Healthcare Reforms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Healthcare Reforms - Essay Example e services available to customers; and to cut the healthcare costs (Kronenfeld & Kronenfeld, 2004). The Obama administration has introduced a range of far-reaching reforms of the healthcare system, the most comprehensive since the adoption of the Medicare act in 1965 (Parks, 2011). This paper will review these health care reforms since health care reforms would be beneficial by reducing the overall price per family requirement and medical treatment delivered. Having these basic necessities available would make living in this country easier on the mind as well as the wallet. Having the ability to use the hospital’s resources in a time of need is a common resource not readily available to all Americans.The combined public-private healthcare scheme that was in existent before the healthcare reforms of 2010 was one of the costliest systems globally, with the costs of health care being the highest per individual as compared to any other country (Parks, 2011). Besides, United States comes second, after East Timor, in terms of the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) that is used on healthcare among the member countries of the United Nations (Parks, 2011). An independent research on global patterns of spending on health care indicates that United States uses more than any other member state in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Williams, 2011). Regardless of the massive spending, the research indicates that usage of health care servicesis lower thanthe OECD standards by most indicators. In addition, the findings show that costs incurred by individuals for various health care services are appreciably greater in the US (Williams, 2011). Therefore, these healthcare reforms are a relief to most American families as they will have access to more affordable health care resources and services whenever they need them. For instance, they introducecost-free preventative services, prohibition of insurance companies from barring person s with pre-existing conditions from getting their policies among many other comprehensive benefits to citizens (Williams, 2011). Opponents of these reforms argue thatincreasing the hospital’s resources to the general public at a no-cost rate would spark greed. They suggest that these patients and hospitals alike would disregard the cost and expect the government to front the bill. However, this is not true; the fact is these reforms do not make the system a single-payer scheme in which the state has total control over the health care. The changes would still retain the private insurance system (Parks, 2011). The reforms are only intensifying government’s regulation over health care insurance providers. Besides, an alternative for a public insurance scheme, administered in a similar manner to Medicare, brings in additionalstatefinancing into health care and willchange the market whilstchallengingthe private insurers in an exchange (Parks, 2011). The fact is that a publi c schemeincreases the government’s regulation but it is not a takeover of system. Health care reform

Postmodern Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Postmodern Philosophy Essay Postmodern philosophy is a means through which people’s ways of reasoning are evaluated and analyzed. It seeks to explain why everyone has a different opinion towards things that they come across or face in life. A current post modern belief is that a correct description of reality is impossible and in order to enable others to understand the way you perceive or prefer certain things, you need to interpret them. Post modern philosophy can be reflected in the way we live our lives and at our places of work. An example in my own life is the way I would convince people about how something is good so that even if they are not interested, eventually they would give in and in the end I w will be happy. And according to (Weis, 2003 P. 161) this is Persuasion through self interest which is created by developing a trust since I have the best interests of the other person at heart. I may tell a friend that we should take a certain class during that semester because I know he/she is focused and would make a good study partner even though that class does not really interest him/her. This does not mean I do not want him/her to focus on what interests them I know we will be helping each other out and maybe next time they will be the ones convincing me. In an organization, it can be seen when a company wants to become a better competitor as said by (Kotter,1996) that in order to be successful now and in the future, we need to empower others to act and create wins while consolidating gains. In order to promote team work at the office, a company may decide that in its’ engagement in social corporate responsibilities it will take it’s staff to work at the remote parts of the country where the is a school for the orphans and they will have to forego things like internet, family time and nice joints to hung out. In such a situation, the workmates will have to work together to help the children, listen to different opinions all this to enhance their bonding which is vital in their work ; This is what (Ritti Levy, 2002) call creating positive outcomes through negative reinforcement. References Kotter J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Published by Harvard Business Press Ritti R. R. Levy. S. (2002)The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior. Published by Wiley Weiss. A. (2003) Organizational Consulting: How to be an Effective Internal Change Agent. John Wiley and Sons

Understanding Medical And Social Model Of Disability Social Work Essay

Understanding Medical And Social Model Of Disability Social Work Essay The understanding of disability is still unknown to many people. The way people see disability have different meaning to the way society see disability. Different cultures have different meaning to the term disability. There are some people, who consider people with disability are paying for their sins. It is believed that they must have done something bad in their pervious life and are paying for it in this life. Because of some cultural differences, they mostly are labelled to be look through negative perspectives. Swain (2003) says that what term societies are meant to use? Disable People or People With Disability. Using the term People with Disability is considered more human and more positive compared to Disabled People it makes people feel part of the society instead of being left out. To make people with disability feel more part of the society the government bought laws so that everyone was equally, the DDA Act 1995. However it got change in 2005. The (Disability Discrimination Act) DDA Act 2005 states that as having a disability for the purposes of the DDA where they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. (Department of work pension 2005) Yet what can be considered day to day activities? It is not clearly defined correctly as some people with disability could use some part of their body where there are some who can not. Because of this people with disability are often labelled and left out. Calling someone handicap or dump or deaf and dump is being labelled. Being labelled is quite negative towards people with disability. It makes them feel that the society does not consider them equal. This discourages some people to make friends or go out into the society. Shakespeare (2006) explains that labelling is viewed negatively in the disability communities. It is because, people with disability do not want to be labelled and ask other people for help. Some people do not want to ask for charity. If people do need help, how do they come across it? Do they have to provide evidence that they are disabled? Which moves to the medical and the social model of disability? The medical model of disability is sees the disabled person as the problem. They are meant to adapt and fit in to the world and if its not possible then they are shut away. (Rieser 2002) The social model of disability the social model is a concept which recognises that some individuals have physical or psychological differences which can affect their ability to function in societies.  (Brain.HE 2006) The medical model is used for those that need help. It is with the medical model that people can get support. If individual needs help from the government and need money or any other support they need to go through a series of process where they would have to under assessment to see if they can qualify for help. The medical model is used through examination or testing or by professional expert which will then give evidence if you have a disability or not. The advantage of the medical model is that it can provide support to those that need help. It can provide finical support and can also provide information to those individual that need operation and can also provide guidance to a cure. The medical model can also share understanding towards others as it can make other people understand the similar dilemmas that they may be facing as well. However, a cure was something that could help in understanding that the medical model and gave people the belief that their disability would go away. Yet like any other model that have been discovered the medical model has its fault. For example in the medical model the individual is the one that has an abnormality. That the disability is in the person and the only way is to cure it. Another problem with the medical model was that the environment was ignored. If someone had an accident, it was considered a tragedy yet if someone had been born with impairment, it was considered a disability. The medical model also considered that they are independent on themselves and will always need help from others or charities. It made them look pitiful and helpless. However, the problem was that the medical model is still dominated because, to know what is happening to an individual, they need to be asses. It was also used more as a critique than by the medical professional themselves. It is the job of the professional to find a cure and to help those that need help. Because of the medical model, people began to think differently and the social model comes into process. The social model of disability was the big idea, in the British disability movement. (Shakespeare and Watson 2003 p3 It was a starting point to those who felt that the medical model did not help. It gave those individual the point where they did not need to depend on others. The social model of disability was there to help people with disability feel part of the community. With the model, it can overcome barriers such as labelling and any other barriers that society can come up with. (Crow 1996) pp66) states that the social model was a means to escape. It was meant for those individuals who wanted to overcome any issues regarding disability. The people see that being disabled is not a bad thing. That you can do many day to day activity like any other person. It makes a better social relationship with the society. However, like the medical model, the social model had its fault. Where an individual needs help, now believes that the social model is making them feel that they are too being pitied that they can not do anything by themselves. The model is important because it enables the identification of a political strategy and its main focus was to try and remove barriers, which helped, because the medical model did not try to remove barriers such as external ones. The social model also focuses on the influence of the family, the income, the education and any other factors as well. However, there is now a shift. Once where the medical model was dominated and was the answer to most questions has transfer to the social model. But, here lies the problem as well. The social model is now considered outdate as well. Union of the Physical Impairment Against Segregation (UPIAS) called for an alternative model of disability. Mark, 1999 said that the social model argues that the key issues are that the individual must have a positive identity as disabled. With this it showed that unless you have a label, you can not be given help. This shows that, even though the social model is there to help, the medical model still dominates and now the social model is outdated because people with disability do not want to be looked at as needy. Tom Shakespeare is one of those who believe that the social model is an outdated and that need much more updating. In the journal research in social science and disability he wrote an article dedicating that the social model of disability is now outdated. He explains that the model needs to be improved from new direction. It needs to be improving as social cultures are need and different views are need as its more focus on the British people and needs to be view from different culture as well. The social model of disability is also being criticised by Grabe and Peters (2004) who explain that the social model needs to recognise the significance of bodily experience. That it is not easy to distinguish between people with disability and people without disability. They also explain that the model does not cover everything. The model is there to make a person feel important about them and that they would feel that the model is helping them. Oliver 2009 (p49) criticise that, there are five important things have come from the social model of disability. The first one is that the model does not consider the realities of impairment, as the model is based on misunderstanding because the model is not based on personal experience. The second is that the pain of impairment and disability is ignored by the society. The third is that it is unable to incorporate social sates and social division. The fourth is issues of otherness. This is where it is viewed from other persons perspective, and the final is that the social model is inadequate. This shows that the social model of disability now is outdated as there are many problems that model is facing. In conclusion, it is shown that the social model is outdated and the society needs a new view. But there lies that problem. Because where the social model was a new thing now has become outdated, what will happen when there might be a third model. Will they consider the new model outdates when its time will come. It seems to be going in a cycle. The social model of disability has its fault like the medical model disability. However, unlike the social model the medical model of disability, it is still dominated despite the trend towards the social model, the medical model is needed for those individual who need support finically and support from the government. Yet at the same time they do not want to become dependent on the government as well. This also causes the issues, as the social model of disability is there to support those individual who need to feel that they want to do something for their lives and not just depend on others. Author such as Liz Crow, Tom Shakespeare and Michael Oliver, all believe that the social model of disability is outdated. Their factors are that the social model of disability does not cover all factors that are necessary and needed. They believe that the model needs to be looked at a new angle or modify or even bring in a new model, as the current one is giving problems. If the society does bring in a new model will it not criticize the model as well? As all it seems that people do is criticise that this model is not good or that model is not good. True the social model of disability needs a new change, but despite the model being outdated, the model still helps those individual feel better about them. The model has given encouragement to those individual with disability, the ability to give something back to the society. The medical model of disability is there for the medical professional as guidance in attempt to find a cure as the medical model of disability gives facts only and the social model is there for support and moral and encouragement and is effective to those people with disability. There will be some individual that will complain about their situation compared to others, and will say that they need extra support, but what these people need to understand is that they need to stand up and become braver. True, there have been cases where individuals with disability have had hardships and have had no support, but what they need to understand is that the models do not run their lives; they merely are guidance on how they should live morally and finically. The medical model of disability gives facts and the social model gives support. So despite the social model being outdated, the social model of disability makes it feel to those individual people that they have support that they need, thus the model is still affective. Word Count: 2000

The Influence of OPEC Essay -- Trade Organizations Economy Essays

The Influence of OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, was formed in Baghdad, Iraq in 1960 to coordinate and unify the policies of petroleum exporting countries. According to OPEC, their main objective is to ensure the â€Å"stabilization of oil prices† and the securing of a steady income to oil producing nations. In order to achieve this objective, the OPEC member nations meet at least bi-annually to decide whether to raise or lower their collective oil production in order to maintain the prices they deem as â€Å"stable.† The main factors that are considered when formulating petroleum policy are the forecasts for economic growth rates and the projected demand for petroleum. (www.opec.org) Exemplary of the importance of OPEC is that the 11 member countries, (with the main contributor being Saudi Arabia), produce about 40% of the world’s crude oil, and account for 55% of the world’s crude oil exports. At the end of 2001, OPEC had reserves of nearly 850 billion barrels of crude oil, which represents nearly 80% of the world total of over 1 trillion barrels. (www.platts.com/features/gasoline) As these numbers indicate, OPEC produces so much oil that they are in a position to exert considerable influence on petroleum supply levels and manipulate the price. The means by which OPEC exerts its influence is through setting production quotas. OPEC sets individual production quotas for each member country that serve as â€Å"production targets† to ensure the level of petroleum supplied by OPEC does not exceed the demand for petroleum. These â€Å"production targets† for each country add up to a â€Å"ceiling† that OPEC desires not to exceed. In reality however, OPEC countries have traditionally exceeded the proposed ceiling. In October of 2002, OPEC set a ceiling of nearly 22 million barrels to be produced per day by the OPEC 10. However, nearly 25 million barrels were produced, 3 million more than the proposed ceiling. Iraq is not included in the quota system because their exports are controlled by the U.N. based on the â€Å"food for oil† program, hence the â€Å"OPEC 10† instead of â€Å"OPEC 11.† (http://www.eia.doe.gov) With the majority of OPEC oil coming from Middle Eastern countries, the politics of the Middle East and in particular, the Persian Gulf, have played an important factor in the policies OPEC decides upon despite the fact that OP... ...educe dependence on imported oil is to reduce dependence on petroleum altogether. And the best way to do this is to increase efficiency and reduce demand of oil. OPEC still has considerable influence in determining the price per barrel of petroleum by setting quotas, but their best days are behind them. The emergence of non-OPEC exporters such as Canada, Russia, and Mexico have stripped the cartel of its power to single-handedly manipulate the petroleum market. The U.S. has benefited from the increased production of petroleum by non-OPEC nations and thus reduced their annual imports from the OPEC countries in recent years. However, the United States needs to address its obtuse energy policy and accept the fact that oil will not last forever and implement strategies that stress efficiency and will reduce the demand for fossil fuels in general. Works Cited (www.eia.doe.gov/mer)- Internet Website (http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/fensec.asp)- Internet Website (www.opec.org)- Internet Website (www.petroleumworld.com)- Internet Website (www.platts.com/features/gasoline)- Internet Website (www.ssc.upenn.edu/polisci/psci260/OPECweb/OPECHIST.HTM)- Internet Website The Influence of OPEC Essay -- Trade Organizations Economy Essays The Influence of OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, was formed in Baghdad, Iraq in 1960 to coordinate and unify the policies of petroleum exporting countries. According to OPEC, their main objective is to ensure the â€Å"stabilization of oil prices† and the securing of a steady income to oil producing nations. In order to achieve this objective, the OPEC member nations meet at least bi-annually to decide whether to raise or lower their collective oil production in order to maintain the prices they deem as â€Å"stable.† The main factors that are considered when formulating petroleum policy are the forecasts for economic growth rates and the projected demand for petroleum. (www.opec.org) Exemplary of the importance of OPEC is that the 11 member countries, (with the main contributor being Saudi Arabia), produce about 40% of the world’s crude oil, and account for 55% of the world’s crude oil exports. At the end of 2001, OPEC had reserves of nearly 850 billion barrels of crude oil, which represents nearly 80% of the world total of over 1 trillion barrels. (www.platts.com/features/gasoline) As these numbers indicate, OPEC produces so much oil that they are in a position to exert considerable influence on petroleum supply levels and manipulate the price. The means by which OPEC exerts its influence is through setting production quotas. OPEC sets individual production quotas for each member country that serve as â€Å"production targets† to ensure the level of petroleum supplied by OPEC does not exceed the demand for petroleum. These â€Å"production targets† for each country add up to a â€Å"ceiling† that OPEC desires not to exceed. In reality however, OPEC countries have traditionally exceeded the proposed ceiling. In October of 2002, OPEC set a ceiling of nearly 22 million barrels to be produced per day by the OPEC 10. However, nearly 25 million barrels were produced, 3 million more than the proposed ceiling. Iraq is not included in the quota system because their exports are controlled by the U.N. based on the â€Å"food for oil† program, hence the â€Å"OPEC 10† instead of â€Å"OPEC 11.† (http://www.eia.doe.gov) With the majority of OPEC oil coming from Middle Eastern countries, the politics of the Middle East and in particular, the Persian Gulf, have played an important factor in the policies OPEC decides upon despite the fact that OP... ...educe dependence on imported oil is to reduce dependence on petroleum altogether. And the best way to do this is to increase efficiency and reduce demand of oil. OPEC still has considerable influence in determining the price per barrel of petroleum by setting quotas, but their best days are behind them. The emergence of non-OPEC exporters such as Canada, Russia, and Mexico have stripped the cartel of its power to single-handedly manipulate the petroleum market. The U.S. has benefited from the increased production of petroleum by non-OPEC nations and thus reduced their annual imports from the OPEC countries in recent years. However, the United States needs to address its obtuse energy policy and accept the fact that oil will not last forever and implement strategies that stress efficiency and will reduce the demand for fossil fuels in general. Works Cited (www.eia.doe.gov/mer)- Internet Website (http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/fensec.asp)- Internet Website (www.opec.org)- Internet Website (www.petroleumworld.com)- Internet Website (www.platts.com/features/gasoline)- Internet Website (www.ssc.upenn.edu/polisci/psci260/OPECweb/OPECHIST.HTM)- Internet Website

Blankets and Security and Spirituality Essay

There are many themes explored in Craig Thompson’s award-winning graphic novel Blankets, but perhaps its chief theme is that of spirituality. Particularly, the text explores how spirituality can be distinct from religion: religion is illustrated as a blunt instrument with which individuals divide themselves, whereas the positive spirituality advocated by Thompson grows out of human experiences, such as his first love. In this sense, the modified view of spirituality overlays traditional religious thought: the titular quilt blanket takes on a totemic significance, like that of a saint’s body part. This is fitting enough, as Thompson presents the relationship with Raina as something sanctified and, not coincidentally, outside the realm of religion. Fittingly enough for a meta-narrative such as this, art forms the basis for Thompson to impose his own distinct narratives over the unfavorable narratives around him. This belief in transformative power becomes important when he discovers his blossoming sexuality: he must realize it is not embodied by the abusive babysitter of his past, but in the relationship he possesses in the here and now. Raina represents the clearest presentation of actual spirituality in the text: she presents the stability that Thompson craves so much, which is the only thing that really allows him to take solace. It is not coincidental that the two begin their relationship at Bible Camp: in a camp that is ostensibly devoted to finding spiritual fellowship, both Thompson and Raina feel like they do not fit in. Accordingly, they must develop their own fellowship with each other, substituting their unique friendship (and eventually erotic love) in place of the relationship with God that the camp is supposed to offer. This is one of the spiritual notions that Thompson hammers home quite effectively: the heart of a true spiritual relationship is one of interaction. Traditional spiritual models rely on following God’s will without having a real relationship with anything other than a personal interpretation of God as a social construct. Romantic love fills that need when spirituality falters. Raina’s place as a saint-like person seems quite intentional in the text. The work culminates, after all, with Thompson finally willing to forge his own path in life†¦but by naming the work after the blankets on which he laid beside Raina, he situates the work as a kind of return to the grace and serenity he discovered in his relationship with her. In this sense, the ending of the work represents a kind of spiritual pilgrimage that Thompson is undergoing, with a remnant of Raina to guide him. In the spiritual spectrum, she seems like a successor to the understanding of Mary offered by Thompson’s religious upbringing. In that conservative religious view, Mary represents the glory of women, but also their aloof subservience to the greater glory of men: Mary is great because she delivered Jesus, but because of that sanctified relationship, a relationship with her is denied to mortal men. Raina, then, represents the spirituality that Thompson is able to interact with. She also represents an opportunity to restore sexual equality to spirituality, as she is not aloof, nor is she playing second fiddle to men. This continues the theme of spirituality as a matter of unity, rather than divisiveness. The final confrontation with his parents represents the final necessary aspect of spirituality: a willingness to seek commonality in all living creatures. This is the nature of their dispute, after all: a difference in beliefs. However, by bringing this conflict out into the open, Thompson is asserting the sovereignty of his own beliefs. They do not fully define him, as religious beliefs define their followers, because the innate aspect of Thompson’s spirituality is that it is constantly evolving. Raina helped him discover it, but she does not represent the be-all, end-all of it. Similarly, Thompson’s pilgrimage at the end is not to literally find Raina, but to use his memento of the time they shared as a way of finding a new relationship that will further help challenge and evolve his notion of spirituality. Interestingly, Thompson does not decry all religion as the enemy of spirituality. However, he does emphasize that religious dogma is often used as an excuse to shut one’s self off from the world. In confronting his parents, Thompson is quite clear: his spiritual beliefs will not be quieted, nor will they be closeted, any longer. Blankets is a work that is certain to endure for many years to come. The reason for that is not lofty ambition to tell an epic story, but rather, a commitment to following the fault lines of human intimacy and romantic relationships all the way to their inevitable quakes. Unwilling to move the camera away (so to speak), Thompson does the audience one better by showing the slow process of picking up the pieces and trying to rearrange a Picasso-esque jumble into a self-constructed identity that he can actually recognize in the mirror. Raina helped him discover what spirituality really represented: not the missing piece, but the knowledge that pieces are missing. And all that is required of true spirituality is an ongoing commitment to never stop seeking completion.

The eNotes Blog Happy Birthday, Roald DahlMagic Man and PeterPan

Happy Birthday, Roald DahlMagic Man and PeterPan The matter with human beans, the BFG went on, is that they is absolutely refusing to believe in anything unless they is actually seeing it right in front of their own schnozzlesThe BFG My childhood would have been so barren were it not for the words of Roald Dahl, and, of course, the whimsical scribbles by Quentin Blake that always accompanied them.  The  BFG,  The Witches,  Georges Marvelous Medicine,  Matilda I, like children generations before and after me, devoured these stories, more ravenous than Augustus Gloop at a certain chocolate factory.  Inevitably, Dahl became my very first favorite author. Today, on what would have marked this exceptional mans 96th birthday, a look back at the gifts he left to childrens and adults literature alike, through the eyes of one who read them When I first discovered Roald Dahls stories, I knew only of his illustrated childrens books. Even in that genre, his imagination was  unparalleled; I pored over tales of a friendly giant, an enormous peach, a magical spell that makes tortoises grow, and a marvelous medicine. They were like nursery rhymes and fairy tales, only betterthe kind where the wicked stepsisters would have their feet lopped off before being squeezed into the glass slipper, or where Little Red turns out to be a  carnivorous  villainess, whipping the wolf into a fur coat faster than the glint off a big bad tooth. The proper kind. It doesnt matter who you are or what you look like so long as somebody loves youThe Witches A little older, I turned to Dahls autobiography,  Boy: Tales of Childhood. Excerpts like The Great Mouse Plot of 1924 (in which Dahl and his boyhood friends place a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers belonging to the loathsome local sweet shop owner, Mrs. Pratchett) appealed to my youthful mischief-making, but the beatings and loneliness he described of boarding school sealed serious adults as the true villains of life. It became clear where the monsters behind Ms. Trunchbull and The Witches came from. And still, my ideas of Roald Dahl evolved as I grew older. There were entire collections of macabre short stories I hadnt been allowed to touchThe Great Automatic Grammatizator, Man From the South, Royal Jelly. All deserve to be read beneath the sheets with a flashlight and a pair of trembling hands. The messy ends of Dahls characters and the shocking twists he wove give Poes horror stories a run for their money, any day. To his young readers, Dahl is like a childhood friend, a comrade in the denial to abandon whimsy in exchange for seriousness. Even in his own life, Roald Dahl seemed a sort of Peter Pan figure; a WWII fighter pilot turned MI6 spy, he crossed the globe like a classic adventurer, passing through exotic locations like Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt, Libya, and Iraq, of which he wrote about in another autobiography, Going Solo. As an undercover agent he rubbed elbows with fellow spy (and James Bond creator) Ian Fleming. Rumor has it they were commissioned to woo foreign diplomats lonely wives in search of secret information. At times, his life seems the work of pure fantasy. A Message to Children Who Have Read This Book When you grow up and have children of your own, do please remember something important: a stodgy parent is no fun at all. What a child wants and deserves is a parent who is SPARKYDanny, the Champion of the World In later years, Dahl took to using a colorful gypsy wagon, parked on his back lawn, as his writing space. From there he wrote more childrens fiction, like Danny, the Champion of the World and The Twits. He continued to turn out popular childrens stories right up to his death in 1990, at the age of 74. Its from his posthumously published final work,  The Minpins, that I take this passage, one of the quotes that seems to best epitomize the authors views on fantasy and life: Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who dont believe in magic will never find it. To have grown up with Roald Dahl is to have never truly grown up. Heres hoping we never have to. Happy Birthday Roald Dahl! As an extra treat, heres an interview Dahl gave shortly before his death. In it, he describes the riveting story of his entry into literature.