Fundamentals of Job Satisfaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Fundamentals of Job Satisfaction - Essay Example In contrast, top-down theory lays emphasizes on global propensity1. In other words, all individuals have a desire to be happy and this attitude will be the major influence on their lives. Thus, feelings about job satisfaction are generated any one of the two ways: from the bottom up by adding positive effects and subtracting negative ones, or from the top down by the diffusion of one's desire to be happy (Diener & Eunkook, 1999: p.276). III. Methodology. Survey design was utilized for gathering data, for sample purposes the researcher used randomised probability sampling and a sample of 20 employees from different age, gender, nationality, occupation and place of work were chosen for the survey as follows:1. Age: - Between 25 >= 35 - Between 36 >= 45 - Between 46>= 70 2. Gender: - Men - Women 3. Nationality: - Kuwaiti - Arab - Non Arab 4. Occupation and place of work: - Owners of a real state company - Company employers - Managers in a real state company - House workers Each was then required to rank several questions as shown below: Rank from 1-5 your job satisfaction (1=Very dissatisfied, 5=Very satisfied) Gender: Age: Nationality: Occupation and place of work: 1 - Participate in decision making. 2 - Relationship with coworker. 3 - Feel you are respected. 4 - Have a highly routine job. 5 - The job gives you no stress. 6 - The manger appreciates the job you do. 7 - Satisfied with your pay. 8 - Satisfied with raises. 9 - Good training opportunities. 10- Feeling of security in the job. IV. Results Discussion and Analysis Age Gender Nationality It was found that, decision making for Kuwaitis people was very high, their participation in...Participants in the survey were randomly in consideration of the following factors: There are two common social theories of job satisfaction: the "bottom-up theory" and the "top-down" theory. The bottom-up theory basically states that, individuals have needs whose fulfilment brings about happiness. This theory uses the sum of positive and negative effects to define happiness. If the positive effects are greater than the negative effects, individuals will judge their life as happy. In contrast, top-down theory lays emphasizes on global propensity1. In other words, all individuals have a desire to be happy and this attitude will be the major influence on their lives. Thus, feelings about job satisfaction are generated any one of the two ways: from the bottom up by adding positive effects and subtracting negative ones, or from the top down by the diffusion of one's desire to be happy (Diener & Eunkook, 1999: p.276). Survey design was utilized for gathering data, for sample purposes the researcher used randomised probability sampling and a sample of 20 employees from different age, gender, nationality, occupation and place of work were chosen for the survey as follows: It was found that, decision making for Kuwaitis people was very high, their participation in decision making was

International political economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International political economy - Essay Example Entrepreneurs, leading corporations, and even social activists are taking the step to show how this phenomenon is changing the lives of people across the world. This book forms the basis for this review as it tries to identify the realism of this phenomenon, and if the corporate world is entirely ready for it. The definition of social business in this book is that it is a sustainable business that guarantees return on start-up capital, but does not offer investors any return. It is the author’s belief that the current practices, for example; social enterprises and non-profit are what may lead to more poverty among countless individuals. Social business offers an owner a return on their start-up capital, regardless of the time it takes to get this capital back. According to the author, this phenomenon (social business) has stopped being just a theory that is discussed in corporate boardrooms, and is being introduced in some areas in Asia, the U.S., and even Europe. By introduci ng, embracing, and trying the social business theory, the author develops an idea about a new form of capitalism that is opposed to some current methods and practices present in most organizations (Yunus 2011, p. 103). Products offered by social businesses may rake in profit, but do not offer dividends (Yunus 2011, p. 229). They are also capable of satisfying the needs of the less wealthy individuals in society. All profits gained have to go back to the society in which the business is located. According to the author, the case studies are a way of showing individuals that it is possible to incorporate this in the economic world and find a way to provide everyone with their needs. This is while reducing the pressure of money among the less privileged. Something worth noting about the author is that he is the founder of the micro-credit agency, Grameen Bank. It offers services (financial) at an affordable rate of interest. The author’s economic stand is brought out in the book as it struggles to change the perception that establishments can only belong to one of two economic camps, which are; non-profit and for-profit. However, the book might fail to address some crucial elements that surround the progress of the theory of social business. Some of the issues brought out in the book offer advice on what might be the best possible way for people to start their own businesses (Bari 2011, p. 78). This is not geared toward encouraging the growth of the phenomenon in most corporate structures in the business world. A great idea might lie behind the author’s intention of getting people to know what needs to be done to start and run a successful business. Sadly, it does not delve into advising would-be business owners on what needs to be done to exactly capture all the latest trends in the economic world. The ends of the first chapters in the book talk more of the steps in the development of the Grameen. This, according to me, makes the chapters seem lack lustre in their presentation. The didactic aspect of the book leaves no room for the profit and social business aspects that most readers may want to attain at the end of the book. It is next to impossible to attain a clear perspective on the part profit aspect of a

Applying BEQUEST for Sustainable Urban Development Essay

Applying BEQUEST for Sustainable Urban Development - Essay Example Applying BEQUEST for Sustainable Urban Development This review includes an examination and review of the relationship between BEQUEST framework and protocol; the protocol of sustainable urban property development; assessment methods available to evaluate what the protocol contributes towards the sustainability of urban development; and where the protocol has been applied and the SUD gains this has generated. Environmental problems ranging from excessive consumption of natural resources and pollution of the environment have been attributed to construction and building activities. Research is underway for green building design, and use of materials for minimising the environmental impact. Sustainability assessments have gained importance, and environmentally friendly design at project appraisal stage has been considered the ideal stage for the incorporation of environmental matters (Ding, 2008). Sustainable urban development (SUD) initiatives include Smart Growth and Building Environmental Quality Evaluation for Sustainability through Time (BEQUEST). BEQUEST bridges all scales of action including planning to component manufacture allowing all actors view the scope of urban development problem. BEQUEST is a Pan-European research initiative funded by the European Commission. The Extranet is an advisory body with over 100 European professionals and researchers. According to Kohler (2002), results of BEQUEST project on sustainable urban development have been viewed as conceptual contributions, and as a dynamic network. The usual scope of sustainable urban development has been expanded to include time and space continuity, which is significant.

Art and psychoanalysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art and psychoanalysis - Essay Example Upon hearing about the bombing of Guernica, Picasso started sketching a mural. â€Å"He drew screaming women and children, perhaps inspired by his fear that harm might come to his own baby daughter. He seemed haunted by the many faces of anguish.†1 Although the woman holding a wounded child is in Guernica, she is also in many other works of Picasso. This woman is of different color and shape, but can be identified throughout Picasso’s other works. One source reports: Characters that typically appear in these paintings reappear in Picassos paintings as well. Theres usually quite clearly a suffering woman, someone whos screaming, a woman with a child whos been injured, or may even be dead.2 As suggested above, maybe Picasso was thinking of his daughter. However if this is true, why did Picasso distort the images? The distorted images seem to speak of an underlying emotion in his subconscious. It must be noted that Picasso had an art background. His father was a painter as well. Picasso could have drawn and painted in more realistic terms. One source reports, "Picasso was very properly trained in the grand tradition of painting, allegorical painting about universal themes: the horrors of war, the massacres of the innocents.†3 Picasso could have used photos from Guernica to make a more realistic picture. Instead â€Å"Picasso was able to take that traditional academic motif and actually rework it and make it relevant again to this particular time and this particular circumstance, I think is really one of his great achievements in this painting."4 Picasso did not make a realistic picture due to a deep unconscious need inside. Picasso had a subliminal problem that was deeply rooted in his psyche. It might be the death of his sister. Picasso’s mother might have shut down with grief after the death of her daughter. This could have made Picasso have deeply buried animosity toward his mother for the

Applying BEQUEST for Sustainable Urban Development Essay

Applying BEQUEST for Sustainable Urban Development - Essay Example Applying BEQUEST for Sustainable Urban Development This review includes an examination and review of the relationship between BEQUEST framework and protocol; the protocol of sustainable urban property development; assessment methods available to evaluate what the protocol contributes towards the sustainability of urban development; and where the protocol has been applied and the SUD gains this has generated. Environmental problems ranging from excessive consumption of natural resources and pollution of the environment have been attributed to construction and building activities. Research is underway for green building design, and use of materials for minimising the environmental impact. Sustainability assessments have gained importance, and environmentally friendly design at project appraisal stage has been considered the ideal stage for the incorporation of environmental matters (Ding, 2008). Sustainable urban development (SUD) initiatives include Smart Growth and Building Environmental Quality Evaluation for Sustainability through Time (BEQUEST). BEQUEST bridges all scales of action including planning to component manufacture allowing all actors view the scope of urban development problem. BEQUEST is a Pan-European research initiative funded by the European Commission. The Extranet is an advisory body with over 100 European professionals and researchers. According to Kohler (2002), results of BEQUEST project on sustainable urban development have been viewed as conceptual contributions, and as a dynamic network. The usual scope of sustainable urban development has been expanded to include time and space continuity, which is significant.

God’s rule over human happenings Essay Example for Free

God’s rule over human happenings Essay God controls events of human history to accomplish of his purposes. God’s rule over human happenings is demonstrated many times in the Bible. One of the clearest examples is recorded in the first four chapters of the book of Daniel. Daniel and three of his friends were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. In Babylon they are trained to be special servants of the king. When Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and apparently forgot it, he demanded that his wise men tell him what he dreamed and give its interpretation, on penalty of death if they didn’t. When Daniel heard about this situation, he and his friends prayed to God to learn about the dream and its interpretation. When God revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel, Daniel thanked God by saying, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. . . . He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. . . . I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known . . . the kings demand (Daniel 2:20-23, NKJV). The dream was about a man with a head of gold, his chest and arms of silver, his thighs of bronze, his legs of iron, and his feet partly of iron and partly of clay. Daniel told the king that God had revealed to him the dream and its interpretation. He declared that different parts of the man represented various kingdoms. The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar. His was the greatest kingdom. After him would come lesser kingdoms, represented by the inferior medals, until the coming of the greatest – an everlasting kingdom – represented by a stone, uncut by human hands. The stone would strike the image and broke it in pieces. It would then became a great mountain and fill the whole earth. Nebuchadnezzar was grateful to Daniel for telling him his dream and its interpretation. He declared, Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret (Daniel 2:47). The king then promoted Daniel to be ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Moreover, Daniel’s three friends were placed in positions of power in the province of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was a most powerful king. He was also very conceited. He built an image of gold, ninety feet tall. Why he built it is not declared in scripture. However, it may be because the dream, wherein he was represented as possessing a kingdom portrayed with a head of gold, motivated him to exalt himself in that way. He called for everyone to fall down before the image and worship it. But Daniel’s three friends refused. Nebuchadnezzar threatened them, saying that they would be put into a furnace of fire if they didn’t prostrate themselves before it. They still refused, saying that God would deliver them, but even if he didn’t, they would not worship the image. Nebuchadnezzar, full of fury, had them put into the fiery furnace. Afterward, however, when he looked into the furnace, he was greatly surprised. There was a fourth person, one like a son of the gods, walking among them and none of them were burned. When Nebuchadnezzar called for them to come out of the furnace, he discovered that they were not singed, nor did they have even the smell of fire on them. Therefore he said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him . . . that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this. (Daniel 3:28-29) He then promoted them in the province of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar thus came not only to recognize, but also to appreciate the Most High God. Nevertheless, Nebuchadnezzar was still filled with great pride. In his own words, Nebuchadnezzar told how he came to be humbled by God. He had another dream which none but Daniel could interpret. The dream was about a great, strong, and high tree with lovely leaves and abundant fruit. In it the birds lodged, under it animals found shade, and from it all flesh was fed. But a voice from heaven commanded the tree to be cut down. Even so, the stump and roots were to be left, bound with iron and bronze in the grass of the field. Before being told the meaning of the dream, Nebuchadnezzar recognized that This decision is . . . in order that the living may know  that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men (Daniel 4:17). When told the dream, Daniel was disturbed because he knew it was against the King. The tree represented the king. Although the king was great, he would be cut down but not destroyed. His heart would become like that of an animal and he would eat grass for seven times (probably seven years). However, Nebuchadnezzar was assured that the kingdom would be his after he came to realize that Heaven rules. Daniel then advised the king, break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity (Daniel 4:20). The dream began to be fulfilled a year later while Nebuchadnezzar was walking in his palace. He said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty? (Daniel 4:30). It was then that a voice from heaven said, King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses (Daniel 4:31-32). And so it was. Nebuchadnezzar ate grass like an ox, his body was wet with the dew of heaven, his hair grew like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like bird’s claws. At the end of the time, Nebuchadnezzar’s understanding returned to him, as did his kingdom, honor, splendor, counselors and nobles. He then blessed the Most High, saying, His dominion is an everlasting dominion, . . . He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ (Daniel 4:34-35). He then praised and honored the King of Heaven, saying that his works are true and his ways just. Moreover, he said, those who walk in pride, He is able to put down (Daniel 4:37). God rules. He sent dreams to Nebuchadnezzar. Through Daniel, God made their interpretations known. In this way God caused Daniel to become ruler over  all Babylon and his friends to be elevated to rulership positions. God changed Nebuchadnezzar’s heart and made him to be a believer in the Most High God. He also humbled and then restored Nebuchadnezzar to his kingdom. He thereby caused His name to be heralded by the King throughout all Babylon (Daniel 4:1-3). Nebuchadnezzar came to know that God ruled. Yet he probably did not understood the extent or purposes of God’s rule. He may not have realized that in all these things God was preserving the Israelites in their captivity. When we see disturbing conditions in our world (just as the Israelites saw and were disturbed by the fall of Jerusalem and the overthrow of their nation by the Babylonians) we should realize that God reigns over the nations, God sits on his holy throne (Psalm 47:8; See also Jeremiah 18:7-10). He still rules in the kingdom of men. And while we may not know the extent of God’s rule, we should realize that God is working out his own purposes through contemporary human events.

Assessment Frameworks in Social Work

Assessment Frameworks in Social Work Case Study The role of social work intervention is an intensely complicated one in which legislation passed in recent years has had a significant impact. On the one hand this legislation has worked so that social services have become increasingly integrated with various other local authority departments so that they can work together in effective unison. At the same time work has been undertaken to unsure that those on the receiving end of social care do not feel stigmatised or discriminated against by the care they receive, or feel confused about why they have been targeted. Problems of discrimination, as well as important problems regarding poverty, are ones which need to be taken into due consideration. These issues are especially important when it comes to children and families, as we shall see in the specific case of Karen. In the recent history the issue of social care has found itself featured increasingly prominently on the political agenda. This is because social care is an issue in the United Kingdom which requires special care, particularly when it comes to potentially vulnerable young people. It is generally believed that the welfare of parents is closely linked to the development of children (Kirk, 2003), and therefore in areas which are suffering form poverty in the UK, and where there is a cycle of poverty, there are children who are particularly vulnerable, and who in particular need to be draw to the attention of social services. Stratham identifies the following groups of children who are likely to put set aside for special treatment by social workers, and who are seen as especially vulnerable. They are as follows: Children and young people living away from home, including those looked after by local authorities or privately fostered. Asylum-seeking children and refugees, both with families and unaccompanied. Children with troubled parents, for example those living with domestic violence or whose parents have mental health, drug or alcohol problems. Some of these will be young carers. Children engaged in antisocial or offending behaviour Children whose families are homeless, and those children who are not in school. Teenage parents. Children who are abused, including those abused through prostitution and child trafficking (Stratham, 2004). A particular problem facing those working in social care is the fact that those who are in most need often tend in turn to be those who are least likely to reach out for family help, or even help from health services. Therefore when dealing with parents who have substance abuse problems or mental health problems, it is vitally important that effective links be made between the various health and social work departments. Families need to feel respected and not stigmatised by the provision of services (Stratham, 2004). Legislation, practice guidance and policy have had a significant impact on the area of social work intervention in recent years. Social Work as a profession began in the late 1800s (Eliot, 2006); however it is in the past twenty years or so that we are concerned, as this period has seen a glut of legislation and guidance to help make the delivery of social care more effective and, in turn, more palatable to those on the receiving end. In the 1980s the press reported many cases of child neglect which built in to an increased hysteria around the issue of child protection. This resulted in an increasingly authoritarian mode of child protection, which focused strongly on dealing with the perpetrators of neglect, rather than attempting to create a framework to detect and prevent warning signs (Frost, 2000). The first piece of legislation to attempt to dramatically alter the way that children’s protection was organised came through the Children’s Act of 1989. The 1989 Children’s Act empowered local authorities, and made them responsible for social services provision (Penn Gough, 2002). The aim of the Act was to entrench the partnership between the state and families, and it applied to the needs to the child and the provision of services (Cleaver Walker, 2004). Ideally the power in the partnership between the state and the parent will be evenly balanced as a result of the Act. When the Labour Government came to power in 1997 they began to introduce a raft of reports and legislation dealing with specific issues concerning child care. The ‘Supporting Families’ Green Paper of 1998 was concerned with representing the spirit of the 1989 Act, and moving new initiatives forward. The importance of the role of the voluntary sector in early years child care was noted in this Green Paper, and schemes such as Home Start were encouraged. Home Start offered support to mothers of children aged under five. The Green Paper stressed the importance of formal and informal support networks in early years child care. The paper stressed that schemes were needed to meet the physical and emotional needs of children, the social and educational needs of children, to help confidence in parenting and to provide respite to parents under stress. Home Start works with referrals from Health professionals, often to issues such as stress which is an affliction linked strongly t o poverty. Schemes such as Home Start were not intended to act as a replacement to traditional social services (Frost, Johnson, Stein Wallis, 2000). As part of the ‘Supporting Families’ Green Paper, responsibility for Day Care Centres was shifted by the government from the Department of Health to the Department of Education (Moss, 2006). In 2000 the Children Needing Care Act was introduced to prevent such phenomena as ‘foster drift’ (Eliot, 2006). The intention of this Act was very much to prevent a situation in which vulnerable young children fall entirely out of the social care system. In 2003 the Government published a further Green Paper entitled ‘Every Child Matters’. This was to become a very important document in the government’s social care policy. It was introduced largely as part of the fallout from the Victoria Climbie case, which had caused widespread press outraged at failures which occurred in social care provision. The paper set out five main aims for potentially vulnerable children. These aims were as follows: to be healthy, to stay safe, to enjoy and achieve, to make a positive contribution, and to achieve economic well-being. These aims were to underpin future government legislation on social policy (Stratham, 2004). The Children’s Act of 2004 was a further step towards acting upon the Every Child Matters Green Paper. It set up the new role of Children Commissioner – a role independent of central government and concerned with the wellbeing of children (Moss, 2006). The Care Quality Commission for England was launched as part of the Health and Social Care Act of 2008. This Act abolished several bodies to make way for this new Commission which was to be a new care standards regulatory authority whose mandate is to integrate the areas of social care and health. By this time the government’s approach of social care was becoming increasingly linked to the areas of physical health and wellbeing of young and vulnerable children. According to Stratham the integration of children’s social care with education and health was vital, as it helped to set up a proper new support service which was more likely to spot signs of neglect in early years (Stratham, 2004). It is clear that the government has moved in recent years to integrate several authorities with social care. The Health and Social Care Act of 2007 introduced measures to integrate social care between the services. At the same time it set up the new National Service Framework, a ten year programme intended to stimulate long term improvements in children’s health. This Act was aimed at everyone who comes into contact with and delivers services to children. The current focus of the government is very much on early intervention, in the welfare of children. The Government now requires all local authorities to have a Children and Young People’s Plan. When looking at this increased integration there are several arguments both for and against these developments. Whilst on the one hand these moves definitely make sense as these disciplines certainly are linked with each other, on the other hand the result of this can sometimes be an increased in paperwork, and an increasingly confused megalith in which one hand does not know what the other is doing. An increase in paperwork has certainly been a complaint of other organisations under New Labour, most notably the Police. It is therefore also worth noting that increasingly social services and the police have been encouraged to work together in recent years, particularly in the area of children’s wellbeing. Members of social work teams are encouraged to contact a local Police Authorities Child Protection Officer. It is often difficult to coordinate services in any local authority, and when social services are required to cooperate with so many departments it seems inevitable that problems will occur. There is a further problem which is that any changes in the social care structure or methods to reduce poverty which are introduced tend to be slow to trickle down to the grass roots, and to those experiencing most poverty where this care is most needed (Penn Gough, 2002). The trend in the Government’s approach to social care has changed in recent years to a shift towards empowering individuals involved in the system as opposed to forcing themselves onto people, as many felt was the case in the eighties. This seems to be backed up by the introduction of procedures such as the Assessment Framework (New Statesman, 2007). One of the main strands of government policy has been the introduction of anti-poverty measures. This is why Gordon Brown’s introduction of the Sure Start initiative was widely seen as so important as it made an attempt to put an emphasis on children born into poverty (Kirk, 2003). One introduction designed to help those on the receiving end of social care intervention was the Common Assessment Framework. A common parental complaint before the introduction of the Assessment Framework was a lack of information from social workers, regarding why they were being targeted and what the process was etc (Cleaver Walker, 2004). The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a standardised approach to conducting an assessment of a child’s individual needs. The Assessment Framework encourages parental involvement in the assessment process, and means that social workers have to compare information. The main point of the Common Assessment Framework is to encourage social workers to talk through the role of the assessment framework with parents. Questions have been raised from certain sections of the social work community about relevance of the assessment framework, with claims being made that some families find it intrusive. However a report conducted by Cleaver and Walk er entitled Assessing Children’s Needs and Circumstances suggests an improvement in the overall provision of social care since the Assessment Framework was introduced. Core assessment means there are in detail discussions between parents and social workers (Cleaver Walker, 2004). *** The process of social work intervention is one which works on many levels. There is macro intervention by social workers which takes place in the community as a whole, however more relevant in this case is Micro intervention which is intervention on an individual level to those who are in most need of intervention. Local authorities can initiate care proceedings in the protection of children. These proceedings are initiated in the case of fear of ‘significant harm’. There is confidentiality regarding reporting of abuses which are generally encouraged by the police and social services but which can lead to abuses of the reporting system. A single incident will often trigger a referral if problems have been brewing for a while. Suspected physical abuse is a prevalent issue, and one which social workers need to act most swiftly on, often in conjunction with the police (Cleaver Walker, 2004). Also if there is suspected alcohol and drug abuse then this is a big problem where the raising of a child is concerned (Penn Gough, 2002). The importance of service user rights are paramount for many reasons. Service user rights are largely protected by processes such as the Assessment Framework, where users gain a greater understanding of the processes of the system. Those who report suspected abuses have confidentiality rights in the social work system. As has been mentioned many feel this can lead to abuses, are not helpful in explaining to those on the receiving end of social care interventions why they are being targeted. In the case of Karen it is clear that members of the social work team should tread carefully. On the one hand the identity of the neighbour who has reported the abuse must be protected. On the other hand Karen needs to be able to understand why she is being targeted, and therefore the various steps of the Assessment Framework need to be talked through with her. If there are problems regarding the children’s safety and hygiene it is vitally important that you liaise with the relevant health services, and work closely in conjunction with them. If your assessment shows neglect then the next step that you would have to taken is a potential court action for care of the children. The ASPIRE model stands for Actualising Social and Personal Identity Resources. The Aspire Model has been designed to harness the potential associated with important subgroup social identities (Haslam, 2003). Application of that model within an organisation is specific to certain goals, and in this case thi s model can be useful in properly formalising integration between social work and other services. Discrimination is a problem for all social work departments, and there are many issues relating to discrimination which social work teams have to be very much aware of. It is important that social work should be non-stigmatising and it is also crucial that it should not be discriminatory (Frost, Johnson, Stein Wallis, 2000). Issues which need to be taken into consideration include poverty – an issue which is highly prevalent in Karen’s case – and also issues of race and gender. It needs to be taken into account that most users of social care are female. This is firstly because females are often the primary carers of children (Kirk, 2003), however there are other core reasons for this fact. Of the fifty parents surveyed in one study undertaken by Penn and Gough, only three respondents were men. This is because of the fact that men tend to be less likely to want to liaise with social services, due to an overall suspicion of the process, and of receiving this sort of help in general (Penn Gough, 2002). Other studies seem to suggest racial minorities are less likely to be knowledgeable of the role that social services can play if they are experiencing problems. Some research suggests that Black and Minority Ethnic parents are less likely to be aware of the possible role that social services can play (Stratham, 2004), and are therefore less likely to seek help (Penn Gough, 2002). There are certainly problems is members of ethnic minorities are not fully integrated into the community. On top of these other discriminatory issues it is also widely considered that social care as it stands discriminates against the elderly and disabled in society (Guest, 2007). In Conclusion social work traditionally tends to focus on issues such as emotional support. However the issues which are raised by those who are users of social care tend to be more likely related to financial assistance (Penn Gough, 2002). Against this backdrop the best that social care workers can do is to ensure that they work together with the relevant authorities, particularly those in health, to try and ensure the best start possible for children, and to root out potential neglect. At the same time they need to ensure they have good relations with those whom they are trying to help, and this is why the Assessment Framework is so important. In this way if final decisions have to be taken then they will do, and it is vital that the intervention process is followed. Bibliography Cass, B., Exploring Social Care: Applying a New Construct to Young Carers and Grandparent Carers, Australian Journal of Social Issues, Volume: 42. Issue: 2, 2007 Cleaver, H., Walker, S., Assessing Children’s Needs and Circumstances, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2004 Eloit, A., Reflections on Working for Childrens Social Services in the United Kingdom, Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, Volume: 9. Issue: 1, 2006, Frost, N., Johnson, L., Stein, M., and Wallis, L., Home Start and the Delivery of Family Support, Children and Society, Vol 14, 2000 Gilbert, F., Finally, Freedom: Well Learn to Love the Bill, New Statesman, Volume: 135. Issue: 4782, March 6 2006 Guest, The Wheels Are Coming off Social Care: Our Way of Looking after the Old and Disabled Is Already Failing and Will Get Worse, New Statesman, Volume: 136. Issue: 4864, October 1, 2007, Haslam, A., Social Identity at Work, Psychology Press, 2003 Kirk, R. H., Family Support: The Role of Early Years’ Centres, Children and Society, Vol 17, 2003 Moss, P., Farewell to Childcare?, National Institute Economic Review, Issue: 195, 2006 Penn, H., and Gough, D., The Price of a Loaf of Bread: Some Conceptions of Family Support, Children and Society, Vol 16, 2002 Stratham, J., Effective services to support children in special circumstances, Thomas Coran Research Unit, UCL, 2004 National Service Framework Documents, Department of Health, cited at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/NationalServiceFrameworks/Children/DH_4089111 New Statesman, Round Table: A New Deal on Social Care? Participants Debate the Harsh Realities Confronting Society in Deciding the Kind of Autonomy We Want over Our Care and How We Can Find the Money to Fund It, Volume: 136. Issue: 4864, October 1, 2007, Western Mail, Discrimination of Princes Trust Loans and Grants, February 15, 2005, Western Mail, Quality of Patient Care Has to Be at the Heart of a Progressive Health Service, April 10, 2006,