Race Determining Music Preference Essay

Music in the United States is a reflection of the nation’s multi-ethnic population with regard to its diverse array of styles. The most famous of these genres include; rock n roll, country, rhythm & blues, jazz, hip-hop. The developments of most of the genres of music began during the civil war period. During this time the roots of such popular forms like blues, gospel, jazz, as well as country took shape. In the early 20th century there forms of music emerged as the core of American popular music and later underwent evolution to such styles as rhythm and blues, rock and roll and hip-hop (Daniel Gilbert Perret, (2005). Music integrates South American social and cultural identity, entailing social class, race and ethnicity among many others. The link and co relationship between is perhaps the to potent of all the factors within the United States than any other. Race seems to the most potent determiner of musical mean within America. The evolution of the Afro American musical identity as a result of disparate sources form Africa as well as Europe has consistently been the main theme within the music domain and history in the United States. During the mid 1800s, the Afro American had developed a district folk tradition that was well-recognized and very wide spread. African American techniques, their instrumentation as well as images were integrated and became part of what was then known mainstream music. Via spirituals, slave songs as well as minstrel shows. Through jazz, rhythm and blues, and blues and later on through rock n roll, soul a swell as hip-hop. Even through all these genres were accepted and adapted by all races within the United States they were developed from an afro American styles as well as idioms before eventually setting to become very common in consumption as well as performance that had no racial boundary. Differently, country music was driven from the European and an African context as well as Hawaiian and Native American. The untied states due to her diverse culture and her propensity to taking in influences form across the globe and building characteristically new methods through which artists can culturally express themselves. Even though many aspects of the American aspects of the American music is traceable back to certain specific origins it is usually inherently difficult to put claim on any respective original culture as the source of any musical element, because of the even evolving American music through transplanting as well as techniques of hybridizations, instruments and genres (Blush, Steven (2001). Very distinctly American music stems form the cross-cultural hybridization through a very close interaction. For instance, during slavery mixed persons form various tribes in very closely enclosed living quarter resulted in a shared musical tradition that was done through an extended hybridization. The process which music was being transplanted between various cultures within the United States brought with it various implications. For example, the revival of folk during the mid 1900s appropriated the music of different village person, partially to enhance particular political causes. The use of Afro American techniques as well as images, instruments during performances by white Americans have been on the rise since the mid 1800s. The music industry in the United States has been very active with her attempts to make popular white performers of African American music due to their palatability to mainstream as well as middle class American. From this process such many stars like Benny Goodman, Eminem as well as Elvis Presley have emerged in various genres of music. The nature of folk music within the united is as varied as the nature of her multi-ethical culture. Generally, the Native Americans have each played their variety of folk music, which has basically been spiritual. In its development stage spirituals was basically expressions of religious faith, and was a common song by slaves on southern plantations. It however, spread out of the south in the late 1800s. Its diversification increased with emergence of fekleg in the early 1900s as well as the rise of the singing preachers from which the gospel type of music originated (Chase, Gilbert (2000). Blues on the other hand is conglomeration of African folk songs, shouts as well as field hollers. It emerged form the rural south during 1900-1910. It was characterized in its use of the blue scale with a flatted/in determinate third. The various ethnic communities that have migrated to the untied have managed to keep alive the folk traditions of the culture and usually providing a characteristically American styles with foreign flair. The European musical tradition was imported to the United States with the advent of the first colonialists. This classical traditional music is deeply rooted within the traditions of the European art, as well as concern music. Majorly of American tried to work entirely with their music centered on the European models until the 1800s. By early 1900s, many American composers started incorporating such disparate elements into their musical art, from the jazz and blues to the Native American music. Big corporations that produce in both small and large scale largely dominate the music industry in the untied states. Often, these companies do not appeal to large audiences, as such small companies have sprung up to fill the void left. They produce in various styles with ranging variety that appeal to very large audiences. These small firms are normally built on the foundation of a core fun base that may happen to be strategically located in one region. The largest make music industry is that centered on Latin music. This kind of music has greatly impacted on the popular American music and was a very essential component in the development of jazz music. In view of this it is sufficient to conclude that to a greater extent race has a bearing on the preference of the type of music one performs or listens to this is born out of the fact that part of a child’s development stage, the cognitive part begins to encode the mothers language from the womb until he or she reaches the external environment (Daniel G. 2005). Thus, even if there are many Americans who have crossed the racial lines as has music still the culture is a determinant the choice of music.

Case Brief: London v. Directors of the DeWitt Public Schools

DeWitt Middle School teacher and coach Jeff Rader found Carl Avery and another student engaged in a â€Å"horseplay† in the school cafeteria. Rader asked both boys to leave the cafeteria of which the other student immediately complied. Rader again asked Avery to leave but the boy refused to comply the second time. At this point, Rader began to remove Avery from the cafeteria by force.The boy, however, fought back and slammed the coach into a table. During the encounter, Rader was able to drag the boy on the floor and banged the boy's head against the metal pole outside the cafeteria. They proceeded to the principal's office where each were asked for their version of the story, but Avery struck the hands of the principal in his frustration during the course of the interview, at which point the principal called the police.School authorities recommended for Avery to be expelled, of which DeWitt School District Superintendent Emerson approved. They informed Ms. London, mother of A very, and explained the procedures. A hearing was conducted and the school board decided to expel Avery for the remainder of the school year. Ms. London filed a lawsuit where the District Court granted the defendants' motion for judgement on partial findings, of which Ms.London filed for an appeal on three grounds, that the District Court erred: â€Å"(1) in holding that Rader did not violate Avery's substantive-due-process rights; (2) in holding that there were no procedural-due-process violations in Avery's suspension or in his expulsion; and (3) in not ordering the DeWitt School System to submit a remedial plan concerning discrimination in hiring† (United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit 1999). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed with the District Court judgement and dismissed the appeal.They held that Rader could not have violated Avery's substantive-due-process rights as he has asked Avery to leave the cafeteria twice. Although Rader banged Avery's head on a pole, the injury which the boy may have suffered could not have been severe to shock judicial conscience due to the fact that the boy could not even remember which side of his head had been banged. There could also not have been any violation of procedural-due-process as Avery and his mother was appraised of the charges and was given the opportunity to present his side, first in the principal's office, then on the board hearing.The plaintiff has also failed in proving a condition of segregated schooling in accusing the DeWitt School System with discrimination hiring. The decision of the Court of Appeals stressed the importance of effective discipline and order to educational processes. This means that educators have their own discrimination how to discipline students but with restrictions that are provided by law. References United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit. (1999). London v. Directors of the Dewitt Public Schools, 194 F. 3d 873, 139.

Cognitive Dissonance Classic in Psychology

Cognitive Dissonance Classic in Psychology Areej Alemer [Instructor’s Name] [Class Title] Cognitive Dissonance Classic in Psychology Introduction There were famous experiments conducted in psychology and many of these experiments gave scientists a new perspective on understanding people. In the 1950s, scientists began conducting test about the effect of social pressures and influence to the behavior of people. Among these scientists is Leon Festinger. He became a well known scientist about the topic social influence through his famous theory of cognitive dissonance[1].Cognitive Dissonance Festinger came about this theory in the 1950s at a time when a doomsday cult attracted media attention. The cult worshipped a certain god named Sananda. Cult members believed that Sananda gave them these warnings The uprising of the Atlantic bottom will submerge the land of the Atlantic seaboard; France will sink†¦. Russia will become one great sea†¦ a great wave rushes to the Rock y Mountains†¦ for the purpose of purifying it of the earthling and creating a new order. [2] Believers claimed that these warnings would happen in midnight of December 21.Festinger got interested with the cult and in his mind he had these questions: â€Å"What would happen when on the midnight of December 21, nothing happens? Would the group lose faith? How do human beings react when prophecy fails? †[3] Festinger found out that when the prophecy failed the believers did not lose their faith. They found ways to justify the failed prophecy. One of famous explanation was earth was spared because the cult members went into action and believed in the prophecy. Christians and Jews will find this justification not hard to believe.In the book of Jonah in the bible, Jonah prophesied that Nineveh would be destroyed by fire (Jo. 3:1-10). The people of Nineveh believed and decided to fast and put on sackcloth to show that they had repented. Even their king fasted, sat on ashes and put on sackcloth. Eventually Nineveh was spared and destruction did not happen. So when cult leaders told their members that the earth was spared because of believing Sananda's message, the members bought it, but not Festinger. To him the explanations are a bunch of lies, which he politely called â€Å"cognitive dissonance. Festinger saw the effort of cult leaders in lyng to the media in making excuses to their failed prophecy. They contacted TV stations ABC and CBS, they welcome New York Times, the phoned the writers of Life, Time and Newsweek and gave dozens of interviews to reporters. [4] These actions according to Slater were â€Å"attempts to convince the public that their actions and beliefs were not in vain. † The attempts of cult leaders to justify their actions and beliefs became the basis of Festinger’s theory and experiments on cognitive dissonance[5].Through his readings about history, people tend to proselytize (a sort of desperate defense mechanism) when their belief is disconfirmed. He also found out that the â€Å"disjunction between what one believes and the factual evidence is highly uncomfortable. †[6] When prophecy of a cult fails members would attempt to convince everyone to join the cult through false justification. The more people join the group, the more the members feel that they were not mistaken. Is it possible for people to engage in extreme lying just to reconcile their seemingly irreconcilable ideas?Festinger found out that people indeed lie in order to avoid dissonance. In fact, he discovered several forms of dissonance. According to Cooper , what Festinger observed in the cult, he called it the belief disconfirmation paradigm[7]. When he conducted experiment regarding dissonance and money, he called it the insufficient reward paradigm. In his last research he also identified another dissonance- induce compliance paradigm[8]. To understand cognitive dissonance theory it is important to review Festingerâ€⠄¢s experiment. The ExperimentBut to be able to explain Festinger’s experiment and his theory of cognitive dissonance, discussion of the actual experiment is necessary. Festinger’s experiment is considered a classic in psychology and can easily be retrieved in the net. It was first published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and was entitled â€Å"Cognitive Consequence of Forced Compliance. † The experiment objective is to investigate how cognitive dissonance takes place when people are force to comply. Slater simply called cognitive dissonance as â€Å"irreconcilable ideas†[9].Social Psychology authors such as Brown simply defined cognitive dissonance as a state of opposition between cognition such as beliefs, views and opinion[10]. It is a perceived inconsistency within a person’s mental processes, in which he believes in something then acts in a different way from what he believes. Festinger exp[11]eriment aimed to measure the cognitive diss onance effect during force compliance and to test the validity of the following two statements: â€Å"If a person is induced to do or say something, which is contrary to his private opinion, he tends to change his opinion to bring congruence to what he has done or said. and â€Å"The larger the pressure used to elicit the overt behavior (beyond the minimum needed to elicit it) the weaker will be the above-mentioned tendency†) Festinger and his colleagues hypothesized that the larger the reward the lesser would be the subsequent opinion change. Therefore, if one puts their words in research method statements, the main hypothesis would be â€Å"there is a significant relationship between the amount of rewards and the magnitude of cognitive dissonance†[12]     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To test the validity of the hypothesis, Festinger divided his subjects into three groups, one controlled group and two experimental groups.The two experimental groups are named- one-dollar g roup and twenty-dollar group respectively, the name correspond to the amount of money that the two groups will received in order to comply. The subjects for the experiment were college students and the primary technique utilized by the researcher was deception. The subjects were told that the experiment is about their behavior on a monotonous activity. However, the real experiment would only begin when the researcher tries to deceive them, by telling another group will be exposed to a variable in which a confederate will tell them that the activity is enjoyable.However, the original confederate will not come and that the experimenter needs the respondents to act as proxy and be the one to tell lies to the other subject (who herself is also a confederate) on the other room. The persuasion involves a monetary reward a one-dollar for the first group and a twenty-dollar for the other. The rewards are  intended to affect the subject’s behavior or the dissonance effect. Deception was not included in the control group to be able to control its effect. The first experimental group receives a one-dollar amount in order to tell lies. The other experimental group receives 20 dollars.The authors theorized that the one-dollar group would have a greater magnitude of dissonance compared to the 20 dollars group[13]. By applying statistical treatment and comparing the responses of the experimental group with the control group the researcher found out that the one dollar group came to believe that the experiment as enjoyable where in fact, the control group finds it extremely boring, the twenty dollar group find the experiment slightly boring not far from the control groups answer. These results support the theory that the smaller the award the greater is the magnitude of the dissonance.Hence the authors accepted the hypothesis. Festinger’s experiment also has limitations. It is only limited to the response of the subjects who were mostly college students. The r esults might be different if conducted on professionals and middle age adults. Impact of the Experiment to Psychology Festinger’s findings were considered a milestone in psychology. It gave convincing explanations to mysterious human behaviors. Gawronski[14] provided an example. During the Korean War she wrote, the Chinese were able to convince American prisoners to become communists.They did this not by torture but by offering a bit of rice or candies. In exchange of these goodies, Americans were asked to write an anti-American essay. After the essay writing many American soldiers espoused communism. Ordinary people might find such behavior baffling and stupid. Why throw democratic principles in exchange of a bit of rice? It would be easy to accept that these Americans were tortured and went through a near death experience that is why they converted to communism. It is a rational explanation and very acceptable. The fact that Americans embraced communism for a candy is somet hing people could not accept.Cognitive dissonance theory provided an answer- the simpler the reward for engaging in behavior that is contrary with one’s beliefs, the higher the tendency of the person to change his or her beliefs[15]. Even though this answer seems to make no sense, it really happens. The one and twenty dollar experiment supported it. According to Petty, there is a rational explanation for changing one’s belief. It was such a horrible thing to sell one’s self for a piece of candy[16]. The emotional pain would be so great. The person may lose his feeling of self-worth and may look at himself an undignified individual.Slater coined this feeling a â€Å"schmuck. To avoid such a feeling, the person should come up with a better explanation for selling his principles for a very cheap price. Festinger’s theory provided an alternative explanation for behaviorism. Formerly Skinner had said rewards reinforce and punishments extinguish. Skinner expla ined human behavior through his reward theory. Humans operate in their environment and through this operation they learn certain behaviors. Humans acquire behavior through operant conditioning. Skinner took away the mental element of humans. He made humans simple machines that behave through the means of conditioning.After cognitive dissonance theory, humans were seen as punishment driven beings that act not because of conditioning but because of mental processes. Festinger added the element of thoughts in explaining human behavior. His theory challenges the behaviorism. Behaviorism claimed that mind and thoughts are not worthy of psychological investigations because they belong to the realms of philosophy and not empirical science. Festinger discovered that behavior is influenced by the way people think. Psychologists cannot set aside the mind and thought processes in explaining human behavior.Without considering the mind and thought processes, psychologists would never understand why American soldiers embraced communism in exchange for a piece of candy or a bit of rice. Human beings are not only motivated by rewards and punishment. For, if this were so, the Chinese will have a hard time convincing Americans to espouse communism because their offer of rewards were not actually rewarding. Festinger has drawn a concrete conclusion from his cognitive dissonance theory. Human are hypocrite beings. They are beings motivated by minds that must be made comfortable.Reward theory alone can never explain human behavior. Human beings think. They engage in the most amazing mental gymnastics, all just to justify their hypocrisy[17]. Explaining Mysterious Human Behavior Cognitive dissonance theory is not only an elegant explanation for mysterious human behavior. It is also became a tool to discredit religion especially Christianity. Using the belief – disconfirmation paradigm, one can conclude that the spread of Christianity was due to cognitive dissonance and lack of deep knowledge of human behavior during the early years of Christianity.Everybody knows for a fact that Christianity spread through the effort of Jesus’ disciples. Ancient critics of Christianity suspected that early Christians had engaged in mass hysteria[18]. They collectively had seen unreal things. Before, cognitive dissonance theory, such accusation of mass hysteria was dismissed because of the martyrdoms of virtually every apostle of Christ. The apostle would not sacrifice their lives for something that is founded by fallacy. They were burned at the stake, cut into two, crucified upside down and immersed in boiling oil all because they refused to decant their faith.To avoid such horrible tortures, all they had to do was to tell the emperor that they there were no truths in their claims about Jesus and presto they will be released. But they chose death, indicating that they were not under mass hysteria but had really seen Christ resurrects from the death. This is a si mple Christian defense; it stood unchallenged for thousands of years until Festinger discovered cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance explained that when prophecy fails, people will not leave their beliefs instead, they would create lies in order to justify the failed prophecy perhaps even to the point of death [19]. The apostles of Christ were expecting him to free Israel from bondage. This is the duty of the messiah. They expect Jesus to liberate Israel and establish a new Jewish kingdom. The apostles believed that Jesus was the messiah. They gave up everything in order to become Jesus’ disciples. They were promised to receive an important position in Jesus kingdom. They expect that the earth will be destroyed by fire and a new heaven and earth will be created. The kingdom of Jesus will be established in this new heaven and earth. The apostles will co rule with Jesus. But Jesus was killed and everything that they have believed turned to ashes.Some left Jerusalem and st arted a new life. Others were left and continue to meet secretly. This gathering can be likened to the case of the doomsday cult, in which members did not go home and confessed their mistakes; instead, they change their behaviors, speeches and way of thinking to explain carefully their failed prophecy. They began attracting more followers despite of the fact that their prophecy failed. They engaged in pathological lying just to convince people that they were not wrong. If ordinary people in the doomsday cult had engaged in lying when prophecy failed, then it was also possible that the apostles had also lied.Cognitive dissonance theory states that it was possible for the apostles not to recant their faith even until death. Hence, Christianity martyrdom defense is weak. After his death, his apostles claim that Jesus is coming very soon and judgment day is at hand. Like in the case of the doomsday cult, believers also had sold their belongings and give the money to the apostles. The ap ostles have all died but judgment day did not come. Despite of these, believers became more aggressive in recruiting new members and Christianity grew in numbers. Two thousand years have passed but Christ did not return and judgment day was nowhere to be found[20].Yet, Pastors and priest were able to find plausible explanation for the delayed second coming and people really buy it. No offense to Christian readers, but after reading chapter five and Festinger’s original study, it was very hard for this writer not think that cognitive dissonance was really involved in Christianity. Cognitive dissonance is not just a simple social psychology experiment. It is a mind opener, a myth buster and a truth engine. If religious fanatics explore its basic concepts, they might leave their faith. Cognitive dissonance theory explained that humans would lie in order to avoid dissonance.It is the best explanation why religious cults and organizations do not cease to exist even though their pr ophecy and beliefs fails or contradicts reasoning. Festinger’s theory is all about the tendency of humans to lie to avoid discomfort. It is about the selfishness of human nature. This is the only conclusion one can derive from his experiments. Humans are hypocrites and engage in all sort of mental gymnastic in order to justify their hypocrisy. Conclusion Slater believed in cognitive dissonance theory but disagree with Festinger’s revelation on the selfishness of human nature.Do humans lie because of selfish motive, i. e. to avoid the pain of being a â€Å"schmuck† or was there something else. Festinger forgot to mention the good side of human nature. All he saw was its tendency to deceive and lie[21]. To show that dissonance is caused by other elements aside from selfishness, Slater told a story about Linda Santo. Linda Santo has a bed-ridden daughter named Audrey whom she takes care of for the past couple of decades. Her daughter got an accident when she was th ree and became bed ridden from that time on. Linda patiently took care of his daughter since then.Her husband left her a few months of the accident. Linda took care of Audrey. Audrey though invalid is a miracle worker, Statues of Mary and Jesus were put near her and these statues produce miracle oil. The oil was used to heal sickness of any kind. Linda finds an explanation and was not mystified with the miracles. She knew that her daughter was a â€Å"saint, that God had chosen Audrey to be a victim soul, to take on the pains of other people so that they could be healed (121)† It’s a classic example of cognitive dissonance, the mother finding an explanation for her daughter’s dreadful fate.It was not clear whether Linda manipulate the miracles and told people that her daughter takes away people pains. But according to Slater , if ever she lied, there was no selfishness in her heart, but love, which makes Festinger view of human nature somewhat wrong. People do n ot lie only because they avoid of being a schmuck but also because they are loving creatures. Linda was found to have breast cancer. She regularly underwent therapy. She now takes care of herself alone aside from taking care of her daughter. Slater wondered why Linda would not ask her daughter to heal her.Perhaps she knew that the miracles were a fake. She simply told Slater that mothers do ask something from their child; it is they who give something to their child. Slater concluded that dissonance is not always about selfishness; it’s also about love. Slater was a mother and understands very well why Linda was doing all this[22]. Perhaps, there is another form of cognitive dissonance paradigm that Festinger failed to identity. To conclude, Festinger experiments were indeed convincing but he failed to consider the other aspect of human nature such as love and caress.Some people engage in dissonance not because of cognitive pain but because out of love just in the case of Lin da Santo. Bibliographies Brown, Richard, Social Psychology 5th Edition New York McGraw Hill. 2006. Cooper, John. Cognitive dissonance: 50 years of a classic theory. London: Sage publications. 2007. Gawronski, Brand. Cognitive consistency: A fundamental principle in social cognition. New York: Guilford Press. 2011. Myers, Steven. Social psychology  . Toronto: Graw-Hill Ryerson. 2006. Petty, Ronald . The Meta-Cognitive Model (MCM) of attitudes: Implications for attitude measurement, change, and strength.Social Cognition. 2007. 25(5), 657686. Chen Mark Revisiting the Three Choice Paradigm Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2010. 99(4), 573. Slater, Laura Opening Skinner’s Box New York, Penguin Books. 2005. ———————– [1] Myers, Steven. Social psychology  . (Toronto: Graw-Hill Ryerson, 2006) 90-120 [2] Slater, Laura Opening Skinner’s Box (New York, Penguin Books, 2006) 110 [3] Ibid 111 [4] Cooper, John. Co gnitive dissonance: 50 years of a classic theory. (London: Sage publications, 2007). 90 [5] Slater, Laura Opening Skinner’s Box (New York, Penguin Books, 2006) 111 [6] Cooper, John.Cognitive dissonance: 50 years of a classic theory. (London: Sage publications, 2007). 91 [7] Cooper, John. Cognitive dissonance: 50 years of a classic theory. (London: Sage publications, 2007). 90 [8] Petty, Ronald . The Meta-Cognitive Model (MCM) of attitudes: Implications for attitude measurement, change, and strength. Social Cognition, 2007. 25(5), 657–686. [9] Cooper, John. Cognitive dissonance: 50 years of a classic theory. (London: Sage publications, 2007). 92 [10] Brown, Richard Social Psychology 5th Edition (New York McGraw Hill, 2006) 91 [11] Slater, Laura Opening Skinner’s Box (New York, Penguin Books, 2006) 115 [12] Cooper, John.Cognitive dissonance: 50 years of a classic theory. (London: Sage publications, 2007). 99 [13] Myers, Steven. Social psychology  . ( Toronto:Gra w-Hill Ryerson, 2006) 95 [14] Gawronski,Brand. .  Cognitive consistency: A fundamental principle in social cognition. (New York: Guilford Press, 2011) 106 [15] Slater, Laura Opening Skinner’s Box (New York, Penguin Books, 2006) 114 [16] Petty, Ronald . The Meta-Cognitive Model (MCM) of attitudes: Implications for attitude measurement, change, and strength. Social Cognition, 2007, 25(5), 658. [17] Petty, Ronald .The Meta-Cognitive Model (MCM) of attitudes: Implications for attitude measurement, change, and strength. Social Cognition, 2007. 25(5). [18] Myers, Steven. Social psychology  . (Toronto: Graw-Hill Ryerson, 2006) 99 [19] Brown, Richard Social Psychology 5th Edition (New York McGraw Hill, 2006) 91 [20] Chen Mark Revisiting the Three Choice Paradigm Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2010. 99(4), 573. [21] Slater, Laura Opening Skinner’s Box (New York, Penguin Books, 2006) 125 [22] Slater, Laura Opening Skinner’s Box (New York, Penguin Books, 2006) 150

The Stiff Competition in the Mobile Phone Industry Case Study - 1

The Stiff Competition in the Mobile Phone Industry - Case Study Example Today, the largest players in the market include Nokia, Samsung, Apple, LG, and RIM. The features and functions of these phones have improved drastically in the last ten years. Most of the phones in use by 2005 were only equipped with basic functions of making receiving calls in addition to very few functions. However, stiff competition and research have greatly modified these phones over time. Many features like internet, navigation and phone size are continuously improved. In the same way, companies are very aggressive in their promotion strategies and are continuously searching for new markets. In terms of pricing, the present phone industry sees to present products for people in all walks of life. While phone prices have generally reduced over time, it is important to note that companies like Apple and Nokia produce very quality phones which are sold at slightly higher prices. Many of these additions have been realized after the launch of the iPhone (Wilkins, 45).

Surviving Employees after Job Termination Essay

Surviving Employees after Job Termination - Essay Example People's jobs are their livelihood, their sense of meaning, or, at the very least, a great way to occupy eight hours a day. The company needs to understand the ramifications of a workforce that has lost its job security, and should take special measures to make the process as painless as possible. Companies can be pro-active when faced with layoffs and help the surviving employees overcome low productivity, low morale, health problems, and an uncertain future. When an employee encounters the first rumors of an impending downsizing, their world is filled with uncertainty. The employee immediately loses the capacity to weigh the outcome of their actions, and creates questions about their future role with the company, opportunity for future advancement, and whether or not they will be ultimately fired (Paulsen et al., 2005, p.465). The situation where the workforce is notified by rumors presents an unwelcome situation for everyone involved. According to Cascio and Wynn (2004), "many employment downsizing efforts fail to involve employees in any decisions either about the process or the desired outcome. As a result, employees feel powerless and helpless, and there is massive uncertainty in the organization" (p.427). While manager or employee input may be able to smooth the process, they may see the decision as inevitable and be reluctant or unwilling to offer any input. This places the company in a position to act impersonally with aloofness and distance. It is in this scenario that the ill-advised e-mail used by Radio Shack becomes the corporate culture. Avoiding the pitfalls of the workforce being notified of looming terminations by rumor requires the company to be pro-active in their communication on the issue. To avert problems, either perceived or real, personal communication with the workforce needs to take place well in advance of the termination date (Brockner, 1992, p.11). Employees should be notified of the company's plans in an environment that generates trust. There is a risk that the period between alerting the workforce of the downsizing and the date of termination can be marred by a work slowdown or even sabotage. A meeting, or series of meetings at different levels, can be used to justify the reasons for the layoffs and assure the employees that it is a last resort alternative (Brockner, 1992, p.10). The corporate culture will also have a marked effect on this initial phase. A company that has practiced "honest, consistent, and regular communication efforts from the highest levels of executives on down" will be less pr one to the negative effects of rumors and speculation (Cascio & Wynn, 2004, p.427). Good communication before, during, and after the layoffs is essential to the effective management of downsizing. One of the biggest effects that downsizing has is the impact it has on the perception of job security among the survivors. In many cases, downsizing takes place in an environment where a company is struggling to make a profit and job security is already at a minimum. Job insecurity can affect an employee's productivity, creativity, innovation, decision making, and personal health (Probst, Stewart, Gruys, & Tierney, 2004; Alam, Robinson, & Pacher, 2006; Kivimki, Vahtera, Pentti, & Ferrie, 2000). In addition, the stress of job insecurity spills over into

The Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony and Repressed Memories Essay

The Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony and Repressed Memories - Essay Example Although many people rely on eyewitness testimony, there are a huge number of factors which can influence the way that a victim or other witness recalls the perpetrator of a crime. For example, the stress of being a victim of, or viewing, a crime can mean that some people remember certain elements more vividly or psychologically adapt the memory to make it more bearable (Loftus, 1994). Additionally, there is evidence that cross-racial identification issues, meaning that many eyewitnesses have proven difficulty identifying a perpetrator from a race other than their own (Buckhout, 1974). Pressure from law enforcement agencies can also make a difference, as those who cannot correctly remember the individual in question may feel forced to make a rash judgment that does not correlate with the real criminal (Loftus, 1996). Another common problem that comes from identifying a perpetrator comes from the fact that the witness usually assumes that the actual criminal is present in the line-up, and thus will feel forced to choose from one of those presented to him or her (Loftus, 1996). However, line-ups can be composed of a group of people that happen to fit the description given, or those who were in the area at the time and do not always contain the perpetrator (Loftus, 1996). Police and law enforcement can help to prevent this problem by giving line-up instructions that inform the witness of this fact and ensuring that the witness does not feel pressure to make an immediate judgment, although this does not always work in practice (Bernstein, Penner, Clarke-Stewart & Roy, 2011). It is also a common belief that people can repress memories of traumatic events and then later retrieve these memories (using counseling or otherwise), which could then be used in a court of law. This idea is still really controversial amongst psychologists, with some believing that there

Ch.15 - Book - America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System by Essay

Ch.15 - Book - America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System by David W. Neubauer, Henry F. Fradella - Essay Example determined by the parole board who take into account the minimum sentence plus the prisoner’s good behaviour while in jail (positive rehabilitation). Liberal criticism of indeterminate sentencing law is based upon the fact that people who have committed similar crimes usually serve different number of years. This discrepancy creates an ambiguous sentencing system. Conservatively, indeterminate sentencing is based on the principle of rehabilitation. Evidence in the 1970s revealed that rehabilitation had very little impact on the convict’s future decisions with respect to crime. The rehabilitation system also focused on the convict, neglecting the crime and the victims. There was no sense of punishment, retribution or deterrence. Indeterminate sentencing were once very popular but it was however noted that at times judges were too lenient and that rehabilitation did not stop convicts from committing more crimes in the future. Legislature therefore instituted mandatory minimum sentences that had to be served irrespective of good behaviour. Apart from this, sentencing guidelines were also adopted to prevent ambiguous sentencing. Finally, legislatures adopted three-strike laws that act as reinforcement to rehabilitation measures. Indeterminate laws were very common in the 1970s but we however full of inconsistencies. Due to several criticisms about their effectiveness, legislatures around the country undertook several modifications in order to justify its

Email for Prescription for control system Coursework

Email for Prescription for control system - Coursework Example er relevant budgets that need to be prepared to analyze the movement of costs are: production budget; raw materials and purchasing budget; as well as labor budget (Agriculture and Consumer Protection, n.d.); 4. The production budget should contain the following the following information where the budget is â€Å"expressed in quantitative terms only and is geared to the sales budget. The production managers duties include: (a) analysis of plant utilization; and (b) work-in-progress budgets. If requirements exceed capacity he may: (i) subcontract; (ii) plan for overtime; (iii) introduce shift work; or (iv) hire or buy additional machinery† (Agriculture and Consumer Protection, n.d., p. 1); 5. The raw materials and purchasing budget should be evaluated in the light of factors that could influence and affect these, including production requirements; planning stock levels; storage space; and trends of material prices (Agriculture and Consumer Protection, n.d.). 6. The labor budget, finally, must be analyzed in terms of the following factors that influence and affect the costs: production requirements; man-hours available and used; grades of labour required; wage rates (union agreements); and the need for incentives (Agriculture and Consumer Protection, n.d.). 10. These costs should therefore be monitored on a regular basis, say monthly, quarterly and annually, against the budgets prepared to determine the factors influencing them and to institute the required courses of action to control and manage these costs. In response to your proposal to purchase an offset press to print manuals, instead of purchasing them from local print shops, please be advised that to enable management to decide on its feasibility and viability, the following information would be required for comprehensive and effective review: 2. The installation cost to be incurred should be determined. Some suppliers incorporate the cost of installation to their quotation price for the equipment. Since

Induced Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest Research Paper

Induced Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest - Research Paper Example TDuring an open heart surgery, there is significant risk of neurological injury on account of the lack of oxygen supply to brain as the circulation comes to a halt. In the absence of oxygen, the brain undergoes anaerobic metabolism as reported by Michelle E. (2011). This leads to damage to ATP dependent cellular functions with a resulting increase in calcium and glutamate excretion. The brain cells thus become more active, consuming more oxygen. With the increasing hypoxemia, further damage occurs leading to cell death. The resultant cerebral edema further enhances the damage. Also, as a result of all these processes, the blood-brain barrier also becomes ineffective further contributing to cerebral edema. As soon as the circulation returns after the heart starts pumping again, reperfusion injury occurs which adds up to the ongoing damage. Meanwhile, there is already an onset of the inflammatory reaction as a result of cell death leading to a release of neutrophils and macrophages in an attempt to remove the cellular debris. The resultant production of free radicals also catalyses the damaging process thus worsening the cerebral edema. This vicious cycle continues leading to brain death. ROLE OF THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA IN PREVENTING NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE: Using the technique of therapeutic hypothermia can be useful to avoid all the above described damage. The therapeutically induced hypothermia after cardiac arrest takes following steps to decrease the extent of neurological damage: 1. It stabilizes the release of calcium and glutamate thus decreasing the degree of cellular death, 2. It stabilizes the blood brain barrier, 3. It causes a suppression of the inflammatory response, 4. It reduces cerebral edema by the help of above actions. INDUCED THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA AFTER CARDIAC ARREST 4 According to the report produced by Michelle E. (2011), there is a reduction in cerebral metabolism from 6% to 10% for every one degree Celcius drop in body temperature. This results in decreased oxygen requirements by the brain cells. Michelle E. (2011) simulates the effects of therapeutic hy

Google Analytics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Google Analytics - Essay Example ce generators like how many times Yahoo, Google or Bing generated traffic to your web site, which key word used more often to brought a user to your website. Through traffic sources you will come to know which activity will be the best practice for attracting visitors towards your site. The results will help you to identify your preferred way to drive your target audience towards your site. It will guide you to exert more effort on either social networking website like Facebook, LinkDin etc, blogs, or through emails (direct traffic). You can set your goals which serves as conversions for your web site and funnels are the path which you want to take by user to achieve goals. You can calculate your goal conversion metrics by creating one or more goals. Goals and funnels can be set by setting the name of the goal, defining funnel (by specifying pages up to ten), and by setting the value of the goals. GA goals section offer reports about total conversion (daily or hourly), conversion rate (percentage of visits), reverse goal path (the navigational path to the selected goal and their conversions), goal value, goal abandoned funnels, and funnel visualization It helps a user to identify the importance of your site content by visitors trends. Which page attracted most of your traffic? by reading which content your visitor could not stay any more on your site? Specially click pattern spells out importance of hyperlinks pasted by you on your web page. Page click pattern could be help full for you to generate more traffic by increase more content related to key words or links with higher click

Argument-driven essay Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Argument-driven essay - Research Paper Example Sadly, both ideologies set back the feminist cause by a number of years due to the way the satire has become not only a part of pop culture, but a part of the ideology of our society. That is why I am writing this paper with the full intention of exposing the damage done by the skit to the post-feminist ideologies and the various ways that feminism is portrayed in the political arena. My main argument is that the show has done irreparable damage to the image of women as future political leaders of the world in ways that one could never have imagined to be possible. It was Durham and Keller who mentioned the relation of media to popular culture in their book Media and Cultural Studies: Keywords. They explained that: â€Å"Forms of media culture like television film, popular music, magazines, and advertising provide role and gender models, fashion hints, lifestyle images, and icons of personality. The narratives of media culture offer patterns of proper and improper behavior, moral me ssages, and ideological conditioning, sugar coating social and political ideas with pleasurable and seductive forms of popular entertainment† (Durham & Keller, xv). ... They managed to make fun of one woman, while clearly exalting the other in what turned out to be a simultaneous process for the two actors. Tina Fey characterized Sara Palin like a red-neck hillbilly who got to where she was in life solely because luck was on her side. The woman, from the portrayal of Fey, is shown to be blessed to have been in the right place at the right time, which is why it did not matter that she was weak when it came to political matters. It was expected of her since she came from the Alaskan backwoods. It was a stroke of luck and opportunity that afforded her the chance to get ahead politically without really having to pay her dues towards the support of the post feminism political agenda. On the other hand, Amy Pohler portrayed Hillary Clinton as a clear supporter of the post-feminist agenda meant to strengthen the political station of women in our society. The strength and weaknesses of both women were highly played up during the skit which is why the public came to view Sara Palin as a joke who just got lucky in the world of politics while Hillary worked very hard to get the respect and acceptance that she deserved in the political arena. The ideology that the skit promoted the perception that â€Å"... all cultural texts have distinct biases, interests, and embedded values, reproducing the point of view of their producers and often, the values of the dominant social groups. â€Å" (Durham & Kelner, xiv). Clearly, the skit anted to promote the post-feminist cause in the skit. But they were not sure as to which message they wanted to clearly share which is why they tried to the fair thing and simply put both post-feminist ideologies out there for society to decide upon. These

Implementing Immunizations Essay Example for Free

Implementing Immunizations Essay Implementing Immunizations Implementing immunizations into the clinics can be challenging for the facility and the staff. There are several methods that have been implemented to monitor the methods used by the staff to give the immunizations to the patients in the clinics. There have been several obstacles and challenges that the staff and leaders have faced. As with any changes that take place in patient care within an organization methods must be set up to monitor those changes. Changes promote challenges not just to staff leaders but the organization as a whole. Communication with any changes can be challenging for the leadership and staff (Surdu, 2010). Methods to Monitor Change In implementing changes there needs to be methods to monitor those changes. The first method is to monitor the reimbursement value units per visit associated with the immunizations. The need to monitor the increase of visits, the percentage of increase of the reimbursement value units now that the immunizations that are given in in the clinic since they are ordered immunizations ordered directly by the physician and not given on protocol (Surdu, 2010). Another method to monitor the change of implementation is to survey the patients to see how they have responded to immunizations being given directly in the clinic. This can be done in a survey form either via email or sent in the mail so patients can voice their opinion on the changes that have been implemented (Helfrich, Blevins, Smith, 2011). The leaders in the clinic can sit down with the staff to get their opinion and suggestions on how the changes of giving immunizations in the clinic are affecting their time management with patients. This can be very helpful to  leaders in adjusting the change that have been implemented because no change should never be set in stone. The input of the staff can be crucial when monitoring changes that have been implemented to determine whether they are successful or not (Helfrich, Blevins, Smith, 2011). The final method used to monitor that immunizations are properly being implemented in the clinic setting are going to be chart audits by the leadership. This will be used to ensure that the proper immunizations are given to the patients and that patient care is not being compromised (Helfrich, Blevins, Smith, 2011). Of all of the monitoring methods mentioned above the main issue is patient care. The â€Å"Patient Medical Center Home Model† consists of modeling the care around the patient. Ensuring that patient care is at the forefront of the facility, monitoring the changes is one way to ensure that this takes place. The quality control standards of the â€Å"Patient Medical Center Home Model† consist of upper management performing quality control chart checks on a monthly basis. These chart audits are done to ensure that the standards are being met which are determined by the Department of the Army. This is one of the main differences that a military treatment facility is held to as a standard versus a civilian facility. Therefore this can be seen to some as has bureaucratic red tape in some instances, whereas in others it does have its advantages (Marshall, Doperak, Milner, 2011). Organizational Relationship The relationship between organizations process systems and professional roles on a staff can be essential to the success of an implemented change. The Department of the Army has specific protocols when implementing changes such as implementing immunizations into the clinic setting. Organizational process systems will provide how changes will be implemented in the facility. In the facility changes come from Western region then trickle down from the Command or another words upper management. The changes are then implemented throughout the clinics in the facility. The responsibility falls on the clinic officer in charge to implement the changes throughout each clinic (Marshall, Doperak, Milner, 2011). In a military treatment  facility changes are implemented differently than in the private sector. In the organization upper management solely consists of military personnel while leadership within the clinic is a mixture of military and civilian personnel. The process of changes is not set in stone but guidelines are set forth from Western region. The actual written standard operating procedure for the facility is implemented and brought to the forefront by upper management. Then upper management delegates the implementation down to the clinic officer in charge for actual rollouts into each clinic (Marshall, Doperak, Milner, 2011). The roles of the leadership in the clinics are essential to the success or unsuccessful implementation of change. The attitude of the leadership carries weight on how well the rest of the staff receives the change. Leaders on the clinic level have to accept changes whether good or bad and expect staff to challenge them. Leaders have to be strong and accept the change themselves and to support upper management. There are problems dealing with changes when issues arise between created civilian and military personnel. These issues are not easily dealt with and when changes are ensuing within a facility this causes undue stress within the organization. This is one reason that leadership needs to bring forth and implement changes within an organization as all one team because staff is well suited at picking up any rift within the management team (Marshall, Doperak, Milner, 2011). Communication Techniques Communication techniques are one of the mainstays in addressing any issues when implementing changes in any organizational plan. There are several ways in an organizational plan change that communication can take place such as talking directly to leadership on the front lines who deal with the change or all the way up the chain dealing with upper management. Without communication problems with the changes that have been implemented will not be resolved and the changes will not be successful (Marshak. Grant, 2011). One communication technique that can be used is that leadership can address staff that seems to have issues with the changes that have been implemented. They can speak to staff on an individual basis using a closed-door setting to try to alleviate any issues that are affecting any of the employees work.  Employees may feel more comfortable speaking with a member of the leadership team on a one-on-one basis to voice their concerns with the change. Sometimes most of the issues dealing with an employee that have issues with changes that have been implemented, the staff member has questions or does not understand why the change has been made. This issue is best addressed in a one on one sit down conversation with the employee in a closed-door situation (Marshak. Grant, 2011). Another communication technique used to address any implementation issues with the changes can be providing specific emails to a particular person. By addressing issues to one particular person within the organization instead of problems associated with the change can be addressed centrally and immediately if necessary. If issues cannot be handled by this one person than the contact person can go to their resources and take care of the issue or issues at hand. Emails are the preferred method of communication unlike phone calls at a military treatment facility. Phone calls should only be used for emergencies, where there is an immediate response that is needed. In other words the majority of the issues dealing with the implementation of the changes that occur can be dealt with through emails. These issues are not needed to be dealt with in an immediate time frame and can be dealt with and a normal work week depending on the issue that have arisen (Marshak. Grant, 2011). Without proper communication, the need to communicate and how the communication is to take place the change implementation may well as not have ever taken place. Communication for a successful organization does need to take place in several forms; this is in the hands of a successful management and leadership (Borkowski, 2005). Conclusion In implementing changes there needs to be several methods to monitor how those changes are affecting the organization on the clinic level and as the organization as a whole. Many times staff along with the patients; both whom are giving input on the change in which the organization is trying to improve care on how the changes are taking place. The organization must be  willing to change its process in its systems whether or how management runs a certain part of their business develops a new process or because of a change implementation downsizes a facility. In order for the change to be successfully implemented communication is essential for this to take place. There are many techniques that organizations can use to accomplish this task. The communication technique will depend on the change implemented and the structure of the organization. Staff leaders whether at the clinic level or upper management are still the main key whether the organizational plan that has been set forth if the changes that have been implemented will be successful. Reference Borkowski, N. (2005). Organizational behavior in health care. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database Helfrich, C., Blevins, D., Smith, J. (2011, July). Predicting Implementation From Organizational Readiness for Change: A Study Protocol. Implementation Science , 6(76). Marshak., R., Grant, D. (2011, Sep). Creating Change by Changing the Conversation. OD Practitioner, 43(3), 2 7. Marshall, R., Doperak, M., Milner, M. (2011, Nov). Patient-Centered Medical Home: An Emerging Primary Care Model and the Military Health System. Military Medicine, 176(11), 1253 1259. Surdu, G. (2010, Winter). Organizational Change- Different A. Romanian Economic and Business Review, 5(4), 48-54.

Theories of Motivation and Stress in Organisations

Theories of Motivation and Stress in Organisations Many organisations have decided to reorganise their traditional hierarchical structure into modern team structures. Select the key theories in the areas of motivation and stress and link them to the challenges organisations implementing this type of change may face. One of the key factors in creating and maintaining a successful business is the ability to adapt to changes in the external environment, whether responding to competitors, customers, or the macro-environment, such as legal, environmental, or political changes, for example. The decision to reorganize traditional hierarchical structures into modern team structures is one such example of adapting to changes in the way businesses are run worldwide, and reaping the benefits of innovation. However, change, whether ultimately for better or worse, can have a direct impact on stress and motivation, particularly for workers if there is change in the workplace. Traditional hierarchical structures have certain characteristics and can be represented in Maslows hierarchy of needs diagram whereby there are many levels of management and command. There are very visible divisions of power and job roles are clearly defined. Communication usually starts from the top and works it way down via management. On the other hand, modern team structures are characterized by shared goals and responsibility, whereby communication is supposedly more fluid between workers, as the organizational structure is flatter. Team working, by definition, allows more interaction between people, and job roles may also be more fluid depending on what is needed to achieve shared goals. It can be argued that the transition from one structure to another can be linked to change in ones motivation to work. Motivation is described by Fincham and Rhodes (2005, pp732) as the extent to which an individual is engaged by the work role he or she occupies. Maslows hierarchy of needs is probably one of the most famous theories used in the study of motivation to analyse human behaviour at work, although according to Fincham and Rhodes (2005, pp197) his work wasnt originally intended to be and explanation of motivation in the workplace. Nonetheless, his hierarchy of needs is a founding example of content theory, which is based on the assumption that we can attribute a similar set of needs to all individuals (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp193). According to Maslow, there are five levels of need innate in all humans, which must be satisfied in turn. Once the first need is satisfied, unconsciously what then exerts a more powerful influence on our behaviour is the need at the next level up the hierarchy (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp193). The five levels of the hierarchy ascend from very basic Physiological needs such as food, warmth, clothing and shelter, to Security needs, whereby the person in question must feel safe and free from fear, in a comfortable environment. Once these needs are fulfilled, the attention is then turned to Social needs such as the requirement for supportive and fulfilling relationships with others. These first three levels chart a persons basic deficiency needs and are factors that figure in ones psychological growth. The next levels, Self-esteem needs, and ultimately, Self-actualisation needs, are what Maslow regarded as higher-order needs, and the development of these needs represents the end point of a gradual process of psychological maturation (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp195). Fulfilling Self-esteem needs would involve a requirement for recognition, and a building up of self belief, whilst fulfilling Self-actualisation needs are the ultimate goal of human beings according to Maslow. This would encompass all that is needed for someone to realize their full potential, and thus would differ depending on the person. Herzberg, another famous content theorist, builds upon Maslows hierarchy, which although is very interesting and a staple in most motivation theory books, is more or less unsubstantiated by empirical study. Herzbergs two-factor theory of motivation stemmed from interviews with a number of workers, where two factors emerged, hygiene, and motivators. Hygiene factors are similar to Maslows first three levels of need, and represent the need to avoid pain (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp199). In the sphere of work they represent primary needs we have as animals, that are minimum requirements that one must have in order not to be demotivated at work, but do not actually serve to motivate us. Motivators, on the other hand, represent Maslows last two levels of need, and reflect the need for self actualization. These would include things such as responsibility, recognition, promotion, achievement and intrinsic aspects of the job, and Herzberg argued that designing jobs which incorporated these t ypes of motivators would indeed increase motivation in staff. One could argue that the transition from one type of organizational structure to another should be designed to incorporate the motivators or higher level-needs for staff in order to ease transition. If any of these factors are being diminished because of the transition, then psychologically, this would have the effect of demotivating staff. However, the emergence of process theory in motivation has arisen out of some criticism of content theory which seems to lump all human beings together homogeneously, and assume everyone will and does act in the same way depending on external factors. If this were the case then this essay question would not exist as one would be able to design the transition so that all needs are not impacted on negatively. However, process theory realizes the role that an individuals cognitive processes have in determining his or her level of motivation (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp202). Theorists such as Adams regard Equity theory as fairly important in process theory as it describes a workers concern with fairness and equity, which is measured by how much reward is received in relation to effort (or inputs such as skill, experience, intelligence, seniority) they put in at work, compared to others around them, and indeed compared to their past work experiences. Vrooms expectancy theory builds upon this premise by suggesting that the link between effort and reward could be viewed as a process in which individuals calculated first whether there was connection between effort and their performance (expectancy), then the probability that valued rewards (valences) would follow form high performance (instrumentality) (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp208). In studies, Vroom was able to produce an instrumentality index from students who had rated the importance of various job goals, and in turn how well certain organizations would satisfy these goals. This index was used to predict which job each student should apply for. This type of theory highlights how differently individuals can perceive job satisfaction, and organizational structure transitions should be monitored in order to see how each worker could be affected by such change, and try to take steps to ensure workers will see rewards in changing into self-managed teams. Will they feel that extra work is needed, with little reward, or will the idea of building relationships with fellow staff and taking more responsibility for their work empower them? This will seemingly differ a lot from worker to worker based on process theory. A number of characteristics of self-managed teams seem to include motivators such as responsibility, shared goals and social cohesion, which would hopefully overcome initial fear of change. Whilst motivation must be maintained by the organization during a transition, the idea of stress, particularly during periods of perceived instability (a by-product of change) by workers and could impact negatively. There are a number of definitions for stress such as Edwards (cited in Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp62) who suggests that it comes from an inability to cope with the demands the environment makes a person, and is caused by a lack of fit with the environment. This could certainly be the case with regard to changing job roles, or indeed changing the structure within which you work, as the case would be in considering this essay question. A survey by the Confederation of British Industry in the UK found that stress was the second most prevalent cause of sickness absenteeism, costing industry around  £4 billion (cited in Fincham and Rhodes 2005, pp80). Therefore making efforts in limiting the kinds of causes of stress discussed later will make the transition from traditional hierarchical structures into modern team structures will be very beneficial for businesses. Given that a transition into self-managed teams, will mainly involve a change in job role, it is useful to look at the role stressors that have an impact on stress levels. The first type of stressor would be role ambiguity (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp63) and this is probably a pertinent one to start with it can be prevalent amongst matrix structure organisations and self-managed teams. It is argued that information sharing is increased within modern teams, however, this is an ideal, and is not always the case. Information deficiency, and an uncertainty about what your role encompasses can cause unrest and stress. If a worker is unable to clearly understand their place within a structure this has been found in studies to have repercussions in terms of reducing job satisfaction and increasing anxiety. It is likely that some of this could also be caused by a transition from another structure or role. If, in the case of this question, the role (in a team) is newly created, of which there is a one in three chance according to West et al 1987 (cited in Fincham and Rhodes 2005, pp66), then the worker will not have a point of reference, or a predecessor to look to, nor any advice from colleagues. It is crucial that a person is able to draw comfort from their social peers and not be left to muddle along. It could be argued that everyone will be in the same position if this were to happen to a whole organisation , and senior managers should try to invoke exercises such as team-building sessions to solidify the team and prevent alienation and thus stress from workers, where possible. Single role, and multiple role conflict are another set of factors that can impact on stress levels phenomenally for a lot of workers. Single role conflict tends to occur when there a number of elements to ones role and these elements cause conflict and paradoxes, and are therefore difficult to reconcile. Supervisors tend to suffer from this conflict particularly if they need to be command authority, yet maintain a social cohesion with work peers. The need to discipline a member of staff that they have a social affinity with could become stressful and cause upset. Multiple role conflict is an extension to this, but is more akin to conflict between roles at work and roles outside of work such as husband, mother, daughter, housewife etc. Cooper (2001) talks about the boundaries between work and home becoming blurred by technology (cited in Fincham and Rhodes, 2005), with the explosion in mobile communication and laptops making it all too easy to bring work home. Women, who are mothers and also work, can find that trying to juggle one role with another can cause them to feel more stressed out and can lead to neglect of both roles and feelings of personal failure because of this. Some form of stress seems to be inevitable with change of any kind, be it good or bad. However if the organisation making change is able to design teams and roles with workers health and wellbeing in mind, then this can be limited. Motivators are key components of roles that provide job satisfaction, although these can differ form worker to worker. A working mother could see a motivator, as flexible working hours within a team, in order to aid her role as carer. Making sure that there are processes in place to both address individual workers stressors, and to counteract these with appropriate means of motivation, even if it means having more informal meetings, and opening up lines of communication, will limit stress. However, it is important to remember that traditional hierarchical structures are also known to characteristically cause stress to employees. They tend to be bureaucratic in structure and can offer workers limited hope of changing unsatisfactory jobs or becoming more inn ovative within their roles. This can be termed as burnout and entrapment (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp71) and reflects the reasons in which a business would choose to change the structure of an organisation into self-managed teams in the first place. Therefore, organisations should keep in mind that stress is endemic to work, but must be kept at manageable levels through the process of increasing workers motivation. Bibliography Fincham Rhodes, 2005, Fourth Edition, Principles of Organisational behaviour, Oxford University Press, New York

Ethical Practice in Social Work

Ethical Practice in Social Work The aim of this assignment is to demonstrate links between different codes defining ethical practice, legislation and the requirements of professional conduct. The author will also discuss knowledge of traditional social work values and recent changes in the value base of social work. The relationship of ethical themes and the range of ethical theories will also be considered, concluding with the requirements of professional social work practice. Although social work is a profession laden with contradictions, the primary task within the social work profession is to ensure that the directives and principles enshrined in social work ethics, call on social workers to establish human rights and willingly be able to challenge unjust principles (Allan et al 2009). Moral codes and social structure is recorded as far back as the Ancient Greek Polis era with suppression of civic autonomy. The idea of life of virtue and human fulfilment leading on to the new course in ethics chartered during the Hellenistic era are the most discussed social structures discussed to date, regarding early ethics and values although forms of social structural developments were occurring in Egypt, Mesopotamia, China and India has less recorded by historians (Bryant 1996). Bisman (2004) acknowledges that the core concept of moral concerns drove social works development during the professions formative years. Although Jones (1997) cited in Bisman (2004) (pg: 110) complains that â€Å"the profession has been particularly silent over the past twenty years about the shifting patterns in social wellbeing and disadvantage† and that this silence may be a direct violation of the social work codes of ethics. The emphasis of social change was more evident during the settlement movement and the emphasis was on Toynbees philosophy that there was a need to unite the advocacy of social reform and the inclusion of various classes to ensure society performs those duties (Bisman 2004). Self determination is central to the social workers ethical responsibilities to clients. Hepworth et al (2009) (pg: 60.) predict that â€Å"codes of ethics are the embodiment of a professions values†. Acknowledgment for principals and standards for social workers behaviours are imbedded in the Codes of Ethics circulated by the National Association of Social Workers addressing the range of responsibilities that social workers have as professionals to their clients, colleagues, employers, profession and to society as a whole (Hepworth et al 2008 ). Addams (1902) (pg: 1) â€Å"believed that ‘ethics is but another word for â€Å"righteousness† without which life becomes meaningless†. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child acknowledge that the values vary from country to country and the understanding of values universally are very problematic. However, it is not just the question of different values, but a question of relative power (Heintz 2009). Every Child Matters (2003) contains five outcomes which are being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution as well as economic well-being have absorbed the UNCRC Articles into a comprehensible table. This ensures that practitioners are drawn to reflecting the ethical principles and value base when making their decisions regarding client needs. Wilks (2005) highlights that there are two central conceptual strands that account for social work values; these are social work ethics and anti-discriminatory practice. However although these two strands lie together there are conflicts. Strategies have been adopted to bridge the gap in principle by means of social justice or equality. Nash (2000) was also interested in the ethics of the individual self and understanding the power differences. Although seeing everyone as social actors, concerned with interaction through social behaviour can at times be fragmented, unstable, fluid and fast changing. This unpredictability is why it is very important that social workers analyse each individual case thoroughly, reflecting on where and when to employ ethical and value based decisions that will influence positive results. Clarks (2000) cited in Tovey (2007) acknowledges that there are five basic principles that promote ethical practice in social work are: Respect for and promotion of individuals rights to self-determination Promotion of welfare or well-being Equality Disruptive justice Discipline Furthermore, it is important that traditional social work values are employed, but it is also important that consideration for limitations of traditional social work values and how these values change at macro, meso and micro levels of practice. Dominelli 2004(pg: 63) argues that although empowering clients is seen as a way of moving forward, â€Å"it is unable to do more than deal with issues at the micro level of practice in the practitioner-client relationship, and has little impact on structural inequalities, which also need to be ended†. By being involved in transforming the knowledge base and structure of clients current or future situation, the social workers has to rethink the epistemological base on which social work is founded and establish a value base that aims to create a professional culture that can guide particular interventions (Dominelli 2004). Banks (2006) acknowledges that ethical issues are problematic in social work and that the codes of ethics and codes of conduct fail to explicitly address issues faced by those who are regulated by them. Practioner`s find themselves in difficult situations which at times results in ethical dilemmas. It is still imperative to meet the requirements of professional conduct and that the deontological approach creates a logic whereby professionals are duty-bound to follow their ethical code and where ethical practice without guiding principles is inconceivable (Gray 2009 pg: 2). The Scottish Social Services Codes of Practice (SSSC 2005) 2005 are a key step in a system of regulation for social services delivered along with setting standards for practitioners to be accountable for their actions. SSSC (2005) state that there are six codes of practice that social service workers are required to take account of these are: Protect the rights and promote the interests of service Users and carers. Strive to establish and maintain the trust and confidence of Service users and carers. Promote the independence of service users while protecting Them as far as possible from danger or harm. Respect the rights of service users whilst seeking to ensure that their behaviour does not harm themselves or other people. Uphold public trust and confidence in social services. Be accountable for the quality of their work and take responsibility for maintaining and improving their knowledge and skills. Social work has undergone radical changes, in addition, the imperialistic approach has been highly criticised as being stereotyped and culturally preoccupied with the blame culture. Raynor (1984) recognised that there was a difference in accountability, regardless of justification. His findings were that social workers are accountable for their own actions, although social workers were only protecting the weaker party in an imbalance of power. It is important that social workers draw on empirical approaches, although the focus should be on solving problems and narrowing the problematic gap in cultural differences between social worker /client relationship working within a moral rational manner. A postmodern approach in social work has highlighted areas in the welfare state that acknowledge that specific welfare resources are being cut due to rationalisation. Social services need to look at the way economic, social structures and regional injustices in impoverished communities are constructed and adapt to meet their individual needs. Postmodernism argues for the ‘grand or ‘universal social change on which social work was founded, but now ultimately social work must refocus its attentions on exposing global economical inequalities and oppressive gender and ethnicity-based relationships across the globe (Noble 2004). The Kantian philosophy encourages that we should treat others as a being who has choice and desires along with a being is those who are capable of rational thought and self determined actions should have the ability to make decisions and act accordingly to their own choices and desires (Banks 2006). Although deontological and utilitarian approaches tend to dominate social work ethics Lovat and Gray (2008) dispute that within this postmetaphysical age Habermas offers a form of proportionate ethics through the Aristotelian and Thomistic thinking offering a new and practical approach which is particularly appropriate to a modernately post-scientific, postmetaphysical age. Lovat and Gray (2008) (pg: 1101) also recognised within the moderately post-scientific age, although the thinking had a heavy reliance on science they were â€Å"aware of the limitations of science in addressing adequately all of lifes demands and providing all of its answers†. Lovat and Gray (2008) also proposed a new approach to ethical deliberation and judgment that has potential to meet the needs of those seeking greater ontological certainty than science can provide. By implementing a Proportionism approach, which is an ethical and moral approach and holds promise for a more balanced perspective in that social work is both science and art. Overall the proportionist approach is comfortable with the inconsistent position in any ethical dilemma and by applying wisdom, commonsense and probing scientific explanations an ethical decision can be made. â€Å"The value of a proportionist position is best captured when we realise that any ethical decision which runs counter to accepted or popular norms cannot be underestimated in terms of its potential to create tension, fear or recrimination†( Lovat and Gray 2008 pg: 1107). Changing Lives (2006) highlights the ethical and value base by means of four tier approach negotiating a balance between care and control, although the practitioner is under statutory obligation and the nature of the situation is complex the focus should be with avoiding any ethical boundary disputes working in a multi disciplinary approach focusing on the value base work with the client. Pitts (2000) discusses the Federation International des Communautes Educatives 1998 (FICE 1998) describes that a sound ethical practice is of critical importance. A code of ethics establishes good practice and offers guidance to individual workers in difficult situations, along with acting as a template against which to test conduct and target reform of modifications that need to be made. This in turn guides the practitioners to think about best practice and new answers to ethical issues that may arise. Within Getting it Right for Every Child (2006) Big Words and Big Tables section 2.6 Consent/Ethics, ethically empower the child or young person regardless of age to educate and promote the best services available by informing the chid or young person of all resources available. The FICE 1998 is dedicated to promoting the lives and future of children and young people around the world creating and promoting global standards for looked after children, The British Association of Social Workers has a Code of Ethics key principles reinforce what service providers should be doing to meet the needs of children and young people these are: Human Dignity and Worth Respect for human dignity and for individual and cultural diversity Value for every human being, their beliefs, goals, preferences and needs Respect for human rights and self-determination Partnership and empowerment with users of services and with carers Ensuring protection for vulnerable people Social Justice Promoting fair access to resources Equal treatment without prejudice or discrimination Reducing disadvantage and exclusion Challenging the abuse of power Service Helping with personal and social needs Enabling people to develop their potential Contributing to creating a fairer society Integrity Honesty, reliability and confidentiality Competence Maintaining and expanding competence to provide a quality service Harris (1998)(pg: 843) highlights that â€Å"in the new social services departments, social work was to exist, not simply as another branch of local authority administration, but in its own right as a state-mediated, bureau-professional labour process†. Consideration for Biesteks casework principles, individualisation, purposeful expression of feelings, controlled emotional involvement, acceptance, non-judgemental attitude, service user self-determination and confidentiality were the early foundations of principles that have paved the way for influencing present date values in social work (Banks 2006). Tovey (2007) insists that the principles are open to interpretation and practitioners should be aware of the limitations in ethical decision making and the focus on rules and duties influence determining actions in particular situations. The legal framework within the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (Act 1995) underpins what practitioners are required to do to ensure children and young people are provided for and looked after by parents, guardians or their local authority. The Act 1995 chapter 36 section 19 advises that the plan for services has to take into consideration relevant services to be provided. References Addams, J. 1902. Democracy and Social Ethics. Macmillan: London. Allan, J., Briskman, L., Pease, B. Critical Social Work: Theories and Practices for a Socially Just World. Allen Unwin: NSW. Banks, S. 3rd Ed, 2006. Ethics and Values in Social Work. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke. Bisman, C. 2004 Social Work Values: The Moral Core of the Profession. British Journal of Social Work 2004. 34, 109-123. Bryant, M,J. 1996. Moral Codes and Social Structure in Ancient Greece: A Sociology of Greek Ethics from Homer to Epicureans and Stoics. New York Press: USA. Available on line: Changing Lives: Report of the 21st Century Social Work Review http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/02/02094408/8 [Accessed October 2009]. Available on line: Children (Scotland) Act 1995 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1995/ukpga_19950036_en_3#pt2-ch1-pb2-l1g19 [Accessed October 2009]. Dominelli, L. 2004. Social Work: Theory and Practice for a Changing Profession. Polity Press: Cambridge. Available on line:Every Child Matters (2003) http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/strategy/strategyandgovernance/uncrc/unitednationsconventionontherightsofthechild/ [Accessed October 2009]. Available on line:Getting it Right for Every Child (2006) http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/06/20135608/56098 [Accessed October 2009]. Gray, M. 2009. Moral Sources and Emergent Ethical Theories in Social Work. Brittish Journal of Social Work, September 22, 2009.1-18. Harris, J. 1998. Scientific Managment, Bureau-Professionalism, New Managerialism: The Labour Process of State Social Work. British Journal of Social Work. (1998) 28, 839-862. Heintz, M. 2009. The Anthropology of Moralities. Berghahn Books: United States. Hepworth, H, D., Rooney, H, R., Rooney, D,G., Strom-Gottfried, K., Larsen, J. 2009 8th Ed. Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skill. Cengage Learning: Canada. Lovat, T., Gray, M. 2008. Towards a Proportionist Social Work Ethics: A Habermasian Perspective British Journal of Social Work 2008.38, 1100-1114. Raynor, P. 1984. Evaluation with One Eye Closed: The Empiricist Agenda in Social Work Research. British Journal of Social Work 1984. 14, 1-10. Available on line: Pitts, J. 2000. Committee on the Rights of the Child: State Violence Against Children. http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.25/pitts.pdf [Accessed October 2009]. Noble, C. 2004. Postmodern Thinking: Where is it Taking Social Work? Journal of Social Work. 2004. 4, 289-304. Nash, K. 2000. Readings in Contempory Political Sociology. Blackwell Publishers Ltd: Oxford. Available on line: The British Association of Social Workers has a Code of Ethics http://www.basw.co.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=64 [Accessed October 2009]. Available on line: The Scottish Social Services Codes of Practice 2005 http://www.sssc.uk.com/NR/rdonlyres/3A6C6F84-EB11-4DE2-90FF-5E143610C2B7/0/SSSCCodesofPracticebookletSept09.pdf [Accessed October 2009]. Tovey, W. 2007. The Post-Qualifying Handbook for Social Workers. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London. Wilks, T. 2005. Social Work and Narrative Ethics. British Journal of Social Work 2005. 35, 1249-1264. Case Study In this assignment the author had to take into consideration any ethical and value based factors before exploring a workable therapeutic intervention that would meet the needs of the client within this case study. The ethical and value based dilemmas that require consideration needed to be put into a logical workable framework. The author then can identify and progressively translate to meet the needs of any ethical issues faced by both practitioner and client. This process needs to be addressed ethically in three different ways; these are the interests, rights and power. The author will then reflect, explain, analysis and use evidence on how to approach and meet the ethical needs of the client. The client will be given a pseudonym to protect and ensure confidentiality and privacy throughout this assignment, consent was also given by the main carers. The boy who will be referred to as Marc is now 12 years of age and has recently been diagnosed with (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) ADHD which is now being challenged (Appendix 1). First and foremost, it is vitally important to look at the young person as a whole by using the Getting it Right for Every Child 2006 (GIRFEC 2006) My world Framework approach which is â€Å"underpinned by common values and principles along with shared models, tools and practices that are designed to support work with children and young people† (on line). Although GIRFEC 2006 -Proposal for Action: Analysis of Consultation Responses argue â€Å"is there sufficient emphasis and guidance about the childs involvement and are there sections which need strengthening to ensure that the child or young person is at the heart of the process?† (on line). This statement reinforces the authors need to assess all aspects of the clients wellbeing. This in turn ensures that the author considers all areas of ethical value based concerns before committing to a solution based framework to employ to the service users current situation. By utilising Collingwoods (2005) three-stage theory fr amework provided the author with a workable framework to apply a process that would then develop a flexible and developmental tool, which can then identify any specific ethical and value based issues to inform the authors intervention strategy. Consideration for background information to work ethically with client By using a Proportionism approach and by looking at the applied science model to solve any ethical issues, then by applying an existing body of professional knowledge to make sense of complex and difficult human situations. This generates an understanding of the current situation, develops a structured sequence to practice in a systematic way, then to practice in a thoughtful and professional manner to allow consideration of cultural circumstance of the current ethical dilemmas (Howe 2002). By completing the Collingwood (2005) theory circle, stage two informed the author of the theory to inform/ intervene ethically and stage three helped identify the knowledge, skills and values to work ethically with the client. The author drew on more than one principle based ethical approach. This maximised the wellbeing and minimised harm whilst following core values, principles and codes. Although applying the deontological approach allows the author the ability to create logic and ensures that the author is following ethical codes and principles as there are moral judgments and difficult ethical decisions to be made. Gray (2009) reinforces that practitioners should not undermine the importance of principles and codes. It seems logical to utilise modern workable theory to practice by employing the proportionals approach to explore present situation, consequences and sense of perception on the basis of evidence before the practitioner, using the best means available for forming judgments that springs directly from these means and allows for the end to justify the means (Gray 2009). By applying the Proportionism approach allows the author to build on, manufacture or complement theories, by transcending exi sting theories to provide a new and superior form of working ethically it can only enhance practitioner/ client relationships (Lovat and Gray 2008). The following areas were highlighted as in need of development to address the ethical issues for the client. The author believes that there is an insecure attachment base. Bowlby cited in Butterworth and Harris (1994) argues that insecure attachments contribute to the formation of a neurotic personality as they take the child down a psychologically unhealthy pathway. Developmental stage using Ericsons psychosocial stages where the child should be in the fourth stage of industry versus inferiority, recognising that it is important that the child does not run the risk of developing a sense of inferiority a sense of inadequacy resulting in feeling worthless at this stage (Slee 2002). Leading on to the general effect of the grief, after the mind has suffered an acute paroxysm of grief, and the cause still continues, we fall into a state of low spirits or feel utterly cast down and dejected (on line) (Darwin1872). Intervention It has been long recognised that practitioners have been torn between the utilitarian and the deontologists approach to social work and by breaking free and proceeding on the basis inclusion, open communication, empathy and being impartial is the way forward for practitioners (Houston 2003). â€Å"A valid moral decision is reached when those affected by it endorse it as the preferred way forward. In reaching this agreement participants must accept the consequences of the decision for all concerned and its impact on everyones interests† (Houston 2003 pg: 822). Therapeutic interventions are used in many different situations and the end goals of intervention programs are to inspire people to make the necessary changes to take control of their own lives again (on line) (When are Therapeutic Interventions Recommended?). Consideration for the clients diagnosis as being ADHD is a significant contributing factor to ensuring the best therapeutic model is used to address underlying issues. Controlled longitudinal studies show that by late adolescence and early adulthood, children identified as having ADHD are at risk for a number of mental health problems the most noticeable are anti-social behaviours, cognitive difficulties, poor academic achievement and lower occupational status (on line) ( Thorley 1998). Although diagnose of the clients ADHD is in dispute, ethically the author is at duty to include the probability of ADHD until a conclusive assessment is carried out to confirm or dismiss the first diagnosis when considering play therapy interventions. The British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT) is the foremost professional body that registers Play Therapists and regulates Play Therapy practice in Britain and have codes of practice along with play therapy standards to regulate play therapy and training (on line)(BAPT 2009). â€Å"Play Therapists need to be motivated, concerned and directed towards good ethical practice. They are required to take responsibility to maintain these standards and Play Therapists should always accept responsibility for their professional behavior and actions† (on line) (BAPT 2009). Consideration for Biesteks casework principles, individualisation, purposeful expression of feelings, controlled emotional involvement, acceptance, non-judgemental attitude, service user self-determination and confidentiality were the early foundations of principles that have paved the way for influencing present date values in social work (Banks 2006). The author drew on Biesteks casework principles but found that although Biestek theory focuses on concern of the welfare of the individual it fails to offer satisfactory accounts for relationships. The author has identified that there is a strain on positive relationships, and feels that this is an area that requires prompt development. â€Å"Ethical responsibilities flow from all human relationships, from the personal and familial to the social and professional. Ethical decision making is a process† (Webb 2003 pg: 22). Holland (2009) acknowledges that a key element within ethic of justice is that of individual rights and that this is a very important development for looked after children. The client has be informed and made aware of all aspects of the intervention process before any structured work can take place as the vast amount of therapeutic play therapy relies heavily on parent participation. This alone poses an ethical dilemma as the client is within a residential group setting and relationships between client /staff may be inconsistent. In conclusion to this assignment the author feels that it would benefit all parties if the play therapy was delayed until the new adoptive parents were approved. This would then enrich the relationships between client/ adoptive parents, furthermore they can subsequently build resilience in the new family unit, along with educating the new adoptive parents of the complex history and the future needs of the client. The long term value base and ethical benefits would outweigh any short term quick fix solution; the new adoptive parents require the best tools available to ensure that the new family unit works. References Banks, S. 3rd Ed, 2006. Ethics and Values in Social Work. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke. Butterworth, G., Harris, M. 1994. Principles of Developmental Psychology. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Ltd: UK. Collingwood, P. 2005. Integrated Theory and Practice: The Three Stage Theory Framework. The Journal of Practice Teaching in Health and Social Work, Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pp. 6-23(18). Available on line: Darwin, R, C. 1872. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1142viewtype=textpageseq=1 [ Accessed October 2009]. Available on line: Dr. Thorley, G. 1998. Therapeutic Intervention for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder http://www.drgeoffthorley.com/ADHD%20article%201998.pdf [Accessed October 2009]. Gray, M. 2009. Moral Sources and Emergent Ethical Theories in Social Work. British Journal of Social Work, September 22, 2009.1-18. Holland, S. Looked After Children and the Ethic of Care. British Journal of Social Work. August 10 2009. 1-17. Houston, S. 2003. Establishing Virtue in Social Work: A Response to McBeth and Webb. British Journal of Social Work (2003) 33, 819-824. Lovat, T., Gray, M. 2008. Towards a Proportionist Social Work Ethics: A Habermasian Perspective. British Journal of Social Work (2008). 38, 1100-1114. Slee, T. P. 2002. 2nd Ed. Child, Adolescent, and Family Development. Cambridge University Press: UK. Available on line: The British Association of Play Therapists http://www.bapt.info/playtherapystandards.htm [Accessed October 2009]. Available on line: When are Therapeutic Interventions Recommended? http://ezinearticles.com/?When-is-Therapeutic-Interventions-Recommended?id=1499263 [Accessed October 2009]. Webb, B, N. 2003. 2nd Ed. Social Work with Children. The Guilford Press: New York. Appendix 1 Accommodated under Sec 25 C(S)Act 95 Marc was born in England. Marcs birth parents were substance users and had a chaotic lifestyle. He was unable to remain permanently in their care and as a result was fostered in a number of placements returning to the care of his parents for short periods and having sporadic contact with them. Marc blames himself for not being able to remain in their care. He was adopted by a couple in Scotland at the age of 5 years. The couple were not able to have their own children. The couple then went on to have a son of their own and since then he has been treated differently. There are no photos of Marc in the house, he does not have a bike (the brother does), he is the family scapegoat and blamed for problems in the parents relationship. Marc has since been diagnosed with ADHD and his diet restricted as a means of attempting to control this. There is some debate by health professionals as to whether the diagnosis is accurate, he is on low dose medication and there has been some reported improvement in his attention levels. Marc also has a developmental delay in self care i.e. knowing how to wash himself, toileting skills. Marc remained with his adoptive parents until last month when his parents asked for him to be removed due to their perception of his behaviour being unacceptable. Marc had stolen sweets. As a result of this Marc has been accom modated in residential home on a temporary basis until a long term family can be identified. Marc believes that stealing the sweets caused the breakdown in the relationship with his adoptive family consequently blaming himself. Recently a family has been identified and the residential unit is planning to undertake a therapeutic intervention in order to prepare Marc to have an understanding of his history and build his self esteem. The prospective adoptive family are in the process of being approved by the fostering and adoption panel.