Enhanced whistle blower protections Research Paper

Enhanced whistle blower protections - Research Paper Example whistleblower is risky, the essay discusses various ways to protect them from elements that want to harm them to prevent them from sharing the information they possess. Whistleblowers fall into two categories. They include internal and external whistleblowers. Internal whistleblowers are the individuals who report discrepancies and misconducts of colleagues or their superiors to the management. Several reasons would motivate an employee to become a whistleblower. They include corruption, nepotism and sexual harassment. External whistleblowers are the individuals who disclose misconducts within the company to outside entities. They include lawyers, the media, police or watchdog agencies like anticorruption organizations. External whistleblowers are usually motivated by moral or selfish reasons. Opinions concerning whistleblowers differ from different people. To some, whistle blowing is as an act of selflessness while others accuse them of pursuing fame, fortune, greed and personal glory. This persecution of whistleblowers mostly comes from the affected or implicated individuals who want to discredit them to absolve themselves of the accusations. Individuals who want to prevent the disclosure of information often target whistleblowers. It becomes a dangerous situation with whistleblowers fearing for their lives as they get pursued. Countless whistleblowers have been killed while others have been forced into exile because they exposed the corruption in an organization. These actions led to the creation of witness protection agencies, which offer protection to whistleblowers when and until they finish presenting their proof of the misconducts to the relevant authorities. For example, the United States has several institutions that protect whistleblowers. They include the National Whistleblowers Center that protects whistleblowers from discrimination from the organization or their fellow employees. This act protects whistleblowers` identities from disclosure. It

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 2

Strategic Management - Essay Example One of such theoretical concerns of contemporary strategic management can be identified as the Blue Ocean Strategy. This particular managerial concept is often regarded as one of the imperative concepts or models in the study of strategic management that particularly emphasises upon certain major aspects which can ultimately benefit different organisations in terms of earning greater profits along with forming superior business advancements (Mathys, 2008). In this paper, the definition of the concept, i.e. Blue Ocean Strategy and its history of evolution in the contemporary era will be taken into concern. Moreover, the relevance of the concept concerning today’s business challenges will also be discussed in this paper. The notion of Blue Ocean Strategy is fundamentally defined as an effective managerial decision making framework that constitutes different business organisations with the intention of enhancing their profitability and accomplishing superior competitive position over its chief business market competitors. This particular concept emphasises upon several important factors that encompass generating uncontested space for business exposure, avoiding fierce competition through dominance or with the creation of immaterial competitive environment, capturing as well as creating new demands and targeting new customers rather than solely focusing on the existing ones (Layton, 2009). It has been apparently observed in this regard that contemporary organisations have been experiencing extreme market competitions and have been seeking greater competencies towards maintaining sustainable growth along with attaining a superior competitive position. In this similar context, the organisations desire to employ the Blue Ocean Strategy with the motive of satisfying their expected business targets. Contextually, one of the imperative aspects considered in this

Discuss the importance of dreams in the play Essay Example for Free

Discuss the importance of dreams in the play Essay Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and author. He was a prominent figure in American literature and cinema for over 61 years, writing a wide variety of plays. Miller was born into a moderately-wealthy Jewish family in New York City. His father, Isidore Miller, was a ladies-wear manufacturer and shopkeeper who was ruined in the Great Depression. His mother, Augusta, was a housewife who valued literature and education. His sister, Joan became an actress. Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play by Arthur Miller and is one of his most famous and commonly revived works. Viewed by many as the American Dream of achieving wealth and success, Death of a Salesman made both Arthur Miller and the character Willy Loman household names. Some of the other titles Miller considered for the play were The Inside of His Head and A Period of Grace. The American Dream is the faith held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations. What the American Dream has become is a question under constant discussion, and some believe that it has led to an emphasis on material wealth as a measure of success and/or happiness. The American dream is a dream of having 2 children and living in a perfect house with financial security. This ideal is closely related to Horatio Algerism. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/American_dream In the play Death of a Salesman, dreams are discussed and shown in many different ways throughout the play. There are dreams that happen during ones sleep, hopes and ambition type dreams, day dreams, fantasies and national/cultural dreams. In this play all are explored, and the national dream focused on is The American Dream. Dreams in this play stimulate the characters reactions and actions; they also affect the way the play is structured and explain behaviour of both the past and present. The play is unusually structured; there are no scenes just three main sections, Act 1, Act 2 and the Requiem. Within Act 1 and Act 2, there are several dreams and possibly flashbacks but the audience is unaware of what is real or not. The American Dream features in the play but not informing the audience that The American Dream is what it is partly focusing on. On page 82, Biff says Weve been talking in a dream for fifteen years. First of all the reader thinks hes saying hes been taking in the dream for 15 years but reading the sentence over we see talking. The reader thinks that it means the American dream, and at this point in the play Biff realises himself and his family has been trying to live this dream but are unsuccessful. The American Dreams is partly to do with status and having the best of everything. It also focuses on popularity, success, ownership, wealth and your house and objects within it. The American Dream is linked to capitalism and consumer culture, which is when we are sold items we dont really need. This is a symbol of success and if you can afford these luxury items they are a fall back for your family. When someone dies their family receives insurance, not only life insurance but also insurance for the object used in the death, for instance a car. This is all part of Willys plan to make his family more wealthy. Willy is scared of becoming an ordinary man, which in those days was a man that can no longer afford the luxury items that Willy possesses, when Linda is talking to Biff on page 44 she says Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. Hes not the finest character that has ever lived. But hes a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. This shows the reader that Linda knows about Willys depression and that she knows he is becoming and has a fear of becoming a typical, ordinary man. This is not what Willy wants or wanted at all, Willy wanted to be well known around the country and great, successful. The depression that Willy held may have been caused by the lack of positive attention, his lack of progress in his job or his fear of becoming this ordinary man that he never wanted to be. Linda also knows that in his last months or weeks, herself and her sons need to make up to Willy and give him the most positive attention that they can. On page 44 Linda says Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person. This is also evidence to suggest Willys want for death. Willy is not progressing at all in his job, his ex boss son is now at the top of his career ladder but Willy, still near the bottom should have retired. But his dreams and passion to become rich and successful meant that he forced himself to carry on working and hope that one day these dreams will be fulfilled.

Consultation Skills In Relation To Nurse Prescribing

Consultation Skills In Relation To Nurse Prescribing Nurse prescribing was translated into reality in the latter part of the 1990s when a cohort of about 1,200 nurses received specialist training in order to allow them to feel confident and competent in the prescription of certain drugs and medications. In the best traditions of scientific endeavour, they were subject to a barrage of audits and studies to see how they actually performed. As in any new project there were inevitable protagonists and detractors and the initial results of the first eight studies were extremely positive. (Legge 1997) the accumulative results of the initial studies showed that nurse prescribing had been proved in terms of safety, efficacy and improved working practices. The reports did not make any comment upon the cost-effectiveness of the prescribing as the cohort studied was too small for statistical analysis. The head of the evaluation team (Prof. Luker 1997) commented that at best, nurse prescribing should be cost neutral why should it be any cheaper? By 2000, the first comparative studies were emerging with sufficient cohort size to give a meaningful evaluation of the scope and efficiency of nurse prescribing. Venning (et al 2000) compared efficiency and cost of a cohort of nurse prescribers with doctors in the same geographical area. The study cohort was over 1,300 patients. This particular study was extensive in its analysis and many of the results are not particularly relevant to the subject of this essay, but the significant outcomes showed that there was no significant difference in health outcome, prescribing patterns or prescribing cost. Nurse prescribing was therefore proving itself to be both an effective and efficient resource for the NHS. (Little et al 1997) Consultation and communication skills Empowerment and education of patients is now well recognised as an important goal but most healthcare professionals. (Richards 1999) it follows that if patients are to be involved then their particular priorities must be ascertained and addressed, usually in the mechanism of the consultation. A frequent finding in many of the studies on the subject is the fact that patients tend to prefer prescribers (nurses or doctors) who listen and also allow them to discuss their problems in an unhurried fashion. (Editor BMJ 2000) This essay is particularly directed to the issue of consultation skills in relation to nurse prescribing. Although we have briefly examined the overall issues of nurse prescribing, the consultation is obviously the core skill required to establish the diagnosis and therefore the appropriate treatment and prescription. Many studies have looked at the influence of communication skills on prescribing and other factors related to the consultation. (Richards 1999) Many authorities (Butler et al 1998) advise that the prime skills associated with the prescribing process are: Adequate exploration of the patients worries Adequate provision of information to the patient regarding the natural processes of the disease being treated The advisability of self-medication in trivial illness The various alarm symptoms that should be notified to indicate that there may be problems with the treatment. (Welschen et al 2004) These various aspects are explored further in a particularly well written and informative book by Platt and Gordon (1999) it reflects on the fact that doctors and nurses are not generally particularly well trained in the art of communication skills. In the words of the author we re not very good at transmitting information, and were no better at picking up the signals that patients try to send. Critically, they make the point that individual prescribers are not particularly good at varying their approach to the different type of patient. Clearly, the better the level of perceived empathy between prescriber and patient, the greater the level of compliance is likely to be. This is likely to be reflected in greater patient satisfaction, greater compliance with instructions generally and improved outcomes and again, in the words of the authors fewer lawsuits This particular book highlights and gives practical advice on all of the common pitfalls of prescriber patient communication. The way that prescribers will often duck issues where they feel uncomfortable or feel that their knowledge is not particularly sound, or perhaps fail to respond to the distress signals sent out (either verbally or non-verbally) by the patient. They also highlight the dangers of closing the conversation early due to pressure of time and not adequately exploring ambiguous answers. The hostile and the heart-sink patient can be a particular headache to the prescriber and inappropriate decision can be made unless great care is taken to specifically tackle these issues. (RPSGB 1997) Some commentators in the field of nurse prescribing have refered to the fact that the skills of communication, when they have been taught, have concentrated mainly on the fields of history taking and diagnosis. The issue of communication in relation to prescribing has received much less prominence. (Elwyn et al.2000) The paper by Cox (et al.2000) found that it was common practice for prescribers to initiate the discussions about just what medication there were going to prescribe, rarely refer to the medicine by name and equally rarely refer to how a newly prescribed medication is perceived to differ in either action or purpose, to those previously prescribed. Patient understanding is rarely checked as it is usually assumed after the prescriber has given the prescription. Even when invited to do so, patients seldom take the opportunity to ask questions. (Cox et al 2000) The same author found that prescribers would emphasise the positive benefits of the medication far more frequently than they would discuss the risks and precautions, despite the fact that the patients perception was that such a discussion is seen as essential. In summary, this leaves a situation which is open to misinterpretation, uncertainty as a result of unadressed worries and for patients to be ambivalent towards the medication that they have been prescribed. (Drew et al. 2001). It clearly is not a situation which one could have confidence that the patient has a sound knowledge base about his treatment and has a positive attitude towards compliance. The point relating to communication failure resulting in poor treatment outcome (primarily in relation to non-adherence to treatment instructions) was explored in depth in an excellent paper by Britten (et al 2000). The various consultation skills were critically analysed and broken down into 14 different categories of misunderstanding. In short, all of the failures of communication were associated with a lack of the patients participation in the consultation process. Significantly, all of these 14 categories were associated with potential or even actual less than optimal Outcomes as they resulted in either inappropriate prescribing or inadequate treatment adherence. It was very significant that the authors concluded that many of the errors were associated with assumptions or guesses on the part of the healthcare professional, and in particular a lack of awareness of the relevance of patients ideas and beliefs which influenced their compliance with the prescribed treatment. (Elder et al 2004) There is evidence that failure to actively engage in, or even consider, the patient s perspective is a common failing amongst prescribers. (Britten et al 2000). Many take the view that simply arriving at and stating a diagnosis is sufficient credibility for the provision of a prescription. Even when drug therapy is considered essential (such as insulin and thyroxin) many patients will experiment with dosages and drug-free periods. (Barry et al. 2000). It follows that such experimentation is likely to be all the greater when medication is used when the benefits are less immediate (eg. In prophylaxis).If the prescriber is aware of these factors, it will undoubtedly help to achieve compliance if they are overtly addressed during the consultation process. Concordance vs. compliance Elwyn (et al 2003) took a slightly different approach with regard to the consultation process and prescribing. They advocate the process of concordance which is described as the process whereby there is a negotiation between the patient and the prescriber which involves a discussion about the perceived benefits and drawbacks of the proposed medication, together with an exchange of beliefs and expectations. This terminology reflects not only a change in emphasis but also a change in attitude of the prescriber. This area used to be termed compliance which was a reflection of the now outmoded concept of implicit power and authority invested in the prescriber. The term was seen as being authority laden (Marinker 1997) where it was expected that patients complied implicitly and without question when a prescription was given. There was little acceptance that patients would actively participate in the decision making process that surrounded the generation of the prescription. (Cox et al. 2002) At this point in time, there is little published evidence that this process actually leads to improved clinical outcome measures, but consideration of ethical principles would allow us to conclude that the involvement of patients will inevitably result in safer and better patient care. (Elwyn et al. 1999) If we examine this argument further, any healthcare professional will appreciate that a great deal of modern medical treatment involves prescribing in one form or another. We also know that a substantial proportion of the medication that is currently prescribed is not taken or, worse still, inappropriately utilised. (Haynes et al 2003). Careful research shows that where this occurs it is primarily due to a conflict between the prescribers views and those of the patient. (Britten et al 2003). Further studies have shown that where prophylactic (or preventative) prescribing has occurred the situation is statistically worse. One can presume that this is mainly because, in these conditions the patient tends to be asymptomatic and therefore the perceived need to take medication may well be less. Again, this reflects a failure of communication between patient and prescriber. (Coulter 2002) As a result of this, the prescriber, in general terms, has to be aware of the possibility of what is know, in academic circles, as intentional dissent. The patient may choose to actively disagree with the prescribers instructions because they may either have become party to other information about the medication, or because they may have experienced some side effect and, being not fully appraised of the reasons for taking prophylaxis, may simply choose to discontinue it. (Barry et al. 2000) Conclusions The last decade has seen important strides forward in the field of nurse prescribing. The success of this venture would strongly argue that it will progress further still in the future. Hand in hand with this success goes the realisation that nurse prescribing carries with it a responsibility to fully understand the issues that relate the act of prescribing to the eventual treatment outcome, together with the factors that tend to confound such linkage. The progressive acceptance of the paradigm of concordance (by all prescribers not just nurse prescribers) offers all healthcare professionals a mechanism to move towards ever safer and more successful prescribing. Accurate identification of the patients perspectives, needs and beliefs and then the addressing of any significant differences between these and the prescribers requirements, are seen to be progressively more important in the successful delivery of nurse prescribed health care. The advent of nurse prescribing brings added responsibility to the more traditional role of the nurse. It is important not to neglect the importance of the role of reflective practice in this area (Gibbs 1998). It is not just the act of writing out the prescription that is important, but it is the understanding of the processes and dynamics of the interactions that are taking place between prescriber and patient that are the fundamental key to good prescribing practice (Kuhse et al 2001).

From Roswell to Dreamland :: essays papers

From Roswell to Dreamland Are we alone in the universe? This has been a common question in modern day. It is very difficult to prove that extraterrestrials exist. However, the evidence to prove that the earth has been visited is very convincing. The Roswell incident in 1947 is one event that proves the existence of extraterrestrials. Another piece of important evidence that proves the existence of UFO's is Bob Lazars testimony of his experience working in the US secret base at Area 51. The earth has been visited by intelligent life because of the witnesses and evidence behind the story of Roswell and Area 51. On July 2nd, 1947, Jim Ragsdale was camping on a three day weekend when he saw an object "as bright as a welding torch" pass through the sky and strike the ground a few miles away. Corporal E.L Pyles saw the same thing from a military compound just outside of town. Shortly after, William Brazel found strange pieces of wreckage on his massive ranch 75 miles outside of Roswell. The newspapers were already running the story Jim Ragsdale and Corporal Pyles told of the bright light in the sky, so William knew that he had found wreckage of a "flying saucer." On July 6th, he drove to Roswell with some of the debris and he showed it to the Chaves County Sheriff, George Wilcox. After examining the debris, Sheriff Wilcox contacted Major Jesse Marcel at The Roswell Army Air Field. Marcel and is commanding officer Colonel William Blanchard both inspected the debris. They both agreed that it was nothing like they had seen before, and went to the ranch to collect more of the debris. On July 8th, Marcell and Blanchard returned with two carloads of debris. The wreckage was then flown to Fort Worth Army Air Field. At noon on July 8th 1947, Blanchard ordered a press release telling the country that the army had found remains of a crashed flying saucer. Only a few hours later, General Clemence McMullen in Washington spoke by telephone with Colonel Thomas Dubose in Fort Worth, and told him to "squash" the saucer story, create a cover story, and immediately send some of the debris to Washington. Later that evening, a press conference was held in which they announced that what had crashed was a weather balloon and not a flying saucer. All of the debris, including one very large piece that appeared to still be operable, was collected and never seen again.

lena horne :: essays research papers

Singer/actress Lena Horne's primary occupation was nightclub entertaining, a profession she pursued successfully around the world for more than 60 years, from the 1930s to the 1990s. In conjunction with her club work, she also maintained a recording career that stretched from 1936 to 2000 and brought her three Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989; she appeared in 16 feature films and several shorts between 1938 and 1978; she performed occasionally on Broadway, including in her own Tony-winning one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music in 1981-1982; and she sang and acted on radio and television. Adding to the challenge of maintaining such a career was her position as an African-American facing discrimination personally and in her profession during a period of enormous social change in the U.S. Her first job in the 1930s was at the Cotton Club, where blacks could perform, but not be admitted as customers; by 1969, when she acted in the film Death of a Gunf ighter, her character's marriage to a white man went unremarked in the script. Horne herself was a pivotal figure in the changing attitudes about race in the 20th century; her middle-class upbringing and musical training predisposed her to the popular music of her day, rather than the blues and jazz genres more commonly associated with African-Americans, and her photogenic looks were sufficiently close to Caucasian that frequently she was encouraged to try to "pass" for white, something she consistently refused to do. But her position in the middle of a social struggle enabled her to become a leader in that struggle, speaking out in favor of racial integration and raising money for civil rights causes. By the end of the century, she could look back at a life that was never short on conflict, but that could be seen ultimately as a triumph. Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born June 30, 1917, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Both sides of her family claimed a mixture of African-Americans, Native Americans, and Caucasians, and both were part of what black leader W.E.B. DuBois called "the talented tenth," the upper stratum of the American black population made up of middle-class, well-educated African-Americans. Her parents, however, might both be described as mavericks from that tradition. Her father, Edwin Fletcher Horne Jr., worked for the New York State Department of Labor, but one of her biographers describes him more accurately as "a 'numbers' banker": his real profession was gambling.

Identify and Explain Communication Relationships

Promote Communication in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings 1. 1 Identify the different reasons people communicate Communication is very important and can be non-verbal: making eye contact, body language and gestures, verbal: talking, singing, listening and responding, and written. People communicate usually to provide or receive information. The information provided can be passed on and used for teaching and learning. It is also used to share our ideas and thoughts, to interact with others, and to understand others.Communication allows us to make decisions, to inform others, to resolve conflicts and problems, and to meet social and physical needs. We need to communicate in a nursery especially, as it is part of child development. Communication allows for connection with a young child, and enabling positive relationships to build by sharing and relating information. We also use communication whilst experiencing different things, such as new fo od, which allows everyone to express their ideas and extend their vocabulary. . 2 Explain how communication affects relationships in the work setting Communication in the workplace is a system for sending and receiving messages. Communication is a process that enables us to have good relationships with parents, colleagues, and children. Good relationships can create a welcoming and secure atmosphere for the children. This then helps the child to settle in and feel relaxed. Children are ‘social learners’, and learn by copying other people.Adults working with them should model good communication, both speaking and listening, so children will learn from them. Children need to know that they are being listened to and heard. This helps them to build up trust with adults, and promotes better relationships. The more you learn how to listen to the child, the better you will be able to assess their abilities and interests, and planning for their next steps in learning and develo pment. You will also get to know them well and then you can support their emotional needs by being in tune with them.The better and sooner children learn to communicate, the more easily they will form friendships and their confidence and self-esteem will increase. Very young children often aren’t able to express their thoughts and feelings in words, so it is important that adults working with them can listen carefully, and help children to learn how to express themselves. Good relationships also benefit the quality of interaction between the setting and the parent. Parents are more likely to share information, make comments and take an interest in what their child has been doing.This also benefits the child as additional information will be passed on to help the practitioner meet the child’s needs. There also needs to be good communication between staff members in the setting so they can enjoy their work. A good relationship in a team means that during times of stress and difficulties, practitioners can support each other. If there is lack of communication between staff members, vital information may not be passed on, and the child’s safety could be affected. This could be what a child’s allergies are, or who will be picking the child up. ConfidentialityConfidential information is information of some sensitivity, which has been shared in a relationship where the person giving the information understood it would not be shared with others. This also means the discretion in keeping secret or private information. All childcare settings must intend to fully respect the privacy of children and families. It is good to try and ensure that all parents and carers can share their information in the confidence that it will only be used to enhance the welfare of their child. Settings can respect confidentiality in the following ways: Allowing parents to have access to files and records of their own children, but do not have access to information about any other child. * Staff will not discuss personal information given by parents with other members of staff, except where it effects planning for the child’s needs. All staff is aware of the importance of confidentiality in the role of the key person. * Any concerns relating to a child’s personal safety are kept in a secure, confidential file and are shared with as few people as possible on a â€Å"need to know† basis. Personal information about children, families and staff is kept securely in a lockable file. * Issues to do with employment of staff, whether paid or unpaid, remain confidential to the people directly involved with making decisions. * Students attending the nursery on placement are made aware of the confidentiality policy and are required to respect it. Multi-Agency Approach to Communication Unifying Communications for a Safer Response The Programme is funded jointly by the Department of Communities and Local Government, National Policing I mprovement Agency, Cabinet Office and the Department of Health.The Public rightfully expect a  quick and effective  response from the emergency services and responder community. Experience  of major incidents and large scale events have highlighted the requirement for responders to communicate more effectively. Common communications tools are available, including Airwave radio and data tools such as the National Resilience Extranet. Airwave is the common radio platform in use by the Police Service, Ambulance Trusts, Fire and Rescue Service and those responding within the Civil Contingencies Act, 2004.The exchange of critical voice and data information between emergency responders is essential to: * Maximise the opportunity for  an effective  provision of services to the Public * Minimise risks to the public and emergency services personnel * Alert personnel to an immediate hazard * Support decision-making by Commanders * Assist in the creation and maintenance of a Common O perating Picture (COP) * Deliver a common operational approach across borders at emergencies, incidents and events http://www. pia. police. uk Communicating with children It is important to communicate clearly with young children as it helps them to understand what is expected of them, and they also learn to become good communicators themselves. Good communication:- * Check that you have their attention * Make good eye contact * Use positive facial expressions and body language * Use a friendly tone of voice * Call children by their preferred name * Keep sentences to the point * Listen to what the child says them respond Do not be sarcastic * Think about children’s language level and needs * Remember that they may not know phrases and words such as ‘a couple’ To build a good relationship with children, it is important that you encourage them to interact with you. This should be in a relaxed and natural way. Sometimes rather than telling a child what to do, you ma y ask them what they think and allow them to make suggestions. Listening plays a vital role here and teaches the children how to listen.Adapting communication to meet the individual needs of children Every child is different, so it is important to think about the communication needs of each individual child, and then adapt your approaches accordingly. For example, a child who stammers will need more opportunities to talk calmly in unhurried situations, away from other children who may interrupt. Another example is a child who has English as a second language. In this case, you may need to simplify sentences or use visual cues. They may need a little more time to respond.If there are particular difficulties with a child, firstly you need to talk to parents as they know what works best for their child. If these strategies don’t work, you may need to contact a speech and language team to try and extend these strategies. For example, a visual approach alongside spoken word, to he lp children understand the meaning, or a pictorial system which allows the children to show what they want by photographs. A child with a hearing loss may benefit from communicating in areas that are well lit, and away from distracting background noises.Recognising communication differences and difficulties It is important to learn about what a particular child is use to. If you have parents of different cultures or nationalities in the setting, take note of how they interact and communicate with children. For example, a parent may kiss and hug their child more, so their child will be used to a much more active style of communication. The use of eye contact and body language also vary across languages and cultures. The gesture for ‘no’ may be different so it is good to learn by watching and taking an interest in the way parents interacts with their children.There are many reasons why a child may have delayed speech or communication difficulties. If early intervention ca n take place, it could make a significant difference. Environmental causes include: Parents/carers or practitioners being ‘too busy’ to talk to the children Lack of understanding by parents/carers or practitioners of the importance of talking and listening to children Meal times not being shared with adults Noisy home environment – radio always on Child being left alone for long periods of time Children with communication difficulties do not necessarily have any learning impairment.It is important to not assume that a child’s ability to understand, listen and learn is diminished because of difficulties in communication. It is also essential to ensure that the child is not being bullied or teased by the other children. If so, it must be prevented straight away as there are many effects such as a decrease in confidence and self esteem. Type of difficulty| Examples/Characteristics| Speech and Language Delay| A child with these difficulties follow the normal p attern for speech and language, but at a slower rate or later than usual. Emotional Problems| Being withdrawn and fearful of adults. A child with emotional problems is usually a result of abuse or neglect. | Expressive Difficulties| The child finds it hard to convey thoughts in words. For example, a child may say ‘chair’ meaning ‘table’ but does fully understand the difference between the two. | Stuttering| Most children go through a phase of not being able to pronounce words in the accepted way, repeating words and not being fluent. If a stutter does develop, it will be between the age of two and five years.Children who have a stutter have difficulty in coordinating the airflow in their mouths and the muscles around their mouths. Stressful situations, such as talking in front of a group, can make it worse. It is very important to allow the child to speak and not finish their sentences. You can help with props and provide lots of reassurance. Referral to a specialist may be required. | Specialists include: * Translation services * Interpreting services * Speech and language services * Advocacy services