Wuthering Heights Argumentative Essay Example For Students

Wuthering Heights Argumentative Essay Selfishness Emily Bronte accompanies her siblings, Charlotte, Anne, and Branwell, in a seriesof romantic writings. Emily stayed at various boarding schools but lived most of her life inher family s secluded home in Yorkshire, England. Biographers indicate that she enjoyed asolitary lifestyle in the natural beauty of the moors when not in her home. Emily Brontedevoted her life to her father because her mother s tragic death left him helpless. She andher sisters were not introduced to the idea of marriage but instead were taught that theymust be fully attentive to their father s needs. As she did not leave her house, Emily wrotepoetry and short stories to fill her time. She became passionate about her writings and sentthem to a publisher to be published. In trying to publish her book, a friendship andcorrespondence developed between Emily and an editor. Emily s infatuation with theeditor grew, but their relationship was platonic as he was a married man. She remained hismutual correspond till her early death at the age of thirty. Emily Bronte s passionate style of writing has bewildered many biographers,because they cannot imagine such writing coming from such a reserved person. We will write a custom essay on Wuthering Heights Argumentative specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now EmilyBronte incorporated into her works of Victorian writings †¦ the horror and mystery of agothic novel, the remote setting and passionate characters of a romantic novel, and thesocial criticism of a Victorian novel†¦ (Cerrito 107) She transformed her stories ofVictorian times, to ones of marvel by incorporating elements of all times. Bronte s onlynovel, Wuthering Heights, is considered one of the most powerful and original work ofVictorian literature. In Wuthering Heights, Bronte †¦demonstrated the conflict betweenelemental passions and civilized society†¦ (Cerrito 107) Wuthering Heights is acompelling work that shows the direct effect of selfishness on happiness. Selfishnessdirectly effects happiness in that an increase in selfishness leads to torment, while adecrease in it leads to happiness and peace. Fulfilling your desires at the cost of others leads to torment and a lack ofhappiness. Catherine s selfishness leads to her torment and that lack of happiness. Catherine s selfish character is depicted when she desires both Edgar and Heathcliff at thesame time. She wants Edgar for his life and Heathcliff for his soul. Catherine s seemingaltruistic motives do not lead to the happiness she seeks. Instead, she tortures herself bythe results of her own actions. Catherine s devotion to her husband clashes with her lovefor Heathcliff. Catherine s nature rests in Heathcliff, while her superficial love rests inEdgar. Her devotion to Edgar comes from the status she acquires in marrying him. Sheclaims that she married Edgar to help her true love, Heathcliff. †¦despite her nobleassertions to the contrary, she is a creature of this world after all. She will marry Edgarbecause he is rich and handsome†¦ not because she loves him. (Shapiro 153). Though sheclaims to love Heathcliff, actions speak louder than words and her marriage to Edgar hurtsHeathcliff and disturbs the two houses dramatically. Catherine does the most selfish thinga lover can do by marrying another person other than her true love for mere individualstability. †¦by marrying Edgar, Catherine betrays herself as well as Heathcliff, creating anemotional unrest which prevents her from finding contentment†¦ (Cerrito 107). Inmarrying Edgar, Catherine kids herself in thinking she can be happy. Likewise, shecontinues seeing Heathcliff, thinking she can control her happiness. Her retaining contactwith Heathcliff hurts Edgar since he views Catherine s love for Heathcliff as betraying hislove for Catherine. Because selfishness has consumed her soul, Catherine reacts toEdgar s understandable jealousy by attempting to afflict pain on him. She will hurt herselfas much as possible, so that she can hurt Edgar. Catherine locks herself in her room, andstarves, knowing that Edgar s love for her will lead him to return to her despite heractions towards Heathcliff. In her solitude, Catherine truly falls ill and she torments herselfby the realization of the lack of happiness she seeks. She feels extremely distressed as aresult of the realization that she has made the wrong decision. Catherine desires to remainin preferable position with her marriage to Edgar, yet she longs for Heathcliff and attemptsto keep both men in her life. She does not want to choose between the two, and thereforenever does. Thus she causes pain and hurts both men. She disregards the feelings of Edgarand keeps in contact with the hated lover. Selfishness eventually deteriorates Cathy, andshe falls terminally ill. In her last days, Cathy realizes her as she views and longs for herold home. Her desires rest in her past savageness and her need to return to her formerstate with Heathcliff. Because she has decided to marry Edgar for social status, she cannotreturn to the love she had for Heathcliff. †¦Cathy s selfishness and her attempt tocompromise with society s dictates keep her from fulfilling her love for Heathcliff. (Shapiro 153) Both men, Heathcliff and Edgar, disturb her death as they devotethemselves to her. .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e , .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e .postImageUrl , .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e , .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e:hover , .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e:visited , .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e:active { border:0!important; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e:active , .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u5e036e9bdd77a815f74498905710337e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Moviegoer EssayHer lovers devotion conflict as both men detest each other. Catherinemarried Edgar in the selfish hopes of a better life, but in doing so Catherine torturesherself by her selfish need to keep both Edgar and Heathcliff in her life, knowing they bothdespise each other. Beneath Catherine s love for Heathcliff lies a genuine conflict, a clashof different levels of passion which ends by consuming her. (Traversi 131) Her selfishdecision ultimately leads to her death. Catherine disregards Heathcliff s love and makes adecision to fulfill her superficial needs. In turn, her lack of love for Edgar causes Catherineto satisfy her need to see Heathcliff even after she is married. She again disregardsanother feelings, Edgar s, to satisfy her desires. The selfishness that rules Catherine s life,torments her as she cannot balance both of her devoted lovers and as she suffers ahaunting death. Though a person gains profit from fulfilling his desires, fulfilling your will at thecost of others leads to torment. Heathcliff was probably the most selfish person in all ofWuthering Heights. He ruins Catherine s life when he disappeared for three years. He alsoruins Isabella s life by marrying her only for revenge. Heathcliff forces young Cathy tomarry Linton and then later kills the poor sickling boy through neglect. These are only themajor consequences of Heathcliff s selfishness. Heathcliff s seeking revenge in a selfishmanner leads to the misery of his own soul. Heathcliff s constant abuse as a child and hislost love for Catherine leads him to develop into a monstrous being. Heathcliff comes intothe Earnshaw family, and resented for being uncivilized. Earnshaw s son abuses Heatcliff,and Heatchfill again gets hurt by Catherine as she disregards his love and marries Linton. In retaliation to the abuse he has endured, Heathcliff seeks revenge in use to free his soulof the ill-treatment he has experienced. Heathcliff proclaims he does not feel pain whenthinking of the revenge he can take. Thus, he believes he can find happinness in hisrevenge. However, the exact opposite occurs. While he seeks fulfillment through tortureof others, Heathcliff s satisfaction is not fulfilled. Heathcliff shows that revenge has notreleased him stating that he yet burns in hell despite his actions. I have no pity! I know nopity! The worms writhe; the more I yearn to crush out their entrails! It is a moral teething,and I grind with greater energy, in proportion to the increase of pain. (Bronte 152) In that proclamation Heathcliff affirms that he cannot achieve freedom by the crushing of hisenemies, but that his pain increases as his selfish actions prevail. There is no use ineither destroying or not destroying. Within that situation Heathcliff remains poised,destroying himself in the tension of it, so that breathing or doing any slightest act is forhim like bending back a stiff spring (Miller 188) Heathcliff destroys himself by usingrevenge and by attempting to destroy others. He realizes that his revenge has causednothing but pain and that it has no victory as he observes Cathy and Hareton careness foreach other. Heathcliff, watching the love of Cathy and Hareton grow, comes tounderstand something of the failure of his own revenge. (Kettle 122) As he watches thetwo he realizes that his revenge is of poor conclusion and that it has not cleared his pain. He no longer finds interests in his life, and finds that his revenge has not fulfilled him. Hisrevenge has not accomplished the satisfaction he desired, instead he feels destroyed anddistraught by the results of his selfish conduct. The selfishness a person possesses has direct affects on his contentment. whilefulfilling desires at the cost of others leads to torment, overcoming selfishness leads to truehappiness. Cathy, one of the few unselfish characters in the novel, overcomes her family sselfishness, and by doing so she becomes receptive to other s needs and creates love. Shesimply overcomes her family s selfishness because she has not inherited it. Though Cathyreflects her mother, she does not posses the selfish characteristic Catherine held. Sheparallels her mother in her sunshine and in her imperviousness. .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d , .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d .postImageUrl , .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d , .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d:hover , .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d:visited , .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d:active { border:0!important; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d:active , .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u8ac2014b44a46fb39d5b987b4c5b050d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Expansion Of Arthur's Battle With The Giant EssayBut she differs from hermother as her relationship to Linton indicates, she is open to others, receptiveto their needs†¦ (Shapiro 154) Her mother s selfishness causes the chaos in WutheringHeights and the Grange; In contrast, Cathy s lack of it stops this turmoil. Catherine caredfor Edgar because of his money, but Cathy responds to Linton not because of his money,or status, but because of his trouble. †¦unlike her mother, she is not simply interested inself-fulfillment, she wants to help someone else†¦ (Shapiro 154) Cathy s lack ofselfishness brings the spirit of love can be symbolized by the garden. The old order ofrevenge, symbolized by Joseph s dark plants, is uprooted by the flowers of Cathy andHareton, symbolizing the new spirit of love. Also a happy life results for Cathy andHareton because of her unselfishness in helping Hareton learn and become educated. Cathy reveals that a new way of life is possible and that being selfish and acquiring yourdesires at the expense of others is not the true route to happiness. Heathcliff first believes that if he can somehow avenge the abuse he has endured hewill attain fulfillment. However, the exact opposite occurs. When Heathcliff gives up hisselfish plan for revenge, he attains happiness, and changes from a monstrous being to acharacter of contentment. Cathy s observations prove his change: †¦ he looked even so different from his usual look that I stopped a moment tostare at him †¦ How? he inquired. Why, almost bright and cheerful- no, almost nothing, very much exited, and wildand glad! (Bronte 326) Nelly describes the strange change as a .. strange joyful glitter in his eyes†¦, one thatproves Heathcliff has been released from his previous torment. A torment which arosefrom his selfishness, and released from his releasing his revenge. Heatchilff releases hisselfishness after Catherine s death. Her death brings pain that Heatchliff cannot releasewith revenge. He does not find content with revenge and thus releases his plan. With thisrelease Heathcliff has gone from the threshold of hell to the sight of his heaven. Thesight Heathcliff and Catherine walking together after death proves that they have beenreunited in eternal bliss. Heathcliff reachieves human dignity as he gives up revenge and bybeing buried in the churchyard. A sense of peace is brought from is death. It is thisre-achievement of manhood by Heathcliff, an understanding reached with no help from theworld he despises, which together with the developing relationship of Cathy and Haretonand the financial sense of life reborn in spring time, gives positive and unsentimentalhope. (Kettle 122). The disintegration of selfishness gives the lives of Wuthering Heightsa happiness that was not present when selfishness was prevalent. Selfishness directly affects happiness. Fulfilling your desires at the cost of othersleads to torment, while overcoming selfishness leads to true happiness. Selfishness is oneof the many emotions which ruled over Wuthering Heights. For that reason WutheringHeights can be classified as a romantic novel. Today technology rules our world andromanticism no longer prevails. Technology gives the world privileges that have becomenecessities to people. Nature and romantic elements have been minimized by money,power, and technology. Love has been replaced by the need for economic stability andexternal appearance. Has the world succeeded with technology? or do we need to returnto a philosophical age of romanticism where nature and emotions rule? Romanticismplaces higher emphasis on emotions than rationality. In contrast, our world is ruled byrationale. Without it the concept of the noble savage would rule. the noble savage is mangoing back to nature, and valuing himself more than society as a whole. The world couldnot survive if people became purely romantic and if they became savages. Individual needswould make people selfish and society would not survive such a world. Returning to asavage world would be extreme romanticism, but a balance between today s world and theromantic era can prove beneficial. Letting your emotions rule can help you reach serenityin your marriages by making the love that is present more important than superficialfactors such as money and stability. Nature s heeling power and soothing effect, can relaxpeople from their every day stress and computerized world. Romanticism can be affectingand benefiting in our world if we accept some aspects of it and minimize others. UnlikeHeathcliff emotions need not rule your actions, but like Cathy you can use certain aspectsof them to attain love and happiness. A balance between romanticism and the modernworld, will bring greater emotional stability and happiness to our world.

Mother of the Groom Essay Example

Mother of the Groom Essay Example Mother of the Groom Paper Mother of the Groom Paper Essay Topic: poem Mother of the Groom is a poem about the feelings, thoughts and memories that the grooms mother feels on her sons wedding day. The mother thinks back to the days when her son was a baby. The poem is written by the Irish poet Seamus Heaney. Heaney uses a third person technique to describe the thoughts that the mother is going through. The voice is taken on by Heaney as he explains the thoughts and memories that the mother has. This poem is addressed to the reader, the thoughts and memories are taken from the mother. The situation that is set in this poem is in a church or wherever the groom has chosen to set the marriage. The poem is 12 lines long and it has been separated into three equal stanzas of four lines each. As the poem progresses from the first line each stanza is separated into different memories that the mother has of her son during his early childhood. It is ironic how soap could ease off the wedding ring but in the next line the wedding ring is bedded forever now. Heaney uses this irony to describe the how it was hard to take off the rings when she had to give her son his bath, but she hopes that their love is forever so the ring that is on her sons and daughter in-laws hand stays on forever like their love. The tone in Mother of the Groom is very mixed. There is happiness in her memories when she connected with her child. Yet there is also sadness and fear of loosing her child to another woman. These memories may be fond but during this part of her life they seem to haunt her. As a mother she feels that the moments where she could connect with her son are gone. So the poem is sad and happy at times. Many ideas are embedded into the poem and the choice of words match the situation that has been described. The mother feels that her son was truly precious when she was bathing him. She uses the word glistening to describe the glow that her son puts out when his back is wet. This enhances how much her innocent baby means to her during the time she gives him a bath. The mother feels that there is something missing a gap or emptiness on her lap. Heaney uses the word voided to illustrate the emptiness that the mother feels. Voided is a word that catches the readers eye which makes them also see how much her precious son means to her. To Conclude, Heaney chosen a theme that is very touching for a mother and a moment which is very symbolic in a persons life. He has brought out the mixed emotions that a mother will feel on the day that her son gets married to another woman. Recalling the memories from the past is also very important in this poem because it enhances sadness and the things that have connected them in such and close way. These feeling are described by the best possible selection of words which makes this poem so outstanding.

12 Angry Men Analysis 2

In the first part of the film when the stage of forming, as it is claimed by the Tuckman’s Team Model, occurs, we notice the main characteristics of this group(David A. Buchanan Andrej Huczynski, 2010). The group consists of 12 male middle aged white men probably coming from the middle class. Even from this first impression, admiring the effort of the film to achieve diversity, signs of prejudice appear. Specifically, the fact that all of them are men and moreover white men represents main biases of that period. Additionally, as it is mentioned to Sheldon’s Theory about the biases, the somatotype of each person declares in a certain way its character and this can be noticed by the selection of the characters and their match with the roles (Big guy is the tough one, smaller and thinner is the most innocuous, the handsome is the sensible and sensitive one etc. ) (David A. Buchanan Andrej Huczynski, 2010). Despite the fact that the movie is trying to accuse such biases (which will be underlined later) certain ways of projection of that period could not be avoided. This is one of the reasons why in the remake of the film in 1997 black actors participated as well and later there even women were introduced in the team for certain theatrical versions. (Eirini Flouri Yiannis Fitsakis 2007). The existence of a â€Å"one-off† situation like this in the movie leaves space for less inhibition for conflicts. Moreover, specific factors like the size, the external-internal environment and the definition of the process play a crucial role in the structure of the group. Obviously, the size of this group is 12, but the question is: why so many? The reason is that by having a greater number of juries the system of justice achieves higher levels of democracy with less possibilities of getting unfair decisions combining the memory, the knowledge and the experience of each member and eliminates any prejudiced behaviors. On the other hand as Social Impact Theory mentions the more members there are, the less responsibility they feel (Latane and Nida, 1980). In the external environment we could enclose the time of the procedure, which is unlimited at first but with a deadline coming up afterwards, and the conditions of the place of action, which is characterized by the humidity and the high summer temperatures, the broken air-conditioning, the unavailability of space. Such details could become the cause of stress, aggressiveness and as it was shown desire for fast result (just finish the procedure). In the internal environment issues like experience of previous similar situations, cultures, personalities, knowledge, mood, health, personal schedule and specialization could affect the result. Ending, a matter of significant importance is the definition of the procedure. In this case, we observe that after the release of the 2 alternatives there are 12 juries left. The juries have to decide if the boy is guilty or not guilty but there must be a full agreement (12 to 0) in each case; A democratic method which proves the importance of the situation. Alternatively, if they cannot reach an agreement they can decide a hung jury and then another trial will take place with different juries this time. The role of the foreman is usually for the most experienced person in this field or the first jury or for anyone who claims the desire and gets accepted by all. In the movie, juror1 supports this role setting the basic norms of the procedure. It is worth mentioning that nowadays, in the selection of the juries there is a specific procedure that is called â€Å"Voir Dire† procedure that clarifies the capability of the juries (Michael T. Nietzelt and Ronald C. Dillehayt 1982). Undoubtedly, the conviction of the biases of any kind is one of the main objects of this film. Primarily, in the first scheme, the judge seems really ninterested about the outcome and he seems to be sure about the result. The Halo Effect is â€Å"a judgment based on a single striking characteristic† and is being remarked in many cases during the film (Edward Thorndike, 1920). Moving to the main part of the film and the central procedure we can emphasize on the juror3 and juror10 who are the main rep resentatives of such prejudiced behaviors. Both of them were trying to fill the gaps of their knowledge using selective attention in certain facts and their personal experience (â€Å"Principle of closure† by Max Wertheimer 1880-1943). Everyone has his stereotypes and if we imagine stereotypes as pictures in our head, jurors 3 and 10 have the image of a dangerous criminal for the defendant, raised to act in certain ways (Lippmann, 1922). More specifically, juror3 expresses, from his first lines in the film, his perception against the young boy (â€Å"I ‘d slap those kids before†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). But as the movie goes on, he expresses again and again his personal beliefs connecting them with his personal disappointment from his own son (â€Å" it’s these kids they are these day†, â€Å"I used to call my father Sir†). Even more he presents his cultural stereotype against the elderly (â€Å"How could he be positive about anything? †) Eventually, juror3 stands alone with his perceptions, believing in the boy’s guiltiness and through a psychological outburst admits that all his statements were based on biases. Similarly, juror10 uses his own belief to create his racial prejudice against the defendant (â€Å"I‘ve expected that†, â€Å"You know what we are dealing with†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) as well as his past experiences (â€Å"I’ve lived with them†¦ they are born liars†). Adding to this, juror10 weights the value of the young boy less than the cost of a trial. Finally, his â€Å"explosion† made the apocalypse of his real personality and the group’s mechanism accused his behavior through a visual isolation and oral prohibition. The existence of biases in each group can create an unpleasant internal environment for each member and be the reason of conflicts. The productivity or the effectiveness of the group is in danger if such behaviors are being tolerated. Apart from the complexity which is created there is also a matter of fairness of the group’s function. As the movie flows, the influence of the group to each individual separately is obvious but a vice versa phenomenon is noticed as well. In this part, the different roles of the jurors and their influence on each other through the communication style of all-channel are being presented, as well as with some strategies followed by the leader-juror8. One thing that is common for most of the jurors is that they have common BATNA(Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) and this is the hung jury. However, this is not the case for jury8 claims that his only purpose is the delivery of the justice (Fisher and Uri, 1981). Starting with juror1 we can notice signs of leadership in the early beginning but he ends up being more like a manager, organizing the procedure. Excluding the moment he reaches his breaking point and suggests if anyone would like to take his place, juror1is the one who sets up the norms, accepts propositions, guides the conversation and the voting procedure, avoids conflicts and respects privileges keeping a democratic way of thinking. Being the foreman can be characterized as the â€Å"co-ordinator† (Beldin’s Team Role Theory 1996, 2007). Many of the jurors (2, 5, 6, 7, 11, and 12) seem to have low self-esteem not only because of their character but also because of the number of the team that forces them to get lost in the crowd or just finish the procedure and leave (â€Å"I just think he is guilty†, â€Å"Can I pass? †, etc) This is obvious from the first vote where only 5 of the 11 votes come directly and the rest are raised slowly just to avoid being pointed out. They are becoming followers(2, 5, 6 and 11) or entertainers (7) or just dreamers (12). Of course most of them are open to hear more and accept different opinions (2, 5, and 7). The rest just do not care so much about the result and these â€Å"free riders†, as Frohlich and Oppenheimer called them in 1970, are the proof that social loafing (or Ringelmann Effect) is a common phenomenon in big teams. The role of juror9 has a vital meaning for the outcome because he takes part in all the breaking points of the process. Firstly, he is the first supporter of juror8, secondly it is him who explains the old witness’s psychology (â€Å"Attention†) and lastly he is the fire starter for the fall of the woman’s testimony. The main opponents to the boy’s exoneration are jurors 3, 4 and 10. As was mentioned previously jurors 3 and 10 are mostly based on biases and stereotypes for children from slums. They are all concentrated on general facts and obvious details. The extensive use of loud voice is frequently the main argument of jurors 3 and 10, which could never strengthen their position. Alternatively, juror4 is using his logic and cleverness to support his facts and admits his fault proving his maturity, once he is convinced. Focusing on juror8 we can claim that he owns the position of the leader as his bargaining power is unique. Max Weber (1947) claimed that â€Å"bargaining power is the ability someone has to achieve his goals no matter of the resistance he faces†. Juror8 follows a series of strategies in order to be flexible and adapt to the needs of each occasion. In the beginning, as it is shown from Jo-Hari’s Window, everyone has a bigger unknown-black side, so juror8 wants to get information as an input. Eventually, he adopts the strategy of a listener in order to get knowledge from the others without revealing himself. Afterwards, in the first vote he stays neutral mentioning his points aiming to make some of the rest see the facts from a different angle avoiding any conflict. The brainstorming procedure just began. In order to wake up their consciousness he uses specific words like â€Å"maybe†, â€Å"supposing†, â€Å"possible† and â€Å"assume†. In the main part he listens carefully and argues with all the elements one by one. There is also an extensive use of rhetorical questions and irony just to make his point clear. The first action scheme is when he places the similar knife on the table. The leader breaks the law in order to prove his point. He becomes more active for the first time and gets the whole team upset. Eventually, he creates the first doubts. At this specific time he calls for a new vote. Apparently, the timing is not random. Probably he recognizes some voices like his and decides that it is time to set up a coalition strategy. He needs just one vote which will strengthen amazingly his arguments and he gets it. The fact that he uses his emotional intelligence to point out his views, while he realizes that some other jurors are playing, proves once again his leading abilities. The next step is to create personal relations with some of the jurors. So, he finds the weakest of the group who are about to change side and ask for their opinions. It is not by accident that these jurors were mainly followers until this time. Having established these connections, he uses logic and science as well as the experience and the knowledge of the group in order to persuade the others. As soon as he realizes that one of his main opponents (juror3) loses his self-control, juror8 becomes aggressive and pushes him to the limits using the technique of the irony to apocalypse the existence of his personal prejudice against the defendant. After completing his task, he shows his sympathetic character and supports the worried opponent. Based on Moscovici (1976) and his 5 Aspects juror8 is loyal to his beliefs(Consistency), responsible for his acts(Autonomy), flexible whenever it is appropriate(Rigidity), risky in the first secret vote(Investment) and willing to bring justice(Fairness). The impact of this movie in our modern times is initially proved by the fact that after so many years it is still being taught in courses not only in Law schools but also in Business and Psychology schools. Definitions like brainstorming, social loafing, diversity, team-working, biases and preconceptions, attribution, personality, leader’s abilities, democratic voting and many others are part of any organization nowadays. This movie is the omen for the evolutionary development of a team structure, a team-worker’s behavior and a leader’s characteristics. References Atkinson G. 1990 â€Å"Negotiate the best deal† Director Books, Cambridge Barkan, Steven E. , Steven Cohn, 1994, ‘‘Racial Prejudice and Support for the Death Penalty by Whites’’ in â€Å"Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency† pp. 202–209 Buchanan A. David Huczynski A. Andrej, 2010, â€Å"Organizational Behaviour†, seventh edition, Pearson Ed ucation Limited, Harlow Cialdini R. B. , 1993 â€Å"The psychology of persuasion†, Quill William Morrow, New York Ellsworth C. Phoebe, 1989, â€Å"Are Twelve Heads Better Than One? † in â€Å"Law and Contemporary Problems†, Duke University School of Law Fisher R. Ury W. 1981 â€Å"Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without gining in† Penguin, New York Flouri Eirini Fitsakis Yiannis, Oct 2007, â€Å"Minority Matters: 12 Angry Men as a Case study of a successful Negotiation against the odds† in â€Å"Negotitation Journal† pp. 449-461 Hackley Susan, 2007 â€Å"One Reasonable and Inquiring Man:12 Angry Men as a Negotiation-Teaching Tool† in â€Å"Negotiation Journal† pp. 463-468 Hall M. Eisenstein (Eds. ), 1980, â€Å"Voir Dire and jury selection†, Clark. B. M. , in â€Å"Criminal Defense Techniques†, New York: Mathew Bender Hay B. L. 2007 â€Å"Fiftieth anniversary 12 Angry Men† Kent-Law Review 82(3) Chi cago Heuer L. Penrodt St. , Sep. 1988, â€Å"Increasing Jurors’ Participation in Trials A Field Experiment with Jury Notetaking and Question Asking† in â€Å"Law and Human Behaviour† Vol. 12 No. 3 Janis I. , 1972 â€Å"Victims of groupthink† MA: Houghton Mifflin, Oxford Kaplan M. , Jones Christopher S. , 2003 â€Å"The Effects of Racially Stereotypical Crimes on Juror Decision-Making and Information –Processing Strategies† in â€Å"Basic and Applied Social Psychology† pp. 1-13 Kew J. Stredwick J. , 2010, â€Å"Human Resource Management in a business context†, CIPD, London Martin R. , 1992 â€Å"Bargaining Power† Clarendon Press, Oxford Moscovici S. , 1976 â€Å"Social influence and social change† Academic, London Nietzelt T. Michael Dillehayt C. Ronald, 1982, â€Å"The Effects of Variations in Voir Dire Procedures in Capital Murder Trials†, in â€Å"Law and Human Behaviour† Vol. 6 No. 1 Rojot J. , 1991 â€Å"Negotiatation: From theory to practice† Macmillan, London Scheepers, Daan, et al, 2006, ‘‘Diversity in In-Group Bias: Structural Factors, Situational Features, and Social Functions,’’ in â€Å"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology† pp. 944–960 Weber M. , 1947 The theory of social and economic organization† Oxford University Press, New York 12 Angry Men Analysis 2 In the first part of the film when the stage of forming, as it is claimed by the Tuckman’s Team Model, occurs, we notice the main characteristics of this group(David A. Buchanan Andrej Huczynski, 2010). The group consists of 12 male middle aged white men probably coming from the middle class. Even from this first impression, admiring the effort of the film to achieve diversity, signs of prejudice appear. Specifically, the fact that all of them are men and moreover white men represents main biases of that period. Additionally, as it is mentioned to Sheldon’s Theory about the biases, the somatotype of each person declares in a certain way its character and this can be noticed by the selection of the characters and their match with the roles (Big guy is the tough one, smaller and thinner is the most innocuous, the handsome is the sensible and sensitive one etc. ) (David A. Buchanan Andrej Huczynski, 2010). Despite the fact that the movie is trying to accuse such biases (which will be underlined later) certain ways of projection of that period could not be avoided. This is one of the reasons why in the remake of the film in 1997 black actors participated as well and later there even women were introduced in the team for certain theatrical versions. (Eirini Flouri Yiannis Fitsakis 2007). The existence of a â€Å"one-off† situation like this in the movie leaves space for less inhibition for conflicts. Moreover, specific factors like the size, the external-internal environment and the definition of the process play a crucial role in the structure of the group. Obviously, the size of this group is 12, but the question is: why so many? The reason is that by having a greater number of juries the system of justice achieves higher levels of democracy with less possibilities of getting unfair decisions combining the memory, the knowledge and the experience of each member and eliminates any prejudiced behaviors. On the other hand as Social Impact Theory mentions the more members there are, the less responsibility they feel (Latane and Nida, 1980). In the external environment we could enclose the time of the procedure, which is unlimited at first but with a deadline coming up afterwards, and the conditions of the place of action, which is characterized by the humidity and the high summer temperatures, the broken air-conditioning, the unavailability of space. Such details could become the cause of stress, aggressiveness and as it was shown desire for fast result (just finish the procedure). In the internal environment issues like experience of previous similar situations, cultures, personalities, knowledge, mood, health, personal schedule and specialization could affect the result. Ending, a matter of significant importance is the definition of the procedure. In this case, we observe that after the release of the 2 alternatives there are 12 juries left. The juries have to decide if the boy is guilty or not guilty but there must be a full agreement (12 to 0) in each case; A democratic method which proves the importance of the situation. Alternatively, if they cannot reach an agreement they can decide a hung jury and then another trial will take place with different juries this time. The role of the foreman is usually for the most experienced person in this field or the first jury or for anyone who claims the desire and gets accepted by all. In the movie, juror1 supports this role setting the basic norms of the procedure. It is worth mentioning that nowadays, in the selection of the juries there is a specific procedure that is called â€Å"Voir Dire† procedure that clarifies the capability of the juries (Michael T. Nietzelt and Ronald C. Dillehayt 1982). Undoubtedly, the conviction of the biases of any kind is one of the main objects of this film. Primarily, in the first scheme, the judge seems really ninterested about the outcome and he seems to be sure about the result. The Halo Effect is â€Å"a judgment based on a single striking characteristic† and is being remarked in many cases during the film (Edward Thorndike, 1920). Moving to the main part of the film and the central procedure we can emphasize on the juror3 and juror10 who are the main rep resentatives of such prejudiced behaviors. Both of them were trying to fill the gaps of their knowledge using selective attention in certain facts and their personal experience (â€Å"Principle of closure† by Max Wertheimer 1880-1943). Everyone has his stereotypes and if we imagine stereotypes as pictures in our head, jurors 3 and 10 have the image of a dangerous criminal for the defendant, raised to act in certain ways (Lippmann, 1922). More specifically, juror3 expresses, from his first lines in the film, his perception against the young boy (â€Å"I ‘d slap those kids before†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). But as the movie goes on, he expresses again and again his personal beliefs connecting them with his personal disappointment from his own son (â€Å" it’s these kids they are these day†, â€Å"I used to call my father Sir†). Even more he presents his cultural stereotype against the elderly (â€Å"How could he be positive about anything? †) Eventually, juror3 stands alone with his perceptions, believing in the boy’s guiltiness and through a psychological outburst admits that all his statements were based on biases. Similarly, juror10 uses his own belief to create his racial prejudice against the defendant (â€Å"I‘ve expected that†, â€Å"You know what we are dealing with†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) as well as his past experiences (â€Å"I’ve lived with them†¦ they are born liars†). Adding to this, juror10 weights the value of the young boy less than the cost of a trial. Finally, his â€Å"explosion† made the apocalypse of his real personality and the group’s mechanism accused his behavior through a visual isolation and oral prohibition. The existence of biases in each group can create an unpleasant internal environment for each member and be the reason of conflicts. The productivity or the effectiveness of the group is in danger if such behaviors are being tolerated. Apart from the complexity which is created there is also a matter of fairness of the group’s function. As the movie flows, the influence of the group to each individual separately is obvious but a vice versa phenomenon is noticed as well. In this part, the different roles of the jurors and their influence on each other through the communication style of all-channel are being presented, as well as with some strategies followed by the leader-juror8. One thing that is common for most of the jurors is that they have common BATNA(Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) and this is the hung jury. However, this is not the case for jury8 claims that his only purpose is the delivery of the justice (Fisher and Uri, 1981). Starting with juror1 we can notice signs of leadership in the early beginning but he ends up being more like a manager, organizing the procedure. Excluding the moment he reaches his breaking point and suggests if anyone would like to take his place, juror1is the one who sets up the norms, accepts propositions, guides the conversation and the voting procedure, avoids conflicts and respects privileges keeping a democratic way of thinking. Being the foreman can be characterized as the â€Å"co-ordinator† (Beldin’s Team Role Theory 1996, 2007). Many of the jurors (2, 5, 6, 7, 11, and 12) seem to have low self-esteem not only because of their character but also because of the number of the team that forces them to get lost in the crowd or just finish the procedure and leave (â€Å"I just think he is guilty†, â€Å"Can I pass? †, etc) This is obvious from the first vote where only 5 of the 11 votes come directly and the rest are raised slowly just to avoid being pointed out. They are becoming followers(2, 5, 6 and 11) or entertainers (7) or just dreamers (12). Of course most of them are open to hear more and accept different opinions (2, 5, and 7). The rest just do not care so much about the result and these â€Å"free riders†, as Frohlich and Oppenheimer called them in 1970, are the proof that social loafing (or Ringelmann Effect) is a common phenomenon in big teams. The role of juror9 has a vital meaning for the outcome because he takes part in all the breaking points of the process. Firstly, he is the first supporter of juror8, secondly it is him who explains the old witness’s psychology (â€Å"Attention†) and lastly he is the fire starter for the fall of the woman’s testimony. The main opponents to the boy’s exoneration are jurors 3, 4 and 10. As was mentioned previously jurors 3 and 10 are mostly based on biases and stereotypes for children from slums. They are all concentrated on general facts and obvious details. The extensive use of loud voice is frequently the main argument of jurors 3 and 10, which could never strengthen their position. Alternatively, juror4 is using his logic and cleverness to support his facts and admits his fault proving his maturity, once he is convinced. Focusing on juror8 we can claim that he owns the position of the leader as his bargaining power is unique. Max Weber (1947) claimed that â€Å"bargaining power is the ability someone has to achieve his goals no matter of the resistance he faces†. Juror8 follows a series of strategies in order to be flexible and adapt to the needs of each occasion. In the beginning, as it is shown from Jo-Hari’s Window, everyone has a bigger unknown-black side, so juror8 wants to get information as an input. Eventually, he adopts the strategy of a listener in order to get knowledge from the others without revealing himself. Afterwards, in the first vote he stays neutral mentioning his points aiming to make some of the rest see the facts from a different angle avoiding any conflict. The brainstorming procedure just began. In order to wake up their consciousness he uses specific words like â€Å"maybe†, â€Å"supposing†, â€Å"possible† and â€Å"assume†. In the main part he listens carefully and argues with all the elements one by one. There is also an extensive use of rhetorical questions and irony just to make his point clear. The first action scheme is when he places the similar knife on the table. The leader breaks the law in order to prove his point. He becomes more active for the first time and gets the whole team upset. Eventually, he creates the first doubts. At this specific time he calls for a new vote. Apparently, the timing is not random. Probably he recognizes some voices like his and decides that it is time to set up a coalition strategy. He needs just one vote which will strengthen amazingly his arguments and he gets it. The fact that he uses his emotional intelligence to point out his views, while he realizes that some other jurors are playing, proves once again his leading abilities. The next step is to create personal relations with some of the jurors. So, he finds the weakest of the group who are about to change side and ask for their opinions. It is not by accident that these jurors were mainly followers until this time. Having established these connections, he uses logic and science as well as the experience and the knowledge of the group in order to persuade the others. As soon as he realizes that one of his main opponents (juror3) loses his self-control, juror8 becomes aggressive and pushes him to the limits using the technique of the irony to apocalypse the existence of his personal prejudice against the defendant. After completing his task, he shows his sympathetic character and supports the worried opponent. Based on Moscovici (1976) and his 5 Aspects juror8 is loyal to his beliefs(Consistency), responsible for his acts(Autonomy), flexible whenever it is appropriate(Rigidity), risky in the first secret vote(Investment) and willing to bring justice(Fairness). The impact of this movie in our modern times is initially proved by the fact that after so many years it is still being taught in courses not only in Law schools but also in Business and Psychology schools. Definitions like brainstorming, social loafing, diversity, team-working, biases and preconceptions, attribution, personality, leader’s abilities, democratic voting and many others are part of any organization nowadays. This movie is the omen for the evolutionary development of a team structure, a team-worker’s behavior and a leader’s characteristics. References Atkinson G. 1990 â€Å"Negotiate the best deal† Director Books, Cambridge Barkan, Steven E. , Steven Cohn, 1994, ‘‘Racial Prejudice and Support for the Death Penalty by Whites’’ in â€Å"Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency† pp. 202–209 Buchanan A. David Huczynski A. Andrej, 2010, â€Å"Organizational Behaviour†, seventh edition, Pearson Ed ucation Limited, Harlow Cialdini R. B. , 1993 â€Å"The psychology of persuasion†, Quill William Morrow, New York Ellsworth C. Phoebe, 1989, â€Å"Are Twelve Heads Better Than One? † in â€Å"Law and Contemporary Problems†, Duke University School of Law Fisher R. Ury W. 1981 â€Å"Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without gining in† Penguin, New York Flouri Eirini Fitsakis Yiannis, Oct 2007, â€Å"Minority Matters: 12 Angry Men as a Case study of a successful Negotiation against the odds† in â€Å"Negotitation Journal† pp. 449-461 Hackley Susan, 2007 â€Å"One Reasonable and Inquiring Man:12 Angry Men as a Negotiation-Teaching Tool† in â€Å"Negotiation Journal† pp. 463-468 Hall M. Eisenstein (Eds. ), 1980, â€Å"Voir Dire and jury selection†, Clark. B. M. , in â€Å"Criminal Defense Techniques†, New York: Mathew Bender Hay B. L. 2007 â€Å"Fiftieth anniversary 12 Angry Men† Kent-Law Review 82(3) Chi cago Heuer L. Penrodt St. , Sep. 1988, â€Å"Increasing Jurors’ Participation in Trials A Field Experiment with Jury Notetaking and Question Asking† in â€Å"Law and Human Behaviour† Vol. 12 No. 3 Janis I. , 1972 â€Å"Victims of groupthink† MA: Houghton Mifflin, Oxford Kaplan M. , Jones Christopher S. , 2003 â€Å"The Effects of Racially Stereotypical Crimes on Juror Decision-Making and Information –Processing Strategies† in â€Å"Basic and Applied Social Psychology† pp. 1-13 Kew J. Stredwick J. , 2010, â€Å"Human Resource Management in a business context†, CIPD, London Martin R. , 1992 â€Å"Bargaining Power† Clarendon Press, Oxford Moscovici S. , 1976 â€Å"Social influence and social change† Academic, London Nietzelt T. Michael Dillehayt C. Ronald, 1982, â€Å"The Effects of Variations in Voir Dire Procedures in Capital Murder Trials†, in â€Å"Law and Human Behaviour† Vol. 6 No. 1 Rojot J. , 1991 â€Å"Negotiatation: From theory to practice† Macmillan, London Scheepers, Daan, et al, 2006, ‘‘Diversity in In-Group Bias: Structural Factors, Situational Features, and Social Functions,’’ in â€Å"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology† pp. 944–960 Weber M. , 1947 The theory of social and economic organization† Oxford University Press, New York

Response to the Book George Orwell's 1984 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Response to the Book George Orwell's 1984 - Essay Example From this moment on both Winston and Julia heightened to the awareness of what is next. Both transferred to the Ministry of love for interrogation swiftly followed by systematic physiological and physical torture. This torture consists of three stages, learning, understanding, and absolute acceptance of the Party's reality. These ideologies chewed away throughout the book at Winston's fundamental ideals. Winston and Julia both grew to hate the party, rallying against it in both their thoughts by actions and behaviors as well. The Party's main object is absolute acceptance of their Doctrine. Winston must painfully accept eventually. However, this particular book seems layered like an onion tearfully peeling away each layer to expose the soft underbelly in all of us. The fear of self; which is signified by room 101 where they sent Winston when he refused to betray himself, his love, and his absolute hatred for Big Brother. The final step has Winston facing his biggest fears, rats place d in a cage strapped to his face ready to tear into his skull. In a moment of absolute terror Winston screams out "Do it to Julia" betraying not only her but also the very core of himself. The one thing he believed they could never touch, could never get at, resonated from him the way a gavel echoes with justice in a courtroom.

Freedom movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Freedom movement - Essay Example It also marked an important moment for the Black American society who continuously fought for equal rights within the American society (Smith & Wynn, 2009. The act ended the application of the Jim Crow laws that upheld segregation under the principles of â€Å"separate but equal.† It is important to note that prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, African-Americans faced serious discrimination in nearly all important sectors of the economy including employment, transport, property ownership, education and even politics. The passage of the law has since shaped the American society and that is still undergoing transformation. The consequences of the passage of the Civil Rights Act 1964 have seen significant diversity in the employment sector in America. Currently, Blacks face limited if any discrimination in employment. This has seen significant growth of the American economy as every individual struggles to involve in any income generating activity. Since the pas sage of the Act that led to increase in employment of the African-Americans, the economy of the USA has witnessed significant stability considering fair distribution of income and reduced overreliance of the economy on the White population. Additional consequence of passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relates to significant integration of people from different races, religion and ethnicity, which is working to liquidate some of the native culture of the various American communities. In politics, the passage of the act has seen significant involvement of Blacks in the daily politics of USA. It is due to the strict provisions of the Act that America is currently under the Presidency of Barrack Obama who is a Black American. Furthermore, it is due to the Act that African-Americans like Condoleezza Rice managed to occupy powerful government office during administration of President George Bush. Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) The cause of the boycott related to the arrest of Rose Parka who was a civil rights activist for failing to empty a bus seat in Montgomery. The Black community responded to the arrest by boycotting transport by bus until in 1956 when court overruled the segregation laws in Montgomery as unconstitutional. This even revolutionized social structure and has led to free interaction between Whites and the Blacks (Phibbs, 2009). The law has seen free movement of people across the states by same transport means. This has worked to alienate fears of discrimination alongside enhancing trade and economic development in the USA. The event and the accompanying ruling transformed the political policies created by states and local governments. Currently, many states abide by the principles of equality and fairness that has help in political stability in America. Role of Black women in the Freedom Movement Despite being subject to gender discrimination within their own race, Black women proved an essential part of the whole Freedom Movement. Black wom en assumed the roles of bridge leaders to support their male counterparts in advancing their fight for freedom. The women assumed the roles of bridge leaders because it was only area that they could occupy since men held the formal leadership positions. In that line, the Black women practiced four main types of bridge leadership that included mainstream, community, indigenous and

Do Prisons Work Essay Example for Free

Do Prisons Work Essay This study will examine the effectiveness of current prison treatment programs in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, United States of America in rehabilitating or reforming an individual and coinciding recidivism rates upon a prisoners release. Prison based treatment programs for sex offenders in Western Australia, New South Wales and New Zealand are examined and recidivism rates compared. Treatment programs for offenders with drug and alcohol issues and the various strategies within the criminal justice system such as diversion, education and drug court programs are examined and differences explained. Rehabilitation programs such as education, life skills, employment and cognitive behavioural treatment are explained and research discussed. Conclusions will be drawn outlining programs with the highest level of recidivism both in Western Australia and globally. The â€Å"nothing works† mantra (Martinson) 1974, is seen to be refuted and treatment is seen to be successful when it is matched to the criminogenic needs of the offender (MacKenzie, 2006). Future recommendations are made in regards to the need for correctional staff to assess each offender as an individual with different needs, and to therefore implement programs that will give the offender the best change of reform or rehabilitation (MacKenzie, 2006). There are many treatment and rehabilitation programs currently used in corrections around the world aimed at reducing recidivism (MacKenzie, 2006). A heuristic approach classifies various strategies into incarceration, treatment programs and rehabilitation (McKenzie, 2006). These interventions represent different strategies for controlling crime in the community, and have some theoretical rationale for expecting a reduction in crime, despite being different in the mechanism anticipated to produce the reduction (MacKenzie, 2006). Incarceration deprives the prisoner of opportunities to commit crime, usually through detention in prison or in some states capital punishment (McKenzie, 2006). Rehabilitation is based on the premise that people can change, and if assessment is to contribute to rehabilitation it must be capable of measuring change (MacKenzie, 2006). The Static 99 risk assessment measure is an International Tool that is currently used to assess recidivism levels of sex offenders (Hoy Bright, 2008). Rehabilitation orientated treatment programs include education, cognitive skills and employment (MacKenzie, 2006). Correctional educational programs are seen to have optimistic results in lowering levels of recidivism in prisoners (Stevens Ward, 2007). Kaki Bukit Prison School based in Singapore is seen to be successful in reducing recidivism by aiming to creative a learning environment based on Peter Senge’s book â€Å"The Fifth Discipline† (Senge, 1990). Part of the discipline involves inmates engaging in the â€Å"The Reflective Thinking Process† (Oh, 2007), an education programme which aims to assist prisoners in reflecting on past destructive behaviour and to encourage appropriate restitution. The school is supported by a multidisciplinary team of teachers, prison officers and counsellors who work together to help students in their studies and in their journey of change to become responsible, thinking citizens (Tam, 2007). For inmates who completed their studies at Kubit Bukit Centre and were released in 2000 and 2001, the 2 year recidivism rate was 24% (Oh, 2007). Acacia, Western Australia’s only private run prison, is operated by Serco and aims to bring service to life (Needham, 2009). Storybook Dads is an example of this and aims to rehabilitate prisoners, break the cycle of reoffending and close the gap between a child and his father (Needham, 2009). The program opens up a broad range of educational opportunities ranging from writing their own stories to learning how to use a computer (Needham, 2009). The main objective of the program is to empower fathers and for children to feel loved, which then improves the lives of the prisoner’s children (Needham, 2009). Prisoners are given the opportunity to record their child’s favourite bedtime story on a CD with sound effects, personal message and CD cover (Needham, 2009). Current research indicates that fathers who have been imprisoned tend to withdraw from life outside the prison and subsequently lose contact completely with their children (Needham, 2009). Statistics show that six out of ten children whose father is a current or ex- prisoner become involved in criminal activities and consequently find themselves in similar situations to their father’s in prison (Needham, 2009). The Storybook Dad’s program runs in eighty prisons in the United Kingdom and maintains family connections and reduces reoffending (Needham, 2009). The National Fatherhood Initiative runs a similar programme called the Incarcerated Father’s Program which operates at Branchville Correctional Centre in Indiana (Gosnell, 2006). It is similar to Storybook Dad’s programme in helping prisoners reunite with their children and families (Gosnell, 2006). One study monitored 186 men for three years after release from prison with only five returning (Gosnell, 2006). Three men returned for small offences whilst two came back on a long term basis indicating low levels of recidivism, when in comparison seventy percent of men released from prison normally return within an average of one to three years (Gosnell, 2006). Prison based treatment programs offered in Western Australia for sex offenders are the Sex Offender Program, Indigenous Sex Offender and Intellectually Disabled Offender (Macgregor, 2008). Community based maintenance programs are offered for each type of offender, the current program for disabled people being the Safe Care Program (Macgregor, 2008). In Australia, most treatment programs for sex offenders are based on cognitive behavioural therapy aimed to target the criminogenic needs or risk factors of offenders (Macgregor, 2008). If these needs are altered the chances of changing the criminal behaviour are higher in the range of 10-30% (Blud, 1999). The programs are seen to be effective in that they work to alter many of the cognitive deficits displayed by offenders (Blud, 1999). They target the known risk factors for sexual reoffending which are cognitive distortions, empathy deficits and wide ranging self regulation (Hoy Bright, 2008). A Western Australia study in 2002 measured recidivism rates of 2165 sex offenders referred to the treatment unit from 1987 to 1999 (Greenberg, 2002). The study compared treated offenders with non-treated offenders, with no significant findings on effects of treatment on sexual recidivism (Greenberg, 2002). Systematic differences between the non-treated and treated group in the Western Australian study, such as indigenous status, risk category, and length of sentence may have impaired comparisons of groups (Lievore, 2004). Inconsistencies across the data, methodological limits may have limited the study from being able to identify less significant treatment outcomes, and to identify sources (Greenberg, 2002). At present a prison based treatment program designed for adult sex offenders is offered in every Territory and State Australia, despite many having yet to be evaluated (Macgregor, 2008). An evaluation conducted in New South Wales on the Custody Based Intensive Treatment program for high risk offenders (Hoy Bright, 2008) compared recidivism rates of 117 treated offenders with those predicted by the STATIC 99 risk assessment measure, an internationally used tool that assesses the recidivism risk of sex offenders (Hoy Bright, 2008). STATIC 99 risk probabilities are based on a large sample of sex offenders in the United Kingdom and Canada (Hanson Thornton, 2000). The study found that 8. 5% of sex offenders treated at the Custody Based Intensive Treatment programs committed further sexual offences in 3. 5 years, compared with a predicted sexual recidivism of 26% (Hoy Bright, 2008). An evaluation was conducted on the Te Piriti Special Treatment Program for child sex offenders in New Zealand (Nathan, Wilson Hillman, 2003). Te Piriti incorporates cognitive behavioural therapy methods in combination with Tikanga Maori, holistic practices derived from world view and a desire to understand the universe (Nathan, 2008). This study compared recidivism rates of Te Piriti graduates with a control group used in the Kia Marama study (Nathan, 2008). In comparison with the non-treated group’s sexual recidivism rate of 21%, a small 5. 7% of offenders who completed the programme at Te Piriti reoffended sexually (Nathan, 2008). Maori sexual offenders were also found to have a positive response to the program (Nathan, 2008). Only 4. 41% of Maori offenders reoffended sexually after receiving treatment at Te Piriti (Nathan) 2003 compared with 13. 58% of Maori Kia Marama graduates (New Zealand Corrections, 2003). These results are supportive of the argument that programs are more effective in reducing sexual recidivism when the design and implementation are attuned to the cultural background of the offenders (Macgregor, 2008). Currently, there are various strategies within the criminal justice system that respond to offenders with drug and alcohol issues (Makkai Payne, 2003). At one end of the spectrum is the diversion by police of first offenders or low level offenders into education or treatment programs (Makkai Payne, 2003). At the other end, is the diversion of repeat drug dependent offenders facing imprisonment into intensive drug court programs (Makkai Payne, 2003). Drug courts aim to divert both men and women offenders (Freeman, Karski Doak, 2000). The elements of the New South Wales drug court program are treatment; social support and the development of living skills; regular reports to the court; and regular urine testing (Freeman et al. , 2000). During the twelve month program, participants are expected to stabilise their lives by not using drugs to address health issues, and to cease criminal activity (Freeman et al. ,). Ideally, they consolidate their situation and develop life and job skills, and financially reintegrate fully, becoming financially independent (Freeman et al. ,). Analysis of the data indicates a high success rate, with only thirteen percent of the participants having committed an offence on completion of the program, indicating a low level of recidivism (Freeman et al. ,). A promising approach to combating illicit drug use has been implemented at the Metropolitan Women’s Correctional Centre in Victoria (Peachy, 1999). Carniche program includes core courses in drug awareness, drug education and Alcoholics Anonymous, which provides a group therapy environment and a twelve step program based on abstinence and group support (Peachy, 1999). The program runs for three to four months, after which the prisoners are reintegrated into the mainstream prison population (Peachy, 1999). The program involves a maximum of ten prisoners who live in a residential unit separate from the main prison population who participate in intensive drug group and individual counselling (Peachy, 2000). The program has not been evaluated for its effect on offender recidivism and its success may depend on the support available to prisoners upon release (Peachy, 2000). A new program for women offenders, titled Reconnections, completed its pilot phase at Bandyup Women’s prison in September 2009 (Porter, 2009). The program was based on therapeutic interventions to assist women in looking at past trauma and abuse in addressing their offending behaviour (Porter, 2009). Although the program was scheduled to commence in early 2010, funding problems prevented the commencement of the program (Porter, 2009). Despite the program failing to commence prison doors at Bandyup continue to open to volunteers and visitors, a move imprisoned women value (Department of Corrective Services, 2005). The Western Australian Department of Justice allows over 3,000 volunteers who provide support for victims of crime, prisoners and juvenile detainees (Department of Corrective Services, 2005). Western Australia’s drug rehabilitation is seen to be a part of the whole sentencing process both in prison and the community for a prisoner’s release on parole (Cox, 2007). There is a continuum drug users who go through the Perth Drug Court’s treatment programs are less likely to reoffend than those sent to prison (Cox, 2007). Recidivism rates for offenders using the court’s drug treatment programs were 17 percent lower than those for offenders sent to prison (Cox, 2007). The study assessed 250 drug users, dealt with the Drug Court who were charged with offences such as burglary, theft or fraud between 2000 and 2003 (Cox, 2007). In comparison to Western Australia one in every 100 adults is locked up in America and there punitive corrections system do not follow a Western approach, incorporating resources such as Drug Courts to help prevent re-offending (McClatchy, 2008). Kansas has been seen to rethink incarceration policies, with a focus on reserving prison for the worst criminals who pose a real danger to society (McClatchy, 2008). Kansas’ only drug court, in Lyon County, has slashed offender rearrest rates almost by half. (McClatchy, 2008). In California, a study found that in a two-year period, drug courts cost $14 million but saved tax-payers more than $43 million over the costs of sending offenders to prison (McCatchy,2008). Kansas Department of Corrections has had success with a new parole re-entry program, including a pilot project in Wichita that gives parolees more support and helps them to keep on the straight and narrow (McClatchy, 2008). Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz has seen the new philosophy dramatically cut re-offender rates state-wide and reduced recidivism (McCatchy, 2008). Spectrum Addiction Services offers residential treatment, outpatient, detox and domestic violence service for substance abusers and Correctional Recovery Academies in Massachusetts, Georgia and Rhode Island (Astell, 1995). The treatment strategy supported by Spectrum is based on behaviour and based on self-esteem, participant’s feelings, and self-revelation much as the 12 step program of Alcoholics Anonymous (Astell, 1995). Spectrum views the way to fight recidivism is behavioural, teaching people the skills to stay straight (Astell, 1995). A situational approach to drug abuse may be another avenue to explore when examining the Vietnam War (Astell, 1995). Many American soldiers who were involved with heroin use in South East Asia did not bring the habit home, indicating that some drug abuse is situational (Astell, 1995). In the mid 1970’s a pessimistic assessment of rehabilitation programs by Robert Martinson asserted that â€Å"nothing works† in correctional treatment (Cullen Gendreau, 2000). However recent reassessment using methods of meta-analysis has found that offender treatment programs do reduce problem behaviour (Cullen Gendreau, 2000). Effective programs are those which recognise the importance of individual differences and the measurement of these factors when assessing what programs and interventions would be most suitable for each offender (Harland, 1996). Privatisation of prisons is seen to be a positive solution to improving treatment programs and reducing associated recidivism in developing more of a restorative framework to treatment programs (Corporate Responsibility, 2007). This involves emphasising the importance of good relationships between prisoners and staff, the need to recognise the impact of cultural differences when implementing programmes and matching an officer of suitable culture and temperament to best assist the needs of the prisoner (Corporate Responsibility, 2007). Further study is indicated as being required for WA Sex Offenders with little research being available for this group of offenders when compared to other states in WA (Cullen Gendreau, 2000). Systematic differences between the non-treated and treated group in the Western Australian study, such as indigenous status, risk category, and length of sentence may have impaired comparisons of groups (Lievore, 2004). Inconsistencies across the data, methodological limits may have also limited the study from being able to identify less significant treatment outcomes, and to identify sources (Greenberg , 2002). A recommendation for improved research design is suggested in the implementation of a similar tool as the Static 99 in Australia which is currently only available internationally in measuring sexual recidivism (Mackenzie, 2006). Another finding from reviews of the studies is the large difference of amount of research completed for drug-offenders in comparison with other offenders, such as women prisoners and sex offenders which is currently limited (MacKenzie, 2006). Given the current concern about the increasing amount of drug offenders entering the correction system it is apparent as to why there is uch a large number of evaluations of programs being completed for these offenders (MacKenzie, 2006). Although the role for corrections appears to be a current challenge, it is hoped that with further research, funding , availability of treatment programmes and education of prison officers in addressing individual and cultural differences, that the offender be given the greatest chance for rehabilitation, reform and consequently a life of freedom outside the prison bars (MacKenzie, 2006).

The Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie Essay -- Glass Menagerie es

The Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie In Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, Amanda, Laura, and Tom have chosen to avoid reality. Amanda continually attempts to live in the past. Laura's escape from the real world is her glass collection and old phonograph records. Tom hides from the real world by going to the movies and getting drunk. Each character retreats to their separate world to escape the cruelties of life. Living in the past is Amanda’s way of escaping her pitiful present reality (Knorr). She never forgets to tell Laura and Tom about her receiving seventeen gentlemen callers in Blue Mountain when she was young: "One Sunday afternoon-your mother received-seventeen!-gentlemen callers! Why, sometimes there weren't enough chairs enough to accommodate them all" (Williams 26). She talks about how all her admirers turned out and even though many became successful and could have been better choices, she had chosen their father. It seems that she wants her children to know that she was different before her husband left her. She wants them to know that she was a "catch". The truth remains that she had been economically dependent on her husband. Since her husband left her, her dependency transfers to her son Tom. She not only transferred her dependency to her son and her hopes for a gentleman caller to her daughter, but also her need of the past and her memories of the past. To Amanda, the past stands for the carefree life she led in Blue Mountain. This affects Tom and Laura greatly. Tom despises this situation and can't stand being at home. He goes to the movies and writes poetry to escape his home life and his disheartening job at the shoe factory. He believes that his home life and job affect his ... ...t forget her. "Ironically, though the rainbows seemed to be positive signs, they all end in disappointment"(Knorr). Even though Tom tries to escape his past, it remains with him for he is the one who tells the story of The Glass Menagerie. Though Amanda, Laura, and Jim are not real they are part of Tom's memory which reveals his pain and suffering in his ironic and humorous tone. All of the characters escape their reality that never changes. Works Cited Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. Ed. James Laughlin. New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1970. King, Thomas L. "Irony and Distance in The Glass Menagerie." In Modern Critical Views: Tennessee Williams. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987, 85-94. Knorr. Home page. http://www.susqu.edu/ac_depts/arts_sci/english/lharris/class/WILLIAMS/psy.htm The Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie Essay -- Glass Menagerie es The Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie In Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, Amanda, Laura, and Tom have chosen to avoid reality. Amanda continually attempts to live in the past. Laura's escape from the real world is her glass collection and old phonograph records. Tom hides from the real world by going to the movies and getting drunk. Each character retreats to their separate world to escape the cruelties of life. Living in the past is Amanda’s way of escaping her pitiful present reality (Knorr). She never forgets to tell Laura and Tom about her receiving seventeen gentlemen callers in Blue Mountain when she was young: "One Sunday afternoon-your mother received-seventeen!-gentlemen callers! Why, sometimes there weren't enough chairs enough to accommodate them all" (Williams 26). She talks about how all her admirers turned out and even though many became successful and could have been better choices, she had chosen their father. It seems that she wants her children to know that she was different before her husband left her. She wants them to know that she was a "catch". The truth remains that she had been economically dependent on her husband. Since her husband left her, her dependency transfers to her son Tom. She not only transferred her dependency to her son and her hopes for a gentleman caller to her daughter, but also her need of the past and her memories of the past. To Amanda, the past stands for the carefree life she led in Blue Mountain. This affects Tom and Laura greatly. Tom despises this situation and can't stand being at home. He goes to the movies and writes poetry to escape his home life and his disheartening job at the shoe factory. He believes that his home life and job affect his ... ...t forget her. "Ironically, though the rainbows seemed to be positive signs, they all end in disappointment"(Knorr). Even though Tom tries to escape his past, it remains with him for he is the one who tells the story of The Glass Menagerie. Though Amanda, Laura, and Jim are not real they are part of Tom's memory which reveals his pain and suffering in his ironic and humorous tone. All of the characters escape their reality that never changes. Works Cited Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. Ed. James Laughlin. New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1970. King, Thomas L. "Irony and Distance in The Glass Menagerie." In Modern Critical Views: Tennessee Williams. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987, 85-94. Knorr. Home page. http://www.susqu.edu/ac_depts/arts_sci/english/lharris/class/WILLIAMS/psy.htm

Is Your Beauty More Important Than Your Health? Essay

Is your beauty more important than your health? How much are you willing to pay for the price of beauty?In our day, many of us spend tones of money on beauty products to look better, but unfortunately sometimes the short-term look is not worth the long-term damage that such products can do to our skin. You expect the food you buy to be safe, and there are huge public outcries when it isn’t, yet the same demanding standarts are not universally applied to cosmetic companies. Recently ,people have been more aware of the food they consume. The food companies, which realized this sensitivity of consumers started to be honest and open to public with the ingredients they use in their products. After learning about the ingredients, people tend to consume more organic foods and foods that have more unsaturated substances than saturated. But the big question is this, if the people are so sensitive with their food intake, why don’t they have the same awareness for the products they use for their physical appearance? Many products that women use in our day, contain chemicals that endanger their health in a long period. The government surveys the beauty industry but it does not approve the products before they are sold in stores. Cosmetic companies are only required to list needed ingredients in their products, not the by products that could have been manifest during manufacturing. You may think that natural, organic or hypo-allergic products are healthier and not harmful as other manufactured chemicals, but there are no precepts for them too. The companies are allowed to add any ingredients they wish for, and any kind of label on the package that withstands them selves. Beauty products certify users to commerce with over 126 chemicals that are not tested, aside with legal and known ingredients.

Adults with Learning Difficulties Essay

â€Å"People with Learning Difficulties are unique individuals with their own likes and dislikes, history and opinions. They have the same rights as everybody else† To begin my assignment I will be discussing the history of social exclusion in relation to people with l’earning difficulties/disabilities . I will then outline process of Social work and in particular I will be focusing on intervention and how intervention has been used in relation to my chosen case study. In addition to this I will pay attention to a number of key issues in relation to society’s views on people with Learning Difficulties. I will also be discussing what Laws, Policies and Practices have been implemented to protect people with learning difficulties from oppression and discrimination and how effective these Laws have actually been in assisting people with Learning Difficulties to live the life they choose to live. During the late 19th century in particular, socially excluding people with learning disabilities was particularly inherent. At the time, those with ‘mental deficiencies’ were regarded as degenerates, and would often be blamed for social problems such as crime and poverty. This in turn led to the removal and institutionalisation of people thought to be ‘feeble minded’ and those referred to as ‘idiots’. Wolf Wolfensberger first published his thoughts about normalisation in 1972, through his works ‘The principle of Normalization in human service’. Wolfensberger argued that many of the problems with the institutions arose from the way in which they were designed and run. The residents of these institutions were treated like numbers rather than individuals, losing their identity and also their dignity. They were often regarded as primitive, uncontrollable and unable to be educated. The basic ideas and aims of the principles of normalisation have aimed to advocate community-based support for people with learning disabilities, whilst moving away from institutionalisation. But one of the most apparent obstacles in achieving this has been the attitude of those in the ‘community’ towards people with learning disabilities. Up to this point Social workers were still using the â€Å"tick box format† when conducting assessments and the medical model of practice was used which resulted in oppression of the service user. It was not until the NHS and community care Act and the community care (Direct Payments) Act was implemented in 1990’s that the attitudes towards people with Learning Difficulties began to improve along with the balance in power between Social Workers and Service Users. Further implementations of legal frameworks, policies and practices such as Valuing People 2001 and the Mental Capacity Act have helped to improve Social Work practice and in turn protect the rights of vulnerable people whilst promoting Anti-Discriminator practice, Social role valorisation and normalisation. Today’s process of Social Work consists of five key stages. These are Assessment, Deciding on outcomes, Planning, Intervention and Evaluation. Inter professional working should be placed centrally throughout all stages of the social work process in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the service user. Once the service users initial assessment has been carried out, decisions can then be made regarding the individuals overall needs and also their eligibility to receive funding for care packages and/or direct payments. Intervention can differ according to setting, but when looking at the intervention process for people with learning difficulties working in partnership and respecting the service user’s expertise is vital when putting agreed plans into action. This aspect of the intervention process can be linked to the exchange model as this approach promotes Anti Discriminatory Practice by empowering the service user to help make decisions about their future wellbeing. It also meets the expectations of the service user that social workers are respecting their expertise. Milner and Obrien 2002) During the intervention process it is the duty of the care manager/social worker to ensure that services provided are meeting the required standards and that the care is co-ordinated successfully to prevent deterioration due to gaps or lapses in care. It is also the responsibility of the care manager to ensure that services users are not excluded from services or receiving care that is of poor quality by constantly checking for discrimination stereotypes and assumptions made during the social work process. It is at this point that the intervention process can be linked with the objectives of Social role Valorisation; the objectives being to prevent people from attaining negative social roles and to promote positive valued roles in the first place. Work to reverse, or at least reduce the impact of existing negative roles and promote positive valued roles. The two key processes od social role valorisation are to enhance the social image of vulnerable people and to enhance their competencies. Social workers are expected to monitor and review intervention lans on a regular basis. Because of this it is vital that these plans can be changed at any time to suit the needs of the individual. When changes are made it is important that other organisations involved are kept up to date with these changes to ensure that the plan remains co-ordinated and effective. Although this theory of intervention illustrates a person centred approach, there is evidence to suggest that people with learning difficulties are still being failed by society due to standardisation and computerisation which can also be known as the â€Å"tick box format†. There are also many instances where there is an incorrect assessment of finances during the initial assessment process, due to the focus on resources available rather than needs. This can lead to the service user being denied access to services that they are entitled to. When looking at my case study Gemma, she has successfully been integrated into society after a comprehensive process of assessment, planning and intervention has been completed to form a person centred care package that suits her needs as an individual with profound and multiple learning difficulties, but also as a young woman who is a human being. The implementation of policies such as Valuing People 2001 and Valuing People Now promotes personalisation within society and has given people with Learning Disabilities like Gemma the right to their own independence, choice and inclusion. Also to have the option of appointing an advocate. However, I cannot help but feel that her story of success was down to the sheer determination of her mother, who had to fight for her daughters individual needs to be met. Social Workers and other multi professionals who were involved in assessment of Gemma’s needs obviously felt that she would have benefited from institutionalisation, as it is stated that this was suggested as a future plan on numerous occasions. I cannot help but wonder whether this has been due to professionals focusing on Gemma’s disability rather than focusing on her as a person. Valuing people 2001 states that the role of services is to help people no matter how complexed their disability, to live full and equal lives in their local communities. Although the article states that ideas for Gemma to live as independently as possible were well received and finally implemented, It is also obvious that there have been constant struggles to obtain funding such as direct payments to accommodate Gemma’s visions to live a normal life within her community. Following Wolfensbergers development of Social Role Valorisation, Obrien developed the five service accomplishments, which provided a practical framework to work towards Social Role Valorisation. Obrien suggests â€Å"Each accomplishment supports a vital dimension of human experience which common practice limits for people with severe Learning Disabilities. They challenge and strengthen the relationship between people with disabilities and other community members. (Obrien 1989) Recent articles published on the community care website have suggested that social workers themselves are witnessing the target-driven culture of bureaucracy within councils (just like Gemmas mum experienced ),and are aware that this has created numerous barriers to people with mental health problems gaining access to direct payments. It has been reported that a Social Work Team Manager within Adults with Learning Disabilities actually left her role at Doncaster Council in 2010 because she had encountered these problems and felt that it hindered the intervention process. She has since started up her own Personalisation Forum Group to bring these service users together. The weekly meetings at a community centre now attract 30 regulars, providing support and regular socialising opportunities. I utilise my social work skills to help the group solve the problems that they face; this involves reducing dependency on professionals by highlighting people’s strengths, and encouraging them to think through solutions on their own and with other group members. People describe feeling part of something, like they have some power over their own future and many for the first time can see something positive,† Hicks says. Michelle Lefevre, senior lecturer in social work at the University of Sussex, says it is a â€Å"sad indictment† that Hicks felt she had to leave local authority social work to build such meaningful relationships with users. Not only is local government overly focused on administration rather than spending time with children and families, she says, but problems in social work degree programmes and supervision mean practitioners are not equipped to deal with the emotional dimensions of the job. Overall it is very refreshing to read success stories like Gemma’s as it seems that she is living her live as independently as possible, whilst being supported by a dedicated team of people who are constantly ensuring that she is receiving person centred care and that her wishes remain central. It is my only hope that in the future it will not require a loving parent to fight the rights of a service user and to overcome hurdle after hurdle to receive the funding and care package they are rightful entitled to, but that the service user will be granted access to the services and funding they are eligible for with ease.

Examination of the United States Position on the Kyoto Treaty essays

Examination of the United States Position on the Kyoto Treaty essays According to an article found in the journal, Harvard International Review, in 1997 one-hundred sixty nations from around the world met in Kyoto Japan to discuss global climate change and to implement a strategy for correcting the problem (Zepeda, 2004). As a result of this meeting the Kyoto Protocol was created. This protocol is actually a treaty that has since been successfully implemented (Zepeda, 2004). The treaty or protocol was designed to obligate the countries that sign the treaty to revert back to the Green House Gas (GHG) emissions standards of 1990 by the year 2012. In addition, the treaty required that 55 or more nations that compose 55% of worldwide GHG emissions to sign the treaty in order for the treaty to be effective (Zepeda, 2004). Schreurs (2002) asserts that at the time of the 1997 meeting there were great expectations for the development of an international treaty that would address the issue of global warning. The international community was also anticipating the support and participation of the United States. This anticipation existed because President Clinton and in particular Vice President Al Gore were known for their environmentally friendly beliefs and initiatives (Schreurs, 2000). Indeed at the time Gore was the greenest politician to be member of the White House in many years (Schreurs, 2000). In addition environmentalists had great expectations and there was also a great deal of fear among industry was also real (Schreurs, 2000). In addition there were indications that the Clinton administration would shift US positions on important global environmental issues. For instance, Clinton signed the Biodiversity Convention during his first Earth Day as president. In addition Clinton posited that the United States would voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2000 even though the administration initially remained opposed to legally binding targets and timetables (Schreurs, 2...

Indicator of Business assessment on Nursing home Article

Indicator of Business assessment on Nursing home - Article Example Thus, the role of nursing homes becomes one of the top most importance in today's life of the society. The elderly care industry can be split into two categories - nursing homes and residential care homes. Nursing homes are fundamentally private hospitals for elderly residents calling for high levels of care, staffed by managers and nurses with sophisticated levels of medical and care training. Residential care homes, on the other hand, are old people's homes. They provide a place to stay for elderly people who conceivably cannot do everything for themselves, yet nevertheless enjoy a degree of independence and require little hands-on care. They are staffed by qualified care takers whose level of training need not be as advanced as those working in nursing homes. Nursing homes as a business or an investment is a field which looks healthy in spite of the economic catastrophe. There are a number of reseat developments for this friendly environment for the investors. Though the extra legislation introduced through the Care Standards Act has made it binding for the potential purchasers to prepare and make a lot of commitment financially and personally on staffing and maintenance of the nursing home, any body now planning to go into this business is assured of study income and thriving business. Running a nursing home can be a rewarding business, as the returns one get from the care homes would be very significant. The majority of nursing facility services is funded by the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Nursing homes with private care patients generally provide higher quality care than facilities dependent on Medicaid patients. National Senior Citizens Law Center states that nursing homes discriminate against Medicaid patients versus private pay. The difference may be a special wing of a home, eviction of Medicaid patients and inferior food and services. One expert noted that nine out of ten attorneys give bad advice on qualifying for Medicaid. Approximately 63% of nursing-home patients of cognitively impaired. Nursing homes provide long term and sub-acute care to persons in need of 24-hour nursing services or significant supportive services. The quality of care and quality of life for residents of nursing homes have been a concern for decades. Nursing home residents are generally frail, physically and psychosocially compromised, heavily dependent upon others for basic care and sustenance, and in some cases near the end of their lives. When residents live in an environment where they are totally dependent on others, they are especially vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation. Nursing home licensees must protect these vulnerable persons and are expected to provide the necessary care and services to allow each resident to achieve and maintain his or her highest possible level of function and well being. Financial status, in fact, causes inequalities in the quality of care received by an elderly person. It mainly may not be with in the same nursing home. African Americans are four times more likely than their white counterparts to reside in substandard nursing homes. But obviously if one has got money the service he gets is simply remarkable. The Silverado is an example to it; Silverado specializes in residents with severe dementia. Most assisted-living homes quarantine such patients in separate wards or ship them off to nursing homes when their

Community Development - Ku'nsaka Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Community Development - Ku'nsaka - Essay Example Ku’nsaka was formed in January 1997 by a group of friend who felt that there was a gap in the community for facility provision for the African-Caribean community. A large proportion of the Ku’nsaka community is from the Southern part of Africa mostly from Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Ku’nsaka also welcomes a wide range of people who are in need of their services as it believes that they could benefit from its services. Ku’nsaka works towards providing the Black, and Ethnic Minority community is served with necessities that some community members need but are not in a position to acquire. Within the office premises, Ku’nsaka has a project office telephone facility, this is to ensure that the service users who do not own a telephone can use the guidance of the office staff. The members who have basic knowledge of computers have the use of computers in the office. The office workers help users with benefits applications that require performing online. Service users also have the facility to borrow equipment such as lawn mowers or vacuum cleaners and other domestic equipment. Books and leaflets are available in different languages to facilitate those with language and communication problems. Ku’nsaka provides service users with advice relating to welfare benefits, housing and financial problems as well as issues relating to health and education. Since the user does not use English as their first language, Ku’nsaka provides that confidential setting that some users need for someone they can trust to read and interpret their correspondence. There is a spirit of community involvement at Ku’nsaka as people feel confident enough to plan or organise activities with the help of staff and get involved in community group activities. At Ku’nsaka, offering support serves as a way of creating conditions conducive to the Black and Ethnic Minority community. It is also a way of enhancing their social functioning and self-esteem as