Shallow

Students will appreciate the multi-disciplinary nature of societal issues such as technology, communication, the internet. Students will explore the scientific, social, economic, political and artistic nature of technology-related challenges facing society. Finally, students will continue to take charge of your own liberal arts education. This ours requires a significant amount of self-discipline and independent motivation. To get the most out of this course, students must put their own best effort into the course.The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think-? rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men. John Dewey â€Å"We should never lose our zest for living, our excitement and enthusiasm, our curiosity, our desire to know. The person who does is certainly blind to the world, its miracles and possibilities, and one's own possibilities. Earl Nightingale Academic Integrity Policy Students of the university must conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity.Failure to maintain academic integrity will not be tolerated. The following definitions are provided for understanding and clarity. Definitions of Plagiarism, Cheating and Academic Dishonesty Student plagiarism is the deliberate presentation of the writing or thinking of another as the student's own. In written or oral work a student may make fair use of quotations, ideas, images, etc. , that appear in others' work only if the student gives appropriate credit to the original authors, thinkers, owners or creators of that work. This includes material found on the internet and in electronic databases.Cheating entails the use of unauthorized or prohibited aid in accomplishing assigned academic tasks. Obtaining unauthorized help on examinations, using prohibited notes on closed-note examinations, and depending on others for writing of essays or t he creation of other assigned work are all forms of cheating. Academic dishonesty may also include other acts intended to misrepresent the authorship of academic work. Deliberate acts threatening the integrity of library materials or the smooth operation of laboratories are among possible acts of academic dishonesty.Sanctions for Violations of Academic Integrity If an instructor determines that a student has violated the academic integrity policy, the instructor may choose to impose a sanction, ranging from refusal to accept a work product to a grade â€Å"F† for the assignment to a grade â€Å"F† for the course. When a sanction has been imposed, the instructor will inform the student in writing. The instructor must also inform the student that she/he has the right to appeal this inaction, and refer the student to the Academic Appeals Process described in the Bulletin of the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences.The instructor will send a copy of this letter to the Dean of the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences. The Dean will note whether a student has committed multiple violations of the academic integrity policy over time, and in such cases the Dean may institute a process leading to possible further sanctions, including suspension or expulsion from the university†¦ Mutual Respect in the Discussion Forums An atmosphere of mutual respect and courtesy will be maintained in the discussion forums. The teacher and students will respond politely and civilly to any opinions expresses by any member of the class.Disruptive and disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated. A warning for disruptive behavior will be given. After three warnings a student will be asked to withdraw from the course. Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. Erich From LASSES Tentative Course Calendar: Text Reading Assignments Topics 7/01 The Shallows Rainbows End———- Prologue 1. Hal and Med 2. The Vital Paths 3. Tools of the Mind 4. The Deepening Page 5. A Medium of the Most 1-5 My role as a technology consumer. /08 #2 Smarter Than You Think Rainbows End———– 7.The Juggler's Brain 9. Search, Memory 1. The Rise of the Centaurs 2. We, the Memories 3. Public Thinking 6-10 Communication 7/15 #3 Rainbows End———— 6. The Puzzle-Hungry 7. Digital School 9. The Connected Society 11-15 Education Midterm Assignment due on July 18th 7/22 Plain & Simple Laborer Excrescences Intro, Background & I 16-20 Leisure 7/29 #5 6- epilog 21-25 Vocation 8/05 Rainbows End Finish the book Final Project due on August 5th Grading for The Future of Everything The distribution of the grades will be: Weekly Participation and Discussion x 40 = 240 points 3. Weekly Assignment Questions Midterm and Final Project 120+ 120=240 points Letter Grade Assignments: 100 > A > 92 > 88 84 80 78 74 70 A- > 90 > 88 B > 84 > B- > 80 > C+>78 C > 74 C- > 70 D > 60 Weekly Participation and Discussion: Students will receive up to 40 points per week for completing the opinion poll and posting discussion entries. Students are expected to post at least two entries during the first round of discussion and two entries during the second round of discussion.Discussion entries should reflect an understanding of the texts and media as well offering insight into the topic. In other words, students will be graded in terms of compliance in terms of how many posts are written as well as the quality of participation. Suggested discussion questions will be provided along with assignment packet. The instructor will be monitor the online discussions but will not necessarily respond to every post. The course is designed to be completed in a chronological fashion.Once a new week beings, the previous weeks forums are considered to be closed. Generally, assignments are due at midnight of their due date. Weekly Assignment Questions: Weekly assignments include questions designed to valuate your comprehension of the text and engage you in thinking through the topics introduced in the assigned readings and media. Late work will be penalized in proportion to the delay in submission. Generally, assignments are due at midnight of their due date.Theme Papers/Presentations: The purpose of essays and research papers is to encourage you to do thoughtful independent research on a topic relating to subjects we are addressing in class. The format may vary depending on the nature of the subject and how you wish to communicate it. The famous â€Å"Common Assignment† will be your final project assignment. Late work will be penalized in proportion to the delay in submission. Generally, assignments are due at midnight of their due date. Emails and conversation with instructor: Students are encouraged to email their instructor about any questions and concerns they may have.Freshman Seminar: Dimensions of the Self (100-level) Sophomore Seminar: Diversity, Culture, and Community (200-level) Junior Semi nar: Technology, Work, and Leisure (300-level) Senior Seminar: Virtues and Values (400-level) While LA&S seminars are taught by instructors from various disciplines representing alternative approaches to the general topics, they share several features. As seminars, they are courses in which students, led by an instructor, investigate rorobbersdesign projects, explore resources, share findings.They are, that is, courses in which students learn with and from each other. The seminars are thematic. Building on prior semesters, they take as departure point questions that are both universal and urgent, questions that engage the whole person throughout life. Because all seminars at each class level share a common general topic and a common text or texts, they place at the center of students' Dominican education a shared experience; they embody for students the distinctive community of learners they have Joined.

Adolescence: Developmental Psychology and Social Work Practice

Module Title: Human Growth and Behaviour. Assessment Title: What are the advantages and disadvantages of viewing behaviour through the life-span perspective for social practise? ADOLESCENCE The author’s aim is to outline the advantages as well as disadvantages in adolescence behaviour and human development processes across people life span, and particular adolescence. This essay will look at the different models, theories of social work and the factors that may have influence social work practice.The physical, psychological, socio-cultural, environmental and politico-economical are the factors that Bowlby (1999), Erikson (1995), Freud and Piaget (1977) have mentioned in their theories and the author will explore, discuses and examine them. The factors and the theories are numerous to cover in the essay of this size, and with this in mind the author is looking at examining same of them very briefly and same more in depth. In the first part, the author will cover human developme nt through the life span. The reasons why knowledge and understanding of human development throughout the life course are important to social work practice.The author will also outline the importance of our own personal values, and the impact that these may have on social work practice. Understanding the impact of transactions within a person’s life course is important for social work practice in order to understand other people’s lives. However, it is important to remember that although people may experience the same life event, their response to the situation and the decisions that they make will differ. Deferent people have different perceptions of what is happening to them as they move through transitions in their lives.Their response and learning from it might be very different from one individual to the other. For example, one may have enjoyed school, another tolerated it or hated it. Social workers need to recognise in working with people the different transitio ns and may use them as an opportunity in helping the service users to grow, change, or develop. Of course, there are numbers of different perspectives that could be taken into account of how we develop into who ‘we are’. That is why the author will look at some ideas and theories from biology, sociology, psychology, and their assumptions of what influences they may have on human life.Firstly, the author will look at two theories and try to explain the individual’s behaviour namely, ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’. (Crawford, 2003) The nature viewpoint believes that our genes predetermine who we are and the characteristics we have are inherited, for example people’s physical appearance etc. The problem with this believes is that it suggests that the change is impossible, we are who we are and there is nothing we can do about it. The danger in this thinking is the stereotyping people, and thus supporting prejudice and oppression.On the other hand, the nurture’s viewpoint argues that the environment, and the way we are brought up influence our development, giving the evidence in patterns of family behaviour, for example, introverted or extroverted family members. Again, there is a danger in stereotyping people thus contributing towards oppression. (Crawford, 2003) A sociological approach explains human identity by examining the interactions between people and society in which they live. It explores the different classes of society starting from wide perspective then looking at them and the influence it may have on the individuals. (Giddens, 2001)Physiological approach explains human development by examining the physical development and genetic make-up, for example, biological theories explain a child’s growth and development, concentrating on characteristics inherited from biological family. (Crawford, 2003) Psychology is a discipline, which studies people their thoughts, feelings and emotions. There are m any different theories the most relevant to the subject are the developmental psychology and psychosocial theory. Developmental psychology has an approach of how people develop across life course, by exploring their thoughts, feelings and behaviours (Aronson, 2005).Piaget (1977) the author of cognitive development theory believed that the child seeks to understand and adopt into the environment. In doing so, the child undertakes certain actions as it moves through stages of development. Another approach to understand the human life course from a developmental psychology perspective is presented trough theories that focus on behaviour and how behaviour and actions influence our learning. (Piaget, 1977) Skinner’s (1953) behaviourism explained human development as the acquisition of behaviourism that is learned through responses to experiences.Skinner did not see the individual’s thoughts or conscious mind as influencing their behaviours, but rather behaviour as a respons e controlled by the rewards or punishments in the individual’s environment. (Skinner, 1953) Albert Bandura (1977) also emphasised in his social learning theory the importance of behaviour and the environment, but he saw cognition or thoughts as being a significant factor in the person’s development. Therefore, the social learning theories consider the influence of values, beliefs, self-determination, emotions and thought on the learning process.Psychosocial theories arise from a combination of two perspectives psychology and sociology disciplines. David Howe describes psychosocial as being created by the interplay between the individual’s psychological condition and the social environment (Howe, 1998) Erik Erikson (1995) in his model of life stage development saw people building their identity as they move through ‘crisis’ points in their lives. Each person moving through stages by moral excellence, however the successful progression through each st age, by negotiation of the particular ‘crisis’ to a positive outcome, ensures healthy development (Erikson, 1995)All these theories explain human development as being largely dependent upon the impact of the environment, social and cultural influences. They can be criticised or appreciated for their strengths and weaknesses in the way they explain and describe certain aspects of development. For example, Jean’s Piaget’s (1977) theory of cognitive development could be considered as one of the most comprehensive and logical in helping to understand children’s mental development. However, Piaget’s (1977) theory is not as useful in understanding how life events and challenges influence growth and development in adulthood. Piaget, 1977) For this area of life, course development Erikson’s model of life stage development is more likely to be relevant. (Erikson, 1995) The human life can be very complex, influenced by interactions of biological , social, psychological and environmental factors. It is therefore, very important to appreciate a range of theories from across disciplines. It may not be possible for anyone’s theory to explain all aspects of human life and its development. Taking one approach would lead to one aspect of someone’s life leaving the other aspects of the person’s ignored (Adams, 2003).The author believes that each of the models and theories introduced within this essay are valuable to our understanding of human development through the life span. Social workers need to develop an understanding of these theories from a range of disciplines in order to take holistic approach in their practice. Very important aspects of social work practice are assessments, planning, intervention and reviews. Parker (2003) describes a number of aids and activities that social workers may use when gathering and analysing information as they make assessments with service users. (Parker, 2003)Before mov ing on more deeply to adolescence, the author will briefly look at the importance of childhood and the implications that it has on adolescence, and the rest of life. One of the most important parts of social worker practice is empowering people to be actively involved in processes and decisions that affect their lives. Social workers need to develop this skill as well as other skills like communication and listening to help those who are unable to speak or express themselves. The right of children to have their voices heard has been enshrined in an international treaty, the convention on the Rights of Children (1999).The Convention on the Rights of Children 1991 is a universally agreed set of standards and obligations in relation to the basic human rights that all children have – without discrimination Grant (1991). Early relationships are often viewed by theorists as having a critical role in the person’s emotional well being throughout their life. Attachment theory i nvolves the study of relationships, in particularly early relationships of infants and children. ( Lindon, 1998) Attachment by Lindon (1998) is described as a positive emotional link between two people (a link of affection).The original concept of attachment has been attributed to the studies of John Bowlby (Howe, 1999). He believed that the source development of personality lay in early childhood and that any trauma of failure in these early relationships could permanently shape the development of the child’s personality thus have a great impact on adult’s life. Dozens of studies shown that children rated as securely attached to their mother in infancy are later more sociable, and more positive in their behaviour towards friends and family.They are less dependent on people, less aggressive and disruptive, more empathetic and more emotionally mature in their interactions in school and other settings. Adolescents are also more socially skilled, have friendships that are more intimate, are more likely to be rated as leaders, and have higher self-esteem and better grades Bee (2002). Attachment theory also provides a sophisticated set of ideas for making sense of people’s feelings and behaviours. (Lindon, 1998)) Adolescence in Latin, adolescere means ‘to grow up’ it usually starts with the physical changes associated with puberty, which begin the physical changes to the body. Carlson, 2000) Whilst these are important, there are other critical processes of development: ‘self’ and the search for identity, the development of relationships, for example with friends, and very important changing nature of relationships within families, that are a central feature of this period of an individual’s life. It is a time of not only biological changes but also, psychological and social. Adolescence as a period of life is often seen as a whole period of transition, the transition from childhood to adulthood, probably the mos t challenging and difficult period of life in terms of development (Herbert, 2002).All adolescence confronts the some development tasks – adjusting to changes in their bodies and the challenge of their developing sexuality and new ways of thinking, as they strive for their own identity, emotional maturity and independence. Consequently, relationships, particularly with the family, will be subject to adoption and change. However, the timing of these changes varies between individuals, influenced by such things as gender, genes and culture (Ackerman, 1958). Adolescence as a period of development maybe considered for a range of different perspectives that focus on biological, psychological and social aspects of development. Davies, 1997) Biological development in adolescence is associated with a whole range of physical changes. Puberty is the period of rapid changes that occur as the person moves from childhood and begins adolescence. Hormones affect every aspect of growth and d evelopment and the level of certain hormones rises naturally during adolescence, primarily causing increased sexual interest and mood swings Numbers of physical changes take place, for example a rapid acceleration in growth and weight. (Bee, 2002) Social development in adolescence is a period of transitions from being a child into being an adult.Adolescents seek greater independence from their parent’s relationships moving more towards their peer relationships (Sugerman, 2001). The peer group and the friendship within it play very important part not only in sharing inner feeling and secrets but also in the development of the individual’s identity, changes in our self-concept and self-image. It provides new ways of thinking about problems, values and relationships. It gives the opportunity to think about themselves and the person they are becoming (Erikson, 1995). Erikson (1995) recognised this as the critical crisis of adolescence in the eight stages of development.He believed that the successful resolution of this depends on how the individual resolved the previous crisis of childhood. This period is critical in making sense of the future. Erikson (1995) believed the key to this is the interactions with peers, families, institutions, especially school, society and so on. Erikson(1995) also suggests that the search for identity is ongoing process during adolescence. He says that they may adopt identity based on parents or society they live in, or opposite to that in which the adolescent adopts rebellious, negative stereotype.There can be a situation where a child does not know or care for their identity may explore different alternatives without making any choices. Another one may achieve their identity through assimilation of the experiences and the future plans. Two important parts of identity in social context are gender and ethnicity. Few studies had explored the issue of possible gender differences in relation to social context, with no tren ds apparent. In sum, there has been little evidence of gender differences regarding questions of identity structure or developmental process (Adams, 2003).For young people who are not part of a dominant cultural group, there is concern to establish their cultural identity. They must develop a sense of individual identity and ethnic identity that includes self-identification as a member of their specific group, commitment to that group and its values and attitudes (Bee, 2002). For some young people from an ethnic minority group this may be an issue. However, the critical issue is the decisions they may have to make in operating in a culture of racism and in dealing with negative and racist situation.As a social worker, we need to make sure that our practice is anti-racist and anti-discriminatory with promotion of positive images of people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Moving on to the end of this piece of work the author will look at the complexity of human life in context of sexual exploration, usage of substances and some of major events and their influences upon adolescence life. Herbert (2002) says that homosexual and lesbian experimentation are ordinary in adolescence however longer term attraction to the some sex or both sexes is reported in fewer than 10 per cent of the population.The way of how others see ‘us’ and think of ‘us’ is of vital importance to the way ‘we’ perceive ‘ourselves’ – our self image. This has particular bearing on how adolescents deal with their dawning realisation of the permanence of homosexual feelings of identification. (Herbert, 2002) Our society relies upon various kind of drugs and substances for every day living. It has become a ‘drug culture’. There is a huge increase of drugs and alcohol usage among young people. For the majority of young people this may be a serious issue.Young people who use substances may demonstrate low self-estee m and self-worth, rebelliousness and lack of aspiration in relation to academic achievement. A distinction needs to be made there are those young people who present with a range of anti-social behaviour, such as criminal activity, aggression, and so on. (Coleman, 1990) This might be difficult but social workers need to know how to balance the rights of young people and their responsibility to society. It might be very difficult to understand people’s life course, especially the influences and the complex events that they may have been through.Recognising the impact of life events is very important, their complexity and the effects, they can have not only on people’s lives but on social work practice too. The impact of parental conflicts, for example being exposed to verbal and physical violence will have an impact on children’s behaviour. Children are generally the losers when their parents’ marriages end in divorce or their long-term partnerships are ter minated. Boys and girls are both equally vulnerable says Herbert (2002). Divorce is usually a lengthy process, not simply a single incident in children’s lives.Parental conflict has been associated with poor academic performance, depression and antisocial behaviour (Carlson, 2000). Although not all children will be affected by parental conflict, this behaviour has clear and negative effect on children and their future behaviour. Children who loss their mother before age 11 are more vulnerable to depression and suicide thoughts. Suicide attempts are very much a late adolescent phenomenon, the peak being among 15-19 years old. The rate of attempted suicides for adolescent girls far exceeds that for boys.Frequently the action is unplanned, impulsive and undertaken in a manner that is likely to be discovered. Teenagers sometimes have fantasies about their own death, which involve their ‘ending it all’, and yet surviving the event by ‘attending’ their own funeral where they are able to savour the grief and guilt displayed by errant parents or boyfriend/girlfriend. These fantasies indicate how, in some adolescents, the finality of death is not fully comprehended, or at least not while in a depressed or hysterical state. Herbert, 2002) Other young people may present emotional issues, such as depression and anxiety. A distinction also needs to be made between those that might be associated with development issues and those that may be more serious. For example, small portion of young people will present with psychiatric disorders such as the author mentioned above suicide attempts, schizophrenia, anorexia or bulimia nervosa. (Barker, 2003) One in five children and adolescents suffer from moderate to sever mental health problems.A significant number of sever problems in childhood, if not adequately treated can lead to lifelong mental illness in adulthood Children whose parent have mental health illness are known to be at higher risk of developing the same difficulty of their own. (Barker, 2003) The cognitive explanation of children’s and young people’s behaviour is concerned not only with what is actually happening but also with their understanding and a mental representation of what is going on. That is why it is important for social workers to have an understanding of ‘normal’ child growth and development.This will allow comparing, and assessing the development of a child that needs to be assessed. Additionally it would help to judge the role of parents, or carers and their ability to meet the demands of the different stages of the child development, their ability to respond to good parenting, their values, attitudes, and the impact that this can have on the child. (Herbert, 2002) Throughout this essay, the author tried to attempt to identify issues that may specifically affect the individual’s experience of adolescence, namely issues of gender, race and culture.Social workers r esponse to different behaviour issues has to depend of an assessment of the individual, and the range of factors, planning a response and supporting children, young people, parents and others to understand and manage their behaviour problems. Understanding of the theories of human development is necessary in establishing effective partnership with people who use social services. In conclusion, the author presents in this essay some of the advantages and disadvantages of viewing behaviour across the life span.Social workers need to look at the particular individual behaviour in context of life span perspective because only then they can make the right judgement of that person. However, it is very important for social workers to have a holistic approach in understanding someone’s behaviour. This means taking to account every aspect of the individual’s life. In other words, building an understanding of the whole person’s life, not only physical or psychical but als o social, cultural, historical factors that may have influence their life.Looking at human behaviour gives also a wider perspective, and it takes the social worker beyond his own particular life experience giving a ‘bigger picture’, understanding of people’s behaviour. However, it is important again to be careful to not stereotyping or labelling people. Finally, social workers need to remember that they are dealing with human beings, unique individuals that is way they need to make sure that when they talk to them they must listen carefully and try to understand them from their perspective. 3,228 words Reference: Ackerman, N.W. (1958) Psychodynamics of family life, Imprint Adams, G. R. (2003) Blackwell's handbook of adolescence, Blackwell Publishing,   Adams, R (2002) Social work, Themes issues and critical debates. Palgrave, New York. Aronson, E (2005) Social psychology 5ed. Upper Saddle River,  Pearson Education,   Barker, P (2003) Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. The craft of caring. Arnold, London Bee, H. (2002) Lifespan development  3ed. Allyn ; Bacon,   Boston. Carlson, N. R. (2000) Psychology, The science of behaviour,  Allyn ; Bacon   Coleman, J.C. (1990) The nature of adolescence,  2ed. Routledge. Crawford, K. (2003) Social work and human development, Learning Matters,  Exeter. Davies, M. (1997) Blackwell companion to social work, Blackwell Publishers, Erikson, E. H. (1995) Childhood and society, Vintage. Giddens, A. (2001) Sociology, 4ed. Polity Press,  Cambridge. Grant, J. P. (1991) The state of the world’s children 1991,  Unicef. Herbert, M. (2002) Typical and atypical development. From conception to adolescence. BPS Blackwell,  Oxford. Howe. D. 1999) Attachment theory, Child maltreatment and family support, A practice and assessment model. Macmillan Press. Lindon, J. (1998) Understanding child development, Knowledge theory and practice. Macmillan Press. Parker, J. (2003) Social work practice . Assessment, planning, intervention and review. Learning Matters, Exeter. Piaget, J. (1977) The origin of intelligence in the child,  Penguin Books, Harmondsworth. Skinner, B. F. (1953) Science and human behaviour, Macmillan Press. Sugarman, L. (2001) Lifespan development, Frameworks, accounts and strategies. 2ed. Psychology Press,  Hove. Adolescence: Developmental Psychology and Social Work Practice Module Title: Human Growth and Behaviour. Assessment Title: What are the advantages and disadvantages of viewing behaviour through the life-span perspective for social practise? ADOLESCENCE The author’s aim is to outline the advantages as well as disadvantages in adolescence behaviour and human development processes across people life span, and particular adolescence. This essay will look at the different models, theories of social work and the factors that may have influence social work practice.The physical, psychological, socio-cultural, environmental and politico-economical are the factors that Bowlby (1999), Erikson (1995), Freud and Piaget (1977) have mentioned in their theories and the author will explore, discuses and examine them. The factors and the theories are numerous to cover in the essay of this size, and with this in mind the author is looking at examining same of them very briefly and same more in depth. In the first part, the author will cover human developme nt through the life span. The reasons why knowledge and understanding of human development throughout the life course are important to social work practice.The author will also outline the importance of our own personal values, and the impact that these may have on social work practice. Understanding the impact of transactions within a person’s life course is important for social work practice in order to understand other people’s lives. However, it is important to remember that although people may experience the same life event, their response to the situation and the decisions that they make will differ. Deferent people have different perceptions of what is happening to them as they move through transitions in their lives.Their response and learning from it might be very different from one individual to the other. For example, one may have enjoyed school, another tolerated it or hated it. Social workers need to recognise in working with people the different transitio ns and may use them as an opportunity in helping the service users to grow, change, or develop. Of course, there are numbers of different perspectives that could be taken into account of how we develop into who ‘we are’. That is why the author will look at some ideas and theories from biology, sociology, psychology, and their assumptions of what influences they may have on human life.Firstly, the author will look at two theories and try to explain the individual’s behaviour namely, ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’. (Crawford, 2003) The nature viewpoint believes that our genes predetermine who we are and the characteristics we have are inherited, for example people’s physical appearance etc. The problem with this believes is that it suggests that the change is impossible, we are who we are and there is nothing we can do about it. The danger in this thinking is the stereotyping people, and thus supporting prejudice and oppression.On the other hand, the nurture’s viewpoint argues that the environment, and the way we are brought up influence our development, giving the evidence in patterns of family behaviour, for example, introverted or extroverted family members. Again, there is a danger in stereotyping people thus contributing towards oppression. (Crawford, 2003) A sociological approach explains human identity by examining the interactions between people and society in which they live. It explores the different classes of society starting from wide perspective then looking at them and the influence it may have on the individuals. (Giddens, 2001)Physiological approach explains human development by examining the physical development and genetic make-up, for example, biological theories explain a child’s growth and development, concentrating on characteristics inherited from biological family. (Crawford, 2003) Psychology is a discipline, which studies people their thoughts, feelings and emotions. There are m any different theories the most relevant to the subject are the developmental psychology and psychosocial theory. Developmental psychology has an approach of how people develop across life course, by exploring their thoughts, feelings and behaviours (Aronson, 2005).Piaget (1977) the author of cognitive development theory believed that the child seeks to understand and adopt into the environment. In doing so, the child undertakes certain actions as it moves through stages of development. Another approach to understand the human life course from a developmental psychology perspective is presented trough theories that focus on behaviour and how behaviour and actions influence our learning. (Piaget, 1977) Skinner’s (1953) behaviourism explained human development as the acquisition of behaviourism that is learned through responses to experiences.Skinner did not see the individual’s thoughts or conscious mind as influencing their behaviours, but rather behaviour as a respons e controlled by the rewards or punishments in the individual’s environment. (Skinner, 1953) Albert Bandura (1977) also emphasised in his social learning theory the importance of behaviour and the environment, but he saw cognition or thoughts as being a significant factor in the person’s development. Therefore, the social learning theories consider the influence of values, beliefs, self-determination, emotions and thought on the learning process.Psychosocial theories arise from a combination of two perspectives psychology and sociology disciplines. David Howe describes psychosocial as being created by the interplay between the individual’s psychological condition and the social environment (Howe, 1998) Erik Erikson (1995) in his model of life stage development saw people building their identity as they move through ‘crisis’ points in their lives. Each person moving through stages by moral excellence, however the successful progression through each st age, by negotiation of the particular ‘crisis’ to a positive outcome, ensures healthy development (Erikson, 1995)All these theories explain human development as being largely dependent upon the impact of the environment, social and cultural influences. They can be criticised or appreciated for their strengths and weaknesses in the way they explain and describe certain aspects of development. For example, Jean’s Piaget’s (1977) theory of cognitive development could be considered as one of the most comprehensive and logical in helping to understand children’s mental development. However, Piaget’s (1977) theory is not as useful in understanding how life events and challenges influence growth and development in adulthood. Piaget, 1977) For this area of life, course development Erikson’s model of life stage development is more likely to be relevant. (Erikson, 1995) The human life can be very complex, influenced by interactions of biological , social, psychological and environmental factors. It is therefore, very important to appreciate a range of theories from across disciplines. It may not be possible for anyone’s theory to explain all aspects of human life and its development. Taking one approach would lead to one aspect of someone’s life leaving the other aspects of the person’s ignored (Adams, 2003).The author believes that each of the models and theories introduced within this essay are valuable to our understanding of human development through the life span. Social workers need to develop an understanding of these theories from a range of disciplines in order to take holistic approach in their practice. Very important aspects of social work practice are assessments, planning, intervention and reviews. Parker (2003) describes a number of aids and activities that social workers may use when gathering and analysing information as they make assessments with service users. (Parker, 2003)Before mov ing on more deeply to adolescence, the author will briefly look at the importance of childhood and the implications that it has on adolescence, and the rest of life. One of the most important parts of social worker practice is empowering people to be actively involved in processes and decisions that affect their lives. Social workers need to develop this skill as well as other skills like communication and listening to help those who are unable to speak or express themselves. The right of children to have their voices heard has been enshrined in an international treaty, the convention on the Rights of Children (1999).The Convention on the Rights of Children 1991 is a universally agreed set of standards and obligations in relation to the basic human rights that all children have – without discrimination Grant (1991). Early relationships are often viewed by theorists as having a critical role in the person’s emotional well being throughout their life. Attachment theory i nvolves the study of relationships, in particularly early relationships of infants and children. ( Lindon, 1998) Attachment by Lindon (1998) is described as a positive emotional link between two people (a link of affection).The original concept of attachment has been attributed to the studies of John Bowlby (Howe, 1999). He believed that the source development of personality lay in early childhood and that any trauma of failure in these early relationships could permanently shape the development of the child’s personality thus have a great impact on adult’s life. Dozens of studies shown that children rated as securely attached to their mother in infancy are later more sociable, and more positive in their behaviour towards friends and family.They are less dependent on people, less aggressive and disruptive, more empathetic and more emotionally mature in their interactions in school and other settings. Adolescents are also more socially skilled, have friendships that are more intimate, are more likely to be rated as leaders, and have higher self-esteem and better grades Bee (2002). Attachment theory also provides a sophisticated set of ideas for making sense of people’s feelings and behaviours. (Lindon, 1998)) Adolescence in Latin, adolescere means ‘to grow up’ it usually starts with the physical changes associated with puberty, which begin the physical changes to the body. Carlson, 2000) Whilst these are important, there are other critical processes of development: ‘self’ and the search for identity, the development of relationships, for example with friends, and very important changing nature of relationships within families, that are a central feature of this period of an individual’s life. It is a time of not only biological changes but also, psychological and social. Adolescence as a period of life is often seen as a whole period of transition, the transition from childhood to adulthood, probably the mos t challenging and difficult period of life in terms of development (Herbert, 2002).All adolescence confronts the some development tasks – adjusting to changes in their bodies and the challenge of their developing sexuality and new ways of thinking, as they strive for their own identity, emotional maturity and independence. Consequently, relationships, particularly with the family, will be subject to adoption and change. However, the timing of these changes varies between individuals, influenced by such things as gender, genes and culture (Ackerman, 1958). Adolescence as a period of development maybe considered for a range of different perspectives that focus on biological, psychological and social aspects of development. Davies, 1997) Biological development in adolescence is associated with a whole range of physical changes. Puberty is the period of rapid changes that occur as the person moves from childhood and begins adolescence. Hormones affect every aspect of growth and d evelopment and the level of certain hormones rises naturally during adolescence, primarily causing increased sexual interest and mood swings Numbers of physical changes take place, for example a rapid acceleration in growth and weight. (Bee, 2002) Social development in adolescence is a period of transitions from being a child into being an adult.Adolescents seek greater independence from their parent’s relationships moving more towards their peer relationships (Sugerman, 2001). The peer group and the friendship within it play very important part not only in sharing inner feeling and secrets but also in the development of the individual’s identity, changes in our self-concept and self-image. It provides new ways of thinking about problems, values and relationships. It gives the opportunity to think about themselves and the person they are becoming (Erikson, 1995). Erikson (1995) recognised this as the critical crisis of adolescence in the eight stages of development.He believed that the successful resolution of this depends on how the individual resolved the previous crisis of childhood. This period is critical in making sense of the future. Erikson (1995) believed the key to this is the interactions with peers, families, institutions, especially school, society and so on. Erikson(1995) also suggests that the search for identity is ongoing process during adolescence. He says that they may adopt identity based on parents or society they live in, or opposite to that in which the adolescent adopts rebellious, negative stereotype.There can be a situation where a child does not know or care for their identity may explore different alternatives without making any choices. Another one may achieve their identity through assimilation of the experiences and the future plans. Two important parts of identity in social context are gender and ethnicity. Few studies had explored the issue of possible gender differences in relation to social context, with no tren ds apparent. In sum, there has been little evidence of gender differences regarding questions of identity structure or developmental process (Adams, 2003).For young people who are not part of a dominant cultural group, there is concern to establish their cultural identity. They must develop a sense of individual identity and ethnic identity that includes self-identification as a member of their specific group, commitment to that group and its values and attitudes (Bee, 2002). For some young people from an ethnic minority group this may be an issue. However, the critical issue is the decisions they may have to make in operating in a culture of racism and in dealing with negative and racist situation.As a social worker, we need to make sure that our practice is anti-racist and anti-discriminatory with promotion of positive images of people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Moving on to the end of this piece of work the author will look at the complexity of human life in context of sexual exploration, usage of substances and some of major events and their influences upon adolescence life. Herbert (2002) says that homosexual and lesbian experimentation are ordinary in adolescence however longer term attraction to the some sex or both sexes is reported in fewer than 10 per cent of the population.The way of how others see ‘us’ and think of ‘us’ is of vital importance to the way ‘we’ perceive ‘ourselves’ – our self image. This has particular bearing on how adolescents deal with their dawning realisation of the permanence of homosexual feelings of identification. (Herbert, 2002) Our society relies upon various kind of drugs and substances for every day living. It has become a ‘drug culture’. There is a huge increase of drugs and alcohol usage among young people. For the majority of young people this may be a serious issue.Young people who use substances may demonstrate low self-estee m and self-worth, rebelliousness and lack of aspiration in relation to academic achievement. A distinction needs to be made there are those young people who present with a range of anti-social behaviour, such as criminal activity, aggression, and so on. (Coleman, 1990) This might be difficult but social workers need to know how to balance the rights of young people and their responsibility to society. It might be very difficult to understand people’s life course, especially the influences and the complex events that they may have been through.Recognising the impact of life events is very important, their complexity and the effects, they can have not only on people’s lives but on social work practice too. The impact of parental conflicts, for example being exposed to verbal and physical violence will have an impact on children’s behaviour. Children are generally the losers when their parents’ marriages end in divorce or their long-term partnerships are ter minated. Boys and girls are both equally vulnerable says Herbert (2002). Divorce is usually a lengthy process, not simply a single incident in children’s lives.Parental conflict has been associated with poor academic performance, depression and antisocial behaviour (Carlson, 2000). Although not all children will be affected by parental conflict, this behaviour has clear and negative effect on children and their future behaviour. Children who loss their mother before age 11 are more vulnerable to depression and suicide thoughts. Suicide attempts are very much a late adolescent phenomenon, the peak being among 15-19 years old. The rate of attempted suicides for adolescent girls far exceeds that for boys.Frequently the action is unplanned, impulsive and undertaken in a manner that is likely to be discovered. Teenagers sometimes have fantasies about their own death, which involve their ‘ending it all’, and yet surviving the event by ‘attending’ their own funeral where they are able to savour the grief and guilt displayed by errant parents or boyfriend/girlfriend. These fantasies indicate how, in some adolescents, the finality of death is not fully comprehended, or at least not while in a depressed or hysterical state. Herbert, 2002) Other young people may present emotional issues, such as depression and anxiety. A distinction also needs to be made between those that might be associated with development issues and those that may be more serious. For example, small portion of young people will present with psychiatric disorders such as the author mentioned above suicide attempts, schizophrenia, anorexia or bulimia nervosa. (Barker, 2003) One in five children and adolescents suffer from moderate to sever mental health problems.A significant number of sever problems in childhood, if not adequately treated can lead to lifelong mental illness in adulthood Children whose parent have mental health illness are known to be at higher risk of developing the same difficulty of their own. (Barker, 2003) The cognitive explanation of children’s and young people’s behaviour is concerned not only with what is actually happening but also with their understanding and a mental representation of what is going on. That is why it is important for social workers to have an understanding of ‘normal’ child growth and development.This will allow comparing, and assessing the development of a child that needs to be assessed. Additionally it would help to judge the role of parents, or carers and their ability to meet the demands of the different stages of the child development, their ability to respond to good parenting, their values, attitudes, and the impact that this can have on the child. (Herbert, 2002) Throughout this essay, the author tried to attempt to identify issues that may specifically affect the individual’s experience of adolescence, namely issues of gender, race and culture.Social workers r esponse to different behaviour issues has to depend of an assessment of the individual, and the range of factors, planning a response and supporting children, young people, parents and others to understand and manage their behaviour problems. Understanding of the theories of human development is necessary in establishing effective partnership with people who use social services. In conclusion, the author presents in this essay some of the advantages and disadvantages of viewing behaviour across the life span.Social workers need to look at the particular individual behaviour in context of life span perspective because only then they can make the right judgement of that person. However, it is very important for social workers to have a holistic approach in understanding someone’s behaviour. This means taking to account every aspect of the individual’s life. In other words, building an understanding of the whole person’s life, not only physical or psychical but als o social, cultural, historical factors that may have influence their life.Looking at human behaviour gives also a wider perspective, and it takes the social worker beyond his own particular life experience giving a ‘bigger picture’, understanding of people’s behaviour. However, it is important again to be careful to not stereotyping or labelling people. Finally, social workers need to remember that they are dealing with human beings, unique individuals that is way they need to make sure that when they talk to them they must listen carefully and try to understand them from their perspective. 3,228 words Reference: Ackerman, N.W. (1958) Psychodynamics of family life, Imprint Adams, G. R. (2003) Blackwell's handbook of adolescence, Blackwell Publishing,   Adams, R (2002) Social work, Themes issues and critical debates. Palgrave, New York. Aronson, E (2005) Social psychology 5ed. Upper Saddle River,  Pearson Education,   Barker, P (2003) Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. The craft of caring. Arnold, London Bee, H. (2002) Lifespan development  3ed. Allyn ; Bacon,   Boston. Carlson, N. R. (2000) Psychology, The science of behaviour,  Allyn ; Bacon   Coleman, J.C. (1990) The nature of adolescence,  2ed. Routledge. Crawford, K. (2003) Social work and human development, Learning Matters,  Exeter. Davies, M. (1997) Blackwell companion to social work, Blackwell Publishers, Erikson, E. H. (1995) Childhood and society, Vintage. Giddens, A. (2001) Sociology, 4ed. Polity Press,  Cambridge. Grant, J. P. (1991) The state of the world’s children 1991,  Unicef. Herbert, M. (2002) Typical and atypical development. From conception to adolescence. BPS Blackwell,  Oxford. Howe. D. 1999) Attachment theory, Child maltreatment and family support, A practice and assessment model. Macmillan Press. Lindon, J. (1998) Understanding child development, Knowledge theory and practice. Macmillan Press. Parker, J. (2003) Social work practice . Assessment, planning, intervention and review. Learning Matters, Exeter. Piaget, J. (1977) The origin of intelligence in the child,  Penguin Books, Harmondsworth. Skinner, B. F. (1953) Science and human behaviour, Macmillan Press. Sugarman, L. (2001) Lifespan development, Frameworks, accounts and strategies. 2ed. Psychology Press,  Hove.

The National Guard Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The National Guard - Case Study Example The advantages of the National Guard: â€Å"From college degrees to lessons of the heart, the Guard ensures you a higher education†. The education that is spoken of here is not merely academic, but richer experiences of bravery, skill, sacrifice, courage, valor, life and death. It teaches a person how to value life because death stares him in the face all the time. It teaches him how to nurture courageousness because he witnesses fear in times of adversity. It helps him place a high value on friendship because he sees friends being torn apart by death. These are a few of the values that get internalized as one works in the National Guard. The Reserve Component and Mobilization Policy now in force states that, â€Å"National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers will mobilize and deploy for only one year† as earlier it was 15 months. This would help students not to miss out on school so much. The disadvantages of the National Guard: One of the difficulties faced by the National Guard is the stress of constant overseas deployment. Students find it quite stressful when they have to leave school suddenly and go overseas.Another factor in question is that there is no guarantee for the life of a soldier. He is on call 24/7 and has to serve with his life whether he likes it or not. He does not have the freedom to say that he can’t do a job. He has to be totally committed to his job. A National Guard has to work odd hours and in very dangerous situations. He has to face extremely stressful and strenuous situations and give his life if necessary. Sometimes he has to bear the loss of his leaders or comrades who save their countrymen while losing their own lives. He has to have the courage to smile through all the hardships he faces. A National Guard does one of the toughest jobs on Earth by defending his country with his life. He learns from life's experiences and therefore understands it in a way none of us can! He is one of the most

1.Should the sentencing process in the U. S. be changed Why or why not Essay

1.Should the sentencing process in the U. S. be changed Why or why not 2. Discuss the key relationships of the prosecutor with others in the criminal just - Essay Example They are supposed to deter individuals from committing crimes, they are supposed to incapacitate those who are likely to commit crimes, bring about the process of rehabilitation and finally, to punish those who do not follow the laws of society. However, as discussed by Bellisle (2007), the sentencing system in America seems to focus more on the idea of incarceration and putting people in prisons rather than on rehabilitation and allowing them to become productive members of society. The courts hand out sentences to eighty thousand criminal defendants every year and the number of those who go into prison are far more than those who are released (Richey, 2005). Sentences handed out by courts simply put people away for long periods of time while not looking at the impact it would have on the prison system or even the nature of their crime. Many violations of the law come with mandatory minimum sentences and these sentences can be as long as 10 years for some drug offenses. Instead of allowing a judge to come up with a reasonable idea for how long a person should be put away for smoking marijuana illegally, the laws give mandatory minimum sentences which have to be followed (Bellisle, 2007). The sentencing process could be improved drastically if the judges are trusted to establish their own criteria for punishments equivalent to the crime. Of course, it can be argued that race and ethnicity can creep into the issue when judges are allowed to have a lot of discretion with regard to sentencing but that issue can also be monitored by the higher courts to ensure that the sentencing remains fair and transparent. Undoubtedly, the transparency of the justice system is also hurt by the idea that prosecutors may manipulate the accused to get plea bargains and thus avoid trials in the first place (Murphy, 2004). In certain situations, the laws not only cause the crime to be enhanced in a crime, they may even double the minimum time which is mandated by the law. For

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Summarize an - Article Example (Garfinkel) Moreover, developers have no idea about the cybersecurity; therefore they can leave holes in the application to exploit them with the malicious application. We should underline also the fact that even companies themselves use hackers for â€Å"strengthening† their defenses and in the result they teach hackers to override the sophisticated securities. Hacking became more popular within the last decade when the internet became wide-spread when all computers have united in the huge net, where hackers can easily reach victim with the money or with the needed information. Particularly, banks’ structures are open for the hackers’ connection within the idea that users can use internet to fulfill their bank needs. And hackers can do so too, however without the permission of the banks’ staff. It means that in the most cases it is people who create, produce or develop the security means and application are cause to the increasing troubles with the securi ty. Even people who defend computers themselves can help hackers to reach the target; we all know the Iran’s case when the hackers have reached the isolated from the internet

Marketing Plan Master Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Plan Master - Case Study Example The electric motors based drive is suitable for low speed driving and hence is suitable for city roads while the petrol based drive is suitable for high speed rides on highways. The combustion engines charge the batteries during the ride and hence external charging is not required. Hybrid cars have been accepted by the customers because of the option of petrol based engine within the car although the cost is substantially high. However, fully electric cars (also called econocars) have not yet picked up markets because they cannot be driven at high speeds and the infrastructure supporting charging outlets is still not adequate. However, its market is expected to pickup substantially in light of latest technology innovations, tax savings, environment awareness programmes, and subsidization by government. This paper presents a marketing plan for econocar pertaining to the case study of Tomoco taking into account impacting factors like changing global dynamics in econocars, technology innovations, distribution networks, support networks (like charging outlets), grid capacity & availability, government support (subsidiaries, tax exemptions, value added services, local environmental laws, etc) and above all, change in user perceptions. The offer by Sandeep qualifies as social engineering attack on the employee of another organization to acquire confidential & commercially sensitive information of that organization which may be including their intellectual property rights (IPR). First & Foremost, this is an unethical gesture and hence no organization in this world should indulge into such activities. Secondly, if the organization (Ishimuru in this case study) files a lawsuit against the company indulging into the social engineering activity (Tomoco in this case study) as per the clauses against breach of confidentiality/trade secrets/Intellectual Property Rights as applicable in the legal system of the country, the global reputation of Tomoco would be at a serious stake whereby damages can be irreparable. Every country has own rules & regulations for protection of business secret information, trade secrets, commercially sensitive information & intellectual property rights of the companies operating within the political territory of the nation. Such information can only be disclosed against non-disclosure agreements (within the business contracts or else signed separately) that are enforceable within the jurisdiction where the agreements are being executed. Such agreements are not only signed with the suppliers or third parties but are also signed internally within the organization as a part of employment agreements with every employee and the articles of memorandum for the management & the board members. By invoking a social engineering attack on the employee of an organization to provoke him/her to divulge secrets, the

Experimental work on the mechanical properties of concrete using Dissertation

Experimental work on the mechanical properties of concrete using recycled aggregates - Dissertation Example This paper illustrates that the main environmental problem in the world today is the disposal of waste material. In order to protect the environment, the consumption of natural energy is reduced while the consumption of waste energy is increased. This minimizes the amount of natural resources that is used which in turn helps in the conservation of natural resources. Every construction activity needs a lot of materials. Some of these materials include; sand, bricks, timber and mud. However amongst these materials, concrete remains the most important of them all. With respect to the environment and adaptability, the concrete that is used in any construction must satisfy all the environmental and economical needs of any given area. When we use recycled aggregate for construction then we are able to construct the environment while at the same time minimize the cost used in the construction process. The waste and by products of cement contain almost 75% of natural aggregates and so it is of greater importance as natural aggregates. When we talk about recycled aggregates here we mean; slag, waste from power plants, used concrete, quarrying and mining wastes, waste glass and many more. There are lots of demolished concrete that is left without use in demolished sites as well as construction sites. These concrete wastes provide are the main source of recycled waste that we will look at their strength. Cement (Portland cement) History Portland cement is the main type of cement that is used in making concrete in construction site. Its fine powder is produced by grinding clinker and some limited amount of calcium sulfate. It was developed in the early 19th century in Britain from natural cement. The name is derived from Portland stone, a building stone that was used during the same time. The origin of Portland cement is believed to be from Aspdin Joseph. He was a brick layer from Britain Leeds. One of his employees Johnson developed a production technique which resulted i n hard and fast drying cement. The cement also had high compressive strength as compared to other concrete. As days passed, people started to prefer the Portland cement to the roman cement which had been in use for many years. In 1843 Aspin’s son William made a version of this cement which was improved. He named it patent Portland cement though it did not have patent in it. He later moved to Germany to improve cement making and came up with Portland cement. In 1878 the German government gave a standard for Portland cement. Hydration When Portland is mixed with water and it reacts with it, a process called hydration, this mixed with sand and some gravel produces a synthetic rock, which we call concrete. This concrete is very essential in today’s world as electricity and water. During the hydration process, four main types of minerals are always present. They include belite, alite, aluminate, and ferrite. The addition of water causes an exothermic reaction to occur, afte r this reaction, (C3A) reacts with water forming aluminum gel. This gel in turn reacts with any sulphates in the mixture to form ettringite. The

Linux MUOS Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Linux MUOS Report - Essay Example Servers, such as a Linux or Windows Server, 2009, can provide real-time access to numerous users on a network. Most multiuser systems use preemptive, multitasking technology. These systems are intended to handle up to about 10 simultaneous users before they buckle under the load. A server system can typically handle hundreds of users at once. Linux is a UNIX look-alike system that is popular as a server operating system in business, education, and government and is rapidly replacing UNIX (Benvenuti 2006). Linux operating systems are particularly popular for servers because they take advantage of a huge open source software community. Open source software is typically developed by thousands of volunteers, relies on peer review, contains code in the public domain, and is typically distributed free. The principle features of a multi-user operating system Resource Sharing One of the critical responsibilities of an OS is to manage the available resources such as memory, or processor time. Multiuser systems must implement an execution setting in which several processes can be active concomitantly and compete for system resources, mainly the CPU (Bovet and Cesati n.d.). Even though a computer has two or more CPUs, it is still important that one user does not dominate all of the time on a CPU; the computer might appear to hang and possibly crashing the computer. The operating system uses specialized programs called resource managers to ensure that memory is used properly without any memory conflicts (Palmer and Walters n.d., p. 12). The operating system will give each user a time slice on the CPU. Each user does a little work during its time slice and then hands the CPU access over to the next user for its time slice. Multi-tasking Multitasking is another crucial feature of a multiuser operating system. A multitasking OS can handle more than one processor, as the jobs are executed different processors. (Buchanan 1999, p. 42). The running state of the program is called a process or task. A multitasking OS supports two or more simultaneously executing processes. A multiuser OS allows concurrent admittance to a computer system via two or more terminals. Although commonly associated with multiprogramming, multiuser OS does not imply multitasking. A multiuser system usually breaks the disk space up into user directories, so that each user has his data files in a separate place (Baldwin 1986, p. 271). Background Processing In a multiuser operating system, two or more active processes are permits. During the execution of such processes, the OS protects the memory space reserved for one process from other processes. Out of multiple processes, most of these systems only process and recognize input from mouse, keyboard, or other input devices (Yadav 2010, p.146). This process is known as the foreground processes. The rest of the processes are said to be background processes. Background processes cannot accept interactive participation from a user, but they can access information stored on a disk, ready to write it to the video display. In a large multiuser OS, the number may be hundreds of processes running, with each having several active services at once. In fact, even though no users use the system that is running, dozens of background processes, called daemons (Liu, Yue, & Guo 2011, p. 82), are executing. Types of multi-user operating system Multi-processor There are many types of multiuser operati

Egyptomania Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Egyptomania - Essay Example Egyptomania mainly covers Egypt’s history, its race, state of arts, and the ancient commodities that were dealt in ancient Egypt. Appropriation in Contemporary Art in the Modern Culture Appropriation is the act of borrowing and reusing ancient Egypt’s art in modern culture either to pay tribute or to remember the past. Images of the Egyptian culture include well recognize arts, literature, and images without manipulating their form but by simply capturing them. This results in influence to the modern culture of the arts their architecture popular in the form of pyramid pictures some on the American Dollar. Egyptian themes are incorporated in modern day Islamic religions that are mostly decorated with Egyptian murals. The ancient Egypt is still among us as much of the philosophy originated there from the great philosophers such as Hermes Trismegistus and other ancient elite men from Egypt. These philosophers are believed to have invented world religion that spread all ov er the world due to the activities of movement and interaction habits of ancient Egyptians. Why and How Are Egyptian Motifs Being Appropriated One of the reasons artists choose to appropriate Egyptian motifs is that they are great pieces of work from an ancient creative world. This appropriation has seen its influence in the art of architecture around the world. It is believed that Egypt is still the influence of modern architecture in building as they were the first ones to come up with imperial building designs.

ISHI in two worlds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ISHI in two worlds - Essay Example He faces a number of challenges trying to fit into the clearly segregated society. The people around him fail to understand him and are always trying to change him. Ishi does not require any help from all these â€Å"Americans† around him. He knows his way through the region he has lived here all his life. However, the people are always trying to offer him help since they believe that he is not civilized enough to live in the modern day American society. The tribulations faced by Ishi are similar to those faced by millions of people who migrate into the United States of America on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I am one of such victims of circumstance (Kroeber 76). Ishi eventually dies out of medical complications developed from the strange treatment he receives right within his mother land. I on the contrary refuse to die and assimilate to the ways of these who purport to be the actual Americans. The only problem associated with the assimilation lifestyle I adopted is that one gets to forget his own identity and acquires another. This is a difficult life, one in which your skin color and the persona deep within me keeps reminding me of the me who once lived in Africa but the life and the experiences necessary to survive in this strange life continually perfect my new personality. I in most cases end up torn between the two worlds. Civilization is relative; every age in the history of human development had its own civilization. This refers to the cultural practices, religious beliefs and the general way of life lived by people habiting a given region. It is therefore wrong to claim supremacy of a culture just because one lives in a developed country. Ishi was rom a tribe known as Yahi, these were the red Indians who coincidentally were the indigenous habitant of the region currently siting the United States of America. They had their own unique life style that enabled them to live the lives they led. they were hunters and gatherers and depended on rain fe d agriculture for crops. They had their own unique religion and believed in myths additionally, they had their own language. In brief, this was their civilization. The value of life in humanity is equal irrespective of how one lives his or hers. Had a group of Yahi youth tumbled upon a modern day American nineteen year old boy, in their own civilization I guess they could have referred to the boy as uncivilized. I came to the United States of America from a third world country. Back home we had our own civilization, it could not have been the best but we lived it and we were happy. I had my own religion and my way of eating and my language; these basic aspects define humanity. My skin color does not make me a lesser human being than any other of my white classmate. We interact at all the time and they even consult me in the study groups. This does not make me or them better humans. We are all relative in our capacities, it is therefore wise to acknowledge the uniqueness in the other but not capitalize on it as a weakness. Some of the people I first interacted with were insensitive and did not behave the superiority they claimed their race bestowed on them. Everyone has his or her own space, at the end of the day when it is all said and done I proceed to my place and spend the rest of my day there while another does the same. We thus are all in control of our little private spaces and this eventually makes us equal. Claiming superiority kills or suppresses the self-esteem of another, seven

The Gifts of Investigation Essay Example for Free

The Gifts of Investigation Essay Throughout history there have been various rumors that King Richard III murdered his two nephews known as the princes of the tower. When Detective Alan Grant received a portrait of Richard Plantagenet, his desire to solve the mystery was peaked. As Grant investigates the allegations against Plantagenet, an abundance of information was recovered. Alan Grant’s ability to make wise selections, view a variety of perspectives, and thoroughly analyze the information allowed him to solve the mystery. Alan Grant discovers and receives a plethora of information during his investigation. He begins his investigation by requesting information from everyone that he came in contact with about the princes of the tower and King Richard III. Grant was informed several times that the princes were smothered with a pillow. During his search, he receives information from several resources such as textbooks from the â€Å"Amazon† and historical accounts, he noticed many inconsistencies. For example, he learned that More was only five years when Richard III ascended to the throne and eight years old when Richard III died, therefore his historical account had to be hearsay information. However, Grant regarded information by Miss Ellis and evidence that was corroborated by several witnesses. As Grant reviewed the perspectives of his sources, he came to notice that the bias of the source deeply affected the information. Detective Alan Grant’s ability to determine which information was reliable and unreliable aided him in the process of solving this mystery. While Grant reviews his sources’ accounts, he was able to see through their eyes. In this novel, Alan Grant views the perspectives of Cicely Neville, Richard III, and King Henry VII. As Grant reads the account of Cicely, he learns more about Richard’s personality. The detective learned that â€Å"In Richard’s hero-worshipping eyes, everything Edward did had always been right† (60) and Richard deeply cherished his brother. As Carradine and Grant read King Richard III’s letter, it became apparent that Richard’s â€Å"instinct to see a friend happy was apparently greater than his instinct for revenge† (129). They also discovered that Richard was personally bound by his loyalty (97). Grant’s view of his sources’ perspectives allowed him to gain more  information about Richard’s personality and behavior. In the beginning of the Daughter of Time, Detective Grant receives a portrait of King Richard III. As he analyzed the portrait, he believed that Richard dealt with deep sorrow and lacked suppressed hatred. With Grant’s new found discovery, he disregards information that said that greed and jealousy hardened Richard III’s heart. With that being said, Alan Grant began looking at suspects who had much to gain by the death of the princes. Henry VII brought a bill of attainder before Parliament which accused King Richard III of tyranny and cruelty but failed to mention the murder thereby leading Grant to believe that the princes were not dead at that point in time. As Grant and Carradine thoroughly researched King Henry VII’s actions during his reign, many peculiarities were recovered. Within eighteen months of Henry’s ascension to the throne, he sent his wife, Elizabeth to a convent and attempted to repeal the Titulus Regius which made Elizabeth a legitimate prospect as Edward IV’s daughter and heir apparent. Grant and Carradine began following Henry’s trail of destruction and noticed that Tyrrel received a castle for services rendered and given two pardons within one month. This made Tyrrel a prime suspect of the murder of the princes ordered by Henry VII. As Grant and Carradine continued to analyze the collected information, the facts and events began to fall in place. Alan Grant possessed a unique ability to disregard unreliable information and to thoroughly analyze data led him to accurately deduce the culprit’s identity. By studying the characteristics of King Richard III through other’s perspectives, Grant was able to eliminated Richard as a suspect because of his lack of motive. However, Grant noticed the peculiar actions of King Henry VII during his reign that him to discover that Tyrrell was ordered to murder the princes by Henry. A thorough analysis of the information collected and the bias of the historical accounts were the key this successful investigation. Works Cited Tey, Josephine. The Daughter of Time. New York City: Simon Schuster New York, 1995. Print.

Analysis of Decline and Rise of Various Business Activities in the U.K. Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Decline and Rise of Various Business Activities in the U.K. Essay In this task, I will need to decide what the core activity is in each of my two businesses and whether they are dealing with products, services or both. In the UK some of these business activities are becoming more common and others are becoming less common. I will need to find out the broad trends for these business activities and how they affect the businesses that I am investigating. The legal status of Freelance Audio Productions is an equal partnership between Martin and Nikki Rider. The company was set up in 1986, but has only been trading as Freelance Audio Productions for four years. The company doesnt make a product, the service it provides is audio production based which includes performance arts, supplying of equipment and supplying of production services and facilities. FAP falls into the category of the Tertiary Sector. There are many departments that operate within FAP, but there are two departments that control most of Freelance Audio Productions. These are Stage sound and Showbiz. Stage Sound. FAP Stage Sound has been in operation for fourteen years but has only been working under Freelance Audio Productions for the last four years. FAP Stage Sound specialises in renting out sound equipment and educating young trainees. FAP Stage Sound is a continuously growing business which is also shown in the trend of the tertiary sector. Showbiz. FAP Showbiz controls all of the private singing and dancing lessons and the Pop School. FAP Pop School is the newest addition to Freelance Audio Productions. The main target of this is to educate people, mainly children, form the ages of two upwards in the field of music and dance. Girls and boys of all ages learn to sing and dance and put together routines. Shows are then put on as large events where many tickets are sold but little profit is made. Graph showing the Tertiary sector total. (See Appendix 1) FAP and connections with the sectors. Freelance Audio Productions works under the tertiary sector in the departments of other services and education. The Stage Sound aspect of FAP comes under other services, and the private lessons and Pop School comes under education. (See Appendix 2) Freelance Audio has no direct connections with any of the other sectors, but, the other departments in the Tertiary Sector play a large part in the success or failure of FAP. Martin Rider has a community web site on the Internet, and does a lot of theatrical work. As the Internet industry is doing very well at the moment, and FAP is hoping to spread all over the UK, communications help a lot to promote this business. The best way to promote the business locally is while shows are going on. The department leisure includes theatre and public events, and locally, FAP is involved with all theatrical work and most public events. Leisure is one of the fastest growing industries in the tertiary sector which gives an indication on how well FAP should be doing. (Appendix 4) FAP can be affected by the secondary sector. The only way that FAP is affected by any other sectors is the fluctuations in manufacturing of electrical goods in the secondary sector. This can cause problems when attempting to purchase specialised equipment for shows or upgrading the current range of products. Conclusion. Although currently small, Freelance Audio Productions is growing very fast as a result of the tertiary sector departments that it is part of. Over the next few years, new contacts with other businesses in the UK will be made, and maybe other sectors will come as a part of the company. The legal status of Lantra is a charitable limited company. Lantra is owned and run by a board of directors. If Lantra goes bust or bankrupt, each director has a liability of one pound. Lantra has a very complicated range of services. Most of the services is education, training and policy work for the government. Most of the work is in the land based sector, which is to do with farming, agriculture and environmental conservation. Lantra sets the standards that the GNVQs are set upon. The GNVQs for land based studies is set by Lantra. There are three operating Companies which work under the umbrella company, Lantra. These are called, Lantra Awards, Lantra National Training Organisation and Lantra Agenda. These are explained in depth in the following text. Lantra Awards. Lantra Awards is a new organisation within the Lantra. The aim of this company is to provide an innovative and responsive awarding service. Lantra Awards assesses trainees, and if the needed standards are met, appropriate awards are rewarded to them. The awards given are recognised by the government and can help acquire a job or an apprenticeship. Lantra Agenda. Lantra Agenda training specialises in management training and consultancy services and the co-ordination of work based training. Agenda courses range from increasing personal dynamics and communication effectiveness to waste management and include a range of health, safety and quality assurance courses. Below are some of the services that Lantra Agenda Provide. Although some are training, they are referred to as a product as they are sold to external agencies also. Management training and business consultancy Business development consultancy Benchmarking Management and supervisory training Train the trainer programmes Vocational Programmes National Traineeships Modern Apprenticeships (Skillseekers in Scotland) Approves centre for N/SVQs Assessment and certification in key skills, hazardous operations and safety training and management. Lantra National Training Organisation (Lantra NTO). Lantra NTO has a wide ranging selection of activities which spans from conducting labour market research to supporting local training providers. The key role of Lantra NOT is to link government and industry. There are eleven industry groups that work in Lantra NTO. These are: agricultural crops agricultural livestock production horticulture landscaping environmental conservation game conservation fish farming agricultural and garden machinery fencing floristry professions allied to veterinary science Graph showing the Tertiary sector total. (See Appendix 1) Lantra and connections with the sectors. Lantra is a peculiar organisation as it is based in not only the tertiary sector, but the primary sector also. Lantra is primarily based in the tertiary sector as it deals with training, education, and the selling of a product, retail. Previously, Lantra was a primary sector, land based organisation. As recent trends show, the primary sector is in rapid decline (Appendix 3) so the company had to think up a new idea to save the business. This is when selling training courses as a product and the company Lantra Awards came into play. These two ideas brought Lantra into the Tertiary sector which is an overall higher earning sector (Appendix 1). This would have both increased the companies value and broadened the types of customers. If the Primary sector decreases, Lantra will be injured as the company still relies mainly on the land based agricultural departments. If the need for more farms arrives, this would be perfect for the training aspect of Lantra as the business would rocket. Conclusion. Even though Lantra is in the primary sector, which is decreasing, the departments which are in the tertiary sector provide a safety net and a higher income. I think that Awards and Agenda will take over and NTO will slowly disappear as the need for agricultural based activities is in decline.

Therapeutic Engagement Is A Basic Tool For Nurses

Therapeutic Engagement Is A Basic Tool For Nurses My rationale for choosing communication and therapeutic engagement is that it occupies a central position in my experience and transition and from student nurse to an accountable practitioner. Through communication the nurse gets to know the patient and is able to form a therapeutic relationship. It is the foundation and a basic tool of the nurse -patient relationship. Without clear communication it is impossible to give care, effectively make decisions, protect clients from threats to well being and ensure their safety on the ward, co ordinate and manage clients care and offer comfort. The relevance of communication and therapeutic engagement in mental health is emphasised in the summary of the Chief Nursing Officers review of mental health nursing (DH, 2006). One of the key recommendations in improving outcome for service users is developing and sustaining positive therapeutic relationship with service users, their families and/or carers and should form the basis of all care. The N MC (2008) Code of Professional Conduct similarly emphasise that nurses must work with other members of the team and patients to promote healthcare environment that are conductive to safe, therapeutic and ethical practice. The SLAM NHS Foundation Trust document Engagement and Formal Observation Policy (SLAM, 2008) also highlight the importance of communication and engagement with patients under observation. Many patients and their family members often experience difficulty in communicating with healthcare professionals. The Audit Commission (1993) has stated that poor communication between patients and healthcare professionals is one of the main reasons for compliant and litigation in the healthcare service. The NHS Plan (DH, 2000) emphasised the importance getting the basics right by improving the quality of care and the experience of patients. One of the ways of achieving this is through effective communication between patients, carers and healthcare personnel. This is highlighted in the Department of Health document, Essence of Care (2003) (www.dh.gov.uk):Patient focused benchmark for clinical governance. In this document is a new benchmark focusing on communication between patients and/or carers and healthcare personnel which compliments that of record keeping and privacy and dignity benchmarks. The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) (DH, 2004) lists communication as a core dimension which is a key aspect of all jobs in the NHS and underpins all other dimension in the KSF. The United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) now Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) stated that communication is an essential part of good practice in nursing and it is the basis for building a trusting relationship that will greatly improve care and help reduce anxiety and stress for patients/ clients, their families and their carers ( UKCC, 1996). My ward is a Patient Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of a forensic setting. It has thirteen in-patients and a staff strength of twenty three nurses both qualified and unqualified. Agency staffs are frequently engaged to make up the number of staff necessary to care for patients on a particular shift. On the average there are between seven and eleven nursing staff per shift depending on the prevailing situation on the ward. It has two supervised confinements and two intensive care areas. Admissions are planned and it is based on a set of assessment criteria. Only acutely unwell patients are admitted. This essay will draw on my first working experience as a primary nurse of an acutely unwell psychiatric patient to illustrate my development with regards to communication and therapeutic engagement. Gibbs (1988) reflective cycle will be used to reflect this experience. Description I had just started work as a newly employed member of staff and was assigned primary nurse to a thirty year old patient of Afro-Caribbean origin who was transferred from another ward following a relapse in his mental state. He was under section 3 of the Mental Health Act (1983). This patient is named A for confidentiality purposes (NMC, 2008) had diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and had no insight into his mental illness. His carer was his mother with whom he had a luke-warm relationship. He was very suspicious of staff interventions and would not engage. Routine blood tests had revealed that he had elevated cretenine kinase (CK) levels (Cretenine Kinase enzyme, high levels of which case severe muscle damage, neuropletic malignant syndrome, myocardial infarction etc). Following this finding, his antipsychotic medication was withdrawn pending further blood tests. He refused to have a blood sample taken for further tests; he believed staff would drink his blood. As his primary nurse , I made several attempts to encourage him to have the blood tests, but he would not be persuaded. He was also diagnosed with type II diabetes and was dependent of insulin. He self managed his physical illness by carrying out blood glucose level monitoring and self administering insulin under staff supervision. Patient A fed only on pre-packed barbeque chicken purchased from the supermarket and would not eat food served on the ward. I had one to one engagement with him to discuss his dietary intake and also formulate a physical and mental healthcare plan. He was not interested and made no contributions to the discussions. I gave him copies of the care plans which he declined. He said you can keep those care plans I dont need them and I am able to take care of myself. By the end of the second week, his mental state had deteriorated so much that he was very paranoid, irritable and getting into arguments with fellow patients and staff. He was involved in incidents both verbal and physical aggression and became increasingly difficult to manage on the ward. For his safety and that of others the team made a decision to nurse Mr. A in supervised confinement based on rationalist -analytical approach, having carried out risk assessment and looked at his history as well as the trust policy. As part of this risk management plan he was transferred to the intensive care area (ICA) and nursed under enhanced observation by two nursing staff. I requested to be allocated to nurse him in the ICA as often as the trust and unity policy would allow, in order to assess his mental state and attempt to build a rapport with him. Mr. A would not talk but I persisted. He noticed that I was frequently allocated to observe him and gradually opened up. I explained to him the teams decision to nurse him in the supervised confinement and the ICA. We talked about politics, football, music etc and our relationship developed and continued till he was transferred to a rehabilitation ward. Feelings I felt very frustrated and inadequate and was very much under stress. It was obvious from his reaction that he had no confidence nor trust in me and saw me just like any other healthcare professional. Woods (2004) highlights the complex problems and needs of patients who find themselves in forensic settings and maintain that it is a common occurrence that some patients can not engage in treatment while others simply refuse to do so. Arnold and Underman-Boggs (1999) maintain that any meaningful relationship begins with trust. Trusting a nurse is particularly difficult for the mentally ill, for whom the idea of having a caring relationship is incomprehensible. As his primary nurse I saw myself as the advocate ready to work with him and seek his interest at all times. As nurses, we are called upon to play our roles as advocates, supervising and protecting clients rights and empowering them to take charge of their lives. Ironbar et al (2003) stresses that, therapeutic relationships can b e stressful. Working closely with people who are mentally unwell and under stress can be very demanding and emotionally draining experience. Consequently, nurses need to be aware of the effect that such relationships can have on them. This requires insight, self awareness and ability to cope effectively with stress. My initial perception was that Mr A was a difficult patient and considered withdrawing as his primary nurse but I felt emotionally attached. I understood that I owed Mr A. a duty of care (NMC, 2008) and simply withdrawing was not professional in my view. OCarrol et al (2007) contended that in our professional roles, nurses do not have the same option as we do in our personal life by withdrawing from difficult relationships. Rather it requires exploring the situation which may help recognise ways in which the nurse is influenced by his emotions. The authors caution that nurses must learn to manage their own emotions. Furthermore, they need to communicate their emotional r eactions to the patient, albeit in a modified form. I empathised with Mr A and it drew me closer to him, revealing to me the depth of hi mental illness. I wished I could doe something here and now to help alleviate the state f confusion, anxiety and helplessness in which he found himself. Barker (2003) reports of how in recent times empathy has been shown to enable nurses to investigate and understand the experience of persons experiencing a state of chaos as a consequence of psychiatric order. I felt uncomfortable when Mr A had to be physically restrained (PSTS techniques) and nursed in supervisory confinement, I felt that this procedure was not justifiable because the privacy, dignity and respect of this client had been compromised. As nurses we are to demonstrate respect for patients by promoting their privacy and dignity (NMC, 2008) (Essence of Care, 2003). On the other hand, I thought that his safety and that f others was paramount and this could be achieved only by nursing him separately from the rest. The NMC (2008: para 8:4) Code of Professional Conduct clearly states that when facing a professional dilemma, the first consideration must be the safety of patients. The collaborative team decision to nurse him in the supervised confinement area made me feel valued as a team member. I was actively involved in the decision making process and carried out risk assessments. I felt that I was insensitive with my sustained persistence to get him to talk. I should have understood that his moments of silence were necessary to help him calm down (SLAM, 2008). I also felt unsupported and struggled to cope with the management and care of Mr A. I was unable to access clinical supervision because my supervisor was away on holiday. Evaluation Although it seemed difficult at the beginning, but by the time Mr A was out of the ICA we had developed a good working relationship. I did not show my disappointment at his reluctance to engage when he was acutely unwell and stayed positive. Engaging with him while nursing him in the ICA offered me the opportunity to explain to him the teams decision to place him under enhanced observation. Actively listening to him and discussing with him his thoughts and feelings have helped lessen his distress. It also enabled me to give a comprehensive feedback to the team regarding his mental state. We met in one to one engagements and discussed his concerns and needs. A good and well ventilated environment was always made for our meetings. Following assessments, we discussed his care plans, participation in group activities, crisis management and other forms of therapies. He felt very much in charge, highlighting his most pressing needs. Whenever we met, there as a demonstration of mutual respect and desire for working together in a partnership. Together we identified and prioritised his goals for recovery based on his strengths and what he believes is achievable. Faulkner (1998) asserts that goals must be clearly defined so that both the professional and the patient are going in the same direction in terms of what they wish to achieve by a certain time. During our interactions, clear boundaries were set and clarified for Mr A what were acceptable behaviours. Boundaries were set as to what he was allowed to do without supervision, how he engaged with others and appropriate ways of addressing issues he felt unhappy or uncomfortable with. The plan of care was therefore service-user centred and recovery orientated approach. The recovery model has been incorporated into the principles of care delivery in the trust (SLAM, 2007). It aims to help service-users to move beyond mere survival and existence, encouraging them to move forward and carry out activities and develop relationships that give their lives meanings. Wood (2004) indicated that nursing forensic patients is not easy and requires complex treatment plans that focus fundamentally on reducing risk of harm to others. As part of his recovery, he was encouraged to self manage his diabetes under supervision. Giving his understanding of his physical illness information was provided to enable him to make informed decisions about his lifestyle. Mr A consented to giving regular blood samples. His CK level fell to normal levels and was restarted on anti psychotic medication. However, it took time for Mr A to adequately understand the situation that he was in and the effect of his illness on his lifestyles. It must also be stated that it was not always possible to meet with Mr A as planned. Scheduled meetings had to be cancelled due to being engaged with very pressing ward issues. Analysis The use of therapeutic communications in nursing, particularly empathy, is what enables therapeutic change and should not be underestimated (Norman and Ryrie, 2004). Egan (2002) argues that empathy is not just the ability to enter into and understand the world of another person but also be able to communicate this understanding to him/her. The relevance of empathetic relationships to the goals of health services are suggested by the increase in focus on patient centred care and the growth of consumerism. The client-centred focus is illustrated by the NHS patient charter which emphasises that clinicians need to collaborate with users of the health services in the prioritising of clinical needs and the setting of treatment goals (Barker, 2003). Nurses should be aware that patients who are paranoid and suspicious of staff interventions as was the case of Mr A, might not readily accept support from staff. This implies that working with such patients can be very challenging and difficult. It therefore calls for the nurse to remain impatient, calm and focused. The need to build therapeutic relationship with the patient is paramount in gaining trust and respect (Rigby and Alexander, 2008). Caring, empathy and good communication skills are needed to help patients through their illness. Therefore the use of effective interpersonal skill s facilitates the development of a positive nurse-patient relationship. McCabe (2004) argues that the use of effective interpersonal skills, a basic component of nursing, must be patient centred. Nursing Mr A in supervised confinement and subsequently in the ICA was in accordance to SLAM (2008) Engagement and Formal Observation Policy. Despite the frequent occurrence of this nursing intervention in mental health settings, for the whole of the UK there are no national standards or guidelines for practice of observation. The current situation in England and Wales is that policies are developed and implemented at a local level using SNMAC (1999) practice guidance for observation of patients at risk as a template (Harrison et al, 2006). Nursing patients in supervised confinement, though a common practice in the PICU raises a number of ethical, professional and legal issues about the role of the nurse, whether he/she is a custodian or therapist and a friend is debateable. Alland et al (2003) noted that patients view enhanced observation as uncomfortable at best, custodial and dehumanising at worst. Mr A felt that his pride and dignity had been taken away from him he was at risk an d therefore an immediate and effective risk management plan had to be implemented. This was necessary to ensure his safety and that of others even though he expressed unhappiness with this intervention. By engaging him and encouraging him to share his thoughts and feelings his anger appeared to have lessened as he joined in the discussions of politics, music, football etc. Thurgood (2004) empathised that showing your human side to clients is very important. Engaging meaningfully with patients and helping them talk about their feelings is the first step to alleviating some of their distress. The NMC (2008) Code of Professional Conduct clearly points to the rights of patients in relation to autonomy. There appeared to have been a reach to Mr As rights. The difficulty we faced as a team was finding the balance between allowing some privacy and dignity versus persevering his safety and security. Consequently, a dilemma arose for me as his primary nurse in relation to his rights, obligat ions and duties. In fact Article 5(1) e of the Human Rights Act (1998) specifies the right of the state to lawfully detain the person of unsound mind. Within the UK, that framework is provides by the Mental Health Act 1983 (DOH, 1998). One may argue then that there is no fundamental incompatibility between the Mental Health Act and the Human Rights Act. There were times that scheduled meetings with Mr A had to be cancelled because of urgent administrative duties. It meant that he lost the opportunity to meet up with me to discuss his concerns and needs. The concept of Patient Protected Time (PPT) in inpatient units is therefore valid. It allows patients to meet with a healthcare provider on one to one for a specified time when the ward is closed to administrative duties to discuss care plans, social activities, therapies and others. Such interaction according to Song and Soobratty (2007) promotes feelings of self confidence, esteem and recovery. It can also aid the patient therapeutic progress as it can help with social interaction and building relationships. However, nurses complain they already have plenty to do without an added pressure of PPT to contend with. Nurses frequently complaining of being too busy to develop therapeutic rapport with patents (Mental Health Act Commission 2008). Yawar (2008) reported that only 16% of pati ents time was spent in what can loosely be termed as therapeutic interaction. The remaining of the 84% was spent aimlessly either pacing p and down the ward or doing nothing. Nurses recognise their responsibilities to engage with patients and welcome the opportunity to do this without other demands (Edward, 2008). The Department of Health (2002) called for improvements to ensure adequate clinical support inputs to inpatient wards and to maximise the time spent by staff therapeutically engaged with patients. Therapeutic engagement, therefore involves spending quality time with patients with the aim to empower them to actively participate in their care. Conclusion Communication is without doubt the medium through which the nurse-patient relationship takes place. The skills of active listening and reflection promote better communication and encourage empathy building. My first role as a primary nurse as a good learning experience. My conduct throughout the whole experience earned me a favourable feedback from my team leader. Caring for acutely mentally unwell patients requires of the nurse sensitivity, conveying warmth and empathy. Engaging meaningfully and actively listening to patients under enhanced observation makes them perceive the practice as valuing rather than punishing, therapeutic rather then custodial. Feeling safe and secured provides a platform which can assist patients to begin to resolve some of the difficulties they may be facing in their lives. It is imperative that nurses involve patients in all aspects of their care, empowering and making decisions in partnership with the team. By developing collaborative relationship with p atients, nurses can provide prompt and focused interventions which can limit illness damage, assist in the process of symptoms management and help the process of recovery. Action plan My aim is to be proactive in the future by promptly seeking support from senior colleagues and requesting for clinical supervision. I aim to develop the skill of emotional resilience and intelligence to be able to deliver care that will promote patient welfare and aid recovery. The preceptorship experience has been a breath of fresh air. A time to look back and take stock of the transition from student nurse to an accountable practitioner. Listening and sharing in the experiences of fellow nurses was a good learning experience. The preceptors were fantastic master clinicians who were receptive to our contributions as they explored our experiences at the beginning of each teaching session. This experience has undoubtedly enhanced my critical thinking as a nurse and prepared me to move forward in my development and practice as a caring and competent nurse. I see myself as being in the right job which offers many opportunities for development and to improve upon my knowledge and skills.