Permit Processing on Mercer Island Essay Example for Free

Permit Processing on Mercer Island Essay The rapidly increasing population and land use is one of the significant yet phenomenal challenges in today’s public administration. Accompanied by the spatial utilization and maintenance is the urban planning and management as one of the functionalities of city administrators in dealing with the simultaneous increase of land use, wherein various types of uses demands a particular place within the city limits. Relevantly, the expansive modality of business districts or areas must be complemented with a system or process as a procedure in obtaining of permits to operate a business is necessary and required. Thus, the system or process is needed to ensure the systematic flow of urban zoning. In this regard, the city administration must work on how permit processing would respond to the aspectual needs of the population without hampering the sustainable community development. Dealing with urban-community issues tackles various considerations in the processing of business permits, such as organizational functions of city administration must be streamlined through conduct of dialogues and campaigns in the implementation processes. This procedure is one of the components in public administration where urban-community issues must be resolved. In Mercer Island, the city manager have studied the situation in permit processing and found the significant action of implementing the system or process that is meeting both administrative functions of the city government and the demands of the residents. The implementing programs of permit processing in Mercer Island could have found the breakthrough of a procedure in public administration. This paper will account the discussion of multifaceted issues that significantly drawn the decisiveness of city managers in administering Mercer Island’s public administration programs. Methodology The result of the case study, entitled: ‘Permit Processing on Mercer Island’, conducted by Judith Noble as her Master’s Degree thesis at the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington and published by The Electronic Hallway in 1996 will be the derivative of the literature review, taking into account the issues, actors and organizational forces that have been depicted in the public administration of Mercer Island. Likewise, additional literatures will revalidate the presentation or exhibition of data reflective of the conducted case study. Literature Review City overview: history and township Mercer Island was named after the Mercer Brothers who explored the place while on food gathering and subsequently first established a non-native settlement at the north-west side of the island in 1870s. The settlement has thoroughly expanded to the north-east side of the island and known as the East Seattle where became famous of the Calkins Hotel as a landmark of commercial land use in 1889 (Mercer Island Historical Society, 2006). In 1908, the East Seattle have grown with residential and business population, wherein the urbanization was largely developed from 1930s towards 1940s when a floating bridge was built that reached towards its state of Washington as the nearby area of commerce (City Government of Mercer Island, 2008) Presently, Mercer Island is a highly urbanized city being established from the 1960 incorporation and 1970 merging of north-western and eastern municipalities that has been fully developed as a business district of Seattle with 23, 894 population (US Census Bureau, 2007). Brief background of the issues As manifested by the continuously growing population and developing commercial zones, the city administration of Mercer Island has employed its ways and means in the processing of business permits. In 1996, the Mercer Island’s City Manager Paul Lanspery was persevered to act on the result of a report that has been commissioned and studied the status of community development. As cited, the tremendous increase of land use has been attributed to the establishment of businesses, in which even residential areas diversify into commercial use. The situation could become a perennial problem to the majority of the residents as well as the natural environment may soon marginalize and disintegrate by the potential pollution (Noble, 1996). On the other hand, Lanspery was worried of the â€Å"systems thinking† of the city administration, wherein the processing of business permit application must be reviewed in order to assess the public administration and accountability of the city government and its employees, as there were â€Å"pressure groups† from the residents that advocates the call in preserving the city from further commercial development. The personal, organizational and external forces  Reflecting on the report on community development and through the conducted on-site observation, Lanspery was motivated by his personal beliefs on â€Å"continuous improvement† (Noble, 1996). It may be interpreted that Lanspery’s personal belief could be an â€Å"internal motivating force†; reclaiming â€Å"continuous improvement† of Mercer Island is achieving sustainable development in the community. Based on the conducted on-site survey, Lanspery has brought the organizational accountability of the city government to objectively see and find the perspective of Mercer Island amidst its commercial diversification. The land use of the residents must be coupled with responsibilities in nurturing and protecting the environment. Hence, the city government must actualize the administration of public interest to preserve the natural habitation of the island without hampering the on-going business activities of the city. It may be summarized that Lanspery’s personal belief of continuous improvement retains the organizational accountability of the city government as the external force in implementing sustainable means, instead of sustaining an intensive â€Å"environmental change† that in fact deface the natural beauty of Mercer Island. To cite, preserving Mercer Island culture and natural environment is a challenge to its city government in improving sustainable business operation and administering of its investors in a participatory process, adhering efficiency, quality and commitment (Noble, 1996). The environment and public administration According to the case study, the topography of Mercer Island is not suitable for high-rise buildings and definitely limited to horizontal construction. On the other hand, the windy atmosphere of the Island is susceptible to fire-igniting materials, like the fire tragedy in 1889 that burned-flat the fire-prone Calkins Hotel. The topography of Mercer Island has been critically considered in the implementing guidelines of the city government, as a response to mitigate environmental risks and preservation of the environment from potential threats of commercial abuse. The public administration has organized a team of diverse technical expertise that composes the building department personnel who will evaluate the application of permits for residential and business or commercial land use. To cite, the government has likewise regulated a countless permit application for construction of small structure and land use projects, taking into account an estimated of 70 percent from the total 1,300 permits being issued yearly (Noble, 1996). The public administration in the issuance of permits was consistent in the implementation of environmental protection programs and risk mitigating measures, such as to cite the intensive evaluation and qualification procedures on application of mechanical permits for installing furnace pipes, plumbing, hot tub and lawn sprinkler systems, electrical wiring, and even burglar security and fire alarms. Part of the revenue collection campaigns were also managed by the city government on penalties and fines from illegal permit fixers, violators of health and safety guidelines, and other proceeds from residential construction permits acquisition (Noble, 1996). Nature of policy system and processes of policy and decision making It may be reflected that the decentralization of local government units or city governments have been enacted as part of streamlining the Federal bureaucracy system, devolving the powers of the local government executives in executing the municipal or city programs and projects. In which case, the city government of Mercer Island is spearheaded by the executive function of the Mayor, the legislative power of the city council and the city manager who is mandated to act in administering the township development. The enactment of land use policies were outlined in the â€Å"check and balance† configuration of area implementation. Specifically, the city manager headed the tangible implementing procedure of the Department of community Development that enjoined the technical maintenance, engineering and the public safety programs. Part of a functional public administration and transparent decision making process is the conduct of public dialogues that has been initiated by the City Council, expediting the legislative process and synergy among the council membership. To cite, the legislative function of the city council reaches out the public concern in terms of interpreting the city codes and ordinances. The city council has even organized citizen boards and commissions to enable a transparent and community-participatory undertaking of relevant issues on land use and the city government’s public administration functions, like the creation and establishment of the Building Board of Appeals that act as a quasi-judicial body, examining and interpreting the technical description, meaning and implementation of the â€Å"building code† as the ethical parameter in the land use policies. Leadership, management and administrative ethics It may be found that what has been highlighted in the case study is the decisiveness of Paul Lanspery, being the city manager, who persevered the undertaking of necessary public administration processes and fully utilizing the organizational elements of the city government. The overall representation of the case study [according to the literature review] has also found Lanspery’s ideals, having the personal beliefs of continuous improvement of Mercer Island. The personal beliefs could be perceived to have influenced the systems thinking, character-values and governance. Lanspery’s position as part of the â€Å"politico-persona† in the executive function of the City Mayor’s Office, wherein city management emanated its mandate or functions, has contributed to â€Å"streamline the system†. Based on the case study, it may be recalled that organizational dysfunction has threatened to be a problem of the City Council in implementing the ordinances or enforcement of the building code and policies on land use. As cited, such problems pertain to be the (1) deficiency in coordinating with departments which the city government has established non-substantive change, (2) failure in completing inspections and its technical evaluation results, (3) discrepancy in applying the technical standards of the building code and engineering guidelines (Noble, 1996). To cite and quote Mercer Island’s City Councilor Fred Jarrett, â€Å"reliability and consistency in dealing with the processing of permits is required for changing a cedar roof to tile for one home but not for another† (Noble, 1996). Meaning, making reliable and consistent the â€Å"way of leadership† may require the need of change in the system and processes on how the permit application would be more beneficial and contributory to a decisive public accountability and administration, specifically on sustaining the judicious utilization of the landholdings in Mercer Island. Post activities and findings  The assumption to office of Paul Lanspery as Mercer Island’s City Manager has significantly shown with substantial change in the functions of various departments directly involve in the processing of business and residential permits, land use, public safety and order and the city’s environmental maintenance programs. As a city manager, Lanspery has implemented the organizational system on reporting, evaluation procedures, ethical standards, quality values, effectiveness and efficiency. The implementation of service-value-oriented ethics was the first and foremost organizational procedure employed by Lanspery. The action-oriented response through holding of regular meetings among the personnel of each department was aimed to improving and developing the responsible and accountable execution of task of every working personnel, in which adherent to creating good governance that shall harmonize the public administration. Lanspery has also introduced the â€Å"strategic component† of leadership accountability, wherein department managers were directed to participate in â€Å"visioning exercises† that would visualize the sustainable needs of the community and specifically to preserve the socio-economic life of Mercer Island from threatening effects of commercial land use. A synergy of public administration has been conceptualized to harmonize the fiscal management of every department. Strategic budget planning, monitoring and auditing system were also established to enable the efficient performance of the city government in its revenue collection and budgeting, and financing of community projects that focuses on improving the socio-economic life of the community. Meanwhile, the judicious implementation of permit processing is complemented with social and judicial sanctions to ensure the importance of law enforcement in mitigating the unlawful land use, being deterrent to commercial abuse of Mercer Island’s economic resources and environment. At this point in time, the case study has accounted the decisive managerial skill of Lanspery who enabled the â€Å"political will† of an area manager that prevented the vulnerable exploits of Mercer Island. Through that decisive and dedicated public administration has streamlined the organizational set-up of Mercer Island’s Department of Community Development (DCD), manifesting a more accountable city government. Conclusion Public administration could be the ethical standard in managing public accountability. The processes and ethics in public administration is a continuing challenge in the dispensation of the local government units and its local executives. Indeed, the political will of the local executive is necessary to supplant the weaknesses and flaws with transparent and good governance. Like Lanspery who have visualized the needs of Mercer Island has not submitted to the disguise of commercial development but reclaims the vision for sustainability. In Lanspery’s oath of office has transpired the vision, mission and goal of the city government as an organization that sustains the socio-economic life of Mercer Island. The collection of revenue from permit processing application, approval and issuances could have been substantial to the coffer of the city government yet vulnerable to irregularities and corruption. The case study on Mercer Island’s city management depicts the broad understanding of ethics in public administration, enabling effective implementation of key policy programs that accounts the majority interest of the population and its environment. It may be then concluded that public accountability must manifest an unwavering leadership in local governance, whereas devolution of power from the national government must promote the local participation of people towards sustainable development of communities.

Marketing :: essays papers

Marketing A firm’s international marketing program must generally be modified and adapted to foreign markets. This international marketing program uses strategies to accomplish its marketing goals. Within each foreign nation, the firm is likely to find a combination of marketing environment and target markets that are different from those of its own home country and other foreign countries. It is important that in international marketing, product, pricing, distribution and promotional strategies be adapted accordingly. In order for an international firm to function properly, cultural, social, economic, and legal forces within the country must be clearly understood. The task of International marketing is more difficult and risky than expected by many firms. One of the most controlling factors of international marketing is management. It is very important for managers to recognize the differences as well as similarities in buyer behavior. Many mistakes can occur if managers fail to realize that buyers differ from country to country. It is the international differences in buyer behavior, rather than similarities, which cause problems in successful international marketing. An international marketing manager is a manager responsible for facilitating the exchange of products between the organization and its customers or clients. Sometimes an international marketing manager will find difficulties in completing the exchange of products. Many surprises in international business are undesirable human mistakes. An international corporation must fully understand the foreign environment before pursuing business matters. Problems constantly crop up and many times have unexpected results. Sometimes these unexpected results are unavoidable. Other times they are avoidable. To be sure those avoidable situations do not occur, international marketing managers must be aware of cultural differences. Cultural differences take place among most nations of the world. Differences in culture are one of the most significant factors in an international company. All nationalities posses unique characteristics, which are unknown to many foreigners. Many of the top international businesses are unaware of these cultural differences. It is very important to understand these cultures in order to market a product successfully. As an example, different nationalities have different beliefs on how business matters should take place. Where some countries prefer to work with a deadline other countries can take this as being offensive. Many countries feel it is an insult to be asked to work under a set time period. A country may feel that a deadline is threatening and may feel backed into a corner. On the other hand, other countries try to expedite matters by setting deadlines. To be effective in a foreign market it is necessary to understand the local customs. Knowing what to do in a foreign country is as important as knowing what not to do.

A Sequence for Academic Writing Essay

The purpose of this website of The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) Pro-choice America, is to to show their advocacy for the right of a woman to choose and her right to privacy with regards to reproductive health. The exclusivity of the issues tackled in this site suggest that their concern is concentrated on specific subject matters affecting the conditions of women in the society such as abortion, use of birth control, teen-pregnancy, reproductive health issues of women of color and legislation about the advancement of the right of a woman to choose. Also, the site offers different means on how women with these kind of problems can understand and take action. 2. What is the subject matter of this site? The subject matter of this site is about the right of every woman to choose and her right to privacy regarding women’s reproductive health. 3. What is the purpose of the site? The purpose of this site is to empower women about their sexuality. They aim is to promote the freedom of women to decide for themselves without being scrutinized or discriminated by the society. Also, the website provides many information about the pro-choice legislation and policies for women, research, campaigns and other advocate organizations to educate visitors about the mentioned subject matter. 4. Is this site for, against, or neutral as far as the subject matter is concerned? This site is evidently pro-choice and for the privacy of women. One of the site’s objective is the prevention of unintended pregnancies by provding women more access to birth control and sex education to lessen the occurence of abortion. But they believe that abortion should be made legal and safe to give options to women whether they want to puruse their pregnancy or not regardless of their reasons. 5. Does the site offer anything unique? Does it tell you more than you could find out in an encyclopedia? This site offers a variety of information ranging from research done by NARAL Pro-choice America to government legislations and policies. The media center of the site is composed of choice-related topics from other publications or websites such as The Buffalo News, Fox News and Colorado Springs Gazette. Other sources are background materials, quotes, and story ideas or experiences of women. 6. Did you learn anything? Was the site worth visiting? In this site, I have learned the dilemmas experienced by women particularly when it comes to their reproductive health and choices. In these kind of situations, women are torn between choosing the right thing or what is for their best interest. Moreover, this site really gives a comprehensive outlook about the fight to advance the rights of woment to choose and privacy. Visitors of this website will really have an elightening experience when they read the content. 7. If you were compiling a bibliography of sources about the subject matter of this site, would you include or exclude it from your final list? Yes, I would use this website as one my sources if I am writing a research about the subject mater because it has a single point of view which is supported by many arguments which are valid and practical. Writing Exercise 2 Analyze the Web site National Right to Life. 1. As stated on page 295 of A Sequence for Academic Writing, â€Å"Web pages generally fall into one of six types, each with a different purpose: (1) entertainment, (2) business/marketing, (3) reference/information, (4) news, (5) advocacy of a particular point of view or program, (6) personal page. † What type is this site? Why do you think this? This is an advocay website that upholds the importance and presenrvation of life. They are against any act that would endanger any human life such as abortion. 2. What is the subject matter of this site? The subject of this website is focused on protecting and giving importance to all human life. In line with this, the information contained on the website clearly suggest that the organizers, National Right to Life Committee, are opposed to abortion and issues related to medical ethics such as euthanasia and infanticide. However, the site does not tackle and does not provide any opinions or views on contraception, sex education, capital punishment, and national defense. 3. What is the purpose of the site? The purpose of this site is to encourage visitors of the website to patronize their advocacy which is to disseminate information and at the same time convince people about the negative effects of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia to an individual and to the society 4. Is this site for, against, or neutral as far as the subject matter is concerned? This site is against the promotion, advocacy and conduct of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia but the site also advocates the propagation of the notion that human life is valuable so any act that tries to eliminate it should be punishable by law. 5. Does the site offer anything unique? Does it tell you more than you could find out in an encyclopedia? The site of the National Right to Life Committee used different data to support their objective. Its extensive database is focused on these three aspects: abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. The site includes other realted links from other websites as well, media press releases and current legislation updates about the subject matter. 6. Did you learn anything? Was the site worth visiting? I have learned that even though the US has a liberated culture, many citizens still possess conservative views specfically about the protection of human life whether that individual is an infant or an adult. 7. If you were compiling a bibliography of sources about the subject matter of this site, would you include or exclude it from your final list? Yes, I would definitely use this website as a bibliography source if I were to tackle the subject matter. The website contains many informative data from their own database and outside sources as wells such as information from orgazations with similar objectives, the US government and media publications. Having all these information would make my research very substatntial and extensive. Revision Activity 1 Go to: Handwriting Analysis Read the article analyzing the sample of handwriting provided. Answer the following questions regarding the analysis. 1. What is the author’s initial impression of Walter Railey’s handwriting? The analyst’s initial impression on Walter Railey’s handwriting is that Railey has self-control but his emotions are repressed. These characteristics were presumed by the analyst as an indication of having a compulsive personality. 2. What are three of the particular elements of Railey’s handwriting the author analyzes? The author analyzed the writing strokes, spaces between the letters and hand pressure which became the three major foundations in analyzing the personality of Railey. 3. What element of Railey’s handwriting does the author thinks reveals his weak self image? According to the analyst, the â€Å"diminished and sometimes near threaded middle zone, small compared to upper and lower zones, together with an insignificant and defensive ppI, represent his weak self-image† (Arnold â€Å"Walker Railey†). 4. Explain what analytical tool the author is using in order to analyze Railey’s handwriting. Is the author credible in applying this analytical tool? The author searched for patterns in Raile’s handwriting. Then, the changes in these patterns are noted and analyzed in accordance with the personality of the subject. Moreover, based on the findings, the author was able to make a detailed analysis of the handwriting indicating his/her expertise about it. Also, the patterns of the handwriting helped the author to determine the elements that would expose the individuality of Railey. 5. Once the analysis is complete the author offers a summary of his findings. Are his summary findings concurrent with his initial impressions? The summary part is the synthesis of all the findings regarding the handwriting of Railey. With regards with the concurrence of the initial impression with the summary is that both were able to provide similar information. However, in the initial impression the descriptiom is brief but in the summary it is a little bit more detailed. 6. At the end of the page you will find a link to a short biography of Walter Railey. Follow the link and read the biography. How accurate is the author’s analysis of Walter Railey’s character, based on his handwriting analysis? After reading the biography of Walker and comparing it with the results of handwriting analysis, the former made some very accurate portrayal of the real Walter Raileys. In the analysis, Railey was rendered as selfish, emotionally repressed, and having dual personality which were all apparent in his historical background. Railey was selfish because he only cared about himself and he ignored his family and friends. Also, his emotional repression was shown when he tried to kill his wife and commit suicide. More so, his dual personality was demonstrated when he was charaterized as a charismatic religous leader and also as a controlling and indifferent individual. Revision Activity 1 Go to: Handwriting Analysis Read the article analyzing the sample of handwriting provided. Answer the following questions regarding the analysis. 1. What does the analysis say that the dark strokes represent about Bill Clinton? According to the analyst, the dark strokes of Clinton’s handwriting indicate â€Å"a great deal of energy and an ability to work hard and for long periods of time† (Canoles â€Å"Bill Clinton†). 2. What does the analysis say about the â€Å"little tents† under Clinton’s words? The little tents suggest â€Å"how firm, and even stubborn, Clinton can become once his mind is made up† (Canoles â€Å"Bill Clinton†). 3. How accurate do you find the analysis comments from what you know about Bill Clinton? Based on his administration when he was president and my impression about Bill Clinton, I could say that the handwriting analysis was close to my ideas. Since Clinton was elected as president for two consecutive terms, it suggested that he was well-liked by his consitutents and that he did a great job in doing his taks as head of the state which is very similar with the report of the author’s analysis that Clinton is â€Å"fair and objective when working on initiatives or with people† (Canoles â€Å"Bill Clinton†). 4. Go to: Clinton Biography Read a short biography on Bill Clinton. What comments from the analysis seem accurate according to the short biography? According to the first short biogrphy that I read, Clinton achieved numerous accomplishemnts dugin his term as President of the United States. Some of these were the increase of employment for Americans, reductionsof tax for businesses and many others. In the handwriting analysis, Clinton was depicted as â€Å"direct, efficient, can prioritize easily,† detail-oriented and a â€Å"pragmatic idealist† which are characteristics needed in order to make positive accomplishments. (Canoles â€Å"Bill Clinton†). These qualifyers corresponded with the characteristics of Clinton shown on the biography. 5. Go to: Handwriting Analysis Read a second short analysis of Bill Clinton. How do the two analyses compare/contrast? According to the second short biogrphy that I read, Clinton was described as an intelligent and a charismatic political leader loved by the people. However, he was involved in a sex controversy that influenced many people to question his credibility. But after being found not guilty from the charges against him, he gradually redeemed himself by initiating productive changes in the US and in the international scene. When the handwriting analysis was compared to the biography, the fomer made accurate descriptions of Clinton solely based on his handwriting that matched the information from the latter. But there were some information that were not confirmed by the biography such as the early emotional hurt experienced by Clinton that caused him to have a protective cautin. Nothing was said in his biography about any incident that might have a negative impact on him. So this piece of data still remain questionable. Nevertheless, the majority of information in the handwriting analysis were similar to the actual personal and historical background of Bill Clinton. Write Journal ( Two paragraphs only): Find an advertisement in U. S. a magazine and a) describe the ad, then b) analyze it by discussing all of the following: the colors in the ad, the message (or words) of the ad, and who or what is the focal point of the ad. How do all of these aspects work together to try to get you to buy the product? In the rainbow ad by Skittles, the texts incorporated stated, â€Å"If you filled all the world’s maracas with skittle, no one would ever know. † This literally means that the maracas would not be heard because people are going to eat the Skittles which will supposedly make the sound for the maracas. These texts were colored using all the rainbow colors which are also the colors of the Skittle candies. It was like the ad was bursting with colors which insinuated that if a someone eats a Skittle, the flavors would also burst inside the mouth. More so, in a caption below the ad which says, â€Å"Hear the rainbow, taste the rainbow,† suggests that the appealing look of the Skittles is also transcended to the taste which is composed of different flavors similar with the colors of the window. When all these elements are combined, the ad makes a powerful visual that is both enticing and informative. Works Cited Arnold, Rosemay. â€Å"Walker Railey. † 2006. Handwriting. org. 14 July 2008 . Canoles, June. â€Å"Bill Clinton. † 2006. Handwriting. org. 14 July 2008 .

The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Kids - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2528 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/06/24 Category Psychology Essay Level High school Tags: Divorce Essay Did you like this example? Children everywhere grow up in broken homes. According to National Center for Health Statistics, there was 2,245,404 marriages and 827,261 divorces in 2016. A great amount of marriages ended that year. Ive known that a lot of parents want to just stay together for their kids, but some think divorce is their only option. The main concern is how their children will deal with the divorce. How much does a parents divorce really effect their children? Stated in the article The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children, the first year after a divorce is the toughest. Divorce rates have climbed across the globe over the past few decades. Its estimated that fourty-eight percent of American and British children live in divorced single-parent homes by age sixteen. As you might expect, research has found that kids struggle the most during the first year or two after the divorce. Kids are likely to experience distress, anger, anxiety, and disbelief. But many kids seem to bounce back. They get used to changes in their daily routines and they grow comfortable with their living arrangements. Others, however, never really seem to go back to normal. This small percentage of children may experience ongoing†possibly even lifelong†problems after their parents divorce. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Kids" essay for you Create order As also shown in The Impact of Divorce on Young Children and Adolescents by Carl E. Pickhart, divorce introduces a massive change into the life of a boy or girl no matter what the age. Witnessing loss of love between parents, having parents break their marriage commitment, adjusting to going back and forth between two different households, and the daily absence of one parent while living with the other, all create a challenging new family circumstance in which to live. In the personal history of the boy or girl, parental divorce is a watershed event. Life that follows is significantly changed from how life was before. While a lot of marriages last there is cases like divorce for many homes. In general, divorce creates emotional chaos for the entire family, but for kids, the situation can be quite scary, confusing, and frustrating. How much does a parents divorce really effect their children? It truly can take a toll on the kids, but it can also affect the entire family. In this era one of the more sobering realities of life is divorce (USA Today). Marriages end over a host of issues, including infidelity, stress, money troubles, and personal changes by one or both partners over the course of a marriage. Divorce can be an emotionally wrenching experience and can fracture families. For many children, divorce leaves scars that never heal. About forty percent to fifty percent of married couples in the United States divorce, according to the American Psychological Association. The divorce rate among those who remarry is even higher. (Masci) report he states, almost half of all-American children must cope, at some point in their lives, with the disintegration of their parents marriage. A controversial new study he found by psychiatrist Judith Wallerstein contends that the children of divorce are much more likely to be troubled as adults and that couples with kids need to try harder to remain married. But critics describe the study as unscientific and argue that bad marriages often end up doing more harm than good to the whole family. Child-advocacy experts also disagree over the impact of custody arrangements. Some favor joint physical custody because they say it allows both parents to remain involved in their childrens lives. But others say that forcing a child to live in two homes is disruptive and makes an already difficult situation worse. Research shows, divorce can be a wrenching experience for children(Jost and Robinson). New studies suggest the painful effects of their parents breakup can stay with children for years. Many will not do well in school or jobs, and some will fail in their own marriages later on. The studies have intensified the debate over the no-fault divorce laws that made it easier for couples to dissolve their marriages. Some experts say the new findings on the effects of divorce on children are exaggerated, and no one expects a substantial movement away from liberalized divorce laws. But some therapists are urging couples in distress to try harder to resolve their problems rather than get a divorce. And there is broad agreement that children of divorce need greater support†financial, social and psychological†to avoid becoming innocent victims of their parents breakup. According to Coping socialization in middle childhood: Tests of maternal and paternal influences , in sum, social learning theory suggest that childrens coping may be strongly influenced by what their parents do to cope. Stated in the article, parents may influence their childrens coping choices by modeling how they handle their own stressful situations that arise. Based on social learning literature, we would expect overt parental coping behaviors to be modeled most readily. In a study of sixty-one children and adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease, there was a significant negative correlation between childrens expression of emotion when coping with SCD-related pain and mothers use of social support coping and emotion-focused engagement. Research shows, a number of studies have linked the family environment to childrens coping strategies. In a study with sixty school-age children and their mothers found that maternal support was associated with childrens use of a greater variety of c oping strategies with everyday problems, and with greater use of avoidant strategies. Parents as role models effect on children is shown in Parents are Powerful Role Models for Children by Karen Stephens. She is the director of the Illinois State University childcare center and shes an instructor in child development. For nine years Stephens wrote a weekly parenting column in her local newspaper. She has authored early care and education books and is a frequent contributor to Exchange. As in Stephens article, children, in general, do tend to grow up to be a lot like their parents. Social scientists and genetic researchers have identified many cycles that loop from one generation to the next. Children who live in homes where parents smoke are more likely to become smokers. Parents who abuse drugs or alcohol are more likely to find their children someday do the same. Adults who were abused as children may indeed hurt their own children. And thats not all. Parents with a low self-esteem raise children with the same affliction. Stephens states, Parents play a major role o n how our children turn out. An if you just look around your communities you will see that happening everywhere. Parental divorce affects childrens physical health and longevity (Physical Health). Those who experience parental divorce or separation are more likely to have health problems. Often in spite of maternal remarriage, such as a significant increase in injury rates, an increased risk of asthma, and increased risk of asthma-related emergencies.Children whose parents divorce are also more likely to contract cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract, the esophagus, anus, pancreas, lungs, and cervix. Researchers Kari Hemminki and Bowang Chen state, The results show that offspring of divorced parents have increased cancer risks at tobacco-related, alcohol-related and sex-related sites. A Swedish study showed that young men with divorced parents had a slightly heightened risk of hospitalization and significantly increased risk of mortality. Upon the divorce of their parents, children experience a wide range of emotional reactions, including sadness, anger, loneliness, depression which frequently lasts into later phases of life, heightened anxiety, worry, lower life satisfaction, lower self-esteem and self-confidence, fear, yearning, rejection, conflicting loyalties, and a sense of fault for their parents problems (Mental Health). An analysis by David Popenoe of the National Survey of Children found that divorce was associated with a higher incidence of several mental health problems in children: depression; withdrawal from friends and family; aggressive, impulsive, or hyperactive behavior; and either behaving disruptively or withdrawing from participation in the classroom. Parental divorce may also contribute to the development of mood disorders, bipolar I disorder, dysthymia (mild chronic depression), depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Divorce is related to increased depression and anxiety for both boys an d girls of all ages. However, boys find parental divorce more emotionally disturbing than girls do, and boys with divorced parents tended to be more depressed than those from two-parent families regardless of the psychological adjustment, level of conflict, or quality of parenting manifested by their parents. Psychological problems are less severe for those whose pre-divorce families were high-conflict families. According to Paul Amato of the Department of Sociology at Pennsylvania State University, child and adult well-being may actually improve after the end of an extremely conflicted marriage. Research shows through, The Impact of Divorce on Young Children and Adolescents by Carl E Pickhardt, how divorce introduces a massive change into the life of a boy or girl no matter what the age. Witnessing loss of love between parents, having parents break their marriage commitment, adjusting to going back and forth between two different households, and the daily absence of one parent while living with the other, all create a challenging new family circumstance in which to live. In the personal history of the boy or girl, parental divorce is a watershed event. Life that follows is significantly changed from how life was before. He says, somewhat different responses to this painful turn of events occur if the boy or girl is still in childhood or has entered adolescence. Basically, divorce tends to intensify the childs dependence and it tends to accelerate the adolescents independence; it often elicits a more regressive response in the child and a more aggressive response in the adole scent. Consider why this variation may be so. (Pickhardt) states, the childs world is a dependent one, closely connected to parents who are favored companions, heavily reliant on parental care, with family the major locus of ones social life. The adolescent world is a more independent one, more separated and distant from parents, more self-sufficient, where friends have become favored companions, and where the major locus of ones social life now extends outside of family into a larger world of life experience. For the young child, divorce shakes trust in dependency on parents who now behave in an extremely undependable way. They surgically divide the family unit into two different households between which the child must learn to transit back and forth, for a while creating unfamiliarity, instability, and insecurity, never being able to be with one parent without having to be apart from the other. As in his article, convincing a young child of the permanence of divorce can be hard when his intense longing fantasizes that somehow, some way, mom and dad will be living back together again someday. He relies on wishful thinking to help allay the pain of loss, holding onto hope for a parental reunion much longer than does the adolescent who is quicker to accept the finality of this unwelcome family change. Thus parents who put in a joint presence at special family celebrations and holiday events to recreate family closeness for the child only feed the childs fantasy and delay his adjustment. The dependent childs short term reaction to divorce can be an anxious one. So much is different, new, unpredictable, and unknown that life becomes filled with scary questions? What is going to happen to next? Who will take care of me? If my parents can lose for each other, can they lose love for me? With one parent moving out, what if I lose the other too? Answering such worry questions with wo rst fears, the childs response can be regressive. (Pickhardt) states, the child wants to feel more connected in a family situation where a major disconnection has occurred. Regression to earlier dependency can partly be an effort to elicit parental concern, bringing them close when divorce has pulled each of them further away the resident parent now busier and more preoccupied, the absent parent simply less available because of being less around. The more independent-minded adolescent tends to deal more aggressively to divorce, often reacting in a mad, rebellious way, more resolved to disregard family discipline and take care of himself since parents have failed to keep commitments to family that were originally made. Where the child may have tried to get parents back, the adolescent may try to get back at parents. Where the child felt grief, the adolescence has a grievance. If they cant be trusted to stay together and take care of the family, then I need to start relying more on myself. If they can break their marriage and put the mselves first, then I can put myself first too. If they dont mind hurting me, then I can I dont mind hurting them. Now the adolescent can act aggressively to take control of his life by behaving even more distantly and defiantly, more determined to live his life his way, more dedicated to his self-interest than before. He feels increasingly autonomous in a family situation that feels disconnected. He now feels more impelled and entitled to act on his own. He influenced that for the parent who divorces with a child, the priority is establishing a sense of family order and predictability. This means observing the three Rs required to restore a childs trust in security, familiarity, and dependency Routines, Rituals, and Reassurance. As study after study has shown divorce does influence children. Doesnt matter if it is a boy or girl divorce has a massive change on their life. For many children, divorce leaves scars that never heal. Life that follows is significantly changed from how life was before. So much is different, new, unpredictable, and unknown for not just the children but the whole family. How much does a parents divorce really effect their children? It truly can take a toll on the kids, but it can also affect the entire family. Works Cited National Center for Health Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 Mar. 2017, www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/marriage-divorce.htm. Morin, Amy, and Steven Gans. The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children. Verywell Family, Verywellfamily, www.verywellfamily.com/psychological-effects-of-divorce-on-kids-4140170. Harrington, John, and Cheyenne Buckingham. Broken Hearts: A Rundown of the Divorce Capital of Every State. 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