Early Years Foundation Stage for Childminding Essay Example for Free

Early Years Foundation Stage for Childminding Essay The EYFS is set to ensure all children in early year’s settings including children with disabilities and special needs have the best possible start in life which they deserve. A child needs to not only have a safe, secure and happy childhood but also one which is rich in positive parenting and high quality learning. These will provide the foundations and tools a child needs to reach their full potential. The EYFS must be followed by all early years’ providers to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. The EYFS is set to help prepare children for school, physically and emotionally and set a foundation for a positive progress through school and life. Children develop at a raid rate between birth-5 years and experiences between this time have a dramatic impact on their future. Key Points of the Early Years Foundation stage †¢ Good quality and consistent care within all early years’ settings to ensure every single child makes good progress. †¢ A secure foundation through learning and development opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child and are assessed and reviewed regularly †¢ Partnership working between practitioners and with parents and/or carers †¢ Equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring that every child is included and supported. EYFS requirements for learning and development †¢ All Early year providers must help children work towards the early learning goals, the knowledge, skills and understanding a child should have by the end of the academic year in which they turn five. †¢ Shape activities and experiences within the setting to enable every child to have the best chance of reaching these learning goals. †¢ Set in place assessment arrangements and requirements for measuring progress and for reporting to parents and/or carers. EYFS requirements for safeguarding and welfare Early years providers must set in place requirements to ensure a child’s safety and promote their welfare taking into account the following points. †¢ Every child is different and unique and children who are constantly learning will become more confident, independent, and grow in self-esteem. †¢ Positive relationships enable children to be strong and independent †¢ A nourishing environment which responds to a child’s individual needs will enable them to learn and develop well. This will also be the case through a good strong partnership between parent/care and care giver. †¢ Children learn and develop in different ways and at different speeds.

Strategies to Reduce Hospital Acquired Infections

Strategies to Reduce Hospital Acquired Infections REVIEW OF LITERATURE When we think about hospital, one thing comes to our mind is â€Å"Hospital is the place for cure†. This revolutionary idea of treating the patients under the same roof was considered to ease the job of healing. But due to lack of knowledge of sterilization and antisepsis, it turned wrong in Pre- Listerian era leading to gangrene and death of patients which were suffering from wounds. Due to this reason a new discipline was emerged called as senics which was mainly dealing with the Hospital Acquired Infection (Nosocomial Infection). Semmelwis in 1861 with the help of medical officer and students observed the association of Puerperal sepsis in patients. Thus by the introduction of hand washing with chlorinated lime, he was successful to bring dramatic reduction in infection rate. Hospital acquired infection (HAI) are infections acquired during hospitalization, which are not present at eh time of admission (Atata et al, 2006). According to Baveja in 2002, the term hospital acquired infection, hospital- associated infection, hospital infection or nosocomial infection(nosocomion,meaning hospital) is defined as infection developing in patients after admission to the hospital ,which was neither present nor in the incubation period at the time of hospitalization . Such infections may become evident during their stay in the hospital or sometimes after their discharge. Due to its increased mortality and morbidity in the hospital patients these HAIs are of significant cause. HAIs are also caused due to prolonged hospital stay which are inconvenient for the patient and constitute economic burden on health care (Malhotra S, et al 2014). Dancer in 1999, depicts that microorganisms which are associated with hospital acquired infection displays two important characteristics, firstly those are the pathogens of well-established medical importance and secondly they also can withstand the hospital environment which benefits them outside temperature. Thus providing an appropriate environment niche for their survival until they transfer back to patients. Some pathogens originate from patients own flora especially those who are immunocompromised whereas others can survive in human tissues and thus rely upon person to person spread in order to disseminate. The patients who are immunocompromised due to underlying diseases, medical or surgical treatment, age are typically affected by nosocomial infections. In pediatric ICU, the hospital acquired infections are approximately three times higher than elsewhere in hospitals (Weistein 2006). Pathogen transference occurs most commonly by presence of bacterial or fungi in inanimate surfaces and equipment or between the hands of health professionals and patients (Kayabas et al., 2008). The transmission of microorganisms from hands of health care workers, medical equipment and surfaces which has become contaminated with a wide variety of pathogenic and nonpathogenic organisms has become a significant proportion of hospital environment infection which ultimately results in crosscontamination (Sehulster et al., 2003). When compared to other hospital patients, the patients who are hospitalized in ICUs are 5-10 times more likely to acquire nosocomial infection. The risk of infection and the frequency of infection vary by infection site. The increasing incidence of infection is caused mainly by antibiotic-resistant pathogens leading to seriousness of hospital acquired infection (Weber 2006). Some of the common human pathogens like, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter spp, En ­terococcus spp and Escherichia coli can survive for longer periods of time on the hospital surfaces or formites that can potentially transmit infectious organisms (Kramer et al., 2006). The primary sources of indoor air contamination are the microorganisms. When compared to outside air environment, the indoor air environment can potentially place patients a greater risk because enclosed spaces can confine aerosols and allow them to build up to infectious level. The relative humidity and/ or the moisture content of the materials determine that to what extent different micro-organisms are able to grow on indoor or outdoor materials (Dhanasekaran et al., 2009). Adebolu and Vhriterhire in 2002 reported that magnitude of hospital acquired infection is dependent upon the number and type of visitors, mechanical movement within the enclosed space, quality of hospital systems and level of hygienic conditions in hospital environment. Sites where infections acquired in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. To be classified as a nosocomial infection, the patient must have been admitted for reasons other than the infection. He or she must also have shown no signs of active or incubating infection. Depending on the hospital involved, 1 to 10 percent of the patients affected die as a result of the nosocomial infection (George Krucik 2014). Most of these infections can be prevented while others are unavoidable. In hospitals the contaminated surfaces are increasing the cross transmission which is shown in figure-2. Figure-2 Showing the contaminated surfaces in hospitals (source: Wikipedia). These infections occur: Up to 48 hours after hospital admission Up to 3 days after discharge Up to 30 days after an operation In a healthcare facility when a patient was admitted for reasons other than the infection. In the United States, it has been estimated that 9.2 out of every 100 patients acquire a nosocomial infection Pathogens Causing Infection According to the CDC, the most common pathogens that cause nosocomial infections are Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, and E. coli (C.Glen May hall 2004). Based in biological and clinical criteria, the national Healthcare Safety network (NHSN) has categorized into 50 infection sites under 13 major types for the surveillance purpose (W. Bereket et al., 2012). When choosing the test organisms that are clinically relevant to human pathogens, six different organisms are considered to be major threats. These pathogens cannot cause the most devastating illnesses but majority of them will compromise with antibiotic resistant infections that are seen in most healthcare settings. These are commonly called as ESKAPE pathogens namely Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus Klebsiella pneumonia, Actinobacter baumanni, Paeudomonas aeruginosa and several species of Enterobacter. These (ESKAPE Pathogens) pose a biggest threat that physician face today. To fight with them we definitely need some new drugs and need some cooperation among industry and government to setup RD (research and development) infrastructure to fill the needs of new drugs tha t will tackle tomorrow’s infectious diseases threats. Escherichia Coli It is oxidase negative, Gram negative, and facultative anaerobic. It is one of the common organisms that are involved in Gram negative sepsis and endotoxin-induced shock. It is one if the leading cause of blood stream infections among all other Gram-negative pathogens. It is the fifth leading pathogen for causing blood stream infection in United States (Maazuddin t al., 2014). According to Bijay Kumar Chandra 2012, a study was concluded that Escherichia coli were most common agent found in nosocomial diarrhea. Some of the common infection caused by this organism includes wound infection, urinary infection, meningitis in neonates, pneumonia in immunocompromised hospitalized patients and E. coli associated diarrheal disease or gastroenteritis. It also possess broad range of virulence factors which are responsible for disease such as UTIs and gastroenteritis (Brooks GF et al., 2007). Enterococcus spp These are gram-positive cocci typically arranged in short chains and pairs. These grow optimally at 350C on a complex media which requires carbon such as glucose, nucleic acid base and vitamin B. when enriched with sheep blood agar, it supports the growth with large and white colonies. Enterococcus species are facultative anaerobic and are considered as a part of normal flora in genitourinary tract and gastrointestinal tract of humans. Enterococcus species have emerged as a one of the most important pathogen of hospital environment. The major enterococcal infections of humans are caused by two species namely Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium. Enterococci are one of the most important hospital acquired pathogens. Isolates of Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis are the third most prevalent pathogens worldwide. The most common infection produced by this organisms are intra-abdominal infection, urinary tract infection, pelvic infection, surgiclal wound infection, endocarditis, bacteremia, neonatal sepsis and rarely meningitis. Enterococcus faecalis is the most common cause of infection (80-90%) followed by Enterococcus faecium (10-15%) (Marothi YA et al., 2005). Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus aureus is by far the most important pathogen in the hospital environment in all the genus staphylococcus. It is non-spore forming, non-motile, gram positive, catalase positive facultative anaerobe arranged in clusters (Wahington CW et al., 2006). The indicence of nosocomial blood stream infection is more known to be caused by S. aureus (Rodrigo et al., 2012). S. aureus is rarely isolated from urinary tract infection (T.Grace et al., 1993). This S. aureus is both pathogen and commensal. Approximately 30% individuals are intermittently colonized with S. aureus whereas 20% are persistently colonized. It is one of the leading cause of hospital acquired infections. Methicillin resistance staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are the one which causes most of the infection and its isolation is continuously increasing (S Khono et la., 2007). Infections may occur during hospital stay by streptococcus and staphylococcus species when compared to other Gram-negative bacteria. Coagulase Negative Staphylococci The coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) species are widely known to cause NTs specifically bacteraemia in patients with prosthetic implants and catheter and also in patients who are immunocompromised. Staphylococcus epiermidis and Staphylococcus haemolyticus are the teo well known species and occur most common in CNS species (C.Geary et al., 1997). Coagulase negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus are the three most widely isolated pathogens which tends to cause blood stream infections. After hospitalization of the patient, the CNS usually takes 19 days to cause bacteraemia. The mortality rate of CNS is less when compared to some other pathogens (Aldof et al., 200). For the colonization of CNS, the main reason is its antimicrobial resistance. This CNS isolates is resistant to Oxacillin or nafcillin and methicillin (T Grace et al., 1993). Pseudomonas aeruginosa It is a Gram-negative with mucoid polysaccharide capsule typically arranged in pairs. It is a well known cause of pneumonia, endophthalmitis, conjunctivitis, sepsis and also associated with high mortality rates. Potential reservoirs include humidifiers, equipment, incubators, sinks, tap water and hands of health care workers. The identification of this pseudomonas aeruginosa is mainly based on simple biochemical test and colony characteristics. It colonizes the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts of the hospitalized patients. When normal defense mechanism is impaired, the pathogenesis by this organism is initiated. Pseudomonas aeruginosa attaches and colonizes the mucous or skin and invades locally to produce systemic disease. This process is mediated by different virulent factors like enzymes (proteases, elastases, phospholipase C), Pili and toxins (endotoxin A). P. aeruginosa produces infection such as blue-green pus, urinary tract infection, meningitis, and necrotizing pneumon ia (Contreras GA et al., 2008). Many contemporary studies showed that, the antibiotic resistance among the gram-negative bacteria is increasing especially of pseudomonas aeruginosa. The rate of resistance towards ceftazidime and imipenem by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was increasing dramatically. Prevention of Infection There are number of simple care practices that can reduce the probability of developing a Hospital acquired infection. Some of them include sterilization of resuscitation bags and masks, elimination of overcrowding, decreasing number of heal sticks, use of sterile suctioning technique, careful preparation and storage of infants formulas, using single dose administration of medications and avoiding drugs associated with increased risk of nosocomial infection. Infection Control Committee The infection control committee is a board which deals with the preventionof hospital acquired infections. It involves multidisciplinary personals like pharmacists, physicians, clinical microbiologists and others. This committee works on co-operation, information sharing principles and inputs. It has many different tasks to perform for the eradication and prevention of hospital acquired infection. It has to review and approve the surveillance data when needed. It has to examine and encourage the infection control practices and provide proper staff training in infection control safety. It also need to assess the new devices used in the hoapital for their risk in violating infection control stratergies and slso to communicate and co-operate with the hospital control committees for information. According to infection committee statistics, the infection rate were increased from 13.8- 22.1 per 1000 catheter days (Jeffery et al., 2005). Therefore infection control committee plays a key rol e in preventing the nosocomial infection. Hand Hygiene Hand hygiene has been considered to be the most important tool in nosocomial infections control. One of the significant contributors to the outbreaks of this hospital environment infection is failure to perform appropriate hand hygiene. Resident and transient microorganisms are known to be the natural microflora of the skin of hands. The resident microorganisms survive and multiply on skin and does not cause any harm to human flora whereas transient microorganisms represent recent contamination of hands which is acquired from colonized or infected patients/clients or contaminated environment or equipment. These transient microorganisms are not isolated consistently from most of the persons. When compared to resident microorganisms, the transient microorganisms which are found on the hands of health care personnel will become as a primary source of infections. Gram negative coliforms and Staphylococcus aureus has been known to be the most common transient microorganisms (Sarmad et al. , 2009). Appropriate hand washing results in reduced incidence of both nosocomial and community infection (Kampf et al., 2004).An estimated 40 percent of nosocomial infections are caused by poor hand hygiene (WHO). Hospital staff can significantly reduce the number of cases with regular hand washing (Figure-8). They should also wear protective garments and gloves when working with patients (James Chin 2000).

Compare two short stories where the characters face difficult Essay

Compare two short stories where the characters face difficult situations We are comparing the stories ‘Flight’ by Doris Lessing and ‘Your shoes’ by Michele Roberts. They both deal with the issue of daughters leaving home and how it affects the whole family. In ‘Flight’, the granddad is affected most severely but in ‘Your Shoes’, it is the mother. ‘Your Shoes’ is written in a first person narrative from the mother’s perspective. ‘Flight’ is written in the third person. The main theme of the stories is growing up and letting go/ moving on. In ‘Fight’ the granddad is overprotective of the granddaughter and she craves freedom from him and the atmosphere of the house she has grown up in. Her granddad makes her feel that getting married and moving away is wrong, ‘She’ll marry him next, I’m telling you; she’ll be marrying him next!’. In ‘Your Shoes’ there is a similar theme of over protectiveness and inability of the guardian to let go. However, in ‘Your Shoes’ the daughter actually runs away from the mother, whereas in ‘Flight’ the granddad simply feels that she is running away. The two stories conclude in very different ways. In ‘Flight’ the granddad symbolises that he is finally ready to let go of his granddaughter by releasing, if only for a short while, the pigeon that has symbolised her throughout the whole story. In ‘Your Shoes’ it contrasts this by the mother becoming increasingly unstable as the story progresses and ending with her seeming to have a mental breakdown. In ‘Flight’ the characters deal with the difficulties very differently than in ‘Your Shoes’. The granddad in ‘Flight’ tries to lock his granddaughter away from the world and convince himself he is doing it for her own good. The gra... ...of the mother’s family history, which shows that she didn’t take the side of her mother either, but went onto her father’s side. In ‘Flight’ and ‘Your Shoes’ the characters deal with the similar difficulties very differently. Both authors use symbolism to emphasise the difficulties or dilemmas, pigeons are used in ‘Flight’ and trainers are used in ‘Your Shoes’. The symbols in both stories relate to travelling or a journey. I think that the symbolism is effective in both stories but more so in ‘Your Shoes’ as the shoes represent several things; the pureness that the mother wants the daughter to have, the overbearing nature of the mother, the mother’s obsession with order and the fact that the mother can communicate better with a pair of shoes than she can with her own daughter. In comparison, I enjoyed ‘Your Shoes’ far more and found it more interesting. Compare two short stories where the characters face difficult Essay Compare two short stories where the characters face difficult situations We are comparing the stories ‘Flight’ by Doris Lessing and ‘Your shoes’ by Michele Roberts. They both deal with the issue of daughters leaving home and how it affects the whole family. In ‘Flight’, the granddad is affected most severely but in ‘Your Shoes’, it is the mother. ‘Your Shoes’ is written in a first person narrative from the mother’s perspective. ‘Flight’ is written in the third person. The main theme of the stories is growing up and letting go/ moving on. In ‘Fight’ the granddad is overprotective of the granddaughter and she craves freedom from him and the atmosphere of the house she has grown up in. Her granddad makes her feel that getting married and moving away is wrong, ‘She’ll marry him next, I’m telling you; she’ll be marrying him next!’. In ‘Your Shoes’ there is a similar theme of over protectiveness and inability of the guardian to let go. However, in ‘Your Shoes’ the daughter actually runs away from the mother, whereas in ‘Flight’ the granddad simply feels that she is running away. The two stories conclude in very different ways. In ‘Flight’ the granddad symbolises that he is finally ready to let go of his granddaughter by releasing, if only for a short while, the pigeon that has symbolised her throughout the whole story. In ‘Your Shoes’ it contrasts this by the mother becoming increasingly unstable as the story progresses and ending with her seeming to have a mental breakdown. In ‘Flight’ the characters deal with the difficulties very differently than in ‘Your Shoes’. The granddad in ‘Flight’ tries to lock his granddaughter away from the world and convince himself he is doing it for her own good. The gra... ...of the mother’s family history, which shows that she didn’t take the side of her mother either, but went onto her father’s side. In ‘Flight’ and ‘Your Shoes’ the characters deal with the similar difficulties very differently. Both authors use symbolism to emphasise the difficulties or dilemmas, pigeons are used in ‘Flight’ and trainers are used in ‘Your Shoes’. The symbols in both stories relate to travelling or a journey. I think that the symbolism is effective in both stories but more so in ‘Your Shoes’ as the shoes represent several things; the pureness that the mother wants the daughter to have, the overbearing nature of the mother, the mother’s obsession with order and the fact that the mother can communicate better with a pair of shoes than she can with her own daughter. In comparison, I enjoyed ‘Your Shoes’ far more and found it more interesting.

The Great Depression in America Essay -- essays research papers

There were many primary causes for The Great Depression, Unequal distribution of money to the economy, and the stock market speculation, and much more which all played a major factor for The Great Depression. The Great Depression impacted everyone, it impacted different people of all kinds of backgrounds. It was a low time for Americans in the 1920's, and for other countries also. One of the causes were Uneven Prosperity, 0.1% of families made 100,000$ a year, and 80% had zero savings. 200 companies controlled 49% of all U.S industry which caused uneven prosperity. Although the economy was booming in the 1920's most purchasing was done by credit. U.S wealth was not spread evenly and the economy was unstable. The U.S. economy was booming in the 1920’s and Uneven prosperity made recovery difficult. People were buying thousands of shares of stock for as little as 10% down. Then people lost ten times as much as they put in.For the economy to function properly, total demand must equal total supply. In the 1920's there was an oversupply of goods. 60 percent of cars and 80 percent of radios were bought on credit. The U.S. economy was also reliant upon luxury spending and investment from the rich to stay afloat during the 1920's. The significant problem with this reliance was that luxury spending and investment were based on the wealth's confidence in the U.S. economy. imbalance of wealth lead to large market crashes. Black Tuesday, 1929. People saw stocks were actually falling. People hurried to get out of stocks and minimize their losses. As this happened, more people did the same which exacerbated the situations. On Black Tuesday, a record16.4 million shareds were sold. This led to bank failures. Many people lost as much as ten times their initial investment in the crash of Black Tuesday Speculation in the 1920s caused many people to by stocks with loaned money and they used these stocks as collateral for buying more stocks. The stock market boom was very unsteady, because it was mostly borrowed money and false optimism. When investors lost confidence, the stock market collapsed, taking them along with it.People loss confidence and since they were developing mistrust of the economic situation, many wanted there money out of banks and buried in their yards. The same thing that happened to the stock market. Banks ran out of cash an... ...his programs aimed at stimulating business recovery were 'too late.' His hesitation to initiate government action gave the economy time to spiral further downward and for his relations with the leaders of big business to sour. The RFC, Hoover's only major attempt to aid the recovery of business and finance, pumped much needed capital into the economy, but it was little more than a bread line for business, according to its critics. The RFC simply gave handouts to businesses, rather than taking a role in shaping the ways in which those funds were used. Hoover eschewed direct governmental intervention under the principle of small government and free market economics. The experience of American citizens during Hoover's term left them desiring something new from the government. The nation demanded intelligent and effective governmental intervention to revive the flailing economy. They demanded a president who would be a hero and representative of his people rather than an aloof, uncompassionate bureaucrat--a departure from the do-nothing presidents of the 1920s. Franklin Roosevelt, elected in 1932, strove to answer this call during the remaining years of the depression.

Macbeth As A Tragedy According To Aristotles Definition :: essays research papers

While the genre of some works of literature can be debated, Macbeth written by William Shakespeare seems to fit into a perfect mold. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy, combining seven elements that he believes make the genre of a work a tragedy, is that mold. Displaying all seven aspects, Macbeth fits the definition precisely. Key elements in the play substantiate the fact that Macbeth is a serious story, the first elements of Aristotle’s definition. From the first lines of the play, the mood is set featuring witches whom speak of witchcraft, potions and apparitions. Not only do the three witches aid in making this a serious story but also, they appealed to Elizabethans whom at the time believed in such supernatural phenomena. War for centuries has represented killing and feuding, thus, the war taking place between Scotland and Norway provided a dark component. The Thane of Cawdor’s rapidly approaching execution due to his deceiving the king also plays a role in this grim work. Murder throughout all of Macbeth is an essential aspect when dealing with the seriousness of the play. From the beginning, Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to do anything to overthrow King Duncan, whom is the king of Scotland, the role Macbeth desperately yearns for. During the excursion to become king, Macbeth successfully murders King Duncan, Macduff’s wife and children, and with the help of a group of murderers Banquo; a brave general who will inherit the Scottish throne. Through the whole play, while such dank occurrences are used to create deep mood, Shakespeare also uses strong language and words. Such as when Lady Macbeth calls upon the gods to make her man-like so she will have the fortitude to kill King Duncan herself in this quote, â€Å"Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here†¦ Make my blood thick†¦ Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunest smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark.† This type of language provokes thoughts of death, blood and darkness though the imagery such dank words create. The play also follows through with its theme of blood by in the end of the play, having both of its lead characters die. Lady Macbeth, distraught by guilt over the bloodshed, commits su icide while Macbeth is murdered and beheaded by Macduff, a Scottish noblemen.

Literature critique

IntroductionStrohschein’s (2005) report discusses a research conducted among Canadian children over a five year period. The children’s level of anxiety/depression and their tendency towards anti-social behavior were analyzed at specified intervals during the five-year period assessing mental health adjustment to changes in the family in the form of a divorce between children whose parents eventually divorced and those whose parents remained together. Children in families considered dysfunctional prior to the divorce were assessed for improvements in mental health.The primary objective of the study is to determine a connection between divorce and mental health in children. This research assesses the children’s home environment both prior to and after a divorce to determine any correlation. There is need for this because prior researches that did not take into account this factor. The literature review reveals that the current research is distinguished based on the methodology used.MethodologyA qualitative approach is taken. The anxiety/depression state of children is examined over a five-year period my means of interviews and their relative state of mental health is assessed. The longitudinal survey methodology employed is justified on the grounds that alternative methods such as two-wave panel studies that assess developmental changes between two set time-periods for comparison as well as cross-sectional data used to pit children in divorced families against those in intact families, have been deficient.The multi-wave, longitudinal approach of the current study is clearly detailed as the better alternative. The researchers assume that the home environment prior to a divorce could determine divorce effects on children. They also assume that even prior to a divorce the mental health of children of divorced parents may be substantially different from those whose parents remain together and that divorce could positively alter the mental health of children.Two specific research questions are posed – are there negative effects of divorce on children’s mental health and is anxiety/depression diminished by a divorce within a dysfunctional family. A clear definition of what constitutes a dysfunctional family was given. The target population as well as exclusions is described by the researchers. The initial longitudinal sample was reduced after excluding children not 4 to 11 years, single-parent homes and children losing a parent by death. The final sample size was 2,819 with 5.9% experiencing divorce within the research period. The selection criteria appear unbiased and equitable given the requirements of the research. The data instrument used was a national survey the 5 year period covered lends much validity to the data collected as it allows for equitability in responses over time.FindingsThe findings of the research are consistent with the data gathered and analyzed. There is enough evidence to conclude that there is a greater prevalence of anxiety and antisocial behavior in children whose parents divorce than in those whose parents remain together. However the research does not show any correlation between preexisting family problems and decreased anxiety levels subsequent to a divorce. These findings cannot, however be generalized outside the context of children below the age of 11 years.Discussion & ConclusionTwo research limitations are highlighted. Only a single informant, a parent, was used for the assessment of the child’s mental health and no effective mechanism to determine the nature and distribution of resources in the household was possible; only inventory type data collection was conducted for this variable. The researchers suggest that the methodology of analysis used has proved to be effective in gauging children’s reactions to parental divorce and therefore future research on the issue on a broader scale should employ similar techniques.REFERENCESStrohschei n, L. (2005, Dec). Parental Divorce and Child Mental Health Trajectories. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(5),  1286-1300.

Beauty Pageants May Not Be Safe

In countries all around the world, beauty pageants are held as a long-standing tradition. Often, young women participate in these pageants. While pageants are said to present a sense of self-esteem and value for the participants, these competitions often cause damaging emotional issues for an already trying adolescent life. One young participant anonymously said, â€Å"I used to think I was pretty, but once I got on stage and didn't hear my name called the world came to an end and from then on, I've called myself ugly everyday† (Anonymous, 2010).When a girl feels as if she is being valued solely on her looks, she may change her personality and dietary habits to an unsafe level to continuously garner attention. The beauty pageant process is far from the safe harmonious competition it attempts to promote. As the rest of this essay suggest, damaging emotional scars often remain after the competitions are long gone, and pageants themselves harbor predatory dangers to young naive g irls. The first kind of emotional damage young girls face is an overemphasis on physical appearance and a willingness to maintain beauty at any cost.When a female participates in a beauty pageant, she is taught to win by looking attractive. These young girls are conditioned to believe that the only way to look pretty is to starve themselves so that they can achieve a ‘perfect figure’. Although there are many different types of eating disorders in the world, the biggest one of all for beauty pageants is anorexia. Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents (Mirasol). Outside of eating disorders, anxiety and stress are common for participants.In a 2009 interview on Good Morning America, Brooke Breedwell, a pageant queen at the age of five, now twenty, explained there was a price to pay, â€Å"Pageants have put a lot of stress and anxiety on my life I feel the need to be perfect at everything, and I know that's not realistic. You can't be perfect a t everything. † Brooke Breedwell also claimed her mother â€Å"pushed her too hard. † When a mother enters her daughter in a pageant she expects her to win.Most girls receive the ‘no other girl is your friend here’ speech, which cause them to be untruthful by offering fake smiles and false hugs around other participants. It also creates a distant form of interaction causing the females to be shallow, hyper-competitive adults who are never satisfied. The second kind of emotional damage young girls face is an uncharacteristically elevated ego for a teenage or even pre-teenage girl. When a female wins a pageant, she may conclude that she is better than everyone all of her peers.While some might believe it to be healthy to compete in pageants because it creates confidence and it builds character, it’s not. Pageants teach young girls that self worth is in physical beauty only. Parents encourage their daughters to compete in these competitions and do whate ver it takes to win. In some cases, mothers try to live vicariously through their daughter, by entering their daughter in such competitions. This confuses many girls because they don’t know if their mother is their coach or their parent.With young girls participating in televised beauty it is hard to keep pedophiles away. Some pedophiles are driven out to live their fantasies and with young girls on air exploiting themselves it’s easy too. When girls participate they put on clothing that is meant to look ‘sexy’ and ‘inviting’. Girls prance along a stage in alluring clothing welcoming anyone to watch. Girls in pageants have yet to develop their own sense of self and are conditioned to be more pleasing to adults for attention and rewards. An entire television show is dedicated to young girl’s beauty pageants.Each week, viewers are able to watch little girls dress up in bikinis, mini dresses, and other revealing clothing that their mothers choose for them to wear. In conclusion, beauty pageants cause self-hatred and uncertainty of a female’s own body, which could create shallow adults who are never satisfied. Carleton Kendrick, a family therapist says, â€Å"†¦the hard fact remains they are called beauty pageants and they have been and always will be based on using arbitrary standards of ‘beauty’ to make one contestant better than all the rest† (Kendrick).Beauty pageants can cause eating disorders and unrealistic expectations of a female’s own body. Beauty pageants can also cause a female to self-hate if she doesn’t win, or enlarge an ego to an unhealthy level. Unfortunately, if a child participates in beauty pageants that may air on television, anyone can watch including pedophiles. Females should love their own bodies and not care how others judge them upon their appearance.