Why Do Parents Abduct? Essay -- essays research papers

Why Do Parents Abduct? According to the U.S. Department of Justice, over 354,000 children are kidnapped by a parent each year in divorce custody disputes. Some of the children are recovered or returned quickly while others may be on the run for years. Unfortunately many of these children are never found. Generally, people are concerned with the traumatic effects of these events on the child involved. However, both the searching parent and the abductor have many pending issues with which to deal. Some people believe that children "kidnapped" by their own parents are the lucky ones. In fact, because revenge is often the driving force for these abductions, the child may become subject to physical, sexual and mental abuse. While "When Families Are Torn Apart," is written by Mary Morrissey, the majority of the article is quoted from Geoffrey Greif and Rebecca Hegar. In the article, Greif and Hegar explain how they attempted to fill in the gap of information about the trauma of long-term abduction. Their findings appear in the book When Parents Kidnap. Each parent, child, and abductor may deal with the kidnapping differently. For some it is very frightful and requires years of psychological evaluation to overcome. According to Greif and Hegar, abducted children develop extremely close bonds with their abductors. Often the abductors lie to the children about the other parent. They may say that the other parent does not want the child or is dead. The longer the child is away the harder it is for everyone involved. At these times, professional help is strongly suggested. Issues for Parent - their own feelings about the abduction - helping them to be able to care for the child - helping them to bring the whole family together - helping them to help readjust the other children - helping them to cope with any odd behavior that may be exhibited by the abducted child - developmental changes of the child Issues for Children - trust - sexual abuse - anti-social behavior - why the child thinks the abduction occurs - dealing with the length of the abduction and the time that they missed with the rest of their family - experiences during the abduction - they child may have been brainwashed by the abducting parent - whether or not she wants to return to the abductor - being scared about the chance of being abducted again - + many others Issues for Abdu... ...ence. You can hurt someone just as much emotionally as if you had stabbed them with a knife or cut off their arm. Just as applicable is that this is an extreme, and excessive end to a divorce dispute. What I found interesting about the reunification process in these cases is that they are often depicted in both movies and books as a joyful reunion. When if fact, the assimilation of an abducted child to the family that they have not seen in years is not always so smooth. I was appalled by the lack of assistance from the police and the ignorance of the courts. The idea that a parent would kill their own child and take their own life as well, solely to prevent their ex- spous e from being with the child is incomprehensible. Both of the articles were extremely informative. The techniques used to write the articles were equally effective, giving a different perspective on the stories. The possibility of recovering after an event as traumatic as abduction through psychological counseling is a welcomed and exciting idea. The course on "Introduction to Psychology" has opened my eyes to the extent that psychology can go to help make a difference in the lives of people everywhere.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is a Safe Treatment for Mental Disorder

A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thesis Statement Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a treatment for severe mental illness in which the brain is stimulated with a strong electrical current which induces a seizure. The seizure rearranges the brain's neurochemistry and results in an elevation of mood. This essay asks: Is ECT any safer and more effective in treating mood disorders than drug therapies? This treatment has a controversial history ever since it was first introduced in 1938. I intend to argue that electroconvulsive therapy is indeed a safe treatment of mental disorders when other treatments have failed. Due to the development of safer and less traumatic ways of administering ECT, the treatment has made a comeback, is greatly used, and proves to be effective. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Historical Context The original use of electricity as a cure for â€Å"insanity† dates back to the beginning of the 16th century when electric fish were used to treat headaches. Electroconvulsive therapy on humans originates from research in the 1930’s into the effects of camphor-induced seizures in people with schizophrenia (Guttmacher, 1994). In 1938, two Italian researchers, Ugo Cerletti and Lucio Bini, were the first to use an electric current to induce a seizure in a delusional, hallucinating, schizophrenic man. The man fully recovered after eleven treatments. This led to a rapid spread of the use of ECT as a way to induce therapeutic convulsions in the mentally ill. Lothar Kalinowsky, Renato Almansi, and Victor Gonda are further responsible in spreading ECT from Italy to North America (Endler, 1988). Although there is some confusion as to who exactly is credited for administering the first ECT in America, it is known that it occurred in the early 1940. When ECT was first introduced, it was a terrifying and hazardous procedure: patients suffered serious side effects, even breaking a bone from convulsions (Nairne, Smith & Lindsay, 2001). It has been criticized since its beginnings, and only recently it has begun to be seen more positively. The major reason for this is the fact that the treatment went through significant changes over the years – it is now much safer than before. Nowadays, patients are given a general anaesthetic and medications that relax the muscles to prevent injuries from occur. However, most professionals still consider it to be a treatment of last resort. It is used when people have shown... ...epressive disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 361(9360), 799-808. Gerard G. G., Furman, M. J., Carpenter, L. L., et al. (December 2000). Efficacy of continuation ECT and antidepressant drugs compared to long-term antidepressants alone in depressed patients. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1960-1965. Guttmacher, L. B. (1994). Concise Guide to Psychopharmacology and Electroconvulsive Therapy. Washington: American Psychiatric Press Inc. Nairne, J. S., Smith, M. S., and Lindsay, D. S. (2001). Psychology: The Adaptive Mind. Scarborough: Nelson Thomson Learning. Reisner, A D. (2003). The electroconvulsive therapy controversy: evidence and ethics. Neuropsychology Review, 13(4), 199-219. Vothknecht, S., Kho, K. H., van Schaick, H. W., et al. (September 2004). Effects of maintenance electroconvulsive therapy on cognitive functions. Journal of ECT, 19(3), 151-157. Weiner R. D., & Krystal, A.D. (February 1994). The present use of electroconvulsive therapy. Annual Review of Medicine, 45, 273-281. (2001). The Practice of Electroconvulsive Therapy: Recommendations for Treatment, Training, and privileging (2nd Ed). American Psychiatric Association.

Poetic Analysis of Fern Hill Essay -- Poetry Essays Poem Fern Hill

Poetic Analysis "Fern Hill" Dylan Thomas's poem "Fern Hill" represents the passage of one mans life from boyhood to adulthood and the realization of his mortality. The speaker in this poem uses expressive language and imagery to depict a tale of growing up. The use of colour adds life and character to people and abstract ideas. He looks up to "Time" (313) as an authority figure who has strict control of his life, and with descriptions of biblical figures we can presume that he is a religious person who believes that God is in control of his destiny. Each of these images contributes to a picture of one man's outlook on life and death. Colour imagery is used in the beginning of the poem as the speaker describes his happiness as a child. He explains his young days as being as "happy as the grass is green" (313), or in other words, alive and healthy. He then directly refers himself to being "green and carefree" (313). As a young boy he was vibrant and full of life. Being full of life, like "green grass" (313), means that there is a natural course that life has to follow, birth to death. Anything living has a purpose in life and the speaker reflects his young days as a "Huntsman and Herdsman" (313). The poem takes a dramatic turn when he describes "fire as green as grass" (313). Fire or burning paired with grass means that something destructive has occurred in the speaker's young life that has changed or altered the course of his natural growth. He is an adult when he looks back and says "before the children green" (314). He had gained an understanding that his life is running out and says time held me "green and dying" (313). He is seeing his "green" (314) life turning brown and wilting. He i... ...ruit. Life changing events would alter a child's perspective of himself. "Fern Hill" is a poem about the realization of life and mortality that appears after an unexpected experience occurs. The speaker is moved to a greater wisdom about himself and the world around him. He realizes that the immortality he felt as a child was merely a step towards the unyielding movement of life towards death. Through the use of colour, time, and religious language readers develop an understanding for the speaker's emotions, beliefs, and passage through life. WORKS CITED Orser, Sandi. ENGL 1155 (01): Introduction to Literature: Gender and Form. MSVU. January 2005. Thomas, Dylan. "Fern Hill." The Harbrace Anthology of Literature. Ed. Jon C. Stott, Raymond E. Jones, and Rick Bower. 3rd ed. Toronto: Nelson-Thomson, 2002. 313-314

A Proposed Solution to Hiring More Employees

Meeting the list above will improve healthy lifestyles for employees to keep working at their full potential. 1. 0 Introduction 1. 1 Purpose The purpose of this report is to hire a reasonable amount of employees for direct care at Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center. Hiring employees would cut down performance. 1. 2 Problem The staff mentioned the lack of staff to do the work. Employees were working more hours. They expressed their frustrations about not having holidays off. Not letting the staff know at head of time that they would be working forced overtime was frustrating to staff. Staff felt frustrated with continue mandatory overtime.Patients are staying longer for treatment. Security officers are constantly call on hospital units four to five times in eight hours to handle crisis. Management not listing to staff to hire employees was a lack of team work. 2. 0 Discussion 2. 1 Solution Hire more employees to take the load off the current employees. 2. 2 Benefits Hiring new empl oyees has many benefits. Here are a few of them: Employees could spend more time with family Employees would come to work happier The company would benefit by increasing productivity Benefit economy by giving more people work. It's cheaper than having current employees work overtime.Customers would have better service. 2. 3 costs Hiring new employees can be a costly process, but it will pay off in the long run. According to Joe Hadzima, a columnist for the Boston Business Journal and lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management, the salary and benefits totals is â€Å"1. 25 to 1. 4 times base salary range. † As shown by Figure 1 Wages and Salaries only equal about 70% of the cost to hire new employees. There are quite a few other expenses you must take into account. The True Cost of Hiring New Employees Figure 1 2. 4 Hiring Process The company could do mix of the following to find applicants: An ad in the paperAn internet ad Job fair if enough openings are available Recruiter at a college or university one after each other. It should take a week to get the ads out and another week for applicants to respond to the ads. After the interview it should take about 2 weeks to process the applicants. In about a month new employees should be working in the company. These positions could either be full time or part time whichever is necessary. 2. 5 Training Training is one of the most expensive things about hiring new employees but it's important for employees to get the proper training.It takes on average 5 months for new employees to become good at their work. According to the Studer Group, â€Å"A survey of 610 CEOs by Harvard Business School estimates that typical mid-level managers require 6. 2 months to reach their break-even point. † There are many benefits to training employees. Here are few of them: They won't damage expensive company property. Employees will be more productive and efficient at their work. Customers will be happier when they deal with well-trained employees. Other companies are more willing to work with your company if your employees know what they are doing.Average Hours Employees are Trained In A Year This chart shows how employers are training employees more in the last few years. Figure 2 3. 0 Conclusion 3. 1 Solution Hiring new employees is the best solution for companies who are constantly busy and employees are working a ton of hours. Here are some of the many benefits: Current employees could spend more time with family Employees would come to work happier, because theyll have more time to rest and relax. The company would benefit by increasing productivity. Hiring new people is also good for the local economy by giving more people work.It's heaper to hire new employees than have current employees work overtime. Customer would also be happier with more employees so that they would have better service. 3. 2 Time Frame It should take about a month to hire new employees. It will take about 5 months for the employees to be trained in unless they have previous experience. So new employees should be hired and fully trained in in 6 months.

Focus Paper on Grand Conversations Essay

Grand conversations are effective instruments of instructional design and learning, which may be easily integrated into any type of curriculum content. Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is an excellent example of the book that can be used in elementary school grand conversations. To make grand conversations even more effective and interactive, they may also be combined with shared reading. In grand conversations, elementary school learners develop necessary interactions, which lead them to developing extensive reading and comprehension skills. Focus Paper on Grand Conversations Introduction Grand conversations are effective instruments of instructional design and learning, which may be easily integrated into any type of curriculum content. Grand conversations are particularly important for the development of communicative skills in learners. The use of grand conversations is integrally linked to student-centered approaches, providing students with additional opportunities to speak, express their thoughts and opinions, and study the most problematic curriculum topics in depth. In elementary classroom, grand conversations may be used as the means for studying literary texts and developing extensive connections between literature themes and student realities. Elementary school teachers pay special attention to the development of literacy and communicative skills in young learners. By linking reading to discussion and exploration, education specialists are trying to develop more effective approaches that would motivate young learners to read, and communicate their views in classroom. â€Å"Grand conversations are discussions held by the entire class community. What makes grand conversations different from other forms of whole group activities is that the teacher does not direct grand conversations† (Buis, 2004). Thus, the teacher’s task is to choose the content which is the most appropriate for classroom discussion, and to set the tone of the group conversation, which will further be directed by learners and will help them investigate the plot, the theme, the characters, and the setting of the original text in more detail. Unfortunately, teachers tend to use more traditional standardized strategies in text analysis; a short-lived conversation is a widely acceptable teaching technique that may save time during the lesson but does not improve student knowledge in class. However, it is not enough for a teacher to understand the importance of grand conversations in class; it is essential that elementary school teachers develop effective and multifaceted approaches, to give students an opportunity for practicing their communicational skills. As teachers, we cannot guarantee that our small students will be able to understand all literary implications of particular texts. That is why it is important to develop meaningful chains that would help learners understand the content, the context, and the idea of a literary work. The book to be discussed should be written in simple language and should be close to what children feel, see, and do in their daily lives. â€Å"The book should be enjoyable, of superior literary quality, engage student interests, allow for good discussions and invite students to revisit them over and over again† (Buis, 2004). Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is an excellent example of the book that can be used in elementary school grand conversations. To make grand conversations even more effective and interactive, they may also be combined with shared reading of the most interesting passages. A sample grand conversation may start with a simple question: â€Å"Do you think that Huckleberry Finn could live in our society? † This question may further be extended to discussing the similarities between Huckleberry Finn’s realities (clothes, behaviors, thoughts), and those of contemporary learners. It is expected that students’ answers will not be limited to â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no†, but will encourage other students to express their thoughts and develop reliable connections between their personal experiences and those of a literary character. Children will be free to discuss their best impressions, feelings, or their favorite clothes. It is expected that by the end of the discussion session, children will be able to determine, what makes Huckleberry Finn different from them. Choosing a picture book would also facilitate the discussion and drive learners’ imagination, giving elementary students a special feeling of â€Å"reading joy† (Buis, 2004). As teachers, we should also be prepared to the situation when learners’ experiences and opinions differ and are even be opposite to each other; as a result, we will need to use available instruments for turning this opposition into the subject of a detailed discussion. Grand conversations will further engage all learners into a risk-free environment, and expose them to the world of classic literature through the prism of their most pleasant life experiences. It should be noted that â€Å"participation in a discourse community is crucial for the cultivation of deeper levels of vocabulary knowledge. Language learning is fuelled by students’ curiosity and their desire to connect and communicate with others† (Buis, 2004). For grand conversations to be effective, it is important that the teacher does not limit the discussion to one single interpretation of the book. Children should be encouraged to express their ideas about the plot, the meaning, and the importance of particular passages. Although grand conversations are not directed by the teacher, some scaffolding may be appropriate to motivate and encourage young learners. Traditionally, students are not involved into active group discussions in class; they are used to the situation where teacher carries the main load of talking. As a result, students may be prevented from supporting conversation at deep levels. Several grand conversations will be required to ensure that students have fully understood the meaning of Twain’s text and that they are able to formulate their thoughts as applied to the context, structure, and the meaning of the plot. Every new text distracts students from digging deeper into particular literary elements, but attracts their attention to new events within the story; that is why several literary conversations will help young learners concentrate on particular meaningful elements that will gradually lead them to understanding the real or virtual place of Huckleberry Finn in his and in our time. Conclusion Grand conversations reveal the new facets of elementary students’ communicative skills and abilities. This type of instructional methodology helps revisiting the most interesting literary texts and exploring them through the prism of learners’ personal experiences. In grand conversations, elementary school learners develop necessary interactions, which lead them to developing extensive reading and comprehension skills and provide them with unlimited opportunities for sharing their comments and offering new ideas in classroom-wide discussions. References Buis, K. (2004). Making words stick: strategies that build vocabulary and reading comprehension in the elementary grades. Pembroke Publishers Limited.

Love and Logic Philosophy

Benson, Galbraith, and Espeland, (1995) defines love and logic as a philosophy concerned with raising children in such a way that makes both the teachers and students more satisfied and contented, empowered, skilled and able to relate in a mutually beneficial manner that allows for the students to learn in a free environment.   The philosophy ensures that, adults demonstrate enough love to children which in turn makes the children to feel freer and at ease in the learning process.   This is very important to a learning environment. Benson, Galbraith, and Espeland, (1995) notes that, a learning environment should be devoid of barriers such as noise barrier, communication barriers and also psychological barriers such as the negative relations between teachers and children. The incidences of disruptive behaviour from school children has been on the increase for the past few decades yet the education system has either been unresponsive to the emerging challenges or the educators and policy makers have been totally aloof to the situation.   This has led to a lot of children dropping out of schools and therefore disrupting their lives.   This has had other far reaching consequences such as that; the children who discontinue studies may end up engaging in criminal activities.   For the teachers, the above trends have led to special challenges in that, the public expects them to deliver oblivious of the unique classroom difficulties. As Benson, Galbraith, and Espeland, (1995) notes, indiscipline negatively affects the learning environment and therefore an undisciplined class is more likely to perform poorly than a disciplined class. According to (Cline, & Fay, 1990), America has experienced a significant increase in disruptive behaviour in school going children such as; violence, intolerable behavior, as well as substance misuse.   In a study carried out by (Benson, Galbraith, & Espelland, 1995), it was found out that punishment, does not actually reduce cases of classroom indiscipline but on the contrary, it causes an increase in indiscipline incidences.   All the above led to combined efforts to find a solution for the increasing cases of indiscipline and ultimately resulted in the experimentation of the love and logic philosophy which was rather correctional approach as opposed to a punitive one (Finn, 1989).   The love and logic philosophy holds that, children can succeed in the classroom for as long as the teacher shows compassion, demonstrates tolerance. This leads to the children to connect compassion and love to logical consequences (Finn, 1989). In a study of 270,000 students carried out by   Benson, Galbraith, and Espeland, (1995) found out that criminal behaviour, academic failure and substance abuse are easily avoidable by applying the principles of love and logic. Such principles include, supportive and loving family and school environment, a positive relationship between children and adults, high achievement and motivation, good communication between parents and children as well as decision making skills and optimism about the world and the children’s future.   All the above are developmental concerns which a teacher can address in the classroom. In another study by (Weir, 1997) which involved the implementation of love and logic program in an elementary level, the results overwhelmingly pointed to the effectiveness of the love and logic philosophy.   After implementation teachers were required to give feedback on some variables.   It was reported that, 87% of teachers experienced an improvement in student behavior, 84% noted experiencing improved relationships with students, 68% reported that as a result of the love and logic program, student disruptions had significantly decreased, 71% noted getting time for more teaching as a result of decreased disruptions, while 82% noted that, discipline had improved and they felt that they were in charge of the classroom. When adults demonstrate love, the children feel less threatened and are therefore more likely to learn in unthreatening environment whereby the children are not afraid of making mistakes (Cline, & Fay, 1990).   Through logic, children are empowered to accept the consequences of their actions as well as decisions and are therefore more likely to cope with consequences arising out of the choices the children make. According to (Cline, & Fay, 1990), love and logic are a prerequisite for a working relationship amongst teachers, children and parents in which the parents and teachers take control over the children and their actions.   Love and logic are very important to teachers in that, they give the teacher the necessary control needed in classroom environment for learning to take place effectively.   The logic and love philosophy instills in children a sense of responsibility which is crucial especially when it comes to learning activities which teachers assign to children such as assignments and homework. With a more disciplined class, the teacher is more likely to gain control over the class and therefore become more efficient in delivery of the subject content.   Love and logic, are important for teachers in that, besides passing knowledge, teachers act as caregivers and are mandated to ensure that the students learn life’s skills such as social skills and decision making which are important in bringing up responsible and disciplined children. This goes a long way in making sure that, when the children come out of school, they do not have difficulties in coping with the outside world.   (Benson, Galbraith, & Espelland, 1995) notes that, logic and love is a good alternative for counselling with the added advantages such as the fact that; logic and love approaches are realistic, simple and easy for the children to learn (Bandura, 1977).   Logic and love has been noted as one of the few philosophies which do not depend on age in that, children of all ages can learn important life skills even at a very tender age. Therefore teaching using the logic and love approach allows a learner to gain in the maximum way possible due to the usually close ties with the teacher. The teachers as well benefit mutually in that, the self direction the student demonstrates is an empowerment in the classroom and it allows the learner to grow up into better citizen ready to face the future challenges which lie ahead of the students once they leave the classrooms. Love and logic takes into consideration teacher and student relations by encouraging the two parties to connect easily. By enforcing the concept of self, shared control, shared thinking as well as empathy and consequences, logic and love as a philosophical approach of teaching results into a well rounded child who proceed to the outside world ready to meet the numerous challenges and able are to overcome (Bandura, 1977). Love and logic, results into a classroom environment in which the culture is that of; self determination, self dedication, self discipline as well as self empowerment for the children.   On the other side, the teachers are able to execute their professional duties with zeal and in total confidence that the objectives and goals of learning will be achieved. Conclusion Love and logic philosophy is grounded in the belief that every child has positive traits and has the potential to grow and develop into useful and resourceful members of the society.   The children learn in a non-confrontational environment and are able to relate well to the teacher.   It saves time which otherwise goes into solving indiscipline cases. For the school, logic and love saves valuable time and it is easy for the school to improve on performance.   Love and logic is a very effective approach in dealing with disruptive students who threaten the smooth learning in the classroom.   When such children are shown love, care, concern and patience, they easily transform and are capable of reforming and are very likely to become some of the best and cooperative students in the classroom. Reference Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Eaglewood Cliffs, NJ. Prentice-Hall. Benson, P, Galbraith, J, & Espelland, P. (1995). What kids need to succeed: Proven, practical ways to raise good kids? Minneapolis, MN. Free Spirit Publishing. Cline, F & Fay, J (1990). Parenting with love and logic. Colorado Springs, CO: Pirion Press. Finn, J (1989).   Withdrawing from school. Review of educational research, 59. Weir, B (1997). An evaluation of the effects of love and logic at McCullough Elementary School. Unpublished outcome study.   

Theatre in America During the 1930s.

Theatre in America during the 1930s. During the 1930s, the American Dream had become a nightmare because of the Great Depression. The sudden drop in stock exchange had threatened the land. What was once the land of optimism, had become the land of despair. The promise for success was clearly not fulfilled. Americans started to question and blame the government (rebelling). Society had led to a theatre that was politically and socially conscious The vision of the American Dream is broad, everyone is free, equal and has limitless opportunities. â€Å"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness† is what the American strives for.No one is oppressed or starved and nothing can stop a person from their ambitions. Hard work to improve one’s position in life is promoted. This is the ideal life of an American citizen, but sadly, this wasn’t the case in the 1930s. â€Å"†¦income of the average American family was reduced by 40%, from $2,300 to $1,500. Instead of advanc ement, survival became the keyword. Institutions, attitudes, lifestyles changed in this decade but democracy prevailed. †-(www. kclibrary. lonestar. edu/decade30. html) Although this was happening, people did what they could to make their lives happy. Parlor games, board games and movies were popular.Movie houses opened as theatres closed down. Group theatre was considered â€Å"the most distinguished acting company of the 1930s and modelled on the Moscow Acting Theatre. † – (Dramatic Arts textbook, pg 210) The birth of professional American Theatre begun with the Lewis Hallam troupe during 1752. Theatre was for those who were interested in a theatre which reflected political and social ideals, e. g. Tennessee Williams (T. W). Broadway, Group Theatre and Theatrical Realism was incorporated into T. W’s book, The Glass Menagerie. The Glass Menagerie is partly autobiographical because Tom represents the author as well.Tom is basically the memory to T. Wâ€⠄¢s youth. Although T. W writes of his past, he also focuses on the socio-political issues of the American life. Tom’s mother, Amanda Wingfield, is the perfect example of the â€Å"negative† in the American Dream. She forces the American Dream upon her children and this suffocates them. In scene 3, Amanda and Tom fight, then Tom ends up calling her a witch. Amanda is still having a hard time coming to the new terms of her status in society because she grew up in a home of social fortune. But she does cause the problem between herself and Tom.