Helping aboriginal communities and sustainability reporting
Helping aboriginal communities and sustainability reporting;Overview/background information of the industry/sector/context
Order Instructions:
topic of the assignment is “helping aboriginal communities and sustainability reporting”
Coverage:
(i) Overview/background information of the industry/sector/context
(ii) Reporting frameworks/standards/legislations relevant to the context given
(iii) Current practice of sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
(iv) Issues and Challenges of sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
(v) Future prospects for sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
(vi) Conclusion
SAMPLE ANSWER
Overview/background information of the industry/sector/context
Aboriginal Australians is a collective name coined by the British in reference to the native inhabitants of Australia who they found living there when they began colonising the continent in the late 16th century (Spencer, 2006). The aboriginal communities constitute a small percentage of the population composition in Australia comprising of about 3 per cent of the total population and living in either Australian mainland or the Tasmanian Island (Edwards, 2004). The Aboriginal communities have being inflicted by many catastrophes ranging from unfavourable weather conditions to outbreaks of diseases (Read, 2011; Warren, 2013). In addition, neglect and historical injustices bedevilled among them by their colonizers have also been attributed to their current woes (Madley, 2012). This implies that there is an urgent need to make sure that the Aboriginal communities are helped to successfully tackle the day to day challenges that have continued to hinder their progress both socially and economically (Schaltegger, Bennett & Burritt, 2006). As a result, through sustainability accounting it is highly possible to help the Aboriginal communities to overcome their challenges with regards to the prevailing accounting principles practiced across the globe (Blandy & Sibley, 2010; Global Reporting, 2015).
Reporting frameworks/standards/legislations relevant to the context given
Sustainability accounting as well as reporting are both essential because they enable organisations and/or corporations to consider and evaluate their impacts on a variety of sustainability issues, subsequently enabling them towards achieving more transparency concerning the opportunities and risks they face (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005). As a result, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has developed Standards or frameworks that ought to help governments, businesses as well as other organisations to succinctly understand and disseminate the impact of their respective businesses on critical issues about sustainability. Some of the GRI standards that are distinctive include:
Multi-stakeholder input: This implies that various stakeholders have to be engaged in the entire process of accounting and reporting. This helps in ensuring that all the needs of report users and makers are adequately addressed to enable that there is production of a universally-applicable reporting guidance that has the potential to effectively meet the needs of all stakeholders (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015). As a result, creation of all elements of the Reporting Framework and its subsequent improvements are done using an approach that is consensus-seeking taking into consideration the interests of all stakeholders including sustainability reporting practitioners, business, accounting, investors, civil society, labour, academics, and governments (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005).
A record of use and endorsement: There are many global corporations currently using GRI’s Standards to prepare their sustainability performance reports and the list is continuing to grow. This is attributable to the fact that sustainability information has continued to attract more new audiences that before such as investors and regulators. As a result, a number of reporters in their annual growth are expected to continue to touch of strategy areas for better reporting (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005).
Governmental references and activities: Over recent past there has being more governments’ involvement in sustainability reporting through formulation of enabling policy which one of the key overall strategies of GRI (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005). Hence, more collaboration is adhered to between the governments, capital markets, and international organisations to further this agenda (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015).
Independence: There has been strengthening of reporting standards after the creation of the Global Sustainability Standards Board in 2014, as well as related changes in governance structure (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015). GRI works as a non profitable foundation in order to ensure that its funding approach ensures its independence.
Shared development costs: There is also sharing of the expenses incurred in developing GRI’s reporting guidance among many contributors and users. For organisations and companies, this negates the cost incurred to develop sector-based or in-house reporting frameworks (Norman & MacDonald, 2004).
Current practice of sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
The prevalence of natural catastrophes that emanate from climatic change and other man-made activities the current practice of sustainability reporting has focused on issues that are more environmental (Norman & MacDonald, 2004). For instance, Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting disclosures have become a law requirement in almost all parts of the world. This was informed by the previous environmental disasters that also made more companies and organisations to voluntarily disclose TRI’s in their annual reports (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015). As a result, in both Tasmanian Island and Australian Mainland inhabited by Aboriginal communities corporations and companies have embraced the practice of GRI reporting as a model of sustainability reporting in order to ensure that the is prevention as well as mitigation of the impacts of environmental disasters both to the company and the Aboriginal communities (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015).
Issues and Challenges of sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
According to Norman & MacDonald (2004) there are several challenges that relate to sustainability accounting with regards to the assigned area and they key one is making a decision on who is the audience. This is attributable to the fact that companies are required to describe their performance and approach on the issues of environmental, social and governance importance to their stakeholders including the surrounding communities (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005). For larger companies like Telstra in Australia employing thousands of people and with over a million stakeholders, this mean that almost everyone in the country is a stakeholder. The other challenge is that, irrespective of the merit in GRI frameworks as well as assurance standards, the compliance may result to reports that are very log and inaccessible. However, in to adhere to ‘best practice’ compilation of the reports requires immense organisational effort and commitment (Van der, Adhikari & Tondkar, 2005). Furthermore, obtaining performance data that is valid and reliable from different parts of the organisation results to fragmented and immature data especially if it is for early reports the data collection systems (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015).
Future prospects for sustainability reporting relating to the area assigned
The future prospects of sustainability accounting and reporting are mainly going to be characterised by increased use of technology due to adoption of integrated reporting in conjunction with increased technological advancements and creative use of online communication and reporting platforms (Global Reporting Initiative, 2015). As a result, specific future prospects include: 1) extended reporting through the value chain, 2) the G4 guidelines and development is integrated accounting and reporting, 3) improved impacts measurements, and 4) increased mainstream role of sustainability accounting and reporting (Schaltegger, Bennett & Burritt, 2006).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the adoption of sustainability accounting and reporting will lead increased provision of sustainability information over time by corporations and organisations. This will reflect increased demands form a wide range of stakeholders as well as market and regulatory conversion of externalities into internalities. This means that sustainability accounting is a daunting task that requires input from all stakeholders in order to ensure that it benefits all of them including surrounding communities as noted in the discussion of this paper in context to Aboriginal communities in Australian mainland and Tasmanian Island.
Blandy, S., & Sibley, D. (2010). Law, boundaries and the production of space. Social & Legal Studies, 19(3), 275–284.
Condon, J. R., Barnes, T., Cunningham. J., & Smith. L. (2004). Demographic characteristics and trends of the Northern Territory Indigenous population, 1966 to 2001. Brisbane: Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.
Edwards, W. H. (2004). An introduction to Aboriginal societies, (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Social Science Press.
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Madley, B. (2012). From Terror to Genocide: Britain’s Tasmanian Penal Colony and Australia’s History Wars. The Journal of British Studies, 47(5), 77.
Malbon, J. (2013). Extinguishment of Native Title-The Australian Aborigines as Slaves and Citizens, the Griffith L. Rev. 12 (2003): 310.
Norman, W., & MacDonald, C. (2004). Getting to the bottom of “Triple Bottom Line”. Business Ethics Quarterly, 14(2), 243-262.
Pardoe, C. (1991). Isolation and Evolution in Tasmania. Current Anthropology, 32(1), 1
Rasmussen, M. et al. (2011). An Aboriginal Australian Genome Reveals Separate Human Dispersals into Asia. Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 334 (6052): 94–98.
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Smith, M. S., Moran, M., & Seemann, K. (2008). The ‘viability’ and resilience of communities and settlements in desert Australia. The Rangeland Journal, 30(2), 123.
Spencer, S. (2006). Race and Ethnicity: Culture, identity and representation. Pg 33–34: Routledge.
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What Are the Social Reasons for Class Differences in Health?
Order Instructions:
In this regard, it would be useful to discuss several different (social) explanations of health inequality that sociologists have put forward to explain health differences on the basis of social class.
Then use some examples to explore class differences in health – you will find empirical examples in the John Germov chapter from ‘John Germov (ed.) 2014, Second opinion, 5th edn, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne’. which you can follow-up the original references, Social Science & Medicine is especially useful for articles on class differences in health and illness.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Social Reasons for Class Differences in Health
What Are the Social Reasons for Class Differences in Health?
Introduction
Health disparity based on class difference is a phenomenon that remains prevalent, despite improvement in health provision over the years. Studies have indicated differences in health aspects among different classes, including life expectancy, maternal and infant mortality as well as the general aspects of health. This result from characteristics within different classes based on wealth, status, employment, background and culture. It can therefore be concluded that an individual’s social class plays an important role in impacting their physical health and access to medical care, which in effect determines their life expectancy. This paper is a discussion of the social reasons surrounding differences in health based on class.
Discussion
Socioeconomic factors
A majority of explanations on health disparities lean towards the socioeconomic or ‘material’ explanation and this has been identified as the major determining factor in health care access among individuals. Researchers argue that poverty, low health resources, poor living standards and housing and high risk occupations among other material factors are responsible for the poor state of health in lower classes. This could explain why life expectancy is significantly different between the rich and poor. Ullits, et al (2015, p. 2) note that people in lower socioeconomic quartiles often experience greater levels of health problems. They are not in a position to access regular health care and when they do, it is often of lower quality. Pais (2014, p. 1732-33) also notes that children from low income households are more likely to accumulate adverse health conditions as they grow older; thus leading to lower life expectancy. This is unlike children from richer backgrounds who have access to quality health, including regular check-ups, access to medication and preventive measures. In a study of social factors influencing TB infection, poverty is rated among the main causes. Infection rate is higher among the poor because they are more likely to live in overcrowded and poorly ventilated areas. In addition, they more disadvantaged as far as accessing health care and treatment are concerned (Hargreaves, et al, 2011, p. 655). Socioeconomic factors therefore influence differences in health based on access to health and quality of health.
Health literacy
Education and health literacy play an important role in health seeking behavior and are therefore considered social health determinants. The higher the level of education, the more an individual is capable of making decisions about their health and this consequently influence their well-being. Educated people are more likely to have knowledge on various issues as well as diseases and thus able to determine when they need to seek medical intervention (Prins, E, & Mooney, 2014, p. 25). They are also more aware of health risks that could affect them and are therefore more likely to take preventive measures, compared to their uneducated counterparts. The level of education also determines an individual’s socioeconomic level, mostly because employment and wages are based on the level of education. This means that individuals with lower levels of education are less likely to have well-paying jobs, adequate to cater for their health needs, unlike educated individuals who are likely to have white collar jobs. Burgard and Lin (2013, p. 1108)makes the same observation, noting that the lower class citizens often have less education and thus undertake jobs that have little or no health benefits. Such jobs are also likely to be more risky, hence exposing them to injuries. This differs from middle and higher class individuals who are more likely to enjoy medical insurance for themselves and their families; hence creating a significant difference in health status.
Health literacy differs across social classes and demographics as identified by Prins and Mooney (2014, p. 27). Based on income, groups earning lower income have low health literacy (LHL) compared to higher income earners. Adults with high school education and above have better health literacy than those with education below high school. In terms of race and ethnicity, minority groups are known to have significantly lower health literacy skills compared to whites. Age also determines literacy level and research indicates that adults aged 65 and above have lower health literacy than younger individuals. These demographic characteristics signify that health differences are largely influenced by social factors. This in turn influences health seeking behavior, in that, the higher the health literacy, the more likely an individual is likely to identify disease signs, seek treatment or take preventive measures. In essence, the quality of life and health status would depend on an individual’s health literacy level and the various demographic factors play a major role in determining health literacy (Prins and Mooney, 2014, p. 25-27).
Cultural factors
Cultural differences are also associated with health variation. Khanna, Kaushik and Kaur (2012, p. 50-51) individuals in lower classes may have preference for less healthy lifestyles and are likely to eat more unhealthy foods and exercise less as opposed to those in high and middle class. This may be attributed to lack of enough money to buy healthy food or due to lack of knowledge on healthy living. Khanna, Kaushik and Kaur (2012, p. 50) in another view explain that people who work in offices are more likely to suffer from lifestyle diseases because of their inactive lifestyles. Their schedule revolves around reporting to work early in the morning, working while seated most of the day and going home in the evening to rest. Despite eating during the day and at night, they rarely have enough time to exercise. In addition, they are more likely to eat unhealthy because they barely have time to cook, such that they turn to fast food for quick meals.
Nature of employment
A closer look at forms of employment indicates that working conditions contribute to disparities in health. Burgard and Lin (2013, p. 1107) notes that social factors within the work environment may influence exposure to various health risks and thus disparities in health. These may include both physical and psychosocial factors. Physical risks including exposure to harmful radiation, heights, dangerous machines and poisonous chemicals for example, means that, an individual is more likely to face a health risk. On the other hand, individuals working in offices have less exposure to occupational risks, giving them an upper hand in terms of health. Depending on the working conditions, employees may benefit from various types of benefits at work, such as medical cover. This means that individuals with high status job benefits are more likely to access quality medical care than those working in poor employment backgrounds (Burgard and Lin, 2013, p. 1112). Lastly, psychosocial factors including stress at work and perceived job insecurity among others may affect an individual’s health status. People in more secure jobs are known to have lower stress levels as opposed to individuals with low job security, hence better mental stability.
Social status
Status and power are a major cause of health inequity. Ullits, et al (2015, p. 4) argue that depending on one’s position in the society, the availability of health services is likely to differ. Individuals who are highly placed in the society are likely to access better health services than those in lower ranks or ordinary citizens because they are more likely to command respect in any setting in the society and are more likely to be endowed financially. This however goes beyond availability of money because a highly placed individual can easily access health services during an emergency, with the promise of paying later; yet an individual with no status in the society may find it difficult to access health care without finances. The possibility of a highly placed individual finding sponsors, to supplement hospital bills is also higher than for a person who is barely known. This explains why people with higher social status can afford to seek the highest level of medical care, even travelling abroad to treat chronic diseases which would otherwise kill a common citizen due to lack of finances and quality health care.
Minority status
It is generally observable that race and ethnicity can influence the access to quality health. Shepherd and Zubrick (2012, p. 108) note that minority groups tend to access lower quality health than native citizens, mostly because of lower income levels and low levels of education. Collins and Rocco (2014, p. 5-8) note that health disparities based on race are mostly influenced by labor force participation differences influenced by racial differences. These health differences are further exhibited by the association between employment and health. While low income restricts an individual’s access to quality health, low levels of education mean that an individual has low health literacy level and thus less likely to maintain health seeking behavior.
The disabled as a minority group, are considered to have higher health risks than normal individuals; a factor that creates a health difference between these groups. They are more prone to accidents and falls and this is particularly risky if they do not have an assistant. The fact that a disabled individual may not be able to go to a hospital unassisted also means that they are more disadvantaged, especially in emergency situations. Delays in accessing health care while waiting for a caregiver or assistant puts disabled persons at a higher health risk. In addition, most disabled individuals are not in a position to work or find employment in high level jobs, thus limiting their ability to obtain quality health services.
Gender differences
Gender is a health determinant and research has shown that males and females are exposed to different health risks. Men are known to take up more risky professions than women and this exposes them to a greater variety of health problems. Women on the other hand are more prone to psychological health factors than men, despite having a longer life expectancy (Malmusi, et al (2014, p. 1). The life expectancy among men may be influenced by biological differences, risk-taking behavior and health seeking behavior. In their research, Malmusi, et al (2014, p. 4) establish that women are disadvantaged in terms of access to the labor market and often end up with lower income than their male counterparts. This to a large extent explains inequality among genders in terms of health. It is also notable that different ailments are likely to affect one gender compared to the other, thus creating health differences. While women may be more prone to breast cancer for example, men have a lower risk and hence this is a major difference in health.
Environmental factors
The environment in which an individual lives, including their neighborhood can influence their health significantly. This explains why individuals living in deprived neighborhoods such as slums are likely to encounter more health risks than those living in up market residential areas. Hargreaves, et al (2011, p. 656) for example note that population density in congested urban residents to a significant extent exposes residents to higher risk of contracting tuberculosis. Bac, Andersen and Dokkedal (2015, p. 317) introduce the concept of self-rated health and study the role played by individuals’ neighborhoods in determining their self-rated health. The study which focuses on deprived neighborhoods concludes that individuals living in rural settings reported higher self-rated health position than those living in deprived neighborhoods in urban settings.
Conclusion
This discussion establishes that social class is directly correlated with health differences in the society. Socioeconomic class differences appear to take a central role in determining access to health, information and preventive measures. This is is because access to health, including quality health is determined by a prrson’s ability to pay. The rich are therefore likely to access better health services than the poor. Other parameters influence access to health including social class differences brought about by culture, race and ethnicity, age, gender, social status, education and health literacy and employment background among other factors. Each social factor is associated with a certain level of health disparity in terms of access, knowledge in health matters and quality of health individuals in a certain class can acquire. Despite government attempts to equate health care access, there will always be differences pegged on social class. It can therefore be concluded that social class plays an imperative role in explaining health disparities.
Burgard, S, & Lin, K 2013, ‘Bad Jobs, Bad Health? How Work and Working Conditions Contribute to Health Disparities’, American Behavioral Scientist, 57, 8, pp. 1105-1127, Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 September 2015. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=d89bc410-425d-4eae-93ba-
Hargreaves, J, Boccia, D, Evans, C, Adato, M, Petticrew, M, & Porter, J 2011, ‘The Social Determinants of Tuberculosis: From Evidence to Action’, American Journal Of Public Health, 101, 4, pp. 654-662, Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 September 2015.
by using the concepts and arguments to analyse news casts or journalistic works that related to the theme.How would you apply the concepts to what is presented in the news. Do the concepts complement or contradict what news casters or reporters have to say.Can you justify an author’s argument through?practical examples
SAMPLE ANSWER
Risk Society
This paper explores the concept of risk society and abuses of science and technology in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The arguments posed in this paper are considerably informed by the works of theorists Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens. The paper argues that the reflexive modernization has resulted into technological risks being much more than natural risks, and these technological risks, with their global nature, do cause harm to everyone including those who create them. The paper further analyzes the role of the mass media in this risk society.
Giddens (1998), a British sociologist defines a risk society as one with an increasing preoccupation with the future, generating the aspect of risk. According to Beck (1992), a German sociologist, a risk society refers to a systematic manner in which modernization induces and introduces hazards and insecurities. Both sociologists define risk society in line with the aspect of modernity. Modernity is considered as a culture which focuses on the future instead of the past. Accordingly, through self-examination, a society transforms itself in the process. Beck (2006) further observes that the contemporary society is a risk society due to the fact that it is overwhelmingly occupied with debates, prevention and management of risks that it has produced itself.
According to Giddens and Beck, despite the fact that humans have always been exposed to natural disasters, modern societies have resulted into such risks as crime, new illnesses, and pollution. Giddens refers to the risks induced and introduced by modernization as manufactured risks and external risks. They are manufactured risks in the sense that their production and mitigation are dependent on human agency, unlike recurring natural risks such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods, and epidemics which have been threatening the survival of all societies even before the advent of modernity (Ekberg, 2007). Manufactured risks are created in biomedical, chemical, and nuclear laboratories of the modern scientific societies. Thus, they are special to this scientific era. This implies that manufactured risks are capable of being assessed in terms of the magnitude or likelihood of their production. According to Giddens (1998), modernity has shifted emphasis from natural risks to technological risks. Giddens further points out that nature came to an end at the point when human beings stopped to worry about what nature could do to them and began worrying more about what they have done to nature. Thus, it is not surprising that risks today emanate more from human activity than from nature, as it was the case in the past.
Today, there is immense circulation of knowledge between the government, scientific communities, professional bodies, and the public. Furthermore, the spread of knowledge is happening on a global scale. It is possible for anyone to access information concerning health, medicine and well-being, as well as epidemics, both real and potential. Most importantly, the concept of risk society is closely related to threats posed by human agency. As a result of social concerns, the nuclear power is increasingly being regulated, with some expansion plans being abandoned, thus causing the alteration of modernity itself. In this regard, a state of reflexive modernization has come into existence due to the increasing critique of modern industrial practices. Reflexive modernization is reflected through concepts such as the precautionary principle and sustainability, focusing on measures that can help in decreasing levels of risk (Beck, 2000).
Society risk theorists have differing perspectives on how the concept of a risk society tends to interact with class distinctions and social hierarchies. Most theorists are of the view that social interactions have led to the alteration of the introduction of reflexive modernization and manufactured risks. Similar to wealth, the distribution of risks occurs unevenly within a population and this considerably influences the quality of life.
Beck and colleagues (2000) point out that modern ‘risks’ are unprecedented from a historical perspective in line with their invisibility, catastrophic impacts, and spatial, temporal reach. The visibility of these risks can be achieved only if socially defined in line with knowledge or knowledge processing fora such as the mass media, the legal system, and science. Contemporary risks are highly dependent on this constructionist social formulation. In addition, everybody is under the threat of risks produced by technologically advanced capitalism. Nevertheless, the irony presented with these risks is that new social conflicts and antagonisms emerge as a result of the contrast between the so-called inegaliatarian ‘goods’ and democratic ‘bads’. Within the core of these conflicts is where the public are surrounded and informed about these risks and their effects. Furthermore, the media are regarded as the main arena through which such social conflicts over knowledge, definitions, and effects of risks are displayed.
Beck argues that pre-modern class structures which were basically based on wealth accumulation have weakened in the modern risk society, in which a social risk status is achieved in terms of the extent of risk aversion. However, Giddens is of the view that pre-modern class structures still play a significant role in the risk society, in which they are now partly defined according to the different opportunities presented for self-actualization and empowerment. Giddens also takes a rather positive approach towards the concept of a risk society than Beck. All in all, the risk society presents struggles by the rich to distribute risks to the poor, and this has been a chief source of conflict. For instance, in the recent hurricane Katrina in Atlanta, the poorest and least powerful groups of the society bore the social and environmental risks resulting from the catastrophe (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2010).
According to the theory of world risk society, modern societies are considerably influenced by new forms of risks, to the extent that their bases are upset by the society’s anticipation of global catastrophes. These perceptions of global risk are characterized through: de-localization, incalculableness, and non-compensability (Beck, 1992). With regards to de-localization, the causes and effects of global risk are omnipresent in the sense that it cannot be restricted to a specific geographical space or location. Secondly, a global risk is incalculable in respect of its hypothetical consequences. Thirdly, a global risk is not compensable since the aspect of compensation has been replaced by the doctrine of precaution through prevention. In addition to the aspect of prevention taking precedence over compensation, the modern society is also aiming at anticipating and preventing risks whose existence has not yet been established.
Thus, today’s global society presents a wide range of challenges in the sense that risks are now not capable of being calculated, controlled and measured, and they are beyond the prospects of compensation and socialization. The security pact of industrial society is being broken down by the numerous forms of chemical and bio-technological production, nuclear power and the continuing ecological destructions. Thus, this has led to the subversion or suspension of the foundations of the established risk logic.
The growing complexities in the global risk society have made it difficult for anyone to gauge with certainty the extent of risks presented today through the collective innovations and technologies (Beck, 1995). Science is now failing us through the contradictory assessments, conflicting reports and varying risk calculations. Accordingly, the evaporating faith in risk technocrats and the dissolving of hegemony experts leaves the issue of risk assessments to political games that are played in pursuit of sectional interests. For instance, consumers in Western Europe have rejected the introduction of genetically modified products not as a result of adverse results by scientists as to the potential risks to human consumption, but as a result of the sanctity given by risk experts who have been considered as manipulated by big agro-business. In the contemporary society, consumers do not have faith in the restrained horizon of understanding that experts cannot gauge the unintended impacts of complex technologies and their external risks. Thus, reflexive modernization results into the breaking down of the social compact of risk society (Jarvis, 2007).
In line with Beck’s argument, it is evident that the growing influence of science and technology consequently increases the difficulty and impossibility of managing all-embracing risks resulting from new innovations or discoveries aimed at advancing our mastery over nature or improving the quality of life (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2010).
Beck (1992) posits that the minimization of hazards is only possible through technological means. Accordingly, the risk society has emerged as a result of the increased ability of people to communicate with each other because of the development of information technology. In an era where technological systems are growing on a world-wide large scale, it is evident that, in the long-run, the least likely event will take place. Thus, media, despite the commercial pursuit of revenue, readers, and ratings, as well as eventual parading of entertainment, drama, and spectacle, can play an important role of illuminating on the latest disasters and catastrophes in the society that have been induced by technology. In the contemporary risk society, risks are avoided and compensated in line with earlier industrial risks that have a higher potential of being known, calculated, controlled, and predicted. This implies that the institutional reactions to ‘social explosiveness of hazard’ are characterized with inadequacy. Ultimately, the media will be attracted to each disaster’s ‘organized irresponsibility’ (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2010).
The mass media has instigated and aggravated politics of fear and hysteria (Beck, 2006). Despite the importance attached to the media in the growing theory of risk society, research indicates that there is inadequate detailed analysis concerning their role. Theories focusing on fragmentation of power, cultural consciousness, and spiraling of real risks have failed to inquire into the factors raising conflicts between definition and validity. Research indicates that the media is not properly equipped to give detailed attention to any form of threat, whether potential or real. Despite the interest or concerns of particular journalists, news structures have failed to ensure that sustainable risk coverage is encouraged. Individual stories tend to attract attention only in situations where there are major disasters, decisive scientific statements, official responses, and/or when governments, bureaucracies, and organizations dispute over the extent of the hazard. Nevertheless, most debates over risks rarely fall within these classifications.
In line with Beck’s theory of risk society, research also indicates that risk is characterized by uncertainty (Kitzinger & Reilly, 1997). Accordingly, the lack of conclusive scientific evidence always results into the “we need more research” approach, which tends to frustrate journalists. Journalists abhor scientific uncertainty because their attention is basically drawn to controversy. In addition, unless the government or other relevant authorities pursue the precautionary principle, risks tend to be ignored or seem to have been officially solved, which ultimately weakens the news value of the story. Ironically, the failure to pursue precautionary measures usually increases risk.
By its definition, risk relates to projected assessments. It is a concept focusing on prediction of the future. This conflicts with the key news principle which puts emphasis on present events. Television and press news, way from putting focus on risk, has the tendency of ignoring hypothetical and distant threats. In most cases, unless the risks are realized in some way, hypothetical risks are not reported as ‘risk stories.’ For instance, a journalist’s comments concerning potential risks arising from human genetic research will be considered as mere speculation and not news (Kitzinger & Reilly, 1997).
Even in cases where the media reports risks in the risk society, they have high chances of misrepresenting risk statistics and distorting the ‘facts’. Journalists tend to be ‘risk junkies’ in the sense that they exaggerate risk scenarios in order to attract attention from the public. As they say, ‘good news is no news.’ Thus, the media has been accused of playing down instead of playing up the potential dangers of respective disasters. Reporting of an event is usually shaped by the mental maps drawn by the journalist, and the manner in which he/she frames the story. The actions of a journalist are also considerably influenced and limited by the organizations in which they work. Consequently, the statistics presented in a news cast may fail to reflect the reality on the ground (Cottle, 1998).
In conclusion, it is evident that the scientific and technological innovations in the modern society have resulted into more manufactured risks than natural risks. These risks are complex in the sense that they are global, incalculable, and not compensable. These risks tend to be distributed by the rich to the poor people in the society, in scenarios where the concept of precautionary principle is not adopted. Accordingly, the media also plays an important role in the risk society by reporting the magnitude of risks taking place. However, the media tends to exaggerate risks and operate on speculation, thus misleading the people.
References
Beck, U. (1992). Risk Society, Towards a New Modernity. SAGE.
Beck, U. (1995). Ecological Politics in the Age of Risk. Polity Press.
Beck, U., Adam, B., & Van Loon, J. (2000). The Risk Society and Beyond: Critical Issues for Social Theory. SAGE.
Cottle, S. (1998). Ulrich Beck, ‘Risk Society’ and the Media: A Catastrophic View? European Journal of Communication, 13(1): 5-32.
Ekberg, M. (2007). The Parameters of the Risk Society: A Review and Exploration. Current Sociology, 55: 343.
Giddens, A. (1998). The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy. Polity.
Jarvis, D. S. (2007). Risk, Globalisation and the State: A Critical Appraisal of Ulrich Beck and the World Risk Society Thesis. Global Society, 21(1).
Kennedy, P. & Kennedy C. (2010). Using Theory to Explore Health, Medicine and Society. Policy Press.
Kitzinger, J. & Reilly, J. (1997). The Rise and Fall of Risk Reporting: Media Coverage of Human Genetics Research, ‘False Memory Syndrome’ and ‘Mad Cow Disease.’ The European Journal of Communication, 12(3): 319-350.
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Kate is 21 years old with very poor self-esteem and self-image. She dissents how she looks which discourages her for seeking employment. Kate’s parents are concerned about their child’s feelings and subsequent unemployment. Kate is my distant cousin. She is the second born in a family of three. She is from a privileged background, and has schooled in the best schools around the neighborhood. According to the interview conducted with her parents, Kate has struggled with her body weight. For instance, in primary school, the children used to call her ‘fatty’. Most of these children avoided playing with her, and had no friends when growing up. This taunting task continued through the high school, which made it more difficult for her to make friends and thus has made her remain excluded from social events due to low self-esteem.
Much has been reported about self-esteem and ways it affects a child’s development process. Self-esteem refers to personal’s self-image and understandings of how she or he is important in this world. During child development questions such as do people care about me? Do family members love me? Do teachers like or respect my ideas? What abilities do I have superior to others? If these questions have positive responses, the child develops positive image, which further increases the children security, trusts, and sense of self worth. This in turn improves the child’s sense of belonging and self-worth (Suzuki and Tomoda, 2015).
According to Thomson (2012), self-esteem is very important factor during child development because it shapes the child’s life. Psychology scholars associate children with high self-esteem with productive life. This is because these children grew up knowing that they are loved the way they are, and less likely to tear down a person or dominate others or view others are lesser beings. Self-esteem is shapes from home; it is more of family affair. The families are the first people that the child gets to relate with from the day they were born, parents and the siblings are powerful instruments in shaping a person’s self-esteem (Davis et al., 2012).
Child self-esteem is determined by the degree of praise of condemnation voices carried within them as they grow. This is best exemplified by the Kate’s case study. Despite of the increase support from Kate’s mother, she would face put-downs even at her home. She would face comments such as “why are you eating this, it will only make you fatter?”, “why won’t you exercise?” Her siblings did not want to be associated with at school, and would not walk with her, as they felt embarrassed. Research indicates that such negative responses from the home environment makes a child develop low self-esteem as well as self-image. Responses such as name-calling (like fatty), lack of appropriate guideline on how a child should do to get a task accomplished only makes a child feel rejected. Other responses such as threats, disinterests, overgeneralizations and violent disciplinary actions also affects child’s self esteem negatively (Liu, Wu and Ming, 2015).
Schooling also influences a child self esteem. Research indicates that preschool, kindergarten as well as grade schools plays great role in developing child’s self-esteem and self-competence. If a child feels competent by the time they are of age 7, they will have a relatively high esteem by the age of 12. As old adage puts it, success breeds success as it makes the children feel better about their abilities. The structure of the classroom and school culture influences a child’s self-esteem. This depends on whether he school instills competition versus cooperation, or diversity versus comparison. The teachers are trained that there are various approaches to correct the child’s understanding; each approach could profoundly affect the child’s esteem. The numerous teasing and bullying at the school and lack of teachers interventions made Kate believe that she is not important (Lee, Kim, Park, and Alcazar-Bejerano, 2015).
According to Morrill, friends and peer group have high influence on a child’s self-esteem during development. Acceptance among the peers improves the child’s confidence and goes ahead to improve the child sense of competence. Rejection from peers and classmates has made huge impact on Kate’s self worth. According to her mother, few months back, Kate had begun to turn around, and had even gotten a boyfriend. She had begun to practice healthy lifestyles including exercises and had lost about 8 kilograms. However, the relationship did not head the right directions and it ended. This has really crushed her spirits. She blames herself for the separation because she believes that her weight was one of the factors for the separation (Morrill, 2014).
This has her daily activities and she does not want to continue with her studies or look for a job. She thinks that her weight is the barrier towards being hired. Her few friends have stopped calling her due to her negativity and critics. She currently stays home the whole day. Her mother says that each time she looks into the mirror, she only points out how ugly she looks. From the interview analysis, it is evident that Kate’s low self-esteem was established early in life. However, it is time for Kate to understand that she is no longer a child and have to take charge of her life. This is supported by behaviorist theory proposes that child’s experiences during development shape the child’s life. This theory suggests that an infant’s minds are blank at birth and are gradually shaped by the environment either through positive or negative reinforcements. This theory encourages positive reinforcement’s approaches to develop a child’s development to the desirable direction (Thomson, 2012).
According to Erikson’s theory of child development, external factors, family, and the society influence child development processes. These factors influence a person’s personality and character. This is also supported by Arnold Gesell maturations theory, which states that as children develop, their true personalities and temperament are revealed with the help of the environment. According to research, 10-20% of children and adolescents suffer from psychological issues, lowering their self-esteem. One of the issues that contribute to low self-esteem is childhood obesity (Thomaes et al., 2010). However, very few researches have been conducted to evaluate the emotional effects of obesity on the obese children. One research study indicated that the emotional toll of obesity in children includes social stigma, bullying, and depression, all, which lowers person’s self-esteem even in adulthood (Davis et al., 2012).
Conclusion
Obesity is associated with low self-esteem at children at age of 14. The obese children should be give support and enrolled in weight control programs to help them focus on feeding on healthy foods and remaining physically active. To improve their self-esteem, they should be encouraged and supported. They should be complemented and corrected in a positive way. The best way to improve a child self esteem is showing love and trust to them.
References
Davis, E., Priest, N., Davies, B., Smyth, L., Waters, E., & Herrman, H. et al. (2012). Family day care educators: an exploration of their understanding and experiences promoting children’s social and emotional wellbeing. Early Child Development And Care, 182(9), 1193-1208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2011.603420
Lee, K., Kim, M., Park, T., & Alcazar-Bejerano, I. (2015). Effects of a Ubiquitous Mentoring Program on Self-Esteem, School Adaptation, and Perceived Parental Attitude. Social Behavior And Personality: An International Journal, 43(7), 1193-1208. http://dx.doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2015.43.7.1193
Liu, M., Wu, L., & Ming, Q. (2015). How Does Physical Activity Intervention Improve Self-Esteem and Self-Concept in Children and Adolescents? Evidence from a Meta-Analysis. PLOS ONE, 10(8), e0134804. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134804
Morrill, M. (2014). Sibling Sexual Abuse: An Exploratory Study of Long-term Consequences for Self-esteem and Counseling Considerations. J Fam Viol, 29(2), 205-213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10896-013-9571-4
Suzuki, H., & Tomoda, A. (2015). Roles of attachment and self-esteem: impact of early life stress on depressive symptoms among Japanese institutionalized children. BMC Psychiatry, 15(1), 8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12888-015-0385-1
Thomaes, S., Reijntjes, A., Orobio de Castro, B., Bushman, B., Poorthuis, A., & Telch, M. (2010). I Like Me If You Like Me: On the Interpersonal Modulation and Regulation of Preadolescents’ State Self-Esteem. Child Development, 81(3), 811-825. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01435.x
Thomson, M. (2012). Labelling and self-esteem: does labelling exceptional students impact their self-esteem?. Support For Learning, 27(4), 158-165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12004
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The Associate Degree in Nursing program at Excelsior College is designed for individuals with significant clinical health care experience. This means that all students have provided some aspect of health care for patients. Transitioning to the role of the Professional Nurse requires development of a new framework in your approach to patient care. The process of role transition requires you to reflect on what knowledge and skills you bring as a student and how you transform into the role of the professional nurse. While not all students in the program are licensed practical nurses similarities exist in the evolution of your current position to a new role.
Using APA format, write a six (6) to ten (10) page paper (excludes cover and reference page). A minimum of three (3) current professional references must be provided. Current references include professional publications or valid and current websites dated within five (5) years. Additionally, a textbook that is no more than one (1) edition older than current textbook may be used.
Read the following and then compose your paper:
Chapter 4: Role Transition (Reprinted with permission from: Lora Claywell (2009) LPN to RN Transitions 2nd ed.) St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.)
Ellis & Hartley (2011). Nursing in Today’s World: Trends, issues and management (10th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins. Chapter 1, pp. 26-28, Characteristics of a Profession.
The paper consists of five (5) parts and must be submitted by the close of week six.
Part I: Define professional socialization. Using the criteria for a profession described in Chapter 1 of the Ellis and Hartley textbook, discuss three (3) criteria of the nursing profession which support professional socialization.
Part II: Refer to the Four Stages of Role Transition listed at the end of the Module Notes for this module. Read and summarize each stage. Then, identify the one stage which you are currently experiencing and support your decision using current literature.
Part III: Identify two barriers which may interfere with accomplishing Claywell’s FOURTH stage of role transition. For each barrier, describe two (2) resources to overcome each one. (total of 4 resources).
Part IV: Claywell (2009) discusses 8 areas of differences between the LPN and RN roles: Assessment skills, Patient teaching skills; Communication skills; Educational preparation; Intravenous Therapy; Legal responsibilities; Nursing care planning; Thinking skills. Choose three (3) differences and provide supporting evidence how the differences you selected are implemented AND why they are such an integral part of the RN role.
Part V: Conclusion. Describe your plan for socialization into the role of the professional nurse.
Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Use a 12 font size, double space your work and use APA format for citations, references, and overall format. Information on how to use the Excelsior College Library to help you research and write your paper is available through the Library Help for AD Nursing Courses page. Assistance with APA format, grammar, and avoiding plagiarism is available for free through the Excelsior College Online Writing Lab (OWL). Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you submit your assignment.
You are required to submit your paper to Turnitin (a plagiarism prevention service) prior to submitting the paper in the course submission area for grading.Access is provided by email to the email address on record in your MyExcelsior account during week 2 of the term. Once you submit your paper to Turnitin check your inbox in Turnitin for the results. After viewing your originality report correct the areas of your paper that warrant attention. You can re-submit your paper to Turnitin after 24-hours and continue to re-submit until the results are acceptable.Acceptable ranges include a cumulative total of less than 15% for your entire paper, and no particular area greater than 2% (excluding direct quotes and/or references).
See the videos below for instructions on how to submit your paper to Turnitin and view your Originality Report.
Video – Submitting a Paper
Video – Viewing Your Originality Report
When you’re ready to submit your work for grading, click Browse My Computer and find your file. Once you’ve located your file click Open and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page, click Submit and you’re done.
This activity will be assessed according to the NUR108 M6A3: Professional Role Socialization Paper Rubric.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Part 1: Professional socialization
To become a registered nurse, LPN must undergo a process known as professional socialization. The professional socialization entails two processes, namely a) formal socialization which is a process that involves educative experiences which teach the LPN on strategic approaches which include physical assessment, appropriate diagnoses and ways to design care plan as well as administering of patient education. The other processes are the informal socialization, which includes social interaction with other healthcare providers, ways to communicate patient information and to sustain patient-nurse mutual respect and relationship. These processes require an LPN to have core competencies such as critical thinking process in order to deliver individualized and patient centered care (Dinmohammadi, Peyrovi, & Mehrdad, 2013).
Various authors have different perception of professional socialization. Some of the definitions revolve around the concepts that it a process through which student nurses are inducted into nursing culture. This entails the acquisition of skills and attitudes that define the patterns as well as of taking up social roles as expected by the societal structure. Professional socialization is a learning process that entails acquisition of new traits and abandoning old practices and includes all the consequences of the nursing program whether intended or unintended. There are major themes that emerge from the definitions, which are related to values, standards expected by the nursing professional bodies. The process of socialization is a critical concept in the nursing program, which occurs in the institutional level and in healthcare facility contact. In graduates, professional socialization occurs through training and influence of the work environment. The work environment can discard some of the professional values obtained through education and other aspects can be sustained through organization preferences and restrictions (Kramer, Maguire, Halfer, Brewer, & Schmalenberg, 2011).
The transition process entails role socializations. Role refers to expectations set and defined by the society in patient care. The set of expectations can be either ethical or unethical. The set of expectations facilitate the formulation of standards that acts as a checklist used to evaluate whether society expectations are met. The nursing practice criteria facilitate professional socialization. The nursing practice involves various stakeholders, including health assistants, specialist’s nurses, community nurses, and ward managers. The first criteria require that the nurses must treat every person with humanity and dignity. It is important to show sensitivity and compassion and to show that they respect the healthcare stakeholders equally (Porter-Wenzlaff and Froman, 2008).
The other criterion is the issue of accountability and responsibility. This is to ensure that they are held accountable of their decision and judgment. This ensures that the RN is decisions made are ethical and meets the professional body’s requirements and law. The other criteria involve effective communication skills and interpersonal competencies. This involves appropriate interactions with the people in healthcare, including patients, patients caregiver, and their families to ensure that they are adequately informed, empowered to make informed choices. The communication with other healthcare stakeholders involves the recording of health information and treatment report. The patient health information is very confidential and sensitive. The RN criteria are to ensure that they appropriately deal with patients complaints, and that they report the patients concerns conscientiously. This is only effective if the healthcare staff works in team to ensure that care is coordinated ensuring that healthcare provided is of highest standard and of the best outcome (Goodfellow, 2014).
These criteria are very important as they ensure that as LPN is undergoing professional socialization, they get equipped with vital competencies that will help them identify effective interventions. Professional socialization includes all other subconscious processes that have been internalized, the set of expected behavior and standards by professional bodies. Professional socialization also entails the also taking the established RN goals, and integrating the standards and roles into practice. It involves embracing ethical norms and values of RN profession and advocating for them. A successful-registered nurse is one who is committed to match the level of the established to ensure that patient health is promoted and intervention delivered is effective. The RN is a counselor and educator. The transition process is to empower the RN and to add valuable information to attain comprehensive quality care (Dinmohammadi, Peyrovi, & Mehrdad, 2013).
Part 2 Stages of Role Transition
Professional socialization is a pathway that entails four main stages of role transitions. The stages are described by challenges and numerous role dynamics that could confuse LPN. However, LPN’s attitude and personal attributes as well as their commitment to theoretical and practical nursing lessons enable the student to move across the stages faster or slower. The first stage occurs when LPN and LVN applies for RN education program (postgraduate program). The stage is described by many emotions, including excitement for entering a new field and fear of the unknown and the unexpected. In most cases, the student nurse is skeptical about the course program and outline as the student feels that they already know so much in nursing practice, having practiced for many years. These individuals are very competent because of their vast experiences and will more likely have an attitude during their first years in the program (Kramer, Maguire, Halfer, Brewer, & Schmalenberg, 2011).
The second stage occurs later at phase. This phase is described by dissonance feelings, which are often associated with their learning capacities. The student is required to take assignment and other nursing practice chores in depth than during their undergraduate program. This often results to increase in anxiety, especially when the nurse student scores low grades below their expectations (Dinmohammadi, Peyrovi, & Mehrdad, 2013). In some cases, students become frustrated as they feel that they cannot succeed beyond this stage. The challenges are also common during practical where students could face a dilemma when assessing patients from diverse cultural background and traditional values. This stage is described by high doubts and insecurity. This is because the grading systems are very different from the previous and the tutors demand for higher achievements and grades. This could make the student feel incapable of success and yearn to leave the project halfway. It takes a lot of self-confidence and discipline to ensure that the student adapts to the systems requirements, and that they can move to the nest stage (Farrell, Payne, & Heye, 2015).
The third stage consists of self-actualization as the student castoffs previous approaches to nursing practices and start embracing new behavior. The student nurse at this stage tends to have better insights of addressing patient needs and often portray her willingness to gain valuable knowledge in nurse practice. This stage, the student is less frustrated or anxious about their success or failure, and focuses on the final goal of gaining more knowledge in nursing. The fourth and last stage is described by more relaxed. The nurse student adopts the new attitudes and incorporation of registered nurse skills and competencies in their routine practices. The student in this stage is more knowledgeable and contented, but still focuses in achieving even higher achievement in nurse practice through research on the best practices that offer comprehensive care (Dinmohammadi, Peyrovi, & Mehrdad, 2013).
I am currently at the third stage of the role socialization. This is the most challenging part of the transition process. Having to let go the previous experiences and way of thinking have not been easy. However, I finally learnt to adopt new nurse practice knowledge and comprehensive care. In this stage, I have learnt to be culturally competent and even matters that were thought to be minor such as patients’ values and preferences. The transition processes have instilled the importance of evidence-based practice. This includes the process of identifying health care gap, assessing care plan, designing, implementing, and the reflection of the outcome. These are key competencies in registered nurses (Melrose, Miller, Gordon, Janzen, 2012).
Part 3: Fourth Stage barriers and resources to overcome the barriers
Many barriers face the transition process. To start with, there could be lack of professionalism with some of the staff that the students interact. This implies that the students lack role models that can guide them on the appropriate attire, professional and unprofessional behavior. In some cases, the students lack a source of support to enhance professionalism. This could make the students engage in unprofessional behavior. The students face more challenges as they may are not able to acquire communication skills. The second main barrier is the environment in both at schools and home environment (Dinmohammadi, Peyrovi, & Mehrdad, 2013). The peers and personnel in the school and place of practice are very important in establishing a cultural competent profession. The education through which the students undergo could be efficient and well organized. In some cases, the school environment may be the barrier in ensuring that the student is trained to their full potential. In some organization are only interested in gaining monetary part and making the students to graduate and to be employed. The students are not taught on leadership; and how to present themselves in the image of professionalism. This could also occur during the placing of practicum courses. In most places, the schools are not responsible of assigning the nurse student in these healthcare facilities. Therefore, the schools are not assured on the quality of the students experiences being taught in these healthcare facilities. There are concerns that some of the health care facility environments do not enhance professionalism of the students (Price, 2009).
The best approach to address the lack of support challenge is by establishing rules and regulations in the field. This will help the students in gaining people who will mentor them. The problem can e compounded through peer mentoring as the students and junior-student mentoring resources. This will adequately relieve the physical and mental demands. This could be in the form of chat rooms, web conferencing, and other discussion platforms. These are avenues where nurse students can raise concerns on issues they feel that they are challenging. To sustain personal goals is important to deliver quality care. The second barrier can be addressed through establishing of school based vocational programs. This offers a chance for the nurse student to mingle with key personnel in the healthcare industry, particularly the nurse. The healthcare facility where the students are stationed must be guided by set nursing practice ethical guidelines to ensure that nurse students are not bullied, or harassed (Kearney-Nunnery, 2009)
Part 4: differences between LPN and RN
In both professions, care planning is a very critical tool. This is especially very important when delivering quality care. In LPN roles, care planning involves the identification of the problem; identify the healthcare demand of the patient and formulation of implementation plan. The care-planning stages are also present in RN, but the planning is in depth and of broader context. The RNs are equipped to enable them apply critical thinking, especially when assessing service users health complication. The teaching program for RN emphasizes on psychosocial aspects of the patient’s psychological care. The RN is trained such that he/she is detail oriented all through the designing and implementation processes. The RN outcome evaluation is reflective and involved in depth analysis to ensure that the care plan made is in accordance with the criteria of nursing practice and expectations of nursing practice regulations and the standards (Porter-Wenzlaff and Froman, 2008)
LPN and RN roles differ in terms of legal responsibilities. Registered nurses receive comprehensive training on ways to manage long-term care in the healthcare facility. This is through the training of long-term care both in practice and in training. The RN is adequately equipped in roles such as managerial tasks, leadership, and in administrative work. This places the RN at higher place in terms of legal responsibilities because of their thorough education background and vast experiences. This implies that the RN is assigned duties that require higher thinking capacity and ability to make ethical decisions and judgment (Melrose, Miller, Gordon, Janzen, 2012).
Quality care delivery is supported by teamwork by healthcare staff. The teamwork is effective through importance of communication skills. Communication skills are often introduced in nursing during LPN training level, and its goal is to help the student interact with the healthcare stakeholders effectively. However, at LPN level, the training duration is usually less and thus the subject is not trained extensively. The registered nurses are adequately prepared on the value of communication, and key competencies in communication skills. This equips the RN with essential skills that will enable interaction with service users more effectively. The training involves undertaking communication courses, psychology training, and sociology units. This is to equip the RN with core competencies of communication skills such as listening skills, ability to judge body language, and the ability to decode patient behavioral cues, which are important in evaluation of healthcare intervention (Melrose, Miller, Gordon, Janzen, 2012).
However, the differences in roles between RN and LPN do not imply that one group is lesser than the other is. Every person in nursing contributes significantly in provision of quality care. Therefore, even though there are underlying differences between RN and LPN scope of practice, all nurses at all levels must be eager and willing to learn more about nursing practice. However, the nurse undergoing transition must learn the differences in roles between the concepts of the nurse in order to enable them identify the need to advance their practices. There are five major boundary’s determinants of nurse practice, which include the nursing process, conceptual frameworks, theoretical frameworks; nursing codes of ethics in both the international and national level and the standard of practice (Porter-Wenzlaff and Froman, 2008).
Part 5: Conclusion
The aim of the article was to highlight the process of socialization in nursing. Professional socialization is defined as the learning process through which the nurse student education, skills, knowledge, and behaviors are molded to suit the set standards of nursing roles. Through the professional socialization process, I have identified that nursing practice requires more to the acquisition of scientific knowledge. I have learnt how to relate to the other nurse students, which has facilitated the ability to construct personal identities. Additionally, it has also been established that the socialization process will only occur when I begin to work in the healthcare facilities, and that the values and attitudes taught in college will be assessed according to the extent of my integration in the nursing practices in the organization. The adjustment process will influence healthcare stability, satisfaction, commitment, and mutual respect as well as the involvement with healthcare facility activities (Claywell, 2009).
Through the professional socialization process, nurse’s roles at different levels define the student extent of transition. The way the student nurse integrates in the healthcare system defines their level of confidence and capability. The aspect of nurse role is very important is nursing practice as it helps a student nurse develop identity, self-esteem and self-confidence through the interaction of judgments as well as role models. Through these practices, one is bale to acquire key components of nursing practice, which include critical thinking, i.e. having the big picture of the matter. The roles also includes on strategies to seek evidence-based research to provide the most supported care and to ensure that interventions outcomes are positive (Ares et al., 2014).
The transition process is faced with numerous barriers and challenges as they move from one level to another including financial difficulties and inability to maintain the balance between work and education. Other anticipated barriers include the conflicts of ideas that arise as the nursing student brings in values and believes that are contradictory with healthcare facility culture. Through this process, I intend to seek mentorship with the relevant staff in my specialty so that they can guide me in through the transition processes (Porter-Wenzlaff and Froman, 2008). During the mentorship, I intend to change my values and attitudes with the aim of becoming more versatile such that I can comfortably fit in most of the healthcare organization. This is important because professionals understand better the attitudes and values that are important and compatible with the healthcare specialty. This will heighten the nursing core competencies and improve the ability to improve quality care in my precinct. The process is important because it facilitates in ensuring that am molded in a professional manner where there is no room for mistakes and poor judgments even when under pressure (Melrose, Miller, Gordon, Janzen, 2012).
References
Ares, T. (2014). Professional Socialization of Students in Clinical Nurse Specialist Programs. Journal Of Nursing Education, 53(11), 631-640. https://www.doi:10.3928/01484834-20141027-03
Claywell, L. (2009). LPN to RN Transitions 2nd ed.) Role Transition (Reprinted with permission from: St. Louis, MO: Elsevier
Dinmohammadi, M., Peyrovi, H., & Mehrdad, N. (2013). Concept Analysis of Professional Socialization in Nursing. Nurs Forum, 48(1), 26-34. https://www.doi:10.1111/nuf.12006
Farrell, K., Payne, C., & Heye, M. (2015). Integrating Inter-professional Collaboration Skills into the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Socialization Process. Journal Of Professional Nursing, 31(1), 5-10. https://www.doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2014.05.006
Goodfellow, L. (2014). Professional Socialization of Students Enrolled in an Online Doctor of Philosophy Program in Nursing. Journal Of Nursing Education, 53(10), 595-599. https://www.doi:10.3928/01484834-20140922-06
Kearney-Nunnery, R. (2009) Making the transition from LPN to RN. ; Philidelphia, Davis.
Kramer, M., Maguire, P., Halfer, D., Brewer, B., & Schmalenberg, C. (2011). Impact of Residency Programs on Professional Socialization of Newly Licensed Registered Nurses. Western Journal Of Nursing Research, 35(4), 459-496. https://www.doi:10.1177/0193945911415555
Melrose, S., Miller, J., Gordon, K., Janzen, K.J. (2012). Becoming socialized into a new professional role: LPN to BN Student Nurses Experiences with legitimation. Nursing research and practiceArticle ID 946063, 8 pages.
Price, S. (2009). Becoming a nurse: a meta-study of early professional socialization and career choice in nursing. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 65(1), 11-19. https://www.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04839.x
Porter-Wenzlaff, L., Froman, R.(2008) Responding to increasing RN demand: diversity and retention trends through an accelerated LVN-to-BSN curriculum. Journal of Nursing Education. 2008;47:231–234.
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Principles of Health and Social Care Practice
LO1 Understand how principles of support are implemented in health and social care practice
1.1 Explain how principles of support are applied to ensure that individuals are cared for in health and social care practice
1.2 Analyse the benefit of following a person-centred approach with users of health and social care services
1.3 Explain ethical dilemmas and conflict that may arise when providing care, support and protection to users of health and social care services.
1.4 Explain ethical dilemmas and conflict that may arise when providing care, support and protection to users of health and social care services.
LO2 Understand the impact of policy, legislation, regulation, codes of practice and standards on organisation policy and practice
2.1 Explain the implementation of policies, legislation, regulations and codes of practice that are relevant to own work in health and social care.
2.2 Explain how local policies and procedures can be developed in accordance with national and policy requirements.
2.3 Evaluate the impact of policy, legislation, regulation, and codes of practice on organisational policy and practice.
LO3 Understand the theories that underpin health and social care practice
3.1 Explain the theories that underpin health and social care practice.
3.2 Analyse how social processes impact on users of health and social care services.
3.3 Evaluate the effectiveness of inter-professional working
LO4 Be able to contribute to the development and implementation of health and social care Organisational policy.
4.1 Explain own role, responsibilities, accountabilities and duties in the context of working with those within and outside the health and social care workplace.
4.2 Evaluate own contribution to the development and implementation of health and social care organisational policy.
4.3 Make recommendations to develop own contributions to meeting good practice requirements.
Background Info – Summative assessment to be handed in on 1-07-13
Today, we live side by side with people from different ethnic, cultural, social, and religious backgrounds. We are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that we live in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. Depending upon where we live, work, or which services we access in the community, we have probably seen changes to our communities over a period of time. We are increasingly aware of the differences and similarities among ourselves and others, in relation to; age, gender, ethnicity, culture, religious beliefs and practices, social and economic status, educational and occupational backgrounds, disability, sexual orientation, health, and the impact of illness.
In everyday life, we may find our long held ideas about ourselves as well as others challenged when we encounter people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Our levels of understanding about other cultures may vary. In some instances our observations may be superficial and our knowledge less developed, based on media representations or limited encounters with people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In other cases, it may be that through personal and professional contact we have been able to establish over time an understanding of others from diverse backgrounds. In modern urban environments, it is likely that cultural diversity is an obvious reality for all of us, yet we must acknowledge our level of awareness and sensitivity, or lack of it, in order to demonstrate our respect for others.
Valuing diversity is an essential aspect of living and working in a multicultural society. As professionals in health and social care, we need to become aware of the cultural influences on health, health behaviours, and illness and recovery, and translate that awareness into culturally congruent care practice. We need to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudinal responses to meet the health needs of the people in the communities we serve with respect, sensitivity and the competence required.
Due to these changes, different rules and legislations have been put in place to care for and protect care users from being discriminated against and to give them the best possible care. Due to varied services offered to the care users, it is important to have inter-professional working among different professionals providing service to them. The focus of care delivery has also become more holistic with care users social interactions and needs are taken into consideration during care planning and delivery. The care providers do face situations where an ethical dilemmas and conflicts do arise as they have to deal with people from varied backgrounds and experiences.
Assessment For Module
Write an essay of 3000 words (bearing in mind the learning outcomes) attempt the questions above. LO 1.4 (pg. 4) and LO4 (pg. 5) needs to be based on the provided relevant case studies. The final submission of summative assignment covering LO1, LO2, LO3 and LO4 is by 1st of July 2013.
You need to use one of the following case scenarios in order to answer LO 1.4.
1. A pregnant woman is killed from injuries sustained in a car wreck, but the foetus may still be able to sustain life by keeping the mother on life support. The wife had always said she would not want to be kept alive on life support if there was no reasonable expectation of full recovery. Should she be put on life support when her family knew she did not want that and it would be at great expense to the family, and when the woman is already clinically dead?
2. Mrs M is a service user in the residential care home. She is 67 years old. She likes to smoke and drink whisky, which has caused serious problem to her health by having lung cancer. Despite the advice and recommendations of the doctors, the social worker and the manager of the care home she cannot cease this habit.
Lately Mrs M has been suffering from acute pains. The painkillers prescribed by the doctor are not working effectively to relieve the pains of Mrs M. The doctor is refusing to prescribe stronger painkillers because of their serious adverse effects and possible addiction. But the manager and staffs cannot see Mrs M suffering by screaming and wandering throughout the premises asking for help.
3. A 20-year-old, pregnant, Black Hispanic female presented to the Emergency Department (ED) in critical condition following a single-vehicle car accident. She exhibited signs and symptoms of internal bleeding and was advised to have a blood transfusion and emergency surgery in an attempt to save her and the foetus. She refused to accept blood or blood products and rejected the surgery as well.
You need to use the Case Study below to answer LO 4
Case Study
“Rio Ross was found dead clutching a Winnie the Pooh toy in July 2007.
An inquest found the 14-month-old baby from Bristol died from an overdose of heroin, cocaine and methadone.
He died two months after social workers were warned that his mother Sabrina, a former prostitute, was using crack and heroin on top of her methadone, and a month after drug workers agreed to let the pregnant woman take the drug substitute without supervision.
A case review by Bristol Safeguarding Children Board, which represents all the agencies supposed to protect children, details a series of failings by social services, drugs agencies, and police, who did not alert their child abuse team when they found the mother and baby at the scene of a drugs raid.
Despite listing four critical decisions which left Rio in danger, a summary of the report concluded that no one agency was to blame.
But in November, Government watchdog Ofsted ruled that the review itself was inadequate, and ordered a fresh probe, which will report next month.
Sabrina Ross, 30, was jailed for five years in June after admitting manslaughter of her son. Her second child, born in December, was placed into foster care.
Bristol City Council said no staff had been disciplined in connection with the failure to protect the child. A spokesman said a reconsideration of its review of the case would be submitted to Ofsted next month. On Friday, the council’s director of children’s services, Heather Tomlinson, announced plans to take early retirement, which a spokesman said was entirely unconnected to the review.”
Ref: (The Telegraph, Jan 2009)
Task scenario: You were working as part of the health and social care team dealing with this family before the incident occurred, but now you are reflecting on how you could have helped further to prevent this incident from occurring. Use further sources as required to answer the questions.
You must imagine yourself in any one of the below roles (a-e), and consider what your role, accountabilities and duties were leading up to the event (4.1); consider whether you could have contributed to the development/implementation of any organisational policies to prevent the incident (4.2); and consider how you will contribute to good practice in the future (4.3).
a) Safeguarding Officer
b) Social Worker
c) Social Care Regulatory Inspector
d) Social Care Compliance Officer
e) Substance Misuse Nurse
SAMPLE ANSWER
Principles of Health and Social Care Practice
Introduction
Communities and societies have the right to access to good quality health care. Despite the people diversities, they at some point require medication or social support services. Therefore, it becomes prudent for the service providers to put in place appropriate strategies to reduce risks and hazards. There is also need to maintain privacy of service users and promote awareness on diseases and many other social issues that affect people since principles of health and social care practice are built on this, hence the focus of this paper.
LO1 Implementation of principles of support in health and social care practice
1.1
In health and social care setting, the major principal is providing quality support to users. Users should remain confident and assured of receiving quality health care services for their wellbeing (Healy, 2011). Health care providers must be aware of their roles and the rights of the patients as well as their personalities (Healy, 2011). There application is also manifest by upholding to diversity and equality when providing care. Health providers must ensure that they provide quality care to all patients without discrimination. Even though, patients’ beliefs, culture, norms, and values do vary, health providers should not discriminate them based on any demographic factors. Upholding to human dignity and worth as well shows how the principles of support are applied. Other ways include; empowering patients through such approaches as the person-centered approach by tailoring health with their needs and desires (Healy, 2011). Allowing patients to make informed choices, embracing social justice, integrity, and assessing risks before taking a certain step of action, are other ways of applying the principles (Fish & Karban, 2014). Service users should as well be allowed to access to different health care needs or treatments without restraint. Systems must be working properly for these principles to be applied well. Employees must have better training, must work closely with the service users, should have effective communication skills to share and get valuable information from the service users before providing care (Healy, 2011).
1.2
All servicer users need protection from any likely harm in health and social care setting. Some of the harms service users risk experiencing includes financial, physical, emotional, and psychological harm. For instance, physical harm can occur in case a mentally challenged person attacks a fellow patient or even an employer. There are various ways of protecting patients from such kinds of harms. One way to avoid these harms is for the organization to set policies and procedures to guide in management of the harms (Healy, 2011). For instance, mentally ill patients should be placed in specific rooms to deter their movement. Another way is to allow personalized care planning. Such programs will help to reduce emotional and psychological harms. Risk assessment and management is also a suitable way to manage these harms. Through risk assessment, the organization can identify the in advance potential risks and come up with appropriate remedies. Other ways include making referrals to other facilities with equipment and facilities, raising an alert, ensuring good record keeping, partnering with other people and institutions to manage the harm. For instance, psychologists can partner with health and social care institutions to provide counseling and therapist services to emotional and depressed service users.
1.3
Among many approaches, it is prudent for care providers to follow the person-centred approach in providing care to patients. Under this approach, client needs, values, and desires are considered when providing health and social care (Broady, 2014). One of the benefits of this approach is that it empowers the clients, hence promote quick recovery, as the client feels valued and respected (Markwick, 2013). The approach as well improved the psychological, physical, and emotional health of the patient. Furthermore, the approach increase openness something that fosters delivery of better health care. When values and desires of the patient are met, they are able to cooperate. This in turn makes the work of the care provider easier.
1.4
During their service delivery, health and social care providers experience various incidences of ethical dilemma and conflicts. These conflicts sometimes hamper delivery of quality health care. Even though, these organizations have policies they require to oblige, certain occasions may require ignoring the same. This therefore, results to an ethical dilemma as abiding to an alternative decision option leads to conflict. Common ethical dilemma scenarios and incidences include deciding between the welfare of the client versus that of the public, gaining informed consent, an individual choice verse the rights of others and limitation of confidentiality among others. A good scenario to demonstrate ethical dilemma and conflict of interest health and care provider face is the case of Mrs. M. This 67-year-old has refused to quit smoking despite suffering from lung cancer. She has as well refused to heed to the advice of the doctors. Even though she has the right to make choices, the choice is not in tandem with the public good. This therefore, creates an ethical dilemma situation since; it is the responsibility of care providers to ensure that the user leads a better live. Furthermore, an ethical dilemma is experienced when doctors stop giving her stronger medication to worsen her situation but care providers show empathy to her sufferings, and seek for assistance. This therefore, creates conflicts among the doctors and care providers. There seems to be no trust between these two. Similarly, it is also unethical to refuse to seek informed consent from Mrs. M whether she should be given the painkiller or left to suffer. However, it is also unethical for the care givers to refuse to take action and leave Mrs. M suffer and eventually dies without assisting her.
LO2 Impact of policy, legislation, regulation, codes of practice and standards on organisation policy and practice
2.1
At the work place, policies, regulation, legislation, and codes of practice and standards provide guideline on the way to execute daily activities. Implementation of these policies, legislations, and other requirements remains critical to foster smooth operations and delivery of health and social care. In the organization I work, policies are implemented after a thorough research is done. This is to ensure that the policies and regulations add value to all the stakeholders. Sometimes they are interpreted to ensure that everyone understands them. When implemented, supervisors coordinate to ensure they are well applied. Some of the policies include, reporting on duty in time, attending seminars and training, and wearing uniform while on duty. Codes of practice includes, remaining professional, upholding to integrity, honest, respect, autonomy, and embracing diversity (Healy, 2011). Laws such as Data Protection Act and Control Of Substance Hazardous to Health Regulation (COSSH) are taught and providers expected to adhere to them always.
2.2
There is always need for local and national policy requirements to conform to another or to enhance service delivery. However, this is not always the case. This can be achieved through creation/development of working documents that will help provide information on the various health or social issues at the local level (Healy, 2011). Another way is through establishing of local demographics to ensure that they are factored in when coming up with these policies. It is also important for leaders at both local and national level and other stakeholders to consult and make agreement on various issues. There is also need to modify some of the policies to meet certain requirements of some organisations at both local and national level.
2.3
The codes of practice, regulation, policies, and codes of ethics established impacts on the organizational policy and practice in different ways. The motivation or purpose of these policies and laws is always to improve the quality of health and social care (Healy, 2011). Improvement of services is evidenced with reduced health problems, reduces discrimination, less waiting times and experienced staffs. The policies as well foster standardization that contributes to adherence to ethics and codes of practice. Other benefits of the policies, legislation, and regulation are that they allow clear expectations and ensure protection of both the service users and staff. For instance, users are protected through such laws that require data privacy, confidentiality and informed consent laws. Employees as well can easily sort redress of issues of their concern.
Despite these benefits, the policies as well may have negative impacts. The cost of formulating and enforcing as well as implementing the policies is high. Period of transition is also elongated and this may cause disruption of services, there is also higher chance for the administration to experience some burden in enforcing the laws. On some occasions, service closure is likely to be experienced jeopardizing provision of health and social care services.
LO3 Theories that underpin health and social care practice
3.1
Different theories exist that apply in both health and social care practice. Some of these theories include psychodynamics, behaviorism, psychosocial theories, social systems, and developmental theories such as Freud, psychosexual stage theory, Piaget’s cognitive developmental stage theory and Eriknson’s psychological stage theory. Health and social care providers must understand different aspects pertaining to age, the culture, and the stage of development among others that help in provision of care (Carlson et al., ; Neil, 2010). Dynamic psychology focuses on human behaviors, their emotions, feelings, and their relationship to early experience. Social workers and health care providers can use these theories to understand the psychology of people, hence render appropriate care.
3.2
Different social processes have different impact on the users of health and social care services. Social processes includes gender, education levels of people, the culture, employment rates, attitudes and values people hold through socialization, resource distribution, sexuality and opportunities available. For instance, if people are literate, their level of understanding is higher, hence has the ability to learn easily and take precautionary measures quickly than illiterate people. These social processes therefore, may lead to isolation, domination, inequality, exclusion, stigmatization, marginalization, and discrimination. For instance, people with low level of income are likely to be discriminated when it comes to accessibility of health care compared to those high levels of income. Isolation as well may happen especially when the people perceive themselves or their culture to be superior to others’ cultures affecting the quality of care.
3.3
Inter-professional working relationships have been embraced in health and social care settings. This approach requires professionals to collaborate to render higher standard of care (Addy, Browne, Blake, & Bailey, 2015). Professional understands their roles as they learn for one another. For instance, in a health care setting, Nurse, GP, physiotherapist, occupational therapists, and assistants can collaborate in their work, while in social care, carer, and social workers can as well collaborate. One benefit of this work arrangement contributes to achievement of agreed outcomes, improves the quality of relationships, ensures care continuity, ensures provision of holistic care, and enhances easy identification of professional goals (Day, 2013). Furthermore, this arrangement acts as a safety net when it comes to provision of care. The other benefit is resource conservation. Resources such as infrastructure can be shared
LO4 Development and implementation of health and social care Organisational policy
4.1
As a health care provider, I have a role and responsibility to promote delivery of better health care to all patients. All patients deserve equal treatment. I have to create a cordial working relationship through effective communication. Furthermore, is my responsibility to respect all service users and all stakeholders, uphold to autonomy, respect other people rights, and be honest when rendering health care. I have the duty to uphold to good practice when rendering services such as keeping health records well and embracing codes of ethics. In the incidence where a 20-year-old Black Hispanic woman with pregnancy refused to accept transfusion of blood, I have the responsibility to engage her and persuade her to accept. I also have the right to inform her on the consequences of her decisions. She has her right and if she insists, I will have to take the next step of forwarding the case to the senior health provider to ensure that I am not to blame for her future complications in case they occur.
4.2
I have contributed on several occasions in development and implementation of health and social care organizational policy and believe that through such contributions, remarkable changes have manifested. I take time to read existing policies and other content to understand them before initiating changes. Through reading, I am able to identify areas that require amendments. I also express ideas frankly on what I feel require adjustments. I also participate in consultations as experienced in the case of a 20-year woman that refused a blood transfusion. I had to share this with my seniors. I also adhere to quality assurance systems, get involved in clinical governance, as well as contribute in the process of making decisions.
4.3
Every organisation must put in place mechanisms to achieve good practice requirements to deliver quality health and social care services. My recommendations to meet good practice are herein. Organizations should have clear codes of ethics and professionalism and ensure compliance. Continuous training of employees as well as service users on health and care is paramount to improve service provision. It is also important for the institutions providing health and social care services to be accredited before being granted a go ahead to render services. The organization should also open avenues to share ideas and views from users and service providers. Listening and providing feedback will go ahead to build positive working condition that will contribute to delivery of quality services. Decision-making should be open to all the people for them to have a sense of belonging as experienced in the case, I sort further direction from the seniors when I reached a stalemate. This will improve the level of satisfaction and performance. Peer support and supervision is also critical to improve service delivery. People should also be each other keeper and should share with one another good practice.
Conclusion
It is the responsibility of all stakeholders to contribute to high quality services. Principle of support has explicitly provided a platform of ensuring that appropriate services are provided. Service givers need to be competent to render quality services respecting the rights of patients and others. Similarly, other users must as well respect the service providers. Codes of ethics, regulations, laws, and policies set require proper implementation. All stakeholders should take part in their implementation to warrant success. As a health practitioner, I must remain committed, respect other people rights and adhere to codes of ethics to deal with issues such as ethical dilemma and conflicts. My motivation is to impact positively on anybody provided they are of human race.
References
Addy, C. L., Browne, T., Blake, E. W., & Bailey, J. (2015). Enhancing Interprofessional Education: Integrating Public Health and Social Work Perspectives. American Journal Of Public Health, 105S106-S108.
Broady, T. (2014). What is a person-centred approach? Familiarity and understanding of individualised funding amongst carers in New South Wales. Australian Journal Of Social Issues (Australian Social Policy Association), 49(3), 285.
Carlson, P et al., ; & Neil, R. (2010). Psychology: The Science of Behaviour. United States of America: Person Education. pp. 453–454.
Day, J. (2013). Interprofessional Working: An Essential Guide for Health and Social Care Professionals, Thomson Learning, 2013. ISBN: 978-1408074954
Fish, J., & Karban, K. (2014). Health Inequalities at the Heart of the Social Work Curriculum. Social Work Education, 33(1), 15-30.
Healy, J. (2011). Improving Health Care Safety and Quality (Law, Ethics and Governance), Ashgate, 2011. ISBN: 978-0754676447
Markwick, A. (2013). Person-centred planning and the recovery approach. Learning Disability Practice, 16(7), 31.
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This assignment will give you an opportunity to complete the outline used in the pre-writing technique as part of creating an academic paper.
Objective:
Demonstrate the process of creating an outline prior to creating a draft of an academic paper.
Assignment Requirements:
Complete an outline for the academic paper that is the final written assignment in this course. The outline body must have the following sections:
1.A definition of a good decision
2.Examples of a good decision
3.Synthesis of the previous research on good decisions that results in a general definition of good decision making
SAMPLE ANSWER
Decision-Making
Introduction
Whether decisions are good or bad, their makers should be accountable for them.
Making the right conclusions should be a decision maker’s priority (Karelaia, 2014). Whether the results are bad or good, decision-makers have to face the consequences of their choices (The Marketing Society, 2015). There are always hindrances to making right decisions (Pillay, 2014).
Body
A good decision is usually the right answer to a particular question (Fox, 2014).
Decisions must not only be the right answers, but they should also be specific to the questions they answer. Decisions are the driving power in organizations and managers cannot avoid them (Mandelberg, 2015). Being at an informed position facilitates the making of a good decision.
Examples of Good Decisions
Infosys’s decision in 1999 to let its local competitors excel is an example of a good decision. It was hard for the company to determine the appropriateness of the move, but with time, the decision made the Indian IT market competitive (Kaipa & Radjou, 2013).
Wendy Kopp’s decision to allow other people to run Teach for America initiative in 1999 serves as an example of a good decision. It was only after the founder had sacrificed his role that the company realized its current economic status (Kaipa & Radjou, 2013).
Research Synthesis:
Carrying out decision-making on the basis of credible and nonbiased information leads to the right decisions. The credibility of sources entails the truthfulness of the information they provide (Myatt, 2012). For instance, people would make bad decisions if they face limitations such as being under pressure (Zenger & Folkman, 2014).
In most cases, the effectiveness of the processes involved in decision making determine the achievement of either good or bad decisions (McKinsey & Company, 2009). The outcomes of decisions are vital to the determination of the appropriateness of choices. For instance, right decisions in healthcare result in desirable patient outcomes (Lee & Emanuel, 2013).
Conclusion
Decisions are good if they are the right answers to the particular question. The ultimate goal of decision-makers is to realize benefits regardless of periods they may take. At firsts, decisions may appear what they are not. Decision-makers should be accountable for the consequences of their decisions.
References
Fox, J. (2014, November 21). How to tell if you’ve made a good decision. Harvard Business School Publishing. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-to-tell-if-youve-made-a-good-decision
Kaipa P. & Radjou, N. (2013, April 14). 7 business decisions that looked bad but turned good. CNBC. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/100634625
Pillay, S. (2014, March 31). How to improve your decision-making skills. Harvard Business School Publishing. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/03/how-to-improve-your-decision-making-skills
The Marketing Society. (2015, May 16). Decision-making and accountability. Retrieved from https://www.marketingsociety.com/the-gym/decision-making-and-accountability
Zenger, J. & Folkman, J. (2014, September 1). 9 habits that lead to terrible decisions. Harvard Business School Publishing. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/09/9-habits-that-lead-to-terrible-decisions
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Suppose that you have been working as a labor and delivery nurse at a hospital in an urban area for eight years. A colleague of yours, Mark (48 years old), is the Charge Nurse. Mark has been working at the hospital for the past four years, and he is your immediate supervisor. Outside of the work environment, you speak to Mark regularly on the telephone and the two of you are connected by a social networking website. Sam is a 17-year-old high school student who recently began working at the hospital as a volunteer to assist the phlebotomist in transporting blood samples to the laboratory. Sam has only been working at the hospital for two months. You, Mark, and Sam are dining in the employee cafeteria one afternoon along with four other hospital employees. A heated debate arises about how health care reform might affect your work environment in the near future. Some at the table feel that a letter should be written to an upper level hospital administrator to prevent any bad changes from occurring.
This is a three-part assignment.
First, explain Social Impact Theory in your own words (1 paragraph maximum).
According to Social Impact Theory:
Would a letter eventually be written to the administrator?
Which member of the group would most directly influence your way of thinking? Why?
Why would the number of people participating in the conversation be relevant?
How might media coverage of Health Care Reform shape the opinions of participants?
SAMPLE ANSWER
Critical Thinking and Social Impact Theory
The Social Impact Theory is a school of thought that is used in the prediction of social impact based on the different situations that can be considered. According to this theory, the magnitude of a social impact in any given situation depends on several parameters. These parameters are the parties involved, namely the sources of the influence as well as the group being targeted by the change. The second parameter of social impact is the social forces that come into play relevant to the situation at hand (Bhondeckar et al, 2013). This covers the potential of the source to influence, the urgency of the issue at hand and also the total number of sources working towards impact. The number of targets is inversely proportional to the effectiveness. An example of a social issue that can be explained through this scenario is the campaign against lengthy sentences for minor drug offences. The prime mover of such an action will be an individual or group of individuals who wish to see changes in the system. For them to have their voice heard and changes to be actually made, it is paramount that they convince more people to see things from their perspective and then join them. Their target also needs to be specific whether it is a politician or people who can influence a politician. Not carefully considering a strategy increases the chances of failure (Kwahck 2013).
Based on Social Impact Theory, a letter is bound to be written to the administrator. This is because all the parameters necessary for social impact are present in this given scenario. There is an issue at hand, the potential impact likely to be brought out by the healthcare reforms. The target of this potential social change will be to the administrator since the administrator has the capacity and authority to make the desired changes. There is also a sense of immediacy with the issue given that it brought up a heated debate (Thompson, 2013).
The member of the group who would most likely influence my way of thinking is Mark. This is because we know each other both within the work environment and outside. Furthermore, Mark is older than me and therefore has had a greater deal of exposure than myself. We get to discuss things with mark on different forums, the workplace, personally over the phone and also over social media. This means we have over time developed a lot in common and as such it is easier for my thoughts to be aligned to his. This may also be contributed to by the fact that our friendship with him will make us see things in the same way or look at the issue from a common perspective. A concept of consolidation with respect to social change theory states that individuals that regularly interact over time subconsciously end up having similar opinions as time progresses (Moynihan et al, 2013).
The number of people participating in the conversation would be relevant because it determines the number of sources and this has a direct effect on the power that the letter to the administrator would have. From the definition of the social impact theory, the number of sources is a main parameter. It will strengthen any campaign that will follow and this helps to amplify the message. If it is an idea that is promoted by few people, it will appear to be a personal issue or a subjective one that does not warrant changes to the entire system. A higher number of people participating will also be relevant in that it will embolden the participants in the conversation about the positions they hold. The larger the group means there are more consenting voices. This is necessary in eliminating or reducing the apprehension one may have if they feel they are made vulnerable by targeting the organization on their own. The concept of Social impact theory that arises in this regard is Clustering. Clustering is a phenomenon that leads people with similar points of view to gather in groups. The coming together of individuals in this group due to the similarity of their points of view and interest is a clear example of clustering (Dewall et al, 2010; Thompson, 2013).
Media Coverage of Health Care Reforms will shape the opinions of participants in several ways. First of all, it will make them aware about the actual healthcare reforms. Furthermore, the media coverage will analyze the dynamics of the reforms clearly illustrating who the stakeholders are and how they will be affected. The participants will get to understand where they are in the analysis and how they are likely to be affected. If the likely impacts will be favorable to them, they are likely to be supportive of the reforms. If the media focuses on the negative impacts likely to impact the participants, they are likely to take a position against it. The coverage of healthcare reforms by the media will also highlight issues such as the key decision makers and the degree of flexibility they have towards the matter. If the media shows them to be rigid and adamant about the proposed reforms, participants are bound to be more agitated and eager to express their views about the issue. On the contrary if the media reports in a manner that shows a relaxed attitude by the decision makers behind the health reforms, participants will not be less eager as they feel they have time. Divergent views are likely to come up in the event of media coverage. This is because the members of the group will consume the news independently (Hogg and Tindle, 2008).
Bhondekar, A. P., Kaur, R., Kumar, R., Vig, R., & Kapur, P. (2011). A novel approach using Dynamic Social Impact Theory for optimization of impedance-Tongue (iTongue). Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 109(1), 65-76.
Moynihan, D. P., Pandey, S. K., & Wright, B. E. (2012). Prosocial values and performance management theory: Linking perceived social impact and performance information use. Governance, 25(3), 463-483.
Thompson, J. B. (2013). Ideology and modern culture: Critical social theory in the era of mass communication. John Wiley & Sons.
DeWall, C. N., Twenge, J. M., Bushman, B. J., Im, C., & Williams, K. D. (2010). Acceptance by one differs from acceptance by none: Applying social impact theory to the rejection-aggression link. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1(2), 168-174.
Hogg, M. A., & Tindale, S. (Eds.). (2008). Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Group processes. John Wiley & Sons.
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Cross-generational intimate and sexual relationships
Debunking whether and why cross-generational intimate and sexual relationships carry strong social stigma
This is my essay question: Gayle Rubin (1984) proposed that there are some forms of sexual and intimate expressions that are more respected and well-regarded in society, whereas other forms are seen as lower in the hierarchy and receive social sanctions. Exercise your sociological imagination (Mills 1959), critically analyze and debunk whether and why cross-generational intimate and sexual relationships carry strong social stigma in contemporary society.
Use at least three (3) quality references Note: Wikipedia and other related websites do not qualify as academic resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
Use APA format when citing sources.
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Obtaining Services within Washington DC; people with disabilities
Obtaining Services within Washington DC; people with disabilities
Order Instructions:
For this paper, the chosen community to research and write on is Washington DC . The writer must research base on this City and must thoroughly address all the 4 points raise in the questions. The writer must also read carefully the instructions before responding and must follow proper APA rules to complete this paper.
Obtaining Services within Washington DC.
The purpose of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (DD Act) as described in the current law, is to “assure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design of and have access to needed community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life…”
Investigate resources within your chosen community (Washington DC.) that assist individuals with developmental disabilities and their families with assuming self-management and support for daily living.
Discuss:
• What is the availability and eligibility of these resources and services?
• How do these services assist with developing their competencies and talents and help them gain control over life circumstances?
• Choose a disability and discuss services offered in your area that helps to improve the life circumstances of these individuals
• Explain the importance of these services to the family as a whole and how these services aid with care for these individuals
The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000. (2000). United States Government, Public Law 106–402106th Congress
Assignment Requirements
The finished Assignment should be a 5-page exploratory essay, excluding the title page and references. The viewpoint and purpose of this Assignment should be clearly established and sustained.
Before finalizing your work, you should:
• be sure to read the Assignment description carefully (as displayed above)
• consult the Grading Rubric (under the Course Home) to make sure you have included everything necessary;
• utilize spelling and grammar check to minimize errors; and
• review APA formatting and citation information found online, or elsewhere in the course.
Your Assignment should:
• follow the conventions of Standard American English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.);
• be well ordered, logical, and unified, as well as original and insightful;
• display superior
content, organization, style, and mechanics; and
• use APA 6th edition format for organization, style, and crediting sources including:
• properly formatted header
• 12-point, double-spaced, Times New Roman font
• use of in-text citations
• title page and reference page
• use of headings (if applicable)
SAMPLE ANSWER
Introduction
Developmental disabilities refer to broad ranges of condition that causes cognitive and physical impairments, often diagnosed during childhood. Disabilities include autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, vision impairment, and hearing loss. These disabilities are long-term/ lifelong disabilities. These disorders affect their daily activities such as mobility, learning ability, independence, self-care, and communication. However, the disability can be severe, mild, and moderate and support needs. The Developmental disabilities prevalence rate is high in America. Research estimates that about 5.4 million Americans suffer from developmental disability. Approximately, 17% of children below 18 years suffer from development disability. Intervention includes education for the child and the family to understand the disease, and ways to manage it effectively. Individualized support can help improve the functioning of the body, self-determination and strengthen the community (Durham, Brolan, & Mukandi, 2014).
Availability and eligibility of the resources
Support of developmental disabilities in Washington aims at assisting people with developmental disabilities to empower them so that they can remain independent, integrated, and productive. The services are funded by the State to ensure that the services provided are comprehensive and coordinated to enhance the lives of people with disabilities to the maximum potential, and to protect their legal as well as human rights. In Washington DC, the supportive services occur in varying form including a) community support, which helps in independent living. This helps these people with assistance on how to manage their self-care, b) residential support which involves independent housing support in individuals home, c) support for education and for employment services, d) support for communication, including sign interpreters and e)community access which includes day care. These support services are adequate for about 79,000 people, most of whom receive services in the community and not in an institution. The services available in Washington by age group are as follows (Ward, Amanda, & Freedman, 2010):
From birth to 3 years: These children are diagnosed with developmental disabilities and are eligible for Infant Toddler Early Intervention Program (ITEIP) services, which provides the family with such kids with Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP) aimed at educating parents regarding the developmental stages of their children to equip them with the relevant assistance necessary for particular age. Eligibility criteria include that children must have measurable delayed developmental growth, which is performed by Family resource coordinators of IFSP. From age 3 to 21: the services available for this age group aims at improving the education. The services provided includes an individualized Education Plan (IEP), which are integrated in their education system as early as during the Preschool. These include services that will improve their communication skills such as speech therapy, psychological services, physical therapy, and audiology (Kelley, 2013).
After 21 years: trained individuals are integrated in the community to build their self-esteem and self-confidence. These include services such as the DDD employment program that offers support through training, and seeking employment to those who can manage. Alternative services include special assistance to the elderly. Other services eligible for people with developmental disabilities includes medical cover and support through Medicaid such as Medicaid personal Care provided mainly to people leaving with disability where the individuals live with their families. Other services include assistance is the State’s Individual and Family Services Program, which offers lifetime support on medical costs, therapy, transportation, behavior management and recreational opportunities (Durham, Brolan, & Mukandi, 2014).
How they help increase their competencies’
People with developmental disabilities often have trouble during communication. This is because the disability could affect their hearing, sight, and speech which often-effective communication. The services help communication by helping patients with auxiliary aid, Braille materials simplified, and computer assisted real time text (CART) which would increase their communication skill (Kelley, 2013).
These services help people with developmental disability with various life enhancing skills. These includes skills that enable them complete household task, attend to their personal hygiene and financial transactions. These activities range from shaving, making calls, to loading dishwasher and making calls. The programs assess their age, mental capacity, preferences, and physical capabilities. Taking into account these factors into account, the instructors are able to design a training skill that benefits individual ability. Other skills taught by these services include dressing, meal, positioning in bed, self-administration of medicine and use if assistive devices. These activities are vital daily activities (Ward, Amanda, & Freedman, 2010).
These services also train caregivers and families with people diagnosed with DD. This enables the family to identify the most effective communication and strategic approaches that will improve their relationship. The services also improve the ability of individuals to access quality care such as dentists, psychiatrists, and ob-gyns. The services enable the individual access specific care in specialized institutions. They do so by providing interpreter services, and sign language protocols to enable them communicate through expressions. They also facilitate medical covers, thus improving patient’s quality of life (Durham, Brolan, & Mukandi, 2014).
Identify a disability within a community
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a type of developmental disorder, which is, defined following diagnostic criteria such a social communication, interaction, repetitive behavior and other activities. The disease symptoms are appearing during early developmental stages. The prevalence of autism has increased by 20% globally. Some of the resources available include Autism society of Washington, (www.autismsocietyofwa.org) which is a non-profit organization that offers support and information on autism related issues. The organization manages forums where people discuss their experience, learn from one another, and gets support. Early support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) (www.del.wa.gov/esit) is a State program helps get the families manage their children who suffer from developmental disability. Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (CASD) (http://childrensnational.org/departments/center-for-autism-spectrum-disorderscasd) is a state program that offers assessment and treatment services for children suffering from developmental disability. The program has a multidisciplinary clinical staff that assesses children and recommends medication. The program also fund research on Autism Spectrum Disorders, especially those involved in behavioral, genetic and neuro-cognitive factors associated with autism. The centre also trains families with children suffering from Autism Spectrum to help deal with these children even in their homes (Kelley, 2013).
Importance of these services
These services are vital form birth throughout the individual’s lifespan. At school age, services help the child get involved in the society, developing their autonomy and initiative. Research identifies this young age, people with developmental disabilities are important because it enables the child learns how to interact in the community in the absence of their families, which could help children cease from being introverts to “opening up” as they face a myriad experiences (Durham, Brolan, & Mukandi, 2014).
The children’s communication and interpersonal competencies are developed through such services. This is because the services helps the children identify their roles in the community to manage their transition into adulthood. The services empower the children with the role of sex and community perspective of specific gender behavior. The main requirements for adolescents diagnosed with DD includes guidance, monitoring and frequent reminders to enable them to get around with ease and more independently. This is managed effectively through the services provides for DD, which could be a challenging task for the family (McLaughlin, Barr, McIlfatrick, & McConkey, 2014).
The development concern of adults diagnosed with DD includes issue such as intimacy and social isolation. It is a critical time to establish adulthood functions such as employment and home. These life skills and competencies are built on the previous accomplishment during the earlier developmental stages. It also influences the person sense of personal value, understanding that they are different from other people (Kelley, 2013).
Conclusion
For each of the services in Washington, their goal is to provide support to help the caregivers manage the crisis in the community. The services provided by these services, include psychological support, clinical support, and collaboration between the relevant stakeholders. However, there are several challenges facing these services, including language barrier, biasness towards the sensitivity of patients need and lack of adequate resources in the facilities and shortages of healthcare providers resulting to poor quality delivery of services. In fact, most of the adult suffering from DD tends to seek care from their pediatrician, leaving the question on how patients would make the transition to adult care effectively.
References
Durham, J., Brolan, C., & Mukandi, B. (2014). The Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities: A Foundation for Ethical Disability and Health Research in Developing Countries. Am J Public Health, 104(11), 2037-2043. doi:10.2105/ajph.2014.302006
McLaughlin, D., Barr, O., McIlfatrick, S., & McConkey, R. (2014). Developing a best practice model for partnership practice between specialist palliative care and intellectual disability services: A mixed methods study. Palliative Medicine, 28(10), 1213-1221. doi:10.1177/0269216314550373
Ward, RL., Amanda, D., & Freedman, RI. (2010). Uncovering Health Care Inequalities among Adults with intellectual and Developmental disabilities. Health & Social Work 35(4); 280-288
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