Introduction To A Social Experiment Social Work Essay

Introduction To A Social Experiment Social Work Essay This assignment follows the experiences of an immigrant Indian/Kashmiri family in their first couple of months in Australia. The family was a period of five weeks for a period of one to two hours per week in their family setting at home and once in the final week on a family picnic which they were gracious enough to invite me to. For discretionary purposes all personal information including names, addresses and any other identifiable markers have been changed in keeping with the primacy of the familys privacy. The family consists of five individuals, the father Mr. Fayaz Ahmad, his wife Rubina Geelani, their two children Ahmad, a boy of 10, Maryam a girl of 12 and their 5 year old nephew Abbas. The family from here on for purposes of brevity will be known as the Ahmads. The Ahmad family is from the northern most state in India, Kashmir. Mr. Fayaz used to work as an engineer in the state of Kashmir with the municipal department of the state as a civil engineer superintendent. Ms. Rubina has a bachelors degree in education but has never worked full time, Maryam and Ahmad were both studying in a well reputed private school and were both performing above average in academics as well as extra-curricular activities, Abbas is their nephew who was recently witness to the tragic death of his parents in a militancy related incident in their home state. Kashmir has had a long history of troubled political activity dating back to the partition of India and Pakistan during which time the Muslim majority state of Kashmir became a bone of contention between the two newborn nations. Since then there has been a slew of political and military activity that has served only to worsen the tangled situation between the two countries with two wars being fought over the state and an armed uprising against the Indian state fueled by Pakistan which resulted in massive state sponsored atrocities as well as transgressions on behalf of the armed rebels. Several other variables, including the growing influence of China, the rise of Afghan Islamist groups, political instability etc has also contributed to the increasingly complex situation in the state. The Ahmad family immigrated to Australia following the tragic death of his brothers family in a military encounter against suspected militants, young Abbas was the only survivor of the tragedy and was a dopted by Fayaz and his wife who decided to leave the trouble torn state behind in order to secure a better future for their children. I came into contact with them through a mutual friend who is a volunteer activist for militancy affected families in Kashmir and who also helped Fayaz through the formalities surrounding immigration. Week one: My first encounter with the Fayaz family was on a pleasant sunny Australian Sunday afternoon the very next day after they had moved in to their home. My reception in their home was very warm and enthusiastic with Mr. Fayaz greeting me very effusively and treating me with great hospitality and warmth. I was told by my friend that the house was a temporary accommodation and was not in that great shape, nevertheless everywhere I saw I could see the efforts of Ms. Rubina and Mr. Fayaz to tidy up the place. There were boxes and unpacked luggage everywhere but Mr. Fayaz managed a comfortable couch space in the main room for me to settle down in. The object of my research was somewhat puzzling to them as they seemed to follow me everywhere I went and it took some while for me to explain to them that this was merely an observation and not an interview, this was greeted with some skepticism and worry by Ms. Rubina who immediately wanted to know what I was looking for. The initial warmth gave way to some mistrust on behalf of Ms. Rubina who instructed the children not to play downstairs or in the open but to go to their room and play there. My initial thoughts were that the mistrust of my presence in their midst was related to their negative experiences with official government agencies that are notorious for their clandestine activities amongst the civilian population in Kashmir. The rest of the time passed by without any major incident and was spent mostly talking to Mr. Fayaz over consecutive cups of tea. Week 2: My second week started right after Mr. Fayaz found a part time job at a nearby retail institute as a sales executive; on my visit to the house he was not present as he was picking up a late shift that day. I used this opportunity to increase my rapport with Ms. Rubina and get to know her better, I felt that our previous encounter had not gone over the smoothest and after some initial reluctance she allowed me to observe the children playing in the yard. I had to assure her that I would not take any photographs of the children before she would allow me this. The children showed little effect of the trauma in their past, although Ahmad was showing signs of lethargy and malnutrition, upon asking Ms. Rubina about his health she replied that he was always a picky eater and had been getting progressively difficult to get him to eat properly in recent weeks. On closer inspection of the children I saw that both Maryam and Ahmad were trying to involve Abbas in traditional Kashmiri games, a version of hopscotch and tag that somehow always ended up with Abbas winning, it was obvious that both Maryam and Ahmad were letting Abbas win these games. Later on while observing them I noticed that they shied away from me and rather spent time with their mother in the kitchen rather than stay anywhere they knew I could see them. In normal cases I would have construed this as natural shyness on behalf of the children but after seeing them play I could not imagine them being very timid by instinct. Week 3: My third visit marked the first time that the children had started school in Australia, I was fortunate enough to observe them coming home directly from school. Maryam seemed very pleased and satisfied with her day at school, although she spoke only in Kashmiri around her mother I could gather from the tone that she was excited about the prospect of school, Ahmad on the other hand seemed subdued and quiet, on closer observation I noticed the signs of a scuffle on the child, with a pocket torn off his new shirt, he was taken away by his mother to his room, I presumed this was to comfort him as there were no sounds of scolding from his room. Maryam was pleased enough to try and interact with me and be comfortable around me, she offered to show me her new books and notebooks, one of which bore a note by her teacher praising her drawing skills and another one which had her homework written down in her small, neat handwriting. She spoke with me in accented by fluent English asking me abou t why I was always in the house with them. The conversation led to the topics of her brother and little cousin, she admitted that Abbas was much sadder nowadays than in the past and he frequently wet his bed at night and as a result had to sleep with the parents in the other room instead of with them. I resolved to talk to Mister and Missis Ahmad about getting Abbas to see a child therapist. Week 4: My fourth visit was a bit rocky as my previous suggestion of a child therapist for Abbas had not gone down well with Mister Fayaz. He felt that I was making unfair demands of him and that the child had been doing fine before I was there and even at one point tried blaming me for Abbass changed behavior. The majority of the time was spent trying to explain to him that it was just a suggestion and that he was in no way bound to do what I asked of him. Later on he admitted that the stress of managing finances for the household was starting to build on him and that he was worried about their future in Australia, on further questioning he informed me that his engineering degree was invalid in this country and he would be stuck with lower level jobs until he could complete another technical course here in Australia. Week five: I was surprised by my fifth and last visit when the family decided to take me along for a surprise picnic. Although not strictly their domestic settings I decided to go along with them to observe their interaction with the Australian picnic experience. The children seemed slightly apprehensive instead of the natural exuberance that most children would show when informed about going to the beach, apart from Ahmad both Abbas and Maryam seemed to stick close to Ms. Rubina and reserved themselves to helping her pack whereas Ahmad wanted to put on his rubber wings and flippers right in the house and go to beach thus dressed. While helping Mr. Fayaz get the car ready I came to know that Ahmad has been having trouble with bullies at school who make fun of his accent, that he has been dreading school and enjoys their outings with a relish, Abbas had started his sessions with a child therapist and was no longer wetting his bed and that Maryam had already enrolled in soccer class. I provided Mr. Fayaz with some brochures and booklets regarding part time courses and short term courses that he could take. Analysis: There were several issues and points that I observed while with the Ahmad family in regards to their reasons for coming to Australia, their interactions with the local culture and the nature of their family relations. Most importantly I came to realize about their unique needs and perspectives, their unique characteristics in regards to what they could bring in to the community, the culture they came from and the special needs that the three children of the family that needed to be addressed. My analysis can be elaborated as: For the greater part of this analysis the focus will be on young Abbas, then on Ahmad and on Maryam in decreasing order of significance in relation to special early care needs. The very first observations regarding Abbas were those of his interactions with the different societal settings that he had to experience. For instance his initial immigration to Australia was prompted by a drastic change in his original environment of Kashmir where he suffered the debilitating trauma of losing both his parents, in conversations with the Ahmads I got to know that Abbas was naturally a shy child and following the death of his parents he became even more withdrawn, to the point where he managed only a few sentences in conversation per day with the Ahmads and not even that with strangers. The initial experiences of the children with their societal systems were also apparent in how they treated me, a stranger in their house, the initial mistrust and fear that they projected on me was only a reflec tion of their past environment where authority figures or those who were in anyway related to official status were viewed with mistrust and even fear, this symptom extended not only to the children but to Ms.Rubina as well, when she forbade the children from interacting with me. The family structure in conservative societies like that of the Ahmad family is generally constituted of only close blood relations, the adoption of children as in the case of Abbas is almost unheard of, the most that a Kashmiri family will do is provide all the necessary support and accessories to a relative but that is all the other party will remain; a relative, in this case the traditional family structure has changed to that of a typical western nuclear family model and that has put an additional load on the two adults as Ms. Rubina and Mr. Fayaz do not have the traditional family support structure in place to help them manage their children any more. The cultural background of the Ahmad family is also an issue that has led to certain hindrances while integrating with their new environment, this was demonstrated with the trouble that Ahmad had with bullies at school and the frustration and worry that Mr. Fayaz felt at his educational qualifications not being considered eligible in the Australian work environment. The stress also showed on Ms. Rubina when she felt mistrustful of me, furthermore the bed wetting episodes of Abbas were symptomatic of elevated stress levels as Maryam informed me that he had never had this kind of problem before. There were of course the needs of the children to take into consideration especially those of Abbas and Ahmad. The specific list of activities and processes that I recommended for the children were: Child specialist therapy for Abbas to help address the trauma of his parents death and the sudden culture shock of shift from Kashmir to Australia. Extracurricular activities for Maryam in order to enable her to come out of her shyness and gain the confidence and self-esteem she needs in order to engage in social interactions effectively. Ahmad requires counseling as well in order to encourage better, more constructive outlets for his frustrations, bullying is always a significant issue to be dealt with in regards to early child care and Ahmads case is no exception but his situation is further compounded by the complexities of the previous experience in the stifling and rather constricted environment of Kashmir along with his experience in a private school in Kashmir as opposed to a public school in Australia In addition to the counseling steps for the children I also suggested certain short term technical courses for Mr. Fayaz so that he doesnt feel trapped in a lower level employment circle in Australia due to his degree not being recognized here.

Ways in Which the Use of Teams Helps Cadbury Achieve its Strategic Aims and Objectives :: Cadbury Work Ethics Employment Essays

Ways in Which the Use of Teams Helps Cadbury Achieve its Strategic Aims and Objectives 1) Explain the meaning of the â€Å"terms† and â€Å"groups†. Teams ===== A team is a group of people with a common purpose who have complimentary skills. Working as a team has many advantages such as: * Distributing the workload * Reinforcing individual capabilities * Creating partipation and involvement * Improve productivity and pride in what they do * Respond more quickly to change * Reduce middle management level * Draw on expertise of members. There are two types of teams: Formal – a formal team is created for a specific purpose e.g. The employees at Cadbury world work as a formal team because they work together to meet their aim of ‘creating brands that people love’ Informal – an informal team develops in a less structured way e.g. a group of students at Josiah mason college may start a discussion on the way the teachers teach and are not happy with it they might get together and do something about it. Groups and teams are similar, however, teams require coordinated effort while individuals may work independently in groups. Groups A group is when two or more people work together on a certain task E.g. a group of students work together to form a presentation. But a group doesn’t have to work together or achieve something a group can also mean something else for e.g. There can be two different places in a cafà © one for smokers and one for non-smokers 1 Describe the ways in which the use of teams may help the organisation achieve its strategic aims and objectives. Working as a team: advantages of a teamwork and cooperation and to identify and understand the stages of team development. For a team to achieve its goals, its members must do more than just carry their own weight. They must involve, support, and share information with there team mates. And they must commit to the success of the entire team, not simply their own success. Working as a team clearly teaches employees the personal, interpersonal, and organizational advantages of working together whether in teams or work groups. Advantages of working as a team * Distributing the workload * Reinforcing individual capabilities * Creating participation and involvement * Improves motivation * Share knowledge and understanding * Provides opportunity for managers and supervisors * It also encourages innovation I will use Cadbury as an example to describe the ways in which the use of teams may help the organisation achieve its strategic aims and objectives. Cadbury Schweppes aim is: ‘ Work together to create brands that people love’ Objectives. †¢ Promote ethical business practices †¢ Respect the environment and communities in which we operate

Learning Acitivity Essay

2.Identify and describe three leadership styles. Provide examples of these styles in society? Authoritarian Leadership is one that takes personal charge of decision-making, and demands that group members obey orders (Macionis, 2013. P110). Bill Gates is a great example of authoritarian leadership. Bill had a vision after he took lead of the company and he used all possible resources within his reach and made a dream reality. Bill Gates did not consult others on which way his company should take. Democratic Leadership is making a point and including everyone in the decision-making process (Macionis, 2013. P110). Dwight Eisenhower is one of the best people for this. While serving as a General in the Army he had a task to get the alliance all on the same page this he took great pride and hard work doing so. Laissez-faire Leadership allows group to function more or less on its own (laissez-faire in French means â€Å"leave it alone†). (Macionis, 2013. P110). The Danish government adopted this style of leadership and allowed cannabis to be smoked and allowed open prostitution. 3.What does the research by Solomon Asch and Stanley Milgram show us about the ability of social groups to affect the opinions and behavior of group members? The research showed that people when under pressure by peers or an authoritative figure conform. Solomon Asch (1952) recruited students for what he told them was a study of visual perception (Macionis, 2013, p. 110). But what he did was make the students form a small group and put pressure on one of the students. Asch showed them card 1 with a normal line then asked them to match it to card 2 that had three lines on the card. One third of the students chose to answer the question incorrect just like the other students. Stanley Milgram, a former student of Solomon Asch’s conducted conformity experiments study of his own (Macionis, 2013, pg.111). Milgram had a more controversial experiment he took male subjects and put them in electric type of chair to show how punishment affects learning. The teacher to start with 15v and each time that one of the subjects got it wrong the voltage would increase and even though the levels of voltage reached 450 volts Milgram was astonished how eagerly people obeyed authority. .

Forensic Science Research - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1722 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/07/02 Category Science Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: Forensic Science Essay Did you like this example? Introduction Forensic science is a complex and critical part of solving todays legal affairs, from serious matters like manslaughter to the evaluation of parentage of a child, it has a place almost anywhere. Forensic science is important because it provides concrete, undeniable evidence. I will cover the history of forensic science and compare past techniques with modern techniques. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Forensic Science Research" essay for you Create order Then I will outline the activity of forensic science throughout the government and how forensic data is analyzed in a lab. After that I will further explain the many subdivisions of forensic science and their specific roles. The History of forensic science Forensic has come very far over the past two hundred years. It has advanced from basic eyewitness account to the analysis of DNA. Two hundred years ago, criminal investigation was very primitive. If a crime was committed, detective would have to rely on confessions, eye witness accounts and the most obvious of clues. When investigating a crime scene two hundred years ago the evidence would have been contaminated and any obvious evidence may have been stolen or lost. Although todays methods are very advanced, forensic science has been around for thousands of years, fingerprinting being the earliest known form that was developed and used the the ancient chinese. Many years later in 1892, Sir Francis Galton established a system for identifying fingerprints. Soon after, others began to develop other methods of identification for fingerprints. In 1896, Sir Edward Henry developed a new way to analyze fingerprints by examining certain characteristic such as pattern, direction and flow. Careful examination and identification of bullets are first recorded in 1835 by Henry Goddard. Goddard used physical analysis to connect a bullet back to a murder weapon. A more exact method was used in the 1920s by Calvin Goddard who created a comparison microscope so match bullets to their shell casings. Gunshot residue detection was later developed in the 1970s with the help of electron microscopes. In the development of forensic chemistry, chemist James Marsh created a way to test for arsenic which was later used in a 1836 murder trial. A century later Karl Lan classified human blood groups and later earned a nobel prize for his work. The advancements that we made in a small amount of time is truly remarkable. From confessions to analyzing blood types, there seems to be an endless amount of knowledge to come. Criminal Investigation Crime scene investigators purpose is to collect and examine any evidence left at a crime scene. They look for things like body fluids, fingerprints, hairs and fibers, and other trace evidence. When collecting these, several different methods and materials are used to do so. Trace evidence includes things such as paint and gunshot residue, drugs, glass, and chemicals. Clothing is collected from the victim and anyone else who was present at or near the crime scene and the clothing is to be sealed in a paper bag and taken to a lab to be tested. If the crime was gun related then the clothing will be tested for gunshot residue. If any drugs or unknown powdered substances are found at the scene then it will be collected with a knife or blade, sealed in separate, sterile evidence containers or bags and sent to the lab for identification. Any hair found is sent to DNA testing lab and unknown substances and drugs go to a chemistry lab. In some cases body fluids are found at the crime scene. Bodily fluids can be saliva, semen, blood or vomit. If blood is found on the body of the victim or any cloth then that will be collected and sent into a lab for possible DNA analysis. There are many tools and materials involved in collecting body fluids from a crime scene. Some of them include scissors, tweezers, a scalpel, luminol, smear slides, UV lights, and sterile cloth. If any hairs or fibers are found at a crime scene then they will be collected using tweezers, combs or vacuums and sent into a lab for analysis. In the event of a rape case, if the victim is still alive then they will be taken to a hospital and examined for any fibers and hairs that could be evidence. Any fibers or hair found at the scene would be compared to fibers or hair of a suspect. DNA analysis can be used to eliminate suspects and to identify if the hair is from a human or an animal. Through DNA analysis a persons race can be identified from a single human hair. Fingerprints are also a large clue in a crime scene. A fingerprint can be left behind due to visible fluids like blood or ink, imprinted in something soft and malleable like a clay or wax, or can be from the natural oils that naturally accumulate on everyones fingers. Investigators might use brushes, chemicals, tape, a magnifying tool, or other materials to collect these prints for evidence. Prints can be left on paper, wood, plastic, cardboard, metal and other surfaces, both porous and nonporous. When a fingerprint is found on a nonporous surface a powder, often a black or a silver powder, is gently brushed over the print until it is visible, then lifted with tape and transferred to a fingerprint card and submitted to evidence. When a fingerprint is found on a porous surface, chemicals like silver nitrate or iodine are sprayed onto the print until visible. Footprints may be found at or around a crime scene. If a footprint or an impression from a shoe is found an investigator will make a casting material and make a cast from the print. Any dirt left on the cast when it is removed is not brushed off but rather sent into a lab for analysis. Tool marks from tools used at a crime scene may also be found. It may be an impression- a tool mark that is created without any back-and-forth movement- or it may be a striation- a tool mark with a series of parallel lines cause by a ba ck-and-forth movement. Attempting to match a tool to an impression is rather unreliable and it is more reliable to make a definite match with a striated mark. When an investigator finds any firearms at a crime scene, they need to follow a specific routine to preserve the evidence. Gloves are worn and the firearm is pick up by the barrel and placed into an evidence bag to be sent to a lab for testing. Forensic scientists can then examine any casings found and match them to a weapon or they can examine serial numbers found on the firearm. By using a laser trajectory kit, investigators can use any bullet holes in a victim or surface to determine the location and height that the bullet was fired from. If the bullet or casing is stuck in a wall or other material then a section of it will be removed instead of attempting to dig it out, which ruins the evidence. When documents are found such as letters, planners, calendars, books, journals, suicide notes, etc. they are collected and preserved. A lab may be required to reconstruct demolished evidence that may have been burned or torn apart. These documents are recorded and analyzed for handwriting samples, forgery, and what was used to print or write the document. Whenever any type of evidence is found at a crime scene, and investigator must photograph it, log it, recover and then tag the evidence. But how is all of this evidence discovered? When examining a body or corpse, investigators look for many things such as stains, wrinkling or bunching of clothing that could indicate dragging, defense wounds, bruises, cuts, any obvious missing items, direction of the flow of blood, insects, etc.. After moving the body, the other side of the corpse is examines in the same manner and then the bod temperature and the room temperature are taken to estimate the time of death. Fingerprints of the body will be taken and placed into evidence. Once the conditions of the body are documented, then the body is covered in a white cloth and transported to a morgue for an autopsy. To efficiently and carefully find and collect evidence, investigators use several different methods of examination of a crime scene. Investigators may use the inward spiral search method where they start from the perimeter of the crime scene and slowly work their way towards the center of the scene in a spiral pattern. Another method is the outward spiral where investigators might start from the center of a crime scene or from the location of a body and slowly and meticulously work their way to the edges of the crime scene in a spiral pattern. If there is a team of investigators, they may use the parallel, grid, or zone search methods. The parallel search method requires the team of criminal investigators to line up and walk in a straight line from one side of the crime scene to the other. The grid search is similar but requires the team to repeat the method from an adjacent side. In a zone search, investigators divide the room into different sections, then search each section thoroughly and then move onto the next section. References: Arenas, M., Pereira, F., Oliveria, M., Pinto, N., Lopez, A.M., Gomes, V., Carracedo, A. A. (2017) Forensic genetics and genomics: Much more than just a human affair. PLOS. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006960 Butler, J. M. (2015) The Future of Forensic DNA Analysis. The Royal Society. doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2014.0252 Marinetti, L. J., Ehlers, B. J. (2014) A Series of Forensic Toxicology and Drug Seizure Cases Involving Illicit Fentanyl Alone and in Combination with Heroin, Cocaine or Heroin and Cocaine. Journal of Analytical Toxicology 38(8). doi.org/10.1093/jat/bku086 OBrian, E., Daeid, N. N., Black, S. (2015) Science in the court: pitfalls, challenges and solutions. The Royal Society. 10.1098/rstb.2015.0062 Pedersen, P. D. (2013) Forensic Medicineseen through the eyes of a social anthropologist. Scandinavian Journal of Forensic Science. doi.org/10.2478/sjfs-2013-0004 Phillips, M. L. (2008) Crime Scene Genetics: Transforming Forensic Science Through Molecular Technologies. BioScience 58(6). doi.org/10.1641/B580604 Roewer, L. (2013) DNA Fingerprinting in Forensics: Past, Present, Future. Investigative Genetics. BMC. doi.org/10.1186/2041-2223-4-22 Sobrino, J. M. (2002) Identification of a criminal by DNA typing in a rape case in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sao Paulo Medical Journal. dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-31802002000300004