William Blakes history and also compare five different poems Essay Example for Free

William Blakes history and also compare five different poems Essay In my essay I will give some information on William Blakes history and also compare five different poems. The poems I will compare are London, The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence) with The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience). I will also compare The Lamb with The Tiger. I will explain the poems first and explain what I thought the poem was about when I read it and using this knowledge I will compare. William Blake was a profound genius to some, and a nutcase to others. A British poet, painter, visionary mystic, and engraver were some of his many occupations. Born in 1757 on November 28th William was the third of five children to a successful London hosier. William grew up in Soho, London where he was first educated at home, chiefly by his mother. From the age of 6, William Blake was amazed and intrigued by spirits; angels and ghosts. He saw and conversed with the angel Gabriel, the Virgin Mary and various other historical figures. Blake was always enclosed in his personal visions and always seemed to be in his own world. His visions and beliefs made William the man he was and the way he is portrayed to the world today. William was deeply influenced by gothic art and architecture and this showed in his work. After finishing his apprenticeship Blake set out to make his living as an engraver. After studies at the Royal Academy School, Blake started to produce his own watercolors and engravings for magazines. In 1782, Blake married Catherine Boucher, the daughter of a market gardener. Blakes life, except for three years at Felpham where he prepared illustrations for an edition of Cowper, was spent in London. Blakes poems were long flowing and had urges of violent energy. They were full of power and moments of tenderness. A poem thought to be like this would inevitably be associated with Blake. Blake was not blinded by rules, but approached his subjects wholeheartedly, with a mind not distracted by current affairs. On the other hand this made Blake an outsider. He approved of free love and sympathized with the actions of the French Revolutionaries but the reign of terror disturbed him. He believed that as all men are born equal, that there should be only one social and economic level. Royalty such as Kings and Lords were seen as being in a league with the devil as they regarded themselves as being above other men. Blakes paintings and engravings, notably his illustrations of his own works are realistic in representing the human anatomy and other natural forms. However his paintings were rejected by the public as he was called a lunatic for his imaginative work. Blakes religious beliefs stemmed from a long tradition in Britain of Christian dissenters whom refused to accept the established church. This tradition was opposed to established religion, was suspicious of the monarchy and the role it played in religion and had long railed against corruption and abuse of power in the Church and Monarchy. Blake lived during a time of intense social change. The American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution all happened during his lifetime as well as the vicious backlash to these events by the British establishment. The Revolutions left William Blake disturbed and unsure of what was happening. English poet Appelbaum said, He was liberal in politics, sensitive to the oppressive government measures of his day, and favorably inspired by the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution (Appelbaum v). As London shows, however, Blake did not entirely approve of the measures taken to forward the causes he longed to advance: London refers to how the hapless Soldiers sigh/ runs in blood down Palace walls Among many other events which took place during the French Revolution, this could possibly refer to the executions of the French royalty. William Blake died on August 12, 1827, and is buried in an unmarked grave at Bunhill Fields, London. Blake wrote Songs of Innocence and Experience in the 1790s. The main theme of the poems came from Blakes belief that children lost their innocence as they grew older and were influenced by the bad ways of the world. Blake believed that children were born innocent and pure but as they grew up, they became experienced as they were influenced by the beliefs and opinions of adults and others around them. When this happened they could no longer be considered innocent and pure. The poems from Songs of Innocence were written from an innocent childs perspective. The poems from Songs of Experience were written from the perspective of a more experienced person. London (Songs of Innocence) Songs of Innocence features the politically powerful poem London. Blake wandered through the streets of London and sees the streets and even the river suffering under political oppression. Everyone he passes, he sees signs of misery and moral weakness. He notices the expressions and emotions ordinary people are feeling. He doesnt just see the misery of the sweep, the soldier, the prostitute or the baby; he also hears it in their cries, sighs and tears. He puts himself in their shoes and sees the churchs spirit blackened as the institution has allowed the fall of beliefs. He is writing about the reality of London and what the war has done to London. He does not see any life in the faces he sees as he walks, he sees faces of weakness and woe as London seems to have been taken over. It seems even the streets and the river Thames have been taken over by the rich, the poor people seem to be there for the rich peoples amusement. For instance, he describes the Thames and the city streets as chartered or controlled by commercial interests. He refers to mind-forged manacles; he talks of the mens faces and their weakness, marks of woe. William is becoming increasingly frightened of what the future holds as diseases are spreading and the public is becoming disillusioned about the reliability and honesty of politicians. William Blake wants to know what happened to the society that London had, when pain and misery was not the only feeling felt. Blake feels owned, like he is a nobody, he feels he does not have the right to be him anymore. He sees the dying soldiers last breath as if it is blood running down the royal palace walls. Blake has never seen such an unhappy era. He talks of marriage and death, which us an oxymoron as they are both opposites to add effect. Everything natural Blake sees as owned. He has no voice to speak out, no freewill and no opinions. Even if he was to try no one would listen. Blake is furious as he sees nature as Gods creations, Blake is angry that people seem to be owning what is not theirs. London seems to be more about society than William Blakes life but it does have an element of his childhood and how society was portrayed to him. He sees it as a struggle for everyone and how everyone puts on a front as if their emotions are locked away. There is a division between the rich and the poor and he does not see why. He does not see why the rich get priority when there are others in need more. I think he uses his childhood to be able to express his feeling as a child and give a direct image of how the division of classes and status caused misery. Compared to the Chimney Sweeper; London is more about society and politics and how he believes people made the wrong decisions. He because of this he has suffered and the children who are growing up will suffer too. The Chimney Sweeper is more about William Blakes childhood and how he was fooled by the world. It is connected to London as politics and society do come in to it. Exploitation is also a theme as in The Chimney Sweeper the little chimney sweepers are being exploited and being taken advantage of and William Blake seems to be standing up for this; in London, he is standing up for the rights of everyone especially those living in poverty. He seems to want to help in both poems and make it better. He seems like a good person who wants to speak out of the terrible conditions because no-one else will. He speaks out by his writing; he says it all in his poems so it is clearer and more effective. The poems are in comparison as they both contain elements of society, politics and the rights of a citizen; or the rights William Blake believes we should have. Both talk about people in different classes; who have different statuses and their rights and responsibilities they should have. God is associated with both of these as William Blake put his faith in to God but no one seems to be getting the life they deserve. However in these poems I dont think God is the only one to blame, politicians and the government seem to of had an effect on William Blake. Enough for him to speak out. The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence) William is writing this poem in the perspective of a young boy called Tom. It is almost like William is talking of his own childhood but covering it up by using a different name. This is how William saw life when he was younger and what he thought of what was actually happening. The child monologue of Tom uses an innocent perspective on what is it like for a young boy to be living in such conditions and politically drastic decisions. William uses rhyming couplets to help the poem flow with ease. He talks of young boys working, being exploited and often killed because of the terrible conditions they have to face. He cleverly uses the word weep! By hiding sweep in it. He is using the movement the young boys had to do with the sound they made which was them weeping. I think this is a clever thing to do as it makes you think of what they had to do and how they felt about doing it. William is saying the young boys were not happy and were very scared. In the second stanza, William talks of how he actually sees Tom and what his relationship to Tom is. He talks about how little Tom Dacre cried when his head was shaved but William tries to bring light to this and make it into a joke. William says Hush, Tom! Never mind it, for when your heads bare, You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair. William is trying to make Tom feel better by joking about it, and showing how it is practical for his hair to be shaved but it is like shaving off little Toms purity and innocence. It seems Tom has lost his identity with his innocence. Tom did not like the reality of the institutions and William talks of Tom having bad dreams about the other boys who sweep the chimneys all being locked up in coffins of black. Not coffins of white but coffins of black, showing a sad image of how bad he sees life. William uses the names Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack showing deep down they know their identity, but to others they are nobodies. This is an upsetting view of life for them, as they are so young and have their whole lives to live but honestly they cannot see the point of living. It is a terrible life; all he seems to talk of is death and blackness which should not be the things on a little boys mind. Tom seems to have been blackened by the chimney soot literally and in his mind he seems to be in darkness. He can not seem to see the light anymore. There is a glimpse of hope as William writes about an angel who Tom sees in his dreams: And by came an angel who had a bright key, And he opened the coffins and set them all free; Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run, And wash in a river and shine in the sun. This gives the image that Tom might have just seen the light and his darkness has been replaced by hope. It is a sad image but it brings hope for Tom like a kind of heaven. To have pure innocence and the freedom in the sun. I dont think this is just Toms view, I also believe this is William Blakes view on how he wished it could have been for him when he was younger. In the fourth stanza William writes of the little boys being naked and all white as if their innocence and purity which was taken away from them has come back. He writes how they rise above the clouds perhaps on their way to heaven and how Tom had an angel; which seems like a guardian angel who says if Tom is a good boy he will have God as his father and will never want joy. However this angel could be seen in a dark way, as the Angel of death, but Tom and William decide not to view it in this dark way and try to look to the positives. This shows Tom looks to God for help and wisdom, he believes in his faith and one day wants to be up there with God. The sixth stanza talks of how Tom sadly awoke from his dream and rose in the dark, collected his tools and went off to work. William writes Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm; So if all do their duty they need not fear harm. I think this is showing how much Tom looks up to the heavens above and at God, as he believes one day he will be up there with the almighty people. He believes if he carries on doing his job and his duties, he will be happy and he need not fear harm as God is protecting him. I think this is also what William believed. William believed he was blessed by God and everything he saw and did was for a reason. Tom I also think believes this. That God is the only one that can help. He can bring the little childrens innocence and purity back and free their souls. The poem ends in hope for Tom and perhaps William. The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) This is very much a darker and more savage vision than that of The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence). Religion plays a big part in this poem and a lot is related to God. William talks of a neglected child and how religion has affected the child. The first stanza talks of the child looking for his mother and father, as they have gone up to the church to pray. From this first stanza it seems the childs parents are religious and look to God for help. The second stanza is in the past tense and talks of the child being happy upon the heath, smiling in the winters snow but then being clothed in the clothes of death; which he means the dark chimney sweeping clothes that have a sense of death. William writes about how the child was forced to work and taught the notes of woe. This is a sad image, as it seems the little child used to be happy and free, but was sent to work as a chimney sweeper and there he learnt the world of sadness and fear. He found out how to cry and be sad which once upon a time he did not know what sad was. However he has been taught to put on a front, to try and cover his sadness and woe with a happy smile so others cannot see that his condition is a sad one. It is like he is playing with death and any moment he could be gone. He feels mentally dead and inside he cannot feel anything but emptiness. In the third stanza, the child talks of how he tries to be happy by dancing and singing; giving the impression to others he is a happy youngster who is looked after well. This is not the case though as William writes: And because I am happy and dance and sing, They think they have done me no injury, And are gone to Praise God and his Priest and King, Who make up a heaven of our misery. The child is extremely depressed yet it seems no one can see it. He puts on a front to please people but deep down he has been hurt by everyone around him; his parents and God. He has been caused injury and pain and does not see the point in life. He makes himself look happy when in fact inside he is dead already. He has turned his back on God as he feels God has deserted him. He wants to know how the almighty God can bring such pain and hurt to such a young boy who has looked to him for help. God is meant to be there for help and advice, what God can make a child feel so depressed and sad that he feels on the inside he is dead already? He sees heaven as a place of miserable people, not happy but sad. Heaven was what The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence) was mostly about and how he was looking forward to seeing God and going to Heaven with the angels. However in Songs of Experience he has totally changed his view on life and his perspective of God and the afterlife. He sees no poi nt in living at all-there is no hope in this poem. Just the darkness of a young child. I think this is how William Blake felt about life, after the fall of the church, how it seemed spirits were blackened by politicians and the way society changed for the worse. William is Tom and Tom is William. William used to believe in God and once looked up to him, but when William saw what was happening to society, he wondered what God would allow such bad and harsh things to happen. God is meant to be all good, no evil, but William wants to know how God can allow such terror and pain. No one is happy anymore. Why would God make everyone sad and full of woe? William wants the answers but he cannot find them so he decides the only option is to desert God like he believes God has deserted him. The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence) has a lot more hope than The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) and talks of angels and Heaven as being a good place where no one is sad. William writes about God becoming Toms father if he does his duties. There is hope for Tom at the end of the poem and gives a good outlook on Toms life. However, The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) brings a completely different perspective of life and overshadows the innocence. All hope is gone and the sadness and woe is back. God has deserted them, so why should they carry on believing in him when he only seems to be hurting them more? The Chimney Sweeper (songs of Innocence) has been written in the view of a young child who is new to the world. He has been taught to believe that God is pure and innocent and will look after him. That is how the people of society have brought up their children and want them to remain hopeful. Yet The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) has been written by a more experienced person and shows how all these hopes and dreams have been fake and are not going to happen. The reality is how can there be a God if there are so many people in pain? You get two very different sides with these two poems and two very different comparisons on someone who once had hope who know has no hope. Comparing The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence) with The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence) is almost like a much lighter version of The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience). In Songs of Innocence, The boy who is focused on is called Tom and in the second version in Songs of Experience, the boy is unnamed, its as if he has lost his identity as he has grown up. In Songs of Innocence, Tom seems to be new to the world and unknown. He is fresh and is curious about the world; however he is thrown in to a job he does not like and shown the miseries it can cause. Even though this poem shows the downside and trauma it can cause to a child; it also brings hope. Even when Tom is down it talks of angels letting all the children in despair free and fulfilling their dreams. Compared to The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) it does not really contain any hope or joy. It talks of sad and dark images; there are no dreams and there is no optimism. This shows the comparison as although it is sad, it does bring a little bit of hope to Tom, as he i s young he has dreams that it will be better as time goes on. However it seems Songs of Experience focuses on the dark side of life basically portraying the image of insecurity and misery. Songs of Experience talks of churches and people going to pray making the reader thing happy thoughts but what Blake is really trying to say is that god is not all what he seems. If God was so great, why are people in poverty? Why are people dieing and put in these situations? He used to believe that God was there but as hes grown up hes realised that God has not helped him and as time has gone on he has lost his faith. This perhaps reflects William Blakes view on how on he was opposed to the monarchy and the church. These two poems in comparison show William Blakes faith in God beginning and ending. It shows his journey of why he has to come to the point where he no longer feels God is important and will support him. This is a sad journey and he has used a character called Tom; who I think represents William Blake as a child to portray this. He want it to be known how he feels but I think for some unknown reason he uses Tom instead of the word I because he wishes to be unknown, religion has seriously affected him and in extreme words damages him. He wants people to realise and understand what he has been through yet he cannot bring himself to be direct as in those days, the monarchy and church had extreme effects on society. To speak out against it would almost be a sin itself. William Blake also uses the words I was in The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) as if it is something he used to be, used to believe in. He is writing about the past and he wishes it to remain the past, whereas The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence) talks of the present and the hopes for the future so there is a comparison in tenses. The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) is also a lot shorter than Songs of Innocence. There are only three stanzas where as Songs of Innocence has six. This perhaps shows that as William Blake has lost his faith in God, he has also lost the words to describe this. There is nothing left for him to write about God and he shows this by only writing three verses. The Lamb The Lamb is a sweet and innocent poem that portrays the image of the world being beautiful and pure. It is all very sweet and touching. William writes about a lamb; who is an image of happiness and feeling content. The Lamb is good and brings no evil. William is saying that God can and has the ability to make beautiful creatures. The Lamb I think symbolizes the young and the less experienced as everything seems perfect and nothing can go wrong. William sees the Lamb as an Angel of God and I think this is how he saw God when he was young. He saw God as a wonderful and pure thing that he could always rely on. This is the image portrayed to children. William talks of Gods blessing. He asks the question Dost thou know who made thee? and at the end of the poem he answers the question by saying Little Lamb God bless thee. Meaning God made the Lamb so perfect. The Tiger The Tiger is almost a complete opposite to The Lamb. It raises profound questions but does not finally answer them unlike the Lamb. As in the Lamb it was showing the purity and innocence, yet the Tiger seems to show the hatred and terror of God. It shows the way that life can start so simply everything being perfect, but then turn sour when you least expect it. In the first stanza William writes about an evil tiger that is feared by everyone. He writes that there is no creature or human that dare touch or go near the mighty tiger. God has created something evil that seems to have shocked William. God created the beautiful lamb with its innocence and purity yet God has created something so evil and devilish. So unlike him. William is trying to say that life seems so perfect at first with everything going right, well you think it is going well because you dont know better because you are not experienced, but as you become more experienced you recognise that everything that seemed good wasnt. It is like you have been fooled for most of your life believing in something that is not what it seems in Williams case God. In the fifth stanza William writes: When the stars threw down their spears, And waterd heaven with their tears, Did he smile His work to see? Did he who made the lamb make thee? William is writing that he feels God felt the need to balance the beautiful and innocent creatures with evil creatures. You need the balance of good and evil for the world to go round but do you need this much evil? This much hurt and pain? William wants to know whether the person who made such a sweet and wonderful creature could make such an evil horrible creature. Life cannot just be a sweet lovely experience; you need to have scary experiences to balance it out. Life cannot be too nice so some evil is needed but it depends how much. Comparing The Lamb and The Tiger: The Tiger and The Lamb are the same but opposites. Opposites attract and together the Lamb and the Tiger make life. For nature to have harmony, there has to be a natural balance. William is showing the Tiger represents all the things the lamb is not, and the Lamb represents all the things the Tiger isnt. William feels betrayed, he has studied a faith for most of his life that he believed in, but he feels he has been proved wrong. God isnt evil but thats all William can see in front of him. He feels he has been fooled all of his life until he became more experienced and started thinking for himself to work out life isnt all lovey dovey. The Lamb talks of the purity and sweetness of God hence the Lamb, but in the Tiger, William has come to his own conclusion that God has created evil when he is not supposed to do so. He feels God has taken away his innocence so he will take away his belief from God. The comparison between The Lamb and The Tiger cannot be more apparent. They are totally different animals that portray different images to the world. William Blake knew this and just knowing the titles of the poems gives you an idea of the differences. William Blake I think wanted the differences to be obvious to others so they can really understand how he has lost his faith and why. The Lamb contains two stanzas which are quite long but happy. It is set out as if it is a nursery rhyme and should be spoken joyfully. You do not even have to read it to recgonise this yet in The Tiger there are six stanzas set out like text in a book. It looks a bit duller compared to The Lamb and is definitely not set out as a nursery rhyme. There are a lot more descriptive words than in The Lamb as The Lamb contains more simple rhyming words which are easy to say, making the poem flow with ease possible portraying the easy side of life. The Tiger in comparison is showing the hard side of life and how not everything is what it seems. The Lamb seems to be welcomed with open arms yet The Tiger seems to be feared. This poem shows how God created evil compared to the pure, innocent Lamb God also made. The question William Blake wants to know is what God can create evilif he is meant to be all good? It is like people have been fooled and he is the only one that recognises this. The symmetry of the two animals is shown as a love and hate relationship between God. The Tiger poem is longer and more meaningful than The Lamb poem and I think this is because William Blake wants to express what he has seen and learnt whilst growing up; it is an experienced piece of writing and much longer as he has more to comment on. The Lamb represents the youth and how when young you are oblivious to the world and its meaning yet as you grow up it becomes noticeable and there are a lot of things you find out which are expressed in The Tiger. Comparing The Chimney Sweeper with The Lamb The Tiger The Chimney sweeper shows how a little boy (Tom) views the world and his society. He talks of hope and happy things until he realises as he becomes more experienced that life isnt how it seems. You see the poem in the eyes of a chimney sweeper who is doing a dangerous job and who does not understand society. This chimney sweeper once looked to God for hope until he realised that there wasnt any. When he realised this he turned his back on God and lost the will to live. In the Lamb and the Tiger, William writes about a beautiful creature that has been created so perfect and sweet but then he talks of the evil tiger who is feared by most. This shows how once he thought life was like the Lamb, full of love and innocence yet as he became older he comes to terms with the fact God created both good and evil and he cant accept this. To him for most of his life, God was great. Nothing could harm him if God was there but to him this was all fake. This was not the reality he was in. Both poems are focused around society and God. They both result in William coming to terms that all is not what it seemed. Tom is William Blake when he was younger and is open about his feelings and his religion. The Lamb and the Tiger symbolise William when he is older and how he feels. How society has affected his religion dramatically. I think it is sad that William seems to have lost all belief in the one thing that kept him sane for a while. William Blake wants a God that is pure and innocent, not a touch of evil. Evil is not God, evil is for the devil. William couldnt have what he wanted as he saw a God that creates good and bad and didnt see the point in it so he turned his back on religion and I think all these poems really clearly show this and how perhaps political decisions caused a backlash to him.

The same positive comments could not be made concerning the employment of black women Essay Example for Free

The same positive comments could not be made concerning the employment of black women Essay This was a major exclusion, for Rosie the Riveter was just as likely to be black as white. Of the one million additional black workers who joined the labor force during the war, 600,000 were female, and much has now been written concerning this group of workers. Qualitative changes were, though, marginal. The raise in the number of black women workers in manufacturing was half that of black males, and most of the gains came late in the war and particularly occupational areas. Most of the new jobs were in greatly male areas of work, outstandingly the foundries and shipyards; advances for African Americans in customary categories of female employment were negligible. The utmost area of employment for black women was still the service sector, but there was a shift from private domestic service to public service. The failure of black house servants was much bemoaned: one white Alabaman recalled her black servant giving up her employment for $15 per week to earn $100 per month in the torpedo factory. In such instances it might be said that if Lincoln freed the Negroes from cotton picking †¦ Hitler was the one that got us out of the white folks kitchens. On the whole, however, as Karen Anderson accurately suggests, rather than a Second Emancipation what is significant about the war experience for black women is the degree to which barriers remained intact. 10 One of the most significant and liberating consequences of the war for black women and men alike was the movement of population. As one black woman recalled that during the war we got a chance to go places we had never been able to go before, another spoke for various Americans regardless of race when she said, The impact of the war changed my life, gave me an opportunity to leave my small town and discover there was another way of life. Of course, African Americans had experienced a Great Migration during World War I, and the emigration from the South had quickened in the 1920s. Throughout the Depression the number of African Americans leaving the former Confederate states fell from 749,000 between 1920 and 1930 to 400,000 in the thirties. In that sense, the movement of half a million blacks, (17 per cent of black Southerners as opposed to only 3 per cent of whites) during World War II was simply a resumption of the pre-Depression trends. In the period after World War II, resistance to racial stratification and racial exclusion became major political issues. Anti-colonial and civil rights movements fought for national independence and democracy more severely than ever before. They challenged the expropriation of southern resources land, labor, and primary goods by the northern metropoles. They required an end to the political dominance and exclusion that had differentiated colonial rule and racial subjection. They questioned political practices and global social structures that had suffered for centuries. These opposition movements were color-conscious, but they were usually not racially homogeneous. Indeed, anti-racist movements could typically count on a varied assortment of allies. Of course, consciousness of race and racism counted; had not the colonial and slavery-based regimes that initiate movements for racial justice also been color-conscious? This dawning anti-racist politics took diverse forms and emphasized different issues in the various settings where it emerged. Often anti-racist mobilizations overlapped with labor movements—socialist, collective, or simply trade unionist—in their condemnations of the conditions under which colored labor was presented for utilization in the former colonies as well as the metropoles. These anti-racist movements were largely harmonious with democratic ones: they condemned the old forms of political prohibiting as dictatorial, inconsistent with the libertarian and participative rhetoric that the mother countries, the winners (generally) of the recent global conflict had claimed they were fighting to protect. The global anti-racist challenge also called into question whole panoply of normal cultural icons: long established artistic, linguistic, scientific, and even thoughtful verities were revealed to be extremely problematic racially. And beyond all this, on an entirely practical level the anti-racist movements of the postwar world drew on general experiences. Millions could recognize with their political demands—most particularly those who had undergone military mobilization followed by become disillusioned return to a segregated or colonized homeland. Movement adherents and activists not simply remembered the democratic ideals they had fought for, but also sought to apply those ideals to the anti-colonial and anti-racist norms they met at home. Wartime experience gained in resisting the Axis powers translated moderately directly into national liberation and democratic movements as veterans were demobbed: in South Carolina or Vietnam, in South Africa or Indonesia, in Senegal, France, or Trinidad. The anti-racist and anti-colonial movements that sprang up all over the postwar world attained a recently transnational character, as growing northern labor demand and southern poverty sparkled widespread migration to the worlds metropolis. The world had been transformed by the war, and was enduring significant changes in the wars aftermath. The result was a strong enthusiasm, an influential summons, to complete the democratizing work begun a century before with slaverys abolition. Demographically, socioeconomically, politically, culturally, there was a worldwide break with the usual practices and established institutions of white supremacy. The racially based democratic movements that arose with this rupture demanded a series of social and political reforms from nationwide governments around the world. These ranged from decolonization to deferred enfranchisement and the granting of formal citizenship rights, from the delegitimation of state-enforced (de jure) racial isolation to the creation and completion of a politics of recognition 11 that attempted to valorize such norms as multiculturalism. These reforms were finally undertaken, although unequally; they were implemented, but less than thoroughly. Still, although framed in uncertain and sometimes incongruous ways, a great wave of racial reforms swept over the world in the postwar decades, notably from the sixties on. By the end of that turbulent decade, the descendants of slaves and ex colonials had forced as a minimum the partial taking apart of most official forms of discrimination and empire. In great numbers they had left their native reserves and isolated communities, migrating not simply to their countries urban centers but overseas to the metropoles from which they had been ruled for centuries. They had begun to participate in the limited but real new political and economic opportunities on offer in numerous national settings (notably in the northern, post-imperial countries). In those countries where relentless racist and dictatorial regimes still held sway, movements for racial equality and inclusion were revitalized by the successes achieved elsewhere, redoubled their activities in the seventies and after, and ultimately won democratic reforms as well. And yet the break was curtailed. The rupture with the white supremacist past was not—and could not be—total. in spite of these epochal developments— decolonization, the performance of new civil rights laws, the undoing of long standing racial dictatorships, and the acceptance of cultural policies of a universalistic character—the global racial order entered a new period of volatility and tension in the last decades of the twentieth century. Though enigmatic and unjust, the racial categorization and racial hierarchization of the world was a deeply recognized sociohistorical fact. No popular movement, no series of political reforms, no encounter with the moral negligence implicit in the comprehensive racism of the modern epoch, would have been enough to undo or remove it. Still, reform was preferable to in force or intransigence, even if it was also inadequate to the task of undoing the varied legacies of centuries of racial hierarchy, exploitation, and exclusion. With retrospection we can see that the various movements for inclusion and democracy would simply be partially satisfied by the reforms they could achieve. We can understand today, better than we could in the heat of political struggle, why these movements found it hard to sustain their impetus in the aftermath of reform. Most centrally, racial domination was still very much present in the reform process: the diverse states and elites that had been tackled by anti-racist opposition demonstrated their capability to withstand it by incorporating it, at least in part. In the result of such transformations—which were the very heart and soul of the break, the real meaning of attaining racial equality, of overcoming the heritage of racism, became controversial. What Du Bois had theorized approximately a century earlier as â€Å"the veil† the weird membrane of racial division that traversed both societies and individuals proved difficult to lift 12. And was its lifting even desirable? In a situation where significant racial inequality and injustice continued, where both identities and institutions still bore the indelible mark of centuries of racial domination, the claim that racism had now at last been remedied would certainly ring hollow. The veil might well survive half-hearted, symbolic, or co-optative gestures at removing it. Though many blacks remained in the South, a substantial number still moved from the country to the city as a result of the further disintegration of sharecropping and the increase of job opportunities elsewhere. The intensifying urbanization of southern blacks contributed to a breakdown in traditional race relations and, with the wider effects of the war, formed a mood of change. Jo Ann Robinson, for example, recalled that the Womens Political Council began in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1946 after the arrest of people challenging isolation on the buses. By 1955, we had members in every elementary, junior high, and senior high school, and in federal, state, and local jobs. 13. Therefore the foundations of the Montgomery bus boycott could be said to have been laid in the postwar era. Other proof of the new black mood in the South could be seen in the 10 per cent rise in the number registered to vote. Urged on by the Supreme Courts decision against the all-white primary in Smith v. Allwright in 1944 (the culmination of the NAACP campaign which began in 1923), African Americans in Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Virginia, and South Carolina organized voter register drives and other political campaigns. Such campaigns were often led by or implicated returning servicemen, a group that has been seen as having a momentous role in shaping the new postwar mood of black Americans. Nothing so summarized the ambivalence of wartime experience for blacks as military service, and the history of African Americans in the armed forces persists to be a subject of great interest. The permutation of political pressures and the practical demands of winning the war helped convey about a considerable shift in military policy. The protection of segregation was declared to be official policy in 1940, and at a conference for the black press in 1941 in Washington, D. C. , War Department officials persisted that the military would not act as a sociological laboratory. Though, in practice segregation proved to be inefficient, not viable in some areas, and clearly harmful to black morale. In one example George Flynn pointed out, The armed forces could not build their Jim Crow facilities fast enough to cope with the inevitable operations of the drafts selection by numbers, and so slowed the recruitment of black servicemen 14. The incapability to provide segregated recreational facilities for all those in camps led to the beginning of an open access policy in 1944. Conflict over transportation between Southern military bases and neighboring towns led to the overture of a first-come, first served service with no segregation the same year. The most essential departures were, of course, those that came in the Navy and in the Army during the Battle of the Bulge. By the end of the war more than one million African Americans had served in diverse branches of the military. Despite the changes there can be little doubt that for many armed service was a bitter and disenchanting experience. Despite such comments, though, a recent study of the attitudes of black servicemen suggests that a much higher percentage of blacks than whites (41 per cent to 25 per cent) predictable to be better off as a result of their service, and that for many black soldiers service were an eye opening experience. Really, as one soldier wrote, black soldiers fight because of the opportunities it will make probable for them after the war. How are we to explain this obvious disagreement between the attitudes of black servicemen and their experiences? It appears that whatever the limitations and undoubtedly there were many—military service gave numerous African Americans a modicum of self-respect and often give training and skills. Service outside the South or even overseas (in Britain, for instance) provided a first taste of parity which could have a lasting effect. John Modell and his associates have shown that black veterans were twice as likely to have moved to a different region after the war as whites, and by 1947 it was estimated that 75,000 black veterans had left the South. There is also evidence of attitudinal change: Modell suggests that the impact of military service influenced the structure of [black] aspirations in a way that contributed to their unwillingness to accept the prewar structure of racial dominance. 15 Aspirations in a way that put in to their unwillingness to recognize the prewar structure of racial dominance. ‘A former member of a black tank crew expressed this more obviously when he said, After the close of hostilities, we just kept on fighting. Its just that simple. There was much left to fight for. though many white Americans supported racial change, the professional and demographic changes affecting African Americans almost always met with some confrontation from whites, mainly in the South. Of course attempts to keep Negroes in their place in the South were not new—they were often obvious amid the uncertainty and economic antagonism of the Depression years—but they reached new levels and were perhaps even more widespread during the war years. The Rankins, Bilbos, and Talmadges were enthusiastic in their defense of white supremacy, and challenges to the color line were often met with violence. Pete Daniel lists six civilian riots, above twenty military riots and mutinies, and between forty and seventy-five lynchings occurring all through the war 16. As Mark Ethridge, first chairman of the Fair Employment Practices Committee and a Southerner, declared, All the armies of the world could not force southerners to end isolation 17 Of course, the very fact of heightened white confrontation was a sign that things were changing. In innumerable ways white Americans were encountering blacks in new roles at work, in cities north and south, in politics, and in the armed services. numerous did not like it. A theme which had its origins in the 1930s and which would achieve greater strength in the postwar era was already evident, specifically the charge that those demanding developments in Americas civil rights were the crackpots, the communists, the parlor pinks of the country. ‘The more extensive mood, however, recognized the hypocrisy of fighting for freedom abroad as denying it to African Americans at home. Even Frank Dixon, the former governor of Alabama, recognized that the Huns have wrecked the theory of the master race. As President Truman declared in his message to Congress in February 1948, the world place of the United States now necessitated action in race relations. Trumans record on civil rights is still much debated. For the majority historians his actions appeared more representative than real, calculated to gain the black vote and yet not estrange the white South. Despite their limitations Trumans actions marked important new initiatives which set the program for future reform. It could be argued that the failure to turn principles into practice and deliver substantive change added to the aggravation which was to explode in the mid-1950s. Certainly any optimistic view of the postwar period has to be qualified. The occurrence of racial violence in both North and South must not be ignored: Arnold Hirsch points out, for example, that in Chicago 46 black homes were attacked between 1944 and 1946 and a total of 485 racial incidents were reported to the Chicago Housing Association between 1945 and 1950 18. But Hirsch also points to a significant change in mood and belief among African Americans in Chicago, and it is clear that the response of both blacks and whites to postwar racial conflict was affected by wartime experiences and Americas position in international affairs. Regardless of what the reservations, the catalogue of racial progress made throughout the 1940s, from the Fair Employment Practices Committee through to the beginning of integration in the armed forces, the establishing of a civil rights committee, and a series of Supreme Court decisions against favoritism in higher education and housing, coupled with employment gains, encouraged a mood of both optimism and determination among African Americans. At one point or another in U. S. history, thirty-eight states have passed anti miscegenation laws. In some instances, couples were factually roused from their bed and arrested. In 1959, one such case involved a husband and wife from the state of Virginia. Richard Perry Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a woman of African and Native American descent, had gainned a legal marriage in neighboring Washington, D. C. Believing they had not broken the law since they had taken their marriage vows in Washington, the two were impolitely surprised when they were awakened and arrested in the middle of the night for violating the state of Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws. Unbeknownst to them, the state law integrated a decree that disallowed Virginia couples to marry across racial lines out of state and then return to Virginia to reside. The Virginia judge in the Loving case was a brutal defender and enactor of anti-miscegenation legislation. Over and above stating the fact that Virginia state law forbade whites and blacks from intermarrying, the judge reasoned that this decision reflected God’s intentions. â€Å"Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay, and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the intrusion with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix† 19. The Lovings were given the choice of either leaving the state for twenty-five years or serving a prison sentence 20. This decision was just one in a long list of cases in which antimiscegenation legislation was upheld by state supreme court decisions. However, despite still comparatively high levels of social disapproval, increasing numbers of Americans have started interracial relationships. Several structural and cultural reasons put in to this increase in cross-racial couplings. The first and foremost legal influence is the 1967 Supreme Court decision to overturn the Loving v. Commonwealth of Virginia decree and overthrow laws that made interracial marriage a crime. Sixteen states still had anti-miscegenation legislation in 1967. An increase in interracial marriages followed the Loving verdict that repealed this legislation. A â€Å"biracial baby boom† began shortly subsequently. Close to fifty thousand children were born to black/white, interracial marriage partners in nineties alone 21. The legalization of interracial marriage approved people all across the United States the legal authorize to marry whomever they choose (assuming they were heterosexual). With this decision, interracial marriage could no longer be viewed as unusual behavior. Deviant behavior itself was touted throughout the decade of the sixties. Protests from sit-ins to draft card burnings flourished all through that era. Tradition was suspect. Many of the youth of the day came to the conclusion that following the status quo had produced both domination at home and abroad. Civil rights, anti-war, and Black Nationalist protests takes in the sixties. The Civil Rights Movement, culminating with the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965), resulted in equality under the law for blacks and other racial minorities. Protests against the Vietnam War revealed that it is excessively the poor and minorities in America who bleed in U. S. wars. The Black Nationalist movement turned racism on its head with shouts of â€Å"black is beautiful! † Spurred by aggravation at demands not met by the Civil Rights Movement, advocates of black independence gained wide support throughout the African American community in the late sixties and early seventies. Movement leaders, inspired by Malcolm X, adopted the name â€Å"black† in place of â€Å"Negro. † Malcolm X evidently differentiated between the Negro who â€Å"apologizes for his black skin† and has a â€Å"begging attitude† and the proud black man who, to a certain extent than apologizing, sees himself as â€Å"part of the vast majority [of the world] who outnumber whites, and therefore [do not] have to beg the white man for anything 22. Black nationalists demanded, rather than implored for equal rights. Black pride was manifest in the coronation of Robin Gregory as homecoming queen at Howard University in 1967. Traditionally, homecoming queens at Howard were students who came close to typifying the European style and fashion of female beauty. Most were light-skinned, with straightened hair and European features. Robin Gregory was a black activist who wore her hair in an Afro. Her election as Howard’s homecoming queen was a â€Å"pivotal point† in the history of the university. A student-led drive to transform Howard into a symbol of black pride broke forth at the coronation. Shouts of â€Å"Black Power! † spread throughout the packed auditorium as Gregory was revealed the winner of the homecoming queen election 23. Blackness, rather than whiteness, became Howard’s symbol of beauty. While many other and varied stabbings on authority and tradition took place after the Civil Rights Movement peaked, it was the successes of the Movement that encouraged the latter challenges to the status quo. The Civil Rights Movement was a watershed. The roots of the current revolution of black-white racial identity can be traced back to it. On the structural level, legislation was enacted throughout that era that encouraged the treatment and discernment of blacks as equal to whites. Culturally, the turbulence and protests of the late fifties and sixties throws in to an atmosphere in which interracial marriages and their biracial offspring were increasingly accepted by normal white America. As the sixties progressed, and Civil Rights protests were both convoyed and then followed by the War on Poverty, the Vietnam War, widespread experimentation with drugs, and sexual freedom, Americans began to turn inward. They were forced to confront defeat in both the domestic and the foreign war and frequent social upheaval at home. Throughout the seventies, individualism and interest group politics were spawned. â€Å"The Black liberation movement, the women’s movement, the lesbian and gay movements, and others that emerged in the fifties, sixties, and seventies were part of a new tradition that embraced an ‘identity oriented paradigm’† 24. Identity-focused politics overwhelmed U. S. culture. It was out of these movements that today’s multiculturalism was born. Prior to the subsistence of multiculturalism, there was little debate on how biracial persons must identify themselves. Black nationalists opposed interracial marriages. Many professed a black person marrying across the color line as a denial of blackness. In turn many African Americans, embracing â€Å"black pride,† maintained that the offspring of these parents must embrace their black heritage and identify with it completely. Meanwhile, whites continued to presume that if anyone had a black parent they were de facto black. Biracial Americans were ethnically defined by both blacks and whites as simply black. Today, though, racial identity is neither so promptly nor so easily defined. Just as the protests of the sixties challenged custom and encouraged interracial relationships, multiculturalism has expectant the affirmation of all racial combinations. Noted psychologists and psychiatrists have come â€Å"to the opinion that for a person of mixed ancestry to abandon one or the other parent’s identity [is] to detract from a clear racial identity. † Biracial support groups â€Å"came into existence in the early eighties on the explicit premise that both Black and non-Black identities [are] necessary to the well-being of both interracial marriages and their offspring† 25. The result is that biracial Americans no longer have an obvious racial identity. Lots of older children of interracial marriages cling to the belief that, in our racially divided society, the only healthy way a biracial person can racially recognize is as black. On the other hand, a rising number of younger biracial Americans are opting to recognize both sides of their racial heritage. References: References: 1. Bouvier Leon F. Peaceful Invasions: Immigration and Changing America. Lanham, Md. : (University Press of America, 1992). 49. 2. Marger Martin N. Race and Ethnic Relations. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1994. 3. Mills Candy. (Editorial) Interrace. (December 1994/ January 1995), p. 2. 4. Russell Buchanan, Black Americans in World War II, (New York, 1977) 35. 5. Richard Dalfiume, The Forgotten Years of the Negro Revolution, (Journal of American History, LV, June 1968), 6 6. Josh White, Defense Factory Blues', Opportunity, (July— September 1944), 143. 7. August Meier and Elliott Rudwick, The Origins of Nonviolent Direct Action in Afro American Protest: A Note on Historical Discontinuities, in Along the Color Line: Explorations in the Black Experience, Urbana, Ill., Chicago, and London, 1976, 345. 8. Sitkoff, Harvard, Racial Militancy and Interracial Violence in the Second World War, (Journal of American History, LVIII, 3, December 1971). 9. Sybil Lewis, in Harris et al. , The Home Front, 251. 10. Karen T. Anderson, Last Hired, First Fired: Black Women Workers during World War II, (Journal of American History, LXIX, 1, June 1982). 35 11. Taylor, Charles, et al. Multiculturalism and The Politics of Recognition. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992), 31. 12. Du Bois, W. E. B. The Talented Tenth. In Booker T. Washington et al. The Negro Problem: A Series of Articles by Representative American Negroes of To-Day. (Miami: Mnemosyne, 1969 [1903]), 172. 13. Jo Ann Robinson in Henry Hampton and Steven Fayer, eds. , Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1980s, (New York, 1990), 22. 14. George Q. Flynn, Selective Service and American Blacks During World War II, (Journal of Negro History, LXIX. 1, Winter 1984), 19. 15. John Modell, Marc Goulden, and Sigurder Magnusson, World War II in the Lives of Black Americans: Some Findings and an Interpretation, Journal of American History. LXXVI, 3, December 1989, 845. 16. Daniel, Going Among Strangers: Southern Reactions to World War II, 905-8. 17. Ethridge quoted in David Southern, Beyond Jim Crow Liberalism, (Journal of Negro History, LXVI, 3. Fall 1981), 211 18. Arnold R. Hirsch, Making the Second Ghetto: Race and Housing in Chicago, 1940-1960, Cambridge and London, 1983, 52- 53. 19. Henriques Fernando. Children of Conflict. (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1975), 25 20. Henriques Fernando. Children of Conflict. (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1975), 30 21. Sandor Gabrielle. The Other Americans. (American Demographics, June 1994), 16( 6):36-43. 22. Henriques Fernando. Children of Conflict. (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1975), 91, 92 23. Henry Hampton and Steven Fayer, eds. , Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1980s, (New York, 1990), 435,436 24. Schwerner Cassie. Beyond Socialism and Identity Politics: The U. S. Left after the Fall. Pp. 32-45 in Whats Left, ed. Charles Derber, Amherst, Mass. : (The University of Massachusetts Press, 1995) 32-45. 25. Spickard Paul R. Mixed Blood. Madison: (University of Wisconsin Press, 1989), 339.

Research Proposal for Patient Satisfaction Survey

Research Proposal for Patient Satisfaction Survey Introduction Background of the study I am working for Intermediate Care Services. My team has been collecting patient’s view of the services they received from our team, through the use of ‘patient satisfaction survey form’ since 2005. My intention is to find out if we are providing satisfactory service to our client by analyzing the data collected with the forms. Measuring patient satisfaction is important because satisfaction of clients with health care services that they received has been linked to their compliance and their wiliness to seek medical advice by Ware et al (1983). Satisfaction is a complex concept and it’s determined by various factors which includes life style, past experience, future expectations, individual and societal values (Carr-Hill 1992). As an intermediate care service provider, my team works within the Department of Health National Service Framework (Department of Health, 2001). Intermediate care services were established with the mandate to maximize people’s physical functioning, build their confidence and to re-equip them with necessary skills to live safely and independently at home, as well as provision of ongoing support. The department of health recommended the use of multidisciplinary single assessment process in national service framework for the older people. Using the single assessment process for patients help the team to work together because it makes communication easy and it prevents duplication of each others assessment and plan. Therefore the process of rehabilitation begins with comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment using single assessment process (DH, 2001). The process of rehabilitation includes identifying problems and needs, relating problems to limiting factors, outline target probl ems, selecting appropriate measures, follow by planning, implementing and coordination of intervention, and finally reviewing effects of intervention (Davis 2006). Our team comprises of Physiotherapists, Occupational therapist, Social worker, and Therapy Technicians in same office. Intermediate care services were mandated to provide person-centre and holistic care to the older people and their carers, respecting them as Individuals and that they should be enabled to make choice about their own care (DH 2001). The department of health introduced these guidelines so that quality and improved services can be provided to service users. If the guidelines are followed, satisfactory services are likely to be provided to the clients. How can we know that we are following these guidelines? Although as a team, our operational guideline revolves round delivering the services in line with department of health’s guideline, however an objective assessment of the service will give us the clear picture of how good the services that we are providing is. Not only that, it will also help us to identify the areas that we need to improve on. Service user’s level of satisfaction with the service that we are rendering may be used as a yard stick in measuring our perform ance. This can be in the form of patient satisfaction survey. ‘A patient satisfaction survey can be a rich source of information for continuous quality improvement’ (Lin and Kelly 1995). Further more a number of researchers have linked patient satisfaction to patients’ clinical outcomes. O’Holleran et al (2005), George and Hirsh (2005), and Hurwitz and Morgenstern (2005) reported that clinical outcome is a predictor of patient satisfaction. It will therefore be useful to investigate if we are providing satisfactory services to our client and if the findings indicate otherwise in some aspects, recommendations will be made to improve our services in those areas. I will therefore investigate our performance from the service user’s perspective by analyzing the data that we have been collating with the ‘patient satisfaction survey forms’. 1.2 Research questions There are some questions that needed to be answered to be able to determine if our service is satisfactory to our clients or not. Therefore the purpose of this study is to find out the answers to these questions: i. Are we providing satisfactory service to our client? ii. Are we providing quality services to the client? iii. Are we meeting the needs of the patients? iv. Are we providing client centered services? v. Are we respecting the service users? vi. Are we providing information about how the service users can make complains? vii. Are we giving information about other service available to our service users? viii. What are the users feeling about the service? ix. Do we need to amend the way we are providing the service? Aims/ objectives of the study To answer the questions above, the questionnaire needs to be able to collect information from our client on how they feel about the services they get from our facility. Therefore, the objectives of the study are to: determine whether we are providing satisfactory services to our clients determine whether we are providing quality services to our service users find out if we are meeting the needs of our clients establish whether we are providing client-centered services to our clients investigate whether we are treating our clients with respect ascertain whether we are providing information about how the service users can complain about our services. clarify whether we giving information about other service available to our service users explore what our service users feel about our services determine whether we need to amend the way we are providing the service 1.4 Significance of the study . This study will give our team the opportunity to demonstrate whether we are providing quality service or not. It will also be highlighted whether we are providing client desire outcome or not because outcome determines satisfaction as demonstrated by O’Holleran et al (2005). Findings from this study will also form a basis for further research in the study setting and similar studies in health care facilities with similar mandate. 1.6 Delimitations of the study The study will be delimited to Luton Primary Care Trust. Operational definition of terms Client satisfaction: A measure of the extent to which client’s expectations of therapeutic intervention are met. Service users:All clients/ patients registered with Luton Primary Care Trust and who received therapeutic intervention from the team during January 2006 and December 2007. Community Assessment and Rehabilitation team: This comprises of Physiotherapists, Occupational therapist, Social worker, and Therapy Technicians working in the same office in Luton Primary Care Trust. 2.0 Literature Review Measuring patient satisfaction is important because it pushes towards accountability among health care providers (Guadagnion 2003). O’Holleran et al (2005) shed more light on the importance of patient satisfaction survey following their cohort study of patients that underwent rotator cuff surgery, they concluded that there is a relationship between patient satisfaction and outcome of the intervention. How do we measure satisfaction? What are the indicators for patient satisfaction? Satisfaction from consumer perspective is determined by comparison of consumer experience of service received by them and their expectation (Tam 2005). The main indicators for quality service from patient perspective includes: interpersonal skills, accessibility and convenience of service, respect, technical ability of doctor (care provider in our case) , the physical environment (Baker 2001,Di Paula et al 2002). Satisfaction is determined by the way patients are treated by practitioners and it determined by technical and interpersonal elements (Donebedia 1988). The technical aspects were identified as to consist of Practitioners knowledge and strategies employed to arrive at appropriate intervention, whereas the interpersonal aspect consist of; communication skill, friendliness, kindness, attention, receptiveness, empathy, among other things (Donebedia 1988). Looking at the questionnaire (see appendix 1), it seems to be measuring almost all the identified indicators. (Full appraiser of the questionnaire will be carried out as part of the research) 2.1 Theoretical Perspective Research Paradigm: Paradigm is defined by Titchhen (1993) as ‘a description of a scientific model within which a community of scientists generate knowledge’ This research will be carried out from positivism and phenomenology point of view. This means that the research will be mixture of quantative and qualitative methods. According to Guba (1990), positivism is a belief system that is rooted in realist ontology. This means that Positivism approach is based on the fact that concept must be made observable. Measurability of concept is central to quantitative research (Devers 1999). However, ‘Phenomenological approach provides a deep understanding of the phenomenon as experience by several individual’ Geswell (1998). Qualitative research was classified as phenomenological of it’s theory building, holistic, case-based, subjective and process-oriented nature while On the other hand Quantitative research was classified as Positivism approach because it is deductive, hypothesis driven, particularistic, variable based, objective and outcome oriented (Devers 1999). Reichardt and Cook (1978) proposed that focus should be placed on debate to accept both Qualitative and Quantitative methods instead of Qualitative versus Quantitative debate, because each of them has their strengths and weakness es, using both approaches will compliment each other by drawing from the strengths and minimise the weakness of both approaches. I will be using mixture of qualitative and quantitative method in this research. I will tap from the strengths of both them and use the two methods to compliment each other. Methodology 3.1 Study design Personal interviews, telephone interview, and mailed questionnaires are the most common ways of carrying out survey research. Each of the ways has its merits and demerits. Personal interview is a method of collecting data from individual by using face-to-face method, the dept and the quality of information they are capable of yielding makes them the most useful method however they are very costly (Polit and Hungler 1989). In my opinion it will be time consuming, considering the fact that this research has time limit because of the school calendar, it will not be a method of choice for this research. Another way of gathering information is by telephone interview, if the interview is short, specific and too personal, it may be a good way for collecting a lot of information quickly and it’s less costly compare with personal interview however it can be less effective way of gathering information when sensitive information is required (Polit and Hungler 1989). Mailed questionnaires will be my choice, I choice this because of it advantages over personal interviews and telephone interview. It differs from others because it’s self administered, the respondent read the question on the form and give an answer in writing format, the question is distributed through post, compare to other form of surveys, the cost is low especially when there is large geographical area to be covered (Polit and Hungler 1989). I choose Mailed questionnaire over other methods because of its advantages over other method. Total anonymity is possible using questionnaire; this may reduce bias in the responses of the participants. Study setting The study will take place in the Community Assessment Rehabilitation Team’s office. Sample and Sampling Technique All clients receiving or that had received therapeutic input from the community assessment and rehabilitation team from January 2006 to December 2007 and who were willing to participate (by returning a filled questionnaire that was given to them when they received care/ services from the team) will be surveyed. Instrument development The instrument for this study will be â€Å"client satisfaction survey questionnaire†. This had been developed by the management of the study setting and had being in use in the setting since 2005. The client satisfaction survey consisted of eleven issues. Ten of the eleven issues sought information on clients’ perception of some issues bothering on services delivered by the community assessment and rehabilitation team, while the eleventh issues asked the study participants to generally comment freely about their views regarding the services and the team. Data gathering procedure ‘Clients satisfaction survey questionnaire’ which represented the instrument for this study will be given to everyone that received therapeutic input from the team. The form is always included with the service users discharge summaries. To encourage replying, a self-addressed reply-paid envelope is always enclosed. Each returned questionnaire shall be entered into a database and the data from the database will be retrieved with the permission of the unit manager and the trust local ethic committee. 3.6 Data Analysis and Results The quantitative data will be analyzed using combination of descriptive and statistical inference techniques. While the results will be presented in the form of graphs and chart as appropriate. I will calculate P-values for each of the satisfaction indicators using appropriate non-parametric test (Chi Square). Although I specifically took statistic module this semester to be able to solve this problem, I will also seek advice from statistic expert to complement my knowledge. In this research, P value greater than 0.05 will not be accepted as the confidence interval shall be set at 95%. The qualitative aspect of the data will be analyzed by read and re-reading the response and then categorizing them into themes. This may involve assigning abbreviated codes to the points as they emerge from the data. Then the connection between the categories will be traced. The number of respondents that touch on each theme will be noted. All effort to eliminate bias will be made by making sure every stage of the analysis is objective as much as possible in interpretation. This is likely to be a laborious exercise; I will therefore seek advice from my supervisor regarding the analysis and interpretation of the data. If possible, computer software may be used in analysis of the qualitative data; however this will be discussed with my supervisor. Reliability of the instrument The reliability of the instrument shall be determined through a test-retest method. This questionnaire will be administered to 10 clients within the study setting but not within the study participants. After a span of 2 weeks, the same instrument will be re-administered on the same set of 10 people and the results will be analyzed. Correlation of the responses will be determined using Pearson’s correlation co-efficient. 3.8 Ethical issues As stated earlier in this proposal, the team has been collecting patient perception of the services we are providing using questionnaire since 2005. Prior to the commencement of using the questionnaire on the entire client that received therapeutic intervention from our team, ethical permission will be sought from the trust research ethical committee as well as from the line manager. To make sure that participant autonomy was respected, all questionnaires were accompanied by letter informing them that we do not need to know their name and that all the information provided by them will be treated anonymously; they were also informed in the letter that taking part in the survey is on voluntary basis and will not affect the services provided to them in anyway. Although there is a space for their contact information at the back of the questionnaire, this is incase the client would like someone to contact them regarding their concern. The decision to participate in the survey is left to patient by not giving them any follow up phone call regarding the questionnaire, which may lead to coercion. Also their anonymity is maintained by not recording their contact information on the database, the information they provided were recorded anonymously. This is why we may be unable to follow up patients that did not respond, because it is impossible to know who responded or who did not responded. Unless they decided to reveal their identity if there is an issue they wanted to be resolved regarding the questionnaire. Even if they choose to reveal their identity, their personal details are not stored on the survey database to maintain their confidentiality and anonymity. Although the team has been give approval by the trust local ethic committee before commencing the survey, however prior to pulling out the data form the database for the purpose of this research. I will still have to seek approval from my line manager and the trust research ethical committee, because the earlier approval was given to the team and not to me as individual for the purpose of this research. Although I was informed that for this type of research, it would not be necessary to seek approval from the institution ethic committee, however I will also seek advice from my research supervisor regarding the position of the school ethic committee on this type of research. 3.9 Rigor ‘A patient satisfaction survey can be a rich source of information for continuous quality improvement but only if it is examined carefully and used within a consistent framework’ (Lin and Kelly 1995). Non-response is a problem in survey (Lin and Kelly 1995), this problem was solved by including a self addressed reply-paid envelope and a covering letter encouraging the client to complete the survey without coharsing them. Other factors that may influence response rate identified through the search of literature were length of the questionnaire, Pre-notification, Post-notification, and monetary incentives. The length of a questionnaire can have negative impact on response rate (Yammorino, skinner, Childers (1991), this was one of the reasons why the team made sure that the questions were not more than ten when the questionnaire was designed. A lot of literature suggested that respondent pre-notification could have positive effect on response rate. Among the supporter of respondent pre-notification are Haggett and Michell (1994), they found that response to postal mail survey increases with pre-notification. In contrast, Herberlin and Baumgarther (1978) reported that pre-notification has little or no effect on response rate to mail survey. However, we feel that informing them in advance may increase the response rate, and therefore we tend to inform our client that we will be sending questionnaire to them with their discharge letter. We always inform them that filling-in the questionnaire will help us to know if we are meeting their needs or not. Although some researchers like Paul, Walsh and Tzelepls (2005) suggested that monetary incentives can increase response rate, however, I personally feel that monetary incentive may influence the feedback, because the respondent may feel oblige to give positive feedback because of the incentive paid. Yammarino, Skinner and Childer (1991) were of the opinion that the response rate can be increased with follow-up calls, however there is no way to know who is not responding unless the questionnaire is coded, so that the respondents may be identifiable, this will brake their anonymity, therefore we have choose not to be following up, because it will be inappropriate. It is be essential to establish the reliability of the instrument. Although the reliability and validity were evaluated before we commence using it for data collection, however, to be sure that the questionnaire is reliable and valid, I will carry out reliability and validity evaluation as part of this research. Reliability will be assessed using test re-test technique while the validity will be tested using content and face value technique.. Colleagues (2 or 3) from other teams ( for example District Nurses, Rapid Response Team) as well as service users (2 or 3) will be asked to comment on the adequacy of the questionnaire in evaluating patient satisfaction with the services they received from our team. 3.10 Limitations Although frantic effort will be made to reduce bias and errors in the research however there are some limitations that will always be there despite all the effort. Some of the limitation of this type of research includes non-response by some of the participants, in this research; most of the respondents are elderly people. Some of them may not be able to respond because of their medical condition, fragility, eyesight problem, cognitive deficit, and general weakness among others. Language barrier may be another limitation that may lead to non-response considering the fact that Luton is multi-ethnic town. This is in line with the findings of Ehinfors and Smedby (1993). Apart from non-response, another limitation is that some participants may misinterpret the questions, and this may influence their response and subsequently the result. However subjecting the questionnaire to reliability and validity test can minimize this. 3.11 Time frame The research involves getting permission from the local ethics committee, pulling out the data from the data base, transferring the data into the SPSS software, analysis of the data, drawing conclusion and recommendation. The task involved will take about three months approximately for the research to be completed including the writing up. 3.12 Dissemination The research will be submitted to the School of Health and Social Care, Oxford Brookes University as part of academic requirement for my MSc Rehabilitation. The research will also be presented to my team manager and team members. If manager and team are happy after appraising the research critically, my manager in agreement with the trust management may place the findings on the trust website so that it can be accessible to the public. References: Baker, R. (2001). A Method for Surveying Patient Satisfaction: Manual for Users, Clinical Governance Research and Development Unit, Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Leicester. Carr-Hill, R. (1992). The measurement of patient satisfaction. Journal of Public Health Medicine,14(3):236-249. Davies, S. (2006). Rehabilitation, the use of theories and models in practice. Elserver limited. First edition. Department of Health (HoD), (2001). National service framework for older people, HSMO, Norwich. Devers K, J. (1999). How Will We Know Good Qualitative Research When We See It? Beginning the Dialogue in Health Services Research. Health Services Research 34, 5. Di Paula, A., Long, R., Wiener, D. (2002). Are your patients satisfied?, Marketing Health Services, 2 (3) p.28-32. Donabedian, A. (1988). The quality of care: How can it be assessed? Journal of American Medical Association, 260, 12, 1743-1748 Ehinfors, M. and Smedby, B. (1993). Patient Satisfaction Surveys Subsequent to Hospital Care: Problems of Sampling, Non-response and Other Losses International Society for Quality in Health 5, 19-32. George, S. Z. and Hirsh, A. T. (2005). Distinguishing patient satisfaction with treatment delivery from treatment effect: a preliminary investigation of patient satisfaction with symptoms after physical therapy treatment of low back pain. American Journal of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation. 86(7): 1338-44. Geswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design 2nd Edition Sage Califonia. Guadagnino, C. (2003). Role of patient satisfaction http://physiciansnews.com/cover/1203.html accessed on 24/12/07 Guba, E. C. (1990). The Alternative Approach to Paradigm. The Paradigm Dialog eds, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, Califonia. Haggett, S., and Mitchell, V. (1994). Effects of industrial pre-notification on response rate, speed, quality, bias and cost. Industrial Marketing Management, 23, 101-110 Heberlein, T. A., and Baumgartner, R. (1978). Factors affecting response rates to mailed surveys: A quantitative analysis of the published literature. American Sociological Review, 43, 447-462 Hurwitz, E. L., and Morgenstern, H. Y. F. (2005). Satisfaction as a predictor of clinical outcomes among chiropractic and medical patients enrolled in the UCLA low back pain study. Spine. 1;30(19):2121-8 Lin, B., and Kelly, E. (1995), Methodological issues in patient satisfaction surveys, International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 8( 6) p.32-7 OHolleran, J. D., Kocher, M. S., Horan, M. P., Briggs, K. K., and Hawkins, R. J. (2005); Determinants of patient satisfaction with outcome after rotator cuff surgery. Journal of bone and joint surgery (America) 87(1):121-6.. Paul, C. L., Walsh, R. A., and Tzelepis, F. (2005). A monetary incentive increases postal survey response rates for pharmacists. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health,59, 1099-1101. Polit, F.D., and Hungler B.P., (1989). Essentials of Nursing Research: Methods, Appraisal, and Utilization, Second edition. Reichardt, C. S., and T. D. Cook. (1978). Beyond Qualitative Versus Quantitative Methods. In Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Evaluation Research, pp. 7-32. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Shepard, K. F., Jensen, G. M., Schmll, B. J., Hack, L. M., and Gwyer, J. (1993). Alternative approaches to research in physical therapy: positivism and phenomenology. Physical Therapy ; 73:88-101 Tam, J.L.M. (2005), Examining the dynamics of consumer expectations in a Chinese context, Journal of Business Research, 58 p.777-86. Ware, J. E., Synder, M, K., Wright, W. R., and Davies, A. R,.(1983) Defining and measuring patient satisfaction with medical care. Evaluation and Program Planning. 6: 247 Yammarino, F. J., Skinner, S., Childers, T. L. (1991). Understanding mail survey response behavior. Public Opinion Quarterly, 55, 613-639. Appendices 1- Patient Satisfaction Questionaire

Transcendentalism :: American America History

Transcendentalism Transcendentalism was a movement in philosophy, literature, and religion that emerged and was popular in the nineteenth century New England because of a need to redefine man and his place in the world in response to a new and changing society. The industrial revolution, universities, westward expansion, urbanization and immigration all made the life in a city like Boston full of novelty and turbulence. Transcendentalism was a reaction to an impoverishment of religion and mechanization of consciousness of eighteenth century rational doctrines that ceased to be satisfying. After the success of the American Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, an American man emerged confident and energetic. However, with the release of nervous energy, an American was forced to look at a different angle at his place in the world and society. The world of the nineteenth century Boston was that of emergence of new currents of thought in response to the conservative atmosphere. The wealthy upper classes (the aristocracy) were conservative and suspicious of any innovations. They dominated the society and demanded conformity to their social ideals, being suspicious of any new structure of society. The irony was that by their reliance on tradition and old beliefs (such as Puritanism) they acknowledged the harmony with cosmic law. Old values and traditions would serve as a base to Transcendentalism, although a radical movement in itself. In the nineteenth century America plunged into the Industrial Revolution. In the eighteenth century, goods were produced in home system operations. The remarkable development of capitalism in Boston became evident after the French and Indian war of 1812. Two of huge factories privately owned in Boston were Francis Lowell's Boston Manufacturing Company in Waltham and Merrimack Manufacturing Company in Lowell. As the role of women in society became more indiscriminate, young females dominated factory towns such as Lowell. They came from all over New England's farms and small towns, worked for a few years and then returned. Thus the mill populations were transient. With mechanization of textiles, new styles and fashions developed. Thus newness was becoming a virtue rather than peril. Improvement of transportation made urbanization and westward expansion more rapid. Cumberland Turnpike was built in 1811. Erie Canal, finished in 1825, connected Hudson River with the Great Lakes. Baltimore and Ohio Steam Railroad of 1828 linked the country. The first successful steamboat, Clermont, was launched in 1807. Between 1789 and 1850 the total population of the country soared from 4 million to 23 million.

The Iroquois Indian Nation Essay -- History Native American

Nothing is more fundamental yet so important to the freedoms we enjoy as Americans as the United States Constitution, which guarantee our right to do and say as we please so long as it does no harm to anyone. The Iroquois Nation preamble is placed on perfect peace for the welfare of the people. Their focus was fighting for the liberty of the people. Among the Indian nations whose ancient seats were within the limits of our republic, the Iroquois have long continued to occupy the conspicuous position. Nations they now set forth upon the canvas of the Indian history prominent as for the wisdom of their civil institution of the federations. Only the Iroquois had a system that seemed to meet most of the demands espoused by the many parties to the debates the Iroquois certainly have a considered the influence of the drafty of our own constitution, and we present day Americans owe them a debt of gratitude. The Iroquois is a tribe of the Eastern Woodland Indians. The Iroquois is one tribe that is separated into given nations. These nations are called Seneca, Cayuga, Onondags, Onedia, and Mohawk. In the eight-tenth century Tuscarora joined the Iroquois Nation making them the sixth member of the confederation. The name Iroquois has two possible origins. It is believed that it could be derived possibly from the phrase â€Å"hiro kone† which as used by the people of the first Nations known as the Haudenosaunee who are known commonly today as the Iroquois. The phrase was a combination of the words â€Å"hiro† and â€Å"kone†. â€Å"Hiro† meant â€Å"I have spoken† while â€Å"kone† meant either â€Å"in sorrow, in truth, or in joy†. To the French then it is supposed that it sounded like Iroquois instead of â€Å"hiro kone†. Another version goes that it derives fro... ...like any other Indian tribe in the United States of America. The culture and view of the members of this nation within a nation are broad, stemming from large tribal groups. The conditions are highly diverse, ranging from lush green valleys to snowy mountains. The combined effect of all these variables, in both environmental and tribes, contributed to the making of the Iroquois Nation. Works Cited http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1520684/mohawk_indiansironworkersskyscrapers.html?cat=37 (1) http://2010.census.gov/news/ (2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Citizenship_Act_of_1924 (3) http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/91-1833.ZO.html (4) http://www.iroquois.org/Index.aspx?ID (5) http://info.ihs.gov/Disparities.asp (6) http://www.catskillmtn.org/guide-magazine/articles/2007-08-a-cultured-life.html (7) http://www.iroquoismuseum.org/ (8)

Of Power and Piety: An Inquisition into The Roman Catholic Church Essa

Religion is thought to provide comfort to the innermost part of a human: the soul. However, what happens when religion seeks to overstep its rightful boundaries and attempts to control humans from the outside, rather than uplift them from within. Such is the fault of the largest religious organization on Earth: The Roman Catholic Church. Throughout history, the Catholic Church has been among the most infamous of faith-groups due to its apparent conquest for absolute dominance over the minds, bodies, and souls of humanity. The Roman Catholic Church has and continues to play a negative role in the world with respect to the fields of science, politics, and culture, undermining the quality of life for adherents and infidels alike. The Church has and continues to impede humanity’s quest for knowledge and prosperity through its repression of science. As well, it has been involved in among the most infamous events throughout history. Finally, the Church has made its blatant that it s eeks to turn back the hands of time worth respect to progressive social change through tis preaching of its archaic attitudes on contemporary social issues. The Roman Catholic Church has throughout history, impeded scientific discovery, which thereby impaired humanity’s progress towards better understanding of and prospering in the world. Being the most â€Å"catholic† of the world’s faiths, the church has wielded an uncanny grip over the hearts and minds of a large portion of the human race; this was its source of power. To ensure that this power would never be lost, the church had to appeal to all faculties of the human condition, including those of wondering and reason. To this end, the church only tolerated explanations of the workings of the universe that w... ...578d3124b4%40sessionmgr11&bdata=Jmxhbmc9ZW4tY2Emc2l0ZT1wb3YtY2Fu# db=p3h&AN=1639206 Robinson, B.A. "The role of the Roman Catholic Church in the Shoah (Nazi Holocaust)." religious tolerance.org. Retrieved from http://www.religioustolerance.org/vat_hol12.htm "The Decline of the Church Authority.†. Albalagh Retrieved from http://www.albalagh.net/kids/history/church_decline.shtml Dickson White, Andrew. "A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom." University of Michigan Center for the Study of Complex Systems. Retrieved from http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/White/ Hawkes, Charles, and Jennifer Watt. What Makes us Human. Images of society: introduction to anthropology, psychology, and sociology. Toronto. McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2001. Pg39.

Teoria De Los Rasgos Del Liderazgo Education Essay

La teor a se basa de la propuesta de que los lderes eficaces disfrutan de rasgos y caracter sticas personales que pueden influir casualmente con EL exito. Los lideres que alcanza EL exito, alcanza una altura city manager de un metro noventa, esta teoria sostiene que aparte de este resultado responde asi a tal caracteristica. Se admite que los lideres deben tener rasgos en comun, pero EL concepto esencial, es mas alla de los numeros de rasgos, existe una relacion insouciant entre estos Y sobre EL triunfo del lider. Segun los autores Ordway Tead, Chester Barnard [ 1 ] Y Erwin Schell que se destacaron asi en la escuela de los rasgos, ellos mencionan que esta teoria sostiene a traves de los rasgos del liderazgo esta difundido en la poblacion y puede observase Y medir, su posicion Es vinculada con EL logro que tiene EL liderazgo. La hipotesis de la vacante del lider seria buscar un candidato con cualidades que se asocien con los lideres que logran exito. Esta teoria define Las caracteristicas en la mayoria de los individuos categorizandolos como: atrevido, como character sociales, honradas y timidas. La personalidad estudiada en terminos de interaccion de los rasgos mas o menos independientes, Las actitudes y valores. Si las educadoras o docentes en cada faceta de su rol procuran comportarse de una manera mas adecuada, entonces este docente estara ensenando a Sus alumnos ( as ) a comunicarse Y a desenvolverse de modo mas armonico y justo, esto precisamente de lo que trata la formacion del lider. 2.3.6 Teoria de la Interaccion del liderazgo.Esta teoria Se caracteriza Al enfoque de la importancia que aseguran La interacciones entre la educadora y Sus alumnos. Esta teoria tiene como fundamento en la proposicion de exigencia de situaciones y necesidades tanto emotivas como intelectuales, requeridas parity efectuar asi una tarea parity que influya en la eleccion de un lider. Esta interaccion entre lideres y los grupos que desarrollan una actividad tal que constantemente asignan roles del lider hacia los miembros de un grupo. En esta teoria existe La traslacion Y asimilacion de actividades y funciones a realizar en el lider que pueden ser asumidas por un miembro del grupo, lo que permite asimilar facilmente el rol del lider. Esta teoria Se caracteriza Al enfoque de la importancia que aseguran La interacciones entre la educadora y Sus alumnos. 2.6 Liderazgo Transaccional y transformacional.El lider transaccional Es aquel donde EL lider reconoce lo que quiere conseguir en el trabajo Y lo garantiza con conseguir los resultados requeridos. Este liderazgo O EL lider intercambian estimulos por respuestas a La vez responde a los intereses de las characters con quien trabaja Si ellos mismo responde a su trabajo. Hace ampliar EL esfuerzo que conduce Al desempeno esperado. Los lideres transaccionales reconocen las necesidades de Sus subordinadores para asi cumplir los objetivos propuestos. Aclaran las funciones y las tareas organizacionales, instauran una estructura organizacional, permite Al desempeno Y toman en cuenta asi Las necesidades sociales de los seguidores. Trabaja intensamente vitamin E intenta dirigir a La organizacion con eficiencia Y eficacia. â€Å"Liderazgo transformacional como opuesto Al â€Å"liderazgo transaccional† que Es mas rutinario Y diario† ( Bernard Boss 1981 ) . Este liderazgo logra excepcionales efecto en los subordinados cambiando asi La bases motivacional del individuo desde una motivacion comun hasta llevarla Al compromiso a su vez eleva los deseos de logro y autodesarrollo de los seguidores y a su vez promueve EL desarrollo de grupo y organizaciones. Los lideres transformacionales articulan una vision vitamin E inspiraran a Sus seguidores y poseen asi La capacidad de influir, de adecuar la cultura organizacional Y de hacer en ambiente favourable parity EL cambio organizacional. [ 1 ] Fue un estadounidense de negocios ejecutivos, administrador publico, y el autor de un trabajo pionero en la gestion de la teoria y los estudios organizacionales.