The 17s Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The 17s - Essay Example However, the appointed prime minister in America George Grenville did not share the same opinion of other colonists and demanded America would be loyal to England. One of the major changes in England during this time period was the appointment of King George III. King George III was a young and inexperienced king who has been referred to as immature (Brinkley, 122). King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763, which forbid Americans to travel past a set line which was drawn along the Appalachian Mountains. This act was instated to limit fur trading in American further allowing England to control trade and commerce in America. However, this act failed to achieve its goal as Americans continued to trade with Indians. In retaliation England passed The Sugar Act of 1764. This act was meant to eliminate sugar trade between the colonies and the French and Spanish. To further enforce a dependence on England King George III passed The Currency Act of 1764 (Brinkley 123). This act prevented the colonies from issuing money and to retire all money that was being circulated. In order to increase taxes England issued the Stamp Act of 1765. This act taxed all printed documents in the colonies. Although these acts succeeded in decreasing England’s debits these acts further created conflicts between England and the colonies. For the time many Americans learned to live with England’s policies. During this period many Americans were still experiencing anxieties about the economic depression that occurred in the 1760’s. However, many American’s were beginning to get irritated with England’s policies. These Americans strengthened the argument for the independence of the colonies. The Quartering Act of 1765 further irritated the colonists by forcing them to quarter British troops in America (Brinkley, 125). In response nine colonies

Strategic Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Human Resource Management - Essay Example Horizontal fit refers to the congruence among various HRM practices (Baird & Meshoulam, 1998), and vertical fit refers to the alignment of HRM practice with strategic management process of the firm (Schuler & Jackson, 1987)†. Several approaches have been developed to strategic international human resource management and each of these has their own advantages and disadvantages. The following section will detail the various approaches and aims to compare and contrast these approaches. Approaches to Strategic International Human Resource Management: There are four main approaches to strategic international human resource management. These include: a) Strategy Focused Approach: Some authors are of the view that human resource management and strategic HRM are the same. Authors believe that the nature of HRM is strategic (Dowling, Festing, & Engle, 2007). However this view has not been clearly accepted by a number of authors and it is believed that strategic human resources and HRM a lthough might be similar in a few aspects are not the same. This approach focuses on the strategy based view. b) Decision Focused Approach: Authors like Tichy et al express that there are three main levels of management. These they explain include, the long term, i.e. strategic, medium term, i.e. managerial and the short term, i.e. operational (Dowling, Festing, & Engle, 2007). Authors believe that the functions of human resources that are completed at strategic level together form strategic international human resource management. However there have been arguments that the managerial or also the operational level of human resource functions are more so the... This paper stresses that several approaches have been developed to strategic international human resource management and each of these has their own advantages and disadvantages. The following section will detail the various approaches and aims to compare and contrast these approaches. This report makes a conclusion that some approaches clearly include different views of the organization and also take into account different aspects of the organization which help give rise to the strategic human resource planning. Here it is important to note that although most of these are interlinked the main difference among them is the nature of the approach. Each approach takes into account various elements of business and on how the strategic international human resource management is developed within the organization. The author talks that it is also important to note here that these approaches are based on six main elements which include, a) The transformation of the human resource staff and structure, b) improving the overall administrative efficiency, c) creating a sync between human resource and strategic planning process of the organization, d) creating a fit between the human resources practices and the business strategy itself, e) taking into account the impact of the human resources on the business and also f) development of relationship with the line management. These elements clearly indicate all the areas that together help in the development of Strategic International Human Resource Management. Although all the approaches might be different and might undertake different areas to develop the human resource management, the main crux of all the approaches is clearly the above mentioned six elements.

Throughout Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay Example for Free

Throughout Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay Throughout Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses a number of different items as symbols to convey the significance of certain events that take place in Janie’s, the main characters, lifespan. In this novel, Janie’s life moves in stages. With each stage comes a different item of clothing that represents another relationship and reflects Janie’s inner self during that period in time. Using an apron, a head rag, a blue satin dress, and overalls, Hurston communicates how Janie grows and evolved as a person throughout her relationships with Logan Killicks, Jody Starks, and most importantly, Tea Cake. In the beginning of the novel, Janie’s marries a man by the name of Logan Killicks, a very successful farmer. During their relationship, Janie wears an apron. The apron shows that Janie is a housewife, merely taking orders and doing what she is told to do. During the course of their marriage, Janie came to realize that she â€Å"knew now that marriage did not make love† (25). Janie does not love Logan. She married him for Nanny, her grandmother, and never was able to develop the love for him, as she desired. At this point, Janie begins seeing Jody Starks, and eventually leaves Logan. Upon leaving, she â€Å"feels the apron tied around her waist. She untied it and flung it on a low bush beside one road and walked on† (32) as if release of being a housewife and allowing herself to move on; no strings attached. In Jane’s second marriage with Jody, Janie is forced to wear a head rag by Jody. This hides Janie’s hair. Janie’s hair is very different from other women in her community. Her hair is straight, like white women, as opposed to curly. Her hair is a symbol of her uniqueness and independence. By forcing Janie to cover her hair and wear the head rag, Jody extinguishes Janie’s independence. Jody controls Janie, insults her, and destroys her self-esteem. She conforms to his wants and demands, not even fighting back when he hits her. The head rag represents Jody’s dominance over Janie in their relationship. Ultimately, this proves that their relationship in not based on true love, and this ends in a failed relationship. After Jody dies, Janie’s meets Tea Cake, who buys her a blue satin dress. This dress is worn at their wedding and is of high significance despite the small amount of time it is worn by Janie. It is a symbol of a new start with Tea Cake. In addition, it has only been nine months since Jody’s death. At one point. Janie says to Pheoby: Ah ain’t grievin’ so why do Ah hafta mourn? Tea Cake love me in blue, so Ah wears it. Jody ain’t never in his life picked out no color for me. De world picked out black and white for mournin’, Joe didn’t. So Ah wasn’t wearin’ it for him. Ah was wearin’ it for de rest of y’all (113). This shows that Janie is sad about his death since she is not mourning, as the community believes she should do. Janie did not truly love Jody, however, she does love Tea Cake greatly and is â€Å"always in blue because Tea Cake told her to wear it†(110). Later in their marriage, Janie switched her attire to overalls. These overalls are nothing fancy and are worn for her work in the fields with Tea Cake. For this reason, they are proven to be a symbol of equality and true love. Neither Tea Cake nor Janie are of higher stature than one another as the men were in Janie’s past relationships. â€Å"What if Eatonville could see her in now in her blue denim overalls and heavy shoes?† (134) is a thought that Janie simply laughs at. Janie’s love is proven in her ability to become Tea Cake’s equal despite what the people of the town say about how he is poor. Janie continues to wear the overalls after Tea Cakes death, when she returns to Eatonville. She doesn’t dress up to mourn. Janie â€Å"went on in her overalls. She was too busy feeling grief to dress like grief† (189). This further proves Janie’s feelings for Tea Cake more than anything. With Jody, Janie mourned his death and didn’t care for him, showing that mourning doesn’t mean she was sad. In this situation, Janie does not follow what is considered the right thing to do. She knows how sad she feels about Tea Cake and that is the only thing that matters to her at this point in time. The use of clothing as symbols is a dominant element of Hurston’s writing in Their Eyes Were Watching God. It successfully conveys Janie’s emotions and thoughts throughout her life. The symbolism of clothing shows how she evolved from following what is considered â€Å"right† and becoming what she wants; someone who experienced true love. Janie wore an apron for Nanny’s dream, a head rag to satisfy Jody’s need for dominance, and a blue satin dress and overalls for true love and equality with Tea Cake. Works Cited Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. Print.

The Role of the Air Traffic Controller

The Role of the Air Traffic Controller Air Traffic Controller Redesigning the Job of Air Traffic Controller Introduction Job Design Job design may be referred as a way in which an entire job or a set of tasks is organized. Job design helps in determining the tasks and the way they are completed. It considers the factors that influence the work and arrange the job contents and tasks so that the job becomes less risky to the employee’s life. The administrative areas involved in it are job rotation, job enlargement, task/machine pacing, work breaks and working hours (Gupta, 2007). A soundly designed job encourages a variety of good body positions and helps foster feelings of achievement and self-esteem. Air Traffic Controllers The people who operate the air traffic control system to accelerate and maintain an orderly and safe flow of air traffic are called the Air traffic controllers. They help in preventing mid-air collisions of the planes. The ATC’s apply such separation rules that help in keeping each aircraft at a distance from others in their area of responsibility, thus moving all aircraft efficiently throughout their airspace. Due to the presence of large responsibility on controllers in the course of performing their duty, this profession is generally observed as one of the most complex jobs, and is notoriously stressful. Stress at Workplace There have been drastic changes in the nature of work over the last century and still the changes are undergoing at the speed of a whirlwind. Changes inevitably bring stress. So no professional is untouched by stress, starting from a surgeon to an artist or a sales executive to a commercial pilot. Work stress poses risk to the physical health of the employee and consequently influences the health of the organization (Mathew, 2003). Job stress in the early stages can ‘rev up’ the body and improve performance in the workplace (Prasad, 2008). Though, if this condition is permitted to go free and the body is revved up further, the performance will eventually decline and the persons health will degrade (Gupta, 2007). The symptoms of the stress can be insomnia, loss of mental concentration, anxiety, absenteeism, family conflict, anger and frustration. Job stress may arise due to job insecurity, high demand of performance, technological complexities, personal or family problem and workplace culture (Stress at Work, 2008). The final consequence of this job stress is the high turnover of the efficient and knowledgeable employees (Mathew, 2003). Air traffic controllers are an occupational group who has to manage a highly demanding job, which involves a complex series of tasks. These require a high level of knowledge and expertise, along with a high level of responsibility, with regard to risking lives and also the high economic costs of aeronautical activities. Productivity and Turnover As the flights run throughout the day and round the year, the air traffic control is a 24 hour and 365-days-a-year job. Only because of this reason, the controllers regularly work rotating shifts, including nights, weekends and public holidays. When the controllers are forced to work 40 hours a week instead of 32 hours a week and eight hours a shift without breaks; their efficiency and effectiveness reduces drastically. This also leads to the turnover of the controllers. The most suitable example showing the consequence of the above situation is the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike in 1981 in America. Due to the occurrence of the situations similar to the above, 89 percent controllers left the job before retirement age and about 40 percent of these left to collect disability retirement. Historical Background of the Position and Changes that Took Place over Years The history of air traffic control and the controller way backs to the 1930’s when the commercial air service was developed. The occurrence of some major accidents in the subsequent years reinforced their need. The pilots used to control the flight by just looking out of the window. During the 1920s and 1930s, radio telephony was begun to be used. There was a ‘Wireless Traffic Control’ by ‘control officers’. Marine radio stations were used for the purpose of air traffic communications, which were not operated by the professionals in the way they are operated now. During the 1930’s, a dedicated air traffic services organization came into being. Second World War brought the revolution in this field. With this, the new era of developments in the field of air traffic controlling started. Specific operational techniques were started being used. Controllers used to develop plans for flying with the pilot and made use of radiotelephony for it. The ins trument called radars was developed to trace the existence of the planes in the air. In due course the intensity and power of radar was increased to enable the controllers with specific information to take decision. They used to monitor through highly processed secondary surveillance radar (SSR) data. These data flows are rooted with well-defined controlled airspace and formal rules for controlling minimum separation permitted between aircrafts. Through this SSR, the controller watches call sign, displayed aircraft symbols, and height information, which are passed down from aircraft transponders. The navigation system has stirred to satellite-based aids from point source beacons. Ground-based short-term conflict alert systems are used in UK. This technique helps in warning pilots of the aircrafts coming into close area, thus reducing the work of controllers’ up to a great limit. Nowadays commercial aircrafts carry Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System, which is of great help to the pilots as well the controllers on the ground. As weather plays an important role in controlling the air traffic, weather displaying devices were also provided to them. Now they are provided with more acc urate weather information displays and can ensure a very effective control on the air traffic (Brooker, 2007). Fundamental Problems with the Current Job Design Air traffic control is one of the most stressful jobs. With the single decision of a controller, thousands of airline passengers’ lives can be affected. This results in the ulcers, heart conditions, hypertension and alcoholism among controllers. The chief sources of stress being reported by air traffic controllers are associated to two aspects. They are the operative aspect of their job and the organizational structures. The most important factors in the former case are the time pressure, peaks of traffic load, resolving variances in the use of rules and the limitations and consistency of equipments. The factors, which are related to organizational structure, are chiefly concerned with the unfavorable working conditions, shift schedules (particularly night work), role conflicts and a lack of control over the work (Air Traffic Controller Job Description, Career as a Air Traffic Controller, Salary, Employment Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirement s, Getting the Job, 2008). Job Redesigning Viewing the condition of the air traffic controllers and the difficulties faced by them while performing their task, their job needs to be redesigned. Job redesigning will help in improving the health and safety of the air traffic controllers as well as improve the health of the organization. The steps, which may be undertaken to redesign the air traffic controller’s job, are: holding a stress prevention program on regular intervals and making it a part of the organizational culture. Attendance in this program should be made compulsory for all air traffic controllers. Next step, which can be undertaken, is the improvement in the transportation to work, canteens and sleeping facilities. The other could be to improve the technology and the work organization. Steps can be taken to improve the job planning involved in the job as well as to enhance the reliability of the working systems. The other steps in redesigning the job of the controller can be working time reduction, arrangi ng shift-schedules keeping in mind the social and psycho-physiological criteria, arranging work teams and rest pauses aligned with load of the work and enforcing such approaches that improve the participation of the air traffic controllers in decisions concerning them. Specifically, in the technological field, such computer software can be designed, which assists air traffic controllers. For example, more accurate computer enhanced radar will be beneficial. Such automated system can be designed and made available to the controllers, which once fed with the data relating to flight timings, will display all the further needed information to the controller. Thus, it will reduce the brainstorming exercises done by the air traffic controllers regarding the regular routs and the number of regular flights on the airport. The controllers can be provided with more efficient hearing and other communication devices to enable them transfer clear instructions, thus avoiding any decision fault. Making more use of instrument landing systems, which allows planes to make automatic landings and ensuring that planes are placed in holding patterns when airports are busy. Apart from the above things, special attention is required to be paid in the area of the structure of tasks and workplace, particularly the issues like lighting, noise, micro-climatic conditions and indoor air quality (Brooker, 2007). Impact the New Job Design on the Organization As a result of this, job redesign reduces much of the work load, work pressure, health hazards and turnover of the air traffic controllers. The stress prevention programs conducted by the organization will have a great impact on the performance and efficiency of the controllers and the organization. Extending their facilities of relaxing, canteen, transportation, shift redesigning and team building would motivate them to work with more vigor and efficiency, which would lead to a high organizational performance. The changes in the technology would surely enhance the performance and commitment of the controllers; reduce the stress at the work place; thus reducing the turnover of the controllers from the job (Mamoria Gankar, 2002). Thus, we can conclude that with the increasing pressure on the air traffic, air traffic controllers are facing many job related problems. The only solution to solve these problems is to redesign the job of the controllers. This would improve the working conditions as well as problem of health hazards in the air traffic controllers; thus improving the productivity and commitment towards the organizational goals. References Air Traffic Controller Job Description, Career as an Air Traffic Controller, Salary, Employment Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job (2008). Retrieved April 12, 2008 from http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/814/Air-Traffic-Controller.html Brooker, P. (2007). Air Traffic Safety: Continued Evolution or a New Paradigm? Retrieved April 12, 2008 from https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/bitstream/1826/1967/1/Air%20Traffic%20Safety-Transport%20Risk%20Management%20Lecture-2007.pdf Gupta, C.B. (2007). Hunan Resource Management (3rd Edition), New Delhi: Sultan Chand and Sons. Mamoria, C. B Gankar, S.V (2002). Personal Management (22nd Edition). New Delhi: Himalaya Publishing House. Mathew, M.J. (2003). Fundamentals of Organizational Theory and Behavior, Jaipur: RBSA Publishers Prasad, L.M. (2008). Organizational Behavior (3rd Revised). New Delhi: Sultan Chand and Sons Educational Publishers. Stress at Work (2008). Retrieved April 12, 2008 from http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/psychology/stress/stress-at-work.asp

Taking The Castle of Otranto as your example, outline the main conventi

Taking The Castle of Otranto as your example, outline the main conventions of the Gothic novel, and show how your knowledge of Taking The Castle of Otranto as your example, outline the main conventions of the Gothic novel, and show how your knowledge of these conventions affects your reading of Northanger Abbey. Is Northanger Abbey most accurately described as parody of the Gothic genre, or is there a more complicated relationship going on? Gothic novels purport to revive old stories and beliefs, exploring personal, psychical encounters with the taboo (Williams, 2000). The genre, as typified by The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, involves a beautiful innocent young woman who is held captive by an older, powerful, evil man in his large, ancient and gloomy residence for his own lustful purposes and who escapes, with the aid of supernatural manifestations, errors caused by â€Å"false surmises and conjectures based on partial narratives† (Hoeveler, 1995, p127) and a handsome young hero. Walpole's novel centers around the tyrant where the female writers in the genre, for example, Ann Radcliffe, focus more on the female victim and what she is thinking and feeling, exploring women’s anxieties about their lack of control of their feelings, their bodies, and their property, and their desire for something far more extraordinary and exciting than simply to be a domestic woman. The use of the supernatural by Walpole is so frequent and monstrous as to excite laughter rather than terror but for Radcliffe and Austen the supernatural is not visible but is an invisible hand that makes sure that good always triumphs and evil is always punished (Andriopoulos, 1999) . It is necessary to be aware of these Gothic conve... ...omy and the Gothic Novel.† ELH 66.3 (1999): 739-59. Austen, Jane. The Novels of Jane Austen. Ed. R.W. Chapman. 3rd edition. Oxford:OUP, 1933-69 Cudden, J.A. Dictionary of Literary Terms & Literary Theory. Penguin: London, 1999. Hoeveler, Diane. â€Å"Vindicating Northanger Abbey: Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Austen, and Gothic Feminism.† Jane Austen and Discourses of Feminism. Ed. Devony Looser. Houndsmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1995. 117-35 Jerinic, Maria. â€Å"In Defense of the Gothic: Rereading Northanger Abbey.† Jane Austen and Discourses of Feminism. Ed. Devoney Looser. Houndsmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillian, 1995. 137-49 Neill, Edward. â€Å"The Secret of Northanger Abbey.† Essays in Criticism 47 (1997): 13-32 Williams, Anne. â€Å"The Horror, the Horror: Recent Studies in Gothic Fiction.† Modern Fiction Studies 46.3 (2000): 789-99

Weapons of War :: Essays Papers

Weapons of War â€Å"War on Iraq† and â€Å"sexual identity† showcase instructive new tactics for contemporary politics. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. In conventional warfare. The US military no longer needs nuclear weapons for its better-publicized outings when they’ve built a 10-ton conventional bomb and aren’t above firebombing civilian centers. At a moment when anti-militarist criticism had crystallized around activism against specialized forms of military machinery (the Bradley was too expensive, the School of the America’s too brutal, the nuke too indiscriminate), all such criticism can be blown with the broadcasted desert winds to the enemy and yanked on for leverage - thus permitting/demanding all the kinds of actions (with or without marked technologies) that were the initial object of criticism. Now it’s Iraq who has dangerous WMD’s, not the US (a country with a nuclear policy of first strike against non nuclear nations). What may once have been a criticism of military violence became one of the weapons themselves (Depleted Uranium Bullets, land mines, space weapons, ‘bunker-busters’), and now ‘we’ shall fight clean against an enemy who (gasp!) might not. Just as the crime becomes the criminal, Saddam becomes his weapons programs; he â€Å"is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction" (Bush). Programs that are mostly despicable because they aren’t supposed to have these weapons (according to international agreements, and sometimes early 90’s US mandates, to which, of course, US policy and rhetoric always shows such commitment). The trick is simultaneous with, and analogous to, the more obvious game of peace versus threat. â€Å"We are resolved today, to confront every threat, from any source, that could bring sudden terror and suffering to America† (Bush), except threats from America, naturally. But, the weapon issue focuses on technologies in a way that makes the two rhetorical devices non-homologous and makes weapons more relevan t here, because the question is not just of representations but also of instruments. Such conditions are not governed by banker’s rules of an economy of power (we get some percent more, you get so much less), or by a monarchical power that runs roughshod over (innocent) individuals, trampling the green grass of knowledge. Rather, the banker’s rules matter in the bank, and work only if there is a commitment to the illusion of the bank. Go ahead, tell â€Å"Bush† he isn’t a good king, he isn’t using power responsibly.

Health and Social Care Management Essay

This assignment discusses communication skills, and the various factors that influence the communication process. It looks at learning theories, strategies to improve interpersonal behaviour, charters and codes of practice, the usage of information technology, and the effectiveness of such systems, together with legislation, across the health and social care environment. Communication is a process of passing information from one person to the other and between employees, agencies, service users and their relatives in health and social care through verbal and non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication is a form of communication (e.g. body language, signs and symbols). Verbal communication is communicating with words (e.g. conversation). In order to improve relationships with service users, their families, colleagues, managers and others who worked within health and social care environment, care workers need to have good communication skills. Good, supportive relationships are built on effective communication (Michie, 2006). Communicating effectively performs a significant role in health and social care workplace, therefore understanding learning theories can improve the quality of communication process. In health and social care, learning theories have been effectively applied. For example, social learning theory, is learning by imitating the behaviour of others – either consciously or unconsciously. It is applied in health and social care by offering the positive things learnt from others into health and social care workplace to improve staff-patients interpersonal relationships. The woman who decided to stop drinking after being aware of the risk of having liver disease or  felt proud after she quit drinking completely is an example of social learning theory (Bandura, 1977). The importance of communicating effectively is shown in the hospital appointment scenario where the doctor was devoid of good communication skills. He is an example of a poor communicator who appears to have used his position of power in his ‘closed’ questioning style. Shukla et al. (2010) that ‘good doctor-patient communication has a positive impact’ on patients reactions to consultations. For example, it improves patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction. In fact, doctors who are patient-focused have a been reported by patients to have a good quality of care (op.cit). The present scenario shows that interpersonal skills are lacking resulting in the patient’s apparent dissatisfaction with treatment. In the scenario the doctor did not recap to the patient, and there was no active listening and relationship between them (Moss, 2012). Classical conditioning theory is also used to change and improve peoples’ behaviour. This can be used in setting with the mentor and mentee. It is learning by association. For example learning to feel upset at the sight of flashing police lights in your rearview mirror. It is applied in health and social care, by making sure service users, their relatives, visitors etc. receive quality care and services so that they can respond positively regarding the kind of care and services that was render to them by health and social care workers. Classical conditioning process remains significant today for various applications, including transformation and mental health treatment. Classical conditioning is often used to treat anxiety, panic disorder and phobias (Pavlov, 1927). Skinner’s (1938) model of operant conditioning often is a effective way of changing behaviour by reinforcement. For example when a child is rewarded for achieving a higher grade at school or when a baby is crying and chocolate is given to the baby and the baby stop crying. And any time the baby cries and chocolate is given to the baby, the baby will d stop crying. It is applied in health and social care workplace, whereby a mentor will give a mentee a constructive and encouraging feedback and advice e.g. a  general practitioner (GP) giving a patient a constructive feedback and advice from the patient medical condition enquiries (Nevid, 2008). Michie (2006) stated that different skills can be used to promote effective communication in health and social care. Therefore, health and social care workers must be able to communicate effectively with patients, there is need for them to understand how patients feel and the things they want and need. They need to be able to respond to patients concerns and questions in ways that can be understood and they need to be able to communicate effectively with their managers, colleagues, visitor and other professionals. For example, they need to be able to pass on information which others can understood and to understand instructions by communicating clearly, slowly, concisely and avoid using jargons when giving instructions of medication intake to service users. For example, in the hospital scenario when there was no personal relationship between the doctor and the patient (Bastable, 2008). According Moonie (2005) health and social care workers must understand the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication in order to communicate with service users. Non-verbal communication comprises the use of signs and pictures, body language such as facial expressions, posture, eye contact, and gestures. Health and social care workers need to be an active listeners, and let service users have their right to communicate their needs and preference and to make decisions and choices to improve the quality of their life. There may be obstacles to effective doctor-patient relationship, when a doctor does not aid open communication with a patient. For example, when a patient does not understand medical terminology, or believe the doctor has not really listened and therefore, does not have the information to make good treatment decisions. The doctor should sit down, maintain eye contact, listen without interrupting and explain and restore confidence during test (Hill, 2011). Another area to be examined in health and social care is interpersonal communication, which is the process by which people exchange information, feelings, and meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages; it is  face-to-face communication. Interpersonal communication is not what is actually said or the language used, but how it is convey and the non-verbal messages pass through tone of facial expressions, body language, gestures and voice. Discrimination can cause inappropriate interpersonal communication in health and social care environment, because people often feel that they belong to certain types of group whom they share same view, look similar and who m they think alike. Health and social care workers must have to be interested in learning about other people, they should not divide service users into group, and must not exclude them from receiving quality care services because they belong to a different ethnic group, religion, culture, gender or age group or because of the ir sexuality. Stereotype is another factor that can cause inappropriate interpersonal communication. carers may make assumptions about their patients based on stereotyped thinking, this may be barriers to effective communication in health and social care workplace. For example, health and social care worker, working with elderly people, may decided to wash and dress an older service user without asking her what she want or need because the carer feel she is old and she can remember anything â€Å"old people do not remember† (Downs and Adrian, 2004). In health and social care sector, there are different strategies healthcare professionals can use to support service users with particular communication needs (e.g. SOLER technique, and Braille) have been put in place to help those with mental and physical disabilities to overcome communication barriers. Braille is a system of communication based on raised marks that can be read by the visual impair people. SOLER is a non-verbal listening technique used in communication; face the other squarely, adopt an open posture, lean towards other, maintain eye contact and relax. Health and social professionals may come across a number of patients at workplace who speak different language rather than English, have disabilities which may affect their speech. These service users may need respective approach and specific needs, service users can be complemented by communication skills and technological aids. For example, when a carer is communicating with a patient with visual impairment, closed personal space is required so that health care professionals and service users, can develop closer  relationships in order to convey accurate message. Health care professionals have to use technological support (e.g. screen enlarger and text-to-speech devices). And also pictures, diagrams, written information printed in big characters with illustrations can be use to assist service users with communication difficulties (Weiten et al., 2011). It is imperative for health and social care workers to have a knowledge base of cultural diversity. Differences can occur in attitudes, norms of behaviour; high (Chinese, Thai and Japanese), medium (English, French, Italian, Spanish) and low (North Americans, Germans, Swiss) context cultures can influence how health and social care professionals interact with service users to achieve good communication relations and quality care services. High context cultures convey a limited portion of the meaning of words, which must be interpreted in terms of how it is being said, where it is being said, and the body language of the speaker. Medium context cultures convey a fair portion of the meaning of words. It depends the context in which the message is delivered. Low context cultures convey most of the meaning of words in the communication. Understanding differences and similarities within and between cultures can also improve staff relationship in health and social care sector. People learn the values, customs and norms of their culture through communication, the cultural values are impacted in the way that people speak, perceive and interpret the words. In order to prevent misunderstanding in health and social care sector, cultural diversity must be understood and accepted (Rasheed et al., 2010). Culture has specific symbols consisting of verbal symbols, non-verbal symbols, language, symbols and signs. We know that we are product of many cultures and traditions, that mutual respect allows us to learn from other cultures, culture can become clearest in well-meaning clashes e.g. interacting with people from different backgrounds. Each may behave ‘normally’ as far as their own culture is concerned, but not as judged by the other culture (Bastable, 2008). Working in the health care sector, it is fundamental that facets of confidentiality are understood and applied by employers and employees. By understanding legislation and Code of Practice averts misuse of confidential  objects by professionals working in the health care sector. Therefore it is the duty of employees to stick to these rules in order to encourage good practice. Not abiding to these principles can lead to patient disappointment and lack of trust in health care services. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 (DH, 2012) outlines the changes of NHS system which is the replacement of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and the responsibilities of the clinical commissioning groups, who are GPs and other clinicians, to allow greater liability for using local resources economically under the support of NHS Commissioning Board. This Act aims at incorporated and more available service provision placing the need of local people and patient in the middle, which would reduce pointless costs and time devoted during the administration work. Equality Act 2010 protects people who have different characteristic on the ground of disability, race, marriage status, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation from being discriminated in the case of employment, perception, association, payment, access to health care and social services and so on (Walsh et at. 2011). This legislation and code of practice are implemented as guidelines for the professionals to produce effective work-relationship. Also, health and social care provider should respect religious and cultural diversity of the service users and implement an equal advance towards the disabled people as a good organisational practice. The Charter for Communication place the right of people with a communication impairment in terms of information, support and training, time to speak, right of entry to services, addition in social networks, and services from employers. Due to this Charter, health and social care service providers and general public have been able to adopt and develop suitable method of communication, such as providing choices of booking a GP visits, allocating experienced staff with balancing communication tools in reception area, or offering additional time to value the needs of people with communication complexities (Walsh et al., 2011). It is the responsibility of employers and staffs working in the health care sector to be familiar with policies and procedures. It is also important that they know who to report to in situations of improbability. Health and social care workers must be able to direct those in their care to  professional organisations who can offer advice and support to people experiencing various difficulties. When employees adhere to the policy and system of an organisation, this will enhance the safety of employees and service users within the health care organisation. For example, the confidentiality policy which stated that people personal information should be protected and process fairly at all time, service users personal details must be protected by health and social care workers (Moss, 2012). The Care Quality Commission (CQC) controls all health and adult social care services in England including those provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies or voluntary organisation. The CQC makes sure that necessary standards of quality of care and safety are being met where care is provided, from hospitals to private care homes. The CQC make sure better care is provided for everyone in the hospital, care homes, own homes or elsewhere. When communication is supported through organisational policies and staff training, this will create a safe working environment for service provider and service users, and it will also improve the communication skills of health care professionals and service users fulfilment (Hill, 2011). In health and social care sector, there are different techniques that have been put in place to develop the communication process in the health and social care sector. Communication can be blocked if people differences are not understood. For example when people don’t get the message, include visual disabilities, hearing disabilities, environments, and speaking from too far away and when people cannot make sense of their messages e.g. the use of different languages, the use of different terms, such as jargons (technical language) and slang (using different terms) in health and social care workplace. Health and social care workers need to be trained in the areas of identifying barriers and how to improve the communication processes in health and social care in order to be able to provide quality care service for the service users. For example, health and social care workers should avoid using jargons and slang to communicate in health and social care organisation in order to avoid communication barriers (Moonie, 2005). Since I started health and social care management course, I have developed new uses for information communication technology (ICT) and the benefits are worth the effort and has resulted in major improvement in my area of work, not just for providing quality service for the service users, but also for the benefit of me and my work team. With the use of information communication technology (ICT), I can now check information about patient care by assessing the modern email system which is the fastest and secured way of exchanging information, and to support a patient-centred care approach for older people and people with long term condition by electronically enabling single assessment process (e-SAP). I also use information communication technology (ICT) to improve, more consistent monitor and record service users conditions. For example, by using electronic mat to monitor the movement of a confuse patient, that will immediately alert me when the patient stood on. The electronic mat is always spread by the side of the patient bed, and the buzzer will sound when the patient stood on it. I use information communication technology (ICT) to get better information to support and improved my performances (Moonie, 2010). Over the last three decades in health and social care settings, huge benefits has been achieved by the use of information communication technology (ICT) by users of services care workers and care organisations. Service users can benefit from information communication technology (ICT) by the use of Electronic Health Record that will give them information about their health record held by their General Practitioner (GP) or their health care professionals, in order for them to be able to take control and participate in their care, so that they can receive treatment at the right time. Service users can also benefit from the use of information communication technology (ICT) by using e-prescribing that will help service users to collect their medication straight from the pharmacy without waste of time, errors in dispensing (such as wrong drug or contraindicated drug) and it eliminate hard-to-read handwritten prescriptions. Care workers and care organisations can benefit from the enhance performance of quality services delivered by the use of information communication technology (ICT). For example, the breakdown to barriers to communication and information exchange between health care workers and the organisation through electronic systems, and the use of Clinical Decision Support System also help  clinicians to support the decisions of other professionals (Rafferty and Steyaet, 2007). However, there are legal consideration in the use of information communication technology (ICT) in relating to Data Protection Act 1998, which stated that service users information must be confidential and should not be disclosed, and can only be disclose to certain people e.g. Social worker, General Practitioner (GP), Police etc. The employers have a legal duty under Health and Safety at work Act etc 1974 to safeguard, so far as is ‘reasonably practicable’, the health, safety and welfare of their employees and others who may be affected by the work activity, and provide and maintain safe equipment and safe systems of work. Employers must also carry out risk assessment and have a written health and safety policy ( if there are five or more staff), display health and safety poster etc. The employees must take care of themselves and other and follow safety advice and instructions. Workers who use computers for long periods of time are prone to health problems, this is why it is important to understand health and safety at work because it can lead to mental disorder, nausea, fatigue etc (Lash, 2002). This assignment explored communication skills and how different factors influence the communication process, and theories of communication have been applied to health and social care together with the use of information technology in health and social care. References Bandura, A. (1977) Social learning theory. New York: Prentice Hall. Bastable, S. B. (2008) Nurse as educator: Principles of teaching and learning for nursing practice. 3rd ed. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Downs, C. W. and Adrian, A. D. 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