The Key Developments in Social Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Key Developments in Social Policy - Essay Example The present paper aims to analyze and evaluate the important developments the New Labour administration had introduced and observed in the social policy with regards to addressing the challenges of child poverty and child abuse since 1997 onward in the light of the implication of the social policy on the overall welfare of the children. Hence, the paper will concentrate on the progress witnessed by the UK authorities in respect of improving the condition of the children. (Full stop) in order to protect them from becoming the victim of poverty and abuse for the future days to come. The main objective behind exploring the social policy with regards to the children includes the significant increase the British society has witnessed in the poverty level as well as child abuse in the country during the last few years. Since the new social policy had been devised’to combat’’ to combat with child abuse and child poverty, failure in overcoming both these problems, serves as a great challenge on the part of the British government. The paper will elaborate on social policy, and different strategies adopted by the UK administration in respect of the improvements being made in it in the wake of revising these policies in the best interest of the public at large. Finally, the evaluation of the social policy on children will be made in the light of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Their purpose was to investigate rather than into the validity of the social policy on the one side, and the functioning of the same on the other. Introduction: Social policy simply refers to all the strategies and schemes articulated and implemented by the authorities with the aim of bringing in improvements in one or all areas related to the individual and collective well-being of the members of society in general. â€Å"Social policies† according to Prof. Macbeth, â€Å"are connected with the right ordering of the network of relations hips between men and women who live together in societies, or with the principles which should govern the activities of individuals or groups, so far they affect the lives and interests of other people† (1957:1). Vargas-Hernandez et al. define social policy to be the â€Å"guidelines and interventions for the changing, maintenance or creation of living conditions that are conducive to human welfare† (2011:287). It includes the upbringing of the people in the areas like food, clothing, shelter, health, education, housing, employment and protection for all without discrimination. Consequently, social policies are devised by keeping in view the welfare and socio-economic uplift of the masses in various areas of life; and without observing any prejudice with regards to to the class, caste, creed, ethnicity, race, region, religion, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic status of the members of society. The authorities make plans y focusing on the social issues challe nging the members of society on the one side, and for combating with the social evils prevailing in the culture on the other.  

Management and Organisational Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Management and Organisational Learning - Essay Example Organisational leaders are designers, stewards and teachers and are responsible for building organisations where people continually expand their capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models (Senge 1990). Senge’s concept of learning organisation also described it as, â€Å"organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people continually learn how to learn together,† (cited in Robbins et al 2003). From the above definitions, it can be noted that there is a strong correlation between the ideas of the major proponents of this concept. Both of them talk about learning in an organisation with an aim of transforming that particular organisation in order to have positive growth. For instance, in this particular case, the different levels of Senge’s concept include the following, individual level which is characterised by mental models and personal mastery then group level which is followed by organisational level which is made up of systems thinking and shared vision. Senge argues that learning organisations are innovations based on gradual convergence of all five disciplines. Learning to learn is about creativity and innovation, which is about creating positive change rather than adapting to change. This structure bears testimony that learning in an organisation is seen as something that is carefully designed with the aim of achieving particular goals. According to this definition, learning is no longer restricted to individual experience but has become teamwork which requires new and innovative ways of learning and managing performance improvement. It can thus be seen that exchange of information is central to the process of learning organisation where it should be encouraged and nurtured for positive results in improving performance. In

The Coffee Crisis Essay Example for Free

The Coffee Crisis Essay To begin, The Coffee Crisis is about an acute coffee crisis and how it threatens millions of small coffee farmers around the world and is putting economic growth, as well as social and political stability, at risk in scores of coffee producing countries in Central and South America, Africa and Asia. In 2004, the governments of coffee producing countries were considering how to respond to the dramatic decline in coffee prices caused in part by a large increase in coffee production in Brazil and Vietnam. Coffee was the main source of income for roughly 25 million farmers, mostly small land holders, in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Coffee prices had hit 40 year lows in 2001 and had remained low since, resulting in real hardship for many farmers. A variety of alternative solutions had been suggested. (Gomez-Ibanez Quinlan, 2004) The International Coffee Organization was advocating increasing demand through programs promoting coffee consumption; the Inter-American Development Bank supported promotion but also thought some high-cost countries should get out of coffee, while the non-governmental organization Oxfam was pushing fair trade pricing. The coffee crisis is worldwide. It is affecting farmers in Central America, South America, Africa, and Asia. While the Arabica farmers in Costa Rica may be getting 40 cents per pound for their coffee cherries, the Robusta coffee farmers in Viet Nam are only receiving 15 cents a pound for theirs. Even the low cost producers are not benefiting from the current situation. This condition is created because the market place does not view coffee as a true commodity. It places premiums and discounts on both coffee types and coffee grades. While both markets may move up and down in tandem, the arbitrage, or spread between one Arabica and Robusta, does not give one farmer an economic competitive advantage over another. This fact tends to get glossed over in most economic discussions on the coffee crisis. Many analysts believe that oversupply is at the root of the present crisis. After the system of coffee export quotas (the International Coffee Agreement, or ICA), administered by the International Coffee Organization, collapsed in 1989, the regulation of coffee production and quality was left to each individual producer country. Almost immediately following the dissolution of the agreement, excessive quantities of coffee entered international markets, prices became quite volatile and the overall quality of the coffee began to decline. Many of the coffee producing nations, including Mexico, were simultaneously in the process of deregulating, privatizing, and otherwise liberalizing agricultural production and national agricultural institutions. This had the effect of exacerbating the uncertainties faced by coffee farmers at the end of the 1980s. The coffee crisis is structural. It was not caused by the cyclical nature of coffee agriculture that has produced the â€Å"boom-bust† cycles of the past. The change in the market place has been brought about by the concentration of buying power in the hands of a few firms that present coffee to the consumer as a â€Å"blended and branded† product, void of any links to type and grade. This has led to intense price competition for market share that has rewarded increased market share to low cost products in the short run at the expense of stability in the supply chain in the long run. Since the crisis is a structural problem and not a cyclical one, remedies are to be found by taking intervening actions. These actions would include a strengthening of coffee institutions, a realignment of market forces, a creation of suitable financial tools, and a promotion of sustainable agricultural practices. It must be emphasized that any direct market intervention, such as quotas or subsidies, would only be short term in effect and would not correct the structural problems. It must also be emphasized that what is required is a series of steps in a number of different areas, as no single step will produce the desired structural changes that are needed. The crisis in the coffee sector continues. Its impact cannot be understated, since coffee constitutes the livelihood of an estimated 25 million families around the world. In world trade, coffee is the second leading commodity, after petroleum. The worldwide coffee market spans some 71 countries, of which 51 are significant producers and 20 are key consumers. Prices have not kept up with production costs to the extent needed to make participation in the coffee business profitable for most producers, even though the crop year 2003-2004 witnessed a worldwide decrease in production. (Central America The Coffee Crisis: Effects and Strategies for Moving Forward, 1992) In coffee producing countries, which account for over 26% of world consumption, the situation is more diverse. In some countries, prices of coffee have fallen in local currency and consumption may therefore be stimulated. In Brazil, the largest coffee market among producing countries, the devaluation of the real has maintained prices of green coffee at pre-crisis levels. As a whole, consumption in these markets is not expected to suffer any major negative impact. The root cause of the coffee crisis can be linked to three factors: over production; under consumption; and market oligopoly. In short, these are all problems associated with the economics of coffee farming. Without resolution, they will lead to both social and environmental breakdowns. (Central America The Coffee Crisis: Effects and Strategies for Moving Forward, 1992). The crisis has been caused by a large increase in coffee production over the past several years by two countries Vietnam and Brazil. In the case of Vietnam, within ten years this country grew from a relatively insignificant producer to the world second largest – ahead of Colombia but behind Brazil, now producing well over 10 million bags annually and accounting for approximately 12% of world exports. (Central America The Coffee Crisis: Effects and Strategies for Moving Forward, 1992) To conclude, without economic remedies to the crisis, it is difficult to promote sustainable agricultural practices in coffee farming. While niche markets within the specialty coffee industry can provide some relief, the size of these markets makes them too small to be an effective solution. References: Central America The Coffee Crisis: Effects and Strategies for Moving Forward. (1992, July 19). Retrieved February 4, 2012, from Latin American and Carribean: http://web. worldbank. org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/0,,contentMDK:20606092~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:258554,00. html Gomez-Ibanez, J. , Quinlan, S. J. (2004). The Coffee Crisis.

Media: The Most Powerful Entity On Earth

Media: The Most Powerful Entity On Earth In his article, The Mediatization of Society Theory, Hjarvard deduces that media simultaneously become an integrated part of society, not to mention the existence of other new social media. New social media, a set of identity-centric information and communication technologies (ICTs) that enables production and sharing of digital content in a mediated social setting (Studstzman, 2009) such as Facebook and Twitter, have successfully attracted millions of users, many of whom have integrated these sites into their daily practices and transformed them from a situation of information scarcity to one of information abundance. Accordingly, Ronn (2007) in one of his reports noted that social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, are among the most visited sites on the Internet, just behind the major search engines. Facebook for example, as the site grows more popular, claims that it has more than 500 million active users and 50% of users log on to this site everyday (Facebook, 2011), while Twitter records 175 million registered users since its first launch in 2006, with around 95 million tweets are written per day (Twitter, 2011). Both Facebook and Twitter equipped with platforms that allow individuals, as cited in Boyd (1997), to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. These platforms not only serve its users as a tool of sharing of life minutiae (Green, 2011) but also seize the opportunity of increasing their engagement in various issues. For example, Facebook and Twitter have played an increasing role in American politics as they become what US President Barrack Obama campaign in 2008 were most successfully noted for. Accordingly, both also facilitate online community to raise fund for Japanese earthquake and tsunami victim as well as assist innovation that plays as a significant role in cultural change. In other word, interactive and collaborative features provided by the platform of social media have made the dimension of political, social and cultural advancement become more prominent. However, it appears questionable to simply claim that social media alternately acts as the ground of political revolution or creates new social identity and induce cultural change (Boyd, 2011, Green 2011, Hoffman Kornweitz, 2011). A single click on Facebook gro up and merely a tweet do not make people politically activated and socially changed. As emphasises by Boyd (2011), it seems to be only a majestical lustre that technologys structure instantly influences peoples behaviour. Correspondingly, Green (2011) also voices an interesting quandary if social media actually enhance the democracy itself. It is reasonable since Facebook and Twitter are not a replace for motivation that at least required for a revolution to be taken place or new community to be formed. Nonetheless, it is likely understandable from current events that social media have the power to pursue and persuade as by providing platform toward political revolution, social community and cultural advancement yet bring negative and positive consequences for those three subjects. SOCIAL MEDIA AND POLITICAL REVOLUTION As mention above, Facebook, in particular, provides three default platforms for its users to convey their political interest (Langlois, 2009). First, users can become fan of politicians profile or page. Second, they can create or join a group and last, they can change their political views in their profile. Among three, becoming a fan or a group is considered to allow users to be more engaged. Once the common interests are created, the Facebook platforms greatly simplify communicating within and to a network via emails, invitation and reminders. Shirky (2011), social media have become coordinating tools for nearly all of the worlds political movement. Prominent example for this argument is U.S. President Barack Obamas election in 2008. As cited from Obamas Facebook groups during the campaign greatly simplify communicating within and to more than 1, 2 millions of his supportersHe also highlights three default ways . Langlois (2009), Addressed by Hoffmann Kornweitz as medium of direct citizen participation, this aggregation of public via the social network does remarkably magnify the engagement of society to the campaign itself, by extending their social activities/participation such as informing others about campaign events, attempting to persuade donations or taking part in activities related to politics without having to sit down face to face! against History of Russia and France are best example of how lack of new social media did not impede both countries revolutions from happening. The media themselves ineffective acted by casual participants which obviously does not guarantee that every political movement of mobilization will succeed, because the state has not lost the power to react. Take Tunisia for example. The only way both governments could immensely stop the quick dissemination of information was to shut down the whole internet. SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL IDENTITY/COMMUNITY As noted above, new social media such as Facebook and Twitter are potentially able to change the character of our social live. According to . that the new media is changing the way people think, act, and feel. Langlois (2009) stated that social media allows for the emergence of marginalized issue and public: The online informational system provide the material, communicational and social means for a public to exist Therefore, it is likely clear that new social media can be powerful tools for spurring social change, with stressing point that it played a facilitating, mediating role in connections and interactions among its user in society. There are at least three reasons for this claim to be apprehended: Firstly, social media enables creation of dense network that extend human communication abilities in both time and space. According to technological determinism purposed by Mc Luhan, the world now is a global village, where physical distance is even less of a hindrance to the real-time communicative activities of people. Therefore social spheres are greatly expanded by the openness of the web and the ease at which people can search for online communities and interact with others that share the same interests and concerns. Secondly, social medias quick dissemination of information supports new communities to be created, (virtual). Equipped with features that enable for users to be more interactive and collaborative, social media becomes a form of mediated communication that gives the audience access to on-demand content and the ability to share and discuss it with others within seconds. Lets look at Japanese Tsunami and Earthquake for example. Addison asserts in one of his reports that images and videos of Japans tsunami were soon hitting the web just minutes count from the first wave hit Sendai. Thousands messages were then updated via Twitter within seconds, showing of good will, condolences and offering aid for Japan. Social media facilitates such as allowing people the chance to donate to the Red Cross via text message, the donation being added to phone bills. According to the members of the each social medium, there are more than 500 million people are using Facebook and more than 200 million view s on the Youtube for a day. It means billions of audiences are able to share and receive information on the same platform at the same time. Moreover, the information on the social media can be posted and received immediately. Therefore, the information on the social media could be disseminated much faster, compared with traditional media. Thirdly, specifically that the social media is more user generated content, it allows users as news producers. The social media provide a platform for public to advocate social issues. Moreover, it also means the news is not limited by organizations or governments anymore. For instance, for Chinese Jasmine Revolution in 2011, even the Chinese Government tried to stop the situation to be expanded on the social media, it is still held quite successfully. Afterwards, the international media is starting to be conscious to what the revolution was trying to present to public and they are trying to report it to public as well. According to media and social dependency theory (Defleur Ball-Rokeach), for some countries (especially developing countries), if public are uncertain about their society and country, it is much easier for them to rely on the media. It means for some countries, audiences might be easy to follow the issues. In short, social media definitely, developed freedom of speech. With every response and action that results from our engagement, we are slowly introduced to the laws of social physics: for every action there is a reaction even if that reaction is silence. And, the extent of this resulting activity is measured by levels of influence and other factors such as the size and shape of nicheworks as well as attention aperture and time. the concept of community no longer has geographical limitations, as people can now virtually gather in an online community and share common interests regardless of physical location. However, idea of new community in Facebook did not make Obama win his Presidency. SOCIAL MEDIA AND CULTURAL ADVANCEMENT Conclusion Yes, overall it can especially in terms of providing fast, quick and ..platform ,,,. Media scholars argue that social media platforms are tools of self-expression that return a benefit to a public good It is reasonable since Facebook and Twitter are not a replace for motivation that at least required for a revolution to be taken place or new community to be formed. . People can virtually gather in Facebok and Twitter online community or groups, regardless geographical limitations and physical location, which (.). Ronn, K. (2007). Social networking: Closer than you think. Business Week Online, p. 12. Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/jun2007/ca20070612_954809.htm Hjarvard, S. (2008). The Mediatization of Society: A Theory of the Media as Agents of Social and Cultural Change. [Article]. NORDICOM Review, 29(2), 105-134.

Legalize Prostitution Essay -- Its Time for Legalized Prostitution

One of the oldest legal debates comes from one of the world's oldest profession, prostitution, there is no denying that the sex industry has taken international dimensions and is recognized as an economic motor for many countries. As countries around the world debate the merits of legalizing or at least decriminalizing prostitution. The following questions should be addressed. Would legalization reduce some of the inequalities and abuse suffered by the women involved? On the other hand, by legitimizing prostitution, would society reverse decades of work to promote human rights and improve the status of women? On the surface, this looks like a rehashing of a timeless debate. However, it is not. The question is no longer about morality -- is prostitution a vice and are those involved evil or somehow lacking in judgement? Now the question should be asked: is prostitution a form of exploitation to be abolished or an occupation to be regulated? To get a feel for what is going on and how opinions are changing, one should look to the headlines. In the Christian Science Monitor, an ex-call girl is challenging Florida State laws on prostitution. In Amsterdam, the "First World Whore's Congress" takes place. Prostitutes from around the world came together to make a statement of solidarity. In the Times Higher Education Supplement, John Taylor, Chief executive of Sheffield Britain 's Chamber of Trade, says, "You can't eradicate it. All you can do is drive it underground. I am a realist. It's better that it should be controlled." These are all separate incidences where some kind of regulation, decriminalization, or legalization of prostitution is being debated. By decriminalizing prostitution, laws would protect prostitutes, enable ... ...Social Reformer: Commercial Vice in the Progressive Era. Ed Charles Rosenberg and Carroll Smith-Rosenberg. New York: Arno Press, 1974. A report of the Vice Commission of Minneapolis to His Honor, James C. Haynes and of a report on existing conditions with recommendations to the Honorable Rudolph Blankenburg, mayor of Philadelphia, 1974. Davis, Nanette J. Prostitution: An International Handbook Trends, Problems, and Policies. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1993 "This handbook fills a significant gap in understanding prostitution in multicultural terms." Roberts, Nickie. Whores in History: Prostitution in Western Society London, HarperCollins, 1992 This book gives the history of prostitution dating back to Ancient Greece and continues through to the Twentieth century and the new movement to legalize prostitution and gain rights for the prostitutes.

Wuthering Heights :: essays research papers

Explore the role and function of the narrators in Wuthering Heights   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ellis Bell was criticised not only for the novel’s blasphemous nature and violent plot but a lack of conclusive moral. It seems freedom of expression was tolerated as long as the reader was left in no doubt of the righteous path. Bronte liberates the reader from this sense of duty and distinguishes her novel from its Victorian contemporaries. Helping to accomplish this task is her style of narration, being unusually structured in the concentric circles of Lockwood and Nelly Dean.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lockwood descends on the Yorkshire moors, like the reader unaware of the turbulence that the ‘beautiful country’ conceals. I have read that Bronte’s original purpose of the book was to show Lockwood the meaning of love and her choice of name, ‘Lockwood’, implies a depth that is not on display nor easy to withdraw. (From this respect it is an ambitious novel for Emily Bronte to attempt as her life is from all accounts barren of much romantic attachment. Perhaps her impression of love mimics Isabella Linton’s adoration for a Byronic Heathcliff, an ideal never quite within reach.) Lockwood strikes me as a character who is much astonished by his own intelligence, he dilutes his account of the Heights with Latinate words and pompous expressions, ‘relaxed a little in the laconic style of chipping off his pronouns and auxiliary verbs’. Either this is an early indication of his arrogance, later confirmed by his unlikely fear that Catherine would regret a union with Hareton on observing how ‘tolerably attractive’ he was or possibly the ‘primitive’ nature of the Heights provokes him to use language that he associates with civilised society in order to feel comfortable in an evidently uneasy situation. If this be the case Bronte mocks the established politeness of introduction showing his language to be simply a faà §ade disguising his unsettled emotions. This language helps him to preserve his detached demeanour as only once is the reader given an insight to his insecure character. He relates an amusing incident in which a ‘goddess’ he professed to be in love with hinted at a reciprocation of feeling that unfortunately caused him to flee rabbit-like, rapidly lessening the warmth of his ‘glances’. This minor incident demonstrates his inability to handle complex emotions and in comparison to the forthcoming passion of Cathy and Heathcliff, Lockwood appears all the more sheltered. It is as though a distant relative of the Lintons has come to call.

Reflection Paper About Love

I know I’m too young to fall in love. I’m too young to say I found the right one. But there is really a moment in our life where we can say that we already found the one we would like to spend our forever with. The only one we wanted to love until God takes our breath away. January 14, was the happiest day of my life. Happiest, because it is the day where I found my peace of mind, my happiness, my one and only and my other half. I know that it is really weird to say that I am so madly, truly, deeply and passionately inlove with her, but I can’t really deny it, because I know deep inside my heart, it is true.I really love her so much that I can’t find the right words to describe my love for her. Whenever I’m with her, it feels like I can do anything. And I’m so confident, because I know that person accepts me as I am. Not like the other people, who expects too much on me, and criticizes my wrong doings. She accepts my mistakes, and everything. She is my strength to go on and continue my everyday life with love in my heart. She serves as my inspiration to strive harder and study more than I usually do. She is my everything. I would do anything just to prove that I really love her.Words will never be enough to say how much she means to me. I never felt like this before. It’s like, I don’t need any other because I have her who completes me. I feel so contented and I’ll never search for anyone else. Even if I can find someone who is better, still I will choose her. Maybe my someone is not perfect, my someone have a bad side, but no one will be like her because that someone is the only one in my life and in my world. If only I can build a world where we can spend the rest of our lives together at this moment, I would. Because I never wanted to be without her.It is weird if I say that that someone is my life because I know, I had lived 14 years of my life without that someone. But as time passes by, she re ally became my world, my life and my everything. I can’t be myself without her and if she walks away in my life, I will be empty. She has been out of my life many times, but as they say if someone walks out of your life and returns, it is for yours to keep and take care. So that’s it. We will never be broken again, because this time I will take care of what we have so that until forever, we will still be together and I will grow old someday in her side.I can’t wait for the day where I will wake up and sleep beside her. Everything will be perfect as long as I’m with her. There are things I want to say to that someone and I want to write those things here in my last journal, because when I got into college, I know that I will miss doing this so I want to make this last Reflective Journal of mine to be so special like my someone who is so special to me. Dear You, If you’re reading this Rj of mine, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for those time s you made me happy everytime I’m sad.Thank you for being my strength every time I feel so weak. Thank you for fulfilling my life. Thank you for everything. THANK YOU, REALLY. Thank you for being mine. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to love you, I promise I wouldn’t waste this chance that you gave me. Thank you for trusting and loving me, in return, I will love you everyday, every hour, every minute and every second of my life. You are that someone who inspires me, who gives me reasons to hold on, to fight, to be happy, to strive harder, to be better of what I am now. I dream high because of you, because of us.I never wanted you to leave me. i really love you. I am so thankful that God has given you to me, for me to take care of. For me, to love†¦ I still remember the first time I heard your name, it’s so unique. From that day on, I said to myself that I will know you. And when I saw your face, it’s like I saw an angel come down from heaven. Your face has this beauty that captured my eyes. You had me the first time I glanced my eyes on you. Seeing you smile from apart makes me smile. You had my attention but I am afraid to go near you, because in that same time, somebody owned me.Somebody had my heart, but you have this appeal my eyes couldn’t resist, because everytime I see you, my eyes would just follow you and I’m glad that you didn’t notice it. I still remember the first time I told you I love you. You said you love me too. I am so happy, so happy that I couldn’t explain how overflowing my happiness is. You make me happy, in your simple ways. You make me happy by just being a part of me. Part of me, that I will always love. Part of me, that I will never forget. You are a part of me, that no matter what happens, will always be in my life.We were not perfect couples, but we’re happy. I have found a new reason to smile again. I found it in you. Everytime I think of describing how much I love you, my mind goes blank. I don’t know why, but I just love you. And when I think of reasons on why I love you? I go speechless. But one thing I know is for sure, I love you so much babe. I love you. I won’t give up on you. And i hope that we’ll be happy for the rest of our lives, with each other†¦ You mean everything to me babe! I love you. And I always will. * The one who will love you forever, Babe14