Recording, analysing and using HR information Review Essay

Contents Page One – Title of briefing note Page Two – Contents page Page Three – Two reasons why the organisation needs to collect HR data Page Four – Two types of data that is collected within the organisation and how each supports HR practices Page Five – A description of two methods of storing records and the benefits Page Six – Limitations Act 1980 relating to the recording, storage and accessibility of HR data and the Data protection Act 1998 relating to the recording, storage and accessibility of HR data Page Seven – Reference list † HR records and their retention are extremely complex and constantly changing areas requiring companies to have document retention policies and monitoring programmes.† (CIPD Website) Two reasons why the organisation needs to collect HR data To comply with legislative and regulatory requirements – Such as minimum wage, hours of work based on the working time directive, tax and national insurance purposes. Organisational Records – Such as recruitment and selection records, absence, staff turnover records, learning and development records. Provides information affecting the state of an organisation. Two types of data that is collected within the organisation and how it supports HR practices Organisational records – enables an organisation to make informed decisions,  these types of records are essential to monitor absence levels and recruit when necessary, to ensure productivity is effective and ensure that staff are maintaining a high level of efficiency through learning and development activities. Statutory regulation – Ensures practices are fair and consistent, and the treatment of employees can be monitored and standardised for everyone, this also incorporates the health and safety of employees. The types of records held will be dependant on the statutory regulations the organisations need to monitor. â€Å"ACAS suggests Legislative changes, such as the Working Time Regulations, may trigger organisational changes. Whatever the reason for change, good personnel records are key, providing the data for analysing what needs to be put into place.† (ACAS Personnel data and record keeping booklet 2011) Two methods of storing records and the benefits of each â€Å"ACAS suggests all organisations regardless of size need to keep accurate records of there employees. Therefore thought should be given by an organisation on how this data should be stored, and the type of system that is most suitable to the organisation.† (ACAS Personnel data and record keeping booklet 2011) The most popular systems chosen in most organisation’s is either a computerised or a manual system for storage. Computerised systems There are many systems that can be chosen dependant on the cost and how in-depth the analysis is needed to be carried out in the organisation. A computerised system enables trends to be easily collated and identified. It can be convenient and easy to obtain and sort information. Can often be a more secure way to retain data by having different levels of security based upon the individuals need for the information stored. Manual systems While computerised systems could be costly manual systems are cheaper to implement. Manual systems are reliable in that there isn’t a chance a manual system can crash unlike a computer system, which could also fail to hackers. Files are easily accessible and doesn’t require a computer to be turned on. UK legislation’s to be considered relating to the recording, storage and accessibility of HR data Limitation Act 1980 Is where the organisation’s documents may be relevant to a contractual claim, it is recommended by the CIPD fact sheet on retention that these be retained for at least the corresponding 6-year limitation period. This is based on the 6-year time limit within which legal proceedings must be commenced as laid down by the Limitation Act 1980 by issuing a claim form. Data Protection Act 1998 The Data Protection Act 1998 replaces the 1984 Data Protection Act. The particular points to note in the 1998 Act are: Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which it is processed Includes information held in filing systems regardless of date location (manual, paper-based, and computerise Personal data shall be obtained only for lawful purposes, and shall not be processed in any manner incompatible with this Personal data shall be kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed Personal data shall be subject to appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing and accidental loss, destruction or damage Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of data protection. Reference list CIPD (July 2013) fact sheet on retention of documents www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/retention-hr-records.aspx 2) ACAS (July 2011) Personnel data and record keeping booklet http://m.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=717 3) ACAS (July 2011) Personnel data and record keeping booklet http://m.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=717

Organizational Culture of Google Essay

Introduction Sergey Brin and Larry Page who were PhD Students at Stanford University met in 1996 and they came up with the idea of starting a search engine that they named BackRub. However on 14th September 1997, the two students renamed this search engine to Google and in the year 1998 this organization was launched officially. The term Google was derived from the word googol which refers to digit one (1) followed by hundredth (100) zeros. Studies show that, Google receives millions of users on daily basis and it is estimated that this organization is worth billions of US dollars. In addition to this, Google has proven to be among the leading organizations with diverse cultures and has been named as the best performing organization that ingrates Culture and Diversity in Decision Making process. Some of the Awards that have been given to Google include: Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County, Organizational Excellence Award, and Diversity in IT Award, UK IT Industry Award, and National Association of the Deaf Accessibility Award among many other Awards. Google’s Culture The bottom line of Google’s success across the globe stems from the culture that has been developed by the key stakeholders in the organization. It is indeed quite evident that, Google has grown considerably since 1998 when the company was officially launched and currently, its employees are more than 200, and come from all parts of the globe. I will examine Google’s culture of ethical standards and behavior as well as observable organizational policies in the Company. Although Googlers share common goals and visions for the company, Google hail from all walks of life and speak dozens of languages, reflecting the global audience that Google serve. And when not at work, Googlers pursue interests ranging from cycling to beekeeping, from frisbee to foxtrot. The culture of ethical standards and behavior in Google Typically, employees of Google Company are smart people and coming from various parts of the globe, they speak different languages and their cultures vary. As a matter of fact, these employees are expected to serve all customers without any favor or discrimination, thus â€Å"Don’t be evil† is key to Google’s stakeholders, members of staff and all employees working for Google Company. This statement is very vital to Google Company and it is expected that, everyone working in the Company as well as other members of staff should respect one another and above all honor those laws and guiding principles that have been established in the organization especially when it comes to the entire process of decision making (Weber, 2008). In addition to that, clients’ information is vital in the Company and the company expects every employee and other members of staff to ensure that customers’ information and data is given adequate protection from unauthorized access. The company expects that, all its employees maintain high levels of integrity at all time and any employee or staff member who is found to have jeopardized his work by exposing clients information and data to unauthorized access is held liable for all the damages caused will be forced to pay for the ultimate price of his negligence of duty (Schermerhorn, 2012). If there was ever a decline in the web searching service, Google will have to adapt to the new demand. This is why it important for them to strive to hire the smartest and the brightest within the field. Google has the employees to adapt to a decline in the web searching service, the employees that they currently have and will be able to hire will be able to adapt to any other business that Google wants to become during this decline.(Bulygo, 2013) Furthermore, protection of Google’s assets is very important to all employees and staff members of this company. It is quite evident that, Google is rich in intellectual data, communication facilities, employee data, clients’ information, and Company equipment among other assets from in all parts of the globe (Flamholtz & Randle, 2011). The company expects all employees, and other people who access these assets to protect them from any  access by other people with ill motives. This goes hand in hand with the working environment of Google Company and studies shows that, Google ensures that all employees work in a violence free environment and this has enabled employees of Google Company to be very productive at all time. This goes hand in hand with the issue of drug and substance abuse and in this respect; the company does not allow her employees, staff members to use or to promote drug and substance abuse. How I determined that Google has shown the culture of ethical standards and behavior Google Company has adopted the culture of ethical standards and behavior. To Frost, this culture is entrepreneurial, dynamic, and innovative and above all it makes employees to be creative in their places of work (Frost, 2009). It is quite evident that, employees and managers of Google Company embrace risk-taking and innovation, thus they work hard in order to ensure that Google Company is on the leading edge as compared to other organizations or companies from all over the world. Indeed, employees and members of staff of Google Company are unified by their commitment towards implementing what they have or what they know. In addition to that, Google Company aims at leading other companies or organizations in the industry, thus to achieve this, it encourages freedom and individual initiative among her employees and staff members. Factors that caused Google to embody the culture of ethical standards and When Google was officially launched in 1998 as a search engine many people took advantage of various types of information that were being sold by the company. As the company grew and spread all over the world cases of misuse of the available data and information were reported from various parts of the globe. This threatened Google’s performance in the industry and the company came up with various codes of ethics and standards that were meant to guide staff members and users of Google’s information. Secondly, Google being the leading and the best performing organization all over the world needed come up with the culture of ethical standards and behavior. The main reason behind this is that for any organization or company to be successful then all its employees and members of staff should be guided by well established ethics (Schein, 2010). Type of leader that suits Google Company In my opinion, I believe that the ideal leader for this company is the one who has the ability to cultivate Google’s presence continuously. In addition to this, the leader should be customized to the type of business in order for him to deliver the impeccable customer service demanded customers and also to ensure that the company produces amazing results. This individual should lead by example and lead all employees towards the attainment of the company`s mission and vision. He should be approachable, open minded and very knowledgeable. Conclusion In an event of a decline in the demand of goods and services of Google Company, it will be a prudent for the company to adjust its culture to match the trend. In my view, I believe Google Company has been adjusting its culture in a number of ways in to make the most of prevailing conditions. It is quite evident that all employees and stakeholders of Google Company are committed to service delivery and one of the adjustments to be made by the Company is to create fun times between employees and clients. This will allow employees of the company to share their amazing experiences and services with their clients and this will increase the demand of goods and services of the company by these clients or customers. References Flamholtz, E., & Randle, Y. (2011). Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Asset. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. Frost, P. J. (2009). Organizational culture. Beverly Hills u.a: Sage Publ Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Schermerhorn, J. R. (2012). Organizational behavior (12th ed.). Danvers, MA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ` Weber, S. (2008). Organizational behavior – Google corporate culture in perspective. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Bulygo, Z(2013, Feb 11) Insidw google’ culture of success and employee happiness.[Web Log Post]. Rettirved from http://blog.kissmetrics. com/google-culture-of-success/

Women in prehistory

The agriculture revolution change the production of food and the division of labor change due to fact that great emphasis was placed on animals and the oleos they played in agriculture which was owned by men, hence the roles of men and women shifted. Men was responsible for the majority of farming, while the women contributed to harvesting or taking care of domestic animals.The social status of women declined and their major role shifted to child bearing, food preparation, and textile and craftsman preparation. 3. What were the larger societal effects that occurred as a result Of this revolution in agricultural production? Material possession and the accumulation of domestic animals, which was pass on to one generation to the next, became more valuable and amounted o wealth. As a result, neighboring tribes raided each other to steal cattle, which caused warfare.The wealthy became more powerful by lending farm labor or support in battle against other groups to poorer families. In such a society, people themselves became objects of value and exchange like animals and material possessions. 4. What evidence did the author use to come to her conclusions? In your opinion, is it appropriate to draw these conclusions from this type of evidence? Would other forms of evidence be better?

Financial services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial services - Essay Example Their qualifications are monitored and approved by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which is a regulatory body for the UK financial services sector. There are over four hundred financial advisors in the UK financial services industry, guiding the clients regarding investments in the FTSE, stocks bonds, mutual funds, derivatives and other financial products. However, currently in UK the financial advisors are disappointing their clients by not providing the appropriate advice in the tough times of stock market volatility and economic slowdown. The times when people need their advice the most they are reported not fulfilling their duties promptly. â€Å"Not many people are the fans of the financial advisory industry in its current state in the UK, as most advisors are, when it comes down to it, just salespeople on commission.† (Dunwiddle 2008) Every individual in UK gets investment allowance and they need these advisors to help them with their investment decisions. However , the general impression shows that these advisors increase their wealth based on their clients’ money. Retail banks on UK are technology and service oriented offering customers with greater protection, more choices and competitive rates. The Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, RBS and Barclays are some of the major names in the UK retail banking. Currently UK is witnessing a decrease in the retail banks’ branches and the increase in the Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs). â€Å"To operate in the retail markets banks have traditionally required an extensive branch network. However, technological developments in particular the growth of automatic teller machines (ATM) networks, phone/internet banking, mobile phones and interactive digital television has enabled a new type of bank that does not need branches to conduct business. In UK the pioneer was First Direct, which began its telephone bank in 1989 and is an operation of HSBC.† (Buckle and Thompson 2004) Thus these bank s involve advancement of loans, and acceptance of deposits, customer credit services through credit cards and overdrafts etc and many other financial services. As per the requirement of the Bank of England they maintain their required cash ratios and other requirements. They are key players in regulating the money supply and providing customer with a protected, competitive and reliable financial services network in the United Kingdom. b. Customer Expectations v/s Financial Advisors & Retail Banks The financial advisors, who always face the risk of furnishing rosy pictures of investments to their clients, need to put extensive efforts to gain and maintain customer expectations and meet customer expectations. Recently, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been working on Treating Customer Fairly (TCF) and its outcomes and requiring all firms to present correct and proper information. The financial advisors try and validate the information provided to their clients through report s and researches. The appreciation of customer expectation for a financial advisor is difficult because the advice of the advisor does not guarantee success as other factors market and economic are responsible for the outcome of the investment. â€Å"One problem in the investment service industry is that the outcomes of investment decisions are largely beyond the control of investment advisors and investment managers.† (Redhead 2008) Thus in orders to appreciate the customer expectat

Fair trade has more benefits for suppliers than free trade. To what Essay

Fair trade has more benefits for suppliers than free trade. To what extent do you agree with this statement - Essay Example The supporters of fair trade are of the opinion that the various problems related to the imbalances in the society and the environmental problems arise as a result of free market trade. This essay tries to analyse the phenomenon of fair trade from the point of view of the suppliers. The various economic theories have been explored in this context. Before proceeding with any elaboration of the various nuances of fair trade, it is essential o define the various aspects of fair trade. Fair trade is a movement which is aimed at promoting the labour standards as well as the environmental standards. It also includes setting a definite standard for the policy objectives which are aimed at the improvement of the societal welfare. Fair Trade is to be distinguished from free trade since free trade is that which depends on the market forces of demand and supply solely and would mean the removal of the different types of qualitative and quantitative barriers like tariffs and quotas. On the other hand Fair Trade would involve the promotion of the trade in the developing economies or the sectors which otherwise may not be able to compete with the international competitors. Exports being the focus of it from developing to developed countries. FINE proposed the most crafted definition of free trade in the year 2001. The fair Trade labelled p roducts must be in line with the standards practised by the Fair Trade Organizations. The FLO or the Fair Trade labelling Organizations International is the responsible authority for regulating the certification standards as well as labelling of the products and stipulate the minimum criteria for each product to be labelled and sold as fair Trade (Mohan, 2010, pp. 17-24). A number of criteria are present that distinguish the fair trade products from that of the other products in the market. First of all the producers are paid a minimum price by the traders. This ensures

Electronic Health Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Electronic Health - Research Paper Example E-Health provides services which let the doctors have an access to their patients’ data by maintaining their records and information about their diseases in databases and other e-Health tools, rather than using paper documents. They can assess the data, prepare prescriptions to be sent to the pharmacies via communication technology, get instant and accurate results from the laboratories directly, communicate with their patients on a regular basis no matter which part of the globe they live in, and give better suggestions regarding their health and lifestyle. On the other hand, the patients, here referred to as ePatients, can have access to doctors all around the world with the use of information and communication technology, telemedicine and e-Health systems, get diagnosis (known as remote diagnosis) and treatment regarding their diseases, and thus, remain better informed about their problems in particular and health care in general. There are a lot of e-Health forums, softwar e and web links on the internet which allow e-patients to communicate with their doctors and with other fellow patients as well. ... It has created a trustworthy doctor-patient relationship as e-Health systems ensure the patients’ privacy. It has also made it possible to achieve online education about healthcare through online sources. It provides tools, known as e-Health tools which facilitate health services like diagnosis and treatment. These include electronic databases, mobile monitors, health portals, and many more. E-Health is also cost-effective as money is not spent on staffing and traveling resources. The European Union (EU) is the leader in the development of e-Health systems and tools. According to a rough estimate, EU has spent almost â‚ ¬500 million of research funding on e-Health since 1990 (Europa). Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there who do not have access to computer and internet, or they have less knowledge about technological advances, and thus they cannot benefit from the services of e-Health, despite the fact that such people are the most deserving of getting proper h ealthcare. In short, E-Health not only acts as a platform where the health care providers, authorities and hospitals can work closer to each other, but also acts as a medium between the doctors and patients- a medium that is just in accordance with the latest technology and the modern era. E-Health is not merely a big step in the new technology, it is also â€Å"a state-of-mind, a way of thinking, an attitude, and a commitment for networked, global thinking, to improve health care locally, regionally, and worldwide by using information and communication technology† (Eysenbach). Table 1 summarizes the advantages of e-Health described so far. Why the issue is important to me? The issue of e-Health is important to me because it can

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Research Paper Example d.). Have we enough resources to feed them all and to give them a comfortable life is the burning question since the last century. Fortunately the concern to answer this question is increasing day by day. Not only the demographers, economists and the qualified scholars are trying hard to answer it but the layman in the street is quibbling about it in the hope to find a clear picture of the whole situation. Wiraj and John are two students studying in an American University. John is the native so he represents the thoughts and ideas of the developed world while Wiraj is a Sudanese student belonging to one of the poorest countries of the world. Thus the debate becomes interesting as both of them unveil the two extreme existing conditions of the world in which the people are living. John: Hello Wiraj , how are you ? Remember the last time we met and talked about overpopulation and scarcity of resources, you were of the opinion that the misuse of the resources and not the overpopulation g enerating the scarcity. I was not able to refute you as I was not well prepared but now I have done my homework and I can prove that over population is the main cause of all our problems. You know that after the agricultural and industrial revolution the human population increased dramatically. The main causes were better medical facilities and better sanitation conditions. The death rate decreased and the mortality rate among the new born was also lowered down thus increasing the number of people inhibiting the earth. This growing population used the natural resources that were present everywhere in abundance. Take the example of coal, in 17th century the people used to pick coal from the surface of the earth. Now we have to dig deep to get it. It is hard to believe that your country is suffering from all kinds of problems due to overpopulation and you are not facing the facts. Tell me honestly what do you think is the main difference between America and Sudan. Let me give you some rough estimation, the average annual income in Sudan is 266.35$ while in America it is 33,070.30$(NationMaster. n. d.). it mean in Sudan people are living below poverty line. Wiraj: I think the main difference is that in Sudan we lack good governance. Our leaders are usually corrupt and incompetent. We never have a stable government as there is so much diversity of racial, religious and ethnical groups that it is hard to harness them under one power. Moreover we have a long history of colonial slavery. In 1956 we got independence from British Empire. Then we have our first civil war which lasted for almost seventeen years. The second civil war is fought for six years. You can imagine the excessive waste of all types of resources and also more than one million people died in these wars (Sudanese stories, n. d.). John: My God, if those one million people would have been living and producing more children what would be the condition of your country? Wiraj: My father says that every ch ild brings one mouth to feed but two hands to work. Our people think that the children are their strength and will support them in their old age. We still have joint family system in our country. Don’t you think that this individual living style is a waste of resources, the separate houses, the separate cars and the separate property? John: I can’

International Environment law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Environment law - Essay Example In order to fully understand the WTO’s legal framework and its policies and practices with respect to environmental protection it is first necessary to briefly examine a history and development of the WTO. By understanding the history and development of the WTO it will be easier to predict the possible outcomes for Agricola in the dispute filed by Machina. The WTO grew out of The International Trade Organization (ًITO) which was an attempt to create and cultivate a structured multilateral trade agreements regime in the aftermath of the Second World War.1 Under the auspices of the ITO the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was implemented in 1947. Its primary purpose was to serve as an interim multilateral trade agreement until such time as the WTO could be implemented and ratified.2 GATT was entirely reliant upon the relative strengths of the participating member states and their respective ability to negotiate multilateral trade agreements.3 The result was a co mmercial and political culture characterized by inequality of bargaining position since developing and least developed nations were unable to participate on the same level as developed countries under the GATT regime.4 Following a series of negotiations between world leaders referred to as the Uruguay Rounds, GATT was replaced by the WTO and signed in 1995.5 The new WTO made a concrete effort to commit member states to a series of new obligations designed to facilitate free and unrestricted trade between member states emphasising the need and desire to accommodate less developed countries.6 By virtue of the WTO’s treaties and agreements member states are required to extend indiscriminate treatment of all member states with respect to cross border trade agreements.7 In other words the WTO has as its primary aim the free movement of goods and services from one member state to another.8 Focused primarily on

Answering Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Answering Questions - Essay Example Intended strategy is often planned unlike emergent strategy which is which emerges incrementally. Emergent strategy, therefore, is often used to respond to emergency situations. Intended strategy has a well laid out structure and plan whereas emergent is usually informal and doesn’t have a well laid out structure (Grant, 2010). Another difference is that intended structure is as a result of critical thinking and execution while emergent is often based on trial and error. Intended strategy involves analyzing situations while emergent strategy is based on exploring options or finding out solutions. This school is visionary in nature and it has a centralized leadership through the Chief Executive Officer (Ireland, Hoskisson & Hitt, 2009). It has a body the where crucial decisions can be taken and comprehensive tactics can be deduced. These bodies use intuition, visions, inspiration, and inspiration as tools for guiding their decision making process Its strategy comes about through constant experimentation and adapting to situations. This means that strategies are gained through experience (Grant & Jordan, 2012). The more the experiences the greater the knowledge learned from them. There is no clear pattern to describe how strategies are formulated. Internal Strategic Analysis is undertaken to evaluate and organization’s strategic capabilities and so as to know its main strengths and weaknesses, and sources of the sustainable competitive advantage. The model used is SWOT analysis. This means that the strength and weaknesses likely to impact the strategy development is reviewed. The information need is derived using an internal analytical tool such as value chain and financial analysis. Organizational purpose tries to explain the reason for the existence of the organization. Corporate social responsibility, on the other hand, is the endeavor of organizations to act ethically by taking care of the welfare of its staff members and

Hp Case Study Essay Example for Free

Hp Case Study Essay In looking at this issue from all perspective, I would recommend HP to adopt universal power supply as the potential benefits outweigh the costs. From one perspective, $30 increases in product that sale for $1000 which is only 3%. This 3% increase will eliminate a lot of marketing, manufacturing, forecasting, and logistical problem that HP is spending millions each year. I believe that by spending 3% more upfront will have better bottom line effect in end. Not to mention, it will also add value to customer in sense HP may be the only company that offers universal power supply. Given the short life cycles of laser printers (18 months) along with high demand uncertainty, and the past experiences (the VIPER example), we recommend adopting the universal power supply strategy. However, clearly, to make the final decision, a thorough cost vs. benefit analysis needs to be carried out in order to determine the trade-off between the increase in manufacturing costs ($30 per printer for the universal power supply) and the decrease in stock-out and inventory holding (and improved forecasts) costs due to risk pooling and data aggregation as well as re-configuration and transshipment costs. The main component of a printer that actually performs the printing. The printer engine determines how fast and at what resolution the printer can print. Although there are many manufacturers of printers, many use the same printer engines. The difference between printers using the same printer engine revolves around other features, such as paper handling abilities and the console. Central mechanism of a laser printer that translates a printer controllers signals into the printed image. Print engines are differentiated by their output quality (resolution), print speed (pages per minute), and type of ink (or toner) used. A laser printers manufacturer (such as Hewlett Packard) is not necessarily the same as its print engine manufacturer (such as Canon). A printer fuser is the part of any laser printer or copier that makes the toner ink stick to the paper. A fuser consists of two heated rollers, and it often is the main culprit in printer breakdowns. Without it, though, toner ink would constantly smudge and would become illegible after hands touched it. A laser printer fuser or copier fuser is essential to printing. The ink drum first spreads out the ink into a pattern of a photo, term paper or whatever is being printed. At this point, the ink is very volatile because it simply sits atop the paper and has not yet become one with the sheet. This wet ink immediately goes between both rollers. Thanks to the heat and the pressure from the fuser, the ink is integrated into the paper and will not smudge as easily.

What Is Happening To Mother Earth Media Essay

What Is Happening To Mother Earth Media Essay In this paper, I would like to investigate the negative impacts of environmental damage through the media. Primarily through An Inconvenient Truth (2006), Cool it (2010), and Darwins Nightmare (2004), I aim to demonstrate how film makers critique environmental activities and the condition of Mother Earth today. Especially in todays society where sustainable development is emphasized, it is of paramount importance to shed light on why and whether our Earth is really deteriorating. With capitalism being the dominant ideology around, environmental damage can be perpetuated by developed nations at the expense of those less fortunate. More importantly, I aim to scrutinise the realities of the films and to what extent they are objective and accurate to viewers. The advantage of this strategy is that it holds on to the concept of the real (Williams, 1993).The presence of cinematic tricks and direction has allowed documentaries to be scripted and staged. However, I plan to determine if environmental films are merely being staged or exaggerated to evoke fear and to sustain an ideological agenda and economic model (which is capitalism) or whether they indeed reflect Mother Earths deteriorating condition through various cinematic depictions of reality. Preliminary research question(s), hypothesis(es): RQ1: Do these environmental films portray objective representations of environmental issues? Planned Methodology: I have chosen these 3 films for a few reasons. First of all, these 3 films are shot in different years. This enables a gradual and successive tracking of the environmental condition across a decade and also provides a nuanced analysis of cinematic direction towards Mother Nature. Also, these films cover a multitude of environmental issues, including issues concerning the air, water and land. Not only is this crucial to our analysis of the films, but is also needed to give a balanced approach towards the research questions. For example, Darwins Nightmare gives a thorough depiction of water pollution in Tanzania, while An Inconvenient Truth shows more of a reaction towards global environmental devastation and its repercussions on its inhabitants. Cool It on the other hand, depicts a response to inadequate institutions and governments when tackling environmental devastation. Timoner audaciously depicts Lomborg heading the Copenhagen Consensus who claims that this issue has been blown ou t of proportion by government officials and scientists. This movie stands in contrast to An Inconvenient Truth which depicts Al Gore the politician, educating and evoking fear in the public over environmental atrocities. Yet, it is precisely this stark contrast that allows us to juxtapose and compare analyses. First up, I would argue that An Inconvenient Truth on first impression seems like a very objective representation of the issues at hand. This is because Al Gore not only uses facts throughout his speeches, but peppers them with wit and farce. For example in the opening of the film, he greets the audience with a joke: I am Al Gore; I used to be the next President of the United States. Although he jokes frequently, he puts on a serious expression when relating to facts, figures and images. He also discusses the  scientific opinion on climate change, as well as the present and future  effects of global warming  and stresses that climate change is really not a political issue, so much as a moral one. With that, he is praised by Reason journalist, Ronald Bailey (2006) becasuse Gore gets [the science] more right than wrong. Although he shares his personal life anecdotes (with early climate expert Roger Revelle, sisters death from lung cancer, and sons near brush with death), he can b e mainly seen as reflecting, and not attempting to spark emotion. He is hence, seen as largely detached. Comedic farce is also seen when he stood on a contraption to point to the highest point of the graph depicting the release of carbon dioxide omissions. This does not undercut reality, but instead humours the viewers, and also shows a sharp throwback to the harsh realities of the situation. However, it may seem theatrical or staged to cynics like Bjorn Lomborg (2010) who view him as attempting to use fear to change circumstances. Documentaries are meant to both alert and convince in my opinion. Hence, if we look into what environmentalists say about the film, we will discover that the aforementioned facade of objectivity is exposed  when we realise that the film is laden with misguiding claims about environmental science and global warming. I will now attempt to discredit Al Gore and his film by exposing his misrepresentations (Robert, 2006): Misleading claims about effects of climate change:  Gore claims global warming caused the advent of new diseases, but most of the diseases named have minimal relationship to climate. Gore also neglects the strong influence of external factors, like wildfires or pest outbreaks to global warming. Even with malaria which is a climate-based disease, more important factors like management of human infrastructure and health systems are named instead. He also claims global warming is causing a huge number of polar bear drownings but other researchers think otherwise. Glacier-melting in the Glacier national park and in Africa on Mount Kilimanjaro are labelled as the aftermath such environmental neglect, but we see that these have been melting since the 19th Century. Exaggerations about sea level rise:  He claims that ice-sheet meeting in Greenland and West Antarctic will forcefully expatriate millions elsewhere so as to avoid the 6 meters sea level rise. Regretably, we discover that even worst-case scenarios are not that bad. Most research indicates that such melting would only take 1,000 to 5,000 years if it were to happen. Even the United Nations IPCC anticipate only sea level rise of less than a meter for the next 100 years. Reliance on worst-case scenarios:  An underlying problem is that Gore presents worst-case scenarios as fact and is hence characteristic of propaganda. He relies on models that he deems evermore accurate, but the accuracy of such models are still questionalble.Climate change here is described at an international scale instead of a regional or local level where impacts would swing both sides depending on how we choose to respond. However, his intonation suggests that positive change is near to impossible. For example he says that The most vulnerable part of the Earths ecological system is the atmosphere. Its vulnerable because its so thin. (Arnold, 2006). Yet, we can see thinner and more destructible parts like the hydrosphere. The usage of emotive and superlative adjectives are meant to spark off emotions to fulfil his personal agenda. Misleading claims about the responsibility of the United States:  Gore states America as the guilty party, but doesnt give a balance viewpoint. There are deceptive comparisons of the American fuel economy standards in the U.S. and also inaptly lambastes his country for failing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol without making it known the ways in which America was unfairly targeted in the terms. Furthermore, considering that in the beginning of the film as one who prides himself as someone who used to be the next president of the United States, he is furthermore seen as untrustable and even allows one to imagine what could potentially happen to America if he succeeded in being elected in. Misrepresentation of data:  Gore presents one temperature data to support that present temperatures are warmer than in the past millenium. The graph however, is derived from other proxies and tree rings. Scientists are skeptical because this is similar to temperatures in 1100-1300 AD . He also claims that 2005 was the hottest year ever, but in reality there is no accuracy from present data to differentiate the period of 1998 to 2005. What is even more appalling is this quote from Al Gore (Arnold, 2006): Moreover, since science thrives on uncertainty and politics is paralyzed by it, scientists have a difficult time sounding the alarm bells for politicians, because even when their findings make it clear that were in grave danger, their first impulse is to replicate the experiment to see if they get the same result. (Arnold, 2006). However, we see that this statement is merely stereotypical. Many scientists are actually quite willing to sound alarm bells to shed light and awareness (Robert, 2006). It is therefore unfair to suggest that scientists will tend not to call for attention to clear evidence of danger. Hence, this claim is largely a personal opinion and does not reflect objectivity. Because such representations are no longer accurate, we are now plunged into a permanent state of the self-reflexive crisis of representation and what was once a mirror with a memorycan only reflect another mirror (Trinh, 1990). In Timoners Cool It, she depicts Lomborg in a raw manner, including all his anxieties and concerns about the environment. With interviews with Lomborg interspersed throughout the film, Timoner follows Lomborg on his mission to bring the smartest solutions to climate change, environmental pollution, and other major problems in the world. In the opening of the film, Timoner depicts childrens voices and children-drawn pictures about the earth. This raises the success of his cinematic development up a level by allowing current viewers to reflect on their personal environmental usage and treatments. By alluding to children, it encourages reflexive methods towards environmental usage for scientists and raises awareness for common folklore and that if improvements continue to be slow, both mother earth and children of the world will suffer from the excesses of our hedonistic demands. Timoner is seen to be objective and realistic in her film because she depicts the lowdown nature of governme nts, including the biggest in the world. This can be seen when Lomborg remarks that The climate-industrial complex does not promote discussion on how to overcome this challenge in a way that will be best for everybody. We should not be surprised or impressed that those who stand to make a profit are among the loudest calling for politicians to act. Spending a fortune on global carbon regulations will benefit a few, but dearly cost everybody else. This reflects the tonality of the worlds greatest leaders on environmentalism (official website, 2010). However, while on one hand it may seem objective, upon scrutiny, we discover that there are loopholes in the film. These loopholes appear not solely because of Timoners artistic direction, but because of the featured Lomborg too, his networked connections and his fixated mentality on environmentalism. Amateurs who view this film may regard this film as objective because of the reasons above. However, I will now analyse and discern it from a critical point of view. I posit that this film may in fact do more harm than good and is in fact, an attempted reflexive mixed with expository mode of documentary (Nichols, 1983). However, we see that this does not succeed well with viewers as they may not reflector buy into the arguments posited by Timoner through images. This is because it is unrealistic to cast environmentalists as the primary establishment when they do not play a primary role in multinational corporations and international agencies like World Bank, United Nations and the Inter national Monetary Fund (IMF). Viewers are also given the chance to question the filmmakers ability to represent any reality fairly and adequately. This loss in faith in the objectivity of the image seems to point nihilistically, like the impossible memory of the meeting of the fictional Rambo and the real Roosevelt, to the brute and cynical disregard of ultimate truths (Williams, 1993) Furthermore, Lomborgs central stand in the film is that all the money dedicated by the European Union is a massive waste and that we should invest in green technologies instead. $250 billion is quoted. Whilst this may seem rational and practical, one will soon realise that it is no zero sum game. He also spends much time talking about emerging green technologies, like solar, wind and wave power, fuel cells, and algae biofuels. It may seem as though he is the only one who has thought of these, failing to mention that it is environmentalists who have been on the forefront of pushing these efforts for decades. This expository ethos soon fails and it starts to appear propagandistic. We see not only hidden messages, but also a film that compels people to attitude and action. Also, Bjorn is a credible and persuasive figure, uses contextualisation, cynicism and fast-pacing, traits that are similar to Black/real propaganda. He also picks a fight over more controversial technologies, like the next-generation nuclear power and so-called geo-engineering which purposefully changing the climate. In this Lomborg comes across as a technofixer, as someone who believes that humankind can innovate ourselves out of every problem. He also skips over how he is actually going to raise the $250 billion. Whether this is deliberately left out by Timoner or not mentioned by Lomborg, we do not know. However, we presume that this is not mentioned by Lomborg because it would be such a monumental step and feature-worthy point for Timoner. Also, judging from his numerous sweeping statements, it is likely that Lomborg does not address that issue. In all his complaints of how addressing climate change would cost so much money, Lomborg also never addresses the fact that spending money on green technologies will actually stimulate the global economy (Howard, 2010). To add on, also like a creationist film,  Cool It  is loaded with experts who arent specialists in the subject at hand. Because they arent climate scientists, interpreting the actual science of global warming that can be a problem. Also, the few critics like the Stanford professor are carefully edited and are shown to be hostile and edgy. All this points to the film being truthful only where it is possible and that much truth is hidden behind the issues that seem like the truth. One last important point is there have been numerous and extensive accounts of Lomborgs many factual errors. They appear in the highly respected science journal  Nature, by  Scientific American, magazines, newspapers, web logs and many others. While challenging the status quo is essential, getting the facts straight is also crucial for his credibility and as such, the films credibility. I would hence conclude that Cool It is far from objective, has many grey areas, and definitely worth exploring deeper before documenting and finalising it into a film. Moving on, Darwins Nightmare tells of environmental and social effects of the fishing industry around  Lake Victoria  in  Tanzania. It acutely alerts us to what economic exploitation can mean for inhabitants who fish for a living, hence showing the dichotomy of the rich-poor. Having environmental troubles is hence an extra burden to those already struggling to make a living. This film is objective because Hubert Sauper ranges widely to document this new fishing economy, hence taking us to many places. For example, he takes us to places like boats, around the country, with dying prostitutes, and to lakesides. We also see hunger-stricken kids, glue-sniffers, and stomach-bloated children fighting for food. The cinematic arts are often meant to inspire, instruct, and entertain, but this is a rarity of its own because the images here are are meant to produce a outrage beyond ones threshold. Darwins Nightmare, Saupers new documentary, is so punishing (and yet realistically scary) in its bleakness, and hence acts as a white flag for all further endeavors (Cale, 2006). Also, it is Saupers moving images that has the power to move audiences to a new appreciation of previously unknown truth (Williams, 1993). In surveying humanitys collision with the environment, Sauper examines matters often absent from the nature film genre. He gives us mother nature in devastation and a failing society with its dire repercussions. His gut-wrenching methods and audaciously visual images can be viewed by some as a ideological aim towards instilling fear, but yet on the same side of a coin, these images are plain revelations and tell of an inescapable flaw of capitalism.Although his methods seem extreme (just like the depiction of the Nile perch, having chewed through its prey, has now turned to cannibalism), this is sheer rawness of objective reality without lies or hidden facts. Just like An Inconvenient Truth, the questions it raises are some of the most pressing of our time. Both films uses black comedy intentionally (Cale, 2006), hence highlighting pessimism in the face of the corrosive effects of imperialism. One may speak of markets and invisible hands until theory is literally coursing through ones veins, but it is an inescapable flaw of capitalism that a nations goods are wholly exported while the citizens of that country waste away and die. The rich-poor dichotomy however is also present and it is often forgotten that only those with capital  benefit from such arrangements. The poor and the homeless continue to be lag behind in society and is poorly treated. Such images leave viewers with an objective and essential truth that guides ones world view through each and every waking moment. In the name of jobs and economic development, the white men has committed more unspeakable atrocities than ever before. We seem alright however, with Herbert Spencers (1851) perverse vision of survival of the fittest, where the lowest of the social hierarchy sinks to the bottom. What the West truly thinks of the African is often sugar-coated by benefit concerts and television appeals (ie: Live8 concerts), but at the end of the day, its gradual deterioration is little noticed. This film hence not only alerts us to the harsh realities, but gives us a shocking revelation like never before. So as the camera goes across the Tanzanian landscape, we are filled with ambivalence as we see not only hunger-stricken infants, but also scrawny and ashamed prostitutes and glue-sniffing kids, and bloated infants. Conclusion: As seen from the above three movies, it is evident that Darwins Nightmare remains as the only film out of the three with consistency and objectivity. Even though its visual images can be revulsive, it does not conjure up fake statements unfairly in order to increase sales or fulfil a personal agenda. Truth is not guaranteed. Interestingly, Gore claims to be presenting the scientific consensus on global warming but this is not always so. His dramatic theatrical stance gives way as the film progresses, hence rendering it not as objective as it might initially seem. Al Gore clearly used a number of tricks to make his case more persuasive to make the data better fit his explanation of whats going on in the world. Intentional or unintentional, when one is dealing with an issue that could have an economic impact measured in the trillions of dollars, Al Gore should have been more careful when making his case because inhabitants of the world deserve better knowledge. Cool It is no better. Its unreliability and lack of objectiveness is less personal, but more of a lack of in-depth analysis of the bigger global picture. Lomborg seems too engrossed in challenging the status quo and attempting to question environmental methods and hence failing to double check his facts. He uses whatever is needed to justify his personal agenda. It is hence of no surprise that both Cool It and An Inconvenient Truth have sparked off much controversy while the earlier 2004s Darwins Nightmare is one largely praised by many. The documentary era has arrived where manipulation of data is no longer tolerated to make their points more convincing. Especially in this society where elites (and hence shapers of the world situation) become more intelligent, people are easily more outraged when blatantly deceived. Because Nichols four documentary modes are historically and textually intertwined, we have to use a discerning eye when addressing any queries or issues.

Lone Parents Poverty And Unemployment Social Work Essay

Lone Parents Poverty And Unemployment Social Work Essay In a recent study, Rafferty and Wiggan 2011 state, in the past, lone parents with children below 16 years of age had the right to seek paid work or not, without risk of sanction. The recommendations of the Freud Review (2007) of Welfare-to-Work provision and the 2007 Green Paper on Welfare Reform, In Work Better Off, marked a critical phase in policy, proposing a new social agreement that reinforced lone parents obligation to seek paid work (Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), 2007). Since October 2008, lone parents whose youngest dependent child is above twelve years of age are no longer eligible for Income Support (IS) on the grounds of being a lone parent. From 2010, this was extended to lone parents whose youngest dependent child was above seven years old and this was further extended in the Budget 2010 to those whose whos youngest dependent child being  ¬Ã‚ ve or over (Great Britain, Parliament, Her Majestys Treasury, 2010). This paper will analyse the implications of the Governments policy objectives and their vision that it is right to expect people to make every effort to get themselves ready for work, as well as raising expectations. The government intention is that those who find work benefit from higher income and improved wellbeing. There are also fiscal benefits, with a lower benefit burden the government estimates that this policy change will affect approximately 100,000 single parents in 2011and make savings of  £380m between 2011 and 2015 (Tickle, 2010) there is also wider social gains with reduced adult and child poverty through increased employment (DWP, 2008). Lone parents feel that their concerns have been disregarded; that being a parent is a full time job and there are insufficient flexible, family friendly jobs available (Woods, 2010). Gordon (2002) stated that uncertainty about how to get benefits reinstated quickly if the job did not work out has placed another barrier in the way of seeking employment as well as the loss of Housing Benefit and changes in their Working Tax Credit. This is reinforced by the Policy Studies Institute (1996) which found that many out of work lone parents say they are unable to take paid jobs, even if they could find affordable childcare and the biggest reason given was that their children were too young and needed their mother at home. Channel 4 News (2011) broadcast that as the new welfare reforms for single parents come into force, lone parents are being set up to fail (Gingerbread, 2011). Gordon, (2002) also stated that policies pursued by successive Conservative governments throughout the 1980s and 1990s led to a massive increase in the number of low-income households and families. New Labour changed direction and had policies on making work pay by creating a liveable minimum wage and a welfare ideology, which emphasised the importance of maternal care. One of the keystones of New Labours strategy to reduce welfare dependency was making work pay, a strategy that was especially directed at lone parents through increased financially supported childcare and a specific New Deal which started after the 1997 election. This targeted lone parents amongst other vulnerable groups. The programme was voluntary and offered a mixture of job search support, training and practical support for the transition to work. There were only limited opportunities for training, with the main focus being on getting lone parents back into work. Gregg, Harkness and Smith (2007) state that Governm ent policies to help lone parents back into work and reduce levels of poverty, could had a profound  difference and change the quality of life for lone parent families. The UKs commitment to a personalised, bespoke, support is limited because of the lack of resources and training. Cunningham Cunningham (2008) stated that Social Workers (SW) should be aware of lone parents and their struggle with poverty and employability because poverty is a key and defining feature in the lives of many Service Users (SUs). They go on to state that sociology in Social Work is an important skill for Social Workers to bring into practice to help underpin the General Social Care Council (GSCC) Codes of Practice (COP). The GSCC COP state SWs must have appropriate knowledge and skills to provide social care and keep those skills and knowledge up to date. According to Knijn, Martin and Millar, (2007) reducing welfare dependency for lone parents could result in reduced welfare expenditure and maximised employment rates along with improved socio-political impact for women. The financial incentives for work had to be substantive and sustainable to reduce the risk of in-work poverty. Gregg, Harkness and Smith, (2007) stated that as part of its welfare reform and child poverty strategy, the incoming New Labour government initiated a series of policies aimed at reducing child poverty in 1997 and a key element of this was to increase employment rates amongst families with children, especially lone parents. Finch et al (2004) suggested that a lack of good childcare is one of the significant barriers to the governments target to increase the lone parent employment rate to 70 % by 2010. The Welfare Reform Green Paper (2007) states work is at the heart of our Welfare Reform Programme. Allan (1997) stated that benefit regulations were changed in an effort to encourage lone mothers into work and greater pressure was put on non-resident fathers to make sufficient financial contributions to their childrens needs. In its Green Paper (1998) Supporting Families, New Labours stance on lone parents was clear about the benefits of marriage (Cunningham and Cunningham, 2010) and al so stated paid work is the best route out of poverty (Department of Social Security (DSS) (1998). Lone parents were one of their key target groups. At this stage parents could still choose between staying at home and being a parent or going out to work. In the Budget 2010 address, Mr Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, stated that the government expects lone parents to look for work when their youngest child goes to school. The changes  were implemented on 25 October 2010 and affected lone parents claiming IS.   Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) Regulations (2010) changed the policy too, once children are of full time school age, parents who are able to work and are claiming benefits should be expected to look for paid work to support themselves and their family. Ahrends, J (2010) stated that Gingerbread, a charity for single parents, is still calling on the Coalition Government to  implement plans to enable all employees to apply for flexible working, to ensure all jobs in the public sector are offered on a part- time or flexible basis and  introduce a right to paid parental leave to help parents deal with time off when children are ill. David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg all pledged to challenge prejudice against single parents in 2010 (Ahrends, 2010) and the newly elected Coalition Government (2010) further stated that it was committed to introducing flexible working for all and launched a taskforce on children and families, unfortunately 9 months later this same government has scraped regulations which came into force April 2011 as part of a package of measures to reduce bureaucracy for businesses. Stratton and Wintour (2011) wrote in The Guardian, Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, will exempt firms with fewer than 10 employees from all new red tape for three years as it subjects 21,000 pieces of regulation to an audit by the public. This will see a shelving of the right to request flexible working for parents with children under 17 which will apply to all firms, not just small ones. It will also scrap the right to request time for training and education toward Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Freegard, (2010) co-founder of NetMums, commented on the benefit changes and suggested many lone parents would be feeling very anxious. She also noted single parents often want to work, but finding jobs to fit around the school day is very difficult; as is finding and paying for suitable good quality childcare before and after the school day. Woods D (2010) stated that family-friendly jobs are still far too rare despite the Government requiring 100,000 single parents to seek work in 2011. According to Gingerbread the vast lack of jobs with flexibility could jeopardise plans to have more single parents in work. A national survey of single parent members and users of NetMums website found that members had seen few jobs advertised that they could apply few for with part time hours, within school hours or as a job share or flexible in some other way. Launching a Gingerbread Briefing on flexible working, chief executive of the charity Weir (2011) called on the Government to move faster on plans for flexible working: She stated that the business case for flexible working has been proven with most employers agreeing that people work best when they have a work/life balance. Giullari, (2009) states in terms of poverty eradication there has been an improvement. Single parents employment rate has certainly risen, from 40% in the early 1980s to 56.6% in 2009. The Freud Report, (2007) states it is an increasingly common expectation that once children reach school age then receipt of benefits should be conditional on looking for a job. JSA is the main benefit for people who are out of work, to receive it you must be available for and actively looking for work. JSA is only given to bona fide jobseekers, anyone who refuses an interview, restart interview or fails to keep the job search diary faces instant cessation of their sensation benefits; this is not suitable for all. Lone parents still have the right to  limit their hours and not be expected to work outside normal school hours. For the governments policy to work, there has to be sustainable, flexible work for lone parents to be employed in. Under this welfare ideology one of the key assumptions is that all adults should be in work even if it means precarious employment (Lewis and Giullari 2005). This welfare ideology emphasises and promotes active social policies and needs full employ ment to achieve this (Knijn et al, 2007). The Coalition Work and Pensions (DWP) Minister, Maria Miller stated, We know that work is the best route out of poverty. Now with personalised interventions the most successful are when the intervention meets the SU needs, wishes and capacities (Van Berkel and Valkenburg 2006). Ahrends, (2011) debates although successive governments have promoted work as the route out of poverty and that many single parents are better off in paid work this is not always the case: 21% of children whose single parent is in full time work still fall below the poverty line, as do 29 % of children whose single parent is working part time. Ahrends (2010) further states 4 out of 10 children living in poverty are in a single parent household, and 9 out of 10 of them are mothers. More than 20% of women have persistently low incomes, helping, rather than forcing, these women is the answer. Finch et al (2004) discusses that numerous studies have suggested that Britains parents are failing, children are miserable and have poor moral, social and intellectual upbringing. Paton, (2011) writes children from single parent families are worse behaved, children raised by single mothers are twice as likely to misbehave as those born into traditional two-parent families, according to the Daily Telegraph. Headlines like this increase lone parents thinking that the government believes parenting can be done  alongside of part time work are counterproductive. When a lone parent starts work, there are many changes to daily life. and the lives of their families and other family members may have to be more involved in child care. All of this including the social, work, carer and school settings are key elements to work sustainability; this has not yet been systematically explored in research (Millar and Ridge, 2009). The Freud Review (2007) fails to answer difficult questions of how pu tting pressure on the most vulnerable will help the government to meet their child poverty targets and enable the best start for all children. Single parents want to work, for various reasons; increased income and financial independence are key motivators along with personal independence, the opportunity for social interaction with other adults, and to set a good example to their children. According to Ahrends, (2010) 42% of single parents say that having almost any job is better than being unemployed on benefits. Throughout Britain, a high proportion of single parent families are already in situations of severe financial vulnerability. The cost of living in Britain is  £13,400 (Bradshaw et al. 2008,p. 32). Figures produced for the DWP (See annex A) reveal that over 50% of people living in single parent families fall into the low-income bracket, which is defined as below 60% of the national median income after deducting housing costs (approximately  £195 per week for a single parent with children). In contrast, less than 5% of two parent families fall into this category (DWP, 2010). Finch et al (2010) state single paren t families will suffer disproportionately, not only under cuts to public services but also under tax increases and benefit changes. It is clear that single parent families, especially those headed by women, are at risk of becoming even more vulnerable to poverty. Jenkins, (2011) states that as most children living in severe poverty are in workless households, priority should be given to removing barriers to employment for parents living in poverty. Key measures to combat child poverty include help with childcare costs for low income households and more support for parents who work in part-time jobs; this could be done by raising the earned income level at which lone parents can claim full benefits, providing more training opportunities for parents who need and want to boost their skills and an increases in the minimum wage. The London School of Economics and Political Science state the Misery Index is a simple economic concept, which puts together the ills of inflation and unemployment together into a single amount of our financial despondency (Rainford, 2011). February 2011 saw it hit the highest level since October 1992. The Fawcett Society, a charity that campaigns for equality between women and men, points out, unemployment among women is already at its highest for the last twenty years. Women are the biggest losers under the public sector cuts. Women are also most likely to be affected by the governments plans to review regulations that burden business. The Fawcett Society (2011) state that the budget was a good opportunity missed, to present a credible growth plan and had some consideration of how to enable women to take up new jobs in the private sector. These measures were put in place to tackle the private sector pay gap and promote family-friendly jobs, which reflect the needs of a modern work force. Lone parents are facing a changing environment of social protection because of reduction in services and monies available because of the central government cuts. With the Coalition Government there has been a shift away from supporting lone parents being full time carers at home to an employment-based maternal model. There is a rhetoric focus and direction towards supporting employment and now the move to compulsory work-related requirements. Lone parents with children five years or over are treated the same as any other unemployed claimant (Woods, 2011). Lone parents are not now seen as having caring obligations but as a wider part of a hidden unemployed. DWP (2008) state the governments strategy is to increase employment and decrease poverty among lone parents but there are many obstacles still to be overcome. Gloster, et al. (2010) state that some of this is the incompatibility between low paid, part-time atypical jobs and the primary caring responsibilities of lone parents there is also no systematic provision for special paid or unpaid leave, good quality affordable childcare is difficult to find and there are few training programmes that fit into the lives of lone parents. Without the security of a second wage, child tax credits are paid regardless of the work status and the working tax credit is specifically intended as a supplement for low wages all contribute to this incompatibility. Family-friendly employment with a work/life balance are not now part of the governments policies and without action from both the Government and employers, many single parents will remain in the poverty trap. (Woods, 2011) (Word Count 2730)

Ansel Adams :: essays papers

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams was born in San Francisco in 1902, the only child of Charles and Olive Adams. He grew up in a house overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and had a strong appreciation for beauty. By 1908 Adams was an enormously curious and gifted child, and began a precarious and largely unsuccessful journey through the rigid structure of the public school system. In 1914 Adams taught himself to play the piano and excelled at his serious study of music, however he despised the regimentation of a regular education, and was taken out of school. For that year, his father bought him a season pass to the Panama-Pacific Exposition, which he visited nearly every day, and began to receive private scholastic instruction from tutors. In 1916 Adams convinced his parents to take a family vacation in Yosemite National Park. It was here that he took his first picture at the age of 14 with a box Brownie camera given to him by his parents. Ansel immediately developed an enthusiastic interest in both photography and the nati In 1931 he began writing a photography column for The Fortnightly. He could no longer keep up with orders for his prints or requests for him to exhibit. In 1932, Adams with Imogen Cunningham, Willard Van Dyke, Edward Weston, and other proponents of pure photography, founded Group f.64, and was part of the renowned Group f.64 exhibition at the M. H. de Young Museum, San Francisco. In 1933 his son Michael was born and two years later his daughter Anne was born. Always striving to improve the field of photography he developed his Zone System technique of exposure and development control while teaching at the Art Center School in Los Angeles. For his accomplis hments he was granted the Guggenheim Fellowship, so that he could continue his photography. In 1949 he becomes a consultant to the newly founded Polaroid Corporation. For many years he continued to photograph commercially, most extensively for Universities in California. In 1959 he moderated a series of five films for television, once again demonstrating h On April 22 1984 Ansel Easton Adams died of heart failure aggravated by cancer. Major stories appeared on all primary television networks and on the front page of most newspapers nationwide. A commemorative exhibition and memorial celebration was held in Carmel. California Senators Alan Cranston and Pete Wilson sponsored successful legislation to create an Ansel Adams Wilderness Area of more than 100,000 acres between Yosemite National Park and the John Muir Wilderness Area. Ansel Adams :: essays papers Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams was born in San Francisco in 1902, the only child of Charles and Olive Adams. He grew up in a house overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and had a strong appreciation for beauty. By 1908 Adams was an enormously curious and gifted child, and began a precarious and largely unsuccessful journey through the rigid structure of the public school system. In 1914 Adams taught himself to play the piano and excelled at his serious study of music, however he despised the regimentation of a regular education, and was taken out of school. For that year, his father bought him a season pass to the Panama-Pacific Exposition, which he visited nearly every day, and began to receive private scholastic instruction from tutors. In 1916 Adams convinced his parents to take a family vacation in Yosemite National Park. It was here that he took his first picture at the age of 14 with a box Brownie camera given to him by his parents. Ansel immediately developed an enthusiastic interest in both photography and the nati In 1931 he began writing a photography column for The Fortnightly. He could no longer keep up with orders for his prints or requests for him to exhibit. In 1932, Adams with Imogen Cunningham, Willard Van Dyke, Edward Weston, and other proponents of pure photography, founded Group f.64, and was part of the renowned Group f.64 exhibition at the M. H. de Young Museum, San Francisco. In 1933 his son Michael was born and two years later his daughter Anne was born. Always striving to improve the field of photography he developed his Zone System technique of exposure and development control while teaching at the Art Center School in Los Angeles. For his accomplis hments he was granted the Guggenheim Fellowship, so that he could continue his photography. In 1949 he becomes a consultant to the newly founded Polaroid Corporation. For many years he continued to photograph commercially, most extensively for Universities in California. In 1959 he moderated a series of five films for television, once again demonstrating h On April 22 1984 Ansel Easton Adams died of heart failure aggravated by cancer. Major stories appeared on all primary television networks and on the front page of most newspapers nationwide. A commemorative exhibition and memorial celebration was held in Carmel. California Senators Alan Cranston and Pete Wilson sponsored successful legislation to create an Ansel Adams Wilderness Area of more than 100,000 acres between Yosemite National Park and the John Muir Wilderness Area.

Rhetoric in the American Immigration Debate Essay -- Analysis, Logic,

According to Aristotle, a speaker could frame any debate using three approaches: an appeal to logic, an appeal from credibility, or an appeal to emotions. All speakers and writers use the tripartite approach to rhetoric in varying degrees and ultimately the audience judges their effectiveness in the context presented. In America, few topics are as hotly debated as that of undocumented migration, and it can be difficult to pick through the partisan and often vitriolic rhetoric in order to come to a rational conclusion. Politicians frame the debate using elements of the American mythos. While the evidence they present to back their conclusions may be factual, it necessarily omits the full truth in order to present a partisan political front. As such, politicians predominantly rely on the reader or listener’s emotional satisfaction. And even the most scrupulous journalists—meant to impart objective fact to the public—are not free from personal bias, making the disco urse even more convoluted. In analyzing three prominent voices in the immigration debate, US president Obama, journalist Sonia Nazario, and Arizona congressman J.D. Hayworth, we can evaluate the effectiveness of the different rhetorical approaches by whether or not they reach their intended audiences. Nazario fulfills her journalistic raison d’à ªtre by succeeding at objectivity, while Obama and Hayworth as politicians succeed by lying by omission in speeches and in writing in order to pursue policy goals and appease supporters. Sonia Nazario, herself an immigrant, was aware of the acrimonious debate on undocumented migration through her work as a prominent Los Angeles journalist. The issue was brought to a head when her housekeeper’s son arrived unannounced from Guatemal... ...ted skein of immigration policy in America by words alone. Despite that after careful analysis we the readers can more fully understand an issue and potentially come to expanded schemas, we are left with the conclusion that social issues are rarely easy to answer. In our history, rhetoric has been transformative. The power of a well-worded speech or essay to suddenly shift the direction of discourse is very real. Though we were not there, we remember Lincoln’s address at Gettysburg, Martin Luther King Jr.’s â€Å"I Have a Dream†, and John F. Kennedy’s â€Å"Ich bin ein Berliner† because they were coups of emotion, logic, and ethos. But sometimes such moments never come in a debate. Rhetoric is not always revolutionary; it can also be petty, insubstantial, or merely ignored. Although logic demands answers and emotion is sated by tidy conclusions, they are rarely forthcoming.

Was the Civil War Fought over Slavery?

The Civil War was the bloodiest war in all of America's history. But some things still remains a mystery in the Civil War. There were many reasons to how the Civil War was cause. A lot of people thinks that slavery was the cause,but it is only one of the many causes. Slavery, Economy, and State's Rights were the main cause to the Civil War. The slavery brought tensions,many differences in economy,and fighting for a cause. Tensions rose as Republicans and Democrats fight for a solution in slavery,the North and South many differences in their economy,and reasons to fighting in the Civil War.The Civil War was fought for slavery, economy, and State's Rights. During the 1860s election,the topic of slavery brought many political tensions to the Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans was an anti-slavery party. The Republicans disagree of the spreading of slavery and would take this issue to Congress,whenever they can,to stop its expansion. They viewed slavery as an a problem that would last forever,and thought the problem would soon lead to extinction As for the Democrats,they were pro-slavery party.They viewed slavery was good not only for the slave holder,but also for the slave(John C. Calhoun). In the 1850s Abraham Lincoln said that slavery was â€Å"an unqualified evil to the negro, the white man, and the State,† but later on in his first Inaugural Address he said that he had â€Å"no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with slavery in the States where it exists. †Abraham Lincoln personally didn't like slavery but as a Republican he wished to abolish it. But as the President of America,he made a promise to the Constitution,which protected slavery.Therefore the tension that rose from slavery resulted in constant fighting of the Republicans and Democrats. The North and South had many differences one of their differences is their economy. In 1793, Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin,profited a lot. It reduced time the time it took to separate the seeds from the cotton. But it also increase the number of slaves on the plantation.Because of this machine that means that there will be more plantations which means that there will  be a greater need for slaves. The South soon became a cotton crop economy,depending on slaves. While the North was a factory economy relying on wage labors than slaves. To sum up this make the major difference in the economy of the North and South (http://americanhistory. about. com/od/civilwarmenu/a/cause_civil_war. htm). The North and South had many reasons to why they fought in the Civil War,but slavery was not the main reason. In Lincoln's first Inaugural Address he declared that it was his job to look after the Union.He also said that he has no intention of freeing the slaves. The Confederacy couldn't accept this so on April 12, they attack Fort Sumter resulting in the beginning of the Civil War. Few states cut off ties with the Union, after more attacks. So to keep ties with remain ing states Lincoln insisted that the war was not about slavery or black rights but was to protect the Union (http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2967. html). The South fought out of fear and for their rights to secede. The Union abides by the Constitution and the South fought to abandon the Constitution.In conclusion the many reasons of the North and the South does not have slavery as the main reason (http://library. thinkquest. org/CR0215469/secession. htm). The Civil War was fought on slavery, economy, and State's Rights. Therefore the tensions that rose resulted in the Republicans and Democrats constantly fighting,the Economy being the greatest difference in the North and South,and slavery not the only reason for fighting in the Civil War. Slavery may be the most important cause but it is not the only cause for the Civil War.

Losing Love (Bookshop Memories)

Ryan Borg Mr. Parsons English 101 9/13/2012 Losing Love In the short essay Bookshop Memories by George Orwell, he tells the readers about the life of working at a second hand bookstore. Orwell goes into brief detail about certain remarks, actions or pestering bluebottles that seem to rest and die in the most important and obvious places. Some of the remarks that Orwell made throughout the essay would be like this example, â€Å"many of the people who came to us were of the kind who would be a nuisance anywhere but have special opportunities in a bookshop.For example, the dear old lady who ‘wants a book for an invalid’ (a very common demand, that). †(Page 1) Follow that quote the other nuisance is the random special ordered book Orwell encountered was, â€Å"the other dear old lady who read such a nice book in 1897 and wonders whether you can find her a copy. Unfortunately she doesn’t remember the title or the author’s name or what the book was about , but she does remember that it had a red cover. (Page 1) These encounters aggravated Orwell with no doubt but the real reason he lost his love for books was, â€Å"a bookseller has to tell lies about books, and that gives him a distaste for them; still worse is the fact that he is constantly dusting them and hauling them to and fro. †(page 5) As one book lover to another the fact that Orwell had to lie about certain books to customers would be near impossible just because it’s not how Orwell wanted to explain the book but it was what the customers wanted to hear about the book to make the sale.Satisfying the customer rather than being able to speak what you actually are thinking about the book I could see this would cause Orwell to lose his love for the actual books that he enjoys reading. The other reason that Orwell states in that quote is that he has to constantly dusting them off and moving them to and fro. Analyzing this quote it is noticeable that Orwell was ref erring to constantly moving the books around for customers, the change of seasons, and new inventory that the bookstore got in. Along with shuttling them back and forth, us; as a reader, should take in consideration that the books need to be cleaned off nd this is where the dead bluebottles and dust start to affect his real love for books. After Orwell states the real reason he loses his love for books he does include another quote which is, â€Å"nowadays I do buy one occasionally, but only if it is a book that I want to read and can’t borrow, and I never buy junk. The sweet smell of decaying paper appeals to me no longer. † (page 5) To me, as the reader, I take this sentence that Orwell does not like to read books that are 50 years old or older because it brings back the memories of shuttling and dusting off the dead bluebottles from the books.It also suggests that he still will read a quality book, news article, or other type of publication but he will not purchase it since there were so many customers that went into the second hand bookstore to buy books so they could use them as a showing piece for people to make assumptions of who they actually were. In this essay this Orwell gave complex hints to the reasons why he lost his love for books in ways throughout the whole essay but he gave his real reason in the last paragraph of the essay as it was pointed out previously.

Children and the Internet Essay

Think about how much time your children spend on electronics and what it could be doing to their health and intelligence. Instead of reading books and learning from experiences they’re glued to a screen that’s leaving them unable to react in real life. â€Å"Hands on experiences are vital to the developing of conversation and cause-effect relationships† (Negative effects of Internet usage on Child Development). Internet Influence on kids is becoming a problem with prolonged exposure to technology ending in Physical, Cognitive and Social Maladaptation. It is important to realize that a child’s body is just beginning to develop and that a sedentary lifestyle can lead to obesity and health issues. â€Å"Computer use can cause carpal tunnel and eye strain.† (Physical and Social Effects of Internet Use in Children). Leaving children with health issues alone on the computer is even worse and unexpected popups can cause a lot of problems. â€Å"It can also cause seizures if there are rapidly flashing games and websites† (). There are so many ways children can get ahold of the internet: computers, smartphones, iPads, iPods, gaming consoles, etc. It’s leaving them feeling instantly gratified and entitled to things that aren’t theirs that causes lots of trouble as they get older. In addition to physical effects there are cognitive ones as well. â€Å"Easy access to internet may become less able to separate fact from fiction. Internet has no filter and no peer review so anyone can publish what they want. Informal communication common to chat rooms is a worry and can carry over to their academics† (Physical and social effects of Internet use in children). The multitasking that many children engage in while online reduces attention span, making intense concentration on a single task more difficult. â€Å"Rapid nature of internet stimulation alters the way children see the world, and it creates boredom.† (Physical and Social effects of internet use in children). Information posted on the Internet is lawless. Young children depend on adults to validate what they see, hear and feel. The information on the Internet is uncontrolled and there is no way to check its reliability, and further, often no practical way to ensure referability.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Increased use among children may result in feelings of loneliness and depression† (Physical and Social effects of Internet use in children). â€Å"Also results in less time spent with family and friends or working on hobbies† (Physical and Social effects of Internet use in children). Another key point refers to the social side of the effects of the internet. â€Å"Violent images, foul language and a lack of social rules common to the internet don’t help a child succeed in the real world† (Physical and Social effects of Internet use in children). â€Å"Instead of hanging out with friends they show a trend that a computer is more important† (The influence of the Internet on our younger generation). â€Å"Causes desensitization to violence. Both violent and pornographic imagery can fundamentally alter a developing child’s perspective of the world† (Negative effects of Internet usage on child development). â€Å"They lose the skills and patience to conduct social relattions in the corporeal world† (Physical and Social effects of Internet use in children).

Ethical Arguments for Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart went public in October of 1970. Their IPO was 3,000 shares at a price of $16. 50 per share. By having a smart business model and keeping cost low though a variety of tactics including low employees wages and benefits, Wal-Mart has been able to sustain an incredible rate of growth. Since their IPO Wal-Mart has undergone eleven full 2-1 stock splits. That means that just one share of their IPO has turned into 2,048 current shares. The current market value of Wal-Mart stocks on the NYSE is $62. 0 per share. If an investor bought just one share in 1970 for $16. 50, today that investment would be worth $127,590. 40. In addition to rising stock value, investors receive a quarterly cash dividend payment that was paid out at $0. 2725 per share as of July 2009. People start and invest in businesses to make money. Wal-Mart should concentrate on serving their shareholders by producing profits because the business would not exist in the same capacity without their investment.They have c ertainly done this, keeping their expenses low by paying minimum wage and limiting employee benefits in addition to a number of other influential factors has allowed Wal-Mart to recognize large profits, which serve its shareholders well. By paying employees low wages and limiting benefits in addition to savvy business planning Wal-Mart has grown into an incredibly profitable company. In 2010 they had revenues totaling $408,214,000,000 and more importantly they recognized a profit of $14,335,000,000.Some of this profit is paid out to shareholders in the form of dividends but the vast majority is retained by Wal-Mart and reinvested. These retained earnings allow them to expand and open up stores all over the world. As they expand their operations they will employ more and more people. Wal-Mart has been known to open up stores in rural areas where unemployment rates happen to be especially high. By opening stores in these areas they are lowering unemployment and putting cash into the h ands of people who desperately need it.They currently operate more than 9,600 retail units in 28 countries around the world. They employ 2. 1 million people globally, including almost 1. 4 million in the United States alone. By generating an astounding amount of revenue and keeping there expenses as low as they can make them i. e. paying employees minimum wage and limiting benefits, Wal-Mart is able reinvest profits and open up new retail units that will employ lots of people who desperately need employment.

Discussion Week 5 Question 1 Stock Options Chapter 8 Assignment

Discussion Week 5 Question 1 Stock Options Chapter 8 - Assignment Example Using Wal-Mart Company as an example, the company usually gives options to its employees. Each option covers a maximum of ten years from the time when it is granted. For those who at the time the option is granted own stock which represent 10% of the voting power in stock at the company, the term will not exceed five years. An employee can exercise an option when he gives notice to Wal-Mart and the company receives full payment for the option. An employee can exercise their option when their term ends as long as the option does not have restrictions. This can be done within sixty days. Options are transferable and are disposable to an immediate family; this is a â€Å"Permitted Transfer†. An option cannot is not transferable to another person other than through the â€Å"Permitted Transfer† or by the laws of distribution. The best way that the company can leverage stock options so as to offset employee compensation is by allowing employees to sell, transfer and dispose stock in the open market. This is because many employees see options as being part of their compensation and usually want to exercise them so as to get money. Restricting this to just family members is likely to make the options unattractive to employees. Employees should also be free to exercise the options at any time without following the process of notifying the company. This is because as they are in the process of notifying the company, they may miss out on making profits the moment that the stock prices go up in the stock

Richard Attenborough's Gandhi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Richard Attenborough's Gandhi - Essay Example The movie also serves to reveal the atrocities of the colonial enterprise in India. Thus, not only does the movie reflect the anti-colonial feelings of the intelligentsia of the world of the seventies and the eighties, it also shows the audience the farsightedness of Mahatma Gandhi, who realised the economic effects of the enterprise on the people of the country. Several aspects of the life of the man are discussed in the story, which do not find mention in conventional narratives. In this respect, the film is different from other films on the man, in that it does not seek to glorify him mindlessly. It talks of the Mahatma as a human being who had several weaknesses of his own. The film talks of the man in his capacities as a politician, a social reformer, a husband and a friend. It also talks of the contributions of Christian missionaries in the development of his philosophy of life. Many of these aspects of his life were untold before the release of this movie. As far as this is co ncerned, the movie can also, in many ways, be considered to be a historical document. The movie begins with the assassination of Gandhi that is followed by a narration of the events of his life that preceded it. The opening serves to highlight the irony of the life of the Mahatma where he is killed by the very people whom he had served. The event has many more nuances to it than the scope of the movie allows it to depict. The rise of Hindutva and the clamor for a Hindu nation which Gandhi had rejected had led to the growth to dissatisfaction among some sections of the Hindu society. Since the movie seeks to depict the life of Gandhi, it does not go into these details. It reveals the fissures within the society that Gandhi had sought to unite and free. The failure of non-violence as a philosophy is hinted at here. In a society as complex as the one that one saw in India during the 1940s where people of various races and religions lived together, there could have been no one-stop solu tion. This also is consistent with the movie’s aim of depicting Gandhi as a human and not as almost a divine messiah, as he is often perceived by historians and journalists alike. The film then moves on to Gandhi’s life in South Africa where he was a lawyer. The episode where he is thrown off a train because of his racial belonging is one of the most important episodes of Gandhi’s life and he himself had often said so. The seeds of revolt that had begun to develop within him could be traced to that event. He understood that discrimination based on race needed to be stopped for the social and economic development of people of color. The subsequent developments in South Africa where Gandhi mobilizes the people of color to protest against the inequalities in the society is documented in a manner that is dramatic and may not have adhered to exact descriptions of what happened during those times. However, the larger details of the event are according to what historia ns have written about it. The origin of the theories of non-violence that Gandhi had developed was in South Africa where Gandhi had seen the cruel face of colonialism and the violence that went with it. He gave this form of protest and resistance the name Satyagraha. This form was dedicated to the understanding of truth and the movie reveals the paths that Gandhi takes in his quest for this truth. The

The American Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The American Revolution - Essay Example Struggle with the external enemy - the British Empire - accompanied by deep domestic transformations led to emergence of the first democratic republic of the new historic epoch. Although some residuals of the colonial past continued to persist (for example, slavery, structure of the local governments, etc) the newly born stat embodied the political ideals of the Enlightenment. However, struggle with the 'old order' which characterised the European revolutions of that period was not characteristic of the American Revolution. Perhaps the major reason for this was that the American Revolution took place in an absolutely new country without almost any history, while, for example, the French Revolution occurred in one of the eldest European states. Consequently, the participants of the American Revolution did not have to overthrow the established aristocratic society and absolute monarchy in order to proclaim either equality of people (because they were equal) or sovereignty of their new state (the British monarch was geographically too far from them). In other words, the birth of the new society in the United States occurred without major tension though the American Revolution pursued the same principles of the natural human rights the French Revolution did leaving the disgraceful legacy of terror and violence equalled by no other event of that period. Despite certain disagreement between scholars as for the causes and preconditions of the American Revolution (Nash, 2005) the assertion that the major causes were similar to those of European bourgeois revolutions seems to be correct. The American Revolution was largely caused by the economic pressure of Britain, which was economically dependent on the colonies. The decision to raise taxation on the American colonies (the Stamp Act of 1765) was largely made due to serious expenses suffered by the Empire in the Seven Year War with France. However, the raise itself did not represent a serious problem for the colonists whom paid lower taxes than citizens of Britain. The key issue was that the colonies had not been preliminary consulted about the new taxes, as they had no representation in Parliament: in other words, the Empire failed to adequately justify the new though not too heavy burden of taxes. This problem - often termed 'taxation without representation' - is reported to be one of the most essential factors that eventually led to the revolutionary situation (Wood 1998). Strong protest from the colonies forced the British to repeal the raise in 1766 (McKay, Hill & Buckler, 2005). Some scholars believe that the great deal of independence historically exercised by American colonists also played a role in the onset of the American Revolution. Absence of the stable system of hereditary class system was one important element of this independence. From this perspective the problem of representation was only a pretext as the colonists were no less represented than inhabitants of British Islands: the colonists strongly believed that their status gave them the right to make their own laws (McKay, Hill & Buckler, 2005). Evidently, such point of view implies that the American