Mentoring and Enabling Learning in the Practice Setting

Mentoring and Enabling Learning in the Practice Setting Introduction The focus of this assignment is on the delivery of mentoring and assessment within nursing practice. The author is a mental health nurse working within a home treatment team in East London. The identified learning need is that of administration of a depot injection, a common element of the nursing role with patients with mental illness. The target audience is a student mental health nurse. The team is a multidisciplinary one with students from different professions all placed within the team for specified learning experiences and time periods. Mentors are usually assigned a student for the duration of their clinical placement. They meet with the student at the beginning of the placement to agree learning outcomes and plan learning needs, and then work with the student for a minimum of 40% of their clinical placement (NMC), and then complete their assessment documentation towards the end of the placement. This usually involves passing the student for competence in identified clinical skills. Part Two – The Role of the Mentor The role of the mentor within the nursing context is complex, because it involves teaching, facilitation, support, guidance, assessment and feedback[1]. Assessment of a student nurse during their training is in relation to key clinical competencies, as defined by the NMC Standards of Proficiency for Pre-Registration Nursing Education[2]. These competencies are then translated into clinical assessment areas as defined by the students University, and assessed against their definitions. The NMC are clear about the expectations of the nursing role in clinical practice, in relation to competence and responsibility â€Å"the nursing role involves a capacity not only to participate actively in care provision but also to accept responsibility for the effective and efficient management of that care† [3]. Therefore, mentoring involves not only teaching discrete clinical skills but the more complex issues of demonstrating the management of care for individual clients according to their n eeds. Mentoring involves the consolidation of theoretical and practical learning acquired during the students academic experience within the University teaching and learning setting, and applying that knowledge to practice[4]. Therefore, it is important that mentors not only act in a way that is appropriate to their professional role and the expectations of their employer, but are also aware that theirs is the standard against which students will measure their own conduct and competence. The role of the mentor is to teach within the clinical setting, therefore, all formal teaching which takes place is clinically oriented and clearly relates to the performance of the professional role[5]. Research by Lloyd-Jones et al[6] seems to indicate that not only do students get the best out of their clinical placements through the student-mentor relationship, but that the quality of their learning and development is linked to the amount of time that they spend with their mentors. Therefore, mentors need to understand that their role involves a commitment to working with their named student and supporting their learning through this close working relationship[7][8]. The role of the mentor also involves assessing the student, against competency standards defined by the NMC and by the students educational institution. The NMC now requires that some mentors are sign-off mentors, which means that they sign-off the student as competent at the end of their training, and share equal responsibility with the awarding institution for that students competence to perform their professional role. In midwifery, all mentors must be sign off mentors. Regardless of this, it is a significant responsibility for any mentor to assess a student and confirm they are competent in key areas of clinical practice, and therefore mentors are educated and supported to understand the teaching and learning processes involved, especially in identifying how to assess competence. Some research shows that assessment can be carried out in a tripartite agreement between student, mentor and a member of the academic staff of the university (usually the students personal tutor)[9]. Thi s kind of close working relationship has many benefits, for the mentor, the student and the academic institution, and in relation to the assessment role of the mentor, provides valuable support[10]. This also shows that another role of the mentor is that of close liaison with academic staff in relation to student progress and assessment, student conduct and behaviour. While not all institutions have this three way set up per se, many use this kind of arrangement to address student problems in achieving the required levels of assessment. Despite there being examples of good practice such as this, however, the demands of the mentorship role mean that there is still a deficit between the theory and practice of mentoring, which needs more attention[11]. The challenges of mentorship from my perspective reflect these issues in the literature. The demands of meeting identified student needs are partly met by the training and support for mentors, but the realities of providing client-centred care whilst supporting student learning mean that the teaching and learning opportunities are not always maxmised. Developing a good relationship with students is also usually easily addressed, but there are times when it is not possible to develop a good relationship with some students and I have been aware in the past that this impacts on the quality of the learning experience. Another issue is managing students who are not achieving their designated competencies, and this process, while supported by the academic staff, is very stressful for all involved. It seems to me that the mentor role is not valued by the employer either, and in a busy workload, the required time for mentors to spend with students to provide the right kind of feedback is not factored in. However, I am also aware that this is an evolving area, and that practice is changing in line with the published standards for the preparation of mentors. Ultimately, as a mentor I have a strong commitment to ensuring the standards of the profession are maintained, and being a mentor allows me to make a valuable contribution to practice and to the profession in this way. Part Three – The Assessment Plan The author set out to assess the students ability to carry out a depot injection, and so set up a teaching plan and assessment plan accordingly (see Appendix). Carrying out this assessment plan involved reviewing the theories of education and learning which are most relevant to the type of assessment, some of which will be discussed here. This author is aware of the theories which underpin nurse education and learning, and will address some of these here, believing that these theories still help explain how student nurses come to develop the abilities, knowledge, skills and capabilities which allow them to fulfil the requirements of the nurses role. Therefore, the teaching plan and the assessment plan build on this theoretical knowledge in order to maximise the students opportunities to learn and become competent in the chosen skills[12]. Behaviourist theories suggest that learning takes place through stimulus response learning, and through operant conditioning, through which student s behaviours are changed through observing, and through reactions to their own behaviours[13]. In order to build on this, the nurse demonstrates the procedure and the kinds of behaviours that are associated with the procedure, including communications behaviours. This would need to be reinforced by discussion of these behaviours, and it is argued that basing learning only on behavioural principles is not adequate to meet the challenges of nursing learning. Cognitive theories are those which also underpin the authors approach to teaching and assessment. Within cognitivism, which is orientated towards scientific and positivist principles, the mind of the learner is equated with theories about computing and how computers work, and knowledge is viewed in terms of symbolic mental constructs, or schema; learning can be said to have taken place when there is a change in the learners internal cognitive schema. Therefore, learning is said to have taken place when the individuals behaviour ha s changed following acquisition of cognitive learning[14]. Within cognitive theories, learning is based around the acquisition of factual information, and while there is no requirement for learning to have been processed on a deeper level, it does mean that the relevant knowledge has been assimilated by the learner [15]. Both of these theories, however, underpin much of the assessment process, because the mentor is looking for behaviour change, based on the students demonstration of behaviours, both physical and more interactive, and also looking for the student to be able to demonstrate the acquired knowledge and facts associated with the skill[16][17]. However, having carried out the assessment plan, the author also learned that it is hard to assess students on their attitude and behaviour with clients. The mechanics of a procedure can be easily observed and evaluated, but the effect of being observed and assessed may affect the way the student nurse interacts with the client. The client is another factor which may affect this process as well, because the client/student relationship, particularly within a mental health setting, may not be well developed, and may be more difficult to establish. However, it is this authors experience that the mentors approach, manner and preparation of the client and student can ameliorate this kind of difficulty considerably. Part Four – The Teaching Plan The teaching plan (see Appendix B) is based on two different theories. The first are the constructivist theories of learning, which suggest that people learn in an active way, and through this process, construct for themselves subjective forms of reality, within which the pre-existing knowledge and reality assimilates any new learning[18]. The second theoretical basis for the learning plan is that of humanism, a theory which supports a more nursing-oriented approach to learning, focusing on self-development and on the individual becoming what they are capable of becoming through the learning process[19][20]. There is, however, some argument that all of the theories discussed so far are eminently applicable to nursing education, because the process is cognitive and behavioural, and combines the acquisition of facts with the competent performance of key nursing skills. Knowledge underpins practice, and helps to develop clinical reasoning, but experience helps students to reconfigure th eir internal schema and their deeper understanding of the world, albeit subjectively. The most important learning theory here which relates to nursing education and, in particular, to the learning which takes place in clinical practice, under the guidance of the clinica mentor, is Bandura fs Social Learning Theory[21], because it seems to be the theory which best describes how adults learn within this context[22]. Banduras social learning theory, suggests that people essentially learn from observing and imitating each other in social situations, and that through this learning process, people model themselves on others, and learn from them not only how to behave, but also acquire attitudes, and an awareness of the probable consequences of the observed behaviours[23]. What this theory offers in particular to understanding how learning takes place in the clinical nursing context is a model which incorporates other influences on learning, including cognitive processes, the ways in which behaviours are modelled on role models, the effect of the learners personality, and the effect of the learning environment [24]. This theory is helps mentors to understand the complexities of nursing competence and its development, which requires the combination of cognitive elements, some of which may be learned in a formal classroom setting, with the modelling of behaviours of student nurses on the mentors who ac t as their role models[25]. While it is clear that the clinical learning experiences of student nurses are key to development of a good knowledge base[26] and proper professional competence[27][28],[29], the quality of mentorship must be considered, because through social learning theory, students come to model themselves on what they are seeing practice[30],[31]. This can present its own challenges, particularly when the students are not being supervised or taught by their primary mentor but by a buddy mentor[32] [33]. There are those who argue that this is necessary, to expose students to different role models and behaviours, so that students can then develop their own critical thinking and judgement[34][35], through observing different forms of clinical reasoning[36]. The assessment processes built in to the mentoring relationship are a very important feature of learning and development, because student nurses must learn from any errors and omissions, and this continues on into their professional practice once qualified[37]. Learning to manage ones own learning and development, identify ways to learn from errors or difficult situations, within the practice setting, reflects the principles of social learning theory[38]. However, the author is also aware of the need for students to develop a realistic understanding of practice, and how the errors and challenges which can arise during their clinical work may be related to them not having the knowledge and skills needed to meet the needs of the clients[39], and thus learning is about identified how to develop to meet those needs nursing l[40]. Ulitmately, becoming a nurse means the ability to meet the standards of the profession, through knowledge,[41] skills, clinical reasoning, critical thinking and application of experiential and theoretical evidence to practice[42], which is quite demanding for all those involved in the training of students. Ultimately, student nurses are socialised into their profession as well as being trained how to perform their role, [43], and while this in itself may not always be an ideal, because the organisational culture may not always be positive[44], it is important for students to learn all aspects of the profession[45][46]. Although there is always the possibility that nurses may learn good as well as bad behaviours, [47], a good mentor would support such students to develop the critical awareness and reflective skill to be able to identify the positive models and reject the negative models as part of their learning journey[48]. Part Five Personal Development and Learning as a Mentor The process of learning to become a mentor has opened new vistas of experience and knowledge for me, as a nurse, as a mentor, and as a person. While it is challenging to hold up a mirror to oneself and appraise what kind of role model you are presenting to the students you are working with, this is a positive experience because it allows you to identify your own strengths, and celebrate them, whilst also identifying your weaknesses, and take steps to address these. In particular, for me it has demonstrated that while my practice is good, my understanding of some issues is not based on the latest evidence available, and working with students who ask about the evidence base for practice really motivates me to seek out that evidence. I have also become aware of my own tendency to make value judgements, labelling students good or bad, and I have examined the qualities which lead to these as well as overcoming this unconscious stereotyping. ~I learned that I wanted to empower students to take charge of their own learning[49], but learning how to do this was a longer process for my own development. Learning about learning is also a process of self-discovery which is then applied to mentorship practice. Understanding assessment principles and learning theories has changed the way that I teach students and really given me insight into how assessment can best be carried out. It has also helped me to understand the terminology used within the clinical assessment documents. The need to develop better working relationships with the academic staff has also emerged as a feature to be applied to my future practice. Overall, this experience has shown me that mentorship, which can be onerous and demanding in the current clinical situation, is also an investment, in the future of the profession and in the future wellbeing of clients. It can enhance my own capabilities, and provide me with more opportunities to reflect and to reconsider my professional personal and competence. Ultimately, I aim to be a good mentor, but in order to do this, I must be a competent nurse. Therefore, the process has been a form of reciprocal learning. References 212337 Andrews, G.J., Brodie, D.A., Andrews, J.P. et al (2006) Professional roles and communications in clinical placements: a qualitative study of nursing students’ perceptions and some models for practice. International Journal of Nursing Studies 43 (7) 861-874. Andrews, M. and Wallis, M. (1999) Mentorship in nursing: a literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing 29 (1) 201-207. Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory New York: General Learning Press. Bankert, E.G. and Kozel, V.V. (2005) Transforming pedagogy in nursing education: a caring learning environment for adult students. Nursing Education Perspectives 26 (4) 227-229. Bauer, J. and Mulder, R.H. (2007) Modelling learning from errors in daily work. Learning in Health and Social Care 6 (2) 121-133. Brammer, J. (2006) A phenomenographic study of registered nurses f understanding of their role in student learning – An Australian perspective. International Journal of Nursing Studies 43 (8) 963-973. Chambers, D. (2007) Is the modern NHS fit for nursing students? British Journal of Nursing 16 (2) 74 75 Chenoweth, L. (1998) Facilitating the process of critical thinking for nursing. Nurse Education Today. 18(4):281-9 Collins, M. (1991). Adult education as vocation. London: Routledge. Cope, P., Cuthbertson, P. and Stoddard, B. (2000) Situated learning in the practice placement Journal of Advanced Nursing 31 (4) 850-856. DeCarvalho, R. (1991) The humanistic paradigm in education. The Humanistic Psychologist.19 (1) 88-104. Doughty, R., Harris, T., and McClean, M. (2007) Tripartite assessment of learners during practice placements in midwifery pre-registration programmes. Education + Training Evans, R.J. and Donnelly, G.W. (2006) A Model to Describe the Relationship Between Knowledge, Skill, and Judgment in Nursing Practice Nursing Forum 41 (4) , 150–157 Freeth, D. and Fry, H. (2005) Nursing students’ and tutors’ perceptions of learning and teaching in a clinical skills centre. Nurse Education today 25 272-282. Gonczi, A. (1993). Competence and competencies: A global perspective. Paper presented at the First National Conference on Competencies in Nursing Adelaide: Australian Nursing Federation (SA Branc Gray, M.A.,and Smith, L.N. (2000) The qualities of an effective mentor from the student nurses perspective: findings from a longitudinal qualitative study Journal of Advanced Nursing 32 (6) ,1542–1549. Hawks, J.H. (1992) Empowerment in nursing education: concept analysis and application to philosophy, learning and instruction. Journal of Advanced Nursing 17 (5) 609-618. Hutchings, A., Williamson, G.R., and Humphreys, A. (2005) Supporting learners in clinical practice: capacity issues. Journal of Clinical Nursing 14 (8) 945–955. Jones, M.L., Walters, S. and Akehurst, R. (2001) The implications of contact with the mentor for preregistration nursing and midwifery students Journal of Advanced Nursing 35 (2) , 151–160 Knight, P. (1995) Assessment for Learning in Higher Education London: Kogan Page Learning Theories Knowledge Base (2008) www.learning-theories.com Accessed 23-8-08. Letcher, D.C. and Yancey, N.R. (2004) Witnessing Change with Aspiring Nurses: A Human Becoming Teaching-Learning Process in Nursing Education Nursing Science Quarterly 17 (1) 36-41 . Lloyd-Jones, M., Walters, S. and Akehurst, R. (2001) The implications of contact with the mentor for preregistration nursing and midwifery students. Journal of Advanced Nursing 35 (2) 1510160. Mattila, L-R. and Eriksson, e. (2007) Nursing students learning to utilize nursing research in clinical practice. Nurse Education Today 27 568-576. McMillan, D.E., Bell, S., Benson, E.E. et al (2007) From anxiety to enthusiasm: facilitating graduate nursing students’ knowledge development in science and theory. Journal of Nurse Education 46 (2) 88-91. Mooney, M. (2007) Professional socialization: the key to survival as a newly qualified nurse. International Journal of Nursing Practice 13 75-80. Myall, M., Levett-Jones, T., Lathlean, J. (2008) Mentorship in contemporary practice: the experiences of nursing students and practice mentors. Journal of Clinical Nursing 17 (14) 1834-1842. Neary, M. (2000) Responsive assessment of clinical competence. Nursing Standard 15 (10) 35-40. Nehring, V. (1990) Nursing clinical teacher effectiveness inventory: a replication study of the characteristics of  ebest f and  eworst f clinical teachers as perceived by nursing faculty and students. Journal of Advanced Nursing 15 (8) 934-40. Nixon, M., Morgan, L., Forsyth, J. and Ellis, D. (1996). A comparative study of teacher directed and self directed methods of teaching clinical skills to undergraduate nursing students. International Journal of Nursing Practice. 2(2) 88-93 NMC (2004) Standards of Proficiency for Pre-Registration Nursing Education Available from:www.nmc.org.uk Accessed 23-8-08. Nolan, C.A. (1998) Learning on clinical placement: the experience of six Australian student nurses. Nurse Education Today 18(8) 622-9 NMC (2004) Standards of Proficiency for Pre-Registration Nursing Education Available from:www.nmc.org.uk Accessed 23-8-08. Phillips, R.M., Davies, W.B., and Neary, M. (2008) The practitioner-teacher: a study in the introduction of mentors in the preregistration nurse education programme in Wales: part 2. Journal of Advanced Nursing 23 (6) 1080-1088. Shin, K.R. (1998) Critical thinking ability and clinical decision-making skills among senior nursing students in associate and baccalaureate programmes in Korea. Journal of Advanced Nursing 27 (2) 414-418. Stuart, C.C. (2003) Assessment, Supervision and Support in Clinical Practice London: Churchill Livingstone. Tucker, K., Wakefield, A., Boggis, C. et al (2003) Learning together: clinical skills teaching for medical and nursing students. Medical Education 37 (7) 630-637 Welsh, I. and Lyons, C.M. (2001) Evidence-based care and the case for intuition and tacit knowledge in clinical assessment and decision making in mental health nursing practice: an empirical contribution to the debate. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 8 (4) , 299–305. Appendix A Assessment Plan Competence to be assessed: administration of depot injection Plan Check student knowledge and simulated technique prior to administration Prepare student and client for procedure. Observe student and assess stated assessment points. Provide feedback to student. Assessment Points Student has checked prescription is correct Student has checked prescription against client identity and care plan. Student has discussed procedure correctly and appropriately with client. Student has ensured client confidentiality and privacy during procedure. Student has discussed effects/side effects with client Student draws up correct dose, checks drug properly with qualified staff, and prepares to administer injection in correct site. Student performs injection with correct technique Student communicates with the client appropriately Student records procedure in appropriate records, correctly. Student ensures client is comfortable post-procedure. Student can discuss properties of medication, side effects, route, dose and any contra-indications Student can discuss holistic care of the client. Appendix B 11 Footnotes [1]Andrews, M. and Wallis, M. (1999) [2] Nursing and Midwifery Council (2004) p 8. [3] Nursing and Midwifery Council (ibid) p 8. [4] Mattila, L-R. and Eriksson, E. (2007) p 569. [5] Phillips, R.M., Davies, W.B., and Neary, M. (2008) p 1080 [6] Lloyd-Jones, M., Walters, S. and Akehurst, R. (2001) p151. [7]Bankert, E.G. and Kozel, V.V. (2005) [8] Lloyd-Jones (Ibid) p 160. [9] Doughty, R., Harris, T., and McClean, M. (2007) [10]Doughty et al (ibid) [11] Myall, M., Levett-Jones, T., Lathlean, J. (2008) [12]Knight, P. (1995) [13] Learning Theories Knowledgebase (2008) [14] Learning Theories Knowledge base (ibid). [15] Learning Theories Knowledgebase (ibid)

Dying to Babysit :: Creative Writing Essays

Dying to Babysit      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It all began one day when I was over my friend Susan's house.   Her parents had just left for vacation to Texas, leaving her home by herself.   I was allowed to stay that weekend while her parents were away.   Susan and I were sitting down eating when she got a call from the house where a new family just moved into.   The Smith's had asked her to babysit for them.   They said it was all right if I came too.   They wanted us to come over about six that evening.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When we got over there Mrs. Smith introduced her two year old daughter named Julie to us.   Mr. and Mrs. Smith didn't leave right away because they wanted Julie to get to know us better.   Mrs. Smith told Susan and I that Julie could stay up until 8:00 P.M.. She also told us she had been having problems with her telephone.   There must have been something wrong with the connection because when it rang there would be no one on the other end.   Someone was coming tomorrow to take a look at it.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mr. and Mrs. Smith informed us that they would be a little late coming home because it was their anniversary and they had a long night planned.   We told them to have a nice time and they both grabbed their coats and left.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Julie started crying just as they closed the door. We gave her a bottle and put her down to watch some TV.   Then the phone rang and Susan and I looked at each other, seeing who was going to answer it.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I answered the phone but no one was there.   I said hello again, but still no answer. All I could hear was someone breathing heavily.   It was loud, gasping, and very frightening.   I said hello again and   heard a faint, masculine voice.   As I began to tremble, the voice   whispered, "I'm coming."      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All of a sudden the lights went out.   Susan, Julie and I let out a loud shriek.   I ran over to Susan and Julie and hid my head.   Susan started laughing and told me it was probably because of the storm outside.   We both looked out the window when a bolt of lighting struck across the sky.   Julie began to cry and we comforted her and told her it would be all right.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Susan was going to go down into the basement to find the fuse box so she could turn the lights back on.   It was time for Julie to go to bed so I grabbed

Karl Marx

Karl Heinrich Marx â€Å"If I had 26 letters of the alphabet I could rule the world.? †Those are the words of one of the greatest philosophers. Karl Heinrich Mark, â€Å"The Founder, or the Father of Modern communism and Marxism† was born May 1818-July 1883. Karl was born into a wealthy family. (1) He was one of the most infamous philosophers and tacticians in the socioeconomic structure of our times. He was however infamous to many people because of his political, economic and social views. Mr. Marx was also very influential to many significant people and countries worldwide. (2) Even today people use and elaborate on his quotes.His views continue to be debated and applied in today’s society. Karl Marx is dubbed the â€Å"father of Communism†, and wrote his Communist Manifesto in 1848, with Friedrich Engel's. (3) Economically, he opined that capitalism is very unfair and dehumanizing, in that the laborers or the masses were meant to work for a few rich pe ople who profit by paying very low wages. (2) He however noted the defining features of capitalism as alienation, exploitation and reoccurring, cyclical  depressions  leading to mass unemployment;(1) on the other hand capitalism is also characterized by â€Å"revolutionizing, industrializing urbanization. 3)  Marx considered the capitalist class to be one of the most revolutionary in history, because it constantly improved the means of production, more so than any other class in history, and was responsible for the overthrow of  feudalism  and its transition to capitalism. (4-5)   Capitalism can stimulate considerable growth because the capitalist can, and has an incentive to; reinvest profits in new technologies and  capital equipment. Karl Marx believed that throughout history, since the feudal ages, proletariats (working class) have been abused by higher classes, especially bourgeoisie (middle class).In Communism, proletariats are in power, and the sharing of the w ealth and business would be run by the worker’s themselves. . Today labor unions adopt the principle of deciding their own wages and seeking good working condition and can go on strike if their demands are not met. There is collective bargaining by workers Socially Karl Marx’  theories  on these changes happening around him are based around the idea of different stages that society goes through. He believes there are five stages in society and these are: tribal communism, slavery, feudalism, capitalism and finally ommunism. Most western societies have already gone through the first three stages and at the time of Marx were going through the fourth stages, as most still are. (2)Marx talks a lot about production, he theorizes that the part you play in the method of production affects the role you have in society as a whole. Each stage in society has a different production system in place. So in a capitalist society somebody who owns the means of production, the bourg eoisie, is the top of the social rank as they hold the power.The rest of society, the proletariats rely in the bourgeoisie to provide them with job so they have the  money  to survive. There will always be groups who have the power the oppressor, while the rest are the oppressed; those without any power who have to rely on others to provide them with money  so they are able to live. These two groups do not share the same interests. Marx saw this as class conflict, he believed that with time the conflict between the two would grow so great that the oppressed would rise up against the oppressor and society would move on to  the next  stage.In his opinion  the next  stage would be communism, his idea of the perfect society. The world is pretty much how Marx described it 150 years ago, which is quite impressive in itself,† Tormey said. â€Å"This is to say that we now have a more or less integrated world capitalist system, with a global rich and global poor — as Marx predicted. There is huge exploitation across all societies — the proliferation of sweatshops and export processing zones are all very much in keeping with Marx’s account. The peasantry is being systematically wiped out in a global process of dispossession, and of course social democracy, which started as a form of ultra moderate ‘Marxism,' Marxism-lite if you like, is in retreat in all areas where it once enjoyed hegemony,† he added. Politically The Soviets, Chinese, and other Communist states were at most based along. Marxist beliefs ch Communist leaders as Vladimir Ilyich  Lenin, Joseph  Stalin, and  Mao Zedong even Hitler  loyally claimed Marxist orthodoxy for their pronouncements which produced an egalitarian political society. 3) This led to evolution of varied forms of welfare capitalism, the improved condition of workers in industrial societies, and the recent demise of the Communist bloc in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have tende d to discredit Marx's dire and deterministic economic predictions. (4) In the Third World, a legacy of colonialism and anti-imperialist struggle has given Marxism popular support. In Africa, Marxism has had notable impact in such nations as Ethiopia, Benin, Angola, Kenya, and Senegal. In less stable societies Marxism's combination of materialist analysis with a militant sense of justice remains a powerful attraction. Karl Marx The first article speaking about it the power of the communist manifesto and the power it has in Europe. Usually all of the political parties in opposition of the current government go to the ideology of the communist manifesto adapting it in several languages in the Europe from English, French, German, Italian, and Danish languages. From the Karl Marx perspective it focuses on the struggles of the classes the rich and poor. The only way, how this level could ever be resolved is through a revolution or contending of the classes. In the days of history, we noticed that the arrangements of society in placed into various orders, and by social ranks. This was done in the Middle Ages with great empires. The modern bourgeois society has established new classes, new conditions of oppression, and new forms of struggle in place of old ones. In the views of Karl Marx it places two great classes; the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. The colonialization of the Americas and the controlling of the Chinese and Indian Markets allowed for the Bourgeoisie to continue to rise using the raw materials and resources of the new lands. In the area of industrialization is when the two classes became more apart than anything else when the bourgeoisie would do nothing while the proletariat did most of the work and were working in poor conditions including child labor. As it turns out to be the bourgeoisie became richer and had the advantages of political advances of that class. As the argument states that either republic or monarchy governance support the interest of the in the bourgeoisie. The current state is only a committee for the managing of the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie. It has said that the bourgeoisie has destroyed the family relations because the individual is focused on self-interest only calling it a cash payment. It has destroyed the main purposes of society in which are religious activities, chivalrous enthusiasm, and sentimentalism and given the icy water of egotistical approach. It has given the meaning of anything personal as an exchange of value in the place of costless freedoms. An enable of this is the world Free Trade, in one word means exploitation veiled by religious and political illusions, it is substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation. According to the view of Karl Marx, the bourgeoisie has basically stripped the occupations of the honored physician, lawyer, priest, or poet into paid wage laborers. It has turn away from the family it sentimental veil and reduce the family into a money relation. The bourgeoisie cannot exist without the changing the instruments of production and the relations of production and with them the relations of society. The need for the constant expanding of the markets and its products get the bourgeoisie to the surface of the world, not caring where to settle. The bourgeoisie though its exploitation of the world market given the character to production consumption in every country. The old fashion states controlled national industries have been destroyed or are daily being destroyed. The introduction of the new industries becomes a life and death question for all civilized nations; those do not work up indigenous raw material around in the globe. The bourgeoisie by the rapid movement of its instruments of production allowed for the expansion of communication creating the civilizations in these nations. The cheap prices of commodities are what allow other countries to adapt to the way of the bourgeoisie. This class has subjected the country to the rule of towns and small people. It created enormous cities that increased the urban population as compared with the rural, and only rescued a considerable part of the population from the rural life. Just as it has made the country dependent on the towns, so it has countries dependent on the civilized ones, nations of peasants on nations of bourgeois, including the East and West. According to the view, this is a necessary consequence of this because of political centralization. Independent and loosely tied connected provinces, with separate interests, laws, governments, and systems of taxation, became into one nation with one government, one code of laws, one national class interest, and on customs-tariff. The proportion the bourgeoisie provide including capital is developed to the same proportion of the proletariat, the modern working class, developed a class of labor who live only as they find work and do so by long as their labor increases capital. The labors, who sell themselves piecemeal are a commodity like other articles of commerce and are exposed the product into competition for the markets. Owing the extensive use of the machinery, division of labor, the work of the proletarians has lost all individual character, and the charm of the workman. The cost of the production of a workman is restricted to the means of subsistence that he requires maintenance and for the propagation of his race. The price of a commodity and labor is equal to the cost of the production. In proportion, as the repulsiveness of the work increases, the wage decreases and the use of machinery and division of labor increases the burden of toil also increases and the prolongation of the working hours, by the increase of the work exacted in a given time or by increased speed of machinery. The less the skill and exertion of strength by the manual labor, in other words, the more modern industry becomes developed, the labor of men superseded by that of women. Differences of age and sex have no longer and distinctive social validity for the working class. The instruments of labor, less or more expensive to use, are according to their age and sex. Karl Marx Karl Marx was born in Trier, in the German Rhineland, in 1818. Although his family was Jewish they converted to Christianity so that his father could pursue his career as a lawyer in the face of Prussia's anti-Jewish laws. A precocious schoolchild, Marx studied law in Bonn and Berlin, and then wrote a PhD thesis in Philosophy, comparing the views of Democritus and Epicurus.On completion of his doctorate in 1841 Marx hoped for an academic job, but he had already fallen in with too radical a group of thinkers and there was no real hope. Turning to journalism Marx rapidly became involved in political and social issues, and soon found himself having to consider communist theory. Of his many early writings, four, in particular stand out.‘Contribution to a Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, Introduction’, and ‘On The Jewish Question’, were both written in 1843 and published in the Deutsch-Franzà ¶sische Jahrbà ¼cher. The Economic and Philosophical Manuscri pts, written in Paris 1844, and the ‘Theses on Feuerbach’ of 1845 remained unpublished in Marx's lifetime.Karl Marx (1818-1883) is best known not as a philosopher but as a revolutionary communist, whose works inspired the foundation of many communist regimes in the twentieth century. It is hard to think of many who have had as much influence in the creation of the modern world. Trained as a philosopher, Marx turned away from philosophy in his mid-twenties, towards economics and politics.However, in addition to his overtly philosophical early work, his later writings have many points of contact with contemporary philosophical debates, especially in the philosophy of history and the social sciences, and in moral and political philosophy. Historical materialism — Marx's theory of history — is centered around the idea that forms of society rise and fall as they further and then impede the development of human productive power. Marx sees the historical process as proceeding through a necessary series of modes of production, culminating in communism.Marx's economic analysis of capitalism is based on his version of the labour theory of value, and includes the analysis of capitalist profit as the extraction of surplus value from the exploited proletariat. The analysis of history and economics come together in Marx's prediction of the inevitable breakdown of capitalism for economic reasons, to be replaced by communism. However Marx refused to speculate in detail about the nature of communism, arguing that it would arise through historical processes, and was not the realisation of a pre-determined moral ideal.In this text Marx begins to make clear the distance between him and that of his radical liberal colleagues among the Young Hegelians; in particular Bruno Bauer. Bauer had recently written against Jewish emancipation, from an atheist perspective, arguing that the religion of both Jews and Christians was a barrier to emancipation. In respon ding to Bauer Marx makes one of the most enduring arguments from his early writings, by means of introducing a distinction between political emancipation — essentially the grant of liberal rights and liberties — and human emancipation.Marx's reply to Bauer is that political emancipation is perfectly compatible with the continued existence of religion, as the example of the United States demonstrates then. However, pushing matters deeper, in an argument reinvented by innumerable critics of liberalism, Marx argues that not only is political emancipation insufficient to bring about human emancipation, it is in some sense also a barrier. Liberal rights and ideas of justice are premised on the idea that each of us needs protection from other human beings. Therefore liberal rights are designed to protect usfrom such perceived threats. Freedom on such a view, is freedom from interference. What this view overlooks is the possibility — for Marx, the fact — that re al freedom is to be found positively in our relations with other people. It is to be found in human community, not in isolation. So insisting on a regime of rights encourages us to view each other in ways which undermine the possibility of the real freedom we may find in human emancipation.Now we should be clear that Marx does not oppose political emancipation, for he clearly sees that liberalism is a great improvement on the systems of prejudice and discrimination which existed in the Germany of his day. Nevertheless such politically emancipated liberalism must be transcended on the route to genuine human emancipation. Unfortunately Marx never tells us what human emancipation is, although it is clear that it is closely related to the idea of non-alienated labour which we will explore belowThis work is home to the Marx's notorious remark that religion is the ‘opiate of the people’, and it is here that Marx sets out his account of religion in most detail. Just as importa ntly Marx here also considers the question of how revolution might be achieved in Germany, and sets out the role of the proletariat in bringing about the emancipation of society as a whole.With regard to religion, Marx fully accepted Feuerbach's claim in opposition to traditional theology that human beings had created God in their own image; indeed a view that long pre-dated Feuerbach. Feuerbach's distinctive contribution was to argue that worshipping God diverted human beings from enjoying their own human powers. While accepting much of Feuerbach's account Marx's criticizes Feuerbach on the grounds that he has failed to understand why people fall into religious alienation and so is unable to explain how it can be transcended. Marx's explanation, of course, is that religion is a response to alienation in material life, and cannot be removed until human material life is emancipated, at which point religion will wither away.Precisely what it is about material life that creates religio n is not set out with complete clarity. However it seems that at least two aspects of alienation are responsible. One is alienated labour, which will be explored shortly. A second is the need for human beings to assert their communal essence. Whether or not we explicitly recognize it, human beings exist as a community, and what makes human life possible is our mutual dependence on the vast network of social and economic relations which engulf us all, even though this is rarely acknowledged in our day-to-day life. Marx's view appears to be that we must, somehow or other, acknowledge our communal existence in our institutions.At first it is ‘deviously acknowledged’ by religion, which creates a false idea of a community in which we are all equal in the eyes of God. After the post-Reformation fragmentation of religion, where religion is no longer able to play the role even of a fake community of equals, the state fills this need by offering us the illusion of a community of citizens, all equal in the eyes of the law. But the state and religion will both be transcended when a genuine community of social and economic equals is created.Of course we are owed an answer to how such a society could be created. It is interesting to read Marx here in the light of his third Thesis on Feuerbach where he indicates how it will not happen. The crude materialism of Robert Owen and others assumes that you can change people by changing their circumstances. However, how are those circumstances to be changed?By an enlightened philanthropist like Owen who can miraculously break through the chain of determination which ties down everyone else? Marx's response, in both the Theses and the Critique, is that the proletariat can break free only by their own self-transforming action. Indeed if they do not create the revolution for themselves — guided, of course, by the philosopher — they will not be fit to receive it.The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts cove r a wide range of topics including much interesting material on private property and communism, and on money, as well as developing Marx's critique of Hegel. However, they are best known for their account of alienated labour. Here Marx famously depicts the worker under capitalism as suffering from four types of alienated labour. First, from the product, which as soon as it is created is taken away from its producer. Second, in productive activity (work) which is experienced as a torment. Third, from species-being, for humans produce blindly and not in accordance with their truly human powers.Finally from other human beings, where the relation of exchange replaces mutual need. That these categories overlap in some respects is not a surprise given Marx's remarkable methodological ambition in these writings. Essentially he attempts to apply a Hegelian deduction of categories to economics, trying to demonstrate that all the categories of bourgeois economics — wages, rent, exchang e, profit etc- are ultimately derived from an analysis of the concept of alienation. Consequently each category of alienated labour is supposed to be deducible from the previous one.However, Marx gets no further than deducing categories of alienated labour from each other. Quite possibly in the course of writing he came to understand that a different methodology is required for approaching economic issues. Nevertheless we are left with a very rich text on the nature of alienated labour. The idea of non-alienation has to be inferred from the negative, with the assistance of one short passage at the end of the text ‘On James Mill’ in which non-alienated labour is briefly described in terms which emphasise both the immediate producer's enjoyment of production as a confirmation of his or her powers, and also the idea that production is to meet the needs of others, thus confirming for both parties our human essence as mutual dependence. Both sides of our species essence are revealed here: our individual human powers and our membership in the human community.It is important to understand that for Marx alienation is not merely a matter of subjective feeling, or confusion. The bridge between Marx's early analysis of alienation and his later social theory is the idea that the alienated individual is ‘a plaything of alien forces’, albeit alien forces which are themselves a product of human action. In our daily lives we take decisions that have unintended consequences, which then combine to create large-scale social forces which may have an utterly unpredicted effect.In Marx's view the institutions of capitalism — themselves the consequences of human behaviour — come back to structure our future behaviour, determining the possibilities of our action. For example, for as long as a capitalist intends to stay in business he must exploit his workers to the legal limit. Whether wracked by guilt or not the capitalist must act as a ruthle ss exploiter. Similarly the worker must take the best job on offer; there is simply no other sane option. But by doing this we reinforce the very structures that oppress us. The urge to transcend this condition, and to take collective control of our destiny — whatever that would mean in practice — is one of the motivating and sustaining elements of Marx's attraction to communism.The Theses on Feuerbach contain one of Marx's most memorable remarks ‘the philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point is to change it’ (thesis 11). However the eleven theses as a whole provide, in the compass of a couple of pages, a remarkable digest of Marx's reaction to the philosophy of his day. Several of these have been touched on already (for example the discussions of religion in theses 4, 6 and 7, and revolution in thesis 3) so here I will concentrate only on the first, most overtly philosophy, thesis.In the first thesis Marx states his objections to ‘all hitherto existing’ materialism and idealism. Materialism is complimented for understanding the physical reality of the world, but is criticised for ignoring the active role of the human subject in creating the world we perceive. Idealism, at least as developed by Hegel, understands the active nature of the human subject, but confines it to thought or contemplation: the world is created through the categories we impose upon it.Marx combines the insights of both traditions to propose a view in which human beings do indeed create — or at least transform — the world they find themselves in, but this transformation happens not in thought but through actual material activity; not through the imposition of sublime concepts but through the sweat of their brow, with picks and shovels. This historical version of materialism, which transcends and thus rejects all existing philosophical thought, is the foundation of Marx's later theory of history. As Marx puts it in the 184 4 Manuscripts, ‘Industry is the real historical relationship of nature †¦ to man’. This thought, derived from reflection on the history of philosophy, sets the agenda for all Marx's future workCapitalism is distinctive, Marx argues, in that it involves not merely the exchange of commodities, but the advancement of capital, in the form of money, with the purpose of generating profit through the purchase of commodities and their transformation into other commodities which can command a higher price, and thus yield a profit. Marx claims that no previous theorist has been able adequately to explain how capitalism as a whole can make a profit. Marx's own solution relies on the idea of exploitation of the worker. In setting up conditions of production the capitalist purchases the worker's labour power — his ability to labour — for the day.The cost of this commodity is determined in the same way as the cost of every other; i.e. in terms of the amount of soci ally necessary labour power required to produce it. In this case the value of a day's labour power is the value of the commodities necessary to keep the worker alive for a day. Suppose that such commodities take four hours to produce. Thus the first four hours of the working day is spent on producing equivalent to the value of the wages the worker will be paid. This is known as necessary labour. Any work the worker does above this is known as surplus labour, producing surplus value for the capitalist.Surplus value, according to Marx, is the source of all profit. In Marx's analysis labour power is the only commodity which can produce more value than it is worth, and for this reason it is known as variable capital. Other commodities simply pass their value on to the finished commodities, but do not create any extra value. They are known as constant capital. Profit, then, is the result of the labour performed by the worker beyond that necessary to create the value of his or her wages. This is the surplus value theory of profit.ReferenceKarl Marx, `On the Jewish Question`: alienated labor, private property, and communism

Literary Analysis of Susan Glaspells Trifles - 1788 Words

An Analysis of Natures in Susan Glaspells Trifles A trifle is something that has little value or importance, and there are many seeming trifles in Susan Glaspells one-act play Trifles. The irony is that these trifles carry more weight and significance than first seems to be the case. Just as Glaspells play ultimately reveals a sympathetic nature in Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, the evidence that the men investigators fail to observe, because they are blind to the things that have importance to a woman, reveals the identity of the murderer and are, therefore, not really trifles, after all. Thus, the title of the play has a double-meaning: it refers, satirically, to the way trifling way some men perceive women, and it also acts as an ironic gesture to the fact that women are not as trifling as these men make them out to be. This paper will analyze setting, characters, plot, stage directions, symbolism, themes and genre to show how Glaspells Trifles is an ironic indictment not of a murderess but rather of the men who push women to such ac ts. The play is based towards the end of the 19th century during the winter season in a traditional rural America farming town. The setting is the kitchen in the now abandoned farmhouse of John Wright where signs of incompleted works (Glaspell, 1916, p. 5) appear as signs of incompetent housekeeping to the men but as signs of a disturbed consciousness to the women (Noe, 1995, p. 39). The kitchen is described asShow MoreRelatedTrifles: a Moral Justifacation for Murder Essay1043 Words   |  5 PagesTrifles: A Moral Justification for Murder The one act play â€Å"Trifles† depicts the views and passions of both men and women during the late-nineteenth century regarding the role of a woman. The characters in the play are the County Attorney, the Sheriff, and Mr. Hale, who are accompanied by Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters into the Wright’s home to investigate the murder of Mr. Wright. The men feel that the women are only concerning themselves with little things and make several condescending comments throughoutRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles : Gender Differences And Stereotyping Explored2016 Words   |  9 PagesSusan Glaspell’s Trifles: Gender Differences and Stereotyping Explored Susan Glaspell’s Trifles is a dramatic play with satirical content that points out gender differences and how stereotyping affects perceptions of duty, justice, and law. Glaspell wrote Trifles in 1916, a time in America where women were consistently expected to be housewives and nothing more. Women’s limitations were clearly a spark of inspiration and reason for Glaspell to write Trifles, criticizing society with feministic intelligenceRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles 3309 Words   |  14 Pagesit’s all just a different kind of the same thing† (561) is a line spoken in Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles. Writers look at the world around them and envision the way it should be. They take bits and pieces of their life’s landscape, add a liberal dose of surreal ideology and finally toss in human oppressions. To that end, the writer hopes to create a memorable character that can touch the human soul for eternity. Susan Glaspell, a writer in the ear ly twentieth century, lived during a time when women