Failing business Essay Example for Free

Failing business Essay Many are quick to remember one’s failure and slow to remember the redeeming moments. My life is no different. I am only human and I too have made my own mistakes in life. Though I sometimes have the tendency to move on from failure and perhaps forget, there are many who are only too quick to remind me of my past. Learning from this, I have vowed to treat each failure as a learning experience; One that makes me stronger and makes me better. This is the lesson that I learned from what some people would consider as one of the most challenging days of my life. I recently discovered that the pursuit of one’s goals is not as easy as it seems. When one looks at all the successful businessmen in the world, it does not seem apparent that they had to undergo many challenges to become successful. Yet as I have learned, there is so much work and effort that is needed to succeed in life. This is how my first business, a commercial cleaning service, became a failure but ultimately a success because I learned a very valuable lesson from it. The plan of the commercial cleaning service was simple. I had intended to take advantage of the lack of cleaning services in my area. I noticed that there were very few cleaning services and if there were any they were either inefficient, too expensive or both. Being a novice entrepreneur, I figured that this was an opportunity that was a guaranteed success; after all, all I had to do was simply offer better service and better prices. This was my first mistake. In making this assumption, I did not consider the fact that the ones who had established themselves before me had probably thought of these same advantages. I was naive to think that only I had the monopoly of great ideas and that others were not able to think as well. This presented the first challenge because I was unprepared for what happened. The initial costing for supplies and capital equipment was way higher than anticipated due to the fact that I was trying to provide quality service. Since I had already made those investments, I had to readjust my computations on Return on Investment and saw that the only way that I would be able to cover the daily expenses was to increase the price. So, instead of providing cheap and good quality service, I was constrained to offer only quality service. This unfortunately paved the way for the next problem which was the fact that I did not have prior experience in this field. While I did consider myself a neat freak, I was certainly out of my league when it came to running a commercial cleaning service. I failed to consider the fact that there are so many variables to consider and that when one has employees one has to ensure that they do their duties satisfactorily. This was no longer just a simple matter of telling people to clean something and making sure it was done properly. It involved going over the shifts and ensuring that every detail was not overlooked. Aside from this, I had to also consider the welfare of the people who were working under me. No matter how motivated I was, I could not seem to convince my employees to have the same passion and conviction. This was lesson number three for me; I learned that employees are never really motivated to perform unless they have a personal stake in the matter. I needed to get them involved on a personal level and believe in offering quality service at a good price. Unfortunately, the only thing they were interested in was clearing their pay and spending their money. Suffice it to say that the business soon failed. I was disheartened by the harsh reality check that happened but I am proud to say that I have learned from this experience. I could have lost much more to learn that valuable lesson. As I look back at that memory, I greet it with a smile knowing that even though it resulted in failure, I would not be the person I am today were it not for that experience. The thing about life is that there is always hope and there are several chances to fail and even more chances to succeed; as long as one has the drive and the passion.

Identifying and preventing harm from deterioration in patients

Identifying and preventing harm from deterioration in patients This study will discuss what a nurse needs to know in relation to identifying and preventing harm from deterioration in patients in a hospital ward setting. A review of current literature will be carried out in order to find the best available evidence on the subject. The key issues arising from the literature will be critically analysed to provide a balanced and objective consideration of the strengths and limitations of current practice in relation to the recognition and communication of patient deterioration. Finally the study will use the evidence to attempt to make recommendations for practice in this area and discuss the nurses role in the development of the new practices which could enhance the management of patient deterioration and ultimately ensure safer care for patients. Rationale for Subject Choice As a student nurse about to become a registered and accountable practitioner, one of my main concerns is that I have the knowledge and skills to recognise deterioration in the condition of my patients and the ability to communicate my concerns effectively to ensure they are seen promptly by a more senior clinician and any further decline is prevented. Therefore my rationale for choosing to study this topic was to try to find evidence which would support me in contributing to safer care of acutely ill patients. Background The increasing complexity of healthcare, an ageing population and shorter length of stay, means that hospital patients today need a higher level of care than ever before. Therefore, it is essential that hospital staff are equipped to recognise and manage deterioration (Department of Health 2009). Many patients who experience cardiopulmonary arrest show signs of deterioration for more than 24 hours before arrest, and it has been estimated that approximately 23,000 in-hospital cardiac arrests in the United Kingdom (UK) could be avoided each year with better care (Smith et al 2006). Furthermore, evidence has shown that delays in recognising deterioration or inappropriate management can result in late treatment, avoidable admissions to intensive care and in some cases, unnecessary deaths National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) (2005) National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) (2007) (2007a). These studies highlighted the magnitude of the problem in the UK, they s howed that hospital staff do not understand the disturbances in physiology affecting the sick patient, they frequently ignore signs of clinical deterioration and lack skills in the implementation of oxygen therapy, assessment of respiration and management of fluid balance NPSA (2007) (2007a). NCEPOD (2005) reported that approximately 50% of ward based patients receive substandard care prior to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, and 21-41% of ICU admissions are potentially avoidable. Analysis of 425 deaths that occurred in general acute hospitals in England showed that 64 deaths occurred as a result of patient deterioration not being recognised due to observations not being undertaken for a prolonged period leading to changes in vital signs not being detected, and delay in patients receiving medical attention even when deterioration was detected (NPSA 2007). Despite considerable economic investment there is continued evidence of suboptimal care and the Department of Health (DoH) (2 009) have acknowledged that the recognition and management of acutely ill patients need attention. They say there are many factors influencing a patients ability to receive appropriate and timely care including the failure to seek advice, poor communication between professional groups, and a lack of clinical supervision for staff in training (DoH 2009). The following literature review will attempt to find evidence of the factors which contribute to sub optimal treatment of deterioration. Literature Review A literature search was undertaken using the electronic databases CINAHL, ESCBO host, Internurse, Medline, Science Direct and Swetswise through the Liverpool John Moores University search engine, and also the British Nursing Index via Ovid using the Royal College of Nursing search engine. The keywords used were: deterioration, hospital deterioration, communication of deterioration and early warning systems. A total of thirteen articles were found to be of use, two of these were published outside the UK (Australia and Italy) however after reading them it was decided that the evidence was relevant and they were deemed appropriate for use. As the study developed a further search was performed using the terms deterioration tools, communication tools, SBAR and RSVP communication tool two articles from this subsequent search were used in this study. Additionally and as mentioned above useful references were also sought from the Department of Health, the National Patient Safety Agency, the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcomes and Death, and the National Institute of Clinical Excellence. The search revealed the topic had been fairly well researched, especially in recent years and the articles seemed to have stemmed from the reports by NPSA (2007) (2007a) and NICE (2007). Smith (2010) recently proposed a Chain of Prevention to assist hospitals in structuring their care processes to prevent and detect patient deterioration and cardiac arrest. The five rings of the chain represent staff education, monitoring, recognition, the call for help and the response and it was found that the themes of education, and recognition were well documented in the literature. Nurse Education Preston and Flynn (2010) say in order to avoid unrecognised patient deterioration and therefore enhance patient safety nurses must review their knowledge and skills in measuring the physiological parameters of temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, oxygen saturation levels, and neurological function, and in particular identified the respiratory rate as a particularly sensitive indicator of clinical decline. In addition nurses also need to recognise the significance of physiological compensatory mechanisms that are activated in clinical deterioration, so they can report their findings accurately and with confidence to doctors and senior staff. Steen (2010) agrees that nurses require the knowledge and skills to be able to provide critical care in the general ward setting, as accurate assessment using a systematic approach can aid timely detection and intervention and can help to stabilise the individuals condition preventing organ dysfunction, multi organ failure and furthe r deterioration, thus reducing morbidity and mortality rates and admission to ICU. However, Odell, Victor and Oliver (2009) feel that recognising deterioration of a ward patient and referring to critical care teams is a highly complex process, requiring skill, experience, and confidence. Preston and Flynn (2010) suggest that nurses can be helped to develop these skills by attending the Advanced Life Threatening Events Recognition and Treatment (ALERT) course, they considered the possibility of nurses undertaking the ALERT course whilst a student, they say this will help newly qualified nurses to promote their skills, abilities and rationale for recognizing and responding to patient deterioration. They also recommend the further development of acute illness simulation programmes in both pre and post registration courses to help nurses to become more confident and expert in responding and reporting acute illness to medical and more senior staff. They say what is needed is a closer col laboration between education and health service partners to deliver these programmes and competent clinical teaching staff to facilitate these simulated exercises in a safe environment that utilises accurate patient scenarios, equipment and charts that are currently used in practice (Preston and Flynn 2009). Monitoring Accurate monitoring of patient condition featured highly in the literature. The NPSA (2007) revealed that in 14 of the 64 incident reports they studied, no observations had been made for a prolonged period before the patient died therefore vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse and respirations were not detected. But the literature revealed the crucial importance of regular observations in the recognition of deteriorating patients. Preston and Flynn (2010) said doing the observations is crucial for detecting early signs of deterioration in acute care as closely monitoring changes in physiological observations can identify abnormalities before a serious adverse event occurs. Early identification is important to reduce mortality, morbidity, length of stay in hospital and associated healthcare costs (NICE 2007). Preston and Flynn (2010) also stipulated that close supervision of unqualified nursing staff doing the observations in acute care should be a high priority and should follow both the NICE (2007) guidelines and recommendations from the NSPA (2007) (2007a). However following an observation of care by Morris (2010) an issue was identified where observations were incomplete, with recording of respiratory rate and oxygen saturations omitted and although an early warning score chart had been used, a score had not been recorded (Morris 2010). Recognition The importance of nurses utilising an early warning system was highlighted. Cei, Bartolomei and Mumoli (2009) say using the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) when recording patient observations is a simple but highly useful tool to predict a worse in-hospital outcome and aid identification of patients at risk of clinical adverse events such as cardiac arrest, sepsis and raised intracranial pressure. Nonetheless a study by Donohue and Endacott (2010) revealed that participants did not look for trends in the MEWS data and few used MEWS data in the manner it was intended i.e. it was used to confirm whether the patient met the trigger criteria, rather than as a routine component of assessment, the study found that MEWS was used infrequently, used too late and not employed to communicate patient deterioration. Mohammed, Hayton, Clements, Smith, and Prytherch (2009) felt the significant advantage of an early warning or track and trigger system like MEWS was that they use a visual scale t hat gives a score if a physiological recording enters a colour zone. But they found that there are disadvantages to using these systems in practice if nurses add up the scores incorrectly. In their study (Mohammed at al 2009) found that calculating scores could be improved by using a handheld computer and this approach was more accurate, efficient and acceptable to nurses than using the traditional pen and paper methods in acute care. The Department of Health (2009) say early warning systems play a key role in the detection of deteriorating patients; however, clinicians need to be aware that in some clinical situations these systems will not reflect clinical urgency (Department of Health 2009) and effective assessment skills must be employed. Call for Help and Response The NPSA (2007) report revealed that in 30 of the 64 incident reports they audited, despite recording vital signs, the importance of the clinical deterioration had not been recognised and/or no action had been taken other than the recording of observations (NPSA 2007). This could be due to ineffective communication of the deterioration. The literature review showed that communication of deterioration was a more recently well documented subject. Steen (2010) Tait (2010) feel that a vital component of the management of the acutely ill patient is the ability to communicate clearly and precisely with all members of the multidisciplinary team to aid timely and appropriate help and intervention for the patient. Still there is much evidence of communication breakdown between disciplines, Beaumont (2008) states communication between medical and nursing staff can be problematic, nurses may not communicate clearly enough and struggle to convey information in a manner that would convince doctor s of the urgency of the situation, sometimes there is failure by doctors to perceive, understand or accept the source of nurses clinical and professional judgement, less experienced nursing staff might not feel comfortable or confident to call more senior staff because they fear doing the wrong thing or crossing occupational and hierarchical boundaries. These problems can result in conflict between professional groups as they attempt to work towards positive outcomes and may prevent patients from receiving assistance and support when required (Beaumont 2008). Endacott, Kidd, Chaboyer and Edington (2007) agree that formal divisions of labour and professional boundaries can cause gaps or discontinuities in patient care and feel communication between clinicians must improve. Donahue and Endacott (2010) say the failure of nurses to recruit senior support to deal with acutely ill patients is a contributing factor to the sub-optimal care of critically ill patient, it may be due to a lack of experience or knowledge on the part of the doctor but may equally be due to the nurses inability to articulate the seriousness of the situation. Their data identified that nurses have an awareness of the need for a succinct story but they continue to make calls for assistance with little relevant information (Donohue and Endacott 2010). As stated above suboptimal communication between health professionals has been recognised as a significant causative factor in incidents compromising patient safety and the use of a structured method of communication has been suggested to improve the quality of information exchange (Marshall, Harrison and Flanagan 2009). A number of communication tools are available; some hospitals use the SBAR (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) tool to structure conversations between members of the multidisciplinary team, which uses standardised questions to prompt the conveyor of information to share the necessary details (Steen 2010). In a simulated clinical scenario Marshall et al (2009) described the positive effect of this method on students ability to communicate clear telephone referrals. However, Featherstone, Chalmers and Smith (2008) feel that SBAR is not a memorable acronym and they prefer the use of the RSVP (Reason, Story, Vital Signs, Plan) system used in the ALERT cou rse as framework for the communication of deterioration, the authors say SBAR does not easily slip off the tongue, and RSVP is much easier to remember in an emergency. They say the reason for the call can be explained in clear simple language, and the story gives a time line of important events, they feel nurses will be familiar with a narrative style of communication and are used to giving a brief summary as part of the handover process. The vital signs must be given in figures, and can include the early warning score, or summarized in words that convey the deterioration effectively and the plan for the patient should be outlined by the caller or expected from the receiver (Featherstone et al 2008). Smith (2010) says the use of standardised method of communication, such as the RSVP system will improve communication about patient decline. Recommendations for Practice Constant change within the National Health Service is essential to advance care quality and ensure the provision patient focused care that is evidenced based. Ensuring the latest and best available evidence is put into practice is a is a crucial way of ensuring that people get the treatments and services that are the most effective and will have the best health outcomes, it ensures that the public funding that supports the NHS is used wisely and that the treatments and services offered are cost effective, and both of these factors lead to the provision of clinically effective care. Everyone involved in healthcare provision must ensure quality is enhanced and must be willing to change current practices for the benefit of patients. Nurses have a professional responsibility to keep up to date with changes and developments within their field and to deliver care based on the best available evidence or best practice (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2008). Larrabees (2009) Model for Evidence Based Practice Change suggests that there are six steps towards implementing change in practice, firstly practitioners should assess need for change in practice, and this study has found evidence which clearly points to the need for changes in practice in order to reduce avoidable harm to patients. The next steps of Larabees Model (2009) are to locate the best evidence, and critically analyse the evidence, and from the evidence found in this study it is evident there are several recommendations for changes in practice which would help nurses in acute care to develop their skills in recognising and reporting deterioration. To keep the Chain of Prevention suggested by Smith (2010) strong he suggests that staff education, monitoring, recognition, the call for help and the response must all be robust in order to prevent harm from unrecognised and unassisted illness. Recommendations to enhance these areas would be to ensure that the recognition of life threatening illness is taught from an early stage in a nurses career by attending the ALERT course earlier in their training and by the teaching of patient scenarios in the clinical area and facilitated by staff who are trained in critical care. With regards to the call for help and the response rings of the Chain of Prevention (Smith 2010), it has been shown that the use of communication tools help nurses to get an earlier response when calling for assistance, so it seems sensible to implement the standard use of a communication tool in acute care when communicating deterioration. The next step in Larabees Model for Change (2009) is to design the practice change, and it is recommended that use of the RSVP communication tool (see appendix) should become hospital protocol when calling for assistance; this is because it is easy to remember and it is used as part of the ALERT course which many acute care nurses have attended. Nurses should receive training on the use of this tool and it should be displayed near the tele phone in every acute area. In order to implement and evaluate this change, which are the next steps in the Model (Lara bee 2009) a nurse should firstly let people know about it, this can be done by using various means of communication i.e. trust intranet, ward meetings, discussion with senior nursing staff and managers. They must then get people to take on the change by involving enthusiastic team members and organising a pilot test of the use of the RSVP tool. Crucially the rate in which more senior practitioners respond must be audited find out if the tool is working in practice and if not why not, is more information or training required is the tool not displayed clearly enough. The final step of the Model for Change (Larabee 2009) is to integrate and maintain the change in practice, to do this a nurse must ensure all new staff are trained to use the system and continuously evaluate its use to ensure it is working in practice. Conclusion This study has highlighted the evidence base and resources available to support nurses in contributing to safer care of acutely ill patients it has found that in order to facilitate accurate detection of changes in condition, nurses working in acute care must acknowledge the importance of observations and early warning systems in the identification of patients at risk of adverse events and ensure patients are assessed using a sound knowledge of physiological compensatory mechanisms, to enhance this knowledge they should attend an ALERT course, the evidence pointed to nurses attending these courses early in their career and that clinical scenarios could also help increase their knowledge of acute illness. It was found that communication tools help nurses when calling for senior assistance and the implementation of a standard tool within acute hospital settings could help to prevent harm from deterioration.

On the Road and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Analysis

On the Road and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Analysis Referring closely to literary and linguistic features, explore the presentation of hopes and dreams within On the Road and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hopes and dreams are presented as a means of escape and an opportunity for external and internal discovery for the characters of Jack Kerouacs On the Road and Hunter S. Thompsons Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty seek rather juxtaposed dreams; Dean is punished for his lavish and overindulgent wants whereas Sal uses his time on the road to fulfil more rewarding and spiritual objectives. Similarly, Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas takes a journey of discovery to find the true American Dream in Las Vegas, Nevada. To some extent, the pursuit of hopes and dreams is a method of escaping the realities of everyday life for characters from both texts. In Kerouacs novel, the dreams of where the road might take them provide an escape for both Sal and Dean from a mundane East Coast lifestyle, and a way to forget the mistakes of the past. Similarly in Thompsons piece, a voyage of revelation fueled by an underlying desire to understand the American Dream offers a chance to escape for Raoul and his attorney using somebody elses money. Jack Kerouac employs a proper noun in the utterance fifty dollars from old veteran benefits, I was ready to go to the West Coast. Here, the West is presented as a symbol of great opportunity and freedom like it had been for the pioneers who settled there from Americas east and across the world over a century earlier. For Sal, this escape is from a miserable divorce whilst also having recovered from a serious illness. The writer uses hyperbole and plosive alliteration through Deans wants of innumerable girls and sex parties and pornographic pictures suggesting at Deans apparently unlimited thirst for sexual encounters with as many women as possible, and highlight that a reason why he goes on the road is to fulfil his sexual needs and desires as part of his American Dream. These wants contrast with his more simple needs of concrete noun bread and abstract noun love later in the novel which indicate at the aimlessness of Moriartys quest to find it. In contrast, Duke and Dr Gonzo are shown to be more driven in attempts to find truth and happiness. Thompson uses a metaphor and abstract noun in the exclamative I tell you, my man, this is the American Dream in action! to give a suggestion of Dukes belief that the American Dream is about living a hedonistic life of indulgence. Unlike Sal, who is forced at times to ration his food, the pair spend excessively throughout the novel, especially on alcohol and gambling, but despite such wild attempts Raoul is still unable to attain the happiness he strives for. Duke repeatedly indicates at the journeys purpose being a discovery of the 1970s American Dream and is preoccupied with it throughout the book. The writer uses a present and past-tense dynamic verbs were looking for the American Dream, and we were told it was somewhere in this area. This perhaps suggests at Raouls misunderstanding of and confusion with the concept of the American Dream for he appears to believe that it is something tangible, serving to highlight his dreams elusive nature. Throughout both texts, hopes and dreams are presented as ripe opportunities for the characters to capitalise on. Kerouac employs a metaphor and grammatical repetition in the declarative new call and a new horizon, the abstract noun call and concrete noun horizon here present a hopeful new beginning for Sal and a fundamental change in how he will live his life. This is what Dean offers at the start of the book to Sal, an opportunity to leave his life as a newly-divorced and miserable man in the East behind and escape to what is hoped to be a better life in the West. Deans use of grammatical repetition in the utterance man, wow, theres so many things to do, so many things to write! presents the excitement brought on by the allure of the adventures that await once they get out on the road, and the promise of a better life thereafter. This is to show how to truly live you must break free from the shackles of conventionality and day-to-day life, and that the world is rife with opportuniti es for those who can achieve such freedom. An example of litotes from Dean is when he says so longs I can get that lil ole gal with that lil sumpin down there tween her legs highlighting that his one need is a woman with whom he can he can have sex. For Dean, being on the road is a way to achieve his ambitions of achieving as many sexual encounters as he can, with Moriarty growing increasingly sexually sybaritic throughout the book. Similarly but in a far less literal sense than Kerouac, Thompson uses personification in a sexual metaphor of his own when Duke is wandering through at 4:30 AM he notes that the gamblers are still humping the American Dream. This use of vulgar colloquialism indicates how with a luck America will provide the economic and social success that is wish for. These people hope that gambling will be a way to achieve the American Dream through winning big and getting rich, their chance of weakening their finances however are greater. In contrast with Sals attainable and clear spiritual search on his journe y, Raouls quest for the specific whereabouts of the American Dream concludes with a further metaphor used in Las Vegas when Raoul states that weve found the main nerve. The concrete noun nerve here likens the city to the bodys nervous system and Raoul hopes now that he has discovered the true physical American Dream at this location. At this point he will not let his attorney leave yet, because their expectations of the American Dream were that it would be remarkable but soon the realisation sets in that it is not as magnificent as once anticipated. How hopes and dreams are realised varies wildly between the different characters and books. Deans continued equivocation quickly begins to kill off Sals hope of real discovery. He wishes to find answers and meaning to what the American Dream and therefore Dean truly means by his use of the exclamative fragment it!, but Dean cannot provide anything more than an abstract and vague definition. From this point on, Sal begins to see Dean as his true and shallow self has a realisation that it and the American Dream can never be attained for neither truly are real. The use of pre-modifying adjectives in the phrase wonderful Technicolor visions likens the epiphanic moments of spiritual enlightenment that he is starting to feel to being in a movie filmed using the Technicolor colour process commonly used in Hollywood from the 1920s to 1940s, this indicates that Sal has used his travels of the road as a means of self-discovery. His perspectives change as a result and he becomes a changed man u pon realisation of his insignificance as a lone individual in the vast United States. Whilst writing the novel Kerouac increasingly was fascinated by Buddhism after losing the strong Catholic faith instilled in him as a child, this rebellion against religious norms is echoed here. Thompson uses of pre-modifying adjectives contrastingly when Raoul and his attorney are searching for a location called American Dream all they can find is a huge slab of cracked, scorched concrete in a vacant lot full of tall weeds, the burned down physical American Dream that they find is symbolically representative of Thompsons belief that the ideal now has been destroyed, and therefore is unattainable. A further use of the main nerve metaphor is Dukes utterance that were on the main nerve right now. He now reveals ere that he believes that he has found the American Dream here in Las Vegas at the casino Circus-Circus for its manager has his own circus, and a license to steal, too. Here Thompson mocks the concept of the American Dream in a large city like Las Vegas with the only circumstance of successfully achieving it is this small instance, as well as its unconventional nature as for most joining the circus and owning a casino are not the obvious embodiment of the American Dream . To conclude, hopes and dreams are shown to be a powerful force that empower those who have them to search for the truths of life. While Sals search is a more metaphorical and ultimately more attainable one of inner discovery, Raouls instead is a largely futile one. Both Kerouac and Thompson use how the characters hopes and dreams materialise as innate criticisms of American society and its value systems. Through Sal, Kerouac presents how the American Dream is corrupted and how true self-actualisation can come from a better understanding of ones self and the world around us. Similarly, Thompson is critical of the typical capitalist ambitions inherent in the American Dream of great wealth which so few are able to actually achieve. (x words) Bibliography Kerouac, J., On the Road (Penguin Classics, 2000) Thompson, H., Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Harper Perennial, 2005)

Those Winter Sundays :: essays research papers

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden is a poem about a how the author is recalling how his father would wake up early on Sundays, a day which is usually a reserved as a day of rest by many, to fix a fire for his family. The mood of this poem is a bit sad. It portrays a father, who deeply cares for his family but doesn't seem to show it by emotions, words, or touching. It also describes a home that isn't very warm in feelings as well as the title" Those Winter Sundays" The author describes the father as being a hard worker, in the line "†¦with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday†¦", but still even on Sundays--the day of rest, the father works at home to make sure the house is warm for his family. The "blueblack cold described in the poem is now warmed by a father's love. This poem describes the author reminiscing what did not seem obvious at the time, the great love of his father, and the author's regretting to thank his father for all that he did. "Sex without Love" is a poem by Sharon Old, who states in the opening line "How do they do it, the ones who make love without love?" It starts out with judging those, who have sex outside of having feeling for one another. It describes the sex in the third line as without feeling more as a techniques, which is describe "beautiful as dancers.. over each other like ice skaters." Sex without love to the author is described more as an act, which is performed instead of two people in love, who sex is in love not because of the act but instead of the love of the person. The author seems to climax in the literal sense at line nine : come to the Come to the †¦ then God comes in picture after the act is done. Judgment and sin is the mood of this poem of how two people can commit an act of a heart and soul without disappointed God. "Schizophrenia", the poem by Jim Stevens is a poem that begins the opening with "It was the house that suffered most" . Most how think about how difficult it would be for the member of a family dealing with a family member, who has the condition of Schizophrenia.

The Employability Paradigm Essay -- Denis O’Sullivan’s Cultural Politi

The Employability Paradigm Denis O’Sullivan’s Cultural Politics and Irish Education since the 1950’s (2006) makes the argument that early school leaving has traditionally been understood as a failure of the individual to succeed within mainstream schooling. This essay plans to outline and support O’Sullivan’s argument and also to show how the political and educational system in Ireland has created a criterion for success which guarantees a certain amount of failure. O’Sullivan’s (2006) argues that the Employability Paradigm which emerged in the 1970’s served to distinguish a group of students who were not achieving the standard needed to guarantee employment. Employability is the assessment of those with the lowest chance of success in an economically motivated nation. It posits that intervention is necessary to prevent those individuals who have failed within the system from being dependent on social welfare and subsequently from being socially excluded (O’Sullivan 2006). In the early 1970’s, Ireland’s entry into the European economy and the changing employment market combined to connect education attainment to employability. As a result, educational credentials became the accepted way of assessing ability and this served to focus attention on those leaving school early with little or no qualifications. O’Sullivan argues that while the policy of the state, on the surface, seemed to support equal opportunity with the provision of free access to secondary education, the reality for most working class students was far from equitable. There were limited interventions available for those who needed help to develop the skills needed to benefit from access to secondary education and these students became disenfranchised. The disc... ...ing and Youth Labour Markets: A Cross-National Analysis IN: Blanchflower, D. and Freeman, R.Youth Employment and Joblessness in Advanced Countries. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mac Einri, P. 1997. Some Recent Demographic Developments in Ireland. [Online] Available from: http://migration.ucc.ie/etudesirlandaises.htm [Accessed 7th May 2012] O’Dubhslainà ©, A. 2006. The White Paper On Education: A Failure To Invest. Student Economic Review. 20 p 115 O’Sullivan, D. 2006. Cultural Politics and Irish Education since the 1950’s. Ireland: Cork University Press. Ronayne, T. 2004. Regions Without Work: Unemployment and Labour Market Policy in Ireland. [Online] Available from: http://www.wrc.ie/publications/regionsw.pdf [Accessed 7th May 2012] Stokes, D. 2004. Submission to the Youth Justice Agency. [Online] Available from: www.youthreach.ie [Accessed 7th May 2012]

Tda 2.5 Schools as Organisations

TDA 2. 5 Schools as organisations Task 1 Links to learning outcome 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, assessment criteria 1. 1, 1. 2, 2. 1, 2. 2, 2. 3, 3. 1, 3. 2, 3. 3, 4. 1, 4. 2, 5. 1, 5. 2, 6. 1, 6. 2 and 6. 3. †¢Identify the main types of state and independent schools †¢Describe the characteristics of the different types of schools in relation to educational stage(s) and school governance †¢Describe roles and responsibilities of: -School governors -Senior management team -Other statutory roles e. g. SENCO -Teachers †¢Describe the roles of external professionals who may work with a school e. g. ducational psychologist †¢Define the meaning of: -Aims -Values †¢Describe with examples how schools may demonstrate and uphold their aims †¢Describe with examples how schools may demonstrate and uphold their values †¢Identify the laws and codes of practice affecting work in schools †¢Describe why school have policies and procedures †¢Identify the policie s and procedures school may have relating to: -Staff -Pupil welfare -Teaching and learning †¢Identify the roles and responsibilities of national and local government for education policy and practice †¢Describe the role of schools in national olicies relating to children, young people and families †¢Describe the roles of other organisations working with children and young people and how these may impact on the work in schools. Identify the main types of state and independent schools Links to learning outcome 1, assessment criteria 1. 1 AND Describe the characteristics of the different types of schools in relation to educational stage(s) and school governance Links to learning outcome 1, assessment criteria 1. 2 All children in England between the ages of 5 and 16 are entitled to a free place at a state school. There are four main types of state schools that receive funding from the local authority. They all follow the national curriculum and are regularly inspected by OFSTED. Community schools – Run by the local authority, which employ the staff, own the lands and building, and decides which admissions criteria to use. Community schools have strong links with the local community and they usually offer their facilities for childcare and adult learning classes. (I do work placement at a community school) Foundation and trust schools – Foundation schools are run by their own governing body, which employs the staff and sets the admissions criteria. Land and buildings are owned by the governing body or a charitable foundation. Trust schools are like foundation schools but they have an outside partnership which forms a charitable trust. The outside partner could be a business or educational charity. They try to explore new way of working to raise standards. The governing body decides whether to become a trust school with parents having a say. Voluntary-aided schools – Are mainly religious or faith schools. The governing body employs staff and sets the admissions criteria. The school buildings and land is owned by a charity hich could be a religious organisation. They also appoint some of the members of the governing body. Voluntary-controlled schools- Are similar to voluntary-aided schools, but are run by the local authority. The local authority employs the staff and set the admissions criteria. The land and buildings and land are owned by a charity usually a religious organisation, which also appoint some members of the g overning body. There are; Specialist schools- which follow the National Curriculum and focus on a particular subject area like, sports, media or technology. Academies- which are independently managed, they are set up by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups in partnership with the Department for Education (DfE) and the local authority. Together they fund the land and buildings, with the government covering the running costs. City Technology Colleges- These are independently managed, non-fee-paying schools in urban areas for pupils of all abilities aged 11 to 18. They are geared towards science, technology and the world of work, offering a range of vocational qualifications as well as GCSEs and A levels. Community and foundation special schools- cater for children with specific special educational needs. These may include physical disabilities or learning difficulties. Faith schools- are mostly run in the same way as other state schools. However, their faith status may be reflected in their religious education curriculum, admissions criteria and staffing policies. Grammar schools- select all or most of their pupils based on academic ability. Maintained boarding schools- offer free tuition, but charge fees for board and lodging. Independent schools- set their own curriculum and admissions policy is usually decided by the governing body and head teacher. They are funded by fees paid by parents and income from investments. Just over half have charitable status. They have to be registered with the DfE, and regularly monitored by OFSTED. http://www. direct. gov. uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/ChoosingASchool/DG_4016312 Describe roles and responsibilities of: -School governors -Senior management team -Other statutory roles e. g. SENCO -Teachers Links to learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2. 1 School governors- work with the school, they work in partnership with the headteacher and staff. Governors do not intervene with the day to day running of the school, unless there is a serious problem. The governing body is also responsible for making sure that the schools finances are managed appropriately. It is also responsible for staffing and personnel management. They will also make decisions on issues involving the curriculum and whether to write new policies. Senior management team- Is responsible for taking interviews, inductions, performance monitoring, and appraisals. They can also deal with complaints and issues with colleagues. Deal with courses and career development. They can hold staff meetings, also be responsible for child protection issues. Have general information about policies. Sort out salary queries. Other statutory roles e. g. SENCO- This person is responsible for coordinating the special needs policies in a setting and advising staff. They will be the line of contact for any outside agencies that need to come into the school to look at individual children with special needs. Teachers- are responsible for the education and welfare of the children in the reception classes and for the communication with Parents and all members of the School community. Specific responsibilities: CURRICULUM †¢ Provide a broad, balanced curriculum based on the Foundation Stage †¢ Plan effectively, using learning objectives, producing long-term, mid term and weekly plans †¢ Organise an appropriate timetable, following School’s guidelines †¢ Arrange visits out of school for the children, to extend learning opportunities †¢ Arrange visitors to come to school, to enrich learning and encourage enquiry ASSESSMENT †¢ Assess children regularly, both formally and informally †¢ Observe individual children in different situations and involved in different activities †¢ Use Baseline Assessment †¢ Keep up to date profiles for all children †¢ Use assessment results to plan appropriate learning programmes Describe the roles of external professionals who may work with a school e. g. educational psychologist Links to learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2. 2 EDUCATIONAL PSYCOLOGIST Educational psychologists consider how children learn, so are used to helping to identify learning difficulties. They visit schools and settings regularly and work alongside parents and professionals in the setting. PHYSIOTHERAPIST A physiotherapist helps to identify a child’s main physical problems while working alongside other professionals and parents. SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPIST Speech and language therapists work with children who have some difficulties with their language. COMMUNITY PAEDIATRICIAN Paediatricians are manly based in hospitals and clinics. They have specialised training in children’s medicine and children are referred to them via their family doctor for diagnosis. They make regular assessments of hildren’s progress and medical needs. They are able to refer children to other health services such as speech and language therapy and dieticians. COMMUNITY NURSE In some areas community nurses visit schools and settings to help provide advice and support. Integrating health and education is a major focus for the Every Child Matters programme, so some early yea r’s centres will have a community based at the centre. FAMILY DOCTOR (GP) A GP has general training in medicine. GP’s form part of the community health team and act as a base for a child’s ongoing medical treatment and notes. CHILD PSYCHIATRIST Children or young people who are showing depression or emotional difficulties may be referred to child psychiatrist. A child psychiatrist has been trained as a doctor specialising in mental health and is able to prescribe medication as well as being able to consider the underlying issues behind a child’s emotional state. CHILD PSYCHOTHERAPIST A child psychotherapist will work with children or young people who are showing emotional distress by talking through their experiences with them and helping the child to explore these. CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST A child psychologist looks at child’s development and learning in a similar way to an educational psychologist. The main difference between their roles is that a child psychologist may support children in a range of different settings rather than just in the educational context. PLAY THERAPIST A play therapist helps children to explore trauma or experiences through the medium of play. EDUCATIONAL WELFARE OFFICER/EDUCATION SOCIAL WORKER The main function of these professionals is to liaise between home and families in cases where school attendance is infrequent. It is an offence for children over 5 years old not to be in some sort of full-time educational programme. ) SPECIAL NEEDS SUPPPORT TEACHER These teachers travel between schools to visit young people or children in their home or pre-school settings. They are able to help a wide range of children and are often seen as useful sources of support and guidance. CLASSROOM ASSISTANT/LEARNING SUPPORT ASSISTANT Their main purpose is to support an individual child, young person or a group of children or young people within a classroom under direction of the teacher. Social worker The majority of social workers are employed by the local authority, although some are employed by voluntary organisations. They are generally deployed in teams according to specialist areas, for example social workers may be involved in caring for older clients, adoption or fostering work. Social workers can provide guidance and advice as well as practical support for families. RESPITE CARERS Respite carers look after children for short periods of time so that their parents can have some time out. CARERS AND BENEFIT ADVISORS Some settings have career and benefits advisors as part of the team. They can help parents find employment and training courses and give them advice about claiming benefit. Define the meaning of: -Aims -Values Links to learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2. 3 Aims and Values are usually set out in the schools mission statement. Aims- explain what the school wants to achieve. They are usually set out by the head teacher with support from the community and parents. Values- can be determined by the schools rules, usually include respect for self and others and are closely related to Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) and citizenship education. Values are based on moral code. The mission statement from the school I do my work placement at; All children will receive an education that is broad and balanced, that develops their potential and is suited to their needs. They will be given opportunities to discover and develop their talents through curricular and extracurricular activities. The ethos and curriculum of the school will instil values that will encourage independence, self esteem and respect for others. Describe with examples how schools may demonstrate and uphold their aims Links to learning outcome 3, assessment criteria 3. 1 Schools may demonstrate and uphold their aims in a mission statement. For example the school where I do work placement explains that they are committed to encouraging the children to reach their full potential whatever their needs. Describe with examples how schools may demonstrate and uphold their values Links to learning outcome 3, assessment criteria 3. 2 Schools may demonstrate and uphold their values in a mission statement. The mission statement from the school where I do my work placement states that the curriculum and ethos of the school will encourage self esteem, independence and respect for others. Identify the laws and codes of practice affecting work in schools Links to learning outcome 3, assessment criteria 3. 3 There are some laws and codes of practice that affect work in schools which are; Children’s Act 2004; Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and Special Educational Needs Code of Practice; Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Children’s Act 2004 -it was passed to make sure that duties would be put on local authorities to ensure that all the different services that work with children and their families work more efficiently together. Data Protection Act 1998 – Schools are required to keep information secure and it can only be used for the purpose it was gathered for. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and Special Educational Needs Code of Practice- Schools are not to discriminate against disabled children this has led to more disabled children in mainstream schools. Health and Safety at Work Act 1974- Designed to protect everyone within the school and give procedures to follow in the event of an accident. Identify the policies and procedures school may have relating to: -Staff -Pupil welfare -Teaching and learning

Raymond’s Run: POV change of Hazel Essay

Raymond’s Run is a story written by Toni Cade Bambara who describes the events that take place in the life of a skinny girl named Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker, a little African-American girl with a squeaky voice (which gives her the nickname â€Å"Squeaky†) that has passion to run. In this story Hazel changes her views about things a lot in this story. Such as her POV on Raymond, Gretchen and others in general/ Raymond suffers a metal disease. He’s bigger and older than Hazel, but a lot of people call him Hazel’s little brother because he needs to be looked after. â€Å"Squeaky† often takes strolls down Broadway so she can practice her breathing exercises while she keeps an eye on her brother all the time. She makes Raymond walk on the inside because he always makes fantasies so he starts thinking he’s a circus performer and that the curb is a tightrope strung high in the air. Hazel used to thing She hates a girl named Gretchen and her friends Mary Louise Williams from Baltimore because Gretchen’s a rival for the fifty-yard dash. She believes â€Å"she’s tough, not a strawberry or someone who enjoys dancing on her toes, she likes to run and this passion had made her to win many trophies, ribbons and it’s because of her velocity.† She says in this story. Every time just before she takes off in a race, she feels like she is in a dream, the kind you have when you’ve fever and feel hot and weightless. She usually dreams she flies over a sandy beach in the early morning sun, touching the leaves of the trees. She also perceives the smell of apples just like in the fields.