Health Care PublicPolicy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Health Care PublicPolicy - Assignment Example During the mid-2000s, the American Hospital Association (AHA) predicts that the United States would experience a shortage of employees serving the healthcare department. These workers include physicians, nurses, dentists, and medical interns. The healthcare workers shortages observed is due to the increased growth seen in the population, the high number of aging patients such as the baby boomers and the rise in the number and occurrence of chronic diseases. This essay will explore the causes, which are responsible for the shortage of healthcare workers in the US, and remedies that have been put in place to help alleviate the shortage. It is important for the government to understand and identify the causes of healthcare workers shortages. Identifications of such shortages enable for effective planning and coming up with solutions to curb the rise in healthcare workers shortages effectively. The following are some of the causes that were determined to contribute to the scarcity of healthcare workers in the US. The increase in the demand for healthcare in the US is a great contributor to healthcare workers shortages. The demand increase is due to the rising population numbers (putting more pressure on the strained healthcare services), a large number of the US population growing old, and a large number of chronic diseases recurring often. For instance, the U.S. Census Bureau projected that the population growth of the U.S. will increase by 13 percent while the aging population will compromise 20 percent of the population by 2030. On the other hand, 50 percent of the population will be suffering from chronic diseases (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2010). These statistics show the massive demand for the healthcare givers that will be required in a few years. The current shortage being experienced will thus be magnified in a few years time. There is an inadequate growth

Nationalistic Design in Practice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nationalistic Design in Practice - Assignment Example In this way, the above products all represent some form or fashion of American ideology and majority belief. The Campbell’s soup retains the traditional labeling that has defined the product for so long as a staple of American life. Likewise, the brand’s labeling holds true t the use of Red and White – both colors of the American flag. Secondly, the Ford F-250 is also a quintessentially American product that hearkens back to the days in which a vast frontier stretched before would-be settlers (Ford 1). Reminiscent of the Conestoga wagons, the massive truck is the epitome of American oversize and excess. Lastly, the Dickies brand of work clothes invokes the idea that America is still a country of industrial producing workers (Dickies 1). Although this is far from the truth, the brand continues to evoke such ideas with its careful use of Red, White, and Blue along with the inclusion of a horse shoe in the logo. With regards to three products that are noticeably non-nationalistic in origin, this analysis has chosen to examine Pepperidge Farm’s Pirouettes, Ford’s Fiesta, and American Apparel’s European-themed product offerings. Due to the fact that each of these products draws on inspiration from the other side of the Atlantic, the amount of nationalist influence on the products is limited if not non-existent. Firstly, the Pepperidge Farm product does not even bear a comparable name in English. It is marketed as a French creation even though it is made and distributed by an American bakery (Pepperidge Farm 1). Secondly, the Ford Fiesta has recently had a major face-life and redesign from its earlier days as a very boring and non descript econo-box (Ford 2). As such, the designers have drawn on inspiration from Ford’s European division to design a product offering for the American market that draws heavily on European

Parental involvement and biopsychosocial well being among children

Parental involvement and biopsychosocial well being among children This chapter will discuss the general picture of this study. Specifically, the chapter includes a general description of the purpose for this study, its relationship to current phenomena, problems related to it and last but not least, the reason this topic needs to be investigated. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between daily hassles, parental involvement and biopsychosocial well-being among children. According to the definition by World Health Orgnanization (WHO, 1948), health is a state of complete mental, physical, and social well-being and not purely the absence of disease or illness. In current study, the researcher will explore the children health outcome from the biopsychosocial perspective which focuses on the interactions between biological, psychological and social aspects of development. The biopsychosocial perspective follows the view that childrens development is influenced by hereditary and environmental factors as well. In recent years, the figure of children with negative well-being problem is on the rise (Kramer and Garralda, 2000). According to the National Health Interview Survey that was conducted in Unite States, from year 2004 to 2009, approximately 5.1% from children in the U.S aged between 4 to 17 years were reported by their primary caregivers (parents) as having serious behavioural and emotional problem (Bloom, Cohen Freeman, 2010). Besides that, the survey also showed that about one-quarter (14 million) of school-aged children that ranged from 5 years old to 17 years old were absent from school in the past 12 months due to sickness or poor health status (Bloom, Cohen Freeman, 2010). Among developing countries, Malaysia is one of the country that undergone rapid economic and social changes due to urbanization and industrialization. In year 2008, Malaysia has almost one third of the population which comprised of children under 15 years old and this proportion of individuals under 15 year s old were found to be greater than those aged over 50 (Department of Statistics, 2010). This statistic figure has implied that children are important and have vital impact on a countrys human capital development. Moreover, children well-being has always been the focus in research, practice and policy implementation and development. Thus, the alarmingly high prevalence of unhealthy well-being problems among todays children reinforce the public concern about the current health trends of children in the domains f biological, psychological and social factors. Over the past three decades, numerous research was found to support the importance of biopsychosocial perspective and clarified how biological, psychological, and social processes function together to affect a persons physical health status (Suls Rothman, 2004). Moreover, there are many signals of growth awareness from the biological, behavioural and social perspective in understanding and tackled the countrys and the worlds health problems. Besides that, over the past four decades, the health profile of children is not only focusing on infectious diseases but the focus has also been concentrating on the problem that affects overall health of the children. These problems include emotional, social, psychological, physical and school-functioning problems (Kramer, Allen, Gergen, 1995). However, little is known about the biopsychosocial well-being of children among middle childhood. Biopsychosocial well-being is a new perspective that has been derived from Engels biopsychosocial model. This model expands the biomedical model by adding in the influence of psychological and social factors to biological factor (Engel, 1977, 1980). In biopsychosocial model, it proposed that biological, psychological and social factors influence and are influenced by ones health. The biological factors include genetic characteristics and a persons physiological. These factors seek to comprehend how the cause of the illness derives from the functioning of the childrens body (Santrock, 2008). Besides biological factors, the psychological factors include behaviour and mental process of a person, which involved cognition, emotion and motivation. Behaviour and mental process play an vital role in childrens biopsychosocial well being in search for potential psychological causes such as negative thinking and emotions that relates to health problem (Santrock, 2008). Lastly, the social factor s include relationships with other people. In studying children biopsychosocial well being, social factors are used to investigate how the children interact with people such as family or community and the effect of these interaction on childrens health (Santrock, 2008). Biopsychosocial well being is an important development aspect for children. Healthy biopsychosocial well-being can lead to the development of positive attitudes towards health and quality of life. For example, if a child grows up with positive feelings, he or she would achieve healthy identity, ability to form and maintain relationships with others and handling difficulty (Rees, 2010). At the same time, a child with healthy biopsychosocial well-being can also enjoy success in school (Knitzer, 2003). Conversely, unhealthy biopsychosocial well-being will affect the growth of the children in terms of their physical, emotional, social and school functioning. For example, poor physical health status can affect the children in their school attendance and performance, ability to participate in physical activities (e.g., sport) and social development (Brown, Kinkukawa, Michelsen, Moore, Moore, Sugland, 1999). Literature has highlighted that daily hassles is related with the development of childrens biopsychosocial well-being. Daily hassles refers to minor, annoying, and disappointed daily experiences that a persons experience in response to the interaction between individual and environment (Kanner, Coyne, Schaefer, Lazarus, 1981). For example, argument with family members, feeling pressure by peers in school and homework problem. Daily hassles contribute negative outcomes and shown to be useful in predicting ones well-being (Vacek, 2010; Lu, 1991). Children who grow up in the 21st century are confronted with more stress and adjustment issues as a result of changing socio-cultural context and educational expectation. They are facing stress which relates to the examination-oriented education system. Both children and parents tend to pay more attention on education excellence than physical, emotional and health-related outcomes. So, childrens life is packed with organized activities such as after-school tuition classes and extra-curricular activities as enrichment programs (Mahoney, Harris Eccles, 2006; Molinuevo, Bonillo, Pardo, Doval Torrubia, 2010). As a result, children tend to have less time for activity that they like or outdoor activity to relax and develop healthy, balanced lifestyle. Past literature has noted the phenomena of over-scheduling of organized activity among young children, which lead to a hurried lifestyle that entails certain level of pressure and stress experience (Mahoney, Harris Eccles, 2006). Besides o f home, large portion of childrens life were spent in school. Thus, peers are integral part of children and also the major source of potential daily hassles. Therefore, relationship with peers change and social interaction are important in affecting the child well-being (Vacek, 2010). During middle childhood, home is another major domain in childrens life. Research has found that home environment is often the potential source of daily hassles in children (Corbett, 1999). At home, family is viewed as a social system. The reciprocal relationship of parent-child and siblings relationship not only provide opportunity for personal growth, it is also viewed as agent of conflict that can produce stressors to children. In sum, if a child has good cognitive development, he/she can understand the nature of stressors and learn to respond to the excess amount of stressful experiences (Corbett, 1999). Therefore, if the child is having good adaptation to the stressors, it will result in healthy biopsychosocial well-being. Put differently, if the child failed to response to the daily hassles experiences, it will lead to unhealthy biopsychosocial well-being such as health-related problem, low self-esteem, withdrawal and school difficulties (Corbett, 1999; Vacek, 2010). Over the years, many international literatures support that parental involvement is important for children, especially young children (Nokali, Bachman, and Votruba-Drzal, 2010; Hornby Witte, 2010). In the present study, these significant research findings offered evidence of a moderating or buffering role for parental involvement in daily hassles and children biopsychosocial well-being. Most of the past studies on parental involvement have focalized on the associations with academic achievement and positive associations between parental involvement and academic success have been presented repeatedly (Nokali, Bachman, and Votruba-Drzal, 2010). Currently, there is an absence of published research relevant to the middle childhood population that has examined parental involvement in childrens life, together with the experiences of daily hassles of children in promoting effective biopsychosocial well-being program. In addition, there is a major dilemma of how parents participate and putt ing their efforts in childrens well-being promotion (Perry, Luepker, Murray, Kurth, Mullis, Crockett Jacobs, 1998). Generally, parents always serve as role models for children. They influence what children learn, how children respond to the external environment, and also act as gatekeepers to both opportunities and barrier for children (Yeung Hills, 2007). Besides that, parents also are the major sources of reinforcement for children and highly instructive in childrens well-being (Yeung Hills, 2007; Klassen, Miller Fine, 2004). High level of parental involvement would safeguard children well-being against unfavourable sources such as daily hassles. Research also demonstrated that one of the factors that commonly used in determining childrens well-being is involvement of parents in their children life (Luthar Latendresse, 2005a). Furthermore, some studies are suggested to investigate the unique contributions of fathers and mothers parental involvement on childrens well-being in order to identity how would father and mother affect individually on childs outcomes (Hellenthal Stephens, 2006). In sum, parental involvement plays an significant role in promoting childrens biopsychosocial well-being. The development of biopsychosocial well-being in children is also affected by intergenerational transmitted of parenting (Belsky, Conger Capaldi, 2009). Therefore, another aspect of the present study is mediating effect of parents parental involvement. The influence on parental involvement may concern on continuities in child raising practices across generations (Neppl, Conger, Scaramella Ontai, 2009). Parents personal socialization experience and developmental history are strongly linked to affect the way they treat their children and the quality of parental involvement (Putallaz, Costanzo, Griomes Sherman, 1998). Several past longitudinal studies have proved that histories of responsive parenting predict participants later high involvement in their own children life and lead to positive child outcomes. Furthermore, study found that parents participation in children life is important in determining childrens well-being (Luthar Latendresse, 2005a). However, to date, most studies on continuity of parenting quality have centralised on the transmission of poor parenting behaviour and much less research has focused on the transmission of positive parenting (Pears Capaldi, 2001; Shaffer, Burt, Obradovi, Herbers Masten, 2009). In addition, currently in Malaysia, the mediating role of intergenerational transmission effect on parental involvement from the perspective of young children and how it relates to childrens biopsychosocial well-being have not been thoroughly researched. In short, this study attempts to understand the childrens biopsychosocial well-being and how it is being affected by daily hassles, parental involvement and parents parental involvement. Therefore, a research was conducted to investigate the relationship between daily hassles, parental involvement and parents parental involvement on childrens biopsychosocial well-being. Additionally, current research is necessary because of if the children failed to develop a healthy biopsychosocial well-being; it will caused long-lasting impacts and affecting the childrens later life. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM With regards to the literature reviewed on childrens well-being, this part of discussion would outline few issues concerning to the areas of study. Fist and foremost, this research is important to describe how daily hassles that are experienced by children and parental involvement are related to children biopsychosocial well-being. The problem related to over-scheduling of organized activity for young children and the increased of dual-earner families has led to significant effect on family such as more demanding parenting role, less quality time with family and greater expectation on/stress among young children. These ramifications on family functioning tend to exert significant implications on children biopsychosocial well-being. Furthermore, many researchers tend to focus on studying the association between stress and mental health among adults. However, in recent years, there is a shift to the linkage between stress and children well-being problem (Wertlieb, Weigel Feldstein, 1987). But, among all age group that have been studied, middle childhood has received the least attention. Literature showed that developmental changes that happen at this time may give great impact to the children accompanying health outcomes (Kapitanoff, 1992). Changes that occur at several areas such as physical, psychological, emotional and school will determine how children deal with stressful events later when they grow up. Besides that, reactions response to the daily hassles is different from one child to another child (Corbett, 1999). Same with adults, childrens stress response will cover wide range of domains which included emotional, behavioural and social. Based on literature, inability of children in being responsive to d aily stressors will lead to unhealthy biopsychosocial well-being (Vacek, 2010; Kapitanoff, 1992; Garmezy, 1983). Thus, in this research, the researcher wants to examine the relationship between daily hassles that were experienced by children and the outcomes of it on children biopsychosocial well-being. In general, healthy biopsychosocial well-being is essential for childrens growth and development. There are several factors that could interfere with the development of healthy biopsychosocial well being in children. Based on literature, parenting quality are intergenerational transmitted, in which parents in one generation will adopt and practice parenting behaviour in a similar way to what they themselves have experienced while growing up (Serbin Karp, 2003). However, little studies have recognized mechanisms that help specify continuities between first generation parenting and second generation parenting. In addition, there are also raising attention that some parenting in one generation does not predict parenting in the next generation, which means that developmental history do not predict parenting behaviour in subsequent generation. Therefore, in this research, the researcher wants to examine the relationship between parental involvement, and the effects of it on children biop sychosocial well-being. Based on the literature gap, current study determines the relationship between daily hassles, parental involvement and childrens biopsychosocial well-being. More specifically, this research seeks to answer the following research questions: What is the relationship between childrens daily hassles, parental involvement and their biopsychosocial well-being? To what extend does the moderating effect of parental involvement contribute to the relationship between childrens daily hassles and their biopsychosocial well-being? Is there any mediating effect of parents parental involvement on the link between parental involvement and childrens biopsychosocial well-being? To what extend do childrens and parental background characteristics, childrens daily hassles, parental involvement and parents parental involvement have combined and unique influence on childrens biopsychosocial well-being? SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY Childhood is an important stage in life development. It can give a powerful impact on future development. The result from this research is expected to provide a clearer and more detailed model for explaining the association of children stress and parental involvement on children biopsychosocial well-being. In addition, the findings for this result also explore how individual and parental factors, family background and parents parental involvement influence childrens biopsychosocial well-being. Based on these findings, intervention or prevention program for children that are multifaceted can be developed and held by evaluating healthy and unhealthy biopsychosocial well-being among children (Lewis, Sawyer, Clark Carbone, 2006). This intervention or prevention program can help the children gain knowledge and improve their well-being. Furthermore, findings in this research will be useful for parents to identify negative factors and construct a better way in their interaction with children. Parents can use this as guidelines to establish a good parent-child interaction. In addition, the results from this study are expected to help parents in promoting healthy well-being among children. Finally, the results of this research could become a reference that contributes to general knowledge about daily hassles, parental involvement and biopsychosocial well-being among children. A better understanding about factors related to childrens biopsychosocial well-being can guide parent, teacher, government, and society in assisting children to response to their daily hassles and develop healthy well-being. In summary, this can contribute to the countrys human capital development and promote a better quality of life. OBJECTIVE OF STUDY General Objective The general objective of this study is to examine the relationship between daily hassles, parental involvement and biopsychosocial well-being among children. Specific Objective To describe the childrens background characteristics (individual and parental factors) among the respondents. To describe the extent of daily hassles, parental involvement and biopsychosocial well-being among the children. To explore the relationship between childrens background characteristics with daily hassles, parental involvement and biopsychosocial well-being among children. To examine the relationship between daily hassles, parental involvement and biopsychosocial well-being among children. To access the moderating effect of parental involvement on the relationship between childrens daily hassles and childrens biopsychosocial well-being. To examine whether parents parental involvement mediates the link between parental involvement and childrens biopsychosocial well-being. To determine the unique predictors for childrens biopsychosocial well-being. DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGY Daily Hassles Conceptual definition Daily hassles can be defined as experiences and circumstances of daily living that have been evaluated as prominent and baleful or threatening to ones well-being (Lazarus, 1984)(p. 376 Daily hassles refers to minor, annoying, and disappointed daily experiences that a persons experience in response to the interaction between individual and environment. (Kanner, Coyne, Schaefer, Lazarus, 1981). Operational Definition Daily hassles refers to the total frequency and intensity score that happen to children in the area of peer, school and family as measured by The Hassles Scale for Children (Parfenoff Paul, 1989). The daily hassles that are experienced by children were measured in terms of frequency, a total of the number of items checked as happened and intensity. Parental involvement Conceptual definition Parental involvement refers to how parent get participate in children life (Desforges Abouchaar, 2003). Parental involvement has been defined in several ways, such as participation in school and home activities (e.g., Grolnick Slowiaczek, 1994); quality of time spent together between parent and child, and having close feeling to parents (Wenk et al., 1994). Operational Definition Parental involvement refers to the total score in Perception of Parent Scales (POPS) (Grolnick, Deci, Ryan, 1997). Perception of Parent Scales (POPS) measured the degree of involvement in terms of devoting resources to their children, knowledgeable about their lives, and concerned about what is going on for them. Parents parental involvement Conceptual definition Parents parental involvement refers to the influence of parents own experiences as a child on how their parents participated in their life when they were a child (Belsky, Conger Capaldi, 2009). Operational Definition Parents parental involvement refers to the involvement of parents of the participating parents in this study. Similarly, the involvement of parents parental involvement is measured by Perception of Parent Scales (POPS) (Grolnick, Deci, Ryan, 1997). Biopsychosocial well-being Conceptual definition Biopsychosocial well-being refers to the health status of a person, either health or illness that are outcomes of the interaction between biological, psychological and social factors (Sarafino, 2002). Operational Definition Biopsychosocial well-being refers to the total score that was obtained by children in The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventoryà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Genetic Core Scales (PedsQL à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ 4.0) (Varni, Seid, Kurtin, 2001). This scale contains four subscale which is physical functioning, emotional functioning, social functioning, and school functioning. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK In the present study, bioecological human development theory by Urie Bronfenbrenner (1977, 1979) is presented to investigate the linkages between daily hassles and parental involvement on childrens biopsychosocial well-being. Additionally, Belskys Model (1984) is adopted to explain the mediating effect of parents parental involvement on childrens biopsychosocial well-being. Bioecological Human Development Theory Conceptualized by Bronfenbrenner (1979), Bioecological Theory of Human Development was used to elucidate the function of different environments and its outcomes on children developmental well-being. Based on the assumptions of the theory, childrens ecological environment is constituted by a series of nested structure of environmental influence. Thus, in order to address childrens biopsychosocial well-being, it requires comprehensive examination into the different domain of environments, such as individual, family, school, neighbourhood and community settings. In the present study, the researcher claimed that children are firstly affected by the direct environments (e.g, family, school and peers) and secondarily affected by the experiences that they get from neighbourhood and society. Thus, combination of different related environments from the ecology will increased the risk of children to develop unhealthy well-being. However, the more children experienced and able to response towar ds hazards in the ecology (e.g., teasing by peers, academic problem and arguing with family members), the more likely children will resist themselves from the threats and develop healthy well-being. Put differently, the more children experienced hazards in the environments contexts and unable to response to it, it will be greater chances to place them at developing unhealthy well-being. Furthermore, current study also highlighted the role of parents in promoting effective biopsychosocial well-being among children. In line to the propositions in bioecological theory of human development, in this study, parents are conceived as the most influential people in children lives. Parents always serve as an immediate environment or closest layer to the children. Review of research demonstrated that high level of parental involvement could buffer children from stressful life condition and adverse developmental outcomes (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001, Lindquist, 1998). Belskys Model Besides that, Belskys model (1984) is illustrated to elucidate the mediating effects of parents parental involvement in altering the links between parental involvement and childrens biopsychosocial well-being. This model proposed that parents characteristics is one of the most effective factors in shaping competent parenting behaviour. According to Belskys model, parents developmental history can influence their personality, psychological well being and parenting functioning. Review of research also showed that parental involvement in children life is associated to their family of origin (Hwang, 2001). In present study, the researcher postulates that parenting in one generation may affect parental behaviour in the next generation. But, there is little comprehension of the specific process that may facilitate such intergenerational continuity of parenting. Past studies showed that if parent experienced poor parenting, the more they provided their young children with discordant discipl ine and less involved in their childrens life (Capaldi, Pears, Patterson, Owen, 2003). Additionally, according to the assumption in Belskys model (1984), intergenerational transmission of poor parenting can help individual to establish high level of parental involvement by stimulating a compensatory process in a manner expressly opposite to own experiences. In fact, in a recent longitudinal study on intergenerational continuity in parenting, which done by Neppl and colleagues (2009) has discovered that poor parenting that experienced by parents during childhood did not predict positive parenting and highly involved in own childrens life. Conversely, several findings revealed that parent who experienced positive parenting during their childhood time was more involved in their childrens life (Belsky, Jaffee, Sligo, Woodward, Silva, 2005; Chen Kaplan, 2001). Given established an effective parent-child relationship, this will help children to develop healthy well-being and shield the m from hazards. Therefore, in this study, parents parental involvement act as mediator, providing one potential explanation as to how childrens biopsychosocial well-being is being affected by the intergenerationally transmitted parenting. Theoretical Rationale The review on bioecological human development theory and Belskys model has revealed several concepts that could be used in current study. First of all, daily hassles that would increase the risk of children developing unhealthy biopsychosocial well-being was operationalized in an accumulative manner as proposed in the model. This was to repeat the assumption of bioecological human development theory that the more children experienced hazards in the environments contexts, the more chances to place them at developing unhealthy well-being. Secondly, the present study sought to evaluate the role of parents in promoting childrens biopsychosocial well-being. The role of parents was explained by the theory where by high involvement of parents in childrens life could buffer children from stressful life condition and developing unhealthy well-being. Additionally, identification of parental involvement into father and mother variables enables this study to suggest and identify how would father and mother affect individually on childrens biopsychosocial well-being, which could be useful in imply gender related intervention program. Furthermore, parental involvement could act as moderator in present study to investigate how elasticity of parenting context in altering the hazard experiences by children. Thirdly, current study also sought to scrutinize the mediating effects of parents parental involvement in altering the relationship between parental involvement and childrens biopsychosocial well-being. By considering the mediating effect on parental involvement, this study hypothesizes that parenting practices in one generation may influence by the parenting behaviour from previous generation. This was in line with the assumption of Belskys model, which proposed that parents developmental history could influence the competency of parenting behaviour. Thus, parents parental involvement could act as a mediator in this study if it increase or decrease the strength of the relat ionship between parental involvement and children biopsychosocial well-being. Additionally, based on idea of Luster and Okagaki (1993), parents parental involvement may also have direct influence on children biopsychosocial well-being. Antecedents Variable Child characteristics Age Gender Race Religion Parent characteristics Parents age Parents occupation Parents income Parents educational level Independent Variable CHILDRENS DAILY HASSLESConceptual Framework Path c Mediating Variable PARENTS PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT Moderating Variable PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT Path b Dependent Variable CHILDRENS BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING Path a Figure 1: Conceptual framework of study Daily Hassles, Parental Involvement and Biopsychosocial Well-being among Children. Drawing upon the research questions and theoretical framework, Figure 1 presents the research model for the current study on Daily Hassles, Parental Involvement and Biopsychosocial Well-being among Children. In current study, the researcher will investigate the relationship of different variables such as how the independent variable (daily hassles), moderator variable (parental involvement) and mediator (parents parental involvement) affect the dependent variable (childrens biopsychosocial well-being). Children and parents demographic background (e.g., age, sex, race, number of siblings, parents age, parents occupation, parents education level and parents income) are included in the research as antecedents effect of them on examining their variables. This framework hypothesizes three main interactions between the studied variables. There are two types of variables, namely the factors (independent variable and moderator variable) in this model that are proposed to have significant relationship with will lead to the childrens biopsychosocial well-being (dependent variable). The independent variable which is the child-related factor, daily hassles is proposed to have significant association with children biopsychosocial well-being (Path a). Additionally, for parental factor, which is parental involvement will act as moderator to influence child factor and caused impact on children biopsychosocial well-being (Path b). Consistent to the notion of Baron and Kenny (1986), parental involvement that hypothesized in the model could act as moderator if it affects the direction ore strength of the daily hassles on children biopsychosocial well-being. As shown in the conceptual framework above, there is another hypothesized model that included three variables: p

The Materials, Properties, and Theory of Superconductivity Essay

The purpose of this paper is to examine the materials, properties, and theory of superconductivity, a quantum phenomenon that occurs when a material is brought below a critical temperature and will conduct electricity without any resistance, the nearest model in nature to perpetual motion. According to Ecks (1990), Once current is applied to a superconducting material the current will continue in a closed lope without ever losing intensity. (Ecks, 1990) Superconductive materials can greatly vary in mechanics and materials. They are separated into Type 1 and Type 2 superconductors. All superconductors display the unique ability to repel magnetic fields, known as the Meissner effect. According to Shachtman (2000), Superconductivity was discovered when a physicist, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, when he developed the process to produce liquid helium and began testing the electrical properties of material at temperatures nearing absolute zero. Absolute zero is the coldest temperature that is theoretically attainable and is the basis of the Kelvin scale. Onnes first observed the phenomenon in mercury. A sample of mercury was cooled by liquid helium, and at the exact moment the temperature of the mercury reached 4.19K the resistance abruptly disappeared. (Shachtman, 2000) According to Nave (2000), In Type I superconductors the phenomenon of zero resistance at low temperatures occurs in materials that are have some degree of conductivity under normal conditions. The properties of Type I superconductors were modeled successfully by the efforts of John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and Robert Schrieffer in what is commonly called the BCS theory after the efforts of John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and Robert Schrieffer in its understanding. (Nave, 2000) ... ...ak Ridge National Laboratory. Eck, J. (1990) Retrieved March 10, 2008, from http://superconductors.org Goldman, M (2000). Bose-Einstein condensation. The Atomic Lab. Retrieved March 11, 2008, from the University of Colorado Physics 2000 project. Mook, H. A., Dia, P., & Dogan, F.(2002) Charge and spin struture in YBa, Phys. Rev. Lett, 88. Retrieved March 16, 2008, from http://focus.aps.org/story/v9/st12 Nave, R. (2000). Superconductivity concepts. HyperPhysics. Retrieved March 11, 2008, from HyperPhysics database. Oxford University (1993). Superconductivity explained. Retrieved March 11, 2008, from http://superconductors.org/oxtheory Poole, C. P., Farach, H. A., & Creswick R. J. (1995). Textbook of superconductivity. San Diego: Academic Press. Schachtman, T. (2000). Absolute zero and the conquest of cold. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company

Research Paper About Education Essay

Etymologically, the word â€Å"education† is derived from the Latin Ä“ducÄ tiÃ…  (â€Å"A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing†) from Ä“dÃ… «cÃ…  (â€Å"I educate, I train†) which is related to the homonym Ä“dÃ… «cÃ…  (â€Å"I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect†) from Ä“- (â€Å"from, out of†) and dÃ… «cÃ…  (â€Å"I lead, I conduct†).[2] The role of government A right to education has been created and recognized by some jurisdictions: Since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. It does not however guarantee any particular level of education of any particular quality.[3] At the global level, the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under its Article 13.[4] Throughout history various governments have made it illegal to educate children privately or at home. Various totalitarian regimes, for example, have mandated indoctrination through propaganda in the Hitler Youth and propaganda in education under various communist regimes. Systems School children line, in Kerala, India Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. Schools systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula. Curriculum Main articles: Curriculum, Curriculum theory, and List of academic disciplines School children in Durban, South Africa. In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their content offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[5] Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12 grade curricula or within majors at coll eges and universities as electives. The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater.[6] Preschools Main article: Preschool education The term preschool refers to a school for children who are not old enough to attend kindergarten. It is a nursery school. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate.[citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is â€Å"to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the child’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them.†[7] Primary schools Main article: Primary education Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842. Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.[8] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Secondary schools Main article: Secondary education Students working with a teacher at Albany Senior High School, New Zealand Students in a classroom at Samdach Euv High School, Cambodia In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, â€Å"post-secondary†, or â€Å"higher† education (e.g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history. MLC Kx12 in Portland, Oregon Autodidacticism Main article: Autodidacticism Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is self-directed learning that is related to but different from informal learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is â€Å"learning on your own† or â€Å"by yourself†, and an autodidact is a self-teacher. Autodidacticism is a contemplative, absorbing process. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. One may become an autodidact at nearly any point in one’s life. While some may have been informed in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to inform themselves in other, often unrelated areas. Notable autodidacts include Abraham Lincoln (U.S. president), Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician), Michael Faraday (chemist and physicist), Charles Darwin (naturalist), Thomas Alva Edison (inventor), Tadao Ando (architect), George Bernard Shaw (playwright), and Leonardo da Vinci (engineer, scientist, mathematician). Vocational Main article: Vocational education Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture and the arts. ]Indigenous Main article: Indigenous education Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge and language through the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities to â€Å"reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students.†[9]

Gay marriage Essay

The sanctioning of gay marriage is a moral way forward and has positive outcomes in all aspects of life. Homosexuality it seems is a modern concept in terms of today’s news, especially as the legalization of gay marriages are now at the forefront of today’s current issues. The facts are, homosexuality is not a modern concept or a modern way of life, from as far back as history will allow us to delve it is believed that homosexuality in men has always existed. Many ancient writers, such as Strabo and Athenaeus, wrote that the Gauls or Celts commonly practiced homosexuality. Aristotle wrote that the Celts â€Å"openly held in honor passionate friendship (synousia) between males†. Diodorus Siculus wrote that â€Å"Although the Gauls have lovely women, they scarcely pay attention to them, but strangely crave male embraces (arrenon epiplokas). (Norton) As we have moved through the centuries and certainly more towards the end of the last century and into this one, it has become a lesser taboo subject than it once was. The media has brought to our attention, positive and sometimes negative reactions to people who practice same sex relationships. Even celebrities have, in some ways, brought about a wider recognition of homosexual behaviour and thankfully this has allowed a certain extent of acceptance. The familiarity of reading and viewing such issues has enabled a greater reception and a recognized tolerance for the gay community. From a libertarian point of view, we are discouraged and prohibited from causing any racial or discriminatory behaviour towards others; be more open minded towards differing lifestyles and opinions, and this should not be any different towards homosexuals, or those seeking to enter into a gay marriage. Ostracizing homosexuals only leads to and breeds a misunderstanding and a promotion of discrimination. Homosexuals do not choose to live this way out of defiance or rebellion; they are born this way and should not be made to feel victimized. A further hindrance in the fight for legalization is the concept that allowing such justification would give confidence to those individuals having the need to marry their pets or walk down the aisle with their blow up dolls. This argument is preposterous as in the first instance there can never be an entry into marriage between any beast and a human. The beast has no ability to speak and cannot therefore agree to marriage, the same goes for a doll or any animate object. It is difficult enough in this day and age to maintain any kind of relationship and being involved in a gay relationship is no different, perhaps in some cases it is harder, however as society has struggled to come to terms with this behaviour, it should be reminded that any relationship, if it is a healthy relationship, is a good relationship regardless of who is involved and their chosen sexuality. The legalization of gay marriages will support and promote homosexuality and this should be regarded in a positive way for all those concerned. Studies repeatedly demonstrate that people who marry tend to be better off financially, emotionally, psychologically, and even medically. (Cline) A communatarian standpoint would be that though the above concentrates solely on the personal benefits, the same can be realised when considering the families of gay couples and the communities they live in. The acceptance and legalization of their unity promotes a healthy attitude and has a constructive influence on others, consequently this influence creates routine, stability, positive role models and a preferred society to live in. Homosexuals are not harming anyone with their intentions of marriage, it is simply the next level of their relationship and they should not be denied this as their right. â€Å"When your government puts into place laws that prevent people from being equal they set the stage for those who discriminate to feel justified. † (Hosty) Legal classification has and can be changed; society and tradition have changed without the need for a legal approval therefore there seems no reason to uphold the argument. It has been said that homosexuality weakens the definition of marriage and that the belief and crusade for legalization will encourage and increase ‘fake’ marriages. Yet who is to say that this does not occur in heterosexual marriages. Attempting to pocket homosexuals into this category of behaviour is a poor attempt of a weak argument and should be disregarded when looking for blame in this area. The procreation debate is another common case of contention, many believing that marriage should then result in reproduction and in endorsing homosexual behaviour the human race will suffer. Homosexuals do not influence heterosexual people; there will not come a time when there are no heterosexuals left due to homosexuals. Homosexuality is not a recruitment agency. It is not clear why straight people would stop procreating if gays could marry. The factors driving people to reproduce — the needs for love and to love another, the purported instinct to propagate one’s genes, religious obligations — would still exist if Adam and Steve could marry. No couple has ever been required to procreate in order to marry. No couple has ever even been required to be able to procreate in order to marry. Sterile couples and old couples can marry. Couples physically able to procreate but who do not want to procreate can get married. (Carpenter) Tradition and family values have also featured in the arguments against gay marriage, yet the world seems to be content to develop in technological and other social customs. No laws have been introduced to prevent heterosexual couples from living together outside of marriage, nor have there been any actions taken against single, heterosexual women adopting children, yet when it comes to homosexuals and the idea of them legally binding their love, this is unacceptable. According to The Bible it clearly condemns all sexual behaviors outside of marriage between one man and one woman. Homosexual behavior is explicitly condemned in both the Old and New Testaments as an abomination and a violation of God’s standards for sexuality. (Coalition) Yet this is not a law, it is a book of beliefs, a book that many people claim to believe in, yet fail to live by its words. Only choosing what is to suit personal purpose is this referred to. Many people, who claim to believe in The Bible, and its beliefs in respect of homosexuals, do not take into account their own lives and that perhaps they flout the Books scriptures. None of us live perfect lives, yet there are numerous bigoted people who drive for the argument against something as inoffensive as a homosexual couple showing their love. Statistically speaking it is known that homosexuals live 20 years less than heterosexuals therefore the argument continues that legalization would be encouraging an unhealthy lifestyle. Numerous conflicts make homosexual behaviors abnormal, including rampant promiscuity, inability to maintain commitment, psychiatric disorders and medical illnesses with a shortened life span. The sexual practices of homosexuals involve serious health risks and illness. Specifically, sodomy as a sexual behavior is associated with significant and life-threatening health problems. Unhealthy sexual behaviors occur among both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Yet the medical and social science evidence indicate that homosexual behavior is uniformly unhealthy. Men having sex with other men leads to greater health risks than men having sex with women, not only because of promiscuity but also because of the nature of sex among men. (Fitzgibbons) Heterosexuals also live unsavory lifestyles; drug users, criminals and sexual predators all come in different shapes, sizes, gender and color, being homosexual is not primarily unhealthy and if society were to accept this lifestyle more readily, perhaps the gay community may adapt their lifestyles and take less risks. A loving and stable relationship, albeit a homosexual one, generates maturity and respective values towards one another. Throughout history there have been many definitions of marriage. Usually; A legally recognized union of a man and a woman by ceremony or common law. (Services) but more recently this has been generalized to identify marriage as two people who are married to each other. The emphasis being on the word ‘people’ implies that there has been an easing of attitude, therefore why would this definition change? If marriage is indeed meant only for procreation purposes, why are infertile couples allowed to enter into marriage when there will be no child borne from the relationship? There are heterosexual couples who have married in later life, with no desire for children and they do not come across such obstacles when making their decision. From a utilarian aspect, a child will only develop positively in a loving and stable relationship; this can take place in a homosexual relationship just as well as in a ‘conventional’ relationship. There will always be a form of resistance where change is involved. Fear of the unknown, lack of knowledge and more importantly, ignorance will all factor in this struggle to change people’s opinions. The legalization of a gay marriage should not be about the sexuality of the couple; it should be about recognizing and celebrating a couple’s love for one another. Marriages have changed erratically over the years, respectively considered to be ‘uncool’ or ‘unnecessary. In the past it was thought to be sinful to live with a partner and not enter into marriage, yet our views of this have changed. It is perfectly acceptable to have multiple partners and to cohabit with your chosen partner yet when it comes to those individuals who chose to live together and get married from the same sex, this is not acceptable. There are innumerable ‘slippery slope’ theories that have no ultimate backbone to their arguments. Anyone it seems, no matter what they engage in, be it any kind of sexual deviance, religious beliefs, personal lifestyle choice, they are given permission to say â€Å"I do†, however, if those same people were to be homosexual, their permission would not only be denied but they would suffer judgment and prejudice from those standing court. A persons future happiness should not be determined by small minded and judgemental bureaucrats. It may be a more practical method to way up the statistics of the general public as they are, after all, the majority of the society we have to live in. The statistics overleaf highlight the conclusion that there seems to be an opposition from the middle aged generation, unable to move on from tradition and their political persuasions. (Times) Carpenter, Dale. Independent Gay Forum – Gay Marriage and Procreation. 18 March 2004. 20 March 2008 . Cline, August. Gay Rights, Marriage & Homophobia: Ethical & Political Issues: Arguments for Gay Marriage: Moral and Social Arguments for Gay Marriage. 20 March 2008 . Coalition, The Traditional Values. Traditional Values Defined – What Are Traditional Values? 20 March 2008 . Fitzgibbons, Rick. Medical Downside of Homosexual Behavior. 18 September 2003. 20 March 2008 . Hosty, John. Live, Love, and Learn. 12 December 2005. 20 March 2008 . Norton, Rictor. â€Å"Taking a Husband†: â€Å"A History of Gay Marriage† Queer Culture. 21 February 2004 (amended 2006). 20 March 2008 . Services, Department of Human. Department of Human Services. 20 March 2008 . Times, The Seattle. Rogue Pundit: Statistics, Gay Marriage and Equal Rights. 28 March 2004. 20 March 2008 . hhhh