Discussion and Application Questions Essay

1. (a) The mission statement should be a clear, short, and to the point representation of the companies purpose for existence. It should incorporate socially meaningful and measurable criteria addressing concepts such as the moral/ethical position of the enterprise, public image, the target market, products/services, the geographic domain and expectations of growth and profitability. The intent of the Mission Statement should be the first consideration for any employee who is evaluating a strategic decision. The statement can range from a very simple to a very complex set of ideas. (b) Medtronic gives a strategic direction to its organization by committing to the research, design, manufacturing, and the sale of their product. (c) My career mission statement: Obtain my degree to position myself for future advancement within the organization I work. Exceed expectations by persistence, professionalism, and integrity. 2.(a) Empire State competencies is providing adult education through individualizes degree programs, distance learning, and flexible independent studies. (b) My favorite restaurant competencies are customer service and a large variety of beer and soups. (c) Dell’s competencies are customer service and technology. 3.The main result of each of the three phases of the strategic marketing process. (a) Planning: Marketing plans (or programs) that define goals and the marketing mix strategies to achieve them. (b)Implementation: Results (memos or computer outputs) that describe the outcomes of implementing the plans. (c)Control: Corrective action memos, triggered by comparing results with plans, that (1) suggest solutions to problems and (2) take advantage of opportunities. 4. Select one strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat from the SWOT analysis for Ben and Jerry’s shown in Figure 2-6, and suggest a specific possible action that Unilever might take to exploit or address each one. Strength: Prestigious, well-known brand name among U.S. consumers and Unilever can expand its growth globally as is a market for quality ice cream. Weakness: Need for experience managers to help grow. Unilever is the world’s largest ice cream company and has the resources Ben and Jerry need. Opportunity: Unilever can help Ben and Jerry react to the demand for frozen yogurt and other low-fat desserts by using their knowledge and experience. Threat: Pillsbury and Haagen-Dazs brands are their competitor’s and Unilever being the largest ice cream company would help them increase their market share.

Explain and evaluate claims made by linguistic relativists regarding the relationship between language, thought and culture Essay

The relationship between language, culture and thought has been a controversial discussion over decades. Many linguists and thinkers have argued that language lead to large differences in culture and thoughts. Some argue that language controls people’s view and thought of the world, where language embodies worldview, and some argue the otherwise. Language, culture and thought may always refer as together, but any one of them implies the other two. In this essay, I am going to focus on linguistic relativism and I will evaluate claims made by linguistic relativists. Linguistic relativism is a weaker interpretation of linguistic determinism. It is â€Å"a window through which to view the cognitive process, not as an absolute. It’s set forth to be used in looking at a phenomenon differently than one usually would. † (Badhesha, 2001) Linguistic categorize and usage influence thought and certain kinds of non-linguistic behavior. Linguistic relativity hypothesis has always been a controversial and serious topic. In late-eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Boas claimed that there’s no intrinsic relationship between culture and language. (Boas, 1911) Acquainted with Boas, Edward Sapir was impressed with Boas’ statement. Later, he proposed a theory which becomes the most famous attempt in demonstrating relationship between language, culture and thoughts, â€Å"Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis† (Whorfian Hypothesis). The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis can be broken into two simple concepts: Linguistic Determinism and Linguistic Relativism. Linguistic determinism holds a stronger view. It refers to â€Å"the concept that what is said has only some effect on how concepts are recognized by the mind†, â€Å"A strict view that what is said is directly responsible for what is seen by the mind. † (Badhesha, 2002) This stronger point is supported by Sapir. Sapir: â€Å"language and culture are not intrinsically associated† but â€Å"language and our thought-grooves are inextricably interwoven, [and] are, in a sense, one and the same† (1921: 228, 232) Sapir believes that language and culture are not explicitly related but language, culture and thoughts are interwoven that cannot be unwoven each other. Sapir also expressed his view that language affects how we perceive the world, â€Å"Even comparatively simple acts of perception are very much more at the mercy of the social patterns called words than we might suppose. †¦ We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation. † (1929, p. 210) Sapir here explained that language determines our thoughts and culture, it affects our views of the world and culture is a product of language. Sapir’s student, Benjamin Lee Whorf supported and made his theory stronger. Whorf’s claims are both to the extreme, strongest but to the weaker and more cautious at the same time. The extreme perspective is linguistic determinism, where the weaker is linguistic relativism. In fact, linguistic relativism is widely spread through Whorf’s work. Whorf: â€Å"The background linguistic system of each language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas. † (1940, â€Å"Science and Linguistics,† Technology Review 42: 229-31, 247-8) In this quote, Whorf proposed the stronger form where language determines thought, language shapes our ideas. â€Å"The world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which have to be organized largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. † (Whorf, 1940a:231) This is a weaker form where Whorf argue that the world is somehow under the influence of our linguistic systems. Both in stronger and weaker form, Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis argue that our thoughts, ideas, behavior and culture are under the influence of language. This hypothesis is supported with evidence. Perception of colors is one of the obvious evidence that support language influences our thoughts. Different languages has their way to encode and categorize colors, in English, there are sixteen basic colors and common two color terms â€Å"dark† and â€Å"light†. However, Russian has different words to distinguish light blue (boluboy) and dark blue (siniy). When Russian and English speakers are put to a test to discriminate the two blue colors, Russian is found to be better at it. As Russian perceive the two blue colors as different colors unlike English speakers who categorize it as blue generally. In both English and Chinese, when giving directions verbally, we tend to use â€Å"left† and â€Å"right† instead of E/W/S/N, this is also true in many other languages. However, Kuuk Thaayorra (aboriginal language spoken in Queensland, Australia), they use E/W/S/N to represent â€Å"left† and â€Å"right†, e. g. when they refer to right hand, they may say east hand. Their perception of the world differs from us due to the use of direction terms. To them, the world needs to include precise orientations. This is an example of perception of space which display language affects our perceptions and thoughts. Grammatical feature is another proof of language affects our culture. Whorf asserts that â€Å"users of markedly different grammars are pointed by their grammar towards different types of observations†¦ and hence are not equivalent as observers but must arrive at somewhat different views of the world† (Whorf 1940b:61) Whorf suggested that speakers of different languages will think about the world differently. Hopi language (aboriginal language spoken in Arizona) is early evidence to Whorfian Hypothesis on language and thought. In Hopi language system, they don’t have tenses such as –ed, -ing, -s in SAE [1], they have different perspective of time from SAE speakers. Also, in Hopi, the concept of time cannot be counted and talked like a physical quantity. Language also affects and reflects our culture and values. In Hong Kong, we refer to relatives in different terms, not only â€Å"aunt/uncle†, â€Å"cousins† unlike English. For example, we have different terms for cousins that are older and younger than us, e. g. â€Å"biu-gor† (older male cousin), â€Å"biu-mui† (younger female cousin). It reflects the hierarchy and projects the importance of respecting senior in Chinese family. We can see that Chinese family, including families in Hong Kong divides and identifies its members. For Chinese people, they perceive seniors as people to respect. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is the idea that the language that person speaks will affect their perception of the world and accordingly their behavior and culture. In stronger form, language determines the way we think and what we are capable to think of where as linguistic relativity; the weaker form indicates that our thoughts and culture are under the influence of language. Although there are more and more scientific and real life examples that support Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, anthropologists and linguists still argues weather the hypothesis is too strong or not today. Many argue that instead of language determining our thoughts and culture, they are in fact inter-related and none of them should be dominating the other two. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis has received criticism over the years, and it summed up to be three main criticisms, the idea of causality, the methods and translations. While Whorf and Sapir claimed that language affects our perception of the world and the formation of our cultures. Both of them didn’t include the evolution of language, what made up our language, the cultural values that may have been included while setting language system. It is possible that cultural values that might have developed language helped the way we perceive the world. Humboldt (late 18th century) also questioned Sapir-Whorf’s hypothesis, â€Å"The spiritual traits and the structure of the language of a people are so intimately blended that, given either of the two, one should be able to derive the other from it†¦ language is their spirit, and their spirit is their language; it is difficult to imagine any two things more identical. † He also questioned the causality of such hypothesis. Whether if language is the spirit of thoughts and culture or the otherwise. He claims that it is uncertain which one should be derives and to be the spirit of the others. Another obvious criticism is the methods Whorf’s methods. Some believed that Whorf deliberately translated Hopi language in a certain way to support his own hypothesis, to emphasis another thinking system. Linguists, Steven Pinker accused Whorf’s method with strong attitude, â€Å"No one is really sure how Whorf came up with his outlandish claims, but his limited, badly analyzed sample of Hopi speech and his long-term leanings towards mysticism must have helped. † (Pinker, 1994) He also overthrown Whorf’s claim of Hopi people has different perception of time as â€Å"anthropologist Malotki (1983) has found that the Hopi do have a concept of time very similar to ours. † (Neil Parr-Davies, 2001) Translation is another criticism of Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. Many critics raised the question, if our thoughts are really affected and determined by language, then presumably certain concepts would only be understandable to people that shared the same language. That suggested that if the hypothesis is entirely true, Whorf would have been failed to understand Hopi people’s concept, needless to say even to understand their first thought. Although criticisms are raised against Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, there are more evidence and claims that support it even in modern days. In fact, psycholinguistic have been studying far beyond perception of color and Hopi language currently, it has been studying and discovering more evidence in modern days such as emotion perception, memory etc. Modern famous researchers like Lera Boroditsky, John A. Lucy believe in Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, that language indeed influences thoughts, however in relatively narrow ways. I agree the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis to a large extent. I believe language does influence our thoughts and perceptions of the world. Recently, I have been studying different accents in the world and discovered that it is evidence supporting the linguistic relativists. For example, if someone speaks English in BBC accents or Queen’s English, we would immediately refer them coming from higher social status in Britain. Indeed, our perception can be easily affected by the trivial elements in language as accents. Even nowadays, there are more and more evidence that prove linguistic relativists; we cannot deny the fact that language does somehow shape our daily thoughts and life. Language changes the way we see different culture, it can reflect a certain culture and background of people. Taking Soviet Ukraine as an example, as the prices and supply of product was centrally controlled, they were very cheap and hard to find, and instead of saying â€Å"What are they selling? † they ask, â€Å"Shcho dajut? †(What are they giving? ). Through the language, we can see the cultural values and background of a country, allowing us to understand and perceive different cultures. Nonetheless, I disagree to a small extent as I believe, on one hand, language may shape our thoughts and culture; on the other hand, our culture and thoughts also shape language. Language may act as a tool merely reflecting our thoughts and culture. Under patriarchy and stereotyping, many European countries referred male as a stronger, rational and more dynamic member of the society while female were emotional, silent and subtle one. Leading European languages like French, Spanish are some examples that reflect social stereotyping under patriarchal influence. In French, almost all sport and daylight activities are referred as male, â€Å"le soleil† (the sun) while almost all night time activities are referred as female, â€Å"la lune† (the moon). Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is a powerful and leading linguistic theory that suggests the relationship between language, culture and thoughts. It can be interpreted as linguistic determinism and relativism; it remains arguable and controversial whether this hypothesis is too strong. Much evidence arises even until today supporting the hypothesis. It is inevitable that every hypothesis receives criticism, but I truly believe the reason why Whorfianism is still being studied today is because we can never deny the influence of language on our thoughts and culture. Language may not be the one the strongly defines our perception and values, but it does affects us in our everyday life.

Yahoo's Organization Structure Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Yahoo's Organization Structure - Research Paper Example For example Executive Vice President, Service Engineering & Operations demonstrates division by function while Executive Vice President, Americas and Senior Vice President & MD, EMEA Region show division by geography. Yahoo has been too reliant on its U.S. business over the years which mean that the approach it uses in the US would not be the same as what it needs to use in the other regions where it is still growing its market share. This makes it sensible to separate the US business unit from those of other geographies. For an organization of its size with more than 13,700 employees division by function makes it easier to demarcate responsibility for revenue targets and expense management. What is your company’s strategy? Is it successful? Yahoo demonstrates two strategies. In its dominant US market, the company is pursuing organizational renewal to reverse organizational decline and put the firm back on a more appropriate path to success. The company’s decline was la rgely due to over-expansion of its product line and inability to deal with shifts in consumer demand for platforms that are provided by its major rivals: Facebook and Google. Yahoo’s new CEO plans to do away with about 50 properties to enable the company refocus on its core business (Scott Para 1). According to the new CEO, Yahoo has been doing way too much of which only a few things were being done really well (Scott Para 5). The second strategy that Yahoo is pursuing is growth through international strategy. Yahoo’s internationalization is for market-based reasons. Currently Yahoo is too reliant on its U.S. business. The company seeks to capture part of the market share of the growing middle class in emerging economies. Part of this international market development strategy will be through offering of country-specific services. So far none of these two strategies have been implemented long enough to evaluate whether they are successful or not. Does your company o perate within NAFTA or the European Union? Do those free trade agreements/ free trade union benefit or harm your company? Yahoo operates both within NAFTA (US, Canada, Mexico) and the European Union (Germany, Italy, Scandinavian countries etc.). Through its numerous offerings Yahoo is essentially a service-provider. NAFTA eliminated trade barriers in most service sectors and a couple of products as well. This reduction / eliminations of tariff increases trade within the region and hence give confidence to more individuals to use Yahoo platforms to advertise or sell their products or services within the region. This way NAFTA benefits Yahoo. Using the same argument one could say that by increasing trade within continental Europe, the European Union also indirectly benefits Yahoo by increasing the need for an intercontinental platform to advertise or trade in products and services. The company acknowledges as much, though indirectly, in its annual report where it highlights that fluct uations in foreign currency exchange rates as a possible risk factor. Does your company operate in low or high labor rate countries? How does your company try to reduce labor costs? The majority of Yahoo’s staff is located in the US. The company does not have a specific policy geared towards obtaining low or high labor rate countries. Moreover, the company’s core business is largely dependent on proprietary software which is mostly developed in the US. The company has however in some instances purchased technology and license intellectual property rights (Yahoo, Yahoo! Annual Report 2010 11). Yahoo’s solution to lowering labor costs is to eliminate non-performing business units and then to reduce headcount. The company has conducted six

A report evaluating the processes, methods and outcomes of a website Essay

A report evaluating the processes, methods and outcomes of a website created for Autistic people - Essay Example At present, there are very few websites for those with ASD. However, there are a lot of websites, books, journals and articles which target people who have to deal with ASD patients like teachers, parents employers etc. Objective To agree on the requirements of those with autism spectrum disorder and determine what elements must be present in a fully-functioning, educational website, the objectives to determine if the website is working are: Present the developmental requirements of autism patients. Autistic people develop at different rates and in different ways as opposed to those who do not suffer from ASD (National Autistic Society, 2010). To find out how those with ASD feel about the internet. Do they feel comfortable browsing website and talking in online chat rooms? How would Human-Computer Interaction or user interfaces will affect autistic people? Rationale As mentioned above there are currently a few, known websites that deal with autistic people directly. This made the res earch very hard as it would have been easier to look at other websites aimed directly to them and see how they have used human computer interface to design the look of the website. However, to find the information needed, research had to be done published materials of writers and professionals dealing with the autistic disease communication as well as evaluate websites that are already up and running. The research conducted was at first to list the basic activities a person does on a day to day basis and then to find out how ASD patients handle these situations. It will also try to seek out how the ASD individuals seek support from websites. The main purpose of this project is to make sure that people with ASD and related disorders can live together in a society where no one is isolated. The rest of this report will evaluate the research that was done, the methodology used to create the website, the results where the whole product will be evaluated and finally the conclusion. Resear ch Implementing the product was based on the research that had been carried out during the initial part of the project. The means of research included books, websites, journals and information from professionals within the field of autism. There were two parts of research done. The first part of the research was based on the behaviour, activity and general responses that ASD patients show. The second part of the research is about the way the website was going to be built; the design and how the website was going to be populated. ASD patient research To first process to learn about ASD patients was to ask major organisations within the UK for basic information such as the National Autistic Society and Autism UK. However, they could not provide the relevant information needed that directly was aimed at autistic people (Appendix A.1). To overcome this obstacle, research was carried out through books and interviews with notable people who deal with autistic people (Appendix A.2). At fir st it was hard researching, as it was something new, but after undertaking the Research Report, researching now was something familiar and quite enjoyable as a lot of time was used just on researching in the field of autism. Using this information, it was easy to apply to autistic people. The website now had information that is useful for the autistic

Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Book Review - Essay Example Even with the good press associated with the Marshall Plan, revisionists and diplomatic historians from both the United States and the sixteen involved nations from Western Europe—even more than fifty years after its ratification and implementation—still debate on its origins, motives and effects (Agnew and Entrikin 2004, p. 1). For instance, historical revisionists have found that â€Å"the economic impact of the plan has been significantly downgraded as scholars concluded that the crisis of 1947 in Europe was less grave than American policy-makers had thought† (Hitchcock n.d.). With these considerations in mind, two of the most substantial and celebrated books on rethinking and revisiting the Marshall Plan will be reviewed in this paper in order to shed some light on what the real purposes and effects of the Marshall Plan are in relation to the United States’ supposed gigantic role in the economic recovery of Europe. The book by Michael Hogan and two chapters from Agnew and Entrikin’s volume will be compared against each other through their contributions to the rethinking of the Marshall Plan. While the former is very detailed, the message that Hogan wants to state is somewhat lost within the detailing of the various facets of the creation of the Marshall Plan. On the other hand, Agnew and Entrikin’s chapters are composed of separate papers that present an all-encompassing view of the Marshall Plan and its effects. These separate chapters that can stand on their own present a more comprehensive and understandable argument as to the sig nificance of the Marshall Plan in history. It can be said then that quality and readability of a work does not depend on the length and an extreme attention to detail, but on a concise presentation of facts and figures that would make the reader understand and accept the argument presented as true. Although there are a lot of differences between the two books, one of the main causes

An Interpretation of Chris Ofili's Afrodizzia Essay

An Interpretation of Chris Ofili's Afrodizzia - Essay Example To comprehend Chris Ofili’s work and interpret it in a fair manner, we have to identify styles that are consistent with his work. Ofili’s work is recognizable by the layered surfaces of different materials. He borrows from the works of other artists and incorporates them into his work. An example is the way he uses the cut out of photographs from magazines. Another feature common among Ofili’s work is the size of his paintings. He does most of his work on six by eight feet canvases. Not that size means anything significant but I choose not to ignore it as a factor in the interpretation of his work. In my opinion, he desires to â€Å"magnify† the message in his works. I will give the example of his controversial painting the â€Å"Holy Virgin Mary† which has had its admirers and condemners. The work was a brazen play on religion and it could not be ignored largely because of its depiction of the Black Madonna. I argue that the size of that painting w as an intention to magnify that depiction as with all other Ofili’s paintings. Lastly, Ofili uses cow dung in most of his exertion. He said that the elephant dung was inspired by his visit to Zimbabwe during his masters at the Royal College of Art. He saw cave paintings which inspires his styles including his use of dung. He has often contended that the dung is meant to bring out the â€Å"ugliness† of the beauty of his paintings. It is important to note that Mr. Ofili derives his inspiration to make art from the social and political events affecting him or the community in general. Most of his paintings document the issues affecting black people between the 70s and 90s. An example is â€Å"No Woman No Cry† which was inspired by racism against black in Britain. In his paintings also, Ofili asserts his thoughts on religion, popular culture and music (hip hop). The â€Å"Holy Virgin Mary† is a good example of where Ofili makes a bold but humorous statement on the Roman Catholic faith (Kleiner, 2008, p. 55). â€Å"Afrodizzia† looks like a jewel. The medium used in the base composition of the painting is acrylic paint with oil resin, glitter, paper collage; map pins and elephant compost. The collage, the paint and the lines drawings in the piece make it quite a sight. Ofili has used red, yellow and orange colors in the painting to signify energy, excitement and radiance. These are the same words that could be used to describe the color scheme. The white background of the painting is a probable allusion to a clean sheet that will be â€Å"stained† by elephant dung. The introduction of green and blue colors creates a clash that can be directly interpreted to signify Ofili’s search for identity. Color in art speaks of the mood of the piece in study. Ofili’s decision to use many colors in an unspecified pattern shows a clash of emotions, identity and character. â€Å"Afrodizzia â€Å"was painted during a period fraught with the outcomes of racial tension in Great Britain. It was completed in 1996, three years after the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence by six white youths (Campbell 1993) and during the Macpherson enquiry into his death. This tension had/has been ongoing since the Brixton riots in 1981 with Macpherson finding that certain institutions in Britain were racist and incompetent. Perhaps, Chris Ofili represented

How the Internal and External Environment Effect Hublots Marketing Essay

How the Internal and External Environment Effect Hublots Marketing - Essay Example The researcher states that the internal influences tend to determine the marketing in more outlook. The management usually makes the decision that influences the marketing department in their objectives and priorities. Financial capability of the firm also plays a lot in marketing. The financial structure and policies should allow enough funds for the implementation of the marketing plans and strategy, thus if hub lot company have limited funds or in event locate less capital for the marketing department, then the department would not achieve their target as watches are products that need a huge investment in marketing policies to keep up with the new ones that may emerge. On the other hand, research and development of hub lot watches should ensure production of quality, attractive and be creative and innovative so that the product can compete in the market. The image that the company portrays and branding of the product help the marketing to create intermediaries and channels throug h which hub lot watches may enter the new market and rival the competitors. Hence the internal factors are key efficiency in the marketing of the hub lot company. External influences are situations that are beyond the company control. It is important for a company to manage their competitors in the market as they influence a lot on the performance of the company produces more so in pricing and market share of the product. Thus firms like hub lot watches must have an efficient marketing system to be more productive and keep pace with the new inventions. Economic factors do influence the market on various scenario since it determines the distribution of goods within the economy e.g. infrastructure, and since this is goods which need to reach the market for their respective customers, the efficient movement must be available.

Argentine Americans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Argentine Americans - Essay Example According to the census statistics conducted in the year 1991, the population of Argentina was approximately 32 million which equals to 12 percent of the total population of South America. This figure makes Argentina the third most populated country of the Continent, the first two being Columbia and Brazil. Out of the total population of Argentina, 90 percent populations are Roman Catholics. The remaining percentage comprises of Protestants Jews and they live in Buenos Aires. Argentina is both an ethnic and diverse country. Most of the population who stay in that country comprise of immigrants from Italy and Spain (Rodriguez). "In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, other ethnic groups, including Germans, Poles, Welsh, Irish, Lebanese, Hungarians, Czechs, Danish, French, Jews, Japanese, Koreans, and Swiss also chose Argentina for settlement (Rodriguez)." The country Argentina is divided into four geographical sections. The Andes Mountain is considered as the northwestern border of the country. To the east of the Andes Mountains, lies a high plateau region which is an area that is large and grassy. "This grassy area is drained by the Ro Paraguay and Ro Paran, which themselves drain into the bay like Ro de la Plata (River of Silver), the widest river on earth (Rodriguez)." During the sixteenth century, approximately 3 lakh Ameri... There are almost ten distinct groups who have got different lifestyles. For example, the fertile river valleys were farmed by a tribal group called Guaran. Another tribal group named Onas who lived in the southern part of the country used to hunt animals like ostriches and seals. To the north of the country lived the Araucanians and they were away from the wild animals that were in the area. "Other tribes populating the area included the Incas in the northwest, the Charras in the east, and the Quechuas, Tehuelches, and Huarpes in the central and western regions. The Pampas inhabited the plains of the same name (Rodriguez)." Immigration Waves: If the history of Argentina is observed carefully, it can be noticed that the country can be characterized as a country familiar for its immigration. But many environmental forces like economic factors, political imbalances and social unsteadiness have altered Argentina into not only a country of immigration but also as a country of travel and emigration (Jachimowicz). Before the period of 1970s, the government of United States classified the immigrants in Argentina into a category named "Other Hispanics". However, the immigrants were considered as a relatively new group. Ever since the late 1990s a number of factors such as dismal employment prospects, strong demand for foreign labor and finally favorable policies for getting visas have led a number of Argentineans to migrate to the United States of America. "An estimated 185,000 Argentines emigrated between 1960 and 1970, and the number climbed to an estimated 200,000 in the decade that followed. Primary destination for these immi grants was the United States (Jachimowicz)." Over 60 percent of these Argentine immigrants are believed to have

Nursing- Case study- skill analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nursing- Case study- skill analysis - Essay Example These data can as well point out the possible complications that the health team must give priority in the duration of the patient’s stay in the hospital and especially during the surgical procedure (Rawlinson & Alderson, 2009, p. 2). The knowledge of these factors â€Å"will enable the surgeon to ensure that they are under optimal control before he operates, and that their presence is continually taken into consideration† (Plessis, 2005, p. 160). It is relevant that baseline data of the vital signs comprising of the temperature level, pulse and respiratory rates, blood pressure and consciousness level, be obtained from the patient. These vital signs are Mr. Taylor’s basic health indicators which represent his current status in the time of the assessment. Moreover, Plessis (2005) indicated that this baseline data are also â€Å"use(d) after surgery as comparative data against which the progress of the patient is measured† (p. 160). Improvement or maintenance of a normal set of vitals signs indicates effectiveness of the surgical procedure or medical management and absence of clinical complications. Decline from the baseline data in the postoperative period, on the other hand, may signify that further medical or surgical measures are to be taken. Preoperative assessments are needed to measure "the physiological, psychological and social needs of the patient undergoing surgery" (Oakley, 2005, p. 4). Each of these aspects must be individually given priority as they can affect the readiness of the patient to undergo the procedure. Before patients sign the informed consent, nurses must make sure that the patient or their family understands all the information pertaining to the surgical procedure as must be given by the surgeons and seconded by nurses. Moreover, nurses should also ascertain that the consent are given voluntarily and not as a result of pressure from any member of

Data Rules Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Data Rules - Coursework Example This Decision Support System focuses on the problem solving expertise embedded into it by comparing its inputs with facts, rules and procedures already present in its data bank (also referred to as Data Warehouse). The Knowledge Based Subsystem in the DSS uses this data input (that may be mere facts, figures, personal knowledge and business models) to analytically identify any probable problems that may arise, possible decisions that can be made and possible solutions to an issue. The particular DSS under consideration in the said article concerns a knowledge based system that would assist nurses in decision making under critical conditions. The knowledge base in the said Dss is maintained by using a database that stores information. The data that constructs this data base includes input from medical professionals, theoretical practice maps, prior evidences and practices. This accompanied with input from the patient and user (i.e. nurses) at intermittent levels provides hypothetical results regarding identification of the problem facing the patient and the possible solutions for

The Native American Trail of Tears Essay Example for Free

The Native American Trail of Tears Essay Removal of the Cherokees and several other native nations during the 1830s allowed expansion of Anglo-American populations south and west through parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and neighboring states. At roughly the same time, industrial application of Eli Whitneys cotton gin created a mass market in moderately priced cotton clothing. Within a decade after the Trail of Tears, the Cherokees homeland had been replaced, in large part, by King Cotton and a revival of slavery. Between one-fourth and one-third of the 16,000 Cherokee people who were removed during 1838 died on the march to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) or shortly thereafter. The Cherokees name for the march, nuna-daa-ut-suny the trail where they cried, provided its English name, the Trail of Tears. President Jackson, having retired from his army career of Indian fighting, avidly supported the Removal Act of 1830, which led to the Cherokees Trail of Tears. Ross was the Cherokees foremost advocate against removal, the man most responsible for taking two major cases to the Supreme Court. Marshall worked the facts of the conflict into legal doctrine that has shaped law regarding Native Americans for more than a century and a half. The removal of the civilized tribes from their homelands is one of the most notable chapters in the history of American land relations. Jacksons repudiation of John Marshalls rulings, which supported the Cherokees rights to their homelands, comprised contempt of the Supreme Court, an impeachable offense under the Constitution. The subject of impeachment was not seriously raised, however. During the conflict over removal, which continued through most of Jacksons presidency, the entire United States debated assertions of states rights vis-à  -vis the federal government and the Cherokees in a prelude to the coming dissolution of the Union during the Civil War less than three decades later. Had Jackson followed Justice Marshalls rulings, the Civil War might have started during the 1830s. The explosion of westward migration after roughly 1800 generated enormous profits in land speculation. Fortunes were made in early America not usually by working the land, but by buying early and holding large parcels for sale after demand increased dramatically because of non-Indian immigration. As a frontier lawyer in Tennessee, Andrew Jackson often took his fees in land rather than money, which was as scarce along the frontier as land was plentiful. As a lawyer, Jackson acquired immense holdings with which he began a mercantile establishment and bought a plantation. . . . He built an expensive frame house at a time when most wealthy Tennesseeans still lived in log cabins, and spent large sums on whiskey, horses, and expensive home furnishings imported from Europe (Rogin 55). Jackson quickly acquired more than a hundred slaves, making him one of frontier Tennessees largest owners of human capital. He traded actively in slaves and occasionally wagered them on horse races in a display of expendable wealth that established power relationships on the frontier. In the realm of intellect, Jackson was not a subtle man. He admired Napoleon Bonaparte to the point of nearly totally ignoring the French emperors tendencies toward tyranny. Perhaps yielding to the aftertaste of the War of 1812, Jackson sincerely believed that a republic would spring from the wreck if Napoleans army would invade England and topple British royalty (Rogin 73). Jackson did not seek the removal of the Cherokees and other civilized tribesthe Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminolesbecause they did not know how to make productive use of the land. On the contrary, four of the five (the exception being the Seminoles, who had escaped to Florida) were called civilized tribes by the immigrants precisely because they were making exactly the kind of progress the Great White Father desired of them: becoming farmers, educating their children, and constituting governments modeled on that of the United States. Immigrants, many of them Scots and Irish, had married into native families. Some of them owned plantations and slaves. Removal had been proposed for the Cherokees as early as 1802, when Thomas Jefferson was president. During that year, the state of Georgia signed an agreement with the U.S. government (the Cherokees were not consulted) stating its intent to work toward extinguishment of all Cherokee land titles within state borders as early as the land could be peaceably obtained, and on reasonable terms (Moulton 24). By the time President Jacksons Removal Act was passed by Congress, most white Georgians regarded the United States as seriously delinquent in the bargain (Moulton 24). Before he emerged as an advocate of Indian removal, President Jacksons name had scorched the memories of Native American peoples for decades as an Indian fighter. As a general in the U.S. Army, Jackson blazed a trail of fire throughout the South, refusing to even when his superiors ordered him to relent. In a battlefield confrontation with William Weatherfords Creeks at Horseshoe Bend, Alabama, Jackson imprisoned assistants who advised retreat. For those who retreated in battle without authorization, the penalty levied by General Jackson was harsher: Any officer or soldier who flies before the enemy without being compelled to do so by superior force . . . shall suffer death (Tebbel 75). By the time the Removal Act was passed in 1830, the Cherokees had 22,000 cattle, 7,600 horses, 46,000 swine, 2,500 sheep, 762 looms, 2,488 spinning wheels, 172 wagons, 2,943 plows, 10 sawmills, 21 grist mills, 61 blacksmitheries, 18 schools, 8 cotton gins, and 1,300 slaves. All of these things indicated that they led prosperous lives very much like those of the European-American settlers who sought their land. Removal was never popular among the Cherokees. The federal governments representatives disregarded the majority opinion and relied on the minority Treaty Party to negotiate removal treaties, largely ignoring John Rosss National Party. One proposed treaty, signed during February 1835, was voted down by a substantial number of Cherokees. The result (114 yes, 2,225 no) was a fair indication of the proposals popularity. Despite the manifest unpopularity of removal, a minority of Cherokee leaders in the Treaty Party, including Elias Boudinot, John Ridge, and several others, journeyed to Washington, D.C., in 1835 to negotiate removal, an initiative that was not sanctioned by the Cherokee government. On December 29, 1835, Boudinot and nineteen other Cherokees signed the Treaty of New Echota, which ceded Cherokee lands as of May 23, 1836. This treaty, called the Christmas trick by its many opponents, was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1836 by a one-vote margin (Cole 116). Although Ross continued to protest removal for two more years, the state of Georgia started to coerce the Cherokees into selling their lands for a fraction of their real value. Marauding whites plundered Cherokee homes and possessions and destroyed the Cherokee Phoenixs printing press because the paper opposed removal. Opposition to removal by a large proportion of the Cherokees continued until the Trail of Tears began. On March 10, 1838, with removal impending, the Cherokees assembled a petition opposing removal with more than 15,000 signatures. While some of the signatures may have been invalid (the entire Cherokee population at the time was about 16,000), the petition demonstrated widespread Cherokee opposition to the terms of the Treaty of New Echota. John Ross was deeply disappointed by Jacksons unwillingness to enforce the law as interpreted by Chief Justice Marshall. When Ross faced removal from his own plantation-style home, he may have recalled words he had told a delegation of Senecas in 1834: â€Å"We have been made to drink of the bitter cup of humiliation; treated like dogs; our lives, our liberties, the sport of whitemen; our country and the graves of our Fathers torn from us in cruel succession; until driven from river to river, from forest to forest, and thro [sic] a period of upwards of two hundred years, rolled back nation upon nation, we find ourselves fugitives, vagrants, and strangers in our own country, and look forward to the period when our descendants will perhaps be totally extinguished by wars, driven at the point of the bayonet into the Western Ocean, or reduced to . . . the condition of slaves.† (Moulton 55) By 1838, the Cherokees had exhausted all their appeals. As they were being forced to leave their homes, the Cherokees passed a memorial that expressed the manifest injustice of their forced relocation: â€Å"The title of the Cherokee people to their lands is the most ancient, pure, and absolute known to man; its date is beyond the reach of human record; its validity confirmed by possession and enjoyment antecedent to all pretense of claim by any portion of the human race. The free consent of the Cherokee people is indispensable to a valid transfer of the Cherokee title. The Cherokee people have neither by themselves nor their representatives given such consent. It follows that the original title and ownership of lands still rests with the Cherokee Nation, unimpaired and absolute. The Cherokee people have existed as a distinct national community for a period extending into antiquity beyond the dates and records and memory of man. These attributes have never been relinquished by the Cherokee people, and cannot be dissolved by the expulsion of the Nation from its territory by the power of the United States Government.† (OBrien 57) The U.S. Army forced Cherokee families into prison camps before their arduous trek westward. As a result of unhealthy and crowded conditions in these hastily constructed stockades, some Cherokees died even before the Trail of Tears began. James Mooney, an ethnologist, later described how the Cherokees were forced from their homes: Squads of troops were sent to search out with rifle and bayonet every small cabin hidden away in the coves or by the sides of mountain streams. . . . Families at dinner were startled by the sudden gleam of bayonets in the doorway and rose up to be driven with blows and oaths along the trail that led to the stockade. Men were seized in their fields or going along the road, women were taken from their wheels, and children from their play.† (Van Every 242) A U.S. Army private who witnessed the Cherokee removal wrote: â€Å"I saw the helpless Cherokee arrested and dragged from their homes, and driven by bayonet into the stockades. And in the chill of a drizzling rain on an October morning I saw them loaded like cattle or sheep into wagons and started toward the west. . . . Chief Ross led in prayer, and when the bugle sounded and wagons started rolling many of the children . . . waved their little hands goodbye to their mountain homes.† (Worcester 67) More than 4,000 Cherokees died of exposure, disease, and starvation, about a quarter of the total Cherokee population. Quatie, Rosss wife, was among the victims of this forced emigration. After removal, the miserable conditions continued. Many Cherokees died after they arrived in Indian Territory as epidemics and food shortages plagued the new settlements. An observer in Kentucky described the Cherokees midwinter march to Arkansas: â€Å"Even aged females, apparently nearly ready to drop into the grave, were travelling with heavy burdens attached to their backs, sometimes on frozen ground, and sometimes on muddy streets, with no covering for their feet.† (Collier 124) On the subject of the Cherokees removal, Ralph Waldo Emerson weighed in solidly with John Ross. Emerson wrote to President Martin Van Buren on April 23, 1838, about the impending Trail of Tears: â€Å"A crime is projected that confounds our understandings by its magnitudea crime that really deprives us as well as the Cherokee of a country, for how could we call the conspiracy that should crush these poor Indians our government, or the land that was cursed by their parting and dying imprecations our country, any more? You, sir, will bring down that renowned chair in which you sit into infamy if your seat is set to this instrument of perfidy; and the name of this nation, hitherto the sweet omen of religion and liberty, will stink to the world.† (Moquin 105) In his letter to Van Buren, Emerson seemed concerned less with Indian suffering or a sense of injustice than with a belief that their removal would stain his image of the presidency and the national history of the United States. Portions of the same letter to Van Buren contain assumptions that might have pleased Andrew Jackson, had Emersons letter been addressed to him. Emerson spoke of the Cherokees frame homes, grist mills, farms, government, and written language as painful labors of these red men to redeem their own race from the doom of eternal inferiority . . . to borrow and domesticate in the tribe the arts and customs of the Caucasian race (Black and Weidman 272). Despite the cruelty of the marches they were forced to endure, as well as the death, disease, and deprivation that dogged their every step, the surviving Cherokees, with Ross again in the lead, quickly set about rebuilding their communities. Much as they had in the Southeast, the Cherokees, Creeks, and others built prosperous farms and towns, passed laws, and set about rather self-consciously civilizing themselves once again. John Ross set about recreating a new Cherokee homeland with the same energy that had characterized his battle against removal. Works Cited Black, Nancy B, and Bette S. Weidman. White on Red: Images of the American Indian. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1976. Cole, Donald B. The Presidency of Andrew Jackson. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1993. Collier, John. Indians of the Americas. New York: New American Library, 1947. Moquin, Wayne, ed. Great Documents in American Indian History. New York: Praeger, 2003. Moulton, Gary E. John Ross: Cherokee Chief. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1998. O’Brien, Sharon. American Indian Tribal Governments. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999. Rogin, Michael Paul. Fathers and Children: Andrew Jackson and the Subjugation of the American Indian. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. Tebbel, John W. The Compact History of the Indian Wars. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1966. Van Dale Every. Disinherited: The Lost Birthright of the American Indian. New York: William Morrow Co., 1996. Worcester, Donald E., ed. Forked Tongues and Broken Treaties. Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers, 1995.

Three Ethic Models Essay Example for Free

Three Ethic Models Essay This essay will explain the three ethic models, which are the utilitarian model, moral rights model and justice model (Waddell et al. 2007, 166), the application of these ethic models pertaining to the case study, and which ethic model would be best referred to in deciding the course of action to take to solve the problem that has arisen due to the circumstances that happened due to the employers forcing minimum wage exemption of their employees. (Roberts 2013) Waddell et al. (2007, 164) suggests that ethics as how people or groups perceive decisions as right or wrong differently. An ethical decision made according to the utilitarian model is defined by the most benefit for the most number of individuals. (Waddell et al. 2007, 166) Jardins and McCall (1985, 368) suggest that to further understand the meaning of employee rights, one would look at what both the managers and employees would goods both parties are aiming for in an employment agreement. Both parties will have differing aims and strategies to create changes or benefits from and for the company, resulting in a conflict of interest. Gill 2003, 308) For instance, managers would set a target to maximize the profits of the company and â€Å"maintain the firm’s long-term growth and stability (Jardins and McCall 1985, 368); while employees may aim to gain benefits and have a comfortable life, which is obtained by receiving at least minimum pay, or even â€Å"higher wages†. (Jardins and McCall 1985, 368) Managers have the responsibility to analyze the situation carefully, and make a decision that would benefits the highest number of stakeholders, i. . the employees. (Waddell et. Al 2007, 166) If wage rates were to be increased, the company would make lower profits. (Jardins and McCall 1985, 368) Wage increments would add to the production costs, so customers would not want to purchase the products if they become too expensive, therefore decreasing profits over time. Granting benefits could potentially â€Å"threaten long-term stability† in the long run. (Jardins and McCall 1985, 368) Suppose the manager decides to reject the employees’ requests and demand. In which case, the company’s profits and stability will be sustained, customers are kept happy with low product costs, but the employees will barely survive on low wages, even more so if they are receiving less than minimum wage. A ethical decision made according to the moral rights model is a decision made on a basis that it preserves and conserves the basic human rights and privileges of the individuals as best as possible. (Waddell et al. 2007, 166) People are morally responsible to ensure that each other are able to have a life that is minimally good. Jeurissen 2007, 3) Stakeholders make up the organization, so it is important to know and understand their interests in the company. (Jeurissen 2007, 3) Takemura (2009, 27) stated that the United States’ delegate support that people have to respect the rights of objectors, so ensuring minimum wage is the highest priority. Dealing under the Fair Trade standards means that companies must treat its stakeholders in a fair a nd just manner, with employers granting its employees their workers’ rights, such as minimum wages, good safety standards, and proper housing. Fair Trade International 2013) For the protection of their rights, every worker has the right to affiliation with trade unions. (Kallstrom and Eide 1999, 489) Trade unions exist for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment. (Webb and Webb 1920, 28) Under the moral rights model, managers should take the course of action that best maintains the rights and principles of the organization’s stakeholders. (Waddell et al. 2007, 166) For instance, any course of action taken that has a great negative impact on a stakeholder would be considered unethical. Waddell et al. 2007, 166) Hence, trade unions will strive to uphold the rights of the employees, while managers cannot implement the minimum wage exemption without the consent of the workers. (Roberts 2013) Since the workers did not give their consent, t hey have the right to receive nothing less minimum wages. (Roberts 2013) The justice model defines decisions made that distribute both negative and positive outcomes among stakeholders in a fair and impartial manner as an ethical decision. (Waddell et al. 2007, 166) A right is usually nothing more than a claim or demand, unless there is a tool that enables the implementation of the right or is built into the â€Å"institutional structure†. (Halstead and Pike 2006, 29) Rights have been constituted as the best way to maintaining the â€Å"just resolution of conflict and general human well-being†, and is recognized by the law. (Halstead and Pike 2006, 29) The right to minimum wages is a socio-economic right. (Jeurissen 2007, 3) Jeurissen (2007, 3) stated that rights are requisite when it comes to individuals cooperating within in a corporate organization. There are several examples of socio-economic rights, such as legislation and collective labour agreements, a category of rights in which the right to minimum wage is included. Every individual is able to exercise their rights, as resolution by the law. (Opsahl and Dimitrijevic 1999, 633) The resolution was made so that rights could be recognized and respected, in order for justice to be possible, should any of these rights be violated or disrespected by the relevant authorities. (Opsahl and Dimitrijevic 1999, 633) Rights should not be restricted in order to have social equilibrium within an organization. Opsahl and Dimitrijevic 1999, 634) Furthermore, â€Å"a justice approach to the minimum wage would enable us to consider our values†. (Levin-Waldman 2000, 43) A manager referring to the justice ethic model should consider that rights are recognized by the law, and therefore should abide by the law by respecting the employees’ rights; otherwise the governmental authoriti es would have to take action on the manager. Based on the analysis of all three ethic models, the best ethic model to apply to the case study is as per the thesis statement, which is the moral rights ethic model. The workers of the Nike factories in Indonesia should be allowed their minimum wage. As stated earlier, minimum wages are a fundamental right of an individual. The activist Jim Keady also stated that forcing minimum wage exemption on workers is a â€Å"clear violation of Nike’s code of conduct. † (Roberts 2013) Also, the workers should be able to enjoy at least minimum comfortable living conditions, as well as be protected from harsh treatment in the workplace. The manager of Nike should recognize and respect the rights of the workers and not force the exemption of minimum wage upon them. The management could perceive the company to lose some of its customers, and potentially be at a financial loss in the long-run. On the other hand, the trade unions and activists are satisfied that their principles and values are being upheld, and the workers’ rights are protected. Indeed, Employees should be treated fairly and their rights should be upheld. People are morally responsible to ensure that each other are able to have a life that is minimally good. (Jeurissen 2007, 3) Stakeholders make up the organization, so it is important to know and understand their interests in the company. Jeurissen 2007, 3) In which case, the workers can be considered important stakeholders in the organization, so it is unethical to enforce a minimum wage exemption against their will. Should the manager be proven guilty of forcing employees to sign a contract implementing the exemption of minimum wages, he or she should question their values as to whether or not their actions adhere to Nike ’s claims that they â€Å"care about the welfare of their workers† and â€Å"want to see them have decent lives†. In short, the manager should respect the employees’ right to minimum wage. Reference List Des Jardins, Joseph R. and John J. McCall. 1985. â€Å"A defense of employee rights. † Journal of Business Ethics 4(5): 367-376. doi: 10. 1007/BF02388589 Gill, Roger. 2003. â€Å"Change management or change leadership? † Journal of Change Management 3(4): 307-318. http://edocs. library. curtin. edu. au/eres_display. cgi? url=DC60118593. pdfamp;copyright=1 Jeurissen, Ronald, eds. 2007. Ethics amp; Business. Netherlands: Van Gorcum. Kallstrom, Kent and Asbjern Eide. 1999. â€Å"Article 23. † In The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, edited by Gudmundur Alfredsson and Asbjern Eide, 489-510. Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Levin-Waldman, Oren M. 2000. Minimum Wage and Justice? Review of Social Economy 58(1): 43-62. doi: 10. 1080/003467600363101 Opsahl, Torkel and Vojin Dimitrijevic. 1999. â€Å"Article 29. † In The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Common Standard of Achievement, edited by Gudmundur Alfredsson and Asbjern Eide, 489-510. Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Roberts, George. 2013. ABC News. Nike workers claim military paid to intimidate them. Accessed March 19, http://www. abc. et. au/news/2013-01-15/nike-accused-of-using-military-to-intimidate-factory-workers/4465058. Takemura, Hitomi. 2009. International Human Right to Conscientious Objection to Military Service and Individual Duties to Disobey Manifestly Illegal Orders. Berlin, Germany: Springer. Waddell, Dianne, Jennifer Devine, Gareth R. Jones, and Jennifer M. George. 2007. Contemporary Management. North Ryde, NSW: McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Limited. Webb, Sidney and Beatr ice Webb. 1920. History of Trade Unionism. London: Longmans and Co.

What is team work?

What is team work? Introductions What is a team work? Team work can be defined as when actions of individuals are brought together for the purpose of a common goal. Each person in a team puts his efforts to achieve the objectives of large group. Teams make efforts to achieve the success but not necessarily the success is achieved every time. Within a team every member plays a role to achieve the teams objectives. These roles add new and important dimensions to interactions of team members. Bruce Tuckmans team development theory provides a way to tackle the tasks of making a team through the completion of the project. On the part of the team every member played an important role to achieve the success at the end of semester. Our planning (or worrying about) whats happening next gives us little opportunity or inclination to examine what has just passed (Wallace, 2005). Writing from the angle of teacher student and team member relationships, it was appropriate to look then above quote. I believe that many students in a team hesitate to step further for their next action during the proceeding of project. I need to be reflective in my action for the future performance in a team. Groups of employees who have at least some collective tasks and where the team members are authorised to regulate mutually the execution of these collective tasks (Delarue, 2003). Group work is defined by a common task requiring interdependent work and successive or integrative action (Hacker, 1998). Belbin (1981) developed a model on team roles which was extended in Belbins (1993) publication. On the basis of the Belbins model the team performance can be observed when a winning or losing task is set for the team. Each member with assigned role balances the team role in a group and strong representation of all roles is predicted with high performance. I have experienced the same the role of every member in my team. Belbin makes a difference between two terms team role and functional role. It is necessary for a team to keep the optimum balance both in functional roles and team roles. On the other hands the Tuckmans theory describes the four stages of small group development as forming, storming, norming and performing. However a fifth stage of adjourning was added which involves the completion of tasks, termination of roles and dissolution of groups. Belbins theory is helpful to identify the different types of the teams; the characteristics define the work of the four categories. This model explains that during the team developments conflicts and interpersonal issues are found there and team development is dependent on the quality communication and relationship maturity with better performance. In traditional setting this model is useful for many practitioners and team leaders. According to this model all members work at the same place and are engaged in predefined work. This model works at the micro level of teams when new tasks are introduced and people involved have worked together not for long time. Belbin (1981) saying that not a single individual may have all the qualities to accomplish the total corporate role is totally right. An individual in a team is assigned his role of his choice and is avoided to perform the roles which are not in his abilities. Belbin also formulated the concept of roles in a team and their contribution of characteristic personalities and abilities in a team. The success of a team is the result of combination of team roles in it. The roles identified by the Belbin are lesser or greater extent shape the individual roles in a team. I am agreed with these nine roles explained by Belbin; all the nine roles are not necessary to achieve the success. I think that five roles are sufficient to achieve the success as some roles are doubled up for example a specialist role can be performed by a Plants role included in nine roles of Belbin. A project in beginning needs the ideas, concept and contacts so the roles of Plants and Resource are more valued at that oc casion. When the project is completed the roles of implementers and completer have their own place in a team. The Belbin theory allows every role to play a secondary role in a team. The secondary role possesses the second higher skills in results. In this way a role can perform more than one function to become a secondary role player in a team. In this work I want to reflect the situation taken place during the last semester to develop and utilize my personal skills needed to maintain the relationships with other team members. Gibbs (1988) Reflective cycle is used to reflect in an effective way. I am using this model because it is a recognized framework for my reflection. Gibbs (1988) contains six stages to complete the cycle which improves my personal skills continuously and learning for the best practices in future. As Gibbs cycle moves forward the first stage describes the situation where the team members work together, next stage looks the feelings of members about the work and third stage involves the analysis of the feelings of team members. The fourth stage is the analysis to make the sense of experience, 5th stage includes the outcome of team work and the final stage involves the action plan for the situation if it arose again. This kind of reflection generated the practice knowledge which assisted me to work with m y team members and adapt the new situation during the work. The team work generated a sense of satisfaction and developed professional practices. My team work encouraged me to learn from the mistakes and behavior and looked at the perspectives of other members in team. It was important for me to build the team member relationship with other team fellows. I established a mutual understanding and trust with other team members. Bound (1996) has stated that reflection is prompted by its positive states. He gives examples of a completion of a task which was thought impossible previously. I think that I have showed this sort of reflection during my last semester. Team work faces many challenges as the Watson (1995) says that teamwork is not a smooth path individualistic behavior, competitive, personality imbalances and cultural, philosophical, gender differences are all risks. I have seen these negative aspects of teamwork provided me learning opportunities when I was asked to do a differ ently next time. There existed the cultural and language differences among the team members. Therefore many learning activities were organized as a group but the challenges of language and cultural differences resisted producing the expected results. Students in a group varied due to academic levels and many of them were unable to embrace the other cultures. Language differences also impacted our teamwork due to language handling conflicts. The positive points of teamwork are enormous as being a team member I have shared the resources, success glory and burden failure. We have talked on various topics relevant to our project during the last session. I have respected my team members, their ideas and feelings. At the start of the project,t team members agreed upon the team objectives and enabled us to make consensus on the aims, and minimized distraction from other issues. An agenda was prepared before every meeting and circulated to every member of the team during the session. It inc luded the venue, time and duration of the meeting and discussed the supporting materials at the meeting. It was impossible to solve the problems lonely. I inter-acted my team members which was vital for the team success. Our team leader addressed the team dynamics and created a culture of the creativity. I was a big part of my team to remove the barriers to generate the new ideas and encouraged all members and also supported them. Conclusions In this reflective paper the pros and cons of a team member are discussed with perspectives of Belbin and Gibbs theories. One very positive spin-off from this reflective essay is that now I am able to get further insights into processes and deliberations of each team. Overall it has been very learning experience for me and I have welcomed every my team members with different cultures and languages. A comparison of Belbins theory and Tuckmans theory is part of this paper. Belbins model is based upon the team roles while Tuckmans model tells us about team development process. Gibbs Reflective cycle is a role model to work within team and is described with its stages to improve my personal skills for the future work in a team. To keep the team more effective I must provide more opportunities and challenges and help my team members to plan their careers based on the projected organizational needs. By creating an organizational environment, openness and energies I can expect to attract th e vital team members which are major part of the keys to my future. Teamwork allows me to be involved and participate in equal ways, sharing equal ideas. This helps to broaden my thinking to achieve the best outcomes.(Griffith Graduate, 2003). Psycho-Spiritual: Nature of Imagination and Dreams Psycho-Spiritual: Nature of Imagination and Dreams PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL THERAPY: DREAMS THE IMAGINATION with dreams and the imagination? Consider the nature of the imagination and dreams,   and illustrate with examples from clinical literature. ‘The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret  recesses of the psyche, opening into that cosmic night which was  psyche long before there was any ego-consciousness, and which  will remain psyche no matter how far our ego-consciousness may  extend †¦ in dreams we put on the likeness of that more universal,  truer, more eternal man dwelling in the darkness of primordial  night. †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Carl Jung, 1964) These words represent Carl Jung’s famous definition of the nature and significance of the dream. Other definitions possible: for instance, if one is a materialist, then he understands dreams to be little more than the secretions of chemicals from glands in the brain and so simply a collection of worthless memory fragments. But leaving these prejudices aside, this essay is concerned with the psycho-spiritual interpretation of dreams, and here Jung’s definition supplies us with an excellent starting-point for understanding. For Jung and other psychotherapists, the dream is a gate and a passage, a ‘hidden door’, into the personal and collective unconscious, which is the basic substrata of our psychic life. Freud spoke similarly of the dream as ‘the royal road to the unconscious’ (Freud, 1999). The collective unconscious is inhabited by the archetypes – for instance, archetypes of the mother, wise old man, child, and trickster – which are‘†¦ irrepresentable, unconscious, pre-existent forms that seem to be part of the inherited structure of the psyche and can therefore manifest themselves spontaneously anywhere, anytime’ (Jung, 1974). In other words, the archetypes are pre-existent typical situations, stored in the collective unconscious, that have occurred innumerable times in man’s history and which appear to modern man in symbolic form in his dreams. These symbols are full of knowledge and restorative power for patients and therapists alik e. Dreams are messages and compensating agents that give the dreamer advice about how to balance or re-adjust his thoughts, emotions, and attitudes to life. Moreover, they contain a numinous aspect that can transform the spiritual life of the dreamer. By consulting and heeding the advice of our dreams and our imaginations therapists and patients can learn profound and vital knowledge about themselves and about the causes and possible methods of treatment for psychological distress (Hillman, 1980). Scientists and psychologists identify four basic states of consciousness: the state of waking consciousness, the state of dream consciousness, the state of deep sleep consciousness and the state of awakened consciousness (See: Allen, 1995). Two further dream states are also identified. Lucid Dreaming is where the dreamer is aware that he is dreaming and actively controls the images in the dream. Lucid dreaming can be of two types: ‘low’ state or ‘high’ state. ‘Low’ state lucid dreaming allows the dreamer to manipulate the images in the dream for his own amusement, pleasure, entertainment and so on. ‘High’ state lucid dreaming also allows the dreamer to be aware of the images and symbols of the dream, but this freedom is used by the dreamer to request spiritual help, advice or guidance. Non-Lucid Dreaming is the state where the dreamer is unaware that he is dreaming. Non-lucid dreaming may also be divided into ‘low’ and ‘high’ states. ‘Low’ state non-lucid dreams arise from the personal unconscious and so are personally conditioned, being composed of fragments of memories from that day or proceeding days or of anxiety, panic, excitement or other emotional states. ‘High’ state non-lucid dreams arise from the collective unconscious and are heavily laden and impregnated with images and symbols of religious, mythological or archetypal character. The images and symbols in these dreams are impersonal: that is, they are drawn from the collective fund of images that are stored in the collective unconscious; they appear to the dreamer however in a particular symbolic form that is meaningful for their psychic situation (Leuner, 1969). Let us look then at a clinical example of dream therapy taken from Jung’s Memories, Dreams, Reflections. In the chapter ‘Psychiatric Activities’ (Jung, 1973) Jung tells of an eighteen year old catatonic patient who had been sexually abused by her family as a teenager and who was now mute and schizophrenic. This girl had particularly strange dreams. She describes how she lived on the moon and was a member of a community who were forced to live underground because they were terrorised by a beautiful vampire who killed their women and children. The girl decides one day to save the moon people by killing the vampire; she takes a sacrificial knife and awaits the vampire on a tower. But when the vampire swoops upon her he is so exquisitely beautiful that she is enchanted by him and can no longer kill him. Jung tells how after these dream confessions the patient began to speak again. The girl explained that by this confession of her secret ‘moon’ life Jung a s her doctor had prevented her from leaving the ugly and painful Earth that she detested and escaping to the moon which was for her full of meaning. Though the patient returned into her catatonic state for several months after this analysis, eventually Jung was able, by explaining the symbols in these dreams, to lead the girl back to sanity. Jung explains the dreams like this. The patient having suffered so much abuse in real life compensates for her tragedy by escaping to the moon where everything is beautiful; she is in Jung’s phrase ‘humiliated in the eyes of the world, but elevated in the realm of fantasy’ (Jung, 1973). The patient transforms the incest she suffered in real life, into a mythical and spiritual experience in the realm of fantasy; she is assailed by a beautiful and mythical creature (the vampire) who is the complete opposite of the father who abused her in real life. By explaining these images to the patient, and by telling her that these images meant that she had to return to Earth to confront her difficulties there, the girl was after a short while fully recovered and able to lead an entirely normal life. This is one example of how the interpretation and explanation of symbols and images in a dream can bring about profound psychological healing for patients. The curious student will find many other such examples in Memories, Dreams, Reflections as well as in James Hillman (1980) and Martha Crampton (1979). * * * * * * Our imagination is the centre of all human creative activity and is intimately connected to our dreams and to the world of the unconscious. Imagination defined strictly in a philosophical or dictionary sense means ‘the mental faculty of forming images of external objects not present to the senses’ (OED). That is, we use our imaginations to form pictures or images of events or scenes that are idealistic or fantastic. And it is dreams and their symbols and motifs – such as the mandala (circle), Nazi swastika, phallus, quaternity (square) – that supply the basic materials for our imaginations. This is why throughout history great artists from Beethoven and Wagner, to Shakespeare and Coleridge have produced some their finest work when their imaginations have been inspired by images that they have seen in their dreams. Technically the imagination is one of five basic levels of mental faculty; the others include: the abstract mind, intuition, the concrete mind and thinking. So too, imagination is the deepest lying level of mental faculty: it sub-ducts beneath consciousness to enter into the deepest levels of the unconscious: the collective unconscious, and its inhabitants, the archetypes. The imagination is thus effectively a bridge between consciousness and the unconscious. When we use our imagination we dwell upon images that we have seen in our unconscious in the form of dreams and we re-arrange this material in forms that are fantastic or creative. We imagine how we would like the world to be. Applied to clinical therapy, the use of imaginative techniques can engender profound improvements in the state of minds of patients. Carl Jung advocated a technique called ‘active imagination’, where whilst in a waking state a patient focuses intensely upon images that appeared in recent dream s and so tries to enhance the features of such images and symbols and so contemplate their significance. By this concentration upon dream images, the patient is able to discover and then integrate the symbols that are being produced by his unconscious. This integration named ‘individuation’ (Jung, 1973) – produces for the patient a state of psychic and spiritual equilibrium: that is, the unconscious and conscious halves of his personality are balanced against each other. * * * * * * In the final analysis, it must be said, that from a psycho-therapeutic viewpoint, dreams and imagination are of the utmost importance for clinical psychology. Dreams are a door to a vast and immense reservoir of age-old images and wisdom which when revealed to a patient in archetypal and symbolic form can transform his psychological attitudes and guide him out of psychic distress. The imagination is vital too as the bridge to this world of the unconscious, forming a link between this world and that. BIBLIOGRAPHY Crampton, M. (1984). Dialogic Imaginable Integration. Institute of Psychosynthesis. Crampton, M. (1979). ‘The Use of Mental Imagery in Psychosynthesis’, Psychosynthesis  Research Foundation. Freud, S. (1999 Ed.). The Interpretation of Dreams. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Hobson, A. (1995). ‘Working With Dreams’ from Sleep, Scientific American Library. Hillman, J. (1980). Dreams and the Underworld. Harper and Row, New York. Jung, C. G. (1973). Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Pantheon Books, London. Jung, C. G. (1964). Civilization in Transition. Bollingen, Princeton. Jung, C.G. (1959). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Bollingen, Princeton. Jung, C.G. (1960). The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. Bollingen, Princeton. Leuner, H. (1969). ‘Guided Affected Imagery’. American Journal of Psychotherapy. Vol.23,  No.1. The Oxford English Dictionary. (1989). Oxford University Press, Oxford. Spanish Communist Party, 1936 | Poster Analysis Spanish Communist Party, 1936 | Poster Analysis Poster: Central Committee of the Spanish Communist Party, 1936 I. State what the document is The document is a political rallying call inspired by the proclamation of the Central Committee of the Spanish Communist Party (PCE). It was part of a broader recruitment initiative by the Communist Party to enlist soldiers to fight in the Spanish Civil War, which officially commenced on 17 July 1936. Unlike their fascist opponents who could rely upon funding, weapons and personnel from Germany, Italy and Portugal, the Communist Party had little choice but to recruit fighters from the civilian population of Spain and, afterwards, of any democratic European countries that wished to curb the spread of right wing extremism across the continent. Documents such as this were placed in town halls and meeting venues throughout Spain to encourage all opponents of fascism to continue with the ‘national revolution’ regardless of whether these opponents were communist or not. As a result, socialists, anarchists, liberals, republicans and nationalists from the Basque and Catalan regions of Spain were targeted to join the Communist Party in order to increase the number of fighters that the Left had at its disposal. In the event, the forces that eventually made up the defenders of the Spanish Republic (the ‘Loyalists’) were similar in composition to the Popular Front coalition government that collapsed in February 1936, largely due to an inability to achieve a lasting political consensus. II. Place the document in its historical context As a primary source document of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the poster should be seen within the historical context of the rapid descent into World War Two as the fighting in Spain afforded the German military machine the opportunity to test out their blitzkrieg offensive with devastating effects on Spanish towns such as Guernica. This war, like the wider world conflict that would follow in September 1939, was also a war that was fought along ideological lines between, on the one side, fascists and, on the other, a combination of socialist and democratic forces. This was an important break from the past and, in particular, the First World War, which was fought over imperial ambition rather than two opposing visions of political ideology. The historical context was therefore influenced by the ongoing struggle between the political Left and Right with the Spanish Communist Party holding the key to the hopes of the international socialist movement that had been starved of any kin d of tangible success since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. III. Explain and comment upon specific important points, references or allusions in the text The most prominent symbolic feature of the document is the hammer and sickle which dominates the background of the textual content of the poster. Although most famous for its association with the Soviet Union, the hammer and sickle was, and remains, a trans‑national symbol of communism that exists far beyond the borders of Russia. Communist China, for instance, also adopted the hammer and sickle as did the Spanish Communist Party where the twin elements of the hammer and the sickle were seen to represent the tools of the industrial proletariat and the agrarian peasantry respectively. This would have been one of the major attractions of the poster to potential recruits from these two important economic sectors; indeed, the document must have met with some degree of success as the faction loyal to the Spanish Republic drew many soldiers from industrial regions such as Asturias and Catalonia as well as agricultural regions such as Andalucà ­a and Galicia. However, whereas the imagery evokes a strong association with communism and the USSR, the text itself is more intent upon reducing the divide that existed between the various socio ­-political sectors of the Loyalists. The document takes care to appeal to â€Å"all those dreamers or those who are irresponsible, who want to forcibly impose their own province or people experiments of ‘socialism’ or’ libertarian communism’ or of another kind† in order to â€Å"make them understand that all those experiments will crumble to the ground like imaginary castles if the war is not won.† This passage is a clear indication of the gravity of the threat facing the Spanish Republic as ideological zealots such as communists have historically sought to distance themselves from any political movement that does not practice pure Marxist doctrine. IV. Comment upon the reliability of the document as a historical source Clearly the document cannot be relied upon as an unbiased primary historical source. Any form of blatant advertisement for a political ideology cannot be considered to be a reliable source because it can only ever provide the views of one side of the conflict. History and historical evaluation is all about analysing the evidence from all sides of the argument; never from one side alone. The reasons for this are obvious. The document in question cannot, for instance, offer the historian anything approaching an impartial description of the opposing fascist enemy due to the aforementioned ideological nature of the struggle. Thus, the document uses words such as â€Å"monstrous†, â€Å"tormenter† and â€Å"criminal†, which negatively alter the reader’s opinion of Franco’s fascist army, regardless of what we now know about the Generalissimo’s military regime. The fascists are likewise termed as the â€Å"invading troops† despite the Spanish Communist Part’s overt drive to recruit soldiers of its own from abroad. The usefulness of the document therefore resides in the insight that it provides with regards to the application of propaganda methods in a war context. The poster shows how rudimentary the PCE recruitment techniques were at the start of the war yet also how effective this propaganda campaign must have been for the largely illiterate peasantry who would have been drawn into the symbolic pretext of the poster every bit as much as the aggressive use of words within the text. Ultimately, the document is reliable in so far as it paints an accurate portrait of the turbulent condition of Spain in the late summer of 1936 – before the country slipped into forty years of economic depravity and authoritarian rule. V. Summarise the document’s relevance and value to the student of the history of twentieth century Europe There is little doubt that the document is very relevant to the student of twentieth century European history. The poster provides key information about one of the bloodiest civilian wars in recorded history with up to a million casualties on both sides by the official cessation of the conflict on 1 April 1939. The document is especially relevant in the contemporary twenty first century era as the poster provides a prism through which the student can view the ideological nature of the Second World War. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 this kind of conflict is never likely to happen again. The Spanish Communist Party’s recruitment poster is consequently an artefact as much as a primary source historical document. Its value is also without question, in spite of the unquestioned bias at the heart of the document. When we think of the lack of first hand, written evidence available for a large portion of, for example, medieval European history, it would be foolish to devalue any primary source document that can help to shed light on the past. By applying analytical historical knowledge to the document, the student can see beyond the propagandist element of the poster. In fact, even this is useful because, through its attempts to paint the ‘revolution’ in a favourable light, the poster shows how non‑democratic, despotic regimes are able to maintain power over a population for a protracted period of time. Can Agencies Collaborate with Children and Families? Can Agencies Collaborate with Children and Families? Collaboration between agencies working together with children and their families will never work. Discuss. Multi-agency working is not a new development for years its importance has been recognised for professionals from inter-agencies to collaborate, even as early as the mid nineteenth centaury health and social workers, worked in partnership to help reduce poverty in England. (Cheminais 2009; 1) Many changes have occurred over the years, which have stressed the importance of collaboration between agencies working together who are closely involved in the services working with children and families. (Waller 2009; 152) However, in spite of the beneficial outcome collaborative working has achieved for patients, clients and for the professionals themselves. (Leathard et al 2003; 131) Many children are still ‘being failed by the absence of collaboration between agencies to meet their needs; and this was epitomised by the circumstances surrounding the death of Victoria Climbià ©. Wilson et al (2008; 519) This essay will discuss the collaboration between agencies looking at legislation and policies that the government has put into place to drive multi-agency working, the essay will also cover the benefits of Multi-agency working as well as the challenges and barriers between professionals working in health, social services and education. Furthermore, the essay will focus on private, independent and voluntary sectors discussing multi-agency working between them. Throughout the essay a placement of a medical centre (see Appendix) will be referred to where a Health Visitor (here after HV) will be discussed as to whether collaboration in childrens services is beneficial to children and families or if as literature suggests is failing. Throughout this essay a variety of terminology will be used, according to Lumsden in Waller (2009; 156) ‘In practice, the terms partnership, collaboration, interagency work and working together are often used interchangeably and different professionals can have different interpretations of what they mean. In this essay the following definitions will be used all to refer to agencies and professionals working together with families and children, these are defined below: ‘Collaboration‘ Interdisciplinary process of problem solving, shared responsibility for decision making and the ability to carry out a plan of care while working towards a common goal. (Mckay et al. 2008; 110) ‘Multi-agency working More than one agency working with a young person, with a family on a project (but not necessarily jointly). It may be concurrent sometimes as a result of joint planning or it may be sequential. (Lloyd et al. 2001) ‘Partnership Working ‘A collaborative professional working relationship with other in both the professional and para-professional world of all agencies who work jointly to deliver services to local children and families. (Gasper 2010; 24) ‘Interagency working ‘This involves two or more agencies working together in a formal and planned way, but each agency will maintain its own identity as it works alongside other agencies. (Fitzgerald 2007) When referring to the above terms the agencies that will be addressed within the subject of collaboration will be social care, health care, and education. The above services are a fundamental role for both children and families, who may need the help of these agencies, helping families and children to have a positive outlook. For many years the government have released legislation and policies to highlight the importance of agencies collaboratively working together, to help children and families, especially safeguarding children. More recent legislation has imposed agencies such as health, social care and education working jointly together. As frost proposes ‘the concept of joint working in safeguarding children and family support services is central to the governments approach, which acknowledges the inter-relatedness of family needs in the fields of health, social services, law enforcement, child welfare, housing and education, and aims to make the delivery of services more efficient and effective. Frost et al. (2007; 185) However as much of the literature suggests there are many restrictions between agencies working together. The Implementation of the Children Act 1989 highlighted the importance of collaboration between agencies, ‘the act clearly confirmed that multi-agency approaches were seen as the most effective way of protecting children from abuse. Fitzgerald (2008; 35) The Act (1989) defines in section 47 how agencies from ‘any local authority; any local education authority; any local housing authority; any health authority; and any person authorised by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section has the right to join together and protect the child from harm by providing and sharing information. Childrens Act 1989 HM Government (Section 47; 11) Cheminais (2009) concurs with Fitzgerald (2008) stating ‘The Children Act 1989 established the statutory requirement for inter-agency collaboration and joint working in relation to children and young people, requiring professionals to ‘work better together. Cheminais (2009;1) The government have produced many legislative documents on collaboration between agencies ‘working together. The Working Together to Safeguard Children document (DfES 2006) was first published in 1999, but a more recent adaptation was produced in 2006, which shows how agencies and practitioners should be working together to promote and safeguard the wellbeing of children. The more recent version of the paper reflects the new developments which have happened through policies, legislation and practice. (Wilson 2006; 4) The paper was formed for anyone who works with children and families, it expresses how agencies and professionals should be working together to meet the legal requests of both the Childrens Acts 1989 and 2004. (Barker 2007; 4) ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children describes comprehensively how agencies should work together and gives guidance on investigations and conduct of case conferences. Brammer (2006; 249) The guidance in the document sets out a nation al policy to help safeguard children which are based on the green paper ‘Every Child Matters outcomes. ‘Be Healthy; Stay Safe; Enjoy and Achieve; Make a Positive Contribution and Achieve Economic Well-being Every Child Matters (2003:1) ‘In achieving these outcomes working together stresses the importance of an integrated multi-professional approach by all organisations and agencies to the assessment, planning, intervention and review processes for all vulnerable children. Barker (2007;5) The Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) document underpins many important government legislations from the Childrens Act 1989, Childrens Act 2004 and the Green Paper Every Child Matters (DfES 2004) In 2003, the Laming Report was made public and brought 108 recommendations for changes to childrens services at a national and local level, and within and between the different agencies and professionals. The Laming report led to the Green paper ‘Every Child Matters which set out five main outcomes for children to achieve there wellbeing, the legislation was aimed at children from birth to nineteen years. It was the tragic death of Victoria Climbe in 2000 which was one of the main contributions to the Green Paper Every Child Matters (DfES 2003) ‘The legacy of Victoria Climbie is that her death provided both the government and professionals with the permission to refocus on the importance of working together, thus integrated services are at the heart of the government initiative Every Child Matters, and the Children Act 2004 provides the legal framework to facilitate the programme of change, Lumsden et al. in Waller (2009; 153)Victorias death was a result of horrifying abu se which was caused by her great aunt and her boyfriend. However Victoria was seen by many agencies ‘during her time in the UK Victoria was seen for health and welfare reasons, by a wide range of representatives from different social services departments, health services and hospitals as well as the police, but all failed to intervene appropriately to protect her. Barker (2009; 9) Every Child Matters tried to build on existing plans put together by the government to strengthen preventative services, social exclusion and tackle poverty for children and families by focusing on four key themes; ‘Supporting parents and carers; Early Intervention and effective protection; Accountability and integration of services; and Workforce reforms. (Baldock et al (2007; p70) In 2004 Every Child Matters ‘Change for children was launched alongside the Childrens Act 2004, ‘providing the legislative spine for the wider strategy improving childrens lives. Tunstill (2007; 26) ‘The United Kingdom have witnessed 30 years of fatal child abuse inquiries or serious case reviews. Reader et al. (2004; 96) ‘During that time there have been about 40 public inquiries overall and between 50 and 90 local case reviews under part 8 of the ‘working together guidance each year. Reader et al (2004; 96; Department of Health 1999) These terrible consequences of past inquires have influenced the services provided to children and families through changes to policies and in practice, however public inquiries have also seen similarities. It is over 30 years since the publication report was released looking into the inquiry of the death of seven year old Maria Colwell who tragically died from abuse of her step-father. This tragic death caused shock in society and there was ‘utter determination that such tragedies like this would never happen again Lonne (2008;18) However despite the governments backing of policies and produced reports there have still tra gically been other victims. The inquiries of Victoria Climbe and Maria Colwell have identified a number of common themes; as Parton (2004; 82) describes ‘considerable confusion and a failure to communicate key information, so that as a consequence both children fell through the elaborate welfare net. ‘Nevertheless failures of agencies to co-ordinate their efforts continued to be seen as a significant contributing factor in the death of children through abuse. Maynard (2004; 182) When yet another tragedy occurred in 2007 the death of ‘Baby Peter or ‘Baby P, who suffered abuse from his mothers boyfriend a very similar case review to Victoria Climbe. ‘Canning et al (2010; 70) states ‘both childrens names will be a constant reminder to professionals of the shortfalls and failings that can occur in relation to the protection of the welfare of children. Therefore working collaboratively continues to be a child protection theme, both in terms of government guidance and in primary legislation. Maynard (2004; 182) As we have seen the consequences which can occur when mistakes are made in multi-agency collaboration, are often disastrous. Therefore preventative methods needed to be put into place, as part of the ‘governments strategy for more integrated childrens services in 2003 the development of the ‘Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and lead professional (LP) was established. Brandon et al (2006; 397) The CAF aims to ‘deliver frontline services that are integrated and are focused around the needs of children and young people. (ECM 2009) The Framework ‘helps practitioners from a variety of agencies (health, education, social services, youth offending ect) to access childrens services earlier and more effectively, develop a common understanding of those needs and agree a process for working together to meet them. Hall et al (2009; 81) Through developing the use of CAF different agencies can use the same assessment for families and children without overlapping or having multiple assessments for the child. An important role in CAF is the Lead Professional which is an ‘important part of the strategy, the Lead Professional is a single point of contact for children, young people and their families. Hall et al. (2009; 82) The Common Assessment Framework aims to: ‘Reduce the number of assessments for children with additional needs to reduce stress on the chid and family Ensure that services delivered by multi-agencies to the same child/ family are appropriately coordinate to reduce overlap and gaps in service provision To ensure professionals are aware other agencies are involved to share information about any concerns about a child. (Baldock 2009; 84) However there are also limitations to using the ‘Common Assessment Framework, as it is a new form of assessment it will mean more of a workload for professionals and Lead professionals therefore it may hinder collaboration and children may slip through the net as professionals may be too busy filling in paper work, to visit the family and child. (Fitzgerald 2007; 63) Other limitations include agencies not working together, as Brandon (2006; 405) states ‘some areas identified problems in getting particular agencies and sectors to sign up for these multi-agency processes. Another restriction is implementing it into the workforce, and getting all agencies involved in using CAF as soon as possible. Every Child Matters (2009; Online) states ‘AllLocal Authorityareaswere expected to implement the CAF, along with the lead professional role and information sharing, between April 2006 and March 2008. However when in placement setting in 2009 with a local Health Visitor they w ere still in the process of putting CAF into practice, (see Appendix) therefore we cannot yet prove that it is going to be successful, to help agencies work jointly together. However as a result of the CAF not being implemented throughout agencies there were gaps, and children still slipped through the net as a result, Gasper (2010; 126) states, ‘All agencies responded in unison following Lord Lamings report into the death of Victoria Climbe and there was a surge in the momentum to work more closely together across agencies and professions. The common assessment framework has been the outcome, but even that has not prevented continuing tragedies such as the case of ‘Baby P in 2007. To help meet the governments strategy of multi-agency collaboration, alongside the Every Child Matter agenda, the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge was introduced. (HM Government 2006) As part of the skills there are six areas of expertise that all practitioners including volunteers across disciplinary background will be expected to put in to practice when working with children and families: ‘Effective communication and engagement Child and young person development Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child Supporting transitions Multi-agency working Sharing information Fitzgerald (2007; 125) ‘Inter-agency and multi-agency work is an essential feature of all training in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Working together to safeguard children (DfES 2006; 94) As part of the Multi-agency strategy Local Safeguarding Childrens Boards (LSCBs) have been established to replace Area Child Protection Committees. ‘LSCBs were established through the children Act 2004 there main remit is to develop policies and procedures for ‘Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area of the authority. Fitzgerald (2007; 62) LSCBs ‘put in place legislative arrangements for implementing the proposals in the 2003 Green Paper ‘Every Child Matters placing working together on a statutory footing for both the statutory and voluntary agencies and the community. Robotham et al. (2005; 177) Through producing strategies like CAF and LSCBs the government are working towards closer integration between services, where all agencies understand and w ork from the same documents then this should help agencies as they both share the same understanding. Agencies working collaboratively together from private, independent voluntary sectors shall now be discussed, in relation to multi-agency working. When out on placement an issue that occurred in one particular family was domestic violence, (see appendix) the HV collaborated with multiple agencies from different sectors to help keep the welfare of the mother and child safe. The Health Visitor helped the mother to get in contact with a voluntary agency WAVES (womens centre against domestic violent events), the mother was able to contact them through using the Childrens Centre which is a statutory sector and was also given advice about counselling which is private sector. This involved the use of multi-agency working which for this particular case was a successful collaboration between agencies involved. Through the HV being in contact with the childrens centre, the voluntary and private run group, it assured that the needs of the children and family in this case were being met. Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfES 2006;94) document states; ‘Training and development for inter-agency and multi-agency wok should be targeted at the following practitioner groups from voluntary, statutory and independent agencies, for those who are in regular contact with children and young people. Multi agency working should include services provided by use of Private, independent and voluntary sectors (Maynard 2004; 189) for overall colla boration between different agencies, and the strategies in place to work together. The effectiveness of agencies working collaboratively together will now be discussed. There are many benefits for multi-agency collaborative working in social care, health care, and education settings. However ‘There appears to be limited positive evidence on outcomes from integrated working with much of the current work focusing on the process of integrated working and perception from professionals about the impact of such services. Brown et al (2006; 16) One positive aspect is it ‘leads to enhanced and improved outcomes for children and young people, through a range of joined-up services advice and support being readily available and easily accessible. Cheminais (2009; 26) When observing the collaboration of agencies within the placement setting, it was clear that there was good partnerships between the agencies, this especially was shown between the health visitor and the local Childrens centre (see appendix) as part of the drive for greater collaboration Sure Start Ce ntres were also brought in to enhance multi-agency working by providing many professionals in the same centre, therefore all families have access. Another positive outcome to agencies collaboratively working together is improved cost efficiency, when all services work together they have to use less individual resources. (Johnson et al 2003) Another positive outcome to multi agency working is when services work together they share information therefore this makes it less stressful for families, but also helps agencies to not overlap, as Fitzgerald et al (2008; 28) States; ‘The main strands of childrens services -education, health and social services have in the past developed separately within differently established services. This separate development ultimately led to a fragmented pattern of services for children, with gaps and overlap in service provision and a work force divided by different professional cultures, different remits and goals and ultimately different views of children and childhood. Therefore when agencies to work together collaboratively great successes came become of this for both children and families, however there are also many barriers to different agencies working together. Although there is much legislation, policies and documents on how to have successful collaborative agencies working together, there are also many barriers that can occur when these different agencies come together. One of many problems which has been highlighted in case reviews of working together is lack of communication and information sharing between agencies and professionals. Gasper (2010; 126) describes what can happen if agencies fail to communicate effectively; ‘More than one tragedy has been shown to be the direct result of failures of professionals to communicate and to take responsibility for seeing through concerns raised by one or more person or agency. As this has been the main issue in the Laming reports, the government produced an ‘Information sharing Index or ‘Contact point to help overcome this barrier for professionals. ‘The purpose of contact point is for professionals involved with a child and family to be aware of other agencies and profe ssionals who are also working with them. Buldock (2009; 88) When in the placement setting the HV (see appendix) was in contact with many other agencies, about particular children and families. Even though contact point was only just being set up in the setting, through using contact point the HV is able to establish if the child has a CAF, agencies involved with the families, and contact details of the agencies this makes the process of information sharing much more simple and accessible to practitioners. This is aimed at aiding rapid and effective inter-professional co-operation and ensuring better information sharing than previously. Buldock (2009; 88) Another barrier in the challenges of multi-agency working is funding, ‘concerns in relation to sustainability, for example conflicts over funding within and between agencies; a general lack of funding for multi-agency training and development work and to cover accommodation and on-costs for services delivery. Cheminais (2009; 27) Sloper (2004; 578) discusses how funding can be a barrier to collaboration between agencies, through having different and short-term budgets. ‘Financial uncertainties, short term funding and lack of joint and equitable budget between partners are barriers, it is often suggested that coordinated working will produce cost savings by cutting down duplication of assessment and provision and providing a more appropriate and timely service to meet needs. ‘Many studies stress that time is the essence in setting up projects and developing relationships and it is difficult to maximize collaborative advantage when funding is short term. Gannon-Leary (2006; 669) However, Hudson (2002) argues that when agencies work together through sharing funding it can help to have a positive effect on collaboration between agencies. ‘Formal sharing of financial resources appears to have a number of benefits, promoting collaboration and cutting down on duplication Hudson et al (2002) in Sloper (2004; 578) Another important barrier, which often occurs in agencies working together, is the cultural issues, roles, and responsibilities. ‘The management of different professional and multi-agency service cultures, for example, staff recruitment and retention, disparities in status, pay, conditions of service working hours and working conditions. Cheminais (2009; 27) This can all make it very difficult for professionals from different agencies to work together, although when out on placement this did not occur other professional may feel they are more important in status and power than other professionals from different agencies. Foley (2008; 109) states ‘On the one hand, they want to be seen as being professional in terms of their specialised knowledge about children and their skills, on the other hand, its obvious that elitism and professional language can act as a powerful barrier. When working together the language barrier and the use of jargon between different agencies can o ften cause conflict. Fitzgerald (2007; 55) states ‘terminology attitudes to information sharing and professional principle can cause tension between agencies and poor integration of service delivery. Sloper (2004; 578) states how overcoming the barrier to working together can be very difficult between professionals who may not work together, ‘Findings on the barriers to multi-agency collaboration indicate the difficulties to be overcome. There is now some evidence that shared learning and inter-agency/ inter-professional training especially as part of continuing professional education, is one way of promoting better multi-agency collaboration. Sloper (2004; 578) However if this barrier is over come then the services provided to children and families should be a positive experience; where agencies are using the same focus and goals to deliver services. ‘All childrens services are working towards achieving the five outcomes of Every Child Matters, therefore developing a common vision at operational level and strategic level is of utmost importance. Canning et al. (2010; 70) This showing that in order for successful collaboration between agencies on of the key themes is training and updating knowledge. The government are recognising the importance for further training for the professionals, who will be working with the future children, and have designed the Early Years Professional Status; ‘the government wishes to have EYPs in all childrens centres by 2010. CWDC (2006). In Conclusion it has shown that there are many positives to collaborative working between agencies, and we have witnessed in first hand experience (see appendix) with the Riley Family. It has shown that agencies are able to collaborate with each other to provide services to help children and families, however it has also revealed the consequences which can happen if agencies are not prepared to work together to safeguard children, in cases such as ‘Baby P. Therefore with current legislation, and policies like Every Child Matters, Working Together to Safeguard Children, CAF, Contact Point, and Common Core Skills, agencies are guided into collaboratively working together and overcoming the barriers, to provide successful services to children and families.