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If I were asked 2 years ago to describe the world Deaf people lived in, I would have assumed it to be dull. As a hearing person who was raised in a hearing household within a hearing-dominated society, I did not understand how a Deaf world could be exciting without being able to hear speech or listen to music, and I always assumed that most Deaf people were simply waiting to get hearing aids or cochlear implants. Thankfully, however, my impressions of the Deaf community have been thoroughly changed thanks to my increased exposure to Deaf voices through social media and this class, and have since formed a deeper understanding of the world according to Deaf people.

As previously stated, I grew up with the assumption that Deaf people lived in a silent world, relying on mostly lip-reading to comprehend the world around them. While watching the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt with both the sound and captions off, I found myself understanding the general gist of everything but was unable to describe specific moments or directly quote from the episode. Although I was able to comprehend some of the easier to recognize, more enunciated expressions such as “Stop,” “I’m staying here,” and “No” (“Kimmy Goes Outside!”), I felt mostly bored and confused throughout the half-hour segment. The actors spoke at a very quick pace and constantly varied their expressions. In the end, I was not entirely sure how all the characters related to each other or how any of the events contributed to the running plot of the show, and kept wondering how much of a difference it would have made if I just turned the audio back on. Even if I had the option to, I would not have continued to watch the show in its silent form.

Contrarily, when I moved on to watching The Daily Show with Trevor Noah with only closed captions on, it felt less strange because I already had a childhood habit of watching movies and TV programs in their original language with English subtitles. However, I still found myself having to concentrate more on the closed captions than the images being shown on the screen, which was already a challenge in itself, but definitely would have given slow readers a tougher time as the captions were paced to stay in time with the presenters as they spoke. Also, contrary to how the ever-changing facial expressions of the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt actors added to my confusion, the presence of closed captioning allowed me to rely on Trevor’s facial expressions to determine his tone of voice and better understand his jokes. However, similar to Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, I started losing interest towards the end of the show. Despite its clear arrangement of a news commentary segment, a comedic segment called “Where do you get the BALLS?”, and an interview segment (“September 21, 2016 - Wendy Williams”), I was too used to being engaged both in terms of sight and hearing when watching programs, so while it didn’t make the show less enjoyable, it did unfortunately dull the overall experience.

On the other hand, watching the ASL vlogs presented a different sort of challenge. Seeing as my ASL vocabulary is still very limited, the Daily Moth video was difficult to understand. I will point out, however, that I was quite familiar with some of the topics, as I had to read articles relating many of the events covered for my Journalism class. Similar to watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, I had to rely on the little context I had and the provided images to piece together a vague guess of what the host Abenchuchan was conveying through signing. Perhaps it was my attempt to conceptualize The Daily Moth as something more recognizable to me, but something about Abenchuchan’s dynamic signing reminded me of the specific tone of voice news anchors use to maintain their hearing audiences’ interest, how his quick, sharp movements seemed reminiscent of the shifts between high and low vocal intonations to keep his viewers engaged.

Another comparison I drew between the news organizations I was familiar with, or shows like The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and The Daily Moth was the onscreen presentation of images and the hosts themselves. While big news organizations often use flashy scrolling text banners and semi-distracting backgrounds in their televised reports, The Daily Moth kept its layout and design simple and minimalistic, presumably to allow better focus on Abenchuchan as he delivered the news. And though I couldn’t fully understand the things that were being signed, it definitely looked to me like Abenchuchan was trying to provide as many details as he could for the small, concentrated number of headlines he was referring to, rather than leaving his audience with just brief taglines for a large number of newsworthy events (“9-26-16”).

As I progressed into watching the PBS NewsHour segment entitled “Technology and Deaf Culture,” a clear picture of the struggle between the medical world and the Deaf world was slowly painted before my eyes. While the Craigs chose to have their son, Dylan, undergo surgery to get cochlear implants, and were immensely proud of Dylan’s progress since the procedure, the Bahan family with three generations of Deafness was completely content with their lifestyle and communicating through ASL. When asked about whether he would have his 1-year-old daughter Juliana get cochlear implants before she turned 3, Ben Bahan said, “She gets to an age where she can make that decision if she wants it, it’s up to her. I won’t stop her. It’s not too late for her [to gain speech], because she already has language. She already signs. She already has that” (“Technology and Deaf Culture”). While many of the students at Gallaudet University shared Bahan’s sentiments regarding the power of ASL as a language and Deaf culture, the greatest concern still looming over the Deaf community was whether the rise of technology would eventually wipe out the need for ASL. Simply put by the Gallaudet provost at the time, Jane Fernandez, “I believe technology is going to change the Deaf culture just as technology is changing the whole society. No one is going to escape the influence of technology. But the culture itself will stay” (“Technology and Deaf Culture”).

The next component most certainly fell in line with Fernandez’s view that Deaf culture would evolve alongside technological advancements in society: using Sorenson VRS®, a service which allows Deaf people and hearing people to call each other with the help of a professional interpreter. When I was first introduced to the idea of contacting my ASL professor via phone call, I had no idea how it would be carried out. I assumed it would have been a video-calling process similar to Skype or FaceTime, but even then, there was no guarantee that we would be able to understand each other without the help of an interpreter. I did not realize SVRS existed until this project introduced this service to me and was amazed by how the Deaf community, just as Fernandez said in “Technology and Deaf Culture,” was adapting to the new developments in the telecommunications industry. In addition to this, the fact that this company operates 24/7/365 shows just how dedicated it is towards providing Deaf people with effective means to communicate with other people across various distances and lifestyles. Whether it is to exchange early morning well wishes or convey important work-related information, this service has most definitely bridged a gap between the Deaf and hearing communities, and shown that communication barriers can still be overcome.

Conversely, the PBS documentary “Through Deaf Eyes” portrayed sides of American Deaf history that I had never gotten to explore, including the rise, fall, and eventual revival of ASL in relation to oralism, and the fight for Deaf leaders within the Deaf community. To begin with, I had no idea historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and Alexander Graham Bell, both of whom are widely known in the hearing world, played such important roles in the development of ASL and Deaf education within the American Deaf community. While one pushed for progress, the other seemed to pull it back. Learning about the rise of oral education through Bell’s beliefs in nativism and eugenics really upset me, knowing that that movement stifled the formation of Deaf communities and the development of ASL for a long period of time, and that much of that stemmed from a fear of immigrants and the assumption that Deaf people were born broken or “defective” (“Through Deaf Eyes”).

The subsequent isolation of Deaf people from each other and their shared culture was the part that hit me hardest, how they attempted to force Deaf people to acclimate to the cultures of the hearing world instead of allowing them to have that support system to fall back on. As the saying goes, “History repeats itself,” and the thoughts behind these movements of segregation and separation still exist today, as depicted by The Late Show with Trevor Noah. This idea of Deaf people being something beyond the scope of what made a human being “normal” or “functional” reminded me of how I learned about Helen Keller’s story in middle school: She was tragically left Deaf and blind following an illness, and miraculously learned to write and speak thanks to her blind governess Anne Sullivan. It was always portrayed as a joint triumph above both women’s disabilities, and that solidified this belief in me that being physically impaired was undesirable.

It also greatly saddened me to see how the switch from silent films to talkies affected the Deaf community, and I found myself empathizing with how many Deaf people felt towards the film Johnny Belinda, which featured a Deaf, but frail and timid, female protagonist. As Stan Schuchman pointed out, “The fact that this dummy character blossoms by using sign language was enough - the Deaf community was excited and proud of the film, even though the stereotype itself was terrible” (“Through Deaf Eyes”). When your community is so underrepresented in mainstream media, it becomes far too easy to settle for even the most stereotypical of portrayals, all because the character on the screen was someone you could identify with, and I completely understood why the Deaf community held this movie in high regard despite the inaccuracies of Belinda’s character.

If I were to do a specific portion of this project again, I would choose the world without sounds component. This, coincidentally, was also the most challenging component, in my opinion. Personally, I feel that immersion is one of the most powerful tools anyone can use to increase understanding of new concepts, and it is because I immersed myself in my own “world without sounds” that I managed to develop a deeper understanding of how hearing is a privilege. To many people within hearing communities, being able to hear is no big deal, and it is those who cannot hear who deserve pity. However, as the larger mass of voices within society, we should be using our privilege and visibility as a community to spread education about the Deaf community and learn how to better support Deaf people. For instance, prior to watching “Technology and Deaf Culture,” I was under the impression that reading lips was second nature to Deaf people, but now I realize how difficult that is to do, even when the speakers are pulling dramatic faces like the actors in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

The world according to Deaf people may be one absent of noise, but that does not make it dull or empty or void of life. The Deaf world is rich in culture, history, knowledge, and deeply rooted in self-identities as a Deaf person. Deaf people are capable of producing music, films, movies, literature, communicating profound ideas, and spreading so much more information than they are given credit for. It is an unfortunate truth that many TV networks of today tend to solely rely on closed captioning to accommodate for their Deaf audiences. This can potentially create challenges within the information delivery process, as mentioned when I watched The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, while shows like The Daily Moth, on the other hand, are lending a helping hand in providing information to the Deaf community through a shared communication tool: ASL.

Oftentimes, it seems as though many hearing people believe that sacrificing Deaf culture in favor of urging Deaf people to adjust to a hearing society is more ideal, but this simply fuels further misconceptions. Chris Soukup, the Student Council president at Gallaudet University at the time “Technology and Deaf Culture” was produced, said this, ‘They say, “Oh, these poor people, we have to do something to help them.” And what they don’t realize is we are fully capable of helping ourselves. We’re fully capable of living the lives that we want to lead without anyone’s help, and I think that’s something people need to wake up to.’ His opinions were then echoed by Jane Fernandez, the university provost at the time, “I wish hearing people would understand that I am very happy to be Deaf. My Deafness is not an issue. I don’t think about it every day. I just go on with my life the same way hearing people do” (“Technology and Deaf Culture”).

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In many ways, the issues the Deaf community faces reflects much of what numerous other communities and social groups have had to and are still facing. The protests for a Deaf president at Gallaudet was an amazing show of solidarity by both Deaf and hearing people alike, and we carry this concept with us to this day in our demands for justice and peace. By letting go of the very things that separate us and box is in, like immersing yourself in a silent, captioned world, or showing support through using ASL rather than speech (“Through Deaf Eyes”), we open our minds to new ideas and concepts that may contradict what we thought we knew, but in the end, only remind us of our shared bonds as humans. In the words of CJ Jones, “Knowledge is the most powerful vehicle to success, not hearing, not speaking, reading, yes. Reading and taking in all that book knowledge and being able to use it. That’s the power of the universe; the force, knowledge, not hearing. So thank you very much. The end. Roll credits” (“Through Deaf Eyes”).

Shirley Jackson, author of “The Lottery”, writes about the possible negative consequences of blindly continuing and not questioning tradition, and how violent acts can occur in any unexpected time or place. She showcases these ideas and several others by discussing a “lottery” that takes place every year on June 27th, where they draw names for said lottery and narrow it down to one individual, and that one person is stoned to death in order to repay the wrongdoings of the whole town, even if this person is completely innocent. Jackson writes to showcase the insanity behind the mindset of killing someone based on something they have absolutely no control over, in order to abolish the belief that women and people of color were inferior during her lifetime, from 1919 to 1965.

Jackson writes for an audience of anyone from as young as middle school students to college students, since there is a lesson to be learned by people of all ages in “The Lottery”. Jackson begins a happy setting where everyone is gathered to draw people in to the story, and then exposes them to the harsh reality after they are already drawn in. She uses adjectives such as “clear and sunny”, “warmth”, and describes the “flowers blossoming profusely”, and “the grass was richly green”.

These descriptive terms are used to set the tone as a happy one in order to entice people into listening to what she has to say. She uses this strategy to show how these social issues can look to outsiders until it is too late. Often with social issues, especially during Jackson’s lifetime what with discrimination against sex and race, nothing was done about these issues until the damage was virtually irreverrsible. After the initial tone of happiness and wellness is established, Jackson turns to the intensity of drawing for the lottery and ignites the reader’s curiosity of what will happen to the “winner”. She uses our curiosity to keep us engaged in the reading and to introduce the negative consequences that could be involved in not questioning tradition. On page 180, beginning at line 30, the men of the town discuss how many other towns are doing away with “the lottery”. They talk of how ridiculous it is that these other towns would even dare question tradition. They think that since it has always been that way, that it should always remain that way, even if it is unethical. This is very similar to the mindset on civil rights in Jackson’s time. People believed that since people of color had always been treated that way, that they should continue to be treated that way, even though they had no control over the color of their skin.

To close the story, Jackson lets us infer that the “winner” of the “lottery” is stoned to death for no reason other than the fact that they randomly drew the piece of paper with the black dot on it from the black box. The passage discusses the townspeople and how each of them carried at least one stone to hit the woman, even the children. This furthers the idea that people are hurt or discriminated against for no reason other than the fact that they happened to be born with a certain quality, or in this case, happened to be the one person who drew this marked piece of paper. This also introduces the idea that unnecessary violence against a person or a group of people can arise at any time, and place, and for any reason.

“The Lottery” could be interpreted in many different ways, but given the time that Jackson lived, and the themes in the story, it is most likely that she intended for it to be a reflection of the time that she lived in. People were hurt for reasons that could not be helped by anyone and this story gives a very blunt example of that. “The Lottery” shows the absurdity of the mindset held by many people back then. Jackson’s strategies were very effective in that her message was effectively written and received. She used a fictional story to convey the message she was trying to get across, and did so very effectively.

“What happens now?”

This is the question that echoes in the mind of the viewer upon concluding a venture through director Christopher Nolan’s most recent filmmaking feat, the sci-fi epic Interstellar. However, a multitude of other questions also arise upon immersing oneself into the near three hours of this emotionally-charged saga. Nolan is renowned for taking steps in cinema that innovate various genres into their own subcategories; he will take a basic plot structure or theme, and then proceed to completely reshape it. In this sense, Nolan acts as a true artist, as he sculpts his ideas into fine points to provide a sense of sentimentality with each of his productions. The films that leave this type of vintage impact primarily revolve around universal ideas or contemporary concerns that grasp onto the emotions of the viewer by relating to the viewer's own life. In turn, these films endure the ultimate test of time and manage to remain influential through decades to come. One such film that embodies the quintessence of this category is, indeed, Interstellar, Nolan’s latest cinematic masterpiece.

Interstellar offers a story that is pivotal to our time, by shedding light onto the possibilities of universal space travel and the current repercussions humanity could face with climate change. Earth, in Nolan's portrayal, is a dust-ridden dystopian society suffering from a blight. It is the job of a select few former NASA astronauts, played by Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, to tackle on the degradation of Earth by launching into space, in order to travel through a temporary wormhole spotted on the surface of Saturn, conceivably leading to the discovery a new world to colonize. Cooper (McConaughey) highlights the need for this type of undertaking by accentuating how “Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.” From its exterior, this film may appear to epitomize the typical sci-fi adventure blockbuster, which any actor could fulfill the role for, fighting through intense explosions and facing conflicts in which the human race will undeniably reach its brink and conclude with an hour of mindless action. Yet Interstellar actually extends itself far beyond the limitations of what any other space odyssey film has done before.

Nothing incorporated into the story is arbitrary, as every single aspect of the film is placed there for a specific reason; this sense of meticulous design primarily serves to connect the details of the story together, but in the circumstance of Interstellar, it is also crafted to provide the extraordinary scientific accuracy that Nolan achieves. In essence, Interstellar provides a momentous tale of fiction, which in truth is actually quite close to factual possibilities. While still connecting to a variety of sources, such as John Ford’s classic film The Grapes of Wrath and the scientific expertise of esteemed physicist Kip Thorne, Nolan still manages to incorporate a wide array of original elements into Interstellar. Ford’s movie in a sense acts as the century mirror between the possibilities presented in cinema then and Interstellar wowing audiences, now; Nolan utilized some of the thematic aspects of the Grapes of Wrath in his film, such as the massive dust storms that acted as double-meanings in terms of the theme of departure. The first important element here is the departure from Earth in relation to the story, but the second is a farewell to an era of film, since movies such as Interstellar, while they pay tribute, also pave the path for the evolution of the silver screen.

By creating a relationship between both science and art, the film’s narrative is able to expand with ease when compared to other science fiction or dramatic pieces that primarily tend to focus too single-mindedly on one end of the spectrum or the other. Whether his characters are skimming the orbit of Saturn, or falling through the five-dimensional terrain of black holes, Nolan creates a visual aesthetic that defies modern visual effects. When put in hand with audio that ranges from utter silence in the theatre, to nearly making it shake with Hans Zimmer’s cinematic pipe organ-based score, the environmental and setting components provide for an ambient experience that leaves the audience either with chills or tears. We nearly feel the exact, replicated level of emotion that Cooper feels, upon leaving his entire family behind.

Overall, Christopher Nolan aims to create a story that goes beyond the confines of any typical "story" definition, and rather decides to take a leap in purposefully producing his sci-fi epic on IMAX 70mm film, transforming Interstellar into an unparalleled experience. Although it may play itself off as another Christopher Nolan, high-budget blockbuster that seeks to leave audiences speechless and bend their minds, at the root of it all, Nolan links the cosmic forces of the universe to emotions much closer to home. Nolan has proven that a basic father-daughter love story now has the ability to adapt into an epic tale of departure and of scientific breakthrough, providing an innovative yet intimate move for filmmaking. And maybe this is why, as we reach the climax of the movie, we take the thought of the future of film into mind, as Cooper concludes his voice-over narration by leaving us with that single question hanging from our thoughts.

“What happens now?”

This is an Interstellar film review essay of 300 words. 'Interstellar' is a science fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan that follows a team of astronauts traveling to the other end of the galaxy to find a new home to replace humanity's despoiled home-world. Despite the film's frantic pace, ear-splitting music, and some characters lacking character development, 'Interstellar' is an impressive and astonishing movie that has a mystical strain. 

The film's central family, led by the character Cooper played by Matthew McConaughey, lives on a corn farm, struggling to survive on a planet devastated by ecological disasters. The crew of the Endurance, including Cooper and his colleague Amelia Brand (played by Anne Hathaway), is sent on a mission to a black hole near Jupiter to find a new home for humanity.

Throughout the film, the characters grapple with loneliness, doubt, and the pain of separation from their loved ones. They weep openly in close-up, their voices breaking, and tears streaming down their cheeks. The film's stunning visuals, including state-of-the-art sci-fi landscapes, serve to underscore the profound human emotions at the heart of the story.

Despite the film's philosophical and spiritual themes, Interstellar never entirely commits to the idea of a non-rational, uncanny world. Nevertheless, the mystical strain in the film is unusually pronounced for a director known for his logical, right-brained sensibility. The film's science-fiction trappings serve as a wrapping for a spiritual and emotional dream about basic human desires for home, family, and continuity of bloodline and culture.

While some may find the film's pacing slow and the dialogue heavy-handed, Interstellar remains an impressive achievement that overwhelms with its grandeur and emotional depth. It is a testament to Nolan's skill as a filmmaker that, despite the flaws, Interstellar still manages to deliver a powerful and unforgettable cinematic experience.

I was given the opportunity to interview a 68-year old man who will be referred to as “Wallace” to maintain confidentiality and protect his identity. The goal of this interview assignment was to gain insight and examine “successful aging” through the lived experiences of an older person. The interview with Wallace took place at a coffee shop in Morgan Hill, California and I think that it was a great experience for the both of us. Wallace was honored that I was interested in his life experiences and was very eager to help me with this assignment.

Wallace was born and raised in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He is a Caucasian man in his late sixties. He is the only boy and the second born. He has two sisters, one of which was adopted. He moved to California when he was 20 years old with his family and has lived here ever since. He spent half of his time here in California living in San Diego and now he resides in Morgan Hill.

When asked what his best quality was, Wallace replied with his ability to forgive others. Learning how to forgive others is what he enjoyed most about himself. He said that when he was younger, often times he would hold grudges against others for long periods of time, which led to more pain along the way. He developed a relationship with God and learned that forgiveness is something that he needed to do in order to live a fulfilled life. One of the things that stuck with me was when he said, “forgiveness frees us from the past and allows us to live in the present”. Wallace said that his worst quality was that he talks too much, to the point where sometimes he doesn’t even listen to what others are saying because he is already thinking of what to say next. When I asked Wallace about what has stayed the same about him during his life, he said his sense of humor has remained constant. His fear of death definitely changed as he got older. As he got older, he became less fearful of death. This is partly because he developed a deeper relationship with God as he got older and the fact that he the more content he became with the life that he lived.

When asked about an influential person throughout his life, he began to tear. He talked about his wife and how she had passed away due to breast cancer. He said that losing his wife was one of the biggest turning points in his life. She was a huge inspiration to Wallace and he said that she always inspired him to do better. Even when she was going through chemotherapy, she was an inspiration to him for her strength to smile through the pain.

He talked a lot about his family. He had five children and 13 grandchildren. He emphasized how important family was to him. He appreciated being around his family and his appreciation for them only grew as he got older. The stress that he put on missed opportunities with his family showed me the importance of not taking my for granted.

Looking back on his life Wallace felt that the only thing he could have done differently was to travel more. He wishes that he could have explored the world a little more and experienced more cultures around the world.

I asked Wallace about the best and worst thing about getting older. The worst thing that he said about getting older was the aches and pains throughout his body. The best thing about getting older is being able to watch his grandchildren grow and do the things that he never got to. He mentioned another good thing about getting older is the senior discount, which I thought was funny.

One of the most prominent themes throughout the interview was spirituality and religion. Wallace believes in Christianity and it was eminent that God played a huge role in his lie growing up. He also emphasized the importance of family ties and keeping connections with your loved ones. In my opinion, Wallace was very optimistic, and it seems apparent that he lived a fulfilling life. He displayed many factors of aging successfully and it was my pleasure to take the time to talk with him and reflect back on his life.

Works Cited

1. Chonody, J. M., & Teater, B. (2016). Successful aging and spirituality: Multidimensional concepts and spiritual assessments. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 28(3), 237-253.
2. George, L. K. (2010). Still happy after all these years: Research frontiers on subjective well-being in later life. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 65(3), 331-339.
3. Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (2015). Successful aging 2.0: Conceptual expansions for the 21st century. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 70(4), 593-596.
4. Baltes, P. B., & Baltes, M. M. (1993). Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences. Cambridge University Press.
5. Bowling, A., & Dieppe, P. (2005). What is successful ageing and who should define it? BMJ, 331(7531), 1548-1551.
6. Carr, D., & Kail, B. L. (2014). The oldest of the old: What does the demographic evidence tell us about the challenges and opportunities facing today's oldest adults?. The Gerontologist, 54(2), 177-185.
7. Erikson, E. H. (1997). The life cycle completed (extended version). WW Norton & Company.
8. Tornstam, L. (2005). Gerotranscendence: A developmental theory of positive aging. Springer Publishing Company.
9. Park, C. L., Edmondson, D., Fenster, J. R., & Blank, T. O. (2008). Meaning making and psychological adjustment following cancer: The mediating roles of growth, life meaning, and restored just-world beliefs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(5), 863-875.
10. Wang, M., & Xu, L. (2019). Successful aging among Chinese older adults: Conceptualization, review, and future directions. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 74(2), 229-236.

One of the roles of the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, or APRN, is to be a leader. This role is not without several responsibilities. This work describes what it means to be a APRN leader, introduces an example APRN leader, addresses a set of questions in interview style, and provides an author reflection of the interview.

Leadership Qualities of the APRN

There are several qualities of leaders. Furthermore, there are many qualities of an APRN leader. Leaders should possess a set of qualities such as “competency, forward-looking, inspiration, intelligence, fair-mindedness, broad-mindedness, courage, straightforwardness, and imagination” (Khoshhal & Guraya, 2016). Using these qualities, a qualified APRN was chosen for interview.

Jessica Cline, FNP is a board certified family nurse practitioner. She received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from William Jewel College in Liberty, Missouri. After she completed two years as an RN in the med-surg/telemetry specialty, she then went on to receive her practice degree at University of Kansas in Kansas City, Kansas. Jessica is an experienced FNP who continues to show her competency through her practice at HCA’s Lee’s Summit Family Care – Lakewood in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Jessica has plans for the future which includes research and development in the Endocrinology specialty. She is very intelligent when it comes to advanced nursing practice. It is believed her interactions with patient’s to are fair, just, open-minded, and innovative. Jessica’s practice goes above and beyond in providing evidence that she is a APRN leader.

Why did you become a nurse/APRN?“I became a nurse to fulfil a longing to be an aid, guide and supporter for those when they are often most vulnerable. Nurses provide the forefront of care in birth, illness, preventative care, and in death. To take part in this unique experience is enriching. I desired to become an APN for this same reason; however, my goal was to bridge the gap to underserved areas, which APN’s have the unique opportunity to invest significant contributions to the front-line of healthcare. ”Describe your work and professional nursing experience prior to pursuing an advanced degree.

“I worked as a nurse on med-surg/telemetry for two years prior to pursuing an advanced practice degree. I had some apprehension about being “too green” for this, but I continued to work in the RN role throughout graduate school. This allowed for learning a wide array of perspectives to patient care (outpatient and inpatient levels of family practice and internal medicine). ”Describe how your previous nursing experience prepared you for your role as an APRN.

“I appreciate the nursing model, which offers a comprehensive approach to treating the entire body. I feel that my nursing experience offered me a strong foundation for applying this approach in my current practice as an APN. Patients often voice that they approach the thoroughness of APN care and I feel that our foundation as nurses supports this. I also feel the hours spent at the bedside aided my in appreciation of the vulnerability of patients and families when they are not well. To care for someone in a delicate state builds a strong level of trust, and I try to carry that into my APN care as well. ”Describe your leadership roles as a registered nurse and as an APRN.

“As a registered nurse, I focused on pediatric care and lead the Pediatric Counsel on my unit, as well as the Quality Committee. This taught me a great deal of organization and understanding of the importance of counsels to lead change. In graduate school, working towards my APN, I was a graduate assistance and worked with undergraduate students on nursing foundations. I currently try to serve as a leader in my community through church and preceptorship experiences. ”Describe an experience that has shaped you as an APRN leader.

“I feel that involvement working in the graduate and undergraduate departments at University of Kansas, where I received my APN, was very beneficial. Working directly with students then directing that to the current setting with preceptorships provides continued education and guidance in the profession. I also believe strongly in community involvement in regards to preventative care and public health. I participate in many of the volunteer sports physical clinics in the city each year, as I feel this is an important method for implementing preventative care in areas that may be underserved with these needs. ”What is your definition of an APRN in your current role and setting?

“My definition of an APN in my current role and setting is to serve as a practitioner in managing family care with attention to both preventative and chronic care measures to educate, guide, treat, and monitor as well as integrate patient autonomy in creating a treatment plan. ”Do you belong to any nursing associations?

“Yes, I belong to the ANA, AMNA, AANP, and AMNP. ”How did you become an FNP? Describe the process.

“After working as a registered nurse for two years full time I moved to a prn position. I then entered the Master’s Program as the University of Kansas where I attended for three and a half years to receive my MSN and APRN. I then completed the AANP board exams to receive certification to practice. ”Where do you see yourself in five years?

“I potentially see myself moving to a specialty role. I have a particular interest in Diabetes management and education as well as treatment of metabolic syndrome. I may seek a role in Endocrinology. ”What advice would you give an RN who is interested in becoming an NP?

“Although the roles provide differing daily tasks, APN care stems from the same holistic nursing model you implement in the registered nurse role. Your time as an RN will mold your patience, empathy, organizational skills and abilities to provide extensive education to patients. The APN role allows an opportunity to continue to build on those experiences while also taking part in diagnoses and treatment plans. You will find that many of your past experiences guide your practice. I also feel working as a registered nurse has aided in a unique appreciation of the nursing staff in our office and patience with understanding the large number of tasks they’re balancing. ”

Reflection

This whole interview process was very special to me. Jessica is such a huge inspiration not only on me as a person, but who I want to be as a professional. She has influenced my practice goals. I know want to focus on increasing my competence in Endocrinology. The reason I chose her to interview, is because her values align with mine. I too, became a nurse to fulfill the need to be an aid. I truly love caring people, and that is the basis for going further in my nursing career. Talking with Jessica has shown me that I have what it takes to be an advanced practice nurse. I may want to seek a role in mental health as well by completing a post master’s program in mental health to gain licensure. This interview has shown me that I have the same leadership qualities has Jessica which is crucial to becoming a successful APRN. She is also present in many different nursing organizations which I plan to be as well. In summary, this interview did a lot for me in terms of role development and realizing my future aspirations. Jessica also helped me identify what the goals are of my personal practice.

When I was a little boy, I was already interested in technology. It was simply exciting to see how you can optimize things with technical means. Since 2014 I have been focusing intensively on Cryptocurrencies and the decentralized monetary system. I would now call myself an enthusiast in this sector. Because I realized how great the potential is, it was clear to me in which area I wanted to make my contribution.

Primarily it was the urge for freedom, independence and the possibility to turn my idea into reality. Already at a young age I had the strong desire to become an entrepreneur in order to make our planet a little bit more innovative. In addition, I am very fortunate to have a team of really great people and experts in the most diverse areas around me, who support me both in decisions and on a human level. As I always say: “You’re stronger together”.

Personally, I think my colleagues and employees could answer this question the best. However, I would describe myself as a calm, motivated and reliable personality who always tries to achieve the best result. Yes, I am a little perfectionist but this is one of the reasons why I am different from many others .

It’s enough to look at the course of the bitcoin. Initially described as a short-term bubble and ridiculed by experts, one could now buy a small car for just one Bitcoin. Of course you’re always smarter in retrospect, but I’d say not to be a part of it when it comes to cryptocurrencies and blockchains is one of the biggest mistakes. One should generally see mistakes as part of a personal learning process.

This question cannot be answered easily. It is often difficult to choose the right path. Everyone has different priorities and methods to make decisions. In principle, I would always rely on future-oriented and long-term working systems, like to try out different things until you have found the right one. But of course I also see early financing campaigns, as we are currently doing, as a positive and lucrative opportunity.

Bearing in mind the enormous technical progress we have made over the last 10 years, I think we still have a lot of great things to do. The world is becoming increasingly digital, innovative and faster. I am convinced that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are an essential part of our common future. There will be major changes in many areas, one of which is the way we pay. But as I said before, we are only at the beginning of something huge.

We offer the world’s first all-in-one solution for cryptocurrencies. The CryptoHawk AG combines everything that is relevant for the customer. This includes an exchange service, payment provider, credit cards and ATMs. Especially in the sensitive financial sector we rely on transparency, seriousness and absolute reliability as a uniform solution. Our system aims to handle everything in one place. This simplifies many processes and gives the customer an optimal insight into all his activities. We are currently in the financing phase in order to bring the development process of our system to market as quickly as possible. So you currently have the possibility to invest in CryptoHawk.

We are looking forward to every contact and investment interested people! You are welcome to contact us via e-mail, social media or simply via the live chat on our homepage. You will also find more information about us in our whitepaper.

Table of contents

1. Hiring Managers and Interviews
2. Literature Review
Asynchronous Video Interview (AVI)Synchronous Video Interview (SVI)Video Interviewing amidst a Pandemic

Hiring Managers and Interviews

Hiring Managers are decision-makers; A ‘hiring manager’ also known as an ‘interviewer’ is a person in the position of power to make a hiring decision. In simpler terms, the person who has the ability to make a selection decision that will lead to an employment offer. Although a more recent and more comprehensive study by Margolis et al implies there is more to the role of a hiring manager. While hiring managers are accountable for executing critical decisions that may alter the course of talent and success in an organisation, they also need to consider organisational values and make reflective decisions. On one hand, Harris seems to support this view, skilled hiring managers should adopt criteria that may not align with their own values but more towards organisational values to find the right candidate. On the other hand, Carless et al, 2013 suggest that might not always be the case. Hiring managers need to make decisions that take into account organisational context and culture, but individual views, opinions and values may hinder them from doing so. However, Kristof-Brown highlights the close connection between organisational value and knowledge of desirability of a potential employee possessed by a hiring manager. It could be inferred that while hiring managers may not always succeed in making the right decisions, they might however, be best placed to make these difficult decisions.

Literature Review

Turning now to the question of the process hiring managers use to identify the best candidate i.e. interviews. A job interview is a social interaction between individuals who want to exchange information or signals about their qualities. Interviews seem to provide a platform for candidates to showcase their knowledge, skills, and abilities while hiring managers asses the alignment of the same to organisational values and goals. Research has shown that an employment interview appears be one of the most popular methods of employee selection. Interviews are also a convenient method to assess skills like communication, and listening i.e. soft skills pertinent to the job. Conversely, interviews rely on human decisions and more likely prone to bias and flawed decision making as highlighted by behaviour science. Cappelli agrees that it could be one of the most difficult technique to get right. Thereby, interviews whilst popular seem to present their own set of challenges.

According to Pinsker, past performance is the best predictor of future performance and an interview can provide the means for information gathering to make a logical decision. On the contrary, Pike et al analyse the problem of lack of quality information that might not allow for an accurate judgement of a candidate’s true ability. It could be deduced that interviews promote decision-making but could potentially overshadow the hiring process with ambiguity and uncertainty. Additionally, Edenborough explores the importance of two-way communication in an interview. Interviews seem to be the only form of assessment to provide an avenue for rapport building and effective interaction. In an increasingly competitive world, where good talent is scarce, candidates tend to evaluate employers and not just vice versa and welcome an opportunity to do so. However, Cicconi-Eggleston stresses the criticality of the role hiring managers play in interviews and their ability to positively or negatively influence candidates. Consequently, while interviews promote dialogue, equally vital to ensure hiring managers are equipped to positively influence the right talent.

Dipboye et al put forth an interesting point regarding initial impressions and their ability to impact hiring managers and ultimately the selection decision. Besides, stereotypes and bias could also influence the hiring decision. Mathis et al share a similar view and note hiring managers tend to make a decision within the first two-four minutes of an interview, a view that seems to be supported by Ambady and Rosenthal and Barrick et al. This suggests hiring decisions might not be based only on individual candidate attributes but can be manipulated by the manager’s dispositional attitude. However, Judge et al claim that much of the weakness of interviews is determined by the type of interview used- structured vs. unstructured. A study by Barrick et al explored how candidates may tend use tactics to portray themselves in a better light and acquire higher scores. On analysis, it appears there was more room for these tactics in unstructured interviews and interview ratings in this case had no correlation to job performance. Further, Huffcutt insists the adoption of structured interviews (pre-determined set of questions focused on competencies) ought to improve the predictive validity of an interview. The standardisation could lead to greater consistency and higher degree of objectivity in determining candidate’s personality. Williamson et al  supports the opinion and notes that a structured interview might also reduce the potential for bias and likely enhance perceptions of procedural justice due to reduced subjectivity. The evidence indicates that while there is room for bias, implementing well-designed structured interviews that are competency focused may prevent hiring managers from evaluating beyond the job-related criteria. A study by Lievens & Peeters concluded the importance of initial impressions might actually be relatively small when compared to importance associated with job-related competencies.

Whilst it is generally agreed that structured interviews yield better results, those with emphasis on personality and person-organisation fit rather than person-job fit tend to favour unstructured interviews. Blackman explains the lack of format in unstructured interviews might be more conducive in determining personality and argues the flexibility of questions might in fact lead to more accurate judgements. A different view by Cappelli is to systematically stick to a set of questions to predict good hires. The rationale seems to be to make decisions on past behaviour and performance that’s relevant to the job and to ask the consistently across candidates. Focus on person-organisation fit undermines diversity according to a recent report by CIPD. Likewise, interviewers could incorporate situational and behavioural questions to understand how a candidate may react and behave in the future. It appears the approach of determining questions that differs from one candidate to another in unstructured interviews might not be allow for proper interpretation or evaluation. Hence, the widely held opinion appears to be in the favour of structured interviews that encourage, reliability, accuracy and fair evaluation in turn lead to best practice recruitment.

Although it maybe true that structured interviews lead to better, less-biased hiring decisions, they are time-consuming to design and managers seem to have a problem with the inflexibility of the approach. However, the study is limited in their focus on HR managers and not hiring managers On one hand, it could also be argued that the difference between structured and unstructured interviews is relatively insignificant when highly-skilled interviewers are involved. On the other hand, Danziger et al concluded even highly trained judges seem to make different decisions at different times in the day attributed to ‘decision fatigue’ which could apply to the decisions hiring managers make as well. Arthur presents the useful concept of including more than one interviewer which could logically decrease the potential for bias and discourage managers from making decisions on non-job related criteria. Whilst it maybe easy to neglect best practice recruitment attributed to insufficient time and need to make intuitively right decisions, empirical research says otherwise. From the above literature, it seems that interviews although unreliable seem to be here for the long haul and structured interviews might be as close to a ‘silver bullet’ we might have to mitigate the risks/weaknesses associated with them.

Globalisation, changing face of the workforce and ever-evolving technology seems to have an impact on organisations and the recruitment of potential employees. Jose defines video interview or a virtual interview as an employment interview that is conducted remotely and uses video technology as a primary mode of communication. According to a survey by OfficeTeam revealed 63% of companies have used video interviewing in their hiring process. Given the current circumstances, it can be deduced that percentage is likely to increase in the coming months. On exploring the types of video interviews, asynchronous (one-way interviews) and synchronous (two-way interviews) seem to be of interest.

Asynchronous Video Interview (AVI)

Brenner et al explains AVIs as recorded interviews in which applicants are invited to answer a set of pre-determined questions on an online platform. Bauer et al studied applicant reactions to various technology methods and implied candidates preferred AVIs over telephone interviews. Additionally, telephone interviews could add 6.8- 8.2 days to the hiring process. A different view by Walther is that computer-mediated communications can feel less social and intimate when compared to live interactions. So, AVIs appear to be gaining popularity as a screening method but lacks social aspect for candidates in the hiring process. Berry emphasises AVIs allow for greater flexibility and better opportunity for reflection to candidates. While Guchait et al seem to agree on the fact that AVIs save time and are deemed to be more convenient, but also point out the lack of feedback and technologically challenges could negatively impact candidates. In the same line, Langer et al note applicants perceived AVIs as less personal and in some cases cause candidates to self-select out of the process. This indicates that although AVI’s are useful, they may not provide the best candidate experience. In addition, AVI’s seem to be best used when there are high volume of candidates, they also allow hiring managers to screen from a larger pool when compared to telephone interviews. Another key aspect is AVI’s are believed to lessen the ‘initial impression’ effect. Conversely, this study was based in an employed experimental setting and the application of the findings in a generalised setting is questionable. It is also worth noting that the empirical research into AVI’s appears to be limited.

Synchronous Video Interview (SVI)

“The U.S. workforce will continue to be more diverse than it has ever been” and recruiting the right employees seems to remain a top priority for 76% of the organisations in U.S. Hiring managers today should think and literally look outside to box to attract the right talent, SVIs or two-way interviews seem to help keep up with the trend. With the evolution of technology, new communication methods are available to employers who need to adapt them as part of their hiring practices. Nonetheless, Chapman & Webster, 2003) synthesise the potentially undesired effects of video interviews on the candidate pool.

Embracing technology and modernising the interview process including use of SVIs seem to reduce the time to hire by up to 50% in organisations. According to RecRight companies are 2.7% more like to improve their cost per hire with the implementation of SVIs. Correspondingly, they are convenient and particularly useful when the candidate is based in another city or country. It could be said that SVIs are efficient, cost-effective and help widen and diversify the talent pool as employers are no longer confined to time constraints and geographical barriers. By contrast, Chapman & Rowe. examined interview mediums and their possible effects on hiring manager perceptions. The findings seem to suggest interview mediums and lack of ability to observe non-verbal cues over video might alter decisions. Results showed hiring managers rated candidates they interviewed via video a lot higher than candidates they interviewed in-person. Although Sears al argued that applicants who video-interviewed received much lower interview scores and consequently, the applicants also felt they had less of a chance to perform. Blacksmith et al appear to agree with this view, applicants may not be able to demonstrate their social skills when their ability to impression manage is restricted. A more recent review put forth by Indeed.com CEO addresses the fact that interviews can be nerve-wracking to some and changing the environment in which an applicant might feel comfortable may actually lead to a better performance and could set them up for success. Another way of viewing this is the lack of ability to impression manage might actually make SVIs drive unbiased decisions.

Bearing in mind the previous points, SVIs need to be treated in line with in-person interviews. Grant stresses the need to use structured interviews even while interviewing virtually. Identifying the key skills and values in advance, devising a set of situational and behavioural questions to be asked across candidates can almost double or triple the accuracy of predicting job performance and could eliminate bias in SVIs. Goldenberg presents the remarkable feature of being able to record SVIs with applicant consent, this provides numerous benefits to employers from tackling the issue of forgetting pertinent information to eliminating bias. Therefore, the evidence suggests that SVIs could lead to adequate and if not, have the potential to arrive more accurate and unbiased hiring decisions in comparison to physical interviews. Whilst 57% of applicants prefer SVIs, connectivity issues and poor audio/video quality are the top reasons for candidate apprehension associated with virtual interviews. Technology failure that restricts adequate/effective communication also seems to be the main reason why hiring managers may not be comfortable with SVIs. Choosing the right video interview software which focuses on requirements and functionalities determined by employers could reduce technology problems.

Turning now to the significant element of best practice in SVIs, Bates also explains the need for transparency to candidates. Hiring Managers can start on the right foot by explaining the hiring process beforehand, explain the decision to use SVIs and answer any questions the applicants might have to put them at ease. It could be inferred that employers need to prepare and structure the video interview well for consistency and effectiveness. Schmidt proposes the idea of a ‘test call’ ahead of the scheduled SVIs which can flag any technology issues in advance and also provide an opportunity for rapport building.

Video Interviewing amidst a Pandemic

The emergence and spread of the coronavirus has caused an unforeseen disruption to everyday life and as a result, businesses have had to rethink their ways of working including how they hire people. According to Economic Times, organisations have had to shift their entire recruitment strategy to virtual platforms. Although the spread of the disease has significantly slowed down life, companies still seem to be hiring with a change in process. World’s leading organisations like Amazon, Facebook, Google and Linkedin have shifted to virtual interviews with an indefinite hold on in-person interviews. This indicates that organisations have turned their focus to incorporating video interviews to meet critical business needs. A view that seems to be shared by many, “businesses shouldn’t have to put a hold on hiring, a well-executed video interview is an excellent alternative to meeting a candidate in-person”. However, Gary Burninson illuminates the complexity associated with hiring senior executives without having ever met them in-person. Moreover, interviewers need to be trained to not evaluate beyond the job-related criteria which although is an issue in general interviews, appears to be further complicated by lack of oversight that recruiters would normally have if it wasn’t for the pandemic. This implies that whilst video interviews can facilitate hiring in these unprecedented times, it may also raise a unique set of issues/concerns. A recent article in HR News emphasises the imperativeness to apply best practice recruitment. It could be inferred the need for a comprehensive hiring plan and use of structured interviews to arrive at accountable, data-driven decisions is more important now than ever, especially when hiring managers are meeting candidates virtually. It is worth noting that businesses are currently faced with a lot of unknowns. In a world where physical interviews are not possible due to social distancing, video interviews seem to provide the best chance at maintaining continued recruitment efforts and achieving effective hiring goals. Another relevant point is the research in this area is relatively limited given the recentness of the situation.

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This essay has examined the literature on interviews and their effects on hiring manager perceptions and hiring decisions. There is also exploration on literature pertinent to video interviews, best practise recruitment and the changes to the above brought upon by the recent coronavirus pandemic. The next chapter, the research methodology, will introduce the research method chosen for this study.

Representing a powerful reaction against Puritanism, an English Protestant literary movement based upon the rigid and logical belief in a God is ready and willing to Punish his followers, Romanticism challenged virtually all major Puritanical beliefs. The newfound trust in the human imagination, free will for the brain to use intellect and imagination, and the incredibly sinful and corrupt of the human mind were all main ideas supported by Romantics. The Romantic focus on human nature is an excruciatingly complicated system that various authors throughout Romantic literature have brought attention to, alluding to various sinful characteristics of man that depict the ultimate horror behind the pretty face. Not only is human nature emphasized within the Romantic literary movement, but the role of nature and the tedious detail put into the descriptions of this phenomena are a crucial aspect of American Romanticism as well. The poem, “A Winter Piece,” written by William Cullen Bryant, tackles the Romantic ideals of an accepting God, complex human nature, and the importance of unique personal experiences by joining these three systems together and using the highly-detailed description of nature to describe the rather unsteady intricacy of humankind.

Through Bryant’s delicate descriptions of earthly nature, a loving, caring, and comforting God is found connected to all aspects of man. While the narrator is abiding within the beauty of a forest, he finds himself relating to someone whom he has known since his own childhood:

While I stood In nature’s loneliness, I was with one With whom I early grew familiar, one Who never had a frown for me, whose voice Never rebuked me for the hours I stole From cares I loved not, but of which the worl Deems highest, to converse with her (Lines 16-22).

This being has the ability to speak with nature as well as the ability to be affectionate and passionate towards the narrator. This individual holds God-like powers that he refuses to abuse and instead uses his powers for tender love and compassion. Through nature, the narrator is allowed to become one with this individual, whom we can refer to as God, depicting the overarching affection that God brings into the narrator’s life. This is solely due to the Romantic belief that God shall not be feared, that God shall be loved and praised, and he will be loving and passionate in return. God and Nature are connected rather than separate; they speak to each other, they interact with each other, and God does not have complete and total power over Nature’s blissful perfection. This view of God created by the Romantics is in direct opposition to the Puritan belief that God shall be feared like none other. The Puritans and strongly believe in the “Great Chain of Being,” in which God is held above nature, while nature is merely considered to be rocks and dirt. This poem completely disproves this strict and rigid idea by simply going into immaculate detail with all aspects of a forest continually throughout the entire poem, describing every single flawless element of nature as much more than simply rocks and dirt. In all, the Romantic connection made between Nature and God within the poem alludes to the fact that God is a caring and loving being, contrary to the Puritanical belief that God is simply waiting to send his followers straight to hell.

Additionally, Bryant uses impeccable description of nature to explain the complex, unreliable natural tendencies of the human soul and mind. For instance, near the middle of the poem, the narrator finds himself contrasting the different seasons and how each one affects the look and beauty of the forest:

But Winter has yet brighter scenes- he boasts Splendors beyond what gorgeous Summer knows; Or Autumn with his many fruits, and woods All flushed with many hues (57-60).

Continuing with the theme of the poem, these seasons represent the various layers that make up human nature, layers that all contribute to the extreme complexity of humankind as a whole. Bryant writes that each individual season is “flushed with many hues” to further explain how confusing and complicated each individual component of human nature is, as each layer retains its own unique aspects. This imaginative idea proves the Romantic belief that human nature cannot be explained in a rigid and strict manner, that it is instead going to flow freely through the mind of the individual and function however it pleases. This allows human nature to be stripped of all logic and coherence, as it is incapable of being understood or anticipated. The Puritans despise any idea that hints to a lack of control over any aspect of the world, believing that everything has to make complete sense, that everything can be understood and that control is needed to explain and understand all components of life. Yet, the Romantics instead cherish a lack of control and understanding, finding the beauty in what one cannot understand. In addition to humankind’s complexity, Bryant also uses close depiction of the natural processes of the earth to reveal the many terrifyingly evil and uncontrollable layers of human nature that ultimately crush helpless individuals or ideas. The poem spends the majority of its time seeking out the beauty of nature, which, in turn, alludes to the beauty of human nature. However, the end of the poem takes a graphic turn, as the “little wind flower, who just opened eye”(114) is destroyed by the “rapid clouds”(120-121) that “shade heaven”(121) and send “their volleyed stores, rounded like hail/ And white like snow, and the loud North again/ Shall buffet the vexed forest in his rage”(122-124). This horrific turn of events represents the evil, sinful element of human nature: an element that is merciless and destructive, for no predetermined reason. This abrupt change from beauty to pure evil further proves both the open-ended, illogical concepts upon which Romanticism is built as well as the unexplainably sinful characteristics of mankind. Puritanism fears these concepts and characteristics, as the concepts represented something that the Puritans can not control. Therefore, through this idea, individuality becomes the major difference at hand. The Romantic view on individuality is one that accepts the corruption and complexity of humans, while Puritans think in the opposite manner, as everyone and everything is thought to be controlled by God. Altogether, Bryant’s use of nature to describe the intricacy and evil of the human mind leads to tremendous dissimilarities between Puritanical and Romantic beliefs.

Lastly, the personal experiences of both the author and the reader combine to give the poem a rather unique style and feel. Throughout his life, William Cullen Bryant adored solitude and silence in the woods, as it helped him to gather his thoughts and calm himself during difficult times. These qualities that define Bryant as an individual are explained throughout the poem, such as when the narrator explains his love for the woods:

The swelling hills, The quiet dells retiring far between, With gentle invitation to explore Their windings, were a calm society That talked with me and soothed me. (7-11)

Just as Bryant cherished the silence within nature during his lifetime, the narrator of his poem appreciates the exact same qualities of nature. Bryant is incorporating his own personality into the poem to give the poem a very unprecedented and unique aura that is born from the author himself. As previously stated, the Romantics focus strongly on the individual and often hold the individual at a higher level of importance than God. Therefore, Romanticism admires the importance of unique personalized experiences and emotions, considering these are what ultimately makes the individual one of a kind. On the other hand, Puritanism holds God above all. Thus, during the Puritan Age, mankind was not allowed to think for themselves and form their own ideas about the world, which ultimately led to an extremely strict view on life and literature. Puritanical writings consist mainly of passages that tell the reader what to think and how to feel, rather than providing the reader with the necessary information to think for him or herself and to create a personalized interpretation of his or her own. One is capable of thinking for him or herself because the personal experiences he or she has had throughout his or her lifetime alter the way in which he or she thinks, thus altering the way in which he or she interprets certain situations. This is one of the most important Romantic ideals involved in this poem, as the focus on the individual can be none greater than combining every single aspect of a person’s life and incorporating them into a single, concise interpretation of a literary piece of work. In all, the differing views within Puritanism and American Romanticism shine brightest when under the spotlight of personal experience, as one literary movement revolves around this idea while the other completely shuns it.

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The clashing ideals found within Romanticism and earlier, stricter schools of thought such as Puritanism spark a rigorous debate that truly defines different ways of philosophical thought. Shall importance be placed on the potential of the individual, or shall it be placed on the power of God? These kinds of opposing viewpoints ultimately shape the way in which society functions in today’s times. Our society is based upon debate, intellect, and defending what one believes in simply because his or her individual experiences and intellect tell him or her to do so. Therefore, our society has grown and improved through Romanticism as a challenge to Puritanism, as the leaders and innovators of our world have simply followed in the footsteps of the Romantics by challenging and questioning predisposed beliefs and ideas. One can only wonder what the future holds with all of this rebellion rising; the world could possibly look much different than it does now, greatly due to the birth of one creative yet rebellious idea: Romanticism.

In today’s era the Federal Bureau of Investigation is extremely effective in areas invovling serial killers and serial rapists, because of the creation of the behavioral unit and how foundamental the creation of this unit is to modern society on it’s studies on mass murders, serial murders, serial rape. Without John. E. Douglas and Robert Ressler the foundation of studying serial killers, serial rapists and mass murderers would be nonexistent or significantly undeformed. Because of John Douglas and Robert Ressler we have criminal profiling, a deeper knowledge of criminal psychology, and more awareness on the crimes of serial killers and mass murderers.

Because of the creation of criminal profiling it helps investigators examine evidence recovered from the crime scenes to piece together a description on the offender by using victim and if there's any witness reports. Officers are able to use the many to very few evidence left behind to help them shape out physical traits of what the offender might look like, their age,race, behavior patterns as well as geographic location (Winerman). The advantages of profiling allow for law enforcement to narrow the suspect pool with the evidence left behind. Profiling allows for law enforcement to even prepare for interrogating a suspect with the evidence they have from the crime scenes. Criminal profiling has been used since Jack the Ripper, however because of John. E. Douglas and Robert Ressler they advance criminal profiling by creating “organized/disorganized dichotomy”(Winerman). Organized crimes are premeditated and are thoroughly planned causing there to be little to no evidence left behind at the crime scene. Organized criminals are very antisocial but they have the knowledge of what's right and what is wrong, these organized killers are not proven insane but show very little to no remorse when they would commit the crimes. However on the other side of the disorganized crimes would leave a lot of evidence at the scene such as fingerprints, blood stains. People who tend to commit the disorganized crimes were more than often younger, under the influence and possibly mentally ill. With the classifications of organized and disorganized dichotomy it has allowed for the behavioral unit to dive deeper into the classification aspect of the killers and the why. The behavioral unit has used profiling over the years and there are now “4 different types of parts that go into classifying the suspect, antecedent, method and manner, body disposal, and post offense behavior. “(Winerman)

The main goals of criminal psychology are to assess how likely criminals are to become a repeat offender. The other goals of criminal psychology are to try and understand why the criminal committed the crime(s) that they did and what their actions were after committing the crime(s). Criminal psychology helps local law enforcement and the FBI by giving them a psychological assessment of their suspect, allowing them to create a strategy and suggestions on how they should interview their suspect (Cherry). However on the other side is criminal philosophy. Criminal philosophy deals with the charges being given to the criminal. The charges being given to a criminal correlate with how they act and function in a society. The charges that are given to a criminal are based off of their psychological assessment they had taken prior. The assessment can help the criminal with the amount of time being served as well as the statistics of them becoming a repeat offender or not. “Within 5 years of offenders being released 45% of them are rearrested, reconviction is rate is 32% and the incarceration rate is 25%” (Keller). People who were arrested before “21 have a rearrest rate of 68% vs those of 60 and older have a rearrest rate of just 16%” (Keller). “Color does play a role in arrest percentage but unfortunately there is no true reason for being arrested” (Keller)

The behavioral unit took the biggest step in the right direction by interviewing serial killers, serial rapists and mass murders to get insight on their thinking and the reasoning behind why they would commit the crimes they committed. “The behavioral analysis unit gets inside the twisted minds of serial killers like Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer and John allen Muhammed.” (Behavioral Analysts). The behavioral unit begins to ask these questions. “Why would someone kill 10 people over the span of a year.” “What kind of a person would cut and chop someone or carve something into their victim??” (Behavioral Analysts). To the average person these types of questions and the idea of doing that to another person are sickening but for the workers of the behavioral unit it’s just another day. Back in 1985 when the BAU was in the making, John Douglass and Robert Ressler were traveling across the nation to help give information on these criminals and how to deescelate hostile situations to the local law enforcment, this helped local law enforcement when it came to never seeing child abudction, serial rape and serial murder. Rober and John would come in and look at it from a motivational standpoint and would then begin to create a profile of who the offender might be and their motives and what moves they might make next (Behavioral Analysis)

John Douglas and Robert Ressler helped make the Behavioral Analysis Unit what it is today by taking the risks of interviewing and diving deep into the minds of Serial killers, rapists and mass murders. Without John Douglas and Robert Ressler helping and working with local law enforcement all over the nation, the study of these crimes would be extremely undeformed. Today we have less threats of serial killers, rapists in society because of the work John and Robert did. Criminal pyschology took off with the help of the behavioral unit by interviewing and questioning their thinking and reasoning for why they would commit the crimes they commited.

Works Cited

1. “Behavioral Analysts.” FBI, FBI, 2 May 2011, www.fbi.gov/audio-repository/news-podcasts-inside-bau-profilers.mp3/view.
2. Cherry, Kendra. “What Criminal Psychologists Really Do.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 29 July 2019, www.verywellmind.com/criminal-psychologist-a-career-profile-2795649.
3. Keller, Bill. “Seven Things to Know About Repeat Offenders.” The Marshall Project, The Marshall Project, 10 Mar. 2016, www.themarshallproject.org/2016/03/09/seven-things-to-know-about-repeat-offenders.
4. Winerman, Lea. “Criminal Profiling .” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2004, www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/criminal.