Good Marriage Essay

Jim went down to the kitchen where the smell of good food beckons him. He smiled to himself, pleased to note that his wife is cooking his favorite food. They’ve been together for twenty-five years, their kids are all grown up. Yet Ana hasn’t forgotten that he likes Thai cooking, slightly spicy and rich with seasoning. He saw his wife adding cut green pepper on the diced meat that is frying on the stove. Ana turned around and saw him standing in the doorway. She bade him sit down while she finishes her cooking. Instead of sitting down, Jim went to the cupboard to get plates and utensils for their meal. The couple has always find ways to please and help each other, a practice they have kept over the years. 2. A good marriage is characterized by husband and wife’s delight in a give and take relationship. There is mutual respect for each other. Husband and wife helps each other in decision-makings, the raising of children, and doing tasks. They both take care of each other and notes what are the likes and dislikes of each party. In a good marriage, the man and wife are both happy in their decision to be with each other for the rest of their lives. That commitment is reaffirmed time and again despite difficulties and trials. In a good marriage, there is laughter and conversation. Both husband and wife will always find things to talk about, and have the time to listen to each other. 3. Looking at Jim and Ana’s lives, their twenty-five years of marriage has not always been a bed of roses. Ana is scrupulously neat, while Jim is a little scatter-brained. Ana keeps a list of things that needs to be done and does them in an organized and timely manner. She likes getting an early start, eating breakfast and finishing work ahead of time. Jim has a tendency to oversleep in the morning, getting up really late on weekends, and spending half of the day sleeping during 2 vacations. He hates putting anything on his stomach before eleven in the morning and likes to work late at night. Ana would sometimes find Jim deeply asleep after she had her bath and breakfast on a day when they’re supposed to go to the dentist. At a time when Ana likes to get an early start, while Jim wasn’t complying, she’d often get bad-tempered and a little quarrel would ensue. These little quarrels didn’t get out of hand because both of them are capable of stepping back and releasing anger. More importantly, Jim and Ana avoid bringing up past issues during arguments. They stick to what’s at hand and settle them without resorting to foul language and by properly expressing their sentiments and criticisms in a constructive manner. 4. A good marriage is not just about seeing the good side of a person. It’s about knowing his or her little habits that may or may not turn out to be annoying. Each party has to accept the totality of the other person and learn to adjust and adapt. In a good marriage, the couple must not try to change each other. Instead, they must try to meet in the middle and compromise. In a good marriage, the couple don’t start running away when things become a little complicated and difficult. 5. A good marriage, simply defined, is comprised of the good and bad things. There are times to laugh, to talk, to argue, and to make up. It is characterized by a lasting friendship where trust and responsibility go hand and hand. Meeting halfway and speaking up are necessary elements to make the relationship endure. Both parties must work hard and stick it out with one another through thick and thin. Husband and wife must selflessly think of each other’s welfare particularly when there are major issues to face and settle. It’s very important to do things together and to go away on vacations to recapture the moments when you both fall in love with each other.

How Stressed Children Are in a Primary School Essay

The recent publication of a Cambridge research paper on high stress levels amongst UK primary school children made national headlines. It told parents of an uncomfortable truth that primary classrooms are not the places of fun and learning that typifies an idealistic notion of education in the UK. It spoke of stress, anxiety and worry in classrooms, where children show signs of distress due to high expectations, excessive workloads and having to shoulder unrealistic responsibilities. But just how accurate is this picture? Is it possible to expect young children to understand the complexities of the manifestations of stress and the inaccuracies of self-appraisal given possible low levels of emotional literacy? This paper explores how feasible it is to collect accurate data from children about their own stress and evaluates how such information can be collected. It concludes that there are a variety of ways of gaining information about stress from children, some better than others, but leaves no doubt that children can be ideal subjects for such research if the design and execution of the study is given due consideration. The world of primary education, it would seem, from anecdotal evidence from parents of primary school pupils, is not what it used to be. Clichà ©s such as ‘its not like it was in my days!’ or ‘school was much easier and more fun in the olden days!’ can often be heard echoing across parents groups in school  yards or in local supermarkets. But is school such a difficult place for children today? A recent paper, published by a Cambridge University research group would suggest that life in a primary school is not as stress free as most parents would want to assume. In order to help understand this uncomfortable notion, this paper will explore whether children are capable of giving accurate information about their stress levels and how this could be collected. Stress research is a well established field spanning eight decades, from Walter Cannon’s seminal work in 1927 on flight and flight, to Mark Kovacs’ recent paper on ‘Stress in the Workplace’, (Kovacs 2007). It fact it seems that there are very few areas of modern life that stress research has not touched upon. In relation to everyday activities, research covers stress at work (eg Kovacs 2007, McCarthy & Sheehan,1996), stress in the street (Brennan,1993), paradoxically there has been studies around stress in leisure activities (Noakes 1991) and crucially for this paper, stress in school environments (eg Williams & Gersch, 2004; Murray and Harrison, 2005 and the recently published Cambridge Primary Review paper 2007). The subject base for stress research has also been highly eclectic, ranging from stress in the elderly (Hodgson, Freedman &, Granger, 2004), to stress at birth and even stress levels in individuals not yet born, (Graham, Heim, Goodman, Miller and Nemeroff 1999). There is a case to be argued however, that very much like the Freudian theory of psychosexual development, there appears to be a relative ‘hiatus of interest’ in the levels of stress in children between the ages of 6 and 11. This crucial period of education covers the majority of Key Stage 1 and all of Key Stage 2 and it would seem to be a pivotal juncture in a child’s education. It is in this period that most children will be structuring their leaning patterns and assimilating vast amounts of knowledge in all areas of the school both academic and social. It could be considered somewhat remarkable therefore that there is relatively less stress research done in education at this age. It is particularly pertinent when we consider that this active period of learning is then brought to a close with the mandatory Key Stage 2 SAT papers. It is perhaps this singular event that indicates, for most pupils, their rights of passage into the world of secondary education where structured exams and revision regimes are rife. So why is it that research during this ‘Latency Period’ (Freud 1905d) of a child’s educational  development is so under represented? It could be because it now appears to be a relatively settled period in a child’s educational life. It may be that in most areas of the UK, the predominantly two-tier education system has removed a major period of transition half way through this phase of schooling. This process of downsizing transitions eradicated a well defined cause of stress in pupils and exaggerated difficulties in coping (Rudduck.J, 2004; Lohaus. A, 2004). However could it also be argued that models of stress and theories for coping with traumatic events are not comprehensive enough to cover this very specific area of children’s development in such settings? It is important therefore to explore how adult models of stress address environmental and personal issues and whether these can be attributed to children in a primary classroom. Stress models for adults Modern stress research has placed itself firmly within the interactionist perspective characterized largely by Lazarus and Folkman (1984). Their model for the possible development of stress explores the essential thought processes that occur in any given situation and the judgments the individual makes in assessing their own ability to cope with the demands placed upon them at any one time. This ‘appraisal’ and subsequent stress levels are governed primarily by recollecting previous performances and the effectiveness of learned coping strategies in similar situations. It seems clear then that by using the interactionist model, there may be opportunities to provide greater opportunities to understand children’s stress in the classroom. In order to fully explore this area, it seems pertinent to start by delving into specific models of stress that add to our knowledge about its development in adults and explore whether these could be used with children in a primary s chool environment. One such model that may be relevant to this paper was developed by Palmer, Cooper and Thomas (2001) who looked at stress in the workplace. This model proposes that there are six contributors to the development and/or the management of stress levels in and around most places of work. These mitigating factors include work/environmental demands, support, change and the worker’s role within the ‘company’ (see below). It would seem on first inspection that this is truly an adult model of stress as it is located in adult world of work. However as  there do not appear to be any established or substantial research as yet, to determine the difference between ‘work’ being in an office, a factory or a shop and ‘work’ as in a classroom, it could be argued that if the ‘classroom’ was seen as a workplace and pupils considered ‘employees’, Palmer et al’s model does have some relevance. Below is Palmer et al’s mo del as published in the ‘Health Education Journal’ 2001. Figure 1: Palmer, Cooper and Thomas’s model of stress in the work place (2001) A Stress model for children? Using the key structure of this model, it is possible to transpose details into a new representation that may be appropriate to help explore stress in children in a school situation. This process of transformation can largely be done by ‘translating’ words and terminology used in the flowchart above into words relevant and applicable to similar aspects of a school environment. A typical example of this would be that the reference to ‘employees’ would need to read ‘pupils’. Perhaps the more difficult aspect of this translation relates to its exploration of ‘negative outcomes’. It is clear that increased and sustained stress levels in children is less likely to lead to coronary heart disease or RSI in the short term than it would in adults, so perhaps more pertinent aspects of this section of the model would relate to an escalation in poor behaviours or higher absenteeism. Table 1 below shows a complete translation of Palmer et alâ₠¬â„¢s terminology using this ideology. Once this translation of meaning has been established then it appears that this model does provide some insight into possible factors that may contribute to stress levels in children. Further exploration of Palmer, Cooper and Thomas’s model would establish how these factors would impact upon the individual and at the whole school level. Table 2 on page 7 shows how Palmer et al’s structure would apply to a school model. It seems clear that there is a probable link between stress levels of a child in the classroom and organisational dysfunctions in the structure of the classroom and possibly to aspects of the whole school. This new model also shows where possible stressors come from for the pupil and how this could be managed to alleviate higher levels of stress across a school environment. It could be argued that a central difficulty in attributing the interactionist perspective model of stress to children is flawed by the intrinsic tenet of the model. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) believe that the essential tool of stress appraisal is the ability to reflect on past experiences to determine the individual’s ability to cope with the current situation. How then, does this model apply to young children whose experiences are more limited than those of an adult? Does this lack of experience allow a young child the ability to accurately evaluate past experiences against past  performances? An example of this could be when pupils are required to complete the Key Stage 1 SAT papers. Even though teachers will have tried to prepare each pupil with several practices in answering unfamiliar maths and literacy booklets, the actual test is unfamiliar due to the heightened expectations of the day itself. How are pupils able to reflect on past experiences of this? Perhaps the best that can be achieved is the familiarity with the style of the test but not necessarily with the SAT day itself. If this is the case, when the interactionist perspective is extrapolated to Key Stage 2 SATs it is likely that a bad experience in the Key Stage 1 SAT papers will affect perceptions of performance during the SAT tests in Year 6. Using this model, it must be argued that in order to achieve better results in Key Stage 2 SATs, there is a case to be made to enhance the positive experiences of sitting formal tests at an earlier age. This could be achieved by either taking away the pressure to achieve in Year 2 or indeed use these tests and tasks to give the pupils positive experiences to build upon. It is likely that a bad experience in Year 2 increases the likelihood of future failures or anxieties. To facilitate this process the model outlined in table 2 above could be used to facilitate good practice, improve support mechanisms, strengthen positive relationships and encourage a greater ability to handle change. This may also have a positive impact on the pupils and the whole school in the long term. The adaptation of Palmer, Cooper and Thomas’s model will allow a school practitioner the opportunity to affect whole school social dynamics by focusing upon the ‘potential hazards’ and being pro -active in offsetting the negative impact they can have on a school environment. But how successful have primary schools been so far in this role? Stress in the classroom In October 2007 the Cambridge Primary Review explored life in a primary classroom from a child’s perspective. The process of data collection, which took place between January and March 2007, collected evidence from a whole range of professionals in the primary education sector as well as people drawn from the wider community. These subjects included children themselves, who are referred to as ‘witnesses’ in the paper. In total there were nine Community locations in different parts of England, culminating in a total of  87 witness sessions, attended by over 750 people. This is clearly an important piece of research that cuts across cultural boundaries and local government differences. It would seem that this research is an amalgamation of collective thought, however there may be some difficulties with interviewing subjects such as children which will be explored in greater detail below. However such research conclusions cannot go unnoticed for long and immediately after its publication in academic circles, their conclusions made national headlines. It was this research that spawned a raft of emotive headlines across all forms of media in the UK. Articles fronted by ‘Children ‘stressed and depressed’ and ‘Primary Cause for concern’ were used offering direct quotes about what causes children such stress, citing: â€Å"the gloomy tenor of ‘what you hear on the news’ or by a generalised fear of strangers, burglars and street violence.† ITN webpage – Friday 12th October 07:05 am Furthermore articles in the media were concluding that: ‘ †¦our young children are anxious, badly behaved, stressed, depressed and obsessed with the cult of celebrity’ Garner, 2007 page 1 These emotive and somewhat generalized media headlines, alongside the Cambridge’s research papers demonstrate that there appears to be a high level of stress and depression in primary classrooms, but there is also a lot of anxiety in the ‘media’ at the possibility of there being stress and depression in the classroom. These headlines echo Mays’ conclusions who observed in his paper in ‘Stresses in Children’ (1996): ‘ there is still much to frighten, to frustrate and to intimidate a growing child’ (page 41) But just how successful are research methods and models of stress in helping to clarify and explain possible sources of stress in the primary classroom? Is it possible to accurately measure stress in children given some of the constraints of data collection? Perhaps more importantly are children able to understand the complexity of stress responses and have sufficient levels of emotional literacy to be able to accurately describe whether they are stressed or not? It seems a foregone conclusion, in stress research, that the respondent themselves is able to understand what stress is and how it affects them and to be able to recognise when they are stressed or not in given circumstances. It seems that collecting stress data from children is fraught with implicit difficulties. However, this should not deter such research being completed; it means only that the data collected may need a greater level of analysis and more rigorous reflection to be able to make any real conclusions. Collecting Stress data from Children There are two key difficulties with any stress research, both of which are applicable when exploring stress in children. The first central problem is that there is an absence of a common definition of stress and this makes research difficult due to the amorphous nature of how stress can manifest itself in different individuals (Ramsden 2007a). The second, somewhat related difficulty is that the vocabulary used to describe stress is often used loosely or interchangeably. It is not uncommon to read in books and research papers subsequent paragraphs using terms such as stress, anxiety, and worry to describe similar aspects of this phenomenon. Furthermore there is a central need to take care when referring to stress in terms of how it would change a person’s demeanor and/ or thought patterns. Stress research refers to stress as both a definition and a symptom. This can be somewhat overcome by trying to establish key differences in terms of relating anxiety as a symptom of stress, in very much the same way as references are made to headaches, depression and irrational thought, all of which may be as a direct result of the stress a person is under. However some research is now suggesting that stress, anxiety and depression are indeed co-variants and the inter-relationship and synonymous presence of all of these problems  together may indeed be: ‘ the rule rather than the exception.’ Compass and Hammem (1996)pg 242 If this comorbidity of anxiety, depression and stress has such strong bonds, then trying to ascertain what the differences are between these manifestations may be an impossible task. If this is the case then the interactionist perspective may indeed be the significant filter that holds such research together. By taking the essence of the Lazarus and Folkman (1984) model, the reason why a person feels they can’t cope is of secondary importance to the fact that they feel they can’t cope with current demands. Furthermore if such feelings of helplessness are born out of, or are exacerbated by, depressive tendencies then this is irrelevant to the basic fact that the individual feels they can’t cope with demands and therefore will be stressed. This tenet must then hold true for stress research into children. It does not seem to matter why the child feels stressed, the fact that they do, means that they are! That is, provided that they understand what feeling stressed i s, which falls back to the central difficulty of how effectively can you measure a phenomenon such as stress within a child when a child may not understand the phenomenon themselves? However, this then leads onto another dilemma. If it can be demonstrated that the children at the centre of the research have obtained a sufficient level of emotional literacy to determine what being stressed feels like, then to collect stress data in children, a methodological choice between two specific models needs to be made. The first strategy for collecting data uses the principle underlined by Selye (1934) that stress is a biological response to the environment and therefore it is possible to use biometric measures such as blood pressure and galvanic skin responses An alternative model such as that proposed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) uses reflective self analysis to determine the individual’s ‘perception’ of their own stress. This second method can be collected in a number of ways but perhaps the most basic, but not necessarily the most simplistic, is either through questionnaires and/or interviewing the individual themselves. Before these qualitative methods are  discussed it is important to explore the more quantitative methods of data collection in children. Some of these discussion points can be found in Ramsden (2007b) which explores variations in data collection in greater detail, however it does not elucidate how they can be utilized with children and therefore it is worth touching on some of those points again but with specific reference for research with children. Biometric data collection in children If the argument is that children do not have the experiential capability to understand what stress is and the ability to describe accurately how they are feeling, or indeed able to recognise when they are stressed, then it seems plausible to assume that a more standardized, less subjective and fundamentally, a less reflective method of data collection is needed. In terms of stress research, the collection of such ‘clinical’ information must revolve around measuring biological responses rather than a child’s ability to tell the researcher when they are feeling stressed, and how this is different to when they are not feeling stressed. This biological method of data collection has its foundation in some of the earliest research into stress. Some of the very first experiments into the stress response were conducted by Hans Selye (1907-1982), an endocrinologist who conducted his work largely in the first half of the Twentieth Century. In his studies, he used biometric measurements from laboratory rats to determine the level of stress they were under. Selye, who was later given the accolade of the first person to define stress, referred to it as: † a non-specific (i.e. common) result of any demand on the body, whether the effect be mental or somatic† page 32 (Selye1936) His definition may well have some value here. If we take the stance that young children are indeed unable to identify accurately what stress is, then we should be measuring this ‘non-specific’ demand on the body in a purely biological way. It would seem plausible then that by observing children in a primary school throughout a typical day or week, and by taking regular  measurements, there may be a case to correlate variations in biological states at certain times of the day. Collecting data such as changes in blood pressure, pulse rates and sweating may give an insight into times when the body is under stress and when the child is calmer and more relaxed. This information could then be matched with events, observations and activities and correlated to show changes in responses to situations encountered. Using this method it should be relatively easy to find out whether participation in SAT tests or some other social situations, that blood pressure, pulse rates and GSR increase to reflect the physical, and by default, the emotional state of the child, and therefore conclude that this was or was not a stressful event for them. There may be a problem with this type of research however. Apart from some of the ethical difficulties, there is a crucial observation to be made. It could be argued that for children, the actual process of data collection may affect their stress levels. It could also be surmised that the actual method of data collection can be as stressful as the event in itself and therefore eradicate any impartiality in the result. There may be echoes here of the ‘Hawthorne effect’ (Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939). Although a concept that has been applied to business models, it is worth exploring a little here. First established by Elton Mayo, Fritz Roethlisberge r and William J. Dickson who saw it as: ‘a temporary change to behavior or performance in response to a change in the environmental conditions.’ Roethlisberger & Dickson (1939)., page14 This definition is a salient one in this discussion. It could be argued that even if the outline of a study was not described to children, and even if the children were not aware that they were being studied so closely, there would be a difference in their day because at somepoint some interactions are needed to measure changes to their physiological state. This would be even more prevalent if these changes were happening alongside other stresses such as SAT tests. It seems therefore that by measuring a response, as Shaver (1981) highlighted, evokes close links with the Hawthorne principles. ‘Almost no matter what experimental conditions were imposed†¦.the investigators had obviously influenced the subjects’ behavior merely by studying that behavior.’ Kelly Shaver p272 In order to measure stress in a primary classroom then, some continuous measurement needs to happen that can be compared to a baseline. This in itself could be problematic. For some children the basis of their stress and the source of their fears and anxieties may come from the school environment itself. If being in the school itself is a cause of high levels of stress, it would be very difficult to ascertain a baseline to measure relative changes to stress levels in the individual. Studies into autistic children in some school environments (Hiroshi 1991) show that for many individuals school can be one continuous bombardment of stressful events. Extensive studies into school phobia at the primary level (eg: Place, Hulsmeier, Davis and Taylor, 2002; King and Ollendick, 1989) also indicate that it would be very difficult to determine a relaxed state for a baseline. In order to address this quandary, one possible method of data collection would be to use a portable blood pressure (BP) kit for example that would pose less intrusive method that enables an individual’s BP to be taken automatically without the need to stop and prepare for the examination. But this in itself causes problems apart from the physical tightening process of blood pressure being taken, it also serves as a reminder that they are being observed. This could be offset however by having a period of acclimatization where the individual being measured would get used to such routines and this may normalize the influence of the measurements being taken. Studies using adults seem to suggest that repetetive BP monitoring does not interfere with the validity of the data (Georgiades, Lemne, De Faire, Lindvall, Fredrikson,1997; Steptoe and Cropley, 2000) but the evidence to suggest that this is the case in studies using children as subjects is not clear. In the absence of any certainlty as to whether collecting biometric data in children can provide reliable evidence, it is important to explore other ways of gathering primary data from children. Qualitative methods of data collection with children As discussed above, in order to collate qualitative evidence of stress in children, there needs to be a clear understanding of a child’s ability to know when they are feeling stressed as opposed to when they are feeling relaxed. Fortunately for the stress reasearcher in this field, there is now a plethora of commercial teaching materials available to schools on Emotional Health and Well-being. Furthermore with ‘Being Healthy’ formally on the national agenda through the Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes (eg Every Child Matters: Change for Children. DfES publication -1110-2004), the PSCHE curriculum in the primary school seems full of opportunities for even the youngest of children to explore their own emotions. It can be said therefore, that pupils in today’s primary schools are better equipped to discuss their emotional state than they have ever been. It seems fair to assume from this, that there only needs to be some basic ground work teaching to occur to give children the necessary vocabulary and a sense of introspection required to respond to stress-related questions and produce meaningful results. Nevertheless, even with this encouraging notion, it is important that the researcher does not lose sight of the influence they may have when trying to obtain children’s views. As with any socio-psychological research, and especially any involving children, ascertaining views on levels of stress or trying to clarify what causes stress does not lead to the adult influencing the responses or the conclusions the child makes about a given situation. This is of particular interest to stress research because of its important in the Lazarus and Folkman (1984) model of Cognitive Appraisal. It is vital, that that the child themself, determines whether a particular situation was stressful or not, rather than the adult implying to the child that it was. This effect is known as ‘Psychological Causality’ and is important in stress research with children. Herbert describes this phenomenon as: ‘†¦the tendency in young children to attribute a psychological motive as a cause of events’ Herbert page 23 (1996) Although Psychological Causality is not usually associated with stress research, it is important to bear in mind that it may be a factor when determining sources of stress in the primary classroom. Especially if this research is conducted in and around other stresses such as SATs, school performances or parents’ evenings. In order to clarify what these stresses are, further research into this field is needed and would help to clarify the influencing factors of data collection. The use of questionnaires One formal method of collecting quantitative information is the use of questionnaires. Perhaps their greatest strength is that it can provide a fair and rigorous structure to the questioning procedure. By handing out questionnaires to all the children, each child will have the opportunity to answer the same questions as everyone else. This rigidity also allows the researcher the ability to analyse statistically the evidence. The use of questionnaires for children is not uncommon and can provide a useful insight into many research areas. The use of a questionnaire as a method of collecting data from children is not without its difficulties however. The first point and perhaps the most salient is that formalising questions through prose has two basic problems. 1. Do the questions allow children the opportunity to give answers that are meaningful to the research question? 2. Will the wording of each question be interpreted by children in the way the researcher wanted them to be answered? Because of these two issues, It is very important therefore to focus on the wording of these questionnaires so that specific vocabulary such as stress, anxiety, worry and nervousness are not misconstrued by the reader and answered in different ways. It seems that once again a lack of a formal definition of stress hampers validity and structure in research design. It seems that compiling a flawless stress questionnaire is very difficult. Fife-Schaw (2000) takes this notion further: ‘Designing the perfect questionnaire is probably impossible’ Fife-Schaw pg159 Nevertheless, even with such limitations, a questionnaire may be useful in ascertaining information but will need some very careful planning. Bath and North East Somerset Council provide some helpful guidelines in their ‘Children in Need Handbook’ on principles for using forms and questionnnaires with children and young people. This information offers advice suggesting that some feedback about the results are done ‘†¦either immediately and/or at a later session’, but most importantly in the implementation of the questionnaire to: ‘Allow plenty of time’ Bath and North East Somerset Council ‘Children in Need Handbook’ (2007) page 47 Giving children enough time to read and process the questions raises a number of key issues, all of which may impact on the validity of the answers collected. Central to these difficulties is the child’s ability to reflect appropriately on their own changing emotional states and determine which events, if any, could be regarded as being under stress. It could be that this variance in what children understand about stress may invalidate results as it may be difficult to ascertain any consistency amongst the data. This could mean that some children need additional or supplementary support in answering the questions. If the questions need to be read out or explained to the child then this could influence how the child answers the question. An immediate concern to the researcher therefore, is whether the responses given reflect the child’s true feelings or ones that are dictated by the way the question is received? This difficulty in ascertaining consistency however may not be such a diffcult obstacle in collating data as it could be in other areas of research. Once again the Cognitive Appraisal model is able to lessen these problems. If the assumption is that all primary children have a ‘basic’ understanding of what stress is and how it affects them, then any reference  to feeling anxious, stressed and or upset in a particular sitaution is pertinent to their ‘assessment’ and therefore their perception of the situation. This data can then be used qualitatively by the use of any ‘thematic analysis’ technique to attribute feelings associated with the notion of stress, irrespective of the possible misuse of language by children. It seems that using markers or coding systems can help capture a variety of words used and still maintain an acceptable level of structure to the analysis of the data. The questionnaire may also need some modification in the format according to the child’s developmental stage (Sadock and Sadock 2000). Given all of these variables and constraints, perhaps the more flexible method of collecting data would be to talk to the children directly. Interviewing children Interviewing children needs careful handling. Chan highlights the difficulty children have when answering open ended questions such as ‘How did you feel ?† to unknown adults, indicating that many may respond with a passive response such as â€Å"I don’t know’, Chan (2005). Conversely in an interview scenario, Breakwell highlights the problem of ‘Acquiescence Response Bias’ (ARB) when asking children direct or closed questions such as ‘Did you feel stressed?’ She feels that the ARB often leads a child to say â€Å"Yes† to any question posed by an adult, irrespective of their own true feelings. Her advice however may not necessarily be helpful given Chan’s perspectives. Breakwell (2000) advises: ‘Questions should be posed so that they are not open to a yes – no response’. Page 245 How then can a researcher obtain collectable data on levels of stress in children that has some validity? The answer to this may be by looking closer to the research subjects. The age of the child is going to be important and can affect the structure of the interview. In some cases it may be necessary to have an adult in with the researcher who can be used for moral support but the choice of the adult needs very careful thought. The ‘Save the  Children’ organization issue a very clear message about the sensitivity needed when choosing this person. ‘Ensure that adults are out of the way – except for the translator and perhaps a project worker, teacher, or another adult that the child knows and trusts.’ Taken from Save the Children/ ‘Interviewing children’ (2007) accessed on the web 17.11.07 In some cases however, especially where children are older and more confident in their social interactions, it may be sufficient to interview the child on their own but in a less formal and more relaxed environment. Furthermore, whether adults are present or not, the interviewer should not limit themselves to interviewing and/or questioning by the use of words alone. By structuring the communications around other activities it may be possible to elicit emotional responses through activities such as play, drawings or model building Gabarino and Stott (1989). Whatever the technique used to interview children, and whatever the age or developmental stage they may be at, it seems the central responsibility of the researcher is to make the child feel at ease with the information-giving process. It should be a central skill of the researcher to design an environment where natural, or as close to natural, observations can be made. The research design should take into account where children feel at ease in giving information to adults. It is fortunate for many pedagogical researchers that school environments are constantly interloped by adults seeking answers to questions. It would seem common in most Primary Classrooms that professionals such as Ofsted, Educational Psychologists and Speech and Language Therapists are more of a visible part of the school environment than ever before. At least for research purposes, it seems that children are used to being observed by visitors in school in one capacity or another and where children’s voices are being sought over some issue on a regular basis. Conclusion It seems that those parental opinions voiced in the playground or in lines at the local supermarket echoing dismay that school is ‘not what it used to be’ are correct on one level. Primary school environments today are more attuned to assessments being made and where adults conducting observations are more commonplace. Classrooms are regular hosts to a whole variety of adults making some evaluative judgments on one issue or another. Children are required to prove themselves in one academic discipline or another at all ages and where children are given numerous and onerous responsibilities in and out of a school environment. Stress in our society is pervasive, it touches the lives of almost everyone and it would seem that age is no barrier to stress being present, even in the youngest of subjects. Therefore if we need to consider whether children are suitable subject for stress research, it would seem that there is no reason why a well structured, ethically sound study on stress levels amongst children could not be carried out in any primary school. Children, it would seem, are well equipped in the modern primary classroom to cope with the rigors of such scrutiny. References Bath and North East Somerset Social & Housing Services (2007) ,Children in Need Handbook, P.O. Box 3343,Bath.BA1 2ZH Breakwell.,G.M(2000) Interviewing. Taken from Breakwell.G.M, Hammond.S and Fife-Schaw, C Research Methods in Psychology. Sage Publications Brennan.E, (1993) Street Stress, Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 6, No. 0643. Cannon. W, (1929). Bodily changes in pain, hunger, fear, and rage. New York: Appleton. Chan, R. Interpersonal psychotherapy as a treatment model for depressed adolescents with chronic medical problems. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2005; 10: p88-101 Compass.E and Hammem.C.L,(1996). Child and Adolscent depression Covariation and Comorbidity in development Cited in Stress, Risk and Resilience in Children and Adolescents: Processes and Mechanisms, and Interventions edited by Haggerty.R.J; Sherrod.L.R,Garmezy.N, Rutter.M. Department for Education and Skills (2004) Every Child Matters: Change for Children DfES publication. Milton Keynes Fife-Schaw.C.(2000) Questionnaire Design Taken from Breakwell, Hammond and Fife-Schaw (2000) Research Methods in Psychology. SAGE Publications, London Freud, S.(1905). Three Essays on Sexuality and Other Writings.(1901-1905) Translated by James Strachey. London: The Hogarth Press, 1953. Frydenberg. E,(1999). Health, well-being and coping? What’s that got to do with education? Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 1-18 Garbarino.J and Stott.F.M,(1989). What Children Can Tell Us, San Francisco and London, Jossey-Bass Inc. Garner,R.(2007),. Stress in the Classroom, The Guardian. Friday 12th October 2007 p1 Georgiades A, Lemne. C ,De Faire.U , Lindvall.K, Fredrikson, M (1997) Stress-induced blood pressure measurements predict left ventricular mass over three years among borderline hypertensive men European Journal of Clinical Investigation 27 (9), 733–739. Graham Y. P, Heim. C, Goodman,S, H,. Miller,A.H & Nemeroff,C,B.(1999), The effects of neonatal stress on brain development: Implications for psychopathology, Development and Psychopathology 11: 545-565 Gore.S, Eckonrode.J,(1996) Context and process in research on risk and resilience. Cited in Stress, Risk and Resilience in Children and Adolescents: Processes and Mechanisms, and Interventions edited by Haggerty.R.J;Sherrod.L.R,Garmezy.N, Rutter.M. Herbert,.M (1996) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children. BPS Blackwell Publishers Hiroshi, K.(1991) School Refusal in Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, March, vol. 21, no. 1, p. 1-15 Hodgson N, Freedman VA, Granger DA,(2004). Biobehavioral correlates of relocation in the frail elderly: salivary cortisol, affect, and cognitive function. Journal of American Geriatrics Soc Vol:52 pp1856–62 Jackson.D,(2006). Playgroups as protective environments for refugee children at risk of trauma. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, vol. 31, no. 2, p. 1-5 King.N.J, and Ollendick.T.H, (1989) Children’s anxiety and phobic disorders in school settings: classification, assessment, and intervention issues. Review of Educational Research, Winter, vol. 59, no. 4, p. 431-470 Kovacs,M. Stress and Coping in the workplace.The Psychologist. Vol 20, No9 p548-550 Lazarus, R.S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal and Coping. New York: Guilford. Lohaus. A, (2004) School transition from elementary to secondary school: changes in psychological adjustment. Educational Psychology, vol. 24, no. 2, p. 161-173 Marr, N and Field T Bullycide: death at playtime, an expose of child suicide caused by bullying, Success Unlimited, 2001 Margalit, M; Kleitman.T,(2006) Mothers’ stress, resilience and early intervention European Journal of Special Needs Education, Volume 21, Issue 3 pages 269 – 283 McCarthy,L and Sheehan E (1996)Bullying: from backyard to boardroom, (Eds), Millennium Books Murray.E and Harrison.L, (2005). Children’s perspectives on their first year at school: introducing a new pictorial measure of school stress. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 111-127. Noakes, T.(1991), Lore of Running, Champaign, Illinois: Leisure Press Palmer S, Cooper C, Thomas K.(2001)Model of organisational stress for use within an occupational health education/promotion or wellbeing programme –a short communication. Health Education Journal;60(4):378-80. Place.M, Hulsmeier.J, Davis.S and Taylor.E, (2002). The Coping Mechanisms of Children with School Refusal. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, June, vol. 2, no. 2, p. 1-10. Ramsden, G (2007) Change as a possible contributor to stress levels in Educational Psychologists. Research paper submitted as part of doctorate at University of Sheffield Roethlisberger, F.J.; Dickson, W.J. (1939). Management and the Worker. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, New York Rudduck.J, (2004) Some neglected aspects of transfer and transition. Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, University of Manchester. The text is in the Education-line internet document collection at: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00003901.htm, pp. 10.accessed on 19.10.07 Sadock BJ & Sadock VA (2000)- Kaplan & Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, Lippincott Williams& Wilkins, New York Save the Children (2007) Interviewing Children taken from www.save thechildren.org.uk/en/docs / guidelines _interview_children.pdf accessed on 17.11.07 Selye, H: (1936). A Syndrome Produced by Diverse Nocuous Agents; Nature.Vol. 138, p 32-33 Shaver. K, (1981) Principles of Social Psychology, 2nd ed., Winthrop Publishers; Cambridge, MA. Steptoe A, Cropley M. (2000) Persistent high job demands and reactivity to mental stress predict future ambulatory blood pressure. Journal of Hypertension 18:5, 581-586 Varma,V.P (1973) Stresses in Children, University of London Press Ltd, London. Williams. M, Gersch.I, (2004) Teaching in mainstream and special schools: are the stresses similar or different? British Journal of Special Education, vol. 31, no. 3, p. 157-162

Pros and Cons of Vivisecton

Scholastic Essay â€Å"Animals are people too? † This is a question that might be asked by an inquisitive person. Literally speaking, animals are not people. However, animals have feelings too and should be treated the way people are treated. In today's modern society, vivisection is a free practice. This is due to the fact that animals are not protected by humans and are free to be caught and used in mankind's experiments in a pursue of knowledge. One might ask : What is vivisection?Well, so to speak, vivisection is the practice of performing operations on live animals for the purpose of experimentation or scientific research. In my opinion, there are pros and cons to this practice. First and foremost, I would like to say that one of the pros of vivisection is for medical advancement. More specifically, vivisection is used for medical experimentation. The best way to test potentially new medicines is by using animals. If the test is successful, then the medicine will be teste d on humans. Read more about Pros and Cons Of ReligionThe reason vivisection is carried out is because the lifespan of an animal is shorter than the lifespan of a human. Therefore, the lifespan of an animal is considered to be less valuable than humans. Any breakthrough in medicine does not only benefit humans, but it might also benefit animals as well as plants. Medical Advancement: Additionally, new medicines can also help animals too, so this falls under the philosophy of the needs of the many (animals) outweigh the needs of the few (animals).Meaning the few animals that are sacrificed or tested upon is worth less than the many animals that are potentially saved or helped, thus helping the greater good is more morale. Of course, this opinion is subjective to each person. Product Safety: Another popular reason for animal testing is for determining the safety of products, such as cosmetics testing. In theory, animals used for safety testing are typically not killed and remain healthy, however th ey are often maltreated.Again, it is commonly considered that the safety of people outweighs the safety of animals, thus animal testing for safety is common. Scientific Knowledge: Animal testing and experimentation is an excellent source to increase scientific knowledge. No one knows what knowledge that will be attained through animal testing, so the value of such animal testing cannot be ascertained ahead of time or even guessed. The most common examples of animal experimentation for scientific knowledge are animal biopsies and vivisections in schools to teach children biology and medical procedures.While this type of animal testing might not yield immediate useful results, it has been helpful in the long term of helping science. Accuracy: Finally, the biggest reason for animal testing is because it works better than any other alternative. Why animal testing can yield results different than human testing, the similarities between animals and humans is staggering and thus helpful to mankind. Reasons Against Animal Testing Torture and Suffering: Animals undergoing testing can be subjected to torture and suffering.Alternatively in some cases, some animals may be even cured of their ailments and diseases during the process of animal testing. Death: Animals can, and sometimes often, die in the process of animal testing. Ethics/Morality: The ethics and morality of testing on animals is often debated. A large number of people do not believe animal testing is ethical, however they often concede that it is necessary. Choice: Since animals cannot volunteer for animal testing, then some people believe animal testing is not ethical.These people believe that it is only ethical to test on subjects who willingly give their consent for self testing. Accuracy: As mentioned before, animals are different than people, thus their testing results are not always useful or practical for human comparisons. Therefore, if the usefulness of animal testing is in question, then animal tes ting should be reconsidered. Price: Finally, the price of keeping and disposing of animals can be quite high. That is why testing, on computer simulations, has increased recently. However, the accuracy of computer simulations is less than animal testing.

Chinese Culture and Political Police in China in the Movies Joy Luck Essay

Chinese Culture and Political Police in China in the Movies Joy Luck Club and Not One Less - Essay Example These films mainly about China, driven by means of the modernity’s blinding light, while, at the same time, no longer acknowledging its own children, in addition to its primitive past. In Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, there are four mothers, four daughters and four families whose histories change with the four winds according to the person narrating the stories. During 1949, four Chinese women, who happened to be recent immigrants to San Francisco, started meeting while eating dim sum, playing mahjong, and talking. Joy Luck Club is the name this group united by shared unspeakable loss, as well as hope, they referred to themselves. Instead of allowing themselves to sink in tragedy, they opt to gather by raising not only their spirits, but also money. Forty years down the line, the stories, as well as history persist (Tan 56). Amy Tan explores the sometimes painful, in most cases tender while always deep link between mothers and daughters with wit, as well as sensitivity. As every w oman exposes her secrets, attempting to unravel the truth concerning her life, the strings end up getting extensively tangled, while, at the same time extremely entwined. Apparently, mothers boast or despair over daughters, while daughters roll their eyes although they feel the inextricable tapering of their matriarchal ties. Amy happens to be an astute storyteller, who entices her readers into immersing themselves to these lives of complexity, as well as mystery. In Not One Less, Wei Minzhi who is a representative of an agrarian society, with all her backwardness, together with naivete, exemplifies the humanity that gets rejected by modern man pursuing an industrial civilization. Wei Minzhi is the replacement teacher of 13-years who is bigger than life; although she seems to be primitive, uncouth, silly, as well as immature; she happens to be China’s self-depiction as a third-world country along with a tenacity to modernize when she begins going to the city by foot thereby f inding her student, an act that is foolish yet heroic (Ebert 21). She turns out to be an expediently dumping ground for the pessimistic human emotions of the perfectly educated, which lecture her on rules, as well as etiquettes; with her solid resolution of letting no one be absent from her class, she exemplifies a spirit of the people on a pursuit for equitable growth, along with a more democratic society. She turns out to be a representation of China's resolve of being strong while catching up with the other part of the world. She happens to be courageous since she has a group of children behind her; to the point she is in control, they are capable of accomplishing things like moving numerous bricks to coming up with some money for her to purchasing a bus ticket. This means that, in Shui Quan elementary, there happens to be socialism still at work whereby people tend to share things such as coke while doing things within a collective manner; Wei Minzhi's courage, together with per sonal dignity lie on the continuation of this community. Wei Minzhi encounters the urbanites in the vast metropolis are a symbol of the â€Å"adult† world whereby Minzhi, together with Huike have a lot to learn as â€Å"children†; yet these city folks have suspicious morals: informed but uncaring, urbane but indifferent, wealthy but miserable; the ticket conductor tosses Minzhi out of the bus for not purchasing a ticket with the policeman guarding the television station’

The History of Lacrosse Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The History of Lacrosse - Research Paper Example The sport of Lacrosse has diplomatic, spiritual, entertaining, physical and cultural meaning/ significance. Thesis statement: The meaning/significance given by Indian tribes to Lacrosse game is beyond its value as a sports item (special reference to historical background of Lacrosse). The history of Lacrosse as an ancient game is interconnected with the Indian tribes in North America. The Native Americans considered Lacrosse as a gift from the god, their creator. As pointed out, the Native Americans played the crude form of Lacrosse and its modern form is indebted to the European settlers. For instance, the European settlers who reached in the southern parts of the American continent got interested in this game. Montreal, an important settlement of the Europeans is considered as the birthplace of modern Lacrosse. Eventually, the warm relation between European settlers and the Native American tribal people resulted in the popularity of Lacrosse to other parts of the world. The crude form of Lacrosse game cannot be termed as a single game because it was a set of ball games played by a number of Indian tribes. For instance, the Northeast tribal people used one stick and the Southeast tribal people used two sticks to play Lacrosse. The tribal people used different na mes to denote the same game. For instance, the Ojibwa Indians used the word â€Å"beggataway† to denote the game. The name of the game â€Å"Lacrosse† originated from its similarity with crosier, which was used for religious purposes. Donald Lee Fixico makes clear that the French settlers in North America used the word ‘Lacrosse’ to denote the game (Fixico 103). The European settlers who settled in North America gradually converted the aboriginal population to Christian faith. Some of the converts moved to the border regions of Canada. This resulted in the spread of Lacrosse in Canada. Eventually, the European settlers who

The role of nursing theory in nursing education, research, and Essay

The role of nursing theory in nursing education, research, and clinical practice - Essay Example Nursing theories help in generating further knowledge in the field of nursing. Though some theories may differ and can be confusing to the nurses, they are all meant to provide additional information to the nurses. Nursing theories are supposed to form the basis of practice, in that they lay down the foundation and provide a framework upon which training is based on. Before the training starts, it is important to bring out some ideas and concepts, which will help the students to comprehend the training process. The theories act as a form of introduction, thus preparing the nurses for the practice (Parker and Smith, 2010). One will find that other professions have theories that help in establishing a unique approach to the different aspects involved in that particular discipline. Since nursing is also a profession, it is important for it to have its own theories that will help the nurses to understand their role and purpose in the medical sector. Nurses need to be recognized in their own profession and this can be achieved by establishing a unique body of knowledge and concepts. Therefore, nursing theories play a role in establishing the professionalism in Nursing by providing a different approach to health care and treatment from the one used by doctors. They play an important role in creating a boundary between medicine and nursing. They help in defining a nurse’s role in the hospital, medical field, or medical practice (Ahmad, 2010). Nursing theories play a role in reinforcing nursing practices for they provide education required in treatment and care of the patients. They help the nurses to understand why a certain procedure is carried out in a certain manner and help the students to react in an appropriate manner when faced by a particular situation. By providing the education needed, the nurses are able to carry out the actual practices that their nursing

The Network Society - How Has It Changed in Humans' Work And Interacti Essay - 1

The Network Society - How Has It Changed in Humans' Work And Interaction - Essay Example Communication networks are inseparable from network society (Yang & Bergrud, 2008). Without digital communication, there is no real basis for a network society. We are living in the 21st century, without digital transfer of knowledge, information, news, finances, messages, there will be huge incoordination between the pace of electronic media and the fabric of society. Manuel Castells even goes to the length of saying that without accounting for the tools (electronic facilities like the internet) there is no possibility of comprehending or depicting the society (Yang & Bergrud, 2008). Network society is a blessing at one hand but it also creates some complications. The network can become very complex as digital information is readily available (billions of dollars can be transferred from one bank account to another by pressing ENTER of the computer keyboard). For this to work for the administration and public, all departments and sections of the society need to work in cooperation.

Financial Ratios. Jardine Cycle and Carriage Research Paper

Financial Ratios. Jardine Cycle and Carriage - Research Paper Example SWOT Analysis from Financial Perspective 13 5. Conclusion and Recommendation 14 6. References 16 16 7. Appendices 21 7.1 Appendix 1: Profit and Loss Account of Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd. (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007) 21 7.2 Appendix 2: Balance Sheet of Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd. (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007) 24 7.3 Summary/Workings for Financial Ratios 27 1. Introduction 1.1 Financial Health of the Company Jardine Cycle and Carriage Limited is an investment bearing company. The company is engaged in the processes of manufacturing, assembling, distributing and selling through retail chains various motorcycles and motor parts. The company operates in various parts of the world: Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia (Bloomberg Business Week, 2011). The paper has been designed with the aim of assessing the financial position of the company. Although Jardine Cycle and Carriage is a company dealing with diversifying businesses, the focus of the company is upon the market of Southeast Asia . In the list of Singapore’s top companies, Jardine Cycle and Carriage is raked within the top 20 positions. The company is holding a stake of 50.1% in Astra and has strong strategic interest upon it. However, the company undertakes its business within the automotive segment of the market. In the recent times, the financial health of the company is much influenced by its record performance due to its stake in Astra. Though the conditions of trading in Singapore and Vietnam stock markets are challenging, the company has depicted satisfactory performance for its stakeholders. The satisfaction was provided through announcement of proposed 69% enhancement in the full year dividend of the company. The financial health of the company can be summarised through the fact that the chief businesses of the company had achieved a tremendous growth during the year 2010. The financial health even strengthened through the firmness of Rupiah in Indonesia (Jardine Cycle & Carriage, 2010). 1.2 Investment (Investors’) Objective of the Company The investment objective of Jardine Cycle and Carriage from the perspective of enhancing investors’ stake in the company is to attain a wider foundation of earning for the investors. The company aims at continuously striving for investment opportunities with sustenance of its investment position in its various business segments, i.e., financial services, automotive, agribusiness, infrastructure and logistics, heavy equipment and mining and information technology (Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd., 2011). The group Managing Director (MD) is confident about the future outlook of the company in the coming days and hopes that the company would definitely succeed in sustaining its strong position within the region’s automotive market. The investment decision that the company wants to sustain for maintaining its strong position within the market is with regards to extension of its assortment of dealerships all around the wo rld (Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd., 2011). 2. Company Financial Background The financial background of the company is much dependent upon the business activities that it performs. The following figure depicts the groups of business activities performed by Jardine Cycle and Carriage: Source: ((Jardine Cycle & Carriage, 2010). Astra, where the company holds its major stake, had depicted great performance during the year 2010 with record profit earnings. Astra performed excellently in each segments of its businesses apart from contract mining. The functions of Astra with respect to its consumer finance segment were able to generate enormous profits with the improvement in the debt position, constant margin of interest rates and proficient liquidity

Human-wk7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human-wk7 - Essay Example I would think that educators would help students identify goals for their education. As an example, students may want to set a goal that would bring them a better life. They may see this type of gal as long-term and may find another way to identify shorter term goals but they may first need to be exposed to education that helps them identify what they want. Self-regulation comes into play as children would reflect on their wants and needs. Reeve (2009) suggests that this happens as people begin to define goals and work towards them. As they begin to move towards their goals, they also begin to identify whether the goals they have set are working or need to be changed. In educating teens, I would think that educators would also set goals for what they wanted children to learn. Reeve also talks about self-regulation as a skill that must be developed. I would facilitate self-regulation with teens by exposing them to people from Liberia who had set goals and realized them. Plans-- my plans were to begin my Masters and continue it once I began. I think my plan was too big at the time because I did not take into consideration that raising a family and working full time would be difficult. Goals -- I set several goals in my head but I never wrote them down. I wanted a Masters degree because I felt it would bring more money but it was too difficult trying to do school, work full time and take care of my family. Smaller goals would have been better and would have stopped me from feeling so overwhelmed. Personal strivings--I always wanted a Masters degree in counseling because I wanted to help people. I wanted the goal to be completed quickly and I thought I could do it while working full time. I was not able to do it in that way. Implementation intention -- I did not have a specific plan for my Masters degree. I only wanted to have one. If I had set specific goals for completion like I have now, I may have been

Future of Parole in the United States Research Paper

Future of Parole in the United States - Research Paper Example ing that early believers in the program thought offenders committed offenses through no fault of their own, forced into unfortunate circumstances, and therefore should be rehabilitated. The federal parole board increased to eight members in 1950, appointed by the President, with three of them assigned to youth corrections. By October of 1974 due to a pilot reorganization program the US Department of Justice had five regions with one member and five hearing examiners. Through the Parole Commission and Reorganization Act in 1976 the Board of Parole became known as the United States Parole Commission, independent of the DOJ (USDOJ: USPC: Our History). They adopted explicit parole guidelines, became affiliated with the Senate, disbanded from youth corrections, and created a Comprehensive Crime Control Act in 1984. The use of intermediate sentencing is the only sentencing that actually involves parole boards and they receive complete power in determining who is to be released. Intermediate sentencing does contain some positive factors and allows for full implementation of the rehabilitative ideal. It offers the highest and strictest level of protection from the more violent criminal offenders and also offers feasible alternatives to capital punishment. Parole decisions are also made with considerably more behavioral observation noted since the original trial and does not force corrections to release an inmate before they are ready to return to society. Negative factors involved with intermediate sentences are many with mostly criticism and onslaughts of impossibilities. Treatment is too expensive, training and rehabilitation not done, and even if treatment were honestly attempted by staffs, psychotherapy with involuntarily committed patients is generally considered difficult; indeterminate sentencing supplies only negative motivation, which will be insufficient for long-range results and the list continues. One of the most important factors I considered in this area

An in-depth understanding of the organizational and the individual Essay

An in-depth understanding of the organizational and the individual performance of a company - Essay Example From an individual level, it has also been witnessed several times that an individual worker who was a ‘good performer’ previously has turned to be a ‘bad performer’ within a short-term period. However, there can be various reasons to cause ‘poor performance’ active in both the organizational and the personal level of the workers (Jackson & Et. Al., 2008). With this point of view, the paper shall intend to identify few factors in an organization which is solely based on the marketing of various kinds of products through telesales. Certainly, the sales force of the organization plays a vital role in signifying its overall performance. According to the job responsibilities of the sales force of the company, the individuals require to call the potential customers and influence them to buy the product. Thus, the workers should possess a high level of competencies in terms of learning skills, interactive skills, change-ability, and readiness. The com petencies of the workers or the task force shall in turn influence the competency of the organization. However, the actors of competencies shall be measured according to the determined instructional objectives, i.e. to identify the causes of poor performance, assess the potential of the workforce and enhance their competencies which in turn shall positively encourage the organizational competencies.

Ebola Virus Outbreak Framework Essay Example for Free

Ebola Virus Outbreak Framework Essay Overview of the Event Ebola virus disease is a virus that is communicable through human-to-human contact as well as animal-to-human contact in which has promoted the spread of this virus that can be deadly if left untreated (WHO, 2014). Not only is the Ebola virus disease (EVD) quite contagious but is gaining momentum from community to community with lack of proper health care, containment, and the families of those that have been affected by the outbreak. There are widespread awareness by the World Health Organization (WHO) that there are short and long term psychological effects of the EVD outbreak due to the swiftness of how EVD can affect entire family members (PFA, 2014). Not only families are affected by the outbreak of EVD but the healthcare workers that are tending to the effected population are at increased risks of facing psychological trauma from their actions in containing the EVD spread (PFA, 2014). The Size of FEMA and WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are the agencies that are taking the lead in containing the EVD outbreak. World Health Organization has actions in place to address the psychological trauma that is connected with this catastrophic event such as this event. FEMA has created a Catastrophic Incident Annex (2008) in which has collaborated with all federal departments and agencies in order to follow various guidelines in which is best to contain the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak. The World Health Organization is the first in charge when it comes to how to do certain actions pertaining to the health within the United Nations system (WHO, 2014). FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security; therefore the agency itself is rather large on the net of what it can or does cover. Qualifications and Skills of Employees for FEMA and WHO There are over forty (40) members of the US Department of Home Homeland Security/FEMA that is in charge of what exactly happens in the event such as the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak. Starting at the top of the chain of command within FEMA would be the administrator in which they would be the first in command to direct the rest of the team of FEMA. Each office within the FEMA organization is in charge of their own parts of the outbreak, ranging from equal rights to response and recovery. The qualifications are endless but are specific in which what area of the outbreak they can work on and containment of the outbreak. Protection and preparedness is a specific office within the FEMA organization where the employees focus on not only immediate needs of the outbreak but lessons learned, training on how to handle a community of an event such as the current outbreak of EVD (FEMA, 2014). World Health Organization (2014) has more specific qualifications when it comes to containment and direct care of the psychological effects of EVD. It is considered a flexible organization to be part of in which the skills that an employee must possess is rather defined. At minimum a first year degree or equal professional trainings pertaining to the specific position being applied for, experience with national and international levels of conflicts and containments, excellent analytical skills, understanding of policy issues, heightened awareness of public health, proficient in a secondary United Nations language (Arabic, French, Russian, Chinese, Spanish), effective team work, and communication skills (WHO, 2014). Services Provided by FEMA and WHO The World Health Organization is the global protector of health and welfare while Department of Homeland Security/FEMA is the national protector. Each of these organizations has their own specific role to do when it comes to covering the outbreak of EVD. The WHO is about the preventative measures before an outbreak while FEMA addresses the in-the-now moment of outbreaks of Ebola Virus Disease. It is important to address not only the specific services each of these agencies can (and does) provide but their core functions as well. Once the functions are understood, the services that each organization provides can be better understood. While some services provided may not necessarily be directly connected with the psychological effects of  the present danger of the Ebola Virus Disease, each organization has their own agenda in order to maintain their level of professionalism in the current crisis situation. FEMA focuses on national needs when disaster strikes and ensures that each com munity member within the declared disaster area have the means to recover from the event. FEMA covers costs of housing needs such as temporary housing, repairs, replacements, permanent or semi-permanent housing construction (FEMA, 2014). In a crisis situation such as the current EVD outbreak, FEMA addresses the instant need as well as maintaining long term health. FEMA provides crisis counseling and training to maintain the mental and psychological health of community members that are directly affected by the EVD outbreak (FEMA, 2014). FEMA connects community members to counselors that are there to help sort out the magnitude of the Ebola virus disease outbreak and why it affects each person differently when it comes to mental and psychological health. The Key Components of FEMA and WHO FEMA has a national preparedness system that has six specific parts within it. According to FEMA (2014); Identifying and assessing risk, Estimating Capability Requirements, Building and sustaining capabilities, Planning to Deliver Capabilities, Validating Capabilities, and finally Reviewing and Updating.’ Each of these parts has their own goals and reasons why they are as they stand. Their main goal is the all the same; safety and resilience. The World Health Organization has six main core functions that they, as an international organization, strive to maintain. According to WHO (2014); ‘providing leadership on matters critical to health and engaging partnerships where joint action is needed; shaping the research agenda and stimulating the generation, translation, and dissemination of valuable knowledge; setting norms and standards, and promoting and monitoring their implementations; articulating ethical and evidence based policy options; providing technical support, ca talyzing changing, and building sustainable institutional capacity; monitoring the health situation and assessing health trends.’ Overarching Mission of FEMA and WHO World Health Organization has a general overall mission to keep the world safe of outbreaks, emergency assistance to disaster struck areas and the  mass immunization campaigns to protect the world’s population of potentially deadly diseases (WHO, 2014). WHO is responsible for taking the lead in the current EVD outbreak so it is contained where it is found and eradicated as much as possible, as that is their sole mission statement. FEMA’s mission statement is to support citizens and first responders to make sure that the nation works together in order to sustain, build, and improve the capability to prepare, protect, respond, recover, and mitigate all potential hazards (FEMA, 2014). FEMA is responsible for the urge to have communities to work together in order to recover and sustain livelihood in the event such as our current EVD outbreak. Role of FEMA and WHO with criminal justice system FEMA is an extension of Department of Homeland security; it works rather closely in order to maintain their mission statement to support the nation in crisis events but it also adheres to the law side of what could potentially arise in the event of a situation that would cause the criminal justice system itself to crumble. WHO would not be part of the criminal justice system or rather, an extension of it, due to the international outlook it holds for the world and not just the United States criminal justice system. Conclusion Understanding, communication, and diligence in the event of a communicable virus such as Ebola Virus Disease is the number one priority around the world. From small knit communities in rural Kansas to the bustling metro stations of Hong Kong, the ability to address and contain Ebola Virus Disease is the most important agenda that the world can these communities can hold. When a country, city, and continent can understand the dire need to be educated on what exactly the Ebola Virus Disease can do the world’s population is when the virus is uncontrolled can have not only physical affects but psychological ones as well. Families, communities, governments crumble and the world is left in mayhem due to the psychological effects that is left from watching Ebola Virus Disease wipe out world as we know it. Leaning on World Health Organization and Federal Emergency Management Agency can lessen the stress and how the world takes the heavy psychological effects that are present for a lif etime. References Catastrophic Incident Annex. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf_CatastrophicIncidentAnnex.pdf Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2014). Retrieved from www.fema.org Psychological First Aid. (2014). Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/131682/1/9789241548847_eng.pdf?ua=1 World Health Organization. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

The theoretical perspectives in sociology

The theoretical perspectives in sociology Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behavior. Websters Dictionary defines a perspective as a view of things in their true relationship or importance. Therefore, the sociological perspective provides viewpoints used to look at human behaviors and interactions as they relate to individuals and groups within a society. The sociological perspective stresses that to understand humans, not what is inside of them, but instead the external factors influencing them, should be observed. There are several theoretical perspectives in sociology that are used to understand social relationships and behaviors. The three theoretical perspectives discussed here are symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory. Symbolic interactionism is a microsociological theoretical approach that examines small-scale patterns of social interaction. Interactionists focus on how humans use symbols (signs, gestures, language) to develop views of the world, others, and themselves, as well as the importance of these symbols in social interaction and communication. Interactionists also believe that humans use these symbols to define the self, by comparing themselves to others and by constantly adjusting their view of themselves. Interactionists see reality as being negotiated based on shared agreements and perceptions about events and therefore reality is not stagnant but instead fluid, ever changing. Also, symbolic interactionists try to understand how an individual feels in order to understand why they act the way they do. For example, many female babies are killed in India. To understand why they are killed, Interactionists look at what makes people kill them. Raising a girl is very expensive in India. The meaning that Indians attach to the birth of a baby girl is that of a burden to the family. However, western cultures tend to think of every child as a gift and a blessing, no matter what gender. A doctor interviewed for a TV documentary said that she does not report families that kill their infant girls, because it is a generally accepted societal practice. A lot of people are poor and few can afford the cost associated with raising a girl. When getting married, the grooms family is paid a dowry for taking over the obligation of the bride. Getting back to the doctor, comparing her own conduct to that of others, she does not find anything wrong with not reporting those murders since others do not report them either. By her own admission, however, if others were to begin reporting the murders of infan t girls, she would then adjust her own conduct accordingly and also start to report the killings. The response to the killings depends on the meaning and significance that is attached to that death, and right now the doctor sees it as insignificant and not worth reporting. Functional analysts (or functionalists) view society as a whole, a complex system of integrated, interrelated parts that work together to keep society balanced. Each part of society has a certain function that it has to fulfill in order to meet the needs of the society in which it exists, thus functionalists stress order and stability. If a part of society is in dysfunction meaning it does not fulfill its role, the harmony is interrupted and the system is weakened. Through natural and gradual change, equilibrium has to be restored. To understand how society works functionalists examine how society operates, what needs must be met and how they are satisfied. They also examine what functions the various parts of society fulfill, and what the relationships between those parts are. Take, for example, the female fighter pilot Lt. Col. Martha McSally, who fought for women stationed in Arabic countries to not have to wear the traditional head covering (abaya) and the changing roles of women in the military. Female and male service members had certain functions. Women often worked as nurses or as clerks whereas men filled combat positions. Each gender had roles assigned and the system worked together in harmony until women were allowed to serve in positions that once were meant for male service members only. Through a gradual and natural process the roles of men and women in the military will have to be redefined until previous balance is restored. Another example would be Lt. Gov. Jane Swift of Massachusetts, who was pregnant when she entered office, and the functions of a mother and a politician. As a mother society expects her to care for her children and be there when her children need her. However, in her function as politician, she is expected to fully immerse herself in State politics. The functions of mothers and politicians are clearly defined, but, she is blurring the boundaries between the two functions and society (the system) has not yet adjusted to the changes associated with mothers of young children in politics. As more and more mothers with dependant children are entering politics, the system will have to adjust to their special needs, roles will have to be redefined for balance to be restored. Like functional analysis, conflict theory focuses on large-scale patterns of society. However, whereas functionalists believe that society is composed of groups that work together, conflict theorists believe those groups are in constant disagreement with each other over limited resources. Conflict theorists also believe that societies are constantly changing and that some groups have more power then others and that norms and values of a society are made by those with power in order to keep those without power down. Conflict theorists believe that the way to change society is to change its structure and not the individuals within that society. Going back to Lt. Gov. Jane Swift, power is seen as a result of her social position and not as a result of her character. As a politician she holds certain powers that conflict with those of non-politicians. For example, she excused her use of the state helicopter with her position as an important political figure. Non-politicians disagree with her right to use the helicopter, as they could not do that. In India men and women are in a constant battle for scarce resources. In the case of the infanticides the resources are power as well as money. The only solution to that conflict would be for society to change its structure by, for example, removing dowries as a condition of marriage or removing the need for expensive ceremonies for daughters. Since those with power and money see no need to change the current structure, the only way the change would ever happens is if poor Indians stood up and protested current practices. The same is true for the military. The problems that arose for Lt. Col. McSally while stationed in the Middle East came from inequality in the treatment of male and female service members. As a woman she was required to wear an abaya when leaving the base. This caused a problem since the abaya covered her from head to toe and therefore her social location, her rank as Lieutenant Colonel, was no longer visible to others. Her powers were diminished while male service members, even those of lower rank, did not have to remove or hide the signs of their social location within the military society, resulting in a struggle for power. To summarize the three major theoretical perspectives described above it can, in most general terms, be said that structural functionalists would focus on what is common practice in a certain society and would also analyze the function of symbols used to interact and communicate in that society; whereas symbolic interactionists would try to determine how the individuals of a certain society interpret their environment or what effect others have on the development of an individuals self image; and conflict theorists would look at power differences between various groups of a society, where they come from and what effect they have on that society.

A Current National Health Policy Social Work Essay

A Current National Health Policy Social Work Essay Policies are relevant and essential as they allow health professionals whether employer or employee, to work within their remit and understand their responsibilities to their clients, patients and their colleagues (Baggott, 2007). Walt and Gibson (1994) identified that health policies are made through complex association of actors, processes and content. The health policy triangle was introduced by Walt and Gibson (1994) as an approach of methodically discerning the various factors that can affect or generate a health policy. Policy actors pertain to governments or individuals who can affect the policy, such as pressure groups and politicians (Walt and Gibson, 1994, cited in Buse et al, 2005). Policy process relates to the formulation or implementation of the policy and how it is communicated to the public or society (Walt and Gibson, 1994, cited in Buse et al, 2005). Policy content refers to material or substance within a policy which describes the issue or topic covered, such as so cial or political which may refer to national or local areas (Walt and Gibson, 1994. cited in Buse et al, 2005). This essay will scrutinise and critique a health policy. It will demonstrate the development of a policy and critique the beneficial worth, stating whether the health policy is achieving the objectives for its initial implementation. It will similarly evaluate and assess the policy content and determine the benefit of this particular health policy within my nursing practice. Furthermore argue whether the health policy has strengths to enhance my practice or weaknesses which may hinder application to my role as a school nurse. The Department of Health were the policy actors who published the National Service Framework for Children, Young people and Maternity services in 2004. This policy was instrumental in enabling health professionals to look at childrens services in a different manner and address the whole child rather than the childs illness or problem they may have; and instead look at techniques to prevent the problem from initially occurring (DH, 2004). The national service framework for children, young people and maternity services (2004) brought to the attention of policy makers the necessity of action focusing on childrens services, which lead to more policies and strategies being formulated (Baggott, 2007). One of them being Healthy lives, brighter futures. The strategy for children and young peoples health (2009), which states that all children and young people should grow up healthy with specific attention directed to the vulnerable; which includes looked after children and children in low inc ome families. Healthy lives, brighter futures. The strategy for children and young peoples health was published in 2009, jointly by the Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. This strategy was the Labour Governments plan to improve children and young peoples health and wellbeing (Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2009). (DH and DCSF, 2009). The Labour governments aim through this Strategy was for children and young people to have more opportunities by using more easily accessible services, which would benefit them and diminish health inequalities leading to less strain on the countrys financial resources (DH and DCSF, 2009). Healthy lives, brighter futures. The strategy for children and young peoples health (the Strategy) (2009) was the primary approach targeting all health professionals and childrens services, which preceded the Healthy Child Programme: From 5-19 years old policy; in addition was introduced later the same year together by the Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. To achieve the goals set out in the Strategy which targeted health professionals in the community, hospitals and commissioners highlighting the importance of their part in reducing health inequalities (DH and DCSF, 2009). Child poverty is on a decline but in the United Kingdom (UK) one in four children are growing up in poverty (Department for Work and Pensions, 2009). Young people and children living in poverty additionally use and rely on more frequently, emergency services which can add unnecessary strain to health services (Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People s Services, 2010). Health inequalities are still present, and policy actors such as the British Youth Council were there to add their voice to the areas, and problems which they felt still needs addressing for the young people of the UK (British Youth Council, 2012). The section of the Strategy (DH and DCSF, 2009), which will be discussed/critiqued in great depth will be section five, titled Young People. I work with young people and can look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Strategy; and this area was also chosen as young people sometimes feel that their concerns are dismissed and their opinions are undervalued (British Youth Council, 2012). Adolescence is seen as a vital stage where young people are leaving behind their childhood and stepping forward into adulthood; where they are gaining more independence and in some cases looking after their own health for the first time, rather than depending on their parents or carers (DH and DCSF, 2009). The Strategies established are directed to providing health services for young people which targets their health as well as their psychological wellbeing (DH and DCSF, 2009). Through this transitional period adolescents are developing neurologically, physically, emotionally in addition to psychologically (Moshman, 1999). While young people are testing the boundaries though they are gaining more independence, young people are more likely to listen and seek advice from their peers rather than adults (Moshman, 1999). In our locality to make school nursing services more accessible to teenagers we provide a drop in clinic, where teenagers can come and discuss health issues or concerns t hey may have on their own or with a friend. The Strategy has recommended that health services adopt a more young people friendly service (DH and DCSF, 2009). Youre Welcome Quality criteria for young people friendly health service published by the Department of Health, Children and Young People (DH and CYP, 2011). This policy was one of the follow on programmes to the Strategy which gave more in depth recommendations, for providing additional user friendly health services for young people and training for staff to have a more user friendly approach. A project directed by Randall and Hill (2012), noted that young patients wanted their nurses to be friendly; but still give them their privacy and dignity without drawing unnecessary attention (Randall and Hill, 2012). Youth workers based in the community can break through barriers as they are mainly adult workers that can relate to young people as they may work with them daily, when young people attend youth groups or centres (Hilton and Jepson, 2012). Young people attending hospital appointments or in hospital can feel isolated, have low self-confidence or lose their individuality (Hilton and Jepson, 2012). Presently school nurses only work with young people mainly if they have health conditions, to promote health or have Child protection plans. If there were more resources available, in this case time, school nurses could work with youth workers to help distil fears in young people, in regards to being admitted onto a hospital ward or learning to live with a long-term health conditions. This would empower young people to have additional confidence in health workers, and enable them to feel undaunted about their transition into the adult world (Young, 2006). Policy makers understand and recognise the importance of young peoples psychological wellbeing and mental health which is addressed (DH and DCSF, 2009). The issue to provide a service to tackle and deliver support for young peoples mental health is challenging, as insufficient funds is available to deal with this one particular area on its own (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, 2012). This is evident by my employment Council that provides an integrated child support service, which entails education psychology and education welfare, early intervention and behaviour (Southwark Council, 2012). If the child has a more serious emotional or mental health problem that cannot be dealt with by the integrated child support service, the child would be referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, generally referred to as CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, 2012). My employment Trust has CAMHS which provides mental health care for four Trusts and also a national and specialist team (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, 2012). Usually a referral to CAMHS can take from four to eight weeks before the child or young person would be given an appointment (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, 2012). This reveals how necessary and important the service which is provided by CAMHS is needed and required, but demonstrates the challenge to respond to the high demand of referrals in a sufficiently and effectively appropriate amount of time (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, 2012). CAMHS has a policy of if the child or young person misses their appointment due to any other reason than ill health, they will be put back onto the waiting list. The Strategy recommends that young people should have more access to information regarding sexual health (DH and DCSF, 2009). Teenagers are known for trying unsafe behaviours whether it is sexually or experimenting with drugs or alcohol (DH and DCSF, 2009). Teenagers can access health services if they are still in school or may want to discuss things away from their usual environment by attending sexual health clinics (DH and DCSF, 2009). In my school nursing locality young people are offered a drop in service where they can discuss personal issues; presently the service is only offered once a month due to lack of school nurses to run the drop in clinic. Southwark has the eighth highest rate of long term unemployment in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics, 2010). Southwark has 10% more deprived districts than the rest of England, in terms of income deprivation which affects children living in the borough (Southwark PCT, 2011). Priority is made to safeguarding children which is paramount, and as there are quite a few cases of children in Southwark who have child protection plans (Southwark Council, 2012). Health of children in Southwark is generally worse than the average in England (Association of Public Health Authorities, 2010). Promoting healthy eating can be challenging, when low income families are trying to provide a healthy meal for their family at a time when they are on a fixed income (Livingstone, 2007). The Strategy recognises that young people are adept at using the internet, and other forms of modern technology to gain access to information (DH and DCSF, 2009). Young people 16 years and above can open a Health Space account, where they can keep their current health records and have more control over their health information (DH and DCSF, 2009). Health space also gives young people guidance on healthy eating and information on different types of illnesses; and where teenagers can go to get necessary support if required (Health Space, 2012). As part of the recommendations our school nursing service uses mobile phones to text young people to remind them of upcoming appointments. The policy Youre Welcome Quality criteria for young people friendly health services, identified that young people preferred to receive a text message rather than an appointment letter and to be given the option of attending their appointment with or without their parents (DH and CYP, 2011). An effective approach mentioned by the Strategy is for health to be promoted through advertising. This can be through television or radio commercials and also through posters in prominent areas and campaigns (DH and DCSF, 2009). A campaign which referred to excess drinking was called Know your limits encouraging young people not to get drunk as they are not in control of their faculties and emphasised the dangers of being drunk; such as getting alcohol poisoning to having unprotected sex (DH and DCSF, 2009). The Know your limits campaign ran from June to September 2009, which included advertising on television, radio and on the internet (Community Justice Portal, 2009). A survey conducted after the campaign revealed that young people did take notice of the anti-binge drinking campaign (Community Justice Portal, 2009). While 67% of young people said they would think more when out drinking with their friends, but none of the young people said that they would reduce the amount of alcohol they would consume (Community Justice Portal, 2009). This brings into question whether the campaign was effective, and whether another form of advertising would have been beneficial, productive and less costly. Teenage pregnancy rates are decreasing and currently are at the lowest they have been for the last forty years (Office for National Statistics, 2010). In Western Europe England still has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy, with the majority of the pregnancies unplanned and half of them legally aborted (Swann et al, 2003). The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy launched in 1999, set out guidelines to reduce the amount of teen pregnancies in the UK (DCYPF and PH, 1999). The Strategy made clear and productive follow on guidelines to the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, which involved methods and approaches on how to reduce teenage pregnancies and campaigns to promote effectual contraceptive techniques (DH and DCSF, 2009). Young people aged between 16 years to 24 years old still has the highest amount of reported sexually transmitted infections (DH and DCSF, 2009). The Strategy has made clear procedures and techniques on how to decrease teenage pregnancy by gleaning evidence based information from countries such as America; where they have had an 86% reduction in their teenage pregnancy rate which they say was due to better quality use of contraceptives (DH and DCSF, 2009). Sex and relationship education is taught in schools by school nurses or by school teachers, but we are limited in some independent and religious schools by what we can teach the children. This would hinder and impede upon school nurses following the guidelines which the Strategy would like us to follow, as in some schools we have to negotiate with the head teachers what they will allow us to teach the pupils. For instance, in Catholic secondary schools if the pupils are taught sex and relationship education, it is limited to purity, abstinence and waiting till the students are married before having a sexual relationship (Catholic Education, 2012). Childhood obesity is defined as weight gained to a significant amount which can affect the childs health (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2003). The Strategy tried to put in place guidelines to help combat obesity in young people, but the government admitted that they were struggling to find effective ways to tackle the obesity in young people (DH and DCSF, 2009). The Strategy was not precise or adequate with beneficial and practical guidelines to encourage healthy eating in young people (DH and DCSF, 2009). Campaigns such as Change 4 Life were introduced in the same year as the Strategy, with the goal of targeting the whole family into eating healthier and exercising, and nothing directed just for young people (DH, 2009). The Change 4 Life was effective to a certain extent, as it gave school nurses a worthwhile tool to go into schools and work with young children. Posters and leaflets were given to schools to promote the Change 4 life campaign; but as for teenagers they found it unrelatable. In addition to the Olympics being held in London, the follow on campaign is Games 4 life (DH, 2011). This was designed at encouraging families to take an active part in the games instead of just watching it all on the television set in their homes (DH, 2011). Games 4 life misses out on the opportunity of targeting young people to get them involved with the Olympics where they could have schools competing against each other. Our experts are examining the Governments NHS reforms in detail and highlighting aspects of the legislation that merit greater scrutiny Right Hon Stephen Dorrell MP, Health Select Committee (2011). IMPACT The announcement of the NHS reforms by the current Government will have a thought-provoking impact on patients care and the roles which health professionals presently hold. For instance, additional audits will be put in place and this can be questioned about the effectiveness of these audits, as it may perhaps mean more time being spent on completing these audits which would mean less time focusing on service users (Ham et al, 2011). An adverse effect from the NHS reforms was the abolishment of the student education maintenance allowance scheme. (EMA) Young people in low income families relied on the EMA for funds for their books, and in some cases their travel expenses to college (British Youth Council, 2012). The distribution of the EMA bursary is now controlled by schools, training providers and colleges; young people feel that it is biased as they see it as another way for the Government to control their education when the young people should be making more decisions for themselves (British Youth Council, 2012). The NHS reforms will give 80% of the health budget to general practitioners to control and decide where they think health financial resources should be spent (DH, 2011). CONCLUSION The Strategy has a positive and negative influence on my practice as a school nurse. There are a number of areas for improvement which has been highlighted, such as promoting healthy eating in schools. This could happen by working more closely with school teachers but there would also need to have more resources put in place. These resources requires having a bigger budget to hire more school nurses, and also more funds to target young people to demonstrate to them, that they are not an age group which society undervalues and fails to appreciate as noted by the British Youth Council (British Youth Council, 2012). By means of additional resources, an increase in the amount school nurses could be hired and we would be able to offer a more effective service to young people and their families. The Strategy recommended various ways of promoting sex and relationship education which is working, as records demonstrate the decreasing levels of teenage pregnancies and abortions for forty years (Office for National Statistics, 2010). This is advantageous as with the reduction of teen pregnancies the Government as one of the main policy makers, can implement more policies which should continue to highlight the needs of young people to help reduce health inequalities and promote their health and wellbeing (DH and DCSF, 2009). Young people attend and are admitted to hospitals all the time. The Strategy did not give enough information on how young people would be supported if they had to attend or be admitted to hospital; this could hinder my practice as not enough research has been conducted in this area. The study conducted by Hilton and Jepson (2012), noted the importance of youth workers who could relieve some of the fears of young people and support them when and if they are admitted to hospital. More money spent towards the youth service signifies youth workers liaising and coordinating with school nurses working together to arrange schemes, work on leaflets or have an advice line for young people to contact school nurses. Presently we have a drop in clinic once a month but with more easily accessible contact services, young people would surely use the service if it was user friendly intended especially for their age group (British Youth Council, 2012). The Strategy has recommended some valid points which can be implemented into my nursing practice as a school nurse; however there are some areas which have been demonstrated that are quite difficult to apply and facilitate without further resources and manpower to improve on the service which is presently in place for young people. Improvements have been noted and I am sure they will continue to improve while we have policy makers from different parts of the society such as the British Youth Council, who will continue to make society listen to the voice of young people.