The Nacirema As A Mirror of The Modern Consumer Essay

The Nacirema As A Mirror of The Modern Consumer - Essay Example The Nacirema are apparently taught from birth that "the human body is ugly" (Miner 1956, p.503) and that its natural tendencies are toward disease and decay. Their rituals are therefore designed to perpetually reverse this natural process of physical decline. Reading through the article, I began to see familiar images. Graphic ritual descriptions aside, western society seemed to be a mirror-image of this curiously bizarre tribe. Like the Nacirema, modern cultures seem to be forever altering what nature has provided in order to fit a standard ideal. I realized that the Naciremans were not necessarily a native or aboriginal tribe in the literal sense. Miner mentions that they are from North America, living in the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles (1956, p.503). The geographical location itself seemed familiar in a strange way. Upon further inspection of clues that may be hidden in the text, I watched, amazed, as the letters of the word Nacirema moved around on the page and began to spell out a word that certainly wasn't exotic: American. I had just unveiled a long-standing myth. The mysterious Nacirema tribe was really a metaphor for western, or more specifical ly, American society. 2. Name 5 items or ceremonies that we have learnt to use in similar way to the Nacirema Every ritual observed by the Nacirema has a counterpart in our world. The "shrine" (Miner 1956, p.503) in a Nacirema household, for instance, exactly describes the modern bathroom. One important component of this private room is the "font" (Miner 1956, p.504) found beneath what Miner describes as a built-in chest on the wall. These are our sinks or wash basins, as well as our medicine cabinets, in which we keep all our "magical potions" (Miner 1956, p.504)-pills and medications that often come in an astounding array. We bow down before these fonts to perform a variety of ablutions in the privacy of our bathrooms before we step out to face the world. Doctors are, literally, medicine men. Their imposing temples are hospitals and clinics where the sick are treated, and where healthy people go for regular check-ups and, as the case may be, even cosmetic touch-ups. Meanwhile, positioned below doctors in the medical hierarchy are the dentists-or what the Nacirema call "holy-mouth-men" (Miner 1956, p.504). Similarly, western dentists do seem to enjoy tinkering around our orifices and striking terror in us with the mere sight of their instruments. But no matter how much pain-real or imagined-is induced by this practice, we still somehow keep coming back for more. Another similarity with the Nacirema in witchdoctor dependence, as essayed by Miner, involves another kind of practitioner-the "listener" (1956, p.506). His counterpart in our world would be the psychiatrist, to whom we go for help in exorcising demons out of our minds that we may have carried around with us from childhood. 3. How do variations in culture affect our ability to engage in worthwhile trade Explore both advantages and disadvantages. In terms of the American market economy, there may be a disadvantage to their

Corporate Strategy of Halifax and the Bank of Scotland Essay

Corporate Strategy of Halifax and the Bank of Scotland - Essay Example From a building society with a long history of lending to local working people who build their homes, Halifax demutualized in 1997 officially becoming Halifax plc. Shortly before, it merged with the Leeds Permanent Building Society and acquired Clerical Medical Fund Managers, a British life insurance company. When Halifax was listed at the London Stock Exchange in June 1997, more than 7.5 million customers became stockholders of the new bank, and it became the fifth largest company in the UK in terms of market capitalization. The new publicly-listed company continued to expand its consumer base with the acquisition of Birmingham Midshires Building Society in 1999. The Bank of Scotland (BoS) has been one of the two largest banks in Scotland, in competition primarily with the Royal Bank of Scotland. It is considered the oldest surviving bank in the UK. Prior to merging with Halifax in 2001, the BoS had little presence in Wales and England. Its strength was limited in the corporate and business sectors. Prior to the 2001 merger with Halifax, its strategy of trying to reach out to markets outside the UK and to establish a retail or mass consumer presence was at times, erratic. Riding the spate of consolidation and mergers in the late 1990s, the BoS made a bold move to take over National Westminster Bank (NatWest), a much larger bank in from late 1999 to early 2000, but was defeated in the final bid by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The BoS also made forays into the markets outside UK - establishing a presence in Australia, with its purchase of Perth-based Bank of Western Australia, in addition to its presence in the United States, Moscow and Singapo re. It however sold its New Zealand bank asset, the Countrywide Bank of New Zealand to Lloyds TBS in 1998. The Bank of Scotland's attempt to establish a wide presence in retail banking in the United States was characterized by controversy. The deal with Christian preacher Pat Robertson folded after the evangelist's racist and sexist comments about Scotland were scored by civil rights groups. In 2001, the 10.8 billion-pound merger between Halifax and the Bank of Scotland, resulting in Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) was called by the company executives as "the new force in banking" (Burt & Crosby n.y.). As a result, HBOS has now 22 million customers across the UK or two out of five households. Halifax, the consumer champion brought into the table, financial strength and scale, new products and channels and innovation. The Bank of Scotland, the old hand at commercial lending, allowed Halifax shareholders to fulfill its diversification strategies, and offered its lending capability and culture, opportunities in the small-and-medium and corporate markets, enhanced retail opportunities and partnership expertise. The strategic directives of the new company rested in its business balance (retail and commercial lending), leading brands (18 in all), market power (UK's number four financial service company) and management strength. Two strategies underpin HBOS drive to become UK' s fastest growing financial services company: one is through diversification of its services across all markets, and two, offering low rates and fees to ramp up volumes and to further achieve competitive pricing. The diversified strategy of the newly formed HBOS was reflected in five main banking divisions:

Coming of Age in Mississippi Essay Example for Free

Coming of Age in Mississippi Essay â€Å"No one’s life is a smooth sail; we all come into stormy weather.† This statement has more truth to it than one may think. In life, everybody reaches a rough point, a point where the light at the end of the tunnel seems dim, or even nonexistent. But overcoming this adversity is what builds character. Accepting and prevailing over life’s obstacles are what separate strong, independent-minded and forward-thinking people from those who give up and avoid their problems. Anne Moody, author of Coming of Age in Mississippi, lived a life of great struggle in which she overcame adversity with great efforts and a dedicated heart and mind. As an African-American female, Anne Moody had one of the hardest battles to fight throughout her life. With limited rights as a woman and even further limitations due to race, she often found herself being subordinated by others. While in high school, she left her hometown of Centreville, Mississippi to spend the summer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While there, she worked for a local woman, Mrs. Jetson, doing housework. After working for Mrs. Jetson for two weeks, Anne wished to collect her pay. When Anne found Mrs. Jetson’s house empty, she recalled â€Å"On Monday I did call the shoe store, and was told Mrs. Jetson had quit on Friday. I had never before felt so gypped in all my life. Out of all the women I had worked for this woman was the worst† (Moody 150). Anne had been cheated out of two weeks’ worth of pay. She was astonished at Mrs. Jetson’s audacity in failing to pay Anne what was rightfully hers. It was difficult to find jobs where she was treated with some dignity, and almost impossible to find ones where she was treated as her employer’s equal. Anne was forced to change jobs frequently on account of being disrespected and used. Although no scamming experience was as impactful on Anne as the one with Mrs. Jetson, Anne experienced similar situations in jobs she had prior and jobs she took afterward. The summer after being in Baton Rouge, Anne went back to Louisiana; this time she stayed in New Orleans. There, she managed to land a job in a chicken factory. What she expected to be a large, intricate, and somewhat clean workplace turned out to be a dreadful nightmare. To her shock, she found herself gutting freshly killed chickens for over ten hours a day  without gloves or proper sanitation whatsoever. Near the end of the day, Anne recollected her â€Å"face, arms, and clothes were splattered with blood and chicken shit. I got so disgusted at one point that I stood there and let about a dozen chickens half full of shit pass me by† (Moody 178). Along with the other factory workers, Anne is treated with the utmost disregard to dignity and sanitation. She is forced to work excruciatingly long hours for minimum wage, exposed to grotesque dead animals and susceptible to disease. Unfortunately, because the pay was better than most other jobs in the area, Anne was forced to stick with her factory work. She worked in the factory for a month, saving her money and gaining exposure to the various stations in the factory. Although she did make very good money under the circumstances, she was deeply affected by her work; for years she could not eat chicken and for the rest of her life she refused to eat boxed chicken. The challenge of going to work every morning knowing what she was going to endure was tough, but her willpower and need for money helped her push through. After high school, Anne applied to and attended Natchez College in Mississippi. During her second year, she was eating in the cafeteria on campus when she and a few other classmates found maggots in their food. Disgusted, she and her classmates stormed into the kitchen to find an explanation for the repulsive experience. She â€Å"knew exactly where the grits were kept from the time I had worked in the kitchen. I went straight to the pantry and saw that there was a big leak from the showers upstairs. The water was seeping right down onto the shelves† (Moody 256). Anne and her classmates boycotted the campus cafeteria and its food, refusing to yield until some sanitary fixes were implemented. The challenge here was finding other ways to stay fed. The students did not have enough money to last them more than a week or so, so eventually they all started back, one by one, to the cafeteria and its semi-sanitary food. Still repulsed, Anne refused to go back and began losing a lot of weight. She became so thin and hungry all the time that she resorted to writing her mother who brought her enough canned food to last the remainder of the semester. The challenge in staying fed with healthy, sanitary food was one which presented itself on a large scale for Anne at college and otherwise. Had she been unable to obtain food from  her family, she may have starved to the point of fainting or even death. Overcoming this challenge was just about a matter of life or death for Anne. One of Anne’s most prominent memories and experiences in her early life was during her college career when she participated in a sit-in in Woolworth. The idea of the sit-in was to sit calmly at a white lunch counter and ask for service; thus, blacks wanted to show they wished to be treated equally. Of course, doing such a thing drew a lot of attention in very little time, and soon after the sit-in began a large crowd formed in the restaurant. After the crowd of whites realized Anne and her fellow sit-in participants would not budge until they received service, â€Å"the mob started smearing us [sit-in participants] with ketchup, mustard, sugar, pies, and everything on the counter. Soon Joan and I were joined by John Salter, but the moment he sat down he was hit on the jaw with what appeared to be brass knuckles. Blood gushed from his face and someone threw salt into the open wound† (Moody 291). The violence that occurred at the sit-in that Anne and her friends had to endure is almost unimaginable. The absolute disrespect, degradation, and cruelty shown to blacks by whites is virtually unbelievable, yet Anne was faced with challenges like these almost every day. Amazingly, Anne was courageous, intelligent, and controlled enough not to fight back and to remain nonviolent no matter what violence was shown to her. Her ability to not fight fire with fire is remarkable, and helped her to overcome the adversity which she so often found herself facing.

Inquiry Into The Death Of David Bennett

Inquiry Into The Death Of David Bennett This essay aims to critically analyse the Sir John Blofeld inquiry report into the death of David Bennett in 1998, through the theme of institutional racism. In order to achieve this, I will give a brief background to the inquiry chaired by Blofeld in 2001. This will enable me to reflect upon the various aspects of this particular case and build a context for the inquiry. I will look at explanation of evidence based practice to social work and seek to learn from the report in order to inform my own practice. The choice of the above theme reflects my belief in anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory as a good social work practice. Mr David Bennett was an African-Caribbean. He suffered from schizophrenia. He had been receiving treatment for his mental illness for some eighteen years before the date of his death. On that evening, Mr David Bennett had been in an incident with another patient who was white. During that incident, each man struck out at the other. Mr David Bennett was also the recipient of repeated racist abuse from the other patient. After this incident, Mr David Bennett was moved to another ward. While in that ward he hit a nurse. He was then restrained by a number of nurses and a struggle developed. He was taken to the floor and placed in a prone position, face-down, on the floor. During the prolonged struggle that then continued he collapsed and died. The first part of the Inquiry covers the whole period of Mr David Bennetts illness, the events leading up to his death and certain other events that took place during the hours and days following his death. I will provide a definition of evidence based practice. Evidence based practice is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individuals (Newman et al 2005, P: 4). It calls for decision making that is considered rather than reactive. Therefore professional should be equipped with the knowledge that will enable them to discharge their responsibility effectively, and they must continue to learn, and put that learning in practice. Decision making at an individual level must also be informed by professional judgement and intimate knowledge of the clients personal narrative. Evidence-based practice cannot deliver certainties just increase probabilities (Newman et al 2005). Inquiries have been crucial to raise societys awareness about social problems that disadvantaged groups of people face. For practitioners, the reports of these inquiries have indentified some valuable lessons to be used to refine policies and everyday practice. The findings from MacPherson report into the death of Stephen Lawrence and the Ritchie Inquiry into the care and treatment of Christopher Clunis found institutional racism in the mental health and police. The same problem identified by Blofeld inquiry into the death of David Bennett. Benefits of public inquiry, according to Brammer (2007, P: 291), include its ability to ascertain the facts of the case; learn lessons for the future and to meet public concern. Prior to the death of Bennett, there had been a number of deaths of BME people in psychiatric custody that had concerned the Institute of Race Relations. These included the death of Orville Blackwood in Broadmoor Hospital in 1991 through to the death of Veron Cowan at Blackberry Hill Hospital in Bristol in 1996 (Athwal,2004). The critical atmospheres of inquiries and media attention lead to the belief that there was institutional racism. This put the activities of psychiatrics are usually under scrutiny during public inquiries into the death of BME and as a result, such inquiries have had an impact upon their morale in practice. I will now define institutional racism. The definition set out in the Macpherson Report (1999) is: Institutional racism is the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping, which disadvantage minority ethnic people. (Macpherson 1999). Institutional racism is a systematic set of patterns, procedures, practices, and policies that operate within institutions so as to consistently penalise, disadvantage, and exploit individuals who are members of non-White groups (Better, 2002). Institutional racism in mental health hospitals could be evidenced in a number of ways. Failing to provide BME patients with an adequate diagnosis, not providing them with a coherent treatment plan, not offering appropriate treatment and failing to meet needs are common examples. As Singh concludes: Such failures occur repeatedly over many encounters with the services, and several clinicians individually and collectively contribute to the poor decision-making. These experiences are replicated nationally for patients from ethnic minority groups. (Singh, 2007, p: 363). In the case of David Bennett inquiry 2003, all external experts agreed unanimously that institutional racism exists in psychiatric services. In UK, racist practice is not openly or publicly encouraged, according to Race and Relations Act. The public is concerned with institutional racism (the inequalities) in mental health, and there is evidence that Black minority ethnic (BME) people are marginalised in mental health services. Misdiagnosis200 When black people come into contact with professionals such as the psychiatrists or health workers, they focus inappropriately on culture, and ethnicity at the expense of sound clinical judgement and this is where BME Patients experience misdiagnosis and poor health care. In case of David Bennett, his early contact with mental health services, the psychiatrist (Dr Feggetter) was dismissive and believed that his problems were due to cannabis intoxication. From 1980 to 1985 professionals thought that it was his use of cannabis that was causing the problem rather than this mental ill-health, but he was diagnosed later as suffering from schizophrenia. Therefore, the stereotypes can form the basis of misdiagnosis. Pilgrim and Rogers (1999) are of the view that professionals appear to have a limited capacity to recognise psychiatric disorders in black patients compared with other patients. Young black men are misdiagnosed by the mental system, which tends to operate on the basis of limited or inadequate knowledge of black communities and using stereotypical expectations of young black mens behaviours (Fernando, 1998). Treatment 300 Experts estimate that black people are three times more likely to be diagnosed as schizophrenic but less likely to be diagnosed with depression (McKenzie 1999). Also, there is evidence that black men were more likely than others to be held in secure in-patient environments. Pilgrim (2005, P: 32) suggests that racial biases mean black people are disproportionately dealt with by specialists mental health services, and as these services are characterised by coercive practices, one could interpret this as institutional racism. More so, on the clinical side of treatment, In relation to Bennetts treatment at the Norvic Clinic, the report refers to actions by professionals which can be seen as driven by institutional racism. Dr Sagovsky related that Bennett was on a particularly high level of anti-psychotic drugs as he was seen as especially dangerous (Bennett Report, 2003, P: 10), a view that may have been linked to Bennetts physical appearance. Ultimately, this combination of drugs was de scribed as troubling (Bennett Report, 2003, P: 26) by the inquiry, even if it could not be directly linked to Bennetts death Sandhu (2007) argue that many people from BME backgrounds complain that mental health services focus primarily on medication maintenance and control therefore; appropriate chances for recovery are limited. The diagnosis applied to the black patients were, however, significantly different from those applied to the white patients. A research by Littlewood and cross (1980, p: 121) found that stereotyped attitudes led to assumptions that ECT is suitable for black patients than white patients. Blackness and madness plus dangerousness. 220 In addition to that, black patients are dealt with impartially in the psychiatric units, their level of dangerousness is assessed objectively on the basis of information provided and likelihood of mental illness based on history. Bennett was a very athletic young man, staffs were frightened of him. These misconceptions about black people that have also become embedded in mental health practices often combine to influence the way in which mental health services assess and respond to the needs of black people. Restraints Brammer (2007, P: 467) is of the view that there is evidence that practice race is considered an index for dangerousness in mental health field. Staff working with Bennett perceived his race as dangerousness, and so the staff had to use too much force to restrain him, by pinning him down for long when they should not have done so. To some sources; it is a serious failure of training that no time limits were given for the restraint of a person in a prone position, but to others its racism. Fernando (2002) the dangerousness of a BME patient is determined by racial stereotypes of black people while other factors are ignored. This is institutional racism, how can race determine dangerousness of patients. Fernando (2002) further highlights that the power of people working in mental health provide cover for racism to operate unchallenged. This denial of racism is common within organisations where it can be found. Collier (1999) suggests that: The oddest thing about institutional racism is the blindness of the perpetrators. In a racist organisation outrageous thoughts and behaviours are acceptable and all apparently without questioning.worse still the victims are caught too as they seem paralysed, unable or unwilling to protest in case they suffer more. Admissions 320 One way in which institutional racism manifests itself is the over-representation of BME in compulsory admission in psychiatric units. The count me in the census for England and Wales showed higher rates of admission for mental illness and more adverse pathways to care for some BME groups and led to accusations of institutional racism within psychiatry. The keys issues identified in the Bennett report are common to discussion around BME communities and mental health, namely the high levels of compulsory detention. As Patel and Heginbotham (2007, p: 367) write: Either there is an epidemic of mental illness among certain Black groups or there are seriously worrying practices that are leading to disproportionate levels of admission. A large number of people from ethnic minority are particularly likely to be detained under section 136 Mental Health Act 1983, and there are a large number of young Afro-Caribbean males admitted under compulsory detention into psychiatric hospitals. Nearly half of these numbers were referred by the police, courts of law, social workers and GPs (Browne 1997). By 1990s, studies reported that African Caribbean males were over-represented among those formally detained in acute in patients units, and they were also up to 3 times more likely to be sectioned than their white counterparts. This supports the view that institutional racism is popular in mental health units. However, the decision to detain a patient is necessarily preceded by patients refusal to accept help on a voluntary basis. This is because some groups of people refuse help from psychiatric services and sometimes are non- compliant. Therefore, interpreting institutional racism as the main explanation for the excess of deten tions among ethnic minorities adds little to debate and prevents the search for real causes of these differences. Cultural needs. 470 Institutional racism is about how organisations acknowledge the diversity of their client base and meet their cultural needs. The Bennett Report provided a number of examples of how these needs were not met with Bennett. For example, Dr Stanley also said that Bennett did not wear dreadlocks and yet she knew he was Rastafarian, and in most cases his religious beliefs and cultural were not mentioned through his meetings with different consultants. Staff within the system failed to understand that ignorance or thoughtlessness can lead to a form of institutional racism just as damaging as overt deliberate racism therefore; one fits with the Macpherson definition of inquiry. Further more, there is a wide-spread perception that mental health services do not have sufficient understanding of the complex and diverse religious, cultural and traditional needs of BME people and that this constitutes institutional racism as defined by Macpherson report. Dr Feggetter noted that Bennetts cultural needs were not addressed, but patients were treated as human beings. There is a need to treat each person as an individual rather than a group. Fernando (1986) shows how the effects of racism can result in depression through experience of rejection, loss and hopelessness. It may also create a bias to depression through a feeling of hopelessness and inability to exercise any control over external forces. Racial discrimination is an obvious cause of stress in the lives of people from the ethnic communities, however, any policies and practices measures to address the diverse needs of BME groups including appropriately sensitive environments taking into account patients dieta ry, religious and cultural backgrounds. Sewell (2009) differences in culture whatever it is, may lead to real differences in understanding and communication of certain experiences. It is vital to remember that there are some people within a BME group who may adhere to their cultural practices while others may not. Racial harassments The report argued that Bennetts racial, cultural or social needs were not met within the mental health system and that it failed to protect him from what were at times high levels of racial abuse from other patients. Racial harassment is a serious problem, and it is important that service providers should have clear policies and procedures to deal with inter-patients racial harassment. The report stated that staff within the system failed to understand that ignorance or thoughtlessness can develop a form of institutional racism just as damaging as overt deliberate racism. Another telling point in the report that can be seen as evidence of institutional racism is the finding that Bennett was a man who was treated at times with a degree of intolerance and at times as if he were a nuisance who had to be contained (Bennett Report 2003, P:12). In the events leading up to Bennetts death, staff failed to adequately address the sustained racial abuse that Bennett received from another patien t and also apparently ignored Bennetts complaints that he was a black man trying to cope in a white environment. Bennett was bound to feel acutely sensitive and particularly if their perception is that no action may be taken to prevent racist abuse. What is relevant here is the point that institutional racism does not have to involve direct racism by staff or members of an organisation it can equally stem from an organisational failure to address racism that might come from other service users or clients. Criticism of the theme In this section will look at the impact of institutional racism on the service user: This accusation of racism as an explanation for these findings is not productive, as It leads to several damaging consequences for the profession, ethnic minority groups and most crucially for ethnic minority patients. It is the psychiatry organisation which is discriminatory but not individual psychiatrists. Therefore, we must focus on the underlying reasons whatever those are, and try to understand the multifunctional interrelated issues which lead to the cited high admissions and detention rates for some groups in society. The different rates might also be a consequence of discrimination and racism that ethnic minority people face in Britain. It would not be surprising if the multiple victimisation that some are subjected to, led to mental distress (Hudson 1992, 4-5). Thompson (2006, P: 80) asserts that BME people become mentally ill as a result of the systematic erosion of their capacity to deal with multiple oppression. This explains why BME patients in psychiatric units become violent in the psychiatric units than when they were admitted. When we look at the case of Bennett racial abuses from other patients and control agitated him. Institutional racism acts like a self fulfilling prophecy by contributing to mistrust of services by ethnic minorities, thereby leading to delayed help seeking with increased use of detention and coercive treatments for ethnic minority patients. BMH (2009) agree that new horizons offers the opportunity to ensure that the failures highlighted within the Bennett inquiry report are taken forward and addressed through this new strategy. It goes onto suggest that there must be moves away from the medical model and admitting a disproportionate number of black patients into secure psychiatric settings. The rights and health care needs of BME are less likely to be taken seriously than those of white clients. A key element of the governments response to the Bennett Report has been the development of the Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care (DRE) which aims to achieve equality and tackle discrimination for all BME mental health service users. Amongst the aims of DRE are: a reduction in fear of mental health services among BME communities; reduced rates of admission of BME people to psychiatric inpatient units; reduced rates of compulsory detention for BME service users; a more active role for BME communities and service users in training and development of mental health policy and; the provision of a mental health workforce and organisation capable of delivering appropriate and responsive mental health services to BME communities (DOH, 2005). DRE is a positive initiative and is clearly aimed at clearing out any forms of institutional racism within mental health services. Social work Looking at the implications of Bennett inquiry in relation to social work practice the key tools are to combat institutional racism within mental health services has to be the use of anti-discriminatory practice. This requires social workers to understand that discrimination and oppression are often central to the situations that they encounter (Davies 2003). Within the arena of mental health, anti-discriminatory practice entails moving out of an ethnocentric frame of reference and taking account of the fact that we live in a multi-ethnic society. On a wide level, justice, equality and participation are important concepts of anti-discriminatory practice (Davies 2003). The code of practice requires that people to whom the Act is applied should be given respect for their qualities and diverse backgrounds as individuals and be assured that account will be taken of their age, sex, gender, social ethnic cultural and religious backgrounds but that general assumptions will not be made on the basis of anyone of these characteristics (Ninth Biennial report1999-2001, p: 63). In mental health participation might involve service users in the planning, coordination and evaluation of services to provide opportunities for empowerment and to ensure that services are culturally appropriate and responsive. To use the mental health code of practice 08 participation principle that service user should be involved in planning, developing and reviewing their treatment. It was cited that professional working with Bennett did not involve him at all. Empowerment within mental health can also refer to ensuring that BME service users are able to access information about services and go on to receive such services. Ideas about working in partnership with service users are also important here referring back to the Bennett report, there was little in the way of working in partnership with Bennett during the time of his illness and little evidence of empowerment or anti-discriminatory practice to try and eliminate the elements of racism within service provision (Burke and Dalrymple, 2006). The GSCC Codes of Practice lay out ways in which both social workers and management can act to combat institutional racism. The codes for social workers state that they must use established processes and procedures to challenge and report dangerous, abusive, discriminatory or exploitative behaviour and practice (3.2 GSCC codes of practice) and also crucially in challenging institutional racism. they must not condone any unlawful or unjustifiable discrimination by service users, carers or colleagues. (5.6 GSCC codes of practice). Social care employers must also establish processes under which social workers can report dangerous, discriminatory or abusive behaviour and have methods to deal with these reports (4.2 GSCC codes of practice). Such processes were clearly lacking at the Norvic Clinic when Bennett was a patient and it is important that organisations have channels for staff at all levels to challenge any forms of racism by colleagues of service users. As indicated previously, social workers working with BME service users with mental illness need to have an understanding of cultural differences between this service user group and white people. They must also treat BME service users and white service users in the same way. For example a black man presenting with possible mental illness may be talking loudly common symptoms of mental illness. However if a professional simply sees an angry black man there may be an incorrect judgement that trouble or problems may follow and an inappropriate response might be the result. (Bennett Report 2003, P: 48). Practitioners need to examine their own attitudes and ask themselves whether their practice shows any evidence of indirect discrimination, however anti-discriminatory they may feel that they are as an individual. For example, do practitioners misinterpret cultural differences as mental health symptoms, do they believe there is a link between immigration and mental illness or could they be inherently racist and see some service users as posing more of a risk simply because they are not white?. The Bennett Report found that institutional racism existed within UK mental health services and there is still work required to eliminate this. Collier (1999) asserts, Institutional racism must be stamped out, but leaving it to individuals is not to be recommended. Mechanisms must be put in position to make the change corporatenothing less is unfair or unworkable This is the key point institutional racism is far bigger than the actions of a few individuals and beyond the remit of individuals to resolve. Tackling inherent institutional racism across a large organisation needs large scale change over a period of time. The recommendations of the Bennett Report have pointed the way forward and DRE looks to build on this. Change to attitudes towards BME service users must be driven from the top downwards and be embedded in all areas of the organisation. Advocate for service user who feels that they are wrongly detained in hospital under MHA1983, inappropriate use of power under MHA83 is a trap, for social workers to fall into if they are not sufficiently aware of diversity issues of psychiatry (Thompson 2006). I have learned that I should be able to challenge racism, and should always recognise and respect diversity when working with service users. I should endeavour to always reflect on my practice using own initiatives, involve service users and their families in formulating care plans, be able to work as a team member and continue to update myself in current guidelines, policies and procedures and more so, work in anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive manner. In conclusion; Institutional racism could possibly explain why BME higher prevalence within in-patient areas of the mental health service. On the other hand, it is clearly apparent that institutional racism is still at large, what is needed here is a re-assessment of the mental health service, including new coping strategies for individuals from BME and support community wide. The breakdown of stereotyping will be necessary for both the medical professional and the wider community. It is clear that staff in mental health units have in the past ignored cultural values of others.

Essay --

Physical activity is necessary to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Mainly guidelines suggest 150 minutes of physical activity weekly must be obtained to live a healthy life. There are many factors in each person’s life that determines the activity level of their lifestyle. A study done in Norway suggests youth sports has an influence on how active a person will be as an adult. There have been many suggestions that organized youth sports have an impact on an adult’s activity level, so researchers in Norway decided to conduct a study to see if this was accurate. The purpose of this study was to see if sustained youth sport participation related to the amount of physical activity one gets when they reach adulthood. Another purpose of this study was to determine if youth sports effected male’s adult physical activity more than females. This study relates to childhood obesity because it has been said physical activity is a huge stepping stone to reducing obesity. In this study, children from the ages of 13 to 16 years are participating in sports, which is a means of physi...

The Power of Music in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues Essay -- Sonnys B

The Power of Music in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues At first glance, "Sonny's Blues" seems ambiguous about the relationship between music and drugs. After all, the worlds of jazz and drug addiction are historically intertwined; it could be possible that Sonny's passion for jazz is merely an excuse for his lifestyle and addiction, as the narrator believes for a time. Or perhaps the world that Sonny has entered by becoming involved in jazz is the danger- if he had not encountered jazz he wouldn't have encountered drugs either. But the clues given by the portrayals of music and what it does for other figures in the story demonstrate music's beneficial nature; music and drugs are not interdependent for Sonny. By studying the moments of music interwoven throughout the story, it can be determined that the author portrays music as a good thing, the preserver and sustainer of hope and life, and Sonny's only way out of the "deep and funky hole" of his life in Harlem, with its attendant peril of drugs (414). The story's first encounter with music is after the narrator has learned of Sonny's arrest. He is thinking about the boys he teaches, and how they could all be "sucked under" (419) just as Sonny has been. He hears their laughter in the schoolyard and notes its "mocking and insular" quality, a noise made by disillusioned youth rather than the untainted, joyous sound one expects of children (410). One boy whistles a tune, a cool and moving, complicated and simple melody, "pouring out of him as though he were a bird," and the music manages to soar above the harsh sounds of disenchantment (410). Clearly this music is joy and salvation. Because he concentrates on this simple music, one boy does not curse and den... ..., because this tale is "the only light we've got in all this darkness" (438). "Sonny's Blues" is filled with examples of music and how it makes things better. The schoolboy, the barmaid, the mother, the brother, the uncle, the street revivalists, all use music to create a moment when life isn't so ugly, even though the world still waits outside and trouble stretches above. Music and the tale it tells provide hope and joy; instead of being the instrument of Sonny's destruction, introducing him to the world of drugs, music is his way out of some of the ugliness. For Sonny and the other characters in this story, music is a bastion against the despair that pervades stunted lives; it is the light that guides them from the darkness without hope. Works Cited Baldwin, James. "Sonny's Blues." The Oxford Book of American Short Stories 1992: 409 - 439.

Phil History

Many of us didn't know who are we and where we came from. From the quote â€Å"Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known†, it says that we, Filipinos don't have any original identity, our identity, like the political, social, economical, and cultural that we have today, came up from the colonization of the other country, like Spain, America, and Japan. Before the colonization of Spain, America, and Japan, Philippines said to have a vast culture In political, economical, social and cultural.In 7,107 Islands In the Philippines there are different people living with different political, economical, social and cultural approach. In pre-colonization, the system of government decentralized, meaning there is no center government to govern the other small government. The leader of the barbarian is a Data, Confederacy is a Rah, and Sultanate is a sultan. Their Judicial system Is oral, which means, whatever the law imposed by the leader It will be s poken through a messenger. They formed alliances through the process of â€Å"Sandburg†.Some lived near bodies of water, and some lived In the mountains or rest. The lifestyle of the people living near the bodies of water are fishing, boat building, pottery, farming, and so many more, while the people living in the mountains are swished, farming, hunting, gathering, etc. People living before the colonization, have a social strata, first is the imaging and data class, a ruling and warrior class. Second Is the maharaja, a wealthy class. Third Is the Tamaki or freeman, a commoner. Last Is the Labial or Roller, debt peons. People In the pre colonization have a system of writing called Babylon.They also have religion, called minims, they worship anoint/Anita, data and their priest/sees is called Babylon. The Muslims saw Misguidance and Sulk first before the Spaniards came to the Philippines and introduce their religion called Islam, where their God is Allah and prophet is Mohammed All. When the Spanish came to Philippines, their only purpose Is the g's: God, Gold and Glory. They colonize us in two ways, one is with religion and the other Is with the use of sword. Religion came to victorious. The Spaniards gave us new way to live our life; they also introduce us to their religion, which is Christianity.We, Filipinos at home set up altars in the Hispanic tradition, adorned with Catholic images, flowers and candles. During fiestas, most communities organize church services and religious processions in honor of a patron saint. Also, we inherit the holiday of the Spaniards, for January 1 – New years day, March or April – Seaman Santa also called Holy week, October 31 – November 2 – All saints day and all souls day, December 24 – Niche Buena also known as Christmas Eve, and December 25 – Christmas. They created two governments, one is the central government and the other is the local government.The central government is he aded by Governor-General, who is the commander-in-chief, head of an army and navy, he also have veto power, meaning if he seems the law is not good enough, he can nullify or cancel the law. He Is the Vice-Real Patron, and lastly, he Is the president provinces and the leader is called Lacked Mayor, Corrections, which are unified provinces, the leader is Corridors, Pueblo-towns, the leader is Gubernatorial, Cicada, the leader is Mountaintop and Barbarian, the leader is Caber. In the course of Spanish colonization in the Philippines, the friars instructed opulent Baroque-style church edifices.These structures are still found today everywhere across the country and they symbolize the cultural influence of Spain in Filipino life. The opulence of these edifices was clearly visible in the ornate facades, paintings, and sculpture, as well as in the behavioral patterns of the people and in the intricate rituals associated with Roman Catholic churches. While it is true that the Spaniards expl oited labor in the construction of the imposing Baroque-style sanctuaries for Roman Catholic worship, it is also true that these same edifices came the means by which Filipino artistic talents and inclinations were expressed.The carpenters, masons, craftsmen, and artisans were mainly Filipinos. In this way, the Roman Catholic Church and religion influenced Filipino architectural and building style, even as the rituals and festivities of the Church influenced Filipino dances, songs, paintings, and literary writings. Through these influences, the Church afforded the Filipinos abundant opportunities for both solemn rites and Joyous festivities and celebrations known as â€Å"fiestas. The services inside the Catholic hurries often spilled out into the thoroughfare in the form of colorful and pageant- filled religious processions in which the rich and the poor participated. Dining, drinking, and merrymaking often followed or accompanied such religious activities. During these feasts, Sp anish culinary specialties like â€Å"paella† which means a dish consisting of a mixture of rice, chicken and shellfish, â€Å"razor valerian† which means glutinous rice and chicken cooked in coconut milk, and â€Å"lingua† meaning sautà ©ed ox- tongue usually with mushroom sauce became part of the local table fare.The rites ND feasts served to provide relief from the drudgery of humdrum village existence, to release pent-up social and economic frustrations, or to foster community spirit and unity. With the help of the Americans, Philippines got its independence after the sacrifices they undergo under the Spaniards. After the independence, Americans redistribute the enormous land properties that were given during the Spanish period to the Catholic Church. Even though they redistribute the land, the small farmers didn't get any land because they can't prove that they are the owner of that land and they can't pay the asked price.The lands became the property of l arge landowners. American General Douglas Mac Arthur landed in Elite, one of the biggest islands in Central Island of the Philippines with 700 vessel and 174 000 army and navy. Since the American led us, the government was divided into three branches: Judiciary, system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of state. It also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes among people. Legislative, the one who make the law or pertaining to the enactment of law. Last is, Executive, the one who enforces the law or have the power to put plans, actions or laws into effect.There are also schools that were built during their time, like the agricultural schools; Philippine Normal University and University of the Philippines. Their medium of instruction was English and the teachers are called Atomies. Also, there were public schools that were open up for the education of the Filipinos. Also, during the introduced to us by the Americans and approximately three hundred thousand Filipinos become protestant. In the economical part, Americans built roads, streets, bridges, and new infrastructures that made movement of products and services more efficient.It also improved the Philippines economy by the development of new industries, increase in agricultural production. In the social part, Filipinos learned to play games, watch movies, new kinds of music introduced to us by Americans, using respectful greetings like â€Å"Magenta magma PDP' were replaced by merely saying â€Å"Good morning†, â€Å"Paganism' was replaced by kissing the cheeks of parents and elders as a sign of respect. We lost our sense of â€Å"banish. † Women wear dresses, high- heeled shoes, and a handbag, while men, Suits, polo shirts, ties and Jeans. The Japanese started when they started attacking the Pearl Habit.It is also in the Japanese time, when the Filipinos do the death march from Bataan to San Fernando Pangaea where many of Filipino died. In their occupatio n, the Japanese introduced to us duck farming, fish breeding, and other influences like removing slippers before entering the house, bonsai planting, and manufacturing farm tools and war weapons. They also taught us origami, their martial art, Judo, and tanning of deer skin. Since the Japanese where here for Just a short period of time, they didn't leave much of their culture but they change the way things are done in the Philippines. Just like strict curfews was enforced.Even though our country has an identity of our own before the coming of the colonizers, like Filipinos know how to survive and have their own ways to live, they can create things by the use of what they see in their surroundings, but we had been greatly influenced by the country that colonized us. I think that the three countries that colonized us changed our political, economical, cultural and social system of our country. I think our identity today, as Filipinos are mixed from the Spanish, Americans and Japanese influence to us. Our lifestyles that we have now came from different influences of other country to us.Today, some of the Filipinos still do â€Å"banish† in some of the provinces in the Philippines, There are many Spanish influences on Filipino culture. Thousands of Spanish words are load in most Filipino languages. We, Filipinos sometime speak Spanish, when we have simple conversation, like mesa, silly, and many other Spanish words, all over the Philippines. The traditions of the Spanish, their holidays, their religion, and even their government are also the influences of the Spaniards as they colonized our country. The influence of the Spanish, like â€Å"paganism as inkstands† still lives in us or inAmerican influence, â€Å"packaging as pissing† some of the Filipino do this as a respect to the elderly or to their parents. The way of how we dress is also influenced by Spanish and America. We wear coat and tie for going to work, Barron and flapping dress for attending marriage or baptism, and gown or dresses for attending formal parties. We also adopt their government which is the local and central government. We also adopt the system of government of America given to us, the legislative, the Judiciary and the executive. With the help of the American, the agriculture of our country has en improved.