Catherines Monologue Essay Example for Free

Catherines Monologue Essay A few minutes earlier, when I was dancing with Rodolpho to Paper Doll, I started thinking. I started thinking how much my life had changed these past few months, and how much I have changed. My life has changed in that I have two new people in it, one of which I think I love. I have a job and I now feel more independent. Its a good feeling. Well thats setting the scene for you, I guess its time to let it all out. Eddie has been like a surrogate father to me. Ive always felt comfortable around him; Ive been able to talk to himbut lately, all that security has just dissolved. Its almost the opposite. We cant have a normal conversation without fighting. I mean for example, a few days ago I came home with Rodolpho from a movie at the paramount. I started telling him about movie, I was so excited. But all he did was start-shooting questions as me, Whered you go? Brooklyn Paramount? Of course I went to Brooklyn Paramount! Where else would I go? He knows that I wouldnt go to New York! Then he tells Rodolpho he wants to talk to me alone. He starts telling me how he never sees me anymore, his face looked so sad. I started to reassure him, that of course he still saw me, it was just Rodolpho wanted to do so much, see so many things, so I take him. Suddenly he asked me, Do you like him? I answered, Yes, and it all went down hill from there. He started saying horrible things like, Rodolpho was only interested in my to gain citizenship and how he was only using me and had no respect for me. That wasnt Eddie speaking. I had never known Eddie to be like that ever. Sure, he had always been slightly over-protective, but never like this before. After the incident B came and talked to me. She told me how I had to grow up. Be my own person; make him understand that I wasnt a little girl anymore. She pointed out things to me that I had never noticed before, like how I used to walk around in front of him in my slip or sit on the edge of the bathtub and talk to him while he was shaving in his underwear. I never even thought about that before. But B, she notices these things sharp. I dont know, she just seemed really eager for me to get out of the house, get married, leave. She even asked me if I thought she was jealous of me! When she said that, I had never thought about it before. But since she has said that, Ive started to think about it more and more. Could B be jealous? Of me? Its absurd! B, who is so kind, and sweet and who I love so much like a mother, be jealous of me? It just doesnt fit. I dont know why I even thought of it. I guess Im just thinkin crazy these days. And last of all, Rodolpho. I think I love him, actually I am quite sure now, I do love him. Should I marry him? What other option do I have? Like B said, I cant just stay here all my life. But the thing is, Im scared. Im scared of Eddie. I didnt think I would ever say that, but its the truth. When I say Eddie and Rodolpho boxing, and the look on Eddies face, I knew somethin wasnt right. Beatrice didnt get it, I think Marco did. Maybe hes just doing it to protect me? He protects me because he loves me; that makes sense. But sometimes I think Eddie loves me too much, and thats what scares me.

Managing stress caused by Diabetes Mellitus

Managing stress caused by Diabetes Mellitus When being diagnosed with a chronic disease, it is not like catching the flu or breaking a bone, where one knows that sooner or later he/she will be feeling better. A person having a chronic disease is not sure of when he/she might feel better, as a matter of fact the disease may never go away, and actually it could get worse. These patients, most of the time feels tired and in pain however, it might affect the persons physical appearance and competence. At certain stages, a chronic disease might prevent the person from working thus, causing financial problems and stress. A sense of angriness is also common, while asking oneself, why this happened to me? On the other hand, the family and friends of the patients diagnosed with a chronic disease are also affected, especially due to on-going changes in their health status. The level of stress could easily increase therefore, becoming a prolonged subject thus, leading to frustration, anger, hopelessness, and in certain circumstances it c ould lead to depression and suicidal thoughts. Diabetes Mellitus, usually known as diabetes, is a long term condition where there is a large amount of sugar in the persons blood system and the body is incapable to use it accordingly. Diabetes can be diagnosed at any age and it develops when the pancreas is not able to produce enough insulin or when the body cells are unable to react to the insulin being produced. There are three types of diabetes: Type 1 diabetes is when the pancreas is not able to produce insulin. This, happens when the cells which produce insulin in ones body are destroyed. It is most common in children and adolescents though, could develop in adults. In type 1 diabetes the patient needs to inject insulin on daily basis. Type 2 diabetes is when the pancreas is producing insulin but it is not enough for the needs of ones body. It could also be that the insulin being produced is not being used correctly by the body. These patients are not dependant on insulin though, they still might be needing insulin if it is not well controlled or if the body does not respond to oral treatment. Gestational diabetes is when women have high blood glucose during pregnancy, even if they never had diabetes before. However, this could lead to type 2 diabetes after pregnancy. The impact of Diabetes Mellitus in patient and carers The persons impact when diagnosed with diabetes varies on different aspects including, psychologically, socially, economically, emotionally, and spiritually. There is a sense of shock, since the day before he/she was feeling all well and after blood tests he/she was told to have diabetes. Such patients dont want to believe what they are hearing and end up in denial, were one keeps on saying that he/she is feeling well. These patients dont come into terms that the condition is so serious. Anger is another element that they could develop, which sometimes these patients dont even realize due to the amount of frustration, and one keeps on saying this is not fair and why me?. A person with diabetes might even feel guilty, thinking that he/she had brought the condition, by eating a lot of chocolate since he/she was a child. Moreover, they could also blame Jesus for such a disease, especially if they suffer from other chronic diseases. As well known, living with diabetes could be very difficult to cope with thus, causing an enormous impact on the persons quality of life. Socially, their life changes as they will feel a loss of freedom to eat, since the person needs to change his/her diet, even though they have the best diet, which is even good for healthy persons, in order to live a healthy life. They dont accept the fact that they have to limit the amount of food intake so that there wont be any consequences. This is more difficult for the elderly to absorb, especially when it comes to bread. They wont accept the fact that they could only eat one slice of bread, if it is not brown. Moreover, most of our elderly people work on their fields, and yet again it is hard for them to limit the amount of fruit and cut down certain fruits. Furthermore, the elderly might end up depending even more on their family, since they might be suffering from other chronic conditions therefore; they might need transport to attend hospi tal appointments, as well as might have certain limitations in doing certain tasks, like having a bath, eating or getting dressed. Due to this, their carers might be frustrated and difficult to cope with them. Luckily enough, the health system in our country is free of charge so these patients wont go through a lot of economic problems, since their treatment and hospital appointments are offered free of charge. However, they might still be suffering economically, as they start missing a day from work due to hospital follow-ups, admissions to hospital or not feeling fit to go to work. Men do tend to suffer from high level of stress when diagnosed; this is due to the fact that they think that, as the disease progresses they have to stop working and will be worried who will be taking care of his family. They dont understand that by controlling their daily lifestyle, one could live a normal life. It has been shown that diabetes implements psychological burden both on the patient and family. This is well argued by Egede, Zheng Simpson, (2002) were they clearly stated that, considering the fact that psychological functioning would be poor, it might easily contribute suffering which might prevent the patient from successful self-management of their diabetes and this could be amalgamated with costs and poor medical outcomes. Therefore, health professionals need to keep an eye on the patients psychological well-being, as by treating and talking certain issues could easily improve their overall clinical outcomes. Moreover, diabetic patients who are less likely to control their glucose level are more prone to psychiatric illnesses, including depression, eating disorders and sometimes even suicidal thoughts. This is mostly due to the significant changes one needs to do in their lifestyle, together with prolonged poor management of treatment. Furthermore, the use of internet has become quite common among the patients therefore, having a good knowledge about possible long term complications, though it is good to know, could terrify the patient. At times, even minor injuries could implement a sense of discouragement and angriness as one would know that their body would take long to heal while, being more prone for infections. However, the sense of angriness could also be a call for help, were one is revealing his/her own fears of long term problems, deep emotions and even a sense of guilt about not being enough manageable with treatment and/or diet. Once again, health professionals need to be aware of such attitudes, as by listening, explaining and asking about the patients worries might relieve certain concerns regarding any underlying fears. Another psychological problem that is not usually brought up easily by the patient thus, need to be carefully tackled is, sexual dysfunction. A study conducted by De Berardis et al. ( 2002) resulted that, 45.6% of patients with frequent erectile dysfunction reported severe depressive symptoms. Nevertheless, sexual function is to be acknowledged as an essential part when one is dealing with a diabetic patients health. Patients suffering from type 2 diabetes can be initiated on insulin therapy, mostly due to uncontrolled glucose level. Again, emotionally they feel devastating, thinking that their condition is going to get worst, and further complications that they hear from other persons like going blind, amputation of limb, kidney failure, etc. going to develop soon. Nonetheless, Taylor et al. (2002) found out that at certain times, the health professionals were afraid to introduce insulin therapy to the elderly even though, the elderly were found to cope really well with glucose testing and self-administration of insulin. Insulin does tend to stabilise their blood glucose levels within few days thus, helps in allowing them to feel better and improving their cognitive function. On the other hand, to a certain point it is a whole different world when either children or adolescents are diagnosed with diabetes. In young children it is the parents who take control of the disease, and yet again their life changes since they need to adapt their lifestyle with that of their child. Parents might go into emotional problems, when they know that they have to explain their young child about the disease. Moreover, realising that their child will be on insulin and having their blood glucose level monitored on daily basis can be quite overwhelming for the parents. Therefore, parents could experience bereavement which is associated with reactions of grief (Lowes et al., 2004,2005). However, the parents without knowing might end up getting hold of their childs life a bit too much because of the possible complications that might arise. Another psychological problem that influences the parents is insulin, as it could be hard on them to inject it on their own child. Of course no parent wants to hurt their child apart from being difficult to explain to their child, that it is for their own good. Even though as times goes by it becomes part of their normal life. Furthermore, parents might find it difficult to control their childs dietary intake, since it is not easy to find a balance between their carbohydrate intake, insulin, and exercise which easily cause changes in the blood glucose level. Since hypoglycaemia can happen easily in children, sometimes with no particular reason, parents might find it difficult to allow a level of independence to their child. Therefore, this could result in emotional changes in the child such as, fear, angriness, sadness, and anxiety. Parents of children suffering from diabetes might go into economic problems, since a child depends on their parents. Therefore, a parent needs to miss a day from work to attend a hospital appointment or even one of the parents might need to reduce the working hours so as to have more time with their child. It was shown from studies that, when the parents are an essential part in the childs management of diabetes care, there is better adherence to treatment thus, reducing the possibility of hospitalization (Hanson et al., 1987; La Greca et al., 1995; Wysochi et al., 1995). Nevertheless, the impact of diabetes in children starts when they start attending school, as other children could bully or tease them by offering them food which they arent allowed to eat. Therefore, this could lead to a loss of confidence in social interaction, and they might feel that they are not accepted in society due to their condition thus, resulting in feelings of angriness, frustration, and distress. This i s well backed up by Kovacs et al. (1985) were they stated that, due to mood changes, sense of guilt, feeling sad about what their future will be like, missing school and even insulin shots, are common problems encountered within the young children. Moreover, when they reach their teens, they might ignore everything so as to appear normal in front of their peers, this is to try and achieve a state of normality. For this reason, it could lead to uncontrolled diet and even missing insulin shots so that their friends wont judge or bully them. At times, they even dont to go out with their friends as they might be afraid of having an episode of hypoglycaemia. On the other side, adolescents would be feeling distressed when their parents are over protective towards them, and wont let them go anywhere without them. However, this could also lead to some sort of depression, as they start thinking that they could never live a normal life like their friends. Unfortunately, evidence has shown that at certain times in adolescents, suicidal thoughts were noted thus, hindering the adolescent quality of life and self-management (Debono Cachia, 2007). Thus, health professionals do need to provide adequate education and support to the parents sin ce the day of diagnosis, as well as when the child grows up, so as to assure them that their child could still live a normal life and clear up any psychological problems. As Schur et al. (1999) stated, parents who are knowledgeable and capable of understanding what diabetes is all about to their child are more competent to provide their child with the appropriate care. However, understanding the child and having an element of knowledge are not the only answers in providing better care to their child, as parents do need also to know the ways how to support their child (Kyngas Hentinen, 1995). Therefore, parents need to trust their child and of being capable to take care of themselves, since this will allow self-motivation and wont feel different from the rest of the family and friends. Thus, decreasing the level of psychological problems these children and adolescents go through. Empowering the patients and carers Patient empowerment is a means of helping patients to be able to make his/her own decisions together with, being active in their own self-care. However, meaning also, that the patient is getting well educated in how to manage and implement new tasks in his/her daily living, managing the effected roles in their life, as well as controlling the emotional impact of the illness. There are various ways how health professionals could help patients to cope with diabetes. The common sense model of self-regulation plays a good role in aiding patients to reduce obstacles and achieving identified goals. The common sense model, guides the chronic ill patients to come into terms with their disease, understand better what its complications could be thus, they will be capable to evaluate the effects of acting on this understanding (Leventhal, Meyer, Nerenz, 1980). Leventhal, Nerenz, Steele, (1984) described five components of illness representations in order to help patients make sense of their symptoms and monitoring any coping actions. These include identity, cause, time-line, consequences, and controllability. Identity is the name that patients and other people give to the condition, together with all the symptoms that go with it. Unfortunately, people do tend to label these patients, even though sometimes it is with no heart feelings, but for the patient being diagnosed might mean a lot. Therefore, through the health professionals knowledge and experience, it is their role to aid patients in identifying behaviours, personal goals and motivating them to acquire self-determined goals. However, it is quite vital to help diabetes patients to come into terms from the beginning that they are the only ones who can manage efficiently their disease. Cause is another disease representation. This representation might be established from further information gathered through the patients own experience from family members suffering from diabetes, and could also be gathered from other lay persons, media, and health professionals, reflecting certain issues of unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, stress, and other pathogens. As mentioned above, patients do feel guilty, thinking they brought the disease on themselves by not eating healthy. Holman Lorig, (2000) noted that when health professionals engage the patients as their partners in their on-going care, without any doubts they do intend to commit themselves better in managing their chronic disease. However, patient education is quite vital as it aids them to understand better their disease, improving their knowledge, and increasing skills and knowledge thus, allowing the patients to take over on their condition. Cause could easily prolong depression that is why it is essential to empo wer these patients to take into account physiological and personal psychosocial factors. At the end, helping patients to discover and develop the fundamental capacity in order to be responsible for their own life is the health professionals aim. This is patient empowerment (Funnell Anderson, 2004). As health professionals, one does need to educate the patient regarding the benefits of a well-balanced diet and performing regular exercise. Evidence have shown that, eating a healthy diet and undergoing regular exercise benefits in decreasing the risks of further complications associated with diabetes (Clark, 2004). After undergoing blood tests and other tests, to evaluate if the patient is diabetic, the first target in controlling the blood glucose level is diet, exercise, and self-monitoring of blood sugar level. Again it is the health professionals role to enhance motivation and providing them with diet counselling and leaflets. Furthermore, within the primary setting, weight reducing sessions are provided thus, empowering the patient to take control over his/her dietary habits. Time-line is the prognostic belief regarding for how long the disease might last. Patients diagnosed with diabetes at times they dont come into terms that they need to be on medications, diet and/or insulin for life. Therefore, when hemoglucose test or blood test results within normal ranges, patient might stop his/her medications without consulting. Both nurses and medical practitioners need to leave behind the approach of trying to get patients to adhere and comply better with their condition. The health care provider is usually seen as the person who is the expert on the disease, and knows what the best is for the patient, while providing an advising system to treat patients. Therefore, this kind of approach might cause resistance and could easily neglect what is the most vital to patients. However, due to this, patients might be in denial and dont be able to move on thus, not being able to control their glucose levels. On the other hand, Funnell Weiss (2008) argued that, as time goes by, it is the patients him/herself who suffers from diabetes that will eventually become an expert about his/her own diabetes, how it does effect him/her physically, practically and emotionally. Additionally, to establish an effective behavioural intervention, health professionals need to first evaluate what are the basic problems for poor diabetes control; these also include psychological and social problems together with lack of knowledge. Nevertheless, an interpersonal relationship needs to be formulated, so both the patient and health professional could listen to each others opinions, while setting up a sense of trust in each other therefore, when the patient is ready to listen and learn more about the condition, one could provide directives (Delamater, 2006). Consequences, is another disease representation within the common sense model. The patient will be in a terrifying state because of the consequences that could develop due to uncontrolled diabetes. However, the health care provider needs to reassure, that he/she could still live a normal live even though there is the need to change their daily life style. An active listening strategy could be used, were the nurse will help the patients to set up a plan that accords their lives, rather than requiring patients to adjust their lives to become suitable for their diabetes. Moreover, to prevent any consequences it is of vital importance to empower patients to recognize their sources of practical and emotional support. Family members are usually the primary support team for these patients. Thus, others could inquire support from friends, health care providers, and other people suffering from diabetes. Nevertheless, the most important is that they have someone with whom to share their concer ns. Luckily enough, around Malta one might find various diabetes support groups, were one could seek for help and support. Hearing and speaking to someone who suffers from same condition, allows them to understand better their condition and could easily pick up certain tips how to deal with any kind of symptom, rather than providing them with informative leaflets. Since when giving them leaflets, most of the time they do read them out but eventually they tend to leave them there and forget about them. Support groups are also established for the patients family and carers as without any doubts, their carers life changes too in order to support them with their condition. At the end, both the support and health care teams need to evaluate what the patient wants and demands from them, so as to abate any misunderstanding and frustration. In return nurses and the support team leaders have to assist the patients in figuring out what they could faithfully offer. Controllability is the belief regarding whether the disease could be kept under control together with the degree to which the patient plays an important role in acquiring it. Here the health care providers need to help patients and their carers to develop a health care plan. Both the patient and health professional need to work hand in hand and sometimes patients do accept the practitioners recommendations regarding certain treatment but then prefers to make their own physical and meal plan. However, nurses do need to aid patients to acknowledge how much flexibility they need in their life. Since certain patients are capable to follow a strict meal plan while others prefer to change their daily lifestyle to accord with their commitments. Moreover, certain patients prefer to have their blood glucose level checked daily to plan their activity and dietary intake. Furthermore, establishing targets could also aid in controlling their diabetes, for example, controlling their weight, blood pressure, and their HbA1c level. Thus, when having positive results, patients tend to be more motivated. However a self-management plan includes exercise, meal plan, medications, insulin, blood sugar monitoring, stress management, problem solving, and emotional support. This plan needs to compromise the patients and carers ability to involve these strategies in their daily routine. Teaching both the patient and family how to check their own blood glucose level and how to self-inject their insulin provides an element of independency thus, reducing stress levels of having to take time off from work to attend the clinic. Empowering the children and their family might be complex and energetic. Health professionals need to be quite skilled, having good communication relationship, a sense of humour, compassion and possesses a good knowledge in paediatric diabetes. Psychological interventions are vital for the child and adolescent suffering from diabetes especially if their parents are involved. Through research it has been noticed that, when having their parents part of their behavioural procedures, like self-monitoring, planning a goal, good communication and support, being positive towards them, and sharing responsibility in their diabetes management has improved their adherence in medications, diet, and glucose levels (Debono Cachia, 2007). Moreover, being part of a support group where the participants are all youths, might help them to feel better within themselves and come into terms that they are not the only ones suffering from diabetes. Thus, making friends with each other could help them to ma ture and help each other in difficult moments. Daisy that is part of the Maltese diabetes association, does provides support groups for the parents and mostly support groups for the children and youths, live-inns, summer camps, and various activities to help them understand more about their condition and how to live with it. Mostly, they help them to be in control of their diabetes and not the other way round. Like adults, both children and youths need to have a healthy diet plan since as well known it is the first step in controlling blood glucose levels. However, youths need to be educated to be strong and not neglect their diet so as to look cool in front of their friends, and afterwards end up injecting extra units of insulin from their normal dose. Here family does play a fundamental role, since if the family is obese and might be suffering also from diabetes and have poor control, without any doubts they are being a column of unhealthy behaviours. Nevertheless, when the parents are implementing healthy behaviours, they are sharing positive influence towards their diabetic child. Moreover, the health care provider still needs to help the parents of young children and youths to sort out a self-management plan. Young children needs to be thought the signs and symptoms of hypoglycaemia and when they feel the symptoms to eat some carbohydrates, since eating sweets it will only increase their blood glucose level temporarily. However, youths do need to explain to their friends regarding their disease in order to be able to help them if an episode of hypoglycaemia occurs. Conclusion Many different interventions has been established throughout the years in order to empower patients who suffer from diabetes, these include complex educational programmes, which are an important role in empowering these patients to achieve in managing their diabetes. Through evidence, it have been shown that both the patients and their carers are acquiring good approaches and contacts to services required to empower them in managing their lifestyle and health (Begum Por, 2010). However, Begum Por (2010) argued that certain patients with diabetes are still unconcerned that support groups or educational programmes are available thus, meaning that these interventions are not well publicized. Therefore, health professionals do have an important role in instructing the patients and their carers about these services. Moreover, in order to be able to assess the common sense model, there is the need of describing how to implement these interventions and protocols need to be established and published. This will help both the health professionals and lay persons to get a better understanding how these interventions are implemented and through this one could build-up a body of practical and theoretical knowledge. Health psychologists do have a fundamental role in helping the patients and their carers to implement the common sense model into their daily living. Furthermore, health professionals need to come into terms that it is essential to involve the parents when caring for children with diabetes, so as to help them managing and controlling their condition. One needs to keep in mind that young children are not capable of caring for their diabetes on the other hand; youths cannot be counted on being able to implement all of their diabetes management care on their own. Therefore, educational programmes need to be provided to the childs whole family. To conclude, it is essential that health care providers teach these patients that they are the leaders for their diabetes, how to control and that self-management care is not an easy task if they are not motivated. However, by aiding them and keep following them on regular basis on could help these patients and their carers to successfully live a healthy lifestyle while becoming their own doctors in self-managing their condition.

Alcohol consumption in UK

Alcohol consumption in UK Case Study 5- The case of a young binge drinker Introduction Alcohol consumption in the UK has increased rapidly in recent years, not just among young people but across society. In this report we will focus on: Consumer behaviour theories explaining Melanies binge drinking. Recollect reference groups who influence Melanies attitudes. Discuss Government strategies and campaigns such as the Portman Group. The alcohol industry provides employment to over a million people, so the government is reluctant to ban the product. However, the case study recognises there is a huge implication with high alcohol consumption resulting in dysfunctional behaviour ranging from psychological and social harm to damaged lives and deaths. An increase in alcohol consumption has been driven by vast promotional and marketing campaigns with the UK alcohol industry spending  £800m annually. Studies have shown that half of the University students in the UK regularly binge drink. Consumer Behaviour Theories Alcohol Abuse: A World Wide Perspective: High alcohol consumption is prominent in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Russia and a few other European countries. Whereas, North African nations have the least consumption. Alcohol consumption has become more acceptable in Western societies, while its outlawed in places like Arabia. Alcohol has different meanings in different societies. E.g. Islam prohibits the consumption of alcohol alternatively, wine is savoured by Christians and no celebration can be complete without popping open a bottle of champagne in the West. Some examples of excessive binge drinking in the UK involve Stacey Rhymes, a 24 year old who died after drinking herself to death on cut price bottles of wine. Philip Laing, a student from Sheffield Hallam University, who is sentenced to community service after urinating on a war memorial, on a Carnage bar crawl. Portman Group and Drinkaware The Portman Group is supported by the UKs leading drink producers and is concerned solely with the social responsibility issues surrounding alcohol. Their role is to encourage and challenge drink producers to promote their products responsibly. Drinkaware was established to improve the public awareness and understanding of responsible drinking and to change the nations drinking behaviour for the better. They do this through innovative campaigns online, in print and communities worldwide. Conclusion Behavioural theories suggest that Melanies consistent binge drinking is due to the positive attitudes that she possesses in addition to seeking the positive effects that it has upon her. Melanies reference groups havent persuaded her to drink responsibly and she still believes her reason about being a student once, justifies everything. We believe that the Portman Group and Drinkaware.co.uk plus the various government strategies are effective in influencing the drinking habits of our own peer group. The advertisements reach consumers on an emotional level allowing them to empathise with the situations that the vast majority of us have been present in. Furthermore, drinks producers have begun to promote their drinks more responsibly. Though we believe these campaigns are effective there are challenges faced by marketers. For example consumers vary in their commitment in attitudes towards alcohol. Those attitudes that have become internalized and part of the persons value system are difficult to change due to the fact that they are important to the individual, for example Melanie has a usual routine of going out with her friends and being an accepted member of the group.

Proctor & Gamble Essay -- Business Management Analysis Essays

Proctor & Gamble   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Founded in 1837, Procter & Gamble is the #1 U.S. makers of household products and a recognized leader in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of a broad range of products including Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry detergent, Ivory soap, Pampers diapers, and Dawn liquid detergent. Procter & Gamble has operations in over 70 countries and employs over 100,000 people worldwide and markets to nearly five billion customers in over 140 countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Procter & Gamble?s purpose or mission statement states exactly why Procter & Gamble is so driven in providing quality products and services to consumers all over the world. Procter & Gamble?s purpose is as follows: ?We will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the world?s consumers. As a result, consumers will reward us with leadership sales, profit and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders, and the communities in which we live and work to prosper www.pg.com/jobs/company_culture/purpose.jhtml.? Procter & Gamble?s company culture, think globally, act globally, focuses on a variety of core values: leadership, ownership, integrity, passion for winning, and trust. Procter & Gamble works well with the national cultures of Italy and Japan because Procter & Gamble thrives on diversity. Everyone at Procter & Gamble is united through Procter & Gamble?s values and goals. Procter & Gamble is such a giant in the household industry. The company sees diversity as advantage. Procter & Gamble?s diversity covers a broad range of characteristics, such as race, sex, personal, religion, cultural heritage, etc. Within the company, Procter & Gamble creates an advantage from their differences. Outside Procter & Gamble, the company is very sensitive to other national cultures because of their unique culture found within. Every company has its own unique culture. Most organizations don?t deliberately try and create a culture. The culture of an organization is created unconsciously, based on the values of top management. Procter & Gamble?s principles are derived from the company?s Purpose and Values. The core principles of the company are: ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We Show Respect for All Individuals ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Interests of the Company and the Individual are Inseparable ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We are Strategically Focused in Our Work ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Innovation is th... ...octer & Gamble needs to institute changes that will help them become faster. A better public corporate image of Procter & Gamble could also raise awareness that Procter & Gamble is home to many household products, even those environmentally safe. The recent Dawn commercial is a great example. Dawn is used to clean off oil spill animal victims. The general public is not aware of many of the products Procter & Gamble market and produce. Better advertising would be beneficial. Procter & Gamble uses their diversity successfully as a global company. The people that work for them are their greatest asset. Procter & Gamble believes tat it is important to develop and support a diverse workplace. Now the company needs to broaden its corporate culture outside of the United States more than it has in the past for continues future success. References 1). www.cyborlink.com/besite/hofstede.htm 2). www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_italy.shtml 3). www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_japan.shtml 4) www.geert-hofestede.com/hofstede_united_states.shtml 5). www.pg.com/jobs/company_culture/core-values.jhtml 6). www.pg.com/jobs/company_culture/purpose.jhtml 7). www.uvt.nl/web/iric/hofstede.htm

Against Gun Control in America :: Second Amendment The Right To Bear Arms

Constitutional Law Gun Control Paper Gun control is undoubtedly an issue that most Americans have been exposed to. In 1989, guns killed 11,832 Americans. The National Rifle Association (NRA) members believe that it is their constitutional right to own guns, stating that guns are not the root of the crime problem in the United States. Gun control activists like the members of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) argue that guns are responsible for the majority of violent crimes that take place. They wish to instill many types of bans and waiting periods on firearms, making it nearly impossible to obtain a handgun. In fact, in 1993 the Brady Bill, which mandates a waiting period on buying firearms, was passed. Their arguments range from protecting children to saying that guns are diseases, but when one looks at the facts, though, the arguments of gun control advocates seem irrelevant and it becomes clear that guns should not be controlled. The Supreme Court has been very careful in limiting the rights of individuals to carry firearms. They have also been debating about weather the framers intended the Second Amendment to apply to individuals, or to state militias. In U S v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1875) the court ruled that laws could be passed regarding gun control. The court said â€Å"The right they’re specified is that of 'bearing arms for a lawful purpose.' This is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence.

Love Marriage

As I took my marriage vows in the House of God, my glittery white wedding gown sparkling in the sun seemed like a symbol of my bright future with the man of my dreams. I looked into his passionate dark eyes, and realized that once again, I had succeeded, gotten what I wanted. No one had ever been able to come in my way ever, and now that I was married to Jai, looked like no one could. Not even my parents. My parents didn't even know Jai well. I do believe in the whole ‘mothers instinct' thing, but things were different in this case. All they knew was what they had heard from people, namely Jai's ex-wife and her mother. And of course they'd be biased, after a broken engagement, who wouldn't? Jai's ex wife kept making up stories about how violent Jai got when he was drunk, I didn't believe her, partly because I didn't want to, but another part of me sub consciously filed these ‘fables' in my memory. Mom kept insisting that she had a ‘bad feeling' about him, â€Å"If he's left her for you, what guarantee do you have that he wont leave you for some one else? † But it wasn't that way, my parents wouldn't understand. Jai needed a life partner. His wife couldn't be his companion. I was everything she wasn't. She was a slave, more like a machine who just bounced off his ideas to him. Obviously he'd be bored. I also thought that another reason was the fact that I wanted to marry by choice, and not have it arranged like her and Pa, and all the other ‘happy couples' in the world. Well, so what if Jai had fooled around in the past, or gotten into jail a few times just for small time drug dealing? That didn't make him a criminal, and it certainly didn't make me change my mind about his wonderful personality. That was his past, and at the time, I was his present, and that was all that mattered. Things started shaping up just the way I knew they would, Jai was still the exotic, tall, handsome man, with flashing eyes and a sharp mind. Nothing had changed after marriage; he still loved me with the same passion tinged with possessiveness, and he still treated me with the same respect and dignity as a gentleman, I was grateful because that was something very uncommon in the society I lived in. We shared the same interest in everything: religion, politics, and even video games. I was his companion, his equal partner, I was sure Jai would keep me happy all my life. Soon Jai got a job as an agent for a company, and it was a good job with a steady income, so I didn't mind the fact that he had to be in and out of town. Pa got us a nice apartment in a friendly neighborhood, till we could afford to pay our own rent. A few months down the line Jai had gone to Singapore for some business, and while he was away, I discovered that I was pregnant. I was thrilled beyond measure, all my parents' fears of me being unable to live a decent respectable life with a man like Jai were dismissed. My dreams were coming true; I would soon be a respected wife and mother. I thought I'd wait for Jai to return, and then surprise him. But Jai returned a little earlier than expected, hearing of my pregnancy from a family friend in Singapore. The night he returned didn't turn out to be quite as I thought it would. He came home drunk, and I was at my mother's house when he returned, and was livid to find me out of the house without his permission. That night, when I returned home, I found him on his rocking chair, awaiting my return. The first thing he said to me struck me like a lightening bolt, † I should've listened to them when they told me about you. You're finally showing your true colors aren't you? † I didn't know whom he meant by ‘them', but I was shocked by the bitterness and sharpness of his tone and could only manage to mumble a feeble â€Å"huh? † â€Å"Don't pretend! There's no need to, I know you were with Philip, and I know what you've been doing the past few months while I've been out of town,† His breath reeked of alcohol, and his words were slurred, and bitter with contempt, â€Å"You think I'm dumb huh? Huh? You think I haven't noticed you're interest in him? And I know that you're carrying proof of that.. † Philip was our young, vibrant next-door neighbor. He was quite a good looking, charming boy and I had mentioned it to Jai a couple of times. I noticed that he didn't seem too pleased about it, but I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that he would ever suspect me of being unfaithful to him. Jai went on to call me a string of demeaning nasty names, but my mind was blank. I was weak as it was, and the shock was too much for me to bear. He got up slowly and walked towards me, stopping a few inches away from me, † Where did you go? â€Å". I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat was parched, and no words could be formed. After what seemed like eternity I uttered â€Å"Ma's house†. His eyes bore into me like needles, and suddenly he struck me screaming â€Å"LIAR! If you aren't hiding anything from me then why are you so scared! † His eyes were bulging out of his sockets, and his breathing grew heavier, suddenly he caught me by my hair and flung me onto the couch. As he slapped me repeatedly, I fought to stifle my screams lest the neighbors heard; he then caught hold of my long auburn tresses and dragged me onto the floor, then lifted me and hit my head against the wall again and again and again. His fury was sated. I couldn't keep track of anything that happened after that, I just remember excruciating pain in my head, and then I went numb and blacked out. I woke up to find myself on my bed, Jai was by my side holding my hand, my head still spun, and it took me a while to recollect the events of the previous night. Jai sat with his head bowed. He whispered an apology to me, I was too weak to show any signs of acceptance, and then suddenly he started sobbing, â€Å"I can't believe I did this to you. I'm so sorry, I must've been possessed by an evil spirit. Please forgive me. I love you. I beg for forgiveness. That wasn't me. I promise to never raise my hand on you again. I'm sorry Jyoti, please forgive me. † I was scared. I didn't entirely believe him, but something inside me wanted to believe his every word. I knew my Jai, last night he was sick, he was drunk. He didn't know what he was doing. Maybe I believed him only because I knew that I had nowhere to go. I couldn't go back to my parents, because my ego wouldn't let me, nor could I let them know the torture and humiliation I had been subjected to, because I wasn't used to being proved wrong. I didn't want them to know that they had been right. So I stayed, I believed what I wanted to believe about him, he was my strength, everything else was perfect, and these were just trivial things that happened sometimes between couples, meant to be forgotten, it was the price I had to pay for my love, my impudence and what the world would see as my victory. After that incident, things were back to normal between us on the outside, but deep down I was scared, I was scared of making any wrong move. I was still not thoroughly convinced that he believed that the child I was carrying was his, because he did pass snide remarks implying that I was unfaithful to him. For a long time after that I avoided him when he was drunk, I let fear overtake my pride, and soon I let my ego dissolve in front of him. He was my husband, my master, my provider, my everything. It was the price I paid for my image in society. People admired me for being able to live with a man known by his notoriety. They thought that I had reformed him, but that was only in public. At home I slowly began to uncover his darkest secrets. After I gave birth to my baby, Rahul, I stayed at my parents' house as per the customs of our society. One night I had to come back to my house to get a few tablets that I left there before. My father offered to drive me there at around 1 in the morning. As I entered the house I heard voices from my bedroom, I decided to go take a look, thinking that maybe Jai had a few of his friends over, and as I walked in, I saw him in bed with another woman. I wasn't as shocked as I ought to have been; perhaps because deep down inside I knew this was going on, I just hadn't expected to catch him in the act so soon. As soon as he was aware of my presence he ordered the other woman to leave. I grabbed this opportunity to have the upper hand. He was the unfaithful one, not me. I started reprimanding him and he kept quiet. I thought that I was winning, he was ashamed, and had been caught in the act. But I made one little mistake. In my rage, I abused him. A clenched jaw and red, bulging eyes looked up at me. He rose and struck me on my face. I knew that my father was waiting outside for me, and under no circumstances would I let my father know, ever. So I ran out to my father, knowing the fate that awaited me the next day. The day I went back home with my baby was awful. He was drunk when I arrived, and he waited for my parents to leave before he used the events of the other night as a stick to beat me with. Thus the beatings started. Every other night at first, and then everyday for trivial things, like not serving him breakfast on time, not ironing his clothes well, and coming home late, even if I was at my parents' house. I began to feel like I could trust no one. I lived a schizophrenic existence. The humiliation of not being able to keep my husband happy and falling short of my parents definition of an ideal marriage seemed more frightening than the beatings. I tried everything I could to keep him in a cheery mood. I eliminated everything that would slightly upset him. I tried to mould my personality to fit him, so that we could live in harmony. Along with my pride there was something else, much more precious to me at stake, my baby Rahul. Even if he never showed much affection towards the baby, Jai had never raised his hand on him, and I tried my best to keep it that way. But it was inevitable. I knew that Jai had a suspicion that the baby wasn't his. One morning as I woke up to Rahul's cries, Jai was getting dressed for work, and he had not attended to the baby, but I could see that the baby's wails were increasingly annoying him. I knew that if I didn't do something to stop Rahul from crying, he too would be subjected to his father's evil. Jai probably saw my fear for my baby in my eyes, and decided to taunt me with it. He commanded me to leave Rahul alone, and ordered the baby to shut up. At this point, I knew that I had to try and save my most precious asset, and I ignored his command and reached out for my child. Jai caught my hair and dragged me away from him. I was powerless to resist. I could only pray to the Lord. Rahul's wails got louder when he saw the brutality of the scene. Jai left my hair and reached for the baby's neck, almost chocking him to death, his eyes bulged with fear and I knew that he would soon turn blue. An eternity passed before me, until I was suddenly overcome by strength so great, I can now say that it was the strength of the Lord. The strength he had given me, to save my baby. I spotted my heavy rot iron lamp on my bedside; I lifted it with all my strength and brought it crashing down at the back of his head. He fell on the floor with a thud.

Factors Affecting Hidden Curriculum Essay

The concept of hidden curriculum stems from the ideas of John Dewey (1859-1952), notably his concept of â€Å"collateral learning† (Combleth, 1984). The hidden curriculum comprises values, modes of behavior, beliefs, and skills that students learn at school but which are not taught through official channels (Combleth, 1984; Myles, 2001). Researchers and theorists have identified both positive and negative effects of hidden curriculum, ranging from more success in the working world due to competitive environments at school (Wren, 1999), to reinforcing the socioeconomic status into which the students were born (Anyon, 1980), to undermining intellectual development (Combleth, 1984). Because these effects are so pronounced, attention must be paid to recognizing those elements of the learning environment which impact hidden curriculum. This paper examines eight of these factors: teacher expectations, definitions of acceptable classroom behavior, teacher questioning techniques, school culture, segmentation of the school day, tracking, curricular inconsistencies, and gender bias. Teachers’ expectations of their students, in terms of critical thinking skills, undoubtedly play a role in hidden curriculum. Anyon (1980) examined five fifth grade classes in schools of varying demographics. She found that, in schools comprised of students from working-class families, teachers expected nothing more than rote memorization of facts. In schools serving students from middle-class families, teachers expected students to be able to re-explain concepts in their own words. Teachers working with students from upper-class families, however, emphasized critical thinking. Anyon (1984) concluded her study by remarking that the different expectations in these schools reinforce the expectations of the social class into which these children were born. Different teachers have different rules regarding what constitutes acceptable classroom behavior, and these guidelines affect hidden curriculum. In her study, Anyon (1984) also considered classroom behavior. She found that students from upper-class schools were generally allowed to make their own decisions about how best to accomplish their work: they could leave the room when they needed to, they were allowed to get any supplies they needed for themselves, and they were encouraged to ask questions. Through their guidelines for classroom behavior, teachers in these schools emphasized that students were in charge of their own destiny and must decide for themselves their best course of action (Anyon, 1984). One of the negative consequences of the hidden curriculum noted by Wren (1999) and Combleth (1984) is that students often blindly accept what is being taught in the official curriculum. Some students, then, are not learning how to question what is being taught, how to look for inconsistencies in theories, and how to think for themselves. This consequence can result from how teachers ask questions. Questions that require one-word answers would tend to place value on rote memorization of facts and the acceptance of the teacher and textbook as â€Å"authority. † Questions that require short answers responses or questions framed as â€Å"why do you think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  would encourage students to think for themselves and engage with the material in a meaningful way. Wren (1999) remarked that school culture has a powerful influence on the hidden curriculum. For the purposes of his study, he defined culture as the values and symbols that have an effect on students’ and educators’ perceptions of the school environment (p. 593). This culture is manifest in the traditions and rituals of the school that are passed down from generation to generation: pep rallies, graduation ceremonies, the school motto, school policies, yearbooks, school newspapers, and faculty handbooks, to name but a few. Wren did not examine the effect of school culture on hidden curriculum; rather, he encouraged educators to take note of the presence, or absence, of traditions in their own school and encouraged them to appraise the meanings they imparted on the school community. Loporchio (2007) provided an interesting perspective on the yearbook process in particular, mentioning many elements that affect hidden curriculum: the socialization process between teachers and students outside of the classroom, representations of the entire student body or just a select few individuals, and extracurricular activities and their value. Combleth (1984) mentioned the segmentation of the school day – with supposedly separate subjects being assigned fixed time periods – as one of the factors affecting hidden curriculum. Though Combleth did not expand on this comment, one could argue that separating subjects as they are traditionally done leads to a compartmentalization of knowledge. Skills and ideas learned in one class are not necessarily used in another. Though this manner of scheduling is convenient, students are not encouraged to draw links between what they learn in different classes, for example links between historical events and trends in literature. In his book devoted to the subject of tracking and the hidden curriculum, Rosenbaum (1976) argued that tracking is the element that most strongly affects hidden curriculum. Based on their placement in various tracks, students create friends, become involved in extracurricular activities, participate in different types of field trips, and are perceived differently by staff and students. In the same vein, Combleth (1984) claimed that schools, even though purporting to provide equal opportunity for all students, actually convey the message that some students are more equal than others through their tracking procedures. Curricular inconsistencies can also contribute to hidden curriculum. Combleth (1984) gave an example of a hypothetical text book that highlights freedom of speech as a defining characteristic of political democracy and yet ignores or disparages activities of modern dissenters (p. 30). This text book sends conflicting messages to the students: Is freedom of speech and the resultant ability to take issue with prevailing hegemonies a value to be lauded or to be denigrated? Chapman (n. d. ) provided many examples of behaviors and objects that reveal gender bias in education: dividing students by gender; praising girls for being neat and quiet; praising boys for thinking independently; regarding assertive behavior from girls as disruptive; using textbooks with gender bias, and interacting with students differently based on their gender, to name but a few. In all of these instances, teachers and administrators send the message that girls and boys are treated differently, that certain behaviors are not appropriate for girls (or boys), and that girls are unequal to boys. The socialization process is thereby reinforcing gender stereotypes that society at large has striven to eliminate. These eight factors affecting hidden curriculum touch on different elements of the educational system ranging from classroom experiences and interactions between students and teachers to how administrators set up school scheduling and policy. Teachers and administrators must examine the hidden curriculum particular to their school. Are students being encouraged to live up to their potential? Are societal biases related to gender and socioeconomic status being questioned or reinforced? Are students being prepared for the work environments of their future?