Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking in Latin America Research Paper

Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking in Latin America - Research Paper Example â€Å"Latin America and the Caribbean have the highest rates of gender violence of any region of the world excluding fundamentalist Muslim countries, where statistics are not kept and discrimination against women is institutionalized† (â€Å"Half†). This paper will focus primarily on Latin America (namely Colombia and Ecuador) and the human trafficking and domestic violence issues these two countries face, the reasons for the prevalence of these issues in these countries, and what can be and is being done about them. According to Berry, â€Å"domestic violence† refers to â€Å"abuse by one person of another in an intimate relationship† (1). Domestic abuse is not restricted to husband-wife or boyfriend-girlfriend, but can also include sibling abuse, elder abuse, and child abuse; however, for this paper, the focus on violence against women will be discussed. Berry goes on to discuss the lack of boundaries in the issue of domestic violence; she states that â€Å"statistics have proven that abuse knows no boundaries: racial, ethnic, religious, or socioeconomic. It occurs among the very rich and the very poor, the highly educated and the illiterate, in all parts of the world† (9). Domestic abuse not only indicates foundational disintegration within a family unit, but can also be an indicator of the same sort of internal rot at a societal level. â€Å"It emerges as a serious violation of human rights that abrogates the women’s right to dignity, equality, autonomy, and physical and mental well being,† state Mehrotra and Banerjee, observing the issue at the personal level. Nodding at the societal level, Mehrotra and Banerjee go on to say that â€Å"violence is not only a manifestation of unequal, disempowering and unjust power relations, but is also a costly economic phenomenon resulting in significant looses of productive potential† (38). A country cannot move forward and hold itself back at the same time. A land cannot be both full of success

Team Development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Team Development - Research Paper Example After a few practices, I was beginning to question whether I was right to take on the role of the leader of a dance group. The initial few meetings with the group can best be described by Woodcock’s analysis of team development. During this time, the objectives of the group were unclear and feelings were not expressed among group members. This stage of team development is otherwise known as the â€Å"Undeveloped Team† (Woodcock 1979). The group members were more interested in checking their cell phones or simply chatting with each other. Because of this, everything that I said had to be repeated more than once so that everyone could follow along with the lesson plan. This inevitably led to two, three, or four-hour classes instead of just the usual hour. I was the one responsible for making the decisions of the group, and I felt like I wasn’t getting through as I would have liked. The experience that I had with this group was in direct contrast to the work of Wheelan et al. (2003), who state that the first stage of group development is dependency and inclusion (p. 224). In this theor y, group members are unsure of where they are heading and rely on the leader to provide direction. The first part of this statement is true except that the group that I was working with had no interest in performing at any great level; if they had the motivation to achieve highly, then I am sure that they would have warmed to me at the beginning. As time progressed, I began to grow weary at my attempts to try and get the group to take hold of what I was teaching them. Before the lessons began, many of them seemed interested in taking the class; there weren’t any other youth activities in the church for them to participate in. Perhaps it was simply that they took dance lessons for granted because there was nothing else to interest them. However, for me personally it felt as though I was banging my head against a brick wall. I knew that I had to do something to

Politics and Other Social Sciences Essay Example for Free

Politics and Other Social Sciences Essay Man is a social animal. His social life has many dimensions – political, economic, sociological, psychological, historical etc. Social sciences deal with this multi-dimensional man, his collective life, social behaviour, organisations and activities. All of these dimensions of man are inter-connected leading to interrelationship among various social sciences. Political science, being one of the social sciences dealing with the political aspect of social man, has close connections with other social sciences. The modem approach in the study of social sciences is primarily interdisciplinary. It means that scholars of one specialized social science should work in coordination with scholars of other disciplines. This has resulted in a great deal of overlapping of disciplines. Interdisciplinary study has resulted in a rapid development of theoretical and applied aspects of politics and the sharpening of tools of research and analysis in the present century. Political Science and History Political Science and History are very closely connected. Jellinek remarked: It is almost a common-place today to affirm the necessity of historical study as a basis for a proper understanding of institutions, whether they be political, legal, or social.1 E.H. Carr holds that the dual function of history (is) to enable man to understand the society of the past and to increase his mastery over the society of the present} The cause and effect relationship of social phenomena can be understood by scientific understanding of history. History furnishes the political scientist the raw materials for comparison and induction. The relation of political science and history is well brought out in words of Seeley: History without Political Science has no fruit. Political Science without history has no root. In the words of Freeman, history is past politics and politics is present history. While political science is dependent on history for its material, it must be made clear that history supplies only part of its material. Again, all facts of history are not useful to political science. Garner rightly points out that not all of history is past politics. Much of it – like the history of art, of science, of inventions, discoveries, military campaigns, language, customs, dress, industries, religious controversies – has little, if any, relation to politics and affords no material for political investigation. Political Science selects relevant facts out of history. All political institutions are products of history. Without historical foundations, political science becomes merely speculative and abstract. History is a vast storehouse of facts and information from which political science draw its relevant materials for generalizations. Lipson writes: with its chronological treatment, history offers to the student of politics a sense of growth and development and thus affords insight into the process of social change. Political science has influence on history. Political ideas of thought leaders have contributed in shaping human history. Political revolutions and political concepts like democracy, liberty, equality and political ideologies like liberalism, nationalism and socialism have substantially influenced the history of societies. Garner aptly observes: to interpret history in its true significance we must study that politically. Behaviouralism with its stress on empirical method has undermined the importance of historical method in recent political studies. Traditional method relied more on history as it believed that history can assist in understanding the present and act as a guide for the future. Political Science and Economics Political Science and economics are very closely related and cover a common ground to a large extent. Early writers on economics considered their subject as a branch of political science and termed it ‘political economy’. Politics influences substantially the economic system. The state formulates the economic policies and regulates the economy. Production and distribution of wealth, price control, trade, taxation, government ownership of public utilities, banking, export-import and such other economic activities are regulated by political decision-making. The solution of many economic problems must come through political channels. Indeed many of the complex problems of the modern state are essentially economic in character: the reduction of economic disparity, removal of poverty and unemployment, the adjustment of the claims of capital and labour, nationalization and the achievement of a welfare state. The modern state, Galbraith writes, is an Industrial State. On the other hand, political and social life is profoundly influenced by economic conditions. Karl Marx regarded politics as a part of political economy and maintained that the economic basis of society influences politics which belongs to the superstructure. Political movements and revolutions are profoundly influenced by economic causes. All political ideologies like liberalism, socialism, imperialism, fascism have an economic basis. The political behaviour of man and various organized groups is influenced by economic factors. The main functions of modern welfare state are basically economic. There are economic motives behind many political policies. Political norms like liberty, equality, rights, justice are very often evaluated on an economic basis. Thus there is close relationship between political and economic life. The interaction of the two disciplines has resulted in the increasing importance given to political economy in recent years. Political Science and Sociology No two social sciences are as closely related as political science and sociology. Sociology is the fundamental social science. It is the root of all the social sciences. It is the most comprehensive social science which studies all aspects of the life of man in society. In the words of Small, it is the science of men in their associated processes. Sociology has a much wider scope than political science. It is a study of society in all its manifestations, while political science is primarily a study of the state and government. In other words, sociology deals with man in all his social relations, while political science deals with the man in his political relations. Sociology deals with both organized and unorganised communities and groups, while political science is concerned with organised political communities. The subject of sociology is social man and that of political science is political man. The relation between the two sciences is well brought out by Garner. He writes: Sociology derives from political science knowledge of the facts regarding the organization and activities of the state, while political science derives in large measure from sociology its knowledge of the origin of political authority and the laws of social control. State and politics cannot be studied objectively without an understanding of the general laws of social development. Political institutions and processes are influenced by social forces and factors. Not only does sociology influence political science, but politics also influences the social system. The political system controls and regulates social forces and customs. Politics engineers the process of peaceful social change and is engaged in maintaining social stability and cooperation. Political control is the most important and the most effective among all forms of social control. Contemporary political studies have borrowed concepts, methods and techniques of research from sociology. The current sociological impact on the study of politics can be traced back to the influence of Max Weber. Interdisciplinary study of political science and sociology got tremendous fillip with the emergence of political behaviouralism. A new branch of study named political sociology has emerged as a result of the interaction between political science and sociology. G. Sartori has observed that politics has got socialised and society has got politicised in the present times to such an extent that politics cannot be studied in isolation from sociology. Political Science and Psychology Psychology is the science of mental attitudes and human behaviour. It studies human instincts, attitudes, sentiments and emotions. It has been emphasized that scientific study of social phenomena must have a psychological basis. Psychological factors have become increasingly important for understanding what people believe about politics and how they act in political situations. Study of political behaviour has assumed great significance under the impact of behaviouralism in political studies. The psychological approach in political science goes back to 1908 when A. F. Bentleys The Process of Government and Graham Wallass Human Nature in Politics were published. The psychological approach received further impetus from Chicago School political scientists such as C. E Merrium, Stuart Rice, George Catlin and Harold Lasswell. Modern writers like Tarde, Le Bon, McDougall, Graham Wallas, Baldwin and Ellwood have attempted to explain and interpret political and social phenomena through the laws of psychology. Governments to be stable and popular must reflect the mental ideas and moral sentiments of the people who are subject to its control. Modern governments have devised subtle methods of the psychological manipulation of the masses. Public opinion is being moulded by ingenious propaganda as in politics the art of controlling the mass mind is increasingly becoming the key to political power and stability. Political Science and Ethics Political science has close historical links with philosophy and ethics. Initially, the study of state in Greece was a part of ethics. Ethics as a branch of study investigates the laws of morality and formulates rules of conduct. Ethics is the science of the moral order while political science is the science of the political order. Both have to deal with questions of right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust. Plato conceived the notion of an ideal state in his Republic and believed that the state should train men in a life of virtue. The end of the state, according to Aristotle, is good life for the citizens. Modern idealists like Rousseau, Kant, Hegel and Green have accepted the state as an ethical institution which creates conditions for the fullest development of human personality. Lord Acton goes so far as to say: The great question is to discover, not what governments prescribe, but what they ought to prescribe. Fox held that what is morally wrong can never be politically right. Gandhis lasting contribution to politics is his insistence upon the spiritualization of politics i.e., application of truth, non-violence, love, self-suffering to mans social and political life. The end of the state has been formulated by the greatest political thinkers in terms of moral values. The state exists to promote social and moral good on the largest possible scale. A good citizen is possible in a good state and perfect state cannot be conceived where wrong ethical principles prevail. Laws are obeyed with greater readiness if they are based on the moral ideas of the community. Politics also influences ethics. Politics safeguards the ethical norms of a society. The state acts as the guardian of social morality. The attempts of some contemporary political scientists to create a value-free political science have not been successful. David Easton aptly observes: The goal of value-free research is a myth The utility of political research stems from the fact that it helps men to decide upon the kind of political system they would prefer and to understand how to go about changing social policy to obtain it. The inspiration behind political science is clearly ethical. Political Science and Jurisprudence The state is a social phenomenon as well as a legal institution. From the legal point of view, the state is a person with rights and duties. It is a juristic personality subject to the process of law. The state operates through law and hence jurisprudence, as the science of law, is closely related to politics. Strictly jurisprudence is a subdivision of political science but on account of its vast scope and technical nature it is studied as a separate branch of study. Jurisprudence has several branches, namely, civil law, criminal law, constitutional law, international law etc. Constitutional law defines the organs of the state, their relations to one another, and the rights and duties of individuals. International law regulates the relations of states and various international organizations: If law influences politics, politics also influences law. Different political systems have different legal systems; Laws tend to be a reflex of a particular social pattern and are influenced by the nature of the political system. Political Science and Anthropology Anthropology deals with man as a social being. It deals with the origin, classification and relations of races, languages and cultures found in different localities. Politics uses the vast material gathered by anthropology. Physical anthropology dealing with the conditions of primitive men and their environment facilitates the study of the origin and evolution of various political institutions. Similarly social or cultural anthropology dealing with the growth and interpretation of customs, traditions, habits and religious beliefs etc., explains the forces and factors operating in political institutions. Anthropological data have assumed great importance in the study of the formation of national character. Political Science and Geography Many writers have emphasized the influence of geographical conditions and physical environment upon national character. Even national policies have been shown to be determined by such conditions. The influence of climate, topography, character of the soil, insularity, the presence or absence of mountains, rivers and outlets to the sea has been emphasized by various political thinkers from Aristotle to the present. Notable among them are Bodin, Rousseau, Montesquieu and Buckle. The emphasis upon geographical factors as determinants of state policy and governmental functioning has resulted in the development of a new science known as ‘Geopolitics’. Since territory is an important element of the state, geographical factors naturally influence political activities. These factors have assumed great significance especially in the field of defence strategy. Political Science and Statistics Statistics is concerned with systematic collection, analysis and presentation of numerical data. Von Mohl described statistics as a means through which a picture of existing political and social conditions could be obtained. Social phenomena and the results of governmental action are quantitatively measured by it. Statistical findings serve as a guide for administrative action, as a basis for legislation, and as a means for testing the expediency or effectiveness of political policies. Therefore, all governments collect statistical information concerning finance, trade, military and economic resources, social conditions of the people etc. Behavioural approach to the study of political science has put excessive stress on statistical methods (quantification, techniques), thereby contributing a lot to the scientific character of political science. The foregoing discussion clearly shows the intimate relation of political science to other social sciences. A proper understanding of political institutions, processes and phenomena calls for reliance upon a number of sister disciplines. Specialization of social sciences should not lead to narrow compartmentalization. Interdisciplinary approach to the study of social sciences has resulted in the blurring of rigid boundaries of various disciplines and highlighting the need for mutual exchange and interaction among social scientists.

Beliefs About Good and Evil: Literature Review

Beliefs About Good and Evil: Literature Review Sohila Sandher Maggie Campbell, Johanna Ray Vollhardt, (15 Jul, 2013) Fighting the Good Fight: The Relationship Between Belief in Evil and Support for Violent Policies. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Vol. 41. 250-267 Retrieved from: http://psp.sagepub.com/content/41/2/250.full.pdf+html Maggie Campbell and Johanna Ray Vollhartd attempt to address â€Å"which forms of collective action more effectively communicate the illegitimacy of the status quo and the efficacy of a group? What are the factors that shape support for different protest strategies?† The goal of their studie was to â€Å"explore the extent to which violent and non-violent tactics convey a heightened or mitigated sense of illegitimacy and act to build or undermine a sense of group efficacy in the movement.† They also worked to â€Å"consider relationships between the use of violent and non-violent tacts and endorsement of those tacts in future action.† They also explore the existence of amoderator of prcesses, specifically focusing on allegations of corruption against authority. Their study was based on Coal Seam Mining in Australia. The first experiment Campbell and Vollhardt conducted had three different parts. The first part was to test the hypothesis that non-violent protest is more supported than violent protest, and that conventional methods of protest receive less hostility from sympathizers. The second part of the experiment worked to consider how specific collective actions influence sympathizers perceptions of a situation in relation to Coal Seam Mining. The third part meant to connect illegitimacy and efficacy with endorsemet of future violent versus nonviolent actions via meditational analysis. The experiment was carried out on a sample size of 192 people who were recruited through a survey research firm that was looking for Queenslanders over the age of 18 years old. The reason they picked specifically from Queensland is because it is an area that is affected by mining and is witness to ongoing anti-mining protests. Out of the 192 people, 121 were female, 50 were male, and 20 opted not to specify. The average of of participants was 46.67 years and the average Queensland residency was 30.52 years. The experiment was a one-way design that compared the effects of the independent variables of violent protest, non-violent protest, and a no protest control condition on four dependent variables. The four dependent variables were: support for the protest, hostility toward the protestors, and endorsement of non-violent, and extreme methods. The mediator variables were the illegitimacy of the issue and group efficacy about resolving the Gas situation. The procedure included a questionnaire and reading of articles on protests, depending what group the subject was placed under. The results from experiment 1 show the possibility of protest violence being less supported than non-violent protest and that violence creates more hostility towards protestors involved. The experiment also showed that non-violence promotes future non-violence because it â€Å"effectively communicates the illegitimacy of the issue and bolsters the belief that action can be effective.† The experiment concludes that â€Å"adopting violence during a protest is, at best, a waste of time.† Experiment 2 measured the role of corruption in a government system or authority in moderating support for violent and non-violent protest. The experiment found that allegations of corruption have paradoxical effects on perceptions not only on specific events but also on broad social change. The end result of the study is that there is little support for strategic use for violence in protest, but that is important to remember the role of the media and that different political opponents might generate different sympathizing results. Maggie Campbell, Johanna Ray Vollhardt. Fighting the Good Fight The Relationship Between Belief in Evil and Support for Violent Policies. (15 July 2013) Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Vol 40. 16-33 Retrieved: http://psp.sagepub.com/content/40/1/16.full.pdf+html In this article, Campbell and Vollhardt focus on the consequences of using the terms of good and evil to label people and groups and how labels effect the willingness to interact with a person or group in a violent or non-violent manner. The study â€Å"aims to examine the social psychological underpinning of beliefs in good and evil, and investigate mechanisms through which these beliefs legitimize violence against those viewed as evil adversaries.† They also acknowledge that there are different levels at which people acknowledge evil; that there is no â€Å"true evil† and â€Å"true good†. The research done by Campbell and Vollhardt suggests that the individual’s definition of good and even might predict negative intergroup attitude and support for violence towards perceived enemies. They worked towards developing measures that asses individual differences in believes about good in evil â€Å"reliably and separately, as a construct in it’s own ri ght.† They used four different studies to analyze how the labels of good and evil work. The goal of the first study was to provide an initial empirical investigation of beliefs regarding good and evil, and endorsement of redemptive violence. The expectation was that beliefs on good and evil and the support of redemptive violence would predict more support for violent intergroup outcomes as compared to support for nonviolent outcomes. Campbell and Vollhardt hypothesized that there would be â€Å"an indirect effect of belief in evil on intergroup policy preferences†. For this study they collected data from 349 participants living in the United States, the majority of which being European Americans. 41% of the group identified with a religious group, while 58% of the group had at least a 4-year college degree. The study was conducted online, with participants coming in from Facebook, Craigslist and, listservs. Good and evil, endorsement of redemptive violence, measures of support for violent vs. nonviolent policies, and control variables were all measured on a seven point scale. This measure ended up mainly catching a belief in evil. Study 2 was meant to strengthen the measures on belief in good. Study 2 was based on an exploratory question of whether the belief in good or if a belief in a dichotomy would present itself. The study was conducted much in the same manner as study 1. The conclusion was that belief in good predicted two nonviolent outcomes, and that participants who believed in good viewed themselves as part of the non violent categories they supported. Study 3A and 3B were conducted to test if a belief in evil predicts support for violent policies when effects of other cognitive processes are controlled and also established the social psychological constructs that predicted such attitudes. These studies were also conducted online. Studies 3A and 3B provide us with empirical evidence to the argument that belief in evil in conceptually different from previously studied constructs, and that it also has a predictive power that can help explain support for violent policies. This study showed the importance in looking at the beliefs in good and evil to understand attitudes towards violent or nonviolent policies in intergroup conflict. There is a promise of real world implication with this study. Thomas Talhem, Jonathan Haidt, Shigehiro Oishi, Xuemin Zhang, Felicity F. Miao, Shimin Chen. Liberals Think More Analytically (More â€Å"WEIRD†) Than Conservatives. (17 Nov 2014 ) Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Vol 41. 250-267 Retrieved: http://psp.sagepub.com/content/41/2/250.full.pdf+html This study is designed to test whether liberals and conservatives legitimately think about the world as if they were form different cultures because of differences in the ways they process the same set of facts. They play with the idea of temporarily changing peoples cultural thought and thereby changing political opinions. They use the term WEIRD as a category. WEIRD stands for the portion of the population that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. The researchers of this study argue that the liberals that fall within WEIRD are a even more remote part of the population. WEIRD people are considered outliers because they score analytically on measures of thought and perception as compared to the rest who think ore holistically or intuitively. They present the hypothesis that liberals think more analytically because liberal culture is more individualistic, with priority for individual identity instead of group. The study uses four reports that tie the relationship of politics to holistic-analytic thought. The first study brings cultural thought measure into political psychology, the second distinguishes social and economic politics, the third measures thought style with cognitive tests instead of self-report scales, and the fourth tests whether thought type causes political opinions by briefly changing people’s thought styles and then measuring their political opinion. The samples were US college subjects that naturally control for age and education, large internet samples to cover diverse demographic groups and allow for control of more demographic variables, and a sample from China that has a different political climate as compared to the United States. The first study used a triad task, and a framed-line task. These tasks were administered to the group of college studies and measured on a scale from 1 to 7. They found that social liberals had a more ‘Western’, analytic, cognitive, and perceptual style than their conservative American classmates. The socially conservative students were more relational, cognitive, and perceptual. Their styles of thinking were more ‘East Asian’. The researchers claim that study 1 add to evidence that there are cultural differences in cognition between people in the same nation. The second study was similar to the first, but it was ran on a large Internet group instead of one university campus. It replaced the information from study1 because it was a larger sample size. Study three used date on cultural differences between students in Northern and Southern China. It was a replication of the findings in the first two studies. An important difference was that the relationship between social politics and thought was only found in more developed areas. It did find that this is not just an American phenomenon. Study four looked at if thought style causes people to be liberal or conservative. Study 4 provided the first evidence of cultural thought style causing attitudes toward political opinions that were presented in a long-form article. The different samples gives researchers some evidence that the relationship between politics and thought is not only of one particular culture. Running Out of Nurses: Nursing Shortages in the Middle East Running Out of Nurses: Nursing Shortages in the Middle East Introduction Nursing is a challenged and dynamic profession. Struggles and challenges have accompanied the development of nursing profession through the previous decades. Although nursing was started with unorganized and weakly defined beginning, our sisters and brothers didnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t stop until nursing become respectful and recognized profession. Now in the twenty-first century, the most challengeable problem is nursing shortage which is considered a public concern because of its massive effect on the quality of care and on patient health and safety. The first nurse Nightingales concept was cause no harm to patients. This was the foundation for the scope of practice for nurses. Any obstacles that may result in threaten patient safety should not be ignored. (Cherry Jacob, 2002). Nursing shortage is an issue where the required number of nurses is much more than the supply. Nursing shortage has been reported as crisis due to its seriousness. In the moment of speaking there are 200000 vacant nursing positions worldwide and it is predicted to increase to one million or even more by 2020. 85% of hospitals have expressed concerns about nursing shortage and half of them have difficulties retaining and recruiting nurses. Moreover, the turnover rate among nurses is continuously rising. Recently it has reached 40% in some hospitals nationwide (Albro, 2008). This assignment has been done as a requirement for contemporary nursing course; it will discuss the history, reasons and impact of nursing shortage. Explore the issue of recruiting foreign nurses and the issue of nursing shortage in the Middle East. History Experiencing shortage of nursing had started long time ago. Opening the first school in nursing in the US was the result of difficulty in finding adequate number and trained nurses to hand round in Civil war. After World War 2 the medical services that were provided had significantly changed resulting in huge increase in the number of hospitals and creating special care unit which generate the need for more nurses to serve. That time educational centres for nursing start to appear to educate and train nurses in order to overcome the shortage of nurses. Now the evidence shows that all countries worldwide suffer from nursing shortage and it is an international concern which needs to be highlighted and managed as soon as possible (Andrews Dziegielewski, 2005). Contributing Factors In 1980s it was easy to identify the reasons behind nursing shortage: increase the number of hospitals, length of hospital stay and aging population. Although these reasons are true, this is not the whole picture. It is more complex than that Age Nursing has experienced highest registering rate in 1960s-1970s. Because of new job opportunities opened in 1980s-1990s, smaller number of women registered. As a result of that, the average age of RN nowadays is 45 or more. Most of the middle aged nurses will reach retirement age between 2005-2010 (Abualrub, 2005). Nursing image Over the years nurses have developed concerns about their image in the society. Nursing has been differently described within the population as saints or sinner, admire or ignore, powerless or powerful. Can we say nursing shortage result from nursing image or nursing image result from nursing shortage? These two are highly related. Above that the education preparation for nurses differ 2 years associate degree, 3 years diploma and 4 years baccalaureate. These levels of education have made people not value nursing as a profession. Having a bachelor degree isnt necessary when you can be qualified to work after 3 or 2 years. This leads to discourage people to enter nursing and undervalue it (Daly, Speedy Jackson, 2003). Job satisfaction The reasons why nurses have the intention to leave nursing the career and why the turnover rate is increasing is mainly due to job dissatisfaction. Common reasons nationwide are over load, schedule changes, lack of appreciation and less family time. The nursing field doesnt offer the chance for frustrated nurses to speak out and this nourishes the dissatisfaction feeling. Lack of satisfaction makes nursing not an attractive profession for young people. More than 50% of working nurses will not advice their children or sisters to enter nursing (Diana, 2005). Faculty shortage Linda, Clarke Silber (2003) did a study that showed a strong relation between nursing education and patient mortality rate. Education plays a role in providing high quality care. 19% is the mortality rate in hospitals that have 60% of nurses with bachelor degree where it is higher in hospitals with only 20% nurses having bachelor. Lack of nursing faculty that provide proper education for the demand of bachelor graduating nurses directly affect the nursing shortage leading to directly affect patient safety. Nursing institutions witness an increase of registration, American Association of Colleges of nursing state that 13% increase of enrolment rate between 2004-2005. This increase needs an increase in nursing schools and clinical settings to educate these students. If there is not enough nursing faculty the condition will be worse. According to AACN 2005 nursing schools have rejected 41683 qualified applications. The main reason was having not enough nursing faculty, clinical areas and preceptors to educate this number of students (Allen, 2008). Implication of Shortage No doubt nursing shortage will have a negative impact on health care system. Nursing shortage forces hospitals to impose mandatory and unsafe overtime on nurses, increase responsibilities and workload and create floating nurse. All these contribute to job dissatisfaction and decrease quality care (Goodin, 2003). On patient Linda, Clarke Silber (2003) conducted study to show the relation between nurse work load and mortality rate. 50% of hospitals worldwide have 5:1 patient to nurse ratio. The study shows if the ratio is 6:1 or more, the risk for patient death will be 14%. If it is more than 8, the risk will be 31%. The number of medical errors is rising in a dangerous rate. One of the associated factors is nursing shortage. Study done by health resources and services shows a strong relation between number of staff and medication errors. These errors may have undesirable effect on patient health (Goodin, 2003) On nurses Not enough staff intensifies the level of stress of nurses. Overtimes, increase responsibilities and emotional stress promotes increase staff absenteeism, impair decision making ability and increase level of turnover. More than 75% of RNs believe that their job quality delivered to patient is strongly affected by the shortage. Three from four nurses feel is frustrating, discouraging and disappointment when you unable to provide proper nursing care, just because of there is not enough nurses in the floor. (Revira, 2009). Shortage remedy As a remedy for nursing shortage health care societies have started to hire foreign nurses. Phenomena of hiring foreign nurses has been introduced and practiced for almost 50 years (Leavitt, Mason chaffee, 2007). Recruiting foreign nurses is specifically problematic as a technique to resolve this shortage simply for two reasons. First, the shortage is global issue; means the country which sent her nurses abroad intensified the shortage within its health care system. Second, hiring foreign nurses cost much more than hiring home graduate. This related to the coast of recruiting and training them into the organization (Cherry Jacob, 2002). . Recruitment and retaining RNs Nursing associations are constantly working in order to recruit nurses as much as they can. Recruitment strategies should focus on attracting young nurses. Efforts should be maximized to spread the awareness among school aged students in order to make them consider nursing as a career or a profession (Yoho, Timpanaro Fowler, 2006).. Retention of professional nurses have helped the organization to overcome the shortage. To retain experienced nurses organizations should consider staff needs, In response to that, magnet hospitals were created. Hospitals which they focus in developing proper retention strategies, mainly by enhance nurses autonomy and support decision making ability. Magnet program aim to increase job satisfaction, decrease turnover and promote encouraging environment. Now magnet considered the most effective programme in US for retaining and recruiting nurses ( Valerie, Dreachslin, 2007) Nursing shortage in the Arab world The image of nursing as a profession in the Arab world is significantly improving. The status of nursing will be addressed from three dimensions: practice, education and image. Nursing education in the Arab world causes a lot of confusion due to the different educational levels. The minimum accepted educational degrees to enter the profession can be associated degree (2 years) or diploma degree (3 years) while in the US the bachelor is the minimum accepted degree. Moreover, some countries dont offer bachelor degree where other countries have recently started bachelor program like UAE. Arab world also tend to recruit foreign nurses especially gulf countries to overcome the shortage. Nursing image plays a big role in promoting the shortage in the Arab world. Most of the population doesnt prefer their sisters or daughters to choose nursing as a profession (Shukri, 2005). Conclusion Nursing shortage is an international problem which needs to be solved urgently. All the reasons and impacts of nursing shortage are now internationally known and it cant be ignored any more. There are many reasons that could lead to this problem, few of them were addressed: Age, nursing image, job satisfaction and faculty shortage. Leaders of nursing in practice and in academia should work to gather to develops plans enhance the growth of nursing staff. Impacts of nursing shortage cant be denied because it has a dangerous effect on patients health and on nurses. The practice of hiring foreign nurses doesnt help in solving nursing shortage. Recruiting and retaining strategies should be carefully studied in order to increase the number of working nurses. The shortage in the Arab world is a noticeable problem in which a lot of efforts need to be done in many areas to overcome this shortage.

Physics of Firearms Essay -- physics firearm gun guns rifle pistol

A firearm, in the most basic form, consists of a barrel, an action, a firing mechanism, a stock and a sighting device. No matter the form of the firearm, the same basic principles of physics and chemistry apply. The study of these principles is called ballistics. There are three types of ballistics, internal, external, and terminal. Internal ballistics is the study of the flight of a projectile inside a firearm. External ballistics is the study of the flight of a bullet after leaving the muzzle and until it hits the target. Terminal ballistics is the study of the effects of a projectile on a given target. Because this essay deals with the flight of the bullet, terminal ballistics will not be discussed. Internal ballistics is the study of the flight of a projectile inside the firearm. The main components of internal ballistics include the firing process, rifling, and recoil. The Firing Process The firing process begins when the trigger of a gun is pulled. This releases the firing pin, allowing it to collide with and ignite the primer and cartridge. As the cartridge burns, it produces a hot gas that increases the temperature and pressure inside the cartridge. Once the pressure of the cartridge exceeds the friction holding the bullet in place, the bullet moves down the barrel of the rifle. When the bullet leaves the barrel the pressure decreases greatly and the hot air expands as it leaves the barrel. This is the cause of the loud bang when a rifle is shot. Rifling The accuracy of a firearm depends greatly on the spin of the bullet as it leaves the rifle. The spin of a bullet is caused by the grooves (rifling) cut on the inside of the barrel of the gun. Without a spin on the bullet, there would be no gyroscopic forces ... .... Unless a shooter has a ballistic simulator, they rely on drop tables which are provided by cartridge manufacturers. Shooting at an Angle In the "zeroing a rifle" section we required that the line of sight to the target was horizontal. What if this is not the case? The picture below shows the path a typical bullet will take when shot at a target that is not at the same elevation as the shooter, or upward angle. If a shooter shoots at a target whos line of sight to the target is not horizontal and the line of sight distance (or slant range (Rs)) is equal to the zero range of the rifle and he aims directly at the target, the shooter will shoot over the target. (See diagram) To correct for this, the shooter must compensate for the zeroing of the rifle. This is done by finding the horizontal range to the target (Rh). One can use trigonometry: Rh = Rs cos(a).

Q&A: US Treatment of Suspected Terrorists :: essays research papers

1) Summarize the arguments that the United States used to justify its treatment of the prisoners. Ans. There were many arguments offered by the United States to justify its treatment of the prisoners. One of the arguments was that, Taliban and Al-Qaeda prisoners were ?unlawful enemy combatants? so therefore, Third Geneva Convention does not apply due to the fact they are not prisoners of war. This meant that US could treat the prisoners how ever they favored. Another dispute was raised which was the US human rights, which was argued by the US by raising up a point that the prisoners were not US citizens and were not living there. Lastly another argument raised was that strict rules and conduct was necessary for the prisoners because they have threatened US and strict behavior from US was legitimate. 2) Summarize the arguments that critics used to pressure the United States into changing its treatment of the prisoners. Ans. Various organizations and governments have accused the US for the unsuitable treatment of the prisoners. Critics say that these people are prisoners of war. The conditions do not meet the requirement level that is expected for prisoners of war and also some prisoner?s officials agree with this concept. They have stated that the conditions are below standard for the prisoners and the NGO Human Rights Watch completely opposes the treatment of the prisoners. According to the NGO, US are supposed to treat every detained combatant humanely, including unlawful combatants. Amnesty International wrote: ?The USA has variously used hooding, blindfolding, handcuffing, and shackling of detainees in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Iraq) 3) Identify some important issues of international law raised by this situation. Ans. The legal limbo is an important issue of international law raised by this situation, in which prisoners existed, a situation for which there was no provision under international law. According to international and human rights law, legal status as a prisoner of war or criminal should be determined by a competent, independent tribunal, not by the US captors. 4) In your opinion, was the United States justified in its treatment of al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners? Explain your viewpoint. Ans. I fully disagree with the treatment of the Al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners that took place by the USA. This is because some of them might be innocent, some of them might of changed there thoughts if they were reasoned with.

The Rise of Autism

â€Å"In February 2007 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised the prevalence figures for ASD to one in every 150 individuals† (Richard, 2008, p. 26). There are many theories for this increased incidence. One factor discussed is the ability to finally fully diagnose the disorder. Since the increased awareness of autism, scientists have been busy researching and modifying the diagnostic criteria for autism. Correctly diagnosing is a very important step in helping children improve skills that are affected by autism. The other factors discussed are the general developmental disorders that take place during early childhood. There are many possible factors, such as vaccinations and genetics, that have led to the rise of autism and because of this rise funding for autism research has increased tremendously, as has the cost of treatments. Autism used to be a low incidence disorder now it is one of the fastest growing developmental disabilities in the United States. There is still not one explanation for this sudden change in history, but scientists are getting closer and closer to the answer everyday. Since scientists have discovered a diagnosis for autism, they have been able to better understand autism and the possible causes for its existence. Proper diagnosis has been a huge factor in the rise of autism, but that still doesn’t mean the cause of autism is not important. There is a reason for this rise and finding the cause is the only way scientists are going to be able to prevent this increased incidence from growing in the future. One possible factor that scientists are researching is environmental toxins. Evironmental toxins have been a long suspect for the cause of autism. There are many ways that children can be exposed to these toxins. Children could be exposed even before birth, during excessive ultrasounds and even electronic devices. One scientist conducted a study on the drug terbutaline, a drug used to stop pre-term labor in pregnant woman. He found a direct correlation in the continued use of terbutaline and the increased likelihood of autism among twins (Patel & Curtis, 2008, p. 83). This is just one study that has been proven to show a link between environmental toxins and autism. Mercury is another issue that has been researched. Mercury has been put in the air through coal-fired power plants, as well in vaccines. Mercury and other chemicals have been shown to alter the normal development of the brain during fetal development in the womb and during early childhood development (Kirby, 2005). Findings have indicated that many children have a metabolic impairment that reduces their ability to rid their bodies of heavy metals and other toxins (Wallis, 2008). This suggests that there is some link between the two, environmental toxins and autism, even if toxins are not the sole cause of the disorder. Another possible factor is nutritional problems among autistic children. Autistic children have significantly low levels of nutrients in the hair, blood and other tissues. Along with the lack of nutrients, they usually have low levels of magnesium, zinc, selenium, vitamins A, B-complex, D and E, omega-3 fatty acids, and carnitine (Patel & Curtis, 2008, p. 82). Therefore, this proves that nutritional deficiencies is a common problem among autistic children and may link scientists to a possible cause. Another issue scientists have found in autistic children deals with the allergies towards gluten and casein. Gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains and casein is a protein found in dairy products. Scientists have found that children who have allergies to gluten and casein experience odd behaviors. If an autistic child would eat either of these two substances it would send them into hours of disturbing behaviors (Simontacchi, 2008, p. 10). Scientists have found because of this study that children that are a gluten-free and casein-free diet, they do not experience as many tantrum behaviors. This also helps support the fact that nutritional problems can cause autism. The last possible factor discussed is the possibility of genetics and its connection to autism. Most scientists believe that genetics is one of the major causes for autism. There are many findings that have led scientists to believe this is true and one of these is simply because this disorder has been known to run in families. Studies have shown that if one child is autistic, his or her sibling has a three to six percent chance of being autistic as well. Identical twins have a much greater probability of being autistic than fraternal twins (Merriman, 2008, p. 8). This is more than enough evidence to show that there is a connection between genetics and autism. Scientists have also discovered a variety of genes that have showed signs that link to autism. Scientists are still not positive which gene has more of a connection with autism, but they definitely have found a relation between the two. One of the areas that researchers in the Autism Consortium have identified is the 25-gene area on chromosome 16 that when duplicated or deleted could account for a small percentage of autism cases (Merriman, 2008, p. 18). Scientists have uncovered a lot of new evidence to support the connection between autism and genetics. The rise in autism has increased funds for autism research tremendously. Since scientists have been able to fully diagnose autism, government involvement has grown immensely. There have been many new foundations introduced to help research for autism. One of the many include The Autism Research Foundation, which is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to researching the neurological underpinnings of autism and other related developmental brain disorders (Chmura, 2008). The Autism Research Foundation has a big impact on the future for autism research. A recent news release in April 2008 stated that, â€Å"The FY08 Defense Appropriations Act provides $6. 4 million for the Department of Defense Autism Research Program to improve the lives of individuals living with autism spectrum disorder now† (Chmura, 2008). This contribution has been an enormous help in the funding for autism research. The rise of autism has also caused an increase in cost for the families of the autistic children. Families of the autistic child spend thousands of dollars on treatment. Most of this money families spend is just trying to find the right treatment for their child because not all treatments work for the same for every child. New technology has also been a factor in the increased cost for autism treatments. Not only is the cost of the treatments expensive so is the cost of screening and diagnosis. Many groups have started grant programs to assist those families with an autistic child who are in financial crisis. One of these grants is brought by the National Autism Association. Families who live in the United States with a child, no older than age eighteen, on the autism spectrum may qualify for the grant. The maximum dollar amount one can request is $1,500. This money is to only be used for biomedical treatments, supplements or therapies for the child (â€Å"CDC study†, 2007, p. 6). These grant programs will be a huge help for families who are struggling to pay for these expensive treatments and screening tests. Scientists are still in the process of finding the exact cause of autism. One day scientists may finally be able to find a cure and put an end to this rise of autism children. Knowledge of autism has come a long way since the first diagnosis of autism and hopefully that trend continues into the future. Diagnosis has been a very important part in helping autistic children improve their skills as well as helping scientists better understand autism altogether. Now scientists have a lead in the possible factors like environmental toxins, nutrition, and genetics. Once the pieces are put together, scientists will finally be able to control and hopefully put an end to the rise of autism among children in the United States. Reference http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1821595,00.html