Should Alternative Dispute Resolution be Made Compulsory?

Should Alternative Dispute Resolution be Made Compulsory? Introduction. It is a sad fact of life that disputes can and do arise from even the most trivial incidents and activities. They are always totally unexpected and usually highly predictable.[1] For a long time, people have been worried about civil litigation. It is costly, time consuming, worrying and takes a long time to decide.[2] Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a term which refers to various procedures developed in the United States over the last 15 years or so in an attempt to overcome some of the weaknesses in the litigation and arbitration processes.[3] This essay will look at Alternative Dispute Resolution in England. I will start by looking at the concept of Alternative dispute resolution. I will briefly examine Lord Phillip’s speech delivered in India on 29 March 2008. Finally, I will give my views on whether Alternative Dispute Resolution should be made compulsory in England and the problems that would be encountered if Alternative Dispute Resolution is made compulsory in England. Alternative Dispute Resolution A focus on rights has played a significant part in the transformation of Western political culture from the harmony ideology of feudal societies in to 20th century participatory democracy. However, 30 years on from the birth of the civil rights movement in the United States, there are those who now express scepticism over the achievements of a rights oriented public culture.[4] As a consequence, some now propose a rethinking of rights ideology, as both a method of dispute resolution and a definition of social relations, and the development of alternative process for dealing with conflicts and claims.[5] Such strategies are generally described as offering alternatives, since adjudication according to rights remains the formal approach to dispute resolution in the west.[6] In common law jurisdictions, conversation about alternatives to litigation began to take institutional shape from the early 1980’s, in a range of disparate experimental procedures sharing the common label ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution’, with its universal acronym ADR.[7] The relationship of this growing complex of practices to lawyer negotiations, litigation and adjudication is far from straight forward. Some of the innovations taking place are directed towards speedy settlement of disputes between litigants without the involvement of lawyers, others appear to be implicated in, and are indeed extensions of legal practice, while others appear as supplements to, or modifications of court process.[8] The English Legal System is based on the adversarial system of litigation. This means that both sides to a case separately prepare their respective submissions and then arrive at court and participate in a quasi-gladiatorial contest until the tribunal of fact (in civil trials this usually being a judge) pronounces the winner.[9] In recent times, there is now been an acceptance that alternatives to the adversarial system of justice may be appropriate due to the high cost involved in the adversarial system of justice. One of the easiest alternatives to implement is to encourage disputes to be resolved other than by recourse to litigation. This has led to the establishment of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).[10] Since 1990, many British lawyers, have taken an active interest in ADR, as a means of avoiding the public and private expense and the private pain of litigation.[11] The increased importance of ADR mechanisms has been signalled in both legislation and court procedures. For example the Commercial Court issued a practice statement in 1993, stating that it wished to encourage ADR, and followed this in 1996 with a further direction allowing judges to consider whether a case is suitable for ADR at its outset, and to invite the parties to attempt a neutral non-court settlement of their dispute.[12] In cases in the Court of Appeal, the Master of the Rolls now writes to the parties, urging them to consider ADR and asking them for their reasons for declining to use it. Rule 26.4 of the Civil Procedure rules (CPR) 1998 enables judges, either on their own account or at the agreement of both parties, to stop court proceedings where they consider the dispute to be best suited to solution by some alternative procedure, such as arbitration or mediation.[13] There is no universally accepted definition of ADR. The phrase ADR encompasses a range of procedures other than litigation which are designed to resolve conflicts. ADR processes include negotiation, mediation, conciliation, expert determination, adjudication, and arbitration.[14] Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR may be defined, ‘’as a range of procedures that serve as alternatives to litigation through courts for the resolution of disputes, generally involving the intercession and assistance of a neutral and impartial third party. In some definitions, and more commonly it excludes all forms of adjudication.[15] The Department for Constitutional Affairs defines ADR as , ‘’ The collective term for the ways that parties can settle civil disputes, with the help of an independent third party and without the need for a formal court hearing.[16] There are three principle forms of ADR. Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation. Some commentators argue that ADR can be divided in to two classes, those being adjudicative and consensual.[17] The former is called arbitration, and it is quite similar to court proceedings and this has led critics to ask, if there is anything alternative about ADR.[18] Four goals of ADR are : To relieve court congestion, as well as undue delay and cost; to enhance community involvement in the dispute resolution process; to facilitate access to justice and finally; to provide more effective dispute resolution.[19] Lord Phillip is a staunch supporter of Alternative Dispute Resolution. I believe that he wants ADR to be made compulsory in England Conclusion. Alternative Dispute Resolution no doubt has many advantages. There is a chance that you may quickly resolve your problem and you may be awarded compensation. The procedure is less formal court proceedings. In some cases, the decision may be binding on one of the parties, but not on the other party, thereby leaving one party free to pursue the matter through the court if he wishes. Alternative Dispute Resolution is usually much cheaper than going to court and the procedure is confidential. ADR will be difficult in disputes between more than two parties, where the parties have not already contracted for a consolidated arbitration and the parties will not agree to arbitration, going to court is potentially the only way of getting interlocking disputes resolved by the same tribunal.[20] A party that is proposing to enter a number of related contracts should particularly bear this situation at the drafting stage. There are two specific aspects to the matter. First, the related contracts should provide for an identical scheme of dispute resolution otherwise that party may find itself involves mediation or arbitration or litigation depending on which other party is involved.[21] Secondly, the drafting must address the need for multi party proceedings, and establish a back to back set of contractual obligations for this purpose. A difference in the powers at different levels will make the mufti-party proceeding very difficult to conduct.[22] If these two aspects of the matter are not addressed, the parties will be better off, with litigation as the fall back method of dispute resolution.[23] Where a number of actions raise substantially similar issues, such that a decision in one of them will probably enable the parties in the others to compromise their dispute, litigation is likely to be preferable[24]. Where there is a difficult question of interpretation of common form contract, or of the application of a common form of contract to some event which affects a large number of similar contracts or the operation of a market, it may well be preferable to obtain an authoritative ruing of the courts on the point.[25] In numerous jurisdictions, legislation ensures that in the case of a consumer dispute, where the terms upon which the consumer purchased the goods or services includes an arbitration clause, the consumer has a choice of whether to take his dispute to arbitration or litigation.[26] Bibliography Bevan, A.H (1992) Alternative Dispute Resolution, Sweet Maxwell, London Brown, H Marriott, A (1999) ADR Principles and Practice, Sweet Maxwell, London d’Ambrumenil, P.L (1998) What is Dispute Resolution, LLP Referencing Publishing, London Darbyshire, P (1992) English Legal System, Seventh Edition, Sweet Maxwell, London Elliot, C Quinn, F (2005) English Legal System, Sixth Edition, Pearson, Harlow Fiadjoe, A (2004) Alternative Dispute Resolution: A developing world perspective, Cavendish, London. Frank, E (2003) How Arbitration Works, Sixth Edition, Bureau of National Affairs, Washington D.C Freeman, M (ed.) (2006) Alternative Dispute Resolution, Dartmouth Publishing, Aldershot Gillespie, A (2007) The English Legal System, Oxford University Press, Oxford Lord, Phillips (2008) Alternative Dispute Resolution: An English View Point, can be assessed at http://innertemplelibrary.wordpress.com/2008/04/04/alternative-dispute-resolution-an-english-viewpoint-judiciary-of-england-and-wales/> MacFarlane, J, (ed.) (1997) Rethinking Disputes: The Mediation Alternative, Cavendish, London Palmer, M Roberts, S (1998) Dispute Processes, ADR and the Primary Forms of Decision Making, Butterworths, London Petley, M (1992) Alternative Dispute Resolution: An Introduction, College of Law, London Slapper, G Kelly, D (2003) The English Legal System, Cavendish, London Tweeddale, A and Tweeddale, K (2005) Arbitration of Commercial Disputes, Oxford University Press, Oxford Tackaberry, J Marriott, A (2003) Bernstein’s Handbook of Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, Sweet Maxwell, London 1 Footnotes [1] d’Ambrumenil, (1998) p.5 [2] Bevan (1992) p.2 [3] Bevan, (ibid) p.2 [4] MccFarlane, J (1997) p.1 [5] MccFarlane, J (ibid) p.2 [6] MccFarlane, J (ibid) p.2 [7] Palmer, M Roberts, S (1998) p.2 [8] Palmer, M Roberts, S (ibid) p.2 [9] Gillespie, A (2007) p.469 [10] Gillespie, A (ibid) p.470 [11] Darbyshire, P (1992) p.12 [12] Slapper, G Kelly, D (2003) p.314 [13] Slapper, G Kelly, D (ibid) p.314 [14] Tweeddale, A Tweeddale, K (2005) [15] Brown, H Marriott, A (1999) p.12 [16] citied in Gillespie, A (ibid) p.470 [17] Shipman, 2006 p.182 cited in Gillespie, A (ibid) p.470 [18] Boon and Levin, 1999, p.373 Gillespie, A (ibid) p.470 [19] Freeman, M (2006) p.98 [20] Tackaberry, J Marriott, A (2003)p.22 [21] Tackaberry, J Marriott, A (ibid)p.23 [22] Tackaberry, J Marriott, A (ibid)p.23 [23] Tackaberry, J Marriott, A (ibid)p.23 [24] Tackaberry, J Marriott, A (ibid)p.23 [25] Tackaberry, J Marriott, A (ibid)p.23-24 [26] Tackaberry, J Marriott, A (ibid)p.24

Role of Politics in Police Decision Making

Role of Politics in Police Decision Making Should politics play a role in police administration decision making? This question has evolved over the years. Both concepts are interrelated but separate entities and yet they overlap in purpose. The term politics can mean a range of things depending on perspective and the situation. In terms of police politics the meaning of politics depends on the particular law enforcement organization or the size of the administration. In general, the term politics refers to the processes involved in governing a country or organization. Police administration â€Å"administration activities that control, direct, and coordinate police personnel, resources and activities in the service of crime prevention, apprehension of criminals, the recovery of stolen property and the performance of a variety of regulatory and helping services† (Schmalleger 97). Police administration is the delicate management and ethical leadership of a law enforcement organization. Administration involves selection and hire of officers and support staff, policy’s, relationships with the community, stress and health management, working with fellow agencies, and dealing with the political aspects of each. Politics and policing have evolved over the past century and a half from four main eras in American Policing. The Political Era, reform Era, Community Era, and the New Era. The Political Era occurred between 1840 and 1930 and was marked by a drastic changes in social order and by law enforcement doing the bidding of politicians. The Reform Era occurred between 1930 and the 1970s was known for traditional crime fighting and the removal of politics from law enforcement and from police being the lap dogs of the political elite. The Community Era occurred between 1970s and present day and it focused on community involvement in law enforcement. Finally the New Era overlaps with the Community Era between 2001 and present day focuses on large scale threats involving terrorism and political campaigns on mass surveillance (Schmalleger 100-101). Decision making is a main component of being an elected official or police chief and understanding the politics of the community is part of making the correct decisions. This due mainly to the how the leadership of city’s are structured. Society elects congressman, mayors and other political figures to create and put in place laws and policy’s to maintain order and make sure that public money is well spent in the process. One of the purposes of the law enforcement is to make sure those laws and policy’s are followed. Harold Lasswell defined politics as who gets what, when and how (Schaefer 196). Politics involves the controlling of power and with that power comes control and influence over people and organizations. Society often debates the approach of more police or less police. The deployment of more officers into high crime areas is a common political move. There are two main divisions of police politics personal politics and community politics. Personal politics deals mainly with internal influences in the law enforcement organization such as who gets promoted and why. The second is community politics which deals directly with the external control and delegation of the department. A fundamental value of our society is that policing should be subject to and under some control of the public. (Alpert, Dunham 96). Since the management above the Police Chief is generally the Mayor and city council both are involved in making decisions. The mayor of a city or town is elected by the community. The mayor then hires an impartial, outside firm, to interview and then hire the Chief of Police when the position is vacant. Below the Chief of Police in the chain if command is a deputy chief and various captains, in charge of patrol officers. A Police Chiefs actions are directly scrutinized by the mayor. Modern policing combines the local community and police officers into community policing. The purpose is to combine resources to combat and prevent crime and increase the level of everyday life. Many of these changes are are in response to community’s greater involvement in the political arena and the louder voicing of concerns (Carter 7). The internet has played a large part in these movements largely in part due to social media. People are able to voice a concern, spread an agenda, and even display police brutality throughout the world. A witness to a crime or abuse of power that can upload a video to Youtube for the whole world to see, brings a lot of attention to issues in the past might have been kept quiet or covered up. Most non-specific crimes occur without regard to race, ethnicity, age, gender or lifestyle and because crime is one political factor that everyone can agree on, many cities will spend money for crime prevention and incarceration even with tight budgets (Carter 8). If the mayor or campaigning politician of a city says that taxes need to be raised to hire more officers, or pay for equipment, its an easier sell than saying taxes need to be raised to decorate a city, or build a new stadium. In such a situation the tax raise would gain support, even if after the fact the money is used elsewhere, often the pockets of the political elite. Society is more likely to pay attention to a car accident or shooting as opposed to a rare bird flying over head. Violent crimes stand out, and that leads to more media exposure and curiosity. This also gives politicians more speaking ammunition for various political initiatives that are supposed to modify crime rates in some fashion. Politicians use community policing as another means to relate to their constituents, because by supporting various anti crime initiatives they are able to bond with the community, whether they actually are apart of the community or not. Its simply another measure to become elected and gain power. Political campaigns often use the guise of a new approach(s) on crime to gain support by promising to provide better services to the publicincreasing the quality of life (Carter 10). This is not to say that a politicians proposal isnt valid, but certainly if the approach doesnt succeed, their support will drop, and all that will be achieved is a politicians appointment, and subsequent battle for reelection against someone with similar promises. The police administration cant just make decisions that they feel are best without the taking into account the political views of the community. When or if they do they are either overridden by powers higher up, or state attorneys refuse to prosecute or simply override their decisions. Since political views and police administration are directly intertwined one will have an affect on the other. If a police administration failed to act or respond to a crime or issue under their purview, there would be a backlash from the community. Without political support, law enforcement decisions would fall flat. Decision making in police organizations is a tedious, often politically motivated and a very complicated process. The reasoning behind decisions must be sound and rational and free of bias. Whenever a decision in law enforcement administration is made, the chief or top level management has to be aware of different points of view, if the choice being made intuition or emotional feelings, w hat the ramifications will be, what will be accomplished. (Morreale 2) One of the most politically polarizing issues in recent years, and best examples of politics and police administration clashing, has been the New York Citys Stop and Frisk policy. The stop and frisk policy involves randomly detaining individuals, the majority of which are of non-Caucasian ethnic descent, on the street while police search them for contraband such as drugs and weapons. The NYC police department engages in the stop and frisk tactics without any legal motivation, such as genuine suspicion of committing a crime, but that is part of the problem (Peltz). The law allows police to engage in these tactics simply by believing someone has or will commit a crime, but that doesnt meet probable cause standards and â€Å"88 percent of the stops resulted in neither arrests nor tickets† (Peltz). Even if the political reason behind the crime was well intended, it has been used to racial profile people that haven’t committed crimes. This is an example of policing and polit ics that don’t mix because the practice was encouraged and set up by the mayor and carried out by police and in this particular case both sides were wrong since its an abuse of power on both sides. Generally it is against the code of a city or town to advertise or do campaign work of any type while on duty. Take a patrol officer for example, if he was campaigning while on duty, he wouldn’t be serving or protecting. Hed be using city taxes which pay for his salary to promote or bash a particular campaign. This behavior would should a bias for or against a candidate and would look as if the city supported that officers political views. An officer is certainly allowed to campaign while off duty, on his or her own time, as long as it does not breach a code of professionalism. Even when political campaigning is carried out while off duty there can be professional repercussions for an individuals beliefs and objectives. A couple examples of political campaigns and the retaliation suffered is apparent in the following stories. In Missoula County located in Montana, a $120,000 settlement was reached in favor of sheriff’s deputies who alleged retaliation because of their plans to run for sheriff and under sheriff. Detective Sgt. T.J. McDermott and running mate Detective Jason Johnson were subjected to a hostile working environment simply because of their campaign objectives (Haake). In another case in Cook County, Illinois, a $2.4 million lawsuit was settled between 21 deputies. The 21 deputies brought the lawsuit against Tom Dart because they were unfairly treated and even denied promotions when they backed his political opponent when he was running [for] sheriff in 2006 (Sun Times Media). Ideally politics shouldnt play a roll in police administration, but more often than not they do because its simply unavoidable. You cant really ever separate an elected or appointed official from the political machine because part of their position requires the taking of sides and support of an agenda. The sensitive nature of balancing the needs and values of a small community, city or large metropolis are always in flux. What was needed five, ten, or fifteen years ago may not work in todays society. Whats needed in a particular area of the community or by a particular culture may be different than what is required by others. Society evolves and changes and so do the types of crimes committed within them. The political landscape and the police administration must adapt to meet the needs of the ever changing people for which they serve. Works Cited Schmalleger, Frank. Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction. 9th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print. Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology Matters. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print. Reed, Wilson Edward. The Politics of Community Policing: The Case of Seattle. New York: Garland Pub., 1999. Print. Alpert, Geoffrey P., Roger G. Dunham, and Meghan S. Stroshine. Policing: Continuity and Change. Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2006. Print. Haake, Kathryn. Missoula County Pays $120K to 2 Deputies in Discrimination Settlement. Missoulian.com. Http://missoulian.com/, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. http://missoulian.com/news/local/missoula-county-pays-k-to-deputies-in-discrimination- settlement/article_d28b2df4-9a9b-11e3-9fc4-0019bb2963f4.html>. Cook County to Settle Deputies Suit vs. Sheriff Tom Dart for $2.4M.89 WLS, Chicagos Talk Leader. Sun-Times Media, LLC, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. http://www.wlsam.com/common/page.php?pt=Cook+County+to+settle+deputies %27+suit+vs.+Sheriff+Tom+Dart+for+%242.4Mid=85483is_corp=0>. Mahr, Joe, and Christy Gutowski. 7 DuPage Deputies Sue Sheriff, Alleging Retaliation.Chicago Tribune. N.p., 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-11-22/news/ct-dupage-sheriff-lawsuit-met- 1122-20131122_1_federal-lawsuit-16-year-sheriff-john-zaruba>. CARTER, DAVID L. POLITICS AND COMMUNITY POLICING: VARIABLES OF CHANGE THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT. JSTOR. Southern Public Administration Education Foundation, Inc. (SPAEF), 1995. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40861642>. Morreale, Stephen A. Join Academia.edu Share Your Research with the World.Elements of Decision-making in Police Organizations. Stephen A. Morreale, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. http://www.academia.edu/778699/Elements_of_Decision- making_in_Police_Organizations>. Peltz, Jennifer. NYC Stop-And-Frisk Controversy.The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/nyc-stop-and-frisk-a-decade-rising- numbers_n_1970951.html>.

The Pride of Sophocles Oedipus The King Essay -- Oedipus the King Oe

The Pride of Sophocles' Oedipus The King      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Greek tragedy is characterized by the emotional catharsis brought about by the horrific suffering of a heroic figure. In Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, the onslaught of pain assailing the protagonist is a result of his tragic flaw. Sophocles often used a characters hamartia to alter or influence the outcome or future of the hero. Oedipus' hubris traps him to fulfil the oracle and intensifies his punishment.    Oedipus' pride is an innate characteristic. Even before his glory and power as King of Thebes he allowed his conceit to cloud his judgement and rule his actions. Unknowingly, Oedipus fulfills Apollo's oracle when he encounters a band of men at a crossroad. The driver offends Oedipus as he brushes by, inciting Oedipus' anger. Although the contact is just a slight intrusion, Oedipus, outraged that someone would have the gall to trouble him "paid them back with interest" and "killed everyone of them, every mother's son". In hindsight as he recounts the incident to Jocasta he is not remorseful for the loss of life nor for his part in the crime.   Instead, Oedipus' tone is one of satisfaction that he got revenge. Had his arrogance not interfered, Oedipus would not have made the rash decision to kill all of the party and would not have satisfied the prophecy.      Oedipus' self-confidence blinds him to the impossibility evading fate predestined by the gods. Dramatic irony is present when Oedipus tries to skirt the horrible prophecy of him killing his father and coupling with his mother, because in fleeing Corinth to avoid murdering Polybus, he is taking steps that will realize the prophecy. Again his overconfidence contributes to the impending doom; in believing t... ...o torture the shepherd, "So you won't talk willingly - then you'll talk with pain".   Oedipus' cruelty indeed literally squeezes his own demise out of the shepherd: "You're a dead man is I have to ask again".   Again, Oedipus is blind to the subtle hints the shepherd leaves for Oedipus to decipher.   Until now, Oedipus's pride has blinded him from the truth and from seeing other's intentions; he has been stubborn.        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     When isolated, each of these events may be excused as a simple mistake, but a pattern emerges when viewed as a whole.   The tragic outcome of Oedipus' life is caused by his underlying character flaw - pride.   However, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he becomes aware of his fault and accepts responsibility for his actions.    Works Cited Sophocles.   The Three Theban Plays (pp.159-251). Penguin Classics.New York, New York:1984. The Pride of Sophocles' Oedipus The King Essay -- Oedipus the King Oe The Pride of Sophocles' Oedipus The King      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Greek tragedy is characterized by the emotional catharsis brought about by the horrific suffering of a heroic figure. In Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, the onslaught of pain assailing the protagonist is a result of his tragic flaw. Sophocles often used a characters hamartia to alter or influence the outcome or future of the hero. Oedipus' hubris traps him to fulfil the oracle and intensifies his punishment.    Oedipus' pride is an innate characteristic. Even before his glory and power as King of Thebes he allowed his conceit to cloud his judgement and rule his actions. Unknowingly, Oedipus fulfills Apollo's oracle when he encounters a band of men at a crossroad. The driver offends Oedipus as he brushes by, inciting Oedipus' anger. Although the contact is just a slight intrusion, Oedipus, outraged that someone would have the gall to trouble him "paid them back with interest" and "killed everyone of them, every mother's son". In hindsight as he recounts the incident to Jocasta he is not remorseful for the loss of life nor for his part in the crime.   Instead, Oedipus' tone is one of satisfaction that he got revenge. Had his arrogance not interfered, Oedipus would not have made the rash decision to kill all of the party and would not have satisfied the prophecy.      Oedipus' self-confidence blinds him to the impossibility evading fate predestined by the gods. Dramatic irony is present when Oedipus tries to skirt the horrible prophecy of him killing his father and coupling with his mother, because in fleeing Corinth to avoid murdering Polybus, he is taking steps that will realize the prophecy. Again his overconfidence contributes to the impending doom; in believing t... ...o torture the shepherd, "So you won't talk willingly - then you'll talk with pain".   Oedipus' cruelty indeed literally squeezes his own demise out of the shepherd: "You're a dead man is I have to ask again".   Again, Oedipus is blind to the subtle hints the shepherd leaves for Oedipus to decipher.   Until now, Oedipus's pride has blinded him from the truth and from seeing other's intentions; he has been stubborn.        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     When isolated, each of these events may be excused as a simple mistake, but a pattern emerges when viewed as a whole.   The tragic outcome of Oedipus' life is caused by his underlying character flaw - pride.   However, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he becomes aware of his fault and accepts responsibility for his actions.    Works Cited Sophocles.   The Three Theban Plays (pp.159-251). Penguin Classics.New York, New York:1984.

Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky :: Theories on Cognitive Development Process

Cognition is the process involved in thinking and mental activity, such as attention, memory and problem solving. In this essay on cognitive development I will compare and contrast the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, who were both influential in forming a more scientific approach to analyzing the cognitive development process of the child active construction of knowledge. (Flanagan 1996 P.72). I will then evaluate the usefulness of these theories in understanding a child's development. Both Piaget and Vygotsky agreed that children's cognitive development took place in stages. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.149). However they were distinguished by different styles of thinking. Piaget was the first t reveal that children reason and think differently at different periods in their lives. He believed that all children progress through four different and very distinct stages of cognitive development. This theory is known as Piaget’s Stage Theory because it deals with four stages of development, which are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. (Ginsburg, Opper 1979 P. 26). In the first stage sensorimotor, which occurs from birth to the age of two is the time in an infant’s life when the child basically deals with what is presented to him. They learn about physical objects and are concerned with motor skills and the consequences of some of their actions. (Thomson, Meggit 1997 P.107). During this stage children will learn the concept of object permanence. This is where an object will continue to exist even if it is out of sight. (Ginsburg, Opper 1979 P.48) The preoperational stage last from two to seven years. In this stage it becomes possible to carry on a conversation with a child and they also learn to count and use the concept of numbers. This stage is divided into the preoperational phase and the intuitive phase. Children in the preoperational phase are preoccupied with verbal skills and try to make sense of the world but have a much less sophisticated mode of thought than adults. In the intuitive phase the child moves away from drawing conclusions based upon concrete experiences with objects. One problem, which identifies children in this stage, is the inability to cognitively conserve relevant spatial information. This is when, when a material is manipulated and no longer matches the cognitive image that a child has made, that child believes the amount of material has been altered instead of just its shape. (Jarvis, Chandler 2001 P.

Racism in Schools Essay

Some people seem to think racism in schools died out a long time ago. This statement couldn’t be more wrong. Racism in the learning environment is more evident than ever, and it needs to be stopped because it affects the way students learn and their success. There are many stories and incidents where discrimination has occurred and the effects they have had on students. Take the art teacher from Chicago for example. During class one day, some students spilled paint on the teacher’s jacket. She became very angry and said,†? all Mexicans are criminals, and you were born to scrub floors† The teacher was rightfully fired from her job. It was decided by the Board of Education in Chicago that all the teachers will need to undergo â€Å"sensitivity training†. They don’t need to learn how to be sensitive, what teachers need to know is to accept everyone as equal. There can be no discrimination in schools because is disrupts the learning environment. There are many stories and accounts of racism in schools against African Americans. They range from the little things such as telling the black boy to throw out his gum but let the white boy chew it, to moving all the black kids to the back of the class. There is one story about a white male teacher who called a black student â€Å"nigger†. The boy was walking into the English class one day, and the teacher told him to â€Å"sit down nigga! † The teacher claims that because he hears the students calling each other that casually in the hallways all the time, it gives him a right to also use the word. He says he used the term â€Å"nigga† instead of â€Å"nigger† because they are two completely different words and he would never use â€Å"nigger† against someone. Consequently, the teacher was fired for racial discrimination. The racism that teachers put onto their students causes low expectations from black kids. Because they have had so many negative experiences in school, they lack the motivation and confidence to do well. It was found in a review of research about teacher expectations that teachers hold more negative attitudes about black students’ ability, language, behavior and potential, than they do of white students’. There are reports of black students scoring lower in reading assessments than white students. This could be the cause of black students not trying because they are not confident in themselves. It was also found that black kids receive more severe punishments than white kids for the same offense, and they are more likely to be suspended from schools. There are also accounts of minority parents feeling that they have had less positive experience while visiting their kids’ schools than white parents. There are reports from the minority parents about the discipline problems. Black students do not expect to succeed in the educational world because how can one enjoy it when their whole lives they have been identified as unworthy and incapable. Kids need to be taught about racism and how to avoid discrimination so they do not develop any bias thought about people as they grow up. Some schools are even trying to make racism and cultural diversity part of their curriculum. There is a lot of ignorance surrounding African Americans, Asians, and students of other nationalities and kids need to learn and accept all people. Introducing students to the different cultures that are out there can help them learn better and perform better in school. They would not worry about students getting hurt and would all have the same opportunities. Students would not be concerned with disappointing teachers or receiving punishments that are not appropriate. There are countless accounts of racism occurring in schools all around the country and the world against students and also against teachers. Alison Moore, a black teacher in London, was attacked and knocked unconscious by three white students while leaving her school last year. There is always going to prejudice people present in schools, but there are ways to work around it to help benefit the education of the students. Racism deeply affects the way students learn and how they will see themselves for the rest of their lives. A student’s teacher is one of the most important adult figures in one’s life, and if there are problems in that relationship then there will be problems forever, and no child needs that in their life.

Customer behaviour Essay

What is Electronic Commerce? Commerce – The exchange of commodities, buying and selling, of products and services requiring transportation, from location to location is known as commerce. E-Commerce – From a communications perspective, e-commerce is the delivery of information, products/services or payments via telephone lines, Fax, computer networks or any other means. What is Electronic Commerce? From an online perspective, e-commerce provides the capability of buying and selling products and information on the internet and other online services. It refers to a wide range of online business activities for products and services. Any form of business transaction in which the parties interact electronically rather than by physical exchanges or direct physical contact. Difference between E-Commerce & E-Business Electronic commerce or â€Å"e-Commerce† E-commerce covers online processes that touch customers, suppliers and external partners, including sales, marketing, order taking, delivery, customer service, purchasing of raw materials and supplies for production. More sophisticated system such as flight and hotel reservation system. e-Commerce breaks into two components: Online Shopping – the scope of information and activities that provides the customer with the information they need to conduct business with you and make an informed buying decision. Online Purchasing – the technology infrastructure for the exchange of data and the purchase of a product over the Internet. Online purchasing is a metaphor used in business-to-business e-Commerce for providing customers with an online method of placing an order, submitting a purchase order, or requesting a quotation. E-Business is a super-set of E-Commerce. E-business includes e-commerce but also covers internal processes such as production, inventory management, product development, risk management, finance, and human resources. E-business includes electronic mechanism to distribute information not directly related to buying and selling of goods. Examples: Product specifications, customer testimonials, and product reviews. Purchasing activities on your site, e.g., order forms, shopping carts, and credit card processing. Customers can’t interact directly with the firm. (territory barrier) History of EC The term e-commerce was originally conceived to describe the process of conducting business transactions electronically using technology from the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). These technologies, which first appeared in the late 1970’s, allowed for the exchange of information and the execution of electronic transactions between businesses, typically in the form of electronic purchase orders and invoices. EDI and EFT were the enabling technologies that laid the groundwork for what we now know as e-commerce. The Boston Computer Exchange, a marketplace for used computer equipment started in 1982, was one of the first known examples of e-commerce. Throughout the 1980’s, the proliferation of credit cards, ATM machines and telephone banking was the next step in the evolution of electronic commerce. The birth of companies such as eBay and Amazon (launched in 1994) really began to lead the way in e-commerce. Both eBay and Amazon were among the first to establish prominent e-commerce brands. The most prominent e-commerce categories today are computers, books, office supplies, music, and a variety of electronics. Dell.com,1997 Types of Ecommerce B2B( Business to Business E-commerce) or Inter-Organizational E-commerce B2C(  Business to Consumer E-commerce) C2B( Consumer to Business E-commerce) C2C( Consumer to Consumer E-commerce) or Ecommerce Involving Intermediaries Intra-organizational E-commerce  m-commerce(Mobile E-commerce) Business to Government E-Commerce B2B (Business-to-Business) or inter-organizational Ecommerce Companies doing business with each other such as manufacturers selling to distributors and wholesalers selling to retailers. Pricing is based on quantity of order and is often negotiable. B2B is used to improve business relationship among orgz. (invoices, cheques, purchase orders, financial reports) are in electronic for. For Example: Logistic companies Benefits: Supplier Management (reduce no. of suppliers, processing coast, and cycle time) Inventory Management (list of items/product, eliminate out of stock items) Distribution Management (list of ship’s cargo, purchase orders etc) Channel Management (reduce labour, time saving) Payment Management (electronic payment reduce clerical errors, lower transaction fee and coast) B2C Business to Consumer In B2C seller is a business organization buyer is consumer. In this case costumer directly interacts with company, i.e. books and cd’s buy online and internet used as a medium for transaction. Newspapers reading and weather forecasting are used as a B2C E-commerce. This type of e-commerce improve the flow of information between firm and customers. Examples are ebay.com, and amazon.com. C2B Consumer to Business A consumer posts his project with a set budget online and within hours companies review the consumer’s requirements and bid on the project. The consumer reviews the bids and selects the company that will complete the  project. Elance empowers consumers around the world by providing the meeting ground and platform for such transactions. Freelancing C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) or E-commerce Involving Intermediaries In this type both seller and buyers are consumers. There are many sites offering free classifieds, auctions and forums where individuals can buy and sell. PayPal where people can send and receive money online with ease. Olx.com auction service is a great example of where person-to-person transactions take place everyday. Intra-organizational E-C The purpose of Intra-organizational applications is to help a company maintain the relationships that are critical to delivering superior customer value by paying close attention to various functions in the organization. Benefits: Workgroup communications Electronic Publishing Sales force Productivity Business to Government E-C A platform for businesses to bid on government opportunities. It refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement, licensing procedures, and other government-related operations. It reduces the risk of irregularities. Income Tax Department, Excise and Taxation Department M-Commerce Mobile commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless technology – i.e., cellular telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Including mobile banking (when customers use their handheld devices to access their accounts and pay their bills). Bill payment and account reviews can all be conducted from the same handheld device. Delivery of entertainment, financial news, sports figures and traffic updates to a single mobile device. Advantages of e-commerce for businesses? Reduction of costs in the business E-commerce serves as an â€Å"equalizer†. It enables start-up and small- and medium-sized enterprises to reach the global market. E-commerce makes â€Å"mass customization† possible. E-commerce applications in this area include easy-to-use ordering systems that allow customers to choose and order products according to their personal and unique specifications. E-commerce allows â€Å"network production.† This refers to the parcelling out of the production process to contractors who are geographically dispersed but who are connected to each other via computer networks. What forces are fuelling e-commerce? There are at least three major forces fuelling e-commerce: Economic forces. One of the most evident benefits of e-commerce is economic efficiency resulting from the reduction in communications costs, – low-cost technological infrastructure. – speedier and more economic electronic transactions with suppliers. – lower global information sharing and advertising costs. Market forces. Corporations are encouraged to use e-commerce in marketing and promotion to capture international markets, both big and small. The Internet is likewise used as a medium for enhanced customer service and support. Technology forces. The development of ICT is a key factor in the growth of ecommerce. What are the components of a successful e-commerce transaction loop? To maximize the benefits of e-commerce, a number of technical as well as enabling issues have to be considered. A typical e-commerce transaction loop involves the following major players and corresponding requisites: 1. The Seller should have the following components: A corporate Web site with e-commerce capabilities (e.g., a secure transaction server); A corporate intranet so that orders are processed in an efficient manner; and IT-literate employees to manage the information flows and maintain the e-commerce system. 2. Transaction partners include: Banking institutions that offer transaction clearing services (e.g., processing credit card payments and electronic fund transfers); National and international freight companies to enable the movement of physical goods within, around and out of the country. Authentication authority that serves as a trusted third party to ensure the integrity and security of transactions. 3. Consumers (in a business-to-consumer transaction) Form a critical mass of the population with access to the Internet and disposable income enabling widespread use of credit cards; and Possess a mindset for purchasing goods over the Internet rather than by physically inspecting items. 4. Firms/Businesses that together form a critical mass of companies (especially within supply chains) with Internet access and the capability to place and take orders over the Internet. 5. Government, to establish: A legal framework governing e-commerce transactions (including electronic documents, signatures, and the like); and Legal institutions that would enforce the legal framework (i.e., laws and regulations) and protect consumers and businesses from fraud, among others. 6. Internet, the successful use of which depends on the following: A robust and reliable Internet infrastructure; and A pricing structure that doesn’t penalize consumers for spending time on and buying goods over the Internet (e.g., a flat monthly charge for both ISP access and local phone calls).

Power & Duties of a Social Worker Essay

This paper discusses and explores both case studies in order to find the powers and duties a social worker acting in a statutory capacity might exercise in these cases, how might they be exercised and how might wider principles of welfare law impact on their decision making? It also analyses the tensions and dilemmas that may exist, referring to specific legislative provisions, and identify how anti-oppressive practice might influence the resolution of these case studies. It also demonstrates an ability to study relevant law in social work practice and have a critical and analytical understanding of the service delivery standards and powers and duties of social workers, demonstrate a working knowledge and understanding of key areas of welfare law that are significant to service users analyses the tensions and dilemmas that arise in the implication of the law in social work practice and be able to demonstrate a commitment to the anti-oppressive practice of social work law. This paper is focused on two separate case studies:First Case Study: Jack and Lauren have two Children named as Makayla aged 18 Months and Christopher aged 5 years. The local Authorities and Children’s Services have a referral from a relative who is concerned that the Children had witnessed Jack and Lauren fighting. What is more Jack brings people back to the house who drink heavily and Lauren has left the children alone at least twice to get drugs. When seen the children appear adequately dressed, clean, healthy and outgoing, and Christopher is attending school most days. The house is sparsely furnished but tidy and there appear to be a small number of toys. Makayla may have a development delay. She also may have difficulties with hearing and vision, which have meant numerous medical appointments, some of which have been missed. Second Case Study: Gracias speaks with pride of her house in which she and her husband raised seven children and points to the antiques she has collected. She knows the history of all the antiques she has had longest, but she looks troubled when asked about other items. Her eldest son has looked after her since he retired. She has eleven grandchildren, but she cannot remember their names. He moved in with her after she left the gas on twice and let a stranger into the house. He fells she could benefit from  re-housing since a stroke affecting her left arm and leg means she struggles with the stairs and with bathing, and recently she has begun to become incontinent at night. On the other hand, she still tends to her antiques with great care. He is also concerned that she is still managing her large account of savings and shares, which he will need to have access to if he keeps her at home. These two case studies are mainly different from each other if we study them with practical approach but certain things can be discussed simultaneously for the both cases i.e. family, approach towards the care of children, approach towards the looking after the parents, affects on children when they are ignored. Defining the FamilyA family becomes a family when two or more individuals have decided they are a family, that in the intimate, here-and-now environment in which they gather, there is a sharing of emotional needs for closeness, of living space which is deemed â€Å"home,† and of those roles and tasks necessary for meeting the biological, social and psychological requirements of the individuals involved. For our purposes in this text we mean by family â€Å"two or more people in a committed relationship from which they derive a sense of identity as a family,† thus including â€Å"nontraditional family forms that are outside the traditional legal perspective †¦ families not related by blood, marriage, or adoption† (Cohen, S., and T. A. Wills. 1985: 85)The state of marriageThe family, marriage, and the individual are inextricably interwoven. This simple fact constitutes a major conceptual and practical problem when considering the prospect of intervention in a marital problem, for it militates against clarity of thought and purpose. Certainly, conceptual distinctions can be made, and these are of central importance in the attempts of social scientists to shed light on the dynamics of family life; but such distinctions tend to rely upon the identification of boundaries that are perhaps seldom recognized, let alone drawn, by the individual experiencing the realities of marital and family life. As the father of modern family studies, Whittaker, J. K. and J. Garbarino. (1983) observed,  Ã¢â‚¬ËœWe know too much about the family to be able to study it both objectively and easily’Some family needs could be considered as being met through a combination of expressive and instrumental functions, such as child care, and health-related supports. This applies on both Case Studies. In line with the above, and in recognition of the diversity of contemporary society, we should emphasize that â€Å"respect for diversity requires that family be defined openly and broadly so as to include whomever the family itself- with its unique culture, circumstances, and history-designates† (Allen and Petr 1998:8). Practitioners should be prepared to understand and account for the special needs of minorities. As reflected throughout this volume, this means that we need to consider carefully in our practice the dimensions of race and ethnicity, including not only their significance for human functioning but also their impact on service delivery. In this regard, Pecora, P. J., W. R. Seelig, F. A. Zirps, and S. M. Davis, eds. (1996) assert: â€Å"Training practitioners for competence with diverse populations is high on the list of corrective initiatives to address †¦ inadequacies† in social work practice. A critical component of such training is learning how to promote the well-being of children and families. Promoting Child and Family Well-Being in Perspective of 1st Case StudyTo aid in our understanding of what families and children need to thrive in our society, we have developed a framework of needs and resources for family and child well-being. The framework is organized as a triangle depicting the three interrelated aspects of child and family wellbeing:†¢ What children need for their optimal Development,†¢ What families need to survive and fulfill their functions successfully, and†¢ The neighborhood, community, and environmental resources that families and their children require. At the center of the model is the overall goal for family-centered social work practice: safeguarding and promoting the well-being and Welfare Law of children and their families. We will refer to this framework throughout the paper, so as to highlight key points about promoting child and family  wellbeing and safety as well as delineate guidelines and principles for assessment and intervention. The model draws from the contributions of a number of sources in an attempt to show the range of interrelated family and child needs that, when met, promote optimal functioning and development. Resilience, Coping, and AdaptationIn their work with children and families, practitioners can be guided by knowledge regarding resilience, coping, and adaptation-key constructs in understanding human beings and human behavior. Before elaborating on each of these constructs, it is useful to consider the competence centered perspective on social work practice, which can serve as a frame of reference for practitioners. Competence-Centered Perspective & Principles of Welfare LawThe competence-centered perspective builds upon ecology as a metaphor guiding the study of the interactions between living organisms and their environments (Bronfenbrenner 1979). In particular, such a metaphor calls attention to the â€Å"influence of external environments on the functioning of families as contexts of human development† (Bronfenbrenner 1986:723). As an orientation to practice, ecology helps us to appreciate that human beings are engaged in continuous transaction with their environment; furthermore, the ecological view provides insight into the nature and consequence of such transactions both for human beings and for the physical and social environments in which they function (Germain and Gitterman 1996:5-19). Evaluation in perspective of Case Study 2By offering a broad conceptual lens to view human functioning and needs, ecology underscores that social work intervention should address the interface between human beings and their impinging environments: practitioners focus on improving the transactions between people and environments in order to enhance adaptive capacities as well as enrich environments for all who function within them (Germain and Gitterman 1996). In using such an orientation, practitioners can help mobilize the actual and potential strengths and resources of individuals, families, and groups while simultaneously seeking to render environments more responsive to the adaptive and coping needs of human organisms (Kagan, S. L. 1995). In addition, workers are helped to understand the relationships  between families and their environments and identify the significant sources of support as well as stress and conflict. They can then assess more objectively the complex personal and environmental factors affecting parents and children and arrive at more appropriate treatment plans and recommendations. The competence perspective draws from ego psychology; psychodynamic psychology; and learning, developmental, and family systems theories. In social work as in other fields, competence is generally defined as the repertoire of skills that enable the person to function effectively. However, a distinction should be made between the notion of discrete competencies or skills and the broader, ecological or transactional concept of competence. The latter may be defined as the outcome of the interplay among:†¢ A person’s capacities, skills, potentialities, limitations, and othercharacteristics. †¢ A person’s motivation-that is, her or his interests, hopes, beliefs, andaspirations, and†¢ the qualities of the person’s impinging environment-such as socialnetworks, environmental demands, and opportunities (Maluccio 1981). Stress, Risk, and Protective Factors in perspective of Both Case StudiesIn the course of their development, families and children encounter a variety of stresses and risks that need to be considered in any interventive plans or services. Stress and risk are closely related concepts. As Roskies (1991:412) indicates, â€Å"In spite of its widespread use, there is no single, precise definition of the term stress.† Saleebey, D. (2002) who is regarded as the father of modern stress theory, focuses on physiological reactions of the human organism in its struggle to resist noxious stimuli or stressors. Along with other theorists, Locke and Taylor (1991:157) define stress as â€Å"the emotional response, typically consisting of fear and/and anxiety and associated physical symptoms resulting from† perceived threats to one’s well-being or selfesteem. We think of stress as internal tension or strain produced in the human being in response to any one or more factors. Risk has been defined as â€Å"any influence that increases the probability of onset, digression to a more serious state, or the maintenance of a problem condition† (Fraser 1997a:3). â€Å"Risk or vulnerability represents a heightened probability of negative outcome based on the presence of one or more† factors such as â€Å"genetic, biological, behavioral, socio-cultural, and demographic conditions, characteristics, or attributes† (Fraser 1997:10). Examples of environmental risks are family dysfunction, child abuse, parental illness, and, above all, poverty. Protective factors are â€Å"those internal and external forces that help children resist or ameliorate risk† (Fraser 1997a:13). Rutter (1985:600) further defines protective factors as â€Å"influences that modify, ameliorate, or alter a person’s response to some environmental hazard that predisposes to a maladaptive outcome.† Problem-solving skills, a sense of self-efficacy, and an internal locus of control are examples of internal forces found in resilient children and youths. Examples of external forces are the strong family presence of a caring, supportive adult in the family and a safe and supportive school set- ting. As Benard (1997) explains, schools can provide a protective environment for many youths and children through the caring and support and high expectations of teachers and other school personnel as well as the opportunities available for meaningful participation in the life of the classroom, school, or community.Under certain conditions the interplay between risk factors and protective mechanisms leads to successful coping and adaptation: â€Å"An individual is able to cope so long as the balance among risks, stressful life events, and protective factors is manageable. But when risk factors and stressful life events outweigh the protective factors, even the most resilient children can develop problems (Werner 1989:80). â€Å"Through her longitudinal, life span study of 618 children, Werner (1994 and 1995) has demonstrated the role of protective factors within the family and community, such as socioeconomic supports, in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. As considered in subsequent chapters, social workers can play important roles in promoting resilience in children and youths. In particular, in conjunction with the concepts delineated in the preceding section, the constructs of risk, stress, and protective factors suggest several interrelated themes that can help guide social work practice with  families and children: †¢ Human beings are engaged in ongoing, dynamic transactions with theirenvironment and in a continuous process of growth and adaptation. †¢ Human beings are â€Å"open systems† that are spontaneously active andmotivated to achieve competence in their coping with life demands and environmental challenges. †¢ Varied environmental opportunities and social supports are necessary tosustain and promote a human being’s efforts to grow, to achieve self-fulfillment, and to contribute to others. †¢ Appropriate supports should be matched to the human being’s changingqualities and needs in order to maximize the development of her or hiscompetence, identity, autonomy, and self-fulfillment. Intergenerational Aspects and Principles of Welfare Law In perspective to Case Study 2Throughout human history and across societies, parents have relied on the extended family, especially grandparents, for help in care of their children. Such reliance is becoming increasingly problematic, due to such factors as the geographic mobility of families and, above all, growing societal problems in such areas as housing, poverty, substance abuse, and family violence. In addition, there is an increasing proportion of mothers at an early age, including early adolescence; the families of these young mothers are often struggling with their own issues, problems, and challenges. It has been estimated that, as of the early 1990s, between 2.3 and 4.3 million children lived in the homes of relatives without their parents (Everett 1995). The U.S. Bureau of the Census (1995) reports that approximately 3.9 million children were being raised in grandparent-headed households in 1995. While kinship caring is more common among families of color, it is seen also among white families. As extensively considered by Hegar and Scannapieco (1999), kinship care is a complex phenomenon-whether provided through informal arrangements or through state supervision. According to these authors, among the issues to be considered are the  following: How should formal kinship care differ from informal care arranged by the families? Should kinship care be classified as either out-of-home care or family preservation? Should foster families licensure or certification be required of kinship families? How long should the state subsidize placement with kin?In view of the above, practitioners need to give increased attention to the intergenerational aspects of family and child Welfare Law services. In particular, agency policies and programs should recognize the crucial role of grandparents in caring partially or fully for their grandchildren, including teenage granddaughters who are pregnant or have children of their own. Since they face multiple tasks during a crucial phase of their own development, parenting grandparents need a social service system that responds to their needs. As recommended by the Child Welfare League of America (Child Welfare League of America 1994; National Commission on Family Foster Care 1991), following are some of the strategies that are especially crucial in promoting intergenerational interventions:†¢ offering services to the parents as well as the grandparents to meet their own needs as caregivers as well as the child’s needs,†¢ providing adequate financial supports, especially in view of the precarious financial conditions of many grandparents,†¢ monitoring the child’s placement in kinship care, so as to ensure the child’s well-being as well as address the needs of the kinship family, and†¢ encouraging practitioners to appreciate and respect each the child’s and family’s cultural, racial, and ethnic identity. In addition, there needs to be attention to the ongoing psychosocial issues that many parenting grandparents experience as they are faced with their own basic physical, emotional, and financial adjustments (Poe 1992), the interaction between parents and grandparents, with its potential for frustration and conflicts, the issue of permanency planning for children placed with relatives, and the parents’ own need for help in connection with their own problems as well as their functioning as parents. Various authors consider these issues in detail. For example, Poe (1992) offers implications for policy and treatment in the situations of black grandparents. Doucette-Dudman and LaCure (1996) present guidelines for helping grandparents and social service professionals cope with the challenges  inherent in grandparent parenting. Generations United (1998) offers recommendations and strategies for dealing with economic supports, health care, education, child care, and legal issues in the situations of grandparents and other relatives raising children. Maluccio (1999) describes intergenerational approaches to helping families at risk, such as foster grandparent programs, mentoring of young mothers by elderly persons, and having older adults work with families experiencing child abuse or neglect. Child-Focused and Family-Centered Practice In perspective of Welfare LawSocial Work Practice requires that we maintain a principal focus on the child within a family-centered context. As discussed more extensively elsewhere, such a focus suggests that, in most cases, the child can best be helped by regarding the family as the central unit of service or focus of attention, whenever and as much as possible. Human beings can best be understood and helped within their significant environment, and the family is the most intimate environment of all. It is here that the child develops and forms her or his identity and basic competence. The family has the potential to provide resources throughout the life cycle, especially as its members are sustained and supported by various services (Germain 1999). The family’s own environment can be employed as the arena in which practitioners intervene to help strengthen communication, parenting skills, and parent-child relationships.As reflected throughout this volume, we consider the following guidelines as especially important in implementing child-focused and family-centered practice:†¢ There is emphasis on prevention and intervention strategies that reduce stress and risk and promote coping and resilience in children and families. †¢ Practitioners must understand the relationship between race/racenicity and issues such as family norms, child-rearing practices, childhood and family poverty, discrimination, and funding of social services. †¢ Assessment and intervention focus on the family’s transactions with its kinship system, school, community institutions, and other social networks that affect its functioning. Intervention strategies are directed not only toward engaging the family in treatment but also toward changing the social  systems that influence it. There is emphasis on case management strategies and community-based approaches that help empower vulnerable clients (Rothman 1994). †¢ Many parents can be helped to become rehabilitated or to plan responsibly for their children through family treatment approaches as alternatives to placement of children out of their homes or as methods of speeding up the reunification of placed children with their families. For example, birth parents of children at risk can be empowered through the use of group training. †¢ When children are separated as a result of hospitalization, imprisonment, foster home placement, or residential placement, family ties between them and their families should be preserved as much as possible, through such means as consistent parental visiting. The natural bonds between children in care and their parents may continue to be important for most parents and children long after they are physically separated for either short-term or long-term periods. †¢ Foster family, group care, or residential placement of a child should be seen as a part of the overall service rather than as the service-as a tool, rather than as an end in itself. In line with this, there should be efforts to have parents, foster parents, or other child care personnel regard themselves as partners in a shared undertaking, with common goals and mutually supportive and complementary roles. †¢ A major source of help often can be the family’s extended kinship system. (Danzy and Jackson 1997) as in situations involving parental substance abuse. As another example, in many cases the extended family, with agency support, can help a parent avert placement or reduce the duration of placement in an unfamiliar setting. †¢ Mutual aid groups, such as those for vulnerable adolescents, gay and lesbian youths, sexual abuse survivors, or bereaved children, can be therapeutic as well as empowering (Gitterman and Shulman 1994). References Allen, R. I. and C. G. Petr. 1998. Rethinking family-centered practice. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 68:4-15. American Humane Association. 1998. Assessing Outcomes in Child Welfare Services: Principles, Concepts, and a Framework of Core Indicators. Englewood, Col.: AHA, Children’s Division. Benard, B. 1994. Applications of resilience. Paper presented at a conference on the Role of Resilience in Drug Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, and Mental Illness, December 5-6. Washington, D.C. Cited in D. Saleebey 1997. Benard, B. 1997. Fostering resiliency in children and youth: Promoting protective factors in the school. In D. Saleebey, ed., The Strengths Perspective in Social Work, pp. 167-182. 2d ed. New York: Longman. Bronfenbrenner, U. 1979. The Ecology of Human Development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Bronfenbrenner, U. 1986. Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology 22 (6): 723-742. Cohen, S., and T. A. Wills. 1985. Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin 98 (2): 310-357. Maluccio. 1999. The rationalization of foster care in the twenty-first century. In P.A. Curtis, G. Dale Jr., and J. C. Kendall, eds., The Foster Care Crisis: Translating Research Into Policy and Practice, pp. 225-242. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Danzy, J., and Jackson, S.M. 1997. Family preservation and support services: A missed opportunity for kinship care. Child Welfare 76:31-44. Doucette-Dudman, D. and J. R. LaCure. 1996. Raising Our Children’s Children. Minneapolis: Fairview. Everett, J. 1995. Relative foster care: An emerging trend in foster care placements policy and practice. Smith College Studies in Social Work 65:239-254. Everett, J. E. 1997. Theoretical, policy, research and clinical perspectives for social work practice with African Americans. Special issue. Smith College Studies in Social Work 67 (3): 255-643. Everett, J. E., S. S. Chipungu, and B. R. Leashore, eds. 1991. Child Welfare: An Africentric Perspective. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. Fraser, C. 1995. Suffering children and the Christian Science Church. Atlantic Monthly, April, pp. 105-120. Fraser, M. W. 1990. Program outcome measures. In Y.-Y. T. Yuan and M. Rivest, eds., Preserving Families: Evaluation Resources for Practitioners and Policymakers, pp. 77-101. Newbury Park, Cal.: Sage. Fraser, M. W., ed. 1997a. Risk and Resilience in Childhood: An Ecological Perspective. Washington, D.C.: NASW. Fraser, M. W. 1997b. The ecology of childhood: A multi-systems perspective. In M. W. Fraser, ed., Risk and Resilience in Childhood: An Ecological Perspective, pp. 1-9. Washington, D.C.: NASW. Generations United.1998. Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children: An Intergenerational Action Agenda. Washington, D.C.: Generations United. Germain, C. B. and M. Bloom. 1999. Human Behavior in the Social Environment: An Ecological View. 2d ed. New York: Columbia University Press. Germain, C. B. and A. Gitterman. 1996. The Life Model of Social Work Practice: Advances in Theory and Practice. 2d ed. New York: Columbia University Press. Hegar, R. L. and M. Scannapieco, eds. 1999. Kinship Foster Care: Policy, Practice, and Research. New York: Oxford University Press. Kagan, S. L. 1995. The changing face of parenting education. ERIC Digest (EDOPS-95-7). Urbana: University of Illinois, Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. Kagan, S. L. and B. Weissbourd, eds. 1994. Putting Families First: America’s FamilyLee, J. A. B. 2000. The Empowerment Approach to Social Work Practice. 2d ed. New York: Columbia University Press. Locke, E. A. and S. M. Taylor. 1991. Stress, coping, and the meaning of work. In A. Monat and R.S. Lazarus, eds., Stress and Coping:An Anthology, pp. 140- 157.3d ed. New York: Columbia University Press. Pecora, P. J., W. R. Seelig, F. A. Zirps, and S. M. Davis, eds. 1996. Quality Improvement and Evaluation in Child and Family Services: Managing Into the Next Century. Washington, D.C.: CWLA. Poe, C. G. 1992. Social Work with Children and Their Families: Pragmatic Foundations. New York: Oxford University Press. Roskies, E. 1991. Stress management: A new approach to treatment. In A. Monat and R. S. Lazarus, eds., Stress and Coping:An Anthology, pp. 411-431. 3d ed. New York: Columbia University Press. Rothman, J. 1994. Practice with Highly Vulnerable Clients: Case Management and Community-Based Service. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Rothman, J. C. 1998. From the Front Lines: Student Cases in Social Work Ethics. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Rutter, M. 1985. Resilience in the face of adversity: Protective factors and resistance to psychiatric disorders. British Journal of Psychiatry 147:598-611. Saleebey, D., ed. 2002. The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice. 3d ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Werner, E. E. 1989. High-risk children in young adulthood: A longitudinal study from birth to thirty-two years. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 59:72-81. Werner, E. E. 1994. Overcoming the odds. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 15:131-136. Werner, E. E. 1995. Resilience in development. American Psychological Society 4:81-85. Whittaker, J. K. and J. Garbarino. 1983. Social Support Networks: Informal Helping in the Human Services. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.