Family Narratives About Child Obesity Essay

A growing interest in psychological approaches to the treatment of childhood obesity has led to an â€Å"increased demand for insights into the psychological drives related to the development of obesity† and to the motivation in families with obese children (pg 183). Reports suggest that childhood obesity affects both the physical and the psychological health of the child, and the family is the main cause. There is very little research done on how to prevent childhood obesity. Children undergoing treatment for obesity are dependent on both the family’s practical (socio-economical and lifestyle) and psychological (emotions and attitude) support. Thus, the purpose of this research was to â€Å"elucidate aspects of the family’s interactions and its understanding of who has a weight problem, of whom the family feels ought to change their health-related behavior (diet and exercise)† (pg. 188) METHOD Participants From November 2001 to November 2005, 100 families with obese children participated in the treatment project. The families were to include a 10 to 12-year old child whose weight was more than 40% above the weight-to-height ratio for children, and the family was willing to participate for one and a half years in treatment. Children were referred from school nurses, teachers or practitioners. Each family participated in a one-hour introductory interview, with only 53 of the interviews actually being completed. Procedure There were three analyses that were comprised for the research: qualitative (family narratives), one for the families’ socio-demographic condition, and the third was the â€Å"ways in which the various narratives are represented in families from different socio-demographic backgrounds† (pg. 192). During the interview, participants responded to questions: â€Å"What does your family think are the causes to the child being overweight? Why do you (the child) want to lose weight (What is the motivation)? Who is going to change anything concerning the eating habits in the family? What is the education of the mother/father?† (pg. 199) Finally an analysis of the relationship between the described narratives and the three educational categories was carried out, based on their percentile distribution in the sample. RESULTS In the first part of the analysis attention was directed to whether or not a family mentioned causal factors that may have influenced the child’s weight development (internally). Factors claimed by a family as influencing the development of excess weight that are clearly causal explanations were diet, exercise, and psychology (comfort eating, boredom, etc.). â€Å"Almost all families (91%) stated that they had played a part in the development of their children’s obesity. Many of the parents (59% of the mothers and 22% of the fathers) had experience in trying to lose weight by dieting† (pg 201). The dietary factors specified by families as having played a part in the development of the child’s obesity was overeating unhealthy food. The second part was the external influences: The family claimed to have had no influence on the development of their child’s obesity. Narratives belonging to this area of research fall into three categories: genetics, previous illness, and incomprehensible (the family had no clue as to why their child was obese.). All families had a short-term perspective on motivation for wanting to change their child’s weight development. Most of the families who also had a long-term perspective on motivation belonged to the two groups with the highest educational level. ‘More than three-quarters of the families (78%) believed their child’s overweight to be a family problem and that the whole family must participate in lifestyle modification† (pg 204). Half of the families (54%) felt that the child must assume responsibility of exercising. DISCUSSION It is suggest that more studies be conducted, mainly due to the fact that most of the families that were studied had relatively short educations. Contrary to expectations, there was no association between the parents believing that they had no influence on their child’s weight development and their feeling that it was the child alone who must act and change its behavior.

ON WHAT GROUNDS DOES ARISTOTLE CLAIM THAT POLITICS MAKES US TRULY Essay

ON WHAT GROUNDS DOES ARISTOTLE CLAIM THAT POLITICS MAKES US TRULY HAPPY' - Essay Example Hence according to Aristotle happiness consists of a certain way of life, not of certain dispositions. Every activity has a ultimate cause, the good at which it aspires, and Aristotle argues that since there cannot be an never-ending regress of merely extrinsic goods, there must be a highest good at which all individual activity ultimately aims. (Nic. Ethics I 2) This ultimate aim of human life could be called happiness or eudaimonia. While happiness is possibly the best English word to translate eudaimonia, the term eudaimonia also carries implications of success, fulfillment, and prosperity. A person who is eudaimon is not simply enjoying life, but is enjoying life by living successfully Aristotle describes the happy life anticipated for man by nature as one lived in harmony with virtue. By virtues, Aristotle meant the act of achieving balance and moderation. According to Aristotle, The good for human beings, must essentially involve the entire proper function of human life as a whole, and this must be an activity of the soul that expresses authentic virtue or excellence. (Nic. Ethics I 7) Thus, human beings should aspire at a life in full compliance with their rational temperament; for this, the fulfillment of desires and the acquisition of material goods are less significant than the attainment of virtue. A happy person will reveal a personality suitably balanced between reasons and desires, with temperance characterizing all. True happiness or eudaimonia can therefore be achieved only through the fostering of the virtues that make a human life whole. Aristotle is famous for his proclamation that "man is by nature a political animal.† By politics he refers to the communal nature of man. Aristotle does not view politics as a separate science from moral values, but as the successor, and almost a verification of it. Aristotle envisioned politics as an organism, a collection of parts that cannot exist without the other. He describes the

BUSINESS MODELS, CUSTOMER & CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCES Assignment - 2

BUSINESS MODELS, CUSTOMER & CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCES - Assignment Example This shows that the fee is reasonable and that is the reason as to why many people were able to afford this treatment. The cost compete with that of laser treatment, and therefore, the company has made it possible to secure more patients using the LED instead of them going for laser treatment at almost the same cost. The annual quantity of the LED cannot be estimated unless the service providers give information on the quantity that they use on each treatment. In ensuring the marketing of the product, the company may be in a position to make donations to the charity organizations, which in turn may promote the product, making it possible for people to seek more treatment from the company. Another way in which the product can be promoted is by ensuring that the company creates a clear relationship with the clients, and this can be done through social networks and websites. The clients may in turn promote the product and bring in more people to seek the same treatment (Michalowicz, 2009). The Company’s approach to the manufacture of the product should be through the government and the research institutions which have proved that the product is safe and can be used for treatment. The company should also ensure that it designs the system which is required in the production of LED. As the CEO of the company, I would work together with the service providers to ensure that the product is well used in order to satisfy the customers, and also make sure that the costs are favorable and competitive with other companies such as those which offer laser treatment. The main business idea is that of coming up with a computer which can only be established through a team of people, and which can be sold at a relatively high cost for the benefit of the company. In order to come up with the evolution of the computer, it means that Andy wants to be a

Capital Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Capital Punishment - Essay Example While this is just one way in which the disputants talk past each other in the capital punishment debate, this particular disagreement helps to explain other aspects of the capital punishment dispute. Proponents of capital punishment speak the language of local option and states' rights not only because this insulates the pro-capital punishment orientation of most state governments from federal review, but also because states and localities are the levels of government that usually hold power over ordinary criminal justice decisions. State legislatures, local prosecutors and judges, and the particular values of specific communities are supposed to shape criminal justice outcomes. National government and constitutional values have little direct influence on most punishment decisions. If the availability of death as a criminal punishment were a garden-variety choice of punishment option, state and local power over them would be consistent with an important American tradition. If on the other hand, one regards capital punishment as a fundamental moral and political question, the national government and constitutional values are the appropriate vehicles for decisions. The p... ed nations and even the importance that the proponents of the penalty attach to it are powerful evidence that the death penalty is an issue of transcendent importance, one that is principally moral and political. (Gary, 783-805) There are certain reservations from some corners of public discussions as regards to the unreliable evidences that caused capital punishment but consequently proved false. It is hard to believe how prosecutors can admit evidence from unreliable sources. In some cases witnesses have later recanted or disavowed their testimonies claiming that they had only made their statements under pressure or coercion from prosecution and law enforcement. These false testimonies proved to be the condemning evidence in many cases. Lastly, most of the people charged in capital cases ca nnot afford defense attorneys. The appointed defense counsels in several cases have exhibited incompetence. Some of them did not even look for or missed important evidence that proved the innocence of their clients. In other instances, defense lawyers failed to conduct adequate pretrial investigations, talk to possible witnesses, obtain relevant police reports, or seek pretrial investigative funds. Michael Mello, a renowned capital punishment defense attorney in Florida from 1981-1995, has said "there is today a desperate (albeit difficult to quantify) shortage of competent capital post-conviction defense lawyers" (David, 1037-48). The Supreme Court in the Furman decision ruled that the death penalty is unconstitutional because it is a "cruel and unusual" punishment. Some allusions to racial discrimination appeared in the opinions, but more evidence seems called for.  

Organisational Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 5

Organisational Change Management - Essay Example For organization or firm to achieve sustainable change it need to begin with clear understanding of the current state of the firm , then followed by implementation of appropriate and targeted strategies ( Capps & Hazen, 2002). Whereby the focus of change management will be on the outcome that will emanate from change. The new arrangement need to be clearly understood, where the change process usually apply mainly to structural or task change which can either be transformational or incremental (John & Suzy). From Cao and McHugh (2005), Organization change is often stimulated by external factor, which often lead to loss of market opportunity and dramatic increase in services. Organization undertake technical, structural and strategic shift. Thus organization evolve to different level in their life cycle e.g. an organization can change from being reactive organization to a more proactive and stable organization (U.S. Congress, 1990). Key changes in D2 firm include those presented by com peting firm, world economic crises’, increased competition from well-developed firm, competition from international market. In responding to these changes D2 need to change and improve the product and the way they channel those product to the market. It is not only D2 that is facing substantial change, many similar firm are facing similar changes where global competition and technology innovation are transforming the expectation of involved work force (Byeon, 2005). D2 to mange within the emerging environment need to adapt and adaption mean change, it is a fact that we can replicate yesterday practice and expect to achieve the success we had in the past , reality is that yesterday assumption and practices are no longer valid and may no longer work for today thus , if a firm is to maintain competitive advantage , and deliver strategic objectives. Attract and retain base customer, a firm need to respond to respond to new circumstances in a very proactive, measured and in an agi le manner (Brown & Eisenhardt, 1998). It can be inferred from Boulding (1956), that a comprehensive management change strategies should lead to the desired objectives in a way that create sense that enable sustainable and measurable improvement in a way that build capability of responding in the future. Organization face strong resistance to change, this mainly because people often have fear of unknown ( Beeson & Davis, 2000), while many people think things are fine the way they are and don’t understand the immediate need of change, hence recognizing the need of change and acting on it can proof to be difficult decision for managers and leaders to implement (U.S. Congress, 1990). Change require proper management of people confusion and anxiety, (Bausch, 2002) on the other hand management of people excitement over the change and engagement, this are major emotion that most managers find difficulty in handling (Ashmos & Huber, 1987). Management of change process play fundamenta l role in the success of change oriented project (McKenna & Mitchell, 2007). Many people are often inherently cynical about change, and conflicting goals during change process often set drawback to organization change (Alter, 2007). Resistance is often seen as natural defense mechanism for those who are at the verge of losing something (Tsoukas, Haridimos & Robert ,2002), hence reason for resisting change are so varied, they can include loss of security, money

Ecosystem Components Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ecosystem Components - Research Paper Example A discussion on how the knowledge of the structure and how these can help to develop plans for its restoration. The implication of the interaction of the species will also be briefly discussed. Within a community that exists in a park, many populations are not likely to be found as being evenly distributed. There exists a patterns and process of spatial distribution of species. The most important patterns are the open community structure which is distributed more or less randomly. There is also the closed community pattern with sharp boundaries. Each species within the ecosystem in a park play a very important role and interacts with other species in the environment. In the interactions the species provide food and, therefore, a basis on which other species survive. There are basically two main types of communities: terrestrial and the aquatic biomes. Terrestrial biomes include the tundra, desert, grassland, temperate forest, taiga, tropical forest (Agee, 2000). The ecosystem changes over time giving the stronger species the opportunity to survive over time and live to withstand the test of time. The weaker ones go to extinction over time. Human interactions with the park may be positive or negative. Human’s efforts to preserve the parks have positive effects on the lives of the species in the ecosystem. However, sometimes the humans destroy the environment by cutting down trees and sometimes killing the animals for food. Besides, other economic activities of humans such as the production industries pollute the environment by emitting substances such as carbon, nitrogen or phosphorus thus interfering in their cycles. The knowledge of humans on the structure and functions of the ecosystem has played a very fundamental role in ensuring that the parks are well preserved. As such this has helped to prevent several plants and animal species from going into extinction (Alcamo & Elena M. Bennett, 2003). This knowledge ought to

Bargaining Goals, Bargaining Processes, and Bargaining Outcomes Term Paper

Bargaining Goals, Bargaining Processes, and Bargaining Outcomes - Term Paper Example The first declaration was made on 16th February, 2005 by the commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman. Abandonment of the season of NHL due to a dispute happening out of a disagreement on collective bargaining amid the owners of the league and the union of players’ was stated (Chan & Et. Al., â€Å"The NHL Lockout†). The sport of hockey was always on a remote fourth when it came to the extent of popularity in contrast with the other major sports’ league of the nation. It was predicted that due to the cancellation of the season, it will push away the league from the screen of the radar. The damage due to the lockout not only affected the business partners and the fans but also the huge number of people who earned their livelihoods from the industry (ESPN, â€Å"Lockout Over Salary Cap Shuts Down NHL†). Therefore, in this study the causes and the outcomes of the lockout will be investigated in details. About NHL The National Hockey League sta rted to be played from the year 1917. The NHL was structured in Canada 30 years prior to 1917. The NHL was successful in creating itself to be the leading hockey league in North America and began expanding in 1967 by adding more teams to its ‘Original Six’ and they were Chicago, Montreal, Detroit, Boston, Toronto and New York. Presently, the NHL includes 30 teams out of which most are in the United States and the rest are in Canada. The NHL was counted among the four most important sports leagues of America which included the National Football League (NFL), the Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Although being in the most important leagues of America, the sport of hockey always ranked fourth in popularity. This was partially because of the fact that the other three games i.e. baseball, football and basketball had an extensive appeal, the sport of hockey had mostly niche audience. Majority of the hockey fans were found in the northern Un ited States and in Canada. This was because of the cold climate that facilitated developing an attention in ice hockey. The uniqueness of the sport of hockey appeals more to its reactionary fans compared to the public in general. For instance, it is only in the sport of hockey where it is legitimate for the players to fight with one another throughout the game. It was however argued by the reactionary fans that fighting was an element of entertainment and necessity in the game whereas the casual spectators were shocked by it. Efforts were made to lessen the violence in the NHL in attempt to make it more appealing to the general public. This endeavor proved to be unsuccessful as it was not only futile in attracting new viewers but also incurred loss on loyal fan-following of NHL. This and a range of other different reasons declined the popularity of the game in the current years. The networks of television after becoming aware of the meager ratings with regard to televised hockey red uced the shows of the game to the extent where the sport had become nearly immaterial. Thus, the reaction in general to the news of lockout was a combination of unresponsiveness and acceptance (Chan & Et. Al., â€Å"The NHL Lockout†). The Lockout of 2004-05 The NHL encountered the first lockout prior to the season of 1994-95. The disagreement was however settled and an agreement of collective