High-Risk Family Assessment Essay

Homelessness can occur even in the most stable income families. Families that have a one income household can find themselves without employment suddenly from companies that are experiencing economic difficulties which lead to reduction in forces. The United States homeless populations decreased by one percent in 2011. The nation went from 643,067 homeless people to 636,017. The largest decrease was among homeless veterans. The number of homeless veterans declined from 75,609 in 2009 to 67,495 in 2011 (US Bureau of Statistics, 2012). Homeless families have many medical needs that need to be addressed by a health care provider. Nursing plans are based on the assessment of family needed and interventions should be individualized. In the following paper, the writer will provide an assessment of how homelessness affects family processes. Healthy People 2020 objectives related to homelessness are identified and, a list of nursing interventions was developed. Homeless families are mostly s ingle parent families with women as head of household. The age range is 20-35 years old. Members of the family are often from minority groups. The primary causes of homelessness are the inability to pay rent, overcrowding and family conflict. Homeless families experience extreme poverty which put the family at risk for numerous health conditions (US Bureau of Statistics, 2012). The more serious acute and chronic illnesses as well as mental illness and children are vulnerable for a wide range of disease processes. It is estimated that 90 percent of homeless mothers has a mental illness with substance abuse and children have a high rate of development impairment (Wagner & Menke, 2002). Mothers demonstrate a high level of intense stress along with inability to cope. Children react to their homeless condition through hyperactive and aggressive behavior; their behavior can range from being withdrawn to becoming emotionally clinging (Wagner & Menke, 1992). The family’s life is marked by confusion, turmoil, constant chaos and stress so that family violence is common. Their  lives are also commonly marked by crime and victimization. Homeless families commonly suffer from malnutrition, infections, a wide number of diseases, and mental health problems (Cotton & Roden, 2007). The Homeless Family Assessment Assessment can be performed from several approaches. Wagner and Menke (1992) emphasize the value of case management because it is a holistic approach, uses comprehensive knowledge of health and illness, and has the capability to screen for deviations from the norm. Case management is able to take into account the fragmented nature of the homeless family and the use of many different agencies in care. Because homeless families are extremely vulnerable populations with highly complex needs, the clinical nurse specialist is the most appropriate health care provider for these families (Wagner & Menke). Healthy People 2020 Objectives Healthy People 2020 has the general goal of improving mental health and access to mental health services. Among the objectives is the improvement of people with co-occurring mental disorders and substance abuse problems. Another objective is to make assessment, diagnosis, and treatment available for these people. Nursing Interventions Nursing interventions need to focus on the mother’s strengths and allow her to maintain control over the family’s functioning. When homeless mothers have mental health problems, the first intervention should be providing access to care. Ensure a safe place for medications and adapt medication regimen. Provide for patient education and screen the children for physical and mental problems. Most especially, the clinical nurse specialist needs to collaborate and coordinate with ancillary care as the family will have ongoing issues. Health teaching must include all the psychosocial aspects of care and certain problems experienced by the family will require advocacy. Nutrition should be the first concern after shelter and the strategies may involve coordination, referrals and advocacy as well as guidance and teaching. Lack of good nutrition and an adequate daily diet is a source of impairment in all areas. The clinical nurse specialist will also act as advocate both for individual homeless families and all families that  require solutions to problems brought on by homelessness. Nurse Case Manager and the Homeless Family The homeless family would benefit from the assignment of a case-manager. The case manager may encounter the homeless mother with children on the streets in a situation of extreme instability. The case manager will follow the family and monitor any physical and mental health issues and make sure that the family is having proper care. Conclusion Although homeless families are decreasing slightly in the United States, it is still a high-risk area. A large proportion of these families are made up of single mothers with at least one child. The families are very vulnerable to acute and chronic physical and mental conditions while they have little or no access to care. Families can find themselves abruptly in the most extreme and stressful situation but they still have certain strengths as is observed in the fact that these families are intact. Single mothers of these families manage to maintain family functioning despite the odds. Stress as experienced by homeless mothers is intense and can lead to or exacerbate mental illness. Rather than focusing on mental illness, the health care provider needs to make shelter, nutrition and rest the main priorities because they contribute to mental health. Case management is the best approach to serve the needs of the homeless families. The health care provider’s role is teaching and counseling. One of the most valuable roles to the family is for the health care provider to be an advocate for them. References Amerson, R. (2008). Mental illness in homeless families. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 4(2), 109-114. Cotton, A. & Roden, J. (2007). Using patterns of knowing in nursing as a possible framework for nursing care of homeless families with children. Contemporary Nurse, 23(2), 331-342. Healthy people 2020: The road ahead. (2008). Journal of Environmental Health, 70(10), 82. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/219721672?accountid=458 United States Bureau of Statistics, 2012 retrieved from www.usbureauofstatistics.gov Wagner, J. & Menke, E. (1992). Case management of homeless families. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 6(2), 65-71.

International financial services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International financial services - Essay Example Intex is a third-party cash-flow projection technique that can provide accurate data on existing collateral investments and compute cash flow projection faster and easily. This enables the stock exchange to get the information they need faster and accurately for better decision making. Second reason is high frequency transactions in secondary market. This is because of two reasons. As the transaction frequency increases, the stock exchange has less time and fewer resources devoted to the primary markets. Secondly, high frequency transactions generate higher income to stock exchanges. Therefore, they will naturally put resources in areas that give them more money. Impact to the United Kingdom companies The first impact to the UK companies is reduction in their capital base. As the stock exchange concentrates in the secondary market, the primary markets experience shortage of skilled personnel who advises them on best ways of raising maximum capital for their companies. As a result, mo st companies may opt for other sources of capital because it is extremely hard to raise capital where there is no adequate help. Secondly, most companies take longer time to raise their capital from primary markets. This is because as the stock exchange gets busy with the secondary markets, they will be long queues of companies seeking help. As a result, there will be delays in getting assistance. 2. A company has the following capital structure, and all securities issued have the same nominal price of ?4.00. 400,000 5% Debenture Stock @ ?4.00 600,000 2? Preference Stock @ ?4.00 1,000,000 Ordinary Shares @ ?4.00 (a) the value of the gearing ratio and the significance of this ratio to potential investors Stock Quantity Price /unit in ? Amount capital in ? Debenture 400,000 4 1600000 Preference 600,000 4 2400000 Ordinary Shares 1,000,000 4 4000000 Total Fixed Capital 8000000 Gearing ratio indicates the proportion of debts used to finance assets in the company. The higher the gearing r atio, the riskier is the company. This is because most of the money used is borrowed from other sources other than ordinary shares. (b) When Directors decided to distribute only forty percent of the profit (?800,000), the dividend declared on ordinary shares is given below. =?320,000  The return on investment   (c) a. The price/earnings ratio  (c) b. The concept of price/earnings ratio and the significance to future Price/earning ratio measure the value of the stock. This is because it establishes the relationship between the stock price and the company’s earnings. When price/earning ratio is high in a given stock, the forecast earning growth is also high. It is a valuable ratio because investors can use to compare values of stock of different companies. Investors normally prefer stocks with higher price/earning ratio because it indicates higher returns. 3. The concept of Right Issues as well as advantages and disadvantages to the stockholders Rights issue refers to a n alternative means of raising capital whereby, a company issues additional shares or stocks to already existing shareholders in proportion to their shareholding in exchange for cash (Banerjee, 1990). For example, a company may offer rights issue on the basis of one rights issue for every six held by the shareholders. A company does this via seasoned equity offering or primary offering market at a premium or discount. The procedure for rights issue is easy. Once the issues

Basic Water Conservation in California and discover a way conserving Essay

Basic Water Conservation in California and discover a way conserving water can save energy - Essay Example Its primary aim is to educate the people about various ways of saving this natural resource; only with little alterations in lifestyle, this goal can easily be achieved. (CALIFORNIA'S WATER: A CRISIS WE CAN'T IGNORE, September 2007) Water supply in California has been severely reduced in recent years thus affecting the common people and business farms in Central, Northern and Southern California. In August 2007, water supplies from two large water delivery systems were cut in order to protect endangered fish species. Delta, the natural estuary, which waters about 2.5 million acres of farmland and 25 million Californians, is experiencing ecological crisis, thereby threatening the environment as well as the people of the state. Already, the growing water uncertainties and reduced water supplies are forcing the farmers to stop cultivation in some prime agricultural lands in the state; in turn, it is affecting the important industries of the state. Moreover, there is a possibility that the aging of Delta levees might also cripple the water deliveries in California for a long period. Rapid growth of California's population is a threat, as there has been no significant improvement in the delivery system as well as th e water storage system of the state. The water reserves of the state are relatively low and might not be able to meet up to the public demand, if there is disruption in the water delivery system of the state. Climatic changes in this zone are also an important factor for the growing concern of water conservation. The state has experienced severe drought conditions over the years and the year 2007 has been a record dry year in some of the regions in California. The changes in the climatic condition are also reducing mountain snow pack, which is an important source of natural water storage. Due to this condition, Californians might experience severe floods and long droughts in future. (CALIFORNIA'S WATER: A CRISIS WE CAN'T IGNORE, September 2007) Water Conservation Techniques (Tommy Foley, n.d.) Irrigated Agriculture of California Owing to the Mediterranean climate and unique geographical features, California has become a productive agricultural region in whole world. Sierra Nevada mountain range situated at the eastern border of California captures and stores the winter rainfall that can be used for irrigation during summer months. This water storage along with Mediterranean climate is favorable for the growth of a large variety of crops. Growing awareness of the environmental requirements of water along with population growth has compelled California agriculture to use water efficiently so that more amount of water is available for environmental and urban uses. Several management strategies and

Causes and Effects of Refugees Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Causes and Effects of Refugees - Essay Example The present research has identified that a conflict in any given area triggers massive migrations of refugees across national borders and towards other countries considered to be safe. This is evident in locations that are prone to civil and social strife such as Afghanistan, the Balkans, Sudan, and Iraq. Generally, it is due to a civil strife in one’s homeland that a person leaves it. Anti-regime rebellions also lead to the emergence of refugees due to persecution. This is in regard to violating human rights, for example, the right to freedom of expression. However, not all governments or leaders welcome the idea of political freedom, as they prefer to silence their people. Ethnic campaigns are also major contributors to the presence of refugees in the world we live in. In spite of the world holding the title â€Å"civilized†, some people still think of their superiority. This is in regard to individuals who incite chaos against people they consider to be inferior to t hem, a practice also called ethnic cleansing. It is such events that, following tribal clashes between the Hutus and Tutsis, led to massive migration of refugees from Rwanda to neighbouring countries. In addition, a refugee situation can be caused by natural disasters within one’s own area of living by virtue of being internally displaced. This is particularly so for populations affected by natural disasters and those living in areas likely to be affected by climate change, as well as people involuntarily resettled due to development projects. According to Salehyan, international conflicts also lead to the rise of the number of refugees, as they are not â€Å"the unfortunate by-products of war, but may serve as catalysts for conflict†. This is seen in cases where refugees move into neighbouring countries, which, in turn, restrict migration. This fosters hostility between countries that may lead to military action and further increase of the number of refugees. One of t he effects of being refugees in a foreign country is the loss of cultural identity. This is in spite of the suppression of their inner mental representations of many aspects of their native culture. As a result, refugees fail to integrate successfully in the society that they move into due to differences in culture and stereotypes posed by the natives of the host country. This leads to discrimination against refugees, which negatively affects the process of cultural adjustment. Health issues accompany refugees in all places they may go to; this is in the form of access to quality health services that may include health records. This is because the information provided by refugees on their health status comes directly from the refugee patient and is, therefore, not a professional viewpoint. This way, refugee agencies are unable to direct health and humanitarian services to enhance awareness and meet population-based needs. Moreover, forced migrations result in severe demographic cons equences in terms of mortality, human suffering, and displacement of populations; they also result in the destruction of social structures that destabilize a society and drive it to the brink of strife. This way, cohesion between and among families is disrupted, and the bond is weakened, resulting in the need to look for one’s way out instead of looking out for the whole society.

Managing Organisational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing Organisational Change - Essay Example In Charlie’s case, a lot of blame in the collapse of his business can be attributed to organizational change. Basically, Charlie failed because he did not open himself up to positive change. The only change we are told of Charlie undertaking was the change in pricing with the hope of meeting future inflation values. Wallace (2007) notes that for any organizational change, â€Å"target population for the change will come to realize that the change was for the better.† The question will be ‘did Charlie’s customer see the change as a better one?’ Charlie’s decision to increase prices against future inflation was not a step in the right direction. This is because the world seems not to have recovered yet from the global economic crisis. For this reason, there is very little money in the pockets of many consumers. For this reason, undertaking reduced pricing should be a strategy for attracting more and more customers since demand for business has generally gone down. Secondly, Charlie refused to take greater advantage of his competitive advantages. The major com petitive advantage Charlie had was the location of his coaches at the coast, which was a tourist attraction site. So even if Charlie wanted to increase prices, he could have waited till summer when patronage of coast activities and holidays are very common. Since summer holidays come every year and patronage of holidays continue to increase, Charlie should have used that as an advantage to promote and publicize his business during off seasons so that he would have been sure of having more customers when the holiday season starts. Finally, Charlie should have avoided the private participation on ‘part-time’ basis. Frequent change of hands in running a business causes a breakdown in organizational culture. Some of the new people in whose hands the business went might have been people that customers were not well

MGMT 4350 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MGMT 4350 - Essay Example and the processes of change and transition in order to articulate all the available mental and physical resource to ensure that the process goes on seamlessly. This paper seeks to discuss the various factors worth considering while managing change and transition. Particularly, the paper will focus on managing an organization culture transition in a student organization in which I am the leader. Â   The change transition objective is to change the organizational culture of our students’ organization. The university requires that students form a student union that will be mandated with the responsibility of representing the issues to the university management board. The student union is a leadership team selected, through voting, by the university students. The university implemented the student union in early 1950s. Therefore, most of the organizational culture of the student union reflects the ideas that the university senate had in 1950s. The university and world at large has undergone tremendous changes in various facets of life. Many changes have occurred in the management styles due to improvement in technology and the emergence of new theories and models of leadership. Therefore, the student union has been left behind with its old organizational culture when other universities have embraced the power of information technology in management. In order to make the stu dent union to cope with the challenges of modernity, the organizational culture needs to be changed from the conventional leadership culture to technologically powered type of organizational culture. The transition seeks to transform the student union from conventional based to technologically based organizational culture. The student union is ripe and ready for transition. Indeed, the challenges that the student union is facing is overwhelming. The conventional type of organizational culture has become a burden for the student union in terms of meeting its obligations. Since the student union is

ITALIAN ROMAN MOVIE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

ITALIAN ROMAN MOVIE - Essay Example De Sica’s perspective of Italy and the neorealist elements of the film are explored at the last section of this paper. 1. Vittorio de Sica’s Life Vittorio de Sica, born on July 7, 1902 and died on November 13, 1974, was a director, actor, and a leading figure of the Italian Neorealist movement (Britannica Online). He used to be a theater actor who loved performing light comedies before establishing his company, and eventually becoming a director (see fig. 1). De Sica acted in about 150 films and directed 35 films of which the most critically acclaimed was â€Å"The Bicycle Thieves†. As handsome as he was, he played leading man roles in films like â€Å"What Rascals Men Are!† One of his films, â€Å"Umberto D.†, didn’t do well in the box-office although it was one of his finest works. Jason Ankeny stated that â€Å"De Sica's career as a filmmaker was critically damaged† (New York Times Online). He went on to act in different films which include â€Å"A Farewell to Arms†, â€Å"It Happened in Rome†, and â€Å"Indiscretion of an American Wife†. He returned to directing in the 1960’s and created the films â€Å"La Ciociara†, â€Å"Ierri, Oggi, Domani†, and â€Å"Caccia alla Volpe† which were critically acclaimed and award-winning. Fig. 1. Vittorio de Sica; Holocaust; Dan.Romascanu.net, n.d.; Web; 7 March 2011. 2. Vittorio de Sica and the Neorealist Movement â€Å"The roots of Neorealism—an emphasis upon simple, honest story lines, a documentary style, the frequent use of children as protagonists, on-location shooting, social themes, and faith in the brotherhood of man† are displayed in De Sica’s films (Britannica Online). As one of the founders of the neorealist movement, De Sica stayed true to the ideals of neorealism which was reflected in a lot of his films. Budget constraints led him to shoot on location, employ untrained actors, and appropriat e simple camera work. â€Å"The Bicycle Thieves† was a simple story that resonated the themes of poverty, economic standing, and class differences. â€Å"Though critical favourites, the films of the Italian Neorealist movement never attained popular acceptance† (Britannica Online). I think the reason behind this was that people were not brave enough to face the realities of life that De Sica showed in his films. He was showing poverty, helpless men, suffering women, etc. which were all hard to bear seeing on screen. His films, I think, also somehow criticized Italian society. He displayed the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of Italian people on screen. â€Å"The Bicycle Thieves† in one scene at the restaurant showed how rich people indulge in drinking and eating while a lot of their countrymen are suffering in poverty. The film also showed the lack of police power as represented when Antonio reported the missing bicycle. But the greatest critique of the movie, I think, is the representation of a man who is slowly losing his dignity because of poverty. The young man who stole the bicycle was the most obvious representation of that. In the last scene of the movie, however, we see Antonio steal a bicycle himself and eventually lose all that he had – dignity and honor. And the cycle of poverty continues. The Italian society must play its part, then, in order to rise above the difficulties of poverty. 3. Postwar Italy Diana Pinto stated that â€Å"Italy in the postwar period has experienced a tormented social and political development spanning the entire gamut of western hopes and