A Bio-Sketch of Marie Curie Essay Example for Free

A Bio-Sketch of Marie Curie Essay Marie Sklodowski was born on November 7, 1867 in Warsaw the capital of Poland. Both of her parents were school teachers, and they had high expectations for their five children (Zosia, Bronia, Jozef, Helena and Marie). Marie, her sisters, and brother all graduated with the highest grades in their class. The Sklodowski family was very learned and cultured, but they struggled financially. Poland was occupied by Russia and Germany. Many jobs were taken by these unwelcome foreigners. Maries father, Wladyslaw, was a school principal. He lost his job to a Russian because he was loyal to Poland and a patriot. To help meet living expenses, Maries family took in student boarders. The household was crowded with so many people in one apartment. Those crowded living conditions helped to spread tuberculosis, a major infectious disease in the late nineteenth century. Maries mother got the disease from Wladyslaws brother who came to live with them. After several expensive rest cures in the south of France, she died in 1878 from TB when Marie was only nine years old. . Why She Chose Physics Marie was encouraged to study physical science by her cousin, Jozef Boguski. He was the director of the Warsaw Museum of Industry. He allowed her to do experiments in physics and chemistry on the weekends at the museum. When Marie got to the Sorbonne in Paris, a revolution was about to take place. It was not a revolution with soldiers, but a revolution in science. This was a very exciting time to study physics. Physics is a branch of science that investigates the four forces at work in the universe both on a large scale, as in the solar system, or on a small scale, as in atoms. The structure of the atom and the forces which hold it together were still unknown when Marie enrolled as a student at the Sorbonne. Marie Curies Research With Pierre acting as her advisor, Marie spent several years purifying uranium ore. It was a grueling task to isolate the radioactive substances from tons of ordinary rock. Toiling over a giant vat, she worked out of doors or in a drafty shed. This was a blessing in disguise because the vat gave off poisonous radon gas. The Curies were not aware of this. Marie proposed that the radiation came from inside the atoms. Other scientists followed her lead and started to investigate the structure of atoms. She discovered two new elements which the Curies named Radium (after radiation) and Polonium (after Poland). In 1903, the Curies and Henri Becquerel received the Nobel Prize in physics for their combined research and discoveries on radioactivity. The Dangerous Beauty of Radium The Curies had two daughters: Irene was born in 1897 and Eve in 1904. Pierres father took over the childcare duties as Marie and Pierre became more and more involved in their work. Marie became pregnant again, but she suffered a miscarriage probably due to high levels of radiation in her lab. One rainy afternoon in April of 1906, Pierre was run over by a horse-drawn wagon and died. Pierre had been experiencing severe pains in his legs, and this may have caused the accident. Marie was devastated, and she turned to a close friend of Pierres, Paul Langevin, for companionship. Their love affair was exposed by a tabloid newspaper, and a scandal resulted. Maries reputation and career were nearly destroyed. Then the Swedish Nobel committee announced she had won the prize for chemistry! Director of an Institute This probably saved her career in physics. In the following years she was very bitter about the way she was treated. She made a point of hiring people at her lab who also had suffered discrimination by the male science establishment. She also hired several women at her lab and gave them their start in physics. One was Marguerite Perey who began as a test tube washer and, a few years later, discovered the radioactive element Francium. Ellen Gleditsch came to the lab from Norway. At home, Marie was training Irene to become a physicist. Irene reminded her of Pierre; she had the same temperment and the same dislike of school. Because of her service to soldiers during the war, the French public began to think of Marie less as a foreigner and more as a patriotic French woman. She also toured America twice after the war and raised money for her Radium Institute. During these years, she controlled the largest supply of radioactive substances used in scientific research. She shared these with other physics labs engaged in studying the structure of the atom. Marie had the constitution of a horse, but even she eventually succumbed to the lethal effects of radiation exposure. In the last decade of her life, she suffered from severe pains and aches like Pierre had. She also had cataracts in her eyes and constant ringing in her ears. In 1934, Maries bold adventure into the atomic universe came to an end. She died in Paris of leukemia, a cancer of the blood. The Curie Tradition Lives On In 1997, Maries remains were moved to the Pantheon, Frances monument to its heros. She is the first woman to be so honored. Marie Curie was a great Polish patriot, but she had won a place in the heart of the French people.

Intracellular Biosynthesis of Cadmium Sulfide Nanoparticles

Intracellular Biosynthesis of Cadmium Sulfide Nanoparticles Intracellular biosynthesis of Cadmium Sulfide nanoparticles using culture supernatant of Escherichia coli Abstract There is a growing concern to develop environment-friendly and sustainable methods. Since the synthesis of nanoparticles of different compositions, sizes, shapes and controlled dispersity is an important aspect of Nanotechnology new costeffective procedures are being developed. Microbial synthesis of Nanoparticles is a Green chemistry approach that interconnects Nanotechnology and Microbial Biotechnology. Microorganisms play an important role in the eco-friendly synthesis of metal nanoparticles. Here an attempt was made to biologically synthesize fluorescent cadmium sulfide nanoparticles. The present study uses Escherichia coli PTCC 1330 as a potential producer for the green synthesis of CdS nanoparticles. Biologically synthesized nanoparticles were characterized and confirmed after 24 h of incubation at room temperature using electron microscopy, XRD, EDS and FTIR. The size distribution of the nanoparticles was found to be 5–200nm followed by which the consequence of time, growth of the organism, pH, concentration of CdCl2 and Na2S on the synthesis of nanoparticles were checked. Enhanced synthesis and fluorescence emission of CdS nanoparticles were achieved at pH 9. Keywords: Nanotechnology; Biological synthesis; Silver nanoparticles; Escherichia coli; Eco-friendly 1.Introduction Bionanotechnology has emerged up as integration between biotechnology and nanotechnology for developing biosynthetic and environmental-friendly technology for synthesis of nanomaterials. Nanoparticles are clusters of atoms in the size range of 1–100 nm. â€Å"Nano† is a Greek word synonymous to dwarf meaning extremely small. The use of nanoparticles is gaining impetus in the present century as they posses defined chemical, optical and mechanical properties. The metallic nanoparticles are most promising as they show good antibacterial properties due to their large surface area to volume ratio, which is coming up as the current interest in the researchers due to the growing microbial resistance against metal ions, antibiotics and the development of resistant strains[1-2]. Nanoparticles exhibit completely new or improved properties compared to larger particles of the bulk material and these novel properties are derived due to the variation in specific characteristics such as size, distribution and morphology of the particles. Nanoparticles present a higher surface area to volume ratio with decrease in the size of the particles[1-2]. As the specific surface area of nanoparticles is increased, their biological effectivene can also increase on the account of a rise in surface energy. Nanoparticles have a wide range of applications, as in combating microbes, biolabelling, and in the treatment of cancer. Size control during synthesis of particles is an important criterion in the arena of silver nanoparticle biosynthesis. Depending on the size of the nanoparticles, their applications branch out. Although AgNPs are synthesized both intra- and extra-cellularly, the latter method of biosynthesis of nanoparticles is highly advantageous because of ease of control over the environment, large-scale synthesis and easy downstream processing steps. It is well known that the electronic and optical properties of metal nanoparticles are heavily size- and shape-dependent. Controlling the size, shape and surrounding media of metal nanoparticles are important as many of their intrinsic properties are determined by these parameters[3-8]. This study illustrates the synthesis of CdS nanoparticles using the bacterium Escherichia coli PTCC 1330. The morphology of the samples was analyzed using Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the particles formed were characterized to be nanoparticles. The size of CdS nanoparticles in aqueous solution has been calculated using UV–Vis spectroscopy, XRD, EDS, FTIR and TEM measurements. The nanoparticles are found to be polydisperse nanocubes in the size range 5–200 nm[3]. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Materials, bacterial strain The test strain was: Escherichia coli PTCC 1330, The strain was prepared of IROST, CdCl2 was purchased from Hi Media laboratories, India and Na2S was purchased from Merck, Germany. All other chemicals used are of analytical grade. 2.2. Preparation of supernatants Muller-Hinton broth (MHB) was prepared, sterilized, and inoculated with a fresh batch of test strain. The culture flasks were incubated for 24 h at 30 ºC for bacteria. After the incubation period, the cultures were centrifuged at 12,000 rpm and their supernatants were used for further experiments. 2.3. Synthesis of Cadmium Sulfide nanoparticles The obtained supernatants were washed with phosphate buffer saline (pH 7.0) for 3 times. 1mM solution of CdCl2 (for E. coli) was prepared using deionized water. 35 ml of the solution was added to supernatants and resulting solution was kept for incubation in a shaker at 220 rpm and room temperature for 30 min. Then, 35 ml of 1mM Na2S solution was slowly added to the solution. The samples were then incubated at room temperature with end-over-en rotation for 10 min[9-10]. 2.4. Purification of nanoparticles For measuring the amount of UV–Visible absorption by synthesized CdS nanoparticles, samples were washed twice with 50mM phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.0). Then, ultrasonic disruption of cells was performed using an ultrasonic processor (Retsch, UR1) over three 45 S periods with 10 s intervals between periods. The sonicated samples were then filtered using a 0.22 µm filter to eliminate cell-debris and other pollutants. The filtered solutions were then used for characterization of CdS nanoparticles. 2.5. Effect of growth parameters on CdS nanoparticles production 2.5.1 Effect of CdCl2 and Na2S concentration on synthesis and particle Sizes To obtain the optimum concentration of CdCl2 and Na2S that yields the maximum synthesis of nanoparticles and particle-size distribution, CdCl2 and Na2S, at concentrations ranging from 1 to 10mM, was added to the supernatant at pH 9.0 and temperature 30 ºC. 2.5.2 Effect of temperature and pH on nanoparticle synthesis and particle sizes To obtain optimum conditions for maximum synthesis of nanoparticles and particle-size distribution, the obtained the optimum concentration of CdCl2 and Na2S was added to the supernatant and incubated at various temperatures (25–30  ºC) and pH conditions(5–11). The pH of the incubation mixtures was adjusted using 1M HCl and 1M NaOH solutions. The optimum condition for synthesis of nanoparticles is temperature of 30 ºC and pH of 9. 2.6. Synthesis of CdS nanoparticles at various growth phases and time period To find the effect of growth phase of the organism on CdS nanoparticles production, Escherichia coli was inoculated into nutrient broth of four different flasks. The flasks were allowed to grow at various growth stages (lag phase, log phase, late log phase and stationary phase). After that the biomass was incubated with cadmium chloride or cadmium sulfate and sodium sulfide solution. The effect of time over the growth was evaluated by collecting the samples at every 1 h up to 120 h. Maximum amount of nanoparticles synthesized by bacterial strain was achieved in stationary phase. 3. Results and discussion The application of nanoscale materials and structures, usually ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm), is an emerging area of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Nanomaterials may provide solutions to technological and environmental challenges in the areas of solar energy conversion, catalysis, medicine, and water-treatment. The development of techniques for the controlled synthesis of nanoparticles of well defined size, shape and composition, to be used in the biomedical field and areas such as optics and electronics, has become a big challenge. Development of reliable and eco-friendly processes for synthesis of metallic nanoparticles is an important step in the field of application of nanotechnology. One of the most exciting research areas in modern nano-science and technology is the interaction between inorganic molecules and biological structures. It is well established now that many organisms can produce inorganic materials either on intra- or extra-cellular level. In order to meet the growing demand of nanoparticles, eco-friendly methods for nanomaterials synthesis need to be developed which are free of using toxic chemicals in the synthesis protocol[11-13]. In addition to gold and silver nanoparticles, semiconductors such as CdS, ZnS, and PbS have been greatly focused on. Development of protocols for the synthesis of such semiconductors (the so-called quantum dots) is growing. These luminescent quantum dots are emerging as a new class of materials for biological detection and cell imaging, based on the conjugation of semiconducting quantum dots and biorecognition molecules. Fluorescent nanoparticles (CdS, CdSe, CdTe and etc.) can be used for conjugation of biomolecules instead of organic fluoroprobes such as peptides, antibodies and nucleic acids. Moreover, different electronic catalytic and optical behaviour of CdS and NPs have been investigated before. Also, CdS nanoparticles are used for cancer diagnosis and treatment. CdS is immensely used in field effect transistors, solar cells, light emitting diodes, photocatalysis, photoluminescence, infrared photodetector, environmental sensors and biological sensors [14-18]. 3.1. Characterization of synthesized Cadmium Sulfide nanoparticles 3.1.1. UV-Visible spectrophotometer Purified CdS nanoparticles were dried at 30  ºC for 4 h. The dried particles were dispersed in deionized water and were measured using a UV–Visible spectrophotometer (CARY,100Conc, UV Pharma spec1700 with a resolution of 0.72 nm and optical path length of 1 cm) in the wavelength range of 300-600 nm (Fig. 1). The maximum absorption was at 400-450 nm in UV-Visible spectroscopy. 3.1.2. FT-IR and XRD analysis Purification of CdS nanoparticles was carried out according to the method previously described. For FT-IR and XRD analysis, samples were dried. Freezing-drying method was used for this step. First, the samples were frozen at -20 ºC for 24 h and then dried at -37 ºC temperature for 10h with Freeze-drier system(CHRist,ALPHA 1-4LD). The obtained dried sample was subjected to FT-IR spectrum (Fig. 3) using Fourier Transform IR spectrophotometer (NEXUS, Germany). The phase formation and purity of CdS nanoparticles were checked by recording the powder XRD patterns (Fig. 2) using an XDL 3000 powder X-ray diffractometer(SEIFERT, 3003  PTS). The X-ray diffracted intensities were recorded from 10à ¢- ¦ to 80à ¢- ¦ 2ÃŽ ¸ angles. FTIR studies revealed that amino  groups bound to particles account for the stability of NPs. Also FTIR studies established the existence of protein as the stabilizing and capping agent. 3.1.3. EDS ( Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy) In order to determine the elemental composition of the synthesized nanoparticles, EDS spectrum was recorded. In the recorded EDS spectrum, strong signals showed the presence of Cd and S (Fig. 4). This confirms that the nanoparticles are made of CdS alone. EDS spectrum was recorded based on the micrographs measurements focusing on clusters of the nanoparticles. Resulting EDS spectrum from purified and dried CdS nanoparticle was shown in (Fig. 4). This figure also shows the signals from Cd and S elements from other metals. In the analysis of CdS nanoparticles by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) (LEO 440i, OXFORD), the presence of elemental CdS signal was confirmed. The CdS nanocrystallites display an optical absorption band peaking at 3-4 keV, which is the typical absorption of metallic CdS nanocrystallites due to the surface plasmon resonance. 3.1.4. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) (model EM 208 Philips) was used to determine the morphology and shape of nanoparticles. Purified CdS nanoparticles from extra-cellular culture supernatant using centrifugation was characterized by TEM. TEM revealed the average size of particles as 100 nm. TEM images show that they are relatively uniform in diameter and have spherical shape. The different fractions obtained on a continuous sucrose gradient were analyzed. (Fig. 5) shows a representative TEM image recorded from the drop-coated film of the CdS nanoparticles synthesized by treating the CdCl2 and Na2S solution with culture supernatants of E. coli PTCC 1330. The particle size histogram of CdS particles (Fig. 5) shows that the particles range in size from 5 to 200 nm and possess an average size of 75.5 nm. In addition, the TEM image shows at least two different areas, one with higher contrast due to the CdS nanoparticles and other with lower contrast probably due to other micro (or even nano) crystals originating from insoluble Cd, S salts. 24 h (particles at higher resolution shown by scale bar of a:100 nm, b:200nm). 4. Conclusions Bacterial strain of Escherichia coli PTCC 1330, studied in the present research, can be used in order to biologycal synthesizer of Cadmium Sulfide Nanoparticles under special conditions of Time, pH, Temperature, grow of the organism, concentration of CdCl2 and Na2S. The synthesis of nanoparticle circles around enzyme phytochelatin synthase, which exists in surface of E. coli. This enzyme has been previously used for in vitro synthesis CdS nanoparticle under special conditions . The enzyme catalyzes the reaction of transpeptidation of c-Glu-Cys dipeptide from a GSH molecule to a second molecule of GSH. Thus, phytochelatin synthase enzyme may be involved in the synthesis of CdS nanoparticles. Acknowledgments We would like to express our gratitude to the laboratory of Microbiology, Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran for its support of this work. We also wish to thank Dr. A. Akhavansepahy, Faculty of Science, North Branch of Islamic Azad university, Tehran, Iran and Dr. M. R. Fazeli, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran university of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran for their useful advices and supports.

Science, Technology, and Human Values Essay -- Slaughterhouse-Five Ess

Science, Technology, and Human Values in Sigmund Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents, Henrik Ibsen and Arthur Miller's An Enemy of the People, and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five Technology has advanced to the point where it touches our lives in nearly every conceivable way-we no longer have to lift a finger to perform the most trivial tasks. The wealth of information and science we have learned in the last few centuries have made our lives easier but not always better, especially when concerning civilization as a whole. Ibsen, Freud, and Vonnegut argue that human values have not kept pace with knowledge's unceasing expansion, which has become an anathema for the individual person and deleterious to society's delectation, albeit without people's entire comprehension. Henrik Ibsen, as adapted by Arthur Miller, uses his play An Enemy of the People to illustrate how one's contentedness is not necessarily aided by technology but in many instances in fact hindered. When the town's main industry, Kirsten Springs, becomes polluted it raises queries from Dr. Stockmann as to its hazardousness to its occupants. Nearly all residents of the little Norwegian city rally behind Aslaksen, the printer and leader of the business class, in destroying the doctor's credibility so that his accusations of the dangerous water will never be believed by tourists, which would result in a prodigious financial loss for all. This quaint town is a representation of humanity's tendencies towards egoism. When money is involved, it doesn't matter what the risk is, regardless of physical injuriousness and potential loss of life. The springs symbolize technology and Dr. Stockmann stands for venerable human values. The technology has become prosperous ... ...ges of technology outweigh the disadvantages to the collective human values of society. Science and Technology are not pursued to improve the moral values of man and as such will be perpetually in disagreement. Humanity will never cease to create new technologies and learn about the universe through scientific methods. A person's values on the other hand are not actively augmented and will suffer. Society is in need of a refreshing of ethics that stays on par with the development of man's other creations. Works Cited Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Ed. and Trans. James Strachey. New York: Norton, 1962. Ibsen, Henrik and Hampton, Christopher (translator). An Enemy of the People. Boston: Faber and Faber, 1997 Stoppard, Tom. Arcadia. London: Faber and Faber, 1993. Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. New York: Dell Publishing, 1998.

Style of Writing :: Education Writing Essays

Style of Writing In both of the books various elements of style are mentioned, William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White’s The Elements of Style and Joseph M. Williams’ Style Toward Clarity and Grace, clarity and concision are to be the most important. I think that in order for your reader to be able to enjoy and understand what they are reading, it has to be written clearly and concisely. I believed that everyone has his or her own style: whether the style be that of one’s hair, clothes, or writing. I always knew that having your own style did not mean that yours was the best or even decidedly correct. After I finished toiling through Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style and William’s Style Toward Clarity and Grace, I learned that there is a dress code, even for writing. Yes, you could have your own style, per sey, but you must follow the rules and guidelines necessary for good writing. The Elements of Style and Style are interesting because separately, they tell two different versions to the same story. In Strunk and White’s book, a mere ninety-five pages of instruction, tell you in brief and curt words the rules for writing clearly. This books intention was to be short, a sort of handbook for quick reference. In its introduction E.B White writes, â€Å"It was Will Strunk’s parvoum opus, his attempt to cut the vast tangle of English rhetoric down to size and write its rules and principles on the head of a pin† (Strunk and White xiii). This intention seems innocent but it is my belief that it leaves the reader wondering, without precise reason in mind what clear writing is. Joseph M. Williams’ book, on the other hand, elaborates in detail of te guidelines and principles for writing the English language clearly and concisely. Each of his systematic principles for good wiring are padded with an abundance of example and explanation. Joseph Williams’ acknowledges this in his preface: â€Å"you should understand this is not an afternoon read. We offer detailed ways to put into specific practice the clichà ©s of style ‘Be clear’ ‘Omit needless words’†¦ We suggest you read this book a short section at a time, and then look at your won writing the writing of others† (Williams xiii).

Interpreting American Small Talk :: Essays Papers

Interpreting American Small Talk I believe that every international student will experience different kinds of culture shock as soon as he sets foot on the soil of the United States. One problem is interpreting American small talk. As I come from an Oriental country, China, I often find it confusing. When I first came to the United States. I was amazed to hear and felt that it was a task for me to use the words, "Thank you!" or "Thanks a lot!" In the grocery store, the clerks would say these words to me after I finished paying for what I had bought. At the loan desk of a library, the librarians would say them to me, as soon as they passed me the books. On these occasions, I sometimes would be a little embarrassed, for I did not know that people used these words more to show their politeness than really to thank you. Even when I understood these words, I still felt uncomfortable when I tried to use them. When I was ready to get off a bus, I would say to the driver,"Thank you!" Whenever I uttered these words, I would have such an uncomfortable feeling. In China, we do not use these words very often. We usually give a smile to the people who have offered us some favor. Normally we say, "Thank you!" only when we really and sincerely appreciate the people who help us a lot. Otherwise, a smile is enough. In the first few weeks after I arrived here, I could not fully get the meaning of "How are you?" and "I am fine." These words may be the most frequently used words by Americans as a conversational greeting. When you run into an acquaintance somewhere, he would greet you by saying, "How are you?" In response you would say, "I am fine." But actually you might not be fine. You probably wanted to say something else from the heart. Even if you were possibly afflicted with some illness, or you were going to die, you still said, "I am fine." You would not tell people about your sadness or your trouble. Why? I guess that people do not want to know about you. These are just greeting words. In this way, these are quite similar to our greeting words in China. In the morning, on the street or in the hallway, we say, "Have you had breakfast?

Engage in personal development in health Essay

1.1 My Duties and responsibilities as a senior support worker include: following policies and procedures, attending regular meetings in order to progress and in the interest of the service users within the Gofal services, personal care, recording temperatures, administering medication, promoting independence for service users and ensuring a healthy lifestyle, ensuring all domestic duties are complete, delegating tasks, key working tasks, mentoring new members of staff and competing all paperwork daily. 1.2 As a senior support worker I always expect and ensure my work is completed to a very high standard, ensuring all current legislation is complied with via C.S.S.I.W and care standards. I should always be accountable by making sure I can answer for my actions. Promote and uphold the privacy, dignity, rights, health and wellbeing of people who use health and care services and their carers at all times. Work in collaboration with my colleagues to ensure the delivery of high quality, safe and compassionate healthcare, care and support. Communicate in an open, and effective way to promote the health, safety and wellbeing of people who use health and care services and their carers. Respect a person’s right to confidentiality. Strive to improve the quality of healthcare, care and support through continuing professional development. Uphold and promote equality, diversity and inclusion. As a Support Worker, I make a valuable and important contribution to the delivery of high quality healthcare, care and support. Following the guidance set out in this Code of Conduct will give me the reassurance that you are providing safe and compassionate care of a high standard, and the confidence to challenge others who are not. This Code will also tell the public and people who use health and care services exactly what they should expect from me as a support worker. 2.1. The importance of reflective practice in continuously improving the quality of service provided is vital as it identifies weaknesses that can then be turned into strengths that will enable staff members to put action plans and guidelines into place to avoid any errors that may occur. This  also enables us to make sure that high standards are met without any errors. Even our service users or us as staff may change and things such as personal care, support or medication may also need to be re-evaluated. It is especially of importance to staff that may have been in the industry for some time as new staff members may be able to visualise things that you may have become too rigid or set about. 2.3. Own values, belief systems and experiences may affect working practice due to relationship breakdowns or personal problems at home this may have a significant affect on peoples general day to day mood and personality. This without a doubt will have a detrimental affect on the service users we are supporting. This is why you need to keep your personal life and working life separate. Working for a Muslim orientated company we have to respect the Wishes of our services so therefore Halal meat plays a major role within our services. Our meat must be Halal and no pork is to be consumed on the premises. Our service users are able to eat what they want outside of Gofal and whilst out on day services. Working a 24/7 rota can sometimes have an impact on those who have religious beliefs for example. Muslims attend mosque on a Friday where as Christians attend church on a Sunday and it is not always possible to accommodate everyone’s needs as the service users come first and the staff ratio always needs to correct in order to support to a high standard. 4.1. At Gofal we have regular supervision and team meetings where we can discuss anything of importance to us as support workers. If we are having any problems with staff members or service users then this gets discussed. As a result further training may be offered or different technique methods may be offered as well as reading the files again to go over any details that may have been missed or to refresh if you haven’t worked with a certain service user for a long time. In regards to progression I always aim to complete relevant courses and complete qualifications in order to further my career. If I complete my work to a high standard then at Gofal you will get recognised for your achievement and possibly work towards a higher grade. 5.1. Learning activities have affected practice as it builds confidence and experience in knowing what you are dealing with it may be in the form of an observation. Initially when I started Gofal I completed two shadowing shifts and this allowed me to observe different staff members approaches and how it may differentiate between maybe a male member of staff and a female member of staff. Depending on the service user we are supporting it may be a case of someone with a religious belief that may work well and build an excellent rapport with the service user. For example we have a female Muslim member of staff who works excellent with a Muslim service user where as he may not work as well with myself. Appraisals and supervisions play a major role as they reflect on areas of improvement as you may have concerns regarding your support or the support that you are giving the service users. For example the ratio of females/males, age, religious beliefs, drivers and medication trained.

Keats’ attitude towards women Essay

Q- Keats wrote that he struggled to settle his mind on women, by turns adoring them as angels and reviling them as whores. Discuss Keats’s attitude to women in at least three poems in light of this opinion. Keats once wrote in a letter to Fanny Brawne â€Å"You have ravish’d me away by a Power I cannot resist: and yet I could resist till I saw you; and even since I have seen you I have endeavoured often ‘to reason against the reasons of my Love’- I can do that no more†. The quote, from John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, ostensibly encapsulates Keats’ attitude towards women. Through the variation of female characters presented in his work, from the evil seductress in La Belle Dame Sans Merci to chaste pure Madeline from The Eve of St. Agnes, Keats cultivates the impression of being simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the opposite sex, enthralled by their sensuality yet wary of their seemingly alien nature. This repulsion is depicted quite clearly in La Belle Dame Sans Merci or ‘The Beautiful Woman Without Pity’. Keats’ allusion to the medieval romance by French poet Alain Chartier immediately transports the reader into a fairy tale setting. The poem adopts the form of a folk ballad, yet merely mimics traditional love ballads as Keats’ female protagonist is depicted as having a far darker purpose. The contrast between the traditional ballad form and the cruel titular woman creates an ominous tone that continues into the first stanza of the poem. The poem consists of two speakers, the first of which hails the ‘palely loitering’ knight and asks ‘O what can ail thee’. The eeriness of the poem is reinforced when the unknown speaker asks a second time, ‘O what can ail thee, knight at arms’, the repetition of the question creating a ghostly refrain. The alliteration of the ‘L’ sound in ‘palely loitering’ creates a sense of listlessness that is furthered through the bleak landscape where ‘the sedge has wither’d from the lake, and no birds sing’. From this the reader can infer that the knight is a desolate emotional state, which is echoed, by his surroundings. Keats’s use of pathetic fallacy is furthered when the first speaker remarks that the ‘harvest’s done’ thus leaving the knight in a literal winter as well as a figurative one. As knights are often held as paragons of courage and power, Keats makes the reader aware that something preternaturally powerful must be at work. This preternatural being is ‘full beautiful-a faery’s child’, a tempestuous seductress who enthrals the hapless knight. So besotted is he, that he thinks nothing of following her to her ‘elfin grot’ where she ‘lulled’ him asleep. On the one hand, the verb ‘lulled’ can be seen as a treacherous attempt to secure the knight’s affections and allay his suspicions about La Belle’s otherworldly nature, on the other it can be viewed as a calming gesture, that has been misconstrued by the knight like every other aspect of the ethereal woman. Alluding to medieval mythology, Keats paints La Belle as a succubus, a femme fatale able to suck the life from the chivalrous knight through dreams. We, as the reader are only offered the descriptions and opinions of the knight-at-arms, and know nothing of this lady save for his presentation of her. As such, feminist critics could argue that unkind depiction of her character stems from the inversion of patriarchal values depicted in the poem. The knight is not a helpless victim of fancy, for it was he who first approached La Belle, and it was he who made her ‘a garland for her head, and bracelets too, and fragrant zone’. These objects, seemingly tokens of their courtship can be seen not only to decorate but to bind, enslave and enclose. La Belle Dame Sans Merci deviates from popular literacy tropes by depicting a lovelorn male in a state of decline and anguish after being rejected by the cruel female who is the object of his desires. However, instead of creating a female character to be applauded, Keats turns La Belle’s rejection of the knight into a rejection of morality itself. La Belle is never fully described, a longhaired faceless beauty who enslaves the knight with her feminine wiles. As such, La Belle can be seen to represent all women, an idea that is furthered when Keats speaks of ‘pale kings and princess too, pale warriors, death-pale they were all’. The repetition of the sickly adjective ‘pale’ in conjunction with the paradigms of masculinity found in kings, princes, and warriors furthers the idea of female sexuality corrupting the values of men, thus assuring their downfall. Keats creates a direct parallel to the malevolent succubus in La Belle Dame Sans Merci through male protagonist Porphyro from his poem The Eve of Saint Agnes. ‘St. Agnes Eve- Ah, bitter chill it was! The owl for all his feathers was a-cold; the hare limped trembling through the frozen grass, and silent were the flock in woolly fold’. Just like La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Keats through use of natural imagery depicts a desolate surrounding. However, in this case the frozen countryside is the result of a natural winter and not the spells of a cruel enchantress. This idea is further through the listing of animals; the ‘owl’, ‘hare’ and ‘flock’ are vastly different from the birdless wasteland. Keats conjures in the reader the vision of a harsh winter through use of adjectives ‘cold’, ‘frozen’ and ‘chill’. The depressed nature of this bleak landscape is broken by ‘Music’s golden tongue’ and ‘silver snarling trumpets’. The verb ‘snarling’ conjures in the reader images of savage dogs or wolves and is a startling contrast to the muffled snow covered outside world. The harsh ‘Ar’ sound in ‘snarling’ creates a growling effect and effectively conveys the ferocity and fervour of the music being played. Keats’ use of precious metals gold and silver simultaneously emphasise the value of the music, and livens the frozen world female protagonist Madeline lives in. Discussing the presentation of Madeline, critic Bateman states that ‘she’s no Fanny Brawne, she’s timid and subdued’. Paraded in front on numerous gentry who hold no appeal to her, Madeline longs to escape from the public eye and anxiously awaits the ‘hallowed hour’ of St. Agnes Eve. The adjective ‘hallowed’ holds within it highly religious connotations that encapsulates the sacred nature of St. Agnes Night. The use of religious imagery is prevalent throughout the poem, and is expressed quite exquisitely through Madeline. Madeline is a paragon of virtue, a virgin so pious that she ‘seemed a splendid angel†¦save wings for heaven’. Surrounded by the light of the ‘wintry moon’ Madeline is transformed into an ethereal being, one with no  match on earth. Far from evoking Diana, goddess of the moon and chastity, the scintillating moonlight throws â€Å"warm gules† on Madeline’s breast thus drawing attention to her body as ‘she knelt, so pure a thing, free from mortal taint’. The noun ‘taint’ suggests contamination, a polluting stain that cannot be removed. After the touch of a man, Madeline will no longer be pure, and as such loose that which makes her heavenly. Through use of ‘aged creature’ Angela, Keats creates a counterpart to female protagonist Angela. The noun ‘creature’ brings to mind something other, an alien entity that lacks humanity. Far past the age where she can enjoy the innocent and puerile rituals of St. Agnes eve, Angela is depicted as everything that Madeline is not. Old, frail and feeble, she is constantly shaking due to her ‘palsied’ state and seems prone to fits of forgetfulness, reminding Porphyro that he she cannot trust her ‘dizzy head’. She lacks any strength of character and is easily manipulated by Porphyro, thus enabling him to carry out his seduction on Madeline. One the one hand, the constant listing of physical and mental deficiencies allows Keats to create a strong contrast to thriving Madeline, on the other hand, Keats can be seen as conforming to overused stereotypes- the pious young virgin and the feeble elderly crone. As such, his female characters become a flat â€Å"2D† portrayal, lacking any real depth of personality. Jack Stillinger states â€Å"regardless of the extent to which Keats identified with his hero, he introduced enough overtones of evil to make Porphyro’s actions wrong within the structure of the poem†. On the one hand this statement can be held true, with Porphyro’s actions revealing him to be a ‘cruel man’ and ‘impious’ and on the other, Porphyro’s actions take on a romantic light, and any indiscretions made can be seen to be the actions of a lovesick fool. Mirroring La Belle’s presentation as a succubus, Keats once again draws on medieval mythology. This time however, the male not the female entertains supernatural elements. As such, Porphyro becomes an incubus. Like succubae, an incubus holds power over the opposite sex, and often carries out their seductions through dreams. Unlike La Belle however, Keats does not demonise Porphyro for his sexual  nature and portrays his fantasies of possessing Madeline in a romantic light. Despite their similar situations, the difference in the presentation of La Belle and Porphyro truly illustrates Keats’ attitudes towards women. Keats wrote about empathetic identification, claiming â€Å"if a sparrow come before my window, I take part in its existence and pick about the Gravel†. Keats is able to identify with the sparrow, yet seems unable to create female characters who are not enticing femme fettle’s like Lamia and La Belle Dame Sans Merci, or vapid feeble characters like Madeline and Angela. Keats’ treatment and depiction of his written characters is highly similar to his treatment of Fanny Brawne, finding in her aspects of that which disgusted him in La Belle Dame Sans Merci and enchanted him in The Eve of St. Agnes. In a letter to her he wrote â€Å"I cannot live without you, and not just you but chaste you; virtuous you.† As such, that which drew Porphyro to Madeline also drew Keats to Miss Brawne. Keats however, also echoes the obsessive yearning of the knight from La Belle Dame Sans Merci, writing to Fanny â€Å"you are to me an object intensely desirable.† This desire is shown most strongly in Ode To Fanny, one of the last poems Keats wrote after suffering his first lung haemorrhage. As Keats drifted closer towards death, his infatuation with Fanny became something of an obsession with critic Richardson claiming that Keats â€Å"had transfigured Fanny in his imagination, his passion creating in her the beauty which for him became the truth†. Keats ascribes Fanny with miraculous healing abilities, imploringly asking her to ‘let my spirit blood! O ease my heart.’ Bloodletting was an ancient practice said to relive the body of ill humours and cure maladies. Is this case however, it is not Keats’ blood that is causing his ailments but his damaged soul. Only Fanny can cure his heartache, making him entirely dependant on her. Throughout the ode, Keats is intensely focused on Fanny’s virginity, painfully aware that he will never be able to claim her sexually. Keats calls her his ‘silver moon’ and asks that she stay ‘unravished’ by another’s ‘amorous burn’. Through mentioning moonlight, Keats invokes Artemis, Greek Goddess of chastity entreating Fanny to remain pure. The long vowel sounds  in ‘amorous burn’ speak of consuming passion while the verb ‘burn’ contains connotations of fiery lust, thus furthering the idea of Keats’ fixation with Fanny’s sexuality. Whilst the colour silver is typically linked to purity and the moon, it will also tarnishes over time thus loosing its lustre. Keats knows that Fanny, like the silver, will one day no longer be pure, yet he still asks that no other ‘with a rude hand break the sacramental cake’. The use of the religious metaphor ‘sacramental cake’ to r ather crudely refer to the hymen, reduces Fanny to nothing more than a body for a man to sate himself in. Keats discounts her worth as a person in favour of highlighting her worth as a sexual object meant only for the pleasure of men. Keats employs the use of simplistic rhyme when stating ‘must not a woman be, a feather on the sea’. The juvenile rhyme scheme brings to mind that of a nursery rhyme, an idea that is corroborated by the equally infantile rhythm. Seemingly scornful of her emotions, and rather unable to comprehend that women are able to know their own minds, Keats wrote to Fanny â€Å"you do not feel as I do- you do not know what it is to love†. It is perhaps this view that nurtures Keats’ distrust and envy which prompts his rather hyperbolic proclamation ‘may my eyes close, Love! On their last repose’. The use of the rather clichà ©d â€Å"I would die without your love† conjures in the reader images of powerful emotional manipulation. The reader has to question if Keats is really in love with Fanny like he claims, or if his obsessive infatuation has created an idealised image of what love is, and projected it on the object of his affections. Despite what other characteristic or personality aspects they may possess, Keats paints women as seductresses, entrapping the hearts of unsuspecting men. In regards to the women he writes about, even pure chaste Madeline is presented as having ensnared poor Porphyro. Whilst some of this can be excused due to oppressive patriarchal paradigms that presented women as objects to be obtained, the vast majority of the unfair presentation stems from Keats’ own feelings and opinions. Keats is seemingly unable to view women as fully autonomous human beings, and treats even Fanny as a succubus that has enthralled him, yet even so he elevates her into an ideal. The paradoxical nature of their relationship- characterised by both love and  loathing can be seen to be reflected in his attitudes towards women, leaving him simultaneously enchanted and repelled. Bibliography http://feminism.eserver.org/theory/papers/lilith/labelle.html http://www.keatsian.co.uk/keats-poetry-belle.php http://www.mibba.com/Reviews/Book/4500/John-Keats-La-Belle-Dame-sans-Merci/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/poetry_ccea/loveanddeath/labelledamesanmerci/revision/1/ http://www.englweb.umd.edu/englfac/JRudy/Keats-letters.pdf http://www1.umassd.edu/corridors/bestessay259.html http://literarism.blogspot.co.nz/2011/03/eve-of-st-agnes-keats.html http://research.library.mun.ca/353/3/sensuous_embodiment.pdf Richardson, Joanna. Fanny Brawne: A Biography. Norwich: Jarrold and Sons, 1952. Print.