Does increasing nurse-patient ratio increase in hospital patient Research Paper

Does increasing nurse-patient ratio increase in hospital patient mortality - Research Paper Example The issue of high nurse-patient rations will continue to affect the delivery of healthcare services across the U.S (Institute of Medicine, 2004). Additionally, the nursing shortage in the USA is expected to grow to 260,000 registered nursing staff by the year 2025. A shortage of this degree will be double that experienced in the past, in the US since the 1960s. Relating the case of nurse shortage in the U.S, one of the developed nations of the world, the case has not been any different for less developed nations like Taiwan. In Taiwan, a high number of hospitals are facing the problem of low nurse-staffing. The case has been very acute in recent years, leading to the closure of a number of wards at given hospitals, according to the statistics drawn from a study by the National union of Nurses’ association (Central News Agency, 2011). Research studies on hospitals and healthcare centers show that institutions with inadequate nursing personnel show poorer patient outcomes, which compromises the care administered to patients. Decreased nurse staffing was linked to patient safety concerns and the increased incidence of adverse situations like the development of pneumonia, pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections (UTIs) (Lichtig, Knauf & Milholland, 1999), patient mortality (Aiken et al., 2002), medication errors (McGills-Hall, Doran & Pink, 2004), unplanned extubation cases (Marcin et al., 2005) and longer length of stay on average (Pronovost et al., 1999). Blegen and Vaughn (1998) discussed that, with a higher proportion of the service hours offered by registered nurses (RNs), there was a resultant decrease in the average length of stay (ALOS), cases of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, UTIs, medication errors and patient complaints, pressure ulcers, and pneumonia and cardiac arrests or shock with failure to rescue. Towards addressing the nurse shortage, the government has adopted a potential payment model to address the increasing medical expenditures. This has been affected through the imposition of measures like, the restructure of the operations of the hospitals facing financial pressure. This encompasses the adoption of strategies like the hiring of unlicensed assistant nurses or casual nurses, who are paid lower amounts as compared to the RNs, and can fill the service gaps (Sun et al., 2005). Nevertheless, it is challenging to improve nursing staff levels, even after the replacement of registered nurses with the less costly personnel. The factors leading to the unsolvable nature of the situation include the gap between the numbers of available vacancies and the number of qualified registered nurses, willing to fill these vacancies, the working conditions, the nurse burnout resulting from the shortage and low job satisfaction levels (Yin & Yang, 2002). Another issue heightening the nursin g shortage is the abandonment of the nursing profession due to increased involvement in extra-patient care services like nursing informatics and utilization management. This is evident from a recent study, which showed an average vacancy level of 28% in Taiwan (Sun et al., 2005). In Taiwan, there is also legislation requiring a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:8 at hospitals. However, this minimum ratio was

The Theory of Intelligent Design (ID) Research Paper

The Theory of Intelligent Design (ID) - Research Paper Example Scientists seek to find objects which have the same types of informational properties portraying the work of one creator, the intelligent designer. Intelligent design relies on these scientific methods to detect design in irreducibly complex biological structures by examining the complex and specified information contained in DNA. The theory of Intelligent Design argues that life and everything of nature in the universe was designed by an anonymous intelligent mind (House 17). However, proponents of this theory have been unable to disclose or prove the existence of the purported intelligent mind, leaving the burden of proof to scientists and theologians. According to House (17), evidence that the proponents of ID theory display is derived from their understanding of cosmology and Molecular Biology. As part of the argument, ID theorists used kidney as an example by claiming that the organ was intelligently designed to perform its functions and that it exhibits irreducible complexity. The proponents of the theory further direct their arguments to the bacterium flagellum, which they purport to have been intelligently designed to an extent that any detachment can lead to entire mechanical failure. House (58) demonstrates that the oddly shaped stone discovered by archeologists was an intelligent design that should have been used as a tool for digging. In order to strengthen the ID theory, Behe, a proponent of the theory employed the use of a mousetrap as an example of irreducible complexity, which he proved dysfunctional when any part would be removed. Furthermore, Rael (6) a news editor then a messenger provides a much stable debating ground for the proponents of the ID theory. According to Rael (6), there are some supernatural unique beings believed to have created life on earth. However, every step of creation was a correlative product of science and religion. Rael (7) points out that the creators of the world were capable of communicating to the human beings thr ough telepathy. The designers of life on the earth were scientists who emanated from a far planet with a keen interested in creating a cloned human being (Rael 11). It is claimed that the government of the imagined planet disliked the idea of cloned human beings for fear that the creatures might exhibit superior mental capacities and powers, which can cause troubles to the pre-existing beings (Rael 15). This compelled the scientist to conduct reconnaissance on the earth to establish its viability for human cloning. Rael (11) confirms that at the time of reconnaissance the earth was completely covered with water and dense mist. When on the earth’s atmosphere, the designers investigated the sun’s cosmic rays and realized that they were harmless to life. The scientists then trenched soil from the seabed and pilled to form a dry land. Thereafter, plants and vegetables were created from chemicals and designed to survive particular climatic conditions of different regions (R ael 13). The scientists worked for hand in hand with artists who decorated every creature with various colors. According to Rael (13), the initial creation of fish was in the form of plankton then small fish and finally large fish. Rael (14) exemplifies that the process of creation involved stiff competition from different creation groups, an act that led to the formation of frightful animals and monsters.  

The role of the family in mental health recovery

The role of the family in mental health recovery CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Family is a small social system made up of individuals related to each other by reason of strong reciprocal affections and loyalties, and compromising a permanent household that persists over years and decades.It is the most significant primary unit of human society. It is the earliest institution of humankind that is mainly depends upon man’s biological and psychological needs. Without family, no other social institution like religion or government can exist. The sustainability of family is vital to the development and progress of the society. The term family has been derived from the Latin word ‘familia’ which means a house hold establishment.It indicates to a number of individuals staying and living together during important phase of their life time and they are bound to each other by biological, social and psychological relationship. It may be the joint family or an individual family in the modern society. Famous sociologist M.F Nimkoff defines family ‘as a joint effort of husband and wife either with child or without child’. The existence of family is very significant. Family plays a major role in the society. Family generates human capital resources and also it has the power to influence single individual, each household and the behaviour of the community (Sriram, 1993).Hence family is being studied as the most basic unit in the different branches of social science. Human developments, Psychology, anthropology, economics, social psychiatry, social work are examples. Family is a major resource for the various needs of human beings. It is the family plays a major role in the nourishment of children and meeting their most basic needs such as emotional bonding, health, development and protection.There is enormous potential lies within the family and it proves it during the trouble times by providing stability and support.The growth of an individual and the society mostly dep ends upon this basic unit of the society. (Desai, 1995a). Culture to culture and society to society, families and family dynamics varies and they cannot be interpreted without the context of cultural factors. Culture determines the roles of family members and it explains families’ ways of defining problem and solving them. The family in India is known as an ideal homogenous unit with strong coping mechanisms. In a large culturally diverse country like India have plurality of forms in the families that varies with class, ethnicity and individual choices. Collectivism is an important dimension of Indian culture that affects the family functioning. In other words, the basic aspects of human life such as economic, philosophic are given the outlook of interdependence amongst persons. Family cohesion, cooperation, solidarity, and conformity are the major values of collectivistic society like India. Indian joint families are considered Strength, stability, closeness, resilience, and endurance are encouraged in the Indian joint families where family loyalty, family integrity is given priority than individual choices. These unique dimensions of Indian families help the families to overcome difficult situations that they face over the course of time. When an individual in the family is struck with a disease or a ny other troubles, the entire community helps that individual to face that situation. What is Family support? Family support can be defined as the benefits a person receives from the family and friends such as physical emotional and material benefits. Positive social support helps one to improve in the ability to make healthier choices in life. Family or social support would also means being able to access people that a person can rely upon if needed. In an individual’s life, family support is essential at all times. Good support from the family enhances the individual to excel in his or her field of interest. On the contrary, poor support results in poor performance. A person hailing from a lower socio economic strata s considered to be Mental Health and family support Health is the most important aspect of human life. According to WHO Health is a state of absolute physical, mental and social well-being and not only the absence of disease(World health Organisation,2001) Mental health is another area where family support is an inevitable factor. In a situation where resources for mental health are scarcely available families form a valuable support system. Mental health is defined as state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to contribute to her or his community ( World Health Organisation, WHO includes social support as one of the key determinants of health. Mental illness is medical condition that affects an individual’s thinking, emotions, ability to relate with others and daily functioning. Just as any other physical conditions, mental illness are medical conditions which results in poor capacity for coping w ith the demands of life. Mental illness is considered the most pathetic condition of a human life. Indian traditions considered a mentally ill person as an outcast since he or she was labelled as cursed by gods. The presence of mentally ill in a family brings huge implications. There will be only a handful in the family who will be willing to take care of the patient namely the mother or wife. When one person is ill in the family, the entire course of the family gets changed. Because society would label the family as cursed and this would bring a wide range of problems especially if the family hails from a lower social and economic strata. On the contrary, Indian families are the key resources for the mentally ill. There are mainly two reasons for this position. First, it is mainly because of the traditional practice of collectivism and concern for the relatives in adversities. As a result, most Indian families do not hesitate to be significantly involved in all aspects of care for their relatives. The tradition of involvement of family in the care of mentally ill has always existed. Secondly, since there is a long gap between the need and thus the clinicians mostly depend on the family. Thus having adequate family support becomes the need of the patient, clinician and health administrators. INVOLVEMENT OF FAMILY IN THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN INDIA In the pre independence era, mental health care services in India were not organised. Usually persons with mental illness were taken care by family members or religious institutions. In other cases they roamed free.’ Mental asylums’ were introduced by Britishers where unwanted dangerous mentally ill were kept behind shut doors. Though it was initially for their soldiers, later Indian population also received the services. T was in Bombay in 1745 the first mental asylum was established. The second in Calcutta in 1781, the third in Madras in 1794 and the fourth in Monghyr, Bihar in 1795. Globally there were changes taking place in the mental health scenario, which involved ‘moral treatment’ and comprehensive community mental health approach. However, not all these changes in Europe and America made any impact on the Indian scene. Approach of the Government until 1946 was to establish custodial and no therapeutic centres. In 1957, there was a shift in the mental health field when Dr.VidyaSagar the then superintendent of Amritsar Mental Hospital, took initiative to involve the close relatives of the mentally ill in the treatment. The family stayed in the hospital campus along with the patients in open tents. This in fact aided the speedy recovery of the patients in comparison with those patients who did not stay with the families. Christian Medical College,Vellore established family wards in the psychiatric setting which followed many advantages such as accelerated rate of recovery, low relapse rates. Many family members started helping the community by identifying the psychiatric patients and providing the guidance. The close relatives of the patients were asked to stay with the patients in the open wards .at NIMHANS.Using family as a major resource in the process of recovery of mentally ill has the advantage of relieving the professionals.Community care has been a paradigm shift for psychiatric treatment worldwide. Recovery in mental health Recovery in mental health cannot be easily defined. This significant aspect depends upon many factors. A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential (Samhsa, August 2011). Recovery from mental illness is a long term process. It involves the experience of healing and transformation and by which the person learns to live a purpose oriented life in the society. He or she would learn to make use of his or her potential in the very journey of healing. Bipolar disorder is a recurrent and long-term mental illness that can seriously affect the lives of patients and their families. Bipolar disorder is a common psychiatric disorder that includes periods of extremely elevated mood and periods of depression and periods of full or partial recovery. The cycles of high and low mood states and well periods may follow an irregular pattern. The treatment of Bipolar disorder cannot be limited to pharmacotherapy alone. Psychotherapy, psycho education, peer group support also play major role in the process of recovery. Bipolar affective disorder Bipolar disorder is a chronic, severe illness that can impose significant impairment on multiple aspects of a patient’s life including interpersonal relationships, occupational functioning and financial stability (APA, 2002). Globally it has been ranked the ninth highest cause of years of life lost due to death or disability and the 12th most prevalent cause of disability among individuals aged between 15 and 44 years (World Health Organization, 2004).The distress and impairment caused by bipolar disorder is a wide spread and important issue. Globally the lifetime prevalence of all forms of the illness, often referred to as bipolar spectrum disorders, has been estimated to be 5% in the general population. Ganguli (2000) reported that the national rate of affective disorder in India as 34 per 1000 population. This disorder significantly affects the functional capacity of the person. Apart from regular medication, support from the near and dear makes a large difference in the recovery process. The practice guideline of The American Psychiatric Association (APA) for Bipolar Disorder treatment suggests the use of certain psychotherapies which includes family therapy as well(American Psychiatric Association,2002) So there are high chances that by the sincere involvement in the care of these patients they may improve in their psychosocial functioning and also to cope with their own struggles due to the illness. Conclusion Unlike the institutionalized care, in the community based care for the persons with mental illness, the role of family is very important. The bio medical, socio economic, psycho- spiritual and every integral dimension of the society is necessary in the recovery process. Family being the smallest unit of the society therefore is of much importance in rebuilding the life of the persons with mentally ill. Family is pivotal to catering to the persons with mental illness as they function as the primary care givers. In short, The involvement of family is the need of the hour.

Odyssey Hospitality Essay -- Essays Papers

Odyssey Hospitality Hospitality In The Odyssey by Homer, hospitality plays a very important role. There are certain rules of hospitality needed, such as inviting a stranger into your home, not asking them their name before they have dined at your table, and sometimes even gift offerings. If these rules of hospitality are not carried out, the consequences are very severe. Hospitality is to be given to all by all. Being a good host is very important in The Odyssey, even to the gods. It is a sign of respect for all no matter where they are from or how poor they appear to be. This means that as soon as you see a stranger, you invite them into your home to sit at your table just as king Nestor did. "As soon as they saw the strangers, all came crowding down, waving them on in welcome, urging them to sit." (III, 38) After you have invited them into your home, you must invite them to dine at your table. Only after they have dined, you have the permission to ask for their names, like King Menelaus did, "'Help yourselves to food, and welcome! Once you've dined we'll ask you who you are.'" (IV, 68-69) Many times before dining "...women had washed them, rubbed them down with oil and drawn warm fleece and shirts around their shoulders..." (IV, 56-57) If the host enjoyed the company of the guests, many times they will honor them with gifts. The kind of gifts given varied depending on the wealth and generosity of the host. For example, Aeolus, the king of the winds, gave Odysseus a...

Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism.

A nation that used to be so great crashed both politically and economically. To restore order and stability to this nation, there has to be a complete transformation of the whole government. In order to have that, there will be great sacrifices that will be made. If I have to choose one of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism as a governing system. The most effective system would be Legalism, because it's stable, strict and strong. Which would led to a powerful nation. The people of the nation would be fully devastated because of the disorder in their country.In order to have their luxurious lives back, they would make as much effort, to help with the recovery. Legalism would bring stability back to a devastated nation. For example, in the past Legalism brought back stability to China, after the warring states. There would be agricultural surpluses and people working very hard on improving the cultivation. Second, the strict and harsh punishments would result in a decrease of crime rat es. People would be scared to act stupid and commit a crime. The severe punishments would be enough to stop most violence.Also, Legalism is about strengthening the military. A nation with a great army means an undefeatable, respected and a feared one. Other nations would be intimidated by how powerful the military is. It would be a strong nation, both politically and economically. Confucianism wouldn't be a good way of restoring order to a broken nation, but not a GREAT way. Recovering fast is really important. I believe that Confucianism would take some time to do so. The whole system focuses on the improvement of each individuals' morals.It would be hard to focus on each individual. Another reason is, Confucianism doesn't say anything about protecting the state. It says that to create an ideal government you need advanced education and moral integrity. I agree with that, it doesn't mention anything about the military. Which I think is really important for a nation. Daoism would be the worst and least effective system. Daoism is very understandable of nature and the world. The system's motto would be † less government the better†.Disagreeing with that, I would say, without government there would constant violence and chaos. That’s the total opposite of what Daoism represents. There has to be limits for everything. Daoism also states that working hard for something only leads to chaos. Actually, working hard for something is totally worth it. Especially, when there would be good results later on. Hard work always pays off. It would be a waste of time for everyone in the nation to devote their full time, caring about nature and the world. Instead, it would be better to build your nation through hard work.Honestly, other nations wouldn't take this system seriously. The system seems vulnerable and easy to destroy. When you look at these three systems, Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism, one of them stands out the most. Legalism would be the fas test and most effective system to restore stability to a nation. Compared to Confucianism and Daoism, it would be very different and much stronger. If a nation follows the beliefs of Legalism, It would be strong, stable and strict. Eventually, it would result in a powerful and an undefeatable nation.

Importance of Article 92 Essay

The military’s form of law is known as the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The UCMJ officially began May 31, 1951. It was signed into existence by President Truman. Congress deemed it necessary to create the UCMJ due to the lack of transparency and fairness previously provides to the military populous during WWII. The UCMJ allows for personal jurisdiction over all members of the uniformed services of the United States: the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps and PHS are only subject to the UCMJ when attached to a military unit or when they are militarized by the president. Article 92, a sub section of the UCMJ, is intended to establish set precedents of punishment and examples of the crime of failing to obey an order or regulation. This Article is very important and is the fundamental backbone of all the military stands for. Being a member of the military is a very important job. Each and every man and woman has an important job to do which assist the forward progress of our country. As great as we would like to every person is not every service member does the correct thing. Due to the fact that we have an all volunteer army it goes without saying that the military is a realistic sample of all American has to offer, good and bad. And there are soldiers and service members who if not given a clear set of rules and punishment s would not be productive members of the military. Article 92 is part of the very important checks and balances implemented by the government to help keep the military efficient in spite of this. If you read into what Article 92 covers you’ll see that it provides multiple negative stimuli to the act of disobeying an order. This negative reinforcement is used to cultivate a more efficient military. This is done all the way through the rank structure regardless of service or grade. Civilians may think this is excessive but I believe that view is incorrect. Article 92 and the UCMJ remove the grey area from military law. Military members a re held to a higher standard and they conduct themselves as such.

Watchmen and Chapter Essays

Watchmen and Chapter Essays Watchmen and Chapter Paper Watchmen and Chapter Paper Essay Topic: Watchmen In Alan Moores The Watchmen, Moore presents the reader with two drastically different characters who have one strikingly similar trait. Ozymandias is a handsome, rich, public, and powerful man. Rorschach is an ugly, poor, private, and almost worthless man. Despite all of these contrasts, they share a common philosophy: they believe that the ends justify the means. This is a major theme of the story, and through it Moore causes the reader the ask themselves the question do the ends justify the means? Before looking at the concept of the ends justifying the means, it is important to understand just how different the characters of Rorschach and Ozymandias are from each other. Rorschach is strongly right wing, even to the point of fascism. He believes that the whole world stands on the brink, starring down into bloody hell, all the liberals and intellectuals and smooth-talkersA? a‚Â ¬AÂ ¦(Volume 1 page 1) Rorschach is also an ardent subscriber to the New Frontiersman, a right-wing conspiracy magazine. Ozymandias is an extremely rich philanthropist, who once gave his entire fortune to charity. Ozymandias was the first of all the super heroes to go public, two years before heroes were required to unmask themselves by law. Rorschach never went public, choosing to live as an outlaw rather than give up his identity. Ozymandias is considered by many to be the most handsome man in the world, while Rorschach is an ugly man who does not even bathe on a regular basis. Ozymandias runs an international conglomerate, while Rorschach does not have enough money to pay his rent. These differences present the reader with two extremely different characters, their only similarities being their staunch belief that the ends justify the means. Moore presents the reader with an early visual clue to the similar natures of Ozymandias and Rorschach in chapter five, titled Fearful Symmetry. Every page of this chapter has a parallel page in the other side of the chapter. For example, pages one, two and three are nine panel pages concerning Rorschach, as is the last page, page twenty-eight, and pages twenty-seven and twenty-six. Page four has one panel the width of the page to begin with, which is then followed by six smaller panels, as does page twenty-five. These pages concern the confrontation between Rorschach and Moloch. Page twenty-five also has the one larger panel at the top, followed by six smaller panels, and this page also concerns Rorschach and Moloch. This mirror-like pattern continues until the center of the comic. While there are other characters in this chapter (Dan and Laurie, the newspaper salesman, and the two policemen), the two characters who receive the most focus in this chapter are Rorschach and Ozymandias. Even the title of this chapter is meant to cause the reader to think about the nature of Rorschach and Ozymandias. The title Fearful Symmetry comes from The Tyger by William Blake. This classic poem and its partner, The Lamb, are two poems about the nature and duality of life. While the tyger may be a predator and the lamb its prey they are both concerned about where they came from. This is a direct parallel to events taking place in The Watchmen, where although Rorschach and Ozymandias may be almost total opposites, they are both attempting to perform acts which will they believe will improve humanity. Moore hints to the reader that Rorschach believes that the ends justify the means on the very first page, when Rorschach uses his journal to tell the reader that he thinks that the people had a choice, all of them. They could have followed in the footsteps of good men like my father or president Truman. Decent men, who believed in a days work for a days pay. (Volume 1, page 1) While Truman may have had many great accomplishments, his most famous decision was to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is a real world example of the concept of whether the ends justify the means. Truman would be an obvious hero to Rorschach, as he showed that he was not afraid to make tough decisions for the good of his people. After the death of the Comedian, Rorschach enters an underworld bar to attempt to find answers as to who may have killed the Comedian. He breaks the fingers of the first man who insults him, and continues to break his fingers, until one of the patrons tells him what he wants to know. While its quite possible that this man had committed crimes in the past, Rorschach knew that the he had not killed the Comedian; however, he had no problems in breaking the mans fingers, if it would lead to more information about the true killer. The fact that Rorschach is willing to physically assault and threaten Moloch, a seventy year old man, once again shows the reader that Rorschach will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. It appears likely that Moloch would have told him all he needed to know simply on the fear of what Rorschach might do to him. In chapter six, the reader begins to see what has led Rorschach to take his hard line stance. Originally Rorschach just thought I was Rorschach.. Very naive. Very young. Very soft. (Volume 6, page 14) When asked what it was that made him soft, he replies let them live. (Volume 6, page 14) By allowing the criminals to live, Rorschach leaves a chance that they may recommit their crimes. However, by killing the criminals, there is obviously no chance that the criminal will re-offend, thus justifying his actions. Referring to his harsh actions, Rorschach says that we do not do this thing because it is permitted. We do it because we have to. We do it because we are compelled. While he does not elaborate on what it is, we can assume that it is the war that he is carrying on against criminals. Rorschach believes that he is compelled go to the extremes, and for him there is not even a conscious decision, it is simply something that he knows must be done. Later on in this chapter, we are shown the horrific sequence of events that led to the creation of Rorschachs attitude and motivation. After the shock of realizing that the six year old girl he had come to rescue had been brutally murdered, Rorschach changes the path that his life will take. He will no longer be content to react, but will now be a proactive force in the fight against evil. If, by this stance, he is required to break the law, and hurt innocent men, he is willing to do it. In chapter twelve, when faced with impossible odds, we see the lengths that Rorschach is willing to go to for his stance. When told by Night Owl that We have to compromiseA? a‚Â ¬AÂ ¦, (Volume 12, page 20) his response is No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise. (Volume 12, page 20) A short time after this, he is killed for his no compromise stance. While Moore shows the reader Rorschachs belief that the ends justify the means through a series of small events, the reader is shown Ozymandiass belief in this principle through one horrific, gigantic act. The reader is given the first hint as to what Ozymandias may be planning in chapter two. In this chapter, the reader is shown the attempted formation of a new group of super heroes, called the Crimebusters. The Comedian says that the problems facing America are much too big for a small group of heroes to handle, and then begins to burn the map of the United States. He states that It dont matter squat because inside thirty years the nukes are gonna be flyin like maybugs and then Ozzy here is gonna be the smartest man on the cinder. (Volume 2, page 11) After this the group begins to disband, Captain Metropolis becomes very upset, saying that Somebody has to do it, dont you see? Somebody has to save the worldA? ‚Â ¬AÂ ¦(Volume 2, page 11) At the same time that he is saying this, the reader is shown an image of Ozymandias staring at the torn map of the United States. Moore is using foreshadowing in this scene to show that Ozymandias will attempt to save the world. Moore shows the reader more of Ozymandiass actions, and the motives for them in chapter twelve. Ozymandias begins to tell his life story to three men that work with him. He explains that there was only one man throughout h istory with which he has felt any sort of kinship. This man was Alexander of Macedonia, a young army commander who, at the time of his death, was the ruler of most of the civilized world. Ozymandias is in awe of the fact that he could rule without barbarism, mentioning that he installed the worlds greatest seat of learning. He then hints as to his attitude when he says True, people diedA? a‚Â ¬AÂ ¦ perhaps unnecessarily, though who can judge such things? (Volume 11, page 8) This shows the reader that Ozymandias believes that acts of that magnitude can not be judged. Ozymandias states that on his trip to Alexanders hometown that I resolved to apply antiquitys teachings to todays world. Thus began my path to conquestA? a‚Â ¬AÂ ¦ conquest not of men, but of the evils that beset them. (Volume 11, page 11) This statement hints to the reader what kind of action Ozymandias might take, and what it is that he is trying to do. One important thing to remember when considering Ozymandiass actions, is that not even he was sure that there would be a nuclear war. He says that he thought the possibility of disarmament progressively more remote. (Volume 11, page 21) While he may have felt that it was remote, he did not know that it would be impossible. In chapter eleven, the reader is finally shown the true nature of Ozymandiass plan. He says that his goal is to frighten governments into co-operation, I would convince them that earth faced imminent attack by beings from another world. (Volume 11, page 25) Within the next few pages, he reveals his massiv e plan which is to teleport an alien like creature to New York, which will kill half of the people living there. While ultimately this did work, there is no denying that he used a terrible means to achieve his ends. Throughout the Watchmen the reader is presented with many different characters. The characters of Rorschach and Ozymandias have a manichaean relationship. The line between good and evil has been blurred with these two characters: it is unclear to the reader which of the two is good, and which is evil. One is rich, liberal, and handsome. The other is poor, conservative, and ugly. However, despite all of their differences, these characters share a common philosophy: they believe the ends justifies the means.

Learning outcomes for the 1st year of the diploma in Humanistic Counselling The WritePass Journal

Learning outcomes for the 1st year of the diploma in Humanistic Counselling References Learning outcomes for the 1st year of the diploma in Humanistic Counselling ). It therefore does not deal merely with observations of external behaviour which is the province of the behaviourist approach, but does make some inferences about what it must be like in the inner worlds of different people. There is some overlap with the humanist approach in that the approach is usually to get the individual to elaborate as much as possible on their individual perspective. Phenomenology does acknowledge the intrinsic differences that exist between different peoples’ internal representations of the world which is an assumption shared with the humanistic approach. The inner world is composed of peoples’ thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and the world and experiences that come from it are interpreted through the frame of reference defined as a personal inner landscape. The frame of reference is difficult to separate from the self-concept, is reacted to intuitively, and it is often assumed that other people have similar frames of reference to our own. A dditionally, much of a person’s inner landscape can come from another person, with the former person being only unconsciously aware of it (Sutton and Stewart, 2008; Lapworth and Sills, 2011). The frame of reference for an individual is composed of meanings, cultural influences, beliefs and values, memories, behaviours, experiences, sensations, perceptions, feelings thoughts and emotions (Sutton and Stewart, 2008). In the humanistic approach, the person is seen as a dynamic, ‘fluid’ entity who has many different urges, preferences and characteristics which change with time and are in a state of flux but at any one particular moment it is perceived as a unified goal-directed whole(Rogers, 1952; Rogers, 2008). This is analogous to the concept of the frame of reference since it is seen as something dynamic and determined by many factors. The frame of reference also has a profound effect on how experiences are interpreted (Mearns and Thorne, 1988). Since everybody’s frame of reference is different it would be foolish to attempt to interpret such a thing externally, especially because the therapist themselves are subject to the same influence from their personal frame of reference. Thus, the practice in humanistic and gestalt therapy is commonly to ‘bracket’ out their own thoughts and feelings as they occur and attempt to recognise their own assumptions and preconceptions (Lapworth and Sills, 2010; Joyce and Sills, 2014). This is the best possible technique since the complete separation from one’s own frame of reference is a near impossible task. Without understanding a client’s personal frame of reference it is extremely difficult to fully understand what they mean when they communicate their thoughts and feelings due to the personal meanings their communications will have for them as they are interpreted through their own frame of reference, like a code with a cipher. Equalisation is another i mportant skill in practice (Green, 1998; Green, 2010). This is the practice of perceiving everything that is communicated by the client as being equally important, when normally the therapist’s frame of reference would make certain things seem more prominent. This is an important technique because this assumption may not hold when the same information is interpreted with the client’s frame of reference. 6. To demonstrate a broad knowledge of assessment issues and the importance of working agreements Assessment issues in humanistic counselling should be considered whenever a new client is taken on, and also during sessions for current clients. They are important facts and debates which affect how the counselling experience will be perceived and what the impact of it will be for the individual. Without appropriate consideration of these issues, counselling could turn into a reckless endeavour, insensitive to the potential effects it could have on clients. Because of this, certain standards are set, and it is necessary for therapists to be aware of the debates and the way people vary in order to ensure that harmful effects do not befall the client (Dryden, 1989). The issues in counselling can be broadly appreciated from a humanistic perspective since it includes as central aspects any facet of life which may be viewed as important by the client, and therefore takes account of the client’s position on a wide variety of dimensions (Rowan, 1998). The assessment issues refer to potential problems with how the therapist perceived and assesses the client; the issues which may bias this judgment and lead to erroneous counselling. In general terms there are ethical issues which refer to anything relevant to the protection of clients. These are of course important because at the onset and during the process of counselling because above all it is vital not to cause more psychological damage. There are also cross-cultural issues in counselling which draw attention to the cultural context in which client and therapist exist (D’Ardenne and Mahtani, 1999). These issues undoubtedly affect how clients should be assessed in counselling, because the cultural context has a large effect on the meaning ascribed to different behaviours. The same behaviour may also be interpreted very differently across cultural contexts. Specific cross-cultural issues regard differential levels of equivalence, non-verbal communication, expectations and beliefs, client-counsellor similarities, test bias and response styles (Lonner, 1985). Equivalence in this context refers to the differences in emphasis which people in different cultu ral contexts place on different objects in their frames of reference; which objects are defined as contextual or tangential and which ones are the ‘figures’ in the foreground taking a place of prominence in their experiences (Rogers, 1952). The significance and meaning of non-verbal gestures is likely to be different across cultures, and the cultural context may also affect the expectations the client holds about the purpose and potential outcomes of therapy. Client-counsellor similarities refer to potential problems with the interpretation of client communications in light of cultural (or indeed personal) similarities or differences between client and therapist (Rowan, 1998). Finally, test bias and response styles; if tests or psychometric assessments are used as part of the assessment process then the results may only be valid in the cultural context in which they were developed because of differing response styles, cultural norms and knowledge bases between cultures (Dryden, 1989). There are also issues with the medium that the counselling relationship is communicated on. For example, internet counselling is increasingly popular in recent years, but research suggests that it may not be the best tool for developing the counselling relationship, particularly due to the loss of verbal communication (Robson and Robson, 2000). It appears that there is something lost in communication in the case of internet counselling, perhaps it simply feels less personal to those who use it, especially since they cannot express themselves in their own unique voice. Obviously tone is also lost when communicating over the internet making it even more problematic. Professional issues in counselling which refer generally to the issues affecting the client-therapist relationship arising from how the therapist views the relationship and their career (Fretz and Simon, 1992). Entanglements of the client’s and the therapist’s frames of reference can result in non-therapeutic outcomes. It is therefore important that the therapist maintains professional standards and views the relationship in a professional capacity while balancing the need to appear warm and genuine to create a therapeutic environment. There may also be spiritual issues which arise during counselling. It must be established what role spirituality and religion plays in a client’s life, and whether they feel it is appropriate and pertinent for discussion (Rose, Westefeld and Ansley, 2008). The presence of spirituality in a person’s life may be a key variable in determining their state of mind and frame of reference, if this is the case then ignoring it could be disastrous. Working agreements in the counselling relationship are important for therapeutic progress and change because they allow the client the space and tools to explore their concept of self fully and openly. They help to define the context in which the interactions between therapist and client take place. Working agreements serve to reconcile the issues between therapist and client which become apparent in the course of counselling at least temporarily for the purpose of the counselling sessions (Clarkson and MacKewn, 1993). Some of the possible issues have been outlines above. These agreements therefore allow for the gradual building of the therapeutic relationship, and for the establishment of therapeutic dialogue. 7. To evidence an awareness of the complexities and impact of issues of power on the counselling relationship The notion of power is related to the juxtaposition of the client in relation to the therapist. It pertains to the regard in which the client holds the therapist and the position in the life of the client that is ascribed to the therapist. The degree of power to which the client assigns the therapist in their personal frame of reference plays a significant role in determining how their interactions are interpreted and what meaning is ultimately taken away from counselling (Green, 2010). In humanistic counselling, the relationship is vitally important in establishing an environment conducive to positive change. The required relationship for many techniques in humanistic counselling requires that the relationship be modelled after the parental relationship (Gelso and Carter, 1985). The balance of power in the client-therapist relationship is important in creating a constructive relationship. It comes from the concepts of the ‘self’ and the ‘self in relation’, and is largely based on the client’s conception of the other and their power in relation to the other (Bager-Charleson and van Rijn, 2011). Naturally, the therapeutic relationship in the present will be affected by past models of relationships. The parental relationship formed in early childhood has been documented to be vitally important in determining the ability to form attachments and relationships in the future (Dryden, 1989) and a securely attached relationship with a parent is predictive of an ability to form positive and trusting relationships with others in adult life (Cook, 2000). A securely attached relationship with a parent then is an effective relationship to foster a therapeutic dialogue. This is why in humanistic and psychodynamic counselling the client-ther apist relationship is ideally modelled on the parental relationship (at least a secure version of it). This sets the tone for the power balance in the relationship, in which the client must feel that they have a secure base in the relationship; they have unconditional positive regard for the therapist. Clarkson (1995) identifies aspects of the client-therapist relationship which are important to consider when setting the tone for the power balance; the working alliance, the transference/countertransference relationship, the developmentally needed or reparative relationship, the real relationship and the transpersonal relationship. These are important because once they have been properly established they can sometimes be used to enable therapeutic work to proceed even when difficult transference and countertransference feelings occur through the recognition of such feelings, and the invocation of the working alliance and the setting of common goals to continue the therapeutic process. The transference relationship is defined as the repetition of past conflicts which normally (but not always) began in early childhood in which feelings and thoughts which arose during those conflicts are displaces into. The countertransference relationship is the feelings the therapist holds about the client, which is typically understood now as a valuable therapeutic tool (Clarkson, 1995) because it helps the therapist to establish the perceptions of the power balance in the client’s frame of reference. The developmentally needed relationship in the context of adult life refers to the therapeutic relationship which takes place to redress the perceived power balance between the self and the other, and reintegrate experiences in order to bring the power balance closer to equilibrium. Transactional analysis is the practical outcome of the study of relationship styles and the perceived power balance. It is the analysis of how a person interacts and relates to others (Clarkson, 1992). This method can reveal some insightful inferences about an individual client because it can be indicative of the power ascribed to the self in relation to others in the individual’s frame of reference (Clarkson, 1992). This is done through the establishment of patterns in the client’s relationship history. This can be a useful tool to get the client thinking about pertinent issues in their histories which could be related to the root causes of psychogenic distress (Dryden, 1989). 8. To demonstrate awareness of the need for an ethical framework, their responsibilities to clients, colleagues and the wider community and an ability to discuss these in relation to personal beliefs and values The ethical framework is perhaps the most important thing to consider regardless of the approach or perspective that is ascribed to by the therapist. Every approach must have ethical principles which must not be violated because this is the primary protection of the rights and safety of the clients. Unethical counselling could result in harmful effects on the client, or exacerbation of current psychological distress (Dryden, 1989). The ethical framework should be prominent in the consciousness of the therapist and the client, and should be communicated to the wider community since this contains all the people who potentially may become clients in the future (Dryden, 1989). The ethical principles in counselling that should be observed and abided by are fidelity, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and self-respect which will each be addressed in turn. Fidelity is the honouring and respecting of the trust that is placed in therapists by clients (Bond, 1993). Adhering to this principle basically involves being trustworthy; practitioners must treat all information imparted to them by clients as confidential, and assign it the appropriate weight and respect that the trust from the client demands. Additionally, therapists should restrict the dissemination of any confidential information strictly to the purpose of furthering the purpose for which its initial disclosure was intended. This is crucial in maintaining the integrity of the client-therapist relationship since such a relationship must be based on trust and genuineness (Dryden, 1989). This is related to the personal value of unconditional positive regard for the client and of the belief th at everyone should have a safe place in which to explore personal issues which are causing them distress. Autonomy is the respect for the client’s freedom of choice and innate ability to become self-governing. This is related to the issue of the client’s voluntary participation in counselling, and their right to leave therapy at any point. By gaining informed consent from the client and informing them of this important principle, the client can feel more in control, and because their voluntary participation is explicit, this makes it easier to establish a working alliance and secure commitments from clients towards beneficial therapeutic outcomes (Bond, 1993). Part of respecting a client’s autonomy is respecting their ability to make intelligent informed decisions for themselves, which includes giving them all the necessary and relevant information to make these choices. A pertinent example of this would be giving accurate and true information in advertising and information given to potential clients in advance of counselling (Rowan, 1998). It is also the responsibility of the therapists to gain explicit consent of the client for all commitments, tasks and objectives set in the interest of achieving therapeutic goals, protect privacy and confidentiality, and inform the client of any conflicts of interest that arise. In this way, clients are protected against manipulation and deception. This is a very important point for fostering a sense of self in clients and respecting their basic rights and dignity. It is not for the therapist to say that a certain outlook or set of behaviours is healthy and another is not; it is the client who is the ultimate authority on their own mental health (Rogers, 1952). It is therefore helpful to have an appreciation for the vast variety of human behaviour and culture to aid understanding of diverse clients. This is simply related to the value of respect for others which all therapists should hold; giving due respect to information imparted in confidence and therefore not disseminating it un less absolutely necessary. Beneficence in this context refers to the commitment to promoting the client’s wellbeing. Based on professional assessment, the therapist must act in a way that is within their competence and experience and continually assess the outcomes of therapy through continual monitoring using whatever means are most appropriate to the individual client. Research and systematic reflection must inform practice and there should be a commitment from the therapist towards continual professional development. This is an especially important principle when working with clients whose ability to act autonomously is diminished (Corey, 1991). This is important if the therapists values include a desire to alleviate distress and suffering and enhance the ‘realness’ of interpersonal relationships. Non-maleficence is broadly concerned with avoiding all forms of harm to the client. This includes financial, sexual, emotional, psychological or social exploitation (Bond, 1993). This must be done by avoiding malpractice and incompetence including that of others by challenging behaviour that does not meet professional standards (Bager-Charleson and van Rijn, 2010). The personal value which should be prominent in the minds of therapists is to ensure that no further harm is being caused to clients. The fair and impartial treatment of all clients and adequate service provision is referred to as justice (Dryden, 1989). This requires a commitment to fairness and equality of opportunity and treatment regardless of background or characteristics of clients. It involves respecting human rights and dignity and remaining alert to any potential legal or ethical conflicts. It is important to appreciate differences between clients without discriminatory practice (Green, 2010). The personal belief in equality of all people is at the forefront of ensuring that all therapists treat clients with the fairness and dignity which they deserve. Finally, self-respect means that the therapist should be continually applying all of the above principles to themselves. This includes seeking appropriate therapy and pursuing opportunities for personal development themselves. This is important because in order for the counselling relationship to be conducive to good therapeutic outcomes the therapist should not be compromised by personal issues which are preventing them from cultivating a helpful atmosphere for the client. If therapists hold the value of keeping personal issues separate enough from counselling relationships that it does not negatively interfere then this principle should hold. Based on these ethical considerations it is necessary to make an assessment on whether any one particular client is ‘ready’ for therapy (Bager-Charleson and van Rijn, 2011). The task is to assess in a professional manner whether the client is in a psychological position to address and challenge the way they are leading their lives (Green, 2010). It may be that a client is currently in too fragile a state to warrant attempts to alter their perceptions of themselves or their world, as these may be a valuable defence against unresolved issues. It is important for therapists to respect these defences and monitor the responses to any treatments because if the client is not ready, tampering with their internal psychological world could be harmful. 9. To evidence their ability to support and maintain a supportive counselling relationship The skills that are important for me in establishing and maintaining a supportive counselling relationship in the paradigm of humanistic counselling should aim to communicate a sense of empathy, warmth and genuineness, and create an environment which is completely threat free and encouraging of introspection and self-exploration (Corey, 1991). These skills I use include reflective and active listening (Bager-Charleson, 2010). They are important to communicate presence and interest to the client, and if they are used effectively can convey a sense of empathy because they allow the client to feel listened-to, which in turn enables them to feel as though I am at least attempting to appreciate their perspective and their frame of reference (Rogers, 1952). Active and reflective listening do not involve making inferences about the underlying thoughts and feelings which have prompted the information which is presented, they rather rely on actively engaging with the client and picking up on what they are saying to let them know they have been heard, and also reflecting internally on what has been said and the context it occurred in to get a sense of what their frame of reference might look like (Green, 2010). I can then use this information to construct a counselling relationship that feels right and safe for them as an individual. Questioning, prompting, and observing are further useful skills in creating the appropriate relationship (Corey, 1991). These skills make it possible for interactions to take place, for the conversation to be directed in ways that encourage self-exploration and expansion, and encourage the client to elaborate to me on the figures and backgrounds that make up their frame of reference (Green, 2010). They can also give me the opportunity to paraphrase and summarise what the client says, which enhances my understanding as well as the client’s sense that I am listening and empathising with them. I focus on creating a ‘real’ relationship which is transparent with clients, meaning it is highly congruent for clients; they accurately interpret the meaning behind all interactions and the atmosphere is positive and encouraging (Rogers, 1952). This fosters a feel of genuineness in the relationships I develop with clients which subsequently gives the clients a feel of authenticity and real meaning in our interactions. This lends credibility to revelations they may have about themselves during the course of counselling. It is very important that I create a feeling that I give clients unconditional positive regard. This is important because some clients have experienced key relationships in their life as a player which is only regarded positively depending on them acting or existing on other’s terms. By giving all clients unconditional positive regard this allows for the feeling of warmth and acceptance which is important for every client to open up in constructive ways. The evidence I can provide for my ability to perform these skills comes from my experience as a senior mental health worker and my placement in Lewisham Bereavement Centre. These experiences have honed my ability to appreciate a diverse range of perspectives, and take into account the cultural context in which the individual client exists. They have allowed me to appreciate the person as an individual with thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams rather than just a collection of experiences and traits. Therefore, I have become more sensitive, approachable and warm as my experience has increased. As a member of BACP, I adhere to all guidelines of conduct and make use of personal therapy and supervision. This has made me fully aware of the ethical and legal obligations to clients, making me take client welfare very seriously and think consistently about assessment issues such as whether the client is ready for therapy. 10. To demonstrate an ability to assess the impact of who they are on the counselling relationship Most notably, my values have influenced the shape the relationships tend to take. At Lewisham Bereavement Centre my value of equality and appreciation of diverse culture, perspectives and characteristics influences how I react to different clients; it ensures that I am non-judgmental regardless of how client’s behaviour is interpreted by my own frame of reference. Separating oneself from one’s own frame of reference is extremely difficult if not impossible, so my tactics involve strictly accepting clients and giving them unconditional support regardless of the content of interactions. I am patient and interested in clients and try to bring an air of thoughtfulness to the relationship, which tends to make the client feel like examining what they are saying more closely as well. The characteristics that define me as a counsellor are patience and approachability, and a strong commitment to acceptance and positive regard. This involves having appropriate respect for clients and a belief in their ability to get to the root of their problems on their own with minimal guidance. I believe this is what sets me apart from some other counsellors because I tend to give the clients more leeway to choose their own direction for the direction of conversations, as I believe wholeheartedly in all clients as intelligent entities who are the supreme authorities on their own wellbeing and the causes of their personal suffering. This value causes me to listen very carefully to what the clients say and make minimal to no use at all of personal speculations that I naturally draw about underlying causes using my own frame of reference. Naturally, this sometimes leads to clashes with some client’s expectations and the service that I actually deliver. Some clients expect mor e interpretations to be drawn by the therapist based on what they tell them; they believe the therapist can diagnose them or draw on expertise to present them with an underlying cause. In these cases without seeming confrontational I will use therapeutic techniques to empower the client into believing that they hold the power to identify in themselves any problematic issues and begin the healing process. I believe I am not given to overly emotional reactions, and can therefore remain emotionally neutral even when presented with very emotional information from clients which may perturb other people. By remaining a neutral and safe contact for clients to relay this information to the relationship can take the form of a confiding relationship which is positive for the client no matter what happens. This can lead clients to suspect that I am hiding my true emotions, which can be a difficult thing to deal with, but I believe the benefits outweigh the costs of this method. I create constructive boundaries and respect confidentiality and privacy in my work. This leads to my constantly remaining vigilant for client permission and participation in the therapeutic process; informed consent must be gained at all stages of the process, and so I do my best to keep the client in charge of the direction of the conversation during sessions. In this way, the risk of venturing onto subjects the client is not ready to talk about is minimised. I believe that no one issue is universally going to cause psychological distress and some issues which would be innocuous to other people may be extremely influential over others. An appreciation of this is vital in how I approach therapy, and guides me in letting the client mostly determine the direction of the conversation. As such I can appear flexible in counselling sessions which can come across as slightly disinterested, but the benefits of being flexible include the client having time to relate exactly what they want to say and quiet space to explore their own self-concept. When interacting with client’s I adopt a non-threatening posture and I am fundamentally interested in subjective stories of human experience and emotion. This gives me a demeanour in sessions which is engaging, warm and accepting, and ready to put subjective judgments aside when clients present relevant content. The counsellor-client relationship is a dynamic and dialectical relationship which is shaped almost as much by the therapist’s characteristics as the client’s. A final characteristic which I believe influences the relationships I form with clients is the drive to help others, and an uncompromising stance on providing a positive response despite what the client may be expressing. This gives me a strong ability to work with clients who believe they have been put at risk by other professionals. 11. To evidence an appreciation of the use of self in the counselling relationship The self in the counselling relationship is useful in that it can be used to relate to the client. It is an important point that differentiates humanistic counselling from other approaches that the humanistic approach puts so much emphasis on self-awareness (Rogers, 1952). A person who is not fully self-aware has feelings and/or experiences which are not fully symbolised and integrated into the current conscious self-concept. According to the humanistic perspective these concepts which are ‘outside’ the self-concept could be influencing thoughts, feelings and behaviours about the self and others in the environment even without conscious awareness (Rowan, 1998). Because of the intimately private subject matter that often arises during counselling, it is very important that the counsellor themselves be fully self-aware, in a way that they are trying to encourage the client to become. While it is important to develop a ‘real’ relationship with clients, I have f ound that it is necessary to remain a least somewhat emotionally detached from them. This is because when emotional attachments form between counsellor and client, they can bias the thinking of the therapist and begin a cycle based on judgments stemming from perceptions in the counsellors frame of reference, which is unacceptable. With full self-awareness the counsellor can use self-reflection to monitor feelings and thoughts, integrate them with the whole and reconcile them with their role as counsellor. In the counselling relationship the self can be used as an instrument (Reinkraut, Motulsky and Ritchie, 2009) in monitoring the development of the relationship, in setting up a basis for acting well on the client’s behalf through the development of counselling skills, for modelling self-awareness to the client and for keeping track of the transference relationship and power balance. When working with clients I see opportunities to assess my own personal strengths, limitations, thoughts and feelings as they relate to other people. This allows for greater self-awareness and gives me the ability to draw on personal life experiences and cognitive strategies for reflection which can be used to relate to the client. The self as an instrument also refers to the learning process of mastering techniques to discover information about the self which as a counsellor I have experienced. Throughout my work with clients, I have had opportunities to examine my own beliefs and values and the impact they have on my personal life and on others. This self-awareness is in a way the foundation of the client-counsellor relationship for me because without this it would be very difficult to relate due to the difficulty in describing what I am thinking and feelings. Personal growth can only truly be assessed through self-awareness and this goes for the client and for the therapist. Being fully conscious of all facets of my own self-concept also allows me to remain professional under circumstances that would otherwise be quite challenging. For instance, when a client is divulging very personal and intimate information which may make them feel psychologically vulnerable during expression, being self-aware in these moments will enable me to acknowledge my own counter-transference feelings towards the client and interpret them in light of the professional persona which I must don when counselling clients. The self then, is an important tool in establishing a positive and productive therapeutic relationship. If I am not in touch with my own thoughts and feelings and I do not psychologically ‘own’ all of my experiences then this could have serious consequences for the relationships I form with clients. It is likely that the relationships would suffer less positivity and there would be less transparency in the relationship, leading the client to wonder about the true meaning of our interactions and a loss of trust. This is an environment which is not conducive to the client growing in self-awareness or having positive therapeutic change. 12. Students to demonstrate an ability to analyse their strengths and weaknesses and assess themselves effectively in relation to others I believe that my strengths as a counsellor include the ability to empower clients in the relationships that I form with them. I also make good use of supervision and counselling services myself. I see this as a strength of mine because not only does it give me an opportunity to observe new techniques or the application of known techniques but it also helps me to continually grow as a person and become more self-aware. This is necessarily an ongoing process because as new experiences occur and become integrated into my own self-concept it truly helps to have a safe and non-judgmental place to explore this. This is the kind of ethos which I bring into the counselling relationship with my clients; I do not provide this service because I believe it is unimportant, in fact I believe that everyone could benefit from counselling if it is conducted appropriately; it is not just something for people who have experienced traumatic events. In this way I believe that I effectively and continuou sly evaluate my own frame of reference, which makes it easier when forming relationships with clients to identify what aspects of my perception of relationships and of the client are due to my own biases in perception. Separating entirely from one’s own frame of reference is not something I am able to do any more than anyone else; I believe it is simply a part of being human and therefore the best thing to do is become as aware of my own frame of reference as possible. I therefore have good awareness of my own personal conflicts, thoughts and feelings when interacting with clients and I am well practiced in keeping a healthy emotional distance from clients. This attitude gives me an accepting and patient demeanour towards others, and I do not push for more information on issues when others do not want to divulge further. With greater self-awareness I have an enhanced ability to assess how I appear in relation to others. Remaining non-judgmental and impartial and separate enough from the pertinent issues in a client’s life is a further skill that I see as a strength, because in my experience this serves to empower the client and encourage them to explore the very pertinent issues which may be having a negative impact on their lives. My values are an important part of this, the principles which I hold to be important in helping people are something which I can rely on to not change and to guide me in the pursuit of honing more effective techniques in counselling. With the use of these values and principles I am also proficient in establishing boundaries and overcoming distortions of perception and personal feelings as they occur during counselling. This allows me to effectively treat all clients with equality and unconditional positive regard. Although I establish a real relationship with clients, I continually assess my relationship with clients and how I appear in relation to clients, this he lps to establish the model of prior relationships which the counselling relationship is based on. An open mind and commitment to continuously bettering my skills is another positive aspect of my practice because it enables me to absorb knowledge and ideas from a diverse range of sources and consider the merit of their application in my own practice in an unbiased way. This is another way in which I am continuously attempting to better my counselling skills and assess myself in relation to others. It is also important for practitioners to acknowledge their own weaknesses so that at the very least they can increase their own self-awareness and make allowances in their practice of counselling to compensate for areas in which their practice is not as strong. It is also vital for weaknesses to come to light so that the practitioner can continue to try and improve in these areas. In the case of my own practice I believe I could further improve my use of paraphrasing and active listening. In the past, I noticed that my use of these techniques varied from other counsellors, and so in liaising with other professionals and through continuous supervision and commitment to understanding the effects of different uses of these techniques I have changed the way I tend to use paraphrasing or more specifically the frequency with which I use it; now only in cases where I believe the specific words or phrases a client has used are important to conveying the same message. This helps clients to u nderstand that I have heard them exactly as they are attempting to express themselves and has made me appear more succinct to clients. I also differed from other practitioners in my use of prompts in the therapeutic process. I tended to make more use of this technique to direct the conversation in a way I thought would be most beneficial to the patient by uncovering issues which were not symbolised and integrated with their self-concept. 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Lapworth, P. and Sills, C. (2011). An Introduction to Transactional Analysis: Helping People Change. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. Lonner, W. J. (1985). Issues in testing and assessment in cross-cultural counselling.  The Counselling Psychologist,  13(4), 599-614. Mearns, D. and Thorne, B. (1988). Person-centred Counselling in Action. London: Sage Neimeyer, R. A. (1998). Social constructionism in the counselling context.Counselling Psychology Quarterly,  11(2), 135-149. Patterson, C. H. (1984). Empathy, warmth, and genuineness in psychotherapy: A review of reviews.  Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training,  21(4), 431. Perls, F., Hefferline, G., Goodman, P. (1951). Gestalt therapy.  New York: Sage. Reinkraut, R., Motulsky, S. L., Ritchie, J. (2009). Developing a competent practitioner: use of self in counseling psychology training.  Asian Journal of Counselling,  16(1), 7-29. Robson, D., Robson, M. (2000). 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Nellie Bly - Investigative Journalist

Nellie Bly - Investigative Journalist The reporter known as Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Cochrans Mills, Pennsylvania, where her father was a mill owner and county judge. Her mother was from a wealthy Pittsburgh family. Pink, as she was known in childhood, was the youngest of 13 (or 15, according to other sources) of her fathers children from both of his marriages; Pink competed to keep up with her five older brothers. Her father died when she was only six. Her fathers money was divided among the children, leaving little for Nellie Bly and her mother to live on. Her mother remarried, but her new husband, John Jackson Ford, was violent and abusive, and in 1878 she filed for divorce. The divorce was final in June of 1879. Nellie Bly briefly attended college at Indiana State Normal School, intending to prepare to be a teacher, but funds ran out in the middle of her first semester there, and she left. She had discovered both a talent and interest in writing and talked her mother into moving to Pittsburgh to look for work in that field. But she did not find anything, and the family was forced to live in slum conditions. Finding Her First Reporting Job With her already-clear experience with the necessity of a woman working and the difficulty of finding work, she read an article in the Pittsburgh Dispatch called What Girls Are Good For, which dismissed the qualifications of women workers. She wrote an angry letter to the editor as a response, signing it Lonely Orphan Girl- and the editor thought enough of her writing to offer her an opportunity to write for the paper. She wrote her first piece for the newspaper, on the status of working women in Pittsburgh, under the name Lonely Orphan Girl. When she was writing her second piece, on divorce, either she or her editor (the stories told differ) decided she needed a more appropriate pseudonym, and Nellie Bly became her nom de plume. The name was taken from the then-popular Stephen Foster tune, Nelly Bly. When Nellie Bly wrote human interest pieces exposing the conditions of poverty and discrimination in Pittsburgh, local leaders pressured her editor, George Madden, and he reassigned her to cover fashion and society- more typical womens interest articles. But those didnt hold Nellie Blys interest. Mexico Nellie Bly arranged to travel to Mexico as a reporter. She took her mother along as a chaperone, but her mother soon returned, leaving her daughter to travel unchaperoned, unusual for that time, and somewhat scandalous. Nellie Bly wrote about Mexican life, including its food and culture- but also about its poverty and the corruption of its officials. She was expelled from the country and returned to Pittsburgh, where she began reporting for the Dispatch again. She published her Mexican writings as a book, Six Months in Mexico, in 1888. But she was soon bored with that work, and quit, leaving a note for her editor, Im off for New York. Look out for me. Bly. Off for New York In New York, Nellie Bly found it difficult to find work as a newspaper reporter because she was a woman. She did some freelance writing for the Pittsburgh paper, including an article about her difficulty in finding work as a reporter. In 1887, Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World hired her, seeing her as fitting into his campaign to expose all fraud and sham, fight all public evil and abuses- part of the reformist trend in newspapers of that time. Ten Days in a Mad House For her first story, Nellie Bly had herself committed as insane. Using the name Nellie Brown, and pretending to be Spanish-speaking, she was first sent to Bellevue and then, on September 25, 1887, admitted to Blackwells Island Madhouse. After ten days, lawyers from the newspaper were able to get her released as planned. She wrote of her own experience where doctors, with little evidence, pronounced her insane and of other women who were probably just as sane as she was, but who didnt speak good English or were thought to be unfaithful. She wrote of the horrible food and living conditions, and the generally poor care. The articles were published in October 1887 and were widely reprinted across the country, making her famous. Her writings on her asylum experience were published in 1887 as Ten Days in a Mad House. She proposed a number of reforms- and, after a grand jury investigation, many of those reforms were adopted. More Investigative Reporting This was followed with investigations and exposà ©s on sweatshops, baby-buying, jails, and corruption in the legislature. She interviewed Belva Lockwood, the Woman Suffrage Party presidential candidate, and Buffalo Bill, as well as the wives of three presidents (Grant, Garfield, and Polk). She wrote about the Oneida Community, an account republished in book form. Around the World Her most famous stunt, though, was her competition with the fictional Around the World in 80 Days trip of Jules Vernes character, Phileas Fogg, an idea proposed by G. W. Turner. She left from New York to sail to Europe on November 14, 1889, taking only two dresses and one bag. Traveling by many means including boat, train, horse, and rickshaw, she made it back in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds. The last leg of the trip, from San Francisco to New York, was via a special train provided by the newspaper. The World published daily reports of her progress and held a contest to guess her return time, with over a million entries. In 1890, she published about her adventure in Nellie Blys Book: Around the World in Seventy-Two Days. She went on a lecture tour, including a trip to Amiens, France, where she interviewed Jules Verne. The Famous Female Reporter She was, now, the most famous female reporter of her time. She quit her job, writing serial fiction for three years for another New York publication- fiction that is far from memorable. In 1893 she returned to the World. She covered the Pullman strike, with her coverage having the unusual distinction of paying attention to the conditions of the strikers lives. She interviewed Eugene Debs and Emma Goldman. Chicago, Marriage In 1895, she left New York for a job in Chicago with the Times-Herald. She only worked there for six weeks. She met Brooklyn millionaire and industrialist Robert Seaman, who was 70 to her 31 (she claimed she was 28). In just two weeks, married him. The marriage had a rocky start. His heirs- and a previous common-law wife or mistress- were opposed to the match. She went off to cover a womens suffrage convention and interview Susan B. Anthony; Seaman had her followed, but she had the man he hired arrested and then published an article about being a good husband. She wrote an article in 1896 on why women should fight in the Spanish American War- and that was the last article she wrote until 1912. Nellie Bly, Businesswoman Nellie Bly- now Elizabeth Seaman- and her husband settled down, and she took an interest in his business. He died in 1904, and she took over the Ironclad Manufacturing Co. which made enameled ironware. She expanded the American Steel Barrel Co. with a barrel that she claimed to have invented, promoting it to increase the success appreciably of her late husbands business interests. She changed the method of payment of workers from piecework to a salary and even provided recreation centers for them. Unfortunately, a few of the long term employees were caught cheating the company, and a long legal battle ensued, ending in bankruptcy, and employees sued her. Impoverished, she began writing for the New York Evening Journal. In 1914, to avoid a warrant for obstructing justice, she fled to Vienna, Austria- just as World War I was breaking out. Vienna In Vienna, Nellie Bly was able to watch World War I unfolding. She sent a few articles to the Evening Journal. She visited the battlefields, even trying out the trenches, and promoted U.S. aid and involvement to save Austria from Bolsheviks. Back to New York In 1919, she returned to New York, where she successfully sued her mother and brother for the return of her house and what remained of the business she had inherited from her husband. She returned to the New York Evening Journal, this time writing an advice column. She also worked to help place orphans into adoptive homes and adopted a child herself at age 57. Nellie Bly was still writing for the Journal when she died of heart disease and pneumonia in 1922. In a column published the day after she died, famous reporter Arthur Brisbane called her the best reporter in America. Key Facts Family: Mother: Mary Jane Kennedy Cummings (her second marriage, the first was childless)Father: Michael Cochran (mill owner and county judge; had 10 [or 12?] children from a first marriage)Siblings: two full siblings, and 10 (or 12?) half-siblings from her fathers first marriageHusband: Robert Livingston Seaman (married April 5, 1895, when he was 70; millionaire industrialist)Children: none from her marriage, but adopted a child when she was 57 Education: early education at homeIndiana State Normal School, Indiana, Pennsylvania Known for: investigative reporting and sensationalist journalism, especially her commitment to an insane asylum and her around-the-world stunt Occupation: journalist, writer, reporter Dates: May 5, 1864-January 27, 1922; she claimed 1865 or 1867 as her birth year) Other Names: Elizabeth Jane Cochran (birth name), Elizabeth Cochrane (a spelling she adopted), Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (married name), Elizabeth Seaman, Nelly Bly, Pink Cochran (childhood nickname) Books by Nellie Bly Ten Days in a Mad-House; or Nellie Blys Experience on Blackwells Island. Feigning Insanity in order to Reveal Asylum Horrors.... 1887.Six Months in Mexico. 1888.The Mystery in Central Park. 1889.Outline of Bible Theology! Exacted from a Letter by a Lady to the New York World of 2nd June, 1889. 1889.Nellie Blys Book: Around the World in Seventy-Two Days. 1890. Books About Nellie Bly: Jason Marks. The Story of Nellie Bly. 1951.Nina Brown Baker. Nellie Bly. 1956.Iris Noble. Nellie Bly: First Woman Reporter. 1956.Mignon Rittenhouse. The Amazing Nellie Bly. 1956.Emily Hahn. Around the World with Nellie Bly. 1959.Terry Dunnahoo. Nellie Bly: A Portrait. 1970.Charles Parlin Graves. Nellie Bly, Reporter for the World. 1971.Ann Donegan Johnson. The Value of Fairness: The Story of Nellie Bly. 1977.Tom Lisker. Nellie Bly: First Woman of the News. 1978.Kathy Lynn Emerson. Making Headlines: A Biography of Nellie Bly. 1981.Judy Carlson. Nothing Is Impossible, Said Nellie Bly. 1989.Elizabeth Ehrlich. Nellie Bly. 1989.Martha E. Kendall. Nellie Bly: Reporter for the World. 1992.Marcia Schneider. First Woman of the News. 1993.Brooke Kroeger. Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist. 1994.

Consequences of Globalization of Labour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Consequences of Globalization of Labour - Essay Example This is characterized with independency and interdependency in the entire world to facilitate efficient transfer of goods, services, capital, and labour across the national frontiers. In this regard, this paper looks at the consequences of globalization in this case and discusses some of the positives and negatives that come with such moves. Within the globalization of labour, we understand there is movement from developing to develop and vice versa, it is thus interesting to note the effect this will bring to the economic facets. Consequences of Globalization As indicated in the introductory part, there are several consequences that come with the globalization of labour both positive and negatives. a) Positive Consequences I. Reduction of unemployment It is possible to find some countries with higher degrees of unemployment, without free movement of labour as enshrined in the globalization of labour, this group of people might remain unemployed, and this affects the economy of a cou ntry. This phenomenon has been vividly observed in the EU countries where there has been a huge migration workers from east to the West of Europe. Consequently, this move has also enabled those countries without sufficient workers to acquire labour with ease. An example in this case is in the UK where there was acute shortages of nurse and had to source for nurses in the Far East to fill the shortages (Bary 2010, p.76); therefore, globalization of labour has been beneficial both to the country exporting and to the one importing labour. II. Rationalization of Wages Due to the globalization of labour, there is rationalization of wages for the employees so that there can be a universal standard in which remuneration can be looked into. For instance, without globalization of labour considered appropriately, there will be difference on how a nurse is paid in the developing countries and how the same nurse will be paid in the developed countries. Essentially, there will be a greater dispa rity level in terms of remuneration. This disparity level is only checked under globalization of labour. With the globalization in place, there is likely to be a standard gauge for the workers internationally because there will be comparison of wages across the nation for the sole reason of coming into standardized pay (Berberoglu 2002, p.88). III. Technological Movement and Advancement Different parts of the world are endowed with different technologies; these technologies can be regarded as static if they cannot be transferred to other parts of the world. With the movement of the human labour, it is also possible that the technology from the different parts of the world can also be transferred from one place the other. Considering a person from developing countries in Africa who has crossed to worked in one of the countries in the East as an engineer, he will acquire useful skills for the period that he/ she will be working there that can be transferred to his home country or to a ny other country they might opt to work into. In this sense, it is in order to perceive movement of labour across the international boundaries as a way of bringing innovation through blending of technology from different parts of the world (Dadush and Shaw, 2012). It is through the interaction of different technological advancement has been realized in the history of innovation, courtesy of free labour movement in the name of globalization. IV. Working Conditions, Safety, and Health Issues Just like in the local trade union

History Of The Internet Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History Of The Internet - Assignment Example 263). The early traces of internet can be found towards the 1970s when it was primarily used for the defense purposes in United States. The concept of common man using it was a mere illusion and no one could have imagined it. Its primary function and usage for shifted to the satellites systems for navigating and communicating with the towers and equipment installed at a distance of thousands of miles from the surface of earth. The M.I.T, I.B.M and A.T.& T were few of the pioneers who provided assistance and support in the early days of internet becoming a common and relatively known concept. It was the commercialization of the concept and technology which soon led to the entailment of the technology of internet becoming public and commercial. This came about in the form of World Wide Web becoming a common concept where the slow transition was seen towards people using it. In the initial days the transmission of internet was relatively slow and limited to the analogue mode of communications. The speeds so offered were relatively slow in terms of Kilo bits per second and providing support and connectivity to the limited number of users. United States of America, its commercial enterprises, the telephony supporting systems and the students and the universities have a considerable role with regard to the overall progress the internet has made. The World Wide Web and the establishment of the T.C.P/ I.P layer support system under the name of I.T.U enabled gaining further progress with regard to bringing about a medium of wireless technology and communication which would enable people getting connected despite being at a large distance from one another. The major step of the world wide web came about in the year 1991-1992 when the venture was formally undertaken by set of students who through their own launched browser gave the technology a new touch in the form of Mosaic browser. This was the first step

Environmental Policy and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Environmental Policy and Law - Essay Example (House of Lords, 2000) The scenario in the house where the Oakleys were tenants was such: the bathroom next to kitchen was devoid of a washbasin, therefore forcing the inmates to wash their hands in the kitchen sink. Contamination of food and foul smell were one of the few complaints that arose from this state of affairs. Taking place over a period of five days, the case closed on the decision that the appeal would be allowed. According to the case, there was a grave health hazard in the state of the premises. It was left upto the Justices to determine whether the risk was sufficient to constitute a statutory nuisance. The case went onto explore the legislative history of statutory nuisance, from the time of its mid-Victorian roots, and concluded that "prejudicial to health" should be interpreted in line with its "sanitary" origins; and that section 79(1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is directed to the presence of some feature of premises which is in itself prejudicial to health, by way of being the source of possible infection, illness or disease. (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, 2000) This brings us to the issue of the origin of nuisance at Common Law. A conclusion to the contrary, i.e.

In depth research on the difference berween Slow cooking and Fast Essay

In depth research on the difference berween Slow cooking and Fast cooking as applies to modern standards in today's industry - Essay Example A nation’s diet reveals more about its culture and values than its art or literature (Schlosser, 2002). According to Belanger (1998), the attitude towards fast food mirrors the American society: â€Å"industrialized, impersonal, dominated by big business, advertising driven, hectic, anti-environmental, and not very satisfying.† In today’s hectic world, where there is simply no time for relaxation and pleasure and the society is driven by convenience and speed, fast food seems to be the answer. Fast food requires no grocery shopping or cooking, thereby saving the labor required to do both. The slow food movement directly opposes every concept that fast food represents – blandness, uniformity, conformity and the blind worship of science and technology (Krummer, 2002). In his article, Vinci (2007) propagates the concept of slow food as eating healthily and responsibly. Although critics of slow food claim that it is elitist and unaffordable by ordinary people, Kummer uses a different range of adjectives to describe the same. According to him, they are mainly peasant foods that have been prepared the same way for centuries. They are time-tested and spring directly from regional cultures and cuisines (2002, p.12). The affinity towards industrial standardization and mass production is another reason for the increasing popularity of fast food. Fast food stems from an entirely different sort of mass culture and mass production, says Krummer (2002). One Taste Worldwide, the slogan of one of the largest fast food chains, McDonalds, perfectly sums up the homogenizing and standardizing effect that seems to have captured the taste buds of many. Savoring genuine tastes together with saving the environment is the new trend that is taking the world by storm, declares Vinci (2007). The slow food brigade is also spreading the message that food should not only be tasty but also nutritious and healthy, which