Free Essays on How Trasnportation Changed The U.S.

How Transportation Changed the U.S. The advent of transportation in the late 1800’s helped America progress as an industrialized nation. Not only had it helped the country with transportation, it had helped the country economically. Many forms of transportation had grown to different levels. Many of these forms included railroads, roads and canals. Canal routes built for commerce developed slowly in eastern Pennsylvania, and it was not until after the American Revolution that some thought was given to open the upper river regions to transportation canals. During this time the young country was growing into a powerful political and economic center, and until 1825 was growing to be one of the largest in on the western hemisphere. Transport of goods to markets there was critical to the development of the region's economy. Navigation was possible on the Delaware River as far north as Morrisville. The canals were most active during the 1830s to the 1860s. Use of canals slowly declined because of railroads, and portions were in operation until 1942. It was America's last and longest-operated use of transportation. The Delaware Canal ceased operation during the Great Depression and is today significant as the most intact, accessible, and watered canal in the nation. One hundred and sixty years later, much of the stonework of the canal's retaining walls and locks is still visible and the canal is capable of being fully watered. The first forms of road transport were horses or oxen carrying goods over dirt tracks that often followed game trails. As time went by the roads changed from dirt to gravel - courtesy of the farmers. Horseback, horse and buggy, and horse and wagon were the ways to get around in the early days. Our economic growth and lifestyles are directly linked to transportation achievements over the last century as country’s transportation system has gone from mud to macadam and beyond. As the country's economy changed... Free Essays on How Trasnportation Changed The U.S. Free Essays on How Trasnportation Changed The U.S. How Transportation Changed the U.S. The advent of transportation in the late 1800’s helped America progress as an industrialized nation. Not only had it helped the country with transportation, it had helped the country economically. Many forms of transportation had grown to different levels. Many of these forms included railroads, roads and canals. Canal routes built for commerce developed slowly in eastern Pennsylvania, and it was not until after the American Revolution that some thought was given to open the upper river regions to transportation canals. During this time the young country was growing into a powerful political and economic center, and until 1825 was growing to be one of the largest in on the western hemisphere. Transport of goods to markets there was critical to the development of the region's economy. Navigation was possible on the Delaware River as far north as Morrisville. The canals were most active during the 1830s to the 1860s. Use of canals slowly declined because of railroads, and portions were in operation until 1942. It was America's last and longest-operated use of transportation. The Delaware Canal ceased operation during the Great Depression and is today significant as the most intact, accessible, and watered canal in the nation. One hundred and sixty years later, much of the stonework of the canal's retaining walls and locks is still visible and the canal is capable of being fully watered. The first forms of road transport were horses or oxen carrying goods over dirt tracks that often followed game trails. As time went by the roads changed from dirt to gravel - courtesy of the farmers. Horseback, horse and buggy, and horse and wagon were the ways to get around in the early days. Our economic growth and lifestyles are directly linked to transportation achievements over the last century as country’s transportation system has gone from mud to macadam and beyond. As the country's economy changed...

MILLS Surname Meaning and Family History

MILLS Surname Meaning and Family History The MILLS surname is a last name often bestowed originally on someone who worked in a mill (occupational) or lived near a mill (descriptive). The name derives from the Middle English mille, milne, coming from the  Old English mylen and  the Latin molere, meaning to grind. The mill served a crucial role in most medieval settlements, built to pump water or grind grain. Another possible meaning derives from the Gaelic Milidh, meaning soldier.   See also the MILLER surname. Surname Origin: English, Scottish Alternate Surname Spellings:  MILNE, MILL, MILLIS, MILLE, MILNE, MULL, MILLMAN, MULLEN, MUELEN, VERMEULEN, MOULINS, DESMOULINS Famous People With the Surname MILLS John Mills (born  John Lewis Ernest Watts Mills) - Beloved English actorC. Wright Mills - American sociologistHayley Mills - English actress and daughter of Sir John MillsJohn Stuart Mill - 19th century social and political philosopherJames Mill  (born James Milne)  - Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist  Darius Ogden Mills - American banker, philanthropist and Gold Rush adventurerBertram Wagstaff Mills - British owner of the Bertram Mills Circus Where Is the MILLS  Surname Most Common? According to surname distribution from  Forebears, the Mills surname today is most prevalent in the United States. Its use is fairly evenly distributed across the country, with a slightly higher incidence in some of the states where early milling was common, including North Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Indiana. Surname maps from  WorldNames PublicProfiler  indicate the Mills surname is especially common in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Within the UK, Mills is found in greatest numbers in England and Northern Ireland. Genealogy Resources for the Surname MILLS Tips and tricks for researching your MILLS ancestors online. Mills FamilyTreeDNA Project WebsiteThe Mills DNA Surname Project began in October of 2002 and has a large number of participants collaborating in using DNA testing in combination with traditional genealogy research in an effort to identify their common MILLS ancestors. Men with surnames such as  Mills,  Miles, Mull, Milne, Desmoulins, Mullins, Meulen, Vermeulen and Moulins men are encouraged to participate in this Y-DNA surname project. Genealogy of a Mills FamilyA genealogy for one branch of the Mills family that migrated from Virginia to New Hampshire and Maine, compiled by several researchers of the Mills family. Mills  Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Mills  family crest or coat of arms for the Mills surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. MILLS  Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Mills  surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Mills query. FamilySearch - MILLS  GenealogyExplore over 4  million  results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Mills surname and variations on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. GeneaNet - Mills  RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Mills surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Mills Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Mills surname from the website of Genealogy Today. References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Charles Peirce's The Doctrine of Necessity Examined Essay

Charles Peirce's The Doctrine of Necessity Examined - Essay Example Charles S. Peirce wonders whether we necessarily have to see or notice signal effects of some element that may have happened by pure chance so that to ascertain that real chance exists. He wonders whether there are some occurrences or effects that may have gone unnoticed or unobserved. He gives an example of how physicists claim that gas particles move about randomly, considerably as if by pure chance, and that by the assumption of probabilities, there certainly will be situations contrary to the second law of thermodynamics whereby concentrations of heat in the gases lead to explosive mixtures, which must at the time have tremendous effects. He claims this assumption could be false because it has never happened like that. â€Å"What we are, that only can we see† (Dickinson). This is a popular quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson from his publication, Nature. Emerson believed in facts. Emersonian philosophy seemingly emphasized on seeing, and perception. Emerson would, therefore, prob ably support Charles on this argument, because Charles insists that he cannot support or believed in things that allegedly happened without any evidence or that have never happened. Another argument of Charles S. Peirce about this issue is that he is not of the belief that there is any person who can ascertain that the precise, universal compliance of facts to natural law is proved evidently, or depicted particularly possible, by any observations made so far. He noted that those in support of the doctrine of exact regularity used hypotheses other than proven experimental result of facts to support their arguments. He, therefore, dismissed this notion as it shows high levels of poor reasoning. Charles affirms that, sometimes people cannot help to believe a given proposition. However, he noted that this was of collective thinking which is wrong. Some people conclude a proposition to be true while others look at it as â€Å"we† instead of â€Å"I†. This leads to the propo sition being true to certain people and wrong to others depending on their levels of ignorance, or the evidence they have. He calls this problem â€Å"inability to conceive† and claims that every man passes through this stage with respect to the number of beliefs they have. The mind of man is sometime subjected to this blind coercion, but it is cast off as time goes through rigorous thinking. As a result, Charles confirms that, the things that are not conceivable today will turn out to be indisputable in future. This is supported by the countercultural philosophy of Emerson whereby he lobbied to create a structure of a form of life that will go past the status quo expectations and thinking models. This was in favour of deeply independent and creative manifestations of universal truths. This, he argued, will also help solve the problem of inability to conceive by stating, â€Å"Every man has a form of mind peculiar to himself.† The author confirms that the principles of mechanics are indeed natural beliefs, which have been confirmed by experience. The only problem is that those that were formulated long time ago were exceedingly erroneous. As a result, they need to be continually corrected and purified from natural illusions. This process of products adapting to recognizable usefulness or ends, as seen in nature, is never quite perfect. The author, therefore, finds this argument well

Form of prose for photography projects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Form of prose for photography projects - Essay Example The interpreter basic objective is to find the actual intentions especially in the case of Scripture to know the truth and establish the meaning of the work during the author’s times. Exegesis is written on religious Scripture like the New Testament. In short, exegesis is an inquiry into the meaning of historical facts written in scriptures. Exegesis includes the two aspects of what the author said and why the author said during that time. Hence, exegesis deals with the intention of a written piece of work. Exegesis is also written to know about the primary reader’s response to a historical writing. Thus the interpretation includes the argument of the primary writer’s and reader’s perspective to a literature or scripture. A report is a collection of information put together in a pre-determined format. The information is identified, investigated and reported on the basis of happenings in an organisation or from an investigation. Reports may give rise to fut ure events. The objective of a report is to create awareness in the reader about a particular event or happening. There are three main aspects to a report. They are pre-determined format, independent parts and the unbiased conclusion. Report is different from essays because report includes several headings and sub-heading that convey each event or outcome of an event. Reports usually include numerical representation of an event. A report does not give much freedom to the writer because the report should follow the format.

Uses For Polymers - my bullet proof vest design Essay Example for Free

Uses For Polymers my bullet proof vest design Essay Greetings. My name is Paulos Zerezghi and I have now invented a feature which may change the world. I have been inspired to create this due to all the wars and crimes in our world today. My creation is Full Bullet-Proof Clothing. I have combined casual clothing which may be also used for the military. This is an original idea which has not been created. This Bullet-Proof clothing would be fully-compatible for police, security and military and also ordinary citizens who may be in need of secured clothing for safety reasons. My revolutionary invention will be named Block-Tex or scientific name Block-Tex Chloride. The chloride from my invention, is formed when the element chlorine – a halogen picks up one electron to form an anion. My creation has upgraded the classic ‘bulletproof vest’ which has been worn by different forms of security at the moment. I believe that this soon will not be the case. The full Block-Tex jacket is super-light weighing at only 115g allowing people to run and walk easier which may be very useful for police and the military. Also, Block-Tex clothing will provide tough material to prevent bullets penetrating through. Amazingly, Block-Tex even prevents blades piercing through and shrapnel from explosions. Manufacturing Block-Tex Chloride is synthesized in solution from the monomers 1,4-phenylene-diamine (para-phenylenediamine) and terephthaloyl chloride in a condensation reaction yielding hydrochloric acid as a by product. The result has liquid-crystalline behaviour, and mechanical drawing orients the polymer chains in the fibres direction. Cracking will be featured in the creation of Block-Tex so it can break down molecules that are complex. Heavy hydrocarbons may also be broken down into simpler molecules by the breaking of carbon-carbon bonds in the precursors. The polymer will not be created to be monounsaturated because that may mean that only one double bond in the whole hydrocarbon will be able which wouldn’t work as this invention would need more than one. The plastic will be unsaturated which means that they would be more than one double bond featured in the hydrocarbon. Alkenes will be featured in my invention, in most of the hydrocarbons; causing the product to be stronger, tougher and more resistant to bullets and shrapnel. But In some of the hydrocarbons, monomers will feature alkane so that the vest is flexibleand lightweight making my invention one of a kind. Cross-links will also be featured to create my product. Cross-links will allow the material to be hard and stiff (making it harder for bullets to penetrate), making it not flappy and soft similar to natural rubber. Using cross-links will make us use vulcanisation which can be used to make car tyres from natural rubber. After testing, I can announce that Block-Tex has been developed to be resistant to heat (thermosetting). This may be useful as Block-Tex is able to withstand heat from explosions. Characteristics of Product My product features fabulous characteristics. The polymer features variety of colours and also alters Block-Tex to camouflage with the environment. This allows the product to not be obvious to see. The product’s camouflage ability is created so that enemies or criminals will not be able to recognise whether there wearing a bulletproof vest/clothing or not. This is definitely a huge requirement for militaries and armies throughout the world. Another characteristic that Block-Tex has is that it’s lightweight – this feature allows soldiers, police etc. to run fast and long distances without problems what so ever. Also, due to Block-Tex’s casual availability, it can be easier worn anywhere and everywhere without the need of support. To continue, my product is efficient as it is biodegradable. The meaning of the term, biodegradable, is that when the polymer finally becomes of no use, it can be broken down and completely dissolved and destroyed. This is a good quality of my polymer and helps the environment unlike supermarket bags which takes hundreds of years to break down and destroy. Uses of Block-Tex Block-Tex may have many difference uses. It may be to be safe warzones. Personally, I believe that crime is a factor that you can be safe from. In many areas around the world like Columbia and Iran where gun crime could be featured in their daily basis. Block-Tex can prevent gun crime as my product is strong enough to thwart a 50-calibre magnum to a SPAS-12 shotgun and even a thrown butterfly knife to the torso. Block-Tex can support soldiers in warzone countries like Afghanistan and Somalia where landmines are placed and gunshots are fired. Block-Tex may not fully support soldiers from a mine, but gives them a higher chance of survival. My product can save lives, so why wouldn’t you buy it? The meaning of the term, biodegradable, is that when the product finally becomes of no use, it can be broken down and completely dissolved and destroyed. Block-Tex have accomplished this and is fully biodegradable. Block-Tex is the first and only product to provide bulletproof vest/clothing that can be resistant to bullets, blades and shrapnel plus keep the product strong with it being biodegradable at the same time. Large supermarket companies like ASDA and Tesco don’t sell/use biodegradable plastic bags. Tesco and ASDA shopping bags are not environmental-friendly and take hundreds of years to degrade and destroy. Tesco and ASDA however buy these bags as they buy in a large scale and those bags are cheap. Biodegradable plastic bags are expensive. We have put the effort to make Block-Tex biodegradable, whatever the cost. When the product is broken down, it goes into smaller and simpler compounds such as water and carbon dioxide. Toxicity Block-Tex is fully non-toxic unless some bulletproof vests in the market today. My product is safe with a percentage of 0% toxicity. Block-Tex would not alter any devices placed next to it. Unlike oil, Block-Tex is designed not to be toxic which allows it not to harm animals and sea-animals. Unfortunately, Block-Tex Chloride is being tested on pigs, rats and mice which all have similar systems to humans. Our experiments however, are designed not to harm them severely. The fibres used to create Block-Tex may be toxic when broken down. If the toxic fibres enter your skin, it may cause irritation and minor scratching, but does not trigger allergic reactions or create allergic reactions. From the knowledge of experimenting on mice, Block-Tex has been proven to be non-toxic when swallowed. However, dust from the product may be harmful for those who suffer asthma (if swallowed) as it may trigger it and cause allergies. Oil Loss? Block-Tex are thinking of possible solutions for when oil reserves run out. When oil does run out, it will for sure effect our business hard as crude oil is a major factor for manufacturing this product. The polymer is alternated and synthesized. Crude oil is the beginning of the creation of Block-Tex and the ‘spring’ of where requirements are found. Hydrocarbons are featured in crude oil, which is the vast reason why crude oil is used. Crude Oil is found in the ground where it is tunnelled and mined out. It is major use of our technology today. However, many sources have found that crude oil will finish in less than a dozen years due to our overuse. This will be a major setback and will force us to use alternatives. Nuclear power may be an alternative in the near future due to it’s reliability, efficiency and environmental-friendly factors. However, there are weaknesses. Nuclear waste would be a problem as it is unknown what to do with it and power stations of nuclear are expensive to build, not fitting most countries budget. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevlar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletproof_vest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crude_oil

Archaeology and the Trojan War Essay -- Archaeology Ancient World Hist

Archaeology and the Trojan War â€Å"†¦ he [Heinrich Schliemann] found layers of ruins †¦ and two bore unmistakable signs of violent destruction. One of these layers, the seventh according to more recent excavators, was no doubt the city of Priam and Hector. The historicity of the Homeric tale had been demonstrated archaeologically.† - M.I. Finley, the World of Odysseus Introduction The Trojan War and its characters are detailed in the writings of Homer, Vergil, Dante and many others. It is a fantastical tale of a decade-long siege of a powerful city by a massive pan-hellenic force. However, even though it has proved to be such a rich source of inspiration for writers, poets and artists throughout history, it is debated whether it actually took place. Heinrich Schliemann famously said â€Å"I have gazed on the face of Agamemnon.† on discovering tombs with the bodies of Mycenaean chieftains in Turkey. The German businessman-turned-archaeologist claimed to have discovered the city of Troy at the hill now called Hisarlik – about three miles from the Dardanelles. However, his claims are still disputed today. Before tackling the question of whether the Trojan War actually occurred, we must ask in what form. What exactly do we mean by â€Å"the Trojan War†? There is no definitive version of the events in the war, as our knowledge of it comes from a myriad different sources. Then we should consider Schliemann’s discoveries, and the other archaeological evidence for the Trojan War. Finally, after we have defined â€Å"Trojan War† in context of archaeology and historical fact, we must then draw conclusions about the extent to which archaeology proves its historical authenticity. What do we mean by the â€Å"Trojan War†? The first source that comes to mind is the writings of Homer – the Iliad and the Odyssey. The two epics are considered canon. However, Heroditus’ Histories briefly detail the major events of the war, and relays them as if they were historical fact. Heroditus’ account of the war differs slightly from Homer’s version, and he is well aware of this. After relating the tale of Alexander (Paris) carrying off Helen, Heroditus writes: â€Å"Such was the tale told me by the priests concerning the arrival of Helen at the court of Proteus. It seems to me that Homer was acquainted with this story , and while disregarding it , because he thought it less adapted for heroic poe... ..., or even â€Å"Did the version of events Heroditus describes have any foundation in truth?†. If the existence of Troy itself is uncertain, then the historicity of the war can only be more so. Bibliography Ancient Sources: -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Homer, the Aeneid, translated by Samuel Butler, taken from www.patroclos.de -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Homer, the Aeneid, translated by T.E. Lawrence (Wordsworth, 1995) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Homer, the Odyssey, translated by T.E. Lawrence (Wordsworth, 1995) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Heroditus, Histories, translated by George Rawlinson (Wordsworth, 1996) Modern Sources: -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Boardman, Griffin and Murray, the Oxford History of the Classical World (Oxford University Press, 1986) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finley, M. I., the World of Odysseus, (New York: The Viking Press, 1978) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finley, M. I., Ancient History – Evidence and Models, (Penguin, 1985) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alan B. Lloyd (editor), Battle in Antiquity (Duckworth, 1996) -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Heinrich Schliemann’s Telegrams taken from www.archaeology.org -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier interview extract from Hershel Shanks, taken from www.bib-arch.org -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Additional research taken from Ian Johnston’s web page www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi, and also http://devlab.dartmouth.edu/history

Cultivating an Equal Opportunity Society

Question: Do you think cultivating an equal opportunity society has helped countries such as South Africa and America to move forward? In a carefully worded essay, show why this is the case or why it is not. The equity act was implemented after apartheid in South Africa and America in order to force businesses to hire disadvantaged groups in order to amend the imbalance apartheid created in the economy. The equity act is very much needed in a country where racism led to a minority group being developed.In my opinion the equity act has a very important role in reinstating a sense of believe in a better future. There is no point in telling a minority group they are free to do anything but then not force the majority group to allow this. The majority group could go on refusing to hire minority groups, still harbouring a racist view. You cannot expect people to instantly change their long standing views of discrimination and overnight start hiring different races and genders.It is a slow process and education, trust and forgiveness are not easily acquired. Here the equity act aims to force people to accept the change and move forward letting go of discrimination. Now in South Africa I believe the equity act has allowed our country to move away from formal apartheid and into a time where the focus on race and gender has become bigger than ever. Today when you apply for an education, bursary or job your race and gender is a major deciding factor for the recruiter or employer.By law in South Africa if you have a business that employs more than 50 people you have to comply with the regulations and rules set out in Employment Equity act, this is also known as Black Economic Empowerment(BEE) and should you not achieve the desired level of BEE status your business can be fined. The higher your BEE status the more likely you are to win government contracts ensuring higher paid jobs for your business. Because of the need for a BEE status, employers’ criteria for hiri ng staff have shifted from capabilities and merit to race and gender.An employer will much rather hire a staff member that will ensure the business a hire BEE status than hire a staff member that will not increase his status or even worse lead to him to being fined. Even though the latter staff member may be more qualified than the first staff member the employer will gain more funs with a less capable employee than with a highly skilled employee of the wrong race or gender. Because the employer is now forced to hire less skilled workers his more skilled workers have to work harder to make up for the employees who cannot perform the duties.This leads to feeling of hatred and discrimination among employees. Companies may also struggle to find people of a certain group that is qualified to perform a task and so leave the company under staffed and not capable of providing a service or product. This situation leads to not only a drop in quality of services and products but these busines ses also receive more work as winning a contract is purely based on what race and gender works for you. Companies have moved from wanting to provide top quality services and products to wanting the correct race and gender to work for them.Your standard of work is no longer important, just what you look like. How is that a move forward from focusing on skin colour? Disadvantage groups now have more opportunities available to them now but your race, gender, family tradition and religion greatly influence your worldview and interests. For this reason many economic sectors lack the people required to meet BEE status. I interviewed a director of a security company in my home town and he had this to say about the equity act. Mr Smith runs a private security company in Cape Town and employs 150 security guards.He only has a level 2 BEE status. Mr Smith explained to me that due to the nature of the tasks required in his company, male employees are more attracted to the job. In order to comp ly with the employment equity act he has to hire a certain percentage of people from previously disadvantaged groups. Unfortunately these people lack the funds required to be educated as security guards. Mr Smith has to pay for these people to be educated costing his company a large amount every year and he can also only afford to educate a certain amount of people of the required race, leaving his company understaffed.For example say he has to employ 20 Indians but can only afford to educate 10 Indians. He is not allowed to hire 10 staff members from another group and thus leaving his company understaffed by 10 people. He also has problems finding females to hire as security is not viewed as a job suited for females. For this reason his BEE status is very low and he has almost no chance in acquiring large government contracts needed to grow his business not even mentioning being under staffed. If he doesn’t comply with BEE he will be fined and in order to comply with BEE he has to pay to educate the proper race.It is a vicious cycle and is created from an act looking at empowering our country. In this situation all the act is doing is decreasing job opportunities as implementing this act becomes too costly for small businesses. Trough BEE many disadvantaged groups have been receiving job positions they are not qualified for. Under skilled people are being made directors of companies purely to increase BEE status and thus increase contracts for the company. These directors often still harbour a feeling of oppression and revenge.Many disadvantaged people believe the â€Å"whites† owe them everything after apartheid and when these people are then put in power they ignore the regulation of the equity act. They want revenge for their suffering and will only favour their race or gender. Due to the lack of monitoring the implementation of the equity act, many companies are never fined for not complying with the act. There are companies playing by the r ules and suffering and there are companies ignoring the rules, favouring their â€Å"own† in the job market and bribing their way to the top.We are now seeing companies with a majority of one race being born creating more hatred among groups. This goes for previously disadvantaged groups and advantaged groups. When your race and gender becomes a criterion for employment victimization will always be a factor. Before the equity act you where hired based on merit, sure disadvantaged groups didn’t even stand a chance as their access to education where restricted but being hired based on your label is fuelling blame and discrimination now more than ever.Not only is the act exaggerating the very problem it seeks to solve it is now giving people a valid criteria and reason for discrimination. People will always seek to blame and point out differences among themselves, this act just allows the differences among people to be taken more seriously. I have heard many times people say,† he was only hired because they need more black people,† or â€Å"She only won because she is a women and they need to have a female win so they can keep their government sponsorship. It is a really sad situation to be in when you no longer have to do your best to achieve success but can achieve success by purely applying to a company or university that is short on filling their BEE criteria. Not only is this a bad thing for skilled people who are losing jobs based on race but it is detrimental to skilled people being hired in suitable positions all while there, they are being frowned upon. I can definitely see the equity act as necessary in our country. It is vital for educating the majority about the minority and vice versa. It is important for empowering en providing confidence in oppressed groups.It can eliminate the stereotypes of a white man’s job or a black ladies’ job. Society can grow so much from being pushed to integrate our relationships w ith other groups and us as a country can rectify our differences but unfortunately this act has illuminated our differences and used it as its very criteria for success. We are moving backwards and our standard of service and quality of products are dropping. Businesses are suffering and the people who do strive for excellence are stepping back in order to favour an attitude of â€Å"the world owes me everything†.The people are not ready for such an act. Our focus on difference and our â€Å"revenge† attitudes are over shadowing our goal of working as one. I don’t expect people to forget about apartheid, its effects will still be felt for many years, but I do believe if we can realise that we all do have a chance at an equal opportunity for success, we can create an economy fuelled by one goal, a brighter future for all. Unfortunately right now we are slipping into reverse creating a world worse than before.

Discrimination against women

Discrimination against women is still a global social epidemic today. Is this true? Women work two-thirds of the world's working hours and produce half of the world's food, yet they only earn 10 per cent of the world's income and own less than 1 per cent of the world's property and only 12. 7 per cent of all parliamentary seats. These statistics show that women are still being discriminated throughout the globe and it is a wake-up call for everyone to the severity of this issue.Discrimination refers to the njust or prejudice treatment of different categories of people, in this case between female and male. A few areas where discrimination against women occurs globally are the dehumanising practices against women, women rape cases, and the glass ceiling in Jobs for women. One area in which women are discriminated is that there are dehumanising practices against women. Dehumanising practices are acts that deny the â€Å"humanness† of a person, it occurs discursively, symbolicall y or physically.Women are abused both verbally and physically in many parts of the world, such as India and Africa. In 28 countries, ranging from east to west, there are cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and it has absolutely no benefits for the women, and its main purpose is to deprive them of the pleasure of sex to ensure that they don't cheat on their husbands. However, FGM brings about harmful side effects to the women's bodies; which are bleeding and infections as well as complications to child- birth and all of which may lead to death.Women are the only one who undergoes this, men don't need to do such things as women are viewed to be the weaker sex and are to be controlled. Dehumanising practices causes nothing but harm to women who experience it, and it is still practiced in various parts of the world, mostly in developing countries, and as such serves to support the point that discrimination against women is still a global social epidemic today. Another area which d epicts that women are discriminated against is the numerous rape cases occurring throughout the world.Rape is defined as an instrument used by men to subjugate women, and as women are often seen as objects of desire, men desires them and uses rape to subjugate women. In India, rape and abuse of women is common, as the society is patriarchal. There are over 80,000 rape cases in India that are pending investigation, yet the police or the government have not made significant changes and efforts to resolve this problem. As seen from the above, there is evidence that people's mind- set does not change easily. In the past, gender discrimination was a common ccurrence throughout the world.Although most of the world have moved past gender discrimination, but there are still countries practicing gender discrimination, and it is not one or two, but big enough to make an impact on the world overall. Hence discrimination against women is still a global social epidemic today. One unseen source o f discrimination against women is that there are glass ceilings in jobs for women. Although most societies have moved past gender discrimination, but there is still differences in treatment between men and women, no matter how small n society, and it is mostly observed in workplaces.As the level of authority and power in workplaces and Jobs increase, it is observed that there are less and less women in these levels, only 12. 7 per cent of all parliamentary seats are claimed by unseen glass ceiling that is hindering them, discrimination still prevails even after a few decades of the â€Å"removal of gender discrimination†, Just that now it is more discreet and not that obvious. Hence, discrimination against women is still a global social epidemic today.

Reflective Essay on Learning Disabilities †Psychological Well-being The WritePass Journal

Reflective Essay on Learning Disabilities – Psychological Well-being Background Reflective Essay on Learning Disabilities – Psychological Well-being ) emphasised that it is important to do mental notes when doing an assessment since this would provide some clue as to how the person is feeling. Hence, one must look at the appearance, behaviour, speech, emotional state, and thinking of the person being assessed. However, looking into these areas is not enough since misinterpretation or erroneous assumptions may take place. Rather, it is necessary to take into account the context, setting, social norms, and beliefs for the individual being assessed (Pender, Murdaugh, and Parsons 2006). Needs-led assessment will allow the nurse to place more emphasis on finding solutions (Coffey and Hannigan 2003). 2. Risk Assessment A significant role is played by risk assessment and management in the practice of mental health nurses and multi-disciplinary teams. These risks include threat/danger to others as well as self-harm, amongst others. Despite the presence of risks however, a balance must be considered between the needs of each individual service user (client) and people’s safety and protection. A further emphasis is placed on paucity of information and lack of knowledge about such risks, thereby leading to ‘clinical gambling’ that can further result in mishaps (Cordall 2009). It is necessary to provide focus on improved consistency in applying risk assessment and management strategies, considering their central role in the practice of mental health. Admittedly, risk assessment and management went through certain developments, including the area/s to be understood about risk assessment; its clarity and what must be assessed; strategy developments in nursing risk; proposals; and leaned enquiry-based lessons. Hence, risk language must be standardised and simplified, which requires improving clarity in the vital roles of the concept (Cordall 2009). When one speaks of risk assessment in mental health services, he/she deals with the broader possibility (risk) of an event or behaviour (outcome). The outcome is the principal area of interest since it is commonly connected to an extent of severity, which could be associated with the indications of dangerousness/illness. Important regard is given to the impact of such severity because both a high outcome risk with low impact and a low outcome risk with high impact can take place (Kettles and Woods 2009). A useful way to consider the manner through which events take place is much the same as researchers’ predictive ability to test a number of risk assessments, which is also a useful way to evaluate the success of outcomes. Contingency tables allow an examination of correct predictions and error rates, and are hence an excellent means to present these results. On the other hand, the severity of behaviour refers to the level of intensity of risk occurring, and may be classified as mild, moderate, or severe (Kettles and Woods 2009). Clinical practice in a range of settings involves the core feature of violence risk assessment. The focus on risk to others in the mental nursing health practice is that ignoring or failing to acknowledge it can leave medical personnel unprepared and a lack of preparation results in situations where less willingness to work with aggressive and violent patients might be felt by clinical staff. Moreover, as there is a widely-held awareness of the relatio nship between mental illness and violence, an increasing basis of risk assessments will be taking place in clinical, correctional, and legal settings (Woods, 2009). On the other hand, risk to self, which may include suicidal behaviour, physical and social self-neglect, and vulnerability to risk from others, must also be considered. Worthy of note here are the biologic theories of suicide, which look into the link between physical illness, increased risk, and neuro-biological factors of suicide (Murray and Upshall 2009). 3.Case Study The Purpose of Assessment and its Potential Impact for Promoting Inclusion The person who is the focus of this case study is an epileptic patient named Janet. She is 48 years old, very fragile (small and short), and is within the care facility because her medication was not acting on her. She was admitted for her best interest. Janet was admitted to the mental health hospital due to her episodes of self-harming, which is a risk to herself and to other service users (other patients).   Janet is on different psychotic tablets and mood stabilizers; she is unable to sleep despite having been prescribed with sleeping tablets. Her behaviour is very challenging: she bites, screams all day, and is out of control. She came to the hospital to be observed and to allow personnel to research on a suitable drug that could work for her. She came to the ward setting via a referral from both her General Practitioner (GP) and her Psychiatric consultant. In the ward, she was placed on a close observation at Level 3. She was also assessed by the speech and language therapist as well as the behavioural therapist because of her difficulty to swallow. Her mental health is very unstable and she is unable to communicate verbally. However, she uses and understands gestures. She only makes sounds, noises, and screams as a way to co mmunicate. She likes pulling and grabbing, and loves her meal, especially her cups of tea. Janet came from a low-income British family, never married, and never had children due to her apparent condition. She is second amongst four children and still has both of her parents. The above narrative shows an investigation of a patient with a mental and learning disability problem, who was admitted to a mental health setting expecting treatment. It is apparent that an assessment was done on the patient before any clinical personnel would have carried out a specific intervention procedure. The above has not only related the nature of the patient’s illness but also presented other information that may be gathered in order to conduct an accurate assessment that will aid a precise diagnosis. The diagnosis of learning disabilities/mental disorders requires assessment as the initial step, which was evidently carried out on Janet. Mental health assessment is conducted visvis a full clinical assessment, which is a systematic evaluation of the psychological, biological, and social factor of a person who is presented with a potential psychological disorder. Assessment begins with a process wherein a curative alliance occurs between the client and the mental health personnel, thereby forming the basis of a care plan. Empathy and compassion are necessarily involved in the process in order to support the development of trust between the client and the mental health personnel forming an alliance (Elder et al. 2013; Kettles and Collins 2002). The clinical personnel in charge of Janet were empathetic and compassionate of her condition. The health personnel took extra care to understand the client in crisis, taking into account her associated fear and distress level, especially if he r prior service experience had been difficult and/or if she underwent compulsory treatment. The mental health nurse took the major role in the performance of an accurate and ongoing assessment on Janet. Assessment may be generally described as a complicated process since the diagnosis it performs ascertains the treatment for the client. The client’s needs and strengths are gauged by thorough assessment. It must be noted that assessment seldom includes one function; patients might be assessed to determine who they are, to describe and appraise particular problems of living as well as personal and social resources. All of these are embodied in a global assessment. Through assessment, the mental health nurse was able to obtain some understanding of the significance of Janet’s condition and problems (Elder et al. 2013; Morrison-Valfre 2013). The mental health nurse engaged in Janet’s condition acknowledged the different systems and levels of care for the person-in-care and ensured that she received treatment with dignity and respect so as to enable her to go back eventually to the highest possible level of self-care (Griffin, 2012). All patients must be treated with dignity and respect, giving careful considerations to the manner of communication with them (Hindle, Coates, and Kingston 2011). Thus, being aware of Janet’s systems and levels of care visvis her condition allowed the mental health nurse and care specialists to determine her treatment and receive it with respect and dignity. Types of assessment may be classified as global, focused, and ongoing.   Global assessment enables the provision of baseline data, such as the client’s health history and current needs assessment. Focused assessment, on the other hand, has a limited scope in its aim to focus on a specific need or potential risk.   Ongoing assessment pertains to systematic monitoring and observation related to certain problems (Elder et al. 2013).   The case study adopts a global assessment. Prior to assessing the service user being referred to in crisis, it is necessary to find out if she experienced mental health services and consulted their crisis plan. It is also important to enquire of her preference for a male or female care professional to carry out the assessment. In this case, Janet’s family specified female care professionals. Moreover, crisis assessment needs to clarify the information and its potential outcomes, addressing the client’s individual needs. Assessment for mental health must involve the client’s relationships, social and economic circumstances, behaviour, symptoms, diagnosis, and current treatment (NHS 2011). It is evident that amongst these concerns, the assessment made on Janet was focused most on her behaviour, symptoms, diagnosis, and current treatment. Her family history, social and economic circumstances, and the like, were also mentioned in the assessment. It must be recognised that assessments and diagnoses performed must be evidence-based and need the use of accepted methods. Assessments are carried out by suitably qualified staff with training and experience to assess mental health problems, and where possible, in the client’s preferred setting, with respect to the safety of all concerned. Collecting information about the person can be performed by the person himself/herself, or by other people who have prior observation of the person’s behaviour, such as family or carers. In this regard, it was the latter which was applied to Janet due also to her inability to communicate effectively. What the mental health nurse needs to know about the patient determines how he/she gathers the information. Knowing about what the person feels or thinks necessitates asking him directly in order to gather the needed information. Hence, the mental health personnel oftentimes asked Janet about what she thought or felt about certain things , people, or food. If the mental health nurse needed to know the manner in which Janet might behave in certain circumstances, Janet must be asked to reflect on her behaviour, or someone may be asked to observe Janet’s behaviour, or both. Further, it is essential to understand the lived experiences of both Janet and her carers in the assessment. Necessary information for understanding such lived experience involves Janet’s or the carer’s manner of interpreting what is taking place with Janet besides knowledge about her life, including her interests, personality characteristics, social resources, and personal circumstances. Janet’s family was involved in the treatment in the earliest possible way because of their in-depth information about how the symptoms of mental illness have developed, including their knowledge of the social and emotional environments contributing to the flourishing of such symptoms in Janet. Interviews, diaries/personal records, questi onnaires, and direct observations are the major assessment methods that can be performed to obtain the needed information for the assessment (Wilkinson and Treas 2011).   In Janet’s assessment, relevant information was collected through interviews, direct observations, and a referral from her GP and her psychiatric consultant. Interviews were performed with her family members and carers who observed her behaviour.   Models of Assessment and How They Impact on Inclusive, Responsive and Responsible Practice The new model of care is exemplified by new care practices whereby best practices as advanced by research evidence present the new model of care (Kleinpell 2013).   According to Freeman (2005), a biopsychosocial assessment of the patient is considered in an effective intervention, with a recommendation of a multi-method and multi-modal format. Moreover, these domains of information are used for assessment: biological, affective, behavioural, and cognitive domains, alongside the units of assessment, including the patient, his family, the health care process, and the socio-cultural setting in which the patient exists. The mental health personnel must understand the current status and history of the patient, and the assessment must identify problem areas and consider the patient’s assets and resources. This model can be employed in contemplating the patient’s change of behaviour to improve his quality of life, prevent illness, and promote well-being (Freeman 2005). The biopsychosocial assessment model also investigates the interrelatedness amongst the physical, psychological, behavioural, environmental, and social aspects of an individual’s life. The biological system focuses on the anatomical state of disease and its effect on the individual’s biological functioning. On the other hand, the effects of psychological factors, including personality and motivation, are emphasised in psychological system as the individual experiences mental illness. Further, the social system looks at the familial and cultural effects of the experience of illness. The causal ordering of biopsychosocial model is intrinsically biomedical, which means that rather than the causes, biochemical abnormalities can affect a person’s social environment. One criticism of this model is that it tends to rule out structural and social factors, but can however be considered as a useful framework for understanding the experience of mental illness (Freeman 2005) . The psychosocial model, on the other hand, is considered a holistic perspective to mental disorders and presents the interdependent areas of biological, psychological, and social factors in the assessment of mental health disorders (Boyd 2008). It is significant to note that standardised assessment methods promote inclusion in the mental health. The strategy of the European Union (EU) for mental health identifies best practice in the domain and in fostering social inclusion. A holistic approach is required in any effort to recognise best practice in social inclusion rather than to simply emphasise on aspects relating to mental health. Social exclusion cannot be addressed by just looking at the mental health problem of a person since one of the fundamental reasons for social exclusion of people with mental health illnesses is the propensity to take an exclusive emphasis on their medical symptoms rather than resolving the fundamental causes of their problems. Issues needing attention are equality and diversity, access to physical and mental health care and social networks, to name a few (House of Lords, 2007). The relevance of action to promote and improve social inclusion is embodied in mental health policy and is safeguarde d in the National Service Framework, which affirms that discrimination against people with mental health problems must be resisted and their social inclusion must be fostered. This signifies that mental health workers must regard the promotion of social inclusion a primary concern. The Effectiveness of Formal and Informal Assessments as Mechanisms to Develop a Shared Understanding of Need Either a formal or informal assessment may be carried out by the mental health nurse. A formal assessment involves an ordered interview plan and tools including questionnaires, checklists, etc. to acquire important information to aid the assessment interview. On the other hand, an informal assessment is less structured and the questions raised are those that the interviewer views to be relevant at the time he/she asks them. The formal interview has more benefits than the informal one since it is able to carry out a more or less similar assessment of people through the tools and structured interview plan thus devised. In addition, the individual’s biases and value judgments are less expected to influence the interview, as can take place in an informal assessment. The decision to use either formal or informal assessment methods is ascertained by the person in care as well as the adopted standardised assessment procedures (Pryjmachuk 2011). A formal assessment is emphasised on some form of structure and is commonly planned and studied with care, i.e. through some research. An informal assessment, on the other hand, involves information gathered through less structured methods.   Despite the almost similarity in the appearance of both methods, such similarity is however superficial. In both cases, the care personnel (e.g. nurse) would ask the person-in-care certain questions relating to his condition, noting his replies. However, a formal interview will have the questions carefully prepared earlier and might even be worded in a certain way, whilst the informal interview lacks this feature. Instead, the nurse conducting an informal assessment would ask certain questions she thinks relevant at that time, phrasing them in such manner she considers appropriate. Albeit both kinds of assessment are commonly used in mental health settings, it is important to recognise the significant advantages of any formal system over the l ess structured ways of investigating the condition of persons-in-care. The guidelines and procedures embodied in a formal system allow various people-in-care to be examined in a relatively the same fashion. This results in reduction, if not total cancellation, of one’s own prejudices. Regardless of who completes the assessment, its outcome must be the same, and such cannot be said of informal methods (Barker 2004).   The first point of information must be the patient’s basic demographics and condition/illness. An evaluation of physiological symptoms, history, risk factors, and treatment procedures must be considered visvis biological targets. His current moods, feelings about the illness/mental problem, support network, amongst others, constitute the patient’s affective targets. Crucial to his comprehensive evaluation is an assessment of his behavioral targets, which include self-care, functional capabilities, and occupational/recreational abilities (Freeman 2 005). All of these must be embodied in the assessment made on Janet. Critical Application of Legal, Ethical and Socio-Political Factors to the Practice of Assessment The use of assessment and clinical procedures involve some ethical issues. Ethical dilemmas may occur when diagnosis is performed in such situations, whereby diagnosing a person arbitrarily is often entailed. However, health care personnel have the clinical, ethical, and legal obligation to screen patients for life-threatening problems such as bipolar disorder, suicidal depression, and the like. It is necessary to point out that exclusive reliance on standardised treatments for certain problems may invite ethical concerns because of the questionable nature of the reliability and validity of these empirically-based strategies. Along with this is the fact that human change is complex and that measuring beyond a simplistic level is a difficult task, thereby making the change meaningless (Corey 2013). Thorough reflections on ethical considerations relative to health technologies are involved in the assessment for health technologies and value-based decisions. Since methods of retrieving information for effectiveness assessment are not appropriate to retrieving information on ethical issues, it is important to adopt a specific methodological approach (Scholarly Editions 2012). In addition, ethical principles such as autonomy, fidelity, and justice, amongst others, are involved in the provision of mental nursing care. National professional organisations set the standards for professional nurses’ ethical behaviours (Boyd 2008). Likewise, the healthcare organisation must ascertain its training needs and design structures to enable its healthcare personnel to understand ethical values and principles and hence integrate them into daily practice. With the provision of training, ethical values might not be recognised by several staff personnel whenever they occur, and thus they might impair their ability to recognise a suitable course of action. A formal assessment process is viable in enhancing an ethical framework within the healthcare organisation (Corey 2013). A point to consider is that the mental health care system faces certain magnified legal issues. The legal aspects of the assessment process in the practice of assessment involve such example where the nurse is held responsible for her judgments as well as the safety and well-being of the person-in-care. Every nurse must be aware of the three legal concepts that might affect their practice of care: negligence, malpractice, and liability (Davies and Janosik, 1991). Negligence occurs when a person (e.g. nurse) has become careless or has failed to act prudently, or has acted in such a way that is contrary to the conduct of a reasonable person. Malpractice takes place when a person commits professional misconduct, or has discharged his professional duties improperly, or fails to meet the standard of care as a professional, thereby resulting in harm to another. Liability, on the other hand, occurs as an obligation for having failed to act on something (Davies and Janosik, 1991). Mental health care is also influenced by sociopolitical factors, whereby the power of social justice is emphasised in the rectification of socio-cultural insensitivities (James and O’Donohue 2009). Mental health issues necessitate increased understanding of the sociopolitical context. This would include increased emigration in various parts of the world, which presents greater attention to the manner in which mental health issues may be effectively addressed within a broader global context. Studies involving culturally diverse samples would enable researchers to assess the generalisability of the diagnostic classification of mental problems across cultures and would likewise determine culturally specific events that might be influential to prevalence rates. Not being able to recognise the significant cultural differences amongst peoples impliedly promotes the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach that is often criticised in the current diagnostic system for mental problems .   It has been emphasised that cultural and sociopolitical factors could indeed influence the assessment of certain mental illnesses, thereby enabling mental clinicians to consider cultural issues as necessary aspects of the assessment and diagnostic process (Chang 2012). Culturally able mental health care involves suitable treatments that take into account the client’s culture and social setting. The literature indicates that the primary objectives of mental health are to return to function, contribute to society, and maintain relationships (Markowitz and Weissman 2012). 4. Application to Practice How the Role and Function of the Nursing Profession Relates to the Theory and Practice of Assessment All mental health practitioners are responsible for developing certain strategies that allow people to maintain and build relationships, social roles, activities, etc. that are vital to social inclusion (Harrison, Howard and Mitchell 2004). The provision of high-quality mental health disqualifies biases and instead understands these biases at a range of levels, such as practitioner level, community level, and practice programme (Shieves 2008). It is recognised in this work that such biases can lead to social exclusion in the domain, which is not desired. Pondering on the provision of mental health care would necessitate its interpretation by psychodynamic theories, which looks at interpersonal concepts and examines the development of the mind within a lifetime (Dillion 2007). Behavioural theories provide emphasis on normal behaviour rather than the causes of mental problems/disorders. The objective is to effect behavioural change by means of conditioning, positive reinforcement, and so on (Dillion 2007). Meanwhile, cognitive theories involve understanding by focusing on behaviour and the individual’s cognition, including the way he processes his thoughts. The value of cognitive theory is seen in patient-therapist collaboration and the client’s active involvement in the occurrence of change (Dillion 2007). This is contrary to the situation where the client has learning disability and hence would find it difficult to pursue all these. Social Theories, on the other hand, involve socio-cultural perspectives and family dynamics, to name two, and convey that the development of a care plan for the patient necessitates certain socio-cultural aspects (Dillion 2007). This is suggestive of an inclusive care plan (Harrison et al., 2004). The importance of these theories to practice is that learning disabilities and mental problems as well as their causes can be more increasingly understood through their aid, thereby providing treatment to the patient with a consideration of their behaviour, cognition, socio-cultural context, and so on.   These theories also aid in pursuing further the concept of inclusion in health care and in understanding further the relevance of the assessment process. Through theories that aid practice, mental illness can be more accurately understood using integrative approaches. The conceptual framework of psychiatric domain involves various theoretical perspectives, with the absence of a single best explanatory model explaining mental illness. As this conceptual framework takes its development towards an increasingly integrative viewpoint, more effective and efficient integrative assessments will be the result of an understanding of complex relationships amongst various processes associated with normal human functioning and mental illness (Lake 2007). The Effectiveness and Efficiency of Assessment Strategies within the Current Practice and Overall Service The extent of effectiveness and efficiency of assessment within the current practice of the mental health nurse are seen in the impact of assessment as a life-changing experience for many persons-in-care. The rapport that the mental health nurse is able to establish with the client with a learning disability/mental problem as a result of the ‘therapeutic alliance’ provides the client a holistic approach to care. It confirms the need for a multi-disciplinary and team approach to the mental health service provision. Through an assessment, the mental health nurse becomes aware of the need for a supportive environment whilst collecting necessary data. The assessment also enables the mental health nurse to liaise with appropriate professionals, such as in Jane’s case where her GP and psychiatric consultant submitted a referral to the mental health hospital in order to aid in her diagnosis. Various tools, such as Life Skills Questionnaire, are used to gather additional information, which assist in developing a relationship with the service user (Acquah 2012).   The mental health nurse pays attention to the person’s feelings, thoughts, and behaviour, which are ways in which humans respond to life problems. If a person experiences increased detachment from one’s surroundings and the people in it, alongside the presence of distorted thought processes, the person can thus become problematic with satisfying to live a meaningful existence. The role of the nurse in this context is to identify how those behavioural changes hold back the person’s ability to pursue his own life and then design a specific care that will aid the person to address them. The utmost goal is certainly to help the person return to his usual normal activities and contribute to society. Through the nurse’s task to identify the effects of behavioural changes on the individual and to carry out a specific plan of care, the nurse thus considers the conseque nces of the learning difficulty/problem the basis of intervention. Further consideration of the client’s needs and interests is the principal value embodied in the establishment and execution of nursing services. This value must be implied in a nursing approach for the care of patients having been diagnosed for learning disability/mental illness. Along with this claim, the notion of a disease in the mental care must be given up as the center of mental health care and instead look at the patient as a person (Barker, 2004). In general, information about the nature and the extent of the patient’s problems are considered in a nursing assessment; hence, the nurse finds out the problem of the patient and how big it is. These questions must be asked in the most detailed manner possible, especially if the focus is to evaluate the impact of various forms of care. However, the means through which such information is gathered usually depends on the problem involved, in which even the personality of the person-in-care can even influence such means of information collection. The things that the nurse must consider are accurate information about the biophysical needs of the person needing mental care; the reflection of the need for precision and reliability for the adopted method; and the influence of the attitude or mood of the person conducting the assessment (Barker 2004). There are similar aims for most assessments; however, the manner in which they are carried out can vary greatly. These differences are very important and can have enormous influences on the value of information being produced. The means through which an assessment is conducted can spell a worthwhile exercise or otherwise.   The key differences between methods of assessment convey the way in which information is gathered (Barker 2004). Upon the assessment process, the nurse explains to the person-in-care such process and its contents, providing feedback for his collaboration with clients and healthcare team members to collect holistic assessments. Such assessments are conducted through interviews, observations, and examinations whilst being aware of confidential issues and relevant legal policies (Videbeck 2011). Additionally, policies and legal issues must be integrated in relation to ensuring the protection of other persons-in-care. Improvements in secondary care teams (e.g. mental health, learning disability, etc.) are necessary to ensure a consistent approach to care (Woods and Kettles 2009). The Nurse’s Role in the Assessment Process It must be noted that the mental health nurse takes the role of a coordinator as he/she interacts with other disciplines in the care delivery. A patient always receives a nursing care plan, but other disciplines are necessarily involved in such plan or individualised treatment plan (Boyd 2008). Further, the mental health nurse plays an important role in the assessment process where data are collected and organised, leading to the identification of diagnoses in which data are as well analysed. This would then lead to the planning phase, whereby prioritisation of problems is highlighted, along with identification of goals, selection of nursing intervention, and care plan documentation. The implementation features the nursing orders being carried out whilst documenting the nursing care and client responses. This leads to the evaluation phase, which involves monitoring the client outcomes and resolving, maintaining, and/or revising the current care plan (Timby 2009). Indeed, the mental h ealth nurse demonstrates a range of roles in the entire nursing process, as much as in the assessment practice. His/her performance in the assessment process determines the delivery of the next stage of the nursing process; hence it is required that such assessment is both precise and correct. For the nurse’s own future learning and development, there are perceived tremendous developments in his role, which are expected to take place within the managed care environment vis-a-vis his professional knowledge, skills, and attitude. Those who have carried out strong assessment and patient teaching abilities would be considered to have the most marketability. The nurse’s role in mental health assessment has radically evolved from merely using the client’s five senses to assessing his overall condition. Today, nurses use communication and physical assessment methods to come up with a clinical judgment relating to the client’s mental state. Additionally, technological advancements have developed the role of assessment, which correspondingly allowed managed care to develop the need for assessment skills (Weber and Kelley 2009). For example, the most broadly functioning measures used for people with learning disability/ mental problems are the Global Asse ssment Scale (GAS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF), which is a modification of the GAS. The GAS is aimed for clinicians to decide on mental health along a single dimension on a scale of 100 points. The lowest functioning level of the individual during the previous week is the basis of GAS ratings (Thornicroft and Tansella, 2010). Furthermore, assessment helps the mental health nurse to decide the extent that the patient can do independently alongside the extent of help they need and the type of intervention necessary. A patient with a mental health problem for example, may need more encouragement for their hygiene needs, which means that their therapeutic care plan may include this aspect (Spouse, Cook and Cox 2008). This can be further considered in Jane’s case. Reflecting on Policy on Mental Health Capacity Implementation of mental health policy is an intricate process, including a number of different financial, technical, and political issues.   Teaching programmes for mental health policy usually intend to develop the knowledge of the public on health professionals and other people playing a significant role in the development of mental health policy.   Some programmes are specifically focused on issues of policy and service development; in particular, tackling the needs of those who are directly involved in the accomplishment of mental health policy, as well as in the development of research capacity (Patel, Minas, Cohen et al. 2013). Recommendations Recommendations for the nurse’s speciality include the following: Provide specialist skills and special therapeutic orientation to mental health nurses. This will train them to deliver research-based care and treatment to service users with learning disability/mental problems. Identify the need for the mental health nurse to develop skills in psychotherapy, which is resonant to interpersonal relations perspective to mental health nursing. This will highlight the nurse’s central role in mental health, which is his personal relationship with the patient (Norman and Ryrie 2013). Develop electronic health record systems for assessment. This will prepare professionals of health information management assess their situation in a more realistic manner. These record systems are necessary because of their use in storing patient data over time, such as test result data, diagnoses, problem lists, and so on. The client’s clinical information is necessarily retrieved by practitioners through their work station. Standard coding systems defining data consistently are suggested, specifying the capacity to pursue the outcomes of the health care process (Harman, 2001). How the Nurse Can Contribute to Best Practice and Actively Justify and Promote Quality Care The nurse can contribute to best practice by establishing an active participation in the mental health process via the integration of appropriate technology that can speed up the assessment process. Through evidence-based and person-centred intervention, the nurse will be able to help tackle several mental health needs, which can benefit clients like Jane. Evidence-based practice is now a current adoption in mental health care, which involves selecting the best interventions with a specific client and promoting specific interventions for definite problems/illness based on treatments that are supported empirically. Such evidence-based practice includes a consideration of the patient’s characteristics, preferences, and culture (Corey 2013), which the mental health nurse must take account of. These aspects had been mentioned in Jane’s case but needed further highlights to become more viable to the assessment process. The concept of social inclusion in mental health presents best practice to the mental health nurse, who has the primary role in conducting an inclusive assessment process. With the promotion of social inclusion, the mental health nurse becomes culturally competent in providing a service that harmonises with the client’s cultural and social background and value system. This is an area of best practice for the mental health nurse’s task in the assessment process. Further, looking at the cultural and social context of the patient needing care rather than merely focusing on his demographics as well as the historical development of the mental illness provide evidence-based considerations for future practice. Racial and ethnic differences in mental health care had been documented to demonstrate this point. Such factors as gaps in access, disputed diagnostic procedures, and limited specifications of competent treatments are reflective of what needs to be further emphasised in mental health care. In conclusion, the assessment process within the mental health care for patients with learning disabilities and mental problems needs procedures and strategies that are aligned to social inclusion and considers ethical, social, and political aspects of the process. Hence, a specialist assessment may be carried out in order to evaluate the patient’s strengths and difficulties alongside their current distress and potential replicable support. References Acquah, F. (2012) Utilising Untouched Mental Health Nursing Skills in Private Practice. Australian College of Mental Health Nurses: Mental Health Nursing in Primary Care: Putting the Pieces Together. Canberra. Barker, P. J. (2004) Assessment in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing: In Search of the Whole Person. Second Edition. UK: Nelson Thornes Ltd. Basavanthappa, B. T. (2007) Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. India: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd. Boyd, A. (2008) Psychiatric Nursing: Contemporary Practice. PA: Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Chang, E. C. (2012) Handbook of Adult Psychopathology in Asians: Theory, Diagnosis, and Treatment. London: Oxford University Press. Coffey, M. and Hannigan, B. (2003) The Handbook of Community Mental Health Nursing. First Edition. Oxon: Routledge. Cordall, J. (2009) ‘Risk Assessment and Management’.   In Risk Assessment and Management in Mental Health Nursing. ed. by Woods, P. And Kettles, A. M. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Corey, G. (2013) Theory and Practice of Counselling and Psychotherapy. Ninth Edition. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Davies, J. L. and Janosik, E. H. (1991) Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing: A Caring Approach. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. Dillion, P. M. (2007) Nursing Health Assessment: A Critical Thinking, Case Studies Approach. PA: F.A. Davis Company. Elder, R., Evans, K., and Nizette, D. (2013) Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. Third Edition. NY: Elsevier Health Sciences. Freeman, A. (2005) Encyclopedia of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. NY: Springer Science. Griffin, D. J. (2012) Hospitals: What They Are and How They Work. London: Jones Bartlett Learning, LLC. Harman, L. B. (2001) Ethical Challenges in the Management of Health Information. London: Aspen Publishers Inc. Harrison, M., Howard, D., and Mitchell, D. (2004) Acute Mental Health Nursing: From Acute Concerns to the Capable Practitioner. First Edition. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Hindle, A., Coates, A., and Kingston, P. (2011) Nursing Care of Older People. London: Oxford University Press. House of Lords (2007) Improving the Mental Health of the Population: Can the European Union Help? Volume II: Evidence. London: The Stationery Office. Hopp, L. and Rittenmeyer, L. (2012) Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice: A Practical Guide for Nursing. PA: E.A. Davis Company. James, L. C. and O’Donohue, W. T. (2009) The Primary Care Toolkit: Practical Resources for the Integrated Behavioral Care Provider. New York: Springer. Kettles, A. M. and Collins, M. (2002) Therapeutic Interventions for Forensic Mental Health Nurses. England: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd. Kettles, A. M. and Woods, P. (2009) ‘The Theory of Risk’. In Risk Assessment and Management in Mental Health Nursing. ed. by Woods, P. And Kettles, A. M. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Kleinpell, R. M. (2013) Outcome Assessment in Advanced Practice Nursing. Third Edition. New York: Springer Publishing Company LLC. Lake, J. (2007) ‘Integrative Mental Health Care: From Theory to Practice, Part 1’. Alternative Therapy of Health Medicine, 13 (6), 50-56. Markowitz, J.C.   and Weissman, M. M. (2012) Casebook of Interpersonal Psychotherapy. London: Oxford University Press. Morrison-Valfre, M. (2013) Foundations of Mental Health Care. Fifth Edition. London: Mosby, Inc. Murray, B. L. and Upshall, E. (2009) ‘Risk to Self’. In Risk Assessment and Management in Mental Health Nursing. ed. by Woods, P. And Kettles, A. M. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. [NHS] National Health Service (2011) Service User Experience in Adult Mental Health: Improving the Experience of Care for People Using Adult NHS Mental Health Services. Retrieved on November 7, 2013 from nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/13629/57534/57534.pdf Norman, I. J. and Ryrie, I. (2013) The Art and Science of Mental Health Nursing: Principles and Practice. England: Open University Press. Patel, V., Minas, H., Cohen, A., and Prince, M. J. (2013) Global Mental Health: Principles and Practice. New York: Oxford University Press. Pender, N. J., Murdaugh, C. L., and Parsons, M. A. (2006) Health Promotion in Nursing Practice. PA: Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Pryjmachuk, S. (2011) Mental Health Nursing: An Evidence Based Introduction. First Edition. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Scholarly Editions (2012) Issues in Healthcare Technology and Design. Atlanta, Georgia: Scholarly Editions. Shieves, R. (2008) Basic Concepts of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. Seventh Edition. PA: Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Spouse, J., Cook, M. J., and Cox, C. (2008) Common Foundation Studies in Nursing. Fourth Edition. London: Churchill Livingstone. Thornicroft, G.   and Tansella, M. (2010) Mental Health Outcome Measures. Third Edition. London: The Royal College of Psychiatrists. Timby, B. K. (2009) Fundamental Nursing Skills and Concepts. Ninth Edition. London: Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Videbeck, S. L. (2011) Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. London: Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Weber, J. and Kelley, J. (2009) Health Assessment in Nursing. London: Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Wilkinson, J. M. and Treas, L. S. (2011) Fundamentals of Nursing – Volume 1: Theory, Concepts, and Applications. US: F. A. Davis Company. Woods, P. (2009) ‘Risk to Others’. In Risk Assessment and Management in Mental Health Nursing. ed. by Woods, P. And Kettles, A. M. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Woods, P.   and Kettles, A. M. (2009) Risk Assessment and Management in Mental Health Nursing. London: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

What to Do When a Child Faces Racial Bullying in School

What to Do When a Child Faces Racial Bullying in School Racial  bullying  in school  should be taken as seriously, if not more so, than other forms of mistreatment children endure at the hands of peers.  Parents dont have to sit idly by while a bully chips away at their childs self-esteem. By learning to identify bullying, whos at risk and how it can be stopped, parents can take action. Bullying Want to end race-based bullying? First, it’s necessary to outline exactly what bullying is. Bullying may consist of physical violence, such as punching, shoving and hitting, or verbal assaults, such as spreading gossip about a classmate, calling the classmate names or teasing the classmate. In the electronic age, bullying also manifests in mean-spirited emails, text messages or instant messages. Additionally, bullying may involve excluding a classmate from group activities or ignoring the classmate. Sophisticated bullies are another matter entirely. Instead of abusing a person directly, they enlist their friends to gang up on a classmate for them. Studies on bullying indicate that 15% to 25% of U.S. students are bullied frequently. What’s shocking is that both bullies and their targets suffer from the practice. Students who bully have a higher chance of dropping out of school, abusing substances and committing crimes than others. On the flip side, up to 160,000 targets of bullies skip school annually to avoid abuse. Who’s at risk? Make good grades or have a cute boyfriend? A bully may target you. That’s because bullies pick on those they envy as well as those who don’t fit in. Because students of color in predominantly white schools stand out in the crowd, they make convenient targets for bullies. It requires little imagination for a bully to insult a classmate because of race. A racist bully may leave racially tinged graffiti on school grounds or verbally single out a minority student’s skin color, hair texture, eye shape, and other distinguishing features. Hit 1996 film â€Å"The Craft† has a storyline in which a white character named Laura racially harasses an African American classmate named Rochelle. In one scene, Laura and Rochelle are in the locker room after gym class, and Laura says, â€Å"Oh, God, look, there is a pubic hair in my brush. Oh, no wait, wait, that’s just one of Rochelle’s little nappy hairs.† When Rochelle asks Laura why she relentlessly teases her, Laura responds, â€Å"Because I don’t like Negroids. Sorry.† Rochelle is clearly hurt by the remark and her performance in gym class suffers because of Laura’s constant teasing. Targets of bullies not only suffer academically but may have trouble sleeping and eating. Their moods may change markedly as well. As the only black student in an exclusive Catholic high school, Rochelle finds herself in a clique of other misfits, including a new girl from out of town with magical powers. To stop the racist bullying, Rochelle enlists the help of the new girl to make Laura’s hair fall out. Too bad magical spells cant stop bullying in real life. Standing Up to Bullying How do you stop bullying? Ending it will likely require action from parents, students, and schools, alike. By talking with children, parents can pinpoint when bullying is most likely to happen and act to prevent their children from being targeted at such times. For instance, if a student is bullied before or after school, parents can arrange to have the child-driven to school or picked up afterward to prevent the child from being alone with a bully. Parents may also enroll their children in an assertiveness training course to give them tools to stand up to bullies. If a child is subjected to physical violence by a bully, parents may provide self-defense lessons as well. Reaching out to the family of a bully may also stop the abuse. However, one of the reasons children bully is because they witness bullying at home or have chaotic home lives. The bully may be picking on minority classmates because of racist attitudes they’ve been exposed to by family members. Given this, the bully’s family may be of little help in ending the abuse. Parents may also opt to discuss the bullying with school officials and enlist the help of administrators and teachers to end the mistreatment. As violence on school campus increasingly makes headlines, schools take bullying more seriously now than ever. When reaching out to school officials, let them know that you want your child’s role in having the bully punished to be a secret. Since bullies often increase their abuse when found out, it’s important that their targets are protected from acts of retaliation. Does your child attend public school? Academic institutions that receive federal funds are mandated to prevent students from exposure to racially hostile environments. Should a school fail to take action to thwart racist bullying, parents have the option of filing a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, which investigates such matters. OCR typically resolves such complaints by requiring schools to adopt anti-harassment policies and procedures, train staff and students and address the incidents in question, according to its website. To boot, schools and teachers can reduce the likelihood that racist bullying will occur by pairing students of different races together on projects, holding diversity workshops and encouraging students of all races to sit in the cafeteria together. Damage Control Racist bullying may give children a complex about their ethnic background. To counteract the messages of a racist bully, help children feel good about their racial heritage. Celebrate important cultural events, put up images of individuals from diverse backgrounds around the home and allow children to socialize with peers from diverse backgrounds. Expose them to literature, film, and music in which people from their ethnic group figure prominently.

Ethics In The Society In The Brothers Keeper Film Movie Review

Ethics In The Society In The Brothers Keeper Film - Movie Review Example From what we can see it is very unethical for one to kill anyone for any reason other than self-defense or other reasons that are lawful. However, we find that even when the suspect confesses to his crime, people still think that he is not capable of committing such a crime. They even rise together to defend him. For the brothers, they found it merciful to have one of the brother’s death to relieve him of his ailment and other pain. It is very acceptable to show mercy to those in need. However, it is good to be very watchful so as not to go beyond what is morally accepted.  (Weiss, Jeffrey, and Craig Weiss 1998)  However, now that the community can come together to aid one of their own, it is a very positive thing, and other community should do the same if one of them is somewhere very sensitive. The unity of a community shows strength and love (Weiss, Jeffrey, and Craig Weiss 1998).  The film shows the difference between two groups of people; the one group is made up of people from the larger city while the other group is made up of people from rural areas. We find that the movie reveals two contradicting views about the Ward brothers. Some hold that the brothers are simple country folk and, on the other hand, the press have stereotypes for the two brothers as people who are not educated. The film has managed in a very successful way displayed how unity can help bring down a monstrous problem despite the level of literacy.  (Weiss, Jeffrey, and Craig Weiss 1998)

Authentic Assessment Project (AAP) - Organizational Ethics Issues Thesis

Authentic Assessment Project (AAP) - Organizational Ethics Issues - Thesis Example Ethics involves moral issues and choices, and influences daily decisions made by individuals and organizations. Following are the three ethical issues faced by most of organizations. An individual’s emotions and inner feelings may sometimes stop them from making any ethical decision. If the circumstances seems justified, the managers can think at ease when coming to a conclusion with regards to an ethical issue. â€Å"It is illegal to show favoritism against any individual when recruiting, hiring and promotion, transfer, work assignments, performance measurement, the work environment, job training, discipline and discharge, wages and benefits, or any other term, condition, or privilege of employment† (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2008). To do unjustice makes the decision of hiring based on race harder for managers to make. Managers must put personal feeling aside. They need to consider others. They must not forget that their decision is not supposed to hurt anyone. They need to consider the well-being of their organization. If the company or anyone is being hurt by their decision, they will need to think again about their decision. To hire employees because of particular color or race hurts company and people more than it facilitates. Hiring decision should not be based on an individual’s skin color, religion, race or sex. (Jones, 375) Rather, it must take into consideration an individual’s qualification, performance, experience and skills. It is must for Managers to have confidence while taking decisions and stick by their decisions. After the issue of hiring has been evaluated involving all personal perspectives and beliefs, the manager must move on and come up with a decision to the issue. This may appear as the ultimate step in the process of ethical issues resolution. Diversity at t he place of work is valuable for an organization. Excessive executive bonuses have become an