Basic Facts About the Vietnam War

Basic Facts About the Vietnam War The Vietnam War occurred in present-day Vietnam, Southeast Asia. It represented a successful attempt on the part of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam, DRV) and the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam (Viet Cong) to unite and impose a communist system over the entire nation. Opposing the DRV was the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam, RVN), backed by the United States. The war in Vietnam occurred during the Cold War and is generally viewed as an indirect conflict between the United States and Soviet Union  with each nation and its allies supporting one side. Vietnam War Dates The most commonly used dates for the conflict are 1959-1975. This period begins with North Vietnams first guerilla attacks against the South and ends with the fall of Saigon. American ground forces were directly involved in the war between 1965 and 1973. Vietnam War Causes The Vietnam War first began in 1959, five years after the division of the country by the Geneva Accords. Vietnam had been divided into two, with a communist regime in the north under Ho Chi Minh and a democratic government in the south under Ngo Dinh Diem. In 1959, Ho commenced a guerilla campaign in South Vietnam, led by Viet Cong units, with the goal of reuniting the country under a communist government. These guerilla units often found support among the rural population who desired land reform.   Worried about the situation, the Kennedy Administration elected to increase aid to South Vietnam. As part of the larger goal of containing the spread of communism, the United States endeavored to train the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and supplied military advisors to aid in combating the guerrillas. Though the flow of aid increased, President John F. Kennedy did not wish to use ground forces in Vietnam as he believed their presence would cause adverse political consequences.   Americanization of the Vietnam War In August 1964, a US warship was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Following this attack, Congress passed the Southeast Asia Resolution which allowed President Lyndon Johnson to conduct military operations in the region without a declaration of war. On March 2, 1965, US aircraft commenced bombing targets in Vietnam and the first troops arrived. Moving forward under Operations Rolling Thunder and Arc Light, American aircraft began systematic bombing strikes on North Vietnamese industrial sites, infrastructure, and air defenses. On the ground, US troops, commanded by General William Westmoreland, defeated Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces around Chu Lai and in the Ia Drang Valley that year.   The Tet Offensive Following these defeats, the North Vietnamese elected to avoid fighting conventional battles and focused on engaging US troops in small unit actions in the sweltering jungles of South Vietnam. As fighting continued, leaders Hanoi contentiously debated how to move forward as American air strikes were beginning to severely damage their economy. Deciding to resume more conventional operations, planning began for a large-scale operation. In January 1968, the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong commenced the massive Tet Offensive. Opening with an assault on US Marines at Khe Sanh, the offensive featured attacks by the Viet Cong on cities throughout South Vietnam. Combat exploded throughout the country and saw ARVN forces hold their ground. Over the next two months, American and ARVN troops  were able to turn back the Viet Cong assault, with particularly heavy fighting in the cities of Hue and Saigon. Though the North Vietnamese were beaten with heavy casualties, Tet shook the confidence of the American people and media who had thought the war was going well. Vietnamization As a result of Tet, President Lyndon Johnson chose not to run for reelection and was succeeded by Richard Nixon. Nixons plan for ending US participation in the war was to build up the ARVN so that they could fight the war themselves. As this process of â€Å"Vietnamization† began, US troops started to return home. The mistrust of Washington that had begun after Tet increased with the release of news about bloody battles of questionable value such as Hamburger Hill (1969). Protests against the war and US policy in Southeast Asia further intensified with events such as soldiers massacring civilians at My Lai (1969), the invasion of Cambodia (1970), and the leaking of the Pentagon Papers (1971).   End of the War and the Fall of Saigon The withdrawal of US troops continued and more responsibility was passed to the ARVN, which continued to prove ineffective in combat, often relying on American support to stave off defeat. On January 27, 1974, a peace accord was signed in Paris ending the conflict. By March of that year, American combat troops had left the country. After a brief period of peace, North Vietnam recommenced hostilities in late 1974. Pushing through ARVN forces with ease, they captured the Saigon on April 30, 1975, forcing South Vietnam’s surrender and reuniting the country.   Casualties United States: 58,119 killed, 153,303 wounded, 1,948 missing in action South Vietnam 230,000 killed and 1,169,763 wounded (estimated) North Vietnam 1,100,000 killed in action (estimated) and an unknown number of wounded Key Figures Ho Chi Minh – Communist leader of North Vietnam until his death in 1969.Vo Nguyen Giap – North Vietnamese general who planned the Tet and Easter Offensives.General William Westmoreland – Commander of US forces in Vietnam, 1964-1968.General Creighton Abrams – Commander of US forces in Vietnam, 1968-1973.

How to Communicate With Special Education Parents

How to Communicate With Special Education Parents The best way to avoid crises with parents or even, heaven forbid, due process, it’s good to have regular communication methods in place. If parents know you are open to hearing their concerns, you can nip any potential misunderstandings that lead to a crisis in the bud. Also, if you communicate regularly when you do have concerns about problem behaviors or a child in crisis, parents won’t feel blindsided. Find Out How a Parent Prefers to Communicate If a parent doesn’t have email, that won’t work. Some parents only have email at work, and may not want to receive messages by email. Some parents may prefer phone calls. Find out what are good times for a phone message. A traveling folder (see below) is a great means of communications, and parents may just prefer to respond to your messages in a notebook in one pocket. Parents Are Stressed Some parents may be embarrassed about having children who need services- for some parents parenting is a competitive sport. Some special education children are poorly organized, extraordinarily active, and do poorly at keeping their rooms clean. These children can stress parents out. Another issue for parents of special education children is that they often feel that no one sees the value of their child because of their challenges. These parents may feel the need to defend their child when you really just want to share a concern or work out a mutually agreeable solution. Don’t Play the Blame Game If these children weren’t challenging, they probably wouldn’t need special education services. Your job is to help them succeed, and you need their parents’ help to do it. Make Your First Email or Phone Call a Positive One Call with something positive you want to tell the parent about their child, even if it’s â€Å"Robert has the greatest smile.† After that, they won’t always pick up your emails or phone calls with dread.  Keep records.  A communication form in a notebook or file would be helpful. Handle your parents with TLC (tender loving care) and you will usually find allies, not enemies. You will have difficult parents, but I will discuss them elsewhere. Email Email can be a good thing or an opportunity for trouble. It is easy for email messages to be misunderstood since they lack the tone of voice and body language, two things that could assure parents that there is not some hidden message. It is good to copy your building administrator, your special education supervisor or a partner teacher all of your emails. Check with your special education supervisor to find out who he or she would like to see receive the copies. Even if they never open them, if they store them, you have a backup in case of a misunderstanding. It is especially important to email your supervisor or building principal a heads up if you see trouble with a parent brewing. Phone Some parents may prefer a phone. They may like the immediacy and the sense of intimacy created by a telephone call. Still, there is potential for misunderstanding, and you never know exactly what frame of mind they are in when you call. You can set up a regular phone date, or just call on special occasions. You might save this for just good news, since other kinds of calls, especially calls involving aggression, may put parents on the defensive since they haven’t’ had a chance to prepare for it. If you leave a message, be sure you say Bob ( or whoever) is fine. I just need to talk (ask a question, get some information, share something that happened today.) Please call me at . . . Be sure to follow up a phone call with an email or a note. Restate briefly what you talked about. Keep a copy. Traveling Folders Traveling Folders are invaluable for communication, especially on completed projects, papers or tests. Usually, a teacher will designate one side for homework and the other for completed assignments and the communication folder.  Often a daily Home Note can be included.  It can be part of your behavior management plan as well a means to communicate. It is still good to save copies of parent’s notes, or even both sides of the conversation, so you can share them with an administrator should you see trouble coming down the pike. You might want to either put a plastic insert with a list of what should come home each night and directions for how to complete the folder or staple the same to the front cover of the folder. You will find parents will be pretty good at packing this folder in the child’s backpack. Stay In TouchRegularly However you decide to communicate, do it on a regular basis, not just when a crisis arrives. It might be nightly, for a communication folder, or perhaps weekly for a phone call. By keeping in touch, you not only can share concerns, but you will be eliciting the support of parents in reinforcing the good things you want to see happen for their child.

Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Essay

Specialist Community Public Health Nursing - Essay Example rience depression and other health related issues that even cause death in later stage (Egton Medical Information Systems Limited, 2015; Musingarimi, 2008). Over the previous twenty years, the rate of obesity throughout the globe has increased by a considerable extent. Based on various researches, it can be ascertained that the rate of obesity among the adults has increased by three to four times since the year 1980. However, it has become a worldwide challenge for the government to combat the disease because of the complexities associated with the treatment procedures of the same (Guardian News and Media Limited, 2015). Notably, there are certain public health policies that have been formulated by the UK government in order to tackle with the disease. Apart from this, the health visitors of the UK are also playing a major role in preventing obesity by creating greater awareness about the implications of this health disorder amid the people (Waumsley, 2011). Thus, urgent global action and conduct of effective leadership practices are required to support the respective nations in coping up with such a life threatening health disorder (1BBC, 2015). Obesity has become a major global health challenge, as it is growing at an increasing rate throughout the globe. Based on a survey conducted, it is estimated that in excess of three million people of the world are suffering from this health disorder. The condition of obesity in a person is measured with the help of Body Mass Index (BMI) approach, which measures the proximity of this disorder within the individuals by measuring their height and weight. Specially mentioning, the people of the developed countries are mainly affected with this adverse health condition, but in recent times, the issue has become an increasing problem even for the developing countries. In the year 2010, about 3.4 million deaths were reported worldwide that caused due to obesity. Certainly, the rise in the rate of obesity has led the respective