Corporate Cultures and Their Impact on Recruitment and Retention Essay

Corporate Cultures and Their Impact on Recruitment and Retention - Essay Example The study suggests that global companies are realizing the importance and need to invest in the human ‘capital’. They can no longer take people for granted and sit back. Global economy is expanding, business opportunities growing but the available workforce steadily reducing. A culturally strong organization succeeds in attracting and retaining the top talent and can expect to climb the ladder of success. By the close of the twentieth century, business houses came to accept that people, not cash, buildings, or equipments differentiate one company from another. Corporate culture is moving into the limelight and proving to be an untapped asset for employees and businesses alike. Researches have shown that at the time of economic turndown the companies having strong and adaptive cultures are better able to handle the financial crisis than those with weak and poorly defined cultures. The right combination of people and culture can mean the difference between the financial su ccess and failure. As technology advances corporate culture will assume an even bigger role especially in the IT sector as competition increases. Organizations today recognize the need to attract the right brains to thrive in the competitive market and retain the employees. The norms of an organization are transmitted from generation to generation and are responsible for its financial success, which is the ultimate goal of any business organization. Understanding and assessing the company culture at every stage is vital.

Speech Act Theory

Speech Act Theory Introduction Speech act theory is a technical term in linguistics and the philosophy of language. The contemporary use of the term goes back to J. L. Austins doctrine of locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts. It is developed by the great philosopher J.L Austin in the 1930s and set forth in a series of lectures, which he gave at Harvard in1955. These were subsequently developed in 1962 as How to Do Things With Words. He founded the modern study of speech acts. The approach has been greatly developed since by the philosopher J.R.Searle (Austins pupil). The central insight of the speech act theory which is attributed to Austin, Searle and other philosophers is that speech is action and language is used to perform things not only to describe a state of affairs. Moreover, Austin pointed out that many utterances do not communicate information, but are equivalent to actions. When someone says, I apologize. , I promise , or I name this ship. the utterance immediately conveys a new psychological or social reality. Many scholars identify speech acts with illocutionary acts, rather than locutionary or perlocutionary acts. As with the notion of illocutionary acts, there are different opinions on the nature of speech acts. The extension of speech acts is commonly taken to include such acts as promising, ordering, greeting, warning, inviting someone and congratulating. Definition of speech act with elaboration A speech act is an act that a speaker performs when making an utterance. To Jennifer Spenader, speech act theory is: A theory where the effect of an utterance is analyzed in relationship  to the speaker and listeners behaviour. Speech act theory can also help us examine utterances from  the perspective of their function, rather than their form. Austin pointed out that when people use language, they are performing a kind of action. He called these actions speech acts. Traditionally, philosophers have distinguished between actions and speaking on the basis that speaking about something is quite dissimilar from doing it. Austin challenged this by demonstrating that utterances can be regarded as events in a similar way to other actions. The below lists are samples of speech acts which Austin reckoned that this sort of list could be extended further. Statement I live in Edinburg for five years Order Pay this bill immediately Question Where are you from? Prohibition No right turn Greeting Hello Invitation Help yourself Felicitation Happy new year (grudging) apology I hereby apologize as required by the magistrate (Griffiths, 2006:148) We can say that each utterance on the right is based on single sentence and the sentence is the level of language. Here, the language is used to accomplish actions as Austin stated. The above sentences are not used just to say things, that is to say describe states of affairs, but rather actively to do things. Further, one cannot assess such utterances as true or false. Moreover, most speech acts are not so official but they rely on the speaker using an utterance to signal his/her intension to achieve some action and the hearer inferring that action from the utterance. One can say that speech act cannot only be done in speaking but also in writing. The clue is the example number (7) in which it would be equally appropriate printed in a card or spoken. As a matter of fact, there are purposes behind any utterance. Consider these examples A-Somebody has broken my leg. In the above sentence, the following purpose appears The first one is to describe things which are not the basic purpose and the second purpose is to complain which is the basic purpose as it doesnt describe things. B-I love you. The purpose here is to please or to assure somebody. C-Watch out, the gun is loaded. The purpose is to warn someone. D-She is a fool. The purpose is to insult or to ease. Thus, the gist idea of speech act theory is to do acts (things) and not simply to describe because description is not the important function of language. Dichotomies (constative and performative) Many writers, in their books, define the dichotomy constative (descriptive) and performative clearly. Riemer in his books Introducing Semantics that an utterance is constative if it describes or states facts about a situation. Whereas performative is one which does not describe or state any facts, but which itself constitutes the performing of an action. The following pair of examples serve the above point A-I promise to visit tomorrow. B-She promised to visit tomorrow. In the first example, you promise to visit but if you dont visit it, the person you said it can complain that you broke your promise. Sentences which perform actions are known as performatives while other sentences are called constatives. Although constatives perform actions. The example (b) serves this point which performs the action of reporting her promise. Thus, the difference between the two (constatives and performatives) may not be as significant as the idea that all sentences can be used to perform actions of various sorts. Broadly speaking, all utterances are performative in the sense of constituting a form of action rather than a matter of saying something about the world. Ultimately, a single utterance can have both aspects constatives and performative elements; they are all sayings and doings simultaneously. Typical examples of performative verbs are ask, beg, beseech, command, congratulate, deny, deplore, declare, implore and warn. Only certain forms of the verb count as performing the speech act, mainly first person simple present active and third person present passive. Furthermore, a performative verb in a performative use can typically be accompanied by hereby. See the following A-I hereby declare the bridge open. B-I hereby command you to surrender. While in the below instances using hereby is not possible with non-performative verbs speaking. A-I hereby persuade you to accompany me. B-I hereby tell the truth. As we said earlier, the performative use of performative verbs is extremely restricted grammatically. They must be first person simple present active and third person present passive. Consider, first, active uses I hereby promise to pay you next week. Not: I herby promised you pay him the following week. Similar contrasts are possible with passive uses Passengers are hereby requested not to smoke. Not: Passengers were hereby requested not to smoke. You are hereby warned to leave immediately. Not: They will be hereby warned to leave immediately. Characteristics of Performative verbs The sense of the verb is always present. The subject is always first person (singular,plural) Since performative verbs are not descriptions but actions they are not subject to truth-value. In performative sentences the illocutionary act is explicit. Performative verbs like (affirm, allege, assert, forecast, predict, announce, insist, order, state, name, declare, bet, agree). For testing whether a verb is performative we can insert the word (hereby). The book entitled semantics and pragmatics by Dr. Misbah Mahmood gives extra examples about the distinguishing between performatives and constatives. Performatives Constatives I promise I will be there. I will be there. I warn you, the gun is loaded. The gun is loaded. I thank you. I am very grateful. I order you to read. You must read. I request you to send me the book. Send me the book. I apologize. I am sorry. Are Performatives truth-evaluable? Verschueren, in his book, entitled Understanding Pragmatics states that Austin drew a distinction between constative and performative utterances. In this dichotomy, constatives are utterances in which something is said which can be evaluated along a dimension of truth. Performatives, on the other hand, are utterances in which something is done which cannot be said to be true or false but which can be evaluated along a dimension of felicity. According to Austins account, it is an essential characteristic of performative utterances that they are neither true nor false, that is, not truth-evaluable, instead when something is wrong with them then they are felicitous (happy) or infelicitous (unhappy). The uttering of a performative is the doing of a certain kind of action , the performance would not normally be described as just saying or describing something. For example, when Tom says I promise to do the dishes in an appropriate context he does not just describe what he is doing; rather, in making the utterance he performs the promise; since promising is an illocutionary act, the utterance is thus a performative utterance. If Tom utters the sentence without the intention to keep the promise, the sentence is not false: it is rather unhappy, or infelicitous. In the absence of any such flaw, on the other hand, the utterance is to be assessed as happy or felicitous, rather than as true. What Leech states is that Constative utterances could be evaluated in traditional terms of truth and falsehood, performatives were neither true nor false: instead they were to be regarded as felicitous or non felicitous. (Leech,1983:176) By felicity and infelicity, as Yule points out, they can only be as appropriate that is the performance of a speech act to be recognized as intended or inappropriate that is if the speaker is not a specific person in a special context. Briefly, felicity and infelicity are not subject to truth-value. A sentence like I pronounce you man and wife, the performance, here, will be infelicitous on condition that the speaker is not properly qualified. Regarding felicity condition (happiness condition), it can be grouped under three headings: preparatory conditions, sincerity conditions, and essential conditions. Types of Felicity Conditions There are normally conditions which must be fulfilled before a speech act can be said to have been properly performed. These are usually called felicity conditions or happiness conditions. 1-Preparatory Conditions The preparatory conditions for a promise and warning are unlike. When I promise to do something, two conditions appear: first, the event will not occur by itself, and second, the event will have a beneficial effect. But when I utter a warning, it is not clear that the hearer knows the event will happen whilst the speaker does think the event will occur, and the event will not have a beneficial effect. 2-Sincerity Conditions They require the speaker to be sincere. When one promises to do something must genuinely intend to do it; someone congratulating somebody else must feel pleasure at that persons good luck. 3-Essential Conditions By the act of uttering a promise, an obligation created to carry out the action as promised. In other words, the utterance changes my state from non-obligation to obligation. When speaker A warns speaker B, speaker A changes his state from non-informing of a bad future event to informing. Aspects of Speech Acts Austin found great difficulty in drawing a completely clear distinction between performatives and constatives; he came to the conclusion that to state something is to perform an illocutionary act, which renders all constatives as performatives; Austin proposed that in uttering a sentence speaker is involved in three different acts. In other words, he isolates three basic senses in which in saying something one is doing something, and thus, three kinds of acts that are simultaneously performed. 1-Locutionary act. Lots of writers define locutionary act. One of them is Levinson in the book Pragmatics. Locutionary act is the utterance of a sentence with determinate sense and reference. (Levinson,1983:236) Another definition is by Finch. It refers simply to the act of saying something that makes sense in the language; in other words, that follows the grammatical rules of language. (Finch,2000:180) The last definition said by Cruse, in his book, Meaning in Language in which Austin explained as follows: the utterance of certain noises.. certain words in a certain construction, and the utterance of them with a certain sense and a certain reference. (Cruse,2000:331) From the above definition, we conclude that locutionary act is related to the inherent meaning of the lexical item and it is the province of semantics. It is the act of expressing the basic, literal meanings of the words chosen. Besides, performing the act of saying something that makes sense in the language; in other words, that follows the grammatical rules of language. For more elaboration, see the below instances For example, Tom is outside the room. In this sentence both words (Tom and the room) have meaning and we should know what the words (Tom and the room) refer to. In uttering the words, You will get your hands blown off, a speaker performs the locutionary act of stating that the hearer will get his hands blown off. Suppose speaker A says to hearer B There is a bear sneaking up behind you! (Fasold,2006:162) Speaker A utters the word there and refers to the addressee with the word you. 2-Illocutionary act Cruse, in his book, entitled A Glossry of Semantics and Pragmatics defined that illocutionary act is an act performed by a speaker in saying something (with an appropriate intention and in an appropriate context), rather than by virtue of having produced a particular effect by saying something (Cruse,2006:167) According to Finch illocutionary act is one which is performed through the medium of language: stating, warning, wishing, promising and so on. Context can be seen in the definition and this leads to remind us the province of pragmatics. If we come to talk about intention, which is also found in defining illocution, we can regard that the intention is to inform, complain, thank, apologize, threaten, etc. Consider the below instances Father: I will turn out your light. Here, the intention of father is to threaten her son. It is duty of pragmatics since the idea of threatening doesnt relate to meaning but the context. In the sentence like, There is a lion behind you, suppose that A is a speaker and B is a hearer. At the illocutionary level, A asserts a fact (that there is a lion behind B) and warns B that he/she is in danger. The speaker has the illocutionary force of warning. In short, context in which the sentence is uttered is crucial in interpreting the illocutionary force of a speech act. If someone says: I order you to leave now, the intention is ordering by virtue of having uttered the words, whether or not the addressee acts in the desired way. 3-Prelocutionary act Concerning prelocutionary Levinson states the bringing about of effects on the audience by means of uttering the sentence, such effects being special to the circumstances of utterance. While Fasold points that prelocutionary is an action which goes beyond communication such as annoying, frightening, or tricking. The contrasts between illocutionary and prelocutionary lies by lists of verbs Illocutionary: report, request, suggest, announce, predict, order, propose, reprimand, promise, thank, express, congratulate, admit, ask Prelocutionary: persuade, deceive, encourage, irritate, frighten, amuse, inspire, distract, impress, encourage embarrass. Briefly, prelocutionary is the act of producing an effect in the hearer by means of the utterance. It is outside the province of semantics and pragmatics, because it involves many other aspects of the situations. It is not always intended by speaker, is not under his control, and is not evident until after the utterance is made. The speaker tries to carry out a prelocutionary act for example to shock, to amuse, and to annoy somebody. The following examples serve the above point A-You will get your hands blown off. The above sentence might be to prevent the hearer from playing with a lighter and a stick of dynamite, to frighten the hearer. B-John is inside the hall. The prelocutionary act for the above sentence is perhaps to disappoint, shock or annoy. To explicate more about the three types of speech acts, we take instances to apply the three acts. A-There is a wasp in your left ear. The first act: we know speaker and listener. (reference) The second act: the intention is the act of warning. The third act: The hearer is panic (afraid). The hearer may scream and scratch his ears. Panic is not intended but the speaker tries to make the hearer panic. B-Someone says Good night late at night in forest. The first act: speaker and listener. (reference) The second act: leave-taking, there is greeting purpose behind saying good bye. The third act: to horrify or to frighten. C-Father: I will turn out your light. The first act: I refers to father, your refers to sons light, having meaning and reference. The second act: to intend the act of threatening The third act: to frighten the son to sleep. The father tries to frighten his son. It is not under the control of the speaker and it may not be intended of the speaker that he wants to frighten his son. Types of Illocutionary Acts Implicit and explicit illocutionary force Implicit performatives are those which dont have performative verbs. For example when one says I will turn off your light, it is implicit since there is no performative verb and besides, the force doesnt relate to the meaning of the words. Another example Be aware of the dog means that I warn you to beware of the dog. Whereas explicit performatives are those which have performative verbs, that is, a verb which names the action being performed. For example when I say I warn you that.., it is explicit as I am not describing or stating the existence of any independent fact; I am, instead performing an act (act of warning). Speech Act Classifications Searle (1976) has set up the following classification of illocutionary speech acts that one can perform in speaking. David Crystal in his book, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, sheds light on five basic types. 1-Representatives: the speaker is committed, in varying degrees, to the truth of proposition. For instance, affirm, believe, conclude, deny, and report. The following examples illustrate the point. A-The earth is flat. B-Chomsky didnt write about peanuts. C-It was a warm sunny day. In all the above instances, the speaker represents the world as he/she believes it is. 2-Directives: the speaker tries to get the hearer to do something. For example request, challenge, insist, command, advise, and suggest. A-Could you open the door, please? B-I suggest you take a taxi. C-Dont go too far. The above-mentioned examples illustrate that the speaker tries to make the world fit the words through the hearer. 3-Commissives: the speaker is committed, in varying degrees, to a certain course of action. For example, promise, oath, refuse, pledge, threat, guarantee, vow, and swear. The instances, which shown below, point out that the speaker undertakes to make the world adapt the words through the speaker. A-I will be back. B-We will not do that. 4-Expressives: the speaker expresses an attitude about a state of affairs. For instance, congratulate, excuse, thanking, deplore, apologize, welcome, and thank. A-Congratulations! B-I am really sorry. The sentences indicate the speaker makes words fit the world of feeling. 5-Declaratives: the speaker alters the external status or condition of an object or situation solely by making the utterance. For example, resign, sack, appoint, name, christen, sentence (in court), bid (at auction), declaring war, pronouncing someone husband and wife. The below instances clarifies more about what we said. A-Priest: I now pronounce you husband and wife. B-Referee: You are out. One can say that the speaker changes the world via words. Direct and Indirect Speech Acts It is obvious that we have three structural forms (declarative, interrogative, imperative) and the three general communicative functions (statement, question, command/order) respectively. The table below clarifies more about what we pointed out. Whenever there is a direct relationship between a structure and a function, we have a direct speech act. Furthermore, there is a match between sentence meaning and speaker meaning, that is to say, the form of the utterance coincides with what a speaker is intending to convey. But in case of having indirect relationship between the two which mentioned before we have indirect speech act. Therefore, when a declarative used to make a statement it is functioning as a direct speech act, but when it used to make a request it is functioning as an indirect speech act. Consider the following instances A-It is hot. B-I hereby tell you about weather. C-I hereby request of you that you open the door. It is clear that the sentence A is a declarative, the sentence B used as statement so, it is direct speech act but the last sentence C used as command therefore; it is indirect speech act. A speech act can be indirect where one illocutionary act is performed by another. Well-known examples are requests which are superficially question. We expect actions rather than answer. A-Can you pass the sault? B-Would you mind if I opened the door? So, the above mentioned sentences superficially are interrogative and they are direct speech act but if we look at them deeply they become request and in this case they are indirect speech act. It is quite true to say that different structures used to attain the same function. The examples below show that the speaker wants the addressee not to stand in front of the TV. A-Move out of the way! B-Do you have to stand in front of the TV? C-You are standing in front of the TV. D-Youd make a better door than a window. The basic function of all the utterances is a command. The first instance is direct speech act because its structure is imperative. Whilst the rest of the sentences are indirect speech acts because the interrogative structure is not used only as question and also the declarative structures are not used only as statement. Conclusion Needless to say, that conclusion shows the product of any turn paper, research and etc. In this turn paper, a formal account of speech acts provided. Throughout reading it, I infer that we can extend what a speaker means by his/her words. Thus, utterances are not uniquely used to describe states of affairs but rather they convey speakers intention to the addressee. Speech act comprises the notion of speaker meaning since through it the intentions of the speaker can be felt or found it. Also, I conclude that speech act is one of the helpful factors for decoding those words that uttered by a speaker. It is obvious that there is communication in speech act between speaker and hearer and this communication conveys not only linguistic meanings but also expressing attitudes, and understanding is a matter of recognizing the attitudes being expressed. Another conclusion which is not to be forgotten is that if a sentence is interrogative, the same sentence could be regarded as request if we look at it deeply. The sentence Could you sign the papers, please? is our evidence. So, this case only occurred in speech act, one is direct and the other is indirect and the sentence has two functions question and request.

Essay --

CHAPTER 2 CAUSES OF MENTAL HEALTH AND THE BURDEN ON THE POOR Lack of awareness has made mental illnesses appear mystical. Some people suffer from mental disorders since birth(mental retardation) while some develop the disorders overtime(mental illness).Mental illnesses result from complex interactions between the mind, body and environment. Factors like long-term and acute stress, biological factors such as genetics, chemistry and hormones, use of alcohol, drugs and other substances, cognitive patterns such as constant negative thoughts and low self-esteem, social factors such as isolation, financial problems, family breakdown or violence are the scientific causes of a mental illness. (http://www.mentalhealth-matters.com.au/resources/ID1367819089.pdf) But rural people in India in general and tribal populations in particular, have their own beliefs and practices regarding health. Some tribal groups still believe that a disease is always caused by hostile spirits or by the breach of some taboo. They therefore seek remedies through magico-religious practices. (Current health scenario in rural India, Ashok Vikhe patil, K.V.Somasundaram and R.C. Goyal) This is an inevitable consequence of the barriers in seeking timely and effective treatment for mental illness in rural India: unavailability of mental health services, low level of literacy, socio- cultural barriers, superstition stemming from traditional and religious beliefs, stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness. About 75% of health infrastructure, medical professionals and other health resources are localised in urban areas where 27% of the population live. The poor penetration and the basic nature of rural health is also attributed to lack of health litera... ...urden increasing to 15% by Disability Adjusted Life Year( DALY) * (Mental health services in rural India : challenges and prospects by Anant Kumar) Mental illness constitutes nearly one sixth of all health-related disorders. With the population on a rise, altering values, life-style, unemployment and frequent instability in incomes, lack of social support and increasing insecurity, it is predicted that there would be substantial increase in the number of people suffering from mental illness in both urban and rural areas. In order to get rid of the vicious cycle of poverty feeding into mental illness, there is a need to think of mental health as a development priority instead of just a concern of public health and human rights. †¢ * DALY – it is a measure of overall disease burden, expressed as the numbers of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death.

Avian Influenza in the Media

The article that I chose to discuss is entitled â€Å"Avian Flu: Is the Government Ready for an Epidemic?† and was published on the ABC News website on September 15, 2005. The journalists name was not published. The article opens with the lines â€Å"It could kill a billion people worldwide, make ghost towns out of parts of major cities, and there is not enough medicine to fight it. It is called the avian flu.† Throughout the rest of the article, the journalist goes on about the horrors that could occur if avian flu were to mutate so that it was able to be transferred from human to human, and not just from bird to human as is now the case. The journalist quotes Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness as saying â€Å"The tipping point, the place where it becomes something of an immediate concern, is where that virus changes, we call it mutates, to something that is able to go from human to human,† and then states that scientists around the world are now working around the clock as they wait for that tipping point. However, at no time does he inform the reader that all viruses mutate naturally over and over again, and that the chance of the H5N1 strain, mutating into a strain that could pass from human to human is in no way an eventuality, or even a likely outcome. He just takes quotes from various scientists around the world who are expressing a worry about what could happen in the event that H5N1 were to mutate, and uses them to imply that this is a very likely possibility. The journalist also likens an Avian Flu pandemic to Hurricane Katrina, an event that was at the foremost of people’s minds when the article was published and uses purposefully disturbing imagery that has been shown on TV about Hurricane Katrina, such as people dying in the airports and the utter helplessness of the Superbowl, to cause people to panic and worry that bird flu is likely to devastate the country at any second in order to bring to light the Government’s unpreparedness for an outbreak. He then goes on to discuss what he calls an â€Å"inadequate stockpile of medicine† and blames the Government for not having stockpiled enough Tamiflu, which he equates to a miracle drug which will stop H5N1 in its tracks. However, while he is happy to imply, in the beginning of the article, that the H5N1 virus is likely to mutate at any time, he conveniently ignores this when he talks about Tamiflu, and nowhere does he state that while this drug can help people who have contracted bird flu, it is only useful to the current strain of the virus and if it mutates, which he assures us it will, there is no guarantee that it will be of any use to those infected. I feel that these are unforgivable exaggerations of the disease and its dangers and that the journalist was simply interested in sensationalism and causing a public outcry and panic. Expert opinions on the dangers of the H5N1 virus are currently very varied and divided and a lot is still unknown about the disease, but at no time does this article bring that to light. Laura Chang, of the New York Times said it best when she said that journalists shouldn’t â€Å"write articles that might feed a sense of panic, such as telling people to stock up on Tamiflu, or dramatizing how a pandemic would spread through a particular city. Sometimes silence is the best journalism.† Website: http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Investigation/Story?id=1130392&page=1 MRSA in the media This article on MRSA, or the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, was published in the British newspaper, the Sunday Metro, under the headline â€Å"Strain of superbug ‘may be new HIV.'† The article opens with â€Å"A deadly new drug-resistant strain of the superbug MRSA could spread rapidly through the gay community, experts have warned.† It then goes on to equate MRSA to the HI virus when it says: The infection is already moving through parts of San Francisco in the same way as HIV and Aids did in the early 1980s. The bug, which can lead to a deadly flesh-eating form of pneumonia, is 13 times more prevalent among the city's gay men than other people. However, at no time does the article explain what MRSA is or that it is not in fact, anything like HIV or AIDS. MRSA is in fact caused by a bacterium, already a vast difference from the virus that causes aids, that is responsible for difficult-to-treat infections in humans. The organism can also be further classified into either Community-Associated MRSA or Hospital-Associated MRSA depending on the circumstances in which the patient acquired the disease. The article goes on to focus on one strain of the disease, a strain known as the USA300 strain and the journalist notes that â€Å"the USA300 bug, is not caught in hospitals but spreads through a community, often by casual contact† which is true, as it is a community-associated strain of MRSA that is spread by skin to skin contact. However, the journalist then goes on to suggest that this strain, which is as a particularly antibiotic resistant epidemic that is responsible for rapidly progressive, fatal diseases, is only likely to affect the gay community. However this is not the case and as MRSA is not a sexually transmitted disease there is no way it could only affect only the gay community. The USA300 strain is passed on by skin-to-skin contact and therefore cannot be liked to HIV which is transmitted only through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected individual. While practicing homosexuals are at risk of being affected by the USA300 strain, the disease has also been reported by people in athletic teams, correctional facilities, military recruits and newborn nurseries. I believe this article is simply an example of sensationalism in the media. It does not focus on any of the facts, and makes purposefully sweeping and false statements about MRSA and its similarity to HIV, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The two are nothing like each other, one caused by a bacteria and one by a virus. One transmitted sexually and the other just by touching someone that has been infected. It was written simply to get people to by the newspaper, and should be ignored. Website: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=83921;in_page_id=34;expand=true

Family Approach Research Paper Essay

Abstract This research paper will in detail find influences donating to the degeneration of African American marriages, increase of African American divorces, and how structural family therapy can impact it. Structural Family Therapy was developed by Salvador Minuchin and his associates in the 1960s due to the growing curiosity in alternative ways of hypothesizing suffering and familial dilemmas. Structural family therapy is reinforced by an undoubtedly expressed model of family functioning, and has been developed and used reliably in counseling sessions for children and their families (Ginginch & Worthington, 2007, 343). Also, this report will examine what can be done to change this disturbing status amongst African American families. Monetary, emotional, and cognitive stability are a few of the common reasons and profits of marriage. Studies have discovered that marital couples in contrast to unattached couples are better-off, healthier, less stressed, and tend to live well into their mid-80s (Pindgerhughes, 2002, p. 269). Thus, there are numerous welfares of being married; it could be assumed that matrimony would be a shared objective for most citizens regardless of race. However, studies have publicized a radical deterioration of marriages inside the African American families alongside an increase in separations. African Americans are the least expected to wed, when they wed, they complete this task later in life, spending a smaller amount of time wedded than White Americans, and are more likely to become divorced. Keywords: African American, Marriages, Structural Family Therapy, Minuchin Family Approach Research Paper African American Marriages There is a strong importance for research of the state of African American and marriage because there have been major changes from past African Americans’ marriages relating to this major decline. According to the National Center on African American Marriage and Parenting’s (NCAAMP) Marriage Index, in 1970, 70.3% of African Americans were wedded and those ratios steadily fallen about 61% in 1982, 51.2% in 1992, 38.9% in 2003, and  41.7% in 2010. The rate is declining so noticeably that marriage has been referred to as an â€Å"alternative life† for African Americans (Dixon, 2009). The NCAAMP’s marriage index exposed the proportions of wedded Americans which comprises 77.8% in 1970, 70.1% in 1980, 59.3% in 1990, 62% in 2000, and 59.7% in 2008. An assumption can be drawn from the above Marriage index reports that there is certainly an important variance between all married Americans and married African Americans along with a change in rates of matrimony fr om 1980 to modern periods. Additionally, the declining rates of marriage, African Americans seem to be at greater hazard for matrimonial instability (Dixon, 2009, p. 30). Many of these influences are related to high male imprisonment, low sew ratio, poverty, uncertainty toward marriage and premarital sex. Rendering to research, there are numerous dynamics affecting the decline in marriages and rise of divorces among African Americans. These influences can be characterized as organizational, ethnic, individual, and interactive. Organizational issues as economic and demographic are most commonly focused on during the course of history. The extreme sex ratios between African American males and females have emotional impact on the African American nuptial rates (Rowe, 2007, p. 19). In 2003 there were an estimated 1.8 million more African American females in the population than males (U.S. Census, 2005 & Pinderhuges, 2002, 269). Another donating feature is the high confinement and mortality rate of African American males (Hill, 2006, p. 421). African American males make up about seven percent of the populace but over fifty-one percent of the prison population (DuCille, 2009, p. 605). Furthermore, the desire to marry women of different races and choosing homosexual lifestyles contribute to the African American marriage rates. Another major issue that makes African American males less desirable for marriage is their struggles of the workforce. The joblessness rate among African American males has been consistently twice that of White American men from the time of the 1930s (Holland, 2009, p. 113). Research has also discovered that companies show negative opinions of African American men comprising that they are indolent, unreliable, deceitful, contain little work ethic, drag their feet, have deprived verbal skill and many others characteristics. Consequently, these men do not have the capability to deliver for their families also make African American men postpone marriage and also become regarded as less  wanted to espouse by the female population. The second sort of factor studied is ethnical. There has been shifting cultural trends disturbing African American marriage. The sexual revolt, gay and lesbian efforts, and activist movement are activities that distress wedding rates. Forty years ago, sex without marriage was not acceptable, but now it is a communal standard of culture. The feminist movement allowed women to obtain advanced positions in the labor force declining their dependence on males, triggering them not to marry or endure unhappy marriages. And, unconventional lifestyles were presented through the gay and lesbian population (LaTaillade, 2006, p. 327). Moreover, living together (cohabitation) is a cumulative behavior particularly within the African American community. Historically, living with a partner before marriage was unacceptable, but is now widespread among African Americans and many other races. In contemporary times, individuals are determining on gaining independence before becoming married (Dixon, 2009, p. 31). The mass media industries and the way relationships are depicted on television and through music contribute to the marriage decline. Because of the support of extended family networks, divorce may seem less detrimental, making it more of an option when marriages are faced with challenges among African Americans (Hill, 2006, p. 439). Individual factors are tided in by considering individuals’ desire to marry, features they look for in spouses and what makes them commit to a relationship. For an individual to get marry the desire to be married has to be present. One study found that when compared to White American men, African American men, anticipate less improvement from marriage in their sex lives and personal friendships and these account for most of the difference in the desire to marry (Holland, 2009, 107). The mate desired characteristics and expectation of marriage and whether it is realistic plays a major role in marriage. Similar to other cultures, African Americans generally believe in the husband being superior economically, educationally and acts as the provider of the family. Unfortunately for African American women, when compared to African American men, they are more likely to attend college and to marry someone below their educational and professional status. This pattern of education continues as two-thirds of African American college graduates are women (Hill, 2006, p. 423). The desire to commit is another donating factor in related to marriage. Recent studies  have revealed the beliefs of African American males having the incapacity to pledge to an eternal relationship. Lastly, as stated above separation rates are greater amongst African Americans than another culture. The features cited directly above are funding to these separation rates as well as African American not having the means to allow them to uphold vigorous long-lasting relationships. Studies have also displayed that the African American population is less expected to pursue marriage therapy adding to the state of African American divorce rate currently. Structural Family Therapy Structural family therapy (SFT) is a counseling technique of therapy developed by Salvador Minuchin which addresses problems in functioning inside a family. Structural Family Therapists attempt to pass in, or â€Å"connect†, the family in therapy in order to understand the boundaries and rules which oversees its effectiveness, record the associations between family members or amongst subsystems of the family, and eventually interrupt dysfunctional relations within the household, triggering it to become stable into healthier arrangements. Minuchin states that dysfunction does not rest in the singular identification, but within the entire family system. Minuchin’s tactic is originated on the interrelationship of the entire, and the foundation that individuals cannot be detached from the whole. Therefore, Minuchin assumed that a change in the conduct of one household member will necessitate a consistent transformation in the behavior of other family member. Duplicate roles can affect the ability for a mother to parenting effectively. For example, a mother attempting to a both a parent and a friend or a father that was forced to raise his younger siblings (Rowe, 2007, p, 23). Structural therapists view the facilitation of structural variations in the dysfunctional family as the main objective, supposing that individual behavioral modifications as well as lessening of altercations will follow as the framework for the family’s communication changes (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2013, p. 329). The structural family model expresses families as systems and subsystems, roles and rules (flexible and adaptable to changes), boundaries, power, and hierarchy. Minuchin defines a functional family as one unit with clear boundaries between individuals and subsystems, promotes growth, and prevents  interruption. The primary objective when utilizing Minuchin’s model is assisting the family to change its structure or its organization. For instance, he stated that establishing a structure in which members and subsystems are clearly differentiated from one another and hierarchically integrated. Minuchin and other structuralists perceive standard family life as always altering and as a result endlessly creating adjustments to altering circumstances. What distinguishes functional from dysfunctional families is the flexibility in functional families to change or modify its structure to adjust to changing life cycle stages or to adjust to role changes or situational crises. The clarity of boundaries between subsystems within the family, and an effectively functioning spousal subsystem, help ensure stability despite changing conditions (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2013, p. 472). Due to a recent mounting body of empirical evidence, studies continue to verify the value of structural family therapy. This method it was widely evaluated during the 1980s by radical novelists and during the 1990s by those interested in the allegations of a social constructionist point of view. Structural family therapy continues to progress in response to experiments built from within the systemic field, and as part of integrative practice and multisystem approaches, with practitioners ever mindful of the need for regular feedback from family members themselves (Rowe, 2007, p. 21). By 1965, Minuchin had become director of the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, originally in the heart of the African American ghetto, where he focused on intervention techniques with low- income families (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2013, p. 130). The structural approach to therapy has been critiqued and has withstand various experiments from disbelievers; nevertheless, it has withstood throughout the years. Personal Integration The trial of integrating Christian and non-Christian clients fluctuates between different counselors. When clients unambiguously expressed a want for Christian counseling, for example, if a client initiates a prayer within a counseling session. The Bible frequently assists clients to absorb; the implementation of scriptures can inspire progression within the session. Between sessions homework examining particular biblical themes likewise inspire development. For instance, our Worthington text states that the use  of interventions make change sensible, and thus increases hope. Such interventions can involve physical manipulations, behavioral actions or interactions or making physical products (such as reports, written lists or tapes) that are completed and verbally processed. Worthington (2005) also stated that any theory of marital counseling can be used along with the counselor’s favorite techniques. The requirements of integration are increased hope and willpower, fit within the strategic framework, and make change sensible to clients (p. 262). I believe that the frequency of use of scriptures should be guided by the consumer’s articulated openness. Although traditionally I am trained as a counselor not to reference spirituality or religion unless it is first stated by the client, I believe that many consumers who are not currently attending church would be reassured when I fling open that door. After which they can be provided the opportunity to walk through the door, lock it, or leave it partly open to be entered once ready. If my clients were to inquire for details on my beliefs, I would openly speak about my spiritual journey but also specify that I still have a ways to go. Conversely, this does not take the practice of preaching on my individual Christian principles, or persisting them to trust what I have faith in. In addition, I could look for openings to propose the matter of religiousness and faith in an overall sense as a portion of my holistic approach; I would like to reassure my clienteles to discover the notion that stability in emotional and mental remedies are not exclusively associated with the rectifying of a particular issue; rather, comprehensiveness in therapeutic healing must integrate the multiple magnitudes of the client. With this instruction and initial outline, it would be up to my client to make the decision to discover how their faith and current behavior are correlated to the complications that have been facing and how their spiritual philosophies influence their mental and physical healing. Studies proposes, that it is highly probable that counselors greatly misjudge â€Å"the sum of consumers that are experiencing faith-based problems due to† consumers â€Å"frequently misguided norms that religious concerns were not suitable for conversation† in conditions that were not plainly defined as Christian therapeutic settings (Worthington Jr, 2005, p. 262). Spiritual Genograms In this course, I began to understand how past generational beliefs can still impact my current viewpoint with assumptions and predisposition. As a result, I believe that it would be important for my clients to understand their spiritual journey on both a personal and generational level. During this course, we complete a genogram in order to observe certain behavioral and health patterns; however, I would like to integrate spiritual â€Å"family trees† into my counseling sessions. Spiritual histories, spiritual lifemaps, spiritual genograms, spiritual ecomaps, and spiritual ecograms are five harmonizing assessment approaches that have recently been developed to highlight different aspects of clients’ spiritual lives. Spirituality can be agreed as the client’s connection with (their) God, and religious beliefs can been understood as flowing from spirituality, the open expression of the spiritual bond in specific views, approaches, and principles that have been est ablished in a community with other individuals who hold similar experiences of transcendence (Hodges, 2005). Consequently, spirituality and religion are similar yet present differences. Therapists must understand that a single assessment approach is not ideal for all consumers and circumstances. The assessment tools examined in this article was purposefully designed to highlight different aspects of clients’ spiritual worldview. In a counseling session, these assessment methods can become a useful resource to providers that require assistance with clients handling with challenging issues. These interventions can be used as coping strategies since the user can visibly see their peer support networks on paper. Spiritual assessments are beneficial for clients that have misplaced their connection with God; spiritual ecograms permits the user to see where their spiritual journey is currently and where it used to be. For example, it may benefit clients with major depressive symptoms to recognize support organizations such as professional group memberships, church, and household. An alternative intervention to complete this task would be spiritual ecomaps. Counselors geared with this assessment, can assist their clients survey their previous and existing domestic and faith-based support systems. Subsequently, some assessment approaches will be implemented more effectively in some situations but preferably these assessments are seamless for clients that have gone astray. Various assessments can be used to meet the needs of the client; however, certain assessments may be more operative  with some clients than others. Consequently, the therapist must primarily evaluate the clients’ needs and what they wish to gain from counseling. This will support the therapist in selecting a suitable spiritual intervention approach. If I am offered a client that desires to change to a diverse faith but it religiously disorganized, I would implement spiritual genograms. This intervention would aid counselors to view if the clients’ preceding descendants all practiced the same religion. Accordingly, I could determine that the client has an admiration for customs which is producing the spiritual misperception. A consumer may want to change to a different spiritual belief system but does not want to insult their families; this approach can be paired with spiritual ecograms; letting them to evaluate their previous and current rapport with God. After assessing their support systems and their spiritual journey, the client could productively create the judgment on whether to alter their religion or not; the therapist should not make this choice for them. In my opinion, couples should undergo marriage education and counseling before being able to marry. My marriage and family counseling session would contain the data of African American marriages since couples need to have insight on the problem in order to prevent from being a part of the problem. Hence, unions would gain awareness on the low marriage and high divorce rates within the African American community. Thereafter, perhaps these marriages would fight harder for their marriages and maintaining their families. Conclusion In conclusion, couples receiving education on the state of African Americans marriage and divorce along with counseling prepare them with the utensils required to maintain a healthy marriage. I believe that any union seeking assistance would profit with these counseling technique both prior and during the course of marriage. Additionally, I also have faith that this these methods can produce an upsurge in couples getting and/or staying married and a reduction in the shockingly elevated rates of African American divorces. References Berenson, S.K. (2011). Should Cohabitation Matter in Family Law?. Journal of Law & Studies, 13(2), 289-328. Burton, L.M., Winn, D., Stevenson, H., & Clark, S. (2004). Working with African American Clients: Considering the â€Å"Homeplace† in Marriage and Family Therapy Practices. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 30(4), 397-410. Clarkwest, A. (2006). Premarital Characteristics, Selection into Marriage, and African American Marital Disruption. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 37(3), 361-380. Dixon, P. (2009). Marriage Among African Americans: What Does the Research Reveal?. Journal of African American Studies, 13(1), 29-46. DuCille, A. (2009). Marriage, Family, & Other â€Å"Peculiar Institutions† in African American Literary History. American Literary History, 21(3), 604-617. Gingrich, F., & Worthington Jr, E. L. (2007). Supervision and the integration of faith into clinical practice: Research considerations. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 26(4), 342-355. Goldenberg, H., & Goldenberg, I. (2013). Family therapy: An overview (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brookes/Cole. Hill, S. A.(2006). Marriage Among African American Women: A Gender Perspective. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 37(3), 421-440. Hodge, D. R. (2005). Developing a Spiritual Assessment Toolbox: A Discussion of the Strengths and Limitations of Five Different Assessment Methods. Health & Social Work, 30(4), 314-323. Holland, R. (2009). Perceptions of Mate Selection for Marriage Among African American, College- Educated, Single Mothers. Journal of Counseling & Development, 87(2), 170-178. Kostenberger, A. J., & Johns, D. W. (2004). God, marriage, and family: Rebuilding the biblical foundation. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. ISBN: 9781581345803. Leslie, L. A., & Letiecq, B.L. (2004). Marital Quality of African American and White Partners in Interracial Couples. Personal Relationships, 11(4), 559-574. Marsh, K., Darity Jr., W.A., Cohen, P. N., Casper, L.M., & Salters, D. (2007). The Emerging Black Middle Class: Single and Living Alone. Social Forces, 86(2), 735-762. Martin, T. L., & Bielawski, D. M. (2011). What is the African American’s Experience Following Imago Education?. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 51(2), 216-228. Mc. Clain, C. (2011). Family Stories: Black/ White Marriage During the 1960s. Western Journal of Black Studies, 35(1), 9-21. Pinderhughes, E. B. (2002). African American Marriage in the 20th Century. Family Process, 41(2), 269. Rowe, D. M. (2007). Marriage and Fathering: Raising Our Children Within the Context of Family and Community. Black Scholar, 37(2), 18-22. Worthington, E. (2005). Hope focused marriage counseling: A guide to brief therapy. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.

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