Monday, December 30, 2019

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1300 Words

It is quite common nowadays that classic pieces of literature are transformed into movies. Oftentimes these movies are considered to be not as enjoyable to view as the book, one such case is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; a classic novel that gives us a glimpse into the vivacious 1920s. The story begins with Nick Carraway (the narrator) explaining the backstory of his life. He lives in a fictional town on Long Island, named West Egg, across the bay from his cousin Daisy Buchanan and next to a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby, whom he rarely sees. Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan, a hypocritical and arrogant man of old money. Gatsby on the other hand is an idealistic man of new money, who became wealthy through bootlegging. He is†¦show more content†¦Ultimately, the book is of higher quality and more accurately mirrors the roaring 20s. To begin, both the film and novel portray symbolism. One of the most important symbols being the green light; a light that is on the edge of Daisy’s dock, that can be seen from across the bay. This light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams that he has for the future, and the love he has for Daisy. For Gatsby, the light is infuriatingly close for such a distant goal , and he feels as though he can grasp it and obtain a life with Daisy, which he has been desiring for so long. Luhrmann’s film kept to the book in how it portrays the green light as an important symbol. The film even begins with a shot over the water, and the light from Daisy’s dock is shown. The most important scene in the film involving the green light is when Nick looks out his window and sees Gatsby standing at the edge of his dock. Gatsby appears to be reaching out his arm toward Daisy’s house, and seems to be grasping for the light, as if reaching for Daisy, whom he loves and yearns for. Similarly, the green light is mentioned on several occasions, throughout the novel. In a scene similar to the film Nick sees Gatsby outside, standing on the dock and says â€Å"He[Gatsby] stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I swear I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I

Saturday, December 21, 2019

The Importance of What Becoming Truly Converted Means to a...

The Confessions of Saint Augustine tells of the events and life choices that Saint Augustine made through his life which eventually led him to converting to Christianity. This was not an easy or quick process for Saint Augustine, just as many members of the LDS church spend a great deal of time truly converting to the gospel. Saint Augustine’s conversion and also LDS members’ process of becoming truly converted, shares many similarities. Both involve trials, growing from those trials, an ongoing process, and a significant change. In order to understand the importance of what becoming truly converted means to a Mormon, there must be distinguishing factors between this and just being a convert to the Mormon Church. One who is a â€Å"convert† is†¦show more content†¦Later when Augustine left for Rome, his mother followed with the hope and goal to convert Augustine to Christianity (â€Å"Saint Augustine†). She also remarked later on in Augustine’s life, â€Å"One thing there was, for which I desired to linger a little while in this life, that I might see you a Catholic Christian before I died. God has granted this to me in more than abundance, for I see you his servant† (Ryan 165). Even though he had been raised in a Christian setting and sat in on Saint Ambrose’s sermons, Augustine still wasn’t fully convinced enough to change his life and convert. All people face struggles and LDS members’ aren’t exempt from them. Many times these trials can be struggling with their faith. Neil Andersen, an apostle of the LDS church says, â€Å"We treasure our faith, work to strengthen our faith, pray for increased faith, and do all within our p ower to protect and defend our faith† (â€Å"Trial of Your Faith†). Faith is very important to members of the LDS church and so those who find themselves struggling with faith will have to consider how converted to the gospel they want to be. If they want to become truly converted then there are steps they will have to take in order to make the gospel and their faith the core of their lives. Eventually Augustine is able to overcome his trial of his inability to accept Christianity. One of the main things he was still struggling with was maintaining good moral standards. Augustine struggled with celibacy and knewShow MoreRelatedRastafari : Not Just An Excuse For Get High2811 Words   |  12 Pageswho smoke marijuana and listen to reggae music and nothing more. The issue is that most of the world views Rastas this way, but know nothing about their religion, Rastafari, and the many beliefs that belong to it and drive their cultural practices. What many people do not know is that the beliefs and customs of Rastafari are based on the Old Testament of the Bible and even more heavily based on political ideas, specifically those of political activist Marcus Garvey. There is so much more to Rastafari

Friday, December 13, 2019

Alcohol Use Disorder Free Essays

Alcohol use disorders are among the most prevalent mental disorders worldwide and rank high as a cause of disability burden in most regions of the world. (Grant et al. , 2006)The following paper discusses the recent research findings and essential features based on the content of diagnosis, assessment and treatment. We will write a custom essay sample on Alcohol Use Disorder or any similar topic only for you Order Now Diagnosis The DSM-IV-TR classifies drug disorders into substance use disorders (substance dependence and abuse) and substance-induced disorders (substance intoxication, substance withdrawal, induced delirium, anxiety, depression, psychosis and mood disorders). Sometimes it is difficult assessing patient’s psychiatric complaints because heavy drinking is associated with alcoholism can co-exist with, contribute to or result from several different psychiatric syndromes. (Shivani, Goldsmith Anthenelli, 2002) In order to improve diagnostic accuracy, distinguishes among alcohol-related psychiatric symptoms and signs, alcohol-induced psychiatric syndromes and independent psychiatric disorders that are commonly associated with alcoholism emerges to be essential. Patients’ gender, family history, and course of illness over time also should be taken into account. Alcohol-related psychiatric symptoms and signs Heavy alcohol consumption directly affects brain function and brain chemical and hormonal systems known to be involved in many common mental disorders thus can manifest itself in a broad range of psychiatric symptoms and signs. (Koob, 2000) And this usually the first problem which brings the patients seek help. The symptoms vary depending on the amount of alcohol used, how long it is used and how recently it was used as well as patient’s vulnerability to experiencing psychiatric symptoms in the setting of consumption. For example, during intoxication, smaller amount alcohol may produce euphoria whereas larger amount may produce more dramatic changes in mood. Alcohol also impairs judgment and aggressive, antisocial behaviours that may mimic certain externalizing disorders such as ASPD. Alcohol-induced psychiatric syndromes The essential feature of alcohol-induced psychiatric syndromes is the presence of prominent and persistent symptoms, which are judged- based on their onset and course as well as on the patient’s history, physical exam, and laboratory findings to be the result of the direct physiological effects of alcohol. Given the broad range of effects of heavy drinking may have on psychological functioning, these alcohol-induced disorders span several categories of mental disorders, including mood, anxiety, psychotic, sleep, sexual, delirious, amnestic and dementia disorders. Alcoholism with comorbid, independent psychiatric disorders Alcoholism is also associated with several psychiatric disorders that develop independently of the alcoholism and may precede alcohol use and abuse. One of the most common of these comorbid conditions is ASPD, and axis II personality disorder marked by a longstanding pattern of irresponsibility and violating the rights of others with alcohol. (Stinson et al. , 2006) Assessment The three major purposes for a comprehensive assessment are to determine a diagnosis, devise a treatment plan and to make appropriate referrals. The assessment should provide a clinical picture of the client’s personal level of functioning, history, presenting problems, family and social context in the client’s life. It is very important that the assessment process requires the gathering of comprehensive, accurate information, for a valid diagnosis and appropriate treatment. – It is vital that the counsellor needs to collect valid and reliable information. Both formal diagnosis, as listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (APA, 1994) and informal diagnosis, if the client has had therapy in the past can be made. – Comprehensive assessment is essential in designing a treatment plan. The more information provided concerning the etiology, functioning level and prognosis of the problem, the better the treatment plan. – Comprehensive assessment also provides information in order to made appropriate referral. The counsellor may decide to provide treatment solely or in conjunction with some other drug treatment specialists. Generally there are three categories of assessment measures: subjective data and physiological data. -Subjective data To collect information of demographics, family and living situations, mployment, education, drinking history (including development of the drinking problem and current drinking) and the effects on the subject’s cognitive, psychosocial, behavioural and physiological functioning. (Aalto Seppa, 2005) For example, some questionnaires focus on problems caused by alcohol consumption, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) (Saunders, Aasland, Babor, de le Fuente, Grant, 1993) There are ones with diaries focussing on the quantification of alcohol consumption, such as quantity-frequency, time-period or time-line follow-back methods. Webb et al. , 1990) More recently, a low level of response (LR) to alcohol (the need for higher amounts to have an effect) is a genetically influenced characteristic that is both found in populations at high risk for future alcoholism and that predicts alcohol related life problems in future. This Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE) questionnaire asks for estimate of number of drinks required to produce each of four effects at different times in their lives. Miller, Thomas, Mallin, 2006) In addition, the survey included the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C (AUDIT-C), a three-question alcohol screening test adapted from the original AUDIT developed by the World Health Organization for use in primary health care. The AUDIT-C is a simple, reliable screening tool that focuses on the frequency of drinking, quantify consumed on the typical occasion and the frequency of heavy episode drinking. (Bush, Kivlahan, McDonnell, al. , 1998) Again, there is no such perfect measure that SRE was found to be biased and not able to identify high functioning middle-age women. Schuckit, Smith, Danko, Isacescu, 2003) The difficulty with these specific questionnaires is that people who drink alcohol in general tend to neglect or underestimate their alcohol consumption. (Koch et al. , 2004) The accuracy of these measures is based on the patient’s awareness of and willingness to acknowledge his or her pattern and level of alcohol use as well as negative effects of drinking. At least some individuals who drink excessively will fail to do this. (Allen Litten, 2001) – Physiological data Comparing to subjective data, physiological data can overcome the subjectivity, underestimation in particular thus provides more precise and objective information about the drinking issue. It includes general medical and psychiatric history and examination. This is conducted through screening of blood, breath or urine for alcohol used, further on laboratory tests for abnormalities that may be accompanied acute or chronic alcohol use such as gamma-glutamy-transferase (GGT) or mean corpuscular volume (MCV), a measure of the average size of red blood cells. These may also be used during treatment for potential relapse. GGT is the most commonly used biochemical measure of drinking. However, it is not clear how much drinking is actually needed to cause GGT levels to elevate. And MCV tends to miss more alcoholics than GGT as MCV may be elevated by a variety of conditions other than heavy drinking such as non-alcoholic liver disease, smoking, advanced age or use of anticonvulsants etc. Thus applying the usual cut-off points for these tests, GGT turns out to have a low specificity whereas MCV shows a low sensitivity. This may lead to a gross misunderstanding with the patient and unnecessary further testing. Carbohydrate deficient transferring (CDT) has been recently approved as a marker for identification of individuals with alcohol problems as well as an aid in recognizing if alcoholic patients in treatment have relapsed. CDT and GGT appear to validly detect somewhat different groups of people with alcohol problems. GGT may best pick up those with liver damage due to drinking, whereas CDT seems to be related to level of consumption with or without liver damage. It should be kept in mind that biomarkers do not identify women or adolescents with alcohol problems as they do for male or adults in general. (Similarly, self-report screening tests are also generally less able to detect alcohol problems) (Allen Litten, 2001) Previous studies showed that over 80% of internists and family clinicians report that they usually or always ask new outpatients whether they drink alcohol. Less than 20% of primary care physicians routinely use validated self-report alcohol screening instruments (e. g. CAGE questions or AUDIT) Fewer than half ask about maximum alcohol consumption on one occasion. Alcohol biomarker laboratory tests are rarely used. Reasons given by clinicians for not following recommended alcohol screening guidelines range from lack of time, to insufficient knowledge and skills, to pessimistic attitudes about the ultimate benefits of screening. A current study conducted by Miller, et al. , (2004), they found that approximately 60% of clinicians surveyed frequently screen patients for alcohol use with quantity/frequency and CAGE questions. This is comparable to the incidence of screening found in previous studies. (Miller, Ornstein, Nietert, Anton, 2004)Miller, et al. 2006) further found that over 90% of patients were in favour of screening and guidance about alcohol use and very positive about the use of biological alcohol markers. These findings suggest that physicians and clinicians may be convinced that patients are open to alcohol screening and would not be offended by it. Heavy drinkers may have more of a tendency to be embarrassed by such questions but there is no evidence they would be object to screening. The majority of patients would also be willing to receive alcohol biomarker blood tests, if their physicians and clinicians deemed such tests necessary. How to cite Alcohol Use Disorder, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Film and theatre Essay Example For Students

Film and theatre Essay The Shakespearean play, Much Ado About Nothing, is traditionally portrayed over  the theatre, but there is also a film version. Although there are a few similarities between the film and the play, for instance the script of the film is virtually the same as the original play, there are apparently more differences between the two versions.  Firstly, the play apparently seems to be significantly more formal and serious while  the film version is portrayed as more informal and fun. This may be because the film maker uses visual effects and the entertaining actions of the actors while the play can only describe and express everything means of speech. Another subtle difference is that in film, the expressions and actions of the actors play  a large part in a comedy like Much Ado About Nothing. It isnt just the script that creates laughter, but the manner in which they are set up and delivered. In the film, many other actions are shown which are not in the play.  Good examples are Benedict antics with a folding chair, which add to the comic quality of the scene. Dogberry who is a clown in the original play, pretending to arrive on horseback, grimacing, performing antics like galloping around on a non-existent horse,  add to the laughter brought by the text which is his constant use of wrong words in his speech. These are the kinds of things that cannot appear on the written page. The film also contains its share of drama, and the pathos and poignancy come as easily and naturally as humour and do not need to be expressed in words.  Also the actors expressions and movement help to show their emotions, which in the play can only be show by their use of words. For example in the first wedding scene where Claudio accuses Hero of being a wanton and shameless woman, Heros expressive reaction and crying evoke emotions in the audience and make us sympathize with her even more than when we read the play. The play does not state and describe the setting and so does not play a very important role in establishing the mood of the scene. On the other hand, the film is set in the countryside, constantly outdoors in the sunshine. The setting in a film is very important because it sets the mood. Utilizing the beautiful rose coloured villa, gorgeous scenery,  it expresses the happiness of the scene to the audience of the film which cannot be expressed in words.  Moreover, to maintain the lividness of the film and to keep the audience attention,  many lines and speeches and even entire scenes have to be cut, for instance Act I Scene 2 and Act III Scene 4. Another difference would be the use of music and dance in the film. Music helps to bring out the mood of the scene. Beatrice swinging happily superimposed over Benedick dancing in the fountain with soaring music expresses the happiness they were feeling at that very moment. Even more vivid is dance, which is present in the party and at the end during the wedding, effectively portrays the happy and joyous feeling of the scene, which cannot be shown and described in the written play. Furthermore the use of costume in the film helps to differentiate good from evil.  For instance, all the ladies are in white while the gentleman in off-white and earth tones intensify the bucolic and innocent interpretation of the play. Don Johns dressing on the other hand is dark, which portrays evil.  In conclusion, the main difference of film and theatre is that because the film is audio-visual brings another dimension to the story line and helps one better understand the plot through the use of music, acting and setting. Theatre on the other hand only can bring this out through means of speech making it less appealing and harder to understand.