A Built-On Trust is a Trust that Lasts a Lifetime Essay

When I was teenager, all guys who were the same as my age drove a car. They had their own cars where they can go from their homes to their schools. Naturally, I also had the same desire in wanting to drive a car. It was a natural thing to do, but my family denied me of the privilege to drive a car. I had no choice but to follow them, but still, the desire in that one simple action fueled in me. On the other hand, I did not want to be less than my friends because I have to respect my family’s opinion. One day, when my father came from work, I ran to him and greeted him.   He seemed tired from work, so I asked him for the car’s key so I can wash the car. I washed the surface of the car and then I started to also clean the inside. I sat on the driver seat while cleaning, but without meaning to and without ill intentions, I suddenly felt this chance would not come again. I just had this desire to do something, but I was scared at the same time. I put the key and I turned the engine on without moving the car approximately for just 10 minutes—listening for the engine sound and imitating how to drive. I was pretending to turn the signal or opening the window to talk to a friend, but all of that was just a daydream. After that, I felt it would be awesome if I could drive. I finished cleaning the car and I returned the key to my father. When I went to bed that night, I was thinking how I can get the key again. I should find a reason or an excuse to have the car keys again, so I thought of a plan. Sometimes, my father drops us off at school when he has time. So the next day, I left some stuff in my father’s car without him knowing it. When he came from work later that day, I went to him as usual and greeted him. I then said â€Å"Oh, father I think I left some of my stuff in the car, could you give me the key to check if they are there or not?† He gave it to me, and I was smiling from my heart until I felt the happiness show on my face. I opened the car. I turned the engine on, and there was no car in front or behind of my father’s car. A new idea formed in my mind saying â€Å"one step†; so I moved the car one step front and then one step back. I spent almost forty five minutes just like that. My young brother came and was looking for me because I spent such a long time for my stuff. I then turn off the car and my brother did not see me moving the car, but I thought he saw me. While we entered the home, I got sweaty and felt they were looking at me, but they did not say anything. My heart kept pumping until I went to my room. I looked at the mirror and I told myself: â€Å"I did it! I did it!† but my sister was there and she said â€Å"What was it that you did?† I then replied strongly: â€Å"Nothing! And do not ask anything when it is not your business.† I did that to give myself confidence and to make her confused. Human is human, and humans have always had attitude in wanting to change for the better or to want more things in life. When a child learns how to walk one step, he wants to learn how to walk in the second step. I too, am like that. I did not feel enough that it was enough in just moving the car with one step, because after one week, my father bought things for our home and he asked me to bring it to him. Instead of bringing them, I decided to ride the car two to five minutes around our home, but I was not sure if I could do it. One of my friends who is also my neighbor was looking at me and he said, â€Å"I know what you are going to do. You will just take one step front and one step back. If you are not ready to drive the car as a real man, do not waste the fuel.† I got angry because of this, and I told him to see that I can drive. I did not really mean it, but I was afraid that he would tease me in front my friends in the future. I drove the car in our suburb, and I drove slowly. When I went back to return my father’s car, our neighbor parked his car in my father’s place. I panicked and I told my friend to move their car or he if he can ask his father to do it. I was nervous and I didn’t want my father to go outside our home and see the car wasn’t in the right place. However, my friend moved their car, and I parked our car and I swore that I am not going to drive the car again because I don’t want to lose my father’s trust. Also, when I tell my father that I have already done school work or any important thing he wants me to do, I do it and I tell him that I have done it. For example, when he asks if I had done my home work and I tell him that I have done it, he would believe me, and I make it a point to do it so when he asks me again, I tell him that I have done it. I think it is important that we do no fail the expectations of our family because if we fail at it, we become irresponsible and they will note give the same trust that they have given us before. One day, I told my father that I was going to be late in school because we have a school project, but I really went somewhere else. When I went home and he asked me how was school, I told him that it was okay and that we were going to do a lot of things in the following days because there were many things we need to do for school. For the next following days, my family thinks that I am still in school or in the library when I am actually with my friends, playing basketball or some games. This continued on until one day, one of our neighbors saw me playing and he told my father why I was not home that time when they saw each other. My father was very angry because I was lying and I felt scared and sad that I lost his trust. So, I told him we were there because it was part of the school work and that basketball was needed to test some things for the information needed in the school work. My father did not believe me and said that he wants to see what it is that I was doing and asked that I show him the stuff needed for the school work. I was now more scared, but then, I remembered that I always took notes in my classes and showed it to him. My father was very happy when he saw that I was studying hard and was very serious with school. However, after that, I was thinking that I did not want to lie anymore because my family and father’s trust is so very much important to me. I would not want to lose it just because I was lying. I feel that the trust that my father and my whole family have given me is very important. When a person loses the trust of someone else, it is very hard to gain it again and restore that trust. That is why I find the value and importance of keeping my father’s trust. I think, like love, trust is very important because a person is able to prove himself to his family. In my case, if I break the trust of my father and it goes away, it would be very hard to earn it again, because I think, at the back of his mind, he would always be thinking that I might make a mistake again and break his trust. This is why it is very important for a person to make the trust of a family, something to be treasured. I want to say that I have difficulty speaking and writing in English, but because of hard work, I was able to improve step by step. However, it was never easy from the start. When I left for the United States, I was not sure if my family, especially my father, would agree if I can study abroad, but because I was able to keep his trust, I was allowed to go. It is very important that I keep on building his trust and never lose it because if I lose it and break his trust, how can he trust me to make heavier and more important decisions in my life? That is why the only thing that can make him happy and not lose his trust to me is if he sees that I am studying very hard and not doing anything else but trying very hard to make him and my family happy. It is very important to persevere and keep in mind that difficulties will arise and hinder me in fulfilling my dreams and making my family. For example, learning the language of English is very challenging and difficult. I used to just know a few words, and whenever I use it, I still have difficulties and people have a hard time understanding me, but because of my determination to study hard and not give up, I succeeded. I know that it can be very hard if a person would like to learn English and earn good grades, but I want to make my family happy and make them feel that I have not wasted anything by going to the United States and studying. If I can show them that I am working hard in making them happy and not doing anything that can make them feel that they should not trust me anymore, then I think they would not feel that they are wrong in trusting me, and they would continue to believe in me and my efforts and my abilities. It is very hard to keep the trust of a person, especially the trust of a family member, but if a person works hard, does not stray away from his goals, and keeps in mind that no matter what happens, he should make his father and his family happy and make them not lose their trust, I believe that things will turn okay and not get bad. Everything will work out because I have my father’s trust and I will not do anything to break that. I have promised my family that I will get good grades and I will do that. I will succeed and not fail them.

Game theory application for lowest price guarantee Essay

The game theory is applicable to a host of issues especially in economics. The theory is applicable where there is a multiplicity of decision makers and each player’s action affects or is affected by what the other party does. To cite a specific example, it is worthy examining how firms make production decisions relating to quality, quantity, pricing, etc. the game theory is equally useful in auctions, contract negotiations, and in voting exercises. Literature review Price setting is a difficult task as there is a multiplicity of players in each business or industry. This is furthered by the fact that each player intends to make the best out of every situation. However, decisions are always taken while accounting for what the rest of the players are going to do. This case holds true especially when the industry being studied is a free market where there is free entry and exit. The fact that competition calls for the adoption of the best possible alternative dictates that a god approach is employed in decision making regarding pricing (Axelrod, 43). Maintenance of a brand is important in the pricing game. A business which has a dominant brand has little work to do since sellers want to stock the products and customer loyalty remains high (Axelrod, 45). At times, changes may prove worthy undertaking. For example when a company is operating excess productivity, it may be forced to lower prices to increase its sales. However, this is only commendable if it does not spark a price war. The chances of achieving minimal interference in the market are desirable though difficult to achieve. This is held because lowering prices of a player’s products will lead to an increased demand for the party’s products assuming that the quality produced is similar to other players’ products (Kalai and Stanford, 400). Even if such products may be of lower quality, it is held that the demand for these products will rise. A rise in a player’s products will definitely lower the demand for other players’ goods in the industry (Kalai and Stanford, 400). This is bound to lead to a price war as the other players must take similar action if they are to remain in business. In the same line of thinking, measures to increase the prices of certain commodities may be counter productive. This means that an attempt to hike the price may lead to resistance from the part of the customers. Such resistance is reflected by the unwillingness to make purchases after a rise in price. An indication of reduced sales also point to an attempt to raise the prices. This indicates that players in any industry or business will always be forced to adopt the lowest possible price. It is only at the lowest prices where firms sell an equilibrium quantity while providing room for profit making. However, lowering of prices below the normal price may send a wrong signal to the customers who may mistake that act as a deceiving ploy to offer them products of a lesser value or quality and thus scare them away (Kalai and Stanford, 402). Such acts not only lead to brand failure as they also hold the potential of reducing revenue to a business entity. A reversal of the price to reflect the actual market pricing may fail to bring back the deserting customers. This may call for re launching of the brand, an expensive issue to any business. However, a gamble of this nature may win customers albeit in the short run. On the other hand, if the businesses in the industry respond by lowering prices, the leading party in lowering prices may have failed as the market share will most likely revert to the normal point. But such lower prices can only be sustainable if they allow a business to enjoy certain profit levels (Chamberlin, 45). Sustainable margins are created through three major ways. The first one centers on product differentiation, the second, on economies of scale, and the third, on the barriers to entry (Hotelling, 41-43). Game theory is useful in pricing strategies especially in oligopolistic industries. In an oligopoly, firms may make decisions regarding whether to increase, to reduce prices or to keep them unchanged (Hotelling, 47-51). The nature of the demand curve in oligopoly is kinked (Kalai and Stanford, 397). This suggests a presence of price stability in the industry. This is possible because in an event of firms increasing prices while others do not change, the end result is a significant fall in demand. On the other hand, if firms reduce the prices, they will gain a market share, the other firms in the industry do not want such a scenario as they also follow suit and consequently prices drop across the industry (Kalai and Stanford, 398). Such a decline in price would see all firms in the industry lose significantly due to poor pricing. In this market a decision by one firm holds a significant bearing in the industry. However, in real world, the kinked curve may never be attained (Kalai and Stanford, 410). This is attributable to the game theory and the complexities involved. To begin with, firms may collude and set prices and production quotas which they stick to. Though this is illegal in some countries like the UK, imposing it is very difficult. Firms may not always pursue profit maximization as they may be willing to make lesser profits if this can raise their market share. Wal Mart supermarket is one such example utilizing this strategy in a bid to expand its activities (Kalai and Stanford, 409). Firms could not be aware of the reactions f other players or may simply choose to ignore the reactions of other players in the industry. To cite an example, a small firm in an oligopoly may avoid cutting prices if it perceives that its action may fail to occasion a significant impact on an industry (Robinson, 22-25). In a monopolistic type of market, the presence of only one buyer implies that price setting is exclusively held by one firm which also happens to act as the industry (Sraffa, 534). This firm can change prices but it must do that carefully (Sraffa, 546). This is held because in as much as the firm can price its products highly, it holds the potential of failing to sell if it goes beyond a certain level of pricing unless it deals in basic goods. So the game theory applies in this case by dictating to the firm to set its price at the point where it maximizes sales and profits. In a duopoly, the presence of two companies or firms is likely to lead to bidding wars and subsequently benefit the customer as a move by one player is easily countered by the other player (Sraffa, 500). This is however based on an assumption that both players are in a position to produce same or slightly identical products. So in a duopoly, prices charged are lowered if the two engage in a game of trying to outdo the other. Findings and conclusion This paper presents pricing as a game in which businesses engage in. it is discernable that every business entity seeks to achieve profits and sustain its growth. This depends on such business’s ability to sell its products. Apart from monopolistic markets the rest have a multiplicity of players. This implies that price setting is a function of other firms’ behavior on the same products. In a competitive environment as realized above, if one player changes the price, other players will counter that move by carrying out a similar adjustment. This may in the end lead to a loss for all players. On the basis of the above realization, industry players are forced to operate on the Nash equilibrium. At this position, each player in an industry is well of playing by the rules of the game. This means the pricing at this point is the lowest the firms can charge, any reduction on the price would seriously affect the profitability of the company. if a player chose to reduce prices in the hope of making profits as a result of increased sales, the other players will follow sit and the end result is a loss for all. In reference to a monopolistic market, the cost of products is the lowest possible as further increments on the price would portend ill for the business’ profits due to reduced sales. On the basis of the evidence adduced in this paper, the game theory holds a huge influence on pricing of products in all markets. The aim of the firms remains the pursuit of pricing their products at a point where they can sustain the businesses. However, the game theory may not lead to the lowest prices if firms collude and if other firms use underhand tactics like issuing threats to other players. Cited Works E. H. Chamberlin. The Theory of Monopolistic Competition. Cambridge: MA Harvard University Press, 2003. Ehud. Kalai and William, Stanford. â€Å"Finite Rationality and Interpersonal Complexity in Repeated Games,† Econometrica 56(2008), 397-410. Harrison, Hotelling. â€Å"Stability in Competition,† Economic Journal, 39 (Mar. 1929):41- 57. John, Robinson. The Economics of Imperfect Competition. London: Macmillan, 2003. Paul, Sraffa, â€Å"The Laws of returns under competitive conditions,† Economic Journal 36(2006), 535-550. Robert, Axelrod. The Evolution of Cooperation. NY: Basic Books, 2004.

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 8

Economics - Essay Example Basically, the Irish Government and European Central Bank are fixing a problem that has struck worldwide. In the end, the Irish economy will bounce back. As around the world, Ireland had a massive amount of bad bank debt. This bad bank debt has created a crisis within the Irish economy. This phenomenon has been worldwide. Banks have been making irresponsible loans, Irish banks were no exception. Kirby (2010: 4) reports â€Å"Government subsidies fuelled a frenzy of building around the country and banks lent recklessly to developers to buy land at grossly inflated prices and to customers to buy the houses and apartments built on this land at equally high prices.† When the economy was better, mortgage interest and collateral were seen as a win/win situation. However when the economy started taking a downward turn the banks began having too much collateral. Bankers do not want collateral, they want mortgage payments. Once these mortgage payments started to decrease, Irish banks started to fail. The banks were not tightly regulated before the recessions. Loans could be given on inflated prices. McCormick (2009) explains, â€Å"Overreliance on construction, cheap credit and securitization of housing loans exposed Ireland to a sharp reversal of economic activity. Irish housing prices collapsed and the banking sector faced losses and liquidity pressures.† The more given, the more the banks expected to receive. If regulations had been in place on how much could be loaned, property assessed correctly, and other common sense rules, the Irish economy might not be in a recession. McDonald and Moya (2010) reports: Hard-pressed Irish taxpayers are now rescuing the banks from the consequences of their greed and folly. In return, we must now insist that they go back to basic business, and that means keeping every fundamentally profitable company in business. As a result of the failing banks, the Irish Government and

Business Ethic 4 questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business Ethic 4 questions - Assignment Example The other stakeholders would be the company itself and the society. The company will benefit from the profit drawn by the product in the market and the society will be adversely and positive affected from the benefits or drawbacks of the product. 3) The alternative decisions could be either to spend more money on R & D to make it safer before releasing it in the market. The other decisions could be to tell people about the fact that the product will not be able to work under extreme conditions. The last alternative could be to stop the production of the product citing it unsafe for the consumers. 4) Stopping the production of hazardous products falls under the category of rule based ethics because the motivation of the company to stop the production is safety of the people that the company values. Similarly, spending more money on R & D falls under consequentialism because the fairness of the action depends on its outcome only. R&D would make the product better and will increase its

Philosophy - Marx - Capital, Volume 1 (1867) - Ch 1, sec 1-2 Ch 2 Essay

Philosophy - Marx - Capital, Volume 1 (1867) - Ch 1, sec 1-2 Ch 2 - Essay Example Early in the book, Marx declares that he writes of individuals â€Å"only in so far as they are the personifications of economic categories, embodiments of particular class relations and class interests† (Marx, 15). Today, the world economy is made more complex by the advent of the Internet, over which countless transactions take place in the blink of an eye, and the introduction of new and ever more sophisticated financial products. Consequently, relationships between labor and commodity, and between the working class and bourgeoisie, have grown more complex. The profound effect of recent economic instability in the U.S., aggravated by relaxed restraints on Wall Street and deprivations of the corporate elite, would seem to bear out Marx’s contention (Name) 2 that not only is crisis the nature of capitalism, but that the essence of human action and interaction in a capitalistic society is inherently economic.

Housing crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 10

Housing crisis - Essay Example Eventually, homeowners fell into foreclosure and delinquency. These mortgages failed to yield returns to lenders, making institutions reluctant to re-evaluate their assets that could dispose of their insolvency. Lack of institutions to purchase loans made the market to freeze making lenders to incur losses they could not absorb. The collapse of the housing market has been blamed on many participants such as potential homeowners, lenders, investors, hedge funds and government interference (Smith & Susan 126). Lenders are responsible for the housing bubble in the United States. They were responsible for lending funds to poor credit people with a great risk of default. The flooding of the market with capital liquidity by the central bank lowered the rate of interest and depressed risk premiums while investors sought opportunities that are risky in bolstering their returns for investment. Lenders at this point had adequate capital for lending and were willing to indulge in more risk to e nable their realization of increased investment returns (Fried 11). Government The housing bubble started with the efforts of the government to expand homeownership to people. The legislation enacted by authorities required investors of government-backed mortgages such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, to guarantee loans to people with poor or no credit and incapable of making down payments. This policy of the Federal Reserve enabled interest rates to maintain lower levels. This eventually made house investments more attractive. Increase in prices compelled mortgage banks to relax standards of lending further. This made prices for homes to increase until the housing bubble began (Smith & Susan 131). Homeowners Potential homebuyers viewed homeownership as a less risky investment. Incentives provided by lending institutions led to the issuance of subprime loans with varying interest rates to households with no or poor credit histories. With the increased demand for houses, prices rose an d more homes built and availed in the market. They believed in price appreciation that would allow them to refinance at relatively lower rates. However, housing bubble erupted and prices reduced significantly. The rest of their mortgages made most of the homeowners incapable of refinancing their mortgages to lower rates since no equity was created as prices for houses fell. The homeowners decided to set their mortgage interests higher making them unaffordable. Most of them had no alternative than to default on mortgages (Fried 14). Investors are to blame for the collapse of housing market just as homeowners. This is because they invested in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and were willing to buy them at very low rates over bonds. The lower rates are responsible for the increased demand for subprime loans. Investors bear the blame for the housing bubble since it was their obligation to be diligent while investing and failed to make viable expectations (Fried 23). Banks The len ders increased use of the secondary mortgage market led to increased subprime loans originated by lenders. Instead of holding onto these mortgages in books, lenders sold their mortgages in the secondary market and collected fees that originated from these market. More capital for lending circulated all over eventually increasing liquidity. Demand for mortgages emerged from the availability of assets that accumulated to form securities such as CDOs.

International Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Politics - Essay Example Without an overarching ruler that can oversee and regulate the international structure, neither the security nor well-being of individual states assures. A state constantly strives to ensure its security and "self-help", through strategic behaviors, competition, and cooperation. Moreover, because international structure is formed by the "co-action of self-regarding units"2 each seeking goods for its own, a lot of assumption of the other units and its intention is made for strategic behavior. Waltz, as a realist political scientist, describes international politics as "the realm of power, of struggle, and of accommodation"3. Thus, uncertainty and coordination problems that take place sometimes make it difficult to achieve the potential benefit (the states are capable of) from free trade and international monetary order. In general, states are an autonomous political unit motivated by self-interest and aimed at their own goods. In such "self-help" system, each unit put effort in providing itself with the means of protection against others. According to Mearsheimer, a realist, cooperation in the international system is unfeasible. ... er, the uncertainty of each other's short-term and long-term intentions and actions, whether the gain will be mutual or lopsided, works against trouble-free cooperation. Standard Trade Theory tells that free trade leads to aggregation of benefit and maximizes the welfare of most states. Now question arises, why then is this so hard to achieve' Nations want to take advantage of the free trade market, but "frequently unwilling to open their own economies"5, is a result of collective action problem. Collective action problem rises out of the self-interest of individual states that halts them from cooperating even if it is in their interest to do so. For example, through the "Endogenous Tariff Theory", Giplin explains, why and how domestic interest groups work to serve its nation's own goods as a barrier to import policies. A state will be willing to participate in the international free market system and export domestically produced goods to other nations for economic development. However, at the same time, it seeks to set up high trade barriers and impose tariffs on imports to hamper other countries' exported goods being brought into domestic economy. This will result in a situation, where every state seeks to export as much as it can, and import as little as possible. According to Goldstein, this action is "individually rational but collectively suboptimal for each nation to adhere to tariffs rather than to free trade"6. During the Great Depression period in United States, Americans were collectively running to the bank to withdraw their savings, which did no help to the economic downfall. As such, no state will think in other states' position or aim for the true, long-term benefits for the whole; but instead will act selfishly for short-term benefit and security

Impression Formation in Social Psychology Essay

Impression Formation in Social Psychology - Essay Example After a long day of regulating behaviors at work or at school, for instance, resources for controlling other person's traits could be limited; reading for tests or going to the gym. Research by Buss, M. G & Graig, K.L (2000) assumes that feeling regulation approaches would demand disparate echelons of behavioral management on the audience where feeling is rather contained. For instance, in comparison with being decent, more management is needed when we swank to others we are familiar with since they are much informed about our well being and could easily approve the impression we tend to construct. Correspondingly, traits ought to govern more when portraying decency to outsiders unlike swanking about the self. The implicit here it that it constructs so much sense to depict ourselves in the most prospective fashion to individuals we don't comprehend well, and being self-effacing does not achieve this intention. A vivid scenario is that where four college roommates that attend a party where they meet friends and classmates that know them closely and consequently interact with strangers who conceive so little about them. Juvenile men have conversations with either friends or strangers and they either swank about their achievements or depict the self in a modest manner. Soon after, the roommates are confronted with a temptation where governing their traits is quite significant; students are questioned to give forecasts concerning how well every man will respond to temptation. Their results are then tabulated with the founding by Vohs et al. Impression Management Theory Impression management hypothesis contents that persons are generally stimulated to advance the self by presenting themselves in ways that are rather positively appealing to their counterparts. According to Buss, M. G & Graig, K.L (2000) the knack to govern other person impressions of us is an imperative aspect in numerous actions, for instance when trying to please the employer during a job interview. When helplessly seeking for support from friends. By itself, impression hypothesis is inclined on an interpersonal procedure. Social psychology confirms that there exist, numerous line of attack through which persons employ to express an appealing reflection to others. Gratifying those that have reserves we seek for, relating with flourishing others, disconnecting with abortive others and constructing of excuses for our malfunction as well as threatening others. Humility and self-importance are two lines of attack emphasized in this case. Arrogance happens when we decorate our positive characteristic and also hide our unconstructive distinctiveness. Reticence transpire when we present out qualities in a way that is either arrogant nor self-disparaging Self-Regulation Theory Self governing hypothesis is oriented towards person's competence to monitor and organize their mannerisms to accomplish preferred intentions. This presumption is related with that ability to modify automatic, customary or instinctive qualities, urges, sensation and requirements that would otherwise mess up with intentions directed manners. For instance students self govern especially when they revise for exam unlike whether

Economic in Society Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Economic in Society - Case Study Example This time the customer would think again and again before buying the medicine. On the other hand, due to much improved drug's quality, the pharmaceutical companies would have to do some more investment and also there is a possibility that they would outsource or even import the foreign material for usage, which means that they now would have to make the foreign payments resulting in a lot of local currency going out of the money cycle. The possibility is again that the country would get a bit unstable and if someone who would then be responsible to keep the country's economy stable then it is the people living there. People would now be forced to take any measures to buy those medicines that are at least prescribed by the doctors for serious patents. India although have controlled their growth rate but the deceases are growing commonly in the South-east Asia, and this is the part by which the Indian planners might have thought about increasing the prices and to bring much of the currency from the savers to the deficit spending units. India is basically a poor country, the average income t... als being operated there and if they would now be asked to product fine quality medicines that are just having their own name and are according to the international standards, then it does require India to invest even more in bringing those structures and processes that could make the international standard products. The documentation work would also be their and the overall investment would be far more that companies would merely have a breakeven point within even 5 years. The decision taken by the Indian government might just be in relation to their modernization but it has got no real concerns as the majority in India is yet living below poverty line. The question which is related to the people around the world getting deprived to use the cheap drugs might not be as valid as the people living in India would be deprived to use the cheap drugs. The simple answer to that is due to the much poor outcome of any such strategy, the global companies manufacturing patented material would c riticize any such law and so the law enforcing governments would move against any such law. After all, human life has got more value than any of the law and the concerns are directly related to the saving of human life and not the cheaper drugs. Since in that case, the majority of people would not even be able to use the drugs, then they cannot expect to live longer and there when the problem arises causing human lives. Lets talk about the real world case in which the demand is never equal to supply. Always there would be greater deviations in the market and somehow both, supply and demand would get disturbed, of course it is unintentional but that is inevitable as a consequence of which we have to keep the constraints and solutions in mind. Imagine if the world is consuming what has been

Care Delivery & Management Essay Example for Free

Care Delivery Management Essay The purpose of this assignment is to reflect upon my personal and professional development. It will consider the quality of the care I provided, the skills I developed in my specialist placement, plus my learning since the commencement of my nurse training. Personal learning and self-reflection will be identified. I shall be using Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle to consider my practice. Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle looks at six aspects which include the following; what happened, what were my thoughts and feelings, what was good or bad about the experience, what sense can I make out of the situation, what else could I have done and if it arose again what would I do? Findings will be supported or contrasted by relevant literature. A conclusion will be offered to evaluate findings. I shall also include an action plan, which will address future professional and personal development needs and any factors that may help or hinder this. I will also consider why I have selected these issues for my action plan, what my goals are and how I aim to achieve them. At the beginning of my nurse training we were asked to write on a piece of piece what our definition of nursing was. I wrote ‘It’s about being human’. At the time these words were based on my gut feeling and personal belief. Now, two and a half years later, I would write the same thing, but this time my definition would be based on the skills, knowledge and experiences I feel privileged and grateful to have had during my training and not just on gut feeling and personal belief. How does this knowledge impact on me in terms of practice? I can now put my definition of nursing into a framework and relate the theory of it to practice, for example I can identify when I am actively undertaking anxiety management with a patient. This is quite an achievement for me. What else have I learnt? I have gained knowledge of illnesses and understand how bio-psycho-social aspects of mental illness impact on the individual, their family and their life. I have also developed a good basic knowledge of practical skills such as: counselling, anxiety management, assessment, nursing and communication models, problem-solving and psychotherapy. This knowledge and development of practical skills has enabled my self confidence and self esteem to grow. What things have had the most influence on my personal and professional learning? These things are what ‘It’s about being human’ means to me as a nurse. They include a humanistic care philosophy. Evidence suggests that patients have found the humanistic care philosophy to be positive and helpful to their well-being (Beech, Norman 1995.) Humanistic care believes in; developing trust, the nurse-patient relationship, using the self as a therapeutic tool, spending time to ‘be with’ and ‘do with’ the patient (Hanson 2000,) patient empowerment, the patient as an equal partners in their care (Department Of Health 1999,) respect for the patient’s uniqueness, recognition of the patient as an expert on themselves (Nelson-Jones 1982, Playle 1995, Horsfall 1997). Equally important to me is person-centred care, Roger’s (1961) unconditional positive regard, warmth, genuineness and empathy, recognition of counter-transference, self-reflect ion and self-awareness. I was on placement with Liaison Psychiatry also known as Deliberate Self Harm. The team consisted of my mentor and myself. In this placement we would assess patients who had deliberately self harmed. Patients would be referred via AE only. We would see patients whilst they were still in AE or after they had been transferred to hospital wards for medical treatment for their injuries etc. We would only see patients once they were medically fit to have a psychiatric assessment. The purpose of the assessment was to find out what was happening for the individual and see if we could offer any help via mental health services to the individual, this is done via implementing ‘APIE’ the nursing process (Hargreaves 1975). The main focus was to consider what degree of risk we felt the patient was in. Therefore we needed to establish what the individuals intent was at the time of the deliberate self harm, and if suicidal, whether they still had suicidal intent after the incident. We also held a weekly counselling clinic. I considered Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle. How did I feel about this placement? At first I was apprehensive as to how I would feel dealing with patients who do not necessarily want to live. I belong to a profession that saves lives, so I felt an inner conflict. This is an anxiety that is recognised in most nurses (Whitworth 1984). In my first few weeks I felt distressed by the traumatic events that these patients were experiencing. I felt guilty that I have a family who love me, a fulfilling career, a lovely home and no debts, then each day I talk to people who may have no home, no money, no one to love them and no employment. It was hard for me to make sense of these things when life circumstances, such as class, status, wealth, education and employment create unfairness. I felt a desire to help try and improve the quality of these patients’ situations. Midence (1996) has identified that these feelings are a normal response when dealing with others less fortunate that oursel ves. Patients’ who attempt suicide have lost hope (Beck 1986). I felt more settled and positive once I was able to make sense of the situation (Gibbs 1988). I realised that could help by listening to these patient’s and help to restore hope, develop problem solving ideas to tackle some of their problems or referring them to gain the emotional help and support they needed from appropriate mental health services. Patients find help with problem solving extremely valuable and can help them feel able to cope (McLaughlin 1999). Generally, after most assessments, I learnt that listening, giving emotional support and problem solving helped restore enough hope in the previously suicidal patient enable them to feel safe from future self harm. In only a handful of cases did my mentor and I need to admit patients to any inpatient facility under the Mental Health Act (1983). This was because they still felt at risk of future self-harm. Through using Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle to consider my special placement area I feel I have been able to change my nursing practice in a positive way, initially from feeling anxious, guilty and helpless when dealing with suicidal patients to feeling useful, constructive and positive. I’ve learnt that by confronting my own feelings of guilt and discomfort I was able to help in a very positive, practical, constructive and empowering way. My mentor identified that one of my strengths is that I can generally combine common sense, logic and practicality in terms of risk assessment and problem solving and still build up a sensitive and caring, therapeutic relationship when dealing with patients whose circumstances are in crisis and complicated and they themselves are emotionally and mentally vulnerable. Nurses not only need good communication skills (Faulkner 1998) but they also need to have an environment conductive to open communication (Wilkinson 1992). Social barriers such as environment, structure or cultural aspects of healthcare can inhibit the application of communication skills (Chambers 2002) Utilising Gibbs (19988) Reflective Model, in retrospect; I feel our interview with some patients could have been done differently. On occasions when my mentor and I were in the A E department the two rooms that we had available for our use were occasionally both in use. This meant that we would conduct our assessment interviews in the Plaster Room, if it was empty. This room was where medical patients would have plaster-casts applied. This was a very clinical room. However, due to limited room availability this was sometimes the only option we had at the time, it was not a welcoming or appropriate setting and would not have helped patients feel relaxed or valued. In reflection, I believe it was actually demeaning as we were asking patients who had attempted suicide to sit on a hard chair in a clinical workroom and share their despair with us. I am sad that this happened and I feel as though we were giving the patients the impression that a cold clinical work room is all they were worth. If this arose again (Gibbs 1988) I would suggest to my mentor that we wait for one of our allocated rooms to become available, where the rooms were relaxing, with soft armchairs and a feeling of comfort. Using Gibbs (1988) Reflective Model I shall describe a situation with a patient to highlight my learning. What happened (Gibbs 1988)? Neil had been bought to AE by his son after he made an attempt to take his own life. His son explained that Neil’s wife had terminal cancer and had died the day before. Neil was unable to engage in conversation other that to repeat over and over again â€Å"I don’t want to live without my wife.† However the more disturbed and difficult to communicate a patient is the less interaction they receive therapeutic or otherwise from nursing staff (Cormack 1976, Poole, Sanson-Fisher, Thompson 1981, Robinson 1996a, 1996b). I found this too be true in Neil’s situation as some A E nurses did not wish to approach him because of his disturbed state and unresponsiveness to verbal cues. What were my thoughts and feeling (Gibbs 1988)? After spending twenty minutes in the assessment interview Neil had remained unresponsive to our approaches and had remained distressed, distant and uncommunicative for the entire time. I had past experience of recent bereavement within my immediate family and I realised that counter-transference was at play and was a reason for my strong emotional reaction to Neil’s distress resulting in me having an overwhelming desire to ease his suffering. Even though another part of me understood the need for him to experience this extreme pain as a normal part of grieving. What was good or bad about the experience (Gibbs 1988)? This was not a good experience for me because as a compassionate person, I found it extremely hard to suppress my own feelings of wanting to protect him from such devastating distress, although I recognised that I was over-identifying with him due to my own grief. I considered that he might have been embarrassed by the emotional state he was in and his inability to control his grief; he could not speak, maintain eye contact or even physically stand. What sense could I make of the situation (Gibbs 1988)? We adjourned for a few minutes so that my mentor and I could assess the situation. I thought it might be appropriate to utilise Heron’s Six Category Intervention Analysis (1975) cathartic intervention as a therapeutic strategy to enable the patient to release emotional tension such as grief, anger, despair and anxiety by helping to (Chambers 1990). I hoped it would facilitate the opportunity for Neil to open up and express his full feelings in a safe and supportive environment. I initially planned to sit quietly with him and briefly put a reassuring hand on either his hand, arm or shoulder. My mentor supported this action. I was aware that I ran a risk of misinterpretation by choosing therapeutic touch. Therapeutic touch may be criticised because it is open to misinterpretation by the patient and abuse of power by staff. The patient may view holding another’s hand as a sexual advance, violation or abuse, so nurses should always consider patient consent, appropriateness, context and boundaries. Clause 2.4 of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2002) Code Of Professional Conduct says that at all times healthcare professionals must maintain appropriate boundaries with patients and all aspects of care must be relevant to their needs. Therapeutic touch appeared acceptable given his situation and seemed appropriate to the context it would be performed in, given that my mentor would supervise me. As per Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle I considered what else I could have done especially if the situation arose again and mentor not been there. I would may have chosen to utilise Hanson’s (2000) approach of ‘being with’ whereby I use therapeutic use of self through the sharing of one’s own presence, and not involved any form of touch, avoiding any misinterpretation or breach of boundaries. I was anxious because I felt concerned that my nursing skills would be inadequate to address his needs due to his acutely distressed state. In reflection my mentor helped me acknowledge that this was about my own anxiety rather than being accurately reflective of my nursing ability. I approached Neil and explained that if it was acceptable with him I would like to sit quietly with him so that he was not alone in his distress. â€Å"It is likely that the nursing process is therapeutic when nurse and patient can come to know and to respect each other, as persons who are alike and yet different, as persons who share in the solution of problems† (Peplau 1988). I gently placed my hand onto his. Neil reacted by given the impression that he physically disintegrated, he become extremely distressed and crying loudly, squeezing my hand tightly. This continued for several minutes. Neil became calmer and started to talk about his situation. This was a good outcome. I was able to utilise Herons (1975) cathartic strategy with positive effect via empathising with Neil’s situation and using myself as a therapeutic tool through the use of touch, thus enabling Neil to express his emotions and activate a nurse-patient relationship. Studies have shown that nurses can express compassion and empathy through touch, using themselves as a therapeutic tool (Routasalo 1999, Scholes 1996) and this has a cathartic value, enabling the patient to express their feelings more easily (Leslie Baillie 1996). The therapeutic value of non-verbal communication and its harmfulness is overlooked (Salvage 1990). Attitudes are evident in the way we interact with others and can create atmospheres that make patient care uncomfortable (Hinchcliff, Norman, Schoeber 1998) On one occasion, one nurse privately referred to Neil as a â€Å"wimp† because he was having difficulty coping with the death of his wife. I wondered whether her body language had transmitted her bad attitude towards Neil, contributing to his distress and difficulties in communicating with staff. Again using Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle, I shall provide another example to highlight my learning in practice. What happened (Gibbs 1988)? Cycle On one occasion my mentor and I received a phone call from A E asking us to review an 18-year-old girl called Emma who had taken an overdose. They said she was medically fit to be assessed. When we arrived they claimed that she was pretending to still feel unwell and described her as â€Å"milking it†. We found her to be vomiting and discovered she had been left in a bed in the corridor of A E for 8 hours. McAllister (2001) found that patients who had self-harmed were ignored, had exceptionally long waits and suffered judgemental comments. What were my thoughts and feelings (Gibbs 1988)? I felt very angry towards A E staff as I felt that she was being unfairly treated because she had caused harm to herself, she had been labelled as a troublemaker by staff and I do not believe she had received good quality care. Emma explained that in the last month her father had died, she had miscarried her baby, discovered that her partner was having an affair, and she had been made redundant leaving her with debts that she couldn’t pay. As I looked at her, I saw a vulnerable young woman at the end of her tether. I felt saddened and disappointed by the judgemental attitudes of the A E staff who had not even taken the time to talk to Emma or ask her why she had taken an overdose, instead they describe her as an â€Å"immature and attention seeking kid†. As per Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle, I felt this was a very bad experience of poor care, bad attitudes and unacceptable moral judgement being made by A E staff. Cohen (1996) and Nettleton (1995) identify that social status; age, gender, race and class contribute to stereotyping and judgemental attitudes. I noticed that people who self-harmed were judged differently dependent upon their age and the younger they were the worse the attitude of A and E staff. Interestingly ageism towards youth is an area that I could find no research on. I believe ageism towards younger people is overlooked and is really only identified in the elderly. During the assessment I was aware of how my physical presence can impact on the care given. However, I have learnt about the importance of considering how one can communicate to the patient via body language. By attending to patients in a non-verbal or physical way it is another method of saying, â€Å"I’m interested, I’m listening and I care.† To do this during Emma’s assessment I utilised Egan’s (1982) acronym S.O.L.A.R. This meant that I sat facing Emma Squarely, with an Open posture, Leaning towards her, whilst making Eye contact and Relaxing myself, to give her the feeling of my willingness to help. This client centred care recognises her equality in the nurse-patient relationship. What sense did I make of the situation (Gibbs 1988)? I was very unhappy about the attitude of A E staff but recognised that they had a lack of understanding and knowledge. In one study looking at self-harm admissions it was discovered that patients who deliberately self-harm are often deemed as unpopular patients, being labelled and judged as time wasters by A E staff. Apparently 55% of general nurses perceived these patients as attention seekers and disliked working with them, 64% found it frustrating, 20% found it depressing and almost a third found it uncomfortable (Sidley, Renton 1996). What else could I have done (Gibbs 1988) After reflecting upon the experience with my mentor, I was able to realise that part of my role is to act as a representative for mental health. If this happened again what would I do (Gibbs 1988)? If staff were to make judgemental comments again it is part of my role to educate and inform them so they can have a positive understanding of the needs of the mental health patient and learn to address any judgemental comments made. This is a view supported by Johnstone (1997), who says that if we are made aware of our actions when we are judging and labelling people it is our responsibility to correct this. Medical staff need to be aware of mental health promotion, and need further training and education in respects of helping to care for and understand of this vulnerable patient group (Hawton 2000). This is a view supported by the Department of Health (DOH 1999a) who have recommended closer liaison between mental health and A E services in an effort to address the poor understanding and negative attitudes of A E staff. I have also learnt that I must look at both sides of each situation and should show more understanding towards the A E staff’s feelings, as they are often confronted with shocking and distressing acts of self infliction which can make them feel despair, helpless and unskilled to deal with these sort of patient. I believe nurses negative attitudes develop because we all intuitively apply own our values and views to everyday situations, people, experiences and interactions. It may be the staff member’s own coping mechanism to keep their distance from the patient or to label them as attention seeking in order to make sense of the situation for themselves. This is a view supported by Johnstone (1997). In reflection, following the assessment and planning of care for Emma my mentor and I reflected upon the care I provided for her. I recognised that I felt nervous because it was my first experience of conducting an assessment. Having my mentor there to observe me made me feel secure because I trusted my mentor and could rely on her expertise to ensure that I provided safe practice for Emma. However, I still felt anxious as I was faced with an unknown situation. This made me realise how difficult and intimidating the assessment process may have felt to Emma. I had the security of feeling safe in the relationship with my mentor. Emma didn’t know either of us. This highlighted the huge value of the nurse-patient relationship and how the importance of utilising Rogers (1961) theory of client-centred care involving unconditional positive regard, warmth, genuineness and empathy towards patients. My mentor said that I provided evidence based care and I appeared to have a good humanistic approach, sensitively providing client centred care. She joked that I was so keen to ‘get it right’ that I was practically sat on Emma’s knee in my efforts to non-verbally show to Emma that I was attentive and listening to her. I think that whilst this was a joke, I will endeavour to continue to be keen but will relax a bit more, hopefully as I gain more experience myself. I will also use the insight and understanding from these experiences to benefit my future practise and the care I provide for patients. Boyd Fales (1983) suggest, â€Å"Reflective learning is the process of internally examining an issue of concern, triggered by an experience, which creates and clarifies meaning in terms of self, and which results in a changed conceptual perspective.† Self-reflection helps the practitioner find practice-based answers to problems that require more than the application of theory (Schon 1983). I have discovered this to be true, especially in mental health nursing where problem solving may be in the realm of religious, spiritual or cultural beliefs, emotional or intuitive feelings, ethics and moral ideals, which sometimes cannot be theorised. With one patient I couldn’t understand his unwillingness to engage in therapy even though he turned up for a weekly appointment. Once I reflected on this with my mentor I realised that I was not considering his strict religious and cultural background, which complicated his care. I realised that I had been completely ignorant of his needs and had in-fact lacked self-awareness otherwise I would have recognised these issues sooner. According to Kemmis (1995) a benefit of self-reflection is that it helps practitioners become ‘aware of their unawareness’. I have learnt that there are barriers to reflection. On occasions after seeing a patient my mentor may interpret events in a slightly different way to myself. Newell (1992) and Jones (1995) criticize the idea of reflection arguing that it is a flawed process due to inaccurate recall memory and hindsight bias. Another criticism of refection is that it aims to theorise actions in hindsight therefore devaluing the skill of responding intuitively to a patient (Richardson 1995). I considered that my thought to hold Neil’s hand may have been intuitive but because we must use evidence based practice and appropriate frameworks of care, I theorised my care and utilised Heron’s (1975) framework. I believe self-reflection helps me to become self-aware. Self-awareness is achieved when the student acknowledges there own personal characteristics, including values, attitudes, prejudices, beliefs, assumptions, feelings, counter-transferences, personal motives and needs, competencies, skills and limitations. When they become aware of these things and the impact they have on the therapeutic communication and relationship with the patient then they become self-aware (Cook 1999). I have learnt through these experiences that reflection can be a painful experience as I have recognised my own imperfections and bias. I have felt angry with general nursing staffs attitudes towards mental health patients and have now been able to realise that this emotion is unhelpful and instead I should be more tolerant and understanding and help them to understand the patients needs. It is also difficult especially if one is experiencing strong emotions such as anger, frustration and grief (Rich 1995). At times I have over-identified with my patients and personalised their situation to similar situations of my own. This is known as counter-transference and has blinded my ability to address their care needs. Counter-transference is the healthcare professionals emotional reaction to the patient, it is constantly present in every interaction and it strongly influences the therapeutic relationship, but is often not reflected upon (Slipp 2000). Counter-transference can be defined as negative as it can create disruptive feelings in the clinician, causing misguided values and bias (Pearson 2001). I have learnt that it is crucial for me to consider how my reactions to a patient’s problem can impact on the care I provide. Whilst I endeavour to always give 100% best and unbiased care to each patient, I have realised I respond more favourably to patients that I like or identify with. For example I was extremely compassionate and biased towards both Emma and Neil and I feel that my personal life experiences influenced me because I could really empathise with them both. However, I realised that I am only human and that as long as I recognise the impact of counter-transference then I can use it positively as my self awareness of the fact that the process is occurring will enable me to address and challenge my own thoughts, feelings and responses. To conclude, I have been able to highlight my learning over the last two and a half years, both personally and professionally. This has enabled me to look at the areas that I am good at and the areas that I can improve on. I have been able to look at the quality of the care I have given patients and considered what I have achieved, how I felt, how I could have done things better, what was successful and unsuccessful, what issues influenced me and what understanding I had of the experience. I have also been able to recognise my role as a representative for mental health nursing and how I can promote it to other healthcare professionals. I have also identified the value of the role of my mentor in helping me to develop as a nurse. I will use the insight and understanding from these experiences to benefit my future practice and the care I provide for patients. ACTION PLAN Word Count 1086 What are my goals? My mentor and I discussed the areas that I want to improve on. We identified that my stronger points are common sense, logical approach and practical ability in terms of things like risk assessing and problem solving. I am also competent in the building of a therapeutic relationship, utilising a humanistic care philosophy, person centre approach, empathy, genuineness, unconditional positive regard and honest. I also have a good knowledge in respect of mental health promotion, anxiety management, basic counselling skills, understanding of the fundamentals associated with nursing, assessment and communication models and the basic principles of psychotherapy. I feel I have come a long way in two and a half years and have accomplished a lot. However, there are areas that I recognise that I can improve on and I am happy that I can address these as I hope this will improve my learning, skills and competency as a nurse in the future, providing better patient care. The areas I need to gain more knowledge and experience of include: understanding the religious, cultural and spiritual needs of the patient and how this impacts on their care and quality of life, recognising and working with counter transference and my tendency to feel the need to over protect patients as this does not help the patient to utilise choice, be responsible for themselves or empower themselves. I want to continue developing my own self awareness through self reflection. Finally I wish to develop my academic abilities and to train further so that I have more knowledge. Why have I chosen these issues? I have chosen to improve my knowledge and understanding of patients religious, cultural and spiritual needs and how this impacts on their care and quality of life, because by doing this I hope to be able to address their needs holistically. To successfully undertake a thorough assessment the healthcare practitioner needs to identify the holistic needs of the patient, failure to do so would neglect the patients physical, psycho-social and spiritual needs (Stuart and Sundeen 1997.) At present I feel I am unable to fully comprehend or provide best care as I feel I lack the skills and knowledge to do so. I also wish to further consider the impact of counter transference and my tendency to feel the need to over protect patients. I feel that if I gain more understanding and recognition of how counter-transference can change my reaction to a patient then I will be able to address it and have more control and choice over my nursing and my responses. In practice, I have experienced strong emotional reactions to some patient’s, perhaps because I could identify with some of their issues. However, this can result in my wanting to over protect them, which may disempower them, and this is unhelpful. Different characteristic in patients can influence the emotional reaction of the nurse (Holmquist 1998). I need to be able to recognise these characteristics in the patient and be self aware of the way I am responding. I want to continue developing my own self-awareness through self-reflection, as I will need to be able to exercise autonomous and expert judgement as a qualified nurse. The ability to use self-reflection as a learning tool to becoming self-aware will help me achieve this. This is a view supported by (Wong 1995). Boud, Keogh Walker (1995) believe self reflection is an important human activity, essential for personal development as well as for the professional development of the nurse. By being able to mull over my experiences will help me challenge my beliefs and behaviour as an individual and a nurse. Finally I wish to develop my academic abilities and to train further so that I have more nursing knowledge. Experience alone is not the key to learning (Boud et al 1985). I wish to gain further qualifications so that I may further my career and knowledge, as this will provide a sense of achievement and fulfilment for me. How am I going to achieve my goals? I intend to develop my portfolio and keep an open reflective diary (Richardson 1995) to show evidence of my learning and prepare for my PREPP. Portfolios are seen as a collection of information and evidence used to summarize what has been learnt from prior experience and opportunities (Knapp 1975), and acknowledges professional and personal development, knowledge and competence, providing nurses with evidence of their eligibility for re-registration every three years (NMC 2002). I believe maintaining my portfolio helps with one’s self-assessment and will help me to develop my strengths, plus identify and critically evaluate my weaker areas, this is a view supported by Garside (1990). However in contrast Miller Daloz (1989) suggest there is no evidence to suggest that self assessment contributes to enhance self awareness. A barrier to one’s ability to self-reflect may be time constraints and socio-economic factors such as high staff and management turnover, low staff morale and staff illness (Bailey 1995) I hope to overcome this by being a supportive team member to my colleagues and maintaining a positive mental attitude. I am happy to work on my portfolio and diary in my own time as I think it is a valuable learning tool. I will use my preceptorship, learning in practice, observation in practice and clinical supervision to help achieve my goals. Reflection on action is considered to be an essential part of clinical supervision (Scanlon Weir 1997). I will continue to use Gibbs (1988) Reflective Model to help me develop my learning through reflection. I will need to feel confident that by sharing my portfolio, diary, reflection or seeking advice via preceptorship and supervision that this will not reflect negatively on me and effect my ability to feel able to trust my mentor. Students and staff sometimes feel unable to fully express themselves or belittled by the power relationship if supervision is not in a trusting relationship feeling it could be open to bias, personality clashes, counter-transference or could disadvantage them in terms of career development (Richardson 1995 Jones 2001). However, good clinical supervision enables nurses to feel better supported, contributing to safer and more effective nursing (Teasdale 2001, Jones A 2001). I hope to continue with life long learning and would like to be able to study for a degree in nursing. I shall do this by apply for funding once I am employed and hope that whoever my employers are they will support me in my goal to become better qualified. 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Terrorism: The Biggest Threat To International Relations?

Terrorism: The Biggest Threat To International Relations? Contemporary international relations refer to the state of affairs during the period that began in the late 1980s with the end of the Cold War. The fall of communism and the assumed victory of liberal democracy had many, such as Francis Fukuyama, hopeful for an End of History and a New World Order of peace and collective security between all states. The truth of the international situation revealed certain issues and threats -new and old that much of the international community have since had to face. This essay will aim to assess the extent to which terrorism is the most significant threat to contemporary international relations, whilst also suggesting other factors that have created danger; such as climate change ,the proliferation of nuclear arms. It will conclude that whilst the prolonged and unknown potential danger that climate change poses to the planet is arguably the most catastrophic, the strain and instability of the acquisition of nuclear arms and the difficulty of contr olling who has access to them, causes it to be the biggest threat that the international community has to face. Terrorism, defined by Douglas Lackey, is, the threat of the use of violence against non-combatants for political purposes.  [2]  The very characteristics of terrorism makes it a threatening prospect for any state, as any violent act, [where] the civilian is the direct and intentional target of attack,  [3]  causes a great deal of difficulty in its prevention. Globalisation, the advancement in technology and the growth of cities whilst improving living standards for many civilians has made more locations prime targets for terrorists. Terrorist acts have become more sophisticated and increased the risk of multiple casualties using many forms of attack; arson, suicide bombers and remote detonated bombs, hacking into a states infrastructure and intelligence networks. Terrorism itself is not a new or recent phenomenon; the problem that the international community faced, and still faces in the Post Cold War period, is a change in the nature of terrorism. During and prior to the Cold War, terrorism was often an intra-state occurrence and a symptom of political separatism and instability within a country. Examples of this are the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Tamil Tiger rebels; both of which caused civil wars in Ireland in the 1920s and in 1983 in Sri Lanka. Whilst this is still mainly the case for many African, Middle and Far Eastern countries, the western world has seen an increase in inter-state terrorism. Arguably intra-state terrorism is easier to combat, due to the fact that intra-state terrorists tend to have a clearer and more precise focus; such as the police or members of the entrepreneurial class; which makes it easier for the state authorities to target and track down. On the other hand, terrorist organisations with a religious objective give a broader scope of the enemy. This may lead to a perception in which every member of a different religion or creed becomes a potential enemy or a potential target. It is this re ligious variant of terrorism that has increased after the Cold War and is at the centre of current international discussions. According to Europols EU Terrorism Report carried out in 2007  [4]  and 2008,  [5]  there were almost 500 acts of terrorism across the European Union in 2006, with a 24% increase in the next year. Whilst most of these attacks were intra-state related an increased amount were by Islamist terror groups from outside the EU. The US and parts of Russia and North Africa have seen similar patterns occurring, showing that this form of terrorism is not a matter for individual states to deal with, but acts that are aimed at the global community . whilst arguably this can, and has, strengthened the relations between co-operating countries, it has placed strains on relations between other states, and subsequently hinders the progression towards international peace and collective security agreements; which is key in current international relations. This is because for certain states, terrorism and its prevention are not high on their foreign policy agenda. In some severe cases there are instances of the support of global terrorism. The US Department of State recognises four countries to be state-supporters of terrorism;  [6]  Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. All are known to have been terrorist safe havens for several terrorist groups, whilst some such as Iran and Syria have politically and financially supported groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. By failing to take action against the threat of terrorism to the international community and in some cases promoting it these states become isolated as enemies of the counterterrorism Global Initiative  [7]  and the United Nations. The effects of this are sanctions, such as restrictions on foreign aid, controls on exports and financial restrictions, placed on these enemy states by the members of the initiative; isolating them further and, , causing a sense for more terrorist action to be taken against the international community. If these state-supported terrorist groups successfully carry out an attack against another state, this action has the potential to become a trigger or catalyst for state military retaliation against the supporter; as seen with the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan after the 9/11 bombings in New York. This clearly causes a step backwards for UN peace agreements which clearly states the need to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism.  [8]   As well as state support of terrorism hindering international relations, so too does the expansion of the grey-areas of where the roots of terrorism lie. Recruitment and training grounds are now vast, with evidence now suggesting that there is a reason for a, fear of the enemy within  [9]  . Data from multiple sources has pointed towards an increase in terrorist organisations recruiting from within the states at the heart of the terrorist aggression. The global reach of Al-Qaeda is a source of great concern as more than 3,000 of its members have been arrested in 98 countries since the 9/11 attack; evidence that this group exists in at least half the worlds countries. This factor challenges previously accepted state-intelligence, that inter-state terrorism can be location specific to rogue or failing states outside the targeted state itself. This increases the threat levels, as no clear idea of who the enemy is creates instability and a need for increased defence levels. It is als o difficult to establish the source of the terrorists finance. As previously mentioned this can be acquired from the governments of terrorist-supporting states, but can also be acquired by the groups themselves setting up commercial businesses that provide a flood of sources of finance for its operations. Hence, law enforcement and intelligence agencies must now identify these sources of funding in order to destroy their ability to operate. But with some organisations such as Jemaah Islamiah connected to around 50 commercial businesses, this is a complex and expensive process for states to carry out.  [10]   Some cynics such as Daniel Wagner have stated that, no matter how good security becomes, it will never be good enough to thwart all of the terrorist threats we face.  [11]  To an extent this is true. Even if collectively the international community does manage to discover the sources of terrorism, it is not likely that they would be able to put a stop to terrorism altogether due to the fact that it has now become something of an ever-changing ideology. Al Qaeda is an example of this. During the Cold War the group aimed at expelling the Soviets from Afghanistan. Once this was achieved, attentions focused on fighting what they thought was the corruptness of the Arab world. Recently, the objective has changed to fighting and targeting those who are considered to be the main outside supporters of these corrupt regimes a clear reference to the US with its very substantial strategic interest in that part of the world.  [12]  This aggressive fight for a continually shifting goal su ggests that no matter how hard states battle against groups like Al Qaeda, it is unlikely the war on terror will ever end. However threatening and incessant terrorism is to international affairs, it is arguably within state power and resources, especially in the western world, to singularly or collectively combat it. Governments have the advantage of finance and institutions, such as Counter-Terrorist Units and federal bureaus, with extensive resources especially to deter terrorist acts. Through the use of international relations and international organisations such as the UN and NATO, the amount of resources and expertise can be jointly used in order to overcome the problems faced by terrorism. It could therefore be argued that terrorism in some respects supports the idea of collective security as it forces good international relations and links states with a common goal: to destroy its threat potential, even if it cannot destroy terrorism altogether. Due to the power that states have in accordance with their state sovereignty, arguably the proliferation of nuclear arms is a threat more potent than that faced from rebel terrorist forces. The catastrophic capabilities of nuclear weapons of any kind are highly threatening for any state, but in the past this had led to a stalemate that was the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. This has come to be known as the first nuclear age and ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent relinquish of nuclear arms by the Ukraine and other former soviet states to the primary control of Russia. Whilst splitting the international stage in two and with the threat of nuclear war hanging over the world, it was, on the whole, a rather stable conflict fought between two superpowers. Many critics are now suggesting that the second nuclear age, which had begun subsequently, will be notoriously unstable and carry with it a greater threat of nuclear war. This age is far more complex, as countries such as Israel, India, Pakistan, China, Iran and North Korea now all have their own nuclear programs; and with countries such as Iran and North Korea both having deep nationalistic feelings, they are arguably prone to destructive visions of national dominance;  [13]  having access to nuclear arms places a great strain on relations with these states with others such as the US. The fact that Iran is known for supporting some terrorist groups increases the threat of nuclear terrorism against the west and Israel. Many other states that wish to obtain nuclear weapons, especially those in Africa, are now choosing to spend state funds on their acquisition rather than their conventional military forces. This can often lead these states to become dependent upon their nuclear weapons; which makes all-out nuclear war all the more likely. However what creates the most strain on relations arguably is the fact that it would appear that there is the consensus among a few that it is acceptable for certain states to retain their nuclear programs but others cannot even start or continue their own. Whilst arguably in support of the UNs non-proliferation program, todays emerging nuclear states have a great difficulty in getting the international institutions to allow them to have any nuclear capabilities. States are forced to give up their programs under international pressure, but also due to the influence of the US. This often causes animosity between the nuclear-weapon states and those seeking a nuclear program. As seen recently with the case of Iran, the US and European Union has tried to persuade other countries such as Russia and China to start placing sanctions against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for refusing to relinquish its nuclear program. Whilst some would say that this is hypocritical of the nuclear-weapon stat es, it would appear they are seeking to set an example. On 8th April 2010, the two former Cold War Superpowers, and the current two largest nuclear powers in the world, the US and Russia, signed a new treaty that promised the 30% reduction of their nuclear armoury. President Obama stated himself that, By upholding our own commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we strengthen our global efforts to stop the spread of these weapons, and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities; a clear sign to other states that they do have the right to a moral high-ground placing pressure on Iran and the like. The issue of climate change came to the forefront of international politics towards the end of the Cold War with the first UN Conference on the Human Environment at Stockholm in 1972. Since then the threat that climate change poses to the modern world has been a top priority for all UN member states. Perhaps what makes this issue so threatening is the lack of control and the influence climate change can have within our societies. Atmospheric pollution can lead to the degradation in biodiversity which in turn threatens our food supplies, fossil fuels are set to deplete severely within the next fifty years; all of which are going to place enormous pressure on international relations. It is likely to affect the poorer countries first increasing the need for international aid on already stretched resources. This could lead certain states into pull out of the idea of collective security and focus on their own survival, thereby tearing through the international agreements and treaties put in place to prevent the affects of climate change. The community is already witnessing the reluctance of some states such as the US and China to cut down on their carbon emissions, as stated in the Kyoto Agreement, due to the adverse repercussions on their respective economic performance. This sets a precedent that makes collective action by all UN states extremely difficult as a lack of trust in the collective initiative depleats. It would appear therefore that some environmental policies are more popular than others. Whilst the fact that the world is running out of the natural resources , that we as humans have come to depend on, is a cataclysmic notion, the threat of climate change has arguably brought many parts of the international community together towards a common goal: the protection of the entire planet and therefore the continuation of the human race. Despite the fact that many of the summits held to voice the issues facing the environment has sometimes been ineffective, as seen with the Copenhagen summit in 2009, and caused rifts between states, there have been breakthroughs that suggest that progression can be made. The fact that climate change can cause so many repercussions into our manmade issues, such as the distribution of resources and the population problem, there is very little that the international community can do to stop it. It can only hope to slow its progression down. The global society faces far bigger threats within human control with the proliferation of nuclear weapo ns that could lead to the premature destruction of the world if placed in the wrong hands. Improving Student Engagement | Literature Review Improving Student Engagement | Literature Review Warwick, P., Hennessy, S. Mercer, N. (2011) Promoting teacher and school development through co-enquiry: developing interactive whiteboard use in a dialogic classroom. The authors reason for conducting the study was to show that an interactive whiteboard (IWB) can be a key classroom tool and that it can be used as a vital instrument in dialogic manor. The authors, Paul Warwick, Sara Hennessy and Neil Mercer, report on the works of three classroom teachers, who confidently use an interactive whiteboard (IWB) in their classrooms. The authors clearly state that they wanted to conduct their study because Given the pervasiveness of IWBs in the UK, we wished to explore the development of its uses in the classroom where there was a dialogic pedagogy. (Warwick, Hennessy and Mercer, 2011, p. 303). It is obvious from the start that the authors firmly believe that IWBs play a major part in a childrens learning and that an IWB is a crucial resource when it comes to teaching practices today. Their argument is reinforced by their suggestions in the hypothesis. The authors also state that an IWB plays a key part in maintaining a childs engagement during their learning. However this is the first point of the research where the authors can be criticised for not recognising that there are a number of different factors and methods that can influence a childs commitment and engagement to learning. Some different examples of other factors that can have an influence on a childs engagement with their learning can be seen in the Four aces of effective teaching Ace 3: Engagement (Walls, 1999). One method mentioned is that a class teacher should limit a discussion to no more than 30 minutes before introducing a learning activity (Walls Cather, 1987). This learning activity doesnt need to be one using an IWB; it can be done on paper etc. All the way through this research paper Warwick, Hennessy and Mercer make numerous claims about IWB and the way teachers use them. However, there are studies that have shown that teachers have only been considered capable when they have grasped specific technological skills, such as using an IWB. An example of an article that states this is one conducted by the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1992), they state that technology is a teachers liberator to help re-establish the role and value of the classroom teacher. Teachers must enter into collaboration or partnership with technology in order to create a community that nurtures, encourages, and engages the learning processes. Nevertheless, Warwick, Hennessy and Mercer (2011) dispute this by stating that it is in fact the classroom teacher that is vital in stimulating dialogic approach not the IWB. However they do state that the IWB does have an important role in the classroom, but this is only correct when it is used in an engaging and suitable manner in the classroom. To conclude, the information gathered from the research shows that IWB play a key role in the classroom, but they shouldnt be seen as being a replacement for teaching or the classroom teacher. This study highlights the need of a teacher and that they need to develop relationships with children in their class so that they can conduct solid lessons that will engage their pupils, which will then lead onto developing dialogical pedagogy. I believe that additional studies are needed when it comes to the outcomes of the use of IWBs in the classroom. Simon et al. (2008) Puppets promoting engagement and talk in science. The impacts of using puppets in classrooms has become a popular research point for writers. During the same time period of Simon et al. (2008) writing about the impacts of puppet use in the classroom, there was also a similar research going on with the impact of puppets in Maths lessons. However, the main focus of the authors writing this article was to conclude whether or not the use of puppets in science lessons, stimulated the pupils to be more actively involved in their science lessons and also to see if the puppets could encourage childrens talk in science lessons. The research was designed to conclude weather the use of large puppets would help teachers to change their whole class discourse (Simon et al., (2008), p.1229) in their science lessons. A key strength of the research for the article was that it focuses on a vast amount of different ideas. The research was carried out by a mixture of teachers, across two different regions, interviewing two different age groups; 7-9 and 10-11, and the teachers had the option of using one or two puppets. From the research of Neil Mercer and Lyn Dawes (2008) about exploratory talk, the authors of this article discuss the importance of communication with other children, so that the children have the skill to critically participate with their peers and their peers ideas. Simon et al. (2008) claims that the use of puppets assists in this area. When children start to enter a more in depth conversation with the puppet, the puppet can provide encouragement or interest in the childs responses, which then generates talk which involves the whole class, or talk on a peer to peer level. Therefore, from using the puppet can promote reasoning, problem solving and explanations, which are all key factors in science lessons. The research that was carried out for this article was strong in various ways. Firstly, the focus wasnt just in a single school, it was in two different areas of England; Manchester and London. Secondly, there were two different age groups that were examined, and both of these groups had pupils who had a different response to the puppets. Thirdly, the teachers had the option to introducing a single puppet to the class, or they could introduce two puppets to the class. Some teachers used two puppets in a lesson whilst others used only one. Though using two puppets enabled teachers to set up discussion by getting the puppets to put forward opposing views, teachers found that one puppet was much simpler to use whilst still making it possible to present problems and to set up cognitive conflict. (Simon at al., (2008) p. 1243) Finally, the use of the pilot study to find out more information and gain more of an understanding into the use of puppets helped finalise the main study for the ar ticle. Therefore, because of the strong research strategy, the final research produces remarkable but rigorous results. One of the main disadvantages of this study was that training the teachers to correctly and effectively use the puppets acquired a lot of time. Even though this was good for the research side, the amount of time spent of training the teachers wouldnt be practical for every teacher, especially teachers in larger schools. This then brings up an issue; if teachers dont have experience with puppets and havent had training would the puppets be as effective as they were during the research stage. Overall, this article has proven that using a puppet during science lessons has been effective when trying to create talk. This has been backed up from the interviews, with pupils and teachers. The interviews also revealed that pupils who are often more shy and dont contribute as much in lessons, were more confident during lessons where a puppet was used as they felt at ease talking to a puppet. In my own practice, I will be using a puppet throughout the curriculum as I feel that the use of a puppet will engage the children and improve class and pupil discussions. However, before I feel fully confident in using a puppet, I will practice with a smaller group and build up to using the puppet in front of the whole class. Brown K Kennedy H (2011) Learning through conversation: exploring and extending teacher and childrens involvement in classroom talk School Psychology International 32 (4) pp377-396 This article discusses the professional development progression over a twelve week period, that six teachers in the UK, who work at a school with children who have been recognised has having social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The main research area for the article is focused on how teachers use conversation in their class to help integrate childrens ideas and link these to the learning progression. Through reflective and exploratory discussion, enhanced by videos of interactive sequences within classes, teachers explored and developed aspects of their interactional styles. Brown K Kennedy H (2011) One of the key strengths of the research is that two educational phycologists (EPs) were also heavily involved with the researched and they worked alongside the six teachers. With reference to Schoà ¡Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦s model of reflective teaching (1983), the class teachers and the EPs intended to reflect on the teachers interactional methods that happened within the teaching. They also wanted to be able to work together to discover and extend classroom conversations. Therefore, through reflective and exploratory conversation with the EPs and with the help of recordings of interactive sessions that happened within the class, teachers watched back their lessons and were then able to explore and develop aspects of their interactional methods of teaching that they used with their class. At the end of the twelve weeks, the videos and recordings taken were compared. The main focus was to see the changes between the beginning sessions to the sessions at the end of the project. Brown K Kennedy H (2011) stated that from the teachers looking back at their lessons, and working alongside the EPs they were able to adapt a change in their lessons to promote talk. Changes included the teachers using conversation to build more on childrens ideas and actively support the cooperation between children. Changes in the nature of talk amongst children showed evidence of building more on ideas within conversations and making less new initiatives. The changes in conversations are considered with reference to childrens participation and learning. Brown K Kennedy H (2011) Given the importance of childrens metacognitive awareness of interactive processes within the class (Mercer, 2000), I feel that one of the main weaknesses of this article and its research was that it would have been useful to have a greater insight into the changes that occurred throughout the lessons, from the points of view of the children that were involved with the study involved. All the children who participated did so voluntarily, however, they were not included in the ongoing preparation, development, and evaluation. The children involved might have provided valuable insights into how the learning procedure seemed from their point of view, and how they felt that changes the teachers made worked for them, especially when the teachers developed their interactional styles. I would be interesting to see what extent the children felt the changes had on their incentive, contribution and learning. Overall, this research has shown that looking back and watching how you have interacted with the children and what interaction styles you use can have an impact on childrens learning. The article has also proven Schoà ¡Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦s model of reflective teaching (1983) to be effective, as the if the teachers hadnt looked back and reflected on their interactional styles, there wouldnt have been any progression in talk. I will now use different interactional styles during my lessons, and I also feel that it would be beneficial for me to record myself teaching and watch this back to help me improved on my own teaching skills.