Socio-Political Factors And Mental Health Essay

Socio-Political Factors And Mental Health - Essay Example Some of these factors include race, culture, ethnicity, gender, social class, and other similar factors. This double burden is referred to as double stigma (Corrigan et al. 2004; Rowe 2005). The double stigma does not only perpetuate the self-depreciation that patients experiences, but it also fortifies the public stigma that is manifested in the forms of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping against mentally ill patients. In this effect, double stigma heightens the negative impact of the stigma that mentally ill patients experience. Recognising the seriousness of the condition, this study will answer the question how socio-political factors may influence mental health? In attempting to answer the question, the study will focus only on one socio-political factor – ethnicity. This acts as a form of limitation and the focus needed in addressing the query of the study. Ethnicity is now used to indicate, â€Å"the different and unequal experiences of social groups with spec ific social attributes such as language, religion, and dress codes† (Giddens & Sutton 2010, p. 136). Ethnicity is necessary because it is one of the foundations of a person’s worldview (Sue & Sue 2003; Sumari & Jalal 2008). The motivation behind choosing ethnicity over other socio-political factors is the fact that one of the key aspects of contemporary society is pluralism and ethnicity is its concrete reality. In a pluralistic society, there is the increasing tendency that the minority group is viewed from the perspective of the majority group as they cohabit within the same physical space. This creates pressure since there are mark distinctions among ethnic groups. In this regard, ethnicity is pivotal in mental health because of the double stigma that patients in the minority group are experiencing. Its negative impact will continue if it is not consciously addressed. In addressing the problem of this study, the answer is drawn both from the experience of the service user and scholarly journals and books dealing with the issue of ethnicity and mental health. The Response Mental health practitioners have the ethical and moral obligation to respect the cultural context from where the patient is coming (Trimble & Fisher 2006). The increasing multicultural diversity of patients with mental illness increases the responsibility of mental health practitioners in providing the venue wherein the patient’s cultural heritage is included as an integral component in formulating accessible and quality therapy for the patient (Sue & Sue 2003). Nonetheless, it has been observed, there appears to be a gap between the theoretical knowledge of the role of ethnicity and the empirical belief justifying that health care providers have to respect the reality of ethnicity since some practitioners are reluctant to modify their current practices to accommodate ethnicity (Griner & Smith 2006). This situation amplifies the double stigma among ethnic groups. The Wes tern Approach of Self-Disclosure. PA, an Asian and one of the patients in the Community Health Centre, shares, â€Å"I do not understand why I have to tell somebody my fears, my thoughts, my delusions.

Begay v. United States Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Begay v. United States - Case Study Example The main question in the case was to establish what kind of crimes fall under the category of violent crimes enumerated under the ACCA (1984). In this determination, the court had to establish whether reckless driving or driving while intoxicated as proscribed by the New Mexico’s DUI law could constitute a violent felony in the auspices of the ACCA (1984). In overall, the court had to establish the extent to which a commission of an act threatening the consequence of injury to another person can be treated as a violent crime under ACCA (1984). The Supreme Court under the guidance of Justices Roberts C.J., Stevens Kennedy, Ginsburg J.J. and Scalia J held that driving under the influence of alcohol is not a violent felony as envisioned in The Armed Career Criminal Act (1984). The court further held that the most significant question is not on how the defendant had engaged in previous crimes but on how the statute defines the crime of violent felony. The court was of the opinion that regardless of the risk of injury posed to another person or group of persons, the crime in itself is milder to the example of crimes covered under the ACCA. In arriving at the above decision, the Supreme Court justices considered a strict interpretation of the New Mexico’s Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) offense in relation to the benchmarks provided for under the ACCA. The court was convinced that New Mexico’s DWI is not in the ordinary sense a violent felony when interpreted alongside the ACCA residual clause which only encompasses violent and active property crimes that are characteristic of violent criminals, which become more dangerous when committed with a firearm. Begay succeeded in his argument to convince the court that this definition excluded DWI felony as enumerated under the New Mexico Criminal Statute. The argument by Begay’s defense that a violent felony

He media present news differently depending on the ideology of each Term Paper

He media present news differently depending on the ideology of each company - Term Paper Example is a hint of consistently presenting news stories in a certain way, or favorable to a particular viewpoint, or how the news is slanted to fit a political agenda or the wishes of the owners but often never to give the news straight to the viewers, readers, and the consuming public the news as it is. The general perception is that most journalists hold left-of-center views on a number of social issues such as abortion, gay rights, gun rights, affirmative action, race issues, and environmental issues, to name just a few. Even the selection and exclusion of news stories can reflect this bias. Media outlets and news organizations are composed of people; it is the perception most journalists generally hold liberal or progressive (leftist) views on a good number of social issues as mentioned above, but are more conservative when it comes to economic issues, and with a majority of them holding the centrist position when it comes to political orientations. In other words, majority of media organizations have left-of-center leanings not mainly because of any or conscious intention of being left on the political spectrum but it just happened by a coincidence most like-minded individuals ended up choosing the same profession which is in the news room. Whatever, the attitudes of journalists are reflected in their news coverage to a liberal direction. The way a media organization presents the news can be illustrated by its coverage of big news events. An example of this was the just-recently concluded Asian tour of President Obama which took him to four countries, namely Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It is a revealing way by which a news media outlet presents this particular news coverage and its own interpretation of its significance to American global supremacy, especially on foreign policies. A careful reading of the news story in a particular media outlet and the background of that outlet will show how its coverage, opinion, and presentation of that

Physiological life-long process Essay Example for Free

Physiological life-long process Essay Aging primarily is a physiological life-long process, starting at conception and ending with death (Kart, 1994). Persons grow old whether they like it or not. These changes, both positive and negative, place demands on the aging person’s abilities to cope with and adapt to new life situations. It is a challenge for any given society to assist their aged in coping with the new life situations they are facing. Unfortunately, the rapid social changes taking place in society do not always lend themselves toward helping the elderly meet the demands of their life situations. For one, the attitude toward this population is not helping them cope with it as well. According to historian Fischer, 1977 in Doress-Worters Seigel, 1994), the old is regarded as useless, unattractive, and unwanted especially in the west. Acknowledging these realities of aging, the current research has been undertaken to study the experience of subjective well-being of senior citizens of Gladys Spellan. This shall be from the point of view of their administrators, particularly on their views on well being and the factors that influence it. Objectives / Outcomes This study therefore, will strive to achieve the following objectives: 1) Understand the experiences of the senior citizens of Gladys Spellman in the home for the aged from the perspective of their administrators: a) Their understanding or idea of well-being b) And the components of well being and factors that influence it. I personally chose this topic because I believe that as more and more elderly are placed under institutionalized care in contemporary society, a study such as this is needed to explore this phenomenon. It would shed light into the subjective lives experiences of the aged from an administrators’ view point. This would also contribute to the literature in this area and serve as groundwork for further studies in this area. This study will explore the subjective well-being (SWB) of the elderly in Gladys Spellmen who opted to live in an institutionalized set up or in a home for the aged by choice. The following framework will be used as a guide in the study: Method The first step in the research was the gathering of secondary data that are pertinent to the current topic, collating literature on the concept of well-being, indicators of the cognitive and affective components, and the factors which contribute towards it. A case study will be used in the current study, focusing on Gladys Spellmen Specialty Center. A semi- structured interview guide has been used in gathering primary data from the administrators of the institution. Interviewing. All the interview sessions with administrators will be one-on-one or individual interviews, for which the researcher has jotted down notes. A session with the participants lasted about 45 to 90 minutes,sometimes with a break in between or without it. The personal information sheet will be completed before or after the interview session with them. The researcher will take down notes while interviewing which shall be thematically analyzed. References Kart, C. S. (1994). The realities of aging: An introduction to gerontology (4th ed. ). Boston: Allyn Bacon. Doress-Worters P. B. , Seigel, D. L. (1994). The new ourselves growing older. Women aging with a knowledge and power. New York: Simon Schuster.

Productivity Rate Of Roof Works For Project Scheduling Construction Essay

Productivity Rate Of Roof Works For Project Scheduling Construction Essay Abstract: In Malaysia, there is no research done specifically on collecting construction productivity data to serve as a guideline and standards for use by all players in the construction industry. Similar to JKR, as the largest implementers of government projects, the current practice on approval the schedule of works that submitted by contractors are mostly based on the engineers gut feeling/opinion and past experience. There is no standard procedure and guidelines to review and checking the duration and resources allocation in each activity in contractors work program. As an effort, this study will start with focusing on the identification of factors that influencing roofing works productivity in construction project. Those factors can be obtained through a series of statistical analysis based on the data collected from questionnaire and interview with the experts. Data from previous projects also very important in order to get the actual productivity rate for roof works. Finally, the expected finding for this study will be: a) List of factors that influence the productivity rate for roof works, b) The critical factors affecting most to productivity rate for roofing works, c) A metrics of productivity rate for roof works as a standard and guideline for improving JKR projects scheduling. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Managing construction projects always requires constant monitoring of project performance and the updating on project schedule. Project performance data and productivity data from the construction field is a key role in evaluating and predicting project performance in term of cost and schedule. According to Motwani et al. (1995), the productivity in construction has always been very difficult to measure and control. Even though, productivity in construction hard to measure, there is a need to use it for timely decisions and reduce the negative impacts on cost and schedule. Therefore, the integration of historical productivity data with the on-going performance data in construction field are required (Hwang and Liu, 2005). Hwang and Liu, (2009) presented that an accurate productivity prediction is important for managing construction projects. In fact, a construction project is commonly to be successful when it is delivering within its budget and timeline. The planning and control process also explains the importance of accurate productivity estimate which first, estimating time and cost of construction activities that inevitably requires productivity estimates (Hinze, 1998), and second, integrated management of time and cost must involved productivity factor (Dawood and Molson, 1997). There are most previous studies focusing on defining factors influence productivity and measuring limited parts of activities at micro level to investigate the relationship between factors and productivity. A standard construction productivity metric system that more reliable is a critical element in construction productivity performance evaluation and improvement process. There need a tool to drive performance improvement through internal and external benchmarking. Park, et al., (2005) present that nowadays, demand from the construction industry on developing acceptable construction productivity metrics and standardized productivity data are the main issues to focus by the industry players and researches. Problem Statement As the main technical agencies for the Government of Malaysia, Public Work Department (PWD) or Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) entrusted to implement development projects throughout the country. It is the goal of JKR to ensure that the organization is run efficiently and effectively in order to achieve the vision, mission and objectives of the department. JKR is responsible to ensure that all the projects must be implemented well, complete on time, within the budget and provide quality products. In 9th Malaysian Plan (RMK 9), most of JKR projects cannot be deliver on time. For example, about 41% of projects in JKR Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur cannot be delivering on time which is most of it are due to wrongly estimate the duration of the construction activities in project scheduling. It is also regarding to lack of competency of JKR officers in reviewing and giving advice to contractors especially in preparing realistic projects work program. This problem can be categorized as serious m atter and give high impact to the overall performance of JKR due to unsatisfaction of client with JKRs reputation. As the biggest technical government agency, there should be a way to solve the problem so that it will improve JKR image and give high reputation to the clients. 1 Master Student, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. 2 Supervisor, Professor Dr, Lecturer of Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. There should be a standard productivity rate of each activity in the project in order to guide the contractor and the JKR supervision team to plan and implement the projects successfully. Therefore, the study on productivity rate of roof works for building project scheduling as an effort and starting point to develop the standard productivity rate of project activities for JKRs projects. In fact, this study is consistent with JKR strategies and action plan in achieving Effective Implementation of Malaysia 5 Years Plan especially to ensure that projects are implemented through appropriate implementation methodologies to meet customer needs and outcomes. One of the action plans stated in JKR Strategic Framework is to establish effective project performance tracking system which is JKR must analyzing all data that related to the project in order to improve JKR project implementation (JKR, 2007). The Objectives The aim of this study is to establish the productivity rate of roof works for JKR building projects scheduling. In order to achieve this, the following are the objectives of the study: To identify the factors that influence the productivity of roof works To establish the relationship between influence factors and productivity of roof works To develop a metrics of productivity rate for roof works Scope of Study There are certain limitations to be follow to ensure that this study is completed within the time frame given. Firstly, this study only takes into consideration on all projects which implement in central region of Peninsular Malaysia i.e. projects in JKR Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur and JKR Selangor. Second, the sample for this study is concentrate only in school projects which are the most of JKR projects implementation in 9th Malaysian Plan. Since standard design was using in school projects, the area of roof is fixed. This given the standardization to estimate the productivity rate for roofing works referring to the floor area involved. Roof trusses in construction projects can be classified in timber roof trusses, hot rolled roof trusses, cold form roof trusses and etc. The third limitation of this study is only taking into consideration of the cold form roof trusses because most of the school projects are using this type of trusses. In addition, JKR already has a list of 22 names of cold form roof trusses suppliers which their design have been reviewed and approved by the JKR Structure Expert Division. This list is for the JKR officers in state and district office to choose for their projects especially school projects. Forth, part of roof covering for this study only take into consideration one(1) types which is concrete roof tiles including insulations. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Recently, construction productivity is on a long-term slide and it is recognized as industry challenge. System, people, materials, information and energy must flow effectively and efficiently to produce its objective at high productivity to complete construction at lowest possible cost with possible shortest timeframe (Picard, 2005). Productivity is critically important in construction industry. Many researchers have expressed their concern over productivity in construction industry. Defining productivity is not a simple task to everybody. Different people will give different definition and understanding. Most of them agreed that marketable output was essentially the main measure used. Increased productivity was a leading concern to all Committee stakeholders such as users, contractors, and construction labor unions and led by the owner. The construction users emphasized the need of collecting data directly relevant to productivity improvement. The Committee was concluded that the front-line construction foreman/supervisor would be a reliable source of information. These informants would be asked to provide their judgment of the greatest impediments to a productive construction project (Tucker, 2003). Definition of productivity Within these several decades, many researchers have defined the productivity term in their studies in a number of ways. The term productivity has different meanings to different people. Many individuals automatically think only of labor unions when the term productivity is mentioned. Others associate capital expenditures with the term. Each of these interpretations is only partly correct (Adrian, 1993). Many researchers have attempted to define precisely the meaning of productivity and below are some of it that referred from their studies: Oglesby et al. (1989), presented that productivity can be defined as in-place value divided by inputs. Some researchers have defined it as works-hours divided by the equivalent quantity of work. In construction, productivity normally can be understood as work quantity divided by man-hours (or work-hours) consumed to accomplish the work. Productivity = Work Quantity Man-hours According to Dolman, Parham, Zheng, (2007), productivity is a measure in order to know how much output is produced per unit of input. Diewert Lawrence, (2006) presented that productivity can be defined as the level of economic output per unit of input and also per worker. Productivity is important to the wealth and well-being of a nation and give efforts to improve productivity occur at all levels of society. Thomas and Mathew, (1986) presented that no standardized productivity definition had been established in the construction industry. It is difficult to define a standard productivity measure because companies use their own systems which are not standardized. Association simply illustrates the productivity between an output and an input. The form has been widely used and existing in literature over the years in construction industry is; Productivity = Input/Output 2.3 Measurement of productivity There is controversy surrounding productivity that rooted in the differences in data collection. It is due to incorrect in assuming productivity measured uniformly and that all published productivity values have the same basis (Whiteside, 2006). Overall conception of productivity is difficult to express or to measure. It is sometimes expressed either in terms of output from labor or from services or from capital invested. These parts of expressions often do not give an accurate picture of the overall position. Although, there are measurements of some or all of the inputs and outputs of the industry but they still failed to combine these measurements into any satisfactory measure of efficiency. In fact, the ratio is easy to compute if the unit uses a single input to produce a single output (Choy, 2008). Although there are numbers of publications exist on construction productivity, there is no agreed upon definition of work activities nor a standard productivity measurement system. Most of researchers have concluded that it is difficult to obtain a standard method to measure construction labor productivity because of project complexity and unique characteristics of the construction projects (Oglesby et al. 1989). The uniqueness and non repetitive of operation in construction projects make it is difficult to develop a standard productivity definition and measure (Sweis, 2000). Factors influence productivity in construction Lim et al., (1995) has studied that factors affecting productivity in the construction industry in Singapore, indicated the problems affecting productivity were difficulty with recruitment of supervisors, difficulty with recruitment of workers, high rate of labor turnover, absenteeism from the work site and communication problems with the foreign workers. Olomolaiye et al., (1996) also studied that factors affecting productivity of craftsmen in Indonesia show the findings indicating craftsmen in this country spent 75 % of their time working productively. There are five specific productivity problems were identified such as lack of materials, rework, absenteeism, lack of equipment and tools. Kane et al., (cited in Herbsman et al., 1990) has classified the factors affecting construction productivity into two main groups which is technological factors and administrative factors. The technological factors involved those related to the design of the project and the administrative group factors are related to the management and construction of the project. Technological factors are comprises of sub-groups such as design factors, material factors and location factors. Administrative factors are comprises of sub-groups, such as construction methods and procedural factors, equipment factors, labor factors and social factors. Based on Heizer and Render (1990), they classified that factors influencing site productivity into 3 groups which are labour characteristic factors, project work conditions factors and non-productive activities. Olomolaiye et al., (1998) also stated that factors affecting construction productivity are rarely constant and may vary from country to country, fro m project to project and even within the same project which are depending on circumstances. They classified the factors influencing construction productivity into 2 categories which are external and internal. That means its representing those outside the control of the firms management and those originating within the firm. The external factors included the nature of the industry, construction client knowledge of construction procedure, weather and level of economic development. The internal factors included management, technology, labor and labor unions. Choi, (2007), stated that based on his finding, weather and poor communication prove to be the greatest impediment to roofing productivity, whereas the field workers pointed out that roof pitch, height and age of the roof along weather were major causes for lack of productivity in their job at site. He also stressed that roofing contractor generally not consider safety as a high priority in their business. Metrics an overview According to Melnyk et al., (2004), they stated that metrics are fulfill with the fundamental activities measuring (evaluating how we are doing), educating (communicating what is important and how we intend to deliver value to our customers) and directing (flagging potential problems by size of gap between the metrics and standards). Ideally, metrics are consistent with the way operation delivers value to the customers. Based on Melnyk et al., (2005), they presented that metric is a verifiable measure which consists of three elements such as; a) the specific measure, b) the standard (the numerical values that identifies the minimum threshold of performance, and c) the environment which the activity or person being measured operates. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY In order to achieve the objectives, Figure 1.1 illustrated the schematic of research methodology for this study. Generally, it consists of four distinct phases, which are phase 1, phase 2, phase 3 and phase 4. 3.1 Phase 1 Selection of the topic has been done after gone through JKR listing of significance topics that can contribute to department as a whole. Topic of the study and proposed productivity rate of roof works is important to JKR building project scheduling to ensure all project can be completed on time with good quality. Based on previous researchers, there are several measurements on productivity rate in construction. This study will be focusing on the identification of factors that influencing roofing works productivity in JKR projects. From this scenario, the objectives of this study has been identified which are identifying of factors influence, the relationship and the establishing productivity rate of roof works. In such way, the focus of this topic must be in line with study limitation. In order to strengthen knowledge and ideas in this research area, extensive reading from journals and books must be thoroughly done. Besides that, preliminary site observation has been conducted to the selected site. Furthermore, the preliminary interview was conducted to get overview information about productivity rate of roof works. Due to time constraint, the observation has been done only for school projects. 3.2 Phase 2 A few samples of studies will be identifying purposely for running through the method of productivity measurement for getting accurate and practical data. Observation on quantity of roof works per man hours should be performing at site. During observation at site, interview with the expert is use as a tool to collect information data on how the productivity rate of roof works can be estimate and what are the factors influences the productivity rate Several interviewees will be selected based on qualification and experienced more than 10 years especially contractors and suppliers. Beside that, questionnaire will be distributed to technical person such as supervisor, engineer, manager and contractors to obtain their opinion in term of productivity rate of roof works. 3.3 Phase 3 In this stage, all the data from the questionnaires and interviews will compile. The data will be analyze accordingly and transform into productivity rate. Data analyzing, there will be a confirmation on what are the factors influence productivity rate of roof works will be getting through data analyzing, while standard productivity rate metrics of roof works will be producing after transform all the data into productivity rate by using appropriate statistical analysis. 3.4 Phase 4 Extract from data obtained in Phase 3, some proposal or recommendation will be highlighted in order to enhance a metrics of standard productivity rate for future building project scheduling. EXPECTED RESULTS The expected results of this study in next semester are: a) List of factors that influence the productivity rate for roof works, b) The critical factors affecting most to productivity rate for roofing works, c) A metrics of productivity rate for roof works as a standard and guideline for improving JKR projects scheduling. Selection of Topic Identify the Objective and Scope Phase 1 Preliminary Site Observation Literature Review Preliminary Interview Objective.(c) Objective.(b) Objective.(a) Case Studies Identify the factors influence Observation on quantity of works/ man hours DATA COLLECTION Interview with Experts Selecting several experts with experience more than 10 years Phase 2 DATA ANALYSIS Figure 1.1: Schematic of Research Methodology TENTATIVE SCHEDULE The following table is the tentative schedule for final project in next semester:

Impact of Fiscal Policy on the Pharmaceuticals Industry Essay --

Fiscal policy, Gross Domestic Product, Economics and Classical view of Economics and their overall impact on the likes of a company like Wyeth, a Pharmaceutical Company, and building upon such a correlation is what this article is all about. Fiscal Policy is the other half of the two-legged approach of the government to maintain stability within an economy while trying to maintain the sanctity of things and trying to achieve the targets outlined. The other part is the monetary policy. Fiscal policy is all about the earnings and expenditures of the government. The sources of revenue are the various forms of taxes whereas the expenses are the ones regarding the public utilities, defense etc. Gross Domestic Product is the total worth of all the goods and services produced within any given economy and the idea is to produce as much as possible. It beneficially impacted by the positive net exports and that has a good effect on the Exchequer of the country. GDP is in so many ways a true measure of the overall living standard of the economy. Mind you the GDP does not include the remittanc...

Labyrinth of Suffering

â€Å"How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering? † I believe suffering is something ones self is born with. When we give our first steps in this world we soon realize there is struggle and the struggle is ever lasting in ones life. Alaska Young was brought down with the suffering in her life. The labyrinth of her life dragged her down and the question of escaping the labryitnh would not leave her mind. She broke. Alaska got out of her labyrinth â€Å"straight and fast. † Maybe getting out of the labyrinth of suffering is forgiveness just like pudge believes.If one holds on to hatred and pain then it grows and it eats away your every whim. Pudge needed to answer this question not only for his class assement but he needed to answer it for himself. He knows as well as I do that Alaska is gone forever and he may never know why or how she died. Pudge knows that to get out of his labyrinth of suffereing he needs to forgive Alaska. He needs to forgive her to be a ble to continue mazing through the labrynth of his life. Pudge needs to forgive her to get to happiness.The answer to this question lingers in my mind,will I get out of this labryith of suffering? I am not sure at all. I know there is always a smile in darkness, and I can forgive and forget just as Pudge forgives Alaska. Maybe even after death there will still be the labryitnh of suffering. Or maybe after death the suffering ends. The first steps we give in death are probably not a struggle at all. Unlike Alaska I don’t want to find the answer just yet. I rather linger on it and learn or wonder. I will not find a way out â€Å"straight and fast. At some point in life â€Å"Everyone†¦gets dragged out to sea by the undertow†¦we are all going. † In other words, at some point in time we know we are going to die/suffer or someone we love and care for is going to die, how do we deal with this knowledge? Right now Miles’ answer is to believe in an afterlife, however Miles becomes enlightened and he changes his outlook on surviving the Labyrinth. Something similar to a parable/riddle is then introduced in the novel after Miles makes his inital decision about surviving the Labyrinth.The parable is: Banzan â€Å"Was walking through the market one day when he overheard someone ask a butcher for his best piece of meat. The butcher answered, â€Å"Everything in my shop is the best. You cannot find a piece of meat that is not the best. † Upon hearing this, Banzan realized that there is no best and no worst, that those judgments have no real meaning because there is only what is, and poof he reached enlightenment. † How does this relate to the central question of surviving the labyrinth of suffering?Well Alaska spent her life after her mom’s death thinking about the best and worst times in her life constantly. This parable is directly related to when Alaska suggested that they play the â€Å"Best Day/Worst Day† game when out camping with her friends. There she shares the worst day of her life that has overshadowed everything she did thereafter. The world religions teacher then introduces a zen belief that â€Å"Everything that comes together falls apart. † In other words death will happen†¦Ã¢â‚¬ we are all going†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦it is inevitable†¦therefore suffering will only cease when we stopped wishing things would not fall apart.Alaska could not do this and so she did not survive. She could not survive. The problem is not life but how much emphasis we put on disappointment, pain, and laying blame while trying to hold ourselves together; creating a sense of hopelessness. Miles then becomes truly enlightened when he realizes that the only way to survive the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive. When Alaska’s mother died she blamed and could not forgive herself for something that was out of her control and this is what caused her to self-destruct.Similarly, Miles blamed h imself for the death of Alaska as he felt he should have stopped her from getting in her car drunk†¦if only he had stopped her! This thought haunted him but then he realized: â€Å"She forgave us, and that we had to forgive to survive in the labyrinth. There were so many of us who would have to live with things done and things left undone that day. Things that did not go right, things that seemed okay at the time because we could not see the future. If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions.But we can’t know better until knowing better is useless. † So I ask again: What is the best way to go about being a person? What are the rules of this game, and how might we best play it? How do we survive as oppsed to escape the labyrinth of suffering? According to Miles it is to forgive. Stop beating yourself up for elements of your life that are outside of your control such as death. Forgive yourself and others for the unf ortunate things that happen in life and accept what is.