Learning contract on myself Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Learning contract on myself - Personal Statement Example After graduation, I engaged in nursing activity for a number of years. Initially, there seemed to be go progress in this career and hopefully, it looked like the way to achieving the personal desires. However, this did not last beyond ten years. I started experiencing nervousness during work and felt that I was being overworked. After some years, I realized that nursing was not my best career; therefore, I had to look for an alternative. Later, I moved to retail part time and the new career looked satisfying. In fact, the new job involved a lot of customer interaction, problem solving, direct sales and many other challenges, which led me to the position of the Store Manager. Notably, the position was full time, rewarding and challenging, and made me gain experience in International reporting. After staying at the store for some years, I decided to look for a greener pasture, thereby, moved to Woolworths. In this new work and environment, I discovered Logistics and supply chain, more lucrative than the previous job. The desire for the job was cut short due to the long working hours that I was subjected to. In reality, this terminated my employment with the institution and marked the beginning of another transition to a new company. Notably, the movement from one company to another was a search for the fulfilling job and pursuit for personal ambitions, not as a result of undue influences. Answer to Question 2 The Place I am Now In the new company, the employer gave me an opportunity to learn and apply my craft in retail and working through the ranks. Through the hard and challenging roles in my previous duties, it was a sense of determination to succeed that drove me to this height. The main aim was to develop own management and leadership style. Remarkably, the new opportunity has again presented another challenging opportunity helping me address the weaknesses and strengths according to the new management chain. As a result of the rigorous work that I have done in the past years, I am capable of implementing blue prints to roll out new procedures, for example, meeting my targets, problem solving and improving on some of my weaknesses, which have made me the best manager. Literally, I have been able to meet the targets of my current duties. In addition, I have been able to do subjects like industry engagements, where I have learnt various methods to implement my duties and different ways to communicate with the people. Answer to Question 3 The Place I want to get to Truly, each employee does not intend to stagnate in one position till retirement. Indeed, the change of position makes a person meet challenging ditties, leading to improvement on the worker’s skills and problem solving ability. In particular, the past careers have enabled me improve my skills in management in logistics, retailing and management. Therefore, in order to achieve the long term goals of being a junior executive, and rise to the position of a full management executive through extensive learning (Nicholson, 2000). Answer to Question 4 The ways I would Use to Get There Notably, getting to where I would like to reach might not be an easy task, since there are a number of things to do. Particularly, I would need to complete my studies, be pro-active at work and consider all the negative and positive feedback that I get on my performance. In addition, trying new technique and getting support and

Government Regulations for Small Firms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Government Regulations for Small Firms - Essay Example This paper illustrates that very often small business is positioned as small fish in the ocean, where only strong sharks can survive due to strict conditions, rapidly changing the environment and high competition. On the other hand, in the modern globalized world being an owner of a small business warrant the need to have a strong position to withstand the challenges and hardships in case business owners’ rights are not protected. Government protection is cited as one of the major prerequisites for achieving success and profitability in small business. Simultaneously, small firms are obliged to comply with the \ laws and rules developed by governments to assist economies and citizens. Unfortunately, even with the presence of sophisticated small business policies, the interests of small firms tend to be neglected; this is particularly the case of economies in transition. However, to understand whether or not government regulations benefit small businesses, the concept of regula tion has to be understood. Regulation plays a crucial role in the market. Very often this role is diminished. There is a need to promote regulation in order to advance relations within the market and develop the market economy in general. Regulation should not be positioned as a restriction imposed on the performance of the small firms. On the contrary, regulations have the potential to positively affect small business performance. More often than not, firms claim government regulations to be an important impediment to small business growth. However, most of these claims are too general to be valid. Only 36 percent of small firm owners have been successful in identifying the factor that impedes their development, whereas the rest tend to blame governments just because they impose their rules on games on businesses.

Four Elements of Transformational Leadership Essay Example for Free

Four Elements of Transformational Leadership Essay Organizations emphasize the concept of leadership in training managers or group leaders to propel a team or the organization forward. Within leadership, the effectiveness of the transformational versus transactional leader is often debated. Transactional leadership relies more on a give and take understanding, whereby subordinates have a sense of duty to the leader in exchange for some reward. Transformational leadership, on the other hand, involves a committed relationship between the leader and his followers. In 1985, industrial psychologist Bernard Bass identified and wrote about four basic elements that underlie transformational leadership. Ads by Google Stanford Exec. Leadership Where innovation and visionary leadership meet. Learn More. gsb.stanford.edu​/​SeniorLeadership Idealized Influence Transformational leaders act as role models and display a charismatic personality that influences others to want to become more like the leader. Idealized influence can be most expressed through a transformational leaders willingness to take risks and follow a core set of values, convictions and ethical principles in the actions he takes. It is through this concept of idealized influence that the leader builds trust with his followers and the followers, in turn, develop confidence in their leader. Inspirational Motivation Inspirational motivation refers to the leaders ability to inspire confidence, motivation and a sense of purpose in his followers. The transformational leader must articulate a clear vision for the future, communicate expectations of the group and demonstrate a commitment to the goals that have been laid out. This aspect of transformational leadership requires superb communication skills as the leader must convey his messages with precision, power and a sense of authority. Other important behaviors of  the leader include his continued optimism, enthusiasm and ability to point out the positive.

Traditional African Music Essays -- Musical Traditions Essays Papers

Traditional African Music An attempt to pin down a single meaning for the word 'traditional,' presents a problem in many ways. The implications of the word are many, and are tied to various connotations. Some people, Westerners in particular, may actually shun the 'traditional,' as they feel that it implies a resistance to modernity. This view is incorrect, and there exists an ethnocentric double standard when Westerners consider their tradition versus African tradition. Others focus on 'tradition' as that which has always been done, for whatever reason, and that it must be continued to maintain the community, a universal balance, a relationship with the gods, or some other goal. Africa and its people have experienced many hardships over the course of history, from colonization to current attempts at development. Oppression, forced enslavement or other forms of brutality have been constant threats. These dangers have helped create a stronger African identity in many senses. Difficult times bring out in human s a desire to cling to that which is known and familiar, as everything else seems to spiral out of control. As many slaves journeyed across the Middle Passage, for example, they disregarded language and ethnic barriers, and collaborated to make music as an escape from the horrors of their circumstances, in order to create a tie to the homeland. Groups such as the Tumbuka and Dagbamba have also done this. They have managed to retain a strong identity, partially due to the continued use of musical practices; paradoxically, this has tied them to ancestral practices, but also made the transition to modernity easier. In dealing with societies where that which is modern is completely foreign and different from customary, holdin... ... Instead, it is multifaceted and complex. Contrary to what many believe, the retention of traditional practices and a transition to a modern state are not mutually exclusive. The role that tradition and customary behavior and practice play in society depends heavily on the situation and the individual reckoning of the importance of maintaining traditional musical practices, the value placed on time and its rationing, and the possible symbiotic relationship between the modern and the traditional. The analysis of how these three seemingly unrelated concepts interact with each other forms a basis for understanding the extent to which ?traditional? musical elements will be accepted or rejected by a particular society. ?Tradition? does not entail backwardness or inability to react to changes, but rather a continued respect for those who came before and their way of life.

Aboriginal Quality of Life in Canada Essay

The state of health and health care for Canadian Aboriginal people is currently not improving, â€Å"Canadian Aboriginals tend to bear a disproportionate burden of illness; an outcome linked to their economic and social conditions [and] oppression† (Newbold 1998). European contact would forever change the course of life for the Aboriginals and their communities in Canada. It was only after the encounter between the old world and new world that two completely separate ecosystems had interaction between each other. Both worlds changed in radical ways through people, plants, animals, varmints and pathogens, this is known today as the â€Å"Columbian Exchange†. The New pathogens introduced to the Indigenous people who had no immunity, caused major depopulation up to 80 – 90% during the 1500’s. See more: Recruitment and selection process essay This completely changed the Indigenous people and posed as a massive threat to extinction of their population and culture. Contact between the Canadian Aboriginals and European voyagers brought in a mass amount of deadly and infectious diseases. Some of the diseases included smallpox, typhoid, the bubonic plague, influenza, mumps, measles, whooping cough, and later on cholera, malaria, and scarlet fever. Smallpox was a virgin soil epidemic, meaning that it was the first outbreak ever to the population that has had no previous experience with it. The Aborigines of the new world had no immunity to smallpox and the entire population was in danger of extinction. At around that time smallpox had a very high mortality rate which broke down the Aboriginal communities social mechanisms. This brought forth the break down of social the devices which were built within the Aboriginal culture, because the people were unable to hunt and gather food for the elders. This caused great knowledge loss as the elders in the Aboriginal community would perish from the disease. The greatest example of this is when Spanish explorer Cortez defeated the Moctezuma at Tenochtitlan. Cortez, had only 500 soldiers going up against the Aztec population of 200,000. When the battle began Cortez surely should have been defeated but it was not the strength of his army but the diseases they had brought with them that defeated the Moctezuma. Smallpox and the other various diseases brought over from the old world to the new world contributed to millions of deaths, severely diminishing communities, and it some cases erasing populations and communities completely. The disease was not controlled until the 1870’s when vaccination campaigns were introduced and implemented. After the epidemic of contagious diseases had slowed the Canadian Aboriginals were in the midst of assimilation, residential schools were established in the mid 1850’s to the 1990’s. Residential school were implemented by the Canadian government to assimilate Aboriginal people into the dominant society. The Aboriginal children removed from their communities and placed in the Residential schools. â€Å"Children as young as three to age eighteen were removed from their homes, mostly forcibly, and placed in boarding schools, where they stayed isolated from their family, community, culture, and the rest of Canadian society† (Barton, Sylvia S., Thommasen, Harvey V.,Tallio, Bill ,Zhang, William, Michalos, Alex C. 2001 pg. 295). Residential schools assimilated Aboriginal populations, however in doing so drastically reduced the health of the children being forced to attend these schools. Children were beaten, raped and starved while attending these schools leaving them p hysically and mentally scarred for life. â€Å"Children who attended these schools, in particular, suffered from the loss of culture, identity, and language as residential school life altered the traditional ways of Aboriginal peoples and broke up traditional ways of Aboriginal family life. In addition to physical, sexual, mental, emotional, and spiritual abuse, many children who attended residential schools were exposed to unhealthy environmental conditions, as well as malnutrition. Low self-esteem and self-concept problems emerged as children were taught that their own culture was inferior and uncivilized, and it is believed that as a result, many residential school survivors suffer from low self-respect, and long-term emo- tional and psychological effects† (Barton, Sylvia S., Thommasen, Harvey V.,Tallio, Bill ,Zhang, William, Michalos, Alex C. 2001 pg. 296). The main aspect of the Residential schools was to make the children abandon their heritage and traditions taught to them by their Aboriginal communities. This is the most significant reason why today’s Aboriginal youth is confused about their culture and heritage. If the children were not separated from these traditions the Aboriginal youth may not have been so vulnerable to substance abuse and other from of health constraints. Canada in its present day does not have diseases like smallpox to destroy. Aboriginal populations, also Residential school have been eliminated and no longer assimilate the Aboriginal youth. Still, the deteriorating health conditions for the Aboriginal community are dangerously high. This is mainly because of poor quality of living conditions, very limited access to doctors or healthcare centers, and the major diseases that affect the modern world today. The Aboriginals that live in highly populated urban areas still have poor quality living standards. Nearly two thirds of the Aboriginal population lives in the western part of Canada, the majority being in 4 or 5 cities. The issues that are considered social detriments to Aboriginals in these regions are education, health care, employment, Aboriginal status, social exclusion, unemployment rates and job security. Society’s negative attitude towards Aboriginal people has been a significant link between their living conditions and the overall quality of life. As stated by Hanselmann â€Å"In spite of the size of the urban Aboriginal population†¦[the] discussion about treaties, self-government, finance, housing, and other issues focus exclusively on First Nation communities and rural areas†. This is a problem because the majority of the Aboriginal population is left out of the equation, â€Å"it ignores the urban realities†¦ [and] an acute public policy [should] therefore exist for broadening of perspectives to include not just on-reserve Aboriginal communities but also urban communities† (Hanselmann 2001 pg. 1). The Canadian Aboriginal populations living in urban areas have been exposed to worse living conditions, also â€Å"aboriginal families are over twice as likely to be lone parent families, and more likely to experience domestic violence† (Hanselmann 2001 pg. 4). Lone parents tend to have lower living conditions, therefore lowering the quality of health for Aboriginals. Emotional stress and poverty are common factors among single parent families; these cause children to have lower social capital because they are unable to be active to develop social skills. Consequently, children with a single parent will likely be subject to psychiatric disorders, social problems, and academic difficulties, which all can lead to further health problems and issues. Another major aspect regarding health and the quality of life of Canadian Aboriginal communities is education. In a study done by Michael Mendelson he states â€Å"The category â€Å"less than high school†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the Aboriginal population fared much worse than the total population, with at least 54 percent failing to complete high school compared to 35 percent in the population as a whole† (Mendelson 2006 pg. 10). Urban populations of Aboriginals have more individual without the education of grade 12 then the rest of the country. Education is important to the quality of life for Aboriginal communities because â€Å"Aboriginal males and females contingent on whether or not they earn a high school diploma, attend technical school or go to university†¦results show that an Aboriginal male who drops out gives up over $0.5 million†¦[and a] female can earn over $1 million by obtaining a high school diploma† (Mendelson 2006 pg. 8-9). This can better the quality of living for Aboriginals through better health care and living conditions . Living conditions as stated before can severely decrease the health and quality of life of Aboriginal communities, but it is not the only factor. Aboriginal people have a high susceptibility to chronic diseases and HIV/AIDS causing a higher mortality rate, higher suicide rate, and the reason for high alcohol and drug abuse. The Aboriginal people of Canada â€Å"bear a disproportionately larger burden of disease and die a decade earlier than the average population†. This is a shocking reality but not more then knowing the mortality rate for children of Aboriginal decent, â€Å"the infant mortality rate for Aboriginals is double the national average†¦they experience high rates of infections, diabetes, substance abuse, renal disease, mental illness, and suicide† (Sin, D., Wells, H., Svenson, L., & Man, P. 2002) . The two leading diseases that are currently affecting the Aboriginal population are cardiovascular disease/tuberculosis and diabetes. Cardiovascular diseases like tuberculosis among Aboriginal people are â€Å"more at risk than other Canadians of getting [a tuberculosis] infection. Some of the root causes are related to poor socio-economic conditions where they live† (Health Canada 2010). This is because Aboriginal people have significantly higher rates of smoking, glucose intolerance and obesity. Type 2 diabetes is a major problem among the Aboriginal youth and is increasing at a rapid rate. Health Canada says, â€Å"First Nations on reserve(s) have a rate of diabetes three to five times higher than that of other Canadians. Rates of diabetes among the Inuit are expected to rise significantly in the future given that risk factors such as obesity, physical inactivity, and unhealthy eating patterns are high† (Health Canada 2011). A reason for the high levels of diabetes in Aboriginal communities is because there is low participation in physical activities and traditional food is not consumed as much. Cardiovascular/Tuberculosis disease and diabetes considerably decrease the health and quality of life of the Aboriginal population. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are a very dangerous and major health concern for the Aboriginal population. HIV if left untreated will cause AIDS. HIV attacks the immune system, as the illness progresses it results in chronic and deadly infections. Health Canada states â€Å"HIV severely weakens the immune system, leaving people vulnerable to many different types of infections and diseases. HIV is transmitted through: unprotected sexual intercourse, needle-sharing and pregnancy/delivery through birth† (Health Canada 2010). Due to the lower level living conditions, low grade incomes, and under developed education are more probable to be exposed to HIV/AIDS. Aboriginal women in Canada are at higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS â€Å"Aboriginal women constituted 49.6 percent of newly diagnosed HIV cases among Aboriginal people while Non-Aboriginal women comprise 20 percent of newly diagnosed† (Ship, Norton 2001 pg. 25). Injection of drugs is the major contributor to contracting HIV/AIDS for Aboriginal women, which stages the affects of drug use and disease and how it negatively affects the Aboriginal populations health. Substance abuse, such as drugs and alcohol, has been documented as having harmful affects to the human body. Aboriginal communities have been exposed to the addiction of these substances and have cause significant deterioration of the individual’s health and social attributes, ruining relationships within their families and community. As more and more Canadian Aboriginals become addicted to the substances the more the degradation of the community and weakening of the quality of life within the community. Aboriginals are more exposed to substance abuse then others. This puts them at risk of being introduced at a young age and taught it is a social norm. â€Å"My father was a chronic alcoholic. His parents had seven children and five died of alcoholism, including my father. My mom drank also and I started drinking at age eight. I was in and out of group homes and foster care and by the age of fifteen I was ordered to attend AA. I started on IV drugs at sixteen† (Chansonneuve, Deborah 2007). With the combination of alcohol, drugs, and smoking the Aboriginal population is seemly wasting away. The leading issue occurring today is the age at which Aboriginal youth are beginning to abuse substances. The use of these substances only enhances chance that youth will not complete their high school diploma, will be at greater risk for criminal offences, and will only get lower grade incomes. Aboriginals being highly vulnerable to disease as mention before (Tuberculosis/CVD, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS) add with the substance abuse, the Aboriginal population have greater health care needs then that of the Non-Aboriginal population. Bruce Newbold explains the greater need to access physicians for healthcare and needs for greater funding. â€Å"Analysis reveals that geographic location, as compared with Aboriginal identity, appears to have a large impact with respect to health status and use of physician services. On-reserve Aboriginals, for example, reported a lower likelihood of having seen a physician and were more likely to rank their health as fair or poor. Location also influenced perceived community health problems and solutions. Self-identified problems included drugs, cancer and arthritis, while corresponding solutions included education, counseling and service access. Although the problems and solutions were relatively consistent across space, they too varied in their importance. In general, the results tend to reinforce the determinants of health framework, suggesting that the provision of health services is insufficient to remove health disparities on its own. Instead, broader social-welfare provisions must be considered.† (Newbold 1998 pg. 59) It seems that Aboriginals who consider themselves of good health are considered to be actually of low health by the rest of society. From a Geographically view, Canadian Aboriginals on reserves do not have the same access to physicians as urban communities do. This causes Aboriginals on reserves to travel, which reduces the chance of them using a physician. The quality of proper health care is out of reach for most Aboriginal communities, mostly because of geographical isolation, cultural barriers and jurisdiction disputes by the federal and provincial government. Improving health conditions and the quality of life for Aboriginal people of Canadian current issue that solutions are being reviewed and implemented annually. The task is not easy because of the substance abuse and low education levels of the Aboriginal youth. Government politics play a huge role in the funding and improving the health care system for the Aboriginal communities, but over time the aboriginal people will have to look to themselves to improve their quality of life. Both Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal people need to be more educated of the health risks concerning the Canadian Aboriginal population. The health of Aboriginals has not been treated in the proper manner Bruce Newbold explains â€Å"past attempts to improve aboriginal health status have tended to focus upon a narrow definition of health as the absence of disease or illness†¦this focus neglects a much broader range of determinants, including poverty, living conditions and education†. The government needs to put into prospective that â€Å"Improvements in health will likely depend on the improvements in the socioeconomic conditions faced by Aboriginals†¦by the direct participation of Aboriginals in the health reform process† (Newbold 1998 pg. 70). Therefore, to improve health condition in Canada for the Aboriginal population the people and the government cannot be narrow minded, every aspect that being social, financial or physical must be addressed. The major improvement of the Aboriginal financial economy and social conditions is needed to repair the deteriorating health and quality of life of the Aboriginal population. Aboriginal Health in Canada has drastically deteriorated since the first contact with European decedents. The early contagious diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis have threated to destroy Aboriginal populations and now have become chronic diseases like CVD, diabetes and HIV/AIDS for existing Aboriginal communities. Substance abuse among youth and seniors mixed with low level education and poor living conditions are advancing the decline for the quality of life in Aboriginal communities in Canada. The Government and Aboriginal communities must work together and not have a narrow mind when solving these issues and implementing them in society. Improving the socioeconomic conditions in the regions of Aboriginal communities along with health care issues is the start to improve the quality of life for Aboriginals in Canada.

Critical Review of three Scholarly Journal Articles Essay

One of the most important finding generated by this paper is the effects of race on the view that police is biased on race. This includes racial profiling of police where Black or minority group in general are most like stopped by police than White American. In all four models, blacks and Hispanics are more likely than whites to believe that police bias is a problem (Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). Blacks however, according to this article perceives police bias more of a problem than Hispanics. One interesting subset of this is that Blacks tend to perceive police discrimination against Hispanics than Hispanics see themselves. So that Black Americans tend to see that Hispanic drivers are being racially profiled compared to white drivers. Another important finding presented by this article is the role of media in shaping the perceptions of people regarding racial discrimination. People who frequently hear or read about incidents of police misconduct, as transmitted by the media, are inclined to conclude that the police engage in racial profi ling, are prejudiced, and discriminate against minority individuals and neighborhoods (Weitzer & Tuchs, 2005). The data gathering method and analysis technique used in this article is solid considering that it is based on a national survey of national survey of 1,792 white, African American, and Hispanic adult residents of U. S. metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 population (Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). The survey results where advantageous in the sense that oversampling African Americans and Hispanics, in contrast to the small number of minority respondents common to other surveys. Another advantageous factor is the tapping of both attitudes toward police and personal and vicarious experiences with the police. Another very important correction factor they have added is idea that there are differences in the number of households with phone access from the three different races, Black, Hispanics and White American. This is very important consideration since the data was collected using random dialing of phone numbers. So in general the data was very reliable. Race-Based Policing: A Descriptive Analysis of the Wichita Stop Study Unlike the previous article which discusses racial discrimination of policing in a wider perspective, this article focuses on racial profiling. The results of this rigorous effort put on the analysis of enforcement pattern do not prove race-based policing. The result of this document instead provides guidance for what are needed on studies to determine if race is a significant determinant for police to decide whether to stop them for inspection or not. According to this article, in order to fully understand the results of these decisions we must document the process by which these decisions are made (Withrow, 2004). Unfortunately, nothing in this data-set or any similar data-set is capable of such an analysis (Withrow, 2004). Although important findings emphasized by this study is that police awareness of the incorrect conceptions of well-established beliefs regarding race plays an important role in dealing with this sensitive police profiling issue. It is however certain that by asking the appropriate questions police administrators have a real opportunity to raise their department’s level of sensitivity to the issue (Withrow, 2004). One important finding that supports this idea is the result of this study that the proportions of searches that produces contrabands does not vary with race. The data gathering method used in this study is based on qualitative information recorded on every police stops from the Wichita Stop Study Dataset and the analysis technique are based on logical reasoning. In late July 2001 representatives from the Wichita Police Department provided the author with a data-set representing the first six months of collected information including 37,454 stops (Withrow, 2004). What is interesting about this data is that to date (relative to this article) this is the largest qualitative data set of this type. This provides reliability of the data gathered and provides validity of the results of this study. Perceptions of Racial Profiling: Race, class and Personal Experience The important result study is to provide a significant basis for the need to examined both race and class determinants of citizens’ relation with the police. In the discussions provided by the author, it was indicated that disadvantage black are more likely to believe that police are abusive of African American because of their personal experience. Another very important point generated in the discussion is with regard to racial profiling. We found that better educated African Americans are more likely than are less educated to disapprove of profiling, to view it as a pervasive practice, and to say that they have personally experienced it (Weitzer & Tuch, 2002). The authors argued that the reason for this is that higher education fosters greater exposure to media and information related to profiling problems. The data gathered were collected from a nationwide random-digit-dialing telephone survey of 2006 respondents conducted by the Gallup organization between September 24 and November 16, 1999 (Weitzer & Tuch, 2002). This offers reliability on the data gathered and considering it has the same strength of oversampling African Americans. Couple this data with various related literature from refutable sources, the data collection are quite valid. The analysis employed in the discussion where supported by citations from previous studies which further validates the ideas presented. CONCLUSION The important results generated by these documents suggest that minority group and Black American in particular, perceives that racial discrimination in the form of racial profiling is an issue. Through proper police awareness of incorrect conceptions that race is a factor that determines people tendency to commit crime, the sensitivity of this issue can be controlled. Couple this with the important role of education in providing proper understanding of the situation there is a possibility of correcting this perception. References Weitzer, R. & Tuch, S. (2005). Racially Biased Policing: Determinants of Citizen Perception. Social Forces from the University of Carolina Press, 83 (3), 1009-1028. Withrow, B. (2004). Race-Base Policing: A Descriptive Analysis of the Wichita Stop Study. Police Practice and Research, 5 (3), 223-240. Weitzer, R. & Tuch, S. (2002). Perceptions of Racial Profiling: Race, Class, and Personal Experience. Criminology, 40 (2), 435-453.

An Analysis Of Family Structure And Dynamics Social Work Essay Essays

An Analysis Of Family Structure And Dynamics Social Work Essay Essays An Analysis Of Family Structure And Dynamics Social Work Essay Paper An Analysis Of Family Structure And Dynamics Social Work Essay Paper The construct of household individuality can be defined as a household s subjective apprehension of world based on shared beliefs and experiences that determine how single members interact and associate to each other and the universe outside the household ( Bennett, Wolin, McAvity, 1988 ) . Throughout my childhood my household had two individualities: a public individuality that was shaped by social outlooks and norms, and a private individuality that was governed by the alone demands and issues that plagued our household life. From a public position we were a traditional in-between category household complete with a married twosome, three kids, and two Canis familiariss. We lived in a modest but nice place in a suburban community, my sisters and I attended private schools, and we were financially unafraid. However, few people were cognizant of the struggle, pandemonium, and maltreatment that occurred behind closed doors within our place. Our private individua lity, characterized by dysfunctional behaviours and interactions that occurred between assorted members of the household, told a really different narrative. The construction or organisation of my household based on forms of interactions, subsystems, and boundaries is of import in understanding the kineticss within my household of beginning ( Minuchin, 1974 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . The genogram, or household diagram, provided in the appendix illustrates a multigenerational position of construction and relationships within my drawn-out household ( Bowen, 1978 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . However, for the intent of this paper I will concentrate on the construction of my household of beginning. My household consists of my male parent, Gerald, my female parent, Alma, and three kids: Michelle, the eldest, Jennifer, the in-between kid, and myself the youngest kid. Our household construction was governed by familial functions, regulations, and outlooks ( Nichols, 2011 ) . My male parent held the function of fiscal supplier within the household. His duty was to guarantee that the household had fiscal security. My female parent maintained the function of health professional and leader. She was the materfamilias of the household and was charged with the undertaking of keeping every facet of the place and household. My oldest sister was the whipping boy and defender within the household. Family issues were frequently projected onto her coercing her to take duty and incrimination for household disfunction ( Shulman, 2006 ) . She besides held the function of defender within the sibling subsystem, and often shielded my in-between sister and I from danger and injury within and outside the place. My in-between sister was the quiet member and theoretical account kid of the household. She is inactive and seldom expressed sentiments sing household issues, and ever made an effort to fulfill familial outlooks and demands ( Shulman, 2006 ) . As the youngest kid, I played the function of gatekeeper within the household. My end as the gatekeeper was to utilize my humor and wit to assist the household return to a province of homeostasis by easing tensene ss and reconstructing composure and peace within the household ( Shulman, 2006 ) . My household was besides governed by a set of explicit and implicit regulations and outlooks ( Nichols, 2011 ) . Explicit regulations and outlooks consisted of good behaviour, high academic accomplishment, and the completion of assorted jobs and responsibilities within the family. Implicit regulations helped strengthen household secrets and included maintaining household issues private, and prohibiting household members to discourse or admit the disfunction within the household. Additionally, my household operated as a closed system with stiff boundaries restricting input from outside beginnings ( Minuchin, 1974 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . We were non unfastened or welcoming to outside influences and support ; instead, we internalized familial issues and jobs. My female parent s mental unwellness complicated household kineticss and contributed to the pathology within the place. My female parent has Borderline Personality Disorder which made her a polarising presence within our place due to her frequent tantrums of fury and unstable mental wellness ( Nichols, 2011 ) . Therefore, the household s attending and energy was chiefly focused on my female parent and her demands ( Nichols, 2011 ) . My female parent would often displace her choler and fury onto my sisters and I in the signifier of physical and emotional maltreatment. Her behaviour affected relationships, boundaries, and fond regard forms within the household as illustrated in the household genogram. My female parent exhibited an anxious-ambivalent fond regard to my male parent due to her at hand fright of forsaking ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . She urgently desired my male parent s love and attending, but would act in ways that created struggle and pandemonium within the matrimo nial subsystem ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . As a consequence, my male parent developed an anxious-avoidant fond regard to my female parent, which resulted in him making a stiff boundary within the matrimonial subsystem in order to protect and distance himself from my female parent s choler and attendant feelings of helpless and defeat ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Minuchin, 1974 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . My parents were involved in a cyclical pursuer-distancer form of interaction that resulted in my male parent s detachment within the matrimonial subsystem ( Minuchin, 1974 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . The kineticss, boundaries, and fond regards between the parental and kid subsystems were every bit complicated. The relationship between my female parent and my oldest sister was filled with struggle and tenseness. My female parent was exceptionally opprobrious to my oldest sister which resulted in the constitution of disorganised fond regard ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . My oldest sister perceived my female parent as terrorization ; yet, she urgently desired nurturance from my female parent and fluctuated between distancing herself from my female parent and urgently seeking comfort and security ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . My oldest sister and my female parent were psychologically and emotionally entwined or fused with one another despite old ages of maltreatment ( Bowen, 1978 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . My in-between sister established an anxious-avoidant fond regard with my female parent ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . As a kid, my in-between sister seldom sought aid, counse l, or comfort from my female parent as a consequence of the maltreatment she endured and my female parent s inability to adequately turn to her demands for safety and comfort ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . I established an anxious-ambivalent fond regard to my female parent in which I urgently depended on her for emotional support and encouragement despite her maltreatment, but seldom received equal comfort and nurturance ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . My sisters and I have an anxious-avoidant fond regard with my male parent as a consequence of his inability to systematically supply us with comfort and safety in response to my female parent s maltreatment ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . The household kineticss, nevertheless, strengthened the sibling subsystem. My sisters and I have a secure fond regard and are able to trust on each other for support, comfort, and nurturance in the face of hardship ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . Culture and ethnicity besides played an built-in function in my household individuality and kineticss. My parents are first coevals Mexicanos and were raised in households that emphasized traditional Mexican cultural values and beliefs including a strong committedness to household, regard, trust, and faith ( Rothman, Gant, Hnat, 1985 ) . However, my parents raised my sisters and I in a bi-cultural environment that incorporated assorted facets of American and Mexican civilization and traditions. My parents emphasized trust, regard, and committedness within the household, but they besides introduced American linguistic communication, nutrient, jubilations, and values including a focal point on individualism, privateness, and accomplishment ( Rothman et al. , 1985 ; Beane, 2011 ) . Additionally, contrary to traditional Mexican civilization, there was a stronger accent on immediate instead than extended household ( Rothman et al. , 1985 ) . Religion was besides an of import cultural face t of our lives. My household is Catholic and placed a strong accent on spiritual beliefs and rites such as praying before repasts and go toing church together every Sunday. Family Crisis/Transition In June of 1992 my household, as we knew it, changed everlastingly. My male parent left our place without any anterior notice or treatment and filed for divorce from my female parent. His abrupt and unforeseen going from our place left every household member fighting with feelings of daze, confusion, contempt, choler, and anxiousness. The initial stage of the divorce procedure is identified as the most nerve-racking clip for a household due to the alterations in household construction as a consequence of the absence of a parent, and subsequent force per unit areas and demands for household members to take on new functions and duties ( Cooper, McLanahan, Meadows, Brooks-Gunn, 2009 ; Kelly A ; Emery, 2003 ) . Additionally, households frequently experience important alterations in socioeconomic, societal, and wellness resources as the consequence of a divorce that frequently increases the degree of emphasis within a household and complicates the header and version procedure ( Cooper et al. , 2009, p. 559 ; Kelly A ; Emery, 2003 ) . Harmonizing to the ABC-X Model of Family Crisis, a household s ability to set and get by with passages and crises is based on the interaction of the undermentioned variables: A-the state of affairs or stressor event, B-available resources, C-the household s perceptual experience of the event, and X-the grade of emphasis or crisis experienced by a household ( McKenry A ; Price, 1994 ) . Let us now apply the ABC-X Model of Family Crisis to analyse my household s initial response to the nerve-racking passage of my parents divorce. The stressor confronting my household was the separation, and subsequent divorce, of my parents which left the household in a province of hurt and significantly altered our household individuality, construction, kineticss, and operation. My male parent s absence resulted in important fiscal adversity for the household, which forced my female parent to come in the work force and take on the new and unfamiliar function of fiscal supplier. The duty and demands of this new function affected my female parent s ability to keep her health professional function within the household. As a consequence, my sisters and I had to take on many of her duties within the place. Initially, my oldest sister took on the function of health professional in my female parent s absence. However, my oldest sister left for college shortly after my male parent s going which resulted in important alterations to the sibling subsystem and farther complicated our household s ability to accommodate and get by. My in- between sister was forced to abandon her usual function as the quiet member, and presume the function of defender and health professional. This new function placed a great trade of force per unit area on my in-between sister and changed the moral force within the new sibling couple by increasing tenseness. Additionally, I was no longer able to successfully ease household tenseness and pandemonium as the gatekeeper, and assumed the new function of assisting my in-between sister maintain the family. The divorce besides affected household fond regard demands, boundaries, and relationships. After the divorce, my male parent was physically and emotionally cut-off from my female parent and the remainder of the household ( Bowen, 1978 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . My sisters and I had no contact with my male parent for a twelvemonth following the divorce, which created a stiff boundary between him and the kid subsystem and contributed to our inability to accommodate our heartache and heal ( Minuchin, 1974 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . Additionally, boundaries between the parental and kid subsystems, and within the sibling subsystem, became more diffuse as a consequence of the new functions and duties of each household member ( Minuchin, 1974 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . The alterations in household construction forced my in-between sister to take on more of a parental function within the sibling subsystem. Additionally, my female parent was unable to pass as much clip within the place due to the demands of her n ew function as fiscal supplier, which created a distance and detachment between the parent and kid subsystems ( Minuchin, 1974 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . My female parent s relationship with my oldest sister was every bit affected as a consequence of the passage. After she left place, my oldest sister was able to emotionally divide or cut-off my female parent and the pandemonium within the place ( Bowen, 1978 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . However, my oldest sister continued to supply emotional support within the sibling subsystem. My female parent s mental unwellness complicated her ability to get by with the passage and adequately turn to the attachment demands of my sisters and I ( Minuchin, 1974 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . Despite the complicated and helter-skelter relationship we each had with my female parent we urgently needed and wanted her comfort, counsel, and nurturance in response to the hurting, confusion, and anguish we were experiencing. However, my female parent s ain emotional instability rendered her unable to adequately turn to our demands for fond regard. My female parent was preoccupied with her ain demands for emotional comfort and responded in a cold and rejecting mode to our demand for comfort and security. Rather, my in-between sister and I were forced to supply comfort and consolation to my female parent and set our ain demands aside. This function reversal further complicated the interactions and boundaries between the parent and kid subsystems. Culture besides influenced my household s perceptual experience of the divorce and ability to get by with the passage. The disintegration of a matrimony and household is non good accepted within the Mexican civilization due to the strong accent on household connexion and committedness. In fact, households that experience divorce are frequently shamed and ostracized by drawn-out household as was the instance in our household system. My maternal grandparents expressed contempt and letdown in my female parent s inability to salve her matrimony and household, which created more tenseness within our household. Additionally, divorce was uncommon within our suburban community. We were the first household in our community to see a divorce and this contributed to my household s feelings of embarrassment and shame. The divorce besides altered our household s public individuality of the ideal in-between category household, and revealed some of the struggle and pandemonium within our place. Our household individuality now reflected matrimonial strife and a broken place. Our spiritual beliefs besides complicated our ability to accommodate after the divorce. Divorce is non supported or condoned within Catholicism which increased our feelings of embarrassment and shame in the Catholic community. My household had limited entree to resources following the divorce. As antecedently mentioned, our household operated as a closed system which complicated our ability to achieve equal fiscal, societal, and emotional support and aid from external systems ( Minuchin, 1974 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . Our socioeconomic position, fiscal resources, and criterion of life were significantly minimized. We transitioned from being a financially unafraid in-between category household to populating below the poorness line in a affair of months. Our entree to societal support was besides limited as a consequence of the stiff boundaries dividing my household from external systems of support such as household friends and mental wellness professionals ( Minuchin, 1974 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . Rather, each member of the household sought single resources within and outside the household to assist relieve emotional hurt and achieve support. For illustration, my sisters and I sought support from external systems incl uding friends and instructors ( Nichols, 2011 ) . We besides relied on the unafraid fond regard we had with each other for emotional support and counsel ( Bowlby, 1988 ; Nichols, 2011 ) . My female parent sought emotional support from extended household, the kid subsystem, and her new colleagues. My parents divorce was an unexpected event that significantly increased the degree of emphasis within my household and contributed to alterations in household individuality, construction, functions, relationships, and resources. My household s opposition to seek and accept external resources and back up farther complicated our ability as a system to retrieve from our loss and adaptively header with the passage. Cultural influences besides contributed to a negative assessment of the state of affairs. My household s negative perceptual experience of the divorce resulted in feelings of hopelessness and desperation instead than an accent on problem-solving and growing ( McKenry A ; Price, 1994 ) . This negative perceptual experience significantly inhibited our ability to adaptively get by with the passage and associated stressors. My household was able to readapt construction and functions, but lacked coherence and stableness. The apogee of the event, the deficiency of sufficient resou rces, and the negative perceptual experience of the passage resulted in my household s assessment of the event as a crisis that disrupted equilibrium, increased force per unit area and emphasis within the household system, and negatively affected household operation ( McKenry A ; Price, 1994 ) .