Correctional Officers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Correctional Officers - Essay Example Penal establishments across the US both government and private impose less restrictive requirements for correctional officers. Age requirements are set at 18 to 21 years of age, must be a US citizen, have achieved at least a high school education and should have no record of criminal conviction. Post secondary education is important for those who want to get promoted in the future (US Labor Dept., 2007). However, the Federal Bureau of Prison's entry-level correctional officers should finish her bachelor's degree and a 3-year experience as a field counselor, or other applicable experience such as supervising and affording assistance to individuals. Officers in correctional facilities must be endowed with good health, as they are required to meet formal standards of physical fitness as well as eye and hearing assessments. Standardized tests are utilized in many jurisdictions in order to verify an individual's suitability to serve in correctional institutions. The Federal, State or county corrections department under the management and guidelines of the American Correctional Association and the American Jail Association provides trainings. Various State and local correctional agencies in the country have regional training centers as well. Training is afforded to all officers in all State and county correctional agencies, which include instructions on legal restrictions, improving inter personal relationships, firearms proficiency, and self-defense skill training. Training in these areas usually last to about several weeks or month depending on the institution, which gives the training. A training officer usually supervises these. Nevertheless, variations exist with regards entry requirements and training could vary from one agency to another (US Labor Dept., 2007). Subjects of study include 'institutional policies, regulations and operations as well as custody and security procedures." A 200-hour formal training is required for new Federal correctional officers who must also complete a specialized program under the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Furthermore, correctional officers also receive instructions on responding to riots, other threatening disturbances, hostage situations and dangerous confrontations. (US Labor Dept., 2007) Many of those with good educational background, long experience and effective training are given a chance to take the position of correctional sergeant who manages correctional officers, scheduling and supervising activities of the other correctional officers. Advancement and promotion is easy in a career like this as many officers can become supervisors and administrators and even become a warden. Other officers switch to other jobs related to their experiences or their interests (BOP 2007). Income and earnings of correctional officers vary. The median earning is set at about $28,000 in 1998 but increased to $33,600 in 2004. The upper half of the correctional officer earned between $26,560 and $44,200 while the lowest 10 percent of those who serve in these facilities incurred earnings of about $22,630. About 10 percent of correctional officers earned $54,820. Federal correctional officers receive a starting salary of about $26,747 a year in 2005. This is in fact slightly higher than the earnings receive by State and county

Anthropologists Understanding of Human Health Essay

Anthropologists Understanding of Human Health - Essay Example However, the concern of medical anthropologists is to understand how communities understood the concept of health. Medical anthropologists have explored various ways, which different cultures used to understand the concept of disease and health. First is ecological or epidemiological view. Its concern posits the interaction between natural environment and culture to create pattern of diseases and health (Parker and Harper, 2005:123). Second is the critical (applied) medical anthropology view that focuses on how politics and economics affected human health. Third is interpretive view, which concerns with how culture related some symbolic meaning to understand and describe a disease. Epidemiological Perspective Epidemiology concern is to understand how factors within human population would affect human health. The concern of epidemiologists is to investigate cultural factors that contributed to diseases. These cultural factors include eating habit, sexual activity, medical practices, w ork, social interaction and geographical location (Bhasin). The paradox of this anthropological approach is that it cannot be able to identify the causing factors of these illnesses. However, traditionalists advised their people on what practices were best suitable in relation to health or disease risk. Epidemiologists’ research across cultures indicated that illnesses differ (Sharma and Gautam, 2006:143). For instance, blood pressure research conducted across cultures has indicated that pressure differs. The outcome of the study suggests differences across cultures might be the likable cause. The assumption made through medical ecology is that universal approach is applicable in categorising diseases. Measuring of diseases can take geographical dimension, where changes in pattern of settlement could project the anticipated disease or health outcome. For instance, medical anthropologists believe that measuring and mapping of haemoglobin is possible in relation to a given geog raphical region (McElroy, 2002:9). The study of disease in such area would focus on human physiology in relation to the environment. For instance, a disease such as malaria occurs in a given geographical area. The understanding of this condition is very important when it comes to diagnosing of the disease. It is not surprising that the colonial masters that arrived in Africa faced the challenge of Malaria. Ethno medicine The focus of ethno medicine is to explore practices and health beliefs, social roles, and cultural values. The perspective originally focused on the primitive system of life in relation to folk medicine. Today ethno medicine means health maintenance in the society (Elmer, 2004:27). Understanding the concept of ethno medicine, the beliefs, values, and knowledge of specialists in various communities is important. Since ethno medicine encompasses a number of factors, it gives detailed information on how communities interpreted illnesses and the techniques applied in me eting the effects of the illnesses. Traditional healers in Indian culture practice the activities alongside biomedicine that a patient in India would seek (Williams, 2006:215). The role played by the specialists in the traditional times has not faded, as one would think. Some communities demonstrate inclination to traditional methods as much as they would seek biomedicine. Interpretive Perspective Cultures a cross the globe associate different meaning to issues that