Women in the West Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women in the West - Research Paper Example There are groups of researchers that focused on the exploration of the recorded data related to the women in the west. The information presented the expertise of women in different fields such as in the different industries and arts. One of the characteristics of the women of the west considered of importance is the capability to dominate and to survive a work suited for the male gender. Based on the work of Sally Zanjani, the women had been attached to occupations that had been stereotyped for the gender such as â€Å"maids, laundresses, teachers† etc. Although this is the case even in the early 18th to 19th centuries women in small numbers are involved in different ‘male-dominated occupations’ such as being a ‘blacksmith, doctor, truck driver, rodeo champion and even prospector for mining activities’ (Adjani 7). In the light of the said information, it can be considered that the capability of the women of the west to succeed in jobs stereotyped for men is hindered due to the perceived limitations in terms of different reasons, one of which is the physical strength. This view can be related to the manner of dressing (e.g. corsets and dresses) and in carrying themselves with grace and finesse which is as also referred to as ‘cult of true womanhood’ (Zanjani 7). It can be considered that the west had been recognized as a region of courage and endeavor for both genders. This gave the chance to women pioneers and leaders to excel in different fields. In terms of the mining industry, one of the most important icons that represented women’s strength is Fermina Sarras. She is known as the Copper Queen who had been successful in the field dominated by the male gender (Zanjani 20). Other characteristics of the woman of the west are the inspiration and the vision. These attributes can be considered as the main reason that their hard work can compensate for their

Commanding Heights Essay Example for Free

Commanding Heights Essay †¢ Episode 1: The Battle of Ideas begs a comparison between socialism and capitalism. †¢ It traces the world’s economic history from the early 1900’s to the events following 9/11. †¢ Asks the question which is a better and more foolproof economic system government control or free markets? †¢ It delves into how the First World War impacted two brilliant economists, Keynes and Hayek. And then follows both Keynes and Hayek through their respective career paths (Keynes role as an advisor to the British Government on wartime economy and Hayek as an Austrian soldier). †¢ Keynes predicted that the result of the treaty of Versailles and demanding reparations from an already bankrupt Germany and Austria would cause another war, The Second World War. †¢ Meanwhile Hayek and his disciple Zlabinger fought against hyper inflation and encouraged free markets. †¢ Simultaneously the American Economy was booming, till October 24th, 1930 when the great depression hit and unemployment soared and industry stopped and half of the US banks were closed down. †¢ During this time Keynes’s theory of government intervention helped lead the way out of the problem (Keynes wrote about Macroeconomics). †¢ Meanwhile Lenin had introduced the New Economic Policy which consisted of grass root level capitalism but the commanding heights would still be under the government. The reform was met with scrutiny from the left, soon after Stalin took power and employed centralised planning of every economic aspect. †¢ Owing to the recovery from the Great Depression and Keynes’ key role in the Breton Woods Conference, in America Keynesianism took control and Hayek faded into the background. †¢ In Britain a welfare state and socialism built the country back from the bottom up. †¢ Newly independent countries like India also employed Keynesian methods, allowing for State led industry. †¢ One third of the world followed aspects of socialism until Churchill and Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph were influenced by Hayek’s book, ‘Road to Serfdom.’ †¢ In Germany, Ludwig Erhard stopped price control and re-started the free market economy to combat hyperinflation. The success of his risky decision led to the German Economic Miracle. †¢ While Keynes’ still had a strong hold over Washington, a Chicago School of Economics was created and it emphasised Hayek’s theory as a measure to battle stagflation. †¢ Finally Thatcher’s election and confidence in Hayek’s theory allowed for free markets to be established again. Thus, after a period of a century came back to where it was at the beginning of the century, back to free markets.

Mentor Impact on Student Nurse Experience

Mentor Impact on Student Nurse Experience Explore the impact of the mentor on the learning experience of the student nurse The current study reports the findings of a systematic literature review of research regarding the mentorship of student nurses. Mentorship was evaluated in terms of its development, implementation, outcomes and wider effects and the identified research was presented and critically analysed with reference to each of these areas. It was found that although mentorship was based on policy and standards, the mentor role and mentorship relationship still remain unclear and requires further clarification. A need was also identified for the supervision and monitoring of both mentors and student nurses to be expanded with mentors being more available and the whole process being more regularly audited. Mentorship was found to indirectly enhance skill development through support, socialisation and the provision of opportunities to gain clinical experience. By creating appositive learning environment and mentorship relationship the mentor can maximise the probability that their student nurses will acquire the skills necessary to be an effective nurse. The effect of mentorship on patient care was identified as a complex issue with it being difficult to make confident conclusions regarding the size of any effect. It does appear that mentors can indirectly improve patient care by enhancing nursing skills in their students. Finally, the mentor can play a role in creating the learning environment and mentorship relationship which can help to ensure that the student nurses have a positive learning experience. The limitations which are associated with the methodology which was employed within this research are discussed along with the implications of the findings of this research for practice and future research projects in this field. It is concluded that mentorship has the potential to have a number of benefits for student nurses but that further research and improvements are required in each of the evaluation areas such that the effectiveness and feasibility of student nurse education can be maximised along with the quality of the care which is subsequently provided to patients. 2.0 Introduction The world of nursing has gone through a period of significant change over the last ten years. In the acute nursing environment, nurses arousing increasingly more complex health care interventions and have to incorporate the use of advances in both medical technology and disease management. Within primary care, nurses are required to face the burden of chronic disease and to facilitate patients beginning to self-manage their own health. S uch changes have been made as a result of Governmental policy and strategic approaches. For example, a Governmental economic review conducted by Winless (2002 and 2004)advocated changes to how services are organised and delivered. Such changes have resulted in there being a range of extra demands being placed upon the nurse, both during and after their training. The Royal College of Nursing (2004a and 2004b) acknowledged the change which is occurring and stated that nurse education needs to be assessed and adapted to meet the changing role of the nurse. Nurses are now required to undertake tasks which were traditionally performed by doctors. These developments have ensured that the issue of the effectiveness of a nurse’s training is of up most importance. Through these changes the need for effective mentorship within nursing has become ever more salient. As a result of the potential effects which mentor/student nurse relationship can have on the student’s learning, their experience of training, their subsequent performance on the training course, their future effectiveness as a nurse and ultimately on the quality of the care which is provided by the nurses, it is an important topic to consider within the field of adult nursing. Thus the mentor/student nurse relationship needs to be evaluated. People have been interested in relationships throughout history. As far back as the ancient times, Aristotle and Cicero were commenting and theorising about relationships (Poulakis 1997). In more recent years, novelists, play-writes, biographers and clinicians have all been interested in the study of relationships in terms of why they matter, how they work and how one can improve their effectiveness and efficacy(Wood and Duck 1995). However, it has only been in the last 50 years that researchers have started to empirically investigate inter-relationships between people. Such work has been undertaken from wide variety of perspectives including anthropology, child development, cognitive science, communication, social psychology, sociology, psychiatry and psychotherapy to mention just a few (Hinde1997). The focus of such researchers has started to address the issues regarding relationships between staff within the health care industry. This systematic review will focus on addressing the relationship between a mentor and a student nurse. Whenever one is considering these of a given intervention within a health care setting, any conclusions must be based upon the scientific research which has investigated its effectiveness and efficacy via methodologically sound techniques. Any such analysis will need to consider four key aspects, each of these will be the focus of this systematic review. The first key element of evaluation concerns the development of the intervention. Therefore this review will consider research which has assessed the theoretical and conceptual foundation of mentorship within nursing. This section will include a discussion of whether the mentoring of student nurses is based on policy or a set of standards. The second area of focus for this review relates to the implementation of the intervention. Clearly whenever one is analysing the effectiveness and efficacy of an intervention, one must consider the way in which the intervention is operationalized and implemented as this will be likely to significantly affect the ultimate success of the intervention. This section will address the way in which mentorship is employed for student nurses and whether or not sufficient measures have been put into place to ensure that the benefits of mentorship are maximised and that any potential drawbacks are minimised. The extent to which this mentoring is adequately supervised, monitored and audited will be assessed and critically analysed. The third key aspect of any evaluation process concerns the outcome of an intervention. Clearly an intervention can be assessed with regards to a wide range of outcomes such as economic factors, staff perceptions and customer perceptions. With regards to mentorship, it is important that it is evaluated in terms of the perceptions of the mentors, the student nurses and the patients such that a comprehensive evaluation of its outcomes can be achieved. As well as the perceptions of those involved, this section will address whether or not mentorship improves nursing skills and hence whether it helps to improve the care which is received by patients. The fourth and final area of evaluation which will be addressed by this systematic review concerns the wider impact of the intervention. As well as focussing on the direct effects of a strategy, it is also important to consider the effect which the intervention has on other relevant issues. In terms of mentorship in nursing, this will relate tissues such as whether or not a rewarding learning experience is related to the quality of the relationship that a student nurse has with their mentor. Although the focus of mentorship may be on improving the student nurses’ skills, it is important to critically evaluate the effect which mentorship has on the student nurses’ experiences of their training programme as this could influence their subsequent career choices. The following review will first provide some background information regarding the topic of mentorship and student nurses. The methodology which was employed within this systematic review will then be outlined. The findings of the systematic review will then be critically analysed in terms of the key evaluation aspects of development, implementation, outcomes and wider impacts The main findings of this research will then be summarised before the limitations which are associated with this research project are outlined and discussed. Finally the implications of the findings of this research will be considered along with the areas which should be the focus of future research projects within the field of mentorship and student nurses. 3.0 Background A significant amount of research has Been conducted regarding adult learning and mentorship within nursing (Bernard 1990). The teaching of student nurses has undergone significant changes in the past 20 years. These changes have particularly taken place as a result of Project 2000which changed the education of pre-registration nurses (United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting 1986). The previous diploma level system was replaced by the Common Foundation Programme which is comprised of the four branches of Adult, Child, Learning Disability and Mental Health. Through this process, registered nurses took responsibility for the learning of student nurses. The role of the nurse is adapting to incorporate these responsibilities with the Royal College of Nursing (2004a and 2004b) calling for a particular focus upon Quality, Flexibility and Diversity. Much has been written about the practitioner as facilitator, supervisor, assessor and role model, and the overlay of role functions (Bailey 1992, Clarke et al1986, Heron 1977, Mason 1987, Myrick and Wane 1988, Windsor 1987.Despite this, there is still a lack of consensus within the literature in terms of a clear definition of what is meant by the term ‘mentor’(Hearty 1986, Morel 1990 and Phillips et al 1996). It has been argued that the task of defining the term mentor is made more complicated byte fact that other terms are used, such as assessor, facilitator and supervisor, to describe the same role (Phillips et al 1996). As result of the wide range of aspects of the role which is played by mentor, it can be stated that a definition of mentor can only be general description as anything more specific would run the risk of excluding important elements of the position (Davies et al 1994). Forth purposes of the following review, the definition of mentor which was provided by Woolskin (1982) will be adopted: ‘Mentorship is a relationship which is aimed at guiding the novice towards an established place within the profession’ (Woolskin 1982) In the nursing profession the aims of the mentor will be to form relationship with their student nurses which helps the student to be successful in their training programme and to go on to be effective nurses in the future. Jarvis (1995) emphasised that it is important to focus on the mentor’s role as a function and as a relationship with the student nurse rather than being about them as a teacher or practitioner. Through this role the mentor can help to narrow the gap between theory and practice (Arbitrage and Bernard 1991). Indeed some have argued that mentor is in fact the wrong term to use within the health care industry as it is not equivalent to other industries in which the term mentor is used (Donovan 1990). However one conceptualises mentorship, the benefit of having a good mentor has been reported by student nurses within previous research. Ina longitudinal study, Gary and Smith (2000) interviewed 10 student nurses at five different points throughout their three year training programme. The participants also kept a diary as part of the research. It was reported that the students noted the importance of having mentor which represented a good role model. They also thought that it was important to recognise the likes and dislikes of the mentor as this had the potential to significantly impact on their assessment outcomes. The role of the mentor was found to be particularly beneficial at the beginning of the training process. As the training progresses the students felt that they grew in confidence as they became more competent. This ensured that they were more independent and that they placed a reduced demand on their mentor. Although their continued support was said to help the students finish the course and to choose longer term career in nursing. Therefore it does appear that through effective mentorship, the chances that a student nurse completes their training programme can be increased. Research has investigated the reasons why student nurses fail their training programmes. Two key areas of reasons have been identified. The first relates to the student nurse’s inability to cope with the demands and standards required by the course (Ehrenfeld et al1997 and Fulbrook et al 2000). It could be that a mentor can help to provide support and guidance for the student nurse to improve the chances that they can meet the requirements which are placed upon them and hence complete the training course successfully. The second key area of reasons for failure are those relating to personal factors(MORI 2003 and Royal College of Nursing 2001). This includes a range of possible factors such as financial, health or a change in circumstances. The mentor could also play a role here to help the student nurse manage their problems and to cope with them more effectively. The methodology which was employed within this research will now be outlined. 4.0 Method A systematic review aims to integrate existing information from comprehensive range of sources, utilising a scientific replicable approach, which gives a balanced view, hence minimising bias (Clarke Oman 2001, Hart 1998, Muldrow 1994, Oman and Goat 1993). Another words, a scientific approach will help to ensure that research evidence is either included or excluded based upon well-defined and standardised criteria. This should ensure that the possible effects of researcher bias should be kept to a minimum. Berkley and Glenn (1999)also states that systematic reviews provide a means of integrating valid information from the research literature to provide a basis for rational decision making concerning the provision of healthcare. 4.1 Reviewing Process Whenever one reviews or compares research reports, it is important that clear set of criteria are established upon which the evaluations can be made. Table 1 below outlines the global process which was used to conduct the literature review. This process was based upon that employed by Berkley and Glenn (1999). Each selected article was reviewed with reference to a number of different issues using a Table which was also based on Berkley and Glenn (1999). This review table is displayed in Appendix 1. Once obtained each article will be filed and stored appropriately. A computer-based list will be maintained of the articles which had been reviewed. Table 2: Core Principles Used in Reviewing Selected Research Articles (adapted from McInnis 2004) Systematic reviews Adequate search strategy Inclusion criteria appropriate Quality assessment of included studies undertaken Characteristics and results of included studies appropriately summarized Methods for pooling data Sources of heterogeneity explored Randomised controlled trials Study blinded, if possible Method used to generate randomisation schedule adequate Allocation to treatment groups concealed All randomised participants included in the analysis (intention to treat) Withdrawal/dropout reasons given for each group Cohort All eligible subjects (free of disease/outcome of interested) selected or random sample 80% agreed to participate Subjects free of outcomes on interest at study inception If groups used: comparable at baseline Potential confounders controlled for Measurement of outcomes unbiased (blinded to group) Follow-up sufficient duration Follow-up complete and exclusions accounted for ( 80% included in final analysis) Case control Eligible subjects diagnosed as cases over a defined period of time or defined catchment area or a random sample of such cases Case and control definitions adequate and validated Controls selected from same population as cases Controls representative (individually matched) 80% agreed to participate Exposure status ascertained objectively Potential confounders controlled for Measurement of exposure unbiased (blinded to group) Groups comparable with respect to potential confounders Outcome status ascertained objectively 80% selected subjects included in analysis Cross-sectional/survey Selected subjects are representative (all eligible or a random sample) 80% Subjects agreed to participate Exposure/outcome status ascertained standardized way Qualitative Authors position clearly stated Criteria for selecting sample clearly described Methods of data collection adequately described Analysis method used rigorous (i.e., conceptualised in terms of themes/typologies rather than loose collection of descriptive material) Respondent validation (feedback of data/researchers interpretation to participants) Claims made for generalizability of data Interpretations supported by data 4.2 Sources of Data The methodology employed within the research will involve obtaining data from three key sources: Computerised searches, Manual searches, and the Internet. Each of these data sources will now be considered in more detail. 4.2.1 Computerised Searches The methods used in this research will include a detailed computerised literature search. Multiple databases, both online and CD–Rom will be accessed to retrieve literature because they cite the majority of relevant texts. (Loy 2000 Ford 1999) The computerised bibliographic databases are:- †¢ MEDLINE †¢ EMBASE †¢ CINAHL †¢ PSYCHINFO †¢ British Nursing Info BNI †¢ Cochrane †¢ Science Direct (All Sciences Electronic Journals) †¢ Asia †¢ DETOC †¢ HMIC However because articles may not be correctly indexed within the computerised databases, other strategies will be applied in order to achieve a comprehensive search (Sindh Dickson 1997). 4.2.2 Manual Searches A manual search will be performed to ensure that all relevant literature is accessed. The manual searches will include:- †¢ Books relevant to the topics from university libraries and web sites†¢ Inverse searching- by locating index terms of relevant journal articles and texts †¢ Systematically searching reference lists and bibliographies of relevant journal articles and texts 4.2.3 The Internet The internet will provide a global perspective of the research topic and a searchable database of Internet files collected by a computer. Sites accessed will include:- †¢ Department of Health †¢ National Institute of Clinical Excellence †¢ English National Board of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting †¢ Google 4.3 Identification of Key Words The selection of key words is an important task as it will have significant impact on the articles which are identified in the search. One must choose appropriate words which maximise the chance that the most appropriate research evidence can be found. Databases use controlled vocabulary of key words, in each citation. To assist direct retrieval of citations techniques Boolean logic will be applied using subject indexing, field searching and truncation to narrow the topic focus (Loy 2000, Hicks 1996, Goodman 1993). As part of this approach, key words will be based on the components of the review question. An imaginative and resourceful technique of searching electronic databases will be used including recognising the inherent faults in the indexing of articles. Misclassification and misspelling will be included in the searches with searches utilising keywords and the subheadings, (Hicks 1996). Based on these principles, the following search terms will be used in different combinations: †¢ Mentorship †¢ Mentor †¢ Student †¢ Nurses †¢ Training †¢ Evaluation Further search terms may be used within the methodology if they are identified within some of the initial search items. Whenever one is searching literature ‘sensitivity’ and ‘’specificity’ are important issues when conducting searches of research on a database. The searches need to be as ‘sensitive’ as is possible to ensure that as many of the relevant articles are located. This may be a particularly salient issue with regards to the evaluation of mentorship in student nursing as the number of appropriate entries may be limited. Thus an attempt to locates many of these articles as possible becomes a more relevant and important objective. Furthermore, the search needs to be ‘specific’ Another words, it needs to be efficient where appropriate so that higher number of the articles identified through a database search can be included and hence the time allocated to reviewing articles which are ultimately of no relevance, can be kept at an acceptable level. 4.4 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria In order that a manageable quantity of pertinent literature is included in this study, it is essential that inclusion and exclusion criteria are applied. In order that a diverse perspective of the topic is examined broad criteria will be used. (Benignant 1997). However, it is important to note that a balance needs to be achieved through which the scope of the inclusion criteria is sufficiently wide to include relevant articles whilst also being sufficiently specific such that the retrieval of an unmanageable set of articles is avoided. 4.4.1 Inclusion Criteria The articles which are highlighted within the proposed searches will be assessed in terms of whether or not they meet the following criteria. Each article will need to be viewed as appropriate with regards to all of these constraints if they are to be included in the final analysis.>From the pool of data which is obtained, the most appropriate articles which meet these inclusion criteria will be selected for use within the review. †¢ A literature review encompassing all methodologies will be applied ( Pettigrew 2003) †¢ International studies will be included †¢ Available in English †¢ Relate to the evaluation of mentorship within health care †¢ Relate to the training of student nurses †¢ Centre on the elderly population 4.4.2 Exclusion Criteria The articles highlighted by the searches will also be assessed in terms of whether or not they fulfil the following exclusion criteria. If a potential relevant article meets one or more of these criteria then they will be immediately excluded from the data set and will not be included within the analysis stage of the methodology. †¢ Articles relating to mentorship in industries other than health care will not be included †¢ Literature in a foreign language will be excluded because of the cost and difficulties in obtaining translation. †¢ Research reported prior to 1985 will not be included within this review. 4.5 Consideration of Ethical Issues Any research involving NHS patients/service users, carers, NHS data, organs or tissues, NHS staff, or premises requires the approval of ankhs research ethics committee (Department of Health 2001) A literature review involves commenting on the work of others, work that is primarily published or in the public domain. This research methodology does not require access to confidential case records, staff, patients or clients so permission from an ethics committee is not required to carry out the review. However, it is essential to ensure that all direct quotes are correctly referenced. Permission must be sought from the correspondent before any personal communication may be used. All copyrights need to be acknowledged and referenced. The researcher will also act professionally when completing this report and ensure that research is identified, reviewed and reported accurately and on scientific basis. The following set of chapters will now outline the research which has addressed the different aspects of the debate regarding mentorship and student nurse education. The following analysis will be conducted regarding the four different aspects of evaluation. As outlined by Kirkpatrick (1979) it is important to address each stage of any training intervention when conducting an analysis. Therefore, the development, implementation, outcomes and wider impacts of mentorship in student nurse education will all be considered. The most appropriate research regarding each of these four aspects will be critically analysed and compared to other relevant research findings. 5.0 Evaluation of The Development of Mentorship Programmes Whenever one is evaluating a health related intervention, it is important to first consider the policies, standards and theoretical perspectives which underpin the approach. In terms of mentorship, one must address the questions regarding the framework and structure which they are developed in conjunction with and to determine whether or not the approach was developed in an appropriate way. The policies and structures which underpin pre-registration nurses’ education has undergone significant changes in the last twenty years. This was particularly as a result of the introduction of Project 2000 (United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting1986). The transformation was centred around the introduction of a Common Foundation Programme which was comprised of four different branches: Adult nursing, Child nursing, Mental Health nursing and the nursing of people with learning disabilities. This replaced the previously used diploma level education system. Through these policies, a set of standards were established for the preparation of people who are going to teach nursing, midwives and specialist public health workers. A booklet which outlines these standards was produced by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (2004). This also sets out the guidelines for the qualifications which are recommended and required for these teachers. The English National Board has suggested that mentorship should be key part of the Project 2000 courses (An forth 1992). It is also suggested that there should be a policy to emphasise five key aspects of the role of a mentor in their relationship with their student nurse. These are Assisting, Befriending, Guiding, Advising and Counselling(An forth 1992). They also argue that the role should not include supervising, assessing or facilitating. The following discussion within this section will now move on to consider the mentorship role which has been derived based on these relevant policies and standards. The extent to which this derivation was appropriate and how the mentorship role is subsequently perceived will be outlined and critically analysed. This evaluation will now be conducted from the perspectives of theorists/researchers in this field, the student nurses and the mentors involved. In broad terms, these policies and standards appear to be appropriate in terms of providing a framework to govern mentorship within student nursing. However, one needs to look past the theoretical perspective and address the practical aspect of the development of mentorship. The extent to which these policies and standards are adequate when viewed during their application merits consideration. Researchers and theorists in this field have argued that despite these policies and standards, the role of mentor remains unclear as there are a number of models and frameworks which exist and which can be applied (Andrews and Wallis 1999). Furthermore, Andrews and Wallis (1999) also go on to suggest that many mentors attend short, local training courses which are not standardised. Although they may adhere to the appropriate standards, there still remains sufficient scope for mentors to receive different types and levels of training when becoming mentors of student nurses. Also, as a result of the continued use of the terms mentor, supervisor and assessor to describe similar roles, it is argued that this continues to contribute to the confusion within this field(Wilson-Barnett et al 1995). The policies and standards require a more specific focus such that more standardised definitions, roles and training programmes can be established and agreed by all of the key stakeholders in this debate. One of the more obvious stakeholders to consider are the student nurses themselves. The extent to which the mentorship of student nurses is appropriately grounded in policy and standards needs to also be assessed from the student nurses’ perspective. It needs to be seen to have logical foundations such that the students can have confidence in the system and that they can understand the purpose and objectives of the relevant policies and standards. One study which has addressed this topic was conducted by Watson (1999). A sample of 35 student nurses were interviewed using a semi-structured approach. The student nurses reported to key findings. Firstly they reported that the mentorship process was not sufficiently defined by the English National Board. They stated that although there were standards in place, they did not result in there being a clear understanding of what the role and purpose of a mentor actually was designed to be. The second key finding was that the student nurses perceived that the mentorship process was not clarified within their internal organisation. Irrespective of the over-riding standards outlined by the English National Board, the internal organisation could have put into place a clear structure and understanding of mentorship to ensure that its role was understood byte student nurses. Therefore, from the student nurses’ perspective, the presence of the appropriate policies and standards was not accompanied by an appropriate application and implementation of such guidelines. Having said this, the sample used in this study was relatively small and so the extent to which the findings can be generalised to the UK as a whole is questionable. Other similar explorative research has been conducted which has focused on the perspectives of the mentors The introduction of Project 2000 has placed a responsibility on many registered nurses to mentor student nurses. Although the relevant standards provided by the English National Board do address this area, again they do not appear to be standardised across the country. For example, Cahill (1996) found that there were a range of mentor selection procedures as well as a range of preparation and function definitions. Further research was conducted by Near (1997 and 2000).It involved collecting data from 155 mentors. They reported that these of the terms mentor, assessor and supervisor did result in them being confused over their role as a mentor. They were also unclear regarding their relationship with their student in terms of the nature which it should take and the extent to which they were supposed to help them. This in turn was said to lead to difficulties with regards to competency assessment as they were not sure what was expected of them and their students. Therefore, this section has demonstrated that policies and standards regarding mentorship have been provided by the English National Boards part of Project 2000. However, questions still remain regarding the extent to which these policies and standards have

Low Wage Jobs and Barbara Ehrenreichs Nickel and Dimed Essay -- Pover

McDonalds, Wal-Mart, and cleaning services: all of these have one thing in common-they are all minimum wage jobs. Their pay is low and work load high, and because of this living as a low wageworker is never easy. One must handle many hardships in order to make a few meager dollars, with which most cannot sufficiently live. 'The 'living wage' in the United States is between $9-10.18; sounds great to a college student, but in the real world this kind of money just isn't going to cut it,' (Ramisch). Minimum wage standards for American workers rest at $5.15 per hour, and in such slighted fields, very few make much more than that, perhaps $6-7, but even that is a rarity. The material life of a low-income employee includes bare necessities and next to zero luxuries. These workers often live paycheck to paycheck and never have a moment to fully enjoy life because they are constantly working, supporting themselves, and/or their families. Barbara Ehrenreich tries capturing this unackn owledged side of low wageworkers in her book, Nickel and Dimed, when she goes undercover as a fellow employee. Her real life accounts are noted as accurate and shocking as she brings the severity of poverty to the forefront for many Americans (Ehrenreich 3). She portrays the lives of millions in one simple novel, and it is through this piece of literature that so many relate and feel less estranged in the overall scheme of things. This relation is especially true for three young women, Brandyll Powers, Whitney James, and Charity Pouge all of whom are forced to live on their scanty incomes in today's society. These interviewees discuss their daily struggles of living on minimum wage and how they are active representations of Ehrenreich?s novel. .. ...idden truths and in essence, portrays a minimum wage worker quite well. But for those that must live this life style on a daily basis, simply writing about their injustices will never be sufficient. Government action is the next needed step to help modify minimum wage, and the answer is clear: raise the accepted standard. However, with all the other issues in this country, when will the government finally realize it is time to take action? Works Cited Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed. New York: Henry Holt, 2001. James, Whitney. Telephone Interview. 16 March 2006. Pouge, Charity. Personal Interview. 14 March 2006. Powers, Brandyll. Personal Interview. 14 March 2006. Ramisch, Claudia. ?Living on Minimum Wage.? ENGL 1302H Class Presentation, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Owensboro, KY. 13 March 2006.

Minimum wages

Many economic theories have been proposed to discuss the impact of minimum wages on labor market. The proceedings of the labor market is based on the exchange of resources between the employee and employer, the employee receive wages in return for their labor services to the employer. Labor market is considered to be most competitive market, where the established market price is much closer to the value of the product. Therefore, the employee is likely to receive marginal value, in the competitive market (excluding the factor of minimum wage). Therefore minimum wage laws have been introduced which foresee crisis of unemployment, if fewer employers are interested to hire labor, where as more people are willing to offer their services. Therefore, the law intends to maintain the equilibrium, to avoid social and economic turmoil. The amount of labor supplied by the workers is directly proportional to the nominal wage, a certain increase in the wage, forecast increase in the labor supply. The observation is based on the assumption that an employee hired at a low wage will prefer to consume ‘leisure and forego wages', a slight increase in the nominal range, it becomes difficult to practice leisure and avoid labor, therefore there is an increase in the number of workers wiling to offer labor. The relationship between the labor supplied and nominal wage is function of different variables including price. A substantial increase in the price level will reduce the number of workers, at all wages (Wascher, 1995). LABOR MARKET AND WAGES There exists an inverse relationship between the nominal wage, and the ‘amount of labor demanded by the organizations'. A substantial increase in the wages is likely to compel the organizations to reduce recruitment schemes. The relationship has been derived on the basis of an assumption that the organization prefers saving for increased proportion of profitability i.e. such level of production is aimed by the organization which increases the profit i.e. the difference between expenses and revenue. The revenue is based on the price of an item, and quantity of the items sold (Christopher, 2005). The expanses include the amount of wages, which is based on the labor and services. Therefore, the company will prefer to maintain a minimum threshold level to secure profit, on the basis of reduction in the wages, as more workers are employed, the labor wage increases which turn the organization less profitable. The price factor may compel the organizations to recruit the employees for all wage levels. minimum wages AND LABOR MARKET: IMPLICATIONS It has been predicted that minimum wage laws are expected to increase unemployment, if minimum wage is established above equilibrium wage. It is because, a large number of employees will be interested in offering their services in exchange for higher wages, on contrary on small and limited number of such opportunities will be available. Also, the organizations will be careful about the recruitment scheme, and ensure that only well qualified people are hired on high wages, therefore there is expected to be little scope for the least skilled and inexperienced employees, thus within the labor market the unemployment level will increase (Kane, 2007). Another factor which has the potential to deteriorate the condition and extend the unemployment crisis is monopsony within the labor market. If the employer has the authority to determine the wages for the employees, it is expected that the unemployment rate will diminish because minimum wage may boost employment. The equilibrium between the labor demand and labor supply will exist only at a point when applied wage is equal to the requirements of the labor and organizations. Wages are more than the equilibrium wage, will result in unemployment i.e. the excess supply of labor. ‘Using the matching function formulation along with Nash bargaining between workers and firms, the results of Hosios inform us that an efficient labor market equilibrium requires that the elasticity of the matching function with respect to the size of the set of searchers be equal to the share of the surplus they receive’ (Kane, 2007). CONCERNS: MINIMUM WAGE It is important to understand that minimum wage is a practice control factor applicable on the labor, which can be regarded as the captivity of the economic rights of the low-paid labors, and their prospects. The increased minimum wage limit is expected to reduce America's labor freedom index to 87 percent. In the case of free market economy, the maximum utilization of the land, information, capital goods, and labors achieved through price allocation. If the prices are kept free floating, the market is considered to be real free in launch of its economic policies and business plans, which have an impact on the labor market, and the fixture of minimum wage. ‘Estimates of the bargaining power parameter, although significantly lesser than a   percent, are significantly larger than estimates of the match function elasticity and as a result yield an optimal minimum wage rate less than the then current value of $4.25’ (Swinnerton, 1996). Considering the example of an organization, the organization has the right to increase its wages to capture the attention of the labor for the employment. Wages are considered to be suitable indication to discuss the expansion of business activities, and direct employment. ‘Freely floating prices allocate resources efficiently to places where they will take root and boost economic productivity' (Christopher, 2005). Price signals have been disturbed and distorted through implementations of labor regulations, which hamper market mechanism, and restrict economic freedom of employers and employees. Minimum wage is considered to have significant impact on economic freedom, the labor supply and demand mechanism undergo disruption due to the allocation of government specified minimum wages (Card, 1995). If the situation is not existent, the minimum wage can be regarded as ‘crude instrument' which relocate the labor market towards efficient allocation. ‘The labor market is not excused from the basic economic principle that artificially high prices cause lower demand'. The National Bureau of Economic Research observed that many analysts were of the opinion that minimum wages have negative impact on the labor market, ‘almost all point to negative employment effects’. More specifically, the study also revealed that there is, ‘relatively overwhelming evidence of stronger unemployment’ impacts on less experienced workers (Swinnerton, 1996). In the case on United States, the proposed federal minimum wage has been avoided by the Congress for more than a decade. The reviewed limit for the minimum wage is expected to raise to $7.25, however analyst are of the opinion that labor market can be served well through expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (or EITC, a substantial wage subsidy for low-income workers). According to 2007 Index, more than 90% of the US labor market is considered independent, and the imposition of the minimum wage will not only hamper the status of the labor market, but will reduce the labor freedom factor. IMPLICATIONS The proper approach for ensuring better income for group of workers can be achieved through imposition of minimum wage. The entrance to Labor Market can be achieved through implementation of minimum wage, and this is likely to benefit least qualified individuals. ‘Labor market flexibility refers to the ease with which workers and employers can negotiate mutually advantageous labor contracts' (Nathalie, 2006). However the implementation of minimum wage has been discouraged by economist, most of the economists are of the opinion that higher minimum wage has failed to achieved the primarily goal of poverty reduction, and is responsible for unemployment. According to a survey by Canadian authorities, 10% increase in the minimum wage was responsible for the direct unemployment of Canadian teenagers by 2.5%. In this context the labor laws play fundamental role, to counter such flaws. Researchers have concluded that, the scheme of tightening of laws about labor relations is responsible for the unemployment. It has been warned that implementation of rigid laws for the minimum wage barrier will affect the performance of the organizations. It is believed that organizations will opt for recruitment of smaller staff, and sought the replacement of workers with machines, and diminishes the performance premiums and other perks, or move switch over their operations ands move to other part. EFFECTS AND ALTERNATIVE (TAX CREDIT) The increase in the level of minimum wage is considered to be blockade for the reformed economic policies of any country; furthermore it disrupts international competitiveness, labor freedom. Labor freedom, like property rights and business freedom, a detailed study report issued by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal have concluded that, all these factors are considered to be important parameters for the evaluation of country's overall economic freedom as measured by the Index of Economic Freedom (Kane, 2007). The labor market should be based on labor freedom to strengthen the scope of economic activities that correlates the ability of workers and businesses to interact without any surveillance or official restrictions by the government. The minimum wage is although considered to be an important measure for supporting the poor and less skilled worker, but such conditions affect the business activity and shatter the economic plans of the organizations, and consequently the labor market is affected (Wascher, 1995). ‘The minimum wage disrupts the natural interaction of supply and demand and leads to inefficient allocations of labor and, eventually, increased unemployment', on contrary the government discourage the practice of competitiveness, and transform it into level economic battlefield, with restricted scope of advents (Swinnerton, 1996). The sole objective of minimum wage is to provide higher income to low earners, but to avoid the negative fallout of labor market, the execution of such policy should be avoided, and therefore policies based on negative income tax or earned income tax credit should be introduced to favor the low wage earners. Such methodology is considered to be economic efficient. The classical analysis of minimum wage support the idea that higher wage earners should help the low earners, the restriction of higher minimum wage is likely to affect the services and jobs of the low wage earners, therefore the labor market can be strengthen by providing sufficient incentives to ‘ low wage workers at the expense of other low wage workers and businesses employing low wage workers' (Card, 1995). The alternative scheme of negative income tax or earned income tax credit support the low earners, and it is the over all society that incurs the cost, and this further stabilizes the labor market. The scheme is considered to be economically viable, ‘because, a low tax rate on the broader economy causes less deadweight loss than a high tax rate on a small section of the economy' (Wascher, 1995). It has been reported that the approved EITC has increased the level of earnings by 40 percent; the proposed $7.25 of minimum wage after taxes for a full-time worker is expected to double the EITC. It is expected that minimum wage and tax credit scheme will rekindle the hope of low earners, and re-link them directly to the benefits of growing economy. REFERENCES Tim Kane, Ph.D. and Anthony B. Kim. A Higher Minimum Wage Equals Less Economic Freedom. 2007. Prentice Hall. pp. 125 Neumark, D. and W. Wascher. Minimum-Wage Effects on School and Work Transitions of Teenagers. American Economic Review 85. 1995. pp. 244-249. Card, D. and A. Krueger. Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1995. Swinnerton, K. Minimum Wages in an Equilibrium Search Model with Diminishing Returns to Labor in Production. Journal of Labor Economics 14. 1996. pp. 340-355. Christopher J. Flinn. Minimum Wage Effects on Labor Market Outcomes under Search, Matching, and Endogenous Contact Rates. New York University Publications. 2005. pp. 45 Nathalie Elgrably. The Minimum Wage and Labor Market flexibility. December 2006.Montreal Economic Institute Publications.      

English Isu Comparison Essays

English Isu Comparison Essays English Isu Comparison Essay English Isu Comparison Essay Essay Topic: All Quiet On the Western Front Equus Slaughterhouse Five When composing literary plants most. writers will hold that it is hard to compose a narrative without any inspiration. The authors will frequently hold some motivation. either from past experiences or something that can animate an thought for a novel. Although the novel can be fabricated it can still alter how society feels about a certain issue. The two novels All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut romanticizes what war is like. stressing thoughts such as glorification. horror. award. loyal responsibility. and escapade. The similarities include both writers have their feeling that the absurdness of war is morally incorrect. how soldiers act as playthings in the sandbox being played with higher governments. Both novels characteristic the society of immature work forces to be controlled and sent to their death with small hope. The differences between the two novels is that both novels feature a different attack on how the novel flows. Vonnegut moves the narrative in humourous mode whereas Remarque tells it in a serious mode. The obvious comparing when researching the two novels is the facet that they are antiwar novels. In Slaughterhouse 5. Vonnegut is seeking to show his point of position. or rock the readers to understand the negative belongingss of war since the firebombing of the German town Dresden during World War II. The supporter Billy Pilgrim is the antiwar hero because he does non suit the description of the usual war hero. He didn’t expression like a soldier at all. He looked like a foul flamingo ( Vonnegut. 33 ) Billy’s character is a customary figure of merriment in the American Army. Billy is no exclusion. He is powerless to harm the enemy or to assist his friends. He wears no decorations. his physical visual aspect and physique is a jeer and his religion in loving Jesus troubles most soldiers. ( Lichtenstein ) Vonnegut realizes that war is inevitable. it’s like decease. Even if Billy were to develop difficult. have on the proper uniform. and be a good soldier he might still decease like the remainder of the others in Dresden. Billy lives in a life with indignity and is non afraid of decease. and in conformity to the Traflamadorian doctrine of accepting decease. By expressing the phrase so it goes the storyteller points out the meaningless slaughter after every decease. no affair how dry. sarcastic or random. On the 8th twenty-four hours. the tramp died. So it goes. His last words were. You think this is bad? This ain’t bad. ( Vonnegut 79 ) But the tapers and soap were made from the fat of rendered Jews and Gypsies and faeries and Communist and other enemies of the province. So it goes ( Vonnegut. 96 ) Billy ever sees decease coming. but nil he can make about it. In chapter 10. at the terminal of fresh Vonnegut shows the reader how there is nil intelligent to state after the slaughter of Dresden. Billy and the remainder wandered out onto the fly-by-night street. The trees were flicking out. There was nil traveling on out at that place. no traffic of any sort. There was merely one vehicle. an abandoned waggon drawn by two Equus caballuss. The waggon was green and coffin-shaped. Birds were speaking. One bird said to Billy Pilgrim. Poo-tee-weet? ( Vonnegut. 215 ) It is obvious when everyone is dead it is suppose to be quiet. but the bird who says Poot-tee-weet? symbolizes the deficiency of anything intelligent to state about war. It is the lone appropriate thing to state. since no words can depict the horror on the firebombing of Dresden. Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front presents its reader with the rough world of war. The fresh sets out to portray war and the existent experiences. replacing the romantic image of glorification and gallantry with a unquestionably unromantic vision of panic. amour propre. and slaughter. The fresh takes topographic point during World War I and in the position of a German soldier. Paul Baumer the supporter. Stylistically the fresh consists of short chapters that symbolize the speedy gait of decease in the novel. For illustration in chapter one Remarque already introduces the hurting and torment of loss in friendly relationship. ( Ward ) For illustration in chapter one. Kimmerich being one of the four friends of Paul dies while being brought back from the trenches. ( Remarque ) Remarque smashes any positive ideas the reader may hold about warfare in his descriptions. It is impossible to hold on the fact that there are human faces above these lacerate organic structures. faces in which life goes on from twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours and on top of it all. this is merely one individual military infirmary. merely one – there are 100s of 1000s of them in Germany. France. and Russia. How unpointed all human ideas. words and workss must be. if things like this are possible! Everything must hold been deceitful and pointless if 1000s of old ages of civilisation weren’t even able to forestall the river of blood. Merely a military infirmary can demo you what war truly is ( Remarque. 186 ) It seems that the feeling of war is non honor or glorification yet it is enduring of those who are take parting. Because All Quiet on the Western Front is set among soldiers contending on the forepart. one of its chief focal points is the detrimental consequence that war has on the soldiers who fight it. How one’s ideas on the war can destroy the past experiences with a rough focal point on the physical and mental harm done. The work forces in the novel are invariably subjective to physical danger. Literally the soldiers can be blown to pieces at any clip. This menace causes harm done to the encephalon and triping a mental image. coercing soldiers to see fright during every minute of their clip on the forepart. We became tough. leery. hard-hearted. vindictive and unsmooth. if they had sent us out into the trenches without this sort of preparation he likely most of us would hold gone mad ( Remarque. 19 ) Likewise in Slaughterhouse 5 Billy Pilgrim didn’t receive the proper preparation that driven him into the extremum of insanity. And the lone manner to last for both Billy and Paul is to unplug themselves from their feelings. and accept the conditions of their life. We want to populate at any monetary value ; so we can non burthen ourselves with feelings which. though they may be cosmetic plenty in peacetime. would be out of topographic point here. ( Remarque. 123 ) In Billy’s instance he uses the semblance of clip travel to get away his ideas in the Slaughterhouse 5. Additionally to the similarities of both novels being antiwar novels. there is an thought that the writers highlight the coevals of immature work forces being drafted to the war. Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front gives accent on the peculiar affect war has on the immature work forces who have non been given the opportunity to see life. Paul’s character represents the immature coevals of work forces who went directly from childhood into World War I. Paul describes his fellow soldiers: he. Leer. Muller. and Kropp are all 19 old ages old. They are from the same school. same categories. and each enlisted into the ground forces voluntary. ( Remarque ) They are from one of the freshly rise regiments. about entirely immature work forces from the latest age group to be drafted. They’ve had barely any preparation. nil more than a spot of theory. ( Remarque. 93 ) The war alterations Paul’s attitude about the universe and about humanity. He believes the war becomes non simply a traumatic experience or a adversity to be endured but something that really transforms the kernel of human being into eternal agony. ( Ward ) The longer that Paul survives the war. the more that he hates it. the less certain that life will be better for him after it ends. ( Ward ) The war teaches the coevals of immature work forces the effects of patriotism and political power. Tools used to command the states population. Coercing them to believe in what is right . Throughout Paul’s experience he realizes that the soldiers that fight on the forepart are non contending for the state but contending for their ain endurance. to kill or be killed. Additionally. Paul and his friends do non see the opposing fraction to be their existent enemies. I didn’t want to kill you. copulate. If you were to leap in here once more. I wouldn’t do it†¦ But earlier on you were merely an thought to me. a construct in my head that called up an automatic response – it was that construct that I stabbed. It is merely now that I can see that you are a human being like me. I merely thought about your hand-grenades. your bayonet and your arms – now I can see you married woman. and your face. and what we have in common. Forgive me comrade. how can you be my enemy? If we threw these uniforms and arms away you could be merely every bit much my brother as Kat and Albert. ( Remarque. 158 ) In his position. the existent enemies are the work forces in power in their ain state. who they believe have sacrifice them to the war merely to increase their ain power and glorification. At the terminal of the novel. about every major character is dead. typifying the war’s lay waste toing consequence on the coevals of immature work forces who is force to contend in it. Slaughterhouse 5 besides portrays an first-class illustration of immature work forces traveling to war go forthing back a life behind to laud the nation’s good being. Billy Pilgrim is merely 20 old ages old when he enters the war. During his station war life he attended dark Sessionss at the Ilium School of Optometry. ( Vonnegut ) As he progresses throughout the events he encounters other soldiers who are similar in age. Roland Weary was merely 18. was at the terminal of an unhappy childhood ( Vonnegut. 35 ) Two of the Germans were male childs in their early teens ( Vonnegut. 52 ) The differences seen in the two novels is that Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front moves in a really serious and descriptive manner. Unlike Vonneguts Slaughterhouse 5 Remarque illustrates every decease with usage of slaughter and Gore. Every conflict scene characteristics barbarous force and bloody descriptions of decease. We see work forces travel on life with the top of their skulls losing ; we see soldiers travel on running when both their pess have been shot away- they stumble on their seceding a full half-mile on his custodies. dragging his legs behind him. with both articulatio genuss shattered. We see soldiers with their oral cavities losing. their lower jaws losing. with their faces losing ; we find person who has gripped the chief arteria in his arm between his dentitions for two hours so that he doesn’t bleed to decease. The Sun goes down. dark falls. the shells whistling. life comes to an end ( Remarque. 97 ) Hospital scenes portray work forces with serious lesions that go untreated because of deficient medical supplies. Paul carries the hurt Kat on his dorsum to safety. merely to detect that Kat’s caput was hit by a piece of shrapnel while Paul was transporting him. The descriptions of rat-infestation. famishment. conditions conditions. and trench warfare. and how it forces the soldiers to populate in these disquieted conditions. ( Remarque ) Remarque’s novel dramatizes facets of World War I and how the development of engineering ( trenches. heavy weapon. chlorine gas ) was a major influence that made killing easier. Continuous fire. defensive fire. drape fire. trench howitzers. gas. armored combat vehicles. machine guns. hand-grenades – words. words. but they embrace all the horrors of the universe. ( Remarque. 68 ) Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 moves the narrative in a scientific discipline fiction procedure filled with temper and sarcasm. First of all the thought of Billy being unstuck in time . Billy travels indiscriminately through the minutes of his life without control over his chronological finish. ( Lichtenstein ) Time travel leads to instability in the novel. as Billy is seeking to do sense in his life giving an experience that no 1 can understand how Billy truly feels. He clip travels in order to get by with his life and all he has been through. In chapter two. Vonnegut instantly tells the beginning. in-between. and stoping of the narrative right off. Vonnegut enchants the subject of novel by adding Tralfamadorians ( Vonnegut’s wit of toilet-plunger molded Aliens ) and how they abducted Billy into their starship and learning Billy the doctrine of clip and decease and discoursing whether free will be. ( Vonnegut ) Witty temper and sarcasm is a factor in the class of the novel. for case. Weary socked Billy a good 1 on the side of his jaw. knocked Billy off from the bank and onto the snow covered ice of the brook. You shouldn’t even be in the Army. said Weary. Billy was doing involuntarily doing spasmodic sounds that were a batch like laughter. You think it’s good story. huh? But so Weary saw that he had an audience. Five German soldiers and a constabulary Canis familiaris on a cilium were looking down into the bed of the brook. The soldiers’ bluish eyes filled with a blear-eyed civilian wonder as to why one American would seek to slay another American. and why the victim should laugh ( Vonnegut. 51 ) Ironically. of the four original soldiers. Billy is the lone 1 who remains alive. yet he is the most improbable one to make so. In decision. in malice of the differences between Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 both novels convey the same message Whether the readers view Slaughterhouse-Five as a science-fiction novel or a autobiographical statement. and All Quiet on the Western Front the reader can non disregard the destructive belongingss of war. since the ruinous firebombing of the German town of Dresden during World War II or the awful Acts of the Apostless of World War I including trench warfare. Both novels suggest the same decision about war and how it ends quiet . By stressing the bird that whispered Poot-tee-weet towards Billy. Or the decease of Paul Baumer’s Nothing new to describe on the western front ( Remarque. 207 )