Ethics in Contemporary Society

Presently, Americans are comfortable relating ethics to individuality. Often times, American citizens expresses their right of freedoms to enhance their own sense of ethics or relativity. In defining relativism, moral principles are a matter of personal feelings and individual preference. As for individual moral relativism, figuring out what is moral and immoral in specific circumstances differs according to the person. On another note, moral relativists have a disbelief in universal truths or common law. This essay will examine and highlight major details about problems surrounding individual moral relativism and cultural moral relativism.It will reflect post-modern and modern methods of belief in order to exhibit its valuableness in ethical decision-making in overcoming problems (Owen, 2011). In particular, it argues that abstract theories of either individual or subjective moral relativism are fruitless for understanding humans. What's more, it tends to limit humans to egocentric people or hamper the development of distinctiveness through division and relativism. It is disputed that innovativeness excludes other styles of understanding. It utters reverence and celebrates the variance; it has rendered the pursuit for any kind of meaning inaudible (Reno, 2012).To bypass these restrictions and to extend the resistance of ethical relativism this article draws substantially from the research of Lawrence Kohlberg. He is a well-known psychologist that is recognized for the moral stages of development. Moreover, his research theory moves closer by claiming cultural relativists are individuals trapped in the conventional stage of ethical development (Garz, 2010).This ethical development model greets and enriches narrative understanding. As this essay continues to explore the world of  ethical/moral relativism, it will summarize topics like cultural moral relativism, individual and subjective relativism. In addition, it will review Kohlberg’s moral stages of development and why he believes that many cultural relativists are trapped in a particular stage. As a final touch, this essay will discuss personal beliefs and experiences in relation to each topic, and why I agree or disagree with these reasoning. What is more moral relativism? Previously moral relativism was defined as being right or wrong, and the second deals with the difference between an objective and a subjective truth.Thinking that ethical truth is biased, moral relativists often react to moral conclusions about homosexual behavior (Klikauer, 2011). To these individuals, the term homosexual is rubbish because everyone's morality is equivalent. In short, nobody has a right to a morality that is incumbent on others. Being objective (individual) honest is recognized as the best choice; however, it is not the easiest decision (Owen, 2011). For example, parents or educators do not chastise students merely for getting their answer wrong in Math problems. For many students, their mistakes would be coherent, not moral.Another example would be a husband beats his wife is simply indecent; therefore, he' is considered as being immoral. Based on Quintelier & Fessler (2012) findings, cultural relativism is considered as an interpretation that all views, customs, and ethics are comparative to the individual within his or her own societal environment. Therefore, individuals put their cultural beliefs at the front of comparative ethical decision-making. Basically, right and wrong are culture-specific; however, what is right in one culture may be considered as corrupt in another culture (Owen, 2011).Being there is no universal code of morality, individuals does not have the right to judge another societal traditions. At the conventional stage of ethical development, each person respects the beliefs of his or her group, family, or nation, as important, despite of the abrupt and apparent concerns (Klikauer, 2011). This stance is not just conformity to subjective expecta tions and social order, but also one of loyalty. According to Kohlberg, cultural relativist is often stuck in this stage due to their beliefs and cultural upbringing. Furthermore, I support this stance for different reasons.For example, I was raised to believe in Christianity is the right path to follow because my parents instill that religion into me as a child. In conclusion, many philosophers have both defended and opposed moral relativism. Recent research argues that normative moral theories should be controlled and explore by psychologists to grasp a more in-depth understanding (Quintelier & Fessler, 2012). Researchers questioned the thought that individuals are or can be moral relativists. If so, can being a moral relativist affect can an individual's moral functioning.This research is underutilized in theorists' normative philosophies of relativism; all together, the pragmatic work is abstractly incoherent (Quintelier & Fessler, 2012). The main objective of this assignment is to assimilate ethical and practical work on limitations about normative relativism. From my perspective, I support the individual and cultural relativity. As an African female, customs, traditions and religions played an essential role in my childhood as well as my growth. Biblical teachings were molded into my mind, heart, body and soul. My grandparents are the root to my development and ethical beliefs.

Describe and Evaluate Biological Explanations of Depression

Describe and evaluate biological explanations of depression There are many different explanations for depression, including biological. Links have been found between biochemical, genetics and hormonal imbalances with depressed people. In the biochemical explanation, a link has been found between neurotransmitter imbalances and depression. Serotonin is associated with pleasure and mood. Mann et al found impaired transmission of serotonin in people with depression. However Julian disagrees with this statement and says depression may be due to neuron damage rather than a neurotransmitter reduction.The problem with this approach is that it implies correlation and not causation, there may be a link but something else could be causing both depression and low serotonin. There is the chicken and egg problem – does low serotonin cause depression or does depression cause low serotonin? In other areas of psychology low serotonin has been linked with increased aggression and eating disord ers, as well as anxiety. Someone that has low serotonin does not necessarily become depressed. There is also the problem where people are depressed but have normal serotonin levels.This shows that depression is not fully down to biochemical imbalances but other things as well. It is a very simplistic and reductionist model and should only be included as a vulnerability and not the whole answer to depression. Another explanation is a genetic problem. Through many family studies Gershon states there is a clear inheritable component to depression, especially in bipolar disorder. Weisseman et al supports this by saying that for if a child has a parent with depression, the risk of the child having depression is increased by three times compared to the general population.This is a strong finding but as the children share the same environment as their parents, there is a possibility that the child has learnt the behaviour through the social learning theory of imitating and observing and no t through genetics. Kendler et al studied over 15000 twins in Sweden and found that if one twin has depression, there is a 38% chance that the other twin will have it too. This has strong methodology and is supported by many twin studies who have found similar results. On the other hand the twins share the same environment and so environmental influences may still be possible.The results were nowhere near 100% showing that depression is not fully down to genes, the people may have a genetic vulnerability but it takes something to trigger, perhaps. It is also unclear as to how exactly genes play a role in depression, without knowing the exact genes involved. Another way to access the significance of genes is through adoption studies. Wender found that a child is seven times more likely to have depression if the biological parents were depressed and the adoption parents were not.They found little evidence of depression being learnt. However Wender got his information about biological relatives just from hospital records and so there could be error of misdiagnosis or short-term depression only. The knowledge of whether a person has a genetic vulnerability to depression can be useful as the person is able to take preventative measures (change in lifestyle, diet to bring positivity to avoid depression), but it could be fatalistic as they understand they are more likely to become depressed – leading to depression.Diathesis-stress model says that depression can be better understood as an interaction between genes and environmental factors. Carroll found that high levels of the hormone cortisol are found in those suffering from depression and techniques known to suppress cortisol secretion have been found to be successful in depressive patients. However cortisol is released when stressed and so the high levels could be due to the high levels of stress the person has when they are depressed.As depression is twice as common in women as men, it could be due to the differences in sex hormones. Post-natal depression could be due to the high levels of oestrogen and progesterone that are released during pregnancy and then rapidly decrease once the baby is born which may account for an imbalance of hormones. Cooper disagrees with this statement as there was very little difference in the number of women suffering from depression after childhood and a control group of non-pregnant women at the same age.If imbalance of hormones was the cause then most mothers should get this type of illness but it is only a small number that get it. Menopausal depression is where oestrogen levels drop and hormone replacement therapy appears to be affective in treating many (but not all) women who suffer from this type of depression. However this could be due to the negative thoughts of getting older rather than the hormonal imbalance. Through the biological approach there are many possibilities. I think it is a mixture of biological vulnerabilities and stressful env ironments. Describe and Evaluate Biological Explanations of Depression Describe and evaluate biological explanations of depression There are many different explanations for depression, including biological. Links have been found between biochemical, genetics and hormonal imbalances with depressed people. In the biochemical explanation, a link has been found between neurotransmitter imbalances and depression. Serotonin is associated with pleasure and mood. Mann et al found impaired transmission of serotonin in people with depression. However Julian disagrees with this statement and says depression may be due to neuron damage rather than a neurotransmitter reduction.The problem with this approach is that it implies correlation and not causation, there may be a link but something else could be causing both depression and low serotonin. There is the chicken and egg problem – does low serotonin cause depression or does depression cause low serotonin? In other areas of psychology low serotonin has been linked with increased aggression and eating disord ers, as well as anxiety. Someone that has low serotonin does not necessarily become depressed. There is also the problem where people are depressed but have normal serotonin levels.This shows that depression is not fully down to biochemical imbalances but other things as well. It is a very simplistic and reductionist model and should only be included as a vulnerability and not the whole answer to depression. Another explanation is a genetic problem. Through many family studies Gershon states there is a clear inheritable component to depression, especially in bipolar disorder. Weisseman et al supports this by saying that for if a child has a parent with depression, the risk of the child having depression is increased by three times compared to the general population.This is a strong finding but as the children share the same environment as their parents, there is a possibility that the child has learnt the behaviour through the social learning theory of imitating and observing and no t through genetics. Kendler et al studied over 15000 twins in Sweden and found that if one twin has depression, there is a 38% chance that the other twin will have it too. This has strong methodology and is supported by many twin studies who have found similar results. On the other hand the twins share the same environment and so environmental influences may still be possible.The results were nowhere near 100% showing that depression is not fully down to genes, the people may have a genetic vulnerability but it takes something to trigger, perhaps. It is also unclear as to how exactly genes play a role in depression, without knowing the exact genes involved. Another way to access the significance of genes is through adoption studies. Wender found that a child is seven times more likely to have depression if the biological parents were depressed and the adoption parents were not.They found little evidence of depression being learnt. However Wender got his information about biological relatives just from hospital records and so there could be error of misdiagnosis or short-term depression only. The knowledge of whether a person has a genetic vulnerability to depression can be useful as the person is able to take preventative measures (change in lifestyle, diet to bring positivity to avoid depression), but it could be fatalistic as they understand they are more likely to become depressed – leading to depression.Diathesis-stress model says that depression can be better understood as an interaction between genes and environmental factors. Carroll found that high levels of the hormone cortisol are found in those suffering from depression and techniques known to suppress cortisol secretion have been found to be successful in depressive patients. However cortisol is released when stressed and so the high levels could be due to the high levels of stress the person has when they are depressed.As depression is twice as common in women as men, it could be due to the differences in sex hormones. Post-natal depression could be due to the high levels of oestrogen and progesterone that are released during pregnancy and then rapidly decrease once the baby is born which may account for an imbalance of hormones. Cooper disagrees with this statement as there was very little difference in the number of women suffering from depression after childhood and a control group of non-pregnant women at the same age.If imbalance of hormones was the cause then most mothers should get this type of illness but it is only a small number that get it. Menopausal depression is where oestrogen levels drop and hormone replacement therapy appears to be affective in treating many (but not all) women who suffer from this type of depression. However this could be due to the negative thoughts of getting older rather than the hormonal imbalance. Through the biological approach there are many possibilities. I think it is a mixture of biological vulnerabilities and stressful env ironments.

Disclosure Analysis Paper Essay

Disclosures are an essential part of financial reporting for publically traded corporations. The following analysis will look into General Motors Company’s disclosure relating to the company’s current assets of cash equivalents, inventory, and receivables. Disclosures can be found within the General Motors Company’s financial statements and they will help readers gain a better understanding of the financial data. The sections of the company’s disclosures will be analyzed in detail throughout this paper. The General Motors Company uses a table of contents for their significant disclosures so that the reader(s) of their financial statements can easily find whatever he or she may be looking for. The type of disclosure is listed along with a page number where the precise information can be found. The disclosures for the General Motors Company’s assets are very precise. The first note to the reader(s) deals with Presentation. This section explains that G eneral Motors Company’s financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States. This section also lets the reader(s) know of any new accounting standards used by the company. In the year 2010 a few of these new standards were how the company financed receivables, fair value measurements, transfers of financial assets, and variable interest entities. In note three the company gives information about accounting standards, which have been issued, but are not yet in use in the General Motors Company. One standard deals with business combinations a new standard issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The new standard for business combinations according to General Motors Company/Annual Report (2011) deals with â€Å"the disclosure of supplemental pro forma information for business combinations that occur during the current year† (Notes to financial statements). However, this standard was not to go into effect until January 1, 2011 so it was not incorporated into the 2010 financial statements. Another accounting standard that had not yet be adopted dealt with financial services-insurance. This standard was also put into place by  the FASB and it addressed the deferral of acquisition costs within the insurance industry. Basically the new standard changed or modified the type of costs in a company that can be capitalized in the renewal and acquisition of insurance industry. See more: analytical writing This standard would not go into effect until January 1, 2012, so it was not adopted for the 2010 financial statements. Within the notes section Note four contains information about Fair Value Measurements. According to General Motors Company/Annual Report, â€Å"Cash equivalents, marketable securities, and derivative financial instruments are presented on our financial statements at fair value† (Notes to financial statements). The note goes on to explain where the reader(s) of the General Motors Company financial statements will be able to find the fair value of debt, finance receivables, along with the carrying value related to these receivables and debt. According to General Motors Company/Annual Report (2011), â€Å"High liquid investments with a maturity of 90 days or less at date of purchase are classified as Cash and cash equivalents. Investments in securities with a maturity date of greater than 90 days at date of purchase are classified as Marketable securities† (Notes to financial statements). Note five deals with Cash and Restricted Cash disclosures. This note informs the reader(s) of the financial statements that restricted cash would not include cash used to secure debt set up because of securitization business deals. According to General Motors Company/Annual Report (2011) â€Å"Both cash and cash equivalents, which are restricted because of withdrawals of cash or the cash equivalents used under the terms of certain contractual arrangements will be recorded as restricted in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet† (Notes to financial statements). Also discussed in this section are how negative balances are reclassified and the way in which the company treats these occurrences. On the General Motors Company financial statements commercial paper, bank accounts, marketable securities, money market funds, and treasury bills are elements in the cash and cash equivalent sections on the financial statements. All these elements are considered highly liquid and are to be used by the General Motors Company for short-term n eeds if required. Note 10 for General Motors Company’s financial statements deals with inventories. This disclosure states that the company’s inventories are stated at what is lower between market and cost. Also stated is that a large part of the United States inventories cost are determined by a last-in,  first-out (LIFO) inventory method. The LIFO method was used in between 31% to 26% of GM’s inventories at December 31, 2010 and 2009 respectively (General Motors Company/Annual Report, 2011). First-in, first-out (FIFO) inventory method is used for determining cost for their other inventories. In conclusion the General Motors Company’s financial statements contain a great deal of information and included in this information are 31 disclosures. All the company’s disclosures were placed in their financial statements to aid the reader(s) with understanding the financials as well as making an educated evaluation and informed decisions about the General Motors Company and their financial statements.

Eastman Kodak Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eastman Kodak - Essay Example The ease with which digital images could be downloaded and shared therefore provided a completely new dimension to growth in this segment of the business. The higher level of adaptability by the consumers of digital imaging products therefore can offer new strategic choices to Kodak to further penetrate into its existing markets and also develop new markets with special focus on emerging markets. In order to achieve such growth, it is important that Kodak must develop efficient distribution channels in order to increase its reach to the customers. One of the key initiatives in this regard should be to develop online distribution channel through the dedicated website selling digital imaging products to the consumers directly. Historically, Kodak has relied on dealers and retailers to sell its products to the customers however, with increasing use of web, Kodak can develop an efficient portal to develop more efficient distribution channel. In order to achieve this growth, Kodak can act ually adapt different functional strategies including the development of better sales management force as well as developing better online strategies.

Cross Cultural Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cross Cultural Management - Essay Example From management’s perspective, employees are considered the most important assets for the company and it is the quality of the employees that makes the business successful. In order to be successful, employees are offered with training and their skills are developed through different programs to achieve certain objectives. Training and development provide prime opportunities for the management to motivate their employees and at the same time enhance the knowledge and skills of the employees. This not only motivates the employees but also encourages them to increase their productivity for accomplishment of organizational objectives (Henry, 1995). Training and development are crucial for every business as skilled and motivated workforce can support the business to achieve its goals in a more productive manner. It is essential that the employees possess knowledge and skills so that their performance should be at optimal level. As in an organization, there are people from differen t cultural backgrounds and, thus, cross cultural training is one of the key elements today to reduce the cultural differences among employees working together (Bratton, & Gold, 2009). Organizations recruit individuals from different backgrounds; it becomes important for them to conduct cross cultural training programs and it helps in understanding cultural differences of people working together (Price, 2007). Emirates can be seen as one of the best examples of successful business in the world and the main reason for their success is focusing on the efficiency of the workforce. Being the best, Emirates spends about 5 to 6 percent of their revenue on training and development of their employees which enables the employees to be regarded as one of the best. Emirates hires people from different backgrounds and they conduct different cross cultural programs so that these people from diverse cultural backgrounds can work together. Emirates Airline has its own training facility specially bu ilt to train and develop the employees by allowing them to share their opinions and ideas, hence, expanding the knowledge of each individual and changing their behavior according to the requirements of the organization (Redman, & Wilkinson, 2009). Another example for successful business is McDonalds which is operating in different parts of the world and people from different cultural background work at McDonalds; this has been one of the main reasons for success of the company. McDonalds offers training to their employees on a continuous basis. McDonalds focuses on training and development of its employees according to the culture of the region they are operating in and at the same time they offer cross cultural training. According to McDonalds, their success lies in the employees (The Times, 2012) With increasing diversity in the organizations, organizations have been investing in cross cultural training programs. This report will analyze two theories related to cultural difference s and their impact on the performance of employees in organizations: Geert Hofstede cultural management theory and Trompenaars and Hampden Model. Geert Hofstede cultural management theory Geert Hosfstede’s has presented five dimensions to analyze the cultural differences and these dimensions have been applied on how it can influence the training and development programs. Power distance Power distance can be defined as how people accept that

Discourse community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discourse community - Essay Example All members in a discourse community have the required level of expertise in the common goal (â€Å"DePaul University† 1). A discourse community has an overlapping boundary, which allows most people to participate within and between various discourse communities (â€Å"DePaul University† 1). Various academic discourse communities exist in our schools that include mathematicians, engineers, and sportsmen, among other groups. Engineering Course Engineering is a defined discourse community where members have the required level of expertise in engineering to communicate and agree on certain goals and interests in the engineering field. Engineers have a unique language and genre, which helps them to communicate their common goals and unify their group. Moreover, engineers in the engineering discourse community have a common band that reinforces their relationships thus enhancing agreements on common goals and interests. The common band in engineering defines the difference b etween engineering and other discourse communities. Additionally, engineers share norms of "good writing" as a common goal in this discourse community. Notably, engineers use metaphors to unify and define this group. At the same time, the engineering discourse community uses specialized vocabulary in terms of jargons and terminologies to define this group and communicate the common goals in engineering. Only engineers can understand the vocabularies in this discourse community. The engineering discourse community also uses a specialized genre â€Å"verbal and non-verbal† to define this group, communicate the common goals and interests of this group, and unify the engineering discourse community. Specifically, metaphors and reports are the dominant genres and tools used in engineering discourse community to enhance communication among the members in this group. Indeed, the conduit metaphor is dominant among engineers where it basis communication on codes that allowing sharing of engineering information. The specialized genres in this discourse community are very important to engineers as they help them to communicate and present their ideas as well as organizing the data collected in this field. This helps engineers to pass engineering knowledge to future engineers. Engineers must follow certain guidelines in writing an engineering report. Notably, the norms of "good writing, vocabularies, and specialized genres help in bringing engineers together in this discourse community. Supervisor in Electronic Company An electronic company deals in the production and supply of electronic products like bulbs, circuits, vacuum tubes, and diodes. A supervisor in an electronic company will play the role of overseeing the operations in the company where electricians are the main members in the electrical discourse community. Members in the electrical discourse community have the required level of knowledge in electronics that allows them to communicate and agree on cer tain goals and interests in this field. The electricians adopt a common language, writing skill, and genres, which defines and unifies this group. This discourse community has a common band that defines this group and allows electricians to communicate their common goals. The band strengthens the relationships within the electronic company

Behavioural Studies, Attitudes Explain the purpose of the use of Essay

Behavioural Studies, Attitudes Explain the purpose of the use of shocking images in campaigns to attempt change an individual's attitude. Use examples as illustrations - Essay Example People are also affected by advertisements though emotional responses, and this is another important factor in the use of shocking advertising. Understanding psychological and social bases for attitudes may be the key to using shocking advertising to influence individual behavior. Individuality is a key component of many walks of social life, from home to work. Indeed, Mullins suggests that committed staff with valuable individuality are one of the keys to organizational health and success (Mullins, 2007). Psychologists have developed a number of different ways of defining the individual; Eysenck defined them through two key personality differences: introversion/extroversion and stability/instability (or neuroticism). Others, such as Cattell, divided the individual personality into surface traits, which are consistent and form the basis of behavior, and source traits, which underlie and inform the surface traits. These two ideas rely upon the notion of a 'fixed' individuality, which implies that the individual would not be affected by shocking advertising in the long-term.

Alternative Ending to The Lady with the Dog Essay

Alternative Ending to The Lady with the Dog - Essay Example Regardless of how he felt about his wife, he had come to acknowledge that it was his perception that she was dim witted that made his time spent with her special. For no other woman could make him feel as intelligent as she did. Fifteen Years Before Indeed he had fallen hard for Anna. He was willing to forsake everything in his life for a lifetime with her. But that was before the night that he spent talking to his daughter about snow and how it concealed everything that was dark underneath. It made him realize, this was his family. The call of the flesh may have beckoned to him repeatedly when he sought to seek comfort with Anna all those evenings at the hotel but at the end of the night, he still returned to the unsuspecting embrace of his wife and the wide-eyed and loving welcome of his children. It was this familiar security that he could not bring himself to sacrifice for Anna in the end. The woman he married when he was in his second year of university and the children borne ou t of that union were far more important to him that the satisfaction of the illicit affair. In the end, he realized that he would have to help her accept the futility of their situation and return to her husband, no matter how difficult it might be for her. â€Å"You must go back to him and try your best to forget about me.† he coaxed her as he cradled her in his arms. Her tears soaking the shoulders of his coat. â€Å"But I do not love him Dmitri I never have. Ours was a marriage based upon my need to be taken care of. Not because I love him. I could never feel for him the way I feel for you.† her voice was shaking as she tried to convince him not to end their affair. â€Å"Listen to me Anna. When you first met him, there was surely some spark of attraction between the two of you. You must have truly felt something for him. There was love somewhere within your heart for this man. That is why you married him. You need to find that feeling within you again. Try to reme mber what you liked and loved about him and hold on to those thoughts. You must stay married to him for we can never be.† he did his best to let her down gently. He knew from their time in Yalta that Anna was a confused woman. She thought she knew what she wanted but really, all she ever knew was how to be led along by those around her. That was how he led her into this illicit affair that she tried to fight off at first. It never occurred to him that he would be the one to try to call it all off one day. She pushed him away and looked into his eyes as they sat on the divan in her room. â€Å"Look me in the eyes and tell me that you truly love your wife. Tell me why you love her and, if you convince me then I shall leave you and never make contact again.† her almost harsh, demanding voice asked him. â€Å"You told me in the throes of passion that she was not intelligent and bored you. Your children do not give you any joy because they always ask you questions you feel unprepared to answer. If we go away together we can finally leave all of that behind. We deserve to be happy Dmitri We need to leave our spouses.† He rose from the chair and walked over to the bar. He stared at himself in the mirror as he nursed his glass of Vodka. It was a ruse on his part to help him buy some time before he had to answer her daring question. He stared into the wine glass as he swirled its contents. â€Å"My wife is many things that I do not approve of. She

Marriage equality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marriage equality - Essay Example Marriage equality is a term that has been developed in the contemporary society to refer to same-sex marriage. In spite of the term appearing obnoxious, it has become difficult to define equality in marriage. The traditional meaning of equality depended on the natural act, which is the marriage between a man and a woman. â€Å"Equality and gay peoples’ rights spite the notion of procreation†. In such cases, equity was viewed as a process of recognizing the rights of both spouses in a relationship. In fact, it dealt with the development of understanding of the limits between violation and acceptance. However, the changes in morality and social development have led to serious challenges in the definition of marriage equality. Equality in controversial marriages such as gay and lesbian marriage is a challenge to the society. The use of terms such as straight to define heterosexual individuals is a product of the need to identify the gay or up-right people in the society. T he development of the diverse range of terms in explaining the new social development led to the creation of the term â€Å"marriage equality†. Therefore, when addressing marriage equality, it is vital to understand the various issues associated with the current term and the reasons for its development. Consequently, marriage equality is fundamentally a new term based on the cultural change witnessed in the world. The original meaning of the terms has been changed significantly because of the growing use of the term to mean new concepts in a marriage relationship (Wolfson 45). In fact, the new term has rendered the traditional term null or void based on the wide acceptance of the new meaning. The cultural meaning of the word is simple and easily understood, but with the current changes the world is becoming complex to understand such as the current terms like bootylicious and equality. Definition of marriage equality Marriage equality is defined as same-sex marriage that is l egally recognized in the society as the marriage between mature or adult persons. The major question posed by the proponents of the idea is based on the protection of human rights that is protected fundamentally by the constitution. The bill or rights stipulate the major issues that must be addressed in the protection of human freedom. Based on these freedoms including the freedom of association, it becomes challenging when defining marriage equality. Equality in marriage and marriage equality in the contemporary society means two different things today (Wolfson 73). Equality in marriage is the protection of the rights of individuals in marriage while marriage equality is the struggle to accept the new set of marriage partners resulting from homosexual and lesbian relationship in the society. In fact, the push for recognition has led to serious challenge in the society because of the resistance posed by conservatives. Despite the challenges in defining the term, it is widely accepte d culturally to mean the relationship between same-sex partners and their intention to live together has a couple. Equality and protection Marriage Equality relates to the protection of the choices made by the gay and lesbian individuals in the society. The protection against marriage discrimination and reduction of stigma associated with same sex marriage. The definition of marriage equality has changed significantly based on the acceptance of the new meaning, which is slightly different from traditional meaning. The new meaning has overshadowed the traditional meaning associated with the term (Wolfson 89). Marriage equality is a broad term in the contemporary society based on the understanding of the society. Language change is implemented by individuals in the society who lead to increased usage of the term. The actual meaning of equality in marriage is not clearly defined in the contemporary society based on the new meanings develop. The development of new terms illustrates the power of dynamic reasoning in the world,

Community Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Community Communication - Essay Example He wondered such, because of the diffusion of cities created due to the stage of industrial revolution and unsettled west. Another scholar that set out to find the relation between community and communication was Gabriel Tarde in the 1980s. According to him, public opinion is a means of collective community which is controlled and arranged by the media (Katz, 1991). Furthering the previous thought, Bowes (1997) confirms that this relationship further gained strength in the 1920s and thus has now become indivisible. According to this study, for a collective action, communication between citizens and individuals is an important function for initiating a combined action, with the collective action being stimulated and expressed through the media. Of course, when it comes to finding the relation between these two variables, it is obvious to understand the definition of community. According to Hillary (1955), community can be explained in 94 ways. However, three essential components can b e found in the explanation of this variable. Beginning with a person involved in a specific community contact, the author mentioned geographic area as the second component with the common ties completing the collection. Bracht (1990) also revolves around the same concept of community. According to this study, a community can be explained as a cluster of individuals that share the same ethics, ideals and institutions. Further adding to the definitions, the author explained interpersonal relationships, culture and social groups as the interdependent basic components. Therefore, the above mentioned components work collectively towards a common good. This means that these components are a food for the community that are intellectual and conscious in nature and is thus a highly necessary requirement Dewey (1946). Bell and Newby (1971) added more to the definition and stated that communities have nowadays adopted a virtual nature. According to this study, the idea of a physical space has currently adopted a less physical approach of communication. Nonetheless, the relation between community and communication remains intact. Where traditionally the use of broadcast and print media was at its peak, the introduction of the computer based era and the enhancement of development and interactive media have positively worked towards eliminating the geographical constraints in communication. The virtual temperament of the media used two basic tools; the internet and direct broadcast satellites. Therefore, it becomes imperative to mention at this stage that after adopting the virtual mode, the communication media not simply aid the traditional community, rather it aids to the change in the entire definition of it (Bowes, 1997). According to Berrigan (May 1979), there is always the risk of importance in considering communication. That is, it is the author’s firm belief that although communication media is an effective tool in affecting the community, the role of the med ia is highly exaggerated. The study also stated that the media revolves around precedence in its importance. For the role of communication to be effective, it must be understood that it can never work alone. The media, in spite of its role in not the only factor that can bring changes to the community, the organizational, social and political structures also play a vital role that need to be identified. As the international communication association (May 2012) states; as our perceptions regarding the organizational, personal and social communities are undergoing massive changes, the boundaries and peripheries are becoming

By Reference to three poems in the Tracks anthology Essay Example for Free

By Reference to three poems in the Tracks anthology Essay In the poems Not My Best Side, Reports, and You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly, U.A Fanthorpe explores the theme of authority through the often satirical analysis of her observations and experiences within society. Fanthorpe uses her poetry as a way of expressing her feelings and opinions, and we can learn a great deal about her attitudes towards authority by reading and analysing the three poems chosen. Each poem shows a different aspect of the way authority affects people, and it becomes clear when reading the poems Fanthorpes belief in the ability of power and authority to corrupt people who possess it, and suppress people under it. In the first poem, Not My Best Side, Fanthorpe uses parody to look at the way people are stereotyped by authority according to their gender or status, and challenges their conventional representation within society. She succeeds in doing so by taking three separate characters (each represented by a different stanza), and giving them very different personalities and characteristics to what typical society would expect, and, indeed, what authority has forced upon them. Fanthorpe used Uccellos painting of St George and the Dragon as a source of inspiration: I thought it might be interesting to find voices for characters conventionally seen as good, bad or helpless. Fanthorpe chose this painting because it portrays mythological characterisations very clearly, and Fanthorpe wished to challenge these typical fairytale stereotypes. Fanthorpe has attempted to emphasise a point that authority does not allow enough individuality and simply expects people to conform to pre-conceived opinions of how someone should behave, based on their gender or the position society has placed them in. The poem begins with the conventionally bad character, the Dragon, speaking. In this part of the poem Fanthorpe attempts to show the dragon as an articulate and understanding character, as opposed to the fierce and evil character that he is traditionally expected to be. The dragon appears to be upset about the way he is shown in Uccellos painting, as he believes that he has been portrayed in such a way as to make him seem weak and easily conquered. Why, I said to myself, should my conqueror Be so ostentatiously beardless? The dragon feels that he has been made to look inferior to the very young-looking St George by Uccello, in order for the painting to portray the traditional idea that good (St George) always triumphs over evil (the dragon). However, in this poem, the dragon appears to be a considerate, caring character, and in no way evil. He seems to have accepted the fact that he has (unfairly) been stereotyped as bad, but is upset that in addition to being shown by Uccello as evil, he has also been shown to be defenceless. I dont mind dying Ritually, since I always rise again, But I would have liked a little more blood, To show they were taking me seriously. The dragon is of the opinion that he has been unfairly represented in this painting, as his character has been stifled in all aspects of his character. He wasnt even shown to have a dramatic death, and there was little to blood to signify the defeat of such a (supposedly) malicious character. Although upset, the dragon realises that he has no opinion in the way he is portrayed in the painting, or in fact the whole of society, and therefore concedes to the pressure that has been placed on him to be the conventionally bad character. Poor chap, he has this obsession with Triangles, so he left off two of my Feet. I didnt comment at the time, (What, after all, are two feet to a Monster?) Despite the fact that Uccello left off two of his feet was because the art at the time of the painting was experimenting with drawing in 3D, and the dragons feet were left off by accident, Fanthorpe cleverly uses the mistake to make a very valid point that however the character (the dragon in this case) is in actuality, the characterisations that are placed on them by authority are still always prioritised when people are judging the person, causing their individuality to be lost. The next character Fanthorpe chooses to explore is that of the stereotypically helpless character, the maiden. In Uccellos painting, she is depicted as a pale-faced, frail, damsel in distress. However, in Fanthorpes poem, these perceptions are totally contradicted. The maiden appears to be a very independent, pro-active, calculating individual. The maiden begins her monologue by stating that she does not actually want to be rescued, breaking the stereotype immediately. At the time that Uccello painted this image, women were highly pressured within society to marry the person they were made to marry. However, in this poem, the maiden seems to prefer the dragon to St George. Its hard for a girl to be sure if She wants to be rescued. I mean I quite Took to the dragon. The fact that the maiden would have the audacity to make a statement like this would be shocking, as women in medieval society were expected to conform to the instructions they were given. Fanthorpe also uses sexual innuendo as a way of showing that the maiden is not as innocent as she appears. He made me feel he was all ready to Eat me. And any girl enjoys that. By using this, Fanthorpe makes a statement that the apparently virgin maiden is not actually as innocent as Uccello makes her appear to be, and that women have as much right to sexual freedom and free thought as men do, and are not as naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve or helpless as authority would like to make them. The final part that Fanthorpe chooses to make in this stanza is that the maiden is very independent and focused on her future. Although the thought of being rescued by the young St George is not a desirable one, she still agrees to him rescuing her, as she knows that the long term prospects of going with St George outweighed the ones of staying with the dragon. The dragon got himself beaten by the boy, And a girls got to think of her future. By showing the pro-active attitude of the maiden, Fanthorpe accentuates the fact that women can be as manipulative and as independent as men, and that they are not simply trophies for men, but intelligent, business minded people. Although she prefers the dragon, she concedes to being rescued by St George, not because she want to be with him, but because she feels it would enable her to achieve this she could not with the dragon. Despite conventionally bein portrayed as a brilliant individual, and the patron saint of England, in the final stanza of this poem, St George appears far from a saintly figure. Fanthorpe has chosen to make St George arrogant and inconsiderate. In doing this, Fanthorpe reveals her own critical voice, and emerges as a highly feminist character. St George appears, from the start of his monologue, as very puerile and boastful. My horse is the latest model with Automatic transmission and built in Obsolescence. St George makes a big deal of showing off his state of the art gadgets, showing how important he is. I feel Fanthorpe has included this because she wanted to emphasise the fact that men often adopt an egotistical attitude over women, and flaunt their superiority by the amount of materialistic possessions they have. As we continue to read the stanza, St Georges attitude changes from that of exhibition to one of arrogance and selfishness. He believes that his inferiors should conform to the roles that they have been given to them in society. Dont you want to be killed and/or rescued In the most contempory way? Dont You want to carry out the roles That sociology and myth have designed for you? By including this, Fanthorpe has succeeded in proclaiming the fact that men are seen as the absolute authority when it comes to judging how a person should act or behave within society, and men have gradually inherited the attitude of superiority over women, which will take a long time to rectify. The poem ends with an emphatic statement of Fanthorpes perception of male attitudes towards women. St Georges real, self-centered personality is revealed when he ends his monologue with these words. What, in any case, does it matter what You want? Youre in my way. Fanthorpes opinion of men in societal authority is truly revealed in these final lines. St George is only interested in his image, and he gives no consideration for the other characters in the poem (the maiden and the dragon), and he simply wants to increase his reputation. This point can be related to wider society, where men will not listen to the opinions of women, and do not consider their ideas, as they are not seen as worthy of a voice. Quintessentially, Not My Best Side is a poem that has been written in order to make the point that societal authoritys expectations do not allow individuality, as people are placed under so much pressure to comply to the particular parameters forced upon them, involuntarily, by factors out of anyones control, such as gender. Similarly to Not My Best Side, the poem You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly explores the theme of authority. However, in this instance, U.A Fanthorpe chooses to ridicule the process of attending a job interview. She uses this setting to challenge the authority of the interview panel to make judgements about peoples lives based on prejudices or pre-conceived ideas. The title of the poem, You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly immediately indicates that the applicant failed to get the job because the phrase is clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½d as a polite let down at the end of an interview. In my opinion, this phrase may also have been placed as the title of the poem because Fanthorpe is attempting to show the reader that the candidate was not going to be successful in getting the job, no matter how successful the interview went. The poem is an ongoing monologue, with new stanzas beginning after the response of the applicant. From the beginning of the poem, it become clear that the interview panel possess a range of prejudices towards the candidate. These appear to have already influenced the panel enough for them to decide that the applicant is not suitable for the job, and it seems as though the interview is being carried out simply as a formality, which must be endured by the applicant. It is evident that the candidates answers are seen as insignificant by the interviewing panel from the very beginning, as their response to the panels questions are not included. I believe Fanthorpe has done this to show that the candidate is voiceless when in an interview, and to display the pointlessness of interviews, when the outcome has been decided before the interview even takes place. The only way we have of knowing the answer to the interviewers questions are by making an educated guess from the response of the panel, which, in most cases, is a single, unenthusiastic phrase such as Ah or indeed It is clear that the interviewers have no interest in the persons justifications for why they are suitable for the job; they simply make impertinent comments on the information displayed on their application form. Let us consider your application form This quote from the poem shows the disinterest in the actual person, and more interest on their class, gender, and other factors displayed on their application form. The panel spend little time discussing the candidates impressive qualifications, and almost immediately moves on to focus on the negative aspect of them, and their possible use within the job for which the applicant is applying. The candidate is asked to justify the use of their qualifications very early in the interview. Would you care to defend their [the applicants qualifications] relevance? This would succeed in belittling the applicant, particularly when the interviewers response to their well though out answer is a sceptical indeed After the polite, (if inhospitable) beginning to the job interview, the meeting soon descends into a personal battering of the applicants self esteem by the authoritative figure of the interviewer. The first matter the interviewing panel broaches is the age of the applicant. Perhaps you feel able to make a comment about that, Too? We are conscious ourselves Of the need for a candidate with precisely The right degree of immaturity These comments, although sugar-coated by the authoritative figure, succeed in alienating the candidate, and forcing them into assent. We can tell that the interviewee has been pressured into agreeing with the panel from the interviewers response after the applicants unheard comments. So glad we agree This indicates that the interviewing panel has repressed the candidate so much that they have simply begun to agree with the rhetoric statements made by the interviewer. Fanthorpe has included this to show that in wider society, authority influences people to conform to its rules and ideas, and does not allow free though or speech. Also, Fanthorpe has arisen the point that authoritative figures abuse the power they have been given, and this leads to corrupting the individual in possession of the power. In the next stanza, the interviewer reveals another prejudice; that of the looks of the applicant. The panel is very rude during this stanza: You do appreciate this work involves Contact with the actual public? Might they, Perhaps, find your appearance Disturbing? This reveals the blunt, inconsiderate nature of the interviewing panel, and, in Fanthorpes opinion, the whole of society. The interviewing panel has succeeded in making the candidate feel small, simply because of the way they are, and I believe that Fanthorpe is trying to illustrate a point that sexism, racism, ageism and other prejudices succeed constantly in repressing often valuable members of society into conforming to authoritys ideals. In the next stanza, the interview panel seem to fire a barrage of questions at he applicant about their background, particularly their accent. Fanthorpe uses the clever technique of making one of the interviewers accidentally use the wrong phrase, to deliver a highly offensive insult. Were you educated? We mean, of course, Where were you educated? This is a comical way of accentuating the prejudice the interview shows when choosing a suitable candidate to take the job. The accent an applicant has obviously influences the choice a lot, although in actuality, the accent of a person has no effect on their intelligence. The panel were evidently considering the reactions of people using their company, who may think that they employ people of a lower intellect, which would make the company look sub-standard. This shows the way that people within society automatically judge others on the way they speak, as the panel simply assumed the candidate had little education because of their accent. In the final stanza, the interview descends yet further into a sequence of offensive statements. The rhetoric questions have ceased, and the true nature of an interview, in Fanthorpes eyes, is revealed; a pointless meeting aimed purely at belittling the applicant, and enforcing authoritys stance on society. In this stanza, it becomes implicit that the candidate is female, as the interview panel focus strongly upon family background. Married, children, We see. The usual dubious Desire to perpetuate what had better Not have happened at all. The fact that the candidate was asked about her family would tend to indicate that the applicant is female, as the panel would then begin to worry about the children, and whether they would need looking after. This may be a problem for the company. The panel are also rude to the applicant in this part of the poem, as they insinuate that they cannot understand why the applicant would even consider having children, when, in fact, it would be better for the world if the candidate had never been born. The poem ends emphatically, with the satirical statement And you were born-? Yes. Pity. This is a witty use of word play by Fanthorpe. The interviewer is actually asking when the applicant was born, but in the absence of any dialogue, it seems as though the interviewer is saying that it is a pity that the candidate was born. With this final stanza, particularly the final line, I feel Fanthorpe is attempting to make a point that authoritative figures are of the opinion that anybody who does not fall within their ideals should not even exist. In conclusion, the poem You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly is a poem aimed at bringing into relief the discrimination that has been ingrained into society. Fanthorpe is attempting to make a point that certain people, particularly women, are considered as useless, and are seen as undeserving of a voice within society by authoritative figures. She successfully proves that people of authority exploit the power they have over the masses, by belittling them, and repressing them to such an extent that they are forced to conform. Authority makes judgement on people not by the way they are individually, but base their judgements on factors that are not, in actual fact, of any relevance. In the poem Reports, Fanthorpe offers yet another aspect to the role of authority and the way authoritative figures exploit people within society. In this instance, the poem is a simulated conversation between an older, more experienced teacher, and a newer teacher, focusing on the correct way to write a school report. Fanthorpe has deliberately written the report very cynically, in an attempt to portray authoritative figures as cold and impersonal. In the final stanza, the poem adopts a tone of irony, when Fanthorpe compares the reports we receive at school to the way we live our lives. Being a former teacher herself, Fanthorpe would have known the perils of report writing, and likewise would have known the attitudes that some teachers take towards who they see as their inferiors, the pupils. Fanthorpes reason for leaving the teaching profession was that I saw that the power was having a negative effect on me. This shows Fanthorpes negative opinions on the authority that teachers have, and the way some of them abuse it. The poem contains several short stanzas, using short, snappy phrases, which all make a separate point. In the first of these, there is a fundamental warning to teachers about the language they should use. The teacher writing the report is advised to use dull phrases so that the report does not generate any unwanted interest or complications from parents. Dont give them anything To take hold of. Even Pronouns are dangerous. The teacher is being warned not to use pronouns because the teacher may mistake the gender of the pupil, therefore exposing the teachers lack of knowledge of individual pupils; essentially, the report could be given to any student. The next stanza focuses on the impersonal nature of the reports once again, when Fanthorpe implies that the good pupils are not necessarily known from the bad. The good have no history Satisfactory should satisfy them. This stanza is included, I feel, to illustrate the fact that the good students are often ignored while the teacher is attempting to control the more disobedient pupils. This would mean that the teacher would have very little knowledge of the pupil, and therefore would not know, in actual fact, whether the pupil was good or not. The teacher is advised, instead of using good, to use a more universal phrase; satisfactory. By using safe phrases such as this, teachers guard themselves from provoking high expectations from parents and higher authorities. Stanza 3 makes another point about the way reports are depersonalised by the teachers. The teacher writing the report is advised to use terms that can relate to any pupil: Fair and quite good, Multi-purpose terms, By meaning nothing, Apply to all. This shows the way teachers make reports appear personal, but are actually simply using universal terms that could relate to a range of students. The reason the teacher has chosen to do this is to prevent any unwanted backlash from parents. In the first three stanzas, I feel that Fanthorpe is proclaiming that the authoritative figure does not see the people placed under their authority as individuals, but as a large group. This emphasises the fact that authority causes the identity and individuality of a person to be lost. The teachers in this poem are also aware of the need to make themselves look as though they are not to blame for the pupils problems at school. Unmanageable oaf cuts both ways. Finds the subject difficult, Acquitting you, Converts oaf into idiot, usher to master. Such phrases as Unmanageable oaf reflect badly on the teacher, and suggests that the teacher may not be able to cope. To avoid this, the teachers use clever euphemisms to make it seem as though it is the pupil failing, and not the teacher. This illustrates the exploitation of the teachers authority over their pupils. The next stanza warns that people will try to read into the reports, so they must remain as simple as possible, to avoid any complications. Set them no riddles, just Echo the common-room clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½: Must make more effort. The teachers are acutely aware of the need to keep the reports similar, as this will avoid confusion. Using common phrases such as Must make more effort means that the parent, head and child accept the report, and they will not feel compelled to question the report further. Although the poem is based around teachers relationships with pupils, in the final stanza, Fanthorpe uses school as a metaphor for life. Remember your high calling: School is the world. Fanthorpe uses irony to indicate that the way we live our lives is similar to our school reports. Born at Sound beginning We move from satisfactory To fair, then Find The subject difficult, Learning at last we Could have done better. In this final part of the stanza, I feel that Fanthorpe is attempting to make a statement that during life, you endeavour to be the best you can be, but ultimately realise that the decisions you have made may not have been the right ones. Moreover, she may be trying to make the point that one is pushed into inconspicuousness by authority, which causes one to feel disappointed, and insignificant. In the poem, we have no way of knowing whether Fanthorpe is referring to herself, or people in general, but the slightly bitter tone in the final three lines, and, indeed, the final stanza, is evident. Stone only, final instructor, Modulates from the indicative With rest in peace. By this, Fanthorpe means that the only time that we avoid the report system of life is when we die, and our epitaph is inscribed onto our grave. To conclude, the poem Reports is illustrating the way that teachers depersonalise pupils, in order to prevent problems for them. The pupils are seen as one whole state, and the fact that the education system does not allow individuality leads to a sense of disappointment later on in life. This shows that individuals are repressed by society, and do not feel able to follow their own paths, as they are constantly being grouped with others. Quintessentially, the poems Not My Best Side, You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly, and Reports all emphasise that UA Fanthorpe believes that power corrupts, and that people of authority usually use it to their advantage, to belittle others or to make them feel sub-standard. It is also clear that Fanthorpe believes that authority within society leads to depersonalisation of a character, and the stifling of individuals into conformity.

Significants of Gallipoli Film and Documentry Essay Example for Free

Significants of Gallipoli Film and Documentry Essay The documentary Gallipoli by Tolga Ornak and the film of the same name by Peter Weir, are useful resources to stimulate middle school student interest in, and engagement with, the story of Galipoli and its context in Wold War 1. The 2005 documentary Gallipoli by Turkish filmmaker Tolga Ornek is a graphic examination of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign told by both sides. The story is explored through primary resources such as personal diaries and letters. By using exerpts from the diaries and letters of the soldiers living the experience, the documentary allows these young men a voice which reaches through history to tell us of the hopes they had, the betrayal they felt and the misery they suffered. This is not done in grandiose rhetoric but rather with the matter -of -fact simple language of ordinary men writing letters home or writing in their diaries. The documentary focuses on the experiences of ten men (two Turks, three Australians, three New Zealanders and two from Britain) who represent the range of the soldiers present on both sides of the battle. Their stories are illustrated with photographs taken of the actual events by both official war photographers and the soldiers themselves. These images of the faces of these men tell the human story of the suffering of both sides. Ornek also utilises reenactments to create dramatic reconstructions of the landings and the battle. Woven throughout the documentary are the historical perspectives given by academic and military experts. The 1981 Australian film Gallipoli, directed by Peter Weir is is focused on several young men from country Western Australia who join the Australian Army to fight in the First World War. They are sent to Turkey, where they take part in the Gallipoli Campaign. During the course of the movie, the young men slowly lose their innocence about the purpose of war. Gallipoli portrays the story through the eyes of these Australian men. It does not give the other sides view. It captures the ideals and character of the Australians who joined up to fight, as well as the conditions they endured on the battlefield. It does, however, modify events for dramatic purposes and contains a number of significant historical inaccuracies. The story , characters and their experiences while based on actual events are entirely fictious. The film and the documentary both explore similar themes. They are both overwhelmingly ‘anti-war focusing on the horror of trench warfare by showing the brutality and suffering of the individuals. Both works examine the loss of innocence and coming of age of the young soldiers and of their country. This is a central motif for Peter Weir’s film and is portrayed through Archy’s drive to go to war prove that he is indeed a man. This is highlighted early in the film when the Uncle reads from Kipling’s The Jungle Book in which he describes Mowgli’s tranformation into a man. Like Archy, Australia the nation is young and eager to prove its worth to and independence from its mother country. Like Archy the nation lost its innocence on on the battlefields of Gallipoli. Both the documentary and the film highlight Australia’s blind devotion to the Empire. The Australia of 1915 was still very much tied to the mother country Great Britian. In Weir’s film this theme is explored through the two main characters in Archy’s ignorant patriotism and Frank’s cynical pragmatism towards the British. In Ornak’s Gallipoli the blind devotion to the empire is explored throught the ANZAC’S tale. Although there were many reasons to enlist the documentary focuses on the larrikin spirit of the Australians and the adventure and pride the ANSACS felt serving their mother country Great Britian. The theme of mateship features heavily in Weir’s Gallipoli. This force that bonds Australians together in times of need is explored through the relationship which develops between Archy and Franky despite their being from different ends of the social spectrum. Yet in the chaos of war they are thrown together and their mateship overcomes the differences of their social backgrounds. Weir also uses the theme of the Australian sporting spirit. This part of the Australian campaign contributes strongly to Franks determination to sign up for the war effort. Competition was promoted to enable young men to be apart off the action â€Å"The greatest game of the all†. The Sport, an integral part of the Australian persona, is effectively linked to war by Weir, indicating that our soldiers are merely playing a mans game where they will have ‘no sporting chance’ — this time, there will be no winners. Orek and Weir convey the sense of betrayal these soldiers felt. Both vehicles highlight the way in which enlisting was sold as the chance to see the world and seek adventure. Weir uses the Trojan horse to highlight how war is often sold as an exciting adventure but this facade is a trap. Ornak’s documentary describes how the turks saw themselves as defending their homeland. The story of Galipoli is told in the film with the full cinematic experience. The leads are all good looking and the beautiful wide shot photography both help to ‘romantisice ‘the war experience. This ‘hollywood’ delivery of the story is very attractive to young audiences who are used to receiving their entertainment in this form. However based on events which took place on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915, the characters portrayed in this film are entirely fictitious. While the audience is emotionally involved with the charcters some of the power is lost when students learn that these characters are not real. The film also takes some dramatic licence with some historical facts. Some aspects of the film were inacurate as further research into the Gallipoli campaign I discovered that The Australian War Museum’s website says the minimum age for enlistments during World War I was 18, not 21 as shown in the movie This is not the case with Ornak’s Galipoli. His use of primary resources is a major strength of the film. Combining actual footage, stills and re-enactments with previously unseen letters and diaries of soldiers, Gallipoli allows us to experience the soldiers who suffered the consequence of false orders, bad orders and ill-prepared attacks. This makes a huge impact on the audience and makes it interesting and engaging to watch. Both the film and the documentary are rich resources to support the study for year 9 and 10 students in the frist world war and as apart of the mandatory Australian History course. Both works are suitable to be studies as part of Australian history course as both help students to engage and empathise with those who experienced Galipoli. Weir’s film is an easy introduction while Ornak’s documentary further extends a students understanding of the Galipoli campaign.

Experiences of Adult Offspring Making Care Decisions

Experiences of Adult Offspring Making Care Decisions In normal aging, decline in mental skills is modest with no consequential decrease in ability to care for oneself. Normally, older adults are able to maintain activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, transferring, and toileting, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), which include shopping, cooking, housekeeping, laundry, and handling money (Schaie, 1989). Nevertheless, one in 10 persons over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have Alzheimers disease, a form of dementia (The Alzheimers Association, 1999) and, thus, have problems with IADLs, ADLs or both, and need assistance with care decisions. Often these decisions are left to adult offspring who are ill prepared to cope with role changes and parent-caring responsibilities (Archbold, 1980; Brody, Johnsen, Fulcomer Lang, 1983; Brody, Kleban, Johnsen, Hoffman Schoonover, 1987; Cantor 1883; Stoller, 1982). What is the experience of these adult children as they negotiate their way through the their own internal voices, their family of origin and the healthcare system? Have we been asking the right questions when we assume that all is reduced to family obligation and responsibility? This project was designed to elicit and understand the experience of those adult offspring who are making care decisions for a mentally impaired parent. Chapter I includes background and significance of the project, the philosophical framework in which the project question is poised, the project question, and definition of terms. Background and Significance of the Project Although almost half (47%) of persons 85 and older will have mental impairment (Schaie, 1989), many elderly do not make plans for dealing with possible changes in mental status. As elderly â€Å"age in place†, it is frequently left to family members to decide about care and living arrangements. For most family members these care decisions about the care of elderly parent are difficult at best (Pfeiffer, 1995), and the number of people involved in making these decisions will increase as life expectancy increases and the population of the United States continues to age. Life expectancy is the average number of years people born in a given year are expected to live based on a set of age-specific death rates. At the beginning of the 20th century, life expectancy at birth was 47.3 years. Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, the average life expectancy has increased dramatically at birth to nearly 77 years. In addition, life expectancy for every age group has also increased during the past century. â€Å"Based on todays age-specific death rates, individuals aged 65 years can be expected to live an average of 18 more years, for a total of 83 years. Those aged 75 years can be expected to live an average of 11 more years, for a total of 86 years† (http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/Document/HTML/Volume1/goal.htm, August 14, 2000). Persons older than 65 now comprise 12.7% of the population of the United States (Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1999, http://www.census.gov/statab/www/states/md.txt, August 14, 2000). By the year 2020, 20% of the population will be older than 65 years (US Bureau of the Census, 1996). The largest percentage of growth is in elders 85 and over, a group at high risk for mental disorders such as Alzheimers disease. Almost 19 million Americans report they have a family member with Alzheimers, and 37 million know someone with the disease (The Alzheimers Association, 1999). Since 7 out of 10 people with Alzheimers live at home, lost productivity of caregivers is estimated to cost American businesses $26 billion a year plus $7 billion annually related to costs for health and long-term care (The Alzheimers Association, 1999). Other estimates put the cost of informal caregiving at $18 billion. In a project of 7, 443 of elders seventy and over taken from a national representative sur vey, the cost of informal care for mild dementia at $3,630 per person with double the cost for moderate dementia relatives and almost five times the cost for severe dementia (Langa, Chernew, Kabeto, Herzog, Ofstedal, Willis, Wallace, Much, Straus Fendrick, 2001). It is not surprising that the public is starting to ask for help with this complex issue. Previous research sought to identify predictors of placement decisions by family caregivers with dementia (Colerick George, 1986) when care options were few and rational mental models of decision making were thought to be superior to the human mind. At the turn of the 21st century, however, the healthcare environment offers multiple models of care for mentally impaired patients (Abraham, Onega, Chalifoux Maies, 1994). Decision making needs to be informed by the context of continuity of care, which now ranges from home and home-like environments to part time respite or adult day care to long term care services in nursing homes. Indeed, â€Å"patients and families are often surprised if not shocked about the actual services they may receive from various community-based or institutionalized services† (Abraham, Onega, Chalifoux Maies, 1994, p.165). In addition to the increasing complexity of choices, rational mental models of decision-making are in question and giving way to a more naturalistic project of how real world decisions are being made (Sloan, 1996). Rational standards, in which it is assumed people merely choose among options, do not take into consideration most contextual factors that impact on decision-making in real-world situations (Beach Lipshitz, 1993; Cohen, 1993). There is a stark contrast between the assumptions of rational decision-making and naturalistic decision-making. In the naturalistic decision making paradigm, problems are seen as ill structured rather than artificial and well structured. Solutions to these problems are made in uncertain, dynamic environments rather than static, simulated situations. Goals are shifting, ill defined or competing rather than clear and stable. There are action/feedback loops to decision-making process not one-shot decisions. Time stress is a factor and stakes are high i nstead of the presumed luxury of leisurely deliberation and absence of true consequences for the decision-maker (Orasanu Connolly, 1993; Zsambok, 1997). Research on the experience of making care decisions for mentally impaired parents needs to take into account the way decisions are made in the real world and the numerous opportunities for care assistance that are available today. The majority of middle aged, and even young-old Americans, will be faced with making decisions about care for a mentally impaired parent at a time in life when they are dealing with their own transitional issues, as well as those of the generations before and after them. Given the resulting emotional and financial cost, it would be wise to develop health policy about mentally impaired elder citizens and their offspring based on an understanding of the experience of making decisions about the care of a mentally impaired parent. Understanding what these care decisions mean to the increasing number of persons who must make care decisions for mentally impaired parents would lay the foundation for addressing issues in getting adequate assistance for these famili es. It would also help to provide a framework for policy decisions about the fragmented care system for the mentally impaired elderly, and decrease the cost to society in lost productivity. Clearly, the experience of making these decisions needs to be reexamined. Since the definition of naturalistic decision-making is â€Å"the way people use their experience to make decisions in the field setting† (Zsambok, 1997), it is incumbent upon the researcher to go into the field. Qualitative methodologies, which involve fieldwork can help build knowledge of the enormously complex and profound issue of making care decisions for mentally impaired family members. CHAPTER III METHODS Methods Design of the project Personal Reflections Part of the process in analyzing data during a qualitative project is the use of field notes. I have to admit that the process of recording field notes after each visit was a tiresome one for me. I choose to incorporate my thoughts and feelings about the phenomenon at hand, the relationships with my respondents, and the data, in the form of tape recorded field notes immediately after each visit, which were later transcribed. I have never considered myself disciplined enough to be a consistent and in-depth journaler but do consider myself a very reflective person. I guess what happens to me is once I start to put down thoughts and feelings into a very personal form, I dont know when or if I can stop. I also wanted to keep some of my personal issues private and did not initially understand who might be reading these notes. In addition, the interviews were so intense and so moving that I thought I would never forget one word, one thought, one emotion, or one observation that I had experienced before, during and after the encounter with each respondent. Well I guess it easy to imagine that, indeed, I have forgotten some of my reactions. I have been impressed and surprised by how valuable reading my field notes were during this project. When I was growing up, I was exposed to several close relatives who either had dementia or a type of mental illness where they were experienced delusions. My own grandfather experienced delusions and hallucinations when I was about 11 and was hospitalized in a mental institution for some time. I do remember some of his erratic behavior, he stayed right next door to our house, which enabled us to visit him anytime, so I had experienced being around a relative with mental conditions. I was surprised to learn that many of the respondents who had taken a mentally impaired parent into their home stated that they did not feel particularly close or even liked their parent while growing up or in subsequent adulthood. On the other hand, many family that their parents had had hard times during their lifetimes and wanted to make this part of their lives easier. Indeed, many family the parent had become part of the nuclear family and took them everywhere with them. I couldnt help but wonder, how ever, that the parents dementia might make things somewhat easier for these adult children regarding painful memories. One of the difficulties I encountered during this project was role change. I was the listener, the interpreter, and the one becoming vicariously part of their experiences. It was hard not to intrude and offer some input and advice when I family it was being solicited or challenge assumptions when needed. I was surprised and shocked about how deeply this affected me. Another challenge was the feelings I had to deal with after each interview. It was difficult sort out at first what my feelings were versus what I had ‘empathized during the interview and hadnt let go of. After many interviews I family tired, very tired and fatigued, sometimes depressed, sometimes overwhelmed and some times angry. On the other hand, some interviews energized me and where I had gone to the interview very tired after a busy day at work, I drove home feeling great until my real fatigue actually caught up with me. One helpful strategy was to have one of my committee members review some of my field notes. I learned from that feedback to pay attention to my feelings and use them to inform myself about how that particular respondent interacted with the world. Although there were many personal issues that came up during interviews which held personal meanings for me and from which I had to distance my own reactions from the respondents, there were also professional issues which got to me. When the ‘system, be it healthcare, political or whatever let these informants down, I took it personally. It made me very angry that in our very rich, very evolved society we do not offer supports and safety nets for those who are dealing with such difficult and challenging isse4s such as making care decisions for a mentally impaired parent. I am hoping my anger will drive me to work on legislative issues and to continue research in this area. CHAPTER IV RESULTS The five themes and nineteen categories (see Table 1) presented in this chapter emerged from sixty-seven codes rendered from the raw data. Raw data consisted of nineteen transcripts from interviews with twenty-two adult offspring who self-identified as primary decision-makers for mentally impaired parents. Findings collapsed into five main themes: Level of Contact ; Interpersonal Conflict; Personal Sharing; Providng Assistance; and Giving Gratitude. These themes suggest that, indeed, adult offspring in this project did go through a reiterative decision-making process when making care decisions for a mentally impaired parent. At various times during the course of numerous decision-making processes, adult offspring struggled to find that Level of Contact internally, as reality set in that parents were no longer able to make effective and safe care decisions. There was the need to Interpersonal Conflicty as they contemplate where they, as adult children, fit into this picture and what r esponsibilities they will accept while negotiating with other siblings. Other phases of the decision-making process involve: Personal Sharing as they stepped up to the plate and made and implemented decisions; inevitably having to alter course as circumstances and levels of energy changed (Providng Assistance); and Self Sufficiency where they reinforced their decisions by being thankful that their situation (or perception of their situation) was more tolerable than others in similar circumstances. Nineteen sub-themes or categories flowed from the five themes. Level of Contact consisted of Defining Condition, Safety Concerns, and Role-Reversion. Interpersonal Conflict involved a Conscious Choice, Strained Family Relationships, Sharing the Load and Sole Responsibility. A Thread of Memory on the part of the parent sustains adult offspring in the Personal Sharing stage of the decision-making process. In this stage, the adult offspring would be Guessing Needs of the parent, Getting Information, looking at Finances, and Expressing Goals. Caregiver Wear and Tear, Time Constraints, and Problems with Care triggered a Providng Assistance phase. Adult offspring would respond to these stressors by Dealing with It and Becoming Assertive with the parent. Finally adult offspring would use mental coping strategies to confirm their decisions and the accompanying hardships by Comparing with Others and turning to Spirituality (Self Sufficiency). Theme I. Level of Contact Category 1. Defining Condition All but three of the interviews contained a category of Defining Condition of the parent. Adult offspring went through a process where they had to let go of their past preconceptions of parents capabilities and put their own words to the startling fact that the parent needed help with care decision making. Sometimes this became much clearer after the parent was in the household a number of years. One respondent who had taken his mother in before the onset of dementia was able to describe her condition after several years of living with her. She used to get on the bus and run around and all that stuff. When she took that fall she developed this what I call this old persons syndrome. She became so deathly afraid of falling again that her movements became choppier and choppier and tighter and tighter and the tighter they got the more prone she was to kind of losing her balance a little bit and then she would get scared more. She has physically gone down hill a lot since then. Mentally, well mentally shes gone down a lot too. Dementia, as I understand, is about a ten-year disease and she is probably three to four years into it. She probably had some symptoms of dementia four years ago, but it has gotten significantly worse since then. I think it has been four years. Although this respondent was able to clearly acknowledge symptoms of dementia, he still had difficulty accurately defining which symptoms were pertinent to the dementia and to the type of dementia involved. I said well my mother doesnt have Alzheimers, my mother has dementia. She said oh it is the same thing. I said well no its not, it is a significantly different thing. Alzheimers is a variation of dementia, dementia is a much broader category. If my mother has Alzheimers it wouldnt be safe to leave her alone because Alzheimers, as I understand it, is a spatial disorientation to where they can feel they are not where they need to be and they need to go where they want to go. Now they may be right there, but they dont feel it and so they go. My mother doesnt have Alzheimers. She plants, she is right where she wants to be and she knows it. But she does have dementia, that mental sense of connection to what just happened. And the gal said well we treat them both the same. Well how can you do that, they are both two separate issues and for one you should do this and for the other you should do that. Its frustrating. This adult son as he was trying to define the condition to himself, limited his conception to physical components of Alzheimers however inaccurately. How he defined his mothers condition to himself influenced what decisions he made and implemented in the Personal Sharing stage. Indeed, he had recently undergone an investigation by the Department of Aging (from which he was cleared of all charges) for leaving his mother alone and for cleanliness issues. Another respondent described how she was able to put words to the deteriorating condition of her mother. This respondent was a registered nurse with her masters degree and chose to define the condition through objective tests and outside opinions. No, she was not. She was totally independent and totally well until about the age of 82. So, that is getting to be close to five years now, she is 86. Then she began to get lost driving and not to be able to do what you and I would do if we were lost to stop and find out where we were, draw a map and follow it home, she couldnt do it anymore. At that point I took her toI had a wonderful physician who was a geriatric specialist and she got us in touch with some psychological testing services and we went through a battery of those and came up with the fact that what she should for her level of functioning prior to that date, she was losing an awful lot of executive ability. You probably know better than I exactly what that encompassed. So that is the point at which somebody had said to me she truly has some dementia developing, it is not just normal forgetfulness, it is dementia. Then I began to intervene with things like finances and make sure that she got to doctors. You know, just gradually taking on more and more responsibility. Note how this daughter accurately describes and defines her mothers condition, relying on her own observations and objective tests, a method of assessment which she probably is familiar with through her professional nursing career. Once the diagnosis was established, she got on with Personal Sharing phase by examining finances and making and keeping doctors appointments. This was an only child, born of parents who were also only children of which only the mother was living. These circumstances necessitated that the daughter did not have the luxury of dealing with siblings and determining her place in all of these decisions for her mentally impaired mother. Another adult daughter defined her mothers condition by the things she was still able to observe and how she functioned. Yeah. She is so observant. On the way home from [the daycare facility] the other day she said you know I am just intrigued by the cloud formations. She said I look up and I see all these configurations in the cloud. Coming down 29 she said have you ever thought about the laying of asphalt on that road, that is such a steep hill. How did they lay all that asphalt without it trickling down hill? So I mean shes not out of it. And every Sunday morning I dont know what triggers it she wakes up at six oclock and says is it time to go to mass. The other mornings of the week she will say what day is today. But somehow Sunday she knows it is Sunday. She will say now what time is it. Be sure to fast long enough to go to communion. She is a big help to me with her hands. She folds all the laundry. She cleans up all the plates and Sunday afternoon she took the fern and gave it a haircut all afternoon, it took quite a while to do it. She cuts up the salad, she makes fruit salads, she will wash ve getables, she will wash beans, anything she can do with her hands. Focusing on the positive might impact on this respondents ability to acknowledge continuous regression and might negatively influence the Personal Sharing phase when the inevitable physical decline begins and nursing home care must be considered. I mean if the time comes when she can no longer go to the Center or she is so feeble I would then have to make the choices to whether I was going to have somebody come in during the day to care for her and then I would be the caregiver until I got home from school until the next morning or put her in assisted living. I doubt that she will ever need nursing care, although one never knows. I mean nursing home care. She would be more likely to go into an assisted living. And as to where I would take her I dont know. Two other respondents defined their mothers and mothers-in-law mental impairment by attributing it to being taken advantage of by a preacher. Respondent: I truly believe that the religious aspect of this deteriorating her rather than helped her. Ive had extensive kinds of confrontations on her about she and God. This man always prayed with her and just a week ago did she say I believe in God. I think this man was her avenue and had her believing she was an avenue to God. Wife: And shes been in church all of her life and taught Sunday school. Respondent: I think it was a brainwash. I think this lady right now could still be playing the piano and doing everything she wanted to do if she hadnt of gotten too involved with him. Interviewer: So you think some of her thinking difficulties have to do with being involved with the church. Respondent: I know so. Three years, two years or more before this happened she always raised money for the preacher. She was the league chairman. She was going to give him this appreciation and I told her I was not taking her back there for her to take a bunch of money a thousand dollars or so out of the bank to give to some preacher. She said if you dont take me Ill catch the bus. It took her fourteen hours to go to West Virginia. It almost killed her. They continued talking about their journey to define in their own words what was happening to their parent despite what others were telling them. Wife: Then the people told us that she had gotten to the point where she was not bathing, had weird stuff on her hands, dirty, nasty stinking and he was steadily draining her and the neighbors and the church people had been telling us this and of course we didnt believe it not as strong a woman as momma was. But, they said she was even begging in the church for money for him and she would call us here and people kept sending bank statements to them that checks were bouncing. And he found out because he asked about a savings account and she said what savings account and we know that his father left her plenty of money. She doesnt have a dime except for money that she gets Respondent: And we have a beautiful house like this in West Virginia and we have borrowed on it. We go there and live four weeks out of the year. Two months out of the year we are there, we just came back. But, yeah I really think that this man really deteriorated her mind. Any time something would go wrong for himI hadnt paid attention to it. She would tell Wife that she called the preacher and he prayed with her and things were okay. I think that can happen to an old person and its called brainwash. Brainwash is a strange thing. The respondents kept coming back to the fact that their mother was taken advantage of by a preacher but incorrectly attribute this as a cause of her mental impairment rather than a consequence of it. On the other hand, they were able to seek out a doctors opinion and had some understanding of dementia. And I started questioning him about her and he said why dont I just get the chart and discuss it with you. I said because I am going to be taking her away from here and she can not get over here to see you properly. She has to pay somebody for everything that they do. So, he started out with dementia and I said what is dementia. I said is that Alzheimers what is it. He said a form of it. He said she will do well for a good while and I cant tell you how long, but he said she will start deteriorating and this will take over and it will appear to be almost like Alzheimers. He said she always has some deficiencies here in the spine at the base and that is going to be crippling and she would be wheelchair bound. He said other than that there was some enlargement of the heart which is normal for this age, 95 or 96. That is how we found out. There was always no problem everything is all right. Because we never went to see her business because she took care of everything. But when we found i t out that is when we made the decision. She had always said she would come and live in her room at the right time and the room was fixed, it was all ready Of course she has been unhappy many, many times in the beginning when we brought her here. She always wanted to send money back to the preachers wife, which she used to always buy her clothes all the time and making commitment always for that group. I guess people like who they like. I think they took advantage of her, I know so. This man was also an only child and it is evident that he moved into the Personal Sharing phase with the support of his wife while short-circuiting the Interpersonal Conflict stage due to his clear place in the family and no siblings with whom to negotiate. Category 2. Safety Concerns As adult children moved through the Level of Contact phase, they inevitably encountered issues about the safety of the parents behavior. They were often still unsure about whether these safety concerns were real since many times at the beginning of the course of the mental impairment, they were being told of these behaviors by others and not directly observing them for themselves. Thus presented quite a dilemma. The adult offspring were still struggling with defining the parents condition and not believing that the parent they knew could no longer be counted on to behave in an appropriate and safe manner. Looking back on being told of his mothers erratic behavior about finances and being drained of her life savings by a local preacher, one adult son remarked: Well it really was at a point that something I should have addressed ten years ago when I was told by distance relatives and friends and classmates there in the town that he was doing this. I just came to grips to where I just didnt believe it and you all told me and I didnt do anything about it. You all were right. I should have called this guy on the carpet way back. Hey man what are you doing. As I tell Wife Im not sure that would have been right either because then it is hearsay. This respondent was much more comfortable intervening in the situation once he had concrete evidence of the unsafe manner in which his mother was handling her finances and ability to live on her income. What happens is I have fact. I have the canceled checks. I know things that hes done. I have people that have seen him take her to the stores where she can cash checks and wait on the money, all of that. Safety Concerns whether they were about finances, getting lost in familiar surroundings, leaving appliances on such as stoves, falling or being unable to perform routine activities of daily living particularly eating regularly were effective at helping the adult offspring to move through the Level of Contact phase only when they were real to the adult son or daughter. The implications of seeing a formerly competent parent falter at taking care of themselves in an appropriate and safe manner seemed to be almost impossible until unsafe behaviors were personally observed. One adult daughter put it this way: Um, so it went on like that and then, what really brought it to a head was one morning I knew she needed milk. She could get her cereal but for some reason that was the thin that she really wanted so thats what she did, um, and I thought, well Ill drop the milk by and shell have milk for her cereal and then Ill come by at lunchtime and see, you know, see whats going on. So ordinarily, my mother slept very well and slept a little bit later in the morning, so I thought, well, you know, I let myself in and put the milk in the refrigerator and then thought, well, Ill just take a little peek, maybe shes awake, and I went around the corner and my mother, yeah she was awake but she was also on the floor surrounded by her covers, didnt know how shed gotten there, didnt know who she was, didnt know who I was at first, but she was so upset and you know, didnt have any idea how long shed been there, so I got her back up on the bed. She didnt hurt anything, cause the bed was low and she just sor t of slipped off of it. I think she used to take a medication. Sometimes it would make her a little sleepy, you know and she used to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I think that maybe when she went back she may have missed the bed for some reason. I dont know how she did it, but she was OK, so I called my husband, I called my job and I called the doctorfrom then on it just seemed that things just went very quickly Another adult daughter talked about the time she realized that it was no longer safe for her mother to live alone. What happened one day, my mother stayed with them, they had a house and what happened was my mom she went to the dentist and they gave her some anesthesia and I think it just made her more confused and she was lost, we couldnt find her. She had left the house about ten oclock that morning and everybody was wondering where is mother, where is mother and we couldnt find her. So I think around like ten oclock or something like that we called the police and eventually we found her. She was over in the old neighborhood where she used to live prior to staying with them. So, I just took her at my house and I kept her like six months because I Experiences of Adult Offspring Making Care Decisions Experiences of Adult Offspring Making Care Decisions In normal aging, decline in mental skills is modest with no consequential decrease in ability to care for oneself. Normally, older adults are able to maintain activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, transferring, and toileting, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), which include shopping, cooking, housekeeping, laundry, and handling money (Schaie, 1989). Nevertheless, one in 10 persons over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have Alzheimers disease, a form of dementia (The Alzheimers Association, 1999) and, thus, have problems with IADLs, ADLs or both, and need assistance with care decisions. Often these decisions are left to adult offspring who are ill prepared to cope with role changes and parent-caring responsibilities (Archbold, 1980; Brody, Johnsen, Fulcomer Lang, 1983; Brody, Kleban, Johnsen, Hoffman Schoonover, 1987; Cantor 1883; Stoller, 1982). What is the experience of these adult children as they negotiate their way through the their own internal voices, their family of origin and the healthcare system? Have we been asking the right questions when we assume that all is reduced to family obligation and responsibility? This project was designed to elicit and understand the experience of those adult offspring who are making care decisions for a mentally impaired parent. Chapter I includes background and significance of the project, the philosophical framework in which the project question is poised, the project question, and definition of terms. Background and Significance of the Project Although almost half (47%) of persons 85 and older will have mental impairment (Schaie, 1989), many elderly do not make plans for dealing with possible changes in mental status. As elderly â€Å"age in place†, it is frequently left to family members to decide about care and living arrangements. For most family members these care decisions about the care of elderly parent are difficult at best (Pfeiffer, 1995), and the number of people involved in making these decisions will increase as life expectancy increases and the population of the United States continues to age. Life expectancy is the average number of years people born in a given year are expected to live based on a set of age-specific death rates. At the beginning of the 20th century, life expectancy at birth was 47.3 years. Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, the average life expectancy has increased dramatically at birth to nearly 77 years. In addition, life expectancy for every age group has also increased during the past century. â€Å"Based on todays age-specific death rates, individuals aged 65 years can be expected to live an average of 18 more years, for a total of 83 years. Those aged 75 years can be expected to live an average of 11 more years, for a total of 86 years† (http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/Document/HTML/Volume1/goal.htm, August 14, 2000). Persons older than 65 now comprise 12.7% of the population of the United States (Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1999, http://www.census.gov/statab/www/states/md.txt, August 14, 2000). By the year 2020, 20% of the population will be older than 65 years (US Bureau of the Census, 1996). The largest percentage of growth is in elders 85 and over, a group at high risk for mental disorders such as Alzheimers disease. Almost 19 million Americans report they have a family member with Alzheimers, and 37 million know someone with the disease (The Alzheimers Association, 1999). Since 7 out of 10 people with Alzheimers live at home, lost productivity of caregivers is estimated to cost American businesses $26 billion a year plus $7 billion annually related to costs for health and long-term care (The Alzheimers Association, 1999). Other estimates put the cost of informal caregiving at $18 billion. In a project of 7, 443 of elders seventy and over taken from a national representative sur vey, the cost of informal care for mild dementia at $3,630 per person with double the cost for moderate dementia relatives and almost five times the cost for severe dementia (Langa, Chernew, Kabeto, Herzog, Ofstedal, Willis, Wallace, Much, Straus Fendrick, 2001). It is not surprising that the public is starting to ask for help with this complex issue. Previous research sought to identify predictors of placement decisions by family caregivers with dementia (Colerick George, 1986) when care options were few and rational mental models of decision making were thought to be superior to the human mind. At the turn of the 21st century, however, the healthcare environment offers multiple models of care for mentally impaired patients (Abraham, Onega, Chalifoux Maies, 1994). Decision making needs to be informed by the context of continuity of care, which now ranges from home and home-like environments to part time respite or adult day care to long term care services in nursing homes. Indeed, â€Å"patients and families are often surprised if not shocked about the actual services they may receive from various community-based or institutionalized services† (Abraham, Onega, Chalifoux Maies, 1994, p.165). In addition to the increasing complexity of choices, rational mental models of decision-making are in question and giving way to a more naturalistic project of how real world decisions are being made (Sloan, 1996). Rational standards, in which it is assumed people merely choose among options, do not take into consideration most contextual factors that impact on decision-making in real-world situations (Beach Lipshitz, 1993; Cohen, 1993). There is a stark contrast between the assumptions of rational decision-making and naturalistic decision-making. In the naturalistic decision making paradigm, problems are seen as ill structured rather than artificial and well structured. Solutions to these problems are made in uncertain, dynamic environments rather than static, simulated situations. Goals are shifting, ill defined or competing rather than clear and stable. There are action/feedback loops to decision-making process not one-shot decisions. Time stress is a factor and stakes are high i nstead of the presumed luxury of leisurely deliberation and absence of true consequences for the decision-maker (Orasanu Connolly, 1993; Zsambok, 1997). Research on the experience of making care decisions for mentally impaired parents needs to take into account the way decisions are made in the real world and the numerous opportunities for care assistance that are available today. The majority of middle aged, and even young-old Americans, will be faced with making decisions about care for a mentally impaired parent at a time in life when they are dealing with their own transitional issues, as well as those of the generations before and after them. Given the resulting emotional and financial cost, it would be wise to develop health policy about mentally impaired elder citizens and their offspring based on an understanding of the experience of making decisions about the care of a mentally impaired parent. Understanding what these care decisions mean to the increasing number of persons who must make care decisions for mentally impaired parents would lay the foundation for addressing issues in getting adequate assistance for these famili es. It would also help to provide a framework for policy decisions about the fragmented care system for the mentally impaired elderly, and decrease the cost to society in lost productivity. Clearly, the experience of making these decisions needs to be reexamined. Since the definition of naturalistic decision-making is â€Å"the way people use their experience to make decisions in the field setting† (Zsambok, 1997), it is incumbent upon the researcher to go into the field. Qualitative methodologies, which involve fieldwork can help build knowledge of the enormously complex and profound issue of making care decisions for mentally impaired family members. CHAPTER III METHODS Methods Design of the project Personal Reflections Part of the process in analyzing data during a qualitative project is the use of field notes. I have to admit that the process of recording field notes after each visit was a tiresome one for me. I choose to incorporate my thoughts and feelings about the phenomenon at hand, the relationships with my respondents, and the data, in the form of tape recorded field notes immediately after each visit, which were later transcribed. I have never considered myself disciplined enough to be a consistent and in-depth journaler but do consider myself a very reflective person. I guess what happens to me is once I start to put down thoughts and feelings into a very personal form, I dont know when or if I can stop. I also wanted to keep some of my personal issues private and did not initially understand who might be reading these notes. In addition, the interviews were so intense and so moving that I thought I would never forget one word, one thought, one emotion, or one observation that I had experienced before, during and after the encounter with each respondent. Well I guess it easy to imagine that, indeed, I have forgotten some of my reactions. I have been impressed and surprised by how valuable reading my field notes were during this project. When I was growing up, I was exposed to several close relatives who either had dementia or a type of mental illness where they were experienced delusions. My own grandfather experienced delusions and hallucinations when I was about 11 and was hospitalized in a mental institution for some time. I do remember some of his erratic behavior, he stayed right next door to our house, which enabled us to visit him anytime, so I had experienced being around a relative with mental conditions. I was surprised to learn that many of the respondents who had taken a mentally impaired parent into their home stated that they did not feel particularly close or even liked their parent while growing up or in subsequent adulthood. On the other hand, many family that their parents had had hard times during their lifetimes and wanted to make this part of their lives easier. Indeed, many family the parent had become part of the nuclear family and took them everywhere with them. I couldnt help but wonder, how ever, that the parents dementia might make things somewhat easier for these adult children regarding painful memories. One of the difficulties I encountered during this project was role change. I was the listener, the interpreter, and the one becoming vicariously part of their experiences. It was hard not to intrude and offer some input and advice when I family it was being solicited or challenge assumptions when needed. I was surprised and shocked about how deeply this affected me. Another challenge was the feelings I had to deal with after each interview. It was difficult sort out at first what my feelings were versus what I had ‘empathized during the interview and hadnt let go of. After many interviews I family tired, very tired and fatigued, sometimes depressed, sometimes overwhelmed and some times angry. On the other hand, some interviews energized me and where I had gone to the interview very tired after a busy day at work, I drove home feeling great until my real fatigue actually caught up with me. One helpful strategy was to have one of my committee members review some of my field notes. I learned from that feedback to pay attention to my feelings and use them to inform myself about how that particular respondent interacted with the world. Although there were many personal issues that came up during interviews which held personal meanings for me and from which I had to distance my own reactions from the respondents, there were also professional issues which got to me. When the ‘system, be it healthcare, political or whatever let these informants down, I took it personally. It made me very angry that in our very rich, very evolved society we do not offer supports and safety nets for those who are dealing with such difficult and challenging isse4s such as making care decisions for a mentally impaired parent. I am hoping my anger will drive me to work on legislative issues and to continue research in this area. CHAPTER IV RESULTS The five themes and nineteen categories (see Table 1) presented in this chapter emerged from sixty-seven codes rendered from the raw data. Raw data consisted of nineteen transcripts from interviews with twenty-two adult offspring who self-identified as primary decision-makers for mentally impaired parents. Findings collapsed into five main themes: Level of Contact ; Interpersonal Conflict; Personal Sharing; Providng Assistance; and Giving Gratitude. These themes suggest that, indeed, adult offspring in this project did go through a reiterative decision-making process when making care decisions for a mentally impaired parent. At various times during the course of numerous decision-making processes, adult offspring struggled to find that Level of Contact internally, as reality set in that parents were no longer able to make effective and safe care decisions. There was the need to Interpersonal Conflicty as they contemplate where they, as adult children, fit into this picture and what r esponsibilities they will accept while negotiating with other siblings. Other phases of the decision-making process involve: Personal Sharing as they stepped up to the plate and made and implemented decisions; inevitably having to alter course as circumstances and levels of energy changed (Providng Assistance); and Self Sufficiency where they reinforced their decisions by being thankful that their situation (or perception of their situation) was more tolerable than others in similar circumstances. Nineteen sub-themes or categories flowed from the five themes. Level of Contact consisted of Defining Condition, Safety Concerns, and Role-Reversion. Interpersonal Conflict involved a Conscious Choice, Strained Family Relationships, Sharing the Load and Sole Responsibility. A Thread of Memory on the part of the parent sustains adult offspring in the Personal Sharing stage of the decision-making process. In this stage, the adult offspring would be Guessing Needs of the parent, Getting Information, looking at Finances, and Expressing Goals. Caregiver Wear and Tear, Time Constraints, and Problems with Care triggered a Providng Assistance phase. Adult offspring would respond to these stressors by Dealing with It and Becoming Assertive with the parent. Finally adult offspring would use mental coping strategies to confirm their decisions and the accompanying hardships by Comparing with Others and turning to Spirituality (Self Sufficiency). Theme I. Level of Contact Category 1. Defining Condition All but three of the interviews contained a category of Defining Condition of the parent. Adult offspring went through a process where they had to let go of their past preconceptions of parents capabilities and put their own words to the startling fact that the parent needed help with care decision making. Sometimes this became much clearer after the parent was in the household a number of years. One respondent who had taken his mother in before the onset of dementia was able to describe her condition after several years of living with her. She used to get on the bus and run around and all that stuff. When she took that fall she developed this what I call this old persons syndrome. She became so deathly afraid of falling again that her movements became choppier and choppier and tighter and tighter and the tighter they got the more prone she was to kind of losing her balance a little bit and then she would get scared more. She has physically gone down hill a lot since then. Mentally, well mentally shes gone down a lot too. Dementia, as I understand, is about a ten-year disease and she is probably three to four years into it. She probably had some symptoms of dementia four years ago, but it has gotten significantly worse since then. I think it has been four years. Although this respondent was able to clearly acknowledge symptoms of dementia, he still had difficulty accurately defining which symptoms were pertinent to the dementia and to the type of dementia involved. I said well my mother doesnt have Alzheimers, my mother has dementia. She said oh it is the same thing. I said well no its not, it is a significantly different thing. Alzheimers is a variation of dementia, dementia is a much broader category. If my mother has Alzheimers it wouldnt be safe to leave her alone because Alzheimers, as I understand it, is a spatial disorientation to where they can feel they are not where they need to be and they need to go where they want to go. Now they may be right there, but they dont feel it and so they go. My mother doesnt have Alzheimers. She plants, she is right where she wants to be and she knows it. But she does have dementia, that mental sense of connection to what just happened. And the gal said well we treat them both the same. Well how can you do that, they are both two separate issues and for one you should do this and for the other you should do that. Its frustrating. This adult son as he was trying to define the condition to himself, limited his conception to physical components of Alzheimers however inaccurately. How he defined his mothers condition to himself influenced what decisions he made and implemented in the Personal Sharing stage. Indeed, he had recently undergone an investigation by the Department of Aging (from which he was cleared of all charges) for leaving his mother alone and for cleanliness issues. Another respondent described how she was able to put words to the deteriorating condition of her mother. This respondent was a registered nurse with her masters degree and chose to define the condition through objective tests and outside opinions. No, she was not. She was totally independent and totally well until about the age of 82. So, that is getting to be close to five years now, she is 86. Then she began to get lost driving and not to be able to do what you and I would do if we were lost to stop and find out where we were, draw a map and follow it home, she couldnt do it anymore. At that point I took her toI had a wonderful physician who was a geriatric specialist and she got us in touch with some psychological testing services and we went through a battery of those and came up with the fact that what she should for her level of functioning prior to that date, she was losing an awful lot of executive ability. You probably know better than I exactly what that encompassed. So that is the point at which somebody had said to me she truly has some dementia developing, it is not just normal forgetfulness, it is dementia. Then I began to intervene with things like finances and make sure that she got to doctors. You know, just gradually taking on more and more responsibility. Note how this daughter accurately describes and defines her mothers condition, relying on her own observations and objective tests, a method of assessment which she probably is familiar with through her professional nursing career. Once the diagnosis was established, she got on with Personal Sharing phase by examining finances and making and keeping doctors appointments. This was an only child, born of parents who were also only children of which only the mother was living. These circumstances necessitated that the daughter did not have the luxury of dealing with siblings and determining her place in all of these decisions for her mentally impaired mother. Another adult daughter defined her mothers condition by the things she was still able to observe and how she functioned. Yeah. She is so observant. On the way home from [the daycare facility] the other day she said you know I am just intrigued by the cloud formations. She said I look up and I see all these configurations in the cloud. Coming down 29 she said have you ever thought about the laying of asphalt on that road, that is such a steep hill. How did they lay all that asphalt without it trickling down hill? So I mean shes not out of it. And every Sunday morning I dont know what triggers it she wakes up at six oclock and says is it time to go to mass. The other mornings of the week she will say what day is today. But somehow Sunday she knows it is Sunday. She will say now what time is it. Be sure to fast long enough to go to communion. She is a big help to me with her hands. She folds all the laundry. She cleans up all the plates and Sunday afternoon she took the fern and gave it a haircut all afternoon, it took quite a while to do it. She cuts up the salad, she makes fruit salads, she will wash ve getables, she will wash beans, anything she can do with her hands. Focusing on the positive might impact on this respondents ability to acknowledge continuous regression and might negatively influence the Personal Sharing phase when the inevitable physical decline begins and nursing home care must be considered. I mean if the time comes when she can no longer go to the Center or she is so feeble I would then have to make the choices to whether I was going to have somebody come in during the day to care for her and then I would be the caregiver until I got home from school until the next morning or put her in assisted living. I doubt that she will ever need nursing care, although one never knows. I mean nursing home care. She would be more likely to go into an assisted living. And as to where I would take her I dont know. Two other respondents defined their mothers and mothers-in-law mental impairment by attributing it to being taken advantage of by a preacher. Respondent: I truly believe that the religious aspect of this deteriorating her rather than helped her. Ive had extensive kinds of confrontations on her about she and God. This man always prayed with her and just a week ago did she say I believe in God. I think this man was her avenue and had her believing she was an avenue to God. Wife: And shes been in church all of her life and taught Sunday school. Respondent: I think it was a brainwash. I think this lady right now could still be playing the piano and doing everything she wanted to do if she hadnt of gotten too involved with him. Interviewer: So you think some of her thinking difficulties have to do with being involved with the church. Respondent: I know so. Three years, two years or more before this happened she always raised money for the preacher. She was the league chairman. She was going to give him this appreciation and I told her I was not taking her back there for her to take a bunch of money a thousand dollars or so out of the bank to give to some preacher. She said if you dont take me Ill catch the bus. It took her fourteen hours to go to West Virginia. It almost killed her. They continued talking about their journey to define in their own words what was happening to their parent despite what others were telling them. Wife: Then the people told us that she had gotten to the point where she was not bathing, had weird stuff on her hands, dirty, nasty stinking and he was steadily draining her and the neighbors and the church people had been telling us this and of course we didnt believe it not as strong a woman as momma was. But, they said she was even begging in the church for money for him and she would call us here and people kept sending bank statements to them that checks were bouncing. And he found out because he asked about a savings account and she said what savings account and we know that his father left her plenty of money. She doesnt have a dime except for money that she gets Respondent: And we have a beautiful house like this in West Virginia and we have borrowed on it. We go there and live four weeks out of the year. Two months out of the year we are there, we just came back. But, yeah I really think that this man really deteriorated her mind. Any time something would go wrong for himI hadnt paid attention to it. She would tell Wife that she called the preacher and he prayed with her and things were okay. I think that can happen to an old person and its called brainwash. Brainwash is a strange thing. The respondents kept coming back to the fact that their mother was taken advantage of by a preacher but incorrectly attribute this as a cause of her mental impairment rather than a consequence of it. On the other hand, they were able to seek out a doctors opinion and had some understanding of dementia. And I started questioning him about her and he said why dont I just get the chart and discuss it with you. I said because I am going to be taking her away from here and she can not get over here to see you properly. She has to pay somebody for everything that they do. So, he started out with dementia and I said what is dementia. I said is that Alzheimers what is it. He said a form of it. He said she will do well for a good while and I cant tell you how long, but he said she will start deteriorating and this will take over and it will appear to be almost like Alzheimers. He said she always has some deficiencies here in the spine at the base and that is going to be crippling and she would be wheelchair bound. He said other than that there was some enlargement of the heart which is normal for this age, 95 or 96. That is how we found out. There was always no problem everything is all right. Because we never went to see her business because she took care of everything. But when we found i t out that is when we made the decision. She had always said she would come and live in her room at the right time and the room was fixed, it was all ready Of course she has been unhappy many, many times in the beginning when we brought her here. She always wanted to send money back to the preachers wife, which she used to always buy her clothes all the time and making commitment always for that group. I guess people like who they like. I think they took advantage of her, I know so. This man was also an only child and it is evident that he moved into the Personal Sharing phase with the support of his wife while short-circuiting the Interpersonal Conflict stage due to his clear place in the family and no siblings with whom to negotiate. Category 2. Safety Concerns As adult children moved through the Level of Contact phase, they inevitably encountered issues about the safety of the parents behavior. They were often still unsure about whether these safety concerns were real since many times at the beginning of the course of the mental impairment, they were being told of these behaviors by others and not directly observing them for themselves. Thus presented quite a dilemma. The adult offspring were still struggling with defining the parents condition and not believing that the parent they knew could no longer be counted on to behave in an appropriate and safe manner. Looking back on being told of his mothers erratic behavior about finances and being drained of her life savings by a local preacher, one adult son remarked: Well it really was at a point that something I should have addressed ten years ago when I was told by distance relatives and friends and classmates there in the town that he was doing this. I just came to grips to where I just didnt believe it and you all told me and I didnt do anything about it. You all were right. I should have called this guy on the carpet way back. Hey man what are you doing. As I tell Wife Im not sure that would have been right either because then it is hearsay. This respondent was much more comfortable intervening in the situation once he had concrete evidence of the unsafe manner in which his mother was handling her finances and ability to live on her income. What happens is I have fact. I have the canceled checks. I know things that hes done. I have people that have seen him take her to the stores where she can cash checks and wait on the money, all of that. Safety Concerns whether they were about finances, getting lost in familiar surroundings, leaving appliances on such as stoves, falling or being unable to perform routine activities of daily living particularly eating regularly were effective at helping the adult offspring to move through the Level of Contact phase only when they were real to the adult son or daughter. The implications of seeing a formerly competent parent falter at taking care of themselves in an appropriate and safe manner seemed to be almost impossible until unsafe behaviors were personally observed. One adult daughter put it this way: Um, so it went on like that and then, what really brought it to a head was one morning I knew she needed milk. She could get her cereal but for some reason that was the thin that she really wanted so thats what she did, um, and I thought, well Ill drop the milk by and shell have milk for her cereal and then Ill come by at lunchtime and see, you know, see whats going on. So ordinarily, my mother slept very well and slept a little bit later in the morning, so I thought, well, you know, I let myself in and put the milk in the refrigerator and then thought, well, Ill just take a little peek, maybe shes awake, and I went around the corner and my mother, yeah she was awake but she was also on the floor surrounded by her covers, didnt know how shed gotten there, didnt know who she was, didnt know who I was at first, but she was so upset and you know, didnt have any idea how long shed been there, so I got her back up on the bed. She didnt hurt anything, cause the bed was low and she just sor t of slipped off of it. I think she used to take a medication. Sometimes it would make her a little sleepy, you know and she used to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I think that maybe when she went back she may have missed the bed for some reason. I dont know how she did it, but she was OK, so I called my husband, I called my job and I called the doctorfrom then on it just seemed that things just went very quickly Another adult daughter talked about the time she realized that it was no longer safe for her mother to live alone. What happened one day, my mother stayed with them, they had a house and what happened was my mom she went to the dentist and they gave her some anesthesia and I think it just made her more confused and she was lost, we couldnt find her. She had left the house about ten oclock that morning and everybody was wondering where is mother, where is mother and we couldnt find her. So I think around like ten oclock or something like that we called the police and eventually we found her. She was over in the old neighborhood where she used to live prior to staying with them. So, I just took her at my house and I kept her like six months because I