Free Essays on Confucianism

Amidst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, arose many intellectual thinkers that brought such profound impact in the field of politics, religion and philosophy. Even to the day, their influence can be espied in the many matters of China. Confucianism became the paramount school of thinking and later significant philosophies such as Daoism and Legalism gained immense recognition as well. Each party had their own proposals for creating an idealistic political society where the many problems they faced in their everyday lives could be eliminated. All three approaches were very distinct but at the same time, they contained certain similarities as well. In my reasoning, I find that Confucianism and Daoism could be paralleled in many ways to find several common grounds. On the other hand, Legalism goes on to take a more unique approach which was much different from the previous two. Kongzi (Confucius, a Latinized name) was born in 551 B.C.E., to a poor family of the lower nobility. Throughout his life, he relentlessly tried to gain an office with a prominent ruler of the time who was willing to adopt his various concepts. Unfortunately, Confucius died in 479 B.C.E., before such a change ever took place. However, he succeeded in winning over a handful of devote followers who continued his legacy and Confucianism later went on to become one of the most influential thought systems of Chinese history. Of his followers, Mencius and Xunzi became the most renown. Since Confucius did not succeed in completing a manual of his views, these followers had to derive their own interpretations of the system which now formulate, the Analects. The Analects portray an idealized gentleman, and his various duties in terms of the society, family and the rituals. Confucius explains about the way (Dao) which he believed, that if the people accepted its terms and were willing to abide, they would succeed in creating a utopian s... Free Essays on Confucianism Free Essays on Confucianism Describe the origins and historical development of Confucianism in China up to the present day.† The history of Chinese civilisation spans thousands of years and encompasses countless ideas, beliefs, societal, and political doctrines. For the past two thousand years, the teachings of Confucius have been the basic fundamentals and origins of the entire Confucian Thought System and the behavioural patterns of his followers. However, Confucius himself only adapted several ideas from the ancient dynasties that ruled China, and focused on these practices as his core beliefs. After Confucius, two main Schools of Thought formed; those who chose to follow the adapted teachings of Mancius; and those who adopted those of Hsun-Tzu. Following the development of these two Schools, Neo-Confucianism took a stronghold in China, blending together the old ways of Confucius with the moral teachings of Buddhism. Before endeavouring to understand Confucianism and its connection with China, it is necessary to develop an understanding of China in its pre-Confucius era, in which the philosophy evolved. The most ancient evidence of Chinese religions dates back to the Shang dynasty, around 1500 BCE. In this early society, there is evidence of some of the basic fundamentals of most Chinese religious thought; the pursuit, establishment, maintenance, and enjoyment of harmony in the Earthly world. During the Zhou dynasty (1122-771 BCE), the path initiated by the Shang was sustained and expanded upon. The Zhou quest for harmony and order led to the development of some extremely crucial concepts that would directly effect the development of Confucianism. In this era also, the notion of Tian – best understood as Heaven – first came to light. This later led to the conception of the idea of the Mandate of Heaven (Tian-Ming), from which rulers derived all power and sense of legitimacy, due to the accordance of their behaviours with the norms of morality and ri... Free Essays on Confucianism Amidst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, arose many intellectual thinkers that brought such profound impact in the field of politics, religion and philosophy. Even to the day, their influence can be espied in the many matters of China. Confucianism became the paramount school of thinking and later significant philosophies such as Daoism and Legalism gained immense recognition as well. Each party had their own proposals for creating an idealistic political society where the many problems they faced in their everyday lives could be eliminated. All three approaches were very distinct but at the same time, they contained certain similarities as well. In my reasoning, I find that Confucianism and Daoism could be paralleled in many ways to find several common grounds. On the other hand, Legalism goes on to take a more unique approach which was much different from the previous two. Kongzi (Confucius, a Latinized name) was born in 551 B.C.E., to a poor family of the lower nobility. Throughout his life, he relentlessly tried to gain an office with a prominent ruler of the time who was willing to adopt his various concepts. Unfortunately, Confucius died in 479 B.C.E., before such a change ever took place. However, he succeeded in winning over a handful of devote followers who continued his legacy and Confucianism later went on to become one of the most influential thought systems of Chinese history. Of his followers, Mencius and Xunzi became the most renown. Since Confucius did not succeed in completing a manual of his views, these followers had to derive their own interpretations of the system which now formulate, the Analects. The Analects portray an idealized gentleman, and his various duties in terms of the society, family and the rituals. Confucius explains about the way (Dao) which he believed, that if the people accepted its terms and were willing to abide, they would succeed in creating a utopian s... Free Essays on Confucianism Confucianism, the philosophical system founded on the teaching of Confucius, who lived from 551 BC to 479 BC, dominated Chinese sociopolitical life for most of the Chinese history and largely influenced the cultures of Korea, Japan, and Indochina. The Confucian school functioned as a recruiting ground for government positions, which were filled by those scoring highest on examinations in the Confucian classics. It also blended with popular and important religions and became the vehicle for presenting Chinese values to the peasants. The school's doctrine supported political authority using the theory of the mandate of heaven. It sought to help rulers maintain domestic order, preserve tradition, and maintain a constant standard of living for the tax paying peasants. It trained its followers in generous giving, traditional rituals, family order, loyalty, respect for superiors and for the aged, and principled flexibility in advising rulers. Confucius was China's first and most famous philosopher. He had a traditional personal name (Qiu) and a formal name (Zhoghi). Confucius's father died shortly after Confucius's birth. His family fell into relative poverty, and Confucius joined a growing class of impoverished descendants of aristocrats who made their careers by acquiring knowledge of feudal ritual and taking positions of influence serving the rulers of the many separate states of ancient China. Confucius devoted himself to learning. At the age of 30, however, when his short-lived official career floundered, he turned to teaching others. Confucius himself never wrote down his own philosophy, although tradition credits him with editing some of the historical classics that were used as texts in his school. He apparently made an enormous impact on the lives and attitudes of his disciples. Confucianism combines a political theory and a theory of human nature to yield "dao," a prescriptive doctrine or way. The political theor... Free Essays on Confucianism Confucianism, the philosophical system founded on the teaching of Confucius dominated Chinese sociopolitical life for most of Chinese history and largely influenced the cultures of Korea, Japan, and Indochina. The Confucian school functioned as a recruiting ground for government positions, which were filled by those scoring highest on examinations in the Confucian classics. It also blended with popular and imported religions and became the vehicle for articulating Chinese mores to the poor people. The school's doctrines supported political authority using the theory of the mandate of heaven. It sought to help the rulers maintain domestic order, preserve tradition, and maintain a constant standard of living for the taxpaying people. It trained its adherents in benevolence, traditional rituals, filial piety, loyalty, respect for superiors and for the aged, and principled flexibility in advising rulers. Confucius,Westerners use Confucius as the spelling for Kong Fuzi, China's first and most famous philosopher. Confucius had a traditional personal name (Qiu, or Ch'iu) and a formal name (Zhongni, or Chung-ni). Confucius's father died shortly after Confucius's birth. His family fell into relative poverty, and Confucius joined a growing class of impoverished descendants of aristocrats who made their careers by acquiring knowledge of feudal ritual and taking positions of influence serving the rulers of the fragmented states of ancient China. Confucius devoted himself to learning. At age 30, however, when his short-lived official career floundered, he turned to teaching others. Confucius himself never wrote down his own philosophy, although tradition credits him with editing some of the historical classics that were used as texts in his school. He apparently made an enormous impact on the lives and attitudes of his disciples, however. The book known as the Analects, which records all the "Confucius said,"... aphorisms, w...

Analyse the star persona

Analyse the star persona FILM AND TV STUDIES WORK PROGRAMME ESSAY QUESTIONS 1. Analyse the star persona of any actor of your choosing. What traits connotations and values does that star persona embody and to what extent does he or she bring the same traits, connotations and values to each role? You should answer with close reference to at least THREE films. In this essay I am going to analyse the star persona of one of Bollywood most successful actor, Shahrukh Khan, also known as SRK. Shahrukh Khan has made over fifty movies over the years; starting from 1992 he made his debut film Deewana (1992) which gave him box office hit. This gave him the most successful launch of his career in the Bollywood film industry. His role in the film gave achieved him Filmfare for the best Debut Award. There are three films of Shahrukh Khan that I am going to use close reference to, they are, KKHH (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Something Happens 1998), K3G (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness 2001) and (Chak De! India Come On India 2007). The reason I chose these movies as these movies are very well known for big the success of his acting part in these movies. KKHH is a story of a simple stylish, sensuous and ambrosial love triangle story. Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) the tomboy Anjali (Kajol). They are both students at St Xavier’s College. They are the best of friends. One day Tina, (Rani Mukerji), the principals daughter enrols the college. She is from London and is very beautiful, feminine and sophisticated and the opposite of Anjali. Rahul falls for her as they meet for the first time. Anjali then realises that she has feeling for Rahul and did not realise the careless comment on his part that she had heard, which equated love with friendship. This causes the love triangle to unfold. When one day Rahul confesses his love for Tina to Anjali, Anjali leaves the college, to forge the heartbreak that has caused her. Tina and Rahul marry and have a daughter whom they name Anjali. Tina di es after childbirth but has written a series of eight letters. On Anjali birthday she asks about where her name has come from. Rahul daughter Anjali believes that the older Anjali can make her father happy again and decided to help him reclaim his lost love. Rahul then meets Anjali again at a camp where Rahul daughter has enrolled, where her namesake is the counsellor. The namesake discoverers without the knowledge of the girl, the truth of her new charges of parentage. Rahul finds the old feelings reviving. But Anjali has bowed to her family’s wishes and is engaged to another man. Complications ensue, but all ends well as Anjali fiancà © steps aside to let the fated couple marry at last. Richard Dyer in his book says â€Å"A star image is made out of media texts that can be grouped together as promotion, publicity, films and commentaries/criticism†. SRK falls directed into all these mentioned. Promotion is one big main thing is what makes SRK. Although he is worldwid e famous primarily to the South Asian ethnicity around the world, most of the promotion is spread over India itself.

European Union (different policies) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

European Union (different policies) - Essay Example The European Council have agreed to extend the EU scope to countries in the South and East Europe including Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Turkey (European Commission). These candidates are then given financial assistance "so they can introduce the necessary political, economic and institutional reforms in line with the EU standard" (European Commission). It provides for economic reform leading to economic growth and better employment prospects (European Commission). One of the necessary tracks for the regional enlargement is the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This is particularly done by having one currency which is the Euro. The adoption of the Euro is the culmination of the three stages of economic policy (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). But prior to adopting the Euro, "a member state has to have its currency in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) for two years" (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). So far, sixteen of the members have adopted the Euro. Only the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden have not accepted the third stage and they still use their own currency. To pursue a sustainable growth in agriculture, the EU adopted a fundamental reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). "The new CAP will be geared towards consumers and taxpayers, while giving EU farmers the freedom to produce what the market wants" (European Commission). This will create a 'single farm payments' "which will be linked to the respect of environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards" (European Commission). To give much authority to the Member state to oversee production, they "may choose to maintain a limited link between subsidy and production under well defined conditions and within clear limits" (European Commission). The Europan union has high dreams of economic prosperity among its members, being the largest regional economy in the world. The question however is what would happen to the diaparity betweena nd among the Member States. There are two opposing theories to look at: the convergence theory which predicts that countries will even out in the future and the cumulative causation which will exacerbate divergence and economic differences. With the way the EU supports its members, we see that convergence is more likely to happen, especially that the poorer countries are given the chance to strengthen their economy before finally doing direct trade and contact with other Member States. This necessary preparation for all EU members is what differentiates the European Union from other regional economic group. Envioronmental Policy The European Union believes that "the environment is essential for the quality of life of current and future generations" (SCADPlus). "The EU's priorities are combating climate change, protecting biodiversity, reducing the impact of pollution on health and better use of natural resources" (SCADPlus). Since climate change poses great danger to the entire region, the EU has formulated policies in combating them. Starting from the European Climate Change Program, "the European Union has come up with realistic climate change strategies advocating practical action to prevent temperatures from increasing to

How can violence be used as a media spectacle and why Essay

How can violence be used as a media spectacle and why - Essay Example Media spectacle is itself becoming the key organising principle in modern economy, politics, and in other critical asocial activities (Sturken & Cartwright, 2007, p. 76). The internet-based economy has also modified and developed hit-tech spectacle useful as a mean of reproduction, promotion, in selling and in circulation of commodities. Although modern technology is with time becoming a complicated technology among a good number of modern consumers, contemporary business entrepreneurs are relying on their services to improve their productivity and effectiveness. The media has also be of essence in influencing social and political life in modern integrate society. Political and social conflicts are with time being played out on the screens of media culture that display spectacles such as political sex scandal, the explosive violence of every days activities, terrorist bombing, celebrity sex scandal and the sensational murder case that are apparent in modern modernised society (Polloc k, 2006, p.51). Apart from offering expanding moments in modern experiences, media culture also presents additional materials for modelling thoughts, dreaming fantasy, and for constructing identity. Studies have further affirmed that, popular traditional entertainment has its roots in media spectacles (Beardsell, 2000, p. 97). Theorist Jacques Lacan Jacques Lacan, in his theory â€Å"gaze theory,† states that media has played a detrimental role in shaping violence in modern society. The gaze theory is useful in describing the way violence can be used as a media spectacle. The concept gaze is a technical term that was used in film theory in the late 1970s (Pollock, 2009, p. 27). So far, the concept has become a popular concept used by media theorist. The theory is used to define the influence of gazing on individual perceptions and the way people look at subjects alongside media presentations. The theory is applicable in defining how audience views people that are presented in media. The concept gaze is extended to the theory of feminist to address how men look at women, the way women look at themselves, and other women and the effects that surrounds these observations. In the theory, male gaze is used in defining how male view their fellow women (Zehner, 2012, P. 67). On the other hand, female gaze describes the way in which females view their fellow men in the society. Other social activities such as dominant public life, religion war, and sports were fertile and useful field for propagation of spectacles for many centuries. With the emergence of new information and multimedia technologies, techno spectacle has been shaping the trajectories and contours of modern society and culture. In developed and advanced capitalist nations such as United Kingdom and United States f America, media spectacles has turned out to be a defining feature not only for globalization but also for defining modern social conflict and violence (Fourie, 2008, p. 51). As observed in â€Å"The cinema of David Cronenberg† culture has played critical role in increasing criminal activities and violence in modern society. In reporting domestic violence, journalists refer to some of the cultural concepts in justifying domestic violence. As observed in â€Å"The cinema of David Cronenberg† it is impossible and challenging to discuss any film without mentioning cultural beliefs and practices. All films revolve around a

Special Needs in the Classroom :: Education Disabilities Essays

Special Needs in the Classroom Virginia teachers face many challenges when trying to meet the needs of special needs students in their science classrooms. The most difficult task at hand for Virginia teachers is making sure that all students (general education and special education) learn the content outlined by the Virginia Standards of Learning. These standards "set reasonable targets and expectations for what teachers need to teach and students need to learn" (Virginia Standards of Learning, 1995, foreward). These targets and expectations are in the four core subjects, including science, however, no accommodations have been made in the SOLs for special needs students. All students, regardless of ability will need to know the same material in order to pass and graduate. One way that Virginia teachers meet the challenging needs of students is through the use of special strategies. Much research has been conducted which supports the use of special strategies to teach science content to students with special needs. Research has shown that some strategies to help special needs students in science are to prioritize materials in order of importance, pre-teach vocabulary that may be difficult for students, paraphrase passages, provide study guides, graphics, and organizers, or provide audio-taped texts (Munk, Bruckert, & Call). Other research suggests that teachers should, "employ strategies that emulate the principles of inclusive education (for example, outcome-based education, multiple intelligence theory, constructivist learning, cooperative learning, use of technology in the classroom, and peer-mediated instruction)." (Norman, Caseau, and Stegfanich, 1998) Gallas (1995) writes that it is important to build on students’ prior knowledge, so that they can use that knowledge to explore theories and construct other ideas and explanations. Methods of evaluation are also a concern and challenge for educators of special needs students today. Finson & Ormsbee (1998) argue that, "rubrics are effective methods for objectively and individually assessing the achievement of students with learning and behavior problems in inclusive science classrooms†¦." Rubrics are especially useful because they are written as a specific outline of the skills or knowledge that the students are to master after the lesson and points are awarded in a systematic and objective manner. To further explore the realm of special needs students and their education in science classrooms in Virginia today, we interviewed two educators from Central Virginia. "There simply is never enough time in the day to meet the needs of all students. And, when you think about it, they all have special needs†¦" Anne, a fourth grade teacher remarked when asked how she finds time to attend to both her general education students and special education students.

Jewish Federation Apartments Essay

The Jewish Federation Apartments is a ‘humanitarian’ housing public service organization for the elderly, those who are 62 years and above, and those who may be impaired in terms of mobility, those who are 18 years or older. The Jewish Federation Apartments is a public service offering founded and run by the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo. Preservation of the elderly people’s dignity, safety and decency of the occupants of the apartments is the main aim for maintaining the Jewish Federation Apartments. Through the years of activity, the Jewish Federation Apartments offer not only housing but also integrated social activities that encourage the apartments’ occupants to integrate not only with their family members, if any, and the community. Jewish Federation Apartments 1) Describe the agency’s mission statement. Identify the client base of the agency including the cultural groups The Jewish Federation Apartments was started by the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo to offer housing and humanitarian care to the elderly as well as those who may be mobility-impaired. The main mission of the Jewish Federation Apartments organization is to offer public service to those aged 62 years and those who are 18 years and older and are mobility-impaired. The main mission is to safeguard the dignity, decency and safety of occupants while offering social services. In any given community or society the elderly and mobility-impaired may feel the need for loving care that would give them the feeling of being a ‘normal’ part of the community. As it may be noted, both the elderly and mobility-impaired may have a sense of need to move around like any other member of the community. The mission of the Jewish Federation Apartments is to ensure that those who qualify to be tenants in the apartments get affordable housing in a safe environment and that their dignity and decency is sustained. Only those who are successful in qualifying for tenancy based on the Jewish tradition would attain residence in the Jewish Federation Apartments. The Board of Directors’, all offering their services voluntarily, goal is to ensure that the personal dignity, physical, emotional and spiritual life is of enhanced quality. These are all in the fulfillment of the Jewish Federation Apartments’ mission. According to the president of the Jewish Federation Apartments, that I interviewed, the place is predominantly occupied by Jews but this may only be so due to the fact that the apartments are a public service offered by the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo. Another reason this may be so is due to the fact that qualification for occupancy/tenancy is guide by the Jewish tradition. This, and many factors, has seen the apartment’s occupancy be mainly of Jewish oriented persons, though there are other cultures and other religious occupants such as the Polish, Italians and Persians. The Jewish Federation Apartments has always advertised or sought to attract applicants from all cultures religions, ethnicities and communities and this has seen it achieve its current diversity of occupancy cultures. The Jewish Russian community seems to be one that has the highest occupancy numbers; however, other communities are also increasing in number. In the past approximately half of the Jewish Federation Apartments was from the Jewish Russian community that moved to America a long time back. However, in recent years, this has changed and the Jewish Russian community seems to be reducing to about 35-40% of the whole community says the Jewish Federation Apartments president. Despite having an open invitation to all ethnics and religions and communities, the Jewish Federation Apartments seems to have low attraction of the African American community. The main reason why there seems to be no African Americans is that, the community seems slow to accepting change from their communities and neighborhoods. The African Americans seem not too keen on moving from their neighborhoods. This then explains why Jewish Federation Apartments’ occupancy has no African Americans despite there being a waiting list of the community, reveals the Jewish Federation Apartments president during the interview. Current occupation in the apartments is mainly of whites as African American communities are slow in taking up the challenge of change that may come from moving from their communities. In the past the African American were tenants in the apartments, however, they seem to have moved out since currently there are only a white population of tenants remaining. All these were revelations from the interview that I carried out with the president of the Jewish Federation Apartments. Despite there being a waiting list from the African Americans at the Jewish Federation Apartments, they do not want to move there yet. 2) Describe the agency’s cultural and linguistic competency plan Culturally, the Jewish Federation Apartments agency has been diversified, however with a reduced attention and interest from the African American community. The agency’s efforts to attract all communities to consider occupancy at the apartments have been generally attractive and open to all. Advertisement for apartments is open to everyone who is over 62 years and those who are above 18 and are mobility-impaired. The culture of the agency is to care safeguard and ensure that every tenant’s decency and dignity is enhanced. The current situation seems to lean more on the Jewish setting. Since the agency is in a predominantly white community, the cultural orientation may be leaning to the whites’ culture. The African American community on the other hand seem to be holding on to their cultures since they seem adamant about moving to the Jewish Federation Apartments despite a past occupancy and application for consideration for tenancy. Jewish Federation Apartments agency culture is that of a friendly and social environment that allows the tenants to interact though there are policies that govern occupancy of the premises by ‘outsiders’. One may therefore be right to say that the agency is well out to protect the qualified tenants and the community of Jewish Federation Apartments. One culture that the Jewish Federation Apartments community seems to have adapted is that of organized friendly activities that ensure all tenants have some sought of meeting point to engage in friendly socializing activities. In this way, many who may be old and rather disoriented would be uplifted emotionally and spiritually. By using a clear and concise tenant handbook, the agency’s aim is to give clear tenancy regulations that must be followed. By doing this, the agency is able to enhance the culture of organization and responsibility. This means that tenants are able to correlate and live peacefully with one another. The cultural plan of the agency is to maintain an open community culture that would ensure that all tenant correlate and live with harmony under the rules and regulations. Adequate, clear and precise communication has been one main challenge for the agency. Clear communication among all thee different language speakers, understanding each other and having clear and understandable communication with the agency are among the language challenges the agency faced. The legal tenancy documents print language, as well as all kinds of communication have to be clear and understandable. Linguistically, there has to be clear communication in order for all to understand each other. In order to make this possible, the agency would have to produce/print communication materials in understandable tenants’ languages. In the past, the agency printed documents in two main languages; English and Russian. This may be a sign that other language speaker, though of minority groups, may also desire to be able to get materials written in their language so they can understand. Legal documents are important and crucial and must be well understood to avoid any legal or regulatory conflicts. The agency may make plans to ensure that all tenants get these legal tenancy documents in languages that they can understand, however, since people who speak other languages seem to be quite few to justify the cost of translating these documents to specific individual languages. Past translations made to Russian have proven challenging since Russian tenant challenge the agency for not giving accurate translations. This may be a challenge of language translation that may affect may other language translations unless there be a specialized organization making standard and accurate translations. Lack of an official translation made the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), want to translate English to other languages such as Russian, Spanish, French, Polish, Chinese and other languages. Though this has not been done by HUD yet, it would give positive response if done, says the agency president. If the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) translated, the tenants may feel that the translation was done accurately and of higher standard. In the past, the agency had tried to make Russian translations as this would seem cost effective considering the Russian population that justified the translation efforts. The main translators that the agency has used in the past for the Russian language were the language institute as well as Russian translators. This has however not proven to be fully accepted by the Russian community. The community claims that the translations are not accurate hence posing a translation challenge to the agency. The main plans made by the agency to bridge cultural and language barriers are: †¢ From the interview with the Jewish Federal Apartments’ president, it seemed apparent that language would be most tasking and most challenging to the agency to deal with. During meetings tenants have had to come with translator who would translate to them so they would understand the meeting proceedings. †¢ The agency has made efforts to have its notices written in Russian as well and placed on the bulletin board. This would be a sign that the agency is making an effort towards fulfilling the laid out cultural and linguistic competence outlined by the National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CALS). †¢ In an effort to make communication between the agency and the tenants clear, when a tenant goes to the agency offices, he/she has to go with a translator who may be a relative, friend or fellow tenant. This, as easy as it my seem, is one of the many culturally and linguistically challenging issue that the agency may have to address urgently as availability of a good and accurate translator may require one who is neutral well versed with both languages i. e. the agency’s and tenant’s languages. †¢ English training is offered by the agency twice a week at the agency premises. This seems to be one of the agency plans to make communication with the tenant s easier and cost effective instead of having to translate all communication materials and finding a translator for each tenant speaking other languages. The main challenge with this kind of plan may be the ability, willingness and availability of the tenants to attend the classes. Great efforts were made in housing and urban development programs to facilitate affordable housing. Culturally competent services did not have a successful impact. To prove this, one may say that even with bilingual services and culturally appropriate information, caregivers do not consider that many minorities did not read or write in their native tongue, so that traditional mainstream communication methods were not reaching them. More importantly there were still not enough minority providers and caregivers (cited in Lecca et al, 1998). All plans by the agency to ensure that it conforms to the standards of CALS may seem rather wanting. However in order to ensure standard culturally and linguistically appropriate services, the agency would have to put more effort into ensuring that all tenants cultural and language needs are considered and integrated into the agency’s policies and culture. It may be recommended to the agency to work with HUD and CALS and other human service organizations to ensure a level of conformity to the standardized operational policies. Cultural competence is based on an organization’s policies, principles and structures working effectively across all cultures. Organizations have to contain the capacity to value diversity in cultures and linguistics, carry out self assessment to ensure they can manage the dynamics of visible diversity, have cultural knowledge and adapt to the diversity and cultural differences of the people and communities they serve/work with. In this way all individuals will have a sense of care and respect, decency and dignity as well as pride in their culture and language. This is the agency’s main objective and one that may help it conduct a self assessment to ensure conformity to these basin cultural competence guidelines . Organizational processes of policy making, management and administration as well as service delivery should be based on the foundation of cultural competence by considering and integrating the community or those they serve in all processes. The agency’s capacity to offer effective communication and convey information that is easily comprehended by all persons including those with low English proficiency, seemingly low literacy, and/or any form of disability would only be reviewed by the agency itself. The current situation at the agency implies a need for this to be accomplished to ensure all tenants’ cultural, linguistic and communication needs are well catered for. 3) Examine how the policies are implemented The Jewish Federation Apartments agency follows policies developed by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HUD leases are the ones that have to be implemented and used by every house and its rules have to be followed. Individual human and support services offered by the agency have to be in the preferred language and communication medium of the tenants and community served. For this to be accomplished, the human service organizations such as the agency have to ensure that the policies conform to the government and/or local mandates that may be governing language access. Besides the lease document developed by HUD, the agency has house rules it has developed and documented. This two guiding documents have used at the agency by all tenants and observed by the staff, all communicated in English and Russian. All documents pertaining to the lease and house rules are communicate and provided to all tenants so as to ensure smooth operations at the agency apartments. According to Lecca et al, the health social and human service practitioners of today are no longer faced with patients/consumers of only one culture, but also with those who are of different cultural backgrounds and with different needs. With the changing and current demographic settings, agencies and human service providers have then to be culturally competent so as to meet the rapidly growing minority population. 4) Design a cultural and linguistic competency policy for the agency and suggestions of implementation strategies to improve the cultural and linguistic competency of the agency. Most social scientists and human service experts agree that if our community is more educated, better trained and healthier, productivity is an inevitable result. Housing projects and alternative community training employment and educational services have also incorporated culturally based competence service and methodologies with some success. In order for the agency to be competent in cultural and linguistic policies, there has to be a level of commitment that is not dependent on the availability of resources but rather on the aim of equitable, respectful, understandable and effective human service delivery. In order for this to be effective, a change in policy and policy implementation processes has to be implemented. Linguistically and culturally all ethnic and religious communities must be equally considered and served. All services offered by the agency have to be equally and clearly communicated to all culturally and linguistically diverse tenants. This kind of communication must also be clear, concise and understandable in the tenants preferred language and mode. In a bid to make this quest for equal, clear and understandable communication, the agency must collect all relevant data and information on all the tenants’ ethnicity, religious, cultural and family background before the lease of tenancy is offered and tenancy in commenced. Culturally and linguistically competent policies and communication frameworks have then to be implemented to ensure that the agency is culturally and linguistically competent. A policy or policies that may be implemented would be: †¢ Board of Directors and staff must exhibit behavior that can help build trust and understanding in the diverse agency. †¢ The agency has to strive to promote a feeling of acceptance for all tenants and staff to ensure both do work together to make the agency culturally and linguistically competent. †¢ The agency must be culturally and linguistically sensitive to the values of its management and operational processes and techniques. †¢ When the Jewish Federation Apartments’ tenants express doubts, concerns and feelings of need for some help or action to be taken on any given issues, whether it concerns their tenancy, environment or service, the agency must demonstrate acceptance and understanding of the problems by identifying clearly, the employees concerns and discussing them thoroughly. †¢ The agency must show consideration, respect and understanding to all tenants at the apartments. †¢ Since minorities may not be prompt and willing to reveal that they may not understand the language of communication, all modes of communication such as diagrams should be used to ensure that agency-tenants communication is clear and understandable. †¢ All communication whether verbal or written should be in the tenant’s preferred language, respectable, concise and understandable. †¢ The agency should implement strategies to recruit, retain and promote at all levels of the organization, diverse staff and leadership that represents the demographic qualities of the Jewish Federal Apartments’ tenants. In the past the agency seemed to have been challenged by the notion or reality of having to conform to standard culturally and linguistically competence. Currently this may be achieved if only the agency would: †¢ Work with the existing standard and well known translators to make translation of all communication materials that all can understand. †¢ If translators are needed the agency should try and have staff be the ones translating other that tenants bringing their own translators. This would help them avoid situations where a tenant’s own translator, being a relative or friend, being unable to translate some word that may be embarrassing. †¢ The agency should offer language assistance at no cost and inform the tenants that this service is available by posting a notice on the notice board. This would ensure that all tenants are informed of the ‘right’ to language assistance. †¢ Knowledge and general understanding of the Jewish Federal Apartments tenants’ cultures should be encouraged for all staff. This would help them communicate effectively especially in case of an emergency. In conclusion, in order for the agency to attain effective and efficient culturally and linguistically competence, it will have to embrace the fact that diversity of cultures, languages, ethnics e. t. c. in inevitable. This will then help the agency ensure that its prepared for competent service delivery. References Jewish Federation Apartments (2007), Tenant Selection. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from http://www. jewishfederationhousing. org/selection. html Lecca, Pedro J. , Quervalu, I. , Nunes, J. V. , & Gonzales, H. F. (1998). Cultural Competency in Health, Social and Human Services: Directions for the Twenty-first Century. NY: Garland Publisher. Fong, Rowena (Ed). (2004). Culturally Competent Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Children and Families (Social Work Practice with Children and Families). NY: The Guilford Press. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (2001), National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care. Retrieved April 14, 2009, from http://www. omhrc. gov/templates/browse. Aspx? lvl= 2&lvlID=15 U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Policy Development and Research (2009), About HUD. Retrieved April 16, 2009, from http://www. hud. gov/ about /index. cfm Personal communication, April, 2009

Isolation And Of Mice And Men By James Joyce - 2480 Words

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