The Perception of Beauty

The Perception of Beauty Today the world we live in is very reliant on the media. The media contributes to us updates on our economy, news on events, the weather, and other important information. The media also dispenses influential images and messages. The media is so intertwined in our lives that we do no truly comprehend how much influence it really has on us. Some of the messages and images we receive from the media can be positive as well as negative.Most often than not, we are exposed to images that are so unrealistic and unattainable by the average person that we become discontent with our lives and with ourselves. This is when the media starts to distort our thoughts on the normal way of life and what true beauty is. The mainstream media’s perception of beauty is thin and glamorous. Most of the people displayed in the media have unrealistic body types. With the constant exhibit of these airbrushed to perfection bodies the audience becomes desensitized, especially the y outh, making people believe that it’s normal.This constant reminder can cause great guilt, making one think they are unattractive and below average. The negative body image being portrayed in the media is on display for everyone and it’s continuously being supported by the rest of the population. With this distorted perception of beauty many people have become unsatisfied with themselves. This persistent image of what you should look like can lead to poor physical and mental health.With people becoming insecure with their body image things like low self-esteem, depression, eating disorders, and even suicide can occur. In source 1 (Effects of the Media on Body Image), it states that the National Eating Disorder Association (2006) reports, â€Å"In the past 70 years national rates of all eating disorders have dramatically increased. † To some, being thin becomes everything. Deception of reality invades people’s lives and with media being just a turn or a cl ick away, the influence of the media starts at an early age.According to The Journal of Adolescent Health, â€Å"Teenagers that are overweight, or believe that they are overweight, appear to have a higher risk of suicide† (This information is stated in source 3: Teen Suicide Attempts Linked to Body weight and Body Image). Each year the models in the media are growing thinner and the advertisement of dieting and exercising is increasing. Beauty is being manipulated again and again. People’s physical and mental health is at serious risk and it’s time for a change.Perfection does not exist and for someone to try to attain such a thing is not healthy. The images in the media have profound effects on our lives and with that in mind, the media should rethink their perception of beauty. Just because someone is not stick thin doesn’t mean they’re not beautiful. Just because someone doesn’t look like the model on the cover of a magazine doesn’ t mean they’re not beautiful, and just because someone doesn’t acquire the characteristic of what the media insights as beautiful, doesn’t mean they’re not beautiful; it just means they are realistic.We continue to take a walk down a dangerous path in our culture. Not enough is being done to deter the false images that are being portrayed. The media’s perception of beauty is both unrealistic and harmful to one’s self. As a collective society, we need to accept our flaws. We need to accept people for how they look, stop trying to live up to an unrealistic image in the media, and just be ourselves. Why do we give the media the right to say what’s beautiful? Their exhibit of beauty is not real. It’s time for a change in media for the sake of society’s health.

Classification of Movies Essay

When it comes to movies, People have many different types of genres they prefer to watch. It is easy to assume almost everyone has a preference when it comes to movies, because there have been so many different types made to appeal to all viewers. There are three major categories that have wide appeal Romance, Comedy, and Horror. The romance, comedy and horror genres are the most popular in the movie industry. Wall Street Journal Doris Walsh says: â€Å"Romance, Comedy and Horror movies are the most popular to rent in every age group they have the most factors that intrigue and entice the viewer into the fantasy or documentary aspect of the movie†. The first genre of movies, are romance movies The Straits Times (Singapore) Yip Wai Yee says: â€Å"I’m a romantic at heart, but it’s not only because of that. Sometimes, you just want to feel more, to have your heart squeezed and get that rush of emotion that only these movies will give you.† The romance genre is more appealing to the female audience. New York Times Writer Bill Carter says: â€Å" Love at first sight, abandoned by Sunday afternoon companion, deceived by the best friend who became the mistress, women appeal to romance imagining themselves in the scenes from these relevant situations.† The fantasy and passionate story lines are so heart wrenching. Whether there is a happy ending or not the passion that’s illustrated becomes so realistic. Love and Basketball a well-known romance movie tops the charts: Baltimore City writer Tom Scocco says,â€Å"It’s conceived, essentially, as a three cornered love story, with a basketball holding down the third spot. It is a story of an African- American male and female who grew up together and share a love for basketball. The passion, heartache, struggle and support the characters have for each other reminds people of their relationships. The second genre is comedy. Wall street journal Denise Jackson says â€Å"Comedies have a way of lightening the mood.† The goals of this genre are to appeal to the viewer’s humorous side. â€Å"Comedies use humor to draw the audience attention through its characters and storylines.† Says D.Jackson. The most popular comedy genres are Anarchic comedy, Romantic comedy and slap stick comedy. Anarchic comedy refers to a sub-genre comedy that uses stream of consciousness humor. An anarchic film uses slapstick tendencies that tell a story, considered less physically violent. Romantic comedy great for new couples is a genre that catches the viewer’s heart with love and humor. Slapstick genre incorporates physical comedy into the story. Using visual action, harmless violence, horseplay and depict humor. Comedies give the opportunity to look at scenarios from a humorous perspective. Comedies although really entertaining use scenes that are unrealistic still are fun and enjoyable to watch play out. The third genre is Horror. Horror movies bring the same thrill seeking, danger and suspense t o the viewer. â€Å"Horror movies are meant to bring a fear to the audience and can either be fantasy or based on true events. â€Å"New York Times† a commentator named Jason Zinoman says scary movies are watched for the really intense emotional experience† and that you never feel more â€Å"in the moment† than when terrified at a horror movie. Horror movies bring the same adrenaline rush of emotions from the characters to the audience. In conclusion Romance, Comedy, and Horror films bring various imaginative feelings. Each person is there to gain or learn something different. Whether that be to entertain a new woman/man in your life, or to temporarily set aside personal problems or just to get that suspense feeling viewers tend to enjoy. The film industry goal is to give the viewers a chance to feel the story line and movies of the genres causes an audience to use their imagination to enhance the movie watchers experience.

Business Economics for Sustainable Living

Sustainability has some main pillars or rather aspects and these aspects were identified in the year 2005 during the world summit on social development. These aspects contribute to the social science and philosophy of sustainable development. These aspects have formed the backbone of dealing with the main areas that the world focuses on. As described by Brundtland mission, sustainability is a development aspect which meets the present needs with no promise of the future generations’ abilities in meeting their needs (Holden and Linnerud, p 175). Therefore the future has to be considered while making present decisions. The main two aspects include economic development ad environment aspects. Most people have had disagreements based on political ideologies regarding what is and is not economically sound. It has thus proven to be very problematic. The manner in which this aspect affects business, jobs and employability is also still a debatable issue. Economic development mostly deals with the process of how business incentives are provided in situations where such businesses and other organizations are supposed to adhere to the sustainable guidelines that are found beyond their normal requirements for legislation (Ellis and Moarif, p 11). This aspect also encourages and fosters incentives for an average person in which they are able to do their activities to the much they can. It’s seen that an individual may not achieve as much as a group would have because for some effects to be felt they have to be cumulative. The consumer nature of the supply and demand market has made the need for many resources in the modern life to be very high on a daily basis. From the environmental aspect what matters most is how we get whatever that needs to be consumed. Therefore if people are given whatever they want with no promise to the quality of life then this is referred to as economic development. This is more relevant in the developing countries where reduction in the financial burden and the ‘red tape’ of doing things right is still a big issue to deal with (Chan and Lee, p 249). For economic sustainability to be felt the human munity in the globe should be able to sustain their independence and gain access to the required resources as well as finances so as to meet their needs with ease. The systems of economy ought to be intact and all the activities be made available to everyone for instance their needs to be sources of livelihood that are secure enough. The economic sustainability is involved with ensuring that businesses in place are able to make profits and their operations do not in any way create environmental and social issues which are likely to harm the success of the business which may be envisioned to be long-term.   If any nation focuses on environmental and social issues the profitability of the economy will definitely flow. This is because most of the social initiatives tend to have a great impact on the behaviors of modity consumers as well as the performance of employees (Perrini, Russo and Tencati, p 291). On the other hand environmental initiatives like efficiency in energy supply and mitigation of pollution has a direct impact on waste reduction creating a good environment for the economy. Most people know what they need to do to protect the environment and especially from pollution. However the small things that have been neglected are some of key contributors to environmental pollution and thus loss in terms of sustainability. Such things like recycling, reduction in power consumption through switching off power when not in use, walking some short distances as opposed to using vehicles if assumed can lead to great environmental destruction. There are regulations for businesses in which they are supposed to keep the carbon emissions low as well as prevent pollution. Incentives exists which promote projects for installing power sources that are renewable in businesses and homes. This aspect is thus the main concern regarding the future of humanity (Dempsey, p 257). This aspect offers definition on how the environment should be protected and a lot of focus is placed on elements that seem to stress the environment. It’s concerned with how technology can be used to drive a future that is green. The developments that focus on biotechnology and technology are important to attaining environmental sustainability and thus protect the future environment from any damage that may be caused by technological advances (UNPF, p 7). To attain environmental sustainability ecological integrity has to be maintained. The earth’s environmental systems need to be kept in balance and the natural resources in the environment need to be consumed by human beings at a rate in which they can replenish themselves. The systems and activities in place should also be able to reduce the impact of the environment on the environment. When it es to the resources that are renewable the rate at which they are harvested is not supposed to exceed the rate at which they regenerate back (Maslow, p 58). In relation to pollution the rate at which wastes are generated from the ongoing projects should not go beyond the capacity for assimilation by the environment. In case of the nonrenewable resources their depletion requires the development of substitutes that are renewable. Such goals include zero waste by the organization, reduction in the use of plastic bags and ing up with initiatives that reduce carbon footprint through management of energy consumption (Ebner, p 8). Some organizations like Nestle have identified the main priority areas regarding environmental sustainability such as agricultural raw materials, water, packaging that is specific to their beverages and food and manufacturing and distribution. In relation to energy use Verizon pany has initiatives that aim at environmental sustainability like the recycling of tel equipment and reduction in energy use through provision of flexible working conditions at work, it has also worked on reducing   intensity in carbon and getting some more efficient solutions to its fleet that is eco-friendly (Jackson, P 21). Therefore this environmental aspect aims at acknowledging the necessity o f enhancing and maintaining the biophysical systems which sustain life with a focus on the natural ecosystem structure and the interactions which exist among them. Innovative ideas have contributed a lot when it es to ensuring sustainability is achieved in different sectors such as environment, economic sector and even the social sector. Such innovations include; innovation from new light technologies have invented air carbon which is a plastic material that is carbon neutral produced from greenhouse gases such as methane (Eurostat P 15). This is used in the packaging and furniture industries in which it matches oil based plastics both in performance and price. This innovation has helped solve the issue of non biodegradable nature of plastic bags. High energy savings have also been archived by the use of view intelligent window. This window regulates the light and temperature of the room in which it’s used. It’s been mainly designed for mercial buildings so as to eliminate the need for shades and blinds. Outerwall pany has recently introduced outerwallecoATM which is a network of recycling kiosks that are automated for the tech products (Jacobs P 36). Customers can easily follow simple steps and be able to recycle old tablets and phones and any other electronics and receive cash in exchange. Powwow energy is an innovation in which unnecessary losses of resources especially water are prevented. The powwow energy detects any water leaks from an irrigation system that is used in agriculture and informs the farmers immediately for repair. The Retroficiency software is designed to fight losses of energy in buildings. The data sets are used by Retroficiency to make suggestions on energy saving ideas for both businesses and homes. It works on the bination of both energy analytics and the models of buildings with the use of data that they get from the already existing energy audits to give out ideas relating to energy saving. The BioTrans system is used in restaurants where it’s installed to collect and grind any leftovers into a biomass that is homogenous (Jenks and Dempsey, P 175). There has been the invention of DessoThe AirMaster a form of carpet which is used to capture pollutant particles and fine dust from rooms thus providing healthier indoor climates. It’s made of recycled carpets and proves to be better than the hardwood flooring when related to prevention of allergies. From the discussion above its evident that sustainability is not just matters environment but in the many definitions of sustainability we are able to find the concerns about social equity and the development of the economy. It’s in this regard that the motivations behind sustainability are in most cases diverse, plex and personal. It is almost unrealistic for one to e up with a list as to why many people are working hard to achieve this goal. Thus sustainability in most cases boils down to the future the current generation is leaving for the next generation. These aspects of sustainability are therefore shared by many people who aim at demonstrating their importance in developing many policies. It’s therefore the duty of the people in today’s generation along with those of the future to create solutions that are adaptable and aim at fostering sustainability. When a pany chooses to define sustainability with the two aspects in mind then it’s easier to determine its own successful road that is sustainable. If any one of the aspects is weak or given less attention then the whole system of an organization may b e unsustainable since they are both interlinked.   Chan E, and Lee GKL. 2008. Critical factors for improving social sustainability of urban renewal projects. Social Indicators Research 85: 243–256. Dempsey N. 2008b. Quality of the built environment in urban neighbourhoods. Planning Practice and Research 23: 249–264. Ebner D. 2008. Assessing Corporate Social Responsibility in Industrial Firms: the CSR-Assessment. Pg 8. Montanuniversità ¤t Leoben Ellis, J. and Moarif, S., 2009. GHG mitigation actions: MRV issues and options. Draft for review. OECD/IEA Project for the Annex I Expert Group on the UNFCCC, Paris.pg 5-15 Eurostat, 2009. Measuring progress towards a more sustainable Europe. 2009 monitoring report of the EU sustainable development strategy. Pg 13-19. Office for Official Publications of the European munities, Luxembourg. Holden E, and Linnerud K. 2007. The sustainable development area: satisfying basic needs and safeguarding ecological sustainability. Sustainable Development 15: 174–185. Jackson, T., 2009. Prosperity without growth? Transition to a sustainable economy. Sustainable Development mission, London p 21. Jacobs M. 1999. Sustainable development as a contested concept. In Fairness and Futurity: Essays on Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice, Dobson A (ed.). Oxford University Press: Oxford; 21–45. Jenks M and Dempsey N. 2007. Defining the neighbourhood: challenges for empirical research. Town Planning Review 78: 153–177. Maslow, H.A., 1968. Toward Psychology of Being, 3rd Edition 1999. John Wiley and Sons, New York. Pg 55-61. Perrini F, Russo A and Tencati A. 2007. CSR strategies of SMEs and large fi rms. Evidence from Italy. Journal of Business Ethics 74(3): 285–300. UNPF (United Nations Population Fund). 2007. State of World Population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth. UNFPA: New York. Pg 4-10.  

Teamwork Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Teamwork - Essay Example Introduction of teamwork in the organization is a gradual process that requires patience and hard work both from the employees and their supervisors. To accomplish this as the supervisor, I would apply a four-step procedure that mostly involves training to show the importance of teamwork. The first step would involve developing the mindset by establishing a weekly training to improve team skills (Stanton, Baber & Harris, 2008). During this step, I would work towards showing the employees that all individuals’ ideas are valuable and the communication skills would be improved in this step. In the second step, I would engage the employees extensively by asking questions that require several individuals to consult each other. Here, I would encourage all members to participate. Third, I would then train them to resolve conflicts, which are the main barriers to success. During this step, I would refrain from giving my ideas until the trainees have given and evaluated theirs. The tra inees deal with the issues that would get in the way of achieving success, thus becoming good problem solvers (Stanton et al., 2008. The final step would incorporate brainstorming solutions where all ideas are evaluated to encourage the spirit of innovation. This would take a period of approximately 12 months to develop reliable teams. Several challenges can be encountered when developing team players. One of the challenges includes domineering personalities where certain individuals dominate discussions in the group. This can be resolved by creating time limitations on contributions and ensuring that all members get a chance to contribute. Secondly, conflicts are a frequent occurrence when developing teams. Conflicts occur in the form of disagreements and can be resolved by teaching the individuals to respect all members’ ideas and disagreeing politely and reasonably. The last challenge is ineffective communication where members communicate in a vague way. Identifying issues

Personal Media Inventory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal Media Inventory - Essay Example As the research declares television images are reproduced on screens which can either be colored or limited to black and white. Televisions have the ability to receive signals and reproduce them on screens. With technology, it is possible to have televisions which can stream media content without relying on the analogue signals used in the past. News and occurrences across the country and beyond are relayed through the television. One can also use a television to watch movies which are informative and entertaining. According to the report findings a newspaper is a printed publication which contains news, advertisements and other information that the producers considers important to reach the readers. Newspapers are better sources of information compared to television since one can keep the newspaper as a reference to a certain piece of information. They are both informative and entertaining. Magazines are closely related to newspapers. However, they are periodical publications which contains articles from various individuals on different topics. Whereas newspapers cover the contemporary issues in the society, magazines are more specific and dwell on a smaller niche of information. They cover a particular topic or area of interest. The internet is a global communication network that allows computers, phones, and other devices to communicate, connect and exchange information. It has taken over the entertainment and information industry considering that most people own cellular phones which can ac cess it.

Japanese Colonialism Was no Different to Western Colonialism Essay

Japanese Colonialism Was no Different to Western Colonialism - Essay Example Although, Japanese and British colonialism took place during the same period, their colonial policies were quite different in some aspects while similar in other. The major areas in which Japan and Britain formed its colonies were significantly different. The regions where the Japanese were the most dominant in their colonial rule are Korea, Taiwan and Philippines. Whereas the British rule was prevalent in Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Their policies seemed significantly different in some aspects, yet somehow similar in others. The basic difference in the policies of these colonial powers was their aim of colonization. The colonization by Japanese aimed at extending the Japanese empire in various parts of the world. Whereas the British aimed to give independence to its colonies whenever the need arises. Their policies relating to laws, rule and regulations and economic development were significantly different. In areas of managing cultural diversity and education, their policie s were quite similar. Japanese wanted to rule its colonies directly while the British supported the idea of indirect rule. In Africa, British let the African leaders to carry out their judicial and executive functions with the support of British officials. The British were in favor of indirect rule as they did not have to spend money in order to recreate the constitutional framework and hiring and firing of government employees. By letting the native leaders to continue carrying their functions, the British were able to save manpower and money. They gave a high degree of autonomy and strength to native authorities. In areas where there was one ethnic group, the local customary laws seemed to work. In areas where there were many ethnic groups, the British made councils which were made up of the natives who were the educated elite. These councils were in the supervision of British. It seemed that British were more interested in reaping the economic benefits from the region rather than in governing it (Kenneth A. Schultz and Alexander Lee). On the other hand, the Japanese installed new governments in which the governor generals were in charge of controlling the law and accommodating the needs of the native Koreans and Taiwanese. The legal system was extremely discriminatory against native populations in the colonies. Koreans ,who had gained education could participate in government, were given fewer rights than Japanese. The natives did not have the same level of protection under Japanese law as the Japanese did and were not given the right to elect their government. This kind of discrimination was practiced in order to make the colonial subjects so weak that they are unable to rebel against the colonial powers. Later the education system was also designed as such that the colonial subjects were not provided that level of education which would lead to a rebellion or at least empowerment of the colonial subjects. The Japanese aimed to have a controlled empire whic h would be controlled from Tokyo and the laws would be no different from those which govern the original Japanese nation. Initially, the local laws were kept intact and the Supreme court in Japan had no control over those in Taiwan and Korea. The impression was given that the judiciary will remain independent of the parent company’s laws. In reality, this initiative was just taken in order to win the support of

United Nations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

United Nations - Essay Example Members are joined together and bound by treaties signifying their participation within the larger UN political framework. The political decisions of member-states are thus constrained by their allegiance and signatory status to overarching United Nations treaties. Established in the wake of the Second World War, the United Nations was created to ensure that the horrors of World War II never happen again. Since the United Nations represents multilateralism, collective decision-making and negotiation on a global scale it is the most pronounced example of a supranational political body ever created. Seeking to explore the history, purpose and goals of the United Nations, this essay will provide a holistic analysis of the United Nations. A supranational organization which evolved in the aftermath of the horrors of the Second World War, the United Nations was created with the goals of ensuring that the calamity of the Second World War never occurs again through peaceful diplomacy and collective negotiation through intercultural communication. This essay will describe the emergence of the United Nation as a viable multilateral organization, explain the reasons for its emergence and discuss the goals of this supranational body. Why was the United Nations established and what role does intercultural communication play within the UN? These questions, and many more, with respect to the development of the United Nations will be analyzed and discussed in depth. We will then summarize our analysis and conclude with a concise overview of the UN. An international organization which promotes world peace through a variety of social initiatives, the United Nations grew out of the calamity of the Second World War. Presently composed of 192 member states from all corners of the globe, members of this multilateral organization include nearly every recognized country in the world and membership in the UN is considered the international stamp of

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants Essay

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants - Essay Example Leonardo’s father was one of the traders who traded in Bugia; a Mediterranean port found in North Eastern Algeria. He always accompanied his father on his journeys across North Africa, and through travelling, he gained valuable knowledge of the mathematical systems that were popular in the countries they visited. After travelling for fifteen years, he quit his long travels and went back to his hometown (Robertson & O’Connor, www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk). While in Pisa, his hometown; Leonardo decided to write books based on his mathematical foundation. Examples of these books include; Liber Abaci, Practica Geometricae, Flos, Liber Quadratorum, among others. Influences from Indian, Arabian and Greek mathematicians can be detected in his methods. Therefore, it is correct to say that Leonardo’s works represents the developments of results he acquired from his predecessors. Leonardo’s published his first work, Liber Abaci (Book of Abacus), in 1202. The Book of Abacus was based on algebra and calculations that he accumulated during his several voyages. The book introduced the use of Arabic numerals and the Hindu-Arabic place value system into Europe: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 (Robertson & O’Connor, www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk). Prior to this time, Roman numerals were being used in Europe, and they were extremely awkward for arithmetic. For example, I =1, V=5, X =10, among others. Leonardo also described in Latin the rules being learnt at elementary schools for subtracting, adding, dividing and multiplying numbers. Several arithmetic problems handled in the book were similar to the ones that appeared in the Arab sources. Liber Abaci’s second section contained several mathematical problems faced by merchants. These problems related to the pricing of goods, how profit calculations were to be conducted, how currencies used in the Mediterranean countries were to be converted, and problems that had originated from China. The third section

The struggle for equality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

The struggle for equality - Essay Example Civil rights are freedoms and rights guaranteed to a member of a community, state, or nation. Freedom of speech, of the press, religion, and of fair and equal treatment are the basic civil rights. The constitution of the United States contains a Bill of Rights that describes simple liberties and rights insured to every person in the United States. Although the Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the Constitution, civil rights were not always respected to all human beings, especially blacks. When the Constitution was first written, many Americans understood the meaning of the famous inscripture â€Å"all men are created equal† to mean that all white males were created equal, likewise with other civil rights guarantees as well. As a result, blacks were enslaved and persecuted throughout the late 1700's and early 1800's.After the end of Civil War the Constitution was amended to give former slaves freedom and the rights of citizens. This passing of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to Constitution were supposed to give the African-Americans equal protection under the law. They were also intended to give the new citizens the right to vote. During the 1850's abolitionists in the North questioned the morality of southern slavery by writing and preaching about the rights blacks were denied. Abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison, Fredrick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth, paved the way for the first civil rights movement that occurred after the Civil War, during Reconstruction. ... segregated societies, separating themselves from blacks in every humanly way possible. The old Jim Crow laws governed all aspects of their existence, from the schoolroom to the restroom. Southern blacks faced new discrimination every day whether it be economically, socially, or politically. America was destined for another, more far- reaching civil rights movement. The civil rights movement during the late 1800's and early 1900's provided the foundations for the current civil rights laws achieved throughout the 1960's. Black Americans made significant gains in their struggle for equal rights during Reconstruction, the 12-year period after the Civil War. In 1868, after southern president Andrew Johnson vetoed a Civil Rights bill, the radically republican influenced congress transported the principals of the Civil Rights bill to the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment conferred civil rights and citizenship for all former slaves, and was incorporated into the requirements for a southern state to regain its statehood. After the 14th Amendment was passed; however, the radical faction of congress was disappointed that it did not grant blacks the right to vote. When the fear that southern states might amend their constitutions so as to withdraw blacks from the ballot was recognized by moderate Republicans, Congress formally placed the ballot in the hands of blacks with the 15th Amendment, passed in 1869. With the passing of breakthrough legislation, several leaders emerged to lead this new civil rights movement. Ex-slave, Booker T. Washington put his newly acquired freedom to use when he started a black industrial school at Tuskegee, Alabama. He taught his students useful trades so they could

Quantitative and Qualitative Article Critiques Annotated Bibliography

Quantitative and Qualitative Article Critiques - Annotated Bibliography Example Since mental health is an important determining factor to grade the associated comorbidities and hence outcomes related to quality of life in individuals with heart failure, interventions to improve mental health would also influence the quality of life in these patients. The problem in this study therefore to investigate the effects of nursing interventions directed to this area and to know whether these mental health nursing interventions improves the outcome. The problem is sufficiently narrow, since this asks a specific question about the management of heart failure problems, where the psychological distress part of the causative factors for heart failure is in question. This does not make this question trivial, since even though narrow, this addresses a very important comorbidity which has been hypothesized to have significant impact on the outcome of care in these patients over and above the conventional means of symptom management and palliative measure. The study highlights a n area of focus where reduction of morbidity and mortality is important part of care, which tends to identify the nursing strategies in this context, in order to improve the perceptions of wellbeing and quality of life in these patients. ... This purpose hence narrows down and clarifies the aim of the study that has been designed to examine the effectiveness of these nursing strategies for intervention. The research variables have been thus identified, which are psychological comorbidities of heart failure, outcomes such as perceptions about symptoms and quality of life, and nursing interventions to enhance mental health. The population has been identified to the patients having heart failure, and the research setting has been identified to the heart failure patients who receive home care. The problem is significant, since research has acknowledged the importance of influence of mental health in determining comorbidity in heart failure patients. Improvement of quality of life and satisfaction is a nursing forte, since they are more closely related to care of the patients. If nursing mental health interventions are really proved to be improving health outcomes in these patients in home care, this can serve as evidence for care interventions in future nursing practice. This is a very feasible research in terms of money commitment, since although the design is experimental, this authors planned to utilize the existing system of home care nursing interventions, since many patients with heart failure are treated by home care agencies. They made arrangements made with home care agencies, where already baseline data were available. The rest of the design involves interventions, which are priceless, and analysis cost is nominal. The researchers are experienced professors, and this study was supported by American Heart Association, and they possess the expertise to undertake a research of this magnitude. As has been mentioned earlier, the

Time Management Essay Example for Free

Time Management Essay This report has been prepared with the purpose of analysing and evaluating my current time usage, in order to assess my time management skills. Time Management involves setting priorities and undertaking goal management in order to as efficient and productive as possible. The aim of this report is to evaluate my current time management skills and isolate areas in which I need to improve and also to establish what theories and methods I must utilize in order to ensure that my time is well managed. The objective of this report is to properly analyse my findings in order to make accurate conclusions and in turn determine recommendations as to how I can adopt better time management skills in order to achieve my goals and objectives. Prior to preparing this report, I was required to identify my life goals and objectives on a short and long term basis in different areas of my life. These being; study, family, personal, work, social, community service, home duties and sleep. I was then required to prioritise my goals and objectives, estimate how I was spending my time and record a detailed time log over a one week period. The most accurate method when recording time usage data was immediate documentation. I also used my current organisational tools as a resource to remind me how I had recently spent my time and what I could expect from the coming week making estimations. After comparing my estimated and actual time usage figures (Refer to Appendix 5), it became apparent that there was little difference between the two sets of figures. Although my results indicated that my estimates were fairly accurate, they show that I am consistently spending my time in ways that are perhaps not ideal. In order to narrow the gap between my actual time usage and ideal time usage I will need to spend more time studying, and less time socialising and performing home duties. In particular, study is a high priority for me and I must therefore make sure I undertake goal management and establish it as one of my priorities. One way I can close the gap, is by utilizing my current commuting time to perform my weekly readings for university. I can also use the principles behind the Haynes theory on prime time and ? The Pickle Jar Theory in order to ensure I am using my time productively. Only then will I be able to realistically work towards my long term goals and objectives. Introduction: This report has been prepared with the purpose of analyzing and evaluating my current time usage, in order to assess my time management skills. Time Management includes tools or techniques for planning and scheduling time, usually with the aim to increase the effectiveness and/or efficiency of personal and corporate time use. (Wikipedia 2007, para. 1). Time Management involves setting priorities and undertaking goal management in order to as efficient and productive as possible. Time Management is an essential ingredient to success, as it discourages time wasting activities and procrastination which hinders productivity. Understanding the importance of Time Management enables individuals to take active steps towards better managing their time and governing the eventual outcome. (Mind Tools 2007, para. 2). Aims and objectives The aim of this report is to evaluate my current time management skills and isolate areas in which I need to improve. The purpose of this report is also to establish what theories and methods I must utilize in order to ensure that my time is well managed. As well as being an assessed task, this report is necessary in order to properly evaluate my current time usage. Once this evaluation has been made, decisions on strategies can be made in order to enable me to be more time efficient in the future. I am currently trying to divide my time between a number of different activities and areas of my life, however up until now I have never stopped to evaluate my efficiency. The objective of this report is to properly analyse my findings in order to make accurate conclusions. From these conclusions I will be able to determine recommendations as to how I can adopt better time management skills in order to achieve my long term goals and objectives. Scope This Time Management report has been written in keeping with Mohans recommended structure of a formal report (Mohan et al 2004, p348). It encompasses a summary, introduction to time management, aims and objectives, the method of research, results, discussion and analysis, conclusion and recommendations. Although this report gives mention to a number of established time management theories, it does not go into any extensive detail. These boundaries have been set out by the lecturer in charge of assessing this report in order to keep its contents relatively brief. Although this report is directed to Roslyn Hunter and Julie McLaren, I am the person who will be affected by its findings and who will have to take into consideration the proposed recommendations. Body of Report Method of Research Prior to preparing this report, I was required to identify my life goals and objectives on a short and long term basis. The time frames I worked with for the purpose of this exercise were ? 3 years (Refer to Appendix 2) and ? Semester 1 (Refer to Appendix 3) respectively. These goals and objectives were established, based on different areas of my life. These being; study, family, personal, work, social, community service, home duties and sleep. I was then required to prioritise my goals and objectives according to what is most importance to me. After these were documented, I was then required to estimate how I was spending my time. Estimates were made as to the number of hours I spent in the different areas of my life (Refer to Appendix 1). After these estimates were made, I was then required to record a detailed time log over a one week period (Refer to Appendix 4). During this time, I took my log wherever I went and recorded my time usage in half an hour intervals. This exercise enabled me to compare my actual time usage with my estimated time usage. The most accurate method when recording time usage data was immediate documentation. Ensuring that I had my time log on me at all times meant that I could fill in my time log frequently and consistently. If I were to have relied on my memory, I am certain that this alternate method would have resulted in inaccurate data being recorded. When estimating my time usage I took into consideration my current study load, commitments, sleeping patterns and general level of up keep. I also used my current organisational tools as a resource to remind me how I had recently spent my time and what I could expect from the coming week. Being an avid user of ? to do lists, diaries and planning calendars (Refer to Appendix 7), I had on hand a lot of resources to assist me in estimating my time usage. This method led me to make relatively accurate estimates on my actual time usage. Results After comparing my estimated and actual time usage figures (Refer to Appendix 5), it became apparent that there was little difference between the two sets of figures. (Refer to Appendix 6). After estimating that I would spend 35 hours studying, my actual time spent was 34. 5 hours. I thought I would spend 7 hours with my family; however my actual time spent was 10. 5 hours due to a family birthday. The actual amount of time I spent on ?personal activities ended up falling 2 hours of short of my estimated figure. I actually spent 17 hours in this area as opposed to 19 hours. As I assumed, I did not spend any time on ? work related activities. My actual number of hours spent socialising fell 3 hours short of my estimated figure. I actually spent 12 hours in this area as opposed to 15 hours. I estimated that I would spent 2 hours doing community service with the Red Cross, however I actually did not find the time during this 7 day period to perform community service. The hours spent performing ? home duties equaled a total of 28. 5 hours, which exceeded the estimated figure of 25 hours. In addition the actual amount of time I spent sleeping was 65. 5 hours, which was only slightly greater than my estimated figure of 65 hours. Discussion and Analysis My ability to accurately estimate my time usage can be attributed to the fact that I consistently document my daily movements, which has been useful when making estimates in this activity. Choosing not to undertake paid employment this semester has also meant that I am splitting my time across fewer areas, making it easier to predict how I will spend my time. Although my results indicated that my estimates were fairly accurate, they show that I am consistently spending my time in ways that are perhaps not ideal. My ideal amount of time (Refer to Appendix 6) spent studying is in fact 40 hours, whereas I am only currently achieving on average 35 hours. I estimated that I would spend 15 hours socialising based on my weekly patterns prior to the 7 day period I documented. Spending only 12 hours on this activity meant that I was closer to achieving my ideal time allowance than usual. Although socialising is an enjoyable activity, it is affecting my ability to achieve my desired amount of study hours. Ideally, I would also like to cut down on my hours devoted to ? home duties, which happened to exceed both my estimated and ideal time allowance. Realistically, while I am still living in the suburbs, it is unlikely that I will be able to spend 23 hours performing ? home duties as I incur a lot of commuting time living in Glen Waverley. Conclusions Performing this time management exercise has identified that my ideal time usage and actual time usage are not on par. I appear to be familiar with my time usage as my estimated time allowances and actual time allowances were very similar however I am not spending my time in way that I ideal to achieving my goals and objectives. In order to narrow the gap between my actual time usage and ideal time usage I will need to spend more time studying, and less time socialising and performing home duties. I have identified that study is of ?high priority when I chose to assign it an A (Refer to Appendix 3) and must therefore make sure I undertake goal management and establish it as one of my priorities. Once I narrow the gap and start achieving my short term objectives and goals, I can work towards my long term objectives and goals. Without achieving my ideal time allowance I am in no position to work Recommendations In order to close the gap between my actual time usage and ideal time usage I will need to consider ways in which I can prioritise and manage my goals. Haynes suggests establishing when a persons prime time for working is and then planning for the most important and demanding tasks to be done duringthis time (Haynes, M 2001). This theory promotes efficiency and could assist me in making my study time more productive. I could also consider utilizing my current commuting time to do my university readings. This would mean I have more time to study and in turn, fewer hours would be written off to home duties. The Pickle Jar Theory uses the analogy of an empty pickle jar to think about how we use the fixed amount of time available to us each day. This theory could also be used when I plan my schedule and assist me to get important work done while still leaving time for socialising. (Mind Tools 2007, para. 2). I will continue to fully utilize my diary, to do lists and planning calendar (Refer to Appendix 7) as they have helped me successfully plan my time in the past. My next step now is put my recommendations into action in order to close the gap, improve my time management skills and achieve my short term goals and objectives. Only then will I be able to realistically work towards my long term goals and objectives.

Life Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Life Philosophy Essay The meaning of life is to give life meaning Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. Life Philosophy of John Wooden Even a fool knows you cant reach the stars, but that doesnt stop a wise man from trying. You cant make someone Elses choices. You shouldnt let someone else make yours. Life Philosophy of Gen. Colin Powell Man is not the creature of circumstances, circumstances are the creatures of men. We are free agents, and man is more powerful than matter. Life Philosophy of Benjamin Disraeli When an affliction happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it Life Philosophy of Rosalind Russell A life lived in fear is a life half lived. To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. It is better to be hated for what you are then to be loved for what your not There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that its easy. Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. Life Philosophy of Zig Ziglar You will never achieve what you never begin The measure of a man is the way he bears up under misfortune. Dont wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it. Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. Philosophy of Life by Andre Gide If one seeks advice, give them direction, not correction. Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can. Philosophy of Life by Richard Bach Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know. Philosophy of Life by George Macdonald Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen. Philosophy of Life by Peter Marshall It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. Dont take life too seriously. no one gets out alive, anyways. Before you talk about what you want appreciate what you have. A man either lives life as it happens to him, meets it head-on and licks it, or he turns his back on it and starts to wither away. Life Philosophy from Gene Roddenberry You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action. Life Philosophy from Anthony Robbins If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you wont, you most assuredly wont. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad. Life Philosophy from Denis Waitley You can do what you think you can do and you cannot do what you think you cannot Life Philosophy from Ben Stein Find something you love to do and youll never have to work a day in your life. Life Philosophy from Harvey Mackay You can do what you want to do. You can be what you want to be. Life Philosophy from R. David Thomas Philosophies in Life PHILOSOPHY may be defined as the study and pursuit of facts which deal with the ultimate reality or causes of things as they affect life. The philosophy of a country like the Philippines is made up of the intricate and composite interrelationship of the life histories of its people; in other word, the philosophy of our nation would be strange and undefinable if we do not delve into the past tied up with the notable life experiences of the representative personalities of our nation. Being one of the prominent representatives of Filipino personalities, Jose Rizal is a fit subject whose life philosophy deserves to be recognized. Having been a victim of Spanish brutality early in his life in Calamba, Rizal had thus already formed the nucleus of an unfavorable opinion of Castillian imperialistic administration of his country and people. Pitiful social conditions existed in the Philippines as late as three centuries after his conquest in Spain, with agriculture, commerce, communications and education languishing under its most backward state. It was because of this social malady that social evils like inferiority complex, cowardice, timidity and false pride pervaded nationally and contributed to the decay of social life. This stimulated and shaped Rizal’s life phylosophy to be to contain if not eliminate these social ills. Educational Philosophy Rizal’s concept of the importance of education is clearly enunciated in his work entitled Instruction wherein he sought improvements in the schools and in the methods of teaching. He maintained that the backwardness of his country during the Spanish ear was not due to the Filipinos’ indifference, apathy or indolence as claimed by the rulers, but to the neglect of the Spanish authorities in the islands. For Rizal, the mission of education is to elevate the country to the highest seat of glory and to develop the people’s mentality. Since education is the foundation of society and a prerequisite for social progress, Rizal claimed that only through education could the country be saved from domination. Rizal’s philosophy of education, therefore, centers on the provision of proper motivation in order to bolster the great social forces that make education a success, to create in the youth an innate desire to cultivate his intelligence and give him life eternal. Religious Philosophy Rizal grew up nurtured by a closely-knit Catholic family, was educated in the foremost Catholic schools of the period in the elementary, secondary and college levels; logically, therefore, he should have been a propagator of strictly Catholic traditions. However, in later life, he developed a life philosophy of a different nature, a philosophy of a different Catholic practice intermingled with the use of Truth and Reason. Why the change? It could have been the result of contemporary contact, companionship, observation, research and the possession of an independent spirit. Being a critical observer, a profound thinker and a zealous reformer, Rizal did not agree with the prevailing Christian propagation of the Faith by fire and sword. This is shown in his Annotation of Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. Rizal did not believe in the Catholic dogma that salvation was only for Catholics and that outside Christianity, salvation was not possible even if Catholics composed only a small minority of the world’s religious groups. Nor did he believe in the Catholic observation of fasting as a sacrifice, nor in the sale of such religious items as the cross, medals, rosaries and the like in order to propagate the Faith and raise church funds. He also lambasted the superstitious beliefs propagated by the priests in the church and in the schools. All of these and a lot more are evidences of Rizal’s religious philosophy. Political Philosophy In Rizal’s political view, a conquered country like the Philippines should not be taken advantage of but rather should be developed, civilized, educated and trained in the science of self-government. He bitterly assailed and criticized in publications the apparent backwardness of the Spanish ruler’s method of governing the country which resulted in: 1. the bondage and slavery of the conquered ; 2. the Spanish government’s requirement of forced labor and force military service upon the n natives; 3. the abuse of power by means of exploitation; 4. the government ruling that any complaint against the authorities was criminal; and 5. Making the people ignorant, destitute and fanatic, thus discouraging the formation of a national sentiment. Rizal’s guiding political philosophy proved to be the study and application of reforms, the extension of human rights, the training for self government and the arousing of spirit of discontent over oppression, brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self love. Ethical Philosophy The study of human behavior as to whether it is good or bad or whether it is right or wrong is that science upon which Rizal’s ethical philosophy was based. The fact that the Philippines was under Spanish domination during Rizal’s time led him to subordinate his philosophy to moral problems. This trend was much more needed at that time because the Spaniards and the Filipinos had different and sometimes conflicting morals. The moral status of the Philippines during this period was one with a lack of freedom, one with predominance of foreign masters, one with an imposition of foreign religious worship, devotion, homage and racial habits. This led to moral confusion among the people, what with justice being stifled, limited or curtailed and the people not enjoying any individual rights. To bolster his ethical philosophy, Dr. Rizal had recognized not only the forces of good and evil, but also the tendencies towards good and evil. As a result, he made use of the practical method of appealing to the better nature of the conquerors and of offering useful methods of solving the moral problems of the conquered. To support his ethical philosophy in life, Rizal: 1. censured the friars for abusing the advantage of their position as spiritual leaders and the ignorance and fanaticism of the natives; 2.counseled the Filipinos not to resent a defect attributed to them but to accept same as reasonable and just; 3. advised the masses that the object of marriage was the happiness and love of the couple and not financial gain; 4. censured the priests who preached greed and wrong morality; and 5. advised every one that love and respect for parents must be strictly observed. Social Philosophy That body of knowledge relating to society including the wisdom which mans experience in society has taught him is social philosophy. The facts dealt with are principles involved in nation building and not individual social problems. The subject matter of this social philosophy covers the problems of the whole race, with every problem having a distinct solution to bolster the people’s social knowledge. Rizal’s social philosophy dealt with; 1. man in society; 2. influential factors in human life; 3. racial problems; 4. social constant; 5. social justice; 6. social ideal; 7. poverty and wealth; 8. reforms; 9. youth and greatness; 10. history and progress; 11. future Philippines. The above dealt with man’s evolution and his environment, explaining for the most part human behavior and capacities like his will to live; his desire to possess happiness; the change of his mentality; the role of virtuous women in the guidance of great men; the need for elevating and inspiring mission; the duties and dictates of man’s conscience; man’s need of practicing gratitude; the necessity for consulting reliable people; his need for experience; his ability to deny; the importance of deliberation; the voluntary offer of man’s abilities and possibilities; the ability to think, aspire and strive to rise; and the proper use of hearth, brain and spirit-all of these combining to enhance the intricacies, beauty and values of human nature. All of the above served as Rizal’s guide in his continuous effort to make over his beloved Philippines.

Job Satisfaction Among Ghanaian Mental Health Nurses

Job Satisfaction Among Ghanaian Mental Health Nurses 1.1 Background Study The main objective of this research is to evaluate the attitudes of Ghanaian mental health nurses and the level of job satisfaction in the three government psychiatric hospitals in Ghana. It has been identified that most people who suffer from mental illness are always vulnerable and at high risk of suffering from stigmatisation and discrimination. Mental health professionals such as nurses are always in contact with patients and their attitudes towards these patients can play a major factor in their recovery. This aspect of study has been neglected especially in developing countries like Ghana. This study is to try as much as possible to find out how the nurses’ attitudes affect their patients and the role job satisfaction plays. Over the years mental health has changed in many faces including the establishment of mental institutions, which has also gone through several changes in different countries thereby drastically reducing the number of psychiatric admissions in general hospitals. However, it is important for one to know if these changes reflect the attitudes of people towards mental illness especially mental health nurses. The perception of mental illness plays a major role in the psychiatric medical profession which several disputes on what should be classified as pathological and which should be seen as normal. These disputes have several consequences on the diagnosis, research, and policies concerning psychiatry and may also have some form of bias on the selection of treatments and prognosis due to the widespread of unauthentic ascriptions of the causes of the illness (Wakefield, 2007). According to World Health Organisation (WHO), mental health is â€Å"a state of well-being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community† (WHO 2001). There are several definitions by researchers on mental health, which is a fundamental aspect of well-being and quality of life and also a basic element of social structure, productivity, peace and stability in the environment (WHO, 2005). This definition by WHO stresses on the positive scopes of mental health and Shives (2008) also states that mental health is a positive state in which each and everybody is responsible, self-directive and displays self-awareness where ones behaviour is generally accepted within a group. However Bryne (2000) stated that multiple factors influence the level of mental health of person at any point in time and one of the major hindrances to the realisation of positive health and well being leads to stigma. Mental illness is a psychological response to stress that interferes with or inhibits a person’s ability to easily meet human needs and functions within a culture (NSW, Department of Health, 2007). Moreover, the American Psychiatric Association also defines mental illness as a â€Å"clinically significant behaviour and psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual associated with present distress, disability or loss of freedom† (Bryne, 2000). Mental illness is a major contributor to the burden of disease internationally, which has a major influence on the disability, co-morbidity, and mortality being experienced globally (CAMIMH 2007, Lauber Sartorius 2007). World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that about 450million people will suffer from some form of mental disorder with 13% of the global disease burden being made of schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy, dementia, alcohol dependence, neurological and substance-abuse disorders which exceeds both cardiovascular disease and cancer (National Institute of Health) moreover people with mental illness are more likely to be at risk of other health conditions as well. It is estimated that at least one member in every four families has a mental disorder and the primary caregivers of those affected are the family members and this brings some form of burden to these families, which are mostly ignored (WHO, 2010). Depression is estimated to be the second highest cause of disease burden in middle-income countries and the third highest in low-income countries by 2030 (WHO, 2010). Moreover, in addition to the health and social cost, which is a problem, there is also the victimisation of human rights violation, stigmatisation and discrimination of people with mental illness, which occurs both inside, and outside of psychiatric institutions (WHO, 2010). According some researchers, people with mental illness are at increased risk of drifting into or remaining in poverty through increased health expenditure, reduced stigma and loss of employment and associated earnings (Lund et al, 2911). This puts lots of pressure on people with mental illness and their families especially in low income or developing countries where it is more stressful (NSW, Department of Health, 2007). People diagnosed with mental illness are looked at differently in the world as compared to people who are diagnosed with general health problems. Thus most people have the impression that mental illness patients are strange, frightening, unpredictable, aggressive and lack self-control especially those diagnosed with mental disorders such as schizophrenia which is always associated with negative stereotypes of being very aggressive and dangerous (Crisp et al, 2000). Individuals suffering from mental illness for some time now have been at a higher risk of experiencing prejudice and discrimination and most of these prejudice leads to stigmatisation even within health institutions (Linden and Kavanagh, 2011). Prejudice can be said to be an emotional response to stereotypes which is tolerated where stereotypes are mostly unfavourable intercessions used to describe a group or persons based on their merits thus leading to discrimination which is the real behaviour based on prejudice (Lauber et al, 2006). Stigma and prejudice mostly play a basic role in the abuse of human right, which is sadly still being practiced, in some psychiatric institutions and care homes and remain the basis of mental health organisations in some developing countries in the world. Goffman (1963) cited in (Newton-Howes et al, 2008) describes stigma as a mark of shame or dishonour which can have a negative self esteem and appraisal on a the person thereby becoming a hindrance to recovery, moreover Gray (2002) also stated that, stigma was originally used to mark Greek slaves separating them from men. The stigma of mental illness although more often is related to context than to person’s appearance, still remains a powerful negative attribute in all social relations (Bryne, 2000) and the stigma of mental illness comes from the possession of a devalued attribute of an individual which is seen by society as a hostile response (Goffman, 1963) cited in (Newton-Howes et al, 2008). World Health Organisation (2011) states that stigmatisation of mentally ill patients by the healthcare providers is the worst form of stigma which affects the quality and rate of recovery. There are several evidence from other studies conducted by researchers from other populations which proves that stigma can sometimes been seen to pervade professional groups including mental health nurses. Research by Read and Harre (2001), found that negative attitudes are mostly displayed by mental health nurses towards patients who are disturbed which is mostly present in the patients at acute level of their illness. Health professionals mostly come into contact with people with mental illness regularly and they play an important role in shaping attitudes towards mental ill people. Moreover, these health professionals serve as a role model on how to approach people with mental illness however Schulze (2007), states that healthcare professionals have been identified to assume three main positions when it comes to stigmatisation and these include people with mental illness being stigmatised, they being stigmatised by their own association with mental illness and finally playing the role of advocator’s or de-stigmatises. Stigma affects the progression and healing of people with mental illness according to Perlick et al, (2001) and the loss of income, low self-esteem, loneliness, isolation, delayed seeking of treatment and many more are the results of stigma and discrimination towards people with mental illness (Sharac et al, 2010; illac et al, 2011). Creating major campaign of the awareness of stigmatising attitudes will support healthcare workers to be more reflective in the treatment methods towards people with mental illness. Sartorius (2007) stated that, people who suffer from mental illness do not frequently pursue treatment due to the fact that healthcare professionals including nurses are considered prime contributors of stigma and discrimination. Some staff who have been given special training in taking care of people with mental illness do hold negative stigmatising attitudes towards their patients as well which proves that stigma is not only held by individuals with lack of knowledge about mental illness even though educational intervention can help reduce its effect in the community or country as a whole (Burti and Mosher, 2003; Pinfold et al, 2003). Mental health services in Ghana are not well recognised as there are lots of inequalities in the provision of resources for this sector as compared to the needs of the general hospitals. Moreover there is still lack of knowledge about mental illness, which is a major contributor of stigma towards people affected with mental illness and the healthcare professionals who even take care of them. The population of Ghana has increased extremely since the country’s independence from 1957 resulting in the growing number of people suffering from mental illness (Ghana Statistical Service, 2003). Mental health service in Ghana is mostly available in primary health care yet the majority of care is provided through specialised psychiatric hospitals of which there are three (3) all located in the southern part of the country providing 7.08beds per 100,000 populations (Ghana Health Service, 2012). The WHO estimates that out of the 21.6 million Ghanaians, about 650, 000 are believed to be suffering from some form of severe mental disorder and 2,166, 000 are suffering from moderate to mild form of mental illness (WHO, 2007). Nevertheless, this estimate has not been recognised as a serious health issues and Ghana has not yet developed facilities and public health services including mental health care to keep up with the growing demand of these services and population expansion (Offori-Attah et al. 2010). According to the WHO Atlas Survey about 65% of beds in the psychiatric hospitals, are extremely unsatisfactory. The ratio of these beds in Accra the capital city of Ghana is 6.21:1 thus the total number of beds to the rest of the country indicating a high intensity of resources in the capital (Ofori-Atta et al, 2010). WHO has also reported that most psychiatric hospitals have scarce, undignified, and even harmful practices as well as unhygienic and inhuman living conditions (WHO, 2003). The main focus of psychiatric care today in the world is mainly on a number of key conditions such tolerance and non-discrimination being one of the most important aspect (Hannigan, 1999). Inadequate knowledge about mental illness and negative attitudes mostly towards individuals suffering from mental illness has been noted to be prevalent in the general public (Nordt, Rossler and Luber, 2006) thus most major research of attitudes towards people with mental illness has been mainly focused on the general public with the opinions of professionals who come into contact with the mentally ill specifically mental health workers recently being highlighted (Angermeyer Dietrich, 2006). Numerous challenges faced by mental health institutions such as lack of resources, increased work load and shortage of staffs put lots of burden on the nurses which negatively affects the quality of nursing care given to these patients therefore positive changes in mental health services will go a long way to impact on the role and practice of mental health nursing (Cleary, Walter and Hunt, 2005). Low job satisfaction plays a major role in the outcome of patients’ care and there have been lack of research in the country concerning this. Job satisfaction of healthcare professionals is a very important aspect that should not be neglected as it can affect the outcome of care given to these patients. Moreover, there are lots of evidence gaps in the country concerning mental health issues and that is the why it is important to conduct this research in order to fill some of these gaps. Job satisfaction is a complex situation, which can be construed, and it involves the absence of pain, oppressiveness and intolerance as well as enjoyment (Sultana and Begum, 2001). Studies on job satisfaction are mostly based on fountains of emotional response of the employees which is linked with some socio-cultural institutions and the personal elements such as pay, promotion, supervision, benefits, nature of work, co-workers, working condition, social status and many more (Sultana and Begum, 2001). 1.2 RATIONALE Research fills a very important aspect in the society where discoveries are made as well as confirming or rejecting ideas, controlling or predicting events and developing or refining theories. Thus one develops knowledge as a result of these functions from research. It is unsurprising that human right abuse is mostly related to the poor standard of mental health care in low-income countries such as Ghana and the need for ways to restraint is the most obvious choice for healthcare professionals in the absence of neuroleptics (Read, Adiibokah and Nyame, 2009). Studying the attitudes of healthcare professionals especially in the field of mental illness is important. According to Baker et al (2005), attitudes are made of cognitive, affective, and behavioural components, which are activated due to exposure of stimulus or objects. Moreover, the quality of nursing care provided by mental health professionals can be influenced by the attitudes of the nurses towards these patients (Baker, 2008). There have been several campaigns to change negative attitudes and promote positive attitudes towards mental health problems by some countries, which include the United States, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and India (Royal College of Psychiatrist (2001) and World Psychiatrist Association (2001). Ghana health service (GHS) is the main provider of biomedical care for mental illness in the country however there are just three government psychiatric hospitals in the country providing free healthcare for patients which are all located in the south of the country serving over 21million Ghanaians. All three hospitals have suffered from lack of resources to overcrowding with the end results being poor quality of healthcare. The status of mental health nurses in some communities is low and the advantage of being part of this profession has been dent with some form of stigma such as stigma by association or courtesy stigma (Hinshaw 2007, Thornicroft 2007, Halter 2008) whereby professionals associated with the care of people suffering from mental illness are judged by the same stereotyping stigma. It is therefore very important to explore the theoretical relationship between job satisfaction and professionals stigma towards mental illness. The focus of this study is to address some of the gaps in mental health concerning stigma and job satisfaction mental health nurses are facing in Ghana. The findings of this study will be a stepping stone to address issues that will come out as a result of the study or re-enforce any positive findings as well. The outcomes of this study may allow a greater understanding of how these attitudes are connected and the realistic outcomes can help to the strategize anti-stigma campaigns such as identifying shortfalls of certain groups or identifying logical way 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION To what extent do mental health nurses in Ghana stigmatise people with mental illness? What personal and professional background factors (including job satisfaction) explain the attitudes that Ghanaian mental health nurses have towards mental illness? What characteristics are associated with nurses’ attitudes towards mental illness? What is the rate of job satisfaction in mental health nursing and does it affect the care patients receive? 1.4 OBJECTIVES The main objective of this research is to evaluate the attitudes of psychiatric nurses in Ghana towards the care of mentally ill patients. The specific objectives are as follow: To identify the relationship and levels of job satisfaction and stigma towards psychiatric patients among Ghanaian mental health nurses. To determine prevalence of stigma among mental health nurses in Ghana. To explore the rate of job satisfaction in mental health nursing and the impact it has on the attitudes of nursing providing care for patients. To examine the characteristics associated with the attitudes on mental health nurses in Ghana. To disseminate findings to increase awareness and knowledge among healthcare professionals’ especially mental health nurses. The findings of this study will be used to: Develop programs and strategies to reduce stigma. Help create awareness of stigma in healthcare professionals. Develop policies to reduce stress in the hospitals. Suggest improvements/amendments to existing mental health policies. 1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS The following research hypothesis was formulated for testing: the researcher hypothesised that the more psychiatric nurses are satisfied with their job, the more they will exhibit positive attitude towards mental ill patients. The researcher also hypothesise that the more psychiatric nurses are stigmatised about their job, the quality of care they provide will be less and they will exhibit negative attitudes towards their patients

The Spanish Inquisition Essay -- European History

The Spanish Inquisition The word â€Å"inquisition† means to examine. Inquisitors would â€Å"examine† suspected Heretics, people whose ideas do not match those of the Roman Catholic Church, and punish them accordingly. This included torture and burning. The great inquisition movement that took place in Spain, or Hispania as it was called before Spain united. It was called The Spanish Inquisition. It took place for approximately five hundred years, from the late 15th century to mid 19th century. Many ironic elements were involved in the history of the Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition lasted longer than any other preceding it, and was the most cruel, bloodthirsty, and festive of all. The objective of the inquisition, in its early state, was to convert all Jews into Christians, but later it mutated into an ugly machine who’s new objective was to rid the country of the newly converted Christians. In an age where there was such a close bond between church and state, opposition to the church was intolerable. The Inquisition caused Spain to become intellectually backward, and economically and industrially damaged. The powerful influence of the Inquisition forbade social influences, such as books from other parts of Europe, to enter Spain. Consequently, the universities remained stagnant, unable to produce graduates understanding the world around them. from the lack of information on the other civilizations in the rest of Europe. As a result of this, they came into the 20th century intellectually inferior and bankrupt. With the banished, tortured, and persecuted heretics in mind, it is possible that the Spanish Inquisition is perhaps one of the most cruel acts performed on innocent people in the name of religion. Before the Spanish Inquisition took place, several other inquisition movements appeared, but none quite so barbaric and brutal as the Spaniard’s did. Waves of opposition towards the church swept Europe in the Middle Ages. In the 12th century, it was a modern belief that a peaceful, utopian government could be obtained if all of the population of the society were â€Å"pure† and Catholic The Medieval Inquisition started in France and Italy. During this time a group of people called the Albigensies lived in northern Italy and southern France. They had established a religion called Manichaeanism, which was the belief in two gods, one for good and one for evil. Pop... ...r of the bigotry and the persecution that took place. It is only one of many persecuting acts that are piled on top of Jewish history. Many Christians look back onto the Inquisition with shame and humidity. The Spanish Inquisition has inflicted untold amounts of damage onto the Spanish society and everyone else’s. It was one of the worst religious acts of ignorance and bigotry ever orchestrated by a group of people. Bibliography Lea, Henry Charles. [1966] A history of the Inquisition of Spain. AMD Press, New York, NY Llorente, Juan Antonio [1967] A critical history of the Inquisition of Spain, from the period of its establishment by Ferdinand V to the reign of Ferdinand VII, composed from the original documents of the Archives of the Supreme Council of the Inquisition and from those of subordinate tribunals of the Holy Office. J. Lilburne Co. Williamstown, MA. Roth, Cecil. [1964] The Spanish Inquisition. Norton Press, New York, NY. Sabatini, Rafael. [1924] Torquemada and the Spanish inquisition; a history by Rafael Sabatini. Houghton Mifflin Compan, Boston, MA/New York, NY. Turberville, Arthur Stanley. [1968] The Spanish Inquisition. Archon Books, Hamden, Conn.

Whether Ritalin is Overprescribed or Not :: Argumentative Ritalin Prescription Drugs Essays

Whether Ritalin is Overprescribed or Not Is Ritalin the Answer to AD (H) D?The tousled brown hair that weaves so mischievously around his head may hint at the way he feels inside. He is seven-years-old and has already had to repeat a grade. He has an imagination that puts others to shame, but nothing seems to hold his attention for more than five minutes. He was recently diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or what we call AD (H) D.This scene is all too familiar for individuals who discover that they, too, have this learning disorder as they progress from elementary school to college. And in today's society we want a "quick fix" to remedy our problems. Therefore doctors are prescribing the drug, Ritalin, to control AD (H) D. Although Ritalin is a widely used drug to control AD (H) D, there are other safer alternatives to combat this worldwide disorder.Ritalin, like many other drugs, has several side effects-some of which are severe. Ritalin is in a class of drugs called Methylphetamines. These types of drugs (also called Central Nervous System or CNS stimulants) affect our central nervous system that controls everything from thought process to everyday breathing. Ritalin's major side effects influences the cardiovascular system (palpitation, tachycardia, and increased blood pressure), the central nervous system (psychosis, dizziness, headache, insomnia, tic syndromes, attacks of Gilles de la Tourette), gastrointestinal (anorexia, nausea), endocrine/metabolic system (weight loss, growth suppression). Also, Ritalin is a fairly new drug (introduced in the early eighties). It hasn't been around long enough to study the long-term effects.Since Ritalin is a Methylphetamine (closely related to the amphetamine f amily, such as cocaine), it has a high rate of abuse. In light of methylphenidate's abuse liability, it is important to note the tremendous increase in availability of this substance and the expanded population (adolescents and adults) receiving prescriptions for the treatment of AD (H) D. For example, the production quota for methylphenidate has increased from 1,361 kg in 1985 to 10,410 kg in 1995 with the primary increases occurring in the last five years. This drug is abused in two ways. One way is for recreational purposes. The abusers use the drug as a form of "speed" to pick themselves up. They feel that they need this in order to be "alive" and full of life. The other way this drug is abused is very different. Students are using Ritalin as a study aid.

Research Paper -- essays research papers

Values and Beliefs of an American People Long before America received a name, there existed a dream of a good land that man might discover for himself, a land full of material riches and spiritual hope. The prospect stirred man’s vivid imaginations as well as their explorations, and they were willing to sacrifice for their visions and ideals. The earliest of American writings were solely concerned with the dream of a new world and the sacrifices necessary for the first attempts at its realization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the course of the American Revolution the Thirteen Colonies declared their independence from the mother country. As a result of their victory in the fighting and sacrifice that followed, the United States of America came into being. With the Declaration of Independence, the United States proclaimed that it was a nation based on the values and on the beliefs of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And the people stated in one loud voice that they would sacrifice their lives for these ideals – for a greater cause.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The United States today is far different from the country newly become independent in 1776. At the birth of the Republic, an underlying layer of strong religious beliefs shaped the attitudes of the population. People were more sure of their moral standards and values, and they understood that these ideals were certainly more important than any single man. As an example of the importance placed in be...

Relationship Conflict Resolution Model

About a month ago, my girlfriend (whom I will refer to as â€Å"Kelly†) and I were not getting along very well, and I attributed our difficulties to a mounting mess of unresolved disputes from our past. So I invited Kelly to sit down and talk about our problems. Kelly happily accepted. We agreed to take one resentment at a time, and talk each one through before moving the next. We ate dinner together, sat down on her couch and faced each other. I encouraged Kelly to have this talk between us, so I respectfully let her pick an issue hat is bothering her to talk about.It was difficult to hear about a problem that she has used against me many times already and I had hoped that she Just forgot about it†¦ But I sucked it up and listened anyway. The festering resentment that Kelly had been lugging around every day for over 3 years started when she had discovered explicit text messages on my phone between me and another woman. I tried to Justify my â€Å"dirty-talk† with this woman by blaming Kelly for rejecting me in the worst way imaginable. I had witnessed Kelly having sex tit another man Just after we had started dating.Kelly knew I was there, but she was so caught up in her own pleasure and enjoyment that my existence was no more significant than a fly on the wall. Kelly ignored everything I did and said as I attempted to get her stop what she was doing, and continued having sex with him until she became satisfied. I was completely devastated and overwhelmed with rejection. I could have left Kelly after what she had done. But I felt that if I can forgive her for this then I will hold all of controlling cards in our relationship.So I chose to stay with her, and see how things go†¦ I expected Kelly to suck up to me, kiss my ass, and make up for her actions in every way she possibly could†¦ But that never happened. Kelly ignored it and never even gave me the chance to express my feelings of betrayal and devastation to her about it. Conse quently, I let the resentment build up in me over time, mainly because I lacked assertiveness, so I buried my feelings to avoid conflict and reliving that dreadful event. So when Kelly initially confronted me about my text messages with this other woman,I responded to it by becoming defensive, trying to Justify my actions by blaming her for betraying me with another man. I tried to make her believe that my behavior was the result of her actions. I tried to make her believe that my interest in another woman was all her fault and that my dirty little secret was only talk and not sex, and against me. Ultimately, I felt entitled to do whatever I wanted because she had cheated with another man and she did it right in front of me. Since then, I have tried to figure out what it is that I had done prior to Kelly's actions hat may have influenced her choice to reject me that way.I started to realize allot of things about myself while progressing through psychological treatment, and through t his process I have practiced expressing empathy, sharpening my listening skills and I have been doing much better with each new skill that I have learned. But as I continued to use each new skill in my daily life, I could not avoid feeling somewhat coercive when I used empathy and assertiveness at times with Kelly. I had been purposely thinking out how to use the right tone if voice, overlapping ententes and using memorized feeling words Just to show empathy†¦ Inconsequently, my new communication style started to feel somewhat rehearsed, fake and coercive to me†¦ I knew I was saying the right things, but I started to feel that sometimes my words were liking real meaning and sincerity†¦ Speaking to people as if I were following directions from a book about how to communicate. But this particular sit-down talk with Kelly turned out to be more positively significant than any other talk that we have ever had. Everything that I have learned in therapy has been a benefit to my relationship with Kelly , and everyone else in my life for that matter..But reflecting back a few months, before having this conversation with her, I realized that I still hadn't been able to sort of tie it all together and use everything that I have learned so far without thinking too much about communication styles and details. I have been using listening skills, expressing empathy, taking accountability, and modifying my behavior more and more each week, and I have taken every opportunity to use each new skill as much as possible. But I have recently realized hat I was only getting better at using each skill independent from the others.Toward the end of our â€Å"conflict resolution talk†, I felt the greatest sense of relief in our relationship to see how happy Kelly was becoming as our conversation progressed. I had not realized how powerful of an impact that genuine empathy and listening to her every word would have on both of us. I believe that I actually felt the s ame pain that she had felt when she read those words on my phone. It was overwhelming!.. I felt a brick in my stomach made of betrayal and devastation s Kelly expressed the embarrassing details of my dirty text messages.She had said these same words to me before, describing her heartache over it, but I must have Just blocked her words out or I interrupted her in selfness and denial each time . The feelings inside of me made the event seem much more significant than I had realized. I could see it the way that she had experienced it but this time, the event upon me was very profound and I was taken over by guilt and shame. Truly understanding and experiencing Kelly's feelings caused emotions inside of me that kook control of my body language.I forgotten about my own resentments. I tried to hide my emotions, because I felt that have no right to cry over the pain that I had inflicted on her, but I couldn't stop the tears.. Kelly, moved to my side, laid her head on my shoulder and wrappe d her arms me. This was the first time that I had ever been successful in expressing pure empathy. This one particular dispute was resolved, but the scar will last forever. But Kelly and I now share this scar and we view our remaining unresolved disputes as teammates from the opposing dugout.

Database Needs for Early Learning Programs Essay

The Outcomes and Targets for the recently passed Families and Education Levy are very high. At the heart of the levy is accountability and using data in timely ways to improve annual outcomes. In the realm of Early Learning the dollars will double and the number of children and professional staff served will increase dramatically. The need for reliable, accessible data is great. An HSD IT web based data system (ELNIS) was created in 2006 for the previous levy. It was deployed in the summer of 2007 and began to be used in the 2007-2008 school year. Hosted by the state of Washington, it is accessible to each agency under contract with the city through a city purchased computer and digital certificate. Help desk support and training are also provided by the city. In 2009 the state ECEAP program substantially changed its enrollment form. ELNIS no longer matches the data elements required by the state. It was decided, because the change came so late in the year, that it was not feasible to make the changes in ELNIS. For the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years the data has been out of sync with enrollment forms for ECEAP. ELNIS was designed in 2005 with the hope of having a single early learning data base for ECEAP, Step Ahead, and Child Care Subsidy. This proved to be unfeasible given the time constraints and limited resources available to accomplish the task. Children are entered into multiple data bases that do not connect with each other, but all ECEAP children are also in ELNIS. In 2010 Creative Curriculum substantially change the child assessment tool, such that in the final year of the levy 2010-2011 the child assessment data is no longer uploaded into ELNIS. Again it was decided not to reconfigure ELNIS to match the changes in the assessments because of time and cost, until the new levy passed. The OFE monthly report drives the immediate need for data. Each month OFE requires a data set of demographics, attendance and assessment data be delivered on the last day month following the month reported. In the MOA each year between OFE and HSD the data elements are negotiated. The data reporting required for early learning in 2010-2011 is on pages 5 – 8 of this report. These will still form a substantial part of the required data, but there will be additional items and number of records will increase substantially. Further, each year an analysis is completed by the data and evaluation strategic advisor in August/September for the previous school year. The data is used to help managers and education specialists to improve the performance of the agencies in the next school year. This process begins by creating a large data set of assessments matched to each child who has been served. The early vision was that the data would be stored in ELNIS and download for use in evaluations ready to be reported or analyzed. ELNIS is capable of containing the demographic data (although it no longer matches the data collected for ECEAP families) for each child, the agency, site and classroom data, and the ECERS assessment. It can no longer upload the Embedded Child Profile Assessment data, the PPVT- 4 child data, nor any data about professional development. All of this data must be managed separately in Excel spreadsheets and appended to the download from ELNIS. Increased needs for data and new data elements The new levy includes six components of which are three are new and three are expanded: †¢Professional Development †¢Family Engagement and Outreach †¢Preschool †¢Kindergarten Transition †¢Home Visiting Program †¢Health and Mental Health Support for Children The new required elements for reporting are expected to include the following indicators of progress toward the outcomes: †¢Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP) – Caregivers/Adults will demonstrate increased positive behavior on the Parent and Child Together tool (PACT). †¢PCHP – Children will meet standard on the Child Behavior Traits (CBT) and the Teacher Rating of Oral Language and Literacy (TROLL). †¢Family Friend and Neighbor’s (FFN†S) Care Providers – Caregivers/Adults will demonstrate increased positive behavior on the Parent and Child Together tool (PACT). †¢Step Ahead Preschool Programs – Children enrolled will meet the Standard Score and/or make gains on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 (PPVT-4) of Receptive English by the end of the preschool year. †¢Step Ahead Preschool serving children who are English Language Learners: Children will make statistically significant gains in English Language Acquisition at the end of the preschool year on the PPVT-4. †¢Step Ahead Preschool – Children will meet age level expectations at the end of the preschool year on Teaching Strategies Gold Child (TSG) assessment. †¢Children served by Step Ahead and SEEC and enrolled in full-day kindergarten – Children will meet the age-level expectations on Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) . †¢SEEC Pre-K – Classrooms will meet the Environmental Rating Scale (ERS) standard at the end of the program year. †¢SEEC Pre-K – Teachers will meet standard on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) at the end of the program year. †¢Children enrolled in Step Ahead pre-K program will have fewer than 5 absences per semester. †¢Children served by a Step Ahead Preschool will be assessed at level 2 or higher on the district English assessment test at the beginning of Kindergarten. †¢Number of early learning and child care settings receiving targeted consultation or training. †¢% of children who enroll in kindergarten on time. †¢% of children enrolled in full day kindergarten. †¢% of children who attend 90% of school days. †¢% of children who meet the birth to 3-year indicator for health (TBD). †¢% of 4 year olds who meet standard on the curriculum embedded assessment in preschool. Early Learning Health †¢Number of early learning and child care settings and providers receiving targeted consultation or training. †¢Number of children in early learning and child care settings receiving developmental assessments. †¢Number of children in early learning and child care referred for mental health therapy and/or medical follow-up. †¢Number of low-income families linked to a health care home, Medicaid coverage, and/or other health care resources. Assessment Tools used to provide outcome and indicator data Formative Assessments †¢Child: Teaching Strategies Gold (administered fall, winter and spring of the pre-k year) †¢Classroom: Curriculum-embedded classroom checklist (administered annually) †¢CLASS: Annual voluntary observation of pre-k and kindergarten- 3rd grade teachers to measure teacher effectiveness. Summative Assessments †¢Child – PPVT-4 (administered fall and spring of pre-k ) †¢Child – WaKIDS ( administered fall and spring of kindergarten) †¢Classroom – ECERS ( administered annually) Performance Payment with OFE will likely include these Outcomes (indicators) 2010-11 Indicator BaselinesNumber of Students Meeting IndicatorPercent of Students Meeting Indicator Families demonstrating increased positive behavior on the PACT and the CBT 35/4283. 3% Children making gains in the Standard Score from the fall pre-PPVT to the spring post-PPVT 657/93570. 3% Children with a minimum of two assessments meeting age-level expectations on Teaching Strategies Gold397/546 73. 0% Children are in classrooms meeting an ECERS standard of 5 in each subscale or an average of 6 in all subscales. 397/636 62. 4% Indicator Targets2010-20112012-132013-142014-152015-162016-172017-182018-19 Families demonstrating increased positive behavior on the PACT and the CBT 83. 3% 84% 85% 86% 87% 88% 89% 90% Children making gains in the Standard Score from the fall pre-PPVT to the spring post-PPVT 70. 3% 73% 76% 80% 83% 86% 89% 90% Children with a minimum of two assessments meeting age-level expectations on Teaching Strategies Gold 73. 0% 75% 78% 81% 84% 87% 89% 90% Children are in classrooms meeting an ECERS standard of 4 in each subscale or an average of 6 in all subscales. 62. 4% 67% 71% 76% 80% 85% 89% 90% Conclusions: ELNIS as currently configured will not meet the needs of the Early Learning System to report data to the funder, to use data for improving outcomes, or to manage data for contract payment purposes and monitoring. Either work needs to begin ASAP on reconfiguring ELNIS or a new data system needs to be created or purchased. Options include an HSD IT build or a purchase of a configurable off the shelf software system, such as Adsystech or ETO. Data will need to begin being reported to OFE in the fall of 2012, eight months from now. What options exist for meeting this need? What resources are available? What planning team should be assembled? Data Set currently required to be reported by OFE (2010-2011) SEEC Early Learning – Pre-K Source: HSD (monthly) Data ElementData TypeNotes YearNumericThe year of the period that the data is reported for. e. g. 2006 for reporting period December 2006. MonthNumericThe month of the period that the data is reported for. e. g. 12 for reporting period December 2006 Child HSD IDNumeric1 = English 2 = Other than English 3 = English and another language 4 = not reported Student IDNumericEnter SPS Student ID after child is enrolled in Kindergarten Ethnicity CodeChar 25 categories from SPS Child’s Home LanguageNumeric Gender CodeChar 1 SEEC Agency CodeChar 4Corresponds with Agency name look-up table SEEC Site CodeChar 4Corresponds with classroom site look-up table SEEC Classroom Code Char 7Corresponds with classroom look-up table. SEEC StatusNumeric1 = Step-Ahead Pre-K 2 = Step Ahead Match SEEC TierNumericTier I – Step Ahead, Tiny Tots, Refugee Women’s Alliance, and Jose Marti Tier II – Denise Louie Education Center/Head Start Tier III – Non-Step Ahead Early Childhood Education and Assistance Programs (ECEAP) , Neighborhood House Head Start Tier IV – Comprehensive Child Care Program (CCCP), other Head Start Programs in the City of Seattle Days in Pre-K ProgramNumeric/NullTotal number of days the student has participated in the Pre-K program during the month. ECERS Average Subscale Scores and average totalNumericRange 1-7 ECERS – Met StandardYes/No/Null ECERS average score of 4 across all 7 elements Classroom Quality StandardYes/No/NullClassroom met quality standards Classroom LevelNumeric/NullClassroom score based on years of experience and training 1st Child Assessment – Social/Emotional DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 1st Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR 1st Child Assessment – Physical DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 1st Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. 1st Child Assessment – Cognitive DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 1st Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR 1st Child Assessment – Language DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 1st Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR 2nd Child Assessment – Social/Emotional DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 2nd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR 2nd Child Assessment – Physical DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 2nd Creative Curriculum child assessment. or High/Scope COR 2nd Child Assessment. Cognitive DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 2nd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. 2nd Child Assessment – Language DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 2nd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. 3rd Child Assessment – Social/Emotional DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 3rd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. 3rd Child Assessment – Physical DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 3rd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. 3rd Child Assessment. Cognitive DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 3rd Creative Curriculum child assessment. 3rd Child Assessment – Language DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 3rd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. Formative Assessment – ChildYes/No/NullChild met the standard in the final embedded assessment as adopted by the SEEC assessment workgroup. PCHPYes/No/NullParticipated in Parent-Child Home Program. SEEC Early Learning – Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition PPVT Source: HSD (twice yearly) Data ElementData TypeNotes Child HSD IDNumeric. Child AgeXX-XXChild’s age at time of test in years and months 1st assessment – standard scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s standard score from the 1st Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. 1st assessment – raw scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s raw score from the 1st Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 1st assessment – grade equivalent scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s grade equivalent score from the 1st Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 1st assessment – age equivalent scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s age equivalent score from the 1st Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 1st assessment – growth scale valueNumeric/NullStudent’s growth scale value from the 1st Peabody Picture. Vocabulary Test 1st assessment – percentile scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s percentile score from the 1st Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 2nd assessment – standard scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s standard score from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. 2nd assessment – raw scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s raw score from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 2nd assessment – grade equivalent scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s grade equivalent score from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 2nd assessment – age equivalent scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s age equivalent score from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 2nd assessment – growth scale valueNumeric/NullStudent’s growth scale value from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 2nd assessment – percentile scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s percentile score from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. SEEC Early Learning – ECERS Source: HSD (twice yearly) Data ElementData TypeNotes SEEC Classroom Code Char 7Corresponds with classroom look-up table  1st ECERS score – Space and FurnishingsNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Personal Care RoutinesNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Language and Reasoning Numeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Activities Numeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Interaction Numeric/ NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Program StructureNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Parents and StaffNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS cumulative classroom scoreNumeric/NullAverage score across all subscales 2nd ECERS Score – Space and FurnishingsNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – Personal Care RoutinesNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – Language and Reasoning Numeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score. – ActivitiesNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – InteractionNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – Program StructureNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – Parents and StaffNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS cumulative classroom scoreNumeric/NullAverage score across all subscales. Early Learning – Parent-Child Home Program Source: HSD (twice yearly) Data ElementData TypeNotes YearNumericThe year of the period that the data is reported for, e. g. , 2006 for reporting period December 2006. MonthNumericThe month of the period that the data is reported for, e. g. , 12 for reporting period December 2006. Child HSD IDNumeric Student IDNumericEnter SPS Student ID after child is enrolled in Kindergarten Ethnicity CodeChar 25 categories from SPS, Other, Bi-Racial/Multi Racial Gender CodeChar 1 AgeNumeric In Parent-Child Home Visitor ProgramYes/NoStudent has participated in the Parent-Child Home Visitor Program during the month. Parent-Child Home Visitor Program – Provider CodeNumeric292 = Atlantic Street Center 304 = Neighborhood House at Rainier Vista 305 = Neighborhood House at New Holly 310 = Southwest Youth and Family Services Parent-Child Home Visitor Program – Total Number of VisitsNumeric/NullCumulative number of visits during the month. 1st Child Behavior Traits (CBT) Assessment – Cooperation with Adults Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4: average score for items that make up the domain shown at left 1. Does not exhibit this behavior 2. Sometimes exhibits this behavior 3. Most of the time exhibits this behavior 4. Always exhibits this behavior 1st CBT Assessment – Attention to Task Domain. Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4: average score for items that make up the domain shown at left 1. Does not exhibit this behavior 2. Sometimes exhibits this behavior 3. Most of the time exhibits this behavior 4. Always exhibits this behavior 1st CBT Assessment – Engagement in Developmentally Appropriate Tasks Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4: average score for items that make up the domain shown at left 1. Does not exhibit this behavior 2. Sometimes exhibits this behavior. 3. Most of the time exhibits this behavior 4. Always exhibits this behavior 2nd CBT Assessment – Cooperation with Adults DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 2nd CBT Assessment – Attention to Task DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4. 2nd CBT Assessment – Engagement in Developmentally Appropriate Tasks DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 3rd CBT Assessment – Cooperation with Adults DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 3rd CBT Assessment – Attention to Task DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 3rd CBT Assessment – Engagement in Developmentally Appropriate Tasks DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 1st Parent and Child Together (PACT) Assessment – Parent-Child Interactions Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 average score for items that make up the domain shown at left 1. Does not exhibit this behavior 2. Sometimes exhibits this behavior 3. Most of the time exhibits this behavior 4. Always exhibits this behavior 1st PACT Assessment -Positive Parenting Behavior Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4: average score for items that make up the domain shown at left 1. Does not exhibit this behavior 2. Sometimes exhibits this behavior 3. Most of the time exhibits this behavior 4. Always exhibits this behavior 2nd PACT Assessment – Parent-Child Interactions Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 2nd PACT Assessment – Positive Parenting Behavior Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 3rd PACT Assessment – Parent-Child Interactions Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 3rd PACT Assessment – Positive Parenting Behavior Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4. 1st Teacher Rating of Oral Language and Literacy (TROLL) Assessment – Language ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-20 (5 items with maximum of 4 points for each item) 1st TROLL Assessment – Reading ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-20 (5 items with maximum of 4 points for each item) 1st TROLL Assessment – Print Concept ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-12 (3 items with maximum of 4 points for each item). 2nd TROLL Assessment – Language ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-20 (5 items with maximum of 4 points for each item) 2nd TROLL Assessment – Reading ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-33 (8 items with maximum of 4 points for each item; one Yes/No item scored 1/0 ) 2nd TROLL Assessment – Print Concept ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-28 (7 items with maximum of 4 points for each item).