Why Women Smile

In our culture, friendliness is conveyed through a smile and it is agreed in the discipline of Anthropology that the smile is something that carries across all cultures. In every human society, smiles convey the same emotions: happiness, pleasure, excitement and other positive feelings. However, smiles seem to mean different things between the men and women, of our culture, who exchange them. As my step father said, a woman who smiles is seen as friendly, but also more likely single. Simply put, smiling is an attractive quality and most people flock to a warm smile like moths to a flame.For women, smiling could mean many things. I, among others, have often feigned a smile in nervousness, irritation, awkwardness and sometimes false happiness. In intimate settings, a natural smile shows a person is enjoying her or himself and the other people present. In professional settings, especially that of customer service, a smile, feigned or not, is a requirement. It makes the business seem war m and open to all but smiling on the job and even in less formal environments can lead to problems for women. Unwanted attention is often gained through a broad, seemingly genuine smile.In Amy Cunningham’s essay, Why Women Smile, she mentions, â€Å" We smile so often and so promiscuously†¦ that the Smiling Woman has become a peculiarly American archetype† (325). On many occasions, I’ve heard of a man who yells at a woman on the street to â€Å"Smile baby! It ain’t that bad†. Smiling seems to have become something of a social requirement. To the observer, the smile-less supposed curmudgeon might be falsely interpreted. She must not be happy because she is not smiling. This particular individual could have trouble with smiling due to nerve damage, being in deep thought or maybe she has just suffered a death of a family member.Whatever the circumstances, the stranger has decided that he does not like her frown, for it must be so intolerably unat tractive that he has taken it upon himself to make a statement. On a daily basis, the public is reminded by the media that being attractive is important and a beaming smile is attractive. To be plain, humorless and rejected by men was a stereotype given to suffragettes in the early twentieth century, as the book Women’s Rights: Changing attitudes 1900-2000 (11) mentions. Smiling has been labeled as an essential quality for women in our country.Smiling is a social grace that could easily be sexualized because it opens the door for interaction and a lot of female to male interaction ends up involving sex. After all, women and men are made by nature to reproduce with each other, therefore sexuality between the two is biologically inherent. Even though this is the case, the act of smiling itself is not the root issue, it is merely the outer skin of the conflict. In the book, Female Chauvinist Pigs, Ariel Levy spoke about the episode of the Tonight Show, in May 2003, which Katie C ouric guest hosted.Couric later commented that she wanted to show America her â€Å"fun† side on the Tonight Show, but in truth she was exposing more than being fun, or even being sexual. Really what she was showing was that she was open to a certain sort of attention- which is something that we specifically require if we are going to think of a woman as hot. Hotness doesn’t just yield approval. Proof that a woman actively seeks approval is a crucial criterion for hotness in the first place. (32) A smile can convey openness, submission, a willingness to socialize, playfulness and that a person is seeking not only attention, but approval.When smiling and nodding at what a customer or someone we have interest in has to say, the speaker may feel good about themselves and may gain a sparked interest in the listener. To be engaged in socialization likely means openness to more socialization. This is the point where the message of a smile can become tangled in a web of misco mmunication. Again, Ariel Levy mentions, â€Å"For women, and only for women, hotness requires projecting a kind of eagerness, offering a promise that any attention you receive for your physicality is welcome. (33), and smiling is the first step down a road to attention gained through behaviorism, a philosophy of psychology that deals with learning through experience. In a man’s world, a woman who smiles is a predictable woman. Through a set of past experiences of women smiling or not smiling, a man can asses what these facial expressions mean. To men, a smiling woman is a friendly woman and a friendly woman is a potential mate. It is a simple, easy to understand, thought process. To the contrary from a woman’s eye, smiling could mean many an emotion or thought.A female passerby could have multiple reasons to willfully smile other than a males sexually attractive qualities. She could be thinking about how she has been promoted at work, is happy about the weather, her new pet fish is on her mind or she may have simply remembered a good memory that took place nearby, all while happening to make eye contact with this stranger. The stranger does not know she is very pleased about her new pet fish and therefore jumps to the assumption that her smile was directed blatantly toward him.She does not know him, therefore he must be attractive or she would not have thrown him that suggestive facial expression. As well, women are taught from a young age to smile eagerly because women are supposed to be nice. Girls play with baby dolls and domestic utensils like miniature ovens when boys are playing with miniature military equipment and G. I. Joes. Women are to be the kind and maternal sex while the men are to be the aggressors. Smiling at a passersby is the polite thing to do, the lady like thing to do. For women, it is a reflex.In her article in the online magazine XOJane, S. E. Smith wrote and article about the issue of not constantly smiling in public and the response of the â€Å"smile baby guyâ€Å", a male stranger who tells women that they should smile in public situations. It's always smile baby guy talking to a woman or someone he reads as a woman. This is about the fact that ladies need to look pretty, and furthermore, that ladies need to be in good moods all the time. Telling people to smile is about telling them that you think they're in an unacceptable mood†¦It's yet another reminder of the ways in which women are expected to perform for the public, to put up a â€Å"good face† at all times or face the consequences. (1) These consequences that a women could face can range from social labeling to ostracization to violence. If women, the gentler sex, are not smiling like they are expected to be, something must be wrong and men, being the aggressors must do something to fix or stop it. A woman such as my mother, who takes her job seriously and is stoic when necessary gains labels such as cold and unapproachable. This is not the case, but she happens to lack that veneer smile that should be plastered across her face at all times. She is at work to get her job done and this means that smiling is not always appropriate. A friendly, non-threatening smile has become the appropriate archetype for women. Women have allowed a perpetuated image of femininity, of predictability and kind nature, to exist, mainly through our smiles. It has become an expectation for us. Amy Cunningham states, To limit a woman to one expression is like editing down and orchestra to one instrument.And the search for more authentic means of expression isn’t easy in a culture in which women are still expected to be magnanimous smilers, helpmates in crisis, and curators of everybody else’s morale. (330) Women in America have become beacons of eagerness to the outside world. According to Cunningham, in the 1800s, attractive women began to appear in many types of advertisements. Society got the idea that smiling was a natural trait for women and the women of the time caught on and began to emulate the pictures they saw. 328) This confuses people of other cultures when they encounter American citizens. We have much less formality when addressing strangers and authority figures, and we tend to flash our smiles automatically. When the McDonald’s chain restaurant was introduced in Moscow in 1992, the American’s who ran the businesses were extremely discouraged when the employees wouldn’t crack smiles when greeting customers, who I presume, also did not smile. (329) As a society, it seems that we do not consciously recognize our tendency to over use our smiles for any old occasion.Our teeth are used when anxious, in happiness and in an attempt to be socially pleasing. Along with our unrealistic images of smiles come unrealistic expectations of reality. Our faces are lying to us. Gaining respect is also a plight that the smile has caused personally and professionally for the female gender as a whole. If women are treated as sweet and domestic, expected only to fulfill the stereotype of the kind, listening role, we can not state our opinions thoroughly. It is time that the gentle sex make a new image.Levy explains, It no longer makes sense to blame men. Mia Leist and plenty of other women are behind the scenes, not just in front of the cameras, making decisions, making money, and hollering â€Å"We want boobs. † Playboy is a case in point. Playboy’s image has everything to do with its pajama-clad, septuagenarian, babe-magnet founder, Hugh Hefner†¦ But in actuality, Playboy is a company largely run by women. Hefner’s daughter Christie is the chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises.The CFO is a middle-aged mother named Linda Havard. The Playboy Foundation†¦ is run by Cleo Wilson, and African-American former civil rights activist. A woman named Marilyn Grabowski produces more than half the magazine’s photo features. (35 ) At this point, not only do we fill the roles of the smiling, sexy woman, but women everywhere are working in jobs that continue to further the attitude that we have a specific purpose. That purpose being a thing to look at. A thing that looks good, a thing that smiles.It is hypocritical for women to take part in these careers, however as later mentioned by Ariel Levy, in her interview with Christie Hefner, she asked her how she (Christie) felt about young women aspiring to be in Playboy magazine. Her response was, â€Å"The reason why I think it’s perfectly okay is because the way women see being in the magazine is not as a career bust as a statement. † (40) Levy goes on to explain, An actress or a mother sure, but a lawyer or an executive not necessarily. Putting your tush on display is still not the best way to make partner or impress the board.The only career for which appearing in Playboy is a truly strategic move is a career in the sex industry. (43) Smiling doe s not prove that we are intellectuals or have intense work ethics. Smiling does not show all of the hard physical labor we have done or the hours we have put into studying to earn our bachelors, masters and PHDs. Smiling does not show that we wish to better ourselves more than our grandmothers dreamed was possible. Mostly, smiling shows the world that we believe we are content with the status quo.We must fight back against the stigmas we are furthering in our culture. Smiling is the start. If we can cut back on smiling and only use our grins for genuine happiness, in spontaneous joy, we can begin to move onward. If we can show that smiling has a certain meaning, that the connotation it currently possesses is an inaccurate portrayal of our intelligence, wants and needs, we can gain more respect. The wish for a better future must be fulfilled through showing our own society and eventually the world that we do not meet the standards of a smile, but that we exceed those standards.

Conselling in Schools Essay

A critical examination of Person Centred Counselling and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy applied to a secondary school context. This piece of work will aim to also consider how aspects of these two approaches of counselling could be applied to support students during their journey through adolescence as well as secondary education. The role of the teacher is one that is very complicated. Often the person who stands before a class of students must wear many different hats if they are to be regarded as a good teacher. OfSTED have tried numerous times over the last two decades to describe what an outstanding teacher is. These judgements have often been based on an impromptu visit to a school once every three to five years where they visit a teacher for up to 20 minutes. Although the inspection criteria have changed somewhat since its initial implementation, it still remains, in my view as a teacher, very staged. In a review of Counselling in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, William Baginsky comments in retrospect that the Education Reform Act 1988, has resulted in teachers and pupils being valued in terms of performance indicators and a move away from a concern with pupils’ personal and social development. Robson et al. (1999), Teachers are acutely aware of the emphasis on the academic side of the curriculum-their (students) whole life seems to be pressure, course work, test, homework. McLaughlin (1999) The role of the teacher often extends beyond lesson observation criteria where they can be labelled one of four levels. What OfSTED are unable to measure in a quantifiable manner is the complex relationship between the member of staff and the students. Often in my practice I wondered how come some teachers were just better at controlling a class or they seemed more â€Å"liked† by the students. I would listen in amazement in the staffroom how some teachers had a wonderful working and purposeful relation with some students yet I had very little success with them. Having reflected on these stories I found a similar pattern. These teachers were displaying counselling skills that allowed them to build up a trust and understanding with the students. What I was not sure of was whether they were using these skills naturally or if they had developed them. I have a belief that with time teachers do develop sound counselling skills in order to support the students they work with. In the paper by McLaughlin (2007) her literature review discusses evidence to suggest that that all teachers should have first-level counselling skills, i. e. should be able to listen to pupils and to react to and respond in the emotional domain (Lang, 1993; Hamblin, 1978). Others would suggest that teachers sometimes use the word counselling to encompass activities that professional counsellors would surely not consider to be counselling at all. These include careers interviews, ad hoc advice, and crisis conversations in the corridor (Mosley, 1993) The purpose of this paper is to consider two types of counselling approaches and consider how elements of these approaches could be developed in my role as a secondary school teacher. To Carl Rogers counselling is about a special relationship that is established between the counsellor and the client- where two people sitting in the same room, the client ‘struggling to be himself’. Rogers C (1942) Rogers then goes on to suggest that counselling is about ‘the intricate, delicate web of growth which is taking place with the emergence of a self, person’. This idea of growth and actualisation was based on the humanistic approach of Maslow who is famous for his hierarchy of needs. The Actualising Tendency complements Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by attempting to explain the motivation behind a person’s desire to better their self. Rogers stated that the person-centred approach is built on a basic trust in the person (It) depends on the actualizing tendency present in every living organisms’ tendency to grow, to develop, to realize its full potential. (Rogers, 1986) Rogers’ strong belief in the actualising tendency is evident in client-centred therapy, where the client is free to choose any directions, but actually selects positive and constructive pathways. This can only be explained in terms of a directional tendency inherent in the human organism-a tendency to grow, to develop, to realize its full potential. (Rogers, 1986) The aim of the Person Centred Therapy approach it can be argued is to create the right conditions for someone to feel actualised during therapy. There is a parallel between the work of the therapist in such a condition and the classrooms within which teachers operate. Education aims to develop the skills of the students in order for them to be able to fulfil their ambitions, or to strengthen this actualising tendency which lives within every child. As many of my colleagues will agree, the desire to self-actualise is stronger in some children than others. As a result of certain episodes in their personal lives some students become more engaged with education while others seem to become less engaged the older they get. This phenomenon can be in part explained by the Rogers’ explanation of Conditions of Worth. This is when a person alters their true self in order to receive positive regard from others. According to Rogers in order to become a fully functioning person we need to experience unconditional positive regard: feeling loved and worthy no matter what. â€Å"Conditions of worth† are the â€Å"requirements’ set forth by parents or significant others for â€Å"earning† their positive regard (love). A person that has received unconditional positive regard is confident in his/her value and can live a healthy existence. Throughout school and students are always victims of what teachers create as conditions of worth. As a teacher I am guilty of creating such an environment. Education seems to only be concerned with the high achievers. This is clearly seen in the standardised measure of success for schools which is the A*-C headline figure. For those students who do not fall in this bracket their self-esteem takes an irreparable dent. The worry is that these students have spent the whole of the secondary schooling in a state of anxiety. Unable to seek help or reassurances that the imposed condition of worth by the education system is not a true reflection of their inner self and they have become disengaged with education. The benefits of schooling can be surprisingly long lasting. It is crucial to appreciate that these long-term benefits rely on both effects on cognitive performance and effects of self-esteem and self-efficacy. School experiences of both academic and non-academic kinds can have a protective effect for children under stress and living otherwise unrewarding lives. Schools are about social experiences as well as scholastic learning. Rutter (1991) As a teacher I faced an inner conflict when dealing with students who I knew were disengaged. I wanted to reflect an Unconditional Positive Regard for the student allowing myself to positively regard the individual (though not necessarily the individual’s behaviours) unconditionally, but I was governed by the culture of the school and the education system. I was forced to sanction one student for the wrong behaviour and reward another for the correct behaviour thus doing a disservice to both students. For one student I was reinforcing a condition of worth which alters the true self in order to receive positive regard from the teacher, while for the other student I was further disengaging them by sanctioning their behaviour rather than having the time to fully discuss and support them to better themselves and as a by-product their behaviour also. Often as a teacher when dealing with students I would often offer the opportunity for them to make their own choices. This was particularly evident during option evenings where students would be accompanied by their parents. It is a common theme amongst these events that majority of the time the parents and the student’s do not always agree on what subjects to choose, or the student chooses a subject which they have been unknowingly pressured into by wanting to please their parents to satisfy a condition of worth. As Rogers would suggest the external pressure on the person is overbearing on their inner trust to do what they want. This phenomenon Rogers explained through the Locus of Evaluation. Some students with a strong internal locus of evaluation would be confident in choosing the subject that they truly wanted to choose. Often t I observed that students would prefer creative subjects such as Art, Music or Drama. The parents would suggest otherwise opting for what they felt was more appropriate disregarding what the student truly wanted to do. For those students with a strong external locus of evaluation they would succumb to the pressures by those they wanted to please the most, their parents. As an adolescent undertaking the transition from childhood towards adulthood, it can be one of discovery. These discoveries are not always pleasant or hard to come to terms with. The fully functioning person is one who has achieved openness to feelings and experiences and has learned to trust inner urges and intuitions Rogers (1961). Learning to trust these inner feelings is difficult at such a young age. Indeed I would argue adults would struggle with such a concept. According to Rogers, experiences that match the self-image are symbolised (admitted to consciousness) and contribute to gradual changes in the self. Information or feelings inconsistent with the self-image are said to be incongruent. For example it would be incongruent for a student to think of themselves as good at Art when all of their class colleagues keep telling them how poor their work is. Such experiences which are seriously incongruent with the self-image can be threatening. By denying these experiences it prevents the young adult from changing and creates a gap between their inner self image and reality. As a result the incongruent person becomes confused, vulnerable and dissatisfied. The complex social interaction between students during the school day can have a lasting effect on life and academic success. Some students would greatly benefit from support with dealing with the anxieties and pressures of the school day. Counselling into schools is not a new phenomenon. In the review by William Baginsky (2007) he suggested that in 1963 the Newsom Report, looking at education for children in the lower streams of secondary schools, recommended the appointment of school counsellors. In the same year, the National Association for Mental Health held a seminar at which the relationship between schools and counselling was discussed (King, 1999). There followed, from 1965, the establishment of courses at the Universities of Keele and Reading to train people with a minimum of five years’ teaching experience to be school counsellors (Bor et al. , 2002). Such initiatives are very commendable but the person centred counselling approach requires the client to want to change. The client has to want to come for counselling in order to face their anxieties and therein enter the Core Conditions as Rogers explains. Students cannot be forced into counselling in mainstream education. But for some it seems that they would value someone who is prepared to engage with them under the Core Conditions. The following quote is taken directly from a study in a secondary school which demonstrates the need for Person Centred Approach and how suitable it is in this context. ‘Students did want to talk about problems at home but they had no real expectations of staff being able to solve them. On the whole they just needed to air them. (McLaughlin et al. , 1995). In afore mentioned review by William Baginsky his review suggests that Rogers’ Person Centred Model easily lends itself perfectly to the school context because of its understanding of conflict between the ‘real self’ and the ‘self-concept’ and the positive experiences provided for clients through ‘empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard’. This was also the approach adopted by school counsellors of the 1960s and 1970s (McLaughlin, 1999) If teachers were to truly embrace the fundamentals of PCT they would have to face a crisis of their own. A helper who engages with a client under the core conditions of PCT are expected to remain completely impartial. By this I mean that they must not guide the client towards what they feel is the right route. For example when dealing with poor behaviour there should be respect and no judgment, however bad the behaviour, thus separating the person from the bad behaviour Gatongi (2007). Potentially this could lead to a situation where bad behaviour is not sanctioned and consequently send out wrong signals to other students. Not to mention parents and local authorities. It is also interesting to mention Rogers’ view on education. Rogers applied some of the experiences he learned from his work with adults to form a view on the way education should be practised. His humanistic views on education claimed that a person cannot teach another person directly; a person can only facilitate another’s learning (Rogers, 1951). This is a result of Rogers’ work on Personality Theory. This states that we as human beings exist in a constantly changing world of experience where we are at the centre. Rogers believed that what the student does is more important than what the teacher does, meaning that the individual experiences of the learner is essential to what is learned. The instructor should be open to learning from the students and also working to connect the students to the subject matter. Frequent interaction with the students will help achieve this goal. The instructor’s acceptance of being a mentor who guides rather than the expert who tells is instrumental to student-centred, nonthreatening, and unforced learning. (Rogers 1951). Reflecting on these paragraphs remind me that these are the reason why I initially entered into this profession. I value above all else the relationship between myself as the teacher and the student. In a very similar way in which the relationship between the client and person centred therapist is so crucial to the wellbeing of the client and valued above all else by the therapist. In a dialogue by Haugh and Paul it is discussed that it is accepted beyond doubt that the therapeutic conditions developed by Rogers are important factors in the success of all approaches. Furthermore it is suggested that client motivation is a much more significant predictor of outcome than therapist attitude or use of methods, Cooper (2008). For some clients they feel that the work by Rogers does not offer them the ability to measure progress in terms of their wellbeing or ability to change their behaviour. Cognitive-behavioural therapies for works in schools because its theoretical underpinning and therapeutic process are consistent with what pupils are already familiar with in school in approaches to the handling of ideas and study, Platts and Williamson (2000) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is derived from Aaron Beck’s cognitive model in 1976. This work has been developed to cater for many different situations and conditions. It is the most widely used method of counselling therapy in the National Health Service. According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) CBT can help how an individual thinks (cognitive) and what they do (behaviour). Unlike Psychodynamic counselling therapy which focusses on causes of distress in the past, it searches for ways to improve the clients’ state of mind in the present moment. CBT circles around what is described by the RCP as a vicious circle of four elements. The first of these elements is the situation. For some people a simple encounter in a street can trigger off Automatic Negative Thoughts. This leads to the person feeling low, sad and rejected. These feelings can then be manifested through physical pain such as stomach cramps. The final element is the action which is the person becoming more withdrawn and avoiding situations similar to the trigger incident. For some this simplified sequence can lead to depression. Aaron Beck recognised this pattern of events in his studies concerned with depression. Beck’s work claims that emotions are not produced by events but rather by interpretation of events. Through the interpretation of these events our minds begin to build up beliefs about ourselves. Beck found that depressed patients tended to avoid the situations that involved rejection or disapproval Squires (2001). For students this could mean truanting or the avoidance of school altogether. The beliefs that an individual then builds up about themselves can direct behaviour. It can cause an individual to enter an unconditional state of mind where they think of themselves as worthless. This can lead to medical implications which are manifested both physically and mentally. For many school children they are conditioned by culture and the education system that â€Å"I must do well in everything I do, otherwise I will be a failure†. This perception is one that I have witnessed first-hand on the numerous results day with which I have been involved. The tears and anxiety that was evident across the faces of these young adults was in essence my doing as a teacher. I had unwillingly conditioned them to value results above all else and for those who did not achieve I also set them up for a situation where they have to face their academic shortcomings. This situation can be described as a critical incident and is said to activate a dysfunctional belief which then produces negative automatic thoughts. The young adults are then left feeling â€Å"I am a failure, there’s no point doing anything! † This attitude occurs in every lesson. Student’s often lack the resolve to improve their own learning is not down to them not wanting to learn but more the fear of failure and the situation where their own dysfunctional beliefs produces negative thoughts. The frustration of these students is then exhibited through poor behaviour. Research indicates that CBT can be applied to students for whom behaviour is regarded an issue. One of the main strength of CBT is that it is very much lead by the therapist. There is a strict time limit where there are outcomes to be achieved and targets to be met before the next session. This is different to the therapy offered by the work of Carl Rogers which has also been identified as successful in a school context Baginsky (2004). Goals are clearly specified, decisions are made on how to best meet those goals and how to measure progress towards the goals to provide feedback Squires (2001). This approach is beneficial to school as it allows them to measure progress of the students. The progress can be measured through the amount of behaviour referrals one student may face throughout the school day. Bush (1996) suggests that CBT works because it sticks to the point, it is structured and it is focused. The main advantage of CBT is its adaptability to a number of situations. In schools its use is not only concerned with dealing or supporting poor behaviour of students. As the education system is resistant to migrate from the rigid examination process, I believe that CBT would be very useful in helping students to deal with the anxieties and pressures of exams. In such an instance it could be argued that the aim of CBT is to help the child to identify possible cognitive deficits and distortions, to reality-test them, and then to teach new skills or challenge irrational thoughts and beliefs, and replace them with more rational thinking (Kendall 1990). The CBT model is particularly useful as it involves the young adult to: (a) Recognise anxious feelings and bodily reactions to anxiety, (b) it helps to clarify thoughts or the mental process in anxiety provoking situations, (c) it allows the young adult to develop coping skills such as modifying self-anxious talk into coping self-talk (d) it allows to evaluate outcomes. The training methods involve realistic role plays where the client and counsellor are able to model actual life situations. The behavioural treatment is based upon the belief that fear and anxiety are learnt responses, that have been conditioned, and therefore these can be unlearned. CBT has been particularly helpful in helping students to deal with their own behaviour. Teachers would argue that there may be the link (although a weak one) between poor student behaviour and teacher wellbeing Hastings and Bham (2003). As a result school resources are often implemented to correct poor behaviour. There is also numerous research to justify that poor behaviour effects overall academic achievement. Poor academic performance is related to the onset, frequency, persistence, and seriousness of delinquent offending in both boys and girls. Higher academic performance, conversely, is associated with refraining or desisting from offending (Maguin & Loeber, 1996). In one study by squires he states that CBT can be used to support students with behavioural problems. In this research he concluded that with a six hour period of CBT counselling there had been improvements in the student behaviour. The students selected portrayed the necessary anxieties that would benefit from a period of CBT. Although this study is not conclusive it does support the belief that CBT can be used to improve self-control for students with behavioural difficulties. One particular quote from the study I believe demonstrates the benefit of CBT counselling: â€Å"I am able to talk about my feelings†. This for the student was a sign of real progress, which is one of the main advantages of CBT. Despite such quotes out of the 23 students that embarked on the counselling six did not complete the full sessions. This demonstrates that for some CBT is not their preferred type of counselling so it’s not a case of one method suits all. It is worth noting that these students were selected by their teachers rather than volunteering. Overall it can be argued that the research was successful in demonstrating that counselling can have a positive impact on student behaviour. I am certain that if more of the students that I worked with had the access to counselling or the opportunity to chat to members of staff then they may have had more rewarding experience of school. I am not suggesting that staff did not offer their support when students came knocking on the classroom door, but rather that they were not encouraged to do so. Teacher training I believe is in part to blame for this culture. As teachers we have been trained to teach in a very prescriptive manner focusing on the final products which in all cases are exam results. In order to achieve these exam results and avoid any external pressures and inquisitions we develop a routine of lessons which are planned to endure the students is prepared to achieve a target grade in that particular subject. Students are supported in school in order to achieve this singular objective. As a form tutor I valued the pastoral support that I was able to offer to my students. I indeed loved this role enormously as it was a rare opportunity to talk to students about what they wanted and not about what I had to cover in my syllabus. In a very cynic viewpoint, I believe that pastoral support was provided in order to support students to pass their exams and secondly to help with the day to day school life. It has been suggested that the psychological climate of many schools is now more akin to frightened organisations. These organisations live in fear of public punishment which stifles risk-taking despite hard work and the introduction of new initiatives. Watkins (1999) I am aware that for some students Person Centred Therapy may not work while for others they may be more responsive to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. I am confident that counselling has a very important role to play in education. There have been many models of counselling implemented in schools over the last half century. Twelve different models of counselling service provision are mentioned in a review commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Group when reviewing counselling into schools. Of the twelve mentioned I am familiar with three of the models mentioned. The school where I was employed had access to the services provided by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Their support was mainly accessed primarily through referrals from the school although the procedures were not always clear. Form tutors would not always be informed of tutees who would be working with the CAMHS group. Multi agency teams similar to the Behaviour and Education Support Teams also operated in conjunction with the local authority but it was again unclear how a child was referred to these sorts of support schemes. Although the school nurses made themselves known to the students counselling was not always a service that they readily advertised. This lack of awareness of counselling opportunities in my previous school does not seem to be an isolated incident. Indeed this is a recurring pattern, possibly explained by the findings of Welsh Assembly Group’ Review. During their research it became apparent that some school offered very little in terms of counselling. In quite a number of cases the counselling was covered by teaching staff or an external agency. Of the recommendations offered by the review the following statement is one that I can draw comparisons with from my previous experience. The lack of awareness on behalf of the teaching staff and also students made counselling almost a forgotten form of support. â€Å"Information about services must be readily available and informative, and referral systems must be developed that ensure the service is easily accessible to potential clients and their referrers. A school ethos in which counselling is understood as a professional activity and which regards counselling as an important part of its student support services is essential† As a teacher I value above all else the support that I am able to offer the student. Having embarked on this particular module I discovered that my profession required for me to display counselling skills. These were taken for granted that if I was to work with children that I should somehow possess these skills. These personal feelings were echoed before I embarked on my PGCE by researcher where it was claimed that in recent years there has been more concern in schools about cognitive, rather than psychosocial, development Lloyd (1999), I am a firm believer that skills can be taught and I begin to question why I was never offered the opportunity to develop counselling skills during my PGCE or further in my career in CPD sessions. The Welsh Assembly Group allude to budgets and lack of finance as a possible reason as to why these opportunities were never offered in schools. Budget allocations are the responsibility of the headmasters and above all else what they are most concerned with are grades. In the meantime all I can offer a student is guidance and an opportunity to listen to them and to not hijack the conversation or steer it away from their chosen topic. So therefore it would be foolish of me to expect sudden changes once I return to secondary teaching. Indeed I do not expect to see school counsellors in whichever school I will teach in. As with many education innovations it seems that there are pioneers full of good intention but lacking the support and strategies to get them to the Promised Land Robinson (1995) References Baginsky, M. (2004). Peer support: expectations and realities. Pastoral Care in Education, 22 1: 3-9. Baginsky, W. (2004): School Counselling in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: A Review: NSPCC Information Briefings Beck, A. T. (1976) Cognitive Therapy and Emotional Disorders. New York: New American Library Bor R. , Ebner-Landy J. , Gill S and Brace C (2002) Counselling in schools. London: Sage Publications. Bush, J. W. (1996). CBT—The Therapy Most Likely to Reward Your Hopes for a Better Life http://www. cognitivetherapy. com/ last accessed 21. 02. 2012 Cooper M, (2008) Essential research findings in counselling and psychotherapy: The facts are friendly. London: Sage. 2008: 307-390 Gatongi. F(2007) : Person-centred approach in schools: Is it the answer to disruptive behaviour in our classrooms? Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 20:2,pp 205-211 Hamblin D (1974) The teacher and counselling. Oxford: Blackwell. Hastings, R. , P. & Bham M, (2003) The Relationship between Student Behaviour Patterns and Teacher Burnout School Psychology International 2003 24:1pp 115-126 Kendall P, C. , (1996) Long-term follow -up of a cognitive-behavioural therapy for anxiety-disordered youth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology; 64:7 pp24–30 King G (1999) Counselling skills for teachers: talking matters. Buckingham: Open University Press. Lang P (1999) Counselling, counselling skills and encouraging pupils to talk: clarifying and addressing confusion. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling 27:1 pp 23-33. Lloyd G (1999) Ethical and supervision issues in the use of counselling and other helping skills with children and young people in school. Pastoral Care September 1999 Maguin, E. , & Loeber, R. (1996). Academic performance and delinquency. In M. Tonry (Ed. ), Crime and justice: A review of research (Vol. 20, pp. 145-264). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Marsick, J. , V. ,Watkins, E. , K. , (1999) â€Å"Looking again at learning in the learning organization: a tool that can turn into a weapon! â€Å", The Learning Organisation, 6: 5, pp. 207 – 211 McLaughlin, C (1999) Counselling in schools: looking back and looking forward. British Journal of Counselling and Guidance 27:1 pp 13-22. Mosley, J (1993) Is there a place for counselling in schools? Counselling May 1993 pp 104-105. Platts J and Williamson Y (2000) The use of cognitive-behavioural therapy for counselling in schools. In N Barwick Clinical counselling in schools. London: Routledge. Robinson B D (1996) School counsellors in England and Wales, 1965-1995; a flawed innovation? Pastoral Care in Education 14:3 pp 12-19. Robson M, Cohen N and McGuiness J (1999) Counselling, careers education and pastoral care: beyond the National Curriculum. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling 27:1 pp 5-11. Rogers, C. (1942). Counseling and psychotherapy. Boston, MA, Houghton Mifflin Rogers, C. (1951). Client Centred Therapy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Rogers, C (1961) On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Squires G (2001) Using cognitive behavioural psychology with groups of pupils to improve self-control of behaviour. Educational Psychology in Practice 17:4 pp 317-327. Trower, P. Casey, A. Dryden, W. (1999) Cognitive-Behavioural Counselling in Action. London: Sage.

Procter&Gamble Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Procter&Gamble - Essay Example ledge and learning, discipline and thoroughness are part of Procter and Gamble’s ideals of best practice.By implementing profit sharing, the company reinforces loyalty for the company, mutual respect and trust between management and workers. Among the principles and values are a deep commitment towards customers’ best interests, social service, employees’ welfare and business operations that are simple, direct and transparent. (Dyer et al, 2004: ix, 46, 305). Increasing intense competition from Unilever, Johnson and Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, L’Oreal and other companies is weakening the company’s position in the share market. Further, demand for consumer goods is impacted by the soundness of the United States economy and particularly by corporate profits. Also, investigators have uncovered the fact that animal testing is being done by the company in harsh conditions for its cosmetic and drug manufacturing units (Swasy, 1994: 196). Since consumers are aware of the ethics behind production and the need for corporate social responsibility, this may affect the marketability of its products. Acquisitions such as the recent one of Gillette prove to be mutually beneficial (Hannon, 2008: 46). Further, developing the different markets which are opening up opportunities for P & G to establish itself has to be done with priority product categories, and the organization to be developed to carry out the strategies have to be planned (Conklin, 2006: 189). Technological advances have made it possible to increase the rate of production several times, thus reducing overhead costs (Swasy, 1994: 97). With the aging population all over the world increasing in proportion, as compared to a decade earlier, the growing need for skin care and pharmaceutical products along with research development has opened up new opportunities in these spheres. Competitors have been devoting more research funds to cosmetics than to detergents or other products, with higher profit margins

Article review, It has to be related to government or Politics

Review, It has to be related to government or Politics - Article Example The current budge impasse is now on its second week and no end seems in sight due to the stiff bargaining positions taken by the Republican and Democratic Parties on the issue. The problem is that partisan politics can be a hindrance to a sensible solution because both parties do not want to give in to the demands of the other party; no one wants to be seen as capitulating as it can mean political defeat. The present shutdown is due to the recalcitrant action of a few Republican radicals who held an extreme view of the socialism espoused by the Democrats which is symbolized by Obamacare or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of March 23, 2010 (PPACA). These Republican congressmen belong to the fringes of the Republican party, to the so-called Tea Party but as the writer Wofford pointed out, even these people are not totally deaf and may listen to the reasonable voice of wisdom and conservatism, which are the people in Wall Street such as corporate leaders, bankers, and fin anciers. These people are rightly concerned how a government default on its debt (sovereign debts) can have disastrous consequences for the entire American economy and even to the entire world in a linked globalized economy. Ms. Carrie Wofford suggested that Wall Street people also talk to these few Republicans in the same manner they had talked with President Barack Obama earlier to warn of the dangers. Discussion Ms. Carrie Wofford once worked under the Clinton administration as a policy aide. She was also the senior strategist in the Democratic Senate before as she is a lawyer of some importance and brilliance. As such, she has been a lifetime Democrat and is expected to hold Democratic views and espouse the ideals held dear by the Democratic Party. She is a veteran also of many Democratic presidential and senatorial electoral campaigns so she knows quite well how to craft a political strategy that will achieve a stated aim, by reaching out to other parties or to the opposing sid e of a debate through compromise, cooperation, and co-optation. Considering her political orientation as a Democrat, it is safe to assume she wants to resolve the current shutdown by proposing the compromise mentioned earlier, in which Pres. Obama can likewise ask people on Wall Street to talk sense to House Speaker John Boehner so he in turn can convince the few Tea Party members to agree and acquiesce to a â€Å"clean bill† solution to resolve the budget deficits and to determine the exact debt ceiling to be allowed. It is also her years of work as a lawyer and as a former judge that she resorts to compromise to resolve this issue to the mutual benefit of both political parties and to the entire citizenry. In a sense, her position reflects her views as a Democrat, which is to be more flexible. The magazine U. S. News & World Report is a liberal and left-leaning magazine publication and is expected to espouse the views of liberalism and the Democratic Party. This political o rientation is similar to the .New York Times (NYT) which is the sister publication of the International Herald Tribune (IHT) which goes head-to-head with the conservative views of the right-leaning The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) which in turn reflects most of the views of the Republican Party as this party represents the interests of Big Business, in particular those corporate leaders who belong to Wall Street and the Fortune Big 500. So considering her own political leanings and the magazine she is writing for, her views can be ranked as moderate.

Quantitative Research Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Quantitative Research - Article Example sures that the researcher is neutral and not biased to the positive or even the negative side but stands neutral in order to solve the problem at hand. The literature review should be relevant to the problem being looked into and well understood to the researcher. The researcher must be in a position to understand what is really required of him so as to solve the problem at hand. The review might as well as include some other investigations that have been carried out on the problem or a problem related to the one in question. After having understood the problem the researcher should be able to identify the variables that affect or interfere with the research. If the variables have an effect on the outcome, then he or she ought to have to ways to neutralize or reduce the effect of the variables to achieve the desired results. The variables may either be dependent or independent variable, where the independent variable is the effect variable set by the investigator and it may also be considered to as the factor while the dependent variable is the observed or effect variable that is not set by the investigator. The tentative prediction or explanation of relationship between two or more variables to the problem at hand must also be looked into. It helps the investigator to translate the statement of the problem into a precise and ambiguous prediction of the outcome. Some research ideas may not have a definable hypothesis especially when they are descriptive. Hypothesis statements are most applicable in intervention and evaluation studies where comparisons are done on correlation for relationships. The objective in the research on English language learners is to help them achieve a better academic performance so that they may be in a get together with their peers in terms of class performance. Questions on how to achieve the objective should be formulated and suitable answers to obtained. In the English language learners case the major question should be how to

Religion Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religion - Annotated Bibliography Example The site also provides the legal religious rights held by the American citizens. It also extends information on shopping sources for Witchcraft and Wicca and other related materials. The website also provides critical articles written by experts in the subject. The website of American atheists has the objective to conserve the civil rights of atheists. The website strongly promotes the separation between church and the state. It also provides important information to the public about atheism. The information pertaining to the legal, political and mythological aspects of atheism is being effectively conveyed through the website. It also serves as a media for the extension of the activities of American atheists. Withes League for Public Awareness (WLPA) which was found in atheists in Salem, Massachusetts, in May, 1986 extensively work towards creating proper awareness among the public regarding proper understanding on witchcrafts. The vision of the organization is a world free from religious persecution. The organization was founded by Rev. Laurie Cabot H.Ps. The American atheist works towards the rights of atheists. The organization was founded by Madalyn Murray O’Hair almost thirty years ago from now. It works for the active separation between the state and religion and arrange conventions and gatherings for this cause. The organization actively publishes books and disseminates information on the philosophy they preach. Its volunteers also work towards the preservation of the literatures and documents pertaining to the history of atheism. The website of WLPA critically comments on the prejudiced view of the society towards witchcraft. It also mentions the misconceptions of common public on witchcraft. The website also clearly points out the misappropriated ways by which the society approaches Witchcraft. The behavioral approach of the society to blame Wicca and Witchcraft for certain behaviors has been strongly criticized. The

Analysis of Black History Month Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Analysis of Black History Month - Essay Example Celebrating African American history does a lot more than simply show us the contributions African Americans have made to society; it also promotes the idea of equality and understanding for all races which make up our society. Appreciation for black history does not have to be concerned with events and situations which developed concerning African Americans since they can also focus on individuals. People such as Willie Brown become good examples of how influential African Americans have been in recent history as Willie Brown served for more than three decades in the California State Assembly and remained the speaker of the body for fourteen years. He continued his political career to become the only African American Mayor to govern San Francisco as a Democratic Party member (Wikipedia, 2008). Going further back in time, we have figures such as Malcolm X who started off as a petty thief and ended up being one of the greatest leaders in American history. We can certainly compare his life to other leaders who went through trials and confrontations before coming to terms with their thoughts and their understanding of the world. However, Malcolm X often met opposition from those who respected and admired him once he changed his viewpoints about violence and the use of force. Malcolm was one of the major black leaders to advocate equality and understanding towards peoples of all religions whether they be Muslim or Christian (Wikipedia, 2008). Even further in history, we have Frederick Douglass who is perhaps the greatest African American leader produced by the country. He was a lot more than a mere politician since he was an author, a reformer, an abolitionist and a magnificent orator.  

Aging and Health Among the Senior Population Essay

Aging and Health Among the Senior Population - Essay Example These items were reviewed individually and then summed up as a total to establish an assessment about the driver. The covariates of the study were age, gender, race, health status, physical functioning, vision and driving exposure. Driving exposure was calculated by the DHQ assessment, among other things. Further covariates were self-filled by the drivers. The sample included participants from an ongoing Senior Driver Research Project, which was designed to examine the validity and reliability of the OFOV test. There was collaboration with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and licensed drivers aged 75 and above who live in Alabama were chosen. The potential participants were contacted via a letter, were given a toll-free number to return to, and those who had agreed to participate were met by trained staff at 11 designated locations. There they were tested in the UFOV and performed satisfactorily in the test and were eligible for the study. A total number of 1,543 people participated, their mean age was 79.73. 41.7% were women, 2.7% were non-Caucasian. The University of Alabama approved all the procedures, and participants signed on consent to the study (Ozioma, Okonkwo, Virginia & Karlene, 2008). The study found that drivers of over 75 avoided driving in bad weather more than they avoided any other type of situation. Other avoidance situations were driving at night, at traffic roads, in unfamiliar territories and making left-hand turns. Another important find of this study was that drivers with higher risks for motor vehicle accidents due to deficits in visual attention reported greater avoidance relative to those who had a lower risk of being involved in car crashes. This was fairly the same in all the situations (Ozioma, Okonkwo, Virginia & Karlene, 2008).. These findings were consistent with previous ones,

What are the legal and the social standing of women in the early 1800s Essay

What are the legal and the social standing of women in the early 1800s - Essay Example This paper will discuss the legal and the social status that women had during the period of 18th century, especially focusing on the early years of the century. Body The status of women during the 18th century can clearly be understood through the theory of power, dominant and non-dominant class of George M. Fredrickson (Fredrickson, n.d.). According to Fredrickson there is a dominant group that owns and controls all the rights and they do not offer these rights to other individuals of the society and this group thinks that they are superior to other individuals of the society. Similarly women during the 1800s and before were recognized as weak by men as men were the people who formed the elite group and represented the dominant class. During the 1800s men worked in jobs where they were the producers of goods and services and women and their children stayed home. During the 1800s century, the myth was that women were weaker as compared to men and did not have the ability to conduct w ork that required intellectual and muscular power. This created a view that working in organizations was very hard and the role could only be conducted by women. During this period, the domestic chores such as taking care of home and making food were assigned to women and men were involved in labor that required both mental and physical fitness such as hunting and plowing. (Welter, 1996). The task that women conducted was quite heavy in nature but they were not realized as tasks that require strong physical and mental health. The main task that a woman had during the 19th century was giving birth to a child and they used to remain busy in this task for quite a long period of time. In the 1800s the majority of the population of America shared a belief that women were inclined towards religion and they were thought of as individuals who would work with God and will ensure that the world is free of evil through their love which was categorized as pure and full of passion and suffering. Religion was found to be the best associate of women as they could easily practice it within the boundary lines of their homes. No woman was allowed to stand against or not practice religion and those females who did so were treated in a negative manner. Women were highly regarded for their purity and sex before marriage was seen as a curse and an illegal form of activity. According to Thomas Jefferson’s concept of cultural assimilation those who had less power and rights should accept the norms and cultural values of those who were dominant in society. Thomas Jefferson’s theory of assimilation can be applied to the men and women of the 1800s. This is because men had more resources and they were the dominant ones, so the women who had fewer rights and were the non-dominant ones had to accept what their husbands had to give to them and comply with the demands of the husbands of that period. During the early period of the 19th century women even had an inferior status a ccording to law. Those females who were used to give up own identity and all the assets owned were transferred within the control of their husbands. The US law was even based on the idea that man had similar ownership over his wife and children as ownership of property. Fathers used to make decisions and law directed women to obey their husbands’ decision. Later during the 1830s and the 1840s certain changes to law were made. One such law was the Equity law that focused on giving equal rights to men and women. During the era of 1839, a woman legally had a right to sue her husband and

Integumentary System Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Integumentary System - Lab Report Example This occurs after the neuron has reached action potential and it is the time that is necessary before the neuron is ready to stimulate the movement of ions for another electrical charge. There are two different kinds of refractory periods: absolute and relative. Absolute refractory periods are when it is impossible to initiate another transmission of electrical charge after action potential is reached. Relative refractory periods are which transmission of another electrical charge is inhibited, but it is not impossible to initiate. There are three different states in which neurons must exist in order to produce neural communication: depolarization, repolarization and hyperpolarization. Depolarization is when the inside of the cell becomes more increasingly positive as ions move in and out. If there is enough movement of ions to create a large change in electrical potential, action potential will result. Repolarization occurs after depolarization and action potential have occurred. Du ring this, ions move back into the cell which causes it to be negative again. Hyperpolarization is when the cell becomes increasingly negative which can inhibit action potential from being reached which inhibits the cell from transmitting an electrochemical signal.

Online Therapy Essay Example for Free

Online Therapy Essay Little by little the internet and technology are expanding to incorporate more aspects of our daily lives. The expansion is so vast, one can now do Just about anything online. On line advances has no doubt positively contributed to businesses, education, communication, and quality of life in general, but when does one draw the line? Healthcare is a very serious subject because it deals with peoples lives and well being. Potential problems that may arise from it are not monetary, like those involved with losing a Job or failing a school course, but deal with lives and peoples weakest and perhaps most uncontrollable side of life. Psychological disorders usually arise from events and sources not under the control of patients. Unlike purchasing the wrong stock at the wrong time or having an unsuccessful online business presentation, depression, addiction, phobias, and other psychological disorders are delicate matters that are not a result of bad decision making, however, much like every service the internet offers us, cyber psychology does have its advantages and disadvantages. Disadvantages and Solutions: The first glaring disadvantage is the loss of essential elements with the lack of face to face interactions. The fact that psychology is the study of behavior, it is imperative for a therapist to get a grasp on the patients complete behavior, which includes, but is not limited to, facial movements and body movements, tone of voice, posture, and appearance. To fully understand a client, a therapist must be able to be privvy to this side of the individuals personality to accurately diagnose and ultimately heal a problem or disorder. One way to solve this disadvantage could be for the therapist to request an initial face-to-face assessment that can then be followed by online treatments of various sorts. This enhances the screening process and leaves no room for misinterpretation or misdiagnosis that can arise from lack of personal interaction. Also, for cases or procedures involving video conferencing and webcam interactions, it is crutial for websites to continue to improve the video quality to avoid missing any words or movements that may be crucial to analyzing behaviors. Maybe once video conferencing is perfected, it will increase the validity of such therapeutic media and allow it to replace the need for an initial in person interaction. A second concern involved with web therapy is security. We are surrounded by warning signs oncerning various web securities, including scams, hacks, and phishing sites. In the past, we have seen many cases serious enough to make it to the news to increase awareness and warn people of the seriousness of certain situations. It is almost possible for hackers to invade most sites and this compromises the privacy of patients personal and diagnostic information. Also, confirming the validity of particular sites may be hard on some people since scam sites go into extreme measures to mimic credible sites. The fact that most on-line therapies require payment in advance, may seem tempting for people who make a living from online camming. Another potential leak in privacy may unintentionally arise from the clients themselves; the use of public computers or implying improper security features and practices to ones personal computer. To counteract security problems, websites are constantly working on maintain security and privacy. It is important for releasing financial or personal and emotional information. Psychologists are required to practice therapy in state(s) of which they are licensed for practice. Cyber therapy offers ways to go around that law. A patient, for example, may claim different residence to receive treatment from a particular therapist of agency. Also, since the world wide web spreads, well, worldwide, theres a chance that some of the sites are run internationally and this may give rise to cultural disconnect problems from misunderstanding situations, actions, and settings. Proper monitoring should be implemented on cyber therapy websites to avoid such breaches and complications. Advantages of Online Therapy: There are several advantages associates with online therapy. Time is something that seems to be becoming more scarce and harder to manage. Finding a service that can be molded around ones schedule, convenience, or from the privacy of ones ome is important to many people in todays fast paced way of life. Online therapy also offers a geographic advantage for people living in rural areas or people with transportation limitations. In addition, people with physical disabilities may now have an easier method of behavior therapy that does not interfere with their health issues. Finally, a very crucial advantage is financial. Online therapy makes it cheaper and thus easier to receive mental health therapy. Because of the lack of an office or facilities, transportation expenses, and the availability of different program levels to hoose from, therapy became an attainable thing and a cry for help that was heard by cyber space. The options of sending an email or having a telephone therapy session gives many benefits with the elimination of extended time charges and various office visit associated expenses. Websites Offering Online Therapy: The Online Therapy Institute is a website designated primarily for therapist seeking to introduce online therapy as an option to their practice. It offers intensive information about how to set up an online therapy site and what the rules and regulations are and general guidelines to follow to provide proper therapeutic echniques. It also assists therapists in the initial stages and provides a reference for any upcoming issues. E-Therapists Online provides services for patients seeking online therapy via e- mail, private chats, and phone counseling. It provides clear instructions on how to begin therapy and also price guideline. Payment is due prior to therapy. For example, an e-mail session costs $39. 95 and 4 e-mail sessions cost $149. 00. Telephone or chats cost $95. 00 for 60 minutes and $623. 00 for 7 60 minute chats or calls. Headworks is another website similar to e-therapists online. In addition to the ervices that e-therapists online provides, they offer free self-help information and customized services. Conclusion: Online therapy definitely has its advantages, but it should also be handled carefully. Not all cases of mental health should be able to be treated via cyber psychotherapy because some are much more complicated and need in person therapy. Once this service is solidified, this service will be more ideal for people who are in need of minor therapy, interaction with people, behavioral help, and guidelines in life but are unable to do face-to-face therapy for geographical or financial constrains.

Impact of the Digital Divide

Impact of the Digital Divide OECD (2001, P5) defined the digital divide as â€Å"the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels [and other demographic levels] with regard both to their opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities.† When we refer digital divide, we refer not only the opportunities to access to or use of ICTs but also the ability or knowledge of using ICTs. Besides, the statement â€Å"nearly everyone has a mobile phone† is falsified, 15% adults in US didn’t have cellphone until 2011 (Zickuhr, 2011).Therefore, digital divide still is an important issue. Digital divide exists in different countries and different regional areas and social groups within countries. There are two types of digital divide: domestic digital divide and international digital divide. In this article, I will discuss domestic digital divide at first. Th en I will discuss international digital divide and how it forms. Finally, I will discuss why digital divide matters. Couldry (2007) pointed out the complexity of digital divide. He thought digital divide was complex because there were at least two situations of digital divide: domestic divide and international divide. First, it involves the gap between those who can access to ICTs and those who cannot within countries. Secondly, it involves the absolute gap of communication facilities, information transmission capacity, the amount of computers and network hosts, the amount of telephone users and such other aspects between countries. Within countries, people have different access to ICTs because of their gender, income, race and region (Rice, 2006), which splits them into information rich and information poor. In US, the poor, the old, minorities, less educated people and rural residents had less access to ICTs. Comparing racial groups, African-Americans and Latinos have less access to and worse skills of ICTs. Because of poverty caused by racism, they have limited opportunities to learn about and use ICTs. Until 2011, 82.7% Asian-Americans could assess to the Internet and computer, but only 56.9% Black and 58.3% Hispanic could. Besides, rural Native Americans possessed the fewest telephones, followed by rural Hispanics and rural Blacks. Black households possessed fewest PCs. Comparing age groups, 95% of people between 18 and 34 were cellphone users, and only 48% of people older than 75 used cellphones. 59% and 52% US citizens possessed desktop and laptop, and only 28% of people over 75 possessed desktop and 10% possessed laptop. Until 2013, 81.9% of people between 35 and 44 could assess to the Internet and computer, while 61.7% of people older than 55 could. Besides, rural young under 25 possessed fewest telephones, and rural old over 55 possessed fewest PCs. Comparing income groups, the poorest households in central cities possessed fewest telephones, followed by the rural poor and the urban poor. The rural poor possess fewest PCs. Comparing educational level groups, 89.9% of people with bachelor degree or higher could assess to the Internet and computer, but only 36.9% of people without high school degree could (File, 2013; Mossberger, Tolbert, Gilbert, 2006; NTIA, 1995; Zickuhr, 2011). Unbalanced ICTs use also can be found in Canada. The old and the poor had less access to cellphones and Internet. Only 3.5% of people from the lowest income group could access to the Internet (Sciadas, 2000). Additionally, unbalanced Internet use between different social groups and regional areas was obv ious in China. Until 2007, among Internet users, 32.3% of them were students, while only 0.4% of them were peasants. 82.9% Internet users were urban residents. The Internet penetration rate was 20.2 in urban areas and only 3.1 in rural areas. East areas had higher penetration rate than central and west areas. Until 2012, Internet users increased to 516 million. 55.9% of them were male and 44.1% were female. Besides, 29.8% of people between 20 and 29 were Internet users while only 4.8% of people older than 50 were Internet users (CNNIC, 2007, 2012). From these data, we find domestic digital divide occurs in both developed countries and developing countries. Furthermore, with the rapid development of ICT and expansion of globalization, international digital divide becomes an important issue. Nowadays, countries have more connections with each other than before, and they have more influence on each other as well. Digital divide between countries causes serious problems. Firstly, ICTs develop rapidly in both developed countries and developing countries. The UN Millennium Development Goals report: 2008 showed the number of fixed telephone and mobile users increased from 530 million in 1990 to 4 billion. From 2005, the number of new mobile users rapidly increased by more than 500 million, and until 2006, the total number of mobile users increased to more than 2.7 billion. The amount of mobile users grew faster in the areas where the amount of fixed telephone users was small. In 2006, the number of new mobile users increased by 60 million in Africa. There were more mobile users than fixed telephone users in almost every country. By the end of 2006, 22% Africans use mobiles, and 3% Africans used fixed telephone and 5% Africans used the Internet. By the end of 2006, 1.2 billion people on the earth could access to the Internet, which occupied more than 18% of the whole population (UN, 2008). Network construction improves poverty alleviation, education and employment in developing countries. With the development of technology and the widespread use of broadband, there were more opportunities for developing countries to catch up with developed countries. However, according to current spread speed and development trend, although developing countries showed faster rates of growth in network development than developed countries (Fink Kenny, 2003), the digital divide will exist for a long term and hardly be diminished in a short term because the existing gap between developed countries and developing countries was huge. The UN Millennium Development Goals report: 2008 showed Internet penetration rate was 58 in developed countries and 11 in developing countries and 1 in the least developed countries. Until 2006, there was no commercial broadband service in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and even if there was, people cannot afford to the expensive service fees. But broadband technology stimulates the wide use of Internet in developed countries. The Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008 published by World Economic Forum (2008) ranked the Networked Readiness Index of 127 developed and developing economic entities which occup ied 95 percent of global GDP. The top 20 were: Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands, the United States, Singapore, Iceland, South Korea, Norway, Hong Kong, the UK, Canada, Australia, Austria, Germany, Taiwan, Israel, Japan, Estonia. Most of them were European and North American developed countries, and only a few of them were emerging economies. Most Asian, African and Latin-American countries were ranked low. Data from International Telecommunication Union showed in developed countries about 77% people could access to broadband Internet, while in developing countries only 31% could. What’s worse? There were about 4.5 billion people cannot access to Internet, which occupied 66% of the whole population on the earth (Chinn, Fairlie, 2007). In 2001, the computer penetration rate and Internet penetration rate of North America were 61.1 and 49.8 respectively. In contrast, they were only 0.5 and 0.6 respectively in South Asia (Chinn, Fairlie, 2007). In 2002, 59% US citizens used Internet, but only 4.8% Chinese used Internet (Chen Wellman, 2004). Until 2011, the Internet penetration rate of Iceland was 97.8, and the average rate of top 50 countries was 78.6, but the rate of the rest of world was only 25 (Internet Usage Stats and Population Statistics, 2011). From these data, we could find huge a digital divide between developed countries and developing countries. International digital divide continues to enlarge as the gap of economic development and education level between countries enlarges. The difference of economic development between countries is a main cause of digital divide. In the early stage of development, a large amount of fund needs to be invested in digital information industry and information communication infrastructure. Developed countries possessed more resources including but not limited to capital to innovate and apply to ICTs. They had abundant money investing in research field and ICT infrastructure construction, while many developing countries could not afford to undertake large amount of capital investment. Therefore, developed countries had more advantages in digital information industry, especially in research field. Many underdeveloped countries became digital indigent countries because of underdeveloped digital information technology and infrastructure. Lack of telephones and computers, low network transmission ca pacity and deficient telecom infrastructure increase the difficulties to start digital economy for developing countries; lack of updated software and technology and expensive Internet service fees impede the development of digital information technology in developing countries. Therefore, an increasing number of developing countries became more backward as they are isolated by digital technology and information resources; developed countries enjoy the convenience of low-cost and high-speed information. Imbalanced distribution of information is closely related to imbalanced distribution of global wealth. Additionally, the difference of education level between countries is another major contributor of international digital divide. Education level determines people’s ability to use and develop digital information technology, and people’s ability of ICT use determines the foundation of developing a digital information technology society and how much technology weighs on the economic structure of their country. Because of better education, people in developed countries are better at using new technologies than people in developing and underdeveloped countries. In developing and underdeveloped countries, the low level of ICTs education was attributed to the following reasons (Nair, Kuppusamy, Davison, 2005). Firstly, there were no sufficient ICTs facilities in the school. For instance, in Argentina, 82% private schools and 51% public schools had ICTs facilities; in Peru, only 13% public schools had ICT facilities, so students had unequal access to ICTs (Hilbert, 2011). Seco ndly, there were limited numbers of competent teachers who master ICT applications in educational institutions in these countries. Thirdly, there were short of public ICTs facilities for educational purpose in these countries. To sum up, the backward education level directly restricts the development of ICTs in developing countries. Digital divide should be attached importance to, because it negatively affects social and international stabilities. Digital divide widens the gap between rich and poor, polarizing people within countries, causing social conflicts, enlarging the gap between developed countries and developing countries, hindering the development of developing countries, and leads to digital hegemony which threats international security. Firstly, an increasing domestic digital divide leads to many social problems within countries. Now it’s information society, and information becomes more important than capital. Poverty means not only wealth shortage but also information shortage. People need unblocked and updated information to innovate or catch the opportunity to make fortune. Limited access to ICTs means limited opportunities to create fortune, and digital divide increases the polarization of the rich and the poor within countries. Wealth gap in virtual world is related to wealth gap in reality. People who are excluded by information society are isolated from mainstream political and economic life and have to suffer from long term poverty and developmental stagnation. Increasing digital divide makes people who have gotten rid of poverty become poor again. If this problem is not solved, the informatization of a country cannot be accomplished, and digital divide will split people into two worlds. One world is heaven for information rich while another world is hell for information poor, and the polarization of wealth becomes more serious and leads to social tensions. What’s worse? As information technology grows so fast, the period of upgrading become shorter and new digital divide comes when old digital divide still exists. Secondly, digital divide widens the wealth gap. It is the product of wealth gap, and it widens this gap, which forms a vicious circle. From economic perspective, ICT becomes a new source of fortune, and digital divide increases the difference of ability to create fortune in information era. Large amounts of labor are idle and large amounts of labor can only work in traditional agricultural sector and traditional industrial sector because they lack relevant knowledge and cannot engage in modern economic activities which create a great deal of fortune. Besides, the difference of ability to use information technology and obtain useful information between people from different countries and different social groups leads to the Matthew Effect. Because of digital information technology, rich become richer and poor become poorer; developed countries become more developed and underdeveloped countries become more underdeveloped. Therefore, ICTs benefit people and countries on the advantage si de of digital divide and widen the development gap between those â€Å"haves† and â€Å"have nots†. Thirdly, international digital divide hinders the economic development of developing countries. In the information economy era, ICT plays a vital role in the enhancement of productivity, creativity and competitiveness of a country, and information and talented people become vital endogenous variables. In that case, the advantages of cheap labor and abundant land and resources in developing countries are weakened, and the international competitiveness of developing countries is lowered. In developing countries, most people work in primary and secondary industry, and only a few people engage in ICTs related work. In china, only 200 million Internet users engaged in E-commerce, including online shopping (CNNIC, 2012). Raven, Huang and Kim (2007) thought there were many obstacles in using the Internet and e-commerce in developing countries, such as low demand of commercial network integration caused by poverty, and lack of infrastructure to participate in network commercial activities be cause of no support from government. Inactive involvement in digital economy hinders developing countries from benefiting from increasingly growing digital economy, which increases the economic gap between developing countries and developed countries. As developing countries lagged far behind developed countries at first and disadvantaged is intensified by digital divide, developing countries suffer from serious asymmetric information and have less opportunities to create fortune. To conclude, digital divide increases the differences of economic development between countries and negatively affect the economic development of developing and underdeveloped countries. Finally, digital divide also causes digital hegemony. Some countries which have monopoly in digital technology field obstruct and suppress the freedom of using and developing information technology for other countries and impose their own values and ideologies on other countries in order to benefit themselves. Digital divide provides opportunities for those countries to carry out digital hegemony. For example, until 2002, US had 4.11 million to 4.12 million Internet hosts, which occupied more than 80% of the total amount of hosts in the world (Norris, 2000). Besides, most information on the Internet was provided by the United States. US government uses its absolute advantage on the Internet to conduct ideological and cultural infiltration into other countries. US tries to dominate other countries in digital field and control users’ computers instead of letting users control their own computers. In conclusion, the development of ICTs has greatly changed the way people live and work and become a driver of the expansion of economic globalization. Besides, it brings about opportunities for developing countries. However, there’s a huge digital divide between people with different genders, races, socio-economics status and nationalities. Digital divide causes two main problems. Firstly, digital divide intensifies unfair allocation of social wealth and other social conflicts. It turns information poor into real poor. Lack of information means lack of opportunities to make fortune, and limited money means limited access to ICTs. Those who cannot access to ICT cannot benefit from ICT. Digital divide forms a loop of poverty for the poor. Secondly, digital divide brings about challenges to developing countries. As the progress of ICT promotes social and economic development, digital divide widens the gap of national power between developed countries and developing countries as well as threats international security and stability. Therefore, problems caused by digital divide should draw attention from governments, international organizations and academia. To diminish domestic digital divide, government should narrow wealth gap nationally as well as identify people who are on the disadvantage side of digital divide and effectively support them. Diminishing domestic digital divide maintains social stability and promotes the balanced development of a country. To diminish international digital divide, developing and underdeveloped countries need to invest more in constructing of infrastructure of ICTs. Governments need to invest largely in education and skills training to cultivate a large number of information literate or qualified personnel who have the ability to innovate and master advanced technology. Besides, developed countries should break technological monopoly and support developing and underdeveloped countries financially and technologically. Furthe rmore, international organizations need to financially support developing and underdeveloped countries to construct infrastructure of ICTs and provide opportunities for technical personnel from these countries to go to developed countries to learn advanced technology and be trained. Diminishing international digital divide not only narrows the gap of national power between countries but also balances global economic development. Above all, digital divide is a vital issue which needs to be pay attention to.

Factors Affecting Financial Reporting Quality

Factors Affecting Financial Reporting Quality Financial Reporting Standards Financial Reporting Standards (FRSs) and Accounting concepts influence the production and presentation of financial statements. The FRSs that influence the production of financial statements are: FRS 3 Reporting Financial Performance The FRS sets out the basis for presentation of general purpose financial statements in a manner that ensures comparability. As the FRS requires reporting entities to highlight financial performance to aid the users in understanding the performance achieved, it sets out the overall framework for the presentation of financial statements. It also lays down the guidelines for the structure of financial statements and defines the overall considerations for financial statements, such as fair presentation, accrual basis of accounting, consistency of presentation, materiality and aggregation, and comparative information. This impacts the way profit and financial performance is reported and also the valuation of the assets and liabilities. It helps the users of accounts compare financial statements both with the entitys financial statements of previous periods and with the financial statements of other entities. FRS 15 Tangible Fixed Assets FRS 15 sets out the principles of accounting for initial measurement valuation and depreciation. It ensures that tangible fixed assets are accounted for on a consistent basis. It requires residual values to be reviewed at each balance sheet date. This impacts the valuation of tangible fixed assets. IAS 2 Valuation of Inventories This accounting standard sets out the accounting treatment for inventories. It provides guidance for determining the cost of inventories. It is due to this standard a loss due to damaged goods is excluded from inventory cost. The three concepts that have influenced the production of the financial statements are: Accrual concept The financial statements have been prepared on an accruals basis. The accrual concept, also known as matching principle, requires that transactions are reflected in the accounts of the period to which they relate to and not in the period in which payments are made or received. Impact of Accrual Concept on Profit When a trading and profit loss account for a period is compiled, the cost of goods sold relevant to the sales made during the period should be recorded accurately and in full in that account. Costs and incomes concerning a future period such as prepaid expenses and pre-received income must be carried forward as a prepayment for that period and not charged in the current profit statement. For example, prepaid general administrative expenses would be carried forward to the period they relate to. Similarly, expenses accrued or income accrued will be included in the current periods profit statement by means of an accruals adjustment. For example, manufacturing wages accrued will be added to manufacturing wages for the current period. Impact of Accrual Concept on Assets / Liabilities All prepaid expenses and accrued income will be treated as assets and accrued expenses and pre-received incomes will be treated as liabilities. Going Concern Concept Going concern concept is a part of UK statute law. This concept assumes that the business under consideration will remain in existence for the foreseeable future. Without this concept, accounts will have to be drawn up on the basis of what the business is likely to be worth if it is sold gradually at the date of the accounts. Impact of Going Concern Concept on Profit When an entity has a history of profitable operations and has a ready access to financial resources, one can conclude that the organisation will remain in existence for the foreseeable future. For example, as Appleby Oakley and Company has regularly been making profits, one can comfortably draw a conclusion on going concern concept. Impact of Going Concern Concept on Assets / Liabilities Going concern concept impacts the valuation of assets and liabilities. Due to the going concern concept, the values placed on continuing business assets and liabilities are different from the value placed on the assets and liabilities of a closing business. For example, stock is normally valued at cost price but if business were about to close down trading then it will be more relevant to use resale value of stock. Impact of Going Concern Concept on Users of Accounts Going concern concept impacts the decision making of users of accounts. For example, management may need to consider a wide range of factors relating to current and expected profitability, potential sources of replacement financing etc. while taking decisions. Consistency Concept The concept of consistency has been applied because the methods employed in treating certain items such as depreciation within the accounting records may be varied from time to time. According to consistency concept, once a business has decided which accounting methods it is going to apply and how it is going to interpret the various rules of accounting, it should be consistent in all matters from year to year. This is necessary to enable comparison of the results of the business from year to year. Impact of Consistency Concept on Profit If the consistency concept is not there, a business can merely change an accounting method to vary the profits. For example, if a business wishes, it may vary the depreciation rates or method of depreciation at and alter the reported profits. Consider the effects on profit of charging depreciation at 15% this year on  £10,000 worth of fixed assets and then charging depreciation at 10% next year on the same  £10,000 worth of fixed assets. This year you would charge  £1,500 against profits and next year it would be only  £1,000, using the straight line method of providing for depreciation. Impact of Consistency Concept on Assets / Liabilities If there is no consistency in the accounting methods, the assets and liabilities reported in different years will not be comparable. Impact of Consistency Concept on Users of Accounts Users of accounts including investors, management etc. can make more meaningful comparisons of financial performance of the organization from year to year. Partnership Salaries All partners have a right to work in and manage the partnership business. The partners may make arrangements amongst themselves whereby a partner may be entitled to a salary. Partnership salary includes remuneration drawn by a partner from the partnership funds for acting in the partnership business. An agreement to pay a partnership salary to a partner for a special project is an internal arrangement. The effect of the arrangement is that the partner receives a fixed part of the profits of the partnership before the remaining part falls to be divided among the partners in the appropriate proportions. The impact of partnership salary is only on the way the partnerships funds are applied as between the partners. A partner drawing a salary is not an employee and any salary paid to the partner cannot be claimed as a deduction from net profits. Therefore, one can neither treat a partnership salary as a true salary, nor an expense of the partnership, but only as a distribution of partners hip profits to the recipient partner. If Appleby suggests that he receives a salary, he will still be a partner and cannot be treated as an employee of a partnership. This implies that the partnership will not be able to claim a deduction for Appleby’s salary. Similarly, Appleby’s salary cannot create or increase a partnership loss. In reality, Appleby’s salary will be a mere allocation or advancement of profits prior to general distribution and will not be taken into account in calculating the net partnership income or loss. Appleby will need to show the amount received as salary as his income on his tax return. The amounts distributed to Appleby will be brought into account in computing his interest in the profits or assets of the partnership. However, the amount paid as salary is still regarded as constituting part of the profits of the partnership If Appleby gets a salary of  £2,500 per month, profit share of Oakley will reduce from  £85915 to  £73915 as illustrated below: Asset Depreciation In general, an asset can be depreciated if it meets ALL of the following requirements: The asset is used in a trade or business or held for the production of income as an investment property. The asset has a finite period of usefulness in the business that can be estimated and is longer than one year. The asset is susceptible to wear and tear, natural deterioration through interaction of the elements, or technical obsolescence. GAAP specifically excludes land from computation of depreciation. Land normally has indefinite economic life and it does not decline in economic value as a consequence of wear and tear, natural deterioration through interaction of the elements, or technical obsolescence. Therefore, it fails to satisfy the second and the third conditions for an asset to be depreciated. Land is probably the most common asset that is not depreciable. However, buildings may be depreciable. Generally, if such is the case then the cost of the land must be separated from the cost of the building for depreciation purposes. In the scenario under discussion, land and buildings are assumed to imply land and therefore not depreciable. References: Reporting Financial Performance, Available from: http://www.frc.org.uk/asb/technical/standards/pub0102.html, [Accessed 20 November, 2006] International Financial Reporting Standards, Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Financial_Reporting_Standards, [Accessed 20 November, 2006] Accounting Concepts and Conventions, Available from: http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=69109, [Accessed 22 November, 2006] ANNEXURE A Assumptions and Working Notes for Task 1-2-3 Assumptions: 1. As the scenario merely states that overheads are apportioned between the factory and the administration/other sections and does not specify a share (except in the case of insurance), following share of overheads is assumed: Rent: factory 1/3 administration etc.2/3 Light and heat: Factory 1/2, administration etc.  ½ Insurance : Factory 1/4, administration etc. 3/4 (given) 2. It is assumed that the accumulated depreciation figures in the trial balance are before taking into account the current year’s depreciation. Working Notes: Cost of Raw Material Consumed = Opening Stock of Raw Material + Purchases of Raw Material – Closing stock of raw material = £12800 + £274500 - £8500 Depreciation on Plant Machinery Plant Machinery at Cost Price=  £31000 Accumulated Depreciation= £18100 Written down value as on 31 December 2003=  £31000- £18100= £12900 Depreciation = 15% on written down value = 15% of 12900=  £1935 Depreciation on Furniture and Fixtures Furniture and Fixtures at Cost Price=  £34700 Depreciation = 10% on straight line basis = 10% of  £34700=  £3470 Depreciation on Motor Vehicles Motor Vehicles at Cost Price=  £28800 Accumulated Depreciation= £12600 Written down value as on 31 December 2003=  £28800- £12600= £16200 Depreciation = 15% on written down value = 20% of 16200=  £3240 There is a 10% mark-up on manufacturing cost. As finished goods are valued at factory cost price with no adjustment for manufacturing profits, the 10% mark-up is taken as a part of the general reserve. Profit share and drawings are held through current accounts. Therefore, an adjusted current account is prepared. Finished goods have been adjusted for the damaged goods. Page 1 of 6Dr. Archana Raheja

My Desire to be an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher Essay

My Desire to be an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher Imagine yourself to be a young child sitting in a classroom. The teacher has given instructions, and everyone is working, except you. You want to raise your hand, but are hesitant due to the fear of being laughed at. The teacher scolds you for not being on task, and for having to perhaps stay afterwards to catch up on your work. You feel ashamed and want to give up altogether. The teacher glares at you waiting for you to start your work. This example is one that I do not want to have my students experience in the classroom. I have the desire to become an Early Childhood Special Education teacher. I want to assist the child that feels lost, or does not catch on as quickly as the other children. I want the nature of the students to be relaxed, and energetic. I want the children to be curious and involved in every aspect of the learning process. I hope that the students will learn through hands on activities, as well as group and visual lessons. The students in my class should feel that the classroom...