The Struggle to Create Post-Cold War Europe by Mary Sarotte Essay

The Struggle to Create Post-Cold War Europe by Mary Sarotte - Essay Example The author, Sarotte, has also been able to effectively bring together the flawless descriptions. The author has also taken into account an analysis which is challenging in terms of the creation of the post Cold War order (Dale 2009). Here the focus of the book has been on German aspect of the overall period. The author has also been able to effectively look into the historical perspective and has also been able to keep track of the events in order of how the events occurred (Sarotte 2010). In the case of most of the geopolitical events, it was found that the 1989 events did not stay in link with the initial promise that had been developed (Sarotte 2010). The book by the author has focused on the reports and ideas that have been focused on the exchange by the statesmen and the other governmental officials. The overall book and the document is very well laid out and described. The book however does lack new information. The topic of discussion however has been on a single topic of Nato expansion which makes a major contribution. There was one underlying question throughout the Cold War which focused on whether the Soviet communism was the cause for the Washington to build up their forces in Europe. The doubt here was whether this has been the cause for the stationed forces or whether it was simply to validate the existence and the presence of Nato (Sarotte 2010). In time with the disappearance of the Soviet, the answer to this was clear and evident. The other main question that related to Nato was that of the nuclear weapons. The book has also taken into account the several questions of nuclear weapons and the questions relating to the shadows of the denuclearisation of Germany. The questions of the presence of the US military in Europe have also been high. The author has been a little hesitant and unsure of Nato expansion without having a clear idea of the benefits of the expansion (Sarotte 2010). Here there is little attention and positive elements that the aut hor finds in her book about Bush and the author has presented Bush to be a very tactful leader who also shows high boldness. There are two main elements that are found to be missing in the book. Firstly, the way the book has been developed and presented, this could have been written several years ago and the overall analysis as presented in the book, could have been presented in a much more effective manner (Sarotte 2010). There are numerous elements in the book where there have been irrelevant discussions and there has also been a major disconnect in the overall discussion. Here of these one of the examples has been of the marketing strategies discussed in the paper. The second major limitation of this book is the lack of focus on the corrupt activities of the Chancellor which could have been brought out in a more effective manner. Here these activities have a major role in the overall courting as well as the persuasion of the Germans and the unification with the Atlanticist (Dale 2009). As a whole, the book has been well presented and also very thoroughly researched. Here however a lot more positive elements could have been presented in the book to provide a higher level of acceptance and also more recognition to the book as a whole. The author has been able to effectively use all the research to provide a well presented book, with a few tweaks and improvements, the book and

How Can Risk Influence Risk Premium Essay Example for Free

How Can Risk Influence Risk Premium Essay Risk and return are the fundamental basis upon which investors make their decision whether or not they should invest in a particular investment. How they are related and the influence between the two, is the decision making process that all investors must weigh up. This essay will show how risk can influence risk premium, outlining their relationship and how risk and return are related. Within any investment there is a certain amount of risk, which must be taken into account by an investor when deciding to invest. Risk is defined as the chance of financial loss or, more formally the variability of returns associated with a given asset. This concept in finance is the idea that all investment carries a risk, the higher the risk, the greater the return, however the adverse is also relevant, when the risk of an investment is lower the return is expected to also be lower. However, with all investment there is never a guarantee of return. Return is the total gain or loss experienced on an investment over a given period of time. It is measured by the asset’s cash distributions plus change in value, divided by its beginning-of-period value. (Gitman, et al. , 2011, p. 08) Returns on investment are the motivation to all investors, however as all investment carries a risk, the investor must have a required and expected return on the investment. Expected return, is the return that an asset is expected to produce over some future period of time, while required return, is that which an investor requires an asset to produce if he/she is to be a future investor in that asset. It is here that we see the relationship between risk and return. With the expected and required return on an asset, an investor can calculate the return of an asset and its risk. Kidwell, et al. , 2007, p. 307) To better understand this relationship we must analyse risk premium. Risk premium refers to an asset’s expected rate of return and how that exceeds the risk free rate. The risk free rate is the interest rate of a stable investment usually a government bond or Treasury bill, which is used as a stabilizer and market equivalent in the calculation of the risk and return. (Kidwell, et al. , 2007, p. 307) The required rate of return is therefore based on the expectations of the investor. Risk premium is the compensation for making and undertaking an investment and risk. It is here that we bring all the above mentioned components of risk, return, and risk premium together to formulate: Required rate of return = Risk-free rate of return + Risk premium From this equation we see how risk can influence the risk premium and in turn affect the required rate of return. As risk premium is based on the investor’s compensation for undertaking the risk, we can surmise that the higher the compensation wanted by the investor, the higher the risk will have to be to gain the required rate of return.

creative short stories Essay examples -- essays research papers

MacBeth’s Transformation from "Brave Macbeth to "This dead Butcher" William Shakespeare's play "MacBeth" tells the story of Macbeth change from a brave general, to a vicious murderer. At the start of the play Macbeth is acknowledge by the king as a brave and honourable general, after he heard of Macbeth's great victory in the battlefield. He promotes Macbeth to Thane of Cawdor, which was still unknown by both Macbeth and Banquo when they came across the three weird sisters. "All Hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of Cawdor" (I:III:51) "All Hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter" (I:III:53) Macbeth was sceptical about these prophecies, however developed faith in them when Ross, following the king's orders titles him Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth does not let on to anyone about his ever-increasing desire to become king. "If chance will have me king, why chance will crown me." (I:III:154) Macbeth tells his lady about the prophecies and she is instantly enthusiastic about the prospect of Macbeth becoming king. "Great Glamis, Worthy Cawdor! Greater than both by the all-hail hereafter! Thy letters have transported me beyond this ignorant present and I feel now the future is an instant." (I:V:58) Macbeth's desire turns to an obsession and with...

Definition of Groupthink. Retrieved from Essay

I have always had a different idea of what groupthink really means, to me I thought of it as a bad idea from someone amongst a group of people that had not been voiced seemingly because the person having this thought lacks confidence or backing. More like trying to proof to your business partners that an idea of using an outdated tactic to target a young crowd is not the best idea In its own definition Wikipedia(2013) describes groupthink as a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an incorrect or deviant decision- making outcome, whereas it can also be viewed as the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility. All different versions of what it is but also giving a detailed well round idea and description. Good examples of groupthink situations as studied by Janis in the book â€Å"fiascoes† are such as the United States government failure to anticipate the Pearl Harbor attacks, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the escalation of Vietnam War, and the ill-fated hostage rescue in Iran (Janis,1972) Some recent past examples of groupthink would be in the hastened decision making of the Bush administration and Congress to pursue an invasion of Iraq based on a policy of â€Å"preemptive use of military force against terrorists and rogue nations.† It is definitely an undeniable fact that groupthink has been a large part of decision making in the United States government for a long time. As we speak, arguably the best current example of groupthink that the American government is facing is the Obama Care. This is so because some might see it as a majority of democrat leaders refusing to see or identify with different ideas that are outside theirs, thus leading to what psychologist consider as a mental deficiency commonly known as groupthink. â€Å"Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that dehumanize other groups† (Janis, 1972). I found it rather interesting reading the article by the net advisor to bring out reasons as to why the Obama care was created under the influence of groupthink. The net advisor article reads â€Å"the patient protection and affordable care act or â€Å"Obama Care† was passed by majority of the then Democratic House. The house leadership under Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) refused to allow the US senate of any party to even consider debating, let alone voting on Obama care. The house by passed the entire U.S. senate by using a controversial self-executing rule or â€Å"deem and pass† procedure then quickly sent it to president Obama to sign†(Net advisor). This brings out the question, what if the Democratic Party had not made such an irrational decision to pass the Obama Care, would it have made any difference in the case of the government shutdown. Since the main reason that led to most of the republican members to oppose raising the debt ceiling that would have prevented the government from shutting down was primarily a disagreement in the Obama care. This is arguable in both sides since the republican party might also have made a groupthink decision to prevent the Obama care under any circumstances, leading to a government shutdown that has dented the government debt even more, ironically an issue that they (republican party) are trying to avoid with the Obama care. The united states is established in two well defined parties and many are the times that the conflicting views from each party, makes it harder to make any decisions or view the others opinion. Hopefully in the future the decisions from our leaders can be viewed in a more universal dimension, thus the administrators of our president can challenge each other to eliminate groupthink. References Janis, I (1972, Victims of groupthink (1st edition ed) retrieved from http:// leadership theory 3450.blogspot.com Obama care is an example of Groupthink gone wrong. Retrieved from http://netadvisor.org/2013/09/26. Definition of Groupthink. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink

Bridge paper

The builders could not have imagined that it would be still in use over 100 years after its opening (ENDEX Engineering 2007). So who were these people who built the bridge? What gave them the energy to construct one of the world’s greatest marvels? It can be safely said that there were only three people who believed in the project from start to finish. These were the Roeblings’; father, son, and son’s wife. The story of their achievement is the same so while the remainder of this paper will dwell on son Washington Roebling’s achievements it could just as easily be the story of the other two.Education and Practical Training Washington Roebling was the son of an impressive man, born May 26th 1837 in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. Few remember his father; which says something about Washington’s accomplishments. His father owned a very successful wire rope business and was a pioneer in the field of iron and steel cable. As Washington grew older, he began to h elp his father in engineering endeavors. Since wire rope is a superb match for suspension bridge construction with flexibility and a high tensile strength, the Roeblings’ did much work in this field (Invention Factory 2007).Before entering the army, Washington went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Much like civil engineering majors today, it took him four years to receive his degree, but it was much more hands on than is allowed today. The education back in the 1800’s was mostly on-the-job training, whereas today computer technologies and weeding out nonconformists through mindless homework play a huge role in education. Today modern engineering students, co-ops and internships help provide realistic situations.During the civil war, in which Washington Roebling served superbly as an engineer officer in the 6th New York Calvary, Washington began to make a name for himself. He built a 1200 foot suspension bridge across the Rappahannock River and spe nt much of his time in a hot air balloon, the civil war version of air reconnaissance. Before the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, John sent Washington to Europe to study new methods for the sinking of the foundations. Later in his life, Washington would bestow almost all the credit and knowledge obtained for the Brooklyn Bridge to his father.Knowledge from the army and from his dad were used in his finishing of the two giant granite masonry towers that climbed 276 feet above high water over which to suspend wire cables to support a road 135 feet at its highest point above the water. This height was needed for ships to pass under. The bridge would be wide, at 85 feet, and the cables that would support the span would be bound to huge anchorages of 60,000 tons each (ENDEX Engineering 2007). The Brooklyn Bridge was an innovative project. Table 2 shows all the accomplishments and innovations that are related to the Brooklyn Bridge.Socioeconomic and Political Environments After the C ivil War, Washington returned to the family business, assisting in completing two more suspension bridges across the Ohio River (Invention Factory 2007). During this time Washington’s father, John, became interested in building a bridge across the East River. New York legislators finally realized the need for a route over the East River and passed a bill for some sort of construction. The largest restriction that the plans for the structure had to abide by was its height over the river, which was set to avoid contact with masts of ships that passes under it.This idea of a bridge was nothing new. For 60 years, different ways of linking Brooklyn and New York had been considered (Trachtenberg 1965). Soon, the city of New York set up the first ferries from Manhattan to Brooklyn in 1812 but more versatile transit was needed. The Brooklyn Bridge was erected out of economic necessity and urban sprawl (Brooke and Davidson 2006). New York City was a huge immigration hub. In the mid-18 00’s, men and women began to emigrate from Europe and many settled in Brooklyn. As a result, many lived in boarding houses.Brooklyn at this time consisted mainly of Irish immigrants. Immigrants were paid very poorly considered the work they performed as it was always the most demanding and risky. From 1860 to 1870, Brooklyn’s population growth was 50 percent; the fastest growing city at the time (Trachtenberg 1965). Manhattan was the opposite of Brooklyn, in that it was primarily a business district in the mid 1800’s. Approximately 40 percent of wager earners in Brooklyn had jobs in Manhattan. The northeastern coast was a major hub for imports and manufacturing goods after the Erie Canal was built.At the time the only way to get from Manhattan to Brooklyn was by fairy which was often slow and hampered by storms. Taking the ferries tended to be very dangerous. Plans for a either a bridge or a tunnel over the East River were interrupted by the Civil War. Bridges w ere thought to be impossible as no materials where known to be strong enough to support the needed span. Part of the problem was that the bridge needed to be high above the channel to allow masted ships to pass beneath it, even at high tide. These details had proved insurmountable until then.A fleet of ferries shuttled people and goods across the river every day. John Roebling, with his wire rope business and history of successful suspension bridges, had a viable solution (Invention Factory 2007). The Brooklyn Bridge would use steel in its cables. Good wrought iron breaks at 30 tons where good steel of the same size breaks at 75 tons (2. 5 times stronger) (Hart 1967). While it was not trusted at the time because of its newness, the Roeblings’ had faith in its strength. At the time, suspension bridges were viewed with suspicion.Many had failed in storms or under live loads; however, none of the bridges John had built had ever failed. One of the reasons he had succeeded was tha t he made them very stiff, preventing flexing from wind that would plague other suspension bridge builders into the next century and most famously in the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940, more than 70 years after John. After due debate, the Brooklyn Bridge Company was formed with John Roebling as chief engineer (Invention Factory 2007). One thing that the times lent to the project was a good source of cheap labor.Poor immigrants, mainly Irish, were the ones who worked the most on the bridge. They also took the brunt of the casualties. Approximately 20-30 people died during construction and administration viewed it as necessary and unavoidable. Labor was very manual and at the time workers had very little power in politics. The Irish workers did not enjoy the choice of date, as it coincided with the Queen’s birthday. Technological Context & Construction Details In December 1849, an accident mangled Roebling’s father’s left hand while undergoing testing on the innova tive wire rope machinery.This new technology would set this bridge far ahead of its time, utilizing a braded configuration allowing flexibility and easier handling (Trachtenberg 1965). The Brooklyn Bridge would use steel in its cables. Good wrought iron breaks at 30 tons where good steel of the same size breaks at 75 tons (2. 5 times stronger) (Hart 1967). While steel was not trusted at the time because of its newness, the Roeblings’ had faith in its strength. At the time, steel or no steel, suspension bridges were viewed with suspicion. Many had failed in storms or under live loads; however, none of the bridges John had built had ever failed.One of the reasons he had succeeded was that he made them very stiff, preventing flexing from wind that would plague other suspension bridge builders into the next century and most famously in the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940, more than 70 years after John’s lifetime. Construction was very hazardous at that time, even for chief e ngineers. At the start of the project, the Brooklyn Bridge Company lost a crucial member. A ferryboat crushed John Roebling’s foot when he was on site. After having his toes amputated, during which he declined anesthetic, an infection set in and killed him (ENDEX Engineering 2007).Surprisingly there was little debate over who should succeed him. Washington Roebling was already deeply involved with the project so he was appointed successor (Invention Factory 2007). In 1872 disaster struck again. Washington himself was down in the caissons more than any one else. He was suddenly struck with what was called caisson sickness, and is what is modernly called the bends (Invention Factory 2007). This disease was not understood at the time and results from prolonged exposure to high pressures and then sudden decompression, allowing nitrogen bubbles to form in blood and possibly clog them.Washington was not the first to fall ill from the bends, in fact, people had already died of it bu t work proceeded on. After coming back even though clearly sick, Washington was bedridden, crippled for the remainder of the project. He was only able to stand for 10 minutes at a time when the bridge opened in 1883 (Smithsonian Associates 2004). Washington remained head engineer giving orders from his bed but the person most visible to visitors at the project was his wife, Emily. She knew just as much about the project as Washington.When a board of enquiry was put together to try to oust the bedridden head engineer she removed sufficient doubt from its members for Roebling to stay (Smithsonian Associates 2004). To say she was the head engineer would only be a very slight exaggeration. The towers that supported the span were made out of limestone, granite and concrete. Newly found techniques for making steel made it a cheap, strong metal for the suspension cables (Hart 1967). The first order of business was to sink the two giant caissons into the riverbed to support the towers (Figu re 1).These were made of 12 x 12 yellow pine beams and weighed by themselves 3000 tons, having 15 foot thick roofs to keep the excavators from getting crushed by the eventually 80,000 tons of rock piled on top to make up the Towers. John found a new way to devise a foundation. The caissons were floated into place and then sunk into position, driven downward by the towers on top and crews underneath removing the actual riverbed (ENDEX Engineering 2007). Once they reached solid ground the caissons would be pumped full of grout and serve as a perfect foundation. They were undoubtedly the most tedious and difficult part of the bridge construction.Excavation methods consisted of shovel, pick, wheelbarrow, steel bar stone breakers, winches, and ten ton hydraulic jacks, eventually blasting after Washington Roebling conducted a series of experiments in the caisson. Initial rate of caisson excavation and lowering produced 6 inches per week, with a workforce of 360 people constructing the bri dge (Trachtenberg 1965). Compressed air was used in the caissons to keep the water out, and the deeper they got (78 feet on the New York side, 45 feet on the Brooklyn side) the higher the pressure needed (ENDEX Engineering 2007). This was dangerous in more way than one.Fires could be catastrophic, and occasionally there would be a blowout that subsequently would allow water back in. The largest of these air releases blew rocks and mud 500 feet into the air in 1870. Fires, from using dynamite, were the worst however. One was found smoldering in the 15 feet of wood under the Brooklyn Caisson, fed by compressed air (ENDEX Engineering 2007). Eventually some timbers were replaced and the rest of the holes were pumped full of grout. The New York caisson was stopped after 78 feet not because it had reached rock but because conditions had become intolerable.As a result, to this day it rests on sand; surprisingly stable (ENDEX Engineering 2007). The Brooklyn and New York Towers were complete d in 1875 and 1876 respectively (ENDEX Engineering 2007). The cables were strung after the completion of the towers. Perhaps the greatest calamity struck in the middle of this. A cable snapped, killing two men, and it was found to be very substandard (ENDEX Engineering 2007). Incidentally, the contractor who supplied the steel cable was not John Roebling’s Sons Co, which at the time was owned exclusively by Washington’s brothers. The cables were flawed.Eventually, the wire in all the cables, including 1520 suspenders and 400 diagonal stays, was approximately 3600 miles long (ENDEX Engineering 2007). Personal Characteristics Washington fought in the civil war both on the ground as a military observer from hot air balloons. Washington served at Gettysburg with distinction on Little Round Top and was at the siege of Richmond (Invention Factory 2007). He became very noble and selfless, though cocky at times, during the Civil War. Perhaps the most important part of his war career, however, was that he met his wife to be, Emily Warren, because he served under her brother, General G.K. Warren (ENDEX Engineering 2007). He ended the war at the rank of a Colonel. After the war he helped his father build the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge (now called John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge) before the Brooklyn Bridge. Despite many the huge hurdles of the Brooklyn Bridge project, among which was the fact that Washington became horribly sick and bedridden for most of the actual building from decompression sickness when the huge caissons for the twin towers were sunk in the Hudson riverbed (hence the traditional term ‘caisson sickness’), he managed to oversee all stages of its construction.He did this only with the help of his wife Emily Warren Roebling, who almost every day visited the site and reported to him and who some felt built the bridge herself (The Great Engineers, 1967). The Brooklyn Bridge was opened May 24th 1883 by the president of the Unite d States U. S. Grant, to fireworks and one cent ticket passes to cross. Apparently it was a great relief to Washington Roebling as his health began to slowly improve.After the completing this engineering marvel in 1883, Washington lived a relatively quiet life, mostly as a result of being still partially crippled from his illness, and when his wife died in 1903 he remarried in 1908. He spent much of his time collecting minerals, which was his one great hobby, eventually having 16,000 specimens and ending up in the Museum of Natural History’s mineral and gem collection (Smithsonian Associates 2004). This hobby added balance to his life and probably kept him from accomplishing very much else as it took so much of his time.He outlived his wife Emily and remarried. He became president of his fathers company, John Roebling’s Sons, in 1921 at the age of 79. He brought incredible energy to the position, modernizing the factory with electricity and adding a galvanized wire sec tion. The business prospered under his leadership until 1926, when Washington Roebling died. When one has hobbies such as athletics help keeps a healthy time management of school work and fun down time. College is one of the few times were one can have fun.There is a time and place to enjoy your hobbies but to enjoy these hobbies one must put in an honest day’s work. Conclusion When the Brooklyn Bridge opened to traffic on May 24th 1883, it was one of the grandest engineering marvels of that century in North America. The construction was composed of many firsts. Despite innumerable setbacks, including the untimely death of the original designer of the plan, John A. Roebling, and the crippling of his son, Washington Roebling, who succeeded him in the chief engineer duties it, was finished in 14 years, having been commenced January 2, 1870.At the time of completion it was 50% longer than any other suspension bridge, it was the first to use steel cables, much stronger than hemp or cast iron previously used. The towers that supported the four main cables (each of which supports a total dead & live load of about 6 million pounds) for the span were the largest stone and masonry objects of their kind rising approximately 276 feet above the high water mark (Smithsonian Associates 2004). The challenges of this are hard to fathom in today’s world of reinforced concrete.

Free Essays on Family Life- A Bug’s Home Or Women Equality

Family Life- A Bug’s Home or Women Equality Throughout history, the family has gone through numerous changes. There were the paterfamilias times where the father’s rule was law, the Chinese ideas of wisdom with age, the 1900s when the dad worked, the wife cooked, and the two and a half kids studied, took out the trash and walked the two and three quarters dogs, and the present where most families depend on a double income from the mother and father. In literature, the lives of families change in accordance to history. This is clear simply upon reading and understanding the text that the author provides. Kafka’s short story Metamorphosis as well as Joan Konner’s article â€Å"Women in the Marketplace† illustrates this point, but in different ways. Kafka touches more upon the single income father, whereas Joan focuses more on women playing a larger role in the workplace while maintaining their stature as the caretaker of the household. Kafka’s Metamorphosis, written in 1912, is a real story told in an outlandish fashion. The story begins as Gregor wakes in his bed and realizes he has transformed into an enormous bug. This would create utter havoc for most people, but Gregor simply takes it in. He says to himself, â€Å"Getting up early like this makes you totally idiotic. People must have their sleep†(K 12). Not to long after, Gregor becomes traumatized. It appears he has missed his train to work and will soon miss the second. After all, Gregor must work to provide for his family. The fact that he is a gigantic insect does not hamper that ideal. As the story progresses, Gregor is able to show himself to his family who flee in terror at the site of him. Of course, they are running from monstrous insect, but symbolically, they could be running from the thought that their sole source of the family’s income is now gone. Whether or not Kafka intended this is unknown, but it remains a worthy issue. Seeing as how Gregor can no... Free Essays on Family Life- A Bug’s Home Or Women Equality Free Essays on Family Life- A Bug’s Home Or Women Equality Family Life- A Bug’s Home or Women Equality Throughout history, the family has gone through numerous changes. There were the paterfamilias times where the father’s rule was law, the Chinese ideas of wisdom with age, the 1900s when the dad worked, the wife cooked, and the two and a half kids studied, took out the trash and walked the two and three quarters dogs, and the present where most families depend on a double income from the mother and father. In literature, the lives of families change in accordance to history. This is clear simply upon reading and understanding the text that the author provides. Kafka’s short story Metamorphosis as well as Joan Konner’s article â€Å"Women in the Marketplace† illustrates this point, but in different ways. Kafka touches more upon the single income father, whereas Joan focuses more on women playing a larger role in the workplace while maintaining their stature as the caretaker of the household. Kafka’s Metamorphosis, written in 1912, is a real story told in an outlandish fashion. The story begins as Gregor wakes in his bed and realizes he has transformed into an enormous bug. This would create utter havoc for most people, but Gregor simply takes it in. He says to himself, â€Å"Getting up early like this makes you totally idiotic. People must have their sleep†(K 12). Not to long after, Gregor becomes traumatized. It appears he has missed his train to work and will soon miss the second. After all, Gregor must work to provide for his family. The fact that he is a gigantic insect does not hamper that ideal. As the story progresses, Gregor is able to show himself to his family who flee in terror at the site of him. Of course, they are running from monstrous insect, but symbolically, they could be running from the thought that their sole source of the family’s income is now gone. Whether or not Kafka intended this is unknown, but it remains a worthy issue. Seeing as how Gregor can no...

Culturally Competent Assessments Of Children In Need Social Work Essay Essays

Culturally Competent Assessments Of Children In Need Social Work Essay Essays Culturally Competent Assessments Of Children In Need Social Work Essay Essay Culturally Competent Assessments Of Children In Need Social Work Essay Essay This article critically analyses cultural competency as a theoretical concept and explores the demand for a model that will help societal workers to transport out culturally competent appraisals of kids in demand and their households. It is argued that the necessary constituents of a model for pattern in this country are a holistic definition of civilization, an ethical attack to difference, self-awareness, an consciousness of power dealingss, the acceptance of a place of complete openness in working with difference and a doubting attack to a commodified construct of cultural cognition . The attack must avoid the totalisation of the other for personal or institutional intents. It is argued that the Furness/Gilligan Framework ( 2010 ) reflects these concerns and could be easy adapted to help with appraisals in this country. Cardinal words: appraisal ; kids in demand ; kids and households ; civilization ; cultural competency Introduction The intent of this paper is to critically analyze cultural competency as a theoretical concept and to research the demand for a model that will help societal workers to place when facets of civilization are important in the lives and kids in demand and their households. The 1989 Children Act places a legal demand to give due consideration to a kid s spiritual persuasion, racial beginning, and cultural and lingual background in their attention and in the proviso of services ( Section 22 ( 5 ) ) . This proviso established the rule that understanding a kid s cultural background must underline all work with kids. However, there has been a longstanding concern that services to kids are neglecting to be culturally sensitive. Concern over the disproportional figure of children in demand from cultural minorities led to their specific reference in The Government s Objective for Children s Social Services, which states that the demands of black and cultural minority kids and households must be identified and met through services which are culturally sensitive ( Department of Health, 1999a: parity 16 ) . Government policy paperss progressively recognise the multicultural world of Britain. Yet, authorities assessment counsel provides practicians with small aid in footings of set uping ways in which cultural beliefs and patterns influence household life. Social work has acknowledged the demand to react respectfully and efficaciously to people of all civilizations, cultural backgrounds, faiths, societal categories and other diverseness factors in a mode that values the worth of persons, households and communities and protects and preserves the self-respect of each ( BASW, 2009 ) . There are many indicants that civilization is important in finding the ways in which some people interpret events, resolve quandary, make determinations and position themselves, their ain and others actions and how they respond to these ( Gilligan, 2009 ; Hunt, 2005 ) . Practitioners may non, hence, be able to prosecute with service users or to ease appropriate intercessions if they take excessively small history of these facets of people s lives or see them on the footing of inaccurate, ill-informed or stereotyped knowledge ( Gilligan, 2009 ; Hodge et al. , 2006 ) . Culturally competent pattern is so cardinal to appraisals of kids in demand that one might anticipate a well developed literature on the topic. This would move as a robust cognition base to underpin excellence in service bringing. Thompson ( 2006, p. 82 ) admits, there is a danger that appraisal will be based on dominant white norms without equal attending being paid to cultural differences. Failure to take such differences into history will non merely distort, and thereby annul, the footing of the appraisal but will function to estrange clients by devaluating their civilization. However, the literature in this country is surprisingly thin. Almost two decennaries ago it was described as a nothingness of published information ( Lynch and Hanson, 1992, p. seventeen ) and Welbourne ( 2002 ) argues that advancement is still slow. Boushel ( 2000 ) argues that despite the authorities s declared concern to cognize more about the impact of race and ethnicity on kid public assistance, th e limited extent to which research reflects the experience and demands of culturally diverse kids fails to back up a true grounds base for policy or pattern. There is grounds that facets of civilization can all excessively easy be underestimated, overlooked or ignored, sometimes with highly serious effects ( Crippling, 2003 ; Gilligan, 2008 ; OHagan, 2001 ) . Many mainstream child care and kid protection texts make small mention to civilization ( OHagan, 2001 ) . Not one of the 20 pieces of research into differing facets of kid protection work considered in Messages From Research ( Dartington, 1995 ) explore the cultural facets of any of the instances dealt with. There is now a turning organic structure of literature written for wellness and societal attention professionals about the importance of developing and integrating cultural sensitiveness and consciousness in their work with others ( Campinha-Bacote, 1994 ; CHYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/bcp159v2? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=social+work+religion+and+belief A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcetype=HWCIT # BCP159C4 andHYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/bcp159v2? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=social+work+religion+and+belief A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcetype=HWCIT # BCP159C4 a HYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/bcp159v2? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=social+work+religion+and+belief A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcety pe=HWCIT # BCP159C4 andHYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/bcp159v2? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=social+work+religion+and+belief A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcetype=HWCIT # BCP159C4 Furman, 1999 ; Hodge, 2001, 2005 ; Moss, 2005 ; Gilligan and Furness, 2006 ; Sue, 2006 ; Laird, 2008 ) . However, despite the evident outgrowth of a more general acknowledgment and recognition of these issues amongst many professionals, relevant daily pattern remains mostly dependent on single positions and attitudes ( Gilligan, 2009 ) . A Department of Health ( 2002 ) survey of 40 deceases and serious hurts to kids found that, information on the cultural background of kids and carers was obscure and unworldly in that it failed to see characteristics of the kid s civilization, faith and race, as specified in the Children Act 1989 ( Department of Health, 2002, p. 26 ) . The failure to gestate accurately the cul tural and societal context within which minority cultural parents are runing impacts on intercessions offered, which served to reflect and reproduce bing impotence. . . ( Bernard, 2001, p. 3 ) . If, as this suggests, there is a shortage in societal workers ability to gestate minority cultural service users societal and cultural context in appraisals of kids, partially accounted for by a dearth of literature in this country, the deductions for pattern are potentially a failure to transport out culturally competent pattern for many vulnerable kids. In The Victoria Climbie Inquiry Report 2003, Lord Lamming commented that, The legislative model is sound, the spread is in the execution ( 2003, p. 13 ) . Report after study has expressed concern over the limited accomplishments of societal services staff when project appraisals and planing intercessions with cultural minority kids ( Batty, 2002 ) . While many professionals acknowledge that there is a demand to work in culturally sensitive ways, there is grounds that many professionals working with kids and households do non ever experience equipt to make so ( Gilligan, 2003 ) . Gilligan ( 2009 ) found that whilst professionals may recognize that service users beliefs are really of import, there is small consistence in how such acknowledgment impacts on pattern. Even within his little sample, there was considerable fluctuation in attitudes and much to propose that actions and determinations are the merchandise of single pick instead than professional opinion or bureau policies ( Gi lligan, 2009 ) . Practitioners are able to go on with culture-blind attacks without these being significantly challenged by bureau policies or by professional civilizations ( Gilligan, 2009 ) . There is a clear demand to look once more at what we mean by cultural competency and to develop a model that will help societal workers to place when facets of civilization are important in the lives and kids in demand and their households. Specifying civilization There is a clear acknowledgment that aspects of civilization are important in the lives of kids and their households and that this needs to be considered in assessment pattern. In order to turn to the deficiency of apprehension and uneffective pattern among practicians in this country it is necessary to supply clear definitions of culture and cultural competency . Measuring kids in demand and their households is a complex undertaking. There is grounds of considerable fluctuation between societal workers definitions of the indispensable constituents of good plenty rearing , reflecting the fluctuation between professionals in definition of need ( Daniel, 2000 ) . When reexamining instances of serious hurt or decease, the Department of Health concluded that: . . .areas suggested by this research as ripe for development [ include ] making common definitions of being in demand or at hazard of important injury ( Department of Health, 2002 ) . It is in this context of ambiguity tha t culture must be defined. The 1989 Children Act uses the wording culture as a statutory demand in turn toing the demands of black kids, but does non offer counsel about its definition. Culture is a extremely dianoetic term and the object of an intensive theoretical and political difference ( Benhabib, 1999, 2002 ) . The building of civilization as a theoretical construct has ever been affected by embroiled positions, peculiarly in societal work ( Boggs, 2004 ) . Harrison and Turner ( 2010 ) found that participants in their survey spent considerable clip discoursing the complex nature of civilization and the troubles in specifying it. This means that when looking at the pattern of cultural competency as portion of measuring demand and put on the line the range for conceptual ambiguity is huge ( Welbourne, 2002 ) . Eagleton ( 2000, p. 1 ) provinces that, civilization is said to be one of the two or three most complex words in the English linguistic communication . OHagan ( 2001 ) argues that civilization is a complex construct, with virtually illimitable parametric quantities, which can non be defined or explained in the two or three sentences normally allocated to them in much wellness and societal attention literature. For illustration, Payne ( 1997, p. 244 ) provides a instead equivocal definition of civilization: a hard construct. It implies a comparatively unchanging, ruling aggregation of societal values, and assumes that members of an identified group will ever accept these . It is possible to analyze definitions of civilization that root from anthropology, sociology, psychological science and cultural geographics ( OHagan, 2001 ) . The anthropologist Edward Tylor ( 1871 ) formulated the most abiding definition of civilization: civilization is that complex whole which includes cogni tion, beliefs, art, ethical motives, jurisprudence, usage and any other capablenesss and wonts acquired by adult male as a member of society . The sociologist Giddens ( 1993: 31 ) says that civilization refers to the ways of life of the members of a society, or of groups, or within a society. It includes how they dress, their matrimony imposts and household life, their forms of work, spiritual ceremonials and leisure chases . OHagan ( 2001 ) defines civilization as the distinguishable manner of life of the group, race, category, community or state to which the person belongs. It is the first and most of import frame of mention from which one s sense of individuality evolves . OHagan s definition draws on anthropology and is broad plenty to dispute essentialist impressions of civilization, yet defined sufficiency to be meaningful. It besides balances the community and single facets of civilization. When we consider this definition of civilization it can be seen that all appraisa l of kids in demand occurs within a cultural context. In fact it is possibly better understood as taking topographic point within a figure of interacting cultural contexts, with the civilization of the kid at the bosom of the procedure. The usage of the construct of culture in developing cultural competency and non race has been a calculated displacement in nomenclature from anti-racist theorising. Anti-racist theory, with its accent on race, has been criticised for dichotomizing blackness and whiteness which does non allow any distinction in the experience of racism between different cultural groups ( Laird, 2008 ) . The thought of racial homogeneousness has been digesting but this thought must be challenged. White people and black people are non homogenous groups ( Laird, 2008 ) . Culture is a broader term than race or ethnicity and can include facets of age, gender, societal position, faith, linguistic communication, sexual orientation and disablement ( Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward, 2005 ) . Using the term culture allows for difference of attitude and experience between persons who are portion of the same cultural or racial grouping. If one considers that civilization is learned from coevals to coeval s, it is necessarily individual specific and shaped by one s personal and social context. The Challenge of Cultural Competence There are a assortment of paradigms in the survey of race, ethnicity and civilization which are located in peculiar socio-historical and political contexts. Cultural competency is merely one of these and has non escaped unfavorable judgment in the professional literature. Writers in societal work have argued that cultural competency depoliticises race dealingss and promotes othering ( Pon, 2009 ) , assumes workers themselves are from a dominant civilization ( Sakamoto, 2007 ) and is based on the flawed premise that geting cultural cognition will ensue in competent pattern ( Dean, 2001 ; Ben-Ari and Strier, 2010 ) . Despite its broad credence, the construct remains capable to multiple, frequently conflicting, positions. There is a demand to critically analyse cultural competency as a theoretical concept in order to do it meaningful to practicians and to supply a footing for best pattern. Concern with racism emerged in the societal work profession in the 1970s and during the 1980s major texts appeared to steer pattern ( Payne, 2005 ) . The construct of anti-racist pattern emerged built on the rules that race is a societal concept that has been used to warrant subjugation and that it is necessary to critically analyze the kineticss of power relationships that produce subjugation. Anti-racist theoreticians have criticised advocators of cultural competency for making an exotic apprehension of people from cultural minorities and for non recognizing pattern issues of societal inequality or racial favoritism ( OHagan, 2001 ) . Cultural competency has been presented as unpolitical and has been criticised for neglecting to turn to the power battles of history ( Barn, 2007 ) . Key issues of power are absent from much of the analytical thought around the paradigm of cultural competency ( Barn, 2007 ) . Given that the political, cultural and professional positions on race and ethnicity have of import effects for minority cultural kids and households, societal workers need to integrate an apprehension of power dealingss as a cardinal tool for overthrowing racism. A more sophisticated and nuanced attack is necessary, which will affect a paradigm displacement from essentialist impressions of race which view civilization in stiff and inflexible ways to one in which cultural sensitiveness is understood within the context of power dealingss ( Barn, 2007 ) . It is of import to widen the argument beyond black and white , to recognize that racial, cultural and cultural groups are non homogeneous, but to non abandon the challenging of racism and other signifiers of subjugation. Culturally competent pattern needs to take history of the tensenesss between different cultural norms and values within the UK, non merely between ethnically and culturally distinguishable groups of people. Social work norms and values may non be those of the bulk of Europeans, or even of the mainstream white UK population, as the instance of A V UK demonstrates. Writers such as Olsen ( 1981 ) , Korbin ( 1981, 1991 ) and Thorpe ( 1994 ) have problematised the impression of a cosmopolitan criterion of child care, indicating to important cross-cultural variableness. The kernel of this challenge is that standardised definitions of kid maltreatment must be contested as they needfully relate to culturally defined norms. Korbin HYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/35/6/901? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=how+and+when+does+athnicity+matter A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcetype=HWCIT # KORBIN-1991 ( 1991 ) , in what is now a authoritative essay, warns against the dangers of both Eurocentric pattern and excessively culturally relativist pattern. On the one manus, Eurocentric pattern serves merely to enforce one set of cultural beliefs and patterns as preferred and hence reproduce forms of domination and subjugation. In the British literature, concern has been expressed that minority households are excessively often pathologised and stereotyped, with workers over-relying on cultural accounts for their jobs and using a theoretical account of cultural shortage ( Williams and Soyden, 2005 ; Chand, 2000 ; Ahmed, 1994 ) . It is argued that they receive more and speedier punitory services than preventative/care services ( Williams and Soyden, 2005 ) . Lees ( 2002 ) argues from her research that there is a inclination to pathologise behavior that is non culturally normative , an illustration being negatively measuring the act of running off from an opprobrious place among immature black adult females instead than following inactive header schemes. At the other extreme, Korbin notes utmost cultural relativism, in which all opinions of humane intervention of kids are suspended in the name of cultural rights, may be used to warrant a lesser criterion of attention for some kids ( 1991, p. 68 ) . It has been suggested that cultural relativism freezes the position quo by doing standard-setting harmonizing to universal norms impossible ( Laird, 2008 ) . Barn et Al ( 1997 ) found that acceptance of a place of cultural relativity through fright of being labelled as racialist affected statutory proviso to kids and households. They found that some societal workers were loath to step in to protect kids because they believed that opprobrious behavior was sanctioned by their civilization ( Barn et al, 1997 ) . The kid abuse inquiry studies of Jasmine Beckford ( Blom-Cooper, 1985 ) and Tyra Henry ( Lambeth, 1987 ) concluded that culture had impinged upon events taking to the deceases of these kids. It was suggested that workers were ex cessively optimistic in their appraisals of carers and that opprobrious behaviors were interpreted as facets of civilization. Whilst these concerns turn on the acknowledgment of facets of cultural difference as important in the procedure of appraisal, it has long been noted in the societal work literature that practicians fail at the first hurdle, in every bit much as they do non recognize at all the importance of civilization: a culture-blind attack ( Dominelli, 1998 ; Boushol, 2000 ; Graham, 2002 ) . The culture-blind attack eschews difference in its hunt for a cosmopolitan expression. It suggests that a criterion of good pattern can be established which fits all. For illustration, Payne ( 1997 ) rejects the statement that western societal work theory may be incompatible with some of the nucleus constituents of other civilizations and ignores the fact that it was used extensively in the procedures of obliteration of assorted autochthonal civilizations ( OHagan, 2001 ) . Despite being systematically criticised as naif and oppressive, this attack represents a powerful paradigm within societal work ( William s and Soyden, 2005 ; Dominelli, 1998 ) . Finding the balance between these concerns poses considerable troubles for those charged with appraisals of kids in demand ( Dominelli, HYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/35/6/901? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=how+and+when+does+athnicity+matter A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcetype=HWCIT # DOMINELLI-1998A HYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/35/6/901? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=how+and+when+does+athnicity+matter A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcetype=HWCIT # DOMINELLI-1998A 1998 ) . What is needed is an attack to pattern that can dispute normative stereotypes of appropriate behavior by parents or kids while advancing the rights of kids to safety and good plenty rearing. Brophy ( 2003, p. 674 ) states Balancing a regard for differing manners of parenting and guarding against inappropriate inroads into li fe styles and belief systems, while besides protecting kids from ill-treatment, remains an demanding undertaking. Professionals can be castigated for step ining excessively rapidly or excessively easy. Social workers must run with cultural sensitiveness within the assessment procedure but at the same clip acknowledge that at the bosom of anti-oppressive pattern is a committedness to the non-relative nucleus value of human equality. A Knowledge Based Competency? Cultural competency as a pattern response to these issues has been conceptualised in several ways. There are non one, but multiple definitions of cultural competency and it appears to be a mutable, germinating construct ( Harrison and Turner, 2010 ) . The models available to help practicians in measuring facets of civilization are preponderantly of two types: appraisal theoretical accounts that try to help in the aggregation of information and the apprehension of specific service users strengths, demands and fortunes ( Carballeira, 1996 ; Hodge, 2001, 2005 ; Hogan-Garcia, 2003 ; Sue, 2006 ) and brooding theoretical accounts that aim to assist the practician to develop relevant accomplishments and consciousness in general footings ( Green, 1999 ; Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward, 2005 ; Papadopoulos, 2006 ) . Assessment theoretical accounts of cultural competency often refer to the integrating and transmutation of cognition about persons and groups of people into specific criterions, patterns and attitudes used in appropriate cultural scenes to increase the quality of services, thereby bring forthing better results ( Davis and Donald, 1997 ) . To work efficaciously with diverseness, practicians are expected to derive cognition of different cultural patterns and worldviews, to hold a positive attitude towards cultural differences and develop crosss of assessment theoretical accounts include the LIVE and LEARN Model developed by Carballeira ( 1996 ) which identifies a series of activities which practicians need to prosecute in to be culturally competent: Like ; Inquire ; Visit ; Experience ; Listen ; Evaluate ; Acknowledge ; Recommend and Negotiate. Another illustration is Campinha-Bacote s ( 2002, pp. 182-3 ) ASKED theoretical account which identifies five dimensions of cultural competency : cultural Awareness ; cultural Skill ; cultural Knowledge ; cultural Encounter ; and cultural Desire. In line with this attack Sue ( 2006 ) argues that culturally competent societal work pattern is defined as the service supplier s acquisition of consciousness, cognition, and accomplishments needed to work efficaciously in a pluralistic democratic society ( 2006: 29 ) . However, there is disparity in the literature as to the knowledge that is necessary for effectual culturally antiphonal pattern. The above theoretical accounts adopt a cultural literacy attack in which civilization specific information and pattern is categorised under wide cultural group classs ( Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward, 2005 ) . For illustration, Laird s ( 2008 ) book Anti-Oppressive Social Work contains chapters entitled communities with roots in India , communities with roots in the Caribbean and communities with roots in China . Similarly, OHagan ( 2001 ) includes chapters about Islam , American Indians and Australian Aborigines in his book about cultural competency. Laird ( 2008, p. 156 ) states It is merely by deriving cultural cognition, that is, larning to appreciate the assortment of ways in which people with different heritages organise their lives, that practicians from the white-majority community can derive cultural consciousness. This is because cultural cognition offers practicians a comparative analytical tool with which to analyze cultural influences upon their ain lives . From this attack knowledge is seen as cardinal to the development of cultural competency accomplishments, which are basically knowledge-based erudite capacities ( Ben-Ari and Strier, 2010 ) . It is widely believed that cultural cognition is the key to construing the codification of cultural diverseness ( Ben-Ari and Strier, 2010 ) . It is argued that without cognition, one can non be cognizant of the presence of prejudices in professional patterns and pattern could stay ethnocentric ( Adams et al. , 2001 ) . There is a inclination to believe that if a worker learns about a civilization, what Spradley ( 1994 ) calls explicit cultural cognition , so they will hold a model for working with that civilization. Widely bing constructs of cultural competency assume that the other is cognizable and that this cognition is a requirement for being culturally competent ( Ben-Ari and Strier, 2010 ) . A radically different stance has been suggested by Ben-Ari and Strier ( 2010 ) who examine cultural competency through the lens of Levinas ( 1969 ) theory of other . Levinas ( 1969 ) proposes that moralss precedes cognition. He argues that our humanity is realised through the wisdom of love and non through the love of wisdom ( the actual Greek significance of the word philosophy ) . In other words, moralss precedes any nonsubjective searching after truth ( Beals, 2007 ) . Levinas thesis ethics as first doctrine agencies that the chase of cognition is but a secondary characteristic of a more basic ethical responsibility to the other . Within this model, the chief inquiry becomes what relation to the other is necessary in order for cognition to be possible? He argues that the other is non cognizable and can non be made into an object of the self , as is done by traditional doctrine. By underscoring the primacy of moralss to knowledge, Levinas creates a new model for working a cross differences. This raises cardinal inquiries with respect to the nature of societal cognition. Laird ( 2008 ) argues that the most critical demand of culturally sensitive societal work is to maintain open the duologue between people from different cultural backgrounds and to guarantee that each single emerges as a alone complex of values, beliefs and aspirations. It is necessary to see how accrued cognition about other civilizations has the possible to restrict our openness in our brushs with people who are other to us. Knowledge about other civilizations can take to the experience of entirety: something is nil more than what I make out of it ( Ben-Ari and Strier, 2010 ) . When we totalise the other we cut down our apprehension of it. Levinas ( 1987 ) proposes that we should take for the experience of eternity, that is, the acknowledgment that something is more than what we could do of it. Berlin ( 2002, p. 144 ) notes the danger of totalizing people from other civilizations, saying sorting pe ople on the footing of group rank merely gives us the semblances that we are being culturally sensitive, when, in fact, we are neglecting to look beyond easy word pictures for the peculiar and specific ways this individual is understanding, feeling and moving . A cognition based attack to cultural competence has a inclination to make overgeneralisations of cultural groups and can take to the worker comprehending themselves as an expert despite the likeliness of them being in a place of cultural naivete ( Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward, 2005 ) . The deduction of this is that culturally competent appraisals must come from an ethical point of view of openness on the portion of the practician. OHagan ( 2001 ) provinces, The workers need non be extremely knowing about the civilizations of the people they serve, but they must near culturally different people with openness and regard . It must be recognised that ideas, feelings and actions are influenced by external and internal variables that are cultural in beginning and, as a effect, that each person who enters the kid public assistance system is alone ( Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward, 2005 ) . A effect of this is that perceptual experiences of the kid public assistance job will be alone to each client or household. Understanding how the household perceives the job enables child protection workers to work in a more culturally antiphonal manner in developing solutions. Cooper ( 2001, p. 732 ) states the significances in context of a kid s hurt are non revealed through nons ubjective facts or through expert nonsubjective appraisal or diagnosing. An in agreement significance, understanding and possible for alteration can merely be co-constructed, with the service user and their societal relationships and webs, within a located administration and multi-agency context . Aligning solutions with the cultural individuality of the household provides the possible for family-centred responses. Cultural competency must travel off from an accent on cultural cognition if it is to supply an ethical model for working with difference. A Matter of Reflection? The 2nd chief type of cultural competency theoretical account is a brooding theoretical account. Reflection has been portion of pattern discourse for a figure of decennaries ( Schon, 1983 ; 1987 ) . More late the construct of critical contemplation has taken clasp ( Fook, 2002 ) . A critically brooding response challenges the values and attitudes associated with professional behavior ( Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward, 2005 ) . An illustration of a brooding theoretical account of cultural competency is the cultural-reflective theoretical account developed by Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward ( 2005 ) . This theoretical account includes the procedures of cultural thought ; critical contemplation and brooding pattern results. A strength of the theoretical account is that is recognises the interaction between the self and the other within interactions between people of different civilizations. Ben-Ari and Strier ( 2010 ) argue that the development of the construct of cultural competency could profit from sing the significance of self and other mutuality in modern-day arguments on cultural diverseness. They analyse dealingss between self and other utilizing Levinas theory of other and research the ways in which these dealingss play a polar function in working with differences. A individual s definition of the other is portion of what defines the self ( Levinas, 1969 ) . The thought that the self requires the other to specify itself has been expressed by many authors ( Brown, 1995 ; Riggins, 1997 ; Gillespie, 2007 ) . It has been recognised that the construct of otherness is built-in to the apprehension of individualities as people construct functions for themselves in relation to an other . The deduction of this is that that all cross-cultural brushs between societal workers and service users bring into drama non merely the heritage of the service user, but besides that of the practician ( Laird, 2008 ) . Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward ( 2005, p. 59 ) note that appraisals of the societal universe are likely to state more about the percipient than the individuals under survey . Social workers need to detect and reflect upon their ain value system and traditions in order to be culturally competent. Brooding theoretical accounts, such as Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward s ( 2005 ) , recognise that our cultural thought responses are frequently automatic and outside of our control. It is necessary to inquire where our responses and linguistic communication come from ( Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward s, 2005 ) . The brooding procedure encourages an scrutiny of values and beliefs underpinning reactions. It involves disputing our premises, recognizing stereotypes and recog nizing power and its effects. Without this it is easy to believe that it is our manner of being is the norm and other people who are cultural, idiosyncratic, culturally curious ( Eagleton, 2000, p. 26 ) . Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward ( 2005, p. 29 ) note that being so familiar, our ain manner of thought and our ain manner of life can so easy seem simply human to us . OHagan ( 2001: 262 ) states cultural competency emerges from strict self-exploration ; it expands the professional s empathetic repertory, guaranting there is no culturally biased instant response . It is self-awareness and an ethical stance of openness that are the most of import constituents of cultural competency, non accumulated cognition of the other . Developing a Model for Practice Having re-conceptualised the indispensable constituents cultural competency it is necessary to see what deductions this has for pattern in the country of appraisals of kids in demand and their households. Any deductions have to see the policy and organizational context that appraisals of kids take topographic point within. The policy that underpins appraisal in this country is The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families ( The Assessment Framework ) ( Department of Health, 2000b ) . The Assessment Framework was issued as counsel under the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, which means that it must be followed by local governments unless there are exceeding fortunes that justify a fluctuation. The Assessment Framework represents a manner of capturing the complexness of a kid s universe and an effort to build a coherent attack to roll uping and analyzing information about a kid ( Rose, 2001 ) . The model is underpinned by an ecological attack, intendi ng practicians finishing an appraisal consider three domains : the developmental demands of single kids ; rearing capacity ; and household and environmental factors. Each domain is further divided into dimensions that indicate cardinal countries that should be considered for that peculiar sphere. The Assessment Framework provinces, differences in conveying up kids due to household constructions, faith, civilization and cultural beginnings should be respected and understood. . .every attempt should be made to guarantee that bureaus responses do non reflect or reenforce that experience [ day-to-day experience of favoritism ] and so, should antagonize it Guaranting equality of chance does non intend that all kids are treated the same. It does intend apprehension and working sensitively and knowledgeably with diverseness to place the peculiar issues for a kid and his/her household, taking history of experiences and household context ( Department of Health, 2000b, p.12 ) . However, the attending given to facets of a kid s civilization within the Assessment Framework is really limited. If a practician uses the Assessment Framework without doing mention to the attach toing counsel, as appears to often be the instance ( Horwath, 2002 ) , it would be easy to construe the influence of civilization on household life in a really narrow manner. The Practice Guidance attach toing the Assessment Framework notes that . . .although many professionals are cognizant that it is indispensable to take history of race and civilization, and in peculiar to be culturally sensitive in their pattern, they are frequently at a loss to interpret this into practical footings ( Department of Health, 2000a, p. 38 ) . Whilst acknowledgment of issues of civilization in appraisals of kids has had a turning organic structure of literature, the limited extent of empirical research in this country fails to bolster evidence-based policy devising and potentially signals a failure to transport out culturally competent appraisal for cultural minority kids ( Boushol, 2000 ; Welbourne, 2002 ) . There is small empirical grounds to show that the rule of cultural sensitiveness and consciousness ushers practitioner determination devising, or to verify the claim that it benefits cultural minority clients ( Williams and Soyden, 2005 ) . Williams and Soyden ( 2005 ) carried out a cross-national survey that examined these concerns within the context of kid protection. Their survey demonstrates that despite fluctuations in national policies the kid s cultural association evokes small important response by societal workers irrespective of the state, corroborating a mostly universalist attack ( Williams and Soyden, 200 5 ) . Overall, their findings suggest that the logic of universalism continues to extenuate against the important recognition of difference in appraisals of kids ( Williams and Soyden, 2005 ) . This highlights a clear demand to develop a model to help practicians in measuring facets of civilization when transporting out appraisals of kids in demand and their households. It is unrealistic to anticipate practicians to carry on separate appraisals of issues originating from civilization ( Furness and Gilligan, 2010 ) . Any extra appraisals are likely to be unwelcome to service users, many of whom tell research workers that they undergo excessively many already ( Furness and Gilligan, 2010 ; Dartington Social Research Unit, 2004 ) . Harrison and Turner ( 2010 ) found that deadlines and clip restraints were considered to be hindrances to culturally competent pattern and pattern responses have to be cognizant of these issues. There is tenseness between trying to supply culturally competent practicians within nerve-racking, under resourced public systems ( Connolly, Crichton-Hill and Ward, 2005 ) . Therefore, any suggested model for cultural competency in measuring kids in demand and their households has to be compatible with the Assessment Framework s ( Department of Health, 2000a ) recording signifiers and timescales. It has been established that the necessary constituents of a model for pattern in this country are a holistic definition of civilization, an ethical attack to difference, self-awareness, an consciousness of power dealingss, the acceptance of a place of complete openness in working with difference and a doubting attack to a commodified construct of cultural cognition . To accomplish this it seems indispensable that practicians are non limited by a procedural theoretical account of appraisal, but are free to inquire appropriate open-ended inquiries, in order to let people to show themselves in ways that they choose, are familiar to them and esteem their expertness. It is besides of import to recognize that beliefs and patterns will change even amongst those within the same cultural grouping. A assortment of day-to-day life activities may be deeply influenced by a individual s civilization and may, hence, necessitate geographic expedition with them: race and ethnicity ; linguistic comm unication ; faith and spiritualty ; modesty and privateness ; vesture, jewelry and makeup ; rinsing and hygiene ; hair attention ; supplication ; holy yearss and festivals ; physical scrutiny ; birth ; contraceptive method ; abortion ; attitudes to decease, deceasing and mourning ; medicine ; mending patterns ; transfusions, organ contribution and graft ; last offices ; postmortem and funeral services ( HusbHYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/bcp159v2? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=social+work+religion+and+belief A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcetype=HWCIT # BCP159C36 andHYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/bcp159v2? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=social+work+religion+and+belief A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcetype=HWCIT # BCP159C36 HYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content /full/bcp159v2? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=social+work+religion+and+belief A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcetype=HWCIT # BCP159C36 andHYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol: //bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/bcp159v2? maxtoshow= A ; hits=10 A ; RESULTFORMAT= A ; fulltext=social+work+religion+and+belief A ; searchid=1 A ; FIRSTINDEX=0 A ; resourcetype=HWCIT # BCP159C36 Torry, 2004 ) . Discussion of these issues may inform the appraisal in important ways. Gilligan and Furness ( 2010 ) have developed a model with the purpose of helping practicians to reflect on and measure the relevancy of their ain spiritual beliefs and those of service users in appraisals. The model consists of eight cardinal inquiries to assistance practicians ( Gilligan and Furness, 2010 ) ( see Figure 1 ) . This model, which follows loosely person-centred and strengths-based attacks ( Rogers, 2003 ; Saleeby, 2008 ) , has been piloted with societal work pupils and refined through feedback and application. The model was developed to be integrated into the most often used bing models for appraisal, including the Framework for Assessment of Children in Need and their Families ( Department of Health, 2000b ) . Questions one to seven of the model ( Gilligan and Furness, 2010 ) represent an attack that incorporates the indispensable facets of an ethical attack to cultural competency outlined above and could easy be adapted in order to help with culturally competent appraisals more widely ( See Figure 2 ) . If the 8th cardinal inquiry is removed, this model besides avoids the totalisation of the other through an inappropriate usage of cultural cognition . The practician needs to get down with a holistic definition of civilization as discussed above and follow a critically brooding attack, sing power dealingss and their deductions. This attack to working with cultural diverseness implies, foremost and first, an ethical relation to difference. The brooding attack of the theoretical account avoids the totalisation of the other for personal or institutional intents. The acknowledgment that differences can non be to the full known means that we are cognizant that they are ever more than what we grasp. Ben-Ari and Strier ( 2010 ) believe that spread outing our apprehension of Levinas ethical stance, which absolutely advocates the replacing of cognition with duty, is a promising lead in this way. It is non merely that cognition is non adequate, but that under certain conditions, it can even be harmful. Finally, this theoretical account does non detach working with differences from an anti-oppressive position presuming societal duty towards the excluded and oppressed ( Dominelli, 2002 ; Danso, 2009 ) . Clearly there would be a demand to through empirical observation research the utility and effectivity of such a model for sing facets of civilization in appraisals of kids in demand and their households, which would necessitate to see the organizational context within which such appraisals take topographic point. 87.5 per cent of participants in Gilligan and Furness ( 2010 ) pilot of their model said that it had been and would be helpful in their appraisals. However, the fact remains that such a model adopts an ethical stance towards difference in civilization. Decision To to the full appreciate and prosecute with affairs associating to civilization when measuring kids in demand and their households is non easy and a balance needs to be struck between places of Eurocentric pattern and excessively relativistic pattern. It has been argued that the necessary constituents of a model for pattern in this country are a holistic definition of civilization, an ethical attack to difference, self-awareness, an consciousness of power dealingss, the acceptance of a place of complete openness in working with difference and a doubting attack to a commodified construct of cultural cognition . The attack must avoid the totalisation of the other for personal or institutional intents. It has been argued that the Furness/Gilligan Framework ( 2010 ) reflects these concerns and could be easy adapted to help with appraisals in this country. Underestimating or disregarding the topographic point of civilization can ensue in the loss of chances to do existent differences a nd betterments in the lives of service users, while inactivity could, on juncture, lead to serious injury. Competent practicians need to set aside their ain biass and to stay unfastened and receptive to the demands of all service users. In the present clime, it can be hard for busy practicians to happen clip for contemplation and personal development. However, this is critical if societal workers are to work efficaciously within a culturally diverse society. Figure 1: Furness/Gilligan Model: Principles for Reflection on Religion and Belief 1.A Are you sufficiently self-conscious and automatic about your ain spiritual and religious beliefs or the absence of them and your responses to others? 2.A Are you giving the individuals/groups involved sufficient chances to discourse their spiritual and religious beliefs and the strengths, troubles and demands which arise from them? 3.A Are you listening to what they say about their beliefs and the strengths and demands which arise from them? 4.A Do you recognize persons expertness about their ain beliefs and the strengths and demands which arise from them? 5.A Are you nearing this piece of pattern with sufficient openness and willingness to reexamine and revise your programs and premises? 6.A Are you constructing a relationship which is characterised by trust, regard and a willingness to ease? 7.A Are you being originative in your responses to persons beliefs and the strengths and demands which arise from them? 8.A Have you sought out relevant information and advice sing any spiritual and religious beliefs and patterns which were antecedently unfamiliar to you? Figure 2: Adapted Furness/Gilligan Framework: Principles for Reflection on Aspects of Culture 1.A Are you sufficiently self-conscious and automatic about your ain cultural individuality and your responses to others? 2.A Are you giving the individuals/groups involved sufficient chances to discourse their cultural attitudes and beliefs and the strengths, troubles and demands which arise from them? 3.A Are you listening to what they say about their civilization and the strengths and demands which arise from it? 4.A Do you recognize persons expertness about their ain civilization and the strengths and demands which arise from them? 5.A Are you nearing this piece of pattern with sufficient openness and willingness to reexamine and revise your programs and premises? 6.A Are you constructing a relationship which is characterised by trust, regard and a willingness to ease? 7.A Are you being originative in your responses to persons civilizations and the strengths and demands which arise from them?

Geography at Harvard

Geography at Harvard In the latter half of the 20th century, geography as an academic discipline suffered greatly, especially in American higher education. The reasons for this are undoubtedly many, but the biggest contributor was arguably a decision made at Harvard University in 1948 in which university President James Conant declared geography to be not a university subject. In the ensuing decades, universities began dropping geography as an academic discipline until it was no longer found in the nations top schools. But American Geographer, Carl Sauer, wrote in the opening paragraph of Education of a Geographer that the interest [in geography] is immemorial and universal; should we [geographers] disappear, the field will remain and not become vacant. Such a prediction is bold to say the very least. But, is Sauers assertion true? Could geography, with all its historical and contemporary importance, withstand an academic hit like it took at Harvard? What Happened At Harvard? Several key figures emerge in this debate. The first was President James Conant. He was a physical scientist, used to the rigorous nature of research and the employment of a distinct scientific methodology, something which geography was accused of lacking at that time. His charge as the president was to guide the university through the financially lean times in the post-World War II years. The second key figure is Derwent Whittlesey, the chair of the geography department. Whittlesey was a human geographer, for which he was heavily criticized. Physical scientists at Harvard, including many geographers and geologists, felt that human geography was unscientific, lacked rigor, and was not deserving of a place at Harvard. Whittlesey also had a sexual preference which was not as widely accepted in 1948. He hired his live-in partner, Harold Kemp, as a geography lecturer for the department. Kemp was considered by many a mediocre scholar which lent support to geographys critics. Alexander Hamilton Rice, another figure in the Harvard geography affair, founded the Institute for Geographical Exploration at the university. He was considered by many to be a charlatan and would often leave on an expedition while he was supposed to be teaching classes. This made him an annoyance to President Conant and the Harvard administration and did not help geographys reputation. Also, prior to founding the institute, Rice and his wealthy wife tried buying the presidency of the American Geographical Society, contingent on Isaiah Bowman, chair of the geography department at Johns Hopkins University, being removed from the position. Ultimately the plan did not work but the incident did create tension between Rice and Bowman. Isaiah Bowman was a graduate of the geography program at Harvard and was a promoter of geography, just not at his alma mater. Years earlier, a work of Bowmans had been rejected by Whittlesey for use as a geography textbook. The rejection led to an exchange of letters which strained relations between them. Bowman was also described as puritanical and it is supposed that he did not like Whittleseys sexual preference. He also did not like Whittleseys partner, a mediocre scholar, being associated with his alma mater. As a distinguished alumnus, Bowman was part of the committee to evaluate geography at Harvard. It is widely considered that his actions on the geography evaluation committee effectively ended the department at Harvard. Geographer Neil Smith wrote in 1987 that Bowmans silence condemned Harvard Geography and later, when he tried to resuscitate it, his words put nails in the coffin. But, Is Geography Still Being Taught At Harvard? Four Traditions of Geography Earth Science Tradition - earth, water, atmosphere, and relationship to the sunMan-land Tradition - humans and the environment, natural hazards, population, and environmentalismArea Studies Tradition - world regions, international trends, and global relationshipsSpatial Tradition - spatial analysis, geographic information systems Researching Harvard academics online reveals the degree courses for each program are included to show the geographic nature of material being taught within them. Its also important to note that geography was likely ousted at Harvard because of clashing personalities and budgets cuts, not because it wasnt an important academic subject. One could say that it was up to geographers to defend the reputation of geography at Harvard and they failed. Now it is up to those who believe in the merits of geography to reinvigorate it in American education by encouraging and promoting geographic teaching and literacy and supporting rigorous geography standards in schools. This article is adapted from a paper, Geography at Harvard, Revisited, also by the author. Important References: Annals of the Association of American Geographers Vol. 77 no. 2 155-172. Vol. 77 no. 2 155-172.

Compare and Contrast the drive participatory styles of management, Essay

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Persuasive memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Persuasive memo - Essay Example As our primary respondents in research based consulting, the program will be beneficial to the company since the respondents will base their responses on experience from the program’s assistance in relation to the progress of their group’s investments.It will be a low cost venture worth $12000 per annum for products and solutions and $8000 per annum for awards program, totaling to $20000 per annum. This will be in line with the company’s mission of providing its clients and the society with quality information and financial management insight to enable smarter decisions. The company offers products and solutions where it concentrates with opportunity analysis by monitoring the purchasing power of institutions and individuals, analysis of key trends due to change of business environments, predictive modeling where they incorporate insightful research before the customers depart and analysis of the market segments through evaluation of the â€Å"wallet size† to ascertain individual’s purchasing power and what drives their decision making. The company is also involved in awards programs to reward the best performing business entities through the â€Å"Greenwich Share and Quality Leaders† and† Greenwich Excellence Awards†. This will ensure proper benchmarks are followed in awarding the best performing entities or individuals. The company was established in 1972 by Charley Ellis with initial offering in personal trust services, large corporate pensions and large corporate banking; privately owned with 125 employees and a net turnover of $35 million by 2010. Our research based consulting strategies have become increasingly dependent upon Connecticut youths and as our primary respondents, who majority are in startups privately or in groups, giving the entrepreneurial assistance will gear their investment plans and company’s outreach (C.I.M.A,2011).The program is intended to

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Financial Markets - Assignment Example oney markets which entail bond markets and stock markets, money markets, commodity markets, insurance markets among others (Bhole & Mahakud 2009, p.2). The financial market is crucial  for the success of the businesses encompassed in a given economy. Every business utilizes specific financial instruments in their operations. The document below analyzes 1 PM PLC, a British company on the basis of its financial aspects. Numerous financial markets have cropped up in the modern world of business. The financial instruments that are in existence in the common modern markets can be broadly classified into equity and debt based financial instruments. The debt-based financial instruments represent loans made by a given investor to the asset’s owner. In others words, it entails the businesses borrowing money from financial institutions. It has some benefits to the investors as well as disadvantages. The most significant benefit of the debt based financial instruments is that unlike the equity-based financial instruments, the entrepreneur retains the sole control of the enterprise (Howells & Bain 2007, p.5). This implies that the investors will be entitled to share profits and also have the say run the business towards their direction of choice. When the entrepreneur is need of the cash, acquiring the cash do not seem a problem. However, it can sometimes lead to conflict somewhere along the way since it has to be repaid as per the laid down terms and conditions. Foreign exchange is another type of financial instrument being utilized in the modern business. However, this has limitation to the businesses which transact businesses internationally. The most prominent financial instrument in the world today is the equity market or the stock market. Most of the companies and enterprises are making use of this market to serve their financial needs. It can be defined as an aggregation of buyers as well as sellers of stocks also termed as shares (Bhole & Mahakud 2009, p.3). They

Personal Statement for scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal Statement for scholarship - Essay Example During the period I was in college, I realize how much I wanted to further my education and on completing my associate degree, I enrolled at Ashford University for Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a Minor in Childhood. As I studied at Ashford University, my craving for more education kept growing and I realized that I wanted more education. Being a wife to a military man for the last 25 years helped me realize the much psychological help need by military families and I felt that I needed more education to be able to provide that help. That is when I decided I needed to enroll in Walden University in the coming year to obtain Master’s in Mental Health Counseling with specialization in Trauma and Crisis Counseling. After completing my master, I plan to obtain a Doctorate degree in Psychology. This will give me great joy since I will have kept my promise to my mother and achieved my dream of offering psychological help to military families. My goal is to become a Military Family Life Consultant (MFLC), a program run by Military One Source and provides counseling to military families particularly in times of distress. Irrespective of my great desire to pursue Master’s degree, it will hard for my husband and me to fund my studies considering that I am still paying for my bachelor degree. That is why I decided to apply and hope to be awarded this Education Debt Reduction scholarship to help me achieve my dream. While I continue seeking for other scholarships, Education Debt Reduction scholarship will be profoundly

Help Desk Institute to Professional Knowledge and Development Research Paper

Help Desk Institute to Professional Knowledge and Development - Research Paper Example The first section gives an overview of HDI - what it does and its role in the technical support industry. The next section gives an explanation of the contributions of HDI towards increasing the professional knowledge and abilities of its members. This paper concludes with a discussion on how the knowledge and skills acquired from HDI can have a significant impact on my chosen career path. At the core of HDI’s creation is the desire to help individuals in the IT service and support profession improve their practices and increase work efficiency. As expressed in its mission statement, HDI aims to â€Å"lead and promote support professionals by empowering members through access to timely and valuable industry information, encouraging member collaboration, establishing open standards and providing globally recognized certification and training programs† (Migliazza, 2008, para. 1). HDI, therefore, provides a venue for technical support and service professionals to come together and discuss the prevalent issues and problems in the help desk, as well as share best practices in an effort to find solutions to these problems. HDI also has a wealth of information from reports, research and articles from experts that provide relevant and up-to-date data about the latest trends in help desk services, as well as benchmarking tools. Each year, HDI gathers experts and leaders in the field of technical support and service during its annual conference and expo in a spirit of learning and participation. Furthermore, HDI offers standards-based training and certification programs that are internationally recognized. As pointed out by Baschab and Piot (2007), â€Å"sponsoring help desk staff for HDI certification is a worthwhile investment in their productivity, and sends a clear message to the team about the major importance of their role in the IT department† (p. 276).  Training and certifications will propel me to advance in my career path in the technical support and service field.   Of course, there is undoubtedly a wealth of insights gathered from my work experience.   The theoretical knowledge will put these insights in context, strengthening its validity and allowing me to innovate as I learn more about the theory behind the practice.   Training also prepares me to deal with multiple clients from various fields with different bac kgrounds, an important tool in this profession.   Becoming a member of HDI membership will help me keep abreast with the latest developments in the help desk profession.   Having a venue for discussion and collaboration with other professionals will allow me to contribute to the improvement of the profession.

How Did Prophets Function In Israel Research Paper

How Did Prophets Function In Israel - Research Paper Example Other than just being conveyer of God’s messages, these spiritual figures attempted to make humankind revert back to God after facing moral decay (Taylor 2). There are 48 prophets and 7 Prophetesses that have emerged during eighth century in Israel. Functions of the Prophets in Israel A critical analysis of literature available on prophets in Israel helped in understanding that some of the major missions performed by Prophets included reformation instead of new innovation of religion, urging conformity to law along with infrequent mention of it, lack of prescription in the law, testing and serving as a watch man and intercessor (Wood n. pag.). Once their missions were ascertained, the methods that were used to achieve them described the ways through which prophets functioned in Israel. Since prophets acted as a foreteller and an oracle of God, they also adopted certain other roles in the society in order to ensure that these teachings were known to people and duly followed. So me of the major leadership roles in Israeli society included lawgiver, wise men, prophets, psalmists and priests. These were the instructors that Israelis turned to whenever they needed guidance and Prophets of Israel held some of these roles simultaneously in order to achieve their goals. a. Roles of the Prophets Firstly, the role of lawgivers in Prophets began with the advent of Moses who was also the very first Prophet that appeared in Israel. Second role adopted by the Prophets was wise man whose function was to guide and provide counseling in the light of religious teachings. Hence, through this role, prophets attempted to convince general public and leaders of the society with logic instead of appealing to their conscience (Taylor 5). Lastly, some of the prophets also acted as priests who were also responsible for enforcement of law however they were responsible for major sacrifices along with bringing civil justice in the society. In addition to that, Prophets in Israel were majorly responsible for oracular revelations as well. Most of these prophets held leadership roles in their times and were also followed by major social figures who were judges and military heads being responsible for ensuring that the teachings of Prophets prevail. Joshua is one such example who was a strong political figure however he was not a prophet and did not delivered messages of God to people of Israel. In addition to some of these basic functions, Prophets of Israel were also seen as acting as a balancing factor for King’s rule as they received God’s word about King’s actions that were going to be taking place along with the outcomes of those that have already been taken place. Such prophets were not only oracular but were also perceived as a symbol of justice. In order to function effectively, they sometimes also formed part of King’s court and used their oracular powers to provide guidance to the King (Wilson). Over the period of time, the pro phets were limited to oracular function only instead of acting as leaders of the society and sources of miracles (Bremmer 159). b. Methods Used By Prophets These roles allowed prophets to use various methods for conveying their messages which included preaching, individual contacts with the kings and main leaders of the society and using symbolism for disseminating messages of God along with object lessons (Wood n. pag.).  

Help Desk Institute to Professional Knowledge and Development Research Paper

Help Desk Institute to Professional Knowledge and Development - Research Paper Example The first section gives an overview of HDI - what it does and its role in the technical support industry. The next section gives an explanation of the contributions of HDI towards increasing the professional knowledge and abilities of its members. This paper concludes with a discussion on how the knowledge and skills acquired from HDI can have a significant impact on my chosen career path. At the core of HDI’s creation is the desire to help individuals in the IT service and support profession improve their practices and increase work efficiency. As expressed in its mission statement, HDI aims to â€Å"lead and promote support professionals by empowering members through access to timely and valuable industry information, encouraging member collaboration, establishing open standards and providing globally recognized certification and training programs† (Migliazza, 2008, para. 1). HDI, therefore, provides a venue for technical support and service professionals to come together and discuss the prevalent issues and problems in the help desk, as well as share best practices in an effort to find solutions to these problems. HDI also has a wealth of information from reports, research and articles from experts that provide relevant and up-to-date data about the latest trends in help desk services, as well as benchmarking tools. Each year, HDI gathers experts and leaders in the field of technical support and service during its annual conference and expo in a spirit of learning and participation. Furthermore, HDI offers standards-based training and certification programs that are internationally recognized. As pointed out by Baschab and Piot (2007), â€Å"sponsoring help desk staff for HDI certification is a worthwhile investment in their productivity, and sends a clear message to the team about the major importance of their role in the IT department† (p. 276).  Training and certifications will propel me to advance in my career path in the technical support and service field.   Of course, there is undoubtedly a wealth of insights gathered from my work experience.   The theoretical knowledge will put these insights in context, strengthening its validity and allowing me to innovate as I learn more about the theory behind the practice.   Training also prepares me to deal with multiple clients from various fields with different bac kgrounds, an important tool in this profession.   Becoming a member of HDI membership will help me keep abreast with the latest developments in the help desk profession.   Having a venue for discussion and collaboration with other professionals will allow me to contribute to the improvement of the profession.