Investigation on Hertfordshire Water Supply Contamination Essay

Investigation on Hertfordshire Water Supply Contamination - Essay Example In order to maintain the admissible levels of contaminants and to supply water that is safe for the common people, there are drinking water standards that different water supply systems are required to follow (Zaslow & Herman, 1996). Such an issue of water contamination is also reflected by the case of Hertfordshire water supply, the Chalk Aquifer where a public water supply system got affected by bromated contamination that posed problems with leakage in the site in the year 2000. The accepted standard for bromated in water is 10Â µg/l (Quevauiller & Thompson, 2006, p.40), while in the concerned case, the concentration has been known to reach a level of around 150Â µg/l (Fitzpatrick et al, n.d.). Bromate contamination is of serious concern it is a carcinogenic in nature and pollutes the water drastically (Hill, 2010, p.292). Thus the bromate contamination in the case of Hertfordshire water supply and the leakage in the site of Sandridge near St Albans calls for significant investi gation and study to understand the causes, the situation as well as to find out relevant recommendations for the recovery of the condition, which is the primary concern of the current research and study. The Investigation and Assessment of the Contaminated Site: The investigation and assessment of the contaminated site in the case of Hertfordshire water supply would include the following major steps: (a) identifying the process that has been used in the plant, (b) identifying and assessing how the spillage of bromate occurred, (c) using the different parameters - process indicators, the notification of occurrence of unwanted events, and indicators related to public health – to understand how the plant might have been negligent in some respects that led to the incident, (d) assessing the monitoring measures applied in the plant, and (e) identifying how the plant might have responded to the occurrence of the incident. (a) Process used in the Hertfordshire Water Supply: Studies reflect that the Chalk Aquifer presents a huge source of drinking water (Dassargues, 2000, p.195) for a major part of Greater London. The water is primarily supplied from the rainfall in the region of Hertfordshire (Ellis & Bertrand-Krajewski, 2009, p.112). If an overview of Hertfordshire’s present situation related to the water supply and treatment can be presented, it would reflect the status as in the following figure (Figure 1). Status Current Status Future Expectation Water Framework Directive Moderate Good status has been obtained by around 24 percent of the water bodies. The Hertfordshire rivers determine the low or high quality of the water bodies It is expected that the water bodies in the region have plans to satisfy the ecological needs of the environment by 2027. Quality of Water Moderate The river lengths that have been achieving high grades have shown increase since 1990. The water bodies have been focused on the appropriate treatment of the sewages. Serious rec ords of pollution have not been obtained since 2009. Diffuse pollution risks are still high. Plans to reduce the risks of diffuse pollution. Absolutely no records of serious pollution and reduction of any pollution incidents. Continue with the sewage treatment measures. Figure 1: Overview of Hertfordshire’s water supply and treatment (Allum & Dixon, 2010, pp.3-4). This study reflects a serious factor that the water supply system in the Hertfordshire is concerned about the pollution and the contamination and thus the processes followed are focused on the reduction of such incidents. This also hints that when the bromate contamination

Business Strategy and Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Strategy and Organization - Essay Example The strategic coalition with industry's professional's commitment to delivering the right manufacturing product to targeted consumer with cost effective approaches (Klijn 2007). Therefore, the current market industry efforts are in the strategic management performance with regards to a focused platform of customer satisfaction. The approach is a review of the competitive advantages of the overall site process methods. The measures make it clear that what are the best practices to use in today's social networking industry from the original concept of stages of quality strategic management system. The approach will outline the fundamental concept of acknowledging the applied quality strategic management which would aim at the consumers. The defining of the competitor edge provides the platform to reassure that the gained research data on networking is implemented successfully. The current market industry analysis for competitive organizations is to acquire an IT structure that delivers results in a business application industry through phases. The advantages are in the platform of using a synergy with the SaaS innovation, in order to form creative IT technology. This approach provides for a method to increasing sales in the targeted market. The IT technology offered by the industry is to present the product/service to a winning strategy for a long lasting effort to reach the market industry standards goals. The current industry role in modeling the three main phases of outputting the business applications for consumers are inputs, performances, and outcomes: Inputs Performances Outcomes Entry of user and passwords Quantity of work Confirmation of authorization Time assess to transfer Quality of work Concluded access Security Safety rules/regulation Variety of Benefits High level Platform Game Levels Extended areas of focus data Key areas sorted Demonstrated ability Data relayed New level fields Manageability Signed off conclusion of data Joined links Faster deliver Visual data displayed Figure A. According to Lynch's (2009) article, the Dell Corporation focused on low cost leadership in the computer industry that relied on operations and manufacturing skills. This approach provides the fundamental concept of current market industry trends to be succeeding in business on different platforms. The industry target market that represents businesses sizes of 500k-1million with a customer base of 3,500 to 8,000 can proactively hone on the beneficial aspects to delivering applications that address market concerns (Informationweek.com 2009). The industry competitive review of the concepts presented the streamline of criterion that allows a steady formation to synergize the core attributes of the product and service. The strategic fundamental aspect of establishing a strong IT strategic management scope within the organization is to achieve the desired goals and results. The IT strategic management scope can accomplish tasks outside of the normal activities within the confinement of the organization to acquire the outcome. The SaaS objective in the current market is too solely initiative IT management protocols for a successful implementation of a proposed plan initiative. The business identified industry competit

NRS409 - Psychosocial Interventions in Mental Coursework

NRS409 - Psychosocial Interventions in Mental - Coursework Example Such mood alterations are considered normal to life until they do not interfere or disrupt a person’s life or work. However, when they do then the person gets afflicted with prolonged agitation, sadness or sometimes even elation along with guilt, self doubt, and anger which affect life activities, particularly the ones that are related to occupation, self esteem and relationships which further transforms in to clinical depression. True clinical depressions are also referred as mood disorders. An episode of major depression can be held for at least 2 weeks during which the patient loses pleasure, feels distressed in almost all sorts of activities. Moreover, some of the following symptoms are also found: Dysthmia is recognized when at least 2 years of depressed mood is observed with some additional signs that are less severe than the major depression and also do not qualify for the criteria of major depression episode. Since, the consumer has been identified to carry symptoms of major depression, thus, the paper will discuss various therapeutic interventions available for depression that have been or will be exercised on the consumer in the case study. Such interventions may be in the form of pharmacologic and medical interventions. However, the case study will be critically analyzed as its scope of practical usage, limitations and strengths. The paper will also discuss the significance of screening depression under the process of collaborative care. The client, whose identity and personal information will remain undisclosed due to reasons of confidentiality is a 25-year-old software engineer, male, and belong to a family of four that includes his parents and a sister. The patient was admitted last to the hospital about 3 months ago due to acute suicidal ideation, following which, the patient was treated in the hospital with antipsychotic medications, and was discharged to home when the acute

Emotional Bank Accounts Essay Example for Free

Emotional Bank Accounts Essay We all do things that are counter-productive to our relationships. We all like to have people be nice to us. The concept of an emotional bank account is powerful, yet not quite as simple as keeping a ledger of debits and credits. One of the problems is the perception of worth. What is a â€Å"deposit† worth. We may think it is quite valuable. The affected person may consider it so routine it is not even remembered. The trick in making deposits is to know what value the act has for the person holding the account. Herzberg was a psychologist who studied motivational factors in American industry. He came up with the conclusion, since quoted out of context, that money is not a good motivator of people. He called things like money, a safe work place, security and such fundamentals â€Å"hygiene† factors. That is, the employee needed them to be there and assumed they would be there. They were not, however, efficient in motivating job improvement. Herzberg found that various methods of showing personal appreciation were far more important. A company golf team, a compliment, a letter of commendation, a corner office, painting an employee’s name painted on a parking place and such activities were more efficient in motivation. Do you agree? Many students do not. To many people, money is a prime motivator. How then did Herzberg come up with his findings? Is he wrong? No, we have to understand another theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow was also a psychologist who studied motivation and found that people had needs that varied with their circumstances. If you are living in the weeds, any job that provides 3 hots and a cot is your dream. You think you would never want anything else. But when you get that job, those needs are satisfied and you quickly want more. Maslow said the second stage was to want security. You want those physiological needs to be there in the future, not just today. And, if you get that security, you then go to stage three where you want a feeling of belonging to a group that reflects your values and goals. If you get this feeling of belonging, you then go to a stage where you want to be singled out and honored. The last stage is one where you  have all those needs met, so you want to contribute in some special way to something greater than yourself. Herzberg did his studies in a shop where people had stage one and two pretty much assured. Those physiological elements did not motivate because they were already met. Those people were at the stage where they either wanted to belong to a group or be singled out for honors. The ability to read another person and determine what is important to them is critical. This gets back to our emotional bank account deposit value. Similarly, actions may have different withdrawal value to different people. To someone who is feeling very insecure because of seeing everyone around them being dismissed in a general layoff, a curt word may have them dusting off their resume and reacting very defensively. It may not have been intended in that way but its effect is the important thing. Our success in keeping a good emotional bank account with other people then depends upon our sensitivity to the values that other people hold, not our own. This sensitivity is difficult for most of us as we often have â€Å"tasks† to do and keeping track of the effect of our actions and words may not be high on our list of things to do at the moment. Yet, in the long term, nothing is more important. I once heard someone say of a particular organization, â€Å"this place is not about competence, this place is about relationships†. I think that is true of just about any organization.

A Study On Disability Social Problem Social Policy Essay

A Study On Disability Social Problem Social Policy Essay Disability excites interest because disability is seen as a social problem i.e. it is seen either in terms of personal tragedy or of blame. Social problems generate public concern and private misery and call for collective action to remedy this (Worsley, 1972). Disability has been theorised in a number of different ways, most of which locate the problem in the individual rather than the broader social, political, and economic influences. This has implications for the location of the blame for social problems, such that they become depoliticised. The rise in the idea of the politics of minority groups is well documented and implies that in the case of people with disabilities who are unable to work the Government should provide a whole range of services. Because most Governments are unwilling to commit themselves this far, disability is again defined as a social problem, and often the burden of care lies with the family (Moore, 2002). This paper will give an account of definitions of disability and the ways in which they impact on disabled people. There will be an exploration of the concept and history of the family and its contemporary diverse forms, and an examination of the ways in which the ideology of the family has problematised the concept of care. The paper will then assess how the family has been implicated in both solving and defining the problem of disability and to what extent the social problem that is disability is a matter of private concern for families. Models of Disability The medical model of health is the most powerful in western society, doctors introduced a curative model of health that concentrated on the body where the hospital became the space for such models were put into practice (Walsh et al, 2000). This model situates ill health in the individual and ignores the social circumstances that may give rise to ill health, furthermore it has impacted on government healthcare policy throughout the twentieth century. The situation is exacerbated by the medicalisation of many conditions making them into a problem that can only be addressed by experts, as Brisenden(1986) comments: The problem is that medical people tend to see all difficulties solely from the perspective of proposed treatments for a patient, without recognising that the individual has to weigh up whether this treatment fits into the overall economy of their life. In the past especially, doctors have been too willing to suggest medical treatment and hospitalisation, even when this would not necessarily improve the quality of life for the person concerned. Indeed, questions about the quality of life have sometimes been portrayed as something of an intrusion upon the purely medical equation. (Brisenden, 1986:176). The medical model leads to the treatment of people with disabilities as passive objects of medical attention. This is oppressive of disabled people and spreads to other social relationships, it sees disability as pathological i.e. rooted in a persons biology, and thus unchanging. Contained within this model is the perception of people with disabilities as problematic. Disability has also been theorized as a personal tragedy, resulting in individuals with a disability being seen as victims. This results in policy making whereby people with disabilities need compensating for their disability. This model also affects social relationships. The view of disability as personal tragedy individualises disability so that it becomes depoliticised and the disabled person must make his or her adjustments to that disability as best they can (Dalley, 1990). In locating disability within the individual society denies any responsibility to cater for the diversity of their needs (Oliver, 1990). The third way in which disability has been theorized is in the social model of disability. This model is becoming increasingly dominant in research on disability. Vassey (1992) has described it thus: redefining disability in terms of a disabling environment, repositioning disabled people as citizens with rights, and reconfiguring the responsibilities for creating, sustaining and overcoming disablism (Vassey, 1992:44).. Here the person is disabled because of the refusal of society to provide for example suitable access for the wheelchair user. This model stresses that a disabling society leads to the exclusion of people with disabilities. Oliver (1996) contends that this notion has been politically empowering for disabled people, and has allowed a previously contested notion to develop an agenda that has influenced policy making. Some people see disability as entirely a result of social structures and processes while others feel that society compounds the difficulties that disabled people encounter. Disability is not a universal category, people have different types and degrees of impairment, some can function well with technical aids while still others are, to a greater or lesser degree, dependent on the care of other people (Dalley, 1988). The Concept and History of the Family Parsons (1955) argued that the family is the primary place of socialization and serves to introduce and instill the norms and values of society. Parsons model was what is commonly known as the nuclear family, i.e. parents and children living together to provide the mutual love and support that individuals need to be productive members of society (Giddens, 2001). Murdock (1949 cited in Giddens, 2001) maintains that traditional concepts of the family are a universal phenomenon. Others criticise the nuclear model for being too narrow and for neglecting the fact that not all family members experience life in the same way (Abbott and Wallace, 1997). Whether the nuclear family is regarded as universal depends largely on how the family is defined, certainly it is no longer the norm in contemporary society. Gittins (1993) maintains that there are a wide variety of domestic relationships. Thus relationships may be universal but the forms they take can be infinitely variable. There are many single parent families, whether through death, divorce or choice, there are also second marriages that often result in reconstituted families. The nuclear model relates specifically to nineteenth and early twentieth century ideological views of the family (Giddens, 2001). The Family and Ideology Until the late seventeenth century there was little or no distinction between the public and the private sphere, families generally worked the land and they did this together. The rise of industrialization and the growth of the towns brought massive changes to what had constituted family life up until that time. Feminists argue that for centuries women have been the subordinate sex in society and this subordination is largely a result of the fact that they have been born women rather than men. This subordination increased with industrialisation and the separation between public and private spheres (Oakley 1982). The coming of the factory meant that the family was replaced as the unit of production. The growing dependence of children, Oakley (1982) states, led to womens increased dependence on men and their restriction to the private sphere. Throughout the nineteenth century there was a growing idealisation of the feminine. Women were regarded as both physically and emotionally weaker than men and unfit for the same roles. Victorian ideology said that women were created to help men and should thus remain at home. This primarily affected the middle classes but as the century progressed the working class were also influenced by this ideology, locking women into the housewife role (Oakley, 1982). Murdock (1949 in Giddens, 2001) argued that gender roles are the natural result of the biological differences between men and women. Mens superior strength and womens childbearing capabilities make the sexual division of labour the most sensible way of organising society. Delphy (1977) maintains that this results in sexual inequality. Gender differences are not innate but socially constructed to serve the interests of the socially dominant group. Delphy contends that women are a separate class because the categories of man and woman are political and economic, rather than eternal biological categories. Within the family particularly, women form a class who are exploited by men, as Delphy states: While the wage-labourer sells his labour power, the marrie woman gives hers away; exclusivity and non-payment are intimately connected. To supply unpaid labour within the framework of a universal and personal relationship (marriage) constructs primarily a relationship of slavery (Delpy, 1977:15). This relationship has been exploited by successive Governments and is implicit in many social policy initiatives. The Family and the Welfare State The post-war welfare state which promised universal welfare provision, was set up on the assumption of full employment and the notion that men would go out to work while women stayed home (Abbott and Wallace, 1997).. Moore (2002) maintains that this is an ideological view of the family and how it might function. In the late 1970s the Tories actively discouraged alternatives to the traditional family e.g. cohabitation and gay partnerships (Abbott and Wallace, 1997). Since the Thatcher Government public and policy debates on family life, parenting and health have centered around the idea of responsibility (Such and Walker 2004) Moore (2002) maintains that in the thinking of the seventies and also in Labours Third Way, family members have a duty to help each other as it is not the job of the state to look after them. The state takes over when no-one else is around to share the burden. The fact that the State has had to intervene, it is argued, is one of the reasons why the traditional family is on the decline. In a good society members should help each other without regard to personal benefit. The State should be there to provide a safety net when there is no other help available. New Labour advocate a mixed economy of welfare where welfare is provided in part by the state and partly by private companies operating for profit. The shift from public to private has received much publicity and contributed to social problems and to social exclusion. Previously highly subsidized, or universal, services have either become part of the private sector, or have been subject to means testing, some welfare provision has been handed over to voluntary organizations. This has increased the likelihood that welfare and caring are now a private rather than a public responsibility (Giddens, 2001). This tends to stigmatise further those who are forced to rely on benefits, e.g. the disabled and their carers, usually women. The State and Womens Caring Role Marxist feminists e.g. Walby (1990) argue that the gender ideology that has filtered down to the working classes has affected their solidarity as a class and this makes them more easily controllable by the Capitalist system. While Marxism gives an explanation of exploitation by the capitalist system it does not explain the inequalities between women and men. Delphy (1977) maintains that gender and sexual inequality should be the fundamental categories of feminist analysis. Marxism alone does not explain for example why women are seen as responsible for household tasks. Capitalism could still profit if men stayed at home. The Community Care Act of 1990 has imposed further responsibilities on women in the role of informal carers. Dalley (1988) argues that much Governments policy making has been based on ideologies of caring with the assumptions behind the idea of community care being based on outmoded notions of the family. In practice this notion of caring disadvantages women carers and also many disabled or older dependent relatives. Within such an ideology, the caring that women do in the home is considered to be a natural part of womens role within the family. Thus, her caring role become invisible and shouldering the burden increases the likelihood that women will themselves be in need of care (Graham, 1993). This is borne out by the increasing number of women who suffer from disabilities and mental health problems. Womens caring role is further undermined by the idea that any health care that matters is given by professionals. When this is accompanied by Government discourses of self-help, self-reliance and the responsibility of the family this adds to the social stigma that disabled people face. It focuses on the disability, not the person themselves, inevitably this places an added strain on families. The prevalence of the medical model of health and the ways in which families are kept under-informed regarding the disability of a family member, particularly a child, affects family relationships. Gregory (1991) maintains that when a person is diagnosed as diabled this affects the ways in which society and the family respond to and deal with that person. Families themselves can tend to see the disabled family member as sick and different. Gregory (1991) found that having a disabled family member also affected the way in which mothers viewed themselves because ideological images of motherhood focus on having an able child. Thus a woman may feel that she is somehow not a mother because of the ways in which society defines motherhood. Press reports on disabled children and their families usually present them in terms of sacrifice and heroism (Gregory, 1991). This can affect family members response to the disabled person, their forced reliance on the medical model, and the view of disability as a tragedy becomes universalized. This misses the individuals personal needs and circumstances. It seems that increasingly the social problem of disability is becoming a matter of private concern for the family. The NHS appears to take this view. While doctors may diagnose a physical or learning disability families are often left to cope without ei ther sufficient information or professional help. In a number of cases families have reported that hospitals have refused to admit non-emergency cases unless a parent or carer remains on site to provide additional support (http://www.cafamily.org.uk/rda-uk.html). A shortage of nursing staff and the increasing tendency to perform surgery on a day care basis means that many families are left with extra caring responsibilities once they take the disabled child or adult home. (http://www.cafamily.org.uk/rda-uk.html). Conclusion Back to: Example Essays Ideologies of the family and the medical model of disability exacerbate the social problems of disability. Discourses of family responsibility place a much greater burden on many people, particularly women who bear the burden of responsibility of care. Such discourses tend to make women who find it difficult to cope feel that they are a failure. This in turn reflects back on the disabled person who may feel that they are a burden. Clearly current policies and debates over partnership between the Government and families and family responsibility is moving closer to the view that disability is no longer a public concern but a private family one. Dalley (1988) argue that some form of institutional care e.g. supported living should replace care in the family. While there are support structures in place for people with disabilities, the extent to which informal carers have access to such facilities is very limited (Baldwin and Twigg, 1990).. Perhaps supported living arrangements along wit h family involvement in personal care would, arguably, take some strain off of the family and give more independence to the person with disabilities thus making the social problem of disability a shared public and private concern rather than simply a concern for the family. Bibliography Abbott, P. and Wallace, C. 1997. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives. London, Routledge. Baldwin, S and Twigg, J. 1991 Women and community care: Reflections on a debate in Maclean, M and Groves, D eds 1991 Womens Issues in Social Policy London, Routledge Crowe, G. and Hardey,M.1992. Diversity and ambiguity among lone-parent households in modern Britain. In Marsh, C. and Arber, S. (Eds.) 1992. Families and Households: Divisions and Change. London: Macmillan. Dalley, G. 1988 Ideologies of caring: Rethinking Community and Collectivism London, Macmillan Delphy, C 1977 The Main Enemy London, Womens Research and Resource Centre Giddens, A. 2001. (4th ed). Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press. Gittens, D. 1993 The Family in Question: Changing households and familial ideologies London, Macmillan Graham, H. 1993 Hardship and Health in Womens Lives Hemel Hempstead, Harvester/Wheatsheaf Gregory, S. 1991 Challenging Motherhood: Mothers and their deaf children in Phoenix, A and Lloyd E, eds. 1991 Motherhood: Meaning Practices and Ideology London, Sage Moore, S. 2002 Social Welfare Alive 3rd ed. Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes Oakley, A 1982 Subject Woman London, Fontana Parsons, T. and Bales, R. 1955. Family, Socialisation, and Interaction Process. Glencoe, Illinois: Free Press Oliver, P. 1990 The Politics of Disablement Basingstoke, Macmillan Oliver, M 1996 Social Work with Disabled People Basingstoke Macmillan. Such, E. and Walker, R. 2004 Being responsible and responsible beings: childrens understanding of responsibility Children and Society 18 (3) Jun 2004, pp.231-242 Swain, J. Heyman, B and Gilmour, M 1998 Public Research, private concerns: Ethical issues in the use of open-ended interviews with people who have learning disabilities in Disability and Society 13 (1) pp. 21-36 Thomas, C. eds 2004 Disabling Barriers, Enabling Environments London, Sage Vasey, S. (1992) A response to Liz Crow, Coalition, September, 42-44 Walby, S. 1990 cited in Abbott, P. and Wallace, C. 1997. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives. London, Routledge. Walsh, M. Stephens, P. and Moore, S. 2000 Social Policy and Welfare. Cheltenham Worsley, P and Chatterton, M 1972 Problems of Modern Society: A Sociological Perspective Harmondsworth, Penguin More Free Social Policy Essays

Censorship Essay - Dont Censor Child Pornography -- Argumentative Per

Don't Censor Child Pornography      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In November of 1997 a Williamson County, Tenn. grand jury indicted Barnes & Noble booksellers for violating state obscenity laws prohibiting the display of "material harmful to minors". The materials in question were two books that featured photographs of nude children: Jock Sturges' Radiant Identities and David Hamilton's The Age of Innocence. Since then, Radical Right activist Randall Terry has launched a crusade aimed at forcing bookstores to remove the "criminal garbage" of Sturges, Hamilton and (recently added to his list of demons) Sally Mann from their bookshelves (bookweb). To implement his program Terry issued a call to Right sympathizers, urging them to march into bookstores and tear offensive pages from the targeted books. Several bookstores around the country fell prey to Terry's vandals. In response to these incidents and the threat of future public vandalism, Barnes & Noble recently issued a memo to each of its 1000+ stores directing them to place t he contested materials under lock and key, and to allow customers to view them only in the presence of a store manager (apocalypse 9709).    This response is upsetting. It is upsetting because it means that, in several significant ways, Terry has won. True, no one (as of yet) has put Sturges or the others in jail (as Terry has called for), but the public's right to view the supposed "pornographic" content of their work has been significantly diminished by Barnes & Noble's action. By acknowledging the threat of Terry and his small group of supporters, B&N has reified their claim that the work of the named photographers needs to be segregated from the "decent" public's reach. It installs a technology of surveillance that in... ...ms to me that it would be rather unlikely for a young child to stumble onto the work of a contemporary professional photographer. S/he would have to know something about that photographer, know what his or her work is about, and know how to get to it. This means that, in the case of these photographers, the child would have to know something about nudity, art and photography to want to seek them out. If s/he already knows something about these subjects, then what harm is viewing nude bodies going to have?      Works Cited:    Foucault, Michel, History of Sexuality, Vol I: An Introduction, New York: Pantheon, 1978.      www.bookweb.org/news/btw/905.html    http://apocalypse.berkshire.net/~ifas/fw/9709/terry.html    http://apocalypse.berkshire.net/~ifas/fw/9509/terry.html    www.villagevoice.com/pride/10goldstein.shtml   

Legal and Ethical Implications for Classroom Management Essay

Today’s classrooms are more dynamic than ever before. Educational needs of students are changing at breakneck speeds, along with the demands being placed on their teachers. There are associated legal and ethical implications that are evolving as rapidly as the technology that is driving a lot of the change. In order to have a chance to meet the needs of students and legal/ethical obligations, educators must have well developed classroom management techniques. These can get tricky quite often and require balancing the increasingly diverse needs of many different people. To be an effective teacher today is extremely difficult for these reasons. This essay will examine some of the current issues that teachers are exposed to in today’s classrooms by summarizing four journal articles and responding to them. The specific issues will be free speech and what it means in a school setting, cell phones in classrooms, bullying (specifically of students with disabilities), and gender specific dress codes. Freedom of Speech The issue addressed in the first article summary is freedom of speech and how it is interpreted in a public school setting in relation to the distribution of religious materials. This is really not a new topic of debate. Current precedents have been set in court cases dating as far back as1969 and the Tinker vs. Desmoines case. In that case, the court decision reads that, in order to prohibit any students’ expression of opinion, the school must provide evidence to support the fact that the actions being suppressed would be significantly disruptive (Essex, 2006). Because it is an issue of ongoing debate there are cases still being heard all over the country. This article is specifically in response to a case in the New York Supreme Court, where a student was prohibited from distributing religious fliers on school property. The question is, why was the student prevented from expressing her opinion in the first place. According to Essex (2006), one of the requirements placed on schools is that they remain viewpoint neutral. This means that if the literature was suppressed because it was religious in nature, the suppression violated her First Amendment rights, even in the school setting. In all court cases, the real message has been that schools are responsible for making sure parents and students are aware that the schools are merely sending messages indiscriminately from religious and non-secular sources and that they are not in support of any of them (Essex, 2006). Really the essence of the article is that sound policies must be in place, well documented, and consistently followed for a school to be able to regulate what a student says or distributes and there must be no endorsement of any particular ideas from any group or student. Cell phones The next topic of discussion is cell phones in classrooms. The article being summarized is entitled The Only Thing We Have to Fear is†¦120 Characters. In this article, Kevin Thomas and Christy McGee (2012) make arguments for the use of cellphones in classrooms in spite of the fact that 69% have banned them. This paper responds to the many reasons for disallowing their use, and then it goes on to highlight some ideas about why cell phones should be used as educational tools. Both sides of the discussion certainly make valid points. If 69% schools have taken students cell phones away, there must be some reasons. Thomas & Mcgee (2012) identified and responded to four commonly offered rationales, including misuse for cheating, replacing Standard English with textese, sexting, and cyberbulling. It seems rather obvious that these are negative side effects of the technology, however there are also positive results that can be attributed to the use of cell phones. Today, they are relatively affordable and powerful miniature computers. When used properly, the possibilities for better use of time are astonishing. According to Thomas and McGee (2012), teachers need to be modeling appropriate behavior with their portable electronic devices and taking advantage of the benefits because the technology is not the cause of the problems. The problems being associated with cell phones all existed in some form, long before modern technology. Thomas Diamates (2010) reports that courts have supported schools in their efforts to ban cell phone use as long as the school follow established procedures. Bullying The third topic has to do with bullying, specifically students with disabilities. These students stand out in the classroom, as they are â€Å"different† and so they are subjects of increased abuse from fellow students (Eckes and Gibbs, 2012). Schools and teachers have an obligation to provide students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004). This paper looks at the findings in several court cases to establish what is required of teachers in situations where students with disabilities are being bullied. What this article shows is that there are an increasing number of suits against school where disabled children are being bullied. The interpretation of what is considered an appropriate education, and whether or not the school took proper preventative/disciplinary steps in light of the bullying are the reasons for these suits. The findings of this study provide evidence that the courts will generally side with schools that have taken and documented actions to alleviate the harassment. In Brown vs. Monroe County Board of Education (1999), the Supreme Court ruled that for a school to be liable, it must receive federal funds, it must have been aware of and acted â€Å"deliberately indifferent† to the harassment, and the bullying must have been severe enough to deprive educational opportunity (Eckes and Gibbs, 2012). Basically, schools must make an adequate effort to alleviate the harassment in order to limit their liability, and this has been upheld by the courts in cases like Werth v. Board of Directors (2007), and Biggs v. Board of Education (2002). Dress codes The last article on the list takes a look at how and why public schools can or cannot implement gender based dress codes. Proponents of dress codes list reasons including less distractions, less pressure to dress right, safety, and lower cost to families. Opponents say that dress codes take away students expressive rights, which are already severely limited in school settings. In this particular case, Ceara Sturgis had her picture and name removed from her senior yearbook because she is a lesbian who was more comfortable wearing the school prescribed male outfit. The current question is whether or not this is in violation of her civil liberties. Historically the courts have upheld the rights of schools to implement dress codes with very few exceptions. In Blau v. Fort Thomas Public School District (2005), a father brought suit against the school for violating 1st and 14th amendment rights with their dress code. The court found no violation of rights since â€Å"it is not related to suppression of the content of expression, it furthers a substantial government interest, and it does not burden substantially more speech than is necessary to further that interest† (Dowling-Sender, p. 34, 2005). On the other side of the coin, in United States vs. Virginia (1996), schools were required to show a â€Å"legitimate and important† reason for any gender based restrictions (Smith, 2012). In Ceara’s case, the school is going to have to show that it meets all these criteria, and the outcome has some potentially far reaching consequences. What all this means is that teaching in todays classrooms must be dynamic. Teachers need to be aware of their ever-changing legal and ethical obligations as educators. Decisions must be based on sound judgment and carefully documented observations. Teachers, students, and parents must work together and communicate with each other to create the best possible learning environment for everyone.