Monday, September 30, 2019
Decline in Communal Living in the Pacific
Abstract This essay will discuss the major reasons for the decline in communal living in the Pacific. Firstly the essay examines issues in regards to social change which are migration and conflict of interest. Secondly, the essay will discuss concerns from an economic standpoint where education and employment are considered. Thirdly, the essay will look at cultural issues in regards to Westernization and cultural identity. The essay concludes that the Pacific people need to realise in order for communal life to stay alive, these issues must be dealt with.Countries in the Pacific have their own unique way of living. Communal living is seen to be the traditional way of life in the Pacific. People are bound together by their culture and tradition. Therefore, this way of life is slowly declining and being forgotten due to many major reasons. Some of these major reasons for the decline in communal life within the Pacific are likely due to issues such as social change, economic and culture . Firstly one of the issues for the decline in communal living in the Pacific is social change.Migration is an issue related to social change, people looking for a diverse lifestyle elsewhere plays a major role in the decline in communal life in the Pacific. People want to experience a different way of life from the traditional communal way of living (Stahl & Appleyard, 2007). For example, Cook Islanders that still reside in a communal way of living, everything from chores to eating and entertainment are done together with the other members of the family or community, but many are pulling away from this way of life because they prefer to do things on their own..Also, to consider is the migration of people from a different culture and tradition into the pacific, who will have an influence on the Pacific islanders who may turn away from the communal lifestyle. An example of this would be foreign workers migrating into the country and bringing with them their way of life from their cou ntry as well as their culture in which young people could be influenced by this new lifestyle. Therefore, migration is a major factor in the decline of communal life in the Pacific.Another point to consider is conflict of interest within the family in regards to land or religious beliefs. Land issues have been a contributing issue to many disputes within the family. Members of the family fighting over the same piece of land have caused hatred and disarray amongst family members. For instance, in Rarotonga when a person is given a piece of land to occupy and build a dwelling, they must go to court to obtain an occupation right. Once the occupation right is granted the occupier has seven years to build their dwelling.Should they fail to erect a building within the timeline set a member of the family have the right to request that the occupation right be cancelled and a new occupation right be given to another family member. Also in relation to conflict of interest are religious belief s. Families and communities can be set apart because of the difference in religion. For example, Sabbath for a Seventh Day Adventist believer is observed on a Saturday, therefore this is a day of rest and their day at Church, where as Sabbath for the Catholic religion is observed on Sunday.Therefore, issues of land and religious beliefs are a large influence in the decline of communal living. Secondly another issue of importance in regards to the decline of communal living in the Pacific is economic concerns. Education can be seen as a contributing factor to the change in communal living in the Pacific. There are opportunities offered in education, and as people study towards a higher level of education, they have had to move to countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, and America.When they have completed their studies many people take up employment, whether it is within the township or overseas (Veramu, 2000). Therefore, education and employment contribute to the decline in communal living in the Pacific. Furthermore, employment opportunities are also an economic concern in relation to the decline in the communal lifestyle. The development of towns and cities bring about employment opportunities so therefore, a better pay packet and a new lifestyle encourage people to leave the traditional way of life and migrate to â€Å"greener pastures†overseas.An example of this would be, in the Cook Islands the minimum hourly wage is be $5. 00 NZD per hour as a cleaner, compared to $13. 85 NZD per hour working as a cleaner in NZ (Clarke, 2013). Thus, employment is an issue in regards to the loss of this way of living in the Pacific. Thirdly, cultural values are also an issue in respect to the decline of communal life in the Pacific. A related aspect to culture issues is Westernization in which many Pacific Islanders have adopted the lifestyle and culture of western countries.For instance, in the Cook Islands if there was a marriage ceremony in a village, e veryone in the village would come together and prepare food, and decorate the building where the wedding ceremony would take place as well as the reception, it was an open invitation and everyone in the village(s) would come to celebrate. This no longer occurs as the influence from the west has changed the way people think. Therefore, western culture influence is also responsible for the decline in communal life in the Pacific.Moreover, in relation to culture issues is the loss of cultural identity which many people are experiencing today, therefore this is a concern in the communal decline of life in the Pacific. In the past every person knew how to speak the language of their country, also knowing the protocols of their villages, and genealogy; the majority of people today have forgotten or have not been taught by their parents. For example, from the age a child is able to understand and communicate with people, they are taught by their parents, as well as people in the village ab out life and other experiences.Thus, the cultural loss in one’s identity is a reason for the decline in Pacific communal life. To conclude, it is essential to be aware of the major reasons for the decline in communal life in the Pacific in relation to social impacts, economical concerns and cultural values. The Pacific people must realise that communal life is declining and it is threatening the traditions and culture of the Pacific. Traditional values and issues should be considered more to re-strengthened communal life in the Pacific. Communal life will die out if the issues are not examined and considered by the people in all the Pacific countries as a whole.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation Pattern Essay
It is ironic that Kapil Sibal declared at 125th Birth Anniversary celebrations of great Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan that exam-centric education system would have to go. One wonders what Ramanujan himself would say – â€Å"Mr. Minister, even I am a product of exam centric education system†? Kapil Sibal says he would like to replace the current system with a child-centric one. Now that is a very interesting term. So how does the minister define the term? Expressing his determination to do away with rote learning and the â€Å"archaic†examination-oriented system, he said: â€Å"We are endeavouring to reform this with emphasis on skill development and unlocking the creative talent within the child. †The Ministry’s decision to do away with examinations at the end of the year, replacing them with a Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation (CCE) system in a bid to de-stress children, was a step in that direction. [Link] Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation has its benefits. It has to be, however, said that CCE will not de-stress the children all by itself. Students are under stress due to the range of competition. Imagine a candidate appearing for IIT JEE during +2. He faces at least 7 lakh others across the country. Imagine what goes on in the family, forget the candidate! Every IIT graduate has a story to tell as to how many sacrifices the complete family makes for success at the exam! CCE has its benefits and can de-stress the students but in an autonomous organization with tight controls within the organization. For example, some engineering colleges at graduate level and almost all of them at post-graudate level use it to the maximum benefit of both students and professors. The system is a success at these places because of the autonomy. JNTU implemented CCE in engineering colleges affiliated to it. It had limited impact and yet, it couldn’t do away with the final exam. The final exam had to cover 80% of the total score. CCE makes sense when the number of institutions involved is less. Another important factor that influences the impact of CCE is the physical proximity of affiliated institutions. Otherwise fraud and cheating would happen as the case is with JNTU’s example. Understanding the issue JNTU faced several issues with implementing CCE is more than 100 colleges in AP affiliated to it at the time of introduction of the system. They started with 80% external evaluation in the form of final comprehensive exam and 20% internal evaluation across the semester via 5 exams conducted by the instructor. Due to lack of feedback mechanism between students and the governing body – JNTU, the system led to several problems. There were cases of cheating and fraud. JNTU wanted to solve this problem by making internal evaluation â€Å"not so internal†through online objective evaluation. For this, an internal evaluation question bank was created through suggestions from all its professors, assistant professors, associate professors across the affiliated institutes. The online evaluation software would throw random questions on the screen to be answered in stipulated amount of time. This system again failed at several institutions due to infrastructure issues but the major problem was again cheating and fraud. The issue is quite clear – large educational bodies with centralized governing body cannot use CCE effectively. Effective use of CCE can happen with decentralized model. JNTU understood this and divided colleges between JNTU Hyderabad, JNTU Kakinada and JNTU Ananthapur. The division was purely based on physical proximity of the institute to the governing body. This system still faces the issues that it had initially. It will continue to face them. Take another example. IITs. For evaluating graduate students, IITs dont have a common examination across all the IITs! Even BITS Pilani which has its campuses in Pilani, Dubai, Goa and Hyderabad doesnt use CCE across all four via a common evaluation body. Closed loop within each campus is used. In fact in all these institutes, swift justice in case of any fraud/cheating via committees within the institutes ensures better evaluation, without hindering the process of education. The key phrase – â€Å"checks and balances†. One then wonders why such a tight loop cannot be framed within the schools or a set of schools within close physical proximity! What is happening now? In our current system of school education, we have CBSE at national level and as competing bodies we have State Education Boards. Schools are allowed to choose one of the bodies. The chosen body not just dictates syllabi but also evaluates students in a final examination with a common exam held on a common date at all affiliated schools. So by design CCE is missing. Private schools, so far bridged this gap by having internal evaluation which does not affect scoring at final exam but will only help students to be ready for the final evaluation. Government schools on the other hand, have been busy serving meals at noon to children rather than conducting classes regularly. All government education bodies across India have a common goal – syllabus. Core of the problem lies in this – skill development has never been the area of interest of these bodies. Skill development was and still is the school’s responsibility to compete with other schools. Students who make it top notch institutes across India via JEE, AIEEE, BITSAT etc. , generally have a set of skills in some area or the other. But it has to be understood that they do not make it there due to those skills. They acquire those skills at school, due to their own enthusiasm and sometimes due to the school’s stress on extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. Fortunately or unfortunately, skill development is not due to the governing body. Some exceptions do exist in places like Kerala though! In terms of the system of education, both geography and demography have a huge role to play. Before CCE Implementation†¦. Sibal’s megalomania and grandiose plans lack substance just because of one of his very fundamental assertion – centralization. For a country of the size of India, with such a large population, centralization of education is a disaster to start with. Decentralizing and allowing that little freedom to schools would be a very important step. Such a decentralization process must be addressed before CCE can be implemented. If we are supposed to get anything useful from implementation of CCE, what Governments at class X, +1, +2 level in Government Schools needs to Allow more freedom to schools to collaborate and spool resources – they are already in severe resource crunch. Leaving out examinations completely would be a recipe for disaster. As it is, drop out rates in Class X, +1, +2 across states like AP is too high. Any hasty introduction of CCE without first correcting some fundamental flaws in organizing schools would only bring about faster drop out rates at these levels. CCE is already available in an abstract way in private schools. Several aided and government schools tried to emulate it to see marginal success. But the issue remains. CCE it self will not reduce stress on students. In conclusion, CCE would make sense only with a proper mechanism to address drop-out rates at class X, +1, +2 levels across government schools in India. Acts proposed by Sibal like RTE only make it worse as they attack Private schools which have a decent CCE model already in place. Bottom line – leave private institutions alone. If possible allow them a % share of total evaluation points/score. Don’t scrap examinations, even if you introduce grading. Meanwhile, ensure Government and Aided school improve standards w. r. t infrastructure and faculty. Form conglomerates of schools within a certain radius and allow them to frame, organize and evaluate their students through proper resource spooling.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Breakeven Point of Sales for Accounting
IN UNITS=         TOTAL FIXED COST                 (Bazley, Hancock & Robinson, 2014).                       CONTRIBUTION PER UNIT IN DOLLARS=    TOTAL FIXED COST                (Cafferky, 2010).                                 P/V RATIO Variable Manufacturing Cost Per Unit Proportionate Contribution Per Unit Weighted average contribution per unit P/V Ratio (Contribution Per Unit/Selling Price Per Unit)  Breakeven sales (units) = IN UNITS=        TOTAL FIXED COST                                                                   CONTRIBUTION PER UNIT                                                                        = $270,000                                                                              $10.15                                                                                                                                              = 26601 units  Now 26601 units have been divided in the proportion of 1:1:3 (as determined above) between the products viz. Squid, Proud Stash and Private zoo. Squid            =26601  x 1  = 5320 units Proud Stash = 26601  x 1 = 5320 units Private Zoo = 26601   x 3  =15961 units Breakeven sales (units) = IN DOLLARS=   TOTAL FIXED COST                                                                                                P/V RATIO                                                                   = $270,000                                                                         11.01%                                                                   = $ 2452202 (difference in the sales amount because of rounding off the percentage of P/V ratio to 11.01%) Now sales of $245220 has been divided into the proportion of 1:1:3 (as determined above) between the products viz. Squid, Proud Stash and Private zoo. Squid            = $2452202  x 1  = $490440 Proud Stash = $2452202  x 1  = $490440                                  5 Private Zoo = $2452202  x 3  = $1471321                                  5 Weighted average p/v ratio=  (18.75%x 0.2*)  +  (14.10%x 0.2)  +   (7.40%x 0.6 # )  =11.01% (The percentage figure has been rounded off and due to this reason there could be slight variation in the amount of breakeven sales figure.)#0.2 = 1/5 Weighted average contribution per unit= (12x 0.2)    +   (11x 0.2)    +    (9.25x 0.6)                                                                        = $10.15 Cafferky, M., 2010. Breakeven Analysis: The definitive guide to cost-volume-profit analysis. Business Expert Press.
Friday, September 27, 2019
History of American Cities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
History of American Cities - Essay Example The influx of the foreigners in relatively large numbers have produced a multicultural environment that is responsible for the rapidly changing socio-political scenario of the cities. The existing society and the social setup has accommodated the growing numbers of new inhabitants by not only creating new jobs but new suburbs and slums thus embarking on a new road that defines the inhabitants by the location and locations could reliably affirm the inhabitants’ race and culture. Historians and social scientists, through the years, have conducted studies to this effect and have come to some amazing results backed by research asserting that cities and suburbs are divided into specific locations that are characterized by the people who may be represented by their race, economic status or by their creative differences. The cosmopolitan flavor of New York is distinguished by the colonies named after the different nationals inhabiting them, like Chinese colony, German colony, Span ish or Jewish colony. ‘Even the Arab, who peddles ‘holy earth’ from the battery as a direct importation from Jerusalem, has his exclusive preserves at the lower end of Washington Street’ (Riis). In the mid nineteenth century, the author Riis studied the immigrant population, living in tenements, in the lower New York and observed that the tenements developed according to the immigrants, well defined by their race and cultural background. The Italians, for example, had largely come to America in search of work and this was carried out by the fellow Italians who facilitated their immigration and later exploited them for their own vested interests.Â
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Politics - Essay Example International trade is a common policy of an open economy. This might come in goods and services trade or in shipping of capital to and from the country. International trade is one of the highly talked about macroeconomic policies of the governments in the world. Almost all the capitalist countries open their goods and services to trade especially with the creation of the international agencies such as World Trade Organization and the World Bank. Opening the country to the rest of the world also means having an ally in the form of aids in case of calamities or wars. Trade talks can be bilateral or multilateral. At the present, the vast of its international relation of Africa is through foreign aid. The continent has opened its door to foreign aids especially after its independence from Europe. â€Å"Overseas development aid has played a much greater role in Africa than in any other part of the world†(Mkandawire). This paper wishes to trace if the existence of a trade deficit (having higher imports than exports) influenced the conduct of macroeconomic policies in African countries such as Tanzania. If so, in what ways has the deficit influenced macroeconomic policies? â€Å"In the broadest sense, macroeconomic policy is directly concerned with the aims of growth, distribution and sustainability that have been recognised as overriding national objectives†(National Development Strategy). â€Å"It is a tool for changing the economic positions of countries in the wordl economy†(Wuyts). International trade is one of the most important macroeconomic decision of a country as it affects its exchange rate, the interest rate and other aspects of the economy. TheAfrican economies was tagged as â€Å"uncommonly open†because of a high ratio of trade relative to the Gross Domestic Product (Wuyts). In the year 2000, this number reached to more than 60% of the GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa. An important study then is to
A topic from your personal knowledge and experience Essay
A topic from your personal knowledge and experience - Essay Example In other words, how their lives affects others. My philosophy of life involves this premise. In a world that is beautiful, exciting and mysterious yet can be brutally unfair, who I am is determined by how my life, my words and actions affect the world and the people in it. This is all I can really control, the person I choose to be. The person that some one chooses to be depends on an almost infinite number of factors including how and where they were raised, environmental influences, choices regarding philosophical thought and, in part, genetic predispositions. However, since the dawn of the internet, people from every part of the world have realized that they can indeed think very much alike those that have had very different life experiences. This proves, I suppose, that where you start does not indicate where you will end up, philosophically speaking. Some do not look at life and the world in the same way as their parents, friends or ethnic group see it, yet some do. It is for higher minds to ponder the reasons for why a person believes what they do but one thing is certain, the path there is very complex and unique to every individual. The roots of my philosophy towards life begin with the Bible yet I do not consider my self Christian, far from it. As a youth, I found the words of Christ simple, to the point and ultimately a path to inner contentment. A life philosophy, I have found, is an evolving viewpoint based on what we learn as we travel through the roller coaster that is life. The Bible gave me the foundation of what I have built upon since my youth. Other philosophies, whether from religions or various ‘wise men,’ that I have read do not contradict, in fact they support the tenets from the book I began with. All books of philosophical content are written as a guideline to happiness. Isn’t an individual’s
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Crime Mapping Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words
Crime Mapping - Research Proposal Example Examination of the disturbance data table confirms occurrence within broken windows the same as the system of entry, signifying that possibly residences are being beleaguered. This implies geographic patterns ought to follow regions of higher family density, moreover temporal patterns are supposed to follow day by day as well as weekly practices. This will be analyzed inside this analysis. Thematic Choropleth The disturbance data is plotted by means of a thematic choropleth so as to overcome the drawbacks of simple point plots. Derived from the prevalent system of entry which is broken windows, we suppose disturbance crime is powerfully associated with building density for this reason we choose to control the crime data through dividing by number of households instead of dividing by tract area. During this matter we have regulated the ranges to emphasize a smaller number of precedence tracts which are able to then turn out to be the focus of our successive analysis. Our plan is to discover opportunities for a besieged policing effort which lessen crime considerably. So, we regulated the ranges so that fewer than 6 tracts stay in the top grouping. The resulting plot is illustrated in Figure 3. Related Geographic Data and Spatial Relationships When the streets layer plus the disturbance crimes are added to the choropleth plot, it in the end indicates the spatial association between crime events plus the urban landscape. Figure 4 illustrates apparent concentrations in the region of definite streets and intersections plus the very remarkable observation that the Inner Loop Road appears to bound high concentration of crime. Grid Map On the other hand, bearing in mind the drawbacks of simple plot charts to demonstrate crime concentrations we will include a grid... The day-of-week chronological analysis confirms predominance in crime for the duration of the week as measured up to during the weekend, significance that targets possibly residential relatively than commercial. This deduction is held up by the hour-of-day examination even though conceivably the trends are not predominantly strong. Perchance not astonishingly a peak is observed on Friday, but fascinatingly another peak comes about on Tuesday. The results shows disturbances tend to raise after 7am that is when individuals have left for work, next they portray an abrupt drop at lunch time, then a sturdy peak mid- daylight that is the time when school comes to an end, and one more strong peak at 8pm that is the time when individuals go out, in addition to a principally strong peak past midnight. This last midnight peak may possibly be the consequence of reporting curbs. The data is anchored in timeframe furthermore it might be that during midnight is the moment that is selected when def inite time is unknown.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Logistics and Webiste Hosting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Logistics and Webiste Hosting - Essay Example For a novice entrepreneur, venturing into the corporate world, this not only amounts to added burden, but is also far more time-consuming. Both of these factors contribute negatively to the potential survival and subsequent growth of the business in the future. As an entrepreneur I need to be looking for ways to minimize cost and maximize efficiency, and hosting my own website is at the opposing end of this. With a business venture in its embryonic stages, it is not wise to be investing any unnecessary time or money when cheaper and effective alternatives are readily available. I know from experience that using a web-hosting website is convenient and cost-effective. 1and1.com is one of the many available service providers. All I had to do was sign up and register my unique domain name like logisticspartner.net, and now my website will be hosted by their server at modest charges. They also provide the opportunity to buy all similar domain names for example logisticspartner.org or logisticspartner.co to ensure the originality of my brand name. The only effort I needed to make was to verify the authenticity of the service provider, and to look for technical services compatible with my business type. A logistics business should not expect any extraordinarily heavy traffic therefore a service with a reasonable bandwidth and storage capacity should work just fine (Top10bestwebsitehosting.com, 2014). To top it all off, web-hosting websites provide customer assistance as well. Thus, as a business owner who is not very well equipped with technical expertise, I woul d prefer to use a web-hosting service instead of hosting my own website. Top10bestwebsitehosting.com. (2014). The top 10 web hosting companies of 2014. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.top10bestwebsitehosting.com/index.php?kw=web%20hosting&c=37398489468&t=search&p=&m=e&adpos=1t1&a=2710&gclid=CIDEtKK3nbwCFUVa3goduz0A6g
Monday, September 23, 2019
The Anti-imperialist League Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
The Anti-imperialist League - Essay Example Thesis Paragraph The Anti-Imperialist League was an essentially American organization that came into existence on June 15, 1898.1 The organization stood for varied fundamental principles enshrined in the American Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and imminent in the American way of life. The Anti-Imperialist League opposed the annexation of Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico or any other nation by the United States of America.2 It opposed any form of expansionist policy on the part of United States, as its members believed it to be contrary to the fundamental ethos of republicanism. The Anti-Imperialist League had no aversion to the expansion of Unite States in the areas of trade, business, political ideas, culture, religion and humanitarian efforts. However, they challenged any politically expansionist designs on the part of the United States, as they intended to deprive the inhabitants of the annexed nations of their inalienable right of self determination and self gove rnment.3 The Anti-Imperialist League drew inspiration from the ideas given by the cherished patriarchs of the past like the founding fathers, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.4 Though, a majority of the Americans supported the annexation of Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico, the Ant-Imperialist League was a beacon of hope in the troubled times that stood against any imperialist or colonial policy on the part of the united States. The principles of the League were inherently just and in consonance with the democratic principle of the right of the rulers to govern the ruled only by their consent. Its members considered the idea of subjugation of other nations by the United States as being a criminal act that violated the very spirit of American democracy.5 Though in minority, the League was ethically and morally, certainly on the right track. The Anti-Imperialist extended varied reasons to denounce the expansionist designs of the United States. One was the unnecessary and futile sacrifice of the American soldiers and sailors in the military campaigns undertaken to gain control over the foreign lands.6 It denounced the slaughter of Philippines’ natives by the American army and navy as being horrible and compared the United States’ expansionist designs to be like those of the colonial Spaniards.7 The other important weapon in the hands of the Anti-Imperialist League was the ethical and moral superiority of its cause before the coercive nature of the American expansionist designs in Philippines. Its members declared that the imperial nature of the American expansionist doctrine was not in accordance with the basic American spirit of liberty and freedom. It amounted to the suppression of the weak by the strong and powerful. It warned the United States from conforming to the ancient legacy of the supremacy of might over the right and urged it to return back to the Philippines the sovereignty and independence that it justly deserved.8 The Anti-Imper ialist League also drew the public attention towards the possibility of a complete success of the international imperialist forces, going by the fact that the only viable and capable, moral, ethical and military opposition that is the United States of America was willing to comply with and follow their doctrine of annexation and control by force.9 This attitude on the part of th
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Deciduous and Temperate Evergreen Forest Essay Example for Free
Deciduous and Temperate Evergreen Forest Essay Tropical evergreen forest Tropical forests are characterized by the greatest diversity of species. They occur near the equator, within the area bounded by latitudes 23. 5 degrees N and 23. 5 degrees S. One of the major characteristics of tropical forests is their distinct seasonality: winter is absent, and only two seasons are present (rainy and dry). An evergreen forest is a forest consisting entirely or mainly of evergreen trees that retain green foliage all year round. Such forests reign the tropics primarily as broadleaf evergreens, and in temperate and boreal latitudes primarily asconiferous evergreens Tropical deciduous forest Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off, and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose theirleaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe. In a more general sense, deciduous means the dropping of a part that is no longer needed, or falling away after its purpose is finished. In plants it is the result of natural processes. Deciduous has a similar meaning when referring to animal parts, such as deciduous antlers in deer,[1] ordeciduous teeth, also known as baby teeth, in some mammals (including human children). Temperate deciduous forests Temperate deciduous forests or temperate broad-leaf forests are dominated by trees that lose their leaves each year. They are found in areas where warm moist summers alternate with mild winters. Mediterranean vegetation Mediterranean vegetation, any scrubby, dense vegetation composed of broad-leaved evergreen shrubs, bushes, and small trees usually less than 2. 5 m (about 8 feet) tall and growing in regions lying between 30 ° and 40 ° north and south latitudes. These regions have a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean area, which is characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Around the Mediterranean Sea this vegetation is called macchie, maquis, or garigue; it is known as chaparral in southwestern North America, as Cape flora in southern Africa, and as mallee in southwestern Australia.
Friday, September 20, 2019
Rationale For Choosing Communication And Therapeutic Engagement Nursing Essay
Rationale For Choosing Communication And Therapeutic Engagement Nursing Essay My ward is a Patient Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of a forensic setting. It has thirteen in-patients and a staff strength of twenty three nurses both qualified and unqualified. Agency staff are frequently engaged to make up the number of staff necessary to care for patients on a particular shift. On the average there are between seven and eleven nursing staff per shift depending on the prevailing situation on the ward. It has two supervised confinements and two intensive care areas. Admissions are planned and it is based on a set of assessment criteria. Only acutely unwell patients are admitted. This essay will draw on my first working experience as a primary nurse of an acutely unwell psychiatric patient to illustrate my development with regards to communication and therapeutic engagement. Gibbs (1988) reflective cycle will be used to reflect this experience. Description I had just started work as a newly employed member of staff and was assigned primary nurse to a thirty year old patient of Afro-Caribbean origin who was transferred from another ward following a relapse in his mental state. He was under section 3 of the Mental Health Act (1983). This patient is named A for confidentiality purposes (NMC, 2008) had diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and had no insight into his mental illness. His carer was his mother with whom he had a luke warm relationship. He was very suspicious of staff interventions and would not engage. Routine blood tests had revealed that he had elevated createnine kinase (CK) levels (Cretenine Kinase enzyme, high levels of which case severe muscle damage, neuropletic malignant syndrome, myocardial infarction etc). Following this finding, his antipsychotic medication was withdrawn pending further blood tests. He refused to have a blood sample taken for further tests, he believed staff would drink his blood. As his primary nurs e, I made several attempts to encourage him to have the blood tests, but he would not be persuaded. He was also diagnosed with type II diabetes and was dependent of insulin. He self managed his physical illness by carrying out blood glucose level monitoring and self administering insulin under staff supervision. Patient A fed only on pre-packed barbeque chicken purchased from the supermarket and would not eat food served on the ward. I had one to one engagement with him to discuss his dietary intake and also formulate a physical and mental healthcare plan. He was not interested and made no contributions to the discussions. I gave him copies of the care plans which he declined. He said you can keep those care plans I dont need them and I am able to take care of myself. By the end of the second week, his mental state had deteriorated so much that he was very paranoid, irritable and getting into arguments with fellow patients and staff. He was involved in incidents both verbal and physical aggression and became increasingly difficult to manage on the ward. For his safety and that of others the team made a decision to nurse Mr. A in supervised confinement based on rationalist -analytical approach, having carried out risk assessment and looked at his history as well as the trust policy. As part of this risk management plan he was transferred to the intensive care area (ICA) and nursed under enhanced observation by two nursing staff. I requested to be allocated to nurse him in the ICA as often as the trust and unity policy old allow, so as to assess his mental state and attempt to build a rapport with him. Mr. A would not talk but I persisted. He noticed that I was frequently allocated to observe him and gradually opened up. I explained to him the teams decision to nurse him in the supervised confinement and the ICA. We talked about politics, football, music etc and our relationship developed and continued till he was transferred to a rehabilitation ward. Feelings I felt very frustrated and inadequate and was very much under stress. It was obvious from his reaction that he had no confidence or trust in me and saw me just like any other healthcare professional. Woods (2004) highlights the complex problems and needs of patients who find themselves in forensic settings and maintain that it is a common occurrence that some patients can not engage in treatment while others simply refuse to do so. Arnold and Underman-Boggs (1999) maintain that any meaningful relationship begins with trust. Trusting a nurse is particularly difficult for the mentally ill, for whom the idea of having a caring relationship is incomprehensible. As his primary nurse I saw myself as the advocate ready to work with him and seek his interest at all times. As nurses, we are called upon to play our roles as advocates, supervising and protecting clients rights and empowering them to take charge of their lives. Ironbar and Hooper (2003) stresses that therapeutic relationships ca n be stressful. Working closely with people who are mentally unwell and under stress can be very demanding and emotionally draining experience. Consequently, nurses need to be aware of the effect that such relationships can have on them. This requires insight, self awareness and ability to cope effectively with stress. My initial perception was that Mr A was a difficult patient and considered withdrawing as his primary nurse but I felt emotionally attached. I understood that I owed Mr A a duty of care (NMC, 2008) and simply withdrawing was not professional in my view. OCarrol et al (2007) contended that in our professional roles, nurses do not have the same option as we do in our personal life by withdrawing from difficult relationships. Rather it requires exploring the situation which may help recognise ways in which the nurse is influenced by his emotions. The authors caution that nurses must learn to manage their own emotions. Furthermore, they need to communicate their emotional reactions to the patient, albeit in a modified form. I empathised with Mr A and it drew me closer to him, revealing to me the depth of hi mental illness. I wished I could doe something here and now to help alleviate the state f confusion, anxiety and helplessness in which he found himself. Barker (2003) reports of how in recent times empathy has been shown to enable nurses to investigate and understand the experience of persons experiencing a state of chaos as a consequence of psychiatric order. I felt uncomfortable when Mr A had to be physically restrained (PSTS techniques) and nursed in supervisory confinement, I felt that this procedure was not justifiable because the privacy, dignity and respect of this client had been compromised. As nurses we are to demonstrate respect for patients by promoting their privacy and dignity (NMC, 2008) (Essence of Care, 2003). On the other hand, I thought that his safety and that f others was paramount and this could be achieved only by nursing h im separately from the rest. The NMC (2008: para 8:4) Code of Professional Conduct clearly states that when facing a professional dilemma, the first consideration must be the safety of patients. The collaborative team decision to nurse him in the supervised confinement area made me feel valued as a team member. I was actively involved in the decision making process and carried out risk assessments. I felt that I was insensitive with my sustained persistence to get him to talk. I should have understood that his moments of silence were necessary to help him calm down (SLAM, 2008). I also felt unsupported and struggled to cope with the management and care of Mr A. I was unable to access clinical supervision because my supervisor was away on holiday. Evaluation Although it seemed difficult at the beginning, but by the time Mr A was out of the ICA we had developed a good working relationship. I did not show my disappointment at his reluctance to engage when he was acutely unwell and stayed positive. Engaging with him while nursing him in the ICA offered me the opportunity to explain to him the teams decision to place him under enhanced observation. Actively listening to him and discussing with him his thoughts and feelings have helped lessen his distress. It also enabled me to give a comprehensive feedback to the team regarding his mental state. We met in one to one engagements and discussed his concerns and needs. A good and well ventilated environment was always made for our meetings. Following assessments, we discussed his care plans, participation in group activities, crisis management and other forms of therapies. He felt very much in charge, highlighting his most pressing needs. Whenever we met, there as a demonstration of mutual respect and desire for working together in a partnership. Together we identified and prioritised his goals for recovery based on his strengths and what he believes is achievable. Faulkner (1998) asserts that goals must be clearly defined so that both the professional and the patient are going in the same direction in terms of what they wish to achieve by a certain time. During or interactions clear boundaries were set and clarified for Mr A what were acceptable behaviours. Boundaries were set as to what he was allowed to do without supervision, how he engaged with others and appropriate ways o f addressing issues he felt unhappy or uncomfortable with. The plan of care was therefore service-user centred and recovery orientated approach. The recovery model has been incorporated into the principles of care delivery in the trust (SLAM, 2007). It aims to help service-users to move beyond mere survival and existence, encouraging them to move forward and carry out activities and develop relationships that give their lives meanings. Wood (2004) indicated that nursing forensic patients is not easy and requires complex treatment plans that focus fundamentally on reducing risk of harm to others. As part of his recovery, he was encouraged to self manage his diabetes under supervision. Giving his understanding of his physical illness information was provided to enable him to make informed decisions about his lifestyle. Mr A consented to giving regular blood samples. His CK level fell to normal levels and was restarted on anti psychotic medication. However, it took time for Mr A to adequately understand the situation that he was in and the effect of his illness on his lifestyles. It must also be stated that it was not always possible to meet with Mr A as planned. Scheduled meetings had to be cancelled due to being engaged with very pressing ward issues. Analysis The use of therapeutic communications in nursing, particularly empathy, is what enables therapeutic change and should not be underestimated (Norman and Ryrie, 2004). Egan (2002) argues that empathy is not just the ability to enter into and understand the world of another person but also be able to communicate this understanding to him/her. The relevance of empathetic relationships to the goals of health services are suggested by the increase in focus on patient centred care and the growth of consumerism. The client-centred focus is illustrated by the NHS patient charter which emphasises that clinicians need to collaborate with users of the health services in the prioritising of clinical needs and the setting of treatment goals (Barker, 2003). Nurses should be aware that patients who are paranoid and suspicious of staff interventions as was the case of Mr A, might not readily accept support from staff. This implies that working with such patients can be very challenging and difficult. It therefore calls for the nurse to remain impatient, calm and focused. The need to build therapeutic relationship with the patient is paramount in gaining trust and respect (Rigby and Alexander, 2008). Caring, empathy and good communication skills are needed to help patients through their illness. Therefore the use of effective interpersonal skill s facilitates the development of a positive nurse-patient relationship. McCabe (2004) argues that the use of effective interpersonal skills, a basic component of nursing, must be patient centred. Nursing Mr A in supervised confinement and subsequently in the ICA was in accordance to SLAM (2008) Engagement and Formal Observation Policy. Despite the frequent occurrence of this nursing intervention in mental health settings, for the whole of the UK there are no national standards or guidelines for practice of observation. The current situation in England and Wales is that policies are developed and implemented at a local level using SNMAC (1999) practice guidance for observation of patients at risk as a template (Harrison et al, 2006). Nursing patients in supervised confinement, though a common practice in the PICU raises a number of ethical, professional and legal issues about the role of the nurse, whether he/she is a custodian or therapist and a friend is debateable. Alland et al (2003) noted that patients view enhanced observation as uncomfortable at best, custodial and dehumanising at worst. Mr A felt that his pride and dignity had been taken away from him he was at risk an d therefore an immediate and effective risk management plan had to be implemented. This was necessary to ensure his safety and that of others even though he expressed unhappiness with this intervention. By engaging him and encouraging him to share his thoughts and feelings his anger appeared to have lessened as he joined in the discussions of politics, music, football etc. Thurgood (2004) empathised that showing your human side to clients is very important. Engaging meaningfully with patients and helping them talk about their feelings is the first step to alleviating some of their distress. The NMC (2008) Code of Professional Conduct clearly points to the rights of patients in relation to autonomy. There appeared to have been a reach to Mr As rights. The difficulty we faced as a team was finding the balance between allowing some privacy and dignity versus persevering his safety and security. Consequently, a dilemma arose for me as his primary nurse in relation to his rights, obligat ions and duties. In fact Article 5(1) e of the Human Rights Act (1998) specifies the right of the state to lawfully detain the person of unsound mind. Within the UK, that framework is provides by the Mental Health Act 1983 (DOH, 1998). One may argue then that there is no fundamental incompatibility between the Mental Health Act and the Human Rights Act. There were times that scheduled meetings with Mr A had to be cancelled because of urgent administrative duties. It meant that he lost the opportunity to meet up with me to discuss his concerns and needs. The concept of Patient Protected Time (PPT) in inpatient units is therefore valid. It allows patients to meet with a healthcare provider on one to one for a specified time when the ward is closed to administrative duties to discuss care plans, social activities, therapies and others. Such interaction according to Song and Soobratty (2007) promotes feelings of self confidence, esteem and recovery. It can also aid the patient therapeutic progress as it can help with social interaction and building relationships. However, nurses complain they already have plenty to do without an added pressure of PPT to contend with. Nurses frequently complaining of being too busy to develop therapeutic rapport with patents (Mental Health Act Commission 2008). Yawar (2008) reported that only 16% of pati ents time was spent in what can loosely be termed as therapeutic interaction. The remaining of the 84% was spent aimlessly either pacing p and down the ward or doing nothing. Nurses recognise their responsibilities to engage with patients and welcome the opportunity to do this without other demands (Edward, 2008). The Department of Health (2002) called for improvements to ensure adequate clinical support inputs to inpatient wards and to maximise the time spent by staff therapeutically engaged with patients. Therapeutic engagement, therefore involves spending quality time with patients with the aim to empower them to actively participate in their care. Conclusion Communication is without doubt the medium through which the nurse-patient relationship takes place. The skills of active listening and reflection promote better communication and encourage empathy building. My first role as a primary nurse as a good learning experience. My conduct throughout the whole experience earned me a favourable feedback from my team leader. Caring for acutely mentally unwell patients requires of the nurse sensitivity, conveying warmth and empathy. Engaging meaningfully and actively listening to patients under enhanced observation makes them perceive the practice as valuing rather than punishing, therapeutic rather then custodial. Feeling safe and secured provides a platform which can assist patients to begin to resolve some of the difficulties they may be facing in their lives. It is imperative that nurses involve patients in all aspects of their care, empowering and making decisions in partnership with the team. By developing collaborative relationship with p atients, nurses can provide prompt and focused interventions which can limit illness damage, assist in the process of symptoms management and help the process of recovery. Action plan My aim is to be proactive in the future by promptly seeking support from senior colleagues and requesting for clinical supervision. I aim t develop the skill of emotional resilience and intelligence to be able to deliver care that will promote patient welfare and aid recovery. The preceptorship experience has been a breath of fresh air. A time to look back and take stock of the transition from student nurse to an accountable practitioner. Listening and sharing in the experiences of fellow nurses was a good learning experience. The preceptors were fantastic master clinicians who were receptive to our contributions as they explored our experiences at the beginning of each teaching session. This experience has undoubtedly enhanced my critical thinking as a nurse and prepared me to move forward in my development and practice as a caring and competent nurse. I see myself as being in the right job which offers many opportunities for development and to improve upon my knowledge and skills.
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