Suppose U Stood Facing A Wall Of Photographs Essays - Photograph

Suppose U Stood Facing A Wall Of Photographs Suppose you stood facing a wall of photograph from your unlived life and make the suggestion that the wall will look much better if your accomplishments weren't neglected. A photo of you with love, a photo with you without love, time shifting through memories never lived, yet a remembrance of the forgotten peculiar. The pictures arranged perfectly, and the wall beautifully set, the glassy reflection returning an image and a shadow through daylight you are unaware of. Then would you be determined? Would it come to mind to live your life differently? Seeing yourself in a state of existence is an honor to change what hasn't been done. Suppose the very last photograph hasn't been taken. Would you paint it yourself, telling a story of predictions, or leave it clear of thought, making true the unlived life now left to be boring. Natalie Roman Copyright ?2000 Natalie Roman Bibliography Just a little something I decided to write in my creative writing class . No plagiarism remember . Everything is copyrighted here!!! :-)

Eco Tourism In Costa Rica Essays - Tourism In Costa Rica, Costa Rica

Eco Tourism In Costa Rica Essays - Tourism In Costa Rica, Costa Rica Eco Tourism In Costa Rica The Republic of Costa Rica is in the midst of a dramatic transition from a small, Central American nation known for its bananas and good coffee into a gateway for international commerce between Latin America and the rest of the world and a well traveled, if not over traveled, tourist destinationand rightfully so. Costa Rica is a highly attractive country filled with beautiful mountain ranges, undisturbed beaches and friendly natives or Ticos. In addition, Costa Rica offers a highly educated work force, a stable economic and political environment, and exceptional communications and transportation networksespecially in comparison to its neighbors, Panama and Nicaragua. All of these national characteristics, and others, have been fueling a movement of multi-national companies, American retirees and tourists from around the world into Costa Rica, in order to benefit from these treasures. One may adequately predict that Costa Rica, specifically the capital city of San Jose and the coastal regions on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, have the potential of becoming the Silicon Valley and Ft. Lauderdale of Central America. That is to say, the major U.S. and European firms in the personal computer and software industries, along with retirees and tourists, will continue this trend of moving into Costa Rica for the next twenty five years and maybe more. This trend and its longevity present geographers, environmentalists, politicians and economists with a seemingly insurmountable task of preventing the destruction of Costa Ricas environment, culture, society and natural

Business Law Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Law Report - Essay Example More importantly, business laws do not only act as regulations on carrying out business activities but also are useful for the protection of individual entities and persons involved. For instance, business laws are crucial in partnerships due to the governance of relations between the individual parties in play. To facilitate comprehension, a more specific evaluation of the role of business law in limited liability companies (LLC) is in order. Basically, LLCs are legally formed business entities with provisions of limited liability to its members. The recent years have seen increased venturing into LLC across the globe arguably due to the extensive benefits accrued to their formation that impact directly on the owners. LLCs are allowed to choose their preferred tax regime such as either a sole proprietorship or a partnership. This implies that an LLC may be formed by a single individual or through combination of multiple members thereby creating a partnership. However, tax provisions vary across different regions implying that determination of qualification is carried out based on the laws governing LLCs in respective regions. Nonetheless, this provision is increases flexibility of LLCs making giving them some advantage over other business forms. Such an LLC may opt to be taxed as partnerships rather than a corporation to enjoy the benefits accrued to such entities. For example, members’ distributive share of incom e, gain, and loss among other sharable prospects may be done through other approaches apart from through determination of ownership percentage of individual members provided they are within the confines of laws in Treasury Regulation. Moreover, members of an LLC have limited liability implying that they are protected from liabilities of the LLC. However, this benefit is dependent on the state shield law with some providing for some of the liability rather than the entire liability. Additionally, LLC are arguably better compared

Response Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Response Structure - Essay Example Road incidents cause congestion on highways and freeways. Because of the importance of traffic incidents, crisis management providers of service, and law enforcement agencies are working towards â€Å"incident management† in many cities of United State. It can be defined as a planned, organized, and methodical utilization of institutional, technical, scientific, industrial, perfunctory resources to lessen the time and shock of incidents, and enhance the safety of victims and motorists and car riders on the highways in case of road incidents. (Balke, K.N. Fenno, D.W., Ullman, B. (November 2002)). Intensity of incident management differs considerably from one state to another. In many areas, an intricate traffic control system that make use of video observation cameras and other automatic accident exposure systems to watch the freeways and also to counter possible incidents situations. Other areas like Texas use service patrols or motorist supportive patrols that go about the freeways and monitor incidents and give adequate help to vehicles or put immobilized vehicles off the roads. (Balke, K.N. Fenno, D.W., Ullman, B. (November 2002). Evaluation of the incident management system is the measurement of own incident management system to the set goals or objectives. By the use of performance evaluation, agencies can achieve the following: The Coordinator of Texas State Incident Management Team, Bob Koenig, believes that to increase the State’s potential for managing incidents in Texas should be guided by multiple periods of operations, by using various resources and also by following several authorities. He works for the missions for Hurricane response. (Koenig, B. (2010) In many areas all cross the United States of America, different societies work for different parts of the process of incident management. Their sole objective is protecting people and working for their betterment. (Balke, K.N. Fenno,

CSR in particular industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CSR in particular industry - Essay Example However, in the early days, many researchers were convinced that CSR strategies and activities were homogeneous across different industries. However, advanced research has revealed that CSR is a heterogeneous field. Such heterogeneity means that some industries have to exhibit more effort in developing effective CSR. Therefore, CSR activities vary across industries. Moreover, assessment of effective CSR strategies also varies across the industries. This paper will discuss the reasons why CSR activities, exhibit such variance across industries. Research has identified that CSR strategies depend on several factors for each organization. These factors include the characteristics of the organization, the national framework of CSR, the nature of business activities, the category of labour involved, the risk of harming the environment, and finally the society where the business is located. Different industries exhibit varied characteristics. They depend on different stakeholder groups, have varied proximity to the consumers, and usually have differential potential in causing social or environmental adverse effects. This only means that industries that are likely to pose potential environmental damages or negative social effects have to define more CSR strategies. Moreover, industries exhibiting a close proximity to consumers have to be more focused on SCR that ensure consumer safety (Mullerat & Brennan 2011, p. 113). Moreover, such industries have to be more critical of their supply chains. On the other hand, some industries do not have the compulsion to define numerous CSR activities depending on the nature of their business activities. In order to illustrate the points described above, examples of different industries and the level of CSR activities expected of them will be presented in this section. Financial institutions do not pose great risks to the environment, but are required to promote sustainability and protect the environment

The concepts of clinical governance

The concepts of clinical governance Clinical governance is defined as a system through which the health organisations are accountable for quality improvements of their services to meet the high standards of care by creating a suitable environment. The clinical governance is based on these fundamentals: Risk management. Confidentiality Staff Public involvement. Complaints investigation. Health promotion. Practice manual. Dissemination of good ideas. Quality improvement. Accountability. Clinical effectiveness, audit, evidence based practice, and policy. Risk management: Risk management is quality control related discipline and insurance comprising activities designed the adverse effects of loss upon a healthcare organisations, physical, financial assets, and human through: Claims control Loss prevention and reduction Identification of loss potential Loss funding and risk financing We have to try to establish what is actually likely to go wrong. We have to analyse and control the risk establish what can be done to reduce, minimise or eliminate it. We have to calculate the cost of getting it right as opposed to the cost of getting it wrong. Implementation of a risk management system: there are eight steps: Identify key risk areas. review past incidents. Identify key trigger events. Implement an incident reporting system. Investigate high risk events Monitor and analyse reports for trends. Implement changes if necessary. Educate and feedback. Consider a help from outside company with expertise in risk management. Other sources of help may include: The health authority The local dental committee The primary care group. Confidentiality: The principle of confidentiality is the basic to the practice in any healthcare setting. Patients attend for examination and treatment in the belief that the information that they give, will be kept secret. Health professionals are responsible to their patients with whom they are in a professional relationship, for the confidentiality of any information obtained. The fundamental principle of confidentiality is that the health professionals must not use or disclose any confidential information obtained in the course of their work other than for the clinical care of the patient to whom that information relates. Exceptions to the above are: If the patient consents. If it is in the patients own interest that information should be disclosed. If the health professional has an overriding duty to society to disclose the information If the disclosure is necessary to safeguard national security If the disclosure is necessary to prevent a serious risk to public health. Generally the consent is assumed for the necessary sharing of information with other professionals involved with the care of the patient for that episode of care and, where essential, for continuing care. Beyond this, informed consent must be obtained. The development of modern information technology and increased amount of multi-disciplinary teamwork in patient care, such as in undertaking clinical audit, make confidentiality difficult to uphold. You should tell patients whom you invite to participate in a survey in relation to audit about the standards of confidentiality. You should inform them about the extent to which their identity, contact details and information they give you is confidential to you, your work team or organisation. Be aware of your responsibilities under the Data Protection Act as to when you need to seek patient consent, (Department of Health 1998). A written confidentiality policy document should be in place for the attention of all staff in the practice. A named person should be responsible for the confidentiality policy document, this will include to monitor adherence to it and to deal with any potential or actual breaches of confidentiality. Temporary, voluntary or work experience students should all be informed of their obligations to maintain confidentiality. Managers must ensure that paper and computer security is maintained. The responsibilities of management, clerical, and administrative staff for confidentiality include: Confidentiality training for all staff. A clause about confidentiality in contracts of employment. There should be a named person with whom any member of staff can discuss difficulties with confidentiality. Physical difficulties such as lack of privacy at reception desks or being overheard answering the telephone should be reported and dealt with. Clear rules about the handling of post marked private, confidential, or personal are in place. The reasons for requests for information from patients should be explained. Only seeking the minimum of information required for the task. Shredding confidential paper records must be in place. Clear procedures for recording and storing information on paper or on computer must be in a policy document of the confidentiality in the practice. Safeguards against unauthorised access to either must be active. Levels of access to data should be clearly stated. Passwords to computer records kept confidential. Terminal security must be arranged so that an unauthorised person is unable to use an unattended terminal to access data. firewall security against unauthorised access to confidential data must be in place and active. Consent: Consent may be implied, oral, or written. Example of Implied consent is when the patient opens his mouth to allow a dentist to do an examination may be assumed to have consented to that examination. A note should be added to the patients records confirming the provision and nature of the consent when the patient consents orally. Written consents are not normally essential or a guarantee but it gives a useful document if evidence is required months or years later. Consent based on clear explanations is essential, especially in some situations such as implant placement, sedation and general anaesthesia. Patients have the right to decide whether to undergo any dental intervention, even when refusal may result in harm to them. The General Dental Council requires written consent for general anaesthesia and sedation procedures. The patient must be given sufficient information to enable them to make an informed consent. The amount of information should be given to the patient depends on a range of factors including the nature of the condition, risks and the patients wishes. Patients may need more information about procedures with high risks or with serious personal, social, or professional implications. Explanations should be given and the consent should be obtained by a knowledgeable practitioner and ideally by the practitioner carrying out the procedure. It may be appropriate for the patient to bring a friend, relative, interpreter, etc. So, we have to ensure that there is a consent form for any intrusive procedure or any other procedure where a documented record is essential or advisable. Information provided must or may include the following: Details of diagnosis and prognosis if the medical or dental condition is left untreated. The options for further investigation prior to treatment. Options for management and treatment should be explained fully to the patient including the option not to treat. Other treatment options such as pain relief should also be explained and documented. Common and serious side effects must be fully documented and explained to the patient in a way that the patient can understand and digest. All the questions raised by the patient should be answered and explained to the patient in a way that he/she can understand. Benefits The patient must be informed and documented in the consent form if the process is untested or for research purposes. Ensure a system to allow the patient to be provided with time and a copy of the consent form. Ideally the patient should discuss the matter with family, friends, etc. The consent form must be explained and interpreted to allow for understanding that serious harm does not mean that the patient would become upset or decide to refuse treatment. A referral to the patients GP for a psychiatric or psycho geriatric review to assess competence if he or she is unsure whether the patient is competent. Explanations may be enhanced by using other material such as brochures, diagnosis, photographs, etc. A patient should be given time to consider the issue before finally consenting. Consent must not be given under duress, either from family or the dentist. The patient must be made aware of any hazard which might cause his concern or to which significance would be attached. Any relevant information withheld from the patient should be recorded together with the reason for doing so. No one can provide consent on behalf of an adult, even if the person lacks the capacity to make a decision for him or herself. Just because a patient is the subject of a compulsory treatment order under a section of the Mental Health Act (1983) (or the Mental Health Act (Scotland) 1984), this does not remove the need to obtain consent for procedures which are unrelated to the mental illness. If a patient is not competent to make a decision, the practitioner may provide any investigation or treatment that he or she judges to be in the patients best interests. Children under 16 may be able to consent to investigations or treatment if they understand the nature, purpose and possible consequences of the proposed treatment and the consequences of non-treatment. They must not duffer duress from family or friend. Staff Public involvement. Staff Involvement Clinical Staff Requirements and Development General Dental Council registration. Clinical staff supervision. Continuing Professional Development requirements. Complaints Handling. Poor performance policy. (including whistle blow policy) Patient information and involvement Setting priorities for developing clinical governance: We can use SMART acronym to help us: S specific M measurable A Achievable R relevant T time based. Collect information from all members of the team and from the patients before you make any decisions on how to progress. Complaints investigation. Complaints Methods of dealing with complaints are: Inform your medical indemnity insurer and they will advise you on the best way to deal with it. Managing complaints system within the practice is in place. Member of staff to manage the complaints process is nominated and has this responsibility. Complaints procedure timescale is known to the staff and the dentist. Dentists or the complaints manager should try to meet any patient who complains to attempt to resolve the problem. Details of the complaints procedure should be published in the practice leaflet. Details of the complaints procedure should be displayed on a suitable notice in the waiting area. Complaints manager should seek advice about complaints from medical indemnity provider. Dentist should offer an apology if the situation warrants it. Practice should have a policy for refunding payments if the situation warrants it. Claims The principle of law is: A doctor is not negligent if he has acted in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical men skilled in that particular artà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.a doctor is not negligentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦merely because there is a body of opinion that takes a contrary. If we receive a solicitor letter the principle steps are: Dont panic Do not respond to a solicitors letter directly, send it to your dental defence company and let them reply. Collect together all relevant notes, correspondence, and investigations. Do not deface, alter or destroy any of the notes or other records. Practice manual Infection Control Recording of hepatitis B immunisation status. Audit of policy compliance. Child Protection: Identification and CRB (Criminal Record Bauru) checks for all staff. Child protection policy. Evidence-Based Practice and Research Principles of research governance should be applied where appropriate. The definition of Evidence based practice is an approach to decision making in which the clinician uses the best evidence available, in consultation with the patient, to decide upon the option which suits that patient best. Evidence based practice EBP is helping the clinician to maximize the use of best available evidence. Practice review: Arrangements should be in place for the practice team to develop their own checklist for reviewing the practice. A system should be in place for reviewing the practice risk. A system should be in place for patients to pass suggestions to the practice e.g through a suggestion box. A system should be in place for staff to report near misses. A nominated staff member should be available to identify, implement and co-ordinate any risk reduction procedures in the practice. The environment: The surgery should be thoroughly inspected by a team of staff including one or more of the dentists, the practice manager, a dental nurse and one or more senior receptionists. Record Keeping Quality of records is more important than quantity. The patient record keeping provides all privileged parties with the history and details of patient assessment and communication between dentist and patient, as well as specific treatment recommendations, alternatives, risks, and care provided. The patient record keeping is an important legal document in third party relationships. Poor or inadequate documentation of patient care consistently is reported as a major contributing factor in unfavourable legal judgments against dentists (American Academy of Paediatric Dentistry 2006). An electronic patient record is becoming more commonplace (Atkinson et al 2002, Heid et al 2002). General Charting: Initial patient record: Components of a patient record: Components Medical history This should include systems review which includes cardiac, respiratory, haematological, diabetes, hepatitis, epilepsy, gastrointestinal, and mental impairment. Medications which they are include regular medications, recent medication, and allergies. Medical history should include any history of hospitalization. This includes age and cause of admission, operations, and general anaesthesia. Dental history Past history: e.g. regular or irregular attendee, previous experiences, experience of local anaesthesia, and previous co-operation levels Home care: e.g. oral hygiene habits and dietary habits. Reason for attendance. Clinical assessment Diagnosis Treatment recommendations Progress notes When applicable the patient record should include Radiographic assessment Caries risk assessment Informal consent documentation Orthodontic records Laboratory orders Test results Sedation / general anaesthesia records Referrals record Additional ancillary records. Medical history update: The history should be consulted and updated at each recall visit. Dental history Chief complaint Previous dental experience Date of last dental visit/radiographs Oral hygiene practices Fluoride use/exposure history Dietary habits oral habits Previous orofacial trauma Temporomandibular joint history Social development Family history Comprehensive Clinical Examination: General health assessment Pain assessment Temporomandibular joint assessment Extra oral examination Intra oral examination: this includes soft tissues, periodontal tissues, oral hygiene assessment, occlusion assessment, and caries risk assessment. Radiographic assessment is important to aid the diagnosis of dental caries, to detect bony and dental pathology, and to detect abnormalities in dental development. Examination of a limited nature: Treatment recommendations and informed consent: Progress notes Orthodontic treatment Correspondence, consultations, and ancillary documents Principles of treatment planning: includes management of pain, and long term treatment planning. Caries risk assessment: from this assessment appropriate decisions regarding prevention, restorative care, extractions, and long-term recall protocols can be made. Preventive care: the provision of preventive dental care is possibly the most important aspect of treatment planning for the patient. Restorative care: having established the co-operation of the patient it is important to make realistic decisions concerning restorative care. This involves carefull consideration of the advisability of restoring an individual tooth. Aesthetic consideration: Recall visits: completion of the initial course of treatment is merely the start of a long-term relationship with the patient. Reassessment and recall are essential to the treatment planning process. Ongoing prevention, such as the use of fissure sealants or fluoride supplements, requires monitoring as does general and orofacial growth consideration must be given to the existing caries risk factors and awareness that these may change. Clinical audit It is the method used by health professionals to assess, evaluate, and improve the care of patients in a systematic way, to enhance their health and quality of life, (Irven, 1991). The steps of the audit cycle represented in figure 1 are: Select topic objectives Re-audit Audit Cycle Review standards review literature for criteria Make action plan Set standards Feed back findings Design Audit Analyse data Collect Data Fig. 1: Steps in audit cycle. Select the Topic: Set criteria: Set Standards: Data collection: What information we wish to collect. Define Sample: this can be limited by time, funds, staff skills etc. Data analysis: Feed back the findings Draw up the collection plan: Implementation Re-audit: AUDIT TOPIC Quality of Clinical Record-Keeping Background: Why is this audit worth doing? A permanent, faithful and accurate contemporaneous record is required for the appropriate management of patients by clinical dental teams and may be required for medico-legal and clinical governance reasons. CRITERIA AND STANDARDS All patients records must: A Have clear identifying details. B Be legible. C Be dated and filed chronologically. D Have clinicians signature with his/her printed name and designation. E Have clear history, diagnosis and treatment plan for the patient. F Only use approved abbreviations. G Have cancellation and failure to attend recorded. H Retain the original record if any alterations are made. 100% Compliance with criteria was set as the gold standard for the audit. Assess local practice (DATA COLLECTED) Clear identifying details. (1, 2, 3) 1 means clinical record does not have clear identifying details. 2 means clinical record have moderately (fairly) clear identifying details. 3 means clinical records have very clear identifying details. Be legible means records are not legible means records are fairly legible means records are very legible Be dated and filed chronologically. Means records are not dated and not filed chronologically Means records are not always dated and filed chronologically Means records are always dated and filed chronologically. Have clinicians signature with his/her printed name and designation. Means records do not have clinicians signature or names. Means records some times have clinicians signature and names Means records always have clinicians signature and printed names. Have clear history, diagnosis and treatment plan for the patient. Means clinical records do not have clear history, diagnosis and treatment plan for the patient Means clinical records sometimes have clear history, diagnosis and treatment plan for the patient. Means clinical records always have clear history, diagnosis and treatment plan for the patient. Only use approved abbreviations. Means clinical records do not have approved abbreviations. Means clinical records sometimes have approved abbreviations Means clinical records always have approved abbreviations. Have cancellation and failure to attend recorded. Means clinical records do not have cancellation and failure to attend recorded. Means clinical records sometimes have cancellation and failure to attend recorded. Means clinical records always have cancellation and failure to attend recorded. Retain the original record if any alterations are made. Means clinical records do not retain the original records if any alterations are made. Means clinical records only occasionally retain the original records if any alterations are made. Means clinical records always retain the original records if any alterations are made. Table A B C D E F G H Total 1 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 6 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 6 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 7 7 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 7 9 3 3 3 3 3 1 3 3 7 10 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 11 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 8 12 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 8 13 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 7 14 3 3 3 3 1 2 3 3 6 15 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 6 16 3 3 3 3 1 2 3 3 6 17 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 18 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 19 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 20 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 6 21 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 6 22 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 6 23 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 24 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 25 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 26 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 27 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 28 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 29 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 30 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 31 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 32 3 3 3 3 2 1 3 3 6 33 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 34 3 3 3 3 2 1 3 3 6 35 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 36 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 37 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 38 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 6 39 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 40 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 41 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 42 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 6 43 3 3 3 3 1 2 3 3 6 44 3 3 3 3 1 2 3 3 6 45 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 46 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 47 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 48 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 49 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 50 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 Total 50 50 50 50 34 33 50 50 32 Data are collected and analysed: 25 clinical records per clinician assessed. Clinician A records was given the numbers from 1 to 25. Clinician B records was given the numbers from 26 to 50. RESULTS (FINDINGS) Compare findings with standards Only 32 out of 50 records met the gold standard 64% of records are meeting the above gold standards. Clinician A has 15 records out of 25 records met the gold standards (60%) Clinician B has 17 records out of 25 records met the gold standards (68%) Change Improvement will be considered and implemented that all records must have clear history, diagnosis and treatment plan for the patients, and only approved abbreviations to be used. Digital input to be considered for all dental records have clear legible printed records. Re-audit annually.

Oedipus: Riddle of the Sphinx as a Metaphor of Life Essay -- Oedipus t

Oedipus: Riddle of the Sphinx as a Metaphor of Life      Ã‚  Ã‚   Oedipus Rex (the King), written by Sophocles, is the tragic play depicting the disastrous existence to which Oedipus, an Athenian, is 'fated' to endure. With a little help from the gods and the 'fated' actions and decisions of Oedipus, an almost unthinkable misfortune unfolds. Athenian perfection can consist of intelligence, self-confidence, and a strong will. Oedipus, the embodiment of such perfection, and his tragedy are common place to Athenians. Ironically, the very same exact characteristics that bring about the ominous discovery of Oedipus' fate: to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus' 'fated' decisions entangle everyone whom is of any significance to him within a quagmire of spiraling tragedy. Sophocles uses the riddle of the Sphinx as a metaphor for the three phases of Oedipus' entangled life, the three phases of human life, and to describe how every life-changing action or decision can influence other lives. As stated in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, the Sphinx poses the following riddle to all those who would come to her: "What goes on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three at evening?"(Gioia and Kennedy, 1253) Many of Thebes' most intelligent citizens die as result of answering incorrectly. Using his superior discernment and diligence, Oedipus answers the riddle correctly and secures his reward in claiming the high seat of King of Thebes, along side Queen Jocasta. As a child, man crawls on his hands and knees, which the Sphinx refers to as four legs. One depends solely on others for nourishment and well being. Sophocles enacts this particular portion of the metaphor by telling us of Oedipus' birth an... ...g life's circle and the riddle of the Sphinx.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How often can one look back on life and see the choices one makes, only to come to the realization that no matter what decisions one makes about any and all of life's choices, most of humanity is paralleled by the same metaphor Sophocles uses to guide Oedipus' life? The riddle of the Sphinx is fate for each and every man, woman, and child. Although in real life the ending isn't always quite as tragic, everyone brings about his or her own discovery of truth and that quest of discovery inevitably touches, and in some cases, dramatically changes the lives of significant and insignificant friends, family, and acquaintances.    Works Cited Sophocles. "Oedipus the King." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 1902.