Classroom Management and Child Friendly School System Essay

I. Background The Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other minor agencies works in collaboration to attain the goal in implementing the Child Friendly School System (CFSS) in connection to the protection of children in school. Their aim is to protect the pupil in all aspect of abuses whether it is from peers, parents, community and even from cruel teachers. Protect the child from physical, mental, emotional and verbal abuse. DepEd Memorandum No. 73, s. 2006 dated February 28, 2006 mandated the program of the Child-Friendly School System. Trainings were done afterwards to fully grasped the aims of the system. DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012 was re-polished and mandated the Child Protection Policies and Guidelines on protecting school children to any form of abuse, such as violence, exploitation, discrimination, bullying, and the like with the full support of Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC. In connection to this, Presidential Decree 603 of the Child and Youth Welfare Code, was passed last 1974, and still adopted until now which further supplements that our Philippine government supports the goal of the following agencies to ensure children’s safeties and guarantees that the rights of the children are properly impose by all men and that the children enjoys every rights they have. However, this DepEd Order, Memorandum and Proclamations were one or another misinterpreted, overused and misused. There were problems met along the way especially in the relationship of the teacher-pupil-stakeholders. These mandate also put a â€Å"wall† between them which seemingly affects the teaching-learning process inside the classroom. II. Statement of the Problem Studies show that the children now a day have short attention span than of those children in the ninetieth century and below. Children’s behavior and discipline is one major problem of teachers. Classroom management’s affectivity will only last in a short period too. Why is it so? Does DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012, DepEd Memorandum No. 73, s. 2006 and Presidential Decree 603 has great impact to children’s misbehaviors? How agencies promoting child’s protection do affect the classroom management? If there were loopholes in the guidelines and policies, how will the teacher implement discipline without violating any rules? III. Review Related Literature (RRL) †¢ Bible (Proverbs 3:11; Proverbs13:24; Proverbs 23:12-13) †¢ â€Å" Towards A Child –Friendly Education Environment†, PWU-CWC-UNICEF for Plan Philippines in 2009 †¢ Family Code †¢ Presidential Decree 603 †¢ DepEd Memorandum no. 73, s. 2006 †¢ DepEd Order no. 40, s. 2012 IV. Discussion & Analysis The oldest book in the world and the most reliable one is the Bible. The book also expressed the issue about disciplining children. It was written in the scriptures in Proverbs 3:11; 13:24; 23:12-13, it said that parents should not spare the rod when giving discipline so that children will know that they have done wrong and that every misconduct they have committed there is always a punishment for it. The Bible also teaches us to disciple our children in order for them to choose the correct values which eventually mold them as they grow. As our government supports the anti child abuse laws, there were pros and cons to this issue. Disciplinarians didn’t agree such provisions because it makes a child brat, selfish and disrespectful. When Filipinos embraced the western culture, our new generation changes their way of life. Filipino values were deteriorating. Eventually, teachers to this extent, have hard time in managing their pupils in the classroom. Here are the questions asked to the respondents done in random, regarding the issue for the purpose of gathering data, information and insights: 1. What do you think of the Child Friendly School System program of the Department of Education? 2. How will you access the reliability of the Child Protection Law? How about the Juvenile Delinquent? 3. Are you amenable in respecting the rights of the child? Why? 4. What is your point of view in disciplining a child? 5. Being a parent/teacher, how would you like to discipline a child? 6. Do you think there is a need to discipline a child with a â€Å"rod† in order to have good learning? Why? Traditional educators were not sold out to this because they said and have experienced that teaching children is never without punishment. Punishment became an option to pupils who doesn’t want to learn and follow instruction as well. As to Modern educators, learning among children is easier if done with fun. Both generations of educators have one common goal; to teach the children to learn and mold them to become a good citizen of the country and eventually to the world. But what is happening to our society today? Why even young kids were involved in crimes? Does the Department of Education have to do with it? If so, In what area of learning and molding does educators failed? Are educators solely to blame? In some area, YES! Here are some possible reasons: 1) Maybe because values taught did not penetrate deeply to the conscience of their pupils. 2) Maybe because teachers are just teaching the subject for the sake of teaching the subject. or †¦. 3) Maybe because the teacher himself is not an effective values teacher. Can we also blame the parents? For a great reason, YES! A child learns his entire â€Å"first† at home. First word, first vocabulary, first love, trust and respect, and the like. Parents’ genes run through in the blood of the child too. Therefore, parents must take their part to sustain the good learning of their children. Because surveys found out that home environment has a great impact to the child’s values formation and how they create their out look in life. In molding the child, parents, teachers, and as well as the government would definitely take part in molding the child. But of all the collaboration, why are children hard to handle in the classroom? Why does teachers keeps on finding ways and means, apply learning styles and strategies to manage the pupils in the classroom? To the point that if the teachers cannot handle them longer, even to the extended patience, teachers will rather choose to just sit down and wait for dismissal than to reprimand, â€Å"punish† and discipline the learners. Teachers don’t mind anymore bad attitudes of the pupils instead of disciplining then because of the child-friendly system. Why is it so? Parents now are concern more on how much money they can get/ask for moral damage if their child were scolded instead of working together to show respect to authority. That’s why teachers push themselves away to manage the classroom because of this kind of situations. But in fairness to parents, they are only protecting their children in this case because there were instances of abuses done by teachers or in the school premises. Here are samples of abuses: A. physical, verbal and sexual abuse and violence inflicted by Teachers & Other School Personnel: a. 3 out of 10 children in Grades 1-3 and almost 5 out of 10 from high school experience physical violence (such as pinching and hitting) committed by teachers; b. Approximately 4 out of 10 children in Grades 1-3 and 7 out of 10 in higher grade levels have complained of verbal abuse by their teachers; c. 36.53 % of children in Grades 4-6 and 42. 88% of high school students surveyed indicated they have experienced verbal sexual violence in school and 11.95% of children in Grades 4-6 and 17.60% of high school students have experienced inappropriate touching. B. Physical, Verbal and Sexual Abuse and Violence Among Children , (i.e. Bullying, etc.) a. 73.58% of children in Grades 4-6 and 78.36% in high school surveyed in urban areas have suffered verbal abuse violence from their peers; b. 30.17% of children in Grades 4-6 and 37.57% in high school surveyed in rural areas have experienced physical abuse or violence committed by their peers; c. 26.74% of children in Grades 4-6 and43. 71% in high school in urban areas surveyed have experienced verbal sexual abuse committed by their peers and9.65% of Grades 4-6 and 17.71 of high school students experienced inappropriate touching. †¢Source: â€Å" Towards A Child –Friendly Education Environment†, PWU-CWC-UNICEF for Plan Philippines in 2009 Who would want to experience such abuse? Nobody! So, with these trending phenomenons, as parents, the safety of their children is a must before preventing it to happen to them. With regards to teachers, cruel teachers, are now aware of their conducts inside the classroom or in the school premises and also in the style of disciplining their pupils. Even community today, is concern of these laws that surely helps it become possible. It is all known to men that every law made are for the benefits and the good of the concerned, and yet, there is no perfect law except the law of the Lord written in the Holy Bible. Hence, here are some good side of this Child Protection Law and the Child Friendly School System: 1. abuses among school children are minimize; 2. bullying were controlled; 3. everybody, especially the media are concern of the rights and privileges of the child which was not given emphasis before; and 4. Parents are comfortable enough that their children are covered by the government through pursuing the laws. As part of the saying â€Å"†¦there is no perfect law†¦Ã¢â‚¬  there are also loopholes in these provisions which unknowingly created bad outcomes and new problems in the implementation, such as: 1. created ill-mannered pupils/less values/misconducts; 2. teachers were abused by the parents and not respected by children and even the community; 3. privacy of teachers were not kept; 4. biblical quotes in imposing discipline were neglected; and the worst, 5. teachers seems to detached themselves in the very purpose of why they are teaching children in their classroom to avoid conflicts and cases filed against them in the long run. With this kind of attitude among teachers, the teaching-learning process is not delivered well. Teachers will only recognize those pupils who will follow his/her instructions. He/she will favor those who are not naughty. Teachers will no longer try the best of their ability to teach and mold young minds because they are afraid they might not control their temper and unfortunately â€Å"touched† a child, but the aim is to disciple alone, resulted conflicts and problems among him/her with the stakeholders. Because according to the law, a child is never wronged and would never tell lies. Is that so? How about children making stories, are they reliable? There are children getting involved in crimes. There are children using drugs. There are children killing children. Are these kinds of children exempted by the law? Law makers should give a second look at this. Who is wrong then? Is it the teachers? Is it the parents? Is it the Law? Everybody is after for the good and the betterment of the children, but what is happening today in the real world of learning, children now a day are hard to manage because the child friendly school system adopted and bench marked by the Department of Education from other countries’ educational project, which was supported by our Philippine government. V. Conclusions & Recommendations I strongly believe in the Holy Scripture in the teaching about disciplining our children. If we spare the rod, we tolerate their mistakes. But, we won’t hit them in such a way that it will create problem and hesitation for them to learn. Disciplining our children, our pupils, with love having the goal to let them realize their mistake and eventually regrets for doing such. No human being would like to see children suffering from any harm. No one in his good state of mind would abuse a child. Children are gifts from God so we have to nurture and give the best learning we could give in order for them to become a good citizen, with good moral values as they grow up. However, as they grow old they need to be scolded, reprimand and even be punish if needed so that they will not depart themselves in the teaching which was given to them. It will guide them to choose good over bad. I am in favor of giving punishment to school children especially in lower grades and should be carried on, because it will help them become lovers of truth and peace. BUT giving punishment should not go beyond what the law provides. Parents and teachers should work hand in hand in order to produce young minds with concern for fellow men and for the good of our country as well. I just hope that the laws and provisions in promoting the welfare of our youth and children will be overused or misinterpreted. I also hope that our government will also provide protection to teachers who were abused by the parents because there were some cases where parents are using their children to make stories against a certain teacher. Finally, classroom management is easier to handle if there is collaboration between the parents and teachers in giving JUST and FAIR punishment to the learners to assure more learning in a managed classroom learning situation.

Developmental Assets in Education

The rate of growing awareness and evident usefulness of the developmental assets leaves the thinking human with only one option, to explore it. This piece tries to select from the forty listed three, which include: Caring School Climate, School Engagement and Achievement Motivation. Most of these pose as a form of indirect though highly effective helping. According to Dewey and Tufts (1908, 390), the best kind of help to others, whenever possible, is indirect, and consists in such modifications of the conditions of life, of the general level of subsistence, as enables them independently to help themselves. Most of these assets empower people to help themselves. We will carefully throw more light on these in this informative essay.Caring School Climate — The School makes a caring and encouraging learning and playing environment available. An atmosphere that considers others above oneself, where each person takes responsibility for the good of others, reduces emotional clutters as it fosters free flow of constructive positive emotion. This asset is needed by both pupils and teachers because it builds a climate of trust, which serves as the foundation of good leadership. The essence of a good learning environment, however, is making useful contribution to society.Education derives its full meaning when we are able to give of the much we have received back to others to make living easier thereby. A caring school climate is a potent tool that fosters sharing and good nurturing while scripting good habits into the being of all the people immersed in such a culture. It provides forgiving and giving to pupils and teachers alike, which is at the core of all form of significant lifestyle.Lack of self-esteem is a product of learned helplessness. Introduction of a caring school climate will help build the proper estimation in pupils of themselves thereby curbing the occurrence of harmful practices.The school can commit to building this caring climate by nurturing a culture that recognizes people on assembly grounds and in public places by their names and praises pupils’ positive performance. Treat the negative practices as non existent and speak highly of the positive ones. These will give rise to more of what is verbalized.School Engagement — The School engages each young person actively in the endeavor to pass across knowledge. This often requires a deliberate exerting of influence. David Korten (1983, 220) terms it the â€Å"central paradox of social development: the need to exert influence over people for the purpose of building their capacity to control their own lives.† The art of learning involves moving from the known familiar terrain to the unknown remote knowledge issues. In the bid to bridge the gap, the school makes use of varying useful alternatives that make use of the human input zones i.e. the five senses.The more actively information is passed across through multiple channels the better for the learning pu pils. Some students learn better through what they see while many others through their experiences. The more options a teacher engages in actively passing across message in creative ways the more the likelihood of delivering information in sustainable excellent ways. Schools should make use of words, pictures, videos, texts and animations in passing across knowledge to her pupils. Since the whole essence of learning is understanding school teachers need to be more focused on creative techniques that actively engage the mind of the concerned pupils. Active learning holds the human attention span for longer periods.A risk factor that could be strengthened is the encouragement of secrecy. Ill behavioral patterns grow in secrecy. Should a school encourage proper engagement of each pupil, openness will be fostered as each student gains the confidence to share their heart burdens with others who are ready to help. Education is a total sum that must not be isolated.A useful activity that w ill promote the school engagement is the introduction of instructive games in the explanation of complex course modules. This may be a little tough but will help a lot of pupils see the fun side of learning as they reach new levels of understanding thereby.Achievement Motivation — Schools will need to help their pupils create and meet goals that give them a sense of fulfillment on realization. The use of class positions is not entirely bad in itself; however, some more motivations need to be built into the learning system. Learning ought to be fun and that all the time. It will be observed that young people in the kindergarten enjoy learning more than those in the higher classes. This could be traced to the fact that they look forward to the fun of learning as each day approaches. Simple gift items and awards could be introduced to the normal school systems.This, where used, makes learning worth the effort to those who receive them and others who yearn to have such. The direc tion of learning also should be made to traverse the major life skills, not just academics, so as to enhance robust success. Schools need to introduce rewards first on a general level and then for special performances and behavioral patterns. The general reaffirms the confidence of each pupil, while the special places demand on their ability development. Rewarding good behavior will likely promote more of its occurrences.Students who under-perform do so primarily because of their levels of confidence. Pupils need to be helped to believe in themselves when it relates to learning new things. Helping students have a sense of drive towards achievement reduces the risk of failing with low grades for such students. Under-performance is not the core challenge but knowing how to combat it is more pertinent. Student who under-perform fall into one of several categories. Some have given up trying while others are not enjoying the fact that there is only one goal everyone strives to get. Incre asing the opportunities for a sense of achievement for students will definitely promote better grades on end, but good grades should not be the sole motivation for all students in a class.To foster achievement motivation the school can provide plaques and certificates to reward punctuality, students’ attempt to answer teachers’ question and cleanliness. People who try and fail in life are better of than those who never make an attempt. Hence schools should find creative ways to encourage and reward attempts.My personal philosophy of education is â€Å"Adding Value to Others†. I believe strongly that education cannot be said to be complete until the student has been guided to give back – contribute. From its Latin origin, ‘educos’ the root word from which education flowed out stands for ‘outflow’. Hawkins (2000, 44) says that if we ask how the teacher- learner roles differ from those of master and slave, the answer is that the pro per aim of teaching is precisely to affect those inner processes that†¦cannot in principle be made subject to external control, for they are just, in essence, the processes germane to independence, to autonomy, to self-control. These virtues: independence, self-control and freedom are at the core of every truly educated mind and foster the habit of giving. This in essence means that the intrinsic purpose of learning is giving. Hence the developmental assets contribute thus:Developmental assets take on a holistic perspective to learning while it seeks to integrate learning as a societal cultural value; and the interest of others as of higher priority than ours.These assets will contribute in enormous ways at all levels of the human development. These levels include primary, secondary and tertiary education levels. Each of the asset shows a continued two-way contributory flow of support i.e. the society adds value to pupil and vice versa.Developmental Assets are natural and not s ome high-sounding artificial concoctions. If implemented consciously, they will transform the educational systems while turning our societal environment into conscious positively charged value adding cultures.Developmental assets will bring more meaning to pupils learning and education as it places others above self, and in retrospect true meaningful living.Developmental assets flow with intrinsic positive energies, which if carefully imbibed returns great dividends to all who experience its effects. In all developmental assets enrich the pupil, family, school, neighborhood and the larger community. If learned consciously with close attention, these assets have the intrinsic potential to revolutionize education through the creation of a holistic and integrated system.REFERENCESDewey, J. and Tufts, J. (1908). Ethics. New York: Henry Holt.Hawkins, D. (2000). The Roots of Literacy. Boulder: University Press of Colorado.Korten, David C. (1983). Social Development: putting people first. In Bureaucracy and the Poor: Closing the Gap. David Korten and Felipe Alfonso Eds. West Hartford CN: Kumarian Press: 201-21.

A Comparison of Democratization Process in China and India

The term â€Å"democracy† first emerged in the societies of ancient Greece where it is meant to be a form of decision-making where the community is allowed to participate, which later on served as the system used for governance (Woolf & Rawcliffe, 2005). Bryce (2009) noted that the term is used to describe the power that is legally bestowed by the people to the government.Likewise, the term â€Å"people† moved farther away from the privileged few and focused more on the entire community. As a result, the consideration for the rights and the voice of the citizens became a central theme in democratic governments.Aside from the political aspects of democracy, the free market structure is also an element that has become inseparable from that of democracy (as cited in Snauwaert, 1993). In the free market system, the government has less control over the affairs of the market and individuals are given the chance to choose among several options (Snauwaert, 1993).In the present day, democracy has become a very popular system of government as the West and other advocates continue to hail it as a suitable form of governing the society. Based on the arguments of Francis Fukuyama, a resolution is reached regarding the best way to organize the political and economic aspects of the society and suggested democracy as the answer.In addition, Fukuyama contends that â€Å"democracy, in the political realm, and markets, in the economic realm, had triumphed over all challengers and were in the process of becoming the universal forms of political and economic organization† (Bova, 2003, p. 243).In history, nations did not immediately employ democracy. Some have taken other paths, such as India and China that experienced the colonial rule and Communist rule, respectively. Both countries have experienced undergoing a process of democratization, which is said to â€Å"[begin] when the principle of citizenship is acknowledged by a regime in certain ways by allowing the opposition to become involved in politics† (Des Forges, Luo, & Wu, 1993, p. 231).In addition, the democratization process proceeds from the distribution of power and responsibilities throughout the community (Des Forges, Luo, & Wu, 1993).From the previous systems of government, India proved that it can undergo the process of democratization and sustain it until 50 years after. On the other hand, China remains a communist state amidst its futile attempts to apply several democratic principles from the West (Central Intelligence Agency [CIA], 2010; He & Feng, 2008).The two countries, China and India, are both Asian countries that are striving hard to apply and implement the concepts of democracy as it is observed from the Western ideals.The interesting experiences of the two nations with regard to the process of democratization serve as the focus of the present paper, which would also highlight the differences and similarities between the experiences of the two nations. In s o doing, emphasis is placed on theDemocratization Process in IndiaNational ProfileIndia is a member of the Southern Asian region and has a total area of 3,165,596 sq km (Oldenburg, 2008). The 7 union territories and 28 states are ruled by a President, who is the head of state, and a Prime Minster, who serves as the head of government (Oldenburg, 2008).The present form of government is Federal Republic and is governed by the Constitution that was amended last 2002 (Oldenburg, 2008). India also has an existing legislature, which is composed of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) (Oldenburg, 2008). The Judicial branch of the Indian government is headed by the Supreme Court (Oldenburg, 2008).For a lengthy period of time until 1947, India was subjected to British colonial rule (Mishar, 2000). The country gained independence through the Indian Independence Act, which received the Royal Assent on 1947 (Mishra, 2000).The Indian Independence Act served as an important factor in the process of democratization in the country because it gave way for a Provisional government that would later on take the form of a democracy. At the day when the said Act took into effect, Jawaharlal Nehru said that it is a time when â€Å"India discovers herself again,† (as cited in Hukam, 2005, pp. 309-10).In relation to this, it is important to identify the events surrounding before and after the promulgation of the Indian Independence Act in 1947 and the progress towards democracy that was made up to the present time. More specifically, emphasis is placed on the economic and political changes in the country and the actors and elements that allowed for successful democratization.

Marketing Communication and Branding Case Study

Marketing Communication and Branding - Case Study Example Consequently, the initial objectives that intend to be achieved with effectively implemented marketing plan are the following: Raising people’s awareness of the necessity to follow healthy and active lifestyle; Inducing of the community to benefit the society; Forming moral principles and awareness of own importance and consequence for the social problem-solving; Developing mutual assistance and intention to help other people; Providing full information about donorship centers, opportunities and conditions to become a donor and possible privileges for new donors; Showing benefits of donorship to public; Substantiating the safety and hygiene of the donorship procedures; Providing confidentiality of test results; Cutting number of drinkers and accordingly increasing number of donors by 50 per cent during a scheduled period; Proposing new effective methods of donors’ stimulating and attracting. Achieving of the defined objectives should give results in three main aspects. First of all people must understand the importance and necessity of the donorship for the society and particular individual. It is essential to develop mutual assistance and feelings of responsibility in peoples’ deeds. Secondly, population of United Kingdom has to realize that the procedure of donorship is totally safe and harmless, if donor complies with required regulations. And the last urgent direction that is defined by mentioned objectives will be elaborating of the effective methods, which are aimed to raise the number of volunteers due to the demand of the hospitals and clinics. Answer 2. Taking into account all stated goals, several areas of the future performance should be outlined. In this respect, it is recommended for the National Blood Service, first of all, to make an emphasis on safety of the blood donorship. For example, it could be essential to ensure future donors with preliminary consultations, accentuating the usage of sterile needles and gloves by medic al workers. It can help to convince people of a thought that they will not get infected with any disease during the procedure. The second crucial aspect of the strategy is to work out the most attracting motives for the future donors. With this aim it can be suggested to stimulate the rate of donors with financial support. The obligatory payment for each donor should be nominal, though easy money will be able to pull a lot of students and unemployed people into donorship. For the first time new donor will get minimal award, but for the following procedure organization may increase its payments. In addition, it can be important to reward each donor with a small bar of chocolate that helps to restore the haemoglobin level. From one side it is just a trifle, but on the other hand this sign of care will improve donors’ conditions and the process of rehabilitation. Moreover, to enhance number of volunteers for giving blood the NBS may guarantee them to be served in the local hospi tals fully or partly free of charge. Also people may become more available for donorship if, for example, one of the benefits of being a blood donor will be a privilege and right to make appointment with dentist or laryngologist out of turn. For those people who cherish their time this benefit is going to be influential. To attain mentioned goals it is urgent to use special marketing tools that form push and pull strategies. First strategy can be implemented by means of mass

Analytical reviews Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Analytical reviews - Assignment Example Samuel Huntigdon’s article on â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations1 is one of these later studies, and it presents an attempt at a framework for analysis of world history. Instead of focussing on individual nation states, as classical history does, or looking for geographical features and crises as global history does, Huntingdon focuses on human culture. This means that his study fits into the genre of world history. The main point of the article is that historians should trace human history through the civilizations which rise and fall in various regions and over longer periods of time. He identifies a civilization as â€Å"a cultural entity†2 and explains that civilizations may be very large, like contemporary China, or very small, like the Anglophone Caribbean.3 These entities distinguish themselves by their particular mix of dominant religion, ideology and traditions. According to Huntingdon’s analysis, these civilizations are divided from each other by â€Å" fault lines† which in due course are likely to become lines of battle. This is a contentious theory, since it conflicts with other views, such as those based on economics, for example, which predict that advancing globalization will cause resource shortages and that this will be the source of future conflict. Huntingdon cites the conflict between Arab culture and Western culture, which has incidentally been going on for the last 1300 years, as an example of exactly this kind of major fault line.4 Following this line of reasoning, conflicts between countries which are broadly western are likely to be expressed in terms of economic competition, while conflicts between some other civilizations, like the Muslim and Hindu conflicts in Asia, are more likely to result in military action and bouts of ethnic cleansing. These differences can be traced in the prevailing world views of the respective cultures, some being predominantly industrialized and capitalist, while others are predom inantly rural and feudal. He notes rather chillingly that â€Å"Islam has bloody borders,†5 by which he means that this particular civilization resorts to military tactics in order to maintain control over affiliated countries. The examples that Huntingdon cites can all be used to reinforce his idea that civilizations are the largest unit of human grouping, and his description of how countries rally around one another when incidents of violence erupt can be plainly seen in the modern world. He concedes, however, that conflicts also emerge within civilizations, which rather weakens his world based theory, but he shrugs this off saying that these conflicts are â€Å"likely to be less intense and less likely to expand than conflicts between civilizations.†6 The logical conclusion of Huntingdon’s approach is that the next world war will be a war between civilizations, and the most likely candidate will be a war between â€Å"The West and the Rest.†7 Part Two: Nationalism and the Frontier. The reflections of Frederick Jackson Turner on the nature of America in the early twentieth century8 is an important work of history, even though it reflects many attitudes and ideals which would nowadays be regarded as out-dated. The first chapter9, especially, which is entitled â€Å"The Significance of the Frontier in American History† presents a logically argued thesis explaining some of the features of modern America which we can still see at work today. Turner sees the ever-receding western frontier of the new continent in the last three hundred years

Virtual groups and how they effect group communication Research Paper

Virtual groups and how they effect group communication - Research Paper Example Instead they connect through communication technologies and computers, provide an unparalleled amount of flexibility (Powell, Piccoli & Ives, 2004) and are unified only by a shared function or rationale (Lurey & Raisinghani, 2000). This paper aims to review the literature and research that focuses on the characteristics of small virtual groups in an effort to determine how virtual group interaction affects performance and to make comparisons between performance of small virtual teams and more traditional co-located small teams. Small groups usually consist of three to fifteen members (Socha, 1997) with the ideal size being five to seven (Cragan & Wright, 1999) with every member having an influence on each other and are interdependent. In other words if something occurs to or influences one member it impacts on other group members; the behavior of one group member effects both the way other group members relate to each other (relational behavior) and how they finish the task or attain their goal (task behavior) (Bertcher, 1994). According to Myers & Anderson (2008) interdependence is a fundamental characteristic of a small group and at the end of the day will influence how the group achieves its goal or task which is the initial and most important reason the group is formed. Tasks can be additive, wherein the small group members work separately on one component of a task and when all components are completed they amalgamate their endeavors to produce one ultimate outcome, or they can be conjunctive, wherein the group works together to produce the final outcome (Steiner, 1972). In the case of additive tasks the small group is not interdependent until the end when they unite their work but with conjunctive tasks they are interdependent from start to finish. Apart from the task, interdependence and size, Myers & Anderson (2008) claimed that small groups contain three further features of communication which are ‘norms, identity and talk’ (p.9). He furth er claimed that the norms of small group behavior are the rules or regulations pertaining to members of the group, and can be social, procedural or task based, and if not upheld by a group member sanctions may be imposed on that member. Norms therefore shape small group behavior and govern the way in which group members undertake their task, interact and create their identity - the physical and psychological limits that differentiate small groups and group members. Communication is the most important feature of small groups in terms of defining their identity and consists of four different types of talk as posited by Cragan & Wright (1999) that include role talk, problem-solving talk, encounter talk and consciousness-raising talk. Myers & Anderson (2008) claimed that a small group that is able to balance all four talk types will be more effective and succeed in its task, whereas a small group that places too much emphasis on one type over another or does not employ any one type may alienate some members and not accomplish their task. To summarize the characteristics of small group communication there are three major qualities – size, interdependence and task, and three minor qualities – norms, talk and identity, that influence the way in which group members interact and communicate. Research shows that much has been suggested and purported in terms of virtual communication

Juvenile and Adult Courts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Juvenile and Adult Courts - Essay Example It was perceived, due to the influence of industrialization and modernization, that the children were corruptible innocents and that their upbringing demanded greater structure as prerequisite to adulthood than that had been previously regarded. Based on the assumptions of the social scientists who suggested that children are not responsible for their actions in the same way as adults since they are not fully developed, the idea of juvenile justice system was emphasized. According to this view, juvenile criminality is a kind of youthful illness, which can be cured by relocating the juvenile to a better family life in a rural setting. Thus, the first court designed specifically to deal with children was established in Chicago one hundred years ago which led to the growth of a separate juvenile justice system nationwide. "Juvenile courts are responsible for dealing with children who are accused of committing two types of offenses: status offenses - violations of laws with which only ch ildren can be charged (e.g., running away from home); and delinquency offenses - acts committed by a child which, if committed by an adult, could result in criminal prosecution." (Young and Gainsborough, 2000, p 2). Significantly, the premise on which the separate juvenile system rests is that children are developmentally different from adults and that more amenable to treatment and rehabilitation to juvenile criminals can be ensured by this system, unlike the adult criminal justice system. Therefore, it is essential to regard the juvenile justice system and the adult criminal justice system as two separate systems of justice founded on different philosophies, even though there are elements of close resemblance in both the systems. In a comparative analysis of the juvenile justice system and the adult criminal justice system, it becomes evident that the juvenile court system has been historically distinct from adult courts and both the systems are founded on divergent philosophies. Whereas the adult criminal justice system emphasizes the punishment of criminals, the juvenile justice system is mainly concerned with the rehabilitation and treatment, along with community protection. Rehabilitation and treatment are not primary goals in the criminal justice system and the guiding principle of this system is that criminal sanctions should be relative to the offense committed. On the contrary, "the juvenile justice process centers on the individual child and takes into account the child's problems and needs, focusing less on punishment than on helping the child to change and so minimize the likelihood of future criminal behavior." (Young and Gainsborough, 2000, p 2). Although there has been an important speculation in the recent years that the clemency within the juvenile justice system is not always the best option for all cases, it is constantly emphasized that there are several momentous differences between the juvenile and adult courts. The terminology used within the juvenile and adult courts offers one of the main differences between the two systems. "For juveniles who are brought into court, the terminology refers to the situation as an 'act of delinquency'. In the adult court the term 'crime' is used. Another difference is the way in which

Plant and Fungus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Plant and Fungus - Essay Example Variably, fungi that include mushroom and yeast contribute in the preparation of beverages and are of medical value. Notably, my personal interaction with plants and fungi depicts positive results and their relevance in facilitating individual’s wellbeing. The organisms bear fruits, seeds and other products that are of high value to human life. Most people have been using the yields from the organisms as a source of food, fuel, energy and beverage. It has come into my attention that some seed plants and fungi are good medicinal products that are used in curing certain diseases that affect human development (Jabr, 2011). Secondly, the yields from the items are used in achieving nutritional balance since they provide food rich in diverse nutrients. Similarly, fungi organisms are widely depended on by most farmers as farm fertility boosters as they facilitate decomposition and recycling of organic matter (Reece, Urry, Cain, Wasserman, Minorsky, Jackson & Campbell, 2014). Farmers use them in ripening Roquefort and other products including blue cheese. From my interactions with the organisms, it is apparent that human welfare and vibrancy is dependent on the kind of food items, products one uses and the freshness of the environment. No one can thrive without consuming healthy food with superior nutritional content and breathing fresh air. It is inevitably true that I am in the business of using various types of plants and fungi, and they are affecting my life positively. In particular, I use maize, rice, wheat, mushroom and potatoes as food in most occasions. The food items constitute my favorite meals ever since, and their preference is based on the nutritional value (Reece et al, 2014). Subsequently, flowering plants such as tea, coffee and cocoa have formed key sources of my beverage. On the other hand, yeast that is a renowned type of fungi remains a vital source of my alcoholic beverage.

Argue which three employability skills (Communication, Citical Essay

Argue which three employability skills (Communication, Citical thinking and teamwork) employers would consider to be the most im - Essay Example The feature of teamwork is a fine example to focus on in that the two afore-mentioned characteristics (communication and critical thinking) come in to play in terms of what any a position demands with regard to a clear understanding of overall goals and the expected role to be performed. An understanding and ability to perform well in a team is critical. The following essay focuses on these three elements of communication, critical thinking and the value of team work/being â€Å"a team player†, a person who is comfortable working in a team. The latter characteristic, team work, expresses what it takes to achieve employment. While the former two are indispensable, it demands the ability to work in a team to bring out one’s skills of communication and critical thinking. Communication Being a â€Å"good† communicator is essential. Within health care, it can take several different forms, it can be paternalistic or empathic and caring and involve the patient in decisi ons regarding his/her care (Brotherton et al., 2006). A nurse’s communicative skills reflect the major goal of nursing, namely being person-oriented and humanistic in one’s practices and patient care. ... Communication must be person centered. This allows us to look at ill-health as linked to human beings and embedded in the life course of individuals, a life course that is specific and continually changes, develops and is highly complex. Communication must, thus, rest on an understanding that sickness and related impairments have various social and psychological dimensions. In one’s communication and care for the patient one must realize that there are two sides to sickness, â€Å"disease† (biological malfunctions recorded as particular disease categories, e.g., cancer, neurological disorders, cardiac diseases, palsy) and the response to these by patients and their carers (family), the â€Å"illness experience†. The diagnosis of disease is based on external medical criteria. â€Å"Illness†, on the other hand, is defined as the personal reaction to â€Å"perceived disease†. Illness is, by this definition, a personal construction and refers to the wor ld of the patient, his/her coping with illness. The distinction between â€Å"disease† and â€Å"illness† provides a view of the social and psychological complexities involved, and is fundamental to a comprehension of the patient (Good 1994). Critical Thinking On the top of a potential employer’s list is often a candidate’s problem-solving skills, i.e. a person’s ability to successfully to complete a task and/or solve a problem, which may involve a great deal of creativity and/or pooling of his/her team’s resources (see on â€Å"teamwork† below).. The next characteristic to be stressed therefore, the faculty of critical thinking, shapes and is shaped by the previously-discussed fundamental communicative approach to the patient as a human being. These two attributes are clearly interlinked. It is

Nuclear Armageddon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nuclear Armageddon - Essay Example As such, the preceding political and foreign ideologies were mostly controlled by this fear that had affected the entire globe. The competition between the west ideologies and communism was one of the major events that sparked fears of atomic weapons between the Soviet Union and the US. The cold war that emerged immediately after WWII was rapidly taking shape. In this case, the US and USSR were pulling sections of the South East Asia to either side, which was aggravated by China joining the Soviet Union as a strong ally against the west ideologies (Ringer, 320). The struggle over Korea fueled the cold war as the two super powers threatened to use any means possible to win the war. For instance, the coming to power of President Eisenhower in 1952 reintroduced the nuclear threats as a warning to the Soviet Union to desist from any form of aggression (Ringer, 321). Eisenhower had a new defense policy that deferred from Truman’s policies in that the new administration relied more on threatening to use nuclear weapons rather than conventional military weapons as a response to communist aggression during th e cold war (Ringer, 321). The pursuit of brinkmanship involved each side threatening to use nuclear weapons, though with no attempt to engage in any armed conflict. These threats increased fears of an imminent nuclear war across the globe. The formation of SEATO as counterpart to NATO in South East Asia fuelled the fears of nuclear weapons as the conflict took another dimension. Afterwards, the US rejected the USSR proposal to disband NATO and the Warsaw Pact (Ringer, 321). Moreover, the Society denied the possibility of having Eisenhower’s Open Skies ideology that sought to allow the reconnaissance of military empowerment on both sides. The Cuban Missile Crisis was an event pushed the fears of another nuclear confrontation to a new level as the world was on the brink of nuclear war. While the US gladly welcomed Castro’s revolution in 1959,

Police Corruption Essay Example for Free

Police Corruption Essay Corruption is a complex problem having its roots and ramifications in society as a whole. Corruption is defined as â€Å"improper or selfish exercise of power and influence attached to a public office or to a special position one occupies in public life† Definition of corruption is sufficiently broad to include a range of such activities: â€Å"A public official is corrupt if he accepts money or money’s worth for doing something he is under a duty to do anyway, that he is under a duty not to do, or to exercise a legitimate discretion for improper reasons.† [McMullan (1961: 183-4)]    Punch (1985) broadens this definition in two ways. He defines corruption as occurring: â€Å"When an official receives or is promised significant advantage or reward (personal, group or organizational) for doing something that he is under a duty to do anyway, that he is under a duty not to do, for exercising a legitimate discretion for improper reasons, and for employing illegal means to achieve approved goals.† Punch has broaden the definition in the way that corruption is not always individual it can be in group or organizational and sometimes it also involves illegal means to achieve the goals.   Corruption in one form or other has always existed in the country. The Bofors, HDW Submarine deal, Airbus deal, ABB Loco deal, Jain Hawala Racket, Sugar scam, Security scam, Urea scam, Fodder scam, etc., are a few example of corruption in various departments. The tentacles of corruption have spread to the system of governance –from civil-political-military. Thus no institution can claim itself to be free from corruption. It has now become the part of life and is a problem that has and will continue to affect us all, whether we are civilians or law enforcement officers.   Unlike the other executive wings of the government, the police,  Ã‚  Ã‚   which have maximum visibility in the society, are a pet theme for such corruption. In police, corruption is usually viewed as the misuse of authority by a police officer while in duty to fulfil personal needs or wants. Few facts about police corruption: It is: Pervasive – corrupt practices are found in some form in a great many police agencies in all societies; A continuing problem – there is evidence of corrupt practices from all stages of police history; Not simply a problem of the lower ranks – corruption has been found at all levels of the police organization; Not simply financial: activities (including ‘process’ activities) extending beyond bribery and extortion have been found. For a corrupt act to occur, three distinct elements of police corruption must be present simultaneously:   1) Misuse of authority,   2) Misuse of official capacity   3) Misuse of personal attainment. (Dantzker, 1995: p 157) It can be said that power inevitably tends to corrupt, and it is yet to be recognized that, while there is no reason to suppose that policemen as individuals are any less fallible than other members of society, people are often shocked and outraged when policemen are exposed violating the law. General police deviance can include brutality, discrimination, sexual harassment, intimidation, and illicit use of weapons. Police corruption is a universal problem that has its regime in many countries and is a recurring issue that cannot simply be away by repressive measures. Police officers are the state made flesh and plays a role of law enforcers, problem solvers and the most direct representatives of the state. They give their visible, uniformed, 24-hour presence on the streets and their crucial involvement in social intervention and law enforcement. If they are corrupt, then the citizens will lose their confidence in them. Police corruption is not an individual aberration it can takes place from patrol to chief and can be generated by the organization itself. Corruption within police departments falls into 2 basic categories, which are external corruption and internal corruption. External corruption: It involves the relation of police with the public and can involve one or more of the following activities: Payoffs to police: By essentially non-criminal elements who fail to comply with stringent statutes or city ordinances; (for example, individuals who repeatedly violate traffic laws). By individuals who continually violate the law as a method of making money (for example, prostitutes, narcotics addicts and pushers, professional burglars). 2) Clean Graft where money or courtesy discounts or gratitude is paid to police for services. Internal corruption: It is the relationship between various officers within the police department. Police corruption comes in various shapes and sizes from the major drug trafficking and money laundering to looking the other way on minor everyday violations of the law. The typology of police corruption given by Roebuck and Barker (1974) has eight categories, to which Punch (1985) has added a ninth one (Table I). TABLE I Types and dimensions of police corruption. Types   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dimensions 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Corruption of authority  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚              2.   ‘Kickbacks’  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. Opportunistic theft      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4. ‘Shakedowns’         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5. Protection of illegal activities      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   6. ‘The fix’      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   7. Direct criminal activities         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   8. Internal payoffs      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   9. ‘Flaking’ or ‘padding’  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When officers receive some form of material gain by virtue of their position without violating the law per se (e.g. free drinks, meals, services) Receipt of goods, services or money for referring business to particular individuals or companies Stealing from arrestees (‘rolling’), from traffic accident victims, crime victims and the bodies or property of dead citizens Acceptance of a bribe for not following through a criminal violation – not making an arrest, filing a complaint or impounding property Police protection of those engaged in illegal activities (prostitution, drugs, pornography) enabling the business to continue to operate Undermining of criminal investigations or proceedings, or the ‘losing’ of traffic tickets A police officer commits a crime against person or property for personal gain ‘in clear violation’ of both departmental norms and criminal law Prerogatives available to police officers (holidays, shift allocations, promotion) are bought, bartered and sold Planting of or adding to evidence (particularly but not exclusively in drugs cases; Punch 1985)    Causes of the police corruption: To find out the causes of police corruption one has to focus on the nature and the kind of police work. One of the old explanation suggests that corruption is the product of â€Å"Bad Apple† i.e. corruption is due to few number of police officers who are quite unrepresentative of the wider standards exhibited by the organization. Factors of police corruption: Constant factors Variable factors Constant factors include the following: Discretion: The exercise of discretion is argued to have both legitimate and illegitimate bases. Low managerial visibility A police officer’s actions are often low in visibility as far as line management is concerned. Low public visibility Much of what police officers do is not witnessed by members of the public. Peer group secrecy ‘Police culture’ is characterized by a high degree of internal solidarity and secrecy. Managerial secrecy Police managers have generally worked themselves up from the ‘beat’ and share many of the values held by those they manage. Status problems Police officers are sometimes said to be poorly paid relative to their powers. Association with lawbreakers: Police officers inevitably come into contact with a wide variety of people who have an interest in police not doing what they have a duty to do. Variable factors Community structure: Refers to the degree of ‘anomie’, the political ‘ethos’, and the extent of culture conflict. Organizational characteristics: Levels of bureaucracy, integrity of leadership, solidarity of work subcultures, moral career stages of police officers, and the perception of legitimate opportunities. Legal opportunities for corruption: Moral: so-called ‘victimless crimes’ (Schur, 1965) associated with the policing of ‘vice’. Regulative: the exploitation of minor or trivial regulations such as those associated with construction, traffic and licensing. Corruption controls: How the guardians are themselves ‘guarded’. Social organization of corruption: Two basic forms: ‘arrangements’ and ‘events’. ‘Moral cynicism’: Association with lawbreakers and contact with temptation is inevitable in police work, inclining officers towards moral cynicism. Corruption control and Prevention: Basically controlling corruption is the only way that we can really limit corruption, because corruption is the by-product of the individual police officer, societal views, and, police environmental factors. Therefore control must come from not only the police department, but also must require the assistance and support of the community members. Controlling corruption from the departmental level requires a strong leadership organization, because corruption can take place anywhere from the patrol officer to the chief. Various strategies can be followed to control corruption viz., : Human resource management: It includes amendment of the existing system, training and implementation of new procedures.   Anti-corruption policies: Includes policies that would codify the standards of behavior of staff and outline the general parameters of the organization’s response to the problem. Internal controls: Emphasizes on detection and punishment of the wrong doings. External environment and external controls: Involves the attempt to encourage the public to be more vigilant and more willing to report suspicions of corruption. Although the police department have to solve the problem of corruption on their own still some support and assistance from local community is required. Public should be given knowledge regarding the negative effects of corruption on their police agency. They should be taught even ‘gratitude’ i.e. the most basic and common form of police corruption acts as a catalyst for more and future corruption. Earlier we use to think that corruption is a temporary, exceptional ‘problem’ which can be removed by ‘surgical’ treatment, as if it was a malignant cancer, to restore an otherwise healthy agency (the ‘bad apple’ metaphor), but now things have shifted to see corruption as   universal and as forming a permanent concern. All measures to control corruption have to take place in presence of sound leadership, sufficient resources and a battery of measures that should all be reinforcing the same mission and message. Thus it is the healthy leadership which is important and a focus on front-line supervision over the essential primary processes at the base of the organization is required. The police organization deals with people in trouble and people who cause trouble thus its cutting-edge is formed by uniformed officers and detectives in situations of low visibility. There has to be a persistent, patient emphasis on integrity and professional standards and on pushing the message that a corrupt policeman is a criminal, that he or she lets down colleagues and the profession, and that ‘noble-cause’ corruption is self-defeating. This is because, when it is exposed, it makes it more difficult to secure convictions and makes police methods suspect (Rose 1996). Vigilance and realism must be the watchwords of the police administrator seeking to control corruption. The emphasis, then, is on pride, professionalism, standards of competence and performance, legitimacy and of gaining and retaining confidence. Conclusion: To curb the widespread social evil, called corruption the efforts will have to come from both the police and the civil society. Society members should be educated about the negative effects of corruption within the police force and its long term disadvantages. For controlling corruption the police department requires an organization lead by people of strong character and who have good leadership qualities. The departmental goal should be well defined and should be pursued earnestly. According to today’s situation there is more urgent need to address basic issues like improving the working conditions of the police persons, inhumanly long working hours, the inadequate police-population ratio, a pay structure which is not proportional to the work allocated and, the disproportionately low budget for meeting the day to day expenses. All these are some major factors which are responsible for contributing to the image of the Police Force as insensitive and a corrupt organization. As long as citizens are willing to go along with corrupt police officers, just for the reason to obtain favors, there is no way in which corruption can be curbed . Some effective steps should be taken to make the picture cleaner and corruption free for the future generation. Thus one should not perceive corruption and other forms of police misconducts as individual aberrations of an incidental character that can be effectively banished by temporary, repressive measures. Reform of the police is the part of the reform of the society. It is important to focus on corruption control and to open our eyes to other insidious forms of police misconduct and even serious police crime. References: Punch Maurice (2000), Police Corruption And Its Prevention: European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 8: 301–324. Newburn Tim, Understanding and Preventing Police Corruption:Lessons from the Literature; Research, Development and Statistics Directorate 50 Queen Anne’s Gate London SW1H 9AT. Bracey, D. H. (1992) ‘Police corruption and community relations: Community policing’ in Police Studis Vol 15 No 4, 179-183. Sayed, T. and Bruce, D. (1998a) ‘Police corruption: Towards a working definition’ in African Security Review Vol 7 No 1, 3-14. Thomas KV (2004), Corruption in Indian Police. Holloway Brandon(2002),Police Corruption (2002, November).   Police brutality, the copcrimes homepage for law enforcement and government corruption. Available: http://www.copcrimes.com/homepage.html

Epistemology - Cognition Essay Example for Free

Epistemology Cognition Essay â€Å"I have found that such an object has always been attended with such an effect, and I foresee, that other objects, which are, in appearance, similar, will be attended with similar effects†. This foretells that with knowledge, our society may be able to associate a certain aspect/detail with an object, but that does not necessarily mean it will always happen. Therefore, Hume, who starts out as an empiricist, has arrived at the conclusion where an individual may not have knowledge at all, of skeptic doubt. This is explored through the three epistemology questions, the process he did take, and what the reader thinks on the matter. According to Hume, with his process of thought with empiricism, thinks knowledge is possible. He believed that all information about the world comes through experience. The contents of consciousness are what he calls perceptions. [†¦] include our original experiences [impressions] [†¦] sense data [†¦] â€Å"internal† world composed of the contents of our psychological experiences [†¦] also include what he calls ideas, or the contents of our memories and imagination. With this approach to whether knowledge is possible, it is clear that he thinks knowledge is possible through experience; through real experiences, sense data, psychological experiences and ideas. It states that one does not have innate ideas with us such as our senses or emotions, that an individual must experience these actions first in order to recognize what they must be. If one does not experience such actions, they are what he calls ideas, â€Å"the copies of them [impressions]† (The Search for Knowledge 69). He also states that, â€Å"We can deny any matter of fact without falling into a logical contradiction. The fact that we feel confident about certain facts of the world is merely the result of our expectations, which are based on past experience† (The Search for Knowledge 70). This theory is called Hume’s Fork, where it is between the relation of an idea and a matter of a fact. This says that society may be sure about our surroundings, but they are not certain. Ideas do not tell us anything about the world, but only our thoughts of what they may be, and matters of facts are knowledge per say, but are not always certain as well. Basically, it shows that one cannot be certain of the world around us, as it may change. With the question of the role of reason within the possibility of knowledge, he believes that, â€Å"We can learn nothing about what lies outside the subjective contents found within our experiences. † (The Search for Knowledge 71), therefore reason cannot be established as the primary source of knowledge. He clarifies his reasoning with the principle of induction and the uniformity of nature. The principle of induction is basically assuming that, for example, since the sun has risen yesterday, it shall rise today and rise tomorrow. Society makes the connection that when an event occurs more than once; one will believe that it shall again happen. The uniformity of nature is where the belief of the laws of nature will continue to commence, therefore it should be still commencing in days to come. Another way he delivers this statement is through the theory of being constantly conjoined. He states that, â€Å"Causes and effects are distinct events† (The Search for Knowledge 73). It can be said that when do an action, there is an equal consequence that follows. If you take the example of where you light up a candle with a match, and then touch the flame, you experience a burning sensation where you have touched said flame. If one repeats this process, one comes to the conclusion that since this has happened in the past, it will most likely be the same or similar in the future. With the third epistemology question of whether reality is represented as it really is, he declares that, â€Å"The only certainty we can have concerns the relationships of our ideas. But since these judgments concern only the realm of ideas, they do not tell us about the external world† (The Search for Knowledge 78). As a result, one can determine that reality cannot be represented as it really is due to the fact that one cannot gain any knowledge from the outside world from our ideas. Ergo, in the world, a person may experience objects such as desks, but this person is uncertain if they are connected to an external world. Hume raises that, â€Å"Impressions are always data that are internal [†¦] hence; we have no data about what is external† (The Search for Knowledge 75). It clarifies his reasoning that society believes that they live in an external world, or that there may be one, but one does not have sufficient explanation as to why this is true. As well, an individual must also question the fact of the self. Hume affirms that, â€Å"If all we can know are sensory impressions or our internal psychological states, then we can never experience the self† (The Search for Knowledge 76). With this in mind, people are certain that they cannot experience a self because it is not a true experience such as a color, which can be experienced. There is no foundation for experiencing the self, as all one has are beliefs, assumptions and ideas, which are never certain. In a few words, Hume is specifying that as a person, one cannot step outside our bodies to see ourselves; that a person can only believe that there is a self. Going back to where knowledge is possible, in the beginning, Hume does believe knowledge is possible with perceptions and impressions. With his thought process, the reader can determine that he has progressed from the thought process of empiricism to skeptic doubt and skepticism, questioning if society has knowledge at all. He believes that in the start, society has knowledge through what he calls perceptions; which consists of the senses, the memory and the psychological states. Overall, society must have experiences if it has developed these sources of knowledge. This in turn concludes that an individual can have knowledge through experience. Since Hume believes that this is the only knowledge an individual can have, he comes to the realization where, â€Å"If all we know are the contents of experience, how can we know anything about what lies outside our experience? † (The Search for Knowledge 70-71). This expresses that one cannot have knowledge, since the foundation he has set is only for our internal thoughts. From this, he describes his thought process of skeptic doubt through causal relations and knowledge of the outside world and self. This clarifies that a person can believe something will always happen but is never certain (causal), and stating that they cannot step outside the world they have created to see what will happen outside of such (external world and self). The reader must have an assessment on the matter of Hume’s empiricism and his process towards skeptic doubt. Dealing with Hume’s empiricism, I believe that his thought process is very vague and has various doubts of its own. The idea of perceptions cannot be knowledge to begin with, because it is what we have and think, but does not necessarily mean other people in society think this same way as well. Therefore, he has already led himself into skepticism, because he cannot explain thoroughly why this is knowledge. What he explains as experience, which is where we obtain this knowledge, is unsatisfactory because the experience he says is mostly reasoning such as sense data and psychological states. For that reason, his thought process in the beginning can also be confused with rationalism, since most of what he verbalizes is knowledge that can only be discovered through reasoning and not experience. Looking at his progression towards skepticism, he believes that we cannot have knowledge because all that we have is our internal world to base our beliefs on. It is shown that through the principle of induction and the uniformity of nature, we will have the reoccurring thought that, â€Å"The future will be like the past† (The Search for Knowledge 71). With this basic in mind, we are automatically assuming every event that happens in our lives will happen or not happen again, because of past experiences. With this amount of information, it is not sufficient enough to say that we always be certain it will again happen. It all comes back to the fact that since we only have our world to experience, and since there is no way to step outside and look at the external world or the self, we are never certain of anything. Hence, we have no knowledge at all because knowledge is classified as true, justified belief and our ideas and thoughts are not. This is a strong case, and therefore, I believe with his knowledge towards skepticism, but I do not necessarily believe in skepticism. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Hume has answered the three epistemological questions with very strong points; first as an empiricist, who then leads to a skeptic. Overall, the opinion of the reader is satisfied, because even though Hume has a very doubtful thought process of empiricism with the idea of perceptions and ideas, he then breaks down his theory with the fact that this so-called knowledge is the only source of knowledge an individual can possibly have, therefore it is not knowledge. Knowledge is worth nothing unless you can practice it.

Changing Role of HRM: The NHS

Changing Role of HRM: The NHS The Changing Role of Human Resource Management within the National Health Service: Feeling at Home in an Increasingly Complex Environment. Abstract In the context of a widespread programme of reform of the English National Health Service (NHS) this paper considers the changing role of Human Resources Management (HRM) within the service, and reports a study of the changing role of HRM in a large teaching hospital. Empirical research suggests that whilst the perception of the role and effectiveness of the HRM function remains varied, if managed correctly it is potentially capable of having a direct and beneficial impact upon service delivery. Introduction The reforms and changes within the National Health Service (NHS) and its management of staff and services has clearly been well documented, however research into the evaluation of these initiatives remains a neglected area. Walshe suggests that the reason behind this is that researchers do not have time to ‘painstakingly document and measure the progress and impacts of reform due to constant change caused by the initial ‘bright ideas having been poorly thought out (2002:106). Empirical research can though attempt to offer an understanding into the ‘complex relationships that exist between individuals and how they interpret policies within a wider social and cultural organisational context (Clarke 2006:202) and provide insight into the NHS managerial culture to examine how it ‘supports and facilitates the implementation of the recent wave of NHS reforms (Merali 2003:550). Through incorporating a review of the literature that surrounds the changing role of HRM w ithin the NHS and empirically based qualitative research, a comprehensive insight into the current context and position of Human Resource Management within an NHS Trust is given. Whilst such research will hopefully be of academic interest, perhaps more importantly in order for the NHS and other public services to be aware of the impact of reforms upon employees and thus on subsequent service delivery, an awareness of HRM practices and their implementation should be a necessity for practitioners (Edgar and Geare 2005). The Current Context of the NHS â€Å"†¦the NHS is unique. To name but a few of its characteristics, it is in the public sector, exceptionally large in terms of its resources, activities and numbers employed; domestic not international in its operations; its tasks are infinitely varied, complex and difficult; its goals are unclear; it is subject to an exceptionally wide range of political and economic influences; and it is an organisation uniquely and specially close to the hearts (metaphorically), minds and bodies (physically) of British people. It is run by ‘special kinds of people too: dedicated, yet often ambitious, highly qualified and skilled, often bloody-minded and usually tough-minded, yet also caring and even tender.†(Glover and Leopold 1996:256) The NHS is the largest employer in Europe, employing over a million clinical, infrastructure and support personnel (The Information Centre 2006). Whilst remaining close to the peoples heart in terms of its founding values of a universal and comprehensive health care with its service delivery freely and equally available to all in society (Rivett 1997; Talbot-Smith and Pollock 2006), it is also close to the peoples pockets, with billions of pounds having been invested into the NHS in the last ten years (Appelby 2007). In addition to providing a health service to the population, it is also claimed that ‘health and healthcare play a key role in generating social cohesion, productive workforce, employment and hence economic growth (Harrison 2005) and for this reason, as Bach notes, the means to reform health care systems effectively is an issue that confronts policy makers worldwide. (2001:1) As such, the challenges facing the NHS in terms of management, change and efficiency are i mportant to an audience far wider than the UK and those who use and work within the organisation. In consuming around  £50 billion per annum it is no wonder that successive British governments have attempted throughout the history of the NHS to dictate from the centre the ‘minutia of the NHSs activities. A key problem however is that due to the complexity of the organisation itself and the politics that surround it, the methods used are considered by many to consist merely of ‘a plethora of complicated targets and initiatives that confound those who are charged to implement them (Bradshaw 2003:90). In recognising the obvious public concern over the management, and expenditure, of the NHS both the previous Conservative and Labour governments and current New Labour invest considerable time, and tax-payers money, into attempting to improve the service. Yet it is considered increasingly apparent that in responding to health deficiencies ‘by throwing money at them to see the quick, comfortable resolution of the political conflict that these inevitably cause (Duncan -Smith 2002), continual change ‘for changes sake has become the focus at the expense of the ultimate ‘telos that created the health service (Kelly and Glover 1996:31). Changes in Management of the NHS Since its conception, it is clear that the NHS has undergone many changes, both structurally and ideologically, but it is since the reforms of the early 1980s that the focus of NHS management has attempted to move away from obvious ‘command and control techniques and towards local management with local responsibility and accountability not only to the government but to the public that ‘experience the service. It was subsequent to these reforms and as a result of the Griffiths Report and policies such as ‘Promoting Better Health, that ‘Working for Patients'(1989) was introduced which further emphasised the NHSs aims of better health care, choice, complaints procedures, patient information, and overarching quality. Currently a number of policy and management initiatives are transforming the structure and organisation of the NHS (Truss 2003). New Labour are heralding the benefits of ‘choice within the public services as a whole and many of the recent initiatives focus upon the ‘customer and the need for services to attract these customers and the money that they bring, to the extent that within the NHS ‘individual patient preference [is] determining where business will be placed (Bradshaw 2003:87). The logic behind this is claimed to be one of providing a new incentive for ‘providers to improve customer responsiveness, for if money follows patients and patients have a choice of service the power is with the people rather than in the hands of a previous monopolistic service provider (ibid). Such market incentives are driving NHS hospital trusts to perform more like businesses, with a corporate focus based upon meeting the demands of all the various stakeholders, and thus r equiring distinct business strategies which will account for all aspects of the organisation and services provided and ultimately ‘enhance their cash flow (Pollock 2004:218). With the establishment of Foundation Trusts, NHS Trusts which are perceived as high performers can gain Foundation Status, thus becoming corporate bodies, free from the controls of the strategic health authorities and accountable only to those whom they represent their own managers, staff, patients and local residents (Pollock 2004). The thinking behind this is seemingly one of moving away from what has been perceived as a ‘monolithic, inefficient bureaucracy to a system of individual services which are autonomous healthcare provider organisations that could be flexible, responsive and innovative (Walshe 2002:109). As the Department of Health states: â€Å"The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 establishes NHS Foundation Trusts as independent public benefit corporations modelled on co-operative and mutual traditions. Public benefit corporations are a new type of organisation, specially developed to reflect the unique aims and responsibilities of NHS Foundation Trusts. NHS Foundation Trusts exist to provide and develop services for NHS patients according to NHS principles and standards and are subject to NHS systems of inspection. Transferring ownership and accountability from Whitehall to the local community means that NHS Foundation Trusts are able to tailor their services to best meet the needs of the local population and tackle health inequalities more effectively.†(DoH 2007) Walshe considers the introduction of Foundation Trusts as providing organisational stability due to them reducing the ability of ‘future Secretaries of State for Health to reorganise the NHS every two or three years and thus allowing ‘meaningful service improvements to take place (2002:109). However, it is also recognised that this in turn could potentially cause problems as there will be ‘no guarantee of good management and governance resulting in the replacement of ‘one set of dysfunctional behaviours with another (ibid). Many interpret Foundation Trusts as forcing NHS trusts into having to respond flexibly to market forces similarly to private sector organisations, due to the public and political interest in the service it must also contend with the constant barrage of audits, inspections, monitoring, league tables and an increasingly demanding and knowledgeable public (Talbot-Smith and Pollock 2006). The NHS today can therefore be seen as remaining seemingly attached to the ideologies of the business world, and current government emphasis towards ‘modernisation suggests that the premise remains dominantly that: â€Å"†¦no organisational context is immune from the uncertainties of unrelenting change and that, as a result, all organisations public, private and voluntary need to develop similar norms and techniques of conduct: if they do not do so, they will not survive. Thus all organisations need to look to current ‘best practice†¦Government services are brought forward using the best and most modern techniques, to match the best of the private sector.†(Du Gay 2003:676) These government initiatives reflect notions that by improving management and employee satisfaction, the NHS could become both an efficient and effective business, able to satisfy these consumerist needs of the customer. For example, the policy ‘Improving Working Lives aimed to encourage NHS employers to ‘develop a range of policies and practices which support personal and professional development and enable employees to achieve a healthy work-life balance (DH 2000). These management strategies have been labelled within this sector as New Public Management (NPM) and are considered to mark a clear differentiation from the previous strategies of ‘an administered service to a managed service'(Bach, 2000:928). Flynn argues that NPM clearly incorporates all of the changes that have occurred within the NHS following the reorganisations and new rhetorics of the 1980 reforms and the essential components that NPM consists of are clearly visible: â€Å"†¦more active and accountable management; explicit standards, targets and measures for performance; a stress on results, quality and outcomes; the break-up of large units into smaller decentralised agencies; more competition and a contract culture; more flexibility in the terms and conditions of employment; increased managerial control over the workforce and efficiency in resource allocation.†(1991:28) With the introduction of this managerialist emphasis in the NHS it has been suggested that there has been an investment of ‘faith in managers. This faith has been based on the supposition that the ‘language, techniques and values of managerialism were, and are, ‘the only way actually to deliver change; thus an ‘unparalleled position of ‘power and authority has been placed upon public managers (Exworthy and Halford 1999:5-6). Such managerialism, and its values and beliefs is based upon the assumption that ‘better management will prove an efficient solvent for a wide range of economic and social ills (Pollitt 1993:1), and in the case of the NHS these ‘ills are well documented in terms of a lack of capital and thus a shortage of resources yet with a need to provide an increasingly efficient and ‘quality driven service. However, the notion of managerialism must be used with caution. ‘Faith in managers can be perceived as politicians having faith in their own management in that they have failed to ever relinquish control, instead taking even more tight control through the implementation of numerous health policies and operational procedures. Such a need to keep close reigns on the management of the NHS suggests a deep mistrust in the capabilities of the public servants within it rather than a desire to allow it its freedom. Overall it is clear that the NHS is very complex for a range of reasons not least because of its complexity and variety of its duties, the range of skills it needs to draw on, the difficulty of reconciling competing priorities, the cost of healthcare, and the way the NHS has been stitched into the political fabric of England. From an organisational perspective too it is a hybrid mix of hierarchy, bureaucracy, market and network. To efficiently manage such an organisation is therefore a highly complex and unrelenting challenge. HRM in the NHS The role of HRM pre-reforms was mainly focused on administration and support with a lack of defined responsibility. Named Personnel rather than HR, the function was used to deal with general staffing issues of terms and conditions of employment, payment and holiday options, individual and local staffing issues and the well known ‘hiring and firing that it remains renowned for. From Personnel Managers came HR professionals, HR departments, and increasingly HR directors with voting rights on the Executive Boards of NHS Trusts. This has been considered a result of the changes that stemmed from the Griffiths reforms and continue today, and due to a particular focus on corporate business ideals, from which a clear, but nonetheless controversial role was carved out for a function that dealt with the management of the increasingly important resource of people. ‘†¦the effect of the reforms was to stimulate management to review custom and practice and historical staffing patterns, with a view to achieving better value for money. In this context the HR function was caught up in the continuing tension between those health care professionals who focused primarily on patient care, and those managers responsible for cost-effective use of resources but constrained by a lack of clinical knowledge'(Buchan 2000:320). The current role of HRM in the NHS, its status within the service, and its success as an effective function has become especially important at this time where ‘human resources are considered the key to not only improved staff performance but also competitive advantage (Bach 2001; Clarke 2006). Despite the managerialist rhetoric that clearly surrounds the drive for increasing the role of HR, on a more simple note it is little wonder that such an emphasis has been placed upon the HR function considering the cost of staffing in the NHS of the  £19 billion cash increase in the NHS from 2004/5 to 2007/8 the increases in staff pay ‘swallowed up around 34% (Appelby 2007). To add to this, the growing importance of the function is particularly clear in situations where individual NHS trusts are being granted greater financial and operational independence within the increasingly competitive, consumer driven market that the government is creating through such initiatives as Found ation Trust Status. Barnett et als research demonstrated that the HR function within a Trust evolved through these changes in political and organisational focus and ‘generated a new focus on labour productivity and on value for money from which ‘a new and strategic approach to the management of the workforce was required and as a result they decided to ‘embrace the principles of human resource management'(1996:31). So with the acknowledgement that service funding follows customers, customer satisfaction is linked to quality of service, and quality of service is linked to ‘the skills, motivation and commitment of service staff, within such a ‘labour intensive human service industry the role of HRM is imperative (Bach 2001:1; Pollock 2004). The Changing Role of HRM in the NHS Yet HRMs move from an administrative role to a function that potentially impacts upon corporate strategy has been my no means plain sailing. Ham succinctly locates a key basis for conflict within the NHS in his suggestion that ‘there is continuing tension between the role of doctors in deciding treatment†¦and the attempt by managers and politicians to influence priorities at a national and local level (1996:96). There is much literature on the dominance of professionals and the conflict with managers within public sector organisations and in particular the NHS (Kember 1994; Skjorshammer 2001; Atun 2006; Hoggett 2006) and it is clear that their dominance remains not only because of their unique skills and knowledge but also because of their obvious importance within the service (Kelly and Glover 1996). However, within the changing NHS, the dominance of the professionals is subject to more and more management constraints, both on their resources and their autonomy and whilst some acceptance of management expertise is recognised by the professional groups their patience reaches a limit when this becomes encroachment on their ‘professional competence, resulting inevitably in conflict (Ackroyd 1996). Managers within the NHS are marked by a poor image, often both within the organisation and by members of the public. Meralis study found that the ‘majority of the managers were convinced that the general public believed that doctors and nurses were the only professionals in the NHS who are motivated by a desire to serve/provide care to society (2003:558) and similarly within this research the public perception of management within the NHS was consistently negative: ‘Theres too many [managers] as it is, ‘The NHS should swap most of the managers for doctors and nurses, then there wouldnt be waiting lists, â€Å"If you can find out what the management do then thats an achievement in itself. Overall it seems that management, especially in a context of attempting to rationalise the NHS and incorporate business ideals of value for money and efficiency which often results in cost-cutting through redundancies and closing services, are deemed by non-managers to hold an enti rely different ideology that is a far cry from caring for people. Yet the function of ‘management is well placed within the NHS, and its conflict with the medical professionals whilst often cited can appear over-emphasised. However with HRM now shifting in its role from administration and support to management and strategy at the same time as organisational change that is producing a complex and uncertain environment for many within the NHS, the HRM function faces a hostile crowd. This symmetry between the focus upon business and private sector ideals and the rise in HR as a function in its own right, can begin to explain perhaps the antagonism that many within the NHS express towards the HR departments. Those within the NHS who hold close to their hearts the original ideals of the NHS and their role within it rather than fighting against government initiatives and the corporate business world influence instead could hold to account the one group which was ‘created out of these initiatives the HR function. Bryson et al in acknowledging both the power struggle between doctors and management and the increasing role of HRM note that, with a complex organisational strategy that seemingly has no clear direction and with few colleagues from the traditional management functions to align with, HRM are far from being seen as any part of the ‘NHS tribal club (1996:53). Through becoming part of the ‘Corporate Business Team and gaining responsibility and a potential role of ‘power within the new NHS environment the HRM function has run into conflict. Starting off on the wrong-foot, as Bach explains, HR within the NHS must struggle with the constant accusation that it is illegitimate as its role does ‘not obviously contribute to patient care'(Bach 2001:12). It would also be expected that any role within the NHS service that had the role of scrutinising staff and reviewing quality of care when they were not medically knowledgeable would come to blows with the medical professionals, especially when the latter has enjoyed far-reaching autonomy and control in the service since its beginning (Buchan 2000). However, to also find few compatriots within the rest of management due to its timely rise with organisational change which has rationalised and constrained many other departments, many HR departments have been left in a no-mans land. There are few who would debate the continued dominance of the medical profession within the NHS, nor the importance of it remaining in such a position. However, their importance within the NHS as a business is becoming more complex. Management are increasingly holding the power to dictate for example the working patterns of doctors and they have the ability to withhold or reward resources depending upon clinicians abilities to achieve targets. And, with the introduction of Foundation Status, Trusts are running a competitive business within which all are dispensable, as Pollock describes: â€Å"†¦in the past, doctors were free to speak out in fact they were under a moral obligation to do so if they felt it was in the interests of their patients. In a business culture, however, loyalty is said to be due above all to the shareholders. Where the survival of the hospitals depends on massaging the figures and performance ratings, doctors who expose the inadequacies in the system or rail against underfunding or lack of resources are seen to be criticising their own hospitals†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (2004:203) With performance targets increasingly dominant in the NHS, to the extent that funding, resources and ‘Foundation Status can be given or taken away accordingly, accountability not only for service provision but also initiatives such as ‘Improving Working Lives have meant that HRM can also take a large piece of the managerial high-ground (Givan 2005). In addition, with the record investments in staffing and government focus upon improving service delivery through effective people management, HRM has been given legitimacy within the NHS through the Governments ‘HR in the NHS Plan (DoH 2002) which represented the NHSs ‘first generic HR strategy'(Truss 2003:49) and more recently ‘NHS Foundation Trusts: A Guide to Developing HR arrangements which highlighted the importance of the HRM function within Foundation Trusts (DoH 2006). With these initiatives in place the effective functioning of HRM is a measurable target it matters not whether the medical professio nals or other managers accept or value the role of HRM. This not only provides the HRM function with a place within the NHS, it gives it the opportunity to ‘adopt a more strategic role within the ‘new public management: ‘it is no longer consigned to a reactive and administrative role, interpreting and applying national rules, and can be proactive (Corby 1996 cited in Truss 2003:49). A number of commentators have assumed that changes in the role and status of HRM in the public sector merely follow orientations developed in the private sector (Buchan 2000; Thomason 1990). Just as the NHS as an organisation can be seen to have taken on private, corporate business strategies, so too it is considered that private sector HR management techniques were established (Buchan 2000:320). Distinct similarities can indeed be seen between the developments of HRM in the private sector and what is currently expected of the HRM function within the NHS as Begley and Boyd summarise: â€Å"The declining relevance of the command-and-control approach to business has extended into the roles played by HRM. Many companies regard their employees talents as providing a significant competitive advantage. they expect their HR professionals to formulate creative, flexible programs and policies to woo, develop, and retain that talent.†(2000:12) This apparent mirroring of private sector HR techniques within the public sector environment has met with various hostile reactions, with accusations of public managers being forced to adopt private sector HRM styles with the possible ‘dangerous result that such language will cause the public domains to ‘neglect their values (Boyne, Jenkins et al. 1999:411). Yet others, and especially some senior HR professionals within the NHS, take a different view. For them, the introduction of more efficient people management is an important and necessary development, one that is sorely needed in an environment where people are not only the service providers, but also the product and customer of healthcare services. The following empirical research and analysis demonstrates that far from being left out in the cold, the HRM function is capable of rising through an NHS Trust, effectively implementing government initiatives as well as producing its own, and finally reaching the position of designing and directing corporate strategy. Whilst the perceptions of HRM by other Trust members may vary, this is not necessarily a hindrance, but perhaps an organisational necessity that must be negotiated. Methodology The paper reports a research project that has followed the changing role of the HRM function within a large teaching NHS Trust (herein called ‘The Trust) in the UK. It reports on in-depth interviews and observations of a number of meetings involving staff from across the hospital hierarchy. The Trust is facing many changes, both in its financial governance and organisational practices. Recently it was granted â€Å"Foundation Trust† status and, as a result, a competitive drive for value for money and the need to develop efficient recruitment and retention practices have become key issues. Despite only requiring access to staff, rather than patients, researching an NHS Trust proved more difficult than originally anticipated. Currently researchers wanting to interview NHS staff are required to gain NHS Ethics Committee approval to the same degree that clinical researchers must do when requesting clinical trials on patients. This can be seen as associated with the increased awareness of the importance and value of hospital staff and their working lives at all levels of the organisation, requiring the researcher to ensure that the research is valid and that staff will not be adversely affected. It could be suggested that by not distinguishing between staff and patients and the need for ethical approval in research the NHS has adopted the understanding that to ensure quality of service and patient care staff must also benefit from an improved working life.[1] The empirical research took place over a period of nine months within the one NHS Trust and included in-depth interviews with twenty-two members of The Trusts staff and observations of key meetings with staff from across The Trusts hierarchy in attendance. A Trust Executive P.A. provided a list of thirty-five potential participants for the interviews, ranging from Assistant Service Managers, Junior Doctors, Ward Managers, Nurse Specialists and Senior Staff (including members of the Trust Executive) who were contacted via email communication. Assurances were given that these participants had not been ‘cherry picked for their perceptions of HR or management initiatives (which was reflected in interview content at times). The interviews were conducted either within an office provided by The Trust or at a location convenient to the interviewee, often a staff room or their office. Each interview was recorded, with the participants consent, and transcribed in full, with all distinguishing information such as names, exact details of roles and personal information destroyed to ensure anonymity, in accordance with the Ethics Approval criteria. The Director of Workforce and Corporate Affairs was interviewed twice, before subsequent interviews took place and again once interviewing was completed. The three meetings observed (Patient and Staff Experience Meeting; Executive Governance Committee for Clinical Effectiveness; and Strategy Advisory Group) were chosen through knowledge of the different staffing groups that would be in attendance in order to attempt to gather information as to how different groups interacted. By chance observation of the RCN Clinical Leadership Programme Presentation to the Patient and Staff Experience Group was also possible. Notes were taken during the meeting regarding staff interaction, comments about policies and Trust issues, though individual names and some meeting content was not recorded due to either anonymity or irrelevance. Due to the highly qualitative nature of this research and in valuing the need to attempt to provide an accurate and indepth understanding into the perceptions of those interviewed and how these relate to the role of HRM and its effectiveness, the following presentation and discussion of the research will use direct quotations, some at length, to highlight issues. It is felt that it is important to allow these views to be expressed clearly and as distinct from over interpretation thus enabling as honest a reflection of the current context as possible. In order to ensure the anonymity of participants they will usually be identified only by their generic role within The Trust. Discussion of Empirical Research The research demonstrates that perceptions of HRM within The Trust remain varied, a stance that is not unknown to those within the role: â€Å"I think lots of different people have lots of different perceptions. I think †¦a lot of managers are starting to see the value of HR and what HR can actually offer them†¦Other managers would probably just think we are only here to make their lives difficult and not let them get on with the job but those are the people who perhaps have never really had any involvement or used HR to its capacity† (Human Resources Staff #1) This suggests that HRM within the NHS remains in a similar situation to when Currie and Procter researched the role of personnel within the NHS and highlight the differing perceptions that the personnel department, and its subsequent human resource strategies, had within a trust: â€Å"Both executive directors and middle level managers see an advisory role as appropriate†¦They differ in their views as to whether the emphasis of the personnel department should lie with operational or strategic issues in an advisory role†¦middle managers view the personnel department unfavourably because it is distant from the operational aspects of health care†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (1998:383-384) Indeed, many of the participants found it difficult to summarise the role of HRM and during the research the role was often described as ‘personnel or ‘medical staffing. This lack of clearly defined role for some within The Trust may, as suggested by the HR staff, stem from minimal contact with the HRM department, other than in specific situations such issues with recruitment and pay-role[2]. â€Å"†¦lower grade staff will still see the HR as a sort of mini police force within the organisation and if you do anything naughty you get disciplined and I guess a lot of the lower grade staff dont have a real idea of what the HR department does†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ( Human Resources Staff2) Perhaps another reason could be the constantly changing title of the head of the HR department. Initially The Trust employed a Director of HRM but as the Director developed and expanded the remit and function of the HR departments role his title developed to one of Director of Workfor