Critical Assessment of a published qualitative research article Essay

Critical Assessment of a published qualitative research article - Essay Example The realities in Morgan’s stories are uncommon because what he writes is also common for students who have little or no English background with the English language. The only difference is the style through, which they approach their realities. In the case study, it is clear that the teachers are in denial to accept the validity of the student’s realities and experiences and existence of previous learning experiences, whether home based or school based. To understand the concept of the teacher’s refusal to accept the student’s reality, the author explores the English learning experience of two Bangladeshi children who attend mainstream English lessons. The study was conducted at an inner city school because it was public and had multicultural policy settings. The first study indicated that the teachers’ approach to Abdul made him weak, in that, instead of bilingualism being beneficial to him; it became a challenge because his teacher made it difficult to accept his realities. The first study was supported by the Cummins’ theory of Common Underlying Proficiency. The second study showed that the teacher can make the student learn better if they understand and accept their realities. â€Å" It was noticed that in subsequent work an= number of changes occurred to the student’s writing† (Hammersley & Woods, 2014, 187). In the case of Mashud, he learnt bilingualism fast, because his teacher was willing to accept his reality and help him correct grammar and make the relevant changes in his composition. The study concludes with the reflections of Ms. Montgomery, where it is seen that although she does not understand the cultural diversity of the student, it does not hinder her from dealing with the realities of his student. â€Å"These doubts led Ms Montgomery to think carefully on broad issues related to cultural reproduction† (Hammersley & Woods, 2014, 188). By so doing, she achieves to hasten a

Care provided to victims Essay Example for Free

Care provided to victims Essay Crisis intervention is care provided to victims of a crisis to help them adapt to the new challenges facing them. It is an urgent action taken to assist people overcome trauma resulting from a crisis. A crisis results from disruption of life, as we are accustomed. These disruptions present huge challenges to victims. In response they exhibit different characteristics. While change is constant in society, it presents challenges some of which resolve themselves out and others that require professional help. A crisis intervention center takes care of those who, when faced by these challenges, become disoriented and unstable. (Aguilera, Donna, C, 1998) The crisis facing Danville residents include anxiety, suicidal thoughts and trauma from domestic violence and crime. These problems are precipitated by rampant unemployment due to closure of some firms. The crisis intervention center will assist the community to overcome these challenges. It will have three main objections namely containing the spread of the crisis, controlling the resultant trauma of the crisis and try as much to help the residents adjust to the new challenges. To meet the needs of the residents better the center will be located in poor neighborhoods where the majority of these problems occur. It will operate round the clock in order to offer timely services whenever needed. The center will act promptly when our client is in need. We will take under our care victims of domestic violence or crime and counsel them to overcome their traumatic experience. We will assist to heal the emotional wounds acquired from their experiences. The main aim here will be to stop our clients from taking drastic actions with very negative consequences. Victims of violent acts are most vulnerable immediately after the horrific experience. They cannot think clearly and might take fatal measures. We will reassure encourage them to be more positive. At the crisis intervention center, we will offer residents advice on how to avoid the occurrence of such a problem in the first place. We will identify groups in society that are predisposed to domestic violence, eviction harassment and crime and try to lead them from such activities. We will encourage the vulnerable individuals to take action to avoid such problems when still early rather than wait till its too late The center will also provide clients continued counseling through the recovery period. Our aim is to as much as possible return the clients to the state they were in before the crisis occurred. We will offer them an opportunity to speak out confidentially about their experiences, and their feelings or reactions to the experience. We listen to their problems keenly and offer advice that would help them come to terms with the whole experience. We will organize support groups among the clients so that they can share and reinforce each other. We will also help the victims to move on after their traumatic experience. We will carry out follow up services to ensure full recovery. We will assist them to rebuild their lives providing the necessary encouragement and advice. We will help them to come up with workable solutions that would help them make necessary adjustments in life. We will not force decisions on them rather we will provide an enabling environment. Together we will develop solutions that stop the reoccurrence of the same problem. We will present the victims with the various options facing them and the consequences of each decision. This way they make informed choices. (Flannery, Raymond, et al,2000) Most of the residents who will come to our center will have other problems that are beyond our services. Such cases will be referred to the relevant institutions. Clients with physical injuries will be treated at the local hospital as we offer our services alongside. Those with mental instabilities will be referred to the mental health center for psychiatric help. Those with drug addictions will be referred to agencies that offer detoxification services such as the local Alcohol Anonymous for alcoholics. The center will coordinate with these agencies to provide an all round service. The center will rely on both professional staff and volunteers. Volunteers will be highly welcome due to cost constraints. We will encourage the local community especially past beneficiaries of the center to volunteer. Those who have been through the center will be more willing and optimistic to replicate their recovery on other members of society. We will also appeal to the Danville community to make donations to the center. The community should identify with the center and work for its success. In selecting staff, the center will look for individuals who are open minded and non-judgmental. These should be individuals who believe in the ability of others to change. They must enjoy working with people without any biases along class or race. They must be empathetic to the client’s predicament and possess a never give up attitude. For the professional staff, they need to have academic and professional qualifications from recognizable institutions. They should also be registered with the relevant professional bodies. Reporting skills and some legal knowledge will also be of much relevant. The center will regularly train its staff together with the volunteers. The training will focus on building counseling abilities and skills. We will train them on how to build and maintain client’s trust. Counseling can only take place in if there is enough trust and confidentiality. We also train them how to assist a client to open up listening keenly, non-judgmental attitude, and by softly prodding them. They should also keep reassuring the client. (mentalhealth. samhsa. gov) Offering counseling service is very strenuous and energy sapping work. It can also be very frustrating and heart breaking. Staff members become exhausted and loose motivation. They will face constant pressure as they try to solve clients’ problems. They put in long hours and this hurts their ability to play their other roles in life. Some of the patients may turn abusive while others may keep to their old ways no matter how had the social worker tries. The workers may feel that their effort and sacrifice is not fully appreciated or recognized. All these factors cause burnout. Burnout is a state frustration, loss of hope and a sense of failure. They feel that they cannot take it anymore and will have to quit. The center will put in place measures for the workers avoid or cope with the burnout. It will provide a mentorship program for the staff. The workers will be encouraged to form groups that provide a forum to share experiences and frustrations. We will also encourage them to eat well and engage in leisure activities. The management will also advise them to set their boundaries with their clients. The management will also improve on the work environment while showing appreciation for work well done. (Penson, Richard, T, et al, 2000) References National Mental Health Information Center. Training Manual for Mental Health and Human Services Worker in Major Disasters. Retrieved on18/10/07 from http://mentalhealth. samhsa. gov/publications/allpubs/ADM90-538/tmsection7. asp Flannery, Raymond, B. and Everly, George, S, 2000. Crisis Intervention: A Review. Continuing Education. Retrieved on 10/18/07 from http://www. icisf. org/articles/Acrobat%20Documents/TerrorismIncident/CrsIntRev. pdf Richard T. Penson, Fiona L. Dignan, George P. Canellos, Carol L. Picard, Thomas J. Lynch, Jr. 2000. Burnout: Caring for the Caregivers. The Oncologist, vol5. No5. Retrieved on 10/18/07 from http://theoncologist. alphamedpress. org/cgi/content/full/5/5/425 Aguilera, Donna C, 1998. Crisis Intervention: Theory and Methodology. New York: Mosby, 8ed

The Purple Hibiscus Analysis

The Purple Hibiscus Analysis Purple hibiscus is the first novel of the writer Chimanda Ngozi Adichie. The novel was published in 2003, it got a lot of attention in terms of prestigious prizes. Chimanda used her own experiences from her childhood to fill in the plot and lives of the characters. She was born in Kambilis home town Enugu, she is also a catholic. The main character is named Kambile Achike, a school girl that does exceptional in school. She lives with her parents mama, papa and her teenage brother Jaja. The story takes place in a city in Nigeria called Enugu, the novel begins with Jaja refusing to go to church on palm Sunday. Jaja has no good excuse for missing church so papa throws his book at him. The book hits his wifes shelf containing her beloved figurines. This is the beginning of the end for the Achike family. Afterwards Kambili explains what happened before Palm Sunday and all the events, papas sister Aunty Ifeoma is liberal and has been giving Jaja and Kambili rebel thoughts. Kambili does not say much and she often has problems speaking fluently without stuttering. Her strict father has shaped her this way by his rules and way of living. Every day she is in a schedule making her unable to do much else than eat, study, sleep and pray. Kambili is a good student and one of the best in her class. Because she does not talk much the girls in her class thinks she is a snob, she also runs straight to her dads car after class. Kambili is not a snob, but her dad is shaping her and she is unable to create her own identity. Her dad is expecting too much from Kambili and she only manages to finish second in her term. Papa tells her god expects more from her. Papa is an important man in Enugu, he owns several factories. He also publishes a newspaper called the standard. He is a rich man so he donated money to his local church community and his childrens school. His newspaper always tells the truth about the countrys conditions and therefore is under a lot of pressure from the state. He is also known for his generosity in his ancestral town, Abba. In the Christmas, Kambili and her family goes to Abba. Her close family makes a feast that feeds the whole family. Papa calls his father a heathen because he still holds on to the old religious traditions of his people. He does not let Jaja and Kambili visit his father for long. His sister thinks he is treating their father wrong, but Papa refuses to support his father unless he becomes a catholic. Aunty Ifeomas university town Nsukka is different from what Jaja and Kambili are used to. Power blackouts, rising food prices and fuel shortages are normal in Nsukka. Aunty Ifeoma teaches and encourages her children to question authority. Ifeoma wanted Jaja, Kambili and her own children to get to know each other better so she persuades Papa to stay with her for a week. They end up living there for longer than that. Just like her former classmates Kambili is being looked at as a snob by Amaka. Kambili stays silent in Nsukka. Kambili meets father Amadi who tells her to say what she has on her mind. Amaka and Kambili becomes friends. Papa-Nnukwu becomes ill and Ifeoma takes her in to the apartment so he can stay there. They do not tell Papa in fear that he will have them sent back. Papa eventually finds out that Papa-Nnukwu has been staying there and he takes his kids back home he punishes them for staying with him by pouring hot water on their feet. Papa is being pressured by the state because of his newspaper. Ade Coker gets captured by soldiers again and tortured. The standard is being raided and shut down. Ade Coker is thereafter killed by the government. Papa beats Kambili and she ends up in the hospital. Kambili goes to Nsukku to stay with her aunt after being released from the hospital. Aunty Ifeoma gets fired and travels to America to teach. Papa beats Mama again and she shows up in Nnukwu. When Mama goes home she starts poisoning Papas tea, in Easter Mama calls and tells them that Papa is dead. Kambilis big brother Jaja takes the blame and goes to jail. Three years later visit Jaja in prison where he has been living under terrible conditions. Jajas lawyers are sure that they will be able to get him released. Kambili is very happy, but Jaja does not seem to believe it himself. She wants to travel and visit Aunty Ifeoma. In the end of the book Kambili says Silence hangs over us now, but it is a different kind of silence. One that lets me breathe. I have nightmares about the other kind, the silence of when Papa was alive. In my nightmares, it mixes with shame and grief and so many other things that I cannot name, and forms blue tongues of fire that rest above my head, like Pentecost, until I wake up screaming and sweating.

Stephen Leacocks Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich :: Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich Essays

Stephen Leacock's Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich    Jonathan Swift has suggested that "Satire is a sort of Glass, wherein Beholders do generally discover every body's Face their own; which is the chief reason...that so few are offended with it."   Richard Garnett suggests that, "Without humour, satire is invictive; without literary form, [and] it is mere clownish jeering." (Encyclopaedia Britannica 14th ed. vol. 20 p. 5). Whereas Swift's statement suggests that people are not offended by satire because readers identify the character's faults with their own faults; Garnett suggests that humour is the key element that does not make satire offensive. With any satire someone is bound to be offended, but the technique the author uses can change something offensive into something embarrassing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stephen Leacock's Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich is a nonthreatening, humorous, and revealing satire of the moral faults of upper class society. The satire acts as a moral instrument to expose the effect money can have on religion, government, and anything within its touch. Writing about such topics is hard to do without offending people. Leacock's technique combines money with humour, and accompanies his moral message with ironic characters; their exaggerated actions, and a constant comical tone to prevent readers from being offended.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leacock's utopian world is filled with humorous labels that represent the "Plutonian's" personalities. "Ourselves Monthly"; a magazine for the modern self-centered, is a Plutonian favourite. To fill their idle days, the Plutonian women are in an endless search for trends in literature and religion. Without the distractions of club luncheons and trying to achieve the "Higher Indifference", the women would have to do something productive. Readers that identify themselves with the class of people the Plutonians represent would be embarrassed rather than offended by Leacock's satirical portrayal of them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "The Yahi-Bahi Oriental Society" exaggerates the stupidity of the Plutonians to a point where the reader laughs at the character's misfortunes. The con men give ridiculous prophecies such as "Many things are yet to happen before others begin." (Leacock 87), and eventually take their money and jewelry. The exaggeration increases the humour while the moral message is displayed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The characters of the novel are ironic in the sence that they percieve themselves as being the pinicle of society, yet Leacock makes the look like fools. For someone who prides themself on being an expert on just about everything, Mr. Lucullus Fyshe's (as slimmy and cold as his name represents) perceptions are proven false. Mr. Fyshe makes hypocratic statments about ruling class tyranny, while barking down the neck of a poor waiter for serving cold asparagus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leacock exposes the whole Plutonian buisness world to be

Policies Introduced in the Past 25 Years Related to Education

Over the past 25 years, different policies have been put in place to influence the education system in different ways. Some sociologist would say that the main aim of these policies were to result in the marketization of the education system. Other sociologist would disagree; they believe that trying to create less inequality was the main intention when It comes to the educational reform. When the New Labour came to power, it seemed that policies they were in favour of were more aimed towards trying to create less inequality of different schools.One policy The New Labour introduced was free places in nurseries, this would ensure children from all backgrounds started educational development early and started to gain skills needed to start school. This would also give working class parents a chance to go out and work whilst their child is at nursery. They also introduced ‘Educational Action Zones’ these areas of deprivation were giving extra funding in order to lessen the inequality between these schools in worse areas to the schools in better areas.This is trying to give people of worse financial areas a better chance to gain access to good schools, and not just be limited to worse performing schools just because they live in a poorer area. They also introduced The EMA award, this was to try and get pupils to stay on in education past ages 16 (college, sixth form, apprenticeships etc. ) because if the pupils parent earned below a certain amount then the child would be entitled to ? 30 a week to help them with any costs that staying on in education may have.Although this may be contradicted by the inequalities that have been put in place by the steep rises in fees for universities, this has meant that working class pupils are at a disadvantage in comparison with the middle class. Previous to this; the conservative government introduced new right policies which are viewed as trying to create a market place out of the education system. They introduced several policies in order to force different schools in to competing with each other; this would then result in schools doing better.They aimed to create a parentocracy, where parents had much more choice when it came to schools for their children, they were able to choose which school they wanted their child to attend, rather than it being dependant on catchment areas like it was previously. This would result in schools upping their standards to gain pupils and ensure that parents would pick their school, funding was changed to be dependent on the amount of pupils a school had. By doing better than ther schools, more pupils would want to attend and result in more funding for the school, benefitting them and then helping them to improve further. Although, in order to rank schools against each other, there would have to be a system in place, so league tables were introduced and schools had to sit SATs and GCSE exams, the results were ranked in the league tables and parents could look through different schools to see where they were placed and pick the best school for their child, much like a market place.OFSTED were also introduced to monitor and inspect schools, they would review the schools standards in several different categories giving a report to be viewed in order to judge the school as a whole and give parents a wider range of data on the schools, giving them more understanding and a better basis to choose which school they would like their child to attend. These policies meant that standards for schools rose as they competed against each other and parents had a greater understanding of schools and had more freedom when it came to choice.On the other hand, it did also create problems, because the better schools got more funding and pupils, the worse schools weren’t able to get the funding they needed to improve which meant the gap between schools achievement became wider as the better schools got better and the worse schools became worse off this created greater inequality. Schools also started to exclude students that would affect their results in the league tables, this also created inequality.These inequalities may have been the reason for the new labour’s aim to wipe out the inequality because there was so much created. Overall, The Conservative party and New Labour both introduced new policies to the education system; the conservative was more aimed towards creating a market in the education system, whilst new labour strived to wipe out inequality in the system and tackle the issue of poverty. Although this being said, the new labour may have created more competition in the system by introducing faith and specialist schools.

Labor Market Research: Calculating Nursing Wages

This paper will explore two of Mankiw’s (2001) â€Å"ten principles of economics† (p. 3) and how these apply to the labor market for nurses. The paper will briefly discuss the two principles: a) â€Å"No. 1 People Face Tradeoffs,† (p. 4-5) and b) â€Å"No. 7 Governments Can Sometimes Improve Market Outcomes† (p. 11). Afterwards, the paper will discuss how the State of New York calculates nursing wages considering the two principles. First, the said discussion will identify the factors that could influence the supply and demand for nurses. Second, it will discuss how a nurse’s pay is determined and how the salary is structured. Third, it will provide recommendations on how the State of New York can increase its supply of nurses. Finally fourth, it will summarize how Mankiw’s two principles basically apply to the labor market for nurses. The two economic principles this paper centers on belong to Nicholas Gregory Mankiw, chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2003 to 2005. Principle No. 1, People Face Tradeoffs, refers to the situation when people have to choose one activity or thing over another (p. 4-5). This principle states that people’s choices affect efficiency and equity (p. 5). Mankiw defines efficiency as: â€Å"how huge the pie people create† or essentially the wealth that a society produces while equity is â€Å"how the pie is divided† or the redistribution of the wealth that the society has created (p. 5). Meanwhile Principle No. 7, Governments Can Sometimes Improve Market Outcomes, refers to the imperfect actions of government to manage a society’s efficiency and equity (p. 11). Government actions can result to market failure due to externalities and market power (p. 11). On one hand, externalities can either be good or bad (p. 11). It refers to the unintended results of a particular action in pursuing a certain purpose (p. 11). On the other hand, market power refers to the influence of a person, sector, or society due to limited supply or great demand on a particular thing or service (p. 11). Speaking of service, this paper will next explore the nursing service in the state of New York, then in the entire U.S.A. Brewer and Kovner (2000) identified several factors that influence the supply for nurses in New York. According to the two authors, the factors that affect supply are: a) â€Å"negative real wage growth from 1989 to 1996†; b) decreasing â€Å"admissions and enrollments in nursing programs†; c) â€Å"decrease in licensed nurses†; and d) â€Å"aging and retirement of registered nurses or RNs.† Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2003) identified the following factors that influence the â€Å"continuing decline of nursing graduates† nationwide: a) â€Å"increasing professional opportunities for women outside nursing†; b) â€Å"stagnant pay and more onerous working conditions for many in nursing†; and c) â€Å"a decline in pubic perception of the attractiveness of the nursing profession.† For the demand-side, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services noted that: â€Å"The U.S. Census Bureau projects a rapid increase in the elderly population starting around 2010 when the leading edge of the baby boom generation approaches age 65.† Hence, the department concludes: â€Å"†¦the rapid growth in demand for nursing services is especially pronounced for long-term care settings that predominantly provide care to the elderly.† Next in the discussion are: a) how a nurse’s pay is determined, and b) how the salary is structured. Brewer and Kovner (2000) pointed out that: â€Å"Hospitals are having significant difficulty financially due to the Balanced Budget Act and state legislation.†Ã‚   The authors also concluded: â€Å"Funding changes that effect hospital financial viability will significantly influence the balance of supply and demand.† Moreover, Brewer and Kovner (2000) observed and opined: â€Å"Current shortages are relatively localized and moderate in severity, and if hospitals achieve sufficient financial relief politically they may abate.† With these evidences, government essentially determines a nurse’s pay. As for how RN salaries are structured, Brewer and Kovner (2000) suggested that: a) great demand versus limited supply; b) experience; c) specialized skills; and d) regional demand variations led to: â€Å"1) ease with which new graduates are finding employment; 2) organizations offering sign-on bonuses; 3) anecdotal and news reports; 4) focus group reports, and 5) surveys of employers which indicate difficulty hiring RNs.† The said factors essentially determine how RN salaries are structured. Thirdly, due to the factors previously identified and discussed, this paper recommends that the State of New York increase its supply of nurses thru: a) recruitment of RNs from abroad, and b) encouragement of retirement homes abroad in countries with sufficient supply of RNs that are acceptable to the U.S. or those that can comply with U.S. standards. Finally, this paper notes that Mankiw’s first and seventh principles have a profound effect on the supply and demand of nurses, RN pay, and RN salary structures. One, based on the data previously discussed, the U.S. shortage in RNs could be attributed to two major factors: a) State legislation and the Federal government’s Balanced Budget Act which essentially reduced the RN supply, and b) the retirement of baby boomers and their great demand for health care. Note that both factors relate to government policies or decisions. Specifically, Roosevelt’s New Deal triggered the baby boom generation while Reagan pushed for the Balanced Budget Act. Two, due to the said government policies which were intended to manage efficiency and equity, the U.S. DHHS observed that people made choices that affected the supply and demand for nurses. This trend shows how positive and negative externalities came into play and determined the current market power of RNs. References Brewer, C.S. & Kovner, C. (2000). â€Å"Abstract: An Evaluation of the Supply and Demand of Registered Nurses in New York State.† Gateway, National Library of Medicine. Retrieved July 14, 2007 Mankiw, G. (2001). â€Å"Ten Principles of Economics.† Principles of Microeconomics Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers. pp. 3-15. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2003). â€Å"What is Behind HRSA’s Projected Supply, Demand, and Shortage of Registered Nurses?† Health Resources and Services Administration. Retrieved July 14, 2007