Legislation Health and Social Care free essay sample

In this document you will find an overview of some of the Government Policy and legislation which has an impact on workers in health and social care settings. You will be able to identify the legislation that most affects the work you do, and will have a broad understanding of the International, European and UK Government policy that has an impact upon the way we must work. Plans for genuine partnership working between health and social services lie at the heart of the governments strategy to modernise the management and delivery of social care. The emphasis is upon empowerment, person centred planning, public protection and a well trained and regulated workforce to deliver quality services. You will see the trends in the following pages as legislation, policy and guidelines all reflect the same aim. There will often be differences between the four countries of the UK as devolution has enabled each country to focus upon their own priorities. We will write a custom essay sample on Legislation Health and Social Care or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page How devolution affects health and social care workers Devolution is the process by which power has been transferred from Westminster to three countries of the UK. The framework for devolution is laid down in the Scotland Act 1998, the Government of Wales Act 1998 and the Northern Ireland Act 1998. There are different levels of devolved responsibilities for each country. Scotland has a Parliament and an Executive based upon the Westminster model. Under the Scotland Act 1998, the Parliament can pass Acts and the Executive can make secondary legislation in many areas. Under the Government of Wales Act 1998, powers in certain areas have been delegated to the National Assembly for Wales. The Assembly can make secondary legislation in these ‘devolved areas’, but primary legislation for Wales is still made by the UK Parliament. Devolution in Northern Ireland is linked closely to the success of the peace process; issues with this have led to the Assembly and Executive being suspended several times. When in operation the Northern Ireland Assembly can make primary and secondary legislation in ‘delegated areas’. This means that although in health and social care the four ountries do work closely together, there will often be different priorities, policy and guidance, depending on where people live and work, as each country will define its own way forward based on research which identifies the needs of individuals in their country. This can be confusing for people who live on the borders of Scotland or Wales, where there are often conflicting requirements in terms of qualification requirements for staff or differences in National Service Standards. It is important to make sure that any legislative requirements, White Papers, policies or guidance you use to underpin your work are the right ones. The White Paper Modernising Social Services set the scene for developments that have changed the face of social care in England over the past few years. You will see common themes, which underpin the ethos of legislation, growing in strength and being reflected in the way service provision is delivered. As you read through the next few pages and identify the parts that are most relevant to the area in which you work you will find everything emphasises empowerment of individuals receiving services, public protection, flexible needs led services, Health Social Care NVQs Legislation England partnership and a service that centres upon the needs of each individual. All of this depends upon the UK having a well trained and regulated workforce. Modernising Social Services The White Paper ‘Modernising social services promoting independence, improving protection, raising standards’ was published on1st January 1998. It outlined the governments plans for modernising social service provision, emphasising the importance of promoting independence, public protection and ensuring the delivery of quality services for adults and children. It also introduced a new system of regulation, workforce standards, and the establishment of a General Social Care Council. It emphasised the importance of partnership with the NHS and non-statutory bodies, and produced a framework for cooperation between local authorities and central government to promote the delivery of efficient, high quality services. Branded the ‘third way’ for social care, it identified important ‘key principles’: ? care should be provided to people in a way that supports their independence and respects their dignity. People should be able to receive the care they need without their life having to be taken over by the social services system. services should meet each individuals specific needs, pulling together social services, health, housing, education or any others needed. And people should have a say in what services they get and how they are delivered. care services should be organised, accessed, provided and financed in a fair, open and consistent way in every part of the country. hildren who for whatever reason need to be looked after by local authorities should get a decent start in life, with the same opportunities to make a success of their lives as any child. In particular they should be assured of a decent education. every person child or adult should be safeguarded against abuse, neglect or poor treatment whilst receiving care. Where abuse does take place, the system should take firm action to put a stop to it. people who receive social services should have an assurance that the staff they deal with are sufficiently trained and skilled for the work they are doing. And staff themselves should feel included within a framework which recognises their commitment, assures high quality training standards and oversees standards of practice people should be able to have confidence in their local social services, knowing that they work to clear and acceptable standards, and that if those standards are not met, action can be taken to improve things. ? ? ? ? ? ? Useful web site www. archive. official-documents. co. uk/document/cm41/4169/chap-1. htm Health Social Care NVQs Legislation England Equality Legislation Over the past 30 years a number of different pieces of equality and equality related legislation have been introduced. You are not expected to become an expert on any or all of them. The following section summarises the key legislation and principle concepts, which you are most likely to encounter and find useful on a day-to-day basis. The Equal Opportunities Commission works to eliminate sex discrimination in 21st Century. The organisation promotes equal chances in life for women and men. They provide up-to-date information for all Four Nations of the UK, their web site is an excellent resource for equal opportunities can be found at the following address: http://www. eoc. org. uk Arndale House, Arndale Centre Manchester M4 3EQ Email: [emailprotected] org. uk Fax: 0161 838 1733 Tel: 0845 601 5901 The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 This Act protects people from discrimination on the grounds of sex and marital status. Exceptions to the Act include genuine occupational requirements. The Act applies to both men and women. The inclusion or marital status was an important feature of the Act. The reason for including this alongside gender is to prevent employers from making, and acting upon, assumptions that married women are more likely to have child care responsibilities and are therefore less reliable or less committed employees. Further information can be found on: www. pfc. org. uk/legal/sda. htm 36 Broadway London SW1H 0BH Email: [emailprotected] org. uk Tel: 0207 222 1110 Fax: 0207 222 2771 Health Social Care NVQs Legislation England Equal Pay Act 1976 The Equal Pay Act gives women (or men) a right to equal pay for equal work. The equal pay code is aimed at employers, but employees and employee representatives may also find it useful. The code aims to help employers, employees and their representatives by giving practical guidance on how to ensure pay is determined without sex discrimination. The Act applies to both genders, full, part time, or casual or temporary workers regardless of length of service. The Race Relations Act 1976 This Act protects people from discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins. The Act defines racial discrimination as less favourable treatment on racial grounds and identifies several ways in which such treatment may occur. A person racially discriminates against another if: ? ? He or she treats the person less favourably than he or she treats, or would treat another person on racial grounds or He or she applies a requirement or condition to that other person which is such that the proportion of the person’s racial group which can comply with it is considerably smaller than the proportions of persons not of their racial group Further information can be found on: www. omeoffice. gov. uk Victimisation Victimisation is unlawful, it occurs when another person is treated less favourably because they have made or intend to make a complaint or may have assisted another person in making a complaint of discrimination. A person has the right to make a complaint without prejudice to their existing, potential or future equal opportunities. Direct discrimination To treat a person less favourably than another person is or would be treated in the same or similar circumstances on racial grounds is known as direct discrimination. The motive or intention behind the treatment doesn’t matter. For example, it would be unlawful for a nursing home to refuse to admit a person simply because he or she is black, white or Asian or because of the colour of his or her skin. Indirect discrimination An example of indirect discrimination is when an employer tells an employment agency that his care setting only wanted people who spoke good English without a foreign accent. Although the employer did not specify that he would employ white people only, the effect of the condition was to exclude many people from minority ethnic groups and is unlawful. Further information can be found on: www. racialjustice. org. uk/Indirect%20Discrimination. htm Health Social Care NVQs Legislation England Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 This Act places a statutory obligation on all public bodies to develop a race equality policy and action plan, not only to eliminate race equality but proactively to promote equality between different racial groups, to assess the impact of all its policies on staff and students from different racial groups, to ensure that all staff are trained in their duties regarding promoting race equality.

The Economic History Of Western Europe During The Period Between 1950 To 1973 Essays

The Economic History Of Western Europe During The Period Between 1950 To 1973 Essays The Economic History Of Western Europe During The Period Between 1950 To 1973 Essay The Economic History Of Western Europe During The Period Between 1950 To 1973 Essay Essay Topic: History The aim of this essay is to analyze whether the term Golden Age referring to the European growth during the years from 1950 to 1973 was justified as a term to describe Western Europes economic history. In order to come to a complete understanding on why the years between 1950 and 1973 were characterized as being the Golden Age and to define whether the term was justified, it will be necessary to first examine the history of Western Europe at the time as well as the economical factors that ruled and took place. During the years 1950 and 1973, there was a significant rapid change and development in Europes economical growth. This success was a result of many factors and contributed to the welfare and wider benefit. During the Golden Age everyone experienced a rapid economic growth, modest inflation and low unemployment. The growth rate for the European economy was more than twice as high in the 1950 -1973 period than in the previous 80 years. The macro-economic status was in its best throughout this period than it has ever been. This growth was an outcome of many social factors some of which are: 1. The period between 1950 and 1973 was a period of post-war reconstruction, a period which promised an opportunity for rapid growth if guided by the correct policy. This was an advantage as before 1950, since 1913 the European economical factors had experienced two world wars, which meant that the existing growth had been very low at the time. This is also the reason why the countries which were more devastated by the war, such as Italy, Germany Austria and Japan were able to have the best growth pick-up and the countries that were less devastated such as Australia, Canada, Switzerland and the United States were faced with a reduced pick-up growth. 2. AS Asian economies were rapidly growing, pressures coming to the surface as a result of the competition were identified. A large percentage up to 93 per cent, of all manufactured exports was gained by the developed countries in 1965. However the de-industrialization of Europe was beginning. 3. As pointed out by N.F.R Craft another aspect was that the United States based on the advantage of using more advanced technological equipment, was able to have a larger scale of productivity than Europe did. By 1950 American manufacturing was 2.5 times the British level, 2.75 times the West German level and 3.1 the French level (Schulze 43). 4. During the period 1950 to 1970, materials such as energy were low priced. After 1973 up until 1980 there was a very high raise in prices. The price of oil was raised from $2.1 to $35.5 a barrel. From the following table we can observe the income elasticities and growth rates for the period 1955-1965. As Houthakker and Maggee,(1969) conclude, a high income elasticity of demand for exports and a low elasticity for imports is the main income pattern for fast- growing countries. A stable real exchange rate can be accomplished through this phenomenon. However as Krugman (1989) suggested, we can not imply that the elasticity income alone develops fast growth. The growth of Europe can be seen as a result of the expansion of its share of world markets by expanding the range of goods, rather than reducing prices. The period between 1950 and 1973 is conventionally known as the Golden Age of European economic growth (Crafts, 1995a). with no doubt we can say that technology transfer was an important influence leading to the integration of European markets, price changes, greater codification of knowledge, and the proliferation of multinational enterprise (Nelson and Wright, 1992). However these components were not the only influence. The transfer of workers from agriculture as well as post-war reconstruction was important to the catch-up growth. Even though there was a bounce back from the disruption of the world wars and interwar depression and protectionism, in general, European countries did far better than merely get back on a pre-existing growth trend (Mills and Crafts, 2000). Referring to the cheap technology as an explanation for the rapid economical growth for the period 1950 to 1973 leading to the golden Age, Boltho (1982) argues: If cheap technology and abundant labor and raw materials were not novel features of industrial Europe, something else must still explain why in the 1950s and 1960s they led to supergrowth Such an explanation would seem to have come from the demand side. . Boltho(1982) As (Abramovitz, 1986) described, in order for the catch-up in the early postwar Europe to take place and be successful it was necessary to have a social capability meaning that structures that would encourage investment and innovation had to be present. However in many countries social contracts that facilitated wage moderation in return for high investment in a corporatist setting accompanied by trade liberalization were developed (Eichengreen, 1996). The catch-up growth outcomes during the Golden Age, was not the same for all countries. This is totally understandable if one considers the importance of institutions in growth. The period of 1950-1973 is justified when characterized with the term Golden Age as the fast economic growth in Western European countries produced an improvement in labor as well as the raise of the welfare for the state and the social economy. Higher employment rates and employment opportunities were produced, benefiting workers and their families. The increase demand in labor is accomplished by increasing the demand for products as well as the prices of products which are produced and exported. As mentioned previously in this essay, the Golden Age also meant the increase of the GDP for the sample of 141 countries the increase was from 1.73 in 1950 to 2.50 and to 3.09 in the 1990s . Throughout this essay many opinions, statements, notions and theories were stated and analyzed, in order to come to a conclusion on whether scholars were justified in using the term Golden Age to refer and describe the economic history of Western Europe during the period between 1950-1973. in order to come to a conclusion some facts such as some major points and aspects that lead to the development of the Golden Age as well as the advantages of that period were analyzed. The period of 1950-1973 was indeed a Golden Age for the individuals as well as the wider society and the state. There is no dispute that this period was successful in terms of macro-economic performance as the real growth rate for the world economy was more than twice as high than was before or even since. Throughout the Golden Age unemployment remained low, leading every segment to a wider range of choices, opportunities and in general a better life. Apart from individuals the state also benefited during that period as the growth in scale of the economy led to rising trade.

Contingency theory and Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Contingency theory and Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example An organization placed in the context of a globally interactive environment is in a position to reap huge profits through an efficient organization of its resources and effective coordination between its component elements. No one standard organizational method can be said to be the best way, rather every organization must determine the optimum fit between its component elements. As a result, the Contingency Theory is becoming increasingly relevant in the present day context, especially in maintaining ethical standards of corporate conduct and organizational integrity. The Contingency Theory may be applied in the analysis of the complex interactions occurring among the different dimensions of any particular phenomenon within an organization. As first mooted by Herbert Simon (1976), the contingency organizational theory revolves around the interaction of the organization with the environment and its impact upon the performance outcomes of the individuals within the organization. According to Zeithaml, Varadarajan and Zeithaml (1988), the existing situational factors play a significant role in how organizations are managed, and must be taken into account in order to arrive at one best way in which an organization can be managed for optimum performance and output. These authors suggest a three pronged approach in determining this best solution (a) the identification of important situational factors which function as contingency variables that provide the distinctions between the different situational contexts (b) grouping of these contingency variabl es on the basis of similarity of the contexts that they occur in and (c) analyze each group in order to arrive at the best possible solution and management style and method that is likely to produce the best results (Zeithaml, Varadarajan and Zeithaml, 1988). The Contingency Theory perspective first developed through

Sports Sponsorship Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sports Sponsorship - Research Proposal Example The research also evaluates the economic benefits, as well as, the costs associated with the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship to the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding community. Early January this year, it was announced that the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship would not be held in 2013 (Velo News, 2013). The announcement of the cancellation of the yearly race was a surprise to many people. Among those who were stunned by this announcement are spectators, race participants and citizens of Philadelphia, and the surrounding communities. However, the organizers of the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship race promised to reorganize with new partners to make the yearly race superlative in future. This means that the next Philadelphia International Cycling Championship race will be held next year, if the organizers manage to find sponsors who may be willing to commit their funds towards the preparation of the event. Given that the Philadelph ia International Cycling Championship is among the biggest, special events of Philadelphia, the race had both economic benefits and costs to the city of Philadelphia and surrounding communities. ... This contributes to the revenue of the city. Also, community members benefit because they are the suppliers of the requirements of hosting spectators such as foodstuffs. In addition, people from areas surrounding the city of Philadelphia are employed by various companies that are associated with the organization of the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship race. Other economic benefits include revenue earned from travel of the participants and spectators in throughout the city of Philadelphia and its surrounding communities (Visit Philly, 2012). Therefore, the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship is of significant economic benefit because it earns revenue for the city of Philadelphia, through charging of a flat fee to organizers and participants (Ford, 2013). On the other hand, the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship is associated with the rising city costs (PR Web, 2013). For instance, the city of Philadelphia incurred some costs in preparation of th e event when sponsors could not reach the threshold of the required funds for hosting the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship. This move was taken by the city of Philadelphia because of the economic benefits that the race brought to the city. However, the city of Philadelphia increased the charges to the organizers tremendously in 2009, a time when sponsorship commitment of TD Bank was coming to an end (Ford, 2013). Other costs associated with the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship include lawsuits. For instance, one of the organizers is facing a law suit, whereby he is accused of failing to purchase the remaining share of their joint sporting with one of the participants who died of cancer last year (Ford, 2013). Instead, the organizer had used the

Perioperative pratice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Perioperative pratice - Essay Example A brief account of the responsibilities of operating room personnel and their functioning has been outlined. Perioperative care of patient scheduled for surgery includes practices and procedures followed prior to, during, and immediately after the surgery. This begins with a thorough evaluation of the patient’s illness, physical and mental condition, and certain vital statistics. Vaginal wall prolapse occurs due to weakening or damage of supporting structures of the pelvic organs. Prolapse of anterior wall, also known as cystocele, occurs when the bladder protrudes into the centre of anterior wall of the vagina causing stress incontinence, urinary frequency, difficult urination, vaginal bulge, and severe pain. Prolapse of the posterior vaginal wall, known as rectocele, occurs when the rectum and bowel bulge forward (Chamberlain & Browen-Simpson; 2000). Considering the physical impairment of the patient, she has to be given appropriate comfort level throughout the perioperative care period and this can be accomplished through proper communication, and involves accurate hearing, defining, organizing, interpreting, managing exchanges with the patient, the operating room multidisciplinary team, and other hospital practitioners. At the reception, information related to identification criteria, consent, specific needs and problems, fasting status, preoperative tests and situation, personal belongings etc are recorded. After the documentation process, the patient can be transferred to the preoperative room. Specific identification protocol as designed by the hospital needs to be followed, like specific ID cards or wrist bands with identification numbers etc. other identification details can include the patient’s date of birth, room number, bed number, and physician’s name. When asking for patient name, care should be taken to identify patient with similar names with extra identification specifics such as the hospital ID number (Phillips,

Linking male underachievement with stereotypical laddish behaviour

Linking male underachievement with stereotypical laddish behaviour Much of the current research on underachieving boys in education is focused on suggesting solutions in terms of teaching methods. It is possible to criticise this approach as one can argue that in order to effectively formulate strategies aimed at helping boys who underachieve, you need to actually understand why they are underachieving. Some research suggests that the phenomenon of new laddism is just the old fashioned problem of boys behaving badly (Chaudhary, 1998). The solutions therefore do not actually focus on the cause of bad behaviour just focus on dealing with the behaviour itself. Media representations of underachieving boys are also problematic. They all too often ignore important questions and issues, such as which boys are underachieving? Delemont (1999) points out the problems with the crude portrayals that suggest boys underachievement and laddishness are synonymous; they are not. Not all laddish boys are underachievers and not all underachievers are laddish. Objective 3 of this research was addressed in detail in the previous section the literature review. Objective 1 and 2 of this research will be implemented through the collection and analysis of empirical data. This study is interested in an in-depth analysis of the year 10 and 11 boys at the researchers school, and specifically the reasons why they adopt laddish attitudes. Objective 1 will be focused on through analysis of the school staff as well, in particular looking at the process that causes certain types of behaviour to be labelled as laddish. Cohen and Manions (1996) description of a case study the researcher observing the characteristics of an individual unit sums up this piece of research neatly. Howard Becker (1970) describes one aim of case studies as the attempt to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the group under study. This researcher be attempting to gain a comprehensive understanding of boys who underachieve at Tewkesbury School. Case studies can also be used to produce typologies, or a set of categories defining types of a social phenomenon. Douglas (1967) suggested that case studies could be used to discover the different types of suicide by uncovering the different social meanings of suicide. There is a possibility that this research can produce some typologies about the different types of behaviour that causes male underachievement. The potential issue with this research strategy is that it is not possible to generalise on the basis of my findings. It is impossible to determine how far the findings of this research can be applied to underachieving boys in other schools. As Bryman (1988) suggests, one way around this would be to repeat the research in other schools looking at the same phenomenon. The issue though with attempting to repeat the research is that it is difficult to make direct comparisons of the results of studies carried out either by different people, or by the same people at different times. Historical research as a strategy is not appropriate to this topic as it is generally associated with the study of non-contemporary phenomena this research is clearly not interested in anything non-contemporary. Experimental research is also not appropriate to this topic as its very nature is at odds with what this research is attempting to do experimental research will try to objective by taking phenomena out of its natural context, this research needs to understand what is happening in a school environment. Action research was considered due to the in-depth nature of the analysis it engages in but this research is not focused on one specific problem that can be tackled this way, the researcher is interested in exploring a range of issues linked to laddish behaviour and underachievement. This research will produce qualitative data in the main. Denzin and Lincoln (1994) describe qualitative research as studying things in their natural settings, and attempting to make sense of phenomena in terms of the meanings people give to them. Some quantitative data will also be produced as well, which Myers (1997) states is often produced through survey techniques within a social setting and as such works well when used alongside qualitative methods. Orlikowski et al. (1991) say that there are three categories into which qualitative research strategies fall into, depending upon the researchers view of the world; critical, positivist and interpretivist. Whilst this researcher does believe that in terms of a critical perspective of the world, people are influenced by social and cultural circumstances, he does not believe that the main of his research should be to free people from the restraining forces that impact upon their lives. His role is simply to understand better the key aspects of laddish behaviour and underachievement. This research will also not be adopting a positivist methodology, as the researcher does not believe that human beings can be studied in the same way that the natural sciences use to study particles, gases and rocks. The French writer Auguste Compte was the first person to use the phrase positivist philosophy (Compte, 1986). He believed that scientific knowledge about society could be accumulated and used t o improve human existence so that society could be run rationally without religion or superstition getting in the way of progress. Compte believed that the scientific study of society should be confined to collecting information about phenomena that can be objectively observed and classified. He argued that researchers should not be concerned with the internal meanings, motives, feelings and emotions of individuals these states only exist in the persons consciousness so cannot be observed, and cannot be measured in any objective way. The fundamental part of positivism is its use of statistical data. Positivists believed that it was possible to classify the social world in an objective way. Using these classifications it was then possible to count sets of observable social facts and then produce statistics. You can then look for correlations between different social facts. If there is a correlation between two or more types of social phenomena, then a positivist might suspect that one of these phenomena is causing the other to take place. This can be criticised though, for example if you look working class boys underachieving in school, the correlation between those two factors is not necessarily causal. It may simply be an indirect correlation. Positivism is based upon an understanding of science that sees science as using a mainly inductive methodology. This begins by collecting the data. The data is then analysed and out of this analysis theories are developed. Once the theory has been developed it can then be tested against other sets of data to see if it is confirmed or not. If it is repeatedly confirmed then positivists like Compte assume they have discovered a law of human behaviour. Other researchers though have not accepted the inductive method. Indeed, many use an alternative, a deductive approach. This alternative methodology is supported by Karl Popper in his book The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1959). The deductive approach reverses the process of induction. It starts with a theory and tests it against the evidence, rather than developing a theory as a result of examining the data. Popper argues that scientists should start with a hypothesis; a statement that is to be tested. This statement should be very precise and should state exactly what will happen in particular circumstances. On the basis of this hypothesis it should be possible to deduce predictions about the future. Popper differs from positivists in that he denies it is ever possible to produce laws that will necessarily be found to be true for all time. He argues that however many times a theory is apparently proved correct, there is always the possibility that at some future date the theory w ill be proved wrong, or falsified. He suggests that scientists have a duty to be objective, and to test their theories as rigorously as possible. Therefore, once they have formulated hypotheses, and made predictions, it is necessary to try constantly to find evidence that disproves or falsifies their theories. Some though argue that in practice scientists operate in very different ways from those advocated by Popper or positivists. Thomas Kuhn (1962) has developed an analysis of science which sees it as being far from the objective pursuit of knowledge. He argues that science is characterised by a commitment to a scientific paradigm. A paradigm consists of a set of beliefs shared by a group of scientists about what the natural world is composed of, what counts as true and valid knowledge, and what sort of questions should be asked and what sort of procedures should be followed to answer those questions. Kuhn does not believe that the same methods and procedures are found throughout scientific history; rather, they are specific to particular sciences at particular times. Scientists may ignore evidence that does not fit their paradigm. To Kuhn, a scientific subject is one in which there is an agreed paradigm. There is no guarantee that this accepted paradigm is correct: it may well be replaced by a new paradigm in the future. If Kuhns view of science is accepted, then it is doubtful social research can be considered as scientific. There is no one accepted paradigm in social research the different perspectives all see the social world in different ways: they ask different questions and get different answers. Kuhns work has been criticised though as you can argue that it has little relevance to social science and based upon inadequate evidence. Anderson, Hughes and Sharrock (1986) believe that he has underestimated the degree to which there is conflict and disagreement in natural science. Most of the time alternative paradigms are debated. A careful examination of the history of science shows that the periods of revolution grow in size while those of settled normality contract. The approach that this researcher will be adopting as identified by Orlikowski et al. (1991) is interpretivism. This most closely matches this researchers approach to research, and as a teacher of sociology it has been refined over the past ten years of either studying or teaching the subject. The interpretivist approach suggests that qualititative data collection techniques should be used. Social action can only be understood by interpreting the meanings and motives on which it is based. Many interpretivists argue that there is little chance of discovering these meanings and motives from quantitative data. Only from qualitative data with its greater richness and depth can the sociologist hope to interpret the meanings that lie behind social action. Interpretivists reject the use of natural science methodology for the study of social action. The natural sciences deal with matter. Since matter has no consciousness, its behaviour can be explained simply as a reaction to external stimuli. People though, have consciousness they see, interpret and experience the world around them in terms of meanings. Max Weber talks about how understanding the motives behind peoples behaviour could be achieved through verstehen imagining yourself to be in the position of the person whose behaviour you were seeking to explain. Phenomenology represents the most radical departure from positivism. Phenomenologists go even further than interpretivists in that they reject the possibility of producing causal explanations of human behaviour. They do not believe that it is possible objectively to measure and classify the world. To phenomenologists, human beings make sense of the world by imposing meanings and classifications upon it. These meanings and classifications make up social reality. They believe that researchers should limit themselves to understanding the meanings and classifications which people use to give order to and make sense of the world. Studies which utilise this method concentrate almost entirely on the subjective aspects of social life which are internal to the individuals consciousness. DATA COLLECTION Convenience sampling was used to select the participants in the research project. It was convenient because the researcher works at the school involved in the study. There is nothing random about the students and staff who have been chosen and the researcher is making no claim of representativeness and generalisability to anywhere other than his school. That is not the focus of the research instead it is focused on simply gaining an in-depth understanding of the key issues involved in laddish behaviour and underachievement. This method of sampling was also used due to the fact that it is by far the easiest way to access participants. This research will use two main methods of collecting data: interviews and secondary data analysis. The main data collection technique will be semi-structured interviews. Interviews are as Yin (2003) states, able to provide insights into complex situations. And as Goldthorpe et.al (1968) found, interviewees could be prompted if they cannot decide how to answer a question. The interviews will be semi-structured because this will allow the students and staff to express their views, explain their individual circumstances and expand on any answers. The researcher though will be able to guide them towards the specific area of interest because there will always be some pre-planned questions. The key is, as Marshall and Rossman (1989) put it the participants view on the phenomena of interest should unfold as they truly view it, not as the researcher views it. The use of more than one method allows the researcher to engage in methodological pluralism. This is the idea that we should tolerate of a variety of methods in sociological research, because methods should be seen as part of the research process as a whole. (Bryman, 1998). The key advantage to the researcher is that it allows him to combine both positivist and interpretivist research methods, which allows him to benefit from triangulation, which is where the strengths of one method balance out against the weaknesses of another, and allow me to cross-examine the results. Methodological pluralism has become more and more popular in recent years amongst sociologists, although the idea itself has not escaped criticism: However, consensus over methodological pluralism is incomplete, and does not even mean that subscribing sociologists have actively sought to promote pluralism. As Bell, observed: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ individual sociologists no matter how tolerant, catholic and eclectic are v ery unlikely actually to be methodological pluralists à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ . It is the structure of sociology that became pluralist not sociologists themselves. (Bell and Roberts, 1984). Indeed, Payne et al (2004) conducted research aimed itself at measuring the extent to which methodological pluralism is used in sociological research. They concluded: Only about one in 20 of published papers in the mainstream journals uses quantitative analysis, ranging from simple cross-tabulations to multivariate techniques. This is not grounds for an argument that there should be less qualitative research, but rather that there should be more quantitative research. The site for the research will be Tewkesbury School. The research project is not intended to be an exhaustive study of laddish behaviour and underachieving boys in the local area it is specific to the researchers school and the needs and priorities of that school moving forward. The research will be focused on male students in year 10 and year 11. They have been selected for two main reasons those are the two year groups for which we have the most accurate data on who is underachieving, and improving the performance of these boys is the main priority for the school moving forward. The data on underachievement is generated by subject teachers who are judging the progress of students against their FFT (D) (Fisher Family Trust) targets. These type D targets are based upon the progress made by schools in the top 25% percentile of value-added schools nationally. Also, as Epstein et al (1998) points out it is at this age group that laddish behaviour begins to impact most heavily on educ ational performance. The staff that will be interviewed will be from a range of subject areas including English, Maths and Science. The research will analyse the different levels of underachievement and seek to identify reasons why these boys may be underachieving more in certain subject areas. Interviewing different staff allows for cross-comparisons of responses which will allow key themes to emerge. Indeed, as Holstein et al (1995) suggest, the interviewing process itself often creates new knowledge rather than just revealing data that was previously present in the interviewees heads. The following staff will be interviewed: 1 Head of Maths Faculty. 2 Head of Science Faculty. 3 Head of English Faculty. 4 Head of Humanities Faculty. 5 Head of Arts Faculty. 6 Head of Technology Faculty. All these staff have an in-depth knowledge of performance in their faculties, and have specific experience of the underachievement by students. The interviews will be recorded, where possible, for two reasons to ensure that the analysis of data is based upon an accurate record, and to allow the interviewer to concentrate on the actual interview. Secondary data in the form of school exam performance and monitoring reports will also be collected to form part of the analysis. This will allow the research to understand the scope of current performance levels. To help focus the interviews in terms of reflecting the main objectives of this research they will be structured in according to key themes, for example patterns of behaviour that are labelled as laddish, understanding of current underperformance issues, awareness of the issues involved in boys choosing to behave in a laddish manner. In terms of analysing the interviews, as Bogdan and Biklen (1982) put it; the researcher should aim to work with the data, analyse and break it down into manageable units, search for patterns and decide what is important. This summarises neatly the modern interpretive approach to qualitative data analysis and the approach that this researcher will use. LIMITATIONS AND POTENTIAL PROBLEMS There are many potential problems in any research problem, and especially when researching a topic like this project is aiming to. The key one is generalisability this research cannot be generalised to any other educational setting, as it is purely relevant to the setting that the researcher is currently employed in. This does raise a question mark over the validity of the findings, but as most interpretivists argue, including Ackroyd and Hughes (1981), the researcher is not limited to what he or she can immediately perceive or experience, but is able to cover as many dimensions and as many people as resources permit. The depth of data gathered by this research should enable the researcher to find the truth, or at least the best representation of it available, hence ensuring a good degree of validity. The reliability of unstructured interviews can also be questioned as they are artificial situations, as Bryman (1988) notes, do they really capture the daily life, conditions, opinions, values, attitudes, and knowledge base of those we study as expressed in their natural habitat? Perhaps even more problematic is the issue of the researcher maintaining objectivity when interviewing colleagues in an environment in which he works. Labovs (1973) work also points out the way that school children can respond differently when interviewed in different contexts. They often respond in a certain way when interviewed in a formal setting that is very different from how they respond in an informal setting. Any research project which has interviews as the main source of data is hampered by interviewees who exhibit bias or poor memory recall, (Winlow 2001). This researcher has attempted to deal with this by gathering data from a range of sources, i.e. the various heads of faculty, and a range of students. This allows the researcher not to be dependent on one or two respondents for key data. But one must approach this research with the knowledge that people are not robots, especially school students, and that errors are bound to creep in, in terms of bias and honest mistakes of recollection. The issue of ecological validity pointed out by Hammersley and Gomm (2004) which is that interviews are unnatural social situations and the context affects the behaviour of interviewees so much that the resulting data cannot be seen as valid, does need to be allowed for, but overall it is expected that any bias or misinformation will be minimised. The researcher himself needs to alter his mindset slightly when conducting the interviews he has to view them not as colleagues but as research subjects, and this role change needs to be communicated to staff. Linked with this role change is the need for the researcher to gain the trust of his colleagues, as they may well be nervous about expressing their views openly, and so to encourage open and honest discussion, anonymity for academic staff will be guaranteed where required. (Biggam 2008). The use of quantitative statistics to measure and understand the extent of underachievement also has its issues. Atkinson (1978) believes that they are simply the product of the meanings and taken-for-granted assumptions of those who construct them. This is particularly the case when analysing teachers perceptions of who is underachieving, so the researcher must be wary of this. As Byrne (2006) states, they are useful to most social scientists they are made out of something, not nothing, and that provided we pay careful attention to the ways in which they are made, and in particular the processes of operationalisation they can be of very considerable value to us. Finally, in terms of ethics there are a range of potential issues to take into account. The researcher will be abiding by the code of ethics as set out by the British Sociological Association and the BERA. Participants will all give voluntary informed consent, which involves the need for them to substantially understand what the research involves. This ensures that no deception of any participants is involved. This does of raise the methodological issue of ecological validity, but it is not possible for the research to remove this issue. All participants have the right of withdrawal at any point, and this right is explained to each participant at the outset of any research. This research does involved the participation of children, so appropriate consent has been gained first from the school headteacher, as gatekeeper, from the parents/guardians of any children involved, and of course from the children themselves. Brookman (1999) talks about the issue of confidentiality and its impac t upon the research, but as discussed earlier, all participants were offered full anonymity as a condition of their participation. Essentially, as Israel and Hay (2006) point out, the ultimate purpose of having research ethics is to avoid harm and do good. They comment that contemporary researchers are normally expected to minimise risks of harm or discomfort to participants. This research will strive to ensure that this is the case.

Should Scholarship Athletes Work? :: essays research papers

Should Scholarship Athletes Work? Should college athletes on full ride scholarships be able to hold a job during the school year? Well up until Monday, January 12, 1997, full scholarship athletes were forbidden to hold jobs during the school year. For the last five years this has been a very controversial issue in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, known as the NCAA. Imagine being from a poor family and going to college on a full-ride scholarship for basketball. Under the old legislation, that player is not allowed to work or receive money from the school. In turn the player cannot afford to even travel home over the holidays to be with his family. Athletes should be able to hold a job during the school year in order to get the valuable experience of working and make enough money to cover living expenses and traveling costs. Under the new legislation, which was passed at the NCAA Convention, Division I athletes on full scholarship will be allowed to earn enough money to match the full cost of attending school. Athletic scholarships typically cover room, board, books and tuition, but do not cover costs for trips home, gas, laundry and other items. The determination of how much money covers those things is made by each school's financial aid office; most administrators have estimated the costs to be between $2,000 and $3,000 a year. Athletes who choose to work, and their employers, will be required to sign an affidavit that says the athletes have not been hired on the basis of their athletic ability or status and that they will be compensated only for the work they perform at a rate commensurate with the local rate of pay for such work. Critics of the legislation that passed said it opens the door for the very problems that originally sparked the regulation, athletes being paid for menial labor, and that keeping track of how much money athletes are earning will be difficult. But according to Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, "Sure there will be bogus jobs,'' he said. "It'll open up a can of worms, but I think we have to start living with cans of worms and let the presidents, athletic directors, and board of trustees handle it.'' It makes more sense to have the schools required to enforce the new regulations involved than it does to ask the NCAA to handle it. The schools have first hand account o f all the players at their school, therefore they are in the best position to enforce the new legislation's requirements. On the job experience is essential when looking for a job after college.

Bad Teachers

The poor teaching habits of teachers shows greatly in the way students learn. It causes students to become unmotivated, drop out, and it also increases their chances of going to prison. In the documentary â€Å"Waiting for Superman† states that because of bad teachers students are more likely to fail and drop out of school. In the documentary they showed that bad teachers just sat in class and slept or did not teach but since they had tenure they could not be fired without going through paperwork and courts. The students are what suffer the most because of this.Bad teachers are the main cause of failing grades, unmotivated students, and the increase of high school dropouts in prisons. The lackadaisical mentors cause students to hate what they are learning and not want to learn. It also causes them to not go to class and start to fail. The documentary stated that careless teachers only cover fifty percent of the material while good teachers can cover three times that. In my hig h school we had a teacher who didn’t make class worth coming to. She would give notes and handouts and sit at her desk the whole class.It made it really hard for me to learn, or want to learn. I basically had to teach myself algebra because she wouldn’t. Then when the next year came along I had no idea what we were learning. My lazy teacher ruined mathematics for me. When students become unmotivated they start to fail their classes because they think they can’t learn, or they are stupid, when in reality it is the teachers fault. Failing students can become depressed or not care what happens to their future but they don’t realize that with failing grades colleges won’t accept you, and if you do get into a college you won’t know the material.Bad teachers are the cause of unmotivated students because when students don’t have fun learning they won’t want to learn. When students don’t want to learn it ruins their chances of g etting good grades in that class and also other classes. Prisons are filled with high school dropouts because they can’t get a good job without a diploma. To make extra money they may sell drugs or rob people and when they get caught they go to jail. I personally believe that if the school system was fixed there wouldn’t be as much crime because people would want to learn and go to college to make good money. The cause of all of this goes back to the teachers. Waiting for Superman† shows the statistics of high school dropouts to inmates in prison and they were very high. The school system needs revised so that students can get a better education and be able to succeed in life. Until we can do this the bad teachers will continue to ruin students’ education making them not want to learn or end up dropping out. The documentary â€Å"Waiting for Superman† was very educational of how schools cannot change due to tenure and unions. I believe that bad teac hers will never go away until they start to notice that this generation is failing because of the education we need but did not receive.

Influence Of Hip-Hop Essays - African-American Culture, Free Essays

Influence Of Hip-Hop Essays - African-American Culture, Free Essays Influence Of Hip-Hop Influence of Hip-Hop Controversy has always been a prominent characteristic of popular music throughout the twentieth century. Whether it be the controversy surrounding Elvis' swinging hips, the Doors' suggestive lyrics, or Alice Cooper's stage antics, this controversy always seems to be followed by undue criticism from the media. One form of musical expression that has been in the news recently because of its negative attention is hip-hop. Rap, a relatively new form of musical exposition, has been criticized for its so-called anti-women lyrics. Some have even said that these types of lyrics are veering toward rape music (Faludi 267). This is just simply not true. Once thought of as a passing fad, rap has been able to fabricate many facets of popular culture. Due to their raw and insouciant lyrics, many artists have met opposition by conservative groups that believe rap spreads an anti-women message. These groups argue that the lyrics in many rap songs degrade women by calling them bitches, hoes, and tricks. These words, however, do little more than sell records. It is the image that rap artists represent as a whole that the youth of America buy. Although these terms may sound degrading, these lyrics have no real influence on America's image of women. These words are just a tool of the musicians that helps give them an appearance of being Benninger 2 gangsters, pimps, or dealers. It is these types of people that represent power and control to some or a glimpse into an unknown world to others. Either way, this image is what makes money. Further proof that rap artists are selling an image and not real life is that many rap artists are happily married men with wives and children that they truly care about. Dr. Dre, one of the forefathers of hardcore rap, in an interview with MTV, readily admitted that what he sells in his music is not a life that he himself wishes to live. He, like many other rap artists, does not view women as derogatory sex objects as they are depicted in his lyrics (MTV 3). Songs such as Bitchez [sic] ain't Shit and Bridget in which women are referred to as hoes do not really represent how Dr. Dre and many other rap artists feel about women. Dre said, people buy the type of music that I make. As long as people keep buying it, I will keep making it (MTV 2). Linda Tuzynski, a mother of six and housewife, sees no problem with rap music. It's just a image. No one really thinks of their mothers, wives, girlfriends, or daughters as bitches or hoes. She says the only issue she has with rap music is young children listening to it. But, she says, as long as parents monitor what their children listen to when they are too young, it is not a problem. Society has always been able to move on and eventually accept different ways of expressing oneself, and hip-hop should be no different. Although the message may not be the best one, each musician has the right to say whatever he or she feels. Rap music has no real influence on the image America has of women. In this age of enlightenment Benninger 3 toward the images and ideas the media present, the only real image America should have of women is the image that women themselves furnish. These groups that bash rap music and tell people to avoid it because of its negative reflection on woman are missing the big picture. All musicians have a right to say whatever they want in their music, no matter how offending it might be to some people. It is protected under their constitutional rights as Americans. The bottom line is, if you do not like something, do not listen to it. Bibliography Faludi, Susan. Blame it on Feminism. Creating America 2nd Edition Ed. Joyce Moser, with Ann Watters. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999. 267. Loder, Kurt. MTV News. Internet. www.mtv.com. 2,3. Tuzynski, Linda. Personal Interview. 27 Oct. 2000.

Comparison of Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness essays

Comparison of Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness essays Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness share parallel characters, ideas and dialogues, but most important is the distinct similarity between central themes. Each deals with the primitive, animalistic qualities stifled within the modern, refined man which will emerge indefinitely in the absence of civilization. The Kurtz's from each work abandon society and become engrossed in the primitive ways of the jungle, rediscovering their basest human instincts. On a superficial level, one could compare the characters of Heart of Darkness to those of Apocalypse Now. Marlow, on his downriver journey in Africa is a parallel to Willard, on his assassination mission on the river in Vietnam. Each man is on an intrinsic journey as well as a physical one, finding spiritual enlightenment in the darkest of places. The Kurtz's are obvious parallels, not only appellatively but also behaviorally, in that they feed on their instincts and desert their learned morals. Although both men are high-ranked military prodigies, the high attained from being coveted as a god among the natives causes them to depart from their ethics. Even the most minor characters, such as Phillips and Phillips and the Russian and the photojournalist are parallel. In both works, Kurtz is seen as the rebel. He has broken off from the rest of society and rebelled from the mores that had been imposed upon him, living by his instincts. The disenfranchised can be seen as the native Africans who are treated like animals and worked to death in camps in Heart of Darkness , and the civilian Cambodians in Apocalypse Now . In both works we see a genius turn rebel, choosing to join in the lives of the disenfranchised in order to be worshipped as a deity. There are also similarities within the dialogues of the novel and the movie.I don't want to bother you much with what happened to me personally?yet to understand the effect of it on me you ought to know how I got out there, what I saw...

Discussion board Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discussion board - Assignment Example The Hounds of Baskerville do not conform to Dine’s rules concerning this rule. This is because the audience was not given the chance to solve the mysterious death of Sir Charles. In addition, Dine proposes that the writer must not play tricks on the readers. Criminals, however, can trick detectives. With respect to this rule, Doyle conforms as he got Jack tricking Holmes until the last minutes. Dine also purports that detective stories should not have romance. Doyle breaks this rule by introducing Beryl to Sir Henry’s life. Their affairs occur despite Beryl being Jack’s wife. Failure to conform to this rule strengthens the story since Beryl later on warns Henry of Jacks intentions. The criminal in Hounds of Baskerville was discovered by logic deduction as opposed to accidental or coincidental circumstances. Doyle also conformed to other Dine rules including lack of supernatural solutions, presence of only one detective who must solve the crime. In addition, the c rime must be murder, and the murderer must be familiar to readers. Doyle’s concentration on plot and development of only Sherlock and Watsons’s characters is a strategy that complies with Dine’s twenty detective story rules. This bias functions to eliminate deviations from the story. Doyle provides character description that is efficient for readers’

Change Management Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Change Management Plan - Research Paper Example In 1987, the management of Samsung separated it into four major business groups, namely; the Hansol group, the CJ group, Shinsegae group, and the Samsung group. Ever the periods of 1990s, Samsung has increasingly diversified its business operations, particularly in the electronics sector (Bernstein Black Book, 2012). Samsung is one of the leading manufacturers of cell phones that operate under the brand name of Samsung. Samsung does not only produce cell phones, it also produces other electronics such as lap tops, and television sets. By 2012, Samsung was the leading information technology in the world, in terms of its revenues (Bernstein Black Book, 2012). In terms of the market, Samsung electronics is the fourth largest company, in terms of the market that the company controls. For Samsung to be one of the leading businesses in the electronics market, it has a policy of always taking care of the needs and interests of its employees. By doing this, Samsung believes that its employee s will be motivated to act in a manner that is beneficial to the company under consideration. For example, Samsung has a policy of always training its members of staff, on the various skills needed to carry out their duties (Bernstein Black Book, 2012). ... Samsung designed this system to analyze and monitor the performance and the capability of its employees in meeting the objectives of the company. It also analyzes the possibilities of growth for the employee under consideration. On this basis, this evaluation system is designed to gather data on the capabilities of an employee. However, in my own opinion, this evaluation system has a number of flaws, which the company needs to change, for purposes of improving the work performance of its various employees. For example, this evaluation system only takes place once in a year. This is very unacceptable, and it is because there is always a need to evaluate an employee on a constant basis (Mejia and Blankin, 2012). That is either weekly or monthly as this will motivate them in working hard and hence meeting the objectives of the company. Another flaw in this evaluation system is that it is the supervisors who are engaged in the evaluation process of an employee or their juniors. In my own opinion, this is unacceptable, and it is because senior employees might provide biased reports concerning a particular employee. To change on this, the management needs to develop an evaluation system that will incorporate all the employees in evaluating one another. For example, if the organization allows the colleagues of an employee to evaluate him, then they might provide some necessary information which might be useful to the organization in determining the capability of an employee. Bias is avoided by using this method, since managers will judge on the consistency of information presented the supervisor of an employee, the employee himself, and his colleagues at the work place. On this basis, the evaluation report will be reliable