Feminism in Literature Essay

Feminism has gradually become more far-ranging and subtle in its attacks on male-dominated society. Many injustices still need to be corrected, but equally necessary is a more down-to-earth, tolerant and compassionate view of fellow human beings. Introduction Many feminists dislike theory. Sharp intellectual categories, argumentation, seeming objectivity, and the whole tradition they grow out of are just what feminists are seeking to escape. And if their reasoning seems unsystematic they can draw support from the psychoanalysis of Lacan and Julia Kristeva, fromDerrida’s deconstruction, and from Rorty’s view that philosophy should model itself on an edifying conversation seeking rapprochement rather than no-holds-barred gladiatorial combat. Androgynist Poetics Critics, being generally male, had not generally concerned themselves with gender issues. Most of the world’s great literature had been written by men. Sappho, Austen, the Brontes and Emily Dickinson apart, it was difficult to think women really had it in them to write at the highest level. Literature was literature, and critics saw no need to distinguish a specifically feminine way of writing or responding to a text. Virginia Woolf was herself a refutation of that thesis, though her mental breakdown was perhaps brought on by the strain of balancing male self-realization with female abnegation. But in her essay Professions for Women, Woolf complained only that women’s social obligations hindered a writing career. Their lives gave them a different perspective, but women were not fundamentally different from men in their psychological needs and outlooks. Gynocriticism The gathering feminist movement very much disagreed, and argued that women’s writing expressed a distinctive female consciousness, which was more discursive and conjunctive than its male counterpart. Such consciousness was radically different, and had been adversely treated. Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex documented the ways â€Å"Legislators, priests, philosophers, writers and scientists have striven to show that the subordinate position of women is willed in heaven and advantageous on earth. † Women had been made to feel that they were inferior by nature and, though men paid lip-service to equality, they would resist its implementation. Some men might be sympathetic to women’s issues, but only women themselves knew what they felt and wanted. And perhaps they always knew. The essays collected in Susan Cornillon’s 1972 anthology Images of Women in Fiction all suggested that nineteenth and twentieth century fiction was simply untrue to women’s experience. Rather than search for the essentially feminine, critics now turned to the social context of women’s writing, to the ways a male-orientated society had formed or deformed individual novels, plays and poems written by women. Adventure and romance, whoever written for, seemed to stress the male competitive element, and even the submissive partner of gay literature only imitated the female stereotype. Not all agreed, of course. Norman Mailer’s The Prisoner of Sex: disliked the blanket criticism of Kate Millet’s Sexual Politics, arguing its examples were too selective chosen. Gynesis Nonetheless, by the early eighties, feminists had advanced to a much more confrontational attack on male hegemony, advocating a complete overthrow of the biased (male) canon of literature. French feminists argued that women should write with a greater consciousness of their bodies, which would create a more honest and appropriate style of openness, fragmentation and non-linearity. Parallel studies in the visual arts stressed a feminine sensibility of soft fluid colours, an emphasis on the personal and decorative, and on forms that evoked the female genitalia. And the problem lay deeper still, in the language itself. Words had been coined to express a male point of view, and that was indeed misogynist. Some 220 words exist in English for the sexually promiscuous woman, but only 22 for promiscuous men. And in the sexual matters that really concerned them, the vocabulary was hopelessly restricted. Discourse was power, said Foucault, and psychoanalysts likeLacan and Kristeva stressed the liberating role that literature should play, particularly to allow the semiotic flux of the unconscious in early childhood, i. e. before the symbolic world of public discourse imposed its male-favouring rules. Poets worked on the boundaries of the two realms, and Kristeva urged them to engender political and feminist revolutions by dissolving the conventions of normal discourse. Gender Theory Five years later the debate had moved on, from exclusively feminine concerns to the wider issues of gender in social and cultural contexts. Patriarchy and capitalism should be examined more closely, perhaps as Althusser had attempted, and sophisticated models built to integrate the larger web of economics, education, division of labour, biological constraints and cultural assumptions. Michele Barrett demanded facts, research. How does gender stereotyping arise in various social contexts? How are the canons of literary excellence actually established? What is the practical effect on literature? Shouldn’t we remember that attitudes are struck within a fictional framework, and can’t be simply pulled out and convicted by a kangaroo court of feminist morals? Critique Literature will often reflect the cultural assumptions and attitudes of its period, and that of course includes attitudes towards women: their status, their roles, their expectations. But a literature doctored of male-orientated views would be failing in its first requirement, to present a realistic or convincing picture of the world. Moralizing, which includes political correctness, has its dangers. Feminists have argued for positive discrimination as the only way to correct centuries of bias. Nonetheless, the consensus emerging among black Americans is that positive discrimination is counter-productive. Disadvantaged minorities desperately need the odds levelled, but not patronizingly tilted in their favour. Psychoanalysis has little scientific standing, and Lacanian theory is further disputed within the psychoanalytical community itself. Feminism does itself few favours by relying on these supports. A more damaging criticism is the concept of the feminine itself. Does it really exist? There are very real differences in the psychological make-up between the sexes, but testing also indicates what anthropologists have long accepted: the expression of those differences is more determined by cultural factors than sexuality per se. Feminists who argue for a more understanding, fluid, and delicate attitude are not so much advocating qualities native to women but for attitudes still repressed by society. That in turn suggests society itself needs exploring rather than sex differences per se, which is indeed a view more recognized in contemporary feminist studies. Feminist Literature Feminist literature, as the name suggests, is based on the principles of feminism, and refers to any literary work that centers around the struggle of a woman for equality, and to be accepted as a human being, before being cast into a gender stereotype. Not all these works follow a direct approach towards this goal of equality. It is only through such media that women believed a change was possible in the way they were perceived in society. Not all feminist literature has been written by women, but also by men who understood women beyond the roles they were expected to fit into, and delved into their psyche to understand their needs and desires. Some works may be fictional, while others may be non fictional. Here, we take a look into the characteristics of feminist literature, and give you a list of some of the many works of feminist literature, that make for a good read if you truly desire to learn extensively about this form of writing and what it stood for. Characteristics of Feminist Literature Feminist literature is identified by the many characteristics of the feminist movement. This will help you understand exactly what is feminist literature. Authors of feminist literature are known to understand and explain the difference between sex and gender. They believe that though a person’s sex is predetermined and natural, it is the gender that has been created by society, along with a particular perception about gender roles. Gender roles, they believe, can be altered over time. The predominance of one gender over the other, is a common concept across almost all societies, and the fact that it is not in favor of women is an underlying, yet blatant, characteristic of feminist or women’s literature. Here, it is argued that any society that does not provide channels of learning and knowledge to both genders equally is not a complete and impartial society. Critics argue that there wasn’t much difference between male and female authors, and that there was no need to identify a separate class of literature termed as feminist or look for traces of feminism in literature. However, if you read any such work, you will realize how such writers criticized society’s andocentric (male-centered) approach, and tried to understand the beliefs and needs of the opposite sex with a subjective, and not an objective, approach. Take for example Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The protagonist, Elizabeth Bennett was a woman of her mind. Despite the societal pressure (put on her by her mother) to choose a partner, and to lead a life that was decided for all women, she decided to choose her own path towards what she wanted. And none of this was blatantly approached. She did not put an outward fight, in order to choose her life course. The entire piece of work is subtle, and the only clear characteristic of the protagonist you will notice is her assertiveness. And that is one clear characteristic of the feminist approach toward literature. Women in literature of the feminist nature are always featured as the protagonist, who, more often than not, do not readily accept the traditional role of women as decided by society. They are ready to make their own decisions, to express this choice of personal decision-making, and are ready to deal with the consequences of these choices, actions, and decisions. Though a daughter, a mother, a sister, or a wife, any piece of feminist literature first deals with a woman as a woman. It is not these relationships, roles, or stereotypes that give these female characters in literature their identity. Their identity is defined by their choices and their beliefs which are then associated with these roles. It is important to note, that, not all works of feminist literature have happy endings, both for the character, and for the author of the work. Women have been ostracized by society for openly demanding equality, and have had to face several negative consequences of their decision to go against the waves. Not only feminist literature, women have been treated as important subjects even in many literary works by men. For instance, Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian author and playwright, often focused on women, women’s issues, their troubles faced by society, and the decisions they made based on their personal values and beliefs. If you take a look at the play called ‘A Doll’s House’, by this very same author, you will clearly notice the strength and character of the protagonist. Not all, but some pieces of feminist literature (particularly non-fiction) showcase and stress on women’s suffrage and a demand for equality in society, for political, social, and economic rights. In modern feminist literature, the attack on a male-dominated society became more forthright and straightforward, where women demanded a closer look into the patriarchal and capitalistic approach towards feminism.

Management Styles in the Workplace

Title: Management Styles in the Workplace Purpose Statement: My purpose today is to inform you on four different management styles in the workplace. Thesis Statement: It is important for managers to understand their management style when certain situations arise in the work place, by knowing your management style you will become a better leader. Introduction: Have you ever been told, â€Å"Do it this way or don’t do it at all? † if so do you know what type of leadership or management style this. Well today, I’m going to inform you about four different type of management styles; democratic, autocratic, paternalistic, and laissez-faire.Also, I am going to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each management style. Main Point 1: Democratic Management Style A. What is it? a. According to Building a Management Style, Democratic management builds commitment among employees in order to generate new ideas. It is one that seeks input from all employees and allows t he staff to use their own work methods, to get the task done in a timely matter. The Democratic Management Style is similar to the participatory leadership style because it produces moderate task efficiency but high satisfaction, according to the textbook.These two types of management style result in a transformational leadership approach according to the publication by Larry Thompson. This approach results in staff empowerment by making the staff or team feel that they are part of the decision making process, which will motivate your team and generate new ideas. B. What are the Advantages and Disadvantages a. Advantages: i. It is people centered ii. Encourages others to share ideas iii. Tolerating alternative views (understanding at there is more than one way of accomplishing the goal) b. Disadvantages: i.The manager could be taken advantage of due to employees not working to their full potential. ii. Moderate task efficiency iii. Slow down decision making process Main Point 2: Aut ocratic Management Style A. What is it? a. According to Building a Management Style autocratic managers do a complete 180 has far as treating his/Her staff. The book states this type of manager is single-minded about getting long-term results, and help from others. b. Autocratic management style is very similar to high directive leadership style studied in the textbook, such as; productivity is high, with little concern for people and their satisfaction level.The autocratic management style only offers one-way communication, and that is through the leader. This type of management style falls into the transactional theory according to the publication by Larry Thompson. B. What are the Advantages and the Disadvantages? a. Advantages: i. Although this type of management style seems pretty forceful there are many advantages. According to Managementstyle. org a few of the advantages are: 1. Instructions are forceful, 2. can make fast decisions, 3. less unexpected side track situations du e to lack of communication. b.Disadvantages: i. With such a Hitler style management approach there will disadvantages to using the autocratic management style, according to Managementstyle. org, such as: 1. The staff may feel useless as they are not consulted 2. Input from the staff is not allowed 3. Staff waiting on instructions (will cause delays) Main Point 3: Paternalistic Management Style A. What is it? a. According to learningmanagement2. com the paternalistic management style is combination of both democratic and autocratic management styles.Paternalistic managers will ask for the staff views and opinions, which allows them to feel involved, but in the end the manager will make the finial decision. b. According to Dr. Daniel Theyagu, who is a corporate trainer and seminar leader, suggest that by using the paternalistic management style approach, the leader will learn to move away from delegation to empowerment. i. Dr. Daniel Theyagu suggests leaders should stay involved with the development of their staff, so that the manager can be aware of his/her staff’s needs. ii.It is important for constant communication, to clear up any uncertainty among the staff and make sure everyone is on the same level for common values and goal of the project or task. iii. Dr. Daniel Theyagu also believes that when people feel involved they are more likely to ‘â€Å"buy in’ the visions and values of the leader. † Main Point 4: Laissez Faire Management Style: A. What is it? a. Laissez Faire Management style is also known as negligent leadership style in the textbook. According to the business dictionary website, laissez-faire management styles is a non-authoritarian approach to management.This type of manager feels that or â€Å"believes that people will excel when they are left alone to respond to their responsibilities and obligations in their own ways. B. What are the advantages and disadvantages? a. Advantages: According to about. com this type of management can be very effect if: i. When leaders are still there for consultation and feedback ii. Members are able to work alone and still be motivated iii. If Members are highly skilled, they do not need to wait on management to tell them how to complete the task. b.Disadvantages: In most cases the disadvantages out way the advantages because i. The lack of guidance may leave the staff feeling neglected. ii. According to the textbook, leader take no part in the decision-making process and offers little advice or direction. Conclusion: We are all managers of your own lives, but one day we will be leaders of others. Democratic management style allows others to take part in the decision-making process. Autocratic management style leaders make decisions without regards to others. Paternalistic allows for others input, but the decision is still up to the leader.Laissez-faire management style is a more hands off approach, and this type of leader style is not recommended for most si tuations. Knowing what the different types of management styles are, and what they mean, this can be an informative advantage to maybe using certain management styles in certain citations. References Autocratic,Paternalistic, Democratic, Laissez faire and Unorthodox management styles Laissez faire management style  » Tag Archive  » Business tips – BSMR. COM . (2011, October 8). Business tips – BSMR. COM  » Tips and advice about business . Retrieved February 23, 2012, from http://www. smr. com/tag/laissez-faire-management-style/ Matlwa,  M.. (2009,  May). Building a management style. Accountancy SA,18-19. Retrieved February 28, 2012, from Accounting & Tax Periodicals. (Document ID:  1748263211). Management Styles. (n. d. ). Welcome to Learn Management 2. com. Learn about management here. Free management lessons and revision notes.. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from http://www. learnmanagement2. com/leadership%20styles. htm Autocratic Management Style. (n. d. ). Management Style. Retrieved February 24, 2012, from http://managementstyle. org/autocratic-management-style. hp/ Dodd, C. H. (2012). Managing business and professional communication (3rd ed. ). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. The Democratic Leadership Style. (n. d. ). Leadership Toolbox: Your Source for Leadership Development Resources. Retrieved February 24, 2012, from http://www. leadership-toolbox. com/democratic-leadership-style. html Theyagu, D. (n. d. ). Autocratic vs Consultative Leadership. EzineArticles Submission – Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from http://ezinearticles. com/?Autocratic-vs-Consultative-Leadership&id=1054914 Thompson,  L.. A study of the relationships between leadership style and employee and customer satisfaction in a wireless telecommunications company. Ph. D. dissertation, Our Lady of the Lake University, United States — Texas. Retrie ved February 28, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Publication No. AAT 3354209). What is laissez-faire leadership? definition and meaning. (n. d. ). BusinessDictionary. com – Online Business Dictionary. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/laissez-faire-leadership. html

Literature review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Literature review - Research Paper Example Consequently, all the 9 conducted studies reported that AHI was significantly lower in OSA patient who practiced exercise as a remedy. Three RCTs reported that exercise independently reduces the severity of OSA, however it is reported to be less effective compared to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), oral appliance and surgical interventions. In those studies the participant blindness to the intervention was impossible while the blindness of data collection personnel to participant intervention were not mentioned. Lack of blindness may affect the accuracy of data collection. The two studies that conducted by Kline and colleagues in 2011 and 2012 were counted for only one evidence because the authors published the same article in two different journals, which considered double publication. One RCT study and the five observation studies reported that exercise in combination with the traditional interventions of CPAP and diet reduced the OSA severity. The small sample sizes as well as the reliance on survey and self-reports limit the generalizability of findings. Although all of the studies utilized moderate intensity exercise to treat OSA, the mode, frequency, and duration were diverse. The types of exercise were varied from walking on the treadmill, bicyclic, jogging, and stretching. Both the duration and frequency of exercise were also varied. They were ranged from 1 hour per week to 3 hours per week for a time period range from a minimum of 12 weeks to a maximum of 12 months. These variations in application confused the research’s consumer and unable them to come up with new recommendations for best practice. This concludes that despite having a few amounts of studies that utilized exercise as an intervention for reducing the severity of OSA we still lack of knowledge on the exact exercise dose (mode, intensity, and duration) that is associated with more reduction in OSA severity. Further research is needed to compare and contrast the effect o f those different presented exercise doses in OSA severity. The studies used different kinds of exercise like jogging, cycling and walking on a treadmill among other methods to set some motions on the body muscles. Different people would have different response to such exercise. The study did not categorize the participants in accordance to their body size and weights for more accurate results. Obese kid may take several weeks before the impacts of exercise on OSA are clearly indicated. Different people correspond differently to body exercises. There are those whose muscles are strengthened after a few reps on the treadmill while a few may take more than 3 weeks before their muscles sense the changes in the body movements. The research ought to have considered reports from exercise experts before making verdicts, other than producing generalized results. Although Dr. Kline laments that his study indicated that exercise can reduce the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) by 25% there is a grou p of thought that exercise could have some negative impacts on human health. The research team did not mention consulting the participants’ doctors before subjecting them in the exercise session. This may result in some complications depending on individual health conditions. Participants with heart conditions may worsen their health condition on a sudden body exercise. It is advised that such patients should avoid heavy

Macro and Micro Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Macro and Micro Economics - Essay Example Unemployment is mostly involuntary that is the person was employed before but is now out of work without his or her wish of being out of work (Walters, 2000;12). This perspective implies that the person though out of job is actually looking for one but the job is currently unavailable. According to Gupta’s (2004; 31) definition of unemployment, unemployment cannot be defined as every person who is not engaged in productive activity. According to him there are people who are sick and children who are too young to work but this does not mean that they want to engage in any worthwhile activity because either they cannot find one or they do not want to engage in one; this means they cannot be classified as being unemployed therefore the correct perspective of unemployment would be the number of productive workforce that are involuntary out of work. Most of the common unemployment forms are brought by the lack of demand of labour in most of the companies in any given economy. Unemp loyment can be divided into many categories with the first group being Voluntary while the second type of unemployment will be involuntary (Lindbeck, 1993; 77). The said group can also be divided further into smaller groups depending on the cause of unemployment. When it comes to voluntary unemployment one of the major causes is frustrations; when a person fails to get the coveted job for a long period of time the individual might opt out of the work force, this is done in order for the person to avoid embarrassment and also the stress associated with the process of looking for a job. Therefore the person can be classified to have left the work force and employment through frustration thus unemployment through frustration. Another cause of voluntary unemployment is when the person has been working at a particular firm and due to structural change the company chooses to pay some employees in order to leave the job on a good will basis (Asimakopulos, 1991; 123). In terms of involuntar y unemployment there exist different categories with the most common types being classical, structural or mismatch, frictional also known as turnover and cyclical types of unemployment (Anderson, 1977; 29). In cases where the wage rates are not flexible there will be a further cause of unemployment called the wait. Cyclical or demand deficient type of unemployment refers to a situation where the rate of employment is entirely dependent on employment rates. According to Gillespie (2007; 31), a slow demand throughout the economy leads to deficiency. Case in point is where there is a recession or there is a negative GDP growth. Whenever there is a negative demand or a low demand for goods and services then the demand for labour will be low therefore less employees will be needed thus more unemployment. Keynesian Theory falls under the cyclical type of unemployment; Keynes (1930) explains that in the short run, productivity activities are influenced by the total spending in the economy which is the summative demand (Hein, 2011;189). This does not mean that the total spending of an economy is equal to the total productive capacity of the economy which is the summative supply. In its place it is subjected by a multitude of aspects and every now and then performs unsteadily, touching production, employment and inflation. In the structural unemployment, it transpires when the structure of economy is altered (Snower, 1997; 64). Case in point can be where an industry loses its international competitiveness with the arrival of new global competitors. The industry will

Color, Language, And Perceptual Categorization Lab Report

Color, Language, And Perceptual Categorization - Lab Report Example EXPERIMENTS IN CATEGORICAL PERCEPTION AND LANGUAGE The languages of South Africa have provided researcherer with the opportunity to study categorical perception across cultures. It was discovered that the South African language uses one color term for a color region while the English language needs two terms to describe the same color region. Some languages use a single term for green and blue, orange and yellow, etc. There was no boundary between the two colors in terms of their perception. The question that arose out of these studies was, do the people that speak these different languages have different perceptual boundaries as well? In answer to this question, researchers showed participants one color and then a stimuli of different colors. The participants were to identify stimuli that were the same as the target. By manipulating the target and the distracters from the same or different categories, CP effects could be studied. Using this mechanism, it was discovered that in compa rison to English speakers, African speakers were able to identify a particular hue in one word but the English speakers needed two words to describe the same hue. English speakers were faster when the distracters are green and the target was blue and vice versa for African speakers. However, when the distracters and the target were both blue and both green, English speakers were slower than African speakers. In a task in which participants were shown three colors and asked to â€Å"pick the odd one out,† English speakers picked a color different than the other two categories. African speakers did not show a bias because all three colors were in the same color category. Similar studies have recently compared the effects of language on color by comparing speakers of English and Berinmo.... In this experiment, participants were trained to categorize colors across new color boundaries and separate two types of hue referred to by the same English term. The participants’ discrimination skills were then tested along with their ability to discriminate between colors on different sides of a learned category. It was concluded that through training, CP effects were achieved. Another experiment was performed testing color discrimination. The participants were shown colors separately with a 5-s interval in between. This task involved memory and perception. When people use memory, they use verbal labels which lead to CP. The results of this experiment suggest that improved color discrimination could have been due to simple learning tricks rather than real learned behavior. In still another experiment, participants were tested in a discrimination exercise that required no memory because the two colors were shown at the same time. Color discrimination improved only across the new color category boundary. Currently, an investigation is being held to determine if color category learning can result in detection of color differences. Results have shown that this occurs mainly for hues within the learned boundary. People pay more attention to color boundary regions when they learn a new color category and improvement only occurs in those color regions. As a result of these studies and experiments, one could conclude that there is a "possibility" that language affects color perception.

Critique of any Psy article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critique of any Psy article - Essay Example The first hypothesis examined the improvements in children’s drawing performance with increase in age. The second hypothesis tested the following pattern of metacognitive experiences with drawing performance. Further, children’s feelings before and after the drawing was also hypothesized. Finally, the fourth hypothesis tested metacognitive experiences development with respect to type and complexity of drawing tasks. A total of 222 preschool and primary school children between the ages of 4-12 years participated in conduction of the research. Out of the 222 selected children, 40 were preschool and 69 were second grade, 65 were fourth grade and 48 were sixth grade children with equal gender representation. Testing involved completion of four drawing tasks conducted individually in their respective schools. Children were provided with white sheets and a pencil, and asked to draw two simple topics of choice and two scenes in which one object was occluded by the other. Metac ognitive experiences were measured by rating of a four point scale before and after each task. Around 90 to 96 percent of agreement existed between the two judges marking the scores. ANOVAs were applied to compare the differences among the hypothesized subject groups. The research results concluded that age has significant effects on overall drawing performance of children.

The Impact of Disruption to Sleep Patterns in the Intensive Care Unit Essay

The Impact of Disruption to Sleep Patterns in the Intensive Care Unit - Essay Example One indisputable fact is that lack of sleep affects the health and progress of the healing for patients in the ICU. A study on the impacts of sleep disruptions in the ICU indicated that the nature of sleep patterns in a nursing environment has some significant associations with the mortality rates (Friese, 2007, p. 1210). Nursing institutions that promote good sleep habits for patients in the ICU have also shown significant reductions in the levels of mortality. On the other hand, nursing institutions that do not have any structures for promoting good sleep habits were also associated with high mortality rates. The findings of this study were consistent with other findings that showed a positive association between the states of health of patients in the ICU with the number of hours of sleep that the patients managed to get (Friese, 2007, p. 1212). For instance, these findings showed that most of the patients who managed to get uninterrupted sleep were able to respond faster and bett er to treatment than those who were occasionally interrupted by the nurses or other factors. Discussion Various studies have developed an association between the rate of patients’ readmission to the nursing homes and the disruptions to the sleep patterns (Patel, Chipman, Carlin & Shade, 2008, p. 309; Patel, Chipman, Carlin & Shade, 2008, p. 310). Some of the inferences drawn from this study are that the sleep patterns of the patients in the ICU promoted the natural defences of the body, thus, allowing the patients to develop long-terms health stability. These associations are also consistent with other studies that have established the existence of positive influences between long term health balances of individuals to the quality of sleep that they receive (Eliassen & Hopstock, 2011, p. 140). Opinions of some nursing experts suggest that the promotion of environmental conditions that support quality sleeping patterns is more sustainable than interventions that involve the us e of sleep inducers. Patients who are occasionally subjected to sleep inducers often lapse into delirium after a short while and may require stronger inducers in order for them to acquire the same amount of sleep (Patel, Chipman, Carlin & Shade, 2008, p. 310). Some of the studies have established a connection between the impairment of the body’s ability to combat infections (Eliassen & Hopstock, 2011; Friese, 2007). Quality sleep strengthens the immune system and provides the enabling environment for the functioning of the defensive mechanism of the body. Poor sleeping patterns are usually associated with prolonged healing and negative responses to the treatment processes. Patients who fail to get sufficient sleep are also likely to suffer from hallucinations and unstable psychological states. This is because the state of a patient’s mental balance is affected by the kind of pressure and strain that occur during the period of wakefulness. In order for a patient in the ICU to develop the necessary defences, it is necessary to develop a stable sleeping schedule with sufficient time that would allow for the release of the strain and pressure that operate at the mental level. The role of nurses in mitigating the adverse