The Appealing Nature of Formulating and Practical Strategies Personal Statement - 3

The Appealing Nature of Formulating and Practical Strategies - Personal Statement Example My profound interest in Business and economics dates back to my teenage years. My father was an Economists. In the course of trying to understand his field of work, I was fascinated by the complex security exchange trading systems in which he spotlighted on. Also, I was fascinated by intricate economic platforms such as online investment hedge funds that were coming up at the time. Owing to my fascination with the subject, Economics as a discipline will equip me with adequate knowledge to master market functionality and enable me to develop skills inherent in my personal endeavors in the business world. The problem-solving aspect of effective management strategies further triggers my concealed curiosity in this course. I have gained a lot from my involvement in various student supporting programs. During my final year in intermediate school, I was fortunate enough to secure an internship at a giant high-tech company in China last summer. All through my internship period, I served in both finance and administration departments. The opportunity provided me with a chance to understand how various systems work together within an organization to effectively enhance its overall performance. My attention climaxed during my field days where I got an opportunity to carry out financial modeling with some experts in the field. I was able to familiarize with policy formulation, an essential component of any institution. My school is described best as welcoming as its environment enabled me to participate actively in all school activities, and I also organized and participated in various functions. As a part of the student council, I represented my faculty in most recreational and sporting activities. I was a member of the school track team and during that period, I managed to secure several trophies.

Management and Keller Essay Example for Free

Management and Keller Essay The centre of the case is a problem between tow management member, Wolfgang Keller (managing director) and Dimitri Brodsky (commercial director). Keller is superior of Dimitri and he he’s not satisfied with Dimitri’s performance since he joined the company two years ago. Keller now is considering three options: firing Brodsky, helping him to improve his performance or reorganizing the company around Brodsky by splitting marketing and sales. Wolfgang Keller is 34 years old. He studied at Harward and University of Cologne. His first job was at a Gemran food manufacturer firm. First, he was a strategic planner there, but soon he became a general manager at an Ukrainian subsidiary and after he got promoted to be a general manager at a German subsidiary. He achieved his first big successes there and gained reputation in his profession. After 2 years he switched to the Ukrainean subsidiary of Kà ¶nigsbrau, a beer amnufacturer, as managing director. There he also made success by increasing the subsidiary’s earnings to â‚ ¬7 million per year. He made significant changes through restructuring the marketing strategy and hiring new top-management group. The top-management in Munich was also impressed by his activity. Recently, Keller spent two month in Brazil to manage a start-up joint venture. Kà ¶nigsbrau’s Ukrainean subsidiary was founded 12 years before Kà ¶nigsburg aquired it. After, a man named Vladimir Antonov took the title of chaiman. Keller could get his job, because his predecessor had bad relationship with Antonov, so he was transfered back to Germany. Keller’s relationship with Antonov is good, but Antonov misses being involved into daily operations. The strategy of the company is to consolidate and strenghten the company’s distributors by offering heavy support. The strategy also includes heavy advertising, quality services and high margins. In the Ukrainian liqueur market personal relationships and trust between the company and distributors is essential. Another challange is converting people from vodka and cheap beers towards premium beers. Keller’s intention was to strenhgten relationships and create personal contacts with the distributors. Dimitri Brodsky is 10 years older than Keller and he has a very different personality. He is a cultivated and intellectual person. Before this firm he was a commercial director at a Ukrainian subsidiary of a US toiletries firm, but he also has experience from the United States and France. He was hired to balance the young  managers at Kà ¶nigsbrau. He has a good but distant relationship with Antonov. The problem between Brodsky and Keller is the very different uptake about how to handle the employees and the business partners. Keller prefers closer relationship with the employees, because he thinks this helps them to be more loyal and enthusiastic. Furthermore, he doens’t avoid personal topics. With the costumers and partners he encourages the same attitude, because he thinks it’s very important and essential for a business relationship. Brodsky, on the contrary, prefers formality and distance. He also beleives in separation between the pesonal and professional life and he deals with the employees and costumers this way. The source of problem between h im and Keller is this different attitude. Keller thinks that Brodsky is just reluctant to take care of everyday business. However, Keller seems inpatient and action-oriented from Brodsky’s angle.

Analysing The Fostering Industry Social Work Essay

Analysing The Fostering Industry Social Work Essay The Competitor analysis consists of finding out how other firms compete with fostering solutions in the market. What they are doing or providing that make them different from fostering solutions and how fostering solutions can improve upon to become a more efficient, much more profitable and recruit more foster carers. This has been done by understanding the current situation of the fostering industry, the challenges its facing. Also the role the local authority plays in fostering industry and finding where the demand exists across UK. After this the competitors are assessed have been assessed on turnover, profit margin, ofsted ratings, location, services provided, placements provided and foster carer allowance paid. This gives an idea as to how these firms compete directly with fostering solutions in the industry. Competitor analysis The fostering industry is going through a phase of challenges. There is a shortage of over 10000 foster care families in UK. Because of this local authorities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are forced to make placement of children with respect to available vacancy rather than meeting best needs of child.(fosteringnet,2010)Accurate information on the number of foster carers in each country and number of foster carers recruited by each independent agency is less readily available, but statistics compiled by the fostering network for England by Ofsted suggest that there has been an increase in number of foster carers by 12.6% since 2004. However the growth was only 7.2% in England whereas it was up by 60% in Wales. (updatecostfostercare, 2010) A report from researchers at Loughborough Universitys Centre for Child and Family Research (CCFR) and leading charity the Fostering Network has identified a shortfall in funding for foster care in the UK.  The Cost of Foster Ca re, a report published about the fostering industry analysis, shows that fostering industry is an underfunded service, with a need of around  £580 million across the UK immediately to develop a efficiently resourced fostering service that fulfils the needs of children in care.(lough,2010) Following the Governments decision to assert the local authorities more flexibility on making savings, the Fostering Network is of the belief that any reduction in spending on foster care would make the system ineffective, unsustainable and hinder the improvements made in outcomes for children. It warns funding for foster care must be maintained otherwise societys most vulnerable children will suffer. Fostering is under immense pressure due to year-on-year increases in the number of children coming into care and the chronic shortage of 10,000 foster carers. (bbc,2010) Statistics on looked after children There are over 83,000 children and young people looked after in the United Kingom. Out of these children, around 70,000 are looked after away from home, over 54,000 of whom (around 77 per cent) live with at least 45,000 foster families.(fosteringnet1, 2010) Statistics by nation The statistics below provide a picture of the care system on just one day of the year. Many more children and young people move in and out of public care over the course of 12 months. England As of 31 March 2009 60,900  children have been looked after. Over  three fourths  of children are being looked after away from home (44,200 or 78 per cent) were living with foster carers. It is estimated that in England there are at least  37,000 foster families.   An estimate by the fostering network shows a shortage of at least 8200 foster carer families. (fosteringnet1, 2010) Northern Ireland As of 31 March 2009 2463 children have been looked after. Around sixty six percent  of children looked after away from home (1,607 or 65 per cent) were  living with foster carer families. It is estimated that in the Northern Ireland there are approximately  1,800 approved foster families  of which 450 are family and friends carers. An estimate by the Fostering Network shows a  shortage  of around 200 long-term foster families.(fosteringnet1, 2010) Scotland As of March 2009 around  15,288  children are looked after by local authorities in Scotland out of which  around 6,366  are children looked after away from home and their family. Over  two thirds  of children being looked after away from home and their family (4,497 or 71 per cent) were living with foster carer families. There are approximately  3,300  foster families  in Scotland. An estimate by the Fostering Network shows there is a  shortage  of at least  1,700 foster families.(fosteringnet1, 2010) Wales As of 31 March 2009 around 4,705  children looked after. Over  four fifths  of children looked after away from home (3,630 or 86 per cent) were living with foster carers. Approximately 3000 foster families are there in Wales. An estimate by the Fostering Network shows there is a  shortage  of at least  750 foster families in Wales. (fosteringnet1, 2010) Demand Local authorities were asked how many foster families they would have to recruit in order to offer placement choice to the children in their care. Placement choice means having a sufficiently wide pool of foster families so that each child can live with a family that meets their individual needs.(fosteringnet2, 2010) England  8,200 of which North West 1,700 North East 1,300 West Midlands 650 East Midlands 450 East 650 South West 600 South East 850 London 2,000 Northern Ireland  200 (updated in March 2009) Scotland  1,700 (May 2005 figure) Wales  750 (fosteringnet2, 2010) There is maximum demand for foster carers in London and North West of England. Research by the Fostering Network also found 82% of local authorities saw a rise in the number of children coming into care and needing foster homes in 2009-10. (bbc, 2010) Local authority as a competitor When a porters 5 forces model is developed, the local authority is a supplier, buyer as well as a competitor in this industry. The local authority buy the service of the fostering agency, they supply the children for placement to the fostering agencies and they also place children on their own hence they are a competitor. Comparison of Approved foster carers in year 2008-2009 between Local authorities and Independent Fostering agencies Local Authority Independent agencies Total number of foster carers approved 3423 2088 Total number of foster carers held as 23195 9893 on 31 march 2009 Comparison of placements provided between Local authorities and Independent fostering agencies in year 2008-2009 Total number of long term placement 6146 3758 Total number of continuing care placement 1655 1149 Total number of time limited placement 12879 4877 Total number of emergency care placement 824 2013 Total number of intensive fostering placements 1016 874 Total number of treatment care placements 86 150 Total number of short break for disabled children 2876 398 Total number of short break for non disabled children 534 50 (fostering agencies and fostering services dataset,2010 ) The local authority has placed more children in the 2008-2009 period as compared to the independent fostering agencies and are therefore identified as one of the bigger threats to fostering solutions along with the top two fostering agencies Foster care associates and National foster association. On discussion with Michelle about this we came to a conclusion that the reason could be that local authorities do not strive for the inspection quality in their approval process that the independent agencies might be doing. And this was found out to be true when we chose 6 local authorities in random and checked their ofsted ratings. None of whom had outstanding ratings, 2 had satisfactory and 4 had good. (refer to appendix c1) Number of applications from prospective fostering households received Local Authority 7253 Independent agencies- 6607 The statistics show that even though the independent fostering agencies are providing better allowances the prospective foster carers prefer the local authority to independent fostering agencies. The reason here could be because local authorities are key authority in placing children to the foster carers. Hence the myth that if foster carers join the local authority fostering they could get children placed quicker with them. How many foster carers successfully completed the Childrens Development Workforce Councils certificate in Training, Support and development Standards for Foster Care? Local authority- 825 Independent fostering agencies- 529 (fostering agencies and fostering services dataset,2010 ) Local authorities are thus a serious competitor(substitute) for the independent fostering agencies. Competitor analysis-company reports The fostering industry is going through a challenge to recruit foster carers to look after children who are in abundance. In the fostering business agencies recruit foster carers, who are when placed with children or young people get paid for the placement from the local authority. In consultation with fostering solutions we have identified the top 9 independent fostering agencies who directly compete with fostering solutions in the industry. Foster care Associates National Fostering Agency Orange Grove SWIIS Pathways Barnardos Capstone Fostercare TACT By the Bridge Fostering In the Appendix C2 shows the turnover, profit margin, ofsted ratings, foster carer allowance paid comparison of the 9 competitors. Below is a detailed report on each of 9 fostering companies in terms of location, ofsted ratings, services provided, placements provided, number of employees and foster carer allowance paid. By doing so we can find out how each of these companies compete with Fostering solutions in the industry. After each company report we look at a findings/strategy/comparison section to emphasize how they compete in the industry and vs fostering solutions. Due to word limit a detailed analysis of services comparison is provided in the appendix. (refer appendix m3) Foster Care Associates Over 80 Offices in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. (fca1, 2010) Part of Core assets group. The Core Assets Group of Companies provides an international portfolio of social care services, offering innovative business solutions to the care sector. Foster care associates has subsidiaries in UK. Fostering First (Ireland ) Limited Fostering people Limited Outcomes (UK) Limited Fostering First International, a sister company  to Foster Care Associates Ltd, is  currently  located in 7 different countries:  Republic of Ireland,  Finland,  Sweden, Germany,  Australia,  New Zealand  and  Canada. (fcacorp, 2010) Services provided to foster carers(fca2, 2010) They provide a Respite of up to 21 nights per year. They avail the service of a Therapist They hold Regular group meetings held at local fca office They give Membership to foster talk They arrange for Organised activities They hold Foster care training program They provide for Children and young people support workers Placements provided(fca3, 2010) Emergency Short term Long term Respite Parent and child placement Placement for sanctuary seeking children and young people Placement for disabled children Short term breaks OFSTED ratings (ofsted,2010) 2 Outstanding and 7 good Foster carer allowance- 390 Pounds / Week (fca4, 2010) Financial data( FAME) th gbp 2008(data available only for financial year end 2008 Turnover 119612 Profit before taxation 10074 Number of employees 871 Key Issues and Facts(fca5,2010) 2400 children placed as of December 2009. Highest number of placements across all IFAs in the UK.(fca5,2010) Foster carer recruited in year of 2009 above 360 . 94% of local authorities present in England have partnered with them. They claim 66% of the Scottish Local authorities work as partners with them. They claim 95% of the local authorities present in Wales work as partners with them. They claim that 100% of Northern Ireland local authorities work in partnership with them. (fca6, 2010) Findings/Strategy/Comparison FCA have presence internationally whereas fostering solutions is based only in UK. Therefore having presence internationally could be a benefit to FCA over fostering solutions. There is a credibility, brand image and recognition that comes with being present in multiple countries. FCA has presence in North Ireland whereas fostering solutions has no office/branch in Northern Ireland. FCA have a monopoly in Northern Ireland as none of the 8 competitors and fostering solutions do not have an office there. *Turnover is the highest, but profit margin is not may be because the cost is also high. We assume that it could be because it maintains high cost to maintain quality and good service. *financial data of 31-12-2008 only was available for FCA. Thomson research database showed inconclusive data of FCA having round about same turnover for 2009. Services Therapist available for consultation for Fca, whereas Fostering solutions has no mention of providing such a service in their brochure.   Supporting foster carers in negotiating with schools and promoting the childs educational needs, no mention of providing such a service in their brochure. 21 days paid respite per year vs 2 weeks paid respite provided by fostering solutions FCA provides placement for disabled children which fostering solutions do not provide. On consulting with Michelle she highlighted the costs associated with providing such a service and the specialised staff that would be required. In addition to this she added that placement of disabled children is only a small number. Nonetheless its a way in which foster care associates are competing with fostering solutions since they have the staff and specialisation to provide the placement even if its for a small number of placements. Location Their major strengths are their presence in various locations across UK, with over 40 offices. They claim you are never more than 40 miles from an FCA office and their relationship with local authorities as highlighted above, since its the local authorities who are going to give them the placement for their foster carers. People prefer companies/agencies that are local in their presence in the fostering industry. Therefore FCA promotes themselves locally to be able to recruit foster carers efficiently. National fostering agency They are located at Cardiff, Lowestoft and Stirling with Head Office at Uxbridge.(nfa1, 2010) Services provided (nfa2, 2010) The national fostering agency believes that fostering is a service which is to be provided at a local level to be a successful fostering agency. They pride themselves in believing they provide a fostering service with local care and support along with national expertise. Most of the centralised functions occur through their head and regional offices, the key job involving high quality placements for children remains with the local foster carer. The National Fostering Agency claim the foster carers are supported on a 24 hour basis by local professionally qualified and experienced Supervising Social workers. The foster carers are provided support from a professionally qualified social worker They provide a 24 hour telephone advice and support to the foster carers. The provide one monthly visit and a weekly telephone call There are various training and development opportunities They provide foster carers the opportunity to meet with other foster carers at support groups The foster carers are given good financial support for caring for the child They provide membership of the Fostering Network to the foster carers. They provide good legal protection insurance The foster carers are provided regular foster carers news and information. Placements provided (nfa3, 2010) Emergency Placements Task Centred Placements Parent Child Placements Bridging Placement Long Term Placements Foster carer allowance 366 pounds GBP PW(nfa4, 2010) Financial Data FAME database th Gbp 2009 Turnover 43122 Profit before taxation 6623 Number of employees 171 OFSTED Ratings(ofsted, 2010) 2 good Findings/Strategy/Comparison When compared with fostering solutions NFA more or less provide the same range of basic services to foster carers. They have just 4 offices across the UK but their turnover and profit margin is more than fostering solutions. (appendix c2). Their way of operating is, all referrals for placements throughout the UK are managed by four teams located in their offices at Lowestoft, Uxbridge, Cardiff and Stirling. They work in close ties with the regional social workers and thus manage to provide efficient placements. Inspite of being present in only 4 locations their method of working closely with regional social worker staff gives them a local presence. NFA have an interesting strategy to recruit foster carers. They have advertised on job search websites such as reed and jobsite for foster carer recruitment. This strategy has been followed by a number of companies though fostering solutions have not used this method of recruiting foster carers.(reed, 2010) SWIIS Foster care Location ( sw1,2010) SWIIS Foster Care was formed in the year 2000 as an Independent Fostering Provider within the already successful SWIIS group of social care related companies. They have their Head office in London with 6 more offices/branches in England and 4 offices/branches in Scotland. Services provided (sw2,sw3, 2010) SWIIS is dedicated to creating the best opportunities for children and young people in foster care: They believe in creating the best outcomes for children and young people in foster care. They provide a comprehensive package of social work, education and health They work in close relations with placing authority social workers, local education, health and therapy providers They provide each child or young person with a care package that addresses all of their needs They claim to offer the best value for children, carers and placing authorities alike They claim to work with local authorities to help them meet required Performance Indicators They claim their placements provide demonstrable positive indicators of improvement for young people in the five key outcome areas namely being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being They provide all the approved SWIIS foster carers extensive pre and post approval training including the opportunity to take relevant social care training modules and NVQ programmes with the priority being given to issues such as Safer Caring and Managing Challenging Behaviour Health(sw3, 2010) They provide designated health professionals to support children for their health and is an outstanding provision in this area. Education They make sure every effort is taken to ensure children and young people can reach to their potential in education by dedicated staff. There are efficient resources in place to support the children with their education. Types of Placements available (sw4, 2010) short term placements longer term. bridging placements respite placements placements provided for all age groups which includes higher aged teenagers, sibling groups and disabled children. short notice unplanned placements provided. Foster carer allowance 400-580 £ PW- best in the industry.(sw5,2010) Financial Data th GBP 2009 Turnover 13362 Profit before taxation 1074 Profit margin 8.04% Number of employees 81 OFSTED ratings(ofsted- sw, 2010) 2 outstanding 3 good and 1 satisfactory Findings/Strategy/Comparison There is a designated education officer to help children with studies, no mention of any such service in fostering solutions brochure. There is a designated health officer to advice foster carers on health issues for the children, no mention of any such service in fostering solutions brochure. They provide the best financial package of all the fostering companies with 400 580ppw. This could mean since they provide the foster carer a high allowance, they could be charging the local authority a high amount. There is lack of data available regarding charges to local authority by independent agencies and children placed. By looking at their turnover and profit margin we can see that they have done well and ranked sixth in the turnover/profit margin index. This means they have been placing children from local authority to the foster carers.(refer to appendix c1 or above for turnover/profit margin) They have the specialisation and staff to provide placement for children with disabilities provided, whereas as we have already looked above fostering solutions do not. By The Bridge Fostering They have branches/offices at Sittingbourne, Kent, Regional offices in Essex and Warwickshire and West London. (bythebridge1, 2010) OFSTED Rating 1 Only one ofsted report was found at ofsted inspection reports. Outstanding (ofstedbythebridge, 2010) They achieved iso 9001 accreditation in 2009 Advertising board deal with crystal palace football club- Marketing strategy to increase its brand awareness and reputation. (bythebridge2, 2010) Therapeutic Fostering The by the bridge foster carers are committed and have a unique opportunity to enrol into a degree certificate in therapeutic fostering from the University of Greenwich. (bythebridge3, 2010) Financial data th GBP 2009 Turnover 10132 Profit before taxation 2451 Profit margin 24.19% Number of employees 40 Findings/Strategy/Comparison By the Bridge fostering is a small agency with just 40 employees, but they have higher profit before taxation than fostering solutions. This could be due to lesser administration overheads due to its small size. They are recruiting in East, South east, London and Midlands region.(refer to appendix c2) Its key to note that by the bridge fostering has the best profit margin of all the 10 agencies.( refer to appendix,c1) The foster carers are committed to a degree in therapeutic fostering. Thus they have an added incentive of becoming a foster carer as well as a chance to earn a degree certificate in therapeutic fostering. This could be a major attraction to foster carers in joining by the bridge fostering. This unique certificate in therapeutic fostering is provided which is a one year course covering transactional analysis theories combined with social work ideas to help understand what children and others do what they do and how can they be helped, no such service provided by fostering solutions. Orange Grove Location (og1, 2010) The Orange Grove fostering agency was taken over by Hillcrest foster care to operate under the Orange Grove Fostercare. They have 10 Offices in England. Types of placement available(og2, 2010) Teenagers Sibling groups Parent and baby for young people chance to become a parent Special needs Unaccompanied asylum seeking young people Solo placements Services provided to foster carers(og3, 2010) They provide a minimum of 12 supervision visits by a local Social Worker They provide additional support visits on a needs-led basis by our approved Social Workers or Family Support Workers There is a minimum of 1 unannounced visit per annum There is provision for 1 independently-led annual review per annum They provide Psychological support on a needs-led basis plus additional support groups/surgeries as required They provide Out of hours 365/24/7 on-call support service by local social work staff They provide 14 nights of respite They offer Retainer payments (subject to qualifying criteria)*** There is a monthly carer support meeting The agency will endeavour, with the help and support of carers, to ensure that all carers have a Schedule 3 Respite Carer in place*** They provide a published programme of regular training They provide training in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (Fostering)/Management of Aggression with regular follow-up training They provide birthday, Festival and Holiday allowances at The Fostering Network rates There is a target of 4 regional activities per office for carers and children, e.g. Pantomime, Theme Parks, BBQs, etc They provide a weekend break for birth children They provide an independent Childrens Helpline to foster children and birth children They provide an Independent allegation support service Their Social Workers attend at all meetings, conferences, reviews, etc They provide Educational support There is an annual carer conference. Hillcrest ( Orangegrove ) Financial data th gbp 2008 Turnover 23993 Profit before taxation 1906 Profit margin 7.94 Number of employees 526 (FAME,2010) to be done referencing Foster carer allowance 320-461ppw (og4, 2010) OFSTED ratings(ofsted-og, 2010) 4 good 1 satisfactory Findings/Strategy/Comparison Services Target of 4 regional activities per office for carers and children, e.g. Pantomime, Theme Parks, BBQs, etc, no mention of providing such a service by fostering solutions in their brochure. -Training in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Birthday, Festival and Holiday allowances at the Fostering Network rates, Independent Childrens Helpline for foster children and birth children -Independent allegation support service, no mention of providing such a service by fostering solutions in their brochure. Strategy- orange grove provide a combination of an array of services to foster carers with an upper limit of allowance of 461ppw as compared to 390 being upper limit paid by fostering solutions. They are a strong competitor as they match with fostering solutions on services provided and also pay a competitive allowance whose upper limit is higher than fostering solutions. Barnardos Wide coverage in UK with presence in London, Yorkshire, Midlands, North West, Scotland, Cymru, Northern Ireland. (barnardos,2010) Fundraising Fostering and adoption Research and influencing practice Barnardos have more than around 100 years of experienced in the fostering industry. They have above 30 services recruiting a variety of carers across the United Kingdom. (barnardos, 2010) What facilities they give the foster carers They provide on-going relevant/specialist training They provide 24-hour advice and back-up They provide regular supervision from their friendly team Provision of a generous fee and allowance They provide careful and considered matching with a child They provide the opportunity to lead the way in setting the highest standards for children and young people in foster care. placements provided (baplacements, 2010) -permanent and long term -bridging placement -short term -emergency -parent and child Foster carer allowance- 100-200ppw (cypnow,2010) Current and future strategies and objectives making barnardos influencing work more effective looking to improve the extent to which lessons learnt from its work on the ground leaed to better outcomes for disadvantaged children. Brand and image enhancement- it recognises it needs to be better at explaining to the public exactly how it works and what it stands for so that it can generate more support for its influencing work- Believe in Children- Strap line. Implementing refreshed strategies for participation and volunteering. Increasing net return from fundraising Improving cost effectiveness of support functions both at head office and locally. Loss before taxation -27358 Profit margin Number of employees 7085 OFSTED RATINGS(ofsted-ba, 2010) 2 outstanding 8 good Findings/Strategy/Comparison They compete as a reputed company with 100 years experience in fostering. Its a charity organisation in existence for a long time with presence in number of countries. They do fostering also as a part of helping children and young people. Prospective foster carers might be attracted to foster with barnardos due to its brand name and reputation which could get them a placement quickly. They pay lower allowance to foster carers than any other company which means they might be charging the local authority less than any other independent agency. They being a charity organisation, the prospective foster carers could feel a sense of social cause attachment to the organisation and could be a big plus for an agency like barnardos. Capstone fostercare Locations 7 offices at Birmingham, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Somerset, Kent and London. (cap1, 2010) Services provided (cap2, 2010) All those preparing to become foster carers will attend two days of Skills to Foster training followed by one day of CWDC Workshop training. This gives a detailed picture of what fostering is about and looks more closely at developing the skills and kno

Mary Shelley :: essays research papers

The year is 1797 and Mary Wollstonecraft gives birth to a baby girl on August 30. A baby girl soon to be known as Mary Shelley. Mary Shelley was a prominent literary figure during the Romantic Era of English Literature. She was the only child of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. From infancy Mary was treated as a unique individual. William Godwin believed that babies were born with potential waiting to be developed (Poetry for Students, 337). Therefore, surrounded Mary with famous philosophers, writers, and poets, from an early age. At the age of sixteen Mary ran away to live with the twenty-one year old Percy Shelley (337). There was only one problem though, Percy was married.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in the summer of 1816, staying at Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Mary was only nineteen at the4 time. She wrote the novel while being overwhelmed by a series of difficulties in her life. The worst of these were the suicides of her half-sister, Fanny Imlay, and Percy Shelley’s wife, Harriet (Student Handbook, 190). After these deaths Mary and Percy married. Fierce public hostility toward the couple drove them to Italy. Eventually they were happy in Italy, but their two children William and Clara Shelley died there. Mary never really recovered from their deaths. However, Percy empowered Mary to live as she most desired. In 1822 Percy drowned in a boating accident, leaving Mary penniless. For her remaining years she worked as a professional writer to support her father and son. She died in 1851 of a brain tumor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mary Shelley combined the ethical concerns of her parents with the Romantic sensibilities of Percy Shelley’s poetic inclinations. Her father’s concern for the underprivileged influenced her description of the poverty-stricken De Lacey family. Mary’s choice of a Gothic novel made her unique in her family and secured her authorial place in the Romantic period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Romantics believed that the creative imagination reveals nobler truths, unique feelings and attitudes than those that could be discovered by logic or by scientific examination. Mary Shelley showed this in her book Frankenstein. She expressed how she felt and all she was going through in different parts of Frankenstein.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frankenstein reflected Mary Shelley’s deepest fears and insecurities, like her inability to prevent her children’s deaths, her distressed marriage to a man who showed no pity for his daughters’ deaths, and her feelings of inadequacy as a writer.

Stress and how to reduce it

Nowadays, more and more people are concerned about dealing with stress effectively. Stress is defined as a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life or work. Stress is also a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, nervous, or anxious. What makes people stress? There are many common causes of stress, such as major life changes, Jobless, relationship difficulties, financial problems,†¦ c. In my opinion, stress is caused by the follwing reasons. Firstly, as we know that modern life is full of deadlines, and demands so you usually try to obtain everything. For example, in order to reach a higher position in career or to earn more and more money, you pay more hours in a day and more days in a week for work. The above demands and targets make you feel pressured. Secondly, life of modern people, especially life of thos e who live in big cities is built by a large number of plans and schedules.It is ery well if everything happens smoothly. But in fact, your arranged plans or schedules do not happen as what you expect. Therefore, you may immediatly fall into the status of stress. There are many ways to reduce stress. It depends on the manner that you choose. Firstly, let's start a new day in full of energy by a meditation exercise. Research suggests that daily meditation may alter the brain's neural pathways, making you more resilient to stress. A few minutes of practice per day can help ease anxiety. Secondly, let breathe deeply.Give yourself 5 – minute break from whatever is bothering you and focus instead on your breathing . Thirdly, pause thinking about work in a few minutes, sit down and have breakfast with your tiny family or your collegues. Talking some funny stories to others is the great way to reduce stress. Finally, let you be in present. You rush through dinner, hurry to your next appointment, race to finish one more thing on your agenda. Now try something different: Slow down. Take 5 minutes and focus on only one behavior with awareness.Notice how the air feels on your face when you're walking and how your fit feels hitting the ground. Enjoy the texture and taste of each bite of food as you slowly chew. When you spend time in the moment and focus on your senses, step by step, you can feel the tension leave your body. Totally speaking, stress is not good for our life. the method of reducing stress is various. You should choose the ways which is suitable with you and make you feel leisured. Stress and how to reduce it.

Psychological Perspectives

In this assignment I will be explaining the principal psychological perspectives. I will explain the different psychological approaches to health and social practice and assessing the different psychological approaches to study. Psychology is the focus on different subjects such as the human development, social behaviour and cognitive processes. There are different approaches that have been developed in order to explain the psychology. These perspective or approaches include the behaviourist, social learning, psychodynamic, humanistic, and cognitive and the biological perspectives.These perspectives focus on trying to explain human development by focusing on how people learn and develop. Also the perspectives explain how an individual’s behaviour can be influenced by ones childhood (notes). The behaviourist approach focuses on how people are influenced by the environment and the behaviour of an individual is learnt from the environment. As psychology is a scientific study, beh aviorist, as a psychological perspective it obtains its evidence. The behaviorist approach uses scientific studies as they can be objectively measured.This perspective does not believe in what people say but believes in how the environment determines behavior. The behaviorist perspective as a scientific study it observe behavior relating to the basis that behavior can be reduced to learned stimulus-response units. The behaviourist approach includes two theories of learning. These theories of learning include the classical and operant conditioning. These theories explain how people learn from the environment (www. simplypsychology. org). The classical condition is was a theory which was developed by a Russian physiologist by the name of Ivan Pavlov.The classical conditioning theory is a learning process that occurs when there is a link/association between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. As classical conditioning involves a stimulus and a natural occurrin g stimulus. He used the dog experiment in order to back up his theory. Pavlov used the digestive research of the dog in order to back up his theory. The observation of the experiment suggested that salivation was a learned response. Dogs normally salivate when the see food, however Pavlov was intrigued and interested to see why dogs started to salivate when they see people who normally feed them.For him to reach to a conclusion he set up the dog experiment. In order to show that salivation was a learned response his experiment is as explained. (www. niu. edu) When it was time for the Pavlov assistant to feed the dogs, they would ring a bell. The amount of the saliva was measure. The assistant did this a couple of times to make sure that the dog was used to the routine. After the trials, Pavlov then rang the bell without showing the food and the result was that the dog had salivated the same way when it saw the food. The classical conditioning procedure Food was considered as the sti mulus or in other words the unconditioned stimulus. This stimulus caused the response to happen naturally. * The dog salivated when it saw the food. When this happened it was considered as an unconditioned response. This response happened naturally. * When the bell was rung the dog would salivate. This happened because that the production of saliva was there because the bell was associated with the presenting of food. This is a conditioned stimulus * The salivation is a conditioned response because the dog is reacting to the thought that the bell is associated with food. www. niu. edu) Then operant conditioning is a theory that was developed by an American psychologist called Burrhus Fredic Skinner. His experiment was based on his experiment on rats and pigeons. He developed a well-known device caused the Skinners Box. The operant conditioning looks at ones actions and its consequences. The operant conditioning was based on two types of reinforcement, the positive and negative reinf orcement. His experiment showed positive and negative reinforcement through his experiment. He did this by putting a rat in his famous box (www. sychology. uiowa. edu). The rat that he placed in the box was meant to be hungry. The rat would sniff around in order to familiarise itself with the environment while doing this the rat will, accidentally press the lever and a food pellet will be released. When the rat had done this frequently it would learn that when the lever is pressed food would be releases. The food pellet was a positive reinforcement (www. psychology. uiowa. edu). In order to show the negative reinforcement side of the experiment, Skinner placed an electric current on the floor of the box.A rat is placed in a cage and immediately receives a mild electrical shock on its feet. The shock is a negative condition for the rat. The rat presses a bar and the shock stops. The rat receives another shock, presses the bar again, and again the shock stops. The shock was a negative reinforcement (www. psychology. uiowa. edu). (P2) Classical conditioning can be used in health practice. For example, a patient receives a, a certain injection frequently maybe for example 3 times a week. The injections are administered in a very small room every session. The drug causes increased heart rate.However, after certain trips to the hospital, being in a small room make cause the persons heart rate. Referring to the classical conditioning this is how the theory works: * The drug is the unconditioned stimulus. * The accelerated heart rate is the unconditioned response. * The small room is the conditioned stimulus. * The accelerated heart rate to the room is the condition response. (P3) Operant conditioning can be used in social practice. At a nursery operant condition can be used when dealing with children’s behaviour. When a child hits another child they are given time out which is negative reinforcement.When a child plays nicely with other and tidies up after play time they will receive a golden star. This is positive reinforcement. (M1) The behaviourist has been successful due to the methods it has used to explain people’s behaviour. The scientific experiments that have been used to study people’s behaviour tend to be very reliable due to the evidence that they end up with being based on facts. However, this approach is it does not considered mental processes that can affect an individual’s behaviour. This perspective only focuses on how people learn form their own experience.People like Bandura who introduce social learning approach disagree with this perspective as he believes that people can learn from observing and learning other people’s behaviour and experiences. Furthermore, studies of a wide range of human behaviours have shown that classical and operant conditioning cannot adequately explain how people are able to solve problems without the extended period of trial and error that behaviourism would say i s necessary. These findings imply that mental processes must play a part in explaining much human behaviour www. psychlotron. org. uk). The approach has been successful in explaining learning as it has provided a practical experiment which has shown results that are valid. This perspective has seemed to be working when dealing with people’s behaviour. For example, the operant conditioning is very effective as children are aware that when they do something good they are given a reward. This perspective can be improved by making sure it includes different factors that can influence individual’s behaviours such as genes and family influences.This is so because through for example genes a person can develop a genetic condition that can affect the person’s behaviour. People may not behave in the same ways as the behaviourist approach. This is so because it is not guaranteed that a child can change behaviour from being placed on timeouts when they have done something wrong. However, other people believe that people may behave the same way because there is the same influence of a combination of instinct and learning. The social learning approach explains how people learn from observing other people behaviour. This approach was developed by Albert Bandura an American psychologist. Most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action. † (Bandura). In order for people to learn from modelling, there are certain effects that should be present in order for an individual to learn from others. These effects include * Availability-in order for observation to take place a learnt behaviour should be available. * Attention – the individual who is observing should be able to notice the behaviour.The level of paying attention can be influenced by the characteristic of the role model. For example, if it is a celebrity that a person admires, chances are they are going to pay more attention to the behaviour. * Retention- the individual must be able to remember the behaviour that he/she was paying attention to. * Reproduction- is when the parson is bale to repeat the same behaviour that has been learnt (latent learning). * Motivation- the behaviour that has been learnt, the individual is now able to repeat it. The repeating can occur due to seeing and recalling the reinforced model. Moodle notes) The social learning theory explains the self-fulfilling prophecy and the social role. The self-fulfilling prophecy is a two way interaction that explains how we behave and how others see us and behave towards. For example, when a person who does not believe in him/herself that they can achieve a certain goal, if they are motivated they are able to fulfil the prophecy by working hard. The role theory is almost the same as the self-fulfilling prophecy. The role theory sugges ts that since we live within a certain culture or social group we are influenced by the society.When this happens it leads to an individual accepting that they are certain roles that they are expected to live to due to what society says. For example, the mother is expected to look after the children and feeding them. The role of the mother can change when they are in a different environment for example when going for an outing with friends the mother takes up the role of being a friend (Stretch et al, 2010). (P2) In health practice social learning can be used to change the health of an alcoholic or a drug addict. Positive and negative reinforcement can be used when explaining the behaviour of people who are alcoholic and drug addicts.Positive reinforcement is that when the people take drugs or alcohol they have a certain pleasure or euphoria they receive from that. The negative reinforcement that addiction can lead to unpleasant feelings such as depression or anxiety and also the ca n cause the developing of health related illnesses. Social learning will then relate to this situation. For example, public health authorities can use a role model to advertise a programme such as rehabilitation. By seeing the role model the individual will enrol for the programme in order to change their lifestyle (P3) The social learning approach can be used to promote health behaviours.By the media introducing health related storylines in famous TV programmes such as East Enders. The role model in that programme is able to influence people to change their behaviour. It easy for role models to send a health related message to the people than an ordinary person. For example a celebrity like Davina McCall was able to influence people to take up exercising by making sure she produced a DVD on how to exercise so that people are able to learn the behaviour of taking up exercising (www. dailymail. co. uk). (M1) The social learning is that it has demonstrated the strong effect of social influences on people’s behaviour.This approach has strongly explained how people are influenced by role models. People do learn from role model as they motivate individuals in achieving a goal. For example, without the help of celebrities such as Jamie Oliver who is the founder of Jamie Oliver Foundation, people who have not made an effort in changing their eating habits in order to improve their health. This show the effectiveness of this theory as social learning is influential to the people in the society. The social learning approach uses different approach as well in order to study the mind.For example, the social learning approach agrees to what the behaviourist approach says as children learn their behaviours by imitating their parents. In this case the parents will be the role model of the children. The social learning approach can be improve by stressing the point or explaining how children’s cognitive development can be affected as the child may observe the w rong information. This approach may not relate to everyone in the society as they are people who do not learn from observing others. For example, there are people called theorist who think logically. They like to learn things based on facts/theories.They like to know facts behind things. This approach would not apply these people. The psychodynamic approach was developed by an Austrian psychologist by the name Sigmund Freud. The psychodynamic approach suggests that experiences in our earliest years can affect our emotions, attitudes and behaviour in later years without us being aware that it is happening which is our unconscious. We can never have access to the information that is located in the unconscious part of the mind. Freud believed that the information that we are not aware of can sometimes ‘leak out’ as dreams or the slip of the tongue.When things that were are aware of it is explained as the conscious mind. When Freud came to explain the conscious and the unco nscious part of the mind he gave reference to an ice berg. He described the tip of an iceberg as the couscous mind as it is the small part being available to awareness. The middle part of the ice berg he described it as the pre-conscious minds where we can assess some of the memories. The bottom of the ice berg was the unconscious part of the mind where thought are kept and we do not have access to the information or memories. Freud suggested the psyche has three parts to it, the ID, Superego and the Ego.The Inner Desire is the part of the mind that is unconscious. The Superego is the formed due to socialisation as this part of the mind that represents a view of our ideal self. The Ego tries to balance the demands that can arise from both id and superego as the superego can be hash. Freud the argued how childhood experience plays a crucial part in adult development, including the development of adult personality. He believed that the behaviour is caused by the mind and portrait thro ugh the use of the ego-defence mechanism. This mechanism protects people from getting harmed by something that are stored in the unconscious mind.The defence mechanisms are divided into seven. * Repression-pushing painful memories deep down into our unconscious mind, so they are effectively forgotten. * Rationalisation- is making decisions based on reasons that have facts to it. * Compensation-when a person covers up their flaws by keeping a positive mind. * Transference-is when an individual transfers their emotions to another person. For example, when a person is angry the might shout at the other person. * Denial- is used when a person denies the fact that something wrong is going on with them so that they are not hurt much. Projection-is used when a person attaches their own thoughts, feeling and motives to another person. * Suppression- is used when a person hide their feelings in order for people not to know what is going to them. (Moodle notes) Freud also developed a theory o n personality development. This theory was known as the psycho-sexual theory. This theory explained the different personality development based on the different part of the body and age. He believed in order to reach the next step you were supposed to meet the all the needs before that. Freud believed that personality development in hildhood would influence the personality in adulthood. The table below shows the different developmental stage and the outcomes . Oral stage-He believed that the outcome was either going to be positive or negative for example, if the infant was weaned too early, it would forever feel under-gratified or this would lead to the person becoming a pessimistic or sarcastic person. If the child was weaned too late, it would be over-gratified . Due to this a person would develop a gullible personality, naively trusting in others and with the tendency to believe anything (notes).Anal stage- this stage the libido is focused on of toilet training. When a child feel s that they are being forced to potty train before they are ready they can retain their faeces in other terms it is defined as anal retention. When this happens to the child they may develop personality characteristic when they are older which includes obstinacy or greediness (Stretch et al, 2010). Phallic stage- the fixation stage is being associated with anxiety and guilty feeling about sex and fear of castration for males. At this stage there is an unresolved situation that a girl may become a lesbian.This can lead to personality characteristics such as castration anxiety (Stretch et al, 2010). Latency-at this stage the child develops a relationship with siblings, relatives and adults and solidifies the habits of earlier development stages. The personality characteristic that a person can develop is being Asexual (Moodle notes). Genital puberty- at this stage Freud’s believes that a person fixated on developing a strong heterosexual relationship. During this stage a person who is involved in a relationship is able to show love towards the partner. In order for this stage to happen other stages should have happened (Stretch et al, 2010).Erick Erickson was a psychologist who agreed with most of Freud’s theories. He believed that we develop through a series of conflicts. By this he meant that the stages the conflicts were basically a part of social nature. Erick disagreed with Freud as he believed that Freud only paid great attention on people’s desire for satisfaction and not really focusing on that people have needs that we want to be accepted by society so that we can live a meaningful life. He believed that people go through certain psycho-social life crises and these are trust vs. basic mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt initiative vs. uilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation and ego integrity vs. despair. For example, to the trust versus mistrust stage of Eri ck Erikson theory of psychosocial development this stage occurs between birth and approximately 18 months of age. According to Erikson, the trust versus mistrust stage is the most important period in a person’s life. This is so because how a baby is entirely dependent upon his or her caregivers, the quality of care that the child receives plays an important role in the shaping of the child’s personality.During this stage, children learn whether or not they can trust the people around them. If these needs are met the child is then able to go to the career for emotional support. If the child does not feel dependent on the parent and does not trust them it can lead to fear and suspicion in the later age (Stretch et al, 2010). (P2) The psycho-dynamic approach can be applied to understand why an adolescent in a child home who is continuously rebelling against all the rules and appears to be developing signs of delinquent behaviour. This can be explained by looking at Freud approach.The reason why the adolescent acts that way is because there is no balance between the ID and the superego in the mind causing the memories of his bad childhood to take over. (P3) The approach can also be used to explain how an individual who has been given a diagnosis of cancer but is refusing to accept that they have the disease. I think that the person does not want to accept as he is living in denial. When there is denial a person is able to trap certain though or emotions in order to hurt themselves emotionally. (M1) The psychodynamic approach explains how a child learning can be influenced by their childhood experience.If the child did not feel like he/she can trust a person it would to them withdraw from society and end up hating the parents. This shows that childhood is a critical period in one’s life. For the child to hate the parents the memories in the pre-conscious part of the mind would have been revealed and people will remember the bad childhood memori es. This approach can be improved by making sure that it does not only focus on how the psyche and the psycho sexual stages influence behaviour. However, it can considered factors such as bio chemistry and genetics.According to this approach people may behave the same ways as adults have the tendency of using the same defence mechanism (www. thestudentroom. co. uk). The humanist approach is a psychological approach that emphasizes the study of the whole person. Humanistic psychologists look at human behavior not only through the eyes of the observer, but through the eyes of the person doing the behaving. This approach was developed by two psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Abram Maslow’s believed that every individual is seeking to become the best we can be spiritually, intellectually, emotionally and socially.He developed a hierarchy of needs and it included the different needs that a person will need when growing up according to the importance. The hierarchy of n eeds illustrated that the basic needs should be met before reaching to the next level. For example, for an individual’s love and emotional needs to be met the basic physical needs and safety and security needs should be met. Maslow believed that the most important need is self-actualization. Self actualisation is when the person reaches the point of achieving full potential ((Stretch et al, 2010).Carl roger was interested in the concept of self-concept. Self-concept is the way a person see him/herself. Self includes how we see ourselves biologically and physically. Self-concept starts to develop from an early age. This is so because of a child is being constantly told that he/she is naughty. This can have a negative impact on their self-concept as they we start to see their selves the way they are being portrait as. On the other hand if a child is praised it encourages the child to work harder in order to achieve a certain goal they have set out for their selves (Stretch et a l, 2010). P2) The humanistic approach can be used to explain how staff is trained to understand the importance of unconditioned positive regard in working patients and clients. Unconditioned positive regard is when a person stays positive about a situation and does not concentrate on the bad side of the story unconditioned positive regard can be shown when a nurse comforts a patient when they are feeling down and shows empathy. This is very important to show this kind of attitude as it creates a better professional relationship between nurse and patient. (P3)Humanistic approach can be of value when providing counseling services in a social care setting. This approach can be used to show empathy when a counselor is counseling a patient. Rogers has used this approach as a way for people to understand another person not only on an intellectual; level but also on an empathic understanding. When a counselor is able to understand another person’s emotions and feelings they are able to help the client. For example, when a therapist is counseling an alcoholic the therapist is able to find a way to help the client by understanding the causes of the drinking.It might be because of a childhood event that has affected the clients’ life. (M1) The human approach focuses on how people learn from being given the free will and ability to change. This approach has been seen to be very effective as it helps people with less severe problems. The importance of the ,Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is to give people the learning direction as it looks at the different step a person much go through in order to reach a point of self actualisation and at this step the person is able to be fulfilled as they have achieved the goals they wanted.However, consequences of unconditional positive regard are that the person feels free to try things out and make mistakes, even though this may lead to getting it worse at times. People who are able to self-actualize are more likely to have received unconditional positive regard from others, especially their parents in childhood. As the approach only focuses on helping people with severe problems it can be improved in order to meet ability to help those with more sever personality or mental health pathology. This approach does not include people with severe mental health problems (www. allpsych. om). The cognitive approach was developed by a Swiss psychologist called Jean Piaget. The cognitive approach focuses on understanding the cognitive processes such as attention, memory, perception, information, processing, problem solving, thought and language. In simpler term it is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak and solve problems. Jean came to a conclusion that cognitive development is achieved by going through 4stages (Stretch et al, 2010). Stage 1 sensorimotor stage- this stage happens between the ages of 0- 2 years. At this stage the child learning is limited.The child only learns through using they sense. This is why it is called the sensorimotor stage at the child uses their senses in order to do motor skills such as using reflexes such as the protective reflex. These reflexes are used in order for them to adapt to the world. Objects and events can be mentally represented by the child (sometimes called object permanence this stage comes to an end when the child starts to learn how to use his/her memory and language (www. simplypsychology. org). Stage 2 pre-operational stages- this stage happens between the ages of 2 to 7 year.This is the stage when children start to apply their skills of language (www. simplypsychology. org). Stage 3 concrete operational stages- this stage happens between the ages of 7 to 11 years. This is when individuals start to think abstractly and make rational judgments even though their rational thinking is restricted to realistic situations (www. simplypsychology. org) Stage 4 formal operational stage- this stage happens at the age of 11 an d going on. This is when an individual is able to think logically and use hypothetical thinking (www. implypsychology. org). George Kelly was a developed the theory called the Psychology of Personal Constructs. This theory looks at a person as a scientific making prediction about ones future, while testing them and when necessary the records are meant to revise in order to develop new evidenced. Interpreting and being mindful of reality and the environment is considered as construct. For example, when a person has HIV/ AIDS they may withdraw their selves form any social activities as they may see it as the end of world and they nothing to live for.However, the may not feel that way at take it a positive ways in which they can educate other people so that they do not make the same mistake as she did. He believed that people do not necessarily have to learn from their past experience (Stretch et al, 2010). (P2) Cognitive approach can be sued to explain how irrational thoughts experien ced by people suffering from eating disorder. This perspective relates to the situation. For example, when a person who has an eating disorder he/she can find themselves fighting against the disorder.The individual needs is based on trying process the thoughts to need to control, need to be thin and also a need to feel that they are happy being thin. This perspective is based on how the individual wants to live their lives and be happy the way they are than pleasing other people. However, the way a person can see their selves and think about themselves can happen because of the bad experienced which are leading to the person having eating disorders(Stretch et al, 2010). (P3) The principle of cognitive behavior therapy can help an individual dealing with feelings of depression.The cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of talking therapy based on cognitive therapy and behaviour therapy. It emphases on how people think about the things going on in your life, attitudes and how this imp acts on the way you behave and deal with emotional problems. It then looks at how you can change any negative patterns of thinking or behaviour that may be causing you difficulties. This approach is used as a way which is used to help people cope with their thoughts and behaviour.This therapy will help the person to solve their problems in terms of feelings. For example, when dealing with a person who feeling depressed the counsellor can first look for the cause of the person feeling depressed. Then the counsellor is able to relate to the cognitive approach in encouraging the person to be more positive(Stretch et al, 2010). (M1) The cognitive approach has been successful is explaining learning. This is so because the cognitive approach has been useful is contributing to most of the types that are being used.The success of the approach has comes form the fact the approach helps people to improve their cognitive processes such as language and memory. The cognitive behaviour help peopl e to understand what goes on in peoples mind. For example, the cognitive approach helps understand different people’s behaviour and thoughts of a person who it autistic. Furthermore the cognitive approach helps people who work with people who have difficulties in learning language as it provides different strategies to tackle the problem.The cognitive approach has become the leading approach in psychology particularly since it has become allied with neurology. The cognitive approach is now called the cognitive science. This is so because this approach has been able to provide a very refined understanding of how the brain processes information. However, the cognitive approach does not fully does not include other factors that can influence a person’s thoughts such as ecological validity which is the environment. The behaviour that this approach focuses on is not the behaviour that would happen in everyday situations (www. olah. co. uk). This approach can improve by addr essing reasons being a personality characteristic. According to the cognitive approach people think the same because the approach applies a nomothetic approach which includes studying a group of people. The biological approach (maturational theory) is concerned with how our genetic inheritance, evolution of the human species and the nervous system (both central and peripheral) affect how we think, feel and behave. Arnold Gessell was a very influential person in the field of development. He developed the maturation theory.Arnold Gessell described the maturation theory as â€Å"A highly biological theory that regarded child development as an evolutionary approach where there is a genetically determined series of events that unfold automatically. It is believed that development has a biological process that occurs in predictable stages over time†. (www. maturationtheory. gov. uk) As Arnold believed that development happens with a series of maturation, his belief has been explain ed by how uterus develops in the womb. The stages are as follows * Heart forms first and at the same time the rudimentary nervous system. Bones and muscles develop * Then the organism develops into a completely working human life form. * When a persons genes allow the person to become who he/she is destined to be with the influence of the environment providing support in the unfolding skills. (Stretch et al, 2010). Genes are also influential when it comes to person behaviour. Other behaviours are caused by certain genes disorders. For example the Huntington disease which is caused when one of the parent’s genes is dominates. Any one of the parent can pass the disease to the child.Disorders caused by genes are very influential to the person behaviour. Another example, autism is also a genetic condition than can alter a person’s behaviour. Peoples with autism develop behaviour traits. These behavioural traits include repetitive motor movements such as rocking and hand fl apping, avoid physical contact and also challenging behaviour including throwing things around when distressed(www. chw. org). There are more common disorders that are not genetically determined; however they have chances of leaving people vulnerable when it comes to developing the disorder.In order to find out the contribution of genes on behaviour there have been twin studies which have been carried out. Two types of twins were used monozygotic (100% of sharing of genetic material which results in the pair being identical) and dizygotic (50% of sharing genetic material which will result in the twins being fraternal). In order to show that genes are influential, Ritvos study showed that out of 23 pairs of identical twins 22 of the twins were autistic and 4 out of 17 pairs of fraternal twins were autistic. This shows that genes are influential (Stretch et al, 2010).The endocrine system influences ones behaviour. The endocrine system has to parts to it the central nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The autonomic nervous system is associated with the endocrine system and it is divided into two systems. The sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for speeding up during response in activity and the parasympathetic nervous system that calms down the system. (Stretch et al, 2010). The autonomic nervous system produces effects by releasing hormones.These hormones are released from the endocrine glands which are stimulated by the system. There are different hormones that are released that alter behaviour. For example, testosterone which is hormone released in the testicles can cause a person to be aggressive. (P2) When a person is working a night shift they tend to find it difficult to stay awake when they are working. When the night shift is over the person goes home with intention of getting some rest however the person will find it hard to sleep. This happens because of the disruption to the circadian rhythm which is the rhythm of a day.The person’s behaviour is affected by the circadian rhythm. When a person is working at night his/her body temperature is low which will cause the person to be less alert. However, if the person is working during the day their temperature is normal which will cause the person to be more alert. The brain is influential to this process. In the brain there is a part called the pineal gland. This gland is responsible for producing a hormone called melatonin. When it gets darker, melatonin production is high because the pineal gland is triggered by the brain to produce higher levels of melatonin.When it is not dark the gland reduces the production of melatonin. The levels of melatonin can affect the person at a night shift because at night the levels of melatonin productions are high and this will cause the person to feel sleepy. This affects the person’s behaviour as the person is not alert when they are mean to be (Stretch et al, 2010). (P3) The biological approach is very important because it explains the importance of understanding the concept of circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythm is a roughly 24 hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings.It is important as is determines the sleeping and eating patterns of an individual. The manager of a workplace is advised to have knowledge of biological rhythms. This knowledge will help the manager to take into consideration of the hours a person works. With the knowledge of the circadian rhythm the manager is able to draw up a pattern of shift work that is able to help the worker to have even sleep so that when they are working the are alert. For example, the manager may assign the worker with three days of week and two days off during the week (Stretch et al, 2010). (M1) The approach has been successful in explaining learning.The biological approach explanations have been variable as they are best on scientific research which can be measured tracked and examines. The effectiveness of the biological approach has been proved by psychosurgeons who were able to see the functioning of the brain by removing a part of a functioning brain. This process has been used by psychologists to prove that certain parts of the brain are associated with aggression. The researches that are carried out are scientifically reliable as they fulfil the aims of scientific research which is to conduct objective, well controlled studies and, ideally, to demonstrate causal relationships.The strength of the biological approach is that it lends itself to scientific research that can then be used to support biological explanations. The biological approach is also determinist and this is an advantage because the approach is able to know what sets our behaviour and how we able likely to treat people with abnormal behaviour. The strength of the biological approach is that it is determinist and provides explanations about the causes of behavi our so that we can use such understanding to improve people’s lives.For example, if mental illness is caused by biological factors, then we can treat mental illness using biological methods such as medication. The biological approach can be improved in order to consider individual approach as this approach only looks at nomothetic approach. This is a weakness as people do not necessary behave the same way. for example, when coping with stress conditions women normally react by seeking social contact and support from other female friends whereas keep it to themselves(www. oxfordschoolblogs. co. uk). (M2 and D1)The approaches I will be focusing on are the behaviourist approach and the psychodynamic approach. Both of these approaches can help with a health and social care setting. The behaviourist approach looks at hoe different people are influenced by the environment. As psychology is a scientific study, behaviorist, as a psychological perspective it obtains its evidence relat ing to the basis that behavior can be learnt. The behaviorist approach has seemed to work when explaining people’s behavior as the experiment that Skinner and Pavlov evidently showed that behavior can be learnt.The psychodynamic approach explains how ones past experience can affect a person’s behavior in the future. The past experience is stored in the unconscious part of the psyche and the memories sometimes leak causing to affect the person’s behaviour. For example, when a person was abused when they were young and this will cause the person to develop behavioural traits with include being withdrawal to the society or become abusive too. The approaches can be used within a health and social care setting in order to help individuals.For example, the behaviourist approach can be used when helping people to overcome a phobia and also to changes ones eating behaviour. When dealing with people who have phobias, the behaviouristic approach uses a classical condition ing. By this the approach uses a procedure which help the person overcome their fear. For example, a child who has a fear of going through a surgery procedure can overcome this fear by creating a hierarchy of fears. The hierarchy will show the least feared and most feared procedure. When this is done the person is able to relax and et over their fear because this procedure helps a person achieve a state of deep relaxation. This approach changes the aspect of fearing something by replacing it with the state of relaxation. When a person is at the hospital they can been shown how the procedure is going to happen and this will help the person relax as they will know exactly what is going to happen to them. When helping people with bad eating habit. The behaviourist approach explains how positive role models are influential. For example, Jamie Oliver has helped people start eating healthy by re-introducing freshly cooked school meals.His suggestion was taken seriously as there are more c hances that the public will listen to what a celebrity say compared to an ordinary person. The psychodynamic approach can be used when understanding challenging behaviour and also understanding anxiety and finding ways to cope with it. When helping a person with challenging behaviour it is important to understand first what is going on in the psyche of the person by making an assumption that the behavioural trait is due to the symptoms of what is happening in the unconscious mind.For example, when helping a person who is aggressive, in order to understand what is going on a person might make an assumption that the person grew up seeing his/ her parents fighting. When a person is anxious they may understand it by making an assumption that it is caused by what is happening in the unconscious mind for example an event that has happened before. The person can use the psychodynamic approach to manage anxiety by relating to one of the defence mechanism such as denial. The approach has sim ilarities and difference.The approaches both have similarities. One of the similarities is that both of the approaches are both deterministic. They are deterministic because they are based on the principle that something apart from organism is responsible for its behavior. For example behaviourist approach is based on previous experiences such as punishments and the psychodynamic approach is based on it’s typically tension between conflicting forces such as the id and superego. Another similarity is that both of the approaches (www. ngfl-cymru. org. k). The approaches have differences. The behaviourist approach focuses on how behaviour is learnt and the psychodynamic believes that behaviour is not learnt. The behaviourist shows how behaviour is learnt through explaining the operant and classical conditioning whereas the psychodynamic explain that behaviour is not learnt and ones behaviour is caused by forces in the unconscious part of the psyche. Another difference is that th e behaviourist approach is based on scientific experiment and the psychodynamic is unscientific.The explanation for this difference is that the behaviourist approach explained is theory by using experiments which were observed, measured, and manipulated whereas the psychodynamic approach was not based on a scientific experiment which could be observed, measured, and manipulated(www. ngfl-cymru. org. uk). The strength of the behaviourist approach is that is that it focuses only on behaviour that can be observed, measured and manipulated. Therefore, this approach has proved that experiments under laboratory conditions can explain behaviour through observing, measuring and manipulating.The behaviourist principles of learning have been, and continue to be, tested in the laboratory where learning can be objectively measured. For example, the experiment that was done by Ivan Pavlov was successful on explaining how people learn and how they behaviour because the experiments results were va lid as there were scientifically based. The other strength of the behaviourist approach is that the behaviourist approach concentrates on the present and current behaviour rather than exploring a person’s past or their medical history (www. ngfl-cymru. org. uk).This is a strength of the approach because when it comes to determining a persons behaviour, by looking at their past experience may not be helpful as the person may not remember the past events that might contribute to their behaviour. However the approach has got weakness. The behaviourist approach has been criticised for determining ones behaviour by using an experiment of animals. This is a weakness as animals do not necessarily behave as humans. Due to this it is hard to say that the behaviourist approach has been successful in explaining how people behave as the finding of the experiment are hard to generalise.The other weakness of the behaviourist approach is that the approach does not focus on how the complexit y of the psyche contributed to learning. This approach has been criticised by the cognitive and the humanistic psychologists because it does not look at how the brain can be influential to determining a person’s behaviour (www. pages. 123-reg. co. uk). The strength of the psychodynamic approach is that this approach was able to provide an important insight into how a person’s past experiences can affect their adult personality.For example, the Freud’s theory on personality suggested that if a baby is weaned too early, according to the oral stage, there are chances that when the baby grows up to an adult he/she is going to pessimistic or sarcastic. The other strength of the psychodynamic approach is that the approach has explained about defense mechanism that every individual can use. These defence mechanism arise naturally when a person feels that they are being threatened of their superego is on demand. For example, if a person is going through a hard time they can use denial as a defense mechanism as it can help the person to refuse to experience the pain.However the psychodynamic approach has got weaknesses. One of the weaknesses is that the approach is reductionist. Due to this it only relies on a basic set of structures that attempt to simplify a very complex picture. This is a weakness because there are other aspects that can influence ones behaviour for example genetics. Another weakness of the psychodynamic approach is that it can not be proved wrong. Any theory for it to be successful it should be able tested that it can be wrong; however the psychodynamic approach can not be tested. Freud view can not be tested if they are false.For example, Freud viewed that all men have repressed homosexual tendencies cannot be disproved. It is hard to find a man who has no repressed homosexual tendency, if a person could find any man who had no repressed homosexual tendency then it could be argued that they have them, it’s just they are so repressed they are not apparent. In other words, the prediction cannot be falsified. Overall, both of the approaches have similarities, differences, strengths and weaknesses. Despite the weakness both of the approaches have been successful in explain how each of its approach can determine how behaviour can be influenced.Aidan Sammons. (2007). The behaviourist approach: the basics. Available: http://www. psychlotron. org. uk/newResources/approaches/AS_AQB_approaches_BehaviourismBasics. pdf. Last accessed 04/07/2012. Brittan Barker. (2007). Glossary of Terms for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Available: http://www. psychology. uiowa. edu/faculty/wasserman/glossary/opcondition. html. Last accessed 04/07/2012. Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. (2012). Autistic Disorder. Available: http://www. chw. org/display/PPF/DocID/22122/router. asp . Last accessed 05/07/2012. Holah. (2010). Cognitive Psychology. Available: http://www. olah. co. uk/study-area. php? slug=cognitive. Last accessed 05/07/2012. Learning-Theories. com.. (2012). Social Learning Theory (Bandura). Available: http://www. learning-theories. com/social-learning-theory-bandura. html. Last accessed 04/07/2012. Liz Thomas . (2007). Fitness queen Davina McCall tops DVD charts again . Available: http://www. dailymail. co. uk/tvshowbiz/article-2082943/Fitness-queen-Davina-McCall-tops-DVD-charts-again. html. Last accessed 04/07/2012. Niu. (2007). Classical Conditioning. Available: http://www3. niu. edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2003/ClassicalConditioning. tm. Last accessed 04/07/2012. Psychology Perspectives. (2007). Psychology Perspectives. Available: http://www. simplypsychology. org/perspective. html. Last accessed 05/07/2012. Saul McLeod. (2007). Sensorimotor Stage. Available: http://www. simplypsychology. org/sensorimotor. html. Last accessed 05/07/2012. Science Daily. (2007). Circadian rhythm. Available: http://www. sciencedaily. com/articles/c/circadian_rhythm. htm. Last accessed 04/07/ 2012. http://pages. 123-reg. co. uk/psyuk-631767/advancedsuccessltd/id23. html http://www. ngfl-cymru. org. uk/vtc/ngfl/psychology/psy_1. doc

Che

Che Ernesto "Che"  Guevara (1928-1967) Ernesto Guevara got his nickname "che" from Fidel Castro when the were at the hight of the cuban revolution together it means "chum"  or "buddy" . He was an avarage citazin who loved politics but always thought and average person cannot change the world. He suffered from severe asthma that always held him back from the sports he loved like soccer, and thought if he was a doctor he could at least change that so he decided to go to school and study medicine to find a cure for his terrible asthma. After he had finnally completed school (some time later) he was able to see how badly his people were held down by the political powers of the world. He met fidel Castros brother (pidro) on one of his two or thhree week excursions he loved to go on and they made plans to take the power the so rightly deserved, and as soon as he was released from jail he met the man who hadf the same views as him Fidel Castro they joined forces in Mexico in 1954.Ra ul Castro, left, with has his arm around second-...

Ipl Scandals Essays

Ipl Scandals Essays Ipl Scandals Essay Ipl Scandals Essay - The  Indian Premier League  (IPL) is a professional league for  Twenty20  cricket  championship in  India. It was initiated by the  Board of Control for Cricket in India  (BCCI), headquartered in  Mumbai,Maharashtra[3][4]  and is supervised by  BCCI  Vice President  Rajeev Shukla,[5]  who serves as the leagues Chairman and  Commissioner. It is currently contested by nine teams, consisting of players from around the cricketing world. - However, the league has been engulfed byseries of corruption scandals. - Controversies involving the Indian Premier League From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The  Board of Control for Cricket in India  (BCCI) has found itself in the middle of many conflicts with various cricket boards around the world as a result of the  Indian Premier League  (IPL). The main point of contention was that signed players should always be available to their country for international tours, even if it overlaps with the IPL season. To address this, the BCCI officially requested that the  International Cricket Council  (ICC) to institute a time period in the International Future Tours Program, solely for the IPL season. This request was not granted at a subsequent meeting held by the ICC. [1] Contents  Ã‚  [hide]   * 1  Conflicts with the England and Wales Cricket Board * 2  Media restrictions * 3  Conflict with Cricket Club of India * 4  Suspension of Lalit Modi * 5  Chirayu Amin named IPL interim chairman * 6  Termination of the Kochi franchise * 7  2012 spot fixing case * 8  References| - edit]Conflicts with the England and Wales Cricket Board Because the inaugural IPL season coincided with the  County Championship  season as well as  New Zealands  tour of  England, the  ECB  and county cricket clubs raised their concerns to the BCCI over players. The ECB made it abundantly clear that they would not sign No Objection Certificates for players- a prerequisite for playing in the IPL. Chairmen of the county clubs also made it clear that players contracted to them were required to ulfill their commitment to their county. As a result of this,  Dimitri Mascarenhas  was the only English player to have signed with the IPL for the 2008 season. [2] A result of the ECBs concerns about players joining the IPL, was a proposed radical response of creating their own Twenty20 tournament that would be similar in structure to the IPL. The league - titled the  Twenty20 English Premier League  - would feature 21 teams in three groups of seven and would occur towards the end of the summer season. 3]  The ECB enlisted the aid of  Texas  billionaire  Allen Stanford  to launch the proposed league. [4]  Stanford was the brains behind the successful  Stanford 20/20, a tournament that has run twice in the  West Indies. On 17 February 2009, when news of the fraud investigation against Stanford became public, the ECB and  WICB  withdrew from talks w ith Stanford on sponsorship. [5][6]  On February 20 the ECB announced it has severed its ties with Stanford and cancelled all contracts with him. [7] - [edit]Media restrictions Initially the IPL enforced strict guidelines to media covering matches, consistent with their desire to use the same model sports leagues in North America use in regards to media coverage. Notable guidelines imposed included the restriction to use images taken during the event unless purchased from  cricket. com, owned by Live Current Media Inc (who won the rights to such images) and the prohibition of live coverage from the cricket grounds. Media agencies also had to agree to upload all images taken at IPL matches to the official website. This was deemed unacceptable by print media around the world. Upon the threat of boycott, the IPL eased up on several of the restrictions. [8]  On 15 April 2008 a revised set of guidelines offering major concessions to the print media and agencies was issued by the IPL and accepted by the  Indian Newspaper Society. [9] - [edit]Conflict with Cricket Club of India As per IPL rules, the winner of the previous competition decides the venue for the finals. [10]  In 2009, the reigning Champions,  Deccan Chargerschose the  Brabourne Stadium  in  Mumbai. [10]  However, a dispute regarding use of the avilion meant that no IPL matches could be held there. The members of the  Cricket Club of India  that owns the stadium have the sole right to the pavilion on match days, whereas the IPL required the pavilion for its sponsors. [11]  The members were offered free seats in the stands, however the club rejected the offer, stating that members could not be moved out of the pavilion. [10][12][13] - [edit]Suspension of Lalit Modi On 25 April 2010, the BCCI suspended  Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, for alleged acts of individual misdemeanours. The suspension notice was served on him by Rajeev Shukla, BCCI vice-president, and N Srinivasan, the board secretary, sending an e-mail to the same effect. It followed a day of negotiations with interlocutors attempting to persuade Modi to resign but pre-empted a potentially flashpoint at a scheduled IPL governing council meeting, which Modi had said he would attend. Modi was officially barred from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL and any other committee of the BCCI. [14] - edit]Chirayu Amin named IPL interim chairman Chirayu Amin, an industrialist and head of the  Baroda Cricket Association, was named interim chairman of the IPL by the BCCI, following Lalit Modis suspension. [15]  According to BCCI, many important documents were missing from the IPL and BCCI offices. Many of the records are missing. The IT is asking for documents. We dont have them. We have asked BCCI CAO Prof Ratnakar Shetty to look into the missing records and papers, said BCCI President Shas hank Manohar. [16] - edit]Termination of the Kochi franchise On September 19, 2011, the newly elected BCCI president N Srinivasan, after the annual general meeting in Mumbai, announced that the Kochi Tuskers Kerala IPL franchise was terminated by the BCCI for breaching its terms of agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, each franchise has to submit a bank guarantee every year that covers the fee payable to the BCCI. The 2010-founded team was bought for Rs 1,550 crore and the consortium has to pay a bank guarantee of  156 crore every year till 2020. 17]  The consortium that owns Kochi is reported to have defaulted on an annual payment of  156 crores as a bank guarantee. In April 2010, the BCCIs working committee had rejected demands from Kochi and Pune Warriors for a reduction in their franchisee fees. The two new franchises, which made their debuts in 2011, had sought a 25% waiver on the grounds that the BCCI had stated in the bidding document that each team would play 1 8 league matches in a season. The schedule was later reduced to 14 matches per team. - edit]2012 spot fixing case Main article:  2012 Indian Premier League spot fixing case On 14 May 2012, an Indian news channel  India TV  aired a  sting operation  which accused 5 players involved in  spot fixing. Reacting to the news, Indian Premier League president  Rajiv Shukla  immediately suspended the 5 uncapped players. The five players were,  TP Sudhindra  (Deccan Chargers),  Mohnish Mishra  (Pune Warriors), Amit Yadav,  Shalabh Srivastava  (Kings XI Punjab) and  Abhinav Bali, Delhi cricketer . [18]  However, the report went on to claim that none of the famous cricketers were found guilty. On the reliability of the report,  Rajat Sharma, the  editor-in-chief  of news channel  India TV  quoted that the channel had no doubts about the authenticity of the sting operation and prepared to go to court. [19] Mohnish Mishra who was part of  Pune Warriors India  team for the season, admitted to have said that franchises pay black money, in a sting operation. Mishra was caught on tape saying that franchisees paid them black money and that he had received  1. 5  crore  (US$273,000)  from the later, among which  1. 2  crore  (US$218,400)  was black money. [20]  He was also suspended from his team. [21]

Investment Clubs Options P4DB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Investment Clubs Options P4DB - Essay Example Still, this does not mean that a person should give up on the idea or desire of getting rich. 'Investing' is the option that allows a person to get affluent, provided one is willing to take intelligent and calculated risks. The second reason one must invest is that human body and mind deteriorate over time and so does the value of saved money. After having worked very hard in the youth, everyone desires to enjoy a happy and secure retired life. The problem is that the money saved by a person over time loses its worth owing to inflation (Orman, 2000). Hence, if a person has saved $ 100 one year and the rate of inflation is 5 percent, the next year that saved $ 100 will be able to purchase only $ 95 worth of goods and services. Now, imagine where one's savings will end, if one chooses to be a sitting duck before the vagaries of inflation. Hence, to make one's savings inflation proof, one ought to invest. Investment divests your savings of their laziness and makes your money work for you. Investing means making one's hard-earned money appreciate and generate income over time. 1. Before investing, an individual must be aware of one's short-term and long-term needs and requirements. Caring for short-term needs means making investments that can easily be liquidated. Such investments usually carry low returns. Providing for long-term needs means making investments that are more or less fixed over a specific period and yield high returns. One's genuine needs ought to define one's investment decisions. Therefore, if one is planning a baby next year, one will definitely have to pay the hospital bills and bear the other attached expenditures. In such a scenario, getting all one's savings entrapped in long-term investments is not wise. On the contrary, if one has young children and wants to provide for their college and university education, long term investments definitely make sense. 2. Always look forward to diversifying one's investments. Diversification means not risking everything on one endeavor. The entire motivation behind investing is the willingness of a person to take risk to get high returns. Hence, the magnitude of risk while investing is usually inversely proportional to the range of diversification (Markowitz, 1991). The more one diversify one's investments, the more is one insulated against risk. Therefore, it is always wiser to diversify investments among instruments like bonds, stocks, real estate, metals and mutual funds. 3. The investment and diversification strategy of an individual needs to be planned while taking into consideration one's age and the time left in one's retirement (Markowitz, 1991). While one is young, one can definitely afford to invest in high risk instruments in the expectation of getting good returns and optimal capital appreciation. However,