Family Counseling: Resolving Conflict and Promoting Wellness

Introduction

Acknowledging the formation of ethnic and societal identities is critical for successful counseling and mobilization. Psychologists can use cultural and racial character formation frameworks to examine within-group disparities. The approaches also enable therapists to properly comprehend client behaviors to treatment and deliver sociopolitical effects on identity formation to light. Although the approaches may aid in understanding cultural or ethnic identity formation, their stage-based structure limits their portrayal of a greater natural and complicated system that is influenced by other factors such as sexual preference, gender, and class. The case study will analyze the biopsychological characteristics, systematic dynamics and racial identity of members of the Carter family. Strategies for resolving conflict and promoting optimal wellness within the family are provided in this paper.

Biopsychosocial Characteristics and Systematic Dynamics

The discipline of bio-psychosocial psychiatric study emphasizes the relevance of the connection between biological, psychological, and social aspects of distress and the requirement of considering all of these elements when assessing the complete patient. The concept looks at how these factors influence everything from health and sickness to the formation of personal identity (Gentry et al., 2018). James experiences multiracial issues that make the boys biopsychosocial features poor in the Carter family case study. Raymond and Sarah would like to improve their sons biopsychosocial characteristics; however, they appear to deny James the chance to interact with the African-American culture. Multiracial youngsters should be allowed to associate with both cultures so they can develop their identities.

In the United States, race dynamics have a powerful impact on multiracial households. Family counselors should be ready to fulfill the demands of this rapidly rising group while also advocating for racial fairness. The Carter familys systemic dynamics are heavily influenced by age and gender. James has arrived at a point in life desiring to learn and participate in his African American heritage. James might confide in his father, but Raymond is white, so it is not easy, and thus they argue a lot. Sarah is of African descent; however, she is not the man in James life. Gender serves a more significant part since James needs an excellent male African-American character in his life, unlike his recent acquaintances. James wants to identify with the African American heritage but lacks a male figure to help lead him; therefore, James resents his parents.

Gender responsibilities in society refer to the way people are groomed, talk, act, dress, and behave according to their given sex. Women and girls, for example, are required to dress in traditionally feminine styles and be pleasant, sympathetic, and caring (Gentry et al., 2018). Sarahs brothers want her to transfer their mother into her home in the Carter family case study since the mother is experiencing problems. Sarah is a working parent, and balancing work and family life is a constant struggle. When the requirements of children and other family members conflict with employment, women usually alter their schedules and accept commitments. Therefore, gender becomes a powerful systemic dynamic that professional counselors should help families understand the roles of each member to prevent conflicts in the household.

Racial and Cultural Identity

Multiracial adolescents transracially adopted children, and foster kids nurtured in households with more than one ethnic or cultural ancestry have a distinctive perspective within and beyond the house. The cultural identity model is a framework for comprehending and collaborating with members of ethnically incorporated homes (Lee et al., 2018). This takes into account racial and cultural variations among children and parents and the effect of parents, colleagues, extended families, social help systems, and the larger communitys perspectives and behaviors on child psychology. The racial identity development model was the first comprehensive guidance for practitioners working with ethnically and regionally blended households.

Acknowledging James conduct is one of the advantages of the racial and cultural identification paradigm. Using the approach, one may determine the degree of awareness James is feeling due to his race. Furthermore, because therapists investigate everything James is experiencing and assist the family throughout the process, the approach helps to produce a favorable household outcome (Lee et al., 2018). The model can assist the Scottish-Irish father to comprehend James and offer his son an excellent father figure.

Sarah has a greater sense of James situation; however, she is frightened of allowing him to interact with African-American culture for fear of getting shot for being in the wrong area at the wrong moment. On the other hand, Raymonds experience through the stages of awareness is utterly different from Sarahs and James. These constraints may impact James therapy response and connection with the parents. James has a lot of hatred toward his parents and Raymonds and Sarahs reactions and assistance are crucial to James development. It is critical to work with both parents to comprehend James state of awareness and explore it in family counselling.

Strategies For Resolving Conflict and Promoting Optimal Wellness

In todays culture, conflict frequently arises in multicultural households. When two or multiple ethnic groups come together, there is a risk of conflict owing to differing viewpoints. Although it may appear like resolving the disagreement is the best option, managing it may be a better one. Professional psychologists dealing with multiracial families in the home must be familiar with the many forms of disagreement and conflict resolution approaches needed to guide family members toward good results properly.

The Carter family will be able to sort out difficulties and express their goals and desires by meeting with a family counsellor. Working through difficulties as a household will offer the Carters a venue to communicate openly while also allowing a therapist to ensure that everyone is recognized. The use of African-American ethnic identity concepts will aid James and his parents in comprehending his perspectives (Gibson et al., 2021) and, as a result, resolving their family issues. The strategy will help the parents become aware of ways to engage with James influence behavior. These models are critical in therapeutic mental health treatment because they improve cultural competency knowledge.

The gender equality paradigm focuses on being aware of current cultural norms around gender identity and expression. These standards, seen in linguistic and pronoun patterns, encourage a binary gender interpretation, such as man versus woman. The gender equality module is divided into five sections: work-life balance, inclusive hiring, voice equality, equal compensation for equal labor, and work atmosphere. Employing the gender equality model will enable Sarahs brothers to understand that both genders are equal and the whole responsibility of taking care of their mother does not need to fall on Sarah only (Gibson et al., 2021). Furthermore, Sarah will explain the situation in her household of her and Raymond working full time; therefore, there would not be anyone at the house with their mother all day. The model of gender equality will solve conflict and create an understanding in households and promote optimal wellness.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Carters have a lot of space for progress and development. The familys recovery will be aided by utilizing Riverbend Citys facilities and effective tactics. With an understanding of racial developmental approaches and applying the personal self-model to foster wellbeing and resilience, their problems as a multiracial household will diminish. The gender equity model will serve an essential part in creating an understanding between Sarah and her siblings concerning their mothers problem. Family counselling can assist multiracial families in strengthening strained relationships with children or other family relatives.

References

Gentry, K., Snyder, K., Barstow, B., & Hamson-Utley, J. (2018). The biopsychological model: Application to occupational therapy practices. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 6(4), 24-36. Web.

Gibson, M. D., Pence, C., Kennedy, S. D., Gerlach, J., Degges-White, S., & Watson, J. (2021). Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 8(2), 130-145. Web.

Lee, E., Tsang, A. K. T., Bogo, M., Johnstone, M., & Herschman, J. (2018). Smith College Studies in Social Work, 88(3), 211-236. Web.

New Yorks Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Problem Definition

In the U.S., needy families use the Temporary Assistance (TA) program to facilitate cash benefits as financial support. New Yorks TA, a state program, provides such benefits that amount close to $31.3 billion for children and family sustenance (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities [CBPP], 2020). In comparison to the general population, the number of individuals receiving such state support is drastically small, yet the programs roll-out has been facilitated and funded by state agencies. This calls for the question of the programs efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness in mitigating poverty amongst the children and their families.

The Policy Goal

The primary goal of the implementation of The New York TA is to assist needy families with children so that they can live in their own homes or the homes of relatives. The program also aims to end dependence of needy parents on government benefits through work, job preparation, and marriage. Consequently, the program helps in reducing out-of-wedlock pregnancies and promoting the formation and maintenance of two-parent families

The Policy Proposals

To establish feasible policy proposals based on the problem of the New Yorks TA poverty mitigation impacts, such evaluation of the effectiveness of New Yorks TA program through assessing the percentage of successful interventions in comparison with benchmark standards is important. Additionally, it is imperative to assess the adherence to the goals set by the TANF and the sustainability of the achieved results. As such, the values obtained will help in establishing strategies that are both effective and sustainable.

Findings

Does the New York TA program provide adequate improvement of needy families employment status across New York?

Positive Outcome . It is suggested that TANF benefits would help to improve a familys economic state through cash benefits as well as earned income through employment. It is also suggested that with this income, the effects on the family may improve the quality of time and activities that a family may engage in, the quality of child care available, and decreased financial stress on parents who are now able to assist children in completing homework and attending school functions (Falk, 2017).

Does New Yorks TA program provide effective interventions to improve enrollees quality of life?

Negative Outcome-Majority of enrollees experienced no improvement in their quality of life especially those with mental disabilities compared to the general population. It was found that both current and former welfare recipients have poorer health status as compared to the general population. TANF leaves families below the federal poverty line with a poverty ratio of below 20% (CBPP, 2021).

Are the effects of the interventions provided to enrollees of the TA program in New York sustainable?

Neutral Outcome  Though the cash benefits provide financial benefits as well as employment to most needy families, other families engaging in these activities would need the disposable income that is not typically available with TANF requirements. As such, neither TANFs income nor employments display any significance to child-wellbeing and family poverty-line upsurge (Spencer & Komro, 2017). Such parents receiving TANF and complying with its policies for work may be required to spend more money on such work-related costs as fare, child-wellbeing, and clothing. The long-term effect is an increase in family revenue which decreases the cash benefits of TANF, hence such families are left in a fixed economic state.

Recommendation and Course of Action

The recommendation encompasses the policy gaps that result in incomplete TANF roll-out and complete mitigation and address of the child welfare and families poverty issues. For instance, such factors as job-related policy requirements and rules can be made flexible to enable many families that are locked out of the program to benefit. Therefore, I will advocate that the social workers, based on their moral duty, be aware of the rules that marginalize needy children and families go through. Moreover, I will advocate for a law to be effected which would relieve such social problems that promote social justice.

References

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2021). . Web.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2020). . Web.

Spencer, R. A., & Komro, K. A. (2017). . Clinical child and family psychology review, 20(1), 45-63. Web.

Families Recovery From Substance Abuse

Social Support

The first goal is to help families that are working to recover from substance abuse to develop social support in their efforts to change. Those who abuse substances have their social interaction mainly centered on using. The sources of social support and customary activities will be disrupted by making efforts to stop usage. The efforts by the clients to change may also be threatened.

A better way of dealing with this is to enhance social support and recreation by helping clients and family members that are affected in devising events that are not associated with use of drugs. Drug-free activities may already be part of the clients agenda and counselors can find out from the families regarding the things they used to be actively involved in before they got engaged in substance abuse. In other cases, nearly every aspect of the clients life is attributed to substance abuse, and for such situations, new activities are supposed to be devised (McCollum & Trepper, 2001, p. 111).

Helping the clients get employment

The other goals are: giving motivation to the clients to look for employment, teaching them how to ask for job interviews from potential employers with efficacy, and obtaining employment. Research shows that individuals who abuse substances are likely to quit their jobs compared to those who do not. These individuals also find it difficult to get jobs that are fulfilling and those that are in line with their treatment program. There are several steps to the fulfillment of these goals. First, there is an assessment to verify the interest of the client in getting a satisfactory job. If this is the case, the client is requested to explain how important the satisfying job will be while the MHP checklist has information that reinforces the significance of the job. It is normally important to implore the aspects of a career and its related benefits (Donohue & Allen, 2011).

Another thing worth inquiring in meeting these goals is the contribution of the client towards making a dream job come to pass. This entails how to deal with hindrances that may hamper the attainment of a dream job. The purpose of these queries is to motivate the client to pursue a job opportunity client that have been referred for employment often lack.

Another thing that clients are made aware of is that job getting helps them to effectively get ready for interviews. This also includes skills that are in line with being interviewed for the jobs. It is also vital to let the clients know that classified adverts contribute a small percentage of jobs and that besides using it they should also embrace telephone networking with their prospective employers. Moreover, clients are told that job getting has been successful in achieving employment for others and they are asked to indicate how job getting would be helpful to them (Donohue & Allen, 2011).

Conclusion

Designing goals for the intervention plan of a family with substance abuse requires a clear understanding of the clients. The first goal is social support. This entails devising drug free activities that will substitute the ones they were using previously. The other goals are motivating clients in seeking employment, teaching them how to secure interviews from prospective employers and getting employed. These goals are geared towards helping the clients get into employment. This is done by motivating them to pursue their careers, know how to get jobs, win interviews and get them to appreciate the value of being employed.

References

Donohue, B. & Allen, D., (2011). Treating Adult Substance Abuse Using Family Behavior Therapy: A Step-by-Step Approach. NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved on 20 May 2011.

McCollum, E.E, & Trepper, T.S., (2001). Family solutions for substance abuse: clinical and counseling approaches. NY: Routledge. Retrieved on 20 May 2011.

No Respect Given to Military Family

Introduction

Thousands of soldiers serve, protecting their country from all types of threats, and ensuring its security. Unfortunately, not all people value such care, and instead of showing respect, they are prejudiced. The purpose of this essay is to study the impact of the problem of insufficient respect for military families on society and individuals and to find solutions to this issue.

Main body

Although military men are strong personalities, their relatives are often affected by many factors. In addition to high army demands and trials, the family has to cope with common everyday problems, such as financial ones (Trail et al. 2132). People do not show respect to military households for many reasons, one of which is a banal lack of knowledge about the army. Other people do not respect military families, believing that they are in a privileged position. All this translates into prejudices about such families, which only increase the complexity of life for the defenders of the country. Soldiers should be in the most comfortable conditions to fulfill their duty as efficiently as possible. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the number of negative factors affecting them.

This problem can be solved, first of all, by increasing the education of people and disseminating accurate information about military families. It is necessary to raise the prestige of the army, forming the image of heroic defenders. Advertising campaigns should be conducted that tell about the hardships of life for the military and their families to attract public attention to this problem. As an alternative method, this difficulty can also be solved by providing support to military relations from the state. At the moment, there are many diverse programs to support military families. However, many of them require improvement and a more focused approach, which at the moment cannot be achieved due to a lack of data (Trail et al. 2130). Hence, by supporting households and eliminating weaknesses, the state can make military families more durable, which will also help improve their image in society.

Conclusion

Thus, in the modern community, there is a problem of disrespect for military families. It can be solved in several ways: either by social or state methods. However, regardless of the program, this issue should be addressed and resolved as soon as possible, since its negative impact affects not only the military itself but also indirectly affect the whole country.

Work Cited

Trail, Thomas, et al. Patterns of vulnerabilities and resources in US military families. Journal of Family Issues, vol. 38, no. 15, 2017, pp. 2128-2149.

Resource Availability for Low-Income Families in New York

Introduction

Low-income families living in megapolises have always struggled to maintain their life quality on a decent level. Large urban areas oftentimes set high price levels and have increased competition for resource availability. Even though big city centers usually get relevant financing, residents with low incomes cannot afford access to the wide spectrum of possibilities their city provides. In New York, one of the largest cities in the US, the poverty level was estimated as 17.9%, which is significantly higher than in all of the US: 10.5% (United States Census Bureau, 2019). A high poverty level leads to diversity in society, influencing on economy and citizens quality of life. To raise a decent population of the young generation, society needs to keep affordable medicine, education, food, and other resources available according to the average salaries of humans in poverty.

Household income influences several social, economic, and financial factors that might have a negative impact on the education level of society, health, and food sustainability of people in need. Gennetian et al. (2018) monitored within four years the educational characteristics of students from low-income families using the Opportunity New York City-Family Rewards study. The authors of the research figured these students experienced changes in volatility from four to fifteen times higher or lower compared to their initial condition (Gennetian et l., 2018). Such results show that pupils from families with low household incomes struggle to keep a decent level of attendance and school outcomes. Social levels influencing the personal progress of the young generation is a major issue that can be solved by estimating resource availability to the poor segment of the New York population and the information spread to them.

Low income also limits the access of families and their children to healthy products. Fast foods and lack of vegetables and fruits are one of the main issues causing overweight, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and some chronic diseases. Setting healthy food behavior from childhood is essential for the general health of the population and profitable in terms of state and private clinics spending on disease treatments. Another influencing factor on dietary habits is the scale of New York, which has fast life and shortens time on proper food intake and cooking. A study by Seguin et al. (2017) proved that socioeconomically disadvantaged clusters of the population have a lower intake of fruits and vegetables and poorer diet quality. Providing decent quality food to children at schools and organizing social help for low-income families might reduce current and future health disparities.

As one of the solutions to the general issue, the government creates a variety of programs offering help and support to families in need. Such organizations include, for instance, New York Citys Administration for Children Services, New York Citys Department of Education, New York Citys Housing Authority, and Child Care and Development Fund. It is essential to estimate eligible services and functions to be aware of the current condition of low-income families and their access to the programs. Oftentimes, the central problem of limited resource availability takes its basement in the data spread to the population, their comprehension of the possible help, and the ways they can get it.

Problem Definition

The main issue of this project is the problem of resource availability for low-income families in New York and their awareness about it. The population of a large megapolis might not receive the information about available help for them due to inadequate advertisement and other sources spreading data. Both public and the government should have appropriate communication allowing them to cooperate and function together. State finances should be planned for social advertisement and peoples education. A clear understanding of human rights in various conditions will let New York citizens receive fast and efficient help from governmental organizations and community partners.

Research Goal

Researching the current situation of help provided to low-income families and their knowledge about it are the main concerns of this work. Getting a full picture of the issue can help enhance the data spread to the individuals, estimate the spheres of provided help that need the most improvement, and how it can be accomplished.

About This Research

The project will be done in close cooperation with community partners and support organizations estimating their programs and statistics. Depending on how many citizens receive the customs and help, further analysis will be implemented. Families with low household incomes will be surveyed to receive feedback about their awareness of the social help they can get. The primary benefit stands for the poor segment of the population; however, organizations and community partners can be interested in developing a better availability to people if the positive outcomes are described in detail. For instance, saving costs on health insurance, improving education level in the country, and, more down to earth, reducing the level of poverty and their work amounts.

Current Policies

There is a variety of organizations solving the major issue of the project, such as New York Citys Administration for Children Services, New York Citys Department of Education, New York Citys Housing Authority, and Child Care and Development Fund. According to their programs implementation and the results of surveys, the main issues of the topic will be highlighted, and a possible solution for solving them will be proposed.

References

Gennetian, L. A., Rodrigues, C., Hill, H. D., & Morris, P. A. (2018). Stability of income and school attendance among NYC students of low-income families. Economics of Education Review, 63, 20-30.

Seguin, R. S., Morgan, E. H., Hanson, K. L., Ammerman, A. S., Jilcott Pitts, S. B., Kolodinsky, J., Sitaker, M., Becot, F. B., Connor, L. M., Garner, J. A. & McCuirt, J. T. (2017). Farm Fresh Foods for healthy kids (F3HK): An innovative community supported agriculture intervention to prevent childhood obesity in low-income families and strengthen local agricultural economies. BMC Public Health, 17(306), 1-10.

Quick Facts. New York City. Web.

Homeless Families Analysis

Family homelessness is a vital issue in the United States, as it is created by the combination of internal and external factors. Some of them include lack of affordability on a housing market, poverty, poor state support, domestic violence, and more. However, this issue is not purely economic, but also medical, as people are more vulnerable and are struggling to get appropriate treatment. Thus, nursing, as an essential part of the care system needs to ensure quality support for the most in need. Overall, studying three recent academic articles addressing the issue of homeless families can provide a better comprehension of how they can be treated in nursing practice.

The study by Cronely et al. (2019) explored the lives of individuals belonging to homeless families. These units defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as an entity that includes one or more adults and at least one child that is under 18 years of age (Cronley et al., 2019). Moreover, these individuals experience the following circumstances: living in a place not appropriate for the human environment, such as shelter, transitional housing, or a prison (Cronley et al., 2019). Additionally, these people might be losing their primary residence within two weeks and cannot afford to keep the housing (Cronley et al., 2019). Lastly, a familys current house is temporary and unstable, or individuals are fleeing from domestic violence and cannot obtain another residency (Cronley et al., 2019). Statistically, in 2018, individuals under 18 years of age create about a third part of an entire homeless population in the country (Cronley et al., 2019). Moreover, the research suggests that the numbers are equally high within children and teenagers that experience living in a homeless family across all cities and states.

Moreover, the article explores the contemporary data associated with homeless families. In Los Angeles, the number of under-aged individuals experiencing homelessness is about 5000 (Cronley et al., 2019). Furthermore, in a metropolis like Seattle, children and adolescents represent 22% of the overall homeless population (Cronley et al., 2019). However, the statistics are incomplete, as most homeless shelter providers do not accurately differentiate between children before 12 and teenagers, as it is not required from HUD. Overall, adolescence is a necessary period of human development, both physically and socially (Cronley et al., 2019). Besides, a body is experiencing essential changes of puberty and the time of socialization is particularly intense. Therefore, the inconveniences and stress related to homelessness can negatively influence children and teenagers during the vital developmental stage by affecting the neurobiological structure of the developing brain as it relates to metabolism and social functioning (Cronley et al., 2019, p. 132). Overall, individuals under 18 that live in homeless shelters are more likely to experience a health-related problem than children residing in permanent households.

Moreover, homeless school-age individuals are more exposed to damages in long-term emotional and physical health due to stress and impoverishment. The primary reason for such negative consequences is the lack of adequate access to appropriate quality health institutions (Cronley et al., 2019). For instance, there is a connection between stressful lifestyles among kindergarten-age kids and the probability of being admitted to a hospital (Cronley et al., 2019; Cutuli et al., 2017). However, there is still a lack of scientific research regarding the effects of poor nutrition and physical activities among the homeless population.

One of the highlights of the existing studies is the idea of a hunger-obesity paradox determined by the body mass indicator of homeless adults and the rest of the people. Another similar research in Minneapolis presented that 45% of children staying in the homeless shelter were severely overweight or obese (Cronley et al., 2019). Moreover, the national survey among the homeless population determined that a quarter of individuals experienced food insufficiency (Cronley et al., 2019). Similarly to the United States, Canadian scholars discovered that residents of homeless shelters consumed not a sufficient amount of daily calories intake.

Another article addressing the issues of homeless families in America by Chatterjee et al. (2017) suggests that the problem remains vital for the public health sector. Even though the HUD indicated that the number of this type of families from 2007 to 2015 has declined, the overall progress varies because seventeen states still experienced an increase in 2016 (Chatterjee et al., 2017). Furthermore, the amount of families that belong to a homeless category in the United States is higher than in any other developed country with over two million children statewide (Chatterjee et al., 2017). Family homelessness is especially detrimental for families because almost half of them include young children under six.

Furthermore, such individuals usually have unstable, temporary places to stay that are far from an appropriate support network, which makes it difficult to access proper medical care. Despite malnutrition, as was mentioned in the previous article, children tend to experience other serious health issues. Some of them are discovered to be chronic illness, internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems, and dental decay (Chatterjee et al., 2017, p. 2). Additionally, children are struggling socially, as they tend to perform worse academically and have problems with socializing than children with permanent houses (Chatterjee et al., 2017). In terms of parents, there are also health associated dangers, as they tend to be more exposed to sexually risky behaviour, high smoking rates, and mental illnesses (Chatterjee et al., 2017). Overall, the study explored the negative consequences of long-term poverty in childrens early life by emphasizing the vulnerability of homeless families.

Moreover, the facilities and institutions that are providing medical care for such families are excellent in meeting the guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). However, more improvement is needed in terms of integrating extensive care into intense visits, as well as legal partnerships (Chatterjee et al., 2017). The study suggests that the extension of the most successful practices is regarded to be the most efficient way in achieving more significant results in this field. Overall, the most recommended tools were electronic medical records, diverse team of professionals, and partnership with homeless organizations and communities (Chatterjee et al., 2017). On the other hand, the most notable obstacles to successful care were patients immigration status, as well as lack of knowledge about the topic, time, and resources.

Lastly, the study that was done by Cutuli et al. (2017) focuses on the emergence of mental health issues in children living in homeless families. Children that experience residential instability are struggling with age-salient development duties, including low quality of academic performance and behavioural health issues (Cutuli et al., 2017). Therefore, the overall stress increases the possibility of poverty-relates health risks to occur. Another finding of the research suggests that possible health disparities are present for both low-income families and racial minorities (Cutuli et al., 2017). Thus, the overlap of homeless children, living in a low-income family that belong to a minority group are more likely to struggle from the abovementioned illnesses. The connection between homelessness and mental health can add to a discovery of new avenues for forwarding various appropriate contributors to health outcomes with several other services. This includes case management, evidence-based mental health care, and supporting families (Cutuli et al., 2017, p. 6). Overall, acknowledging the relations between stress and negative health consequences allows nurses to achieve better-integrated care for homeless families.

After analyzing contemporary research done on a topic of health-related problems within homeless families, it is clear to me that the free medical care sector needs improvement. Nurses play an essential role in choosing the most effective approach toward assisting children and other members. The research suggests that homeless individuals should be treated with respect and caution about the previous experiences that they might have had. Patients might be experiencing health issues because of the stressful lifestyle; a collaboration between various health specialists should be required. In my opinion, if a child has chronic illnesses, it is vital to examine the main reasons why such outcomes occurred in the first place. Overall, I should think critically while providing care to patients without a permanent house because the core values of medical staff are to ensure the highest quality aid.

In conclusion, families without permanent residence is a significant contributor to the homeless population of the United States. Children and adolescents under the age of 18 constitute the third of that number. The reasons why these individuals cannot afford permanent houses vary from poverty to the fact that they need to flee their previous homes due to domestic abuse. Studies show that situations of uncertainty and instability are contributing factors to the emergence of stress in the early-age, which leads to further psychological problems. Apart from that, individuals from such families tend to be subjected to other serious health issues, including malnutrition, obesity, chronic diseases, and more. Overall, the seriousness of the matter suggests that care professionals, including nursing staff, should take into consideration all the possible contributing factors and provide improved medical experiences to such patients.

References

Chatterjee, A., So, M., Dunleavy, S., & Oken, E. (2017). . Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 28(4), 13761392. Web.

Cronley, C., Keaton, C., Hopman, D. D., & Nelson, L. P. (2019). . Journal of Children and Poverty, 25(2), 131149. Web.

Cutuli, J. J., Ahumada, S. M., Herbers, J. E., Lafavor, T. L., Masten, A. S., & Oberg, C. N. (2017). . Journal of Children and Poverty, 23(1), 41-55. Web.

Family and Work Patterns in Contemporary British Society

There is a widely held opinion among many sociologists that contemporary British society has undergone significant change over the last twenty-five years. This change has touched on the most important aspects of our lives such as family and work.

Speaking about the diversity of family and household patterns, we should first single out the major types of this phenomenon. These types are organizational, cultural, class, life-course, and cohort diversity. Organizational diversity involves division of labor, role relationships, and household types.

As far as structural or organizational diversity is concerned, it is quite possible for us to say that the traditional image of a British nuclear family is as widespread as it had been two decades ago. This statement can be substantiated by sociological data, confirmed by many recent types of research. First, it is worth mentioning that there has been a considerable increase in one-person households, and what is more important the number of lone-parent families, approximately 18 percent. Besides, it should be taken into account that the young generation tends to be more and more independent of their parent. The proportion of families with dependent children (dependence implies financial relationships) has significantly decreased over the last two decades. According to the General Household Survey, the proportion of such families has diminished to approximately 17 percent. It should be mentioned that it is difficult to ascertain the exact number due to the subjective nature of the word independence; there are many interpretations of it (Murphy pp 18-26).

Moreover, we can say that the contemporary British family tends to become smaller. At first glance, it may sound a bit strange, but the average size of a contemporary English family has reduced to only two or three members, whereas only in the middle of the twentieth century did the traditional nuclear family consist of approximately five members.

As far as the cultural diversity of family patterns is concerned, we should say that there is a great variety of lifestyles among modern British families. It can be explained by the difference in ethnic origin or religious belief.

These changes can be ascribed to a great number of factors. First, the attitude of the population towards starting a family has altered. The deep-rooted stereotype that a person cannot be successful unless he has a family was rejected. Besides, the image of the weaker sex has changed, the adjective weak is no longer appropriate; it can be ascribed to the strong feminist movement.

Speaking about the changes in the patterns of work are concerned, we should mention the following. First, the British workplace is becoming more and more decentralized, which means that a great number of employees prefer to work at home. Modern technologies and the Internet in particular have provided many opportunities in this aspect. Approximately, 10 percent of employees are not directly present at their workplace, which was unheard of at least 20 years ago.

Besides, we can say that the development of new technologies has created many opportunities for work on the Internet. According to statistical data, an employee and an employer cannot even see each other.

Recent research has also ascertained that there is a growth in part-time employment. It can be ascribed to the fact that the present companies have a wide range of products, and the demands can vary from month to month. Approximately 17 percent of the companies tend to hire part-time employees.

The third aspect is that in comparison with the past women begin to obtain executive positions. It can be explained that the level of their qualification has significantly increased. However, if we try to compare them with men, we may conclude that women are usually underestimated.

Overall, we can say that changes in the patterns of work are caused by the development of new technologies and the fact that the role of women in society has altered.

Thus, having analyzed the major trends in contemporary British society, we can arrive at the conclusion that such spheres of British life as family and work have undergone a change. The main peculiarity is that women have grown more independent from the stronger sex, which led to some new family and work patterns.

Bibliography

Abercrombie N, Warde A. (2002) Contemporary British Society. Policy Press.

Murphy, M. and Berrington, A. (1993) Household Change in the 1980s: a review, PopulationTrends 73, pp. 18-26.

Atkinson, A. B. (1995) Incomes and the Welfare State. Essays on Britain and Europe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Family Professional Collaboration

Jennis Story

Introduction

To provide adequate support and establish a clear understanding between a family and a professional, it is vital to assign the right person for the task. There are many nuisances and communication gaps that practitioners could encounter, and they must be ready to deal with unexpected difficulties. This essay examines the case of Jenni, her family, and the professionals who helped her.

Main text

Children with special needs can require knowledge outside of profession-specific social skills, and this case shows a successful intervention that helped a child to develop a crucial ability. In this video, the ENRICH Project has shown cultural responsiveness by putting Roxanne Patterson in charge of communication with Jennis family to overcome the language barrier. It is crucial to consider culture when appointing practitioners to families (Gargiulo & Kilgo, 2018). The appointed specialist has been able to observe how Jenni has interacted with her family and peers and used this knowledge as a foundation of the relationship.

Through collaboration, Jennis physical therapist, Jeannemarie Fagan, and Dr. Patterson had established the course of development for their patient and found which opportunities to communicate when Jenni was the most receptive. Gargiulo & Kilgo (2018) state that effective communication between families and practitioners involves a clear understanding and knowledge of the expectations, obligations, and responsibilities of each party (p. 76). In the video, they have shown a collaborative effort to help Jenni to learn how to walk by examining the best way she receives information.

Conclusion

This intervention has been occurring at Jennis house, with the presence of her family. They have studied her behavior and found a suitable strategy to boost her development. These visits were also vital for the family, as they have learned how to support and encourage her. I think that this partnership is an effective method of intervention as Pattersons continued support allowed Jennis family to discover a way to communicate with her, and Jenni learned how to walk.

Reference

Gargiulo, R. M., & Kilgo, J. L. (2018). An introduction to young children with special needs: Birth through age eight. SAGE Publications.

Anthropological Family Portrait

Abstract

All families have a story to tell. These stories depict the values that are held dearly by members of that family. As time goes on, these stories are passed from one generation to the next and in the process they get mixed up and distorted. Slowly by slowly all the facts are lost and with them goes culture. One sure way of preserving these stories is documentation following a fair research. A family ethnography is usually a great way of documenting the facts.

Introduction

In an effort to preserve the stories of my family, I carried out a research using the following steps. These steps enabled me to carry out a fair research and come up with our family ethnography. The following steps were followed:

Method

Considering that the only people I could rely on to give me information about my kinship are all my family members, I decided to use informal interviews to do my research. Its a bit unnerving trying to get formal with my relatives. Distance from the people I wanted to interview also played a major role in my decision to carry out an informal interview.

Informants

Its hard to study or carry out a research on any family without considering both the mothers side and the fathers side. These two sides are equally important if a clear conclusion is to be drawn at the end of the interview. As I was settling for whom to interview, my parents came first in my mind which is very natural. Having both my mother and father as informants I was sure to get a clear view of the whole extended family.

However I had a strong feeling that I needed more respondents, I settled on an uncle from my mothers side and an aunt from my fathers side I felt that would offer more details and gender balance in each side of the family. On both cases I picked the siblings that are older than my parents. Finally I picked my only living grandfather from my Fathers side of the family and my grandmother on my mothers side. With those six respondents I was sure to get a fair view of the whole family.

Materials

Since I had settled for an informal interview I did not have to gather so many materials. All I needed was writing materials to capture the data from my phone-conducted interviews. I however listed some areas of interest and curiosity that I wanted handled by each respondent from a different angle.

Design

Having settled on at least a male and a female from each side of the family I knew I had gender balance. The main reason of including siblings older than my parents was an effort towards closing the gap; I knew these two would be in a position to answer more questions owing to their age.

Even in their old age and most probably poor memory, I settled on my grandfather and grandmother so that I could crosscheck everything I heard from their children. I knew they would have forgotten the finer details but the bigger picture would still be intact in their memories.

Procedure

Due to the long distance between me and my respondents, phone interview was the most convenient. I chose to interview one person at a time. I explained to them that this was an important exercise for me and all I was seeking was accurate information. I booked a date with each of my respondents after they agreed to set aside some time from their busy schedules.

During the interview they were all psychologically prepared for what they were coming to do and even got some time to refresh their memory. I can comfortably claim that my respondents did not have divided attention.

Constraints

I was not able to conduct a face-to-face interview which usually has more to offer than a phone interview in that some physical responses such as fidgeting would suggest more information could be available. Taking down notes proved to be quite difficult which forced me to record the phone conversations.

Family Ethnography

My father Mushabbab son of Aide was born and bred in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. According to my mother, he is a man that is admired by all the members of our extended family. When my mother told me that, I assumed she was just blowing her husbands trumpet until almost every informant I interviewed echoed her sentiments.

Aide, my grandfather actually named him his best son. The reason for all this praise is because of my fathers way to strictly follow the Islam culture. Unlike his brothers, he did not shy away from bringing up a big family. Evidently, not many of my age would boast of having a nuclear family that large.

In fact, most of my recent friends have no siblings at all. My dads cars import business is one which embraces all types of culture because in business you never know who you have to interact with next. Due to his constant travel my grandfather and uncles always feared that my dad would change from a conservative Muslim to a more liberal one.

They had a long wait for my dad always knows where to draw the line. He has taught us that as much as we do not agree to other peoples views of the world it is none of our business to try and change them into we tend to believe is right. Respect for other peoples culture and beliefs have been his cornerstone of success.

In pursuit for success and comfortable life for him and his family, my dad took up business very early in his life. In a family that had always known livestock farming as the only source of livelihood he had dared to be different. He faced a lot of opposition from my grandfather who believed that success can only be achieved from tried and tested ways, livestock farming. My father had to work extra hard to prove to everyone that the path he had chosen actually led somewhere.

It is from dads success that her smaller sister Wadha got the courage to pursue her dream. She had always wished to serve in the army something that appeared farfetched. Growing up in a conservative family is always a challenge especially so when one dares to go against the grain.

According to the Islam culture, women are handled delicately and their place in life well established. Up to date many Muslim nation do not allow women to vote let alone serve in the army. That is what my aunt had to deal with first, stigma. She did not look back, she joined the army to fulfill her wish, and actually, she even got married to an army officer.

She was always jovial and always made it clear to anyone who wished to listen that she was living her dream and loving it. My grandfather however refused to bless her because he always felt that he had been disobeyed. He always referred to her as the only daughter who wanted to be born male.

Apart from my grandfather, everybody else in the family was happy with what aunt Wadha was doing with her life. Her bright smile spoke volumes and anyone could tell she would have never been this happy anywhere else.

As life would have it her happiness did not last for long. To me all these was just but news, I had never know my aunt as a happy person in fact we used to call her aunt gloomy which clearly depicted her moods. I always wanted to know why she was different from the rest of the family who are always jovial and welcoming. My probe opened healing wounds but it was worth it.

My aunts husband, Yahia, had been an army officer just like my aunt. He led a strict Muslim life; prayed five times in a day, followed the teachings of the Quran diligently, observed the Holy month of Ramadan and had already made several trips to Mecca.

He observed all the values that my family believes in and therefore was the right person to marry aunt Wadha. However he was the reason that made my aunt to be always gloomy. He did this through his early demise which my aunt believed was foul play. She never accepted the sudden death of her husband in the battlefield as the will of Allah; I do not think she ever will.

That was when she left the army to lead a private life. Everybody I interviewed believes she is so much better compared to the mourning period, nobody ever thought she would survive the pain. The whole family accorded her all the help she needed during that time but one thing that nobody will ever forget is that she lost a soul mate.

My grandfather Aide, a conservative Muslim, has a lot of love for livestock rearing, so much that when my father and his siblings were growing up they had a secret code shepherd for him. Interestingly when he discovered what they called him he admonished them for doing it in secrecy, he reminded them that he was proud of what he does and allowed them to call him shepherd in public without fear.

Livestock farming has been both a passion and a means of livelihood for my grandfather for all his adult life. He started his livestock farming immediately after clearing high school after receiving a few heads of cattle as a gift from his father.

Since then he has never looked back. On his farm he has had all kinds of farm animals ever domesticated by man from sheep to goats, from camels to llama, from horses to donkeys, from dogs, to cats, to cows, to rabbits and the list grows. His farm is quite large but well managed. The animals are kept in the highest of standards. On the same farm my grandfather has put a lot of recreational facilities which are well maintained ranging from the swimming pool to the lone tennis courts.

A section of the farm is well developed for all kinds of sports that one could be forgiven to think that he once hosted Olympic Games. That development of a kind of stadium on a farm reveals several secrets about my grandfather. He is reported to have had a lot of interest in sports but he really never made it past the district level during competitions, this I would attribute o lack of enough practice because even to date he has an athletic body.

Secondly he is reported to have had angina pectoris at some stage in his life which calls for physical fitness to contain. All in all, my grandfather is a very generous man who could have developed the facilities for his family. As a matter of fact he has erected buildings where we can stay when we go visiting him just next to the recreational facilities.

My mother Sara is an iron lady who takes both family and business matters in one stride and turns out alright. Unlike my father she did not go to college after high school though thats something nobody would easily tell. Apart from bringing up such a huge family and making sure that each one of us tows the line, my mother has a large business acumen that complements my dads efforts.

In the early years of their marriage my dad experienced a lot of difficulties that saw him almost quitting, it is my mothers hand that brought him up again and he said he would be forever grateful. She is always making business trips but nothing ever goes wrong in her absence.

My grandmother from my mothers side is a very jovial lady. She lost her husband at a very early stage of their marriage. After bringing up her children she joined active politics by becoming an activist for both human and Muslim women rights. This proved to be quite a murky path for any woman especially those with families to take care of.

This forced her to channel her energy in to a different direction. Her effort to establish an interest group for the aged was harshly brought to a stop by the government of the day because she had already been identified as an activist and therefore a likely enemy of the government.

In connection with that, she had a lot of reservations when two of my brothers joined the police force. My brothers Aide and Saeed were very excited to serve as policemen and could not understand why my grandmother was not enthusiastic about the whole idea. To her policemen are equivalent with the government that frustrated her efforts and she never wanted to have anything to do with it. Aide and Saeed however really enjoy what they do.

The uniform looks good on them and their families are happy. My grandmother eventually is getting acquainted to the idea that her grandsons are serving the country at their own level. She always says that service is an honor and that those who serve impartially will be rewarded, more so by the fruit of their labor.

My brother Bader is here with me in the United States of America studying Mechanical Engineering. Growing up with him was not such an easy thing. This is mainly because every time we received a new toy his first task was not to know how to play with it but how to dismantle it and try to build it back. Many times I felt he did this to annoy me but later in life I got to understand him. May be it is that interest of wanting to know how things work that led him to pursuing Mechanical Engineering.

Conclusion

With religion being the backbone of our family hard work and persistence remain the two values that I would say have brought our family this far. We spend a lot of time away from each other and only get to re unite during the holidays. Special days are marked and celebrated accordingly.

Apart from praying five times in a day we also get to observe Ramadan-Aid Alfeter and Aid Aladha. During these holidays we travel together as a family to the agreed destinations usually in the USA and Malaysia. We love and appreciate cultural diversity.

Hominids as the Members of the Human Family

Evolutionary relations between species are the major concept that has a considerable influence on the organization of species (Cameron 5). Hominids are the members of human family that consists of numerous human ancestors and living apes.

More than 20 million years ago, the process of splitting took place; and people, who deal with the analyses of human fossil records, also known as paleoanthropologists, introduce Ramapithecus as hominids, the species with the characteristics of both humans and orangutans. In this paper, we will analyze the peculiar features of hominids, its types, and evolutions from the paleoanthropological perspective.

Hominids are the representatives of the biological family, who have been around our planet for about 7 million years, and orangutans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans are considered to be its members; these species have different qualities, which are inherent to humans like upright position and to apes like the climbing ability, and which proves that in spite of numerous differences humans are so alike with the apes, their demands, and abilities.

Discussion

Essence of the term. The term hominid is usually used to describe the great apes, humans and their immediate ancestors only; i.e. it excluded gibbons and their immediate ancestors (Cameron 5).

Not long time ago, this term characterized only humans and their immediate ancestors; however, the investigations of paleoanthropologists proved that humans were not the only one members of this family. In fact, this terminology seems to be a bit confusing, and unfortunately, it is true, because proper classification of hominids cannot be completely accepted in this field (Jurmain, Kilgore, and Trevathan 163).

Hominidae family already has a certain place in the scientific classification table, but the place of its members is still under a question. However, such genera like gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and humans have already occupied their places in this family, and their qualities and abilities prove that they are appropriate for this family.

Biological family. The scientists admit that hominids and humans in particular should be considered as the smartest biological family in this world, because they are able to use technology to improve their existence or invent things to facilitate life and job.

Another peculiarity of this family is the preference to live in groups: five or more hominids organize a separate group, where a male takes leading position and becomes responsible for the safety of the other members of the group, and a female has to care about future generation and to give birth to the other representatives of this family. If we look closer to hominids habits and demands, it becomes clear that our habits are usually the same.

Types of hominids. The fossil record demonstrates how slowly but confidently the evolution and extension of hominids took place:

Hominoids Years (ml)
Dryopiths 31-10
Australopithecis 4-2
Homo Erectus 1.6-0.3
Neanderthalensis 0.075  0.035
Homo Sapience 0.035-present

As it has been already mentioned, there are four possible representatives of the hominid group. The first representatives, gorillas, inhabit the tropical or subtropical forests of Africa.

As a rule, all gorillas have the same type of blood (B) and five individual fingers like it is inherent to another group of this family, humans. Hominid actually means human-like, this is why the last two members of this family, chimpanzees and orangutan, also have many things in common with humans.

he weight of hominids varies from 30 to 150 kilograms; and as it is inherent to humans, the vast majority of males has stronger stature that allows to defend females and provide them with a chance of feeling safe. Such a close connection to humans, their abilities, and appearance has a considerable reflection in hominids style of life and their intercommunication.

Life of hominids. The style of life, chosen by hominids, is so alike to our parents or grand-parents lives. First of all, the main purpose of their existence is to create a separate family or simply a group, to support each other, and to be able for reproduction. One of the most interesting points concerning this family is that many of them are vegetarians.

The groups of hominids spend much time in order to find out fruits and feed each member of their family. Sometimes, when fruits are hard to find, females prefer to leave their males and find the others males, who can feed them. However, gorillas demonstrate the best example of faithfulness and never leave their males even when fruits become unavailable to their families.

In gorillas and chimpanzees families, the role of females is less considerable than in orangutans families. If gorilla female cannot demonstrate own dominance and the right of choice, male orangutan prefer to follow some kind of solidarity and take into account the demands of females.

Hominids are the biological group of humans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans that has its own peculiarities and habits. Numerous attempts of paleoanthropologists are aimed at one correct definition of this family, however, the changeability of this definition creates certain challenges and misunderstandings in science. Hominids have much in common with current humans in their style of life, their abilities, and demands. This is why hominids usually interpreted as human-like groups.

Works Cited

Cameron, David, W. Hominid Adaptations and Extinctions. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, Ltd. 2004.

Jurmain, Robert, Kilgore, Lynn, and Trevathan, Wenda. Essentials of Physical Anthropology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 2009.