Social Work Assessment and Intervention on Marta Ruiz Essay Example for Free

Social Work Assessment and Intervention on Marta Ruiz Essay The patient’s name is Marta Ruiz, 52 years old, female, clinically diagnosed as HIV Symptomatic with a CD4 count of 600+ with a detectable but not high viral load. She has been a person living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) for five years. She resides at Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City after migrating from the Dominican Republic and is living on assistance provided by DASIS. She requested assistance from this social worker on a crisis precipitated by a fear of contagion transferred sexually by her to a lover named Ruben, with whom she has recently resumed intimate relations with after being separated for many years. This paper presents stigma as seen in this case, its effects on social systems and proposed social work interventions for the client. Stigma and Its Effects HIV stigma is defined as â€Å"prejudice, discounting, discrediting and discrimination directed at people perceived to have HIV or AIDS which may be enacted or felt† (Green and Platt, as cited in Emlet, 2006). What is apparent in this case is a form of felt or internalized stigma characterized by Marta’s feelings of shame, guilt, and fear of enacted stigma. Marta has not yet experienced stigma deliberated upon her by society because she has placed herself in â€Å"protective silence† in order to shield herself from what she views as terrible repercussions once she tells the truth about her condition. This is a type of stigma management used by PLHA. She treats her disease as something shameful, because of a preconditioned belief prevalent in her home country that AIDS is a disease contracted by loose women, drug addicts and homosexuals. Moreover, she has an overwhelming fear of rejection and abandonment that could eventually result from a disclosure of her disease. This type of stigma has resulted to self-discriminating behavior and poorly-made decisions that led to several effects, including a possible contagion transfer: Non-disclosure, feelings of denial. As a way of managing stigma, Marta chose to be silent about her condition and did not reveal it to anyone except with her medical providers. This reflects feelings of denial which eventually had negative effects in terms of the quality of her judgments and decision-making. Physical isolation. Fearing anticipated stigma, Marta subjected herself to physical isolation. She left her brother’s home in New York to live alone in a one-bedroom apartment in Jackson Heights. This is a type of avoidance behavior common among PLHA (Delahanty et. al. , as cited in Emlet, 2006). Depression and stoppage of social activities. Stigma also led Marta to discontinue social activities like music and dance which she regularly engaged in previous to her HIV diagnosis. She also experienced increasing levels of stress and depression accompanying her illness. Failure to acquire social support. Stigma also resulted to an absence of social support from family or friends, without which, Marta lacked the emotional backup to handle the problems and circumstances related to her condition. Possible contagion transfer. Perhaps the most damning effect of stigma in this case is the possibility of HIV/AIDS infection from Marta to her lover Ruben because of the former’s decision not to disclose her disease. Effects of HIV/AIDS on Social Systems Various social systems are affected by HIV/AIDS (Emlet, 2006). The individual, family and community have experienced or are likely to experience the impact of Marta’s case in different ways. Individual. Aside from degenerating health, HIV/AIDS had a negative impact on Marta’s psychosocial well-being. Because of practiced avoidance behaviors, she suffered stress, depression and loneliness. All this stems from fear of societal rejection that she believes would naturally come down on her as a result of her HIV status. This led her to isolate herself from her family and abandon some of her previous social engagements. It also led to poor self-confidence, emotional vulnerability and poor self-efficacy. It is important to note this because empirical literature seems to suggest that above all factors, personal characteristics and beliefs predict successful adherence interventions among PLHA. Family. Marta’s nondisclosure has created no visible effects on her family system as of yet because her family does not know of her condition. However, by physically separating herself from her immediate family in New York, she has effectively cut all lines of communication and support from her family in the Dominican Republic. Judging on a description she made of her family, it is likely that if she reveals her condition to her family, the reality of rejection will come in. While this may be true, and granting that her family seems predisposed to discriminate and stigmatize her, PLHA can derive so much emotional support from family. If she continues to keep her condition secret from her family, managing her disease would be difficult, considering that she has no strong social support systems in New York. This has grave implications on how social workers can address social support concerns among PLHA. Social support has been repeatedly associated with psychological well-being and mental health, positive states of mind, coping with the disease-related stress and quality of life (Catz, Gore-Felton,McClure, as cited in Emlet, 2006). Community. Marta’s case, along with all HIV/AIDS cases, continue to become a community concern especially because much of the stigma that befall PLHA come from a collective fear of the disease due to ignorance or lack of HIV/AIDS awareness or education. This is the premise why anti-stigmatization campaigns have been directed on the community level because lately, discriminatory practices against PLHA are often unleashed by entire groups, not by individuals. Addressing the spread of HIV/AIDS is a community challenge, too. Stigma and discrimination have been identified internationally as major barriers to HIV control and prevention (UNAIDS, 2003). Because of stigma, people refuse to undergo testing and take part in prevention and awareness campaigns. In Marta’s case, poor education and complicity toward unprotected sexual behaviors led to a nondisclosure of HIV status and eventually, the possibility of infection. This is the type of situation HIV/AIDS education campaigns and advocacy is trying to prevent. Proposed Interventions There are more than one possible modes of intervention for the social worker to handle Marta’s case as far as crisis management and her adherence to treatments. Her current predicament can possibly affect how she views and regards management of her disease and must be resolved. From the crisis report, it could be gleaned that Marta demonstrates a willingness to participate in treatments and programs that may be instrumental in helping her cope with the disease. She is currently enrolled in a DASIS program that assists her in terms of housing and basic needs which she also supplements with employment as a house cleaner. It could be safely assumed that she is undergoing medication under a treatment regimen possibly set for her by health care providers. Case management does not need be used in Marta’s case but the social worker can still do follow-ups on treatments and medical therapies recommended. Interventions must ensure that Marta sustains a positive view of future treatments in light of the immediate emotional crisis she is experiencing. The forms of intervention that find application in Marta’s case are: (1) individual counseling or therapy; and (2) social support. Individual counseling and therapy is the most immediate form of intervention needed to resolve Marta’s immediate crisis. Marta has demonstrated incapacity to formulate good judgments and decisions, possible due to a confused state of mind. One initially marvels at how a 52-year old woman could yield sexually to a man who has suddenly resurfaced in her life knowing full well that she has a sexually contagious disease. Her near-hysterical behavior after her sexual encounter with her former lover is indicative of a â€Å"weakness† she describes that might be a result of past experiences and beliefs. Individual therapy will be advisable in Marta’s case because it allows her to discuss confidentially and on a personal level, unresolved issues she currently face such as guilt, anger, fear, and remorse. During counseling sessions and therapy, she may be able to overcome her fear of disclosure, the greatest obstacle in her case. Therapy must be done in order to resolve these issues on an ongoing basis. Another intervention appropriate for Marta is social support. Her lack of social support systems is one of the salient features in her psychosocial evaluation. Since she was diagnosed five years ago, Marta has distanced herself from close associations and has lived in isolation. She is a PLHA with virtually no stable emotional foothold to start from. The only immediate family she has in New York is a brother with whom she finds difficulty in reaching out to, because of mistrust in a sister-in-law she views as hostile. However, she still maintains a few woman acquaintances which could be helpful to her. The social worker can assist Marta by introducing her to self-help groups which would be a great venue for her to feel acceptance. These groups provide an opportunity for PLHA to share experiences with others of like situation and condition. By participating in self-help groups, PLHA meet their own needs as well as others’. It will make feel Marta belong to a community which is ready to accept her and treat her normally. These new relationships will be crucial in helping Marta overcome fear and allow her to be comfortable with disclosing her HIV status to others. Barriers to Intervention In helping Marta come to terms with her disease and sustain her adherence to much-needed treatment regimen and therapy, factors such as transference and counter-transference pose a probability of affecting her relationship with the social worker. Transference is the conscious and unconscious â€Å"reproduction of emotions relating to repressed experiences, especially of childhood, and the substitution of another person for the original object of the repressed impulses† (Racker, 2001). This phenomenon may lead to the patient’s mistrust of the worker because of a minor resemblance to a person associated with the emotion. In Marta’s case, the worker must avoid exhibiting a dominant or authoritative stance because this might cause her non-cooperation. As a girl living amongst nine overly dominant brothers with violent tendencies, she might unconsciously transfer her feelings of fear to the worker and this may be an obstacle to her counseling or therapy. She might also associate a female worker with her sister-in-law, Betty, who she mistrusts above all. The social worker must take this into consideration because any transference on Betty will make her feel doubtful of the worker’s ability to maintain confidentiality. In this regard, transference can become a barrier to effective intervention. On the other hand, counter-transference, or the â€Å"redirection of a therapists feelings toward a client, or a therapists emotional entanglement with a client† can influence with the development of a functional working relationship. The social worker must not allow herself or himself to be swayed or pitted against whatever emotion the client is trying to elicit in him or her. Instead, any attempts on counter-transference must be examined and discussed so that the client can objectively view his own motivations, fears and desires.

Effects of Ocean Acidification and Global Warming

Effects of Ocean Acidification and Global Warming Introduction: Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from our industrial and agricultural activities has resulted in increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration. Over a period of less than a decade, the change in seawater chemistry due to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels becomes one of the most critical and pressing issues, identify as ocean acidification. The ability of the ocean to absorb additional atmospheric CO2 is decreasing, and more rapid global warming is led by future CO2 emissions. Ocean acidification is also problematic, the negative effects on marine calcifying organisms, resources and services cause by human societies largely depend energy, water, and fisheries. For example, it is predicted that by 2100 around 70% of all cold-water corals, especially those in the higher latitudes, will live in waters undersaturated in carbonate due to ocean acidification. Recent research indicates that ocean acidification might also result in increasing levels of jellyfish in some marine ecosystems. Aside from direct effects, marine and coastal pollution as global change-induced impacts with ocean acidification and the invasive alien species are likely to result in more fragile marine ecosystems. For example, coastal deforestation and wide-scale fisheries making species more vulnerable to other environmental impacts. The motivation for this research is that although global change and global warming have been topics of intensive research among these years. Potentially profound changes throughout marine ecosystems and in the environmental that research provide to humankind shows that impacts of ocean acidification may be just as dramatic as those of global warming and the combination of both are likely to led worst consequences. Natural environment: For tens of millions of years, acidity level of Earths oceans is relatively stable. The life in todays seas has arisen and flourished because of the steady environment. But research shows that this balance is not keeping anymore and being undone by a recent and rapid drop in surface pH called ocean acidification. It could have devastated global consequences. Human impact: At least one-quarter of the carbon dioxide (CO2) released by burning coal, oil and gas doesnt stay in the air, but instead dissolves into the ocean. Since the beginning of the industrial era, the ocean has absorbed some 525 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere, presently around 22 million tons per day. For 2008, total human CO2 emissions were about 10 billion tons of carbon annually (equivalent to one million tons per hour or, on a per capita basis, ~ 0.2 kg person-1 h-1; note that 1 billion tons equals 1 Pg or 1 x 1015 g). Of this amount, 8.7  ± 0.5 billion tons originates from fossil fuel combustion and cement production and another 1.2  ± 0.7 billion tons from deforestation (Le QueÃÅ' reÃÅ'  et al., 2009). After the industrial era the amount of human CO2 emissions close to 560 billion tons. It is certainly enough to be of grave concern as a greenhouse gas leading to climate change, even it is less than half of this anthropogenic CO2 remains in the atmosphere. At first, scientists thought that what happened after industrial revolution might be a good thing because it avoids more carbon dioxide leaves in the air to warm the planet. But in the past decade, they have realized that it does leaf less CO2 in the atmosphere, but it has come as the cost of changing the ocean’s chemistry. When carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, water (H2O) and CO2 mix, they combine to form carbonic acid (H2CO3). The water becomes more acidic and the ocean’s pH value gets lower. Compare to immense ocean, if there has enough carbon dioxide, it can have a major impact. In the past 200 years alone, ocean water has become 30 percent more acidic—faster than any known change in ocean chemistry in the last 50 million years. Scientists formerly did not worry about this process because they call a stabilizing effect â€Å"buffering, which keep the ocean’s pH stable by carrying enough dissolved chemicals through rivers from rocks to the ocean. But all the CO2 emission is dissolving into the ocean so quickly that this natural buffering has not been able to keep pH stable, and rapidly dropping pH in surface waters. The entire ocean is affected when surface layers mix into deep water. When the term ocean acidification was first coined, scientists have been tracking ocean pH for more than 30 years, even though it really only started in 2003. The current rapid rise in atmospheric CO2 is as much as 30 times faster than natural rates in the geological past, and present levels are higher than at anytime in at least the last 850,000 years and likely several million years (Kump et al., 2009). Consequences: Geologists saw a number of changes about in the time period of 300 million years that share many of the characteristics of today’s human-driven ocean acidification. But the main difference before and nowadays is, CO2 levels are rising at an unprecedented rate, causing endanger situation like the near-disappearance of coral reefs. Also theres a threat of acidification in human society, includes a decline in commercial fisheries and in the Arctic tourism industry and economy. Commercial fisheries are threatened because acidification harms calcifying organisms destroyed the Arctic food webs, such as pteropods and brittle stars. For example, In Scandinavia, acidic water reduced 15% of species populations and that more species were limited in population or declining. The rapid decrease or disappearance of marine life decrease the economic in coast area, it could also affect the diet of Indigenous peoples. Branching corals, lives around natural carbon dioxide seeps, as a model for a more acidic future ocean. The reason the can struggle in the acidic water is because of their more fragile structure. For reef-building corals, calcium carbonate forms complex reefs in order raft house by coral animals themselves. Pre-existing coral skeletons can be corroded by acidic seawater, and limit their reproduce. The growth of new ones slows down, so the reefs will be more easily eroding by storm waves or eaten by animals. It’s possible that weaker and healthy coral reefs will all be eroding more quickly than they can rebuild. Acidification may also effects the eggs and larvae of carols. While they were still in the plankton its not easy to get hurt by acidic water. However, as long as larvae is be in acidic water, it harder to find a good place to settle, preventing them from reaching adulthood. Some types of coral use bicarbonate to build their skeletons, so they have more ways to survive in an acidifying ocean. Some can handle a wider pH range instead of survive without a skeleton after the pH value back to normal. Area that affected by natural carbon dioxide seeps, like on reefs in Papua New Guinea, big boulder colonies have taken over. Probably because this dedicatedly branching has thin branches, its more attackable to dissolving. From this change, many thousands of organisms that live among the coral can be affected. Nevertheless those fish and people eat. Acidification is not the only reason for corals suffer, also warming water, pollution, and overfishing that caused by human also affect them. In general, shelled animals such as mussels, clams, urchins and starfish, are going to face the same problem like the corals. They have trouble building their shells by themselves in more acidic water. From the study we expected that, by the end of the century, Mussels and oysters will grow less shell by 25 percent and 10 percent individually. Urchins and starfish are not as well studied, but they have more weaker shelled that build by calcite, a type of calcium carbonate that dissolves more quicker that corals does. This study shows that the chance of being crushed or eaten of shelled animals will increase because of their weaker acidic affected shelled. Due to the burning of fossil fuels, people produce excess carbon dioxide that cause CO2 bubbles out of volcanic vents in the reef of the coast of Papua New Guinea. Also excess CO2 dissolves into the surrounding seawater, making water more acidic. There are places scattered throughout, lowering the pH in surrounding waters. Scientists study these unusual communities for clues to what an acidified ocean will look like. Plants and many make their energy to survive from combining sunlight and carbon dioxide, it shows that more carbon dioxide in the water is helpful for them, doesnt hurt them at all. As nurseries and home for many larger fish and thousand different organisms in the shallow-water area along coasts, seagrasses in more acidic water area were able to reproduce better, grow healthier. However, the pollution flowing into ocean and other reasons cause the seagrasses in decline, even the help of acidic seawater cant replace the lost of other pollution cause. Coralline algae, which build calcium carbonate skeletons more soluble than regular calcite form. It strengthened coral reefs. It makes space for other types of non-calcifying algae, so it can damage coral reefs about 92 percent less area in acidifying conditions. As we known coralline algae provide a ecosystem for coral before they leave the plankton stage, so it is a terrible situation for carol survive before start a new life on carol reefs. Theres an exception called the coccolithophores, one major group of algae, they also grew weak shells. But in nearly 100 years, this algae was able to adapt the acidic water by growing stronger shells. This evidence shows that they just needed more time to adapt, through the population is growing and changing, they will be more adopted to new environment. To have a overview of the how ocean acidification be like, researchers compared the ability of 79 species of bottom-dwelling invertebrates settled in different areas of the Italian coast. For most species, including worms, mollusks, and crustaceans, the closer more acidic water, the fewer number could survive. Sea grass and brown algae dominated algae and animals that need massive calcium-carbonate. The polychaete worm Syllis prolifers, as the only one species that was more abundant in lower pH water. In some areas, they are replacing corals entirely with large boulder corals, sand, rubble and algae beds. Although fish dont have shells, the effects of acidification can also reflect on them. In humans, for instance, a drop in blood pH of 0.2-0.3 can cause seizures, comas, and even death. A fish is also sensitive to pH as human. To keep the pH value balance, it will burn extra energy to excrete the excess acid out of its blood through its gills, kidneys and intestines. Through the process it can also slow fishes growth. Even slightly more acidic water may also affects fishes minds. In more acidic water, clownfish cannot identify threatening noise and flee from danger. There are unpredictable changes in animal behavior under acidification from the study. Because acidification, they cannot smell there way back. The changes of pH of a fishs body and brain could change how the brain processes information and send the message to react. The more acidic seawater could shift the fish species. It could have major impacts on the food web and on human fisheries. Altogether the ocean’s various habitats will no longer provide the diversity we depend on. Restoration: The most realistic way to lower the CO2 level and keep it from getting even higher, would be burning less fossil fuels and finding more area to restore carbon, such as seagrass beds, and marshes, known as blue carbon. If we did, even it wont change immediately, but after hundreds of years, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and ocean would back to normal and comfort for species to live again. Many organization already started to let more people noticed what is ocean acidification and how it is related to our life. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted the Limiting global warming in surface ocean pH of 0.16 from pre-industrial levels. This represents the limit of surface ocean pH. At the same time, organizations have fund raise in order to develop technologies that under the title of geoengineering. Developing engines that reduce carbon dioxide and stable the biosphere.Some idea is to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by growing more of the organisms that use it up: phytoplankton. Adding iron or other fertilizers to the ocean could cause man-made phytoplankton blooms, then absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and then, after death, sink down and trap it in the deep sea. However, its unknown the effect of this action, maybe seawater will become more acidic. Conclusion: Both ocean acidification and global warming are caused by anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Ocean acidification is not just happened yesterday, it will continue to get worst if we do not pay attention in our biosphere and tracking global CO2 emissions. The ocean acidification is not only impact on biology, but also affect human society and economy, especially with ocean warming, the biosphere various will decrease and the environment is not stable anymore. Generally, the pH of the ocean changes in a natural way, and some ocean organisms are well-adapted to live and reproduce in the changes. It may be hard for different marine species to adapt the more extreme changes, like ocean acidification, in resulting there will likely be extinctions. We dont know the exact number, but there were mass extinctions around 55 million years ago. It happened during the last great acidification event, including deep sea invertebrates were extinct. At the time ocean acidification is intensify, we should aware and learn from the past.

Listening Skills in Communication

Listening Skills in Communication Communication is the key to personal, financial, and entrepreneurial success. Seminars constantly tout the importance and crucial role of effective communication, especially in order to succeed at business. However, one aspect of communication skills that is often overlooked is the effective use of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication can be summed up as all the other parts of language that give us visual and non-audible clues in order to correctly interpret the meaning and intent of the speaker in a conversation. Non verbal communication can be communicated through gestures and touch also known as Haptic communication by body language or posture, by facial expression and eye contact. Non verbal communication can even be communicated through objects such as clothing, hairstyles or even architecture, symbols and graphics. For example, when one goes to a job interview, khaki pants can convey a range of meaning anywhere from oh, Im here to the well-dressed and ready to conquer, all based on the style, quality, cut, and fit of the pant. Simplistic yes, but tried and proven as well. By the same token, wearing blue jeans to a job interview, no matter how dressy the pant, sends an underlying message of casualness that may not be the chord to strike, depending on the position and industry. Also, speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, which include factors like voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as the spoken rhythm, word intonation or inflection and stress. Dance is also regarded as a nonverbal communication. Likewise, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, graphical or design arrangements or the use of emoticons. However, much of the study of nonverbal communication has focused on face-to-face interaction, where it ca n be classified into three main focuses: environmental conditions where communication takes place, the physical characteristics of the speakers, and behaviors of the speakers during interaction. While not a traditionally defined form of non verbal communication, effective listening skills are arguably the most prized set of communication skills for any businessperson to develop in order to achieve success. Furthermore, effective listening skills impact not only the professional sphere, but the personal and emotional health and overall well being of a person. Many experts disagree on the number of specific components that encompass an effective listener, yet there are certain key elements that are generally accepted as guidelines to make a listener more effective and serve to enhance the quality of communication between the involved parties. Listening is one of those special skills that, because we can hear, we tend to believe that we can automatically listen. Yet for many people hoping to facilitate, listening is the most difficult skill to master. As I write this I am remembering one of todays well-worn clichà ©s, often used by those who arent listening: I hear what you ar e saying, but.So says Mr. Trevor Bentley, who has developed a very specific set of criteria to define an effective listener. In his article, The special skills of listening, he states that specific situations require specific responses or set of listening skills. According to Bentley, one can narrow these instances to six main groups, which consist of monologue, dialogue, conversation, discussion, debate, and argument. Websters defines a monologue to be an extended uninterrupted speech by a character in a drama. The character may be speaking his or her thoughts aloud, directly addressing another character, or speaking to the audience, especially the former. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media (plays, films, animation, etc.). In daily life, a monologue refers to that one individual who talks incessantly upon all subjects, often without pause to consider the effect of any of their utterances upon those in their immediate vicinity. On the other hand, dialogue is an interaction of sorts, its everyday basis and counterpart is a conversational exchange between two or more people. Now, a conv ersation is by definition communication between multiple people. It is a social skill that can be accomplished by the average individual. Conversations are the ideal form of communication in some respects, since they allow people with different views on a topic to learn from one another. For a successful conversation, the partners must achieve a workable balance of contributions. A successful conversation includes repeating, answering, creating and countering connections between the speakers or things and topics that the speakers know. For this to happen, those engaging in conversation must find a topic on which they both can relate to in some sense. They speak or from personal experience or from others observations and knowledge. Those engaging in conversation naturally tend to relate the other speakers statements to themselves. They may insert aspects of their lives into their replies, to relate to the other persons opinions or points of conversation. Again, all these are examples of different forms of listening. Finally there are discussions, debates, and arguments. While one can argue that these are all escalating forms of the same condition, the general meaning and reference of these three words is an explanation of an issue or a topic, compared and contrasted according to logical rules, and factually affirmed by persuasion and logic to declare one viewpoint in better standing than the other. Bentley recommends that in order to maximize communication in each of these situations one should chose a level on which to listen again, based upon the situation and to use a combination of directive, facilitative and active listening to have the most effective communication occur. His eight stages of listening cover non-listening, passive listening, judgmental listening, attentive listening, visual listening, reflective listening, active/creative listening, and directive listening. While the Bentley system has very logical and effective solutions to many communication dilemmas and situations, othe r experts take a more instinctive and generalized view of effective listening and non-verbal communication. In the article Turn listening into a powerful presence, Richard Harris states that Better-than-average listeners are keenly aware of the following important issues: partnership, reviewing systematically, effort, star events, empathy, neutralizing snap judgments, and tenacity. Listening is not by any stretch of the imagination a passive endeavor if practiced correctly or effectively. As a listener, one is always trying to receive or understand the meaning of the conversation, while dealing with all the non-verbal communicational clues on a subconscious level. If you are blindfolded in a room with some friends, you could participate in conversation actively. However, your responses and understanding could range from a little bit off to very misdirected, depending on how many visual cues and gestures you miss due to the blindfold. Active listening is not just generating responses to sounds or answering the question. It requires the listeners to understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard. Today, the ability to listen is an invaluable skill in interpersonal commun ication. It improves personal relationships by reducing conflicts, strengthening cooperation, as well as fostering understanding. Harris stresses the importance of practicing the issues that arise when holding a conversation, fully confident that a normal person can adapt and learn these techniques in order to become a more effective communicator. Sometimes effective listening is simply making sure that one is completely engaged in the conversation, suspending judgment, and making evaluations after all the issues have been discussed. However, it is not natural for humans to listen in this form, and patience and practice are key aspects to developing natural listening skills, which will eventually feel like a normal part of the mental acrobatics exercised on a daily basis by anyone who must communicate in any form. Effective listening is essential for anyone who wants to perform at his or her best, work easily and gracefully, and learn effectively. Few people realize that the art of listening has everything to do with intuition and little to do with the mental gymnastics of trying to concentrate on the words themselves. As you begin to see listening as an art and conversation as something that creates beauty, you will begin to understand how your own thoughts interfere with the experience. One expert argues that the less thinki ng that goes on during a conversation, the more effective the listener is, because more of the actual conversation is retained and absorbed.(Gunn) This particular expert states that in his personal research, the more open and clear a person is when engaged in conversation, the more recall is available after the conversation. Intuition and feelings are also very important to this particular theorist. For effective listening, this theory requires one to be very aware of the feelings that are being inspired throughout the course of the conversation, to be stored in the memory and analyzed after the conversation is over, which one presumably will have more recall thereof since one did not get mentally distracted by emotions or thoughts during the conversation. Effective listening is also closely related to non verbal communicational forms such as gestures. Gestures are another tool that can be used to maximize a listeners input on the conversation and its outcome. While this specific tool is very culture based, it can be very effective when interpreted and practiced correctly. One of the most common cultures to use gestures in the United States is the Latin-Americans. Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, often together with body language in addition to words when they speak. For example, in the Cuban culture there is quite an amount of hand gesturing that leads throughout a conversation. Depending on the speed of the gesture shows the mental or emotional state of the person doing the speaking; if smooth motions are made with the hands, the words being said are meant to pacify or to be taken calmly, regardless of their content. Though gestures are not part of syntactic language, their processing take s place in the same areas of the brain used by speech and sign language. Another simple form of listening is reflective listening. Reflective listening is a communication strategy involving two key steps: seeking to understand a speakers idea, then offering the idea back to the speaker, to confirm the idea has been understood correctly. It attempts to reconstruct what the client is thinking and feeling and to relay this understanding back to the client. Reflective listening is a more specific strategy than the more general methods of active listening. It arose from Carl Rogers school of client-centered therapy in counseling theory. (Hughes) It is important to observe the other persons actions and body language. Having the ability to interpret anyones body language allows the listener to develop a more accurate understanding of the speakers words and possibly even the intent of the conversation, which may or may not be audibly stated. Having heard, the listener may restate or paraphrase what the speaker is saying. This is a technique for reassuring the spe aker of ones undivided attention. It really does not imply understanding or agreement. In emotional conversations, a good listener may intuit or sense underlying feelings and emotions. For example, when in an argument, one would say I sense you are angry. Can you tell me why? Again, the interplay between the non verbal clues and tools such as gestures and reflection all play a role in maximizing the effectiveness of the listener. While one cannot make a judgment call about the best way to listen, it is clear that the most definitive way to become an effective listener is to be mentally ready and to challenge oneself to practice skills that lead to naturally recalling and understanding everything that is said and intimated in conversation. While listening has much to do with the physical ability of the person, the intellectual application for effectiveness is more of a mental and psychological exercise that can only improve with constant practice. Not to trash the visually impaired, but the eyes are consistently the best source for all the cues that guide effective listeners. For many in the business world, the time spent becoming an effective listener will be priceless in terms of communication that can open doors and opportunities. Furthermore, an effective listener that applies their professional success to their personal life can also ensure a very productive and emotionally satisfying life, because all of us have something to say, and everyone wants to be heard. In the words of Bishop TD Jakes, Listen with your ears. The ears work better when windpipes are closed. Listen with your mind. Many times words are based on a point of reference that you may not be aware of. Listen with your heart. Many times words do not convey whats in the heart; so when you listen, hear what is said but also what is meant. Compassion is a critical part of understanding. It is difficult to love people without understanding them. Love seeks to understand. Listening with your heart will take away your natural propensity to be selfish. Listen with your heart. Many times words do not convey whats in the heart; so when you listen, hear what is said but also what is meant. Compassion is a critical part of understanding. It is difficult to love people without understanding them. Love seeks to understand. Listening with your heart will take away your natural propensity to be selfish. Sound words to guide the spiri tual health of his parishioners, but also very applicable to any successful individual in todays world.

Napoleon Essay -- essays research papers

In the early 19th century a man by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte led a Coup D’etat that created a new government in France. This new government started out with a tribunal leadership, which Napoleon was first consul, and later changed to an empire with Napoleon as emperor. Some people believe that he made the revolution better and expanded the revolution but this is not true. The facts, when closely looked at, prove that Napoleon effectively destroyed the revolution by telling the people of his country one thing while he was actually planning on doing something totally different. He deceived people so well that he is still convincing people today that he was a defender of the revolution. With this pack of deception Napoleon set the people of France back into the 18th century by killing off a great number of the young population in his wars. He led the people of France to believe that he was spreading the revolution throughout Europe but the truth is that he believed that in order to be a great leader he would have to invade and conquer many foreign lands. He controlled what the people wrote and read through the media. It all started with a coup against the government that he was fighting for. The Coup D’etat, led by Napoleon, took place at the perfect time because the Jacobins were losing power and there were many people being executed for allegedly being monarchists. In the courts a person was not able to speak in their defense so if the prosecutor made a good enough argument the charged would be executed by the guillotine. There were many innocent people who were executed, and many more who were afraid. After the coup a referendum was held in 1802 that made Napoleon First Consul for life. This was his first step in turning France back into a monarchy. The next step was in 1804 when a second referendum was held that made him Emperor. The people really had no choice. They could have an Emperor and essentially turn back into a monarchy or return to the governmental insatiability that they had been living in for about 10 years before Napoleon came into the spotlight. The electorate, whom were the people that owned land and were the only citizens who were allowed to vote, overwhelmingly voted in favor of making Napoleon Emperor. Napoleon after all was the lesser of the two evils. After the vote Napoleon granted general... ...rong. With the whole of Europe joining coalitions to fight against this emperor, they must have known what Napoleon was really fighting for. He wanted to take over Europe and when he won a number of victories he thought that he could take over the world. He thought too big too fast and underestimated things like harsh winters and the ability of his opponents to get stronger. The setting up a fake legislature to make the people think that he was working in their interests was a good way of getting people on his side. In some countries peasant and working classes relished the thought of Napoleon leading their country. After he took power the people started to feel oppressed and became unhappy when relatives of Napoleon’s became their Kings. The thing that topped it off was the fact that the Code Napoleon did not allow changes for the different countries. These facts prove without a doubt that Napoleon lied to his people so they would support him. While he was doing this lying he managed to kill off most of a generation of French, which left France behind in the Industrial Revolution, and turn the Republic that the revolution had fought for back into a Monarchy. V

Marlows Assessment of Africa in Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

Marlow's Assessment of Africa in Heart of Darkness   Ã‚   Marlow's assessment of the African wilderness in the beginning of the story is like that of something that tempts him and his fellow explorers to Africa. When Marlow says, "And as I looked at the map of it in a shop-window, it fascinated me as a snake would a bird - silly little bird" (Conrad, Longman 2196). If we take note of the phrase "silly little bird" it may be noted that the Marlow is comparing Britain to that silly little bird. It could be that he felt Britain's occupancy of Africa was nothing more than his own country falling into a trap. It was not a designed trap but one of destiny. It was his countries destiny to fall prey to the allures of that Dark Continent. Millions would die in the attempt to make monetary gains while occupying Africa.    When Marlow mentions "the whited sepulcher" he could be referring again to his homeland, and when he makes this statement he may be referring to the fact that Britain has sent many of its people to be buried in that deep and mysterious place referred to as the Congo. According to YourDictionary .com, the word sepulcher means, "to bury" (YourDicitonary.com). In combination with the word white, referring to his Caucasian race, could Marlow be referring to the death of his fellow countrymen, or could he be referring to the death of a continent, Africa, at the hands of the white race invading her? These thoughts may both have validity when deciphering this text. When Marlow describes the, "Two women, one fat and the other slim, sat on straw-bottomed chairs, knitting black wool" he may be describing the future of two races combined in utter disarray in Africa. He may be using the "black wool" as something akin to insight into what future had in store for millions of people both black and white in the Congo (Longman 2197). The "black wool" may be referring to black shards for covering the dead. It may also be an idea of not human death but the death of an area such as the Congo. He may have been sensing that the influx of his own countrymen may be taking away the spirit of that wild and forbidden Congo. Marlow's utterance of, "guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall, one introducing, introducing continuously to the unknown, the other scrutinizing the cherry foolish faces with unconcerned old eyes" could give more clues to Marlow's characterization of the African wilderness (Longman 2198).

Public Education in the Philippines Essay

Literacy rate in the Philippines has improved a lot over the last few years- from 72 percent in 1960 to 94 percent in 1990. This is attributed to the increase in both the number of schools built and the level of enrollment in these schools. The number of schools grew rapidly in all three levels – elementary, secondary, and tertiary. From the mid-1960s up to the early 1990, there was an increase of 58 percent in the elementary schools and 362 percent in the tertiary schools. For the same period, enrollment in all three levels also rose by 120 percent. More than 90 percent of the elementary schools and 60 percent of the secondary schools are publicly owned. However, only 28 percent of the tertiary schools are publicly owned. A big percentage of tertiary-level students enroll in and finish commerce and business management courses. Table 1 shows the distribution of courses taken, based on School Year 1990-1991. Note that the difference between the number of enrollees in the commerce and business courses and in the engineering and technology courses may be small – 29. 2 percent for commerce and business and 20. 3 percent for engineering and technology. However, the gap widens in terms of the number of graduates for the said courses. TABLE 1: TERTIARY ENROLLMENT AND GRADUATION BY FIELD OF STUDY. SY 1990-1991 FIELD OF STUDY ENROLLMENT GRADUATION No. % No. % Arts and Sciences 196,711 14. 6 29,961 13. 6 Teacher Training & Education 242,828 18. 0 34,279 15. 5 Engineering & Technology 273,408 20. 3 32,402 14. 7 Medical and Health – related Programs 176,252 13. 1 34,868 15. 8 Commerce/Business Management 392,958 29. 2 79,827 36. 1 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishery, and Veterinary Medicine 43,458 3. 2 7,390 3. 3 Law 20,405 1. 5 2,111 1. 0 Religion / Theology 1,695 0. 1 209 0. 1 TOTAL 1,347,715 100. 0 221,047 100. 0 On gender distribution, female students have very high representation in all three levels. At the elementary level, male and female students are almost equally represented. But female enrollment exceeds that of the male at the secondary and tertiary levels . Also, boys have higher rates of failures, dropouts, and repetition in both elementary and secondary levels. Aside from the numbers presented above, which are impressive, there is also a need to look closely and resolve the following important issues: 1) quality of education 2) affordability of education 3) goverment budget for education; and 4) education mismatch. Quality – There was a decline in the quality of the Philippine education, especially at the elementary and secondary levels. For example, the results of standard tests conducted among elementary and high school students, as well as in the National College of Entrance Examination for college students, were way below the target mean score. Affordability – There is also a big disparity in educational achievements across social groups. For example, the socioeconomically disadvantaged students have higher dropout rates, especially in the elementary level. And most of the freshmen students at the tertiary level come from relatively well-off families. Budget – The Philippine Constitution has mandated the goverment to allocate the highest proportion of its budget to education. However, the Philippines still has one of the lowest budget allocations to education among the ASEAN countries. Mismatch – There is a large proportion of â€Å"mismatch† between training and actual jobs. This is the major problem at the tertiary level and it is also the cause of the existence of a large group of educated unemployed or underemployed. The following are some of the reforms proposed: Upgrade the teachers’ salary scale. Teachers have been underpaid; thus there is very little incentive for most of them to take up advanced trainings. Amend the current system of budgeting for education across regions, which is based on participation rates and units costs. This clearly favors the more developed regions. There is a need to provide more allocation to lagging regions to narrow the disparity across regions. Stop the current practice of subsidizing state universities and colleges to enhance access. This may not be the best way to promote equity. An expanded scholarship program, giving more focus and priority to the poor, maybe more equitable. Get all the leaders in business and industry to become actively involved in higher education; this is aimed at addressing the mismatch problem. In addition, carry out a selective admission policy, i. e. , installing mechanisms to reduce enrollment in oversubscribed courses and promoting enrollment in undersubscribed ones. Develop a rationalized apprenticeship program with heavy inputs from the private sector. Furthermore, transfer the control of technical training to industry groups which are more attuned to the needs of business and industry.

Ethics, Moral Character and Authentic Essay

The four components of authentic transformational leadership (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration) are constrasted with their counterfeits in the dissembling pseudotransformational leadership on the basis of 1) the moral character of the leaders and their concerns for self and others; 2) the ethical values embedded in the leaders’ vision, articulation, and program, which followers can embrace or reject; and 3) the morality of the processes of social ethical choices and action in which the leaders and followers engage and collectively pursue. The literature on transformational leadership is linked to the long-standing literature on virtue and moral character, as exemplified by Socratic and Confucian typologies. It is linked, as well, to the major themes of the modern Western ethical agenda: liberty, utility and distributive justice Deception, sophistry, and pretense are examined alongside issues of transendence, agency, trust, striving for the congruence of the values, cooperative action, power, persuasion, and corporate governance to establish the strategic and moral foundations of authentic transformational leadership. Contracts can be skewed in favor of those with more resources, contacts and â€Å"bargaining power. † People often appreciate leadership which points the way out of dilemmas whether it comes from others within their own collective or from external authority. Leaders as divergent in their politics as Mao Zedong and Shimon Peres agreed that the task of leadership is to sense the problems of their followers and to articulate solutions which satisfied their interests. Rost, reminiscent of Nozick and Rand, asks for leader-follower distinctions be erased to reach true participative democracy. Burns (1998) partially agrees and would substitute for leaders and followers, initiators, supporters and opponents. But the counterarguments are that if everyone in a group is responsible for its leadership, no one is responsible. Furthermore, if a group is initially leaderless, the members compete with each other for leadership. One or more leaders emerge who initiate and propose more than the other members. Followers emerge who are responsive to the leaders, and non-responsive isolated persons remain who are passive (Bass, 1954). If trying to align the values of members of an organization with the good of all stakeholders is unethical , then it is unethical to contingently reward prison inmates with time off for good behavior or for transformational teachers to move pupils to internalize the values of good citizenship for the benefit of society. â€Å"Libertarians would agree that one’s life plans are paramount but they are close to espousing anarchy as are the OD extremists who charge immorality if the transformational leader intervenes in the individual follower’s life plans†(Bass, 1998A, p. 79). With this line of thinking that it is immoral to align the values and behavio