Extra Credit Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Extra Credit Assignment - Essay Example That means I have to work with an understaffed team. Also half of the staff does not have relevant job experience. Finally the remaining half of the employees has done the work in a given style for as long as 15 years; adapting to new changes may be a problem. The steps I would take during the first 90 days as manager to address these challenges First I will get the employees to agree that there is need for change. I will gather the employees to evaluate their situation, identify what the problem is and set up procedures to correct the situation. Suggested changes will be announced then implemented through my close supervision. I will make sure I don’t impose the change but rather let the employees to manage the process themselves. To do this I will organize a workshop to help gain common understanding, to chart the way forward by coming up with plans, aims, commitments and actions. I will seek through this event to inspire the staff to make relevant and real objectives. I wil l guide them to make objectives that are easy to attain. Long term objectives shall be divided and be accomplished in stages. I will come up with a guiding team which will comprise of carefully selected supervisors for departments based on their track records.   The team shall compose enough key players such that those who are left do not block any suggested plan of action. They shall be people who command respect because pronouncements of such people are taken seriously. They shall be people with proven leadership capability. These people shall need to have high level of commitment and competence. One of their immediate work shall be to build teams within the areas of their supervision. They shall take advantage of the fact that every human being has a nature of joining a group. The teams they create will have to beware that they are teams that are born to compliment the efforts of each other and not competitors. If they try to compete then we shall have a â€Å"win lose† situation whereby one group can try to outdo the other using methods that make your opponent to go down so that you appear on top. It shall be the work of these team leaders to encourage informal relation among the team members in order to create a good working atmosphere and raise their morale. Each team shall handle related activities hence one plan of action shall be developed for them. This will ensure unity, focused efforts and coordinated strength. The changes to be effected must take into consideration that the time in which to realize the change is short, hence actions that will impact on short term performance will be much welcome. In our discussions, all staff shall need to identify priorities so that each one majors on the major and minors on the minor. This will eliminate incidences where an employee is fully preoccupied by a task that is less important leaving undone the most important. There is all possibility that this can happen because this centre suffers from under staffing.   Ã‚  Ã‚   To ensure smooth operations, I will make sure there is proper discipline by among other things ensuring that those who are appointed to any position of authority are properly disciplined. The juniors shall need to observe rules and regulations that they help develop. Incentives will be used to promote discipline. While identified obstacles shall be removed, achievements as well as progress shall be rewarded. I will work at avoiding constant criticisms because this way they won’

Medical Ethics Essay Example for Free

Medical Ethics Essay Medical interventions always possess two possible outcomes in every situation or case. The principle of double effect is the actual ethics that governs the conditions of alternatives. The main concept that it utilizes is the thought that persons are faced with decision that cannot be avoided and, in the circumstances, the decision will cause both desirable and undesirable effects. Considering the value ethics involved in every intervention implemented, the risk factors should always be considered. Essentially speaking, the principle of double effect involves the critical assessment of the situation considering the fact that the choices being made greatly impact a life of an individual. In an ethical controversy of maternal-fetal conditions wherein the mother is suffering from a case of complications that lead to the severe necessity of evacuating the conception product. The case possesses no other alternatives, and has greatly compromised both life conditions of the mother and the fetus. Moreover, if medical intervention is not implemented as soon as possible both lives shall be endangered severely. In some part of logical implication, some might categorize such action as direct attempt of killing; essentially since, either of the mother’s life or the fetal life needs to be sacrificed in order to save one. In such case of saving life through resuscitation, if the significant relatives or others imposed the negation of such life saving treatment for the patient provided with the considerations of higher good than evil, it is not considered anymore as actions of euthanasia nor direct killing. The medical provider is not anymore liable if incase the patient suffered from any untoward conditions that requires resuscitation, however in the end resulted to death, as it is already a directed will of the patient and the support groups. The principle of total effect protects no singular parts or single levels of life. In fact, it does even consider the whole or total person as a whole. The whole or total person is what is sacred and has rights. To promote parts or lower levels independently of the person’s totality would violate just the quality of life considerations. The medical provider should consider the treatment interventions not only for the benefit of a single part, but rather every aspect of the whole body, such as the effect of the therapy or medical intervention on other parts of the body. Psychotherapy involves the utmost obligation to facilitate the psychological health and well-being of the society. As far as medico-ethics is concerned, psychiatrists possess such responsibility of conjuring psychological health to the people. Such principle involves the concept of the divine as well as the societal requirement of psychological health linked together with the guidelines of psychotherapeutical interventions. Such principle considers man as a psychic unit and total aspect of a person as a whole. Considering the fact that man functions as a whole, psychiatric therapy should revolve in every aspect of a person not only on particularities of disease, disorder, or signs and symptoms but rather as a whole unified being. However, still in response to this perspective, the concept of the individual should still deal in the specifics and objective details of an individual. The guide protocols of this principle are the fact that man is a unified unit of the community that requires social interactions, and morality considerations over the psychological interventions. Rights to Health Care The general principle of health care greatly considers that every individual possesses the right to have unconditional, indiscriminate, and with no considerations on an individual’s society. The rights of health care, by law, divine protocols and natural necessities, should be ethically available for every individual. As for the ever conjuring issues in terms of impairment of the delivery of health care, it is both the responsibility of the patient and the health care provider to facilitate maximum health care potential. The health seeking behavior is expected for the patients requiring health care needs as their responsibility, while health care information dissemination, motivation and encouragement are the ethical duties of the health care providers. With the advent of managerial, profit-oriented and progressive modernization, the principle of the health care basic right is arguably being violated in some sense. As the fact states, at least 35 million Americans cannot afford proper health care delivery system for them due to either expensive medical insurance requirements or poverty. As for the both interacting requirement, most of the public, especially those living in or below poverty line, undeniably obtains their medical care from governmental provisions, which are not always sufficient to consider every individual’s health care needs. In fact, Medicaid insurance, which is a public insurance firm that caters mostly for the financially incapacitated individuals, is extensively and progressively increasing. However, the worst case of such Medicaid provision is that sickness status possesses a marginal requirement to consider a person a candidate for health care treatment. In such case, the health care status of these individuals worsens before they can even attain their due medical interventions. Another controversy is the rising patients of Medicare insurance, which is a public governmental firm that caters to elderly health care welfare. Due to the increasing number of those that cannot afford geriatric care necessities, the last option for these elders is to obtain the care that the government hospitals provide. However, there are cases wherein these elderly incapacitated individuals are being eagerly discharged by the hospital. Adding on to the situation is the increasing profit-oriented hospital firms, which perceives delivery of care as business-money-earning sources. Such condition is beginning to coincide and dominate the health care market, which if not regulated, may even caused further decline of health care obtainment by the public due to financial incongruencies. Considering that the incidence of poverty in the public is increasing, incapabilities of health care insurance to support the appropriate and adequate requirements of their beneficiaries, and the increasing incidence of profit oriented hospitals, greatly contributes to the health care scarcity and health care status of the society. Essentially speaking, such condition possesses the possibility of aggravating the morbidity and mortality ratings in the society. Such case is considered indeed as violations of the ethical principle of right of health care. On the contrary, such protocols are necessary in order to keep the hospital and medical insurance organizations surviving. Although, the evident consequence of such scenario is the increasing individuals suffering from health care impairments. As far as the ethical principle, rights of health care, is concerned, such occurring scenario violates the fundamental ethics of health care. Suffering Even with subjective evidences or manifestations, the concept of suffering seems central for the most fundamental concerns of bioethics. Suffering is in part constituted by the experience of a profound evil, as the Old Testament denotes, or threat to our sense of self and identity that we are unable to control. IT is the experience of the inexplicably arbitrary and typically destructive. Suffering is not of course an end of religious experience but a problem demanding interpretation. Religions traditions have historically tried to give meaning to suffering by placing the experience in a context of broader questions about ultimate purpose in life, and even human destiny beyond life. Suffering is knowledge of evil but is not evil in itself. Frequently its existence serves as a helpful spiritual or physical warning that something is amiss. Physical pain is often first sign of a serious illness; it informs us that something has gone wrong and that we need medical assistance. Of course, sometimes we become aware of evil but are unable to do anything about the situation. The evil is not in our knowledge of a certain state of affairs but in the state of affairs themselves. While we experience our knowledge of these evils as suffering, the knowledge itself remains a basic good. As salvation denotes liberation from evil, Christ liberates man from sin by means of His cross, that is, by means of suffering. The work of salvation is a labor of suffering. Every person is called to participate personally in that suffering through which our redemption has been accomplished and through which all suffering was redeemed. Suffering, symbolizes by the Cross, is the one universal door through which all must pass to enter the kingdom of God. While on the human level suffering is an â€Å"emptying,† on the divine level it is a glorifying or a â€Å"filling up† and an invitation to manifest the moral greatness of man. The glory of suffering cannot be seen in the martyrs, but also in those who, while not believing in Christ, suffer and give their lives for the truth. As for a Christian perspective, suffering is an opportunity for everyone to experience the power of God and share in the work of redemption. In the midst of each individual’s suffering, Christ is present to share that person’s suffering-just as He invites each of us to share His sufferings. This inter-participation of suffering unites our sufferings and Christ’s sufferings, as well as uniting us with Christ personally. In terms of the medical ethics application, suffering is for both patient and the health care provider to share; however, one must not join each one and extend the same negative feelings but rather, facilitate as the motivator and alleviator of sufferings. The greatest part of relieving the patient from the occurring suffering is on the part of the health care provider, as they are the ones who are responsible for the alleviation of such condition. The suffering of undergoing the case of alleviation and the suffering of alleviating the patient itself are the two considered faces of suffering, which has to be considered in every ethical case action. In is indeed necessary to think that the difficulties imposed by the situation is carried by both interacting parties and not one alone.

Blood Pressure And Pulse Lab Physical Education Essay

Blood Pressure And Pulse Lab Physical Education Essay The purpose of the blood pressure and pulse lab was to test many variables which could have an effect on blood pressure and pulse. The variable tested in this lab was the, Effects of Changes in Posture, the Effects of Exercise, and the Effects of Cognitive Stress on Mean Arterial Pressure and Heart Rate. Background: Blood is an essential factor for all living organisms. Blood is an important fluid within our bodies which delivers oxygen, nutrients and essential substances, to cells throughout the body. Blood also has the function of transporting various wastes materials / products, such as carbon dioxide, from various body cells through the respiratory and excretory organs. The activities performed in the blood pressure and pulse lab examined the rate at which blood flows throughout the body, and which factors would either increase or decrease the blood pressure, being the pressure of the blood within the circulatory system, and pulse pressure. Blood flow and blood pressure is determined by two distinct factors. These factors are the force needed to push the blood through the blood vessel and the amount of resistance of blood flow through the blood vessel. The average normal blood pressure in a healthy individual should be around 120/80 BP, but it is stressed that the blood pressure should remai n a little lower than this pressure. The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system plays an important role in blood pressure and heart rate. The sympathetic nervous system through the Cardio acceleratory center increases heart rate in fight or flight situations. While the parasympathetic nervous system uses the cardio inhibitory center to decrease the heart rate. The mechanical events of the cardiac cycle are the sequences of events which take place in order for the heart to work properly. In the cardiac cycle there are two distinct phases. These two phases are the diastole phase and the systole phase. In the medical field the diastolic pressure and the systolic pressure are measured with the use of a stethoscope and Sphygmomanometer. The measure of pulse pressure refers to the difference between the systolic number (Top) and the diastolic number (Bottom). The normal blood pressure of a healthy individual is 120/80 BP; in this instance, the pulse pressure would equal 40mmHg (120 80 = 40mmHg). Blood pressure is constantly fluctuating; because of this doctors need to take an average blood pressure to adequately check for any complications in their parents. The average blood pressure is called the mean arterial pressure (MAP). To begin to calculated the mean arterial pressure one must first start by calculating the pulse pressure (PP). The Puls e pressure can be calculated by taking the difference between the systolic pressure (SP) and the diastolic pressure (DP); (PP = SP DP).Using the Pulse pressure the mean arterial pressure can be calculated. The mean arterial pressure is equal to a third of the pulse pressure plus the diastolic pressure (MAP = DP + (PP*1/3) ). The basic mechanical events of the cardiac cycle can be deduced into four phases. Phase one in the cardiac cycle is referred to as the First Diastole Phase. During the first diastole phase, the atria and ventricles within the heart are fully relaxed, as the Atrioventricular valves remain open. This allows De-oxygenated blood to flow to the right atrium, from both the superior and inferior vena cavae. The rate in which blood flows back into the heart is given the term Venous Return (De-oxygenated blood). The muscles incorporated in exercise require a lot of oxygen in order to perform their function, as a result there would be an increase in venous return. Blood within the right atrium is emptied into the right ventricle though the Atrioventricular or Tricuspid valve. At the end of diastole (the loading or filling phase), the amount of blood accumulated in the right or left is referred to as the end-diastolic volume (EDV). The second phase of the cardiac cycle is referred to as the first systolic phase. During this phase the right ventricle receives incoming electrical signals from the purkinje fibers, which are the fibered branches which extend from the Atrioventricular bundle, in the intraventricular sulcus of the heart, and are dispersed from the apex of the heart. The purkinje fibers signal the ventricles to contract, which closes the Atrioventricular valves and forces the semilunar valves to open, pushing de-oxygenated blood into the pulmonary arteries. The pulmonary arteries function is to prevent the flow of blood back into the right ventricle. All of the blood is never fully ejected from the ventricles after systole. The amount of blood which remains in the ventricle at the end systole is known as end-systolic volume (ESV). The end-diastolic volume and the end-systolic help to calculate the stroke volume (SV) which is the volume of blood ejected from one ventricle during each beat. The stroke v olume can be calculated by taking the difference between end-diastolic volume and end-systolic volume, (SV = EDV ESV). The stroke volume can also be used to calculate the cardiac output, or the rate at which blood is ejected from the heart, (CO = HR x SV). In the second diastolic phase, the semilunar valves are closed and the Atrioventricular valves are opened, as a result oxygenated blood within the pulmonary veins and beings to fill within the left atrium. At the same time, blood from both vena cavae fills within the right atrium. The mitral valve closes preventing any oxygenated blood from flowing back within the left atrium. In the second systolic phase, Atrioventricular valves close and semilunar valves open. Similar to the first systolic phase, Purkinje fibers send messages to the ventricles signaling them to contract, in which oxygenated blood is pumped into the aorta. The aortic semilunar valve prevents any oxygenated blood from pumping directly back into the left ventricle. Hypothesis: Posture Changes Reclining for 3 minutes It is expected that arterial pressure and pulse rate would most likely decrease; when someone is resting the body is controlled by the parasympathetic system which uses the cardio inhibitory center to decrease heart rate. Standing up quickly after reclining for 3 minutes It is expected that arterial pressure and pulse rate will increase, when the subject is in the standing position versus when they are laying down their blood has to overcome gravity and the heart has to work harder to produce the force necessary to push blood to the upper limbs. Standing at attention for 3 minutes It is expected that arterial pressure will decrease compare to standing up quickly after reclining for 3 minutes, because 3 minutes is a long enough period for the body to adjust to the effects of gravity and to assess the force needed to pump blood to the upper extremities. It is hypothesized that the standing at attention for 3 minutes data will be an intermediate between the reclining test and the standing up quickly after reclining test. Exercise Immediately after exercising it is expected that arterial pressure and pulse pressure will increase, because muscles involved in the exercise demand more oxygen which will increase the amount of venous return and increase the heart rate and pulse pressure. One, Two, and Three, minutes post exercise It is expected that arterial and pulse pressure will decrease compared to immediate testing after exercise. As the individual begins to rest after strenuous exercise the body begins to incorporate the parasympathetic nervous system and through the cardio inhibitor center, it begins to decrease the heart rate. Cognitive Stress It is expected that cognitive stress will increase the blood pressure slightly, because stress is believed to trigger the sympathetic nervous to increase the heart rate. Procedure For Procedures, Refer to Lab 6, Activity 2, in the Anatomy and Physiology Lab Manual Data Results: Lab Activities Data Tables Proper use of the Sphygmomanometer: Subject: Brianna Burton Systolic Pressure Diastolic Pressure Pulse Pressure MAP Trial 1 110mmHg 70mmHg 80mmHg 83.33 mmHg We were told by the instructor there was no need to perform a trial 2 Effect of Postural Changes Subject: Same as above Blood Pressure Pulse Rate MAP Sitting Quietly (Baseline) 110/70 mmHg 80 BPM 83.33 mmHg Reclining (After 2-3 minutes) 110/70 mmHg 76 BPM 83.33 mmHg Immediately Upon Standing 118/78 mmHg 92 BPM 91.33 mmHg After Standing for 3 Minutes 112/72 mmHg 85 BPM 85.33 mmHg Exercise Subject: (Well-Conditioned) Aaron Banks Fitness Index: 50 Subject: (Poorly-Conditioned) Justin Kim Fitness Index: 44 Baseline Immediately 1 Minute 2 Minutes 3 Minutes 4 minutes 5 Minutes Well-Conditioned Subject BP: 130/80 mmHg BP: 132/80 mmHg BP: 128/70 mmHg BP: 120/78 mmHg BP: 110/68 mmHg BP: 110/72 mmHg BP:108/72 mmHg HR: 90 BPM HR: 101 BPM HR: 103 BPM HR: 100 BPM HR: 98 BPM HR: 98 BPM HR: 87 BPM MAP: 96.67 mmHg MAP: 97.33 mmHg MAP: 89.33 mmHg MAP: 92 mmHg MAP:86.67 mmHg MAP: 84 mmHg MAP: 84 mmHg Poorly-Conditioned Subject BP: 122/98 mmHg BP: 128/90 mmHg BP: 138/86 mmHg BP: 120/82 mmHg BP: 122/90 mmHg BP: 122/90 mmHg BP:118/96 mmHg HR: 82 BPM HR: 120 BPM HR: 119 BPM HR: 111 BPM HR: 110 BPM HR: 110 BPM HR: 108 BPM MAP: 106 mmHg MAP: 102.67 mmHg MAP: 103.33 mmHg MAP: 94.67 mmHg MAP: 106.67 mmHg MAP: 100.67 mmHg MAP: 103.33 mmHg Cognitive Stressor Subject: Nika Condition Max HR Min HR Mean HR Systolic BP Diastolic BP Pulse Pressure MAP Baseline 1 100 BPM 82 BPM 89 BPM 134 mmHg 91 mmHg 43 mmHg 105.3 mmHg Spell Forward 96 BPM 83 BPM 91 BPM 108 mmHg 88 mmHg 20 mmHg 94.7 mmHg Spell Back 112 BPM 84 BPM 92 BPM 111 mmHg 89 mmHg 29 mmHg 96.3 mmHg Number of misspelled words forward = 1 Number of misspelled words backward = 3 Discussion: The purpose of the blood pressure and pulse lab was to test many variables which could have an effect on blood pressure and pulse. The variables tested in this lab were the, Effects of Changes in Posture, the Effects of Exercise, and the Effects of Cognitive Stress on Mean Arterial Pressure and Heart Rate. In activities the variable being tested is the Effects of Changes in Posture. For the baseline the subject, in this case Brianna, sat quietly as her baseline blood pressure, pulse rate, was tested, and her mean arterial pressure (MAP) was calculated. The results for Briannas blood pressure was 110/70 mmHg, which is about the average blood pressure (120/70 mmHg) in a healthy individual. Her Pulse pressure was 80 beats per minute (BPM). Given these values her baseline MAP, was calculated to be 83.33 mmHg (MAP = 70 + ((110 70))*1/3) ). In the next test, the effect of reclining for 2-3 minutes was tested. In this test, after reclining for 2-3 minutes, her blood pressure, and MAP remained the same as the Baseline test. It was observed that her pulse rate did in fact decrease: (80 > 76 BPM), though it is not known if this decrease in the pulse rate is significant enough. In the hypothesis above it was expected that arterial pressure and pulse rate would most likely decrease when someone i s resting because parasympathetic nervous system would begin to signal the body to relax affecting the cardiac centers (CAC deactivated CIC activated). The activation of the cardio inhibitory center decreases the heart rate and pulse pressure. For the next test the Effect of standing quickly after 3 minutes of reclining was tested. Immediately after standing up, her Blood pressure, Pulse rate and MAP was determined. Her blood pressure was 118/78 mmHg, her Pulse Rate was 92 BPM and her MAP was 91.33 mmHg. The MAP was calculated by using the formula: (91.33 mmHg = 78 + ((118-78))*1/3)). During this test Briannas Blood pressure, Pulse Rate and MAP significantly increased, ((BP: 110/70 >> 118/78 mmHg) (PR: 80 >> 92 BPM) (MAP: 83.33 >> 91.33 mmHg) as expected in the hypothesis. In the hypothesis it was expected that arterial pressure and pulse rate would increase, when the subject is in the standing position versus when they are lying down. When Brianna quickly stood up her heart had to overcome the effects of gravity; the heart has to work harder to produce the force needed to effectively push blood to the upper limbs and the head. Also immediately standing activates the sympathetic nervous system, which activates the CAC incr easing heart rate. This hypothesis is accepted, based on her data the blood pressure, pulse rate and MAP did in fact increase when she stood up. Next we tested the Effects after standing for 3 minutes. After standing for 3 minutes Briannas blood pressure was 112/72 mmHg and her pulse rate was 85 BPM. Given these values her MAP for this test was calculated to be 85.33 mmHg (MAP = 72 + (112-72)*1/3). In the hypothesis it is expected that the arterial pressure would have decreased compared to the standing up quickly after reclining for 3 minutes test. It was hypothesized that arterial pressure would decrease because 3 minutes is a long enough period from the body to properly adjust to the effects of gravity and to assess the force needed to pump blood to the upper extremities. As stated in the hypothesis the blood pressure, pulse rate and MAP did in fact decrease based on the standing for 3 minutes test, because of this, the hypothesis can be accepted (BP: 110/70 >> 112/72 mmHg) (PR: 80 >> 85)) (MAP: 83.33 mmHg >> 85.33) In the next test, we tested the effects of exercise on the Body, comparing a well-conditioned person and a poor-conditioned person. For the first test a well-conditioned person was chosen. The baseline BP for this individual was around 132/80 mmHg. Immediately after exercise the blood pressure was 132/80 mmHg. This shows that there was an increase of blood pressure dependent on the effects of exercise. In the hypothesis it is expected that arterial pressure and pulse pressure will, increase, because muscles involved in the exercise also increase the venous return which will increase heart rate. For this test as hypothesized the Heart rate also increased (90 >> 101 BPM). After 5 minutes of resting the blood pressure and Heart of the subject decreased lower than the baseline, indicating some level of human error in reading the equipment effectively. Despite this, it is found that the blood pressure and pulse rate at 5 minutes was significantly lower from the baseline in the well-condit ioned person vs. the poor conditioned person. In the poor conditioned person. Their baseline blood pressure was 122/98 mmHg and after exercising for 5 minutes it was 128/90 mmHg. After 5 minutes the poor conditioned persons blood pressure was 118/96 mmHg. Again in this experiment its hard to compare the two subjects because there seems to be some human errors in effectively checking the blood pressure since it is lower than the baseline. After 5 minutes the well-conditioned persons systolic pressure dropped from 128>>108 SP despite the diastolic pressure increasing from 70 >> 72 mmHg DP. The fitness index to the well-conditioned person was 50 and 44 for the poor conditioned person. Based on the fitness index both subjects display the poorest physical conditioning possible. For the final test the effects of cognitive stress was tested. Based on this experiments results it is difficult to determine whether or not cognitive stress had any effect on the blood pressure. It was hypothesized that cognitive stress would increase heart rate because stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, which increases the heart rate. There seems to be no correlation between cognitive stress and heart rate, so the hypothesis is rejected.

The Strength of a Single Parent Shown in The Scarlet Letter Essay

What is a single parent? Is it one who destroys their child’s life? Is it one who ultimately cannot raise a minor on their own? Or is it one who dedicates their lives to the well being of their kid? Imagine a parent, and for whatever reason they were left alone to raise a child. That parent you imagined has to work long hours just to put a meal on the table. That parent has to play the role of the mother and father. That parent has no financial support. Unfortunately, in our society, this image of a single parent is looked down upon. There are people that don’t realize how much a single parent goes through to give their child a better life. When it comes to the controversial issue of parenting, I believe that a single parent has the ability to raise a child just as effectively as two parents can. The reasons why are because the minor can learn life lessons that can only be acquired with a single parent, the single guardian can be the best choice for the young one, and a single parent has the ability to put all their attention and care to the son or daughter. Although some readers may object that it is impossible for a single parent to take care of a child than two parents, I would answer that it is not impossible. In The Scarlet Letter, a woman named Hester and her baby daughter Pearl were ostracized from society; and the young mother was left alone to take care of her daughter. Ultimately, my goal is to demonstrate that a child with a single parent can be raised properly by using the example of Hester and Pearl. By being with Hester, Pearl got to experience a different manner in life which enabled her to see an outside perspective of Puritan life and learn moral lessons from it. Pearl was not born into the typica... ...† (271). Hester had effectively raised a youngster to become something that was not expected. Despite being shunned upon on, Hester found a way to positively show Pearl moral lessons with the scarlet letter. Even when the townspeople wanted to take Pearl away from her mother, they were not triumphant to do so. The mother’s life was solely about Pearl; to keep her protected, warm, fed, clothed and loved. My conclusion, which is that based on the success of Pearl’s life, is that a single mother can raise a child. A single parent has the capability to nurture and love a son or daughter just as two parents can. A single parent sometimes is the best choice of who the minor can be with. A single parent may have challenges, but they can overcome them just to keep the child they love alive and well. Is it time now to realize what a single parent can truly accomplish?

Night World : Witchlight Chapter 16

We were so careful, she thought, setting up wards three days early and having agents watch the house. Nothing got inside during those three days; we were sure of that, and so we thought we were safe. But we didn't stop to think-what if the dragon was already inside when we put the wards up? Brett. He's the dragon. It could take on any shape, assume any animal's form, and know all that the animal knew. A human being was an animal. So why couldn't it touch a human and know all the human knew? It would be the perfect disguise. And we all fell for it, Keller thought. I knew there was something creepy about him, but I just put it down to him being obnoxious. And he's been here all the time, inside the wards, laughing at us, waiting for Iliana to come. And Iliana's with him right now. Keller felt sure of that in her gut. She wanted to throw herself against the door again, but that wouldn't do any good. She needed to be calm now, to think, because she couldn't afford to waste any time. The window. Keller tried to open it, looking down at a hedge of rhododendron bushes below. The sash was stuck, nailed fast. But it didn't matter. Glass was more breakable than wood. She stepped back and changed. Melting, flowing, jumpsuit becoming fur. Tail shooting free. Ears. Whiskers. Heavy paws thumping down. A single long stretch to get used to the new body and being on four feet instead of two. She was a panther, and she felt good. Strong and mean. Her muscles were like steel under her soft coat, and her big paws were twitching to bat someone silly. That dragon would be sorry he'd ever messed with her. With a rasping yowl that she couldn't help, she gathered herself and sprang straight at the window. The full weight of her panther body hit the glass, and it shattered, and then she was flying in the cold night air. She got cut. Panthers actually had thin and delicate skin compared to other animals. But she was indifferent to the pain. She landed and took off running, shaking her paws in flight to get rid of little bits of glass. She raced around the mansion, looking for a place to enter. Eventually, she found a low, unshuttered window, and once again, she gathered herself and jumped. She landed in a sitting room with glass falling all around her onto a fine, old carpet Brett. And Iliana. She would smell them out. She lifted her muzzle, smelling currents in the air. At the same time, she expanded her sense of hearing to its fullest. No Iliana. She couldn't get even a whiff of her. That was bad, but she would try again from the game room, where Iliana had been last. That was where she was going anyway, because that was where Brett was. Not Brett, she reminded herself as she loped through corridors and rooms. The dragon. She raced through the ballroom and heard a scream. She barely turned her head to notice a girl standing frozen, just lifting her hand to point. The college band crashed to a halt, almost as one, except the drummer, who went on playing for a moment with his eyes shut. Keller ignored them all, running at top speed and leaping down the stairs, her heavy front paws hitting the carpeted floor first, then her back paws hitting almost on either side of them. Each spring propelled her into the next. She burst into the game room. For an instant, she stood still, taking in the scene. She wanted to make sure with her eyes that what her ears and her nose told her was true: Iliana wasn't here. It was true. Winnie was missing, too, and Keller couldn't smell them anywhere. Then someone spotted her, a full-grown panther, jet black, with glowing eyes and long teeth just showing as she panted gently, standing in the doorway with her tail lashing. â€Å"Oh, my God!† The voice soared over the babble. â€Å"Look at that!† Everyone looked. Everyone froze for an instant. Chaos erupted. Girls were screaming. Boys were yelling. Plenty of boys were screaming, too. They saw her, and they fell over themselves, diving for the exits or for hiding places. They poured out of the room, dragging each other, sometimes trampling each other. Keller gave a loud, snarling yowl to help them on, and they scattered like chickens. The only one Keller cared about was the Brett-dragon. He turned and ran down a corridor. Luring her? He must be. Maybe he didn't realize she had found out yet Maybe he had some reason for continuing the charade. She threw her head back and gave a snarl that resounded through the house. It wasn't just anger. It was calling Nissa and Galen. If they could hear her, they would understand and come running. Then she took off after the dragon. As she loped down the corridor, she changed again. This time, she couldn't just try to kill him; she needed to be able to talk. But she also needed her claws, so she changed to her half-and-half form, fur shriveling off her arms, body rearing up to run on booted feet, hair flying out behind her. The dragon was almost at the end of the corridor when she jumped him. She knocked him down and rolled him over, straddling him. She was braced to feel the agony of the dark power crackling through her, but it didn't come. She pinned his arms and showed her teeth and screamed in his face. â€Å"Where is she? What did you do with her?† The face looked back at her. It looked just like Brett, just like a human. It was sickly white, with rolling eyeballs and spittle at the corners of the mouth. The only answer she got was a moan of what sounded like terror. â€Å"Tell me! Where is she?† â€Å"-it's not my fault†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What?† She lifted his body and banged it down again. His head flopped on his neck like a dead fish. He looked like someone about to faint Something was wrong. â€Å"She's in the bedroom with my parents. They're all asleep-or something-â€Å" His forehead. When she shook him, his hair flew around. It was uncharacteristically messy, but the forehead underneath was smooth. â€Å"I couldn't help it He did something to my brain. I couldn't even think until a few minutes ago. I just did what he told me to do. I was like a robot! And you don't know what it was like, having him in the house the last three days, and feeling like a puppet, and when he let go a few minutes ago, I thought I was going to be killed-â€Å" The babbling went on, but Keller's mind had disengaged. She had lots of thoughts all at once, like layers in a parfait. Chalk up another ability for dragons: telepathic mind control. Of weak human subjects, anyway. Nissa was right* the Night World did know what had happened in the music room. The substitution was probably made right after that. They could have grabbed Jaime on her way back to class. The car incident was designed to make us sympathetic and to lull our suspicions before they began. We thought of her as a victim. The doctors at the hospital must have been controlled, too. They had to have been-they'd looked at Jaime's head. Jaime's headaches have kept her at home for the past three days, so she never had to cross the wards. Diana trusts Jaime implicitly and would go anywhere with her without a fight Jaime wears bangs. And on the last layer, rushing at her cold and sharp as crystal: Jaime is the dragon. Jaime is the dragon. A vast, silent calm seemed to have filled Keller. She felt as if there was too much space inside her head. Very slowly, she looked down at Brett again. â€Å"Stop talking.† It was almost a whisper, but his gabble stopped as if she'd turned off a faucet â€Å"Now. Who's in the bedroom with your parents? Your sister?† He nodded, terrified. Tears spurted out of his eyes. â€Å"Your real sister.† He nodded again. They must have brought her in sometime, Keller thought. Certainly before we put the wards up and started checking cars, maybe even before the fake Jaime got back from the hospital. Why they'd kept her alive was a mystery, but Keller didn't have time to worry about it â€Å"Brett,† she said, still in a careful whisper, â€Å"what I want to know is where Iliana is. Do you know where she's been taken?† He choked. ‘1 don't know. He didn't tell me anything, even when he was in my mind. But I noticed-4here were some people down in the cellar. I think they were making a tunnel.† A tunnel. Under the wards, of course. So we were made fools of twice. She had to grit her teeth to keep from screaming. The floor plan of the house was a blur in her mind. She hauled Brett up by his shirt and said, â€Å"Where's the basement door? Show me!† Ic-can't-â€Å" â€Å"Move!† He moved, staggering. She followed, pushing him along, until they got to a door and stairs. Then he collapsed. â€Å"Down there. Don't ask me to go with you. I can't. I can't look at him again.† He huddled, rocking himself. Keller left him. Three stairs down, she bounded back up and grabbed him by the shirt. â€Å"That phone call from Iliana's mother-does he really have the baby?† She need to know if it came to bargaining. â€Å"I don't know,† Brett moaned in a sick voice. He was clutching his stomach as if he were wounded. â€Å"There wasn't any phone call, but I don't know what he's been doing.† He threw her a desperate look and whispered hoarsely, â€Å"What is he?† Keller dropped him. â€Å"You don't want to know,† she said, and left him again. She took the stairs very quietly but very quickly. Her senses were open, but the farther she went down, the less useful they were. They were being swamped by an overpowering sickly-sweet odor and by a rushing sound that seemed to fill her head. By the time she got to the last step, her fur was bristling, and her heart was pounding. Her tail stood out stiffly, and her pupils were wide. It was very dark, but details of the room slowly came into focus. It was a large furnished basement, or had been. Now every piece of furniture seemed to be broken and piled in a heap in the corner. There was a raw hole in one concrete wall, a hole that opened into a black tunnel. And the sickly-sweet smell came from piles of dung. They were lying on the floor all around, along with giant scratch marks that had dug grooves into the tile. The entire place looked like nothing so much as a huge animal's den. She couldn't sense anything alive in the room. Keller moved toward the tunnel, fast but stealthy. Ripple, freeze. Ripple, freeze. Leopards could move this way across grassland bare of cover and not be seen. But nothing jumped out to attack her. The mouth of the tunnel was wet, the soil crumbly. Keller climbed in, still moving lightly. Water dripped from the mat of roots and earth above her. The whole thing looked ready to cave in at any moment. He must have made it The dragon. Goddess knows how; maybe with claws. Anyway, he wasn't too fussy about it; it was meant to be a temporary thing. The smell was just as powerful here, and the rushing sound was even clearer. There must be an underground stream-or maybe just water pipes- very close. Come on, girl, what are you waiting for? You're a grunt, it's your job to move! Don't stand around trying to think! It was hard to make herself go deeper and deeper into that damp and confining place. Her senses were all useless, even sight, because the bore twisted and turned so she could never see more than a few feet ahead. She was heading blind and deaf into she had no idea what. At any moment, she might reach a shaft or a side tunnel where something could attack her. And the feel of the earth above her was almost crushing. She kept going. Please let her be alive. He doesn't need to kill her. He should try to make her join him first Please, please, don't let him have killed her. After what seemed like forever, she realized that the angle of the tunnel was changing. She was heading up. Then a current of air swirled to her, barely sniffable under the thick dragon smell, and it was fresh. Night air. Somewhere ahead. The end of the tunnel. A new panic invaded her. Please don't let them have gotten away. She threw aside all caution and sprinted. Up, up-and she could smell it clearly now. Cold air, unfouled. Up, up-and she could hear sounds. A yell that suddenly broke off. The voice sounded like- Galen! she thought, and her heart tore. Then she saw light Moonlight. She gathered her muscles and jumped. She scrambled out of the mouth of the tunnel. And there, in moonlight that hurt her eyes, she saw everything. A car, a black Jeep, parked under a tree. The engine running but the seats empty. And in front of it, what looked like a battlefield. There were bodies everywhere. Several were vampires in black-dark ninjas. But also on the ground were the bodies of Nissa and Winnie and Galen. So they followed, a distant part of Keller's mind said, not interfering in the slightest with the part that was getting ready for the fight. They followed the dragon-which must have done something to Winnie to get Iliana away from her. That was why I couldn't smell anybody; they all went into the tunnel while I was upstairs with brother Brett. She couldn't tell if they were dead. They were all tying very still, and there was blood on Winnie's head and on Nissa's right arm and back. Blood and daw marks. And Galen†¦ he was sprawled out full-length, with no signs of breathing. He wasn't even a warrior. He'd never had a chance. Then Keller saw something that drove the others out of her head. The dragon. It was standing near the Jeep, but frozen, as if it had just wheeled to face her. It was holding a limp figure in silvery-white casually, almost tucked under its arm. And it still looked like Jaime Ashton-Hughes. It was wearing Jaime's pretty blue dress. Its soft brown hair blew gently about its face, and Keller could feel its dark blue eyes fixed on her. But there were differences, too. Its skin was deadly pale, and something yellowish was oozing from a cut on its cheekbone. Its lips were drawn back from its teeth in a grinning snarl that Jaime never could have managed. And when the wind blew the soft hair off its forehead, Keller could see horns. There they were. Stubby and soft-looking-or at least soft on the outside, like downy skin over bone. They were so obviously real and yet so grotesque that Keller felt her stomach turn. And there were five of them. Five. The book said one to three! Keller thought indignantly. And in rare cases four. But this thing has five! Five seats of shapeshifting power, not to mention the black energy, mind control, and whatever else it's been keeping up its sleeve just for me. I'm dead. Well, she had known that from the beginning, of course. She'd known it six days ago when she first leaped for the dragon's back in the mall. But now the realization was more bitter, because not only was she dead, so was all hope. I can't kill that thing. It's going to slaughter me as easily as the others. And then take Iliana. It didn't matter. She had to try. â€Å"Put the girl down,† she said. She kept her half-and-half shape to say it. Maybe she could startle it by changing suddenly when she sprang. â€Å"I don't think so,† the dragon said with Jaime's mouth. It had Jaime's voice down perfectly. But then it opened the mouth, and basso profundo laughter came out, so deep and startling that Keller felt ice down her spine. â€Å"Come on,† Keller said. â€Å"Neither of us wants her hurt.† While she was talking, she was moving slowly, trying to circle behind it. But it turned with her, keeping its back to the Jeep. â€Å"You may not,† the dragon said. â€Å"But I really don't care. She's already hurt; I don't know if she'll make it anyway.† Its grin spread wider. â€Å"Put her down,† Keller said again. She knew that it wouldn't. But she wanted to keep talking, keep it off guard. She also knew it wasn't going to let her get behind it. Panthers naturally attack from behind. It wasn't going to be an option. Keller's eyes shifted to the huge and ancient pine tree the Jeep was parked under. Or they didn't actually shift, because that would have given the dragon a clue. She expanded her awareness to take it in. It was her chance. â€Å"We haven't even properly introduced ourselves-† she began. And then, in mid-sentence, she leaped.

Dangerous Liaisons Vs. Cruel Intentions Essays - Free Essays

Dangerous Liaisons Vs. Cruel Intentions Essays - Free Essays Dangerous Liaisons Vs. Cruel Intentions It is my intention to compare the book, Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos, to its modern movie version, Cruel Intentions starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. I intend to examine how the original French text was modified in reference to plot, character, morals/values, and themes. I also plan to discuss how these transformations change the meaning of the story and reflect different cultural/historical contexts. There are some major differences between these two works, if only because of when they were written. First, the plots of both works need to be discussed and explained how they are different. The stories of both works have basically the same structure, until it gets toward the endings. In Dangerous Liaisons, the Vicomte de Valmont dies in a sword battle between him and Danceny. Right before he dies, though, he gives Danceny all of his letters between him and the Marquise de Merteuil and tells him to circulate them in order to ruin Merteuils reputation. Danceny does this and then moves away for a while. Merteuil ends up becoming disfigured from small pox and her reputation crumbles. She moves to Holland because of this. Cecile moves back into the convent and Madame de Tourvel dies of misery because of the suffering that Valmont put her through. Because Cruel Intentions is such a modernized version of this story, the ending is a lot different. Sebastian (Valmont) dies by being hit by a car because he pushed Annette (Tourvel) out of the way in order to save her life. Obviously, this is a much more modern way of dying in a movie than dying in a sword fight. Also, it shows the Valmont character as being more heroic, which in Dangerous Liaisons, he was not quite so heroic. In the movie, it does not really say what happens to Ronald (Danceny). He fights with Sebastian, and that is the last we see of him. Catherine (Merteuil), like in the book, also has her reputation ruined, but she gets humiliated in a more dramatic way (in front of the student body and faculty). Also, there is the issue of drugs. Her addiction to cocaine is revealed. The use of drugs is a common issue in todays modern movies, and that is one of the reasons Cruel Intentions is different in terms of its cultural context. Cecile and Annette (Tourvel) worked togeth er to produce copies of Sebastians journal, which revealed Catherines true self, and they handed them out to the student body and faculty. Cecile directly gets revenge on Catherine. In Dangerous Liaisons, she does not. This also relates to cultural context. It shows how more independent women are in the modern world. In Dangerous Liaisons, Tourvel dies of misery and Cecile goes into the convent. This shows that women were much weaker and less independent in society in the late 1700s. The last scene in the movie shows Annette driving off in Sebastians expensive car. This is a typical ending to a modern story. In the book, her character dies, but in the movie, she is the vengeful, independent woman. It is apparent that the morals and values of both works change because of their cultural and historical context. Dangerous Liaisons was basically written to teach young women in society what not to do. This kind of literature was looked down upon at the time it was written. In 1824 a decree of the cour royale de Paris condemned it to be destroyed as dangerous. This verdict remained the official one throughout the later nineteenth century. The book was spoken of only to be deplored: a picture of the most odious immortality, that should never have been revealed even supposing it had been true, a work of revolting immorality, a book to be admired and execrated.(Laclos, p. 7) It was considered to be an immoral book. The movie was made mainly for entertainment purposes. Since we basically live in an immoral society, it was well accepted as a good movie. Although the schemes that Catherine and Sebastian thought up and carried out were at times blown out of proportion, I think todays audience is entertained by that sort of character. Catherine and Sebastian were the kinds of people that probably do

Free Essays on Radicalism

Trace the history of Radicalism and the causes of its rise. What are its major ideas and movements? Radicalism is a rejection of liberal democracy and industrialization. Even with the fall of the Soviet Union it is still a vital force in the world. The middle class was aware of the social problems they were creating as they developed an industrial society. As a result, they had to reconcile their own affluence with the poverty of the workers. They used the theories of a number of thinkers to rationalize their ascendancy. Adam Smith sustained individual enterprise and Thomas Malthus and David Ricardo gave a rationale for economic individualism. Jeremy Bentham argued that every institution must be measured against its social utility – the greatest good for the greatest number. The fact that society was benefiting justified the change that brought the industrial world into being. There were those who disagreed with this. Radical theories began to develop in the 1840’s. Louis Blanc argued against competition and for a system of workshops governed by the workers. Pierre Proudnon proposed that the price of items be based on the amount of labor used to produce them. The ideas of Blanc and Proudnon received their clearest and most forceful expression in the works of Karl Marx and Friedrick Engels. Marx and Engels worked to produce a theory that would explain how society had come to its present state and propose a means of altering it. The theory was published by Marx in 1848 and was titled â€Å"The Communist Manifesto.† Society, he argued, was no more than a reflection of a hierarchy dictated by those who own the means of production. As history progressed, so the means have changed. Feudalism was defeated by capitalism and capitalism would be defeated by communism. The process would involve the concentration of economic power into fewer and fewer hands and the consequent opposition of an ever-increasing working class. Once the wor... Free Essays on Radicalism Free Essays on Radicalism Trace the history of Radicalism and the causes of its rise. What are its major ideas and movements? Radicalism is a rejection of liberal democracy and industrialization. Even with the fall of the Soviet Union it is still a vital force in the world. The middle class was aware of the social problems they were creating as they developed an industrial society. As a result, they had to reconcile their own affluence with the poverty of the workers. They used the theories of a number of thinkers to rationalize their ascendancy. Adam Smith sustained individual enterprise and Thomas Malthus and David Ricardo gave a rationale for economic individualism. Jeremy Bentham argued that every institution must be measured against its social utility – the greatest good for the greatest number. The fact that society was benefiting justified the change that brought the industrial world into being. There were those who disagreed with this. Radical theories began to develop in the 1840’s. Louis Blanc argued against competition and for a system of workshops governed by the workers. Pierre Proudnon proposed that the price of items be based on the amount of labor used to produce them. The ideas of Blanc and Proudnon received their clearest and most forceful expression in the works of Karl Marx and Friedrick Engels. Marx and Engels worked to produce a theory that would explain how society had come to its present state and propose a means of altering it. The theory was published by Marx in 1848 and was titled â€Å"The Communist Manifesto.† Society, he argued, was no more than a reflection of a hierarchy dictated by those who own the means of production. As history progressed, so the means have changed. Feudalism was defeated by capitalism and capitalism would be defeated by communism. The process would involve the concentration of economic power into fewer and fewer hands and the consequent opposition of an ever-increasing working class. Once the wor...

Birth Mark essays

Birth Mark essays Love is an experience that many people in todays society desire in their life for many reasons. It is something that many people hold very dear to them. Many people make significant sacrifices to receive the approval and acceptance from those that they love; Nathaniel Hawthorne proved this in The Birth-Mark. What Georgiana did to prove her love to Aylmer was a clear example of the sacrifices she would have made. Love and self-esteem issues could have been the motives for Georgiana removing the birth-mark. These motives could also be why women in todays society have similar procedures done, for similar reasons. Georgianas love for Aylmer could be why she chose to have the birthmark removed. Her love is so strong that she needs to make any sacrifices to prove her love to him. She states, Either remove this dreadful Hand, or take my wretched life! (Hawthorne 1264). This shows that she is truly in love with him and will do anything to gain his approval. Despite her own feelings of the birth-mark, she is willing to have it removed in the name of love. Women in the 21st century are not really concerned with a birth-mark because there is plastic surgery to fix that. Whether it is liposuction, breast implants or dieting, these things are often done for the purpose of gaining the love and approval of a man. Many of these sacrifices are known to be dangerous and even life threatening, but it is still something that is done. These actions can be parallel with those of Georgiana because many of these things are done with the purpose of showing a partner that the love for them is true. The last reason that Georgiana could have wanted the birth-mark removed is because of the many self-esteem issues that she had. In the quote, To tell you the truth, it has been so often called a charm, that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so (Hawthorne 1262). This quote could be ...

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Three Level Architecture - Essay Example In this section I will present some of major objectives of the three levels of the database architecture. The DBA is able to transform the structure of database, for example without altering the software program for example external schema. Every user is able to access the data as of his/her necessities. Users are sovereign of the storage issues similar to indexing limitations etc of the database. The conceptual architecture of the database has no influence because of the transform of the physical storage systems.The External LevelThe external level is one near to users. That is the one associate with the mode in which the data is observed through particular users. At the external level the DBMS outlines every user by means of a shared or particular view or representation of the data. There are numerous views of the information and data at this phase, as well as every view is an illustration of fraction of the whole database. A view permits a client access to their part of the databa se, as well as shields the remaining database from them. Every external view is described through means of an external representation, that composed of fundamentally of descriptions of all of variety of kinds of outer record discovered that external view. In external level, the diverse views can have diverse illustrations of the similar data. For instance one user can view date in the structure as day, month, year as another may analysis as year, month, day.The external level or view of DBMS is basically associated.

Socilogy of Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Socilogy of Organisation - Essay Example The term 'power' is obtained from the French term 'poeir' which implies 'being able to take action'. Power is characterised by the ability to carry out or proceed efficiently inclusive of the situational context where not to proceed is considered as most effectual. In a democratic framework, power is essentially categorised against itself, in the archetypal tripartite segmentation of power in governmental, executive and legal power, for example. In modern pluralistic democracies the distribution of power has further implication which is particularly not restricted to the dominion of formal politics. Issues of power concern to languages, communication, promotion, technologies, sciences, fashions, designs, management and varieties of other fields. Evidently, it can be concluded that 'power is everywhere' in terms of relational definition of power attributing to omnipresence, multiplication and dynamism, not restricted to the 'centres of power', as prevalent in legislative organizations and political institutions, for instance. Power is an important aspect of organizational analysis. ... r, in organizational analysis the primary emphasis is on 'power over' in which coercion put prominence on asymmetrical framework while commanding over on resources, like possession on the mode of fabrication, and consent, on the other hand, put stresses on authorities as 'gripping power' revealing a control over all the resources for and after production. There are several numbers of classifications explaining the inferences power over another - the phenomenon is defined as 'forms of power' as described by Russell (1938), subcategorised fundamentally in two headings - - Influence over individuals - Psychological types of influence (Russell, 1938). While understanding the function of an organizational structure, the fundamental methodologies employed to understand the implementation of power need to be recognized. The forms of influence, in practice, are broken down into three general subtypes - - The power of Force and coercion - The power of Inducement and group conformity - The power of Propaganda and/or practice On the other hand, the psychological influences can be subdivided into three distinctive forms such as - - Traditional - Revolutionary - Naked These subtypes can be overlapped with the forms of influences in certain given contexts, for instance, naked power can be trimmed down into coercion alone. Coercion is found to be affected by the influence of carceral power, which is essentially characterised by the experience of agents as 'imprisoned' by virtue of the use of power as a force, as described by Marx, or the attainability of the knowledge of its ability (Weber). Resistance may be overcome by the presence of compliance, which is known as subjectification as 'power through' rather than the presence of naked use of power at the form coercion, which is

Ensuring Sustainability in Infrastructure Development Assignment

Ensuring Sustainability in Infrastructure Development - Assignment Example The objective of this study is to evaluate different forms of sustainable approaches that are practiced in different components of infrastructure development. Based on the analysis undertaken a pragmatic intervention across all the infrastructure development programmes in UK could be proposed. There are different ways in which the sustainability is currently addressed. It could be in the form of energy efficient construction where materials used for construction are prepared through the processes that consume very less quantity of energy. Every material used for construction demands certain amount of energy for its manufacture. Materials like cement and steel are the examples for high energy materials being used for construction. Thus making infrastructure development process more energy efficient demands optimum use these high energy materials. With energy crisis looming large it is essential that entire construction process need to be turned energy efficient. Another approach is to substitute the conventional building materials, like aggregates, with different alternate materials. This would also result in lesser dependence on scarce natural resources and also finds an alternate use for other wise waste by product. Implementing energy conservation measures in the buildi ng and other systems through innovative means could also make the design and construction of infrastructure elements both energy and environmental friendly. Methodology The methodology followed is the detailed analysis of the available literature on the sustainable practices at different places across the world. Various innovative practices adopted could be identified and a scenario analysis is undertaken to assess their viability in UK conditions. The possible policy level interventions in the transportation planning are also carried out. Based on the results obtained s strategy for effective implementation of sustainable development initiatives for infrastructure promotion schemes are proposed. Literature Review Energy efficient construction process The important guideline for the sustainable design of the building units is given by BREEAM guidelines. BREEAM refers to the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method, which is the globally used method to improve and review the environmental performance of building (Article base, 2008). These methods could help to address the issues like high-energy use, large quantities of waste, poor comfort conditions for occupancy and very low user satisfaction by reviewing and improving the environmental performance of building. Further, these systems are also considered to have resulted in better environment indoors, high productivity, retention of staff and also attracting talented employees. The guidelines could also be followed in evolving regional transportation plan. The special emphasis given for cycle and motorways in some specific locations to ensure better mobility for masses and also to reduce pollutions is an example in this connection (Article base, 2008). A nother major intervention for energy conservation in the building is by configuring the walls with materials having appropriate thermal capacity values. In the case of walls the U value to be considered could be 0.22 Watts/m2K which could be achieved in the case of masonry walls by filling the fibre

Home Depot Financial Income Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Home Depot Financial Income Statement - Essay Example Since the main purpose of business is to generate profits from its operations, the income statement is very important since it helps to show if the organization is in a position to achieve its goals. This helps the responsible authorities to make meaningful decisions that can help to improve the operations of the organization in the event that it has been recording losses. Decisions such as scaling down the operations of business if it has been making losses can be made using its income statement. On the other hand, a business can expand its operations if it has been operating profitably over a give n accounting period. For instance, the income statement of Home Depot’s Annual Report (2008, p. 18) shows that â€Å"Net Sales for fiscal 2008 decreased 7.8% to $71.3 billion from $77.3 billion for fiscal 2007.† On the other, â€Å"Gross Profit decreased 7.7% to $24.0 billion for fiscal 2008 from $26.0 billion for fiscal 2007 while operating expenses increased 4.7% to $17.8 billion for fiscal 2008 from $17.1 billion for fiscal 2007.† These statistics point a negative picture in the operations of the company and this is the reason why a decision to close underperforming stores during the first quarter of 2008 was made. Instead of making profits, the company has been recording losses in its operations. 2. The balance sheet of the company speaks volumes about its stock. The balance sheet of the company is mainly comprised of assets, liabilities as well as equity (Investopedia, 2014). The assets show things that are of value to the company and they can be converted into cash at any given period. On the other hand liabilities show what the company owes to others while equities represent earnings contributed by shareholders. A company’s balance sheet shows if the company is able to sustain its operations through creating a fine balance between what belongs to it and what it owes to others. In actual fact, a balance sheet is very important in

The main dangers of using mergers or acquisitions as a form of market Essay

The main dangers of using mergers or acquisitions as a form of market entry - Essay Example Mergers or acquisitions may be defined as an aspect of corporate finance or strategy and management that involves buying, selling and combination of various companies.The objective of combining is to finance or assist a company that is growing to grow fast without forming another business entity. The two terms have a slight difference, on one hand, acquisition may refer to a company taking over another and establishing itself as a new owner. On the other hand, merger occurs when two companies agree to operate as one new company. As suggested by Turner and Johnson (2010), in both cases, that is merger and acquisition the outcome is that one company swallows another and operates as one. For instance in 1999, Glaxo Wellcome merged with SmithKline Beecham creating GlaxoSmithKline as a new company. Practically, equal mergers do not often happen, in most cases a company purchases another and allows it claim that it was equal merger, despite the fact of it being technically acquisition. How ever merges or acquisitions are said to have several risks when used as the entry to the market. Mergers and acquisitions have the tendency of destroying continuity of leadership in the particular company’s management. This might happen for even over a decade since the starting of the deal. Studies have shown that the targeted companies may lose about twenty percent of their executives prior the acquisition. Mergers and acquisitions in most cases create problems in the brand. ... The issue different consumer preferences may also be endangered by M&A. This occurs when upcoming company chooses to change the products. Changes may also occur in terms of price of product. One of the motives of M&A is to make the prices higher hence maximizing profits. The risk involved is that the consumer may change their attitude and fall to consume the products. This in turn endangers the growth of the company. The resulting company is faced with the risk of operation after the transaction as suggested by Segal-Horn and Faulkner (2010). For instance the personnel management may become slow because it is either new employees are incorporated or the existing ones become overloaded. The personnel department usually takes long to adapt to the changes thus proofing a slow growth in the progress of the new business. The effect on personnel therefore makes market entry not to be effective. The management of information and risks is also dangerous factor in M&A. The previous ways of tr ansferring information may seem difficulty as a result of new workers or overload. The resulting company may become exposed to many risks due to the merger whilst the method of managing them may take long to devise. The cost of risk management may also be high at the time of market entry. This is dangerous because at this time the company is still trying to cope with the current situation. According to Deresky (2003), cultural differences and barriers proof to be dangerous to M&A in market entry. For instance, the lack of knowledge about the resulting market may be a danger to the resulting company or firm. The market may respond negatively to the merger thus result to poor sales. This will cost a lot to the new company as one of the merger

Ensuring Sustainability in Infrastructure Development Assignment

Ensuring Sustainability in Infrastructure Development - Assignment Example The objective of this study is to evaluate different forms of sustainable approaches that are practiced in different components of infrastructure development. Based on the analysis undertaken a pragmatic intervention across all the infrastructure development programmes in UK could be proposed. There are different ways in which the sustainability is currently addressed. It could be in the form of energy efficient construction where materials used for construction are prepared through the processes that consume very less quantity of energy. Every material used for construction demands certain amount of energy for its manufacture. Materials like cement and steel are the examples for high energy materials being used for construction. Thus making infrastructure development process more energy efficient demands optimum use these high energy materials. With energy crisis looming large it is essential that entire construction process need to be turned energy efficient. Another approach is to substitute the conventional building materials, like aggregates, with different alternate materials. This would also result in lesser dependence on scarce natural resources and also finds an alternate use for other wise waste by product. Implementing energy conservation measures in the buildi ng and other systems through innovative means could also make the design and construction of infrastructure elements both energy and environmental friendly. Methodology The methodology followed is the detailed analysis of the available literature on the sustainable practices at different places across the world. Various innovative practices adopted could be identified and a scenario analysis is undertaken to assess their viability in UK conditions. The possible policy level interventions in the transportation planning are also carried out. Based on the results obtained s strategy for effective implementation of sustainable development initiatives for infrastructure promotion schemes are proposed. Literature Review Energy efficient construction process The important guideline for the sustainable design of the building units is given by BREEAM guidelines. BREEAM refers to the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method, which is the globally used method to improve and review the environmental performance of building (Article base, 2008). These methods could help to address the issues like high-energy use, large quantities of waste, poor comfort conditions for occupancy and very low user satisfaction by reviewing and improving the environmental performance of building. Further, these systems are also considered to have resulted in better environment indoors, high productivity, retention of staff and also attracting talented employees. The guidelines could also be followed in evolving regional transportation plan. The special emphasis given for cycle and motorways in some specific locations to ensure better mobility for masses and also to reduce pollutions is an example in this connection (Article base, 2008). A nother major intervention for energy conservation in the building is by configuring the walls with materials having appropriate thermal capacity values. In the case of walls the U value to be considered could be 0.22 Watts/m2K which could be achieved in the case of masonry walls by filling the fibre

The main dangers of using mergers or acquisitions as a form of market Essay

The main dangers of using mergers or acquisitions as a form of market entry - Essay Example Mergers or acquisitions may be defined as an aspect of corporate finance or strategy and management that involves buying, selling and combination of various companies.The objective of combining is to finance or assist a company that is growing to grow fast without forming another business entity. The two terms have a slight difference, on one hand, acquisition may refer to a company taking over another and establishing itself as a new owner. On the other hand, merger occurs when two companies agree to operate as one new company. As suggested by Turner and Johnson (2010), in both cases, that is merger and acquisition the outcome is that one company swallows another and operates as one. For instance in 1999, Glaxo Wellcome merged with SmithKline Beecham creating GlaxoSmithKline as a new company. Practically, equal mergers do not often happen, in most cases a company purchases another and allows it claim that it was equal merger, despite the fact of it being technically acquisition. How ever merges or acquisitions are said to have several risks when used as the entry to the market. Mergers and acquisitions have the tendency of destroying continuity of leadership in the particular company’s management. This might happen for even over a decade since the starting of the deal. Studies have shown that the targeted companies may lose about twenty percent of their executives prior the acquisition. Mergers and acquisitions in most cases create problems in the brand. ... The issue different consumer preferences may also be endangered by M&A. This occurs when upcoming company chooses to change the products. Changes may also occur in terms of price of product. One of the motives of M&A is to make the prices higher hence maximizing profits. The risk involved is that the consumer may change their attitude and fall to consume the products. This in turn endangers the growth of the company. The resulting company is faced with the risk of operation after the transaction as suggested by Segal-Horn and Faulkner (2010). For instance the personnel management may become slow because it is either new employees are incorporated or the existing ones become overloaded. The personnel department usually takes long to adapt to the changes thus proofing a slow growth in the progress of the new business. The effect on personnel therefore makes market entry not to be effective. The management of information and risks is also dangerous factor in M&A. The previous ways of tr ansferring information may seem difficulty as a result of new workers or overload. The resulting company may become exposed to many risks due to the merger whilst the method of managing them may take long to devise. The cost of risk management may also be high at the time of market entry. This is dangerous because at this time the company is still trying to cope with the current situation. According to Deresky (2003), cultural differences and barriers proof to be dangerous to M&A in market entry. For instance, the lack of knowledge about the resulting market may be a danger to the resulting company or firm. The market may respond negatively to the merger thus result to poor sales. This will cost a lot to the new company as one of the merger

Sherlock Holmes Coursework Essay Example for Free

Sherlock Holmes Coursework Essay The story also used gothic language quite frequently its the vilest murder-trap on the whole of riverside. The Adventure of the Speckled Band also uses formal language a few like my dear fellow or I am all attention. It also uses old fashioned language like farintosh and alas. It uses more short gothic sentences than the The Man with the Twisted Lip like terrible fate and blue smoke curling up from the chimney It also uses long gothic sentences like the building was of grey lichen-blotched stone with a high central portion and two curled wings. Old fashioned, formal language was used in the story because it was common in those days. Gothic language was used in the story to give a dark and miserable tone. In the Stories, the weather and the settings reflect and enhance the mood of the story; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle does this by having positive weather when the crime is solved and having negative weather when the crime is being committed. He also shows a contrast in the good and bad settings. This is called pathetic fallacy. Conan Doyle uses this in The Man with the Twisted Lip quite a lot like in Dr. Watsons home. I had left my armchair and my cheery sitting-room behind me this shows us a positive view of Dr. Watsons home which is in the West End of London. On the East End Conan Doyle uses negative comments like through the gloom and black shadows this shows that the East End is a dangerous place. The opium den which is in the East End is considered to be the vilest murder trap on the whole of river side. The weather is also bad there a dull wrack drifted slowly across the sky this reflects on the place. The Cedars is a nice place which Conan Doyle has described in a positive way. A large villa which stood within its own ground and winding gravel-drive which led to the dining-room. This shows that Kent is a good, well mannered and rich place to live. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are sharing rooms in a lovely house with a clock on the mantelpiece. Dr. Roylott owns a big two-hundred year old house and a few acres of ground. They described the house as very grand. It is very old, and only one wing is now inhabited. The bedroom in this wing is on the ground floor, the sitting rooms being in the central block of building. He also keeps exotic Indian animals like a cheetah and a baboon. They also add gothic descriptions in the story like the building was of grey, lichen-blotched stone, with a high central portion and two curving wings like the claws of a crab thrown out on each side Conan Doyle also uses pathetic fallacy in the story it was a wild night. The wind was howling outside and the rain was beating and splashing against the windows. This tells us that something bad is going to happen. He also uses more complicated pathetic fallacy which is less noticeable for example it was a perfect day with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the heavens the trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out their first green shoots, and the air was filled with a pleasant smell of moist earth. This strikes Watson as strange; it also suggests that Holmes secretly knows the answer. The weather in Sherlock Holmes stories vary due to the events happening, for example, if Holmes is about to solve a mystery, the weather is sunny and warm, but if the crime is being committed, the weather is dull, stormy and rainy. Conan Doyle uses false clues in the story to mislead the readers; he also uses them to add interest to the story and to make Sherlock Holmes look cleverer than he is. Some of the false clues in The Man with the Twisted Lip are the idea of Neville St. Clair and Hugh Boone being separate characters. They are in fact the same person. The coat on the mud flat and the blood on the window sill are more false clues Mrs St Clairs eye witness account is inaccurate as it describes St. Clair as being pulled back forcibly from the window when he actually jumped away from it. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band some of the false clues were the gypsies; this was because they thought that gypsies are the people with the speckled band. The wandering gypsies, and he would give these vagabond leave to encamp upon few acres of bramble-covered land which represents the family estate. Another false clue is the animals he kept, which are the cheetah and the baboon, keeping them in the house tells us that they could have killed Julia Stoner. But there is a cheetah and a baboon. Conan Doyle uses false clues in the story to make it more interesting, he also uses it to make Sherlock Holmes seem cleverer. The ending both stories do have their similarities, in The Man with the Twisted Lip the crime is solved by Holmes washing Hugh Boones face and discovering that it is Neville St. Clair. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band it ends by Holmes beating a snake which is known as the speckled band, which made the snake turn back and bite the first person it saw, which was Dr. Roylott. Arguably they both end in a denouement, which values them similar. Even though there are a few differences in the story, they have a lot in common. In the opening of the story, they both start off with a distressed woman who needs Holmes and Watsons help. The characters do have a few differences, but overall they are quite similar, especially Sherlock Holmes. All of the women in the story except Mrs Watson are similar; they are all weak, fragile and prone to fainting, but Mrs Watson is strong wise and older. In both stories, they all use a fair amount of formal, old fashioned and gothic language. The settings are also similar, as they both use pathetic fallacy quite a lot. The clues are different as they dont base on the same idea. The endings are quite similar, in The Man with the Twisted Lip Sherlock Holmes solves the crime by cleaning Hugh Boones face and discovering that it is Neville St. Clair. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band Holmes beats a snake (the speckled band) while it was approaching Holmes, this made the snake turn back and bite the first person it saw, which was Dr. Roylott. They both end in a denouement which makes them similar. Overall, looking at my essay, I think that the Sherlock Holmes stories do have a pattern to them. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.

Effect of Communication on Practitioners and Service Users

Effect of Communication on Practitioners and Service Users Standing still enough to absorb the emotional impact of (service users) experiences is something that allows the movement hidden beneath the frozen state of psychological hypothermia to emerge in a tolerable way at the right time.† (Kohli, 2007, p. 180). This paper will address the relevance of Kohli’s statement above to the discussion on the effective communication with accompanied minors. The paper will first define the term â€Å"unaccompanied minors†. It will then provide a definition of communication, then identify and examine its main theoretical perspectives. The paper will unpack the meaning of Kholi’s quotation by advancing a discussion of the importance of timing when working with unaccompanied minors and the intricacies involved in navigating the sometimes harrowing and emotional experiences of unaccompanied minors. The paper will also examine the issue of silence and how this reflects a state of being frozen in time with unaccompanied minors and will interrogate methodologies for delving below these issues, in a timely manner while ensuring that the service feels safe revealing their often locked away emotions. All these factors will be examined in the context of how communication can impact both the practitioner and the service user and how managing each factor effectively is essential to unlocking hidden feelings, emotions and trauma from which unaccompanied minors may suffer. The paper will draw on contemporary literature to empirically ground its arguments. Both the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) defines unaccompanied as: â€Å"under 18 years of age or under a countrys legal age of majority, are separated from both parents, and are not with and being cared for by a guardian or other adult who by law or custom is responsible for them. This includes minors who are without any adult care, minors who are entirely on their own, minors who are with minor siblings but who, as a group, are unsupported by any adult responsible for them, and minors who are with informal foster families.† (United Nations: 2007) More recently, there have been a plethora of studies examining the psychosocial and day to day needs after they arrive in Western countries. Communication is said to be a difficult concept to pin down by way of definition because of its many complexities, forms and application to everything. For the purposes of this paper, the definition provided by Fiske (1990:2) that communication is â€Å"social interaction through messages†, provides a good starting point to examine the concept in relation to unaccompanied minors. Thompson (2003) contends that the social aspect of communication is vital to consider because individuals interact within a social space and the nature of this communication dictates the nature of a relationship or how that relationship develops or breaks down. Thompson (2003) navigates various theoretical model of communication by drawing on the work of other scholars. He identifies Shannon and Weaver’s 1949 definition of communication which locates 3 elements: The transmitter (person who starts communication), noise (the actual message communicated, and the receiver (the person who the message is communicated to). This definition has received ample criticism for oversimplifying a difficult concept wherein communication is not always transmitted by noise but also through silence and body language. In addressing these omissions, the semiotics model was advanced as an alternative. In this model, communication is described by Cobley (2001) as a form of semiosis which is concerned with the exchange of any messages whatsoever: from the molecular code and the immunological properties of cells all the way through to vocal sentences.† This definition introduces other aspects rather than the spoken word into the communication discourse and Miller (1973) articulates that â€Å"communication includes not only the study of spoken communication between people, but also the many kinds of unspoken communication that go on constantly when people interact.† In this respect, communication also encompasses culture, because culture determines shared norms and values, language and ultimately these norms affect how information is communicated or transmitted. Thompson (2003) draws on Pierre Bordieau’s concept of cultural capital based on the strength of power bases, to explain ho w culture and power can interact to determine how information is understood and communicated, because it informs the semantics of language and the formation of identity. The identification of language as a prominent variable in any communication discourse is inescapable because as Thompson (2003) states, language does not only reflect reality, but it also constructs reality. This fact is elucidated when certain words or actions communicate a task, or certain actions communicate joy, distress or uncertainty, as is postulated by the speech act theory. Similarly, identity is informed by cultural norms and values, and determines how individuals view themselves and how they relate to others. It is this connection between culture, identity, language and power which informs the foundations of the discussion on how practitioners can cut through the difficulties of intercultural communication barriers to assist usually traumatized unaccompanied minors. Intercultural communication skills in the social work discipline, is fraught with difficulties. Husbands (2000) maintains that the various biographical routes and stories of practitioners does interact in the social space of service users and can affect how information is communication based on how trust is fostered when communicating to service users that difference will be accepted and not judged. Kohli (2006) deftly describes the vulnerable unaccompanied child who arrives in a new country and who is reticent about divulging details to practitioners. He, alongside other scholars (Kohli and Mather: 2003; Beek and Schofield: 2004) observes that unaccompanied children often remain silent, or emotionally closed about their past. He writes that such children have usually been told over and over by others to remain quiet about themselves in order to keep safe. Kohli (2001, 2006, 2007) insists that it is imperative that social work practitioners gain skills that enable them to probe the past of unaccompanied asylum children, in order to truly understand their needs. Kohli recognizes that demands to meet targets faced by modern day practitioners, may interfere with the time they need to build trust and safely pry open the thoughts of unaccompanied minors. In light of this, the nature of their silence and the impact their experiences may have had on them must be explored, before addressing how social workers should â€Å"time† their intervention to open communication and prompt life histories from unaccompanied minors. The silence displayed by unaccompanied minors should not be immediately adjudged to be because they are hiding harmful secrets. In fact, scholars such as Finkenauer et al (2001), argues that the keeping of secrets are normal adolescence developmental characteristics. However, the literature on silences among refugee children often points to explanations of fear and the silencing effects of war on children. Psychological studies (Melzak: 1992) contend that children often bury extreme hurt, pain or loss in order to survive, some to the extent that they can forget some events or the sequence of events as a defense mechanism. The risk of acting out buried emotions in a harmful way, compels many practitioners and scholars to argue for methodologies to unlock these stories which according to Kohler’s quotation, presented at the beginning of this paper, may be in a â€Å"frozen state of psychological hypothermia†, wherein they are unable to communicate their hidden pain. Papad oupolos (2002) posits that this frozen state could be purposely imposed to assist in healing and may be necessary to allow affected children the space to reflect, make sense of and accept before being able to move on successfully. Kohli (2006) therefore views this silence as both â€Å"burdensome and protective†, and it requires a skillful practitioner to know when to encourage unaccompanied minors to open up. Krause (1997) and Rashid (1996) both warn against social workers rushing to conclusions about unaccompanied minors based on their cultural backgrounds and what is known about their country of origin. Focusing on organizational targets and not the clients needs first, may result in the practitioner missing the cultural contexts of the minors’ experiences, within specific times and risks simplifying complex information that may be transmitted without adequate reflection on the communication experience overtime. In order to determine when it is appropriate to prompt for hidden information or stories from unaccompanied minors, social workers must recognize that such children may be trying to be accepted within a new culture while suffering a loss from their own (Kohli and Mather: 2003). Therefore, social workers must be observant and reflective (Schà ¶n: 1987, 1983) to determine when a child is assimilated enough and trusting of the practitioner service user relationship to revea l any hidden stories of their past lives. Richman (1989) also reminds that many unaccompanied children are very resilient because of their experiences and they may be busy trying to figure out their next move, or how to survive within a new environment and culture, or thinking about their asylum status, than they are interested in reliving past experiences which do not in their estimation contribute to their present survival. Consequently, practitioners are encouraged to engage in â€Å"therapeutic witnessing† (Kohli and Mather: 2003) rather than feeling the need to wring past experiences from unaccompanied minors. In drawing on Blackwell and Melzak (2000), Kohli and Mather (2003: 206) states: â€Å"In essence, workers are asked not to become action orientated helpers in the face of ‘muck and bullets’, but stay still enough to bear the pain of listening to stories of great loss as they emerge at a pace manageable for the refugee.† While Kohli acknowledges that it is difficult for a practitioner to remain still and allow a â€Å"discovery by drip† process to unfold with the refugee, he maintains that it allows refugees to â€Å"exorcise their demons and ghosts in the process of self-recovery† (Kholi and Mathers: 2003). This does not diminish the level of practical support that workers should offer to refugees, in fact it is through assisting to order their lives, that they will also make sense of their past and be more willing or open to sharing information about themselves. However, if and when refugees begin to share their experiences, practitioners must be versed on skills to encourage such interaction and should also be cognizant of their own reactions and judgement which can also be communicated to the client nonverbally and affect the â€Å"drip† method of divulging information. It is to these issues which this paper now turns. Relationship based interaction between service users and practitioners remain central to the core value of social work and reflect its best practice. Holloway (2003) concurs with this view by asserting that conversations between practitioner and client dictate how the trust relationship is formed and how the worker is emboldened to assist the client. In this context, a discussion on emotional intelligence (EI) and its importance to the communication process is relevant. Morrison (2007) quotes Goleman’s 1996 definition of EI as â€Å"Being able to motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think; to empathize and to hope.† This delayed gratification is applicable to the need for social workers to allow unaccompanied minors the space to understand themselves and their new realities while making sense of their past. It requires great empa thy and being able to perceive and identifying feelings in the self and others. Morrison (2007) links emotional intelligence and successful social work as being able to be conscious of the self while establishing good communication channels with the refugee. Morrison advises that social workers must be in tuned with their own prejudices and assumptions because many vulnerable clients such as unaccompanied minors are used to reading body language and silent communication signs to determine whether they should trust individuals. Therefore practitioners must ensure that their methods of practice reinforce good communication values rather than downplay them. One of the first methodologies used by the social work practitioner is that of assessment. Assessment frameworks in the UK give little space for the exploration of histories (Morrison: 2007). Consequently, the emotions which compel youth behaviour is often not deeply understood from unaccompanied minors, especially since they may be silent and initially provide minimal normative sketches of their past. Accurate observation during assessment will take note of feelings which may hide deeper emotions and record the moments when these windows into the past were glimpsed or sensed. Much can also be gain by the observation that expression is void of emotion, as this may also be an indicator that the unaccompanied minor realize that communication certain emotions in their language may give the practitioner space to questions their past and they may be skilled at hiding such feelings in their language and tone. If information from the refugee is sparse and void of emotion, the practitioner s hould make extra effort to be reflective in practice to ensure that their own perceptions or impressions are not being transmitted to the client. Goleman et al (2002) articulates that there is a situation of dissonance when one party feels like the other is out of touch with their feelings. The Audit Commission’s 2006 report (p.66) into the treatment of unaccompanied children, demonstrates how practitioner bias can affect the level of treatment given to refugee children: â€Å"Many unaccompanied children have multiple needs because of their experiences of separation, loss and social dislocation . . . Yet in many cases they do not receive the same standard of care routinely afforded to indigenous children in need, even though their legal rights are identical.† Practitioners must therefore guard against treating unaccompanied minors as â€Å"another client†, because the literature identifies them as being particularly in tune to all forms of communication within the interaction process, and they use this as a guide on who, when and how to trust. A vital part of the assessment is the interviewing of the unaccompanied minor. Wilson and Powell (2001: 1) maintain that â€Å"a childs thinking is dependent on a number of factors including memory, conceptual development, emotional development and language formation.† They further assert that there are three aspects to remembering information: knowledge, sequencing and prioritizing. They contend that practitioners must seek to gain all three trough safe methods when interviewing and practice patience. It is important to note their guidance that a memory may not always be told in the right sequence, and be prioritized according to the present needs of the child or in the case of this paper – the unaccompanied minor. Furthermore, they remind us that a child’s memory may not be accurate, this could be deliberately so (as already explored by Kohli: 2006), and they argue that it is up to the interviewer to use a method of questioning when appropriate to maximize the accuracy of responses. The Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings (2007) document which provided information on interviewing children stated that interviewers must approach the interview with an open mind and that enquiries should not increase the distress of a child by allowing them to reluctantly relive bad experiences. Similarly, the 1998 Cleveland Inquiry Report suggests that: All interviews should be conducted by a professional with child interview training; Interview questions should be open-ended; There should be one and no more than two interviews for the purpose of assessment and it should not be too long; the interview should be paced by the child not the adult among others and it is recommended that the both the police and the social worker (if necessary) interview the child at the same time. These guidelines ensure that the interview adopts a child-centered approach. Another method that is advised with unaccompanied children is the phased interview approach. The phased interview approach is structured in three parts: the introduction and initial rapport establishment, the free narrative section and questioning section where the child is given space to communicate, alongside being questioned, and the closure of the interview. It is important to prepare children for the interview, through pre-interview contact to lessen any stress which may arise from being fearful of the process. Children should get ample time to consider whether they wish to share their stories or keep them locked away. Furthermore, the skill to actively listen is paramount to a social work practitioner as it not only assists with accurately observing, but it assures the child that what they are saying is being heard (Wilson and Powell: 2001). To assist in accuracy, the interviewer should reflect back the child’s responses to them for affirmation of clarification paying particular attention to maintaining neutral body language and tone while doing so (Thompson: 20 02). However, Wilson and Powell (2001) maintain that if a term is not familiar to the interviewer or seems like slang, the interviewer should make every effort to clarify its meaning with the child in order to maximize accuracy and assist in avoiding possibilities of intercultural communication. Bradford (1994) further posits that the interviewer has the responsibility to ensure the validity of the communication process by pursuing the statement validity analysis (SVA). The SVA checks that the testimony contains no contradictions or logical inconsistencies, the abundance of details, the accuracy of contextual evidence which may be verifiable, the ability to reproduce conversations and interactions and the presence of complicated obstacles. However, Davies (2006) warns that while this tool may be useful, it is not a accurate fix, particularly in the case of silent children who may choose to withhold traumatic information (Kohli: 2006). Wilhelmy and Bull (1999) argues that the use of drawings within interviews with child by practitioners should be encouraged where appropriate because it also provides assurance to the child that the interviewer is child centered. If this method is used, the interviewer must be very observant that this method does not make the child uneasy. While drawing may presents many opportunities to further question the child, the practitioner must as Kholi’s quotation suggests be extremely patient to unlock information and allow the interview to be paced by the child, thereby giving them space to trust the interviewing process. A child’s comfort with drawing, ay actually provide an opening to more difficult or painful areas and care should be taken to note and protect the child’s wellbeing and level of distress when painful information is disclosed. The use of role play and storytelling also offers unique methodologies to social workers to assist children in disclosing pain ful information. Outside of the interview process, Chamberlain (2007) recounts the use of storytelling by the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture to assist refugee children from war torn countries to unlock their deeply buried painful memories when they are ready. He quotes Sheila Melzack the centers consultant child and adolescent psychotherapist as saying: â€Å"Many are in a state of suspended animation because they do not know whether they will be forced to return home. We are trying to give them coping strategies to deal with all these issues. But instead of saying directly what they saw or did we deal with it through displacement. They can be extracted through stories which create safe arenas to talk about these issues.† Therefore, Chamberlain (2007) and Davis (1990) asserts that stories can be utilized as a therapeutic intervention method to assist unaccompanied children to recall incidents, not necessarily airing them, but developing coping strategies that assist in building resilience in a new environment. There are however, instances where unaccompanied children come from countries whose language differ from that of the receiving country. Gregory and Holloway (2005) maintain that language is used both to grant and restrict access to a society or organization. Chand (2005) identifies the lack of adequate interpreting and translation services within the UK social work sector. Chand’s research located many instance where the services of interpreters and translators were needed but they did not show, usually because of lack of resources, so they prioritise which cases they believe are more important such as more formal case conferences. Humphreys et al (1999) found that many interpreters left case conferences and assessment early, or that interviews or conferences may be rushed because of lack of resources. In light of the previous discussion on the need for social workers to be patient and allow unaccompanied minors to work through past recollections until they are in a space to s hare, this practice of rushing sessions to facilitate interpreters, is detrimental to the communication process between practitioner and the unaccompanied child and could discourage disclosure and engender trust issues. As was discussed earlier in the theoretical section of this paper, language is closely related to power and can be used to control and regulate discourses and effect social control, based on its ability to include or exclude. The client-practitioner relationship is one in which the practitioner asserts their professionalism and therefore must take great care that such imbalance of power is not misunderstood by the client or imposed on them to hinder effective communication (Gregory and Holloway: 2005). Unaccompanied children, who have suffered trauma are usually used to being victimized by relationships of power imbalances, and therefore the social worker must always recognize that the relationship with such individuals is aimed at building their resilience and capacity :to adjust to all or any part of their new environment. While keeping practice client focused, recent years have seen the introduction of numerous guidelines, new legislation and policy changes which require the adherence and commitment of the social work practitioner. Some critics (Young: 1999; Malin: 2000), debate that social work has become mediatory and managerial under modern day guidelines and stipulations which risk the developing of solid client-practitioner relationships and the development of trust. While Gregory and Holloway (2005) argue that the language of such guidelines can be interpreted as the social control of the social work profession which ultimately seeks to â€Å"fix† the meanings of grounded work with vulnerable clients to suit political agendas. Social workers must remain committed to the ethic of the profession and promote good social work values by ensuring that such language of control is not transferred from the managerial spheres to what Schà ¶n (1983) terms as the trenches of social work, that is, th e interpersonal communication with clients. It is this regard that social workers must be aware of the power of language in working with unaccompanied minors, and ensure that the practice language is not dominated by a controlling or power induced thrust, but recognizes the vulnerability of clients and their need to slowly build trust and thaw their emotions (Kohli: 2006, 2007). As with language, the relations between social work practitioners and other services, can directly affect relationship with unaccompanied minors and how they trust the professionalism of those who communicate to them that they care. The death of eight year-old Victoria Climbie presents an example of how the lack of effective communication between professional practitioners can result in harm, especially to children from foreign cultures. The Laming Report of 2003, an inquiry into Victoria’s death concluded that the young girl’s death could have been avoided if individual social workers, police officers, doctors and nurses who came into contact with the girl, had effectively responded to Victorias needs. The National Service Framework for Children and Young People (NSF) and the Common Assessment Framework (CAF), both strive to ensure the effective communication between service providers across sectors. Glenny (2005) states that: â€Å"a lot of inter-agency collaboration is not about collaborative activity as such, but about communicating effectively with regard to individual pieces of work , ensuring patchwork of individual effort in relation to a particular [case], made sense†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ensuring proper communication between agencies when dealing with unaccompanied minors, is therefore essential to build trust in the client-practitioner relationship (Cross:2004) and to remove any doubts the minor may have that the capillaries of power that agencies appear to be, will work for their benefit and well being and not contribute to any further victimization they may have suffered. It is therefore conclusive to say that the issue of managing effective communication is absolutely essential to successful social work practice with unaccompanied minors. The paper navigated the theoretical intricacies of the concept of communication to highlight its broad nature and how culture, language, body language and even silence are powerful communication tools tapped into by both practitioner and the unaccompanied minor in establishing boundaries of trust. One of the most evident revelations of this paper, is the need for practitioners to practice patience to allow unaccompanied minors the space to unlock their hidden stories, while providing them with support for their daily needs. Furthermore, the issue of intercultural communication difficulties that lack of interpreting and translation resources can cause in fostering best practice with accompanied minors was explored and it was identified that despite the lack of resources, unaccompanied minors are better served when th ey are not rushed for their hidden experiences. 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