One of the themes of block 5 is the way in which characters may be Essay

One of the themes of block 5 is the way in which characters may be portrayed in prose fiction, and in drama. Select two characters from different works studied - Essay Example Euripides and Shaw bring out these traits by allowing the characters to express their feelings, giving them social status which goes a long way in defining them as individuals and exploring their sensitivity. In this regard both writers have used direct as well as indirect methods of characterization. Euripides uses the technique of exposition to give an insight into Medea’s character and to provide a history of her background thus far. The nurse delivers this introduction and at the very onset, we are able to divine her personality and a glimmer of the devastation she is capable of wreaking on those who unwisely cross her. According to the nurse, â€Å"Her mind thinks in extremes†¦ She’ll not put up with being treated badly†, she is a creature of violent passions and has committed horrifying acts in the name of love, but now her ardent love has soured and â€Å"She’s a dangerous woman† (Euripides, 2006)1. Thus his Medea creates a powerful impression even before she comes on stage. Euripides uses the essential tool of drama – dialogue, to allow Medea to express her feelings and plans for revenge. Thus the audience manages to get first-hand information about her inner-most thoughts and emotional state. Further he allows her actions to speak for themselves. It is Medea’s ability to act on schemes devised by a mind twisted by the suffering inflicted on her person that makes her particularly dangerous. Euripides makes her character convincing by revealing suitable provocation that goads her onto such dastardly excesses like murdering her own children. Euripides uses indirect characterization as well in his portrayal of Medea. The other characters react to her personality, thereby offering fresh insight into her character. For example there is a scene where Creon exiles her out of fear for the safety of his family. He tells her, â€Å"†¦ you’re a clever

Aristotle Virtue Ethics Essay Example for Free

Aristotle Virtue Ethics Essay One basic notion in Aristotelian ethics that occupies a central significance is Aristotle’s belief in the role of man’s activities in order for one to acquire ethical knowledge. That is, for one to become virtuous or to obtain virtues one should not merely confine himself to mere studying of these virtues but rather one should, more importantly, actualize this knowledge of the virtues. Thus, for one to become good, one should do good. Aristotle further stretches his ideas by proposing the doctrine of the mean. The essence of this doctrine dwells on the basic precept that one ought to avoid the extremes and, instead, settle for the â€Å"mean†. The actions of men, more specifically, ought to be framed upon the â€Å"mean† which is the virtue. For example, the virtue of courage rests on the mean between two extremes: cowardice or the â€Å"lack† of courage, and rashness or the â€Å"excess† in courage. It can easily be observed that Aristotle suggests that one should live a life that does not border on the things that are on the â€Å"most† and the â€Å"least† levels. For example, if I were to follow Aristotle’s ethics I should always see to it that I should consistently draw myself towards the middle value and avoid slanting towards cowardice and excess. All this could have been very well except for one small thing that I cannot seem to fully comprehend. How is it possible for one to ascertain that one is actually taking the middle path? Or how is it possible for one to know that this or that is the middle value or is the virtuous action? Perhaps the key in having an understanding to the notion of the â€Å"mean† is that one should act. That is, as I continually have these ideas as to what I must do when faced with an ethical situation or, at the least, an ordinary situation, I should nonetheless take the course of action so that I will be able to obtain a qualitative understanding that what I am doing is the â€Å"excess†. On the other hand, I will be having quite a rough time in acquiring the understanding as to whether the action that I am doing is virtuous if all that I do is to theorize and never let my theory be put into practice. Aristotle’s virtue ethics reminds me of Plato’s conception of ethics. For the most part of the Republic, Plato attempts to arrive at a conception of a just life by centering on the notion that the just life or that which is good is better than living a life molded on an evil framework and one which prompts individuals to act in an evil manner. At the onset of the Republic’s Book II, a conception of the idea of â€Å"justice† is advanced as the working of an individual in accordance to the role in which one is best suited as well as the belief for non-interference in the activities of others. In essence, this principle is closely related to Plato’s perspective on acting in accordance to one’s nature or intrinsic being which results to the state or condition of being â€Å"just† or acting justly once the individual acts in line to his very nature. Otherwise, if one begins to act beyond what his nature prescribes, then the individual begins to act in an unjust manner thereby resulting to â€Å"evil† actions (Plato and Kamtekar). While Aristotle insists that one should put into action the thought that one may have so as to have an understanding of the middle value that should be taken, Plato, on the other hand, suggests that one should simply go by with one’s nature so as not to be â€Å"evil†. If I were to choose which ethical precept would be better or would fit me best, I would rather be inclined to adopt Aristotle’s virtue ethics over the other because it offers me a chance to actualize myself through my actions and be guided accordingly. Whereas for Plato, what I am seeing is that I should get to know my self first before I act so that I can be good. But this cannot be met easily essentially because I find it quite difficult to know myself if I would not act first. In the light, if all the students in a certain class would build up a virtue like that of Aristotle’s point of view, the achievement of an environment which is formidably that built on the concept of philosophical and tremendously beneficial notions in life, the attainment of the virtue of goodness is towering in the highest hopes—although it eventually does not also undermine the concept of realism. Apparently, many may not stick on this kind of perception and ought to think that it is certainly not possible to achieve a life which is way beyond the bounds of a â€Å"not-so-good† life for that instance, but with the maximum height of human rationality, such may be given enough credit for the philosophers who believed in a life where â€Å"goodness comes in deeds† (Lannstrom). Work Cited Lannstrom, Anna. Loving the Fine: Virtue and Happiness in Aristotles Ethics. Indiana USA: University of Notre Dame Press, 2006. Plato, and R. Kamtekar. The Conventional View of Justice Developed. Trans. D. Lee. The Republic. 2 ed: Penguin Classics, 2003. 8-14.

Child Adoption In England And Finland Social Policy Essay

Child Adoption In England And Finland Social Policy Essay This essay attempts to illuminate the differences and similarities in issues related to child adoption in England and Finland while offering an examination into the contexts in which social workers and associated professionals have to function. While both England and Finland are states within the European Union (EU), they demonstrate distinct and differing approaches to the adoption of children. In Finland along with other countries in Scandinavia, child adoption and the permanent transfer of parental rights is less of a central a concern, or worry than currently so in England where child adoption is featured prominently across a range of professional, political and popular discourses. In terms of social work practice the involvement of children and families, coupled with certain factors of the adoption process have been handled in a distinctly different way between the two countries. This can be seen where in Finland adult adoptees were allowed to gain access to records regarding th eir adoption or their birth parents far earlier than their English counterparts where this was not permissible until much later earlier through the Children Act 1975 (Triseliotis, 1973, p. 1). According to Lowe (2000) in the late-nineteenth century attempts were made to introduce adoption, but it was not until 1927, subsequent to the Adoption of Children Act 1926, that child adoption became legally recognised in England. Since then many factors including; reports, legislation and case law have all had an impact, this has resulted in refined policy and changes in social work practice. More recently media attention has illustrated social workers alleged shortcomings in relation to child adoption processes. In recent years, adoption policy has been influenced by a number of socio-cultural and political factors. During the Conservative government of the 1990s politicians and policy makers made attempts ineffectively to restructure what were viewed as unsatisfactory adoption procedures (see PIU, 2000, p. 31). These services were impaired because social workers were driven by political correctness (Hopton, 1997). The white paper Adoption: The Future was published In November 1993, representing a common sense approach to adoption (Department of Health, 1993). In 1996, the DoH published a Draft Bill with an emphasis placed on child adoption as an alternative to single parenthood during the consultation period. The Bill failed to progress any further due to the General Election in May 1997. With a change in government, the then Prime Ministers (Tony Blair) Review of Adoption was published in 2000 (PIU, 2000). Followed by a White Paper, Adoption: A New Approach (Department of Health, 2000), wh ich was followed by the publication of the Adoption and Children Bill in 2001. The Bill failed to materialise due to the General Election later in the same year. It was however re-introduced in October 2001 and the Adoption and Children Act received royal assent in November 2002. The first Adoption of Children Act in Finland was in 1925, a year earlier than the English equivalent. The present Finnish Adoption Act stems from 1985 followed by an additional Adoption ruling in 1997 which dealt specifically with adoption counselling and inter-country adoptions. Specific to Finnish adoption system is the role of Save the Children originally created in 1945 following the merging of two previous organisations (Homes for Homeless Children which were practicing adoption since 1922 and Save Finlands Children, which was set up after the Second World War in an attempt to help orphaned children). This organisation is now part of the International Save the Children. Save the Children has had an influential position as a provider of adoption services in Finland. In addition to civic welfare bodies, Save the Children is still the only private child welfare organisation in Finland licensed to provide adoption counselling (Pylkkanen 1995) In Finland, adoptions have dramatically changed during the last 30 years, in 1970, 243 Finnish children were adopted through Save the Children. Over the last few years this has decreased to less than fifty. Partly as abortion became more freely available following the Abortion Act of 1970; the number of unplanned children born to young single mothers fell. (Garrett, 2003 p.21). England too has seen a decrease in adoptions, (PIU, 2000, p.10) This may be attributed to the rise in use of the contraceptive pill and the acceptance of single mothers. According to Lowe (2000) The largest decline is in respect of babies (children under the age of 12 months) put up for adoption; in 1968, 12,641 babies were adopted (51% of all adoptions), but only 195 babies were adopted in 1998 (only 4% of all adoptions) According to Bennett (2009) Only 4,637 children were adopted in 2007, the lowest number since 1999. In both states, adoption is far more likely to involve children in public care-or looked after children (In England under the Children Act 1989) who are older, are child protection concerns, or have disabilities (DoH, 1998). This is in part due to the fact that there are very few healthy babies available for adoption. In England there are approximately 60,000 children looked after. (Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), 2007). 62% of these children were removed, on a compulsory basis, from their family. Approximately 1% of all children under 18 years live in foster care, with about 48% in family foster care, 40% are in childrens homes, and the remaining 12% in new formats of family professional care (Kalland Sinkkonen, 2001). In July of this year these statistics were even worse according to sources obtained by Bennett (2009) who claimed that this figure was now almost three quarters of all adoptions, she agrees with the reasoning behind the removal of children form their families stating The increase in alcohol and drug abuse among parents is also a growing factor in care proceedings, with parents often being given several chances to break their habit before children are removed. It may possibly be argued that many of those children in long-term placements should and probably could be adopted, but this is not the overriding view of Finnish society, indeed the dominant view is that of family preservation. Several contributors share the opinion that childrens best interests are met when every effort is made to keep the family together. If foster care is needed, it should always be of limited duration (Garrett, 2003). These views echo FOX HARDING CHECK WHICH PERSPECTIVE AND MENTION Many of these Finnish children in long-term foster care could have been adopted if they lived in England. Evidently, foster care makes it possible for children to keep some contact with their birth family. Unfortunately, this is not always advantageous for the child because of the severe difficulties including both psychological and behavioural of some parents (Quinton et al., 1997). The placement faces the risk of breakdown where the birth parents have sufficiently dealt or recovered from their difficulties, and desire to be a complete family with the return of their child. This may be successful, but may also be short-lived resulting in endless short-term placements. This will have an adverse effect destroying the childs ability to form any meaningful attachments in adulthood. Adoption would offer the child an opportunity to form a stable relationship but this would cut the connections with the birth family. In Finland adoption against the will of the natural parents is far from th e norm. As a result, there are very few contested adoptions. According to the Finnish Adoption Act, the consent of both biological parents is needed before the adoption can take place. It should be noted that there are two exceptions to this; firstly, adoption can be granted if it is believed that the adoption is definitely in the best interests of the child and the refusal of consent of the parents is not suitably justified, secondly, the parents cannot logically express their will due to illness or disability, or if their whereabouts are unknown. Additionally the mothers consent is only accepted after she has recovered from the birth (no earlier than eight weeks). In Finland the feelings and desires of the child are taken into account, this is according to the age and level of maturity. If the child is 12 or older, their opinions must be taken into account. In recent years England has evolved a degree of openness in the adoption process (DoH, 1999, Ch. 5). This is because traditionally in England, the adoption of children resulted in the cutting off of the relationship with the birth mother and birth family. The developments in this area have been provoked through professionals whose opinion that openness is important for the mental health and identity needs of adoptees (Kirton, 2000, p. 108). The ability for English adoptees and their family to gain access to records is relatively recent, in fact as recent as 1973 Scotland and Finland were the only countries in the Western world where an adopted person could obtain information from official records that could help them trace their original parents Triseliotis (1973, p. 1). The move away from high levels of secrecy can also be attributed to adoptees who wanted to find birth relatives (Campbell et al., 1991), birth mothers also campaigned for larger levels of openness in adoption in Engl and (Logan, 1996). These actions coupled with the Natural Parents Support Group, an organisation of birth mothers, who lobbied the UK parliament for a public inquiry into the injustices which occurred through the mass adoption in the 1950s and 1960s (Rickford, 2000, Fink, 2000). The Children Act 1975 gave adopted people over the age of 18 years the right to apply for access to their original birth certificates. The recent openness has enabled in some instances, contact arrangements between the child and birth family after the adoption has taken place (Lowe, 2000, p. 326-329). The Adoption Act 1976 amended by the Children Act 1989, made it compulsory for the Registrar General to set up an Adoption Contact Register in an attempt to make it possible for adopted people to contact their birth parents and other birth relatives. It the opinion of Hughes Logan (1995) that these measures are in part due to the increasing awareness of the importance of post-adoption services. The view in Fin land however has been far more open indeed; Save the Children has mediated between the adopted child and biological parents since the 1960s. It should be mentioned that large proportions of adopted people in Finland still do not wish to seek contact with their original families, usually those that felt disappointment about being adopted inn the first instance (Garrett 2003). This all means that while the recent drive toward adoption being more open is obviously important, it must be recognised that openness is not simple or straightforward. Kalland et al. (2001) shows that mortality rates in Finland for both sexes on the child welfare registry are in excess compared with the general population. Another Finnish study showed aggressive behaviour, delinquency and attention problems were associated with children and adolescents in childrens homes and that children may also be at risk of sexual abuse in these homes with the person responsible for the act often being an older adolescent (Hukkanen et al., 1999). What is important though is, none of these negative instances can be entirely attributed to poor quality or damaging care that children get whilst in public care. Numerous children arrive in these institutions already suffering from been highly traumatised in some cases due to parental addictions. In short, it is not simply the looked-after experience which leads to poor outcomes. Whereas in contrast concerns about the poor outcomes of children who are looked after (Parker et al., 1991) in England such as; ineffective health provision available for looked after children (Butler Payne, 1997), poor levels of educational achievement (Aldgate et al., 1993, Fletcher-Campbell, 1998), the bullying that takes place in care settings, the high pregnancy rates amongst teenagers in care in 2007 there were 360 mothers aged 12 and over who were looked after, an increase of 15 per cent from the previous year, (Corlyn McGuire, 1998, DCSF, 2007), the disappointingly high number of moves from care environment to care environment (Sone, 1997), and the lack of preparation for those leaving care, and poor after-care support (Biehal et al. , 1995) has led to the English adoption system making wholesale reform In July 2000 the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair published the governments Review of Adoption which contained over 80 recommendations. Four of these recommendations focused on plans to; develop and implement a National Adoption Register, drawing up of new National Standards for local authorities to follow, the setting up of an Adoption and Permanency Taskforce to promote best practice and challenge poor performance, and conducting a rapid scrutiny of the backlog of children that were waiting to be adopted (PIU, 2000, p.4).This was followed in December 2000, with the White Paper, Adoption-A New Approach. The aim of establishing a National Adoption Register and an Adoption and Permanency Taskforce were again set out. A national target was to be set with the aim of increasing the number of looked after children adopted. Other processes highlighted in the consultation paper integrated within the plan were to introduce new National Standards for councils and adoption agencies. To enforce these standards, powers were put in place emergency inspections and special measures to deal with problematic service providers. Other plans included, timescales for children enabling a sound plan for their permanent future, this would be made within six months of their starting to be continuously looked after. When the decision was made that adoption was to take place, a new family should be found within a further six months. In an attempt to aid adoptive parents new plans to support them were briefly set out. Other significant measures included: a new legislative option, called special guardianship, this would provide a sense of stability for the child, but fall short of legal separation from their birth parents. Unlike England there is no National Adoption Register and there are no plans to develop and implement one in Finland, a National Register however, could possibly help in advancing research and practice in a Finnish framework. Likewise an Adoption and Permanency Taskforce similar to that of England would be welcomed by many in Finland. Finlands parliament however, have this year voted to give people in same-sex couples who are registered in an official partnership the legal right to adopt the naturally-born child of their partner.(Finnsson, 2009) No further plans to speed up adoptions of looked after children are planned. This is, perhaps, because as suggested earlier of the dominant position Fox Harding again which places an emphasis on family preservation services. There are very few Finnish waiting to be adopted. There are however in contrast, hundreds of couples waiting to adopt a child. There has been some discussion in the media about the intense frustration of these couples. It may take four or five years to have a child adopted. This has raised the notion of an adoption industry which is fed by the child protection system, Regrettably, in many cases, the emphasis has changed from the desire to provide a needy child with a home to that of providing a needy parent with a child. As a result, a whole industry h as grown, generating millions of dollars of revenues each year, seeking babies for adoption and charging prospective parents enormous fees to process paperwork.(Pragnell, 2008) It is also his view that the interests of the child are now the cause of atrocities committed against children and parents by well-meaning and well-intentioned employees of state and related agencies but whose acts are leading to immense suffering for children.

Nazi Labour Camps and Capitalism Essay -- Comparative, Borowski

Throughout the communist era in Central and Eastern Europe, but especially in the first half of that era, capitalism was seen as immoral and inhumane. Capitalism, as discussed by Karl Marx in The Communist Manifesto, was the cause of many social ills in society and needed to be overthrown (Marx 221-222). In â€Å"This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen,† Tadeusz Borowski uses imagery and characters to compare and contrast the Nazi labor camp to capitalism. Although the ideology of capitalism is not as cruel as the Nazi labor camps, when put in practice it does have some similarities to these camps. Of course, Borowski wrote this story while he was a member of the communist party, which suggests that his opinion of capitalism may be skewed. Nevertheless, in the discussion that follows, I will argue that Borowski’s use of imagery in â€Å"This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen† was intended to portray the structure, motivations, and social interactions within the camp as similar to those of capitalist society. In order to compare the Nazi labor camps to capitalism, Borowski begins to discuss the structure of the camp. Borowski stresses that the Nazi’s have the camp well organized and designed for efficiency. â€Å"The crews are being divided into those who will open and unload†¦and those who will be posted by the wooden steps. They receive instructions on how to proceed most efficiently† (Borowski 15). However, not only are the camp laborers divided into different positions among themselves, but the type of jobs performed by the Schutzstaffel (S.S. officers) and camp laborers are different. This is a portrayal of capitalist society because it was Henry Ford who developed the assembly line in 1913, which began the practice of the ... ...after the war. This is mainly because he was pro-communist when he wrote this story. Due to this fact, it is unlikely that Borowski would compare communism to the labor camp, but highly likely that he would believe that capitalism and the labor camps are similar. However, Borowski portrays the similarities between the labor camps and capitalist society in a negative light, which is most likely done because he may have wanted to promote communist ideas. Borowski compares capitalist society to labor camps through the interactions and imagery presented in the story. Much of the interactions that take place and the imagery described relates to the way society is organized, which is one of the main complaints in The Communist Manifesto. Although there is no proof that Borowski read The Communist Manifesto, much of the story is relatable to what is presented in it. Nazi Labour Camps and Capitalism Essay -- Comparative, Borowski Throughout the communist era in Central and Eastern Europe, but especially in the first half of that era, capitalism was seen as immoral and inhumane. Capitalism, as discussed by Karl Marx in The Communist Manifesto, was the cause of many social ills in society and needed to be overthrown (Marx 221-222). In â€Å"This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen,† Tadeusz Borowski uses imagery and characters to compare and contrast the Nazi labor camp to capitalism. Although the ideology of capitalism is not as cruel as the Nazi labor camps, when put in practice it does have some similarities to these camps. Of course, Borowski wrote this story while he was a member of the communist party, which suggests that his opinion of capitalism may be skewed. Nevertheless, in the discussion that follows, I will argue that Borowski’s use of imagery in â€Å"This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen† was intended to portray the structure, motivations, and social interactions within the camp as similar to those of capitalist society. In order to compare the Nazi labor camps to capitalism, Borowski begins to discuss the structure of the camp. Borowski stresses that the Nazi’s have the camp well organized and designed for efficiency. â€Å"The crews are being divided into those who will open and unload†¦and those who will be posted by the wooden steps. They receive instructions on how to proceed most efficiently† (Borowski 15). However, not only are the camp laborers divided into different positions among themselves, but the type of jobs performed by the Schutzstaffel (S.S. officers) and camp laborers are different. This is a portrayal of capitalist society because it was Henry Ford who developed the assembly line in 1913, which began the practice of the ... ...after the war. This is mainly because he was pro-communist when he wrote this story. Due to this fact, it is unlikely that Borowski would compare communism to the labor camp, but highly likely that he would believe that capitalism and the labor camps are similar. However, Borowski portrays the similarities between the labor camps and capitalist society in a negative light, which is most likely done because he may have wanted to promote communist ideas. Borowski compares capitalist society to labor camps through the interactions and imagery presented in the story. Much of the interactions that take place and the imagery described relates to the way society is organized, which is one of the main complaints in The Communist Manifesto. Although there is no proof that Borowski read The Communist Manifesto, much of the story is relatable to what is presented in it.

sterphen spielberg :: essays research papers fc

Stephen Spielberg has directed some of the most popular, and highest grossing, movies of all time. He has directed six of the top 25 highest grossing movies of all time, and is clearly one of the most notable directors of our day. Stephen Spielberg was born on December 18th, 1947 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Stephen's family moved around a lot, and Stephen had troubles fitting in at school. His peers constantly picked him on for his physical weakness and his ethnic background. Stephen is Jewish, and in his childhood he attended predominately non-Jewish schools. (Reed/Cunneff 139) His father Arnold was a computer engineer, and his mother Leah was a restaurateur. Stephen was a practical joker, who constantly played tricks on his sisters. Stephen found his best mode of expression however, through an old eight-millimeter camera that he had found in his garage. Spielberg focused all of his time and effort into this new form of expression he had found, even at the expense of other things in his l ife. In an article in Time magazine Spielberg said, "From age twelve or thirteen I knew I wanted to be a movie director, and I didn't think that science or math or foreign languages were going to help me turn out the little 8-mm sagas I was making to avoid homework. "(Contemporary Authors 3) Movies were also helping Stephen to escape his family life, where at home things were bad with his parents, and when Stephen was twelve years old his parents got divorced. This only helped to clarify Stephen's love of film. After he completed high school, Spielberg was well on his way to becoming a director. He had already won student awards for some of his short films, and one of them, a movie called Firelight, had actually been shown in a local movie theatre. As a young high school graduate, Spielberg would often take tours to Universal Studios, and then sneak off for hours to tour the lot by himself. He did this almost every day after graduating from high school. (Contemporary Authors 3) At age twenty Spielberg was signed to a seven-year contract with Universal television after an executive of the company saw some of his films. Under this contract, Spielberg would direct Duel, his first TV movie, and his first movie to gain widespread critical attention. The TV film was even released as a feature film in some countries.

The Minister’s Black Veil Essays -- Minister?s Black Veil Essays Paper

The Minister’s Black Veil The story â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† is symbolic of the hidden sins that we hide and separate ourselves from the ones we love most. In wearing the veil Hooper presents the isolation that everybody experiences when they are chained down by their own sins. He has realized that everybody symbolically can be found in the shadow of their own veil. By Hooper wearing this shroud across his face is only showing the dark side of people and the truth of human existence and nature. Hooper left the dark shroud on because he has realized that secret sin is a veil that can never be lifted from anybody until the day of their death. In a quote from the story Mr. Hooper says, â€Å"There is an hour to come, when all of us shall cast aside our veils. Take it not amiss, beloved friend, if I wear this piece of crepe till then.† By saying this Mr. Hooper expresses the feeling that while human beings are alive on the earth a veil shows their face. Hooper promised himself and made a life task of playing a mirror to the people around him. The veil cannot be lifted until the freedom of truth can be observed. The minister’s friends and neighbors are so upset by the veil because the veil becomes a wall between himself and his congregation. The first response is one of curiosity which then turns in suspicion. They cannot understand the meaning for the wearing of the black veil and in turn the people become very uncomfortable around him. The veil and it color ...

How Good Are Your Communication Skills? Essay

In everyday life, communication skills need to be used to interact with people in many situations. Communication is the foundation for social interaction as it allows people to socialize and interact. Effective communication is extremely important in a health and social care context because it is essential to help you understand your clients’ feelings and emotions, as well as creating a positive relationship with your clients, relatives, colleagues and other healthcare professionals. Communication may come in many forms including speaking, writing or sometimes using pictures, sign language, and body language or gesturing. There are a number of reasons we communicate including socializing, to express our needs, informing others of information, to share ideas, to educate, to identify problems, to find solutions and many other reasons. Verbal Communication Verbal communication is when a person communicates verbally with someone. This could be one to one or in a group. Good verbal communication skills in health and social care is essential as it allow workers to effectively communicate and connect with patients and health care professionals by listening to them and talking to them to meet their needs. The ability to communicate and connect with patients and health care professionals helps to build relationships, prevent mistakes and helps to provide a high level of care. When communicating verbally, a person’s tone of voice interprets what they say and what influence it has on the receiver. If someone talks in a very slow and low voice, people may consider you are shy, embarrassed, unconfident or unsure. It may also indicate discomfort about the topic being spoken about. However, a calm and slow voice shows you are a confi friendly and caring. Talking quickly with a firm tone and in a loud voice may indicate anger or rudeness. When health and social care professionals speak with service users, it is very important to know when to change your tone of voice Non-Verbal Communication Non-Verbal communication is the process of sending and receiving messages without using words, either spoken or written messages. This could be communicating through gestures, touch (Haptic communication), by body language, posture, facial expression, eye contact or written communication. There are several types of nonverbal communication including: Kinesics Kinesics involves body movements in communication, for example, hand gestures, nodding or shaking the head Proxemics Proxemics involves the physical distance between people when they communicate, territoriality and personal space, position, and poster, how you stand or sit, whether your arms are crossed, and so on. Haptic Haptic communication describes how we communicate with each other with the use of touch. Young children and the elderly may commonly use haptic communication. For example, a child may tap their mum on her shoulder to get her attention. Non- Verbal communication is the second most common type of communication used in health and social care settings. It can be used in emails, letters, written communication and sign language. Very many people communicate using facial expressions, gestures and body language. Facial expressions are responsible for a huge proportion of nonverbal communication. This is because the first thing we see when we look at a person is their facial expressions. Facial expression gives a huge clue on what type of mood a person is in. A person who Language Barriers Sometimes there are barriers that need to be overcome to be able to communicate. There are a number of different barriers, which people could face. For example a language barrier. If someone spoke a different language to you, you would struggle to understand what he or she is trying to say. In this case, an interpreter could be used to translate for them. This would mean that the barrier would be overcome. If someone has the same first language as someone, it allows them to communicate effectively with an individual. Additionally, there are other barriers, which people may face including physical barriers, barriers for people with special needs and psychological barriers. Physiological Barriers Psychological barriers are mind-associated problems that keep you from reaching a solution, obtaining a goal, establishing positive relationships or taking a step toward finding a new job or starting college etc. Therefore, understanding what these issues are will help you on your journey to overcome intangible fears and frustrations. People who are going through a difficult time may not want to communicate if they feel distressed or down. This may lead them to avoid communication with people for a number of reasons. A person’s self-esteem may discourage them from communicating with people and prevent them from taking part in-group activities. Some factors, which may contribute to a low self-esteem, may be fear and anxiety, low self- concept, depression or panic attacks. People who suffer from a low self- esteem may shut themselves out and avoid communicating with people altogether. Dealing with a disabled person who communicates in different ways People suffering from physical disabilities may face physical barriers, which may relate to hearing, eyesight, difficulty walking or movement of the limbs. These barriers may be overcome by using pictures to express words, Makaton, or braille for visually impaired individuals or people with impaired hearing. A person with a physical disability could become easily annoyed and agitated. It may be hard to communicate with them when they feel like this. To handle a situation when they feel like this it may help if they are spoken to in a calm manner, as they may get more irritated, it may also help to remove them from a situation to allow them to calm down. They may use different body language to express their feelings, for example, if they are feeling annoyed they may sigh or if they want to show you they need something they may tap your shoulder. A disabled person may also require special facilities to be provided for them such as braille. Braille is a form of written language for blind people, in which characters are represented by patterns of raised dots that are felt with the fingertips. British Sign language uses visual communication including gestures, facial expressions, and body language; to communicate mainly with people who are deaf or have hearing impairments. A person who is deaf or has hearing impairments may need a signer to communicate with them using sign language and pass on information. These alternatives allow disabled people to communicate effectively. Types of Interpersonal Communication Communicating with different people: There are times where you may use formal language and times where you may use informal language. For example, talking to a friend you will usually use slang terms and informal language. This may include personal topics, which you would only discuss with people you are close to. Talking to a colleague, you will need to take a more professional approach. You would not usually ask a colleague about their personal life or what they did for the weekend. You may use terminology or jargon words relating to your job and work when communicating with professionals. One to one groups: In many Health and Social Care settings such as nursing homes or schools, one to one communication is important. This could be to provide a service user with extra support or personal care. To meet the personal needs of a service user it could be beneficial to communicate one to one with them to maintain privacy and confidentiality. This may also help them to feel more comfortable when communicating with professionals about personal matters. Group Communication: Group communication is a more open type of communication as it allows people to express their views and opinions to a number of people. It also allows people discuss their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with people. An example of group communication is support groups. Support groups allow a group of people to share their negative past experiences with each other and offer support, encouragement, and advice. People with drinking problems, drug problems, and young offenders may join support groups to find ways to deal with their problems when other ways have failed. Facial expressions body language and posture: A person’ s facial expressions, body language and posture give people a good interpretation of how they are feeling or what they may be thinking. If a person is slouching, looks uninterested, unconcerned and is not participating at work it gives people the impression they do not care about their work, they are not physically prepared and that they want to be elsewhere. A person with this attitude may not want to communicate with others as their body language shows that they may want to be left undisturbed. When a person is speaking, you can usually tell what type of mood they are in by the tone of their voice. If they In almost any workplace including health and social care settings, a good level of verbal and written communication is needed. Workers will need to be able to communicate with service effectively to ensure that their needs are met to a high standard, with other colleagues which they work with and other organizations which the service is part of. Good communication is an essential tool in achieving productivity and maintaining strong working relationships at all levels of an organization. A General practitioner(GP) will need to have a good standard of both written and verbal communication skills to meet the needs of their patient. The role of their job of a general practitioner requires listening to a patient’s problems and decide on a suitable solution or treatment for them in a timely manner. Sometimes a general practitioner also known as a doctor will refer patients to other services which can provide for their specific needs. For example, a person who has suffered from a fall may be referred to a hospital to have an x-ray. In this case, a doctor may need to create a written medical report on the accident which would be passed on to other health care professionals such as radiographers. D1: Analyse how cultural variations can influence communication There are different ways religious beliefs, languages and personal views can have an impact on how we communicate. These factors may change the manner in which we communicate, the ways of communicating with different people and how we communicate. There are many cultural differences in communication and for this reason; it needs to be ensured that related barriers are overcome. People of different cultures may use different gestures, symbols, languages and different ways to greet people. Culture can affect how you think and act and, more importantly, the kind of criteria by which you judge others. The traditions of one culture may be the total opposite of another culture. For example, it is seen as polite and respectful to make eye contact when speaking to someone in Western culture but in other cultures, for example in East Asia, it can be seen as rude and defiant. Some cultures portray some behaviors as normal and right and others strange or wrong. In different cultures, there are diverse ways to greet people. some cultures shake hands, kiss on the cheek, bow, hug or simply say hi or hello. In England, The handshake is used as a gesture. as a form of a greeting between two people. If the information (signs, leaflets, posters) about health, social care, and early years services are in English only then those with a different first language will not be able to find out about the service. If the information uses specialist language, the individual may not understand it. They may become anxious or worried about the service.