A Race for Intelligence Gains through Aerial Reconnaissance Term Paper

A Race for Intelligence Gains through Aerial Reconnaissance - Term Paper Example One of the most striking features of the Mosquito bombers as reconnaissance vessels was its reliable speed in aerial space. Technical features range to incredible numbers such as with the Mosquito PR Mk 34 and PR Mk 34A. These units had addition fuel carried in a bulged bomb-bay - 1,192 gallons which was the equivalent of 5,419 miles. A further two 200 gallon drop tanks under the outer wings gave a range of 3,600 miles cruising at 300 mph. Powered by two 1,690 hp Merlin 114s first used in earlier Mosquito units. A total of 181 were built, including 50 built by the Percival Aircraft Company (Bowman 165).As what had been explained above, both Spitfire fighters and the Mosquito bombers were the most versatile aerial vessels of the British Royal Air Force. Both were proven exceptional when it came to dogfights and bomb raids respectfully. They were efficient in aerial defenses that kept enemy aerial raids at bay. Both units were also useful in assault missions where escort Spitfires prov ided cover for raiding Mosquito bombers above enemy territory. More importantly, espionage missions were the key factors which created the Spitfire and the Mosquito a treasure to the British Royal Air Force. The speed and efficiency both the mentioned fighter and bomber units possessed were the primary aspects which catapulted the Spitfire and the Mosquito into heavy reconnaissance tasks. Flexibility to adopt with the environment and the maneuverability of the mentioned units were beneficial for low, medium and high altitude spying.  Ã‚  ... Technical features range to incredible numbers such as with the Mosquito PR Mk 34 and PR Mk 34A. These units had addition fuel carried in a bulged bomb-bay - 1,192 gallons which was the equivalent of 5,419 miles. A further two 200 gallon drop tanks under the outer wings gave a range of 3,600 miles cruising at 300 mph. Powered by two 1,690 hp Merlin 114s first used in earlier Mosquito units. A total of 181 were built, including 50 built by the Percival Aircraft Company (Bowman 165). As what had been explained above, both Spitfire fighters and the Mosquito bombers were the most versatile aerial vessels of the British Royal Air Force. Both were proven exceptional when it came to dogfights and bomb raids respectfully. They were efficient in aerial defenses that kept enemy aerial raids at bay. Both units were also useful in assault missions where escort Spitfires provided cover for raiding Mosquito bombers above enemy territory. More importantly, espionage missions were the key factors wh ich created the Spitfire and the Mosquito a treasure to the British Royal Air Force. The speed and efficiency both the mentioned fighter and bomber units possessed were the primary aspects which catapulted the Spitfire and the Mosquito into heavy reconnaissance tasks. Flexibility to adopt with the environment and the maneuverability of the mentioned units were beneficial for low, medium and high altitude spying. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Luftwaffe provided the Germans with unique espionage units. At the onset of the war, ordinary German passenger planes were used as the primary aerial vessels for the campaign of enemy espionage. These were indeed decisive actions taken by the German intelligence because they risked innocent civilian

Dementia Sufferer Mental

Dementia Sufferer Mental Introduction Dementia is a loss of mental function in two or more areas such as language, memory, visual and spatial abilities, or judgment severe enough to interfere with daily life3. Dementia is not a disease itself, sufferers show a broader set of symptoms that accompany certain diseases or physical conditions3. Well known diseases that cause dementia include Alzheimer’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and multi-infarct dementia3. Dementia is an acquired and progressive problem that affects cognitive functions, behavior, thinking processes and the ability to carry out normal activities. Vision is one of the most important primary senses, therefore serious or complete sight loss has a major impact on a individuals ability to communicate effectively and function independently. Individuals who suffer from both dementia and serious vision loss will inevitably be subject to profound emotional, practical, psychological and financial problems. These factors will also influence others around the sufferer and will extend to family and the greater society. As we get older both dementia and visual problems inevitably become much more prevalent. Current demographic trends show the increase of the number of very old in our population. Therefore it is inevitable that dementia and serious sight loss either alone or together, will have important consequences for all of us3. The vast majority of people are aware that dementia affects the memory. However it is the impact it has on the ability to carry out daily tasks and problems with behavior that cause particular problems, and in severe cases can lead to institutionalization. In the primary stages of dementia, the patient can be helped by friends and family through ‘reminders’. As progression occurs the individual will loose the skills needed for everyday tasks and may eventually fail to recognize family members, a condition known as prospagnosia. The result of such progression is that the individual becomes totally dependent on others. Dementia not only affects the lives of the individual, but also the family9. Dementia can present itself in varying forms. The most common form of dementia in the old is Alzheimers disease, affecting millions of people. It is a degenerative condition that attacks the brain. Progression is gradual and at a variable rate. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are impaired memory, thinking and changes in behaviour. Dementia with Lewy bodies and dementias linked to Parkinsons disease are responsible for around 10-20% of all dementias. Dementia with Lewy bodies is of particular interest as individuals with this condition not only present confusion and varying cognition, but also present symptoms of visual hallucinations9. Another common conditions that causes dementia is multi-infarct dementia, also known as vascular dementia. It is the second most common form on dementia after alzheimers disease in the elderly. Multi infarct dementia is caused by multiple strokes in the brain. These series of strokes can affect some intellectual abilities, impair motor skills an d also cause individuals to experience visual hallucinations. Individuals with multi infarct dementia are prone to risk factors for stroke, such as high BP, heart disease and diabetes. Multi infarct dementia cannot be treated, once nerve cells die they cannot be replaced. X3 In most cases the symptoms of dementia and serious sight loss develop independently. However some conditions can cause both visual and cognitive impairments, for example Down syndrome, Multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Dementia is most prevalent in the elderly, as is sight loss. Therefore it is inevitable that a number of people will present dementia together with serious sight loss. There have been many studies into the prevalence of dementia in the UK. An estimate for the prevalence of dementia in people over 75 years of age is 15% of the population9. The Alzheimer’s society suggest that 775,200 people in the UK suffer from dementia (figures taken 2001). The Alzheimer’s society also calculates that the prevalence of dementia in the 65-75 years age group is 1 in 50, for 70-80 years 1 in 20 and for over 80 years of age 1 in 5. Estimates suggest that by 2010 approximately 840,000 people will become dementia sufferers in the UK. Estimates suggest that around 40% of dementia sufferers are in residential institutions. One study from 1996 showed that dementia sufferers are 30 times more likely to live in an institution than people without dementia. At 65 years of age men are 3 times more likely than women to live in an institution and at 86 men and women are equally likely to be institutionalized10 Visual impairments are not associated general diagnostic features of dementia. However recent research has shown the change in visual function and visual processing may be relevant. Alzheimer’s disease patients often present problems with visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, stereo-acuity and color vision. These problems are believed to be more true of cognitive dysfunction rather than any specific problems in the eye or optic nerve9. Early diagnosis is essential to both dementia and sight loss patients, as drug treatments are becoming more and more available. Therefore maximizing the treatment and care for the individual. On the other hand early diagnosis of visual conditions is also essential, so that progression is slowed and treatment is commenced, therefore further progression is prevented if plausible9. The Mini-Mental State examination MMSE, is the most commonly used cognitive test for the diagnosis of dementia. It involves the patient to undertake tests of memory and cognition. It takes the form of a series of questions/answers and uses written, verbal and visual material. Poor vision or blindness is the most common cause of poor performance on this test other than dementia itself9. Research, development and investment in the future will help to contribute to improved care for dementia and sight loss sufferers. A better understanding of the daily lives and experiences of these people will give us a greater insight into the problems faced and will help to improve the quality of care available9. Alzheimer’s disease The aim of this paper is to provide information about current knowledge on the topic on visual function dementia. With regards to Alzheimer’s disease there will be an inclination to several main foci of research, namely anatomical/structural changes, functional visual changes, cognitive brain changes and other changes such as the effects of diagnostic drugs on Alzheimer’s disease patients. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia amongst older adults. The Alzheimer’s research trust estimates that 700,000 individuals in the UK currently are afflicted. This number will inevitably increase exponentially in the near future with the trend of an increasingly aging UK population. Therefore it must be of the utmost of importance worldwide to have an understanding all behavioral, anatomical and physiological aspects of this disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disease that attacks the brain, it begins gradually and progresses at a variable rate. Common signs are impaired thinking, memory and behavior. Health professionals and care givers agree that the memory deficit is usually the initial sign of the disease. However researchers have long known that Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by impairments of several additional domains, including visual function11. However these findings have not yet appeared in the diagnostic guides consulted by healthcare professionals, for example the most recent addition of the Diagnostic Statistical manual of mental disorders states that few sensory signs occur in early Alzheimer’s disease2. Therefore we still have a limited understanding of the true extent to which visual impairments affects Alzheimer’s disease. The current web site of the Alzheimer’s association1 and National Institute of Aging4 make no mention of the topic of sensory changes in Alzheimer’s disease. It has even been said that patients with Alzheimer’s disease report visual problems to their healthcare professionals less frequently than do healthy elderly individuals5. Nevertheless visual function is impaired in Alzheimer’s disease6. In terms of cognitive changes, the neuropathology of this disorder affects several other brain areas which are dedicated to processing low level visual functions as well as higher level visual cognition and attention11. These neuropathological cognitive changes are more dominant however in the visual variant of Alzheimer’s disease known as posterior cortical atrophy, however visual problems are also present in the more common Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease begins when there are deposits of abnormal proteins outside nerve cells located in the brain in the form of amyloid. These are known as diffuse plaques, and the amyloid also forms the central part of further structured plaques known as senile or neurotic plaques3. Buildup of anomalous filaments of protein inside nerve cells in the brain can also take place. This protein accumulates as masses of filaments known as neurofibril tangles. Atrophy of the affected areas of the brain can also occur as well as the enlargement of the ventricles3. There is also a loss of the neuro transmitter Serotonin, Acetylcholine, Norepinephrine and Somatostatin. Attempts have been made to try to slow the development of the disease by replacing the neurotransmitters with cholinesterase inhibitors, such as donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (excelon), galantamine (Reminyl) and memantine (Namenda)3. These drugs work by increasing the levels of transmitters between cells, which otherw ise become lacking in Alzheimer’s disease. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence NICE conducted a review of these drugs in March 2005 and concluded that none of these drugs provided sufficient enough advantages to the patient in order to justify their cost. They recommended against the use of such drugs in the Nhs, though the Department of Health later overturned this ruling. Visual Changes in Alzheimer’s Patients Loss of vision is a key healthcare dilemma amongst the elderly. By the age of 65 approximately one in three people have a vision reducing eye disease. Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease patients and elderly patients, consequently have many visual conditions in common. Alzheimer’s disease impairs visual; function early in the course of the disease and functional losses correlate with cognitive losses. There are several common visual functional deficits that are frequently identified in Alzheimer’s disease. There is evidence for deficits in Motion perception32,33 contrast sensitivity31 colour discrimination of blue short wavelength hues34 and performance on backward masking tests31 In Alzheimer’s disease the secondary point of damage is usually the visual association cortex and other higher cortical areas as well as the primary visual cortex 35,36. Some of the main changes that occur in the eye with aging inlclude7: The crystalline lens increases in thickness, therefore decreasing its transparency and elasticity; therefore there is a tendency for cataracts to appear. The conjunctiva can become thicker and wrinkled, therefore is subject to deposits such as pinguecela. The iris can atrophy, therefore pupils become constricted and their response to light becomes sluggish. The eyes ability to dark/light adapt is affected. Refractive index of the cornea decreases and it becomes less transparent. Arcus senilis can appear. The ocular globe and eyelids can shrink leading to conditions such as entropian, ectropian and trichiasis. Also while the lachrymal production is reduced the puncta lachrymalis can become stenosed and provide less drainage which gives rise to chronic watering of the eyes Anterior chamber usually becomes more shallow and the sclera more rigid, increasing the prospects of glaucoma. These changes summed together not only diminish the quality of vision, but many of them also make the examination of the eye much more complicated. In conjunction with the general visual symptoms of aging, Alzheimer’s patients can also experience visual disturbances caused by the brain rather than the visual system alone. This means that they can have problems and difficulties perceiving what they see rather than how clearly they see it3. Difficulties are usually experienced in the areas mentioned earlier, namely depth, motion, color, and contrast sensitivity. Visual hallucinations are also a common problem with linked to loss of vision in Alzheimer’s disease patients38. Another common disorder linked to patients with Alzheimer’s disease is a variant of motion blindness. The patient can appear to be confused and lost; the individual will see the world as a series of still frames8. Visual changes in Alzheimer’s disease may also be dependent upon which brain hemisphere is more severely damaged; this factor can often be overlooked. An individual with Alzheimer’s disease could have damage to a greater extent on their left brain hemisphere from plaques and tangles. This would therefore cause subsequent retinal changes in only the left hemi-retinas of each eye i.e. the right visual fields. The right eye visual field would be affected in the temporal side (right) and the left eye visual field would be affected nasally (right)51. When only half the retina is impacted, smaller regions of the optic nerve and nerve fiber layer show losses. The left eye with affected temporal retina would show optic nerve damage in differing regions of the nerve than the right eye with nasal retinal damage.51 Alzheimers patients commonly show selective degeneration of large ganglion cell axons located in the optic nerves. This suggests that there would be impairment of broadband channel visual function. Conversely studies have shown that broadband visual capabilities are not selectively impaired in Alzheimer’s disease. The magnocellular and parvocellular neurons are greatly affected in Alzheimer’s patients, this has been proved by studies of the dorsal Lateral geniculate nucleus(LGN)3. The geniculostirate projection system is split both functionally and anatomically into two sections. They include the parvocellular layers of the Lateral geniculate body and also incorporates the magnocellular layers. These systems are mainly divided in the primary visual cortex and go through further segregation in the visual association cortex. They conclude in the temporal and paritetal lobes3. The parvocellular layers contain smaller, centrally located receptive fields that account for high spatial frequencies (acuity), they also respond well to color. On the other hand these cells do not respond well rapid motion or high flicker rates. The magnocellular cells have larger receptive fields and respond superiorly to motion and flicker. They are however comparatively insensitive to color differences, the magnocellular neurons generally show poor spatial resolution, although the seem to respond better at low luminance contrasts. To summarize the parvocellular system is superior at detecting small, slow moving, colored targets placed in the centre of the visual field. Meanwhile the magnocellular system has the ability to process rapidly moving and optically degraded stimuli across larger areas of the visual field3. The parvocellular system projects ventrally to the inferior temporal areas, which are involved in visual research, pattern recognition and visual object memory. The magnocellular system projects dorsally to the posterior parietal and superior temporal areas. These are specialized for motion information processing. The cerebral cortical areas to which the parvocelluar system projects receives virtually no vestibular afferents. Alternatively the cerebral areas to which the magnocelullar system projects receives significant vestibular and other sensory inputs. These are believed to be involved in maintaining spatial orientation. Research shows shows that the magnocellular system is more involved in Alzheimer’s disease3. Oddly, many individuals experience difficulties at low spatial frequencies instead of high frequencies as in old age. This suggests that areas controlling the low spatial frequency processing in the primary visual cortex would be affected more than those for higher frequencies processing39 After neuropathilogical studies in 1997 by Hof et al were carried out on brains with visual impairments they concluded that cortical atrophy dominated on the posterior parietal cortex and occipital lobe40 Glaucoma is also a neurodegenerative disease that has similar effects on the visual system. Lower spatial frequencies in the contrast sensitivity, deficits in the blue short wavelength color range as well as reductions in motion perception are all linked to glaucomatous patients16. When patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease also have glaucoma, the deterioration of vision related to glaucoma is much more rapid and progression is more aggressive than in people with glaucoma solely and not Alzheimer’s disease as well.19 Glaucoma is different from Alzheimer’s disease in that it affects the visual function at the early sites of neural activity, namely, the retinal ganglion cells. Glaucoma destroys the afferent axons at the nerve fiber layer in the retina. This loss of axons ultimately leads to added atrophy further up the visual pathway due to decreased neuronal input. Alternatively Alzheimer’s disease impacts the cells that are located terminally or intermediary in the visual pathway of the brain. The result is again reduced neuronal input due to loss of nerve fibre connections and atrophy along the visual pathway. When the two diseases exist in the same individual together it can be seen that there is likely to be a greater disruption to the visual system20, one key difference between the two diseases is that they affect the visual pathway at different points. Glaucoma is a degenerative disease starting at the beginning of the visual pathway, whereas Alzheimer’s disease is a deg enerative process starting relatively late in the visual pathway. When the two diseases coexist then the neuronal and functional losses of vision are cumulative. Optometric examination of dementia patients Dementia patients present special problems for optometrists. A standard eye test can be an audile to even the best of us. The patient is placed in an unfamiliar environment surrounded by unusual equipment, machinery and is subjected to probing questions about he medical history which will inevitably tax their already flawed memory. Dementia patients are most likely to be from the elderly. Therefore several difficulties are presented while conducting an ocular examination. The patient is required to maintain a position and has to maintain concentration throughout the testing procedures, which can be very difficult. Subjective examination requires responses from the patient, they are expected to remember and follow complex instructions given to them by the optometrist as well as make many precise discriminatory judgments in a short space of time. The multiple tasks required to be completed during the examination are often beyond dementia patients as they are limited by the disease. The refore it is common that patients with even a minor degree of dementia fail to provide valid answers, provide unpredictable responses to the subjective examination and retreat into an apathetic state3,9. During the visual examination of Alzheimer’s disease patients, several key visual problems can be detected. Moderate dementia patients will often experience problems such as topographic agnosia, alexia without agraphia, visual agnosia and prospagnosia3. Such patients often cannot describe individual components of photos and routinely fail to recognize family members. The degree to which such problems are experienced is consistent with the level of cytochrome oxidase deficits in the associated cortical area. In conjunction with these problems dementia patients often have problems with texture discrimination and blue violet discrimination3. During examination of the elderly dementia patients there are two contradictory requirements, firstly is ‘assurance’. The patient’s responses will be delayed and the patient may feel anxious in such an unfamiliar situation, therefore constant reassurance is required and they cannot be rushed. Alternatively time constraints are important, a dementia/elderly patient is likely to have a short attention span. Therefore the two factors above much be considered and balanced. The examination must be thorough yet carried out as quick as possible. Often when examining a dementia patient a family member of the carer must be present in order to aid the communication between optometrist and patient, for example difficulties are likely to occur when recording history and symptoms without a carer present. All factors need to be considered such as family history, medication, eye treatment and knowledge of any medical conditions and if so how long they have suffered from them. In terms of an external examination firstly, gross observations should be recorded for example does the patient have an abnormal head position or is there any lid tosis. Many external observations can also be detected with the aid of pupil reflexes. Upon carrying out the external examination the optometrist must be carful to explain exactly what each procedure will involve so as not to intimidate the patient. Internal examination Internal examination of an elderly patient often presents many problems. Older patients tend to have constricted pupils and often opacities in the media such as cataract. Patients with dementia also show poor fixation as well as lack of concentration. Pupil dilation is often used to aid external examination however many older patients can have a poor response to the insertion of mydriatic eye drops. There have been many studies into the affects of diagnostic mydriatic and miotic drugs. Many studies have shown excessive mydriatic pupil response to trompicamide (a pupil dilating drug) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease when compared to control individuals.))) on the other hand studies into the use of Miotic drops, particularly Pilocarpine have shown an increased response of pupil constriction in Alzheimer’s disease patients in comparison to normal control patients. These findings suggest a defect in pupillary innervation with Alzheimer’s disease individuals. Studies of post mortem individuals with exaggerated mydriatic pupil responses to Tropicamide found a definte disruption to the Edinger-Westphal nucleus. The Edinger-Westphal nucleus is one of the key structures of the brain involved in the autonomic nervous system, it mediates the sympathetic and para-sympathetic pupil responses. Research by Scinto et al found amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in all individuals tested with excessive mydriatic pupil responses. The conclusion was that the Edinger-Westphal nucleus is targeted early in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. In terms of intraocular pressures use of the goldman an Perkins tonometers will be limited for the elderly dementia patients, due to health an safety reasons. Sudden movements whilst carrying out pressure tests on such equipment may be dangerous. Therefore this can be overcome to a degree by the use of handheld instruments such as the pulseair. However even with the pulseair problems can still be faces with uncooperative patients. Objective examination With uncooperative and awkward patients objective refraction through retinosopy may be difficult. Factors such as opacified media, miotic pupils, and poor fixation will influence the accuracy of the refraction. The recent introduction of hand held optometers has contributed to somewhat overcoming such problems. Instruments such as thee Nikon Retinomax are excellent for obtaining an objective refraction of the elderly patient with miotic pupils and cloudy media. When presenting the Snellen chart to a patient, the quality of their response will inevitably depend upon the degree of their dementia. Depending on which stage of dementia they are suffering from, responses could range from routine reading of the chart to no response at all. The later presents the optometrist with greater problems; however a visual acuity can still be measured via other techniques. Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer’s disease is often widespread and a prevalent problem, however it is often an untreated disorder. A reason for this impairment to be overlooked could be that visual function is typically only measured in terms of visual acuity in the majority of cases, which in Alzheimer’s patients is often normal. However, studies have shown that up to 60% of people with Alzheimer’s disease show deficits in on or multiple visual areas such as depth perception, motion perception, color discrimination or contrast sensitivity31, 32. Therefore detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s patients must include these other visual capacities and not only visual acuity tests. Deficits in depth perception have accurately been demonstrated in Alzheimer’s individuals33-37. Decline in this visual capacity is even seen at the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, independently of the other visual capacities36. Impaired depth perception will inevitably cause problems in performing everyday tasks33,36 eg walking, cleaning and stair climbing. Motion perception is also a common deficit seen in Alzheimer’s disease41-45. Studies have shown that individuals with Alzheimer’s take significantly longer to identify stationary objects that can be identified by motion cues41,43. A study by Rizzo et al42 found that 33% of Alzheimer’s patients had car accidents when put through a set of driving scenarios in a virtual simulator, compared to 0 accidents with non demented age match participants. The decreased ability of Alzheimer’s patients to accurately process visual motion cues was a significant factor in avoiding accidents. Contrast sensitivity can be defined as the smallest difference in intensity that a person can resolve between an object and its immediate surround. Most elderly patients are impaired at high spatial frequencies. However Alzheimer’s sufferers are impaired at low spatial frequencies as well46,47,48,49-51. Problems with contrast sensitivity will have a subsequent impact on how a person with Alzheimer’s disease perceives their environment, and will adversely affect their ability to perform many everyday tasks such as dressing, washing and eating to name but a few. Contrast sensitivity problems cannot be cured or overcome by means such as optical correction through spectacles, medication or surgery. However individuals can be helped by environmental modifications. We will now go on to discuss a handful of simple environmental modifications that can be made for dementia patients in order to increase their quality of life. Firstly there are several key simple principles relating to colour and light that should always be considered when modifying a living area for a dementia individual. Color Light Use sharply contrasting color between back ground and foreground. Always have even distribution of light within a room. Use solid colors rather than stripes or multi color patterns. Good to have as much natural light as possible. Do not use ‘like’ colors next to each other Minimise glare Task lighting when applicable Place light behind reading or television chair to enhance vision. In the bedroom the main point of concern is not to bump into objects and not to fall out of bed. Caregivers can also find it problematic to get the patient into their bedroom at the end of the day. Enhancing the contrast of objects in the bedroom will help patients to recognize areas of their room and intern make care givers jobs much easier during care. In order to draw the patient into a room in a common technique many institutions or caregivers use is to paint the furthest most wall in the bedroom in a contrasting color to the rest of the room, for example in a light colored room (magnolia) it would be advantageous to paint the far wall in a dark contrasting color such as brown. This will provide a depth cue for the patient and will encourage them to enter the bedroom. Once in the room dementia patients can often have problems locating the bed. Again this problem can be aided by a simple modification of using a bed spread that is of high contrast when compared to the surrounding w alls and floor of the room. This simple modification will draw the patient towards the bed and help prevent them from tripping or stumbling over the bed. Other simple tips can be to modify appliances within the bedroom such as telephones, clocks and radios with different colored buttons to encourage independence. The bathroom is another frequently used area within the household and there are many simple modifications that can be made within this area to aid the user. Firstly placing a fixed bath mat of the same color as the floor is a simple useful modification. The matt with low contrast to the floor will decrease any depth perception problems and will aid the user when getting in and out of the bath tub. Also a fixed mat can be placed inside the bath tub, however in this case the matt should be of a contrasting color to the tub. The reasoning behind this is that the contrasting bath mat will provide a excellent depth cue for the user who would other wise would be unsure to about how deep the floor of the bath tub is. The bathroom can be a hazardous place for a dementia individual as there are many risks within this room especially the risk of hot water. Therefore an extremely important modification in the bathroom is to ensure all taps have different colored knobs on the hot and cold compon ents. The colored taps will provide a color cue and help the user to distinguish between the two. The kitchen can be a dangerous place, especially for the elderly and dementia su

The Nature of Duality in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay

The Nature of Duality in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde It has long been debated that there are two sides to the human mind. Many philosophers have stressed on the fact that human beings are 'dual creatures’. There is the duality of good and evil, right and wrong, joy and despair. There always is the desire to do something which is against the society, against the laws, although this varies from person to person. Robert Stevenson brings the possibility of another self in one person to life in his creation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. His novel is a rich tale of the duality of mankind. We all have a split personality in a sense, we have two sides to us: right and wrong. There is a Mr. Hyde in all of us: anger, frustration, murderous thoughts all prevail in us although we have evolved so much. Morals, education, helping and unselfishness are the Jekyll side of us. Stevenson believed that people knew they had a bad side, but they all refuse to accept the truth, as the ‘dark side’ is so unpleasant. The novel demonstrates how innocent curiosity about the darker elements of our nature can soon get out of hand, how the evil triumphs over good if let out of control. Stevenson portrays duality in almost all of his characters, mainly Dr. Henry Jekyll. The symbols used, the narrative viewpoints and the language use by Stevenson also puts forward the dual nature of man. The philosophical context of the novella also is another factor which Stevenson cleverly uses. Stevenson creates a novel of gothic genre, which was extremely popular at the time of release. And the bottom line of the novel is to entertain the reader. The nature of duality, the philosophical context, the scientific context, symbolism, and hy... ...onality. Darwin’s theory of evolution and Freud’s creation of psychoanalysis are well portrayed in this novel. Overall, Stevenson clearly implies that humans are a mixture of ‘good’ and evil’ and challenges the ‘human perfectibility’, which was presumed for the upper class at the time. I particularly enjoyed this novel as it was exploring various themes at the same time. One interesting point is that, when Jekyll made up the ‘transforming draught’, it never was intended to turn him evil. It was just his desires which propelled him to being Hyde. The potion just acted as a catalyst and in the end it was Jekyll who destroyed himself. We had discussed this in class and it struck me as it wasn’t an evil potion. This also shows that Jekyll wanted to break through the Victorian laws and meet his inner desires, which leads us back to the ‘nature of duality’.

Article Rebuttal Essay

For the past 17 months, shown on every television news channel across the United States. The case of George Zimmerman, and the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Like every year, the media will take a case and publicly turn the story into a circus. The rebuttal article for this paper is a story written by Oliver Knox of Yahoo.com titled, â€Å"Obama: Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.† Further discussion will analyze the reliability, credibility, and validity of the data used by Oliver Knox, and identify any logical fallacies in the argument. The article is about President Barack Obama making his first public comments on the George Zimmerman acquittal. The president stated that many African Americans believe the outcome and aftermath of the trial would have been different if Trayvon Martin had been white. The president later stated that when he first heard about this story, his thoughts said this could have been his son (Obama, 2013). Then getting more personal by saying this could have been me 35 years ago (Obama, 2013). By using personal experiences, the president discussed his life as a young African American dealing with racism in the United States. I find that the reliability, credibility, and validity of this article and author Oliver Knox highly trusted, convincing, and believable. News articles written and posted by Yahoo.com reports a straightforward message to their audience. Reporting stories down the middle, never too left or right with the occasional bias author either for or against a particular topic. Keeping political views down to a minimal. This particular article matches other similar articles written on the same news story. Second, Oliver Knox wrote the story on the statements and words of the president as he addresses the American public. Third, the genuine author of this story is President Barack Obama himself, Oliver Knox just wrote his statement. The audience that the president focused on in his address is the African American people. Using his own personal experiences, the president can relate to the ongoing outrage of the African American  public. President Obama feels the pain and disappointments of the outcome of the case. Because of this story first came out 17 months ago, many logical fallacies surfaced about this case. First, the media leaned toward a killing of an innocent young 17-year-old boy, minding his own business. Then showing a photo of this boy at the age of 12. Then here comes George Zimmerman, looking for trouble and looking for a fight by picking on a young African American boy. Would the story stay the same if George Zimmerman was African American with the same outcome, the public will never know what happened that night. Meanwhile, the story set the tone for future stories about this case. Raising the question about race possess anything to do with the incident between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. The logical fallacies of this article happened when President Obama expressed his concerns and personal experiences with the American people. This incident could easily be him 35 years ago as a young person dealing with racism in America. Concern that African Americans think that this case developed on race. A belief in the legal system would have a different outcome if Trayvon were white. Even after juror number B37 came out stating that race had no issue to the outcome of the case. Both the jury and legal experts stated that Zimmerman and Trayvon made poor judgment the night, which led to the death of Trayvon. Statements by the jury referring the only reason for Zimmerman’s acquittal because the way the â€Å"stand your ground† law is written. This article also provided some good highlighted points. The president encouraged his audience to support and encourage the young people of this country by helping them achieve and succeed in life. To be more influential and guide them on the right track. If the young people do not have the support from family, friends, neighbors, and the community, who will help them stay on the righteous path (Obama, 2013). This news article written by Oliver Knox and other journalists in this country, reporting the feelings and concerns addressed by this nation’s leader. Stating the issue of racism still lives in the lives of some American people. Relating to his own personal feelings on racism and demanding change to overcome these barriers. So the people, as a nation will never see another George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin case again. References Knox, O. (2013). Obama: Trayvon Martin ‘could have been me 35 years ago’. Yahoo New.com. Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/-obama–trayvon-martin-%E2%80%98could-have-been-me-35-years-ago%E2%80%99–180734663.html Millstone, K. (2013). Obama: Trayvon Martin ‘could have been me’. MSN News. Retrieved from http://news.msn.com/us/obama-trayvon-martin-could-have-been-me

However, the German people who were hungry and bitter wanted new faces, they wanted to see change

â€Å"The war was now lost,†1 a quote from General Ludendorff's evidence to a post war assembly. It was 1918 and Germany had been defeated. Kaiser Wilhelm had fled to Holland on the advice of General Ludendorff, who had also urged an armistice. To preserve the reputation of the military forces of Germany, Ludendorff wanted the creation of a civilian government, in the hope that a civilian government could take the blame for Germany's defeat, a revolution from above, to maintain the vision of a still, strong, military force. The country of Germany had to repair itself to survive. The old constitution had to change, not that it could be classed as old. Germany was a relatively new country, unified in 1871, but because of growing popular unrest and economic discontent, the hierarchy of Germany had to be seen as making changes for the benefit of the population. The age of monarchy was dissolved and replaced by a new civilian government. The new constitution would be known as the Weimar Constitution. The new constitution would embrace democracy, it would be an elected government, headed by a president, and elections were to be every seven years. The parliament was known as the Reichstag. All men and women over the age of twenty were entitled to vote. All Germans were deemed equal under the law. In consequence of this, professional people such as doctors, lawyers and teachers did not want to be equal to proletarians or the lumper proletarians, professional, middle class people believed they were better, why should the whole of society be given an education and opportunities. In addition, social rights were given to the people, such as, free speech, a country free of censorship, education for all, religious freedom, and the entitlement to negotiate for better working conditions as well as having protection from the state. Unfortunately, Germany was a conservative, traditional country, too much freedom all at once could be too much to cope with, progressive free liberties, introduced on a slower scale might have worked better. Fredrich Ebert was the leader of the social democratic party, who had the following of the majority of the people and in November 1918, was made the first chancellor of the new constitution. Included within the constitution was article 48, this article gave permission for the president to dissolve the Reichstag, and act on his own, with the aid of, if necessary, military force. Consequently it could be argued about who was actually in charge of the constitution, was it the representative assembly or the elected head of state. The elected president had the right to interfere with legislation; it seemed a contradiction of a democratic republic. This immediately throws into disarray the whole idea of a democracy, as well as according to a USPD deputy â€Å"if some henchmen of the Hohenzollerns (the royal family), a general perhaps were to be at the head of the Reich,†2 article 48 could be a weakness exploited by military men to use to their advantage as a military coup. Ebert needed the army on side, particularly to cease uprisings by the left wing. Ebert was a socialist but not a communist, neither to his favour was General Groener, who Ebert forged a deal with to win his support, Ebert would keep the authority of any existing officers, thus, the army would defend the new government so uprisings from the left were easily suppressed. This went against the constitution. The Left Wing unified with the extreme Right over this, because they saw it as a supression to prevent revolution from the middle classes. The KPD co-operated with the extreme Right in efforts to destroy the constitution. Furthermore, Ebert kept existing civil servants and members of the judiciary in their positions, keeping the people he needed to rely on in favourable positions. In addition to this, Ebert needed experienced people to try and keep the infa-structure of Germany on a stable footing. However, the German people who were hungry and bitter wanted new faces, they wanted to see change. To keep things as they were was not a democracy, according to an anonymous exiled SPD member, the German working class should have taken over the old state, to leave things unchanged was a grave historical error and not a good start to a new democratic, republican state. Many of he German people refused to accept the new constitution as being legitimate; these people were not used to as much freedom as was being promised. They were battered from the war and not ready for such a change. If the new constitution was going to be part of their lives, maybe initiating it alongside a monarchy would have been more successful in winning them over traditionalists and nationalists cannot be changed overnight. The first real threat for Weimar was The Treaty of Versailles in 1919†³Death rather than slavery,†3 quoted the nationalist newspaper, Duetsche Zeitung. The whole of Germany rejected the Treaty, but the constitution had no choice but to accept it,†There is no alternative to accepting the armistice terms. It is however, already apparent that these conditions will not produce a just peace. The sacrifices on us are tremendous; they must lead to our peoples doom,†3 Germany was brought to its knees by reparations, loss of territory, war guilt and the limitations of a reduced military force, which country would survive, historian A.Nicholls,4 (1979) sums up the Treaty and the impact on the Weimar republic, â€Å"Germany's economy was ruined by reparations and her security undermined. Much more serious was the political demoralisation which the treaty caused with in the Reich itself †¦ The real damage the treaty did to Germany was to disillusion the more moderate men who might otherwise have supported their new republic†¦The peace settlement continued to poison the political atmosphere in Germany for many years.†4 The Treaty helped the radical right wing political party's gain support and challenge the new Weimar republican government. The main right wing parties rejected the republic and its principles and wanted to destroy the democratic constitution and go back to a nationalist system, the signing of the Treaty only reinforced that the new government wasn't working for the people. The aim of the Right Wing was to abolish the constitution and instead have a conservative, authoritarian regime, unlike other conservative political parties in well-established democracies. It was in March 1920 that the first major problem from the Right occurred. A right wing coup named after its leader Kapp was initiated. It only failed due to a general strike. After marching on Berlin the governments troops refused to fire on the freikorps, the support for a democratic republic was not where the army's loyalties lay, after all it was only because of secret talks between Ebert and Groener, and the fact that Groener was only protecting his position that the army only HAD to support the new Republic, through orders of their commander, they did not support the republic voluntarily. The judiciary dealt with the people involved with Kapp leniently, showing that the judiciary was not in favour of a democratic country, they were still in favour of the old nationalist Germany. The Right wing consisted of the military, financial elites, state beurocracy, the educational system and some of the press. However, the Kapp Putsch did demonstrate weaknesses in the New Constitution, democracy in Germany lost its way, there was no political control over the military, the government could not enforce its authority even in its own capital; the government could not put down a challenge to its own authority and only because of mass power was government authority re- established. It wasn't due to support of the constitution that people supported a general strike. It was due to the fact that peace was more important than political beliefs and who would want a revolution in their town. In addition to this the failure of Kapp being brought to justice led to a spate of assinations committed by the Right Wing against supporters of the Weimar Constitution. Over 350 political murders took place between 1919 and 1923. Again the perpetrators were dealt with leniently, showing support for the nationalists, and the weak decision of keeping the same people in their jobs, â€Å"when the republic was created, these judges held over from the monarchy found it impossible to transfer their allegiance to the new organisation of the state†¦They created a private law and subverted (undermined) the public law of the Republic by refusing to administer justice in an equal manner to all people, â€Å"5Kurt Tucholsky, left wing satirist. Ebert was in an impossible situation, the Treaty was the major factor in undermining the democratic constitution, and money for the reparations had to be found, promises of a welfare state and a new age for Germany and the rebuilding of great German country seemed impossible. It was no fun for those having to live under the crippling conditions imposed by the Treaty. In addition to this, Ebert's new Republican foundations were established in debt from the reign of the Kaiser and the war; the country was already weak economically from the war. The only way to remedy a weak economy and pay off debts was through taxes and inflation. War cost, lack of confidence in the currency, reparations, trade deficit and the governments apparent solution to print more and more money, all led to an economic crisis. People on fixed incomes and the middle class lost out to hyperinflation. Whilst people with debts, mortgages, tradesmen, industrialists and estate agents benefited through hyperinflation. In addition to this, levels of unemployment were kept down and new, international investments were encouraged. Despite the negative effects of hyperinflation, workers were economically better off due to increased levels of economic activity. Unfortunately, the Weimar Republic weakened with hyperinflation due to ill health suffered by the population; this was the result of inflation-induced poverty, the new constitution was blamed for this, again injuring the constitution.†The savings, hopes, plans and assumptions and aspirations of huge numbers of people were swept away in a whirlwind†¦ Even when the worst material impact was over, the psychological shock of the experience was to have longer lasting effects, confirming a deep-seated dislike of democracy†6 In June 1920, the Weimar Constitution lost its majority. A constitution that had been run by coalition governments, needed that majority, other parties were dissatisfied with the constitution, and because none of the other party's gained 50% of the vote, unstable coalition governments ruled Germany. Add to this bickering and lack of agreement on both domestic and foreign policies, co-operation became lax and there were too many minorities and no majorities. Elections were built around suffering and proportional representation. What could be seen, as a strength was actually a weakness. Because everybody was allowed to vote, including extremists from the left and the right. Which meant that with proportional voting, that the minor parties got seats in the Reichstag, thus, disrupting proceedings and make the leading party and the constitution look weak. In conclusion the Weimar Republic looked on paper like a sure, fire hit but because of the introduction of democracy and no strong patriarchal leader problems were bound to arise. The Kaiser was much loved and respected by a traditional and loyal Germany, the Germans were confused. They were being promised greatness and security but because of the Treaty and the in -fighting the German people never saw what was promised. They only saw problem after problem. Ebert was a great statesman but circumstances prevented the constitution being a success, and it does take time for new ideas to begin to work, if the Treaty had never been signed by the countries involved Germany would have been great, maybe the blame should be put upon the USA, Italy, France and Britain. The new constitution never stood a chance.