Child Abuse and Neglect Essay -- Violence Against Children

Child abuse is the intentional omission of care by a parent or guardian that can cause a child to be hurt, maimed, or even killed. Child abuse can be either physical, mental, emotional or sexual. Because of child abuse, Caprice Ried will never do the things that a normal four-year old does. She will never play on a playground, or go to a sleepover, and never go to school. All of this was taken away from her at such a young age, when she died of child abuse. The foster parents, Patricia Coker, and her mother Betty Coker have been charged with second degree murder for Caprice’s death. Caprice went without food for days. She was also tied to a chair and beaten with a stick until she couldn’t walk. Several days later, she was found dead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As horrible as this story seems, this scene happens way to often. In 1996, approximately 3,126,000 children were reported for child abuse. Currently, about 47 out of every 1,000 children are reported as victims of child abuse and maltreatment. Overall, child abuse reporting levels have increased 45% between 1987 and 1996.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1996, an estimated 1,046 child abuse and neglect related fatalities were confirmed by Child Protective Services, (CPS) agencies. Since 1985, the rate of child abuse fatalities has increased by 20%. Based on these numbers, more than three children die each day as a result of child abuse or neglect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1996, some states reported that almost 77% of these children that died were less than five years old at the time of their death, while 45% were under 1 year of age. The causes of death were 45% neglect, 52% physical abuse, 3% from a combination of neglect and physical abuse. Studies of the general population show that anywhere from 6% to 63% of women were sexually abused as children. A 1985 L.A. Times national survey found that 27% of women and 16% of men reported being sexually abused prior to age 18. The true extent of sexual abuse in unknown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The relationship between parental alcohol or other drug problems and child maltreatment is becoming increasingly evident. And the risk to the child increases in a single parent household where there is no supporting adult to diffuse parental stress and protect the child from the effects of the parents problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both alcohol and drug problems are widespread in this country. Almost 14 million adult Americans abu... ...ecial report to U.S. Congress on alcohol and health. 9) American Association for Protecting Children. (AAPC). (1988) Highlights of official Child Neglect and Abuse Reporting, 1986. Denver, CO. American Humane Association 10) Finkelhor, D. (1986) A Sourcebook on Child Sexual Abuse. California: Sage Publications 11) FInkelhor, D. and Williams, L. (1988) Nursery Crimes: Sexual Abuse in Day Care. California: Sage Publications. 12) Ogintz, E. The Littlest Victim. Chicago Tribune, Thursday, October 6, 1988 13) Sedlak, A. (1996) Early Findings from the Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect:1988. Rockville, MD: Westat, Inc 14) Woodside, M. (1988) Research on Children of Alcoholics: Past and Future. British Journal of Addiction, 83: 785-792 15) Practical Approaches to Successful Healing Sexual Abuse; Helping Adult and Child Survivors. Presented by: Adena Bank Lees 16) Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center’s : Response To Family Violence: A Teaching Forum 17) Child Abuse Identification. The New York State Course. Prepared by St. Agnes Hospital white Plains, New York. 18) Child Abuse and Maltreatment. A guide for Mandated Reporters.

Organizational Quality Improvement

Various methodologies exist for the integration of quality improvement strategies into performance improvement measures. With concepts of total quality management (TQM) and quality improvement (QI) being introduced to health care organizations; administrators have had to decide which methodology is right for the organization. There are numerous methodologies: Six Sigma, Lean, and Customer Inspired Quality. Each has its own pros and cons. A key component of quality improvement is the technology that gathers and compares the data that the quality improvement measure produces.All of the information that is gathered from the technology can be benchmarked against other health care organizations. Numerous methods exist for the integration of quality improvement into the health care setting. The Six Sigma model was pioneered by Motorola. This method focuses on reducing variance through a problem solving approach that will improve the quality of the output. The fundamental objective of the S ix Sigma methodology is the implementation of a measurement based strategy that focuses on process improvement and the reduction of variance.The Six Sigma method does through the DMAIC process (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control). The DMAIC process is an improvement system for existing quality processes that fall below specifications and need to be improved in increments. Lean Thinking was used by Toyota as a key in its success. The Lean method strives to reduce waste and to improve performance through workflow. The Lean method is concerned with driving out waste so that all work adds value to the product and serves the customers’ needs.Lean thinking identifies all steps in a process and identifies them as value-added or non-value-added steps. All non-value-added steps are then removed to prevent waste in the process. Customer Inspired Quality was patented by Shaw Resources in 1992 and this methodology focuses on work processes that have direct impact on the care and services that are provided in a hospital. This method identifies, defines, analyzes, and improves the quality and effectiveness of processes in the health care arena. This method uses techniques from the other methodologies.Pros and cons of QI methods. Pros and cons exist in all of the methods for quality improvement. Some of the pros of the Six Sigma method are: Six Sigma places a heavy importance on leadership and its support for the success of the project, Six Sigma integrates the human elements (culture change, customer focus). The Six Sigma method uses the concept of statistical thinking and encourages the application of proven statistical tools and techniques for reducing variability. The cons of Six Sigma methods are having quality data available. In a new process where there is no data available to begin with can be discouraging.The solutions that Six Sigma proposes are often expensive and only small parts of the solution can be implemented. In Six Sigma methodology the selection of the right project is critical to success. Lean thinking has pros and cons also. Organizations that have adopted Lean double their productivity, cut their production and reduce their inventory that is normally kept on hand. Employees that work in a Lean environment have a clear objective of what is expected of them and are interrupted less. The Customer Inspired quality model deals with the service industries, primarily the Health care industry.The pros of this model are that the process improvement efforts are prioritized from the customers’ perspective. The methodology is service friendly and all of the hospital staff is encouraged to provide their input. This methods con is that the method is structured primarily for health care organizations. Florida Hospital uses the Six Sigma method for quality improvement because it provides the best opportunity to implement best practices that have been identified. Information Technologies for Quality Improvement Informati on technology is a large part of the quality improvement methods that a health care organization uses.Florida Hospital uses Business Objects which is a software company that specializes in business intelligence. Business Objects has components that provide performance management, planning, reporting, query and analysis, and enterprise information management. The Business Objects Enterprise can track report instances that will trigger alerts. These reports are created by Crystal Reports and have parameters that can be modified to perform analysis on the data. The customer can set alerts that trigger when certain conditions are met or not met by the data.The data can be customized to show in charts. Further customization allows the customer the chance to drill down into the data. Other information can be obtained from technology. Information technology allows data to be displayed in a dashboard or a scorecard. Dashboards are tool that monitor the ongoing performance of a process. A da shboard tracks data in real time. Scorecards report on past performances and generally focus on outcomes rather than processes. All of these applications can be used by administrators to track the quality improvement processes of the organization.Administrators can design the scorecards or dashboards to display the information that is important. Benchmarks and Milestones Benchmarking is the process of comparing one’s business processes and performance metrics to industry bests or to best practices from other industries. Benchmarking involves management identifying the best in their industry and comparing the results and processes of those studied to their own results and processes. Benchmarking compares the organization to its competitors and defines how the competition performs better.By better understanding how the competition is meeting their standards, the healthcare organization can then set goals for themselves. Benchmarking can be used to improve patient satisfaction. Using the website hospitalcompare. hhs. gov an organization can see how satisfied their competitors’ patients are. Benchmarking can also be used to improve the core measures that the Joint Commission measures. The outcomes of acute MI, pneumonia, heart failure and surgery can be compared to their own. If the competition is performing better on one of the core measures, the organization can then set their own goal based on the competition.Potential benchmarks that Florida Hospital will strive for are improved core measures at 90% for pneumonia, Acute MI, heart failure and surgical care. Another benchmark that Florida Hospital will strive for is to improve patient safety. The hospital will continue to implement the processes that support the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals. The hospital will implement CPOE (computerized provider order entry) and the hospital will begin to extend the goals to the ambulatory services. The third benchmark is to enhance the patient experience.The hospital will use the DMAIC model to understand and support the emotional, spiritual, and clinical needs of the patients. Florida Hospital will use different methods for their performance improvement plans. The hospital will use combinations of Six Sigma and Lean thinking. The hospital will use data from Crystal reports to display balanced scorecards and dashboards. The dashboards will be divided into the Extending Excellence Elements (Team, Clinical, Service, Market, and Finance). The hospital will use this information in conjunction with information from benchmarking data to monitor their quality improvement plan. References Dlugacz, Y. D. (2006). Measuring Health Care Using Data for Operational, Financial, and   Clinical Improvement. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass. Florida Hospital. (2010). Florida Hospital Orlando's Most Preferred Hospital. Retrieved from   http://www.floridahospital.com/default.aspx Insititute for Healthcare Improvement. (2010). A resource from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Retrieved from http://www.ihi.org/ihi Ransom, E. R., Joshi, M. S.,Nash, D. B., ; Ransom, S. (2008). The Healthcare Quality Book Vision Strategy and Tools (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press. U.S. Department of Health ; Human Services. (2010). Hospital Compare. Retrieved from http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/ United States Department of Veterans Affairs. (2010). Quality Enhancement Research Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.queri.research.va.gov/default.cfm

Achilles essays

Achilles essays The Iliad may be seen as an account of the circumstances that irrevocably alter the life of one man: Achilles, one of the greatest warriors. Throughout the course of the poem Achilles goes through many ordeals that change his character immensely. Starting with his quarrel with Agamemnon and withdrawal from battle, to the death of Patroklos, and with the slaying of Hektor. Achilles emotions and actions decide the fate of many warriors on both sides. Achilles struggles with anger, honor, pride, loyalty and love make the poem more that just a gruesome war story. A large source of Achilles anger started with his fight with Agamemnon. Apollo put a plague on the Achaean soldiers that was killing them off. The only way to stop this from killing them all was to give back a priests daughter who had been captured. This girl belonged to Agamemnon and he didnt want to give her up unless he got Achilles girl in return. This would disgrace Achilles honor but he could not let any more soldiers be killed so, he reluctantly let her go. But in return for giving up his girl he withdrew from the battle. Much of Achilles anger is a result of this occasion but the death of Patroklos later overrode his previous anger to Agamemnon. The death of Patroklos touched Achilles in many ways that changed and shaped his character. Many emotions were a result of his death such as love, loss, anger, and sadness. Patroklos was a dear friend to Achilles and when a mix of divine intervention and Hektor cut Patroklos down grief and the desire to avenge his dear friends death consumed Achilles. This switched his anger from King Agamemnon to Hektor, the man who slew his dear friend. This anger drew Achilles to avenge the death of his friend, to kill Hektor. The slaughter of Hektor is gruesome and horrid. Not only did Achilles kill Hektor but, he hung him by his ankles, attached him to his chariot and dragged Hector around the burial site o...

Illegal Immigrants are Taking American Rights essays

Illegal Immigrants are Taking American Rights essays Illegal Immigrants are Taking American Rights According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than eight million illegal immigrants were living in America in the year 2000. The Migration Policy Institute reported that number increases by five hundred thousand every year. The United States spends over 20 billion dollars a year to support needy illegal immigrants. The fight is on to end illegal immigration. The overcrowded dwellings, strained public services, school congestion, uncollected payroll and property taxes, disregard for and destruction of public and private property, crime and other unbearable living conditions brought on by people and businesses who disregard local ordinances and state and federal laws. By blatantly disregarding these laws, illegal immigrants eliminate benefits such as jobs, schooling, and public services away from deserving legal immigrants and American citizens. As each year goes by, the number of jobs held by illegal immigrants decreases the availability of employment positions for legal U.S. citizens. The employment securities Americans hope for is dwindling at the cost of nothing. As long as illegal aliens are willing to work at inferior wages and distressed working conditions, the wages of American workers are being depressed. Minority workers and those without a high school degree are especially being affected. At the turn of the century, it was estimated that the total number of American workers being displaced was roughly 730,000. $4.8 billion that could be paying the salaries of legal workers is being compromised to pay lower wages for immigrants unwilling to work under the conditions of their own countries. Virginia Abernathy, a professor at Vanderbilt University, says that It is indeed true that there are profits to be made by the importation of millions of low-skilled, low-wage workers into the country, but the profits are f or a few. They are for the employer.2 Therefore, th...

Free Essays on Analysis Of Sharon Olds, “Leningrad Cemetery, Winter Of 1941”

Analysis of Sharon Olds, â€Å"Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941† In the poem, â€Å"Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941,† Sharon Olds describes a cemetery during World War II. The 900-day siege on Leningrad began in September of 1941 and there were countless casualties to be buried during that winter. During the winter the ground freezes and makes it next to impossible to dig the graves. The winter of 1941 is described as, â€Å"that winter the dead could not be buried.† The ground is too hard to dig and the gravediggers are over tired and over worked. The war has killed so many people that the gravediggers are too weak to dig and they are also very hungry because food is scarce during war. The poem is vividly describing how horrible war can be. The language used in the poem is strong and descriptive. The corpses are described as being transported by children’s sleds. This description shows how all innocence during wartime is lost. The sadness that this inflicts on the children will never go away, their innocence is lost forever. The poem describes corpses wanting to be brought back alive. â€Å"A hand reaching out with no sign of peace.† That line purely shows how these soldiers were not ready to die; they still had their lives to live. Our sadness as witnesses to the war is nothing compared to the sadness of the dead who cannot witness anything. This poem symbolizes an important time in history. At the same time this poem can be used to describe the horror of all war. The war in Leningrad was a horr ible time and many lives were lost. Sharon Olds is trying to show us just how horrible war can be.... Free Essays on Analysis Of Sharon Olds, â€Å"Leningrad Cemetery, Winter Of 1941† Free Essays on Analysis Of Sharon Olds, â€Å"Leningrad Cemetery, Winter Of 1941† Analysis of Sharon Olds, â€Å"Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941† In the poem, â€Å"Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941,† Sharon Olds describes a cemetery during World War II. The 900-day siege on Leningrad began in September of 1941 and there were countless casualties to be buried during that winter. During the winter the ground freezes and makes it next to impossible to dig the graves. The winter of 1941 is described as, â€Å"that winter the dead could not be buried.† The ground is too hard to dig and the gravediggers are over tired and over worked. The war has killed so many people that the gravediggers are too weak to dig and they are also very hungry because food is scarce during war. The poem is vividly describing how horrible war can be. The language used in the poem is strong and descriptive. The corpses are described as being transported by children’s sleds. This description shows how all innocence during wartime is lost. The sadness that this inflicts on the children will never go away, their innocence is lost forever. The poem describes corpses wanting to be brought back alive. â€Å"A hand reaching out with no sign of peace.† That line purely shows how these soldiers were not ready to die; they still had their lives to live. Our sadness as witnesses to the war is nothing compared to the sadness of the dead who cannot witness anything. This poem symbolizes an important time in history. At the same time this poem can be used to describe the horror of all war. The war in Leningrad was a horr ible time and many lives were lost. Sharon Olds is trying to show us just how horrible war can be....

Sports Day Event 'Give It a Go' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sports Day Event 'Give It a Go' - Essay Example Aims and Objectives Engaging students in sports events in order to bring the best in them making them Good leaders, Team builders and discipliners. To promote healthy competition amongst students of the Childwall Valley Primary school (Lang-8 2011). A good psychological and physical health for students To encourage interaction (communication skills) between the students and Parents so they can learn from one another (Bigelow, Moroney and Hall 2001). Work plan of Event The event requires extensive preplanning, which is not possible with the help of the School staff as well as Students. For the success of the event the Sports Instructor of the Childwall Valley Primary School will be given the task of short listing students participating in the event and under which aspect will they be participating (Gomez 2011). The heads of departments need to be patient with allocating some time from their classes during the last two weeks of the Sports Event. Parent volunteering is welcomed and high ly respected for the event. The event will have an opening ceremony, gymnastics and cheer leading squad, field sports, relay races, tug of war and event ceremony with prize distribution (Lang-8 2011). Persons in charge of event Responsibility Name Head of Sports Event Daniel Roffman (Sports instructor) Speaker and Disciplinary head at Event Rachel Mike Gymnastics and Cheerleading Kathrine Jones Field Sport Rohit Adwalia and Hilton John Drinks and Food Parent Volunteers Nurse Kamila Scott Score Board (Spectator) High School Volunteers Award and Closing ceremony Rachel Fo (Director) (Merriam Webster 2012 ) Equipment Required Equipment Required Whistles Boundary Ropes Hurdle Exercise Mats Microphone and Speakers Baseball kit Cricket kit Basketball Nets kit Soccer Goals and kit Stop watch Relay sticks Score board Trophy and prize distribution gifts (Sports Equipemnet Supplies 2012) Explanation of Event The event will take place in the premises of the Child Valley Primary School’s Playground. This option was feasible and convenient as it is economical and will avoid transport issues for students and teachers. The School bus will pick students from the bus stop for the event at nine in the morning. The organizers of the event will be in school from seven in the morning preparing for the event. Safety is the most important aspect for this event. Therefore, the school Medical nurse will be available at the ground at all times during the event (Omelianovych 2010). The event will start at 10 in the morning with the Opening Ceremony and the settling of the students with energy drinks and water bottles. Then, the cheer leading squad and gymnasts will perform their exercised performance. Shortly after this, the races and rallies will take place around the ground with the help of the sports instructor and parent volunteers. The high school students will maintain a Scoreboard throughout the event for the avoiding confusion at the end of the ceremony (Omelianovych 2010 ). The Baseball, Basketball, Cricket and Soccer will be played in the teams made during practices for the event. After the last game of Soccer students will be given a break of twenty minutes to rest and change. The ending ceremony will take half an hour with the awards being trophies, medals and certificates for volunteers (NSW Department of Planning 2009

Financial Crisis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial Crisis - Research Paper Example Researchers point to missteps by the government, starting from a loose-fitting economic policy and a deviation from the historical principles for putting interest rates in place (Taylor, 2008). Some experts believe that such a financial meltdown was bound to happen as a result of the unpreventable problems brought about by capitalism (Foster & Magdoff, 2009). Still, others blame the financial crisis to a domino effect caused by financial mismanagements in other parts of the world (Obstfield & Rogoff, 2009). At any rate, there is a general agreement that the financial crisis was caused and even prolonged by lapses in the economic policies set forth by the government (Taylor, 2008; Foster & Magdoff, 2009). History serves a lesson that was not well-learned from the time of the Great Depression. John Maynard Keynes, one of the foremost economic minds of history, argued that underemployment was inevitable in a capitalist economy as it results from a savings-and-investment mentality of market players (Foster & Magdoff, 2009). Despite these earlier warnings, the US government still championed the capitalist environment, employing free market at most levels of the economy. Unfortunately, such a scenario led to misdiagnosis of bank credit markets which consequently led to an inappropriate liquidity-focused rather than risk-focused response (Taylor, 2008). Moreover, the government further made a series of wrong decisions by raising real estate values, tightening credit qualifications and inequitable support to financial institutions (Obstfield & Rogoff, 2009). Undoubtedly, the financial crisis of the 2000’s affected not only the US but worldwide economies as well as it continued a chain reaction which started off around the 1980’s (Foster & Magdoff, 2009). The disastrous effect was felt in the whole country as businesses started to close and mass layoffs occurred. People were driven out of their homes and found it extremely