Mental Health Nurses are the Best People to Aid Recovery of Depressed Assignment

Mental Health Nurses are the Best People to Aid Recovery of Depressed and Cardiac Patients - Assignment Example Over the recent decade, several studies have linked anxiety and depression with cardiovascular problems, as well as fatal heart attacks (Bogner, Ford & Gallo 2006). A wide-ranging analysis of empirical studies about cardiac patients’ psychosocial medications indicates that a vast sum of resources have been employed in this attempt (Pignay-Demaria, Lesperance, Demaria, Frassure-Smith & Perrault 2003). Hence, it is vital for mental health nurses to be knowledgeable of the important developments that have taken place. A vast number of studies and reviews over the recent decade have analysed the impacts of depression on cardiovascular problem. They propose a relationship between cardiovascular problems and depression, but not a decisive causality trend (Ai et al. 2010). The findings can be classified into three groups (Ai et al. 2010). Primarily, depression portends the start of and weak diagnosis for cardiovascular illness (p. 27). Second, the connection between heart disease and depression is due partly to the connection between cardiac patterns and risk factors and depression like refusal to take medication, poor compliance to minor precautionary treatment, social exclusion, and withdrawal from rehabilitation courses (Ai et al. 2010). Third, some studies indicate that coronary heart disease may reinforce depressive symptoms, particularly among women. Certainly, a significant number of Myocardial Infarction (MI) survivors are experiencing depression (p. 27). Duits and colleagues (1997), in an analysis of 17 potential investigations of psychosocial results after cardiac surgery, discovered that preoperative depression and anxiety portended postoperative mental instability.... The explanations why depression is usually insufficiently addressed and treated in cardiac patients have yet to be completely explained. Depression normally is expressed by grief but can be determined without this particular aspect. Since elders with persistent clinical illnesses such as heart diseases may not show grief or sorrow and because other indications like weakness or weariness are pervasive to cardiovascular problems and depression, overlap in symptoms may reinforce the failure to recognise depression by physicians. On the other hand, patients and physicians might think that depression is a natural response to heart problems. Previous researchers of depression in the perspective of clinical comorbidity evaluated the presence of depression to be a mental outcome of experiencing a disease. Furthermore, a number of physicians may be hesitant to interview their patients regarding their symptoms of depression and patients may be unwilling to reveal these specific symptoms. Moreover, successful treatment of comorbid cardiovascular disease and depression necessitates knowledge of the interaction between these health disorders.

Economic and Environmental Advantage through sustainable Real Estate Thesis

Economic and Environmental Advantage through sustainable Real Estate Development - Thesis Example As human beings were created on earth as the prime form of living specie their actions towards their survival started to effect the earth’s environment. The actions of the human species are collectively known as anthropocentric movements. In its initial days of survival the actions of human beings were environment benign, as they opted to live by initially through hunting, then through grazing and after that through cultivating. Though all these specially cultivation did put pressure on the environment mainly through cutting of trees in order to extract more cultivable lands to support the ever growing population but it was nothing in comparison to what did actually happen after industrial revolution. Industrial revolution initiated an unprecedented level of deforestation towards clearing of areas for industrial setups and to provide more and more wood as fuel to the industries as well as a raw material for industrial, commercial and residential setup. After the initiation of the industrial revolution miles after miles of land were cleared of through cutting of trees and buildings either for industries, office or residence were set up. Unlike the rural buildings that were mostly made up of materials taken from the environment1; these buildings were made out of concrete and other man made materials that are far more durable but had a tendency to heat up the surrounding environment and initiate other environmental maladies. The industrial revolution also started migration from village to towns and cities in search of jobs in industries. Urbanization led to congestion in cities through increased numbers of un-zoned buildings, too high of a person to room ratio and to a biomass that was far from the permissible level on a given piece of land. Commercialization of agriculture; lead to the shifting of technology from conventional environment friendly to energy intensive and chemical prone farming2. Apart from deforestation, and its associated environmental

Photography Essay Example for Free

Photography Essay The purpose of photography is to present to the viewer a view of the world that is not normally seen. With the advent of fashion photography however, the view of this world is skewered. Fashion models do not present a true reality but a made-up world in which being too thin is regarded as high fashion. With works such as Lachapelle the use of morphing reality and creating one’s own reality is more and more kosher in the world of high fashion. It is with the re-evaluation of beauty that fashion photography has enchanted and changed the world. This surmise can be discovered in the way women and men dress, in their progression of outfits, daily work clothes, celebratory clothes and all of this reflected in the economic up rise of the consumers desire to be in fashion for the season. LaChapelle explores and exploits this need through his photography and although not always paying attention to the status quo on what fashion photography is, he presents his viewers with his own perspective on beauty through fashion. The topic of fashion has always held my interest, especially fashion photography. The way in which the photographer can create different realms of existence through different angles, colored lenses, and outfits has been a great intrigue of my interest in art. My favorite photographer is David LaChapelle which is why I choose him for the research and analysis part of this project. The way that he does fashion photography is a reinvention of it. He does not just accomplish what no one else can accomplish in photography but he also puts humor into his pieces as will be explained later. He makes fun of fashion, or the extremes which people put on fashion by creating a world through photography in which his eloquence matches this humor as can be seen in his Shoes to Die For photograph. Thus, he is a photographer I admire because he does not take himself too seriously. Introduction Fashion photography is about portability and malleability. A model can be incorporated into a fantastical environment for which only the word surreal can be used to define. In modern day photography there is a myriad of photographers each striving for a new lens, a new way in which to portray a fantastic image. In the history of fashion, nothing is so transcendental than photography. The image in fashion has been primarily focused on the model and how well the model sells the clothes; it is in the photograph that mutation over the decades has skyrocketed into a true art form. Fashion photography does not succumb to the norms of portraiture that Daguerre made famous but to focal points of beauty in landscape, cityscape and how well assembled the model appears in those scenes. Body Media With the issue of thinness, the disease anorexia is conjured up; since the advocating of the media towards a thinner woman’s body, disorders such as anorexia and bulimia have become predominant among women and men. In the Western culture this rising phenomenon has become a central fact for overly conscious people who focus on their appearance, as Dittmar and Howard state, â€Å"†¦they learn to see themselves as objects to be looked at and evaluated by appearance. This pressure is constantly reinforced by a strong cultural ideal of female beauty, and that ideal has become synonymous with thinness† (477-478). With this notion in the forefront of the paper other issues such as model size as they are propagated through the media become a rising concern. Dittmar and Howard go on to state that roughly 20% of models in the fashion industry are underweight which in term clinically diagnosis them with the condition of anorexia nervosa. These conditions give further rise to other women’s problems. Since the cultural idea of thinness as perpetuated by the media and the fashion industry is to have increasingly thin body types, the average woman or man tries dieting and exercising to keep up with the ‘standard’. When the average woman or man finds that they are still not ‘normal’ according to the cultural guidelines of the word, they begin to be dissatisfied with their bodies which leads to low self-esteem, â€Å"Thus it stands to reason that women are likely to experience body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem and even eating disorders if they internalize and strive for a beauty ideal that is stringently thin and essentially unattainable† (478). The mass media is the continual hindrance to a healthy body image for Americans. The media is a social influence that reinforces these ideals through repetition and product placement. The media is a visual stimulation letting the American public voyeuristically fantasize about ultra thin models and having a body (sometimes these bodies are digitally re-mastered) that provides relative pleasure in shape. Dittmar and Howard’s article highlights one such concern with the UK government in which they held a conference in June 2000 to discuss this issue of thinness and the media and to in essence debate about banning the use of these too thin models as media advertisement since the image essentially gave permission to the public to suffer and toil over gaining a great body, no matter the public acquired anorexia nervosa or other clinical conditions. The detriment of this fact, the fact that thinness is amounting to such problems as anorexia nervosa raise many social and cultural issues. The cultural issue may best be summarized in Dittmar and Howard’s article as they quote Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer, both spokespersons for top models, â€Å"†¦(s)tatistics have repeatedly shown that if you stick a beautiful skinny girl on the cover of a magazine you sell more copies†¦Agencies would say that we supply the women and the advertisers, our clients, want. The clients would say that hey are selling a product and responding to consumer demand. At the end of the day, it is a business and the fact is that these models sell the products† (478). Thus, the opposite side of the spectrum is arguing that businesses or model clients are merely representing something that already exists within the cultural dynamic. The argument is that thin models represent what people want to see and so the products the model’s are advertising sell more copies. The clients of the modeling agencies are merely tied into the vicious cycle of believing what they want to believe. Although this point seems somewhat valid, the validation stops when such perpetuating leads to serious illnesses (in some cases anorexia or bulimia have lead to death). It can plainly be deciphered from the above text that body image is created by the media, as Guttman quotes in her article â€Å"Advertising, My Mirror† in an interview with Christian Blachas, â€Å"That image comes to us from the fashion world. People like to say advertising starts trends like the recent wave of ‘fashion pornography. ’ But this came straight from designers and fashion journalists. The job of advertising is to pick up on trends. It’s rarely subversive because brands don’t gain anything from shocking people too much. Advertising’s a remarkable mirror, but it doesn’t start fads† (25). Consequently, Blachas is stating that if fault is to be placed anywhere for the over correction of dieting, then the blame is not on the fashion industry but on advertisers who are the ones who pick up trends and allow these trends to filter down to every consumer; thus, while 20% of models are diagnosed as too ‘thin’ this relevant percentage can be related to the American public. Since the blame seems to be resting with the advertisers, another close look at the media needs to be given. The media perpetuates fads and other culturally influential eras, but this seems to have heightened within the past few decades. The bombardment the public receives from the media and especially from the advertising end of the media is seen not only in commercials but in product placement in music videos, and movies. Magazines also aid in distributing the advertisements’ ideals as can be seen in repeated simulation on television soap operas, just as much as from fashion magazines, as Hargreaves and Tiggemann state in â€Å"Longer term implications of responsiveness to ‘thin-ideal’: support for a cumulative hypothesis of body image disturbance? , â€Å"Although this evidence appears to support the media’s negative impact on body image, various methodological limitations need to be acknowledged. In particular, the causal direction of correlations between body dissatisfaction and media use remains a challenge. The causal direction is clear in controlled laboratory research†¦One possible link between individual reactive episodes of dissatisfaction in response to specific media images and the development of body image is that enduring attitudes, beliefs, and feelings about bodies and appearances accumulate over time through repeated exposure to ideals of attractiveness in the media† (466). Thus, the level of insecurity is maintained in the public through the barrage of repeated body images through advertisements. In the composition of photography there are many elements which define the medium; line, color, focus, brightness, scenery, shadow, etc. The evolution of fashion photography hinged upon the mass reproduction of images in magazines. In Germany, in the early 20th century, fashion became fully popular and available to the populace through Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung and Munchner Illustrierte Presse . It is in the magazine world that fashion photography began it’s popularity . As soon as fashion hit a mainstream cord with the public, magazines sales soared and thus was born the beginning of the history of fashion photography. There was great demand for magazines; especially fashion. Women and men would see what to wear, how to wear to it, what was in style and the modern world finally had the leisure to pursue the market of clothes as fashion. With this demand installed in the public, it was up to the photographers of the early fashion industry to come up with new ways in which to depict the model, the clothes and entice women and men to dress according to what was portrayed in the photos. This is where composition of the photo is required to ensure new and deliberate methods of fashion portrayal. With the oncoming age of color introduced in photography in the 1930’s and 1940’s as the encyclopedia elaborates, â€Å"Nonetheless, color remained a sidelight in photography until the 1930s because it required considerable patience and expense on the part of both photographer and printer. The dominance of color in terms of reproduction and everyday picture-taking did not begin until 1935, when Kodak started to sell Kodachrome transparency film, and was completed by the introduction of color-print films and Ektachrome films in the 1940s†. With color photography, the realm of the fashion world drastically changed. The limits of black and white and sepia toned magazine covers gave way to brilliant exhibits of color combinations, and a wide range of fabrics that women and men could now see, duplicate, or buy. Fashion photography changed from depicting high-class society women to models in every day clothing. Professional photographers were then counted on to resonant the possibility of how fashion should co-exist with society. With Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar photographers were hired full time to create, in the magazine, a gallery of fabric eye candy dressed on a model with a backdrop. June 1, 1947 Vogue cover. The most notable photographers at the time were pictorialists , Edward Steichen and Englishman Cecil Beaton. The incorporation of art into photography made the photographs more believable as high fashion. Steichen and Beaton glamorized the models with enhanced lighting effects, which lionized the models and made the magazine world believe that fashion through photography was otherworldly. Among new techniques being used, the online encyclopedia states, â€Å"American Edward Steichen and Englishman Cecil Beaton, both one-time pictorialists. These photographers began to use elaborate lighting schemes to achieve the same sort of glamorizing effects being perfected by Clarence Bull as he photographed new starlets in Hollywood, California. Martin Munkacsi initiated a fresh look in fashion photography after Harper’s Bazaar hired him in 1934. He moved the models outdoors, where he photographed them as active, energetic modern women†. So began the movement of high fashion. Martin Munkacsi photograph. In the movement, the use of fashion as advertisement was key in developing a market for fashion photography. It is through marketing advertising, that fashion photographers began to be highlighted, as the encyclopedia states, â€Å"The new approach to photography in the editorial content of magazines was matched by an increasingly sophisticated use of photography in advertisements. Steichen, while also working for Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines, became one of the highest-paid photographers of the 1930s through his work for the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency†. These photographers, as well as others, helped to make advertising an art form through use of portraying model’s hands in product placement, and altogether catering to ever-widening audience of magazine buyers. Fashion photography changed through the utilization and realization that product sold only through its modeling and photographic depiction.

St Patrick History

St Patrick History Saint Patrick is internationally known as the saint of Ireland. From the time you were born you have celebrated Saint Patricks Day. You dress up in green and say, Everybodys Irish on Saint Patricks Day. Most people dont know the true history behind Saint Patrick, and only think of Saint Patricks Day as a day for fun. Even historians have trouble uncovering the truth about Saint Patrick. Saint Patricks early years are also a mystery to us. However, we do know that when he was about sixteen he was kidnapped and sold as a slave in Ireland. There he became a shepherd (Jones). Being a slave was a hard, grueling life, and that was when Saint Patrick turned to God for comfort (Catholic Online). About six years later, he had a dream that he would return to Britain. Seeing this as a sign from God to tell him to escape from slavery, he did so (Jones). In order to return home he had to take a ship. He traveled on foot over two hundred miles to reach a ship that was approaching departure. The ship traveled for three days, until they found land. They then traveled on foot for a month or so until their provisions were gone, and there was no food to be found (Attwater 613). The captain of the ship asked Saint Patrick, What have you to say for yourself, Christian? You boast that your God is all-powerful. So why cant you pray for us its beginning to look as if we may not survive to see another living soul (OKeeffe). Saint Patrick simply replied, Turn trustingly to the Lord who is my God because nothing is impossible to Him. On this same day, He will send us food sufficient for our journey, because for Him there is abundance everywhere (OKeeffe). Suddenly, they saw pigs blocking their path, and the crew quickly killed and cooked the pigs for them to eat (OKeeffe). Soon, after being away from his people for about six years, he finally reached home, most likely in Gaul. They welcomed him warmly and told him not to leave them again (Attwater 613-614). He studied for several years in Europe to become a bishop. He became a bishop and then was sent to Ireland to convert the Irish to Christianity (Jones). Ireland was populated by Druids at that time. Druids were pagan religious leaders in Ireland. He had to perform many miracles in order to show Gods worthiness to the Irish and prove the Druids wrong (Delaney 447). One of his miracles in Ireland was the banishing of the snakes in Ireland. Christine OKeeffes Legends of Saint Patrick states that snakes is a metaphor for Druids and instead of driving snakes out of Ireland he actually drove all the Druids out of Ireland (OKeeffe). After many miracles and thirty-three years of work, he successfully converted almost all of Ireland to Christianity (Jones). Saint Patrick not only evangelized Ireland, he also raised the standards of scholarship and encouraged the study of Latin (Delaney 447). Saint Patrick most likely died in Ireland around 461 A.D. (Jones). Saint Patrick is known worldwide as the saint of Ireland, but he is the saint of much more. His patronages include engineers, excluded people, ophidiophobics (people who have a fear of snakes) and Nigeria. He is the patron saint against snakes and snake bites. Saint Patrick is also the patron saint of many dioceses. For example he is the patron saint of the dioceses of New York City, New York; Ottawa, Ontario; Erie, Pennsylvania; and the archdioceses of Norwich, Connecticut; Dromore, Ireland and Burlington, Vermont. His representations include the shamrock, snakes, the cross, harps, demons, baptismal fonts, purgatory, a bishop driving snakes before him, and a bishop trampling snakes. Saint Patricks Feast day is on March 17 (Jones). His Feast Day is on March 17 because that was when Saint Patrick is believed to have died (Catholic Online). Saint Patrick was canonized before the institution of the modern investigations performed by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints (Jones). Before the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, saints were canonized by local bishops, prelates, or patriarchs. Due to being canonized before the institution of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, the date on which he was canonized is unavailable. Saint Patrick is also known as the Apostle of Ireland, Maewyn Succat, Patricius, and Patrizio. Succat was Saint Patricks pagan birth name, and it means warlike. Patricius was Saint Patricks baptismal name and it means noble (Jones). According to Jones, St. Patrick states in his Confession, I came to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers, putting up with reproaches about my earthly pilgrimage, suffering many persecutions, even bondage, and losing my birthright of freedom for the benefit of others. If I am worthy, I am ready also to give up my life, without hesitation and most willingly, for Christs name. I want to spend myself for that country, even in death, if the Lord should grant me this favor. It is among those people that I want to wait for the promise made by Him, who assuredly never tells a lie. He makes this promise in the Gospel: They shall come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is our faith: believers are to come from the whole world, (Jones). This statement by Saint Patrick sums up what I admire about him: I admire his courage to return to Ireland and convert the Irish to Christianity; I admire his fortitude to stand up for God and what he believes in no matter what the consequences; and I admire his piety, or his love of God. In hard times we turn to God for help and comfort. If Saint Patrick wasnt a slave in Ireland he wouldnt have turned to God. When Saint Patrick turned to God he became a new person, and little did he know that he would change the course of history. If he hadnt converted Ireland to Christianity then he would not have become a saint, and the people of today wouldnt celebrate Saint Patricks Day. Work Cited Catholic Online. Saint Patrick. Catholic Online. Catholic.org. 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. Delaney, John J. Dictionary of Saints. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1980. Print. Jones, Terry H. Saint Patrick. Star Quest Production Network. Saints.sqpn.com. 9 Aug. 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2010 OKeeffe, Christine. Legends of Saint Patrick. Tartan Place. Tartanplace.com. 18 Feb. 2004. Web. 15 Jan. 2010. Saint Patrick. Butlers Lives of Saints. Attwater, Donald, and Herbert Thurston S.J. Vol. 1. New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1963. Print.

Analysis of an American Trial: The Salem Witch Trials :: American America History

Analysis of an American Trial: The Salem Witch Trials The Salem Witch Trials all began on January 20, 1692, with nine-year-old Elizabeth "Betty" Parris and eleven-year-old Abigail Williams, daughter and niece of the village reverend Samuel Parris, beginning to exhibit strange behavior, such as blasphemous screaming, convulsive seizures, trance-like states and mysterious spells. Within a short period of time, several other Salem girls began to illustrate similar behavior; physicians resolved that the girls were under the control of Satan. Reverend Parris conducted prayer services and public fasting in hopes of relieving the evil forces that tormented them. In an effort to expose the "enchantress", one man baked a "witch cake" made with rye bran and the urine of the ill girls. This counter-magic was meant to reveal the identities of the "witched" to the ailing girls. Pressured to identify the cause of their misfortune, the girls named three women, including Tituba, Samuel Parris' slave, as witches. On February 29, warrants were dispatched for the arrests of Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne. Although Osborne and Good sustained guiltlessness, Tituba confessed to seeing Lucifer, who appeared to her "sometimes like a hog and sometimes like a great dog." What's more, Tituba certified that there was a collaboration of witches at work in Salem. On March 1, Magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathon Corwin investigated the three women in the courthouse in Salem Village. Tituba confessed to pursuing black magic. Over the next few weeks, other villagers came forward and testified that they too had been traumatized by or had seen strange phantoms of some of the village members. As the witch-hunting prolonged, charges were made toward many different people. Frequently unmasked were women whose behavior was somehow disturbing to the social order and formalities of the time. Some of the accused had records of unlawful pastimes, including witchery, but others were faithful churchgoers and people of high status in the society. From Mid-March to early April, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, and Sarah Cloyce were accused of witchcraft. Soon after Corey, Nurse, and Proctor were examined before Magistrates Hathorne, Corwin, Deputy Governor Thomas Danforth, and Captain Samuel Sewall. During this analysis, John Proctor was also jailed. Then Abigail Hobbs, Bridget Bishop, Giles Corey and Mary Warren were taken into account. The only one to confess was Hobbs. On April 22, Nehemiah Abbot, William and Deliverance Hobbs, Edward and Sara Bishop, Mary Easty, Mary Black, Sarah Wildes, and Mary English were examined before Hathorne and Corwin.

Chlorine Essay -- essays research papers fc

Chlorine Chlorine is (at room temperature) a greenish-yellow gas that can be readily liquefied at 5170 Tarr or 6.8 atmospheres, at 20 C (68 F), and has a very disagreeable odor. It’s Element Symbol is Cl, atomic number is 17, and atomic mass is 35.453. Chlorine’s melting point is -101 C or 149.8 F. The boiling point is -34.05 C or -29.29 F, at one atmosphere pressure. Chlorine is a member of the halogen group. Chlorine was discovered by Swedish scientist Karl Wilhelm in 1784, but he first thought it was a compound, rather than an element. In 1810, Sir Humphrey Davy named it Chlorine, from the Greek word meaning "greenish-yellow". Chlorine is used in bleaching agents, disinfectants, monomers (plastics), solvents, and pesticides. It is also used for bleaching paper pulp and other organic materials, preparing bromine, (a poisonous element that at room temperature is a dark, reddish-brown), tetraethyl lead, and killing germs in water, particularly in swimming pools and hot tubs. Like every member of the halogen group, chlorine has a tendency to gain one electron and become a chloride ion. Chlorine strongly reacts with metals to form mostly water-soluble chlorides. Chlorine also strongly reacts with nonmetals such as sulfur, phosphorus, and other halogens. If you were to mix hydrogen and chlorine gases and keep them in a cool dark place, the mixture would be stable, but if it were exposed to sunlight, it wo...

Partnership Working Essay

In this report I will explore the key arguments and issues associated with partnership working. I will assess the validity of the arguments presented and consider the wider implications of this. I will highlight how this influenced my decision to collect data from a range of sources to increase the verisimilitude of the process. The small scale evaluation will focus on understanding why BeSD students fail to make the required levels of progress, even when receiving targeted support. I will try to ascertain the attitudes/values and beliefs of the outside agencies involved with the Academy and identify ways to move forward. Finally I will delineate how this activity has impacted on my current thinking and as a result how this will change my future practice. Key Arguments & Issues The original concept of partnership working came about as a direct result of Victoria Climbie’s death in 2000. Lord Laming (2003) conducted an independent inquiry and found the agencies involved to be grossly negligent, which is reinforced by Frost (2005). This led to the formation of the initiative ‘Every Child Matters’ and the Children’s Act of 2004, which outlined how all agencies involved in working with children, should have a shared responsibility to improve health and wellbeing; by leading community partnerships, delivering on national priorities/targets and commissioning/delivering services. The main aim was to protect children of all ages in the UK. MacAuslan (2006) outlines what the benefits are to partnership working; enhanced wellbeing of children and parents, plus an increased accuracy of needs assessment carried out by professionals. Tunnard (1991) defined Partnership working as; ‘The essence of partnership is sharing. It is marked by respect for one another, role divisions, rights to information, accountability, competence, and value accorded to individual input. In short, each partner is seen as having something to contribute, power is shared, decisions are made jointly and roles are not only respected but are also backed by legal and moral rights.’ However, current research suggests that partnership working is fraught with difficulties and even the term ‘Partnership Working’ is considered a contested concept. Burton et al (2009) & JIT (2009) amongst a whole plethora of authors, outline what these potential barriers could be; †¢ Clarity of roles and accountability †¢ Behaviour and power relationships †¢ Varying degrees of skills & knowledge †¢ Structure and the environment †¢ Processes †¢ Available resources †¢ External & cultural influences JIT (2009) usefully explores these above barriers in more depth, using an Ishikawa Fishbone diagram, to ascertain the root cause of these issues; Glenny (2005) suggests that it will be impossible to control the ‘system’ as outlined in the above diagram (partnership work), but that it may be possible to formulate good practice through the management of communication, in creating an environment of trust. Frost & Lloyd (2006), Pinkus (2005), MacAuslan (2006), Burton et al (2009) & Treseder et al (2003) have all stressed what the key ingredients are for successful partnership working; †¢ Good communication †¢ Fostering of trusting relationships through transparent communication, empathy and understanding †¢ Clear purpose †¢ Win – Win †¢ Equal balance of power for all stakeholders The majority of the evidence points towards partnership work resulting in positive outcomes for children. However, Frost (2005 pp.19-20) intimates that a shift toward increased partnership working would be politically undesirable for the families involved, due to an increase of surveillance, control and as a result increased social exclusion, which is a very plausible argument. However, I think that without partnership working the possibility of social exclusion would increase. So we need to ask ourselves which is the lesser of the two evils. In our Academy children with BeSD are still underperforming, achieving way below expected standards and are at risk of permanent exclusion but more importantly social exclusion. From the research conducted and a development of my understanding of this concept, I was led to believe that there is an inherent problem within our partnerships. In an attempt to discover what the root cause was, I decided to investigate this particular issue further focusing on our work with outside partners. The Evaluation During the initial stages I selected data that would highlight which students were underperforming due to the amount of time they had lost as a result of detentions and exclusions. I then used the vulnerable student’s database to ascertain if these particular students had been identified as BeSD. The CAFs and TACs were then reviewed; to gain a flavour for the agencies involved their attendance, the attendance of parents, the action taken and the progress to date. It was clear from this evidence that the majority of the outside agencies were attending regular reviews, as were the parents, but progress was slow. I decided to carry out a structured group interview of all the outside agencies involved in an attempt to unpick the problem further. The information collated suggested multiple causes for lack of progress. One particular theme that aspired was the lack of follow through in the classroom of work being done by outside agencies. Goodman & Burton (2010) corroborate these findings. They relate how partners felt that their work was ‘undone’ when the individual went back to school and how teachers did not feel supported and lacked the information and relevant skills to deal with students who have BeSD. Another theme that emerged was how the partners felt that the behaviour management system was inflexible and did not cater for these particular students, hence resulted in exclusions. The partners also suggested that further intervention to work more closely with these students and their parents was needed. They suggest how both of these themes impacted directly on their remit, which caused them further frustration. Treseder et al (2003) describes how all partners need to be able to fulfil their remit to achieve success, which the themes suggest is not happening. Hence it is important to regularly review practices and procedures to ensure the key ingredients are incorporated to achieve success. The Evidence Much of the evidence collected suggests that partnership working is indeed fraught with problems. The research evidence is from the result of a small scale study. The majority of the data collected came from the interview group structured questions. Hence, it is plausible to suggest that I could have influenced the data. As a result this type of data collection does have its dissenting voices concerning its reliability, due to the lack of quantitative data and empirical value. However, it can be argued that quantitative data does not give the thick descriptions required for this type of study. I do believe that I have influenced the investigation, as I originally thought that this may have been a problem and therefore the questions I asked may have dictated the outcome. In hindsight it may have been more pertinent in this instance to have conducted unstructured interviews or possibly to take a more organic approach and allow the hypothesis to be determined from the data gathered. It would have also been more beneficial to have recorded the interview group, as I may have missed out important information. The recordings would have allowed me to pick through at my own time and in much more detail. The transcriptions were possibly of poor quality compared to a full time researcher, who would potentially have access to software that would identify the themes that occur, plus they would have more time to go through the data. Reflection Before carrying out the research for this assignment I was totally unaware of all the issues that partnership working faced and the tensions between policy and practice. As a school leader my main aim is to achieve governmental targets, whilst incorporating inclusive practice. I believed with absolute conviction that my core principles values and beliefs were centred on inclusive practice. I now realise that I could not make this judgement, as I did not have the required knowledge or skills to identify the core issues and therefore resolve them. Reading around the subject has developed my knowledge on what partnership working is and what the key ingredients are for it to be successful, which has given me the tools to question our policies and practice. It may be concluded that our current practice can be attributed to the underachievement of students with BeSD. It is clear that there is a need to review our current teaching and learning practices and policies, to involve teaching staff as partners and provide the required information and the necessary training but also giving partners the opportunity to share strategies with teaching staff. What is also apparent is the need to create a second layer within the behaviour management system for students who display these types of behaviours. Furthermore, it is important to implement further strategies to prevent exclusions and aid the partners involved to achieve their remit. It is imperative to include parents at all stages of the process to ensure our practice is truly inclusive. Above all however, it is important that our procedures and practises are regularly reviewed to ensure our partnership working sustains the key ingredients for success and helps these students to achieve. Bibliography Burton, D. M. et al (2009) ‘Are the contradictions and tensions that have characterised educational provision for young people with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties a persistent feature of current policy?’ Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 141-155: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Frost, N. (2005) ‘Professionalism, partnership and joined up thinking: a research review of front-line working with children and families’, Totnes: Research in Practice (eds) Partnership Working Reader Frost, N. & Lloyd, A. (2006) ‘Implementing Multi-Disciplinary Teamwork in the New Child Welfare Policy Environment’, Journal of Integrated Care, Vol. 14 Iss: 2 pp. 11 – 17: Emerald Publications Glenny, G. (2005) ‘Riding the dragon; developing inter-agency systems for supporting children’, Support for Learning Vol. 20 4 pp. 167 – 175: (eds) Partnership Working Reader Goodman, R. L. & Burton, D. M. (2010) ‘The inclusion of students with BESD in mainstream schools: teachers’ experiences of and recommendations for creating a successful inclusive environment’, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, Vol. 15:3, pp. 223-237: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. JIT (2009) ‘Barriers to Partnership Working’, Briefing Notes for Practioners & Managers. [online] at https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:2fEk6ihnbTEJ:www.jitscotland.org.uk/downloads/1250518249-Chapter%25204%2520-%2520Barriers%2520to%2520Partnership%2520Working.pdf+joint+improvement+team+chapter+4&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiUdOrN6KrSQ66CrHDX1qU9rKSq6rBjZ-TPIufGxwsL9LhdUpxizVuiBRiCA6t9WhmAamFvu5cpSSN61fkFUZtfgknghCQQAjXL-jygk7GfAyDgRBIJe98Ea44eJXYyZbFU91iP&sig=AHIEtbQPrQevS-EOfbRjnP4wir2Gym_8VA Accessed on 3/6/2012 MacAulsan, E. (2006) ‘Partnership Working’, The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health Vol. 126: pp. 160: Sage Publishing Pinkus, S. (2003) ‘All the talk and no action: transforming the rhetoric of parent – professional partnership into practice’, Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs Vol. 3: No 2: pp. 128 – 141: (eds) Partnership Working Reader. Pinkus, S. (2005) ‘Bridging the gap between policy and practice: adopting a strategic vision for partnership’, British Journal of Special Education Vol. 32, No. 4: Working in special education. Treseder, J et al (2003) ‘Report of a Multi-agency Action Research Project to Improve Service Delivery to Families with Complex Needs’, University of Nottingham Publications. Tunnard, J. (1991) ‘The Children Act – Partnership With Families’, The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, Vol, 112, pp. 240: Sage Publishers