Equality Diversity And Rights In Health Care Social Work Essay Essays

Equality Diversity And Rights In Health Care Social Work Essay Essays Equality Diversity And Rights In Health Care Social Work Essay Essay Equality Diversity And Rights In Health Care Social Work Essay Essay What is equality and diverseness? Although sometimes used interchangeably, the footings equality and diversity are non the same. Equality is about creating a fairer society, where everyone can take part and has the chance to carry through their possible ( DH, 2004 ) . It is about placing forms of experience based on group individuality, and the challenging processes that limit single s potential wellness and life opportunities. For illustration, occupational segregation. Womans make up about 75 % of the NHS work force but are concentrated in the lower-paid occupational countries: nursing, allied wellness professionals ( AHPs ) , administrative workers and accessory workers ( DH, 2005 ) . Peoples from black and minority cultural groups comprise 39.1 % of hospital medical staff yet they comprise merely 22.1 % of all infirmary medical advisers ( DH, 2005 ) . An equalities approach understands that our societal individuality in footings of gender, race, disablement, age, societal category, gender and faith will impact on our life experiences. Diversity literally means difference. When it is used as a contrast or add-on to equality, it is about recognizing single every bit good as group differences, handling people as persons, and puting positive value on diverseness in the community and in the work force. Historically, employers and services have ignored certain differences. However, single and group diverseness needs to be considered in order to guarantee that everybody s demands and demands are understood and responded to within employment pattern and service design and bringing. One manner in which administrations have responded to the issue of diverseness in recent old ages has been the development of flexibleness in working patterns and services. For illustration, an employer may let an employee to work a flexible working form to suit kid attention agreements, or a GP surgery may offer surgeries at the weekends in accommodate those who work full clip during the hebdomad. These attacks recognise that in order to be inclusive and equal to all, administrations may necessitate to react otherwise to individuals/groups. Therefore, a committedness to equality in add-on to acknowledgment of diverseness means that different can be equal. Learning results Understand constructs of equality, diverseness A ; rights in relation to Health and Social Care. Equality and diverseness is going more of import in all facets of our lives and work for a figure of grounds. We live in an progressively diverse society and demand to be able to react suitably and sensitively to this diverseness. Learners in the health care puting will reflect this diverseness around gender, race and ethnicity, disablement, faith, gender, category and age. Your administration believes that successful execution of equality and diverseness in all facets of work ensures that co-workers, staff and pupils are valued, motivated and treated reasonably. Every member of society is likely, at some point, to be a receiver of wellness and societal attention. The Department of Health can merely accomplish its purpose of better wellness, attention and wellbeing for all, by constructing an expressed committedness to equality, diverseness and human rights throughout the wellness and societal attention system. All public administrations including the Department of Health and public suppliers and commissioners of wellness and societal attention services have a responsibility to advance equality. Successfully presenting these responsibilities is a core portion of the wellness and societal attention system s nonsubjective to offer services that deliver high quality attention for all. To make this, the diverseness of the population has to be recognised, in policy development through to serve bringing and patient attention, admiting the diverse experiences, aspirations and demands of staff, patients and service. The Department of Health and local wellness and societal attention administrations continue to take proactive stairss to turn to unequal entree and results experienced by some subdivisions of the community. DH is working to guarantee the rules and practicalities of equity, equality, diverseness and human rights are a cardinal to the work of the Department. In 2007 the UK established a new individual equalities organic structure, to convey together the bing equality Committees covering with gender, disablement, and race and ethnicity into a Commission for Equality and Human Rights. The publicity and enforcement of equality and diverseness is one of the three responsibilities of the new organic structure. This paper briefly explores diverseness in relation to the theory of gender equality and besides examines developments in policy at the EU degree, which has provided much of the drift for alteration. Our focal point is on the policy attack and the tensenesss that the policy paperss reveal about the accent on equality and diverseness attack, in peculiar the extent to which attending to gender issues may acquire lost in the diverseness package, and the extent to which a focal point on the person may be strengthened over the group. This page lists some of the counsel stuffs produced by the former equality committees and counsel produced b y external administrations, who have given us permission to reproduce their stuffs on our site. Guidance from ACAS Age, Religion or Belief, Sexual orientation There are no statutory Codes in force covering sexual orientation, faith or belief, or age favoritism. However, ACAS has published counsel paperss covering each of these countries. The undermentioned ushers are besides available on the ACAS web site. Guidance from the EOC reding immature people The Equal Opportunities Commission produced counsel to assist advisors who work with immature people toA work outA whether they might hold experienced improper favoritism. The chief focal point was sex favoritism but other signifiers of favoritism are besides referred to. Young people need advice too.. Guidance from the TUC mental wellness issues TheA TUC produced counsel to aid merchandise brotherhood reps and functionaries provide a good service to members with mental wellness jobs. It aims to fit reps in workplaces with the information they need to cover every bit good with mental wellness issues as they do with the other issues that harvest up on day-to-day footing. Guidance from the Refugee Council employing refugees We have worked with theRefugee Council to bring forth counsel on using refugees. The counsel explains which paperss can supply grounds of entitlement to work. This counsel is aimed at employers but could be utile for advisors every bit good. Guidance from Advocacy Action Human rights toolkit for advocators Action for Advocacy, the independent protagonism administration has developed a toolkit based on an initial series of Commission-funded preparation yearss to advocators across England and Wales. The toolkit is a resource to advance farther thought and better usage of resources that can back up advocators to utilize human rights in their protagonism work. Understand discriminatory pattern in wellness and societal attention. Discrimination is less favourable or bad intervention of person because of one or more facets of their societal individuality. Understanding how favoritism can impact on persons lives is indispensable to forestall possible favoritism within in instruction and learning state of affairss and guarantee that you are confident in covering with favoritism issues if and when they arise. Our societal individuality comprises our: gender race or ethnicity gender faith or religion age category disablement. While we can confront favoritism because of any of these facets, it is of import that we besides identify the links between societal individualities and individualism and/or a province and state of affairs. Bad intervention can be multi-layered and occur because of: an facet of individualism, e.g. some facet of personal visual aspect, size, personal likes, etc. our state/situation, e.g. homelessness, being a lone parent, abuse of drugs or intoxicant, citizen position, wellness, etc. Valuing diverseness It is of import that you consider how an person s societal individuality may impact on their experience of the programme/teaching session of clinical activity in which the scholar is engaged. The ways in which favoritism works include pigeonholing, doing premises, patronizing, mortifying and disrespecting people, taking some people less earnestly. To guarantee that we value diverseness and see the person s individuality suitably in clinical instruction, the undermentioned rules may be utile: recognise that we need to handle all scholars as persons and respond to them, and their societal individuality, in an single mode understand that handling people reasonably does non intend handling people in the same manner we need to recognize difference and respond suitably regard all scholars irrespective of their societal individuality attempt to increase our cognition and apprehension of facets of societal individuality that may be different from our ain avoid stereotyping or doing premises about scholars based on their societal individuality recognise that some class content may impact on some scholars in a negative/difficult manner because of an facet of their societal individuality recognise that the class construction, e.g. timing of talks, unsociable hours, weekend working, and so on, may impact on some scholars more than others due to their societal individuality recognise that your ain societal individuality may impact on scholars in different ways avoid utilizing inappropriate and disrespectful linguistic communication associating to societal individuality Institutional favoritism Institutional favoritism is concerned with favoritism that has been incorporated into the constructions, procedures and processs of administrations, either because of bias or because of failure to take into history the peculiar demands of different societal individualities. Looking at the long historical position, there is a really cardinal development of how public establishments have dealt with the impression of anti-discrimination. Whereas the typical 19th century anti-discrimination agreements were developed for settling the instance of philosophical and spiritual minorities, modern-day statute law is confronting the challenge of turn toing new issues such as, for case, those raised by the monolithic in-migration of colonial and guest workers immigrants. If racial favoritism is among the most debatable signifiers of favoritism, it is far from being the lone 1. The battle against favoritism is an on-going procedure, which is now confronting the challenge of, non merely turn toing new societal worlds, but besides turn toing old 1s innovatively. The inclusion of disablement, sexual orientation and age as a footing for anti-discrimination battle reflects the experiencing that the jurisprudence must be adapted to procedures of societal alteration, which are marked today by an unprecedented diverseness in footings of life styles, cultural, cultural and spiritual backgrounds. Three characteristics distinguish institutional favoritism from other random single signifiers of bad intervention. Triggered by societal individuality the favoritism impacts on groups ( or persons because they are members of that group ) . Systematic it is built into: Torahs, regulations and ordinances. For illustration, choice standards for occupations or classs, Torahs such as the Minimum Wage, pension regularities, etc. the manner we do things round here , including the usage of authorization and discretion, e.g. how training chances are allocated, how flexibleness in larning patterns is authorised the popular civilization and ways of depicting normality , e.g. long on the job hours culture/expectations. Consequences in forms incidents of favoritism may look stray or random but where institutional favoritism occurs they are portion of a wider form of events which frequently may be hidden. Forms of favoritism can frequently be surfaced by effectual organisational information associating to societal individuality. For illustration: aˆ? which groups of people get promoted in an organisation? aˆ? which groups of people get accepted onto a preparation class? aˆ? which groups of people leave an organisation after six months of employment? Questions such as this may indicate to some people sing the organisation in a different/more negative manner than others. Understand how National initiatives promotes anti-discriminatory practise in Health instruction and Social attention. The construct of favoritism adopted in the statute law derived from Article 13 is inspired by the EU statute law on the equality of intervention between work forces and women.5 Equality of intervention is defined as the absence of any direct or indirect favoritism. By direct favoritism, The same papers defines indirect favoritism as follows: indirect favoritism shall be taken to happen where an seemingly impersonal proviso, standard or pattern is apt to impact adversely a individual or individuals to whom any of the evidences referred to in Article 17 applies, unless that proviso, standard or pattern is objectively justified by a legitimate purpose and the agencies of accomplishing it are appropriate and necessary Harassment is besides considered a favoritism in its ain right. Harassment is any signifier of action that creates a disturbing, intimidating, violative or hostile working environment, such as verbal maltreatments and gestures. As in the equality of intervention between work forces and adult females statute law, the two anti-discrimination directives following Article 13 topographic point the load of cogent evidence on the suspect in instance of legal action. Discrimination can go on in many different ways but you have rights to protect you By jurisprudence people are protected from favoritism on the evidences of: race sex sexual orientation disablement ( or because of something connected with your disablement ) faith or belief being a transsexual individual holding merely had a babe or being pregnantA being married or in a civil partnership ( this applies merely at work or if person is being trained for work ) age ( this applies merely at work or if person is being trained for work ) These are known as protected features . Race favoritism Wherever you were born, wherever your parents came from, whatever the coloring material of your tegument, you have a right to be treated reasonably. Gender equality sex favoritism Womans and work forces should non be treated below the belt because of their gender, because they are married or because they are raising a household. Sexual orientation Whether you are cheery, sapphic, bisexual or consecutive should non set you at a disadvantage. Disability favoritism If you have a physical or mental damage you have specific rights that protect you against favoritism. Religion and belief Your faith or belief, or those of person else, should non impact your right to be treated reasonably. This could be at work, school, in stores or while utilizing public services like wellness attention. Transgender favoritism Trans people should be able to populate with self-respect. There are protections for some of the signifiers of favoritism that trans people experience. Age equality By jurisprudence you can non be treated less favorably in your workplace or in preparation for work because of your age. For illustration, it would be improper to non use person because of their age. The EU impression of anti-discrimination offers a minimum criterion of legal protection, non an extended and unvarying 1. This means that some states will stay more advanced than others in their battle against favoritism even after the execution of the two directives. The statute law besides suggests that equality of intervention is expected to ensue from battling discrimination.8 It does non ordain a positive responsibility on public and private governments to advance positive action or equal chances policies. In this regard, one suspects that this absence will in the long tally be felt as a major defect. Lessons from both the position of gender surveies and from cultural and racial surveies have taught that a thin impression of equality of intervention is far from being a promise of equality. Human rights Human rights are the basic rights and rules that belong to every individual in the universe. They are based on the nucleus rules of self-respect, equity, equality, regard and liberty ( E and HRC, 2008 ) . Human rights protect an person s freedom to command their daily life, and efficaciously take part in all facets of public life in a just and equal manner. Human rights aid persons to boom and accomplish possible through: being safe and protected from injury being treated reasonably and with self-respect being able to populate the life you choose taking an active portion in your community and wider society ( E and HRC, 2008 ) . Intrinsic to these statements should be the rules of equality and diverseness. Since 1998 the UK has besides included human rights within its legal model. The Human Rights Act applies to all public governments and organic structures executing a public map. The Human Rights Acts places the undermentioned duty on your administration. Administrations must advance and protect persons homo rights. This means handling people reasonably, with self-respect and regard while safeguarding the rights of the wider community. Administrations should use core homo rights values, such as equality, self-respect, privateness, regard and engagement, to all organizational service planning and determination devising. The Human Rights Act provides a complementary legal model to the anti-discriminatory model and the public responsibilities. The legal context As a clinical instructor you will desire to guarantee that you understand the legal model sing equality, and that you can associate this model to your mundane function. The UK model has two elements to it: the anti- discriminatory model ( which gives persons a path to raise ailments of favoritism around employment and service bringing ) and the public responsibilities ( which place a proactive responsibility on administrations to turn to institutional favoritism ) . Overview of anti-discriminatory model Sex Discrimination Act 1975 Race Relations Act 1976 Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Employment Equality ( Sexual Orientation ) and ( Religious Belief ) Regulations 2003 Employment Equality ( Age ) Regulations 2006 Equality Act 2006 ( screens service bringing in relation to sexual orientation and spiritual belief ) It is of import to observe that at the current clip, age statute law merely protects persons in the country of employment and non serve bringing. The SEN and Disability Act 2001 The SEN and Disability Act 2001 extended the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to education with consequence from September 2002. This act requires instructors to research the proviso of sensible accommodations for pupils who may hold disablements, including larning disablements, to enable them to take part efficaciously. The EU took great attention to avoid national and EU anti-discrimination commissariats going concurrent. The solution introduced for work outing this hard inquiry was to follow the most appropriate technique of statute law. By taking the directive, the EU has in consequence opted for flexibleness. The Directive, contrary to the ordinance, offers Member States general guidelines, which should be implemented within two old ages after the acceptance of the two directives. The anti-discrimination bundle proposed by the Commission and subsequently adopted by the Council of Ministers defines minimum common criterion of legal protection for victims of favoritism, without bias of what the Member States already have on offer in their internal legal order . It is peculiarly important for the success of the statute law that Member States take the EU enterprise as a motive for upgrading their internal criterion of protection and non as a justification for take downing them. This is why the two directives contain a non-regression clause which will in pattern lead to better statute law in all Member States. Another ground why EU statute law should be seen as complementing national enterprises is the stuff range of the Article 13. As indicated above, the domain of competency of the EU in the country of anti-discrimination is restrictively defined by the Treaty on the European Union. The chief country where it will be relevant to believe in footings of Article 13 is the labour market. Therefore, there is a whole scope of countries of possible favoritism where the function of the Member States will stay aboriginal. Know how anti-discriminatory pattern is promoted in Health A ; Social Care puting Active publicity of anti-discriminatory pattern: ethical rules ; seting the patient/service user at the bosom of service proviso, eg supplying active support consistent with the beliefs, civilization and penchants of the person, back uping persons to show their demands and penchants, authorising persons, advancing persons rights, picks and wellbeing ; equilibrating single rights with the rights of others ; covering with struggles ; placing and disputing favoritism Personal beliefs and value systems: influences on, eg civilization, beliefs, past events, socialization, environmental influences, wellness and well-being ; developing greater self-awareness and tolerance of differences ; perpetrating to the attention value base ; careful usage of linguistic communication ; working within legal, ethical and policy guidelines. Beliefs are the premises we make about ourselves, about others in the universe and about how we expect things to be. Beliefs are about how we think things truly are, what we think is truly true and what hence expect as likely effects that will follow from our behaviour. Since the last comprehensive reappraisal in 1974, the Health Belief Model ( HBM ) has continued to be the focal point of considerable theoretical and research attending. This article presents a critical reappraisal of 29 HBM-related probes published during the period 1974-1984, tabulates the findings from 17 surveies conducted prior to 1974, and provides a sum-up of the entire 46 HBM surveies ( 18 prospective, 28 retrospective ) . Twenty-four surveies examined preventive-health be haviors ( PHB ) , 19 explored sick-role behaviours ( SRB ) , and three addressed clinic use. A significance ratio was constructed which divides the figure of positive, statistically- important findings for an HBM dimension by the entire figure of surveies describing significance degrees for that dimension. Drumhead consequences provide significant empirical support for the HBM, with findings from prospective surveies at least every bit favourable as those obtained from retrospective research. Perceived barriers proved to be the most powerful of the HBM dimensions across the assorted survey designs and behaviours. While both were of import overall, perceived sus ceptibility was a stronger subscriber to understanding PHB than SRB, while the contrary was true for sensed benefits. Perceived badness produced the lowest overall significance ratios ; nevertheless, while merely weakly associated with PHB, this dimension was strongly related to SRB. On the footing of the grounds compiled, it is recommended that consideration of HBM dimensions be a portion of wellness instruction scheduling. Suggestions are offered for farther research. It is of import for attention workers to advance equality, value diverseness and esteem the rights of service users. There are assorted ways of how they can dispute prejudiced issues and patterns in wellness and societal attention. One of the ways in which attention worker can advance equality, value diverseness and esteem the rights of service users is to ever set the patient/service user at the bosom of the service proviso. This means that the patients single demands will be met and achieved Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every individual in the universe. Ideas about human rights have evolved over many centuries. But they achieved strong international support following the Holocaust and World War II. To protect future coevalss from a repetition of these horrors, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. For the first clip, the Universal Declaration set out the cardinal rights and freedoms shared by all human existences. These rights and freedoms based on nucleus rules like self-respect, equality and regard inspired a scope of international and regional human rights pacts. For illustration, they formed the footing for the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950. The European Convention protects the human rights of people in states that belong to the Council of Europe. This includes the United Kingdom. Until late, people in the United Kingdom had to kick to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if they felt their rights under the European Convention had been breached. for illustration ; a personal feeding program to a specific person. Puting the service user at the Centre of the proviso by and large makes a happier and healthier patient in all countries. Care workers can assist accomplish this by: * Understanding what it is like to utilize those services * Involving those who use the services Another illustration can be quoted as, Rights of one patient will collide with the rights of another A patient has the right to watch Television or listen to the wireless, while the patient in the following bed has the right the right to an undisturbed sleep the rights of these two patients clash. By supplying earpieces could assist decide this. If patients portion a room one wants the door propped unfastened and the other 1 does nt although this is a clang of rights the rights of the patient who wanted the door closed would outweigh the other as shore uping unfastened doors is a fire hazard Care scenes must supply services in such a manner that all service users get equal benefit for them. For illustration a individual who does non hold English as their first linguistic communication may necessitate a transcriber in order to understand the services available and to show a pick about them. One of the most good ways in which a societal attention puting can dispute anti discriminatory is through staff development and preparation this may be done officially through supervising Sessionss or more informally in the class of twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours working. The director should oversee the work of their staff, offer advice and counsel in hard state of affairss and assist the workers identify developing chances to better their practise.A

A Guide to the Origins and Celebration of Kwanzaa

A Guide to the Origins and Celebration of Kwanzaa Unlike Christmas, Ramadan, or Hanukkah, Kwanzaa is unaffiliated with a major religion. One of the newer American holidays, Kwanzaa originated in the turbulent 1960s to instill racial pride and unity in the black community. Now, fully recognized in mainstream America, Kwanzaa is widely celebrated. The U.S. Postal Service debuted its first Kwanzaa stamp in 1997, releasing a second commemorative stamp in 2004. In addition, former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush recognized the day while in office. But Kwanzaa has its share of critics, despite its mainstream status. Are you considering celebrating Kwanzaa this year? Discover the arguments for and against it, whether all blacks (and any non-blacks) celebrate it and the impact of Kwanzaa on American culture. What Is Kwanzaa? Established in 1966 by the African-American professor, activist and author Ron Karenga (or Maulana Karenga), Kwanzaa aims to reconnect black Americans to their African roots and recognize their struggles as a people by building community. It is observed every year between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1. Derived from the Swahili term, â€Å"matunda ya kwanza,† which means â€Å"first-fruits,† Kwanzaa is based on African harvest celebrations such as the seven-day Umkhost of Zululand. According to the official Kwanzaa website, â€Å"Kwanzaa was created out of the philosophy of Kawaida, which is a cultural nationalist philosophy that argues that the key challenge in black people’s [lives] is the challenge of culture, and that what Africans must do is to discover and bring forth the best of their culture, both ancient and current, and use it as a foundation to bring into being models of human excellence and possibilities to enrich and expand our lives.† Just as many African harvest celebrations run for seven days, Kwanzaa has seven principles known as the Nguzo Saba. They are: umoja (unity); kujichagulia (self-determination); ujima (collective work and responsibility); ujamaa (cooperative economics); nia (purpose); kuumba (creativity); and imani (faith). Celebrating Kwanzaa During Kwanzaa celebrations, a mkeka (straw mat) rests on a table covered by kente cloth, or another African fabric. On top of the mkeka sits a kinara (candleholder) in which the mishumaa saba (seven candles) go. The colors of Kwanzaa are black for the people, red for their struggle, and green for the future and hope that comes from their struggle, according to the official Kwanzaa website. Mazao (crops) and the kikombe cha umoja (the unity cup) also sit on the mkeka. The unity cup is used to pour tambiko (libation) in remembrance of ancestors. Lastly, African art objects and books about the life and culture of African people sit on the mat to symbolize commitment to heritage and learning. Do All Blacks Observe Kwanzaa? Although Kwanzaa celebrates African roots and culture, the National Retail Foundation found that just 13 percent of African Americans observe the holiday, or approximately 4.7 million. Some blacks have made a conscious decision to avoid the day because of religious beliefs, the origins of the day and the history of Kwanzaa’s founder (all of which will be covered later). If you’re curious about whether a black person in your life observes Kwanzaa because you want to get him or her a related card, gift, or another item, simply ask. Don’t make assumptions. Can Non-Blacks Celebrate Kwanzaa? While Kwanzaa focuses on the black community and African Diaspora, people from other racial groups may join in the celebration. Just as people from a range of backgrounds partake in cultural celebrations such as Cinco de Mayo, Chinese New Year or Native American powwows, those who aren’t of African descent may celebrate Kwanzaa. As the Kwanzaa Web site explains, â€Å"The principles of Kwanzaa and the message of Kwanzaa has a universal message for all people of good will. It is rooted in African culture, and we speak as Africans must speak, not just to ourselves, but to the world.† New York Times  reporter Sewell Chan grew up celebrating the day. â€Å"As a child growing up in Queens, I remember attending Kwanzaa celebrations at the American Museum of Natural History with relatives and friends who, like me, were Chinese-American,† he  said. â€Å"The holiday seemed fun and inclusive (and, I admit, a bit exotic), and I eagerly committed to memory the Nguzo Saba, or seven principles†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Check local newspaper listings, black churches, cultural centers or museums to find out where to celebrate Kwanzaa in your community. If an acquaintance of yours celebrates Kwanzaa, ask for permission to attend a celebration with her. However, it would be offensive to go as a voyeur who doesn’t care about the day itself but is curious to see what it’s about. Go because you agree with the principles of the day and are committed to implementing them in your own life and community. After all, Kwanzaa is a day of tremendous significance for millions of people. Objections to Kwanzaa Who opposes Kwanzaa? Certain Christian groups who regard the holiday as pagan, individuals who question its authenticity and those who object to founder Ron Karenga’s personal history. A group called the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), for one, labeled the holiday as racist and anti-Christian. In an article in the self-avowed right-wing anti-muslim magazine FrontPage, BOND founder the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson takes issue with the trend of preachers incorporating Kwanzaa into their messages, calling the move â€Å"a horrible mistake† which distances blacks from Christmas. â€Å"First of all, as we’ve seen, the whole holiday is made up,† Peterson argues. â€Å"Christians who celebrate or incorporate Kwanzaa are moving their attention away from Christmas, the birth of our Savior, and the simple message of salvation: love for God through his Son.† The Kwanzaa Web site explains that Kwanzaa isn’t religious or designed to replace religious holidays. â€Å"Africans of all faiths can and do celebrate Kwanzaa, i.e., Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists†¦,† the site says. â€Å"For what Kwanzaa offers is not an alternative to their religion or faith but a common ground of African culture which they all share and cherish.† African Roots? and a Troubled Founder Even those who don’t oppose Kwanzaa on religious grounds may take issue with it because Kwanzaa is not an actual holiday in Africa and, furthermore, the customs founder Ron Karenga based the holiday on roots in Eastern Africa. During the  transatlantic slave trade, however, blacks were taken from Western Africa, meaning that Kwanzaa and its  Swahili  terminology aren’t part of most African Americans’ heritage. Another reason people choose not to observe Kwanzaa is the background of Ron Karenga. In the 1970s, Karenga was  convicted  of felony assault and false imprisonment. Two black women from the Organization Us, a black nationalist group with which he’s still affiliated, were reportedly victimized during the attack. Critics question how Karenga can be an advocate for unity within the black community when he himself was allegedly involved in an attack on black women. Wrapping Up While Kwanzaa and its founder are sometimes subject to criticism, journalists such as Afi-Odelia E. Scruggs celebrate the holiday because they believe in the principles it espouses. In particular, the values Kwanzaa gives to children and to the black community at large are why Scruggs observes the day. Initially, Scruggs thought Kwanzaa was contrived, but seeing its principles at work changed her mind. In a  Washington Post  column, she wrote, â€Å"I’ve seen Kwanzaa’s ethical principles work in many little ways. When I remind the fifth-graders I teach that they aren’t practicing ‘umoja’ when they disturb their friends, they quiet down. †¦When I see neighbors turning vacant lots into community gardens, I’m watching a practical application of both ‘nia’ and ‘kuumba.’† In short, while Kwanzaa has inconsistencies and its founder a troubled history, the holiday aims to unify and uplift those who observe it. Like other holidays, Kwanzaa can be used as a positive force in the community. Some believe this outweighs any concerns about authenticity.

Are the Council of Ministers and the European Commission Essay

Are the Council of Ministers and the European Commission interdependent or competing institutions - Essay Example These institutions are responsible for the formation of public policy after series of arguments and discussions among the members and it is true that they consider the interest of the Union rather than that of member states while making important decisions and therefore assumes a higher degree of independence. The unique institutional structure of the European Union sets it apart from other traditional institutions as the entire member states have agreed to focus more on the national interest. Each of these institutions has a unique role to play in the decision making process by complementing each other. This paper is an attempt to analyse the importance and interdependence of the Council of Ministers and the European Commission. The council of ministers The most prominent among all the institutions of European Union is the Council of Ministers which instigated to draw more attention after the integration of European Community. According to Alex Warleigh, â€Å"the council of minist ers is the collective noun for the member state representatives who meet to take final decision on all EU legislative proposals† (Warleigh, p.26). ... On the other hand there are experts who consider the Council as an obstruction to the political incorporation which always hinder the innovative ideas suggested by the Commission and the Parliament. But the true fact is that the Council protects the people of the EU from profligate European proposals and also controls the powerful politicians from the member states and direct their state oriented discussions towards a shared and expanding policy agenda (Warleigh, p.1). The structure The council of ministers which encompasses one minister from each member states of the EU meets frequently in Brussels or in Luxembourg in order to make legislative decisions. EU nations choose the appropriate minister to represent them in the Council according to the subject under consideration. Each member nation holds the presidency for a period of six months which rotates among them. The Committee of Permanent Representatives which is also known as COREPER and the general secretariat prepare most of t he work to be done by the Council. COREPER consists of officials from different governments of the member states. Decisions of the Council are made on the basis of vote and the population of each state is the factor which determines the weight of its vote (Pearson Education, publishing, 2011). It is comparatively an easy task to identify the institutions of a member state where the legislative and executive powers are easily distinguishable. But in the case of European Union such a distinction is hard to make as the executive powers are shared between the Commission and the Council and the legislative powers between the Council and the Parliament and therefore the Council of Ministers possess both the executive and legislative functions.

Intercultural public relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Intercultural public relations - Essay Example This has forced the field of public relation to device ways on how to deal with this problem and several theories or ways have been formed as guidelines on dealing with the issue of intercultural public relations1. This paper will try to look into detail how the intercultural public relation problem has been addressed by different theories and how these theories differ and their similarities, it will look at the importance of studying intercultural public relations. One of the theories of intercultural public relations is the cross-cultural adaptation that was brought forward by Robert Park, in this model he identified four steps in this theory that people have to undergo. The first step is the contact step where the individual is exposed to another culture; this is followed by competition where the two different cultures compete against each other. Thirdly, this is where the less dominant culture learns to accommodate the cultural aspects of the dominant one and finally he is assimi lated into the group and he learns to assimilate other members. One of the theories under this is epistemology where an individual acquires communicational skills from the dominant culture and his own way of thinking is transformed in to that of the host2. In another dimension, the public influence model that is mainly practised in countries that are hierarchical in nature such as India and in Africa, however in other countries such as the United States of America it is practised in minimal levels. In this case, public relation is not with respect to the larger community or a group, rather it is with people of a higher social class or those with influence. This is where people with more personal influence are likely to achieve their goals or higher levels of success. Dialogic method is another way in which intercultural public relations can be viewed; this is where the organisation and the public that it is addressing are viewed as equal partners. In this model, all people are broug ht on board in the decisions of the organisation. As the name suggests, it involves dialogue between an organisation and the public without bias or prejudice and it appreciates the opinions and personal worth of every stakeholder of the organisation. This method involves admitting when one party is wrong, empathising and allowing the decisions made collectively to change the way things are done, it aims at building strong and long lasting relationships in the process of doing business. In working with this model a lot of interpersonal and intercultural communication skills are required and a genuine concern for people and it is not dictated by pre mediated rules and regulations. Due to the diversity of individual and stakeholder in different sectors, understanding of their varied and different cultural backgrounds helps in knowing how to deal with them. Genre approach to intercultural public relations in this case helps public relation researcher or theorist to understand the variou s cultural backgrounds and communication styles and not merely trying to feed information that an organisation wants the public to know3. An intercultural public relation expert should engage in six activities that include identifying the special characteristics of the situation or culture, identifying the intended effects on the audience, clarifying the motivational intention of the organisatio

Use of Wood as a Building Material

Use of Wood as a Building Material Wood is quite unique when compared to most building materials used today given that its material makeup is a result of naturally grown biological tissue (ill.18). Thus, the material makeup and structure of wood is significantly different than that of most industrially produced, isotropic materials. Upon close examination, wood can be described as an anisotropic natural fiber composite. In contrast to isotropy, which constitutes identical properties in all directions of a material, anisotropy concerns the property of being directionally dependent. For instance, one can see this in the way that wood can bend easily in the tangential axis (ill.19) which is the direction perpendicular to its grain direction. When examining wood from any given angle, one can identify material characteristics and behaviours specific to that angle, relative to the material’s main grain orientation. That is to say, should one examine the material properties of wood at an angle 45 degrees to the main g rain orientation, one will discover properties extremely different than those obtained from an angle 90 degrees to the main grain orientation. The directionally dependent property of wood is a result of the horizontal or vertical orientation of the individual cells and the arrangements of growth layers in a tree.[1] Throughout architectural history, this inherent heterogeneity of wood as well as its complex material characteristics have often been characterized as deficiencies by architects, engineers and members of the timber industry.[2] This can be traced to the fact that most designs and construction methodologies used today require the use of materials bearing minimal variations in their properties and behaviours in order to satisfy the need for isotropic structures. In contrast, this thesis views wood’s complex material makeup and its capacities as significant advantages rather than deficiencies. Furthermore, it aims to understand these interesting characteristics of wood and employ them through an informed design process. In addition to these complex material properties, wood also presents many favorable characteristics including diversity, weight, strength, appearance, workability, cost and availability. Another factor that makes wood a very appealing material today concerns its overall ecological advantages. In light of the environmental challenges that the built environment is facing today, it is becoming increasingly recognized that very few building materials can rival woods environmental benefits. Wood is a natural, renewable material that holds a very low level of embodied energy. It is known for its ability to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by storing CO2 and also by substituting for materials with a high carbon content[3]. In this manner, the use of wood actually produces a positive carbon footprint.[4] Wood is also an extremely energy efficient building material in its production. For example, wood requires 50 times less energy in its manufacturing than steel to ensure a given structural st iffness as a whole.[5] Unlike many natural resources, forests consist of a renewable resource. With careful forest management, one can ensure that forests thrive and continue to provide the many benefits to which we have become accustomed. Foresters can calculate an allowable cut of trees per year for any given forest area that will secure a stable harvest. Tree farming is yet another way of sustainably satisfying todays demand for wood. Programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have engineered a breed of super trees that can grow at rapid speeds in order to create a substantial amount of bio mass in a single given acre. These engineered trees are being farmed at tree farms such as the Boardman Tree Farm LLC, and are redefining modern forestry (ill.20). The Boardman Tree Farm plantations are located in eastern Oregon, United States, where dry desert land has been transformed into a thirty thousand acre farm. This plantation currently has seventy million trees and is capable of producing half a million tree s every year to satisfy demands. The plantation harvests five acres of trees every day in order to maintain this continuous cycle.[6] As a result of woods naturally-grown origin, its unique material composition accounts for most of its properties and characteristics.[7] The aim of the thesis is to explore some of the potential ways of utilizing the material properties and specific material characteristics of wood in the design field. In order to do so, the heterogeneous structure of wood must first be understood in greater detail. Wood can be defined as a low-density, cellular, composite material and as such, does not readily fall into a single class of material, but rather overlaps a number of classes. In terms of its high strength performance and affordability, timber remains the worlds most successful fiber composite. On the microscopic scale, one can describe wood as a natural fiber composite.[8] (Ill.21) Wood cells are comprised of layers, upon which cellulose microfibrils function like fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin and hemicelluloses, reinforcing the assembly as a whole. Due to this makeup at the microscopic level, wood shares a number of properties with materials like: synthetic composites, reinforced plastics, fiberglass, and carbon fiber. Similar to wood, these materials are characterized with relatively low stiffness in combination with relatively high structural capacity. In other words, wood contains innate elastic properties especially well-suited for construction methods that seek to employ elasticity in achieving complex lightweight structures from initially planar elements. What follows is intended as a brief overview of the material composition of wood. Understanding the anatomical aspects of wood is imperative to the research and investigations that have been conducted. In contrast to building materials that are specifically designed and manufactured to suit the needs of an architect or an engineer, wood is a result of the biological tissue functions that take place in a tree. Although there exists a wide variety of species of trees in the world, all trees, despite their diversity, share certain characteristics. Trees are all vascular and perennial which means they are capable of adding yearly growth to previously grown wood. The growth process of a tree occurs in the cambium, a thin layer of living cells between the bark of the tree and the inner stem structure. (Ill.22) Cambial cells have thin walls and divide themselves lengthwise to grow into two new cells. Following the cell division, one of the two cells enlarges to become another cambial mother cell while the other either matures into a bark cell or forms towards the inside of the cambium to become a new wood cell. When the primary wood cells reach maturity and develop into their mature size, a secondary wall is constructed from long chain hemicellulose and cellulose molecules. The long chains of cellulose molecules are oriented in a direction parallel to the long axis of the cells and reinforced by lignin (ill.23). Lignin is an integral part of the woods cellulous structure because it provides support for the cells. It is also the material that gives rigidity to plants.[9] The distribution and orientation of the cells along with the material structure of the cell walls determine most of the resulting characteristics and properties of wood.[10] Trees are characterized into two types: softwoods and hardwoods (ill.24). The terms ‘softwood’ and ‘hardwood’ do not signify softness or hardness of wood. The two terminologies are related to the botany of the species and to the way in which a tree grows. The differences between the two types of wood can be seen in the cellular structure of the materials. In the relatively simple cellular structure of softwood, nine tenths of the wood volume consists of one cell type called tracheid, while the remainder consist of ray tissues. Tracheids are fiber-like cells and have a length-to-width ratio of 100:1, meaning that they are approximately one hundred times longer than they are wide. The tracheid cells are arranged parallel to the stem axis located in the radial layers of the tree and are responsible for the transport of water and minerals throughout the tree. In contrast, a much greater variety of cell types and arrangement configurations are present in hardwoods. In addition to tracheids, hardwoods also contain vessels, rays and fiber cells. Vessel elements in hardwood have a large diameter and thin walls, containing no end-to-end walls. As a result, they are arranged in an end-to-end formation that is parallel to the stem axis of the tree, forming continuous channels that carry sap through the tree. Unlike vessels, fiber cells are much smaller in diameter and have thicker cell walls and possess closed tapered ends (ill.25). In both softwood and hardwood, the structure, distribution and orientation of cells are the determining factors of the anisotropic, structural, and hygroscopic characteristics of wood.[11] The anisotropic and hygroscopic characteristics of wood resulting from its internal cellular structure have traditionally been regarded as problematic in the practices of architecture and structural engineering, especially when compared to more homogeneous, stable, industrially produced isotropic materials like steel, plastic or glass. In design approaches within architecture, engineering and timber industries, knowledge of wood’s material composition and characteristics has mostly been employed to counterbalance its complex material behaviours.[12] For instance, the development of engineered industrial wood products (ex: MDF, or cross-laminated-timber) came as a response to the heterogeneous composition of wood. These wood products are capable of producing a material that is much more homogenous and which provides isotropic material characteristics. Unfortunately, the design opportunities that could be made possible using the innate heterogeneous characteristics of wood are too often overlooked in todays construction projects. In fact, particularly in North America, the construction material of wood is often no longer referred to as such. Instead, wood is referred to as a dimensional building element, such as a ‘24’. The aim of this research is to propose an alternative approach to design which views wood’s complex material composition and related behaviours as advantageous rather than problematic. Such an integrated design approach can perhaps contribute towards a renewed appreciation for the behavioral capacities of wood and the rich design opportunities that can be realized thanks to the natural anatomy of this material. Three-ply plywood and veneer are unmistakably industrially-produced materials. However, unlike other industrially-produced materials such as steel, glass, plastic, MDF or particle board, three-ply plywood and veneer are anisotropic materials. This signifies that the properties and behaviours of these materials vary significantly in relation to the fiber direction. For example, veneer and plywood encounter considerable differences in stiffness depending on the grain direction. The compressive strength of wood differs significantly depending on grain direction, as do most of its other mechanical and material properties. The following section details the manufacturing process of veneer and plywood in order to better understand the material exploration that will be presented in Chapter 3. Plywood may appear to be a relatively new industrially-produced wood product, however its concept is in fact very old and can be traced back to more than 5,000 years. Before the word â€Å"plywood† was invented in the 1920s, the process was referred to as veneering. One of the earliest traces of plywood was found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun, an Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled around the year 1334 BC. The discovered pieces of plywood were remains of coffins made of six layers of wood, each 4mm thick and held together by glue and wooden pegs.[13] The plywood remains were fabricated using the same fundamental techniques as today. Like modern plywood, the grains of the layers where arranged perpendicularly with each layer for strength[14] (ill.26). From this period onwards, veneering techniques became increasingly widespread throughout the world. Thanks to the development of tools and technology over the years, veneer thicknesses were reduced and new adhesives (ex: glue made from b one, sinew and cartilage) were used to bond the layers together with heat.[15] Although plywood is made much in the same way today, modernized adhesion techniques and tools used in its production have improved significantly, making it one of the most affordable and easily-produced building materials. Both hardwoods and softwoods are used in the production of plywood. The typical sequence of operation involved in the production of plywood is as follows: There exists a long standing discourse on the subject of sheet materials in architecture, in part because these are so ubiquitous in conventional construction. Expanding the understanding of these materials is valuable to the architectural profession, as it allows one to discover new potentials concerning materials which are already familiar. Being a sheet material, plywood thus offers many advantages as a subject of research and experimentation. Like other sheet materials, it can facilitate the creation of complex geometry using initially planar elements. Three-ply plywood is the material of choice for this thesis due to its ability to offer high amounts of flexibility in one direction, without compromising its strength. Three-ply plywood, as previously described, is made up of odd layers, two of which are oriented in one direction, while the center layer lies perpendicularly to the outer layers. Thus, due to the predominant fiber direction present in the two outer layers, three-ply plywood possesses a natural tendency to bend perpendicularly to this grain direction. The core of the assembly, otherwise known as the center layer, provides strength to the assembly by offering resistance to the predominant fiber direction. As a result, the plywood assembly is less likely to break or snap when being bent because it is reinforced by one interior sheet containing fibers running perpendicular to the outer layers. Knowledge of the manufacturing process for plywood is important for this research because it provides an introduction to lamination techniques that can be further utilized in the material investigations and implementations that will follow. The process described above elaborates on the procedure involved in the mass-produced manufacturing of flat plywood sheets used in the building industry. However, the process of lamination need not strictly apply to planar surfaces, but also to the development of three-dimensional forms. [1] J. M. Dinwoodie, Timber: Its Nature and Behaviour (London: EFN Spon, 2000). [2] T. Herzog, Holzbau Atlas (Basel: Birkhà ¤user, 2003). [3] A. Alcorn, Embodied Energy Coefficients of Building Materials (Wellington: Centre for Building Performance Research, 1996), 92. [4] Joseph Kolb, Systems in Timber Engineering: Loadbearing Structures and Component Layers (Basel: Birkhà ¤user, 2008), 19. [5] J.E Gordon, Structure (Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2003). [6] A Resource That Lasts Forever, last modified July 23, 2014, http://www.greenwoodresources.com/ [7] Barnett and Jeronimidis, Wood Quality and its Biological Basis (Oxford: Blackwell CRC Press, 2003). [8] Composite Materials Natural Woods. Last modified July 23, 2014, http://www.technologystudent.com/joints/composit1.html. â€Å"Composite materials, sometimes referred to as composites, are materials composed of two or more component parts. These component parts may have different physical or chemical properties and when carefully inspected, they appear as separate parts, bonded together, forming a composite material. [9] R. Bruce Hoadley, Understanding Wood: A Craftsmans Guide to Wood Technology (Newtown, Conn.: Taunton Press, 2000). [10] R. Wagenfà ¼hr, Anatomie des Holzes : Strukturanalytik, Identifizierung, Nomenklatur, Mikrotechnologie (Leinfelden-Echterdingen: DRW-Verlag, 1999). [11] R. Wagenfà ¼hr, Anatomie des Holzes : Strukturanalytik, Identifizierung, Nomenklatur, Mikrotechnologie (Leinfelden-Echterdingen: DRW-Verlag, 1999). [12] T. Herzog, Holzbau Atlas. (Basel: Birkhà ¤user, 2003). [13] Lucas A. and Harris, Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries (Dover Publications; 4th edition, 2011), 451. [14] H. Taylor John, Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt (Chicago: U of Chicago, 2001), 218. [15] L. Patrick Robert and Minford J. Dean, Treatise on Adhesion and Adhesives (CRC Press, 1991), 3.

Human Resource Management Essay

Human Resource Management (Fall 2013) MGMT 351 CASE STUDY 2 I Feel Great Les Partain, manager of the training and development department for Gazelle Corporation, was 64 years old and had been with the firm for over 30 years. For the past 12 years he had served as Gazelle’s training and development manager and felt that he had been doing a good job. This belief was supported by the fact that during the last five years he had received excellent performance reports from his boss, LaConya Caesar, HR director. Six months before Les’s birthday, he and LaConya were enjoying a cup of coffee together. â€Å"Les,† said LaConya, â€Å"I know that you’re pleased with the progress our T&D section has made under your leadership. We’re really going to miss you when you retire this year. You’ll certainly live the good life because you’ll receive the maximum retirement benefits. If I can be of any assistance to you in developing the paperwork for your retirement, please let me know.† â€Å"Gee, LaConya,† said Les. â€Å"I really appreciate the good words, but I’ve never felt better in my life, and although our retirement plan is excellent, I figure that I have at least five more good years. There are many other things I would like to do for the department before I retire. I have some excellent employees, and we can get many things done within the next five years.† After finishing their coffee, both returned to their work. As LaConya left, she was thinking, â€Å"My gosh, I had no idea that character intended to hang on. The only reason I gave him those good performance appraisals was to make him feel better before he retired. He was actually only an average worker and I was anxious to move a more aggressive person into that key job. We stand to lose several good people in that department if Les doesn’t leave. From what they tell me, he’s not doing too much of a job.† QUESTIONS 1. From a legal viewpoint, what do you believe LaConya can do regarding this situation? Discuss. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What actions should LaConya have taken in the past to avoid her current predicament? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Grand Canyon National Park, New York City, and the...

Grand Canyon National Park Short Report The Grand Canyon is one of the most amazing natural wonders in the world. It was originally deposited sediment that was lithofied, and turned into sedimentary rock. The rock was then carved out by hydraulic processes (Warneke). These processes, all combined, took almost three to six million years to form the Grand Canyon. Continued erosion by wind and rain in the present time continues to shift what the canyon looks like, and make it different as time goes on (Grand Canyon Facts). This seemingly boring process came to fruition in one of the most beloved National Parks in the United States of America. The Grand Canyon National Park is located in the state of Arizona. It is over 270 miles long and,†¦show more content†¦Although it was a National Park it was still not frequently visited, and only had, approximately, 44,173 visitors a year, the first year it opened. Now it has over five million visitors every single year. However, if it had not been for the Civilian Conservation Corps, the park might not be in the condition it is today. In 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps as a part of his New Deal (Audretsch). On May 19, 1933 the first Civilian Conservation Corps Company, Company 819 arrived in the Grand Canyon. They did many things for the park, including building stone walls alongside the rim of the canyon (to protect places such as El Tovar Hotel and Bright Angel Lodge). In addition they worked to improve the Brig ht Angel Trail, and worked to landscape the Grand Canyon Village (Audretsch). It is because of their hard work that the Community Building at the Grand Canyon exists today. New York City Short Report New York City is the largest city in the United States of America. It has a population of over eight million people (NYC.gov). However, New York City has not always been this big. It started out undiscovered and untouched by Europeans. The first natives of New York City were the Lenape and Algonquin people. (History.com Staff) These two native groups worked the land between the Hudson and Delaware rivers for their food by farming and fishing (History.com Staff). However, at the beginning of