Essay on Textbook Communication

Essay on Textbook Communication Essay on Textbook Communication Unit 1 Principles of communication in adult social care settings Everybody communicates; the ways in which people communicate make us uniquely human. Without communication you would feel lonely, isolated and unable to function as an individual or as a member of a team. This unit discusses communication which may be verbal (words) and non-verbal (body language, gestures, touch, eye contact and pictures). Verbal and non-verbal communication methods work together, to help people make sense of what they are hearing, seeing and feeling. This unit also discusses difficulties with communication, confidentiality and data protection. These may present particular challenges or considerations in the adult health and social care setting. On completion of this unit you should: understand why communication is important in adult social care settings understand how to meet the communication and language needs, wishes and preferences of an individual understand how to reduce barriers to communication understand confidentiality in adult social care settings. 1 [1254] ASC Level 2.indd 1 8/24/12 12:46 PM Preparing to work in adult social care | Level 2 1.1 The importance of communication in adult social care settings Health and social care is fundamentally about people, so effective interpersonal communication is vital in providing care services. Communication takes place: with people who use services in order to assess their needs and plan their care within teams and organisations so that information about individuals also the skills of each of your colleagues can be shared and used effectively with other care providers to avoid gaps and duplication in care, and to learn from their observations. Some of the individuals may have difficulties with communication and need special assistance. What is communication? thin Communication starts with an intended message being sent (‘transmitted’ or ‘projected’) from the source. Once it reaches the destination it will have been changed because of ‘noise’ and the interpretation or perception of the receiver. Feedback is an essential part of the communication process and can also be affected by ‘noise’ (see the diagram opposite). k ut abo Take a few moments to consider how each of the five senses helps in receiving information from another person. Senses are your body’s physiological abilities that allow you to perceive the world around you. People have five senses: sight hearing touch smell taste. 2 [1254] ASC Level 2.indd 2 8/24/12 12:46 PM Unit 1 | Principles of communication in adult social care settings Two-way communication You mainly use the senses of sight, hearing and touch to communicate, and occasionally the other two – smell and taste. Remember that communication is listening (receiving) as well as talking (sending). Effective communication is the sharing of meaningful information between two or more people, with the goal of the receiver understanding the sender’s intended message. The person who receives the message sends feedback so that the sender knows whether the message has been received and understood. The original sender of the information is responsible for recognising and understanding that feedback, and acting on it. For example, if the message wasn’t understood at first, they might have to send it again, perhaps in a different way. Effective communication Sharing meaningful information between two or more people; the goal is that the receiver understands the sender’s intended message. Key Term Why do people communicate? Try to imagine what it would be to spend a day without communication – no conversation; no TV or radio; no reading; no computer; no phone calls or texts; no hugs. People naturally interact with each other: they benefit from and enjoy communicating. This is true whether you are an introvert (quiet and private) or extrovert (life and soul of the party). Now try to imagine how you would do your job without communicating with individuals and

Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Explorer and Cartographer

Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Explorer and Cartographer Amerigo Vespucci (March 9, 1454–February 22, 1512) was an Italian explorer and cartographer. In the early 16th century, he showed that the New World was not part of Asia but was, in fact, its own distinct area. The Americas take their name from the Latin form of Amerigo. Fast Facts: Amerigo Vespucci Known For: Vespuccis expeditions led him to the realization that the New World was distinct from Asia; the Americas were named after him.Born: March 9, 1454 in Florence, ItalyParents: Ser Nastagio Vespucci and Lisabetta MiniDied: February 22, 1512 in Seville, SpainSpouse: Maria Cerezo Early Life Amerigo Vespucci was born on March 9, 1454, to a prominent family in Florence, Italy. As a young man, he read widely and collected books and maps. He eventually began working for local bankers and was sent to Spain in 1492 to look after his employers business interests. While he was in Spain, Vespucci had the chance to meet Christopher Columbus, who had just returned from his voyage to America; the meeting increased Vespuccis interest in taking a journey across the Atlantic. He soon began working on ships, and he went on his first expedition in 1497. The Spanish ships passed through the West Indies, reached South America, and returned to Spain the following year. In 1499, Vespucci went on his second voyage, this time as an official navigator. The expedition reached the mouth of the Amazon River and explored the coast of South America. Vespucci was able to calculate how far west he had traveled by observing the conjunction of Mars and the Moon. The New World On his third voyage in 1501, Vespucci sailed under the Portuguese flag. After leaving Lisbon, it took Vespucci 64 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean due to light winds. His ships followed the South American coast to within 400 miles of the southern tip, Tierra del Fuego. Along the way, the Portuguese sailors in charge of the voyage asked Vespucci to take over as commander. While he was on this expedition, Vespucci wrote two letters to a friend in Europe. He described his travels and was the first to identify the New World of North and South America as a separate landmass from Asia. (Christopher Columbus mistakenly believed he had reached Asia.) In one letter, dated March (or April) 1503, Vespucci described the diversity of life on the new continent: We knew that land to be a continent, and not an island, from its long beaches extending without trending round, the infinite number of inhabitants, the numerous tribes and peoples, the numerous kinds of wild animals unknown in our country, and many others never seen before by us, touching which it would take long to make reference. In his writings, Vespucci also described the culture of the indigenous people, focusing on their diet, religion, and- what made these letters very popular- their sexual, marriage, and childbirth practices. The letters were published in many languages and were distributed across Europe (they sold much better than Columbuss own diaries). Vespuccis descriptions of the natives were vivid and frank: They are people gentle and tractable, and all of both sexes go naked, not covering any part of their bodies, just as they came from their mothers’ wombs, and so they go until their deaths...They are of a free and good-looking expression of countenance, which they themselves destroy by boring the nostrils and lips, the nose and ears...They stop up these perforations with blue stones, bits of marble, of crystal, or very fine alabaster, also with very white bones and other things. Vespucci also described the richness of the land, and hinted that the region could be easily exploited for its valuable raw materials, including gold and pearls: The land is very fertile, abounding in many hills and valleys, and in large rivers, and is irrigated by very refreshing springs. It is covered with extensive and dense forests...No kind of metal has been found except gold, in which the country abounds, though we have brought none back in this our first navigation. The natives, however, assured us that there was an immense quantity of gold underground, and nothing was to be had from them for a price. Pearls abound, as I wrote to you. Scholars are not certain whether or not Vespucci participated in a fourth voyage to the Americas in 1503. If he did, there is little record of it, and we can assume the expedition was not very successful. Nevertheless, Vespucci did assist in the planning of other voyages to the New World. European colonization of this region accelerated in the years after Vespuccis voyages, resulting in settlements in Mexico, the West Indies, and South America. The Italian explorers work played an important role in helping colonizers navigate the territory. Death Vespucci was named pilot-major of Spain in 1508. He was proud of this accomplishment, writing that I was more skillful than all the shipmates of the whole world. Vespucci contracted malaria and died in Spain in 1512 at the age of 57. Legacy The German clergyman-scholar Martin Waldseemà ¼ller liked to make up names. He even created his own last name by combining the words for wood, lake, and mill. Waldseemà ¼ller was working on a contemporary world map in 1507, based on the Greek geography of Ptolemy, and he had read of Vespuccis travels and knew that the New World was indeed two continents. In honor of Vespuccis discovery of this portion of the world, Waldseemà ¼ller printed a wood block map (called Carta Mariana) with the name America spread across the southern continent of the New World. Waldseemà ¼ller sold 1,000 copies of the map across Europe. Within a few years, Waldseemà ¼ller had changed his mind about the name for the New World- but it was too late. The name America had stuck. Gerardus Mercators world map of 1538 was the first to include North America and South America. Vespuccis legacy lives on through the continents named in his honor. Sources Fernndez-Armesto Felipe. Amerigo: the Man Who Gave His Name to America. Random House, 2008.Vespucci, Amerigo. â€Å"The Letters of Amerigo Vespucci.† Early Americas Digital Archive (EADA).