democratic self-government , democracy, political science

democratic self-government , democracy, political science

Political Science

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During the better part of the 19th and 20th centuries, authoritarian regimes predominantly dictated, controlled and influenced the political life in many Asian, Western and African countries. In the modern times however, many countries have displayed examples of democratic system of governance that have not only been successful but has also deterred re-occurrence of dictatorship. However not all the countries have pure democratic ruling because the system that have put in place not only encourage impunity but not effectively let go dictatorship. It has been a great challenge installing democracy in some countries especially those in Africa. The Islamism is a good paradigm that the western style democracy faces a lot of challenges in large parts of the world. There has also been return of the centralized authoritarian ruling in Russia. Although democracy has been progressing very well, the progress may be negated behind by those countries that resist letting go of the authoritarian ruling. Africa for example is a good example of the victims of authoritarian ruling (Magstad, 140). However Zambia served as emulation when they let go of dictatorship and allowed their country to be democratic.

Totalitarian regimes are termed as false utopias because they make promises that are they never fulfill. There is usually complete domination and those in control seem to run everything without the opinion of the followers. Those countries that have totalitarian governments aim at achieving total political, economic and social control of the people. The outright characteristic of this type of ruling is that those in power have the total say over the society and the state in general (Magstadt, 151). These are some of the reasons that make it to be referred as false because it is concerned with the needs of the society but is only concerned with gaining power over those who are in charge. This kind of ruling involved a lot of violence especially the killing of innocent people who were deemed dangerous for no particular reason.

The Russian government was run by a union called the Soviet Union. This union had emerged from the totalitarian regime and therefore it involved domination. The people were tied of having such kind of a ruling therefore decided to fight it. The citizens of Russia were more determined to promote nationalism, a belief in self determination and egalitarianism. They could not anymore take in the fact that there were people like them trying to take control over their country. They believed that it was high time to promote equality in their state and society as well. Russia has faced a lot of rebellion by many of its neighboring countries. This is because most of those countries became victim of the nuclear weapons that the Soviet government had deployed at the time of its reign. There was a lot of tension among those newly independent nations (Magstadt 242).

Economic development and political stability do go hand in hand. If a country is politically unstable, the most possible outcome is that the economy is usually at stake. In most cases it is not possible for a country that is politically unstable to do well with its economic structure. For example the economy of a country is highly affected when that country is experiencing internal wars most of which are politically driven (Magstadt 288). On the other hand if a country is politically stable, the economy is not much affected. If leaders ensure that their countries are politically stable it will not consume time trying to maintain peace but rather use that time to improve the economy of that particular country. It may not be necessary for either factors to depend on each other but each contributes to the success or failure of the other.

The concepts of citizenship and democratic self-government have certain correlations. Citizenship requires that one be patriotic and strives to see his country and fellow citizens develop and prosper. Democratic self government is based on the principle of popular mandate and sovereignty. As such citizenship enforces democratic self-government as the citizens would have their democratically elected leaders to rule their independent and sovereign territory on their behalf, while at the same time maintaining law and order but guaranteeing the same citizens fundamental human rights and freedoms.

I cannot claim to be politically active because basically politics puts me off. This is because most people misuse the positions that they acquire making it look like a bad venture. If people would change their perspective about politics, not viewing it as a base of competition, politics would have some relevance. Those involved in politics always think of what they will gain out of it and not how they will help those involved. For one to be a good leader and citizen they have to stick to the regulations and norms of that state. That is what would increase my level of participation and support towards politics (Magstadt, 352).

In most cases, people who seek political offices and are in search of fame do not do it for the good of the public. It is usually a matter of what will make them famous and what they will gain out of all that. These kinds of leaders will not show that they are there to cause any harm and neither will they show any good that they are willing to do to their followers. Their main aim is for them to gain the leadership and to ensure that they are re-elected the next time there is an election. For a good leader, his or her interest is not whether they are elected but rather to ensure that they fulfill the major needs of the society. Some of the leaders that were driven by the desire for fame include George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and James Madison (Magstadt, 401). According to them leadership was a way of pursuing fame but at the same time they were patriots and were ready to serve their country.

Works Cited:

Magstadt, T., Understanding Politics, Cengage Learning Academic Resource Centre, CA: California, 2009.

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Democracy is overrated

Democracy is overrated

Democracy is overrated

Democracy is overrated

Although different institutions define democracy variedly, the fundamentals of this concept relate to government by the people through elected representatives. In other aspects, issues considered entail direct and indirect citizen political involvement, fairness, and prevalence of the rule of law. Idyllically, a democracy should ensure that all citizens have equal opportunities and access to national resources. Nonetheless, this is often not the case. Despite many governments and institutions portraying perfect democracies, this concept stands overrated because numerous ills that contravene social equality occur. These include flawed elections, majoritarianism, unfavorable safeguards and restrictions, and oppression.

One of the most ideal perspectives of democracy is based on the idea of ‘the will of the people’ (Mueller, 2001). As explained by Iversen (2005), this will is commonly found in elective processes across the world. When major democracies conduct elections every four or five years, there is a common belief that the processes are free and fair. Thus, the governments elected are ‘for the people, by the people’ (Mueller, 2001). However, an explanation by Iversen (2005) indicated that this is not the case. In underdeveloped countries, large fractions of the electorate are neither learned nor informed. Despite prevalent poor governance and underdevelopment, most politicians visit such persons in the eve of elections with handouts and gifts to woo their votes. After elections, the politicians fail to address major societal issues and emerge with handouts again after four years. Furthermore, the electorate has been customized to believe that the more flamboyant and colorful one’s campaign is, the better their ability to serve. To an extent, elections remain a contest of the rich. In other cases, candidates draw resources from friends who expect favors related to tenders and business policies if their candidates win. All these demean the original ideals of true democracy.

Another point worth considering is the relationship between minority and majority groups in elections. Many political parties and groups are aware of the fact that all bills and policies in parliaments are passed by majority votes. As a result, McDermott (2010) explained that political systems manipulate elections to ensure that they have majority memberships in legislative bodies. The implication of this is that they cannot lose anytime they intend to pass a law. Considerably, this moves the case from democracy to majoritarianism. This is because such a system could even deprive the minority of basic needs and still find the process democratic. According to Iversen (2005), the most common victim of this provision is the press. Because media institutions report on political ills, there have been many occasions across the world where parliaments have passed laws to bar the press from visiting parliament or performing other functions.

In its design, democracy provides numerous security measures and safeguards. These are entrenched in constitutions and relate to electoral processes, judicial procedures, individual rights and freedoms, and political representation. Miroff, Seidelman, and Swanstrom (1999) pointed out two examples that make such safeguards the breaking point of true democracy. The first rule is that a president must be elected by majority vote. In the event that an election is held and less than seventy percent turnout is achieved, fifty one percent of this attendance does not make up forty percent of the total population. It would imply that a decision made by approximately thirty percent is used to govern the rest. Although it is democratically correct, it is not ideal. Again, safeguards would bar the electorate from giving a hard working successful candidate a third term if the constitution restricts such.

The notion of democracy stands out as one of the most overrated ideas across the world. Globally, one of the ways of assessing the extent of democracy in a country is through elections. However, elections have numerous faults that make them flawed. Furthermore, many elected governments embezzle public funds and oppress minorities. Additionally, various safeguards introduced to ensure democratic success may sometimes turn around and hinder democracy in other ways. In general, the ideals of democracy are appealing. However, most systems that subscribe to democracy never practice these ideals.

References

Iversen, T. (2005). Capitalism, Democracy, and Welfare. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

McDermott, J. F. M. (2010). Restoring Democracy to America: How to Free Markets and Politics from the Corporate Culture of Business and Government. University Park: Pennsylvania State Univ. Press.

Miroff, B., Seidelman, R., & Swanstrom, T. (1999). Debating Democracy: A Reader in American Politics. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Mueller, J. E. (2001). Capitalism, Democracy and Ralph’s Pretty Good Grocery. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.

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Demonstration of Leadership Skills as a Student Leader

Demonstration of Leadership Skills as a Student Leader

Demonstration of Leadership Skills as a Student Leader

In order to be an effective leader, one must demonstrate special leadership skills which include team work, planning, communication, adaptability and persuasion skills. Team work skills ensure individuals work cooperatively and collaboratively together. Planning skills focuses on creating strategies that can help achieve future expectations. Communication skills enable leaders to create an environment where members can express their ideas freely. Adaptability skills enable leaders to be flexible to lead in any given circumstances. Persuasion skills are equally essential since they enable leaders to influence others positively and skills for coaching and development of team members, decision making skills and transparency

Leaders not only need to acquire these leadership skills but to also demonstrate them while practicing. For instance, a student leader needs to have effective communication skills to enhance interpersonal and open communication among the members. To explicit effective communication skills, a leader must ensure that the students can freely share their feelings and ideas with him/her. He must be able to understand and listen to their grievances and give appropriate remedies to them. He must demonstrate ability to understand student’s non verbal communication and be trustworthy to keep confidential information private.

These skills can be demonstrated by encouraging networking among students to deepen their relationships and to encourage cohesions. Student leader need to promote communication by initiating strategies such as discussion forum where students express their opinions to one another, design activities that encourage team work and interactions and creation of an environment where student can express themselves without tension or threat.

Another leadership skill that a student leader must demonstrate is integrity. Integrity refers to a level of honesty and transparency that can be identified by the attitudes and behaviors exhibited by a leader’s integrity can be demonstrated by adhering to principles and behaving in an ethical way with those you interact with. A leader must keep in mind that the students look up to him/her as their role model and he/she therefore need to behave in a way that can be emulated. He must ensure that ethical standards are followed and he must be able to strongly and boldly reject or condemn any behavior that conflict with the ethics even when it involves risk taking. To accomplish this level of integrity, a student leader must provide ethical rules to be followed and be the first one to practice in order to lead others.

In exhibiting leadership skill during practice, a leader may encounter inevitable situations that present difficult challenges. For instance, students may disagree with some of their leader’s decisions which may conflict with their plans and beliefs. Students may also disagree with each other due to issues such as biases, self esteem, peer influence or lack of self realization. When faced with such a situation, a leader should first identify the course of the problems then employ strategic plans aimed at encouraging teamwork to deepen their interactions and initiating effective communication skills to help students to open up and share any underlying issues. The leader must ensure that the problems that arose during the challenging situation are not left unresolved by addressing them together and ensuring that all the students have settled successful and their grievances has been dealt with accordingly. This will ensure a good start in the future decision making process where all past matters has been resolved

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Demonstration of Empirically Supported Counseling Procedures

Demonstration of Empirically Supported Counseling Procedures

Demonstration of Empirically Supported Counseling Procedures

Suicide Counseling Session

For confidentiality purposes, recording of names will use abbreviations where CLR will represent Counselor/ Therapist while B. will represent the client.

CLR:Welcome B. to our first counseling session. My name is T. and I am happy to meet with you for this session. I look forward to working with you until the therapy is completed, and I’m sure we will be good friends as time goes on. I referred to you as B. because that is what the receptionist told me about your name when sending you in; am I free to call you by that name or you would like me to use another name during the sessions?

B:I am Ok with that. Most of my friends call me by that name.

CLR:Good progress, I am one of your friends from now on, aren’t I.

B:Yes you are.

CLR:Are you comfortable in this room before we begin, or should we find another place for our discussions?

B:I’d prefer that we are not heard by your colleagues in the other offices.

CLR:Nobody can hear what we are saying from outside, as you can see, there is no one near the windows and the door is locked. Just as you can’t hear what they are saying, no one can hear what we will discuss. If you are not Ok with that, we can find somewhere else. Let me see what we can do (standing to look for another place).

B:No. In that case we can use the room. It is only that I don’t want people meddling in my life anymore. I am Ok here.

CLR:I understand what you are saying. I assure you it is going to be safe here. Is there any other concern that we can handle before we proceed?

B:No.

CLR:Good. B, it is important that you become aware of a few session regulations. First, we will be following a timetable kind of a schedule that I will hand to you when we meet next. Secondly, we will observe time since we have a maximum of thirty minutes for a day’s session, unless otherwise stated in advance. Thirdly, professional code of conduct regulating counseling dyads restricts our relationship to purely professional purposes. Fourthly, we shall be guided by the principle of confidentiality throughout the therapy and nobody should be aware of what we discuss. I like the fact that you observed that we need to have a private environment where nobody hears what we discuss. Other regulations will be communicated in bits during our coming sessions.

B:Does it mean that I cannot ask for any favor from you outside my case questions.

CLR:Precisely! That’s right. I case there is a favor that you need from me, just ask and we will discuss if it will compromise the professional and client duties that we need to observe for the sake of the therapy’s success. Don’t hide any detail if we can discuss and clarify things out. I like your attitude in this matter and I promise you my assistance in the session. Is everything clear form there, B?

B:Yes. I appreciate your information. I have not been in a counseling relationship before.

CLR:Welcome. B we are now into the main agenda of the therapy process. First, I need to know the details of your challenge in your own words. Please feel free to tell me what has put you in the state that you are in now that you need professional help. Continue please. (Creating eye contact with a pen and paper to write important facts)

B:I have a problem with my family. Every body thinks that I am insensitive and careless in what I do. Many bad things have happened and I have been blamed by every one. Even those who don’t blame me don’t come to my rescue. My performance in school went down and I felt unwanted at home and at school. I thought it was time that I put this to an end once and for all. I wanted to take poison but my brothers found out from a suicide note that I had written and they reported me. That’s why my mother brought me here.

CLR:Wait a minute B. Sorry for that. That was too quick to make a decision, don’t you think so?

B:I think so. But I have my point to every one.

CLR:Can you tell me what bad things happened?

B:At one time, I was left at home alone because I had a cold. Everyone went to school and others to work. I went out of the room and forgot to switch off the heater and it caused a fire that nearly burnt our hose. Our neighbor’s gardener was quick to help me switch off the power and call the fire brigade. We called our parents and my mum was very mad at me like my elder brothers. My late dad calmed them down but they keep on mentioning it to me that I burned our living room and family treasures that were there. It is painful.

CLR:Sorry for that, B. Are there more bad things?

B:That is the main one. But there is another one. I went to walk our best dog, Milo three years ago, alone and I was still small. Unfortunately, I met two stray dogs on the road that usually met on other days without a problem. That day they got at me and our beautiful Milo, they attacked him biting very badly. I could only manage to pick him and rush him back home. It had cost our family so much money and it was very like. I called our parents from work. My dad came and he was angry at me and asked me to get in the car to take Milo to the animals clinic. He bled profusely on road and unfortunately died shortly after being placed on treatment. I cried and my dad consoled me. He understood it and promised to buy me another dog on the way home. We bought another dog that I named Milo but the rest of the family was not happy and painful memories of the dog’s death are blamed on me. Any security breach in the compound is directed at me since Milo was always alert to keep guard.

CLR:Any more bad things.

B:No. Just the events that crop from the blame placed on me.

CLR:Tell me whether this is what you are precisely saying; that you feel that the blame for the two mistakes and possibly others make you feel like everyone is on your neck.

B:Yes. This is not because I am not responsible but because they blow everything out of control. They make me feel like I am always walking on shells.

CLR:Give me your family background.

B:I have three elder brothers and sister younger than me. My dad passed away tow years ago. I felt like I lost a close family partner since only my dad understood me. Everything is unbearable since the demise of my dad. I miss him so much. (Sobbing)

CLR: I understand how you must be feeling. I am sorry for everything that has been disturbing you. (Leaning forward, hands a soft tissue paper to the client for wiping tears)

My closest friend had a similar challenge in his family when his dad died and felt that the rest of the family was incapable of fitting in his shoes. This happens when we are faced with loss and the grieving is shifted to the worries of the environment around us. I am sorry for the loss.

B: Thank you. From the bitter treatment that the family has given me, particularly from my mum and my brothers, I have been affected in my studies. I was an above average student but since then my performance is very wanting. I was almost discontinued last semester on grounds of poor performance but my previous performance assured the school management that I can turn things around and I got a second chance. I am afraid that my family background is not likely to improve. Every time I go back home I resume my troubles and I feel unwanted in this conditions. Nobody is concerned about me at school either. Since my dad’s death, I don’t have a personal mentor at home. (Sobbing.) All I have are enemies in disguise of family members (sobbing).

CLR:Sorry for that. Things will be different now. Could you tell me what was contained in the suicide note? Tell me what you had written, if you don’t mind.

B: Of course I don’t mind. It was a short note. I had stated that my school performance was embarrassing me and that my family was responsible for not giving the support and love that I needed. I also had included the death of my dad as a big loss that I cannot continue with in my life.

CLR:I want to add the other rule at this juncture concerning your suicide thoughts. It is terribly wrong for any one to think and attempt to take someone’s life. Including your own life and it is punishable by the law. B, I want you to understand that everyone is protected by the society that we live in as a custodian of our rights, the basic one being the right to live. In such cases, when a counseling client insists that they want to take their lives, we are under duty to report them to the authorities, thereby breaking the principle of confidentiality. I will continue asking you in the therapy sessions whether you still hold the suicidal resolve in order to clarify if I should report you to the police. What can you say about that?

B:Oh no! I don’t want anyone to be told about this. It has caused me enough trouble at school and home. I hate myself for being too harsh on myself. But I am confused. I am sorry and I beg you not to report me.

CLR:That is very positive to hear from you. I know what might be going on in your mind. You feel that everybody hates you. Do you think that your classmates hate you?

B:I have lost all of my friends because they don’t want to be associated with my failures. They make fun of me for failing in class. It is painful since most of those that make fun of me were not better than me.

CLR:Neither are they better than you now. It is only that you are undergoing three difficult situations. You are affected by deteriorated school performance and it appears you are affected this much because you are a performer like we are going to see. Secondly, the poor family relations are affecting you such that the environment is unsupportive. The third challenge that has been affecting you is the loss of a parent who appears to be your mentor and close friend. This is called attachment where a child feels specially attached to one family member or parent than the rest. We will address each of these at a time to assist you in finding a reason to avoid suicidal thoughts that rise form these challenges.

B:Does it mean that my performance will improve and I will feel love at home?

CLR:With your cooperation, that is very possible. How do you relate with your classmates.

B:I hate them. They laugh at me because they heard I wanted to commit suicide due to poor performance.

CLR:I would also like to put across an important remark that might assist us in finding a different perspective to the challenge ahead of us. Human beings have a very complex feelings perception and responses, particularly when dealing with the environment that they are dealing with. Both bad and good feelings from the environment are processed in our brains in various ways. In a counseling perspective known as rationale emotive therapy, clients’ minds are opened up to point at their defective thinking and they are assisted to think positively. In fact, every human being is capable of retreating into negative thoughts to think that they are hated, they are stupid and they are unlucky or doomed. Through a little intervention targeted at the wrong mindset, therapy achieves success that enables them to view themselves positively once again. Using negative descriptions for example, hate, don’t, foolish among others; it is very possible for us to retreat into our own negative perceptions. This is inflated into more serious problems such as suicidal thoughts. I think part of these challenges is contributed by that. If I may ask, what would be different if your dad will be alive today?

B:Things will be very different. I would be feeling his love. He was different from every one else in the family. When he died, I cried for several days alone in my room. No one felt that much pain. They told me to stop crying because I was making them sad. So I hid from them to cry. I still feel like it was worse for me than all of them. (Sobbing)

CLR:Sorry for that. (Handing soft tissue)

It is important that you feel free to cry out that feeling. Crying is important in overcoming loss and grief. There is a healing process that every body is supposed to follow without prematurely terminating the process in between the stages. Anger, denial and confusion make up some of the feelings that every client should time to come to terms with. There is nothing wrong with crying as long as you come out of it having known how to deal with the fat that some one you loved is gone and will never come. Moving out of anger may take time if one does not accept the facts of the loss. But with the cooperation that you have demonstrated to me, I am sure you will be out of that state. It happened to my closest friend like I had said before and I had to assist him with all my heart. I am ready to help you also since we are already friends. Aren’t we? (Smiling)

B:Yes we are. I will appreciate your assistance.

CLR:I appreciate that you are young and you have a lot of potential to make some of the discussions we will be having fruitful. I almost forgot but as we wind up, tell me about your relationship with a close person outside your family, like a boyfriend or a very close relative that you share your inside world with.

B:Honestly, I don’t have a boyfriend at the moment.

CLR:That means you had one before?

B:Yes. And we broke up.

CLR:When was that?

B:Exactly a year ago.

CLR:How long did the relationship last?

B:For slightly over a year.

CLR:What happened till you broke up, if you don’t mind?

B:He could not understand me in my difficult moments. He thought that I was oversensitive and I thought he was mean to me. Later I learnt that he was seeing another girl. I let him go.

CLR:And you can be honest that it hurts.

B:Exactly. But I don’t want to talk about that since I have had other serious issues than him.

CLR:Would you have him back, or get in another relationship?

B:With him again, no. I don’t think I am ready now for a relationship.

CLR:Ok, B. It is good to take time off. How about a close relative like an aunt, cousin or somebody else?

B:There is no one closer than my dad was. I don’t have any one to talk to.

CLR:I understand your condition because I also had nobody to talk to. But my social problems became lighter when I started to open up to a friend. A girl came into my life and she has been with me all this time. I hope that your relationship life is also affected due to the fact that there is difficulty in expression of inner feelings. We will work on that too, don’t be worried B.

Empirical Explanation of Interventions

Preparations, Techniques and Theory

Every therapist must take charge of a counseling session and making some rules known to the client is perhaps the first move to thump authority in the session, creating some order in the meetings. This is important at the preparatory stages for future sessions just in case clients become rowdy in the sessions. It is also important that the client is made comfortable with the environment in which the sessions will be taking place. Alternative locations should be made available for the client to choose from, if they are not comfortable with one of them. This is the reason why the client is made aware of the safety of the room since it was her main concern. The rules are also illustrated in the beginning of the session, which establishes the session’s standard based on safety to open up and maintenance of order assured too. According to Loesch and Vacc (2000), preparation for a session must demonstrate the professional duty that the counselor has for the client.

It is important that the professional obligation is important in the entire therapy period with particular emphasis on the counseling dyad features and the duties of each of the parties to the dyad. Similar session preparation information is contained in the work of Clawson, Hernderson and Schwieger (2003) to the effect that the counseling sessions must be prepared within the professional obligation perspective. Professional responsibilities of the counselor are more important since the counselor has to follow the expected professional code of conduct. Reminding the client about duties such as confidentiality and counseling dyad relationship regulation makes an important contribution in the establishment of the initial counseling setting (Fagan, 1966). When the client understands the responsibilities of the parties within the guiding professional framework, it is easy for the therapist to identify various interventions needed in the process.

Perhaps the most important preparation stage regarding the therapy itself is based on the requirement to have the client give their own account of the story all over again even if it might be reported at the reception in bits such as names. Understanding the client’s historical and family background should be established in the first session in order to assist in diagnostics and detecting the actual case presenting challenges. This is important in the formation of an understanding of the client’s challenge, which assists the therapist to find the appropriate techniques for the therapy, which are founded in theoretical approaches (Nelson-Jones 2005).

A number of counseling techniques are applied in the session in order to capture various interventions as guided by theory. Therapists are guided by counseling techniques in order to manipulate theoretical tools in driving the therapy process towards a certain desired end. The client may be informed at some points of the technical application if the therapist feels that the client will understand and related well with the technicalities of the therapy as applied. Using one technique is inadequate since there are several interventions that the client needs for the presenting challenges.

Firstly, the session applied eye contact technique from the beginning of the client’s narration, since the therapist needed to establish some communication agenda. Eye contact is important in therapy as it enables the therapist to demonstrate the importance of the client’s narration. By shifting eye contact, a client may get the perception that their story is not important to the therapist (Geldard and Geldard, 2008). This is a form of communication tool that the therapist uses to enhance trust in the client that they are important in the sessions. By establishing trust through communication signals, the sitting position is important to the therapist. Observing the sitting position of the client and gestures enables the therapist to manipulate the techniques in order to bring the client back into the session with all the attention. This is important for the therapy.

Additionally, as mentioned before, the client’s sitting position is a useful cue in determining the level of concentration in the therapy but the sitting dynamics for the therapist are important too. In the session, the therapist is reported to be leaning forward towards the client in an emotional episode whereby another action is also facilitated by handing a soft tissue to wipe off the tears. This is important in the demonstration of understanding the client’s emotions and moving towards assisting them further creates an important communication impact. Brown (1957) reckons that communication for emotionally disturbed persons should be handled sensitively, which is done by offering tissue sends an image of being cared for, especially for a sensitive client who has negative ideas of being under the threats of others other than their care and love. Trust is eventually created which is important in the development of therapy foundations.

Alternatively, facial expressions such as smiles being spread throughout the therapy are important in changing the mood of the client in order to manipulate and invoke further important developments of the session. Gestures such as nodding may be used to enhance this perspective which moves the attention of the client from one mood to another. Invoking humor may complement the mood changing aspect that is very important in communication during the session (Nelson-Jones, 2005). Furthermore, probing and questioning the client in an attempt to reveal details of their feelings and case facts is important in formulation of conclusions. Without asking the necessary questions to the client may prove to be prejudicial and judgmental in end, since conclusions may be made on wrong facts about the client. This is important in alleviating biases and wrong conclusions, which is human and inherent in many decision making processes. Wrong conclusions are avoided by paraphrasing the client’s statement in the session, in order to clarify areas of misunderstandings (Sanders, 1996). In addition, giving examples that the client associates with such as of a close friend and of the therapist’s own relationship life enables the therapist to further strengthen the counseling dyad relationship. Trust is built when a client understands that the therapist is willing to share their own experience in dealing with the client’s challenge. Use of sympathy and empathy is important on the client’s perception about the process.

Theory

There are a few instances of mention of rationale emotive therapy (RET) in the session which has been explained to the client since the therapist feels that the client will grasp the meaning of the technical perspective (See, 2007 and Dryden, 2003). To supplement to RET, the session applies cognitive therapy (CT) perspectives in dealing with the clients perceptions about their environment in order to correct wrong thinking regarding self worth and esteem. The application of these two perspectives is similar since the establishment of their application is based on personal thinking and cognitive behavior (Maddux

Smaby, 2011). Grief and loss therapy theory has also been invoked in the session and equally explained to the client regarding the healing process. Relationship issues relating to the client’s environment have been approached from a behavior therapy (BT) perspective which pays attention to the facts on the client’s environment and context.

Understanding the theory of suicide therapy is important in determination of how to assist clients with guilt to cope with their feelings, for instance in an environment where they feel judged. According to Worden (2003), dealing with fears that the client has for having been associated with a serious social vice must be facilitated. Confronting thinking likely to aggravate fear and feelings of rejection from the family and friends leaves the client in a sensitive perception which is almost always wrong. The youthful thinking of the client must be confronted to assist the client in shaping up their perceptions about their relationships with others (Schuster, 1999).

Bibliography

Barry, D., Bazerman, M. H., Dreu, C. K., Lituchy, T. R., O’Connor, K. M. & Schroth, H. (2002) “What We Want To Do Versus What We Think We Should Do: An Empirical Investigation of Intrapersonal Conflict,” Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 15(5):403-418 DOI: HYPERLINK “http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bdm.426” 10.1002/bdm.426

Brown, F. F. & Rainer, J. P. (2007) Crisis counseling and therapy. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press

Brown, J. S. (1957) “Principles of Intrapersonal Conflict,” Journal of Conflict Resolution, 1(2):125-154 DOI: 10.1177/002200275700100204

Clawson, T. W., Hernderson, D. A. & Schwieger, W. K. (2003) Counselor preparation: program, faculty, trends. New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge

Daniels, J. A., D’Andrea, M. J., Lewis, J. A. & Lewis, M. D. (2010) Community counseling: a multicultural-social justice perspective. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning

Dryden, W. & Ellis, A. (1997) The practice of Rational emotive behavior therapy. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company

Dryden, W. (2003) Rationale emotive therapy: theoretical developments. New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge

Fagan, R. A. (1966) Confidentiality in counseling. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press

Geldard, D. & Geldard, K. (2008) Personal counseling skills: an integrated approach. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher Ltd.

Hostetler, B. & McDowell, J. (1996) Josh McDowell’s handbook on counseling youth: a comprehensive guide for equipping youth workers, pastors, teachers and parents. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

Loesch, L. C. & Vacc, N. A. (2000) Professional orientation to counseling. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner-Routledge

Maddux, C. D. & Smaby, M. H. (2011) Basic and advanced counseling skills: skilled counselor training model. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning

Nelson-Jones, R. (2005) Introduction to counseling skills: texts and activities. Thousand Oaks: CA: SAGE Publications

Nelson-Jones, R. (2006) Theory and practice of counseling and therapy. Thousand Oaks: CA: SAGE Publications

Restle, F. (1975) Cognitive theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers

Sanders, D. (1996) Counseling for psychosomatic problems. Thousand Oaks: CA: SAGE Publications

Schuster, S. C. (1999) Philosophy practice: an alternative to counseling and psychotherapy. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group

See, L. A. (2007) Human behavior in the social environment from an African-American perspective. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press

Slimak, R. E. & Whitaker, L C. (1990) College student suicide. New York, NY: Routledge

Worden, J. M. (2003) Grief counseling and grief therapy: a handbook for the mental health. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company

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Department of education

Department of education

Author

Tutor

Course

Date

Introduction

Education has been one of the most contentious subjects or topics in the recent times. It is widely accepted or recognized that an individual’s level of education has a bearing on the quality of life led by an individual. Of course, there are instances where individuals with little education end up as quite successful. That, however, does not undermine the role that education plays in enhancing people’s standards of living and, consequently, the economic capacity of the entire country. This would explain why many countries or governments pay quite a lot of attention on the policies that pertain to education. It goes without saying, however, that access to education has been unequal in the United States for a long time. This is what resulted to the establishment or creation of the U.S Department of Education by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. The law that established the Department of Education stated that it was to serve public interest and promote welfare, as well as ensure that all issues pertaining to education receive the appropriate treatment. In addition, it aimed at enabling the federal government to manage its education activities in an enhanced manner. At the time of establishment, the proponents felt that as much as education was a local and state responsibility education was still of national interest. This was because it directly impacted on the ability of the nation to compete at the international level, as well as defend itself during war times. In essence, its creation provided a direct line of communication and influence with the president as far as matters pertaining to education were concerned. As much as these were extremely noble causes, recent times have seen an increase in calls for the elimination of the Department of Education. Whether these calls are politically motivated or not, there emerges the question as to whether the department has lived up to its calling. Do the cons of having the department in place outweigh the pros of the same? In my opinion, the department should be eliminated if sanity in the education sector is to be restored.

First, it is worth noting that education was under the Department of Health, Education and Welfare prior to the establishment of the Department of education. These are departments that are supposed to be working hand in hand, especially having in mind that, for any child to exploit or take maximum advantage of all educational opportunities, he or she has to be healthy, have a full stomach and come from a safe home. This holistic approach is entirely absent in the federal initiatives pertaining to education (Strauss, 16). Instead, the competing departments are always engaging in bureaucratic turf wars that have tragic results for children. In fact, the establishment of bureaucracies fills the offices with unresponsive individuals who are too busy completing some paperwork to carry out real work, and intrude too much into the state and local decision-making (Strauss, 16). In essence, its elimination would enhance the efficiency and the responsiveness of the government to matters pertaining to education.

In addition, the establishment of the Department of Education tended to transfer the resources away from the state and local sources to a uniform or one-size-fits-all umbrella. This is hardly the appropriate recipe for alleviating educational problems. This explains why the meddling of the federal government in educational matters has been a failure (Murray, 56). It goes without saying that, there is no way that a few federal bureaucrats can sit in Washington DC and come up with a curriculum that meets the distinctive needs of millions of American school children across the country. This control over matters to do with education should be restored to the local and state levels, where parents and teachers will be in charge of the matters. This is because the parents and teachers understand their children best, in which case they are best suited or placed to come up with the appropriate curriculum that suits their children. This would eventually uplift the condition of the education system in the country.

Still on the same case, it is imperative that the government carries a cost-benefit analysis of the Department of Education. The education of the American children is too crucial to be left in the hands of a federal, centralized bureaucracy. It is worth noting that the creation of the Department of Education was a political payoff by Jimmy Carter to the teachers’ unions due to their endorsement in 1976. In essence, it is imperative to judge all agencies of the government, not on their intentions but by their results (Murray, 45). Unfortunately, the Department of Education seems to have only worsened things as far as the educational outcomes of students is concerned. The test scores of students in science, mathematics and reading, have either gone down or remained flat in the last four decades. This is irrespective of the fact that the federal agencies have eaten into the public coffers more than it was initially predicted. In 2011, the Department of Education’s budget was $77.8 billion up from $13.1 in 1980, in terms of 2007 dollars. This is, in fact, close to six times the size of the department’s original budget. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the outcomes of student tests. Studies by Cato Institute have shown how an increase in federal spending has not translated into a positive impact of educational impact. It has always been known that there is no way an individual can use the same apparatus, the same process and the same variables and hope to get different results. Overturning the test scores or the performance of American students goes beyond simplistic strategies and calls for a comprehensive overhaul of the entire educational system. This would be impossible within the bureaucratic framework of the federal system, which implies that the elimination of the Department of Education is imperative.

In addition, the constitutionality of the Department of Education is extremely questionable just like many other things pertaining to the federal government. The Federal Government incorporates approximately 30 enumerated powers, which the constitution delegated to it. It is noteworthy that education is not explicitly listed in the constitution, in which case the authority and control over education should be left to the local and state governments or rather the parents and teachers (Murray, 45). In fact, Ronald Reagan campaigned on the platform of eliminating the Department of Education in 1980, right after Jimmy Carter established it. The GOP platform in 1996 read that the Federal Government incorporated no constitutional authority as far as its involvement in school curricula was concerned. In essence, the government was to eliminate the Department of Education and end the meddling of the Federal government in American schools, as well as enhance family choice in all learning levels (Murray, 34).

Perhaps the worst aspect pertaining to the Department of Education is the fact that, it has regenerated into a monstrous propaganda machine that is funded using public coffers to promote an agenda that is against most American’s values (Goetsch, 23). It is a monstrous entrenched bureaucracy that utilizes the power of the purse to instruct or indoctrinate teachers, administrators and students in ways that promote revisionist history, socialism, multiculturalism and homosexuality. Its programs emphasize on victimhood over personal responsibility, entitlement mentality over work ethic, self-esteem over discipline, and compliance over individual liberty (Goetsch, 23). This is hardly the best way to bring up the American children who happen to be the future of the nation. In essence, it is imperative that the Department of Education is eliminated at least to eliminate the wastage of public funds on unsuccessful schemes and propaganda.

In conclusion, the Department of Education was established in an effort to enhance welfare in the educational system and enhance the quality of education. However, it has regenerated into a monstrous propaganda machine, delivered nothing in terms of enhancing the performance of American children, and has no explicit constitutional basis. In addition, it is devoid of a holistic approach that is necessary in enhancing the education of American children as pertaining to safe homes, and having a full stomach, something that was well catered for when Education was under the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Studies have shown that the educational outcomes have continuously dropped or remained stagnant despite the increase in the amount of money pumped into the Department of Education’s budget. These dismal outcomes can only be remedied through the elimination of the Department of Education.

Works cited

Strauss, Valerie. Why the Education Dept. should be eliminated – Wood. The Washington Post 2010, retrieved 9th July 2012 from HYPERLINK “http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/george-wood/why-the-education-dept-should.html” http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/george-wood/why-the-education-dept-should.html

Goetsch, David L. Should We Eliminate The U.S. Department of Education? 2012 Web retrieved 7th July 2012 from HYPERLINK “http://patriotupdate.com/articles/should-we-eliminate-the-u-s-department-of-education” http://patriotupdate.com/articles/should-we-eliminate-the-u-s-department-of-education

Murray, Charles. Real Education, Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2009. Print

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Democracy In The Middle East

Democracy In The Middle East

Democracy In The Middle East

Democracy

A lot of confusion and uncertainties have occurred when people have been have been called upon to explain what the term ‘democracy’ was. Some of the reasons behind the existing uncertainties have been linked to the many undeniable flaws and forms that the term has become to be associated with. The term democracy remains meaningful even though its manifestations in various cultures and times may differ in significant respects (Wood 2004, p.3). In helping us understand better the meaning of democracy, this paper goes an extra mile to analyse the various secondary literatures that addressed the meaning of this term. A conclusive interpretation of the term is then provided at the end of the analysis.

The word democracy originated from two Greek words; “demos” referring to “people” and “kratein” referring to “govern” or to “rule”. In reference to its components, Becker and Raveloson (2008) gave the literal definition of democracy as government of the people or government of the majority (p.4). The two scholars note that Abraham Lincoln’s widely adopted definition of democracy traced its source from this literal meaning. According to Lincoln ((1809-1865)) democracy was defined as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. To help us understand Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy, Becker and Raveloson (2008) expounded Lincoln’s definition as incorporating 3 broad subjects: a government that comes from the people; a government that is exercised by the people, and for the peoples’ own rights (p.6). Ressler (2009) introduced another dimension to the understanding of the term democracy when he argued that in asking what democracy was, one was relating 2 conditions of the current parliamentary representative democracies and the different approaches to what a more democratic system ought to resemble and the type of organizational forms it could take.

On its part, The US Department of State (2008) basically defined democracy as a government in which the Supreme power was vested in the people. To them, democracy was exercised through large societies electing their representatives. According to this department, the word democracy has been synonymously interchanged with freedom, though this should not be the case. In highlighting the difference between the two confusing words, The US Department of State (2008) noted that democracy was the superior term amongst the two since other than consisting of a set of ideas and principles about freedom; it also consisted of practices and procedures that had been modelled through a long, often tortuous history. Kolar (2005) went ahead to stress that democracy meant that all the people in a state ought to have a say in one way or another in everything that affected their lives. Drawing from Kolar’s thinking, democracy can only be considered as being representative if the elected representatives regularly consult their electorates before making commitments to matters that affect their lives.

From Hilla University’s Lecture for Humanistic Studies (2004), democracy was defined in terms of 4 key elements that included: a political system for choosing and replacing governments through free and fair elections, the active participation of people, as citizens, in politics and civic life, protection of human rights of all citizens and a rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens. Wood (2004) in trying to come up with an all encompassing definition for what democracy was, went on to list the key characteristics upon which a state can be taken to be upholding democratic principles. The listed characteristics of a democratic state are that elections are open to participation to all citizens; each vote is of equal value, voters have real or free choices, citizens have an open access to information and the availability of a rule of law that guarantees freedom to the citizens (Wood 2004, p.2). From Wood’s research, democracy should be considered as manifesting one of the most adored fundamental aspiration in human species; the aspiration for freedom.

To Pilkington (1997), the definition of democracy must incorporate the concepts of government by consent and the popular consent of lending legitimacy to the government rather than the mechanics of how the people as a whole can be involved in a participatory sense (p.5). From his works, it is clear that ‘true’ or ‘direct’ democracy should envisage a legislative and governmental process that involves all society members. In addition, Woolf (2009) looked at democracy as a system by which nations were governed (p.4). In line with his study, the following can be identified as the major components upon which the success or failure of democracy be assessed in a state: legislatures, executives, judiciaries, electoral systems, pressure groups and the media (Woolf 2009, p.22-27). Though ‘pure’ democracy calls for the people to regularly attend meetings to discuss issues that affect them mostly in small groups, Woolf (2009) notes that this is impractical in today’s world because of the millions of peoples who have accustomed themselves with details of every political issue in their countries (p.5).

Democracy in the Middle East

In analyzing the introduction of democracy into the Middle East region, it is vital if we begun by first defining what colonialism stands for. Colonialism, in earlier times, was defined as a historic phenomena supported by the notion that certain territories and people require and beseech denominations, as well as forms of knowledge affiliated with denominations (Page 2003, p.496). However, the current definition of colonialism simply states that, “colonialism is marked by a state’s successful claim to sovereignty over a foreign land” (Mahoney 2010, p.2).

The Muslim World has had a long history of authoritarianism, tribal, religious and cultural sectarianism (Ben-Meir 2006). Until recently, experts had noted that the level of transforming political institutions across Middle East regions had not looked promising. Most countries in the region were faced with obstinate domestic and external obstacles that made adoption of democracy to seem like a distant dream (Brown & Shahin 2009, p.3). Paths to political transitions were away from obvious, and the commitment of key persons or actors to practical realities of democracy that existed at those times would have provided a lot of room for questioning. However, the democratic situation across many Middle East countries has been gradually changing thus providing signs of hope that the region might eventually become fully democratised. Current Middle East states where democracy has been slightly embraced include: Israel (the leading Islamic nation to embrace democracy), Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain amongst others. The reasons behind the introduction of democracy in these states have been varying from many experts and scholars. This paper therefore goes ahead to analyze the different views as adopted across the world over widely adopted claims of whether the colonialists were behind the current introduction of democracy across the Middle East Region.

Though there have been lingering questions on whether democracy was introduced in these states by colonialists, it should be clearly be stated that it wasn’t. The British and French colonialists suppressed national movements within the colonized Middle East states (Alkady 2004, p.38).In fact, throughout the Arab world, the colonial forces suppressed nationalist movements and attempts to hold democratic elections (Valkins 2011). This, according to principles of pure democracy, this suppresses and limits the growth and development of democracy.

Many non-Muslim nations agree that Western neo-colonialists, led by the USA, should be credited for having initiated measures that went in great length in promoting democracy across the regions; though many Muslims have not bought into this notion.

The US Government came to embrace the introduction of democracy across the

Middle East when the Bush Administration officials came to reject the idea that authoritarian Arab regimes constituted the bulwark against Islamic radicalism in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (CRS Report for Congress 2006, p.5). The CRS Report for Congress (2006) goes ahead to stress that US’s change of heart to embrace the idea of democratizing the Middle East was the main reason behind the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq, a Middle East country whose citizens had never seen the signs of political “freedom”. In embracing democracy across the region, it is highlighted that active combat phases in the Middle East region by the USA were followed with “A Forward Strategy of Freedom in the Middle East” (CRS Report for Congress 2006, p.5). According to the Tschirigi, (2007)the following excerpts taken from the former US Presidents speech of November 5, 2003 emphasized the facilitation role at which colonialists greatly contributed in introducing democracy across the Middle East. The former US president, Mr. Bush, was eluded to have said that, “Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe — because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty. As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export.” (Tschirigi 2007, p.39).

Many scholars have referred to the above statement as having been the turning point in embracing democracy across the Middle East. For instance, David and Gondin (2006, p.129) confirmed to this view when he postulated that although Bush had alluded to the need for developing democracy in Arab States since 2002, his elements in the speech affirmed to his intentions. Amongst the deductions made from the elements in his speech was that Islam and democracy were no longer incompatible and that it was wrong for Western Nations to have previously favoured the flourishing of stability in the Middle East at the expense of freedom (David and Gondin 2006, p.129). On his part, Sterba (2009), in justifying the strong implication the speech had on the adoption of democracy in the Middle East, had gone on to laud the speech as a new policy-a forward strategy of freedom that emphasized or resembled the same persistence, energy and idealism as in Europe, Asia and every region of the world where democracy had been successfully adopted.

However, the USA strategy of invading some Middle East nations in the name of embracing democracy had also received critiques from some sections of the community who held different views. For instance, according to Sterba (2009, p.585), the obvious reason for invading Middle East countries of Iraq and Afghanistan was majorly to benefit from the many energy resources available in the regions. Moreover, Tschirigi (2007, p.39-40) in critiquing the US strategy, had gone on to say that Bush had casted doubt on his own optimism when he insisted that while democratic governments reflected their own cultures, they were required to also exhibit common essential principles of rule of law, healthy civic institutions, political parties, labour unions, independent newspapers, religious liberty and rights of women.

To add on that, Ben-Meir (2006) noted that Western nations could not claim responsibility for having introduced democratic reforms in the Middle East since any initiative to introduce democratic reforms in the region involved the full support of gradual reforms, which many Western powers were not ready to adhere to.

In analyzing the principal sources of political liberalization in the Middle East, Sayari and others (1993) unanimously agreed that the process of change in the Middle East’s authoritarian regimes was more heavily influenced by the defensive strategies of incumbent elites than by a groundswell of support for democracy amongst the people in the Middle East. For example, some of the region’s authoritarian leaders and regimes viewed controlled political liberalization and the creation of institutionalized channels through parliaments, elections and parties as a means of overcoming the mounting crisis of legitimacy that they faced (Sayari et al. 1993, p.4). As such, they embraced democracy when they allowed some few representative processes and institutions to provide outlets upon which Muslim people expressed their popular discontent and grievances. This was done without endangering the regimes dominant political roles.

The challenge that was posed by the Islamic fundamental movements was also reviewed as another principal reason for adoption of political reforms across the Middle East (Hunter 2005, p.193). The emergence of Islamic forces to capitalize on economic and social problems, especially on some grievances of the poor urban people may have also contributed a great deal in introducing democracy in the Middle East. These Islamic forces provided democratic openings when they held governments accountable for their actions. As a result of their increased pressures, authoritarian Middle East regimes decided to incorporate some of the leaders from these Islamic forces into their governments thus providing room for political freedom hence democracy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, though the “full” definition of democracy continues to be elusive in the modern society, it should be emphasized that only institutional pre-requisite can help in narrowing down to an identical meaning of the term. These six major institutional prerequisite for ‘full democracy’ are elected officials, free and/or fair frequent elections, alternative sources of information, associational autonomy, inclusive citizenship. The listed prerequisites are expressed in different times by citizens’ in different countries.

It is also vital to note that not all governments that are today considered democratic uphold all these pre-requisites in their systems. As such, it will only be proper if we categorised today’s governments into two categories namely ‘fully democratic’ or ‘partially democratic’. Moreover, it is also important to note that the following constitute the essential conditions that can favour the growth and development of democracy across states. These conditions include the civilian control of police and military institutions, political cultures that are democratic and the absence of foreign power interventions.

From the research above, it clearly emerged that democracy, though still in its raw stages in the Middle East, was, to a small extend, introduced by what we may refer to neo-colonialism by Western powers, USA constituting the major source. Other factors that facilitated introduction of democracy in these states have been the formation of Islamic forces and pressure movements.

References

Alkadry, M., 2004. Colonialism in a postmodern age: The West, Arabs and “the battle of Baghdad”. [online] (Updated 9 Jan 2004) Available at: HYPERLINK “http://www.spaef.com/file.php?id=199” http://www.spaef.com/file.php?id=199 [Accessed 5 April 2011].

Becker, P. & Raveloson, 2008. What is democracy? [print] Hamburg: University of Harmburg.

Ben-Meir, A., 2006. Challenges on the road to democracy in the Middle East (part 1). [online] Available at: http://www.theglobalist.com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=53575 [Accessed April 5 2011].

Brown, N.J., & Shahin, E.E., 2009. The struggle over democracy in the Middle East: Regional politics and external policies. [print] New York: Taylor & Francis.

CRS Report for Congress, 2006. US democracy promotion policy in the Middle East: The islamist dilemma. [online] Available at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33486.pdf [Accessed 4 April 2011].

David, C.H., Gondin, D., 2006. Hegemony or empire? The redefinition of US power under George W. Bush. [print] England: Ashgate Publishing.

Hanson, V.D., 2002. Democracy in the Middle East.vol. 8. [Online] Available at: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/769bfuqn.asp?page=2 [Accessed 4 April 2011].

Hilla University for Humanistic Studies, 2004. What is democracy? [online] Available at: http://www.stanford.edu/~ldiamond/iraq/WhaIsDemocracy012004.htm [Accessed 04 April 2011].

Hunter, S., 2005. Modernization, democracy and Islam. [print] Washington: ABC-CLIO.

Kolar, M, 2005. What is democracy? [online] Available at: HYPERLINK “http://www.whatisdemocracy.net/” http://www.whatisdemocracy.net/ [Accessed 4 April 2011].

Mahoney, J., 2010. Colonialism and postcolonial development: Spanish America in Comparative Perspective. [print] USA: Cambridge University Press.

Page, M.E., 2003. Colonialism: an international social, cultural, and political encyclopaedia. California: ABC-CLIO.

Pilkington, C., 1997, Representative democracy in Britain today. [Print] Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Ressler, O., 2009. What is democracy? [online] Available at http://www.ressler.at/what_is_democracy_film/ [Accessed 4 April 2011].

Sayari, S., Converse, P.E., & The US National Research Council, 1993. Democratization in the Middle East: trends and prospects: Summary of a workshop, [print] Washington D.C.: National Academies.

Sterba, J. 2009. Ethics: The big questions. 2 ed. [print] USA: Wiley-Blackwell.

The US Department of State, 2008. What is democracy? [online] Available at: http://www.america.gov/st/democracyhr-english/2008/May/20080619223145eaifas0.5311657.html [Accessed 4 April 2011].

Tschirigi, D., 2007. Turning point: the Arab world’s marginalization and international security after 9/11. [Print] USA: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Vaknin, S., The democratic ideal and new colonialism. [online] Available at: HYPERLINK “http://samvak.tripod.com/democracy.html” http://samvak.tripod.com/democracy.html [Accessed 5 April 2011].

Wood, A.T., 2004. Asian democracy in world history. [print] New York: Routledge.

Woolf, A., 2009. Systems of government democracy. [print] UK: Evans Brothers.

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Demand schedule for ice cream cones

Demand schedule for ice cream cones

Macro Economics

The graph depicting the supply and demand for ice cream cones will usually depend on the supply schedule and demand schedule for the ice cream cones. It is with the demand and supply schedules that the equilibrium price and quantity of the ice cream cones will become established (Henderson, 2004). The demand schedule for ice cream cones indicates a table showing the quantity of ice cream cones demanded at a given price. Therefore, this helps to determine what charge an individual is likely to pay for demanding a given quantity of ice cream cones. The illustration that follows shows a table depicting the demand schedule for ice cream cones. The price for ice cream cones is in dollars. This will be associated with buyers of ice cream cones.

Demand schedule for ice cream cones

Price of Ice cream cones (p) Quantity of ice cream cones demanded (Qd)

0.5 45

1.0 40

1.5 35

2.0 30

2.5 25

3.0 20

3.5 15

4.0 10

On the other hand, a supply schedule for ice cream cones indicates the price charge for every quantity of ice cream cone supplied. It is with the supply schedule for the ice cream cones that an individual is capable of determining the price he will earn by supplying a certain quantity of ice cream cones. This will usually become associated with sellers or suppliers of ice cream cones. The following table shows the supply schedule for ice cream cones.

Supply schedule for ice cream cones

Price of ice cream cones (p) Quantity of ice cream cones supplied (Qs)

0.5 4

1.0 8

1.5 12

2.0 16

2.5 18

3.0 20

3.5 22

4.0 24

From the supply and demand schedules, it is possible to come up with the supply and demand curves for ice cream cones. The intersection of the two curves will indicate the equilibrium price and quantity (Mankiw, 1998). At equilibrium, the quantity of ice creams supplied will be equal to the quantity of ice cream cones demanded. The following graph indicates the demand and supply of ice cream cones and the subsequent equilibrium price and quantity standing at $ 3 and 20 units respectively.

PriceSupply curve

4.0

A

3.0E

B

2.0

1.0

Demand curve

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Quantity

Point E indicates the equilibrium. At this point, quantity supplied equals quantity demanded, and the price of ice cream cones at this point is $3.

Consumer surplus depicts the difference between the entire amount, which consumers are willing and have the ability to pay for a commodity and the actual amount, which they pay for the commodity (Mankiw & Taylor, 2006). In the case above, the market price indicates what consumers actually pay for ice cream cones while the demand curve indicates the total amount, which consumers are willing and capable of paying. Therefore, area A represents the consumer surplus since it falls above the prevailing market charge for ice cream cones. On the other hand, producer surplus depicts the difference between the total amount that producers are willing and capable of charging in order to supply a commodity, and the actual amount that they receive for the commodity (Mankiw & Taylor, 2006). In the case above, producers can only charge a maximum of $ 3 as provided by the prevailing market. Therefore, area B represents the producer surplus since it falls under the charge of $ 3.

References

Henderson, D.H. (2004). Supply and Demand. New York: Prentice Hall.

Mankiw, N. G. (1998). Principles of microeconomics. Fort Worth: The Dryden Press.

Mankiw, N. G., & Taylor, M. P. (2006). Economics. London: Thomson.

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Nurses and Social Media

Nurses and Social Media

Nurses and Social Media

Gayann Taylor

Bow Valley College

CSC1040: Information Literacy and Technology Essentials

Instructor Sonya Davis

January 30th 2022

Nurses and Social Media

Summary of the Scenario

The scenario selected for this assignment is scenario 1, which discusses about Bob, a licensed practical/vocational (LPN/VN) nurse for the last 20 years. In this scenario, Bob takes a photo of a resident after getting consent from the brother since the resident could not offer her consent due to her mental and physical condition. Bob shared the photo with a former colleague during their discussion at a local bar. Bob’s employment was terminated when the group home learned about the situation and the BON imposed disciplinary action. This disciplinary action required him to complete education on privacy and confidentiality, ethics and professional boundaries.

Impact of the nurse’s actions

Bob’s action to share the resident’s photos with his friend may affect all the parties involved in the scenario. Firstly, Bob’s individual nursing career may be affected in the future due to the disclosure of confidential information (ANA, 2011). Bob may find it hard to get employed by another healthcare organization. He may also get sued by the resident’s family when they learn that he has shared the photo with a person working in another healthcare organization (NCSBN 2011). On the other hand, the group home may also be affected since it has to fire one of its experienced nurses. Additionally, the public’s trust in nurses in the group home can be compromised when they learn that a nurse in the organization has disclosed the resident’s confidential information (ANA, 2011).

Guidelines Violated

From the scenario, it is clear that Bob did not consider the guidelines offered to help nurses create awareness and caution in order to avoid disclosure of patients’ confidential or private information. One of the guidelines prohibits nurses from taking photos or videos using their personal devices. This guideline was violated by Bob, who took photos of the resident using a personal phone. Additionally, Bob provided sufficient details regarding the patient to a person who is not a member of the healthcare team, which is against the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which intends to safeguard the privacy of the patient (NCSBN 2011).

References

ANA. (2011). Fact sheet: Navigating the world of social media. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/~4af5ec/globalassets/docs/ana/ethics/fact_sheet_-_navigating_the_world_of_social_media_web.pdf

NCSBN. (2011). White paper: A nurse’s guide to the use of social media. Retrieved from https://www.ncsbn.org/Social_Media.pdf

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Null Hypothesis

Null Hypothesis

Null Hypothesis

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

A null hypothesis refers to a general statement that proposes that no statistical significance exists in a set of given observations. It shows that no variations exist between variables, or that a single variable is no different than zero. A null hypothesis is presumed to be true until statistical evidence nullifies it for an alternative hypothesis, (Koch, 2013). Null hypothesis is very important in research and should be treated in specific ways as illustrated below.

A null hypothesis is required in research since it is used in verifying statistical assumptions, to directly advance a theory, to verify that multiple experiments produce consistent results and to reduce scientific claims based on statistical noise. When drawing conclusions from collected data, a null hypothesis is rejected if there is strong enough evidence against the null hypothesis. However, a null hypothesis is accepted if there is no strong enough evidence against the null hypothesis.

There exists a relationship between a hypothesis and the identified problem. The research problem is the statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a difficult situation or a troubling question. However, the identified problem does not state how to do something or to present a value question. For this reason, a hypothesis is developed to present the issue for research. During a study the identified problem is the question statement while the hypothesis is the answer to the question statement.

A feasible hypothesis refers to one which can be easily and conveniently done. A hypothesis is feasible if it includes an explanation of why the guess may be collect. A hypothesis is considered feasible where it explains the concrete terms expected to happen in the particular circumstance, and it should have two variables.

Any hypothesis should be testable and measurable. To ensure that a hypothesis is testable one needs to first begin by predicting about what will occur in a certain situation. One then assesses whether the hypothesis is observable. A testable hypothesis needs to be one that can be observed, for example a physical experiment, (Powers & Powers, 2012). To ascertain that the hypothesis is measurable, one has to make sure that the hypothesis can be compared to something else to verify whether it is true.

References

Koch, K. R. (2013). Parameter estimation and hypothesis testing in linear models. Springer Science & Business Media.

Powers, D. A., & Powers, D. I. A. N. N. E. (2012). Predicting gene frequencies in natural populations: a testable hypothesis. Isozymes. IV. Genetics and evolution, 63-84.

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Nursing And Millennium Goals

Nursing And Millennium Goals

Nursing And Millennium Goals

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Millennium development goal 5A: Reduction of maternal mortality PAGEREF _Toc380751982 h 1Millennium development goal 5B: Universal access to reproductive health PAGEREF _Toc380751983 h 2Application of millennium development goal 5 to the community PAGEREF _Toc380751984 h 2Monitoring and Measuring the Progress towards the Millennium Development Goal 5 PAGEREF _Toc380751985 h 3Nursing Role in Attaining the Millennium Development Goals. PAGEREF _Toc380751986 h 3

This paper looks at UN millennium development goals focus being on the fifth millennium development goal which is improvement of maternal health. This goal is divided into two parts the first part deals with reduction of maternal mortality and the second the second part deals with universal access to reproductive health. The paper elaborates on the importance of improvement of maternal health to the nation. It further highlights on the importance of this goal in the community. Nurses have a great role in working towards achieving the millennium development goals these roles are also elaborated in the paper.

Millennium development goal 5A: Reduction of maternal mortalityAlmost half a million lives of women and children are lost during pregnancy and child birth. A large percentage of these deaths can be avoided or are preventable.The reduction of maternal mortality is not only an issue because of its effect on development of a nation but also since it posses a challenge in human rights. If the mortality rate cases are reduced then it means that the nation is better placed in terms of health. This means that there are measures that have been put in place to ensure a decrease in this maternal mortality rates. If there is a risk of transfer of HIV from an infected mother then caution is taken to prevent this transfer at the end of the day deaths due to HIV among infants will decrease. This decrease in child mortality rate will have a positive effect on the health of the nation since there will be no deaths due to HIV and further more new cases of HIV are not registered. (Hunt, p., & Bueno, 2000.). Reduction of maternal mortality is also important since it promotes the right to life. This means that the nation will be a healthy one with no individual mother or child denied the right to life.

Millennium development goal 5B: Universal access to reproductive healthThe access to universal health is important in terms of the health of a nation. Pregnant women are entitled to effective and sufficient health in the preconception period, the prenatal stage and also the postnatal stage. Access to this reproductive health ensures that there are no complications in child birth and also after child birth. Both the mother and the child are expected to be perfectly healthy after delivery. This therefore means that the health of the nation will be improved since there will be reduced cases of pregnancy related deaths.

Application of millennium development goal 5 to the communityThis millennium development goal is very important to the community in various aspects. The World Health Organization has the expectation that in each community this goal can be fully realized. The goal is applicable in the community since there is the general need to reduce the mortality rate of children and mothers in cases that relate to pregnancy and child birth. Therefore proper care should be given to the expectant mother in terms of check up and advice during the time they are pregnant. There should be adequate health providing facilities within the community that offer prenatal and post natal clinics for pregnant women which arrest any emergency case and hence prevent mortality. The existence of quality education on issues pertaining to reproductive health is also a way in which the community can work towards attaining the goal. Members of the community should be educated on family planning, way to prevent mother to child HIV transmission. They can also access information on how they can take care of themselves and the child after birth. Therefore there is building of health institutions and employment of qualified workers in these institutions who will help in realization of this goal. Through this the goal becomes a reality that can be achieved within the community.

Monitoring and Measuring the Progress towards the Millennium Development Goal 5For there to be realization of the millennium development goal five the process of putting it into force has to be carefully monitored and measurement of the progress constantly done. There are various international bodies that help in monitoring the process third can be the WHO. The Centre for Disease Control can also be a body that measures the progress.Commuinty

health workers within a community can be of great aid in monitoring the implementation (Tanzania, A. 2012). There can be regular checkimg of the population which should be done carefully and the records used to compare with previous ones and check if there is a decline in pregnancy related deaths within a community. The equipment within health facilities should be checked constantly and any outdated ones should be replaced with new effective equipment. The employees in these health facilities should also be very qualified and fresh talent should be constantly incorporated into this institutions.

Nursing Role in Attaining the Millennium Development Goals.Nurses play crucial roles in achievement of millennium development goals. There are various ways through which they aid in achievement of these goals this may be for instance; achieving goal three which is promoting gender equity and empowering women. They can develop understanding of the instruments and the various declarations of human rights. They can educate the public using examples such as violation of human rights this can take forms such as discrimination based on gender, crude practices such as female genital mutilation and other violences.they can do this through demonstration of their harmful consequences on the health. They can also encourage women to acquire skills that will make them elevate their economic and social status (Christi, 2011). They should also lobby for equity in access and to affordable and effective health.

Nurses also have a role in achieving the fourth goal which is to reduce child mortality. They do this through putting emphasis on the child immunization and highlighting the risks that are associated with lack of immunization which can be causes of deaths. They also encourage parents to attend antenatal and postnatal care. They can also make formal teachings to parents on health and illness where they are the main information providers. They can also provide health services or be supervisors in the process of health service provision (Christi, 2011). They can also organize for door to door immunization services which will reduce the child, mortality rate.

From the paper we can see that there are serious measures that are undertaken in achievement of the various millennium development goals and the key stake holders in the achievement of these goals. The importance of realizing these goals are also highlighted and the effect they have to the community.

References

Hunt, p., & Bueno, j. (2000.). REDUCING MATERNAL MORTALITY. The contribution of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Retrieved September 27, 2012, from www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/reducing_mm.pdChristi, L. (2011). Roles of Nurses in Achieving Millennium Development Goals | Healthmad. Healthmad. Retrieved September 27, 2012, from http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/roles-of-nurses-in-achieving-millenium-development-goals/Tanzania, A. (2012). Community Health Workers – an important resource towards achieving the MDGs. Community Health Workers – an important resource towards achieving the MDGs. Retrieved September 27, 2012, from www.who.int/workforcealliance/forum/2011/hrhawardscs36/en/index.htmlUNEP & the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – Goals # 4, 5, 6: Improve Public Health – United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) –. (2008.). United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – Home page . Retrieved September 27, 2012, from http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=448&ArticleID=4893&l=enAchieving Millennium Development Goal 5: Reproductive Health, Poverty Reduction and Health Sector Reform | World Bank Institute (WBI). (2012). World Bank Institute (WBI). Retrieved September 27, 2012, from http://wbi.worldbank.org/wbi/event/achieving-millennium-development-goal-5-reproductive-health-poverty-reduction-and-health-secto

Crawford, B. (2008). Global Health 1. http://www.nwc.cc.wy.us/waw/essays/essay84.pdf. Retrieved September 27, 2012, from www.nwc.cc.wy.us/waw/essays/essay84.pdf

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