The Success Of The American Dream - 767 Words

The American dream is based on the idea that, â€Å"America where no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is, no matter who you love, you can make it here if you try.† (97). While United States was built on this idea, it is becoming harder and harder for people to move up in social status because of the inequality. Obtaining success in life used to be considered equal for all regardless of background. If you worked hard enough and did well enough for yourself, only the sky was the limit. Today, success is mostly based on race, where white people are given better opportunities than colored people when it comes to jobs and education. It shouldn’t matter if you are born into a family in the bottom fifth, middle fifth or top fifth, everyone should have the same opportunities to reach whatever they want if they work for it. Unfortunately, what it looks like right now, if you are born into a family in t he bottom fifth, you roughly have a 30% chance of reaching middle fifth or higher. However, if you are born into a family in the top fifth, you have 80% chance of ending up at least in the middle fifth. Something else that is unfair, it is when the children becoming adults and when it’s time to get a job. The high-income parents tend to have more contacts in the job world, which will result that they can easily get a good work for their children. While the low-income parents don’t have contacts, which will makeShow MoreRelatedThe Success Of The American Dream942 Words   |  4 PagesThe term â€Å"American Dream† is considered as an ideal term and has many interpretations. But basically â€Å"American Dream† is defined as the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of the people living in America. Lots of people immigrate to America in search of â€Å"American Dream†. They come in America to fulfil their â€Å"American Dream† which is co mposed of freedom, security and most importantly, opportunities. America is considered as the land of opportunities and the large availability of the opportunitiesRead MoreThe Success Of The American Dream1092 Words   |  5 Pages When many cultures and ethnicities come to American they come for the get the opportunity the American offer. That is the American dream. Many people want to live and work hard to make it the top of the socio-economic ladder and have a chance to live. However, for many people they say it’s hard to climb that ladder due to many circumstances that hold them back. From poverty, college debt, inequality many Americans think the dream is not attainable. Nevertheless, there is are many ways to overturnRead MoreSuccess As One Of The American Dream1137 Words   |  5 PagesWittlake 28 April 2015 Success as One of The American Dream When we hear the word â€Å"success†, we often think of wealth and money. To some people, the embodiment of being success is earning a lot of money. In fact, the concept of success is primarily based on how much money a person earns. However, each person views the definition of success differently. One way to define success is something that has more to do with flash than it does with substance. John Wooden, an American basketball player andRead MoreThe American Dream Through Success And Social Mobility1405 Words   |  6 PagesWhen most people think of the American Dream they often visualize the typical white fence, the two children, and an overall perfect family. When people think of the American Dream they think of the dream jobs which consist of being a doctor, lawyer, or a widely known talk show host. The people who have the voice determine what is ideal in society and what isn’t. They try to sell you this pitch that the American Dream is obtainable and what you put in to the system, you get out; This is also knowRead MoreAmerican Dream : Resources And Competency Are Recipes For Success Essay1587 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican Dream: Resources and Competency are Recipes for Success American Dream as defined by Merriam-Webster online as â€Å"an American social ideal that stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity.† What is the American Dream to you? Is it having a stable and a high-paying job? How about owning a beautiful house, car, and bank account? Perhaps, your definition of the American Dream is being the founder and owner of a multi-billion dollar business empire that has businesses in everyRead MoreThe American Dream: Freedom, Hard Work Guarantees Success and Less Racism868 Words   |  4 Pageswitness an African American get up and move to the back of a bus for a Caucasian? No, that is not the case anymore. America is a better country now. In source E it says, â€Å"The chair in Washington sat had a sun, and the question was asked, is it rising or setting?† This quote questions whether or not America is falling apart or getting better. The American Dream is an ideal that has changed over time and is achievable becaus e of freedom, the idea that hard work guarantees success, and less racismRead MoreThe American Dream As An Idea Of Achieving Success And Wealth Through The Process Of Creativity1050 Words   |  5 PagesCultural Acceptance The American Dream serves as an idea of achieving success and wealth through the process of creativity, perseverance, and determination. In â€Å"American Dreamer,† Bharti Mukherjee explores three different cultures and explains her experience with each one. Through the difficulties within each culture, she builds on her personal identity along with her cultural identity. Because of the exploration of different places, Mukherjee discovers her cultural identity. Because of the strictRead MoreThe American Dream1424 Words   |  6 PagesThe idea of the American Dream can be first traced back to a book called The Epic of America by author James Truslow, where he states, â€Å"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better, richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.† This idea of better opportunity really summarizes the goal of many early American immigrants as they traveled from faraway lands in hopes of a better future. Many would say this idea of prosperityRead MoreThe American Dream Is A Flawed Concept911 Words   |  4 PagesThe American Dream is a flawed concept, a deceptive motivator, which promotes fantasy and unrealistic capitalist goals (ideals) of success, while disregarding the immense costs. The American Dream, conceptualized among early American frontiersmen deeply impacted societal thinking and motivation. America meant â€Å"more†. More ideas, more possibilities, more space, more land, and finally, more success. This concept is timeless for Americans and aspiring American citizens. The American Dream can be brokenRead MoreThe American Dream in Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby1238 Words   |  5 PagesSince Columbus made land, people have been searching for the â€Å"American Dream†. Many people have their own idea and ideas that have changed over a period of time, but what exactly is the â€Å"American Dream† defined as .Origins of the dream have been rooted in the pioneering mentality of the eighteenth and nineteenth century immigrants, most who came to America because of a promise for a new and better life. The American Dream was sought through hard work and determination. After the time of the World

A Monument Of The World War I - 1102 Words

A Monument to Peace Inspired by War Grant Deetch Humanities 120 Professor Aaron Nusz October 10, 2015 On August the sixth 1945 a single nuclear bomb nicknamed â€Å"Little Boy† was dropped on the City of Hiroshima in Japan. Then on August the ninth 1945 another bomb, this time nicknamed â€Å"Fat Man† was dropped on the City of Nagasaki Japan. While it is well known that nuclear weapons were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan to bring World War Two to a decisive end, this piece of art these horrible days inspired is less known. The sculpture â€Å"Peace Statue† by Seibou Kitamura is deeply rooted in the aftermath of World War Two. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization the sculpture â€Å"Peace Statue† (Heiwa Kinen-zo) was built by Nagasaki sculptor Seibou Kitamura in 1955. This 9.7 meter high statue is made of Bronze and has been placed on a 3.9 meter base; the statue weighs about 30 tons. The statue’s right hand is pointed toward the sky while his left hand is pointed horizontally from his body in a flat handed gesture. The figure itself is a muscular, blue, shirtless man sitting in a peaceful position with one leg under him as he sits on a pedestal. The figure’s eyes are closed within a face that does not look Japanese. This statue is more than just a work of art; it is a monument to those lost during a horrible event in mankind’s history. On August 9, 1945 at 11:02 AM an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki Japan and resulted in the death ofShow MoreRelatedMaya Lin Vietnam Veterans Memorial Analysis1276 Words   |  6 Pagesbased on historical events. Her works are intended to use the natural texture and geology of the space around the monument to its advantage in its creation. 2. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, a non-profit organization, began collecting private funds and donations to create a memorial. Over 8 million dollars were raised. A site was picked near the Lincoln Memorial at an older World War I munitions factory. A contest was held for designs by the organization, and Maya Lin’s design came out on top.Read MoreMonuments Men Essay952 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿AP US History/Literature 17 March 2014 Extra Credit Opportunity: Historical Film The Monuments Men Based on a true story of what was a â€Å"treasure hunt† in its most basic definition, The Monuments Men portrays a hand selected World War II platoon on a mission that sends them to all edges of Western Europe in order to retrieve artistic masterpieces stolen by the Nazis and return them to their original owners. This special force of American and British museum curators, directors, art historiansRead MoreThe Monuments Men: Critical Book Review Essay1638 Words   |  7 Pages World War II-one of the most devastating events in history that will always be remembered whether by textbooks, personal accounts, or merely just stories about how one man could have done the impossible: conquered the world. As students today and future generations learn about the War, they are exposed to the battles, leaders, political parties, heroes, and turmoil of this period; however, important events that often were overshadowed are slowly becoming forgotten and neglected. Robert Edsel, inRead Mo reWar : An Unavoidable, Haunting, And Educational Event1149 Words   |  5 PagesWar: An Unavoidable, Haunting, and Educational Event â€Å"In Flanders Fields,† by John McCrae, â€Å"In Time of War,† by W.H. Auden, and â€Å"Facing It,† by Yusef Komunyakaa all share a theme of war. The symbols and settings used in these poems illustrate the theme of war and its hardships clearly. Last, the authors all have biographical backgrounds surrounding past wars. The symbols used in all three of these poems closely relate to the idea of war. In â€Å"In Flanders Fields,† McCrae uses the symbols of crossesRead MoreMonumento a la Memoria y la Verdad, San Salvador874 Words   |  4 PagesAnnotated Bibliography Monument: Monumento a la Memoria y a la Verdad. 6 Dec. 2003. Black Granite. San Salvador, El Salvador. Sept. 2004. This monument was created in order to commemorate the civilians lives lost during the Salvadoran Civil War. The monument was made to resemble the Vietnam Memorial; it is made of black granite and has in scripted the names of the war victims. However, the monument only has in scripted the names of 30,000 of the 75,000 war victims. The names are organized in alphabeticalRead MoreThe Infantry Memorial, New York On East 67th Str And 5th Ave878 Words   |  4 Pagescreated to aid in any war or battle. The 107th Infantry regiment was formerly known as 7th New York Infantry. The 7th Infantry fought in numerous civil war battles and skirmishes (Civil War Archive). It was later changed to â€Å"The New York National Guard Regiment that saw action in a number of conflicts, including the, the Mexican Border Dispute of 1916, World War I, and World War II (107th Infantry Regiment).† The most significant fighting of the infantry was in World WAR 1. Many war stories and occurrencesRead Mor eCultural Heritage Protection Agencies During World War II978 Words   |  4 PagesDuring World War II the militaries of the United States and Germany selected individuals from the higher learning community to staff their art protection agencies. German and American army commanders sought individuals with extensive knowledge on cultural property, and information on how to identify and handle it properly. Individuals with these qualifications for protecting cultural property were selected for service under parent army organizations. Some were assigned officer ranks in their respectiveRead MoreThe Iron Lady991 Words   |  4 Pagesstand-out monuments in the world, and one of the most beautiful. It shares its nickname with Margaret Thatcher, a prime minister of England. Built by Gustave Eiffel in 1889 as an entrance to the World Fair, La Tour Eiffel would stand for twenty years before being torn down. However, the tower would later be repurposed as a radio antenna in 1909 for World W ar I, and still stands as a radio antenna to this day, where more than one hundred antennae beam radio and television broadcasts around the world. TheRead MoreEvaluation Of The Lincoln Memorial944 Words   |  4 Pagessolved early on and without much long term cost, except for the problem of slavery, which even the founders anticipated to die very slowly. Lincoln ushered the country through slavery s final death throes, which unfortunately included America’s Civil War. However, with Lincoln’s guidance, the country made it through in one piece, and finally transitioned into a whole new era of growth and prosperity. For this reason, the government of the United States wished to honour the progress of America as aRead MoreTaking A Vacation Can Do Wonders For You And Your Family917 Words   |  4 Pagesalso letting them explore a new world. Traveling with children, however, can kind of be like taking a herd of wild goats to eat, difficult even at the best of times. Whether they’re your own or someone else’s, factoring your family’s need into your travel involves a lot more than sticking a CD in the radio and expecting everyone to be silent. That’s why it’s important for parents’ to plan ahead and figure out a fun destination early on. The Four Corner Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern

8 Stages of Social Development Free Essays

Social development theory attempts to explain qualitative changes in the structure and framework of society, that help the society to better realize its aims and objectives. Development can be broadly defined in a manner applicable to all societies at all historical periods as an upward ascending movement featuring greater levels of energy, efficiency, quality, productivity, complexity, comprehension, creativity, mastery, enjoyment and accomplishment. Development is a process of social change, not merely a set of policies and programs instituted for some specific results. We will write a custom essay sample on 8 Stages of Social Development or any similar topic only for you Order Now This process has been going on since the dawn of history. But during the last five centuries it has picked up in speed and intensity, and during the last five decades has witnessed a marked surge in acceleration. [2] The basic mechanism driving social change is increasing awareness leading to better organization. Life evolves by consciousness and consciousness in turn progresses by organization. When society senses new and better opportunities for progress it accordingly develops new forms of organization to exploit these new openings successfully. The new forms of organization are better able to harness the available social energies and skills and resources to use the opportunities to get the intended results. Development is governed by many factors that influence the results of developmental efforts. There must be a motive that drives the social change and essential preconditions for that change to occur. The motive must be powerful enough to overcome obstructions that impede that change from occurring. Development also requires resources such as capital, technology, and supporting infrastructure. Development is the result of society’s capacity to organize human energies and productive resources to meet challenges and opportunities. Society passes through well-defined stages in the course of its development. They are nomadic hunting and gathering, rural agrarian, urban, commercial, industrial, and post-industrial societies. Pioneers introduce new ideas, practices, and habits that conservative elements initially resist. At a later stage, innovations are accepted, imitated, organized, and used by other members of the community. Organizational improvements introduced to support the innovations can take place simultaneously at four different levels—physical, social, mental, and psychological. Moreover four different types of resources are involved in promoting development. Of these four, physical resources are most visible, but least capable of expansion. Productivity of resources increases enormously as the quality of organization and level of knowledge inputs rise. Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, as articulated by Erik Erikson, explain eight stages through which a healthily developing human should pass from infancy to late adulthood. In each stage, the person confronts, and hopefully masters, new challenges. Each stage builds upon the successful completion of earlier stages. The challenges of stages not successfully completed may be expected to reappear as problems in the future. However, mastery of a stage is not required to advance to the next stage. Erikson’s stage theory characterizes an individual advancing through the eight life stages as a function of negotiating his or her biological forces and sociocultural forces. Each stage is characterized by a psychosocial crisis of these two conflicting forces (as shown in the table below). If an individual does indeed successfully reconcile these forces (favoring the first mentioned attribute in the crisis), he or she emerges from the stage with the corresponding virtue. For example, if an infant enters into the toddler stage (autonomy vs.  shame doubt) with more trust than mistrust, he or she carries the virtue of hope into the remaining life stages. Stages of psychosocial development Stages of Social Development In this post Cold War and postmodern age, we are asking serious questions regarding the preeminence of rigid ideologies, national boundaries, proprietary interests, technological utopias and naive, egalitarian demands in crafting the next global mesh. We hear all of these voices. We register all of the claims. We record all of the â€Å"truths. † We see all of the demonstrations and displays of street theatre. But, we have a sense they all stream from the Tower of Babel. No wonder the realities are so diverse; the thoughts so confusing, the solutions so divisive. It is as if all six billion people have climbed on top of the Tower and are now shouting slogans at us. All seem to want a place in the sun, a position in the niche, and free tickets to Disney World. If one were to do a content analysis of all the books and articles written on the global gaps, or arguments presented in academic or think tank settings, or even the political dialogue in national parliaments or international summits, we would see several clear and distinct patterns. Capitalism is great or greedy. Socialism is humane or harmful. Technology is a blessing or a curse. The rich are that way because they worked hard or simply won life’s lottery. The poor are that way because they are undisciplined or oppressed by the rich. Economic redistribution will level the playing field or dumb down global intelligences. Which is it? Most of the discussions center around competing economic models, open political access, mandated equality of opportunity and results, and a host of other external, top-down solutions. Arguments grow in emotional intensity around the size and distribution of budgets. Money becomes the magic elixir that will cure all ills. If we build attractive places for all to live the â€Å"losers† will be transformed into â€Å"winners† by simply changing street addresses. New rules and regulations will transform hearts and minds. Everybody will benefit from the rising tides of prosperity as the free market makes global waves. Everybody will benefit from the largess of big government, using taxes to fund social work schemes. And, of course, brilliant technological innovations will bring the Internet into each and every home, with or without electricity. Right. But, why haven’t these policies worked in the past? Look at Africa. Look at Haiti. Look at the Balkans. Look at Russia. Look at the Mississippi Delta. Look at Yorkshire’s coal mining villages. Look at American Indian reservations. Look at the huddled masses everywhere yearning for a loaf of bread. Look at India’s Calcutta kids. Look at border sweat shops and urban cesspools. Look at the number of â€Å"minority† teenagers in American prisons. In spite of all of the money spent, expectations raised, programs imposed, â€Å"good deeds† celebrated and â€Å"good works† performed, our problems persist. Why? The central thesis of this document is that external approaches designed to improve the human condition are faulted unless they also include, as parallel and simultaneous tracks, the essential steps and stages in interior social development. In short, economic, political, and technological efforts must correlate with the levels of complexity of thinking within individuals and entire cultures. Unless the external efforts match, in their respective operating codes, the existing capacities within leadership cadres and the general population in specific countries, they will make things worse, not better. Like the deep sea diver who gets the bends by coming up too rapidly, or runs out of air if the ascent is delayed too long, entire societies are vulnerable to this too much: too little dynamic. This discussion will describe 1. the eight stages of social development; 2. the economic and political models appropriate to each stage; and 3.twelve postulates to employ in the search for global cohesion in this age of societal fragmentation. EIGHT STAGES OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: How Cultures Emerge A social stage is more like an emerging wave than a rigid step. Each stage is simply a temporary, transitional plateau that forms in individual and collective minds. Some call them â€Å"paradigms† or â€Å"levels of psychological existence. † In other writings I refer to them as valueMEMES or bio/psycho/social/spiritual DNA-type scripts that inculcate their codes throughout a culture, and even migrate around the planet on CNN and in 747s. These are fluid, living systems rather than rigid hierarchical steps. They form into spirals of complexity and exist within people, organizations, and entire societies. The terms â€Å"social stage,† â€Å"cultural wave,† â€Å"value system,† and â€Å"vMEME code† are synonymous. Cultures, as well as countries, are formed by the emergence of value systems (social stages) in the response to life conditions. Such complex adaptive intelligences form the glue that bonds a group together, defines who they are as a people, and reflects the place on the planet they inhabit. These cultural waves, much like the Russian dolls (a doll embedded within a doll embedded within a doll) have formed, over time, into unique mixtures and blends of instructional and survival codes, myths of origin, artistic forms, life styles, and senses of community. While they are all legitimate expressions of the human experience, they are not â€Å"equal† in their capacities to deal with complex problems in society. Yet, the detectable social stages within cultures are not Calvinistic scripts that lock us into choices against our will. Nor are they inevitable steps on a predetermined staircase, or magically appearing like crop circle structures in our collective psyche. And, cultures should not be seen as rigid types, having permanent traits. Instead, they are core adaptive intelligences that ebb and flow, progress and regress, with the capacity to lay on new levels of complexity (value systems) when conditions warrant. Much like an onion, they form layers on layers on layers. There is no final state, no ultimate destination, no utopian paradise. Each stage is but a prelude to the next, then the next, then the next. Each emerging social stage or cultural wave contains a more expansive horizon, a more complex organizing principle, with newly calibrated priorities, mindsets, and specific bottom-lines. All of the previously acquired social stages remain in the composite value system to determine the unique texture of a given culture, country, or society. In Ken Wilber’s language, each new social stage â€Å"transcends but includes† all of those which have come before. Societies with the capacity to change, swing between I:Me:Mine and We:Us:Our poles. Tilts in one direction create the need to self-correct, thus causing a shift toward the opposite pole. Me decades become us epochs as we constantly spiral up, or spiral down in response to life conditions. Some social stages stress diversity generators that reward individual initiatives and value human rights. Other social stages impose conformity regulators and reward cooperative, collective actions. Societies will zigzag between these two poles, thus embracing different models at each tilt. Once a new social stage appears in a culture, it will spread its instructional codes and life priority messages throughout that culture’s surface-level expressions: religion, economic and political arrangements, psychological and anthropological theories, and views of human nature, our future destiny, globalization, and even architectural patterns and sports preferences. We all live in flow states; there is always new wine, always old wine skins. We, indeed, find ourselves pursuing a never-ending quest. THE LIVING STRATA IN OUR PSYCHO-CULTURAL ARCHEOLOGY Stage/ Wave Color Code Popular Name Thinking Cultural manifestations and personal displays 8 Turquoise WholeView Holistic collective individualism; cosmic spirituality; earth changes 7 yellow FlexFlow Ecological natural systems; self-principle; multiple realities; knowledge 6 Green HumanBond Consensus egalitarian; feelings; authentic; sharing; caring; community 5 Orange StriveDrive Strategic materialistic; consumerism; success; image; status; growth 4 Blue TruthForce Authority meaning; discipline; traditions; morality; rules; lives for later 3 Red PowerGods Egocentric gratification; glitz; conquest; action; impulsive; lives for now 2  Purple KinSpirits Animistic rites; rituals; taboos; super- stitions; tribes; folk ways lore 1 Beige SurvivalSense Instinctive food; water; procreation; warmth; protection; stays alive. Here’s the key idea. Different societies, cultures and subcultures, as well as entire nations are at different levels of psycho-cultural emergence, as displayed within these evolutionary levels of complexity. Yet, and here is a critical concept, the previously awakened levels do not disappear. Rather, they stay active within the value system stacks, thus impacting the nature of the more complex systems. So, many of the same issues we confront on the West Bank (red to blue) can be found in South Central Los Angeles. One can experience the animistic (purple) worldview on Bourbon Street as well as in Zaire. Matters brought before city council in Minneapolis (orange to green to yellow) are not unlike the debates in front of governing bodies in the Netherlands. So-called Third World societies are dealing, for the most part, with issues within the beige to purple to red to blue zones, thus higher rates of violence and poverty. Staying alive, finding safety, and dealing with feudal age conditions matter most. Second World societies are characterized by authoritarian (blue) one-party states, whether from the right or the left. Makes no difference. So-called First World nations and groupings have achieved high levels of affluence, with lower birth rates, and more expansive use of technology. While centered in the strategic, free-market driven, and individual liberty focused perspective — all traits of the Stage 5 (orange) worldview — new value systems (green, yellow, and turquoise) are emerging in the â€Å"postmodern† age. Yet, we have no language for anything beyond First World, believing that is the final state, the â€Å"end of history. † Further, there is a serious question as to whether the billions of people who are now exiting Second and Third World life styles can anticipate the same level of affluence as they see on First World television screens. And, what will happen to the environment if every Chinese family had a two-car garage? The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the GTO, and most multinational corporations reflect the blue-orange worldview codes of cultural discipline, financial accountability, and individual responsibility. Attacks are launched from three directions: Red zone activists, anarchists, and spoilers who love a good fight, and believe the Big Orange Money Machines are easy targets from which to exact tributes in various forms; Blue zone ideologies who defend the sacred against the secular and resent the intrusive technology and destruction of the holy orders and extol the purity of the faith, noble cause, and divine calling; and Green zone humanists and environmentalists who level charges of exploitation, greed, and selfishness, noting the eradication of indigenous cultures and the poisoning of the â€Å"pristine’ environment by Big Mac golden arches. The WTO demonstrations were so confounding to so many because they combined these red, blue and green critiques into single anti-orange crusades. Capitalism and materialism were the twin villains; spirituality, sharing, and social equality, along with sustainability, were the noble virtues. There appeared to be no middle ground; no zone of rapprochement; no win:win alternative. Herein lies the global knot: the seemingly irreconcilable conflict between and among the haves, the have nots, the have a little but want more, and the have a lot but are never content. There must be a better way. STRATIFIED DEMOCRACY: Managing the Global Mesh Stage/ Wave 1 Stage/ Wave 2 Stage/ Wave 3 Stage/ Wave 4 Stage/ Wave 5 Stage/ Wave 6 Stage/ Wave 7 Stage/ Wave 8 Beige Purple Red Blue Orange Green Yellow Turquoise POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND POWER DISTRIBUTION RATIOS survival clans Haiti tribal orders Somalia feudal empires Taliban authoritarian democracry Singapore multiparty democracy UK US social democracy Netherlands stratified democracy holonic democracy Confederal unitary Federal unitary Integral ECONOMIC SYSTEMS AND RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION FORMULAS eat when hungry mutual reciprocity kinship to victors belong the spoils the just earn the rewards each acts on own behalf to prosper all should benefit equally all formulas contribute to spiral health resources focus on all life As you can see, the projected bulge of global thinking is in the purple/red zones, with a somewhat smaller peak in the orange enclaves. Many are locked in the blue authoritarian flatland and are just now waking up to orange, â€Å"good life† possibilities. At the same time, the postmodern mindset is attacking orange materialism, living more lightly on the land, and searching for meaning in Navaho sweat lodges or excursions into variations on the spiritual theme. In his new book entitled The Cultural Creatives (Three Rivers Press; ISBN: 0609808451; October 2001), Paul Ray describes Heartland-Blue, Modernity-Orange, andCultural Creatives-Green. We add Integral-Yellow as the next developmental stage. There are different futures for different folks. The future of the Third World will be Second World â€Å"authority† before either First World autonomy or postmodern sensitivity become options. There are different futures for different folks along the evolutionary trajectory. â€Å"Democracy,† then, comes in many different variations, hues, and levels of complexity. Beware of imposing the form that fits a specific stage or zone on the Spiral onto other strata. This is an invitation to cultural disaster. There are good reasons why humans have created survival clans, ethnic tribes, feudal empires, ancient nations, corporate states, and value communities in our long bio-psycho-social-spiritual ascent. Robert D. Kaplan makes this point clearly in a lengthy essay â€Å"Was Democracy Just A Moment?† (The Atlantic Monthly, December 1997). He notes that authoritarian China (blue) is doing more for its citizens than democratic (orange) Russia, and that enlightened one-party-states and even dictatorial empires (red), can build a middle class more quickly than multiparty models (orange) in Africa. The evolutionary spirals are dancing all over the planet, in a figurative sense. While some hear tribal drum beats, others are doing the tango, the waltz, the Texas two-step, the jitterbug, theCharleston, or even the line dance. In some dances each expresses self, oblivious to others. In others, we dance in concert, in a multitude of interlocking arrangements and movements. This is the global diversity. New political and economic models are beginning to appear, based on the assumptions and codes within integral commons and holistic meshworks. Welcome to the global dance. THE TWELVE POSTULATES : AN INTEGRAL PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: The Prime Directive A â€Å"postulate† is defined as â€Å"an essential presupposition, condition, or premise of a train of reasoning.† Postulates must all hang together and be seen as both simultaneous and sequential in creating a critical mass shift. These shifts are part and parcel of The Prime Directive, a universal ratchet through layers of complexity that appear to impact human choice-making, as well as that of other life forms. Bacteria, viruses, genes and memes all appear to be shaped by nonlinear, adaptive intelligences as life as we know it continues to evolve on the planet. Rather than existing as stand-alone, independent fragments, the postulates materialize â€Å"a train of reasoning† as they work in synergistic concert with each other. It makes no sense to argue as to which one is the most important. They are all interwoven into an evolving Global Meshworks. Note how horizons are broadening from families to clans, to tribes, to empires, to ancient nations, to corporate nation states, and now to global views. Yet, all of these viewing portals continue to exist on the planet earth. We are witnessing new versions of the historic continental drift as our economic, political, technological, and social worlds are, indeed, being pulled closer together. Further, global problems will require global solutions which, of necessity, will require global thinking. The historic past:present: future time lines will need to be understood. Up stream and down stream viewing points must be maintained. Final state paralysis must be replaced by flow state perspectives. Simplistic car-wash solutions must be replaced by a rich understanding and respect for diversities in people, uniqueness in situations, and inevitable steps and stages in human emergence. Rigid rules, a product of fixed state  ideologies, must be supplanted by fluctuating algorithms that engage a world full of variables, life cycles, wild cards and other complex dynamics that lie at the core of life itself. There are no guarantees; no eternal road maps; no inevitable destinations; no blue print etched in permanent ink. Yet, there are equations, formulas, fractals, consequences, flows, and processes. Each new solution will, over time, create new problems. Human motivations will change as our life conditions get better, or get worse. There are systems within us rather than types of us – stratified decision-making stacks that constantly rearrange themselves in terms of priorities and senses of urgency. Different cultures and subcultures, then, are organic entities that lay on new levels of complexity as changes in life conditions warrant. Finally, the real intent of these postulates, when taken as a group, is to shape both interior and exterior dynamics to expedite the natural principles that appear to drive societal transformation. Such dynamics rely heavily on self organizing principles and processes rather than mechanistic, artificial mandates or commandments. They are messy, chaotic, often violence-prone, and uncertain with false starts, regressions, quantum leaps, advances and retreats, within a whole wilderness of snarling beasts, wild cards, sink-holes, and life-sustaining oasis. Such a systemic and integral initiative is designed to dredge out channels, drain stagnant back waters, unblock tributaries, navigate white water rapids, and maintain the ongoing movement of ideas, energy, and the human spirit through time and space. In this sense we become co-creators with the The Prime Directive in crafting the human story. But first, some personal questions for you to consider: Why do you see globalization issues the way that you do? Who are the â€Å"bad guys; the good girls? † What personal priorities shape your perceptual filters? Why do you have them? Have you changed? What will you personally gain or lose under different global scenarios? What mindsets, viewing-points, or value systems influence your own thinking? Which groups do you represent, causes do you support, and personal or professional commitments do you have which could alter your views? Are you open to new and different perspectives, fresh and expansive horizons? THE TWELVE POSTULATES 1. Reframe globalization issues around value system codes rather than behavioral stereotypes. In place of the racial, ethnic, nationalistic, culture-bound, moralistic, economic, and oppressed/oppressor filters, consider viewing globalization matters through this integral/holistic (yellow turquoise) frame. By understanding these deeper value system currents or complexity strata, it becomes possible to develop more realistic big picture views and craft practical, appropriate solutions to real problems. Further, by recognizing the core cultural codes, as reflected in individuals and social groupings, one can quickly identify the generating, internal forces that will ultimately shape external behaviors and actions. For example, why is it the HIV infection rate so high in parts of Africa? If you identify the causative category as â€Å"African,† or â€Å"black,† or â€Å"poor† or â€Å"Third World,† you will miss the point entirely. Not all Africans, blacks, poor, or Third Worlders exhibit the identical sexual behaviors associated with AIDS. When women are influenced by the purple/animistic/safety security vMEME, it is in their interest to breed large families because their children will provide a work force (gather wood and water) and future security. When men are dominated by the red/exploitative/predatory value system, they will impregnate as many women as they can just to keep score. And, when they believe (purple) that having sex with a virgin will cure their AIDS infection, you can see why the plague spreads so rapidly. So, the pandemic is a purple and red problem; not a â€Å"black† problem. Blacks in the blue, orange, and green zones are less vulnerable to the destructive behaviors. â€Å"It’s the vMEMES, stupid! † 1. Create vital signs monitors to track deeper currents and critical indicators. In order to track these underlying currents that flow over all of the continents, it is essential that we develop the capacity to monitor the concentrations and shifts, and be able to make sense out of the more traditional social/economic/health/quality of life indicators that are now available. This use of GIS (geographic information survey) type information displays can be enhanced by overlaying the patterns over the vMEMETIC codes to find deeper meaning in the data. Further, it should be possible to identify the early signs of an emerging â€Å"hot spot† that may explode in social eruptions. Such a scan would have warned the world community of bloody encounters-in-the-making in Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, and Indonesia. We have Dow Jones indicators of the economic health and well being of various countries. Where are the value scans that can inform us of major changes, or sound the alarm when danger is on the horizon? For example, when the Balkans political leaders were brought to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio to iron out some kind of peaceful settlement to the lingering conflict in the former Yugoslavia, they were exposed to cyber maps showing the actual land forms, mountain ranges, and border lines. What if, in addition to these surface-level profiles, they were shown the vMEMETIC contours of the various population groups, or the stages of social development that were apparent? And, if the UN could have monitor these cultural codes in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, or even East Timor, wouldn’t the responses have been significantly different? It is dangerous to be trapped in a paradigm. 2. Focus on the future as more significant than the past in shaping the present. The past can never be replayed or replayed. Time is not a straight arrow that flows on a unbroken line from the past to the future Rather, we go through a number of nonlinear jumps that totally alter the conditions, world views, and operating systems. In one sense author Thomas Wolfe had it right: â€Å"We can’t go home again. † This, of course, means crafting a compelling vision of a realistic future state, and then aligning the various efforts and projects to accomplish those objectives. This often happens through the creative use of scenario building processes, a technology well developed by John Petersen at the Arlington Institute in Virginia. (Seewww. arlingtoninstitute. org). Yet, how do we â€Å"let go† of the past without jettisoning or eroding the essential codes that are required in crafting new and more complex social systems? Both raw capitalism and materialist Marxism pore acid on the indigenous cultures, both designed to create the New Man or Homo economicus. The second will foist a high consumer culture on more traditional environments. The first has used the Cambodian â€Å"killing fields† to wipe out every vestige of the older orders. Both do quite serious damage to the cultural strata. Both promote â€Å"final state† paralysis. And, there remains a serious question as to how we move beyond the anger and guilt from past deeds that often keep a society from moving ahead. Both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and the â€Å"Sign the Sorry Book† campaign in Australia with regard to the mistreatment of the aborigines are options. There is a growing movement within African American subcultures in the United States to demand reparation payments for the inhumane institution of slavery and pervasive influence of centuries of segregation and discrimination. Yet there are far better ways to address the resulting asymmetrics that are the product of many different forces. A shift from blame and be blamed, or even live and let live, in the direction of thrive and help thrive, may hold the key. Ultimately, even subcultures must pass through stages of development. 3. Search for the new intelligences that appear around chaos and within crucibles. One of the basic assumptions within Spiral Dynamics is that complex, adaptive intelligences form in response to the stress and strain forged by life conditions. In contrast to IQ (Intelligent Quotient), EQ (Emotional Quotient), AQ (Adversity Quotient) SQ ( Spiritual Quotient) or other expressions of intelligence that have appeared, we are describing a VQ (Values Quotient) capacity. VQ codes emerge whenever the older thinking patterns can no longer handle the new complexity that they have helped create. In short, â€Å"cometh the time, cometh the value codes.† The intent, here, will be to construct scaffoldings of solutions, arrange them according to the stages of social development, and be willing to scan for new insights and codes that will naturally appear, like diamonds on the veldt. These, like George Bush’s â€Å"Thousand Points of Light† and Clinton’s â€Å"Faces of Hope,† could be quickly disseminated through the Internet and other avenues for communicating practical solutions to common problems. Why continue to â€Å"invent the wheels† when well-designed vehicles are already up and running elsewhere. 4. Identify the superordinate goals that transcend other priorities and agendas. A superordinate goal is a goal or value that everybody wants and needs to realize, but no individual or group can achieve it in an unilateral fashion. These overarching umbrellas can take a number of forms. Some spring from a â€Å"woe is us† syndrome in that we are all in this horrible situation together. In other cases, a â€Å"common enemy† will appear on the scene, one that threatens the well-being of each and all. The best superordinate goal umbrella is a genuine and constructive outcome that everybody values, but one that requires the longer term integration of the conflicting groups. There are plenty of candidates for healthy superordinate goals: the threat of HIV-type viruses, the dangers inherent in global warming or other forms of environmental poison; the fear of nuclear explosions triggered by demagogues or militant â€Å"true believers† who have no fear of death; the growing gaps between rich and poor that sow seeds of class envy, and other wild cards such as water depletion, population growth, and biomedical monster gone amuck. All problems, challenges, and threats cut across national boundaries, ethnic enclaves, and gated communities. 5. Facilitate and honor the inevitable steps, stages and waves in human emergence. This is the critical pathway that lies at the â€Å"DNA† core of The Prime Directive. The focus, here, should be on the process dynamic itself, not on any specific system, level, stage, or whorl that have been activated in forming the complex, adaptive intelligences. Each of the emerging value system waves not only addresses the unique problems in the milieu that gave it birth, but also adds texture and quality to the more complex vMEME codes in the future. (Note the colorful spiral on the wrap around to this document. See how each of the colors bleeds up into the more complex zones.) By keeping each stage/wave healthy, positive, and congruent, the avenues are open for movement to occur, if and when it has been â€Å"awakened† by life conditions. Instead of imposing the one-size-fits-all economic or political package on the entire developmental spectrum, one should craft the unique form that fits the different circumstances. Entire societies (and subcultures) move along the value system trajectory and should be assisted in meeting their needs and challenges at each of the stages, with the economic and political structures and models that are both tailored and appropriate to those conditions. It is both futile and counter productive to attempt to skip stages, or leap into a more complex world view before its time. Lawrence E. Harrison provides the clearest rationale for this process in his work on value systems and prosperity codes. (See Who Prospers? How Cultural Values Shape Economic and Political Success (1992) and Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress (2000), written with Samuel P. Huntington). Harrison has demonstrated, in both his books and in his developmental work in several different cultural settings, that â€Å"traditional explanations like imperialism, dependency and racism are no longer adequate† in explaining why some countries and ethnic groups are better off than others. He stresses the critical importance of â€Å"cultural values that powerfully shape political, economic and social performance. † In Spiral Dynamics terms these are the 4th Level (blue) and 5th Level (orange) vMEME – the blend of â€Å"good authority† with â€Å"practical enterprise. † 6. Mobilize all available resources (quadrants/levels) and focus them like laser beams. Ken Wilber has pioneered the concept of â€Å"all levels, all quadrants† as an essential framework for accelerating the development of people and cultures. Fragmented, isolated, ad hoc, piecemeal, and single quadrant solutions will fail to make a significant difference. Both interior (within the hearts and minds of individuals and cultures) and exterior (the exterior arrangements, economic perks, political structures, and social rules and regulations) must be meshed, coordinated, and aligned to the relevant level (stages of social development) to get maximum impact. See Wilber’s new book, A Theory of Everything, for a thorough analysis. Further, the efforts of families, schools, religion, law enforcement, business, professional societies, and political entitiesshould be integrated, aligned, and synergized to get them all on the same page. Their resources and efforts should befocused like laser beams on the essential steps and stages of emergence. These I call MeshWORK solutions. 7. Contain destructive conflicts while respecting the essential cycles of change. Life is full of dynamic tension, disruptions, conflicts, discord, and even violence. The problems may be within a stage (i. e. Lord of the Flies conflicts and holy wars) or between emerging stages (i. e. Lexus and the Olive Tree, Jihad vs. McWorld, or human rights vs. authoritarian values). Symptoms can be seen in societal blockages, cul-de-sacs, sink holes, minority vs. majority bloodshed, battles over scarce resources, inept and corrupt leadership, terrorism, and perpetual wars for national liberation or economic domination. Major conflicts should be â€Å"depressed† much like raging forest fires, from all angles and as quickly as possible. Minor scrimmages should be prevented if possible or allowed to play themselves out if relatively harmless. As the core vMEME flows are understood and accommodated, there will be fewer such conflicts as the human energy passes more freely the development dams and locks in an ongoing, positive fashion. 8. Promote power differentiation through appropriate, stratified stages and layers. No single political arrangement fits every situation. Each stratum within the human/social archeology will possess different operating philosophies in terms of how power is distributed. These are natural life forms, indigenous to the unique circumstances within each layer and level. Each will have its own unique organizing code, and can only respond to the models and processes which resonate with those â€Å"DNA† scripts. Not every person has the capacity to recognize these vertical stages of development. Many will attempt to impose the codes from single operating levels onto the entire strata of emergence. Some require a Tribal Order that is safety-driven, while others will thrive in an Exploitative Empire that is power-driven. You can also see why an Authority Structures (order-driven) is appropriate in some settings, while the codes within a Strategic Enterprise (success-driven) is congruent elsewhere. When a strong middle class is constructed, and a modicum of affluence is shared, then the Social Network (people-driven) structures make a lot of sense. Today we are moving in the direction of the Systemic Flow (process-oriented) and Holonic Meshwork (synthesis-oriented) global models are relevant. 9. Resolve major paradoxes by implementing creative win:win:win solutions. Many political leaders and groupings are now searching for alternatives to the traditional bipolar models of decision-making – whether expressed in the English Westminster formula, the American checks and balances procedures, or the historic Left vs. Right orientations from the French tradition. Even the win:win negotiation model carries with it the limited codes of the 5th Level (ORANGE) vMEME. These new models are now forming in complex thinking cells in this country and elsewhere. They focus first on the ultimate â€Å"win,† i. e. the integrity of the overall system, the well-being of all people, the  long-term ethical principles, or the inherent wisdom within The Prime Directive. This is the universal touchstone that can be using in resolving deep conflicts. A vMEMETIC understanding, tracked by a Global Vital Signs Monitor, could enhance the quest for peace in the Middle East as well as in Africa. It should be part and parcel of the insights offered at Camp David, in Geneva, or at UN headquarters. 10. Integrate the body, mind, soul and spirit in enriching the human experience. Many of our dysfunctional actions and social breakdowns stem from our own personal fragmentation. While the Age of Enlightenment brought us many benefits of a material nature, we are now aware that such â€Å"progress† came with a price. We found ourselves separated from our spiritual sense, from the deeper values that resonate in our individual and cultural cores. Yet, it does no good to reject totally any of our senses of self. The key to health and well-being, within both a short term context and the longer flow, is to search for ways to mesh all of these attributes in an integral whole. There are plenty of opportunities to access some of these intangible but powerful practices. They should be developed in our youth while they are open to the inner life and welcome experiences designed to expand conceptual horizons. And adults, who are growing weary of the fast-track, technology-rich and digitized world around them, often search for ways to express a spiritual sense, or bond themselves with a transcendent cause, or renew their souls by reconnecting with nature’s wonder. 11. Nourish and replenish the natural habitat so that all life forms may flourish. Perhaps this postulate should come first because it may well be the one that should concern us the most. What is at stake here is preservation of life itself. We are now discovering the genetic codes that shapes our biological DNA scripts. This knowledge is both wonderful and frightening at the same time. The issue itself, and perhaps our permanent residency on the planet, will be determined by which of the vMEME codes controls the knowledge. At one time we believed, for example, that the very best way to protect the elephant species is to focus specifically on the elephant — the mating habits, the food requirements, and ways to keep individual elephants alive and reproducing. Today, the focus is on the environment – the total milieu that will naturally support elephant life. The elephant sprang from that milieu and flourished for centuries within it. As long as it provides what elephants need to survive and flourish, they will. No more prizes for forecasting the rain; only prizes for building the ark. The late Professor Clare W. Graves, Union College, New York said it best: Clare W. Graves. How to cite 8 Stages of Social Development, Papers

Implications of HCAHPS in Health Care

Question: Describe about the Implications of HCAHPS in Health Care. Answer: Introduction: Patient perception metrics, like HCAHP surveys, are crucial in hospital and clinical settings, being linked with financial reimbursement for Medicare, as per the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Hospitals are rewarded or penalized on the basis of patient care experience, which involves health care quality, patient satisfaction, and doctor-patient relationship. Though, there are concerns about its efficacy, it is a valid indicator of quality care that improves patient experience ratings (Mehta, 2015). Merits of HCAHPS: The success of a hospital depends on the volume of patients, whose medical decisions are directly related to the word of mouth publicity and reputation. The HCAHPS helps the hospitals assess the patients comments, for improving the rating and patient satisfaction (Mehta, 2015). The performances of the Cleveland Clinic and similar organizations have proved that patient satisfaction is what matters in improving quality care (Siegrist, 2013). Demerits of HCAHPS: While quality metrics are evaluated on patient experience scores, sometimes high- value-care may fail in deriving desired patient satisfaction. If physicians are penalized for it, such situations would result in negative patient-physician outcomes (Mehta, 2015). The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has indirectly vouched this, by stating that the HCAHPS produces inequitable results in the lower socioeconomic patient groups (AAMC, 2011), and did not encompass all items that impact on the scores, placing many hospitals disadvantaged (Debra, 2012). Conclusion The effectiveness of HCAHPS has been questioned recently for its unintentional biases, as many prestigious hospitals, received poor patient reviews, despite their high quality metrics. Ironically, many hospitals received high patient ratings when their clinical quality was low. However, there are no other tools, currently, to evaluate patient satisfaction, which is the real measure of quality medical care. It is because, value in healthcare is delivering low cost, high quality patient friendly care (Guadagnino, 2012), and HCAHPS contribution in this regard cannot be underestimated. References Association of American Medical Colleges. (2011). AAMC Comments on Medicare Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program Proposed Rule. Retrieved 5 October, 2016 from https://www.aamc.org/advocacy/washhigh/highlights2011/179448/031111aamc_comments_on_medicare_hospital_value-based_purchasing.html Debra, Z. (2012). Using Patient Satisfaction as a Basis for Reimbursement: Political, Financial, and Philosophical Implications. Creative Nursing Vol. 18, No. 3 Retrieved 5 October, 2016 from https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-2744440231/using-patient-satisfaction-as-a-basis-for-reimbursement Guadagnino, C. (2012). Patient Satisfaction Critical to Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program. The Hospitalist. Retrieved 5 October, 2016 from https://www.the-hospitalist.org/article/patient-satisfaction-critical-to-hospital-value-based-purchasing-program/2/ Mehta, S. J. (2015). Patient Satisfaction Reporting and Its Implications for Patient Care AMA Journal of Ethics, Volume 17, Number 7: 616-621. Retrieved 5 October 2016 from https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2015/07/ecas3-1507.html Siegrist, R. B. (2013). Patient Satisfaction: History, Myths, and Misperceptions. HISTORY OF MEDICINE. Virtual Mentor, Volume 15, Number 11: 982-987. Retrieved 5 October 2016 from https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2013/11/mhst1-1311.html

Short Story Performance Assessment Bargain Essay Example

Short Story Performance Assessment: Bargain Paper Bargain by A. B. Guthrie 8th Grade English Language Arts EDRD 602D Secondary Reading Instruction 7-12 Performance Assessment 1 Fay Van Vliet â€Å"Before† Strategy: Activating and Focusing Prior-Knowledge and /or concepts needed Concept: Bullying Building Background knowledge based on personal and text-to-world connections (15 minutes) To activate prior knowledge and introduce the concept of bullying, I would read the CNN. com article: â€Å"Bullying rampant in U. S. middle schools† to the class (see attached article). Following the article I would engage the students in a discussion on bullying. Starter questions: How common is bullying in U.S. middle schools? (4 out of 5) Which students are the most vulnerable targets of the bullies? (different) Why do you think kids that are different are the targets? What kind of bullying have you observed in our school and how do students typically respond to it? What tactics do bullies often use? What kind of creative ways could students deal with bullying? The next two days we will be reading a story that describes an all too familiar theme of bullying, but between adults, with a middle school student caught in the action. Rationale: The prevalence of bullying in middle school is obvious to the students. By bringing their attention to it, and discussing it their minds and emotions are prepared to engage in the plot of â€Å"Bargain. † This text-to-world/text-to-self strategy will provide the students with motivation to compare the theme and plot with their own situation. Quotations by and about Characters (35 minutes) Each of the following quotes will be written onto 3X5 cards with the name of the character it pertains to on the reverse side of the card. We will write a custom essay sample on Short Story Performance Assessment: Bargain specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Short Story Performance Assessment: Bargain specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Short Story Performance Assessment: Bargain specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Duplicate cards will be made so there will be enough for every student to have a card. Pass cards out to students Students mix and find others with the same character Students discuss character quotes to predict what qualities they anticipate they will find when they meet the character in the story Each group will share their character profile with the class and record the descriptions on a laminated tag board T chart posted on the wall. This chart will have two columns, one for predicted character traits and one for actual character traits. It will be used after the reading to check predictions Mr. Baumer â€Å"He was a man you wouldn’t remember from meeting once. † â€Å"†¦ half mule and half beaver. † â€Å"A hundred and thirty-five pounds wasn’t much to throw against two hundred. â€Å"He spent most of his time at the high desk†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Slade â€Å"You could never tell by his face what went on inside his skull. † â€Å"People said he could hold a lot [of liquor] without showing it except in being ornerier. † â€Å"He hates everybody† â€Å"I had heard it said he could make a horse scream with that whip. † â€Å"I have been working in the store for him in the summer and after classes ever since pneumonia took my dad off. † â€Å"Look Mr. Baumer, I can lay out of school for a few days until you kind of get straightened out here. † â€Å"I blurted out that I would have the law on Slade. † â€Å"I didn’t feel good. I couldn’t look up to Mr. Baumer like I used to and still wanted to. † Rationale: Having this exercise before the reading allows the students to anticipate aspects of the story (plot, characters, theme) to help them build comprehension. This strategy is good for adolescent students as it will require them to exercise some critical thinking skills which they are developing at this period of life. It will also encourage them to work as a team toward a common goal, and will allow them the freedom of movement and expressing their own opinions and hearing those of others. During† Strategy: Selecting and Organizing Sequencing to see plot: Part 1 Give the students the sequence organizer for sequencing (ladder page from J Sprague’06) During the first 20 minutes of the class I will show the students how to do this activity by using a current popular movie such as A Night at the Museum. I will have an overhead of the ladder sequence organizer and each student will have a copy to write on. As we discuss the events of the movie, I will write them beside the ladder and have the students do that also. We will then select the most important events and list them in order, starting with the bottom rung listing the 8 most important events that carry the plot to its culmination. During the next 30 minutes, the students will be individually reading pages 231-235 of â€Å"Bargain† and doing this strategy. Since students are reading such a small selection, I will only have them fill in the bottom 4 rungs of the ladder. The directions are on their page will be as follows. 1. Outside of the ladder, list the important events in short phrases, like titles. 2. Decide if any of the events should be combined or dropped. 3. Place numbers, one-four, next to the events in chronological order. 4. Write the events using the short phrases on the ladder in chronological order. Homework: Answer Socratic Discussion questions 1-6 Rationale: Because narrative text, and this text in particular, is organized in a sequence in which one event impacts the next, I selected a sequence organizer to help the students see this succession. This will help the students understand what lead to the culmination of Bargain. Requiring them to select the most important events to put on the ladder and sequence them will build their critical thinking ability. This activity is fitting as a â€Å"during† strategy as it assists the students in selecting and organizing information. The adolescent student is beginning to deal with text that is multifaceted and this activity will help him/her pull out key information from complex text. â€Å"During† Strategy: Selecting and Organizing Sequencing to see plot: Part 2 Making connections through discussions, and Activating and focusing/reviewing sequence (20 minutes): There will be a whiskey barrel at the front of the room with the word â€Å"Bargain† stenciled across it to create mental images and build historical understanding of the text. This will also bring the students back to the previous lesson’s reading and promote class discussion. Discussion starter questions: 1. â€Å"How strong does a freighter need to be to handle these barrels? † 2. â€Å"What happened in the first part of the story yesterday? † 3. â€Å"Students, take out your ladders and let’s discuss the events. † 4. Using an overhead of the ladder, the class will discuss the sequence of events and put them in order, determining what to include and what to leave out. 5. â€Å"Based on the events up to this point, what would you anticipate might happen next and why? The next 30 minutes the students will read individually and finish the second half of the ladder to see the complete sequence of the events. Homework: Complete Socratic Discussion questions 7-11. Rationale: See part 1 â€Å"After† Strategy: Integrating and Applying Community share plan – Discuss character profile descriptions to check predictions: students will refer to the poster boards to see how accurate their predictions were (the left side of T chart) and fill in accurate descriptors for each character on the right side of the chart. Socratic Discussion Prior to the class The students will have completed the Socratic discussion questions before this class period. Discussion table will be set up with chairs enough for half of the class and 2 extra chairs around it Before the Socratic Discussion Rules for the Socratic discussion will be reviewed oOnly those who have answered the questions will be in the inner circle The students are to have only prepared answers on the desk The participants decide what format the discussion will take such as go around the circle or the last speaker choose the next speaker The inner circle students determine who speaks first Another student speaks only when the one currently speaking finishes Clarifying questions may be asked by inner circle members The discussion is complete when the inner circle members have agreed on each question or have agreed to disagree with all members having given their opinion The outer circle participants will not speak or communicate with body language Participants must hand in their discussion question answers before the discussion ensues They are to take notes logging as much of the discussion of the inner circle as they can Key words or phrases should be highlighted or circled Students in the outer circle may take one of the empty chairs in the inner circle when: the discussion appears to be off topic the discussion becomes nonproductive the inner circle members have not discussed an area deemed important the student who takes the empty seat becomes the next speaker The inner circle is complete when all the chairs are filled and students may not leave the inner circle until the discussion is ended. When the inner circle discussion is completed the outer circle shares their summaries or key words and phrases with the inner circle students while the inner circle becomes the listeners During the Socratic Discussion Inner circle will discuss questions 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 When the inner circle has completed their round, the outer circle will become the inner circle and discuss questions 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 When this group has finished their round, the whole class will discuss question 11 Assessment: Since this will be an early implementation of the Socratic Discussion, the goal will be to initiate and practice critical thinking skills. The assessment will be taken from the student’s written responses to the three types of questions. Rationale: Conducting a Socratic Discussion after the reading provides an opportunity for the students to review the story, its theme, its characters, and discuss the actions of the characters in the story. It provides a platform in which each participant must consider and respect others’ opinions. This is essential for middle school students as they are becoming young adults and need to hear and be heard in life. This discussion will build comprehension the students review the story and build a greater understanding while listening and internalizing others perspectives. Socratic Discussion Questions Answer the following questions in complete sentences and explain your answers thoroughly. Literal Questions 1. What is the setting of this story? 2. What is a freighter? 3. Which character is narrating the story? Inferential Questions 4. Why does Slade call Mr. Baumer, â€Å"Dutchie? † 5. Why did Mr. Baumer persist in giving Slade the bill even though he knew Slade would not pay it? 6. What does Al mean when he says, â€Å"I didn’t feel good. I couldn’t look up to Mr. Baumer like I used to and still wanted to. †? 7. How does the author imply that Slade drank the wood alcohol? Evaluative Questions 8. What contemporary issue was Mr. Baumer facing that was the foundation for his anger? 9. What options did Mr. Baumer have for dealing with his situation and his anger with Slade? 10. Why do you think the author chose â€Å"Bargain† for the title? 11. What â€Å"bargains† do you think people make today?

Partnership Working in the British Nhs Essay Example

Partnership Working in the British Nhs Essay Example Partnership Working in the British Nhs Essay Partnership Working in the British Nhs Essay A review by Dr. Ignatius Gwanmesia on how inter-professional partnership working impacts on service delivery (NHS) (2007) Introduction In a utopian scenario, inter-professionalism should reciprocate efficiency in service delivery for service users. However in practice, inherent constraints left unresolved can construe to hinder rather enhance the safeguarding of clients welfare. Service users are experts on their own needs, Smale et al (1993), and they expect and judge the quality of health and social care services they receive in terms of whether they â€Å"help them achieve the outcome they aspire to, and whether these services are delivered in ways which empower rather than disempower them. † Davies et al (2005, 195). Realising these expectations is a factor not only of the user-staff ideologies and value bases but of the model (medical or social) and theories developed by service users Oliver, (1996, p. 31-33). While service users expect staff in joined up working to assist them to address both their medical and social needs, due to multifaceted constraints, partnership working is not readily able to deliver since it can be â€Å"tense and conflictual; a place of strife where members compete for territory and vie for recognition. Davies et al (2005, p. 158). Experience show that holistically the result can be compromised service delivery. To critically evaluate how inter-professional partnership impacts on service delivery, this discourse will start with an attempt to resolve the polarisation in its conceptualisation. The background will trace the evolution of the ideology from a theoretical, policy and practice perspective. The body of the discourse will first analyse those factors that impact on effective partnership; power relationship, empowerment, communication, power relationship and value differentials. Next, will be a critical examination on how the social, legal and political structures in Britain have been instrumental in realising the vision of the ‘Third way’. Next, different codes of practices will be examined to ascertain their effectiveness as instruments for ensuring practice standards. Then using ‘process’ and ‘outcome’ as evaluation criteria, Dowling, (2004, p. 309), the advantages and disadvantages of partnership will be compared. The conclusion will be an objective synthesis of those relevant dialogues developed within the discourse. Finally, the bibliography will alphabetically credit all the references employed within the essay. Definition Inter-professional partnership as developed in New Labour’s quasi-market partnership ideology is devoid of singularity in its conceptualisation. The concept is so highly polarised, Hutchison and Campbell, (1998); Ling, (2000) that different writers use or interchange different terminologies to infer similar ideology; multi-organisational partnership, (Lownders and Skelcher, (1998); collaborative governance, Huxham, (2000); inter-agency collaboration, Hudson et al, (1999); networks, (Kirkpatrick) and inter-organisational relationship and networks, Hage and Alter, (1997). With such visible variance, it is not surprising that Glendinning et al, (2002, p. 3) describes partnership in government circulars and policy pronouncements as, â€Å"largely a rhetorical invocation of a vague ideal. † In consonance, Balloch and Taylor, (2001. p. 6) state that partnership† lays claim to no single definition or model. † Despite this lack of singularity or consensus in its conceptualisation, Tennyson (1998) provides what I consider the most stipulative and appropriate definition for this discourse; a cross-sector alliance in which individuals, groups or organisations agree to work together to fulfil an obligation or undertake a specific task; share the risk as well as the benefits; and review the relationship regularly, revising their agreement as necessary† Tennyson, R. (1998, p. 7) However, from a more political perspective and seeking to clarify and be specific about its objective, the Audit Commission defines partnership as; A joint workin g arrangement where partners are otherwise independent bodies cooperating to achieve a common goal; this may involve the creation of new organisational structures or processes to plan and implement a joint programme as well as sharing relevant information, risks and rewards. † While White and Grove, (2000) perceive, â€Å"respect, reciprocity, realism and risk-taking† as partnership’s four most vital elements†, the Department of Health’s documents focuses on the notion of â€Å"inter-agency working, coordination and a seamless service† DOH, (1998a, 1998b, 1999b, 2000) Background As hitherto developed in the government’s White Paper: Modern Local Government: In touch with the people; local councils and their professionals constituted the primary deciders of the nature and degree of services provided to services user; with the interest of the former being paramount,. DETR (1998, para 1. 10 and 1. 11). During the Conservatives years, fragmentation of service delivery among a variety of agencies resulted in, â€Å"poor performance of many local authority services; and lack of citizen engagement. † Geddes, (1998, p. 8); Martin et al, (1999); Audit Commission, (1998). As a remedial measure, the ideology of partnership in social work and social policy was initiated by New Labour as part of its, â€Å"democratic renewal and modernising agenda to champion new and different forms of decision-masking in public services with a shift from democratic towards partnership and participatory decision making†. Glendinning, (2002, p. 97). In the words of the Labour Prime Minister; â€Å"It is in partnership with others that local governments future lies† Blair, (1998, p. 13). Labour’s objective was essentially to â€Å"build councils which are in touch with their local people and get the best from them. DETR, (1998, p. 6) as agents of the local authority through the social services and related services, social workers inadvertently became proactive professionals in propagating the doctrine and practice of partnership. Labour’s rational in the partnership ideology in welfare delivery was initially conceived and sustained on the argument that rather than decentralisation Increasingly accountability would give the citizen a feeling of Their vision was a service that provided a seamless care, reduce waste and control spiralling cost, increased user’s choice and made services responsive. Although services responded and users choice extended; this state-driven and market-led approach was plagued with; service fragmentation, separate health and governmental budgets, problematic access to information; limited skilled workers; competition rather than collaboration was the norm. Geddes, (1998, p. 18); Martin et al, (1999). Based on the theory that what works is what counts, on gaining power in 1997, New Labour adopted partnership working; kept what worked-â€Å"contracts and primary care shift development and made partnership working central to its ‘Third Way’, Hudson, (1999) The vision was of person-centred; user’s-led; user-controlled service, with competition but collaboration; with a one-stop point for information in multi-format; teams being multi-disciplinary; and workers being multi-skilled. The drive towards strongly mandated official policy requiring interprofessional cooperation especially in child protection â€Å"has developed, partly in response to professional precept and partly in response to a series of Inquiry Criticism of poorly coordinated work in this field† Birchall and Hallett,(1995, p. 241) The Laming report (2003, para 17. 112) into the circumstances surrounding the `death of Victoria Climbie, was significantly responsible for the Children Act 2004 requiring working across traditional service boundaries mandatory in health and social care welfare service delivery. Quinney, (2006, p. ). Similarly, the outcome of the Black report in 1980 and the Acheson report in 1998 into inequality in health were reasons for Labour to intensify the campaign against value difference that resulted in social exclusion. Labour’s answers was summed up in the catch phrase â€Å"joined up problems require joined up solution. † Sullivan and Skelcher (2002) D eterminants of Effective Inter-Professional Partnership. Partnership working can be theorised on power-relationship in which a competent communicator with vision; the ability to empower and team-build, coherently directs members to achieve a common objective. Appropriately and democratically applied, power will empower and protect the vulnerable, enabling the perspectives of even the less capable, less articulate to be accommodated and acted upon. However autocratic or despotic power can lead to oppression and discrimination as typical in professionalism and credentialism where professionals like doctors may adopt a dogmatic rather than pragmatic approach in partnership working. The implication is that in welfare delivery staff need to be reflective so as not to revictimise clients through power misuse or abuse. Empowerment The Issue of Choice. Empowerment was indispensable â€Å"since the government’s commitment to a market system requires potential consumers to have enough information to make informed decisions about their requirements†, Payne, (1995, p. 175). Markets only succeed in advancing competition if there are alternatives to choose from, and choice is only possible if the service user knows about possible alternatives. The government’s Direct Payment to enable users to pay for their own service provision appropriately serves this purpose. However there is reservation as to the comprehensiveness of this measure since the payment is mean-tested. In partnership working the empowerment of clients either directly or indirectly through advocacy to actively participate in their own welfare delivery has primarily been fostered by sociological approaches such as the system or role theories. According to Payne, (1995, p. 178) such theories emphasise the importance of the social origin of many of the problems clients faced, they are not so incline to emphasise clients personal incapabilities, and therefore lead to an assumption of greater equality between the welfare client and staff. An identified constraint in empowering clients especially by social workers is that â€Å"social workers often in reality deal with people’s increasing dependence and this seems inconsistent with empowerment† Stevenson and Parsloe, (1993, p. 22) Where inequality between the welfare client and staff exist on the ground of value or power differentials, there is supposition that service delivery to the former maybe compromised. As will be seen later, empowerment is inextricably linked to effective leadership. Value differentials. The reality about value differences in partnership working is that it is reflective of a British society characterised by an enormous range of ethnic and cultural differences. Consequently, it becomes imperative to accommodate value differences as an asset within the context of valuing diversity rather than perceive it primarily as a liability. Within this context, where a traditional equal opportunities approach in partnership may focus narrowly on those form of discrimination which are illegal, Harrison et al, (2006, p. ) argues that by contrast in welfare delivery partnership, â€Å"a diversity approach regards any form of discrimination whether illegal or not as a barrier to human potential and therefore a problem (oppression) to be addressed. Within setups where social workers have to liaise or collaborate with professionals like medics, issues of image become very apparent. In consonance, Lymbery, (1998) has identified a number of inter-organisational and inter-professional pr oblems with social workers attached to a GP practice based on varying systems of accountability and remuneration. There is social consensus that doctors perceive themselves as occupying a higher professional hierarchy compared to social workers. Analysts are unanimous that contrary to the founding ideology of partnership, this hierarchical relationship â€Å"may be antithetical to the very concept of a team† While not limited to GPs, there is plausible rationale to argue that in partnerships, â€Å"professionals who historically worked in a highly individualised and non-collaborative culture (North et al, (1999); Callaghan et al,(2000) may find effective accommodation of the ideology of partnership problematic. Additionally, in partnership, participants are like ambassadors of their respective agencies, each with different operational; policies which do not allow for comprehensive partnership in practice. Hodgson, (1997); West and Poulton, (1997). At a more inter-professional level, observation by Dalley, (1989) that historical mistrust which constituted a barrier to effectiveness, is a typology of the relationship between social care workers and relevant health sectors. While professional codes of practice and boundaries may be contributory factors, Glendinnning et al, (2002, p. 69) suggest that in a social worker-National Health Service partnership, professionals of the former are perceived by those of the latter as, â€Å"being too slow in responding, unnecessary bureaucratic and overtly concerned with ‘irrelevant’ issues† this was a major point of debate in almost all my group exercises on partnership. The consensual perception is that while professionals like doctors are too narrowly bound by the medical model; facing events or incidences requiring an immediate and short-lived intervention, social workers are like community-liaison mangers constituting part of a homogeneous team involved in a continuous live-enhancing process. In the latter, enhancing independence, anti-discriminatory practice and combating social exclusion are of the essence. In fact is plausible to suggest that to a certain extent, social workers are those left to pick up the pieces after the doctors have left. From the preceding analysis it is apparent that social workers in partnership are more theoretically informed since they need to retrospect, self-evaluate in view to projecting (providing an informed service to improve the future). At client and leadership levels, critical accommodation and respect of value difference will safeguard against either intentional or inadvertent oppression or discrimination; resulting in effective teamship and improved outcomes. Leadership. Rather than elites or autocrats, â€Å"partnership leaders are people who have a vision, they make things happen, at the same time they strengthen and support their followers, inspiring them to trust the leader† Cook, (1996. P12) Effective leaders have mastered the rudiments of reflective power management to communicate empowerment rather than disempowerment and oppression. While some people are said to be born leaders, Dolan and Holt, (2005, p. 97) argue for the need for formal training in leadership skills in the health and social care environment where priorities and pace can change dramatically over a short period with a potential for chaos. This will provide the leader with; Vision- the ability to see a way forward to the desired outcome which may be as simple a prioritising and organising social work intervention so that all demands are met. While welfare delivery may entail complex, multi-faceted and problematic logistics, a good leader is able â€Å"to fin d creative ways of achieving expected targets while keeping the activity acceptable to staff delivering care† DOH, (1991). Vision in partnership leadership means taking external directives since the leader has to work with others beyond their usual work environment. Empowerment- In a heterogeneous partnership where partners have and defend maybe conflicting values, the leader’s ability to work on an individual basis in disseminating knowledge and information will unite and empower the team, resulting in commitment. While empowerment in partnership maybe perceived as lack of managerial control, Dolan and Holt (2005, p. 98) argue that the leader must set and communicate boundaries on what is acceptable standard and behaviour. While this control measure may seem to conflict with the very principle of empowerment, Senoir, (1999, p16) points out that this ensures for stability, respect and security within the decision-making framework. Personally I think unregulated empowerment can be counter productive since not every view is constructive. Team-building. The ability to build and sustain teamship with partnership working is fundamental to being an effective leader since leadership must draw people together, create common goals and encourage a sense of collaboration In giving directions and support to team members, Dean (1995) caution that leaders should recognise their own limitations. In partnership leadership where vision, empowerment and team-build are matched with an equal ability for effective communication, welfare delivery will reciprocate these competences. Effective Communication. Effective communications in partnership constitute the primary medium by which health and social care negotiations take place. This is more so in interaction with vulnerable and maybe disempowered clients who may not be articulate or assertive enough to exercise their right to proactively participate in decisions affecting their lives. Similarly, competence in communication is required under the current market-based care provision system where care mangers have to work with a myriad of agencies in negotiating care provisions. Within leadership, it can be argued that where communication is good and ideas are welcomed, teamship is enhanced. However, at a client level where effective assessment is a function of reciprocal communication competence, Davies et al (2005, p. 191) argue that clients are disempowered since it is not easy to participate on a basis of equality with powerful professionals, when people have spent a considerable period without control over decisions which affect their lives and unable to exercise much autonomy. Similarly, Giddens (2000, p. 286) points out that the sense of identity and values shared by professionals in hospitals, GP surgeries disempower vulnerable clients who become forced to accept compromised services. Holistically, this suggests that client’s welfare in social care deliver partnership is more of a commodity than a right. Issues in Partnership Working. Partnership working and Empowerment in practice As a self-professed enabler, Blair, (1998, p. 3), Tony Blair embarked on his partnership policy by setting up the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) to help â€Å"improve Government’s action to reduce social exclusion by producing joined up solutions to joined up problem† SEU, (March, 2000) In line with his â€Å"democratic renewal and modernising agenda to champion new and different forms of decision-making in public services with a shift from democratic towards partnership and participatory decision making†. Glendinning, (2002, p. 7), Blair made empowerm ent the focus of his partnership policy. Some important principles of this agenda included; the importance of partnership and participation; the closer relationship between health and social care; and the mixed economy of care reflecting choice and market forces. The National Service Framework (NSF), Single Assessment Programme (SAP), Assessment Framework for Children ad Families were initiated to enable and facilitate the realisation of the partnership objectives. Similarly, professional codes of practice were set out to regulate welfare practice; (UKCC. NMC, GSCC, and BASW) were set out to inform, guide, regulate, discipline, protect and negotiate. Brechin et al (2000). The concern with a surplus of legal instruments and professional codes is that one gets lost in the resulting maze. Moreover they are specific rather than universally applicable. Responding to clients needs meant he establishment of Primary Care Trust (PCT) which made services available at the point of needs to clients. Similarly the creation of Health Action Zones created new ways of working in and with communities and across professional boundaries to address inequalities in health. Quinney, (2006, p. 78). The conflict with these initiatives is that agendum for accessing services is set by staff, creating instant inequality. Even where legal mandate like the Direct Payment Acts is supposed to give clients the control over the type and degree of service received, the decision-making process is vertical with client being given what the staff deem appropriate rather than horizontal where provisions are need-led. Labour’s quest to improve quality standards in partnership working is exemplified by the multi-faceted joined up working between the Department of Health with; â€Å"the Strategic Health Authority, the Commission for Social care Inspection (CSCI); NHS Modernisation Agency and the Social Care Institute for Excellence to identify and spread best practice. Quinney, (2006, p. 61). Similarly, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE); Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE); Commission for Health Care Audit and Inspection and General Social Care Council, Quinney, (2006, p. 2) provide national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health. Specific to social work and nursing respectively the GSCC and NMC ensure that welfare deliveries by their staff are consistent; legally and ethically complaint. The main criticism of these initiatives is that practice may become too restrictive and dogmatic at the expense of ref lexive practice. Values and ethics in partnership working. Codes of Practice) Generally, legal instruments like the NHS Community Care Act 1990 and Children Acts provide directives to welfare staff. However, within social work and the nursing professions where the vulnerability of clients and the potential for power abuse is acute, the General Social Care Council (GSCC) (2002); and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)(2004) set out professional standard and informs the public, other professions and employers of the standard of professional conduct that they can expect of staff. In keeping with the partnership working ideologies, empowerment is central in these codes, emphasising respect of uniqueness or diversity, the confidentiality of patients data except shared solely on a need-to know basis, Baker, (19954, p. 74); anti-discrimination, anti-oppression, mutual respect and right to informed choice; partnership collaboration, openness and transparency; fairness and equity in practice. The problem with codes of practices is that different agencies have different codes, with the potential for conflict in logistics in care-planning and service delivery. For example in situation of domestic violence involving children, the police may view it as a criminal issues as opposed to the social worker who will rather approach it as a social problem requiring social support. Also, conversely to clients, staffs are much well-briefed about the details of the processes of welfare delivery. Evaluating partnership working. (Advantages and disadvantages) The problem with evaluating partnership issues is that the concept is a social construct; Balloch and Taylor, (2001. p. 6) and lacks a bench mark for its own evaluation. While opinions about the usefulness of partnership is highly polarised, when evaluating outcome, process-wise, Labour’s diligence in organising partnership training, initiating relevant legal instruments and structures including the increasing moves to empower clients are reasons-enough for qualified compliments. Holistically, effective partnership as in the commissioning of services in a complex and multiple-needs situation is ideal in focusing the energies and resources of different agencies on a common problem. Well-managed, Harrison et al (2003, p. ) points out that this would enable a coherent and holistic approach to complex, cross-agency problems. Within a social climate of diminishing finance and resources, partnership as in the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) may provide access to financial support. Similarly sharing of scarce resources can be easily negotiated. The one-stop pooled-budgets system has not only reduced bureaucracy but has extended the Care Management p rinciples across a wider field to enable the purchase of a wider range of care packages. â€Å"People said they wanted to take more control of their own health and well-being† DOH (2006, p. 3). In community care services, the supposed empowering answer was Direct Payment; â€Å"a way of people who need support to have more control over the services they receive† DOH, (2006, p. 16). The vertical rather than horizontal decision-making process involve in this arrangement is dogmatic not pragmatic as befits democratic decision-making in democratic partnership. Moreover how does one actually define needs? PCT have brought services closer to the point of needs, although agendum on surgery timetable and means of service delivery maybe beyond client’s control. Similarly, the risk of taking responsibility is shared. However, while service users may be empowered, comprehensive participation is problematic since most clients may not be competent-enough to benefit from empowerment. Despite the advantages of partnership working, criticisms of its outcome are increasing. In a staff-user partnership working, professionals like doctors who historically worked in a highly individualised and non-collaborative culture (North et al, (1999) may find comprehensive accommodation of the ideology of partnership problematic. Whether using the ‘process’ of partnership or its ‘outcome’ to evaluate its effectiveness, opinions about user’s satisfaction is highly polarised. At the root of this is the fact that in a multi-ethnic and complex British society, welfare clients and staff hold, respect and defend different conflicting values that constraint comprehensive partnership collaboration. Moreover, there are doubts as to whether clients are comprehensively aware of their role or entitlement in the partnership framework. Similarly, while the superfluity of legal instruments, practice codes and local community partnership strategies could be excused for the government’s enthusiasm to justify its mandatory partnership working for agencies in welfare delivery, the Audit Commission (1999) report expressed concern in the enormous growth of partnership work. It reported that; â€Å"In some areas so many of these structures have been set up that the water are again muddled, and it becomes unclear how overlapping partnership and strategies actuality fit. Audit Commission, (1999, p. 57) Within the quasi-market social care partnership, where professionals like doctors have become share-holders, the need to minimise cost means that services users are either intentionally or inadvertently not informed about the availability of relevant services. In 1999, â€Å"doctors admitted that cancer patients are not told of all the treatment available because there is not enough money to pay for the drugs required † Kirby et al. , (2000, p. 62) Similarly, the tendency to fast-tract the discharge of patients from hospitals to free up beds may be informed by capitalist ideologies whereby, the Care-Management system is helps in managing the crisis of capitalism through targeting, and rationing in healthcare. Moreover any welfare arrangement system based on a market ideology may not necessarily create a user-led partnership working Critical appraisal of factors affecting partnership working. As hitherto established, defining partnership with specificity is inherently problematic. Balloch and Taylor, (2001. p. 6). The analogous fact that due to a myriad of constraints, â€Å"making partnership work effectively is one of the toughest challenges facing public sector managers† Audit Commission, (1998, p. 5); BCC, (2001a, p. 13); Labour party, (2000, p. 14), compels me to question whether the pursuance of partnership is a case of the ‘indefinable’ pursuing the ‘unachievable’? Glendinning et al (2002, p. 2), whether in social work or policy practice. Because partnerships involved distinct statutory services, each constrained by their respective policies; codes of practice and financial limitations, effective integration in partnership is prevalently relative rather than comprehensive. In fact it would not be farfetched to infer that the seeds of its ineffectiveness are embedded in its very concept. Furthermore, where effective collaboration is of the essence, there is bound to be contestation and conflict resulting from the social constructiveness of the concept of teamwork in partnership; whether integrative; directive or elective. Freeman et al. , (2000). Irrespective of the lack of consensus and ambiguities, Glendinning, (2002, p. 100), associated with discourses and practice in partnership, the imperative for councils to re-engage with the communities they serve and the equal obligation to embrace the community governance agenda is ensured by a Prime Ministerial Ultimatum. Blair, (1998, p. 22) According to Glendinning, (2002, p. 100) â€Å"local government must modernised or perish. In New Labours â€Å"intermediate or network form of organisation†, Clarence and Painter, (1998); Exworthy et al, (1999) Powell, (1999a); Rhodes, (2000) the quasi-market-led ideology predispose its practice to conflict of interest as the quest to maximise profit does not necessarily create a service with service-users needs as the paramount determinant of practice. In the government’s Care management system where social workers serve as managers in negotiating care services, bureaucracy and budget management rather than clients interest was the primary beneficiary. Moreover where partnership is perceived as empowering service users and their backing agencies, sociologist argues that the prevalently bottom-up approach â€Å"cannot simply be imposed on, or parachuted into areas. † Powell and Exworthy, (2001). While the euphoria for conformity and embodiment may inadvertently compel agencies to apply the ideology irrespective, there is plausible reason to be concerned about the rights and autonomy of the voluntary and community organisations. At a micro level, and as evident in the Victoria Climbe child abuse saga, where professional discrimination diminish collaborative partnership between the medics and social workers, there is need to statutorily qualify the status of the latter if they are not to become invisible. In fact, with partnership being such a fluid ideology coupled with â€Å"the potential for ambiguity and misunderstanding, Harrison, R. et al. , (2003 p. 5) agencies’ interpretation and implementation of related objectives are unavoidably inconsistent and contextual. In practices, producing positive result in partnership is not the outcome of diligent professionalism or cones. Conclusion While there is consensus about the social constructiveness of the ideology of inter-professional partnership in the NHS, this discourse has established that effective partnership working is a synthesis of effective power management, democratic leadership; communication, empowerment and the valuing of value differences to achieve a common objective. Although Labour’s partnership processes are well-structured and managed, outcome are highly polarised. Similarly, while the benefits of New Labours’ ideology of partnership may be highly disputed, research evidence show that, â€Å"even if adherence to such principles does not itself guarantee effective, efficient and appropriate intervention in service delivery, ignoring them is likely to diminish the sharing of professional information and expertise, a wider scope for accessing resources and financial support, the sharing of risk and providing service users with a wider choice. Additionally, where efforts to demystify the ideology of partnership is not founded on theories established through systematic approaches and methodologies, intervention outcomes are bound to experience reciprocal consequences. Therefore for partnership to accomplish it founding objectives, achieving a stipulative definition should be accompanied in practice by the development of â€Å"mutual trust and respect based on a clear understanding of the different skills that different professionals have to offer. † Gledinning, (2002, p. 8) More so, while different legal instruments, codes of practices and ethics may seek to enforce partnership ideologies, it is acknowledging the reality that the heterogeneity of partners (values) in partnership renders comprehensive partnership, one of the toughest challenges facing public sector managers† Audit Commission, (1998, p. 5); BCC, (2001a, p. 13); Labour party, (2000, p. 14). 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Journal of Inter-professional Care, vol. 11, no2, p. 205-216 White, K. and Grove, M. (2000) Towards and understanding of Partnership, NCVCCO Outlook. Issue 7. Appendix One. Concept of Teamwork in Partnership. A directive philosophy is based on an assumption of hierarchy, where one professional occupies a position of leadership and is responsible for directing the other team members. An integrative philosophy places much greater importance on collaborative activities and on team membership, with the contribution of each professionals being equally valued. An elective philosophy is adopted by professionals who prefer to work autonomously and only involve other professionals if need be. This is more of a system of liaison