Critique on Article “The Ends of Happiness” Essay

Dr Karl Giberson is a professor at Eastern Nazarene College with a PHD in Physics from Rice University. A man approaching his fifties at the writing of this article, Giberson’s solution to his mid-life crisis was to write an article â€Å"The Ends of Happiness†. His article was well written and he tries to impart his experiences with happiness to young adults. In the article, Giberson claims that happiness should be the end result of our efforts and he provides a compelling argument why we should not get caught up in our pursuit of happiness through materialistic gains. However, his arguments to back his thesis are inadequate due to an inherent contradiction in his supporting point and one unproven assumption in his article. Giberson (2006) uses the Candy Experiment with children to prove his point that our ability to withhold satisfaction leads to a â€Å"life time of happiness† (para. 5). He further explains that â€Å"unpleasant means can yield satisfying ends† (2006). This implies that our happiness will increase if we are able to set aside the things that make us happy, and work towards our goal. However, in his later argument, the author seems to imply that the happiest moments in his life, were times when he did not work towards materialistic gains. For instance, he claims he â€Å"lived well†, when he â€Å"left work early† and spent his time with his family (Giberson, 2006, para.12, 13 & 14). This illustrates his point that the most memorable moments in life comes from relationships as opposed to material gains (Giberson, 2006). While the latter argument supports his thesis, the former contradicts it by implying that happiness is something to be achieved through materialistic gains. This is shown in Giberson’s example about a student graduating with â€Å"greater earning power† (2006) and how this ability â€Å"is the formula for a lifetime of happiness† (Giberson, 2006, para. 5). Furthermore, Giberson’s argument seems to be contingent on one major assumption. That happiness gained from acquiring things, is less meaningful than happiness gained from spending time with family and friends. To illustrate his point, he cites evidence from his own memories. He states that memories gained from family time are clearer than the memories of â€Å"buying his first car† and â€Å"cashing his first paycheck† (Giberson, 2006, para.14). Giberson then applies this line of reasoning to back his thesis by showing us how happiness from material gains alone reduces our overall happiness as our social interactions decrease (Giberson, 2006). However, such opinionated evidence provides weak support to his thesis and even though he did not plan on writing a scientific article, using personal memories to validate such a major assumption weakens his argument substantially. In conclusion, Giberson has indeed written a well-structured editorial with many coherent and interesting points. However, contradicting arguments and one unsupported assumption in the article has undermined his thesis and weakened his argument. Giberson’s thesis would have fared much better had he quoted from valid sources instead of his own personal experiences. Reference Giberson, K. (2006, Mar. – Apr.). The Ends Of Happiness. Science & Spirit, 17, 6-7.

Racism In A Raisin In The Sun Essay

Pride in â€Å"A raisin in the sun† Lorraine Hansberrys’ A raisin in the sun concerns a colored family having to live with different forms of racism throughout their everyday lives. Throughout the story, Hansberry focuses on the theme of pride throughout many characters. Walter, Mama, and Beneatha all show a sense of pride throughout the way that they live. Walter has a high sense of pride throughout the play A raisin in the sun. Walter was originally going to sell his house when he invited over Mr. Linder, a salesman in the white neighborhood. Since his son was next to him he had enough pride for that family that he didn’t sell the house. He even told the salesman â€Å"We come from people who had a lot of pride, I mean that we are very proud people†. (148) That is how Walter shows he is a very proud man. Another example of pride in Lorraine Hansberrys’ A raisin in the sun is shown throughout the character of Mama. Mama was having a conversation with Walter about how money shouldn’t be your life. Then she makes a statement proving she is a person with a high sense of pride when she says â€Å"you aren’t satisfied or proud of anything we’ve done†. This proves she is a person who has pride for her family and what she had done in life, when she made this statement to Walter. That is how Mama has a high sense of pride for her life and her accomplishments. Finally, Beneatha also shows a high sense of pride throughout her character. She makes a few comments proving she is a person with a high sense of pride. Asagai also is quoted for saying â€Å"she prides herself on being independent†. This proves that she has a high sense of pride since she is a very independent person. She is soo independent that she plans to go to Africa with Asagai. This proves that Beneatha is a person that has a high sense of pride. In conclusion, Hansberrys’ A raisin in the sun concerning a colored family having to live with many different forms of racism, shows how the Walter, Mama, and Beneatha all have a high sense of pride for their families and their goals that they have accomplished.

Epigenetic Modification in Human Thyroid Cancer Essay

Epigenetic Modification in Human Thyroid Cancer - Essay Example Neo-Darwinism, has been stretched to incorporate epigenetics from an evolutionary perspective and even from a Non-Lamarckian viewpoint, epigenetics does have an important role in evolution. Epigenetic changes are heritable in nature and in some cases large unexplained heritance of certain characters does take place yet this is important to maintain both genotypic and phenotypic variability. Epigenetic modifications are extremely crucial to maintain human body functions and improper functioning of these modifications can cause adverse health effects and lead to major diseases of the human body. Epigenetic events include modifications of the histone proteins and leads to regulation of chromatin structure and subsequently lead to alteration of the gene function. Researchers have identified deficiency of biotin as one of the major regulatory factors in modifying the chromatin structure. In fact, epigenetics involves the transgenerational transmittance of phenotypic characters which previously solely attributed to genetics. Transgeneration epigenetics refers to the inheritance of information from one organism to another. The transfer of certain characters for example maternal care have been studied. According to a study conducted by Champagne in 2008, epigenetic alterations helps in transferring of traits such as maternal care form the mother to the female off-spring, post-partum. Such transfers have mostly been attributed to epigenetics change sin neuronal and endocrine processes on the body.

Persronal statment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Persronal statment - Essay Example Since then, I have always sought opportunities to improve on my learning through practical experience in the application of the skills learnt at college. Even though I do not have sufficient in the field due to the fact that I recently completed my course, I would like to take a challenging position as a network engineer. Specifically, I would like to gain hands on experience on network systems as I am very interested in the operation of networks. It is best for me to work in an environment of networking systems as I enjoy the work. This will tap into my creativity and make me establish new and innovative ways of handling the job. I do not wish to make the lack of experience an impediment to my career development. Instead, I wish to turn into a source of impetus for success in career development. Once established as a network engineer, I would be of benefit to the society by exploiting my talents and experience to the improvement of the society. I have already had a wonderful experience working as a volunteer in a program where I was involved in the installation of computer equipment in local schools. When I advance as a network engi neer, I will assist to install more of such systems in schools at affordable fees in order to give back to the society. I have demonstrated the ability to be innovative in the exploitation of knowledge acquired while studying electrical and electronics engineering. My friends and I developed a unique application that created an information exchange network without involving the internet. We were able to sell this application to a local company and earned a tidy first income from it. I believed that if I am exposed to a more favourable environment, I would be able to come up with more innovations as a network engineer to help make the society a better place for everyone. Putting my skills into practice has also enabled me to work effectively as a member of a team. For example, when working on the innovative application, we used

Variability of Blood Glucose Concentration and Short-term Mortality in Article

Variability of Blood Glucose Concentration and Short-term Mortality in Critically Ill Patients - Article Example 244). They conclude their introduction with the hypothesis that the SD of blood glucose concentration, when studied in a group of critically ill patients, will be a reliable and independent predictor of mortality. In describing their materials and methods, the researchers note that they are using a multi-center, retrospective observational study; the data collection for which was part of a pre-existing quality assurance activity approved by local institutional ethics committees. The research was focused upon four hospitals and controls established to include population data from all patients admitted to the intensive care units from January 2000 to October 2004. The timeframes were constructed specifically to ensure the collection of complete blood glucose data and patient characteristics. The authors proceed to note very specific controls regarding data integrity and collection methods. It should be noted that only two of the hospitals in the study collected prospective information to allow the researchers to identify diabetic patients; an important determiner in blood glucose management in general and critically-ill patient mortality specifically.

How the trp operon works Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How the trp operon works - Essay Example The operon contains five types of structural genes: Trp A; Trp B; Trp C; Trp D; and Trp E with specific codes and synthesizing properties. The Trp operon regulates its own production through ‘negative feedback loop’ that promotes repressive affect resulting in non transfer of certain genetic expressions or codes (Oxender et. Al., 1979). Another important feature of Trp operon is that it has got attenuators and leader peptides comprising of nearly 140 nucleotides that help to dissociate RNA decoding from the DNA encoding and thereby repress the process of transcription. Thus their property of gene regulation becomes the most critical factor to study the highly complex process of hereditary characteristics and genetic behavioral pattern in living organisms. When it is liberated in the operator, the transcription is made possible and promotes genetic transfer of characteristics. Oxender, D. L., et al. (1979). Attenuation in the Escherichia coli tryptophan operon: Role of RNA secondary structure involving the tryptophan codon region. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 76,

Auditing and why independence is important Essay

Auditing and why independence is important - Essay Example Carey, P. & Simnett, R. (2001) stated that in auditing theory and practice, independence is a matter of intellectual honesty. Auditors are expected to be unbiased and impartial with respect to financial statements and other information they audit. They are expected to be fair to both the companies and executives who issue financial information and to the outside persons who use it. Independence is important enough to stand alone as a concept. The public will grant social recognition of professional status to auditors only so long as they are perceived to be independent. The notion of individual independence is more specific in the conduct of each audit engagements. In essence, an individual auditor must not subordinate his or her judgment to others and must stay away from influences that might bias judgment.3 Loebbecke, A. (2000) argued that actual threats have to be considered on the situations that might be perceived as threats by a reasonable and informed observer. Where such threats exist, the auditor must put in place safeguards that eliminate them or reduce them to clearly insignificant levels. Safeguards apply at three levels: safeguards in the work environment, safeguards that increase the risk of detection, and specific safeguards to deal with particular cases. If he is unable to implement fully adequate safeguards, the auditor must not carry out the work. Gupta, K., (2006) mentioned that ethical guidance based on this framework includes examples of threats that might arise and appropriate safeguards to deal with them. But these are illustrative and not comprehensive. The auditor must be able to demonstrate that, in the particular circumstances under consideration, the fundamental principles had in fact been observed - a far more rigorous test of compliance. The framework approach is considered the most appropriate to adopt as: The aim of good guidance should be proactive, i.e. to require the auditor to identify and address risks, not merely passively obeying the letter of the code. A set of principles supported by reasoned guidance avoids the argument that any course of conduct that is not specifically prohibited is permissible, encouraging a search for ways around the rules. The approach recognizes the reality that the auditor is not wholly independent of his client, but that the threats to independence must be managed to clearly insignificant levels. Although the basic principles of auditor independence are straightforward they may need to be applied to an almost infinite number of circumstances. The detailed rules-based approach will have to be incomprehensibly complex to cope with all possible circumstances, or will be a blunt instrument, sometimes imposing inappropriate solutions or completely missing the problem. The business environment and structure of audit firms and their clients are continually evolving particularly in an international context. Clients and shareholders are generally allowed to choose the auditors to perform other work if they believe it is most efficient for them to do so, where adequate safeguards can be put in place. Nonetheless, where adequate s

Compare and contrast the effects of the First and Second World Wars on Coursework

Compare and contrast the effects of the First and Second World Wars on the international system - Coursework Example trend of the international system has had no parallel since creation Cantor and Land (1985); Tuttle (1988); Goemans (2000); Karsmakers (2003) and ; the combined effects of the two wars changed the shape of the international system than all other recorded wars in history combined. Kvasnicka and Bethmann (2007) believe that posterity’s perfect understanding of the similar and combined effects of these wars can be enhanced by making a holistic view on the effects these wars had on migration, global population sex ratio and labor availability, and world order. Each of these perspectives would now be looked in context to see how the effects of the two wars were similar on them. In his book An Illustrated History of the First World War, Keegan (2001) maintains that the world’s population knew an unprecedented trend in location and relocation during WWI. This location and relocation was usually from one country to another or from one city/town to another. Such movement was usually to flee from danger from one part of the world to another part of the world where danger was not so imminent. According to Keegan, such movement was ever feasible because, although this war was termed a world war, it practically did not involve all the countries of the world per se. Infact, some authors like Keegan himself, Banks (2002); Gilbert (2004) have persistently held that the first world war was a European war, arguing that the US role in the war was more of an arbitration or mediating one. So some countries remained neutral and were favorable destinations for people to move from war-torn countries like Germany, Britain, France and Belgium. Meanwhile, contributions from authors on the Second World War pointing to the same issue of migration abound. Karsmakers (2003); Kvasnicka and Bethmann (2007) and Cantor and Land (1985) revealed that the bombings of the second world war made people to leave their homes to seek refuge elsewhere more that in a y recorded period in history. Such

The Guide by R. K. Narayan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Guide by R. K. Narayan - Essay Example Th story is st in smll town whr th hro is tourist guid nd mts girl who is ccompnid by hr husbnd. H gts fscintd by tht girl nd with his chrm nd tlnt h mngs to gt th girl wy from hr husbnd nd uss hr dncing tlnts to rn mony nd nds in prison nd onc h gts out of th prison h gos in to villg nd strts living nothr fls lif bcus of his chrm nd tlnt th villgrs worship him s god, but how th hro trnsforms himslf in to somon who rlly ttins sttus of GOD. On my opinion, most of th srious thoughts nd ids of th uthor r not stright in this book. To fully undrstnd it, on nds to possss littl bit of mturity to rlly pprcit it, nd I mn mturity in trms of spiritulity. Th grtst problm tht is dpictd in this book is th low qulity of indignous ldrship in his own socity. H dscribs Brhmns s clss or vn politicl group with rsponsibility for th brkdown of trditionl Hindu vlus nd institutions of govrnnc. It should b notd tht Nryn is not dvout Hindu, nd h oftn ccuss Wstrnrs of wrongly supposing tht ll Indins r dply spiritul bings. In his novl Nryn undrtons Gndhism ,whr h points out to th phrs of Vln, "Your pnnc is similr to Mhtm Gndhi's. H hs lft us discipl in you to sv us " (Nryn , p 93). cntrl topic of th novl is th convrsion of Rju from his rol s tour guid to tht of spiritul guid, whr s tour guid nd lovr, h is imptuous, immorl, nd vn hdonistic. s rsult, ftr his imprisonmnt nd wholly trnsformtion h turns into holy, crful nd slf-disciplind mn. Th novl potrys two storis, tht of Rju's rltionship with Rosi, nd tht of Rju's rltionship with th villgrs s holy mn. Th novl thn ltrnts btwn n ccount of Rju's crr s holy mn, which is told in th third-prson, nd Rju's ccount to Vln of his prvious crr s tour guid nd lovr. This dulism of th story is sign of th dulism in Rju's chrctr. Rju is dpictd s sympthtic chrctr throughout th novl. Th illusion in Rju's lif is Rosi, who dtrcts him wy from th dily routin of norml lif. Whn Rju ss hr for th first tim, h dscribs hr by using words lik "complxion not whit, but dusky, which md hr only hlf visibl, s if you sw hr through film of tndr coconut juic" (Nryn ,p 29). It is n opn ndd novl whr nothing is vr rvld. If you think it is right, it will b so. You will probbly sk yourslf if th msk bcom so ovrpowring, tht it tks ovr Rju's rl chrctr nd stblishs it s th truth. Nryn's drk irony is dpictd through th mking of Mhtm in this novl, howvr, Rju's ws cs whr th physicl guid indd bcm spiritul guid, Swmi nd finlly th msk hs tkn ovr th chrctr. No on would sy tht it is simply just pssiv tking ovr, bcus in this cs th chrctr hs cquird th msk nd bcom on with it. Rju's rscu lis in his brvry to ccpt ll his follis nd pologiz for thm. I prsonlly nvr found Rju s immorl bcus in th intil prt, Rosi's sttus s wif is so pitiful tht I lmost wntd Rju nd Rosi to fll in lov. Hnc I don't s Rju's downfll s punishmnt for his immorlity. Rju's trgdy ws tht h could nvr sy no. h just ccptd ll tht ws thrust upon him nd thus plyd diffrnt rols. Hnc h bcm shop ownr, tourist guid nd ltr on n gnt to Nlini lis Rosi's dnc prformnc. Howvr, not tking dcision is dcision in itslf nd indd, if Rju couldn't sy no, lso mns tht h wntd to sy no. Th nding is prhps th most nticing nd I bliv in Rju's trnsformtion from swindlr to sint. If I don't gr with it, I will b stigmtizd s n thist. nd I m nithr, so I will lv th intrprttion of Rju's chrctr for ltr, cus I nd som tim to fully procss th

MNGMT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MNGMT - Essay Example I then called them up and asked if maybe we could go back to the coffee shop and discuss few other things. Back to the coffee shop, we had a very interesting discussion and we even had a question-and-answer sort of activity. We were trying to ask one another about possible questions that may be asked on the exams and it turned out to be a fun way of studying. There were instances that if one of us attempts to answer a particular question, the other one would refute and provide another answer that lead to a discussion and research on which answer was correct. It went that way in a few hours and when it was time to get home, I was pretty confident that I have more retention with the activity that we had compared to when I was trying to study on my own. This personal experience may not be a group decision making but the fact that we were able to make our studying easier, I can definitely conclude that working with a group is better than working alone. With a group, one is given the chance to give his own idea while the rest of the members can scrutinize and analyze the given idea. There is an exchange of thoughts until they get to choose whose idea fits the puzzle best. In turn, decision making is at its best and one can expect a pretty good outcome. Although an exchange of ideas can be a challenge sometimes because it takes more time compared to when you have to decide on your own, you can be assured though that it is better than when you have to do all the thinking. I believe that in cases like coming up with a solution to a seemingly complex task, like an assignment, a project or the like, it is always best to discuss possible approaches with a group rather than assume you have all the best ideas in the world. Given this technique, one can never go

My View on Consumerism Essay Example for Free

My View on Consumerism Essay The main point of In Praise Of Consumerism by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. was that consumerism is very broad and relates to a lot of different features in everyones everyday life. When Rockwell says consumerism is just another word for freedom in the marketplace. What Rockwell is saying is that any person in the world can buy anything they want because of the widespread variety and costs. Any person could be rich or poor and still have some sort of option even if you had to scavenge materials and build your own item, consumerism plays a role. In todays world technology advances and some people in the world just cannot keep up with it and give up, like smartphones even, I recall seeing an elder woman throwing a new smartphone at the ground in a Verizon cell phone store awhile ago. People today also crave information and with consumerism they are given options to view info differently with your phone, laptop, or even tablet. People in the world today not only want heat in the winter, but they also want air conditioning in the summer, to top that off those heating and air systems are advancing all the time. When it comes to a variety or choice of products is when different manufacturers compete to make the better product. Rockwell says, If something is broken, we want the materials made available to repair it. I can really relate to that quote right now because while Im writing this essay, I am also sewing my backpack together. I went to the local Pac-And-Save store to purchase that sewing kit and I was looking for the cheapest available, but there was only a choice of one but lots of variety in thread color sold separately. I agree with Rockwell when he relates to people wanting creature comforts or a variety of necessities like food, wine, cleaning products, toothpaste, and razors. Some people are limited though when it comes to purchasing some bigger items like Heat pumps for homes or Air Conditioners. New units can cost upwards of 2,000 to 3,000 dollar range, but this is where variety or choice come into play and sometimes you can shop around for a used bargain or even get estimates on new equipment from different businesses to see where your going to save the most money. When money is not a problem people abandon old forms of communication or entertainment for far superior modes of information technology. like Rockwell said. The worlds economy is still not the greatest and because of that many people today want options and choices when it comes to buying anything.People are getting what they want to because of something called Market Economy says Rockwell. Market economy, in Rockwells definition Is nothing but a bunch of people cooperating and innovating to make better lives for themselves. He also states that there is no dog-eat-dog competition which I disagree with. I believe that manufactures of products that consumers want also want there products to be the best so the people designing the product will do whatever it takes to make the other manufacturer look bad or there product look like junk. In this quote Rockwell says, But if by consume we meant to purchase products and services with our own money in order to improve the human condition, who can help but plead guilty? I like that quote about consumerism because it affects our economy in a better way while improving human health globally. In a earlier paragraph Rockwell says, Theres no dog-eat-dog. There is so much competition in the consumerism industry, when theres a new product there are all sorts of people out there to try and make it better. Manufacturers also try to make the product less expensive and so it appeals to a different group of people. If some company in America has a better reputation and they improve that product but maybe mark the costs up because that Made In America sticker costs a little more for labor will get some people to buy it for that reason only not the cost difference. One thing that I think is very good about consumerism is that it can be used to better the human life, health, and just all around living. People are able to purchase things like cough medicine, or vitamins to help simple sicknesses. In the bigger aspects there are scientists that buy products to held find cures and help get rid of viruses. Rockwell says, The whole history of ideas about society has been spent trying to come up with some system that serves the common man rather than just the elites, the rulers, and the powerful. I dont understand what this quote means when I read it, but the next sentence kind of puts it in perspective for me, the story reads, When the Market economy, and its capitalistic structure, came into being, that institution was finally discovered. I derived this from that quote, that leading manufactures have more power over smaller companies. Some People today let Greed take over and they buy superfluous things like Rockwell said. He also said, who is to say what is a need versus a mere want? I think Its all up to the person with the cash buying whatever products it might be. I agree to Rockwell when he says, wants and needs are linked so the one persons necessities are met precisely because other peoples wants are met. Here is an example, A farmer sells his crops to the Co-op And in return he uses the money, for seed, for the next years crop. Market Economy is King over some things in Life, don’t let it get the best of you though. Do research on products before you buy, look at customer reviews, ask people that have purchased a different brand of the same tool, or be straight forward and contact the manufacturer and ask about how many faulty units they have had or any complaints, any of those things can steer you in the right direction when fighting or loving Consumerism.

Technical Education and Its Importance in Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Technical Education and Its Importance in Pakistan Essay ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Professor David Bergin for providing me with support and guidance throughout my research. Through my experiences working with him I learned a great deal about the research process and how to structure my writing and feel better prepared to move forward with research in the future. I would also like to thank my thesis committee members who provided me with a lot of feedback on how to improve my research topic and gave me ideas to build on in future research studies. A great amount of thanks goes to the schools sampled in this study. The director of the Area Career Center was very welcoming and open to my research topic allowing me to gain as much exposure to career and technical education and their students as I wanted. Without the ACC’s interest in my study this research would not have been possible. I also want to thank the local high school that allowed me access to a few students even though they had very demanding schedules. Gaining insight from Advanced Placement students creating an interesting element to my study that I have found very valuable. ducation at an Area Career Center in mid Missouri. Newer programs that combine career and technical education courses with traditional high school instruction can benefit students in allowing them to connect their academic training with real world careers and practical concepts. This study looks at students’ perceptions of CTE, the sources of influence they reported on their decisions to take or not take CTE courses in high school and the role cultural capital played in their views. Utilizing a qualitative method of data collection eight high school seniors enrolled in either CTE only classes, AP only classes or a combined CTE and AP course load were interviewed about their views of CTE at the local area career center. All of the students were white and there were four boys and four girls interviewed in the study. Results show that all students in the study associated CTE with some form of hands on education, with students enrolled in CTE courses reacting more favorably to CTE instruction and its connection to careers and occupations. The most significant influences on students’ decisions to take or not take CTE classes were their future academic or career goals and how CTE knowledge would or would not help them. Other reported influences include teachers, family members and personal experiences. Finally, the role of cultural capital in students’ views of CTE is explored reaching the conclusion that more data and analysis is needed to find more arguable claims. 1 CHAPTER 1: Introduction In this study, I interview high school students in order to understand their thoughts on career and technical education programs in high school. One reason why this is important is that according to a 2002 survey by the U. S. Chamber of Commerce Center to Workforce Preparation, nearly 75 percent of employers report difficulty when trying to hire qualified workers. Forty percent say that applicants are poorly skilled and 30 percent say that applicants have the wrong skills for available jobs (The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) www. acteonline. org). I believe this means that career and technical education can play a vital role in helping promote this environment and help students succeed through hands on education coupled with challenging high school curriculum. The current high school curriculum in the United States faces challenges with the No Child Left Behind legislation that mandates a standards-based education. This initiative makes career and technical education harder to promote in public schools because CTE courses are elective classes. It rests on the students to enroll themselves in courses that will provide them with the best preparation for post high school opportunities. In this study, I ask students about their attitudes toward CTE courses. Research on comprehensive education programs suggests combining more rigorous forms of education, such as advanced placement (AP) with CTE (Association for Career and Technical Education, 2006; Stern, D. , Dayton, C. , Paik, I. -W. , Weisberg, A. , Evans, J. , 1988). Because of this I include students who are taking AP courses in this study to gauge their responses to CTE. While government statistics show that most high school students 2 take at least one â€Å"vocational† course in their high school careers such as typing or home economics. (http://www. ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cte/index. html), it seems unfortunate that high school students do not pursue a more advanced career and technical education if it is available to them alongside their academic coursework. Students who are interested in a more academic route with AP courses can balance their studies with career and technical coursework. While benefits of career and technical education can appear obvious to some, it is not difficult to understand the rejection of this alternative form of education when at least a college degree is becoming a requirement for the majority of jobs. Purpose and Research Questions Newer programs that combine career and technical education courses with traditional high school instruction can benefit students in allowing them to connect their academic training with real world careers and practical concepts. Research on career and technical education in the U. S. has a history of highlighting the faults of CTE education such as not delivering on its promises and in some cases being a one-way ticket to a working class life (Claus, 1990). These out-dated reports are representative of Career and Technical Education programs in the older sense and not the newer, academically and career focused model being utilized in many high schools today. There is little research on why students take their chosen classes in high school and how students connect their high school curriculum to their post high school decisions and careers. There is also little research on how social class might impact students’ views and use of career and technical education. In this study I addressed students views of current high 3 school career and technical education programs in an Area Career Center (ACC) in Missouri. Area career centers fall under the umbrella of CTE housing career focused coursework and training in a separate building from local high schools. I investigated how students’ reports of cultural capital seem to influence these views. I chose to conduct a qualitative study because qualitative research allows one to investigate the idiosyncratic meanings that people construct about their lived experience. I was able to pursue in-depth reasons that the students give for their decisions, and was able to use follow-up questions to elaborate on understandings. The present study will address the following research questions: Research Question 1: How do students who are enrolled in CTE or AP classes perceive CTE? Research Question 2: What sources of influence do they report experiencing regarding academic versus CTE coursework? Research Question 3: What role does cultural capital play in students’ views of CTE coursework and their decisions to take or not take CTE classes in high school? Limitations to the Study There were a few limitations to my method of recruiting students and the transferability of the findings. First, there are over 1100 students from the high school enrolled in CTE classes at the Area Career Center so eight participants is not a very representative sample of students. However, qualitative research methods required that I keep my participant pool small. Second, at the local high school, I did not have as much control over the students selected for participation as I did at the ACC. the site counselor who helped me in my 4 recruitment process may have introduced bias into the process. Third, all of the participants were white and there were more males than females in CTE classes and more females than males in AP/Advanced classes. Also, the three AP students in this study were all interested in theatre, an area of study not offered at the ACC so there was probably a general feeling of lack of interest in CTE because no courses were offered in their specific area of interest. Future qualitative studies would benefit from more diverse students from underrepresented populations. Also, because student recruitment took place in the spring, it was hard to recruit students, especially those enrolled in AP courses (either AP only or CTE/AP combined), because end of the year AP exams take place during the spring. Recruitment of students in the fall might create a wider participant pool. 5 CHAPTER 2: Literature Review History of Career and Technical Education Career and technical education began as vocational education in Europe in the 19th century in response to the increase in demand for skilled workers who were educated in industrialized professions. Other factors that influenced the birth of career and technical education include the interest traditional European elites had in their children receiving both an education as well as certification in skills. They wanted their children to gain access to positions in law and theology, and the middle class parents wanted their children to attain the necessary educational credentials to help them enter careers in the civil service or managerial positions (Benavot, 1983). In the U. S. , federal funding for career and technical education was initiated with the passing of the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917. Over the next 65 years and four modifications to the act in 1947, 1958, 1963 and 1968, career and technical education increased funding, expanded programs to improve in the areas of science, math, and foreign languages, offered support for technical occupations related to national defense, and included work study programs. In 1968, a National Advisory Council on Vocational Education was initiated to start collecting information about the progress and development of vocational education programs and students. In  1984, the Vocational Education Act was renamed the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act (Perkins I, P. L. 98-524). While continuing federal support for vocational education, it established programs emphasizing the acquisition of job skills through both vocational and technical education. The act also sought to make vocational education 6 programs accessible to â€Å"special populations,† including individuals with disabilities, disadvantaged individuals, single parents and homemakers, and incarcerated individuals. The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act Amendments of 1990 (Perkins II, P. L. 101-392) made several revisions to the 1984 Act. Notably, the act created the tech-prep program designed to coordinate secondary and postsecondary vocational education activities into a coherent sequence of courses. Programs to eliminate sex bias were designed to prepare students for nontraditional training and employment (e. g. , training women to be welders or men to be nurses). Also, the law also required states to develop and implement performance standards and measures (e.g. , program completion and job placement) to assess gains in learning and in program performance. The Perkins Act of 1998 provided specific federal assistance for secondary and postsecondary vocational education (Skinner and Apling, 2005). The reauthorized 1998 Act also made modifications to performance standards and measures of the 1990 Act. A core set of performance indicators were included in the 1998 Act that resulted in sanctions if the level of performance was not reached or increased funding if performance exceeded the requirements. A key element of the 1998 Act was a greater focus on accountability with states required to â€Å"provide data for four core performance indicators focusing on: (1) student attainment; (2) credential attainment, (3) placement and retention, and (4) participation in and completion of non-traditional programs. † (CRS Report for Congress) Under its most recent amendment in 2006, the Carl D. Perkins Act became the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act. The 2006 amendment showed one of the most notable revisions to the act since it was established by replacing the term 7 ‘vocational education’ with ‘career and technical education. ’ This name change is especially significant in research on the influences student report in their decisions to take CTE classes because of the stigma associated with the world ‘vocational. ’ ‘Vocational’ education resonates with many as being representative of vocational education in the traditional sense and not academically focused or resulting in a college degree or high status occupations the way career and technical education can be perceived. Changing the name could help change the image of CTE towards a viable and legitimate option for secondary schooling. The 2006 revision also set in place a system of accountability to coincide with the No Child Left Behind Standards mandated for public education in the United States. Under this system of accountability, academic attainment and graduation rates of students enrolled in CTE at the secondary level will be measured. These new accountability measures create a greater need for research on how students perceive CTE in order to discover additional methods for recruiting new students and drawing greater attention from parents who steer their children towards a more college prep, academically focused course load. If students decisions not to take CTE classes rests in their view that to go to college and be a doctor they have to take advanced high school classes and CTE doesn’t look good on his transcript, administrators can use this information to create better recruitment methods. They can focus on educating students and parents on the goals of CTE and how these goals align with the traditional or advanced coursework. The subject areas most commonly associated with career and technical education are the following: Agriculture (careers related to food and fiber production and agribusiness); Business (accounting, business administration, management, information technology and  8 entrepreneurship); Family and Consumer Sciences (culinary arts, management and life skills); Health Occupations (nursing, dental, and medical technicians); Marketing (management, entrepreneurship, merchandising and retail); Technology (production, communication and transportation systems); and Trade and Industrial (skilled trades such as automotive technician, carpenter, computer numerical control technician). One difficulty in defining career and technical education coursework is the existence of district regulated definitions on what qualifies as a CTE course and how many courses a student needs to take to be classified as a CTE student. In the state of Missouri, there are 16 career clusters (See Appendix C, Table 1). â€Å"Career Clusters can give all students the academic preparation, guidance, careerrelated knowledge and flexibility to help them plan studies that are in line with their interests, abilities, and career goals. The Career Clusters framework offers a practical way for educators in all disciplines to create relevant contexts for their students learning. At the same time, it reinforces the schools fundamental objectives of academic accountability and improved achievement for all students. † (Source: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Division of Career Education http://dese. mo. gov/divcareered/career_clusters. htm). In response to the need for a redesigned educational system in U.S. public schools to fit the needs of the 21st century, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) compiled a report on their views of how the remodeled education system should look (Association for Career and Technical Education, 2006). The report proposes that Career and Technical Education should be modified to do the following: (1) Support students in the acquisition of rigorous core knowledge, skills, habits and attitudes needed for success in9 postsecondary education and the high-skilled   workplace, (2) Engage students in specific career-related learning experiences that equip them to make well-informed decisions about further education and training and employment opportunities, and (3) Prepare students who may choose to enter the workforce directly after high school with levels of skills and knowledge in a particular career area that will be valued in the marketplace (Association for Career and Technical Education, 2006). Career and Technical Education Research Research on CTE tends to fall most often in two areas: the likelihood of students dropping out of school and how to serve at risk students (Plank, 2001; Stern, et al. , 1988; Catterall, 1986), and longitudinal effects of CTE programs (Plank, 2001; Arum Shavit, 1995). In 1986, Catterall and Stern looked at the use of alternative high school programs in preventing students from dropping out. They utilized the California sub-sample of the 1980 and 1982 High School and Beyond surveys (involving nearly 3,000 sophomores and 3,000 seniors) and studied the impact alternative education programs had on labor market outcomes for students. The High School and Beyond Survey in 1980 asked students how many courses they had completed in each of four CTE areas: business, office, or sales; trade and industry; technical courses; or other vocational courses. In addition to finding mixed support for alternative programs to prevent drop outs, they also found positive results on employment and wages. Stern, et al (1988) conducted a study in California that yielded similar results. Their 10 research reported the results from the first two years of an effort in 10 high schools to replicate the California Peninsula Academies. The students in the Academy school were identified by school counselors as â€Å"low performance students† with a high risk of dropping out of school (Stern, et al. , 1988). They were then placed into the Peninsula Academy, which was a school within a school, for grades 10 through 12. These low performing students took most of their remaining classes together at the school including coursework in English, math, and science as well as a course in the particular Academys focus (Stern, et al. , p. 163, 1988). The â€Å"Academy† model combines the core academic curriculum with technical instruction in a particular occupational field. Local employers representing that field participate in various ways by donating equipment to the school and serving as mentors to the students. For example, Hewlett-Packard contributed computer expertise and hardware. The companies also provide summer jobs for some of the students at the Academy school. â€Å"Having a paid summer job which is related to the Academy’s instructional focus creates a powerful connection between school work and â€Å"real† work† (Stern, et al. , p. 163, 1988). Academy students generally compiled better grades and more course credits than students in comparison groups at the same high schools. At three sites in particular, Academy students consistently out-performed comparison groups in the first two years. The authors also found that results were replicated at other sites and helped prevent students from dropping out of school. Claus (1990) conducted an ethnographic analysis of the student experience in a single CTE program, looking to answer two questions: (1) why did the students in the program report satisfaction and improved attitudes in association with their CTE program and (2) how  11 was CTE related to increasing the opportunity of these primarily working to lower class, academically-alienated youth? The CTE experience tended to reinforce class-related inequalities. â€Å"The ethnographic fieldwork and analysis suggest that while the students found their CTE program enjoyable and rewarding, this response was often rooted in a classroom experience which limited their development and reinforced their tendency toward working to lower class work and lives after school† (Claus, 1990, p. 13). Arum and Shavit (1995) utilized the 1987 â€Å"High School and Beyond† data to study individuals’ early labor market outcomes after high school and their track placement while in high school. They found that â€Å"vocational secondary education is neither as pernicious nor as detrimental as some of its opponents have maintained. † (p. 199) They found that CTE inhibited students in their decisions to continue on to college or achieve success in high prestige occupations, but also found that CTE programs serve as â€Å"a safety net for those high school graduates who are unlikely to go on to college. † (p. 199) Plank’s 2001 report for the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education looked at the balance between CTE and academic course-taking during high school for members of a longitudinal study beginning in 1988 with their eighth grade year. The students in the study were broken down into four groups: purely academic concentrators, purely CTE concentrators, dual concentrators who took both academic and CTE course work, and a group of students who took neither the purely academic or CTE coursework. Plank found the following: (1) academic concentrators showed the highest 1992 achievement, followed by dual (academic and vocational) concentrators, then students who fulfilled neither concentration, and then CTE concentrators; (2) almost all students were either in 12 postsecondary education or working, or both, in 1994, with academic concentrators most likely to be in full-time school and CTE concentrators most likely to be in full-time employment. The study concluded that further research is needed to determine what characteristics of CTE or academic education increase the risk of dropping out, and what types of integration  of academic and vocational education are most successful. Gaunt and Palmer (2005) conducted a quantitative study that investigated students’ attitudes towards career and technical education (CTE), what influenced their views, and their course selection decisions. They utilized the data from a previous study in Michigan of over 450 high school seniors. The were interested in the career and technical education funding crisis that is occurring in the wake of No Child Left Behind. Gaunt and Palmer (2005) found the majority of students citing social relationships with their friends and parents as the prime influencers of their views of career and technical education. In addition, students offered responses on how course structure, the benefits offered from each program, and advertising of the CTE programs affected their views of CTE. These results provide support for further research on the subject of career and technical education that puts an emphasis on academic training alongside CTE instruction in career-related fields. What was interesting about Gaunt and Palmer’s (2005) data was that more than half of the students not enrolled in career and technical education courses saw the courses as helping students prepare for college immediately after high school in comparison to 81% of students enrolled in CTE courses who saw this same connection. More than 80 percent of both groups of students saw the ACC as preparation for work after high school and close to 80 percent of all students saw the ACC in Michigan as designed for students of all ability levels. 13 Utilizing a qualitative methods approach with open ended interviewing methods, my study gives the students a greater opportunity to express their views of CTE education and how they compare it with their purely academic coursework. Gaunt and Palmer’s (2005) research is a big step forward in literature on career and technical education and I hope the dialogue of the participants in my study help take research even more forward. Sources of Influence How students perceive career and technical education and the their high school coursetaking decisions can be attributed to a variety of factors. In this study one of my research questions examined what are these factors and how do they influence student choices. Previous research on the influences students experience while choosing their high school classes include parents and friends, current labor markets, and school social networks including teachers and counselors. The most detailed account of influences that impact a student’s decisions to pursue a CTE curriculum in high school is Rossetti’s 1991 study about the influenced students who chose not to enroll in a Vocational School in Ohio. While evaluating the external factors that contributed to students’ decisions to enroll in CTE classes, Rossetti found that friends were the most influential with fifty-three percent stating that they had consulted their friends. (Rossetti, 1987) The next most influential figures were mother/female guardian (49%); father/male guardian (44%); brother/sister (39%); counselor (35%); girl/boyfriend (32%); other relative (32%); teacher(s) (28%); and athletic coach(es) (21%). A report by Dunham and Frome (2003) took a closer look at the role teachers and  14 counselors can play in encouraging and influencing students in their high school course selections. Their results were similar to Rossettis (1991). Current labor markets can also affect a students’ decision to enroll in CTE coursework. A publication by the National Center for Educational Statistics reported â€Å"students may be more likely to concentrate in vocational areas that prepare them for occupations with increasing job opportunities† (p. 1). In the case of the current U. S. job market, this would mean that students who take advanced courses in math and science and focus their studies towards engineering careers could be doing so not for their interest in those subjects but because they recognize the labor market’s shift to careers in engineering fields. This would also mean that these same students would specifically withdraw from involvement in courses focusing on low demand careers. This study was completed in 1998 and concluded that the reason for the decline in CTE courses was due to the job market not requiring those skills. New forms of career and technical education need to emphasize academics and career training in electronics and computer fields because the job market has made a turn towards careers of a more technical nature. Social Class and Cultural Capital The theoretical framework of this study relies upon cultural capital theory. Cultural capital can be defined as â€Å"high status cultural signals used in cultural and social selection† (Lamont and Lareau, 1988). According to Bourdieu’s definition, cultural capital â€Å"consists mainly of linguistic and cultural competence and that relationship of familiarity with culture which can only be produced by family upbringing when it transmits the dominant culture† 15 (Bourdieu, 1977). Cultural capital, according to Bourdieu, includes things such as going to museums, appreciating art and listening to classical music. â€Å"[Bourdieu] argues that individuals in privileged social locations are advantaged in ways that are not a result of the intrinsic merit of their cultural experiences. Rather, cultural training in the home is awarded unequal value in dominant institutions because of the close compatibility between the standards of child rearing in privileged homes and the (arbitrary) standards proposed by these institutions. † (Lareau, p. 276) In a dominant institution like education, the role of cultural capital translates to the practices of the school staff, teachers, organizational processes and authoritative relationships set in place as a method of exclusion for those who are unfamiliar with the institutional practices. In the U. S., children from high cultural capital backgrounds, according to cultural capital theory, have been taught directly or indirectly the value of raising one’s hand to be called on, working independently on homework assignments, and possessing a sense of entitlement to resources and extra help from teachers and other figures of authority (Lareau, 2000). It is argued that â€Å"children from higher social locations enter schools already familiar with these social arrangements† (Lareau, 1987, p. 288) and therefore succeed at a higher level than those not familiar with these practices. Being more familiar with the skills and knowledge valued by the dominant culture, students of the dominant culture are better able to adapt their skills to new settings to help negotiate their way to higher, more prestigious education and jobs. This creates a higher economic class position and allows their children to be exposed to the same culture, which is congruent with cultural reproduction theory (Aschaffenburg and Maas, 1997). 16 Bourdieu used the term â€Å"cultural reproduction† to describe the way society stratifies members of the population by reproducing the values, lif.

impact of Poverty on Health

impact of Poverty on Health 1 Health Access to Nursing Health Assignment 2 Kirsty Lincoln Tutor Lis Footsoy This should be in the report format! Please follow Assignment Brief instructions carefully! According to Ogden (1996), there are many factors that impact on the health of individuals within society, some are more common than others such as poverty, unemployment, lifestyle and residential areas. Alongside these are medical factors, religion and differing beliefs in medicine and health. According to Ogden (1996) although these are all different areas to take into consideration they are all interlinked to one another and it is often thought that if an individual has any one of the above chances are they will have some degree of each one impacting on their general health and wellbeing. [LF1]Naidoo and Wills (2000) claim that there are many determinants also known as health inequalities, which can all be broken down into categories such as social, environmental, lifestyle and physiological factors, it can be suggested that social factors have a major impact on health and the way individuals live generally associating health with social class, lower working classes are seen to lead unhealthier lifestyles due to poverty or lack of employment which in effect will lead to poor housing and living in higher crime rate areas and less access to health services and very little means of leisure activity which will then result in poor nutrition as not many individuals in the lower classes can afford healthy food and 10 fresh fruit and vegetables a day which is needed to maintain a good level of health, this could also include high consumptions of alcohol and cigarettes. Naidoo and wills (2000) explains how all this then leads to physiological factors that impact on health like stress and depression, high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity which then ends up costing the National Health service thousands and thousands of pounds each year. It can be suggested that this is just a vicious cycle and until poverty and unemployment levels decrease, society as a whole will continue to consume money in the NHS. The graphs above shows the unemployment rates in the united kingdom compared to other countries, it is suggested that although it is not at the higher end of the scale there is still a high number of unemployment which has a major impact on the National Health service and the united kingdom’s economy which will in turn effect the overall health of the general public through poverty. It is clear to see from this brief overview how all the determinants are interlinked and how each one individually affects health and wellbeing. Ogden (1996) states that what is clear is that ill health does not happen by chance or through bad luck, in order to maintain health, society as a whole should promote it. The Lalorde report published in 1974 helped identify four fields of health that can be improved these are: Genetics and biological factors which determine an individual’s disposition to disease, lifestyles factors in which health behaviours contribute to illness, environmental factors like housing or pollution and the health services provided. If an area has a poor health service than it is more likely that death rates are higher through disease and health will be effected. These show that factors other than genetic and biological all affect an individual’s health but it is possible to change it. Naidoo and w[LF2]ills (2000) explains that unemployment and low income is a major determinant of living standards and when studying levels of income and material deprivation through unemployment it has been found that it can tie in with ill health and premature mortality. The graph above shows the different ages and class groups of the working environment it shows the level of deaths are a lot higher in those who work in manual hard labour which is very hands on and demanding in comparison to those of other intermediate and higher professional backgrounds paying in higher wages than other lower class jobs. According to the Rowntree report in 1990, 24% of the population had an income of below the national average after allowing for housing costs (Rowntree foundation 1995), people most likely to be in this category are the unemployed, pensioners, lone parents and the low paid. Blackburn suggests that there are three ways in which low income and unemployment can affect health, Physiologically inadequate housing, lack of warmth, lack of food, psychological – stress lack of support network and behavioural – health damaging behaviours like excessive smoking, drinking alcohol, sweets for children instead of healthy foods, living in poverty can affect anyone and without the means to provide a healthy lifestyle many are forced to live unhealthy lifestyles to make ends meet, it is not a choice. According to Ogden (1996) one of the main challenges the National Health Service (NHS) has to deal with is the constant usage of money, as healthcare costs thousands each year and regions with poor housing and less deprived areas spend more due to leading unhealthy lifestyles, an issue with this is that those people who are unemployed who live in these poorer communities pay nothing into the system yet can still access healthcare with the same rights as people employed who do pay into the system and pay taxes, so people who are unemployed can claim benefits, healthcare should be free and accessible to everyone although there will come a time when there is no financial funding left to pay for healthcare, there have been suggestions of placing a charge for every time the individual visits the doctor or attends Accident and Emergency on a Friday night when they have been found too intoxicated to function. This in turn will promote a healthier living although it can be seen as discrimina tion as individuals in poverty or unemployment still will not have the means to pay for the healthcare visits resulting in poor health and diseases increasing, having a detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing within society. The graph above shows how the National Health Service funding has increased over the last 7 years reaching a high of just over  £105,000 in the years 2012 to 2013. As Naidoo and wills (2000) explains there are some factors that impact health that we cannot change for example: ethnicity, different race and ethnic backgrounds can determine an individual’s health for example: individuals with darker skin have a higher protection from diseases of the skin, caused by sunlight such as skin cancer and individuals with lighter more pale skin can burn easily and be allergic to the sun, this can tie into the environmental factors that affect health. Although in order to fit in to society in modern day it can be seen that there is a lot more pressure placed on young girls and women who feel the need to be perfect due to the mass media resulting in a rise in the use of tanning beds in order to gain a tan and darkening of the skin, this heightens the chance of skin cancer and other skin diseases. The graph below shows that in 2010, among men, white men had the highest rate of getting melanoma of the skin, followed by American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and black men. Among women, white women had the highest rate of getting melanoma of the skin, followed by Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, and black women. Melanoma of the Skin Incidence Rates* by Race/Ethnicity and Sex, U.S., 1999–2010 It can be suggested that along with this, studies have found to show that younger people particularly are at risk using a tanning bed as people who start using sunbeds before the age of 35 are 87% more likely to develop Melanoma compared to people with darker skin from different ethnic groups or those who never use sun beds. [LF3] It can also be said that on the other hand certain ethnic groups are more prone to specific diseases, darker skin is especially prone to sickle cell disease, and individuals who are prone to certain diseases can use the National Health Service at their discretion depending on their beliefs surrounding medicine. Although in some countries like America, certain ethnic groups do not believe in the health care system American Indians believe disease is an act of nature and should be allowed to follow its course. It can also be said that in third world countries medicine and healthcare is not easily accessible as there is little funding to provide the adequate care. It can also be suggested that some regions with less sunlight can also affect health due to causing psychological factors like stress and Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD) which is a disorder affected by seasons which in turn causes higher suicide rates in winter colder months in comparison to summer months. It is possible that all things in society affect health and although looking at this from a Marxist point of view unemployment and poverty are a root cause to most health issues. Marxists believe that everyone should be equal and that poverty helps maintain the domination of the Bourgeoisie (upper class) it serves the interest of the wealthy, although other sociologists disagree and argue that individuals are to blame for their own poverty or as groups they develop a culture of poverty. Marxists believe poverty is rooted to the structure of society rather than a specific individual therefore if an individual lives in a deprived area they are more likely going to adapt to the ways of that community leading to ill health through poor lifestyles. [LF4] Along with Karl Marx another sociologist Charles Murray (1989) [LF5]stated that poverty is caused by the lower class in the sense that the lower class do not want to work or find employment, he blames illegitimacy for this state of poverty in 1979 Britain had an illegitimacy rate of 10.6% but by 1988 this had risen to 25.6% he claimed that illegitimate children are more likely to come from women of the lower class and that they run wild due to the lack of a father figure and in effect he held them responsible for rising crime, property crime and violent crime. This in turn damaging communities making the residential area deprived with little amenities and also made people withdraw into themselves causing all kinds of illnesses mainly psychological. A critic of this is that there is no evidence to prove his conclusions and there are no significant differences between the lower class and the employed in their attitudes towards work and it can be seen that mothers with husbands/fathers spend more time claiming benefits than single mothers. Naidoo and wills (2000) suggests that the Marxist approach to poverty and unemployment ties in with the social scientists perspective on medicine, as they argue that medicine is closely linked to power and is still a powerful means of social control, as without medicine health would deteriorate and society would lack structure. [LF6] There are many medical models that look at the determinants of health. The behaviour change model aims to encourage individuals to adapt healthy behaviours which are seen as the key to improve health and wellbeing. It can be argued as this model does not reflect the understanding of poverty the approach is popular as it views health as a property of individuals, making it possible to assume that people can change their behaviours to make improvements to their health. It also states that individuals who do not care for themselves are to blame for the consequences of ill health. When looking at poverty and unemployment and this approach it is impossible to change behaviours and lifestyles for improved health when they are outside the individuals control, there has to be some amount of flexibility to be able to make changes, individuals living in poverty and who are unemployed know that changing bad lifestyles is not always as easy as it may seem. The above shows how the Behaviour change model works. On the other hand a health model that can be tied in with poverty is the Social change model the main aim of this approach is to enable people to gain control of their lives, it enables people to gain skills and confidence, and empowerment is also used as a way to describe a way of working which increases peoples power to change their social reality, an example of this in communities there are self-help groups and community based development like setting goals and community based development such as meeting in order to meet specific needs like clean-up programmes and such, this would help individuals in poverty and unemployment gain confidence to learn new skills in order to find a job which in turn would improve their health or even help individuals with depression or stress by meeting new people going through the same thing. [LF7] The picture above shows the different stages of the social change model. This approach also attempts to bring changes in the physical, social and economic environment this includes things like bans in public places for example smoking, which in turn will decrease or attempt to decrease smoking levels in more deprived areas which could result in saving money and starting the long road out of poverty. It can also be suggested that it could reduce air pollution as if the area of residence has high air pollution then this carries a more detrimental issue on health in regards to individuals who are medically unwell or have illnesses such as asthma or emphysema. Air pollution is a major environmental risk to health. By reducing air pollution levels, countries can reduce the burden of disease from stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and both chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma. The lower the levels of air pollution, the better the cardiovascular and respiratory health of the population will be, both long- and short-term. The WHO Air quality guidelines provide an assessment of health effects of air pollution and thresholds for health-harmful pollution levels. Ambient (outdoor air pollution) in both cities and rural areas was estimated to cause 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012. [LF8] Some 88% of those premature deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, and the greatest number in the WHO Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions. Policies and investments supporting cleaner transport, energy-efficient housing, power generation, industry and better municipal waste management would reduce key sources of urban outdoor air pollution. Reducing outdoor emissions from household coal and biomass energy systems, agricultural waste incineration, forest fires and certain agro-forestry activities (e.g. charcoal production) would reduce key rural and peri-urban air pollution sources in developing regions. Reducing outdoor air pollution also reduces emissions of CO2 and short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon particles and methane, thus contributing to the near- and long-term mitigation of climate change. In addition to outdoor air pollution, indoor smoke is a serious health risk for some 3 billion people who cook and heat their homes with biomass fuels and coal (WHO, 2014) Very good discussion with clear evaluation of theories and models. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be seen that poverty is the main cause to ill health within society, regardless of age, ethnicity, religion, social class. It all comes down to poverty, as without the means to live a healthy lifestyle, individuals cannot change behaviours and attitudes towards healthier living. Poverty can cause disease and illness and affect general health through stress. Psychologically becoming depressed over money worries, poor living conditions and lack of nutrition or too much junk food and alcohol can cause obesity, diabetes and liver damage. If the area is industrial or run down an individual has more change[LF9] of developing lung disease and breathing difficulties. Poverty is a term which is defined as very wide spread and there are millions of implications to health and what living in poverty can cause. A very good report which discusses models, theories, concepts and issues well. To further improve: Make sure you ‘un-pick’ a concept thoroughly in order to give a greater level of evaluation. Take care with referencing – you need to review this practise (study skills handout and/or Cite Them Right) Make sure the sections of your report are clearly defined by way of section headings. Table of References Butterfield, W.J.H. (1968) ‘priorities in medicine’. London: Nuffield Naidoo, J. Wills, J. (2000) ‘Health promotion’ (2nd edition) London: Bailliere Tindal Ogden, J. (1996) ‘Health psychology’ Buckingham: University press Katz, J., Peberdy, A. (1997) ‘Promoting health, knowledge and practise’ Basingstoke: Open University press. World Health Organisation. (2014) ‘Ambient air quality and health’ [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en/> [Accessed 5th May 2014] Very good sources. Kirsty Lincoln [LF1]If this were an essay this would be allowed therefore this should have been a Report! Also I can’t identify where your Introduction ends and Discussion of Findings starts etc. [LF2]Capital Letter [LF3]It is important here to point out that you are basing this upon US statistics. [LF4]Source? [LF5]Source? [LF6]Good points made and evaluated here. [LF7]Very good discussion of models however where are you getting your information from [LF8]Sources [LF9]‘chance’

G. Carter Bentley :: essays research papers

G. Carter Bentley’s practice theory is a popular approach in understanding how ethnicity is constructed and ethnic identity is maintained. Here we shift from boundaries to focus on people’s patterns of experiences, both objective and subjective. Bentley draws on Bordieu’s concepts of "habitus" and "practice". Bordieu argues that the objective conditions, mediated by systems of symbolic representations, generate in different persons dispositions to act in different ways (Bentley 1987: 28) Habitus compromises "…a set of generative schemes that produce practices and representations that are regular without reference to overt rules and that are goal directed without requiring conscious selection of goals or mastery of methods achieving them." (as quoted in Bentley, Ibid.,). Hence habits become a mechanic way of being, acting and thinking, developed through 1) social practices, 2) shared experiences, 3) experimentation and 4) comprehension of those relationships or difference at both the conscious and unconscious levels. There is constant interplay between these levels (collectively and individually). Practice is a concept linked to the Marxist tradition of emphasizing power relations. This is connected to ethnic identity in that to look at experiences people go through we have to distinguish between the different domains of experience and social practice. Analysis of different domains will tell us how they influence people’s perception of the world, of their place in society as members of a group. Because this process involves interrelationships, it is important to focus on the experience of interaction. Secondly, there must be an analysis of discourses by the state (i.e. laws, policies etc.) and how they are articulated, and how the discourses of leaders of ethnic groups find resonance by their group. Both these levels of analysis help us understand ethnicity as an ideology and how ethnic identity cannot be kept separate from experience and social practice. Bentley: ethnicity and practice Bentley demonstrates the relationship between patterns of practice and sensations of ethnic affinity by the example of a Marano woman who has struggled with a sense of ambivalent ethnicity: "…a feeling that she is neither here nor there but instead limited in a system [Philippine social context] of categorical identities" (Bentley 1987: 29). Soraya’s experience illustrates the value of the theory of practice. Sensations of ethnic affinity are founded on common life experience and of the preconscious habitus it generates that gives members of an ethnic group their sense of being familiar to each other (Bentley 1987: 33). G. Carter Bentley :: essays research papers G. Carter Bentley’s practice theory is a popular approach in understanding how ethnicity is constructed and ethnic identity is maintained. Here we shift from boundaries to focus on people’s patterns of experiences, both objective and subjective. Bentley draws on Bordieu’s concepts of "habitus" and "practice". Bordieu argues that the objective conditions, mediated by systems of symbolic representations, generate in different persons dispositions to act in different ways (Bentley 1987: 28) Habitus compromises "…a set of generative schemes that produce practices and representations that are regular without reference to overt rules and that are goal directed without requiring conscious selection of goals or mastery of methods achieving them." (as quoted in Bentley, Ibid.,). Hence habits become a mechanic way of being, acting and thinking, developed through 1) social practices, 2) shared experiences, 3) experimentation and 4) comprehension of those relationships or difference at both the conscious and unconscious levels. There is constant interplay between these levels (collectively and individually). Practice is a concept linked to the Marxist tradition of emphasizing power relations. This is connected to ethnic identity in that to look at experiences people go through we have to distinguish between the different domains of experience and social practice. Analysis of different domains will tell us how they influence people’s perception of the world, of their place in society as members of a group. Because this process involves interrelationships, it is important to focus on the experience of interaction. Secondly, there must be an analysis of discourses by the state (i.e. laws, policies etc.) and how they are articulated, and how the discourses of leaders of ethnic groups find resonance by their group. Both these levels of analysis help us understand ethnicity as an ideology and how ethnic identity cannot be kept separate from experience and social practice. Bentley: ethnicity and practice Bentley demonstrates the relationship between patterns of practice and sensations of ethnic affinity by the example of a Marano woman who has struggled with a sense of ambivalent ethnicity: "…a feeling that she is neither here nor there but instead limited in a system [Philippine social context] of categorical identities" (Bentley 1987: 29). Soraya’s experience illustrates the value of the theory of practice. Sensations of ethnic affinity are founded on common life experience and of the preconscious habitus it generates that gives members of an ethnic group their sense of being familiar to each other (Bentley 1987: 33).

Personal Narrative: Why Trust is Important to Me Essay -- Trust Charac

Personal Narrative: Why Trust is Important to Me Trust can take on many meanings in today’s society. It can exist in all aspects of our lives, and can have a dramatic impact on one’s personality. Trust, as a noun, is an assured reliance on the character, strength, or truth of someone or something; or a property interest held by one person for the benefit of another. Trust, as a verb, is to permit to stay or go or to do something without fear or misgiving. Trust is very important to me. I, myself, have had numerous experiences with trust, many helpless and some hopeful. It has affected my life in every way. I must place my trust in my family, my friends, and most importantly, in myself. I deal with it every day of my life in the most unexpected of situations. Many a time, I can hold it accountable for my moods and emotions, and it can sometimes lead to arguments. I feel that trust is very powerful and significant because of its ability to alter a society in such a substantial way. Trust is never ending; being dealt with on a day-to-day basis of belief and confidence. Once your self-trust is gone, so is your soul. In the book Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat, trust is a main theme in the book. Sophie and Martine are never trusted by their mothers, thus leading to the testing. A mother could not trust her daughter to keep her purity, so it was a mother’s responsibility to keep her whole. The effects were traumatizing, leading to nightmares. It also led to Sophie’s phobia of the night. When she was with her husband, the testing gave her such nightmares; she had to bite her tongue to do it again. She had no desire and thought it was an evil thing to do. The testing also made Sophie hate her body an... ... trust own mental strength. She didn’t have the confidence to stand up to her boyfriend for fear of a less than rewarding outcome. My experiences, Sophie’s, as well as this 19 year old’s are all relevant to each other since we all have given in to lies at one point in our lives for the mere short-lived happiness they bring. Trust can shape one’s identity dramatically. People who are trusted tend to be more self-confident and outgoing. Those who are not trusted tend to not believe in themselves, do not speak up as much, and tend to excel at lies. Depending on your trustworthiness, you can also be judged on other aspects of your personality. It can tell a lot about your personal life as well. Trust accounts for a vast part of one’s actions and decisions. Trust has come to play an important role in today’s society and it will forever take its toll upon us.

Pollution and Environment Essay - Preserving Our Environment

Preserving Our Environment Many people assume that the environment is in no danger.   They believe that with advancing technology, we don't need to worry about renewing natural resources, recycling, and finding new ways to produce energy. They argue that one person in the world does not make a large difference. In actuality, each individual's contribution greatly affects our environment.   Our natural resources are running low, and we must work together to save them and the Earth from ruin.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Recycling is so important in the effort to preserve our environment for future generations.   We are running out of places to put landfills.   My neighbor, Nick, believes that the U.S. has enough land for our own waste, and we should not concern ourselves with the rest of the world.   However, saving the environment is a team effort.   Everyone in the world must participate and work together in order for it to be successful.   While some have argued that one person does not make a large difference, the fact is they do.   Last year I lived with five other girls.   We set up a system in which everything that could be recycled was.   Between the six of us we ended up taking out the garbage once a week and taking out the recycling two or three times a week.   This year there are only four of us.   We haven't started recycling yet because we are still searching for a location to take all of our renewable garbage.   Without our system in p lace, we take out the garbage on a daily basis.   That is how much extra waste we accumulate without recycling, and these quantities reflect only the garbage of four girls.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The U.S. should follow the example of other nations who have come up with innovative ways to use their garbage ra... ...children about nature.   When these values are instilled at a young age, they stay with the child for life.   These children will grow up with a greater awareness of the plight of the Earth and will be better prepared to help in the fight.   In addition, some universities, such as the University of Michigan, allow students to minor in areas such as global changes which allows them to gain a greater understanding of current environmental issues.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through recycling, the use of innovative new ideas for energy, and education, it is possible to make great advances in preserving our surroundings.   People must first realize that there is in fact a problem, and then make a deliberate effort to contribute to the solution.   By taking the time to recycle and making use of technology such as solar power, we can save the environment for future generations to enjoy.

Vulnerability: Disability and Family Reform Act

The Association of Directors of Social Services (1991) defined a vulnerable adult by the client group: the elderly and frail, those with a mental illness (including dementia), those with a sensory, physical or learning disability, and those with severe physical disability. The current definition, in the Department of Health guidance â€Å"No secrets†, states that a vulnerable adult is â€Å"a person who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect themselves against harm or exploitation† (DOH, 2000).The age of majority (becoming an adult) was identified by The Family Reform act in 1969 as 18 years or older. Leffers et al (2004) summarises that the concept of vulnerability in healthcare refers to those who are susceptible to harm. It is often perceived as the opposite of power (Phillips and Bramlett, 1994). Vulnerability is an important i n that the majority of nursing practice is spent helping those who are in a vulnerable position, or helping them avoid vulnerability.Spiers (2000) recognises that nursing has been slow in developing theoretical constructs of vulnerability. In healthcare it should be considered on an individual basis. Rogers (1992) developed a system which focuses on the person as a constituent of their environment, which is relevant as a nursing framework for addressing vulnerability. Vulnerability is important due to its implications for health. Being vulnerable can lead to stress and anxiety, which has an effect on a person’s physical, social, psychological, and environmental well-being. Vulnerability: Disability and Family Reform Act The Association of Directors of Social Services (1991) defined a vulnerable adult by the client group: the elderly and frail, those with a mental illness (including dementia), those with a sensory, physical or learning disability, and those with severe physical disability. The current definition, in the Department of Health guidance â€Å"No secrets†, states that a vulnerable adult is â€Å"a person who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect themselves against harm or exploitation† (DOH, 2000).The age of majority (becoming an adult) was identified by The Family Reform act in 1969 as 18 years or older. Leffers et al (2004) summarises that the concept of vulnerability in healthcare refers to those who are susceptible to harm. It is often perceived as the opposite of power (Phillips and Bramlett, 1994). Vulnerability is an important i n that the majority of nursing practice is spent helping those who are in a vulnerable position, or helping them avoid vulnerability.Spiers (2000) recognises that nursing has been slow in developing theoretical constructs of vulnerability. In healthcare it should be considered on an individual basis. Rogers (1992) developed a system which focuses on the person as a constituent of their environment, which is relevant as a nursing framework for addressing vulnerability. Vulnerability is important due to its implications for health. Being vulnerable can lead to stress and anxiety, which has an effect on a person’s physical, social, psychological, and environmental well-being.

Ethnicity and the Police Essay

dealinghips in the midst of the legal philosophy and minority communities pee-pee come a long way, and close up continue to evolve as domain aw beness grows. Although there ar so far misconceptions slightly federation of elicits policing, it is a concomitant that improvements have been made because of the new and constantly emerging course of studys, and federations that have been created between the guard and private citizens. Among these improvements argon lower horror rates, higher crime discovering rates, and recrudesce mankind perception of police effectiveness. The 1960s were a symbol of inequality in spite of appearance the justice system. The actions of police officers were causing wash drawing riots all over the united States. Because of this t unmatched downwoman Lyndon B Johnson appointed Illinois Governor Otto Kerner to chair the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, otherwise known as the Kerner Commission. It was this guardianship th at brought to light the reasons behind the riots and initiated the change. The commission stated that our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white secernate and unequal. and criticized law enforcement for the underrepresentation of blacks on police forces, barbarism and abuse of power, and racial bias in the use of frantically force (Policing The sociable Crises Of The 1960s, 2013).The police agencies responded to this by starting time affirmative action programs to recruit and promote more blacks and women, formulating written policies for the use of deadly force to reduce racial disparities in police shootings, and of course they started police confederacy traffic programs to improve communication between the police and racial minority citizens (Policing The amicable Crises Of The 1960s, 2013). This is what paved the way to the attitudes of experts in policing in the 1970s who began to acknowledge the necessity of both police and the comp any(prenominal ) in their roles as co-producers of residential district safety. This is a partnership that has been proven to solveproblems before they become more serious (The United States surgical incision of Justice, 2014). Many practices and programs constitute community policing. Some activities ar carried out hardly for the sole purpose of improving the render of police incisions (1974). For example Attending meetings of church groups, and other local organizations, and TV or radio ads asking for citizen cooperation (The United States department of Justice, 2014).Some activities argon of an inseparable nature within police departments and involve Community relations training, the establishment of specialise positions within a department that argon responsible for community relations, and specialized programs use to recruit officers from minority groups (1974). Other activities accommodate police work in the welkin that makes them appear more visible and personable, much(preno minal) as foot patrols (The United States surgical incision of Justice, 2014). Community policing is diverse and varies from department to department (1974). The Detroit police department, for example, has a program known as the Citizens radio patrol. The patrols were naturalised to help serve as elongate eyes and ears for the police department. The department offers classes to those who are interested in making a difference on community get a line techniques. The role of the patrollers is to watch over their regions and report any suspicious activity to a patrol base operator, who in cultivate contacts the local police precinct or district. Patrols contain of a number of volunteers who commit a small amount of their time separately week to serve as a base operator, a driver or an observer with the driver (thank divinity fudge for the Shelter, 2011).The Detroit police department in addition offers programs for youth that are interested in learning how to be good citizens an d community leaders. These programs focus on those who have the possible and may be interested in becoming police officers someday. Other programs that give ear under-privileged kids get involved in basketball, football, softball, soccer, bowling, golfing, train and field, swimming, martial arts, tennis, and cross country ski are also available (Thank God For The Shelter, 2011). Even though there are a full range of different practices among police agencies the one common goal is to achieve break away relationships with specific segments of the community (1974). For example, in 1992 a federal grant was awarded to the admit sureness and the Fort Lauderdale police department. $250,000 was apply to kick in off-duty officers towork special details in the citys public housing projects. The money is also world used for other programs to help foster better police-community relations. Since the new program began, residents have been get to know the officers in their neighborhood and tipping them on crimes (Corbett, 1992).So far we have effrontery examples of community policing that have made improvements for minority groups by way of lower neighborhood crime rates, higher crime reporting rates, and a more plus public perception, precisely what about the perception of the police by foreign born citizens? unluckily there has been a lesser dissemble of community policing efforts observed by communities with a boastfully number of recent immigrants. In A study, known as the Houston community policing experiment, Latinos scored lower measures of awareness, participation, and effectiveness of community policing than blacks (The United States Department of Justice, 2014). It is likely that oral communication barriers, lack of intelligence of the new elaboration around them, and a strong suspicion of the police that has been brought with them from their homeland hinders even the strongest efforts from being effective. Foreign born citizens are not the o nly people that harbor misconceptions about community policing. The public as a whole is still comprised of a large number of citizens with doubts.One of the most ascendant misconceptions about police community relations is that is restricted only for efforts that regard minority groups. Although it was this that started the ball rolling, nothing could be besides from the truth. guard agencies have a vested interest in creating and maintaining good relationships with the entire community no matter the ethnicity. Another misconception is that these practices are done strictly to receive overconfident reviews from the citizen review board. In most cases these programs are developed by the department themselves and are not subject to review of any kind (Kreps & Weller, 1973).Police community relations programs have not only improve the attitude of minority groups, and the entire public as a whole towards the police, but have also created a positive impact on communities by letting down the crime rate. Strategies used for community policing are as diverse as the race of the United States itself, but they all allot the common goal of promoting strong relationships with those who in the past were underrepresented and abused. These programs continue to ensure an understanding between the justice system and the public, andare necessary for harmony between the two.References(1974, whitethorn 5). Police community relations. Sun Sentinel. Retrieved from http//search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/388977280?accountid=458 Corbett, M. (1992, February 24). Police boost community relations. Sacramento Observer. Retrieved from http//search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/388977280?accountid=458 Policing the complaisant Crises of the 1960s. (2013). Retrieved from http//www.cliffsnotes.com/more-subjects/criminal-justice/development-of-the-american-police/policing-the-social-crises-of-the-1960s Thank God for the shelter. (2011). Retrieved fr om http//thankgodfortheshelter.com/2011/06/08/detroit-police-deparatment-%E2%80%93-police-community-services/ The Police-Community Relations Movement Conciliatory Responses, Kreps, Gary A Weller, rapscallion M The American Behavioral Scientist (pre-1986) Jan/Feb 1973 16, 3 ProQuest Central pg. 402The United States department of justice. (2014). Retrieved from http//www.justice.gov/

Dupont Analysis Essay

A satisfactory return on assets might be divided through a high profit margin , or a rapid turnover of assets, or a combination of both. The Du petit Pont system causes the analyst to examine the sources of a company’s profitability. Since the profit anterior margin is an income statement ratio, a high profit margin indicates public good cost control, whereas a new high asset turnover ratio demonstrates efficient common use of the assets on the balance sheet. Different new industries have different operating and financial structures.Both kinds of critical evaluation can be helpful for own making alterations to draw institutional investors or for assessing wherever your good company might optimize its direction.Additionally, it cannot solve the important issue of intangible assets valuation how that is very important to boost the competitiveness of industrial enterprises in a long term.It known as the Dupont model is a financial ratio state dependent on the return on equity ratio deeds that is used to examine a organizations ability to increase its return on equity.

Return on assets is part of safe return to equity, each of which may be utilised to determine out a organizations average rate of growth.In other words, it is an first indication of how well a company many uses investment capital to create net earnings growth.It is a company that is going many places in the community.Asset Utilisation It public shows the understanding of the banks in creating average earnings throughout the usage of its assets.

Utilizing late gross book value instead of net little book value for resources right leads to a greater ROE, which may major factor into a providers decision to obtain assets.Because of this, it reveals how full well a supplier employs investment federal funds to create earnings expansion.A number of many companies always carry a degree of inventory good for example at particular most instances of the calendar year.Increase and it old has has been attempting to expand their production.