Human Resources Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Resources Management - Essay Example He planned to hire an office administrator, two route drivers, and a warehouse worker. Beginning in the third quarter of 2009, he toyed with the idea of hiring an operations manager who could handle some of the day-to-day tasks that were starting to drain him professionally and personally. â€Å"There was no one to take work off Mark’s plate,† said Dan Price, who is founder of  Gravity Payments, a credit card processor, and has served as an informal adviser to Mr. Sims through their chapter of  Entrepreneurs’ Organization. â€Å"A first senior hire is daunting for an entrepreneur,† Mr. Price said. In fact, the prospect of carving out time to make hires was daunting to Mr. Sims. He recalled spending three days sorting through resumes when he could have been out getting business. With the unemployment rate high, the number of job applicants has surged, making screening even more time-consuming. â€Å"I get resumes for driver positions from applicants wh o don’t even have a license,† he said. In addition, Mr. Sims conceded that he did not have the best record of accomplishment when it came to hiring. Last year, for example, he brought on employees who seemed â€Å"fine† but did not last. A driver he found on  Craigslist  wrecked a new vehicle. ... Sims considered running ads and browsing resumes posted on state employment agency Web sites. At first glance, this seemed the least expensive way to go. However, after factoring in the time for culling resumes, Mr. Sims was less convinced that this was the best way to find candidates, particularly a strong No. 2. His other option was to hire a recruiter, at least to find the operations manager. However, Mr. Sims was not enthusiastic about spending that kind of money — typically, 20 to 30 percent of the hire’s six-figure salary. He had worked previously with a recruiter who had charged much less ($1,500 per placement), but offered little value. THE DECISION  In consultation with Mr. Price, who had taken his own company to 53 employees, from 10, in the previous four years, Mr. Sims decided to use a recruiter to find his operations manager, beginning the process last November. The agency began by interviewing Mr. Sims, who said he was surprised to realize during the con versation just how much he disliked operations. Once the agency understood his needs, it sent him the resumes of 12 candidates. Of those, Mr. Sims selected six and spent a day interviewing them back-to-back. He then ranked them and scheduled second interviews with the top two — a former chief financial officer and a former tech entrepreneur who had built a business from three to 35 employees before selling it. Mr. Sims, Mr. Price and a human resources employee from Gravity Payments conducted second interviews at the agency. The process took half a day. Mr. Sims interviewed one candidate, while Mr. Price and his colleague interviewed the other, and then

Tobacco Use Among Teenagers Essay Example for Free

Tobacco Use Among Teenagers Essay In the United States, tobacco use or cigarette smoking has been identified as the leading cause of preventable death.   Almost half a million deaths annually have been associated to cigarette smoking.   The prevalence of tobacco use by adolescents has intensified in the 1990s, with the highest rates during 1996 to 1997 and then decreased thereafter (CDC, 1998).   If the pattern of tobacco use early on during adolescence ensues, this will result in around 5 million minors who will mature into adults that will experience smoking-related illness in the future.    Medical expenses related to tobacco use have been estimated to cost approximately $50 to $73 billion annually.   Such estimates have alarmed the healthcare agencies that they have created comprehensive smoking prevention programs to lessen smoking among adolescents.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The topic of tobacco use among teenagers is related to the goals of Healthy People 2010, which is a comprehensive collection of disease prevention and health education programs that was established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.   Healthy People 2010 was created by researchers and scientists to address the current issues in public health.   The two main objectives of Healthy People 2010 is to improve the quality of life of the residents of the United States, which will result in the prolongation of life expectancy, and to prevent any differences that are observed and reported with regards to different subgroups within the U.S. population.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Massive anti-smoking campaign efforts were earlier initiated in order to deflect young and curious teenagers from using tobacco.   These efforts included outright health warnings regarding the serious effects of smoking that are attached to every pack of cigarettes.   There was also the aggressive campaign to enhance distaste towards smokers, convincing the rest of the society that smoking is not a good habit for members of the society, especially if the stench and stains of cigarette smoking will be physically attached to the smoker after a couple of months. In addition, legislation has required that a young-looking buyer should present his identification card in order to prove that he is at least 18 years old before he is allowed to buy cigarettes from a vendor.   Any vendor who is caught selling cigarettes to a minor has been warned that he could be penalized for providing addictive items to a minor.   Unfortunately, all these efforts in dissuading the youth from tobacco use was unsuccessful, as shown in the increase in smoking cases among teenagers as well as admittance to tobacco use amidst all these smoking prevention efforts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Recent research surveys have determined that a generic smoking prevention program is not as effective as it was thought to be because each state and each school showed a different type of setting that strongly influences a typical adolescent to succumb to the pressure and lure of cigarette smoking.   Variations in the factors that influence an adolescent to smoke are present at the levels of the country, state, school, and individual (Lotrean et al., 2006).   In addition, the society and environment wherein the adolescent is situated also varies within the United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In terms of school-setting influence on tobacco use, research surveys show that smoking is strongly correlated with poor connection with peers at school.   This includes the loss of feeling of being a member of a group in school or the simple sensation of belonging to the school society.   Tobacco use among adolescents is also strongly connected to a lack of discipline in the school, which is actually a responsibility of the teacher.   The lack of discipline is thus a result of an inadequacy in the involvement of the teachers with the adolescent students.   It has also been observed that different schools follow a full ban on cigarette smoking within the school grounds, while other schools implement a partial ban. Unfortunately, there are also schools that do not have smoking bans.   Schools often have school policies that specifically indicate that when a student of the school is caught smoking cigarettes within the school premises, a corresponding school action will be given to the student.   Research indicates that schools that have established strict school policies show a significantly lower rate of tobacco use than schools that do not included any policy on tobacco use within the school’s premises.   Another factor that influences teenage students to smoke originates from the school environment is the exposure of students to teachers who smoke within school premises.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are also specific gender-related factors that persuade teenagers to use tobacco.   In an independent study, it was observed that female teenagers are more vulnerable to social pressure at school than male teenagers (Barnett et al., 2007).   The same trend in tobacco use is observed when a female adolescent is living in a single-parent home environment, much different from the observations reported from a male teenager who is residing in a single-parent home environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social interactions existing around the teenager also induces them to use tobacco.   In a cross-sectional investigation among middle school students, it was reported that there is a positive correlation between tobacco use and alcohol consumption among teenagers (Fisher et al., 2007).   Interestingly, it was observed that the presence of family activities, especially family dinners, serve as a protection for teenagers from initiating use of alcohol and tobacco.   The only limitation to such observation was that the preventive effect of family dinners is only effective during the pre-contemplative stage of smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol.    Once the adolescent has started smoking or drinking, the efforts of setting up family dinners as prevention or protection schemes has been determined to be ineffective.   The role of the family, in terms of social interaction and frequency of present to the adolescent, thus strongly influences any decisions that he may make.   The opposite scheme is observed among adolescents who rarely or seldom have family dinners together.   It was estimated that these individuals were 50% more likely to use tobacco and drink alcohol. Thus, social interactions within the family members offer an excellent venue for communication between the adolescent and his parents which in turn provide an impact on the behavior of the teenager.   The single-parent environment of an adolescent also shows a greater risk of using tobacco.   This influence is further complicated when the teenager involved is female.   The occurrence of other members of the family smoking at home also influences a teenager to consider and actually follow suit in smoking (Phillips et al., 2007).   Aside from that, even if the teenager does not decide to smoke, his exposure to secondhand smoke subjects him to the same or even worse condition in terms of the harmful effects of tobacco on human health.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another factor that influences use of tobacco among teenagers is the improper application of knowledge or information to actual life choices.   In a research survey involving adolescents and their corresponding parents, it was determined that approximately 85% of the youth respondents and their parents admitted that they knew that tobacco use was harmful to their health (Lubman et al., 2007). The figures of this report were quite encouraging, because both the young and adult respondents showed that they were aware of the associated health implications of smoking cigarettes.   However, it was also discouraging to read that the report described a striking opposite result with the rates of tobacco use in the same surveyed population, indicating that this population was not capable of translating the information regarding tobacco use and health into actual behavioral output.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The media also has an influence on the use of tobacco among adolescents.   Research has described that adolescents who view movies that include a teenager character smoking induces the adolescent viewer to follow suit in a dose-response relation (Sargent et al., 2007).   The effect of media on teenage tobacco use is categorically different from the effect of the immediate environment where an adolescent is located.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Given the abovementioned factors that influence tobacco use among teenagers, it is thus ideal to design and implement a smoking prevention program that is based on the actual conditions of a community where susceptible teenagers are situated.   An exemplary effort is spearheaded by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) which has proposed that each state create smoking prevention programs to lessen the frequency of smoking among adolescents.   Research surveys have been conducted to identify factors that influence youth in considering the use of tobacco as part of their young lives.   The Youth Tobacco Surveillance and Evaluation System was established by the CDC to conduct surveys of middle and high school students at the state, national and international levels.   The system is comprised of two parts, the National Youth Tobacco Survey and the state-level Youth Tobacco Surveys.   Both surveys were designed to offer smoking prevention programs nationwide.    Each program is distinct for each state and country, depending on what has been observed in the surveys that were conducted prior to the implementation of the smoking prevention program (Rudatsikira et al., 2007).   The programs provide information regarding the different types of tobacco that are currently being circulated among the youth, including cigarettes, pipe and cigars.   The attitudes of children and youth are also examined in order to determine the influence of different factors around their immediate environment as well as in their homes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I have learned that smoking among teenagers is not a simple action that is influenced by peer pressure.   I realized through my research that smoking among teenagers is influenced by social interactions with the family and friends, as well as in the school.   It is also interesting to know that the media imparts a strong effect on teenagers and smoking.   I also agree with the reports that describe that different conditions exist in different communities, hence a simple smoking prevention program that involves aggressive campaign against smoking and tobacco are destined to be ineffective in decreasing or controlling the rise in the number of cases of teenagers using tobacco.   I will take the information I have learned from this report with me and hopefully I may apply the facts that I have learned in the actual setting.    References Barnett TA, Gauvin L, Lambert M, O’Loughlin J, Paradis G and McGrath JJ (2007):   The influence of school smoking policies on student tobacco use.   Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 161(9):842-848. CDC (1998):   Tobacco use among high school students: United States, 1997. MMWR 47: 229-33. Fisher LB, Miles IW, Austin SB, Camargo Jr. CA and Colditz GA (2007):   Predictors of initiation of alcohol use among US adolescents.   Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 161(10):959-966. Lotrean LM, Ionut C and de Vries H (2006):   Tobacco use among Romanian youth.   Salud Publica Mex. 48 suppl 1:S107-S112. Lubman DI, Hides L and Jorm AF (2007):   Beliefs of young people and their parents about the harmfulness of alcohol, cannabis and tobacco for mental disorders.   MJA   187:266–269. Phillips R, Amos A, Ritchie D, Cunningham-Burley S and Martin C (2007):   Smoking in the home after the smoke-free legislation in Scotland: qualitative study.   BMJ 335:553-557. Rudatsikira E, Abdo A and Muula AS (2007):   Prevalence and determinants of adolescent tobacco smoking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.   BMC Public Health 7:176-182. Sargent JD, Stoolmiller M, Worth KA, Cin SD, Wills TA, Gibbons FX, Gerrard M and Tanski S (2007):   Exposure to smoking depictions in movies its association with established adolescent smoking.   Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 161(9):849-856.

The South could NOT Win the American Civil War :: essays research papers

The American antebellum South, though rich in pride and raised in military tradition, was to be no match for the promising superiority of the rapidly developing North in the coming Civil War. Their lack of readily trained men, in conjunction with social and economical issues, made the Civil War a joke for the North, and a disaster for the South. The paramount reason the South fell well short of a victory was the obvious difference in population between the South and the North. The North at the time had 22,000,000 men while the South had a meager 9,500,000, of whom 3,500,000 million were slaves. While the slaves could be used to support the war effort through work on the plantations, in industries and as teamsters and pioneers with the army, they were not used as a combat arm in the war to any extent. This cuts the South's manpower by a third, leaving a 15,500,000 difference in the population of the two areas. In the 1850's the North was more populous and urban, due to the Irish and German immigrants that traveled to the states. By1860, 9 out of the 10 biggest cities were in the North. The Union also had large amounts of land available for growing food crops, which served the dual purpose of providing food for its hungry soldiers and money for its ever-growing industries. The South, on the other hand, devoted most of what arable land it had exclusively to its main cash crop: cotton Industrially the South couldn't keep up in output of weapons, ammunition and other supplies. The North had more industry, with 10,000 factories that brought in $1.5 billion dollars in goods compared to the South's 20,000 that brought in $155 million Raw materials were almost entirely concentrated in Northern mines and refining industries. The North also had 70% of the railroads, and telegraph lines, the absolute lifelines of any army, traced paths all across the Northern countryside but left the South isolated, outdated, and starving. The confederacy had only one-ninth the industrial capacity of the Union; for Northern states had manufactured 97% of the country’s firearms in 1860, 94% of its cloth, 93% of its pig iron, and more then 90% of its boots and shoes. By the beginning of war in 1860, the Union, from an economical standpoint, stood like a towering giant over the stagnant Southern agrarian society.

Symbolic Meaning of Edna’s Arms and Teeth in Chopin’s The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening

Symbolic Meaning of Edna’s Arms and Teeth in Chopin’s The Awakening Although characters’ personalities are described vividly in The Awakening through action, dialogue, and descriptions of clothing, little is presented of the characters physically. While Edna is alone in Madame Antoine’s house, resting, two moments occur in which specific aspects of her body are highlighted. Prior to this scene, it is known only that she is considered pretty and that her hair and eyes are a similar yellow-brown color. At Madame Antoine’s house, however, where Edna loses sense of time while resting, first her arms and then her teeth demonstrate her peculiar strengths. It is problematic to consider Edna as strong so soon after having nearly swooned in the small island church. Although we know that she had slept little the night before and that her invitation to Robert was her first conscious move into a new sort of consciousness, her apparent moment of epiphany is accompanied by an all too typical display of feminine weakness. Moments later, lying in Madame Antoine’s bed, Edna is revealed as contradictorily strong. While stretching her â€Å"strong limbs that ached a little† Edna pauses and notices her arms. â€Å"She looked at her round arms as she held them straight up and rubbed them one after the other, observing closely, as if it were something she saw for the first time, the fine, firm quality and texture of her flesh† (58). In this description, her arms appear detached from the rest of her body. She discovers that she has strength—not of spirit or mind, which is what the rest of the narrative focuses on, but of bo dy. After she awakens, her attention is drawn away from her self personally, but the description of her returns to this physical strength when she finds the snack Madame Antoine had left for her. â€Å"Edna bit a piece from the brown loaf, tearing it with her strong, white teeth† (59). Because there is no other description in the paragraph, her teeth here stand out as odd. The action of biting the loaf rather than cutting or tearing it with her hands exhibits her characteristic carelessness, but also a bit of viciousness that is surprising. The teeth represent her latent strength here, in action rather than in rest, as she had seen her arms. It is unclear to me what significance, if any, there might be to these images of her arms and her teeth.

Safeguarding And Protection Of Vulnerab

To protect somebody is to keep them safe from harm and injury and the term safeguarding means to protect from harm or damage with appropriate measures. As a person's mental capacity is relevant with regards to safeguarding, as a worker, you have to accept that an adult is making choices that to you may be unwise, but If they are deemed to have mental capacity, there is very little you can do apart from advise them of this. As adult safeguarding is not â€Å"clear cut† you have to ensure that you do not think the decisions they are making are unwise because you yourself wouldn't do it.The majority of our client group are vulnerable, and if we look at the adults that e work with that misuse substances, this can be a grey area with regards to safeguarding. Obviously if an adult chooses to use a substance, that is their decision, however, substances impair your mind and your Judgment, so if something happens to them whilst they are under the Influence, this should be a safeguardin g matter and should be dealt with accordingly.By protecting somebody this could imply that others are making a decision for an adult rather than with them, but the current safeguarding legislation in place accepts that individuals have the right to take risks o long as they have capacity and understand the implication or consequences. An example of this would be a client who we are currently working with who is a dependent alcoholic with cataracts in both eyes so he has virtually no sight. This man Is extremely vulnerable to theft and people taking advantage of him.The work that we do to protect him wealth the home Is practical things Like removing trip hazards, putting things back exactly where they are in the flat and guiding him when we take him out shopping. This man became the subject of safeguarding when somebody knocked his door claiming to be a council official and demanded that he ay all of his Council tax arrears. Secondly, one of his â€Å"friends† used to do his s hopping for him but this has resulted in money going missing from his bank account. This gentleman does have mental capacity although this has to be questioned if he has decided to drinks whole bottle of vodka.Although it is not good for him, it is his decision to drink alcohol and that has to be respected. We can advise him of the risks to his health and how this could put him in vulnerable situations. We can protect him from his friend having access to this bank account by owing shopping for him, however, If he refuses this request, we can only make him aware that money may well go missing again. We all have a duty of care towards our Child Protection, different social care teams can have very different views/opinions on what is a safeguarding matter. . 3 Explain the legislative framework for safeguarding vulnerable adults There are many Acts and Government initiatives in place with regards to vulnerable adults safeguarding. Human Rights Act (1998) – This Act is a benchmark upon which services can assess how they uphold an individuals rights. Public bodies such as Police, Courts, hospitals etc, and other bodies carrying out public functions have to comply with the Convention rights. The list below details the fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals have access to.Everyone has a right to life, a life with freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. A right to liberty and security, freedom from slavery and forced labor. The right too fair trial with no punishment without law. Respect for your private and family life, home and correspondence. Freedom of thought, belief and religion and freedom of expression. Protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and freedom. Freedom of expression and the right to marry and start a family. The right to peaceful enjoyment of your property and the right to education.Care Standards Act (2000) – this led onto National Minimum Standards and means of measuring care service qualit y. This act has established an independent regulatory body for care services, (the National Care Standards Commission). Independent Councils are required to register Social Care Workers, set standards in social care work and regulate the education and training of Social Workers. It provides for the Secretary of State to maintain a list of individuals who are considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults.The main purpose of the Act is that local authorities will be required to meet the same standards as independent sector providers. The Act made for the provision of a General Social Care Council whose role it is are to regulate the training of Social Workers, raise standards in social care through codes and conduct and practice with a register of social care staff to be set up and maintained by the council. Care providers who supply individuals to work in care sections will be under a duty to refer people to the list who are considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults .Care providers have to carry out checks of the list before offering employment in a care position working with vulnerable adults and should refuse employment to any person. No Secrets (2000) – This guidance was produced due to serious incidents of abuse and to also ensure compliance with the Human Rights Act. Although No Secrets is not legislation it holds the status of statutory guidance and local social services should follow this. The key statements in relation to No Secrets are; Every person has he right to live a life free from abuse, exploitation and neglect.There should be no discrimination regarding abuse because of assumptions about class, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion or culture. Adults at risk of abuse must be made aware of their rights and given information, advice and support. They should be enabled and encouraged to access the protection of the law and legal processes where they wish to do so. Every effort must be made to promote t he well being, security and safety of adults at risk of abuse in line with their rights, mental capacity n the course of action to take whilst being given all possible forms of support.An adult may choose to remain in an abusive environment, and, in such cases it is important to consider what advice and support can be offered to reduce the risk of harm. Effective inter agency working is crucial for the safeguarding of adults from abuse. Effective information sharing, collaborations and understanding between agencies and professions are paramount in safeguarding adults. No single agency can act in isolation to ensure the welfare and protection of adults at risk of abuse and information and decision making must be shared.Valuing People (2001) – This is specifically related to those with learning disabilities and has been written from a human rights perspective and also started the personalization agenda. It includes the several key rights; People with learning disabilities and their families have the same human rights as everyone else. Independent Living – All disabled people should have greater choice and control over the support they need to go about their daily life. They should have greater access to housing, education, employment, leisure and transport and be giving the opportunity to participate fully in family and community life.Control – People with disabilities are to be involved and in control of decisions made about their life. They are to be provided with the information and support to understand the different options and consequences so that they can make informed decisions. Inclusion – Being able to participate in all the aspects of community. To work, learn and meet people. To become part of a social network and be able to access services and have the support to do so. Safeguarding Adults (2005) – The aim of this was to change the concept of protection and was geared towards those who lacked capacity.This is wher e the concept of upgrading emerged with individuals taking informed risks and exercising choices rather than authorities taking the lead. Safeguarding Adults (2005) is made up of eleven sets of good practice standards. Each local authority has established a multi agency partnership to lead in safeguarding adults work. Accountability for and ownership of safeguarding adults work is to be recognized by each partner's organizations body. The safeguarding policy includes a clear statement of every individual's right to live free from abuse and neglect, this message is to be actively promoted to the public.Each partner agency should have a policy of zero tolerance of abuse within the organization. The safeguarding adults partnership oversees a multi agency workforce that is appropriately resourced with a development and training strategy. Anybody can access information about how to gain safety from abuse and violence to include information about local safe guarding procedures. There is a local multi agency safeguarding adults policy describing how local authorities respond to all adults who may be eligible for community care services and who may be at risk of abuse of neglect.Each partner agency has a set of internal guidelines that are insistent with the local authority safe guarding adults policy. The guidelines set out the responsibilities of all employees/workers. The safeguarding adults procedures include the following stages – alert, referral, decision, safeguarding assessment monitoring. The safeguarding procedures are available to all adults covered by the policy. The partnership agency includes service users in all aspects of their work.To include monitoring, development, implementation of safeguarding plans and assessment. Mental Capacity Act (2005) – This Act is aimed to protect vulnerable adults who are enable to make their own decisions and it has 5 key principles. Presumption of capacity – every adult has the right to make his or her own decisions and must be assumed to have capacity to do so unless it is proved otherwise. You cannot assume that somebody cannot make a decision for themselves Just because they have a particular medical condition or disability.Individuals being supported to make their own decisions – A person must be given all practicable help before anyone treats them as not being able to make their own decisions. You should make every effort to encourage and support people to make their own decisions. If lack of capacity is established, you should still involve the person as much as possible in making decisions. Unwise decisions – People have the right to make unwise decisions that others may think are unwise or eccentric. You cannot assume a lack of capacity for this reason.People have their own values, beliefs and preferences which may not be the same as others. Best interests – anything done for or on behalf of a person who lacks mental capacity must be done in their best interests. Less restrictive option – Someone acting on behalf of a person or making a decision for a person who lacks opacity must consider whether it is possible to act in a way that would interfere less with the person's rights and freedoms of action and whether any decision/action needs to be taken at all.Any intervention should be weighed up in the particular circumstances of the case. Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (2006) – This saw the introduction of the vetting/ barring system and the introduction of the offence fraud by abuse of position. It has the following three key principles. Unsuitable persons should be barred from working with children or vulnerable adults. Employers should have a means of heckling that a person is not barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.Suitability checks should be part of an ongoing assessment in order to catch those who commit wrongs following a suitability check. Fraud Act (2006) – This included a new offence of fraud by abuse of position. This included the misuse of money by those appointed to manage money, for example power of attorney or a position that an agency was expected to safeguard and not to act against the financial interests of another person, or people that have abused their position. Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (2008) – This is part of the legal framework that is et out in the Mental Capacity Act.Those unable to consent to treatment due too mental impairment should be supported in a way that does not limit their rights. It was introduced to protect the human rights of people who were in certain settings does not apply to people who have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. Deprivation of Liberty should ensure that people can be given the care they need in the least restrictive regimes, prevents decisions that deprive vulnerable people of their liberty and allows people the right to challenge against an unlawful detention.Health and Social C are Act (2008), (Regulated Activities), Regulations 2010 and the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 – This led to the creation of the Care Quality Commission to regulate services using the essential standards of quality and safety, with the emphasis on outcomes and what can be expected from care providers. The regulations in relation to safeguarding are; Respecting and involving people who use services. Consent to care and treatment and a client can be confident that their human rights are respected and taken into account.Care and welfare of people that use services – roper steps must be taken to ensure that each client is protected against the risks of receiving care or treatment that is inappropriate or unsafe. Safeguarding people who use services from abuse – suitable arrangements should be made to ensure that clients are safeguarded against the risk of abuse by taking reasonable stops to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent it b efore it occurs and respond appropriately to any allegations of abuse.Cleanliness and infection control – measure must be taken so far as reasonable practicable to ensure that clients and workers are protected against identifiable risks of infection. Management of medicines – clients are to be protected against the risks associated with the unsafe use and management of medicines. Appropriate arrangements are to be made for obtaining, recording, handling, using, safe keeping, dispensing, safe administration and disposal of medicines.Safety and suitability of premises – We must ensure that clients and workers that have access to premises are protected in that the design and layout is suitable and appropriate security measures have been taken. Safety, availability and suitability of equipment – Suitable arrangements must be made to rote clients and workers who may be at risk from the use of unsafe equipment. Equipment must be properly maintained and suitable for its purpose and must be used correctly.Requirements relating to workers – Companies to ensure that the person is of good character and has the relevant skills and experience to do the work and to ensure that the necessary checks, (DB'S), have been carried out. Supporting Workers – Workers should be supported by their Managers to ensure that they are appropriately supported in relation to their responsibilities to ensure they do their job to the required standard.Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision – this should be regularly reviewed and clients should benefit from safe quality care, treatment and support in relation to decision making and the management of risks to their health, welfare and safety. Notification of other incidents – the commission must be notified of any incidents which occur whilst services are being provided. In relation to safeguarding this is any abuse or allegation of abuse that has been made or any incident which is reported to, or investigated by, the police. Reemerging from vulnerable adult to adult at risk. The Government are due to consider the recommendations with a view to introducing legislation. The recommendations are as follows; Local social services have the lead in co ordination responsibility for safeguarding. Local authorities have a duty to investigate adult protection cases And can either do this themselves or refer the investigation to another agency but this must be monitored by them. The local authorities would have the power to request co operation in adult protection investigations.An adult at risk can be defined as a person who appears to have health or social care needs, the person must appear to e at risk of harm rather than significant harm, the person appears unable to safeguard themselves from harm due to their health and social care needs. Harm is defined as ill treatment, (to include exploitation that is not physical), the impairment of health and developm ent, self harm and neglect and unlawful conduct that affects a persons property, rights or interests. Local authorities should have the lead role in establishing and maintaining safeguarding boards.The local authority, NASH and Police would be required to nominate a safeguarding board member that has the appropriate knowledge and skills. New compulsory and emergency powers should be set out for local authorities and adult protection cases, for example, power of entry or exclusion orders. Statement of Government Principles on adult safeguarding (2011) – local multi agencies should support and encourage communities to find their solutions locally. Guidance is given on how principles can be turned into outcomes.The six principles are; Empowerment – presumption of person led decisions and informed consent. Protection -support and representation for those in greatest need. Prevention – it is better to take action before harm occurs. Proportionality – proportio nate and least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented. Partnership – Local solutions through services working with their communities. Communities have a part to play in preventing, detecting and reporting neglect and abuse. Accountability – Accountability and transparency in delivering safeguarding. 1. Explain the protocols and referral procedures when harm or abuse is alleged or suspected Within Sad/Alpha we have a Vulnerable Adult safeguarding lead. When a worker has concerns or a client has alleged abuse/harm, the first point of contact would be to discuss this with their Manager, (this should be no later than the end of he day that the allegation was made or the incident happened). If the client had made an allegation, whilst the worker was with them, they would make a factual note of what has been discussed, this would include name, date, details of allegation made and the worker's response.It is important that the client feels trusted and that no le ading questions are asked. The worker should then advise the client that they will be discussing this with their Line Manager as they have a duty of care towards them. Depending on the situation that has occurred, the worker would need to ensure that the adult at risk is made safe and if required has received medical occurred with a view to discussing whether the Police should be informed of this. If a worker has concerns about a client but an allegation hasn't been made, the worker is advised to speak to their Line Manager regarding this.As soon as realistically possible file notes should be done and together, the Manager, the Vulnerable Adult safeguarding lead and the worker will agree on the next course of action that needs to be taken. It is at this point it is important to remember that if the Manager and the worker do not agree on the next course of action then they are able to go to Senior Management level to discuss this further. . Sad/Alpha is a non statutory agency so, if we do have a concern regarding abuse, we would refer this onto the statutory agency that is working with the client.We would contact them as soon as realistically possible and follow this up with a written file note. If there is no statutory agency involvement, we would contact the Adult Social Services Locality Team to advise them of our concerns. This will usually mean speaking to the Duty Officer for the team. We would then follow this up with a written file note and send this across to the Duty Officer. Sometimes the Locality Team will check on their system, and, if there has been statutory agency involvement we were unaware of, they would request that we refer the matter to the relevant agency involved.Sometimes when a statutory agency, (for example SCHISM), have advised that they will be taking no further action and we disagree with this, we would then go back to the relevant Locality Team. They may well agree with the decision that has been made, and, if this is the case we w ould Just file note it accordingly. If however, they decide that action does need to be taken, it is the role of the Locality am to lead on this with the statutory agency. Internally, the seriousness of the incident will need to be assessed by the Manager and the Vulnerable Adult lead.If the incident is considered to be minor, we would complete a sudden untoward incident form and still advise the lead statutory agency Within Alpha is it my responsibility to ensure that all staff have been trained in Vulnerable Adult Safeguarding and that they are all aware of the reporting procedures/paperwork that needs to be completed. All workers know that any concerns have to be reported directly to myself, and, if I am absent, be reported to my Manager. The workers know that they are responsible for informing me as soon as possible and following this up with a written file note.They are aware that this type of information can be shared and that client confidentiality can be broken in this insta nce. Everything to do with the concerns raised or allegations made is documented in a file note and locked away in a secure filing cabinet. It is my responsibility to ensure that everything has been documented and stored. Safeguarding and the prevention of abuse As mentioned above, Sad/Alpha have a Vulnerable Adult Safeguarding Lead that I will liaise with if a safeguarding concern as been brought to my attention.It is mandatory for all staff to attend Vulnerable Adults Safeguarding training. Sad/Alpha have written their own company policies in relation to safeguarding. The safeguarding policy itself defines an adult at risk of harm, lists the types of physical/mental abuse or harm that can occur and the reporting procedure that should be followed if an allegation is made or if they have any concerns, (as outlined above). All staff who have read the policy will be aware of who they need to report to in the first instance and the importance of writing down and recording factual file notes.These policies have been written in line with the No Secrets Act (2000), The Mental Capacity Act (2005), Human Rights Act (1998) and Safeguarding Adults (2005). The other policy that needs to be read and understood in connection with safeguarding is the Sad/Alpha Weightlessness policy. This policy firstly reassures a staff member that they can make a disclosure within a positive and supportive environment and that there will be no reprisals from bringing a matter to their Manager's attention. The reporting procedure is outlined in the policy, and if the member of staff has a concern about a colleague, they will report directly to their LineManager. If, however, the concern is in relation to their Line Manager, they will report the matter to Senior Management level to be investigated. All staff are aware that they have a duty of care towards clients, their colleagues and themselves. I do believe that risk assessments that are regularly reviewed are extremely important to try an d prevent abuse occurring. Alpha risk assessments covers areas such as historical risk, risk to self, risk to others, risk from others and environmental risks. When we assess a client we will complete a risk assessment form and the client will be marked for overall risk.We can then discuss with the relevant worker/professional how to minimize risk, for example, one of our clients has historically made an allegation of sexual assault against a male worker from another agency. This client is currently being seen in pairs and the two workers are female. Risk assessments will only be successful if they are reviewed regularly as a matter of course. Communication is also very important, not Just between other agencies, but within the team. All staff members must know who to report concerns to and what to do. If a Manager is made aware of a possible concern/risk, this must be passed onto the rocker and vice versa.All complaints must be investigated, (no matter how small or minor they appea r to be), they must be documented correctly and the necessary action must be taken if required. Within Alpha we always encourage staff to try and view a complaint as a positive thing rather than a criticism. By reviewing and investigating complaints, our Care plans are also important in relation to safeguarding and these will also only be successful if they are reviewed on a regular basis and are communicated clearly to all staff that are working with the client.For example, we are currently working with a an who has poor eyesight and is unable to use the cash point unsupervised. Unbeknown to him, his friends have been withdrawing money from his account. His care plan has now changed in the respect that we have temporary power of attorney of his money and make all cash withdrawals at the bank for him keeping an accurate record of all money that has been spent. Sad/Alpha also have a responsibility to follow up on any references when people apply for a Job and to ensure that workers a re not working with a client unsupervised until they have had a satisfactory DB'S check.Regular training and supporting staff on a regular basis is also key. 4. Recommend proposals for improvements in systems and procedures in own service setting Within Alpha, I believe that we are very good at communicating with each other and as a team. I would however like to improve this by coming up with regular training sessions/staff meetings where we can all get together and share our thoughts and ideas and that staff and Managers can be updated on what is happening with regards to all clients to include risks and safeguarding.I like to hold supervision regularly, and as part of supervision, we discuss the clients that the worker is currently seeing, we review their care plan and make any required changes. This would also be a good time to update risk assessments, but all staff are aware that anything in relation to risk should be brought to my attention as soon as possible and that they sho uld not wait for a supervision.I do receive daily feedback from staff in relation to their visits. However, I would like to be more â€Å"hands off' with regards to client work and be able to spend my time working with staff on their visits and also visiting clients to perform an audit of our services and this would include risk. The audit could then be shared with the worker who would know that they loud need to action any of the relevant points and feedback to me when this had been completed.I think this would be of benefit to the client and to the worker who would be mindful that regular audits were going to occur which, in turn, would make them more aware that policies and procedures do need to be adhered to and it reinforces our duty of care. I think that our policies and procedures as a company are fairly robust, however, these may be subject to change in the near future if adult safeguarding becomes statutory along the same lines as child protection. I have now adopted a sys tem, that should there be a change in risk, a new risk assessment form is completed.I would however like to visit the clients on a quarterly basis at least to re evaluate risk regardless of whether their circumstances have changed or not. Although our team has a case load of regular clients, I believe that it is important that they are occasionally seen by somebody else who is not so used to them. It is very easy to become blinkered to risk/harm and a new set of eyes can be very important when reviewing this. I would like to implement a regular shuffle around within the unit/AC Learner signature: Assessor signature: Date:

Lystrosaurus Facts and Figures

Lystrosaurus Facts and Figures Name: Lystrosaurus (Greek for shovel lizard); pronounced LISS-tro-SORE-us Habitat: Plains (or swamps) of Antarctica, South Africa, and Asia Historical Period: Late Permian-Early Triassic (260-240 million years ago) Size and Weight: About three feet long and 100-200 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Short legs; barrel-shaped body; relatively large lungs; narrow nostrils About Lystrosaurus About the size and weight of a smallish pig, Lystrosaurus was a classic example of a dicynodont (two dog toothed) therapsid- that is, one of the mammal-like reptiles of the late Permian and early Triassic periods that preceded the dinosaurs, lived alongside the archosaurs (the dinosaurs true ancestors), and eventually evolved into the earliest mammals of the Mesozoic Era. As therapsids go, though, Lystrosaurus was on the much less mammal-like end of the scale: its unlikely that this reptile possessed either fur or a warm-blooded metabolism, putting it in stark contrast to near contemporaries like Cynognathus and Thrinaxodon. The most impressive thing about Lystrosaurus is how widespread it was. The remains of this Triassic reptile have been unearthed in India, South Africa and even Antarctica (these three continents were once merged together into the giant continent of Pangea), and its fossils are so numerous that they account for a whopping 95 percent of the bones recovered at some fossil beds. No less an authority than the famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has called Lystrosaurus the Noah of the Permian/Triassic boundary, being one of the few creatures to survive this little-known global extinction event 250 million years ago that killed 95 percent of marine animals and 70 percent of terrestrial ones. Why was Lystrosaurus so successful when so many other genera went extinct? No one knows for sure, but there are a few theories. Perhaps the unusually large lungs of Lystrosaurus allowed it to cope with plunging oxygen levels at the Permian-Triassic boundary; perhaps Lystrosaurus was somehow spared thanks to its presumed semi-aquatic lifestyle (the same way crocodiles managed to survive the K/T Extinction tens of millions of years later); or perhaps Lystrosaurus was so plain vanilla and unspecialized compared to other therapsids (not to mention so petitely built) that it managed to endure environmental stresses that rendered its fellow reptiles kaput. (Refusing to subscribe to the second theory, some paleontologists believe that Lystrosaurus actually thrived in the hot, arid, oxygen-starved environments that prevailed during the first few million years of the Triassic period.) There are over 20 identified species of Lystrosaurus, four of them from the Karoo Basin in South Africa, the most productive source of Lystrosaurus fossils in the entire world. By the way, this unprepossessing reptile made a cameo appearance in the late 19th century Bone Wars: an amateur fossil-hunter described a skull to the American paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh, but when Marsh didnt express any interest, the skull was forwarded instead to his arch-rival Edward Drinker Cope, who coined the name Lystrosaurus. Oddly, a short time later, Marsh purchased the skull for his own collection, perhaps wishing to examine it more closely for any mistakes Cope may have made!

Field Observation Project

Field Observation Project Normal development among children encompasses a concurrent physical, cognitive and social development. This implies how one expects children of various ages to have different levels of cognitions, social attachments and physical characteristics. However, the development of every child stands out unique and theoretically complex.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Field Observation Project specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Various factors including environmental and experiences that children go through amongst others play key roles in influencing how they go through the sequences of development. Consequently, all children may fail to develop based on some predictable sequential development steps at the same time: normally divided in terms of years. The project seeks to make an observation of four-year-old and a seven-year-old child to unveil the conformance of the widely anticipated developments at the stages with the act ual field observations. Observations for a four-year-old The child has intensive desire to know what cause some certain feelings such as sadness or anger. She talks out the causes of her sadness, for instance, claiming that her momma has beaten her up and attempts to deal with her anger by copping strategies such as drawing pictures. The child interacts with his/her friends through plays portraying sympathy especially when the friends are hurt. She also attempts to suggest mechanisms of resolution of conflicts. The child was particularly interested in leaving the parent to explore the world with her friends. However, she seemed concerned with the whereabouts of her parents. Physically, the child can run around as she involves her friend in hide and seek games. She also seems to have perfected galloping, hoping and jumping skills. She approaches the world with lots of curiosity and enormous imagination in an attempt to build on her abstract cognitive abilities. Observations of a seve n-year-old Emotionally, the child has an enormous ability to understand his peers feeling. The child observed tended to set off from his friends when it comes to anger management through requesting the peer members to leave him alone. This is perhaps indicative of the desire to manage his emotions independently. Socially, the child participates proactively in games governed by rules. He/she also takes time to limit certain actions of his friends that he thinks would hurt his person. Physically the child seems to have perfected combination of motor skills such as walking rhythmically according to musical beats. The childs cognitive ability is concrete with the ability to identify numbers, sounds, words usage and association of music with moods. The child was able to identify objects within his environment with the capacity to extend his knowledge on three-dimensional objects.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 1 5% OFF Learn More Is the seven year old on track developmentally? Children development experts posit various developmental anticipations of children at various ages. At seven years, one expects the child to have developed cute linguistic and mathematical abilities. The observed child, can recognize, sum up and perform various mathematical tasks. He/she can also identify words and attach meaning to certain sounds. Based on these criteria, the child is on track in terms of cognitive abilities. Emotionally, the child can appreciate his/her friends feeling. He/she also considers independent resolution of his emotional turmoil. His/her involvements in games are more of dictated by rules, as he/she treats his/her friends in accordance to the rules of the game. This is indicative of being in track developmentally. In terms of physical development, children development experts anticipate that children at the age of seven have a perfect ability to combine their motor skills s uch rolling after jumping. The observed child walked rhythmically according to musical beats indicating compliance with sequential development anticipation.

Free Essays on Flowers for Algernon

Flowers for Algernon Flowers for Algernon is about a middle-aged man suffering from mental retardation. The man is Charlie Gordon. The exposition of this novel is rather intricate. Flowers for Algernon takes place in the nineteen-fifties. Charlie is chosen to participate in an experiment that will supposedly raise his IQ. But it turns out that they turn him into a genius, and it is only temporary. Along the way he falls in love with his teacher, Miss Kinnian. But he grows so intelligent that they grew farther apart as Charlie gets smarter. There are also two doctors in the novel, Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur. There are many complications in this book. One is his mental retardation and his desire to overcome it. Another is his growing to be smart. People start to dislike him because of that. And then another is his decline of intelligence and acceptance of it. The climax of Flowers for Algernon was when Charlie found out why Algernon was acting so erratically, and that he himself would face such a decline of intelligence and frustration on the way down. The resolution of the novel comes when Charlie finally loses all of the intelligence he gained in the experiment and went to live in the Warren Home for mentally handicapped people. The protagonist of Flowers for Algernon is Charlie. Charlie is a 32-year-old mentally retarded man. He started out a simple kind of guy, easily pleased, good hearted, and basically only understood that people liked him when they laughed at him. He was involuntarily committed to an experiment that would increase his intelligence level dramatically. He later decides to take part in the experiment and do his own studies. He notices the lab mouse, Algernon’s, behavior gets a little weird. He then discovers that this behavior is leading to Algernon’s decline, which will reflect his own. The antagonist is Charlie’s intelligence. Charlie’s intelligence gets in the way of his soc... Free Essays on Flowers for Algernon Free Essays on Flowers for Algernon Flowers for Algernon Flowers for Algernon is about a middle-aged man suffering from mental retardation. The man is Charlie Gordon. The exposition of this novel is rather intricate. Flowers for Algernon takes place in the nineteen-fifties. Charlie is chosen to participate in an experiment that will supposedly raise his IQ. But it turns out that they turn him into a genius, and it is only temporary. Along the way he falls in love with his teacher, Miss Kinnian. But he grows so intelligent that they grew farther apart as Charlie gets smarter. There are also two doctors in the novel, Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur. There are many complications in this book. One is his mental retardation and his desire to overcome it. Another is his growing to be smart. People start to dislike him because of that. And then another is his decline of intelligence and acceptance of it. The climax of Flowers for Algernon was when Charlie found out why Algernon was acting so erratically, and that he himself would face such a decline of intelligence and frustration on the way down. The resolution of the novel comes when Charlie finally loses all of the intelligence he gained in the experiment and went to live in the Warren Home for mentally handicapped people. The protagonist of Flowers for Algernon is Charlie. Charlie is a 32-year-old mentally retarded man. He started out a simple kind of guy, easily pleased, good hearted, and basically only understood that people liked him when they laughed at him. He was involuntarily committed to an experiment that would increase his intelligence level dramatically. He later decides to take part in the experiment and do his own studies. He notices the lab mouse, Algernon’s, behavior gets a little weird. He then discovers that this behavior is leading to Algernon’s decline, which will reflect his own. The antagonist is Charlie’s intelligence. Charlie’s intelligence gets in the way of his soc... Free Essays on Flowers for Algernon Charlie Gordon is a young man with an IQ of 68 who has a job at a bakery and attends night classes in an effort to improve himself. An experimental brain operation becomes available that promises triple intelligence (it has already done so for a mouse named Algernon), and Charlie excitedly decide that he wants to give it a try. The story consists solely of Charlie's diary entries from the time he hears about the operation through the operation and his dramatic increase, and subsequent decrease, of IQ. Charlie's increased intelligence opens up to him the understanding of everyday things that had been beyond his grasp, and at his peak he soars to the level of genius, ironically identifying the flaw in the scientific work of the two scientists who developed the operation he has undergone, and thus destroying their careers as their shallow research destroys the life that had been his. Among the everyday things Charlie understands for the first time is the fact that two of his male co-workers have regularly taken advantage of his retarded state to make fun of him, sometimes roughly. Charlie also becomes self-conscious more generally, which makes it impossible for him to stay in the place where he has been so degraded, even after his formerly misbehaving pals become sympathetic. At the end of the story he has fallen back to his original level of intelligenceand may continue to decline, if we take the suggestion from the fate of his fellow subject, Algernon, who rises,! falls, and then dies. Charlie has only a slight memory of having done something important. His self-esteem is strong, however, and he decides to leave his familiar world and find a place where people won't know about his embarrassment. This is a literary-medical gem that many people read in junior high and find well worth another reading in college. It is funny, sentimental, and serious, and can serve as the starting place for any number of broad disc...

Research proposal Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research proposal - Dissertation Example In view of the same, the concept of total quality management is deemed of paramount importance to these outsourced companies. Hence, the main focus of this paper is to look into the manner by which total quality management principles are incorporated into the processes adopted by the outsourced industries. Total quality management is defined as that philosophy for management concerned with the continuous improvement of the quality of products and processes (Ahire 1997). This particular management concept is used all over the world. The functions related thereto are based on the fact that the quality of products and processes is the responsible of everyone who is engaged in the creation or consumption of the products or services that are offered by the organization. In this sense, Total quality management entails the involvement of the management, workforce, suppliers and even customers in order to ensure that the expectations of the customers are met (Ahire 1997). Hakes (1991) on the other hand, also mentioned that total quality management is essential to all successful organizations. ... Literature Review To provide a solid ground to this study, the researcher reviews extant literature with respect to outsourcing and total quality management. This literature review covers pertinent areas related to the same. To ensure an extensive discussion as regards the subject matter at hand, this section is divided into the following sub-sections: (1) Total Quality Management: An Overview and (2) The Outsourced Information Industry: The Need for Total Quality Management. Total Quality Management: An Overview. As earlier stated, the importance of total quality management as an essential part of the management philosophy is grounded on the fact that it ensures the performance of a certain firm in accordance with the expectations of the customers and at the same time, to enable it to cope with the ever changing global market places. Usually, total quality management results into two important consequences for the firms: first, increase in productivity; and second, customer satisfac tion. One of the main characteristics of Total Quality Management is related to the need to identify the root causes of quality problems and at the same time, correcting them from the source. This is basically in line with the efforts to incorporate quality in all aspects of the organizations. Thus, it usually involves all the people in the organizations such as the customers, the employees and the suppliers. According to the article entitled â€Å"Total Quality Management† (n.d.), total quality management often has the following aspects: (1) Customer Focus; (2) Continuous Improvement; (3) Employee Empowerment; (4) Use of Quality Tools; (5) Product Design; (6) Process Management; and lastly, (7) the Management of Supplier Quality. The focus of the

Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Performance - Essay Example Team learning and group dynamics are two of the most important imperatives of organizational behavior that significantly impact performance outcome. Effective team work constitutes one of the most important factors that make valuable contribution to the organization promoting a sense of togetherness and collective responsibility that reflects in the increased output and improved performance of the organization. Argote claims that team learning processes involve collective acquisition, combination, creation and sharing of knowledge and that they are considerable influenced by the internal team dynamics (Argote, 1999). Leadership within the team inspires others to achieve common goals through persuasive communication skill. Leadership motivates and encourages that target group within the group that plays a crucial part in the development processes. Group dynamics play crucial role in the smooth functioning of the organizations. The rapid globalization has ushered in an era of multicultural society with people from different race, culture and nationality. Workplace diversity has become common feature and understanding of cross cultural values for mutual trust building has become important. Group dynamics are characterized by unique code of behavior that is specific to the group that is developed over a period of time. According to Hartley ‘value congruity between personal values and perceived value†¦ increased acceptance of that group’ (Hartley, 1960). It is further argues that participation within the group has positive effect on both attitude and job performance (Vroom, 1959). Indeed, emerging new managerial leadership must encompass a very important aspect of organizations, that of making effort to involve employees in the decision making process. The leadership has recognized the importance of people’s

Stereotypes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stereotypes - Essay Example Over time, people come to believe these stereotypes as literal representations of an undeniable reality and, accordingly, perceive of and treat members of the stereotyped group from within the confines of these biased opinions. The United States, despite its being a heterogeneous, pluralistic society with a supposedly liberal and multicultural society, is a virtual hotbed of stereotypes. There is hardly an ethnic, racial, religious or cultural group in the US which is not defined in accordance with a set of, often unflattering and negative, stereotypes. Indeed, as Slotkin (2001) maintains, the entire notion of the "melting pot," let alone that of the "many as one," is nothing but a myth (469). The various ethnic, racial, religious and culture groups in the country have not melted into one another and are, most definitely, not one. They are separated by each group's belief in its own difference from the others and by stereotypes which effectively determine the manner in which each group will be perceived of by the others; stereotypes which are ultimately founded upon the exaggerated representation of differences. According to Aleiss (1995) Among the many stereotyped groups in the United States, few have bee n so persistently perceived and treated from within the narrow, prejudicial and often erroneous confines of stereotypes as have been the American Indians/Native Americans. Following a brief overview of the biased views surrounding American Indians, the translation of stereotypes into actual practices shall be analyzed in relation to the military. It has been theorised that anti-American Indian stereotypes emerged as a consequence of the relationship between ethnicity and nationality. In his overview of this theoretical conceptualization, Slotkin (2001) contends that perceptions of an immutable relationship between ethnicity and nationality, compounded with an overwhelming determination to create a nation which was reflective of their identity, beliefs and worldview, literally drove the early European settlers to impose images of savagery upon the native Americans, thereby furnishing a justification for their annihilation. As Todorov (1984) explains, the earlier settlers had, either directly or indirectly, been pushed out of their native lands primarily because they simply did not fit in. Upon settling in the New World, they were determined to create a nation which reflected who they were and design a culture which echoed their values and promoted their social, economic, political and ideological worldviews. Within the context of this particular nation and culture building project, the American Indian functioned as an anomaly, an obstacle to the fulfilment of the stated. Consequently, the realization of the settlers' articulated ambition became inextricably linked to the removal of the stated obstacle, ultimately leading to a violent war against the Native Americans. This war, as Sandberg (2006) argues, was, on the surface, morally and ethically unjustifiable insofar as it sought the extermination and elimination of the territory's rightful owners and inhabitants. It gained legitimacy and, hence, became a justifiable war, through the promotion and propagation of stereotyp

Improving health for the psychiatric population Essay - 1

Improving health for the psychiatric population - Essay Example Each person is entitled to a good mental health to enable them to adhere to their roles in school, family and at work. According to EC (2005 p4), â€Å"mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes hi or her 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.† However, mental illness is accompanied by depression, stress, and mental strains, hence rendering a person incapable of acting normal. Nevertheless, Psychiatric problems may be hereditary, environmental, or economic. Psychiatric illness affects a country’s economy via loss of production through early retirement. Therefore, the need for mental health improvement on the general population is important; as its related challenges need to be addressed; for instance, stigma and human rights. Studies on the psychiatric population have been conducted over the past years, including the causes, symptoms, and treatment. According to Stewart, et al (2009 p749), manual restraining was commonly used in Psychiatric hospitals as a way of managing violent behaviors of the patients. Violent behaviors among the psychiatric patients are usually high; therefore, manual restraint is commonly used to calm the patient down. This method involves restraining the patient on the floor in a prone position to restrict any movement; however, such reaction lasts for about ten minutes. Stewart et al (2009) further insist that manual restraint involves the risk of injury to the involved parties, but are common in staff members. According to a survey conducted on 269 nurses in the psychiatric care units, they agreed to the fact the manual restraint had positive outcomes, although it was stressful (Stewart, et al, 2009, p.753). Mental disorders are not only evident in adults, but also among

Teaching architecture, learning architecture Assignment

Teaching architecture, learning architecture - Assignment Example Zumthor asserts that students must learn architecture by using their reason and emotion. A good architectural design is both intelligent and emotion-laden. Furthermore, Zumthor believes that their reasoning about design comes from their growing-up experiences. Their first experience of architecture comes from their interaction with built spaces during their childhood and the impact of these places and spaces on their thoughts and emotions. Logical research on design is not complete without remembering the past, according to Zumthor. Aside from using reason and emotion, Zumthor asserts that architecture is always tangible, although it is based on intangibles. It is about concretizing memories and feelings. He explains that although architects work with materials, they do not have actual models. Instead, he asserts that architects have concrete objects. From concrete objects, they make their plans, and their plans embody their ideas. Ideas, however, for him must be based on new images. The past can only serve to offer old images, from which the materials of new images arise. Finally, Zumthor describes that thinking about design is thinking about the whole and its parts. The whole is not whole yet, however, but a work in progress. Design comes from the sensuality of the imaginative human mind. The actual physical work is not the real image; the image is still in the mind, in the senses of the architect, waiting to be discovered and

Improving health for the psychiatric population Essay - 1

Improving health for the psychiatric population - Essay Example Each person is entitled to a good mental health to enable them to adhere to their roles in school, family and at work. According to EC (2005 p4), â€Å"mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes hi or her 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.† However, mental illness is accompanied by depression, stress, and mental strains, hence rendering a person incapable of acting normal. Nevertheless, Psychiatric problems may be hereditary, environmental, or economic. Psychiatric illness affects a country’s economy via loss of production through early retirement. Therefore, the need for mental health improvement on the general population is important; as its related challenges need to be addressed; for instance, stigma and human rights. Studies on the psychiatric population have been conducted over the past years, including the causes, symptoms, and treatment. According to Stewart, et al (2009 p749), manual restraining was commonly used in Psychiatric hospitals as a way of managing violent behaviors of the patients. Violent behaviors among the psychiatric patients are usually high; therefore, manual restraint is commonly used to calm the patient down. This method involves restraining the patient on the floor in a prone position to restrict any movement; however, such reaction lasts for about ten minutes. Stewart et al (2009) further insist that manual restraint involves the risk of injury to the involved parties, but are common in staff members. According to a survey conducted on 269 nurses in the psychiatric care units, they agreed to the fact the manual restraint had positive outcomes, although it was stressful (Stewart, et al, 2009, p.753). Mental disorders are not only evident in adults, but also among

Workplace of tomorrow Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Workplace of tomorrow - Essay Example Malone in his book, The Future Arrived Yesterday, has given a good introduction to the workplace of the future and has shown the way to build tomorrow’s workplace. He describes the changing paradigm and shows the way as to how companies can build the workplace of the future by innovation, nimbleness and an ability to adapt to rapidly changing trends. He has characterized the workplace of tomorrow as a nimble ever changing entity that adapts itself to new trends and provides challenges to the employees in terms of the work that they do as well as making them intellectually and emotionally fulfilling. The need of the hour is to provide employees with intellectual challenges and emotional fulfillment. To quote from the book about the workplace of tomorrow, â€Å"What I am talking about is the kind of tough-minded leadership that sees people-oriented management as a competitive advantage, one that increases productivity and innovation, reduces turnover, and makes the company less vulnerable to market shifts and to competitive shocks. This is management that fulfills the spiritual, emotional, and moral needs of subordinates not because it is inherently decent (though that is certainly the grounding for these actions), but because it makes the organization they inhabit more effective. This is the kind of pragmatic leadership that historically has been found in the best managed and most admired organizations, from Hewlett-Packard and IBM a half-century ago to Grameen Bank and Google today. These firms are inevitably admired for their innovation, their employee policies and work envir onments, and their contributions to society, but what they should be celebrated for most is their recognition that the secret to building an unbeatable, world-class enterprise lies in understanding not just the heads, but the hearts, of their employees and customers†. (Malone, 2009) As the above paragraph shows, the workplace of tomorrow would be characterized by flexibility

The Meaning of Home (Tim Obrien, Joyce Carol Oates, Doris Lessing) Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of Home (Tim Obrien, Joyce Carol Oates, Doris Lessing) Essay By showing what home means for their characters, authors can render certain themes of the novel, demonstrate several different meanings of the word home, or, underscore significant aspects of the personality of the figure in question. In Doris Lessings novel The Fifth Child, the characters Harriet and Davids home represents their dream about the perfect family and the perfect life and by illustrating this to the reader Lessing reveals how they are committing hubris . Also, in the novel The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien, the character Norman Bowker returns home in order to gain understanding of his own feelings, and therefore home is more seen as a place for support and acceptation. Furthermore, in Joyce Carol Oates short story Stray Children, Charles Benedicts study and the nature of it reflects the characters personal qualities. Firstly, home can be seen as a dream of the future. In The Fifth Child, Harriet and David dream about the perfect family and life. They buy a house that is too big for them, wishing to fill it with smiling and happy children. On the other hand, they are experiencing economical hardships and are forced to borrow money from Davids father in order to cope with the situation they have put themselves in. Still, even though they have to have access to extra money in order to endure, they continue the get more and more children. It is mentioned how they believe that David would a higher salary some time soon and everything will work out. They, in a way, buy the house for what they wish it will represent in the future. Lessing conveys this by showing how Harriet and David take the money they receive for granted and promise their families that it will pay off in the long run. This concept of taking something for granted because they think that they are worth it can be seen as an act of hubris. Thus, by showing what home signify for Harriet and David Lessing underlines the theme of hubris. Secondly, home can also represent the characters essential needs. In The Things They Carried, Norman Bowker returns home from the warfront and the thing he requires the most from society and his family is understanding. He desperately needs to talk, but there is no one there who wants to listen to him. It revealed how he circles the lake in his home town and honks his horn to a few boys while he passed them, but how neither of them even looked up. This can be seen as a metaphor for how Bowker was trying to tell society about his experiences and emotions and how society did not even care to hear him out. The scene ends with him continuing to drive around the lake more than ten times and imagining how a conversation between his father and him about his wartime experiences would turn out. By not getting what he needed and therefore resorting to taking his own life, Bowker embodies the damage war can do to a soldier long after the war is over. OBrien shows how the idea of home represents our deepest and fundamental needs and that when those are not fulfilled we suffer. Thirdly, the characters idea of the perfect home can also reflect upon certain traits of this person. In Stray Children, Charles Benedict lives a successful, immaculate and steady life. These aspects of his life also characterise his study. It is rendered how Benedict always liked his study because it was always the same and unharmed. By mentioning the fact why he likes his room, Oates can highlight some important aspects of his personality. In sum, by showing what home means, authors can convey what the character dreams of and want, needs and can not live without, and, draw attention to certain personal qualities off the character. Rendering what home means can be significant in many different ways. In the first example, Lessing conveys the theme of hubris by showing Harriet and Davids dream and then contrasting it to their reality; they take the money they receive for granted since they think that they are worth it and therefore should have the money. Also, in the second case, OBrien renders how home may not always literally mean home as in the place where you live, but it can also stand for our basic needs. Moreover, in the third instance, Oates uses the meaning of home in order to stress certain features of the character in question. However, the meaning of home is not restricted to being just one thing. OBrien can also show how Bowker is a character who needs constant support and is too weak to handle the hardships himself by rendering how Bowker desperately needed comfort when he returned home. As in the case with Charles Benedict and his study, home can also be used to show how he thinks, how he wants the city to look like in his role as a city planner. Oates can therefore also deliver social criticism through illustrating the meaning of home; how Benedict wants everything to look perfect and therefore he plans the city without taking the living conditions of certain people into consideration. In addition, the first example with Harriet and David and their view of home can also help the reader characterise them as determined people with set goals in the future and perhaps somewhat inconsiderate of their future troubles that they may face by ignoring the problems they are already experiencing. Hence, home does not only mean one thing but the reader can often draw several significant pieces of information out from it.

Importance Of Nature Based Attraction

Importance Of Nature Based Attraction Lang OLeary (1997) stated that nature-based tourists are more interested in nature, travel more often at longer distances and stay longer at a destination. Moreover, they are well educated, with high levels of both individual and household income and are willing to spend more. Silverberg et al., (1996) stated that nature based attraction is a phenomenon which represents a new market in the tourism industry and has captured the mind of planners and marketers. Nyaupane et al., (2004), suggested that nature based tourism has been growing rapidly than tourism in general. When the destination managers attempt to attract the growing market, they are faced with a double paradoxical task; in the beginning, there is the need to preserve the resources that attract the tourist and provides a quality travel experience; Backman et al., (1999). It is a challenge which requires a balance between the individuals expectations, preferences and attitudes towards the environment for a successful nature -based experience; Uysal et al., (1992) cited in Silverberg et al., (1996). 2.2.2.2 Importance of nature-based attraction 2.2 Tourism attractions According to Mill and Morrisson (1985), the tourism system is made of four key segments: the market, travel, tourist destinations and marketing. Moreover, Gunn (1988) stated that tourism attractions deal with tourism destinations; highlights the role of tourism attractions (tourist, traffic, attraction, information and signposting). Therefore, tourism attractions forms an essential part of the tourism destinations and they are one of four key segments of the tourism system. Tourism attraction is the major reason why tourist visits a destination. The tourist product includes attractions, services and infrastructures. Gunn (1988) said that tourism attractions are composed of the several components including tourists activities, local scenery, service and entertainment. Together, these features represent the total appeal of natural and man-made characteristics. For example, each historical site or lake has its own uniqueness in its features and appeal and cannot be judged as identical to other tourism resources. All tourism attractions are tourism resources, but all tourism resources are not tourism attractions. It may be impossible to evaluate the attractiveness of the various tourism destinations. Also, Laarman and Durst (1987) use level of interest and degree of physical thoroughness to distinguish between soft and hard nature tourists. Lindberg (1991, cited in Meric Hunt, 1998), moves from twofold typologies to a fourfold categories. He suggests that there are: 1. hard core nature tourists who has high levels of environmental commitment and support for enhance sustainability, want physically and challenging experiences, travel in small groups, take longer trips, demand for fewer services and make their own travel arrangements 2. dedicated nature tourists who take trips precisely to protected areas in order to appreciate local, natural and cultural history; 3. mainstream nature tourists who visit destinations primarily to take an unfamiliar trip; and finally, 4. casual nature tourists who enjoy nature as part of a wider trip. However, Eduard kuÃ…Â ¡en (2010) argued that a destination without potential or real tourism attractions cannot be developed into a tourism destination. Potential tourism becomes real only when it provides visitor accessibility like physical access, public access, sightseeing. Only the real tourism attraction can be engaged on the tourism market and be promoted. Also, Hu and Richie (1993), Muller (1994) stated that the classification of tourism attractions into natural and artificial in the main obstacle to an efficient approach to tourism attractions. 2.5 Destination attractiveness Pearce (1979) defined destination attractiveness as the responsiveness to which the destination meet expectations of its visitors in terms of food and accommodation, natural beauty, cultural richness, recreational opportunities and other amenities. The more a destination is able to meet the needs of the tourists, the more it is perceived to be attractive and the more the destination is likely to be chosen. Without tourism there would be no tourist attractions. Attraction is the ability of a destination to deliver individual benefits. Ferrario (1979) stated that it only happened when people are attracted towards a destination whereby the facilities and services follow. Attractiveness is the outline of impressions, ideas and beliefs about destinations based on information from various sources (MacKay and Fesenmaier 1997). In short, the greater the attraction power of a particular destination, the higher will be the number of tourists in terms of their stay and tourist receipts. There are some factors which cannot be categorized as attractions but which plays an important role in the attractiveness of a destination such as infrastructure, exchange rate and political stability (Ferrario 1979). A tourist preference appears to be more precise and is the ultimate decision in defining the level of attractiveness of a destination. Their perceptions about a given area control its success or failure as a tourist destination. Since perceptions are certainty in the travelers mind, it does not matter how many tourism resources are accessible in a specific area when all its attractiveness has already been well-defined (Echtner and Ritchie, 1993; Leyele, 1996). However, the limitation of tourist preferences as attraction measures is that human observations are based on personal and cultural beliefs and are influenced by promotional actions and previous experiences (Milman and Pizam, 1995). In addition, factor like bad weather may create a one-sided perception of a tourist destination.

The Saga Of Elian Gonzalez :: essays research papers fc

The Saga of Elian Gonzalez  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  More and more people sail away from Cuba to the United States every year. The usual reason is to move from Fidel Castro and his rules, although many other reasons are obviously important enough for them to risk their lives; a reason like trying to escape from her ex-husband and landing with tragedy. A choice has to be made while dealing with all of the Cuban frustration: do I live or risk my life along with thirteen others? Among the heart wrenching events which happen worldwide every year, few have come close to the well-known saga of Elian Gonzalez and his family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1999, many Cubans left Cuba to sail to the United States. The Coast Guard picked up more than 1,300 rafters; more than double the number in 1998. The distance between Cuba and the mainland is less than 150 miles(Ramo 62). Most fleeing Cubans make the trip from Cuba to America the old fashioned way: in a rickety craft with weak motors. A good trip takes about ten hours, while a bad trip goes on for days. Sailing the Atlantic could be eternal during a storm, as Cubans are swept away. At least sixty people have paid the price of venturing each year(64).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Caught up in freedom fever was Elisabet Gonzalez, who had been dating small-time Cuban hustler, Lazero Munero, since 1997. During the summer of 1998, Munero and three friends made the trip to America on a tiny boat. That fall he went back to Cuba because he was heartsick from his family and Elisabet. A few months after his jail release for escaping, he began persuading Elisabet to join him on a second getaway. He also began to advertise the trip to others in their town at one thousand dollars ahead, then he began patching up an old boat and envinrude fifty horse power outboard motor. When they set out that Sunday, Munero packed rations of water, bread, cheese, and hot dogs for his fifteen passengers. At four thirty A.M. they set to sea with hopes of arriving in Miami before the next sunrise. After less than a mile, the engine failed and Munero returned to shore, while passenger Arianne Horta nervously put her five year old daughter back on land. The group, now fourteen strong, set off again the next morning, but that night during a storm just south of the Florida Keys, the motor failed again. It left the boat more vulnerable to the tumbling seas. The group decided they would be better off by

Massage Therapy Reduces Anxiety and Enhances EEG Patterns of Alertness

So many people in the world talk about how beneficial massage can be and that it makes you feel more relaxed. They say that if you receive massage, even just once a month, that it could help you in many different aspects of your life, such as helping depression, lessening anxiety, becoming more relaxed more often, and that it can help you become less stressed in your day to day life. In this research study, the researchers hypothesize that massage would have an effect on anxiety, depression, and alertness. The objective was to show that massage can reduce anxiety, depression, and stress by testing cortisol level and increase alertness by comparing EEG patterns by math computations. This research study is a quantitative research. Most massage therapy studies are a qualitative research instead of a quantitative. In a qualitative research, the results are based on what people felt and their personal experiences. The people in the study record how or what they felt, and then the researchers compare and analyze pre-massage, post-massage, and with other subjects’ information. Since massage therapists effect how people feel, qualitative is normally the best type of research for the massage therapy field. In a quantitative research, the variables can be measured and analyzed, like people’s cortisol levels and EEG patterns. In this study, there is some qualitative research, because they do ask questions like how stressed you felt and how depressed you felt. You can’t truly compare someone’s stress level with a simple questionnaire sheet. Everyone can tolerate different levels of stress and different types of stress. The researchers observed and compared anxiety, depression, stress, and alertness. They used 5 different variables to tes... ... a chair is not going to help too much with their whiplash. Of course, many people don’t know all the benefits of the different types of massage, but that is why we educate our clients and the people around us, or at least the ones who will listen to us. Massage therapists should constantly read up on new studies and educate their clients with information like this. It really helps massage therapy become a more respectable reputation. Research studies back up and help prove theories of massage. This study shows that even a short session of massage therapy can really have an impact on your moods and lifestyle. So why not try a massage? Works Cited Tiffany Field, Gail Robinson, Frank Scafidi, Tom Nawrocki, and Alex Goncalves (1996) Massage Therapy Reduces Anxiety and Enhances EEG Pattern of Alertness and Math Computations, International Journal of Neuroscience

Blackfish Essay Essay

Who does not love to see dolphins and whales flipping and doing tricks? Although the animals look happy and unharmed, there is a dark truth behind the captive marine life in amusement parks and zoos. Yes, attending zoos and marine life amusement parks are a part of childhood; but recently researchers have discovered just how cruel the environment is for the marine life in captivity. After studies of comparing the quality of life of marine animals in the wild and in captivity, there are multiple examples shown in Blackfish, PETA, and the Animal Welfare Institute that show that animals prosper and live longer in their natural habitats. Due to the cruelty endured by the captivated Orcas, all the SeaWorld parks should be shut down and the Orca whales should be set free to prevent further demise to their species. In 2013, one documentary changed the world for animals in captivity forever. Blackfish, premiered in the Sundance Film Festival and was immediately picked up by Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films. Director Gabriela Copwerthwaite and her team spent years investigating and creating one of the most controversial and inspiring documentaries the United States has seen. Over the past year, Blackfish has made over two million dollars at the box office, making it one of the most popular documentaries of our time. Not only does Blackfish inspire people to reconsider going to Sea World, it generates people to try to make a change for the animals in captivity. Blackfish is a documentary that centers on the life of the killer whale Tilikum, most famous for his large structure and his collapsed dorsal fin. The documentary begins explaining the attack of three different whale trainers while employed by Sea World. Ironically enough, Sea World was not the only common thread among these deaths. All of these victims also shared the same cause of death: Tilikum, the â€Å"killer whale†. Tilikum was captured off the coast of Ireland in 1983 as a baby whale. Blackfish describes in detail the three deaths and the true reason behind the anger behind Tilikum’s attacks. The attacks were provoked by the mistreatment of the whales. Tilikum and the other whales were held in small floating cages that  were just as big as their own dimensions. Orca whales are used to being in the wild and having miles of ocean to roam, so when SeaWorld captures these whales and does not give them the right living environment, it is shown that they attack. While in the Sea World captivity, the Orca whales lifespan is almost half the size of a free Orca whale lifespan. Tilikum is still held in captivity by Sea World, only moving when he has to during shows. Many activists and former Sea World Employees have formed movements and have appeared on the news to try to get Sea World to free these whales. There are multiple differences between whales in captivity and whales in the wild. There are countless recorded injuries inflicted on instructors by orcas, but killer whales in the wild have no record of ever hurting a human being. SeaWorld would give tours and tell their audience that the life span of whales in the wild was 25-30 years and that whales in captivity live longer, because of the veterinarian care they receive. According to Howard Garret, an expert on killer whales, orcas in the wild have lived to be over 100 years old. SeaWorld tells their audience that 25% all orca whales in the world have a collapsed dorsal fin, which is due to gravity, dehydration, illness and injury. In reality, only 1% of orca whales in the wild have a collapsed dorsal fin and 100% of all captive whales have a collapsed dorsal fin. The reason why there are so many attacks in SeaWorld is directly related to the treatment and the territory that they are put in. SeaWorld claims that the whales that sh ow together are all from the same family, but in actuality, they are taken from all different parts of the world. Since these orca whales are being hoarded together, the living environment causes aggression between the whales. This aggression is usually taken out on the fellow whales, but sometimes it is taken out on the SeaWorld trainers. There are three separate occasions where the same whale, Tilikum, has attacked trainers and killed two. As a result of the attacks and killings, the SeaWorld trainers are no longer allowed in the water with the orcas during the live shows. Tilikum is now isolated in a small pool for the rest of his days, living in captivity, occasionally coming out at the end of the show to make a splash. Blackfish is a prime example of how animal captivity is not a proper way of life for marine animals. Much like Gabriela Copwerthwaite, PETA, or People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, have exerted many efforts towards captivity cruelty and ending the brutality though articles and movements. After Blackfish was released in 2013, many people across American and the world took a stand against the animal cruelty. PETA just recently came out with an article regarding the marine life in captivity. The article centered around the cruelty and wrongness of removing wild animals from their natural habitat and communities, keeping dolphins in captivity to live their lives as fascinations at theme parks and resort hotels, where they are forced to perform in front of crowds of people. Oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau compared the maintenance of orcas in tanks to â€Å"a person being blindfolded in a jail cell.† †¨Trainers force marine mammals to learn tricks, often by refusing food and torturing animals who do not perform. A trainer at Hersheypark quit because she saw â€Å"a lot of frustrated animals that would die from ulcers.† The article says, â€Å"A marine-mammal behavioral biologist in Seattle says that captive dolphins demonstrate a variety of stress-related behavior such as self-inflicted trauma, induced vomiting, and aggressiveness. Some captive dolphins have reportedly taken their own lives by hitting their heads against the sides of pools or by refusing to come up for air† (PETA). In the wild, there has been no report of a whale or dolphin killing itself because of its habitat. Hersheypark, like SeaWorld, claims that their marine life prospers in captivity due to their loving staff and outstanding veterinarians. Although Hersheypark, SeaWorld, and other marine amusement parks claim that their living conditions for their animals are acceptable, it is proven that the animals are more harmed in captivity. PETA is making strides towards ending animal captivity with articles informing people about the issue and pleading people not to attend zoos and other marine amusement parks. In the article, PETA points out that there is poor government regulation over the zoos and parks, which should be changed. In England, there was so much boycotting against parks that they were forced to close all of them. There are multiple countries that are closing all parks due to boycotting, which PETA is trying to achieve. The root of the problem starts with the capturing of animals in the wild, called whaling. The Animal Welfare Institute defines and describes the  process of whaling in different countries. AWI explains the confinement of marine life in aquariums, zoos, and amusement parks. The mistreatment of animals in captivity started in the early 1860s when P.T. Barnum funded a project, which captured of two beluga whales and brought them back to New York City for display in an aquarium. From then on, whaling and captivity of whales and dolphins have taken off and become a very big thing across the world. The popularity of captive animals has reached an all time high because of the money that the industry brings. AWI also has an article outlining the Dispelling the Arguments of Captivity Proponents, which are common lies that parks and zoos say to the public AWI prove them to be wrong. Some of them include, â€Å"Our animals love to entertain and are always smiling, Captivity is necessary for breeding/conservation programs, Our captive animals teach people about conservation, Our captive animals are ambassadors for their species, educating the public about their wild cousins, We couldn’t do our conservation work without the money we receive from our customers, Our captive animals are protected from the horrors of nature, Our captive animals have been saved from a brutal death.† AWI went through each of the points and proved how they were wrong. AWI takes a stand against captivity and has been trying to get the parks, zoos, and aquariums that mistreat their captive animals to close. Many people today believe that SeaWorld and other parks should be shut down and are taking a stand to close them. SeaWorld of Hurt is the largest organization that was created to take SeaWorld down, which was started by PETA. They work with many celebrities and lawmakers to try to get SeaWorld to release their animals and shut down their parks. The media attention that this issue is receiving recently has hit an all time high because of the boycotting and organizations that have popped up across the country. Many countries like Israel, India, England, and Egypt have banned the parks and closed them down due to the boycotting, which America should do. California is also working on a bill to free the captive orcas at SeaWorld San Diego, which Florida, the southern SeaWorld park, should start to work on as well. The bill would stop SeaWorld from breeding the orca whales and block the import of orca semen from other states. In doing this, it would stop the growing of the parks and the ex pansion of the SeaWorld brand. Furthermore,  the documentary Blackfish exploits SeaWorld for separating a young Orca from it’s mother vey early on because he was not performing the way that SeaWorld wanted him to. The audience’s heartstrings are tugged as they watch the mother project a horrific cry for over 24 hours that was unknown to experienced whale trainers and Orca experts. It provides a visual example of the animal cruelty that SeaWorld inflicts upon these harmless creatures, and they do not care because they are reaping large financial benefits through these shows. Although there are laws against whaling and people are beginning to take a stand through boycotts and shutting down SeaWorld parks in other parts of the world, it is not enough to protect the Orca whales. The orca species is continuously being put at a high risk as they are stuck in tanks that are too small and being starved and punish if they do not perform in a certain manner. Orca whales do not fight with each other in the ocean, where they belong causing large lacerations and the tanks to become filthy with blood. In order to properly protect this docile from harm and each other, all of the whales need to be put back in their rightful habitats. SeaWorld has provided many generations with memorable entertainment, but it would be within the best interest of the public and the Orca whales if there were still Orcas around for future generations to come. PITA and other organizations have made admirable progress, but if extensive changes are not made soon, animal cruelty will continue to occur. Works Cited Blackfish. Dir. Gabriela Copwerthwaite. 2013. Netflix. â€Å"Confinement of Marine Life.† Animal Welfare Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. . â€Å"Aquariums and Marine Parks.† PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. . Martinez, Michael, Stella Chan, Vivian Kuo, and Tory Dunnan Gregg Canes Contributed from Santa Monica. â€Å"California Bill Would Ban Orca Shows at SeaWorld.† CNN. Cable News Network, 07 Mar. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. . â€Å"Dispelling the Arguments of Captivity Proponents.† Animal Welfare Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. . â€Å"SeaWorld Of Hurt: Where Happiness Tanks.† SeaWorld of Hurt Home Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. .