Stefan’s Diaries: Bloodlust Chapter 4

The car was pitch black, but our eyes, now adapted for nocturnal vision, allowed us to pick out a path through the piles of sooty coal in the caboose. Finally we emerged through a doorway into what appeared to be a first-class sleeping car. When no one was looking, we stole a few shirts and pairs of trousers from an unattended trunk and put them on. They didnt fit perfectly, but they would do. As we ventured out into the aisle of the seating coach, the train rumbling beneath our feet, a hand grabbed my shoulder. Reflexively, I swung my arm at my attacker and growled. A man in a conductors uniform flew backward and hit the wall of a compartment with athud. I locked my jaw to keep my fangs from protruding. â€Å"Im sorry! You startled me and † I trailed off. My voice was unfamiliar to my own ears. For the past week, most of my interactions had been in hoarse whispers. I was surprised at how human I sounded. But I was much more powerful than my voice betrayed. I hoisted the man to his feet and straightened his navy cap. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"I believe so,† the conductor said in a dazed voice, patting his arms as if to make sure they were still there. He looked to be about twenty, with sallow skin and sandy hair. â€Å"Your ticket?† â€Å"Oh, yes, tickets,† Damon said, his voice smooth, not betraying that we had been in a gallop to the death only minutes before. â€Å"My brother has those.† I shot an angry glance toward him, and he smiled back at me, calm, taunting. I took him in. His boots were muddy and unlaced, his linen shirt was untucked from his trousers, but there was something about him–more than his aquiline nose and aristocratic jaw–that made him seem almost regal. In that moment, I barely recognized him: This wasnt the Damon Id grown up with, or even the one Id gotten to know in the past week. Now that we were hurtling out of Mystic Falls toward some invisible, unknowable point on the horizon, Damon had become someone else, someone serene and unpredictable. In these unfamiliar surroundings, I was unsure if we were partners in crime or sworn enemies. The conductor turned his attention toward me, his lip curling as he took in my disheveled appearance. I hastily tucked my own shirt in. â€Å"We were rushing, and † I drawled, hoping my Southern accent would make the words sound sincere–and human. His goldfish-like eyes bulged skeptically, and then I remembered a vampire skill Katherine had used on me to great effect: compelling. â€Å". . . And I already showed you my ticket,† I said slowly, willing him to believe me. The conductor furrowed his brows. â€Å"No, you didnt,† he replied just as slowly, taking extra care to enunciate each word, as if I were an especially dull passenger. I cursed silently, then leaned in ever closer. â€Å"But I presented it to you earlier.† I stared into his eyes until my own started to cross. The conductor took a step back and blinked. â€Å"Everyone needs a ticket on their person at all times.† My shoulders slumped. â€Å"Well uh â€Å" Damon stepped in front of me. â€Å"Our tickets are in the sleeper car. Our mistake,† he said, his voice low and lulling. He didnt blink once as he gazed at the mans hooded lids. The ticket takers face went slack, and he took a step back. â€Å"My mistake. Go ahead, gentlemen. Im sorry about the confusion.† His voice was distant as he tipped his hat, then stood aside to let us walk into the gentlemens club car. As soon as the door shut behind us, I grabbed Damons arm. â€Å"How did you do that?† I asked. Had Katherine taught him how to drop his voice, gaze his victim in the eye, and force the poor lad to do his bidding? I clenched my jaw, wondering if shed mentioned how easy it had been for her to compel me. Images flashed into my mind: Katherine widening her eyes, begging me to keep her secret, to stop my father from hunting her. I shook my head, as if to fling the images from my brain. â€Å"Whos in charge now, brother?† Damon drawled, collapsing into an empty leather seat and yawning, his hands stretched above his head as if he were ready to settle down for a long nap. â€Å"Youre going to sleep now? Of all times?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Why not?† I repeated dumbly. I held out my arms, gesturing to our surroundings. We sat among well-dressed men in top hats and waistcoats, who, despite the hour, were busily patronizing the wood-paneled bar in the corner. A group of older men played poker, while young men in captains uniforms whispered over tumblers of whiskey. We went unnoticed in this crowd. There were no vampire compasses revealing our true identities. No one so much as glanced in our direction as we sat down. I perched on the ottoman opposite Damon. â€Å"Dont you see?† I said. â€Å"No one knows us here. This is our chance.† â€Å"Youre the one who doesnt see.† Damon inhaled deeply. â€Å"Smell that?† The warm, spicy scent of blood filled my nostrils, and the thud of pumping hearts echoed around me like cicadas on a summer evening. Instantly a searing pain ripped through my jaw. I covered my mouth with my hands, looking wildly around to see if anyone had noticed the long canines that had shot out from my gums. Damon let out a wry chuckle. â€Å"Youll never be free, brother. Youre tethered to blood, to humans. They make you desperate and needy–they make you a killer.† At the wordkiller, a man with a rust-colored beard and sun-dyed cheeks glanced sharply at us from across the aisle. I forced a benign smile. â€Å"You're going to get us in trouble,† I hissed under my breath. â€Å"Yes, well, youve got only yourself to blame for that,† Damon replied. He closed his eyes, signaling the end of our conversation. I sighed and glanced out the window. We were probably only thirty miles outside of Mystic Falls, but it felt as though everything Id known before had simply ceased to exist. Even the weather was new–the rain shower had ended, and the autumn sun now poked through wispy clouds, penetrating the glass that separated the train from the outside world. It was curious: While our rings protected us from the sun searing our flesh, the burning orb made me feel slightly drowsy. Pushing myself to stand, I took refuge in the dark aisles that led from compartment to compartment. I passed from walking between the plush velvet seats of the first-class cars to the wooden benches of second class. Finally, I made myself comfortable in an empty sleeper cabin, drew the curtains, closed my eyes, and opened my ears. Hope those Union boys get out of New Orleans and leave it to ourselves Once you see those beauties on Bourbon Street, your Virginia virgin won't look the same You've got to be careful. There's voodoo down there, and some say it's where demons come out to play I smiled. New Orleans sounded like the perfect place to call home. I settled into the makeshift bed, content to relax and let the train rock me into some sort of slumber. I found that I fed much better after I had rested.

Reflection paper Essay

Visiting the Daybreak Family Centre gave me the opportunity to learn more about social services in reality. Albeit not having the chance to interact with their clients because we were untrained, I had a fruitful discussion session with the social workers there. â€Å"Learning in social work isn’t a linear process,† shared one of the social worker. Theories though being taught in school – seems like there is an accurate answer – social work is not a mere transfer of learning. With real clients, it takes time to generate solutions. Some lessons can only be self-discovered through experiences. Since social workers usually deal with case-works, this provided me another insightful take-away of the importance of self-reflection – which allows most practitioners to explore reasons they response in certain ways, helping to create self-awareness of own strength and weaknesses. Social workers too have attitudes, past and prejudices that will affect their resp onses to certain things. Without learning from oneself and acknowledge all these, it will be exceptionally difficult for social workers to assist clients effectively. These social workers shared that critical reflection allows them to form new perspective of the situation, understand themselves better and hence, advance. In social services, the importance of maintaining confidentiality and establishing professional boundaries could not be emphasizes enough. Also, bearing in mind, social workers cannot overpower clients, make assumptions or put own expectations on them. I have learnt that only when appropriate, can then a social worker take more control of clients’ lives. Social services focus on client’s self-determination. Clients ultimately have to be responsible of the decisions they make. Social workers cannot allow a particular incident to affect them so as to continue their profession. It is apparent that females mainly dominate the social work profession. It struck me on how this negatively impacted the manpower issue. In particular, the root cause of delinquency is the distant-father-figure at home. The  general consensus that men are more likely to be receptive towards other men in this issue causes a greater demand for male social workers. Unless the society takes a step forward and change this delusion that social work is a â€Å"voluntary-work†, not a profession, it will be rather difficult to ameliorate this situation. This general misconception has to be addressed meritoriously. On a side note, all the social workers I have meet were like angels, kind-hearted, understanding and never failed to wear on a big-smile!

Traveling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Traveling - Essay Example In this way, these benefits will be defined as the following: the means by which travel helps the individual to experience the world, the means by which travel allows for an interaction of new ideas/languages/people, and the means by which travel helps the individual traveler to bring back many of the ideas and understandings that they gain to their home. Firstly, although it is obvious that travel allows the individual to experience the world, this experience is ultimately extraordinarily useful due to the fact that it is almost always different than what the person might see within their own geographic region. The differential and experience that exists within travel allows the individual to not only have a relaxing and leisure time, it also allows them to spend some time considering why and how their particular experience is different from the one that they would have had if they stayed at home. Oftentimes, the differences in places and locations allows the traveler to interact with new ideas, new people, new cultures, and sometimes new languages. By interacting with all of these aspects, the traveler becomes more educated, more aware, and more cosmopolitan (Ahn 44). This level of worldliness helps the traveler to return to his or her original city or town and realize that key differences, sometimes good sometimes bad, exists. Finally, through an understanding of these differences that has been described in the preceding section the traveler can oftentimes bring back home many of the ideas that they were exposed to during their travels (BÃ ¶rjesson 674). Due to the fact that no particular culture or nation is completely right or has found the best way to live life, many of these cultural and sociological interpretations of personal interaction, culture, religion, politics, and philosophy can be useful in helping to define the world in which the traveler interacts with at his/her home (Metz 322). In

Professional Ethical Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Professional Ethical Standards - Essay Example The application process itself can be very lengthy and take several months to go through, with more than one interview, background checks, a driver’s license history, drug test and any other documents the Department of Corrections requires. The duties of the correctional officer: Provide security for public safety Provide security for staff and offenders To conduct counts and ensure all inmates are accounted for To pass out the mail to the offenders To collect the mail from the offenders To ensure that all inmates report to their job assignments To ensure that the dormitory is cleaned daily To ensure that the inmates are given the opportunity to eat meals To monitor the offender during yard time To search staff and visitors as they enter the prison, ensuring no contraband is brought in To search offenders in search of contraband To complete paperwork daily To inventory equipment daily Pass out medication Attend training classes Be flexible Be without actions, conducts, and beh aviors’ unbecoming or professional for an employee of the Department of corrections The shifts for all correctional officers’ start out the same, whether you are on first, second, or third shift. All officers entering a state prison or a county jail will be required to have their lunch bags searched and must clear a metal detector. Once clearing the security each officer will report to their assigned post. Count will be conducted to ensure that all offenders are accounted for upon arrival of the new shift. The officer will conduct an inventory of all equipment and medication on hand. The officer will then begin the daily log and tool check inventory. Work call will be announced and most of the offenders will exit the dorm to report to their own work area. The officer will now monitor the housemen to ensure that the dorm is cleaned and supplies have been issued. Housemen are usually inmates who have served a good amount of their time with good behavior, no incidents rep orts or write ups, and have been model inmates. Housemen gain the title of ‘housemen’ and are then allowed to stay in the dormitory and to keep the dormitory clean. The officer will check the security of all doors and windows and make thirty minutes radio checks to the control room, to ensure officer safety. The officer will enforce the rules and monitor the offender’s behavior. An officer must be alert and be willing to go into harm’s way to help other staff members and the offenders as well. Public safety is the number one task an officer must always be aware of. There are many visitors that go inside the prison and jails and officers must ensure their safety above all else. The officer must also be able to maintain their own stress levels and pay attention to the surroundings at all times. Medical emergencies do happen inside of prisons and jails. All officers are trained to perform CPR and expected to do CPR if the situation calls for it. Officers are required to hold their certification in weapons and have 40 hours of training a year to refresh their basic training. The ratio inside of a prison is usually about three to one; this is also the case in the jails. Inmates greatly outnumber officers so it is especially important that you be able to communicate effectively and treat inmates appropriately, while also being fair. Medical passes and issues may come up during your shift and you should know how to honor them

System evaluation and benchmark testing Assignment

System evaluation and benchmark testing - Assignment Example Strengths and Limitations of each system: Grass is open project software and can be used for finding directions to managing natural conditions. A user may put it for various purposes and achieve expected results. The Grass GIS software is a combination of raster/vector Geographical Information Software enhanced images and visualized data system. The system can be utilized by the usage of different modules but the users must know their own requirements before implementing it for use. GRASS GIS software system offers the 'GRASS Programmer's Manual.' The biggest benefit of using Grass software is that it can be used by writing custom made modules according to the user's own requirements. The users only need to read through the existing written modules to get a clear picture of the difference between what will be the output of the existing module and what output they want. When they get a clear picture it will be easier to frame a GIS module which adds on to the existing ones. This is pe rhaps the biggest feature and distinct characteristic of GRASS software that it offers the access and customization of internal structure of the system. The GRASS GIS offers a library to develop and document the modules as the Application Programming Interface. API is built to help the users in the development of the new module as a new add-on. With the help of this feature, users can help the project in growing and there will be more varieties of modules for the new users. Google Earth is proved to be vey useful in Real Estate and Engineering Industries. Google Earth uses the imagery database and also a very high pixel aspect for the printing purpose to enhance its service quality. Google Earth provides live satellite images of different parts of Earth. They may not be live in actual sense but they are updated very soon so they are mostly near to live and present most up-to-date images of world's topography. Google Earth is very beneficial for students and as well as business class people. It is helpful in providing satellite views for architectural projects, real estate decisions and also for businesses that need geographical information. During previous years, Google Earth Pro has been used by several NGOs in order to help and restore endangered life in different regions of the world. NGOs used Google Earth to collect and organize geographical sets of data, identifying sites, making maps and presenting their ideas. It is also very helpful in real estate business. The real estate dealers start to make their own portfolio of properties through Google Earth and it is perhaps the best tool to manage real estate business over seas where it will be difficult for the buyer to access the site. Microsoft MapPoint is a mapping application that is available in market for both business and home users. can easily plot geospatial data for North America or Europe. It can also geocode locations and plot routes. Although it is not having extensive functionality of a more co mprehensive GIS system like supporting ESRI format that is a standard format for GIS data, however it offers to create

Role of HR in developing talent at work in the banking sector (UK and Literature review

Role of HR in developing talent at work in the banking sector (UK and US) - Literature review Example Human resource managers include various tools in recognizing and developing talent in the organization. According to Berger & Berger (2010), the talent assessing tools may include 360- degree feedback; however, the appropriateness and effectiveness of tools used is what matters the most. In addition, coaching plays an important role in the development of an employee’s talent; it can be conducted by a manager or a fellow colleague. Moreover, Morgan & Jardin (2010, p.23) argue that, â€Å"it is vitally important to run talent management like a business in order to drive maximum return on investment in people.† The role of HR has been significant to the organization and an individual as well. In talent development and management, the human resources department ensures that appropriate measures are put in place to ensure that there is presence of the right personnel needed for an organization to succeed (Catalyst, N.d., p. 21). This paper’s aim is to focus on the hum an resources role in developing talent in the banking sector, mainly in the United States and the United Kingdom. 2) Human Resource Role The human resource role concerning talent development begins with the creation of that talent, hence nurturing and developing it. In this talent driven economy, talent- powered organizations are essential; indeed, such talents must be developed and further sustained (Cheese, Thomas, & Craig, 2007, p.46). Talent is normally referred to as a special gift, in this case involving experience, knowledge, & skills of an individual, (Shavininna, 2007, p.159). Therefore, each organization aims at acquiring, retaining, and sustaining such talent, with an aim of achieving organizational goals. According to Collins (2011, p.35), a global war for talent is evident, with global graduates seeking opportunities to develop their skills and experience in oversees countries. In addition, the United Nations data revealed that over 214 million people live away from the ir home countries. In countries like the United Kingdom and the United States, the arrival of highly skilled migrants contributes to higher education through fees. The talent war is aimed at accessing the best talent, with companies offering favorable working environment with an aim of attracting best talent. The banking sector of any country is a vital field; almost all banks in the United States and in the United Kingdom have incorporated human resources in their operations, especially as this department deals with a number of duties concerning the employees, such as training and development. One such bank is the Deutsche bank, which is based in various countries among them the United States, and attests to the human resource importance in its organization, whereby, the human resources contribute to developing and retaining the best talent (Deutsche Bank, 2011). In addition, Standard Chattered Bank in the United Kingdom has incorporated talent development programmes, whereby, attr acting the best talent and further developing it is their main aim, as they believe in building their employees (Standard Chartered Bank, 2009). Success is determined when a company’

Seeking Treatment within Criminal Justice System Research Paper

Seeking Treatment within Criminal Justice System - Research Paper Example There are many treatment methods that the criminal justice systems have implemented and still continue to incorporate in their systems. There have been debates on whether the criminal justice systems should use the multi-dimensional kind of treatment where there is a combination of different methods of treatment, or uni-dimensional treatment where only one method is used at a time. This paper discusses the different kinds of treatment in the criminal justice systems. Keywords: Criminal Justice System, Treatment, Multi-Dimensional, Uni-Dimensional, Co-Morbidity Introduction The criminal justice system is a set of agencies and processes that have been established by governments to control crime and impose punishments to those who violate the law. Criminal justice is a complex subject to deal with. Most nations have several systems of justice; for example, in the United States, there are different systems of criminal justice. The criminal justice system is therefore a system that ensure s that the laws of different countries are enforced (Goldsmith & Israel, 2000). Drug courts have been created in some nations, such as the United States America. This is in response to the realization that there is need for increased capacity in local jails, due to the high number of criminals arrested for reasons related to drug abuse. ... The criminal justice systems in many countries have most of the time received a lot of criticism, because most of the people do not have trust in them. This is because most of them fail to treat offenders, which is in fact the main reason behind the establishment of such systems. There are different methods that can be used to treat substance abusers, mentally ill criminals and other conditions in people who enter into the systems. This paper discusses multi-dimensional and uni-dimensional treatments that are effective in treating criminals within the criminal justice system. Differences between multi dimensional and uni-dimensional treatments with substance abusers Multidimensional Family Therapy treatment is commonly used to treat substance abuse in adolescents and related behavioral and mental health problems (Liddle, Rodriguez, Dakof, Kanzki &Marvel, n.d.). The method seeks to reduce symptoms and at the same time, enhance developmental functioning by changing some domains of the behavior. This kind of treatment has received the highest rating in treating adolescent drug abusers, especially the juveniles because not use a single specified method making it very effective. This treatment is based on a combination of the theoretical and clinical traditions of psychopathology and developmental psychology, family therapy, and an ecological perspective. According to Liddle, Rodriguez, Dakof, Kanzki and Marvel, â€Å"multidimensional treatment uses research derived knowledge about risk and protective factors for adolescent drug related problems as the basis for assessment an intervention† (p. 128). Multidimensional Family Therapy holds the argument that drug abuse among teenagers is

A Short Story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Short Story - Essay Example It was one fine Saturday evening when we went to the beach. The atmosphere was as amazing as it has always been. There were comparatively more people this weekend because of the scorching heat; however, everything was going smooth. The water was rough, and the lifeguards were roaming on the beach asking people not to go farther, as the water was very rough. Three of us were very rebellious, maybe the reason is very obvious, and that is of our age. We decided to let go of our worries and decided that our sole mission here was in the water. We got into the water, its cooling effect making us feel better than ever before. Because of the large crowd we opted to go a little farther from our usual spot in order to get enough playing space. Two others of our friends were also coming to join us. It would be an afternoon to remember; I thought. Everything was perfect; friends swimming past one another, water splashing on the face, the afternoon sun, and all the fun that was going wild each minute. For all this time, we thought we were the only ones who did not heed the lifeguards’ advice. We assumed that we were the only people deep in the waters until we saw one child drowning. The kid was far from us and was screaming for help. Suddenly the entire environment changed, and people were shouting for help. Lifeguards were trying to keep off the crowd, also rushing towards the scene. Some swam towards the kid at a speed that I had only seen in water sports. All of a sudden, one of our friends started swimming towards the kid. However, to reach the drowning kid, he had to get past another group of teenagers swimming towards the shore in great panic. Seeing that he would drown himself we decided to go after him. He, however, managed to swim past the teenagers and towards the kid. Before he could reach the drowning kid, w ho was now almost submerged, a big wave hit him. There

Women's Rights. Kathy Peiss Book Cheap amusements Essay

Women's Rights. Kathy Peiss Book Cheap amusements - Essay Example Apart from being an important step towards the feminist movement, these indicators were also powerful and important with regards to the future of the Civil Rights movement within the United States and seeking to integrate all of society into what had previously been a club dominated by old, white men. One of the authors that best elaborates on this particular situation within American history is Kathy Peiss in her book, Cheap Amusements. As a function of this understanding of womanhood that Kathy Peiss puts forward in her book, this brief analysis will seek to answer the following questions: what changes around work and leisure occurred during the progressive Era, how did women’s embrace of style fashion romanced and mixed sex fun create new opportunities for independence for these women, and how did working class women’s embrace of those very same things also contribute to their being oppressed or discriminate against. Accordingly, by examining each of these determinan ts, it is the hope of this author that the analysis will be able to point to the greatest strengths and aspects of definitions that Peiss puts forward. Furthermore it is the hope of this author that through analysis of Peiss’ writing, the individual can gain a more clear and complete understanding of the means by which societal change and cultural change integrates itself within the modern era. One of the greatest changes that place during the Progressive Era was the integration of women into the workforce. Although many individuals might be led to believe that this did not take place until the Second World War, the fact of the matter is that the First World War offered a wealth of opportunities within the labor force provided by the vacancies left by men in the armed services. As a result of this change within the Progressive Era, the women within society were able to enjoy a great degree of liberalization with regards to both professional opportunity as well as cultural int egration that had previously not been realized. With regards to the realities that existed for women within society prior to this point, Peiss notes the following: â€Å"the working class woman discussed in the following pages typically were immigrants or daughters of immigrants, lived in†¦tenement districts, and labored for wages while unmarried† (Peiss 9). As a result of this rigid stratification that existed, women were utterly unable to penetrate the cultural constraints that previously defined their existence. As a result of the changes that were realized, not only were labor opportunities made available but also the style of fashion and clothing came to represent a more manly and boyish dynamic that had previously been unheard of. Accordingly, the most popular woman’s hairstyles became bobs whereas with regards to the style of clothing, flapper fashion came into existence; representing a unique and noticeable divergent from the Victorian era where full lengt h dresses were the norm. Whereas many people would seek to disregard fashion as indicative of any greater level of independence or feminism within the population, the fact of the matter is that the changes that were enjoyed an experienced during the Progressive Era had a noticeable impact on the level of freedom, culture, and social mobility that the women of that time were able to experience within society. Moreover, the changing norms of the time, alongside the differential that was experienced with regards to the degree that women and men could spend time together and mixed company without the horse societal judgments that it previously existed, allowed for a great liberalize ancient with

Service Quality Essay Example for Free

Service Quality Essay Perceived service quality has been defined as Customers’ overall impression of the relative inferiority / superiority of the organization and its services (Bitner and Hubbert, 1994, as cited by Dinuka Wijetunga et al. 2003). To gain full understanding of service quality, it is necessary to identify characteristics of services. The three major characteristics are intangibility, heterogeneity and inseparability of production and consumption (Parasuraman et al. , 1985). An extensive review of this topic (Lehtines, U. and Lehtinen, J. R. , 1982; Parasuraman et al. , 1985; Sasser, W. E. et al. , 1978) suggests three major qualitative results: 1. Service quality is more difficult to evaluate than product quality. 2. Service quality perceptions result from a gap between consumers’ expectations and perceived service performance. 3. Not only the outcome of a service but also the process of service delivery determines the evaluation. The fact that service quality perception are the result of comparisons between expected and perceived service performance implies each customer may feel differently about similar service experiences provided by a certain provider. This suggests that there is no general service measurement scheme applicable to every customer rather, service quality evaluation should be determined by the aggregate of all customers’ perceptions about a particular service provider. Therefore, managing service quality should mean managing the aggregate of all customers’ perceptions. The first attempt to describe and defined service quality was the paradigm suggested by Gronroos (1983) who distinguished between technical quality (What is done) and functional quality (how it is done). The early work of Gronroos (1983) was later extended by parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, (1985). They argued that to fully understand service must be acknowledged and that service quality can be defined as the consumer’s overall impression of the relative inferiority / superiority of the organization and its services (Bitner amp; Hubbert, 1994) or as the customer’s assessment of the overall excellence or superiority of the service (Zeithaml, 1988). In these terms service quality means conforming to customer expectations (Lewis amp; Booms, 1983) and implies, from a consumer perspective, the comparison of customer expectations with customer perceptions of actual service performance (Parasuraman et al. 1985) Importance of Service quality Despite the importance of providing a high level of quality to be successful in today’s very competitive market place, the concept of quality is an elusive construct mainly because of the presence of many intangible attributes. This difficulty gets worse when it comes to service quality. The services are concerned; marketing ca nnot operate in isolation from other functional areas. Tasks that might be considered the sole preserve of operations in a manufacturing environment need to involve marketers because customers are often xposed to even actively involved in service processes. Making service processes more efficient does not necessarily result in a better – quality experience for customers; nor does it always lead to improved benefits for them likewise, getting service employees to work faster may some times be welcomed by customers but at other times may make customers feel rushed and unwanted. Thus, marketing, operations and human resource managers need to communicate with one another to ensure that they can deliver quality experience more efficiently. An individual customer’s perception usually determines his/her future attitude and actions toward a service provider. Dissatisfied customers will eventually leave the company and may never come back. The aggregate of all the customers’ decisions regarding their service provider will determine the market share of the service provider. Another measure of performance of a service provider is each service provider’s distribution of customers in terms of length with the provider. Many recent articles underline the importance of loyal and long – term customers since they usually bring in more sales, often at increased profit margins. If loyal customers defect, the profit – making potential goes with them. Similarly, implementing marketing strategies to improve customer satisfaction with services can prove costly and disruptive for an organization if the implications for operations and human resources have not been carefully thought. Hence, quality strategies need to be considered carefully. Marketing’s interest in service quality is obvious when one thinks about it: poor quality places a firm at a competitive disadvantage. If customers perceive quality as unsatisfactory, they may be quick to take their business elsewhere. Recent years have witnessed a veritable explosion of discontent with service quality at a time when the quality of many manufactured goods seems to have improved significantly. From a marketing standpoint, a key issue is whether customers notice competing suppliers’ difference in quality. Consultant Brad Gale Puts says that â€Å"Value is simply quality, however the customer defines it, offered at the right price† (Bradley T. Gale, 1994)

Literature Review of Industrial Policies

Literature Review of Industrial Policies What types of industrial policies are there? Discuss, comparatively, the experience of  Brazil and South Korea. Discussing the literature of industrial policy. The Industrial Policy plan of a country, sometimes shortened IP, is its official strategic effort to encourage the development and growth of the manufacturing sector of the economy.There are role of government which takes measures aimed at improving the competitiveness and capabilities of domestic firms and promoting structural transformation. [4] A countrys infrastructure (transportation, telecommunications and energy industry) is a major part of the manufacturing sector that usually has a key role in IP 1. What kinds of industrial policies are effective? One aspect of this question is whether governments should use industrial policies to make the most of their country’s current comparative advantage, or instead invest in higher-productivity industries that are not competitive in the short-term. According to Justin Yifu Lin, World Bank Chief Economist, where industrial policies fail this is â€Å"due mostly to governments’ inability to align their efforts with their country’s resource base and level of development† (Lin, 2010). For Lin, developing countries should first seek to profit from the (mostly labour- and resource-intensive) products and services that they are currently most competitive in. They will accumulate human and physical capital in the process. This capital, Lin argues, can be reinvested over time in more productive industries. An article in the †The Economist† draws similar conclusions. Ha-Joon Chang, in contrast, argues that dev eloping countries should defy their comparative advantage. For Chang, the cost of moving capital between industries (e.g. from sewing machines to car plants) means that countries should actively promote high-productivity industries at an early stage in their development. Some argue that while manufacturing should be given special policy treatment, governments should not favour particular manufacturing industries (cf. UNIDO, 2011)2. One way to do this is by improving the infrastructure that manufacturers require, e.g. by promoting industrial clusters (UNIDO 2009). The creation of export-oriented Special Economic Zones is a well-known example of this. Critics argue that such an approach may only attract short-term investment, achieving little if any positive spillover into the wider economy (Good and Hughes, 2002 ). Another question is which kinds of industrial policy are most effective in promoting economic development. For example, economists debate whether developing countries should focus on their comparative advantage by promoting mostly resource- andlabour-intensiveproducts and services, or invest inhigher-productivityindustries, which may only become competitive in the longer term. An example of typical industrial policy can be import-substitution-industrialization (ISI), where trade barriers are temporarily imposed on some key sectors, such as manufacturing. By selectively protecting certain industries, these industries are given time to learn (learning by doing) and upgrade. Once competitive enough, these restrictions are lifted to expose the selected industries to the international market. ISI was most successful in countries with large populations and income levels which allowed for the consumption of locally produced products. Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and (to a lesser extent) Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela, had the most success with ISI. The Brazilian ISI process, which occurred from 1930 until the end of the 1980s, involved in boosting exports and discouraging imports (thus promoting the consumption of locally manufactured products), as well as the adoption of different exchange rates for importing capital goods and for importing consumer goods. Moreover, government policies toward investment were not always opposed to foreign capital: the Brazilian industrialization process was based on: governmental, private, and foreign capital, the first being directed to infrastructure and heavy industry, the second to manufacturing consumer goods, and the third, to the production of durable goods (such as automobiles). Volkswagen, Ford, GM, and Mercedes all established production facilities in Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s.. Industrial policy covers many areas of policy. In the historical and comparative literature on the industrialization processes in East Asia and Latin America, the following areas of industrial policy have been persistently disputed: trade strategies, the role and extent of directed credits and subsidies, and innovation policies. In a country whose government has industrial policies, the market force is more or less distorted due to government intervention. It can also be the case that the government uses industrial policy to correct market distortion resulted from domestic monopoly. However, there is no uniformity in the essence or the extent of industrial policies. Different paths chosen by the governments lead to different patterns of industrial development. Even similar strategies could bring about different results when implemented under different environments. A scarcity of natural resources has motivated South Korea to look at its human capital as its biggest endowment, and the country has invested heavily in education, science and technology, and a â€Å"knowledge-based† economy. The South Korea is one of the few countries in the world that has managed radically to transform its domestic economy from one based on agriculture to that of a leading world industrial power, with a constant increase in income per capita and a high growth pattern (Figure 1). Industrialisation and the shift from light to heavy and chemical industries boosted the rising growth pattern and favoured a virtuous integration into foreign markets (Figure 2). For many years, Brazil employed various policies to alter its productive structure in order to increase the participation of sectors believed to have great potential to generate economic growth. Behind these initiatives lay the idea that since the terms of exchange tend over time to deteriorate as far as agricultural production is concerned, it would be appropriate for developing countries to make an effort to industrialize, principally by imposing protectionist tariffs [Prebisch (1950) Singer (1950)].1 The aim here is not to present a detailed report on Brazil’s industrial policy (IP, for now on) over the last few years [for this, see Suzigan (1995), Guimarà £es (1996) and Bonelli, Veiga Brito (1997), Suzigan Furtado (2006)], but rather to describe briefly the tools used to promote industry. Between the 50s and the 80s, various types of trade protection were basically used (import taxes and non-tariff barriers such as the examination of similarity, indices of nationalizat ion, contingency mechanisms, import licensing, preference in government procurement), along with export stimulation (favored exchange rates for exports of manufactured goods and tax exemptions) and subsidies for production in selected sectors (tax exemption and reduction and acceleration of capital depreciation). Besides this, there was an intense flow of credit to sectors considered to be priority and the strong direct presence of the State in various productive activities. To all this, add the obstacles against adopting new technologies (the Information Technology Law (â€Å"Lei de Informà ¡tica†), for example), large state investments in infrastructure (especially up to the late 70s) and expansion of higher education (principally as of the 70s). Brazilian industrial policy developed within the context of a paradigm shift in the relations between State and Society, in which the public sector sought to bring about a business environment favorable to productive investment, w hile the private sector busied itself with seeking out opportunities and making investments. Brazil’s Industrial, Technological and Foreign Trade Policy (PITCE), unveiled in March of 2004, has unique features which clearly distinguish it from previous policies. Its purpose is to bring increased efficiency and competitiveness to Brazilian companies and place them in international markets, thereby creating jobs and increasing incomes. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Nonetheless, it must be remembered that there is no consensus concerning deterioration of the terms of trade [see Hadass Williamson (2001) for pertinent references]. On the other hand, Sarkar Singer (1991) find indications that the terms of trade for exports of manufactured goods from developing countries also tend to deteriorate, which would justify the prescriptions set forth by Prebisch (1950) and Singer (1950) even in a more advanced stage of development. 2 These tools were not used with the same intensity in all periods. For further details, see Suzigan (1995) If IP appeared to be successful in changing Brazil’s productive structure, there is no evidence that it managed to promote sustained growth over many years. Comparison with countries that found themselves in a similar stage of development is quite illustrative. We see that Brazil’s per capita income in the 60s was higher than many of the countries in East Asia, but during the 80s it was surpassed by all of them. By way of illustration, in 1980 Brazil’s per capita income was 131% of South Korea’s, 40% of Japan’s and 108% of Taiwan’s, whereas in 2000 it had dropped to 50% of South Korea’s, 28% of Japan’s and 39% of Taiwan’s (see Figure 1). From the 90s on, a movement is perceived to open the economy and diminish the role of the State as entrepreneur. The impact of trade opening on industrial productivity has been widely documented [Ferreira Rossi-Jà ºnior (2003)], but this apparently was not translated into exceptionally high growth rates, especially if compared with previous periods (characterized by the intense use of vertical policies) or with the countries of East Asia (see Figure 1). This being so, many authors point to the performance of the Brazilian economy in the last fifteen years as evidence of the need to adopt sectorial policies [see Kupfer (2003), for example]. Work Cited Wikipedia. Industrial policy UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) www.unido.org Industrial Policy and Territorial Development. Lessons from Korea An industrial policy for Brazil (AlessAndro Teixeira. President of the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI) ) Import Substitution and Industrialization in Latin Amercia: Experiences and Interpretations. (Latin American Studies Association) Import Substitution Industrialization. Looking Inward for the Source of Economic Growth Industrial and innovation policies in Brazil: recent paths and main challenges (Institute for Manufacturing)

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman Essay -- Poem Poet Whitman B

"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman Recurring Images and Motifs in "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" In the poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman, there are many recurring images and motifs that can be seen. Whitman develops these images throughout the course of the poem. The most dominant of these are the linear notion of time, playing roles, and nature. By examining these motifs and tracing their development, ones understanding of the poem becomes highly deepened. Whitman challenges the linear notion of time by connecting past with future. This can be seen in the first stanza, as the poem opens: "And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence are more to me, and more in my meditations than you might suppose"(4-5). This lets the reader know that he has written this with the reader in mind, even before that reader existed. He challenges time by connecting his time with ours. He has preconcived us reading this poem. When we read his words we are connected to him and his feelings, all in the same time. He is sure that after he is gone the water will still run and people will still "see the shipping of Manhattan/and the heights of Brooklyn" (14-15). He makes his past and our futher all one. No matter the time nor the distance, the reader will experience the same way he experiences at the moment in time he resides: Just as you feel when you look on the river and sky...

Essay on Verbal and Situational Irony in The Pardoner’s Tale of Chaucer

The Pardoner’s Tale:  Ã‚  Use of Verbal and Situational Irony  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      In â€Å"The Pardoner’s Tale,† Geoffrey Chaucer masterfully frames an informal homily.   Through the use of verbal and situational irony, Chaucer is able to accentuate the moral characteristics of the Pardoner.   The essence of the story is exemplified by the blatant discrepancy between the character of the storyteller and the message of his story.   By analyzing this contrast, the reader can place himself in the mind of the Pardoner in order to account for his psychology.   In the Prologue of the tale, the Pardoner clearly admits that he preaches for nothing but for the greed of gain.   His sermons revolve around the biblical idea that â€Å"the love of money is the root of all evil† (1 Timothy 6:10).   Ironically, however, the Pardoner condemns the very same vice that he lives by, as he proclaims â€Å"avarice is the theme that I employ in all my sermons, to make the people free in giving pennies—especially to me†.   Thus, covetousness is both the substance of his sermons as well as the mechanism upon which he thrives. He clearly states that repentance is not the central aim of his preaching, by mentioning â€Å"my mind is fixed on what I stand to win and not upon correcting sin†. Rather, his foremost intention is to acquire as many shillings as he can in exchange for his meaningless pardons.   In this regard, one can argue that although the Pardoner is evil, he is not a dissembler.   His psychology is clearly not guided by hypocrisy because he does not conceal his intentions under false pretences.   Chaucer clouds the genuine nature of the Pardoner’s psychology in ambiguity.   Upon r... ...nations of his thought processes, it is clear that the Pardoner does not practice what he preaches.   It is ambiguous, however, as to whether the Pardoner believes what he preaches, but just doesn’t follow his preaches or whether he doesn’t believe what he preaches at all.   It is evident, though, that the Pardoner has an astute mind.   He is highly effective in what he does.   Although he exploits the church for his own personal designs, he succeeds at obtaining that which he pursues.   The efficacy of his strategy is confirmed by Chaucer’s description of the Pardoner as being a â€Å"noble ecclesiastic† and as being unmatched in his trade .   Thus amidst all of his flatteries, there exists a spark of genius that complements his minimal level of ethics.   This intellectual finesse is the riverbed from which all of the products of his mind flow.

Haircut by Ring Lardner Essay

In his short story, â€Å"Haircut,† Ring Lardner employs an atypical point of view style. Although the story is told completely from the point of view of a barber, what makes it unique is that the reader is a part of the story as the barber’s customer. Lardner makes use of the stereotype that barbers are very talkative while they do their work, and one can learn all the town gossip from them. The barber himself is very talkative by nature, inferred from when he says that he does not mind shaving corpses, except that he gets â€Å"kind of lonesome† with them because he cannot talk to them. He also seems unaware of his gossiping nature because, once, he actually stops himself by saying that he â€Å"shouldn’t ought to be gossipin’† even though he had been gossiping the entire time. This barber goes on with his stories with no input needed from the customer/reader, and so seems to skip from one topic to another, similar to the pattern of idle chatter. This random jumping of topics is actually essential to the story. Lardner builds his characters using little background stories that expose their personalities. This style involves so many characters and so many stories that a straightforward third-person story would not have been nearly as effective. One other importance of the barber’s point of view is that he makes no judgments as he tells his stories. He talks about Jim Kendall, who he has a â€Å"good ole boy† type of relationship with. From the stories, the reader can tell that Jim, the recently deceased funny barbershop patron, was in fact a rather bad man. Jim did not give his wife enough money to live on and cheated on her repeatedly, knowingly broke his children’s hearts, made fun of a mentally ill person, and almost assaulted a woman. Even knowing all these things, the barber still insists that Jim was a â€Å"good fella at heart. † Lardner uses the idle chatter of a friendly barber to tell the story of what was, most probably, a murder of a very unpleasant man.

Early Childhood Education: Raising Children the Right Way Essay

In early Childhood Education; teaching a child to read and write at early ages can have positive results when showing them educational videos and programs. Early Childhood Education is a field that will never lose significance. It sheds light on the best parenting styles and other significant issues related to raising children. It also gives us a glimpse of how young children perceive the world and how we can put this new knowledge to use for the benefits of children, parents and society. Young children slowly develop a concept of gender through interaction with their environment. Children perception of gender and how they define differences between male and female gender roles would offer an excellent research topic in early childhood education. Particularly during the first three years are critical and influence the child for life. Learning is not confined to children of a certain age or to a formal school environment. Encouraging children to play and explore with other children helps them learn and develop socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually. Play is central to children’s learning, regardless of the actual content. The process play helps children get involved with exploration, language experimentation, cognition, and also the development of social skills. Being interactive with other children teaches them about who they are and about the people around them. Early Childhood education affects a child’s learning somewhat in a good way in somewhat not. When a child goes to a pre-school with teachers that will teach them what they will need to know for the upcoming year those students will have a better chance when they get to kindergarten, but if a child goes to a pre-school with little learning material or teaching style those students might have a hard time keeping up with the students that had a better learning experience. Recent study | Published in the Journal of Early Childhood Research | this study found the quality of a pre-school significantly predicts a child’s educational success. Not all early childhood education is created equal. Not only is it important for parents to do their research when choosing a pre-school for their child, but it’s also important for our child care professionals and teachers to be well trained. A teacher’s educational experience greatly affects the overall delivery of a child’s learning in many ways. According to the | National Association for the Education of Young Children’s | (NAEYC) Position statement on standards for programs to prepare early childhood professionals, the level of a teacher’s education directly affects any benefits the child may receive from the program. This includes early learning and development in cognitive, social, emotional and physical domains. High quality college courses will give the teacher specialized knowledge that will help to inform his decisions, teaching methods and curriculum creation. For example a teacher with extensive knowledge in child development will be able to assess each child’s abilities and identify potential developmental delays and/ or adapt curriculum to fit the child’s needs. It is important to understand child development and to recognize each child’s individual characteristics and cultural background when planning learning activities that enable children to â€Å"make sense of their world†. Children develop the skills necessary to solve real life problems and become better prepared to think for themselves when they are exposed to experiences that: 1) spark interest and curiosity, 2) integrate learning experiences, and 3) structure their thinking. These are some skills that are used in the process of childhood education: Symbolization- Students use symbols to represent an idea, Observation- students use senses to learn about something in detail, description- students verbally portray attributes of an object, person, scene, or event and it’s so many more skills that help a child in their childhood development. (www. uen. org) Benefits of early childhood education provide children with the skills that will help increase their vocabulary development and cognitive abilities. Children start learning from birth, early childhood education, whether it is in a local head-start program, a pre-school or at home, can help a child increase vocabulary development by familiarizing them with words and their meanings. According to | Rand Corporation Research | early education has lasting benefits, showing increases in IQ levels and cognitive abilities such as the ability to understand both concepts and abstract thoughts. Children exposed to early childhood education can be more prepared for social environments. A child becomes competent in learning to socially interact with adults and other children. With parental support, the child can learn not only what is socially appropriate in the classroom, but also in public places and in their home. Social competency is a key skill for a child to learn, as it will benefit them throughout their life time. Like clay, children are highly moldable in their preschool, kindergarten, and early elementary years. Between the ages of five and eight, children are actively engaged in making sense of the large, confusing world around them. In this stage, it is important that children receive the educational guidance that urges them to explore and enthusiastically interact with their setting as they develop socially, physically, intellectually, creatively and emotionally. In this early stage of development, much learning is cultivated by play or playful learning. With the world advancing technologically by the day, new and innovative methods to engage young children and accelerate their development are emerging. It is up to the early childhood educator to seize on these developments as they work to cultivate a life-long sense of curiosity and exploration in the future leaders of tomorrow. (Early Childhood Education. com) Conducting learning activities by applying the concepts of contemplative education is what to emphasize the personal transformation of first year students majoring in Early Childhood Education to meet the national standard on the required characteristics of citizens. The objectives of this research were to compare students’ mean score in each aspect of E. Q. with the norm of the Department of Mental Health; to compare students’ mean score of E. Q. before and after conducting the activities; and to study students’ opinions on the learning activities. (University Library) Although the number of children enrolled in early childhood education and care has risen dramatically over past decades, low-income children are less likely than their more affluent counterparts to participate. Public funding for early education can play an important role in increasing enrollment levels among low-income children. This study utilizes National Household Education Survey data for a 14-year period to examine the effects of public funding on the enrollment of low-income children in early childhood education and care. It also considers the effects of funding on the type of care they use. Results suggest that public funding, particularly child-care subsidies and prekindergarten funding, increases the likelihood that low-income children, even those under 3 years of age, will attend non-parental care, including center-based care. These findings indicate that public funding can help close the gap in enrollment between low- and higher-income children. (University Library) Early education can increase cognitive skills in children, according to |Katherine A. Magnuson and her colleagues who report in the February 2007 issue of â€Å"Economics of Education Review†| that children from under-served communities who attended preschool showed more cognitive improvement than their peers. Columbia University researchers confirm this connection through their study published in the July 2003 issue of â€Å"Developmental Psychology. † They found that prematurely born 8 year olds who attended 400 or more days of preschool at ages 2 and 3 years old scored higher on IQ tests than prematurely born 8 year olds of similar backgrounds who attended preschool less often. Children going through early education has great out comes like, improved cognitive skills can lead to improved academic results. Magnuson’s study indicated that children enrolled in prekindergarten performed better in reading and mathematics when they entered grade school. Children enrolled in early childhood education programs are less likely to be held back a grade in school, according to the Public Policy Forum. These children also have a decreased likelihood of being enrolled in special education remedial programs. The future of early childhood education school programs is bright. As more children are born in the United States and other developing countries, educational programs for children will always be needed to prepare them for careers that will help sustain our global society. There will always be a need for an early childhood education program in fields such as bilingual education, literacy, mathematics and science. According to the statistics provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, employment demand for careers in secondary, middle and elementary schools are expected to show a significant increase. These positions will be available because of the increase in the population, but the demand will also increase due the retirement of teachers within urban areas of the United States. Therefore, there will be more than 244,000 additional jobs available by 2018 for those that have acquired an ECE degree. Additionally, teaching assistant positions are expected to have an increased demand by as much as 10 percent, while administrative positions in early childhood education school setting will have a demand growth by as much as 8 percent. Educational providers of ECE degree programs will need to prepare for these significant increases by training new educators now. Reference Page Table of Contents Early childhood Education- Authors: Ogletree Quinita, Larke, Patrica J Plarked National forum of Multicultural Issues Journal; Dec 2011, vol. 9 Issue, P1-9, 9P University of phoenix library1 Education and families: Authors: Greenberg, Joy Pastan Sep 2010, volume 84 issue 3, P490, 30 P,6 charts, 1 Graph University of phoenix libraby2 Author: M. Lavora Perry June 16, 2010 www.. livestrong. com Google lookup3 www. unicef. org Google lookup4

342 – Support Positive Risk Taking For Individuals

Unit 4222-342 Support positive risk taking for individuals (HSC 3066) Outcome 1 Understand the importance of risk taking in everyday life : 1. Explain ways in which risk is an integral part of everyday life For many people risk is an accepted part of everyday life. Every day activities such as catching the bus, travelling on holiday, playing football, setting up home and starting a family all carry some element of risk. Risk plays a part in our health, safety, security, well-being, employment, education, daily activities, using resources and equipment and in community participation.But some adults, for example disabled people or older people, are often discouraged from taking risks. Traditionally they are not encouraged to take risks in areas such as budgeting, planning, employment and daily living skills. This may be either because of their perceived limitations or fear that they or others might be harmed. Everyone has a right to take risks and make decisions about their lives. There is a balance to be found between service user’s participation in everyday activities and your duty of care.Changes in social care and health policy mean that all adults are being actively encouraged to increase their independence by, for example, travelling independently, and by being fully involved in mainstream society through education, work and leisure. It is impossible ever to fully eliminate risk. It is however possible to minimise and prepare for risk by preventative action. To support people to live independently or to travel independently or take part in everyday activities means accepting that there are risks that cannot be avoided but can be minimised and prepared for.2. Explain why individuals may have been discouraged or prevented from taking risks.For disabled people, a move away from a medical model to a social model of disability now means that there is an emphasis on the discrimination and exclusion created by social and cultural barriers. For some services, approaches to risk have in the past been concerned with avoiding potentially harmful situations to service users and staff. People may need to take risks to achieve their aspirations but people who need su pport can be discouraged from taking risks.This may be because of their perceived limitations or because of fear that they or others might be harmed, resulting in criticism or compensation claims. A more positive approach to risk is now being developed, recognising that in addition to potentially negative characteristics, risk taking can have positive benefits for individuals, enabling them to do things which most people take for granted. Risk can be beneficial, balancing necessary levels of protection with preserving reasonable levels of choice and control.A balance has to be achieved between the wishes of those who use services and the common law duty of Care.3. Describe the links between risk-taking and responsibility, empowerment and social inclusion. Personalised care is for everyone, but some people will need more support than others to make choices about how they live their lives. Everyone has the right to personalised care and as much choice and control as possible. As the p ace on personalisation is picked up it is necessary to ensure that this includes the most vulnerable members of our society, including those who may lack capacity.With effective personalisation comes the need to manage risk for people to make decisions as safely as possible. Making risks clear and understood is crucial to empowering service users and carers, recognising people as ‘experts in their own lives’. Risk management does not mean trying to eliminate risk. It means managing risks to maximise people’s choice and control over their lives. True empowerment means that people might make decisions service providers disagree with.If the outcomes are part of the support plan and all risks have been fully discussed and understood, this can lead to real choice and control and a better quality of life for the individual. With support for positive risk taking it can help the individual to:gain self-confidence-achievement, development, new skills and knowledgedevelop skills-goals setting, new activities, supporttake an active part in their community-involvement, participation, inclusionOutcome 2Understand the importance of a positive, person-centred approach to risk assessment . explain the process of developing a positive person-centred approach to risk assessment Every opportunity contains risks – a life without risk, is a life without opportunities, often without quality and without change. Traditional methods of risk assessment are full of charts and scoring systems, but the person, their objectives, dreams and life seem to get forgotten. A person centred approach focus’ on the individuals rights to have the lifestyle that they chose, including the right to make ‘bad' decisions.It is about helping people and those who care about them, think in a positive and productive way in order to achieve the changes they want while keeping the issue of risk in its place. Risk management is finding a balance between â€Å"positive ri sk taking† based on autonomy and independence and a policy of protection for the person and the community based on minimising harm. Bates and Silberman give a list of 7 criteria that any such approach would have to fulfil, these being:Involvement of Service Users and Relatives in Risk Assessment. Positive and Informed Risk Taking.Proportionality.Contextualising Behaviour.Defensible Decision Making.A Learning Culture.Tolerable Risks. .2. explain how to apply the principles and methods of a person-centred approach to each of the different stages of the process of risk assessment Working in a personalised way and developing a positive person-centred approach means accepting there are risks that cannot be avoided but which can be prepared for.Reasonable risk is about striking a balance in empowering people with support needs to make choices ensuring that the person has all the information, tailored to their specific needs, in the appropriate format, to make their best decisions â €Å"Involvement of service users and relatives in risk assessment†: Involving the person concerned and the people that care about them most is one of the most fundamental tenets of any person centred approach.The process uses the ‘Relationship Circle' to help the person and their allies identify key people who could form the persons ‘circle of support'. This group of people is involved from the outset, in the initial gathering of information, in the framing of what the risk under discussion actually is, in thinking that generates ideas and solutions, in evaluating these solutions, in decision making around the risk, in implementing the actions and in the learning that takes place during these actions.Staff must understand what service users and others want, how they view their own risks and what responsibilities each person has in managing risks effectively. The Person Centred Approach meets this by asking for a clear picture of what the person wishes to achieve, why this is important to the person, what success would look like, a history of the risk and uses the ‘doughnut' tool and decision making agreement tools to look at staff roles and responsibilities, and at who will be responsible for different important decisions in relation to the risk. Positive and informed risk taking†: The process is built around a positive view of the person – it seeks to learn what the person's gifts and skills are, what people like and admire about them, as well as investigating what would be necessary to keep them and others safe while taking the risk. The process is based on finding creative solutions rather than simply ruling things out.Bates and Silberman argue here that quality of life should be â€Å"maximised while people and communities are kept as safe as can be reasonably expected within a free society† Thinking around what it would take to keep the person and others safe while taking the risk is a key part of the Positive and Productive Process, as is the use of the ‘Happy/Safe' grid, which looks at how much solutions would make the person happy, by meeting what is important to them, and how much they would keep them and others safe, by meeting what is important for them. One section of the process includes a question â€Å"What does the law say? enabling the process to be informed by the current law, including legislation such as the Human Rights Act. â€Å"Proportionality†: â€Å"The management of the risk must match the gravity of potential harm† Using the person centred thinking tools means flexibility. The more serious the issue, the more people and the more time can be spent considering it in greater detail. Unlike conventional risk assessment, the approach explores the consequences of NOT taking the risk, to the person, to their family, community and services, balancing these against the potential consequences of taking the risk. Contextualising Behaviour†: â€Å"wh y did the person behave in this way? At this time? In this Situation? † Part of the process involves gathering together previous information about the person, including a history of the person's experience of the risk issue from their own perspective, as well as other historical data, gleaned from a variety of sources including learning logs which look at what has worked and what has not worked in particular situations, and communication charts which explore a person's words and behaviours, seeking their meanings and considering what the best response to these messages should be.The ‘4+1 Questions' (What have we tried? what have we learned? What are we pleased about? what are we concerned about? ) help not only to gain an understanding of a person's behaviour in different contexts, but also to build a picture of what has been learned about what is the best support for that person. Defensible Decision Making†: â€Å"there is an explicit and justifiable rationale fo r the risk management decisions† Following the person centred approach generates a clear trail of written records of what has been discussed, the different perspectives, issues and solutions that have been considered, along with any legal issues, such as the human rights act or the mental health act that might affect the risk decision. The paperwork generated during the process provides a clear rationale for why the decisions that emerge during the process have been taken, and why other options have been rejected.The rationale for decision making is also more clearly expounded and recorded than in traditional risk assessment forms in common usage. â€Å"A Learning Culture† The positive and productive approach to risk has a deep emphasis within it on ongoing learning using learning and reflective tools like the learning log, the 4+1 Questions and What's Working/What's not working, and by clearly defining for staff their core duties and their zone of judgement and creativ ity in relation to the risk.If it is part of a serious and concerted attempt by services to change their philosophy and practice in a person centred direction, it can contribute significantly to building a learning culture within organisations. â€Å"Tolerable Risks† A key aspect of the Person Centred Approach is that it uses creative thinking techniques around methods to mitigate the risk and improve quality of life, moving from situations which make the person happy but unsafe, to where they and the community are safer, and from strategies where the person is ‘safe but unhappy', to where they can be happier.Experience of using the process is that it enables participants to take a more balanced and rational approach to risk, finding ways to enable the person to achieve what is important to them while considering what keeps that person and the community safe in a way that makes sense for that individual. 3. explain how a service focused approach to risk assessment would differ from a person centred approach A risk assessment can only identify the probability of harm, assess the impact of it on the individuals, and pose intervention strategies which may diminish the risk or reduce the harm.Assessments cannot prevent risk. Risk is a normal and often beneficial part of everyday life, but while it enables learning and understanding, in the case of potentially destructive consequences it may need to be monitored and restricted. Traditional methods of risk assessment are full of charts and scoring systems, but the person, their objectives, dreams and life seem to get lost somewhere in the pages of tick boxes and statistics. A service focused approach seeks to avoid all risks as far as possible.Staff would be expected to behave and act in a synchronised way with regards risk, not taking into account the individuals wishes. It has no flexibility and is not a responsive approach to meet peoples` changing circumstances. A service centred approach to risk as sessment would be guided by a standard procedure and can compromise individuals rights to make choices and take risks. Often concerns about minimising and attempting to eliminate risks are in the interests of the organisation, but not necessarily in the interests of the person they are attempting to support.A person centred approach seeks to focus on people's rights to have the lifestyle that they chose, including the right to make ‘bad' decisions. Person centred planning, requires that staff have a flexible and responsive approach to meet peoples` changing circumstances, guided by the principles of good planning rather than a standard procedure. Staff need to be constantly problem solving in partnership with the person and their family and friends. Person centred planning seeks to develop a better, shared understanding of the person and her situation.A person centred approach to risk taking will find the balance between what is important to the person, their aspirations and t he supports that they require. 4. identify the consequences for individuals of a service focused approach to risk-assessment. Risk is a normal and often beneficial part of everyday life. Risk taking can have positive benefits for individuals, enabling them to do things which most people take for granted. While risk taking enables learning and understanding, in the case of potentially destructive consequences, it may need to be monitored and restricted.The problem with a service focused approach to risk assessment, is it reduces an individual’s independence and can reduce the positive benefits for the individual. A service focused approach to risk taking tends to have a negative focus on what the individual is not able to do or what they cannot achieve and has a limited outlook on identifying the benefits of positive, person-centred risk assessment. It does not empower the individual or encourage independence.Outcome 3Understand the legal and policy framework underpinning an i ndividual’s right to make decisions and take risks . explain how legislation, national and local policies and guidance provide a framework for decision making which can support an individual to have control over their own lives There are many Legislation and policies which promote the human rights of individuals which support the individual’s right to make their own decisions and to take risks. Some are as follows: The Equality Act 2010 is the law which bans unfair treatment and helps achieve equal opportunities in the workplace and in wider society.The act replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single act to make the law simpler and to remove inconsistencies. This makes the law easier for people to understand and comply with. The  act also strengthened protection in some situations. The  act covers nine protected characteristics, which cannot be used as a reason to treat people unfairly. Every person has one or more of the protected characteristics, so the  act protects everyone against unfair treatment. They protected characteristics  are:Age Disabilitygender reassignmentmarriage and civil partnershippregnancy and maternityracereligion or beliefsexsexual orientationHuman Rights Act 1998 – The Human Rights Act means that residents of the United Kingdom will now be able to seek help from the courts if they believe that their human rights have been infringed. It is likely that anyone working within health and social care will be working within the provision of the Human Rights Act, which guarantees the following rights:The Right to life The right to freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading punishmentThe right to freedom from slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labourThe right to liberty and security of personThe right to a fair and public trial within a reasonable timeThe right to freedom from retrospective criminal law and no punishment without lawThe right to respect for private and family life, home and co rrespondenceThe right to freedom of thought, conscience and religionThe right to freedom of expressionThe right to freedom of assembly and associationThe right to marry and found a familyThe prohibition of discrimination in the enjoyment of convention rightsThe right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions and protection of propertyThe right to access to an educationThe right to free electionsThe right not to be subjected to the death penaltyMental Capacity Act 2005 – The MCA applies to England and Wales. The primary purpose of the MCA is to promote and safeguard decision-making within a legal framework.It does this in two ways:By empowering people to make decisions for themselves wherever possible and by protecting people who lack capacity by providing a flexible framework that places individuals at the heart of the decision making processBy allowing people to plan ahead for a time in the future when they might lack the capacity for any number of reasons Mental Capacity and Dep rivation of Liberty Safeguards 2005.  The safeguards provide a framework for approving the deprivation of liberty for people who lack the capacity to consent to treatment or care in either a hospital or are home that, in their own best interests, can only be provided in circumstances that amount to a deprivation of liberty. The safeguards legislation contains detailed requirements about when and how deprivation of liberty may be authorised. It provides for an assessment process that must be undertaken before deprivation of liberty may be authorised and detailed arrangements for renewing and challenging the authorisation of deprivation of liberty. The Code of Practice contains guidance on the deprivation of liberty safeguards.It is particularly intended to provide guidance for professionals involved in administering and delivering the safeguards, who are under a duty to have regard to the Code. The Code is also intended to provide information for people who are, or could become, su bject to the deprivation of liberty safeguards, and for their families, friends and carers, as well as for anyone who believes that someone is being deprived of their liberty unlawfully. Mental Health Act 2007 – amends the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.It introduces significant changes which include:Introduction of Supervised Community Treatment. This new power replaces supervised discharge with a power to return the patient to hospital, where the person may be forcibly medicated, if the medication regime is not being complied with in the community.Redefining professional roles: broadening the range of mental health professionals who can be responsible for the treatment of patients without their consent.Nearest relative: making it possible for some patients to appoint a civil partner as nearest relative. Definition of mental disorder: introduce a new definition of mental disorder throughout the Act, abolishing previous categoriesCriteria for Involunt ary commitment: introduce a requirement that someone cannot be detained for treatment unless appropriate treatment is available and remove the treatability test.Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT): improve patient safeguards by taking an order-making power which will allow the current time limit to be varied and for automatic referral by hospital managers to the MHRT. Introduction of independent mental health advocates (IMHAs) for ‘qualifying patients'.Electroconvulsive Therapy may not be given to a patient who has capacity to refuse consent to it, and may only be given to an incapacitated patient where it does not conflict with any advance directive, decision of a donee or deputy or decision of the Court of Protection. Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 – is in response to the Bichard Inquiry 2005, into the failings around the Ian Huntley case.The SVG act is intended to prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable people and to reform current vetting an d barring practices. The act sets out a legal framework for the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) scheme which was to be introduced in 2009 (but is currently under review as a result of the 2010 General Election). Valuing People (Department of Health, 2001) – was the first Government White Paper on learning disabilities in England for 30 years.It stresses the important role that Person Centred Planning can play in helping people with learning difficulties take charge of their own lives. The Guidance (Department of Health, 2002) stressed that Person Centred Planning is not a professional activity done to people; instead people themselves and their friends, families or other allies, must lead it. However, professional services still have an enormous role to play in responding in a more person centred way to people with learning difficulties. For 2009 -10 the key priorities include: to ensure that the Personalisation agenda is embedded within all local authority services and developments for people with learning disabilities and their family carers, and is underpinned by person centred planning. † ‘Valuing People Now', is the ‘refresh' of this white paper in 2009 and is a new three-year strategy for people with learning disabilities (2009), DH and clearly state that good person centred planning should be happening, and will lead to better lives for people.Putting People First – â€Å"A shared vision and commitment to the transformation of Adult Social Care (2007), Department of Health. † In the UK the government policy ‘Putting People First' stated that person centred planning must become mainstream. Putting People First recognises that person-centred planning and self-directed support are central to delivering personalisation and maximising choice and control. In 2010 guidance was issued to help councils use person centred thinking and planning to deliver the personalisation agenda.Putting People First is a pub lic service reform programme, which is co-produced, co-developed and will be co-evaluated. It recognises that to achieve real change, users and carers must participate at every stage. This marks a change in status of people who use services, from ‘consumers’ to ‘co-producers’. set out four areas on which councils and their partners should focus in order to personalise services. These areas are: universal services – transport, leisure, health, education, housing and access to information and advice; * choice and control – shaping services to meet people’s needs, rather than shaping people to fit in with the services on offer; * social capital – care and support that individuals and their carers can get from their local community (friends, family, neighbours or community groups); and * early intervention and prevention – support that is available for people who need help to stay independent for as long as possible, to keep t heir home or garden tidy, or to start taking regular exercise. 2. escribe how a human rights based approach supports an individual to make decisions and take risks. A human rights based approach (HRBA) to risk management means ensuring individuals know their rights and are being supported to participate in making choices and decisions. A human rights based approach to risk assessment balances the human rights of service users, their carers, and members of their communities. This is so risks can be managed more positively. A HRBA looks at risk through a ‘Human Rights’ lens, identifies relevant equality and diversity issues, and maximises service user participation and empowerment.A human rights based approach to risk, means ensuring service users are as involved as they can possibly be in their own risk assessment process. Whether the service user participates fully or contributes to a small aspect of their risk assessment, some involvement will almost always be possible . The ways in which you possibly apply this in your work practice is through things such as advocacy, direct payments, personalised services, person centred planning and support planning. Outcome 4 Be able to support individuals to make decisions about risks 1. upport an individual to recognise potential risk in different areas of their life 2. support the individual to balance choices with their own and others’ health, safety and Wellbeing Positive risk taking is a process which starts with the identification of potential benefit or harm. The desired outcome is to encourage and support people in positive risk taking to achieve personal change or growth. The individuals could face risks in many different areas of their life including, risks relating to their health, their social life and also their finances and it is important to support the individual to recognise those potential risks.The risk assessment looks at four areas of risk; risks to self, risks to others and risks from other and risks to property. Within each area of risk, common risk issues and difficulties (for example self harm, physical aggression, abuse issues) are itemised. It is also important that the individual realises that although they have a right to take risks they also have a responsibility towards themselves and others, including:ColleaguesFamilies or carersFriendsOther professionalsMembers of the publicAdvocatesAnd it is important that whilst maximising their quality of life they also need to maintain their safety, responsibilities to themselves and others for social emotional and physical reasons. Supporting an individual to recognise potential risks whilst balancing the choices with their own and others health, safety and well-being involves:Empowering people to access opportunities and take worthwhile chances.Understanding the person’s perspective of what they will gain from taking risks and understanding what they will lose if they are prevented from taking the ris k. Ensuring the individual understanding the consequences of different actions – An informed choice means that a person has the information and support to think the choice through and to understand what the reasonably expected consequences may be of making that choice.Helping the individual to make decisions based on all the choices available and accurate information – It is important to remember that too much information can be oppressive and individuals have differing needs in relation to how information is presented to them.Being positive about risk taking. Understanding a person’s strengths and finding creative ways for people to be able to do things rather than ruling them out.Knowing what has worked or not in the past and where problems have arisen, understanding whysupporting people who use services to learn from their experiences.ensuring support and advocacy is availablesometimes supporting short term risks for long-term gains.ensuring that services pro vided promote independence not dependenceassuming that people can make their own decisions (in line with the Mental Capacity Act) and supporting people to do so working in partnership with adults who use services, family carers and advocates and recognise their different perspectives and viewsdeveloping an understanding of the responsibilities of each partypromoting trusting working relationships. 3. describe how own values, belief systems and experiences may affect working practice when supporting an individual to take risks Giving people who use services choice and control over the care they receive is important if personalisation is to become a reality.The responsibility for encouraging  risk-taking can make you feel they are being put in a difficult position trying to balance personalisation with your own values and beliefs and also your duty to keep people safe. Because of your own past experiences you may feel that the risks involved, will result in problems, but you should not let this interfere with the individual’s desires. Because you had a bad experience following a course of action does not necessarily mean this will happen to others. An example could be an individual wanting to join a ‘lonely hearts’ club.Your own thought may be negative towards this course of action, possibly because you have personally had a bad experience or possibly because you feel this is not the best way to meet people. Your beliefs and experiences should not cloud the issue. It is important that you feel confident and equipped to support people you are caring for to assess and evaluate their own risks. Advice is readily available when facing difficult cases in the form of risk enablement panels, which can share responsibility for making complex decisions when signing off a person's support plan.The panel would usually involve the individual or any advocates or carers representing them; members of the local safeguarding adults board; the allocated soci al worker; and specialists such as a psychiatrist.4. record all discussions and decisions made relating to supporting the individual to take risks. It is important to ensure that any discussions and decisions made relating to supporting the individual to take risks or concerning risks, are recorded in their support plan. Records will need to be understandable to all the members of the team.The aim of record keeping is to ensure that the right people have the right information to provide the best care for the service user and they also provide a record of what you and the individual have discussed and decided with regards risk taking. The records should also record any incidents which have taken place. The reason for keeping the records are:To show that you have offered the individual choicesTo show that you have agreed the desired outcomesTo show that the individual has given their consent.This is important for two very important reasons: Responsibility – The records will ind icate who is responsible for what parts of the plan, this avoids confusion as everyone is clear of what their responsibilities are (Responsibility (for) can be defined as a set of tasks or functions that an employer, professional body, court of law or some other recognised body can legitimately demand. ) Accountability – means the person is contractually accountable to their employer and also accountable to the law, for any actions or ommissions in their practice and must always be able to justify their decisions.When work is being either distributed or delegated, the individual who carries it out needs to be competent to do so. Competence is an individual’s ability to effectively apply knowledge, understanding, skills and values within a designated scope of practice. (Accountability describes the mechanism by which failure to exercise responsibility may produce sanctions such as warnings, disciplining, suspension, criminal prosecution, or deregistration from professio nal status. It can be called ‘answerability’).Where a professional or organisation makes a decision not to support an individual to pursue a particular decision or course of action, they must be able to explain this and demonstrate that they have thought through and discussed in a balanced and proportional way the potential consequences of refusing to support the risk Where the individual is able to make an informed choice and still wishes to pursue a high risk decision or choice, having a signed risk assessment is one way of showing that they are aware of the risks and are willing to take them.This provides organisations and professionals with a significant degree of protection for their support of the decision should things go wrong.Outcome 5Be able to support individuals to take risks 1. complete a risk assessment with an individual following agreed ways of working Risk assessment is the activity of collecting information through observation, communication and invest igation.It is an ongoing process that involves considerable persistence and skill to assemble and manage relevant information in ways that become meaningful for the users of services (and significant other people) as well as the practitioners involved in delivering services and support. To be effective it needs disabled adults and older people, their families, carers, advocates and practitioners to interact and talk to each other about decisions that have been taken and their appropriateness in the light of experience.Where a risk assessment is needed, a decision then has to be taken about whether or not positive risk-taking is necessary to achieve certain outcomes for the person concerned. It will not always be appropriate to take positive risks but this has to be determined in partnership with the person affected, and their family where appropriate. It is a professional judgement that should not be influenced by an overly cautious approach to risk. At the same time though, positiv e risk-taking is not negligent ignorance of the potential risks – nobody benefits from allowing risks to play their course through to disaster. . communicate the content of the risk assessment to others It is important to communicate and work in a consistent way with all those supporting the individual. Information gathering and sharing is important. It is not just an essential part of risk assessment and management, but also key to identifying a risk in the first place. It is important to communicate the content of the risk assessment to all relevant staff. It will also be important to discuss and explain the risk assessment with the individual’s carer and family.The individual’s goals and targets should be discussed with all concerned, to aid understanding regards the risk assessment and to ensure all those involved are aware of the desired outcomes. However, the use and sharing of information must respect the principles outlined in the Data Protections Act 19 98.3. support the individual to take the risk for which the assessment has been completed Once the support plan has been completed and the risks defined it is important to support the individual to take the risks. This may involve discussing the risk assessment in depth with the individual’s family.The individual’s desired outcomes could conflict with those of carers, especially when the latter placed more emphasis on safety while the individual was prepared to accept a greater level of risk in order to maintain independence. Differences in attitudes to risk had to be tackled through ‘good social work’, to reinforce the individual’s preferences while helping the family to distinguish between unconventional and dangerous behaviours. Another way of supporting the individual to take the risk in the first instance, could involve a trial run.An example could be where the individual wants to make an independent trip in to town using public transport.On th e first trip you could accompany the individual on each step of the journey.On the second trip, you could accompany them to the town and then arrange to meet with them later in the day.On the third trip, you may just accompany them to the bus stop. Gradually you can reduce the amount of support you provide. Another method of support could be to have a contingency plan in case things don’t quite go according to plan.If we look again at the last scenario, what would happen if the individual missed the last bus home? By ensuring they have a pre-arranged telephone number of their next of kin or carer they can make them aware of the problem. Alternatively they may have the telephone number of the local mini cab office who would bring them home as an alternative. It is also important that the individual knows what to do if things do go wrong. You can support them to take risks by ensuring they have clear information and advice about what to do if they have any concerns.For example they should be aware of and be able to recognise and identify abuse or neglect and know where and how they should seek help if necessary. Your support doesn’t end once the risk assessment has been carried out. 4. review and revise the risk assessment with the individual After each risk assessment has been agreed it is important that it is monitored and reviewed in case any revisions are necessary. Risks may change as circumstances change, so they should be reviewed regularly. An assessment is a snapshot, whereas a risk assessment is an ongoing thing.Risk assessments should be reviewed periodically and whenever circumstances change to ensure they remain current. At the time the risk assessment is made it should include the signatures of everyone involved in the assessment and a review date should be identified. It is important to review and revise risk assessments so that the success of the positive risk taking can be assessed and any necessary adjustments can be made. It may be necessary for the individual to have access to further resources to enhance the plan or adaptations could be made to help the individual meet their planned outcomes.When positive risk-taking has a negative consequence, it is necessary to identify what has gone wrong and how the assessment and management of the risk contributed to this. Inevitably if we are supporting individuals to have more choice and control in their lives through positive approaches to managing risk, things are likely to go wrong from time to time. If this happens and the risk taken results in a negative outcome for the individual, there is no doubt that the risk taking process will come under scrutiny and the way in which this process worked to minimise the foreseeable risks will be considered.If the risks taken do not meet the planned outcomes for the individual then they may have to be reviewed and revised. 5. evaluate with the individual how taking the identified risk has contributed to their well-being. W ell-being describes the way we think and feel about ourselves and others, our confidence, and our ability to control things in our life. We all need to protect our wellbeing and this can be done by taking part in physical activity and having opportunities for relaxation and social activities. These can increase our resilience to cope with life's difficulties and ability to enjoy life.You will need to evaluate, with the individual, how taking the identified risks has contributed to their well-being and quality of life. This will involve looking at the positive and the negative consequences and outcomes of their choices. Has taking the risks met the individual’s needs and achieved their desired outcomes. Taking the identified risks should result in the individual feeling empowered and having greater independence, control and a sense of ‘normality’ about their lives. By supporting an individual to take positive risks, it can help them to evaluate alternative courses of action and can build confidence.The experience of failure, as a result of risk taking in a safe environment, can help to build resilience to setbacks and help individual’s to manage risk better in the future.Outcome 6Understand duty of care in relation to supporting positive risk-taking 1. explain how the principle of duty of care can be maintained while supporting individuals to take risks Ultimately, you have a statutory duty of care and a responsibility not to agree to a support plan if there are serious concerns that it will not meet an individual’s needs or if it places an individual in a dangerous situation.Whilst an individual can choose voluntarily to live with a level of risk and is entitled to do so (with the law treating that person as having consented to the risk) the local authority is not obliged to fund it. There is an important distinction between putting people at risk and enabling them to choose to take reasonable risks. Inevitably if we are suppo rting individuals to have more choice and control in their lives through positive risk taking, things may go wrong from time to time.A defensible decision is one where those involved in the risk assessing process:Used reliable assessment methodsActed responsibly in relation to their duty of careWere not negligentAssessed and took steps to manage and minimise foreseeable risksRecorded decisions and subsequently checked they were carried outFollowed policies, procedures and guidanceInvolved the person and other relevant people in the processSupported people to make informed decisionsIdentification of positive and negative risksInvolvement of people who use services and those who are important to them – this includes people who form the individual's informal ‘circle of support', who are involved from the beginning to gather information, define what the risks are from the individual's point of view and to discuss ways to enable and manage these risks.   Positive and infor med risk-taking – this is built on a strengths-based approach to the person and looks at creative ways for people to be able to do things rather than ruling them out. Proportionality – this means that the time and effort spent on managing a risk should match the severity of that risk.The approach should also explore the consequence of not taking the risk in question, such as loss of autonomy or restriction of choice. Contextualising behaviour – this means knowing about the person's history and social environment, their previous experience of risk, what has and has not worked in previous situations.   Defensible decision making – this means recording a clear rationale for all the decisions made and the discussions that led to the decisions, including reference to relevant legislation such as the Mental Capacity Act or the Human Rights Act. A learning culture – this require a commitment to ongoing learning and the use of reflective practice for peo ple working at the frontline. Tolerable risks – this involves negotiating and balancing issues of risk and safety to identify what is acceptable for everyone concerned (the individual and others including the community) on a case by case basis.2. describe what action to take if an individual decides to take an unplanned risk that places him/herself or others in immediate or imminent danger. Imminent danger† refers to any danger or dangerous condition that would not normally take place. If you think an individual is about to take an unplanned risk which will place them or others in immediate or imminent danger it is important to take appropriate corrective and preventative action and stop the activity immediately. An individual who is injuring himself/herself or is threatening physical harm to others may be restrained in an emergency to safeguard the individual and others. Risk assessments should include contingency measures that address risks arising from unplanned even ts.Physical intervention is:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A method of responding to the challenging behaviour of people with a learning disability and/or autism, which involves some degree of direct physical force. † Physical intervention may be the only course of action. Staff should be equipped with a range of skills to deal with and de-escalate potentially violent situations, as well as a range of restraint techniques that will allow for use of the minimum level of force possible. Physical intervention is only used in response to challenging behaviour and to restrict the movement and mobility of the person concerned.