Blood Pressure & Pulse during exercise Essay Example for Free

Blood Pressure Pulse during exercise Essay Introduction: The blood pressure of a person is the force exerted by the blood on the walls of the arteries per unit area. The blood pressure unit is mmHg. The blood pressure of an individual is expressed in two ways, the systolic (due to the contraction of the ventricle) and diastolic, (due to the relaxation of the ventricle). The normal blood pressure of an individual is 120/80 (systolic / diastolic). Various factors can alter a persons blood pressure; this includes exercise, smoking, stress, diseases and age. Materials and Methods: Stepping stool, timer, blood pressure measurement kit (Sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope) and students in-groups of four. In each group one student acted as a patient, while the other acted as a physician or nurse. Another acted as the timekeeper. The fourth student acted as the data recorder. The base-line pulse rate and blood pressure of the patient (student) were obtained. The patient was asked to perform stepping up and down the stool 30 X within 5 minutes. After the stepping stool exercise, the patients blood pressure and pulse rate were immediately obtained again. After resting for 2 minutes, the measurements were repeated and also after 5 minutes. In order to obtain more data each student in the group acted as a patient and the measurements were repeated.

Cognitive Development and Language Development

Cognitive Development and Language Development What roles do nature and nurture play in children’s language development? Within this essay I am going to be looking at whether I think, nature or nurture has the greatest impact on human development, referring to cognitive development and language development. By looking at what different theorists from the human development field have discovered, I will come to the conclusion whether nature or nurture wins this debate. I will start off by explaining some of the key terms that I will be using, making it easier for myself to reference back to when needed. I will then move onto my first area of human development, which is cognitive development, and discuss the nature/nativist theories and the nurture/empiricist theories. By talking about a few different key issues, I will then focus on one main theorist for each. Then, moving on to the second area of human development; language development, I will do the same thing again. By starting off looking at the different nativist theories, and then focusing on one main theorist, and then looking into the empiricist theories, and focusing on one main theorist. After having looked at all the different views I will be able to conclude on whether I think nature or nurture has the greatest impact on human development. Some of the key terms which will assist me in this essay are: Cognition is basically the mental activities that are associated with thinking, knowing and remembering; any ideas and thoughts that a person has, or memories that are stored are all different types of cognitive processes. Reading and learning is also a type of cognition. Development can either be qualitative or quantitative. It can be qualitative in the sense that you cant measure the change, but the change is still noticeable. You can develop quantitatively by an increase in height or weight etc. Patterns of change over time which begin at conception and continue throughout the life span (Keenan, 2006). Cognitive Developmental Theory, which consists of many different theories, but I will start off by referring to Piagets Cognitive Development Theory. In Piagets theory of cognitive development, is a stage theory which consists of different stages of development. Within each stage of development, children are put before challenging situations which they must then deal with and overcome through their own abilities. After completing the challenge the child is then able to move on to the next stage of cognitive development. Learningis when there is a change in behaviour or knowledge which has developed from previous experiences or training. The learning process could be innate, meaning that we are born with the knowledge, or it has been obtained through daily life. Hence, any knowledge or behaviour that we are now in hold of that we were not born with, was somehow learned. This has been studied by psychologists in many ways, Pavlov with his associative learning; he examined the salivation of dogs in response to meat powder; to Skinner with his reinforcement theory, that a learner will only repeat the desired behaviour if the behaviour is followed by positive reinforcement; rats press a lever in the quest of gaining some kind of reward. Language is something that we use in everyday lives. Theoretically, language is a formal system of communication which involves a combination of words and/or symbols, whether written or spoken. It is not necessary for another organism to comprehend the language, for it to actually be a language just that it meets the description given. Language Development is a process which starts early in human life, that begins when a person starts to acquire language by learning as it is spoken or by mimicking the person. By four months of age, babies are able to read lips and distinguish between different speech sounds. Language usually starts off as meaningless words by simply recalling what others are saying, but as a child grows, the words begin to acquire meaning creating connections between words being formed. As a person gets older, new meanings and new associations are created and vocabulary increases as more words are learned. Nature is the genetics you receive, its something you have ever since you were born, e.g. eye colour. It is something that cannot be influenced by others. Nurture is the effect that the people in your life have on you, and the environment you are in. It is things that have influenced you whilst growing up, e.g. the media or values taught by your parents. Nature-Nurture is known to be one of the longest running debates; whether its or genes (nature) or our experiences (nurture) that make us who we are? E.g. If a person commits a violent crime, did they do so because of their genetic makeup (they are genetically pre-wired to be violent) or because of their experiences (e.g., growing up in an impoverished area, not getting a good education, no parental guidance or some other experience)? This is the nature-nurture debate. Child development is a discipline which aims to identify, to describe and to predict patterns in childrens growth where growth includes intellectual (or cognitive), linguistic, physical, social, behavioural and emotional development. (Smidt, 2006), (ARU, 2009) The key theories that are mainly acknowledged within cognitive development include The Stage Theory, carried out by Piaget (nativist), and Scaffolding by Bruner (empiricist). Piaget (1896-1980) researched into childrens learning and believed that they go through stages and learn in sequences when growing up. He thought that children were active learners and that they used their past experiences as their knowledge for the world and how to deal with previously experienced situations. Piagets theory was first published in 1952, which came from his observation of children, including his own, whom he observed in a natural environment. He imagined that a childs knowledge was composed of schemas; knowledge which is used to organise previous experiences, which is referred back to when trying to understand new ones. Piagets theory states that cognitive development occurs in four stages, in which when they begin to take place, they follow the same order; you are only able to move onto the next stage once the previous stage has been completed. The four stages are: Researchers have found that the advanced memory skills in children, mainly in the Formal Operational Stage, are due to memorisation techniques, such as repeating things in hope of memorising them, or categorising them, making it easier to pick out the information in future. Vygotsky (1978) states: Every function in the childs cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals. His theories were a mix of both nativist and empiricist views. One of Vygotskys central ideas was the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which is the difference between the level of potential development and the actual development in a child. He emphasised how social interaction was vital for develo pment from the beginning of their lives. He declared that before becoming internal, a function must go through a social stage when developing. Therefore, it is initially social, and then becomes an internal function which is known as internalisation (Vygotsky, 1962). The empiricist views would include Vygotskys theory on the role of culture and social interaction. He stated that socio-cultural environment was important for cognitive development. Being able to experience different contexts creates different forms of development; cognitive processes such as thoughts and your imagination develop through social interaction. The matter of social interaction relates back to ZPD, as communicating with other people develops your knowledge further. Bruner (1915- ) developed further on Vygotskys early work, and came up with Scaffolding, which was outlining how an adult assists a child in learning. Adults can aid children to move from where they are, to where they want to go. This is only possible if the child is interested in the situation initially, then they are able to be supported by the adult to further their learning. This is demonstrated in 5 stages, shown in the table below: (ARU, 2009) When an adult is assisting a child they are using previous experiences as their knowledge to do so. This is known as the Socio-Cognitive Stage Theory, in which recall is processed in 3 ways. The Enactive Mode, is when things are represented by doing them, the process used to get to the end product. The Iconic Mode is when children are encouraged to record their experiences, therefore making them more memorable. Lastly, the Symbolic Mode, which is where children use symbols and codes to represent and specify the meaning of what they are trying to represent. E.g. writing the number 5 instead of writing five; its a symbol representing the number. Skinner (1905-1990) is another example, who has practiced the importance of empirical learning in development. According to him, learning is characterised by the way a person processes their behaviour, which is then shaped into an experience. He doesnt completely eliminate the role of innate factors, but does argue that the external environment has a higher influence on development. Skinner suggested that if a person is positively reinforced (rewarded) for carrying out a certain action, they are more likely to repeat it again and recall it as a good experience. If a child was to be negatively reinforced (punished) they are highly likely not to repeat the behaviour again as they dont want to be punished, therefore remembering it as a bad experience. I believe that a person has to experience an event physically for them to be able to remember it better and recall it. Therefore, the environment plays a crucial role in cognitive development as it gives you knowledge of whether something is right or wrong, and then this experience is moved into the innate as a memory. Like Skinner suggested, before carrying out an action the child will remember the last time they carried it out, how they had approached the task set ahead of them then, what they have learnt since then, and how they can improve on it now with their recent learning; hence the social interaction has led the child to think back using their innate memory. Cognitive development requires both nativist and empiricist approaches to help a child develop their learning. The key theories that are mainly acknowledged within language development include Chomskys Language Acquisition Device, Skinners Reinforcement and Banduras Social Learning Theory (SLT). The nativist theory deals with language being an innate feature of a child. Chomsky (1928- ) promotes this theory and came up with his own Language Acquisition Device (LAD). He declared that the ability to learn language is inborn, suggesting that nature is more important than nurture. His work contributed to the thought that childrens language development is more complex than what is declared by behaviourists, who believe that children can learn language by being rewarded for imitating. However, Chomskys theory does not take into account the influence that cognition and language have on each others development. Nativists believe that if children surrounded by poverty, and brought up in a poverty constricted environment, children are still learning to speak due to their language acquisition device. Th is leads them to believe that the study of learning focuses on events that can be observed and measured. Empiricist views of Skinner and Watson, shows that they believed that children come into this world as a blank slate. Therefore, meaning that when a child is born, they have no knowledge at all, and are incapable of doing or knowing anything. They believe that this theory applies to all species. Behaviourist views like this suggest that the role of the environment is vital, and that the process of learning is only successful if there has been a change in behaviour. Moving onto Banduras (1924- ) Social Learning Theory, which suggests people learn from one another by observing their actions and imitating them. This theory is known to be a link between nativist and empiricist views as nativist learning is needed when trying to memorise what you are seeing and embarking on motivation. Most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a gui de for action (Bandura). The conditions which are necessary for this model to take place include, Attention, there are various points which will either increase or decrease the amount of attention you are paying to a situation. This could relate back to Skinner and his Reinforcement theory. Retention, being the second condition, is remembering what you were paying attention to. This can be remembered in different ways such as, images, symbols, coding, or just rehearsing. Reproduction, is being able to reproduce the image, which then leads to Motivation, which occurs when you have a good reason to imitate the previous sequence. Other reasons for this motivation may be incentives, or the speculation enforced by the reinforcement theory. Skinner suggested that the associations between a stimuli and the response could explain the behaviour and interaction of a being. He tried to apply his Operant Conditioning to the way language is learnt. The probability of a verbal response was contin gent on four things: reinforcement, stimulus control, deprivation, and aversive stimulation. The interaction of these things in a childs environment would lead to particular associations, the basis of all language (Skinner 1957). I believe that nurture, is a more effective form of language development. This is because language is a gradual process; you need to go through various stages of development until you are at a level of individual learning. By watching what an adult is doing, at a young age you observe them and imitate them. Its like watching a carer and a baby having a conversation; CARER: Hello, what are you doing? BABY: (babbles) When talking to the baby, theyll try and converse back, and as they grow older they learn words and their meanings and are able to create sentences. This all comes from some form of social interaction. The nature side of things is important in this matter too as; once a child has learnt a word, it needs to be stored and recalled again when needed to. Therefore, both nature and nurture work together in an effort to create language development. To conclude overall, I believe that both nature and nurture play a vital role in the development of cognitive and language development. The nurture may come first at times to experience the situation or process, which you then will remember and will store it, and then when needed to use again the experience becomes innate and is remembered through the cognition of your brain, becoming your nature. There are many studies that have been carried out to prove that nurture is more vital in the development of these processes, but from my point of view, I dont think there is as much information available on the nature side of things as there is on nurture. There are well known nature theorists out known, taking Piaget for example, but nature theories need to be backed up more strongly with more research being carried out. Reinforcement plays a big role in no matter what you do, if you are negatively reinforced towards a situation, you are likely to not want to go through it again and put th at experience at the back of your mind; but still have it in your memory for you to be reminded to not recreate the scenario. The nature-nurture debate has been studied over for many years, and will probably continue to be for many more years to come; but this is strong debate which I believe works together as a pair, and the one needs the other for it to be able to function appropriately. REFERENCES: http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php www.learning-theories.com/classical-conditioning-pavlov.html http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/2_learntch/theories.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_development (2009). Theory of Cognitive Development. Available: http://www.answers.com/topic/cognitive-development. Last accessed 13 December 2009. (2008). Stage Theory of Cognitive Development (Piaget). Available: http://www.learning-theories.com/piagets-stage-theory-of-cognitive-development.html. Last accessed 13 December 2009. (2004). Cognitive Development In Children. Available: http://allpsych.com/psychology101/development.html. Last accessed 13 December 2009. Verenikina,A. Understanding Scaffolding and the ZPD in Educational Research. Available: http://www.aare.edu.au/03pap/ver03682.pdf. Last accessed 13 December 2009. Wertsch, J.V. (1985). Cultural, Communication, and Cognition: Vygotskian Perspectives. Cambridge University Press. The Nativist Theory. Available: http://language11.tripod.com/id9.html. Last accessed 13 December 2009. (2009). Developing language for life. Available: http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/talktoyourbaby/theories.html. Last accessed 13 December 2009. (2009). Nature Versus Nurture. Available: http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1913/Developmental-Theory.html. Last accessed 13 December 2009. Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press. (2008). Social Learning Theory (Bandura). Available: http://www.learning-theories.com/social-learning-theory-bandura.html. Last accessed 13 December 2009. Oates,J Grayson,A. 2004. Cognitive and language development in children. Open University : Blackwell BF Skinner, Behavioralism, Language Behavior. Available: http://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2003/cogrev_skinner.htm. Last accessed 14 December 2009.

Sophocles Philoctetes Essay -- Sophocles Philoctetes Essays

Sophocles' Philoctetes â€Å"No word. Then I am nothing† (950) â€Å"Who will say word of greeting to me?† (1354) In his lecture Oedipus at the Crossroads, Simon Goldhill addresses the idea that the incest between mother and son results in the collapse not only of the characters, but of language itself: or rather, of the language the characters use to express their despair. The fact that Oedipus stumbles on the words â€Å"Daughter, sister†¦Ã¢â‚¬  reflects this breakdown of language. In Sophocles’ Philoctetes, there is a similar sense of shattered language, but here it is more a case of being abandoned by language, of language and civilisation being so intrinsic to each other that being left behind by one implies being left behind by both. The Chorus’s description of what they imagine Philoctetes’s solitary existence to be like reflects this: â€Å"He cries out in his wretchedness;/there is only a blabbering echo,/that comes from the distance speeding/from his bitter crying†(187), using lack of dialogue to represent his solitude. Similarly, it is significant th at it is not distinct words that announce Philoctetes’s approach the first time he comes on stage, but rather â€Å"the voice of a man wounded† and â€Å"a bitter cry† (209,210). And it is no coincidence that upon meeting Neoptolemus, Philoctetes’ greeting becomes an insistent, repetitive cry: â€Å"Take pity on me; speak to me; speak/ speak if you come as friends. / No—answer me/ If this is all/ that we can have from one another, speech, this, at least, we should have† (230). Just as, when Odysseus’ plan has been revealed and the men are preparing to leave, Philoctetes’ supplication is â€Å"Your voice has no word for me, son of Achilles? / Will you go away in silence?†(1065). Speech is equated with pity, di... ...sation. The Chicago version of this passage reads: â€Å"Farewell [†¦] the deep male growl of the sea-lashed headland [†¦] where many a time in answer to my crying in the storm of my sorrow the Hermes mountain sent its echo!† (1460) while in the Francklin version he states, perhaps more aptly (as his passiveness is felt much more), â€Å"Farewell the noise of beating waves, which I so oft have heard from the rough sea [†¦]Oft th' Hermaean mount Echoed my plaintive voice†. In both cases there is a keen sense of release, of breaking free, of the relief of knowing that one’s words will bear fruit to something other than a dim reflection of themselves, that one’s attempts at dialogue will not be met with a wall of silence. It is an ending that resounds with possibility and potential: the world Philoctetes is about to re-enter is a veritable blank page. A â€Å"great destiny† awaits him.

The Old Catholic Church :: essays research papers

Long before Christianity was divided into splinter groups, there was the old catholic Church. Each locality had a church, and each church had its bishop who superintended their spiritual life. All churches and all bishops stood on equal footing with one another. For they were all direct recipients of the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the Apostles. Each locality applied the Sacred Scriptures to their unique cultures. And from that effort, four great branches of Christianity developed: Asian, Greek, Latin and Celtic. The Asian branch represented the Aramaic and Parthian perspective, which developed into the "Church of the East". It was later called the Nestorian Church. This great church evangelized the Asian world (including China) and gave us the Peshitta - the Textus Receptus in the language spoken by our Lord. The Greek branch developed in the Hellenistic world which later became the Byzantine Empire. Most of the great Church Fathers came from this branch. They were responsible for formulating the early Creeds of Christianity. The Latin branch originated in North Africa and later rooted in southern Europe. The Roman Catholic Church and many Protestant denominations have come from this branch. It became the Classical expression of Christianity during the Middle Ages. The Celtic branch of Christianity has been the minority branch within Latin Christianity for the last one thousand years. But during the first one thousand years of the Christian era, it was the dominant branch in northern Europe and the British Isles. It was responsible for the survival of Christianity and of general knowledge during the barbarian invasions following the collapse of the Roman Empire. Celtic Christianity represented the interaction of the Druids with the teachings of the Bible. It was responsible for the unique personal consciousness, love of liberty, and the curiosity of Western man. THE CAMBRIAN CHURCH The Church of Cambria was the fountainhead of Celtic Christianity from the time of the Apostles and for many centuries thereafter. This was the logical result of the fact that Cambria had also been the center of Druidism. Converted Druids became the leading bishops of the Celtic world. During the early Middle Ages, the Cambrian Church formed the core of the resistance to the dictatorial tendencies of the Roman Popes. During the late Middle Ages and the early Modern Era, its spiritual heirs continued that resistance against the entire edifice of Latin Christianity, whether Roman Catholic or Protestant. Today, the Cambrian Church is in "diaspora", especially in America.

A Historical View of the Victorian Governess Essay -- European History

A Historical View of the Victorian Governess    Although the governess serves as the heroine in Jane Eyre, she was not a popular figure in Victorian England. The governess did not have a social position worthy of attention (Peterson 4). Aristocratic and middle-class Victorians were not even sure how to treat the governess. She was from the same class, but her lack of financial stability made them view her as their inferior. Perhaps the clearest definition of the governess was stated by Lady Elizabeth Eastlake in the Quarterly Review: The real definition of a governess in the English sense, is a being who is our equal in birth, manners, and education, but our inferior in worldly wealth. Take a lady in every meaning of the word, born and bred and let her father pass through the gazette (bankruptcy), and she wants nothing more to suit our highest beau ideal of a guide and instructress to our children. (qtd. in Peterson 10) The only time a woman of birth and education was justified in seeking employment was if she found herself in financial distress, and had no relatives to give her support (Peterson 6). The position of governess was especially appropriate for a lady who sought employment because of the death of her father, or his financial ruin. It was considered appropriate because, while it was paid work, it was in the home. The governess avoided the immodest and unladylike position of public occupation. The position of governess would not cause a lady to loose her social position (Peterson 6). The employment of a gentle woman in a Victorian middle-class family served to reinforce certain values (Peterson 4). The governess was to teach the female children skills that would be attractive in marriage such as fluency in a forei... ...er employment for governesses. These organizations also provided temporary housing, insurance, and annuities for the aging governess. As for the life of a governess, perhaps Bronte described it best when she wrote to a friend regarding his daughter. She claimed as a governess his daughter would never be happy (Bronte, "On the Requirements," 274). Works Cited Bell, Millicent. "Jane Eyre: The Tale of the Governess" American Scholar 65 (1996): 263-8. Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Beth Newman. Boston: Bedford, 1996. ---. "On the Requirements of a Governess." Strong Minded Women & Other Lost Voices from Nineteenth-Century England. Ed. Janet Murray. New York: Pantheon, 1982. Hughes, Kathryn. The Victorian Governess. London: Hambledon, 1993. Peterson, Jeanne. "The Victorian Governess." Suffer and Be Still. Ed. Martha Vicinus. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1972.

Muriel’s wedding critical analysis Essay

In Muriel’s wedding, the perception of comedian has soon arrived into a melodrama derived by P.J Hogan, as the film covers the low self-esteem Muriel in breaking through the bondages around her family and friends, trespassing from suburban to civilisation. Muriel begins the film as an overweight loser from Queensland, a woman trapped by a dysfunctional family, an apathetic neighbourhood, and a clique of beautiful â€Å"best friends.† The movie opens with a shot of a beautiful friend’s wedding, where one of the clique members is shown having an affair with the groom. The movie moves that fast: credits, wedding, affair. Before the scandalous couple have time to emerge from their private room the ugly misfit Muriel is taken into custody by the police. Apparently, she never paid for her leopard-print dress. (3) Hogan establishes his characters rather quickly. The evil clique is made up of Barbie look-alikes who criticize Muriel for not wearing frosted lipstick. Murie l is clumsy, overweight and â€Å"useless,† hopelessly ostracized from the inner circle by her unemployment and consequent failure to follow fashion. â€Å"I’ve got a job,† Muriel tells them, referring to a cosmetics sales position offered by her father’s mistress. â€Å"It’s not your clothes,† the friends retort, it’s you.† Crushed, Muriel steals money from her parents and buys a holiday at the same resort where the clique is staying. Once there she meets up with a friend from high school (Rachel Griffiths) whose noble character is symbolized by her short black hair and indifference toward fashion. The two women celebrate their independence from the neurosis of Porpoise Spit by running away to Sydney, where they get jobs, meet men, and have the time of their lives. â€Å"When I was living in Porpoise Spit I used to sit in my room all day and listen to Abba songs,† Muriel says. â€Å"Since I’ve come to Sydney, I haven’t listened to Abba at all.† Muriel’s Wedding uses the songs of the Swedish supergroup as a clever link to the thoughts and feelings of Muriel, a young Australian woman obsessed with becoming married as soon as possible. Muriel lives with her go-nowhere family in the town of Porpoise Spit, where she spends most of her time in her room, listening to ABBA when her father isn’t giving her grief. The point of this movie is very simple: in order to escape from insecurity and stagnant immobility one must rebel against the conventions held by beautiful people, cut one’s hair, buy a new wardrobe, and forge a new life on one’s own. If theft and dishonesty are the only ways that these ends can by achieved, so much the better. Another point of symbolisation in this case can be compared by the use of location VS Muriel’s self esteem. Read Also:  Critical Analysis Essay Topics Viewers can compare Muriel’s self esteem from the beginning as she stays in Porpoise Spit a so call suburbia or small town where she’s in search of a higher self esteem where here Sydney takes place. Although her ultimate utopia is still the wedding, however once met, she would kindly realize that life is far more beyond. (1)(6) Sadly to say that throughout the whole film, none of the scenes appear natural, instead, they look like Hogan has manipulated the gray shades of everyday experience in order to come up with a cast of characters that are either too black, too white, too good, or too obviously evil. Although Muriel’s Wedding does an excellent job of conveying the attitudes and economic realities of small Australian towns, it fails to capture the subtle interludes of conversation that make characters seem like real people. For example, the character of Muriel’s mother (Jeanie Drynan) is not developed at all. She is shown once standing in her kitchen, lost in a zombie-like trance, and then again in a restaurant, oblivious to the presence of her husband’s mistress. It is not until Muriel ignores her at her own wedding and Muriel’s father moves in with his mistress that we see this woman come to life, and then she kills herself. (6) Muriel’s father is another stock character, as is her celebrity immigrant husband. Hogan may as well have used cardboard cut outs to play their roles, writing â€Å"philandering politician† on one and â€Å"Olympic diver† on the other. Their lives do not figure into the plot of the movie; what matters is what they can do for Muriel. In the end they each contribute about ten grand. Muriel’s Wedding is an entertaining film after all with a bit of an identity crisis: it doesn’t know if it wants to be a comedy or a drama. The filmmakers perpetually toy with the viewers, dragging them from high comedy to melodramatic tragedy in a heartbeat, and more than once. This problem arises whenever the camera is not on Muriel, who really owns this picture completely. Whenever the plastic su pporting cast is the main focus, the film falls flat. A tacked-on, bittersweet ending doesn’t help, either. Reference 1.)http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/00/9/symposium.html#2 2.)http://ourworld.cs.com/_ht_a/amanandamouse/abbanaticfolder/murielsweddingfolder/murielswedding.html 3.)http://us.imdb.com/Title?0110598 4.)http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/4657/film/muriel.htm 5.)http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/m/muriels.html 6.)http://www.eng.umu.se/vw2000/Emma/Muriel’sWedding.htm

Management and Team Essay

A team displaying effective team performance are identified as having several characteristics. These are: Clear Goals: These are essential and ensure that the team as a whole are working towards the same positive outcome – thus ensuring an effective and in tune team. Defined Roles and job descriptions: In order to encourage effective team performance it is critical that each team member in each position has definitive roles. When these are not followed confusion is rife and the performance of the team can be severely damaged. Defined roles ensure that each team member is doing what they should, know who to call on for assistance in a certain situation and makes for smooth and effective team performance. Open and clear communication: This ensures that all team members grow within a trusting and healthy interpersonal forum at work. Open and clear communications are the only way to ensure that a team performs effectively. Excellent communication throughout the team ensures that t he team are working in sync with each other, making a strong in tune outfit. Effective decision making: Teams must receive training on effective decision making procedures in order for them to be effective. Read more:Â  Define the Key Features of Effective Team Performance If a team follows this training then the performance is enhanced across the whole team and mostly the best decisions are made using this process. Time is often saved using these techniques making for a happier healthier team. Participation from all team members: Regular time and forums to gather all team members are essential to the performance of the team. It not only empowers workers to give their opinion but allows and encourages all within a team to have their ideas and opinions validated – thus making a positive enhancement on the team. Participation also encourages the sharing of ideas and knowledge within the team creating diversity within the team as a whole. Valued diversity: Every team member has a different idea, opinion or approach and so bringing all of the differences from each individual together – this enhances the knowledge and diversity of the team as a whole. For instance – someone may be methodical and the other creative. Between them they sho uld have all avenues covered to make a well rounded team when put together. Recognising, at supervisions and team meetings, each individuals strengths enables the team to have many sides to use and in turn enhances performance. Managed conflict: is essential to effective team performance as it stops issues and problems from being ignored. It is a safe and positive way to take problems and bring out new ideas in order to solve and put at ease any members of the team affected by this conflict. It gives team members a chance to be heard and a solution sought in order to keep the team the best that it can be. Positive atmosphere: People who are happy in their work have been proven to be more productive than those who dislike their position and so positivity is a must at all times within a team. Cooperative relationships: An effective team gets along well and takes knowledge from co workers to improve the things they are less able to do alone. It has been proven that optimum team performance is achieved by team members who get along with each other. Participative leadership: An effective team with have leadership who are good role models. The leaders will be involved in the same type of work as all team members on occasion and show that they themselves can and will work as part of the team, even if they are at the top. It has been written that it should be difficult to identify the leader in effective teams upon observation. (Bruce Tuckman 1965) states that the best way to gain effective team performance is to follow his theory of Forming, Storming, Norming and performing. Following his theory tool is definitely a way forward and shows key features of effective team performance. When each stage is followed , a team should reach maximum performance quickly and with ease. (www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm) To summarise – the features of effective team performance are to have a happy knowledgeable team who meet regularly, share experiences, ideas and knowledge, to ensure team members are valued and to create a happy work environment where conflicts are safely managed and management are actively seen a nd involved within the team. With all of the above features evident within an organisations team should ensure and show excellent team performance. 1.2 IDENTIFY THE CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED BY DEVELOPING TEAMS Challenges experienced by developing teams include the notion that team members may become overwhelmed if the development is handled wrongly. Psychologist Bruce Tuckman (1965)says that in the initial stages of team development it is easy for teams to become overwhelmed by expectations of what they are being asked to do. However if the theory and tools are used correctly, team development is planned carefully, and the plan followed then all challenges can be overcome. With any team, disengagement should be looked for as if members do not participate then they will not achieve the desired outcome. Reading many papers on the matter lead me to believe that if you keep a team engaged, have a stringent plan, outline goals for the team and orchestrate using tried and tested methods, all challenges that may arise will be overcome. Time is always difficult to find with developing teams to enable the progression. Regular time should be allowed for team performance meetings and it is always difficult to orchestrate a workforce to develop. However difficult, a conclusion from my reading is that teams need time and without adequate tim e and a leader who knows what they are doing, developing teams can be seriously impaired. 1.3 IDENTIFY THE CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED BY ESTABLISHED TEAMS Established teams can be difficult to change. If an established team has effective team performance then great but if an established team has team performance that is not good then an established team may be difficult to shape as they will not be used to the new strategies and ideas involved in upping their performance. Following on as a Manager into an environment already established is always difficult. Bringing in new ideas – it is written that established teams can become un nerved and so this should be done using tried and tested techniques. It is important to identify in established teams what already works and grow with that and to slowly bring in new ideas and routes to enhance performance. Resistance to change is a natural response by human beings and should be looked out for and overcome quickly so as not to see a decline in positivity within established teams. (http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-pm-cm.htm) 1.4 EXPLAIN HOW CHALLENGES TO EFFECTIVE TEAM PERFORMANCE CAN BE OVERCOME. Team performance challenges can be overcome by using communication. Excellent communication is at the forefront of any issues and challenges with team performance. Listening is also equally as important as the team should be viewed as a whole and not as an individual. This builds trust and can be imperative in overcoming issues. The whole team will fell valued. Team time spent together can also be productive – socialising and getting to know each other can alleviate stresses and strains and can make a firm foundation for problem solving. All team members must be treated as equals. Problems will come if team members feel that one member receives special treatment. A Manager must also show consistency when completing all tasks with the team. Offers of helping team members is a positive solution as if you do the work yourself and complete the task – others will see that you are an equal and should respond positively. 1.5 ANALYSE HOW DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT STYLES MAY INFLUENCE OUTCOMES OF TEAM PERFORMANCE. There are five management styles widely used throughout the world today. They are: Authoritarian Management: A Manager at the head of the company decides how things are to be done and how each team member will work. There is no room for autonomy within this style. The Manager is solely responsible for devising company policy and implementing it. This Management style could isolate the team when used alone – although there is a place in certain settings for this management style to be used. Democratic Management – this heavily involves all employees and encourages them to have a sense of ownership and to be a part of the decision making process within a company. This Management style to me seems to be the most productive in encouraging teamwork. Democratic Management is what is used in my own company through team meetings. Staff are involved in the changing of systems and work and it is very productive. Paternalistic Management is where the boss acts as a parent to the employees. This style encompasses employees social needs into the equasion and looks at them as a whole person instead of just a worker. I can see how this management style creates a friendly working environment although my worry would be that employees would become too familiar. I believe this syle to enhance team performance . Autocratic Management – This is when a Manager makes decisions in line with their opinions and views and completely alone without the assistance of a team. This management style can leave employees feeling under valued and that they can have no opinion or say in how things are to be. There is no team involvement in this style. Autocratic management can often present as a well run company on the outside but on the inside employees may be dissatisfied – thus team performance damaged severely. Laissez – faire management – This management theory is defined as having employees that manage their own sections of the business and the over all manager watches from a distance. I like this management theory as at team meetings each member who has been responsible for their own areas can bring in their own achievements, problems and findings. If the right people are placed in the right position – this theory can be very productive. The over all manager can take more of a back seat if done well and the individuals can run the company – but only if they are self motivated individuals. 1.6 ANALYSE METHODS OF DEVELOPING TRUST AND ACCOUNTABILITY A democratic management style clearly develops trust as every team member is involved in the processes and operations of the company. Developing trust is based around communication. As we interact, question, disagree with and support decisions in a positive way, we build confidence in one another and promote overall group success ( Limas 2003) Key elements for developing trust are communication methods. Active listening, body language, group interaction and group communication must be used, observed and acted upon. This is why team meetings encompassing these are essential to develop group trust. The leader of all team interactions must be familiar with all communication methods with a view to trust buildings. Accountability development. Robust performance is based guided accountability. Within an organisation it is essential that all involved know their accountability and when this is acted upon. For instance – Managers are accountable for ongoing training and how this is guided through supervisions and passed onto staff members. In a domiciliary care setting – all workers have a job description and code of practice. They also receive training on safeguarding, record keeping and any other aspect of their day to day role. When workers have signed policies and procedures they will be aware of their own individual accountability. It is essential that regular training and updates are done so that all know who is accountable and for what within a care setting. The Management need training in these matters so that they know their own responsibilities. Accountability is developed when own responsibility is defined. 1.7 COMPARE METHODS OF ADDRESSING CONFLICT WITHIN A TEAM. There are many methods of addressing conflict within a team. (Goldfien and Robbennolt 2007) developed a dual model based upon assertiveness and empathy and have proven that linking these together using their five conflict resolution is productive. These are avoidance conflict – adopting a wait and see approach. This can often lead the conflict to go out of control. Yeilding conflict style – this is based upon having more regard for the person creating the conflict than of ones own self. This is used by individuals who with to keep social situations pleasant. They give into demands so as to not upset the apple cart. Competitive conflict style – this maximises individual assertiveness and minimises empathy. This style is used for dominating people who simply wish to win or lose. This is an aggressive style of conflict that usually involves arguing and shouting and power games. It is based upon feelings of intimidation (Morrill 1995) Cooperation conflict style – This style is when the individual takes into account both sides of the conflict and to the best possible outcome for both parties. This style is based around the conflict being dealt with assertiveness and empathy in equal measure. According to literature that has been written on conflict resolution – a cooperative conflict resolution style is recommended above all others ( Sternberg and Dobson 1987) Conciliation conflict style – This style is based around fairness. Giving and taking actions are evident to reach half way thus promoting conflict resolution. This style is both yielding and co operative combined. When a conflict is evident then the management should seek these styles and act accordingly dependant on the nature of the conflict. It is also about personal preference and characteristics of the individuals involved in the conflict. My personal method of dealing with conflict within my company is the consiliation style first and foremost but with the different styles above I can use another if my natural choice is unsuccessful – which it is not very often it does not work. References Bruce Tuckman . (1965). Managent theories and styles. Available: http//www.mba-online-program.com. 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