Collecting DNA Evidence Essay Example for Free

Collecting DNA Evidence Essay For many years, fingerprints were the gold standard for linking suspects to a crime scene. Today, the gold standard is DNA evidence because DNA can be collected from virtually anywhere. Even a criminal wearing gloves may unwittingly leave behind trace amounts of biological material. It could be a hair, saliva, blood, semen, skin, sweat, mucus or earwax. All it takes is a few cells to obtain enough DNA information to identify a suspect with near certainty. For this reason, law enforcement officials take unusual care at crime scenes. Police officers and detectives often work closely with laboratory personnel or evidence collection technicians to make sure evidence isnt contaminated. This involves wearing gloves and using disposable instruments, which can be discarded after collecting each sample. While collecting evidence, officers are careful to avoid touching areas where DNA evidence could exist. They also avoid talking, sneezing and coughing over evidence or touching their face, nose or mouth. The following list shows some common sources of DNA evidence: A weapon, such as a baseball bat, fireplace poker or knife, which could contain sweat, skin, blood or other tissue A hat or mask, which could contain sweat, hair or dandruff A facial tissue or cotton swab, which could contain mucus, sweat, blood or earwax A toothpick, cigarette butt, bottle or postage stamp, all of which could contain saliva A used condom, which could contain semen or vaginal or rectal cells Bed linens, which could contain sweat, hair, blood or semen A fingernail or partial fingernail, which could contain scraped-off skin cells When investigators find a piece of evidence, they place it in a paper bag or envelope, not in a plastic bag. This is important because plastic bags retain moisture, which can damage DNA. Direct sunlight and warmer conditions may also damage DNA, so officers try to keep biological materials at room temperature. They label the bags with information about what the material is, where it was found and where it will be transported. These are chain-of-custody procedures, which ensure the legal integrity of the samples as they move from collection to analysis. Analysis occurs in a forensic laboratory, the topic of our next section.

Tragedy and Redemption in Toni Morrisons Beloved Essay -- Toni Morris

Tragedy and Redemption in Beloved "This is not a story to pass on."(1) With these enigmatic words, Toni Morrison brings to a conclusion a very rich, very complicated novel, in which slavery and its repercussions are brought into focus, examined, and reassembled to yield a story of tragedy and redemption. The "peculiar institution" of slavery has been the basis for many literary works from Roots to Beloved, with particular emphasis on the physical, mental, and spiritual violence characteristic of the practice of slavery in the South. A far greater shame than slavery itself is the violence that was directed against slave women in the name of slavery. Slave women bore the heaviest burden of slavery, forced to be not only fieldhands and domestic workers, but to satisfy their masters' sexual appetites. Frederick Douglass wrote that the "slave woman is at the mercy of the fathers, sons or brothers of her master."(2) Slaveowners considered their slave women to be fair game, forcing themselves on their female slaves with impunity, and any resulting children were considered property, to be sold like the calves from a cow. The family institutions of the slaves meant nothing to their owners; the children of slaves were likewise considered property and could be sold at their owners' whim. Schoolteacher referred to Sethe and her children as "...the breeding one, her three pickaninnies and whatever the foal might be..."(279) Slave children often did not know who their fathers or even their mothers were... ...gain. Beloved is an unsanitized picture of slavery and its consequences, a condemnation of the violations that humans impose upon each other. That the presence of Beloved is still felt, long after the players have left the stage, is representative of the scars that remain on the hearts and minds of women, that such horrors could be visited upon their sisters once. Notes 1. Toni Morrison, Beloved (New York, 1987) 337. All subsequent quotes from Beloved are followed by page numbers in parentheses. 2. Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom (New York, 1968 [1855]) 60, qtd. in Blassingame 83. Works Cited 1. Blassingame, John W. The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press, 1972. 2. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. (New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1987)

Current Media: Nurses Portrayed as Non-Critical Thinkers Essay

Introduction In this paper, the misguided image created by media tells the public: nurses follow doctors orders and are incapable of making their own judgments will be explored. The impact of this image on the nurse as an individual and on the nursing profession will be shown and ways to improve the image of nursing will be discussed. Evidence Present media, portrays the nursing field as an aid to physicians in the hospitals giving little credit to what nurses do in their profession. The media has pushed aside nurses and have made a high image for doctors and physicians. Television shows generally depict doctors as the key clinicians, putting nurses in the background doing the unimportant tasks (Mee, 2010). Therefore nurses are seen having a minimal role in the health care system. The idea that nurses simply follow doctors orders is a strong stereotypical theme that has many people deceived. Nurses are not thought to be independent, making critical decisions for the patient. Instead, nurses are thought to only care for the patient while the doctor is gone. According to the American society of registered nurses, â€Å" The public perceive a nurse as just someone who assists the doctor during and after treatment of the illness assisting the patient in keeping up is personal hygiene, giving the medications as prescribed by the doctor, dressing the wounds when there is a need ensuring welfare of the patient† (American Society of Registered Nurses, 2007. para 1). This is a harmful image that creates a low expectation of what nurses are capable of. Therefore, nurses are endanger of not being taken seriously by patient families when their advise is given for a patient. People may want to speak to the doctor about patients health instead, even though the nurse is the one who sees the patient daily for long periods of time. The idea that a nurses role is easy, and simplistic is also shown in media as the nurses job is not well represented. According to the Ontario Nurses Association, â€Å"Physicians are shown spending half their time conduction key care tasks that nurses actually perform while nurses, as their peripheral subordinates, stare at them with adoration and admiration†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Ontario Nurses Association, 2008. p.1). The general public is not well educated on the nurses role and do not realize the work nor effort nurses put into their career through education and dedicated work. The negative notions about nursing through television and other types of media need to be seriously exposed as they harm and form lies about nurses. Currently, â€Å"these images reinforce the farce that nurses are not critical thinkers and are dependent on physicians for every direction; that nursing is not a profession unto itself but that nurses are medical aids† (Ontario Nurses Association, 2008, p.1). Discussion The idea that nurses are not critical thinkers nor independent is damaging to the face of the nursing career. This train of thought causes people to underestimate the capabilities of nurses across Canada. The idea that we only follow doctors orders causes people to overlook what we do, labeling our work as unimportant. This attitude causes less funding into the nursing profession which leads to nursing shortages, creating over worked nurses and clinical error.As well as creating more part time jobs instead of full time, leaving many nurses no choice but to work more then one job. When a negative image is very dominant in Canadian culture, nurses in the working profession start to believe the lies about themselves, making nurses quiet and not speaking out against the image. The lack of credit nurses get for what they do can lead to them thinking their job is insignificant. Also, media is a main way that the younger canadian generations are being educated. By them learning wrong messages about nursing can create them to not wanting to pursue nursing as a career. This leads to less passionate nurses coming into the field who are unprepared for what they are signed up for. As a future nurse, the publics view of me is important. I want them to see me as a professional leader in the health care system. The idea that nurses are not critical thinkers and are depending on doctors for advise and orders counter acts the real job description is of me as a nurse. The negative assumptions about nursing can effect the way patients perceive me before having our first encounter. A patients doubts of my abilities a a nurse can make our interactions difficult at first if they look down on me. A patient support group is key to the patients recovery. Having family members doubting the capabilities of nurses can stop the patient and family from asking me questions regarding the overall health of the patient. When people expect me to just listen to the physician, not realizing that I make critical choices everyday, makes the patients take me for granted thinking that I am only a nurse. These thoughts will make my job more difficult as I will have to break through the wall of negative assumptions to allow patients , family and physicians see how independent, capable and professional I am as a nurse. To break down these negative images of nursing as a profession, nurses across Canada can use the media to their advantage by educating and showing people the full spectrum of nursing, allowing the public to understand that nurses make up a large portion of the health care system and are vital to each patients health and wellness. By educating the younger generations of Canada, nurses will be able to inspire and help people get passionate about nursing. This passion will bring more people into the workforce who are ready, excited and prepared for a rewarding career and will be able to shift the negative attitude towards the profession (Ontario Nurses Association, 2008). Each nurse in Canada should work hard and act professional to do their part in promoting a positive image that will reflect all canadian nurses as a whole. Having proactive nursing conferences across canada would help raise awareness of negative nursing images so that all nurses can be united and working towards the common goal of creating a more professional image of nursing in the eyes of the public. Currently, many nurses are being proactive by being integrated into the policy development on the healthcare and government level ( Ontario Nurses Association, 2008). The image of nursing must be changed, but all nurses need to come together as a team doing their part and taking pride in their identity as nurses. As a nurse, I will rise higher then the image of not being a critical thinker and only following doctors orders by always seeking more education so that I can be prepared for situations that I come across. I will stay current with health issues and events that occur around me both on a local and global level. I will always strive to be a leader in the health care system by taking pride when fulfilling my role as professional nurse. When patients or people in the community ask me about my career, I will make sure that I am always prepared by knowing in my heart the reason for my career choice, the importance of my profession and the impact it makes in the health care system, allowing the public to get the right perspective of me as a nurse. Also I will always think critically of any situation I am faced with, allowing the patient to receive the best and most professional care. Currently, I am going to do my part as a nursing student to strive for excellence while I have the opportunity of learning so much about my future career choice which will allow me to be confident in the skills I will acquire and have the joy in knowing that what I do will have an impact on many peoples lives. Conclusion In conclusion, the negative image of nurses being dependent on doctors and not thinking for themselves hurts nurses across Canada. To stop this negative image from taking over the nursing profession, nurses must unite together and strive to be positive leaders, creating a strong and professional image for nursing. References American Society of Registered Nurses. ( 2007, December 1). The Real Public Perception of Nurses. American Society of Registered Nurses: Journal of Nursing. Retrieved from http://www.asrn.org/journal-nursing/249-the-real-public-perception-of-nurses.html Bard, R. (2012, January). Embracing Social Media. Canadian Nurse: Canadian Nurses Association. Retrieved from http://www.canadian-nurse.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=587%3Aembracing-social-media&catid=23%3Aceo-outlook&Itemid=31&lang=en Canadian Nurses Association. (2011, March). Nurses In The Media: And The Winner Is. Canadian Nurse: Canadian Nurses Association. Retrieved from http://www.canadian-nurse.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=401%3Anurses-in-the-media-and-the- winners-are&catid=4%3Aperspectives&Itemid=39&lang=en Krischke, M. (2007). Beyond TV Stereotypes: Students Can Shape Nursing’s Image. NurseZone. Retrieved from http://nursezone.com/recent-graduates/recent-graduates-featured-articles/Beyond-TV-Stereotypes-Students-Can-Shape-Nursing%E2%80%99s-Image_20072.aspx Mee, C. ( 2010, January 6) . Nursings Image In The Media: Just in Jest. Evolve Learning System. Retrieved from https://evolve.elsevier.com/cs/Satellite/Article/Nursings+Image+in+the+Media +Just+In+Jestcid=700000000611524&Audience=Faculty Ontario Nurses Association. ( 2008, September). Position Paper: The Image of Nurses. Ontario Nurses Association. Retrieved from http://www.ona.org/documents/File/pdf/PositionPaperImageofNurses.pdf

The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 and the Seven Years War

A system of alliances between the Great Powers of Europe had survived the wars of the Spanish and Austrian succession in the first half of the eighteenth century, but the French-Indian War forced a change. In the old system, Britain was allied with Austria, who was allied with Russia, while France was allied with Prussia. However, Austria was chaffing at this alliance after the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle had ended the War of the Austrian Succession in 1748, because Austria had wanted to recover the rich region of Silesia, which Prussia retained. Austria, therefore, began slowly, tentatively, talking with France. Emerging Tensions As tensions between England and France mounted in North America in the 1750s, and as a war in the colonies seemed certain, Britain signed an alliance with Russia  and upped the subsidies it was sending into mainland Europe to encourage other loosely allied, but smaller, nations to recruit troops. Russia was paid to keep an army on standby near Prussia. However, these payments were criticized in the British parliament, who disliked spending so much on defending Hanover, from where the current royal house of Britain had come, and which they wanted to protect. Alliances Change Then, a curious thing happened. Frederick II of Prussia, later to earn the nickname ‘the Great,’ was afraid of Russia and the British aid to her and decided that his current alliances weren’t good enough. He thus entered into discussion with Britain, and on January 16, 1756, they signed the Convention of Westminster, pledging aid to each other should ‘Germany’—which included Hanover and Prussia—be attacked or â€Å"distressed.† There were to be no subsidies, a most agreeable situation for Britain. Austria, angry at Britain for allying with an enemy, followed up its initial talks with France by entering into a full alliance, and France dropped its links with Prussia. This was codified in the Convention of Versailles on May 1st, 1756. Both Prussia and Austria were to remain neutral if Britain and France warred, as politicians in both nations feared would happen. This sudden change of alliances has been called the ‘Diplomatic Revolution.’ Consequences: War The system—and peace—looked secure to some: Prussia could not attack Austria now that the latter was allied with the greatest land power on the continent, and while Austria did not have Silesia, she was safe from further Prussian landgrabs. Meanwhile, Britain and France could engage in the colonial war which had already started without any engagements in Europe, and certainly not in Hanover. But the system reckoned without the ambitions of Frederick II of Prussia, and by the end of 1756, the continent was plunged into the Seven Years War.