Skills Shortage and HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Skills Shortage and HRM - Essay Example Furthermore, it often increases the crime rate as people resort to earning money in illegal ways due to their unemployment. Other problems like low morale in the workforce, and economic recession are also very common due to unemployment. Furthermore, it discourages people to pursue further education because they see how even the highly educated people are often forced to do jobs which are below their potential, simply due to the lack of jobs available. Thus, unemployment has a major negative effect on the economy and welfare (Beresford, pg 190, 2004). Another difficult, however completely different, scenario occurs when the economy has plenty of jobs available in various industries, but does not have enough skilled labor to meet this demand. Whereas the people in the above mentioned situation were forced to compete with several other qualified people for the same job, this scenario describes a situation where companies are competing against each other for the same potential employee. They are forced to do this when the economy does not have an adequate supply of people with the skills which these companies require (Capelli, pg 145, 2005). PROBLEM WITH THIS SHORTAGE A shortage of skilled labor as described above usually pertains to fields which require high level skills, such as those needed for the technological industries. These industries are ever changing and developing, and thus require the workers to have updated and relevant skills. Such a feat can only be accomplished by regularly training these workers, which requires time and money. Sometimes, workers with such updated skills are not available for the companies to fill their vacancies. This causes severe problems, because then the company has to divert substantial resources to recruitment, which costs them heavily to get new employees; whereas new employees are supposed to be making more money for them, not costing them their funds. This causes problems for the companies, and thus it is necessary for t hem to determine some cost effective recruitment strategies (Goss, pg 232, 1994). POSSIBLE RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES One way of employing such cost-effective recruitment methods is to pay attention to factors which will attract employees as well as motivate them to keep working. These include the fringe benefits, bonuses, promotions, training programs and compensation rates that these companies offer the employees. The management style, reputation and size of the company are also very important factors in this regard. Different factors have a different level of importance for employees. Some may prefer a job which pays them a high salary, while others may be attracted to large companies with good reputations in the industry. Thus, these companies need to account for these individual differences when recruiting employees (Capelli, pg 146, 2005). Not every company can afford to offer the potential employees being recruited all the above benefits. In fact, some companies may face severe d ifficulties in recruiting new people due to such limited resources. If they exist in an economy which has a very limited supply of employees who possess the skills needed, they face major problems when trying to recruit such employees. Since they do not have all the resources other companies may be able to offer employees, they will not be the preferred choice of employers for

Internet and Security Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Internet and Security - Coursework Example He notes that the precise tools that are used for flattening the world (technology) are the same tool that can be used to unflatten the world. Responsible use of technology builds the universe while the selfish use of the same technology destroys the world and keeps societies distant. The other security concern is the economic security of the American people. The author expresses concerns that the American place as the economic powerhouse is threatened because of the attitude of the citizens and the government. The government spends mindlessly on wars and neglects the fundamental economy of the states. The citizens, on the other hand, idolize ideas and opinions that cannot bring economic growth to the nation. They, for example, idolize Britney Spears while their serious competitors idolize the resourceful Bill Gates (Friedman, 32). Social injustice in the global economic system: Thomas notes that the flattened world has caused a caste-like system where wealthy states are getting rich er while the poor countries are languishing in more poverty. Trade is focused between rich states while the poor countries are sidelined. The concern is that populations in poor nations will languish in perpetual poverty. Misuse of borrowed technology: The author loves the rate of labor transfer and the numbers of people coming from other countries in quest of knowledge in the USA. He regrets the misuse of this acquired knowledge, for example, in the 9/11n attack. The mastermind of the attacks, Osama, received his education in the US. The third ethical question insinuated in the story is unlawful labor outsourcing. It creates jobs for some but breeches professional ethos in some areas. By the time of publication of the book, there were no stringent laws regulating the business. An example is the online writing of assignments for some students by others.

Integrated Management System and Processes (IMSP) Case Study

Integrated Management System and Processes (IMSP) - Case Study Example After detail deliberation with his present team and personal efforts Roberge has enlisted following main characteristics and challenges required to be address by the proposed Information System Management and Process (IMSP) project a. The project is required to be an enterprise level thoroughly integrated solution developed in ABC software. b. The solution is required to stream line the enterprise wide accounting, finance, human resource management, sales and marketing operation to give the higher management a real time proactive decision support. c. Roberge is a seasoned manager and fully understand the management vision of the IMSP. He knows, â€Å"A properly designed DSS is an interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers in compiling useful information from raw data, documents, personal knowledge, business models, etc., to identify and solve problems and make decisions. (Howlett, Lakhmi & Shaun, 31). IMSP is required to support all the functionalities of an enterprise level corporate Decision Support System (DSS). e. Finding and deploying experienced, skilled and technically sound professionals is respective slots is first and foremost important decision and the success of the whole project rests over the formulation of effective and proficient team. (ii) Jean Roberge has carefully outlined several requirements for IMSP project but few other information technology directives are required to be incorporated in order to ensure the successful implementation of IMSP in ABS Corporation. Following are few additional requirements to be fulfilled to ascertain a new direction ABS in information technology. a. A parallel project for enterprise level network infrastructure is required to be established to ensure the provisioning of effective and highly secure channel for corporate information interchange. The enterprise network will also assist in launching Sales department web module of IMSP project and home based access of corporate information system through Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology.

Empirical Study of Inclusion Essay Example for Free

Empirical Study of Inclusion Essay The question of what to do with special needs students has been in issue for a long time. Many different perspectives have been brought into this argument. Some believe that since the child’s needs are so much different than â€Å"normal† students the child must be placed in special classes so their can be educated properly. However, many question whether this avenue of thought is best for the student or the student’s best learning environment (Weitzel, 2004). Another perspective is to put special needs children in with the same program he or she would normally be in had they not been labeled as special needs. When coupled with additional support services, many believe this model is a better way to education these children (Smietana, 2001). This perspective is commonly called Inclusion (Schwartz, Odom, Sandall, 2008). There is also the concept of Full Inclusion which is the same as inclusion except a special needs child will join the regular classroom no matter how much support that child needs (Weitzel, 2004). Inclusion has come about as a result of several federal laws. The first, in 1958, provided funds for training educators to work with mentally disabled children. More funding was added in 1965 with the passing of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (United Partners, 2008). However, anti-discrimination legislation that passed in 1973 that would not allow federal funding to go into any program against disabled people. As a result the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed two years later (United Partners, 2008). That law was later renamed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990 (Smietana, 2001). IDEA brought forth the concept of teaching special needs children in their least restrictive environment (LRE). The idea is some students need more help than others in overcoming their individual special needs. Consequently, grouping all special needs children into one program may help some students, but hurt others who do not need as much support. As a result the concept of LRE inclusion was born. If a student is to be taught under an LRE model, then in some instances a special needs child would be better suited to attend a regular class, with some special support, than to be placed in an entirely special needs curriculum (United Partners, 2008). Nevertheless, the concept and application on inclusion is constantly evolving. The debate of how to best educate special needs children still rages on 50 years after the first law was passed and it will continue (AAP et al, 2002). The current debate is around inclusion itself and its effectiveness. Some believe it benefits the special needs student while others say it hurts the other students who do not need the extra support. This study will look into this debate and determine the impact of inclusion. Formal Statement of the Problem How much impact do the policies of inclusion have on the education goals of special needs students? Furthermore do the inclusion policies benefit the special needs students or ultimately hurt them in achieving educational goals? Definition of Terms Admissions and Release Committee (ARC) – A meeting that determines the special needs a student will receive. This meeting is the result of the parents, guardians, or school making a recommendation for an initial evaluation for special education. The result of this meeting is an education plan called an IEP (United Partners, 2008). Full Inclusion – Similar concept as inclusion except it disregards the special need status of the student and places him or her in the class he or she would normally attend as a regular student. The student’s remove would only occur when â€Å"appropriate services cannot be provided in the regular classroom† (Weitzel, 2004). Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) – This right guarantees under IDEA that children between 3 and 21 public education at no cost to the family (United Partners, 2008). Inclusion – Commitment to educate a child in the classroom that he or she would normally attend if the child was not considered special needs. Supportive services for the student would be given at the school (Weitzel, 2004). Individual Education Program or Plan (IEP) – An education plan for special needs children. It is designed around the LRE principle and it lists â€Å"the things the student is to work on, how they will do this, where they will work, and goals to determine the effects of the work (United Partners, 2008). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA) – Originally called the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, it was reauthorized in 1990 under IDEA and amended in 2000. It was again reauthorized in 2004 (United Partners, 2008). The purpose of the law is to â€Å"provide free appropriate public education regardless of disability or chronic illness to all eligible children, ages birth through 21 years, in a natural and/or least restrictive environment† (AAP et al, 2002). Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) – This right is guaranteed under IDEA. It means children with disabilities â€Å"should be in classrooms with and studying the same materials as the children without disabilities as much as possible (United Partners, 2008). Mainstreaming – Placement of special education students in one or more regular education classes selectively (Weitzel, 2004). Significance of the Study This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the inclusion policy of special needs students. It is important to review this topic is it relates to the education needs of those who can struggle with learning. Despite the struggle to learn, these students cannot be abandoned and under federal law those students cannot be neglected. The question remains as to how effective are those federal laws and policies that are related to inclusion. This study will address this question by evaluating the current data available presented by many different sources. Each of these sources can have their own bias towards or against inclusion, but an overall picture of how well inclusion works will be painted through the many sources. This issue can be sensitive in nature because it involves the future learning of children who many believe cannot be taught alongside â€Å"normal† students. Parents of these students are often very passionate one way or another based on their own individual case. Educators can also be equally adamant towards this topic. Teachers and administrators must adapt to the ever changing policies aimed at helping special needs students. However, many educators see themselves as the experts in field since they ultimately must find ways and methods to teach special needs students on a daily basis. Since this study is a neutral evaluation of the available data, conclusions as to the effectiveness of the inclusion can be made. Through these conclusions, policies regarding inclusion can be altered, enhanced, or eliminated. It is the goal of this study to bring information regarding inclusion so others may see whether this policy is truly beneficial to the students, both special needs and those who are not. Assumptions It must be assumed that any child labeled special needs is indeed a special needs student. Experts who have come to this conclusion regarding a particular student must be trusted and their evaluations deemed valid. A failure to assume this would break down the entire system from the root. For a child to qualify for special needs programs, they must first be referred for an initial evaluation. From there an ARC meeting or IEP meeting will determine where the student goes from there (United Partners, 2008). However, if the expertise of the evaluator is questioned everything from the point of the initial evaluation and beyond cannot be trusted. Since this study is determining how students labeled by these evaluators work under the inclusion policy the opinion of these evaluators must be trusted. Another assumption is that the parents or guardians of the student are following the recommendations of the IEP meetings. This assumption is necessary for accuracy of the data. The data given is under the premise that the student is following along with his or her educational plan. If a student were deviating from his or her plan the data may be skewed because of this. Therefore the assumption must be made that the student is following along the guidelines of the IEP recommendations. In conjunction with the prior assumption, it must also be assumed educators are following the guidelines of a student’s IEP and the laws of the IDEA. This assumption more so than the former is important since the success or failure of inclusion can be based upon how well the educators can teach the special needs students. Furthermore, if an educator deviates from the inclusion model the data of policy’s effectiveness is completely lost. For the sake of this study, the effectiveness of IEP plans must be considered good. Since the inclusion policy is dependent on the students IEP, this aspect cannot be questioned for decent data to appear. Limitations Mentioned as an assumption, the effectiveness of IEP plans for special needs students is a limitation to this study. In IEP meetings the parents, therapists, educators and other professional experts design an education plan for the special needs student. These frequent meetings are also used to evaluate the child’s progress and modify the plan as needed (United Partners, 2008). The problem is the plan and its results can be subjective. Any time a group of people get together to find a common solution there will be differences of opinion. In this difference a consensus may be reached to the child’s education path, but the compromise may hinder the child’s development. Since every child’s educational needs are different, an issue only exemplified with special needs children, no one single path can be set out for every different label on a child (ADD, autism, etc). Consequently, the child’s educational plan is left to the best educational guess of the professionals and parents. A similar study on how effective IEP plans are for special needs students should be conducted. However, for this study on inclusion, the IEP meetings are assumed accurate but also considered a limitation since these plans directly affect any results for inclusion. Another potential limitation is the data itself. It has to be assumed that all the research conduction is done from a neutral perspective. Unfortunately, this is an unrealistic assumption especially given the sensitivity of the topic. Statements such as â€Å"special education has become a drain on human and financial resources in districts across our country† are very bias and indefinable (Weitzel, 2004). Although Weitzel could qualify the financial argument with data the human aspect is very subjective especially when joined with the â€Å"across our country† statement. From Weitzel’s perspective, inclusion is not necessarily a good policy. His data will most likely be skewed to make his argument more solid. However, his information is needed for this study since it is a research article on the impact of inclusion. With this in mind, the bias arguments must either be put in perspective and recognized as bias or countered as to not show favoritism towards one perspective or another. To complete this study with solid conclusion information such as Weitzel’s is included but noted as a limitation since it is very discriminatory. Although most of the information on this subject matter, aside from raw data, can be considered bias, it needs to be used to create a idea of the effectiveness of inclusion. Organization of the Study This study will be attempt to answer the question of how the inclusion policies impact special needs children. To accomplish this, the study is organized into four major sections: definition and application of inclusion, proponents of the policy, opponents of the policy, and its impact. Review of the Literature A review of the existing literature is necessary to form a foundation for this study on inclusion. By reviewing other writings, it builds a context for which the inclusion policies can be evaluated for its impact on special needs children. Without the literature review, any conclusions in this report can be made out of context of the actual situation. Also, the literature review provides the framework for which further research can be made both for this study and beyond this study. In reviewing the literature, several aspects of inclusion are reviewed. First, the history and definition of inclusion is examined. Second a look at the arguments made by inclusion proponents are evaluated. Their arguments will also include some impact analysis as it is available by the proponents. Lastly, in this review, the opponent’s argument and data is examined. A summary of each of these sections is made in one summary section. This will briefly review the data presented. With that summary, a hypothesis and research questions arise. These are made based on the summarized and are designed to focus the research of this study. It this through this last section that the entire framework of this study is made. Inclusion For the past 50 years the federal government has tried to find a good solution for educating children who require special needs. There are a variety of conditions that can be considered special needs. This list can include but is not limited to autism and its derivatives such as asperger syndrome, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), down syndrome, and mental retardation (SpecialChildren, 2008). This attempt was made to address the problem of how to properly educate children who are challenged in their learning abilities. This has not been an easy road as â€Å"parents of children with disabilities have had to fight for the right to have their children educated in public schools for many years† (Smietana, 2001). Prior to any established special education program, asylums, also called residential institutions, emerged to accommodate those with any impairments. Access to these facilities was difficult, but this was the method of education for special needs children up until the early 1900s (SEDL, 2007). The first such law to be designed as an aid in educating special needs children came in 1958. Its purpose was to provide funding for training teachers to work with mentally retarded children (Smietana, 2001). Parents followed the coat tails of the Civil Rights movement and approached getting legislation passed under the guise that this was a civil rights matter (SEDL, 2007). Later the Elementary and Secondart Education Act which provided more funding for disadvantaged children (Smietana, 2001). In 1973 the Rehabilitation Act passed which â€Å"prohibited discrimination against and demanded accommodation of people with disabilities in federally funded programs† (LRE Coalition, 2001). In combination with Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) which passed in 1975, funds were set up for the â€Å"entitlement of children with disabilities to a free, appropriate public education† (LRE Coalition, 2001). EAHCA was later renamed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990 (Smietana, 2001).

The Kemant Minority In Northern Ethiopia Politics Essay

The Kemant Minority In Northern Ethiopia Politics Essay Since the creation of modern state in Ethiopia, in the late 19th century, ethnic minorities have been facing major difficulties to their survival. While unknown number of minorities are believed to have already disappeared, some others considered to be the verge of disappearing  [1]  . Ensuring minority protection is a major political goal for the current ruling government (Kiden, 2008:7). The constitution provides for the creation of political space through recognition and respect for culture, identify and languages of ethnic groups. The state, at least in principle, treats minorities as equal members of the country and respects their rights to preserve their identity as well as their socio- political aspirations. In practice, however, these rights are far from being realized. The Kemant are ethnically, religiously and linguistically distinct people and because of their distinctiveness they have been victims of stigma, exclusion and marginalization. They experienced prejudice and stereotype for centuries (Zelalem, 2000:30). Their claim for recognition and self-governance has spent many years without ultimate response from both the federal and regional governments. At a time when their language, culture and religion, as a result sheer identity, are at the verge of extinction  [2]  , they are not given due attention. This is reflected by the fact that they are not officially recognized yet. Non recognition hinders not only rights enshrined in the constitution but also the enjoyment of internationally recognized rights  [3]  ; it leads to the violation of economic, social and cultural rights and to their ultimate marginalization in the society. The Kemant case proves the truth of the maxim that justice delayed is justice denied. It is paradoxical that the Kemant had been recognized as a distinct people until the 1994 National Census  [4]  . They were in existence when both the federal and the first Regional Constitutions were adopted in 1995. As the 1995 Federal Constitution did not recognized all ethnic groups that existed at the time of its adoption, nor did the 1995 Amhara Region Constitution and the 2001 Revised Constitution recognized nationalities that existed in the region at the time of their adoption. Among such ethnic groups are the Kemant. Certainly, they have been denied their de jure existence while they have ever de facto existed. Against this backdrop, the claims of the Kemant people can be examined from at least two perspectives:(1) assessing domestic laws for the protection/recognition of minorities and how they are adequate to address the multiple problems faced by ethnic minorities; and (2) exploring how the Kemant recognition and self-rule movement is working, the strategies and tactics used, to pursue their goals and why the movement is not yet effective to accomplish their claims. Unfortunately this essay does not cover all these aspects. That would be virtually impossible task involving hundreds of pages. Rather the essay investigates one main question: Why the Kemant minority are unjustly denied of official recognition to exercise their constitutional rights? Relevant legal documents, books, journals, articles and electronic materials are used and qualitatively analysed to address this specific question. The Kemant Minority: Historical- Socio- Legal Context The Kemant are residing in the northern Gondar of Amhara Region; they speak a dialect of Cushitic language and practice Pagan-Hebraic religion. They are considered as the original inhabitants of north central Ethiopia. Living in the area of the historical Kemantland, they have been progressively, then massively Christianised and Amharized in the last century (Gamst, 1969:1). Their language, Kemantney is stigmatized because of their traditional religion. A mechanism adopted by them to adjust the harsh social environment was self-denial (Worku, 2010:2). In 1994 their population was 172,327.19  [5]  . Despite the fact that there might have been discrepancies between the census and the exact population, they had ever been recognized as distinct people. However, the Transitional Government (1991-1995) had not included the Kemant among ethnic groups eligible to establish regional self-government. This law and practice was a prelude to the federal constitution in 1995. Furthermore, in 2007 population census they were not counted as a separate ethnic group. Ethnic groups as small as 298 (Qewama) and 320 (She) were recognized and counted (CSA, 2008: 86-87). Although there is lack of official census at present the population is estimated to be over 900,000. This makes them 12th in population size among Ethiopian ethnic groups (Belay, 2010: 10). Claims for Recognition and Self-rule Since 1991, there has been an effort by individuals belonging to the ethnic group for recognition and self-governance. The movement was primarily against marginalization by the dominant amhara ethnic group and to preserve their identity. However, the 2007 census accelerated the pace of their struggle. In May 2009, Provisional Committee of Kemant Identity and Self-Governance Claims Council was established. They seem to have started organizing themselves in unprecedented way to push ahead their claim based on the constitution and historical facts.  [6]   Their claim is not only a struggle for their right to express and protect their identity, but also for political autonomy of some kind to establish a Zone level administration. It is in line with the constitution which asserts that all ethnic groups have the right to speak and develop their own language, to express and promote their culture and history; they have the right to self-administration within a particular territory and the right to representation at the regional and federal levels of government (FDRE 1995 art 39). In such legal context accordingly, the Awi, Himra, Oromo and Argoba minorities in Amhara region have already enjoyed recognition and representation since 1991. They have established their own self-government within their respective territories. The Kemant, however, do not enjoy self-government, nor are they recognized as distinct people. They are not represented in the Regional Council as well as in the house of federation. They have little or no say at the political level as they are unrepresented or under represented at all levels of government. The above discussion shows some of the historical, social, political and legal contexts in which the claims of the Kemant ethnic minority are emerged. Their main issues are: (1) recognition of their identity; (2) claim to exercise their constitutional rights like other ethnic minorities; (3) representation in both regional and federal governments; and (4) self-administration  [7]  . These issues are interrelated with one another. The right of self-administration of a minority like the Kemnat emanates from its status as such. In the absence of recognition, the group cant claim a right to self-rule at any level. The same holds true representation at the regional and federal levels of government cant be achieved without de jure recognition. The main actors involved in the process of recognition/non-recognition are the Kemant people (local level), the Council for recognition and self-governance (at the regional-local level), Scholars (local -regional level), the Amhara Regional State (regional level), and the federal government (national level). Although I acknowledge the importance of analysing and critically reflecting on these stakeholders, this essay deals with the Amhara regional state in addressing the claims of the Kemant. The Artcle 39 (2) of the revised regional constitution provides that the people of the region has a right to enjoy an effective participation in the system of the federal government in a freer, non-discriminatory, appropriate, fair and equitable representation. At the regional level, nationalities and peoples residing in the region have a right of representation. Accordingly, the regional government is saying that it should prove whether the Kemants quest is in conformity with the requirements enshrined in article 39(7) the regional constitution. However, the people of Kemant are claiming that under this pretext the government is working to delay the quest. In fact, in early 2010 the government established a committee for Kemant case study to determine the population size and the peoples desire for self-rule. However, controversy was raised over the committees neutrality and transparency in the process. The Kemant council was not consulted and nothing was clear about the duty and res ponsibility of the committee. At this time discussions are going on between the government and the council over the procedures to conduct a case study. Why Kemant are denied Recognition? Although understanding the reasons for the denial of their claim for recognition requires a further investigation, taking the over context in to consideration I can argue that it is primarily due to lack of political commitment at all levels of government which delayed their quest for recognition and self-rule. As stated in Belay (2010: 52-54), starting from the time of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia, there has been strong opposition from the government to the claim that there exist distinct people called Kemant. Particularly, those officials in the lower hierarchies have exerted their effort to intimidate those groups who have tried to assert their identity and hindered the claim from being come to the attention of the higher hierarchies of the government. In other words, the political commitment in the region is to assimilate the Kemant into the Amhara ethnicity and culture contrary to the desires of the group. In fact, it is hardly possible to undermine some other interna l factors within the Kemant minority which affected their struggle. Historically, Kemant People, like other Agaw people throughout the region were whom the first to suffer from the identity conversion campaign of the false Solomonic Dynasty until 1974(Zelalm, 2000: 37). This historical fact left these people under strong identity crisis and slows down in a coming back process to their original identity. Even today there are Kemant individuals who labelled themselves as Amhara and struggle against Kemants quest for self-administration  [8]  . Though they may not strong influences up on freedom movement, but they can still create confusion to please their superior political masters. The other problem is the approach that Kemant leaders use to regain the constitutional rights, which proved its dysfunctionality. For the last fifteen years, Kemant Committee leadership has chosen a struggle approach that takes them nowhere. They have very feeble committee that represent the people to regain the denied constitutional rights. This committee is informal that does not have institutional capacity to resist the mischievous reaction of the regional government. Conclusion Therefore, the Kemant has a constitutional right to assert, develop and promote its own culture, religion, language and history as means of preserving its national identity. In other words, state acts, be it regional or federal, which take away this right is unconstitutional. The fact that the majority of the Kemant speak Amharic should not be taken as a ground for denying them recognition and self-governance. Rather, it should be considered as a positive factor tying both the Amhara and the Kemant together while maintaining their distinctions.

Women In Art Essay examples -- essays research papers

Women throughout history, from the 1500’s till now have been looked at as objects. In the 1500’s during the time of the Renaissance woman were often portrayed in art in the nude. Curves at that time showed women as being goddess like. The more curvy and voluptuous you were the more beautiful men saw you. Artists who painted the female body were often commissioned by rich men to paint these paintings to hang in their houses. Women in this age are still portrayed in art in the nude. Mostly in nude magazines. Some people would consider these magazines to be vulgar and raw however men still look at these magazines for enjoyment making them a form of art.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In â€Å"Looking at Women†, by Scott Russell Sanders, he looks into his experiences with women throughout his life...

The Sixties Scoop in Canada

Critical Social Work School of Social Work University of Windsor 401 Sunset Avenue Windsor, Ont. Canada N9B 3P4 Email: [email  protected] ca Website: http://www. uwindsor. ca/criticalsocialwork/ Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information can be found at: http://uwindsor. ca/criticalsocialwork The online version of this article can be found at at: http://uwindsor. ca/criticalsocialwork/the http://uwindsor. ca/criticalsocialwork/the-sixties-scoop-implications-for-social-workers workers-andsocial-work-educationCritical Social Work, 2010 Vol. 11 o. 1 11, Online publication date: May 2010 53 Alston-O’Connor The Sixties Scoop: Implications for Social Workers and Social Work Education Critical Social Work 11(1) Emily Alston-O’Connor, BSW Abstract This paper examines issues concerning First Nations peoples and the child welfare system, and their implications for social work today. It explores the Sixties Scoop to illustrate the devast ating impact such policies and practices had on Aboriginal children, families and communities. Cultural genocide is part of this legacy.To deliver more culturally appropriate services, awareness about and acknowledgement of these mistakes can assist social workers to incorporate a social justice perspective into their practice with Aboriginal clients. As well, implications for social work education regarding professional training, curriculum content and course delivery by Aboriginal faculty members are highlighted The Sixties Scoop: Implications for Social Workers and Social Work Education Religious leaders and the government of Canada have apologized to First Nations peoples for the abusive experiences they endured in the residential school ystem. However, the closure of the residential schools did not end the attempt to assimilate Aboriginal children into mainstream Anglo-Canadian society through separation from their families. A sudden acceleration in child welfare workers removi ng Native children from their Aboriginal communities coincided with the dismantling of the church run education system. As the next painful chapter in the history of the colonization of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples, the Sixties Scoop quickly evolved into an aggressive tool for assimilation and cultural genocide.Its legacy has implications for social work practice today. Origins of the Sixties Scoop Governments in the mid 20th century viewed Aboriginal people as â€Å"child-like creatures in constant need of the paternal care of the government. With guidance, they would gradually abandon their superstitious beliefs and barbaric behaviour and adopt civilization† (Titley, 1992, p. 36). Segregated day and residential schools had failed to meet the goals of assimilation: most former students did not embrace the Euro-Canadian identity.The Parliamentary committee examining the Indian Act between 1946 and 1948 rejected the existing policy and proposed Critical Social Work, 2010 Vol. 11, No. 1 54 Alston-O’Connor instead the integration of young Indians into public schools (Titley, 1992). Concurrently, the Department of Indian Affairs created agreements with the provinces to take primary responsibility for children’s general welfare within their own provincial agencies (Armitage, 1995). As residential schools became discredited, the child welfare system became the new agent of assimilation and colonization (Johnson, 1983).Returning to their reserves and bands, many residential school students felt alienated and overwhelmed. Growing up in the residential school system, Aboriginal children were not given role models to look up to. They were not shown affection nor taught how to love or care for others. They had few traditional child-rearing skills from their own parents and relatives to rely on (Armitage, 1995). This had detrimental effects on the families of survivors of the residential schools for the generations of children who followed (Four nier and Crey, 1997).During the era of the Sixties Scoop, Kulusic (2005) suggests that â€Å"power, privilege and poverty are complexly related to the disproportionate number of Aboriginal children who were removed from their own communities† (p. 26). Unfamiliar with extended family child-rearing practices and communal values, government social service workers attempted to ‘rescue’ children from their Aboriginal families and communities, devastating children’s lives and furthering the destitution of many families.Culture and ethnicity were not taken into consideration as it was assumed that the child, being pliable, would take on the heritage and culture of the foster/adoptive parents (Armitage, 1995). The forced removal of children and youth from their Native communities has been linked with social problems such as â€Å"high suicide rate, sexual exploitation, substance use and abuse, poverty, low educational achievement and chronic unemployment† ( Lavell-Harvard and Lavell, 2006, p. 144).Newly designated funds from the federal to the provincial governments were â€Å"the primary catalysts for state involvement in the well-being of Aboriginal children†¦as Ottawa guaranteed payment for each child apprehended† (Lavell-Harvard and Lavell, 2006, p. 145). Exporting Aboriginal children to the United States was common practice. Private American adoption agencies paid Canadian child welfare services $5,000 to $10,000 per child (LavellHarvard and Lavell, 2006). These agencies rarely went beyond confirming the applicant’s ability to pay, resulting in minimal screening and monitoring of foster or adoptive parents (Fournier and Crey, 1997).In 1959, only one percent of all children in care were of Native ancestry. By the late 1960s, â€Å"30 to 40 percent of all legal wards of the state in Canada were Aboriginal children, even though they formed less than 4 percent of the national population† (Fournier and Crey, 1 997, p. 83). At the height of the Scoop, one in four status Indian children were separated from his or her parents for all or part of their childhood; for non-status and Metis children, one in three spent part of their childhood as a legal ward of the state (Fournier and Crey, 1997).Social welfare policies allowed government agencies to â€Å"continue to remove Aboriginal children from their homes and communities and damage Aboriginal culture and traditions all the while claiming to act in the best interest of the child† (Johnson, 1983, p. 24). The permanent removal of thousands of Aboriginal children during the Sixties Scoop laid the foundation for more complex, destructive effects on First Nations communities and culture with repercussions extending beyond their lifetimes. Critical Social Work, 2010 Vol. 1, No. 1 55 Alston-O’Connor Cultural Genocide and Loss of Identity The loss of their children caused irrevocable mental, emotional and spiritual harm to individuals, families and communities. â€Å"Indian children were taken away like souvenirs by professionals who were supposed to be helping the whole family† (Fournier and Crey, 1997, p. 91). The actions of child welfare workers destabilized traditional First Nations culture, quickly stereotyping Aboriginal women as unfit mothers and living off the land as uncivilized.Welfare agencies played a very important role in â€Å"defining, transmitting and shaping what were seen as legitimate or normal cultural expectations and practices† (Ward, 1984, p. 22). The acceptable home criteria reflected a nuclear, middle class lifestyle. Once an Aboriginal child was placed, social agencies did not offer support to the newly formed families even though research has shown that transracial adoption is more problematic because children lose their cultural heritage and their true identity (Kulusic, 2005).Permanent estrangement from one’s roots was inherent in the Sixties Scoop adoption struc ture. Aboriginal names, like postal codes, signify which First Nations their family belongs to (Cuthand, 2007). With legal adoptions, children’s birth family names disappeared as the adoptive surname was issued on all records. Sealing their case files erased any past family history and made repatriation nearly impossible for the adopted child and their grieving families. Some reserves lost almost an entire generation of their children to the welfare system (Johnson, 1983).Many children were placed in distant communities, exported to other provinces or across the US border to the homes of middle class white families (Kulusic, 2005). Scattering children across the continent undermined identification with the close-knit traditional Aboriginal culture and destroyed its kinship network. The legal rights of Aboriginal children were forgotten. With the erasure of their ancestry, the knowledge of being a treaty Indian child was suppressed. Special privileges available as a result of their Native status were lost through the apprehension and adoption process (Kimmelman, 1985).In accordance with treaty rights, one might expect that child welfare agencies would place the child in a culturally appropriate environment, focused on healthy development as an Aboriginal child. Such considerations were routinely ignored (Kimmelman, 1985). This large-scale removal of Aboriginal children to non-native families throughout the 1960s and 1970s damaged the cultural legacy of all First Nations peoples. The long-term implementation and destructive intergenerational impacts of Canadian government policies during the Sixties Scoop are consistent with the United Nations definition for cultural genocide.Article 2 of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as, â€Å"any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing mem bers of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group† (Office of the High Commissioner). Critical Social Work, 2010 Vol. 11, No. 1 56 Alston-O’Connor Under the misguided goal of assimilation, Aboriginal children were forcibly relocated to non-Aboriginal communities. Placements with families who could not offer socialization within an Aboriginal framework of traditional knowledge and pride of heritage destroyed one of the most important intergenerational processes for cultural knowledge and continuity. Individual Suffering and the Plight of the Family Many of the legal adoptions throughout the 1960s and 1970s were unsuccessful.Alienated children became runaways, turned to street life for s upport and experienced an overwhelming sense of lost identity, â€Å"a sense of social isolation greater than that which they had experienced in the church-run schools† (York, 1990, p. 205). Anxiety and culture shock were common after moving from remote, rural areas into suburban settings to live with strangers. Many children had difficulties developing attachments to their new parents, had an inability to connect and were distrustful (York, 1990). Some adults, adopted as children, reported physical, sexual and emotional abuses. Others were even treated as domestic servants (Fournier and Crey, 1997). Children are so highly valued in Aboriginal culture that those without children are considered disadvantaged (Johnson, 1983).Research confirms that Native families who â€Å"approached child care agencies in search of help for funds to supply food and shelter ended up losing their children †¦ Often times they were only offered one option: to relinquish custody of the childà ¢â‚¬  (Kimmelman, 1985, p. 196). Problems of alcoholism, emotional stress and low selfesteem were compounded with the increased formal scrutiny and likelihood that other children would be removed from the family (Johnson, 1983). The actions of the social welfare agencies â€Å"weakened the traditional family structure, and in doing so, weakened Aboriginal society as a whole† (Johnson, 1983, p. 61). Implications for Social Work Practice Today Client Contexts The impact of the Sixties Scoop is multi-layered.Understanding the specific nature of this colonial oppression of Aboriginal peoples requires current social workers to incorporate a social justice perspective when addressing specific issues with Aboriginal clients. It provides insight into how the colonizing process has pressured people to â€Å"detach from who they are but left them with no means to alleviate the pressure† (Hart, 2007, p. 27). In our role as counselors, this framework gives us the ability to rejec t assessment tools that merely label, personalize and pathologize individual expression and relate these problems to the larger socio-political reality (Hart, 2007). We are better prepared to identify how media stereotypes and social prejudices translate into everyday life for thousands of First Nations people.As Fournier and Crey (1997) note, the current generation is suffering the effects of hundreds of years of colonialist public policies. By situating the client’s presenting problem in a societal context, we set the stage to identify strategies to offset the impoverishing effects of these social justice issues. As social workers, it is our ethical duty to look beyond individual risk factors and to change society’s foundational inequalities and constraints (CASW, 2005). One of the ways to address the power imbalance between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal culture is to incorporate Critical Social Work, 2010 Vol. 11, No. 1 57 Alston-O’Connor Indigenous knowledge .Battiste (2002) argues it can only be fully learned and understood when learned in context, taught through Indigenous teaching methods, including sharing circles, experiential learning, meditation, prayer, ceremonies and story-telling. Thus social workers must become familiar with and support traditional healing processes. Hart (2007) believes â€Å"†¦ if the helping professions respected Aboriginal perspectives, they would incorporate methodologies which directly address the effects of genocide, colonization and oppression. † (p. 31). Native Elders have been speaking about relationships between individuals, families, communities and the world around them for generations. They can serve as role models for positive growth and well being (Hart, 2007).Their wisdom and knowledge can contribute support, direction and spiritual resources to aid both individual and collective problem solving and healing. Social workers must take an active role in encouraging direct participati on in rituals and ceremonies with First Nations clients. The blessing of an event, attending a sweat lodge or going to a sharing circle establish oneness within the group and have symbolic importance. Spirituality and connecting with one’s roots play a powerful role in building a strong sense of Aboriginal identity and hope. These practices are not part of a theoretical approach designed by academics to help Indigenous Peoples.They are meaningful expressions of Aboriginal culture and need to be recognized as valid approaches within the helping process. Effective social work practice must support the self-determination of clients to choose traditional approaches and must not be limited by textbook theory or policy driven programs to resolve issues (Hart, 2007). Culturally Appropriate Practice Analysing the impacts of the Sixties Scoop is essential to changing the social realities for Aboriginal peoples today. Practicing from an anti-oppressive philosophy, our mandate includes identifying stereotyping and over generalizing. Misperceiving traditional practices can have a negative effect on the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal working relationship.To counteract the colonial mentality of our Anglo-Canadian society, social workers must become knowledgeable about Aboriginal perspectives and how they are reflected in traditional and urban Aboriginal culture. Past personal and generational experiences are important as well as present events that will affect future generations (Hart, 2007). Social workers who work with Aboriginal clients must respect and appreciate their worldview. Openness and sensitivity to nuances related to culture, education, and ways of communicating are essential skills. Individuals must be self aware and alert to the possibility that the social workers’ own life experiences will affect the way they view this population (Levin and Herbert, 2004).Positive cultural attributes such as intergenerational strength of spirit and collective re silience are qualities to celebrate and build upon when social workers partner in the journey toward Aboriginal healing and community renewal. The cultural view of the collective is a core Aboriginal belief that affects social work practice. First Nations culture and communities place an honourable emphasis on kin and its strengths and meaning. Immediate family often includes extended family members and distant relatives. The community is seen as another extension of the family and needs to be included in any healing process. It is crucial to be aware of this collective belief and its manifestations within the community as it affects the language, the terminology and the focus used by the social Critical Social Work, 2010 Vol. 11, No. 1 58 Alston-O’Connor orker with the client and their relatives when discussing issues and communicating about programs and options. Trust issues may be a concern when working with First Nations peoples. Research findings by Levin and Herbert (20 04) identified fear and a lack of trust in health care settings due to discrimination and stigmatizing actions. They also reported that Aboriginal women, in particular, lacked trust in health care workers, be it doctors or social workers, due to the inexperience of workers, lack of communication with patients, cultural insensitivity, and absence of knowledge or understanding of Native healing practices (Levin and Herbert, 2004).Often service providers have inadequate information about the experiences of living in poverty or the needs, perspectives, cultures and traditions of First Nations clients. Mistrust has grown out of lived experiences such as the Sixties Scoop. Lack of understanding of this influencing factor creates substantial barriers to the establishment of a trust-based relationship between service providers and clients. This lack of trust has implications when trying to develop or implement community based initiatives as trust is vital to its success (Levin and Herbert, 2004). Legacy Lessons The destructive effects of the Sixties Scoop have important lessons for social workers today.Past mistakes in terms of the cultural context of First Nations children in care must not be repeated. Social workers uphold the fundamental child welfare principle that children should not be removed from their families solely on the basis of poverty. However, this core principle has not been equitably applied in provincial child welfare practices towards First Nations parents and children. The overrepresentation of First Nations children in care continues to be placed in nonAboriginal families (MacDonald and MacDonald, 2007). Caucasian families without cultural supports for Aboriginal children in their care may be unaware of how to address issues such as racism, prejudice and loss.As noted by Sinclair (2007) â€Å"†¦several studies found that a positive parental attitude towards the child’s ethnic group, as well as some form of social involvement with tha t ethnic group in the family’s life is significantly correlated with a child’s positive adjustment and positive sense of identity† (p. 70). While pride in the child’s Aboriginal heritage can be encouraged when specific cultural involvement plans are in place, many agencies and communities do not have the personnel to share these traditions and values. In some regions, cultural identity considerations have led to the development of policies that prioritize placement with extended family members or with foster care providers within the same community when children are removed from their parental home (McKenzie and Morrissette, 2003).The ongoing development of culturally appropriate child welfare services needs to include provisions for personal involvement with Aboriginal heritage languages, cultural traditions and values if apprehended children are to avoid the alienation and identity loss experienced by Aboriginal children from the Sixties Scoop. Professio nal Training It is clear that the social work profession and the Schools of Social Work have not been ‘neutral’ in the education and training that produced past social workers (MacDonald and MacDonald, 2007). Social workers’ Euro-centric assumptions sanctioned the destructive role of child welfare agencies in relationship to Aboriginal culture. The government’s assimilation goals Critical Social Work, 2010 Vol. 11, No. 1 59 Alston-O’Connor for First Nations peoples were congruent with the professional criteria for â€Å"the best interests of the child† during the Sixties Scoop.MacDonald and MacDonald (2007) note that social work education programs today play a key role within the colonizing mentality of child welfare agencies. â€Å"Through a social justice lens, the Schools of Social Work need to examine their role in the colonial processes that continue to impact on First Nations people in this country† (MacDonald and MacDonald, 2007 , p 43). Social workers can be pro-active in calling for changes in their professional faculties. It is important to consider the method in which social work students are receiving their education. Tensions and stereotypes must be discussed openly. While the Sixties Scoop may be a potential factor in many of our clients’ lives, it is also one in many of our social work students’ lives. There is a need for supports to reflect on the needs of all Aboriginal students including those who know their culture, and those who are new to their culture, as well as those who practice tradition and those who were raised within the church† (Clark, Drolet, Arnouse, Walton, Rene’ Tamburro, & Mathews, 2009, p. 305). Culturally relevant education, training and curriculum development are critical to help inform empowering approaches. The inclusion of Elders in the field education programs, incorporation of spirituality and ceremony into all classrooms and an emphasis on Abor iginal leaders facilitating these practices can provide deeper insight into the Aboriginal culture and its rich history. In addition to First Nations child welfare agencies and National First Nations organizations, the schools of Social Work need to play an active role in the development of culturally appropriate social work education (MacDonald and MacDonald, 2007).They need to ensure that Aboriginal faculty teach decolonizing practices to all social work students. Recommendations on how to make the curriculum and the Schools of Social Work more reflective of and relevant to First Nations students’ needs must be implemented. As well, social worker associations need to advocate for future social work graduates to be equipped to partner with the Aboriginal community in their work toward social justice. During the Sixties Scoop, the basic principles of intrinsic human value and the right to self-determination were erased by a government intent on cultural genocide. By forcibly reassigning First Nations children to non-Aboriginal families, kinship affiliations were obliterated.Its multi-generational legacy of grief and loss in relation to family, identity, culture, heritage and community profoundly is still being felt today. As agents of child apprehension, social workers must examine their role in this tragedy and in the colonization of Aboriginal peoples. A commitment to implementing culturally relevant social work practice with First Nations clients is essential for the profession. We have the opportunity to critically evaluate current issues and to partner with members of the Aboriginal community in identifying best practices to challenge the myriad of social, political and personal issues that resulted from the Sixties Scoop.As progressive agents for social justice, it is one of our responsibilities to create changes to ensure that Aboriginal peoples and their communities have the appropriate resources to flourish and grow. 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