Practice In Uk Mental Health Area Social Work Essay

Practice In Uk Mental Health Area Social Work Essay This study takes up the examination of social work practice in the area of mental health in the UK. It is based upon the experiences of the author in the course of her work as a Mental Health Professional in a multidisciplinary team in a community care setting. Mental health issues, more specifically mental illnesses, have troubled humans from the dawn of human civilisation. The history and literature of all historical societies reveal numerous instances of mental disorders among people and the inevitably associated ostracism and discrimination faced by such people. Mental illnesses in the UK, till even some decades back were associated with abnormal, deviant and dangerous behaviour and thousands of people with different types of mental issues were housed in high security asylums against their will for years on end. Such blatant violations of fundamental human rights were carried out at the behest of the medical fraternity with the active support of the government, the judiciary, the legal system, enforcement agencies and society. Social workers entered the area of mental health in the UK in the early decades of the 20th century and progressively increased their interaction and work with mentally ailing people. The involvement of social work practice in the area grew slowly until the 1960s but increased rapidly thereafter. Greater involvement of social work practice led to the development of psycho-social models for providing assistance to people with mental ailments and helped in changing societal perceptions towards such persons. The post Second World War period also witnessed a very substantial shift in governmental and medical approaches towards people with mental health disorders. The last full fledged asylum for housing the mentally ailing was closed down in . Medical disorders are now viewed to be strongly related to various social and economic conditions as also to phenomena like racism, oppression and discrimination. The overwhelming majority of people with mental health ailments are now treated in the community, in the midst of family and friends, and institutionalisation is resorted to only in extreme cases and that too for limited periods of time. Social work practice has become very relevant to the area of mental health. Qualified social workers like the author of the study, known as mental health professionals, work with medical professionals like doctors and psychiatrists and play active, even leading, roles in the assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation of people with mental health disorders. This study takes up the case of Maya, a 68 year old Asian woman, who lives in East London. Maya is a first generation immigrant and has spent much of her life in an alien society. She suffers from depression and has been referred to the local social work authorities. Mayas case is fully described in the appendix to this study and is thus not elaborated here. The essay examines various aspects of Mayas life and experiences in order to crystallise the various factors are contributing to her current mental difficulties. Special emphasis is given to the challenges faced by people suffering from depression and to the high incidence of depression among South Asian women. The study takes up the application of social work theory to practice, the role of oppression and discrimination in the development of mental ailments, the role of social workers in helping mentally ailing persons and the importance of adoption of anti-oppressive approaches in dealing with them. It also details the social services that are available to such service users and how such services can help Jaya. Causes and Consequences of Depression Maya has been intermittently suffering from depression for the last 27 years and has undergone medication and counselling on five occasions. She was specifically referred by her GP to the local social services department following an episode of some severity. Crippling depression is one of the biggest reasons for misery in modern day Britain. It is a submerged problem of immense dimensions that is kept out of sight by family shame. The Psychiatric Morbidity Survey reveals that one in six of UK residents are liable to be diagnosed with depression. It would surprise many people to know that 40% of all physical and mental disabilities are caused by mental illness, even as 17% of such ailments are caused by depression alone. The incidence of depression among people is more than 3 times that of cardiac disease. Psychologists agree that mental illness constitutes the most important predictor of human distress in the UK and is far more powerful than poverty or various other types of disability. With few forms of deprivation being worse than chronic depression, it is evident that social workers should give the highest priority to care for persons with depression and other mental health ailments. Much of research on the causes of depression has necessarily being medical in nature. A number of medical studies reveal that depression can arise out of a range of factors like medical and physical disabilities, the death of loved people, social isolation, exclusion and loneliness, and abusive relationships, separation and divorce. Depression can also be initiated by economic and other types of stress, estrangement from family members, the compulsion to care for ailing family members and relocation. Social work research on the other hand reveals that social phenomena like racism, discrimination and oppression can play significantly causal roles in the emergence of depression. Individuals from different religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds have often been subjected to discrimination in the UK. The decades after the closure of the Second World War witnessed a large influx of people from erstwhile British colonies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean into the UK. Such immigrants, many of whom came to the UK to escape from lives of poverty, hardship and violence in their home countries, were often subjected to various degrees of oppressive and discriminatory treatment, both in the workplace and in the community. Such discriminatory treatment manifested itself in areas of employment, education and access to public facilities. Immigrants were treated differently and subjected to discrimination because of their lack of familiarity with the English language, their different physical appearances, religious traditions, cultural and social habits and their clothes. Such discrimination sometimes assumed distinctly undesirable dimensions like in the case of Christopher Clunis. A mentally disturbed person of African origin, Clunis murdered Jonathan Zito, a young white man, at a tube station in 1992.Whilst subsequent enquiries revealed that Clunis was mentally disturbed and he was subsequently institutionalised, the British media built up a picture of Clunis, (as a large, clumsy, unkempt and violent man), with strong overtones of racism. The numerous incidents of discrimination and ill treatment of persons of Asian origin in the USA after the September 11 attacks reveal racism and social discrimination to be a latent phenomenon that continues to work under the surface in societies and surfaces in response to different types of provocation and perceptions. Immigrants and their families even today have much poorer levels of education, income, health and public participation than members of the mainstream white majority in the UK. Maya is a first generation immigrant who was uprooted from her familiar North Indian environment when she was still in her teens and thrust into alien surroundings; she was unfamiliar with the local language and found it extremely difficult to communicate with others. Her social life was perforce restricted to the local Indian community in east London, which itself was very small when she came to England. Her husband and children, who had to adjust to the local community and its demands and expectations in order to survive and enhance their life chances, would have in all likelihood faced numerous incidences of discrimination and oppression over the course of their lives. Mayas domestic problems were also intensified because of her compulsion to stay with her husbands parents, a tradition that is still widely followed by the Asian community in the UK. Depression among Women from South Asian Communities in the UK A number of social work surveys and studies indicate that the incidence of depression is significantly high in South Asian women. Whilst such women originate from a large and ethnically diverse area that comprises of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Ceylon, many South Asian women suffer from similar causes for mental depression. Fenton and Carlsen, (2002) state that the main causes for depression amongst such populations are experiences of racism, family difficulties, financial problems, poor physical health and lack of employment. Women from these communities experience excessive mental pressure on account of community influence and reputation. Some of them have to cope with unsuitable marriages and unhappy relationships with their in-laws. Such circumstances create enormous difficulties and life challenges and moreover do not provide any avenues for escape. Some women have described how their families and the larger Indian community made them feel inadequate and repeatedly impressed upon them that they were failing in meeting their familial obligations. Such women also feel pressurised because of social isolation, lack of friends and acquaintances, inadequate education and stressful living conditions. The case study reveals that Maya has often been subjected to stress because of her difficult and strained relationship with her mother in law. It is also evident that the option of setting up home independently was never explored by her husband. It needs to be noted that whilst joint family living is common in South Asian communities, it is also often economically necessary because of straitened financial conditions and the additional costs that are likely to be incurred if children opt to live separately from their parents. Depression evidences itself in symptoms like change in eating and sleeping habits, lack of interest in normal daily activity, withdrawal from children, family and friends, overlooking of necessary activities at the home and outside and finally self destructive tendencies. Depressed people are prone to self harm and develop suicidal tendencies. Maya suffers from irregular sleeping habits, often sleeps late at night, gets up late in the mornings and is sometimes unable to cook for her family. She has reduced her interaction with outsiders and is becoming distant from her immediate family. She often suffers from headaches and cries for no reason. Such manifestations and symptoms constitute strong reasons for addressing depression in an elderly person like Maya. Not treating depression can place her and other older people at increased risk for additional physical and mental health problems. The disinclination to get out of the house and exercise can increase her hypertension, lead to diabetes and faster deterioration of the heart, lungs, bones and muscles. It can also lead to deeper, debilitating depression. Implications for Social Work Theory and Practice Social work theory and practice is fundamentally concerned with the improvement of the social and economic circumstances of disadvantaged individuals and groups and the challenging of oppression and discrimination in all its forms. Systems theory in particular, whilst abstract in nature and not applied systematically, has helped social workers to move from linear and causative medical models to significantly greater multi-causal contexts for the understanding of human behaviour. General systems theory provides a conceptual scheme for realising the interactions among different variables, rather than by reducing behavioural explanations to one reason. This is clearly evident in the area of mental health, where depression in people and their resultant behaviour is associated with a number of interacting social, biological and psychological factors. Systems theory requires social workers to examine the multiple systems in which people interact. Assessment of mentally ailing persons will for example require social workers to obtain information from different sources and place them in appropriate family and community contexts. Knowledge of social constructionism theory on the other hand enables social workers to realise how language has been used by medical experts and other dominant groups to build up images of the mentally disturbed as people who cannot look after themselves and their families and who need to be treated by medical experts. Modern societys perceptions about mental illnesses are significantly shaped by medical models, which state that medical ailments represent serious conditions that can make it hard for persons to sustain relationships and engage in employment. They can lead to self-destructive and even suicidal action (Walker, 2006, p 71-87). Social constructionism theory states that such perceptions are built by purposely developed vocabularies of medical models, which are bursting with complex nomenclatures for mental ailments and fixed on deficits. Walker, (2006, P 72), argues that vocabularies of medical models, including that of mental illness, are social constructs, comprising of terms that detail deficits and view humans as objects for examination, diagnosis and treatment, much like machines. Such perceptions result in treatments that is focused on removal of symptoms and do not take account of actual client needs (Walker, 2006, p 71-87). Social constructionism can assist social workers in realising the disparaging chimeras that have been built by existing medical models about the mentally ill. Social workers must also be informed by the theories of oppression and discrimination that condition and shape the behaviours of people, both the oppressors and the oppressed, towards poor, isolated and disadvantaged segments of society. Neil Thompsons PCS theory of oppression (2001), states that oppressive and discriminatory attitudes in people are socialised over the course of their life by three strong influences, namely personal perceptions and cultural and structural influences. Personal perceptions about the mentally ill can arise through reading about such people, viewing them on cinema, thinking about them and other such associated activities. Cultural influences comprise of numerous cognitive inputs from school, friends, family and the larger community about the mentally ill and unstable. Structural influences arise from the various embedded factors in the larger environment like their lack of fitness for employment and their need to be bodily restricted. These PCS factors s hape the minds of individuals and build up strong discriminatory attitudes that rest below the surface and are manifested in various ways. The media outrage over the Clunis incident and the construction of the person into a larger than life image of a socially dangerous person represents the way in which such discriminatory attitudes can often shape the behaviours and actions of people. Chew-Graham et al (2002), state that whilst the incidence of depression among South Asian women is significantly higher than the national average, such women faced numerous barriers in accessing social services because of internal and external barriers. Whilst internal barriers occurred because of family structures and community pressures, external barriers happen because of their unfamiliarity with English, difficulty in communicating with local social services departments and the disinclination of social workers to come to their aid. Services thus tended to be accessed only at points of desperation if at all and increase the tendency of such women to engage in self destructive activities. Dominelli (2002), states that discriminatory attitudes are deeply embedded in the existing social work infrastructure and can be eliminated only if there is a genuine and widespread feeling among social workers to do so. The labelling theory states that the self identity of individuals is often de termined by the terms that are used to describe them.

Methodology Of Cyberbullying Studies Psychology Essay

Methodology Of Cyberbullying Studies Psychology Essay According to Dooley, Pyzalski, Cross (2009, p.182), to date, many authors face difficulties in defining and comparing cyberbullying because of the use of different methods. (No Flow from reason of different method to definition) Cyberbullying has been from a general perspective defined as bullying through an electronic means. Drawing from Smith et al. (2008, p.376), cyberbullying refers to an aggressive, deliberate act done by a person or a group of people, using electronic contact means, repeatedly for a certain period against a person who is not able to easily defend herself or himself. This definition emphasizes on the act being aggressive, deliberate, and repetitive as well as having the presence of power imbalance. Belsey (2004) further defines cyberbullying as using technologies of information and communication to support intentional, frequent, and hostile conduct by a person or a group, with the aim of harming other people. From Belseys definition, power imbalance is missing, which implies that power does not necessarily form an essential component of cyberbullying. On the other hand, Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor (2007, p.52) argue that, an accurate definition should view repeated actions of online hostility as online harassment (How is this link to the previous point of Belseys definition?). In addition, since the victim can terminate negative online relations easily, he or she possesses a certain level of power, which they were not capable of having if the harassment took place within the schoolyard where they cannot escape easily. On the contrary, there are cases of online harassment, which the victim cannot terminate easily such as difficulties involved in getting rid of information from t he internet (From where? What does this show?). The identification of the main elements of cyberbullying is necessary for a uniform progress in cyberbullying studies. According to Vandebosch van Cleemput (2008, p.500), a research was done through focus groups on 10 to 19 year olds in Belgium regarding their experiences on cyberbullying and their use of information and communication technology. The findings of the research showed that, cyberbullying actions are consistent with the definitions such that they are deliberate, repetitive, and typified by an imbalance of power (Mention Results). These features characterize traditional face-to-face bullying. The research also proposed that, in cyberbullying, behavior is more important as compared to the medium used (What medium? What does it show?). Kowalski Limber (2007, p.24) further define cyberbullying as, simply the electronic type of face-to-face bullying instead of a distinct phenomenon. Viewing cyberbullying as simply a form of face-to-face bullying can overlook the difficultie s of such behaviors. (Mention overall non-consensus with definitions) Differences between Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying According to Zacchilli Valerio (2011, p.11), traditional bullying involves numerous key components. Bullying is aggressive, deliberate, includes power imbalance and is also repetitive. Aggression refers to any conduct aimed at harming another person. Bullying involves deliberate harm exerted on another person and it is, therefore, not playful. Drawing from Coloroso (2008), traditional bullying takes three main forms including verbal, relational, and physical. Verbal bullying is the most widespread form and involves the use of words to harm other people. Physical bullying is visible and include behaviors like kicking, hitting, biting and slapping. Relational bullying is widespread amid girls as compared to boys. It may involve ignoring, exclusion and spreading rumors. Further, cyberbullying appears to have a number of features of both relational and verbal bullying. Cyberbullying is a new research area (When was it formerly studied?), and it is thus vital to have an apparent definition regarding what cyberbullying entails. Hinduja Patchin (2008, p.152) suggest that, cyberbullying is willful and can cause continual harm to another person through the means of electronic content. This definition focuses on the notion that, cyberbullying entails an intention, and done for a certain period. Smith et al. (2008, p.376) suggested an identical definition where they define cyberbullying as an intentional, aggressive and repeated act by a person or a group using electronic contact means against somebody who cannot guard herself or himself. This definition also emphasizes the idea that cyberbullying is a planned, aggressive behavior occurring several times. Kolwalski, Limber, Agatston (2008) compared and contrasted traditional bullying with cyberbullying based on definitions. The two kinds of bullying entail aggression, repetition, and an inequality of power. In terms of differences, cyberbullying is more appealing as compared to traditional bullying due to anonymity. For instance, a person can be a victim of bullying for a long time without identifying the bully. Therefore, a bully may consider cyberbullying more appealing since it is very hard to track the origin of the bullying. Moreover, punitive fears and disinhibition differentiate traditional bullying from cyberbullying. When teens or children become victims of cyberbullying, they may not tell an adult about it for fear of being deprived the use of cell phones or computers. Disinhibition happens when people do or say things that they cannot do if the victims could identify them. Unlike cyberbullying, victims of traditional bullying mostly identify their bullies (Olweus, 1993). ( What does this show?) Debates and Arguments Regarding the Definitions Most arguments and debates among authors on the definitions of traditional bullying and cyberbullying relate to repetition and power imbalance. Even though majority of authors generally approve including repetition when defining bullying, debate regarding its importance and nature still continues. Tattum (1989, p.17) claimed that, continuing feelings of tension regarding an occurrence may be deemed repetitive even though it occurred just once. Repetition, especially in cyberbullying, is difficult to operationalize, since difference may exist between the perceptions of victim and the perpetrator on the number of incidences and the likely consequences. For instance, Slonje Smith (2008) maintain that, though repetition is apparent when the perpetrator sends several e-mails or text messages, it is not very apparent when the perpetrator creates one derogatory website or an online message, which several individuals can access (Shows Whats?). Regarding power imbalance, an example by Aalsma Brown (2008, p.101) of a second grade boy kicking a sixth grader every day in the bus suggests that, no bullying occurred since the second grader is smaller and less powerful physically compared to the sixth grader. From the example, assessing power imbalance is complex since it is hard to evaluate, particularly in children. However, Rigby (2007, p.19) argues that, wherever power imbalance exists, regardless of its source, the status of a person may be reduced. (Overall mini summary) Challenges of Self-Report Self-Report Studies on Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying (I dont want this portion, instead I want more emphasis on the challenges of self report problems of survey questions) According to Arsenio Lemerise (2004, p.989), many studies have repeatedly claimed that, bullies can have deficits concerning their morality (Very random; out of the blue). Recent integrative developmental moral hypothesis models have stressed the need for investigating both moral affect and moral cognition in comprehending individual variations in behaviors like bullying since there is an empirical and conceptual overlap between traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Bullying has a positive association with self-reported ethical disengagement in both adolescents as well as in children. A research by Pornari Wood (2010, p.86) indicated that, ethical disengagement is not related to traditional aggression, but to cyber aggression among peers. Moreover, it showed that adolescents and children who had frequent involvement in bullying became more ethically disengaged and had fewer ethical responsible justifications. Bullies justified their moral misbehavior of a supposed bully primarily from a selfish viewpoint, and their thoughts focused on receiving individual gain from their negative behavior (Menesini Camodeca, 2008, p.187). Ybarra Mitchell (2004) examined online harassment using 1,501 regular users of the internet aged between 10 and 17 years in the United States. In the study, online harassment referred to a deliberate and overt action of aggression to another individual who is online. The results showed that, 15% of all the participants were out of which 51% of them were also victims of traditional bullying, and 20% were cyberbullying victims (the remainder 29% ?). The results propose a high relation between traditional victimization and online harassment (Indicates what ). (No flow b/w points) In addition, Raskauskas Stoltz (2007) investigated 84 American students between the age of 14 and 18. They analyzed the links between traditional bullying, electronic bullying, traditional victimization, and electronic victimization. They particularly examined whether being a victim of traditional bullying or a traditional perpetrator predicts retaining the same position in electronic bullying. From the study , nearly all traditional bullies were also cyberbullies, and almost all traditional victims were cybervictims (Shows What?). Gradinger, Strohmeier, Spiel (2009, p.211) carried out a study to examine joint bully and victim conduct of students on 761 ninth grade students of 10 distinct schools in Vienna, Austria. From the study, cyberbullying, as well as cyber victimization, occurred rather infrequently than traditional forms. On the contrary, the incidence rates of students participating in cyberbullying and cyber victimization, which were 5% and 7% respectively, were lower than in former studies whose range was 11 to 49% and 10 to 22% for cyber victimization and cyberbullying, respectively. Such differences are due to a number of country-specific features that researchers cannot identify without cross-national studies. Moreover, the study found that, barely any student is exclusively a cybervictim. Rather, majority of cybervictims were also traditional victims. This implies the overlapping nature of cyber and traditional forms of victimization. Problems of Survey Questions Drawing from Ybarra Mitchell (2004a, p.1308), majority of self-report studies on traditional bullying and cyberbullying have methodological weaknesses, which include a theoretical approaches, weak evaluation instruments with a single-item questions, small sample sizes and absence of psychometric assessment of the instruments used (Explain?). Questionnaires are the common methods that researchers use to gather information on bullying during self-report studies. This method is effective in collecting adequate data from respondents due to its anonymity feature. On the contrary, most survey questions that researchers of bullying use have a problem of using a single item to define and investigate multiple bullying constructs. Smith Sharp (1994, p.13), for instance, a survey question for bullying can read, How often have you participated in bullying another student(s) in school in the past four months? (Implies that they are bullies as well) According to Nunnally Bernstein (1994, p.27), the use of single-item questions to assess constant bullying constructs is improper because; single items only recognize moderate to big distinctions and are not able to distinguish fine levels of a trait. Spector (1992, p.44) further asserts that, single items are undependable, and that, they lack the ability and scope to reveal detail. Cyberbullying self-report studies (Which ones?) have inherited the remarkable trend of research on traditional bullying to categorize students as victims and bullies. Such a system uses the single-item questions and an intrinsic model (By who? What model?) whereby, being a victim or a bully were mutually exclusive behavioral patterns. This has led to generalized rather than specific conclusions on bullying research (Parada, Marsh, Craven, 2005). Debates and Arguments among Authors Rigby Slee (1999, p.121) note that, many studies propose the presence of three kinds of victimization and bullying including physical, social and verbal. However, recent popular instruments use a one-item survey questions to assess bullying. For example, How often have you been bullied in school this year? single-item questions have a tendency of being frequency estimates like frequently, often, once a month or never, and yield scores which have a high statistical variance. Peterson Rigby (1999, p.483) however argue that, as research on bullying advances, more researchers are seeing the significance of assessing the three forms of bullying as well as victimization. Researchers have also been adding instruments as indicative of these forms. In the research, Peterson and Rigby assessed five behavioral aspects namely hurtful names, threatened, kicked or hit, unpleasantly teased, and isolated, to measure various bullying types. On the contrary, no self-report study had before 2004, ack nowledged the exact 3-factor framework adequately (Marsh et al. 2004). (How is this paragraph relevant to cyberbullying?) According to Ahmed Braithwaite (2004, p.38), the vastness of research on bullying consists of quantitative and continuous variables using self-report, teacher-report and peer-report measures of data. Researchers most frequently assess such data by dichotomization to generate results. Nevertheless, MacCallum et al. (2002, p.20) have spotted the fallacies of dichotomizing variables. According to them, dichotomization of quantitative and continuous variables results in loss of statistical significance and effective size, deformation of effects and the likelihood of researchers of overlooking non-linear relations. Due to these intrinsic methodological shortcomings of dichotomization, MacCallum et al. (2002, p.22), wind up that, these techniques ought to not be used unless they are vigorously justified. This is because when researchers dichotomize data for analyzing victimization and bullying, they unavoidably categorize children. Examples of such categorization include victims, bullies and those who are not affected. (Link to cyberbullying) Theories of Cyberbullying Theories Associated With Traditional Bullying Agnews general strain theory (GST) is one of the theories that have associations with traditional bullying. According to this theory, there are three kinds of strain including failure to attain positively valued ambitions, eradication of positively esteemed stimuli, and production of negatively treasured stimuli. GST primarily revolves around the notion that, strain comes from unconstructive relationships with other people. For instance, a bully is producing negatively treasured stimuli, whether emotional or physical abuse, to her or his victim. The sources of strain have indirect links with delinquency and other behavioral problems. This is because; strain generates negative effects such as anger or frustration. (No links b/w points) In addition, theory of planned behavior (? By who?) has relations with traditional bullying. The theory suggests that, attitudes towards conduct come from peoples behavioral beliefs. According to Bosworth, Espelage, Simon (1999, p.344), minors deem agg ressive conduct as validated when a person deserves it, have a likelihood of behaving aggressively. (How well does the theory explain results? Or results explain the theory?) Lack of Theories in Research of Cyberbullying to Explain the Phenomenon Hoffman Miller (1998, p.83) maintain that, a bigger percentage of the independent experimental studies that authors have done to investigate cyberbullying, none has sufficiently capitalized on current advances in the research of traditional bullying. Li (2007, p.4) adds that, more importantly, very little is known regarding the temperament of cyberbullying since there is no theory that theorizes its structure and thus, researchers have not developed psychometrically logical evaluation tools for measuring the construct of cyberbullying. In other words, Solberg Olweus (2003, p.242) argue that, there has been a limited use of theories by researchers to explain the phenomenon of cyberbullying. The studies that have used theories to explain cyberbullying have only touched on traditional bullying theories without even validating their application to cyberbullying. Theory of Mimetic Scapegoating Theory and Cyberbullying According to Norman Connolly (2011, p.287), Rene Girard bases his Mimetic Theory on the belief that, humans are mimetic beings. This implies that, people imitate what they see in other people. Increased imitation leads to increased likeness among individuals, and thus they compete for similar desires and end up becoming rivals. The boundaries amid individuals that maintain order start to crumble. Increased rivalry results in increased violence, while the distorted boundaries threaten destabilizing social order. The traditional man viewed a scapegoat as the only solution to the threat. Thus, by blaming a person or a group of persons for all the distress and hatred, people direct the violence of community towards the scapegoat. This theory applies to cyberbullying where an individual or a group of individual engages in cyberbullying activities out of peer pressure or imitation of what other people are doing. Scapegoating comes in where a group of people team up and direct their aggres sion towards their victims through incitation. Scapegoating is more common in social areas like in schools (Wilcox, 2009, p.9). Pros and Cons of Using Theories for Cyberbullying According to Marsh, Craven, Hinkley (2003, p.193), the use of theories to explain cyberbullying has several pros. To start with, it helps readers have a better understanding of the origin of certain behaviors in the community from a theoretical perspective. For instance, the use of mimetic theory shows how violence among individuals in the society comes about, and explains what inspires a person or a group of people to engage in cyberbullying. In addition, the use of theories provides a strong foundation on which to base future research on cyberbullying. This leads to the expansion of knowledge about the field since researchers are able to carry out experiments to validate such theories, and also either expound on the existing theories or develop new theories depending on the findings of their experiments (Schafer Graham, 2002, p.147). On the other hand, Griezel et al. (2008, p.2) argue that, the most significant issue that affects the cyberbullying field is that, regardless of man y competing models and theories trying to explain bullying actions, there is a scarcity of authenticated theory and experimental research to summarize cyberbullying experience. Debates and Arguments amongst Authors Piquero Sealock (2000, p.451) bases the general strain theory on the suggestion that, strain emerges from negative relationships. In addition, strain has a significant and generally positive relation with drug use and delinquency. Paternoster Mazerolle (1994, p.236) support this claim through their National Youth Survey, which showed that, delinquency weakens bonds with conventional institutions, while strengthening ties with deviant people. Mazerolle et al. (2000, p.89) oppose the claim by maintaining that, only a number of strains measures have a significant association with anger, and noxious experiences on neighborhood conditions.

The Golden Girls Essay -- essays research papers

The Golden Girls   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I am going to be writing about the lifetime television show, â€Å" The Golden Girls†. There are many different episodes and I have probably seen them all, at least twice. I first started watching the show with my mom. My curfew when I was in high school was 11:00 or 11:30. While I was going into detail about the many things that had happened that night, â€Å"The Golden Girls† would be on. At first I did not enjoy them, but as I got to know the characters I was addicted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, and most important there is Blanch Devereaux, played by Rue McClananan, born 1935, in Healdton, Oklahoma. She is the Southern Belle, and also, the homeowner. Blanch worries very much about her looks and how people think of her. She has the reputation of a â€Å"Slut†, but in a few episodes she claims that some (or most) of her sexual stories are more of a fantasy than actual life. Blanch never tells anyone her real age, she always wants people to think of her as young. For example, Blanch has her granddaughter come to stay with her for a week, and when they go to the dock she had her tell the sailors that Blanch is her sister. Blanch also works part-time in a museum.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Secondly, there is Rose Nylund, Played by Betty White. Betty White was born 1922, in Oak Park, Illinois; she is the oldest of all the girls (in real life). Personally, Rose is my favorite character. She always finds a way to make the audience, and her roommates laugh. There is something you need to understand about Rose; she comes from St. Olive, Minnesota. In the television show St. Olive is considered an idiot town. She always has a pointless story to tell about people from her hometown with weird names. Nobody ever pays any attention to Rose and they always seem to be annoyed by her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thirdly, there is Dorothy Zbornak, she is played by Beatrice Arthur, â€Å"Bea† was born 1923, in New York City. Dorothy is the intelligent one of the bunch; she is a substitute history teacher. She never has a date, and she is the one that seems to keep everyone on track. She has a very firm outlook on life, and tries to keep the â€Å"girls† in order. But even Dorothy screws up sometimes. When she first got married, years ago to another character, Dorothy’s ex-husband, Stan, she got pregnant. Her mother always harasses her... ..., including Best Comedy Series each year, winning ten Emmys, three Golden Globe Awards and many other prestigious honors. On top of a successful series and an exceptional cast, â€Å"The Golden Girls† attracted very talented and popular guest stars, including Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, Julio Iglesias, Debbie Reynolds, Brenda Vaccaro, Jack Gilford, and Burt Reynolds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"The Golden Girls† is a Witt-Thomas-Harris Production in associations with Touchstone Television, and was created by Susan Harris. Paul Witt, Tony Thomas, and Susan Harris served as executive producers. The show was distributed by Buena Vista Television, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As you can see, this television show is about four old ladies, and situation that arise in any home; jealousy, love, compassion, deceit, forgiveness, etc. But, most important friendship. I am not quite sure what audience the producers were trying to reach or attract, but I know that I love the show and I am only 18. So, in conclusion, I think .everyone should sit down and watch an episode of the Golden Girls, you never know, you might like it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Mentor Graphics :: essays papers

Mentor Graphics Objective To complete all aspects of the exercise regarding D type flip-flop, TTL and CMOS and to familiarize us with the HDL software which is Mentor Graphics. This software is capable of constructing and simulating a particular design. As for this assignment 1, we are given 4 weeks to complete the assignment. It is compulsory to attend every lab sessions as there is no alternative software to use. Only a certain limit of time is given for the use of the software and therefore designing of circuit is required to be completed before attending the lab. To give students a first-hand understanding of the EDA lab and most importantly Mentor Graphics, a powerful tool in HDL technology. This assignment allows the students to understand or rather familiarize themselves with the design flow of the EDA software and to fully explore what the software is capable and powerful to do. Lastly, to prepare the students for the next assignments which uses the similar software. Introduction – D(elay) Flip-Flop (What You Have to Know First!) The D flip-flop is useful when a single data bit (1 or 0) is to be stored. An additional inverter to the S-R flip-flop at the R input creates a D flip-flop. The D flip-flop shown below is a modification of the clocked SR flip-flop. The D input goes directly into the S input and the complement of the D input goes to the R input. If there is a HIGH on the D input when a clock pulse is applied, the flip-flop SETs and stores a 1. If there is a LOW on the D input when a clock pulse is applied, the flip-flop RESETs and stores a 0. The truth table below summarizes the operations of the positive edge-triggered D flip-flop. As before, the negative edge-triggered flip-flop works the same except that the falling edge of the clock pulse is the triggering edge. (a) Logic diagram with NAND gates (b) Graphical symbol InputsD CP(CLK) OutputsQ Q’ Comments 1 1 0 SET (stores 1) Mentor Graphics :: essays papers Mentor Graphics Objective To complete all aspects of the exercise regarding D type flip-flop, TTL and CMOS and to familiarize us with the HDL software which is Mentor Graphics. This software is capable of constructing and simulating a particular design. As for this assignment 1, we are given 4 weeks to complete the assignment. It is compulsory to attend every lab sessions as there is no alternative software to use. Only a certain limit of time is given for the use of the software and therefore designing of circuit is required to be completed before attending the lab. To give students a first-hand understanding of the EDA lab and most importantly Mentor Graphics, a powerful tool in HDL technology. This assignment allows the students to understand or rather familiarize themselves with the design flow of the EDA software and to fully explore what the software is capable and powerful to do. Lastly, to prepare the students for the next assignments which uses the similar software. Introduction – D(elay) Flip-Flop (What You Have to Know First!) The D flip-flop is useful when a single data bit (1 or 0) is to be stored. An additional inverter to the S-R flip-flop at the R input creates a D flip-flop. The D flip-flop shown below is a modification of the clocked SR flip-flop. The D input goes directly into the S input and the complement of the D input goes to the R input. If there is a HIGH on the D input when a clock pulse is applied, the flip-flop SETs and stores a 1. If there is a LOW on the D input when a clock pulse is applied, the flip-flop RESETs and stores a 0. The truth table below summarizes the operations of the positive edge-triggered D flip-flop. As before, the negative edge-triggered flip-flop works the same except that the falling edge of the clock pulse is the triggering edge. (a) Logic diagram with NAND gates (b) Graphical symbol InputsD CP(CLK) OutputsQ Q’ Comments 1 1 0 SET (stores 1)

Pride and Prejuice :: Jane Austen

SUMMARY OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Pride and Prejudice is a story of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five unmarried daughters---Jane, Elizabeth, Marry, Kitty, and Lydia. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are desperate to see them all married. News is that a wealthy young gentleman named Charles Bingley has rented the estate of Netherfield Park near the Bennet estate. Mr. Bennet decides to make a special visit to Mr. Bingley to talk about his eldest daughter Jane. The Bennets attend a ball where Mr. Bingley is present and is taken by Jane and spends the whole night dancing with her. Mr. Bingley brought with him his friend, Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy is arrogant and not very pleased with the evening and out of arrogance, refuses to dance with Elizabeth. At many social events over an amount of weeks, however, Mr. Darcy finds himself more and more attracted to Elizabeth. Jane?s friendship with Mr. Bingley also continues to grow, and Jane finds herself going to visit Mr. Bingley at his mansion. On her way to the estate she gets caught in the rain and gets very ill forcing her to stay for many days. In order for Elizabeth to go get Jane she has to hike through the fields getting her clothes dirty. When she arrives to the estate, Miss Bingley notices that Darcy, whom she likes, pays quite a bit of attention to Elizabeth. When Jane and Elizabeth return home, Mr. Collins, a young clergyman who stands to inherit Mr. Bennet?s property, is there visiting their household. During his stay with the Bennet?s, he makes a marriage proposal to Elizabeth. She turns his offer down and injures his pride. Meanwhile, the Bennet girls have made friends with the military officers stationed nearby. One of those military officers is Wickham, a handsome young soldier who likes Elizabeth and tells her how Darcy cheated him out of an inheritance. Disappointing Jane, the Bingleys and Mr. Darcy left their estate and returned to London at the beginning of winter. Furthermore, Elizabeth receives appalling news that her best friend Charlotte Lucas is engaged to Mr. Collins. Charlotte explains to Elizabeth that she needs the match for financial reasons and marries Mr. Collins. As winter continues, Jane visits the city in hope to see Mr. Bingley instead Miss Bingley visits her first. While Miss Bingley?s visit was very abrupt, Mr. Bingley never shows up. The marriage search for the Bennet girls appears hopeless.

Religion homosexuality -judasim

You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do In the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. Leviticus 18:22 â€Å"Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that Is detestable. Leviticus 2013 â€Å"If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. Deuteron MOM 6-17 Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them. No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. 2 Samuel 1:26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.Jewish Ethics Geneses 1 God blessed them and said to them, â€Å"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over e very living creature that moves on the ground. † Genesis 1:30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds In the sky and all the creatures hat move along the ground?everything that has the breath of life In It?I give every green plant for food. And It was so. Genesis MM 8 The Lord God said, â€Å"It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. † Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, Mica He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. 0 And what does the Lord require of you? To act Justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly[a] with your God.

Voucher Threat

A popular topic in education reform is the impact school vouchers will have on America†s public education. Public education is at a serious threat do to the debate over education vouchers. School vouchers will redirect the flow of education funding, channeling it directly to individual families rather than to school districts. This will result in less government funding going towards improving public schools, lowering class sizes, and purchasing supplies and may eventually cause the downfall of public education all together. The issues of school vouchers go beyond the classroom and are borderline unconstitutional. The idea of public funds being spent on private schools raises issues in its self. Public funds being spent on private religious schooling will raise interesting questions about the separation between church and state. Most nonpublic schools in America right now are run by religious organizations. Is it even constitutional for tax money to be spent religious schooling? One of the most widely believed untruths about school vouchers is that it will allow poor inner city kids to have more opportunities to go to private schools, however compelling this argument may seem the truth of the matter is that vouchers will siphon the money out of the cities public schools causing the children whose parents still cant afford the subsidized tuition of these pricey private schools to receive an inferior education and create a large underclass of students who are trapped in a public school without enough resources to receive a quality education. The fact of the matter is that school vouchers will create a competitive market in the education field causing the strongly funded private schools to thrive while the public schools that this country was built on to slowly deteriorate in quality due to fewer tax dollars being spent on the resources needed for public education to succeed. The action I would like to see the government take on this issue is to focus more attention on improving public education, instead of the redirecting of taxpayer†s money to private education. The choice is clear if more attention was placed on creating a better learning environment in our public schools all children could benefit not just those who can afford subsidized private schools. Instead of offering an alternative to ineffective unsafe public schools why not focus our attention on improving those schools. Taking money away from already troubled public school systems without offering any solutions to the existing problems is bound to create a downward spiral in the already shaky public school systems. The low impact approach I would take on this matter is to set up rallies especially in those areas where the vouchers would have the largest negative impact. Those areas being the troubled school systems of the inner cities. I would get forty or fifty people together to go to their local or district office and talk with their senator or state rep. I would start up a web page supporting my issue with links to advocacy groups and information that take a similar stand on the issue of school vouchers. In the web site I would also include a prefab letter explaining the negative effects of school vouchers that viewers could download, sign and send to there local or state representative to help support my issue. Furthermore I would write to the editors of my local newspapers and explain my stand on the issue in a small column that would reach many potential voters. As an attempt to get some free media attention while spreading the word of my issue I would hold a public forum on vouchers and have the local news cover it. The forum would inform citizens how they can get involved. I would hold the forum in a local schools gymnasium and try to get some influential speakers who support my issue in hopes to gain more supporters who will take action against school vouchers. In a high impact manner I would use an entirely different approach. Supposing I had a year off from life and 100,000 dollars to contribute to the fight against vouchers I would start by getting national attention. I would try to team up with some key officials in congress who take the same position as I do. I would try to hold a national rally against vouchers. As an attempt to gain wide range publicity I would set up a web site for volunteer support effort. I would use the web site to keep my supporters updated on rallies and protests supporting my cause. I would set up a national call in day via the web where I get membership of the site to call into congress and support our stand on the issues. I would help raise money by holding rallies and support groups for members of congress and other political leaders who are running for office and who support my issue. As would organize bus trips from inner cities around the country to Washington D. C. so that constituents could go to the members of congress that represent their district and explain to the congressmen their concerns with vouchers. All of these things would help to raise concern over school vouchers and hopefully have an effect on votes when the issue comes up in legislation.