Autism in African American Culture Research Paper

Autism in African American Culture - Research Paper Example Although such an analysis is somewhat dangerous due to its risk of stereotyping, with regards to the expected and anticipated actions of an entire ethnic group, the author will perform a high level of due diligence in order to ensure that this particular pitfall is avoided at all costs. Within such an understanding, the following analysis will seek to measure and discuss three specific compliments of the way in which autism has been understood traditionally within the African-American community, the overall level of acceptance that it has garnered, the impact of family structure, as well as some recommendations with regards to solutions to key problems which will be analyzed and briefly elaborated upon. Firstly, it should be understood that the overall level of acceptance of autism within the African-American community is nominally higher than with regards to many other ethnic groups. Scholars have long debated why this might be; however, a compelling reason for the relatively high l evel of acceptance that exists within the African-American community with regards to developmental disorders is likely with regards to the overall level of religiosity and belief that exists within this group as compared to others. ... From a sociological perspective, scholars have also pointed to the fact and belief that many African-American parents and caretakers have with regards to an autistic child (Hilton et al, 2010). As such, the belief that the developmentally challenged/autistic will soon catch up with siblings or classmates has a direct level of correlation to the unique African-American experience within the United States. Due to being born within a culture that has traditionally and seemingly perennially been repressed and discriminated against, and in dominant spirit of human hope and belief is evidenced within this community as compared to many others. Although the last determinant was something that could be potentially viewed as a net positive with regards to an understanding and appreciation for autism within the African-American community, the second determinant which will be discussed, family structure, is necessarily and net drawback that this community faces. What is meant by this is the fact that approximately 70% of all children currently born within the African-American communities of the United States are born into a single parent household (Tincani et al, 2009). Although it is not the purpose of this discussion and exploration to analyze the means by which a two-parent household is ultimately a more secure and better environment within which a child should be raised, it must be understood that the level of care and resources necessary for tending to a child/children with disabilities of a developmental nature is an order of magnitude more demanding than would be the requirements and level of attention for a child without a developmental disorder/autism. Within such an understanding, the reader can come to the clear

My Life as a Soldier in World War I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Life as a Soldier in World War I - Essay Example Life in the trenches was extremely horrible for me. The possibilities of enemy attacks and diseases were haunted me and many other American soldiers who were in my battalion. Trench life prevented us from proper sleeping, bathing, and taking foods. The disturbance of rats, lice etc caused more trouble during my trench life. Some of the rats which caused disturbances to us during WW1 were of the size of a cat. Life casualties were more in WW1 and dead bodies of the soldiers were coming to our army camp quiet regularly. It was difficult for us to give a proper funeral to our colleagues who fought bravely for the country. American government was not much interested in giving respect or paying homage to the dead bodies of the soldiers at that time. Many of the dead bodies were burned using petrol since it was difficult for us to give more attention to the normal funeral activities. I was a commander in American army during WW1. So I forced to take many decisions during the war period. In fact it was difficult for me to allocate different missions to different soldiers. Different emotions that were passing through the faces of the soldiers while getting dangerous tasks were horrible experiences for me. It was evident that many of the soldiers who were sending for the dangerous missions may not come back alive. Being a commander, it was impossible for me to consider humanitarian issues during the war period. I remember many occasions in which I forced to compel even diseased soldiers to engage in some kind of works. On many occasions, I forced to advance further leaving the seriously wounded soldiers behind. It should be noted that giving care to wounded soldiers at the time of intense fight may cause more casualties. Relatives of the soldiers who suffered death never got the information about their death in time. In fact, we had received many letters from the wives of the soldiers who were killed many weeks before. It was really a horrible experience to read all the se letters and send any reply to them. I remember one instance in which I received a letter from a killed soldier’s wife. I realised the depth of their love and intimacy from this letter. She was actually pregnant and the real intention of this letter was to convey the good news to her husband. Some tears filled in my eyes, and decided to send a reply to this woman. It should be noted that communication channels were not much developed during WW1 and sending letters was the major communication activity performed by the soldiers and their relatives. In my reply letter, I described her husband as a brave one and informed her about his death. I asked her to be proud of the heroics done by her husband and expressed the gratitude of American army to her for the great services extended by her husband. It was really a touching moment in my life. At the time of wring the reply, I struggled to get suitable words. American society has changed a lot after WW1. Before WW1, many of the Am ericans supported wars. It should be noted that the first time use of sophisticated weapons caused more death casualties than anticipated in WW1. The loss of beloved ones forced American society to revise their views about wars. The huge destruction of properties forced Americans to think about the necessities of avoiding wars in future. â€Å"In the 1920s, people seemed to be less interested in progress and were more interested in hedonism. It is like

Nespresso Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nespresso - Research Paper Example In accordance with Davids (2009) one of the most important advantages of Nespresso compared to other similar products is the high range of the blends available; moreover, it seems that each of these blends is different (Davids 2009); from this point of view, Nespresso offers to the consumers the ability to choose among the blends available, a chance which is not given to other products, such as the Metodo iperEspresso (Illy) which has only three blends (Davids 2009). Apart from the above characteristic, Nespresso is distinguished from other products of this type in terms of quality. Each of the Nespresso blends has been produced using roasted coffee from different areas of the planet; in accordance with Davids (2009) the blends of Nespresso are produced using coffee elements from Africa, Brazil and Colombia (Davids 2009). In this way, a unique combination – in terms of the aroma and flavor of coffee – is achieved. ... uite a long; the firm’s name has been particularly related to food for infants; the impression that all the firm’s products are of high quality can be easily developed – an assumption that, actually, it would be valid. The differentiation of Nespresso from the other – similar – products in the market is also highlighted in the article of Sharp (2007), published in the Independent. In accordance with Sharp (2007) Nespresso could be characterized as one of the most profitable products of the specific category bringing to its initiators a profit of approximately ?500 annually. The reasons for the success of Nespresso are analyzed by Sharp (2007) as follows: At a first level, it is noted that the firm that produced Nespresso, the Nestle, has been well known for the quality of its products. This fact has significantly helped the particular product to be welcomed by consumers internationally. However, in practice, it has been proved that Nespresso has a s eries of additional advantages, such as: its name: the name given to the product defines precisely its characteristics; there is no threat of misunderstanding in regard to the type and the general characteristics of the product; furthermore, its name is memorable, being distinguished from other similar products, the names of which are difficult to be remembered (Sharp 2007). The involvement of Nespresso in daily meals – as promoted by the firm’s marketing team – is also characterized as another significant advantage of Nespresso compared to the similar products of rivals. More specifically, Nespresso is offered, as an after-dinner option, to well – known (but not expensive) restaurants, such as Sketch and The Fat Duck (Sharp 2007); in this way, the product is made known to the public as an after-meal

Iraq War Coverage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Iraq War Coverage - Essay Example The first article comes from the New York Times and it is has been written by Richard Oppel to describe how a buried bomb killed five American soldiers in Iraq. The second article is also from the New York Times, written by Steven Farrell and it discusses how American soldiers have been charged with the murder of Iraqi civilians. From the foreign news sources, Aljazeera.net provides us with two articles where the first shows how the president’s plan for Iraq is coming under fire and the second shows how deaths in Iraq have fallen in number. Finally we have an article from PBS.org that discusses how the military is handling the issue of homemade Iraqi bombs. The commonality between all articles is the fact that they are dealing with the Iraq war and all of them are trying to present both sides of the issue. However, for the American sources, there is a clear differentiation between the right and wrong side. Aljazeera also has offered its own clear distinction but it is quite different from the one given by the New York Times. The independent news source, i.e. PBS.org, presents the transcript of an interview with various individuals from different fields that have been to Iraq and can understand the situation on the ground. Another similarity between the all the news sources is their data gathering which seeks to get information from all possible sources. For example, the New York Times gets statements from American soldiers as well as American government officials regarding the situation in Iraq. They also got words from the anti-American clerics who are part of the leadership in the Mahdi Army that has been reportedly engaged in attacks on American interests in Iraq. Similarly, the foreign news source i.e. Aljazeera reports on what the American statesmen are saying about the war in Iraq and one would think that such statements

Children and Young Peoples Workforce (QCF) Coursework

Children and Young Peoples Workforce (QCF) - Coursework Example A key worker system ensures that a practitioner who has been given the responsibility of looking after a number of children, therefore, develops in-depth knowledge about them based on continuous interaction and constant observation of the children. Loving and secure relationships with key carers and parents enable children to grow up to be strong and independent. Children will learn to deal with various circumstances with support from their parents and caregivers. Poor quality attachments have negative effects on the development of babies and children. It has been identified that all kinds of anti-social behaviors are as a result of poor quality attachments between children and their parents. Children who do not have stable childhoods and are not given full attention by their parents do not get opportunities for benefiting from the important learning that takes place in parent-child interactions. Continuous contact with parents and caregivers is therefore important in ensuring children grow up normally. This way, children will be able to form quality attachments to their parents and other individuals (Beaver, Brewster and Jones, 2001p 241). Parents and carers are encouraged to engage sensitively with babies and young children by giving them time to respond. Children and young babies learn best and effectively at their own pace. Parents are therefore encouraged to allow their children adequate time to follow and absorb their own interests. Children have their own time when they can learn, develop, explore as well as practice. Responsive care includes circumstances where the carer is responding to a child’s needs in a sensitive, consistent and prompt manner. Responses provided by the carer should be sensitive towards the needs and preferences of a child. Caregivers should attend to a child’s needs consistently. The carer should be able to respond and manage situations promptly so as to avoid delays.

Problem Solving. Younger Sibling Problems Essay Example for Free

Problem Solving. Younger Sibling Problems Essay Younger siblings can be a problem that will lead to a bigger problem, your parents being angry at you for never being home. My younger brothers, CJ and Colin, are obnoxious and very annoying. CJ is six years younger than me and Colin is eight years younger than me. You wouldn’t think that they would be a problem to me since there is such an age difference between us, but they are. Since my brothers annoy me I am rarely home; my parents get angry with me for it, but there is not much I can do when both of my brothers get on my nerves; most of the time they do it at the same time. A big problem for me is that my brothers annoy me so much that I have to leave and go somewhere that does not involve my brothers, which causes my parents to be mad at me. CJ, the older brother, is so mouthy. He always has something to say to me when I try talk to him; most of the time it is not nice, it is usually something rude. It seems like he was raised not to be respectful, but he wasn’t raised that way. For example, one day I asked him nicely to grab my cellphone and his reply was â€Å"why don’t you get up and get it yourself, both of your legs work, right?† I do not know why he acts the way he does, but it gets on my nerves. CJ and I always argue about everything. For instance, when I am in the living room watching TV he will try to play the Xbox, but I tell him that he can wait after the show is over, so he decides to tell our mother then has a fit about it. If he doesn’t get what he wants he gets furious and starts to have little fits; sometimes the fits are out of control. Also, he always talks back to our mother; that is the most annoying thing to me. When he talks back to our mother it makes me irate. I usually want to leave whenever he gets that way, but sometimes I do not have anywhere to go. When I leave I go to my friend’s house or I will go to the store such as Wal-Mart, the Dollar Store, or just somewhere that I can get away from him when he acts that way. Colin, the younger brother, is too hyper active for me. He is always jumping off the walls. It is like he cannot sit still. When he acts like that I just want to leave and go somewhere peaceful. I cannot go in my room because I can hear him in there too. The only time it is quiet at my house is when he is at his friends, watching TV, playing the Xbox, playing on the computer, or sleeping. When I ask him to stop nicely he does it again just to get on my nerves. I know he  does it on purpose because when he does it he laughs about it; nothing makes me angrier than that. If he has a friend over I cannot be home because when he and his friends are together they act like they are insane. For example, around Fourth of July his friend Preston was at our house and he lit fireworks off inside our house when my mother was sleeping; she was upstairs sleeping and they were downstairs in our living room, so she could not hear them. I was not home at the time and neither was my father. She found out the next morning and was furious with them. You would think that my brother Colin would have told him not to do it, but he was right along with Preston. There was burn marks in our white carpet. There was no reason for him to act like that with his friends. He should be more responsible whenever situations like that happen. Colin is too hyper active for me to handle, so when he acts up I cannot stand being around him; I usually leave whenever he acts like that. Solving a problem that involves emotions is difficult. I could solve the problem by trying to avoid the situations and ignoring my younger brothers. When CJ begins to say rude comments to me I could leave the room instead of leaving the house so my parents do not get angry at me for never being home. I could remove myself from the situation; maybe whenever Colin starts to act up I could go outside or do something I enjoy such as reading or listening to music. When I listen to music it calms my nerves down. If I do that then I would not leave my house as much as I usually do. If I remove myself from the situation by doing something that relaxes me could solve the problem an efficient and effective way my parents would not be as frustrated with me. I would be home a lot more than I usually am and that would cause my parents to be very happy with me, especially if I am home more to help my mother clean the house or help her with whatever she needs help with. In brief, younger siblings can be a problem that can lead to another problem that involves your parents. My brothers, CJ and Colin are both very annoying to me and that causes me to leave my house; when I leave my house my parents get angry at me because I am never home. CJ always talks back to everyone in my house and that irri tates me. When he does that I get annoyed and I go somewhere that doesn’t involve him. I try to leave the house and go wherever I can get away from the annoyance of my brothers. Colin is an extremely hyper child; he is always jumping up and down. When he does that it really gets on my nerves  and I leave the house whenever he acts like that; I cannot handle it sometimes. I like to go to a place where I can have peace. To solve these problems I can calm myself down by doing something I enjoy like reading or listening to music. It would be effective if I removed myself from the situations my brothers cause. If I remove myself from the situations instead of leaving all the time my parents would not be as frustrated with me. It would be a win-win situation; I would not be as annoyed with my brothers and my parents would not be as frustrated with me for leaving the house. I would be home more often and could help my mother more around the house. In conclusion, to avoid my parents being angry with me I could do something that calms me down instead of leaving the house beca use my brothers annoy me.

Inter-Professional Education in the Healthcare Sector

Inter-Professional Education in the Healthcare Sector Chapter 1 Introduction Health carers working in Malta are expected to work towards a patient-centred care and to communicate and collaborate in multidisciplinary teams even if they lack sufficient basic knowledge on the role of every team member. Sacco (2008) stated that there has to be effective team-working, communication and collaboration between professions for patients and their allied care to improve. He also stated that I.P.E. between the different professions is a way of attaining this team-work. Much has been written over the past few years on inter-professional education (I.P.E.) and its effect on the health care system. A lot of research and promotion have been conducted. However, Lumague et al. (2006) still believes that professional programs are still not giving the appropriate importance of I.P.E. in their curricula. According to Sacco (2008), I.P.E. was never used by any of the professions related to medicine in Malta, as a way of learning. Buttigieg stated (as cited in The Times of Malta, 2008) that â€Å"we still have a long way to go to be able to claim with confidence that interdisciplinary collaboration in teaching and research at our University is bearing the fruit that is becoming increasingly necessary in the world of today. Although the exercise was found to be very exhausting by the researcher, it was also an enriching experience and an introduction to the world of research. Provided that this was the authors first attempt to research, the study has helped her develop a better understanding of the research process. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 The Current Healthcare System and the Present Situation at the FHS Sacco (2008) stated that in the present healthcare system, patients are looked after by Multidisciplinary Teams comprising an extensive range of healthcare and other professionals. Apparently, the FHS board is not fully aware of the benefits of I.P.E. and although a lot of lip service is presented to working as a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT), not much is truly done to promote it throughout the actual education (Sacco, 2008). Sacco (2008) argues that in Malta, although the medical profession is part of the MDT, little or no integration is happening throughout the undergraduate years. Furthermore, there has to be a clear distinction between ‘Common Core Learning and I.P.E. The terms should not be used interchangeably since they do not have the same meaning. Currently in Common Core study-units students are being taught together with other students from other divisions of the FHS, or other faculties within the University, which is the same as ‘multi-professional education as this involves learning the same content together side by side, which in turn should not be mistaken with I.P.E. (Sacco, 2008). The latter does not only comprise the subject matter, but it also involves the different roles of different professions and how professionals can work together towards a shared goal (Sacco, 2008). Health education was somewhat inward-looking, however, owing to the altering health services, has changed from being ‘mono-professional to ‘multi-professional, and then becoming ‘inter-professional (Sacco, 2008). 2.2 Background on I.P.E. The need for immediate improvement of human resources was recently emphasized by the World Health Report 2006 produced by the World Health Organisation, according to which, the world is short of 4.3 million doctors, midwives, nurses and support workers. This crisis was also recognized by the 59th World Health Assembly (2006), who demanded upgrading of the health personnel production through various methods which included ‘‘innovative approaches to teaching in industrialised and developing countries.   Furthermore, Gilbert (2005) pointed out that shortage of healthcarers in Canada were already reported in the Curtis Report, back in 1969, and the latter approved of : considerations for replacing the training program with a more advanced one, empathetic patient care, and increased collaboration and management in delivering healthcare. In addition to this, the requirement of numerous necessities of particular groups of facility users, the diversity of necessary service responses to these and the necessity for effective information exchange and discussion with regards to care planning and delivery, lead to the demand for cooperation between the health care professions and the social care professions, and health and welfare/ social care agencies (Towards Unity for Health, n.d.). Robson and Kitchen, (2007), also emphasised the importance of an effective interprofessional collaboration in order to provide the best healthcare possible. The necessity of health and social care professions working together more was already highlighted for a number of years (Department of Health, 1989, 1998, 2000).  Ã‚   The complexity of patient care is on the rise, thus effective cooperation between health and social care professionals is needed. However, evidence proposes that the latter two are not cooperating well with each other (Cochrane Review, 2002). Collaboration still poses several problems especially with interprofessional coordination and communication. In a study carried out by Robson and Kitchen, (2007), students thought that communication and interprofessional relationships are the key factors affecting collaboration. I.P.E. has long been supported to be a solution to the challenges which collaboration presents (WHO, 1988; Department of Health, 2000). However, although it is evident that I.P.E. initiatives within universities have many beneficits, there were doubts to how successful the development of such initiatives could be (Oxley Glover, 2002). The following are several problem issues that were identified by Brian ONeill (as cited in Oxley Glover, 2002): Finding placements, particularly for team experiences Differences amongst students with respect to knowledge they bring to the course, motivations for taking the course, and preferred learning styles Evaluation of outcomes Transferability of knowledge and skills to practice, and impact of interprofessional learning to practice. 2.3 Challenges to the Implementation of I.P.E. Research suggests that it is very important for the professionals to have knowledge on how to work, communicate and collaborate effectively and cross boundaries between professions for a better health care system. According to the Council for the Professions Complementary to Medicine (2006), â€Å"Physiotherapists should communicate effectively with registered medical practitioners, other health professionals and relevant outside agencies to provide effective and efficient service to the patient† (p. 2). Salvatori, Berry, and Eva (2007), reported that although barriers to implementing I.P.E. exist, the need to overcome them is critical if we are to keep pace with the changing healthcare system and better prepare health professional students for collaborative practice. A preliminary survey of I.P.E. found that, there is a wide variability when the term ‘interprofessional is interpreted and that there are many barriers to I.P.E. some of which are overloaded curricula in schools of health professions, faculty and administrations lack of support and also financial limitations (Rafter et al., 2006). Not all of the above had been successful where endeavored. Oxley and Glover (2002) stated that in their own research some participants felt that they had not benefited from inter-disciplinary work as the course were â€Å"too theoretical. On the other hand, most of the respondents felt that this work was successful owing to the inclusion of for example practical experience, work placements, and inter-professional projects. 2.4 What is the Best Time to Introduce I.P.E.? The best time to introduce interprofessional learning in higher education still remains debated (Horsburgh, Lamdin, Williamson, 2001). On the other hand, Yan, Gilbert, Hoffman (2007) stated that it is the time to take a step forward to an I.P.E. and collaborative practice.   Students themselves were found to be in favour of I.P.E. as early as possible that is in their first year of their course prior to the development of professional prejudice (Parsell, Spalding, Bligh, 1998; Horsburgh, et al., 2001; Rudland Mires, 2005) and stereotyping of other healthcare groups which may in turn have a negative impact on attitudes when it comes to collaborating interprofessionally (Hojat et al., 1997; Tunstall-Pedoe, Rink, Hilton, 2003; Rudland Mires, 2005). On the other hand, introducing I.P.E. early in the course may sometimes be useless when labeling has already been formed in the minds of those who are about to start the course. Rudland and Mires, (2005), reported that medical students start the course already knowing the main differences between the nurses and the doctors characteristics and backgrounds. For example medical students perception of the nurses is that they are more caring, have less social status, less competent and academically weaker than doc tors. According to Khalili Orchard (2008) currently the way healthcare students are learning and socialized is via a uni-disciplinary model, which in turn may lead to in-group and out-group behavior (The Social Contact Theory).   Learning about the roles and responsibilities of just ones profession leads to professional socialization which in turn might lead to professionals distrusting other professionals and forming myths of perceptions about them, thus professional socialization and lack of effective collaboration. Sacco (2008) stated that professional socialisation is more the training of medical students into developing as doctors and physiotherapy students into developing as physiotherapists, rather than preparing them to be able to become team members. Shared interprofessional learning may be a solution to this problem as professions come to appreciate roles and responsibilities of other professions. Thus, I.P.E. may be the key to more effective collaboration in the actual workpl ace. Furthermore, it would be ideal if knowledge, skills and attitudes would be passed on from the I.P.E. into the actual workplace, something that still has to be accomplished within Maltas health services (Sacco, 2008). Multiprofessional learning and education (now looked at as interprofessional) have been given great importance by the World Health Organisation (as being an important factor in primary health care) since 1978 in the Alma-Ata 1978 Primary Health Care Report and it was emphasized later in 1988, in their statement ‘Learning Together to Work Together for Health.   This initiative was also supported in many countries by other legislative and policy requirements such as ‘Learning together to work together (Department of Health, 2000) in the UK and the Inter-professional Education for Collaborative Patient Centred Practice Initiative, supported by Health Canada (Herbert, 2005). 2.5 Evidence Available to Support I.P.E. Hammick, Freeth, Koppel, Reeves, Barr (2007) states that there is limited evidence to support the proposal that learning together will aid practitioners and agencies to work better together. The effect of I.P.E. on the healthcarers work still needs to be re-examined since â€Å"there is no published evidence that I.P.E. promotes interprofessional collaboration or improves client relevant outcomes† (Zwarenstein et al., 2005). Campbell (2003) reported that most studies that he selected for his systematic review were deficient in their methodologic rigor. The review concluded that there was no convincing impact of I.P.E. in improving collaborative practice and/or health/well-being. On the other hand, evidence that suggests that interprofessional learning improves interprofessional collaboration is also available (Atwal Caldwell, 2002). Oxley and Glover (2002), maintain that there are benefits to I.P.E. for different stakeholders including employers, universities and students. For example the recruitment of a higher standard of graduate by employers will in turn have a positive reflection on the institute and its operators. According to the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada (2002), â€Å"If health care providers are expected to work together and share expertise in a team environment, it makes sense that their education and training should prepare them for this type of working arrangement.† Barr, et al. (2000) succinctly summarises the four main benefits I.P.E. can provide: Enhances motivation to collaborate Changes attitudes and perceptions Cultivates interpersonal, group and organisational relations Establishes common value and knowledge bases Hammick et al. (2007) found that I.P.E. is generally liked, allowing knowledge and skills needed for to work in collaboration to be learnt. Furthermore, staff development is the main impact on the effectiveness of I.P.E. and can help learners bring out the unique values about themselves and others (Hammick et al., 2007). When it comes to initiatives with regard to quality improvement, I.P.E. is effective in improving practice and services (Hammick et al., 2007). On the other hand, according to Zwarenstein et al. (2005), â€Å"there is no published evidence that I.P.E. promotes interprofessional collaboration or improves client relevant outcomes†. Thus, the need for more research on I.P.E. is needed. 2.6 Attitudes towards the Inter-Professional Teamwork and Education   There was an amount of studies carried out to gain more information regarding attitudes of healthcare students towards interprofessional teamwork and education. Such students tend to show positive attitudes towards I.P.E. (Tunstall-Pedoe, et al., 2003; Pollard, Miers, Gilchrist, 2004; Curran, Sharpe, Forristall Flynn, 2008). In a research study conducted by Lumagae et al. (2006), when it comes to patient care, interprofessional teamwork was approved by all the participants who all agreed that opportunities comprising their development of skills, attitudes and behaviours required for interprofessional collaboration should be involved in their healthcare education. Salvatori et al. (2007) also stated that â€Å"It is clear that students enjoyed their experience and perceived new respect and understanding of other professional roles and the potential for interprofessional collaboration in caring for patients† (p. 80). Most of such studies stated that there is a tendency that medical students and also postgraduate medical residents have significantly less positive attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork when compared to students from other healthcare professions (Hojat et al. 1997; Leipzig et al., 2002; Pollard et al. 2004; Tanaka Yokode, 2005). Attitudes of medical and nursing students towards interprofessional teamwork were studied and no significant difference was found between them two (Curran, et al., 2008). However, Curran et al. (2008) also found out that these two groups of students report significantly less positive attitudes towards interprofessional teams when compared to pharmacy and social work students. Curran et al. (2008) also reported that medical students significantly showed less positive attitudes towards I.P.E. when compared to nursing, pharmacy and social work students. Being a female and/or a senior undergraduate also showed more positive attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork and education (the latter being more significant especially with prior experience with I.P.E.). In this study, profession, gender and year also seemed to play a role in determining positive attitudes towards both interprofessional teamwork and education. On the other hand, Pollard et al. (2004) found that there were students who had viewed interprofessional collaboration negatively and they included mature students and those that had experience at university or of working in a health or social care settings. Curran et al. (2008), argues that although having previous experience in I.P.E. activities may not improve attitudes to it, participating in it may have more positive attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork. 2.7 Attitudes towards the Roles of their Own other Professional Groups Research has also tried to give answers with regard to students attitudes towards the roles of their own other professions. Tunstall-Pedoe, Rink, and Hilton (2003), argue that the overall attitude of students studying medicine towards students from other professions was less positive. In a study carried out by Hojat et al. (1997), medical students were found to have different attitudes from nursing students with regard to areas of authorities and power, including professional dominance and medical responsibilities in serving patients needs. Furthermore, Spence and Weston, (1995) maintains that nurses were more clear in their perceptions of competencies essential for medicine, than medical students were about competencies important for nursing.  Ã‚  Ã‚   It should be noted that literature review with regard to I.P.E. at the FHS was scarce and difficult to find.   Chapter 3 Materials Methodology 1 Introduction This chapter describes the planning and development of the research study. It also explains the underlying rationale for deciding on the studys structure. 3.2 Objectives of the Study It is not really known whether students of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) and the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery (FMS) agree to the implementation of a new I.P.E. system at the FHS. The overall objective of the study was to understand whether students at the FHS and at the FMS know what I.P.E. is and to explore their opinions regarding the implementation or not of I.P.E. in the common curriculum at the FHS. The goals of the study were to: Explore the students understanding of the term I.P.E. Identify whether the students agree or disagree to the implementation of I.P.E. and I.P.E. study-units at the FHS, and if they agree, the study-units or areas of study they would like to see becoming inter-professional and at what stage of their course to implement it. Find out the students attitudes towards I.P.E. with regard to its benefits and challenges if any. Discover the students attitudes towards I.P.E. teams Discover the students attitudes towards other healthcare professions 3.3 Operational Definition of Terms Table 1 Illustrating the operational definition of terms. 3.4 The Research Design For the aims and objectives of the study to be addressed, the latter had to be descriptive, qualitative and thus, a non-experimental and explorative research design was considered to be the most suitable approach. One-to-one interviews were preferred to group interviews since in the former more personal information about the participant could be elicited (Carter, Lubinsky, Domholdt, 2011), the patient may feel more comfortable to speak in front of a person rather than in front of a group and thus giving more honest information especially when it comes to expressing his/her attitudes towards others. The interviews were carried out in-person, with the advantage of providing the best opportunity for building rapports and for observing the interviewees nonverbal cues (Carter, et al., 2011). 3.5 The Research Setting This study was conducted in Malta with the permission of the University of Malta. The University has a number of Faculties two of which being the FHS and the FMS, from which students were chosen to participate. The courses which fall under these faculties and which were included in the study can be found in Appendix F, wherein the numbers of students present in each division is also given. The participants had a say in the choice of the research setting, and preferred meeting at places most familiar and within reach to them including University of Malta areas, Mater Dei Hospital and at certain pharmacies, which were also within reach by the researcher. Carter, Lubinsky, and Domholdt (2011), suggest that the setting in which the research is carried out contributes greatly to an interviews success. The interviewer made sure to choose a setting which is familiar and comfortable to the interviewee, with special attention given to the environmental setting such as quietness to avoid interruptions, adequate lighting, room temperature, and comfortable and appropriate set-up of chairs to avoid building psychological barriers. Carter, Lubinsky, and Domholdt (2011), emphasized the importance of an appropriate introduction to an interview as this sets up the tone, affecting the rest of the interview. Furthermore, the researcher was aware of the body language at all times, keeping the appropriate distance, maintaining eye contact in line with cultural norms, showing interest and full awareness in what the interviewee was saying (by for example leaning forwards to him/her, nodding, smiling to funny comments that the subjects passed) and speaking clearly and at an adequate volume level. Attention was also given to choosing the appropriate type of clothing as in an interview the attire plays an important role. At the end of each interview, the interviewer made sure to thank the participant for his/her contribution to the research study in order to show appreciation and to indirectly help promote and encourage participation in future research. 3.6 Target Population In this study, the target population which is described as ‘the entire population in which a researcher is interested and to which he or she would like to generalize the study result (Polit and Beck, 2008, p. 767), included students from all the different divisions of the FHS and from the divisions of Pharmacy and Medical students which both fall under the FMS. When the researcher interviewed these students, the latter had already started their next scholastic year. The researcher staggered the interviews so as to gain more knowledge whilst completing the literature review and to be able to give the participants appropriate cues during the interviews. This helped the researcher to achieve better results because the cues given targeted the research question. A literature search of electronic databases including Ebsco, Cinahl and Pubmed was conducted between January 2009 and May 2011. The inclusion criteria for this study were: All the students whose course fell under the FHS or the FMS. Male or female Willingness to participate in the study. English speaking Students over 18 years of age. The study will be using undergraduate students opinions rather than post-graduate healthcarers opinions, as there is a lack of similar studies on the issue. The exclusion criteria for this study were as follows: Students who never had any clinical experience. Students who did not fell under University of Malta Those who did not want to participate. 3.7 Sampling Size and Methods Used to Choose the Sample Owing to time constraints, a method of convenience sampling was used to select a sample for the study, choosing easily accessible people who are in proximity to the researcher or who are willing to take part in the study (Castillo, 2009). This method is also the cheapest, simplest sampling form available and does not entail planning (Ellison, Barwick, Farrant, 2010). This type of sampling offers a fast attainment of preliminary information with regard to the research question being studied and is also inexpensive (Berg, 2004; Castillo, 2009). Students who satisfied the criteria were recognized and 31 people were chosen including 12 males and 19 females whose ages ranged from 19 to 46. The following is a proportion showing the total number of medical students, is to the total number of pharmacy students is to the total number of students from the FHS, respectively: 426: 196: 823. One student per 90 students for each FHS division was interviewed in order to have a representable sample . The researcher was aware that the selected subjects could not represent the entire population as to test the whole population it entails to interview an enormous amount of people and that would have taken an infinite amount of time to complete the study. The sampling was unrepresentative and did not offer statistical advantages (Ellison, et al., 2010). The sampling size was mostly determined by the available time and resources. The researcher tried to find a balance between depth and breadth of the interviews. The in-depth information obtained from the research population provided rich and valuable data. The researcher contacted subjects who satisfied the inclusion criteria of the study via e-mails or face-to-face, in order to set appointments for the interviews, and had to find a compromise between both her and the subjects availabilities. The researcher made sure that she would not disturb them. The researcher used stratified sampling to make sure that a particular sample, from the known population under study, is denoted in the sample (Berg, 2004). Furthermore, the use of stratified sampling also helped the researcher to access small subgroups within the population, allowing the researcher to examine the extremes of the population (Castillo, 2009). This known population was divided into strata, chosen according to literature support, from which samples were selected. The researcher had information on the population and was able to divide it into strata, for which a sampling fraction had to be applied, which represent proportions of the whole population (Berg, 2004). Qualitative research makes sure that informants are not manipulated in a certain way as would probably be typical in studies which are quantitative experimental, but, instead tries to access the informants viewpoints (Carter, et al., 2011).   3.8 The Research Instrument The interview guide had two parts, one of which included demographic data and the other part included fifteen open-ended questions. The latter produced the qualitative data. The intention of establishing a rapport with the interviewees was to make them feel more comfortable. Friendly light conversations, the use of sense of humour, and common conventions for example talking about weather conditions and about the surrounding environment helped to ease any tension built by the research situation and to start building a warm rapport. Furthermore, the researcher made sure that the interviewees had a say in the setting of the interview by asking them their preferred place, to augment comfort of the participant (Carter, et al., 2011). Moreover, the researcher made sure that the location chosen offered the least interruptions not to prevent limitations in conducting the interviews.   A self-preparatory semi-structured interview was the tool of the study (Appendix I). The clearest purpose of an interview is to collect information (Carter, et al., 2011). Questions were pre-designed prior to the interview and based on literature, yet, the format used in semi-structured interviews allows the researcher to elicit more information from the participant and to make questions more clear (Carter, et al., 2011). Berg (2004), characterized semi-structured interviews as being relatively structured, as being flexible both in wording and order of the questions, as being able to allow adjustments in the language level, as allowing the interviewer to give answers to questions and to make some clarifications if needs be, and as allowing the interviewer to add/remove probes (according to subjects). Carter, Lubinsky, and Domholdt (2011), pointed out that observation and interviewing skills were actually qualitative research methods seen regularly in clinical practice. As a physiotherapy student, the researcher was taught how to observe and assess patients thoroughly. This was an advantage to the researcher as she had already been gaining skills in observing and interviewing people prior to beginning the research study, thus, eliciting better and more reliable data. For example, being able to give relevant cues at the appropriate time during the interviews kept the interviews flowing. Carter, Lubinsky, and Domholdt (2011), stated that developing skills in interviewing when one is a student or a healthcare professional will transfer to a research study. The researcher made sure to try to elicit as much information as possible from the interviewees without putting them in an uncomfortable position. The latter was avoided by not asking too much of the participants, by selecting the right probing and cues, by showing an attitude of healthy curiosity and care, and by not judging them and keeping in mind that others have their values and opinions too. Any non-verbal communication noted was written as fieldnotes during the interviews and added to the transcripts. During the interviews the researcher followed a copy of the interview schedule in order to keep the interviewee on track and used probes to make it easier to elicit complete data from the interviewees (Berg, 2004). Probes were also used when the subjects used monosyllabic answers such as ‘yes or ‘no. ‘Uncomfortable silence was also used as a sign that the researcher expected to obtain more information. The interviewer also kept in mind to sound as natural as possible when asking questions and to remain neutral on the subject so as not to bias the participant by sharing personal judgments. Choosing facilitative techniques like providing utterances (for example ‘uh-huh), using ‘reflection by repeating some words of the interviewees utterance, ‘confrontation to point out certain physical evidence as the interviewee spoke (for example â€Å"I noticed you smiled when you told me that), ‘interpretation (for example ‘It sounds to me like youre not happy about that situation) were used to encourage the interviewees to continue (Carter, et al., 2011). Goffman (as cited in Berg, 2004) noted that people do not only learn to send or receive messages during their growth but also they learn how to avoid particular types of them. Goffman called this avoidance ‘evasion tactics. Berg, (2004) made it clear that although this has to be surmounted when conducting interviews, one has to be caref