian and contemporaneous environment (Cameron, 1982). The surface environment of the early Earth was basically reducing. Little atmospheric oxygen existed. Even though it is still under debate how the oxygen was produced at first, a majority of researchers believe that the history of atmospheric oxygen and seawater sulphate are closely linked (Habicht and Canfield, 1996; Ohmoto et al., 1993; Walker and Brimblecombe, 1985). Sulphate in Archaean and early Proterozoic sediment was found to be consistent in 34S depletion, which is similar to meteorites and mantle-derived igneous rocks (Cameron, 1982; Monster et al., 1979). Moreover, sulphate level was found to positively influence the rate of 34S depletion as lower levels sulphate (

Moving to America in The Third and Final Continent by Jhumpa Lahiri :: essays research papers

RR - â€Å"The First and Final Continent† Rude Awakening Everyone has been there. Upon completing the interview process, you have just been hired for a job that will change your life as you know it. Besides learning the tricks of the trade, you also must learn to work with people who have different views and backgrounds. As days turn into years, you have adjusted to the job and people and reflect back to when you first started and conclude, â€Å"It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.† In the short story, â€Å"The Third and Final Continent† by Jhumpa Lahiri, a young man has to deal with life in America. Originally from India, he moves to London to continue his education and later accepts a position at MIT in Boston, Ma. Throughout the story he reflects back to when he first came to the United States and is content with how it has turned out. As the story begins, a young man who has recently married, moves to Boston to start his new job. His first night is spent at â€Å"the YMCA which is within walking distance to MIT† (150). He is unable to sleep because of the intolerable noises such as â€Å"sirens and flashing lights [that] heralded endless emergencies, and a succession of buses rumbled past, their doors opening and closing with a powerful hiss, throughout the night† (150). However, as days go by he adjusts to the noise and begins to search for a decent place to live. He finds a home on a quiet street that is renting a room for $8.00 a week and develops a relationship with his landlord, Mrs. Croft. With the help of her daughter Helen, he discovers she is over 100 years of age and supported her family alone by giving piano lessons for over 30 years. However, his stay is shortly lived because he is awaiting the arrival of his new wife Mala. The couple moves into another apartment and begin their new life together. In the beginning, it starts of rocky because their marriage was arranged by his older brother. â€Å"[He] waited to get used to her, to her presence at [his] side, at [his] table, and in [his] bed, but a week later [they] were still strangers† (150). Moving to America in The Third and Final Continent by Jhumpa Lahiri :: essays research papers RR - â€Å"The First and Final Continent† Rude Awakening Everyone has been there. Upon completing the interview process, you have just been hired for a job that will change your life as you know it. Besides learning the tricks of the trade, you also must learn to work with people who have different views and backgrounds. As days turn into years, you have adjusted to the job and people and reflect back to when you first started and conclude, â€Å"It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.† In the short story, â€Å"The Third and Final Continent† by Jhumpa Lahiri, a young man has to deal with life in America. Originally from India, he moves to London to continue his education and later accepts a position at MIT in Boston, Ma. Throughout the story he reflects back to when he first came to the United States and is content with how it has turned out. As the story begins, a young man who has recently married, moves to Boston to start his new job. His first night is spent at â€Å"the YMCA which is within walking distance to MIT† (150). He is unable to sleep because of the intolerable noises such as â€Å"sirens and flashing lights [that] heralded endless emergencies, and a succession of buses rumbled past, their doors opening and closing with a powerful hiss, throughout the night† (150). However, as days go by he adjusts to the noise and begins to search for a decent place to live. He finds a home on a quiet street that is renting a room for $8.00 a week and develops a relationship with his landlord, Mrs. Croft. With the help of her daughter Helen, he discovers she is over 100 years of age and supported her family alone by giving piano lessons for over 30 years. However, his stay is shortly lived because he is awaiting the arrival of his new wife Mala. The couple moves into another apartment and begin their new life together. In the beginning, it starts of rocky because their marriage was arranged by his older brother. â€Å"[He] waited to get used to her, to her presence at [his] side, at [his] table, and in [his] bed, but a week later [they] were still strangers† (150).

John Proctor in The Crucible :: Essay on The Crucible

Crucible Paper The Puritans had many values that everyone must know and completely obey. One of those values is to know, and obey the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were one of the most important things for all Puritans to know and obey, because without them there would be no order. For a Puritan not to know his Commandments by heart was nearly unheard of seeing how the Commandments are the basic rules for them. Although almost all of the Puritans knew the Commandments there were a few who didn’t know them all by heart. John Proctor was one of these who didn’t know them all by heart. Its not just the fact that he didn’t know them all by heart that lets him fit into the category of not being a good Puritan because he lacks the Puritan characteristic of knowing and obeying the Ten Commandments. One way he shows that he doesn’t obey the Ten Commandments is the fact the he rarely attends church anymore. This is breaking one of the Ten Commandments, ‘Th ou shall remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy’ this Commandment states that on every Sunday you must attend church. Yet John doesn’t, which isn’t following what he should do. Another example of not obeying the Commandments is by having an affair with Abigail, who was his housekeeper and who happened to be eleven at the time. In committing this act he directly disobeyed the Commandment ‘Thou shall not commit adultery’. This Commandment states that when one is married to someone they should only be active among themselves. The finally way John shows that he is not a good Puritan is by not knowing all the Commandments when asked to say them by Mr. Hale. John says them all but adultery. These three things made John Proctor ‘an unworthy Christian’ by Puritan standards. When John was asked to repeat the Ten Commandments by Mr. Hale he was off to a good start but he forgot adultery completely and said one twice (page 63-64). This shows Mr. Hale that in fact John doesn’t know the Commandments, which means he is not a good Puritan. The reason for Mr. Hale’s presents at Proctor’s house was because Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife, was accused of witchcraft early that day at court. Hale didn’t come representing the courts, but purely to gain knowledge of the people of Salem so that he may gain knowledge of how to get rid of the Devil if he truly is in Salem.

Adult Day Care Centers

Adult Day Care Centers Naomi Noel University of the Rockies Abstract Adult day cares have not received the acclaim due. They are an invaluable part of the communities that they serve. They incorporate succinct mission statements to effectively get their point across while also employing a wide range of professionals to better serve their clientele. The utilize needs based assessment tools for enrollment as well as needs assessment surveys to gather information from the surrounding community. The chain of command is laid out so that ethical guidelines can easily be established and appropriately enforced.They also referrals to agencies better equipped to handle particular situations in order to better serve their clientele. Within the next five to ten years, the need for their services will increase. However, unless federal guidelines change and more funding is established the current trend of only operating for a few years will continue. Adult Day Care Centers The majority of in-home care providers for physically or cognitively disabled adults are family members, generally an adult child or a spouse. Without the care of these family members, many adults would require nursing home care.Family caregivers are extremely valuable, but often need additional help in caring for a loved one. Caregiving can take an enormous toll, both financially and physically. Adult day care can provide needed respite from caregiving and may reduce the need for a nursing home. An adult day care center, also commonly known as adult day services or adult day health care, is a non-residential facility providing activities for elderly and/or handicapped individuals. While centers of this kind are available, they often have waitlists due to the high demand.Most centers operate 10 – 12 hours per day and provide meals, social/recreational outings, and general supervision. Adult daycare centers operate under a social model and/or a health care model. Daycare centers may focus on providin g care only for persons with Alzheimer's and related dementias or their services may be available for any disabled adult. The original concept was to provide a â€Å"sitting service† as it were to provide activities and stimulation for care-recipients in an environment outside of the home.The care-recipient would receive supervision and possibly some limited care while the caregiver would have a break from the routine of daily caregiving thus allowing them to take care of other responsibilities or simply have time to themselves. This also allowed peace and quiet to relieve the stress of caregiving. The care center might offer transportation at a nominal additional cost to transport the loved one to and from the center. This initial model is still around but it has undergone some tweaking in order to prove profitable.There are now three basic models for adult day care that were developed mostly so the government would be inclined to contribute financially. The traditional mode l with social services, activities, crafts and some individualized attention; the medical model with all of the aforementioned services plus skilled services such as nurses, therapist, psychiatrists and geriatric physicians; and the Alzheimer’s model with services specifically designed to support and care for Alzheimer’s patients. Participation in adult day care often prevents re-hospitalizations and may delay admission to residential long term care.For participants who would otherwise want to stay at home alone, the social stimulation and recreational activities may improve or maintain physical and cognitive function. Adult Day Care Centers are designed to provide care and companionship for seniors who need assistance or supervision during the day. The goals of the programs are to delay or prevent institutionalization by providing alternative care, to enhance self-esteem and to encourage socialization. (Eldercare. gov, 2012) A mission statement defines an organization s fundamental purpose.It answers the basic questions of why the organization exists while describing the needs that it is attempting to meet. It also provides the basis for judging the success of the organization and is capable of attracting donors and volunteers while simultaneously encouraging community involvement. Your mission statement embraces the reasons your practice exists (besides just making a living for you and your staff), the core values your organization shares and expresses through its work, how you serve your key stakeholders, and your overarching (sometimes idealistic) goals. Urology Times, 2011) The mission statement of the adult day care center created for this paper would read as follows: To provide a secure and nurturing environment for clients who need social environment, consistent supervision and loving assistance. This mission statement sums up the goals for the center in a concise manner while offering reassurance to the client’s primary caregivers. The list of professionals necessary for organizational success includes licensed nurses, certified nursing assistants, a certified nutritionist, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist.These employees are the ones who would be required to have a degree, licensure or certification in their respective areas. This does not include staff such as receptionists and bookkeeping. The licensed nurses would be responsible for the overall day-to-day operation of the center and particularly ensuring that the center is operating according to state licensing regulations and health department policies and procedures. They would supervise the nursing assistants and medication staff while also reviewing client history prior to admission to the facility and conducting admission assessment conferences.The certified nursing assistants (CNAs) would be responsible for assisting with overall client care including but not limited to assessment, care planning, mobility, safety, comfort, and unit efficiency. The medication staff’s only role would be to ensure the proper storing and dispensing of client prescriptions. Next would be a nutritionist. Nutritionists play a preventative role while offering education about what kind of foods are consumed. They offer menu suggestions and assist with understanding the connection between food and emotions.They would be a vital member of the center’s team since the typical center serves breakfast and lunch and an afternoon snack. The final professionals necessary for a creditable adult day care center are an occupational therapist and a physical therapist. Occupational therapists are proficient in modifying the physical environment as well as training the individual in the proper use of assistive equipment to increase independence. They also emphasize helping their patients engage in meaningful activities of daily living (ADLs).Physical therapists are trained to identify and maximize quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation. Their primary focus is on the physical, psychological, emotional, and social well-being of the client. While each of these specialists concentrates on differing characteristics of care, they do experience some vocational overlap which allows them to work well in tandem. The physical and occupational therapists would be contracted out of reimbursement purposes.It is important that the timing of each unit of therapy is not inclusive of any other treatments. The clients would be timed from when the actual therapies or services begin. This would not include time for restroom breaks, waiting for someone to get ready or clothing changes. Adhering to these policies allows clients to receive quality therapeutic services while keeping the overall costs down. Needs based assessment tools are a vital part of the overall blueprint for adult day care center enrollment.These assessments allow the facility to obtain data from potential clientele in order to evaluate whether or not the center can address the client’s diverse needs. Some of the more common tools include psychological, physical, leisure interest, nutritional and risk assessments. Some facilities may elect to include financial and estate planning depending on availability and demand. Most states require a licensed nurse to conduct the psychological assessment portion of a patient's intake process. One of the most common assessment instruments in use is the Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).The MMSE is a brief assessment of the cognitive state of the adult client. The instrument screens for impairment in cognition, estimates the severity of impairment at a specific point in time (usually during intake) and can be used to reassess and follow changes in the individual's mental state over time or to document changes that happen as a result of therapy or applied therapeutic support services. The nu rse typically obtains copies of any formal psychological evaluations and assessments that have been completed within the past ten years. State minimum standards outline what sorts of physical evaluation are needed.Standard tests include height, weight, blood pressure, respiration and temperature. A nurse also obtains and reviews the patient's medical history from his doctor and follows up with questions about specific conditions that may affect the patient's care plan. At this time, the patient's family and the nurse develop or make a copy of the patient's advance directive, which lays out the patient's wishes in case extraordinary medical intervention is needed to keep him alive. This documentation is crucial especially when working with the elderly. The center activity director (AD) conducts a leisure/recreational interest inventory of the patient.The inventory is a check-off list of recreational activities that the person either enjoys or does not enjoy to varying degrees. By ide ntifying recreational interests of each new patient, the AD can structure an activities program so that activities not only meet physical, mental and social needs in a therapeutic way but also engage the patient. The center's consulting nutritionist may perform their own client assessment while also looking at the care plan drawn up by the center treatment team to incorporate the patient's special dietary needs into the center's meal and snack menus.Clients with special dietary needs may require a detailed meal plan be designed. The nutritionist is also in charge of monitoring the client to ensure that the diet is satisfactory. As part of the intake process, the entire treatment team considers physical, social and mental limitations faced by the patient in addition to special needs, flight risk, fall risk, seizure potential or other possible risks in providing care to the patient. The team as a whole weighs risks, develops strategies and addresses risk factors to be incorporated int o the patient's treatment plan.The family will eventually meet with the bookkeeping staff, to assess family financial resources, insurance (including Medicare and Medicaid) and other social service resources while developing a care contract and payment plan. At this time, the staff typically provides a copy of the center's family handbook to the patient's caregivers with center policies and procedures as well as general information about operations, hours, types of services offered and terms of service.The chain of command is defined as â€Å"The order in which authority and power in an organization is wielded and delegated from top management to every employee at every level of the organization† (Business Dictionary. com, 2012). The clearer cut the chain of command, the more effective the decision making process and greater the efficiency. Military forces are an example of straight chain of command, extending in an unbroken line from the top brass to ranks. However, this ill ustration is not conducive to the requirements of an adult day care center.Chain of command is considered very important in organizations because it enhances the effectiveness of the management. The chain of command clearly shows the line of authority and responsibility in the organization, therefore, it really plays an important role in the organizations. Following is a more appropriate chain of command sequences for a facility of this nature. This type of chain is more of a pyramid and is well-suited to the organization’s needs.Volunteering, in the sense of carrying out tasks or providing services for individuals or community organizations without financial recompense, is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life. It is considered as serving the society through one's own interests, personal skills or learning, which in return produces a feeling of self-worth and respect, instead of money. Volunteering is also famo us for skill development, socialization and fun. It is also intended to make contacts for possible employment or for a variety of other reasons.Community volunteers would be a substantial part of the center’s staff as their involvement is capable of forging friendship with the clients. It is essential for an agency of this capacity to be knowledgeable about other services and facilities that the clientele can benefits from. The benefit of this is two-fold. First, you show your clients and their families that you really want them to succeed. Second, this service allows you to network with other agencies providing them with additional clientele. If the experience is positive (for all parties involved), then it is likely that they will return the favor.Collaboration among agencies is the key to preventing fragmentation. In addition to reducing the likelihood of clients falling through the cracks between disparate and unconnected agencies, collaboration can foster a more holistic view of the client. Sometimes just a simple change of perspective can make the difference between circumstances being viewed as â€Å"needs† and being viewed as assets. For example, a single parent who cannot find a babysitter on a particular evening misses a treatment session. See Appendix for a suggested agency referral list. The ethical standards that govern the human services profession depend on many variables, including the human service professional’s level of education, professional license, and even the state in which they practice† (Martin, 2011). In the state of Oklahoma, an adult day care is required to have a designated administrator-of-record who has been licensed by the state. Because of the nature of this agency and the mandatory licensure, it falls under the umbrella of the Oklahoma State Board of Examiners for Long Term Care Administrators’ Code of Ethics which was adopted from the American College of Health Care Administrators’ C ode of Ethics.The abbreviated version contains four simple expectations. EXPECTATION I -Individuals shall hold paramount the welfare of persons for whom care is provided. EXPECTATION II – Individuals shall maintain high standards of professional competence. EXPECTATION III – Individuals shall strive, in all matters relating to their professional functions, to maintain a professional posture that places paramount the interests of the facility and its residents. EXPECTATION IV – Individuals shall honor their responsibilities to the public, their profession, and their relationships with colleagues and members of related professions. American College of Health Care Administrators, 2012) These expectations are reasonable and simple to understand. Maintaining the standard of the governing organization would not present any difficulty. In addition to the code of ethics from a superior governing organization, the center would adhere to the following principles as well: quality of care, participant rights, participant selection, appropriateness of care, representation of care and fees, conflicts of interest, accountability of member, and protection of the public. Enforcing these principles would ensure the utmost quality of service.The final ethical standard for this center would come from the National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA). NADSA gives what they refer to as the Six Domains of Health Care Quality. The work to ensure that all facilities with their certification provide care that is safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable. A needs assessment is a systematic exploration and analysis of â€Å"the way things are† and â€Å"the way things ought to be. † A need is not a want or desire, but a gap between the current situation and the optimal situation.Using both qualitative and quantitative research, a needs assessment identifies gaps in training, programs, services and outreach efforts. Needs asses sments can be used to identify and solve performance problems in order to direct a natural resource or outdoor recreation organization's future planning efforts. Needs assessment surveys provide a way of community members what they see as the most important needs of that particular group. These surveys are important only to agencies who value community feedback.They offer an excellent opportunity to gather and score the opinions of those the agency is trying to assist. Needs assessment surveys are necessary to learn more about the communal needs, gain a more honest and objective description of needs and become more aware of issues that may have fallen under the radar. As baby boomers and others seek quality care for their parents, the adult day care industry is growing at a rate of five to fifteen percent, dependent on location. According to The National Adult Day Services Association 3,500 centers are caring for approximately 150,000 adults daily. In 1990, ADS facilities reported c osts between $30 to $35 dollars a day† (Burke, Hudson, & Eubanks, 1990). Today, cost estimates for not for- profit facilities range from $40 to $50 and for-profits range from $60 to $70 per day. The average age of the adult day center care recipient is 72, and two-thirds of all adult day center care recipients are women. Thirty-five percent of the adult day center care recipients live with an adult child, 20 percent with a spouse, 18 percent in an institutional setting, and 13 percent with parents or other relatives, while 11 percent live alone.Fifty-two percent of the adult day center care recipients using adult day services centers nationwide have some cognitive impairment. (Bauer & Moore, 2009) Since the 1970s there has been a continued growth of adult day health service programs, with the most rapid growth occurring after additional Medicaid funds became available through approved waiver programs. There is no existing federal policy regarding adult and pediatric day health services, so there is great variability among states’ approaches to adult day health services (ADHS), and rightly, great variation in programs, services, and standards.Because literature on reimbursement approaches specific to day health services was scant, long-term care literature to describe reimbursement structures and factors utilized for needs-based reimbursement systems was heavily relied on. In theory adult day services seem to offer an ideal alternative to caregivers by providing a daytime care environment outside of the home. One would think that a program where a loved one could be nurtured, stimulated and provided medical care would be a welcome relief for both the caregiver and the care-recipient. In practice it does not seem to work.To only have added about 133 new care centers a year in the entire country does not seem like enough. Yet there are thousands of nursing homes, assisted living facilities and home health agencies available coast to coast. Although i t is an extremely valuable service that should be utilized more often, no one seems to have an answer as to why adult day care has not been more popular with caregivers. As of yet, no data collection or research studies have been able to answer this question. However, several theories have been developed. First, and quite simply, care-recipients may not be comfortable with the concept.Many of the people who qualify for these services are afraid to leave their homes unless someone familiar is with them. The thought of being by themselves in a new environment is enough to convince them not to give it a chance. Second, the cost of the services might be detrimental to some caregivers. This is especially true of those with loved ones who did not qualify for one of the numerous waiver programs that are offered by the government. Third, perhaps there are not enough caregivers and families that are familiar with what services these center have to offer.Fourth, adult day care can prove to be its own worst enemy. About half of all centers are nonprofit organizations sponsored by churches or community associations. Often these places find themselves in a catch twenty-two; on one hand they charge next to nothing which does not allow them to cover all of the associated expenses. On the other hand, if they were to raise their rates, they run the risk of turning away potential clients. From 1989 to 2004 the number of ADHS facilities doubled. A survey completed in 2001 put the number of adult day care centers at 3,493 nationwide.This trend is projected to continue. In the next five to ten years, it is expected that the need for adult day care centers is going to drastically increase due to the length of time the general population lives. The average lifespan continues to increase due to advances in health care thus creating an influx of elderly citizens who will eventually need to depend on others for their care. As more and more people continue on in the workforce, they will begin to rely more heavily on adult day and adult health centers to care for their loved ones.Ideally more funding and federal regulations will come about. In addition, one can hope that the general population will become more aware of the benefits of an adult day care center. Once those two things occur, then this service can experience exponential growth while simultaneously extending a helping hand to the elderly population. References Bauer, A. , & Moore, W. (2009, October 09). Adult day service centers are vital to our growing senior population. Retrieved from http://www. journalscene. com/commentary/Adult-day-service-centers-are-vital-to-our-growing-senior-population Burke, M. Hudson, T. , & Eubanks, P. (1990). Number of adult day care centers increasing, but payment is slow. Alternate Care, 34-42. Chain of command. (2012). Retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/chain-of-command. html Code of ethics. (2012, August 24). Retrieved from http://www. ok. gov /osbeltca/Code_of_Ethics/ index. html How to write a mission statement that resonates. (2011). Urology Times, 39(11), 43-44. Martin, M. E. (2011). Introduction to human services: Through the eyes of practice settings. (2nd ed. Boston, MA: Pearson. Appendix Referral Agencies Adult Day Services Phone:      (405) 521-42291-800-498-7995Fax:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (405) 521-2086  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mailing Address: 2401 N. W. 23rd St. , Ste. 40 Oklahoma City, OK  Ã‚   73107 Adult Protective Services Program Oklahoma  County (405) 522-2743 Aging Services: Legal Services Shirley Cox, Legal Services Developer Phone:   (405) 521-2281Fax:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (405) 521-2086 Mailing Address: 2401 N. W. 23rd St. , Ste. 40 Oklahoma City, OK  Ã‚   73107 Area Agencies on Aging Directors Phone:   (405) 521-2281Fax:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (405) 521-2086Mailing Address: 2401 N. W. 23rd St. , Ste. 40 Oklahoma City, OK 73107 Respite Eleanor Kurtz, Programs Supervisor Phone:  Ã‚  Ã‚   (405) 522-62411-866-359-8596Fax:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (405) 521-2086 Mailing Address: 2401 N. W. 23rd St. , Ste. 40 Oklahoma City, OK  Ã‚  Ã‚   73107 State Plan Personal Care Tom Dunning, Programs Administrator State Plan Personal Care Intake Line: 1-800-435-4711 Transportation Eleanor Kurtz, Programs Supervisor Phone:  Ã‚     Ã‚  (405)  522-66831-800- 498-7995Fax:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  (405) 521-2086 Mailing Address: 2401 N. W. 23rd St. , Ste. 40 Oklahoma City, OK  Ã‚  Ã‚  73107

Leadership and Management Essay

The implementation of the care of the dying policy at the writer’s area of practice involved the process of change. This involved the use of both leadership and management theories which are essential to increased effectiveness as supported by Moiden (2002). The change was a political one due to the government initiatives to improve end of life care (Department of Health 2008). Antrobus (2003) states that political leaders aim to deliver improved health care outcomes for patients. The essay will critically analyze both leadership and management theories from the top of the organization to the bottom. These theories were used to implement this change to enhance quality care in this clinical area. The essay will also critically analyze and evaluate the nurses’ self management skills in fulfilling their role as clinical managers within interdisciplinary and the changing context of the healthcare. Similarly, the essay will discuss the implications upon quality assurance and resource allocation for service delivery within the health care sector. These will be related to current government strategies. The effects of government strategies in involving the user and carer or significant others in decision making process within current clinical and legal frameworks (Department of Health 2000b) will also be debated. Similar debate will also be on the nurses’ involvement in policy making (Antrobus 2003). Further discussion on government strategies will be discussed on the introduction of clinical governance and essence of care. Braine (2006) states that the purpose of implementing change is to improve effectiveness and quality. The whole process of change was based on the introduction of the care of the dying booklet which meant that all healthcare professional documented their notes in the same booklet. The change took place in a large hospital to implement a new policy which was politically driven by the government to improve quality of care. Like most hospital organizations, the hospital traditionally uses a bureaucratic management approach (Marquis and Huston 2006) reinforced with authoritarian leadership to facilitate efficiency and cost effective care. This is done through planning, coordination, control of services, putting appropriate structures and systems in place and monitoring progress towards performance activities (Finkelman 2006 and Faugier and Woolnough 2002). According to Marquis and Huston (2006) bureaucracy was introduced after Max Weber’s work to legalize and make rules and regulations for personnel to increase efficiency. The ward manager as a change agent had to design and plan the process of change. Designing change involved understanding the purpose of change and gathering data as supported by Glower (2002). Planning included identifying driving forces and ways to reduce restraining forces (Glower 2002). Unlike the top management who used bureaucratic management theory, the ward manager applied the human relations management theory (Marquis and Huston 2006) at ward level. This management theory is designed to motivate employees to achieve excellence. The human relations theory was introduced in attempt to correct what was believed to be the shortcoming of bureaucratic theory which failed to include the human aspects (Marquis and Huston 2006). Often referred to as motivational theory, Lezon (2002) agrees that this theory views the employee in a different way and helps to understand people better compared to the autocratic management theories of the past. It is based on theory Y of Douglas McGregor’s (1960) X and Y theories cited in (Lezon 2002). Theory Y assumes that people want to work, are responsible and self motivated, they want to succeed and they understand their position in the organization. Perhaps the appropriateness of this theory can be linked to the implementation of clinical governance which emphasizes that it is the responsibility of health care professionals to ensure effectiveness, high standards and quality (Braine 2006). This puts health care professionals in a responsible position and motivates them to provide high quality care. This explains why theory Y was used as opposed to theory X which according to Lezon (2002) assumes that people are lazy, unmotivated and require discipline. According to the human relations theory, there are some positive management actions that lead to employee motivation thus improving performance (Marquis and Huston 2000). Some of these actions used by the change agent were empowering and allowing employees to make independent decisions as they could handle, training and developing, increasing freedom, sharing big picture objectives, treating employees as if work is natural and other ways of motivating staff as supported by Marquis and Huston (2006 and Lezon 2002). The use of human relations theory in the implementation of this policy is well justified in contrast to other management theories. For example, theory X presumes that people must be coerced, controlled, directed and threatened with punishment (Lezon 2002). This theory adds that an average person has inherent dislike of work and prefers to avoid responsibility (Marquis and Huston 2006). In other words, theory X prefers autocratic style while theory Y prefers participative style. Managers using theory y seek to enhance the employee’s capacity to exercise high levels of imagination, ingenuity and creativity solving organizational problems. With the human relations theory, members feel special and involved rather than being controlled by threats and sanctions from the change agent (Dowding and Barr 2002). The team of health care professionals was aiming to achieve the same goal. This goal was to provide high quality care to patients approaching end of life. This involved a lot of organizational psychology and motivation to facilitate effective teamwork. Among the factors that facilitate effective teamwork, leadership is the most significant as stated by Clegg (2000). Toofany (2005) supports that leadership is on government’s modernization agenda for the National Health Service and is an influencing factor. Therefore, the change agent needed equally effective leadership style. To facilitate this, she applied the transformational leadership style. Markhan (1998) cited in Clegg (2000) defines transformational leadership style as a collaborative, consultative and consensus seeking. These are the same characteristics of the leadership style used by the change agent. Contrary to this leadership style is the transactional leadership style which is based on power of organizational position and authority to reward and punish performance (Moiden 2002). Based on Rosner (1990)’s research, Clegg (2000) states that gender affects leadership style and women prefer transformational style. Perhaps this explains why the change agent chose this style for this particular change. As in any form of change process, resistance, which falls under the unfreezing stage of Lewin’s (1951) cited in Murphy (2006) change theory is one of the common obstacles that needed to be dealt with (Curtis and White 2002). By inspiring a shared vision within the team (McGuire and Kennerly 2006) the change agent managed to increase driving forces and reduce resisting forces at the same time. Clegg (2000) values vision as a very important ingredient of transformational leadership, adding that it should be engaging and inspiring. Transformational leadership was first put forward by James Burns (1978) cited in Marquis and Huston (2006). According to him, a relationship of mutual stimulation and elevation converts followers into leaders, a fact shared by Murphy (2005). If a leader can stimulate followers, he or she can engage followers into a problem solving attitude (McGuire and Kennerly 2006). In addition, people engage together in a way that allows leaders and followers to raise each other to higher levels of motivation and morality (Marquis and Huston 2006). This approach emphasizes on the leader’s ability to motivate, coach and empower the followers rather than control their behaviors (McGuire and Kennerly 2006). Moiden (2002) states that this style is widely used in all types of organizations in dealing with change. Frequently, it is contrasted with transactional leadership which is a traditional way in which followers’ commitment is gained on the basis of exchange of reward, pay and security in return of reliable work (Mullins 2002). However McGuire and Kennerly (2006) state that if transactional leadership is predominantly used, followers are likely to place limits to organizational commitment and behave in a way only aimed at contract requirements. Despite the differences in various leadership styles, most researchers conclude that there is no one leadership style that is right for all circumstances (Reynolds and Rogers 2003). Fidler (1967) cited in Moiden (2002) agrees that a single leadership style is rarely practiced. Therefore situational theories were introduced in order to deal with various situations. Perhaps this is why the leader used the situational approach to leadership in order to meet the demands of different situations, an idea also shared by Marquis and Huston (2000). Reynolds and Rogers (2003) suggest that the effectiveness of day to day activities depends on balancing between the task at hand and human relations to meet everyone’s needs. Different competence levels, motivation levels and commitment levels of staff on this clinical area justify why a situational approach was used in conjunction with transformational leadership style. Reynolds and Rogers (2003) support that situations like this require the leader to adapt their style. However, they warn that it is important to know when to lead from the front, when to empower and when to let go. This situational approach enabled the leader to work on followers’ strength and weaknesses. Moreover, Reynolds and Rogers (2003) warn that it is not always easy to find leadership styles that suite the needs of every situation and not everything falls into place from the beginning. Marquis and Huston (2000) criticize that situational theory concentrate too much on situation and focus less on interpersonal factors. Support was given to followers according their needs. Supportive behavior, as supported by Reynolds and Rogers (2003) helps people to feel comfortable in their situations. This was facilitated by the use of a two way communication system which involved listening, praising, asking for help and problem solving. Consequently, as performance improved, the leader’s supportive behavior shifted to delegation. Delegation was mostly directed to staff with high competences, commitments and motivation. Reynolds and Rogers (2003) support that the style of leadership alters as performance improves from directing to coaching to supporting to delegation. Basing on research studies, Reynolds and Rogers (2003) warns that using different approaches to different staff can practically difficult in terms of developing the whole group as well as maintaining fairness. This further exposes the limitations of situational approach. Nevertheless, it is equally important to assess followers’ capabilities and developmental needs so this explains the relevance of situational approach to this clinical area. The delegation was directed to some members of the team while others still wanted to be directed. In addition, this was because of the leader’s trust in people, working to their strength and sharing the vision as supported by Kane-Urrabazo (2006). Delegation is defined as transferring responsibility of an activity to another individual and still remain accountable (Sullivan and Decker 2005). Davidson et al (1999) caution that critical thinking and sound decision making must be applied before delegating because it increases rather than decrease nurses’ responsibility. They clarify that to ensure safe outcome, delegation must be the right task, right circumstances, right person, right instructions and right supervision. Pearce (2006) shares the same thoughts and adds that you must be clear about what you delegate, inform other members, monitor performance, give feedback and evaluate the experience while remembering that you remain accountable. However, Kane-Urrabazo (2006) and Taylor (2007) argue that delegation is another way of empowering the subordinates. However, like every team going through the process of change, problems arose and were solved as they came. Apart from dealing with problems like resistance and lack of resources, there was an even bigger problem of interdisciplinary working for both the change agent and the subordinates. Although this policy was predominantly nurse orientated, it needed authorization by a doctor in order for a patient to be commenced on care of the dying pathway. Whether inside or outside health care, interdisciplinary working was introduced with the same concerns of improving quality (Hewison 2004). Interdisciplinary working has been emphasized by a number of government initiatives (Martin 2006b), more recently the NHS Plan (Department of Health 2000a). To ensure the demand for interdisciplinary working is met, there has been a lot of emphasis on professional education and training. Effective interdisciplinary working is meant to facilitate delivery of quality services and is fundamental to success of clinical governance (Braine 2006). However, Hewison (2004) argues that there is little evidence to support the effectiveness of interdisciplinary working. There is also insufficient evidence to support that collaboration improves quality of care given to patients (Hewison 2004). Nevertheless, if interdisciplinary working is to be achieved it is important to appreciate the potential barriers to this type of working. In this particular organization there were some barriers that impeded interdisciplinary working. These barriers needed problem solving skills from both the change agent and the nurses. In many cases there were some disagreements between nurses and doctors as to when to commence the care of the dying pathway for a patient. Although the policy was self explanatory in terms of when to commence it, doctors were often reluctant to authorize it. Hewison (2004) states that occupational status, occupational knowledge, fear and distrust of other occupational groups are some of the barriers to effective interdisciplinary working. Additionally, different backgrounds, training, remuneration, culture and language can contribute to professional barriers, mistrust, misunderstanding and disagreements (Hewison 2004). To solve this problem the change agent and senior members of the medical team held regular meetings to discuss problems like this. This way of problem solving is well recommended by Hewison (2004) who explains that if interdisciplinary working is to be successful, structures and procedures should be in place to support it. This is a way in which organization reflects emphasis on teams rather than individual professional groups. Hewison (2004) adds that if this is reinforced with communication between managers and other professional groups, it is likely to be successful. Perhaps in future interdisciplinary learning may be necessary to overcome some of the barriers to interdisciplinary working. Despite lack of evidence for its effectiveness, interdisciplinary learning has been identified as a government priority (Hewison 2004). Therefore study programmes for health care professionals are important to facilitate this approach to learning.