Pokémon: Little Angels or Little Devils?
My younger sisters are victims of the Pokémon craze. On the weekends when I go home for a brief break from college life, Claire and Natalie are drawn to the television to catch the latest episode of Pokémon on Saturday morning. Catching a glimpse of the illuminated screen, I walk into the kitchen and sit down with them as they blindly spoon cereal into their mouths, not missing one millisecond of the cartoon. Watching them absorb the show makes me laugh and, when I do, they turn to me and tell me, "Shut up! We’re trying to watch the show!" I give them a funny look and proceed to watch the show with them. I find that I also am in love with the little yellow Pikachu and can’t get enough of this darling cartoon series. Our addiction to Pokémon is just as benevolent as the individual Pokémon themselves.
"Pokémon started as the brainchild of Japanese creator Satoshi Tajiri, 34, who combined his two childhood passions: monster movies and the study of insects to invent Pokémon in 1991" ("Poka" 2/3). There are over 155 Pokémon to learn about and collect. There are Pokémon trading cards, video games (several different versions), and a cartoon series on the Kids’ WB television network. The name Pokémon actually means "pocket monsters" (Holmes 1/2). Pikachu, the most popular Pokémon and my personal favorite, is an electric Pokémon with special attacks such as "Thundershock" and "Lightningbolt." Other Pokémon and their attacks include Krabby, a water Pokémon, with a "vise grip" attack; Tauros a normal type Pokémon with a "tail whip" attack; and Squirtle, also a water type Pokémon, with a "hydro pump" attack (Walk 1/2).
In the video game story there are three main trainers that travel around to different islands to catch wild Pokémon that they train and become their own: Ash, Brock, and Misty. Ash wants to become a Pokémon master which means that he must travel to all the Pokémon gyms, defeat the gym leaders’ Pokémon, and collect "badges" so that he can compete in the Pokémon league and achieve his dream. In the video games, the person playing the game takes on the role of Ash and attempts to learn about all the different Pokémon as well as how and when to use their corresponding attacks. As the different Pokémon become more experienced, they may evolve into a new and more powerful Pokémon that the trainer can battle with.
A voiceover asks the characters, “What are some of your most memorable experiences as kids?” A father-daughter duo is interviewed first. The daughter says, “My dad would always take me down to the creek and we’d look at the fish in the pond. As soon as I finished my homework.” Next, one woman who is with her sister responds, “My sisters and I would play hide and seek. Mom would always yell at us for drudging mud into the house afterwards.” These characters use a casual and friendly tone of voice that is familiar with the target audience. A parent telling a child to finish their homework before play, the drudging of mud into the house, spotting fish in the local creek—these images are all too familiar to the western audience and generation of parents. Their stories evoke a sense of longing and return to the past when many individuals are becoming increasingly uncertain aboutthe future. A stark contrast is presented with the child playing on the ipad. The relaxing background music abruptly stops as he candidly states, “I play on my ipad. I think I play games on it for three hours a day. Sometimes more.” The purpose of using a small child for a scene that portrays video games in a negative light (as opposed to an older individual) is due to the fact that a child’s concerns is rarely deemed “offensive” to others. Ultimately it’s the children that can provide
Well, there's also a reason why many people look down on Pokemon games, and it's because of the lame plot. It is set in a new region called Johto, three years after the events in Pokemon RBY. But apart from that, you might as well have the same storyline as in the previous games. However, the localization is perfect (unlike some other games for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color), and at least the plot doesn't pretend to be something that it isn't.
Before 1860 it was virtually impossible to get a letter or other form of correspondence from St. Joseph Missouri to Sacramento California in less than 20 days. 20 days seemed entirely too long for the west coast merchants and bankers to wait for documents from the east. So three men, William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell created the Pony Express. The Pony Express ensured fast and safe delivery of the mail.
In most aspects of life the saying “less is always more” may ring true; however when it comes to providing quality care to patients, less only creates problems which can lead to a decrease in patient’s quality of life as well as nurse’s satisfaction with their jobs. The massive shortage of nurses throughout the United States has gotten attention from some of the most prestigious schools, news media and political leaders. Nurses are being burnt out from their jobs, they are being overworked and overlooked. New nurses are not being properly trained, and old nurses are on their way to retirement. All the while the rate of patient admissions is on the rise. Nurses are reporting lower satisfaction in their job positions and hospital retention rates are at an all-time low, conversely this is affecting all patients’ quality of care. As stated in the article Addressing The Nurse Shortage To Improve The Quality Of Patient Care “According to an Institute of Medicine report, Nurses are the largest group of health care professionals providing direct patient care in hospitals, and the quality of care for hospital patients is strongly linked to the performance of nursing staff”.
It is imperative to discuss with nurses how they perceive staffing and how it relates to patient safety, quality of care, and if there are certain cares left undone due to staffing concerns. This article was chosen because nurse staffing is a massive issue in any nursing practice. The patient’s and other staff feel the devastation when the patient to nurse ratios are not precise. Working overtime produces exhausted nurses that cannot perform at their ideal productivity level. This results in poor patient outcomes, frustrated colleagues, and subpar work.
Needleman, J., Buerhaus, P., Pankratz, S., Leibson, C.L, Stevens S.R. & Harris M., 2011. Nurse Staffing and Inpatient Hospital Mortality, the New England Journal of Medicine, 364:1037-1045, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa1001025
The skyrocketing price of college tuition is causing a tremendous concern over whether higher education will be a viable financial concept to the average citizen over the next decades. Some families have opted to explore different means of obtaining a higher education for their children as these costs escalate. There is overwhelming evidence that colleges need to restructure the way they are run because tuition prices are increasing at a rapid rate causing changes in the way students fund their education and in the way the government provides educational subsidies.
Over the past years, there has been a nursing shortage which has led to the need of more registered nurses in the hospital setting. This is the result of higher acuity of patient care and a decrease in their length of hospital stay. In order for the patients to get safe and quality care, the staffing, education and experience of the nursing staff needs to be made a priority. Because of the lack of nurses, patient quality of care has suffered.
Monsters Inc. is an incredible animated movie (by Pixar Studios, 2001, and directed by Pete Doctor) about monsters working in a scare factory. Proudly, the scare factory – a pillar in the community – is a workplace in a monster world where monsters scare children. Through a high-tech system, doors are brought to the factory that, if activated, allows the monsters to enter the child’s room through the youngster’s closet. The scream produced by the child creates energy for the monster world, so that monsters can do everyday things, such as quickly turning on a light or vacuuming the carpet. However, this is not an easy job because children are extremely toxic to monsters (who tremble when a child is near), and are also becoming increasingly hard to scare. With lessoned screams, Monstropolis (the monsters’ world) is experiencing a scream shortage. Who will save the day?
Several other causes have been attributed to the nursing shortage. An increase in the number of nurses is needed. Sadly, there is little increase in compensation for nurses. In addition to no growth in pay, the level of stress, responsibility, and demand nurses is increasing. Unfortunately, patients are the ones who suffer. When a hospital does not have the proper nursing staff to care for patients, it results in poor patient safety and patient outcomes (Buerhaus, Donelan, Ulrich, Norman, DesRoches, & Dittus, 2007). Nursing salaries compared to other professions has remained stagnant. For example, a registered
When the time comes to talk about college, a large number of questions arise. Although many come forward, the first question is if college is even affordable. The main problem families’ face is the difficulty to pay for college, especially with the current economy’s condition. Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, states “Given the financial hardship of the country, it’s simply astonishing that colleges and universities would have this kind of increases” (Lewin). What if a young adult has a dream to attend a certain university in a different state? Residency regulations cause the cost of out-of-state schools to raise tuition to almost three times the cost of in-state; however, this alters many students’ decisions on where to attend college. While personally experiencing this problem, I was forced to go to an in-state school instead of following my dream and attending Auburn University. ...
Cause of concern has accelerated about the negative impact of low nursing staffing ratios on both patient and nurses due to nurse fatigue from work overload (Cho
Today’s culture views the media as a necessity. One class of media entertainment is television. Television is often exchanged for play among children. Marie Winn wrote “The End of Play” commenting on how children have replaced “fantasy and make-believe games” for television. (Winn 76) A research study in USA Today showed results of a survey indicating “14% of parents said TV is always on.”(Par 4) Their findings point out “TV decreased play’s intensity to given toy”. (Par 3...
Martin (2015) looks at the effect that nurse staffing has on quality care of patients. Using numerous studies, the article reviews nurse under-staffing in hospitals and how it not only impacts the care the patient receives but also the nurse’s well-being. This article supports that staffing has a direct impact on patient care and safety and
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Community Health Resources. Retrieved March 4, 2011, from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/DACH_CHAPS/Default/LinksHealthTopic.aspx?topic=4#7