The Development of Motor Skills in babies/Young Children

Introduction:A child’s earlier experience and environment influence their future development, health and wellbeing. It is recognized that children’s development occurs in stages and that they need the right supports to critical period in their life to achieve their potentials. If a child does not acquire skill the way he/she should, then there are certain factors that are responsible for that, they include: low birth weight, prematurely, birth injury, disability, chronic illness, delayed development, lack of parenting knowledge. But if a child is guided against the stated above in terms of independence, good problem solving skills, and positive self-concept, these in turn are influenced by motor skill acquisition.Skill acquisition relates to developmental skill and these encompasses area such as gross motor, fine motor, self help, social, language and cognitive development skills. Physiotherapists have experts in the development of gross motor skills, which is concomita ntly on positive self-concept.The relationship between skill development and health/well-being is difficult to define in an academically rigorous fashion. Studies involving a variety of children with special needs have demonstrated that motor skills and positive self concept are critical to children’s ability to participate at school (Jongmans et all 1996).Little data clearly define the parameters of motor coordination difficulties in children. Various grades of severity and co morbidity seem to exist. Some children have only a relatively minor form of motor dyscoordination, whereas others have associated learning disabilities, attention deficit, and other difficulties.In 1996, fox and lent found that, in contrast to the common belief that children grow out to these difficulties, they tend to linger without intervention. Early intervention is beneficial when the brain is changing dramatically during the first year of life and new connections and abilities are acquired.Path Ph ysiology:Motor coordination is the product of a complex set of cognitive and physical processes that are often taken for granted in children who are developing normally, smooth, targeted and accurate movement both gross and fine, require the harmonious functioning of sensory input, central processing of this information in the brain and coordination with the high executive cerebral functions, e.g. violation, motivation, motor planning of an activity. Also acquired is the performance of a certain motor pattern. These elements must work in a coordinated and rapid way to enable complex movement involving different parts of the body.Muscular Tone:Muscular tone refers to the basic and constant ongoing contraction or muscular activity in the muscles. It can be understood as a baseline or background level. Tone may be normal, too low, or too high. If a muscular tone is too high, children appear somewhat stiff and do not move in smooth and natural way.Gross Motor skills:Gross motor skills r efer to the ability of children to carry out activities that require large muscles or group of muscles. It acts in a coordinated fashion to accomplish a movement or a series of movements. Postures are an important element to consider in the assessment of gross motor skills.Fine Motor Skills:Fine motor skills are the movement of small muscles that act in an organized and suitable fashion, for instance, hand, feet etc, and the muscle in the head, to accomplish more difficult and delicate tasks. Fine motor are the basis of coordination, which begin with transferring from hand to crossing the midline when aged 6 months.Sensory Integration:This refers to functioning of the brain, i.e., how to manage inputs and produces output. Output includes motor responses. Each child has a unique profile of response to sensory stimuli. Children with motor difficulties often have problems in the integration of sensory input.METHOD SECTION:Research has shown that children who find performing certain mot or task difficult, frustrating or even impossible often become discouraged and subsequently avoid these task altogether. Eventual avoidance of challenging physical task in a child who work hard on drawing or writing with poor result is understandable.Statement of Problems:Children are different from each other both when they are young and after they mature, they are different because they were reared differently. Some were spanked, some were not. Some received authoritarian parenting, some permissive, some authoritative, some were toilet trained early and harshly, some were left to cry in the crib and some were cuddle, and so it went. Here, emphasis will be on child and proper toileting, his/her attitude and general knowledge. And on this note will bring about the hypothesis as stated below:H0: There is a relationship between a child earlier trained on toileting and his   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   general attitude.HI: There is no relationship between a child earlier trained on toil eting and the  general attitude .Findings:The researcher used primary data since it was directly from the field in their original state. Primary schools and day cares centers were visited and the interview was unstructured to enable the interviewer penetrate deep and follow unanticipated clues.Since it was only interview method that was used, two primary schools and four day care centers were visited since the emphasis is on motor skill which is all about educating a child early. The total of nine teachers in primary schools and twelve nannies in day care centers were interviewed, giving a total of twenty one teachers. As illustrated in the table below:The above table shows that out of 21 correspondents, 15 of them agreed that proper toileting is better from childhood, as the child will be conditioned to it, which represented 71.4 percent, while 6 correspondents said that whether the child is trained or not, he/she will act according to the gene or what the peer group thought them . This represented 28.6 percents.Discussion:children sensitive responses towards toileting is not automatic but had training processesThat parents has a lot of roles to play as in introducing the child to proper toileting from 3months old of ageThat if a child is properly trained on toileting, will be conditioned to itThat if a child is not trained earlier enough, would be lettering the environment at any point in time.And that neatness is next to godlinessThis is majority opinions and should be adhere to, since it is stated here, that neatness is next to godliness and incessant toileting leads to protracted illness, as well as embarrassments to the parents.DISCUSSION SECTIONThe manifestation described above is based on the assumption that children have opportunity to practice motor activities if they are being taught. Children require a minimum of exposure and practice to develop dexterity with scissors and drawing. A child who is notably neglected or not exposed to usual physical tasks may have physical deficits for these reasons.Crucial aspect in motor development are exposure to tasks, caretaker who recognize the child’s developmental needs, the opportunity for the child to be taught skills, appropriate stimulation of the child, and an opportunity for the child to develop and practice new movements. These aspects have been termed the dynamic theory of motor development, which postulates that children develop new motor skills as they are needed, depending on the interactions with the environment and on the challenges parented.Practice, experience, and environment are important determinants of development, in addition to the child’s intrinsic genetic capacities. Development is shaped by a process of selection in which children develop movement repertoires that are optimal for functioning in their specific environmental conditions.When the condition is serious and noticeable to everyone, the child is most likely to be stigmatized at school and o ften at home. Children with motor coordination difficulties often feel ashamed of their poor ability to perform any motor tasks, especially those required to participate in sports and to achieve skills in schools.The clinical picture of motor coordination problems is assessed from a developmental point of view, i.e., by considering normal physical capacities at different ages. Evaluation of a child’s development includes a consideration of individual variation, by factoring in the range of time at which motor skills, for example are normally acquired.Young infants maintain flexor tone in the first few months of life and only gradually develop extension patterns. Also infants with motor challenges are often delayed in achieving milestone such as the  ability to roll over, to sit with help, and to sit without help. Infants with motor problems may not be able to sustain their weight after 6 months when supported under their arms. So inability for a child to develop in motor sk ills manifest from infancy, third years of life, preschool and school aged children, genetic and environmental factors among others.In a nutshell, evaluation of a child’s development includes a consideration of individual variation by factoring in the range of time at which motor skills, for example, are normally acquired. Evaluating the overall development of a child is preferable, considering the characteristics style and strength and weaknesses of each child.REFERNCES:Jongmans M, Demeter JD, Dubowitz L and Henderson SE (1996): How Local is the Impact of specific learning difficulties in premature children’s evaluation of their competence. Journal of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry 37: 563-568. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/915251-overview

Human Resource Essay

This is an article review on a paper entitled, ‘The effects of human resource management practices on business performance among private companies in Malaysia’ written by Zaini Abdullah, Nilufar Ahsan and Syed Shah Alam taken from the International Journal of Business and Management. Human capital is one of the most vital aspect of private companies, and human resource management has become an integral part of a company’s success. It is even more crucial in a country such as Malaysia that contains multi-ethic and multi-cultural workforce. It is acknowledged that HRM in Malaysia is still not common (Chew, 2005), but more and more companies are embrasing the concept and integrating it as part of the company’s strategy as they discover the benefits such as organisational stability and harmony (Cheah et al, 2003). The article aims to observe the effect of several HRM practices on the business performance of private companies in Malaysia. There were several HRM practices particularly observed such as – training & development, team work, compensation/incentives, HR planning, performance appraisal and employee security. These are the 6 main independent variables that were identified in the article. The dependent variable is business performance. Previous researches and studies have shown relationship between HRM and business performance. Researches by MacDuffie (1995) showed that some HR practices in worldwide auto assembly plants relates with the quality of the firm. In addition, Youndt et al (1996) also have found some relationship between HRM practices and operational performance of manufacturing companies. Meanwhile, Dory and Doty (1996) found a connection between HR practices and accounting profits among banks. Methodology & Approach This is a survey-based research. It used a self-developed and reliable questionaire to obtain data on human resource practices and business performance. Business performance is measured by the same items developed by Lee and Lee (2007). In total, there were 153 completed samples from managers of companies that are based in Selangor. Respondents are mainly Chinese and undergraduates. Findings The results of this research shows that HR activities such as training and development, team work, HR planning, performance appraisal have a positive impact and relationship with business performance of private companies in Malaysia. On the other hand, it is also observed that compensation/insentives and employee security do not have significant influence on the business performance. Practical Implications As mentioned earlier, HRM practices are still not commonly practised in Malaysia (Chew,2005). Therefore, there is the unique challenge of motivating and training private companies in Malaysia to adopt HRM practices. HRM must be seen as integral with the organizational goals and strategies for growth. Suggestions There are several ways that this research can be improved. First of all, the business world is a big domain with many different industries and sizes. It must be acknowledged that there is a difference of the rate of HRM practices adoption between companies of various size and industries. Therefore, it would be difficult to generalize the result of HRM improving business performance for all types of business. To improve the research, a larger number of respondents from various industries and different sizes must be obtained to get better results. By getting a larger sample of data, the research can obtain a much generalized result. In addition, the research data collected on business performance is based on Likert scale and so can be very subjective. It is arguable that business performance can be measured accurately using this empirical approach. It is suggested that for business performance measurement, a quantitative approach is also used. Business performance can be measured more accurately using data from profits, revenue, cash-flow and cost-savings. As a result, the relationship between HRM and business performance can be analyzed better. It is also suggested that an additional longitudinal study is done to get a much better observation on the relationship between HRM practices and business performance. With a longitudinal study, the companies performance are observed in a much longer time period. The effects of HRM practices over this time period can be observed much better. As a conclusion, this research has empirically proven a positive relationship between HRM practices and business performance. It is seen that training and development, teamwork, HR planning and performance appraisal can improve business performance of private companies in Malaysia. However, it is noted that HRM practices in Malaysia is still not widely implemented and an effort to promote HRM is required. The research can also be improved by getting a large sample of data from various company sizes and industries. A quantitative approach is also suggested to analyze business performance better. Lastly, a longitudinal study will improve this research better by observing the effects HRM practices on business performance over a longer time period.

Fraud And Cyber Terrorism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fraud And Cyber Terrorism - Research Paper Example Fraud prevention includes acts such as scheming corporate fraud policies, introducing internal audit departments, implementing internal controls and whistle-blower systems. The strategic method of fraud is an efficient technique to detect and illustrate both known and unidentified frauds. When implemented proactively to identify unknown fraud, it depicts laser-like precision that allows for much more efficient investigation. (Sanjay Goel. 2010). Cyber terrorism threat Cyber terrorism is the act of illegally accessing computers and information chiefly via the internet to create physical harm or severe disturbance of infrastructure. Cyber terrorism could scholarly be defined as â€Å"The premeditated use of disruptive activities, or the threat thereof, against computers and/or networks, with the intention to cause harm or further social, ideological, religious, political or similar objectives or to intimidate any person in furtherance of such objectives.† Efforts of dealing with cyber terrorism Agencies that deal with fraud such as Interpol and the FBI are doing a great job in fighting against cyber terrorism. Interpol in its part is assisting all the member countries and training their personnel to equip themselves with the current trends and forms of fighting cyber terrorism. The Council of Europe Convention on Cyber Crime, which is the first international treaty for fighting against computer crime, is the product of a 4 years work by experts from the 45 member and non-member states that include Japan, USA and Canada. The treaty has already imposed after its endorsement by Lithuania on 21st of March 2004. (Achkoski, J., & Dojchinovski, M. 2011) How to try to avoid cyber terrorism With the ever changing trends in the cyber technology sector, there are no foolproof methods to protect a system. To say that you have a completely secure system, then it means that it can never be accessed by anyone. Even in most military set up, top secret information is kept on servers with no outside connection as a form of deterrence of cyber terrorism. Another common way that cyber terrorism can be avoided apart from such isolation is encryption. The wide spread use of encryption is repressed by most states ban on its exportation thus its intercontinental communication is left somewhat unsecured. (Kapodistria, H., & Christos D. 2011) Other internet users tend to encourage the use of firewalls to screen all communications to a system including e-mail messages, which may carry â€Å"logic bombs.† Firewall is a somewhat generic phrase for methods of filtering admittance to a network. Firewalls tend to define the services and access that is allowed to each user. Judicial repercussions on cyber threats   Since the Internet "is a cooperative venture not owned by a single entity or government, there are no centralized rules or laws governing its use?† The lack of geographical restrictions may give rise to a state of affairs where an act that may be deemed legal in one country turns out to be illegal in the other. (Jewkes, Y., & Yar, M. 2010). In general, most internet users tend to relate to the following "theories" under which a country may assert regulatory jurisdiction: (a) A country may assert jurisdiction based on "objective territoriality" when an illegal activity occurs within the country. (b) A country may assert jurisdiction based on the nationality of the wrong doer. (c) A country may assert jurisdiction based on the right to defend the nation's sovereignty when faced with terrorization acknowledged as serious in the international community. Conclusion The predicament of cyber terrorism and fraud is involves many

Financial analysis Apple and McDonald's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial analysis Apple and McDonald's - Essay Example On the other hand, Apple Inc. experienced a drop in their bottom line from forty-one billion and seven million United States dollars down to thirty-seven billion. The experience was in spite of the fact that the company realized an increase in revenues to one hundred and seventy-one billion from slightly more than one hundred and fifty-six billion. A major in put in the falling bottom line in spite of the increasing revenue was the increase in revenue collected by the company in the percentage of sales associated with cost of goods to more than sixty-two percent from fifty-three. The income statement also referred to as the statement of earnings covers the entire performance of McDonald’s Corp. That includes results of operating activities. Similarly, the statement of financial position reports important classes as well as amounts of resources controlled and owned by the company. The ratios explore the output and revenues generated by both Apple Inc. and McDonald’s Corp’s assets. Included in the evaluation is the level of operations versus the assets required to maintain operating activities. Evaluation takes place under the general terminology of operating performance ratios. The debt-to-equity ratio for McDonald’s reduced in twenty eleven to two thousand and twelve but recorded slight improvements from two thousand and twelve to two thousand and thirteen. The debt-to-capital ratio faced the same fate as it deteriorated in two thousand and eleven through to two thousand and twelve. The trend in the subsequent financial year was similar to that in the debt-to-equity ratio. When calculating the interest coverage ratio as an EBIT and dividing it interest payments, it leads to the conclusion that MacDonald’s Corp. Reducing in the preceding financial year with slight improvements in the subsequent year. The adjusted total assets for M cDonald’s followed the same trend

Market Net as a New Approach to Providing Marketing Students with a Pl Essay

Market Net as a New Approach to Providing Marketing Students with a Place to Find All the Marketing Knowledge - Essay Example The report, in short, has provided for a clear set of ideas and options for Market Net to improve and increase the traffic to its website. MarketNet is a relatively new initiative to create a network of students and professionals related to the field of marketing and also to provide valuable resources and articles on marketing. This report analyses the target audience both in terms of demographics and psychographics, based on the users of the social network application, Facebook. Then the various strategies to drive traffic to MarketNet are discussed. As the budget is limited, the various cost-effective options and the best way to implement them are also presented. In order to add various articles and content to the site, the marketing resource websites are researched and the four websites that have been found to be potentially useful to MarketNet are listed along with the rationale behind the selection. Finally, a survey development process was undertaken to include within MarketNet , in order to monitor the performance of the website and a rationale for this is also presented. Marketing is a technique which requires being planned well to ensure that it reaches out to the right set of people, i.e., the target market (Dibb & Simkin, 1996). The target market is generally a set or group of people who have one or more common interests. In this case, the target audiences have one thing in common ‘Marketing’. The first most essential criteria for the target market are that they are Facebook users (Holzner, 2008). After which,  Market Net has a chance to reach out to a number of different groups of people. Prospective marketing students, this group will prove to be a beneficial for Market Net, as Facebook is now becoming a very important source of information for students of various courses. This group will consist of people between the age groups of 17 – 22. Market Net can prove to be a source of information for this group of people. Also, this will provide the students with a chance of getting in touch with other students, professionals, and even gain information to various articles that are available on the web to gain a better understanding if this is the correct choice for them.

Post operative pain assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Post operative pain assessment - Essay Example The scale of the problem can be analyzed through a large number of clinical studies which have proved that patients often experience poor pain management and assessment by the medical professionals. Although the percentage of patients who complain about post-operative pain is low but the overall situation presents significant concerns. In the recent years medical professionals have tried to use technology based pain assessment techniques but the results do not show any significant improvement from patient’s perspective (Mackintosh). The paper is divided in different sections including tools, communication, training, patient education and recommendations. All of these will be discussed critically with the help of contemporary healthcare practices. There is a wide range of standardized post-operative pain assessment tools which are used by nurses. These can be distinguished in to two fundamental categories including uni-dimensional and multi-dimensional. Research indicates that multi-dimensional tools are rarely used in the post-operative pain assessment especially within the clinical setting. This is because they consume significant time while being highly complex in nature. Hence the most commonly used tools for pain management and assessment are uni-dimensional. The distinctive feature of these tools is that they focus on one or two major aspects of pain experienced by patients, for instance, they are usually used for reducing the pain intensity with respect to its location (Mackintosh). Fundamentally patients are required to mark the pain location on a body diagram which is then used by nurses. Despite of various benefits attached to the use of uni-dimensional pain assessment tools one must use them with precautions because they are specially targeted to reduce certain aspects of pain. Extensive precautions are also necessary because uni-dimensional

Critically evaluate, in relation to the common law duty of care, the Essay - 2

Critically evaluate, in relation to the common law duty of care, the liability of employers for references - Essay Example This essay is going to analyse the provision of duty of care in tort law. Law and Duty of Care A tort can be defined as a wrongdoing or action upon which damages can be brought or in other terms it is referred to as an act or omission by the defendant, which causes damage to the claimant. The important task of undertaking business activities requires adherence to regulations and laws. Tort law recognises a provision known as duty of care whereby the action of a person that amounts to negligence is punishable by the tort law. Duty of care emphasizes on the responsibility on the part of both or more parties as it relates to the involvement in a specific case or scenario. The principle of duty of care arises from previous cases as it relates to the tort law (Steele, 2007). For instance, the case of Anns v Merton LBC [1978] AC 728 (HL) whereby the judge Lord Wilberforce held that a two stage approach would be used in determining the care of duty. In this case the issue of prima facie in determining the relationship between claimant and defendant while the second approach focused on the scope of duty. Future cases in relation to the tort law, other approaches emerged in the determination of duty of care (Harpwood, 2000). The duty of care can also be exercised within the job industry since it causes a lot of problems for employers and employees. In the process of handing out references for current and former employees, duty of care should be exercised. Issues dealing with reference should be handled in a proper manner since misrepresentation of the employee or client results in tort. For instance if a former employer or institution affiliated to a specific person presents information such as misleading reference without proper notification to the employee then a tort has occurred (Koziol, 2009). In this essay we are going to look into such scenarios in relation to the University of Sussex and its current or former students. The University is large institution with a large student population and more frequently the university receives request to have the institution hand out references (Best, 2007). When references are handed out the university owes the third party a duty of care regarding the reference issued out on the former or current students. The University has to exercise high standards of professionalism and ensure that the duty of care is handled properly when it comes to handing out references. The issues that need to be looked into from a legal standpoint include the misstatement or misrepresentation. References handed out onto potential employers must not be inaccurate or misleading. Therefore the University of Sussex has to exercise care in handing out references since it is against the law to misrepresent information concerning current of former students (Magnus, 2004). A student enrolled in the University of Sussex enters into a contract with the university to undertake certain courses for a given period of time. This contract is subject to terms agreed in the contract and upon graduation the University can refer its students to potential employers (Steele, 2007). However, the University has to exercise care in the provision of information concerning its students. For instance, if the university refers a student to an employer through misrepresenting reference then the university can be sued under tort law for negligent misrepresentation. The University should understand the provision on duty of care with

Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 5

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example f organizational behavior leads to good relationships among the employees, poor organizational behavior management can lead to poor performance among the individual employees and groups (McGinnis, 2006). Group dynamics affect the operations of organizations. In most cases, group dynamics negatively affect the employee performance. Various theories explain factors responsible for the various behavioral types employees exhibit towards each other. The variance theory explains the various causes of behavior in an organizational context. The organizational structure, people, technology and the working environment are the most important factors influencing organizational behavior (McGinnis, 2006). If there is the absence of joy and happiness in the workplace, diagnosing the causes of these incidences is the only way of solving these problems. Meetings are an important component for effective management. Despite the escalated issues affecting the organization bovver time, and issues in the meetings, the organization has not done away with the meetings. The role played by meetings in the management process and policy formulation strategies has considerable effects in any organization. They help in the policy implementation process by designing the way and direction the organizations should take. In an effort to achieve normal operations in the organization and meetings serve their intended purpose, discipline is essential. Calling of names, flaming emails between co-workers, official charges brought to HR, uncivil behavior in meetings leading, sometimes, to screaming, name-calling, and physical threats is an indication of unmotivated, stressed and an organizational work that lacks morals. Changing the organizational structure is one of the ways of achieving the change (Hofstede, et al., 1997). According to systems theory, organizations are organs comprised of different parts performing a similar task. However, the criteria of organizing these parts determine the

The history of American technology Research Paper

The history of American technology - Research Paper Example It began to traffic on July 1, 1940, and radically crumpled into Puget Sound on November 7 of the same year. At the time of its erection (and its destruction), the bridge was the third lengthiest suspension bridge in the world in footings of main span length, following the Golden Gate Bridge and the George Washington Bridge. Erection of the bridge initiated in September 1938. From the time the deck was built, it started to move perpendicularly in windy situations, which made the construction workers to give the bridge the nickname Galloping Gertie. Collapse of the bridge There were no causalities in the failure of the bridge. Tubby, a black male cocker spaniel was the only mortality of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge catastrophe; he was missing along with Coatsworth's car. Professor Farquharson and a news photojournalist tried to save Tubby during a lull, but the dog was overly frightened to leave the car and bit one of the saviours (â€Å"Bridges†, 2001). Tubby deceased when the br idge tumbled, and neither his body nor the car were ever retrieved (Peters, 1987). Coatsworth had been driving Tubby back to his daughter, who possessed the dog. Coatsworth received US$450.00 for his car and US$364.40 in compensation for the contents of his car, counting Tubby. Why did it collapse? The chief clarification of Galloping Gertie's catastrophe is termed as "torsional flutter." It will help to break this complex series of occurrences into some stages. Here is a summary of the key points in the explanation. 1. In general, the 1940 Narrows Bridge had comparatively small resistance to torsional (twisting) forces. That was since; it had such a huge length-to-breadth ratio, 1 to 72. Gertie's long, narrow, and thin strengthening beams made the construction enormously flexible. 2. On the morning of November 7, 1940 just after 10 a.m., a serious event befell. The cable band at mid-span on the north, slithered. This permitted the cable to detach into two uneven parts. That contrib uted to the transformation from perpendicular (up-and-down) to torsional (twisting) driving of the bridge deck. 3. Also backing up to the torsional movement of the bridge deck was "vortex shedding." In short, vortex shedding arose in the Narrows Bridge as follows: (1) Wind disjointed as it hit the side of Galloping Gertie's deck, the 8-foot compact plate support. A minor amount of torsioning happened in the bridge deck, since even steel is elastic and varies from under high strain. (2) The turning bridge deck triggered the wind flow parting to surge. This fashioned a vortex, or spinning wind force, which additionally lifted and twisted the deck. (3) The deck construction repelled this lifting and twisting. It had an expected affinity to return to its earlier position. As it returned, its hastiness and direction corresponded with the lifting energy. In other words, it moved â€Å"in phase" with the vortex. Then, the wind fortified that movement. This shaped into a "lock-on" occurren ce. 4. But, the outside force of the wind only, was not adequate to instigate the severe twisting that caused the Narrows Bridge to fail. 5. Now the deck movement went into "torsional flutter." When the bridge’s motion altered from vertical to torsional oscillation, the construction absorbed extra wind energy. The bridge deck's

European advancements in warfare Essay Example for Free

European advancements in warfare Essay The Inter-war period between World War I and World War II was a time that governments relied on treaties and pacts to maintain peace rather than wage war. Some of these treaties and pacts did more to instigate war than to help deter it. Some examples of these are the Versailles Treaty, which basically all but dismantled the German military structure, another example is that of the Paris Peace Act of 1928, which was a voluntary renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy. Because treaties such as these, the reciprocal effect of any deviation caused tensions which eventually resulted in global conflict. What we will discuss in the following essay will cover weapon and doctrinal advancements, which were intended to return decisiveness, back to the business of waging war, with minimal losses of equipment and human life. During the inter-war period, militaries were primarily led by officers who were conservative in their approach to military structure and combat. One notable and very important aspect that became a topic of much debate during the period between WWI and WWII was that of armored and motorized warfare. Not only armored vehicles such as tanks but also motorized vehicles for logistical purposes as well. The conservative stance regarding these new weapons systems, which were introduced during WWI, was that they were to be utilized in a support role for the infantry and cavalry. This came at a time when most of the armies of the world were transitioning away from horse-drawn supply trains and tactical cavalry, due to the modernization of motorized military vehicles. Several leaders who opposed the conservatives on the role of armor and motorized warfare went on to become some of the most well known military writers ever. Two of these men were British General J.F.C. Fuller and British Captain B.H. Liddell Hart. Both of these British officers wrote and created doctrine that would be instrumental in the waging of armored warfare for not only WWII but also well into the twenty-first century. Instead of using tanks and tracked artillery for nothing more than infantry support they believed in, and created doctrine that placed an emphasis on fast moving offensive operations that would strike deep into the enemys territory, so fast as to render the enemies attempt to regain a structured  defense or counter attack futile. This ironically would be the template for the German blitzkrieg, which was implemented by Heinz Guderian after extensive research of Fuller and Liddell Harts doctrinal advancements. Although the British had well made tanks which could carry out this type of warfare, Guderian took this to another level with improvements to tank engines and armament and also the structuring of motorized divisions to carry out this new brand of warfare. It was believed by these men, that one tank could do what it would take a company of infantryman to do, and more! Advancements in the inter-war period were not only on ground fighting doctrine and weaponry, but also in the naval aspects as well. During the 1920s, the Washington Naval Treaty imposed strict guidelines upon the navies of the U.S., Japan, France and Italy. These guidelines kept ships to certain regulations that limited the size of guns and of the countries entire navy itself. What this did basically caused atrophy in naval progression. In the 1930s when Hitlers Germany openly disavowed compliance with the Versailles Treaty and began the re-galvanizing of its army and navy, it caused the nations which would become Germanys enemies to begin changing doctrine and methods in the conduct of naval operations. Also, the arrival of the aircraft carrier in almost every advanced navy created new threats with aircraft. The Japanese utilized aircraft carriers heavily in the war in the Pacific, as well did the United States. No two countries during WWII put so much emphasis on the carrier. What the carrier did was to allow aircraft to be launched from a ship far away into either enemy territory or enemy seas to attack either ships or targets on land without risking the loss of a naval ship. This was a naval doctrine created during the inter-war period. Air forces also went through extensive change during the inter-war period. First, the advancements of aircraft themselves in this period were perhaps the largest and most significant technological advancement of all. Airplanes had developed into short-range fighters, which could attack with speeds that were un-thought of in the era of bi-planes. Also, there was the advent of long range fighters to escort long-range bombers, which could hold large amounts of ordinance to drop on the enemys cities. Because of these  advancements, countries began racing to create the best aircraft that they could make. Each country would create superior aircraft in an effort to control the sky. The two countries that set the pace in this regard were Germany and Japan. Both enemies to Britain and the US, these two countries pushed the Allies to make formidable opposition and air defense systems. The period between WWI and WWII was a period of radical change to doctrine and weaponry. The creation of treaties and the League of Nations served as nothing more than a hopeful buffer to deter the waging of war. By creating these strict guidelines, the world did nothing more than antagonize one another to the point of global conflict. Advancements made during this period were a direct result of men who knew that peace could never truly be attained with peace.

A Childs Place In The Big Society Social Work Essay

A Childs Place In The Big Society Social Work Essay It is a great privilege and pleasure to have been asked by Margaret Hodge and Patricia Hewitt to give the first lecture in memory of Henry Hodge. It is also a somewhat daunting task. At first sight I would not be an obvious choice to speak today, nor did I think my subject on children was obviously connected with a lecture in memory of Henry. There is however a strong connection between issues about children and his strong sense of social welfare was well demonstrated by his spending 5 years as deputy director of Child Poverty Action Group and his successful legal aid practice which included family and children cases. As a father and grandfather in his private life as well as in his distinguished public career he cared passionately about children. Margaret assures me that my decision to talk about children would have met with his approval. My theme this evening is to examine how our children fit in to the Big Society which was at the heart of the Prime Ministers speech in November 2009 and part of the strategy of the Coalition Government. I shall refer very briefly to a variety of problems children face, some of which are not as widely recognised as others. One aspect which is not always appreciated is how they are viewed by the adult public and the media and how they are treated. This has an important effect upon how they view themselves, their self esteem and how their voice is heard in our adult society. Much, if not indeed, all of what I say is well known but I feel that it is worth repeating at a moment when the phrase the Big Society is in the news and both government and the public need to have the welfare and rights of children well in the forefront of the difficult and challenging decisions which have to be made. The Big Society The Prime Minister spoke of Galvanising, catalysing, prompting, encouraging and agitating for community engagement and social renewal. It must help families, individuals, charities and communities come together to solve problems. It was an ambitious agenda to build a Big Society based around social responsibility and community action. Oliver Letwin described the relationship between government and civil society as: Government helping to sustain a society that is a rich tapestry of active citizens, families, places of worship, dedicated professions and independent associations. These are worthy ambitions in which families, schools and welfare play an important part. The Labour Government produced Green and White Papers dedicated to the theme Every Child Matters. They did some good work, including Sure Start, and it is encouraging that the Coalition Government intends to continue to support Sure Start and to target the poorest families. But, in a sense, they only scratched the surface of the multiplicity of the needs of children. No government should underestimate the size and complexity of the problems too many children face in growing up in this country and the financial cost of coping even with some of them. That financial cost, even in a period of austerity, must not blind us to the essential requirement in considering priorities to put children and what they require at the beginning, middle and end of all discussions and decisions which need to be made. What are the problems children face in growing up? Many of them are common to all children and we ourselves as children had to work our way through them. But for too many children those ordinary problems of adjusting to the adult world are compounded by and sometimes distorted by their state of health, the health of their parents, the behaviour of their parents, the environment in which they live and above all by poverty. Clearly in the time available I can only touch very briefly upon some issues and those faced by children who live within or who come to the UK. For most children their problems may not be as immediate nor as life threatening as those in some other parts of the world but they are very real and can inhibit and undermine their childhood. In a report from UNICEF Child poverty in perspective: An overview on child well-being in rich countries (2007) it stated, under the heading childrens material well being, that the evidence from across the world is that children who grow up in poverty are more vulnerable; specifically they are likely to be in poor health, to have learning and behavioural difficulties, to underachieve at school, to become pregnant at too early an age, to have lower skills and aspirations, to be low paid, unemployed and welfare dependent. Of course, these problems do not apply to all children growing up in poor families but it does not alter the fact that, on average, children who grow up in poverty are likely to be at a decided and demonstrable disadvantage. I shall now look very briefly at how those words apply to the UK. Children in poverty Even after the recession, the UK remains one of the richer countries in the world. But the reality of life for some of our children is that 29% of British children live in poverty. Over one million children live in seriously overcrowded accommodation. Over 100,000 children in the UK live in temporary accommodation. Many poor children do badly in education. Over a million children truant from school and about 9,000 are permanently excluded. Such children tend to live in the areas of highest deprivation where there is a high incidence of drugs and crime. The UK has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe many of whom are schoolgirls. Well over a million school children are working illegally. The government is committed to improving education and the new Secretary of State for Education has a number of innovative and exciting ideas. I was delighted that in the debate in the Lords on the Queens Speech the Minister for Schools, Lord Hill of Oareford, said that: raising standards, lifting aspirations and tackling behaviour are crucial. That will help all children but, above all, it should help those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds who have suffered most. The problems of educating children from the most deprived areas are partly having good enough schools and teachers who enthuse and inspire but also motivating the parents as well as the children to the purpose and importance of education for a childs future life. A lack of education has a devastating effect upon job prospects and a distressing large proportion of children leave school without the basic skills. If you cannot fill in an application form by hand or online you probably will not get a job. It is a huge task to motivate families to want education but it is crucial for the future of this country. One area of education which should be tackled by the Education Minister is the need for better education of children who are in youth custody. It is a crucial part of the fight against the high rate of re-offending. The London charity, Kids Company, helps to educate and support young people who stream into that excellent organisation which, at last, receives government support. I v ery much hope that such support will not be cut. To do so would be self defeating; a short term cost benefit but a long term expensive blunder. Intervention at an early stage with problem families is crucial. Some parents as well as their children need help and I am reminded of an excellent voluntary preschool initiative which was set up in a poor part of London some years ago. It concentrated on young single mothers and required them to attend with their children. One mother had almost never talked to her little girl. After 3 months attending with her child they were seen at Christmas dancing down the steps both singing Christmas carols. The place closed for lack of funds. It is important for government, in funding voluntary initiatives, to keep on giving support and not just start up costs. All too often otherwise they fold as that one did. I turn now to other groups of children who have problems, some but not all connected with poverty. Children in need of care Two children die each week from abuse or neglect within the home. Social workers are the thin line of protection of children at risk. They are criticised when they intervene and when they do not intervene in dysfunctional families. It is crucial for the well being of children at risk that the work of social workers is better understood and that social workers are given the status they deserve. It is not just a question of pay; it is also recognition of the importance of the work they do. There is no doubt that some children have to be removed permanently from their families. But it is a sad reflection on our system of care that looked after children do markedly less well at school than other children. More support for children in care is needed. Around 5,000 children under the age of 16 are used for prostitution in the UK, including those moving across borders. Children are trafficked into the UK not only for prostitution but also for forced labour and begging. Boys from Vietnam are brought into the UK to tend cannabis plants in well to do suburbs of big cities such as London: there are over 3,000 cannabis farms in England and about 300 in London. Very young children, often Romany children, are brought into the country and taught to thieve in a modern day Fagin style. Bulgarian children are brought here by gangs to work the London underground system and Bulgarian police are working with our British Transport police to deal with it. Trafficking of people is now more lucrative for the gangs than drugs. The last government signed the European Convention on trafficking and incorporated it into English law. The Metropolitan Police has been engaged in excellent work with other countries which receives some European financial suppo rt and, up to now, some government support. One problem is that the UKBorder Agency does not uniformly recognise the welfare needs of young people who are victims of trafficking and much more training and flexibility in decision making is necessary. Immigration and asylum children coming here and living here are treated very differently from citizen children although I understand that the new government is intending that such children should no longer be detained. The Family Justice Council, at the request of its Voice of the Child sub-group, has set up a discussion with the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and they have held two meetings. They are looking at the concerns of the Childrens Commissioner about the treatment of asylum and trafficked children both here and on their return to their own homes. They agreed that an Adjudicator Guidance Note from Henry Hodge in 2004 on Unaccompanied Children would be a good starting point. I think Henry would have been very supportive of these discussions. There is another very large group of children, many of whom do not come from deprived backgrounds but who face problems which may have an inhibiting and sometimes devastating effect upon their development. The most obvious is the family in which one parent is violent to or threatening and intimidating towards the other parent. Generally it is the man but a minority are women. I know of cases where children hide in the kitchen with the TV on very loudly so as not to hear what is going on. Children do not have to be physically attacked to be victims of domestic violence. I was concerned to read that in the case of Raoul Moat the prison authorities informed the police domestic violence unit. I hope that did not mean that the warning was not taken seriously. I must however pay a tribute both to the Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers who take domestic violence very seriously. But domestic violence is widespread and children are also the victims. There are also children, also not from deprived backgrounds whose life is turned upside down by the separation of their parents. When parents part many, of course not all, do not sufficiently consider the effect upon their children or even tell their children what is going on. When I sat as a judge in children residence/custody cases, I often thought that the last people who should be making decision s about the children were the parents. Over 60% of fathers who leave do not stay in touch with their children more than occasionally, most of that 60% not at all. They do not tell their children why and the children do not even have the consolation of a bereavement process. Children, even young children, can often have a sensible view of what would be best for them. Some years ago in Michigan children of all ages whose parents had separated were asked their views about the process. The views ranged from sadness, confusion, guilt that they were responsible for the parting to anger and fru stration. All parents considering separation should see or read about the effect on their children and many parents would be astonished. Fortunately only a small minority of parents go to war over their children. But those who do make endless applications to the courts which may last for years. Almost always both parents are to blame and the children are the victims. Those children also may do less well at school and may find it difficult to make lasting relationships as adults. It is very important that there should be access to justice in all child welfare cases. I am, of course, aware of the huge burden of legal aid. The last government made substantial cuts to legal aid in family cases. The Ministry of Justice is likely to be making further substantial cuts. But the welfare of children is the paramount concern of the courts in the Children Act 1989. It must not be lost sight of by the government in its austerity measures. Children who offend England and Wales are seen as a punitive country in our approach to young offenders. We lock up more young people than any other Western country and most countries in the world. Well over 2,000 children aged between 15 and 17 are in Young Offender Institutions and some who are much younger. The four Childrens Commissioners of the UK said in a joint Report in June 2008 to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: There is a very punitive approach to misbehaviour by children and young people and the criminal justice system is used too readily. Compared to other European countries, England has a very low age of criminal responsibility and high numbers of children are locked up. We know from research the ways in which many children become criminals. There are many reasons and I am sure you all know them so forgive me for rehearsing some of them. I do not believe that children are born wicked although some may be born with mental illness or behavioural problems which may predispose them to serious misbehaviour. But for many children it is the environment and not inherent characteristics which are likely to set them on a course of crime. Poverty to which I have referred earlier is obvious and there is a link between poverty in childhood, poor health, low educational attainments and lack of future opportunities which encourages crime. We also know that dysfunctional families create an environment where children offend. There are children and young people who have never had a good home; never had a secure background; may or may not know who their father was; or may live in a family with drink, drugs, mental illness, serious domestic violence, abuse towards the children or serious neglect. These problems at home create situations, not surprisingly, in which children react adversely. In some families no-one loves the child or shows affection other than in an abusive situation. He may be and probably with such a background will be disruptive at school, permanently excluded and offered little or no education at home. Children truant for a variety of reasons and truanting leads to crime. Increasing numbers of young people are on drugs and have to find the money to pay for them. He, and increasingly she, will be roaming the streets and joining gangs. The gang becomes the family, the security and, while they are feral towards the community, they support each other. Because no-one has ever cared about them, they care about no-one outside the gang. Why should they? Many such young people do not understand the concepts of good behaviour, honesty or kindness that we expect from our children and grandchildren. We are shocked, I certainly am, by the appalling brutality of some of the attacks by teenagers, often on other teenagers, but I believe many of these young people would not understand why we were shocked. They live in an entirely different world from us. One can see why many of the public react adversely to children who offend and especially teenagers. Yet a Chief Constable recently went on record saying that the police alone could not deal with the feral gangs of you ng people and society had to do something about it. The Labour Government did some good work with Youth Offender Schemes (YOTS) and other initiatives to divert children from crime as well as dealing constructively with those who had already offended but much more needs to be done. It is often pointed out that to keep a child or young person in custody costs substantially more than sending a child to Eton. So it is very encouraging to hear that the Lord Chancellor is looking at reducing the prison population. He should start with the children and young people in youth custody. Of course some children have to be locked up for the safety of society and often of themselves but we surely should not be at the top of the European countries in our figures of youth custody. As a result of our signing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (although not incorporated into English law) the UNCRC Committee reported in October 2008 on the UK and recommended: that the State party (the UK) take all appropriate measures to ensure that the principle of the best interests of the child, in accordance with Art 3 of the Convention, is adequately integrated in all legislation and policies which have an impact on children, including the area of criminal justice and immigration and recommends that the UK fully implement international standards of juvenile justice. I hope that this government will takes those comments to heart so that the next UNCRC Report will be more encouraging than the previous ones. The Prime Minister sees the Big Society based on social responsibility and community action and I was interested to read about a proposal for a National Citizens Service for 16 year olds. I strongly support the encouragement of local initiatives and have already referred to Kids Company. Other examples are a police scheme in Sheffield to divert 6 year olds from being couriers for local gangs and a drop in centre in Tiverton in North Devon which concentrates on advising and counselling young people between 11 and 19. The Tiverton project is entirely funded by local donations. If, however, there are to be other good local projects round the country, there may need to be some financial support which would be very cost effective in diverting children and young people from crime, prostitution and drugs and protecting the community. Restorative justice is another area which is being successfully explored. I know that we live in a time of financial stringency and austerity. I do not for a moment suggest that the government can immediately improve the lot of the children whose problems I have set out but, in implementing financial cuts and allocating scarce resources, our children must be at the forefront of all decisions which affect them. Children in the media I turn finally to an entirely different subject but one about which I feel strongly, the way in which the media portrays children. I refer again to the Report of the Four Children Commissioners in June 2008 who referred to the negative image of children and said: In the UK there is a widely held fear of young people which has been partly fuelled by the consistently negative portrayal of young people in the media. Seventy one percent of media stories about young people are negative and a third of articles about young people are about crime. Young people feel the media represent them as anti-social, a group to be feared, selfish criminal and uncaring. They believe that the media stereotypes the majority of young people based on the bad behaviour of a minority. The incessant portrayal of children as thugs and yobs not only reinforces the fears of the public but also influences policy and legislation. Examples of the press portraying in vivid language the wickedness of children and young people were starkly illustrated in the cases of Mary Bell and Thompson and Venables. In both cases the tone of the press and the tone of those who responded to the press was that such children were the embodiment of evil and should never be released from imprisonment for life. The approach of this country is vastly different from parts of Scandinavia, for example Norway where such children would more easily be reintegrated into the community. I recognise that such a move might be impossible here in the UK and the headlines in all types of newspapers would be soft on youth crime. In my view all parts of the media, but principally the newspapers, should reflect upon the views of children expressed by the Commissioners and take them to heart. This is one among many other issues where the voice of the child should be heard. Article 12 of the UNCRC articulates that right. Conclusion Finally I return to the 2007 UNICEF Report which said in its foreword: The true measure of a nations standing is how well it attends to its children their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialisation and their sense of being loved, valued and included in the families and societies into which they were born. That foreword seems to me to encompass what we in this country should seek to achieve for our children. They are our future and there is little purpose in striving to improve society unless we are aware that what we do has to be for them or there is no purpose in our lives. Children must therefore be at the core and in the heart of the Big Society. This article is based on the first Sir Henry Hodge memorial lecture given on 19 July 2010 at the Law Society, London.