Assignment #13 – The Vietnam War

 Step 1: Watch – “Hearts and Minds” online

 Step 2: Read – “The Impossible Victory” from A People’s History 

Step 3: Complete the Discussion Board Discussion Prompt: 

“We weren’t on the wrong side,” a stricken Daniel Ellsberg confides, “We were the wrong side” Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film in 1974, Hearts and Minds still resonates as a cautionary tale against unquestioned military might abroad and virulent patriotism at home. The title comes from the now infamous speech by Lyndon Johnson in which the president declared that “ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there.” Though Johnson was referring to the South Vietnamese, on whose behalf we fought Communist North Vietnam, Davis has taken Johnson’s challenge as his own. His film appeals to our most primitive emotions as well as our highest intellect, linking these seemingly competing faculties through visual juxtaposition. Without the aid of a narrator, the movie alternates be- tween eminent talking heads, stock footage, veteran testimony, and scarily, clips from corny Hollywood agitprop. It all forms a dense weave of sound and images that relies on us to connect the thematic dots. Though this is seldom an easy task given the film’s tendency to delay counterpoints and to short-circuit any obvious dramatic momentum, repeated viewings will help the movie’s general, if fitful, chronological  semblance to emerge. Pinpointing the origin of our involvement in Vietnam in the post-World War II belief that “we could control the future of the world,” Davis suggests that our policy of Communist containment spawned an altogether different and intractable monster at home, that is, the management of lies and cover-up emanating from the very top. (www.imagesjournal.com) After watching this film and completing your readings, what are your thoughts about the Vietnam War?

Link of the video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdJcOWVLmmU

Link of the article- http://libcom.org/a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-howard-zinn/18-the-impossible-victory-vietnam

In this session, you have been considering moral-ethical dilemmas you yourself faced or that you know of that you either resolved or failed to resolve, but hopefully learned from. You may never have given much thought to ethical theory nor what ethical premises/paradigms you have unconsciously held.

You will be focusing on this case for this assignment:

Jane Doe is a nursing student at University X. Jane is in week eight of a course entitled: “Introduction to Ethics”.

For the week one discussion, Jane copied work done by her friend John Doe in the same class two months ago (with a different professor). John told Jane it was okay to use his work as John’s professor never checked any work in the class using Turnitin.com. John claimed to have earned an A on the work also.

In week two, Jane went to StudentPapering.com and paid ten dollars for a week two essay done by a student (not John Doe) who took the same course four months ago. StudentPapering promises that all its archived work is of excellent quality and cannot be detected as copied. Jane then uploaded an exact copy of the work for the week two assignment.

In week three, Jane paid a worker at PaperingStudent.com ten dollars to write for Jane a brand new essay after Jane shared with the worker the essay assignment instructions.

In week four, Jane relied on her knowledge of Esperanto. She felt pressed for time and found an article by a professor from Esperanto on the week four topic. She translated Esperanto into English using Moogle Translate, and the translated text served as her week four paper.

In week five, Jane was running late again. Jane purposely uploaded a blank paper hoping that she would later claim it was an innocent mistake and not be assessed a late penalty. In a previous course on History, she had done the same (with an earlier paper from the History class rather than simply a blank) and had not seen any late penalty assessed.

In week six, Jane took work she did in a nursing course from a year ago and submitted that for her discussion posting in her current class. She simply copied and pasted the work she had labored intensively on a year ago (even though University X forbids this practice as ‘self-plagiarism’). Jane was confident her Nursing instructor never checked that work using Turnitin.com or another method.

In week seven, Jane copied and pasted work found on website.com for the paper. Jane did not use any quotation marks or other documentation to show the text was not by Jane.

Since Jane’s Ethics professor did not check papers and posting for any issues by using Turnitin.com or another method, the professor graded all of Jane’s work unaware of Jane’s actions throughout the weeks of the class. Jane feels her actions are morally justified both because her economic situation requires her to work too much to devote time to school (although other students are well-off enough to have such time) and her religion forbids cheating, but Jane ignores her religion’s teachings.

Instructions
Now that you have had an opportunity to explore ethics formally, create a reflective assessment of your learning experience and the collaborations you engaged in throughout this session.

For the written reflection, address Jane Doe’s and respond to the following:

• Articulate again your moral theory from week eight discussion (You can revise it if you wish). What two ethical theories best apply to it? Why those two?
• Apply to Jane Doe’s case your personal moral philosophy as developed in week eight discussion and now. Use it to determine if what Jane Doe did was ethical or unethical per your own moral philosophy.
• Consider if some of these examples are more grave instances of ethical transgressions than others. Explain.
• Propose a course of social action and a solution by using the ethics of egoism, utilitarianism, the “veil of ignorance” method, deontological principles, and/or a theory of justice to deal with students like Jane. Consider social values such as those concerning ways of life while appraising the interests of diverse populations (for instance, those of differing religions and economic status).

Writing Requirements (APA format)

• Length: 3-4 pages (not including title page or references page)
• 1-inch margins
• Double spaced
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• Title page
• References page (minimum of 2 scholarly sources)

Week 4 Discussion

For this assignment, you will review the latest evidence-based guidelines as they pertain to the case below. Please make sure you are using scholarly references and they should not be older than 5 years. The posts/references must be in APA format.  

Case Study

CM is a 43-year-old female who presents with concerns regarding two painless right-breast lumps that she detected four months ago. She missed an appointment for evaluation by her primary-care provider at that time and presents today with reportedly no change in these findings since that time. There has been no breast discharge, bleeding, overlying skin changes, lymphadenopathy, or fevers; she denies recent or past breast trauma. She did, however, undergo a stereostatic breast biopsy three years ago that demonstrated atypical lobular hyperplasia, and there is a known family history of breast cancer (mother, diagnosis at age 48). Current review is significant for a 10-pound weight loss due to diminished appetite over the last two months. Amenorrheic x three years; no current hormonal-replacement therapy or previous oral-contraceptive use; had levonorgestrel implantation at age 28, removed at age 33 and has only used condoms since, but nothing now as she is not sexually active.
This case is meant to highlight indications for breast-cancer screening and to outline the standard evaluation of a female who presents with a breast mass.

Learning objectives for the case:

• Distinguish between the common types of breast masses.
• Know the guidelines for breast-cancer screening.
• Explain the reasoning behind the standard diagnostic approach to a patient with a breast mass.

Also review with following in order to adequately answer the questions in regard to the case above:

• Epidemiology: what is the latest information regarding Breast Cancer?
• Clinical considerations: what are the considerations you should explore in regard to this disorder (e.g. most common presenting symptom, less common symptoms, physical exam findings, testing to order (with rationale) – which is most recommended in regard to this case and why.
• Review the TMN classification system.
• Review the SEER staging system as an alternative rating system for epidemiology reporting.
• Explain the Risk factors for developing breast cancer. What risk factors does this patient have for breast cancer?

After completing your Case Study and reviewing the guidelines for breast-cancer screening, answer the following Discussion Board questions using the latest evidenced based guidelines:

• Discuss the questions that would be important to include when interviewing a patient with this issue, including any risk factors she may have.
• Describe the clinical findings that may be present in a patient with this issue.
• Are there any diagnostic studies that should be ordered on this patient? Why?
• List the primary diagnosis and three differential diagnoses for this patient. Explain your reasoning for each.
• Discuss your management plan for this patient, including pharmacologic therapies, tests, patient education, referrals, and follow-ups.