VIOLENT PROGRAMS ON TELEVISION LEAD TO AGGRESSIVE...

Since 1982, the National Institute of Mental Health, along with other reputable health organizations has collected data that connects media violence, with violent acts. Conclusions deduced from this data prove that violent programs on television lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch those programs. Television violence affects young people of all ages, all socio-economic levels, and all levels of intelligence. Today’s children view vast amounts of violence on television. A steady diet of death, killings, torture, and other grotesque acts may be viewed on any day by vulnerable youth. When children are young, they are impressionable to all their surroundings, and especially vulnerable to what they see. Scientific†¦show more content†¦This association has been easy to support and is substantiated in every major scientific report released in the last twenty years. It has become general knowledge to professional counselors and educators that excessive and unsupervised exposure to television violence increases the use of violence to resolve conflict, while it desensitizes these youth to acts of violence. This exposure to violence in the media makes viewers less critical of real life violence. Since the media often represents violence as â€Å"happy violence† devoid of pain, suffering, and consequences, they are not providing the audience with an accurate or realistic portr ayal of violence. Many studies have also confirmed a cumulative effect of exposure to violence as researchers have traced patterns from childhood exposure to adult social behavior. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence was in charge of investigating these issues and making recommendations to the President. The media’s task force report was titled, â€Å"Violence and the Media.† Conclusions drawn from this report show that real violence was caused in part by the desire of action groups for media attention; and that violence in society could be reduced if the news gave groups the ability to enhance their communication. A particular focus of the study was the

Film Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace - 1505 Words

While portraying his groundbreaking role as Qui Gon Jinn in the 2002 hit movie Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Liam Neeson is quoted as saying, â€Å"Your focus determines your reality.† In the context of Salem, Massachusetts, this means that if one focuses on witches and witchcraft, their reality will then become witches and witchcraft. This is exactly what happened during the Salem Witch Trials during the late 1690’s, as immortalized in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The small Puritan colony became so engrossed with fear of the Christian Devilâ„ ¢ that they began to suspect their own neighbors, and a select few individuals began using that fear for their own personal benefit, accusing their neighbors for the sake of righting wrongs†¦show more content†¦Decades later, in 1989, Miller would explain why audiences could so easily invest themselves in his production, similarly to the way a town could succumb itself to mass hysteria, by saying, â€Å"When certainties evaporate with each dawn, the unknowable is always around the corner.† (Miller) Many theories have been posed from mental illness to LSD, though it seems that the most reasonable answer to the question of why these events took place is the fact that the colony was Puritanical and had adopted a governing style that incited terror in its civilians. â€Å"The Colonial Government in the 1690’s saw itself as protecting Christianity by seizing on the ravings of a klatch of pubescent girls who, fearing punishment for their implicitly sexual revolt, began convincing themselves that they had been perverted by Satan.† (Miller) Naturally, the fear that came from the church-state of Salem Village became a driving force in the civilians’ lives. Though the Devilâ„ ¢ may have been present in Salem, it was not in the form of witchcraft, but rather in the form of fear within the townspeople. Arthur Miller used the Salem Witch Trials in The Cruci ble as an allegory for the mass hysteria he witnessed in his time through McCarthyism and the Red Scare. McCarthyism, named fairly enough after its instigator Senator Joseph McCarthy, swept the nation into a panic during the 1950’s, and ignited a unique witch hunt, though not an unfamiliar one to the American people: aShow MoreRelatedThe Book The Seven Basic Plots : Why We Tell Stories1246 Words   |  5 PagesStar Wars has entertained millions of people since its inception in 1977. Creator George Lucas’s brilliant use of the plot type Tragedy has created Star Wars into the global phenomenon that it is today. 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Read MoreAnalysis Of Star Wars1495 Words   |  6 PagesStar Wars: A Fantasy Not So Far From Reality Star Wars, the single most recognizable science fiction experience to the date, hides a substantial amount of real life issues, and borrows a great deal from real life history. While feasting these senses, a lot can be gained by analyzing the saga, specifically A New Hope and The Phantom Menace by George Lucas. Ironic themes exist in the saga in the likes of an oppressive government, the horrid results of such governments, a strong presence of theology—allRead MoreStar Wars : Episode IIi - Revenge Of The Sith1162 Words   |  5 Pages2005, the year â€Å"Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith† came out, I was a mere 9 years old. My parents being rather strict about my movie watching, I was not allowed to see the film upon its release. I was crushed, especially since my best friend who is a month younger than me saw it in theaters (the injustice!). Two years later, my parents gave me the gift I wanted most for my 11th birthday: a â€Å"ticket† to watch â€Å"Revenge of the Sith† with them on my dad’s DVD copy that night. (I still have thatRead MoreCritical Analysis Of Star Wars1293 Words   |  6 PagesCritical Analysis of Star Wars Released in 1977, the original Star Wars movie quickly became the highest grossing film of all time and it changed the way people thought of filmography. With its unique special effects and storyline, it created a new era of Hollywood movies. It became a huge blockbuster and eventually spawned a new universe that now spans several decades. The films, now numbering six with three more being made, have a fan base of millions of people. In order for a film (series) to haveRead MoreStar Wars Informative Speech Essay764 Words   |  4 PagesStar Wars What movie franchise has been the most powerful film franchise in history? 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Strategies to Discourage Social Loafing Free Essays

Strategies to discourage social loafing: Social loafing can be described as a tendency of individuals to exert less effort when they are part of a group. Since, all individuals are sharing their efforts to accomplish set goals; each member of the group contributes less than he/she would if he/she was individually accountable. One of the major reasons behind this behavior is that individuals think that they are not being acknowledged for their efforts. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategies to Discourage Social Loafing or any similar topic only for you Order Now Such believing brings their moral down and therefore team members see no reason to reach high-level performance while working within the team. This behavior also develops when individual responsibilities within a team are not well-defined, or when management cannot track performance with precision. To correct and eliminate social loafing within the team players and to provide positive advantage to organization, the following steps can be taken. By defining clear roles and responsibilities to each team member in the beginning of the project will help each individual to achieve set goals and objectives. – By observing each individual’s contribution closely. -Set up individual assignments that reflect results toward the end project. -Assign individual tasks according to his/her skill set and strengths. This approach will promote the individual to accomplish assigned tasks in an effective manner. -Employ team reviews and member evaluations on regular basis. Simplify the rol es and responsibilities for the team to follow. -Support and persuade team members with loyalty. -Provide timely feedback to each team member on assigned tasks. -Using the management by walking around method can also reduce the social loafing within the team individuals. This practice will help management obtaining a better understanding of the work being done outside as well as building relationship with employees. Similarly, team members will learn that management is coming around anytime that will reduce the possible chances of social loafing. How to cite Strategies to Discourage Social Loafing, Essay examples

Community Engagement Support for Millennial - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theCommunity Engagement Support for Millennial. Answer: Potential for Sustainability As this year ends, the goals of sustainable development for Northside are getting more established. According to the statutes of the organization, the volunteers are required to be in a position of shaping their volunteerism roles. Such is to ensure that the organization achieves its ultimate goal of creating a world that is better to live in. Northside, spearhead by its volunteers, happens to be working on achieving the Millennial Development Goal aspects for more than a couple of years now. The organization has, therefore, demonstrated the importance of the participation of individuals and the administration to ensure that sustainable changes within the society are attained. In this case, the required volunteers will engage in helping the elderly in different levels and circumstances (Bercovici 2017). The DARTS Program, as a new development framework, should be able to ensure that the organization achieves sustainability. However, the aspect of volunteerism should ensure that each and every elderly person is served equally. The program adopts a rights-based and an equality-focused approach in each and every level of operation. Such is intended to be underpinned by a strong framework for accountability (Dictus 2017). According to the requirements of the DARTS Program, volunteerism should be a renewable resource which would ensure that the goals for sustainable development are achieved across the entire segment of operation. Regardless of achieving specific goals like those associated with gender, health, sustainable consumption, education or environmental protection, the entire program is supposed to cut across the engagement of individuals to help them counter the problems they face (Dictus 2017). Volunteerism, therefore, plays a crucial role in this framework in several ways. Such ways include: Complementing basic services to the elderly individuals whenever they lack such services or they need such services. Mobilizing every aspect of development as well as instilling a sense of awareness and ownership. According to the DARTS Program the volunteers help in addressing and managing challenges faced by the elderly people. Enhancing the efforts of development and peace effectiveness via participatory forms like accountability and monitoring. Trust building and bridging of social capital. Such is attained through working together with the old to achieve a common organizational goal, ensure that barriers are overcome and recreate solidarities in diverse and urban societies Building preparedness and resilience via community actions that are concrete, enhancing responsibility and knowledge for the old. Ensuring that the elderly develop special skills in different areas through volunteers. Through skills of employability such experiences and knowledge are attained. It is worth noting that volunteerism, though an old approach is a new concept adopted by Northside. However, it will depend on the participation of individuals. In our case, ensuring that volunteer engagement is strengthened would mean that the delivery goal for sustainable development as well as volunteer mobilization would be achieved. Through the facilitation of opportunities brought about by volunteerism, Northside has a great opportunity of achieving an agenda for true societal transformational (Dictus 2017). On the contrary, as much as volunteers provide their skills and work diligently, volunteerism requires an investment so that individuals would be able to transmit their contribution. Such can also result to meaningful opportunities of engagement associated with broad efforts of development. One study performed in Australia demonstrates that volunteer contributions are absolutely underestimated. Due to such, the return on investment is valued at 4:1. Each invested dollar tra nslates to a financial value of $4. The contributions of volunteer are, in this case, equated to the cost of replacement and the provided service instead of the overall effects value (Bercovici 2017). Need for Volunteers The importance and potentiality of volunteerism has received widespread acceptance in policy making areas. Aspects like improved conditions of health as well as prolonged longevity of older individuals have resulted to increased demands for care (Tang, Choi, and Morrow-Howell 2017). Due to such, volunteerism is an option that would ensure that such individuals that are old are kept in productive engagements. There are several sources of literature that states the benefits of volunteering to help the elderly. Such include maintenance of good health. Good health includes better mental health, proper physical functioning, good self-rated health and mortality being delayed. On the contrary, there are few mechanisms listed through which insight on how volunteerism profits the general health of the participants and the patients. However, there are listed ways through which organizations, through the provision of support, are able to promote the benefits of volunteerism. Such benefits can a ccrue patients benefits such as socio-emotional control. Levels of socio-emotional control include sociability, satisfaction, and self-validation. Other benefits, however, include mental and physical well-being. All the mentioned positive effects are associated with a sense of accomplishment for the elderly as well as purpose by volunteering. The accrued benefits of volunteerism are all based on theoretical models of with regards to the perspectives of Northside. One important model is the selectivity socio-emotional theory. According to several research activities on the subject matter, the theoretical model examines if organizational support associates with increased commitments on socio-emotional benefits and volunteerism. It also tests whether the benefits of socio-emotions are associated with physical and mental health among the elderly individuals (Tang, Choi, and Morrow-Howell 2017). Treatment of Volunteers Time is a vital factor. The management of the program should ensure that the volunteers time is well managed. Such time should be put in proper use as well. Each and every aspect of donation that the volunteers provide to the organization should be valued. On the same note, there are certain aspects of volunteer management that need to be incorporated in the program. One such aspect is the use of text message to facilitate communication between the volunteers and the programs management body (Balbach 2017). Such would quicken the communication and increase confidence. Most organizations have a problem of keeping volunteers. In this case, to ensure that the recruited volunteers are kept happy and satisfied, Northside must ensure that it keeps its volunteers feeling appreciated. The organization must also ensure that its volunteers have a voice within the organization. However, since there might be so many participants turning up, meeting the expectations of each would at times prove h ectic (Bercovici 2017). To ensure that such problems are alleviated, the organization needs to leverage technology so as to have volunteers engaged and turnover reduced. The management of the project should also ensure that it takes time to listen whatever volunteers have in mind. By doing so, it is easy to learn things that might motivate them. Such volunteers should also be trained. Another important note to the management is to ensure that it personalizes the interaction of the volunteer so as to create loyalty during participations (Balbach 2017). Points of differentiation within the community One factor that influences volunteer engagement is culture. Understanding the cultural dynamics of the volunteers is very vital in building good employee rela). As mentioned before, privileges that volunteers should enjoy should be proportional to their personal contributions. tionships. Such will also help in ensuring that trust, respect and collaboration is built within the organization. It is important to note that communities arent built as homogeneous entities (Assignment Centre 2017). They are constituted by diverse groups. Such groups are made of different social structures, histories, cultural understandings and value systems. It is, therefore, worth noting that establishing the said DARTS project would require the management of the organization to be able to bridge cultural boundaries. Such is because every volunteer comes with his or her cultural identity. The dynamics and complexity of the cultural aspects of the volunteers should be identified. Note that cultural competence is not just about being able to identify the manner in which group of people differ but also includes the norms or standards of behavior. Since this approach is meaning-centered, it has the potential of revealing the manner in which community conditions get determined by eco nomic, social, or political forces instead of personal choices (Atsdr 2017). In order to ensure that the organization achieves successful operational collaboration with the community, it needs to ensure that every person involved strive to help in success achievement. As mentioned before, the only key that would lead to the development of the required understanding is recognition of each and every volunteers culture as well as how such cultures shape their beliefs. In our case, this community-engaged program will involve the elite few; mostly those from health institutions or universities and have been able to work in areas with low income or have been at risks such is because they are well acquainted with hardships (Assignment Centre 2017). All in all, the volunteers should acknowledge background diversity, culture, experience, education, income and also able to examine the manner in which inequalities are examined in the society (Atsdr 2017). Negative or Positive Issues Regarding Organizational Sustainability One important factor, in this case, is capacity building. In our case, capacity building to improve the conditions of the elderly involves development of resources, sustainable skills, and organizational structures within the community of Northside. Establishing capacity building would ensure that the efforts of engagement of volunteers are effective, equitable, and sustainable. Each and every stakeholder should therefore be ready to lead and collaborate. Building capacity is also about leadership skills, fostering shared knowledge, and representing the interests of the elderly. Such is due to the fact that capacity building is rooted in political, social, and economic environment of the organization. Such can, therefore, not be conducted unless the environment is understood (Assignment Centre 2017). Another important factor is coalition building. Engaging the community in any given activity involves coalition building. There are several goals associated with the building of coalitions. Such goals include resource and information sharing and advocating for changes of specific policies. Creation of coalitions is motivated by the fact that they are able to accomplish individuals cant accomplish alone. Power and benefits distribution between coalition members should be a concern for each and every stakeholder (Bercovici 2017). The benefits received by the volunteers should, as well be proportional to their personal contributions. There are several ways through which coalitions can help processes of engagement. Such include the maximization of influences of volunteers and the entire organization, creation of collective resources, and reducing effort duplication. Coalition effectiveness can be evaluated in two bases. Such include the manner in which all the stakeholders collaborate as well as the types of community-level changes (Assignment Centre 2017). Stakeholders Concerns There are three engagement strategies that would be employed in this case. Such strategies include: Community investment Community involvement Community integration Choice of engagement strategies: - After the identification of the stakeholders from the community, important aspects should be prioritized. It is also vital to determine if the organization would focus on integration or involvement. The organization also needs to clarify whatever stakeholders they need to achieve the organization goals (Nbs 2017). Planning processes of engagement and suitable techniques: - whenever stakeholders require information on how to dispel forms of confusion, techniques of plan investment like ads and flyers. In this case, we are talking about volunteers. Therefore, whenever volunteers feel like the organization doesnt want to listen to their concerns, they are in a position of launching involvement activities to have their issues squared. Such include public meetings and surveys. In case the community needs to get closely involved (Nbs 2017). Cementing community engagements: - It should be noted that a one-off initiative does not coax engagement unless one learns from experience sharing. Employing a systematic approach towards ensuring that stakeholder is engaged would ensure that the organization reap benefits. There is also a growing expectation that the organization need to engage community in its operations. Such systematic approaches are likely to bring genuine benefits to the organization (PNMSOFT 2017). It is again worth mentioning that the privileges that volunteers enjoy should be proportional to their personal contributions Reference Assignment Centre, U 2017, The importance of HRM Policies and Practices Business Essay. Uniassignment.com. Available at: https://www.uniassignment.com/essay-samples/business/importance-of-hrm-policies-and-practices-business-essay.php [Accessed 25 May 2017]. Atsdr, 2017, Chapter 1: Useful Concepts | Principles of Community Engagement | ATSDR. [online] Available at: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/communityengagement/pce_useful.html [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017]. Bala, R 2017, Unit Guide. [online] Unitguides.mq.edu.au. Available at: https://unitguides.mq.edu.au/unit_offerings/72118/unit_guide [Accessed 15 May 2017]. Balbach, K 2017, How to Engage Volunteers - Rules to Live By. [online] VolunteerHub. Available at: https://www.volunteerhub.com/blog/engage-volunteers/ [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017]. Bercovici, J 2017, Organizational Growth. [online] Inc.com. Available at: https://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/organizational-growth.html [Accessed 27 Oct. 2017]. Blades, C 2017, Why Doing Good Means Good Business. [online]. Available at: https://fleishmanhillard.com/2016/05/true/why-doing-good-means-good-business/ [Accessed 26 May 2017] Dictus, R 2017, How will volunteers help meet sustainable development goals? [online] Devex. Available at: https://www.devex.com/news/how-will-volunteers-help-meet-sustainable-development-goals-85160 [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017]. Nbs.net, 2017, Engage Your Community Stakeholders: An Introductory Guide for Businesses. [online] Available at: https://nbs.net/p/engage-your-community-stakeholders-an-introductory-gui-615902ab-e363-47ff-a3fc-d87188938739 [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017]. PNMSOFT, 2017, Business Process Management. [online] (BPM) Software. Available at: https://www.pnmsoft.com/resources/bpm-tutorial/bpm/ [Accessed 24 Sep. 2017]. Tang, F Choi, E and Morrow-Howell, N, 2017, Organizational Support and Volunteering Benefits for Older Adults. [online] Available at: https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/50/5/603/558799/Organizational-Support-and-Volunteering-Benefits [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017].

Gender roles portrayed in society Essay Example

Gender roles portrayed in society Essay In the sasss, the popular shows at the time were Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace and Leave it to the Beaver. All of these shows implying that women were to be at home and men were to work, bringing home the bacon. This ideology affected society, men began to feel as though that they must solely make all the money and took the burden upon themselves. If you could not provide for your family then you didnt do your Job. As for women, they had to do all the domestic chores and had to depend solely on their husbands. For women, this was very unfair. They felt as though they were left at a disadvantage. In the ass and the years to come, they would be discriminated against and only be allowed to work Jobs that fit their capabilities. For example, they could do secretarial work and other very menial Jobs. They could not push beyond their boundaries even if they had the qualifications to do so. Television shows were not the only aspect that affected society. Of course with all the advertisement selling items such as laundry Ghana 2 chillness, kitchen appliances and other domestic-Like devices were all advertised with women. Which indicated and Insinuated to society that this Is what a womens Job as, This later leads to how society will then Influence the coming years. The Information presented reflects the Idea that social media effects the colonization of gender roles. Pointing out commercials and television shows that were Indeed used to almost Indoctrinate whoever watched It and the people surrounding them. Making men and women feel as though this is the social standard in which they are to follow esteem and/or decision making. We will write a custom essay sample on Gender roles portrayed in society specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Gender roles portrayed in society specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Gender roles portrayed in society specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Which poses many concerns on how sex roles are interpreted. As years go by, society now has established this unspoken fact that omen are incapable and therefore must be protected by a man. Women are seen as incompetent, they are taken advantaged of because theyre viewed as easy. A speech given by a renowned feminist named Chainman Ongoing Addicted said, We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, You can have ambition but not too much. O should aim to be successful but not too successful, otherwise you will threaten the man. Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage, I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of Joy and love and mutual support but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we dont teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors, not for Jobs or for accomplishments. Which I think could be a good thing, bu t for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. What Chainman says is very true based on Ghana 3 what society has shown. For example, girls are taught to never aim to be a CEO or a political leader. Girls are taught to be a helping hand almost, to guide their man to retreats. She says that because she is female she is expected to aspire to marriage that statement is true because women are expected to fit this idea of a beautiful being. To be fit and to also have lady-like mannerisms. That is why girls nowadays are almost competing for a title, women see each other as competitors but never for the brains. They compete with their looks, women have tendencies to see each other a competitors and feel protective of their men. Women are also never allowed to be the same as men in sexual encounters. Women are seen as something o pure and once their purity is gone. Theyre no longer worth what they once were, so they are encourage to not lose this purity. Men on the other hand are encouraged to rendezvous as much as possible, the more the better. Butler views sex as a socially constructed category which stems out of social and cultural practices and gender identity is not a manifestation of intrinsic essence but rather the product of actions and behavior that is, performance. She undermines the thought that sex is a natural born category and is very convincing in her argument. Sex isnt a category to which we are born in, surely we are a male and female but her argument g oes beyond shallow thought. She states that females could have easily been the male of the world and that we chose to label it however we wanted to. Our society made up this category that men are to protect and women are to be protected. Gender is produced from what we do, some females may choose to be the provider and caretaker. Gender is chosen by the being individually. Sometimes the individual cannot choose for themselves, sometimes parents influence children as soon as theyre born. Ghana 4 Parents have expectations of children depending on their sex. Giving examples such as colors, toys, and assumptions of behaviors differentiated by genders. Parents have differential expectation of sons and daughters as early as 24 house after birth which Witt stated in this essay. Witt believes that parents have a huge impact once how children will portray their roles in society. Witt proves this by showing studies that show boys have more masculine items in their rooms than girls do. For example, the basic colors that are used to represent a specific sex, pink is used to present females and blue for males. Males typically have sports equ ipment in their bedrooms and girls have frills. Socially accepted toys for boys are sport related or toys related to things boys have to like. For example hammers, sports balls, and/or cars. Females on the other hands are usually given toys such as dolls and play household items. All of which psychologically effect how they think and act. When girls are tomboys it is very often almost looked down upon and vice versa for a male. Many people Judge girls are on their body shapes and how they are dressed. Girls would usually be slim and dressed well. Boys are usually looked at how broad their shoulders are, their build. Parents expect their daughters to be calm, cool and collected and boys are expected to be masculine,chivalrous and reliable. Corcoran wrote an article in the Daily Nebraskan titled, Stereotypical Gender Roles Have No Place in Modern Society. According to this article, in modern society women should not have to conform to societal beliefs that women should be any less ambition than men. He believes that in todays society, now it is more socially acceptable for omen not to follow traditional ideals. He refers to this age as the golden age of gender roles. Before it was assumed that men wanted to be the sole breadwinner for Ghana 5 their families, now it isnt considered to be the case. There is too much pressure on the men as there is pressure on women. He tells us to not surrender to your nature and that we should instead aim to better ourselves and follow what we wish to do, not what society tells us to want. The stereotypical gender roles were once acceptable in society but now times are hanging and so are opinions. Society now markets on the independence of a woman by appealing to women across the globe to make a difference. There are many iconic females such as Beyond, Opera and so on have stood to show that girls Run the World. Females across the globe have started to make changes. Not only have females stood up, males have as well. Even in modern times, men are expected to pay for dates and gifts. Even though a relationship is a two way street, males are still expected to be the giver. Nowadays, some females like to pay for their dates. Some

Oracle California

Oracle California Introduction/Background On May 31, 2001, Oracle Corporation (Oracle), with the assistance of its dependent broker Logicon Inc (Logicon), sealed a six-year enterprise licensing agreement (ELA) with the state of California to provide statewide database software and maintenance support to over 270,000 state employees. On face value, the contract, worth almost $95 million, seemed beneficial to the state in not only achieving significant volume discounts by broadly licensing the software, but also reducing its overall administrative costs (Howle Hendrickson, 2002). Overall, it was argued by Oracle and Logicon’s officials that the statewide software contract would help California save up to $100 million in taxpayers’ dollars over six to 10 years (Borland, 2002; Gilbert 2002b).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Oracle California specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More But as noted in a report by the California State Auditor, this contract could have seen the state spend $6 million to $41 million more on Oracle database software and maintenance support than it would have if no contract was sealed (Howle Hendrickson, 2002). The present paper analyzes the Oracle and California case in depth, its major actors, triggering forces, consequences and long-term effects. Problem Discussion The Oracle and state of California case, it can be argued, revolves around poor contracting practices as witnessed by the loopholes and oversights inherent when the state entered into an ELA with Oracle (Howle Hendrickson, 2002). Information technology (IT) is generally considered an enabler of the state’s agility, particularly when its use results in massive cost efficiencies and productivity (Reddick, 2012). In this particular case, however, â€Å"†¦a preliminary survey by the Department of Information Technology (DOIT) of 127 state departments two months earlier strongly suggested that relatively few s tate workers might need or want any new Oracle Corporation (Oracle) products† (Howle Hendrickson, 2002, p. 1). But state officials went ahead to buy into the deal despite prior knowledge from the survey which insinuated that Oracle products were not a priority. Additionally, it is evident how Logicon, the official reseller for Oracle, quickly immersed itself in the deal and aimed for key contacts that it would need in Sacramento political circles not only to win political favoritism (Borland, 2002), but also reap handsomely in a deal that state officials admit they never took adequate time to ascertain Logicon’s data (Howle Hendrickson, 2002). While it is arguable that Oracle viewed the California case in light of victimization due to political temperatures reminiscent of an election year (Gilbert, 2002a), it is evident how the contract was grounded in political influence and smoothed by capitol relationships (Borland, 2002). But although the state legislative audit c ommittee held two months hearings with 30 witnesses and 2500 pages of documents, contradictory testimony throughout the trial proved inadequate in providing an accurate picture of how the multi-million deal was finalized or structured (Borland, 2002). Consequently, the following analysis is an attempt to provide in-depth insights into some overriding scenarios of the case.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Analysis To date, it remains difficult to outline the undercurrents of Oracle and California case, but at least we can now map out the factors that come into play to precipitate the case. In one of his recommendations to the Governor’s office, Kelso cited in Peterson (2002) advocates for â€Å"†¦a clearer assignment of roles and responsibilities for IT planning, management, procurement and project management† (p. 1). The lack of this function cou pled with a faulty contracting system, in my view, allowed Logicon the opportunity to exploit weak governance structures and push through a defective deal. While the state was loosing money, Logicon stood to make a massive $28 million from the ELA, a fact that state officials may not have been apprised of (Howle Hendrickson, 2002). Political maneuvers on the part of Logicon to ensure the contract went through complicated issues (Gilbert, 2002a), but not to the extent demonstrated by state bureaucrats, who not only failed to scrutinize the deal as much as they could have, but never questioned Oracle’s promises of cost savings and estimates for the number of business licenses that the state would need (Borland, 2002). Up until now, it is yet unclear why the above oversights and errors were committed. Although ultimately California officially canceled the sprawling six-year contract with Oracle on July 23 2002 (Borland, 2002; Gilbert, 2002b), contradictory testimony throughout the trial means that it may not be clear how and why these oversights and errors went unnoticed (Borland, 2002). To date, according to this author, â€Å"†¦it’s also unclear whether Oracle or Logicon is to blame for the convoluted contract – or whether state officials were too trusting of the promised cost savings and license estimates in the first place† (para. 13). It may not be clear why the convoluted contract involving California and Oracle went through despite shortcomings, but it is certainly clear who the major players were. From the critical evaluation of literature on the case, it cannot escape mention that both Oracle and Logicon undertook critical roles in ensuring the contract went through. The role played by the Department of Information Technology (DOIT) was equally critical in facilitating a faulty deal that investigations revealed could have led to the loss of millions of taxpayers’ money (Howle Hendrickson, 2002). In particular, th e General Services and Information Technology departments bore a heavy burden of the case (Borland, 2002)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Oracle California specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While reading through the various documents highlighting the case, it is clear that Logicon engaged in adaptive malpractices with the help of Ravi Mehta to win the contract for Oracle and afterwards benefit financially through contract fees and loyalties (Borland, 2002). Mehta’s greatest contribution, it seems, was to scout for ‘political connectedness’ to win the contract for Oracle through campaign money contributions. Indeed, governor Gray Davis had already received a $25,000 campaign contribution from Oracle some few days after the deal was signed (Borland, 2002), not mentioning that Mehta, acting for Logicon, solicited the assistance of Sen. Richard Polanco and Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh with an obvious intention of sealing the contract (Howle Hendrickson, 2002). Therefore, it can be argued, the salient trend reminiscent throughout the pre-contract signing era was for Logicon to act as the deal broker while Oracle provided the financial resources needed for political maneuvering. Inside the state agencies, it is evident from the case readings that the General Services limited their legal counselors in all contracts, causing vague contractual terms and missing language that went a long way to open a window of opportunity for misuse and misrepresentation (Howle Hendrickson, 2002). This particular department, in conjunction with the department of Finance, had also been accused for failing to effectively evaluate the state’s actual need for the Oracle contract. Employees from the IT department were also netted as major players as they, in conjunction with their counterparts in Finance and General Services, approved the ELA without taking the necessary steps to validate the cos ts savings projections presented by Logicon (Howle Hendrickson, 2002). Moving away from the key players, it is imperative to analyze the consequences and the aftermath of the contract, as well as the long-term effects. By far the biggest consequence of the convoluted contract was the wounding up of the state’s department of information technology (Gilbert, 2002b), an institution that had been established in 1995 to steer the state clear of IT-related system failures and challenges (Peterson 2002; California Technology Agency, 2011). An underlying consequence or aftermath of the contract was the resignation of senior state officials, including Eliaz Cortez, the then head of the state’s department of information technology (Gilbert, 2002b). Politicians who accepted campaign contributions from Ravi Mehta of Logicon as a means to woo political favors also suffered heavy political setbacks from the exposure.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Indeed, Governor Davis, who was due for re-election in November 2002, had to return the $25,000 campaign contribution facilitated by Oracle upon the signing of the contract (Borland, 2002; Howle Hendrickson, 2002; Gilbert 2002b). It is also obvious that both Logicon and Oracle suffered from dented images and public reputation, a fact that is evident from the accusations and counter-accusations both firms traded against each other during the Audit hearings. In one instance, Oracle executives said they all but ignored Mehta’s recommendations that the software giant contributes money to political campaigns (Borland, 2002), but they still went ahead to contribute $25,000 to Governor Davis’ campaign kitty (Howle Hendrickson, 2002). Such misalignment of facts caused embarrassment for Oracle and its main lobbyist in the deal – Logicon. The long-term effects of the convoluted contract are best illuminated by Kelso in his recommendations to the office of Governor. Amon g the most important, Kelso cited in Peterson (2002) underlines the need â€Å"†¦to have a clearer assignment of roles and responsibilities for IT planning management, procurement and project management† (p. 1). It is generally felt that some overlap of roles as well as confusion about which state agency or department was ultimately responsible for which type of IT project may have given a window of opportunity for the defective contract to progress, thus the need to undertake long-term measures of not only making clear assignments of roles and responsibilities, but also encouraging public input and public vetting of major IT projects to avoid such oversights and errors (Peterson, 2002). Lastly, the Oracle California case also demonstrates the need for long-term concerted efforts aimed at aligning the state’s IT governance structure with the actual structure of California state government with the view to achieve harmony among the many dispersed units (Peterson, 2 002). In the view of many commentators, the dispersed governance structure and the level of autonomy exercised by state agencies and departments could have exacerbated the situation. Conclusion Key Learning Outcomes Through an insightful analysis of available literature, the present paper has brought important angles of the Oracle and California case into the limelight. As already mentioned elsewhere, the investigators failed to unearth what was really going on due to the nature and complexity of the evidence adduced (Howle Hendrickson, 2002), but the investigation was closed with deep criticism of almost every single player involved (Borland, 2002). A major key learning for state officials is to what is right instead of what they feel is politically expedient. Another key learning revolves around avoiding political and monetary influence in undertaking state contracts. Additionally, the convoluted contract exposes the need to have effective state employees who have the capacity t o synthesize and make meaning of all contractual documents, as well as the need for effective leadership, coordination and collaboration between various state agencies and departments to seal all loopholes that could be used by self-interested contractors and individuals to achieve selfish gains (Peterson, 2002). Reference List Borland, J. (2002). Lawmaker: â€Å"Influence† drove Oracle deal. CNET News. Retrieved from https://www.cnet.com/news/lawmaker-influence-drove-oracle-deal/ California Technology Agency. (2011). History of the California Technology Agency. Retrieved from https://cdt.ca.gov/about/ Gilbert, A. (2002a). Auditors joust over Oracle contract. CNET News. Retrieved from https://www.cnet.com/news/auditors-joust-over-oracle-contract/ Gilbert, A. (2002b). California cancels Oracle contract. CNET News. Retrieved from https://www.cnet.com/news/california-cancels-oracle-contract/ Howle, E.M., Hendrickson, S.M. (2002). Enterprise Licensing Agreement: The State failed to exercise due diligence when contracting with Oracle, potentially costing tax payers millions of dollars. California State Auditor. Retrieved from bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2001-128.pdf Peterson, S. (2002). California DOIT closes up shop. Government Technology. Retrieved from https://www.govtech.com/e-government/Californias-DOIT-Closes-Up-Shop.html Reddick, C.G. (2012). Public administration and information technology. Burlington, MA: Jones Bartlett Learning.

MGT 501 MoD 4 Case Leaders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MGT 501 MoD 4 Case Leaders - Essay Example The following entails a discussion of the problem along with suggestions for dealing with micromanagement leadership style. Discussion Stern demonstrated strong creativity skills in her job pertaining to marketing of products. At the same time, she lacked the skills required for management of production and formulation and negotiation of strategies. To this end it is important to note that the creativity in marketing (including public relations and design) that she possesses were difficult to harness and manage from a leader’s point of view. The nature of the job makes it hard to structure the work as various ideas can arise spontaneously which are beyond the supervisor’s control; in other words, micromanagement stifles creativity (Lavinsky, 2012). George could certainly not ask Stern to generate ideas as and when required simply because these ideas would flow in irrespective of time and need. Hence, this job required a greater level of diplomacy on George’s part to supervise Stern. It was crucial to give Stern the authority and autonomy with which she could feel a sense of belonging with the company and have the chance of contributing to the same through her creative ideas. However, George was doing much the opposite. Rather than empowering Stern, he was constraining her which was not conducive to her creativity. In situations where such difficult situations arise, it is the management’s job not to throttle creativity by destructive criticism but by reiterating and reinforcing the vision which provides a direction to work. It is then the task of the creative staff to come up with novel ways of and fulfilling that vision. The case depicts instances where George did not trust Shelly’s decisions and tried to influence them by bringing in ‘his’ version of things (Fryer, 2004). It seems that George wasn’t willing to let go of things; in other words, he was not delegating at all which was hindering Stern’ s creative abilities. Instances where George would abuse press releases or alleging Stern to make sales calls despite her position as the Marketing â€Å"Director† all point to George’s inefficiency as CEO (Fryer, 2004). It is surprising how (with such a mindset) was George able to rise up to this level in the organizational hierarchy. Perhaps, it was his technical skills or software skills that led him to this level. He was certainly not capable of managing the creative side of software project management. Another major issue with George is his preoccupation with and interference in employees’ activities that are insignificant. There are various examples of such trivial issues. Firstly, he was adamant at having managers incorporate his idea during the allocation of advertisements to the company’s products (Fryer, 2004). Secondly, he went as far as suggesting his subordinates to correct their sentences (Fryer, 2004). This is certainly not expected from so meone at the CEO level. George’s focus it seems was not on strategic issues but on operational and tactical issues which kept his mind preoccupied and prevented him from focusing on the bigger picture. This is one of the biggest issues of micromanagement- it does not allow managers time to focus on critical issues that desire the supervisor’s attention (Nadine Mockler, 2002). Recommendations Although Stern is easily offended by criticism, George ought to find a solution in order to control the funds that the company has

Quality Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quality Management - Research Paper Example These patterns have been caused by migration of students from one country to the other and from one community to the other, which calls for concern from administrators and educationists (Sharma, 2012). Texas A&M University-Commerce is one of the institutions that have been equipped to prepare the students for an interconnected world. This implies that the interconnectedness of the world is the main concern of the university as it intends to prepare the students to be able to cope with the highly competitive world (Babo & Azevedo, 2012). The institution accomplishes this through focus on better global competence. To ensure that the institution’s objectives are accomplished an initiative has been established on this effect and is known as the Quality Enhancement Plan or QEP. This is one of the most used quality management tool that ensure that the institution is well prepared to equip the students with the most appropriate education so that they can be prepared for the modern job world (Texas A&M University-Commerce, n.db). This includes application of the most up to date facilities, which deliver both traditional and non-traditional learning opportunities. These ensure that the students meet the high expectations of both the job market and the institution’s goals. The mission of Texas A&M University-Commerce is â€Å"to discover and disseminate knowledge for leadership and service in an interconnected and dynamic world† (Texas A&M University-Commerce, n.da). The institution intends to meet the mission through nurturing partnerships for the social, intellectual, economic, and cultural vitality of the region of Texas as well as beyond. The mission is one of the indicators of their commitment in meeting their strategies. The QEP brings international structures as well as process that seek to enhance and improve the global competence of students by application of two other programs that include the Global Fellow Program and the

Human Development and Learning Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Development and Learning - Term Paper Example Empirical research asserts that there are various factors that tremendously put learners at risk (Crandell, 2008). In some cases, the factors may be triggered by biological factors and environmental factors. Therefore, there are numerous tactics that can be used by teachers in order to reduce the occurrence of certain behaviors in the classroom. In the scenario presented, the student demonstrates a variety of risky behaviors. Firstly, he is a sixteen-year-old tenth grader who sleeps in class frequently. Secondly, he defaces textbooks and desks in the classroom. Thirdly, he blatantly refuses to answer questions in the classroom. In addition, the student also exhibits poor oral reading skills and reads at a sixth-grade level. Another risk factor is the fact that the student is not social since; he does not have many friends. There are several factors that may have attributed to these problems. According to the details presented, the student is exposed to several risk factors that are p ortrayed by the behaviors presented. First, the issue of sleeping in class is a serious risk factor to the student. In this case, the student may be sleeping in class because he is probably tired since he works after school. The other reason why he may be sleeping in class is because he does not care or comprehend what is being taught in the classroom. To help the student with this issue, I can assign him various tasks around the classroom. For example, I can involve the student in taking the attendance of the class daily. This can substantially cut down on the sleeping issue. I can also assign him with various tasks that are aimed at improving his concentration in the classroom. The other risk behavior that puts the student into risk is vandalizing of textbooks and desks in the classroom. According to the scenario given, the student is seemingly destructive in nature. He might be doing this in order to get attention or, he does not understand the content of the book. Furthermore, h e may be destroying the desks and books due to the fact that he feels dumb. Further analysis also asserts that the student does not answer direct questions in the classroom. He may be doing this because he is probably embarrassed to answer the questions asked wrongly. This fear and embarrassment are the main factors that are restraining Jane from active participation in the classroom. Therefore, as a teacher I can use the student as an active classroom helper hence keeping him away from such misdeeds. I can also notify him that I will be asking him a question. Through this, he will have plenty of time to think about the correct answer. The student also has difficulties in his oral and reading skills. This cannot be identified as a direct behavior. However, the fact that the student has difficulties in his reading and oral skills points out that he may be under a lot of aggravation. In order to help the student with this issue, I am going to assign him with a textbook that enables hi m cover some reading material. In addition, I can also assign a helper to the student in order for him to improve his reading skills. I can also help him to start a vocabulary book in order to improve his understanding in oral skills. In conclusion, the student is not socially active. He does not mingle with his fellow peers and has unusually few friends. This is not a

Social Work in School: Reflection

Social Work in School: Reflection This essay will be an analysis of my social work practice in my recent placement at Murston Primary School in Sittingbourne, Kent. This piece is a reflective piece on my time at this school and the issues I encountered while I was there. In order to accomplish this, this essay will be broken down into several sections. The first section will serve as an introduction to the placement setting. It will provide a brief overview of the school and the area of Sittingbourne. The next section will move on to look at some of the issues that I encountered during my time at the school. Schools offer an interesting area of study for social workers because as a colleague of mine argued, â€Å"every issue comes through those school gates†. This essay will consider some of those issues and how they are resolved in this setting. It will consider some of the theories at play in this environment and examine what works well and what doesn’t work so well when it comes to practicing social work in schools. I will reference specific examples from my own time there to illustrate this. The third section of this essay will then turn to take a wider view of some of the issues at play in terms of having social workers in schools. Although social work placements in schools are fairly commonplace these days, they still do raise some fairly specific issues. Throughout this essay, the focus has to remain on the service users, in this case the pupils at the school and to a lesser extent their parents and how their needs are being met. It will consider how anti-oppressive practices are at play in this setting and how successful they are. I want this piece to be a reflective piece. Reflection is a key component of learning within the caring professions as it forces you to critically analyse and evaluate what you may have done differently and what you will do differently should you encounter the same or a similar situations again. It would be useful to apply my experiences to a particular model of reflection as it will help me greater understand what I have learnt and help me to be critical about certain aspects of the experience as a whole. The reflective model I have chosen to use for this essay is Borton’s (1970) Developmental Model for Reflective Practice. It is one of a number of models I could have chosen (John’s model of reflection,1994; Kolb’s learning cycle, 1984; Atkins and Murphy’s model of reflection, 1994; Gibbs’ model of reflection, 1988 ) but Borton’s model best suits my purpose. The model that Borton devised is based on 3 separate elements that work in a sequential, cyclical order. The first stage is the descriptive stage, or the ‘what?’. It makes the practitioner consider what the issue was, what their role in it was, and what the response was to the actions taken? The second stage is the ‘so what?’. This forces the practitioner to consider the theory and knowledge building that is an essential part of reflection. What do the events tell or teach one about the service user, about myself and about the model of care that I am applying. What was I feeling at the time and did these feeling affect my actions? What could I have done differently if presented with the same situation again and how has my understanding changed as a result of what I have been through. The final stage of this model is the ‘now what?’. This stage looks at how the situation can be bettered in the future. This is when broader issues may come into pla y. Murston Primary School in Sittingbourne, Kent is a mixed, non-denominational school with approximately 140 students. Because a nursery school was opened last year, it now caters for students aged between 3 and 11. The majority of the students are white British but there are a few students from minority ethnic backgrounds. The population which it serves is fairly stable but temporary housing in the local area means there is some degree of transience and some pupils joining in Years 1 and 2 have had no previous experience of school. A high proportion of pupils at this school have been identified as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Their needs relate mostly to learning, speech and language difficulties, behavioural, emotional and social needs, autism and physical disability. A recent Ofsted report rated the school as good. The report stated that the school, â€Å"provides a good standard of education within a very safe, caring family atmosphere† (Ofsted, 2008: p. 4). The school is in the Borough of Swale. While much of this borough is fairly affluent, there are a few pockets of deprivation. Sittingbourne is one of these areas. This is reflected by the well above average take up of free school meals. This essay will now focus on three issues of the many issues that I encountered in my time at Murston Primary School. These are bullying, the inclusion of children with autism and finally self-harm. I have chosen these three areas to focus on because they are three quite diverse issues. Bullying is one that is widely covered and is a common problem in most schools in the UK. The inclusion of children with autism is a growing area of study as more and more is found out about this disorder. Self-harm among young children is an area that is often ignored because of the stigma that it still holds in our society. However, it is a very real problem and one that I encountered during my time at Murston Primary School. Bullying is, â€Å"an unfortunate reality which occurs across disparate cultures and educational settings at about the same rate† (Carney and Merrell, 2001: p. 364). Hazler (1996) defines bullying as, â€Å"repeatedly (not just once or twice) harming others. This can be done by physical attack or hurting others’ feelings through words, actions or social exclusion. Bullying may be done by one person or by a group. It is an unfair match since the bully is either physically, verbally and/or socially stronger than the victim†. Bullying has been identified as one of the top concerns that parents have about their children’s safety when at school. In response, the government has made tackling the problem of bullying a top priority. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCFS) recently published, Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-Bullying Work in Schools (2007). This report sets out a framework for schools to use in formulating anti-bullying strategies. A certain amount of leeway is given to schools to formulate their own responses to bullying but there are certain elements that all anti-bullying programmes should contain. The victims of bullying should be able to be heard; they should know how to report bullying and get help; they should be confident in the ability of the school to deal with the problem; they should feel confident that steps are being taken to help them feel safe; they can receive help to rebuild their confidence and they have to know that they can receive support from others. Those involved in bullying have to be aware that there are sanctions and learning programmes that will hold them to account for their behaviour and help them realise the harm they have caused. These pupils have to develop their emotional skills so that they can learn to behave in ways that won’t cause harm to others. They also have to learn how to repair the damage they have caused. The school as a whole has to be clear about the anti-bullying stance. There needs to be a collaborative effort between staff members and pupils to develop the anti-bullying work in the school. All pupils have to be clear that they can prevent bullying. Most importantly perhaps, anti-bullying has to be regarded as a collaborative effort not just within the school but with other schools within the area and with other agencies. Not as much attention is given to the problem of bullying in primary schools as much of the focus is on the transition that pupils make when they move from the smaller, more personal environment of a primary school to the larger, and much less supportive secondary school environment (Eccles, Wigfield, Schiefele, 1998). Pellegrini and Long (2002) argue that bullying during this transition is, â€Å"a deliberate strategy used to attain dominance as youngsters enter a new social group† (p. 260). However, another cause of bullying is the rapid changes that occur in body size. This is especially the case for boys. Pellegrini and Bartini (2001) argue that these changes lead to a reorganisation of social dominance hierarchies. The bigger the boy is, the more dominant he becomes over his smaller peers. This change is usually witnessed in secondary school as puberty doesn’t occur in males until the early years of secondary school. Hazler (1996) argues that bullying is most comm on between the ages of 9 and 15. There was a child at Murston Primary School who was much physically bigger than many of the other boys in the school who had had a history of fairly violent behaviour towards some of the other boys in the school. I will refer to this boy as John. John is 11 and is in year six, so he is in his final year at Murston. He is from a minority ethnic background and he only joined the school the year previously. John has been identified as having some learning difficulties as his reading level and language levels are well below what they should be at his age. He is also a recipient of free school meals. John has had difficulties in adjusting to Murston and has been bullying two students in particular. Murston has a well developed anti-bullying plan which is especially important considering the high proportion of vulnerable students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The school has a teacher who is in charge of the anti-bullying programme. She is well known to all the other staff and pupils. She is a well liked member of staff by the pupils and she has an open door policy where students are made to feel welcome. This policy may be so successful because as Smith and Shu (2001) argue, young er children are more likely to tell someone when they witness bullying. Other teachers are required to tell her if they suspect anyone of being bullied or bullying. In most cases she is able to successfully mediate between the two parties with parental involvement in all cases. However, in extreme cases she will contact the LEA who will first send a social worker to work with the two parties and then an educational psychologist. I was able to observe one of her sessions with John and also his educational psychologist who had been involved from when the problem had first been identified. Olweus (1993) argues that sometimes staff at school can model bullying behaviour by belittling and threatening students. This was certainly not the case at Murston. John had not learnt this behaviour from his teachers. John was not a popular member of school. This is supported by Carney and Merrell (2001) who state that, â€Å"in early grades bullies tend to enjoy average or somewhat below average popularity among peers† (p. 370). John also bullied alone which is contrary to many of the theories of bullying that suggest that bullies tend to bully in groups (Smith and Shu, 2001). It became clear that John was acting out because he was having feelings of inadequacy due to language levels being so much lower than many of the other children in the class. He felt excluded from many of his peers and bullying was a way of getting rid of his frustration. It would be useful to briefly apply Borton’s (1970) Developmental Model for Reflective Practice to this experience. This essay has adequately covered the ‘what?’ so far. I felt that the school was handling the problem well and were recognising that some cases require outside help. Because it had taken the educational psychologist many sessions to build up trust with John, I wasn’t able to participate fully as the school felt they were at quite a delicate stage with John. However, just from observing I learnt about the frustrations that cause bullying. Murston Primary School is in quite an advantageous position when it comes to bullying. Being so small, it is easy to identify problems when they arise and it is possible to deal with problems more effectively. I don’t think they can do much more in their anti-bullying programme. The second issue this essay will look at is the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder in schools. This term covers a range of developmental disorders from autism to Asperger syndrome. This essay will focus on autism because there were several children at Murston Primary School with autism. There are three distinct behaviours that characterise autism. The first is that autistic children have difficulty with social interaction. Secondly, autistic children experience problems with verbal and nonverbal communication. The final characterising characteristic of this disorder is unusual, repetitive and very limited interests. Barnard (2002) states that the rate of autism spectrum disorder reported by teachers is three times higher in primary schools than it is in secondary schools. Autism is classified as a mild learning disorder and because of this, children suffering form it are encouraged to go to mainstream schools such as Murston. Inclusion is a contentious issue in educational circles. It implies, â€Å"Inclusion implies a restructuring of mainstream schooling that every school can accommodate every child irrespective of disability† (Avramidis and Norwich, 2002: p. 131). The idea first came to the public attention with the publication of the Warnock Report in 1978. Croll and Moses (2000) state that, â€Å"support for the principle of inclusion of all children in mainstream neighbourhood schools has achieved widespread support, at least at a rhetorical level† (p. 4). It is often seen as the ideal but an ideal that is not fully achievable. The critical element to inclusion is how the teachers respond to it. Avramidis and Norwich (2002) argue that, â€Å"teachers’ beliefs and attitudes are critical in ensuring the success of inclusive practices since teachers’ acceptance of the policy of inclusion is likely to affect their commitment to implementing it† (p. 130). The view in th e UK was fairly positive. Clough and Lindsay (1991) found that on the whole teachers were fairly happy with inclusion, provided the support was in place for them. However, inclusion is now widely seen as somewhat of a failure. Schools want to seem like they are inclusive, but they have yet to make adequate provisions for pupils with special educational needs. A 2004 Ofsted report entitled, Special educational needs and disability: towards inclusive schools, supports this view. There are many issue surrounding the inclusion of autistic children in ordinary state schools. Murston is an inclusive school and an inclusive school that unlike many other schools is able to cater to the needs of students with autism. Barnard et al. (2000) state that inclusive schools, â€Å"must ensure that appropriate learning or other positive experiences take place. It is not simply about where an individual is educated or receives services or support; it is about the quality of such a service or support. Inclusive education is a process involving the restructuring of the curriculum and classroom organisation† (p. 6). Murston is certainly well equipped to deal with the demands placed upon them by these pupils. The school has realised that to adequately meet the needs of its service users it needs to involve the expertise of other agencies. Input has been sought from a number of specialist professions including educational psychologists, speech, language and occupational t herapists. Teaching assistants have received extra training in dealing with children with autism and there are regular workshops for teachers as well. Not only are the teachers well trained, but there are a range of intervention programmes in operation to help not only the students with autism but also without autism. The 2008 Ofsted report made special mention of the provisions that Murston offers these students by stating that, â€Å"outstanding care, guidance and support mean pupils are exceptionally well looked after. Staff cater for everyones needs very well, including those children who are particularly vulnerable† (p. 5). Barnard et al (2000) argue that parents are happiest when schools recognise the individual needs of their child. From my time at Murston, I would say that this is a priority for the school. As with the issue of bullying, Murston is in a fairly advantageous position due to it’s size. It is able to offer such fantastic support because it has a relatively small number of students. Although it does have a higher proportion of students with autism than many other schools in the area, most of the teachers I spoke to seemed very positive about the work they were able to do. It is possible to apply Borton’s (1970) Developmental Model for Reflective Practice to my experience of inclusion. I got to assist in a few classes and on a number of instances helped out the children with autism. I didn’t feel sufficiently trained to deal with some of their more specific problems. However, my experience did teach me the importance of treating each child as an individual. I feel that Murston has a good system in place, aided by the fact that it is a very small school. It would be useful for them to be able to share some of their knowledge with other schools in the local area. This essay will now consider the final issue that I encountered in my time at Murston Primary School. Deliberate self-harm is when someone injures or harms themselves on purpose. This can take many forms. It can range from taking an overdose to cutting or burning oneself. Gunnell et al (2000) claim that it is a problem that is growing and affecting more young people than ever before. Because of the social stigma attached to it, it is often a problem that goes unreported and as such there are no hard statistics about it. However, a 2004 report published by the Office for National Statistics estimates that about 1 in 12 children and young people deliberately self-harm. This leads to well over 24,000 hospitalisations every year. There are numerous reasons why children and young people self-harm. If the individual is feeling worried, trapped and helpless by a problem they may be having, self-harm is a way of regaining control of the situation. Self-harm is also a way of relieving tension. Children sometimes lack the necessary language skills to truly express their emotions. This leads to them bottling up their feelings. The only way of releasing these is through self-harm. Thirdly, self-harm can be a form of punishment if the child or young person is feeling guilty about something they may have done or witnessed. Finally, self-harm may be a way of helping the child to feel connected after the emotional numbness that often follows a traumatic event. Self-harm is often seen as something that girls do. Young et al (2007) do not go along with this assumption. They argue that while women are more likely to take this behaviour forward into later life, levels are similar between young girls and boys. Boys tend to favour the more violent methods whereas girls are less violent. One might expect that this activity is higher among people from lower socio-economic backgrounds as well but West and Sweeting (2004) dispute this. They argue that in actual fact this is not the case. Levels of health are the same across all groups of children and yond people in today’s society. While I was at Murston Primary School, there was evidence that a girl in year 6 had been deliberately self-harming. I felt that the situation was dealt with very well by the staff at the school. The problem was identified quickly and guidelines based on a Royal College of Psychiatrists fact sheet were followed. The student was made to feel comfortable and it soon transpired that her mother had been quite seriously ill for some time. Her case was referred on to social services and her GP but again, the value of treating this girl as an individual meant that she was able to open up to staff in the first place. Self-harming behaviour is an indication that something is going seriously wrong in the life of that young person. There are no quick fixes to this problem. I feel that the school has a more than adequate care structure to deal with this problem. Overall I felt my experience at Murston Primary School was very positive. I got to witness firsthand a wide variety of issues that affect the students on a day to day basis. I only chose the three examples above as I felt they gave an indication of the wide variety of issues that exist in a school setting. Having social workers in school is still a relatively new concept in many parts of the country. I felt that maybe this school was not set-up to have a full time social worker on the staff but I don’t think it needed one as it was a very small school. However, I do realise the value of schools working with social services, especially in areas such as Sittingbourne that do have fairly high levels of deprivation. There are a number of issues that arise from this and schools, working in collaboration with social services and other local agencies are best equipped to tackle these problems of social exclusion. Most of the staff in the school were happy to allow me to shadow them but I felt a certain amount of hostility from some staff because it felt like I was looking over their shoulder and questioning their methods. This was not the case, for the most part I was simply observing. I did not feel it prudent to get involved in most cases because I had no knowledge of the background and in many cases the pupils already had a number of people from the caring professions already working for them. I was able to offer my help and expertise when it was required but for the most part I was happy to observe the interactions within this complex and challenging environment. Bibliography and References Avramidis, E. and Norwich, B. (2002). Teachers’ attitudes towards integration/inclusion: a review of the literature, European Journal of Special Needs Education, 17(2), pp. 129-147. Barnard, J. (2000). Inclusion and Autism: Is it Working?, London: NAS. Barnard, J. (2002). Autism in Schools: Crisis or Challenge?, London: NAS. Carney, A.G. and Merrell, K.W. (2001). Bullying in Schools, School Psychology International, 22(3), pp. 364-382. Clough, P. and Lindsay, G. (1991). Integration and the Support Service, Slough: NFER. Croll, P. Moses, D. (2000). Ideologies and utopias: education professionals’ views of inclusion. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 15(1), 1-12. DCFS (2007). Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-Bullying Work in Schools, HM Stationery Office. Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A., Schiefele, U. (1998). Motivation to succeed. In N. Eisenberg (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 1017–1096), New York: Wiley. Gunnell, D., Shepherd, M. and Evans, M.(2000). Are recent increases in deliberate self-harm associated with changes in socio-economic conditions? An ecological analysis of patterns of deliberate self-harm in Bristol1972-3 and 1995-6, Psychological Medicine, 30, pp. 1197-1203 Hazler, R.J. (1996). Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Interventions for Bullying and Victimization, Washington, DC: Accelerated Development. Ofsted (2008). Murston Infant School: Inspection Report, HMSO. Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school, Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. Pellegrini, A. D., Bartini, M. (2001). Dominance in early adolescent boys: Affiliative and  aggressive dimensions and possible functions, Merrill–Palmer Quarterly, 47, pp. 142–63. Pellegrini, A.D. and Long, J.D. (2002). A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and  victimization during the transition from primary school through secondary school, British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, pp. 259-280. Smith, P.K. and Shu, S. (2001). What Good Schools Can Do About Bullying: Findings from a Survey in English Schools After a Decade of Research and Action, Childhood, 7(2), pp. 193-212. Warnock Report. DES (1978). Special Educational Needs: Report of the Committee of Enquiry into the Education of Handicapped Children and Young People. London: HMSO. West, P. and Sweeting, H. (2004). Evidence on equalisation in youth from the West of Scotland. Social Science and Medicine, 59, pp. 13-27. Young, R. Van Beinum, M., Sweeting, H. and West, P. (2007). Young people who self-harm, British Journal of Psychiatry, 191, pp. 44 -49.

Potential Problems When Healthcare Professionals Accept Gifts from Pati

The role of doctors, nurses and physicians in general is to help out their patients and make them healthy. The patients pay for their treatment, but some may feel that their payment is not enough or may want to give extra. This exchange of money for service is extremely personal since this service is the provider of their continued health, or at least genuine attempts to do so. Since it is so personal, patients may feel that they are still in debt to their healthcare providers even if proper payment was done. These patients may give their healthcare professional a gift to show their thanks. Should the healthcare professional accept or reject these gifts? Currently, it seems that the decision is up to the healthcare professional’s discretion. To begin with, some sort of loose definition must be set for the types of gifts that are being discussed. Gifts that would be deemed as just a thanks between a healthcare professional and a patient are also the most common types of gifts (Spence). These are chocolate and liquors, which have low monetary value and cannot be exchanged easily for their face value; meaning, once the healthcare professional receives these gifts they are most likely stuck with them. This is important, because gifts other than money usually have some thought process behind them and requires more effort to go out and accquire them. This would mean that the patient is thinking about the doctor and that their thanks are most likely genuine. There can still be hidden motives behind these ‘genuine’ gifts, but both sides of the argument have to be laid down before it can be further discussed. If a gift were to be accepted it may taint the rest of the healthcare procedure. As Weijer writes: â€Å"The physician-patient rel... ...el Bible. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. . Lavine, Jay. "The Thirteen Principles of Jewish Medical Ethics." Jewish Medicine. 15 Apr. 2008. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. . Meir, Asher. "Self-Respect or False Pride." Aish. 23 Feb. 2008. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. . Proverbs. King James Bible. Online Parallel Bible. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. . Spence, Sean A. "Patients Bearing Gifts: Are There Strings Attached?" British Medical Journal 331.7531 (2005): 1527-529. BMJ. 24 Dec. 2005. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. . Weijer, Charles. "Should Physicians Accept Gifts from Their Patients? Yes" Western Journal of Medicine 175.2 (2001): 77. PubMed. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. .