Group Behavior and Processes Essay

GROUP BEHAVIOR AND PROCESSES Group behavior and processes in this paper is about a problem with a new low income government housing development and the illegal activities that have impacted the community in making the neighborhood unsafe. The author of this paper sees not only the different illegal groups behaviors as the problem in this scenario but also the behavior group that is supposed to be in charge of this low income government housing development as the problem also. This is the processes that the author of this paper would do to resolve a lot of these problems (Peak, 2012). WHAT KINDS OF INFORMATION WOULD YOU COLLECT TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS SUCH AS DRUGS, PROSTITUTION, AND VANDALISM? First you have to use the local law enforcement agency to come into this neighborhood and having them do round the clock undercover and stakeouts. Having the local law enforcement agency identify and keep accurate records on the main problem persons in the drug, prostitution, and vandalism issues. Also have the law enforcement agency document thoroughly everyone involved in doing illegal activity at the local convenience store that is close by. Try to make active narcotic buys, prostitution buys, and finding the  perpetrators in the vandalism problem and documenting them to make cases against each and every one in this small apartment unit neighborhood will help slow down and eventually alleviate the illegal activity in short order (Peak, 2012). You also need to identify all the bureaucrats involved in working at the low income government housing project. Find out with an external audit who makes the decisions in approving applications to move into this government housing unit and why their rules were broken allowing those with criminal records to move into this small 58 apartment housing unit. Once the external audit has found culpability, replace those involved in breaking the rules. Re-evaluate each and every application of those residents who have criminal records and place them in a separate file from the law abiding residents in the units.. (Peak, 2012). WHAT KINDS OF RESPONSES MIGHT BE CONSIDERED? The local law enforcement agency can take one apartment over and have a senior law enforcement officer move into the apartment and take up residence. By having an officer live in the apartment unit would give the residents a sense of stability in their unstable world. Having this form of community policing will get needed intelligence from residents to help fight the crime in this apartment unit. While patrol officers are patrolling the neighborhood they should each make it a point to stop at the convenience store for coffee stops and spend time on foot patrol in the area. Field interviews should be done with the individuals just hanging out. Make it known that law enforcement is in the area to stay. Monthly meetings need to be put together with the bureaucrats at the low income housing agency and law enforcement agency to keep each other informed on what is going on with these apartment units (Peak, 2012). WHAT TYPES OF ASSESSMENT WOULD YOU PERFORM? I would assess the local law enforcement agency with how much help are they giving the low income government housing agency for all their low income  housing units. The bureaucrats need to work together with the local law enforcement agency to eradicate the illegal activity. Once the local law enforcement agency has all the evidence they need to make cases, start the arrest process. When the arrest process takes place, eviction notices needs to go out to those with criminal records at the same time in coordination with the arrests. Once an apartment unit opens up the bureaucracy moves a new resident in with no criminal record and none on their children’s record. Every six months gradually going to once a year external audits need to assess the performance on the low income government housing agency to make sure the rules are being applied to make sure the safety of the residents are a priority (Peak, 2012). Reference Peak, J.K. (2012). _Justice Administration: Police, Courts and Corrections Management_ (7th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

Into the Wild Paper

Mehakpal Grewal Professor King Work, Leisure, & Play April 13, 2011 How Krakauer Balances his Bias? Jon Krakauer's non-fiction novel  Into the Wild  explores the mystery surrounding Christopher McCandless and his life before he inevitably ran off  into the heart of the Alaskan wilderness in an attempt to discover himself in some manner. In order to tell this story as accurately as possible, Krakauer uses a variety of techniques to give different perspectives to Chris’ life.The most prominent decision Krakauer makes though is in regards to his decision to try include or exclude himself and his views from the text. When telling Chris’ story, Krakauer takes an almost fully unbiased approach, and yet when he does present his biased empathy towards McCandless, he has full knowledge, and makes the reader fully aware. So, whether the reader ends up feeling empathetic towards McCandless or finds him rather selfish in dependent on how much they connect with him through his story.Because Krakaeur is able to portray McCandless’ life with such finesse and accuracy, including his faults, while incorporating his own personal observations and similar life experiences, he ultimately lets the reader make up their own mind in regards to how they should feel toward him. In order to truly understand Chris’ story to the smallest detail, Krakauer put a great amount of effort into retracing his past up until his death.As he states, â€Å"I spent more than a year retracing the convoluted path that led to his death in the Alaska taiga, chasing down details of his peregrinations with an interest that bordered an obsession† (Author’s Note 2). Even before the start of the novel, Krakauer points out that he followed Chris’ life like an â€Å"obsession† and became very attached to his story. Krakauer recognizes that his obsession or â€Å"bias† to the Chris will reveal itself throughout the story but makes a key decision i n letting the reader know that he doesn’t â€Å"claim to be an impartial biographer† but does try to â€Å"minimize his authorial presence† (AN 2).Krakauer, like most authors, has some type of bias. In his case, it would be even worse because of how close he got to Chris’ life and his emotional connection to the story. Despite this, Krakauer has already made it clear that his bias is there and his â€Å"convictions will be apparent† in order to â€Å"leave it to the reader to form his or her own opinion of Chris McCandless† (AN 3). So, while he may show empathy toward Chris throughout the novel, he gives enough perspective on Chris’ life for the reader to make their own decision.Throughout the novel, Krakauer manages to show us a character, Chris McCandless, who can be seen in a positive or negative light depending on how you connect to his story. Krakauer points out how McCandless â€Å"took life’s inequities to heart† (p. 113). He mentions how â€Å"Chris didn’t understand how people could possibly be allowed to go hungry, especially in this country† and on one occasion â€Å"Chris picked up a homeless man†¦ brought him home†¦ and set the guy up in the Airstream trailer his parents parked beside the garage† (p. 113).It is apparent here that Krakauer is painting McCandless in a positive light and possibly showing his bias in mentioning such minor details of his life. He also alludes to how Chris spoke out against the racial oppression of apartheid in South Africa and how Chris â€Å"believed that wealth was shameful, corrupting and inherently evil† (p. 115). However, he claims his view on wealth is hypocritical or ironic because he mentions how Billie, Chris’ mom, claimed â€Å"Chris was a natural-born capitalist with an uncanny knack for making a buck.Chris was always an entrepreneur† (p. 115). He describes in detail how he grew vegetables to se ll door to door when he was eight and started a neighborhood copy business when was twelve. Here, Krakauer is showing Chris’ hypocritical nature that has stayed with him throughout the years. Krakauer continues to show McCandless in a more negative light throughout the book. During Chris’ senior year at Emory, he â€Å"seldom contacted his parents and this caused Walt and Billie [to] grow increasingly worried about their son’s emotional distance† (p. 124).He furthers this by describing how Chris’ parents sent a letter saying† You have completely dropped away from all who love and care about you. Whatever it is—whoever you’re with—do you think this is right? † (p. 124). According to Krakauer, Chris saw this â€Å"as meddling and referred to the letter as stupid when talked to Carine† (p. 124). At this point, Krakauer is clearly pointing out Chris’ flaws and how he seemingly didn’t enough about hi s family to bother contacting them for long periods of time. He builds upon this when mentioning how Chris went on trans-continental journeys through he Mojave Desert and various places multiple times without saying a word. He even goes as far as to describe how in July 1992, 2 years after Chris left Atlanta, his mother awoke one night with tears rolling down her cheeks screaming, â€Å"I don’t know how I’ll ever get over it. I wasn’t dreaming. I didn’t imagine it. I heard his voice! He was begging, ‘Mom! Help me! ’† (p. 126). Krakauer could have deliberately left out such disheartening details that portrayed Chris in a negative manner, as someone who would make his mother suffer in such a way, but he included them in order to give the reader as much perspective on Chris as possible.In chapters eight and nine, Krakauer interrupts Chris’ story to tell a few strikingly similar stories of journeys into the wilderness. Through these chapters, he doesn’t characterize McCandless in a completely positive or negative light. While describing the story of Everett Ruess, who disappeared while in a remote area of Utah, he points out that Ruess, like Chris, â€Å"was a loner but he liked people too  Ã‚  damn much to stay down there and live in secret the rest of his life. A lot of us are like that –I’m like that† (p. 96).So while drawing parallels to Chris’ story and personality, he describes Chris as a loner but is quick to point out that many people including him are like that. While most of us would consider loners as outcasts from society and see them in a negative light, Krakauer’s personal comments leave us feeling some empathy toward him as an individual. Here, Krakauer shows a balance between his own feelings and looking at Chris through completely unbiased eyes. Through chapters fourteen and fifteen, Krakauer diverges from Chris’ story once again when makes a comparison of his own journey into the wilderness to that of Chris’.One would expect a very evident bias in these chapters that would show Chris in an overwhelmingly positive light but that is not the case. Although, Krakauer creates a parallel between his journey through Devils Thumb and Chris’ journey into the Alaskan wilderness, he is simply trying to give a different perspective to McCandless’ story. He mentions this is his notes when he claims he does this† in the hope that my experiences will throw some oblique light on the enigma of Chris McCandless† (AN 2).His point is made clear when he ends his personal account of his near death experience by proposing, â€Å"In my case—and I believe, in the case of Chris McCandless—that was very different thing from wanting to die†(p. 156). So while some may argue Krakauer may be showing some sympathy toward Chris, this is only because his story struck a â€Å"personal note† in him (AN 2). Regardless of this, Krakauer’s willingness to show Chris’ faults in a similar manner balance out Krakauer’s moments of including himself and his bias within the story.So, whether you end up liking McCandless to some sort of â€Å"hero† or find him rather selfish and irritating depends on how much you end up connecting with his story. Regardless of how you feel in the end, it is difficult to deny validity and effort Krakauer puts into this novel. He takes a mostly unbiased approach when telling McCandless’ story and even when the bias slips by, he makes it fully known to the reader. Krakauer might have a personal bias toward Chris but in capturing his story, he was able to keep a balance between showing Chris in a positive or negative light.Krakauer recognized â€Å"McCandless came into the country with insufficient provisions, that he tried to live entirely off the country†¦without bothering to master†¦crucial skills† b ut he like Roman, can’t help identifying with the guy† (p. 180, 181-82, 185). Despite â€Å"identifying† with Chris throughout the novel, Krakauer ultimately allows the reader to make their own decision in regards to Chris and the decisions he made leading up to his death. Works Cited Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor, 1996. Print.

Final Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Final Project - Research Paper Example By 1969, Wal-Mart had moved from a small business enterprise to an incorporated company Wal-Mart Stores Inc (Clemers, 1993). This paper will analyze Wal-Mart Stores and make recommendations to better align Human Resource practices to the vital business initiatives of the organization. First, I will examine Wal-Mart’s history and market position then describe and analyze the recent and targeted work procedures, as well as the respective skills, knowledge and abilities needed for Wal-Mart to achieve its objectives. I will also show the technology used by Wal-Mart to achieve work output in line with the company’s goals and provide a set of HRM recommendations suitable for Wal-Mart. The 1970s saw Wal-Mart emerge as one of the leading companies with a significant economic growth (Andersen & Narus, 1999). It acquired the Hutcheson Shoe Company and started a section of pharmaceuticals called Wal-Mart pharmacy. There was an increase in both the workforce and turnover. Wal-Mart rose to become a huge retail company with 276 stores, 21,000 employees and a turnover of over US$ 1.248 billion after a decade. The 1980s and the 1990s saw it rise from a huge national retail chain of stores into an international business. Within this period, Sam’s club was opened and a super center was launched becoming a conventional shop in several regions and countries worldwide (Dreher & Dougherty, 2001). By this time, it had one thousand four hundred and two stores, one hundred and twenty three Sam’s clubs, and it sales were over US$ 26 billion. From humble beginnings, Walton’s brain child has become one of the organizations that have contributed immensely to the world (Weinswig & Tang, 2010). The retail shops, discount stores and super centers have had a great impact on shops and consumers in the world today. To date, the organization has a workforce of over 2.2 million (Dreher & Dougherty, 2001). The company also gives its services to 176 million consume rs all over the world. Credit goes to Sam Walton and Wal-Mart for setting precedence to the world by upholding principles and running an immeasurable successful organization. In this paper’s analysis, I saw the need for the company to be more responsive to customers by improving their current and target work processes so as to ensure urgent and precise actions are taken in responding to their customers’ needs. The three key objectives they should focus on in order to achieve this are fulfilling specific customer requirements, achieving high levels of customer satisfaction and trying to adapt to the needs of business and market environments that change every day. Wal-Mart is capable of achieving these objectives while still maintaining and improving profitability and market share. This work processes can be met by linking workgroups and their processes in the internal customer and supplier chains. Once this is achieved, this linked functional work processes will become the major cross functional processes by which Wal-Mart’s externally focused business objectives will be met (Weinswig & Tang, 2010). These key cross functional business processes will be highly dependent on the way in which the management at Wal-Mart will structure their work processes (Dreher & Dougherty, 2001). They can do it in two ways; through the delivery work processes, which refers to the customer facing processes, and the support work processes, which are those that are required to sustain the delivery functions.

Paintings by Arshile Gorky Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Paintings by Arshile Gorky - Case Study Example The first part of my research revealed the summary of Arshile Gorky’s life. The understanding of his life is important in that from it, we understand that his inspiration was drawn from his exposure to the 1915 Armenian Genocide, themes which he reflected in much of his work. Secondly, we learn that he was mentored by a master Paul Cezanne who was a master of art in the 19th century. Arshile Gorky was born as Vostanik Manuk in April 1904 in the Ottoman Empire’s village of Khorgom, and lived until July 1948. He was an Armenian-American, and his painting was oriented towards Abstract Expressionism, which many critics attribute to his information or exposure to the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in which people lost and suffered greatly. When the genocide broke out, he fled together with his family to Russia and while in exile, his mother died out of starvation four years later. He later moved to the United States in 1920 with his father, and it was the need to fit into the new territory that he changed his name to Arshile Gorky . Two years later in 1922, Arshile Gorky joined the Boston New School of Design where he was able to further his painting and drawing skills which had been inspired by Expressionism during the 1900s. He was largely influenced by Paul Cezanne. Abstract Expressionism emerged in the 19th century era from a group of artists based in Paris. It was a unique art's emergence which received much opposition from earlier art periods and styles. This is because they â€Å"violated† the norms of academic.

Case stydy Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Stydy - Case Study Example This has led to a significant decline in demand in as much as there has been a steady rise in airline services. BA has practically dominated the airline industry in the UK. This is because it is rated as one of the major airlines in the UK with more than 200 destinations distributed in 90 countries. It therefore experience less stiff competition and employs aggressive strategies to provide services to even more customers. BA, through various alliances is very keen to remain on top of competition in the industry as through the alliances, it is able to gather more resources and reach more people through additional destinations. Its products are segmented into different classes in order to be able to serve more customers who fall under different consumer categories. Through the segmentation of classes, BA is able to provide airline services to various groups of customers at different prices, hence having everything for everyone. It therefore remains at the edge of competition as it attracts customers from all sorts of social classes. The airline also engages in a variety of service provisions su ch as mail and freight services and other support services in order to increase customer coverage. Due to its aggressiveness, it is able to dominate the UK airline industry by having more passengers than all its other rivals. The strategies of BA are those that are not focusing on the real market situation. They try to do their business without any preparation for any eventuality. This is shown by the economic downturn that struck the company for close to 3-4 years. Such a strategy is not healthy for such a major airline as it might result to tremendous losses. The strategies of Ryanair can be classified as those that focus on different market situations and make an airline be ready for any eventuality. This is evidenced after the economic downturn that led to other airlines facing their exit from the market but instead,

The oil and gas industry in China Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The oil and gas industry in China - Case Study Example China’s plight may have been averted. China government should have executed efficient corporate governance and guarantee that the oil and gas industry recognized it as a strategy for the government’s accountability to improve the legal, institutional and regular framework. Consequently, the corporations would ensure their operational performance and attract international capital in order to stabilize the domestic industry. This would have enabled the industry to keep up with the increased domestic demand and continue exporting of oil and gas. The Chinese government should have implemented the privatization of the oil and gas industry in order to encourage healthy competition. This would result in superior mining production of oil and gas enough for domestic use and export. From this case, we learn the pertinence of an efficient corporate governance model for companies in business. We also learn that a company’s success in both local and international business ope rations is largely attributed to international standards of corporate governance. We learn that businesses should be free of political interference to ensure success. Therefore, the separation of ownership and control of the main players of the oil and gas industry ensures companies are run with minimal influence from local party committees.As a business professional in 2012, it is vital to read this because the case study demonstrates to me a practical scenario of the effects on both the internal and external environments to a business.

The Cold War and it's Aftermath Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Cold War and it's Aftermath - Term Paper Example Instead, political, economical, and ideological differences among the world nations eventually led to the formation of two distinct blocs, the Western and the Eastern. Eventually, the whole world became under the threat of an imminent war between these blocs. But both the Western and Eastern blocs did not try to indulge in a direct fight. Instead, global arm race and ideological conflict became the focal point of the Cold War. Thesis statement: The Cold War resulted in political conflict, military conflict, ideological conflict and global arms race, and eventually led to the decline of communism, growth of capitalism, growth of the U.S. as a global superpower, and the rapid spread of democracy. One can easily identify the fact that the political ideologies of the Western and Eastern blocs were entirely different. To be specific, the political ideology of the Western bloc was democracy. On the other side, the Eastern bloc was deeply influenced by Communist ideology. This fundamental d ifference eventually led to political propaganda and political conflict. Richard Saull states that â€Å"The Cold War, then, was not a genuine international conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, but primarily a relationship that facilitated each side in its attempts to realize its goals within its own sphere of influence.; for the United States, this was the dominance of the postwar capitalist order and for the USSR the internal security of the rule of the CPSU.†1 To be specific, both the blocs considered that political propaganda is an easy way to influence nonaligned nations. The Eastern bloc under USSR began to influence the neighboring nations and considered that the Western bloc is an imminent threat to their political interest. On the other side, the Western bloc under the U.S. began to influence the European nations. This initiative to divide the whole world nations into two blocs resulted in long lasting political conflict in America, Europe, and As ia. Military conflict The military conflict within the context of Cold War was limited to the context of threatening each other by exhibiting military superiority because both the sides possessed nuclear arms. Besides, both the sides were aware of the possibility of large scale destruction and its economic burden. So, the Western and the Eastern blocs strengthened their military forces, but did not try to attack each other. But the Suez Crisis (say, in the year 1956) the Cuban Missile Crisis (say, in the year 1962) and the â€Å"Able Archer† NATO military exercises (say, in the year 1983) led the whole world to suspect the possibility of military conflict during the Cold War. In short, military coalition and deployment of military forces was common during the Cold War era. Ideological conflict As pointed out, ideological difference was one among the grass root level reasons behind the Cold War. To be specific, the ideological conflict during the Cold War era was between commu nism and capitalism. Raymond P. Ojserkis makes clear that â€Å"A wide variety of other disagreements existed as well, many stemming from the Soviet distaste for the American vision of a postwar world dominated by relatively free trade (with currencies pegged to dollar) and elected governments.†2 One can see that the communist nations under the leadership of USSR tried to install the spirit of communism among their allies. This eventually led to the global propaganda against capitalism. On the other side, the Western bloc under the leaders

Globalization. Globalization In Economic Research Paper

Globalization. Globalization In Economic - Research Paper Example Although globalization is largely viewed as an economic process, it is has been known to have numerous political and social effects as well (Pew Research Center). With regards to the political and economic aspects, globalization is described as the process of decentralization of markets and legal systems (Lynch 6). In relation to businesses, it can be explained as a process in which companies venture into the emerging global markets. Furthermore, entities are taking advantage of the internet to launch their virtual presence in the worldwide marketplace. In most cases globalization is linked to modernization whereby there is transformation of developing nations into developed ones. Internationally, globalization is analyzed in terms of the challenges to the global economy and economic issues in general. There have heated discussions of globalization and its advantages and disadvantages. There have been numerous benefits accruing from the process such as increased trade among nations a nd dissemination of information world over (Knickerbocker 45). On the flip side there have been drawbacks associated with the process including exploitation of the poor nations, erosion of traditional cultures through modernization and the rising levels of global terrorism. In a nutshell, the process has positive and negative implications on countries world over. This essay addresses the complex concept of globalization and focuses on its economic aspect. It can be noted that global economic activities have become more integrated and economically oriented over the recent past. It takes the form of increased trade among nations, an increase in imports and exports, an overall growth of foreign investments and foreign loans. This is due to the existence of better policies and a friendlier economic environment (Knickerbocker 76). In fact, most modern economies argue that it is meaningless to form one’s thinking on national economies as international trade has become the backbone of most domestic economies in most countries. This has been the trend in most countries that have adopted uniform business environments and legal systems that govern the operations of global markets. This has had both negative and positive implications on the global economy. The first advantage linked to globalization development of the industrial economies that are under the Organization of Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is clear that international trading activities contribute to a significant proportion of the economic production or GDP in most countries (Knickerbocker 77). This is because economies tend to specialize in the areas where they have the highest comparative advantage. For example, if a country is best suited to produce steel, it concentrates on its production and outsources other products that may be expensive to produce in the country. Through specialization, countries are able to make optimum profits from their production activities. Globalization has resul ted to intensified trade in the national economies. This is due to the increased flow of goods, services and capital in the global market. This is due to the abolition of trade barriers among nations and uniform regulations on importation and exportation. This simplifies trading among nations and there increasing trading activities in the global economy (Lynch 10). This is facilitated by international trading organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) that make laws and regulations concerning the operations in the global economy. Regionally, bodies such as the European Union (EU), North America Free Trade Association (NAFTA), Common Markets for East and Central Africa (COMESA) and association of South East

How Milton develops Paradise Lost against Epic Tradition Essay Example for Free

How Milton develops Paradise Lost against Epic Tradition Essay One of the passages in Paradise Lost is â€Å"Answerable Style† specifically the Genre of Paradise Lost wherein the main concern of Milton pertains to which genre must be chosen and not just a simple matter to seek the story’s perfect medium but the writer’s anxiety in placing himself with the poetic tradition known as old centuries. With his decision in writing an epic, Milton was able to place himself in the writers’ epic tradition like for instance the Medieval and Renaissance poets Dante. The content of the Paradise Lost is the classical and epic conceits in the Renaissance concerning heavenly beings with the possible interaction while using the epic similes as well as the places and people’s catalogues with muse invocations. This means that the themes’ content is usually common to epics like for example war, its nationalism, the empire and the origin stories. Another passage in Paradise Lost is â€Å"Things invisible to mortal sight†, which means the classical epics of gods and goddesses and the desires including disagreements are mirroring the human but that of Milton is omnipresent and also invisible. Milton’s God cannot be compared to any individual because of His existence. In Paradise Lost, the story was inspired by the heavenly muse wherein fallen humans are unknowable. God’s portrayal by Milton became the subject of such debate among those scholars as well as critics. Still Milton believes in God’s power and yet explains the foreknowledge of fall and yet human beings may even fall to temptations because of free will given by God to choose and made a decision for them. This is not comparable with those gods as well as goddesses in terms of the epics in classic because of different views and beliefs but still Milton has his own presentation in his belief with God.

Why Play is Important for Children Essay Example for Free

Why Play is Important for Children Essay Children like to play, they need to run, chase, ride, skip and jump. The more they play, the more they want to play again. Play is important for Children because it practices their linguistic, cognitive and social skills and contributes to their general personality development. Children use their minds while playing, because they are thinking and acting as if they were another person. When they make such a transformation, they are taking a step forward abstract thinking in that they are freeing their thoughts from a focus on concrete objects. Play is also associated with creativity, especially the ability to be less literal and more flexible in ones thinking. Vygotskian who was a famous Russian psychologist wrote, In play a child always above his average age, above his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself. There are four types of play that reflect increasing levels of Childrens social interaction and sophistication. Solitary play is a play that takes place alone, often with toys, and is independent of what other children are doing. Parallel play involves children engaged in the same game or activity side by side but with very little interaction or common influence. Associative play is much like parallel play but with increased levels of interaction in terms of sharing, turn-taking and general interest in what others are doing. Cooperative play occurs when Children join and work together to achieve a common goal, such as building a large castle with each child building a part of the structure. Play have become quite indispensable to Childrens life, However, in order to motivate Children to learn from the games they are playing, Adults have responsibility to choose right playing method and age-appropriate games for the children. They are important elements to support the development of Childrens play. Types of Child’s Play Child’s play is seemingly limited only by imagination, but in general there are a few broad categories of child’s play that tend to cover the most common activities. Child’s play is often: * Quiet. These activities can often be conducted in one place, such as looking at books or working with blocks.  Children do not need great amounts of energy for quiet play and these activities are especially useful when a child is tired. * Creative. These activities allow a child to engage his/her imagination through painting, dancing, sculpting with clay and much more. Creative play allows children to come up with their own worlds, and many children enjoy being in charge of these activities. * Active. These activities require a good amount of energy and often help children develop their gross and fine motor skills. Playing with balls and climbing frames are examples of active child’s play. Cooperative. These activities involve more than one child. When children play with others and share their toys or take turns in an activity, they engage in cooperative play. * Dramatic/Role playing. Like creative play, children engage their imaginations during dramatic play or role playing and often take on the persona of a different character. Some dramatic play may take place with other children, though it might also include toys, dolls or even imaginary friends. Encouraging Child’s Play One of the most important things that a parent can do for their children is to be available for play. Activities that many parents enjoy doing with their children include: * Playing peek-a-boo with infants. * Singing silly songs and nursery rhymes with young children. * Reading to children of all ages. * Taking part in their children’s tea parties, school days or whatever other imaginary events they have dreamed up. * Dressing up in â€Å"costumes† and performing plays written and directed by their children. * Kicking or throwing a ball in the garden or park. * Playing â€Å"I spy† while out on walks or long drives. * Building towers of blocks or sand castles at the beach. For many parents, child’s play may seem lovely though relatively unimportant. If you find yourself wondering at the hours your child can spend engrossed in play, remember that (s)he is actually learning all about the world through these activities. Don’t wait for your child to invite you, join in and enjoy yourselves together! Learning through play Play helps young children to learn and develop their physical, social, emotional and intellectual skills through doing and talking, which research has shown to be the means by which young children learn to think. It is also how they learn to socialise as children engage in learning experiences with other children and adults. The Early Years Foundation Stage is a play based framework that childcare providers use as a tool to ensure that children from birth to five years are developing and learning to their full potential. Providers plan and provide a range of play activities, which help children to make progress in each of the key areas of learning and development identified by the framework: * Personal, social and emotional development. * Communication, language and literacy. Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy. * Knowledge and understanding of the world. * Physical development. * Creative development. There are lots of opportunities for you to help your child grow and learn. Parents can support their child’s development by choosing activities at home which gives them a chance to explore and use their imaginations. Visit our play activities page for ideas for fun activities for you and your child. The leaflet Learning Through Play contains further tips on how you can support your childs learning.

Life History Interview with Elderly Person

Life History Interview with Elderly Person Interview with an Older Person Christopher Mason Introduction Dr. Cheryl Lynn Robley is a 66 year old Caucasian female who currently lives in a retirement community in the Mississippi coastal town of Gulfport. She moved there from Tennessee to be near her son and two grand-daughters after being widowed a little over four years ago. While she enjoys being near her family, Dr. Robley explains it has been difficult adjusting to not only living alone, but also coming to grips with a new environment and an older age. Being brought up in a small southern farm town in West Tennessee during the 1950s and 60s, she attributes her commitment to care to her family, particularly her father. It was perhaps his encouragement and love that played the biggest role in her need to succeed not just as a woman, but also as a professional. She recalls that her first memory is of a trip to the store with him when she was four years old. Cheryl remembers walking hand in hand with her father as he looked at her and said, â€Å"Well, I’m with my best girl and sh e’s shinin’ bright as a star† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). Dr. Robley’s life has seemingly been one marked with challenge, opportunity, loss, as well as a desire to make a contribution to future generations. Childhood and Adolescence Normal growth and development has historically been described in relation to eight phases of maturation. Psycho-analyst, Eric Erikson, deemed these goals of intrinsic worth gained through personal development as, â€Å"trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, identity, intimacy, generativity, and integrity† (Sigelman Rider, 2014). While it is important to recognize that Erikson’s theory provides the framework of individual development through the cycle of eight defining moments, he makes no specification to the differences that gender or socioeconomics may play in the role of the life-span. Perhaps the first precipitating stressors that one can recognize in Dr. Robley’s life was when she was only twelve years old. An excellent example that follows the components of Stuart’s Stress Model occurred when Cheryl lost her three year old brother to Leukemia. The death of a loved one can be not only the test of how well an individual uses their resources to cope, but can also be a test of the resources for an entire family. As a child, Cheryl grew up active in her church and community and she found that there was solace in both of her grand-mother’s homes. She remembers that her piano lessons went on, as her classes at school did, but the death of her younger brother was too much for her mother to bear. Cheryl said that she had to become the mother to her younger sister. â€Å"It was hard to be thrust into a role that I knew nothing about† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). During this phase children re-analyze their individu ality to discover the function that they will fill as adults. Failure to substantiate a personalized identity during this period of time can lead to role confusion and can cause a person to be uncertain of their identity inside society (Santrock, 2011). The biopsychosocial components of Stuart’s Stress Model suggest that Cheryl had the predisposition as well as strong family relationships that enhanced her ability to respond to grief in an adaptive rather than a maladaptive manner. She states that although her sister, one year younger, was not aware of the seriousness of their brother’s illness, she [Cheryl] knew that her bother would die because she looked up his diagnosis. She listened and observed everything around her, and those things that she did not understand, she either asked one of her grand-mothers about or looked up in an encyclopedia. This served as a background and education that prepared her to deal with the weight of death at such a young age (Stuart, 2 012). Erikson surmised that the relationships and conflicts a child confronts in society, specifically with the family, allows a child to begin to develop an ego and personality through their experience with â€Å"trust versus mistrust†. The possibility of positive outcomes through this life-stage, as with every other virtue, is a double-edged sword. An individual’s experience upon being challenged or threatened is a unique response that swings the spectrum of the maladaptive to the adaptive continuum of coping (Erikson, 1950; Stuart, 2012). Cheryl’s father, who was a science and math teacher, owned the large farm she grew up on, and later became Tennessee’s largest cotton crop farmer. Her mother was a high school beauty queen who was also a teacher for a short time before becoming a full-time house-wife and mother of four daughters. As a teenager, Cheryl was her church’s pianist, played basketball, and graduated as her high school’s valedictorian. She felt acceptance and pride from her father and most of her family. She always felt an obvious disconnect from her mother that had a negative effect on her self-concept as a female. She gained confidence through her accomplishments, and enjoyed making her father proud. At a young age she began to establish her identity within a society. Her mother’s critical nature probably had some lasting effect and could have contributed to role confusion and negative self-image, if her father had not played such a prominent role in her life. Cheryl says , â€Å"Into young adulthood I became not only his confidant, but he truly valued my opinion. During the holidays, the other women were in the kitchen, my father asked me to sit and converse with the men† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). Young Adulthood Cheryl also gained acceptance from her peers who voted her most likely to succeed in her senior class superlatives election. In 1968, she was accepted to Vanderbilt University in Nashville Tennessee. As she moved away from home, she began to have more control over her social circles and environment. Cheryl continued her high school success as an academic, asserting her independence. Cheryl says, â€Å"While college was an adventure in exploration, I had been instilled with a belief system; unlike some of the other students I did not go wild† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). According to Erikson, this stage of life can be a struggle between willpower and impulsivity and a balance between the two factors tends to give way to purpose and direction (Erikson, 1950). One of the more salient proponents of Stuart’s Stress Model is the individual’s choice, emotional, behavioral, and psychological response in life when risk is encountered. Cheryl discussed her time at Vanderbilt as the point at which she found her voice. After joining a sorority, â€Å"the girls tried to tell me who I could and could not be friends with† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). This was a clear test of how Cheryl would adapt to the consequences of potential injury of being judged in a life situation. She dropped out of the sorority and was friends with who she wanted to be friends with. Cheryl knew that her father had wanted to be a physician, and in college she was working toward this goal until confronted with her first psychology class. Dr. Robley says, â€Å"That one class certainly put my life on a very different track† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). After being given her typical Vanderbilt co-ed card by fraternity row, and three years of hard work, she graduated with a baccalaureate degree in psychology. She began graduate school at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) with the coveted Veteran’s Administration (VA) scholarship. Even though Cheryl was very intelligent, she was quite reserved. At UTK, she was confronted with the first of her professors who cursed incessantly for shock appeal. Cheryl says that she turned red in every single class and stayed red until the end. She focused all of her energy on not letting this professor get the best of her. For Dr. Robley, learning to curse, became a defense mechanism. (Stuart, 2012). Cheryl was told by her professor and advisor that she was instinctually a diagnostician, and a natural therapist. She was one of three females in the Psychological Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program at UTK in the early 70s. Cheryl said that is was very different from being in a program now. One difference was the data processor she used was the size of a small room and utilized punch cards. After-all, personal computers were yet to be invented. It was the time after the Vietnam War when psychology was a young science, as were many other innovative technologies we use today. She considers herself extremely lucky to have found and excelled at a skill that she was inherently good at and could be of help to so many people. It gave meaning to who she was, and affirmed her place in society. Dr. Robley is very familiar with the works of Erikson, Freud, and Maslow. She believes that in essence each of their theories effectively parallel one another in characterizing the cycle of action and reaction during growth patterns. â€Å"Each of Erikson’s stages or crises, must occur and in sequence, but the lines that separate these stages, do blur. People mature at different rates† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). Dr. Robley had the opportunity to do internships in Miami and Houston; she extraordinarily was also trained by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Once Cheryl became Dr. Robley, she was hired as the director of the Alcohol and Drug (A D) unit at Moccasin Bend Psychiatric Hospital in Chattanooga Tennessee. It was the first year that the A D unit was open. Because funds were very limited, she and other employees completed the painting, renovations, and made quilts for the patient beds. She had complete autonomy. She interviewed and hired every nurse and orderly that would work in that unit. As a woman in such a position of authority, she found that the employees interested in helping the community were willing to follow her lead. However, every Friday, she met with the board of the hospital by which she was talked over and ignored until she remembered the shock factor of cursing. They did not expect her as a 5’ 2† 115 lb. girl to climb onto the conference table and pace back and forth in 3 inch heels cursing at the top of her lungs. She knew she made a risky choice that could have cost her career, but this smoky ro om full of middle aged men was uncharted territory for a young woman. In Stuart’s Model, the appraisal of stressors occurs when one gives cognitive meaning to previous loss, the weight of a potential obstacle, or challenge that emphasizes the chance of gain as opposed to the risk of loss (Stuart, 2012). In the 1970s, Cheryl would never have been successful as Dr. Robley without this kind of resilience, hardiness and self-assurance. Cheryl met Talle, a brazen artist that worked as a medical technician. When they met in her office, he propped his work boots on top of her desk and said, â€Å"You’re good, and I don’t know when you’re bluffing, but you are bluffing some of the time. No one as young as you are knows as much as you claim to know† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). Cheryl says that the only logical conclusion that she could draw was, â€Å"here is a challenge† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). They began dating. Cheryl says, â€Å"This was the time of my life† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). Although they were a perfect match, he never wore anything but blue jeans and she had never owned even one pair. Cheryl remembers that when she was in school the girls were required to wear skirts. When it snowed in Tennessee, she got to her class on the other side of the hill by sledding down t he icy slope on a piece of cardboard in a pencil skirt. She wasn’t completely demure. Cheryl laughs and recalls going to class to take an exam close to the holidays in a trench coat with nothing underneath. Middle Adulthood In 1976, the couple were pregnant and married. According to Erikson, â€Å"love and affiliation†, and whether one is emotionally and physically available to become intimate is one of the more important stages in an adult’s personal life (Erikson, 1950). Cheryl and Talle had a daughter, and three years later, a son as well. At this time, the family moved back to Cheryl’s home town of Jackson Tennessee; she opened a private practice that flourished. Her children were her greatest happiness and she was able to support her husband’s artistic talent as the breadwinner, but it was really being able to give back to the community she grew up in that made her feel like all of her hard work had been worth-while. Erikson’s outline of human development is very applicable to this statement as his 7th stage, â€Å"generativity versus stagnation†, points out the personal need to help others through there crisis stages or rather to make a difference in this world that one might see as a legacy. Cheryl stated with a shaky voice, â€Å"We were a very happy family, until I began to develop medical problems that no one could have predicted† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). Late Adulthood Dr. Robley developed migraines, degenerative disc disorder, and rheumatological problems around 40 years of age. While these problems began slowly, there were few health care professionals who knew enough about migraines and medication errors to effectively treat her. She continued working, even vomiting between patient sessions. She felt that there might be hope when she became aware of sumatriptan. While it was not available in the United States at that time, she was able to have it shipped from the Netherlands and later Canada. For a year it allowed her to resume work completely, as well as her life. The miracle of this resolution seemed to come to an end in one fell swoop. Developing an ischemic attack that resulted in a blocked artery left her unable to continue using the triptans for migraine relief. Physicians not knowing what to do, over-prescribed steroids for the inflammation which also caused her to develop diabetes mellitus type II. She was forced to close her practice an d allow both social security and private disability to pay for her medical bills and support her family. Cheryl and her husband had both always loved the freedom of being self-employed, however hard the work might have been. However, Talle shifted his focus from his own work to become a college professor of art. Dr. Robley feels that she has lost so much of what she has worked hard for and after losing her husband, has found herself to be more isolated and less involved in life. She has effectively disengaged. She says that she has fought for years and no longer owns a house or has any of the nice things that she once had. Although she sees her son and two grand-daughters most every week, and talks with her daughter who lives across the country; she for the first time in her life is not just alone, but lonely. Erikson was frugal in his utilization of the word achieve in the linguistic context of productive results, because it was implicit of gaining something distinct and everlasting. The psychosocial evolution is not straightforward and is not permanent: any former crisis can successfully return to anyone, albeit in a dissimilar pretext, with productive or unproductive outcomes. This perchance helps explain how high achievers can utterly fail, and how unsuccessful persons can in the end become ‘high achievers’. No-one should become contented, and there is promise for us all. (Amory, 2012, p. 253) Conclusion Dr. Robley said, â€Å"The person I identified as myself I no longer see. The accolades of my career feel like a former life† (Dr. C. L. Robley, personal communication, August 1, 2014). It is easy to see that Dr. Robley has had a lifetime of change in the last few years of her life. Without support or help, it would be difficult for anyone to cope with the drastic changes of illness, loss of finances, and especially the loss of a spouse. She must be encouraged to continue with the coping and defense mechanisms that produced the amazing doctor that gave to so many people. When you spend your hours taking care of the entire world, what do you do when the only person you have left to take care of is yourself? The Stuart Stress Adaptation Model interrelates a person’s unique reaction to stress given predisposing factors, the type of stressor, the individual’s perception of circumstances, as well as the available resources, and which resources one chooses to use in re action to the stressor (Stuart, 2012). The continuum of coping responses can vary from productive to damaging and can manifest as physical symptoms. The continuum from maladaptive to adaptive coping responses is a measurement of how healthy our reactions are. The final stage of Stuart’s Stress Model is the treatment and intervention stage. These are the exploration by the nurse and patient of both positive and negative consequences that were enabled by the patient’s cognitive misperceptions, and were then followed by maladaptive actions. A nurse’s goal is to help the patient to become aware of poor choices that result in negative consequences, and analyze strategies that are in favor of health promotion and a patient’s positive change in behavior. Dr. Cheryl Lynn Robley would perhaps benefit from a nursing intervention that refocused her interest in life by helping her to understand the things that she regrets. A nursing intervention directed toward stren gth training and balance might give her the capability to be more functional on a daily basis. A nurse and patient partnership toward better health has the ability to remind an elderly person that age is only a number and offer nurses the opportunity to begin their own legacy. References Amory, D. (2012). 3.23.3 Eriksons psychosocial development theory. In Techniques for personal coaching and self-coaching (p. 253). Raleigh, NC: Lulu.com. Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York, NY: W. W. Norton Company. Santrock, J. W. (2011). Life-span development (13th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Sigelman, C. K., Rider, E. A. (2014). Life-span human development (8 ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Stuart, G. W. (2012). Principles and practice of psychiatric nursing (10 ed.). Maryland Heights, MO: Elsevier Saunders: Mosby.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Essay -- Drug Abuse, Substance Abuse

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Skepticism Essay -- Skeptic philosophy philosophers

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