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History of Modern Olympics

HISTORY OF MODERN OLYMPICS

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History of Modern Olympics

The transition of the Olympics into modern Olympics involves the period when athletics and gymnastics reappeared in history both in Greece and internationally. The society accorded high esteem to games and athletics such that they introduced physical education into the school curriculum as an independent lesson in the eighteenth century. In order to unify the athletic events, the same authority invited representatives from all nations and all sports societies. The first president of the International Olympic Committee was Demetrios Vike1as. Pierre de Coubertin was the originator of modern Olympics. These men were responsible for the revival of the modern Olympics in Athens in, 1896.

Pierre de Coubertin, a French man, was born in 1863 from a French family. He made the first attempt in reviving the Olympics Games, thus considered the father of the modern Olympic Games. His path of patriotism was that of physical education and sports. He articulated the idea of nationalization of sports where the French sports would get to experience competition with other advanced countries. Coubertin organized a congress on June 18, 1894 where representatives from eleven sport societies attended where he presented amateurism as a principal subject. He presented his plans to establish a date for the first Olympic Games. The first international Olympics Games took place in 1896 in, Athens, Greece. This was to influence a halo of glory and grandeur.

The main aim of the congress was to revive the Olympics games, not on the notion of rivalry and profitmaking, but based on noble competition. Many people were part of the realization of the first Olympic Games. The Panathenaic stadium was refurbished to host events in the 1896, 1906 and 2004. On 23rdJune 1894, Athens was chosen to hold the modern Olympic Games. Before Coubertin, the Greek attempted to revive the Olympics through The Zappas Olympic Games. Zappas Olympiads took place in Athens, in 1859. They were mainly agricultural, industrial and cultural based contests. The Romanian Greek Evangelis Zappas financed the Zappas Olympics in 1859 and organized by the local Athenian sports authorities.

The history of the revival of the Olympics Games was like a British, French and Greek affair. William Penny Brookes and Zappas of the Zappas Olympiads in Athens proposed the basic arguments of the history of the games. The arguments reinforced Coubertin’s original idea of revival. However, David C. Young has a different argument on the history of the Olympics. Young was a classical scholar who studied the lyric poetry of the ancient Greek poet Pindar. He argues that an English physician at the University of Florida made the greatest contributions towards establishing the modern Olympics. In Young’s argument, William Penny Brookes organized the Much Wenlock Games in England in 1850. Both Brookes and Zappian’s efforts were influential in making Olympic Games an international affair. However, the story of the revival of modern Olympics is accredited to Pierre de Coubertin (Guttmann, history of modern games, 42). This is because he organized the first International congress in Paris, the first International Olympic Committee, stood at the helm of the Olympics boat for 30 years out of the 100 years, and finally, orchestrated the personalities and events of the Greeks so that they could host the first Olympic games in Athens in 1896 (Young, 13). Young speculates that Brookes and Coubertin had a peculiar relationship. They exchanged documents dating between 1889 and 1894. Brookes sent Coubertin materials containing his Olympics matters in England among other matters like health, physical education and athletic sports. The material Coubertin sent to Brookes mainly contained physical education matters. Brookes invited Coubertin to Much Wenlock in 1889 to witness the staging of the Much Wenlock Olympian Games. Coubertin got impressed and gathered ideas from this event and conceived the idea of Olympics in his mind.

The first series of athletic games took place in Athens, in 1859, 1870 and 1875. Evangelis Zappas sponsored the games. Not only did Zappas sponsor the games, he also initiated the construction and refurbishment of the Panathenaic stadium that hosted the games. The first modern Olympic Games took place in Loudovikou, Athens because the Panathenaic stadium was incomplete. At that time, the Olympic Games had not fully conceptualized as an international affair. The games were predominantly a traditional Athenian event and the participants in the games were exclusively from the Greek community. The common games that the athletes competed included running, javelin, wrestling, jumping and pole climbing.

In April 1896, the first international Olympics took place in the modern era. It was a multi-sport event referred to as Summer Olympics (Games of the I Olympiad). During that time, the stadium overflowed with large crowds of spectators who were eager to watch the games. Penny Brookes conceptualized the idea of an international multi-sport event and later on Coubertin took up the idea. Penny Brookes, a local physician, founded the Wenlock Olympian games which was a sports and recreational centre that included sports such as cricket, football and quoits. Coubertin later took up the idea from the inspiration of Much Wenlock, which gave, birth to the modern Olympics. In 1894, Coubertin proposed plans to a congress in Paris to choose a date for the first modern Olympic. He later suggested that the games would take place in Paris alongside the Universal exposition in 1900. The congress then suggested that six years was a long period and instead the games be held in 1896. However, there was a contradiction on which city between Paris and Athens should host the games but Athens was finally the city of choice. A contradiction arose among the congress as to whether London or Athens should be chosen as the venue for the selection process. However, Coubertin and Demetrius Vikelas agreed on Athens. Vikelas was the first president to head the International Olympic Committee.

According to young, Olympia was in the land of Triphylians, which consisted of three tribes. Pisa was the main city, but Triphylians controlled the site from a period. Later, the Eleans from the north took control from Triphylians and organized and controlled the Olympic Games. At one time, the Eleans had to invent legends that would make them claim that they were the initial sponsors of the Olympic Games. Iphitos, the Elis’ King made a treaty with Lycurgus, Spartan official and king Cleomenes to hold the games. Delphic initially instructed King Iphitos to revive the Olympics (Young, the modern Olympics, 3). According to Young, Olympia was not inhabited and was a religious sanctuary that belonged to the Zeus. In 1829, a French team initiated the excavation of the temple of Zeus in Olympia but later abandoned. A German team, lead by Ernst Curtis later took up from where the French had left. The German team started their first excavations in 1875. Young also states that the plan of the sanctuary was a mystery, and excavation continued to date. According to Young, the Ancient Olympics began in 776 BC and took place after every four years. This continued for more than a millennium. Results from archeologists say that the Ancient Olympics continued up to 400 AD. Young claims that, how the Ancient Olympics events took place was only evident on paintings. Ancient Olympics had regularity and lack of change (Young, the modern Olympics, 3). The nineteenth century saw the revival of international Olympics. This was enhanced through better means of communication and transport mediums such as the railway and the telegraph that enabled people to intermingle. Olympic Games seek to unify nations on the notion of rivalry under noble competition through Olympic Games.

The purpose of the Olympic Games was to honor the Greek god, Zeus. Athletes trained and competed in Olympia, a religious sanctuary. In the years that Coubertin sport and the Sorbonne congress, there were significant puzzles that came up. Baron Pierre de Coubertin dedicated a lot to traveling and learning the physical education in other countries. The education systems incorporated physical education, an element that France lacked. During the time, when Coubertin was seeking answers for the educational problems, some archeologists from Germany were excavating Olympia. This was a time when this historical sites attracted many people including Coubertin. As he visited this historical site, Coubertin came up with an idea of competition among the athletes. The reason behind Coubertin’s idea was to engage athletes in performing in events from an amateur level to a professional level.

Coubertin’s vision was to restore the Olympics’ games. He published books to convince athletes about the importance of a unifying Olympic event. Coubertin helped establish the Athletics sports union in 1888 and this facility aimed at improving physical education in French schools. The French government sent Coubertin to other countries around the world to try to study the physical education trends. This was after the government noticed the importance of physical education in French schools.

In his endeavors, he started a worldwide amateur competition in 1892. Although his idea was not readily accepted, he initiated small amateur groups and nine countries attended in 1894. However, Coubertin convinced congress to revive the Olympics. This proposal went through, and the modern Olympic Games commenced henceforth.

Many people in Greek later accepted the sports competition and events. It then turned to be an international event whereby many countries took part in the competition. The committee heading the Olympics then decided that the events were to take place after every four years. Only Greece qualified to form a standard team of sport development in the country among the fifteen countries represented.

According to Young, the events took place after every four years and specifically during the months of July and august. An Olympiad was as the time between two Olympic Games. During the start of the games, the first day had only a single event, gradually more events occurred, and the games lasted for five years. The games were initially ten in total and included running, pentathlon, javelin, wrestling, boxing, horseracing and chariot racing among others. In the beginning of modern Olympics, only men could participate in the games while the women could not participate or even watch the games. Any athlete who desired to participate in the games had to present himself or herself at Elis. This was the organizing location for the games. Hellanodikes conducted the organization and supervision of the games and rules of the game. Hellanodikes was a jury chosen by citizens at Elis.

The Olympic Games are one of the biggest and most momentous events in the world, and athletes from different countries take part in the sporting events. The Olympic flag consists of five rings that represent the five continents in the world and the international nature of the games. The games are unique from other events, in that, athletes and other sports fans from different nations gather to witness the sporting celebrations. The purpose of the Olympic movement is to link sports with culture and education, promote sports and to help build a better place to live in through the practice of sports in a spirit of peace, excellence, respect and friendship.

References

David C. Young, A Brief history of the Olympic Games. (Australia: Blackwell publishing, 2004) 1-13

David C. Young, The Modern Olympics: a struggle for revival (New York: John Hopkins University Press, 1996)

Professor John J. MacAloon, the revival of the Olympic games 84.169-182 http://www.ioa.leeds.ac.uk/1980s/84169.htm (accessed 8th November, 2011)

Kids universe, About Olympic games http://www.athensinfoguide.com/olympic.htm (accessed 8 November, 2011)

Why were the Olympic Games revived? http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/olympics/revival/ (accessed 8 November, 2011)

Allen Guttmann. The Olympics, a history of modern games (Illinois: university of Illinois press, 2002) 10-70.

The First Modern Olympic Games at Athens, 1896 in the .., http://www.desk.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/download/es_5_Koulouri_2.pdf (accessed November 9, 2011).

Ancient Olympics, http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/FAQ.html (accessed November 9, 2011).

Question 9

Alternative and independent media has played a crucial role in giving voice to communities that might otherwise remain unheard. Discuss with reference to a specific Australian outlet or outlet.

Introduction

Community media is among the best alternative and independent forms of media in the Australian journalism world. Community media refers to any kind of media created for the benefit of a community or by its members. It refers to the growth of many alternative, subversive, participative, and collective interactions as a consequence of community media or any other revolutionary alternative to traditional online and offline journalistic methods (Meadows et al., 2009). In recent years, Sun et al. (2011) found that these radical and independent media approaches have risen in popularity such as the inclusion of a Chinee-language media in Australia. It entails having access to or creating community newspapers, radio stations, and magazines as alternatives to mainstream media in the local area. The work of community media helps people become better citizens and more aware of social issues due to what Meadows and Molnar (2002) term as an impartial worldview on matters relating and reflected in society. People now have more ways to engage and get information, which has contributed to the growth of community media. Community media often pushes the limits of traditional journalistic standards due to its vast yet limited structure (Ellis & Goggin, 2015). In many societies, community media plays a crucial role in bringing people together to protest and ultimately demand their rights. With the formation of community radio stations in Australia, efforts have been made to promote democratic ideals such as freedom of speech and diversity in broadcast content, as well as to offer ordinary Australians a voice in addressing issues in a manner unique to a community.

The Australian Communal Broadcasting Sector

The Australian community broadcasting sector was established in the 1970s, with one of its main purposes being to reflect the demands of groups of people who felt they were being denied dependable chances to voice their opinions and listen to alternate forms of pleasure. Individuals who were already on the fringes of society, as well as those who began to suspect that traditional media outlets were not successfully conveying the public’s concerns, fell into these groups (Porter, 2019). This disadvantaged group also included those who wished to listen to music on the radio that was different from what was generally played on commercial stations. For the deliverance of such alternatives, the community broadcasting media has played a critical role in enhancing cultural diversity. For example, it has also been involved in furnishing ordinary Australian with an undisputed chance to contribute to the deliberate on both political and social matters (Meadows & Molnar, 2002). Through the community broadcast media, the Australian audience is empowering them to re-engage in different process of consensus at their grassroots level, making a sense of social coherence through diversification (Jakubowicz, 2017). This paper will analyze the alternative or independent broadcasting media sector, highlight its origin, composition, and how it has been able to bring a media to the people in relations of its objectives, aims, and creation.

The first license for the first community experimental broadcasting in Australia was introduced in 1974 by the Whitlam Government. Consequently, the conventional music groups in Melbourne and Sydney set up the first communal station to kick start dissemination, the station SUV known as Radio Adelaide (Lebovic, 2020). These first stations were self-managed, self-funded, and independent, and when Whitlam Government was being dismissed, it had already given out about nine experimental licenses. Later Community Broadcasting Association of Australia formed CBAA, and through its people could approach the government more formally. The community broadcasting extended further underneath the Fraser Government. In 1976, the administration reported continued development and encouragement of diversity, which further allowed more significant participation in broadcasting by different individuals’ particular interests and the minority group (Anderson, 2020). Based on that, the Television and Broadcasting Act was modified to enable the long-lasting licensing of stations. Some guidelines referred to the three forms of licenses: community, educational, and particular interest.

However, there was a large amount of opposition to the establishment of the community broadcasting sector, particularly coming from people working in the commercial radio business. The commercial business maintained that the broadcasting gamut was insufficient to allow new radio stations, but the government would not agree. As a consequence of this, they attempted to exert authority over the programming that community broadcasters might provide. As a consequence of this, the community broadcasters were not permitted to air anything that had previously been transmitted.

Communal broadcasting segment overview

Size and location

14649451899285 In Australia, the public broadcasting and commercial broadcasting media sectors both have fewer channels than the community broadcasting sector at the time. It has roughly 360 community radio stations that broadcast analog free-to-air services, as well as 38 community radio stations that transmit digital free-to-air services (Dwyer, 2019). Temporary broadcasting licenses are used by the majority of licensed community radio stations that serve rural, regional, and remote areas.

Distribution of the public broadcasting and commercial media: (Adapted from: Dwyer, 2019)

Location of community broadcasters

Audience

The communal radio sector possesses a projected monthly national radio listeners amounting to close to 9million. Over 15.5 million Australians listen to radio broadcasters every week, and 25 percent of that total population listens to the community radio (Small, 2021). The reason cited by the audience for listening to the community radio is due to the word ‘local.’ People love to hear local information, local music, and music produced by the local artists. They like to hear local opinions and personalities from their fellow marginalized community members.

Paid and volunteer staff

Unpaid volunteers establish and operate a vast number of community stations. Some stations recruit experts, while others engage freelancers. Others have full-time employees or a station manager. Most individuals believe that community media is created for the people. The fact that the majority of the personnel are volunteers demonstrates that they are really of and for the people. Paid station managers are an excellent concept because they ensure that volunteers devote their time and attention to maintaining the community focus (Nesbit, 2018). Within the industry, there are also means for individuals to sort out their disagreements. The concept of settling disagreements is an useful strategy to ensure that the broadcasting business functions smoothly and that minorities in Australia are represented.

For a few years, community radio has received funding from the federal government, which has aided them in completing unique programs. The funds will go toward establishing and improving a nationwide community broadcasting training program. The initiative has to adhere to specific guidelines, such as spending the majority of the funds in rural and distant regions. The training requirements of radio broadcasters for the indigenous print impaired and ethnic broadcasting, as well as regional regions, specific training programs, and the training needs of radio broadcasters for the indigenous print disabled and ethnic broadcasting, were examined. A basic, well-coordinated framework was employed to provide additional training possibilities for ethnic youth, new ethnic groupings, and new languages.

The six guiding principles in relation to community radio broadcasters are essential to committing them to pursue democracy, access, and equity, particularly for people with issues not adequately addressed by other media, to promote diversity and harmony, and to contribute to inclusivity, cohesiveness, and the culturally diverse Australian community (Strömbäck, 2017). increasing the variety of programming options available to ordinary citizens and providing them with programs that can broaden their diverse viewpoint coverage broadcast in Australia, demonstrating independence in programming, management, and editorial decisions, supporting and enhancing local arts and music, and finally increasing community involvement in broadcasting

Empowerment

The existing financial pressures in the market sectors restrict commercial media’s current broadcast possibilities, but not community media. Beliefs, ideas, traditions, cultures, and distinct communities are all free in the community broadcasting medium. From a practical standpoint, community broadcasting media empowers individuals and communities by allowing them to communicate their views to a larger audience (Roberts, 2017). The character of majority media is challenged in this aspect by community broadcasting media, which provides ample space for residents to meet, experience, and discuss other perspectives and lifestyles. As a result, they are in a better position than the mainstream, where only the society’s leaders have the capacity to determine the agenda (Raetzsch, 2020). Other assumptions and ideas may be represented on community television and radio, which is the most powerful form of contribution to a communicative democracy.

There are numerous striking instances of how community broadcasting media helps to empower communities. Community radio stations in Australia provide a variety of health information to women living in rural areas. Nutrition, breastfeeding, and probable reasons and proven remedies to health issues are among the topics covered. They also educate individuals about their legal rights and provide programs that promote self-respect and self-sufficiency.

Culture

The ability of community broadcasting media to retain distinct cultures and customs serves as a complement to its capabilities. The commercial broadcasting media continues to demonstrate its failure to cope with Australia’s many cultures in the twenty-first century (Jolls,2017). The reason for this is the unprofitability of smaller and notably regional customers’ associations, as well as the high likelihood of annoyance if they broadcast disagreeable political ideas, ethnic and indigenous language programming, and specialty music artists and genres.

The community broadcasting medium has established itself as an important component of Australia’s cultural landscape as a result of its active representation and interaction with many cultures. The community radio stations provide a diverse array of creative interests and preferences representatives for the varied Australian common folks as a “silent” cultural and traditions resource. As a result, their function in the community is gradually growing in importance. The creation of local content guarantees the preservation and depiction of cultural hobbies, preferences, and familiarity that are not represented in other media. Community radio stations play an important cultural role in Australia by producing Australian programming and supporting local performers.

Throughout the compensation process for differing beliefs, community radio stations play an important role. The stations assist individuals in assimilating into the Australian way of life. Children growing up in Australia, for example, may have difficulty adjusting to their new culture; in this case, the radio comes in and helps them adapt regardless. People may connect with their ancestors via community broadcasting. 2XX FM is a Canberra-based radio station that broadcasts locally. It is a vivid example of the stations that broadcast awareness programs to the great majority of Australian communities. Community radio stations also represent and preserve indigenous and other cultures. For example, the Umeewarra Radio 89.1 FM station in Southern Australia attempts to promote the important responsibilities performed by Aboriginal people in its service area (Australia, 2018). The station also addresses indigenous people’s problems in contemporary society. The FM also serves as a means of reconciliation by sharing cultural knowledge and breaking down boundaries.

Localism

A sector of the Australian radio population has rejected commercialized radio stations, owing to their growing refusal to carry local news and reporting, Australian music, and programming that are perceptive of Australia’s cultural diversity (Order, 2016). And, despite the fact that the government has placed certain local content restrictions on commercial radio on many occasions, the consequences of such commitments have consistently decreased to the point where they are now a bare minimum. Community radio stations, on the other hand, continue to provide listeners with local news, views, and information.

As a result, despite what the ABC claims about commercial radio, the only recognized broadcasting sector that provides local and live programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the great majority of regional areas is community broadcasting. The community radios provide a vital contribution to delivering a broader reporting of news and crucial issues of localism consequence, according to the local voices.

Conclusion

Community broadcasting media plays an important role in Australian culture, providing a platform for many cultures and minorities to express themselves, empowering participants, delivering local news, opinions, and information, and providing alternative music styles. They also give a chance for Australian instrumentalists and writers, as well as relevant curricula, to build a feeling of belonging for the individuals and the continuation of programs that cultivate Australian material, despite the growing dependence on international broadcasters for programming. This is accomplished via several changes to the present community broadcasting setup, including the installation of paid managers who supervise the operation of the stations by local community volunteers. The community radio medium has aided underprivileged populations in expressing themselves and having their needs answered.

2070 words

References

Anderson, H., Backhaus, B., Fox, J., & Bedford, C. (2020). Fifty Years of Resistance and Representation: A Historical Account of Australian Community Radio. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 27(2), 234-254.

Australia, S. V. (2018). More than radio–a community asset: Social return on investment analyses of Indigenous broadcasting services.

Dwyer, T., & Martin, F. (2019). Understanding Viral News Sharing. In Sharing News Online (pp. 257-283). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Ellis, K., & Goggin, G. (2015). Disability media participation: Opportunities, obstacles and politics. Media International Australia, 154(1), 78-88.

Jakubowicz, A., Dunn, K., Mason, G., Paradies, Y., Bliuc, A. M., Bahfen, N., … & Connelly, K. (2017). Cyber racism and community resilience. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

Jolls, T., & Johnsen, M. (2017). Media literacy: a foundational skill for democracy in the 21st century. Hastings LJ, 69, 1379.

Lebovic, S. (2020). The Politics of Pluralism: Debating Media Diversity in Australia, c. 1976. Australian Historical Studies, 51(4), 401-419.

Meadows, M., & Molnar, H. (2002). Bridging the gaps: Towards a history of indigenous media in Australia. Media History, 8(1), 9-20.

Meadows, M., Forde, S., Ewart, J., & Foxwell, K. (2009). Making spaces: Community media and formation of the democratic public sphere in Australia. Making our media: Global initiatives toward a democratic public sphere, 1.

Nesbit, R., Christensen, R. K., & Brudney, J. L. (2018). The limits and possibilities of volunteering: A framework for explaining the scope of volunteer involvement in public and nonprofit organizations. Public Administration Review, 78(4), 502-513.

Order, S. (2016). Australian Community Radio: Funding Challenges and Dilemmas. 3C Media, (8).

Porter, L., Fields, D., Landau-Ward, A., Rogers, D., Sadowski, J., Maalsen, S., … & Bates, L. K. (2019). Planning, land and housing in the digital data revolution/the politics of digital transformations of housing/digital innovations, PropTech and housing–the view from Melbourne/digital housing and renters: disrupting the Australian rental bond system and Tenant Advocacy/Prospects for an Intelligent Planning System/What are the Prospects for a Politically Intelligent Planning System?. Planning Theory & Practice, 20(4), 575-603.

Raetzsch, C., & Lünenborg, M. (2020). Practicing Media—Mediating Practice| Anchoring Practices for Public Connection: Media Practice and Its Challenges for Journalism Studies. International Journal of Communication, 14, 19.

Roberts, C., & Black, J. (2021). Doing ethics in media: Theories and practical applications. Routledge.

Small, V. (2021). Losing the Brand in the Australian Media Landscape. In Strangling Aunty: Perilous Times for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (pp. 621-789). Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.

Sun, W., Gao, J., Yue, A., & Sinclair, J. (2011). The Chinese-language press in Australia: A preliminary scoping study. Media International Australia, 138(1), 137-148.

Van Aelst, P., Strömbäck, J., Aalberg, T., Esser, F., De Vreese, C., Matthes, J., … & Stanyer, J. (2017). Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy?. Annals of the International Communication Association, 41(1), 3-27.

Nurses knowledge on elderly abuse

Running Head: NURSES’ KNOWLEDGE ON ELDERLY ABUSE

Nurses’ knowledge on elderly abuse

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Date

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge of nurses working in a long term care facility for the elderly about the abuse of older people. This study aims to examine nurses’ recognition skills about identifying markers of elderly abuse and to explore their knowledge concerning the causes and consequences of elderly abuse.

`The intent is to carry out a quantitative cross-sectional research study in a local long term care facility. The subjects will be recruited by a convenience sampling and will be selected from any ward. The tool is aimed to be completed in about 20 – 30 minutes.

The salient characteristics will be those nurses (including enrolled nurses and nursing officers and specialty nurses) who work on full-time or part-time basis only at the facility where the study will be carried out. The sample size includes forty nurses. Approval from the Manager Nursing Services from the cooperating institution where the study will be carried out has been obtained.

Literature review

Overview of the topic

One of the tragedies in society today concerns the issue of elderly abuse and the neglect of the abused who are ironically under the care of the nursing staff based in nursing homes. The expectation is that within the nursing homes the elderly receive excellent care however this is far from reality. According to Quinn and Tomita (1997) every year thousands of elderly citizens in America are abused not only in their homes but also within facilities that have been given the responsibility of caring for them. CBS (2000) report that government statistics indicate that annually, at least one out of every four nursing homes are cited for causing serious injury or death of a resident. They add that thirty percent of the elderly state that they would rather die than stay in nursing homes though eighty percent of them already stated that they could choose to stay in the homes until their deaths if there was no imminent danger of abuse.

Nursing inspection documents additionally show that abuse in elderly homes has grown since the year 1998 where less than two percent of the reported violations constituted elderly abuse (CBS, 2000). Summers, Hoffman and APHA (2006) agree stating elderly abuse in nursing homes has in fact become a big law enforcement challenge. Federal regulators have been quoted affirming that the statistics available do reveal how bad things in elderly care homes in America are. They further unveil that the situation is bound to worsen as most homes have been found to have hired nurses who have previously had a history of abuse as more people age and check into such facilities.

The residents in these homes are usually vulnerable with the majority facing dehydration, malnutrition, frequent falls, fractured bones, as well as pressure sores (Reichel, 2006). Quinn and Tomita (1997) explain that the elderly within the homes are usually physically frail and may consequently not be able to stand up to or withstand bullying or any attacks. They sometimes do not hear, see and think clearly as they previously used to, thus creating room for unscrupulous nurses and relatives to take advantage of their situation and them.

Nurses’ knowledge of elderly abuse

Quinn and Tomita (1997) note that it is not surprising to walk into a care home and find the elderly lying in their personal urine or even excrement. Many abuses that can not be described go on in elderly care homes showcasing lack of respect and protection of the human rights of older people.

EAP (2001) claim that several surveys have been conducted to try and discern the level of nurses awareness’s and knowledge regarding abuse against the elderly. They continue to state that most reports indicate that a considerable number of nurses are actually aware that the elderly within their homes do get abused. Binstock, Robert & Shanas (1985) similarly acknowledges that most nurses are at least certain that the elderly within their institutions have faced poor treatment, abuse, neglect as well as discharge that is ill-considered

According to Summers, Hoffman and APHA (2006) the abuse of the elderly is grievous and should be undoubtedly termed as a societal injustice. Research further shows that nurses perceive the opportunity of abuse is created by the fact that the elderly mostly rely on their abusers for the purpose of the provision of care and assistance in terms monetary or emotional support. Harris (2005) clearly illustrates that those people who are older together with the disabled have higher chance of being abused by the caretakers.

Soldo (1980) suggests that nurses have knowledge of elderly abuse because they too take part or carry out the abusive actions. He states for instance the society of the Alzheimer shows up to 40% of all the elderly patients ail from dementia that has resulted from irrelevant prescription, overmedication or under medication.

Birren & Cunningham (1985) additionally state that within the homes the elderly have been exposed to unhygienic conditions a fact that has made them even more vulnerable to deadly infections. EAP (2001) assert that mixed-sex wards have been encouraged thus exposing particular genders to sexual abuse. In addition there has been absence of confidentiality in case of the discussion involving elderly medical problems. It has been largely assumed that confidentiality becomes inapplicable when dealing with elderly patients.

In research nurses clarify their knowledge of abuse. They agree that elderly abuse goes beyond physical abuse to encompass psychological as well as financial maltreatment.

Types and indicators of abuse

Harris (2005) explains that according to nurses the abuse of elders in nursing homes usually takes different forms. It may for instance involve threats or intimidation against the elderly, neglect or even financial chicanery.

Summers, Hoffman and APHA (2006) and Allan (2002) offer the same description of physical abuse. They assert that physical abuse in the homes is usually described as the non accidental employment of force on the elderly person resulting to his injury, impairment or physical pain. Such abuse apart from physical assaults in form of shoving or hitting additionally entails inappropriate administration of drugs, confinement or unnecessary restraints. Harris (2005) describes physical abuse as one of the most common type of the elderly abuse. He similarly indicates that it also covers the range of slapping, shaking, kicking, pushing, bruising, beating, pinching as well as burning. It may furthermore involve intimidating the elderly person together with threatening him with the intention of inflicting pain or injury on the elderly person. Study indicates that bruises that are unexplained as well as fractures, eyeglasses that are broken together with abrupt changes and modification in behavior should be potential indicators of such abuse (Allan, 2002).

Emotional abuse is also a type of seniors’ abuse that has been found to exist. Margolis (1995) writes that psychological and emotional senior abuse occurs when the nurses treat or speak to the elderly in a manner that causes emotional distress or pain. Verbal forms include humiliation and ridicule, intimidation through threats and yelling and habitual scapegoating and blaming. Non verbal abuse on the other hand occurs through the isolation of the senior from activities that he loves or his friends, menacing or terrorizing the elderly person and simply ignoring him.

Emotional abuse may also result from neglect of the elderly person. Neglect may involve the failure of the caregiver to give the elderly person basic necessities like food, medication, comfort as well as personal hygiene. Another extreme type of neglect is associated with abandonment. This refers to desertion of the elderly persons by the people charged with the responsibility of provision of care to the elderly people. This also includes leaving the patient alone in a temporarily particularly at the times that he is incapable of taking care of himself (Areen, 1987).

Kelly (2004) perceives the most prominent markers of neglect as including loss of weight, unkempt appearance, dehydration, malnutrition, health problems that are untreated as well as poor conditions of living. However other signs associated with psychological abuse include agitation, withdrawal, as well as the absence responsiveness. Behaviors that are unusual in nature such as aggressive rocking as well as strong biting should moreover indicate the presence abuse. Furthermore the elderly people who have been abused tend to become fearful as well as reluctant to speak out about themselves (Campion, Bang & May, 1983).

Kelly (2004) points out that unfortunately the detection of psychological abuse is usually associated with a certain degree of difficulty as the mentioned signs are also not easily obvious or a definite indicator of abuse. This confirms and proves that in fact if such signs are depicted they may as well be an indication of another disorder and not necessarily abuse. The data that has been presented by most literature particularly regarding the indicators of physical and emotional abused do not provide a standard method of diagnosing elderly abuse without carrying out other tests.

Sexual abuse is also part of elderly abuse. This is generally defined as sexual contact made with the elderly person without his consent. Quinn and Tomita (1997) reveal the such contact not only involve physical sex acts but also forcing the senior to watch pornographic material or sex acts or even forcing him to undress.

Financial exploitation as an abuse involves the unauthorized utilization of the elderly person’s property or funds. This involves the preying upon together with the taking of the advantage of the vulnerability of the physical as well as his mental state so as to gain financially. The signature of the elderly person may be forged or their checks may be cashed against their consent. The elderly person may also be deceived to sign a certain document for example the will.

Margolis (1995) also quickly adds that financial abuse occurs when the nurses charge for healthcare services that they are not providing, undermedicate or overmedicate, double bill medical services, recommend fraudulent remedies for medical conditions or illness, encourage Medicaid fraud and get kickbacks for prescribing certain drugs or referrals to certain providers.

Causes and elderly abuse risk factors

Schaie & Willis (2003) claims that nurses admit the vulnerability of an old person to abuse is increased by his age. Additionally the responsibility and the great demanding tasks that come along with taking care of this people also make abuse more likely. Schneider (2005) also believes the same and agrees that nurses or family feel pressured by the responsibilities accruing especially as they increase as the elderly persons condition degenerates. Birren & Cunningham (1985) further explain that the nurses find themselves burned out, stressed and consequently become impatient and unable to restrain themselves from issuing threats and humiliating words as they care for the elderly.

In his work Margolis (1995) notes that abuse is inevitable where the nurse lacks resilience to cope with the accruing stress, is depressed and fails to get support from other staff members. Schaie & Willis (2003) seem not to give much consideration and excuses given by the other authors to validate elderly pointing out that it is most of the time merely perpetrated by some nurses’ perception that caring for the elderly is burdensome and has no potential psychological rewards. From these perspectives it can be concluded that elderly abuse is encouraged by both a mix of strain accruing from pressures of dealing with the elderly and the personal attitudes of some nurses.

Alarmingly Quinn and Tomita (1997) purport that substance abuse by the nurses can also put the senior at risk of abuse. They assert that the members of the family together with the nurses who are confronted by personal problems like alcohol dependence and the addiction to drugs have a higher chance of becoming abusers.

Study also shows that several other conditions and factors related to the elderly history can also been blamed for increasing chances of elderly abuse. Harris (2005) for instance unveils that the intensity of the elderly person dementia or illness and social isolation whereby the nurse is left with the patient alone most of the time increase risk. Additionally the elders’ role which refers to their anger spurts and aggressiveness resulting from earlier relations with an abusive spouses or parents may also elicit violent response from nurses.

Schneider (2005) in fact argues that the most the elderly abuse does not stem from the nurses but rather relatives and friends of the elderly. Nurses’ contribution to the abuse arises from the financial and emotional requirements of the nurses on the victims. He explains that older patients are actually mostly abused by the family that visit and people that they trust. He continues to clarify that most of the physical and psychological abuse from nurses is never intentional. Most of the time it results from the nurses stretched capabilities and patience and therefore as much as they may not intend or mean to strike, yell or ignore the elderly care needs they find themselves doing so (Shugarman, Fries, Wolf, & Morris, 2003). The question then arises what do the nurses do when they are aware that their colleagues are abusing patients? The question is also that because relatives and friends constitute the majority of the elderly abusers what do the nurses do to protect the patients? Do they report or keep the knowledge of such activities to themselves?

Reporting elderly abuse

As much the majority of nurses are aware of the abuse within nursing homes they mostly do nothing about it. According to Henig (2002) this is because most of those nurses are in the dark regarding mandatory requirements of reporting such cases or the stipulations of the protective laws in such instances. Margolis (1995) agrees that the nurses acknowledge the presence of elderly abuse in society nevertheless they lack the understanding of the basic prequisites of law when these cases occur including the procedures of such reporting.

The argument is also that despite the fact that most states in America have mandatory reporting laws for elderly abuse the fear of reporting by nurses is because reporting may end up infringing on autonomy and freedom of competent elderly people. Nurses fear reporting or infrequently report such abuse because they also do not want to offend the patient or do not just have the proper case evaluation and recognition skills to determine which ones are actually tantamount to abuse. They express the fact that victims of abuse usually blame themselves for the acts, have poor esteem, fail to accept their vulnerabilities and perceive reporting of such cases as betrayal of their families.

Schneider (2005) confirms that most of the nurses do not report such cases because they are scared of misinterpreting the cases. In a poll conducted on 800 nurses sixty percent admitted that fear stops them from raising the alarm while twenty six percent stated that likelihood of revenge from abusers also impeded efforts to report cases.

On the contrary Summers, Hoffman and APHA (2006) indicate that in another survey that there was no indication that abuse in care homes was going unreported. They argue that nurses actually did report and when they did not it was not as a result of fear of retribution of misinterpretation. It has everything to do with the response from authorities after reporting such cases. Reichel (2006) illustrates that while both licensed practical nurses and registered nurses in nursing homes have witnessed elderly abuse in the time of their careers they expressed differences in satisfaction of how such cases are handled when reported to state authorities. Licensed practical nurses particularly reported greater satisfaction and appreciation of the response received and action initiated after reporting. However their general satisfaction was not good enough to motivate their frequent reporting of the cases. The perception that nothing much will be done is essentially responsible for the instances of some cases remaining unreported. Others also are not willing to report the cases because they do not want to involve themselves in lengthy legal procedures.

Additionally in another study the nurses also showcased little belief in the existence of good care services and procedures to diagnose elders abuse (Harris, 2005). They think that with proper knowledge on abuse detection then it would be easier to report this cases as it will be based on verifiable evidence.

Quinn and Tomita (1997) however affirm that all nurses do accept that they have the responsibility of reporting cases of elderly abuse and demonstrate the need of capacity building to enable them to effectively deal with this situations.

It is imperative to note that elderly abuse can have severe consequences on the older people. This people are generally physically weaker and their recovery tends to take longer therefore any minor injury whether physically or emotionally has serious implications on them. Consequently premature death is not an unrealistic consequence of elderly abuse.

Gaps in literature

It is unarguable that there exist a lot of data regarding elderly abuse. However most of the data concentrates on the elderly abuse that result from family members and home based care givers. The assumption is that within the nursing elderly homes the nurses themselves can not perpetrate elderly abuse. It has been assumed that nurses totally adhere to the nursing code of ethics and thus can not possibly commit acts that lead to elderly abuse. It is forgotten that nurses play the same roles as the elderly care givers that are home based and are also confronted by the same challenges that face the home based care givers. Consequently they are likely to behave in the same manner as the care givers when responding to the elderly. It appears therefore that research has not been conducted or documented regarding the role of nurses in elderly abuse.

There is also scarce data regarding the nurses’ knowledge and recognition skills of elderly abuse. Many studies touch on the subject in passing thus do little to provide tangible evidence that pinpoints the levels of awareness that the nurses have regarding elderly abuse, their causes and even consequences. This study therefore hopes to provide a valid document that proves and showcases the awareness that nurses have on the issue and how it increases the vulnerability of the elderly to even more abuse.

Additionally future studies that will be conducted on the subject of elderly abuse may find it necessary to explore the ethical principles in nursing violated by acts of elderly abuse. Such a document may go ahead to showcase whose responsibility it is to ensure that morality and nursing ethics are upheld when it comes to elderly care. Such research would furthermore point out any other subjects in the health care industry that have the autonomous duty to ensure that the welfare and rights of the elderly are properly addressed.

Furthermore it may be important to conduct research on the prevalence of elderly abuse in the other countries abroad. Most data that is available on the subject concentrates on abuse that the American adults are exposed to neglecting presentation of facts regarding prevalence of the same in other countries around the globe.

Conclusion

Studies indicate that many elderly people are at risk of being of being abused in nursing homes and thus it is up to everyone to take the necessary precautions to reduce risks. Nursing homes residents are supposed to unconditional receive the best possible care that is also free of any form of abuse.

For proper reduction and management of abuse cases there is need to be supportive and understand the dilemmas of nurses without assigning blame. Any suspected abuse of the elderly needs to without fail be reported to relevant state agencies.

Nurses should also be encouraged to respond swiftly to such cases even if they are not comfortable with reporting them at that time. They may for instance choose to place the elderly patients in danger in special care shelters until further notice. Most importantly nurses must recognize that when they report a case the result will be the protection of those individuals from further abuse. Additionally nurses must not be scared of upsetting the patient or embarrassing him because it is their duty to protect them.

The nurses should be reminded of their roles and responsibilities that are related to maltreatment, neglect and abuse prevention in health care settings. This would really assist in assessing elderly abuse because of the fact that the elderly themselves find it difficult to report such cases and other care providers have poor attitudes towards the elderly.

Additionally with nurses enhanced recognition skills of such cases it would also be easier to design standard intervention measures and revised reporting procedures for elderly abuse that will be applicable in the modern health care system.

Better training is necessary to help nurses have better recognition and prevention skills of abuse and thus assist in rooting it out from the care systems. Training as well as counseling of the nurses and family can be helpful and influential towards assisting providers in addressing stress related factors arising from elderly care. Training and periodic counseling will be expected to lead to a reduction of strain and stress which are major contributors of elderly abuse.

Community and other support groups need to assist families and nurses to offer care to the elderly and thus aiding in reducing rates of elderly abuse. Adoption of respite care can also be useful to help decrease rates of this abuse. This substitute care provides breaks for nurses and families responsible for the care of the elderly. It may also be healthy for families to investigate the history’s of nursing homes before leaving their members under the care of the staff.

Basically more professional training for nurses on elder abuse issues, coordination among care providers, offering technical assistance to nurses, development of protocols and manuals outlining preferred and proper procedure of handling the elderly and public education regarding elderly care should moreover work to ensure that abuse is reduced.

Methodology

There will be a need to expose the subjects a 20 – 30 minute questionnaire which they are expected to respond to in order to assess the inherent knowledge as pertains elderly abuse. The tool of application in this study is an adaptation of some previously conducted studies. The permission to put this tool into application was obtained as per the procedure. The process of data collection is expected to be at one point in time only so it shall be conducted only once. The information will be presented in a table format as the following table.

SECTION A

Demographic Data

Please fill the following blanks while checking your reactions with regard to the questions that appear below.

State your gender?Male ¨Female ¨

State your nursing status at present?

Enrolled Nurse¨

Registered Nurse¨

Deputy Nursing Officer¨

Nursing Officer¨

Other – Please indicate:

State preparation for academic nursing?

EN Course¨Post Graduate Diploma¨

SRN Course¨Masters Degree¨

Certificate¨PhD¨

Bachelor Degree¨

For what period of time have you worked as a nurse?

0 – 5 years¨

6 – 10 years¨

11 – 15 years¨

16 – 20 years¨

More then 20 years¨

For what period of time have you worked in the position of geriatric locale as a nurse?

0 – 5 years¨

6 – 10 years¨

11 – 15 years¨

16 – 20 years¨

More then 20 years¨

How many hours do you work in a geriatric setting per month? Hours

What is your employment status within the geriatric setting?

Full-time¨

Part-time¨

Have you ever received any formal training about any of the following?

Gerontology¨

Elderly abuse¨

Policy making in health care¨

None of the above¨

Have you ever received continuing education/in-service training on elderly abuse?

Yes¨No¨

If you ticked “yes” please go to question 10.

If you ticked “no” please go to question 11.

Where did you receive your education on elderly abuse? (Check all that apply)

At the University of Malta¨

On-line Resource Modules¨

Conference, Workshop, Etc¨

Course about elderly abuse¨

Other: Please indicate______

SECTION B

What do you understand by the term elderly abuse?

__________________________________________________________________

To what degree do you feel prepared to assess for elderly abuse?

Well prepared¨

Prepared¨

Somewhat prepared¨

Not prepared¨

Do you know of any different types of elderly abuse?

Yes¨No¨

If yes please list the different types:

__________________________________________________________________

Do you know of any signs that would help you recognize abuse when assessing an elderly patient?

Yes¨No¨

If yes please list these signs:

__________________________________________________________________

Which abuse screen or risk factor instrument can be used for assessment of an alleged elderly abuse report?

Caregiver Abuse Screen for the Elderly (Reis & Nahmiash, 1995).

Elder Abuse Detection: Indicators (Bloom, Ansell, & Bloom, 1989).

Indicators of Abuse (IOA) Screen (Reis, & Nahmiash, 1998).

Sengstock-Hwalek Screen (Sengstock-Hwalek, 1987).

All of the above

Don’t Know

Do you know of any particular characteristics that pre-dispose the elderly to become abused?

Yes¨No¨

If yes please list these characteristics:

__________________________________________________________________

When you suspect the presence of elderly abuse, what action(s) would you take?

________________________________________________________________________

SECTION C

Most elderly abuse is caused by care giver stress.