Belfast Travellers: Services and Policies

Belfast Travellers: Services and Policies Case Study – Belfast Travellers The case study examines the provision of accommodation and other services for the travelling community in the Belfast area over a 30 year time period. During this time many different agencies, including the Department of the Environment (DoE), the Belfast City Council (BCC), the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) and a number of voluntary sector organizations, were involved in attempting to provide services to the travellers. This essay will examine the degree to which the travellers participated in specifying their needs and in designing policies to address them, and relate such consultation to different concepts of participation mentioned by Cornwall (2003). The concluding paragraph will evaluate the success, or otherwise, of such participation in delivering a sense of empowerment and self-reliance to the travelling community. Although community development has been a strategy of both statutory and voluntary sectors in Northern Ireland (NI) for many years[1], until relatively recently it does not seem to have been applied to the travelling community. This process works at a community level, through community groups and the appointment of local community development workers who â€Å"engage with the community to identify needs, raise issues, and develop programmes †¦ to address those needs†.[2] Although this strategy was no doubt consciously applied to the settled community, there is little evidence of it being used before 1992 with the travelling community. For example, the initial issues for providing accommodation for the travellers involved the provision of camping sites. At the Colin Glen site there were problems of overcrowding, compounded by the relocation to the site of families unrelated to those already there, which caused conflict between the groups. A contributing factor to this dete rioration was the lack of consultation with the travellers before moving additional families to the site. The entire site was eventually abandoned[3]. Initially the BCC provided sites, but these were often poorly serviced and were built without proper consultation. Responsibility for providing accommodation for travellers was later moved to the NIHE, and travellers were consulted about which families would be housed in group housing, developed through the use of housing associations.[4] However, they were not active in the running of the housing associations.[5] A report from 1980 titled Services for Travelling People in NI, issued by the Coordinating Committee for Social Problems, stated that the various voluntary sector agencies involved with the travelling community felt that they had effective policies, even though there had been no consultation with travellers.[6] More encouragingly, the Belfast Travellers Site Project (BTSP) was set up in 1985 with a committee consisting of 50 % travellers and 50% settled people. Its aims were to improve sites in Belfast and to have an input into policies regarding travellers in general.[7] In 1992 BTSP initiated a number of community-based activities, and one of their most important initiatives was that travellers were employed to work as community workers in their own communities. This initiative seems to fall within Cornwall’s description of â€Å"invited participation†.[8] Amongst the successes of the community development approach, the committee felt it had contributed to â€Å"an increase in the travellers’ sense of worth and the value of their particular culture†.[9] The state also played its part in trying to create an environment in which citizens could give input about issues affecting them. More attention was given to a rights-based approach to development, and in 1998 the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission was established, which gave the travellers an opportunity to make official complaints.[10] This resonates with what the study guide has to say about the â€Å"concept of citizenship† [11] as well as with Cornwall’s concept of an â€Å"aware citizenry†[12] Probably the most important improvement in the possibilities for participation came from the creation of An Munia Tober ((The Good Road) in 2005, from an amalgamation of a number of smaller community groups. Their objectives are â€Å"to provide services and act as an advocate for travellers, as well as offering opportunities for travellers to be involved in their own development† [13] In general, the voluntary sector has been consistent in trying to encourage the travellers to share in decision making and to participate in the management of projects, and several agencies have included representatives from travellers. However, travellers still feel that there is insufficient consultation. Those that do participate often feel that their views are not given due weight. For this reason, groups that work with travellers continue to promote their active participation, and try to help them to obtain the skills they need to contribute effectively. A proposed â€Å"All Ireland study on Travellers†, due to have started in 2007, intended to train travellers as researchers. The intention was not only to teach new skills, but also to impart increased ownership, improve confidence, and thereby reduce any inhibitions against forcefully arguing their case. [14] The success or failure of the various interventions in obtaining participation from the travelling community, and thereby imbuing them with a sense of empowerment and self-reliance, is difficult to judge. Certainly, the failures to obtain input and participation resulted in notable disasters, such as at Colin Glen. The Traveller Movement (NI) concluded that there had been â€Å"a policy failure of staggering proportions† in the treatment of travellers in general.[15] However, the success of the NIHE in accommodating over 50% of the travellers in group housing, consulting with them about which families to house together, demonstrates that a participative approach can produce good results. The policies of the BTSP in employing travellers as community workers, and in involving greater numbers of travellers in educational and health related activities, have contributed to an improvement in their sense of worth. On balance, both the negative consequences of non-participation, and t he positive results from consultative approaches, tend to indicate that participation does contribute to a sense of empowerment and self-reliance. Bibliography Course Book Cornwall, A. (2003) Looking back to move forward in Cornwall, A. Beneficiary, Consumer, Citizen: Perspectives on Participation for Poverty Reduction, Stockholm, SIDA. Le Mare, A (2006) Belfast travellers: a case study of the provision of housing and services for the travelling community in Belfast Word Count: With footnotes:1065 Without footnotes:1006 1 Footnotes [1] Belfast Travellers, 2006: 7 [2] Belfast Travellers, 2006: 7 [3] Belfast Travellers, 2006: 9 [4] Belfast Travellers, 2006: 10 [5] Belfast Travellers, 2006: 15 [6] Belfast Travellers, 2006: 11 [7] Belfast Travellers, 2006: 11 [8] Cornwall, A. 2003: 76-7 [9] Belfast Travellers, 2006 12/13 [10] Belfast Travellers, 2006 14 [11] Course Book: 65 [12] Cornwall, A. 2003: 76 [13] Belfast Travellers, 2006: 16 [14] Belfast Travellers, 2006: 17 [15] Belfast Travellers, 2006: 13 Should The Governments Regulate The Internet? Should The Governments Regulate The Internet? In 20th centuries, number of net citizen is growing fast around the World. Survey conducted by Internet Usage Statistics shows that over twenty-five percent of world population are internet users [11]. Because of the internet popularizing trend, the importance of Internet censorship has also risen. As a result, I believe that the Internet should be regulated by the Governments. This article is going to discuss mainly three areas. They are social, economical and political. Exploring the advantages and disadvantages on implementing regulation on the Internet, by reviewing current situations between United States, China and Hong Kong, what regulation have been done on the Internet. I picked Hong Kong as my studied area, as it is my living place, it is necessary to be concerned. While Hong Kong is executing One Country Two System, my motherland China, carrying out one system only, is also reviewed in this article. United States, which is claimed to be a model country of advocate peoples freedom, is chosen for comparison as a role of foreign country. There would be different aspects and outcomes of regulating the Internet within these three countries. Followed by, my reason on supporting Government should regulate the Internet. Firstly, I am going to discuss social issue. Public health is one reason supporting regulation on the Internet. Nowadays, many pornography sites can be accessed easily by just clicking Im above 18.. Children would get sex and harmful information from these sites easily without parent guidance. Thus, Internet control has become important to protect children. In United States, Communications Decency Act (CDA), established in 1996, regulates on offensive and obscenity content [23]. For Hong Kong, there is also law for obscene and violence control. It is called Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Chapter 390) [14]. According to South Sina News (2007), a Hong Kong netizen, Mr. Woo, was sentenced as he published obscene links on the Internet [13]. When compare to Chinese Government, they only have some agreements on Internet control, there is no a concrete law that the internet censorship should follows. Thus, internet censorship in China is mainly held by filtering systems , or firewall. A common blocking system in China would be Green Dam Youth Escort (Green Dam) [20]. It is designed to filter illegal contents. Start from May, 2009, the software is required to pre-install in personal computers produced by China. The system protects children from violence and pornography. Problem of cyber-bullying is also one factor affecting public health. It causes psychological harm to netizens. In America, Megan Taylor Meier was committed suicide because a friends mother, Lori Drew. She humiliated Megan. Drew created a male account named Josh Evans, and bully Megan on the Internet. After investigation, Lori Drew was caught. This is not the only case that would cause psychological harm. In Hong Kong, net citizens would post persons data on the internet when they think the person is misconducted. Privacy like phone numbers, address, working place, etc., is exposed. Daily lives of many victims are badly affected. They are afraid to be recognized outside home. Tsui Yu Hin [5] is one of victims in Hong Kong. He was insulted by netizens pushing his pregnant girlfriend down elevator. Netizens setup a facebook group blaming his misbehavior. This affair was interrupting Tsuis living, he kept receiving disturbing phone calls. Cyber-bullying would cause victims more depressi on, negative impact on working or academic performance, extreme violent behavior such as murder or committed suicide. To prevent cyber-bullying, American has established the Megan Meier Cyber-bullying Prevention Act, this is one of the first cyber-bullying laws that protects children and adults from disturbs. This is a case that showing netizens are needed to take consequences for what they have done on the internet. I believe it is a good way to lighten the problem of cyber-bullying. Chinese and Hong Kong Government should follow the actions taken of U.S. Secondly, the economy issue is discussed. Foreign-invested enterprise, such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, etc., that are widely-used, has potential to strengthen the links between countries and global economy. Businesses such as mobile phones connecting Google, are being popular. Besides, companies can gain from owning the copyright. Protecting copyright would help providing a fair competition environment. As a result, Governments establish laws to accuse infringing on Copyrights currently, including film industry, music industry, etc., mainly related to creativity. One law in United States, Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) of 1999, [21], legislate the registration of domain names with trademarks. Though Hong Kong does not have same law, there is another potential law for protecting rights of trademark owners. The Intellectual Property Department [7] is set up to handle copyright, designs, personal intellectual properties and trademarks. Rules correlated to Trade Mark s Ordinance, Patents Ordinance, and Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance are introduced to protect creativity and balance the interest of the right owners and society. CHAN Nai Ming, a Hong Kong citizen, was jailed as he uploaded Hollywood films onto the Internet, while it is violating the copyright. While in China, there is also copyright registry on the website of National Copyright Administration of the Peoples Republic of China [12]. It is clear that regulating internet by the Government could be beneficial to economy factor. Lastly, political issue is discussed. Sensitive contents, mainly related to religion and politics, are usually filtered. In United States, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was introduced on May 18, 1977. [22]. It limits foreign governments, groups, or individuals (e.g. spies), that would cause international terrorism, and attacks. It prevents citizens to perform illegal activities. In China, filtering is required for protecting citizen from misconduct contents. MySpace China is one of the samples applied filtering. [2]. Sensitive topics are filtered, for example, Taiwan independence. In MySpace China, there is an abused report function for users. Abused account would be block when found that the abuse is true. This could help catching illegal netizens. Chinese Government would even interfere in administration of company or limit individuals freedom. Huang Qi [10][18], a website owner criticized the role of government in the student massacre June 4th 1989 in his website. G overnment considered his website content as illegal, as a result, Huang Qi was arrested on 3 June 2000, and facts stated on his website were blocked. In 2009, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Xinjiang Riot. Officials reported that protesters made use of Twitter/Facebook to gather themselves in Xinjiang Province. Many unauthorized postings on local sites and Google were limited by censors during and after the riots. Based on BBC News, search engine Google was blocked by China [1][3]. It was because China requested Google to filter controversial materials but Google denied. As a result, there is no Google.cn found on the internet. This shows that, when filtering or blocking is carried out, information transmission is limited. This would be beneficial to the Government. By controlling the access right, negative information about the government can be blocked. By looking at the cases in China and America, they show that filtering and setting up laws can help protecting national security, keeping netizens away from getting offending information. However, on the Internet users point of view, filtering would have an impact on getting updated news because filtering may block more than expected. Lots of useful information may be blocked. The regulation is far from perfect. Though there is such disadvantage, I believe internet should still be regulated by the government. When compared the level of internet censorship between Hong Kong and China, it is less strict in Hong Kong. Net citizens in Hong Kong have rooms to criticize the Government on the Internet, which would help monitoring the Government. When Hong Kong Government was introducing 2012 Act Now, net citizens were teasing by creating similar slogan and logo 2012 All Wrong. Though the censorship level is lower, there are still laws managing the disciplines on the internet. According to Ming Pao Newspaper (2008), netizen spread the message Hong Kong will become a city of SARS [4][6]. Large numbers of people were frightened and thus bought and stored rice bulkily. The netizen was sentenced Access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent [9][24]. It shows that net citizens are still required to take responsibilities. To summarize, internet censorship would be beneficial on social, economical and political areas, protecting privacy and intelligence property, keeping social order and public health. It is clear that Internet-censorship is necessary as Governments in different countries are already taking actions to control the Internet. Despite the advantages, in my point of view, Governments should regulate the Internet because it is more effective to carry out the disciplines from top-down strategy. Followed by, having the cooperation from other roles, such as webmaster. To me, an effective regulation should extend to set up laws only. Citizens would know that he/she need to take consequence even on virtual world. Person violating laws would be arrested, where there is room for the freedom of speech on the Internet. In conclusion, regulation is beneficial on many aspects. It could help protecting privacy and intelligence property, keeping social order and public health. Though Internet censorship is a difficult task to perform, it is a necessary action taken.

Consultation Skills In Relation To Non Medical Prescribing Nursing Essay

Consultation Skills In Relation To Non Medical Prescribing Nursing Essay To illustrate this I will utilise the model of reflection adapted from (Boud, Keogh and Walker 1985) as to focus on influences on prescribing, psychology of prescribing working through the consultation, decision-making and therapy, and referral. Being present in the consultation as a non-medical prescriber challenged me to ask questions about my own practice and the consultant psychiatrist, focussing on how we arrived at our decisions and occasionally resulting in contrasting views. According to (Butler et al 1998) many authorities advise that the prime skills associated with the prescribing process are: Adequate exploration of the patients worries Adequate provision of information to the patient regarding the natural processes of the disease being treated The advisability of self-medication in trivial illness The issue pertaining to poor communication has a negative impact with patient-practitioner relationship and was acknowledged in an informative paper by (Britten et al 2000). Ultimately, all of the failures of communication were linked with an absence of the patients involvement during the consultation process. There is evidence that failure to actively engage in, or even consider, the patients perspective is a common failing amongst prescribers. (Britten et al 2000). Very often there is a focus on the term compliance and it is only recently that nurses are focussing on the more apt term of concordance. The term compliance was viewed as being authority laden (Marinker 1997) where it was expected that patients complied implicitly and without question when a prescription was given. There was little acceptance that patients would actively participate in the decision making process that surrounded the generation of the prescription. (Cox et al. 2002) Objective recognition of the patients perspectives, requirements and beliefs need to be acknowledged and then the recognition of any major differences between these and the prescribers needs could be perceived when providing nursing care. It is not just the act of writing out the prescription that is important, but it is the understanding of the processes and dynamics of the interactions that are taking place between prescriber and patient that are the fundamental key to good prescribing practice (Kuhse et al 2001). The consultation I chose to focus on was carried out by a consultant psychiatrist who for the purposes of this work shall be known as DR S, with myself as an observer of the consultation. The patient to be seen was a 45 year old gentleman who will be known for the purposes of this work as Mr A, who had been referred by dermatology to the mental health out-patients clinic as a new patient. Dermatology had referred this gentleman after a 12 month history of attending their department where Mr A had complained of persistent generalised skin irritation, and despite receiving treatment with them it appeared he may have an underlying mental health issue. Dr S began the interview by thoroughly reading the referral from dermatology and establishing what had been the concern from their point of view. The patient was then seen and before Dr S had chance to ask the patient anything Mr A expressed that he was confused as to why he had been referred to the mental health department, and not dermatology, which he perceived his medical complaint to be related to. The British Medical Journal (2000) has recognised a common theme amongst studies of patients in that they have a tendency to prefer prescribers (doctors or nurses) who listen and provide time for the individual to express their concerns without feeling hurried Dr S asked Mr A why he had been attending Dermatology to which Mr A detailed a 12 month history of describing an itchy scalp, generalised skin irritation and said no treatment had so far helped him. Mr A then went on to express that he felt all of these symptoms may be due to a parasite, or a bug which was doing something to him, and described a feeling of the bug weaving something on his face which enveloped his eyes. Other symptoms he described was that this bug or parasite was all the time making him feel thirsty and taking moisture from his body, and could somehow transpose itself to other people, including his own GP and friends describing like a magnetic type effect. From this initial information it was evident that Mr A was suffering from a delusional disorder which was quite systemised and concrete and Mr A appeared not to display any other symptoms of mental health. A diagnosis of parasitosis delusional disorder was made. It was clear Mr A needed treatment but the main factor to consider was that Mr A did not believe he any form of mental disorder and therefore there was a real issue surrounding concordance with proposed treatment. Usually, it is difficult to obtain informed consent to treat patients with delusional parasitosis with antipsychotics. Therefore experienced clinicians tell their patients that the antipsychotics are effective `against the itch or the `problems with the pests in order not to have to lie. (Musalek, 1991; Driscoll et al, 1993; Winsten, 1997; Freudenmann, 2002). This is due to the patients level of insight hindering their decision to accept treatment, because they hold a non-reality based idea that it is a somatic illness. It is therefore found that the patient will normally have sought help from their G.P., dermatologists and will often be adverse to the idea of seeing a mental health professional A full medical history was taken, looking at any familial medical problems, family composition and looking at the social aspects of MR A to include areas of employment, relationships, and any drug/alcohol usage. There have been some criticisms of the education of nurse prescribing in relation to the communication skills of nurses, where it is felt that historically there has been too much of a focus on taking a history and coming to a diagnosis. It was apparent to me that Dr S had to use his skill as an experienced mental health clinician to challenge Mr As concept of his illness not being related to a problem with his mental health Dr A approached the issue of explaining Mr A symptoms, not referring to mental health or delusions, but explaining Mr As perceived   symptoms by informing him that although he believed that these experiences were real to MR A , that his brain was interpreting false signals resulting in these unusual thoughts. Dr A went on to use the analogy of an amputee who perceives that he can still feel is amputated leg, through false interpretations of the brain. Drew et al. (2001). found that prescribers would emphasise the positive benefits of the medication far more frequently than they would discuss the risks and precautions, despite the fact that the patients perception was that such a discussion is seen as essential. Therefore looking at this, this could lead to patient confusion, with patient anxieties, and a degree of ambivalence to medication being offered to them. It is transparent that if there is a degree of empathic display between that of the patient and the prescriber, there is a greater chance of concordance. This will hopefully lead to an increased level of compliance/concordance and patient satisfaction resulting in desired clinical results Here we face the issue surrounding honesty, integrity, consent and acting in the best interest of the patients in focussing on treatment The issue of treatment was then discussed by Dr A, who said to Mr S that he believed he could help him by prescribing some medication for him that would help relive the distressing symptoms he was experiencing. Mr A initially expressed some confusion once more why he was not seeing dermatology as he perceived the problem needed treating by them This indicates that Mr S was still not displaying any insight and the questions of concordance issues were reconsidered. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE 2002) recommends that a risk assessment should be performed by the mental health clinician responsible for treatment and the multidisciplinary team regarding concordance with medication, and depot preparations should be prescribed when appropriate. Mr A questioned the proposed medication and it was explained to him that he would be given a course of Neuroleptic medication of a new medication called Aripiprazole. Dr A said that although the medication leaflet would mention the medication was used for Schizophrenia, that Mr A should not be too worried about that as that was not the reason why he would be taking it. Dr A then went on to say that the leaflet would also explain possible side-effects and that although it listed quite a few they were quite rare. The paper by (Cox et al.2000) found that it was common practice for prescribers to initiate the discussions about just what medication they were going to prescribe, rarely refer to the medicine by name and equally rarely refer to how a newly prescribed medication is perceived to differ in either action or purpose, to those previously prescribed. Patient understanding is rarely checked as it is usually assumed after the prescriber has given the prescription. Even when invited to do so, patients seldom take the opportunity to ask questions. (Cox et al 2000) I felt it was the right thing to initiate pharmacological treatment, although on reading further research surrounding the best treatment for Parisitosis I would question the choice of medication Mr A was commenced on However, after spending many clinical hours with this particular Consultant Psychiatrist, I am aware that he has high tendency of prescribing Aripiprazole for the majority of his clients. On questioning Dr A about his decision for choice of medication, Dr A commented that it is the newest and most effective of the atypical medications with lesser incidence of side effect relative to other medications in its group.   I had to question myself that there may be other factors influencing in the prescribing decision which were not based on any of the NICE guidance or that of the British Journal of Psychiatry. In fact, Dr A replied to me with medical jargon relating to molecular structures of both the brain and chemical make-up of Aripiprazole which was hard to follow due to its complexity. I was conscious that as a consultant psychiatrist of many years experience, I was not sure of the honesty or consequences if I had challenged Dr A about his continued choice of Aripiprazole against other choices of medication any further. After researching treatment for this disorder, I felt that the initiation of a typical antipsychotic should have seriously been considered due to its proven faster working efficacy. However, it is known that typical antipsychotics have an increased prevalence of side-effects. Therefore I had considered the preliminary use of typical antipsychotics to establish a degree of insight into the beneficence of taking medication, and if it was felt that further pharmacological treatment is required then switch to a typical antipsychotic as recommended by the NICE guidelines. An article in the British Journal of Psychiatry (2007) highlighted that delusional parasitosis has shown significant treatment results with the use of typical antipsychotics. (Traberts 1995) found that the introduction of typical antipsychotics has substantially improved remission rates (Frithz 1979) described another important treatment in delusional parasitosis is to consider typical anti-psychotic depot medication. This was suggested, as was earlier highlighted that one of the main stumbling blocks is a lack of insight that causes patients t be reluctant to accept oral medication. However, the administration of medication in injection form might be viewed by the patient as the answer to their somatic perception of their illness. It would be hoped that the injection would lead to a degree of insight where the patient may be more open to accept regular medication At the end of the consultation the patient Mr A agreed to take the medication as prescribed and was offered a further out-patients appointment in 2 weeks time. Ultimately, I accept a clear indication for medication, and in conjunction with this at a later stage this could be combined with some cognitive behavioural therapy should symptoms persist. Clinical Governance plays an important part in relation to prescribing., and in particular for non-medical prescribers role .(Bradley E and Nolan P 2005) state that training courses must remain up-to-date and flexible and must change in response to changes in government policy on non-medical prescribing, with nurse prescribing leads being involved in any discussion about course development.

Patalogy of the Central Nevrvous System: Multiple Sclerosis Essay

Multiple Sclerosis: Pathology of the Central Nervous System Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that commonly found in individuals between the ages of 20 and 40. While men with MS tend to have a faster progressing disease, women are more likely than men to develop it. MS comes in many forms due to the extent of the damage and the amount of lesions, along with how quickly it progresses. All of this collectively forms the MS community today and has resulted in new test methods and forms of treatment developed to both help relieve the symptoms and slow the progression of the disease. This research paper will go through what causes a person to develop MS, what is going on within the body that causes the symptoms people experience, both the objective and subjective findings of MS, as wells as pharmaceutical and natural treatment options. Pathophysiology Multiple Sclerosis is distinguished as a chronic autoimmune disease that results in the demyelination of the central nervous system. The ultimate problem is that myelin within the central nervous system becomes inflamed and scarred which has massive effects on the individual. Huether and McCance (2012) go into great detail about what Multiple Sclerosis is stating that it is a multifactorial disease, meaning that it results when a person is genetically prone to developing MS and then develops a virus in the nervous system. The demyelination and inflammation of the central nervous system is caused by plasma cells, B-lymphocytes, T-cells and proinflammatory cytokines and causes the scarring and the degeneration of axons, which is unfortunately irreversible. Aside from the central inflammation caused by the disease, there is also injury throughout the CNS that is classified as ... ...ve the symptoms associated with the disease. Other, natural options, for people include dietary changes, daily exercise, massage, and herbal remedies to name a few. There are still unknowns about MS, however, there have been great advancements in the diagnosing and treatment of multiple sclerosis that are helping individuals who have the disease every day. References Alnar, O. (2009). Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. CNS and Neurological Disorders- Drug Targest, 8 (3), 167-174. Cantorna, M. (2006). Vitamin D and its Role in Immunology: Multiple Sclerosis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 92, (1), 60- 64. Huether, S. E., McCance, K. L. (2012). Understanding Pathophysiology. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Inc. Wilson, S., Giddens, J. Health Assessment for Nursing Practice. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Inc.

Nursing as an Occupation Essay -- Health Medical Medicine Profession E

Nursing as an Occupation Works Cited Not Included Nursing has, quite possibly, been one of the most difficult professions to define in the medical field. Clarke (2003) stated that the nurse needs to `articulate' who s/he is and what his/her `value' is in medicine or risks having others define it. As with the profession itself, definitions of nursing are ."..dynamic...constantly evolving to meet new needs...new knowledge."(Royal College of Nursing, 2003). Down through the years as the role of the nurse has expanded and diversified, so have the opinions of those who respect and view this career with intrigue. The author believes that nursing is and the functions of the nurse are: the "provision of care", a "commitment to partnership" between nurse and client (Royal College of Nursing, 2003), health promotion and the use of skill and biological knowledge in patient care. The provision of care as a basis for nursing has also encountered change ever since Florence Nightingale (1889), perceived that "the patient, rather than the disease process, should be the primary focus of health professionals." (Cited in Lindberg, Hunter, Kruszewski, 1998 p.12). Virginia Henderson (1960) described caring as "assisting persons in performance of activities they would accomplish independently given the necessary resources." (cited in Lindberg, Hunter and Kruszewski, 1998 p.12). Thus, both pioneers of nursing thought that the best way to carry out nursing practice is to undertake patient centered care. Patient centered care is "essential care, technological care, psychosocial/emotional care, and continuity and co-ordination." (Kitson, 1999). This is called holistic care, which focuses on all aspects of the client's being as a whole: the physiolog... ...de of intervention..." It is central to what nursing is and what nurses do such as, encouraging the mother (and, sometimes, the father!) to use deep breathing exercises to overcome labour pain, inserting chemotherapy needles and changing the dressing on a wound. These are learned skills and are acquired use of scientific knowledge that is obtained through years of training. To conclude, the author believes that the altruism of learning the applied science of nursing, that is as diverse in topics to the science of our bodies to the science of our society, has earned respect and interest in what the value of the nurse is and the importance of what s/he does. The author perceives these four aspects of nursing: provision of care, commitment to partnership, health promotion and the use of skill and knowledge, are the foundations of what nursing is and what nurses do.

To What Extent Does Trade Help Reduce Development Disparities

To what extent does trade help reduce development disparities? The Republic of Malawi in the southeast of Africa is a landlocked country in which 85% of the people are employed in agriculture. About 90% of all farmers are smallholder farmers that suffer from low income and underdeveloped techniques. This is just one example of underdeveloped countries all over the world. The question is simple: How can these LEDCs develop? One approach of reducing development disparities is the mean of trade – the business of buying and selling commodities either within a country or between several countries.Several countries have already initiated techniques to help LEDCs develop. China for examples encourages Chinese firmst to invest in poorer nations and opens ist own markets to imports from underdeveloped countries. This global foreign investment is a great opportunity to create development opportunities for LEDCs, especially because China itself has just had an extreme financial rise so t hat it is able to help others now. However, critics may think that China – by opening up its markets – rather sees its own benefit, as it secures raw materials and markets for Chinese manufactured goods.Furthermore, China gets richer and its global importance raises drastically. Experts expect it to overtake Japan’s economy soon. Very different to this rather unfair approach of reducing development disparities due to trade is established by the FAIRTRADE foundation. This development organisation helps countries in the developing world to improve several different aspects such as sustainable prices for products that never fall under the market price, decent working conditions or fair terms of trade.To achieve this, specific FAIRTRADE certification and product labelling was developed called the FAIRTRADE mark – an independet consumer label. Things like the FAIRTRADE minimum price, which means that a buyer has to pay a certain price that is fair to the produ cer or FAIRTRADE premium, which means that the money payed on top of the minimum prize is spent on social, environmental and economic development projects. Neither pretending to help nor really trying hard to boost LEDC’s economy, he three nations USA, Canada and Mexico agreed on the „North American Free Trade Agreement which was set up in January 1994. The „Theory of Comparative Advantageâ€Å" shows the intention of this association of nations: As they were all economically challenged by western Europe and Asia and as the completion of internal market of the EU harmed their economy, it is obvious that with an elimination of trade barriers due to the NAFTA, these countries would all benefit from it in their economic situation.The aim the NAFTA is to eliminate trade barriers, promote economic competition, increase investment opportunities and improve cooperation between the USA, Canada and Mexico. Acualizing these aims will have several impacts on the worldâ€⠄¢s economy. One example therefore ist he potential wage and benefir reduction in the US due to Mexico’s membership. Also, Mexico would have to adopt higher foreign standards and poor Mexican farmers have now to compete with large-scale, high-tech US- or Canadian farmers. These are just some examples of the impact that the free trade treaty has on its members.Although the idea of free trade troughout nations seems auspicious, it clearly has its weaknesses as well. Concluding, the NAFTA has a good approach which however is not helping LEDCs develop further and rather makes it difficult for – in this case – Mexico to keep up with its partner-trading-nations USA and Canada. Governments from developed countries try to make LEDCs help themselves by researching and setting up various organisations in order to make trade easier. One example of this so-called „top-down approachâ€Å" is provided for farmers in Malawi.The aim of government-led projects is to allow african farmers being self-sufficient and develop their own business with enough income. A peanut farmer in Malawi is now – due to the support of the British government – able to sell his peanuts to big oversea markets. As it is difficult for little farmers to access those big markets, buying centres were build by the foreign government in order to allow the farmers easier access. Some farmers then use their income to open bank accounts, start new businesses and put their children through secondary school.In this process, they break out of the „vicious circleâ€Å" of poverty. Critics still see problems in this government-led approach as farmers are not concious about being helped to a great extent. In the project of for example Malawi, the British government gets highly involved in the economy of a country which often is seen from a negative angle by the population as they would like to manage their economic structures on their own. However, this „bottom -upâ€Å" approach to less economically developed countries by its own population is standing in great contrast to the government-led approach.As certain people of the country would have to mobilise its people and due to lack of financial support, often resignation by the population limits the development of a country. Several very different approaches towards reducing development disparities were made by governments and foundations. These can be easily contrasted: They are either initiated by a country or nation so as to extract the countries benefits out of trade or in order to help and support another country in its development by providing aid for it – this government-lead approach is called „top-downâ€Å".The contrast to this approach is called „bottom-upâ€Å" and is lead by a countries‘ own population which is a rather difficult process. Generally, trade is a very good way of linking a nation’s economy, as mostly contracts between countries are established so that both parties benefit from the business. This means that LEDCs can develop and change their status to MEDCs. However, as it is in the nature of the human species to always be best and leading, LEDCs must be very cautious not to get exploitet by economically powerful nations such as China.

Racism and Non-Western Discrimination Essay

Slavery dates a thousand years back and now comes to be one of the sources of dismay for people who are relatively concerned with their neighbors. Africans are the main victim of this atrocious treatment, having a different color and being considered to be the most underdeveloped human being compared to their European and white counterparts. This classification of people, through their skin color and place of birth, accompanied by extreme feeling of hatred and disgust is widely known as racism. It attracts other people to look at a person’s natural characteristics, their nose, hair, complexion, etc., as basis of their capacities. Thus came more superior races because of being more desirable and developed than the others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Racism has been evident in the past decades and has been the basis of bloody wars and genocide. Hitler’s hatred over the Jews killed thousands of these religious descendants because of his belief that his bloodline is supreme than that of David. Until now, the holocaust denial movement insists that there are no mass murder committed against the Jews. This anti-Semetic treatment over Jews continue until now, evident mostly in their war in the Middle East (â€Å"Anti-Semitism,† 2001, n.p). The concept of Deicide, or the killing of a God, has intensified this hatred in the rise of Christianity. Radical racism has encouraged separatism, a tradition where the inferior race is removed of the benefits enjoyed by their superior counterparts (â€Å"Racism,† 2001, n.p). In the U.S., white supremacist groups continue to establish racism against the blacks, spreading the word of inequality all over the country with their skin-head members.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One recent issue that needs appropriate concern is the interne-hate. It is an online propaganda, primarily using internet websites, to conjure and express hatred and discriminate people of perceived inferior race (â€Å"Internet Hate,† 2001, n.p). Because of internet’s free environment, almost absolutely allowing every person with access to express their thoughts, it became the battle ground and sanctuary for many racist activities all over the world. Publication of hate inciting materials in the world wide web has been greatly tolerated because of the lack of internet related laws prohibiting or limiting the freedom it offers to its users. Furthermore, the growth of this technology helped in proliferating violent messages to millions of users around the world, including children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Other means of racist behavior before have included pamphlets, brochures, posters, and magazines. Racism also manifested through radio and TV shows, theater plays, and movies. Taking advantage of recent technological advances, racists elevated their campaign against other races through the internet, where information is sent in a split second to millions of users. They can send electronic mails to private users and fellow racists, comment on internet contents, join discussion groups, upload hateful videos and music, and incite violence through blogs without being identified. They can literally hide their identities, use multiple profiles, and present pictures not their own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Racism can also be widely encouraged through this system. Racists can easily find other racists who can strengthen their claims and remove them of any dissonance. They can also insist that they are backed up by thousands of other racists, to scare their targets and attract supporters. One particular website is the BlackMonitor. It contains articles and discussion posts from unknown sources. Articles are primarily against blacks – black athletes, celebrities, families, criminals, perverts, politicians, and terrorist. There are criticisms against even talented blacks, like Fifty Cent (â€Å"Nigger 50 Cent Hates Alicia Keys,† 2008, n.p) and Wesley Snipes (â€Å"Nigger Wesley Snipes off to Nigger College,† 2008, n.p). Most particularly, presidential candidate Barrack Obama has been targeted with so much criticism, a comment even asked for an assassination (Lies, 2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The internet phenomenon is deemed to be the most influential source of information being easily accessed by millions of users. Also, the lack of rules because of its international coverage is primarily the reason for its wide use for racist activities. Local and federal laws may exist, other countries may have implemented strict censorship, and some websites may have established their own guidelines for publication. However, these may not be enough to stop this hateful attitude toward people perceieved to have inferior race.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Racism itself is hard to vanish. No matter how hard we try in alleviating discrimination, some people who will always think that they are better than the other and will resolve to violent attacks against them. However, there are basic solutions we can employ to help the abused people. Counter superior-inferior racial notions Implement equal opportunities, blacks and Asians remain less developed because their white counterparts are being entertained well in many companies. Incorporate anti-racism in childhood education and enforce it well in the preceeding years. Encourage international and intercultural education. Specify racial crimes and establish punishments for it. Dissolve racist groups and give its members appropriate measures and education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Racism basically becomes violent because of misinformation. By removing the wrong notions about racial classifications and implementing effective education on children and young adults, and enforcing laws against racism we can minimize this long criticized issue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Internet Hate in particular can be limited through censorship and establishment of necessary laws to stream its contents. This may limit freedom of expression and thought, but freedom is never absolute. There are details that should be removed because of their harmful contents. States have a great responsibility in prohibiting malicious contents in their areas since international laws may be hard to enforce in local cities. Registration of websites can also be an effective solution. Through this we can identify who owns and manages a website and have people to blame in cases of discrminatory contents. Censors may also be established to have constant checks, though this may be very exhausting due to the thousands of websites that are active in the world wide web. However, users reporting malicious contents can help in determining websites that should be sanctioned and ordered for closure. Again, this may bar certain rights and privacy policies, but if we are really serious in removing inequalities and minimizing those discriminatory eyes against our unfortunate friends, we can take this step in alleviating racism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many of us may think that freeing this world of racism is impossible. Lawmakers, who are secretly racist themselves may oppose such acts. Nationalist movements and groups may also prevent us from reaching our goal of equality and non-racial classification. However, many people have suffered enough because of this kind of treatment, of constantly giving them a hateful stare, beating them on their way home, treating them like dogs, under paying them, and lastly trafficking these innocent people. These actions may force them to be aggressive towards us, and that gives us new reasons for discriminating them. It just won’t stop this way. Indeed, there will always be inequality, but at least, let us, more developed individuals, be more compassionate and understanding of their situation. References Anti-Defamation League. 2001. Anti-Semitism. Retrieved 29 April 2008. http://www.adl.org/hate-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   patrol/antisemitism.asp Anti-Defamation League. 2001. Internet Hate. Retrieved 29 April 2008. http://www.adl.org/hate-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   patrol/internet_hate.asp Anti-Defamation League. 2001. Racism. Retrieved 29 April 2008. http://www.adl.org/hate-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   patrol/racism.asp Blackpubwatch. Nigger 50 Cent Hates Alicia Keys. Black Monitor. Retrieved 29 April 2008.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://blackmonitor.wordpress.com/2008/04/20/nigger-50-cent-hates-alicia-keyes/ Blackpubwatch. Nigger Wesley Snipes off to Nigger College. Black Monitor. Retrieved 29 April   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2008. http://blackmonitor.wordpress.com/2008/04/20/nigger-wesley-snipes-off-to-nigger-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   college/ Black    Monitor. Lies. Comment on Barack Obama – Pathological Liar Extraordinaire by blackpubwatch.   Retrieved 29 April   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2008. http://blackmonitor.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/barack-`  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   obama-pathological-liar-extraordinaire/

Hazing Essay for Law Essay

Hazing is a term that many people are familiar with, but not everyone thinks of it in the same way. Hazing can be defined as â€Å"any act that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student, or that destroys or removes public or private property, for the purpose of initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for the continued membership in a group or organization.† The issue of hazing can be controversial at times because some feel that it is nothing more than a way for a group to bond, but others fight against all kinds of hazing because of their belief that hazing is a serious threat to those who have to endure it, especially the youths of the world. Hazing is most often associated with fraternities, but it is an issue in many different organizations, including sororities, the military, athletic teams, student clubs (such as marching bands), and in high schools. Those who have never been involved in hazing may wonder why the victim would agree to the often humiliating or dangerous initiation rituals. The most common answer to this question is that they participated because they believed it would give them a sense of belonging, despite the fact that these so-called traditions may harm the participants. Most anti-hazing laws make it clear that it does not matter if a person consented to be subject to hazing because of the pressure they are under at the time and their lack of knowledge about what the process would involve. One of the most common forms of hazing, especially within fraternities and sororities, is the forced consumption of alcohol, often in lethal doses. One such incident involved Chuck Stevens, who was taken from his dorm in New York State, locked in the trunk of a car, and forced to drink a mix of bourbon, wine, and beer. Chuck died as a result of being hazed, and his mother, Eileen, has since founded the Committee to Halt Useless College Killings, or C.H.U.C.K., in memory of her young son. This organization promotes awareness and educational programs, tries to find alternatives to hazing, and works towards stricter anti-hazing laws. People’s perception of exactly what hazing is often varies form person to person, which makes it hard to separate acceptable traditions from unacceptable traditions. Even people who have witnessed hazing rituals or been a part of a hazing ritual are reluctant to label it â€Å"hazing† because of the stigma associated with the word. Victims of hazing will often not report the incident because they are unsure if what they suffered is classified as hazing and they are afraid of no longer being a part of the group they had worked so hard to join. A study conducted at Alfred University explored the various reasons why anyone would want to participate in a hazing ritual. Nearly half of those surveyed answered because they thought it was fun and exciting, but the majority of those students were only subjected to humiliating hazing. Other reasons include they were scared to refuse, they felt it brought the group closer, they wanted to get out some aggression through fighting, and they were immature when they agreed to the hazing. The study also discovered that many students did not know whether hazing was illegal in their state, and that if there was a law, it made no significant difference in the level of hazing behaviour. Hazing is something that occurs much more than we are aware because most incidents go unreported. Those students who did report hazing also reported both positive and negative consequences of the actions committed by them and by others. A common occurrence among those hazed was depression, which often included anger, and if the hazing was physical, the victim may suffer internal bruising and pain. Not all hazing has such serious penalties, though, and one positive aspect that was reported by students is that they felt they had gained a valuable life experience and had been able to mature. The outcome of hazing is different for each person who goes through it and it all depends on what type of hazing they endure and for what purpose they felt it was worth agreeing to. Aside from hazing taking place in the fraternities and sororities of universities, it is also a dominant problem in schools athletic teams. † Nearly 80 percent of student athletes reported being subjected to one or  more hazing behaviours, ranging from shaving their heads to being tied up and paddled, as part of their team initiations.† Amazingly, only twelve percent of these students were willing to call what they had gone through hazing. Many rookies, especially males, are also forced to humiliate themselves and others through some kind of sexual abuse or nudity, such as walking around naked while holding another mans genitals. Members of the University of Vermont’s hockey team in reportedly carried out this shocking behaviour in October of 1999. Former UVM hockey player Corey LaTulippe, who filed a civil lawsuit against the university, has told the media that he was repeatedly subjected to hazing by other members of the team, and that school officials did nothing to end it. Women’s athletic teams also face hazing rituals, but they are more likely to embarrass their rookies, where men are more likely to be involved in extreme hazing, such as beatings or theft. In addition to hazing being a major component of universities and high schools, it is also an issue that the military must deal with constantly. Military hazing â€Å"can be used to describe anything from a good-natured punch on the stripes when someone is promoted, to Navy chiefs who make a new chief wear a dress, to boot camp activities when superiors or peers try to transform a balky recruit into a trustworthy team player.† Hazing is an issue for branches of the military all over the world, including Canada, the United States, and Russia. Hazing in the Russian armed forces can be particularly harsh, considering that many first-year soldiers die at the hands of their â€Å"grandfathers,† or their superiors. In the United States, the public knew nothing about military hazing until 1956, even though it began over a century ago. Just a few short years ago, there was a scandal that rocked the military when videotapes of Marines participating in blood pinnings were released to the media. This initiation ritual involved Marines ramming gold-wing pins into the chests of fellow Marines, which sickened all those who viewed the graphic footage. Despite the many dangers that are associated with hazing, experts warn against eliminating it altogether. Sociologist Jamie Bryshun has said that â€Å"the traditions often run too deep, and nothing any coach or university administrator says or does can end them.† There is fear that if all hazing  is completely forbidden, then the organizations will just take it underground, where it may become even more dangerous. Different groups have tried to come up with alternatives to hazing, such as planning special events as a way for the members to bond with each other. The penalties for participating in hazing are on the rise. Hazing is now illegal in 41 states in the U.S.A., and many are working towards increasing that number. Under Texas law, hazing has been committed if a person engages in hazing, solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to aid another in engaging in hazing, intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly permits hazing to occur, or has firsthand knowledge that a hazing incident is being planned or has occurred and does not report their knowledge to the proper authorities. Even if the person has agreed to be a part of the hazing activity, it is still classified as hazing and charges could still be filed. Some criminal penalties include: a fine up to $1000 and/or up to 180 days in jail for failing to report hazing, a fine of $1000-$5000 and/or 180 days to one year in jail for being involved in hazing that resulted in serious bodily injury, and a fine of $5000-$10000 and/or one to two years in jail for participating in hazing that resulted in the death of someone. Despite the increase in awareness about the subject of hazing and the tougher anti-hazing laws, it is still a major problem for organizations all over the world. Even though many have died and countless others have been hospitalized, the trend of dangerous hazing has continued to grow, and it will not end until groups such as universities and the military receive a major wake up call. It is up to the leaders of the organizations to ensure that all its members are made to feel safe and no longer pressured to participate in activities that they know could endanger their lives.