Tuesday, April 21, 2020

The Birth of a Goal free essay sample

As a child younger than four years old, I had watched Jerry thwart Tom in Tom and Jerry a multitude of times already. It never got old. This was the beginning of my love for animated television shows and movies. I also discovered a joy for drawing during that time period in my life. I grew up watching an assortment of animated television shows and movies. I was particularly captivated by The Lion King. No matter how many times I watched it, something about it just filled me with happiness. I was also engrossed with the shows Arthur, Pokemon, and Dragon Ball Z. Much of my time was also spent drawing at a table or desk. I also enjoyed walking around with my drawings and creating stories with them. While many children played in the gym at my afterschool daycare, I preferred to draw or watch animated television shows on the television there. We will write a custom essay sample on The Birth of a Goal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It was not that I was being unsociable. It was just because I loved doing those two activities so much. Of course, I have changed a lot throughout the years, but I have retained my interest in art, creating stories, and watching animated television shows and movies. As I grew up, those interests developed and matured. I began using more mediums and creating different kinds of artwork. My artwork became more refined. My stories became more mature and well thought out. I watched more animated television shows and movies and became able to understand them more thoroughly. I had also developed an interest in reading manga (Japanese comics). One manga series I read is called Bakuman. It’s about two middle school students and their dreams of becoming manga artists. I admired their drive and determination to achieve their dreams. I was particularly impacted by the way in which the main character changed from someone who didn’t know what his dreams for the future were and had decided to just take the â€Å"normal† path, as he calls it, of getting into a good high school, then a good college, then get a job at a good company, into someone with such motivation to become a manga artist. Reading Bakuman was part of the reason why I decided I don’t want an occupation that I didn’t like. I want to enjoy doing what I do to make a living. I want an occupation in which I can use my love for art, creating stories, and animated television shows and movies. I also want an occupation in which I can influence people, especially children, positively, giving them joy and spreading values to them, and hel ping them improve their own lives and the lives of people around them. At first, I wanted to become a manga artist just like the two characters in Bakuman. However, I had to face the fact that manga just isn’t as popular in the United States as in Japan. Now, as much as I would enjoy being a manga artist, lack of income security isn’t exactly appealing to me. Also, I probably wouldn’t be influencing or helping a lot of people if nobody reads the manga I create. Then, I realized that creating animated television shows and movies would satisfy what I seek in an occupation just as well, if not better, as creating manga. This is how I came to have the goal of becoming an animator and eventually a director and/or producer of animated television shows and movies.

Monday, March 16, 2020

An analysis of Trainspotting Essay Example

An analysis of Trainspotting Essay Example An analysis of Trainspotting Paper An analysis of Trainspotting Paper Scene Analysis: The opening speech of the film Trainspotting is accompanied by a speedy soundtrack visual style. It opens with a scene of the films main character, Mark Renton, jumping over a car and running down the street from the store he just robbed, the sense of urgency throughout the film is established immediately. Aurally there is Rentons Choose Life speech and Iggy Pops Lust for Life playing as the soundtrack. In Throughout the speech Renton is rejecting the yuppie culture of a nuclear family, material possessions, a paying job, and dental insurance, he is rebelling, but this isnt just the usual disaffection of youth as it is a deeper, more pervasive dissatisfaction with a culture he views as sick and stifling. The song Lust for Life plays almost in its entirety, and the quick editing during this sequence between the running down the street, a soccer match, Renton passing out from shooting smack, and a scene in Mother Superiors flat. These divergent scenes are all interconnected by the song and Rentons continuing witty narration. These first six scenes, until the point that Renton first tries unsuccessfully to quit heroin cold turkey, are edited with quick camera cuts and connected by the soundtrack. When Renton first enters the bar where he uses the worst toilet in Scotland, we are greeted for the first time with the point of view shots. Through Rentons eyes, we see the bored faces of the people in the bar, the long and harrowing hallway to the bathroom, and finally the repulsive toilet itself. Over the soundtrack, we hear an classical-styled orchestral piece. Trainspotting uses this music to create an ironic backdrop to the films disgusting toilet scene. The combination of the beautiful music and a nauseating scene makes the scene memorable. The toilet scene also represents the first use of a hallucinatory scene, but later scenes of Rentons detoxification were stronger in this area. The diving down into the toilet by Renton looks unrealistic, and the water underneath seems too clean and blue to related to the murky water above. It could be argued that the scene was supposed to show Renton escaping the conditions through his mind, but it also seems unfaithful to Irvine Welshs novel and weakens the scene. When Renton is at the door of the room that holds the grotesque toilet, we see digitally written across the bathroom door is the worst toilet in Scotland. This is the second use of titles in the film, much in the same way the major characters were freeze-framed and given names over the freeze frames in the opening scene. The use of titles is yet another visual style of the film that the creators of the film exploit well. Boyle uses quick editing throughout the film to establish its frenetic pace and lives of the characters. This creates an erratic sense of story-telling that is able to bring in a number of scenes that exist not necessarily to propel the story, but to propel the frantic vitality and humour of the film.

Friday, February 28, 2020

Citing particular examples, discuss how far pop music can be Essay

Citing particular examples, discuss how far pop music can be considered textual poachers (Henry jerkins) - Essay Example Apparently, a topic that attempts to capture the dynamics of any culture within the context of social icons and the mentality of their followers, could not adequately incorporate and interact with the controversies thereon as textual poachers does with pop music. Originally, Henry Jerkins did a lot of studies surrounding television entertainment with shows and movie series as the centre of interest for many fans. The provocative interaction that the television fan base makes with the ideal universe created by the shows that they faithfully follow blind them such that they fail to conceptualize the idealism involved in the productions. The author states that this creates a culture that tries to fit in the idealism provoked by the entertainment culture (Jenkins, 1992, p277). In a similar manner, the pop music industry can be assessed for a possibility of a similar idealism generated within the music setting and consequential spilling over to the real life of the fans to the extent that they â€Å"live† the idealism. In an attempt to explain the role of fans in the generation of new idealistic cultures, Jenkins (1992, p23) reports that fans find it fashionable and defensive to relate to a certain mass following of an entertainment platform. Further in the description of the behaviour of the fan group, the author reports that the identity and associating with the common following accords the group a manipulative force that enables it to form a culture. Producers of the original text from which the apparent poaching happens voice their displeasure by referring to the fans as cultural dupes or even senseless customers of the literary piece. Works of art that are presented to the audience commonly through the media are initially meant to be just entertainment content; but the audience blow off the balance between the text intention and imaginations not intended by the producer. There is an eventual loss of the art intention

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Professional Portfolio Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Professional Portfolio - Assignment Example She/he worked side by side with me for 8 months and I admire the strong sense of dedication and responsibility she displayed both to the hospital and her/his patients. I am sad to inform you that our institution is currently undergoing a restructuring and some of the employees have to be released and (Your Name) is one of the people we have been forced to release. She/he insisted that she would be pleased to work with your institution and that is why I endorse her to you. As a nurse, (Your Name) displayed professionalism that impacted her patients and all people around her/him. Everyone here respects him/her the entire nursing staff here like her/his work. This is because he/she has been used severally as a resource by other nurses for difficult crisis and cases. (Your Name) has always done more than expected to ensure that he/she is able to deliver the best service care to the patients She/he is a very reliable medical professional with enough knowledge about her/his job and treats every person with respect. She/he is a wonderful person to work with and, despite the fact that we would miss her and her strong passion, I strongly recommend her to you. (Your Name) is well educated and has valuable experience to be a great medical nurse. In the event that you need any more details, kindly feel free to call me at _______ or email me at ________________. It is my great honor to recommend (Your Name) as a staff nurse at Bethel Medical Center. Despite the fact that I will miss (Your Name)s skill, professionalism and expertise in my practice, I believe that she/he will be able to implicate the same effort and impact the community in your institution. I am certain that (Your Name) is the kind of nurse that will effectively serve the community well whenever patients come looking for treatments related to her area of expertise. (Your Name) has been a very crucial asset to my practice. She/he has been able to develop exceptional abilities and skills in

Friday, January 31, 2020

Ethics and Social Responsibility Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics and Social Responsibility - Case Study Example Whereas a typical retail outlet occupies a floor plan of over 4500 square feet, Nau is able to squeeze its product offerings into a minimal 2700 square feet; sometimes even less if one considers the kiosks (to be discussed next) as stores (DesMarteau, 2007). Furthermore, the firm has also allocated 5% of all proceeds to be donated to charities that work to save and protect the environment. The firm refers to this practice as â€Å"aggressive altruism† and notes that most other firms consider 1% donated to charities to be the â€Å"gold standard† (Salkever, 2008). Although this serves to effect a higher price for the customers, it is doubtless that Nau has performed extensive market research and has determined that the target demographic it is appealing to finds this â€Å"aggressive altruism† to be a unique and endearing concept of how the firm does business. Additionally Nau has employed the use of internet kiosks in which customers can try on an array of different clothing and then purchase it from a self serve internet enabled kiosk. This serves to drastically reduce necessary floor space as well as reduce the costs associated with having employees attending to the needs of each and every customer (O’Connell, 2007). However, this practice is not without its unique drawbacks as will be analyzed in the preceding paragraph. It should be noted that although this has the benefit of providing the product to the customer at a lower cost and at a lower environmental impact, the tangential affect of this is that fewer jobs are available to the local economy. Therefore the increased profitability is not injected back into the community as with other similar retailers. Instead, this extra money that is saved on the general lack of store employees most likely finds its way into an increased bottom line for the firm. Although this may seem to be an unimportant

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Dylan Thomas :: Biography Biographies Essays

Dylan Thomas      Ã‚  Ã‚   "There is in the Welsh bardic tradition much that is absolutely fundamental to Thomas' writing: its highly lyrical qualities; its strict formal control and an essentially romantic conception of the poet's function in society." (Selby 98) These traits parallel the three themes that will be belaboured in this essay: the aural/oral appeal of Dylan Thomas' work; his meticulous obscurity; and the role of the poet in society.    I:  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of Thomas' more controversial and distinctive characteristics is his musicality. It is surprising that anyone would bring this up as a complaint; music is considered by many to be the purest art, and the highest poetry that which approaches nearest to music. Perhaps it is understandable that those critics who would limit meaning and contextualise art would also be aesthetically oriented such that they would find it offensive that a form for the eyes and mind should be so solicitous of the lips and ears.    It is also suggested that Thomas may be sacrificing meaning to sound, but this is hard to swallow when one considers the amount of effort he puts into codification (showing attention to meaning) and the fact that his poems simply aren't nonsense.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While attention to sound is considered a minor matter in many modern critical streams, it has always played a privileged part in Romantic aesthetics:    Sounds as well as thoughts have relation both between each other and towards that which they represent, and a perception of the order of those relations has always been found connected with a perception of the order of the relations of thoughts. Hence the language of poets have ever affected a certain uniform and harmonious recurrence of sound, without which it were not poetry, and which is scarcely less indispensable to the communication of its influence, than the words themselves, without reference to that peculiar order. (Shelley 92)    Even if it is true that the sound in some way detracts from the meaning, it is only in a temporary fashion, and is calculated. Stewart Crehan suggests: "Thomas' obscurity is calculated to foreground sound and its pleasures before the meaning sinks in." (Crehan 42) The sound has a hypnotic quality which opens up the mind and makes it more susceptible to the subtle suggestions of murky metaphysical musings.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Nursing and Family Stress Theory

Critique and Analysis of Family Stress Theory Nursing theory explains the relationship between concepts to enhance understanding and knowledge about a phenomenon (Walker & Advant, 2005). Theoretical frameworks for nursing of families provide a foundation for guiding the development of family centered care and research (Friedman, Bowden, & Jones, 2003). The application of theory helps to guide nursing practice, education, and research and supports the development of evidence-based nursing strategies and interventions for both the individual and the family as the client. This paper will critique and provide an analysis of the family stress theory. A brief introduction of the history and author of this theory will be provided and the major concepts and assumptions of the theory described. The rationale for selecting this theoretical model as it relates to family nursing practice will be provided and its strengths and weaknesses identified. In addition, a discussion of the application of the Family Stress Theory in current nursing research will be presented. Finally, ideas for future research needed to continue to develop this theory for its application in family nursing practice will be explored. Family Stress Theory The family stress theory was introduced by Professor Reuben Hill in the late1940s after the Great Depression (McDonald, n. d. ). McDonald (n. d) explains that Hill based his observations on families who survived the economic challenges of the Great Depression and those families who did not. Friedman, Bowden, and Jones (2003), explain that Hill based his research on the effects of separation and reunions as a result of war time on families. In both cases, the Family Stress Theory helps to explain why some families are able to adapt and survive when faced with stressors while other families encounter crisis. Hill’s Family Stress Theory has served as a framework for the development of more contemporary family stress models, such as the Resiliency Model, and as a foundation for clinical practice and crisis intervention (Friedman, Bowden, and Jones, 2003). Major Concepts Hill describes the importance of social relationships and positive perceptions which serve as buffers in protecting the family from crisis (McDonald, n. d. ). In developing the family stress theory, Hill formulated an ABCX framework which helps to define the stress, identify the family resources, explore the family’s perception of the stressor, and the crisis. The A variable is identified as the provoking stressor or event that the family encounters. Family experiences and strengths as well as family and community resources represent the B variable. This variable includes the family’s social support structure, both internal and external, which impact the magnitude of the stress on the family (McDonald, n. d. ). The family perception of the degree of stress produced by the provoking stressor or event represents the C variable. Combined, these three variables influence how a family copes, reacts, and manages the situation and determines whether or not the situation becomes a crisis, the X variable. Past experiences, adequate and available resources, time, and support all impact how a family is able to adapt and change to the situation. The application of the family stress theory helps to predict the potential for a family crisis. According to McDonald (n. d. ), â€Å"the combination of high stress with social isolation (the â€Å"B† variable) for families has been highly correlated with many forms of dysfunctional family outcomes† (para. ). Hill’s family stress theory provides a framework for a family as client focused assessment and the development of evidence-based nursing interventions that strengthen the family and promote positive outcomes. Family Stress Theory’s assumption about Family and Nursing The Family Stress theory is middle range theories developed by Hill and as th e variability of families are recognized through research, the traditional ABCX theoryevolved to different family stress theory and developed the conceptualization and the assumption of what family is about. In 1996, McCubbin and McCubbin outlined the theory’s assumption of a family in crisis (Smith & Liehr, 2008, p. 227) : Families over the course of life face hardships and changes as a natural and predictable aspect of family life. Families develop basic competencies, patterns of functioning, and capabilities to foster the growth and development of family members and the family unit, and to protect the family from major disruptions in the face of transitions and changes. Families develop basic and unique competencies, patterns of functioning, and capabilities designed to protect the family from unexpected or non-normative stressors, and strains and to foster the family’s recovery following a family crisis or major transition or change. Families draw from and contribute to the network of relationships and resources in the community, including its ethnicity and cultural heritage, particularly during periods of family stress and crises. Families faced with crisis situations demanding changes in the family’s functioning work to restore order, harmony, and balance even in the midst of change. In the Family Stress theory’s metaparadigm, nursing is responsible in assisting families in the process of adaptation by promoting the family member’s health, help to recover from illness, assist the family member to function within the specific health limitation, support and develop family’s strengths, assist in the use of community resources available, facilitate the family in appraisal of the situation and help the family decide what is best for the situation (Beckett, 2000) . The Family Stress Theory in Family Nursing Stress can affect intimate relationships in the family setting. Although stress is normal and natural in the family setting, severe stress can lead to serious family situations such as domestic violence, alcoholism, substance abuse, and even child neglect. The outcome of the family’s situation during the stressful event depends on how the family responds and thrives to the stressful situation. A stressful event can be in the form of an acute or chronic illness in the family, sudden role changes,hardships in the family life cycle, separation, and death of a family member. The use of Family Stress Theory in Family Nursing assists the nurses in exploring the family system’s behavior and response to situational stressors and transitional events. The Family Stress theory was useful in the family’s coping ability regarding the care of the child with extraordinary needs (Crawford, 2002) . A child with special needs is a stress to both parents because time is needed to develop competency in caring for such child in the family. The use of community and family resources should be offered and considered to adapt to the crisis. One literature also applied the theory in remarriage in families and suggested that â€Å"remarriage and adjustment to step family living are conceptualized as life transition in the framework of the Family Stress Theory † (Crosbie-Burnett, 1989, p. 323) . Identifying all the variables present in any stressful event and the family’s capability of adapting to the stress using all resources available will assist the nurse in developing the nursing process by making a thorough family internal and external environmental assessment, assist the family in creating a goal and planning for strategies to resolve the issue, providing the family possible interventions in managing the stressor event, improving coping abilities, and enhancing the family’s strength during the stressful event. The nurse is also responsible in following-up and evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention to either continue the current management or change the coping strategy. Family Assessment In the use of qualitative and quantitative studies, families have different patterns to the response of stress. Assessing family resources, coping strategies, and processes provides the function for assisting families in adaptation and attainment of a higher level of wellness (Friedman, Bowden & Jones, 2003, para 3). Families engage in different management and coping strategies when dealing with stressful events. The nurse will have to assess the healthiness or dysfunctional aspects of the family. During the assessment period, the nurse set specific goals that will help the family with coping mechanisms of stress. The foundation for achieving the goals will depend on family support, financial resources and coping strategies. Families remain strong and durable even during today’s economic crisis. Despite all the economic, social and political pressures, most families can e considered to be functioning satisfactorily (Friedman, Bowden & Jones, 2003, para 4). The theoretical model family stress identifies two types of situations that will cause a family to enter into a crisis. Those situations are classified as developmental and situational events. Events that are identified as psychosocial growth of a family are noted as developmental events. Some examples are retirement, a child entering hi gh school or college, or adoption. The examples denote the normal life cycle affecting the entire family unit. Unexpected events are considered situational events such as death, loss of job, or the loss of the home due to fire. The family’s financial resources and coping mechanisms will help the family adapt and work through the crisis. The nurse can take the listed examples and help the family develop goals in becoming healthy and strong family again. Critique of the Family Stress Theory The use of the family stress theory by nurses with advanced training is a key indicator for creating care paths that enhance the effectiveness of outcomes for positive family health. Family clinicians use the stress theory to facilitate a collaborative learning process between family members with special emphasis on the different family processes: parenting, balancing work, dealing with childhood issues, and maintaining stability in home life. The stress theory is used as a helpful tool for identifying sources of stress that lend a head start for developing strategic plans to assist with managing them. Further applicability of the stress theory offers a supportive resource for identifying coping mechanisms of individual family members and determining how effective their coping strategies are during stressful family situations. The theoretical framework for the stress theory also serves as a tool for explaining how families adjust and adapt as one system during stressful events (Friedman, Bowden, & Jones, 2003, p. 470). Information for identifying coping mechanisms for families of culture can be acquired by using a cultural genogram to gather information about their trengths and weaknesses. The clinician uses the information to apply it to the stress theory framework to assist the family with developing feasible ways of dealing with stressful events. Continued research efforts incorporating the use of the stress theory critical for developing innovative family care plans for helping families avoid and decrease stress levels. Further family-focused research can be generated to addres s the coping behaviors of culturally diverse families during stressful situations (Friedman et al. , 2003). The new wave of multi-types of families supports the need for intervention research that serves as evidenced-based practices to help not only culturally diverse families but also all families to deal with stress. Strengths The strengths identified in using the family stress theory are that the model is easy to understand and easy to translate into therapy and intervention. During the assessment period of explaining the model and how it relates to the situational crisis of the family, it is important that families understand the system. The nurse will explain adaptation, family adaptation, family coherence and family resilience. During the educational process, the concepts can be defined and described in a manner the family can view the crisis and place the event in the family unit’s perspective. As the nurse translated the model into therapy sessions and intervention processes, the family will not have difficulty working together needed to heighten family growth. The nurse and family will work together to establish goals. During the intervention session the family will engage with the stressors affecting the family. The family will work extensively to return the unit to the whole family concept. Weaknesses Weaknesses identified are limited to the discussion of aspects in the family dealing with stress and punctuation or interruptions. The family may be limited on providing pertinent information in the discussions. The nurse can help set goals based on the provided information. Shame and guilt play intricate roles in how much information is provided. The family will need to engage in the discussion and work sessions in order to return to the functional family unit. Punctuation or interruptions occur during the meetings with the nurse and family. Unforeseen activities causes disorganized scheduled meeting. A specific time should be allotted for the meeting to alleviate interruptions. The nurse and family can make stride if the sessions are uninterrupted. Family Nursing Research The trends of nursing care have evolved over the years from being a patient centered care industry into an industry focused around family centered care. The focus of providing family centered care has resulted in an emergent need to develop concepts, assessment measures and clinical skills customized to the care being provided. For this reason, family nursing research has detonated although much of the research is in its infancy stages. Much of the current literature on family nursing pertains to pediatric nursing and family, however the call for family nursing research for the adult world of nursing is emerging as well. One particular study conducted by staff researchers at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill spotlight on how families care for a child with chronic illness and debilitating diseases. The byproduct of this research study is the FaMM (Family Management Measure). Although the FaMM was cultivate through the use of the Family Management Style Conceptual Framework (FMSF), the FaMM measures how a family manages during stressful situations, which is a direct correlation to the family stress theory. In addition to spotlighting, the purpose of the study is â€Å"that it will further the development and testing of interventions and the comprehensive assessment of families' efforts to manage chronic conditions† (Knafl et al. , 2007). Based on analyzing the investigations leading up to the FaMM, researchers had ne primary question and challenged themselves to discover a way to make the eight conceptual dimensions of the FMSF into a measureable assessment tool with a high percentage of reliability and validity. Second, an evaluation tool (FaMM) and a hypothesis was developed to support the inquiry. The hypothesis converged to explain how â€Å"data from the FaMM will contribute to clinicians’ and researchers’ ability to understand more fully family functioning in the context of childhood chronic conditions† (Knafl et al. , 2007). Even though the research study appears to be qualitative in methodology with its categorical approach to establishing measurements it is overwhelmingly quantitative. Each of the established measurement guidelines or categories becomes conclusive with a percentage score as a means to evaluate against ranges. The ranges help to determine whether the family has the ability to manage many of the stress factors associated with care of a chronically ill child. The results of the research demonstrated a high validity as well as reliability. In particular, the reliability of the test ranged between 72% to 90% for mothers and 73% to 91% for fathers, both demonstrating above 50% reliability. The future of family nursing research should branch out to include all forms of family; for example, children being raised by grandparents, homosexuals, foster parents and,other forms of guardianship. With the Family Stress Theory more research is needed to determine the long-lasting effects of stress on the family unit and ways to offset these effects. Furthermore, the research from family stress theory is useful to family nursing practice in that it gives nurses a starting point to initiate interventions, treatment and, other diagnoses. Conclusion Family stress theory provides nursing staff with both intrinsic and extrinsic information to use in providing better services, care,and outreach to families. The concepts and assumptions identified in the theory arecurrently being researched for efficiency in providing the best application measures for family nursing practice. Despite the weakness identified in the theory, the strengths of the theory far outweigh. In closing, the family stress theory can be used to guide nursing practice in acute care settings but also can provide in sight on primary prevention methods. References Beckett, C. (2000). Family theory as a framework for assessment. Unpublished manuscript, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona. Retrieved from http://jan. ucc. nau. edu/~nur350-c/class/2_family/theory/lesson2-1-3. html Crawford, D. (2002). Keep the focus on the family. Journal of Child Health Care, 6, 133-146. doi: 10. 1177/136749350200600201 Crosbie-Burnett, M. (1989, July). Application of Family Stress Theory to remarriage: A Model for assessing and helping stepfamilies. Family Relations, 38, 323-331. Retrieved from http://www. jstor. org/pss/585060 Friedman, M. M. , Bowden, V. R. , & Jones, E. G. (2003). Family Nursing: Research, Theory and Practice (5th Ed. ). Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Knafl, K. , Deatrick, J. , Gallo, A. , Dixon, J. , Grey, M. , Knafl, G. , & O’Malley, J. (2007). Family management measure (FaMM). Retrieved December 5, 2009, from http://nursing. unc. edu/research/famm/ McDonald, L. (n. d. ). Hill’s theory of family stress and buffer factors: Build the protective factor of social relationships and positive perception with multi-family groups_. Retrieved December 5, 2009, from http://cecp. air. org/vc/presentations/2selective/31mcdon/HILL’S_FAMILY_STRESS_THEORY_AND_FAST. htm Smith, M. , & Liehr, P. (2008). Middle range theory for nursing (2nd ed. ). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC. Walker, L. O . , & Avant, K. C. (2005). Strategies for theory construction in nursing (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall.