Deforestation in Costa Rica Essay Example for Free

Deforestation in Costa Rica Essay Costa Rica is famous for it’s rainforests and vast biodiversity and ecosystems, including 12,000 species of plants, 1,239 species of butterflies, 838 species of birds, 440 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 232 species of mammals (Wikipedia), which overtime have become under threat due to deforestation. Since the end of World War II, 80 percent of Costa Rican forests have disappeared (Wikipedia). Various companies are cutting down forests, to provide land for there fruit plantations and cattle ranches. During the 1990s, Costa Rica had one of the worst deforestation rates in the world. Clearing out forests is causing flooding, desertification, sedimentation in rivers, loss of wildlife diversity, and is the number one contributor to global warming. The country has laws protecting certain areas of the forests, but only 25 percent of Costa Rican forests are completely protected from companies due to lenient laws (Viva Costa Rica). Businesses that are clearing out Costa Rican forests are contributing to the destruction of the earth’s environment. Beef production is the largest cause of deforestation in Costa Rica. Approximately 60 percent of Costa Rica has been cleared out to make room for cattle ranching (Algee, â€Å"Cattle Ranching†). During the 1960s, problems worsened when the United States offered Costa Rican cattle ranchers millions of dollars in loans to produce beef (Viva Costa Rica), so all the ranchers had the forests cleared for space for more cattle. After Costa Rica stopped shipping cattle to the U. S. , the country was left with bare spots, where trees were cleared out, and most of the cattle was moved to the Pacific Northwest side of Costa Rica. Fruit plantations are the second largest cause of deforestation in Costa Rica, specifically banana plantations. Banana plantations now cover 130,000 acres of previously forested land in Costa Rica (Guadua Bamboo). Bananas are Costa Rica’s main moneymaking industry. While certain conservation laws have been passed to protect areas from banana farming in Costa Rica, the government lacks the resources to enforce them. The banana industry is known for its dangerously high use of pesticides, which in the 1970s, caused thousands of plantation workers to become sterile (Guadua Bamboo). These pesticides used to maintain fruits, may enter the water systems and contaminate the water. Nutrient balance in the soil is also disrupted by the removal of the rainforests to make way for fruit plantations, by exhausting the soils and leaving them weak. Weak soil makes it challenging to maintain the land for agriculture. When a ground surface is stripped of vegetation, the upper soils becomes helpless to water erosion. Costa Rica loses about 860 million tons of valuable topsoil every year (Mongabay). Forests have a natural ability to absorb water when it rains, and release it slowly into rivers. Without the vast amounts of vegetation, flash floods are caused, the water rushes into the rivers, taking the sediment with it. Once the sediment builds up, the water no longer flows, and it floods the areas. The increased sediment load of rivers suffocates fish eggs, causing lower hatch rates, reducing the fishing industry. Erosion also destroys roads and highways that cross through the forest. The government does not shut down the roads, but must rebuild them repeatedly, using money that could be used more productively elsewhere. Deforestation is the number one cause of global warming. In his article â€Å"Deforestation: The Hidden Cause of Global Warming†, Daniel Howden explains â€Å"Carbon emissions from deforestation far outstrip damage caused by planes and automobiles and factories deforestation accounts for up to 25 percent of global emissions of heat-trapping gases, while transport and industry account for 14 percent each; and aviation makes up only 3 percent of the total† Deforestation results in the immediate release of carbon stored in trees as carbon-dioxide emissions. Trees are 50 percent carbon. When they are felled or burned, the carbon dioxide they store escapes back into the air. Carbon dioxide helps absorb heat; therefore too much carbon dioxide results in global warming. Costa Rica has an amazing conservation program that protects more than 10 percent of the country (Mongabay). One protected strip of forest runs for 40 miles, through nine ecological zones. The country presented a plan in 1995; to protect 18 percent of the country in national parks and another 13 percent in privately owned preserves. The country is targeting to protect the areas with the most biodiversity. The government funds the project by issuing landowners forest protection certificates, which will annually pay landowners about $50 for every 2. 5 acres of forest, with the agreement that the forest will be protected. In 2005, another program added Costa Rica to which wealthy nations were called to compensate poor nations for rainforest conservation. The amount of Costa Rican land deforested annually has declined since 1977, by 118,158 acres (Wikipedia). Around two-thirds of Costa Ricas remaining rainforests are now protected. Companies that are felling trees in Costa Rican forests are destroying the earth’s environment. These companies that contribute to deforestation are killing various species, and are ultimately harming the earth itself through greenhouse gas emissions. Costa Rica is doing a great job repairing their forests, and making sure that certain areas will remain untouched. Last year, the country passed a law that will decentralize their decision-making. The efforts the country is making to stop deforestation, is causing Costa Rica to stand out and show their commitment toward environmental and natural resources issues.

Communications: An Integral Part of Education Essay -- essays research

Communication: An Integral Part of Education Communication is a skill that everyone needs to acquire and learn how to utilize effectively. In any given profession, communication is required regardless of whether or not the field is a creative, professional, or strictly business. Especially in the field of elementary education do the teachers and staff need to possess exemplary communication skills. This is not only with the students but as well as with fellow faculty members and the parents’ involved in the community and school. All areas of communication are vital to be an effectual educator but none as important as understanding the culture of the teaching environment, using rhetoric in class lectures and lessons, and becoming a valued and skilled public speaker. With the three above qualities mastered, only then can an educator truly be seen as an effective communicator.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To honestly and successfully understand culture, the educator must know that culture is â€Å"a system of ideas, values, beliefs, structures, and practices that is communicated by one generation to the next and that sustains a particular way of life† (Wood, 2002, p.95). In appreciating and analyzing this, a teacher must then now use this basic understanding of culture and formulate their lesson plans and agendas to encompass the variant cultures in any given school setting. Not only America, but Texas too has become a melting pot of varying cultures from all expanses of the world. This makes educating at this time very fascinating and exciting but potentially frustrating. Language and cultural barriers often create obstacles in the classroom which makes teaching in a normal and systematical approach ineffective. Cultural barriers can most easily be tackled by teaching other children about the importance of culture and in teaching them â€Å"tolerance, in w hich a person accepts differences, although he or she may not approve of or even understand them† (Wood, 2002, 117). Not only in culture but in just plain communication skills, students learn very quickly important ways of communicating effectively and ineffectively. Once thrust into school, children begin for the first time to communicate and express themselves without their parents’ around. In a recent study â€Å"it was reported that all of the communication skills perceived as important to children ranked as follows ... ...portant skill to hone, yet it must be followed through properly. If it is seen as some domineering perspective, then it can be misleading. Rather, as a clear and successful educator, communication must be a vital and integral part of teaching. In becoming a lucrative educator, understanding culture, using rhetoric to be advantageous rather than harmful, and polishing public speaking skills will create a certain amount of validity in the chosen field of education. Therefore, to be an elementary education major a rudimentary knowledge of communication and its’ importance will make the job easier and more fun for both the student and the teacher. Bibliography Aylor, Brooks. (2003). The Impact of Sex, Gender, and Cognitive Complexity On The Perceived Importance of Teacher Communication Skills. Communication Studies. Vol. 54, Issue 4; Pg. 496. Greenspan, Stanley. (2003). Reciprocity: a two-way street. Scholastic Early Childhood   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today. Vol. 17, Issue 6; Pg 21. Sears, William. (2002). Cool Communicators. Parenting. Vol. 16, Issue 2; Pg. 68. Wood, Julia. (2002). Communication in Our Lives. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Thompson Learning.

Reflecting on one’s Communication Skills Essay

Introduction Nursing students can enhance their learning through reflection that is, reflecting on a situation that involves nursing care (Parker 2006, p.115). In line with this thought, I shall reflect on an experience and discuss the communication skills I used or should have used during the patient encounter. I will use the three what model based on the work of Borton (1970) and Boud (1985) to help structure my reflection. Before going any further, I am invoking the provision in the NMC (2008) code which declares the need to respect people’s confidentiality; hence, the identity of the patient who will be cited in this reflection will be kept anonymous. He will be given a pseudonym and will simply be referred to as Mr. B What? Mr. B is a 75-year-old patient in a nursing home diagnosed with dementia. Initially, it was my mentor who initiated nursing care to him and I was instructed to continue its delivery. The rationale why my mentor assigned me to Mr. B was so I can sharpen my communication skills. During my interaction with Mr. B, I tried to remain calm and spoke in slow and short sentences. I also used simple words although at times, I cannot help but repeat what I have already said because I was not sure whether the patient understood my statements. So What? At first, I was honestly hesitant and quite nervous when I interacted with the patient. I was already aware of his condition; hence, I was in a dilemma as to how I can communicate with him. This experience helped me realise that communication is truly an important part of nursing practice. Mastering all the routine nursing tasks and other complicated nursing interventions will all have been for nothing if a nurse does not know how to initiate a nurse-patient therapeutic relationship or interaction which naturally begins with communication. To simply put it, Ellis, Gates and Kenworthy (2003, p.214) declare that good communication is vital to effective nursing. According to Collins (2009) good communication helps build a therapeutic relationship which is central to nursing. It is a must for a nurse to be able to communicate effectively with the patient because communication is the tool that will allow the nurse to reassure a patient, empower the patient, motivate the patient, put a patient at ease, and convey understanding of the patient’s concerns (Collins 2009). I realised that communicating with a patient with dementia is more difficult than I have actually predicted. His condition was definitely the barrier that hindered effective communication. Even though I spoke in clear, short and simple sentences, there were still instances when the patient did not understand what I said or may be pretended to have not heard what I said. With this, I realise that one effective counter against such circumstance is to establish and maintain genuine rapport with the patient which can be done through frequent therapeutic conversations with the patient. Rapport entails trust and confidence of the patient to the nurse. Without, a nurse will have difficulty convincing a patient to follow instructions or adhere to advices. The experience also led me to realise the importance of valuing non-verbal communication. Before, I honestly took for granted non-verbal communication because the patients I handled in the past had no cognitive impairments that hindered verbal communication. It was only during this experience that verbal communication is less reliable due to the patient’s condition. This experience pointed out that a patient’s facial expression, presence or absence of eye contact, and bodily gestures can all help decipher a patient’s mood, feelings and attitude towards the nurse and the interventions given by the nurse. Videbeck (2010, p.107) relate that it is crucial for a nurse to understand what a patient is trying to communicate by means of observing non-verbal cues. I learned that a truly competent nurse is someone who is able to assess not only what a patient can verbalise but also assess those non-verbal cues displayed by a  patient which may lead the nurse to truly unde rstand how the patient feels and what the patient needs. Now What The experience helped me learn the importance of both verbal and non-verbal communication. As an aspiring nurse, I have to continuously sharpen my communication skills because I shall be interacting with more varied patients in the future. I have to be able to establish rapport with each new patient and I can do this by communicating with them. I must maximise my communication with my patients because I can do a lot of things by communicating such as motivate, empower, educate and understand my patients. Conclusion To sum up, reflecting on an experience will help discover different important learning. It will increase one’s knowledge identify strengths and weaknesses in one’s skills. Communication is key to building rapport and therapeutic relationship with patients. A nurse must always improve on his or her communication skills in order to better deliver nursing care. References Collins, S. (2009). Good communication helps to build a therapeutic relationship. (online) available at: http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice/clinicalspecialisms/educators/good-communication-helps-to-build-a-therapeuticrelationship/5003004.article Ellis, R., Gates, B. and Kenworthy, N. (2003). Interpersonal communication in nursing: Theory and practice. London: Churchill Livingstone. Nursing & Midwifery Council (2008). The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. London: NMC. Parker, M. (2006). Aesthetic ways in day-to-day nursing. In: Freshwater, D. (Ed.). Therapeutic nursing: Improving patient care through self-awareness and reflection. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Videbeck, S. (2010). Psychiatric-mental health nursing. 5th edn., Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Introduction Aseptic technique is the practice of carrying out a procedure in such a way that minimises the risk of introducing contamination into a vulnerable area or contaminating an invasive devise (Dougherty and Lister 2011, p.129). Aseptic technique includes several methods such as sterilising instruments, using antiseptic hand scrubs, and donning of sterile gowns, gloves, caps and masks (Cho and Alessandrini 2008, p.43). In line with this thought, this essay will explore the underlying rationales and evidence for the performance of two common methods of aseptic technique. These methods are hand washing and gloving which I personally performed many times during practice placements. Practising Aseptic Technique The delivery of effective nursing care rests on the hands of the nurse. This statement does not only apply figuratively but also literally because the hands of a nurse must not only be capable of performing tasks, it must also be clean while performing such tasks. Hand washing is simply indispensable in the performance of any and all kinds of nursing care activities. It becomes too mundane that sometimes it is intentionally or unintentionally neglected or performed in a manner that is less than satisfactory. As a student nurse, it was made clear to me that proper hand washing is a very important initial step in the delivery of nursing services. I have performed hand washing countless times, some at an acceptable standard while others below standard. The origin for strongly recommending or rather enforcing the need to perform hand washing may be traced from Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis who advocated the performance of hand washing with a chlorinated solution among doctors before assisting women in labour (Case 2011). White (2005, p.527) defines hand washing as the rubbing together of all surfaces www.newessays.co.uk and crevices of the hands using a soap or chemical and water. It is a part of all types of isolation precautions and is the most basic and effective infection-control measure to prevent and control the transmission of infectious agents. Hand hygiene which includes hand washing and gloving, is the single most crucial means of preventing transmission of antibiotic-resistant organisms such as the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci or VRE (LeTexier 2011). The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2003, p.28) or NICE in its guideline for infection control dictate that hand washing and gloving are two fundamental modes of preventing healthcare-associated infection. The World Health Organization (2006) highly recommends that health care workers wear gloves to prevent microorganisms present on the hands to be transmitted to patients and to reduce the risk of workers acquiring infection from patients. The effectiveness of donning gloves in preventing contamination of infectious agents has been confirmed in many clinical trials (WHO 2006). To reiterate, both hand washing and gloving are two of the most indispensable methods of aseptic technique; however, amidst the overwhelming evidence on the benefits of both procedures, there are still erring professionals. Nurses, doctors and other health care professionals still do err in the performance of such procedures. In my case, I have done it many times before but sometimes, I still forget to do it or consciously neglect to do it. Perhaps, the problem lies not within the knowledge of the need to perform it but rather on the manner by which it should be perform. There are varying ways and means of performing hand washing. In fact there are different kinds of hand washing. There is the medical hand washing which is similar to ordinary hand washing and there is also the surgical hand washing. Every institution has its own version on how to perform hand washing. This is also true for donning gloves. There are different brands of gloves each of which advertise some form of advantage over the other. There are also different modes of donning gloves such as the open technique and the close technique. There are also different varieties of gloves like clean gloves and surgical gloves. The differences and varieties with the way hand washing and gloving may be performed may account for the reason why some professionals err in the performance of these two important aseptic technique procedures. Another factor in the possible non-compliance of some healthcare professionals may be related to convenience in the performance of such procedures. For instance, when a nurse is overwhelmed by work-related stress due to high inpatient census, sometimes, the simple act of washing hands is intentionally neglected. As a solution to this, it is recommended to make hand hygiene convenient (JCR 2009, p.64). Instead of the traditional soap and water, it is possible to achieve the same effect with alcohol based scrub; thereby, eliminating the need for washing hands with water. It is also advisable to choose gloves that have special fit for different sizes of hands rather than the fit-all type of gloves. Conclusion In summary, hand washing and gloving are two common types of aseptic technique which are indispensable in the everyday practice of nursing. It has been well established that hand washing and gloving are crucial in the efficient delivery of services particularly in the aspect of preventing the spread of infection. Despite this known fact, some still err in complying with such procedures. References Case, C. (2011). Handwashing. [online] Available at: http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/CC/hand_background.php Cho, C. and Alessandrini, E. (2008). Aseptic technique. In: King, C., Henretig, F. and King , B. (Eds.). Textbook of pediatric emergency procedures. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Dougherty, L. and Lister, S. (2011). The Royal Marsden Hospital Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures: Student edition. 8th edn., Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Joint Commission Resources (2009). Meeting joint commission’s infection prevention and control requirements: A priority focus area. 2nd edn., Illinois: Joint Commission Resources. LeTexier, R. (2011). Preventing infection through hand washing. [Online].Available at: http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/2000/07/preventing-infection-throughhandwashing.aspx National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2003). Infection control: Prevention of healthcare-associated infection in primary and community care. [online]. Available at: http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG2fullguidelineinfectioncontrol.pdf White, L. (2005). Foundations of nursing. London: Thompson Delmar Learning. www.newessays.co.uk Nursing Essay: Sample World Health Orgnization (2006). The first global patient safety challenge: Clean care is safer care. [online]. available at: http://www.who.int/gpsc/tools/Infsheet6.pdf www.newessays.co.uk

Point Of View Of The Cask Of Amontillado - 877 Words

The Cask of Amontillado is a short story about a young man, Montresor, who had his familys name insulted. Thus seeking revenge by tricking a man into the catacombs, where Montresor leaves him to die. In this short story, Edgar Allen Poe uses the point of view of Montresor and the conflict between him and Fortunato in order to convey the central idea that in the light of revenge peoples greatest evils can be revealed. Edgar Allen Poe uses first person point of view through the eyes of Montresor in order to express the change a man goes through when dealing with revenge. Poe expresses this transition immediately in the first sentence: Fortunato had hurt me a thousand times and I had suffered quietly. But then I learned that he had†¦show more content†¦Fortunato! I cried. Fortunato. I heard only a soft, low sound, a half-cry of fear. My heart grew sick; it must have been the cold. Another fictional element that Poe uses to express the central idea is the constant conflict between Montresor and Fortunato. The conflict begins when Fortunato laughed at my proud name as Montresor said in the story. Poe uses an external, man vs. man conflict to express the concept of revenge and hatred that humans are capable of. Montresors anger and evil side begin to show very early on in the story through his thoughts, And also the wrong would not be made right unless Fortunato knew that he was paying and knew who was forcing him to pay (Poe). Poe clearly expresses the concept of revenge through Fortunato and Montresors tension. Tension first begins when Montresor says: I know. It does not seem possible. As I could not find you I was just going to talk to Luchresi. If anyone understands wines it is Luchresi. He will tell me†¦ Luchresi? He does not know one wine from another! But they say he knows as much about wine as you know. Through the use of Montresor, Poe can demonstrate both the anger and the deceit that is involved in this conflict. Montresor uses this outside party to lure Fortunato into the catacombs by making him feel insignificant like anyone can doShow MoreRelatedThe Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe Essay1693 Words   |  7 PagesThe Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe In The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe uses several different artistic choices in the construction of the story. He manipulates the story to be the way he wants it to be by using the point of view of the narrator, the setting, and a common monotonous sentiment throughout. Poe is successful in maintaining a spirit of perverseness that is prevalent in most of his works. The point of view plays a very important role in influencing the readers perceptionRead MoreThe Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe and Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff655 Words   |  3 Pagesshort stories: â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by Edgar Allan Poe and â€Å"Hunters in the Snow† by Tobias Wolff, I am drawn to more of a suspense feeling with the story â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado.† The difference between the short stories are within their genre. In the â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† the story is told from the first person point-of-view, which makes the story more personal. The suspense is ever growing, while Montresor and Fortunato are going down the dungeon. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† show a horror shortRead More Use of the Single Effect in A Cask of Amontillado Essay733 Words   |  3 Pages Use of the Single Effect in A Cask of Amontilladonbsp; Edgar Allan Poes A Cask of Amontillado is perhaps the most famous tale of terror ever written. Montresor, the storys narrator, leads the reader through his revenge on Fortunato. Montresor entices Fortunato into the dark recesses of the family catacombs with the promise of a very fine wine. At the climax of the story, Montresor shackles Fortunato to a wall and seals him away forever behind brick and mortar. In all of Poes short storiesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Cask Of Amontillado 982 Words   |  4 Pages The Cask of Amontillado (p. 1846) Kaylie Turner The short story, â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is very much influenced by the author’s life. Edgar Allen Poe never knew his parents; his mother died when he was three and his father left him. In consequence, he went to live with John and Frances Allen, in Richmond, Virginia. When, the Allens wouldn’t give him enough money to go to the University of Virginia, he gambled to pay his tuition and ended up in debt. 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Also, there is going to be an analysis on the irony found in the text in relation with the story. To support this thesis, I am going to use some examples from some sources such as â€Å"Literary analysis: Irony in The Cask of Amontillado by Amelia TibbettRead MoreSimilarities Between Edgar Allan Poe And Cask Of Amontillado1638 Words   |  7 Pageshis short stories, directly relating his works to his personal life. Analyzing the two short stories, The Cask of Amontillado and The Black Cat, there are many connections between the two, expressing Poes sense of writing style, and numerous links ba ck to his life. Edgar Allan Poe creates and expresses his own unique voice in short story writing through the use of diction, point of view, and antagonists and protagonists in his pellicular works. Edgar Allan Poe uses diction to develop the moodRead MoreThe Cask of Amontillado and Hills Like White Elephants577 Words   |  3 PagesAnalysis of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by Edgar Allan Poe amp; â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† by Ernest Hemmingway Analysis of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by Edgar Allan Poe Abstract â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by Edgar Allan Poe, is a short story about a man named Montessor who gets revenge on one of his â€Å"friends† named Fortunado by trapping him and burying him alive. Treatment Setting: Two kinds Plot: Man gets revenge on his â€Å"friend† Characters: Montresor, Fortunado, Montresor’s familyRead MoreEssay on Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado1048 Words   |  5 PagesEdgar Allen Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado Is there really a perfect crime? This is the main point in Edgar Allen Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado.† The story is a dark tale of a presumably insane man who suffers from, according to him, â€Å"the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could† (Poe 75). One of the major factors in telling this story is the setting. The story is set primarily in the Montresor family catacombs, which provides the dark setting, filled with human remains, andRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Cask Of Amontillado 1493 Words   |  6 PagesBrooke Womack Literary Analysis Paper Into to Literature: American I Dr. Julia Pond 12 October 2017 The Cask of Amontillado The Cask of Amontillado is a tale of terror written by Edgar Allen Poe. This short story is from the point of view from Montresor’s memory. The setting of this story is in a small unnamed European city, at a local carnival and then at the catacombs under Montresor’s home, around duck. The brief synopsis of this story is about the revenge that the Montresor, the antagonist