Immigration has in the recent years pointedly augmented the existence of foreign workers within the United States. The influences of immigration on the state’s economy is one that has fiercely been debated with some people arguing that immigration is not good for the economy because it diminishes the job opportunities of the U.S natives (Peri, 2010). Others argue that Immigration is good because immigrants get to fill the essential job opportunities that are always turned down by the native workers and this improves the economy.
Immigrants are always associated with provision of cheap non-skilled labour. These are people who come in search of job opportunities and they are always willing to do any job without much argument on the wages they are given. This affects the job opportunities for the skilled native workers who understand their rights as workers and are not willing to be exploited (Florence et al., 2017). There are many job opportunities within the U.S most of which are perceived inappropriate for the native workers and most of the times they are left with no one to do. The immigrants come into the U.S in search of any job opportunities and they are the people who fill in these neglected job vacancies. Businesses within the U.S are able to take advantage of the labour supplied by the new immigrants and hence expand their businesses by adjusting their physical capital that includes equipment and structures (Peri, 2010). The economy hence gets to absorb these immigrants by expanding the job opportunities rather than displacing the natives which increases productivity.
I believe that immigration has a positive impact on productivity; migrants take jobs in the sectors where the natives are in short supply for instance in housekeeping, agriculture and landscaping. Without the immigrants, the natives will have to be incentivised in order to provide for these essential services and this would mean lower supply at a higher cost (Florence et al., 2017). When the immigrants take up the manual routine jobs, the natives get the chance to get the more complex tasks and this promotes their skill upgrading and it also means more revenues for them.
References
Peri, G. (2010, August 30). The Effect of Immigrants on U.S. Employment and Productivity.
Mass society can be defined as a modern society that is characterized by a breakdown of community, individuation, loneliness, and powerlessness. The traditional social ties became weak since the industrial revolution created a culture industry where people were interested in capitalism and the elite concern was based on forming a centralized government (Spielvogel, 511). The period of the 19th century marked the second industrial revolution that was characterized by material prosperity, industrial production, scientific development, and technological growth. The industrial revolution led to the creation of mass society- a society where people encountered positive life changes such as voting rights, a higher standard of living, and new form of transportation, new governmental roles, and political democracy (Spielvogel, 512). The industrial production was characterized by new social structures, mass leisure, gender issues, population growth, and urbanization. These factors were responsible for the creation of a mass society where due to the changes in the standard of living, division of labor, technology advances, people become detached and the social bonds became weak.
Mass society, mass transportation, and mass consumerism led to the creation of social structures such as the elite, the middle classes and lower classes. Among the three classes, the middle class consists the largest group of people who were professionals, industrialists, lawyers, architects, white-collar workers, traders, engineers and more (Spielvogel, 518). Since the mass society was characterized by large-scale society, technological changes and the growth of the economy, there was a high level of mass employment and positive living conditions. The industrial expansion gave rise to the middle-class workers who worked in white collar jobs. As the middle class entered in the industrial revolution, they improved their standard of living and enjoyed new activities such as eating high-quality food, taking a vacation, attending theater festival, living in cities, afford amenities and living a comfortable life (Spielvogel, 519). In general, middle-class people focused on advancing education to increase literacy and enjoyed the mass leisure such as attending athletic events, beaches, dance halls and more. All class in the industrial revolution enjoyed the age of progress but the middle-class people benefited most since they could make higher earnings from well-paying jobs.
Work cited
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization: A Brief History. Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2014.
‘Detroit’s Abandoned Ruins Are Captivating, but Are They Bad for Neighbourhoods?’
‘Detroit’s Abandoned Ruins Are Captivating, but Are They Bad for Neighbourhoods?’ is an article that was written by Kate Abbey- Lambertz in the year 2017. The article describes the situation in Detroit in regard to the abandoned city and the way that this situation affects the neighbourhoods. She incorporates the use of photos of the ruined buildings in Detroit taken by professional photographers that visit the city from all over the world to show the current situation in the city and the urgent need to help restructure this neighbourhood. Lambertz begins her article by citing the Michigan Central Depot which is one of the significant ruined buildings in Detroit which helps to set the mood for the article.
Lambertz main goal is to try and define the current Detroit and her article paints a clear picture of the city that has now become a feature of exploration. In the article, she also tries to illustrate that the world and entire society do not see the seriousness of the ruined Detroit and the need to have it restructured. This message is very inspiring and it helps one to make sense of the situation in Detroit and the way that the real problem is downplayed. People come from all corners of the world to explore the ruined iconic buildings, taking pictures and telling their stories in magazines the best way that they know how (Lambertz, p.1). Her article basically targets the whole society which is inclusive of everyone that has an interest in the current state of Detroit to make them aware of the urgent need to have this city rebuilt.
It is frustrating to see the way that the ruins are glamourized in magazines and other mediums instead of looking for ways to revive and rebuild this iconic neighbourhood. The city has become a horror neighbourhood with increasing cases of criminal activities like car trafficking and robberies as more visitors come in to view the ruins (Lambertz, p.1). In the overall, Lambertz clearly brings out the urgent need to help revive Detroit in this article. Most of the ruined buildings that are in Detroit are iconic structures that deserve to be preserved for their historic significance. This is however not the case, these buildings have now become the havens of crimes hence attracting the wrong attention which is very distressing (Lambertz, p.1). This article in the end indicates that there is hope for Detroit, these buildings can be renovated and restructured to change the current state in Detroit. Lambertz uses the example of Packard Plant that was purchased and hopes to be renovated to become a mixed used space meaning that many businesses will be opened up and this will help in encouraging people to come back to Detroit (Lambertz, p.1).
The mode of communication that Lambertz uses in the article is a bit complex in that some of the concepts are not clearly brought out. The fact that she is from Detroit makes her explain the situation from the point of view of someone that is from Detroit not considering the people who are not from there but want to understand learn about what the situation is in Detroit. One has to really have an idea about the situation in Detroit in order to understand what she is talking about. In overall, the content of the message is very effective in persuading the society about the need to rebuild Detroit, a clear picture of the issues happening in the city are well stated.
Works cited
Lambertz, Kate. "Detroit's Abandoned Ruins Are Captivating, But Are They Bad For
Emotional intelligence (EQ) can be defined as the ability to monitor own feelings and emotions and feelings of others. On the other hand, Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is the person's reasoning ability. It is important to understand that Emotional Quotient is made of non-intelligence factors such as self-awareness, social awareness, relationship management, and self-management (Bradberry, 23). On the other hand, people with IQ show abilities in quantitative reasoning, knowledge of the world and working memory.
Having understood the difference between EQ and IQ, as a college student, I think EQ is more important in getting through college and starting a career. This is because, identifying personal and other emotions, evaluating personal and others feelings, controlling personal emotions and relating with others is important not only in school but also in the business world. I prefer to enroll in social and emotional learning to boost my emotional intelligence and gain emotional intelligence skills. Even though both IQ and EQ are both important in shaping owns life and influencing success, EQ is more important in that one will strengthen the cognitive ability and be in a position to influence positive behaviors, develop social contacts, resolve conflicts and build human relations (Bradberry, 61). It is important to understand that one cannot survive with IQ only (knowledge and brilliant ideas) rather, one needs the ability to control emotions. Another point is that EQ is more important in that when students complete education, they enter the business world while they are socially and emotionally prepared. Note that in the business world, one will meet people from diverse backgrounds, hostile people, negativists, complainers, unresponsive, indecisive and all kind of people (Bradberry, 177). However, a person with Emotional Intelligence will have the ability to cope with both positive and negative situations by evaluating people's emotions, solving conflicts and building relationships.
In the business world, Emotional Intelligence is an important factor that helps someone not only in succeeding in life but also in helping the organization achieve a competitive advantage. This is because, with emotional intelligence, a person will possess leadership skills, show empathy, self-confidence, take personal responsibility, become independent, manage time and value teamwork (Bradberry, 179). All these are elements needed by today's businesses and students need to get a thorough training on emotional intelligence in order to have the ability to work in a competitive workforce.
Despite the importance of learning Emotional Intelligence, there are a number of drawbacks associated with it. First, despite the fact that one can create social effectiveness, avoid engaging in destructive behaviors, one has lower levels of creativity. Creativity is innovation are also important factors needed by today's business and research has found that people with EQ ability do not engage in complex dynamics. They only do better in self-awareness, empathy and interpersonal interaction but they lack a power dynamic to work in a complex situation. (Bradberry, 225). In other words, businesses need people who use logic in bringing innovations and solving problems. Another point is that people with EQ use emotions in all settings and an increase in emotions prevent the ability to use critical thinking in complex situations.
As a student, I think that EQ is better than IQ and while I am at school and in the business world, I am interested in understanding myself, understanding others, communicating effectively with people, collaborating, and sharing, motivating and promoting understanding. However, this does not mean that IQ has no benefits. IQ is associated with benefit in that one will possess Knowles of the world, increase the working memory, use abstract thoughts, solve problems and be creative. These elements are important in the business world since today's business need someone with a smarter brain. In the workplace, one is able to gain adaptability, be flexible and gain improvement (Goleman, 5). However, even though one is able to apply the knowledge and skills in making decisions and solving problems, it is difficult to apply the Knowledge without the ability to cooperate, build interpersonal relationships, and manage personality and mental health. In the business world, there are many challenges and the solution to these challenges is not only the knowledge and skills gained in the class but also the emotional intelligence (Goleman, 9). In other words, one need to be closely related with the society, manage stress, be flexible and mindfulness.
I also did an EQ test and the results showed that I have a higher level of emotional intelligence. This is because I have good relationships with other people, I am very good at improving working relationships, I have leadership potential and I can manage my emotions. I also understand my strengths and weaknesses, I embrace change and I cannot offend easily. However, I need to improve on areas such as controlling emotions in stressful situations and finding strengths when I feel frustrated.
Both intuition and empirical evidence have been used to create the public sentiment toward homosexuality. From 1970 to 1977, people in the U.S could not change these negative attitude toward homosexuality until the past 2 decades where people are seen to change their opinion toward supporting the acceptability of homosexuality (Yang, 1997). In the 1970s and 1980s, the rate of disapproval has been high but today, the recent surveys are challenging the conventional wisdom and this has caused a decrease in disapproval rates. The low rates show that the public is showing the willingness to agree that homosexuality is moral and legal.
Hypotheses
There are changes in opinion polls and public opinions toward homosexuality have become positive.
Method used
A survey method of research was used where data was derived from survey archives.
Independent and dependent variables
In the study, the responders were the dependent variables and the policies were independent variables. The dependent variables were used to measure the attitudes of the public toward homosexuality. The dependent variables changed due to the changes in independent variables. In other words, the policies acted as independent variables as they affected the attitudes (Yang, 1997).
Results
The research article had predicted that there is a positive attitude toward the issues of homosexuality. However, the data collected through the survey method does not support the hypothesis since a higher number was against homosexuality. The majority report that homosexuality is more harmful, morally wrong, not acceptable, should not be legal and the majority choose to be gays and lesbians (Yang, 1997).
Part 2
Summary
The article asserts that right-wing authoritarianism is associated with inter-group prejudices. People with authoritarianism have a higher tendency to form the bias against the out-groups since they fear the minority may threaten the values (Whitley, 1999). They normally treat the out-groups as inferior and less moral and view them as immoral threats. The right-wing authoritarians relate with social dominance orientation in that the latter is a condition where the in-groups feel they are superior. They tend to discriminate the out-group and hold negative attitudes toward minorities such as lesbians and gay. However, SDO differs from RWA in that it uses legitimizing myths to defend themselves whereas the RWA uses the stereotype as a form of prejudice (Whitley, 1999).
The study investigated whether people with RWA have negative attitudes toward homosexuality and whether SDO form prejudice toward out-groups.
Hypothesis
Social dominance orientation forces the in-group to from stereotypes and other forms of prejudices as an expression to negative attitudes toward out-groups.
Social dominance orientation correlates with gender differences where men tend to maintain power (Whitley, 1999).
Method
A questionnaire method of research was used where participants were asked to agree or disagree.
Variables
The independent variables were RWA and SDO and the dependent variables were prejudice measures. The canonical correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between the variables (Whitley, 1999).
Results
The study concludes that RWA and SDA are associated with prejudiced attitudes. People with SDO tend to form an identity group that has more power than out-groups. On the other hand, RWA does not focus on intergroup dominance but it tends to follow the powerful authorities and condemns the minority who are against the group's social norms (Whitley, 1999). Focusing on both RWA and SDO, the research article finds that SDO is responsible for many forms of prejudice in that it focuses on gender differences and in-group dominance.
Both articles overlap in their research areas n that they tend to focus on one area of interest. In other words, they focus on the issue of homosexuality and how the public create a negative attitude toward gay, lesbians and other minority groups. Both articles show that people develop a negative attitude by following social norms. The society believes that homosexuality is a deviant behavior and gay and lesbians do not comply with social norms (Whitley, 1999). The public is influenced by the social norms to form a negative attitude and prejudice toward the minority. These articles can address the issue of homosexually in a deeper manner by finding whether homosexuality is a moral issue in order to eliminate the animosity.
Questions
Q1.
SDO is the tendency to form group differences where the in-group tends to form a hierarchical structure, social class, and group-based dominance. In-group forms group-based inequality and show concern in material interest to stabilize their group.
Q2.
People with low SDO have negative attitudes toward minorities. They hold the beliefs that the out-groups are inferior. Due to the negative beliefs, they form a high SDO since they not only show negative attitude but they also create distance by denying them social opportunities such as employment and education. People with high SDO also opposes affirmative actions and restricts them from accessing social and economic opportunities (Whitley, 1999).
Q3
Stereotypes act as a legitimizing myth. The latter means that people with high SDO tend to believe that their social practices are rooted in the social system. In other words, their attitudes, ideologies as well as stereotypes are socially constructed (Whitley, 1999).
Q4.
In the SDO and Affective Responses, high score were attributes such as warm and friendly and low score was annoyed and angry. When both measures were combined, the results showed that the higher score had a positive effect (Whitley, 1999).
Q5.
Since a higher score indicated positive attitudes, the hypothesis that can be made is that individuals with SDO level have positive attitudes toward homosexuality. The Modern Racism Scale shows that people with SDO have a positive attitude and show a concern to homosexuality (Whitley, 1999).
To test this hypothesis, I would state the hypotheses and use the method of a sampling distribution. I would then collect the data using a quantitative method. This method entails the use of collected data from the participants to come up with findings and results.
Reference
Yang, A. S. (1997). Trends: Attitudes toward homosexuality. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 61: 477-507.
Whitley Jr, B. E. (1999). Right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and prejudice.
Journal of personality and social psychology, 77(1), 126-134.
Should elderly care facilities be required to allow the residents to keep pets
Introduction
When older people are kept in elderly care facilities, they suffer from loneliness, lack of social networks and poor self-esteem. They also lack autonomy since they do not have the freedom to make choices and activities. Lack of freedom, lack of privacy, lack of purpose in life and negative relations are some of the challenges that older people experience while they are in the care facility. Some of the older people previously used pets for companion and they desire the fond memories. When they enter a long-care facility where they lake social interaction with pets, they increase the level of stress and suffer from depression. However, research has shown that these challenges can be dealt with by the use of companion animals. The latter plays a significant role in minimizing loneliness, improving social attractiveness, develops relationships through verbal communication with each other and improves quality of life. Since the majority of older people suffer from loneliness due to the loss of loved ones and lack of family affection, companion animals increase the capacity for building relationships. Various recent researches have shown that companion animals bring a positive difference to the health of older people since they prevent ill-health, facilitates recovery, promotes psychological health and reduces depression and loneliness. However, opponents of the animal companion or animal-assisted therapy employ the liberationist perspective to argue that elder care facilities should not be allowed to use pets as companions because they are denied a quality life. Their main argument is based on the lack of freedom but the research paper will focus on both sides and come up with a conclusion to support or refute human and animal interrelationships. This is a debatable issue that requires an extensive research and after conducting the research and weighing both sides, the hypothesis that has been supported by the research is that elderly care facilities should be allowed to keep pets.
Le Roux & Kemp (2009) open the debate and supports the thesis by arguing that elderly care facilities should be allowed to keep pets since animal-assisted therapy reduces the level of depression to the older people who are in the long-term care facilities. The authors describe animals and in specific dogs as preventers of ill-health, predictors of ill-health and they also play role in promoting the patients' psychological health and reduction of stress, depression, and loneliness (Le Roux & Kemp, 2009). In other words, dogs play a therapeutic role not only in elder care facilities but also in all setting. For example, John Locke reported in 1699 that dogs play a significant role in providing children with tender feeling. Florence Night reported in 1880 that animals act as companions and assist the patients in recovery. Other authors have supported the use of animals in long-term care facilities to help both children and adults recover from physical and mental ailments. According to Roux & Kemp (2017), animal-assisted therapy is a kind of intervention where experts and professionals in care facilities involve animals in the process of treatments. While using the animals, the professionals set achievable goals toward reducing depression, loneliness and improving the quality of life. The author affirms that pets do not only provide personal benefits such as reducing stress and anxiety but they also provide benefits such as socialization and interaction among people (Le Roux & Kemp, 2009).The article does not support the thesis theoretically but the authors conduct they use 16 residents aged 65 who are in a long-term care facility and who receives animal assisted therapy once per week. The purpose of the study was to find out if dogs assist the older people in the long-term care facility to reduce depression and anxiety. The authors received positive feedback from the participants since they reported that they enjoyed social interaction and some participants experienced pleasant memories since they could remember their dogs back at home (Le Roux & Kemp, 2009). Through social interaction and pleasant memories, older people were able to manage loneliness, anxiety, and depression.
Thodberg et al (2016) were interested in understanding the therapeutic effects of animals in elderly care facilities. Before conducting the study, the authors view the literature on animal-assisted therapy and finds that today, many countries are using animals as companions for the elderly population. Many nursing homes are using animals for therapeutic purposes and in most cases, dogs are more used than any other animal. Staffs in the nursing homes, relatives at home and even the public have confirmed that dogs play a significant role in assisting older people to recover from physical and mental ailments (Thodberg et al, 2016). The interesting thing with the article is that the author did not rely on the literature review but they conducted the study with an aim of providing future initiative the areas of animal-assisted therapy. In conducting the research on animal-assisted therapy, the authors have found that the nursing home population keep people who suffer from impaired cognitive ability and who lack good communication skills. Various recent studies on animal-assisted therapy have reported that animals can help people with cognitive impairment and poor communication through socialization and body language. It is easier for animals to offer body language than human beings since the latter may not have a strong affection toward older people (Thodberg et al, 2016). The authors conducted a study where 124 residents from a nursing home or elderly facilities were involved. The participants could have a 12 biweekly visit with an animal and the observer could observe the interaction and conversation between the patient and the animal. At the end of the study, the authors found that there was a positive change in the first 6 weeks. There was sleep quality among the participants or in other words, they could sleep for long hours (Thodberg et al, 2016). This single positive effect supports the thesis that elderly care facilities should be allowed to use pets since when the older people interact with pets, they gain a better night's sleep. It means that animals treat sleep disorders by providing emotional support thereby help in managing stress and anxiety.
A recent study that was conducted in 2016 by Menna et al (2016) supports the thesis that elderly care facilities should be allowed to use pets. The authors review the literature on animal-assisted therapy and find that in 2012, the total number of people in the whole world who were suffering from Alzheimer's were 36 million and the figure was predicted to rise due to the higher elderly population. Alzheimer's is an illness that is associated with a decline in memory and reasoning. It causes dementia- a condition where a person becomes forgetful, lacks communication ability, loses memory and is unable to perform daily activities. The medical research on the syndrome has not found its Aetiology and anticholinesterase drug therapy. Thus, studies are showing effort in researching the cognitive stimulation techniques to manage the syndrome (Menna et al, 2016). The studies have not only come up with contextual therapy but they also have also introduced reality orientation therapy- this involves engaging in a well-structured environment for about 45 minutes in a day where the patients, family and professional interacts. Reality Orientation Therapy (ROT) has been used for many years but it has been associated with few positive results. The reason as to why the intervention has not done well is because, currently, patients with Alzheimer's are suffering from mood and cognitive disorders and these disorders do not only require cognitive therapy but also motivational therapy, emotional and psychological therapy (Menna et al, 2016). The latter therapies are achieved through the use of animal-assisted therapy since the animal will act as an emotional stimulus and improve the patients' moods.
The authors conducted a study to find out whether animal-assisted therapy and ROT is effective for patients with Alzheimer's. The study used 50 patients from the Alzheimer's daycare who has Alzheimer's disease. At the end of the study, the geriatrician used MMSE to measure the cognitive impairment and GDS to measure the depressive symptoms. The result showed that in patients who used ROT, GDS reduced from 11.6 to 10.5 and patients who use animal-assisted therapy reduced the GDS from 11.5 to 9.5 and the control group reduced GDS from 11.5 to 11.0. The MMSE results showed that patients who received animal-assisted therapy improved from 20.2 to 21.5 and patients who received ROT improved from 19.9 to 20.2 and there was no change in the control group (Menna et al, 2016). From the study, it was concluded that there is a significant difference between the use of animal-assisted therapy and ROT in patients with Alzheimer's. The GDS scores or the measure of depressive symptoms reported a significant decrease in depression in patients who used animal-assisted therapy. The MMSE also showed a significant improvement in the cognitive function for the patients who used animal-assisted therapy. Even though both AAT and ROT shows a significant improvement, ATT had a greater improvement. This shows that animal-assisted therapy is a good intervention in improving mood and managing depression (Menna et al, 2016). The study supports the hypothesis that elderly care facilities should use pets to motivate patients and help them manage Alzheimer's disorder. Animal plays a significant role as they provide non-verbal language acts as a stimulus and improve cognition and mood.
Con position
Zamir (2006) is against the use of pet in elderly care facilities. He raises his arguments by employing the liberationist perspective which states that animals should not be exploited. Even though practitioners of animal-assisted therapy say that they do not exploit animals, the liberationist view is that when animals are used in therapeutic purposes, there are high chances that they will be injured, they do not receive the appropriate animal welfare and they do not enjoy visiting. The article uses this view to argue that using an animal for therapeutic purposes is immoral because first, they are denied freedom. Animals' freedom is limited in a way that in the care facilities, they are kept by practitioners meaning that they restricted from deriving pleasure from other animals. Second, practitioners do not value the life of the animals. Animals require proper housing, quality care, and proper social environment. However, when animals are turned to as a companion, their lives are not valued as they are denied the freedom to socialize with conspecifics (Zamir, 2006). Third, therapists who use animals in assisted therapy require training which involves animal violations and some animals are scared when they see human beings. This denies them their social interaction and pleasure. When animals are used for therapeutic purposes, they are forced to live in an unfriendly environment. They are isolated from other animals and they experience a kind of a mystery due to the lack of social needs and animal contact (Zamir, 2006). Author Zamir argues that animals should not be used in elderly care facilities since therapists exploit them in various methods including injuring them, disconnecting them from their habitat and denying them their freedom.
Serpell (2009) supports the argument against animal-assisted therapy by stating that animals benefit human beings by providing food, clothe, psychological support, emotional support, and recreational activities. Despite all these benefits, both those who receive the benefits together with the field of psychology and sociology do not value animals. In other words, they lack intellectual engagement which makes them lack self-awareness and lack the interest in studying the human-animal relations. Thus, the field of social scientists concludes that there is no need to study the interrelationships since the relationships between animals and humans are non-serious and unimportant. However, in the last few centuries, the study of human-animal relationship has grown and it has challenged the psychology and sociology ignorance of conducting the study. Recent studies have introduced the animal-human relationship and its connection to social justice and human social and moral life (Serpell, 2009). The investigations have shown that human has negative attitudes toward animals and these attitude influence animal exploitation. In other words, human believe that they are morally superior to animals and for this reason, they exploit them for selfish motivations. Generally, animals should not be used in elderly care facilities because human hold the negative attitude that influence them toward denying them freedom, value, and proper care.
Conclusion
The modern medical field is using animals in various settings such as nursing homes, hospitals, counseling centers, prisons, and other settings. Animals are used to provide human beings with mental health care and well-being. Today, the elderly population is growing at a faster rate and as people get older they suffer from depression, stress, and dementia. Many countries have incorporated animal-assisted therapy as an intervention method for helping older people lead a normal life. The debatable issue under the use of animals in elderly care facilities is whether these facilities should be allowed to keep pets. Various researches have conducted studies to find out if pets should be allowed or not. Some authors argue that pets should be allowed whereas as others area against the use of pets. The research paper has investigated the issue and by viewing both sides, it has supported the thesis that elderly care facilities should be allowed to keep pets for therapeutic purposes. Pets in elderly care facilities help older people recover from illnesses by promoting their physical and emotional well-being. However, other authors argue that animals are exploited since they are denied freedom, care and social interaction with other animals. However, the benefits outweigh the risks and nursing homes should continue using animal-assisted therapy to assist patients of all ages to recover from illnesses.
References
Le Roux, M. C., & Kemp, R. (2009). Effect of a companion dog on depression and anxiety levels
Family assessment is an activity of identifying factors that affect the entire family. The role of family assessment is to maximize the child's safety, minimize future maltreatment, maintain child's well-being and build a healthy family. In the assessment, family members are able to share details, build trust, create goals and interventions and identifying and implements the family resources needed for family development (Wilkinson, 2003). Family assessment involves many things such as the discussion of social protection. Development and physical survival. Through a shared experience and interaction, family members are able to create emotional bonding and future goals.
Interview structure
In the entire process, I used three main steps. The first step is engagement- in this stage, I greeted the family and developed a therapeutic relationship and mutual alliance. As a social worker, I was a stranger to the family but the engagement stage showed competence and caring. Secondly, I entered the stage of problem identification. After knowing each other and obtaining an informed consent, I asked the family the concern that needs to be addressed and changed. Third, I entered the intervention stage where I focused on the need for change and the best approaches (Wright & Leahey, 2013).
The family that I assessed comes from my neighborhood. I had prepared myself well for the family assessment and I was interested in investigating three domains namely' child's development, parents' capacity toward promoting child development and environmental factors. In these domains, I would include vital areas of concern such as family relationships, violence, and abuse, sexual concern, and betrayals. Immediately after entering the home, I did not use social coercion but I first asked for an informed consent from both parents. I introduced myself as a qualified social worker and my role in assessing the families to identify the family needs, risks and provide the way forward in addressing the needs. Before providing the consent, parents were concerned about confidential matters and I promised them that the information that I will receive from them will be confidential. I obtained an informed consent prior to commencing the family assessment. We schedule a date for the family assessment for the purpose of helping the family get prepared for the assessment and also as a social worker get enough time to prepare interview questions. We agreed that the assessment would be done in two weeks' time and the assessment will take utmost 20 minutes.
Family composition
The family I assessed is a nuclear family which is made up by father, mother and three children. The father (Andrew) has 37 years, the mother (Linda) has 34 years, and the firstborn (Liam) has 14 years, the second born (Olivia) 10 years and the third born (Ava) 4 years. Both parents have been in the marriage for 16 years and they have never divorced. Liam is in the ninth grade, Olivia is in fifth grade and Ava is in Pre-Kindergarten. The family is a middle-class family since the mother is a teacher by profession and the father is a human resource manager. The family has its own home and both parents have vehicles and they normally go for family vacation during holidays.
Strengths of the family
In the assessment, I learned that the family has strengths in that both parents and children have a strong relationship. The relationship is significant as it promotes the child's development and helps them perform well in school. The relationship also helps the parents cooperate in parenting by making decisions together and helping each other in times of difficulties. The family prays together, encourages each other and shows commitment. I also observed the communication and found it has effective communication since the family members give each other the opportunity to talk, raises ideas and solves problems together. The family also value the culture or family traditions such as attending religious events, going to the stadium and cooking traditional meals like apple pie.
Areas of concern
By asking open-ended questions, I concentrated on three important areas. The first area was based on child development. The parents are providing education support to their children and there is a strong bond between the parents and children. However, the health of the children is not good since the first born and second born are obese or in other words, they have an abnormal weight. Being a middle-class family, they can access candy and dessert, sugary drinks, fast foods, snack and they do not exercise much to burn the calories. Also, the health of the parents is at risk since both are drunkards. The parents reported that every weekend, they socialize with their friends in attending events where they enjoy themselves in all sort of things including taking alcohol. Second, parents capacity in raising the children is high since they meet the basic needs, provides emotional warmth and guidance. I also found that the environmental factors that have made the family be in its current situation are employment, good housing, higher income and positive social relation with the wider family and the community. Remarkably, the family is not involved in abusive behaviors since the children reported that they have never been sexually or physically abused in the home and outside the home. The parents also denied sexual and physical abuse and reported a strong love in their marriage.
Interventions
The family is suffering from health issues and it is ready to accept any form of assistance or intervention to avoid alcoholism and make healthy food choices. As a social worker, I would like to connect the family with Sanford Health- a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing families with health information regarding nutrition and fitness. The organization aims at helping children and adults lead a healthy lifestyle to eliminate health risks. Poor food choices and lack of exercise are the main cause of obesity and the lack of proper management would lead to illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. I would recommend the family to join the ‘fit' initiative established and supported by Sanford Health. 'Fit' will help the family make better food choices and do exercises. As a social worker, I have the role and responsibility for aftercare services and this includes supporting the family to ensure that they receive the best education from the agency and that they are managing alcoholism and obesity (Thomlison, 2013).
References
Wilkinson Ian (2003). Child and Family Assessment: Clinical Guidelines for Practitioners. Routledge
Thomlison, B., & Thomlison, B. (2016). Family Assessment Handbook. Delmar Cengage Learning.
Wright, L. M., & Leahey, M. (2013). Nurses and families: A guide to family assessment and intervention.
Human Species Is No Longer Distinctive and Authentic
It has always been viewed that human beings are the supreme beings who have the capacity to do anything and everything but this has changed; authenticity is no longer a term that is associated with human life. With the continued advancement in technology and more research, human beings are no longer viewed to be authentic and special. Turkle in her article brings about the subject of robots in her article to illustrate the way that human beings have change over the years in regard to authentic human relation. People are no longer moved by the need for realness when it comes to emotions and social relations. Development changes that continue to happen in the world today have greatly influenced the changes with human perceptions. Every research and discovery brings along a new notion to prove that there is nothing special about human beings and that they can actually be replaced by other things for instance robots; and also animals that are just as intelligent in their own special way.
Everything today is all about technology and human beings rely on technology for everything and this include emotional relations. As explained by Turkle most people would rather spend the whole day operating and interacting with a machine than with a fellow human being. People no longer perceive fellow human beings as people worth sharing their problems or even successes because they may judge them wrongly or they may get envious which would make it uncomfortable for both parties. Sometimes, though the concept of relying on non-human things objects for comfort is basically because they are available and ready to listen even if they do not really understand what the problem may be. Human beings are no longer reliable for emotional support, people care so much about their jobs, successes or failures to be emotionally available for the other people in their lives. A good case scenario of these is with children who get so attached to their toys most especially the robotic toys that have advanced technology which allows them to offer comfort and act almost like human beings.
Over the years human beings have been superior beings over the other creatures, but are human beings truly more intelligent and emotion capable as compared to the animals? Animals have always taken the lower intelligent percentage when equated to human beings; this is however changing with the cumulative researches that are getting done in the current day. The article by De Waal is ironic in nature in the way that it illustrates the capacity of animals to express emotions better than human beings as well as their intelligent level that is similar. De Waal in his work shows that there is no much difference between human beings and animals when it comes to intelligence. Human beings get trained to do most things that make them get classified to be more intelligent while animals survive well on the wild on their own without any training.
The question here is what would happen then if the animals were trained, would they not be as good as or even better than the human beings? De Waal work greatly supports the notion of Turkle that human beings are no longer authentic. some animals capacity for memory is too great to even be equated with the human one ‘Clark’s nutcrackers recall the location of thousands of seeds that they have hidden half a year before, while I can’t even remember where I parked my car a few hours ago’ (De Waal pg 1). Animals are intelligent; they understand the need to take care of their families which entails finding food, caring for one another and even building shelter. All this they do without any expertise, take an example of birds that are experts in weaving their nests with only the use of their beaks and legs and without any training.
De Waal helps to show the unity as well as intelligence in the animal kingdom, human beings continue to deteriorate when it comes to being kind and expressing emotions which is what has over the years been versioned to be humanity. Animals have surpassed humanity by far; most animals live in groups because they understand the need to be there for one another and to take care of each other. Animals are better friends and they are loyal which is why most people prefer to keep pets rather than coexist with other people. There is no form of technology that can affect the unity and emotional relations that animals have unlike what happens with human beings. Human beings do not care and they have let technology take over their humanity and it is only after death that they realize the loss.
But does death truly reignite the emotions? Not really, technology still takes over after death with the pictures taken during life serving as the consolation and memory of the lost ones. Cole in his article shares the story of his grandmother who dies without having seen her for a year. Cole feels sad that he was not able to see his grandmother ‘Mama’ as he call hers before or even after she died because he was in Italy and she was in Nigeria. Her death did not really bother him much ‘I mourned her but did not, or was not able to, weep’ Cole pg (1), this is to help illustrate the emotional disconnections between human beings in the world today. Even when loved ones die, the human connections are so frail that people no longer feel the extreme sadness because they have photos of those people that serve as memories , ‘To remain close to our dead, we cherish images of them’ and they console them making them feel like these people are still around them (Cole pg 1). The question is, why not cherish these people when they are still alive? Why rely on the photos and portraits that thy leave behind after they are gone when one did not bother to make more connections when they were alive. Cole’s article is an illustration of the strained connections among human relations and the reliance on innate technological inventions to take over the gap created by these disconnections. People care so much about their success and about what the rest of the world thinks of them that they have forgotten the importance of being human and expressing human emotions such as kindness and love.
Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait is an illustration of how humanity has become so engrossed on how the rest of the world thinks of them and the need to clarify their self-position in the world. Norman Rockwell was an artist that was famous for self-portraits in the American Art but he was often regarded as an artist who was not serious since most of his work was created for the covers of a magazine ‘The Saturday Evening Post’. In all the other portraits that he had created, Rockwell never put himself on the cover before as a central figure except for this one which makes it very special. He uses this portrait to reveal himself; his tone is sarcastic in nature with the fact that he produces himself in a reflected image and rear images that bear a resemblance to an elderly turtle which has long crinkly neck. There is then an enormous derriere all that is created on the canvas under the self-portraits of renowned artists such as Picasso, Van Gogh, Durer and Rembrandt. Rockwell designs the whole piece in such a way that it denies the viewers the look of him and he gives a mischievous, partial idealized portrait over the renowned stencilled non-signature. This portrait basically tries to communicate that Rockwell is contented with where he is as an artist and does not seek any greatness, he is contented with where he is at the art world.
People should seek to connect with their relations whenever they are when they are alive to understand what they are going through in their lives, to share their experiences and to basically be there for one another. Turkle illustrations indicate that the continued advancement in technology has reformulated the notion of authentic emotions and human beings have completely been replaced by robots when it comes to emotional needs and animals have better emotional relations. Humanity need to change and regain back its authenticity while at the same time accepting the fact that other creatures also have their own share of intelligence. It is good to be successful but one should not forget the importance of the people that are around them, everyone should appreciate where they are in life as well as appreciate other people’s achievements.
Why do bad things happen to good people? This is a question that has been asked by many people and it has come up as a result of the numerous injustices happening to innocent people around the world. People are struggling to understand why things happen the way they do. However, it is difficult to understand this since evil people come in individuals’ lives without portraying their bad sides. They tend to be good in the beginning to win the trust and loyalty of others. Later on, they perpetrate injustices that go on in this world. This is what goes on in the poem, Christabel. This paper examines all the themes in the poem with the aim of revealing some of the injustices going on in the world. It also tries to understand why such injustices occur as a way of revealing what the text is all about.
Evil Verses Good
The theme of evil versus good dominates the poem. The poem introduces the readers to a young lady called Christabel, who is a Christian and believes in God. Her prayerful nature is seen when she first meets Geraldine in the woods. Christabel has the heart to help those in need and she does not hesitate to help Geraldine at her point of need. She does not know Geraldine. However, when Geraldine comes to her and explains the danger she is in after the kidnapping incidence, she offers to help her. She stretches forth her hand and comfort Geraldine (Coleridge, stanza 103). This was a sign of love that Christabel showed Geraldine. She even promised Geraldine that Sir Leone will protect her and safely take her back to her father. This signified the good intentions that Christabel had for Geraldine. Moreover, Christabel went ahead to allow Geraldine to spend on her bed. This depicted the love of God that he wants mankind to show others. Such love brought about good and it made Christabel feel for Geraldine. Sadly, Geraldine only showed up to harm Christabel. From the time they meet, the speaker describes her as a damsel bright, dressed in a silken robe of white (Coleridge, stanza 58). This suggested that Geraldine was a liar who was not in any way kidnapped but was there to bring evil to Christabel’s life. Moreover, she appeared in the sight of Christabel when she was praying. This is similar to how the devil appeared to Jesus while he was praying in Gethsemane. This also demonstrated that Geraldine was there to hurt Christabel.
Geraldine’s evil nature is confirmed when she was unable to pass the castle on her own. Moreover, she changes from being the beautiful girl that Christabel saw to being a witch who ends up putting a spell on innocent Christabel. Additionally, she also ends up being a homosexual who is there to sexually seduce Christabel. This makes the readers ask themselves the question that, why do bad things happen to good people? Christabel did what is best to help Geraldine. However, her good actions are paid back with evil deeds. This reveals the intentions of the text to help people understand the injustices that are going on in the world including homosexuality and witchcraft. Sadly, these injustices only target innocent people with the intention to do good. They are only rescued from evil by the power of good.
Theme of Conflict
Similarly, the poem also reveals the theme of conflict that goes on in the society. Sir Leoline reveals the conflict between him and Geraldine’s father, which led to their separation. The two friends even stopped talking to each other and Sir Leoline feels that it is only through Geraldine that she can win back his friend. Similarly, Christabel begins to feel some form of internal conflict when she realized that Geraldine is not as good as she thought. Her closer interaction with Geraldine feds away and she begins to push her father to send Geraldine away. She senses that Geraldine’s face looks like a snake and this makes her change and stop caring for Geraldine as was before. She feels that she has been stained by Geraldine and she needs to gain back her purity and restore it. These instances of conflict from the text reveal how morality and societal values are under threat of destruction. Social cohesion is embraced in every society where everyone treats each other like they would want others to do to them. However, conflicts bring the injustices of poor interaction between individuals and immorality that destroys the social fabrics of the society. From the poem, it can be seen that the conflict between Sir Leoline and Geraldine’s father has broken their relationship thus altering social cohesion. Similarly, it has altered morality and purity of Christabel and she has to fight back so as to restore it.
Despite conflicts bringing undesirable change in the society and breaking the social fabrics of the society, people still seek the help of bad people to help them overcome their problems. This is why bad things continue to happen to good people. Sir Leoline believes that only Geraldine can help him get back with his friend. This makes him look vulnerable to evil powers. However, Geraldine is only there to harm his daughter. Geraldine is eviler and should not be close to him. He disagrees with Christabel when she wants him to send Geraldine away. This only makes Geraldine have more time to harm his daughter. However, he cannot recognize this because he feels that Geraldine is a good lady. This how individuals continue hanging around evil people only to later realize that they have been hurt more. This is how the devil works. Satan deceives people with the aim of helping them only to hurt more. Therefore, the text reveals to readers that while it is good to maintain good and avoid evil, human being finds it difficult to keep away from evil since they are easily deceived.
Religion
The theme of religion and naivety is also displayed in the poem. Christabel seems to pray in most instances. Despite being unaware of the knight, she goes ahead to pray for him. This shows how faithful she was. This is why she continues to remain pure and lives happily with his father despite the demise of her mother. Her staunch practice of Christian faith is seen in her actions to help Geraldine and her actions to pray for others. Her name also suggests her faith in Christ. However, being a Christian who aims to maintain her purity, it becomes naïve of her to undress naked and fall for Geraldine’s seductive nature. This does not make sense since she falls into Geraldine’s temptations the same day she went to the woods to pray for the knight, who is the man to marry her. Despite the argument that she was under the spell, this portrays her naivety. She ought not to have undressed naked and shared the same bed with Geraldine, who was a stranger to her. Moreover, she could have resisted the sexual seduction. Her naivety can be first seen when she first met Geraldine. She does not think of the danger Geraldine can expose her to. Instead, she admires her sweet voice (Coleridge, stanza 72). This makes her believe that Geraldine is harmless and innocent. Moreover, at this point, Christabel thought that the men who kidnapped Geraldine were the real enemies and that Geraldine could not be her enemy. Later, the story changes and Geraldine becomes the real enemy who is there to hurt her and make her lose her purity and innocence. Therefore, despite individuals being engrossed in religion, naivety becomes a major challenge and it has made bad things to happen to good people. Despite the intentions to do good, naivety has made individuals to pass the limits and to only realize later that they have messed up their lives. Through the theme of naivety, the text reveals to the readers why social injustices like homosexuality, sexual assaults, and other bad vices continue to increase in the world despite the high number of faithful and believers in Christ. Some of these vices can be controlled if individuals moderate their actions as they try to help others. The text also reveals to readers that not only men can expose the lives of individuals to danger but also women too. While women have been perceived to have soft voices and to be innocent, the text helps the readers to understand that they can also be as dangerous as men. Therefore, it is naïve for anyone to imagine that only men can hurt them. This is the mistake that Christabel did that the text wants the readers to avoid. However, it does not mean that individuals should not help those in need.
The Theme of Memories and Past Experiences
The past has a role to play in the present time of Christabel’s life. The previous events come in the form of memories and occupy the mind of Christabel. For instance, Christabel reminisces the loss of her mother. More so, the church bells ring every twenty-four hours each morning reminding her of the loss she experienced a few years back. It is as if, there is a strange phenomenon that tries to block formation of new relevant memories in her mind that would propel her life forward and save her from the burden of past painful memories that leave her reliving the past remembrances. Therefore, past memories inhibit individuals from experiencing happiness in the present times due to recurring past painful memories.
The Theme of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is not a moral obligation and one does not just wake up and forgive another person. It takes a brave heart to forgive another human being of the wrongs he or she did. Christabel seem to possess a strong spirit that is ready to forgive evil. However, in the poem, good traits have a tendency of landing innocent people into trouble. Evil people seem to think that a good attribute is a sign of weakness and take advantage of the softness. Geraldine is such a character who takes advantage of Christabel’s kindness and Sir Leoline’s mercy toward an old friend. Even though the reader cannot predict the overall result of Geraldine’s character, it may end up hurting Christabel. In addition, the reader can only hope that Christabel will not change her good traits because of one individual who took advantage of her.
In conclusion, bad things continue to happen to good people since it is very difficult for human being to achieve perfection. Moreover, human beings are easily deceived and they cannot detect what is evil easily. In some instances, human beings are naïve and they use physical looks and femininity to trust strangers. Consequently, such strangers end up destroying their lives. Therefore, it is important for people to understand that not all that glitters are gold. The look of innocence and sweet voice should not be used to justify morality. Both men and women can be dangerous to one’s life at any given point. Additionally, despite the desire to maintain purity, social cohesion, and morality, human being faces a lot of changes brought about by conflicts and other injustices that they find difficult to avoid. Therefore, it is important for people to speak out their minds so as to help in understanding what is going on in the world. Perhaps the poem uses an innocent lady, Christabel, to show that evil spares no one. Despite all of these, human beings should strive to maintain morality and rescue themselves from evil by the power of good. Religion should be used to help individuals live a perfect life. However, people should understand that it is very difficult to live a perfect life.
Work Cited.
Coleridge, S. T. (n.d.). Christabel: An unfinished narrative poem. Place of publication not identified: Plantagenet Productions.
Suicide is one serious issue that has often been overlooked in the teenage world. Suicide can plainly be described as the act of taking one’s life either intentionally or voluntarily by individuals who are of sound mind. The society in most cases look at suicide as a murder thus ignoring the seriousness of the reason why one would chose to end their life. This is a major reason why suicide is one of the main leading causes of death among the youths who are aged between 15 to 24 years old (Brière, p. 41). Getting bullied is not fun, it affects one’s self esteem and it is a major contributor to increased teen suicide in the world.
Teenage suicide rates continue to increase every year and it is estimated that there is an increase of about 200% since the year 1970 which is a very great increase for something that is so heart-breaking (Brière, p. 64). There are about 10,000 suicide cases that are reported every year, though the number that is not reported could actually be four time more. What the society needs to understand is that suicide is not a one day thought; it is a manifestation of series of processes that have gone through an individual’s mind for a certain time. During these processes, there are some visible signs that an individual shows such drug abuse; isolation among others and the society around them can use these changes to help understand what that individual is going through (Brière, p. 72). One of the prime causes of suicidal thoughts is bullying, this can take many forms including verbal, where the bullies can basically make hurting sentiments that are rude and hurtles. It can also be physical where the victim can be physically abused and endure severe body injuries and if no one steps in and resolves the issue, it can trigger suicidal thoughts due to the isolation and loneliness from the world around them.
Teenage is a difficult stage in life; this is the phase in one’s life that they have to learn how to be an adult which means making big life changing decisions (Kutner, p 1). This is the stage where one is trying to fit in within the society and it can be depressing especially for people who have low self-esteem which is one of the reasons that have led to increased suicide rates among this age group. Teenagers are always faced with many day to day problems that include bullying which adults often disregard, often brushing it off as a stage that will come to pass (Ollove, p1). Difficulty in dealing with these issues leads to development of other serious problems that in the end result in depression and suicidal thoughts. When a teenager is facing bullying problems that they feel unable to deal with, they feel like all hope is lost and they go into an emotive dysregulation state (Kutner, p 1). During this state, the teenagers will often be involved in drug abuse and alcoholism, which affects the brain chemical balance thus strengthening the feelings of loneliness and sadness. At this point even when the teenager decides to withdraw from the drugs and the alcoholism, the feeling of hopelessness and self-hate always arise which is a great contributor to the suicide thoughts.
Technology is something that has taken over the life of people in the modern world and this has also intensified the concept of bullying (Ollove, p1). Everything revolves around technology and this includes even the social interactions which have a great effect on an individual’s self-sense. Social media maybe a new phenomenon but it has swept the world where it fuses social interactions with technology thus allowing the creation of user generated content (Twenge, p 1). This has greatly transformed the traditional methods of communication by allowing people especially teenagers to instantaneously and interactively share personal information with one another. Every young person all over the world owns or has an access to a smartphone or a computer and so their lives revolve around texting, chatting, posting their life events among others (Brière, p. 76). Their whole life practically relies on technology and so the perception of the other people on them greatly matters in shaping who they truly are, technology hence has a great effect on the increasing suicide rates among teenagers. Cyber bullying is a great factor in teen suicides; young people have over the years opted to commit suicide because of experiencing cyber bullying for instance harassments through text messages, body shaming through social media (Twenge, p 1). The bullies may decide to post personal private information of their victims on social media which gets circulated all over the school and this can be very depressing leading to suicidal thoughts for the victims.
Ways to reduce escalating teen suicide rates
Teenage suicide is an issue that can be avoided because it is basically brought about by temporary problems that can be dealt with once they are confirmed. Parents, guardians, teachers and the society at large have a major role to play in helping prevent suicide among the young people (Ollove, p1). These are the people who live with these teenagers at homes and schools, and they should hence be involved and aware of the things that these young people are facing in their day to day lives. A parent, teacher or a guardian should ensure that they create a good relationship with the teenagers so that they are able to open up to them without fear or shame about what they are going through in their lives (Ollove, p1). These people should take every issue that is brought to them seriously even when it feels like it just a minor thing because the issue can be major for the teenager. Any teenager that is noticed to have a drastic change in behaviour should be helped through counselling sessions and getting involved in fun activities in order to help them feel loved as well as involved (Ollove, p1). Friendships are important, having people to talk to and laugh with whether in good times or bad is important. Young people do not really have the independence that is required to help on confront life alone and thus the need for them to have friends. The teenagers who do not have any friends are more likely to have suicidal thoughts as compared to those that have a strong support network around them (Twenge, p 1). Being depressed and having no friends for these young people offers them the time to indulge in dark suicidal thoughts. Children need to be educated about the importance of treating one another right, when a child understands the effects that rudeness and hate can impact an individual it can help them stand against bullying and avoid getting involved in bullying activities (Ollove, p1).
Suicide among teenagers can be avoided through the creation of strong support mechanisms such as parents, friends, teachers and counselling. Having the support and understanding these people can help supress any negative energy that a young individual accrues in the course of their life. As earlier indicated, suicide is not a one day thought but it is rather a process; so if the problem one is going through is intervened early enough, the rate of teenage suicide can greatly decrease.
Works cited
Brière, Frédéric N., et al. “Adolescent Suicide Attempts and Adult Adjustment.” Depression
Kutner, Max “Teen Suicide Is Contagious, and the Problem May Be Worse Than We
Thought; More than two dozen kids in and around Colorado Springs, Colorado, have killed themselves in less than two years. The main reason: Another kid did it first.” Newsweek. Oct 28, 2016, Vol. 167 Issue16. Ephost,ezproxy.mc3.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edgov&AN=edsgcl.467685679&site=eds-live&scope=site
Ollove, Michael. "Bullying Increases the Risk of Teen Suicide." Teen Suicide, edited by
Exact Purpose: To enlighten my listeners about the intensive issue of cyber bullying
Thesis: Cyber bullying is a serious issue that is affecting people today and these needs to be addressed.
Introduction
Attention Getter:
Dalai Lama (b, 1935) once illustrated that ‘Life is all about helping other people and getting help from others. If by any chance you choose not to help, then ensure that you also do not hurt them’
Reason to Listen:
Cyber bullying is one of the greatest crimes in the world today and it is important to understand how and why it happens.
Thesis Statement:
Cyber bullying is real, it continues to increase and its effects on the victims are devastating.
Credibility Statement:
I love privacy and am surprised by the way that the world today has made Privacy to become a thing of the past with people posting their every move in the social media
Preview of Main Points:
First of all I am going to try and define what cyber bullying is and how it happens.
I will then go ahead to define the effects that cyber bullying has on its victims
And lastly, I will explain ways in which we can try and increase awareness on cyber bullying in a quest to try and reduce its increasing rates.
Body
Cyber Bullying is one of the greatest crimes in the world today
Cyber bullying is bullying that takes place through the use of electronic technology such as smartphones and computers and any other communication tool for instance social media.
Bullying actions include actions such as harsh text messages or emails, false rumours passed through social media and even private embarrassing pictures and videos circulated through social network sites.
Cyber bullying can happen can happen at any time of the day and with the current society where smartphones are owned by almost every person, it only takes a short time to reach every corner of the society.
Transition:Now that we have discussed what cyber bullying is all about let us discuss the effects that it has on the victims
Cyber bullying has a great effect on the victims
Embarrassing texts and images can anonymously post and they get distributed very fast. These posts are not easy to delete because it is sometimes impossible to trace the source.
Many students who are bullied opt to skip school and look for every reason to avoid going to school just to avoid the embarrassment. It is estimated that about 16, 000 students skip school on a daily basis all because of bullying.
Bullying causes depression on the victims which in turn lead to increased suicide rates. A bullying victim in most cases always feels rejected which cause them to be aggressive and isolated. Most victims of bullying especially the young people lose hope in life which leads them to engage in self-destructive behaviours and in the end contemplate suicide.
Transition:Having learnt of the effects that cyber bullying has on the victims let us now understand how we can spread awareness in the quest to try and reduce the cases of cyber bullying and its effects.
Spreading awareness is an important element in helping reduce cyber bullying.
Everyone is different in their own way. People should be accepted for who they are without discriminating them and making feel less because of their beliefs or characters.
Bullying victims should understand that just because they may be different doesn’t make them less of a person. The world accommodates everyone with their special characters and other people should not make you feel like you are less of a person; just because they do not believe in what you stand for.
Inflicting pain on others is selfish and one should always ensure that they treat others in the same way that they would like to be treated.
III. Conclusion
Review of main points:
I first discussed what cyber bullying entails.
I then discussed the effects that cyber bullying has on the victims
Lastly, I discussed the importance of spreading awareness on cyber bullying to encourage the victims also help people understand the effects of cyber bullying.
Closure: No one knows what tomorrow holds, the person you are bullying today maybe the person you will be begging for a job because you wasted too much time bullying while he or she was busy working hard for his tomorrow.
References
Tian, L., Yan, Y., & Huebner, E. S. (2018). Effects of Cyberbullying and Cybervictimization
on Early Adolescents’ Mental Health: Differential Mediating Roles of Perceived Peer Relationship Stress. CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 21(7), 429–436. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2017.0735
Dilmaç, B. (2017). The Relationship between Adolescents’ Levels of Hopelessness and
Pezzati R., et al. (2014). Is Doll therapy able to preserve or promote attachment in people with Cognitive, emotional and behavioral issues?
The authors are the physician and nutritional biochemists. Their diverse backgrounds in the medical field has given them immense knowledge and experience to become experts in the field of Dementia. The design that has been applied in this source is experimental. The authors have tried to describe how non-pharmacological intervention such as doll therapy affects patients with dementia by managing behavioral problems: agitation, aggressiveness and wandering the sample was some patients selected from a small population of dementia patients. Ten patients were selected for this study where 9 of them were females and 1 male, their age range was between 72 and 94. The participants were diagnosed between the year 2005 and the year 2010 and had resided in the distinctive care unit for a period of at least three years. Five of the participants had previously been treated using the Doll therapy for a period of two years and this was selected as the experimental group while the other five were the control group. The selection of the patients was in harmony with the opinion of the referring physician and also in accord with the experimental state. The addition conditions included at people who are 70 years and above, a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia with severe perceptive damage, existence of behavioral syndromes and a minimum capability to appreciate simple language and produce statements. The elimination principles included an MMSE score that is above 15, a diagnosis of non-vascular dementia or Alzheimer.
Data for the study was collected by means of observation. 10 experimental sessions were prepared for the participants and they were conducted over 30 days, two of the participants did not however complete the sessions where one was transferred to another nursing home and the other one died. The experiment sessions were held in the residential complex room with a chair and a bed all which was familiar to the patients. 5 of the sessions included the presentation of a doll while the other 5 sessions involved the presentation of a soft colored velvety foam rubber cube.
Being a quantitative research, data collected was analyzed by means of critical analysis and interpretation of figures and numbers. This was in an attempt to find the justification behind the occurrence of key discoveries. The results did not show any significant differences between the experiment and control group in regards to age, education, institutionalization time or even the number of family visits. Both groups showed a high fall risks, a severe privation of independence in their daily lives events and a great level of interactive difficulties. The experimental participants showed more interest in the doll since they had been treated with Doll therapy before and they exhibited exploratory behaviors with the cube as an instrumental object without any relational value.
Their study was valid since it was found to be closely related to Bowlby’s theory of attachment (Pezzati R., et al. 2014). According to Bowlby, 1979, 1988; Van Assche et al., 2013, “affection demonstrations have an effect from the cradle to the grave” when vulnerable dementia population exposed to loss and separation develop an attachment with a person. One limitation of this study is the fact that the study group was limited and so not much data could be collected. The other limitation is the fact that there were no standardized tools and so only observational indices were used.
I find the findings of this study quite reliable and helpful in my study.
Mitchell G. & O’Donnell H. (2013). Therapeutic use of doll therapy in dementia. “British Journal of Nursing”. 22(6)
My next source to evaluate is a paper by Mitchell G. & O’Donnell H published in the year 2013. Mitchell and Donnell are both experts of the field of dementia. Their study is a descriptive one. The sample for this study was a group of individuals suffering from dementia. Data for the study was collected through the use of questionnaires that contained both closed and open-ended questions. The study basically reviews findings from other past literature on use of Doll therapy for dementia. A selection of several studies including ((Ellingford et al., (2007), James et al., (2006a) and Mackenzie et al., (2006)) who seek to define the effectiveness of the beneficial use of Doll therapy.
All the studies used mixed method strategy to aid in observational statistics collection from the staff supportive for people suffering from dementia. In the study by James et al., (2006), there was the use of Likert scale which was used to help in measuring the stages of activity, nervousness and cheerfulness in the selected residents. There was also the use of open ended queries that were used to help provide a qualitative element from the study. The study used 15 dolls and 15 teddy bears and it was observed that the participants preferred the dolls to bears. Majority of the participants appeared to be less anxious and more active. The same findings were observed by the study by Ellingford at al., (200) who used a comparable technique of data collection in four dementia care homes. In this study, 66 participants were selected where 34 of them used dolls and the other 32 did not over a period of 6 months after the Doll therapy had been applied. It was observed that ensuing the introduction of Doll therapy, there was a great improvement in positive behaviours. The study by Mackenzie et al., (2006), where questionnaires were directed to the 46 care staff after a 3 week test; providing 14 dolls to 37 people in 2 dementia care homes. 32 of the care givers testified that the life of the inhabitants that involved in the Doll therapy showed much more improvement while the rest of the 14 carers basically indicated that the life of the residents was a little better.
The results from all this studies indicated an acknowledgement that Doll therapy showed a positive change in the residents in regard to improved behaviour and that it is a good implementation for dementia patients.
The limitation to both these studies is the fact that they were both conducted in the same environmental areas which basically raises generalizability concerns. The results would have been more accurate and dependable if they provided additional information in regard to the growth and analysis of the methods that were used for gathering of data.
I found the study valid and reliable, especially for my study. It is reliable since it represents about 60-90% of the items under study.
Turner F. & Shepherd M. (2014). Doll Therapy in dementia care: A review of current literature. Communicare1(1).
This study uses an explanatory approach. The author tries to explain how doll therapy affects persons with dementia. The study uses data collected from other past studies for instance; Gibson, (2005), Alander et al., (2013), Tamura et al., (2001), James, et al., (2005) among many others. The study samples in this studies included both dementia patients and their caregivers. Most of the participants for the studies were aged people who are 70 years and above and are residents in dementia care homes. Data in the studies was collected using both observation and interviews. The data collected were analyzed through a critical interpretation of figures to define a pattern.
The result from the literature indicate that there are benefits to using Doll therapy for dementia patients and that this can be practiced by a variety of specialists within a domiciliary nursing home, in clinical settings and also for people without dementia. Prevalent outcomes from the studies indicate that Doll therapy increases wellbeing and hence reduce challenging behaviors. The study connected the findings with theories such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Erikson’s life stage approach to illustrate their importance of interaction as a need. The study has also provided some recommendations for the doll therapy to effective, dolls should be: soft bodies, eyes that open and close to avoid thought about doll being sleep or dead, clothing and skin color should reflect on gender/ethnicity. The limitation with these studies is the fact that the participants are all from the same geographical area which limits transferability of the results. Family and staff members should be encouraged and trained in doll therapy. I found the information much valid with the fact that most of the studies established the effectiveness of Doll therapy and its potential benefits for dementia patients thus the study but is very useful for my study.
Fernandez R, et al. (2014). Consequence of doll therapy in handling perplexing behaviors in persons with dementia: a systematic review. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 12(8), 330-363.
This study is descriptive, trying to describe how therapy affects disturbing behaviors in patients living with dementia doll. The authors sampled a number of the patients and observed them for a period of time. The study sampled six studies from various data bases with participants who are above the age of 18 and have been diagnosed with dementia. The participants had to be living in an unrestricted setting or a domiciliary accommodation. The interest in this study was to basically compare Doll therapy with pharmacology or other non-pharmacological interventions.
The studies were selected if they were randomized controlled trials, case control, cohort or descriptive in nature. The data was analyzed using meta-analysis statistical tools. Five of the studies indicated a major improvement in agitation and aggressive behaviors for patients after the Doll therapy and one illustrated a minor change. The findings of the study will really aid my study. Giving a dementia patient a doll to take care of it plays a significant role in enhancing a sense of belonging and responsibility. I found the study valid because the statement was backed up by evidence and hence very reliable in my study.
Edvardsson D et al. (2014). Routine actions for individuals with dementia in inhabited aged care: associations with person‐centredness and value of life. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 9(4), 269-276.
The purpose of this study was to attempt to understand the normal activities for aged folks with dementia in Sweden. The study sought to understand if the participation of residents in daily activities had an advanced superiority of life as equated to the residents that did not partake in daily activities. The authors had an aim to evaluate the method in which dementia residents involved themselves in daily activities such as preparing lunch, making phone calls, visiting friends, attending social gatherings among other events. The study used a sample of 1266 dwellers all from 156 domiciliary aged care nursing homes. This study used a cross sectional design to help gather valid and dependable facts on activity participation with the use of questionnaires. It was also explorative in trying to find out the difference between those who involved themselves with chores and those who did not. The main tool of data collecting here was the use of observation of the sample by the researcher over a period of time. The collected data was analyzed via SPSS, a statistical tool.
The results showed that only 18% of the residents partook in everyday activities for instance making coffee and cleaning or watering plants. 62% of them preferred to make out-of-doors walks, 27% participated in business establishment games while 13% of the rest participated in tours and church visits. This study illustrate that the residents who partook in daily activities subsisted in more person focused units and they had considerably advanced life importance as well as mental scores as equated to those that did not participate in daily activities. The limitation of this study is the fact that it used the cross sectional design which only consents the recognition of variances rather than the contributory directions. I found this source valid and but not really very reliable to use for my study because it does not touch on Doll therapy.
Stephens A et al. (2013). An exploration into the relationships people with dementia has with physical objects: An ethnographic study. Dementia, 12(6), 697-712.
This study was conducted to try and understand the way that persons with dementia use the items that are around them and to understand whether they are able to apply the objects transitionally. The authors of this study applied the descriptive design through the use of the ethnography method to conduct the study and applied Winnicott’s theory to elaborate the results. This method employed the use of observation and interviews to acquire data; it involved the collection of data from the sample of people existing with dementia and their caregivers through interviews and observation. The participants of the study were 21 residents and 27 staff members of Woodleigh care for people with dementia. 30 hours of surveillance were accomplished over a two years period where data included behavior observation of both the staff and the residents. Data collected was analyzed using statistical tools and presented on graphs. The results confirmed that people with dementia perceived transitional and precursor objects such as dolls with some sense of ownership and they were negatively affected when they were taken away from them. The findings of the study are reliable and valid since it was backed up by data and the theory. I found this paper quite important and it will be very useful in my study.
References
Edvardsson D et al. (2014). Everyday activities for people with dementia in residential aged care: associations with person‐centredness and quality of life. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 9(4), 269-276.
Fernandez R, et al. (2014). Effect of doll therapy in managing challenging behaviors in people with dementia: a systematic review. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 12(8), 330-363.
Mitchell G. & O’Donnell H. (2013). Therapeutic use of doll therapy in dementia. “British Journal of Nursing”. 22(6)
Pezzati R., et al. (2014). Can Doll therapy preserve or promote attachment in people with cognitive, behavioral, and emotional problems?
Stephens A et al. (2013). An exploration into the relationships people with dementia has with physical objects: An ethnographic study. Dementia, 12(6), 697-712.
Turner F. & Shepherd M. (2014). Doll Therapy in dementia care: A review of current literature. Communicare1(1).
"Personal problems' are problems that affect the individual and, the members of the society blame the victim since they believe the problems are as a result of moral failings. On the other hand, social problems are problems that affect many individuals and the affected blame the system since it is the role of society to minimize problems by creating positive social structures (Barkan, 2013). Thus, it is important to say that personal problems are influenced by society problems because when people live in a disadvantaged society, they lack employment, education and quality health. These conditions bring devastating effects that affect their lives. There is a correlation between the two concepts in that personal problems affects the quality of human life and it becomes a social problem in that as individuals in the society are affected by the individual problem, the effects are not only in individual lives but also in the entire society (Barkan, 2013. Thus, it is important to use the social problem approach in trying to analyze all the personal problems affecting individuals. For example, personal problems such as unemployment, relationship issues, loss of income, medical conditions and more should not only be viewed as personal problems but should be viewed as problems which are rooted from the social structures (Barkan, 2013). In other words, people should avoid using the blaming-the-victim approach and apply the blame-the-system approach and by so doing, people will focus on social conditions and address the social problems.
It is also important to apply the social problems framework in trying to understand the obesity epidemic. Normally, the society members believe that people suffer from the eating disorder due to lack of control or in other words they view the problem of the eating disorder as a personal problem (Barkan, 2013). It is true that the eating disorder is a personal problem but it is important to understand the root cause of these personal problems or rather the causes of the eating disorder. Obesity is not only a health issue but it is also a social problem. It is a social problem because it does not only affect the individual but its health consequences affect the society. Even though obesity occurs due to poor food choices and lack of physical activity, the society plays a significant role in increasing obesity since people can access energy-dense foods at a low price, technological innovation has influenced the sedentary behavior and reduced physical activities and schools no longer offer physical education programs (Barkan, 2013). Society is highly encouraging the caloric consumption and sedentary behaviors and for this reason, it will be difficult for individuals to control their weight unless the systems approach is advocated.
Amarasinghe & D’Souza (2012) assert that social problems have brought the obesity epidemic in that today, people have changed the household lifestyle and they prefer consuming fast foods and alcoholic beverages. The convenience of fast food is influenced by the proliferation of full-service restaurants that are offering leisure for households. Other cause of the social problem that has caused the obesity epidemic is education inequalities and income inequality. Uneducated and low-income consumers are unable to purchase healthy food and they only access to lower-quality diets. Also, they do not see the need for physical activity since they lack education and good environment settings (Amarasinghe & D'Souza, 2012). The technological changes have also brought rapid consumption and greater convenience where restaurants can use less time to prepare and preserve food for consumers. The market has failed to control obesity since failure to impose ‘junk food' tax is influencing the higher consumption. Thus, it is important to analyze the social and environmental factors that cause obesity problem in order to prevent obesity and promote health.
Q2.
Today, people have modernized their lifestyles and as a result, they have become overweight and obese which have resulted in health problems. Rather than consuming nutrient-rich food, people prefer consuming fattening fats foods and this means that people are eating more calories and burning less. In order to control the eating and overeating which lead to overnight and obesity, individuals should take an integrated approach. These include;
Eating mindfully- to control overeating, people should become conscious and mindful or build an awareness of the actual experience to facilitate diet compliance. People should become habitually mindful and the mindfulness will assist in paying attention to the internal and external factors that trigger the eating habit. Mindful eating will also help pinpoint the external cues or the motivating force such as stress (Somov, 2008). Rather than eating to fulfill the external cues, one will address the issues and engage in activities such as walking to avoid craving. While eating, it is important to concentrate on the present moment, understand the present thoughts and emotions.
Physical activity-people should burn calories by spending 30-45 minutes doing physical exercise such as walking, jogging, lifting weights, going to the gym, and more. Physical exercise will help burn calories, boost the metabolic rate, improve circulation, reduce stress and depression and prevent illness like diabetes (Somov, 2008).
Training-people can also engage in appetite awareness training as an internal approach. The training will help people identify the food triggers, identify cravings and learn how to ride them out. The training will also help manage the overeating situations such as moods and gain a sense of control (Somov, 2008).
Control appetite-people should control overeating by eating less and understand trigger control and craving control, people should learn to avoid triggers and manage the inevitable cravings.
Eat a healthy diet- people should reduce overeating by consuming food such as whole grain and other rich in vitamins and minerals. The unhealthy diet is associated with overeating since fast foods are sweet and people consume more. Thus, it important to consume healthy foods and unsweetened beverages to control overeating (Somov, 2008).
Q3.
Overweight and obesity are a threat to the American people. There are many factors that cause the rise in obesity and one of the factors is the food production system that energy-dense foods in today's world. The foods environment is responsible for the obesity epidemic since they are providing highly processed foods. Many people blame the food industry since it spends billions of dollars on advertising and marketing unhealthy foods (Verduin, Agarwal & Waltman, 2005). Today, the advertisement for healthy diets such as fruits and vegetables are less and it becomes hard to control the obesity as people eat what is available for them. The food industry has a role to play in controlling the obesity epidemic. First, the food industry should form a relationship with public health in setting objectives and goals. For example, the food industry and the medical community should discuss the issue of obesity and focus on producing low-fat foods (Verduin, Agarwal & Waltman, 2005). In addition to producing low-fat foods, the food industry should assist the consumers in making healthy food choices. They should focus on meeting the consumers' nutritional needed, produce healthier products and collaborate with the community and the government in promoting nutrition education and nutrition awareness. As the food industry produce new healthy products and brings them to the market, they should recommend the new products and provide the consumers with a credible advice to help them try the new things and make healthy behavior change (Verduin, Agarwal & Waltman, 2005). The food industry should also control the obesity epidemic by making positive changes in labeling, packaging and more to help consumers have different options, change their taste preference and make healthy choices.
References
Amarasinghe, A., & D'Souza, G. (2012). Individual, social, economic, and environmental model: A
paradigm shift for obesity prevention. ISRN Public Health, 2012.
Barkan, S. E. (2013). Social problems: Continuity and change. Washington, D.C. : Flat World Knowledge, Inc.,
Somov, P. G. (2008). Eating the moment: 141 mindful practices to overcome overeating one meal at a
time. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
Verduin, P., Agarwal, S., & Waltman, S. (2005). Solutions to obesity: perspectives from the food industry–
. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 82(1), 259S-261S.
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