Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Berlesques vs Coyote Ugly Essay Example for Free
Berlesques vs Coyote Ugly Essay Does it ever feel like itââ¬â¢s so very hard to get what you want? Coyote Ugly and Burlesques are two very similar movies. Both of these movies show how hard people have to work to get what they want. It is smart to always push yourself and prove to yourself that you can do what your dreams are made of. When we are little and had dreams of what we wanted to come true when we get older, and as we get older our dreams may have changed, but the dreams that may have changed are the dreams we fight the hardest to make come true. We need to never give up on trying to make our dreams come true. In the movie Coyote Ugly a girl named Violet was from a small town in New Jersey. Violet wanted to sing her own songs but was afraid to, but she moved to New York City to pursue her dreams, of being a song writer and having someone else sing her songs. Burlesque is about a girl named Ali who wanted to perform on stage, but couldnââ¬â¢t in the small town Iowa where she was from. Ali moved to the big city of Los Angeles to make her dreams come true. When both Ali and Violet were trying to pursue their dreams, Ali and Violet ran into problems getting the important people to recognize them. Getting big record companies or owners of places to listen to the girls was frustrating them, but they kept on trying and never gave up. Ali and Violet have to prove themselves that they are good enough, to show these people that they are talented and can do what they want to do. Ali and Violet were having trouble proving themselves there were things that made it more difficult and challenging for them as well. The girls Violet and Aliââ¬â¢s apartments were broken into with all their belongings scattered all over the place and all their money they had saved up and hidden in their apartment was stolen from them. Along the way of their journey, they befriended some people and they eventually found someone to help them get through some of their hard times and get them back on their feet. Finally they were then able to focus on trying to get auditions and find a job that they both wanted and needed to get. Fighting for auditions and looking for a job were more struggles that they had to deal with and also trying to get someone to actually listen to what they had to offer. After becoming penniless from trying to prove themselves and getting robbed, then looking for another place to stay they had to look for a job. Once they found another place that they could stay at they finally found a job they could eventually work at. After finding a job that they both needed and wanted, both of them got denied to do the job they intended on getting, the owners didnââ¬â¢t think they were good enough. Both girls eventually proved that they can do the job they were needed for they got that job that they tried to get, one got a job at the night club in Los Angeles and the other got one at the bar in New York City. When they first started the job they had a few of the other girls that they worked with them not like them and tried to make them fail. The owners didnââ¬â¢t think that they were capable of doing what the girls said they could do. The girls both got second chances to prove themselves and they both did. One proved herself and became a backup dancer and the other one proved herself and became a bartender. Once the girls had their bosses really accept them their co works didnââ¬â¢t like them and wanted them to fail. After a while they started to see that they were good people and very talented and those people that tried to make them fail were just jealous. Finally after fighting for auditions and looking for a job they got what they wanted and needed. Even though their main dream was to sing and perform they were one step closer to achieving that of theirs dreams. The girls both became singers and performed like they wanted to. In Burlesque the girl Ali had a coworker that tried to make Ali look bad, so she had to start singing so that no one would get up and leave, the place was going to get sold if they didnââ¬â¢t make the money. The owner was so impressed and made her the star of every show and so the girl Ali started singing songs and performed by dancing as well, at the night club. When she started to perform every night she was pulling in more people to the club and making the club the money that it needed to stay open, even though, she could make the amount that she needed she figured out a way to get the money so it wouldnââ¬â¢t close down. In Coyote Ugly the girl Violet started to sing songs to stop a fight between some of the costumers drinking at the bar and getting out of control. After that night everyone would come to see her and her boss had her sing every night, and she became the main event each night and was able sing songs that were not her own, but she felt comfortable enough to sing and perform at the bar. After all the struggling and the hard times they both of their dreams finally came true and after everything they both fell in love with someone that helped them through their hard times and struggles. In conclusion the girls Ali and violet tried their hardest to do what they needed to do to get what they dreamed of. After all the girls went through they proved that they can do whatever they wanted and needed to do for themselves to make their dreams come true. No matter what life throws at you, just keep pushing through the struggles and you will get what you want, never give up. We know everything that could happen to us when we try to pursue our dreams.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Antibiotics Before Cultures in Septic Suspected Patients
Antibiotics Before Cultures in Septic Suspected Patients No More Waiting Antibiotics Before Cultures in Septic Suspected Patients Shannin Pierce Introduction Identifying the Issue September, 21 2013 was an abnormally busy day at Northeast Clark Hospital. At 6:45 AM, 63 year old Mr. Davis Jones, present to the emergency department with a fever of 102.6, heart rate of 110 beats per minute, and a respiratory rate of 22. His blood pressure is 91/63. He is weak and lethargic. His wife tells staff that during the past week he has been sleeping more than usual and not eating or drinking much. She suspects he has come down with the flu that has been going around. Mr. Jones is sent to a room and asked to put on a gown and informed that the doctor will be right in to see him. At 7:00, the night shift nurse reports off the dayshift nurse of all of her patients, but fails to inform the dayshift nurse that Mr. Jones has yet to have cultures collected. At 7:15, the dayshift nurse checks on Mr. Jones who is comfortably sleeping in the hospital bed with his wife by his side. Vital have not changed since admission. She continues to the next patient. At 7:30 AM she rechecks on Mr. Jones and realizes that he has yet to have cultures drawn and collects the supplies. Cultures are collected at 7:45 AM and sent to the lab. At 8:00 lab results show WBC 16,000. The nurse reports the findings immediately to the attending physician, who orders intravenous (IV) antibiotics and fluids. Pharmacy sends up the antibiotics at 8:30 AM and the nurse begins infusion at 8:45 AM. At 9:00 AM, Mr. Joness blood pressure drops to 58/42, heart rate soars to 160 beats per minute, and he is unconscious and unresponsive. The staff frantically rushes to infuse IV fluid into Mr. Jones but he goes into cardiac arrest. All resuscitation attempts are made, but at 9:45, Mr. Jones is pronounced dead. Sepsis and bloodstream infections have become a major cause of hospitalization and death in the United States. In these situations it is a standard protocol to collect blood cultures before administration of antibiotic, however, this can often delay the treatment needed to reduce the chance of death of patients with septicemia. With new advances in culture collection technology, blood culture collection containers now contain antimicrobial removal media, which makes it no longer necessary to delay treatment of antibiotics in order to wait for untreated blood specimens to be collected. By using the antimicrobial removal media enriched blood collection containers for all patients with suspected sepsis, antibiotic treatment can be initiated faster, hospital stays will be shorter, cost of care will be decreased, and fewer people will die due to septicemia. Analysis of the Current Situation Currently, standard protocol for septic suspected patients is for blood cultures to be collected from two different ventipuncture sites before the initiation of any antibiotic therapy using aseptic technique. It is also recommended that antibiotic therapy be initiated within one hour of onset of septicemia. According to a research study by Anand Kumar (2006), every hour of delay in antimicrobial therapy result in an increase in mortality of 7.6%. While the majority of hospital facilities strive to achieve the goal of cultures and antimicrobial therapy within the one hour time frame, the reality is that very few are actually successful. It is estimated that only about 12% of patients actually receive the antimicrobial therapy within the first hour (Daniels, 2011). To make matters worse, emergency departments struggle with overcrowding. According to hospitalstats.org, the median emergency department wait time in the Clark County Valley is 3 hours 25 minutes (Hospital Stats, 2014). Identifying the signs and symptoms of sepsis is a huge barrier to providing timely treatment. Another huge problem with the standard protocol for cultures before antibiotic therapy is that 50% to 82% of patients presenting to the emergency or intensive care facilities with suspected septicemia have already been given an antibiotic before admission and culture collection (Zadroga et al., 2013). However, with the initiation of facilities using antimicrobial removal resin blood culture containers, such as BACTEC PLUS, many of the barriers to providing timely care to septic suspected patients can be overcome. BACTEC PLUS has been proven to recover 95.1% of bacterial pathogens in blood culture samples with therapeutic levels of antimicrobial agents present, and 100% of strains in control bottles (Flayhart, Borek, Wakefield, Dick, Carroll, 2007). Leading Change It is estimated that 20,000 people die worldwide every day from sepsis (Daniels, 2011). While the use of blood culture analysis is and always will be one of the most important evidence-based microbial testing procedures for determining diagnosis of septicemia, the need to wait for cultures to be drawn before administering life saving antimicrobial therapy is unnecessary. Patients with suspected septicemia need to be receiving antimicrobial therapy within the one hour time frame, whether or not cultures have been drawn. It needs to become standard protocol that the antimicrobial therapy be initiated in that one hour time frame, and move away from the standard being cultures first. To initiate this change, it is proposed that implementation of antimicrobial therapy be initiated immediately in septic suspected patients. The Process of Change Change will being in the emergency department. All medical staff, including physicians, nurses, LPNs, CNAs, and technicians will be informed of the change to take place by having multiple conferences and training sessions over a period of time, no less than four weeks, with a minimum of three different time slots occurring near shift change to accommodate all shifts for all employees to be able to attend. All attending staff will sign an agreement contract, including the understanding of the new policy to be implemented. Once they have been fully informed and have had the opportunity to express all misunderstanding and concerns with the new policy, implementation of the policy in the department will ensue. The emergency department will be fully stocked with BACTEC blood collection containers. Quality control agents will monitor compliance of the policy to record all valid data associated, including time frames of initiation of the antimicrobial agent and blood culture analysis using the antimicrobial removal media. Most importantly, infection control will assess the outcome of patients with confirmed septicemia and will closely evaluate the new treatment plan to verify if the policy is proving to be helpful in improving the outcome of patient survival rates. Impact of Change If outcomes are positive, the facility can being to implement the policy, following the same steps already stated, to more departments and continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy on each department until the entire facility is using the policy. In order to initiate the change it will take a team effort. All staff will need to comply in ensuring that all septic patients are receiving the antimicrobial therapy within the one hour time frame, regardless if cultures have been drawn first or not. This will be imperative for analysis as to if the new policy is effective in reducing the mortality rate of septic patients. Conclusion Sepsis infections are going to continue to be a major cause of hospitalization, but with new protocols including ensuring administration of antibiotics in septic suspected patients within the one hour time frame of onset regardless if cultures have been collected first, we can reduce the chance of death for these patients. As medical staff, we need to use the advances in culture collection containers like BACTEC to initiate faster treatment, which will make hospital stays shorter, decrease cost of care, and most importantly, save more lives. References Daniels, R. (2011). Surviving the first hours in sepsis: getting the basics right an intensivistââ¬â¢s perspective. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 66(2), ii11-ii23. Retrieved from http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/content/66/suppl_2/ii11.full#ref-36 Flayhart, D., Borek, A., Wakefield, T., Dick, J., Carroll, K. (2007). Comparison of BACTEC PLUS blood culture media to BacT/Alert FA blood culture media for detection of bacterial pathogens in samples containing therapeutic levels of antibiotics. Journal of Clinical Micrbiology, 45(3), 816-821. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1829095/?report=reader Hospital Stats (2014). ER wait times in Clark County hospitals. hospitalstats.org. Retrieved from http://www.hospitalstats.org/ER-Wait-Time/Clark-County-NV.htm Kumar, A., Roberts, D., Wood, K., Light, B., Parrillo, J., Sharma, S. (2006, June). Duration of hypotension before initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy is the critical determinant of survival in human septic shock. Critical Care Medicine, 34(6), 1589-1596. Retrieved from http://cel.webofknowledge.com/InboundService.do?product=CELSID=2DqQrrN9uYLqpUXhgpgUT=000237884300001SrcApp=Highwireaction=retrieveInit=YesSrcAuth=HighwirecustomersID=HighwireFunc=FrameIsProductCode=Yesmode=FullRecord Uzodimma, C., Njokanma, F., Ojo, O., Falase, M., Ojo, T. (2013, ). Bacterial isolates from blood cultures of children with suspected sepsis in an urban hospital in Lagos: a prospective study using BACTEC blood culture system. The Internet Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatology, 16(1). Retrieved from http://ispub.com/IJPN/16/1/1623 Zadroga, R., Williams, D., Gottschall, R., Hanson, K., Norberg, V., Deike, M., Hansen, G. (2013). Comparison of 2 blood culture media shows significant differences in bacterial recovery for patients on antimicrobial therapy. Oxford Journals Clinical Infectious Diseases, 56(6), 790-797. Retrieved from http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/56/6/790.full
Sunday, August 4, 2019
How London is Portrayed in Composed upon Westminster Bridge and London
How London is Portrayed in Composed upon Westminster Bridge and London William Wordsworth's poem, "Composed upon Westminster Bridge" written in 1904 looks at the positive side of London city and it natural Beauty. Whereas William Blake wrote the poem, "London" in 1794, the poem is negative towards authority and politics. The theme of the two poems is the city of London and how different people preserve it. "All bright and glittering in the smokeless air" (line 8) is a romantic view of the city of London. William Blake's perception is different. "Marks of weakness, marks of woe" (line 4) shows that London is corrupt and unhappy. The two poets, hence, have contrasting views of the city London. Wordsworth view is positive, focusing on the natural and man made beauty of the city. But on the other hand, Blake's poem dives deeper into a darker side of politics, prostitution and corrupted crocked people. The imagery used to express the themes is vivid and draws a picture in your head. Wordsworth poem draws flawless images of peace and harmony whereas Blake's p...
Essay --
Muhammad was a revolutionary he broke many customary ways and beliefs. Muhammadââ¬â¢s revolution affected all aspects of life. His peace ended disputes of families, tribes and nations but most importantly with all human nature. To Muhammad religion was a comprehensive concept. It was also a set of dogmas and doctrines alone with rituals and ceremonies. Religion was a way of life for Muhammad. He came raise mankind to a higher place of peace and progress. Before the rise of Islam Arabia was a desert wasteland whoââ¬â¢s once great trading cities have fallen on hard times. Arabia is the last of inhabited lands towards the south, and it is the only country, which produces frankincense, myrrh, cassia, cinnamon, and laudanum. (1) The population was divided into rival tribes and clans that worshiped local gods. In the uninhabitable desert zones a wide variety of Bedouin cultures had developed over the centuries based on camel and goat herding. Towns and agriculture flourished on a limited scale. Over the peninsula the camel nomads, organized in clans were dominant. Although urban Islam had been pressured by writers of the Muslim civilization, the Bedouin world, in which the religion came, shaped the career of its prophet, his teachings, and the spread of new beliefs. Mecca and Medina were large extensions of the tribal culture of the camel nomads. Their populations were linked to kingship by Bedouin peoples. Bedouin herders occupied most of the habitable portions of Arabia. Farmers and town dwellers carved out small communities in the western and southern parts of the peninsula. Foreign invasion in the inroads of Bedouins people had all but destroyed the civilization before the birth of Muhammad. Mecca, located in the mountainous regions along ... ... In both his revelations and personal behavior Muhammad joined his followers to be kind and generous to the people including slaves. He forbad the rich to exploit the poor through unrealistic rents or rates on interests for loans. In his last sermon he states, ââ¬Å"Remember, one day you will appear before ALLAH and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am goneâ⬠. (3) The prophetââ¬â¢s teachings and the revelations of the Koran soon were incorporated into an extensive body of law. This regulated most aspects of the lives of the Muslim faithful. They lived in a manor that would prepare them for the last judgment which in Islam would determine there fate in eternity a strong but compassionate god with a strict but socially minded body of law set impressive standards for the social interaction between adherence of the new faith.
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Cases of Influenza :: Journalism Influenza Health Essays
Cases of Influenza ST. LOUIS, Missouri.--The State Health Department has confirmed that there have been 666 new cases of influenza today, 134 more since yesterday. Also it has been confirmed, sadly, that there has been 59 deaths, up 15 since yesterday, and making the grand total at 5,067 deaths in just three weeks. 21 of the deaths recorded yesterday were of pneumonia. Thus this epidemic seems to weaken the body so much that it is not the only cause of death, pneumonia is as well. As we keep track of the new cases and of the fatal ones, they have urged the public to stay calm as they are trying to do everything in their power to put an end to this. They are spending all hours seeking the source and coming up with a cure. At a time while our boys are overseas fighting and some losing their lives, the people in St. Louis are battling their own problems with this epidemic. It almost seems the casualty numbers are mimicking each other, not to say they are suffering from the same kind of fate. Just a shame that there are two wars going on two different fronts, one overseas in Europe and the other here at home, trying to battle this disease, virus, bacteria, whatever it is. So far they are unclear as to where the disease came from and how it spreads. There have been several theories as to what the culprit is and what the public should do in response to this news. One doctor feels that people should avoid all contact with other people, closing all public arenas, and going as far as wearing masks outside. Some doctors disagree with this, claiming it is unwarranted and unnecessary. They just feel that people should be sanitary and keep a safe distance from people and areas that look unclean. Also they warn to stay away from alleyways and animals that fester in them. It might be that these dirty animals are harboring the disease and spreading it from fleas or other contagious ways. However, it has been seen that most cases of the influenza are stemming from the inner-city. There are instances of people outside of the inner-city but not as numerous. So department officials have been sent to the inner-city to gather evidence and try to track any trends stemming from the start and spread of this disease.
Friday, August 2, 2019
Pricing and the Psychology of Consumption
Businessââ¬â¢s try to maximize consumption is a variety of different ways. Price bundling can damage the loyalty that a customer has with a particular business. Maintaining customer loyalty through consumption is directly correlated to the success of the business. If a business cannot establish a relationship with the customer and create a demand for the customer, the likelihood of that customer returning is very slim. The example that the article used was related to fitness memberships. If the fitness center charges an annual fee at the initial registration, it is likely that the customer will use the membership less frequently throughout the year. The downfall to this approach is that the customer will likely not renew its membership in the following year. Another option a fitness club may offer would be to have the customer sign a year contract and bill the customer monthly instead of one lump some annually. This method is more effective because the customer is aware on a monthly basis of what he or she paying. This creates loyalty between the customer and the fitness center and studies suggest that the customer is more than likely to renew there contract the following year. The fitness center that I attend has you sign a contract at the time you register and charges you on a monthly basis. After looking at the contract I noticed that, although they bill me monthly throughout a calendar year, I would have to pay cancellation penalty if I decided end the contract before the end of a specific calendar year. For example, if I cancelled my contract in May, I would have to pay a lump sum for the remainder of the months in that specific calendar year. Pricing and payment terms can help a businessââ¬â¢s hide the actual cost of a particular product and or service. Cash, credit cards and charge accounts are the three main methods of purchasing among most consumers. The fact of the matter is that a customer is less likely to be price sensitive if they either purchases with a credit card or use there charge account. Customers that purchase with cash see the immediate impact financially speaking. The challenge most marketing managersââ¬â¢ face is developing a marketing action plan to capitalize on increasing consumption while maintaining customer loyalty. This may sound easier said than done especially after considering that most often decisions are dependent on price. One of my companyââ¬â¢s main goals is to open customer charge accounts. Research has shown that a customer is fives times more likely to spend more money if they have a charge account rather than if the where going to purchase with cash or a credit card. This relates to the example in the article ââ¬Å"buy now, pay later. The pros and cons of consumption on the basis of pricing vary from industry to industry. For instance, the marketing team for a semi-pro baseball team decides to pre-sale all there tickets at the beginning of the year. They chose to mirror a professional baseball team because of there success in pre-selling tickets. The proââ¬â¢s they had was that they secured the money upfront for the entire season. This was an increase in tickets sales than they had from the following year, so in the first quarter of the season they thought they had made the correct decision. The conââ¬â¢s came as the season went on. They noticed the ticket holderââ¬â¢s attendance was decreasing. This may not seem to be a problem at first because the organization already collected the money. What they came to realize was that they where losing money on all the other amenities that the stadium sold: food, apparel, beer. It is important for marketing managers to understand there customers needs. Increased customer consumption can be rewarding in some businesses and detrimental to the success of others.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Ethics of Conspiracy Theorizing Essay
In the context of this essay conspiracies will be defined where a proposed explanation E is a conspiracy theory if and only if E is a proposed causal explanation of an event (or set of events) which postulates secret plans and actions on the part of the group and E conflicts with the official story (or stories) of the same historical events. In this instance the official story will be defined where an explanation of an event E is an official story if and only if the explanation is a theory endorsed in a conventionally recognized way by an individual or institution that bears the relevant legal responsibility for events of type E, and for providing information to the public about them. In some cases conspiracies are morally permissible however usually they are the result of nefarious motivations on the part of the conspirators. In this essay I will use the examples of the Watergate scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks to explain how in this respect conspiracy theorizing is more often morally permissible due to the just motivations of the conspiracy theorizers and the benefits conspiracy theorizing lends to our society. It is common knowledge that governments and political bodies around the world have engaged in conspiracies. A well known example of this is the Watergate scandal which occurred during the presidency of Richard Nixon. The Watergate scandal took place in the Watergate complex in Washington DC on the 17th of July 1972. The complex was the site of the Democratic National Committee headquarters where five men were found breaking and entering. All the men were connected to President Nixonââ¬â¢s Committee to Re-elect the President. This prompted an investigation which discovered many more illegal activities connected to President Nixonââ¬â¢s staff including campaign fraud, political espionage and sabotage, illegal break-ins, improper tax audits, illegal wiretapping, and a ââ¬Å"launderedâ⬠slush fund used to pay those who conducted these operations. In this case the conspiracy was indeed the result of nefarious motivations on the part of President Nixon and his staff. While many and possibly most conspiracies are the result of similar motivations not all conspiracies are malevolent. For instance a conspiracy may (though perhaps not legally) be benevolent when the conspirators are acting in a way to protect the interests of the people. Reasons for this could be to prevent a counterproductive panic caused by revealing their plans before they are ready. Another conspiracy that would be both benevolent and responsible on behalf of the government would be conspiring to keep their nation ignorant of particular military actions in order to protect both the soldiers and the population that they govern. This would be the most responsible action on behalf of the government as it is their role to protect the people as best they can, in this case by way of a conspiracy. Although it is conceivable that there are some benevolent conspiracies where conspirators are trying to benefit society I think it holds true that the majority of conspiracies are caused by conspirators with nefarious intentions. It is obvious from conspiracies and cover ups like the Watergate scandal that conspiracies do take place (if not commonly) and so it follows that logically the existence of conspiracies altogether cannot be denied and furthermore it is irrational to disbelieve the existence of conspiracy theories. With this in mind it seems both reasonable and logical to conclude that conspiracy theorizing is a rational and possibly beneficial part of society. Steve Clarke supports this in ââ¬Å"Conspiracy Theories and Conspiracy Theorizing (2002)â⬠by proposing that ââ¬Ëââ¬Ëthe conspiracy theorist challenges us to improve our social explanationsââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ whereby he means that conspiracy theorists are invaluable to society as their existence pressures epistemic authorities such as the government to be careful in its practices and to ensure their ventures are kept above board. Clarke also reminds us that occasionally ââ¬Ëââ¬Ëthe conspiracy theorist identifies a genuine conspiracy. ââ¬â¢ In contrast to Clarke, critics of conspiracy theorizing claim theorists cause unrest amongst society as they damage the trust between governments and their citizens. This is due to the way in which conspiracy theories often portray the government and government officials as being nefarious and underhanded in their dealings thus weakening the trust between society and the government. Similarly critics claim that conspiracy theorists create unrest amongst society by fostering negative beliefs about the government and the causes of historical events. Critics of conspiracy theorizing propose that unwarranted conspiracy theories have the potential to cause undesirable and harmful results. This is illustrated well by Mark Fenster in ââ¬Å"Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture (2008)â⬠where he postulates that ââ¬Ëââ¬Ëleft critics argue that proper political analysis leads directly to effective political activity. Identifying both the general and historically specific economic and political structures that dominate enables activists to organize protests strategically and to build collective, alternative institutions in order to effect real social change. Conspiracy theory, on the other hand, either misattributes dominance to individuals, or simplistically places the blame for the ills of the world on individuals rather than on underlying, structural causes. As a result, it cannot lead to effective political activity; rather, it leads to harmful scapegoating; or it misleads activists into thinking that merely removing an individual or a secret group will transform society. â⬠Arguments such as this are the cause of moral debate around conspiracy theorizing. The attacks on the Twin Towers, the 7 World Trade Centre building and the Pentagon in New York City and Washington D.à C in America on September the 11th 2001 became a catalyst for many highly publicized conspiracy theories. These conspiracy theories argue against the official story which states that the attacks were carried out solely by Al-Qaeda -a militant Islamic organization headed by Osama Bin Laden. The official story proposes that four commercial passenger airlines were hijacked by 19 members of Al-Qaeda. Two planes, American Airlines flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were hijacked and flown in a suicide mission into the north and south towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City. Both of these towers collapsed within 2 hours due to structural damage caused by fires from the initial plane crash. The third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was flown into the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense in the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. This caused parts of the western side of the pentagon to collapse. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was intended to be flown into the Capitol of the United States, Washington D. C but instead crashed into a field in Pennsylvania when passengers attempted to gain control of the plane. One of the most noteworthy conspiracy theories regarding the September 11 attacks states that the collapse of the Twin Towers and 7 World Trade Center was caused by controlled demolition on the behalf of the United States government as opposed to the structural damage caused by fire which was quoted in the official story. Many physicists, architects and other intellectuals argue that the impact from the aircraft and the resulting fires could not have weakened the buildings to the extent which could cause them to completely collapse. Instead, conspiracy theorists posit that explosives were installed in the building on behalf of the government prior to the attacks. According to conspiracy theorists there is much errant data to support this such as accounts of people hearing explosions in the lobby while trying to escape the building. High profile conspiracy such as those pertaining to the September 11 terrorist attacks serve the well-being of society. They help to regulate the governments actions. Conspiracy theories are invaluable in keeping an honest government that is pressured to act within the law -especially if the government is aware that their citizens may question the official story. Governments have the capability to be respected leaders for the people or sources of harm, in a society where conspiracy theories have the ability to become such widespread public knowledge (such as the conspiracy theories surrounding the September 11 terrorist attacks) they ensure that the government remains working for the citizens as they are prepared to be scrutinized. In this way conspiracy theorizing is extremely beneficial to society which makes conspiracy theorizing morally justifiable. Another way in which conspiracy theorizing is beneficial to society is the how it encourages citizens to think for themselves in a way that otherwise they may not. Conspiracy theorizing allows individuals to challenge the official story rather than mindlessly believing stories that have been spoon fed to them by the relevant epistemic authorities and the media. Conspiracy theorizing also offers alternative explanations than the official stories such as arguments based on facts to consider rather than the stories spoon fed to them by the government. The media is an important tool for the conspiracy theorist, in most western countries the press has liberty to publish conspiracy theories and there are even some magazines such as the ââ¬Å"Scepticâ⬠magazine which is available worldwide. The freedom of the media aids the governments awareness that they could very publicly be caught out in a conspiracy. Being caught amongst a conspiracy would be tragic for any democratic government since they would lose so much public support which is necessary as one of the most important things to them is being re-elected. Because governments need public support so much they would indeed be very careful about the conspiracies attempted under their power. While most conspiracies are prompted by nefarious motivations the same is not true for conspiracy theories. I believe the key to the morality of either are the intentions of the conspirators or the theorists, regardless of the outcome. The varying morality of conspiracy theorizing and even conspiracies themselves can be explained by the doctrine of double effect. This doctrine states that an action that results in harm is morally permissible if it is the side effect of a morally good initiative. The doctrine proposes that if doing something intended to be morally good has a morally bad consequence as a side-effect then it is ethically permissible on the condition that the morally bad side-effect wasnââ¬â¢t intended even if it was foreseen to probably happen. An important feature of the doctrine states that the good result must be brought about independent of the bad one, the bad result must not be the means to the good result. To assist in helping my point about the difference in moral permissibility I will use the following hypothetical example: There is a large munitions factory set to be bombed by a bomber pilot. The pilot knows the munitions factory is next to an orphanage and that as a result of bombing the munitions factory a collateral of 2,000 civilian casualties are predicted. However bombing the munitions factory will defeat the enemy and protect other lives. I contend that the actions of the bomber may be morally permissible. However, if I alter the case just slightly: A bomber pilot is set to bomb a munitions factory. The pilot knows that the munitions factory is next to an orphanage and that 2,000 civilian casualties are predicted. In fact, bombing the munitions factory is the fastest and easiest way to cause such a number of casualties and this is why the bomber has chosen to bomb the factory. This will weaken the enemyââ¬â¢s esolve with the side-effect of getting rid of their munitions factory. I contend that in this instance the bomberââ¬â¢s action is obviously morally impermissible. Though this example seems unrelated to conspiracies and conspiracy theorizing it illustrates how the motivation behind an action deems its status of morality. In the case of conspiracy theorizing, a moral conspiracy theory would be one where the theorist truly believes they have uncovered a nefarious conspiracy and that by exposing it to the public they would be greatly benefitting society. The doctrine of double effect would apply for instance in the following two cases: In the first scenario Mandy notices lots of errant data regarding actions made by the government. Adding this data up Mandy believes she has unravelled a nefarious and underhanded scheme by government officials. Mandy truly believes that citizens ought to be aware of this conspiracy and that publicizing her conspiracy theory is in societyââ¬â¢s best interest. Mandy knows that her theory negatively implicates many government officials and could be very harmful if she turns out to be wrong. In this case, regardless of whether or not Mandyââ¬â¢s claims turn out to be true her initial motivations were for the good of society. This is similar to the first scenario of the pilot bombing the munitions factory in that the bad result is just a side-effect of the morally good intention. I propose that in this way conspiracy theorizing can be morally just and in the cases where the theorist is proven correct society is reminded of the benefits of conspiracy theorizing. In the second case Mandy, who has been fired from her position in government administration notices the same errant data. Mandy links this data together and formulates a conspiracy theory which negatively implicates her previous superiors. While Mandy in this scenario may also have the intentions of publicizing her conspiracy theory in order to make people aware of a nefarious scheme on the part of the government, she is still motivated by the thought of harming the reputation of her previous superiors. In this case the doctrine states that Mandyââ¬â¢s actions were morally wrong as the morally wrong result was not a side effect of the morally good action. Rather, the morally wrong result of harming her previous superiors was one f the two intended concequences so in this case conspiracy theorizing would be morally wrong. Even though the two scenarios may have the same consequence it is the difference in motivation that alters the moral permissibility. I postulate that this is the same for all conspiracy theories, this means that when motivated by the intention to benefit society conspiracy theorizing is morally permissible. In the case of the September 11 terrorist attacks the moral permissibility of conspiracy theories surrounding the event depend on the intentions of the conspiracy theorists. If the intentions of the theorist are to benefit society by making us aware of a nefarious conspiracy surrounding the government of the United States then I propose that conspiracy theorizing would be morally justifiable. Though the United States government is portrayed to be nefarious and underhanded in this conspiracy theory if this is not the intended result of the conspiracy theorist but a negative side-effect brought about by the good action then conspiracy theorizing in this instance would remain morally justified. However, if the intention of the conspiracy theorist was to undermine the government by weakening the trust between them and their citizens then I conclude that conspiracy theorizing for this purpose (despite any morally good side-effects) is morally unjust. As I have shown clearly in my essay there are many situations in which conspiracy theorizing is a moral good. It is obvious that conspiracy theorizing is beneficial to our society as it pressures the government to work for the well-being of their citizens as they are prepared to be scrutinized. Conspiracy theorizing is also morally justified by the benefits it lends to individuals freedom of speech as well as the freedom of the press. As I have explained in this essay, the doctrine of double effect illustrates how the moral permissibility of conspiracy theorizing often rests upon each conspiracy theorists motivations. I conclude that while most conspiracies are the results of nefarious motivations the same is not true for conspiracy theorizing, instead conspiracy theorists are often motivated to benefit society in some way or another and in these cases their conspiracy theorizing is morally justifiable.
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