History of the Malaysian Constitution Essay Example for Free

History of the Malaysian Constitution Essay The foundation of the Constitution of Malaysia was laid on 10 September 1877. It began with the first meeting of the Council of State in Perak, where the British first started to assert their influence in the Malay states. Under the terms of the Pangkor Engagement of 1874 between the Sultan of Perak and the British, the Sultan was obliged to accept a British Resident. Hugh Low, the second British Resident, convinced the Sultan to set up advisory Council of State, the forerunner of the state legislative assembly. Similar Councils were constituted in the other Malay states as and when they came under British protection. Originally playing an advisory role, the function of the council was later extended to include both legislative and executive functions. This continued until 1948 when the Federation of Malaya was formed by two agreements, namely the State Agreement and the Federation of Malaya Agreement. The State Agreement was of great significance to Malaysias constitutional development. By virtue of this agreement, the Malay Rulers with the advice and concurrence of the traditional chiefs and elders of the states promulgated their respective State Constitutions except for Johor and Terengganu where Constitutions had already been in place since 1895 and 1911 respectively. The Rulers were also required to distinguish the legislative power in their respective states from the executive power, by constituting a legislative body, called the Council of State and State Executive Council whose advice he was required to obtained. The Federation of Malaya Agreement that served as the core for the current federal system of central government was concluded as a compromise to the much-opposed Malayan Union. The Federation consisted of the Federated Malay States (FMS), the Unfederated Malay States and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Melaka. The FMS consisted of Perak, Selangor, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan while the non-FMS were Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johor. The federal government comprised the High Commissioner, an Executive Council and Legislative Council. The agreement also provided for a Conference of Rulers with its own elected chairman. Each of the states had its own Executive Council and Council of States to deal with all matters not specifically reserved to the Federation. The Federal Government was responsible for defence, the police, and the railways, labour, broadcasting, post and finance. This 1948 Constitution remained in force with some essential amendments, until 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained its ndependence. A constitutional conference was held in London from 18 January to 6 February 1956 when the British promised Independence and self-government to the Federation of Malaya. It was attended by a delegation from the Federation of Malaya, consisting of four representatives of the Malay Rulers, the Chief Minister of the Federation (Tunku Abdul Rahman) and three other ministers, and also by the British High Commissioner in Malaya and his advisers. 1] The conference proposed the appointment of a commission to devise a constitution for a fully self-governing and independent Federation of Malaya. [2] This proposal was accepted by Queen Elizabeth II and the Malay Rulers. Accordingly, pursuant to such agreement, the Reid Commission, consisting of constitutional experts from fellow Commonwealth countries and headed by Lord William Reid, a distinguished Lord-of-Appeal-in-Ordinary, was appointed to make recommendations for a suitable constitution. The report of the Commission was completed on 11 February 1957. The report was then examined by a working party appointed by the British Government, the Conference of Rulers and the Government of the Federation of Malaya and the Federal Constitution was enacted on the basis of its recommendations. [4] The Constitution came into force on 27 August 1957 but formal independence was only achieved on 31 August however. The constitutional machinery devised to bring the new constitution into force consisted of: In the United Kingdom, the Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957, together with the Orders in Council made under it. The Federation of Malaya Independence Act, 1957 passed by the British Parliament gave parliamentary approval to Her Britannic Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to terminate her sovereignty and jurisdiction in respect of the Straits Settlements of Melaka and Penang and all powers and jurisdiction in respect of the Malay States or the Federation as a whole. The Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957, made on 5 August 1957 between the British High Commissioner on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II and the Malay Rulers. The Agreement contained the new Constitution of the Federation of Malaya (and the new constitutions of Penang and Melaka). In the Federation, the Federal Constitution Ordinance 1957, passed on 27 August 1957 by the Federal Legislative Council of the Federation of Malaya formed under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948. The new constitutions of the Federation as well as Penang and Melaka were given the force of law by the Ordinance. In each of the Malay states, State Enactments, and in Melaka and Penang, resolutions of the State Legislatures, approving and giving force of law to the federal constitution. The Federal Constitution was significantly amended when Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the Federation to form Malaysia in 1963.

Care and Management of Asthma

Care and Management of Asthma Asthma is a common incurable disease that affects the small tubes carrying air in and out of the lungs in the airways; it is more common at childhood stage but can also occur at a later age (British Lung Foundation, 2011). The major cause of asthma has not been determined but it is believed that some factors as allergies, exercise and common cold contribute to its development. In the United Kingdom, asthma is being handled primarily by a General Practitioner or nurse. Healthcare can be provided in three major means: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. They are delivered depending on the severity of an individuals condition. General Practitioners (GPs), Pharmacists, Nurses, Dentists and Optometrists are the main classes of healthcare providers that deliver Primary care. It is the basically the first point of contact for most individuals (National Health Service Choices, 2010). Care distinctively provided in local hospitals is usually on referral from primary care health providers, such t ype of care is basically referred to as Secondary Care. The third aspect of care is the tertiary care which is provided by specialist such as neurologist and cardiologist in a majorly specialised hospital centre for long term treatment. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF ASTHMA Major facts that make Asthma a major health issue in the UK are: In 2008, a total number of 1,204 deaths were recorded from asthma in the UK, out of which 29 were children aged 14 years and under. 1 person every 7 hours or 3 people per day die from asthma 146,000 adults and 36,000 children currently are on treatment for asthma in northern Ireland making it a sum total of 182,000 people (1 in 10)In Northern Ireland 182,000 people (1 in 10) are currently receiving treatment for asthma. This consists of 36,000 children and 146,000 adults. In Scotland 368,000 people are currently receiving treatment for asthma. This consists of 72,000 children and 296,000 adults. In Wales 314,000 people are currently receiving treatment for asthma. This consists of 59,000 children and 256,000 adults (Asthma UK, 2011). the number of adults with asthma in the UK has increased by 400,000 since the last audit of UK asthma in 2001 about 2% of adults consult their GP annually with asthma ASTHMA CARE AND MANAGEMENT AND LOCALITY STUDY OF UK Asthma exists in various forms hence; its heterogeneity has been well established by a variety of studies that have proven the disease risk from early environmental factors and susceptibility genes, inflammation and therapeutic agent response further induces accompanying diseases (Lang et al., 2011). Risk factors associated with asthma are family history of atopic disease, for example Allergic rhinitis Allergic conjunctivitis Male sex, for pre-pubertal asthma, and female sex, for persistence of asthma from childhood to adulthood Bronchiolitis in infancy Parental smoking, including passive smoking Premature birth, especially in extreme-preterm infants who required ventilatory support, with consequent chronic lung disease of prematurity (NHS Choices, 2011) In the UK, asthma is more common among children than in adults and also has an increased rate in women than men (NHS choices, 2010). A condition referred to as acute asthma exacerbation could occur and could sometimes be life-threatening but is mostly rare. Asthma patients are treated with care by GPs and nurses trained for asthma management and such treatments are specific to the symptoms portrayed by each patient. This treatment (Primary care) basically involves: A personal asthma procedural plan concurred with your GP or nurse An annual regular check ensuring proper control of the patients treatment and positive response to the treatment Proper seeking of the patients consent ensuring his/her decision is involved in decision making of his/her treatment Comprehensive detailed information about how to control and manage the patients condition; while a Secondary or Reactive care is enforced in emergency cases to regain control of more high-risk symptoms. In treating asthma, reliever inhalers are given to every patient by the GP; these inhalers serve as immediate relievers and ensure restoration of normal breathing. It functions effectively due to its composition of a short-acting beta2-agonist that works by relaxing the muscles surrounding the narrowed airways (British Medical Journal group, 2011). This further ensures the airways are opened wider, making it easier to breathe again. Salbutamol and terbutaline are common types of this inhaler. They have been proven to be generally safe except when their use is abused although they possess very few side effects. If the asthma is well controlled, then their usage will be minimal; if a patient uses the inhaler for up to three times or more weekly then it is advised that the treatment be reviewed Secondary care and management of asthma is implemented when Patients exhibit a combination of  severe asthma, behavioural and psychosocial features, they hence are at risk of developing near-fatal or fatal asthma. (BTS and SIGN, 2009). Asthma care is dependent on the age of the patients in that children have a different mode of care as compared to adults, a critical look at the adult care is elaborated below. Prior considerations are basically that the patient is registered with his GP, will have to book for an appointment with his GP before visiting (except in emergencies as acute exacerbations), confirmation with the patient of their understanding of the role of treatment, adherence to treatment, inhaler technique, and appropriate elimination of trigger factors as: exercise, drugs foods, emotional factors, weather changes, allergens etc (Shiang et al., 2009) In analyzing the delivery of care to asthma patients in the UK, data from Office for National Statistics shall be addressed. Table 1 below signifies that there was a remarkable decrease in hospital admission in 2000 for asthma; it showed a 45 percent decrease among children between ages 5 and 14 years and a 52 percent decrease among children below 5 years (Office for National Statistics, 2004). TABLE 1 The management of asthma is patient-specific and is delivered by either the GP or asthma nurse; a respiratory nurse specialist works closely with the GP and the patient serving as the best form of encouragement to the patient in the procedural management of his/her asthma condition. The respiratory nurse specialist has a critical role in the management of asthma as elaborated that he/she: Explains the need for various inhalers (ensuring the best is offered to the patient) and provides the patient with information on treatment administered Advices on triggers and how to keep off them Assists the patient in quitting smoking (if applicable) Explicates on how to monitor the condition Provides the action plan of treatment and explains it to the patient. Is always available for assistance both at home and on the phone (NHS Choices, 2006) Nurses are generally recruited into the NHS through the website www.nursebank.co.uk , the Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialists offer courses for development and training of nurses and promote clinical excellence in respiratory care delivery (Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialist, 2010). The selection of a professional nurse in a recruitment procedure is dependent on factors as Years of experience, area of expertise and personal record check. CRITIQUE ON ASTHMA CARE Asthma management involves a wide range of services including primary care, routine follow up, hospital inpatient and outpatient care, proper education and advice of patient, emergency calls and prescribed drugs; these services when combined with the intensity and level of use result to a high cost (Department of Health, 2011). In 2001, England recorded a net ingredient cost of  £442million and around  £33million for inhaled therapy Brocklebank et al (2001). In prescribing drugs, the patient is considered as whether or not to use the drug/device appropriately; the most effective and clinically proven cost effective drug is also reasonably considered. However, restrictions imposed on manufacturers make some inhalers commercially unavailable hence the use of more expensive drugs. The British Thoracic Society (BTS) and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) have clinical guidelines on the use of inhalers for asthma (BTS and SIGN, 2009) however; there are inconsistencies or absence of recommendations for inhaler devices from these guidelines. Evidence-based guidelines are currently being prepared by the British Thoracic Society (BTS) and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). There are criticisms on the effectiveness of the inhaler which largely depends on technique of administration by patient considering experience, physical ability and education on usage (NHS centre for reviews and Dissemination, 2003) CONCLUSION The role of a nurse in quality care delivery cannot be overruled especially in a health condition as asthma which could be critical and possibly fatal. The initial primary care given to asthma patients and subsequent secondary care has been proven to be appropriate in that the health status of patients is being improved. The incorporation of a respiratory nurse specialist has been a major milestone in achieving a better health status for asthma patients in the United Kingdom. REFERENCES Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialist (2010) professional development Available at: http://www.arns.co.uk/pages/professional%20development.html (Accessed: 11 March 2011). Asthma UK (2011) For Journalists: Key facts and statistics Available at: http://www.asthma.org.uk/news_media/media_resources/for_journalists_key.html (Accessed: 5 March 2011). British Lung Foundation (2011) Asthma, Available at: http://www.lunguk.org/you-and-your-lungs/conditions-and-diseases/asthma (Accessed: 9 March 2011). British Medical Journal group (2011) Asthma in adults Available at: http://bestpractice.bmj.com/best-practice/pdf/patient-summaries/531553.pdf (Accessed: 12 March 2011). British National Formulatory (2010) NICE Technology Appraisal. Available at: http://bnf.org/bnf/extra/current/450034.htm (Accessed: 9 March 2011). British Thoracic Society, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (2009) British Guideline on the Management of Asthma: A national clinical guideline. Available at: http://www.sign.ac.uk/pdf/sign101.pdf (Accessed: 10 March 2011). Brocklebank, D.,  Ram, F.,  Wright, J.,  Barry, P.,  Cates, C.,  Davies, L.,  Douglas, G.,  Muers, M.,  Smith, D.,  White, J. Comparison of the effectiveness of inhaler devices in asthma and chronic obstructive airways disease: a systematic review of the literature Health Technology Assessment 5 (26) pp. 1-149. Pubmed [Online]. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11701099 (Accessed: 4 March 2011). Department of Health (2011) Prescription Cost Analysis 2001. Available at: http://www.doh.gov.uk/stats.pca2001.pdf (Accessed: 11 March 2011). Lang M., Erzurum S., C., Kavuru M. (2011) Asthma. Available at: http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/allergy/bronchial-asthma/ (Accessed: 12 March 2011). Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Products Agency (2007) vol (1) drug safety update. Available at: http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Publications/Safetyguidance/DrugSafetyUpdate/CON2033216 (Accessed: 12 March 2011). NHS Centre for reviews and dissemination (2003) 8 (1) Inhaler devices for the management of asthma and COPD Available at: http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/EHC/ehc81.pdf (Accessed: 10 March 2011). National Health Service Choices (2010) About the NHS. Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/about/Pages/nhsstructure.aspx (Accessed: 5 March, 2010). National Health Service Choices (2010) Acute asthma in adults-management in primary care. Available at: http://healthguides.mapofmedicine.com/choices/map/asthma_in_adults2.html (Accessed: 9 March 2011). National Health Service Choices (2006) The role of your Respiratory Nurse Specialist. Available at: http://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/documents/patientLeaflets/Asthma%20-%20The%20role%20of%20your%20Respiratory%20Nurse%20Specialist.pdf (Accessed: 11 March 2011). Office for National Statistics (2004) Asthma and allergies: Decrease in hospital admissions in 90s. Available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=722Pos=1ColRank=1Rank=192 (Accessed: 8 March 2011). Shiang, C., Mauad, T.,  Senhorini, A., De Araà ºjo, B., Ferreira, D., Da Silva, L ., Dolhnikoff, M., Tsokos, M.,  Rabe, K.,  Pabst, R. (2009) Pulmonary periarterial inflammation in fatal asthma Clinical and Experimental Allergy 39 (10) pp. 1499-1507 Wiley [Online]. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2222.2009.03281.x/abstract (Accessed: 11 March 2011). LEARNING OUTCOME 2 LEADERSHIP IN NURSING AND ASSOCIATED PROFESSIONS A Leader is someone who guides or chairs a group of people or an organisation; it is common practice that a leader portrays some leadership skills to enable him/her be productive and effective. Cook (2001) describes a clinical nursing leader as someone who endlessly gets involved in direct patient care hence improving care by being of positive influence to others. All nurses (from those who provide direct care to the managers) need potent leadership skills. Mahoney (2001) emphasises that anyone (e.g. a nurse) who gives assistance to others or is responsible for other people is considered a leader; however, good leadership is reproducible superior performance targeted towards a long term benefit to everyone called for. John, (2011) has defined a manager as an individual with the sole responsibility to plan and direct the work of a group of people, ensuring proper monitoring and directives are followed. Management in nursing involves regarding leadership functions of administration and making appropriate decisions within organisations that employ nurses. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN LEADERS AND MANAGERS Leaders and managers go hand in hand, none of them tend to possess abilities that make them stand on their own, and there is no unique or particular way of managing people. Some basic similarities between managers and leaders are: People development: An effectual manager and leader have skills and abilities that tend towards the development of the people. Partnership working: the work of both a manager and a leader tend to be of a partnership level (Mather, 2009). Motivators: both leaders and managers are motivators of their subordinates DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LEADERS AND MANAGERS Thinking pattern: A major difference between a leader and manger is in their level of reasoning, Managers think incrementally, whilst leaders think radically; managers always work towards doing things rightly while leaders work in the perspective of doing the right thing (Richard, 1990). Loyalty: Subordinates are mostly subordinate to their leader than to their manager; this applies often because the leader takes credit in times of achievement and allocating merit to subordinates (John, 1990). Competencies: A nursing manager allocates resources and sets timetables while a nursing leader is someone who clarifies the big picture created by the manager and simplifies it, making the hospital/nursing homes vision more understandable to the staff and patients (Kristina R, 2009). Leadership is a very vital issue in the nursing practice because nursing requires knowledgeable, consistent and strong leaders, who inspire and boost peoples moral and support professional nursing practice. Nurses need to be both leaders and managers for some very key reasons as: An Advocate for quality care: a head nurse who serves as either a leader has to stand out in ensuring the needs of both the patients and nursing staff are adequately met, sometimes it will require a robust and bold person to stand before the board in defending these needs. An influential personality: the presence of an influential nurse handling an asthmatic patient will go a long way in guiding the patient in making informed choices; the patient becomes free and open to the nurse when she/he exhibits a high level of positive influence on the patient. CRITIQUE OF NURSING PUBLICATIONS IN RELATION TO LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN ASTHMATIC AND GENERAL NURSING CARE A report by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on the support by Asthma UK on RCNs frontline campaign published on 14th January 2011 is carefully analyzed highlighting the publishers aims of writing, lessons to be learnt, consequences of the article and its impact on positive care delivery. It was rightly stated in this article that about three-quarters of asthma emergency admissions can be avoided if proper care is delivered (Royal college of Nursing, 2011). This implies that the need for proper managerial skills needs to be adapted by the healthcare leaders to manage asthma patients which will ultimately lead to the reduction of emergency care delivery for asthma patients. He went further to stress that specialist nurses are the cohesive source of support and stability for care for asthma patients; this issue is supported by the Relationship theory of leadership (also known as transformational theory) which highlights the connection between the leader and the led (Kendra, 2011). Leaders that possess this trait tend to motivate and stir their followers to ensure maximum productivity is achieved. Focus is geared towards the performance of the group members. When a leader with such trait is employed, the function of the specialist will be balanced on both as a helper of the patient and a confidant to the patient. He also said that the role of a specialist nurse has reduced hospital admissions from 22% to 6%, hence saving the National Health Service billions of pounds annually. The writer concluded by turning down the practise of relieving the specialist nurses of their jobs and employing other nurses and ward clerks to fit into their roles which he said the adverse effects were of greater negative impacts as costing the NHS more finance and damage the lives of the patients already receiving care by the specialist nurses. The lessons from this article cannot be over-emphasized in that there is an immediate need for the employment of more specialist nurses to manage asthmatic patients better and to save the lives of their patients. A similar report by Akinsanya (2009) on the Exacerbations of severe asthma; psychosocial predictors and the impact of a nurse-led clinic stated that the need for alternate management approaches is paramount in caring for people with severe asthma. He also recommended further findings on the social and psychological aspects of asthma management. Recommendations were also made on the holistic approach for long-term management of asthmatic patients (Akinsanya, 2009). This report clearly shows the application of the contingency leadership theory that postulates the influence of variables that relate to the environment on the determination of the specific leadership style fit for a situation (Kendra, 2011); it further implies the need for a paradigm shift on the care for acute asthmatic patients towards need for more nurse specialists. PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON LEADERSHIP AND MANAGERIAL SKILLS As a major role player in healthcare delivery, nurses have inevitable functions. This Portfolio has given me an in depth understanding in various areas of my practice as: Efficiency: I have learnt that my level of efficiency has a vital impact in saving asthmatic patients lives; it will help ease the huge financial burden on Government by saving extra expenses. Leadership skills: According to the great man theory of leadership (Management Study Guide, 2011a) which denotes that some people are born with inherent leadership skills which become apparent when great needs arise. I have understood that as a nurse, I can lead rightly and manage people if I can nurture the greatness in me. In enhancing my managerial skills, I will give room for creativity in my area of work by combining both human and non-human resources (Management Study Guide, 2011b) to achieve the designed goal. Team work is also a very good point I learnt from this report in that I cannot be an effective leader if I am regarded as the only member of my team succeeding, there has to be a cohesive effort from all. Care delivery: The focus is on the nurses to serve as interlocutors between the GP and patient ensuring the patient adheres to prescriptions and that the nurse is always available for assistance by the patient. CONCLUSION The difference between a leader and manager is quite small and most leaders tend to end up as managers. Asthmatic guidelines need to be reviewed often to improve its managerial aspect of care. Nurses are relevant care deliverers and all need to develop leadership and managerial skills in order to safe guard the healthcare of the United Kingdom.

William Lyon Mackenzie :: essays research papers

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie's life can best be understood if man and legend are separated. William was born on March 12, 1795 in Scotland. Three weeks after his birth, his father, Daniel, supposedly died, but no record of his death has ever been found. William and his mother were said to gone through great hardship, having to move off of Daniel's land. After moving to Dundee, William, who went by the names Willie or Lyon, entered the Dundee Parish School at the age of five, with the help of a bursary. At fifteen, he was the youngest member of the commercial newsroom of the local newspaper. He also belonged to a scientific society, where he met Edward Lesslie, and his son, James. These two would be William's patrons throughout most of his life. In 1820, William sailed to Canada with John, another son of Edward Lesslie. Mackenzie was immediately impressed with Upper Canada. Before the end of the year, Mackenzie was writing for the York Observer under the name of 'Mercator'; In 1824, Mackenzie started his most famous newspaper, the Colonial Advocate. The first edition appeared on May 18, 1824. The sole purpose of this paper was to sway the opinions of the voters in the next election. On June 8, 1826, a group of fifteen, young, well connected Tories disguised themselves as Indians, and broke into Mackenzie's York office in broad daylight. They smashed his printing press, then threw it into the bay. The Tories did nothing to compensate him, so it was clear that they were involved. Mackenzie ntook them to court, and seeing that their 'disguise'; had been seen through, they offered Mackenzie  £200. He refused, and after a bitter trial, the court awarded him  £625. In March of 1829, Mackenzie went to the United States to buy books for resale, and to study the actions of the newly appointed Andrew Jackson. He compared the simplicity and the cost of American government to Canada's, and saw that their spoils system might be a way of doing away with some Family Compact members. When an assembly met in January of 1831, Mackenzie fully immersed himself into its proceedings. He demanded inquiries into abuse, and insisted on a review of representation in the province. He appointed people on the council to fight for what he, himself wanted, while what he personally did angered and annoyed the Tory members of parliament. On December 12, 1831, Mackenzie was voted out of parliament on a vote of 24 to 15.

Freshwater Mussels Essay -- Marine Life Mollusks Conservation Essays

Freshwater Mussels Mussels are a species of marine life that inhabits many of the bodies of water in the United States. They serve as an important aspect of the ecological system of the water in which they occupy. However, the number of mussels have been declining such that many are now considered as endangered species. There are a few reasons for the decline in population, including domination by a single species of mussels called the zebra mussel. Conservation has begun on mussels because of their strong environmental influence. The two groups interested in mussels involve parties that use the lakes for recreation and consider mussels as a threat to their gaming as well as ecologists that understand the domination of zebra mussels and attempt to protect the native mussels from the zebra mussels. Mussels are in a group of invertebrate animals called mollusks. Freshwater mussels are also referred to as clams, naiads, and unionids. Mussels spend its life anchored in rivers or lake bottom sediments. The vast majority of them are found in streams. Their movement is through either muscular feet or powerful flood currents. A mussel captures oxygen and microscopic food particles in flowing water through filtration (Vermont's Freshwater WWW). Mussels continuously pump water through their bodies. Water enters through the incurrent or branchial siphon and exits via the excurrent or anal siphon (Mussel Biology WWW). This pumping process allows the mussel to filter food from the water. The food consists of detritus, organic matter found on the stream, and plankton which are microscopic plants and animals suspended in water (Mussel Biology WWW). Mussels are long lived species with some living more than 10 years. Others have been record... ...reissena polymorpha. NAS. Prepared by the Florida Caribbean Science Center of the Biological Resources Division: http://www.nfrcg.gov/zebra.mussel/docs/sp_account.html#HDR2. Mussel Biology. http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cwe/wwwtest/mussel/Pages/introduction.html Vermont's Freshwater Mussels Uniqueness and Diversity, Now Under Siege. The Nature Conservancy of Vermont. http://tnc.org/searchtnc.html (second listing under search for mollusk). West Coast Mollusc Culture: A present and future perspective proceedings of a California Sea Grant Workshop in cooperation with the Pacific Sea Grant College Program. edited by Rosemary Amidei. La Jolla, CA California Sea Grant College Program, Institute of Maine Resources, University of California 1988: 87 pages. Zebra Mussel: Dreissena polymorpha. http://tnc.org/searchtnc.html (first listing under search for mollusk).

By Design Essay -- Literary Analysis, Robert Frost

Redesigned: One poem with two faces Robert Frost wrote a poem – twice. The early version of the poem titled, â€Å"In White,† creates a simple scene filled with anomalies. For some reason, years later, the work beckoned for further attention. The poet complied and skillfully enhanced the work, rendering a finished poem that exceeded the scope of the original. Side by side, both versions of Frost’s poem send a nuanced message to the thoughtful reader. Open to interpretation, that message invites debate, an introspective feast. For that reason, reworking the poem fine-tuned the message. The revised poem â€Å"Design† assumes polished superiority through Frost’s mastery of imagery, amplified by devices, and unburdened language. For the purpose of clarity, explicating provides an understanding of the internal workings of this finished poem. A closer look at one poem helps to identify the differences between the two. Frost’s poem, â€Å"Design† begins in a most uncomplicated way: â€Å"I found a dimpled spider, fat and white† (1). The spider, described as such, denotes jolly innocence, an unlikely association. Introducing the first of several ironies, the heal-all, which preserves life, has a growing connection to death. In fact, the flower provides a stage for the spider, menacing in spite of its pale disguise as it sits â€Å"On a white heal-all, holding up a moth / Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth–† (2-3). Frost’s white color scheme persists into the dead moth simile. Satin, typically equated with rich finery, finds a meaning much less elegant with the adjective, rigid. Each line zooms closer to the scene at hand, no doubt something is just not righ t. The mood continues with, â€Å"Assorted characters of death and blight† (4), and ad... ..., aided by Frost’s selection of devices, such as similes. As such, the reader derives a deeper understanding of the action, like the lifting of a veil. In summary, explicating â€Å"Design† served to process both poems. Such a exercise provided a clearer perspective of Frost’s initial rendering and subsequent finished work. Thus, exposing subtle differences resulted in a way to compare the work and draw a subjective conclusion regarding the more effective poem. However, one must remain mindful that without the lesser first â€Å"draft,† the second would have had no life. Indeed, Frost refined with a delicate hand by shaping images, placed inventive markers to prod thought, and carefully gave voice to each word. The result produced a superior message, which posed more questions than solid answers about whether life (or death) happens by coincidence, or by â€Å"Design.†

Nonverbal Communication Essay

Abstract The goal of this study was to find out if teachers were teaching nonverbal communication in their classroom, and also if it was important to teach nonverbal communication in the classroom. Teachers have a variety of teaching styles, and techniques. Some teachers using nonverbals and some do not. However, sometimes class size, classification levels, and gender can cause teachers to either use nonverbal communication or not. The participants of this study were asked whether or not their teacher use different types of nonverbal communication in the classroom setting. The study found that students said most teachers in their classes use nonverbal communication to teach. This study also provides support of the importance nonverbal communication has when teaching. Nonverbal communication in the classroom: A research about the importance of teaching nonverbal communication Communication in general is the process of sending and receiving messages that enables humans to share knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Although we usually identify communication with speech, communication is composed of two dimensions, which are verbal and nonverbal. Nonverbal communication has been defined as communication, but just without any words. Communicating is not something we can just do without, nonverbal communication especially considering it can never be shut off, unlike verbal communication we are always communicating nonverbally. One cannot not communicate. Nonverbal communication is always around you and impossible to ignore. Research, in many studies, has indicated that nonverbal communication can serve a wide range of functions in human interaction. Nonverbal communication is an essential part of every day life. No matter if at work, school, or even at home, nonverbal communication plays a huge role in life. As Blatner (2002) says, â€Å"Often people cannot understand the impact of nonverbal communications involved in a situation unless it is replayed and figured out† (pg.3). Teachers need to be practicing and teaching nonverbal communication in the classroom everyday, and that by doing so students will become much better communicators. Nonverbal communication strategies are important to the development of an effective educational system. Nonverbal communication should be practiced in more classes than just communication classes, because no matter what major of study you are in communication is always going to be an essential thing to know. Many social scientists have conducted research in the field of nonverbal communication as it affects students and educators. Ritchie (1977) found that seven percent of communication is nonverbal. Voice inflection accounts for 38% of the message, and facial expression, including â€Å"body language,† communicates 55% of the message. Speer (1972) states that because 90% of the total impact of a message can come from nonverbal elements, sharpening nonverbal communication skills cannot help but make a person a better communicator. So why are not all teachers using this method of teaching in the classroom setting? That is one of the questions I would like to answer in my research. This paper will work to determine if nonverbal communication is essential to be taught in the classroom and the importance of the teaching of nonverbal communication. Literature Review Research has been investigated, by many different scholarly researchers, about nonverbal communication and the importance of why it should be taught to students in their learning career. Nonverbal communication can be defined as signing, symbols, colors, gestures, rhythms, and much more. Those are just a few examples that will be discussed (Ritchie 1977). Speer (1972) believes that it is important to know all the different ways to communicate nonverbally and explains all of those ways in the book. Speer (1972) also emphasizes on the fact that in order to communicate, you must first know what nonverbal communication actually is. Pilner, Alloway, & Krames (1974) however compare how humans and animals communicate differently nonverbally and the importance of knowing the different ways, and they also point out how humans and animals can communicate very similarly nonverbally as well. Ethology is the way of studying behavior amongst people. Weitz (1974) refers to ethology as a way to cond uct research, knowing how to study different peoples behavior is essential to know before observing how people act. Visual interactions are also ways of studying nonverbal communication in the classroom, according to Weitz (1974). According to Molcho (1985), nonverbal communication is critical in the classroom setting, especially in interpersonal communication. The most credible messages teachers generate are said to be nonverbal. Duggan (2012) discusses all of the different nonverbal cues and why they are important. For example, he states the importance of facial expressions, gestures, and appearance. Along the same lines Carli (1995), Mayo &Henley (1981) and Thompson (2012) have different articles about differences between men and women and the different thoughts they have on nonverbal communication. He also discusses different research scenarios in which research has been conducted to prove the importance of nonverbal communication, and why men and women communicate differently sometimes. Area of Study Nonverbal communication plays a huge role in the classroom, and how teachers should be using nonverbal communication. (Pliner 1974) This paper is a research intended to help understand why nonverbal communication is so important in teaching, and what those importance’s are. Teachers should be using nonverbal communication everyday, in every course no matter what the major of study is. I want to research to see if teachers are using nonverbal communication skills in the classroom environment, and if so how they are using them. My hypothesis is that yes I believe teachers are using nonverbal communication as a way of teaching in their classroom. If the answer is no however, I will research why teachers are not using nonverbal communication in their every day teaching techniques, and if there are reasons behind why they are not using it. I will conduct surveys in class to see if students believe teachers are teaching enough about nonverbal communication, and if they believe it is important to be learning about. I would ask, does nonverbal communication play a role in the classroom? For instance, is nonverbal communication important in the classroom setting, whether it be how the teacher dresses, lectures, stands, etc. I also want to find out if teachers are teaching enough about nonverbal communication to their students. Are students gaining enough knowledge about nonverbal communication while in the classroom setting? Also, I would like to find out, what is the importance of nonverbal communication. Why should we study this and why do we need to learn this study for our whole careers. Finally, what would a classroom setting be like with zero nonverbal communication? This consists of no eye contact, appearance codes, gesture, or any other kind of nonverbal communication behavior. The following research questions and hypotheses guide the current study: H1: Students believe teachers are using nonverbal communication to communicate with them on a daily basis. H2: There is no difference between what males believe teachers use in the classroom and what females believe. H3: All ages believe the same thing when it comes to how often their teachers communicate nonverbally and how they are communicating this way. RQ1: Does nonverbal communication play a role in the classroom? RQ2: Are teachers teaching enough about nonverbal communication to their students? Methodology Instrument I used the convenience type sampling method. (see appendix A) This is a nonrandom type sampling; in which I used volunteers in my class to take my survey. The survey contained nine questions. Participants were asked nine questions about how their teachers use different nonverbal communication skills to communicate with them. The students were asked to mark yes or no depending on if the teacher used those certain styles of nonverbals while teaching, Students were also asked some demographic questions: sex, classification, and age. I used evidence by Wilmont (1995), about research of nonverbal communication to come up with my research questions. I developed my questions very carefully before choosing what the right questions were to ask. I thought about questions that could be useful to my research and that would help me develop the results I needed in order to prove or disprove my topic. I choose questions that wouldn’t be offensive to anyone, so that everyone could participate . I was trying to find out the significance of nonverbal communication being used and taught in the classroom setting. Participants I had twenty-five students in my research communication class participate in my survey. There were fourteen males and eleven females who participated, however gender doesn’t have much of an affect on my research. The ages for my survey ranged from nineteen to twenty-three years old. All of the students who took my survey were in some kind of communication field. I conducted my survey and distributed it during our class hour, along with everyone else. I distributed my surveys on Thursday October 18th, 2012. I distributed my survey to each member in the class in a row order. I simply passed my survey out row by row to each class member, and when everyone received my survey they began taking it. When the class was done taking my survey they proceeded to the front of the classroom and put my surveys in a pile for me to pick up. I then took a look at all of my results later that night. I made an excel document and went through each individual paper and recorded my results in to excel. I recorded the number of females and males, class rank, and also the answers to my yes and no questions. Results The first hypothesis was concerned with if students believed teachers were using nonverbal communication with them to teach on a daily basis. The hypothesis inferred that students did believe teachers were using nonverbal communication on a daily basis to communicate with them. . This hypothesis was supported. All students answered yes to at least some type of nonverbal communication. The second hypothesis looked at the sex of the students. This hypothesis inferred that the sex of the student was not significant for this survey. This hypothesis was supported. Sex was not significant in the research. Males and females answered mostly the same for every question in the survey. The third hypothesis looked at age of the students. This hypothesis stated that age was not significant in the survey. This hypothesis was supported. After recording all the results, age was not a factor. All of the students came up with mostly the same answers no matter their age. Research question one asked if nonverbal communication played a role in the classroom setting. From my survey, students believed that yes, nonverbal communication does in fact play a role in the classroom, and the survey also showed that numerous amounts of different types of nonverbal communication are being used every day in the classroom setting. Research question number two asked, are teachers teaching enough about nonverbal communication to their students? The question was answered yes by every single student. Students believe that yes there is enough nonverbal communication being taught in the classroom. Discussion The goal of this study was to see if nonverbal communication was being taught in the classroom and if it was important to be taught. Teachers have many different ways of teaching, and many different techniques but the overall outcome was that yes, nonverbal communication is very important in the classroom and that many teachers do use nonverbal communication on a daily basis to teach. Class size, gender, and classification did not really matter in this study. Previous research has also found that nonverbal communication is a very important factor in teaching as well. My study supported previous research, and agreed that nonverbal communication is being taught in the classrooms, and it is important for teachers to teach and use nonverbal communication. Another interesting find was that gender did not play a big part in the overall outcomes. I figured since females tend to notice things more, like proximity, gestures, posture, etc., that females would answer a lot differently than males but that was not true in this case. All students believed pretty much the same things. I was not surprised that students believed nonverbal communication was important because I agree, it is.   After conducting my survey I learned a lot of things from classmates. Some of the things I discovered were, body posture is a very important nonverbal in the classroom. Body posture can tell when students understand the content presented or when they have trouble grasping the major concepts. A student who is slouching in his seat sends a very different message than the student who learns forward or sits erect. I also learned that eye contact plays a very important role in teaching. Teachers often use eye contact in the classroom to decide who is prepared to answer a question, or who has completed a homework assignment. If a student does not want to be called on they will try and have no eye contact with the teacher, and that indicates to the teacher they do not know the answer or wish to not speak. Students also responded that distance is used on a daily basis in the classroom. The teachers are supposed to stand in the front, and the students sit in desks in the middle and back. I also discovered that students would interact more comfortably with a teacher when they are in same vertical plane. Dress being a form of nonverbal communication, I discovered plays a role in every classroom. Teachers dress appropriately for class everyday, as in dress pants, dresses, nice shirts, etc. Effective teaching depends on successful communication. By definition of non-verbal communication without uttering a single word, teachers and students constantly send messages to each other (Thompson, 2012). Limits and Future Study Although my study found a lot of reliable information, there were some limitations. When conducting my survey, although it turned out very helpful, I would have changed the questions and been a little more descriptive with them. For example, I would have not only asked if the certain nonverbals were used in the classroom, I would have also asked when and how these forms of communication were used. Another limitation was class classification. There were a wide variety of grade levels that took my survey, and all teachers in every grade level have a different way of teaching, so I would have tried to get maybe all Juniors or all Seniors to take my survey. I would have tried to have all people who take the same classes with the same teachers to take the survey. Future researchers could look more in to how students use nonverbal [communication to communicate rather than just teachers. I think students use just as much nonverbal communication as teachers do and that would be an interesting research to conduct also. This research was conducted to show the importance of nonverbal communication while teaching in the classroom. Nonverbal communication plays an essential role in the classroom so I believe more studies should be done concerning nonverbal communication. References Carli, L. (1995). Nonverbal behavior, gender, and influence. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 68(6), 1030-1041. Duggan, T. (2012). Nonverbal cues between men and women in the workplace. Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/nonverbal-cues-men-women-workplace- 11424.html. Key, Mary Ritchie. (1977) Nonverbal communication: a research guide & bibliography. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press Mayo, C., & Henley, N. (1981). Gender and nonverbal behavior. New York : Springer-Verlag. Molcho, S. (1985). Body speech. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press. Pliner, P., Alloway, T.,Krames, L. (1974). Nonverbal communication: Advances in the study of communication and affect. New York: Plenum Press. Speer, D. C. (1972). NonVerbal Communication. Beverly Hills, Sage Publications. Thompson, J. (2012). The science and fun of nonverbal communication [Electronic Version]. Are man and woman equals in nonverbal communication? Weitz, S. (1974) Nonverbal communication: Readings with commentary. New York: Oxford University Press. Wilmont, W. (1995). Relational Communication. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Stephen King, Christine – Text Analysis

Stephen King is perhaps the most widely known American writer of his generation, yet his distinctions include publishing as two authors at once: Beginning in 1966, he wrote novels that were published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. When twelve, he began submitting stories for sale. At first ignored and then scorned by mainstream critics, by the late 1980’s his novels were reviewed regularly in The New York Times Book Review, with increasing favor. Beginning in 1987, most of his novels were main selections of the Book-of-the-Month Club, which in 1989 created the Stephen King Library, committed to keeping King’s novels â€Å"in print in hardcover. † King published more than one hundred short stories (including the collections Night Shift, 1978, Skeleton Crew, 1985, and Nightmares and Dreamscapes, 1993) and the eight novellas contained in Different Seasons (1982) and Four Past Midnight (1990). King has published numerous articles and a critical book, Danse Macabre (1981). King’s detractors attribute his success to the sensational appeal of his genre, whose main purpose, as King readily confesses, is to scare people. Like Edgar Allan Poe, King turned a degenerated genre — a matter of comic-book monsters and drive-in films—into a medium embodying the primary anxieties of his age. He is graphic, sentimental, and predictable. His humor is usually crude and campy. His dark fantasies, like all good popular fiction, allow readers to express within conventional frames of reference feelings and concepts they might not otherwise consider. is vision articulates universal fears and desires in terms peculiar to contemporary culture. King is â€Å"Master of Postliterate Prose,† as Paul Gray stated in 1982—writing that takes readers mentally to the films rather than making them imagine or think. On the other hand, King’s work provides the most genuine example of the storyteller’s art since Charles Dickens. He has retu rned to the novel some of the popular appeal it had in the nineteenth century and turned out a generation of readers who vastly prefer some books to their film adaptations. He encountered two lasting influences, the naturalist writers and contemporary American mythology. Stephen King may be known as a horror writer, but he calls himself a â€Å"brand name,† describing his style as â€Å"the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and a large fries from McDonald’s. † His fast-food version of the â€Å"plain style† may smell of commercialism, but that may make him the contemporary American storyteller without peer. From the beginning, his dark parables spoke to the anxieties of the late twentieth century. King’s fictions begin with premises accepted by middle Americans of the television generation, opening in suburban or small-town America—Derry, Maine, or Libertyville, Pennsylvania—and have the familiarity of the house next door and the 7-Eleven store. The characters have the trusted two-dimensional reality of kitsch: they originate in cliches such as the high school â€Å"nerd† or the wise child. From such premises, they move cinematically through an atmosphere resonant with a popular mythology. King applies naturalistic methods to an environment created by popular culture. This reality, already mediated, is translated easily into preternatural terms, taking on a nightmarish quality. King’s imagination is above all archetypal: His â€Å"pop† familiarity and his campy humor draw on the collective unconscious. As with his fiction, his sources are the classic horror films of the 1930’s, inherited by the 1950’s pulp and film industries. He hints at their derivations from the gothic novel, classical myth, Brothers Grimm folktales, and the oral tradition in general. In an anxious era both skeptical of and hungry for myth, horror is fundamentally reassuring and cathartic; the tale-teller combines roles of physician and priest into the witch doctor as â€Å"sin eater,† who assumes the guilt and fear of his culture. Christine †¢ In Christine, the setting is Libertyville, Pennsylvania, during the late 1970’s. The monster is the American Dream as embodied in the automobile. King gives Christine all the attributes of a fairy tale for â€Å"postliterate† adolescents. Christine is another fractured â€Å"Cinderella† story, Carrie for boys. Arnie Cunningham, a nearsighted, acne-scarred loser, falls â€Å"in love with† a car, a passionate (red and white) Plymouth Fury, â€Å"one of the long ones with the big fins,† that he names Christine. An automotive godmother, she brings Arnie, in fairy-tale succession, freedom, success, power, and love: a home away from overprotective parents, a cure for acne, hit-andrun revenge on bullies, and a beautiful girl, Leigh Cabot. Soon, however, the familiar triangle emerges, of boy, girl, and car, and Christine is revealed as a femme fatale—driven by the spirit of her former owner, a malcontent named Roland LeBay. Christine is the medium for his death wish on the world, for his all-devouring, â€Å"everlasting Fury. † LeBay’s aggression possesses Arnie, who reverts into an older, tougher self, then into the â€Å"mythic teenaged hood† that King has called the prototype of 1950’s werewolf films, and finally into â€Å"some ancient carrion eater,† or primal self. As automotive monster, Christine comes from a variety of sources, including the folk tradition of the â€Å"death car† and a venerable techno-horror premise, as seen in King’s â€Å"Trucks† and Maximum Overdrive. King’s main focus, however, is the mobile youth culture that has come down from the 1950’s by way of advertising, popular songs, film, and national pastimes. Christine is the car as a projection of the cultural self, Anima for the modern American Adam. To Arnie’s late 1970’s-style imagination, the Plymouth Fury, in 1958 a mid-priced family car, is an American Dream. Her sweeping, befinned chassis and engine re-create a fantasy of the golden age of the automobile: the horizonless future imagined as an expanding network of superhighways and unlimited fuel. Christine recovers for Arnie a prelapsarian vitality and manifest destiny. Christine’s odometer runs backward and she regenerates parts. The immortality she offers, however—and by implication, the American Dream—is really arrested development in the form of a Happy Days rerun and by way of her radio, which sticks on the golden oldies station. Indeed, Christine is a recapitulatory rock musical framed fatalistically in sections titled â€Å"Teenage Car-Songs,† â€Å"Teenage Love-Songs,†and â€Å"Teenage Death-Songs. † Fragments of rock-and-roll songs introduce each chapter. Christine’s burden, an undead 1950’s youth culture, means that most of Arnie’s travels are in and out of time, a deadly nostalgia trip. As Douglas Winter explains, Christine reenacts â€Å"the death,† during the 1970’s, â€Å"of the American romance with the automobile. † The epilogue from four years later presents the fairy-tale consolation in a burnedout monotone. Arnie and his parents are buried, Christine is scrap metal, and the true Americans, Leigh and Dennis, are survivors, but Dennis, the â€Å"knight of Darnell’s Garage,† does not woo â€Å"the lady fair†; he is a limping, lackluster junior high teacher, and they have drifted apart, grown old in their prime. Dennis narrates the story in order to file it away, all the while perceiving himself and his peers in terms of icons from the late 1950’s. In his nightmares, Christine appears wearing a black vanity plate inscribed with a skull and the words, â€Å"ROCK AND ROLL WILL NEVER DIE. From Dennis’s haunted perspective, Christine simultaneously examines and is a symptom of a cultural phenomenon: a new American gothic species of anachronism or deja vu, which continued after Christine’s publication in films such as Back to the Future (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), and Blue Velvet (1986). The 1980’s and the 1950’s blur into a seam less illusion, the nightmare side of which is the prospect of living an infinite replay. The subtext of King’s adolescent fairy tale is another coming of age, from the opposite end and the broader perspective of American culture. Written by a fortyish King in the final years of the twentieth century, Christine diagnoses a cultural midlife crisis and marks a turning point in King’s career, a critical examination of mass culture. The dual time frame reflects his awareness of a dual audience, of writing for adolescents who look back to a mythical 1950’s and also for his own generation as it relives its undead youth culture in its children. The baby boomers, King explains, â€Å"were obsessive† about childhood. â€Å"We went on playing for a long time, almost feverishly. I write for that buried child in us, but I’m writing for the grown-up too. I want grownups to look at the child long enough to be able to give him up. The child should be buried. † â€Å"sometimes ownership can become possession† The story is set in a middle-class suburb of Pittsburg, in 1978. Dennis Guilder and Arnie Cunningham vie for the attentions of the new girl in town, Leigh Cabot. But when Christine, a 1958 Plymouth Fury, enters the picture, the course of action changes drastically. As Leigh neatly observes, â€Å"cars are girls†. Arnie’s love affair with Christine turns from a love song to a death song. As soon as he sees her he wants her. Her name is Christine, she is 1958 Plymouth Fury, and Arnold Cunningham has fallen head over heels in love with her. Arnold's best friend Dennis Guilder is not quite so impressed by the rusting rolling iron with the custom paint job. Dennis looks at the cracked windscreen and the damaged bodywork, the flat tyre and torn upholstery, and his heart sinks even before he notices the pool of oil underneath the car. Arnie might as well be looking at a different car though. He sees something else. Maybe a little of what the car once was, and perhaps a little of what it could be if the work was put in. He is a man in love and first loves can often become all consuming things. There is nothing that Dennis can do to stop Arnie from buying Christine and in the end he goes along with his life-long friend. He lends him some money towards a deposit on the car and even takes him to pick the car up, the next day, after work. Sometimes the company a person keeps can have an effect on them and almost from that very first meeting between Arnie and Christine Dennis can see changes in his best friend. Some of them good, like the fact that his acne seems to be miraculously clearing up. The other changes though, are not so positive in nature. Arnie's whole attitude takes a turn for the worse and he develops an uncharacteristic mean streak. All of his life Arnie has been the guy who was targeted by the bullies of this world, but when Buddy Repperton takes a jack handle to one of Christine's lights the worm not only turns, but turns on Repperton leaving him with a bloody nose and a score to settle. As I clocked up the chapters in Christine I watched Arnie's relationship with his parents and with his friend Dennis start to fall apart; and his relationship with the beautiful Leigh Cabot form and then fail. It was all because of the car and from the very first chapter, as a reader, I was aware that there was something not quite right about that Plymouth Fury. Christine is just a little under 600 pages long. It is written in memoir form and is split into the three parts. Part one, Dennis Teenage Car Songs, is written in the first person and from Dennis' point of View. In part two, Arnie Teenage Love songs, Dennis is still telling the story, but it is now written in the third person because all of the events in that part of the book occurred while Dennis was lying in a hospital bed and does not concern things that he experienced first-hand. For part three, of the book, Christine Teenage Death Songs, the story returns to the first person perspective because Dennis is on his crutches and out and about, all be it at a bit of a hobble. A nice touch to Christine is that every chapter opens up with a few lines from a different song that involves cars, which is probably why the three parts of the book are named the way that they are. I enjoyed Christine. King brings all of the characters to life for his readers and it was easy for me to look at Arnie's mother, for instance, through both Arnie and Dennis' eyes and think: what a bitch! But it was just as easy for me to look through the mother's eyes and feel the pain and fear as she watched her family being torn apart. The characters seem real and the unreal situations feel real.