Evidence base practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Evidence base practice - Essay Example So, as a team, we are under a supervision of a superintendent who is in charge of all the professionals working under him. The nursing practice guideline in our facility strongly advocates for rational decision making based on facts and evidences that can be relied upon at all times (Tschudin, 2011). One is always required to act on well-researched evidence while discharging their duties both in the emergency and operation rooms. These are critical areas that do not need one to rush in action, but to be a patient, consultative team player who acknowledges and is ready to seek the opinion of other professionals (Melnyk, 2011). The management of the hospital emphasizes these points since it is what can help in delivering patient-oriented services as we strive to satisfy their diverse needs. After all, a nurse should also be ready to discharge duties of a researcher who looks for knowledge, apply and disseminate it to others for the sake of improving the patients’ health

Current issues in dissability studies activity 10 Essay

Current issues in dissability studies activity 10 - Essay Example to attend to their constant needs: these include but not restricted to the building of more nursing homes, recreational facilities for the ages, hospitals, and more avenues to supply the increasing services needed by the seniors in our societies. Here is an important question: does disability make people get older quickly? The answer is no, because the recent survey and research have indicated that people suffering from intellectual, for instance, do not necessarily get older than their contemporaries. Interestingly, they even seem to outlive in some circumstances. Similar physical changes are observable in both the disabled and non-disabled old people (World Health Organization, 2000). People with disabilities need some specific services that may or may not necessarily isolate them from the general population. Normally, aged people need housing, nursing homes, hospices, medical services, recreational services and so on. The only difference in the case is the problem of communication that usually affected diagnosing disabled people—some of them could not talk or properly explain to the doctors the actual sickness or illness they are suffering. This constitutes a great hindrance to their ability to solve disabled people’s medical needs (Bigby, 2000). Therefore, the disabled aged people require intensive cares and guidance for their problems to be successful attended to, what non-disabled old people may not require. The most interesting about this week readings (1 &) is that they pinpoint the developmental requirements needed for a disabled person to grow into his or her adult self without parental influences in decision-making and personal cares (Bigby, 2000). While the second reading highlights the policies and programs put in place by the government, private organizations and communities in helping the disabled people grow old successfully (Bigby, 2004). The two readings are compendium for any student to turn into expert on disability

Crisis And Risk Management In Organizations Management Essay

Crisis And Risk Management In Organizations Management Essay Chapter 3 is a literature review to help develop an understanding on the importance of business continuity as a process of counteracting organizational crises, which is at the forefront of this study. The Chapter is structured as follows: Section 3.2 discusses crisis management and risk management in organizations, to present a clearer picture of the terminologies. Next, the chapter provides the reader with background knowledge on business continuity management, its importance, and highlights some organizational approaches used in managing risk and crisis, including scenario planning. Finally, the chapter discusses planning as an effective BCM process, and strategic planning in a turbulent environment with the aim of clearly identifying the significance of business continuity in organizations. In an attempt to define crisis management, it is imperative that the term crisis is first explained. Coombs (1999: 2) define crisis as an event that is unpredictable and a major threat that can have an adverse effect on an organization, industry, or its stakeholders if improperly handled. Similarly, other authors such as Martinelli and Briggs (1998) conceptualize crisis as a turning point, and argue that it is an opportunity for organizations to show their commitment to responsible behaviour (p. 44). Regester (1987: 38) also acknowledges that crisis often represents turning points in organizational life as they present opportunities to establish a reputation for competence, to shape the organization and to tackle important issues. It is an unpredictable major event that is a threat to an organization or its stakeholders (Goel, 2009: 25). Other scholars such as Curtin et al., (2005: 3) identify crisis to be of three kinds; those which befalls a company e.g. chemical spillage or plane crash, those that are manufactured, and those that escalate from an accident. 3.2.2 Defining Crisis Management Crises Management is all about taking charge of a crisis situation before it engulfs the company. As suitable planning is fundamental to corporate survival in the event of a crisis, crisis management involves proper handling of a crisis after it occurs. The theory of crisis management has witnessed a steady evolution in the last twenty years. Early phases of this evolution includes a six step crises model by Littlejohn (1983: 13) (structure design, selection of crisis team, training team members, crisis situation auditing, contingency planning, managing the crisis); Finks (1986) seminal four stage model (the prodromal stage, the crisis breakout or acute stage, the chronic stage and resolution stage); Gonzalez-Herrero and Pratt (1995) four phase model for crisis management (planning-prevention, issues management, the actual crisis and the aftermath of the crisis); Augustine (1995) six stage of crisis management (identifying the crisis, avoiding the crises, containing the crisis, prepa ring to manage the crises, resolving the crisis and benefitting from the crisis). Augustine points out that for every crisis, there are seeds of success and roots of failure embedded within it and the ability to find, cultivate and manage the possible success is the basis of crisis management. In theory, the debate between scholars of crisis management is mainly about how crisis is defined. Comfort (1988) divides the process of crisis management into preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery phases. Another interesting crisis management model was formulated by Boin et al., (2005). The authors based their model on four important challenges managers face during the process of crisis management sense-making, decision making, terminating and learning. In spite of these, many scholars of crisis and disaster management still seem to focus more on the triggers, causes or effects rather than how these incidents are actually managed by stakeholders, decision makers and the organizations (Mitroff and Pauchant, 1990). 3.3 Crisis and Risk Management in Organizations Organizational crisis have been defined by various scholars even though there is not one universally accepted definition (Simola, 2005). Pearson and Clair (1998) define organizational crisis as a high impact low probability incident that threatens organizational viability. Crises can potentially cause damage to an organization, and if not properly managed, can become disasters. Mistakes can very quickly rise from just a little operational issue to a stage that threatens survival (Mittelstaedt, 2004). Therefore, organizations that properly prepare and plan for the future are more likely to succeed (Regester and Larkin, 2005). Fink et al., (2005) points out that to survive in a rapidly changing world, many organizations must recognize and forecast their surrounding environment to enable them develop awareness to the risks that may affect their businesses and strategic directions. Theres little chance for organizations to respond and recover when unforeseen events happen. Therefore, in the likely event of a crisis or disaster, an organizations level of preparedness and capability of resuming its regular business operations are thought to be amongst the major goals of senior management (Hanson, 2006). In crisis management, organizations play a crucial role (Clarke, 1999). Carley and Harrald (1997:310) note that organizations should react to disasters by reducing the impact of the disaster but in practice, organizations are often the ones that cause crises (Roux-Dufort, 2007). Organizational blueprints fail to balance the possible damaging effects of organizational production (Perrow, 2007) as scholars of organizational management are more often into organizational structure, design and culture, rather than managing and learning from unusual events (Pauchant and Mitroff, 1992). Egbuji (1999) introduce risk management as a corporate approach to deal with the security threats facing an organization in an attempt to protect its resources and its assets. There are some advantages of risk management. According to Peart (2006), risk management facilitates future anticipation and improves uncertainty control as it entails carefully analyzing possible future organizational risks, and developing actions to counteract the risks. The Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (2002) lay emphasis on a calculated approach to risk management and state that risk management should be thought of as a value-adding process linked to strategy since it has the possibility to improve decision making and protect assets. 3.3.1 Scenario Planning In an era of rapid change, scenario planning is the practice of planning for different future alternatives, with the aim of mitigating or reducing the risk of getting bombarded by unforeseen incidents or being unprepared for it (Bishop et al., 2007). Kachaner and Deimler (2008) argue that organizations that implement scenario planning will most likely deal with future uncertainty and risk more efficiently than those that do not make use of it. As Pollard and Hotho (2006) describe, the idea of scenario planning is to make long range flexible plans by figuring out the impact and nature of the most questionable driving forces that affect the world and shapes business environments i.e. economic, political, environmental and technological trends. According to Barber (2006) scenario planning is used by some leading organizations such as Shell and General Electric to analyse the various trends and forces that may impact the organization. Scenario planning helps create a linkage between the past and the future by addressing scenarios through strategic planning. Barber (2006) note that Shells scenario planning teams use scenario planning to identify weak signals or signs that will likely have an impact on their business. Methods of scenario planning include imagination, multiple perspectives and strategic thinking and in todays environment, its use in the planning process is an important strategy to deal with numerous uncertainties (Neilson and Stouffer, 2005: 26). Scenario planning can be developed for any future period. In the 1970s, Shell Group initiated the scenario planning and the corporation builds scenarios every three years for up to a twenty year period; others may project fifteen, ten or a five year period (Scott-Martinet, 2006). In hypothetical situations, scenario planning is useful for planners to see how an event may impact the organization. Planning out a scenario can also show the multiple ways in which various components fit together. Planning for the future in any organization is important, as without planning, resources may not be available when needed (Scott-Martinet, 2006). Hodgson Tait (1996: 3) argue that planning has traditionally followed a comparatively linear approach (i.e. projecting future needs based on current activities). For organizations that have a commitment to this default scenario, the future is drastically altered when they experience crises, as it becomes difficult to adapt or change. With scenario planning therefore, organizations can recognize future threats and deal with them before crises happen. Scenario planning can also be utilized in other disaster situations and can most likely help with mitigation, preparedness and prevention efforts if appropriate strategies are embraced. After scenario analysis and development, the organization can then implement strategies to steer towards a survivable future (Hodgson Tait, 1996) Scenario planning can also be used in emergency management to assist corporations in viewing and understanding itself in a new dimension, and to effectively plan more for the future (Alexander, 2002: 2). Previous crises and best speculations about the future have generally provided evidence for contingency planners to take decisions about the future (Wilkinson, 1994: 5). Nonetheless, by implementing the method of scenario futuring, planners can discuss or document various likely organizational futures, and by exploring these possible futures, scenario planners may acquire knowledge about fundamental issues, forces and trends (Wilkinson, 1994). 3.4 Business Continuity Management (BCM) Due to its widespread nature, the manner in which business continuity management is implemented will inevitably depend on the nature, complexity and scale of an organizations risk profile and the environment in which it operates. It is also safe to presume that as organizations are never in full control of their business surroundings, all organizations will experience a business crisis and continuity event at some point (Shaw, 2004). It is therefore important to explore the various functions and functional areas that support the management of crisis events and continuity of business operations, their inter-dependencies, and the factors that will help co-ordinate these functions and functional areas into a comprehensive and integrated programme. Business Continuity Management (BCM) has been described in many ways. However, there is not a generally accepted definition (Smit, 2005). BCM is defined by the Business Continuity Institute as the act of predicting events that will affect the organizations mission-critical processes and functions, and ensure that it reacts to any event in a rehearsed and planned way (Gallagher, 2003). The goals of BCM also include making sure there is continuity of critical functions and business operations in all circumstances, foreseeing organizational risks, crises and disasters before they occur, and ensuring fast and efficient response to crises Figure 3: Framework for Business Continuity Management Source: The British Standard for Business Continuity Management, 2006 According to Herbane et al., (2004) and Gibb and Buchanan (2006), BCM involves identifying with an organizations needs, recognizing and managing risks that may interrupt the critical functions of a business, and ensuring effective recovery and business continuity in the event of unanticipated occurrences. BCM assists an organization in mapping out future worst case scenarios and how promptly the organization can restore its normal operations in the aftermath of a crisis. (Hayes, 2004) is of the opinion that BCM should be a major responsibility of top management as BCM aims to ensure lasting survival of the entire organization. Several authors including Gallagher (2003), Herbane et al., (2004), Pitt and Goyal (2004), and Elliott et al., (2010), have debated on the evolution of BCM. In the 1970s, the primary focus of business continuity was on information technology (IT) and recovering computing systems, also disruptions caused by disasters such as fires, earthquakes and flooding. In the 1980s, business continuity still included IT but shifted to include other systems and facilities at both business and corporate unit levels. During the 1970s and 1980s, IT focus still played a huge part in business continuity and explains why a big fraction of existing literature on BCM relates to IT continuity (Elliott et al., 2010). However, business continuity was introduced as Business Continuity Management in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and became a process of corporate competitive advantage to contribute to the sustainability and development of diverse business areas (Gill, 2006). Figure 4: Typology of Continuity Approaches Source: Herbane et al., (2004) Figure 4 above shows that BCM is embedded within crisis management (Herbane et al., 2004). It also shows that disaster recovery planning and business continuity planning are two components of BCM; these two components are to assist an organization in effectively dealing with crises and disasters before, during and after they occur (Herbane et al., 2004). Herbane et al., (2004) also point out that BCM must influence the whole organization and so, in order to succeed, there is need for participation and cross-functional involvement from various departments in the organization. 3.4.1 Importance of Business Continuity Management As previously mentioned, the 21st century has witnessed dramatic transformations in the global business environment. Kubitscheck (2001), Dawes (2004) and Richardson (2009) note that as new risks have emerged, organizational risk theory have also advanced at the start of the new millennium, but these newly emerging risks surpass the pace at which solutions are being devised to counteract them (Kubitscheck, 2001). Therefore, with new terrorist attacks, hi-tech and changing weather patterns, and corporate financial scandals, organizations need a well-resourced, coherent response, integrated and predetermined, but also manageable and flexible (Herbane et al., 2004). Organizations are faced with difficulties in risky and uncertain times and this can only be excellently managed by preparation and proactive planning (Gage and Reinoso, 2002). An innovative approach is necessary to help organizations in mitigating or reducing the impacts of crises and disasters, by appropriately preparing for, responding to and recovering from unexpected events to ensure business continuity and also to manage security programs proactively (Hinde, 2002). The interest in BCM increased significantly in the early 2000s (Borodzicz, 2005; Smit, 2005) Wong (2009) argues that the growing interest is as a result of natural and man-made disasters such as the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, which emphasized the importance of BCM in sustaining critical functions of businesses. BCM encompasses corrective and preventive systems to risk management through recovery planning and continuity, and through the constant testing, training, maintenance and updating of continuity plans. In a global business environment full of insecurities, the long-term survival of businesses very much depends on guaranteed continuity of business operations. BCM is significant to be able to achieve this (Morwood, 1998). Pitt (2010) also argues that when organizations have BCM, they are most likely to suffer less from the immediate impact of crises, and can pull through more quickly. According to Brazeau (2008), the BCM profile has noticeably increased in both private and public business organizations as a study conducted by FM Global showed that out of 600 financial executives, about 95% identified BCM to be of moderate to high priority in relation to other managerial functions within their organizations. BCM is gaining increasing acceptance amongst many businesses as organizations now understand BCMs present operational value and are beginning to focus more on its enterprise-wide advantage and strategic significance (Marsh, 2008). 3.4.2 Planning as an Effective BCM Process Since the start of research on strategic planning, there has been a general consensus that strategic planning is a process that decides when, how, who will plan and how results will be enforced (Gibb and Buchanan (2006). Elliott et al., (2010) however mentions that there is a disagreement between authors regarding the exact structure and components of the process. Figure 4: Structure and Process of Strategic Planning Source: Elliott et al., (2010) Elliott et al., (2010) structure and process of strategic planning (Figure 4) illustrates planning as a systematic process. Most significantly, it identifies the three main areas of the process: hypothesis, formulation of plans, implementation of plans, and evaluation. The structure of strategic planning introduces a conceptual model for small, medium and large organization for outstanding strategic planning. The authors state that the three major types of plans; short-range budgets, medium-range programmes and master strategies are all linked and so, organizations must know exactly what their strategic plan should entail (Elliott et al., (2010). Although planning is not an everyday phenomenon, it must be a continuous process and plans need to be amended and/or reviewed regularly so organizations can respond to changes in the environment (Elliott et al., (2010). The process of strategic planning should therefore start with establishing organizational objectives, mapping out strategie s for implementation and then refining the strategies with thorough action plans. 3.5 Strategic Planning in a Turbulent Environment In most of the early writings on the planning process, a common characteristic is the role the external environment plays on the organization. Economic forecasts were initially used for future planning but with fierce competition amongst firms, and the growing complexities of globalization, the role of the environment becomes an essential feature in strategic planning (Brews and Hunt, 1999). In 1988, Arie De Geus, head of Shell Oil Companys Strategic Planning Group published a study of the planning processes of Shell. At the time, Shell was known to be one of the most successful oil corporations (and arguably still is today). De Geus mention that the key to the corporations success was its ability to switch from a much slower pace in stagnant times, to a survival-mode in turbulent times. He concludes that planning simply means changing minds (De Gues, 1988). Grant (2003) point out that strategic planning in the oil sector is characterized by an unstable business environment. The authors study explores how and if strategic planning methods can be put to effective use in an uncertain environment. Grants analysis of six major oil companies (BP, Chevron, Exxon, Mobil, Shell and Texaco) affirms that over the last decade and a half, these major oil companies recognized key amendments in their strategic planning practices. (Grant, 2003: 502) asserts that while the basic framework (cycle and key phases) of strategic planning changed very little, planning roles, the content of strategic plans, and the process of strategic planning within the companies management systems changed significantly. In spite of little variations in interpretation, Grant (2003) note that similarities in each of the oil companies planning processes were sufficient to create a generic strategic planning cycle as seen in Figure 5. Figure 5: The Generic Planning Cycle among the Oil Majors Source: Grant (2003) Planning provides a mechanism for the formulation of decentralised strategy and has now become a process of planned emergence (Grant, 2003: 491). In recent years, the processes of strategic planning have become more informal and decentralised, while planning strategies have changed considerably in line with the fast changing environments organizations operate in. Todays business environment is becoming more volatile due to political instability, natural disasters and economic-slowdown and requires leaders and organizations to be more proactively prepared and resilient to face the unexpected (Grant, 2003). Ramirez et al., (2008) discuss that with the diversified nature of many big firms and the growing rate of environmental changes, predictability and stability can no longer guarantee the success of businesses, but the ability to implement decisions under uncertain circumstances and the flexibility of adjusting to varying competitive conditions becomes critical factors of success (p. 264). The authors propose that in a crisis turbulent environment, management executives can increase strategic and organizational capabilities by establishing strategic visions, creating strategic unity and successive adaptation, encouraging transformational leadership, modifying organizational practices, and increasing organizational capacity for change. 3.6 Chapter Summary Chapter 3 is a review of relevant literature to provide the reader with an overview of crisis management and business continuity management in organizations. In the literature, various approaches to organizational crisis management exist that have been discussed i.e. risk management, scenario planning, and business continuity management. The literature presents a background to the fundamentals of strategic planning and scenario futuring, and discusses business continuity, a management process that is becoming more and more recognized by many organizations, as a new approach to crisis management. Business continuity management provides corrective and preventive measures to organizations to improve their response and recovery capabilities against disasters and unexpected crises. Using existing literature and a number of empirical studies, the author provides evidence to support the discussion on BCM as an organizational strategy that challenges senior managers and top level management to foster the art of strategic planning, in anticipation of some of the unexpected eventualities of an increasingly chaotic and turbulent business environment.

Tone, Motif and Theme in Night Essay examples -- essays research paper

When people lose their dignity, they also lose a part of the very thing that makes them human. Despair, hopelessness, fear and apathy are all ways a human can lose their humanity. The eyes provide a window onto the soul, and thus a view on the person’s mental state. The eyes also function in reverse, as a symbolic gesture of control over someone. All of this is present in Night, by Elie Wiesel, an account of human tragedy, human cruelty, human dignity, and the loss thereof.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the start of the book, the residents of Sighet live relatively happily, oblivious to the approaching storm. Mochà © the Beadle practices the cabbala, with, â€Å"dreaming eyes† (13), living his life by his own terms. His eyes are his distinguishing factor; they show his hope for the future, his love of life, and his own freedom. Mochà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s eyes seperate him from the rest of the town, elevating him to a model of self-esteem, and a confident, independent person. However, the German cruelty to the foreign Jews changes Mochà ©; â€Å"There was no longer any joy in his eyes† (17). By subjecting him to horror and fear, they removed the parts of Mochà © that made him Mochà ©. When Mochà © lost his dignity, he lost himself. The horrifying part of Mochà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s experience is the Gestapo; they acted, â€Å"without passion, without haste† (16). Their apathy towards their ‘job’ turns them into monsters. The inhuman act of m urdering hundreds of people in cold blood was made even more heartless by feeling no emotion abo...

The Breville Juicer

If you are looking to shop for a quality juicer and are having problem deciding between Jack Lalanne Juicers and Breville Juicers, it’s best to try a side by side comparison, which I have done for you. Breville Juice Fountain Plus with 2 speeds is the way to go. It's better at producing juice large amounts of juice, it’s a centrifical process of extraction instead of a masticating process and cleanup is a snap. I have used a Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro for a year and a half. I used it for greens and fruit and it worked well but I noticed a lot of pulp which was fairly â€Å"wet†, and some of the pieces that I put in the juicer ended up whole in the pulp container. Since I juice so often I decided to try a Breville Juicer-Fountain Ellite. What a difference one product can make. Not only is the Breville juicer faster but it has two speeds-lower for softer fruits and veggies and high speed for harder. I like the speed of the juicer because I am always on the go and don't have the patience for a masticating juicer. Masticating juicers may extract more and the juice may preserve longer-but I would be pulling my pulling my hair out if I had to wait around too long. This juicer works perfectly for me, plus I drink my juice right away. I did quite a bit of research before buying this juicer, I needed something that would be able to stand up to constant use and a machine that would get as much juice as possible from the produce. For the most part, this machine does just that. Depending on what I'm juicing I've found though that for the best results I have to take it apart and scrub the filter down a bit so that the juice can filter into the pitcher. I mostly do kale, celery, apples, limes, carrots, and cucumbers and all of it goes through the juicer really smoothly. The Breville Juice Fountain Plus is an excellent juicer with a powerful enough motor to negotiate a large variety of fruits and vegetables. Whether you’re juicing soft fruits, hard vegetables, or leafy greens, this juicer will perform well and produce numerous gallons of fresh, nutritious juice for your entire family. I noticed that most pulp is drier with this juicer in comparison with the Jack Lalanne juicer. I also noticed that even though both juicers assemble and come apart easily the Breville juicer parts fit together better, and clean quicker. There are only six parts that need cleaning, and if you clean them immediately after juicing, cleanup takes about three to five minutes. It’s important not to let the material dry on any component, especially the filter assembly. The pitcher that comes with the juicer is plastic but it fits around the spout nicely and so does the lid. The pulp catcher fits more securely with this unit than with the Jack Lalanne juicer. One thing I will say with this juicer that some might perceive as a negative-once you put the fruit or vegetables in the juicer you better quickly put your hand over the top of the opening or quickly put the pusher in because the blades spin so fast small parts of the fruits and vegetables might come out the opening. I really enjoy my Breville Juicer and I highly recommend it for personality types like mine-those of us who like our juice but don't have the patience to wait for a masticating juicer.

Appropriate title poem for the collection Essay

To what extent, in terms of subject matter and style, do you consider ‘High Windows’ to be an appropriate title poem for the collection? High Windows is a collection that deals with several interlinking themes. One of the most obvious is that of windows, which are used throughout the poems as an analogy for reflection, retrospection, observations and external or internal influences. Other themes such as death, religion, youth, sex tradition, society and outside observers also occur frequently throughout the collection. It could be said that the poem High Windows includes and explores many of these themes, and as such provides a good summation of the content of the others. Its form and structure can also be compared to the rest of the collection – Larkin uses some very specific techniques and structural decisions within several of the poems, and High Windows is perhaps one of the best examples of where these techniques are used to the best effect. In High Windows, Larkin employs free verse with a simple rhyme scheme. This could be said to be fairly unusual, as in other poems such as To The Sea he uses very complex rhyme schemes. He often chooses to rhyme between stanzas, and this is clearly a very conscious and crafted decision. Larkin also makes use of traditional poetic forms – for example, The Card-Players takes the form of a sonnet. The fact he has chosen to use free verse could show that High Windows has a modern setting, unlike The Card-Players which is a narrative set around the 17th century. It could also be a suggestion that the collection deals largely with universal and simplistic theme such as life and death, and thus the simplicity of the rhyme scheme epitomises this. Other structural decisions that appear in High Windows can also be seen in other poems. Larkin often uses italics to show that someone other than the main narrator of the poem is speaking. ‘That’ll be the life; no God any more, or sweating in the dark†¦ ‘ is being spoken by someone of the previous generation looking at the speaker in their youth. This also occurs in Sympathy in White Major, which includes such lines as ‘He devoted his life to others’, which seems to be being said by someone at the speaker’s funeral. The Explosion includes italicised lines being spoken by a priest – ‘The dead go on before us†¦ ‘ – and Vers de Societe includes such lines as ‘All solitude is selfish’ and ‘Virtue is social’, which seem to be an outside voice reproaching the speaker for his behaviour. High Windows can thus be clearly compared to other poems that use this technique. By the end of the collection, the use of italics is recognisable. Larkin also often makes use of a ‘final image’ at the end of his poems, something that is meant to sum up the content of the poem. In High Windows, the line ‘Rather than words comes the thought of high windows’ is one of the most memorable. Similarly, The Explosion has the image of the ‘eggs unbroken’, and Money’s entire last verse is occupied by the image of ‘looking down from long french windows†¦ ‘. High Windows is the only one that includes the prelude ‘Rather than words†¦ ‘, and illustrates this technique very well. In this sense, High Windows makes a very appropriate title, both as the title of a poem and as an image. The juxtapositioning between coarse and lyrical language is also present in High Windows, as in various other poems. This coule be said to show the difference between traditional poetic language and more modern poetry. High Windows has a transition from the beginning, and lines such as ‘†¦ I see a couple of kids†¦ ‘ and ‘†¦ I guess he’s fucking her and she’s wearing a diaphragm†¦ ‘, to the end, with lines such as ‘the sun-comprehending glass†¦ ‘ and ‘that shows nothing, and is nowhere, and is endless. ‘ This juxtapositioning is used in This Be The Verse, between ‘They fuck you up, your mum and dad’ and the seemingly out of place ‘†¦ it deepens like a coastal shelf. ‘ Similarly, Sad Steps begins with the image of ‘Groping back to bed after a piss’ and ends with ‘that wide stare is a reminder of the strength and pain of being young’. The theme of observation and looking down through a window is also a common one throughout the collection. The image of High Windows is one that provides an appropriate title, since it could be a metaphor for themes such as reflection upon life, which is clearly prominent in poems such as Sympathy in White Major, Dublinesque and The Explosion. Sad Steps makes use of a similar window metaphor – the speaker seems to have an epiphany after ‘parting thick curtains’ and seeing the moon. The Old Fools also includes mention of ‘lighted windows’ that represent the memories of somone’s life. Money has the image of ‘looking down from long french windows’ at a town that is meant to represent various aspects of life. High Windows also deals with the concept of religion. It suggests that religion was something that older generations were forced to think about when they didn’t want to, and that now, this has been replaced by sex and freedom. The phrase ‘bonds and gestures’ suggests that the speaker believes that religion and other such ‘restraints’ were only meant as a show, and were not really what people believed in. High Windows shows a rather cynical view of religion, suggesting that it no longer matters in modern society. This view is mentioned briefly in The Building as well, with the mention of ‘a locked church’ and the comparision between patients of the hospital and an ‘unseen congregation’. Vers de Societe uses the line ‘playing at goodness, like going to church†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, clearly suggesting that Larkin believes religion to be a shallow waste of time. In this manner, High Windows accurately reflects what appears to be Larkin’s view on religion. However, in poems such as The Explosion, religion is viewed in a very different way – it becomes something that offers hope, and something to be revered. It mentions that the dead men ‘Are sitting in God’s house in comfort’. As this is the final poem in the collection, it could suggest that the actual message Larkin is attempting to convey is one of hope and faith. As High Windows suggests the opposite, it could be considered a misleading title poem. Throughout High Windows, many of the poems explore the theme of young people being somehow ‘separate’ to the older generation. To do this, Larkin often makes use of a speaker who is outside the events of the poem and observing the actions of others. The speaker of High Windows seems to be a middle-aged man looking at teenagers. There is a sense of the cyclic nature of life in this poem, as he also alludes to the fact that someone older than the speaker probably watched him when he was young. This also appears in Annus Mirabilis. The youth of today are often connected with sexual freedom – Larkin is very frank about ‘bonds and gestures pushed to one side’ allow the young to have sex and be more free. This is similar to the ‘sort of bargaining’ mentioned in Annus Mirabilis. This Be The Verse also includes the cyclic nature of life. The speaker claims that ‘Man hands on misery to man’, which suggests that every generation is similar to the last, just slightly different, and this continues throughout all of life. Because High Windows is so similar to many of the other poems and show so well the main themes of the collection, I do think that it is a very appropriate title poem. However, there are also many contradictions within the collection, and so it would be almost impossible to pick one poem that shows every element of the collection. High Windows serves as a good introduction to many of the concepts discussed within the collection, and also paves the way for further exploration of these themes.