Yeaaaay…I made it!!
Posted by Windy Asih in Notes, Re-Post on May 20, 2012
I remember the day at the airport when I was taking my flight back to Indonesia on the very last day of July..I said to myself that I’ll be back again for graduation, Christmas and New Year. I had my doubts at that moment, things could just happen and change everything but somehow God helped me out with everything. The visa, the ticket and other stuff somehow just went smoothly. So, long story short, I took the flight to Adelaide on 12 of December and arrived next morning after a short transit in KL-Malaysia.
It’s been 17 days and I had so much fun and stories that I would like to keep..Oh I also have lots of pictures as proof (lol). So, I’m gonna post some pictures and put captions on it so that I can always remember the stories behind those pictures.
Sigit and I at My graduation
Ane and I at My Graduation
Me, Sigit, Disa, Yani and Ko’Arry (Ane took the picture). The background is Torrens River, Adelaide.
It’s less than 5 minutes from Sigit’s place. We actually spent new year’s eve here with lots of people from around the place. We saw the fireworks in the city, Glenelg, Semaphore and other place in Adelaide I guess..it was beautiful but I was kinda sad at that time because Sigit had an allergic reaction..
We love strawberry!!!
Nowonder Land’ Story
Posted by Windy Asih in Notes, Re-Post on May 20, 2012
In the land of Nowonder, in the breaking of dawn, one night in August eight-teen years ago, a little baby girl cried so hard, her crying just like an announcement to all of villagers in the land of Nowonder, that she’s ready to face the world, although she will never meet the woman that supposed to taught her how to survive in the darkest night or to save the day when its so hard to get by, a woman to called mother, and she would live strongly without any protection from a pair of strong hands or wise words to remember in her despair, from a father.
Taken care by her grandparents makes her understand that she’s special, when every other kids gets to go to school every morning she instead would be playing in grandpa’s backyard, learning how to sing alphabet with an extra tone from grandpa’s fake teeth, she helps him to count all their eggs before selling it to Mr. Harris’s grocery store, and as a reward, if she finally done her task with a big smile on granny’s face, she would be very lucky helping granny in the kitchen, cooking dinner from granny’s secret recipes and of course an apple pie to bake for the dessert. Although she feels that she is special, she always knew that there was something missing in her life, but it’s too early to find out.
One day in a summer, when she’s eight years old, grandpa decided not to open his eyes anymore because God has gave him a very good offer, a new home with a ranch and thousands of chickens to be fed and to take care everyday, which was grandpa’s dream in his life. Her granny made it up, but she believed it, she knew grandpa very well. One thing she didn’t understand, who would help grandpa picking up those thousands or maybe millions of eggs? It must be very hard for grandpa to do that by himself, poor grandpa.
A week after grandpa’s funeral day, late in night, she saw granny shed tears while she did her prayer in their small living room, she couldn’t understand why did she cries? Shouldn’t she feel happy for grandpa? Or maybe the Postman that came this afternoon have delivered a letter from grandpa, and he said that he wanted to come back home again and stay with her and granny but he already agreed to take that offer God given him. Grandpa always taught her that she should never feel afraid of anyone in this world and especially in the land of Nowonder besides God, because God own this world, and she absolutely sure grandpa wouldn’t have the guts to said no when God gave him the offer.
The next morning, when she awaked she heard granny talking to Mrs. Harris out side her window, they were talking about something and obviously it was a very serious conversation between them. She saw granny holding her hands while she’s talking to Mrs. Harris, she only does that when she’s upset and when grandpa eaten the last slice of her apple pie. A minute she heard clearly, a name was mentioned, it was Piper.
It turned out that Piper is granny last daughter, her mother’s sister. She lives across the land, the land of Forwonder. Aunt Piper has a son named Troy and twin daughters at her age named Anna and Annie. Aunt Piper, as granny told her, is grandpa’s pearl, she’s beautiful and smart. Grandpa would gave her everything that she asked for, grandpa loves her very much, much more than grandpa loves Ophelia, the little girl’s mother. As Piper grown up and became more beautiful than a rose, she met someone, a young sailor named Leo. They became lovers and their love grew fast and strong each day, until one day, the tragedy happened, she went off from home, from the land of Nowonder, and since then they never heard about her or Leo the sailorman, until yesterday when her letter came and told granny that she and her children were on the way back to the land of Nowonder. She didn’t know what really happened on that tragedy, granny refused to answer it when she asked her about that.
Granny became very busy to prepare for Aunt Piper and her children visit, she sold few of grandpa’s chicken to Mr. Harris and the next day Mr. Krain came to their home and fix the roof and broken furniture they have ignored in the house. She felt very happy for this because she no longer have to use all of her strength just to open their back door when she’s going to pick up the eggs and the most important thing is no longer running around the house when the rain comes down because of the leaking roof.
—to be continued.
7 Pendekatan Belajar
Posted by Windy Asih in Academic, Re-Post on May 20, 2012
1. Belajar sebagai petualangan
Belajar dapat menjadi hal yang sangat membosankan dan tidak menyenangkan, inilah yang pada akhirnya terjadi jika kita memandangnya dari sudut pandang yang salah. Terlebih lagi hal inilah yang menimbulkan kesulitan-kesulitan dalam belajar. Jika saja kita memandang dan menilainya sebagai hal yang sangat menyenangkan, maka saat-saat belajar akan menjadi sangat menyenangkan dan menjadi saat-saat yang selalu dinantikan.
Sebagaimana seorang anak kecil yang sedang belajar bersepeda, pada awalnya ia akan terjatuh beberapa kali, mungkin karena kehilangan keseimbangan atau terlalu gugup untuk mengkayuh pedalnya. Ketika ia bisa bertahan diatas sepedanya, melaju untuk beberapa menit dan kemudian terjatuh untuk kesekian kalinya, anak itu akan segera bangkit dan mulai menaiki sepedanya kembali. Mengapa ia melakukannya lagi? Bukankah ia sudah, atau mungkin, akan terluka lebih parah jika ia jatuh lagi? Jawabannya sangatlah sederhana. Anak itu menganggap belajar menaiki sepeda sebagai ‘petualangan’. Ia menikmati apa yang sedang dilakukannya, setiap kali ia terjatuh, ia mempelajari mengapa ia sampai terjatuh dan mencoba untuk tidak mengulanginya kembali, ia melatih keseimbangannya, kekuatan dan ketangkasan motoriknya, dan amat terlebih ia sedang bersenang-senang!
Memiliki semangat belajar seperti anak kecil yang selalu ingin tahu dan tidak menganggap kegagalan sebagai alasan untuk berhenti belajar atau menjadi antipati terhadap kegiatan belajar, pastilah menyenangkan. Anak kecil tidak memperdulikan pendapat yang terlontar terhadap kegagalan mereka, mereka lebih berfokus terhadap kemampuan yang mereka punya dan dapatkan dalam proses belajar mereka. Lalu bagaimana dengan orang dewasa, seperti anda dan saya? Jangan khawatir! Orang dewasa juga bisa melakukannya, semuanya berpulang kepada diri anda sendiri, apakah anda mau melakukannya?
2. Gunakan inderamu!
Mana yang menurut anda lebih efektif?
(a). Belajar mengenai pemberian cairan intravena dikelas, mendengarkan penjelasannya dari seorang dosen yang ahli dan dengan melihat slide-slide yang penuh warna.
(b). Belajar mengenai pemberian cairan intravena dikelas, mendengarkan penjelasannya dari seorang dosen yang ahli dan dengan melihat slide-slide yang sarat dengan ilustrasi nyata mengenai prosedur pemberian cairan intravena dan anda di ijinkan untuk bertanya bila ada hal yang anda tidak mengerti.
(c). Belajar mengenai pemberian cairan intravena dikelas, mendengarkan penjelasannya dari seorang dosen yang ahli dan dengan melihat slide-slide yang sarat dengan ilustrasi nyata mengenai prosedur pemberian cairan intravena, anda diberikan kesempatan untuk mempraktikannya dan bertanya bila ada hal yang anda tidak mengerti.
Saya yakin anda memilih pilihan (c) sebagai proses belajar yang paling efektif, bukan begitu? Tidak ada yang salah dengan pilihan (a) dan (b), sebagai mahasiswa perawat yang mempelajari tentang pemberian cairan intravena, mendengarkan penjelasan dari dosen yang menguasai bidang tersebut sangatlah menyenangkan terlebih lagi bila media pengajaran yang digunakan tidak membosankan. Tetapi hal tersebut masih belum cukup, proses belajar anda tidak boleh berhenti hanya dengan ‘mendengar dan melihat’, anda perlu mengolah semua indera anda untuk sungguh-sungguh belajar.
Cottrell (1999:4) menjelaskan bahwa ketika anda ‘memperkerjakan’ indera (penglihatan, pendengaran, sentuhan) dan menggunakan kemampuan motorik halus (melihat, berbicara, menulis, mengetik, menggambar atau menggerakan anggota tubuh) saat anda sedang belajar, sesungguhnya otak anda sedang memperoleh kesempatan untuk menerima dan mengolah informasi yang diterima melalui indera yang sedang bekerja. Semakin banyak dan semakin sering anda memanfaatkan fungsi indera yang anda miliki, maka akan semakin besar kemampuan otak anda dalam melakukan asosiasi dan mengkaitkan satu informasi dengan informasi yang lainnya. Dengan demikian, akan sangat mudah bagi anda untuk memanggil kembali informasi-informasi yang telah anda simpan sebelumnya ketika anda belajar.
3. Hal yang menarik dalam belajar
Mahasiswa Y sangat pandai dalam pelajaran Biologi, ia selalu mendapatkan nilai yang memuaskan dalam mata pelajaran tersebut. Ia menghabiskan berjam-jam waktunya untuk membaca dan memahami fungsi organ tubuh manusia. Sebaliknya ia tidak menyukai pelajaran Kimia, menurutnya mempelajari Kimia adalah suatu kesia-siaan dan nilainya dalam mata pelajaran ini sangat rendah.
Anda bisa berkata bahwa mahasiswa Y mendapat nilai yang memuaskan pada Biologi karena ia banyak menghabiskan waktunya untuk belajar Biologi. Terpikirkah anda bahwa ia menghabiskan banyak waktu untuk mempelajari Biologi karena ia menyenangi pelajaran tersebut? Ia telah mampu melihat hal yang menarik dari mempelajari Biologi. Sebaliknya, ketidaksukaannya terhadap Kimia (ia mungkin merasa tidak ada yang menarik dari pelajaran tersebut) membuatnya lemah dan nilai yang ia dapatkan sangatlah rendah.
Akan sangat mudah bagi anda untuk mempelajari atau melakukan hal yang anda senangi. Tujuan menjadi sangat jelas dan terarah, dan tentu saja, akan menjadi menyenangkan. Tetapi anda tidak bisa menyukai segalanya, akan selalu ada penolakan-penolakan terhadap hal-hal yang kurang berkenan dihati anda. Jika demikian apa yang harus dilakukan? Ijinkan saya untuk menjawabnya dengan menyelesaikan kisah tentang mahasiswa Y.
Menyadari pentingnya lulus dengan nilai yang baik dipelajaran Kimia, mahasiswa Y mulai berusaha untuk mencoba memandang pelajaran tersebut seperti halnya ia memandang Biologi. Ia mulai menyadari bahwa kehidupannya dikelilingi oleh hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan Kimia. Kemanapun ia mengarahkan pandangannya, ia melihat Kimia, mulai dari oksigen yang ia hirup sampai dengan warna merah dari pemulas bibir yang melekat pada bibirnya. Akhirnya, saat-saat mempelajari Kimia menjadi sangat menyenangkan dan menantang baginya, ia telah menemukan hal yang menarik dalam mempelajari Kimia!
Anda memiliki kekuatan untuk menemukan hal yang menarik, dengan berbagai aspek yang berbeda, ketika anda sedang mempelajari sesuatu hal yang baru. Bagaimana anda memberikan atribut terhadap hal yang anda pelajari akan mempengaruhi minat dan kemampuan belajar anda. Coba bayangkan dalam pikiran anda bahwa anda sedang menikmati saat-saat belajar (pelajaran yang anda anggap sulit) dan mendapatkan nilai yang sangat memuaskan dan orang-orang disekeliling anda berlomba-lomba mengucapkan selamat pada anda. Bukankah hal itu menyenangkan? Saya sama sekali tidak menyinggung tentang teori sugesti disini, tetapi, ketika anda benar-benar telah membayangkan diri anda seperti tersebut diatas, maka otak anda akan menyimpannya sebagai memori dan ‘berputar’ keras untuk bisa mewujudkannya.
4. Gunakan metode active learning
Perubahan metode pengajaran dari Teacher-centered menjadi student-centered learning menuntut keaktifan dari anak didik dalam proses belajar. Oleh karena itu, keberhasilan anak didik, dalam konteks ini mahasiswa, sangat bergantung pada dirinya sendiri. Sebagai mahasiswa anda harus memiliki keaktifan dan kemandirian dalam belajar, mengaplikasikan metode active learning dalam proses pembelajaran dilembaga pendidikan tersier adalah suatu keharusan.
Saat anda menggunakan metode belajar ini, sesungguhnya anda sedang belajar dengan melakukan pemahaman yang sangat mendalam terhadap hal yang anda pelajari. Melalui metode ini pula, anda secara aktif terlibat dalam pengolahan informasi, proses pemahaman informasi yang telah diterima, menganalisa perbedaan informasi (baik yang baru anda terima maupun yang sudah terekam dalam memori anda), membuat keputusan dan mengkaitkan informasi-informasi yang ada.
Tentu saja, untuk bisa mengaplikasikan metode belajar ini sepenuhnya, memerlukan waktu dan penyesuaian. Terus menerus mencoba (‘berpetualang’) dengan memanfaatkan semaksimal mungkin indera dan kemampuan yang anda miliki dan didukung oleh keterbukaan untuk melihat dan menerima hal yang menarik dari metode ini akan membuahkan hasil yang baik, bahkan, jauh melampaui harapan anda.
5. Bertanggung jawablah!
Perguruan tinggi atau universitas pada umumnya akan menganggap bahwa anda sudah memiliki kemampuan yang baik mengenai hal-hal mendasar yang menunjang proses perkuliahan anda. Kemampuan tersebut antara lain; menulis laporan tertulis berupa essay, laporan praktik laboratorium, proposal; membaca textbook, jurnal, statistic dan diagram; berbicara formal baik menggunakan bahasa Indonesia maupun bahasa asing; dan kemampuan lainnya. Sebagai seorang mahasiswa anda diharapkan untuk bertanggung jawab terhadap pembelajaran anda.
Salah satu bentuk sikap bertanggung jawab yang dapat anda lakukan diawal perkuliahan adalah mengikuti kegiatan Pengenalan Program Studi dengan baik, sebab disanalah kesempatan anda untuk bisa mempersiapkan diri lebih baik lagi sebelum akhirnya anda mengikuti perkuliahan. Dengan persiapan yang baik, segala sesuatunya pasti akan berjalan dengan baik pula. Pastikan bahwa anda sudah siap!
6. Percayalah pada kemampuanmu!
Sekarang ini anda pasti sedang merasakan kekhawatiran dalam diri anda (besar atau kecil); anda khawatir tidak bisa mengikuti pelajaran dengan baik karena latar belakang pendidikan di sekolah menengah atas (SMA) yang anda lalui berbasis ilmu sosial, sedangkan untuk menjadi seorang professional tenaga kesehatan, yang anda percaya, haruslah berbasis ilmu pengetahuan alam. Atau, anda khawatir karena anda merasa nilai-nilai yang anda dapatkan selama menempuh pendidikan di SMA selalu berada direntang rata-rata (saya harap rata-rata baik), dan anda mulai ketakutan karena sepertinya hal tersebut akan terjadi kembali pada anda.
Duduk disebelah anda, seorang mahasiswa (berasal dari kelas IPA SMA Maju Berkarya) mengenakan kacamata dengan tumpukan buku disisi tas besarnya, ia terus menerus menatap dosen yang sedang memberikan presentasi, tak sekalipun anda melihat ia mengedip! Luar biasa bukan? Anda bukan satu-satunya orang yang sedang khawatir! Setiap mahasiswa akan merasakan kekhawatiran disetiap awal perkuliahan, kekhawatiran ini, jika tidak diatasi, akan menjadi penghalang yang sangat besar bagi mereka untuk mencapai kesuksesan (mengikuti perkuliahan dengan baik, mampu mengerjakan tugas dengan baik, lulus dengan nilai yang baik-sukses!).
Ketahuilah bahwa banyak sekali mahasiswa-mahasiswi yang sukses di perguruan tinggi, sebelumnya hanyalah siswa-siswi dengan nilai rata-rata ketika mereka masih duduk dibangku SMA. Satu hal yang harus anda lakukan saat ini adalah mengumpulkan-memupuk-mempertahankan kepercayaan terhadap kemampuan yang anda miliki dan meyakinkan diri anda sendiri bahwa anda bisa seperti mereka, bahkan, lebih baik. Jika anda percaya, saya yakin anda pasti bisa!
7. Kenali gaya belajarmu
Masing-masing individu mempunyai cara atau gaya belajarnya sendiri, walaupun demikian, banyak pula yang memiliki kesamaan. Banyak ahli yang mencoba untuk mengelompokan orang melalui cara belajarnya; tipe pembelajar visual (belajar melalui melihat), kinestetik (belajar dengan mempraktikan atau mengulangi gerakan), auditory (belajar melalui mendengar), dan
masih banyak lagi. Sangat penting bagi anda untuk tidak memasukan diri anda dalam kungkungan satu tipe atau gaya belajar yang anda yakini. Apa yang ingin saya sampaikan disini adalah, akan lebih baik bagi anda jika anda mengetahui dan mencoba tipe atau gaya belajar lainnya yang dapat berkontribusi dalam gaya belajar dominan anda.
Otak manusia sangat mampu untuk mela
kukan adaptasi (percayalah!), ketika anda memilih atau menggabungkan beberapa gaya belajar sesuai dengan kebutuhan belajar anda, maka otak anda akan ‘menyesuaikan’ fungsinya. Hasilnya, anda tidak hanya menjadi seorang mahasiswa yang memiliki nilai yang baik tetapi juga seorang pembelajar sejati.
Referensi
Cottrell, Stella.1999. “The Study Skills Handbook”. New York: Palgrave.
The impact of dementia and mild memory impairment (MMI) on intimacy and sexuality in spousal relationship: Summary and critique of the article
Posted by Windy Asih in Academic, Re-Post on May 20, 2012
Summary of the article
Davies et al (2010) belief that there is still an absence of studies that investigate the issue of sexuality and intimacy which are affected by cognitive and memory impairment occurring on married couples. Previous studies have only touched the surface of the issue and have not generated clear insights and directions to create better outcomes. Thus, between 2008 and 2009 they conducted a research which is aimed to investigate the issues of intimacy and sexuality experienced by the spousal caregivers of people with dementia and MMI and to determine other aspects that may need to be investigated within this population through
further research.
A focus group discussion is applied as the methodology of this qualitative research. The authors argue that although this method may have limitations it is still the adequate method that also has been widely used in other research that focusing on the area of sexual health. The participants of the research are spousal caregivers of people with dementia (n = 14) and MMI (n = 9) which are then grouped to two groups of each. The group discussion is moderated by one of the authors who have the expertise in adult psychiatric mental health using prompt questions. In the discussions, two observers are responsible in transcribing the group sessions. Their transcriptions are then reviewed against each other to identify bias and to ensure the content accuracy. The authors acknowledge that the procedures of the research are approved by the Stanford University Committee on Human Research and the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center Research and Development Committee.
Two phases of analysis are done in the research. Modified indexing guidelines from Frankland and Bloor (1999) is applied to analyse the themes and create final categories. Then, a grid technique is done to compare and contrast the themes from the discussions. Five themes that emerged as the results are; communication, marital cohesion, affectional expression, caregiver burden and ambiguity concerning the future relationship. Overall, the report describes that the dementia caregivers groups experienced more problems and difficulties than the MMI. Both groups experienced a decrease in sexual expressions and have difficulties in anticipating the future of their relationship. The results also describe that the dementia caregivers have the desire to have future romantic relationship, whereas, the MMI caregiver only consider having companions or engage in emotional intimacy with other people. Thus, the research suggests that modifications in activities, behaviour and expectations about the future relationship are required as early intervention to maintain the relationship and avoid negative impacts for families and healthcare system.
Critique
Davies et al (2010) has conducted a research on the area that is challenging and has obtained a result that is very useful for further researcher on the area of sexuality and intimacy on people with cognitive impairment and their caregivers. The suggestions it offers in overcoming or reducing the sexuality and intimacy problems experienced by caregivers of people with dementia or MMI are excellent and applicable. The research article is well presented and succinct, thus, it facilitates readers to comprehend the content of the article very well. Furthermore, it is published in International Psychogeriatrics, which is acknowledged as ‘a highly respected, multidisciplinary journal’ and ’publishes high quality original research papers in the field of psychogeriatrics’ (Cambridge Journals Online 2011).
However, there are some weaknesses of the research and the report that are apparent from the article. The authors have included the caregivers of people with mild cognitive impairment as participants of the research and grouped them in the MMI. Although both conditions indicate ‘prodormal forms of dementia’ (Petersen et al 2001, Petersen 2005, Ishikawa et al 2006, cited in Davies et al 2010, p. 618), they are slightly different in manifestations (Dawe et al 1992, Peterson et al 1999). Furthermore, the result of the research has low level of external validity, because the number and characteristics of the participants are limited and homogenous (Davies et al 2010, p. 625). Thus, it cannot be generalized and applied to the wider population (Elwood 1998, cited in Evans 2003, p. 80).
Biases that occur in the research and affected the result of the study can be due to the characteristics of the participants. As an instant, the fact that caregivers in the dementia group have higher mean in the length of relationship and duration of the time after they received the diagnosis to the discussion, 44 years and 2 years, respectively, can affected the breadth and depth of the live experience of these caregivers (O’Shaughnessy et al 2010). Thus, it can already be predicted that they have experienced more difficulties on the issue of sexuality and intimacy compared to their counterparts. Furthermore, the frequent use of words that cannot be exactly measured in the report such as ‘almost universally’ (Davies et al 2010, p. 623) is leading readers to confusion due to uncertainty of information.
Nevertheless, the article is very useful for health professionals in supporting caregivers of people with dementia or MMI to achieve a high quality of life and preserve their relationships with their spouses. Particularly for nurses, the research triggers them to facilitate couples that are affected with cognitive impairments such as dementia, MMI and MCI to modify their daily activities in preserving their relationships. Thus, ageing in place (Australian Government, Department of health and Ageing, 2004) can be implemented and financial burden can be reduced both for the health care system and the family (Davies et al 2010).
Conclusion
The research conducted by Davies et al (2010) which is reported as an article and published in a respected journal is noteworthy. The methodology is consistent with the research approach and it briefly describes five themes that emerged as the results. Although there are several limitations, the research generates excellent suggestions that may help health professionals to facilitate spousal caregivers of people with dementia, MMI and MCI in overcoming the issues of intimacy and sexuality in their relationship.
References
Ageing in Place Policy 2004, Australian Government. Department of Health and Ageing. Viewed 28 March 2011,
<http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/health-investinginagedcare-report-index.htm~health-investinginagedcare-report-2.htm~health-investinginagedcare-report-2-3.htm>.
Dawe, B, Procter, A & Philpot, M 1992, ‘Concepts of mild memory impairment in the elderly and their relationship to dementia: A review’, International Journal Of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol. 7, pp. 473-479.
Davies, H, Newkirk, L, Pitts, C, Coughlin, C, Sridhar, S, Zeiss, L & Zeiss, A 2010, ‘The impact of dementia and mild memory impairment (MMI) on intimacy and sexuality in spousal relationship’, International Psychogeriatric, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 618 628.
Evans, D 2003, ‘Hierarchy of evidence: a framework for ranking evidence evaluating healthcare interventions’, Journal of Clinical Nursing, vol. 12, pp. 77–84.
International Psychogeriatrics 2011, Cambridge Journals Online, viewed 4 April 2011, <http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=IPG>.
O’Shaugnessy, M, Lee, K & Lintern, C 2010, ‘Changes in the couple relationship in dementia care: Spouse carers’ experiences’, Dementia, vol. 9, pp. 237-259.
Petersen, R, Smith, G, Waring, S, Ivnik R, Tangalos, E & Kokmen, E 1999, ‘Mild cognitive impairment: Clinical characterization and outcome’, Arch Neurol, vol. 56, pp. 303-308.
Steeman, E, Godderis, J, Grypdonck, M, De Bal, N & De Casterle, B, 2007, ‘Living with dementia from the perspective of older people: Is it a positive story?’, Aging & Mental Health, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 119-130.
A note *KLIA, Malaysia 31 July 2011
Posted by Windy Asih in Notes, Re-Post on May 20, 2012
I know that the moonlight is crawling from the corner.. I just don’t care..don’t want to care.. werewolves can howl to it, I…I just want to smile
I tangled my fingers with yours..with eyes wide open I say a simple prayer in this little heart of mine .. not that I’m afraid of what’s coming on our way, I…I just really want to be in the moment with you
We both know that our love is not good enough yet..we’ve still got so many things to talk about..so many things to figure out, I have my flaws and you have yours..they may one day stumble us down, but I…I just know that we’ll get through it somehow
It’s not only about here and now..it’s far beyond every moment of time..not even a wished serendipity..it’s God’s grand design..So I…I’m gonna keep on smiling..keep on praying..and believing that His work will soon be done.
Components of behavioural and socio-environmental approach of Labonte’s health promotion theory in LIFE (Living Is For Everyone)
Posted by Windy Asih in Academic, Re-Post on May 20, 2012
The prevalence of suicide incidents of the young generation in Australia is one of the primary reasons of establishing the ‘Living Is For Everyone Framework’ (the LIFE Framework 2007). As the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, the framework provides planned actions in preventing suicide, addressing the burdens due to suicide which affecting individuals and the community and promoting mental health state and wellness of the population (LIFE Framework 2007 2008, p. 7). The activities included in the framework are grouped into eight domains of interventions (LIFE Framework 2007 2008, pp. 19-21). From these activities, several of them are encompassing the behavioural and socio-environmental approaches of Labonte’s health promotion model (Labonte 1992, p. 121). However, only one of each that will be highlighted.
The behavioural approach is evident in the ‘indicated intervention’. It is aimed for people that are identified to have high risk factors of suicide and primarily focusing on increasing individuals’ ability to be aware of early signs and symptoms of risk factors and preparing them in tackling the problems (LIFE Framework 2007 2008, p. 21). Within this intervention, the individuals who are involved in the program development are individuals, families, organizations (consumer-carer, multicultural and educational), health professionals, police and other community services. However, differences on the characteristics of targeted subjects and its principal strategies significantly projecting the differences on measuring success rate when it is compared with the behavioural approach. As an example, health education as one of the principle strategies of Labonte’s behavioural approach is implemented with different approach within the LIFE Framework 2007 due to the fact that people have different traits and resilience which may affected on how they respond to life events and utilizing the obtained information about suicide (LIFE Framework 2007 2008, p. 23). Furthermore, the lacking of evidence confirming suicide prevention programs that improve knowledge can reduce suicide amongst adolescent is a factor that needs to be further considered (Cusimano and Sameem 2011, pp. 48-49).
The socio-environmental approach which can be seen from the ‘universal intervention’ is focused to decrease the ‘access to means of suicide’, forming resilient and supportive families, educational settings and society through adequate information and provides appropriate exposure of suicide from the media (LIFE Framework 2007 2008, p. 21). The framework emphasized on creating supportive environment that enables the target groups (whole population) in accessing activities that may reduce suicide. However, inadequacy of the intervention when it is compared to the Labonte’s socio-environmental approach can be seen through the absence of community empowerment, specifically in determining their needs and priorities upon the identified problems (Labonte 1992, p. 121).
Differences on principal strategies, problem definition, and program development of the framework and Labonte’s model may be due to the fact that the main concept of the framework is based on Gordon’s prevention model (1983, pp. 108-109) which divides preventions into three levels; universal, selected, indicated, which was then adapted by Mrazek and Haggerty (1994) and was developed and covered the ‘prevention, treatment, maintenance, recovery’ aspects of intervention (LIFE Framework 2007 2008, p. 18). Nevertheless, the activities within the LIFE Framework 2007 are demonstrating Labonte’s behavioural and socio-environmental approach of health promotion.
References
Cusimano, M and Sameem, M 2011, ‘The effectiveness of middle and high school based suicide prevention programmes for adolescences: A systematic review’, Injury Prevention, vol. 17, pp. 43-49.
Gordon, RS 1983, ‘An operational classification of disease prevention’, Public Health Reports, vol.98, pp. 107-109.
Labonte, R 1992, ‘Heart health inequalities in Canada: Models, theory and planning’, Health Promotion International, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 119-128.
Living Is For Everyone (LIFE) Framework (2007), A framework for prevention of suicide in Australia,
http://www.livingisforeveryone.com.au/IgnitionSuite/uploads/docs/LIFE_framework-web.pdf [Accessed 21 March 2011].
Mrazek, PJ, Haggerty, RJ, 1994, Reducing the risks for mental health disorders: Frontiers for preventive intervention research, National Academy Press Institute of Medicine: Washington.
He is not God Old Mitey..He is God Almighty!!
Posted by Windy Asih in Notes, Re-Post on May 20, 2012
Today’s service in the Edge (a church in Adelaide,SA) had awakened me from my sleepy morning and it was really hard to commit my concentration when I’m completely hungry and freezing (it was about 4 degree when I woke up and I think it’s about 8 degree when my friend pick me up before I finished my cuppa tea). Well anyway, the pastor started his preach by passing out the most beautiful characteristics of God which we Christians know and experienced along our lives..
He is absolutely our God with abundant grace, He is God that full of love..in fact..He is the love itself (that’s why He can never stop loving us), He is God that knows and understands our weaknesses, He is God who forgives….
..the pastor kept on reading about God’s characteristics that he wrote down in his pages of notes..and this was when I realize that these long list of characteristics..is only belong to my God..to our God..there is no god can be compared with Him..because none like Him!
My sleepy head was suddenly become light (if I were in cartoon movies..I think there’s a light bulb upon my head that suddenly went on..clickk!)..and it became even lighter.. when the pastor started to read the other side of his notes..the other side of God’s characteristics..the ones that we Christians prefer not to encounter and the ones that rarely be spoken..
Despite that fact that He is God that full of grace..He is also God that is righteous..He despises our sins and He only desires for us to live in His righteous way..He is God that holds the truth..no matter how hard we tried to hide our sins from Him..He always reveals them..because He is God that has power..He is the One that will stand on the Judgment Day and has the authority of it because He is the Alpha and Omega..He is God Almighty..
and it was when..I stopped..I stopped at the very last line that conveys the whole being of God..the characteristic that can never be argued..but very often utterly ignored and mistakenly viewed from our own sights..
We…(or maybe I alone..) sometimes..have extremely belittling Him..we consider Him as our best friend (which is also absolutely true) that decent enough to be the one that must hear our complains, that must be there when we need a shoulder to cry on, the one that must also despises our enemy that lives across the street or just a typical mean boss that seems can never be happy without making our lives miserable everyday at work (I made this up..no offense to my boss..^_^), we demand His faithfulness as our best friend and as our supporter..
We..(yes we..) are forgetting one crucial thing in our Christian lives..
HE IS THE GOD ALMIGHTY…HE IS NOT THE GOD OLD MITEY..
As the preach nearly ended..the pastor say something that was taken from the scripture..
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”. (Proverb 1 : 7)
As a great blessing I’ve got from God today..I just want to share this with you..because you can be the most beautiful or handsome person in the world, wealthy and contented, you can have three graduate degrees and are a professor to be, you can be the one that own the next generation of computer software and name it Nanosoft (I’m sure that nano means smaller than micro..!), you can be an idyllic person as you wanted to be..and most of all..the person that you choose to be.. But do remember one thing… Fear of God is not a choice to take..it is not also something to do at the end of your day when you’re praying before you go to sleep..it is an obligation..it is for all reasons..above all other reasons..the starting point of everything in life.
Windy
This notes was written on Sunday, 27 June 2010
Who would guess?!
Posted by Windy Asih in Notes, Re-Post on May 19, 2012
It’s supposed to be a light when dark surrounds,
warm air to breath in a cold winter night.
Brown hazel eyes with little sparks that make any other person in love with.
Heavy voice speaks up a line, reminding…
that something isn’t the way it’s supposed to be
One day I become a girl who always loves to see yellow colored sun
…and amazed for thousands of clouds,
I’d walk and dance upon it… I wish I could.
But on the very next day..
I’d be falling in love with a beautiful little green clover.