Friday, January 31, 2020

Addiction Wrecks Essay Example for Free

Addiction Wrecks Essay Addiction is a chronic relapsing disease that affects the brains reward, motivation and other related systems. It is a relationship you have with an object or substance. Most addicts come to depend on that object or substance to meet emotional needs. Individuals struggling with addiction are unable to control their actions and make rational decisions about their behavior. There are two main forms of addiction, physiological and psychological. Psychological is an emotional dependence on the feeling a drug or action gives you. Physiological addiction goes beyond mental cravings. One becomes physiologically addicted to a substance when your body has marked a physical need for increasing doses. Drugs such as heroin, cocaine, nicotine, and alcohol are physiologically addictive. There are many warning signs and symptoms of physiological addictions; tolerance you need more and more to get high. Withdrawal: which has symptoms such as; sweating, tremors, tension, anger, irritability, becoming impatient, and rapid heart rate. Those symptoms appear when you quit using the drug or substance. There is no standard time it takes to become addicted, many say consistent use over a 30 day period but there is no magic number. No matter what once an addiction is forms it is extremely harmful. â€Å"In 2005 scientist found the so called addiction gene, a brain receptor that, in certain forms, makes people more susceptible to drug and alcohol addiction†. (Winters 8) Many believe that the disease is hereditary however no one is doomed from birth many factors beyond genetics play in, such as psychological factors; failure in parental guidance, unstable family environments. Psychological vulnerability, depression, stressed tense and unhappy life styles. Although knowing the gene exist is most useful in providing preventive treatment that isolates that particular receptor and potentially decreases a person’s change in becoming addicted (pg. 9) Many children develop addictive behaviors because it is a learned behavior. A big part of how you act is determined hoe your parents act, you learn by watching and interacting with them. Unfortunately people who are raised in addictive families learn addictive beliefs and logics. For instance, if one of your parents is an alcoholic you learn growing up that the way to cope with a bad day is to come home and have a few drinks to numb the pain. Pure pressure may also lead you into an addiction. There are different stages that lead to addiction; first experimentation it’s marked by someone wanting to do something only a few times to see what it’s like such as gambling or a sex experiment. Then there is casual use, doing something occasionally or just a few times a month. Abuse is the third stage that leads to addiction, abuse is when someone continues to abuse an object or substance regardless of the negative consequences or desire to quit. Dependence is next, using or doing on a regular basis. Increased tolerance levels and mild withdraw. Last you become fully addicted, an over whelming compulsion for an event or substance on a continuous basis. Once you become an addict it becomes the most important thing in your life above family and all. Addiction wrecks your life including your physical health, personal relationships and overall job performance. The worse the addiction the more the addict isolates him/her self from people who can help and the longer the illness progresses the less the addict feels like they cant turn to others. Most of the time the addict doesn’t realize there is a problem and are in denial. Addicts go to extreme life threatening behaviors because they lose control of their own actions. Alcohol is the most widely abused drug in the world. Technically a depressant, alcohol provides a drunken high that often allows people to forget their troubles. Extreme alcohol craving can also result from genetic vulnerability. Studies show that adult children of alcoholics are 3-4 times more likely to become alcoholics themselves (Kuhn 19). No one is doomed from birth; many factors beyond genetics play in such as psychological factors. Alcohol effects how the body works, when drinking all the time the body adapts its self to having alcohol in the blood stream and then comes dependent on it and needs it for stability. Marijuana usually know as the gateway drug is made from leafs of a cannabis plant and is usually smokes. State of intoxication from marijuana is also known as being high, usually people feel relaxed and their senses are heightened (Kuhn 3). Marijuana causes psychological dependence. While under the influence of marijuana sense of time is distorted and simple task seem to take longer to accomplish. Some effects of smoking marijuana are increased heart rate, slowing reaction time, memory loss, and slowing reaction time. These effects are noticeable in just a few min and last a few hours. The most lasting and harmful effect of marijuana is the physiological changes in neurotransmitters and structures in the brain, leading to the loss of motivation and cognitive impairments. Drug addiction is one of the most visible and common addictions today. One of America’s biggest battles today is on narcotics. The most common used narcotics are Vicodin, Percocet, and Oxy-cotton, which are all made with opium. Opium is a reddish-brown heavy scented addictive drug prepared from the juice of the opium poppy, used as a narcotic and in medicine as an analgesic. When opiates are introduced to the brain the body stops producing its own endorphins, which leads to tolerance and addiction. Narcotics cause an initial rush followed by a 4-6 hour high, during the high the user feels relaxed however after these phases wear off the user crashes and produces the desire for more of the drug. If the user doesn’t get more of the drug they go into what is called withdraw. Withdraw happens when the user does not have more of the drug within 8 hours after the user comes down. Symptoms of withdraw are tearing eyes, chills, sweats, nausea and increased heart rate. These symptoms can last 3-4 days if the user doesn’t have more drugs. The severity of withdraw depends on the severity of the addiction. Addiction and drugs don’t discriminate. They don’t care whose life they ruin or who they kill. Addiction doesn’t care what kind of home you came from or how responsible you parents are. Addiction can and will affect you if you let it. If you already find yourself in the vicious cycle of addiction there is a way out and always a road to recovery if you truly want it. It won’t be easy; it will be long night of no sleep and hard days of wanting to give into those painful cravings. However if you as an individual want it bad enough you can achieve sobriety. Step 1 is admitting you have an addiction. Confront what you have been ignoring and be honest with yourself. Second is to seek help, support groups with others who are in your same situation and can help you reach your goals of sobriety. Probably the most important is treatment or a rehab facility to keep you safe why you reach your maximum potential on your road to recovery. Recovery is a constant struggle; it may take many months’ even years for you to confidently say you are a fully recovered addict. However it can also be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. You learn how and why you were addicted and how to work out many of the problems you were previously trying to avoid. The knowledge you learn can give you confidence in confronting an addiction urge may it ever appear again. If you’re struggling with addiction, get help! Talk to a friend, teacher, counselor, neighbor, you’re not alone. Addiction is one of the biggest problems in today’s society. Start today by taking the first step to make a life changing decision. You can overcome it and there are people and facilities out there that are willing able and ready to help addicts.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

The Byronic Hero Essay -- essays research papers

A hero proves his heroism when faced with opposition. He is shrewd, tough, clear-sighted, experienced, and able to handle adversity in a well equipped manner. However, unlike most heroes, the Byronic hero does not receive satisfaction simply from possessing these traits. The Byronic hero sees himself as an individual who practices non conformity. He is a hero of consciousness more than a hero of action. These qualities of the Byronic hero are demonstrated in Lord Byron’s description of Napoleon. Byron begins his description in Stanza 36. He points out that Napoleon is â€Å"Extreme in all things!† I believe that this trait means that the Byronic hero is neither to the left nor the right, but eternally caught in the middle of both worlds. Stanza 38 goes on to say, â€Å"Oh, more or less than man-in high or low, Battling with nations, flying from the field; Now making monarchs’ necks thy footstool, now More than they meanest soldier taught to yield; An empire thou couldest crush, command, rebuild, But govern not thy pettiest passion, nor, However deeply in men’s spirits skill’d, Look through thine own, nor curb the lust of war, Nor learn that tempted Fate will leave the loftiest star.† I believe that Lord Byron is saying that Napoleon can crush any nation, only to rebuild it again, and he can win any war, and have control over thousands of men. It is the war within himself that he has no control over, that he is not able to crush. Lines 339-342 are referring to the ... The Byronic Hero Essay -- essays research papers A hero proves his heroism when faced with opposition. He is shrewd, tough, clear-sighted, experienced, and able to handle adversity in a well equipped manner. However, unlike most heroes, the Byronic hero does not receive satisfaction simply from possessing these traits. The Byronic hero sees himself as an individual who practices non conformity. He is a hero of consciousness more than a hero of action. These qualities of the Byronic hero are demonstrated in Lord Byron’s description of Napoleon. Byron begins his description in Stanza 36. He points out that Napoleon is â€Å"Extreme in all things!† I believe that this trait means that the Byronic hero is neither to the left nor the right, but eternally caught in the middle of both worlds. Stanza 38 goes on to say, â€Å"Oh, more or less than man-in high or low, Battling with nations, flying from the field; Now making monarchs’ necks thy footstool, now More than they meanest soldier taught to yield; An empire thou couldest crush, command, rebuild, But govern not thy pettiest passion, nor, However deeply in men’s spirits skill’d, Look through thine own, nor curb the lust of war, Nor learn that tempted Fate will leave the loftiest star.† I believe that Lord Byron is saying that Napoleon can crush any nation, only to rebuild it again, and he can win any war, and have control over thousands of men. It is the war within himself that he has no control over, that he is not able to crush. Lines 339-342 are referring to the ...

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Essay in Social Work Theory

MODULE NAME: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIAL WORK ASSIGNMENT TITLE: Choose at least two social work theories; explain their main principles, advantages and disadvantages and apply them to the assessment, planning and intervention in one of the case studies provided below. Discuss your rationale for choosing the theories selected. Case Study 2: Ramesh Ramesh is 45 year old Sri Lankan man who works as a telephone engineer. He lives alone, but for many years he looked after his elderly mother, who died 18 months ago. Ramesh was recently hospitalized after a suicide attempt.He had been taken anti-depressants for several months before he took an overdose. According to his sister, he had become depressed and was drinking and smoking a lot, and hardly ever eating. He had been taking time off, and at risk of losing his job with BT. His sister says that Ramesh went downhill after the death of their mother, but that she was surprised at this as he always complained about at the things he ha d to do for her when she was alive. The sister has a family of her own, but says that she has tried to involve Ramesh in her family, but he had mostly refused.He had friends who he used to play cricket with, but he has stopped seeing them. He had been saying that there’s nothing to live for, and he wanted to be left alone. Ramesh is due to be released from hospital in two weeks time. WORD COUNT: 3,221 Theory is defined as a set of ideas which can be beliefs or assumptions that guides social work professional to provide high quality practice and work effectively (Oko, 2008:6). A theory represents therefore a tool for social work to use. It also helps workers to make sense of what is happening on people’s life and what can be done to help them.This piece of work aims to explain the main principles, advantages and disadvantages of attachment and crisis intervention theories. Also, how these theoretical frameworks direct workers to carry out assessment, planning and interv ention process and apply them to Ramesh’s case study illustrates above. I will then consider how far these models facilitate anti-oppressive practice in working with service users and why I choose them. To begin with, I will talk about attachment theory. The background of this theory was first developed by Freud.He was a psychoanalyst who viewed the bond between mother and an infant as sexually orientated. â€Å"The bond which links mother to infant is libido† (Holmes 1997:62). According to Freud, an infant expresses anxiety when he or she cannot suck the mother’s breast. During the feeding, an infant â€Å"discharges his libido† (Holmes 1997:62), in consequence the retention of anxiety diminishes. In the contrary, John Bowlby saw attachment between a mother and an infant as a â€Å"psychological bond in its own right not an instinct† (Holmes 1997:63) as Freud has described it.In addition, a child needs a mother to satisfy a physiological need to b e able to cope throughout the life course. According to Bowlby, an infant that experiences separation or loss from the mother can have mental problem in adulthood or juvenile delinquency in childhood. The nature of the bond is about love, affection and a consistent and emotionally invested person in a child. In the absence of love, a child feels disorientated, lost and unhappy. â€Å"I am close to my loved one I feel good, when I am far away, I am anxious, sad or lonely† (Holmes 1997:67).The proximity seeking is essential because a child needs to be comforted when feels distress, for this reason a cuddle or a touch from a love one is a great help. Bowlby also stated that the proximity of the main care giver, who is the mother, is essential. Babies need to feel attached to one person. He argued that the mother was the best person to play that role. According to Bowlby babies have a biological need to form an attachment to a particular person who feeds and cares for them. He ca lled it monotropy. He maintained that this was a survival instinct without it the child would be exposed to danger.This attachment occurs only in a vital period of time, which is the first five years in order to achieve a particular skill. He called this period â€Å"critical period†. The absence of the mother as attachment figure leads to maternal deprivation. Bowlby believed that maternal deprived children were more likely to develop poor social adjustment and difficult relationships in adolescence and adulthood. Subsequent to these others researchers said that it is not the absence of the mother but the presence of conflicts and disruption during the upbringing of children that cause difficulties in late life (Holmes 1997:51).For Bowlby, mothers should be devoted to their children to protect them and care for them. He believed that the interaction between a child and the main care giver helps the child to identify the self and to be ready to explore the world alone. It is called internal working model. It is a process by which a child commences to understand the self with the presence of a care giver or multiple carers leading to a positive internal working model (Holmes, 1997:78). According to Bowlby a secure child has a positive working model.In the contrary, an insecure attached child â€Å"sees himself as ineffective and unworthy of love† (Holmes, 1997:79). Bowlby would have said that Ramesh has a negative internal working model because according to his sister, he said that â€Å"there is nothing to live for and he wanted to be left alone†. He felt insecure, but again it can be argued that Ramesh’s response is explained by his natural emotion that matters to him not because he is an insecure attached child or because of the fact of loss leads to bad thoughts (Holmes, 1997:162).In a cultural point of view, maybe that was his way to mourn his mother’s death. Mourning is defined as a process of correcting the idea that, a bereaved person still feel attached to a love one who is no longer there and of overcoming the loss (Messer & Jones, 2001 :490). Different cultures prescribe different grieving rituals. Maybe Ramesh wanted to express his grieving by being alone. The other key concept of attachment theory is the response of the care giver towards the child in order to determine if a child feels secure or insecure.To understand the relationship between attachment and children’s behaviour, Mary Ainsworth made a reliable naturalistic study in 1960s of mothers and their children in their first year of life. The experience is called â€Å"strange situation†. It is described as follow. A mother and child are introduced to a room with toys. Three minutes later the child is left alone with a stranger then the mother will come again and the child is again left alone without the stranger. The aim of the experience was to see how the child reacts on the presence and absence of the mother as a sec ure base when eft alone with a strange person and the experience lasted twenty minutes (Payne, 2005:82). Five patterns of behaviour were identified: the first one was secure attachment, the second one was insecure avoidant, and the third one was insecure ambivalent, the fourth one was insecure and disorganised and the fifth one was non-attachment. Although this experience was done on a child under stress, the results of attachment are maintained throughout the life cycle. Therefore it helps to understand an adult behaviour when facing separation or bereavement.For instance to be able to understand how Ramesh was related to his mother and what kind of therapeutic strategies to use, a social worker has to consider these patterns of attachment. The fact that Ramesh cannot cope without the mother being around even though he was the one looking after her, can be interpreted as a â€Å"fear of autonomy or compromised†(Holmes1996:20). He had an insecure ambivalent attachment. He was clinged to his mother, she was a secure base moreover her death made him independent and fearful to take back his autonomy and assertiveness.He seems to be showing his anger and pain through drinking, smoking, an overdose of anti-depressant and attempting suicide. He is facing with the loss of a significant attachment figure. Bowlby’s explanation of attachment theory focuses on mother. He did not take into account of the role of the father or a different care giver or multiple care givers. In other cultures, the extended family has an importance in rising up children. Also the socio-economic aspect was not raised by Bowlby. Meaning that for him a father was the main bread winner and a mother had the duties to look after children at home.He did not consider working mothers and single parenting. But again Bowlby’s work was done during the world war 1950’s. Attachment theory did not take into account of individuality. For instance, in a strange situation, differen t children would have reacted differently. Moreover Kagan quoted in psychology and social care suggested that â€Å"avoidant infants are difficult to upset, ambivalent infants are easy to stress and that secure infants are somewhere between these two† (Messer & Jones, 2001:232).But again some people think that, the classification of attachment behaviour patterns are useful to understand children, to trace back childhood history and to be able to understand adults’ actual problems in relation to mental health. Theories give an idea about what is happening in a situation in social work profession. It also directs workers on how they are going to solve problems, what needs to be done in order to resolve the problem. Having saying that, attachment theory helps to understand Ramesh behaviour and attitude. He was admitted to the hospital because of depression.This could be explained by the fact that there is a relationship between bereavement and vulnerability to psychiatric disorder (Holmes, 1996:179). However, social worker will have the task to assist Ramesh in his explorations of his present and past life. The social worker has to understand how Ramesh is coping with the bereavement in his life. In order to do so the worker has to work in partnership with Ramesh, he is the best person to explain how he is feeling and coping, also what needs to be done to solve the problem immediately.Attachment theory helps to understand what is going on in Ramesh’s life. The next step will be to take action to help him. Crisis intervention model is then a practical tool that helps professionals to act efficiently. Crisis intervention was first developed by Roberts who defined it as â€Å"turning points in people’s lives† (Roberts quoted in Payne, 2005: 103). This means that, it is a point of time for deciding something when an individual is faced with an urgent stressful situation such as bereavement, a loss of a closer family member or a loss of job.The response should be then spontaneous. The theory focuses on a limited period of time (four to six weeks) within which a social worker helps and supports a service user who works though bereavement to develop new adaptive ways of coping. It assumes that the society we live in is a smooth society where norms and values are shared and understandable by all. Everyone should fit in it but then again in case an individual experiences distress he or she should find away to resolve it in order to conform.Crisis intervention also states that the life course of all individuals is constituted of many events crisis. According to (Roberts 1995:29) â€Å"A crisis is a period of Psychological disequilibrium and decreased functioning as a result of an event or situation that creates a significant problem which cannot be resolved by using familiar coping strategies†. In addition, people in crisis may experience a host of emotions, including feelings of anxiety, guilt, helplessness and withdrawal from friends and relatives. According to the definition, Ramesh can be considered to be facing crisis.For instance according to the information provided, Ramesh has attempted suicide, he took an overdose of anti-depressants, and he is avoiding his friends. Further to this the sister stated that Ramesh has become depressed and was drinking and smoking a lot. All of this information indicates the breakdown of Ramesh’s psychological equilibrium. The major cause of all these problems is the death of his mother. Ramesh might be scared to take on a new role. This suggests that new approaches must be developed for Ramesh to build his equilibrium.Crisis intervention theoretical method can therefore be applied when working with Ramesh to ensure that he develops new coping mechanisms. It is based on ego psychology derived from a psychologist, Freud and others who helped in the building of his work. It was developed around the observations of Caplan 1965 and others who lo oked at how people coped with a crisis in their lives. Psychodynamic ego psychology is used in crisis intervention to emphasise people’s emotional strengths in dealing with crisis (Payne 2005:98).This theory is a coping mechanism for any crisis situations including domestic violence, mental health, child abuse, drugs or alcohol problems, or the admission to hospital or care home, breakdown of close relationships etc. The crisis poses a major threat to most human beings. The response to this crisis differs from one person to another. For instance, the bereavement can be coped very well with the presence of family members and friends by one person while another whose life centred almost entirely around the dead person may feel that life is not worth and reject the support available as Ramesh did according to his sister.The theory works then towards the provision of opportunity for growth and positive changes following an emotional or physical experience which may lead a person to a break down. The idea of crisis intervention theory is to empower the person and to support them in taking the positives from the situation. Ramesh case study is a typical case where crisis intervention theory is a useful tool to use. There are lots of crisis situations surrounding him which therefore, needs intervention. Intervention has a very active, practical, directive about it.The crisis in Ramesh is not the issue of his mother’s death but rather his perception of and response to this situation. His crisis responses will be seen as drinking, smoking, taking time off the job and not eating enough. Issues raised in this case are that Ramesh is depressed and introverted as described by his sister. Crisis intervention theory suggests that a particular issue in a given crisis might represent a reaction to an issue elsewhere in the same or a connected issue. Going through this hard time might be an unfamiliar situation for him.An action at one point can therefore be expec ted to lead to a reaction elsewhere. If at this point in Ramesh’s life and intervention does not take place, then, he might go back to hospital and maybe end up with a severe mental health problem. I feel that crisis intervention can help Ramesh to develop a new coping mechanism by working through his experiences and feelings so he can see things better and return to stability. Crisis intervention looks at what someone can do rather than cannot do; therefore it is a social model of intervention.This can be achieved through the use of the seven stages of the theory described by Roberts 1995. The first stage is an initial assessment, where Rameh’s risks and safety are identified together with others. If he is thought to be a high danger to himself or to others, referral is made to a psychiatrist for consideration of hospitalisation. In the event of hospitalisation, the intervention proceeds. On the second stage, the worker should establish rapport and appropriate communi cation with Ramesh for him to understand that he â€Å"can overcome current problems and arrive at a satisfactory tomorrow† (Roberts, 1995: 20).This can be done through listening and reassuring him of a stable future. It will also help him in reducing the negatives aspects in his crisis events by structured therapy dealing with the immediate crisis that is taking small steps in dealing with his anxieties. The third stage requires the worker to explore Ramesh’s existing strengths, weaknesses and resources. It is also about identifying the major problems to deal with and addressing them. On the next stage, the worker sets some goals using the strength approach.Providing practical help and assessment of the relevant crisis issues will enable the presenting crisis situation to return to equilibrium. With Ramesh’s situation, focusing on the crisis event but also expanding beyond the factual information to include his current emotions is the first step. His crisis iss ues will be separated in order to decrease his anxieties and to help him make decisions about the smoking, drinking, relationship with his sister and playing cricket with his friends one at a time and for him to be able to define his goals and develop an action plan.In stage five, the worker should implement the plan, teaching new skills or mobilizing other support. Actions that needs to be taken are the use of a counselor to obtain detailed psychological information, identifying the barrier for example, the resilience of socialisation, acknowledgement of his strengths and interest for example playing cricket while addressing the rejection of his sister support. Moreover the elements of psychological ego psychology can also be applied to emphasize Ramesh’s strength in dealing with crisis.This method will be significant because Ramesh seems to be acting unconsciously and has a psychological disequilibrium. For instance, he has been drinking and smoking a lot and hardly eating, also isolating himself from his friends and feeling guilty that he did help his mother enough when she was alive. The therapeutic intervention will assist Ramesh to recognise his painful and repressed feelings. If Ramesh identifies his hidden thoughts and feelings, new coping mechanisms should be established through the mobilization of resources for support such as offering him bereavement counseling.The aim is to reduce continuing unpleasant effects and emotions. Then on the sixth stage, Ramesh together with his counselor need to review the actions that were taken and evaluate their success but to return back to the action if the crisis is not fully resolved. On the final stage, he would also be helped to think about potential future crisis, how they might be addressed and where future support may be found. And if his case is going to be terminated due to success of his actions, his feelings will be process around ending the therapeutic relationship.By providing crisis interventio n, Ramesh learns new ways of coping, sees himself differently and new opportunities for the future whilst being empowered to take control. According to (Thompson 2001:11) â€Å"good practice is not dependent on the use of anyone method or approach, it is more to do with using the methods in an anti-oppressive way†. This means not being only aware of the potential for discrimination and oppression in the worker and service user relationship in social work practice, but also need to constantly look at ways of using the approaches in order to reduce oppression and discrimination.The support helps him to draw out the positives from the changes he experienced. Cognitive behavioural theory also works well with crisis intervention as it comes from the psychological theories of information processing which can also correlate how Ramesh is feeling and coping with the crisis situation. Ramesh will also be aware that decisions should not be made on the basis of one problem alone as it w ill create other problems. My rationale of choosing this theory is that, a limited period of time is given to resolve the crisis and therefore, effective in terms of effort and resources.The sooner Ramesh regains control of his life the better in one hand. On the other hand, good practice takes time. Consequently, an early assessment and intervention are crucial, in order to react effectively to gear towards preventing future crisis. Also crisis intervention can be highly intrusive and directive which can raise number of issues, for example ethical dilemmas and rights such as decision making process. In summary, I have explained attachment and crisis intervention theories and how the first one helps Social Worker to understand human behaviour when facing bereavement.The second approach has a role to play in promoting the anti-oppressive approach in social work practice, by restoring as much control as possible and validating and celebrating service user strengths. It uses elements o f ego-psychology from psychodynamic perspective and promotes the time limited and more focused ways of working with service users. Although, the theories have limitations, they provide frameworks for Social Workers to engage with service users in the most effective way. Bibliography Holmes, J. (1996) Attachment, Intimacy, Autonomy: Using Attachment Theory in Adult Psychotherapy.New Jersey: Book Mart Press. Holmes, J. (1997) John Bowlby and Attachment Theory. London: Routledge. Messer, D & Jones, F. (2001) Psychology and Social Care. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd. Oko, J. (2008) Understanding Social Work Theory. London: Learning Matters. Payne, M. (2005) Modern Social Work Theory. 3rd ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Roberts, A R. (1995) Crisis Intervention and Time-Limited Cognitive Treatment. London: Sage Publication Ltd. Thompson, N. (2001) Anti-discriminatory Practice. 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Budget and Budgetary Control Practices in the College of...

BUDGET AND BUDGETARY CONTROL PRACTICES IN THE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION, KUMASI 1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Universities and colleges need to recognize that they too are businesses (Dr. Brendan Nelson, 2002). Investors, senior executives and the business community have long sought for ways to better control the companies and enterprises they run. As part of a broader micro-economic reform of the public sector, the higher education sector has been targeted for its perceived role for improving the economic status of a nation (Currie Vidovich,1998; Marginson, 1997b). Government skeptical about the effectiveness and efficiency of University operations have issued policies and undertaken reviews of the sector with the intention of†¦show more content†¦These budgets from different units, subunits and other sections are incorporated into a master budget period of implementation. In the course of implementation, actual results are compared with budgeted, variances are noted and appropriate measures implemented for correction. In the view of Garrison and Noreen (2003) this is what budgetary control is all about. This suggests that for effective budgeting to be realized budgetary control must be an accompanied tool. According to Anthony and Young (1999) budgeting and budgetary controls though important for all organizations, it’s more important in non- profit making organization than in profit making organization due to its cost structure and spending flexibility. 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Budgeting and budgetary control practices are employed by many institutions to ensure the orderly and efficient running of their operations as well as compliance to management policies and internal control practices. Every organization develops a set of goals such as 3 profitability, growth and other with the hope of achieving them in the face of limited resources. Economic theory however states that an organization should conduct itself in a certain economic manner to be able to ensure an optimum allocation of resources for any anticipated objective to be achieved (McConnel and Brue, 1999). Managers who have opted and practiced budgeting and budgetary control are of the opinion that theShow MoreRelatedLiterature Review on Training and Development8683 Words   |  35 Pagesstress on human resource training and development (HR Tamp;D) to provide strategic and cost efficient training services for employees has never been higher.Employee performance expectation keeps rising while the economic recession has caused training budget to shrink causing the Human Resource Training and Development unit to do more with less. Training and Development helps in optimizing the utilization of human resource that further helps the employee to achieve the organizational goals as well as

Sunday, December 29, 2019

Feminism A Feminist Theory - 1301 Words

WGS 3600: Feminist Theory Frankie Snyder and Jax McMillian Due: 12/10/2015 Feminism is gender liberation Feminism needs to be more broadly defined in terms of gender liberation to encompass individuals from all walks of genders (or nongenders). Separating gender nonconforming issues from feminism is erasive; marginalized gender nonconforming individuals should not be told to fend for themselves and their own rights due to a multitude of oppressions experienced by these individuals (based on the prejudicial gender assumptions the patriarchy puts on them). In all, feminism should encompass gender nonconforming rights because to do otherwise would be to align with the patriarchal system in which feminists are fighting against; including gender nonconforming issues in the sphere of feminism will help strengthen the discourse of general gender equality as has been argued for centuries. Definitionally, much like feminism, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming can often be ambiguous and varied from person to person. For the sake of this paper the reference to nonbinary individuals is a reference to anyone who at any point has identified outside of the gender binary at least some of the time. This encompasses a broad range of identities including genderqueer, agender, demigender, genderfluid, and an accepted lack of identification in the gender realm altogether. Further, gender-nonconforming will be defined as the expression/behavior that doesn’t match masculine and feminine genderShow MoreRelatedFeminist Theory Of Feminism1245 Words   |  5 Pagesinvited to feel welcome to participate in the conversation ( Watson, 2014). In the feminist perspective, which is an extension of feminism, there is support of equality for both women and men. Feminism is a belief that women and men have equal rights and opportunities. There are many different branches in the feminist perspective, one of the most interesting one is intersectional feminism. Intersectional feminism believes that experiences of class, gender, and race can not be adequately understoodRead MoreFeminist Theory Of Feminism1121 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to Webster’s dictionary, feminism is defined as the theory of political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. In today’s modern world, no matter which end of the political spectrum a person is on, the term can invoke strong feelings - some of which have created a sense of shame or harm associated with the concept. These associations of wrongdoing and radicalism with the theory of feminism and its subsequent movement have existed long before the era of social media activism and selfies;Read MoreFeminist Theory Of Feminism1766 Words   |  8 Pages Feminism is a fight against oppression, but white supremacy exists within feminist movements, which is an obvious contradiction of the theory. â€Å"The feminist movement has centered on the experiences of White women and dismissed the experiences of Women of Color† (Feenstra, 2017, p. 67). In an article titled, From White Feminism to Intersectional Advocacy: The Development of a White Antiracist Identity, Abby Elizabeth Feenstra, a feminist illuminates her journey to becoming conscious of her whiteRead MoreFeminism And The Feminist Theory Essay2030 Words   |  9 PagesThe feminist theory takes the motion of the feminist equal rights movement and transforms it into a theoretical study. This rather new approach explores the status of females and equality activists as well as their role in society relating to others. The feminist theory explains what is relevant to women and the women s movement as well as how definitions are changing over time, whether they are sociological, philosophical, or psychological (Grosz, 2010). As the gender gap closes in our societyRead MoreFeminism And The Feminist Theory1942 Words   |  8 Pages2015 Feminist Theory Research Paper Though feminism and the feminist theory are often construed as the same philosophy, the two are related, yet different concepts. Feminism is defined as, â€Å"the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes† (Merriam Webster Dictionary). In turn, a feminist is an individual who believes that men and women should be equal politically, economically, culturally, and socially (Definitions of Branches of Feminist). However, the feminist theory isRead MoreFeminist Theory Of Feminism1697 Words   |  7 Pagesno longer a surprise that gender equality continues to be a problem in our society. Although all feminists agree that it is a prominent issue, they have different ways of combating it. Some feminists agree with having a sex/gender distinction, which uses â€Å"sex† as the term to describe biological features and â€Å"gender† as the term to describe the social standings. Due to his distinction, many feminists believe that the social implica tions, or gender, needs to be changed to achieve equality. Two approachesRead MoreFeminism And The Postmodern Feminist Theory1596 Words   |  7 PagesThe evolution of feminist theory from a modern to a postmodern viewpoint stands to correct the injustices of historically liberal feminism. For some time, grand narratives have governed the ideas of self and gender from a single experience of â€Å"man†. Traditionally, modern feminism aimed to eradicate the hegemonic theory of inferiority by women to the male gender. Postmodern feminism aspires to eliminate categories of gender altogether, for the social construct of gender is considered to disregardRead MoreFeminist Theory : The Beginnings Of Feminism1571 Words   |  7 Pages The Beginnings of Feminism â€Å"Feminist theory is an attempt to bring in views from the movement and other female experiences along with research and data information to create new ways to putting an end to female oppression (Kolmar and Bartkowski 12).† Women of all time periods use feminist theory to collaborate together on their real life experiences to come up with ways to make women apart of everyday life. Throughout the different time periods, women have gained more and more power into societyRead MoreEssay on Feminism and Modern Feminist Theory1068 Words   |  5 Pages Feminism is a body of social theory and political movement primarily based on and motivated by the experiences of women. While generally providing a critique of social relations, many proponents of feminism also focus on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of womens rights, interests, and issues. Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of gender inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality. Feminist political activism campaigns on issues such asRead MoreEssay Feminism and feminist social theory 1100 Words   |  5 PagesFeminism and feminist social theory unlike other theoretical perspectives is woman-centered and inter-disciplinary, hence promotes methods of achieving social justice. The feminism and feminist social theory takes into consideration three questions, what of the women? Why is the present social world as it is today? Additionally, how can the social world be changed to make it more just for the women and all people alike? In recent developments, feminist theorists have begun questioning the differences

Saturday, December 21, 2019

United Nations And The European Union Essay - 1915 Words

3. No concrete reforms have taken place to remedy the lack of transparency in the oil revenues of Chad. Chad’s lack of transparency with respect to oil revenues has yet to be solved by reform. Generally, transparency of oil revenues benefits not only citizens and the World Bank, but also oil companies and the government. Despite Chad’s affluence from oil, its population remains impoverished. Notwithstanding these evident issues, the World Bank did not act to remedy the situation (Wysham, 2013). The United Nations and the European Union had planned many missions of intervention to improve the humanitarian crisis and to placate the war in Chad. However, these institutions have never truly focused on plans to increase the level of transparency of oil revenues in the country. The only move in Chad that can be construed as an improvement in transparency was the joining of the Extractive Transparency Initiative. While in 2010 Chad failed 12 out of 20 requirements and in 2013 was nominated â€Å"not compliant†, Chad re-joined the initiative again in 2014 and was finally declared compliant to their standard of transparency of oil revenues in 2015 (Transparency International, 2014). Though results from 2016 are still missing, this initiative has proved in numerous countries, including the Uni ted States, that their requirements for compliance are not sufficient for true oil revenue transparency (Vandeveer, 2016). Such transparency is imperative because it â€Å"strengthen[s] ourShow MoreRelatedImpact Of Globalization On The United Nations And European Union2243 Words   |  9 Pagesdescribes it as a process that presents a connection and interaction between countries and nations particularly in economic, cultural and political aspects amongst others, with Trans National Corporations (TNC’s) such as McDonalds being increasingly present in Asia, or Spanish films being shown in New York as well as groups of countries coming together to create organisations such as the United Nations and European Union. Key characteristics of globalisation include improved technology, Non-GovernmentalRead MoreState Capacity Of The United Nations And European Union1583 Words   |  7 Pagesand will argue how this affected the state capacity. Belgium is a constitutional monarchy and a member of the Europian Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN). These institutions have influence on the state capacity of Belgium as the state is obliged to follow certain guidelines of these institutions. However, I won t discuss the influence of the United Nations and European Union, because these influences are relatively small in the discussed issues. In this essay it will be argued how the economicRead MoreThe United Nations Stabilization Mission Essay898 Words   |  4 PagesThe term â€Å"United Nations† was, according to the UN’s official website, coined by United States president Franklin Roosevelt in the context of the fact that the nations were united against the Axis forces in World War Two. In 1945, the United Nations officially started with fifty-one states as its members. Since then, the United Nations has grown greatly to nearly 200 state members. The United Nations has several specific purposes that it tries to fulfill. First, its primary goal is to maintainRead MoreNation and United States Essay833 Words   |  4 PagesWords like country, nation, state, and even nation-state are used to define social, cultural and political relationships in the United States and around the world. There are many defining characteristics that allow countries and groups of countries to understand each other, and in some cases, for unions. The purpose of this essay is to briefly discuss nations, states, and nation states, how the United States constitutes a nation state, and the European Union. A nation is a union of people who shareRead MoreChina s Infrastructure Play : Why Washington Should Accept The New Silk Road Essay1170 Words   |  5 PagesWashington Should Accept the New Silk Road† by Gal Luft presents the idea of why the United States should actively engage China and its international infrastructure plans. The author appears to be aware of China’s real objectives, stating that the projects are designed â€Å"to save China from the economic decline†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , however, the author assumes that the Chinese will be open to sharing their golden opportunity with the United States, and consider it a favor. Furthermore, the author offers evidence that depictsRead MoreThe European Union Of The United Kingdom980 Words   |  4 PagesCameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in a speech wisely said that â€Å"with courage and conviction I believe we can deliver a more flexible, adaptable and open European Union in which the interests and ambitions of all its members can be met†. The courageous creation of cross-national organizations supersede the public opinions and negative comments regarding the union. Collective combination of states sovereignties into a new entity is what revitalized the European economy after the war. UnderstandingRead MoreThe Characteristics of the Nation-State and Transnational Entities1343 Words   |  6 PagesNation-states deal certain characteristics of self-rule, organized government, territory, and population. Self-rule implies that nation-states rule themselves. They are free and not colonies of some other country. For example, the U.S. was a colony of Great Britain until the American Revolution. As a consequence of the American Revolution, the United States formed a nation-state. Organized government is the manner in which nation-states rule themselves. For example, the government of the U.S. isRead MoreCharacteristics of the Modern Nation-State Essay1600 Words   |  7 Pagescharacteris tics of the modern nation-state, explain how the United States fits the criteria of and functions as a modern nation-state, discuss the European Union as a transnational entity, analyze how nation-states and transnational entities engage on foreign policy to achieve their interests, and the consequences of this interaction for international politics. Some of the characteristics that make up a modern nation-state are; the population of the territory is united in the national identity andRead MoreThe Union Of The European Union Essay1699 Words   |  7 Pagesbe leaving the European Union. In what has since become known as Brexit, the United Kingdom held a referendum in which 52 percent of the voting-eligible population chose in favor of the country’s departure from the 28 country politico-economic union. When this political issue is analyzed, it is important to understand the reasoning behind Britain’s decision and the many factors that drove them to this resolution. The people of the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union based on economicRead MoreThe United States And European Union1374 Words   |  6 Pagesproclaims a free-trade agreement between the United States and European Union. This issue creates enthusiasm and optimism on both sides. They hope to achieve economic and political benefits. The har d economic time on both the United States and European Union is the main reason of this agreement. Another consideration is the growing economics of China. Europe and USA should work together for dealing with China s growing economy. Since the USA and the European Union was a big trading partner, they will remove

Friday, December 13, 2019

Comparison of Two Poems Free Essays

In two of D. H Lawrence’s works Bat and Man and Bat, both poems portray the author’s encounters with bats and his feeling of disgust towards them. In this essay I will compare the two poems in terms of tone, rhythm, diction and style. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Two Poems or any similar topic only for you Order Now Both Bat and Man and bat started with a peaceful tone; the author describes the setting in Florence, Italy and gives a calming tone to the readers. However, as the author proceeds with the poem, and starts to introduce a bat, the tone starts to change. In bat, the tone changes gradually, the author wonders why a swallow would fly so late- at this point he describes the swallow’s movement and the tone changes; the readers sense a mysterious feel. When the author does confirm that the bird is in fact a bat, the tone of the poem changes, we sense the disgust the author feels towards the bats, using words such as â€Å"old rag†, giving â€Å"uneasy creeping in one’s scalp† (341-342). This particular tone set by the author greatly defines the hate he has for bats and also due to change in rhythm and diction, helps the readers experience the events within the poem. However, the tone in Man and Bat did not change as gradually, in fact it changes drastically. Soon after the start of the poem, the author introduces the bat and almost immediately words such as â€Å"disgusting† and â€Å"Out! Go Out! † (342) sets the tone of disgust. Throughout the ‘rant’ the tone remains the same, but the author did change the tone twice; when the main character in the poem (supposedly the author) realizes that the bat cannot leave his room because he cannot face the light, a sense of pity clouds the readers, the author feels pit for the bat and changes the mood slightly for a while. The tone of disgust returns though soon after yet it changes again; whilst the author wants to kill the bat and throw it away, he said that he didn’t create the bat therefore he cannot kill it, the tone shifts back to pity for the second time, giving the readers more hints that the author does pity the bat and does not wish to kill it. Man and Bat ends quite gracefully, the last few sentences had a peaceful tone, the author was quite happy that the bat had left and now enjoys the evening leaving the readers at ease. However, in Bat the ending still had the tone of disgust, ending the poem with an exclamation mark really emphasizes on the disgust. Both Bat and Man and Bat also start with similar rhythm; the pace was quite slow with the help of ellipses which helped prolonged the sentences. These prolonged sentences tend to calm the readers, so they could feel how ‘lazy’ the author feels through the poem. In Bat, the author changes the rhythm gradually too; after noticing the birds, the author still narrates with a lazy rhythm but also attentive, and that is how the readers start to feel suspicious of these swallows. As soon as the bats are introduced, exclamation marks are also introduced to readers; these exclamation marks give a heightened sensation to the readers and make them feel rushed (finding themselves reading through the poem with greater speed). This fast rhythm also gives more tension to the readers, giving a ‘thriller’ feel and gives more entertainment value to the poem, as the author describes in great detail the bat’s flights. However, the author still uses ellipses as he describes the bats, but these ellipses have a different effect; instead of prolonging the sentence it adds more mystery and a hint of uncertainty. In Man and Bat, the rhythm doesn’t change as gradually and the rhythm is even faster than that of Bat; as soon as the bat is introduced, the author changes the rhythm immediately, using repetition of the words ‘round and round and round’ (342) to rush and tense the readers more into reading the poem faster. The scene where the author tries to escape the bat is a typical action scene, happening very quickly. The author uses more exclamation marks to tense and fasten the rhythm more and this fast rhythm really helps the readers to understand the situation of the poem and also enhances the tone of disgust the author uses in the poem. Nevertheless, Man and Bat ended in a calming pace, the author reflects on the bat and threw away his grudges towards it- it leaves the readers content with the happy ending. However, Bat did not end as peaceful; the ending came abruptly, the author still hints a disgusted tone and the rhythm did not slow down- it even ended with an exclamation mark. This kind of ending leaves the readers hanging unlike Man and Bat. There were two main dictions in Bat and Man and Bat; diction for movement and diction for disgust. Both poems describe the bat’s movements in the air, going ‘round and round and round’ and in both works the author emphasizes on his revolt towards the ‘disgusting old rags’. In Bat, the author chose words such as ‘swallows with spools of dark thread sewing the shadows together’ when describing the birds movement; the readers feel the mystery of these swallows- yet not disgusted- and somehow the swallow’s flight seemed elegant. However, when realizing that these swallows were in fact bats, the author uses words such as ‘wildly vindictive’ and ‘hanging disgustingly upside down’ (341) even though these are the same birds he saw. The author’s change of words help adding depth towards the tone of disgust he hints, and his choice of words impact how the readers feel towards the bat, mainly revolt. The author’s choice of words also affects the rhythm; the readers think that the bat’s movements are wild, uneasy and frightening instead of the elegance of the swallows. Nevertheless, the author’s choice of words in Man and Bat even emphasizes more on the bat’s crazy movements and his dislike towards them. Within the first page the author already plunges into words such as ‘a twitchy, nervous, intolerable flight’, ‘a neurasthenic lunge’ and ‘impure frenzy’ (342). These words really affect the poem’s pace and adding more depth towards the already obvious hatred; readers feel overwhelmed whilst reading Man and Bat because it contains carefully chosen words which gives great impact. Another obvious technique the author uses is repetition of the word ‘round’ which is used to describe the movement of the bat within the character’s room. In fact, the author uses that word 22 times in Man and Bat. In conclusion, D. H Lawrence used tone, rhythm and diction to his full advantage when writing Bat and Man and Bat to portray his repulse towards bat and its wild and frightening movements. How to cite Comparison of Two Poems, Papers