Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument Essay Example for Free

Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument Essay The organization I last worked with is an IT/ITES company, which is one of the fastest growing fortune 500 companies. The organization has a balanced out structure however there is a little dominance towards ‘The Market’. As per my experience I can say that the reason for this is that the organization is relatively young and striving to compete with the best in the industry. This requires leaders to be competitive and to an extent demanding. Also the employees are dedicated towards the company’s vision and hence strive to achieve the goals and targets set for them. Culture – Strong. People are focused on innovating and brainstorming towards ideas that the management can implement and improve their processes. The company is people oriented which in turn creates a high commitment level from the employees. The organization has leaders who are efficient and ensure smooth running of the company. The company is sensitive towards the clients and customers and goes an extra mile to deliver better than the expectations. This is the reason for them to be able to retain customers and get new businesses. Another fact that I am aware of is that the organization has not till date fired any employee unless in extreme ethical sensitive issues. An example of people being valued and everyone considered equal is that when I joined the company as a fresher some of my friends who ad joined along with me sent a mail to the CEO regarding a certain issue and got a reply from him with the action that would be taken. Since mostly the organizational structure is balanced out there is not much discrepancy. I would however like the company reduce its dominance in the Market style and according to me that will happen with time. Yes there is a cultural congruence and that is mainly because the company’s culture was same as my expectation.

Impact of policy on practice

Impact of policy on practice In order to maintain confidentiality the names used in this piece of work have been anonymised. The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of the impact that policy and specifically Child Protection (CP) policy has made on professional practice. I will identify and analyse an incident associated with child protection in practice which will enable a discussion to debate appropriate local, national and international perspectives. I will also consider the impact of policy on other professionals involved in the event. Furthermore I will use PEST analysis as a framework to explore the impact of policy on practice. Pest analysis is described by Mindtools, 2009 as a simple, useful and widely-used tool that helps you understand the big picture of your Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Technological environment. It is used by business leaders worldwide to build their vision of the future and likewise can be used by practitioners to attain best practice to achieve positive outcomes for individuals. The practice placement that is the focus of this assignment is a mixed senior school of predominantly working class white students aged 11 18. The incident that occurred was discussed between a female pupil known as Beth Jones aged 12 years and a student social worker (SSW). While in a 1:1 mentoring session Beth disclosed that her mother Elaine Jones had pushed her down the stairs in her home that morning. Beth was traumatised and stated that she was fearful to return to her home that day. Recently, the views within the UK concerning the status of children have been wide-ranging and this has had some impact on policy and practice. At a socio-cultural level children are now viewed as having the capabilities to engage in building and constructing their own lives and opinions have swayed towards autonomy of women and in particular of children. In todays society, through the emergence of feminist writers especially on issues such as patriarchy and domestic violence, children are viewed as independents rather than being the property of men. This has been reinforced through changes in the political economy of welfare where societys perceptions of children have transformed towards children being independent service users whose wishes and preferences have been given greater importance. (Armstrong, et al 1991). The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 also ensures that children now have legal rights. (WHO, 1998). The term Gillick competent is used to describe a child under the age of 16 who is judged to be of a sufficient understanding and intelligence to be capable of making up his own mind on the matter requiring decision (Smith, 1996 p52) thus enabling young people like Beth to be heard. The practice implication for this is that when taking into consideration the opinions and wishes of the child, it must first be established what those wishes and views are and then whether those wishes and views are to be considered, or acted on, based on whether the child is deemed to have a full enough understanding of the implications of their decisions. Every child living in this country is entitled to protection from abuse regardless of his or her background. With the help of the Children Act 1989, and the recommendations made by Lord Laming, (Every Child Matters, 2004), child services within the UK have been given the power to act when they feel a child is being abused. Victoria Climbià © aged 8 died from 128 injuries at the hands of her carers in February 2000. The investigatory inquiry into her death conducted by Lord Laming discovered many instances where professionals including line managers had failed to fulfil their roles and numerous flaws where professional networks had failed to protect Victoria during the last months of her life. Laming criticised the lack of professionalism and cooperation between agencies (Laming, 2003 S.1.30) the Laming Enquiry, lay the foundations for the Every Child Matters Green Paper published in 2003. In the U.K. the Children Act 1989 aimed to introduce key changes for practice by focusing on principles such as paramountcy of the child, partnership and parental responsibility as well as child protection and family support and the rights of the family against the rights of the child. This has lead to increasing pressures on social workers who have to prove that they have been empowering, anti oppressive and supportive to those involved in their cases. Within the U.K. these policies afford children considerable rights as individuals and these are considered primarily before those of the parents in child protection cases. This has led to a predominantly rights-based legal approach where social workers hold considerable amounts of power. (Archard el al 2002). Farnfield (1998, p53) talks about children as consumers and the difficulty which many social workers have in balancing the rights of the parents with the rights of the child. Given the drive towards working in partnership with parents in childcare and inclusion of all relevant parties when working within a social care field, it may be difficult, when working with families, to remain focussed on the issue of whom the client is and whose interests are best being served by any particular course of action. Trevithick (2005, p229) discusses a particular case where she was having difficulty in establishing a good relationship with parents in a child protection case. The issue of having the agenda of protecting the children was identified as a stumbling block in the establishment of a rapport with the parents. Brayne and Martin (1999) however argue that, from a legal perspective, in child protection cases the primary client must always be the child. This is borne-out by the policy document Working Together to Safeguard Children which states that professionals should: work co-operatively with parents unless this is inconsistent with the need to ensure the childs safety. This is also compatible with the ethos of child centred practice in placing the child first. Article 19 of the UN convention on the rights of the child states governments should ensure that children are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents or anyone else who looks after them. The Human Rights Act 1998 is linked to the implementation of no-smacking policies and states that every child has the right not to suffer ill treatment or cruel, unusual punishment.'(Flynn, 2004. p.41). As Beth disclosed to the SSW that she has been physically abused, the SSW refers the disclosure to the Child Protection officer. In line with the Data Protection Act 1998 the information is kept confidential as it is not necessary that any other member of staff need to know about the case at that time. As a result of the deaths of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in 2004 the Bichard Report was published and made recommendations about how information is shared and stored.Child protection information on a pupil is filed in a separate area to the school file a nd can only be accessed by the child protection officer and shared with other professionals in a need to know basis a positive impact of policy to protect confidentiality of vulnerable children. Undoubtedly the most significant development in childcare policy in Britain over the past twenty-five years has been the preoccupation with child abuse (Alcock et al 1998). Also it can be suggested that this increase in concern can be seen in all major European countries and constitutes a major key issue in this area of social policy. This concern has not only been emphasised through the formal and legal frameworks of society but also by the general public. As stated above the rise in concern with child abuse has been evident from the late 60s and early 70s. It is from then that child abuse has become identified as a social problem (Alcock et al 1998) mainly through high-publicised cases of child abuse victims. The high profile case of Maria Colwell who died in 1973 after serious injuries were inflicted upon her at her home whilst under the supervision of social services demonstrates this point effectively. Even today 30 years on this case is still being analysed and discussed. When identifying the key issues within child protection it is important to consider the concept of balance. This is a main concern for all countries who find themselves victims of either jumping in too quickly with overzealous assumptions, or on the other hand holding off too long and in the end delaying intervention until in some cases it is too late. Any major piece of legislation develops in response to a variety of influences. (Hill, M. and Aldgate, J. 1996). In the U.K. for example, the Childrens Act 1989 was the result of a number of influential factors. One of the biggest influences, which have already been mentioned, is that of the wave of child abuse tragedies that occurred over the years. The public inquiries and the amount of media attention that arose because of these cases shed light upon the inadequacies of practice and previous policies. Cases such as Jasmine Beckford and Kimberley Carlisle and the Orkney and Cleveland inquiries impacted public perceptions and professional practice and shaped the responses of the U.K.s policies to the problem of child abuse. The social reaction prompted those in power to reassess their protection schemes and to readdress the issues of evidenced based practice within their policy changes. According to Alcock et al. these high publicised inquiries, led to the promulgation of extensive procedural guidance at central and local levels to social welfare and other agencies designed to avoid repetition of tragedy and scandal (Alcock et al 1998). Back to the scenario with Beth, after discussion with the child protection officer, a decision is made to make a referral to social services. Policy states that any disclosure of physical abuse results in steps that must be taken to protect the child. This may produce an emergency protection order as she is deemed to be at risk of harm if she returns to her mothers care. A social workers main aim in the U.K. is to guarantee young people like Beths right to protection from harm and if necessary will battle with parents and other agencies to fulfil this. In comparison, Europe and specifically France, children have not been accorded as many individual rights independently of their family. Their position is a result of the traditional state and family perspective. The French policies have adapted to this cultural opinion and have enforced that child protection work should be focused on the family and that children should be considered not as an individual but as part of the family. Traditionally the focus is that the parents are superior to the children giving them the rights of decisions, protection and care. This is the view of French society where their main concern is keeping the birth family together and taking risks is acceptable. It can be suggested that in France a humanistic model (Parton ,cited in Armstrong et al 1991) is followed to a certain degree. The countrys view that social factors are very likely to be involved in child abuse cases is evident in their policies, which apply preventative, counselling and therapeutic app roaches. Examples of this can include the forcing of families to co-operate at the intervention stage, which is unheard of in Britain. One of the main concerns of this system is the fact that in most cases the Childrens Judge does not hear the childs wishes and views, and if they are heard they are poorly represented. In the U.K. as stated the protective attitude of society is reflected in their policies that recognise the state as having direct responsibility for protecting children when the parents have failed. If Beth were in France she would not be given an independent voice and a right to immediate protection without a full family investigation. The protective U.K. system appears to have disadvantages, Cooper proves this point by highlighting that in France there has never been any highly publicised cases of abuse as in Britain; therefore there has never been a lack of confidence in social work. The positive aspect of French child protection policy is a constructive public perception which eases tensions within the social worker and family relationship and also encourages co-operation of the family. It was also found that French social workers have a, consistent, trusting professional relationship at the centre of their professional aims whereas in the U.K. social workers are mainly concerned with whether parents are guilty or innocent and with the task of collecting evidence this impacts on UK social workers as they are on the receiving end of accusations and abuse and stereotypical blame. (Cooper, A. 1994 p59-67). Effective communication is essential for organisations to be successful. It is the process by which information is exchanged between one group or person and another, by computer, telephone, letter, meetings, text, fax or face to face. The deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002 sparked the Bichard enquiry into child protection procedures in the Humberside Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary in the light of the trial and conviction of Ian Huntley for the murder of the two young girls. He had previously been suspected of committing sexual assaults on at least eight occasions and at the age of 21 Ian Huntley had sexual relationships with at least three 15-year-old girls for whom social services were aware but failed to communicate this information to the police. If the police had been aware of this information, this may have shown up when vetting checks were being carried out on Huntley and may have stopped him from getting a job at the school that the girls had atte nded. In December 2003 the Humberside Police said the main reason for this was because of the Data Protection Act. Information about dealings with Ian Huntley had not been available to them during vetting checks. This inquiry also stated that the problem was due to the police not having been told about this legislation regarding information about the person being vetted. A report stated that police officers were nervous about breaching the legislation, partly at least because too little was done to educate and reassure them about its impact. Michael Bichard labelled it an inelegant and cumbersome piece of legislation and the judiciary stated that better guidance is needed on the collection, retention, deletion, use and sharing of information, so that police officers, social workers and other professionals can feel more confident in using information properly. This simply indicates the importance of effective communication. The information system may have been used to its full potent ial if the officers had been aware of the limits of the Data Protection Act. Ian Huntleys date of birth had been entered into the system incorrectly. If this information had been entered correctly then they would have been aware of his past behaviour. This would effectively stop him working in the school and the girls trusting him as a safe adult. The PNC (Police National Computer) only checked against the name Ian Nixon (an alias) and not Ian Huntley. An Information system can fail completely without accurate information from the end user, highlighting the systems reliance on good communication with its users. (Bichard Inquiry, 2004). The Children Act 2004 empowered the Secretary of State for Education to create a database (or databases) of everyone in England who is aged under 18. In July 2007, the regulations that will bring this first national database of children into being were passed by Parliament. The government has announced that the database will be called ContactPoint. It was originally known as the Information-Sharing Index, but re-branded in February 2007 because of negative publicity about information sharing. ContactPoint is effectively a file-front that serves the whole range of agencies that may be involved with a child. It is intended to provide a complete directory of all children from birth, together with a list of the agencies with which s/he is in contact. It will not hold any case records, but will enable practitioners to indicate their involvement with a family and contact each other in order to share information. It will also show whether an eCAF (an in-depth personal profile under the Comm on Assessment Framework) has been carried out and is available for sharing. A response from teachers in local schools have indicated that agencies are finding the procedure confusing with long waiting times for an initial reply for services. Another negative criticism of this policy as stated by Searing, 2007 the danger is that once social work has become more closely aligned with an inter-agency system of surveillance and monitoring of families most people will be less open and trusting towards social workers and this will make their job more difficult thus further negative impact on the social worker role. The Governments response to the Laming Enquiry was almost immediate with the production of the Green Paper Every Child Matters 2004. In conjunction with Every Child Matters (ECM) is The Children Act 2004, which is in addition to the original Act 1989. The Act encompasses several components based on recommendations from the Laming Report and is responsible for promoting a partnership between agencies working with children including health, education and social care in a more cohesive manner (Allen, 2008). According to Smith the Children Act 1989 (CA, 1989) simplified all pre-existing legislation in relation to children and families. It imposed new duties on local authorities relating to the identification and assessment of children in need, and gave all Local Authorities new responsibilities for looked after children. The introduction of the Act also provided the Court with Emergency Protection Orders to protect children at risk of harm which replaced the Place of Safety Orders. Smith (2001) argues that the Children Act was particularly relevant because for the first time it placed more emphasis upon the importance of inter-agency collaborative working as a means of responding to the needs of both children and their families. This policy provided immediate protection to Beth, initiated within the school environment and in collaboration with social services, a good example of interagency working. If Beth had not been listened to or taken seriously she would be at risk of further abuse and may not disclose further abuse due to lack of support. It is important that professionals and agencies co-operate and work together in child protection cases so that all the relevant and correct information is available, and accurate in order to help and support the child. In recent cases, specifically that of Victoria Climbie, this was not done and therefore Victoria was put at further harm, and subsequently died when she could have been saved if the agencies had worked effectively and shared information. This is why the Every Child Matters legislation came about, to try and prevent this in the future. Children at risk need coordinated help from health, education, social services and other agencies, including youth justice services. These professionals are required to work together in order to protect the children and keep them safe, and to help bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes against children. As a result of Every Child Matters, now children known to more than one agency will have a single named professional to lead their c ase. This has proved to be an effective tool in Beths scenario as guidance enables the professionals within the school to take action immediately to protect her as she was placed on an emergency protection order. Even though the policy is over five years old, when applied effectively stops a child falling through the net. Policy has shaped the care for this service user and had a significant impact on her outcome. References Allen, N. (2008) Making Sense of the Children Act 1989, 4th ed. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons. Alcock, P. Erskine, A. and May, M. (1998) The Students Companion to Social Policy Blackwell Publishers Armstrong, H. and Hollows, A. (1991) in Hill, M. (Ed) Social Work and the European Community: the Social Policy and Practice Contexts. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 142-161 Brayne, H. Martin, G (1999) Law for Social Workers (6ed). London: Blackstone Bichard, M. Sir. (2004 April 21), The Bichard Inquiry An Independent Inquiry arising from the Soham murders, (The Bichard Inquiry), Available: http://www.bichardinquiry.org.uk/, (Accessed: May 2009). Children Act 1989- Section 47. Children Act 1989 (c.41). www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1989/Ukpga w19 March 2009. Cooper, A. (1994) In Care or En Famille? Child Protection, the Family and the state in France and England. Social Work in Europe. Volume1No.1. Davies, M. (2002 p107) Companion to Social Work. (2nd). London: Blackwell. (Data Protection Act 1984 and 1998). DfES (2006) What to do if youre worried a child is being abused. Summary. Crown Copyright. Department of Health, Home Office, Department for Education and Employment, 1999 Every Child Matters (2003) Every Child Matters (2005) Background to Every Child Matters (http://www.everychildmatters.co.uk/aims/background [Accessed online: 17/01/2009] Farnfield, S (1998) The rights and wrongs of social work with children and young people in Cheetham, J. and Kazi, M.A.F (eds.) The Working of Social Work. London: Jessica Kingsley Flynn, H. (2004) Protecting Children. Heinemann. Hill, M and Aldgate, J (1996) The Children Act 1989 and Recent Developments in Research in England and Wales, in Hill, M. and Aldgate, J. (Eds.) Child Welfare Services: Developments in Law, Policy, Practice and Research, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Lord Laming.2003. The Victoria Climbie inquiry. Crown London http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_09.htm Searing, H (2008). The Crisis in Social Work: The Radical Solution. Available at http://www.radical.org.uk/barefoot/crisis.htm (Accessed May 2009) Smith P (1999) Support for Children and Families: Trevithick, P. (2005) Social Work Skills.2nd ed. Berkshire: Open University Press. World Health Organisation (WHO) Bibliography Burton S., (1997) When Theres a Will Theres a Way: Refocusing Child Care Practice A Guide for Team Managers London: National Childrens Bureau London Borough of Greenwich and Greenwich Health Authority (1987) The Kimberley Carlile Report Cleveland Report (1988) Report of the Inquiry into child abuse in Cleveland 1987 London: HMSO General Assembly of the United Nations (1989) The Convention on the Rights of the Child. Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 November 1989. (UN Convention) http://www.unicef.org/crc/text.htm Parton, N. (1996) Social Work, Risk and the Blaming System in N. Parton (ed.) Social Theory, Social Change and Social Work, London: Routledge Kegan Paul. Trotter, C. (2004) Helping Abused Children And Their Families, London.

The History of Buckman Company Essay -- Laboratories Water Treatment P

The History of Buckman Company Founded in 1945 by Dr. Stanley Buckman Buckman started the company in Memphis, Tennessee, with five employees in a small building located on land that was once a lumberyard. Offices and laboratories were located on the first floor of the building, and a 50-gallon black iron chemical reactor and a steam boiler were placed in the basement. The 50-gallon black iron chemical reactor was sufficient to supply the initial order for 20 gallons of a microbicide, trade name BSM-11, to the company’s first customer – Whiting Paper Company. Three years later, BSM-11 and its derivatives had become the industry standard for microorganism control. Soon a new production facility was built next door and Buckman Laboratories of Canada was formed. During the 1950s, the company’s customer base expanded to include the leather, paint, sugar processing, agriculture, paint, coatings and plastics industries. During the 1960s, new manufacturing and sales companies were formed in Mexico and Belgium. The expansion during the 1970s followed with the opening of sales and manufacturing companies in South Africa and Brazil and a sales company in Australia. New products were introduced for water treatment, ranging from swimming pools to fresh water, and a new international headquarters housing all corporate activities, including Research and Development, were built in Memphis. In 1978, Dr. Stanley Buckman died of a heart attack in his office His son, Robert (Bob), became the new chairman and CEO. In 1945, Buckman Laboratories started with one product, a 50-gallon process vessel and four employees in a small house in Memphis, Tennessee. Today, Buckman is a global business producing over 500 different products and employing over 1,300 people in over 70 countries. The company was originally founded on its unique ability to create and manufacture innovative solutions for controlling the growth of microorganisms. Ever since its inception, Buckman believes that a specialty chemical supplier should listen to and anticipate customer needs and then respond with innovative and unique solutions. Buckman will continue in the future as it has in the past providing value-added services and products to improve the efficiencies and products. 2. PROVIDE A SHORT DISCUSSION OF THE KEY MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY. DIS... ...y for all customer information and forums should be developed to include customers. Buckman’s idea was to bring knowledge to the learner rather than bring the learner to the knowledge. Since Buckman employees or â€Å"learners† speak nearly a dozen languages, the frontier issue of instantaneous translation is immanent. The idea of when someone posts a note in English, people in Japan will be able to read it and respond in Japanese, which in turn people can read and respond in Portuguese, Swedish, Dutch, French, etc. Therefore, creating a â€Å"universal† culture within the organization will ensure employee buy-in into the K’Netix system. In the end, the system’s success rests on the people and not the tools. It is 90 percent culture change and 10 percent technology. Driving these changes solely based on technology and technology budgets will not be successful. The employees are who bring about the change. Therefore, by implementing focus groups that include different levels of employees will bring about the change in a successful manner. Additionally, by revamping the mission statement to reflect the culture of the company will give the employees and management a sense of direction.

Themes in Othello :: essays research papers

Themes in Shakespeare’s Othello Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Othello, there are many themes interwoven to describe the author’s perspective of the true nature of a man’s soul. Three themes critical to the play are doubt versus trust, monstrous imagery and the fallible love of man. One central theme of the play is the major contrast of doubt versus trust. For whatever reason, Othello's trust of Desdemona is too weak to resist Iago's accusations. As happens in many of Shakespeare’s works, miscommunication and mistrust lead to "prepost'rous conclusions" (1. 3. 323). Othello's heart tells him that Desdemona loves him; however the critical Iago can dismantle Othello’s trust in his wife by planting seeds doubt through what appears to be rational proof. Having built Othello’s curiosity about Cassio’s supposed thoughts; Iago manipulates Othello into seeing a situation between Desdemona and Cassio that does not exist. Because Othello suspects that Iago is aware of more details than he is telling, he begins questioning Iago. "Why of thy thought?"(3. 3. 108), "What dost thou think?" (3. 3. 116). The superficially answered questions cause Othello to make demands for further clarification: "If thou dost love me, show me thy thought" (3. 3. 127-28), "give thy worst of thoughts the worst of words" (3. 3. 145-46), then "By heaven, I'll know thy thoughts!" (3. 3. 175). Due to Othello’s equating of Iago’s thoughts with factual knowledge, he is eager to mistrust Cassio and does not fully scrutinize the evidence. It is because he trusts Iago that he trusts the false â€Å"facts† and doubts the virtue of his wife, Desdemona. In addition to inferring Desdemona’s unfaithfulness to Othello, Iago alludes to Desdemona's duplicitous deception of her father, Brabantio -- she was able to "seel her father's eyes up close as oak"-when he reminds Othello that "She did deceive her father, marrying you" (3. 3. 224, 220). As Othello makes his final desperate attempt at trust by saying, "I do not think but Desdemona's honest," Iago again exploits the line between thinking (or having trust) that Othello’s wife is faithful and knowing (through evidence) whether it is actually true (3. 3. 241). Othello fails to see that honor cannot be subject to empirical proof. Shakespeare's exploration of the concept of jealousy leads to the theme of the human mind’s predisposition to favor the "monstrous." Monsters of the human psyche are self-generating, even without the prodding of an evil manipulator such as Iago.

Short History of Gangs :: essays research papers

Since the beginning of time, youth groups or gangs have been in existence. These groups have had many negative effects on society for many years. These youth groups or gangs, as they are commonly called, have participated in many criminal and illegal acts that have plagued society. They have been stereotyped with such negative names as rowdies, bad kids, troublemakers, and many other mischievous names. Some of the earliest records of gangs date back to the fourteenth and fifteenth century in Europe. Some of the activities that these youths had been recorded as partaking in have been theft, robbery, extortion, and rape. At the same time in London, some of the names these gangs had were the Mims, Hectors, Bugle, and Dead Boys. These gangs did many types of vandalism to the city. Some of the recorded vandalism that had taken place was various buildings with broken windows, taverns that had been destroyed by the gangs, and assaulting the watch. And if the violence on the public was not enough, these deviant groups also had fights with themselves. When there would be a fight, the separate groups or factions would dress up with different colored ribbons so that they could tell who was with what faction or group. There were also other places where gang violence had been recorded. During the middle ages in France, there were factions that started fights with other factions that were from other places. In Germany during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, gangs were a part of the society. Gangs did not appear to have spread to the United States until the early 1800’s. Many Europeans migrated to the United States, mainly the east coast; in seek of a better way of life. After coming to the United States, the money that many of the Europeans had quickly became depleted. Many of these people had to take out loans to survive with local merchants. Seeing how many of the others had little to no money at all, they also had very little chance for any health care whatsoever. People were dying due to poverty and disease all over. Many people could not take care of there children. It was very common to see children wandering the streets in search of food, shelter, and clothing. These youths that roamed the streets were mainly in the New England areas like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.

Original Writing Essay

I am the princess awaiting rescue in the quiet corner of the ballroom. I stand silently gathering dust in the shadows, grinning with gapped black and white teeth. The pungent odour of rising damp impregnates the air. Lonely and deserted by the warm affectionate hands I once knew and loved, shudders trace the length of my now slackened strings. I can still feel the faint, muffled trembling in my worn hammers of a serene piano concerto. I remain here reminiscing of times gone by; dreaming about rhapsodies of the great composers, sonatas with their heartbreaking refrains casting their sweet melodies out into the hearts of my listeners. I held the power to move people and touch their very souls. My waltzes floated dreamily like a single cloud in a clear blue sky drifting peacefully into the distance. I look back on my past at all the things I have experienced: my debut in the grand concert hall, the first time I felt the touch of his hands pounding passionately on my keys, I remember shaking with nerves as the critics watched and listened attentively, waiting for mistakes. We, my old friend and I, had travelled the length and breadth of the country together enchanting audiences with our music. Each week we would embark on another journey to take us to a new hall, each as grand as the last. The venues with their elegant, majestic decor were visited only by the noble and wealthy people in society. It felt fantastic to be associated with the upper class. They were women who could afford to wear the most opulent of gowns made with the finest silks, taffetas velvets and brocades; all of which were accompanied with stoles derived from the best pelts of fur that money could buy- the most popular of which being mink, ermine and fox. Their partners, of course, were dressed just as magnificently in their white tie evening suits. They looked somewhat like penguins in their expensive attire. I often wondered if it was the actual music they had come to listen to or just an excuse to show off their prosperity; the value of their wives jewellery alone could well have paid a king’s ransom! How I miss the anticipation and the adulation that each concert brought; the scores of fans applauding and cheering for an encore for which we jumped at the chance! We would play for ages after the scheduled end of the show; this was my favourite part of the performance because we always made an unforgettable exit! We amazed crowds like this every night; they all loved us and our music. But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The popularity of such grand events began to dwindle; the new recordings brought the great concertos into ones front room. People’s leisure time was spent in the comfort of their own homes and they much preferred to spend their evenings at the newly developed moving pictures. Then came the Great War. All the men were sent away to foreign lands to fight for their country. War, as they say, can be a great leveller; a rich man can be killed with a bullet just as easily as a poor man. People’s priorities altered, it wasn’t thought to be patriotic to flaunt ones wealth as had been done before. Nobody came to watch our shows: there was no one to escort the ladies, and they no longer felt the need to show their prosperity. Our shows were all cancelled. We were no longer needed; no longer wanted. It broke his heart knowing that we could no longer perform together. Not long afterwards, he went bankrupt. He lost everything: his house, his livelihood, his possessions; and me. I was devastated, how could I cope without him to love and comfort me? Who could be there for me? Most importantly, what would happen to him? I was so confused, my life had been turned upside down and I didn’t know if I’d manage. I knew he loved and cherished me, and the last thing he wanted to do was sell me, but he found himself in financial dire straits. He did what he had to do and I can’t condemn him for that. Nobody said that life should be fair. As the day of the auction loomed the atmosphere in the house was fraught. Complete strangers rummaged ruthlessly through all that was dear to him. The workmen pulled apart his home and left nothing behind. They had no respect for his privacy or his dignity. All his worldly goods were auctioned to satisfy his creditors. The items were sold for a pittance. I was sold there and violently shoved inside a small white transit van. It was not quite the transport I had become accustomed to, but I didn’t really have a choice in the matter. I made my final journey to where I am today; isolated here in the corner, being tortured by incompetent, untrained and inept hands, making a tuneless drone where once beautiful melodies had been played. I hope one day my prince will come rescue me from the depths of my despair; stuck here in this cold, damp dining room fully exposed to the gales blowing through the open window. I long for the caress of someone who truly understands my worth; and I can only hope that someone can appreciate me half as much as my friend did. I resign myself to the fact that I am no longer the youthful princess awaiting my prince, but a dowager condemned to a life of solitude. I now realise that life doesn’t always go the way you plan. I will always miss him but losing him has made me appreciate all the happy times we spent together and all the fond memories we share. 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Bloom taxonomy Essay

Bloom’s taxonomy or also known as the revised bloom taxonomy is a great teaching tool to use when teaching patients about their illness. It consists of three categories and then multiple sub-categories. Blooms taxonomy addresses not only the patient’s readiness to learn but it address the appropriate approach to each individual situation. It gives a systematic way of approaching a topic and the audience that will be learning. When this method is applied to nursing it is a great tool. This is due to the fact that each patient has different cognitive factors, different psychomotor factors as well as an affective domain. Bloom’s Cognitive categories have to do with how the mind can process or regenerate the information provided during a teaching session. There are six sub-categories to the cognitive category. The six are remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create. A teacher should be able to determine where in this pyramid is the patient. What teaching strategies must be changed and modified to fit the patient lifestyle. The second category is the Affective domain. This is how patients address their emotions to specific problems. This will show what a patient or student values and what motivates them to be who they are. This category has five sub-categories receiving, respecting, valuing, organizing and internalizing. This is the category that will determine if the patient is willing to accept this disease or new lifestyle change into their life. This will tell a teacher where on the scale the patient is willing to rate their disease and how it will affect their life. The Third and final category is psychomotor. This tells the teacher if the patient is physically able to complete the task asked of them. This will allow the teacher to gage if the patient is able to successfully complete what is needed of them to live with their disease process. There are five sub-categories imitation, manipulation, precision, articulation, and naturalization. There is a great example of this category, teaching a patient to use a new nebulizer treatment. The patient will go through reach step of the process till they  can finally reach the goal of naturalization. Conclusion Blooms taxonomy learning tool can break down the heart of teaching and give it meaning to apply to most any professions. Nursing is just one of those professions that teaching is a large part of the job, on a daily basis. Blooms taxonomy should be used each day on a nursing unit from the admission date to the discharge date.