Advocacy in Social Work

Advocacy in Social Work Advocacy, Rights and Partnership This reflective report contains my experience and understanding of advocacy and explains the types of advocacy and its methods and models, I will explain the theories and relate it to my practice and finally discuss the strengths and weakness of my area of practice and discuss the conflicts of interest implication up on the service user. DEFINITION OF ADVOCACY Advocacy is defined as a key concept in social work practice. It is defined as exerting influence on behalf of organisations and groups within legal power and political structure. Advocacy involves either an individual or group, or their representatives, pressing their case with influential others, about situations which either affect them directly or, and more usually, try to prevent proposed changes, which will leave them worse off .(Pardeck, 1996). Gates (1994) cites four variations of advocacy: legal advocacy, the representation of the user in a formal context, for instance a health-review tribunal; self-advocacy, where the individual or a group of individuals speak up for themselves, a form of empowerment; collective or class advocacy, the large organisations who speak for the interests and rights of a category of people; and citizen advocacy, the representation of the users interests by a competent advocate (eg a Social worker). Advocacy is a concept embraced by social work and advocating for clients is vital for the social work profession. The primary goals of advocacy are achieving social justice and people empowerment. In achieving these goals, a proactive, responsive and participatory approach is necessary (Pardeck, 1996). My role as an advocate during my placement was to speak on behalf of my clients and to empower them to advocate on their own behalf, whenever their rights have been denied; for example in accessing state benefits or demanding repair work from local Housing departments. The advocacy role, from a social context, includes the redistribution of power and recourse to an individual or group, guarding their rights and preserving their values, conserving their best interests and overcoming the sense of powerlessness (Pardeck, 1996. pg 151). RESOURCES AVAILABLE WITHIN PLACEMENT My second year practice placement was with a charity organisation, in the London Borough of Newham called RAMP (Refugee And Migrant Project). RAMP is one of The Renewal Programme projects and is registered with the Home Office Office of Immigration Services Commission. RAMP works to enable refugees and migrants (including asylum seeker) to realise their potentials and facilitate their integration into society. The focus of the organisation is to provide advice and advocacy and support on welfare benefits, housing and education and NASS National Asylum Support Services. RELATING THEORY TO ADVOCACY When I began working with migrants, refugees or asylum seekers, I took a very holistic and Person Centred Approach that allowed me to work in partnership and give them the opportunity to go through their own problems and find their own solutions to them. Carl Rogers was the founder of Person-Centred therapy. As a psychologist in the 1950s and 60s he studied the process of counselling and came to the conclusion that a number of basic principles were required in order for there to be a positive relationship and outcome between the client and the therapist. These are also known as core conditions: . Unconditional positive regard that involves the therapist being non-judgmental and accepting the client and their experiences. . Congruence, which means that the therapist displays their true thoughts and feelings during the session. . Empathy, where the therapist shows understanding towards the clients experiences without oppressing them. When engaging with my clients, I demonstrated unconditional positive regard by not judging them as individuals or for the needs they had; I wanted to find out what it is that they wanted/needed. I was congruent in that I acknowledged the fact that I was a student and I was also learning myself, and therefore I may not be able to answer all questions immediately. Finally, I showed empathy by acknowledging similarities that I may have with them such as coming from a minority ethnic community. As well as the core conditions, I used the Exchange Model of communication to engage in my meetings with my clients. Smale and Tuson (1998) point out that the exchange model believes that the client has an equally valid perception of their problems and that they themselves can contribute to finding the solutions. This also facilitates partnership between the worker and the client. The exchange model was effective because English was the second language for all my clients therefore enabled me to ask them simple, open-ended questions that were free from professional jargon, compared to Procedural model that has pre-set questions to conform to the requirements of the agency. I used two main theories to look at situations during my practice placement: Systems theory and Muslows Hierarchy of Needs. Systems theory originates from Bertalanffys (1971) biological theory that all things are part of a system: sub-systems that make up super-systems (in Payne, 1997). The theory is also known as ecological perspective; family theory and networks theory depending on what context it is used. Systems theory allows you to look at the whole picture and not just one aspect of a particular case. The concept of circular causality is also significant in this theory and it suggests that: if something happens in one part, it affects the other. I therefore did not analyse clients situations in isolation, I looked at their surroundings and their systems to understand their situations better. Pincus and Minahan (1973) describe 3 systems in which people depend on (in Payne, 1997 p.141): Societal systems (housing, social security and schools) For some of my clients, their housing department was part of their societal systems that they may have been experiencing problems with. On top of this, some of their main informal systems their families may be missing from them (i.e. still in their own countries). This had a detrimental effect on their self-confidence and achievement as it left gaps in the systems that are supporting them. Maslows hierarchy of needs highlights that the family is a very important factor in meeting basic needs for example, security. By being estranged from their families, clients are already at a weak point and according to systems theory; this also affects their formal and societal systems. As a social worker, in order to promote and enable my clients and to empower them, it was important that I was able to maintain as many systems around them as possible. This was important for their confidence and future development. When carrying out my work with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants I was very much open and holistic in the way that I looked at the multiple forms of discrimination and oppression that this client group may face. For example I did not only focus on the obvious forms of oppression. Such as race, religion and gender, I also looked at underlying issues such as relationships with partners and domestic abuse. I ensured that I did not ignore the oppression and discrimination that they may face within their own communities. Other theories, models and methods which I used included Crisis Intervention, Task-Centred work, Loss Bereavement amongst others. I found that being able to study, understand and relate these to my practice guided me immensely in my practice. They provided me with the knowledgebase, which I could use to eclectically and effectively in order to work with the many different situations that I worked with. THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SU Adams (1998 p314) sees advocacy as a form of empowerment which, involves representing a persons interests in circumstances where they are not able to do so themselves. It strives to promote social inclusion by empowering marginalised people and therefore, has a direct relationship to anti-oppressive practice in social work. The ethical principles underlying advocacy reinforce working in partnership with users and carers, a key concept in social work practice and community care. Furthermore, the skills required for successful advocacy reflect core skills of social work practice (Bateman, 2000p17). Professionals get involved in peoples lives most of the times to help, but then oppress them by making decisions for them. Oppression is: Inhuman/degrading treatment of individuals/groups; hardship And injustice brought about by the dominance of one group over another; the negative and demeaning exercise of power. Oppression often involves disregarding the rights of an individual/ group and is thus the denial of citizenship (Thompson 1997 p31). In a situation where the Social worker made a decisions without consulting him, his needs and interests were not considered. As Adams (1998p301) affirms remedies to problems encountered lie primarily with experts and thus undermines self determination and authenticity. Most professionals take it upon themselves to make decisions for people as they assume that they cannot make choices for themselves, yet the Mental Capacity Act 2007 argues that almost all including the most severely disabled are capable of making choices and expressing their views and preferences. Therefore it is the Social workers role to challenge the abuse of power for suppression and for excluding people from decisions which affect them as stated by Stanford (accessed 5/01/2009) in the code of ethics. People requiring access to services should not feel that they are beggars, their welfare needs should be met as a right and dignity and respect should be maintained all the times. STRENGTHSÂ  AND WEAKNESSES OF ADVOCACY To assist service users, advocacy may be appropriate to protect the rights of the service user. An advocate will inform an individual of their options, and talk with other services on their behalf, if required to. The role of an advocate is to allow the service user to make their own self-determinations by ensuring they have all the relevant information, whilst at the same time not imposing their own views on the situation (Coulshed and Orme 1998). Difficulties with advocacy arise if the advocate tries to impose their own opinion on the service user, who may be vulnerable, and open to suggestion. The lack of statutory advocacy means that most services are provided by those who have already experienced similar situations, and who may have a biased view or are not trained to deal with difficult situations (Adams et.al. 2002) Anti oppressive practice (AOP): Looking at the structure of oppression developed by Thompson (1993) called the PCS model. I can illustrate how oppression is occurring, because this model is used to develop our understanding of discrimination and the oppression that arises from it. (Thompson,1998:12). It operates at three very separate levels, which are inter-related. These levels being personal, cultural and structural (the term PCS model). (Thompson,1998:12). Oppression itself is a powerful force. On a personal level it can lead to demoralisation and lack of self-esteem, while at a structural level it can lead to denial of rights. (Dalrymple and Burke,1995:57) This statement proves to be true because at the personal level, because the majority of the community that come to our organisation are feeling oppressed by themselves because of not being able to access facilities and not receiving the advice in maintaining their health, hygiene and environment. At the cultural level oppression is coming from other communities because they feel that they are superior to them, due to the fact that they are more familiar with the services and maybe able to speak English, therefore demoralising the community . At the structural level, institutions such as schools, hospitals, social security offices, advice centres the list is endless do not provide a facility whereby individuals from the community can access them, whereby denying them their rights. As an advocate it was my duty to challenge what the service users where feeling and going through, whereby I would empower them to access necessary services and direct them to attend relevant courses in order to tackle there problems and emotional feelings. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST WHICH MAY ARISE IN ADVOCACY The most common conflict of interest that I was faced with whilst advocating was the language barriers between service users and advocacy staff , In reflection throughout the advocacy I noticed the significant difference that language plays throughout society. It made me realise that not having the language skills can be very oppressive to a person and can leave them marginalized from the rest of society. Communication is a skill in itself and it is central to the role of social work (Thompson, 2000). Communication can come in many different forms; this can include verbal, non-verbal, listening and writing skills. Conclusion In conclusion to the finding throughout research and practice, it shows a huge importance in working in partnership with service users and other professional, good partnership helps social workers and other professional to delivery an effective service. Social workers are helping to promote change; even though they are working within statutory agencies their role can have a huge influence from advocacy.

Race Relations Essay

Humanity has been enduring an ongoing battle for centuries: the strained relations among the races. Despite efforts to put the past behind, signs remain at nearly every juncture that there still exists a strong sense of racial dissension. While many Caucasians do not see the problem being as severe as it is represented, African-Americans angrily reply that the lighter skinned race has not had to endure such prejudice and, therefore, cannot begin to identify with the situation. Frank Newport, vice president of the Gallup Poll Organization, says Caucasian Americans do not interpret racism as a big problem, therefore, they do not see a need for â€Å"government intervention† (Anonymous, 1997; 04A). Similarly, Asians, Hispanics and other United States minorities believe they often receive unfair treatment because of their race. However, President Clinton and several organizations — including the National Multicultural Institute, whose main focus is to â€Å"sort out the jumble of expectations and fears that swirl around the initiative’s struggle to reconcile ethnicity and difference with the notion of one American nation† (Green, 1998; PG) — are pushing hard to mend racial tension with a comprehensive program that is designed to bring all races together. Will it work? Or will minorities look upon the effort as nothing more than a Band-Aid covering a much larger issue? To some extent, concepts such as affirmative action have their place in society, yet they will do nothing to alter an individual’s perception of one race or another. In the past, children’s racial viewpoints have routinely been shaped by their parents’ perceptions. This is precisely how racial prejudice is passed down from generation to generation. However, today’s teens appear to be breaking free of the antiquated procession by voicing their own opinions about race relations. While racial hate crimes continue to run rampant, the newer generation tends to believe there is less interracial tension than do their parents (Farley, 1997). What has instigated this considerably lax attitude among the younger generation is not quite clear; yet a TIME/CNN poll has discovered that the adolescent population is far more forgiving of racial prejudices than their adult counterparts. Of twelve hundred, eighty-two adults and six hundred one teenagers aged twelve to seventeen; the younger sect demonstrated a considerable amount of racial tolerance toward one another when compared with the older respondents (Farley, 1997). If given the opportunity, children and young adults will not adopt negative views of other races if they are not placed in such an environment that encourages such thought. However, with the deep-seated hatred that has been bred into so many generations, it has become difficult for some of those prejudice intentions not to trickle down the family line. Yet the TIME/CNN poll was instrumental in establishing that a good number of adolescence of all races have successfully â€Å"moved beyond their parents’ views of race† (Farley, 1997; 88+). To the kids with such an open mind, race is no more important to them in either a social or personal level; yet it is not to be overlooked that these same respondents were still able to recognize the fact that racism was one of America’s biggest problems today. Even so, over one-third said the problem — though it exists — is insignificant (Farley, 1997; 88+). As it relates to their own lives, eighty-nine percent of the African-American adolescents who responded said the problem was small or did not exist at all. Amazingly, the Caucasian respondents – both young and old — considered racism a more â€Å"dominant issue† (Farley, 1997; 88+) than did the African-American adolescent respondents. What does that say about the varying impressions of race relations? Depending upon which race is viewing the issue, it appears the seriousness of the problem could be considerably damaging or an insignificant obstacle. Still, optimism is high that the younger generation deems race relations as being in good standing. This may be a â€Å"sign of hope† (Farley, 1997; 88+) or nothing more than â€Å"youthful naivete† (88+); regardless, it demonstrates a long awaited shift in the social climate relating to race relations and its consequences. Sociologist Joe R. Feagin says the answer may lie with both options. His interpretation of the lack of adolescent racism is that reality has not fully set in for those who have not yet experienced the real world. â€Å"You have to be out looking for jobs and housing to know how much discrimination is out there† (Farley, 1997; 88+). Feagin contends that those who have a better grasp of racial reality are those who are over the age of nineteen. Reasoning behind this is that comparatively few African-American teenage respondents said they had been victimized by discrimination; contrarily, half of the African-American adults admitted they had (Farley, 1997). Experts are concerned that adolescents are being too gullible when it comes to realizing the truth of the matter. Others contend that perhaps they are willfully setting a precedence for others to follow that will ultimately initiate a genuine improvement in race relations. It is not as though contemporary teenagers do not have knowledge of history and its negative treatment of minority races; rather, it appears they have more faith in their own future than their parents did before them. Additionally, today’s youth are trying to move away from the typical â€Å"scapegoating† (Farley, 1997; 88+) that has become so commonplace in society. Suspicions arise with poll results, however, in that they do not always reflect the truth; many people are more apt to give â€Å"socially acceptable† (Farley, 1997; 88+) answers rather than what is truly in their hearts. Yet this is not likely to be the contention of teenagers who, for the most part, speak more freely and true to form than adults. A believer in this concept is sociologist Howard Pinderhuges, author of Race in the Hood: Conflict and Violence Among Urban Youth, who firmly contends that teenagers are genuine. â€Å"Teenagers are a mirror of our souls. They speak plainly about things that adults would like to hide. Political correctness isn’t an issue to them. You’re more likely to get what they think unfiltered† (Farley, 1997; 88+). Still, through all this optimism, there exists an invisible boundary line that, even though race relations seem to be improving, keeps the races separated. Seventeen-year-old Danny, one of the TIME/CNN respondents, commented that his friends consisted more of African-Americans than Caucasians. This, in and of itself, was not as enlightening as was his admission of the fact that â€Å"we just talk in school† (Farley, 1997; 88+), not allowing the relationship to progress into one’s personal territory. It was a normal occurrence for none of Danny’s African-American friends to visit him at home or for him to go to theirs; the lines of separation were clearly drawn. Experts consider this to be accountable in large part to the amount of violence that takes place in the â€Å"crime-plagued housing projects† (Farley, 1997; 88+) where many of his friends live. The situation is far from unusual. Even among African-American youths, the interpretation of neighborhood safety has its variations. According to the TIME/CNN poll, forty percent of African-American teenagers claim to have known someone in their age group who has been killed, whereas just fifteen percent of Caucasian teenagers said they had experienced the same. Interestingly, African-American youths believe they are treated unfairly by enforcement officers, while one-third believe they are â€Å"at risk† (Farley, 1997; 88+) of receiving unfair treatment. Just one of five Caucasian youths feels the same. John Hope Franklin, head of President Clinton’s race relations task force, claims genuine racial betterment will not arrive until â€Å"you have improvement in the home conditions of kids of all kinds† (Farley, 1997; 88+). An intriguing informal study gives an indication of how racial difference runs deep within an individual’s psyche. Psychologist and author Beverly Tatum, who recently wrote Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? , routinely poses the following question to psychology students: â€Å"I am _______. † What is most interesting about the answers she receives is the fact that Caucasian students fill in the blank with an adjective describing their personalities or characters, whereas students of other races are more apt to finish the sentence identifying their ethnicity. According to Tatum, such racial recognition is born out of adolescent peer pressure, â€Å"societal influences and self-reflection† (Farley, 1997; 88+). Polls are regularly put to use to determine the public climate on race relations. A recent USA TODAY survey of more than two thousand college freshmen from around the country reported that forty-five percent perceived race relations as having a positive stance within society; in all, two percent thought relations between African-Americans and Caucasians were excellent (Kohen, 1998; PG). A poll in The Independent, a British publication, noted that one-third of the Caucasians believed one should marry only within one’s race (Forna, 1998; 1, 2). Granted, views of younger generations may be quite a bit more diverse than those of the older sect, but those younger views are what will ultimately shape the future of the country. Being on campus allows people the opportunity to intermingle more frequently with those of other races, which may give them the false impression that the rest of the world is as friendly with one another as they are at school. Unlike out in the real world, campus life encourages the fraternization of racial groups, attempting to overthrow the narrow- mindedness often found on the streets of reality. Noel Barrion, Asian American Student Union president, observes this difference each and everyday he looks to see who is sitting next to one another in the school cafeteria. â€Å"Racial discrimination is out there. People just aren’t aware† (Kohen, 1998; PG). Barrion says the AASU works hard to bridge the gap that separates the races as they exist on campus. Naima Stevenson, Black Student Union President, says the solution to â€Å"combating racial discrimination† (Kohen, 1998; PG) is to keep the lines of communication as wide open as possible in order to â€Å"confront the complexity and richness of in the United States† (Delgado, 1997; 39A). Because of this forward moving attitude, the relationship between the two campus racial organizations is in good standing. Says Barrion: â€Å"The vehicle between us becoming friends is the desire to be involved† (Kohen, 1998; PG). Both Stevenson and Barrion admit to the difficulty of establishing just how much race relations have changed for the worse or better during their short stay at college, but they both have reason to remain positive that future change will be for the better. For Stevenson, looking back after several years to find a marked improvement in campus race relations would be ideal. They both believe that if relations continue in the manner they currently are, this would not be such an unexpected occurrence (Kohen, 1998; PG). However, it is not uncommon to find just the opposite opinion from other students. The USA TODAY poll revealed that far more African-Americans sense the negativity with regard to race relations than does any other race. Yet despite actions in place to bridge the racial gap, those like Barrion and Stevenson believe far more can be done than the efforts currently available on American college campuses. While the opportunity is there for expansion, there is just â€Å"not enough diversity on campus† (Kohen, 1998; PG). â€Å"It looks like it will still be the same problem going into the new millennium. There’s plenty of opportunity to meet someone of another culture or that you would have never known about before† (Kohen, 1998; PG). President Clinton has set his sights on bridging the racial gap in an effort to improve the country’s â€Å"deteriorating race relations† (McFeatters, 1997; 68). By using his clout as Chief Executive and standing behind the affirmative action policy, Clinton hopes to turn around some of the prejudice that continues to spread across the land. A speech he gave at the Million Man March in Texas in 1995 effectively forecasted America’s situation as one where an inordinate number of people â€Å"fear deep down inside that they’ll never quite be able to see each other as more than enemy faces, all of whom carry a sliver of bigotry in their hearts† (McFeatters, 1997; 68). Clinton contends that America must clean its house of racism; that â€Å"a house divided against itself cannot stand† (McFeatters, 1997; 68). While these words ring true, it is not clear as to what the President intends to do in the long run to curb racism in the United States. One thing he does propose is a more fair system of dispersing wage earnings among African-Americans, of who only one-fourth make upwards of thirty-five thousand dollars a year compared to one-half of all Caucasian Americans (McFeatters, 1997; 68). Speaking on the topic of integration, President Clinton agreed with Franklin who proposed the only way to clear the cloudy air of racism was to encourage â€Å"open and honest dialogue† (McFeatters, 1997; 68) among the races; that it was, indeed, the â€Å"critical first step† (68) in the direction of genuine racial integration. Other critics say it is time to â€Å"end the reliance on racism as an explanatory concept† (Wortham, 1996; 253) for all racial problems and â€Å"move beyond the black-white paradigm† (Gold, 1998; B-2) when the topic turns to race relations. â€Å"When we say true integration, we mean the opportunity of every American to develop to the fullest extent of his capacity. We mean that every individual regardless then of regardless of religion, regardless of ethnicity, every American has an opportunity, should have an opportunity to move forward as rapidly as his talents, his or her talents, and as rapidly as the opportunities open† (Page et al, 1998; PG). BIBLIOGRAPHY Introduction to Psychology; Inner Reality, Outer Reality in Diversity, Jennifer Iljas ISBN: 0-7575-2864-3 Anonymous (1997, June). Poll finds pessimism on status and future of U. S. race relations// Perceptions are black and white. Star Tribune, pp. 04A. Delgado, Richard; Perea, Juan F. (1997, November). Racism goes beyond black and white. Rocky Mountain News, pp. 39A. Farley, Christopher John (1997, November). Society: Kids and race: A new poll shows teenagers, black and white, have moved beyond their parents’ views of race. TIME, pp. 88+. Forna, Aminatta (1998, August). Bridge over troubled water. Independent on Sunday, pp. 1, 2. Gold, Matea (1998, February). L. A. shares its experiences with race relations panel; Diversity: Video points out what the city has learned and seeks to widen presidential advisory group’s discussion beyond black-white issues. Los Angeles Times, pp. B-2. Green, Sharon (1998, May). Washington, DC, President’s initiative on race: Progress. Talk of the Nation (NPR), pp. PG. Kohen, Rochelle (1998, February). USA Today survey reveals poor perception of race relations. University Wire, pp. PG. McFeatters, Ann (1997; May). Clinton hopes to close racial divide. Rocky Mountain News, pp. 68A. Page, Clarence; Hansen, Liane (1998, June). Race Initiative. Weekend Sunday (NPR),pp. PG. Wortham, Anne (1996, January). Distorting the Dilemma. The World & I, vol. 11, pp. 253.

Torture: Morality and Terrorist

In the article â€Å"The Truth about Torture†, Charles Krauthammer considers the ticking time bomb problem and argues that torture is sometimes not only morally permissible, but morally necessary. Krauthammer uses the example of terrorists in his example, what if we captured a terrorist with knowledge of an attack and the knowledge of future attacks; do we torture him for his information? Or simply just have him locked up? (Krauthammer 2). Utilitarian considerations are sufficient to justify using cruel actions against terrorists to extract confessions.Even though is cruel to torture one to extract information, it is our duty as citizens to maintain the happiness as a whole and do what is necessary to save lives. Utilitarianism is a consequential normative moral theory, which state the moral value of an action is determined by the most happiness or utility it creates (Mill 461). If we use this definition to analyze the case, then yes it is sufficient to use cruel actions such as waterboarding and sodium pentathol injections on terrorists to extract information.Waterboarding is a terrifying and deeply shocking torture technique in which the prisoner has his face exposed to water in a way that gives the feeling of drowning (Krauthammer 3). Sodium pentathol injection is a sedative drug; its purpose is to disinhibit the higher brain centres to make someone more likely to share their information (Krauthammer 3). In parts of Asia, torture is embedded in the criminal justice system (Wong 1). So there is no concern as to why torture can’t be used in the example of the terrorist. By torturing the terrorist, we are able to extract information from him, thus doing what is morally right and save lives.Maintaining and creating happiness among the whole is more important just the happiness of a person. If that is the case then wouldn’t torturing the terrorist be the right thing to do? Torturing him would make the world a more peaceful place and also lett ing terrorists know that we are not scared of them and we’ll do whatever it takes to spoil their well-thought-out plans. Utilitarianism allows for violations of justice. This is one of those violations because we’re torturing for the good of humankind and fighting off evil at the same time.Some might argue torturing someone is morally wrong, even though is for a good cause. The example of waterboarding and sodium pentathol injection is cruel and non-humane. This is because both these examples violate basic human rights. Injecting sodium pentathol into another human is usually against their own will, let alone extracting information from them without their consent. Utilitarianism holds that actions tend to help promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness (Mill 462). In this case, wouldn’t we create unhappiness for the terrorist because he is suffering?Saving lives is one thing, but there must be better ways of extracting information than to tortu re another human. With regards to torture on the terrorist, is important to note that utilitarian maintain that each person’s happiness is to be weighted equally and that happiness is pleasure and the absence of pain (Mill 469). Torturing then would be the right thing to do because happiness out-weight unhappiness. More people will be upset and devastated if a terrorist attack did happen and we choose not to torture the terrorist to extract information. If the terrorist attack did not go as planned, so what?The terrorist wouldn’t be devastated and be sad as much as we would have to deal with the death of innocent people. The terrorist will probably just think of a better plan and hope it’ll execute to perfection the next time. Is necessary to be cruel and torture a terrorist to get information, but on one condition, if happiness out-weight unhappiness. This is the case when we know lives can be saved by means of torture. Torture is cruel, with examples such as i njections of sodium pentathol and waterboarding, but sometimes is needed to help do what’s best for humankind.Bibliography -Wong Kai-shing. â€Å"The Problem of Torture in China's Criminal Justice System† http://www. hrsolidarity. net/mainfile. php/2005vol15no05/2451/ – Krauthammer, Charles. â€Å"The Truth about Torture† http://www. weeklystandard. com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/400rhqav. asp? page=3 -Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. In Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fifth Edition. Eds JohnPerry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer. New York, NY: Oxford University press, 2010. Pp. 457-476.

United States History Essays - Monopoly, Market Structure

United States History Essays - Monopoly, Market Structure United States History "From 1790 to the 1870?s, state and national governments intervened in the American economy mainly to aid private economic interests and promote economic growth. Between 1890 and 1929, however, government intervention was designed primarily to curb and regulate private economic activity in the public interest." Assess the validity of this statement, discussing for each of these periods at least TWO major areas of public economic policy. The statement is essentially true, in the time of 1790 to 1870?s private business was at its peak, government and state did little to control or usually was in favor of big business. Laissez-faire was the common policy towards regulations and business dealings in general. However form 1890 and 1929 the attitudes changed, more people were concerned with the well being or the people, concerned with the ever growing power of big businesses; government and state started to regulate them in the very ways that the previous time period. I. 1790-1870 a. regulation 1. many businesses were free to do as they pleased i. Carnegie Steel ii. RR 2. monopolies were established i. multimillion dollar industries were formed a. Standard Oil b. Carnegie Steel ii. little done to regulate these "big businesses" a. not until Sherman Anti-trust Act was there an attempt made to regulate monopolies 1. even that didn?t have teeth 3. with the monopolies prices can be fixed, nothing was done to stop this until the late 1800?s 4. laissez-faire policies were favored at the time b. business in general 1. conducted in the way the top 1% saw fit i. Andrew Carnegie ii. John D. Rockefeller iii. J.P. Morgan 2. big business prospered while the small business owners were left to the mercy of the big guys 3. economy was based on the few people that had all the money i. this resulted in many poor, few rich ii. yet again government/state didn?t do a thing till after the late 1800?s 4. strikes and unions illegal at the time II. 1890 - 1929 a. regulation 1. Acts begin to show their teeth i. Sherman Anti-Trust Act ii. Interstate Commerce Act 2. Monopolies started to be broken up i. "Trust Busters" a. Teddy Roosevelt b. Woodrow Wilson ii. regulation of business more strict 3. People start to realize the evils of a laissez-faire economy i. no one but big business would profit 4. old styles of thing are soon taken over by a new thinking i. all people are important ii. economy which was mainly directed towards the few wealth was now being directed towards the majority, not the minority b. business in General 1. unions legal i. AFL 2. per capita income rose from $450 to $567 3. even presidents view changed with the election of Roosevelt i. " President was steward of the people" ii. Hepburn Act a. regulated RR b. moved to rid laissez-faire 4. Corrupt business tactics reformed i. Pure Food and Drug Act a. to control the unscrupulous tactics of the big businesses and to help the conditions of life. 5. important people are more concerned with the poverty of the country i. presidents a. Taft b. Wilson ii. some rich iii. writers 6. policies changed towards rich being all important to a more conscious moralistic view of the people being important In conclusion I believe that the economic policies during 1790 to 1870 were in fact set up to aid private interests of the few wealthy in the U.S. because of the ever prevalent growing wealth in individuals such as Rockefeller and Carnegie. Monopolies and securities grew without restraint in this time period. Things fundamental to the peoples needs were neglected, such as unions and price regulations Whereas in the 1890 to 1929 policies and views were shifted to a more central focus on the public interests and monopolies were starting to be toppled by "trust busters" and laws and regulations set against them such as the Sherman Anti-trust act and the Interstate Commerce Act which were first made effective with president Roosevelt.

Josephine Baker, Dancer, Singer, Activist, and Spy

Josephine Baker, Dancer, Singer, Activist, and Spy Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; June 3, 1906–April 12, 1975) was an American-born singer,  dancer, and civil rights activist who overwhelmed Parisian audiences in the 1920s to become one of the most popular entertainers in France. She spent her youth in poverty in the U.S. before learning to dance and finding success on Broadway, then moving to France. When racism soured her return to the U.S., she took up the cause of civil rights. Fast Facts: Josephine Baker Known For: Singer,  dancer, civil rights activistKnown As: â€Å"Black Venus,† â€Å"Black Pearl†Born: June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, MissouriParents: Carrie McDonald, Eddie CarsonDied: April 12, 1975 in Paris, FranceAwards and Honors: Croix de Guerre,  Legion of HonourSpouses: Jo Bouillon,  Jean Lion,  William Baker,  Willie WellsChildren: 12 (adopted)Notable Quote: Beautiful? Its all a question of luck. I was born with good legs. As for the rest...beautiful, no. Amusing, yes. Early Life Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri. Bakers mother Carrie McDonald had hoped to be a music hall dancer but made her living doing laundry. Her father Eddie Carso, was a drummer for  vaudeville  shows. Baker left school at age 8 to work for a white woman as a maid. At the age of 10, she returned to school. She witnessed the East St. Louis  race riot of 1917 before running away when she was 13. After watching the dancers in a local vaudeville house and honing her skills in clubs and street performances, she toured the United States with the Jones Family Band and the Dixie Steppers, performing comedic skits. Getting Started At 16, Baker began dancing in a touring show based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where her grandmother lived. By this time, she had already been married twice: to Willie Wells in 1919 and to Will Baker, from whom she took her last name, in 1921. In August 1922, Baker joined the chorus line of the touring show  Shuffle Along in Boston, Massachusetts before moving to New York City to perform with the  Chocolate Dandies  at the Cotton Club and with the floor show at the Plantation Club in Harlem. Audiences loved her clowning, mugging, improvising comic style, foreshadowing her style as an entertainer. Paris In 1925 Baker moved to Paris, France, more than doubling her New York salary to $250 a week to dance at the Thà ©Ãƒ ¢tre des Champs Elysà ©es in La Revue Nà ¨gre  with other African-American dancers and musicians, including jazz star Sidney Bechet. Her performance style, referred to as Le Jazz Hot and Danse Sauvage, took her to international fame riding the wave of French intoxication for American jazz and exotic nudity. She sometimes performed wearing just a feather skirt. She became one of the most popular music-hall entertainers in France, achieving star billing at the  Folies-Bergà ¨re dancing seminude in a G-string ornamented with bananas. She quickly became the favorite of artists and intellectuals such as painter  Pablo Picasso, poet E.E. Cummings,  playwright  Jean Cocteau, and writer  Ernest Hemingway. Baker became one of the best-known entertainers in France and all of Europe, her exotic, sensual act reinforcing the creative forces coming out of the Harlem Renaissance in America. She sang professionally for the first time in 1930 and made her screen debut four years later, appearing in several films before  World War II  curtailed her movie career. Return to the US In 1936, Baker returned to the United States to perform in the  Ziegfield Follies, hoping to establish herself in her home country, but she was met with hostility and racism and quickly went back to France. She married French industrialist Jean Lion and obtained citizenship from the country that had embraced her. During the war, Baker worked with the Red Cross and gathered intelligence for the French Resistance during the German occupation of France, smuggling messages hidden in her sheet music and her underwear. She also entertained troops in Africa and the Middle East. The French government later honored her with the  Croix de Guerre  and the  Legion of Honour. Baker and her fourth husband, Joseph †Jo† Bouillon, bought an estate she named Les Milandes in Castelnaud-Fayrac, in southwestern France. She moved her family there from St. Louis and, after the war, adopted 12 children from around the world, making her home a world village and a showplace for brotherhood. She returned to the stage in the 1950s to finance this project. Civil Rights Baker was in the U.S. in 1951 when she was refused service at the famous Stork Club in New York City. Actress Grace Kelly, who was at the club that evening, was disgusted by the racist snub and walked out arm in arm with Baker in a show of support, the start of a friendship that would last until Baker’s death. Baker responded to the event by crusading for racial equality, refusing to entertain in clubs or theaters that werent integrated and breaking the color barrier at many establishments. The media battle that followed almost triggered revocation of her visa by the State Department. In 1963, she spoke at the March on Washington at the side of Martin Luther King Jr. Bakers world village fell apart in the 1950s. She and Bouillon divorced, and in 1969 she was evicted from her chateau, which was sold at auction to pay debts. Kelly, by then princess Grace of Monaco, gave her a villa. In 1973 Baker became romantically involved with American Robert Brady and began her stage comeback. Death In 1975, Bakers Carnegie Hall comeback performance was a success. In April she performed at the Bobino Theater in Paris, the first of a planned series of appearances celebrating the 50th anniversary of her Paris debut. But two days after that performance, on April 12, 1975, she died of a stroke at 68 in Paris. Legacy On the day of her funeral, over 20,000 people lined the streets of Paris to witness the procession. The French government honored her with a 21-gun salute, making her the first American woman to be buried in France with military honors. Baker had remained a bigger success abroad than in her home country. Racism tainted her return visits until her Carnegie Hall performance, but she had a profound influence worldwide as an African-American woman who had overcome a childhood of deprivation to become a dancer, singer, actress, civil rights activist, and even a spy. Sources Josephine Baker Biography: Singer, Civil Rights Activist, Dancer. Biography.com.Josephine Baker: French Entertainer. Encyclopedia Britannica.Josephine Baker Biography. Notablebiographies.com.Dancer, Singer, Activist, Spy: The Legacy of  Josephine Baker. Anothermag.com.Josephine Baker: The Black Venus. Filmstarfacts.com

Health and Wellness Program Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health and Wellness Program - Research Paper Example occur or influenced within an organization while external factors are those occurring outside the organization and organization does not have any control or influence over them (Lindahl, 2011). One of the key factors that are critical in determining the performance of employees and ultimately the organization’s overall performance is health and wellness. According to Ingham and Norris (2007), the more the employee stays healthy and fit all year round, the higher the likelihood of improved organizational performance. Therefore, to ensure that organizations benefit from the employees’ good health and fitness, most organizations have embraced health and wellness programs. However, it should be noted that quite a significant number of organizations have not embraced this crucial program Lofton (2007). Also, it should be noted that even though some organizations have embraced these programs, they have not implemented the programs effectively thereby not reaping the full benefits of the programs Lindahl (2011). Health and wellness of employee is considered as one of the most important factor in determining organizational performance because it is internal and exter nal impact within an organization; employees need to be healthy and well within and outside the organization so as to enhance their productivity as well as to enable the organization respond to external challenges facing the organization Ingham and Norris (2007). In order to understand this organizational behaviour topic, this paper will address the following aspects of health and wellness: health and wellness programs and organizational culture; health and wellness programs in the work environment; assessment of health and wellness programs; effective health and wellness programs; and design and implementation of health and wellness programs. Health and wellness programs should recognize that building a supportive organizational culture is important Lofton (2007). The programs should seek to ensure

Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Systems - Essay Example (Wikipedia, n.d., para.1) A typical manufacturing organization is a system, because it has a structure. Usually an organization consists of parts, which also consist of parts. These parts of the organization are called subsystems. Equipment consists of lathes, production lines, computers, printers, scanners, coffee-machine and so on. Each piece of the equipment in its turn is a complex mechanism that consists of parts, so it also is a system. Buildings in a typical manufacturing organization consist of workshops, floors, windows and elevators, so they are systems also. Every room inside every building can be broken by parts also, so it also is a system. An organizational workflow is also a system, because it consists of such parts as time and financial indicators and appointed resources. Moreover, each workflow has one more division: by inception phase, elaboration phase, construction phase and transition phase. (Kroll and Kruchten, 2003, p.8) So the workflow as a system can be described in two dimensions. An open system can be influenced by events outside of the declared boundaries of a system. A closed system is self-contained: outside events can have no influence upon the system.