Category: Relationship

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to analyze collaborative relationships with regard to child protection. In particular, the discussion will be dedicated to the cooperation of professionals, support workers, governmental and non-governmental agencies, children, families, and communities. Moreover, the paper analyzes some implications of this policy to information sharing and confidentiality.

The first part of the paper deals with the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of a coordinated approach to child care in Australia. This section also explores the reasons why this policy (establishing collaborative relations between child protection agencies) must be put into practice as soon as possible. Another issue, namely the problems which Indigenous society of Australia faces is discussed in this section; the need to work out a special approach to treating this problem is emphasized in the paper.

Subsequently, this will progress into the discussion of specific tasks that should be fulfilled in order to develop a more coordinated child protection system in the country. The second part of the paper will focus on the policies of the Australian government and the issues which collaborative relations in the sphere of child protection involve.

Child welfare and child protection practices should not be viewed separately. One must see all the complexity of this problem and understand that collaboration is regarded as the main component of child protection service delivery in Australia (Williams & Kerfoot, 2005, p. 360). There is a wide range of specialists and services involved into child protection practices, such as community therapy and self-help groups.

However, they all must work as a single organization having a common goal, namely, to protect the child from neglect and abuse. To achieve this goal, a holistic approach to the problem is required. Although officials acknowledge the importance of cooperation, the intervention strategies designed by them are not aimed at reaching the common goal; they are mostly used in isolation which hinders the solving of existing social problems affecting childrens welfare (Tomison, 2004, p. 21). It is only by a joint effort that the problem in question can be dealt with this is why child protection agencies should unite and work out a strategy or a set of strategies aimed at fighting with a definite problem.

Collaborative Relationships

These days there is hardly any collaboration between the agencies which deal with the protection of children and their mental health (Darlington, Feeney, & Rixon, 2004, p. 1176). The matter is that the lack of interagency communication and collaboration can be counterproductive to a responsive child protection system. Separation or isolation of the child protective agencies from each other can result in the failure to protect a child from the impending danger. In contrast, interagency collaboration allows quickly reacting to the existing danger and dealing with the problem timely and effectively.

Different personal and cultural backgrounds can become a major source of conflict between two organizations. In other words, there is a risk of discord due to the differences in ideas, values, attitudes, goals, and methods used in child protection practice.

All these factors must be considered by the government before launching a program aimed at improving collaboration between professionals, support workers, government and non-government institutions, children, families, and communities. Cunningham-Smith (2001) suggests that children and their families can benefit much from the protection agencies that are able to achieve better continuums of care within which a child can receive assistance from community workers and non-governmental organisations.

The necessity of collaboration between child protection agencies became evident after a study conducted in Queensland, Australia, where child protection and adult mental health care are the responsibility of two governmental organizations, the Department of Families and Queensland Health (Darlington, et al, 2004, p 1179).

The interviewees of this study were asked questions concerning the cooperation of different groups and the efficiency of child protection institutions. It was discovered that the level of collaboration between Australian protection agencies was low, while the range of services the agencies were offering was quite large; in addition, the respondents listed more than 100 of other programs, agencies, and services involved in the child protection system (Darlington, et al, p 1181-1182).

Despite high levels of involvement, the efficiency of child protection services in Australia is not high, which means that the collaboration between them is almost absent. If governmental institutions and public organizations continue working separately, children and their families may suffer from the lack of their involvement and help. Disputes among agencies may result not only in the inefficient use of resources, but in jeopardizing the childrens physical and mental health or even their lives. This is an urgent matter for those, who work in the sphere of child protection and related sectors.

The Australian society faces another stressing problem, namely the lack of social help offered to indigenous people, their families, and children. Currently, social justice in Australia is in its infancy because of the countrys exposure to colonialism and invasion in the past (Green & Baldry, 2008, p. 389). The solution to this problem is to educate social workers so that they could use a more appropriate approach to working with Indigenous communities.

This view is supported by the ecological framework developed by Uri Bronfenbrenners theory of human development which presents four levels by means of which peoples cultural differences may be observed (Thomas 1999, p 204). According to this renowned psychologist, each human being is surrounded by various environmental systems which affect his or her personality. At the first level, microsystem, such components as micro system, or family, friends and school can be singled out. The second level is the so-called mesosystem. This can be interpreted as the connections between parents and school, neighbourhood and home. The third component of Bronfenbrenners framework is exosystem. This part comprises external factors that can impact the development of the child.

Finally, macrosystem encompasses political and cultural situation in the country by which a child may be affected (Thomas 1999, pp. 204-205). The inner world of any child is shaped at each of these levels. Therefore, social workers must manipulate not only internal, but also external factors in order to protect the child from abuse and neglect. This can be done only if governmental institutions work in close contact.

Implementation

There exist different models of collaboration. One of the most widely used models is Fundamental Prevention; within this model, social workers are not just dealing with abuse or neglect, but they are working with children and families who are under significant stress due to the existing indicators of risk (Cunningham-Smith, 2001, p. 4). In this model, child protection services can take preventive measures by focusing on the strengths of the family, which would help to minimize certain risk factors. Collaborative relationships can be used when dealing with advanced cases of child neglect and abuse. Professionals need to manage resources in a more efficient and economic way to ensure that communities and institutions obtain health and social services of high quality (Hugman, 1995, p. 35).

In frames of the Fundamental Prevention, it is necessary for social workers to establish good relations with the family members who need their help. The major problem is that many parents are biased against social workers and any other governmental agents, because these officials can take their children away from them. Social workers have to establish rapport with parents in order to avoid conflicts with them.

In the first place, social workers should not display their intellectual superiority over the parents whose child they visit (Franklin, Harris, & Allen-Meares, 2006, p. 931). Moreover, they should never resort to threats or warnings; this only sets a barrier between them and parents. Social workers have to make it clear to the parents that their primary purpose is to help the family, rather than take away the child from them.

They should not be categorical or imperative in any way; their task consists in giving suggestions instead of the orders. Cultural origin of the family is extremely important, because cultural practices, especially discipline, may often be misinterpreted by people of other culture (Fontes, 2005, p. 108). If these rules are observed, a social worker will be able to help the family without meeting resistance on the part of parents.

According to the initiative proposed by the Department of Child Safety in 2008, input from children should be included into the development of basic strategies (Report to the Crime and Misconduct Commission, 2006, p. 76). This is a logical step because the ultimate beneficiaries of intervention strategies and policies are the victims of child abuse and neglect; consequently, it is important to ensure that their views are taken into account by those who offer assistance.

In frames of this innovation, removing a child from the home where he/she is abused or exposed to violence is not enough (Reece, 2005, p. 96); the protection of children should start with establishing partnership with families. It is of crucial importance for the social workers to value special capabilities, distinct cultural histories, and needs of indigenous children and their families. One practical way to do this is to adopt home visiting programs which help to prevent child abuses (Tomison & Wise, 1999, p.8). In this way, social workers can establish partnerships with indigenous families and detect child abuse problems at early stages.

Another practical way is to initiate parent education which has proved to be effective in preventing the childs delinquent and antisocial behavior (Farrington & Welsh, 2008, p.125). This can come in the form of parenting and stress management. Similar methods can be employed to meet the needs of other Australian families especially those, who have already had a traumatic experience with child care protection services. One way to encourage them to form partnerships with government agencies is through empowerment. In this way, family members can be united into a single group to deal with their problems.

Provided that a multiagency team deals with a family, they have to clear discrepancies existing between them, for example, competitiveness or ideological principles. The topmost priority of any child protection agency is the wellbeing of the child, and they should combine their knowledge and resources to ensure that he or she is not abused. They need to allocate the tasks they have to fulfil.

For instance, some participants should be engaged with gathering and analyzing data, whereas others should deal directly with the family. The allocation of the tasks must be based on such criteria as social workers specialization, the authority given to him/her, and the capacity of the agency he/she works in. Whats more, central leadership must be established in order to coordinate actions of the participants.

Preferably, the leader should be either a child psychologist or an educator, because the representatives of these professions can adequately evaluate the emotional or mental state of a child. Diversity of their knowledge and skills can only contribute to the overall success. This can be characterized as a special form of data collection involving high labour (Scott, 1997, p.75), which means that each participant specializes in a certain field and is a constituent part of the team.

Therefore, there is a need to sustain and expand government initiatives in the area of child protection. A good example would be the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN). This is an inter-departmental model of child protection; it enables officials not only to stop violence but also to eliminate the possibility of its reoccurrence. SCAN consists of the following components:

1. Department of Child Safety;
2. Queensland Police Service;
3. Queensland Health; and
4. Education Queensland.

This means that SCAN teams have a holistic approach to management of cases and they focus not only on the investigation process (Tomison, 2004, p.53). Another example is the Joint Investigation Response Teams (JIRT) which is an attempt to combine the forces of child protection and police powers for investigation purposes (Tomison, 2004, p.53).

There is another difficulty that may arouse during implementation of this policy, namely, the flow of information from one organization to another. There are many factors, and one of them is confidentiality. If there is a delay when it comes to sharing information, a chain-reaction of events can occur (Boss, 2001, p.87). In some cases, the delays in sending and receiving messages or in transferring files can be fatal. It should be emphasized that the exchange must be deliberate and the government, as well as respective leaders of each agency or organisation, must make it their goal to increase collaboration with others.

With regards to this issue, Reder & Dunkan 2003 turn attention to the psychology of communication which needs to be taken into account because it affects the meaning of the transferred messages (82). This means that it is not enough for one agency to share files; exchange has to be intentional but not compulsory. Thus, the true essence of collaboration consists in helping each other to increase efficiency and reach success which would have been impossible if each group worked in isolation.

Apart from understanding the value of effective communication, the Australian government must come up with a plan that will effectively address confidentiality issues. First and foremost, social workers have to ensure that the parents are guaranteed absolute confidentiality, which means letting them know that information regarding their case will not be recorded or orally transmitted to somebody else (Swain, 2002, p.29).

There are some areas where the law is helpful in guiding government agencies when it comes to disputes about confidentiality; for instance, social workers may transfer their cases to the court in case their legal powers are not enough to protect the abused child (Lane & Walsh, 2002, p. 342). In these instances, breaking of the rule of absolute confidentiality by social workers is totally justified.

Conclusion

Collaborative approach sets new standards for governmental agencies and social workers. In order to implement this policy, it is necessary to establish common goals and principles which can be shared by all the participants of this process. Additionally, cooperation must be voluntary rather than compulsory; this will help to increase the effectiveness of each child protection agency. As for the question of confidentiality, the officials must always clearly assess the situation. There is no doubt that any person has a right for privacy, but there is no place for confidentiality when the life or health of a child is in danger.

Furthermore, social workers must establish a rapport with families and make sure that the childs parent trust and rely on them. Finally, while working in a multiagency team, officials have to allocate the tasks according to the knowledge and skills of each participant and according to the capacity of the organization in which they work. They must eliminate any competitiveness among them, because they pursue a common goal.

Reference List

Boss, P. (2001). Family Stress Management: A Contextual Approach. London: SAGE.

Cunningham-Smith, V. (2001) Putting the rhetoric of cross-sectorial collaboration and partnership into practice between welfare and health services. Melbourne: 8th Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect.

Darlington, Y., Feeney, J., & Rixon, K. (2004) Complexity, conflict and uncertainty: Issues in collaboration between child protection and mental health services, Children and Youth Services Review, 26, 1175-1192.

Queensland Government. Progress in reforming the Queensland child protection system: Report to the Crime & Misconduct Commission, 2006.

Farrington, D.P. & Welsh, B.C. (2008). Saving Children from a Life of Crime: Early Risk Factors and Effective Interventions. US: Oxford University Press.

Fontes. L. (2008). Child Abuse and Culture: Working with Diverse Families. New York: Guilford Press.

Franklin, C., Harris, M.B., & Allen-Meares, P. (2006). The School Services Sourcebook: A Guide for School-Based Professionals. US: Oxford University Press.

Green, S. & Baldry, E. (2008). Building Indigenous Australian Social Work. Melbourne: Australian Social Work.

Hugman, R. (1995). Contested territory and community services: Interprofessional boundaries in health and social care. Avon, England: Edward Arnold.

Lane, M. & Walsh, T. (2002). Court proceedings and court craft. In K. Wilson & A. James (eds) The Child Protection Handbook, 2nd ed., Edinburgh: Bailliere Tindall.

Reder, P. & Duncan, S. (2003). Understanding communication in child protection networks. Child Abuse Review, 12(82), 100.

Reece, R.M. (2005). Treatment of Child Abuse: Common Ground for Mental Health, Medical, and Legal Practitioners. Baltimore, Md: JHU Press.

Ryburn, M. (1997). Dilemmas in Working in Partnership with the Parents and Relatives of Children Involved in Child Protection Planning. Early Child Development and Care, 129, 79-93.

Scott, D. (1997). Inter-agency conflict: An ethnographic study. Child and Family Social Work, 2, 73-80.

Swain, P. (2002). Confidentiality, record-keeping and social work practice. In Swain, P. In the Shadow of the Law: The Legal Context of Social Work practice, 2nd ed. Sydney: The Federation Press.

Thomas, R.M. (1999). Human development theories: windows on culture. London: SAGE.

Tomison, A. (2004). Current issues in child protection policy and practice: Informing the NT Department of Health and Community Services Child protection review. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Tomison, A. & Wise, S. (1999). Community-based Approaches in Preventing Child Maltreatment. Melbourne: The Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Williams, R. & Kerfoot, M. (2005). Child and adolescent mental health services: strategy, planning, delivery, and evaluation. London: Oxford University Press.

Introduction

The historical relation between science and religion is long and has not been that cozy throughout history. The main area of contention is the view that both hold on the world whereby, as science tends to base all its explanations through empirical observations, religion on the other hand makes explanations on the basis of faith and divine revelation. However, science and religion tend to have a slight element of tangency in the issue of evolution as the basis of creation, but they differ when it comes to investigating the existence of mankind. In this case, science leans on physical nature of evidence that can be empirically established while religion dwells on morality and metaphysics. With the religion trying to preserve and hold on to the purity of beliefs it deems true, science tries to explain the unknown, to probe and prove that which is a mystery. Religion has for a long time belonged to the masses whilst science has long been associated with a gifted few who had a knack for pursuing a path of life that involves coherent thought and often arcane experiments and that which is out of the ordinary to the common man; hence it has always been appraised with suspicion. This paper will discuss the historical relationship between science and religion including the areas of contention and agreement between the two.

Differences between science and religion

While science in a way deals with the verification of truths into facts, religion seems to embrace the unknown, basing its argument on perceived powers. Basically, science embraces the physical aspects, coming up with convictions that explain the how and why of a phenomena (Luskin para. 2), the reason behind why things behave the way they do or what composes them while religion tends to adhere and base its existence merely on belief of the unknown, on that which can only be explained through allegory or allusion.

Difference between religion and science has had diverse effect on people. One of the most famous incidents where religion held sway over science only for religion to be proved as holding the false belief involved Galileo (Linder para.1). Galileo surmised that the world moved a round the sun, a statement the papacy vehemently opposed. The church then held the view that the Earth was stationary and the greatest of all heavenly bodies. Placed under house arrest, Galileo was forced to recant his views about the earth moving around the sun, only for religion to come to be proved as holding the false view in future (Linder para. 4).

However, not all religion has been wholly opposed to science. Manuscripts that have survived the ravages of time are giving researchers clues as to the beliefs the people held; to the possibility of a world long gone where man lived in far much advanced status than we do today and was wholly at peace with the environment and had sources of power, modes of travels to other distant planets and other feats that man can only dream of. Ancient Hindu texts called the Puranas have an association with science that clearly lacks in Judeo-Christo religions and researchers have had to turn to these scriptures to get a better understanding. However, the society might as well be advanced technologically, but is emptiness within it that needs be satisfied or that needs be looked into, and this has called for the merging of the spiritual and the secular.

Religion can be said to be that which has acted as the check of scientific progress, determining at what stage the majority of mankind considers moral, putting in check ambitious plans that would otherwise have changed the order of things around the earth. Although religion, especially during the dark ages, committed atrocities in its scramble to convert non believers through conquest and conversion, religion has gone a long way to determine what can be done or should not be done. The protracted battle against cloning of human being can only be argued from a moral point of view, although advances in science have turned to try to explain the spiritual. Neotic science, which comes from the Greek word for intuitive knowing tries to address religion and science from a historical point of view, with science claiming religion is all about purporting a belief that cannot be supported with facts while religion slugging off science as arcane and going against the grain of what humanity is all about, steeped with outdated experiments and at times declarations that go against peoples beliefs.

Scientists believe that the earth is round, but selling this idea must have been a hard task for scientist. While science comes across as flexible and open to opinion and criticism and inviting room for clarification, advancement and collaboration, the history and trend of religion points otherwise. Religion has been steeped with controversy, seeking to eclipse the other beliefs, with branches of religion like Islam and Christianity seeking to destroy the presence of each other from the face of the earth and bringing untold suffering to the people. Science on the other hand has sought advancement through teamwork, with scientists exchanging views and ideas in order to arrive at a solution with ease.

Religion has clashed with science in that religion is less flexible than science. While science is universal especially on the truths and the fact about the earth and planets orbiting the sun, religion is dictated by diverse sects, beliefs and ways of life, social political structures and much more. With Religion tending to present itself in the diverse forms of the worlds diversity, then the consistencies of science have always been bound to clash with the fluidity nature of peoples beliefs.

In his article on Buddhism and Science Verhoeven (para.1), says that modern science led to a great divide between reason and faith and western religions suffered great setbacks and people started looking up to Buddhism, the reason being that it (Buddhism) embraced science as being within its sphere of belief. The issue of Darwinism may be viewed to have brought a crisis to the Judeo  Christo religions and affecting the creation belief; Darwinism has the alter effect on Buddhism. For instance, what was questionable in other religions was found present, appreciated and elevated in Buddhism.

Modernity has brought about great advances in technology and with information being available at the click of a mouse; people have come to question the viability of religion and to question the authenticity of God. Through research and knowledge easily found in books, people have come to be intimate with nature, learning the secrets behind what was treated as mystery and attributed to the invisible powers. Well, while this has opened a whole new school of thought on who really God is, it hasnt watered down mans belief that there is a super power that is running things here. In the ancient times man has had the quest to understand and prove, through the injection of science which was hitherto seen to counter religious beliefs, the Mythical and mysteries surrounding human life in relation to spirituality and science (Maniktala para. 5&6). This aspect has seen religion and science closely teaming up to speak at least in a similar angle although the chasm between the two remains.

Science, bound to treat each item as an individual has always been in conflict with religion on this especially when it comes to experiments that touch on reproduction. Religion over the years, unlike science, has not practiced what it preaches, for example, the taking away of lives in supposedly holy wars committed by believers against their enemies. From the Muslim Jihad to its prototype the Hebrew Herem, Idinopulos goes on to argue that the conflicts between science strives to lengthen and sustain life and he faults even the Christian Faith Tabernacle Church based in the United States that does not believe in partaking in any form of modern medicine. This is reason enough that regardless the advances in culture, crude religious beliefs will render smooth sailing relations between science and religion to remain just as a dream.

Areas where science and religion tend to agree

Religion and Science have gone hand in hand in some aspects. However, the powerful new views of that advances in science that went against the beliefs of the religious leaders would often lead to inquisitions. Perhaps the earliest known allusion of the religion working in cohorts with science is to be found in issue of creation with the view that complete society could only possible through evolution, both physically and in the mind (Brooke 16). Christianity, arguably the largest and most diverse religion on the face of the earth, holds on to the belief that the world, based on the creation theory, is less than 10,000 years old. Scientist on the other hand, with carbon dating and other arguments, say that the earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old and that its through evolution that man really came to be, something that the ancient Buddhist religious texts seem to collaborate! Although Buddhists critique the scientific methods and validity of knowledge derived from science, they dont however discount the benefits arising from scientific research (Nakasone para. 3&11), and to some extent agree on holistic view in matters of environmental science and biotechnological advances. Were it that religion speaks with one word on issues, science would be hard pressed to challenge its authority.

To take a chronological view on the historical view at how different religions have related to science we have to go back to the ancients religions. The ancient Egyptian had conducted matters of state and religion as one, with the head of state, the pharaoh, being the divinely appointed ruler of the Egyptian. There were high priests who conducted the ceremonies, and with Egypt being a place of many gods appeared in many forms. The close relationship and respect between the religion and science saw to it that Egypt prospered, with the pyramids hat have come to be associated with this period standing royal to this say. Religion and science seems to have come out to build this lasting impression, the pyramids, built for religious purposes as a passage to the other world and being works of great scientific feats that still baffle mankind to-date. That the pyramids are flawlessly built and lie along cardinal lines of the earth and universe tells us that he Egyptians were a highly evolved people who combined religion and science to reach levels of innovation we can only dream of, an innate understanding of the world as it is and how to utilize the power the world has. This close collaboration between religion and science that gave rise to great innovations is reason enough to suspect that religions that tend to curtail the development of scientific progress actually sound a death knell for human development.

Another ancient religion that seems to have greatly complemented religion and science to great levels of civilization is the Mayan Empire. Situated in what is today Mexico, the Maya peoples exploits are still a scientific wonder to the current world. Religion seems to have been as deeply ingrained into the people as science was. The human sacrifices the Maya people are said to have made were not for a god; they were not wholly devoted despite the great civilization they are credited with. Even touching on the great City of Atlantis that pundits say is the last vestige of a civilization that was there before us, science and religion seem to be driving further apart instead of complimenting each other. The Mayans had calendars dating back over four hundred years yet they lived in the stone age and were using more than seventeen calendars and were able to calculate the earths length or revolving around the earth almost to faultless decimals yet they were deeply steeped in religion is a modern wonder (Arguelles, Jose 18). Moreover, the little known Dogon people of Mali in West Africa have knowledge about the cosmic make up second only to that of the Maya. The religious ceremonies that accompany the ways of this highly gifted people are another pointer at what science with religion can attain, especially in relation to how the Dogon view the issue of Sirius star (Benest and Duvent 1-4)

Perhaps Christianity faced the greatest test of time, and still does, appertaining to science shattering some of the beliefs it held as fact, and having to embrace science as an integral part of human development and go hand in hand with the changes that were all along inevitable.

Religion and state have often ganged up to control the advances of science, gathering strength in numbers to control that which is new and threatens to usurp the status quo and to destabilize the equilibrium of the order of things. Scientific knowledge that seemed to change the nature of belief among Christians was not only received with skepticism but also seen as an insult to the God and Christianity as a whole. Thoughts that abounded to the tune of lightening and thunder were the result of demons and the after effects of such natural happenings that science came to explain were put into question and its was not a walk in the park for scientist to prove their discoveries often faced with hostile religionists who often than not, took their religions as the only truth to be adhered to. Natural calamities that were attributed to the workings of God, brought about by plagues which spread due to lack of proper sanitation aided by infancy in scientific development, or high mortality rate in children was generally accepted; all these could have been averted by science and were not enthusiastically accepted by the Christians (Robinson para. 16).

Conclusion

In conclusion, science seems to be the path to the future. Religion, from whatever angle one looks at it from seems to be immature, like it needs time to decide on what it really wants to be. The thousands divisions of religion, with sects springing up each day, major religions having cracks as to what they really are all about and religious fundamentalism coming to the fore of things, dictating the relations between nations, like the west and the middle east countries disqualifies religion as the way forward. Where religion is irrational, science steps and where religion speaks in different voices, science displays a united front, speaking in unison, in one voice the world over. Where religion comes across as a competition for who has the most acceptable beliefs or who can gather the most fervent believers, science is all about the collective good for humanity.

Modern science, as opposed to religion, can now claim more miracles than religion can. From medical advances where even the most intricate and delicate operations can be made and lives which if left to the power of prayer would perish are saved, the balance that science brings to ease mans daily encounter with nature, making life easier and worthier to live, the plaudits belong to science.

Works Cited

Brooke, John H. Science and religion: some historical perspectives. Cambridge University Press. 1991. Web.

Benest, Daniel and Duvent, J.L. The Dogon and the Sirius Mystery. Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 299, 1995 pp. 621-628. Web.

Linder, Douglas. The Trial of Galileo. The Trial of Galileo. 2002. Web.

Luskin, Casey. Intelligent Design Theory and the Relationship between Science and Religion. Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness Center. 2010. Web.

Maniktala, Rakesh. Spiritualism, modern science and ancient history. Science Mysteries. N.d. 2010. Web.

Nakasone, Ronald Y. Buddhism, Contemporary Issues in Science and Religion. Buddhism, Contemporary Issues in Science and Religion. 2010.

Robinson, B. A. 2003. The conflict between science and religion. Religious Tolerance. Web.

Verhoeven, Martin. Buddhism and Science: Probing the Boundaries of Faith and Reason. Religion East and West, Issue 1, 2001. Web.

Going to a Lunch with a Client

All psychotherapists codes of ethics contain clauses excluding non-working relationships in the therapeutic couple. The relationship between the client and the psychotherapist is extraordinary. They are different from anything one encounters in ordinary life. This relationship is not symmetrical: it is wholly focused on the client, which may cause him to want to spend more time together. However, this should not be allowed, so in this situation, it is necessary to refuse the client but talk to him about the reasons for refusal. It is crucial to indicate the business framework of the relationship because it is not known what the consequences of informal meetings may be. This position is the same concerning both genders and, in any case, governed by ethical rules (Corey & Corey, 2020). Mixing personal and professional disruption of the therapeutic process and therapy ceases to be effective and becomes more complicated.

Attending Group Functions Outside the Therapy

Derek should refuse to attend such events outside of working hours. The main ethical issue here is that informal settings foster non-working relationships and are ethically unacceptable (Corey & Corey, 2020). At the same time, however, meetings with group members can help trace clients behavioral patterns in the out-of-office setting. Thus, the approach to behavior with participants could be adapted to their needs. At the same time, Dereks conduct must be strictly controlled; if he allows too much, it will negatively affect the success of therapy. A too-informal relationship cannot be restored to its former state, so such meetings are undesirable. Gender is irrelevant because the point is the timeliness of the therapeutic process and the steady relationship.

Bartering for Therapy Services

The goal of a good therapist is to improve the clients well-being, so accepting an offer is not unethical. Bartering will promote Waynes emotional well-being and will not destroy the connection with the therapist. It is possible to offer installment payments or to negotiate a later settlement while setting an exact deadline. Meetings without charge are ethical, but they must be regulated, negotiated, and still presuppose future compensation. This solution has no territorial features, although it may seem that such a practice is more acceptable in rural areas. At the same time, the specifics of the service must be negotiated in advance to avoid problems for both client and therapist. Moreover, a possible refusal must be justified not to worsen Waynes condition.

Reference

Barner, C. (2012). Social media and communication. Sage.

Brownlie, D. (2012). Andragogy. Web.

Cummings, J. N., Butler, B., & Kraut, R. (2014). The quality of online social relationships. Communications of the ACM, 45(7), 103108.

Corey, M. S., & Corey, G. (2020). Becoming a helper. Cengage Learning.

Introduction

According to Deloach and Paul, symbiotic relationship refers to the interdepenence between two animals of different species for a long duration of time (7). Symbiotic relationship occurs only when different species are involved in intra-specific relationships (relationships within the same species).They include mutualism, when the two species benefit from each other, parasitism, when one of the species benefits at the expense of the other, commensalism, when only one of the species benefits without harming the other species.

Main body

Cleaner gobies are also called Neon gobies and they are of two species known as Elacatinus and the Gobiosoma. The two species are almost similar in every aspect ranging from theirs looks, behavior and their care requirements. They belong to Kingdom Anamalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Actinopterygii, Order Perciformes and Family Gobiidae (Deloach and Paul 12). Gobies are all small and scaleless. They are found in tropical oceans. Cleaner gobies are easy to take care of and can be kept in aquariums. They take a variety of aquarium foods. They also depend on parasites in the waters. They also clean the ocean by picking the external parasites from them. Neon fishes comes in variety of colours.

Males and females resemble. Statistics show that the females neon gobies are more aggressive than the males in cleaning because the need more foods for spawning. The male and the females do the guarding of the eggs till they hatch which takes place in few days. Cleaner gobies do well intank- raised because spawning takes place in hiding places hence the necessity for aquarists to install PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) pipes in the aquariums.

Cleaning station is a place where sea organisms come together for cleaning. The process of cleaning involves removal of internal and external parasites from the body of the animal. This can be done by other creatures such as cleaner shrimp and cleaner fish which include wrasses and gobies (Deloach and Paul 51). When fish needs to be cleaned they often approach a cleaning station and behave in a peculiar way to a cleaner fish suggesting their need to be cleaned and cleary indicate it will not harm it. When the cleaner fish is sure there is no danger, the cleaner fish starts picking the parasites on the skin and the gills of the fish being cleaned. Cleaning stations are located in the reefs of the oceans.

The cleaner fish feeds on materials such as algaeand parasites that may be attached to the larger organisims bodies. The cleaner fish do not harm the body of the organism being cleaned in any way hence mutualism because the two organisms depend on each other.

The cleaner goby has been seen to posses the cleaning habits because they feed on small organisms in the aquaria. The cleaner gobies remove internal and external parasites from large fish. The bigger fish leave the station healthier while the cleaning gobies get their daily meals.The two parties gain from their relationship. The cleaning gobies live in the lower side of the aquarium hiding in the rocks.

The cleaning gobies also feed on the dead skin of the fish being cleaned, tissues and the mucus hence ensuring sustainable health for the marine organisms (Deloach and Paul 42). When the cleaner goby feeds on the algae, it also ensures that there is enough air circulation in the waters which is a benefit to all the other organisms in the water.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the cleaning goby plays a major role in the cleaning station because by feeding on the parasites on the large fish and the algae it ensures condusive enviroment in the water for a healthy living for the marine organisms being cleaned.

Work Cited

Deloach, Ned, and Paul Humann. Reef Fish Behaviour. New York: New World Publications, 1999.

The graph describes the connection between relative humidity and temperature as well as the variations in these two parameters at different times of the day. The overall relationships exhibited are that the relative humidity increases as temperature reduces and vice versa. The peak relative humidity is measured at 6 am, which corresponds to the lowest temperature. Conversely, the highest temperature is measured at around 4 pm, which also corresponds to the lowest relative humidity.

Relative humidity denotes the proportion of water vapor that is contained in a specified volume of air compared to the maximum amount of vapor that can be held at a given temperature. The changes in relative humidity with temperature are linked to the effect of temperature on saturation vapor pressure (Ahrens and Henson 85). Increases in air temperature are caused by solar radiation taken in by the atmosphere and emitted by the earth. A temperature increase boosts the kinetic energy of water molecules, allowing them to break free and evaporate, which increases the vapor pressure. Therefore, warm air requires a lot of moisture for saturation and can hold a lot of water molecules. Consequently, the relative humidity is low at high temperatures if the amount of water in the air remains constant. In contrast, cold air can hold less water than warm air. Reductions in temperatures lower the kinetic energy of water. There is minimal to no evaporation of water, which reduces the vapor pressure. Assuming that the amount of water vapor is constant, reductions in temperature lead to an increase in relative humidity because there is more water in liquid form compared to the maximum capacity of water vapor for that temperature.

Work Cited

Ahrens, C. Donald, and Robert Henson. Essentials of Meteorology: An Invitation to the Atmosphere. 8^th ed., Cengage Learning, 2018.

Abstract

Religion and politics are regarded as very unlikely bedfellows in the contemporary world. This is contrary to previous civilizations where religion took a center stage in the day-to-day running of politics. This paper will look at the various stages of the relationship between religion and politics through various ages of civilization with emphasis on the factors that led religion and politics to take different roads, fight against each other and eventually learn to co-exist. The paper will look at how various civilizations have regarded religion and the extent to which religion has been allowed to influence the direction of politics. An observation is made that religion and politics have each found their own niche and decided to co-exist. From an individuals perspective to a national perspective it is observable that when religion and politics became a basis of consideration at any one time, there emerges conflicts, discrepancies and disagreements. Therefore, in nations where politics is still strongly influenced by religion, there is a subtle understanding that there is a deliberate effort to overlook the conflicts.

Introduction

Politics relates to governance and refers to the processes by which governance is achieved, how leaders are chosen and how policies are postulated. Politics touches on the realization by a man that living within a society was better than living with each person for themselves. However, doing things together meant that there had to be some guiding protocol and that there had to be some figure and or institution to ensure constant maintenance of order. Religion on the other hand refers to the spiritual beliefs of individuals (Bruce, 2003). One observable similarity between the two is that they constitute important aspects of persons or societies existent. Politics was borne out of the need to establish a system of governance that would address all the plights and welfare of individuals within the society. Through the realization that not everybody could be a leader at any one time and that resources were limited, it became imperative to come up with a system to at least ensure those leadership procedures and division of resources were done in roughly a fair manner. Religion on the other hand was borne out of the need by man to understand and explain his surroundings. In a bid to understand the world man assumed that the unknown and unexplained phenomena around him must have been due to some supreme force. The man came to revere these forces and even assumed that the forces controlled his life and therefore it was mans responsibility to recognize these forces in everything he did. All the aspects concerning these forces were summed up in a religion which was made up of the name given to the forces and the followers, the ways in which the forces were worshipped and the will of the forces towards mans existence. Since there were so many things that man was unable to explain perhaps due to lack of understanding, the forces were believed to control all happenings in the world. As the man began to appreciate science and accept the findings and reproducibility of scientific facts, religion also began to lose ground. Politics had found a new friend in the form of science as leaders began to appreciate the political philosophies postulated by scholars because they were empirical in nature and therefore easy to understand.

Background to the Study

This study is supported by the realization that religion used to have a very strong influence on political issues and then suddenly at the advent of science and democracy, religion began to lose its basis in politics. However, science and democracy could not completely replace religion because religion constitutes an important aspect of a persons life. Science overtook religion in the circles of politics due to the realization that nations could not be governed just following doctrines blindly. Furthermore, religion could not promise the kind of assurance and democracy that science provided. In the contemporary world, most western nations recognize religion only by ensuring that there is freedom of religion. From this background, an analysis of religion and politics can be conducted to establish the specific factors that led to the current situation.

Significance of the Study

Religion and politics have and will continue to constitute important aspects in persons lives. There is a spiritual aspect to every individual and it is for this reason that each and every society conforms to some form of belief. Throughout the ages, there has been a general realization that every community has a spiritual perspective to it. Apart from the major religions; Christianity, Islam, Hindu and Jewish, there are still some forms of smaller religions. Therefore it is important to establish the kind of relationship that politics and religion have and the subsequent impact at the community and the national level.

Literature Review

As outlined by Roskin (2010), the important aspects that define nations include geography, politics and culture. Geography is just a physical aspect that defines aspects such as borders. Therefore, the two most important aspects of nations are politics and culture. Religion is embedded within the culture and therefore has direct contact with politics. According to Arronoff (1984), the relationship between politics and religion in contemporary society can be analyzed by looking at the concept of dualism. Apparently, this is the concept that finally ensured that politics and religion could co-exist peacefully with each of them running parallel to one another. The concept of dualism outlines that politics and religion should be viewed as independent entities. Furthermore, politics and religion should not have mutual influence. A brief flashback at history reveals that the Roman Catholic Church was once very influential in the running of politics in the Roman Empire. During this period the head of the Roman Church, the Pope served both as a spiritual and political leader. However, with civilization and the fall of the Roman Empire, the Pope lost most if not all of the political influence. The Anglican Church which is still considered the official church of England had the role of fulfilling spiritual needs but again stayed away from active politics. Almost all religions discussed by Arronoff show that some form of duality exists between politics and religion. Perhaps, the reason for such duality could be due to the realization that politics and religion were needs of all human beings and that one could not be used to run or determine the other. These realizations point to the fact that at some point it became important that religion and politics to establish a relationship that would ensure that both co-existed with one another. One important aspect of politics is the formulation of laws to govern the existence of individuals within a society and to outline penalties for individuals who violate the laws. Most laws are surprisingly made of doctrines that are obtained from religion. However, with democracy, most of these laws are being continuously reviewed in a bid to make them more fitting within the societal context. For instance, an aspect such as abortion which is strongly opposed by the major religions is acceptable by most western nations under various circumstances. The absoluteness of religion makes it rather impractical in the contemporary world where democracy is synonymous with civilization.

The United States perhaps offers a perfect example considering that it was founded on strong religious principles. The puritan Christians who played a role in shaping the American society during the early years ensured that the nation recognized the role played by religion. Laws were and policies were made with special consideration on whether they were in accordance with Puritan doctrines. The current American society shows a complete contrast where even teaching the Bible in schools is an offense. Considered as the greatest democracy in the world, it is understandable why religion lost its place in American politics. In religion laws and doctrines are passed, and followers are expected to adhere without asking any questions. However, as the American society evolved and responded to civilization and scientific advancements going on around the world, it became important to put various aspects into consideration instead of passing laws on the basis of faith. All religions profess the faith which implies that followers are supposed to believe without asking questions. Even in contentious issues such as the issue of gay marriages, people would rather base their arguments on grounds of being conventional and aspects such as the implications and consequences rather than on religion. (Brown-Calhoun & Wald, 2007).

Lijpart (1999), in analyzing the patterns of democracy around the world and the effects of these patterns, outlines that there is very little consideration of the roles played by religion in democracy. In fact, Lijpart outlines that democracy is the primary reason for the fall put between religion and politics. Just as explained by Brown-Calhoun & Wald in studying the American society, it is the democracy being sought after by the American people that make the American society less and less determined to involve religion in politics. The case study outlined by Lijpart indicates that fewer countries in Europe and America even refer to religion when addressing issues related to the formulation of policies. Lijpart points out that with globalization, communities have been compelled to co-exist with each other regardless of aspects such as cultural disparities. Therefore, the situation becomes more complicated when seeking to choose the religion from which to base politics. Democracy becomes an easier option since it is at least based on the consideration of most perspectives and eventually the majority of the population is contented regardless of whether they have different religious beliefs. In nations especially in the Middle East where religion still plays an important role in politics, there is the realization that the kind of leadership presented is somewhat dictatorial; dictatorial by the virtue that religion offers no room for negotiations. Since religion still forms an important aspect of human lives there had to be some form of relationship between religion and politics. According to Moyser (1991), dualism offers the best options as religion was relegated to just the personal level and politics in terms of democracy took control. Looking at the situation around the world currently, there is the realization that very few would even consider considering religion in politics. During the times when religion was strongly involved in politics, it was majorly at the level of ensuring that moral standards were upheld. Nations that still base their politics according to religion still use the same concept. A policy will be passed on the basis of whether it agrees with the moral guidelines of a particular religion. However, politics has become much more complex than just morals as evidenced by various case studies outlined by Lijpart (1999).

Discussion

The general realization is that the current political environment has very little room any for religion. Politics is currently being guided by democracy and religion is rigid and water-tight. Instead of religion having a strong influence on politics, it is surprising that it is politics that is influencing the direction of religion. The current call from various quarters within the Anglican Church for the Church to allow gay marriages is just but one example. Traditional religious doctrines are based on clearly outlined laws either passed down from one generation to another or in religious books. However, as the world is changing and unique challenges are presenting themselves there is a general realization that sooner or later religion will also begin to embrace democracy. One concept that has stood out in analyzing the relationship between religion and democracy is the concept of dualism. Dualism allows for religion and politics to co-exist without interfering with each other. Dualism existed even in ancient civilizations, but the only difference was the side that it leaned on most. Initially, dualism leaned on religion and it was therefore upon religion to determine the kind of relationship it would have with politics. However, in the contemporary world dualism leans mostly on politics and therefore it is upon politics to determine the nature of the relationship. It is for this reason that politicians will determine whether a nation should allow for freedom of worship or not. There is even a distant feeling that religion might embrace politics when the decision by some religious groups is a consideration.

Conclusion

As outlined in the abstract in contemporary society religion and politics have not been very good bedfellows. Politics is a game of numbers and the decisions made when democracy is at play should be the will of the majority. However, religion does not consider numbers but rather concentrates on doctrines written in religious books or passed down from one generation to another. As the world faces newer challenges and scientific discoveries and theories disapprove of religious beliefs, religion is not just losing favor with politics but also with the masses. The man believed in religion as a way of explaining the things happening around him. Since there were so many things that man was unable to explain perhaps due to lack of understanding, the Supreme Being was believed to control all happenings in the world. As the man began to appreciate science and accept the findings and reproducibility of scientific facts, religion began to lose favor. Politics had found new friends in the form of science and politics as leaders began to appreciate the political philosophies postulated by scholars because they were empirical in nature and therefore easy to understand. Therefore, the major cause of the reduced participation of religion in political affairs is the lack of democratic opportunities within various religions.

Reference List

1. Arronoff, J. M. (1984). Religion and Politics. New Jersey: Rutgers.
2. Brown- Calhoun, A. & Wald, D. K. (2007). Religion and Politics in the United States. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
3. Bruce, S. (2003). Politics and Religion. Cambridge: Polity Press.
4. Lijpart, A. (1999). Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty Six Countries. London: Yale University Press.
5. Moyser, G. (1991). Politics and Religion in the Modern World. London: Routledge.
6. Roskin, M.G. (2011). Countries and Concepts: Politics, geography, culture (11th ed.). New York: Longman ISBN-10: 0205778720; ISBN-13: 978-0205778720

Introduction

William Faulkner is a master craftsman in the history of novel tradition who spins the masterful artistic pieces by conjoining very similar parts of the whole tied together to form the strong webs in the form of novels that attract the readers to rule their fictional world with the magical strength of his powerful creative devices. Through the different novels, Faulkner can organize the world of his fiction with the most powerful strength of relations.

It is through the relationships that are developed between the different and distinct characters and environments, which are on the other hand, related closely to each other, that Faulkner spins and creates beautiful pieces that adorn the art gallery of literature. An analysis of the relationship that is apparent in the novels The Sound and Fury and Absalom Absalom! proves this argument to be true. Whereas a close reading of the former novel makes clear that the relationship between Quentin and his father was sometimes a metaphor for how Quentin looked at and experienced customs, traditions, lifestyle, economic realities, etc in the south, the same attempt of the latter would maintain that a similar relationship is evident in the lives of the people in the south and their coexistence with each other.

The relationship between Quentin and his Father was familiar, loving (as clarified in the sale of the Benjy land to enable Quentin is going to Harvard), strained, and, occasionally, abusive (for instance, his father always put down Quentins sexuality). In the same manner, there is a strong relationship among the people living in the south and most remarkably, the southern culture which had a hierarchy did not affect this relation  whether it is master and slave, lower and upper class, or men and woman.

More specifically, Quentins Father had and would always have a hold on him in the same way the southern culture has or has had a hold on its people through social norms, traditions, and psychological/economic circumstances. In short, it can be maintained that Faulkner aligns Quentins development and customs of the south through the dialogues, images, settings, and characters.

Relationship between two novels

Before the text passages are exposed to prove the argument, let it be specifically noted that there is an important relationship between the two novels considered. Like Absalom, Absalom!, The Sound and the Fury is in part concerned with the elusiveness, the multivalence, of truth, or at least with mans persistent and perhaps necessary tendency to make of truth a personal thing: each man, apprehending some fragment of the truth, seizes upon that fragment as though it were the whole truth and elaborates it into a total vision of the world, rigidly exclusive and hence utterly fallacious. (The Composition of The Sound and the Fury, Michael Millgate) There is a vital similarity between the two works as we gather from the relationships involved in them and the hold of the superior one in the relationship over the inferior is easily identifiable.

Relationship between the father and son

In the case of the relationship between the father and son is very much evident in which the former has a stronghold over the latter in his perspective, concepts, thinking, and other activities. In the South, you are ashamed of being a virgin. Boys. Men. They lie about it. Because it means less to women, Father said. He said it was men who invented virginity nor women.

Father said its like death: only a state in which the others are left and I said, But to believe it doesnt matter and he said, Thats whats so sad about anything: not only virginity and I said, Why couldnt it have been me and not her who is unvirgin and he said, Thats why thats sad too: nothing is even worth the changing of it, and Shreve said if hes got better sense than to chase after the little dirty sluts and I said Did you ever have a sister? Did you? Did you? (The Sound and Fury 78) Here, the hold of the father over the concepts and the thinking of the son are very clear. Another instance makes the point very clear. And Father said its because you are a virgin: dont you see? Women are never virgins. Purity is a negative state and therefore contrary to nature. (The Sound and Fury 116)

The same hold of the superior in the relationship, i.e. the southern culture, over the inferior, i.e. the people irrespective of any kind of difference, that is evident in the novel Absalom Absalom! can be illustrated in the following passage. a man who so far as anyone (including the father who was to give him a daughter in marriage) knew either had no past at all or did not dare reveal it- a man who rode into town out of nowhere with a horse and tow pistols and a herd of wild beasts that he had hunted down single handed because he was stronger in fear than even they were in whatever heathen place he had fled from, and that French architect who looked like he had been hunted down and caught in turn by the negroes- a man who fled her and hid, concealed himself behind respectability, ignorant Indians, nobody knows how, and a house the size the size of a courthouse where he lived for three years without a window or door or bedstead in it and still call it Sutpens Hundred as if it had been a Kings grant in unbroken perpetuity from his great grandfather- a home, position: a wife and family which, being necessary to concealment, he accepted along the rest of respectability as he would have accepted the necessary discomfort and even pain of the briers and thorns in a thicket if the thicket could have given him the protection he sought. (Absalom Absalom! 10) In the following instance also this great hold of the culture over its individuals is very much clear. No: not even a gentleman. Marrying Ellen or marrying ten thousand Ellens could not have made him one. (Absalom Absalom! 11).

In the case of Quentin, we find that the father has a great influence on his character. The way of his thinking is very much affected by this influence and the symbols and dialogues in the novel have a similar influence on the relationship between the two. Father said a man is the sum of his misfortunes. One day youd think misfortune would get tired Father said. A gull on an invisible wire attached through space dragged. You carry the symbol of your frustration into eternity.

Then the wings are bigger Father said only who can play the harp. (The Sound and Fury 104) The sexuality of Quentin is very much controlled by his father and therefore, he develops thinking of the concept of woman in the way the father has formulated him. Women do have an affinity for evil, for believing that no woman is to be trusted, but that some men are too innocent to protect themselves (The Sound and Fury 105)

It is also remarkable that the following passage is analyzed from the point of view of the southern culture and the people there. He had accomplished this- got his plantation to running smooth (he had an overseer now: it was the son of that same sheriff who attested him at his bride to bes gate on the day of the betrothal) within ten years of the wedding, and now he acted his role too- a role of arrogant ease and leisure which, as had corrupted Ellen to more than renegades through like her unaware that his flowering was a forced blooming too and that while he was still [laying the scene to the audience, behind him fate, destiny, retribution, and irony  the stage manager, call him what you will was already striking the set and dragging on the synthetic and spurious shadows and shape of the next one. (Absalom Absalom! 57)

To make some relevant observations based on the two novels, it may be maintained that Quentin was a young man about to grow up and blossom beyond his family and this is a theme that can easily be identified with any adolescent coming of age. Yet, we may also comprehend that he was trapped by the circumstance of his family, position, and expectations. The same can be established about the south.

From time to time adolescent passages present themselves in a community or region of the world. This is to mean that the character of the adolescent Quentin reminds one of the adolescent south, which did not behave like a mature region when the issues related to slavery and slave rights came up, and it behaved much more like a struggling child or adolescent trying to navigate painful growth when it was hit by hurricane Katrina.

Katrina put the south dead center with profound uncertain circumstances. The slavery traditions influence the circumstances of individuals of color in the south today. These circumstances were filled with life and death, tragedy and joys to corruption/theft to devoted love and compassion a legacy owned by the south. The journalism coverage captured these images on the news reports and articles written. In Faulkners writing, we learn about specific events that indicate that the south was young. (The attitude about women/virginity is an example)

Conclusion

Therefore, in the ultimate conclusion of the paper, it may be maintained that the relationship between the father and the son in the novel The Sound and Fury and the relationship between the various people of the novel Absalom Absalom! illustrate the point that Faulkner establishes deep organization and unity among the various works to make the individual works form part of the entirety of his literary contribution. The role of the father in the former novel is played by the southern culture in the latter novel and the people living there exchange the role of Quentin. In this analysis, the specific nature of the works by Faulkner is very evident.

In Quentins life, we see him move through love, sadness, joy, compassion, devotion, crime, death, and the influence of his father. Quentin too was navigating through painful growth. In the same vigor, Faulkner also opened the eyes of the reader to the depth of southern cultural norms that shaped circumstances for the children or people of the south with its ever-parental presence filled with constraints, legacy, tradition, and economic realities. The personality of the south was a parent figure for all privileged and the underprivileged just as Quentins fathers voice prevailed in Quentins opinion of himself. Consequently, the two novels have a great contribution to make, in finding out a characteristic feature or trend in Faulkners fiction which is demonstrated through their characters, dialogues, and images.

References

Faulkner, William. The Sound and Fury-Vintage International 1990.

Faulkner, William. Absalom Absalom! Vintage International 1990.

The Composition of The Sound and the Fury, Michael Millgate. Web.

The world is a highly unpredictable and hectic place. You must have heard this phrase thousands of times already. However, have you ever thought about its implications on relationships? Today, the arrangements of married couples have changed compared to the situation several decades ago. Divorces are more acceptable in society, some people choose to be single parents, and some decide they do not need to be married to have a family. Does this mean that society does not respect any relationships anymore? Does this mean that our future relationships are doomed to fail? Today, I will explore the topic of broken relationships and try to answer those questions.

The term broken relationships can mean many things to many people. How do we define them? For some, these might be relationships that were deemed to fail from the beginning: the age gap between the couple was too big, their interests were too different, or they were simply not a match. You might look at these types of couples and think, what do these people talk about? Another type is relationships that seemed to work, but as time has passed, some things were just not meant to be for those couples.

From older generations, you must have heard that the institution of marriage is declining. Younger people are divorcing at an all-time high rate. There is no sanctity of marriage anymore! This is a phrase young people tend to hear, maybe not so often now, but still. The numbers also may indicate that this is true. According to Pew Research Center, about 67% of married people under 50 are still in their first marriage, in contrast to 83% in the 1960s (2015). This, of course, affects children. Nowadays, only 62% of children live in two-parent households, and not all of them live with their parents in their first marriage (Pew Research Center, 2015). Other factors play a role in family structure, such as race, education level, and class.

Indeed, for most people, divorce is not their first choice. How many people do you think are getting married with the thought of divorcing their significant other? I would bet that not so many. This is a painful and costly process for the majority, and not everyone wants to go through with it. People marrying for love always hope that their arrangement will last forever. However, numbers show that there is still a vast risk that hopes alone will not get us anywhere. So, what can we do to prevent this possibly? Is it even possible to prevent it?

Firstly, we can listen to experts on relationships. Psychologists, counselors, therapists. People with education have devoted their lives to understanding other people and their interactions. Secondly, we live in an era of accessible information, and we can use it! We can use it for self-improvement, use it for building healthier relationships, and be closer to other people. Humans are social creatures, and this amount of information is our chance to understand others, build strong relationships, and be a better version of ourselves.

To conclude, I do not think that our relationships are necessarily doomed. Despite the rise in divorces, there is no reason our generation cannot work on ourselves to build healthier relationships and change this dynamic to omit consequences that future generations have to bear.

Reference list

Pew Research Center. (2015). The American Family Today. 

Abstract

Humans have different values and behave, think, and believe based on them. The formation of romantic relationships implies that people with different values emerge. As various factors hinder the building of relationships, values are one aspect that encourages their creation. This work thus aims at studying the impacts of values in romantic relationships. Therefore, through efficient research relying on recent articles, values undoubtedly or negatively influence relationships, depending on their pessimism or positivity. Two people in relationships tend to impact each others values by correcting or strengthening them. The formation of new values falls under the compromise, leading to more respect and efficient conflict resolution abilities that strengthen these romantic bonds.

Introduction

Romantic relationships are a rather interesting subject for research in the modern world. At the same time, age, class, or ethnic limitations rarely hinder the development of this kind of relationship. Values are an essential factor in forming a good relationship. Equally important is that relationships can facilitate the unification or correction of partners existing values and form a new one. In the case of cultural differences, the formation of shared values is significant for modern society. Approaching the issue from the perspective of the sharing or emerging values will help systematize the psychological approach to problems that may arise for partners in the relationship.

People willingly drown themselves in new romantic relationships within the heavy currents of attractions and infatuations and thus forget to check for compatibility. Compatibility implies searching for the same interests, perhaps looking for people who love dogs or outdoor skiing (Kerviler & Rodriguez, 2019). The above examples form vital characteristics, but one might begin experiencing shifts from these traits when one gets older or experiences life changes, such as a change of occupations. That means interests, as well as hobbies, change with time, but what would remain the same are the core values. Like age, class, and change of hobbies, among other aspects, hinder the creation of romantic relationships, values are vital in establishing solid connections. Core values entail the main suppositions that establish ones identity. These values guide conduct and direct people on what is acceptable and desirable (Afifi et al., 2019).

This work aims to study the role of values and relationships in shaping people in a romantic bond. Therefore, values impact relationships positively or negatively. Spouses tend to influence each others values, and creating common principles amid cultural differences aids in making relationships solid.

How Values Influence Relationships

People might come from different socioeconomic backgrounds, thus showing different spending values. Thus, these different financial values show the motivation behind how people spend their money. In other words, these values guide, motivate and shape peoples monetary behavior. For instance, individuals from high-class backgrounds might value expensive commodities compared to those from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

When these people engage in a relationship, they might find it challenging to adapt to each other, as one person might view the other as spending more money on unnecessary commodities rather than basic needs, and therefore lead to strain. As confirmed by Kus Ambro~ et al. (2021), relationships are made up of people who consistently engage in different things, which could strain the relationship. Besides, there might be negative money habits, such as gambling, spending without plans and going above the budget. These negative financial values harm relationships, as they lead to conflicts. On the other hand, having positive spending values, such as saving and spending based on the budget, would positively impact the relationships, as it shows the other partner a sense of accountability.

In addition, when it comes to personality, one attribute appreciated in relationships is trust. Trust is a value that is fundamental to any romantic bond, and it is defined as the supposition that the other person will always be faithful and truthful (Kus Ambro~ et al., 2021). To trust the other person implies that one can efficiently rely on them and feel secure when confiding in them. Trust enables individuals to rely more on core partners, enabling them to invest in and develop the bond. This value takes superiority above the others, as it is the basis of the connection.

From the above notion, the value of trust affects the relationship as it brings people closer. Nevertheless, the opposite would occur when this value is absent in the relationship. When relationships lack complete trust, it enables the potential growth of harmful thoughts, actions, and emotions, such as negative ascriptions, doubt, and jealousy. Lack of trust also leads to reduced intimacy and feelings of insecurity in the other partner.

Furthermore, the other value of meaningful impacting relationships is political views. For instance, in the USA, people are either liberals or conservatives. Individuals who identify as liberals tend to value freedom and take charge in politics. These people believe that the government has the core mandate of safeguarding the rights of its citizens. On the other hand, a relationship can also be made of one person being a conservation. These are people who are seen to enhance as well as conserve social practices. The main value of these people is to uphold the traditional ways of doing things. In a relationship, these values either hinder or promote adequate bonding. Thus, past studies have found that having different political ideologies in relationships has increased the possibility of leading to break-ups (Dimant, 2022). From the above notion, having the same political ideologies is a common shared value that contributes to the strength of the bond.

How People in a Relationship Impact Each Others Values

People in a relationship can strengthen and unify with the values of their partners. It is common for humans to want to become the best versions of themselves. More like the need to eat, drink, and cease harm, people also endure the primary need to learn, improve, and expand, an idea identified as self-expansion. When an individual experiences self-expansion, they increase their competency and abilities to handle new challenges that might arise. Of course, humans can attain self-expansion by getting involved in new activities and learning new ideas. Captivatingly, romantic bonds can also be an individuals primary source of growth (Kerviler & Rodriguez, 2019).

Humans happen to value mates who assist them in becoming better forms of themselves. One means to enhance self-growth is by sharing unique values and skills with ones patner. The merging inspires partners to adapt traits of each other to a certain extent. For instance, if one partner has a substantial value of trust and being faithful, and she engages with another individual holding those traits dearly, then their worth for trust will augment. In other words, sharing the value of trust makes the partners focus more on the trait, even if other people externally fail to regard it. Since people in a relationship have different values, they need to attempt to maintain their sole identities while increasing the wanted aspects of their mates.

On the other hand, just as people in a romantic relationship see enhanced values, some of their traits are modified if not corrected. For instance, in some relationships, one partner might have a negative outlook on life. Research has depicted that being around negative people can make an individual depressed and sad, which means negativity is contagious. Talking negatively within social interactions, even via facial expressions, can make others feel negative (Kerviler & Rodriguez, 2019).

However, the good news is also that positivity value is also contagious. Spouses with people who are negative are not accountable for making them positive, but they can influence their pessimistic values into positive ones. These partners can thus encourage their partners to try new things, such as fun activities or meet more people. The other negative value that aid explains how romantic relationships shift peoples values is financial indiscipline. Through effective communication, partners can talk to their spouses about the dangers of gambling, thus aiding them to shift their outlooks on destructive habits. Hence, it is evidenced that individuals in romantic relationships strengthen or modify their values to keep the relationship solid.

How Value Modifications Improve Relationships

In the current world, one trending factor is the intermarriages of people from different cultures. Various factors have led to intermarriages, such as education, where people from different races or communities find a common meeting place in their learning institutions. The other aspect is occupation and the rise of technology through various dating sites. Different cultures threaten these romantic relationships (Yang & Prost, 2021). Each culture has its habits as well as preferences. In interracial bonds, individual habits might lead to concerns in the same manner that would when they are allowed in one nation but prohibited in the other. Most interracial partners mistake cultural values for spouse defects, thus making them blame their mates or, in extreme cases, leave the relationship (Yang & Prost, 2021).

Hence, when people from different cultures engage, they must compromise and establish their shared values that would aid them in improving their connection. A good example is that in most cultures, men and women have been labelled with different duties, such as women are required to clean the house are care for the family, and men are required to protect and provide. These values, therefore, create differences based on how partners view each other while engaged, as one spouse might see the need to divine house chores while the other neglect these duties. These differences are due to cultural dissimilarities; in a case like this, spouses must establish shared values to live. For example, they can divide chores and other duties equally or in a certain way. This step would ensure that every person feels valued, respected and helped, rather than feelings of abuse and work overload due to cultural labels.

Conclusion

Values are vital elements in everyday life, as they guide behaviours, words, and beliefs. Individuals live an authentic life if they are in a situation where they are allowed to express their values willingly. In other words, people tend to feel uncomfortable and bored when denied the chance to showcase their values. Humans have different experiences, from childhood to any particular age, making their values different. Examples of these experiences originate from family backgrounds, education levels, and socioeconomic class, among others. People fall in love at a certain point, and their values stay the same.

This work examined three sub-topics: how values impact relationships, how values affect each other, and the benefits of shifting values in forming healthy relationships. Thus, positive values influence relationships optimistically, while negative values impact them damagingly. People in relationships tend to modify their values and change to become the same as their partners. Changing values to create common ones is vital in relationships with people from different cultures, as this enhances bonds by enhancing individual values and respect. Values and relationships can therefore influence each other. Values can influence the formation and development of romantic relationships, but people in romantic relationships also influence each others values.

References

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Researchers have affirmed the existence of a relationship among tests, scales, populations, reliability, and validity (Kolen & Brennan, 2014). Scales often rely on unidimensionality because they use one item, which defines the unit of the construct. Franzen (2013) defines this unit as the level of severity within the construct under assessment. Scales and tests share a close relationship because the latter relies on scales as an instrument to test a population, or characteristic, in a research study. This is why scales are instrumental in organizing data for purposes of assessing reliability and validity in research. Therefore, researchers use scales to order subjects or characteristics of the testing (Kolen & Brennan, 2014). This is in lieu of the degree that scales use to display specific characteristics of a study.

Scales also give researchers the opportunity to rank their research units according to varied severity levels. This possibility also gives them an opportunity to change ordinal and nominal data to interval level scales (Franzen, 2013). These actions delimit nominal and ordinal data for use in other aspects of a research study. The samples that characterize the units of measurement in the scale determine how easy, or difficult, it is to generalize a measure across different populations. However, Kolen and Brennan (2014) say that generalizing the measures of a scale depends on the ability to generalize a scale across different types of populations. It is possible to affirm issues of validity and reliability using scales by comparing them to other data that measure the same constructs. Such a correlation should show the validity and reliability of the instrument used in a study. High reliability measures mean that most researchers could extrapolate the scales and tests to varied populations.

Application to Sampled Case Study

This section of the paper investigates the relationship among scales, populations, reliability, and validity through the works of Lin, Hsu, Li, Mathers and Huang (2010) when they developed an instrument to measure public health nurse competencies in Taiwan. In the same study, they also measured the nurses psychometric properties. As a demonstration of the relationship between scales and tests, the researchers used the Public Health Nurse professional Competency Scale as the instrument for assessing public health nurse competencies (as the test). The scale had 38 items, categorized into four groups/ domains.

Franzen (2013) says the construction of scales should consider issues of validity and reliability to affirm the usefulness of the scales. To do so, Lin, Hsu, Li, Mathers and Huang (2010) used a 7-member professional panel to determine the validity and reliability of the Public Health Nurse professional Competency Scale. The researchers assessed the content validity measures in each of the four domains created and found that the scale had strong reliability and validity measures. Based on the validity and reliability tests underpinning the development of the Public Health Nurse professional Competency Scale, it is plausible to believe that other researchers could apply the test and scale to other populations.

Suggestion and Validation of Idea

In my experience doing public health research studies, I believe that the relationship between tests and scales is direct because most tests use scales as the unit of assessment. Based on this extent of analysis, tests are reliant on scales as the nominal unit of assessment. However, their relationship with populations and reliability is indirect because researchers are limited to some tests when assessing different population dynamics (especially in public health studies). For example, it would be fallacious to use one test across varied population groups, of different socioeconomic classifications, to understand a research phenomenon. In fact, Kolen and Brennan (2014) say that for such generalizations to occur, researchers need to undertake further research to affirm the use of common tests and scales. Nonetheless, the validity and reliability of each scale and test depends on the reliability and validity tests used by the researcher. However, since there is a direct relationship between tests and scales, does this mean the same relationship exists across all levels of measurement in research?

References

Franzen, M. (2013). Reliability and Validity in Neuropsychological Assessment. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.

Kolen, M., & Brennan, R. (2014). Test Equating, Scaling, and Linking: Methods and Practices. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.

Lin, C., Hsu, C., Li, T., Mathers, N., & Huang, Y. (2010). Measuring professional competency of public health nurses: development of a scale and psychometric evaluation. J Clin Nurs, 19(21), 3161-70.