“What Do the Frankfurt School Contribute to Our Understanding of Popular Culture?”

The independent institute Frankfurt School was founded by Jewish intellectuals, Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer and Herbert Macuse within a Nazi empowered Germany in 1923. After relocating to various parts of America, gaining exposure from Los Angeles and Hollywood lifestyle, the school returned. They took a great concern in the analysis of popular culture and the Culture Industry that had affected Germany in the 1940s. Although these changes reshaped a nation over 70 years ago, Frankfurt School’s interpretation of popular culture still relates to our own understanding today. The question is why, Adorno in particular, criticised this new behaviour in Germany’s society. The Enlightenment was introduced, which expressed individualism instead of tradition but ultimately led the way to modern capitalism and the culture industry. â€Å"Frankfurt School perspective is an obvious variant of Marxism. † (Strinati, 2004) Despite disagreeing with the Enlightenment, Adorno and Frankfurt School agreed on the Marxist theory. According to Dominic Strinati, to understand Frankfurt’s views â€Å"the school can be seen as trying to fill in a part of the picture of capitalism Marx did not deal with. (2004, 48) This provides a reappraisal of popular culture which Marx did not comment on, which we will acknowledge and see how far that it is understood by society today. Interestingly, the school focuses on the culture, not the economy or political aspects of society. However Adorno has also been criticised for his unclear and inaccurate analysis of the to pic, which will also be discussed and questioned upon. To begin, we will establish how Capitalism is the foundations of the development of popular culture. Capitalism is the political and economic system which is controlled by the individual, and not by state. Frankfurt School considered Capitalism as their opposition due to their left-wing beliefs. Though it is noticeable that the Frankfurt School believed Capitalism was more stable than what it really is. Adorno fails to mention that capitalism also has it’s faults and popular culture was not formed on this system alone. Despite this, it certainly aided it effectively. Adorno declares that the working class accept this system unforced is because businesses, advertisers and other consumers make the product that is being retailed more appealing. It doesn’t take much effort from the consumer to submit to these influences and purchase the product. This makes them feel better about themselves because they now own said product and are part of the majority that does. He introduces the term â€Å"commodity fetishism† which â€Å"is the basis†¦ of how cultural forms such as popular music can secure the continuing economic, political and ideological domination of capitalism. † (Strinati, 2004) He shows us that consumers in the capitalist society value money more than appreciating what was purchased. This â€Å"defines and dominates social relations† (Strinati, 2004, 50) The same is true today – many of us would much prefer to spend a colossal amount of money on an well-known brand commodity, say a new car or handbag, than an affordable and sensible priced one. This presents ourselves to others as a much wealthier individual, which essentially makes us feel better about ourselves. Adorno quotes this well â€Å"the real secret of success†¦ is the mere reflection of what one pays in the market for the product. (Strinati, 2004, 49) This superficial attitude expressed most of us can relate to today because we all live in a capitalist society and have experienced this need for a certain commodity. Therefore Frankfurt School has successfully helped us be aware of the root of popular culture. According to the Frankfurt school, â€Å"the culture industry reflects the consolidation of commodity fetishism. † (Strinati, 2004, 54) When the public are satisfied, cap italism will continue to work and therefore other political systems will be unsuccessful. It’s only when a system does not work does the mass culture look for new power. With the simplicity and effectiveness of the Culture Industry, the Working Class will remain content consuming. â€Å"It is so effective in doing this that the working class is no longer likely to pose a threat to the stability and continuity of capitalism. † (Strinati, 2004, 55) The industry successfully moulds and alters the tastes of the masses to suit the industry’s needs. However, the Frankfurt School do not consider that the notion of popular culture has any radical potential at this time. Instead, Adorno found that popular culture was ‘imposed’ on the people, and warned that they should only welcome it insofar as they do not get imposed. (Strinati, 2004, 55) Of course, this working class at the time was not going to take notice of the school’s negative response when they find something so welcoming and appealing. Perhaps Frankfurt did not appreciate how diverse and hybrid popular culture was. One way of looking at this would be to see Adorno’s criticism as a warning to us about the effects of the powerful culture industry, something the masses of 1940s would not understand. We are able to understand and relate to this because we all know from experience of this captivating affect that popular culture has on our lives. The school’s theory discusses that by capitalism and the culture industry working together produces ‘false needs’ for the masses, which means â€Å"people can be reconciled to capitalism, guaranteeing its stability and continuity. † (Strinati, 2004, 52) In the pursuit of profit, the industry will be ruthless to promote consumerism – to make consumers buy things they essentially do not need. These goods are advertised so effectively to the mass culture, they are tricked to believe that they genuinely need it. Think of the example from earlier with the expensive car or handbag. These false needs are created and sustained through advertisements in magazines, television, the media and from other consumers’ opinions. Therefore the consumer purchases the item: increasing the success of the industry and fulfilling the false need. The customer buys what they think they need, however remain unsatisfied and wants more. Strinati puts it very well: The customer is not king, as the culture industry would have us to believe, but its object. † This is a disturbing truth that needs to be dealt with, but it appears that nobody is bothered by it, so why should it be changed? The school successfully makes it clear to us how this lifestyle is influencing us so powerfully. We are aware of this feeling of ‘false needs‘ from time to time, yet we share the same attitud e as the society in the 20th century and continue in bad habit. In particular, the school criticises the culture industry’s popular music, accusing it of two processes: standardisation and pseudo-individualisation. The customer is being fooled through the use of standardisation â€Å"popular songs are becoming more alike† (Strinati, 2004, 58) Traditional music at such as Beethoven or Mozart requires an attentive listen and expression of the imagination to hear every detail that has been put into the musical piece. Meanwhile, popular music, as described by Storey: â€Å"operates in a kind of blurred dialectic: to consume it demands inattention and distraction† (2009) which means that it requires little attention – which suits perfectly for customers with busy lives, who after a stressful day prefer to listen to something which requires less concentration. Popular music is ideal here and â€Å"satisfies the craving. † The pseudo-individualisation element of the song disguises it making it appear more unique and distinctive, often by adding a catchy chorus or beat. Frankfurt School makes us aware of this process, which still is regular in many pop songs today. Adorno compares the characteristics of both music styles and criticises the simplicity of the one dimension popular music. Here it is felt that he must be condemned for criticising with a lack of evidence or experience to prove his theory. This makes it extremely difficult for us to relate to the school because they fail to relate with us. On the other hand, it could be argued that he was writing in 1941, a time were popular music would be very different to listen to. The music industry has changed drastically in the past 70 years and the sound of ‘pop’ has been reshaped too. It has to be acknowledged that despite Adorno’s criticisms of the culture industry’s popular music, it indisputably proves to us that if we reflect on the music we listen to today we will see evidence of standardisation and pseudo-individualisation used. To conclude, it must be asked why the mass culture both then and now continues to gives into the power of capitalism and the culture industry. Adorno’s idea is â€Å"that most capitalist societies live limited, impoverished and unhappy lives† (Strinati, 2004, 61) and the reason for this is the submission from the power of commodity fetishism, escape from the real world and tragically, laziness. Strinati presses that â€Å"popular culture does not necessarily hide reality from people† but that it’s realised how difficult it is to change the world from this mindset so it becomes a matter of acceptance. It is surely â€Å"killing the desire that might let us imagine a better world. † (Storey, 2009) The Frankfurt brings to us an interesting outlook of how we could change our lives and prevent the power of capitalism and the culture industry from absolute control. Bibliography Strinati, Dominic (2004) An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture London: Routedge Storey, John (2009) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction Harlow, England

A Study of Career Plateau in Education Sector Essay

If Employee’s jobs are filled with routine and boring tasks or if desired promotions are blocked in the organization, then they are likely to feel an intrinsic sense of loss and become skeptical about findings fulfillment in their careers Career plateau employees are likely to have demotivation and higher labour turnover because they want to advance their careers elsewhere in the environment Researcher find out the causes, difference of career plateau among the Admin Staffs, Support Staffs, Teaching Staffs, Technical Staffs in education sector, its effects and strategies to remove the career plateau. The Major finding of this study is that career plateau is a major contributing factor of employees dissatisfaction, organization commitment and employee turnover. Technical staffs have more career plateau. Management and other stakeholder to develop the best strategies to manage career plateau in the organization. Keywords: Career Plateau, Strategies, Employee turnover, Dissatisfa ction 1. Introduction Career plateau is not a new phenomenon, but there is a worrying situation about the rate at which it is becoming increasingly widespread in various organizations (Yama- moto, 2006; Lee, 2003). Many scholars on organizational careers’ have suggested that plateau is fast becoming a critical managerial and organizational issue which needs to be managed properly to avoid employee’s discontent (Burke and Mikkelsen, 2006; Tremblay and Roger, 2004; Tremblay et al., 1995). Career plateau is defined as the point where employees like hood of additional hierarchical promotion is very low. International Journal of Business and Management Tomorrow   Employees who have experienced career plateau would think that their employers have forsaken their careers (Lee, 2003). Career plateau has been used as antecedent to many undesirable work outcomes such as low satisfaction, high stress, poor performance and other withdrawal symptoms (Yamamoto, 2006; Lee, 2003; Choy and Savery, 1998). Career plateau has the potential to cause discomfort among the employees because lack of continued upward progression is considered as a yardstick to measure employee’s performance. Thus career plateau leads to poor performance. In any organizations upward movement in terms of promotion of employees is accompanied by increase in salary, power and status (Lee, 2003). Plateau employees are likely to have higher labour turnover because they want to advance their careers elsewhere in the environment. For many employees, the time comes when all career movement ceases. Some feel unchallenged, while others simply don’t have the motivation to move upward. It is management’s responsibility to pull the best from staff members at such times. Fortunately, this isn’t difficult when you are prepared with a game plan and a little understanding. * Definitions. Plateaued employees, one observer has written, are those who reach their promotional ceiling long before they retire. Structural plateauing occurs when opportunities for promotions end. The hierarchy in most institutions is designed like a pyramid, leaving room for only a select few at the top. Therefore, everyone eventually plateaus. The inabilit y to climb the career ladder is an emerging concern for employees in the 1990’s. With aging of the baby boom generation and shrinking of middle management positions brought about by recession, improvements in office technology, and mergers and acquisitions, there are fewer opportunities for advancements in office technology, and mergers and acquisitions, there are fewer opportunities for advancement (Weiner, Remer, & Remer, 1992). One significant vocational effect is plateauing, â€Å"a unique form of career stall† (milstein, 1990b p, 325) which can result in a feeling of malaise on the part of upwardly mobile individuals. This phenomenon is labeled plateauing because it resembles a long flat uninterrupted expanse with minimal contours and a sameness that stretches endlessly. If people’s jobs are filled with routine and boring tasks or if desired promotions are blocked, then they are likely to feel an intrinsic sense of loss and become skeptical about findings fulfillment in their careers. (Milstein, 1990a, P48) 2. Examine the causes of career plateau Examine the difference in plateauing among the various levels of staffs in education sector. Examine the effect of career plateau in the organization. Give suggestions to manage career plateau effectively to minimize employee intention to quit. 3. In the subsequent pages, an attempt is made to review the literature pertaining to career plateaus of the employees. The literature of these studies has been collected through various magazines, journal, website and other published sources. 3.1 Various types of career plateaus are being experienced by the employees in organization. According to Bardwick (1986), there are three types of career plateau which are very common in organizations and there are: Structural Plateaus:- represents occupational situations where advancement is unavailable due primarily to the pyramidal nature of organization hierarchies. Content Plateaus: – When no challenge remains in their job. Tasks have been mastered and little new or exciting remains to be learned. Life plateauing:-occurs when individuals believe they are trapped in their ongoing everyday routines, cycles, obligations, and relationships. They may lead them to have â€Å"the sense that there’s little fulfillment left in any area of life. As per Rita M. Choy, Lawson K. Savery, (1998). Organizations are under pressure to cope with factors such as resource scarcity, increased competition, slow economic growth, increased utilization of technology and an increase in acquisitions and/or mergers. All these can lead to downsizing of the workforce. Many organizations believe downsizing can reduce costs and increase competitiveness. However, flattening structures reduces the number of people needed in organizations and such practices escalate the plateauing ISSN. International Journal of Business and Management Tomorrow The present study explores the relationship between job satisfaction, organizational commitment and the plateauing phenomenon. Non-plateaued workers seem to have a better relationship with their organization and find coaching new staff more rewarding than plateauing workers. This finding is important because trainers must hold positive attitudes toward the company and this seems more likely when the person is not plateaued. Non-plateaued employees are also more likely to view the organization as encouraging job performance – another issue of importance to managers of organizations. Susir Kumar – CEO, Intelenet Global Services expresses, â€Å"In spite of all the buzz and hype progressive HRM creates, career plateau remains a regular phenomenon and a problem that HR managers across industries and organizations have to grapple with. It can be defined as reaching a level of complacency, in many cases leading to employee burnout. It is not that such employees are incompetent; however, there is a general feeling of ‘being stuck’. Such employees often harbour an illusion, that they have nothing more to achieve.† Sharing his opinion on the organizational ailment that is a stagnant employee, Aleem Merchant, director, Synapse Marketing Consultancy Pvt. Ltd says, â€Å"Employee plateauing is a disease that hampers almost every organization, big or small and today, this malady is threatening the very potential and future of the corporate world as fast as most lifestyle diseases. This too needs expert treatment and its own set of managerial medications.† In order to analyze this plague, we must dissect it to get to the root of the problem. â€Å"Plateaued employees could stem from boredom of routine work or just plain complacency. Very often, external stimulators such as excitement of new work or a hard reality session can help yank the employee out of his stupor,† reasons G Ravindran, CEO, and MD- SHRM India.   Potter, author of â€Å"Overcoming Job Burnout: How to Renewing Enthusiasm for Work†, contends that often plateauing exists in the minds of employees. â€Å"In many cases it may be an illusion.† she said. According to Potter, employees also can imagine themselves plateaued with they fail to adapt to the changing employment picture. â€Å"Sometimes the person is not blocked; they just don’t understand the rules of the game have changed.† she said. Some workers are frustrated trying to climb the corporate ladder, Potter said, unaware that the old traditional hierarchical construction no longer exists. Another cause of the illusory plateau, Potter said, is a worker who is â€Å"actually chronically depressed.† She explains that for a depressed individual, a new job acts as a â€Å"sort of self-medication,† giving the person a temporary high. However, Potter said, once that boost wears off, the employee goes back to feeling depressed and might be inclined to blame this condition on a lack of job satisfaction. â€Å"It’s another kind of unrealistic expectation.† When employees feel plateaued, Potter said, â€Å"They can start getting into this problem of burnout†Ã¢â‚¬â€a loss of motivation that can leave workers feeling helpless. She warned that burnout can lead to chronic absenteeism, anger, thievery, and substance abuse. Potter warned that any attempts at curbing burnout can be too little too late, because losing one’s motivation is akin to losing one’s spirit. â€Å"When that gets damages, it just doesn’t bounce back, † she said. Study Design and Methodology 100 samples selected from various education society of Pune by using the convenient sampling method. The following categories/Levels of employees are selected as respondents.   Teacher   Admin staffs (4.3) Professional /Technical staffs (4.4) Support staffs. 25 respondents from each category are selected from for the research. The Instrument, containing 50 items and 29 attributes, each query is ranked by the respondents according to a five point Likert scale.

Migrant workers are a blessing, not a burden to our society

Migrant workers are a blessing, not a burden to our society. In this essay I am going to consider and discuss the issue of migrant workers and whether it is true that they are a blessing or a burden to our society today. In schools today, pupils can be found from many different places all over the world. Each of which bring a different perspective to school life. Do you think that you would be able to go over to a country, not knowing much of their language and be expected to sit an exam at the end of the year? I will be stating points both for and against migrant workers. There are many reasons why migrant workers are seen as a blessing. One of these is that they do all the jobs that people today do not want to do, either because they are badly paid or even if they are perceived as stupid. With the migrants working over here, they can teach us a lot about a wide range of things. Such as learning different languages, about their culture and religion, about the types of music and food that is associated with their culture. They also influence others and help others find out more about what kind of a person they are by the way they act around migrants. The migrants come over to this country, as they believe that they will have a better chance at life and they believe that over here they can have a better life than what they could have in their own countries. â€Å"Everyone should be allowed to have a dream of a better life including the migrants who come to this country.† Migrants come over to our country in the hope of finding a better and more comfortable life than they had. The migrants do not only come over to help themselves, but they also come to help us. Migrant workers help do jobs and provide services that we use and take for granted on a daily basis. â€Å"Migrant workers have made an enormous contribution to the economy, helping employers with their recruitment and skills problems.† If they hadn't come over to here there would be many businesses that wouldn't still be opened today, as they wouldn't have the workers that they need to keep the business up and running. Yet at the same time the amount of migrant workers in this country can be a problem to many people. The amount of migrants living and working over here can intimidate some people. They may feel like an intruder in their own community, as there may only be a few people that have lived over here their whole lives in that area but yet have a handful of families from different parts of the world. â€Å"We are being overrun by migrants they are everywhere. I have lived in Belfast all my life and suddenly I am beginning to feel like an intruder in my own home.† The amount of migrants in one are can make people that have lived somewhere their whole life feel like they are out of place and should not be there. Also even if the migrants have been living here for a long period of time, people may still feel uncomfortable by them. If a large group of migrants are standing near you talking in their own language you may feel uncomfortable and intimidated as you don't know what they are saying or if they are talking about you. Even migrates that are helping us by taking on jobs which pay them maybe just minimum wage and providing services to others, can have a negative impact on others and the world. â€Å"Migrants are costing the UK à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8 billion a year through their impact on crime, housing and on our already stretched public services.† The migrants come over to the UK to get jobs and gain skills, they are helping us but yet at the same time they are taking away jobs that the people from over here should be doing. Overall I think than migrants are a good thing. As they are helping us and our society as well as giving themselves a better life. They help provide a serv1ices to us; they do the jobs we don't want to do. Yet people make them feel like outcasts and that they should leave all because they have a different skin colour or speak a different language.

Critical evaluation of the international Accounting Standard and Essay

Critical evaluation of the international Accounting Standard and Financial Reporting Standard that applied on BRITIVC plc - Essay Example investors and lenders. This report specifically aims at the critical evaluation of the key financial information provided in the financial statements of Britvic Plc. Those key items are 1) Revenues, 2) Property, Plant and Equipment, 3) Earnings per share. These key items are evaluated in the light of their relevant accounting standards as to check whether these areas are consistent with providing the useful information to the lenders and investors. The following discussion and evaluation highlights these specific areas on separate basis so that each individual key accounting area can be judged regarding the achievement of IAS and IFRS objective (IFRS and IAS Summaries- English, 2011-2012). IAS 18 covers revenue recognition for the preparation of financial statements. The major criterion for recognizing the revenues is the transfer of risks and rewards between the parties to the sales contract. Seller transfers the risks associated with the selling item in response to a reward received from the buyer. When risks and rewards are transferred to the concerned parties, the revenues are deemed to be recognized by the selling entity. As far as the disclosure requirements of IAS 18 are concerned, minimal disclosure are required such as the total revenue generated during the current period along with comparative figure of the last year (BDO, n.d.). If the financial statements of Britvic Plc. are accounted for the year 2012, it can be clearly observed from the statement of comprehensive income that the company has generated the revenues of around  £1,256 million. In the previous year, the company had upward revenues of around  £1,290 million. From the perspective of disclosure requirements, the company has provided the appropriate disclosure requirements in the statement of comprehensive income (Annual Report Britvic Plc., 2012). Besides this disclosure requirement of IAS 18, certain other requirements relating

Chinas Economy Today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chinas Economy Today - Essay Example The thesis statement must be succinctly identified and explicitly stated in the last sentence of the introductory paragraph (like for instance: The purpose of the essay is, therefore, to describe China’s economy today.) It is commendable that sub-headings were structured to clearly divide topics being discussed; To answer the question on the roles of the state and non-state sectors, the author effectively explained the specific sectors, with the provision of relevant statistics prior to identifying the roles. However, under the sub-headings, further classifications could enhance clarity of the issues being discussed (for example under Private Sector and Market Economy, there could be further classifications such as Definition of Terms, Historical Overview or Timeline, and Statistics, as appropriate); The facts and information, especially statistics were relevant and updated. The use of predominantly online sources focusing on publications and periodicals could still be improve d by searching for academic sources from peer-reviewed journals or even books. Improvement in citations and referencing could still be made by reviewing the consistency of the footnotes and numbering; as well as in providing a Reference List at the end of the essay. The contents effectively addressed the chosen questions. The essay could still be improved by citing more academic sources, reviewing the consistency of citations and referencing, and in following other formal rules in essay writing such as the use of acronyms, among others.

Political systems and economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Political systems and economics - Essay Example The society is viewed as a mesh of different people vying for different interests, that the art of reasoning, ruling and governance among the others, is essential to unify the society to act to a common vote, to pursue a certain interest. It explains how the governing political body and its directives affect the collective behavior of the players in the society Economics' parameters are set on scarcity, the use of incentives, the application of efficient economic tools and models, all to satisfy and suffice human's current and future wants and needs. Economics lies on maximizing and making sound decisions to make efficient use of existing scarce resources. Nothing in life is free, as explained by the concept of opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is the value foregone in pursuit of another activity or good of interest. Everything individuals do has a tradeoff. An individual's Economic decisions are motivated by incentives, a mechanism which motivates decisions and activities. Economics is different from political systems in the sense that, economics could go on forever without laying a hand on it to make it work; and in its continuity, it is only susceptible to its own natural dynamics. Politics now depends on the intervention and control of men. While economics seeks to explain occurrences through long-wearing principles, politics is just mainly an experimental, temporary tool in human affairs. "One (economics) is amoral, the other (politics) is moral" ("Economics versus Politics"). Both political science and economics acknowledges the participants in the society's selfish interests, that, control of which is delivered by laws and punishment in lieu of political science, and motivated by incentives and disincentives in lieu of economics. Economics, unlike political science though, is tackled like one of the exact sciences through the use of models, equations and numerical treatment to explain or forecast the situations governing and a society. ("Economics versus Politics") The book chapter is posing the challenges of the economic environment, and such may be seen as problems to solve, to outwit. QUESTION 2: Feudalism is a socio-political system wherein land and land-based assets determine an individual's social status. Land ownership entitles the owners of the manors-now equivalent to villages-exclusive rights to their lands, spending decisions with their money and other assets and administering homage for their serfs and vassals ("Feudalism and Medieval Life"). Serfs, peasants, vassals and landlords are the primary movers in the social structure and the king played only a representative role in the society. Serfs are the tenants sustained by the landowners. They are at the foot of the social structure. They serve their landowners who are responsible for their sustenance. He's devoid of tangible property and his marriage is subject to the landowner's permission ("Feudalism and Medieval Life"). Vassals are the more privileged than serfs. They have a certain amount of freedom although they live poor lives. They comprise 10-60 families living on a community. Landlords or barons ruled the manors, which pertains to the villages during the Middle Ages. The landlords serve as the local administrator of their lands and numerous serfs and vassals serve and protect him, as he is also accountable to them. Due to the Black Plague, The hundred year war and the

Music about Music as Part of Twentieth-Century Discourse Essay

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Drama, Comed, and Documentary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Drama, Comed, and Documentary - Essay Example Generally, both drama and comedy attract a larger audience when compared to documentaries. Comedy contains a lot of humor and therefore the liberals and the moderates make up the wide audience that is enjoyed. Conservatives, on the other hand, are able to relish documentaries, News and business channels and Sports. There are many similarities as well as differences between Drama, Comedy, and Documentaries. While Drama appeals to one's emotions and feelings, Comedy does not appeal to one's emotions but appeals to one's senses. If a person is not a humorous person or does not have a good sense of humor, he will not have the capacity to enjoy any type of Comedy. Drama does not have to be all that serious, neither does Comedy have to be totally hilarious. They could borrow from and lend to each other. Drama is based on people in difficult situations who try to find solutions to come out of it. It is primarily held together by emotionalism. It is supposed to look real and move the audiences emotionally. Comedy, on the other hand, is mostly hilarious and engages its audience by compelling them to interact, laugh, cry and exhibit the humorous side of their personality. In Drama, there is little or no interaction, but it makes one feel the situation that is being enacted. Drama draws its audience slowly and gradually, whereas Comedy has the capacity to grab at its audience on the spur of the moment. The centrifugal point in Drama is that it has a strong emotional knot that is slowly unraveled as the scenes proceed. Comedy could be a completely separate track all by itself and does not have to depend on other factors. In Drama, we have both Tragedy and Comedy. Tragedy goes beyond just Drama because it has heightened emotion, creates a greater impact on the audience and culminates in a catharsis.

PDCA project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PDCA project - Assignment Example Therefore, I intend to improve my non-verbal communication skills, thus become a better leader in my profession, as well as my social life. My main aim of choosing to improve this skill relates to its ability to help me build better relationships with my peers, subordinates, the patients I serve, and other stakeholders. I followed the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle to aid me in achieving my personal quality improvement goal. This involved formulating a plan of action to guide me on what I should do. I then implemented the plan, and collected data on the progress of the plan. Collecting the data enabled me to evaluate the success of my plan, hence determined the effectiveness of the plan, or need for modification (Neuhauser, Myhre, & Alemi, 2004). I intended to improve my non-verbal skills through improvement in my listening skills. This involved active listening, which meant giving my seniors, juniors, and other subordinates enough time for self-expression. This involved working on maintaining eye contact with whom I engaged. In addition, I had to work at complementing or contradicting their messages through such acts as nodding, and rolling eyes respectively (Videbeck, 2011). I was also to display acceptance through my posture whenever possible. This meant sitting beside, or across the people I interacted with, instead of behind them, which creates a physical barrier. I also planned to employ appropriate vocal cues, and avoid high pitches, which hinder effective communication. I hoped to treat at least 80% of the people I interacted with in this manner. This measure helped me to gauge my ability to communicate non-verbally, thus measure the effectiveness of my communication skills. The plan was undertaken for four consecutive weeks. During this time, the number of times that I failed to adhere to my plan were recorded on a daily basis in a daily recording sheet. The plan commenced on the 4th

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 4

Strategic management - Essay Example Henry Ford founded the company with many innovations introduced to the ways products were manufactured. One of these is the best-known model T of mass production, the moving assembly line – which is actually composed of conveyor belts – where time of work was reduced (Goh & Garg, 2008, p. 57). Ford revolutionized the car industry, paid higher wages to factory workers, and made cars affordable to anyone. (Purvis, 1997) Ford became a multinational corporation in 1970 but was predominantly operating in North America with subsidiaries in major markets in countries like Britain, Germany or Australia. These subsidiaries however have their own manufacturing plants. In Britain, the most popular Ford in the Cortina. With intense globalisation, the Ford organisation started to restructure internationally. In Europe, Ford was consolidated with further product development and designs which were originally European. Ford manufactured cars of different designs. (Grant, 2005, p. 440) In the UK, Ford is the biggest in the automobile industry with over 550 dealers across the United Kingdom and employing about 35,000 people. In its website, it says that it currently sells 440,000 vehicles annually, with Ford Focus as the car most Britons love. (Ford Motor Company, 2010) In the United States, Ford is now best known for its cars, trucks, crossovers and SUVs (Ford, 2010). In 2008, Ford was adjudged by Standard and Poor’s as the world’s second largest motor vehicle manufacturer, producing cars and trucks, including plastic and glass parts of the cars they make, and including replacement parts. Ford has a 33% stake in Mazda Motor Corp. Financial services include Ford Motor Credit (automotive financing and insurance) and American Road Insurance. Ford has a big share in the world market. It has ventured in many countries, trying to feel its presence even in China, which is the fastest growing market in the automobile

Group Development Model Essay Example for Free

Group Development Model Essay You are required to organize your company dinner. The company has chosen 20 people from various departments to be in the dinner committee. Using a group development model, discuss the stages that the group will go through from the beginning to the end of the task (organizing dinner). A group is defined as two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve specific goals. Formal groups are working groups defined by the organizational structure that have designated work assignment and task. Informal groups are groups that is independently formed to meet the social needs of their members. There are five stages in a group development model which are forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. The forming stage in which people join the group and then define the group’s purpose, structure and leadership. Team members tend to behave quite independently. The members of the team get to know one another, exchange some personal information, and make new friends. Supervisors of the team tend to need to be directive during this phase. From 20 people, I will decide who is going to be decorating sub committee, food sub committee, funding sub committee, marketing sub committee, program sub committee, and volunteer sub committee. Because of they are from different departments, they tend to know each other first before they start working. They have to determine what activities and programs are already in place and serving the needs of the community. Determine the need for the dinner and availability of resources. The next stage is storming. Storming stage characterizes by intragroup conflicts and disagreement among group members. Team members open up to each other and confront each others ideas and perspective. Normally tension, struggle and sometimes arguments occur. Supervisors of the team during this phase may be more accessible, but tend to remain directive in their guidance of decision-making and professional behavior. All the subcommittee has to set goals for the dinner. They have to know their target population and their desired objective or outcome. They have to brainstorm ideas and at this stage all ideas are good ideas. They also can explore the idea of partnership to share the workload or get mileage out of the work they do. The third stage of group development is norming stage. It is characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness. The team manages to have one goal and come to a mutual plan for the team at this stage. Some may have to give up their own ideas and agree with others in order to make the team function. In this stage, all team members take the responsibility and have the ambition to work for the success of the teams goals. The sub committee now able to find a leader among them and establish a small but effective working group with a broad range of skills that is able to function as a team. The subcommittee also has to compare the skills and abilities of the committee members against the task to be performed to determine what training is required. Besides that, they have to determine the actual fiscal resources necessary. The fourth stage of group development is performing stage when the group is fully functional and work on group tasks. The team members are now competent, autonomous and able to handle the decision-making process without supervision. Supervisors of the team during this phase are almost always participative. Even the most high-performing teams will revert to earlier stages in certain circumstances. At this stage, all sub committees implement what they plan before. They are co-operating together and help each other to succeed the dinner. Each member knows their responsibilities and tasks. The marketing subcommittee has to publicize to catch the attention of their target group and make them want to seek more information about the dinner. The program subcommittee has to make sure all needed material such as equipment is on hand and in good working order. The final stage of group development stage is adjourning stage which group members are concerned with wrapping up activities rather than task performance. This stage involves completing the task and breaking up the team.

Stop and Frisk Essay Example for Free

Stop and Frisk Essay The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects people against unreasonable searches and seizures. Modern officials have granted police officers in New York City an incentive to respect the amendment. The Stop and Frisk program employed by the New York Police Department, gives police officers the right to initiate a stop of an individual on the street allegedly and do a quick search of their outer clothes for weapons based on if the officer has a reasonable suspicion that a crime has or is about to take place and the person stopped is armed or dangerous. This reasonable suspicion is not based with specific facts but from the hunches from New York Police officers. Stop and frisk has been a New York Police Department tool for decades, but in recent years it has generated an increased amount of disapproval and debate due to the disturbing rate in communities of color, who often feel under attack and harassed by the police. Minorities make up the majority percentage of people searched in predominantly white neighborhoods, which is why I believe that either some kind of quota or limit should be implicated where only a certain percentage of people stopped can be of a specific race or from specific neighborhood, or New York City should just get rid of the program all together. In 2011 alone, 700,000 New Yorkers were pulled over for stop and frisk searches. Approximately 87 percent were Hispanic or Black and of that percentage 90 percent were deemed innocent (Huffington Post). In comparison, from 2002 to 2011 Hispanics and Blacks made up 90 percent of people stopped, and 88 percent of those stopped were innocent New Yorker (New York Civil Liberties Union). If racial profiling in this case was effective that would be one thing, but there has yet to be any published research that has proven the effectiveness of this program, which is shown in the lack of arrests produced. Violent crimes in New York have decreased by 29 percent between 2001 and 2010; however, other major cities, such as Los Angeles and New Orleans, have experience larger declines without the use of stop and frisk (New York Civil Liberties Union). This is a clear example of why this program; that causes more harm than good, should be abolished. Every American citizen has the constitutional right from unreasonable search and seizure. This epidemic affects too many people for it to be ignored any longer. My own brother and his peers faced being stopped and frisked just because of they were African Americans in a predominantly white neighborhood. Neither my brother nor his peers were a threat, possessed a weapon, or had a criminal record of any kind. Under the stop and frisk exception, the police can stop you on the street and pat you down for anything illegal as long as they have suspicion. Don’t wait until you are personally affected by this unconstitutional procedure before you take a stand against it.

Effects of Drowning on the Body

Effects of Drowning on the Body According to the new definition adopted by the WHO in 2002, Drowning is the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in liquid. Drowning is defined as death from asphyxia that occurs within the first 24 hours of submersion in water. Near drowning refers to survival that lasts beyond 24 hours after a submersion episode. Hence, it connotes an immersion episode of sufficient severity to warrant medical attention that may lead to morbidity and death. Drowning is, by definition, fatal, but near drowning may also be fatal. (2) Drowning is the seventh leading cause of accidental death in the United States. Though the exact incidence in India can only be a crude estimate, one keeps coming across incidences of drowning fatalities. Many boating accidents lead to fatalities, possibly due to concomitant accidental injuries or trapping in submerged boat. Motor vehicle accidents with a fall in streams or ponds are also being reported with similar settings. Drowning can also occur in scuba divers but may be associated with cardiac event or arterial gas embolism. Other possibilities to be kept in mind include hypothermia, contaminated breathing gas, oxygen induced seizures. Even community swimming pool and home bathtubs and buckets are known to be adequate for young children to drown accidentally. Majority of such events are due to unsupervised swimming, esp in shallow pools or pools with inadequate safety measures. One look for features of closed head injury or occult neck fractures while management of such cases. Intentional hyperventilation before breath-hold diving is associated with drowning episodes.(3) Weak swimmers attempting to rescue other persons may themselves be at risk of drowning. Males are more likely than females to be involved in submersion injuries. This is consistent with increased risk-taking behavior in boys, especially in adolescence.(4) CAUSES OF DROWNING Alcohol consumption, which impairs coordination and judgement Failure to observe water safety rules e.g. having no life preserver or unsupervised swimming. Sustaining a head and neck injury while involved with a water sport Boating accidents Fatigue or exhaustion, muscle and stomach cramps Diving accidents including scuba diving Medical event while in the water e.g. seizure, stroke, and heart attack Suicide attempt Illicit drug use Incapacitating marine animal bite or sting Entanglement in underwater growth Drowning and near-drowning events must be thought of as primary versus secondary events. Secondary causes of drowning include seizures, head or spine trauma, cardiac arrhythmias, hypothermia, syncope, apnea, and hypoglycemia. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY Drowning occurs when a person is submerged in water. The principal physiologic consequences of immersion injury are prolonged hypoxemia and acidosis, as a result of immersion in any fluid medium. The most important contribution to morbidity and mortality resulting from near drowning is hypoxemia and its consequent metabolic effects. Immersion may produce panic with its respiratory responses or may produce breath holding in the individual. Beyond the breakpoint for breath-hold, the victim reflexly attempts to breathe and aspirates water. Asphyxia leads to relaxation of the airway, which permits the lungs to take in water in many individuals (wet drowning). Approximately 10-15% of individuals develop water-induced spasm of the air passage, laryngospasm, which is maintained until cardiac arrest occurs and inspiratory efforts have ceased. These victims do not aspirate any appreciable fluid (dry drowning). It is still controversial whether such a drowning occurs or not.(5) Wet drowning is caused by inhaling large amounts of water into the lungs. Wet drowning in fresh water differs from salt water drowning in terms of the mechanism for causing suffocation. However, in both cases water inhalation leads to damage to the lungs and interfere with the bodys ability to exchange gases. If fresh water is inhaled, it passes from the lungs to the bloodstream and destroys red blood cells. If salt water is inhaled, the salt causes fluid from the body to enter the lung tissue displacing the air. The pathophysiology of near drowning is intimately related to the multiorgan effects secondary to hypoxemia and ischemic acidosis. Depending upon the degree of hypoxemia and resultant acidosis, the person may develop cardiac arrest and central nervous system (CNS) ischemia.CNS damage may occur because of hypoxemia sustained during the drowning episode per se or may occur secondarily because of pulmonary damage and subsequent hypoxemia. Additional CNS insult may result from concomitant head or spinal cord injury. Although differences observed between freshwater and saltwater aspirations in electrolyte and fluid imbalances are frequently discussed, they rarely of clinical significance for people experiencing near drowning. Most patients aspirate less than 4 ml/kg of fluid. 11 ml/kg is required for alterations in blood volume, and more than 22 ml/kg of aspiration is required before significant electrolyte changes develop. Regardless, most patients are hypovolemic at presentation because of increased capillary permeability from hypoxia resulting in losses of fluid from the intravascular compartment. Hyponatremia may develop from swallowing large amounts of fresh water. The temperature of the water, not the patient, determines whether the submersion is categorized as a cold or warm drowning. Warm-water drowning occurs at a temperature greater than or equal to 20Â °C, cold-water drowning occurs in water temperatures less than 20Â °C, and very cold-water drowning refers to temperatures less than or equal to 5Â °C. Hypothermia reduces the persons ability to respond to immersion, finally leading to helplessness or unconsciousness. Pulmonary Effects Aspiration of only 1-3 ml/kg of fluid can result in significantly impaired gas exchange. Fresh water moves rapidly across the alveolar-capillary membrane into the microcirculation. It causes disruption of alveolar surfactant, producing alveolar instability, atelectasis, and decreased compliance with marked ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) mismatching. As much as 75% of blood flow may circulate through hypoventilated lungs which acts as a shunt. Salt water, which is hyperosmolar, increases the osmotic gradient, and therefore draws fluid into the alveoli. Surfactant washout occurs, and protein-rich fluid exudates rapidly into the alveoli and pulmonary interstitium. Compliance is reduced, alveolar-capillary basement membrane is damaged directly, and shunt occurs. This results in rapid induction of serious hypoxia. Both mechanisms cause pronounced injury to the alveoli/capillary unit resulting in pulmonary edema. Fluid-induced bronchospasm also may contribute to hypoxia. Increased airway resistance secondary to plugging of the patients airway with debris (vomitus, sand, silt, diatoms, or algae), as well as release of inflammatory mediators, result in vasoconstriction and reactive exudation, which impairs gas exchange. A high risk of death exists secondary to the development of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which has been termed postimmersion syndrome or secondary drowning. Late effects include pneumonia, abscess formation, and inflammatory damage to alveolar capillary membranes. Postobstructive pulmonary edema following laryngeal spasm and hypoxic neuronal injury with resultant neurogenic pulmonary edema also may play roles. Cardiovascular Effects Hypovolemia is secondary to fluid losses from increased capillary permeability. Profound hypotension may occur during and after the initial resuscitation period. Ischemic metabolic acidosis due to lactic acid accumulation impairs cardiac function. This may often be a large component especially when the victim struggles violently trying to save himself. In addition, hypoxemia may directly damage the myocardium. Myocardial dysfunction result from ventricular dysrhythmias and asystole, decreasing cardiac output. Pulmonary hypertension may result from the release of pulmonary inflammatory mediators, which increase the right ventricular afterload, thus decreasing contractility. CNS Effects If hypoxemia and decreased cardiac output persists long enough, anoxic brain damage can ensue. Improvement in the management of pulmonary dysfunction caused by near drowning has left CNS injury the major determinant of subsequent survival and long-term morbidity. Hypothermia Thermal conduction of water is 25-30 times that of air. The temperature of thermally neutral water, in which a nude individuals heat production balances heat loss, is 33Â °C. Physical exertion increases heat loss secondary to convection/conduction. A significant risk of hypothermia usually develops in water temperatures less than 25Â °C. Other Effects The clinical course may be complicated by multiple organ failure resulting from prolonged hypoxia. Disseminated intravascular coagulation, hepatic and renal insufficiency, metabolic acidosis, and gastrointestinal injuries must be considered and appropriately managed. CLINICAL FEATURES (6) History All aspects leading to the submersion episode should be determined. Most patients are found after having been submerged in water for an unobserved period. Rarely does a patient present with the classic story of a novice swimmer stranded in water, frantically struggling and flapping arms in desperation. It is important to extract certain relevant factors in the beginning of resuscitative efforts, which include submersion time, associated trauma (especially cervical spine and head), drug or alcohol ingestion, type of water, degree of water contamination, water temperature, and response to initial resuscitation maneuvers. Pertinent past medical history must be obtained to look for secondary causes of drowning, particularly trauma, seizures, cardiac disease, syncope, exhaustion, alcohol and drug use, hypothermia, diabetes mellitus, psychiatric history with suicidal tendencies or panic disorder, poor neuromuscular control such as severe arthritis or neuromuscular disorder. Physical Examination The clinical presentation of people who experience submersion injuries varies greatly. A victim of a submersion incident may be classified initially into one of the following four groups: a) Asymptomatic b) Symptomatic, manifesting with: Altered vital signs (eg, hypothermia, tachycardia, bradycardia) Anxious appearance Tachypnea, dyspnea, or hypoxia Metabolic acidosis (may exist in asymptomatic patients as well) Altered level of consciousness, neurologic deficit. Vomiting. c) Cardiopulmonary arrest, manifesting as: Apnea Asystole, ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, bradycardia Immersion syndrome d) Obviously dead, as noted by: Normothermic with asystole Apnea No apparent CNS function Rigor mortis Dependent lividity The following clinical conditions need to be excluded Spinal Cord Injuries Head trauma Cardiac Arrhythmias Seizures Laboratory workup An electrocardiogram is indicated if there is evidence of significant tachycardia, bradycardia, or dysrhythmia or risk of underlying cardiac disease. Arterial blood gas analysis is probably the most reliable clinical parameter in patients who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. A surprising degree of hypoxia can exist without clinical signs. Draw blood for serum glucose levels, complete blood cell count, serum electrolyte levels, liver enzymes, lactate level, and coagulation profile, if indicated. Continuous pulse oximetry and cardiorespiratory monitoring may be needed. Chest radiography should be done for evidence of aspiration, pulmonary edema, or segmental atelectasis suggesting foreign body aspiration. Acute renal impairment is known to occur frequently in near drowning, and while usually mild, severe renal impairment requiring dialysis may occur. If initial tests show elevated serum creatinine, marked metabolic acidosis, abnormal urinalysis, or significant lymphocytosis, serial estimations of serum creatinine should be performed. Cervical spine radiograph or computerized tomography (CT) scanning is helpful in individuals with history of trauma, neck pain, or if doubt exists about the circumstances surrounding the submersion injury. Non contrast head CT scanning is helpful in an individual with altered mental status and a suggestive or unclear history of head trauma. Treatment Pre Hospital Care Optimal pre-hospital care is the most significant determinant of outcome in the management of immersion victims. The patient should be removed from water at the earliest opportunity. If spinal trauma is suspected the individual should be moved the least amount possible, with attention to cervical spine stabilization. The primary aims of treatment of the near drowning cases should be in the order of priority, as below.(7) Effective immediate relief of hypoxia. Restoration of cardiovascular stability. Prevention of heat loss. Speedy evacuation to hospital. As in any rescue initiative, initial treatment should be geared toward ensuring patency of the airway, breathing, and circulation. Initiate rescue breathing immediately, if feasible even while the patient is still in the water. Chest compressions are not effective in the water and waste valuable time. The Heimlich maneuver has not been shown to be effective in removing aspirated water. In the patient with an altered mental status, the airway should be checked for foreign material and vomitus and debris visible in the oropharynx should be removed with a finger-sweep maneuver. Higher pressures may be required for ventilation because of the poor compliance resulting from pulmonary edema. Supplemental 100% oxygen by mask should be administered as soon as available. The degree of hypoxemia may be difficult to determine on clinical observation. Begin rewarming; wet clothing is ideally removed before the victim is wrapped in warming blankets. Hospital Care (7-9) Even those victims who appear normal on arrival at hospital can deteriorate rapidly. An accurate and rapid initial assessment of the victim is essentialInitial management of near drowning should place emphasis on basic life support algorithms and on immediate resuscitation and treatment of respiratory failure, with establishment of an adequate airway and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary. Associated injuries must be considered, as in any other form of accidental injury. Consider potential spinal injuries, especially in diving accidents. The need for hospitalization is determined on clinical evaluation. Provide all victims of a submersion injury with supplemental oxygen during their evaluations. Noninvasive continuous pulse oximetry is valuable. Patients with completely normal findings on examination and trivial history may be discharged after a 6-hour observational period. Admit any patient with respiratory symptoms, altered oxygenation by pulse oximetry or blood gas analysis, or altered mental status. The most critical role in management is prompt correction of hypoxemia and acidosis. Immediate use of supplemental oxygen with laryngeal mask or other devices achieving high fractional inspired oxygen should be instituted. Consider intubation and mechanical ventilation in any patient with poor respiratory effort, altered sensorium, severe hypoxemia, severe acidosis, significant respiratory distress, if a patient is unable to maintain a PaO2 of greater than 60-70 mm Hg (>80 mm Hg in children) on 100% oxygen by face mask or PaCO2 is > 45 mm Hg. Endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation may be indicated in awake individuals unable to maintain adequate oxygenation on oxygen, by mask or via continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or in whom airway protection is warranted. Intubated victims of submersion injury may require 5-10cm H2O PEEP may improve oxygenationpositive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) with mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate oxygenation. PEEP has been shown to improve ventilation patterns in the noncompliant lung in several ways, including 1) shifting interstitial pulmonary water into the capillaries, 2) increasing lung volume via prevention of expiratory airway collapse, 3] providing better alveolar ventilation and decreasing capillary blood flow, and 4) increasing the diameter of both small and large airways to improve distribution of ventilation. Pulmonary insufficiency due to drowning may warrant use of surfactant, though its efficacy to be used routinely in all cases has not been demonstrated. Bronchoscopy may be necessary for removal of significant inhaled foreign bodies, such as water debris or aspirated food Intravascular volume depletion is common, secondary to pulmonary edema and intracompartmental fluid shifts, regardless of the type of fluid aspirated. Rapid volume expansion may be indicated using isotonic saline. Ventricular dysrhythmias (typically, ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation), bradycardia, and asystole may occur as a result of acidosis and hypoxemia, rather than due to electrolyte imbalances. Inotropic support may be required using dopamine or dobutamine. Central venous pressure monitoring may be warranted. Most acidosis is restored after correction of volume depletion and oxygenation. Sodium bicarbonate may be administered in cases of severe acidosis that do not correct using the above measures, but only administer it after adequate ventilation has been established. Most immersion victims become hypothermic gradually and are at risk for ventricular fibrillation and neurologic injury. Re-warming method is dependent on the degree of hypothermia and the patients response. Aggressively rewarm hypothermic patients to restore normal body temperature. Core rewarming with warmed oxygen, continuous bladder lavage with fluid at 40Â °C, and intravenous infusion of isotonic fluids at 40Â °C should be initiated during resuscitation. Warm peritoneal lavage may be required for core rewarming in severely hypothermic patients. Place a nasogastric tube for removal of swallowed water and debris and to assist in rewarming efforts. Urinary catheterization for ongoing urine output measurement may be warranted to assess urine output. The benefits of resuscitative efforts should be continuously reassessed in such situations. Initiate appropriate treatment of hypoglycemia and other electrolyte imbalances, seizures, bronchospasm, cold-induced bronchorrhea, dysrhythmias and hypotension as necessary. Corticosteroids have been shown to be of no benefit in the management of near drowning. Routine antibiotic prophylaxis is not indicated unless the patient was submerged in grossly contaminated water or sewage. Patient disposal depends on the history, presence of associated injuries, and degree of immersion injury. Victims, who only have mild symptoms that improve during observation and have no abnormalities on arterial blood gas studies or pulse oximetry and chest radiograph, should be observed for a more prolonged period of time in the emergency department (about 6 hours). Certain patients may display mild to moderately severe hypoxemia that is corrected easily with oxygen. Admit these patients to the hospital for observation and discharge only after resolution of hypoxemia, if they have no further complications. All patients requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation should be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Varying degrees of neurologic as well as pulmonary insults typically complicate their courses. COMPLICATIONS Immediate complications are secondary to hypoxia and acidosis. The immediate threat is the effect on the cardiovascular system. Hypoxia and acidosis may lead to cardiac dysrhythmias, including ventricular fibrillation and asystole. Myocardial damage may lead to cardiogenic shock. Monitor and maintain intravascular volume and blood pressure. Central venous pressure (CVP) monitoring is useful in those patients requiring intensive care. Aspiration of fresh or salt water alters the function of surfactant, causing injury to the alveoli and pulmonary capillaries. Increased capillary permeability can worsen the hypoxia. Continuous pulse oximetry is useful. The early use of supplemental oxygen with high levels of positive end-expiratory pressure is helpful in reversing hypoxemia. Central nervous system effects depend on the severity and duration of hypoxia. Post hypoxic cerebral hypo perfusion may occur. Cerebral edema and intracranial hypertension secondary to hypoxic neuronal injury is frequently observed, but studies have shown that invasive monitoring of intracranial pressure is neither useful nor necessary in near-drowning incidents. Near-drowning patients frequently develop pneumonia, often due to secondary bacterial infections. Whether prophylactic antibiotics are beneficial is still controversial. Chemical pneumonitis also is not infrequent, especially if the submersion occurs in chlorinated or severely contaminated pools. PROGNOSIS The most significant impact on morbidity and mortality occurs before the patient arrives at the hospital. The prognosis is related directly to the duration and magnitude of hypoxia. Poor survival is associated with the need for continued cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts on arrival to the hospital. Many survivors have long-term neurologic sequelae. If they recover from the pulmonary effects of the submersion, patients who are fully awake on arrival to the hospital generally do very well. Neuro-protective effects only seem to occur if the hypothermia occurs at the time of submersion and only with very rapid cooling in water less than 5Â °C. PREVENTION In most instances, drowning and near drowning can be prevented with simple safety measures and common sense. Most young children enter a swimming pool directly adjacent to their home or one with inadequate fencing or unlatched gates or doors. Adult supervision is essential in the prevention of drowning. Because lapses of supervision are inevitable, other safety precautions must be in place. The use of adequate fencing around swimming pools decreases the number of immersion injuries significantly. The enclosure may be a wall or fence at least 4 feet tall that completely surrounds a pool on all four sides. Doors and gates to the pool should be self-closing and self-latching. The use of personal flotation devices may reduce the incidence of drowning among children when playing in natural bodies of water or when boating. Pool owners should be trained on basic life support. Both children and adults should be instructed to never swim alone or unsupervised. Alcohol and drugs should not be used when operating or riding in motorized watercraft.

A Window Into Adults WithAttention-Deficit Hyper-Activity Disorder Essa

Much of the awareness associated with Attention-Deficit Hyper-Activity Disorder (ADHD), has been linked to children and adolescents. The problem with that belief is that there’s an ever-growing population of adults who have been diagnosed with the disorder and live with it day by day. The process of living with the disability, getting diagnosed and receiving treatment, is an interesting one that has begun to rapidly get attention over the past few years. The impact of this disorder can range anywhere from a mild distress to a problem that spreads into all aspects of an adults life. One of the main components to an adult living with ADHD is the work related one. Adults with the disability have a much higher probability of getting fired or quitting their job without putting any rational thought into it. Research by Weisler and Goodman (2008) suggests that adults with ADHD have a much harder time maintaining a job because of their constant impulsive behavior. The relationship between them and their supervisors can also be affected, the reason being that they have trouble meeting a deadline or constantly procrastinate on an assignment given to them (Stein, 2008). Research has revealed that they had a higher rate of divorce and separation (Weisler & Goodman, 2008). Adults with ADHD have a strong tendency to delay gratification and not be able to think of the consequences to their actions. They usually get frustrated sitting through meet ings and listening to others, this is one of the biggest roadblocks when it comes to them maintaining a job (Patton, 2009). An undiagnosed adult with ADHD can take the disability and adapt to it, never knowing that they actually might have it at all. They might never seek to attend college after hig... ...them up weeks before they were due. I would study for exams weeks ahead of time. To my surprise I started to do really well in school, I transferred over to SUNY Old Westbury and currently hold a 3.93 GPA. I went from being a C student, to an A student. Regardless whether I have ADHD or not, it does not make a difference to me. I found a way to succeed in school, by attempting something outside of the norm. I built my own methods and procedures for a path to success. I do believe that many college students go undiagnosed for years, sadly many of them drop out and never come back. The educational aspect of ADHD is one of great importance, that itself will lead to more adults connecting daily problems to a specific reason. Its not that they are lazy or incapable of doing the tasks at hand, the problem is that they do not understand the reason behind that obstacles.

How the Treaty of Versailles Effected Germany :: World War I History

How the Treaty of Versailles Effected Germany When World War I ended on November 11, 1918, peace talks went on for months due to the Allied leaders wanting to punish the enemy and "dividing the spoils of war." A formal agreement to end the war was made and called the Treaty of Versailles. The issue that took the most time were the territorial issues because the empires of Russia, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman, and Germany had collapsed. These fallen empires had to be divided up and America's President Woodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau of France, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, and David Lloyd George of Great Britain, were the main deciders of this deal. During 1918, Russia was knocked out of the war due to military defeats and the Bolshevik Revolution. Even though Russia had not been part of the Central Powers, Germany seized much of western Russia. After many months of arguing, the four men had made western Russia into the nations of Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland. The Treaty of Versailles was either a treaty of peace or a vengeance for the Germans. In April of 1919, Germany was previously captured and made to wait in a small house that was surrounded with barbed wire. The Allied, who captured Germany, wanted to make a peace treaty to end the fighting. The Germans agreed, but they wanted a treaty that was based on the Fourteen Points but obviously they were not going to get it because of the way they were treated; the barbed wire was unnecessary and "should have tipped them off to what lay ahead." When the treaty was first introduced to the Germans, they declined to sign it. It forced the Germans to accept full responsibility for the war and strip themselves of its colonies, coal fields, and the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. It also made them pay outrageous reparations to the Allies. Nevertheless, on June 28, 1919, the Germans reluctantly signed the treaty because the Allies refused to change one word. Out of the $33 billion dollars the Germans had to pay for damages, the country was only able to pay $4.5 billion of it. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles helped set the stage for another world war less than 20 years later because the Allied wanted to stop Germany from ever becoming imperialistic again and still have them pay the war reparations.

The Causes of Ophelias Breakdown Essay -- English Literature Essays

The Causes of Ophelia's Breakdown The play Hamlet is known for its eccentric plot and warped sense of reality as well as its fanatical characters. Hamlet himself created all the drama in the play with his pretend â€Å"madness† and his emotional outbursts, which lead to the destruction of almost all of the characters in the play. The most notable self destruction came from Ophelia, Hamlet’s object of affection. During the play, Ophelia had undergone a lot of stress which lead her character to metamorphous. At the beginning of the play, Laertes spoke to his sweet, loving sister Ophelia about his departure of Denmark to go to England and also his concerns of she and Hamlet’s relationship. He warned her of what he thought Hamlet's true intentions were. â€Å"If with too credent ear you list his songs Or lose your heart or your chaste treasure open To his unmastered opportunity. Fear it, Ophelia; my dear sister.â€Å" (I.iii.34-37) He believed that Hamlet was only with her out of lust and Hamlet said that he wanted to marry her only so she would sleep with him. Laertes told her that Hamlet comes from a royal family and she does not, therefore Hamlet will not marry her, nor does he love her. Ophelia disregarded most of what Laertes had said about Hamlet. Right after that Polonius came to speak to Laertes before he had gone to England. They spoke briefly and Polonius gave him advice to follow. Before saying farewell, Laertes told Ophelia to remember what he had said. Curious of...

Family and Different Types Essay

Criteria E2 Collate information about how care for children may be provided within families and society. For this section you need to gather and present information on the many ways children are cared for by families and society. Remember to collate information in the form of screen dumps, images, leaflets and other relevant documents with written descriptions and appropriate referencing. You could use a spider diagram to illustrate the different settings as a visual introduction. Family In your assignment consider these questions Why are parents and primary carers of children important? What are the different types of parenting styles? (authoritarian, Permissive and authoratitive) What do we mean about good enough parenting? What are the different types of family structures? Class tasks 1. Read pages 328/9 in Tassoni, P. et al (2007) Child care and education and write notes on the different types of family structure. 2. View this you tube video on Diana Baumrind’s theory of parenting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW09WECYlbI 3. Read and make brief notes on this BMj article on â€Å"Good enough parenting† http://adc.bmj.com/content/78/4/293.full 4. View this Website and record some relevant â€Å"Statistic on the family† http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/family-demography/families-and-households/2011/stb-families-households.html Society Children are cared for by many different settings. Consider the following headings to provide a structure to your writing. Write an introduction to each heading and provide a range of descriptions in each type of setting. Statutory – nursery, primary, secondary schools; children centres; hospitals; special needs schools; residential care; foster care; adoption services Private – Crà ¨che; child minder; nursery school; Voluntary – holiday play schemes; play groups; respite care services Independent settings – private schools and kindergartens Class task: E3 include evidence which compares the different roles of statutory private, voluntary and independent settings As well as your explanation of the different types of services, it might be useful to consider a chart to compare the services offered. Complete the chart by investigating the differences and similarities of the sector and give examples in each section.

Misplaced Affections: Discharge for Sexual Harassment Essay

Sexual harassment has become a major concern for every kind of business. In this case the business is a school district. Every employer must take the issue of sexual harassment seriously but in my opinion, this case could have been handled differently. While it is true that in comparison to the EEOC’s definition of sexual harassment, as well as the actions of the parties involved, there does seem to be enough to file a sexual harassment claim. However, the eventual action that was taken not only by the school district but also by Gilbury seems a bit extreme when other options were available. The EEOC defines sexual harassment as â€Å"unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature in the working environment†¦ has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with job performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.†1 In this case it is definitely true that Lewiston was making romantic advances towards Gilbury and that the advances were unwanted. Gilbury made it immediately and abundantly clear that she wanted to keep the relationship on a working and friendship level. Unfortunately Lewiston seemed a little slow to get the message. Whether or not Lewiston made an actual sexual advance is irrelevant. After the first letter on June 7, 2008 Lewiston’s intent was clear, he wanted a romantic relationship with Gilbury. Although Lewiston did not make an openly sexual advance, he did, on June 8, 2008, approach Gilbury in the parking lot and proceeded to touch her. As Justice Antonin Scalia said in the case of Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, â€Å"What matters is the conduct at issue, not the sex of the people involved and the presence or absence of sexual desire, whether heterosexual or homosexual.†2 Of course this case determined that sexual harassment wasn’t defined by homosexual or heterosexual, but there is an important guideline for all sexual harassment cases. That guideline is that the conduct should be the issue, not necessarily the actual intent. Lewiston may not have intended the pat on Gillbury’s shoulder to be anything but a friendly gesture, but given the nature of what had transpired previously and that Lewiston was meeting  Gilbury in the parking lot, Gilbury was reasonable in being frightened. However, the events of the discipline and dismissal seem a bit extreme. Up until that point Lewiston had been a senior employee with an excellent work record. The major events that took place happened within four days and ended with Gilbury obtaining an injunction and filing a complaint with the EEOC. Gilbury did not address the situation with her supervisor nor did she give the school management an opportunity to deal with Lewiston’s actions. Had she given this avenue a chance, Lewiston might have gotten the message and resumed his normal and professional behavior. It would also have given Lewiston a chance to ask to be reassigned to another school if he felt he could not maintain a level of professionalism. Termination of a long time employee should be a last resort whenever possible. This case is a perfect example of why a business needs to have a comprehensive sexual harassment policy which includes a formal complaint procedure. Given training in sexual harassment policy and complaint procedures Lewiston would have been more aware of inappropriate behavior and Gilbury would have had a formal channel to go through upon feeling threatened. Had that been the case the end result could have ended more positively for all the parties involved. References 1. EEOC Guidelines on Discrimination, Sec. 1605.11(a). 2. Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. 72 PED 45, 175; WL 88039 (U.S. 1998)

An Analysis of the Stubbies Advertisement by Coca-Cola Essay

The 2005 ‘Stubbies† advertisement by Coke-Cola owned soft drink company Lemon and Paeroa (L&P) is constructed in such manner to produce ‘New Zealand’ within it text. The advertisement has been produced with particular attention and reference to New Zealand and New Zealanders, subjugating a sense of nationalism among viewers. This essay analyses and explains how L&P creates and fosters a sense of national identity among viewers through elements of; nationalism, banal nationalism, and symbolism. The 1970s styled advertisement for L&P was created by the production company Sliversceen Auckland. The storyline shows a formally dressed suited male entering a tailor shop and becoming acquainted with the casual clothing item of ‘stubbies’ shorts (Vist4ads 2005). These are an iconic clothing item associated with rural New Zealand and are coupled with values such as practicality and comfort. A range of men are then shown in variety of situations depicting the versatility of the stubbies shorts. Although a great deal of focus is given to the stubbies shorts, the item being advertised is the soft drink L&P. It is drunk throughout the commercial, and the advertisement suggests that both stubbies shorts and L&P are essential items of iconic ‘kiwi’ culture. This is reinforced through catchphrase ‘You were there and so was L&P.’ The use of personal pro-noun ‘You’ connects and involves the audience with advertisement through the nationalistic branding technique of ‘co-creation (ZALA VOLCIC and MARK ANDREJEVIC 2011).’The reliance as brand placed upon consumers to build and disseminate the brands identity. The brand L&P has constructed their advertisement in a particular way which leaves a reliance on consumers to reflect, build and distribute brand identity of being an iconic ‘kiwi’ favourite soft drink through dra wing on their proud heritage and positive pastimes which make up New Zealand identity and culture. The consciousness of a space as a nation requires a level of imagination: a sense of people affiliating to the same state who negotiate and construct meanings. The definition of a nation requires a construction of representation of an image (Bell 1996). L&P strives to be an iconic image which in turn encapsulates the embodiment of what it means to part of the nation of New Zealand. Media scholar Claudia Bell states that the building of a nation is not all natural, rather facilitated through socialisation mechanisms that guide us a citizens (Bell 1996). The advertisement aims to guide viewers to reflect on time when men wore ‘stubbies’ and ‘everyone just left their keys in the car anyway’. The portrayal by L&P of these events is suggestive that these were ‘the good times’ for New Zealanders. The viewing population of New Zealand absorbs these values, reflections and associations with L&P as assumptions of identity, which are unconscious taken on board. The connective association with L&P and New Zealand national identity is an is an implicit marketing tool by Cola-Cola in order the present L&P as New Ze aland’s drink of choice and a natural feature of a nation as summarized through the slogan â€Å"world famous in New Zealand since ages ago.† This reminds the viewer that a nation can only be formed through history which makes us unique as a nation. Production and construction of ‘New Zealand’ in the advertisement occurs through the advertising construction and production of banal nationalism. Banal nationalism is a concept founded by Michael billig which argues that the consistent reference to the everyday representations of the nation conceptually forms expressions of nationalism such as forming an imagined sense of national solidarity and belonging among those united in a national sense. Billing claims that everyday expressions of nationalism can be as important and reactivate as the representational flag-waving of nations. (PRIDEAUX 2009) Banal nationalism is repeated throughout the L&P advertisement in a variety of ways. Firstly the sense of implied unity through the advertisements plotlines desires to be ‘our’ story and a snapshot of everyday New Zealand in the summer time of the 1970s. This is achieved through the voice-over language and popular expressions throughput the advertisement such as the colloquiums â€Å"back in the day† and ‘Kiwi’s.’ The casualness of the phrases projects a sense of understanding and unity among the New Zealand audience. The L&P drinking New Zealanders shown the advertisement embody characters which are portrayed as typical ‘Kiwis’ in 1970s such as the small Maori boy with a large afro hairstyle posed next to his bike and the characteristic rural New Zealand bloke complete with singlet, jandals, and a mullet. Banal nationalism also occurs through the advertisement portrayal of typical New Zealand scenes which are familiar with such as the dairy, the rural country side, and a summer barbeque. These are relatable settings to almost any New Zealander and enables personal reflection. The symbols of banal nationalism symbols are most effective because of their constant repetition, and almost subliminal nature, therefore a very powerful marketing and advertising tool. The production of ‘New Zealand’ occurs in the L&P advertisement through the placement of a range of symbols which are an attempt to reference and embody New Zealand as a nation. The repeated image of the kiwi bird along the window in scene when a stubbies clad male is impressing a pretty girl is not a coincidence. The kiwi bird is the product of New Zealand and being used to repeatedly remind viewers of their place in the nation, a process Michael billing describes as being ‘flagged,’ a term coined by nations overuse flying nation flags. The kiwi is iconic since the bird is native to New Zealand. The advertisement also couples the kiwi with other iconic symbols associated with New Zealand and national pride such jandals, and the act of a large summer barbeque which are symbolic of deeper meanings to the New Zealander such as relaxation and family. New Zealand indigenous symbols such as the kiwi bird that are distinctively New Zealand are particular important in the production of nationalism within advertisement simply as they are not British. Historically New Zealand derived symbols of national identity from the motherland such as Britannia (Bell 1996). The kiwi build nationality as it is naturally occurring and guides New Zealanders as citizens. Symbols are closely interlinked with national identity as they draw associations among viewers. The production of national symbols like the kiwi into this advertisement that is selling bottled soft drink is not random, rather an attempt to associate the idealised images associated with the symbol and merge with the marketed product o f L&P. The advertisers wish to make L&P symbolic and iconic and to naturally compel viewers to place L&P into their symbolic category of what embodies New Zealand as a nation and what it is to be a New Zealander. New Zealand is multicultural nation and this has been understood by the advertiser by portraying a range of different New Zealander within the thirty second video clip. This is most effectively portrayed in the end scene of summer barbeque. The barbeque is made up both Pakeha and Maori attendees who seen chatting, relaxing, and drinking L&P. The use of people who literally look like they are New Zealanders localises the advertisement for effective absorption of values. Although New Zealand has many cultural issues such as regular Treaty of Waitangi disputes, these are brushed aside and New Zealand mixed culture is produced and perceived as positive. Although L&P is part of a global multinational company Coke-Cola this is ignored and the advertisement is produced with a distinct New Zealand feel leading consumers to believe the drink is of local origin, in particular the small town of Paeora which the drink shares its name. The advertiser claim ‘world famous in New Zealand’ also slants towards the projection the soft drink is locally produced and therefore competes on a level international soft drinks cannot. (Bell 1996). A key component of nationalism is an understanding of history and the intermingled of both of New Zealand major ethnic races pays homage to New Zealand colonial past and assimilating cultures. L&P understands that the world is rapidly changing and globalisation is rapidly expanding and increasing the dominance of transnational marketplace therefore produced affirmation of ‘New Zealand† and nationalism with their stubbies advertisement to showcase and assert distinctiveness of the nation’s unique local, regional, and national identity (Bell 1996). â€Å"Any nation’s existence relies on some sense of loyalty to that nation, on patriotic sentiment, on awareness of nationalism. A sense of shared purpose, a pride in a place, acknowledgment of national success. All these combine in a sense of belonging (Bell 1996)†. Michael Billing noted that Billing noted that every day we are reminded that we belong to a nation through routine occurrences including using passports, the language of political speakers, the media and academia (Billing 1995 ). However through examination it has become apparent that nationalism has become a tool by advertisers to foster nationalist feelings to their audience. The advertisement establishes and produces New Zealand as a nation and then reproduces and represents New Zealand as an L&P loving nation. In advertising, the power of recognition is manipulated for economic ends. The ‘stubbies’ advertisement shows an idealised version of New Zealand is order to create a collective inte rest in the product. Bibliography Bell, Claudia. Inventing NZ: Everyday Myths of Pakeha Identity. Auckland: Penguin Books, 1996. Billig, Michael. Banal Nationlism . London : Sage Publishing , 1995 . PRIDEAUX, JILLIAN. â€Å"Consuming icons: nationalism and advertising in Australia.† Nations and Nationlism (School of Political Science and International Studies, The University of Queensland) 15, no. 4 (2009): 616–635. Vist4ads. L&P stubbies. 2005. http://www.visit4ads.com/details.cfm?adid=20954 (accessed 08 2, 2013). ZALA VOLCIC and MARK ANDREJEVIC. â€Å"Nation Branding in the Era of Commercial Nationalism.† International Journal of Communication 5, 2011: 598–618.

Prisoner Education

The education of prisoners is a topic that is riddled with complications. One of the major barriers in the way of prisoner education is public indifference and ignorance. It seems that people are almost happy to simply lock people away rather than actually confront problems such as recidivism and community reintegration. Our paper argues that prisoner education is not only a good thing, but is necessary to fix the underlying problems within the United States prison system.There is definitely a lack of education programs in our prison system today. Furthermore, even in those institutions that have education programs have many different problems such as; courses that are interrupted or terminated on the personal whims of prison administrators; the absence of libraries; waiting lists for programs; limited or no access to training in information technology; vocational courses that are dated paths to nowhere.By looking at effective existing programs, field studies at Massachusetts prisons , and actual prisoner interviews we will attempt to outline a model program and argue that educating prisoners is a means by which to help save out failing prison system. As we have talked about in class, the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, but we also possess one of the highest crime rates. If the previous statement is true, there is an enormous problem with our system, and we believe that education is the key to solving it.In order to properly critique our prison system it is important to look at existing educational and vocational programs in our area. The Massachusetts Department of Correction’s has a mission statement which reads, â€Å"The Massachusetts Department of Correction’s mission is to promote public safety by managing offenders while providing care and appropriate programming in preparation for successful reentry into the community. † They do this by following their four step program â€Å"Manage – Ca re – Program – Prepare. We found that some of the programs offered may fit this mission, but others need tweaking. The first prison we decided to research was MCI Norfolk. MCI Norfolk utilizes a myriad of different programs, from adult basic education to Welding. However, the sheer number of programs offered does not always indicate a successful educational system. In our research we found that Norfolk, although possessing a wide verity of programs, is one of the worst educational programs in the Massachusetts Department of Corrections.However, MCI-Norfolk does offer a few programs that we thought were very unique and would be helpful in designing a model program. For example, MCI Norfolk offers a program called the â€Å"Responsible Fatherhood Program† which seeks to raise the awareness of male inmates’ parental responsibility. The program tries to emphasize the value and importance that a father’s presence can have on a child. The program lasts e ight weeks and requires a minimum of eight hours of structured curriculum driven activities.The RFP program works in three stages, with the ultimate goal of reunited father’s with their children, and strengthening their bond as father and child. The â€Å"Fatherhood Graduate Maintenance Program† is for graduates of the RFP program, which allows inmates to practice and discuss the skills they were taught in the previous stage. Once they have passed the FGMP stage, the inmate moves onto the Father/Child Visitation Component, which is a structured and staff facilitated visit for inmates who have completed the first two steps of the program.What we liked about this program is not only that it seeks an important goal (preparing inmates to become better fathers), but it is very extensive and requires a lot of dedication from the inmate. Another program that we liked was the â€Å"Employment Readiness Program† which is a 10-day workshop that is designed to assist inmat es in the development of the necessary skills that are needed for successful transition back into the community. The program runs 2. 5 hours per day for inmates who are within one year of their earliest possible release date.Throughout the course the participants are taught; resume building, cover letter writing, job application processes, mock interviews and how to maintain employment. Also includes social support, housing plans, financial awareness and budgeting, education referrals, criminal impact and attainable goals. All of these skills are important to learn in order to find and maintain a job, and some inmates may have never learned these skills. Our biggest critique of the program is that it is far too short.There are a lot of important skills listed in the program description, but 10-days at 2. 5 hours a day is not nearly enough time. Our suggestion is to run the same type of program, but offer it as a yearlong class. This class is offered at all of the Massachusetts Depar tment of Corrections prisons, and we feel with the proper revamping, it could be a very successful program. The third existing program that we looked at was the Boston University Program. The program is designed to meet the needs of the students who have accumulated a minimum of twelve transferable college credits.Students eligible to enter this program have an opportunity to achieve a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Studies from BU’s Metropolitan College. Although this program requires inmates to have already accumulated college credits (which most have not) we thought it was important to mention because this program is donated in full by Boston University. Many times over the semester we have seen that finding funding for prisoner education is difficult. Most people are hesitant to want to pay any amount of money to fund the education of criminals, and that is why programs like the Boston University program are so important.If we can remove the stigma associated with prisoner education, finding funding will become easier, and more programs will be available. The final prison program we looked at was the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. As with MCI Norfolk, Souza-Baranowski offered many different programs, including; barber school, computer technology, culinary arts, educational counseling, English as a second language, and many more. However, like Norfolk, we found that Souza-Baranowski had certain programs that were unique to their facility.The program that we thought was most unique and interesting was the â€Å"Relapse Program† which is a vendor facilitated eight week, twenty-four session program designed to assist inmates in identifying high risk situations that may lead to relapse, and teach them skills to address those situations without relapse. We thought this program was essential because using a prison as a detox center and never teaching addicts the skills they need to avoid relapse is ineffective. This program not only helps parti cipants identify high risk situations, but helps them develop the skills they need to avoid or combat those situations.Souza-Baranowski utilizes many different programs in order to educate their inmates, and that is part of the reason why we decided to do part of our field study at this location. Our fieldwork interview conducted by our Crime and Social Justice group focused on the Souza-Baranowski Corrections Center (SBCC) by speaking to their Education Principal. This facility, located in Shirley, MA, is considered a Maximum Security Level Prison. Sitting on top of 18 acres of land, the SBCC is one of Massachusetts’ newest correctional facilities holding close to 1300 inmates. The principal of the school, Mr. Brian Hogan, kindly volunteered his time and answered a few questions regarding the model education program available at the SBCC. Brian Hogan has held the position of principal of Souza-Baranowski Corrections Center since the prison’s founding in 1999. His expe rience as a public school teacher and as a case manager for the Department of Correction made him a qualified candidate for the position. The information he relayed to us about the SBCC education system as well as his opinions on the subject matter was very useful to our group in figuring out what works for prison education and what does not.According to Mr. Hogan, the school in SBCC houses around 200 inmates and offers a variety of different classes for all levels of education. The elementary school classrooms, which ranges in grade levels from 2nd to 6th is in one classroom, while the 6th to 8th grade level students are in the Middle School Classroom. At the high school level, two classrooms exist; one with a pre-GED teacher and another with grades 9-12th. In addition to these basic classrooms, specialty teachers exist for the prisoners who might have more difficulty in the learning process such as literacy, ESL and special education classes.Finally, the highest level of education available for the inmates is a limited amount of college courses available through a distance learning program and videoconferencing. In our interview, Brian Hogan thoroughly described the process necessary to be considered for the education program and the eligibility requirements for the prisoners. The MCI diagnostics department for basic educations tests all the offenders who wish to be considered for the educational program. Through this test, they determine his level based on their scores on language, math and reading exams.Subsequently, the inmate’s name is placed on a waiting list while the education level is sufficiently evaluated and based on whether spots are available or not, this determines if they are enrolled as student in the school. All of the prisoners are eligible for a spot in the program, but certain circumstances create a higher likelihood of actually being chosen. SBCC is more likely to enroll inmates with smaller sentences as well as the ones that are closest to their release date. According to Mr. Hogan, the reason for this is to effectively reach out to the prisoner right before they are released into the community when they need it most. SBCC contains a wide variety of inmates and many who are at different points in their sentences. From men who are about to be released to others who might be doing life in jail, all kinds of inmates do exist in the facility. Although these prisoners doing life do get a shot at attending the prison school, they are definitely the least prioritized in receiving an education.Even as least likely, these men are not completely excluded and one spot by SBCC is reserved in every classroom for a â€Å"lifer†. The education system is focused wholly on a voluntary basis for the inmates. No one officer or teacher exists that goes out and recruits the inmates or encourages them to join the school. The men are given the material: handbooks, outlines and all types of information about the school to a ttract their participation. Whether the inmates decide to apply for a vacancy or not is totally up to them.SBCC does offer an incentive to encourage the prisoners to enroll. The incentive takes two and half days off the inmates’ sentence for every month he attends school. It should also be noted that this is all contingent upon the good behavior of the offender. As soon as he acts up, however, he is taken out of the classroom and not allowed to attend the education program any longer. One of the questions our group was interested in knowing more about concerned the funding and technology available to the prison in order to successfully to teach these prisoner students. As Mr. Hogan remarked, some funds do come from the Massachusetts State budget however, the program also depends on private state grants for a big portion of the money necessary to support the education program. The prison’s technology resources are relatively well-off with two to three computers, with no internet connection, available in each classroom. Additionally, different software programs are also available for these students such as spelling and keyboard software as well as GED preparation software. The ESL learners also have the benefit of Rosetta Stone to aid them in learning English.In Hogan’s opinion, SBCC’s school can be considered as â€Å"cutting edge in education† for prisons. He believes that recent years has brought about a new focus and shift directed towards college classes, where 15 of the 200 men enrolled in education classes are currently capable of taking college-level courses and work towards an Associates’ degree. The school has helpful teachers who are experienced with public school teaching and school counselors who point the students in the right direction and encourage their schooling. The program, to Mr. Hogan, is moving in the right direction and the state and national statistics available suggests that education in prisons does work. Evidence shows that prisoners, who have some college or schooling after leaving prison, do not return. Not only are recidivism rates reduced, but these men usually find decent jobs and overall the public becomes safer because once released these guys do not commit crimes again. Mr. Hogan mentions that just by having these education classes, it goes a long way in changing the norms when it comes to education in prisons.He talked about how years ago such education programs would definitely have been frowned upon by the public. People were incapable of understanding why men, who have committed crimes and are in jail to pay for these offenses, would be rewarded with the opportunity to get an education in prison. People especially turned against such schooling whenever taxpayer’s dollars entered into the picture. As Brian Hogan put it, education systems in prison are not the most politically correct thing and that is why the public often gets in the way of the promotio n of these education programs in facilities. Speaking to Mr. Hogan increased our knowledge base about the specific programs available in Massachusetts for prisoners, and compared to some of our other experiences we counted ourselves lucky that this interview went so smoothly. This was not the case with some of the other contacts that our group tried to reach out to. After submitting multiple proposals to the Suffolk House of Corrections, in the end our request to visit the prison to speak to the inmates was denied. In another attempt to visit a prison, and if that failed, then to speak to the school principal, we contacted MCI Norfolk just as we had reached out to Souza-Baranowski.Unfortunately, Ms. Diane Wiffin was not the most obliging and went back and forth with our group as if trying to avoid the questions and unwilling to give her opinion. When we informed her that the principal of SBCC had given us the description of his education program, she asked to review his answers, and her response was as follows: Hi, Chelsea! Veronica M. Madden, Deputy Commissioner of the Classification, Programs and Reentry Division, and I have reviewed your proposal and the questions and responses from Brian Hogan, Principal at Souza Baranowski Correctional Center. Mr.   Hogan's responses can be applied to MCI Norfolk as there are consistencies in the administration of our education programs throughout our facilities.Deputy Commissioner Madden did want to comment on your question as to why people are refusing to give you information and how hard it is to obtain an interview. We don't know who else you have contacted, but as I indicated to you when we spoke, we get an overwhelming number of student projects and we have limited resources to be responsive to those requests. As much as we would like to be available, we just don't have the resources. In terms of Mr. Hogan's response to that question, Deputy Commissioner Madden wonders if Mr. Hogan was referring to potential publi c reaction to inmates who participate in the Boston University Prison Program, which is donated by BU at no cost to taxpayers. BU also makes several scholarships available to DOC staff. We think the public is supportive of inmates' receiving adult basic education, GED and vocational training. Attached is a copy of our Program Description Booklet. Education information is contained in that. Also as part of that booklet is a listing of programs and education/vocation training listed by facility.In addition, on www. mass. gov/DOC there is research material covering recidivism rates. This is should be exactly what you need for your project†¦ Diane Wiffin, Director of Public Affairs As her response shows, little time is available for the Deputy Commissioner to answer our questions and apparently the program of SBCC can be applied to MCI Norfolk. Our group was lucky that Mr. Hogan did not mind answering our questions but this reluctant behavior made us wonder why prisons were unwilli ng to talk to us about their facilities.Before contacting Ms. Wiffin, we had already experienced certain setbacks with the process and we decided to ask Brian Hogan what his opinion was about why so much disinclination existed to speak to a group of Boston college students. He believed the difficulties we experienced were due to their fear of the public’s reaction to education in prisons. Many times these prison education programs are not advertised for people and either they do not understand or choose to not understand just what affects it could have on the community. Mr.Hogan reflected, the taxpayer does not want to spend their money on something considered to be more of a reward, when they should be punished. In addition, he mentioned that this government funding for programs of college education receives much critique because parents have their own children that they are struggling to put through college. Consequently, seeing men in prisons able to take advantage of this makes them angry. Overall prisons are very skeptical of people’s intentions and fear that something, like education, that they believe to be good, could be misconstrued by the public.This is especially true because as he puts it, what newspapers and the media portray is often negative when it comes to crimes and inmates in prisons. From these negative images, people make their own negative assumptions and believe that all prisoners are bad and should not receive any education. As a result, many do not care that this, overall, would be something better for the community and many take no importance that such education reduces the rate of recidivism. Mr. Hogan also states, that the â€Å"reality does not make for good reading,† and so little things like watching a recently released film to prisoners becomes outrageous for some constituents. These interesting opinions from Mr. Hogan reminded our group of everything that our class had touched upon regarding the image of cr ime in the media. Sara Beale, in the article we read for class â€Å"The News Media’s Influence on Criminal Justice Policy: How Market-Driven News Promotes Punitiveness,† (Beale 2006) claims that the media is manipulated to show a negative image of crime in the public and as a result instills a moral panic.In framing, the media emphasizes a certain crime story, idea or feeling, often negative, resulting in the viewer’s fear in crime and offenders. The more fear they feel, the more the inclination to call for punitive policy and punish the offender. Also, television shows and news reports are used as entertainment for the public to improve ratings. This means that the entertainment sometimes does not accurately reflect the reality. (Beale 2006) This inaccurate reflection of reality encapsulates how people in the public view education for prisons and how it is portrayed to the masses.For this reason, the prisons are scared their education programs might lose fundi ng and resources, and therefore are reluctant to give away too much information to the public and media. In general, our group’s opinion of the SBCC’s is favorable and can be considered a good education model. Other information that we have gathered shows that the only programs some prisons actually have depend upon re-entry programs. These re-entry programs tend to lecture to the inmates on the limitations on their behavior, before they are released into the community.Oftentimes no real engagement occurs with the prisoners, and if no education exists than these former inmates are more likely to commit crimes again. We believe that the college classes available to the inmates of SBCC are a significant asset to their program, and other research we conducted suggests that these classes are the most effective in reducing recidivism. Opponents do arise amongst the public concerning education in prison, but it would be more beneficial if they took into consideration that mo re education equals less crime and less recurring offenders.Another conclusion we arrived at from our interview is the need for other prisons to implement these education programs and to make them more available to inmates. With only 200 prisoners out of 1300 allowed to participate in schooling, there are still many who never get the opportunity to learn. If these classes were available to more of the inmate population, then perhaps recidivism could be addressed more thoroughly through these efforts. We also believe that prisons such as MCI Norfolk should improve their programs if the reason for not giving us information is because the program they have is incompetent.If the reason for not talking to us is due to fear of misrepresentation, we think this has to be addressed in a different manner, perhaps through informational pamphlets or some other form of media to get the message out to the public that education in prisons is a good thing. After many trials and tribulations, trying to break through the barriers of prison security that refuses to share the prison education information, we got creative. Pondville Correctional Center is located in the town of Norfolk, Massachusetts. The facility houses 204 inmates total.The majority of the inmates are Level 3, which means that they are minimum-security inmates, while the others are Level 2, meaning that they are pre-release inmates. Our group decided to go to one of the work placements, which was at an auction house near the facility. About fifteen inmates were present at the auction house, and we had the opportunity to speak directly with all of them during the hour before the auction. This was an incredible and interesting experience, one that none of us had ever had before. It gave us much more insight into the prison system and the people inside of it.As mentioned on the Mass. gov website, â€Å"The primary mission of Pondville Correctional Center is to protect the public’s safety by incarcerating in mates and to provide inmates the opportunity for responsible reintegration and positive behavioral change† (Public Safety, 2011). We believe that in order to fully reintegrate someone into society, inmates need to be educated and also have vocational training so that they can be a meaningful and productive addition to society once they are out of prison. When looking at the programs offered at all of the prisons, the options seem pretty extensive.For example, Pondville requires all inmates to work unless they have a medical waiver and they also give prisoners vocational, educational, and self-help opportunities. The facility boasts that their education programs are â€Å"innovative†. They offer classes including Adult Basic Education, English as a Second language, GED tutoring, and a Life Skills Computer program that focuses on resume writing, job applications, job interviews, and personal finance. If we merely looked at the website, we would conclude that the opportuni ties for inmates are there, they just have to get involved.After speaking with the inmates, we realized that this was not the case at all. The inside perspective from the inmates, that other prisons had so desperately tried to keep from us, made it clear that, although they have some classes, it is almost impossible to get into the programs. The reality is that there is open door access to programs at prisons, but it goes by earliest release date and overall there are not nearly enough programs. One man said that there are only about eighteen men per class, but 400 people want to be in that class.Also, because it is by earliest release date, many people will be in prison for years until they get the chance to be in the program. How we can we, as a society, expect someone to become completely educated if we only let them into the programs 6 months before they are released? We, as a society, are appalled that people are let out of prison and then go back to their old habits, but this is because they do not know how else to act. They fall back into their own uneducated ways and wind back in prison, but if we do not give them an education, what else should we expect?Another issue with the education offered to prisoners is that most of the teachers do not have high expectations for the inmates. As one inmate stated, if we show up, we pass. We do not have to do anything if we do not want to, but if we merely show up, she will pass us. From experience, our group agreed that it is extremely hard to try hard and have a strong work ethic when your teacher expects nothing from you. A lot of the teachers at the prisons, as Brian Hogan, principal at Souza Baranowski told us, have been laid off and, therefore, are relocating to prisons.This means that they are real and qualified teachers, but then why are they not expecting the same from the inmates as they did from their previous students? The teachers need to take responsibility for the success of the inmates. They need t o have expectations for the prisoners and only pass them if they deserve to pass. Having education classes is a start, but they need to have education classes in which the prisoners actually learn things, and that is not going to happen if they are passed just for showing up.Denying prisoners feeds into a theory that we discussed this semester while reading The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison. (Reiman, & Leighton, 2010). The Pyrrhic defeat theory states â€Å"the American criminal justice system – the entire process from law-making to law-enforcing – has failed to eliminate the rates of crime that characterize our society and threaten our citizens† (Reiman, & Leighton, 2010). We discussed this theory as a group and concluded that the criminal justice system fails to liminate the rates of crime because we are sending inmates back into society the same way (or even worse) than they were when they entered the system. Instead of using the years that they are in the system to educate them and teach them better ways, we are letting them sit around watching Jerry Springer, joining gangs, or fighting each other. By denying prisoners a proper education and then just expecting them to change and not come back to prison is absurd. The ignorance of people believing that prisoners are not entitled to an education will just continue to perpetuate the crime cycle.For example, if an offender has served his time and has to face the world again with a lack of academic knowledge on top of an already perceived low morale as they will be judged for being in prison in the first place, it will be a lot easier for them to stray again and end up back in the system. However, with the prospect of being educated and having added knowledge, this will hopefully encourage and give inmates the confidence and ability to make something of their lives and also be provided with the idea that they can do other things in life than turn to crime.We need to be smart on c rime. We need to educate people so that they have the ability to change once they are released. Once a prisoner gets his GED, so many more doors open up for them and more opportunities arise. Because they already have a strike against them for being in prison, inmates need credentials to get their foot into the door, and an education will help them with this. While visiting the auction house, we talked directly with a man named Tom Lyons. Tom has spent the last twenty years in prison for killing a man. When he entered the system, he was illiterate.After spending some time with Tom, we learned that a mixture of religion and education changed his life. His release date was coming up on April 15th, and he could now read and write due to the education that he received in prison. He studied poetry while in the system and his favorite author is Emily Dickinson. Tom says that having an education made him realize that he wanted to help others, and he wants to go around speaking to groups ab out his experiences, etc. He also said that without an education, he never would have been able to have the confidence to want to make something of his life once he gets out.While Tom was lucky enough to get an education, he also has missed out on a lot. Over the past twenty years, so much has changed in our society. Cell phones, Internet, and other technological advances have transformed us. However, Tom has never experienced most of these things. He was getting out in 15 days and they were just teaching him how to use a computer. He said that there were always programs that were interesting to him, but he could not get into them until he was really close to getting out.As Tom said, â€Å"if you’re preparing someone to change their entire life, you need to start right as we get in. Not one year before we are getting out. I was lucky and got into an education program earlier, but millions of people are not. † Tom may have learned to read and write, but he is still so f ar behind in terms of understanding technology, something crucial to succeeding in today’s world. From speaking with Tom, we realized that there is so much that needs to be addressed within the education department within prisons.After speaking with Tom and the other prisoners, we realized that there is an open door access to programs, but this does not mean much because a lot of people cannot get into the programs because eligibility goes by earliest release date. The prisoners gave us some of their main wishes for the education system. These included for people to have higher expectations for them, for there to be more programs and more GED programs, and to have teachers who truly care about their success instead of just showing up to get a pay check.These wishes are all things that we think many would agree with. They are not asking for things that are absurd. They are just asking to be given the chance to get an education, and if we, as a society, want them to stop ending up back in prison, that is exactly what we need to give them; a good education and skills to use outside of prison. Although there are solid arguments why it is unfair for prisoners to be getting these perks while being in prison, one must remember the structural deficits that currently exist in our society.In an ideal world, education in the prison systems would not be a necessity or a topic of discussion. Within an idealistic system, there would be adequate educational programs that created motivation and encouragement in all youth to work hard and stay on the right path. This correct path would lead students to the ample jobs awaiting them. There would be no need to resort to criminal activity in order to support oneself or one’s family. Anyone who did stray from these available opportunities would have no excuse for their irresponsible behaviors, leaving prison as their option of punishment.However, and this is a big however, because the current structural system is not giving everyone equal opportunities to climb the rungs of the social ladder. Understandable then, many individuals feel trapped into a life of crime and violence as a means to escape the grueling effects of an unfair system. This is not an excuse, nor is it justification for the crimes that many people are arrested and imprisoned for. Regardless of the unfair system, acts of violence and criminality should neither be supported nor accepted. Because society does not mirror the ideal that many wish for, there will inevitable be acts that are deemed unlawful.With an unequal system and over two million inmates the question arises, whether as a nation our desire is to rehabilitate these prisoners or just punish them and house them in prison cells for the rest of their lives. There are many sides to every story, and in this case there are those who support educational programs within prisons and there are those who are opposed to it. Some argue against education for those on death row, wh ile others say that no one in prison should be given the opportunity of an education. Knowledge is power, but why should prisoners be given this power?The money that is being spent on prisons should be going to the education of people who are not criminals. Others argue that there is so much money being spent on housing and feeding prisoners already. Why do these prisoners deserve an education when so many children are suffering through poorly funded public school systems? The most popular reason is that people believe their tax dollars are being spent on educating prisoners while many Americans struggle to send their children to college or even good high schools. Also, educating prisoners is seen as a distant reward that benefits them individually rather than benefitting societyUnfortunately America’s individualistic nature creates a shortcoming for their nation. They do not see the benefits of educating prisoners. An educated nation is a better nation. The stance that will be taken is to rehabilitate prisoners and allow them to become working members of society upon their release. Under this perspective, the education system within a prison would not only be necessary but would serve as a vital program to helping prisoners have the slightest chance at emerging into society as skillful and productive members.If inmates receive an education before they are released from prison, if they have help through this system to gain a job and work to support themselves, one can only hope that it would reduce the level of crime and reduce the number of prisoners re-entering prisons. This hope is the reality. Although Studies have clearly shown that â€Å"participants in prison education, vocation and work programs have recidivism rates 20-60 percent lower than those of non-participants† (Granoff, J 2009) many Americans still disagree with the education of prisoners.Despite these negative arguments against educating prisoners, there exist an abundant number of advantages to these programs. After discussing with the Principal and director of the prisons and discussing with the inmates themselves, it is clear that the education system is under a lot of scrutiny by the public. The principle of the Souza-Baranowski maximum-security prison said, â€Å"People don’t understand it. People are struggling to send their kids to college. People are abiding by the laws and doing the right things don’t see the benefit of educating those who have broken law†.Without information on programs and how they work to benefit society, the general population will remain oblivious to the constructive aspects of these programs. The media affects the way we view society and the programs within it. Media programs stress certain points that highlight what people want to hear, what lobbyists want said and what society deems important at the time. In order for people to realize the extent of the positive impacts of the programs available, we nee d to hear more success stories like that of Joan.Joan said, â€Å"I did not realize at the time that I had taken the first step on a journey of lifelong learning. Nor that the process would allow me to accumulate â€Å"human capital† (qualifications skills and abilities), â€Å"identity capital† (self-worth) and â€Å"social capital† (a supportive network of friends and colleagues). † (Erwin, J) She is just one example of the many positively impacted individuals who were transformed from caterpillars to butterflies with a little encouragement and motivation.As said before, we believe that many of the existing programs in the prison systems aim at positively influencing the prisoners. We understand the complexity of the issues at hand and the controversy that surrounds this discussion. Although these troubles exist, we came up with what our model program would consist of, and the recommendations that we have concerning the programs that are currently being utilized. Our model program is based on a rehabilitative method. We would want to prisoners to accumulate â€Å"human capital† â€Å"identity capital† and â€Å"social capital† as Joan described.The programs would be mandatory to ensure that all prisoners were getting involved. There would also be incentives to take part in the programs. Of course the prisoners should want to take advantage of these programs without being pushed to do so, however, we recognize that getting the ball rolling will show these prisoners what they are capable of. For many inmates, no one has ever pushed them to capitalize on their true potentials, which leaves them yearning for self-fulfillment in all the wrong arenas.Our hope is that once they see their capabilities, this will push them to continue to work hard and motivate them to move past their criminal behaviors once they are released from prison. It is very important for there to be vocational classes that give the inmates spec ific skills and talents that will ensure them some job opportunities when they are released from prison. On a higher level, GED classes and college programs need to become common in all prisons instead of being the exception to only a few.We also believe that the number of programs being offered needs to be drastically increased. As the inmate said, there are 400 hundred people who want to be in certain programs but only 18 can be. This disparity is disheartening, as the desire to change exists; however the opportunity to do it is lacking. As prison populations grow into the millions, society must decide how â€Å"tough on crime† they are going to continue to be. The individual states have the power to decide the individual educational systems within their prisons.Education, as a result of negativity towards all prisons, has not only become less of a priority but is seen as prisoners being given a free ride. The problem however, is that the current system that offers harsh pu nishment and little rehabilitation is not working. Harsh punishment does not however mean deliberate cruelty. Prisons should not be a place that purposely creates horrible conditions for inmates. Just having your freedom taken away from you is probably one of the worst things that can happen to an individual. Certainly, no one has the right to injure another person or to take his or er life however, if society does not work at rehabilitating these individuals, then the length of sentences and punitive measures will not only need to be increased but turned up by many notches. The cutting of education budgets within prisons increases the likelihood that upon release these prisoners will only return to prison. People in the general population are already reluctant to hire someone with a criminal record so adding a lack of education will make it virtually impossible for released prisoners to do anything but go back to their old lifestyles of crime.This will only create a never-ending cy cle that will inevitably become hurtful to society as a whole. Of course the ideal education system outside of prison is what we dream of, but until then we support the efforts to protect society by educating those who once harmed it.Work CitedErwin, James. â€Å"In Prison, Education Is Your Best Route to a Better Life | Erwin James | Society | Guardian. co. uk. † Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian | Guardian. co. uk. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .Granoff, Gillian. â€Å"Education Update – Prison College Programs Unlock the Keys to Human Potential. † EDUCATION UPDATE – APRIL 2011 – Education News. 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. . Public safety and security, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (2011). Pondville correctional facility Government Printing Office.