Blood :: essays papers

Blood Enclosures of blood Shows are characterized into four sub-fields: disasters, comedies, melo-dramatizations, and parodies. Each sub-field has attributes, which makes it recognizable. It is entirely expected to discover any mix of the sub-fields inside a play. To group show one must glance at the more conspicuous topic. This paper is concentrating on the dramatization â€Å"Parentheses of blood†, by writer Sony Labou Tansi. Tansi was conceived in Congo in 1947. Of his fifteen plays most were distributed in French. In 1986 his work was dispatched for English interpretation. Tansi has survived Africas time of imperialism and the dictorial governments that followed. Congo was under French frontier rule through his juvenile years. It experienced times of military autocracy before democratization. Tansi was an individual from the restricting party in Congo and won himself a seat in the National get together in 1993, only two years before his demise. In the same way as other others in post-pioneer Africa, Tansi felt persecuted and untrusting of government, this is plainly apparent in â€Å"Parentheses of blood.† This play is an African Drama. Three-dimensional characters are normal in African shows, this is vital so as to make the dramatization authentic. Another topic of African plays is the nearness of a storteller. This is regular in light of the fact that numerous plays have been gone down through ages by word. A third distinctive element is a crowd of people that includes a functioning job inside the play. A last distinguishing source is the nearness of routine. The characters in Tansi’s play were verifiably three-dimensional. They all had particular characters and body, a fundamental for making the show convincing. In what manner can the nonattendance of the three outstanding components of African dramatization be clarified? Tansi’s work was done in the post-pioneer period. On account of French impact African routine turned out to be less noticeable. It was not completely cleared out, but since of French approach numerous once basic inborn melodies and move turned out to be less basic among Africans. Writing in a cutting edge period Tansi had no requirement for a narrator. This play is a portrayal of the way Tansi saw life in Africa from his own perspective. Tansi didn't decide to have a functioning crowd. Not every African dramatization had this trademark, yet this could be another result of the change to the post-present day writing of Africa.

Hire purchase contracts and Lease in business and how they work Essay

Recruit buy agreements and Lease in business and how they work - Essay Example The goal of this examination is an Accounting Standard as a rule that clarifies the bookkeeping structure, using it as the applied establishment for its work. The significant job of this Statement is to extend to theoretical contribution to the ASB's activity on the development and survey of bookkeeping norms. The examination comprises of different methods with respect to the â€Å"SSAP 21† (SSAP 21 Accounting for Leases and Hire Purchase Contracts 1997) and its ongoing correction. The point of money related reports is to offer data regarding the matter of the revealing entity’s financial execution and fiscal position which is useful to a huge scope of clients for assessing the stewardship of the entity’s association and framing monetary choices. â€Å"Financial explanations need to mirror the impacts of exchanges and different occasions on the revealing entity’s monetary execution and budgetary position. This includes a high level of grouping and collect ion. Request is forced on this procedure by indicating and characterizing the classes of itemsâ€the elementsâ€that exemplify the key parts of the impacts of those exchanges and other events†. A working lease is a rent that isn't a â€Å"finance lease†. Costs under a working lease are taken to the announcement of thorough pay on a straight-line premise more than the rent term, except if an extra systematic premise is increasingly reasonable. â€Å"SSAP 21; section 17 characterizes a money rent as ‘...a rent that moves generously all the dangers and prizes of responsibility for advantage for the lease’. SSAP 21 likewise characterizes a working lease as just ‘...a rent other than account lease’†... 8). Discoveries: The manner by which leases are right now separated and represented; as per SSAP 21 Accounting for recruit buy and rent understandings are managed in the arrangements offered in SSAP 21 ‘accounting for enlist buy and rents contracts’ and IAS 17 leases. In certain models, various rent dealings can shape division of a mind boggling agreement or which incorporate arrangements, alternatives and confirmations which could drop inside the extent of FRS 5 ‘reporting the matter of dealings’. It must be noted , that where such a rent drops under the scope of FRS 5 and SSAP 21, the measures containing increasingly specific arrangement will be important. Working and Finance Leases A working lease is a rent that isn't a â€Å"finance lease† (Finance Lease 2005). Costs under a working lease are taken to the announcement of complete pay on a straight-line premise more than the rent term, except if an extra orderly premise is increasingly appropriate. â€Å"SSAP 21; passage 17 characterizes a fund rent as ‘...a rent that moves considerably all the dangers and compensations of responsibility for advantage for the lease’. SSAP 21 additionally characterizes a working lease as basically ‘...a rent other than money lease’† (Financial Reporting 2011, para. 4). Regardless of whether a rent passes considerably all the prizes and dangers of ownership, it will for the most part be clear in the rent conditions. IAS 17 indicates the bearing concerning when generously all the prizes and dangers of ownership are passed to the resident: The â€Å"lease transfers† (Gupta 2010) ownership to the tenant toward the completion of the rent term. The rent tells about a decent arrangement buy decision toward the completion of the rent term. The rent term is for the primary division of the asset’s

Leadership vs. Management Understanding the Differences

Leadership vs. Management â€" Understanding the Differences “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” â€" Stephen CoveyOne of the major discussions in today’s world is centered on the correlation between management and leadership. There are people who talk about the two systems as interchangeable, while many believe the two are inherently different ways of operating.In this guide, we’ll explore the topic and outline some of the key differences between the two. We’ll look at the definitions and the qualities it takes to be a leader or a manager. We’ll then present you with the three key areas where the two diverge: outlining the mission, achieving objectives and taking risks, and treating the subordinates. THE DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENTTo understand the differences between leadership and management it’s essential to examine the definitions of the practices. The Oxford Dictionary defines management as, “the process of dealing with or controlling things or people”. The practice is generally linked with words such as directing, controlling, organizing and planning. The objective of management is to ensure the specific group of people moves in harmony towards the established goals. Under management, the goals are set out and the processes to achieve them are identified by the management. The goal is to achieve these objectives as efficiently as possible.In a Guardian article, John Kotter, professor of leadership at Harvard University, defined the essence of management as, “a set of processes that keep an organization functioning.” Management deals with many day-to-day activities that can even seem mundane. Management will be in charge of planning and researching objectives and proc esses; ensuring the right people are in the right positions; measuring and supervising the performance; and finding solutions when things go wrong. Management is also in charge of allocating the resources for completing the tasks between subordinates. The sources can range from financial to technological, for example. Management is a position of authority, in which the authority typically comes from the position. This could be due to the hierarchy or the seniority of the organizational structure. In essence, the management has subordinates who work for them and are expected to follow the management when it comes to completing the tasks.Management could also be viewed as a human action â€" a process of accomplishing a specific goal using any available resources. If thought in this way, management could also be about self-management. Overall, management is perfectly described by the graph below, which details the core aspects of management: planning, organizing, directing, and control ling. Sources: Boundless.comTHE DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIPWhat about leadership? The Oxford Dictionary defines leadership as, “the action of leading a group of people or an organization, or the ability to do this”. The definition already shows the major difference between management and leadership. While management talked about directing the process to achieve a goal, leadership is more interested in how to move a group of people towards a goal. In its essence, leadership is about influencing and motivating the specific group of people. The leader is concerned about supporting the team during the process and empowering the team, rather than simply supervising that everything is done as previously planned.John Kotter said in the Guardian interview that leadership is “about aligning people to the vision, that means buy-in and communication, motivation and inspiration”. Therefore, instead of focusing on the effectiveness of the processes used, leadership wants to focus on the personnel and to ensure they are giving their best to boost the efficiency of the processes.In short, the focus is on the people and not the handling of the work or the processes. The emphasis can be on creating the right environment to achieve objectives, such as empowering employees and enhancing innovative thinking, rather than the concrete provision of resources, such as providing enough equipment to do the work efficiently.Furthermore, authority in leadership is not at the heart of the process. Leadership doesn’t have subordinates in the sense that leading is always a voluntary decision and action. Leadership needs followers; subordinates who have bought-in on the vision laid out by the leadership and subordinates who are motivated by the leader and therefore, want to help him or her work towards this vision. Although leadership requires authority, it doesn’t get the authority from a title or a specific position, but because the subordinates and other stakeholders hand it out volunta rily.Leadership can be defined in a number of different ways, depending on the leadership style. The YouTube video below by Doug Lennick is an example of defining leadership: DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES SUIT DIFFERENT ROLESLeadership can be linked to the position of management; a manager can be a leader as well as a manager. Therefore, certain skills and qualities, which are required for both management and leadership, are bound to overlap in the two systems.But the two also have distinct qualities, which, while also enhancing their ability to perform in the other role, are more suited for either position. By examining these qualities, you can also see the differences of management and leadership through real examples.The requirements of managersSince management is task-oriented, managers need to be able to focus on details. The four core qualities of great managers are:Rational â€" A good manager is able to look at things rationally and apply logical thinking when it comes to solving p roblems and setting goals. Since the objective is to focus on the effective accomplishment of goals, the manager has to understand the realities he or she is facing. Rational thinking is essential for allocating the resources and setting the objectives for the team.Analytical â€" Ability to analyze details and find the connections between processes can boost the way a manager operates. Analytical thinking can help identify objectives and the proper use of resources.Ability to solve problems â€" A manager must also be good at solving problems. If the team encounters a problem, the management must be at the core of finding a solution. This requires a cool head, an intelligent mind and quick thinking.Perseverance â€" The task of supervising, directing and managing resources is not an easy feat and efficient management puts a lot of pressure on the manager. Therefore, a manager must be able to stand tall under pressure and keep calm even when things go wrong.A position of management req uires a lot of skill from the person. It’s a position where intelligence and persistency are rewarded.The requirements of leadersOn the other hand, leadership is more people-oriented and this means a leader must possess plenty of emotional intelligence. The core characteristics of a leader are:Charismaâ€"Since a leader needs to inspire the subordinates to follow his or her cause, charisma is an important characteristic. Charisma helps the leader to create a positive environment inspiring others to take action. Since a leader is not supposed to force or intimidate people to perform the required tasks, charismatic skills can enhance the leader’s chances of getting followers involved.Innovative â€" A leader must also show plenty of innovative skills. Leadership is about transformation at its essence and change always requires the ability to think outside of the box. A leader needs to be able to look at problems, but also at existing situations, and find out different ways to change things around.Visionary â€" Similar to being innovative, a leader must be a visionary. A strong and realistic vision guarantees followers listen to the leader and work hard towards the goal. A leader won’t be able to inspire the subordinates by laying out plans that aren’t challenging, transforming and inspiring. A true leader must have the ability to see beyond the future.Flexible â€" Leadership requires plenty of flexibility because you are dealing with people not tasks. Since people are at the core of the approach, the leader must be able to accommodate and respond to situations that might not have been expected. Since persuasion should be part of the leader’s skill set, the leader also needs to be flexible in his or her approach to solving conflict situations.The position of leadership is a position that requires a lot of technical, but also personal skill. The leader’s ability to influence and empower people is at the core of the position. Nonetheless, a leader also ne eds to be able to come up with transformative ideas to guarantee followers look up to him or her.DIFFERENT VIEWS ON THE ULTIMATE MISSIONNow that we’ve examined the differences in definition and the personality types that make great managers and leaders, we can look closer at some of the other defining differences. At the heart of the divergence is the view management and leadership have on the mission â€" the ultimate goal.As we’ve discussed, management is task-oriented and therefore, the focus tends to be on achieving the objectives as efficiently as possible. Management focuses on running the existing operations and doing it as smoothly as possible. In essence, the focus is on maintaining the status quo. There is no desire to switch processes or look beyond the processes and goals that are currently working.Management generally has a set mission, which often deals with increasing profitability or productivity. These guide the management’s decision-making and task setting â€" processes are used based on their effectiveness. When it comes to changing a process or switching roles around, the key consideration is always on the impact the change will have on the efficiency of the mission. For example, management hires people based on their ability to fulfill a specific role. Subordinates and processes are always geared towards ultimate efficiency, which moves the team or the organization towards profitability or productivity.Since management’s role is to find the most effective processes in order to achieve the mission, the focus is not on trialing new approaches or experimenting with different things. Once management finds a process that works, then it will stick to it as long as the process can be proven more effective than another method. Management is not about revolutionizing things around, but continuing on the safe path towards the objectives. Management sees that it is the processes what make the system work, not the people.The traditional approac h to management shows it to be machine-like. Management is in charge of a machine, with the processes and subordinates each representing a function or a part of the machine. Therefore, the ultimate mission for management is to ensure each part is working well; as the management knows that if one part fails, the whole mission can fail. But this also creates the worldview that the machine is the most important part, not any individual part. When a part fails, management will replace it or fix it as soon as possible.The manager can’t risk keeping the machine from running and therefore the focus is on ensuring it’s back running quickly, not whether the part itself is fixed. Consider a subordinate is not performing the role as efficiently as possible. The manager notices it’s causing problems and therefore will take the person aside to check what’s the issue. The manager’s focus is on getting the work done, whether by providing the person with more resources or by getting someo ne else to perform the role.On the other hand, leadership’s ultimate mission is about transformation. The objective is to adapt to changing circumstances and to change the organization around. Leadership isn’t interested about status quo, but achieving something new â€" working towards greater success and recognition. The emphasis is not on profit or productivity, but empowerment and innovation. It’s not to say, profit isn’t important, but it’s more of a by-product following success. The vision itself is more about specific values and approaches to work and the industry. The vision is laid out with the leader’s personal values in mind, with the values resonating with the organizations values.As leadership is people-oriented in its approach, the mission is more people-focused as well. The focus is on helping people to adjust to changing circumstances and empower them to perform better. In leadership, the machine â€" or the processes â€" is not the key to success, but the people making the machine work. Therefore, leadership sees that the functions of the machine can always be changed according to the abilities of the people. In terms of hiring subordinates, a leader is not necessarily as focused on the technical skills and the ability to perform the tasks, but the person’s approach to work and whether they are willing to work towards the mission.Leadership is interested in the ideas and values the subordinates can provide for the team, not just their effectiveness in getting things done. Since the mission is focused on transforming and changing things around, leadership is always on the lookout for new ideas. Subordinates are seen to provide value for the team, not just through labour, but also through their ability to think differently.Therefore, to summarize the differences in approach and setting out the mission:Management’s mission is…Leadership’s mission is…… Administrative and rational… Task-oriented… Concerned about the bottom line… Focused on maintaining, accepting the status quo… Innovative and emotional… People-oriented… Concerned about what’s on the horizon… Focused on transformation, challenging the status quoDIFFERENT APPROACHES TO ACHIEVING OBJECTIVES AND TAKING RISKSBut the differences don’t end in the way management and leadership define the mission for the team. Due to the divergent approaches in terms of the vision, the two differ on how the objectives are approached and the kind of risks they are willing to take.Management’s approach is driven by the emphasis on results. As mentioned earlier, the whole objective is to achieve results (profitability, productivity) as efficiently as possible. Therefore, the management emphasizes achieving the objectives in everything the team does. The focus in on creating a framework consisting of strategies, policies and processes, which will help the team get close to the objectives fast and without encountering problems. The management spend s a lot of time concerned with the framework and honing it to its perfection. Once the objectives are set, management will spend time figuring out the best people and the most efficient methods for achieving these goals.During the process, the management team will ensure the procedures are followed and problems in the framework are solved swiftly. As we’ve discussed above, the manager’s job is often to ensure the right people are placed in positions, which suit their skills the best. Management is in a sense about empowering people through the soliciting of employees in their most suitable position. The management team wants people to achieve results efficiently and therefore, a level of consultation with the employees is always part of creating the framework. The important thing to note about it is that the manager doesn’t have to facilitate all the different views.Due to the emphasis being on results, the management framework is also risk-averse. Management is not about test ing out new processes or taking a risk with the strategy â€" the emphasis is on frameworks that are proven and effective. The framework is not experimental and subordinates are not allowed to step outside of the established processes, especially without consulting with the management. The risk-averse nature stems also from the kind of authority management uses.Under the managerial system, authority is always in the hands of the manager and the management team. Therefore, the subordinates are not able to make decisions or adjust the framework even slightly without consulting the management first. Since the authority and control are placed in the hands of the management, the system decreases risk even further. The probability of risk goes down because the management is in control of every aspect of the framework. Leadership tries to achieve objectives through a different framework. The focus is not on established, rigid processes, strategies and policies, but rather on discovery and a ccomplishment. Instead of focusing on the result, the objectives are about achieving something new (discovering a new technique, empowering subordinates, achieving new sales records).In effect, leadership looks at everything as a challenge to innovate. Even when something is not a major problem for the organization, leadership is still interested in checking whether it could be done differently or improved in some way. The framework for leaders is not about establishing a set of policies to guide work, but to create a system where ideas are examined and re-evaluated to find out innovations. As mentioned earlier, the framework is built on constant transformation.Furthermore, leadership emphasizes motivation and commitment, with the employees picked according to how involved they are with the project. The emphasis is not necessarily on the current skillset, but rather on providing personal growth opportunities to each employee. A leader wouldn’t simply ask, “What can you do now?† but focuses on “What could you do if given these tools?”Since change and innovation are at the hearth of leadership and its approach to achieving objectives, the system is more risk-taking. Leadership doesn’t steer away from risk, but instead embraces it â€" without some risk-taking, change is harder to achieve successfully. There is an element of conscious risk-taking, as leaders will understand new ideas and innovations can occasionally turn out wrong. But not all risk is purposely sought after. Leadership doesn’t mean taking unnecessary risks or gambling away the sustainability of the organization. Nonetheless, the transformative nature will inherently leave the system with higher risk than management. In a way, leadership also requires more risk taking on the part of the employee.A leader’s authority is always based on how trustworthy the subordinates find the vision. Whilst management enjoys authority based on the title or the position, leadership is built on mutual trust in the leader’s vision. Subordinates who choose to follow a leader and participate in the new approach are also taking a risk.To conclude the main differences of the two systems in terms of achieving objectives and taking risks:Management is…Leadership is…… Focused on results… Looking answers to how and when… Short-term… Risk-averse… Focused on achievements and change… Looking answers to what and why… Long-term… Risk-takingDIFFERENT WAYS TO TREAT SUBORDINATESThe final major area of difference between management and leadership relates to their specific approaches to dealing with subordinates. The major divergence in communication is based on how the manager and the leader view the subordinate. Whereas a leader will consider the subordinates as followers and equal members of the team, the manager subscribes to a hierarchy of power. Subordinates under management are employees under the manager; there to perform the tasks as the management tells them, follow ing the guidelines. Management has a strict authority and power structure, with the management on top and the subordinates below. Naturally, the management can, depending on their position in the organization, be beneath a senior management team. Nonetheless, management is always in a position of power over its subordinates.Having the power and authority concentrated in the hands of the manager influences the approach to communication. Management doesn’t generally involve subordinates in the decision-making or planning process, especially in terms of guaranteeing the subordinates any real effective way to influence the process. Feedback channels are established, but these tend not to focus on things such as ideas on changing the existing framework. If feedback is sought, it focuses on improvements of the existing frameworks or ensuring the subordinates are aware of the tasks, which they must perform. In essence, the management is about communicating instructions, making it a rathe r one-sided discussion.On the other hand, under a leadership system, the authority is much more open, with different leadership styles delegating authority among the subordinates to a varying degree. Since subordinates are viewed more equally, the leader doesn’t shy away from feedback or input. In fact, leadership is eager to identify the subordinates who are motivated to put themselves out there and learn while working towards the set objective. The communication structure is a two-way process, where the leader listens to the subordinates and their ideas into account. This doesn’t mean the subordinates necessarily have actual decision-making power or that all the ideas are implemented, but at least leadership provides them more opportunities to voice their opinion. Management is about telling the subordinate “This is what you have to do”; while leadership is about showing the subordinate, “This is what we should do”.Another essential part of the interaction is the metho dology the approaches use in order to motivate the subordinates. Both styles can be understood in the context of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The motivational theory presents an idea in which human needs are depicted as layers within a pyramid, with each stage creating a new layer for motivation. The pyramid has three layers: basic needs, psychological needs, and self-fulfillment needs. Source: Simply Psychology websiteThe lower levels of the pyramid drive management’s approach to motivation. The idea is that subordinates are looking for job security to fulfil their most basic needs and therefore, fear of rejection keeps them motivated. Management keeps employees involved through the fear of punishment, with the security of a job providing enough motivation to keep working. Subordinates are thought to be rather disengaged from the rewards of the work, but put crudely: only show up to get the paycheck.On the other hand, leadership feels people are using careers as a way to meet the higher-level needs. By providing the subordinate the chance to self-actualization, leaders can motivate and inspire the subordinate. Therefore, challenging the subordinate to enhance their own skills and understanding, and providing them with opportunities for personal growth, the leader can help them fulfill the higher-level needs and keep them motivated to work towards the common visio n.Furthermore, as previously discussed, the emphasis is on finding the best people to perform the pre-determined roles. Since the framework is the key to success, the processes are set and the management needs to fill these specific roles, not add something new to the team. Therefore, the ability to perform the tasks and the character fit to the role at hand is at the core of the hiring process.On the other hand, leadership is looking more towards the characteristics of the person and whether he or she is a value-based fit, instead of a specific set of skills. For the leader, the person’s motivation and willingness to follow the vision are keys in determining whether the person should fit the team.Management…Leadership…… Views subordinates as employees… Communicates in a telling style…. Delegates tasks with authority… Motivates with punishment and intimidation… Emphasizes skills and fit for the role… Views subordinates as followers… Communicates through discussio n… Delegates authority… Motivates with empowerment and personal development… Emphasizes value and business culture matchFINAL THOUGHTSIn his 1989 book, On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis made the distinction that while management is about doing things right, leadership is about doing the right things. The analysis is still rather fitting, as management’s focus is task-oriented and result driven. On the other hand, leadership emphasizes people and transformation, with values at the core of the decision-making process.The leader is interested in empowering people and working towards a bigger, long-term vision, while the manager lives in the present, with the objective being on short-term goals and efficiency. The ‘machine’, or the operational framework, is at the centre of how management deals with subordinates and how it sets objectives. Whereas leadership will concentrate on ensuring the parts running the operational framework are developed. If things go wrong, manageme nt would change the parts while leadership will simply adjust the framework.Although management and leadership differ from each other, the two styles can be equally important to an organization. Management has undoubtedly been important, especially in organizations where efficiency has been the key for success, but the rise of modern economies has meant that management as a style can be damaging for an organization as well. For the organization to work efficiently in the current moment and in the future, it has to find equilibrium between management and leadership.Without management, the more mundane effectiveness of the organization might be neglected, while the innovative and transformative nature of leadership is essential for continued success. By empowering the subordinates and focusing on long-term goals, teams can achieve much more than simply staring at short-term productivity.

External Analysis Business Report - 2178 Words

1. Introduction KeepCup Company is an Australia private company, who are working in exporting reusable cups. KeepCup head office, which in Melbourne is recently exploring for the feasibility of introducing their product overseas to German. This business report provides a business analysis and consideration about the external environment in German. The purpose of this business report is to facilitate KeepCup in order to help the company to make decision for expanding their product exporting to German. The observation will go through on the political, economic, socio-cultural, technological and legal environment of German. Besides reporting the environment condition in German, this report provide analysis about the external†¦show more content†¦Overall, the business law in German creates no different or contrast between the local company and foreign company investment or the established company. Moreover, the reliable laws make the companies able to plan their investments in t he effective way (Germany Trade and Invest 2013). Apart from it, the business law in Australia has their own Guidelines and effective and consistent decision. The aim of government regarding to the Guidelines is to give a positive impact to the business conduct for companies in Australia (Australian Government 2011). Similar with German, Australia also categorized as one of the world least corruption by 2012 (Transparancy International 2012). Australian Government is concerned about corruption. Moreover, people in Australia also considered corruption as a harmful action for the environment (Bowman and Gilligan 2009, 438-452) 3.2. Labour Law There are three main points according to similarity of the Labor Law in German and Australia. First of all, the legal working time for employee in German is eight hours per day (Liliane Jung 2011). 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As primary data LCL’s own website http://www.lucky-cement.com was a big source of information for me, but I had to look into other secondary sources like company’s annual reports, newspaper, internet etc to make my analysis more comprehensive I used the following secondary sources to gather my information

The Effects Of Children With Learning Disabilities On...

Life in a family that has a child with a learning disability is often both complex and challenging. There are generally many practical as well as emotional issues involved. Many things have to be considered such as educational, medical, and financial decisions. There are many issues that may arise from having a child with a learning disability such as â€Å"family stress, parenting discrepancies, negative reactions from extended family members, difficulty in interacting with the school, and mixed effects upon siblings† (Dyson, 2010). In this essay I will discuss the main points of Dyson’s article, â€Å"Unanticipated effects of children with learning disabilities on their families,† things I learned from the article, potential challenges and†¦show more content†¦The article describes the results of these other studies as being inconsistent. This is because the other studies state that there are higher levels of stress in families with children having dis abilities than those that do not. A study conducted by Dyson found that â€Å"despite higher degrees of stress, families of children with developmental disabilities experienced the same level of family cohesion, maintenance of the family system, and emphasis on personal growth as families of nondisabled children† (Dyson, 2010). These studies regarding how disabilities affect the family have conflicting results therefore Dyson wanted to know if similar results would be found in a study conducted with families that have learning disabled children. The study that was conducted tested the hypotheses that having a child that is learning disabled will have a negative effect on family life and on siblings in particular. The study was conducted through the use of focus groups which conducted in depth group interviews and consisted of ten families represented by eleven parents. The results of the study concluded that parents suffered guilt, family stress, as well as martial tension. T here were also parents blaming each other as well as issues in regards to parenting styles. In regards to extended family support many parents felt that other

Risks and Loyalties Free Essays

As Markham was summoned into the conference room to begin his presentation to the board of the state pension fund, he was wrestling with whether or not to raise the liability issue. He knew there were risks either way. There was the risk that his client would choose to take their business elsewhere if he told them what he believed to be the fund’s financial reality. We will write a custom essay sample on Risks and Loyalties or any similar topic only for you Order Now Furthermore, such a move would not only result in lost business, but would likely be interpreted as disloyalty towards his firm. But then he thought about what didn’t happen during the 2008 financial crisis, and this reality gnawed at him: When the subprime crisis played out everybody was asking why, even though there were all these people that had a role in making it happen, no one spoke up? And so does somebody who is playing a bit part in creating a reprise of the last crisis have a responsibility to speak up on behalf of the pensioners themselves even though this is contrary to the wishes of their employer and the board of trustees who has hired their employer to provide investment advice? We all commonly find ourselves in a position where we have to tell someone something they don’t want to hear. We face this kind of communication dilemmas all the time; at home, with friends and at workplace. The range can fall between just telling a friend about his look to the case with Harry Makham, who was facing the problem of telling the board of directors about the wrong liability numbers. There are usually 2 ways of responding to this kind of dilemmas, either â€Å"saying it just right† and falling into the category of confident communicator, or failing to inform and falling into the category of unethical cheater. There are at least 5 different approaches for overcoming ethical issues concerning communication dilemma: * The Utilitarian Approach – action that provides the most good or the least harm for all who are affected-customers, employees, shareholders, the community and the environment. * The Rights Approach- action that best protects and respects the moral rights of those affected * The Justice Approach- ethical actions that treat all human beings equally, or if unequally, then fairy based on some standard that is defensible. but there is a debate over CEO salaries that are hundreds of times larger than the pay of others) * The Common Good Approach- actions that lead to the welfare of everyone in community. * The Virtue Approach – actions that are consistent with certain ideal virtues and are consistent with your own values. Regarding the issue of telling clients things they don’t want to hear the Utilitarian Approach may be more useful, and certain factors should b e taken into consideration: * harm to the clients * harm to the firm * harm to the public * harm to environment * harm to yourself (your ethical views) How to cite Risks and Loyalties, Papers

Legal Aspects of International Trade and Enterprise Woolworths Limite

Question: Discuss about the Legal Aspects of International Trade and Enterprise for Woolworths Limited. Answer: Introduction The present study aims to discuss the legal aspects of international trade of and enterprise by considering a multinational organization that operates in Australia. In order to present the discussion on the legal aspects, Woolworths Limited has been selected which is one of the largest retailing companies in Australia. The present study incorporates the identification of companys operating industry, number of staff employed in the business unit that operates in Australia as well as across the globe. The discussion will include the identification of organizations location with respect to the headquarters across the globe. The following study further identifies and discusses the relevant regulatory framework that affects Woolworths Limited in several ways. Regulations with respect to corporate tax, environmental legislations and consumer laws affect the organizations business operations and performance sustainability. In addition, identification of treaties and agreements with respect to free trade agreements for the business operation of Woolworths Limited has been incorporated in the discussion. Discussion In order to present the analysis on legal aspects for international trade, Woolworths Limited has been selected which is a largest Australian Public Company. The company is involved in the retailing industry and one of the largest carry away liquor retailing organizations in Australian region (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). The company has several divisions within the supermarket business operations that deal in the products like petrol, liquor, home appliances and improvement, general merchandise, hotel and gambling products. It has been noted that the amount of revenue derived by the company in the latest financial year has been $59 billion while the amount of operating income has been $1.6 billion (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). As per the current year data of Woolworths Limited, it has been noted that the organization has approximately 111,000 number of staffs employed in the region of Australia. On the contrary, number of staffs employed by the company across the globe involves 202,000 during the current financial year (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). The company has been founded in the year 1924 on September 22 involving key people Gordon Cairns and Brad Banducci in the current year. The headquarters of Woolworths Limited has been situated in Bella Vista, New South Wales, Australia. However, the company operates its business operations in Australia, New Zealand and India with around 961 numbers of locations and stores in different areas (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). Business operations within the company involve various regulations and legislations with respect to manufacturing, processing, trading and maintain business records. In order to operate business activities, it is essential to follow the relevant regulatory frameworks that affect the organizational performance. Considering the type of business operations within the company, regulations of competition laws and consumer laws are applicable to ensure the fair business trade within the local country as well as across the globe (Business.gov.au 2017). Regulations under the competition laws incorporates framework for fair- trading between the organizations and customers in order to protect the consumer rights as well as obligations. In order to maintain the sustainability growth in the business organization, it is essential to follow the legislation of fair- trading that affects the exchange of goods and services. Further, consumer laws consider the unfair terms of business contract, rights of consumers, laws to safeguard the products in terms of quality and price and other operational factors, also regulate trading of goods and services (Dfat.gov.au 2017). Similarly, environmental legislation regulatory framework also affects trading of goods and services in terms of environmental concerns as well as cultural concerns. It is significant to follow the environmental regulations that protect the policies related to environment, business operation license and other economic measures to operate the business appropriately. Business operations and trading of goods and services is affected by the regulations of corporate tax that is imposed on the earnings of the organizations and affect the financial performance during the accounting period (Borchert, Gootiiz and Mattoo 2014). Accordingly, in case of Woolworths Limited, it has been observed that the regulatory framework of consumer laws, environmental legislations and tax legislations affects the business operation in terms of goods and services. Consumer law affects the business of Woolworths Limited with respect to the transfer of goods and services as per the regulations, which requires conducting of business operations by fair means (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). The regulations under consumer law provide that the transfer of goods and services to the consumers within the local region or across the border should be considered by fair means. Regulations of consumer law affects the business operations since the pricing structure cannot be same in different geographical regions (Ciuriak et al. 2015). For instance, price of general merchandise stuff in New Zealand will be different from the price of same product in Australian or India. Accordingly, it is difficult to maintain the uniform price structure fo r all the products and services within the overall business organization (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). Environmental legislation is another regulatory framework that affects business operations of Woolworths Limited because, it is essential to protect the environment for the benefit of society and consumers. Environmental legislation involves the factors to protect the consumers and society with respect to the trading of good quality products as well as manufacturing process (Neary 2016). For instance, trading of fuel or petrol products should be considered as per the regulations of environmental legislations so that the price and quality of fuel trading remains uniform. Moreover, environmental regulatory framework affects the business operations because the trading of goods and services is required to be conducted in accordance with the environment protection and consumer protection. Such actions affect the production and trading quantity of goods and services along with the respective price, which results in declining of profit amount (Business.gov.au 2017). Involvement of environme ntal regulation affects the business income since it associates with several regulatory costs that increase the overall business expenses and reduces the business incomes. Further, regulatory framework on corporate tax affects the business of Woolworths since the income of the organization is subject to 30% tax rate that reduces the distributable profit and increases the current liabilities. In order to nullify the taxation charges and regulations, the income level of the company declines while the expenses rise that affects the overall business operations (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). Business operations at international level are conducted in accordance with several treaties and agreements to deal with the trading of goods and services within the local region as well as across the border. There are several treaties and agreements with respect to free trade activities, memorandum of understanding, agreements between the countries and other treaties affects the trading between the organizations and consumers (Yarbrough and Yarbrough 2014). International trade agreement involves agreement in terms of Free Trade Agreements to reduce the trade barriers and investment difficulties. The purpose of international trade agreement involves better access of trading markets, improvement in competitive position for export of products as well as improved prospect of investment (Dfat.gov.au 2017). The relevant treaties and agreements are considered to provide the guides for export and import of business products and services representing the related trade policies, costs and pro duct prices. The agreements between the organizations of different countries provide information on treaty as well as schedules of tariff that are essential to conclude the business agreements (Chircop and Novotny-Farkas 2016). Accordingly, in case of Woolworths Limited, the international trade agreements and treaties impacted the trading of products and services in Australia. It has been noted that the business operations of Woolworths Limited is extended in the regions of New Zealand and India other than the region of Australia hence, it is essential to consider the international treaties while conducting business deals (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). As the agreement and treaties incorporates trading information in terms of costs, product price, service tenure and other information therefore, transfer of products and services of the company affected. The management of Woolworths Limited required to consider the pricing policy while exporting the retail products to other countries that affected the contribution margin due to involvement of increased value of costs. The company majorly deals in the products of liquor, petrol and home appliances within and outside the region of Australia, which is affected d ue to international trade policies (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). Therefore, in order to manage the business operations, Woolworths Limited considered the free trade agreement with other countries that assisted the company by improving the product transfer activities. Consequently, the profit level of Woolworths improved as the free trade regulations helped in improving the trading of products and services. Considering the trading agreements and conventions, it has been noted that Woolworths created several initiatives by arranging promotional programs with less impact on the environment in an adverse manner. The organization has been considering the Kyoto Protocol to establish the retailing business activities for different range of products, which recognized the responsibility of countries and organizations for greenhouse gas. Accordingly, Woolworths Limited considered the convention in terms of Kyoto Protocol to ensure the minimal emission of greenhouse gas and that the business is conducted by considering the benefits of the society (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). The agreement and policy of business trade contained the set targets as well as commitments in order to eliminate the carbon emission, which improves the export value and consequently amount of profit. It has been noted that that trading of business involved transportation, packaging as well as distribution centers affected due to the trade policy (Bloomfield et al. 2017). As per the companys information, it has been noted that the carbon emission has been reduced by around 40% that resulted in growth of business project by around 20% during the current year. In addition, Woolworths Limited experienced reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide approximately by 13% within the new stores that was lower in case of existing stores (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). During the current year, it has been observed that the trade agreement and conventions of Woolworths Limited reflected reduction of 25% of carbon emission in terms of service delivery by trucks. Further, the company also reflected improvement in saving water, which amounted to 200 million litres approximately while the amount of food waste reflected almost zero (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). Such treaties within the trade policy of Woolworths Limited impacted growth in trade of products and services and eventually improved the profitability. Trading agreements and treaties of Woolworths not only influenced the improvement in standards of animal welfare within the supply chain (Wagenhofer 2016). Considering the measures of international trade policies, Woolworths Limited opened several new stores with respect to the environmental sustainability and consumer protection. International trading policy involved the sustainable practices to reduce the use of energy, use of water resources, waste production and other economy that eventually improved the transfer of goods and services (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). Conclusion In view of the above discussion, it can be said that the operation of business activities by the companies involves various regulations that affect the sale and transfer of goods and services. Imposition of relevant legislations and regulations affect the business operations, staff employment and derivation of profitability that influence the business sustainability. In the present study, Woolworths Limited, an Australian retailing company has been considered to identify the operating industry, employment and location of headquarters. It has been noted that the company has been second largest retailing organization by revenue with highest number of employees. It has been identified that the regulations of companies law, environmental legislations and corporate tax affected the companys business operations for transferring products and services. It has been contended that the protection of consumer rights, society welfare and elimination of production wastes is essential to improve th e profitability and sustainability of the business. In addition, the trade agreement, international treaties and conventions affected the goods and services of Woolworths Limited by developing the export regulations. Considering the international trade conventions, it has been noted that Woolworths Limited followed reduction in the green house gas emission, waste production, release of carbon- dioxide that improved the value of export of goods and services. The present agreement between different countries has been established by Woolworths Limited that affected the transfer of goods and services together with the development of animal welfare resulting in improving the profitability. Reference List and Bibliography Anginer, D., Demirguc-Kunt, A. and Zhu, M., 2014. How does deposit insurance affect bank risk? Evidence from the recent crisis.Journal of Banking finance,48, pp.312-321. Bloomfield, M.J., Brggemann, U., Christensen, H.B. and Leuz, C., 2017. The Effect of Regulatory Harmonization on Cross?Border Labor Migration: Evidence from the Accounting Profession.Journal of Accounting Research,55(1), pp.35-78. Borchert, I., Gootiiz, B. and Mattoo, A., 2014. Policy barriers to international trade in services: evidence from a new database.The World Bank Economic Review,28(1), pp.162-188. Business.gov.au. 2017. business.gov.au | Simple. Fast. Easy.. [online] Available at: https://www.business.gov.au [Accessed 5 Apr. 2017]. Chircop, J. and Novotny-Farkas, Z., 2016. The economic consequences of extending the use of fair value accounting in regulatory capital calculations.Journal of Accounting and Economics,62(2), pp.183-203. Ciuriak, D., Lapham, B., Wolfe, R., Collins?Williams, T. and Curtis, J., 2015. Firms in International Trade: Trade Policy Implications of the New New Trade Theory.Global Policy,6(2), pp.130-140. Costanza, R., dArge, R., De Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., Oneill, R.V., Paruelo, J. and Raskin, R.G., 2016. The Value of the Worlds Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital (1997).The Globalization and Environment Reader, p.117. Dfat.gov.au. 2017. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Home. [online] Available at: https://www.dfat.gov.au [Accessed 5 Apr. 2017]. Gleeson, D. and Friel, S., 2013. Emerging threats to public health from regional trade agreements.The Lancet,381(9876), pp.1507-1509. MacKenzie, R., Ross, H. and Lee, K., 2017. Preparing ourselves to become an international organization: Thailand Tobacco Monopolys regional and global strategies.Global Public Health,12(3), pp.351-366. Mitchell, A.D. and Casben, J., 2017. Trade law and alcohol regulation: what role for a global Alcohol Marketing Code?.Addiction,112(S1), pp.109-116. Neary, J.P., 2016. International trade in general oligopolistic equilibrium.Review of International Economics,24(4), pp.669-698. Reeve, R., 2014.Policing international trade in endangered species: the CITES treaty and compliance. Routledge. Wagenhofer, A., 2016. Exploiting regulatory changes for research in management accounting.Management Accounting Research,31, pp.112-117. Woolworthsgroup.com.au. 2017. Woolworths Group: Quality Brands and Trusted Retailing. [online] Available at: https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au [Accessed 5 Apr. 2017]. Yarbrough, B.V. and Yarbrough, R.M., 2014.Cooperation and governance in international trade: The strategic organizational approach. Princeton University Press.

Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults

The current judiciary system faces a controversy while treading juveniles committing serious crimes. On the one hand, youth falling under the category from 12-17 should not be tried in the adult court system because of their emotional immaturity and inability to control their impulses.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On the other hand, individuals committing as severe crimes as adults do should undergo severe punishment. Such a perspective raises a number of questions concerning the reasonableness of the current juvenile systems, as well as measures that should be taken while treating difficult teenagers. In this respect, there should not be a clear distinctions between juveniles arrested for crimes of various degrees of severity. Nevertheless, teenagers cannot be tried as adults because of their psychological immaturity, distinct competence, a nd greater potential for psychological change. Certainly, there are some obvious cases of juvenile cruelty that do not permit community to consider the case because of teenager’s emotional instability and family problems. Murder cannot be justified by all means. However, society must not â€Å"†¦give up hope of rehabilitating a child who commits a crime† (Clouse 599). Teenagers are not stable enough in terms of their emotional perception of the surrounding events. Due to the lack of a healthy family environment, as well as other cases of social pressure, they often resort to measures that rigidly contradict the norms accepted in a civilized society. Therefore, if there is a chance to save a child from custody, the social institutions should take advantage of it. In addition to the above-presented deliberations, there is a plethora of studies supporting juvenile rehabilitation rather than adult imprisonment. Specifically, the researchers agree that giving an opport unity for a teenager to go through a juvenile system with rehabilitation, education, counseling, and mentoring increases the possibility for an individual to become a normal member of society. In contrast, a child serving in an adult jail is unlikely to adjust to a society (Steinberg 603). Indeed, there should be experienced counselors and psychologists that can train problematic youth to control their unstable and immature emotions and understand the consequences of their actions. Finally, earlier identification of teenagers’ psychological problems can reduce the number of crimes in future since many adult criminals resort to outlaw actions since their young years.Advertising Looking for essay on criminal law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Certainly, it is impossible to sentence all adolescents to equal punishment due to the different degrees of crimes they commit. Moreover, most of juveniles should be transferred to adult prisons for the safety of teenagers whose crimes are less severe (Collier 610). Such a decision can contribute to safety measures in such institutions. Most of the problematic children face misconception on the part of adults and, therefore, the task of a counselor is to notice such children before they pose threat to society. Reconsidering the overall situation with juvenile delinquency is crucial to create new circumstances under which these criminals will be treated. Despite the fact that teenagers are capable of committing serious crimes as adults, the government should still reevaluate their outlook on juvenile system. Certainly, some teenagers deserve to be tried as adults regarding their severe crimes. Nevertheless, their emotionally unstable characteristics provide greater chances for them to revamp their social perception and restore the accepted moral and social values. Therefore, youth committing serious crimes should be taken under the control of counselors whose primary goal is to identify such teenagers before they infringe the law. Works Cited Clouse, Barbara Fine. â€Å"Little Adult Criminals† Patterns for a Purpose: A Rhetorical Reader. Ed. Barbara Fine Clouse US: McGraw-Hill Humanities, 2010. 599-601. Print. Collier, Linda J. â€Å"Adult Crime, Adult Time† Patterns for a Purpose: A Rhetorical Reader. Ed. Barbara Fine Clouse US: McGraw-Hill Humanities, 2010. 608-611. Print. Steinberg, Laurence. â€Å"Should Juvenile Offenders Be Tried As Adults†. Patterns for a Purpose: A Rhetorical Reader. Ed. Barbara Fine Clouse US: McGraw-Hill Humanities, 2010. 602-606. Print.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This essay on Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults? was written and submitted by user Caiden Buchanan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

My Favorite Stephen Sondheim Musicals

My Favorite Stephen Sondheim Musicals Born March 22nd, 1930, Stephen Sondheim seemed destined to become one of America’s most beloved figures in American theater. When he was only ten years old, he moved with his mother to the Pennsylvanian countryside. There, he became neighbors and friends with the family of Oscar Hammerstein II. In his teens, Sondheim began writing musicals. When he showed Hammerstein his work, the famed lyricist explained that it was awful – but he also told him why it was awful. An amazing mentorship began. Hammerstein provided him one-on-one instruction and advice and gave Sondheim difficult yet creative challenges which honed the young artist’s songwriting skills. In 1956, Sondheim was chosen to write the lyrics for Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. Soon after, he created the lyrics for the amazingly successful Gypsy. By the early 1960s, Stephen Sondheim was ready for his compositions to premiere on Broadway. Today, he is beloved among sophisticated audiences and performers alike. Here is a list of my favorite musicals by Stephen Sondheim: #1) Into the Woods I had the pleasure of watching the original Broadway production when I was 16 years old. At the time, I absolutely loved the first act, which plays like a wonderfully crafted and complex fairy tale comedy, ideal for the entire family. During the second half, however, I was quite disturbed by all the chaos and death. The story became too much like real life. And, of course, that’s the point of the show, a transition from fantasy to reality, or from adolescence to adulthood. Gradually, after listening to the soundtrack, and growing a bit older myself, I have come to love and appreciate both acts of this fun and fascinating musical. #2) Sweeney Todd It’s difficult to find a more violent musical than Sweeney Todd. And it’s difficult to find a more haunting melody than Sondheim’s â€Å"Johanna Reprise,† a hypnotic song that mixes beauty, longing, and murder. This is the story of a demented barber who seeks revenge, but goes way too far, driven mad in his lust for bloodshed. (It’s one thing to reap vengeance; it’s another thing to stuff people into meat pies.) Despite the carnage and cannibalism, there is a dark, infectious humor throughout Sweeney Todd, elevating this dreary story to genius. #3) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum If you’re looking for a show that has a simple, laugh-out-loud happy ending, then Stephen Sondheim’s first success as composer/lyricist is the musical for you. During the show’s test run in Washington, D.C., Forum received negative reviews and apathetic reactions from the audience. Fortunately, director and self-proclaimed â€Å"play doctor† George Abbott suggested that they scrap the opening song, â€Å"Love Is in the Air.† Sondheim agreed and created the bouncy, hilarious number, â€Å"Comedy Tonight.† The new opening number energized Broadway audiences, eliciting laughter (and long lines at the box office). #4) Sunday in the Park with George Filled with beautiful songs and exquisite sets, Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George was inspired by the artwork of Georges Seurat, in particular his painting â€Å"A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.† I love stories that examine the lives of artistic geniuses – even if their history is fictionalized a great deal, as is the case with Sunday in the Park with George. The first act focuses on Seurat’s passions: his art and his mistress. The second act transitions to the 1980s, showing the struggles of a modern artist, George (the fictional grandson of Seaurat). Whenever I’m working on a creative project that takes a lot of concentration, I inevitably start to sing â€Å"Putting It Together,† one of my favorite Sondheim tunes, and an insightful commentary on the artistic process. #5) Company For me, this is the most â€Å"Sondheimish† of Stephen Sondheim’s musicals. The lyrics are funny, complicated, and emotional. Each song is like a cathartic experience for the characters. The basic premise: It’s Robert’s 35th birthday. He is still unmarried, and tonight all of his married friends will be throwing him a party. In the process, Robert analyzes his life and the relationships of his friends. It ran for 705 performances on Broadway, and earned six Tony Awards. So, why do I have it as my 5th favorite Sondheim musical? Perhaps it’s simply a personal thing. When I was a kid, listening to show-tunes such West Side Story and Sound of Music, I was vaguely familiar with Company. I liked the songs, but I could not connect with the characters. I assumed that when I became an adult that things would change, that I would eventually like to drink coffee, discuss real estate, and behave like the characters in Company. None of those things happened. Despite my own short comings, I still enjoy the songs and the non-linear storytelling style of Company. What’s Missing? Of course, there are many other great Sondheim works that didn’t make my personal list. Musicals such as Follies and Assassins never struck a chord with me. Tony Award winning Passion almost made my list, but because I’ve watched the video and not a live production, perhaps I wasn’t as entranced by the show as others have been. And what about Merrily We Roll Along? Although it flopped on Broadway, some would argue that it features Sondheim’s most heartfelt songs.

Pap smear recommendations 2012 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pap smear recommendations 2012 - Research Paper Example This helps the doctor in examining the cervix and the vagina. It collects some cells and some mucus from the cervix and the surrounding area and then the cells are placed in a bottle of liquid or on a slide. The collected cells are then sent to a laboratory so as to be checked whether they are normal. At the same time, the doctor can as well carry out a pelvic exam by checking the woman’s ovaries, uterus plus the other organs to ensure that there are no problems with them. The Pap test which screens for cervical cancer may be one of the best and reliable available cancer screening tests (Bartlett, p, 34) The Pap test only screens for cervical cancer while it does not screen for uterine, ovarian, valve or vaginal cancers. It can take up to three weeks before a woman receive her Pap test results. If anything abnormal is observed, the doctor can conduct the associated and finger out the best way of making the follow up. If the pap test are not normal, this does not mean that she has cancer but if the tests show that the test is not normal and may result to cancer, the doctor can advice the woman on the measures taken for its treatment so as to prevent it from developing. It is the best option for a woman to make follow ups with her doctor to learn more about her test results and the treatment that may be required. Women should get pap tests after every three years at the ages of between 21 and 29 years. For women of 30 years and above who had three normal pap tests each year may be tested less often for every two or three years. The combination of the Pap test and the HPV is the most preferred plan for women over thirty years. Screening is on the other hand not preferred for women of age 65 or older who have had the Pap test three times in a row and have been found with no pap abnormality tests for the last ten tears. Women with the normal Pap test result and a positive HPV test result should

Worship and Ritual in Christianity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Worship and Ritual in Christianity - Essay Example The Bible is the Holy Book Christians use to worship and has been used as the guide to everyday life. There are rituals and festivals that mark the manner in which Christians praise God (Pecklers 65). These rituals trade back to the festivities that are seen in the Bible, and to this day, many individuals still uphold the practices. However, not many people view these rituals as a way of worship. They see it is primitive and empty. Some go as far as suggesting that there is no Supreme Being to worship. This paper, however, will examine worship and rituals that mark the Christian faith, and why it is vital to live believing in something. Empty ritualism is the process of undergoing, or performing a ritual while there is the absence of sincerity or genuine meaning. A lot of this happens in many areas as individuals believe that they are doing this to fall in God’s favour. This, to a large number of people, is what is called ritualism (White 61). It is usually done to recover som e sense of religious feeling that was once lost. This is not condoned in modern Christian settings as it gives off a feeling of worship being violated. Whenever the pattern of worship is violated, people know that the design meant for ritual is not being followed. This gives the religion a terrible reputation among other religions that exist. Christians pride themselves with the thought of their religion being superior to other existent religions. They, therefore, follow most of the rituals in the Bible strictly so as to abide by the ways of truth. In the Holy Book, the New Testament ways are chosen over the Old Testament ways. This shows that some of the rituals that were once carried out; need no longer be carried out after the coming of Christ. He came to shed light on how Christians could live without some of the old traditions that ruled their lives (White 64). As such, modern day Christians follow the New Testament to guide them in everyday life. That is why; sacrifices and bu rnt offerings are not part of the rituals Christians carry out in modern time. They, however, still observe some of the rituals in the Bible. As with any religion, there are bound to be groups that choose to do things differently. This is according to how they view and comprehend the Bible. This is probably why there are diverse groups of the Christian religion, which choose to be different from others. This is through the way and manner of worship, and conducting of their rituals. All these groups view the other as a pervasion of the real Christian religion. What they do not seem to realise is that all these groups serve the same purpose, and the same God (White 76). Christians worship throughout the week, and the year. Even though, the styles of worship differ in all the denominations present, the services, worship ceremonies, and rituals, hold extraordinary meaning to Christians. Christians believe that the church is the dwelling place of God. This is where they conduct their ser vices. Many of the believers worship on Sunday as they believe it is the Sabbath, the day that Jesus rested. Others, for example, the Seventh Day Adventist, believe that Saturday is the blessed day. This does not make them any less Christian than the Catholics, who are considered the foundation on which Christianity is built. There is the use of art and decoration in these diverse denominations (White 76). The use of arts and decorations vary as they stand for different meaning and symbolism in these places of worship. They, however, serve the purpose of praising and worshiping God wherever they are used. Some of the ancient customs and traditions that are connected to Jesus are still practiced in

Continuous Personal Development Criteria

Continuous Personal Development Criteria Continuous professional development (CPD) A case study to examine why we need to have set criteria as to what constitutes continuous professional development. This paper sets out a proposal to establish the means by which certain hypotheses around Social Work CPD may be tested, through primary research. It does so substantively through a limited, ‘pilot’ survey of the views of Social Workers themselves, focusing on the value and nature of their own current and previous CPD experience. The latter were also invited to comment on proposals for alternative frameworks for SW CPD. The objective of this process was to evolve specific lines of enquiry and areas of interest for wider research. As recent research by Doel et al. argues, ‘At an individual level there is clear evidence that professional development is highly valued, and that participating in these opportunities is more likely to increase confidence, but not for everyone.’ (Doel et al., 2008: p.563) The question is, what kind of CPD is most valued by practitioners themselves, and who determines the types of development paths they follow? Does the element of c hoice determine the utility of particular CPD for individual practitioners? How far does the current atmosphere of assessment and ‘managerialism’ impinge upon self-determination in professional development? The issue of self-determination is a theme from the secondary literature which is embedded in this research. As MacDonald et al. argue, ‘†¦social work as an activity can be understood as an integral part of the modernist project of governance developed and institutionalised in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (MacDonald et al., 2003: p.195). Whilst this can be readily accepted, it arguably masks the dynamic of client age which government maintained, not only over social work, but other professional groups. The latter were invariably involved in some form of campaign to exert leverage on official circles for recognition in institutional terms. ‘In Britain, social work looked directly to the state for its legitimization†¦Accordingly, the political opportunity provided by the publication of the Kilbrandon and Seebohm Reports was seized by proponents of the professional social work project, who campaigned for the implementation of the Reports, f or example through the Seebohm Implementation Action Group.’ (MacDonald et al. 2003: p.198). As this suggests, Social Work was liable to be co-opted into the social projects of the state on a utilitarian basis, with reciprocal implications for the independence of the profession. As Jordan and Jordan point out, ‘In essence, social work is not a means of implementing policy formally and directly, but of mediating the local conflicts generated by new programmes, and engaging with service users over how to fit new measures to their needs.’ They further argue that, ‘It is a waste of its potential for these tasks to treat it as a crude instrument for the imposition of government rules or the quasi-scientific application of research findings.’ (Jordan and Jordan, 2000: p.10). What are the implications of this tension for CPD in SW? Potentially considerable, it is argued here. The debate around Social Work education has become focused on whether †¦Ã¢â‚¬Ëœthere has been the supplanting of education by training: the sequestering of discourses of depth by those of surface: the setting aside of knowledge for skills, and the general triumph†¦of ‘competencies’ over the complexities of abstraction.’ (Webb, 1996: p.186) It follows from this that the definition of ‘useful’ CPD represents a continuation of such debates through other means: another area through which to contest who exactly defines what is relevant, or ‘best’ practice, in terms of developing solutions for practitioners and service users. How far, for example, do such resources merely reflect the ideas of Lisham, that official ideas about practice ‘†¦tend to be externally imposed and based more on the requirements of managerial control and less on the professional responsibility to evaluate practice and policy and thereby increase their effectiveness.’ (Lisham 1999: p.4). Subsumed within this is a more subliminal question, which is, where is the space in which SW practitioners can express their views or develop dialogues about professional issues? It would appear that we now have a situation where the parameters defined by the GSSC represent the only ‘legitimate’ channels for debat e. Methodology and Research Issues In essence the research enquiry followed two themes, one evaluative, one predictive. Within both, it was intended to elicit views without any leading or rhetorical influence, although current conditions in public sector SW may make this difficult to achieve, as will be discussed below. The specific evaluative enquiry offered practitioners the opportunity to briefly assess their own level of satisfaction with their current and previous CPD. The specific predictive proposal made was that CPD be more focused, through the establishment of an agreed range of activities, designed to augment and enhance SW practice. The overall theme of this was to explore the idea that CPD could be more relevant to SW practice, in the perception of practitioners themselves. This proposal acknowledges the necessity for inclusion of both positivist (quantitative) and phenomenological (qualitative) elements in the enquiry. These labels are arguably less important than the characteristics they represent however. These will explored in more detail below, but it is important here to identify the positivist paradigm as supposedly value-free, and the phenomenological as (in relative terms) value bearing. Obviously, these two model absolutes represent the research ideal, and should not, in any case, be assumed to correlate with the parallel categories of objectivity and subjectivity. Research paradigms in either category would arguably rely on objectivity for their integrity and utility. It is here that the design and operation of a particular model will attract the most stringent scrutiny, especially from its assessors or counter-theorists. Also, when ascribing the different paradigm labels to particular research strands and evidence, it is perhaps important to consider Collis and Hussey’s idea of an unavoidable symbiosis between the two. ‘Although we have identified two main paradigms, it is best to regard them as the two extremes of a continuum. As you move along the continuum, the features and assumptions of one paradigm are gradually relaxed and replaced by those of the other paradigm.’ (Collis and Hussey 2008: p.48). In other words, the quantitative and qualitative paradigms become less discrete and more difficult to distinguish, once the process of interpretation begins. Absolute objectivity is maintained with difficulty, even in the context of an exacting statistical survey: meanwhile purely qualitative work starts to move along the continuum, as soon as repetitive patterns are sought for collateral in phenomenological terms. Various interpretations are possible in any statistical model, whilst even the clearest qualitative conclusions are arguably subject to bias, as soon as a possible conclusion begins to fram e subsequent enquiries. As Patton argues, ‘A paradigm of choices rejects methodological orthodoxy in favour of methodological appropriateness as the primary criterion for judging methodological quality.’ (Patton 1990: pp.38-39). In terms of this study, the methodological issues are basically two-fold. In the first instance, we have a very small sample of data in proportion to the overall scale of what is potentially a national issue. The sample employed here was obtained from one area, and so is immediately vulnerable to the charge that it fails to analyse possible regional variations in both strategy and best practice. Although it reflects differentiated levels of satisfaction with the CPD process, it does not incorporate the views of those who might express – with varying objectivity – the most exacting critiques: i.e., those who have left the profession due to dissatisfaction with the career structure, or CPD possibilities. In the second instance, we have three discrete form of data to integrate, i.e. binary yes/no questionnaire responses, written answers, and more in-depth, qualitative interviews, as well as information from secondary sources. The necessary fusion of these sources in a coge nt form inevitably becomes an editorial process, vulnerable to charges of subjectivity and bias. This is arguably what Ely refers to as the ‘teasing out’ what is considered the ‘essential meaning’ of the data obtained. (Ely, 1991,p.140). (Quoted in Wright et al 1995). This, arguably, is especially pertinent because we are researching a matter of public policy, where positivist data tends to be adapted to value judgements by governments, and governing bodies. As Denzin and Lincoln point out, ‘Qualitative research is inherently multi-method in focus†¦However, the use of multiple methods†¦reflects an attempt to secure an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon in question. Objective reality can never be captured. We know a thing only through its representations.’ (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005: p.5). In term of representation, the specific enquiries made here are designed to produce data at micro level, although their collective implications may have a meso function in terms of the local negotiation of control over CPD standards and access. Only a numerically wider and more varied study could produce data which might function at macro level. However, the eventual connection between micro and macro is implicitly accepted here: as Strauss and Corbin point out, ‘†¦the distinction between micro and macro is an artificial one.’ (Strauss and Corbin, 1998: p.185). The point is though that this limited sample cannot establish such tautology in absolute terms, only suggest ways in which it may be researched further. To these two empirical issues may be added more complex ethical issues around confidentiality and contractual obligation. To employ the current parlance of Human Resources Management, all employees have a ‘psychological contract’ with their management, wherein informally agreed tenets of ‘fairness’ operate. As Williams indicates. ‘..this interpersonal aspect to fairness reminds us that there is a social basis to the exchange relationship between employer and employee and we might expect this to be part of the psychological contract.’ (Williams, 1998: p.183). It has to be conceded that any debate engendered around CPD has the potential to impinge upon the either side of the psychological contract, a fact which may influence and limit the format of questions. 30 brief questionnaires were sent out, of which 22 were returned: three of these respondents agreed to be interviewed, and the same interview pro-forma was employed in each context. There were 14 female respondents and 8 male: in keeping with contemporary guidelines, age was not elicited. The criteria for subject selection was that the respondent should be an established practitioner, i.e. have at least two years service, but no managerial responsibilities. The interviewees were invited to participate and the customary protocols followed in terms of permission to use the material, based on anonymity and the right to withold use of the material. Analysis and Findings The mode of analysis employed was substantially one of triangulation. The binary responses were tallied and are expressed as percentages. In Question 4 the written responses were sorted into those supportive, unsupportive and uncomitted with regard to the proposal (of an agreed ten-part choice of CPD activities). Based on this polarisation, qualitiative responses were then taken from the interview transcripts to illustrate and expand upon the themes identified. 22.75 per cent of respondents agreed that 90 hours of CPD was sufficient for SW’s over a three year period: 18.2 per cent thought it insufficient, whilst a majority, 59.15 per cent thought the whole idea of a prescribed amount of hours too arbitrary. 18.2 per cent considered that the current SW guidelines were effective, with an equal amount disagreeing with this proposition. A majority – 63.7 per cent expressed the view that some kind of change was necessary. Only 13.65 per cent of respondents thought that the CPD options available to them personally had been sufficient for their needs as a practitioner. 27.3 per cent meanwhile thought such resources had been insufficient. 22.75 per cent thought the available CPD had at least been consistent, whilst 36.4% disagreed with this idea. The written responses still produced a fairly polarised set of information. 35 per cent of those who answered supported the idea of being able to select their own CPD activities from a ten choice range. Of the latter, a majority gave some kind of indication that they saw within such a development the opportunity for gaining more control over their own professional development. This was evident from responses such as ‘Yes, great idea, assuming practitioners are involved in drawing it up’, and ‘Yes, perfect. If we get to choose what’s on the list, otherwise its just another form of management control, and we already have too much of that.’ (Appendix 3). Interestingly, the same concern underpinned the rationale of the 55 per cent who did not support the idea. As one respondent put it, ‘I don’t think it could work because CPD is all about standardisation, this idea involves too much individual choice for the ‘powers that be’ to a ccept it.’ This was expressed more directly in the views of another, who remarked that No. CPD just ticks a management box, it doesn’t really help me, so I don’t want four or ten or whatever it is boxes to tick.’ (Appendix 3). The 10 per cent who were uncommitted raised concerns about relevance and the numbers of available options. (Appendix 3) The twenty two tallied responses to Question 5, about practitioners preferences for CPD areas, produced an overwhelming choice for a specific vocational focus in the form of Multi Agency Working, at 36.4 per cent. All of the nine other activities suggested scored 9.1 and 4.5 per cent respectively. (Appendix 3) As might be expected, the interview questions produced the most detailed qualitative data. When asked to evaluate the personal importance of CPD for them, two respondents identified pressure of work rather than management imposition as the main impediment to their pursuing more professional development. The first respondent stated that it was ‘Very Important. I know I don’t spend enough time doing it very often, but that’s just the nature of the job at the moment, where we are all running to stand still. It’s very difficult to commit a worthwhile timetable of CPD when you know for a fact that you won’t actually do half of it, due to unforeseen commitments.’ . The second respondent meanwhile acknowledged that it was ‘†¦Not as important as it probably should be. It’s a box I know I should tick, but in a department where we can’t even recruit at the moment, it’s not a priority. Sorry.’ (Appendix 5). The third respondent explained their lack of commitment to CPD in terms of their lack of control over it: ‘I know it’s vital, but who is it for exactly? If it’s just stuff they think I should be doing, rather than what I want to do, then I could well live without it.’ (Appendix 5). In terms of the specific proposal, i.e. that of providing practitioners with a framework of choice for CPD, the responses were varied. Respondent 1 replied, ‘I can’t think of ten†¦.for me personally at the moment, it would be team-building, and risk assessment, plus maybe multi-agency working.’ (Appendix 5). Respondent 2 indicated ‘Communication, risk assessment, leadership, policy development’ as their preferred foci. Respondent 3 indicated interest in ‘IT skills, communication, multi-agency working, risk assessment’, adding that ‘†¦.the list is endless!’ (Appendix 5) Provisional Conclusions Concerns about who would take responsibility for more liberal and diffuse CPD should be noted here, as in the response , ‘Who would supervise it? I’ll bet it would just be an extra job dumped on somebody like me.’ (Appendix 3) Such objections reflect trends in management which have already been highlighted in the related literature. As Watson points out, ‘The drive for local and central government to modernise and become more accountable has led to a rise in responsibilities of managers for performance management and transparency in decision making.’ (Watson, 2008: p.330) The extent of interest in multi-agency working as a useful area for practitioner CPD, is something which has already been noted in the related literature. As Farmakopoulou has indicated, ‘The main inter-organizational inhibitory factors were related to structural difficulties and lack of joint training. Education and social work departments embody different statutory responsibilities†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Farmakopoulou 2002: p.1064). Whilst this specific point is obviously vocationally limited, a wider one about inter-professional cooperation may arguably be abstracted from it. In terms of generalisability, it has to be acknowledged that this research and its findings is vulnerable to usual charges of subjectivity which may be levelled at triangulation. As Denzin and Lincoln concede, ‘Triangulation is the simultaneous display of multiple, refracted realities. Each of the metaphors â€Å"works† to create simultaneity rather than the sequential or linear. Readers and audiences are then invited to explore competing visions of the context, to become immersed in and merge with new realities to comprehend.’ (Denzin and Lincoln 2005: p.6). However, in terms of putative research questions, enough areas of potential interest have arguably been identified to warrant further investigation. Themes would be†¦ Involve a larger cohort of respondents. Involve local management as respondents, to obtain views from both sides of the ‘psychological contract’. Involve the GSCC on their views about possible change. APPENDIX ONE: Questionnaire. Are you male †¦.. female†¦.. For each question, please indicate the statement with which you agree most by ticking it. Question 1. a. 90 hours CPD is sufficient for a SW Practitioner over three years. b. 90 hours CPD is insufficient for a SW Practitioner over three years. c. 90 hours is far too arbitrary an amount of CPD for a SW   practitioner: it should be varied for individuals. Question 2. a. Would you agree that the current SW CPD guidelines are effective? b. Would you disagree with the idea that the current SW CPD   guidelines are effective? c. Do you think that changes are necessary in current SW CPD? Question 3. a. Has the available SW CPD been sufficient for your needs as a   practitioner? b. Has the available SW CPD been insufficient for your needs as   practitioner? c. Has the available SW CPD been consistent? Inconsistent? à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   Question 4 : Please explain why you would support OR not support the idea of a ten-criteria list from which to select SW CPD activities? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Question 5 : Which areas of professional competence would you include in a ten-criteria list? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ APPENDIX 2: Tables of Questionnaire Results. Question 1. 90 hours CPD is sufficient for a SW Practitioner over three years. 90 hours CPD is insufficient for a SW Practitioner over three years. 90 hours is far too arbitrary an amount of CPD for a SW practitioner: it should be varied for individuals. 5 4 13 Question 2. Would you agree that the current SW CPD guidelines are effective? Would you disagree with the idea that the current SW CPD guidelines are effective? Do you think that changes are necessary in current SW CPD? 4 4 14 Question 3. Has the available SW CPD been sufficient for your needs as a practitioner? Has the available SW CPD been insufficient for your needs as practitioner? Has the available SW CPD been consistent? Has the available SW CPD been inconsistent? 3 6 5 8 APPENDIX 3 Question 4 : Please explain why you would support OR not support the idea of a ten-criteria list from which to select SW CPD activities? Why ten? It should be about relevance, not a number. Yes I would, but only if I got to choose them, so they were relevant to my needs. No, because it would expand what is already a drain on my time. I don’t think it could work because CPD is all about standardisation, this idea involves too much individual choice for the ‘powers that be’ to accept it. No: who would enforce or administer it? Yes, although why settle on that number? Yes, great idea, assuming practitioners are involved in drawing it up. Yes, perfect. If we get to choose what’s on the list, otherwise its just another form of management control, and we already have too much of that. Yes, if we can get everyone to agree on it. No. It sounds to me like the thin end of a very large wedge which I’ll have to fit into my diary. No. I’m still trying to catch up with my existing CPD, so I definitely don’t need any more. No. One CPD target is enough, I wouldn’t want any more than that. Yes, if it happens, but I can’t see it. No. Wouldn’t this just be more ‘big brother’ stuff from the GSSC? No. I imagine the bureaucracy the government would create around it. No. Who would supervise it? I’ll bet it would just be an extra job dumped on somebody like me. I like the idea in principle, but I think a smaller number of options would be more helpful. No, because I think the current system is OK, and manageable within realistic constraints of time. No. CPD just ticks a management box, it doesn’t really help me, so I don’t want four or ten or whatever it is boxes to tick. Yes, its just what we need to give us more of a voice in our own professional development. The 20 written responses obtained for Question 4, though qualitative in nature, have been sorted into three categories: supportive, unsupportive, and uncommitted. Supportive: 35% 2.Yes I would, but only if I got to choose them, so they were relevant to my needs 6. Yes, although why settle on that number? 7. Yes, great idea, assuming practitioners are involved in drawing it up. 8. Yes, perfect. If we get to choose what’s on the list, otherwise its just another form of management control, and we already have too much of that. 9. Yes, if we can get everyone to agree on it. 13. Yes, if it happens, but I can’t see it. 20. Yes, its just what we need to give us more of a voice in our own professional development. Unsupportive 55% 3. No, because it would expand what is already a drain on my time. 4. I don’t think it could work because CPD is all about standardisation, this idea involves too much individual choice for the ‘powers that be’ to accept it. 5. No: who would enforce or administer it? 10. No. It sounds to me like the thin end of a very large wedge which I’ll have to fit into my diary. 11. No. I’m still trying to catch up with my existing CPD, so I definitely don’t need any more. 12. No. One CPD target is enough, I wouldn’t want any more than that. 14. No. Wouldn’t this just be more ‘big brother’ stuff from the GSSC? 15. No. I imagine the bureaucracy the government would create around it. 16. No. Who would supervise it? I’ll bet it would just be an extra job dumped on somebody like me. 18. No, because I think the current system is OK, and manageable within realistic constraints of time. 19. No. CPD just ticks a management box, it doesn’t really help me, so I don’t want four or ten or whatever it is boxes to tick. Uncommitted 10% 1.Why ten? It should be about relevance, not a number. 17. I like the idea in principle, but I think a smaller number of options would be more helpful. Question 5 : Which areas of professional competence would you include in a ten-criteria list? Team Building skills 2 Leadership skills. 2 Multi-Agency Working. 8 IT skills. 1 Risk Assessment. 2 Intercultural Skills. 2 Communication Skills. 1 Policy Development. 2 Strategic Development. 1 Self-Reflection: being a reflective practitioner. 1 APPENDIX 4: Interview Pro-Forma. Time in SW†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Current Post†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Question 1. How important is CPD to you as a Practitioner? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Question 2. Would you change any aspect of current CPD practice? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Question 3. What do you see as the principal issues in current SW CPD practice? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Question 4. Could you identify some of the areas you would include in a ten-item range of activities for SW CPD? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ APPENDIX 5: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS. Question 1. How important is CPD to you as a Practitioner? Respondent One: Very Important. I know I don’t spend enough time doing it very often, but that’s just the nature of the job at the moment, where we are all running to stand still. It’s very difficult to commit a worthwhile timetable of CPD when you know for a fact that you won’t actually do half of it, due to unforeseen commitments. Respondent Two: Not as important as it probably should be. It’s a box I know I should tick, but in a department where we can’t even recruit at the moment, it’s not a priority. Sorry. Respondent Three: I know it’s vital, but who is it for exactly? If it’s just stuff they think I should be doing, rather than what I want to do, then I could well live without it. Question 2. Would you change any aspect of current CPD practice? Respondent One: Not all of it, as some of it can be very good. I would definitely give people more choice, and the group/team learning idea is a very good one. Respondent Two: Personally, I think it’s all about resources: I mean, I’d let people timetable for it, and relate it closely to what they needed as practitioners†¦but†¦that would cost money: money which, as far as I can see, we just don’t have at the moment. Respondent Three: Yep†¦I’d I either get rid of it†¦.or do it properly†¦I can’t see either happening at the moment though. Question 3. What do you see as the principal issues in current SW CPD practice? Respondent One: Time. All the time it’s an add-on, when it really needs to be a practice-centred activity which you could timetable for, and really concentrate on. Respondent Two: For me its all about relevance and real value. I can spend any amount of time becoming a more reflective practitioner, but that doesn’t help me if my case-load is increasing while I’m doing it. Respondent Three: Well, I can only comment on what they are for me†¦.the real issue is, a lot of what I get given – or I should say, is inflicted upon me – as CPD, has very little to do with my case-load and the real problems I face. Maybe its because I’m old-school, pre-graduate and all that. Yes it’s all very interesting, but, well, I’m not an academic! There, I’ve said it! This is what I do, and no amount of CPD seems to change that. Question 4. Could you identify some of the areas you would include in a ten-item range of activities for SW CPD? Respondent One: I can’t think of ten†¦.for me personally at the moment, it would be team-building, and risk assessment, plus maybe multi-agency working. Respondent Two: Communication, risk assessment, leadership, policy development. Respondent Three: IT skills, communication, multi-agency working, risk assessment†¦.the list is endless! 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Doel, M., Nelson