Future of Policing Proposal Essay

Policing is not just keeping the peace in today’s society. Police officers have several responsibilities and also new technology to learn. New technology helps law enforcement preform a better job in communication, crime solving, decreasing crime and making communities a better place to live for citizens and their families. Biometrics and GPS tracking are two useful technologies’ that have made the police able to catch criminals, and solve crimes quicker and more sufficient. Biometrics modalities used by law enforcement is fingerprints, DNA (Blood), and patterns of the voice and faces of victims. Then GPS Tracking helps law enforcement keep track of other police officers, or GPS can be used to tract a suspect if he or she is running away from the law. There are many vehicles that come standard with the GPS system that makes it easier for law enforcement to track a car if it has been stolen the owner. The future of the GPS tracking system may be identifying as leaving things like, the satellites, cameras, computers that will have been powerful, all in all just leaving all the â€Å"complicated† technology in the past. In today’s time you need three working satellites in order to get a good enough signal for your GPS, and even then you it might take a minute or two to get an accurate destined location. There are places all around the world where you cannot get any satellite signal, and even in big cities, it can become very difficult to get signal. â€Å"The world-first approach to visual navigation algorithms, which has been dubbed SeqSLAM (Sequence Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), uses local best match and sequence recognition components to lock in locations. SeqSLAM uses the assumption that you are already in a specific location and tests that assumption over and over  again. For example if I am in a kitchen in an office block, the algorithm makes the assumption I’m in the office block, looks around and identifies signs that match a kitchen. Then if I stepped out into the corridor it would test to see if the corridor matches the corridor in the existing data of the office block lay out. Said by Dr. Michael Milford from Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Biometrics is all the quantifiable biological or behavioral characteristics used for the identification and classification of individuals. Fingerprints are the most common biometric modality used by law enforcement, but there are others. These modalities include deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), voice and facial patterns. Biometrics also consists of all the various technologies used to categorize and recognize human characteristics. Biometric fingerprint scanning works because fingerprints are unique to each individual. People are born with a pattern of ridges and valleys on their fingers. These patterns are created thru a number of genetic and environmental factors. As a unique marker, a skilled analyst or a fingerprint scanner can recognize the patterns and use it to identify the person the fingerprint belongs to. Biometric fingerprint authentication is used to securing access to information and technology. The fingerprint of an authorized user is scanned and kept on record. The user swipes its finger along the scanner and only those with the proper clearance is allowed to enter or have access to the information. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has a biometric system known as Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). The system is a national fingerprint and criminal history catalog. The system is available to law enforcement officers from the local, state, and federal levels. It allows an agency to makes inquiries 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. IAFIS aids policing organizations in solving and preventing crimes and catching criminals before they break the law again. The system gives law enforcement access to its automatic fingerprint database, its considerable search capacity, electronic picture storage, and allows for the electronic exchange of fingerprints. The system contains the information on over 70  million criminal subjects in its master file along with the fingerprints of 73,000 known and suspected terrorists investigated by the United States and international law enforcement agencies. All biometric systems do have a potential weakness associated with it. Unlike passwords and pin codes which can be changed easily, fingerprints cannot be altered. Should the stored digital copy be stolen and used for fraudulent transactions, the user would have little recourse to fix the situation as they cannot change their prints. They would be unable to use any biometric fingerprint scanner in the future as there will always be doubts and concerns about the authenticity of their prints. Gun use and safety is an important issue around the world and especially in the United States. Mytec Technologies are working with American firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson on a â€Å"smart gun.† The partnership is intended to create a gun that will prevent anyone other than authorized users from shooting the weapon. The focus of the joint venture is to build a programmable handgun which will prevent any accidental shootings. The system will use finger tip sensor on the handle of the gun that will â€Å"read† the fingerprint. It will then convert the fingerprint into a digital medium and compare the newly scanned fingerprint against the authorized directory stored inside the scanner. The weapon will unlock and can be fired if and only if a match is found. An issue yet to be remedied is the control of the user’s biometric data. A database of authorized users will need to be created and kept secured. Will a government agency have to be created to control of this data or will it be under the purview of the users? The second issue which has arisen is how many authorized fingerprints will be allowed per weapon? Should there be a limit or will it be at the owner’s discretion as to how many fingerprints are authorized? These issues must be solved before the technology is allowed to be sold to the public. Being efficient and effective is a must when it comes to policing this includes using any and all forms of modern technology. Relying on technology is a must especially when it comes to the need and the importance of vital information. Since this information can  have an extreme amount of influence on any given the circumstance, it is important that the information being provided is accurate. Biometrics and GPS Tracking are important forms of modern technology that help provide such information such as facial recognition and location of suspects at a very accurate rate. Without the use of modern technology to aid the police with the work they do, providing efficient and effective police work can prove difficult. References Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2014, May 08). Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/fingerprints_biometrics/iafis Fox News. (2001, January 25). Smart Gun, Smart Solution? Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/story/2001/01/25/smart-gun-smart-solution/ Global Security.org. (2011, July 13). Homeland Security Biometrics. Retrieved from http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/stsyems/biometrics.htm

Movie Review: “Memoirs of a Geisha” vs. “A Geisha” Essay

The film â€Å"Memoirs of a Geisha† is the story of a geisha told from a Western point of view. The narrator is the lead character who is a geisha, whose life is the main plot upon which this movie is built upon. It tells the story of a young girl who was sold by his father to become a geisha due to their poverty. The period is before World War II, and she goes through a lot of trials and at first leads the life of a servant or a slave to a well-known geisha. It is already near her young adulthood that she gets to be trained to become part of this elite circle of women who exude femininity and grace. She gets to be called â€Å"Sayuri† and she becomes one of the highest paid geishas during her time. Sayuri however does not desire money or fame but to be loved by the Captain, who, in the end, becomes her lover, as they reveal their true feelings for each other. The movie is one which caters to the emotions and tugs at the hearts of the viewers as it relates the transformation of a poor, young, innocent, uneducated child to become a sophisticated, well-mannered and confident young lady desired and fantasized by men. It is said that the movie was overwhelmingly received in the US but not as much in Japan because of the negative image of the geisha projected in the movie. This viewpoint is often referred to as orientalism. Orientalism can be defined as a Western perspective of the ‘orient’ or that which is not of ‘western’ descent. The idea of orientalism is usually referred to as the rationale which promotes the persistence of stereotypes attached to Asian cultures. Orientalism reinforces the Orient’s contrast to the Western construct, where anything from the ‘orient’ was discriminated against in a manner akin to the US perception of African-Americans. There is a certain stigma attached to being of ‘oriental’ lineage since one would be regarded as part of an inferior race. Although there were no apparent portrayals of discrimination by Americans against Asians in the movie, the undercurrents of the movie still reinforced the idea that the Japanese had to bow down to their colonizers as in the way the Chairman wanted to please the Americans to turn them in his favor. With the help of Sayuri, he was able to succeed in doing this. As such, the concept of Orientalism is carried forward and even further propagated, to the detriment of those who are part of the ‘orient’, hence, the vicious cycle and the continually widening gap between east and west. In the early times, it is said that geishas were renowned for providing entertainment to their patrons by performing onstage. Geishas were talented and known to be actresses, erotic dancers and singers who were also trained to play musical instruments. Geisha schools were prevalent in the early 17th century, and girls were trained to become geishas at an early age. Becoming a geisha was a highly-regarded profession, and during this period, wives were taken merely for the sake of child-bearing and caring for the house. Japanese customs allowed married men to go to teahouses and geisha pleasure quarters for entertainment, romantic liaisons and sometimes — but not always — sexual activities. Geishas are highly-skilled at manipulating their clients and it is said that geishas mainly hold back the idea of sex, by way of their charming ways and poised seduction techniques — which is one of the reasons the men persist in revisiting the geisha houses for entertainment. Perhaps, this is the reason that individuals who uphold a Western view of geishas think that the ultimate end of a client-geisha acquaintance will end in a sexual activity, which is not always the case. One of the biggest misconceptions pertaining to geishas is that they do sexual favors for their clients, although contemporary, legitimate geishas do not. Furthermore, the predominantly Western connotation that geishas are high-class prostitutes or escorts is also a fallacy. In general, the portrayal of the geishas in the movie is a far cry from the original geishas in Japan. Sex is a major selling point of the movie; â€Å"Memoirs of a Geisha includes many detailed sexual scenes which satisfy the Western appetite† (Akita). Despite acknowledging the fact that geishas are not synonymous with prostitutes, the film’s director Rob Marshall delivers a different message through the film. As mentioned earlier, the major idea somehow pointed to geishas as glorified prostitutes or sophisticated women engaged in the flesh trade. This is somehow shown in the way Sayuri was portrayed, especially at the time when a bidding was made by the most wealthy men in the locality relating to her â€Å"deflowering† or the mizuage ceremony. Another sexual reference made is the oft-repeated term â€Å"water† which was said to have been seen in Sayuri’s eyes, a quality which was said to connote a high level of sexuality among the Japanese – again as viewed from the Westerner’s perspective. Sayuri as a child was also shown as one who was in someway inclined to like watching sex and sexual activities being done by the senior geisha with a man in the house where she served. This reduces the main character into a kind of individual who craves for sex at such a young age, hence, her strong desire to become a geisha. The movie also exoticized the character of the geisha in that they were viewed as beautiful, mysterious, striking, seductive, submissive, subservient, obedient and elegant all at the same time. Geishas wore colorful kimonos, made-up their faces with special white make-up and used charcoal for their eyebrows, and their hair drawn up in a chignon with pins and other adornments decorated around the hair bun. Geishas were also made to sleep on special neck supports instead of pillows so that they could retain their hairstyle for a long time. They also wore special slippers which helped them walk in a different manner that would elicit more attention, especially from the potential male clients. There was also a scene in the movie where the geishas and their clients are seen in a public bath where they were shown all naked every one of them dipped together in a common pool where they shared banter and drinks. This somehow became a prelude to the sexual activity that each pair would eventually have immediately afterwards. The film also had some element of romanticism interspersed in it in several instances. One would be the part where Sayuri as a child would feel infatuated to a stranger who buys her an iced sweet candy. The captain who is 30 years her senior, gives Sayuri additional money inserted in his handkerchief so that she can buy more of the sweets if she wants to. What Sayuri does is she goes to the temple, drops all the coins in the donation chamber, makes a wish and pulls/tugs on the bell to make it ring, praying that someday, she and the man will meet again which indeed comes true. She keeps the handkerchief and cuts a newspaper picture of the Captain and puts them in a box together with her most precious treasures. Another part is when, as a geisha, she was on the verge of saying her feelings to the captain, but she is again unable to continue because her client has arrived. She is frustrated but helpless and the emotional status of Sayuri was sufficiently delivered to the viewer. In another incident, she asks her friend Pumpkin to call on Nobu, the friend of the Captain who expressed desire for her, and to whom the Captain was indebted to. She wanted to discourage Nobu’s feelings so she concocted a plan where she would have sex with a US soldier and Nobu would catch them doing the sexual act. Not knowing that Pumpkin also had feelings for the Captain, Sayuri was shocked to find out that it was the Captain whom Pumpkin had called and not Nobu. Feeling remorse for the plan which she had set up, Sayuri decided to give up on the Captain for she knew that it was too late to undo what had ensued. She threw away the long-kept handkerchief that belonged to the Captain, and decided to turn over a new leaf in her life. Fortunately, it was true love which prevailed and the story ended with Sayuri in the arms of the Captain who disregarded what had transpired. Another film which also deals with geishas is the 1953 movie â€Å"A Geisha†. This black-and-white film was directed by a Japanese named Kenji Mizoguchi. The plot is about a 16-year-old girl named Eiko, who seeks the help of a senior Geisha named Miyoharu. Eiko ran away from home because she feared her Uncle who wanted her to do sexual favors for him to repay the debt incurred for her mother’s funeral. Eiko asks Miyoharu’s help to be a geisha, a request which Miyoharu obliges to being a friend of her mom. Miyoharu takes Eiko under her wings but first asks the consent of Eiko’s father, who, at first, declines. Being matured enough and determined to become a geisha, Eiko gives her personal consent to Miyoharu and Miyoharu decides to push through with Eiko’s training even without her parent’s consent. She trains Eiko to become a full-fledged geisha, and within a year, Eiko is ready. Before her debut, Miyoharu seeks the help of Okimi to procure a loan for Eiko’s expenses. Okimi owns the teahouse where Miyoharu works, and she grants the loan of 300,000 yen to Miyoharu. Eiko is introduced to the community as Miyoei. On her first day of work, Miyoei meets Kusuda, who, unknown to both of them, was the one who lent the amount of 300,000 yen to Okimi. At this time, Kusuda is with Kanzaki, who is immediately smitten by Miyoharu. Kusuda invites Miyoharu and Miyoei to the music festival in Tokyo, which they both accede to. It was not known to them that Kusuda had planned the trip for Miyoharu to sleep with Kanzaki, and Miyoei with him, in order to seal a business deal. Somehow, Kusuda was able to convince Miyoharu to go to Kanzaki’s room, but when he started making sexual advances to Miyoei, the latter screamed and fought back and Kusuda ended up in the hospital. Miyoharu declined other invites by Kanzaki, and this made Okimi furious because both of them – Miyoharu and Miyoei – were destroying her reputation in the locality. Slowly, they — Miyoharu and Miyoei — lost their engagements and they were losing money. Due to desperation, at a certain point, Miyoei decided to go to Okimi to inform her that she was now willing to apologize to Kusuda, and that she was now amenable to go out with him. Okimi called up Miyoharu to inform her of this but Miyoharu asked Okimi to send Miyoei home and that instead, she would be the one to go and see Kanzaki immediately. Kanzaki is delighted to see Miyoharu and the latter stays with him for the night. The next day, Miyoharu goes back home with an armful of gifts for Miyoei, but she is angry because she knows where Miyoharu had been. Miyoharu explains that she was only guarding her innocence, and that she was willing to do what she did for her because she was the only family she had. Miyoei finally understands and they embrace. The phone rings twice reminding them of their upcoming engagements for the night so they hurry up and prepare themselves for work. Having another geisha movie from a different perspective was certainly a different experience altogether. The story is also about a young girl’s life and transformation into a geisha, but this time, it is told from the Asian point of view. The two films are five decades apart and yet there were significant similarities and differences between them. Some similarities are in the costume like the geisha school, the rigid training, the kimono and the obi, the white make-up, the special attention given to the hair design, the special geisha slippers, the neck support for sleeping, the wooden houses, the tea house, the soft-spoken manner of addressing a client, the geisha’s role as an entertainer and the necessary attentiveness to clients. The clients were men, the teahouses served as places to socialize in, and geishas held a high place in the society. The setting is of the typical Japanese backdrop which was authentic and true to that period. The differences between the two movies are quite numerous. The hairstyle of the geishas in â€Å"Memoirs of a Geisha† and â€Å"A Geisha† are two different portraits. Although the hair is also drawn up in â€Å"A Geisha†, there are side and top elevations which are characteristic of the original image. There were no sexual overtones or obvious sexual messages being delivered to the viewer. No nude scenes were included, or even bare backs shown, even during the time the geishas were dressing up or dressing down. Although the topic of sex was also tackled as Miyoharu had conceded to do sexual favors for Kanzaki, the most baring scene shown was Miyoharu removing the top robe she had, where she had another full-length robe underneath. Not even a focus on her feet was shown while she removed her socks. When Kusuda made sexual advances on Miyoei, no bare skin was shown, unlike in â€Å"Memoirs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  where Sayuri almost got raped and she was stripped half-naked to her waist. There was also no romanticism involved since Miyoei and Miyoharu both did not have love interests in this film. Likewise, the feelings of Kusuda and Kanzaki for Miyoei and Miyoharu respectively were only lustful or sexual thoughts and not of the romantic type. There were no sentimental scenes alluding to romance or emotions pertaining to mutual attraction or love. The love element in this film is one between two women who cared deeply for each other like family. The eroticism which was also played-up in â€Å"Memoirs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is also absent in this film since the standpoint is also of Eastern origin. A remarkable difference seen in this movie is that while the geisha was portrayed as a docile individual in the more modern version, the 1953 version showed the geisha as one who knew how to fight back and withhold sex as much as possible. According to history, this is the more accurate image of the geisha because the Japanese government upheld the difference between legalized prostitution and geishas in society. Works Cited Akita, Kimiko. â€Å"Orientalism and the Binary of Fact and Fiction in Memoirs of a Geisha†. lass. calumet. purdue. edu Global Media Journal. Fall 2006. Web. 1 June 2010. Mizoguchi, Kenji, dir. A Geisha. Daiei Motion Picture Company. 1953. Film. Marshall, Rob, dir. Memoirs of a Geisha. Columbia Pictures Corporation. 2005. Film.

Occupation decision Essay

My decision to enter medical school started after my grandfather suffered a heart attack at the age of 20. Although this incident hurt me very much because of the medical staff inability to save his life disappointed me. After the grieving process was complete I began to consider a career in the healthcare industry. My initial step toward entering a career in the healthcare industry was to shadow a cardiologist which I believed would provide me an opportunity for me to learn what a life as a healthcare provider would be like. Once I decided that I would like to pursue a career in medicine I enrolled in college and currently completing a bachelors of science in Biology. I found the healthcare profession to be exciting and realized that it afforded me the opportunity to help the sick and injured which I believe I will enjoy and have a talent for. My experience working for the cardiologist affords me the opportunity to learn basic healthcare skills such as obtaining vital signs. Record keeping is an important part of managing a practice and my experience of tracking records has afforded me the opportunity to demonstrate this important skill. My ultimate goal is to complete medical school, a residency and then pursue a fellowship in either cardiology or neurology. One of the goals I have is to help prevent people form suffering an untimely death such as my grandfather by seeking to provide optimal care to prevent the consequences of poor health. I believe that the desire to help people created by my grandfather’s untimely death will help me provide competent and compassionate care. These traits will be advantageous to MUA because of the positive public image perception it will create. My undergraduate instructors and the cardiologist that I have followed I hope to someday model that inspirational behavior. Although I do not have many academic credentials currently but my desire to help people who are sick and injured. I am finishing my last semester with a bachelor of science in biology. This background in biology has provided me with the basic scientific knowledge which has developed a strong foundation for me to build upon with the courses to follow. I am of reputable character which is an important character trait because of the high level of trust needed between a physician and provider. The office work and shadowing I completed prior to my enrollment in college has provided me a unfettered glimpse of the struggles and benefits of pursing a career in healthcare. I believe that because of the reasons I listed I would be an excellent candidate for admission to your program. .

Poverty in the UK Essay

In 1886, Charles Booth investigated the extent of poverty in London. His was the first systematic sociological study of poverty in the UK. The results, presented in 1902-3, documented the living and working condition of the London poor. Adopting a relative approach to poverty — which was defined as the inability to meet the usual standard of life — Booth estimated that the level at which poverty set in for a family of two adults and three children was 21 shillings per week (? 1. 05 today). Booth estimated that 30. 7 per cent of London’s total population were in poverty. Around the same time, adopting an absolute perspective on poverty, Seebohm Rowntree investigated the state of the poor in the city of York in 1899. He highlighted the minimum standard of living which fulfilled people’s biological needs for food, water, clothing and shelter. This is also referred to as the subsistence level. Rowntree subsequently drew up a list of those minimum personal and household necessities required for survival and established two categories of poverty. Primary poverty is when the person is unable to acquire the minimum necessitates, secondary poverty is when a portion of the person’s total earnings is absorbed by other useful or wasteful expenditure such that it is not possible to maintain the minimum standard. Poverty can be defined in several ways, Booth took a relative approach and Rowntree took an absolute approach. In the post-war era, there has been a more pronounced shift from viewing poverty as predominantly a monetary and economic phenomenon to regarding and acknowledging its more qualitative and subjective aspects. By the end of the 1950s, the period of rationing and shortages was over and, with almost full employment, the UK seemed ‘never to have had it so good’. Yet, by the 1960s, a number of social policy academics close to the Labour Party (such as Tawney and Townsend) raised the issue of the continuing existence of poverty in a period of greater prosperity. Townsend questioned absolute definitions of poverty (such as those of Rowntree) which were outdated and failed to take account of the problems some people had in fully participating in society. Townsend’s definitive work on poverty in the UK in 1979 (Townsend 1992) went beyond an absolute definition based on physical needs, to view poverty in relation to a generally accepted standard of living, in a specific society, at a particular time. Individuals can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged and approved, in the societies which they belong. (p. 31) Townsend suggested a definition that was closer in tune to the concept of citizenship — poverty constituted a lack of resources that would enable a person to able to participate in the normal expectations and customs of a society. This kind of definition also would imply that the indicators of poverty can change over time in order to embrace changes in society. In the 1960’s, Townsend used the example of not being able to afford a proper Sunday lunch as an indicator of poverty. The idea of a Sunday roast meal might not be so relevant today because of changes in family life and the way people gather together, and therefore is not so much an integral aspect of what people can be expected to do normally. On the other hand, Townsend’s indicator of giving presents to near members of the family for birthdays or Christmas still holds. In his 1979 work, Townsend identified twelve items he believed were be relevant to the whole population, and gave each household surveyed a score on a deprivation index. The higher the score, the more deprived was the household. Townsend calculated that 22. 9 per cent of the population fell under the threshold of deprivation (Giddens 2006). When talking about poverty, researchers usually base their work on measures of deprivation rather than the identification of poverty by itself. The existence of deprivation is taken as a surrogate for the existence of poverty. People are said to be deprived materially and socially if they lack the material standards (diet, housing ad clothing) and the services and amenities (recreational, educational, environmental, social) which would allow them to participate in commonly accepted roles and relationship within society. The compass of poverty is complex, embracing the unemployed, those on low pay or in insecure work, the sick, the elderly, and the unskilled. Some minority ethnic groups also come into the picture, for example, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in the UK have, in general, high rates of poverty compared to other groups (Giddens 2006). Absolute poverty assumes that it is possible to define a minimum standard of living based on a person’s biological needs for food, water, clothing and shelter. The emphasis is on basic physical needs and not on broader social and cultural needs. Rowntree’s studies of poverty in York in 1901, 1936, and 1951 used such an approach to poverty. But another way of viewing poverty is of relative poverty, which goes beyond biological needs, and is not simply about a lack of money but also about exclusion form the customs of society. Relative poverty is about social exclusion imposed by an inadequate income. Social exclusion is a broader concept than poverty encompassing not only low material means but the inability to participate effectively in economic, social, political and cultural life, implying alienation and distance from the mainstream society (Giddens 2006). Social exclusion may both be a precursor to poverty and an important consequence of it. In 1984, Mack and Lansley study established that the poverty threshold covered not only the basic essentials for survival (such as food and shelter) but also the ability to participate in society and play a social role: for the first time ever, a majority of people see the necessities of life in Britain in the 1980s as covering a wide range of goods and activities, and†¦ people judge a minimum standard of living on socially established criteria and not just the criteria of survival or subsistence. (Mack & Lansley 1985 : 55) In the 1980s, the discussion of poverty turned increasingly to the notion of polarisation and to the shrinking portion of the UK cake held by the poorest. Poverty and wealth are not simply the ‘bottom’ and ‘top’ of the income distribution, they are polarised social conditions (Scott 1994). Income polarisation was also compounded by a number of policy measure introduced in the 1980s, such as a reduction in the level of income tax for high earners and increasing use of indirect taxes. Academics showed that polarisation and social disparities were growing between those who had benefited from the measures of the successive Thatcher administrations and those who had lost out, while the Thatcher government as the time tried to deny the excesses of Thatcherism. According to an analysis of the Child Poverty Action Group, in the regime of Margaret Thatcher, more than 63 billion has been transferred in subsidies from the poor to the rich (Oppenheim and Harker 1996) Research in the 1990’s on the distribution of wealth and poverty in the UK has been produced under a Joseph Rowntree Foundation research initiative. This research highlighted that the number of people living in households with under half the national average income fell between the early 1960s and 1970s from five million to three million, but then rose to eleven million in 1991, to a point where one in five households were living on under half the national average income. The number of individuals under 60 living in households without paid work has more than doubled – from 4.1. million, or 8 per cent, in 1979, to 9. 4 million, or 19 per cent by the mid 1990s. This has been accompanied by a widening gap in the incomes of households in paid work and those out of paid work. In 1997, 12 million people in the UK (almost 25% of the population) lived below the poverty line, defined as under half the average wage, and two out of five children were born poor. Today, according to OECD (Organisation for Economic cooperation and Development), Britain has one of the worst poverty records in the developed world (Giddens 2006). According to the latest available statistics, nearly 1 in 4 people in the UK – amounting to 13 million people – live in poverty. This includes nearly 4 million children – signifying a shocking 1 in 3 ratio (Oxfam GB 2003). The explanations that have been offered as causes of poverty fall under two categories, individualistic theories and structural theories. Here we will focus on the former. Individualistic theories identify the main causes of poverty within individuals themselves. Social and cultural factors are not entirely discounted, but more emphasis is place on inappropirated individual behaviours. There are three main types of individualistic theories. Orthodox economic theory: This theory proposes that poverty can be explained by the economic deficiency of the individual . Harold Lydall argues that the general abilities of men in the labour force determine the distribution of incomes. These abilities are assumed to be created by genetic, environmental and educational factors. To reduce poverty, policies need to target individuals’ own value systems, to develop their own personal qualities in a manner that makes them more capable and efficient. The individual is poor because he has not maximised his true potential in the labour market. Minority group theory: Minority group theory originate from the earliest studies of poverty based on the findings of Booth and Rowntree. These pioneering social scientists did not attempt to discover the causes of poverty, merely the characteristics of certain groups of poor people. Minority group theory has largely constructed its explanation for poverty through examining the characteristics of the poor – for example, being old, being married with dependent children. Going beyond such demographic indicators, the theory implicates alleged ‘faulty’ characteristics. The classification of ‘ar-risk’ groups has prompted policy makers to implement a benefit system to ensure that the most basic of needs are met, without encouraging idleness or apathy. The poverty policies of successive governments have often informed by minority group theory. Subculture of poverty theory: Subculture of poverty theory is derived form a number of anthropological and sociological studies, particularly, the work of Oscar Lewis. It was Lewis who in 1959 introduced the term ‘the culture of poverty’ in an effort to draw an analogy between the Mexican lower class families and those in other parts of the world. He attempted to explain the phenomenon of the persistence of poverty in different countries. The basic idea has its roots in the Chicago School of Sociology and the work of Robert E. Park. According to Park the patterns of the neighbourhood, and the slum in particular, once they come into being, take on a life of their own and are to a great extent self-generating and self-perpetuating. A sociological process known as labeling also underpins this phenomenon. Labelling somebody negatively may also lead to increased surveillance or segregation from the wider community which further increases (and even creates) the predicted behaviour (Fulcher and Scott 2001). These processes, whereby people tend to live up to the expectation of others are known to be self-fulfilling. Oscar Lewis implies a similar understanding in his formulation of the notion of the culture of poverty. Lewis claimed that poverty affected the very personality of slum dwellers. The poor tend to be at once apathetic yet alienated, happy-go-lucky yet miserable. Other negative characteristics that mark the psychological orientation of poor people include laziness, being unambitious, being disorganised, and fatalistic. To fight poverty at its roots, such psychological tendencies need to be gradually eroded, with more positive attitudes taking their place. Much work also needs to be done on making the destitute people more attractive to their potential employers, in terms of skills and educational qualifications. Substantial and sustained reductions in poverty depend on raising the level of qualifications among older teenagers and young adults in the bottom quarter of educational achievement. Lack of progress here is a major concern for longer term progress on reducing poverty. (Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2006) References: Giddens, A. (2006). Sociology. Cambridge : Polity Press Fulcher, J. & Scott J. (2001). Sociology. Oxford : Oxford University Press Joseph Rowntree Foundation. (2006). Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in the UK 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2007 from http://www.poverty. org. uk/reports/mpse%202006%20findings. pdf Mack, J. & Lansley, S. (1985). Poor Britain. London : Unwin Hyman Oppenheim,C. & Harker, L. (1996). Poverty: the Facts, 3rd ed. London : Child Poverty Action Oxfam GB. (2003). The facts about poverty in the UK. Retrieved 20 March 2007 from http://www. oxfamgb. org/ukpp/poverty/thefacts. htm Scott, J. (1994). Poverty and Wealth: Citizenship, Deprivation and Privilege (Longman Sociology Series). London : Longman Group United Kingdom Townsend, P. (1992). Poverty in the UK. Berkeley : University of California Press

Reading response 25 enteries of mistakes made from slip of the tongue Essay

Reading response 25 enteries of mistakes made from slip of the tongue - Essay Example The existence of phonemic or lexical errors in the above sentences offers evidence that the speakers are engaging on forward planning of their utterances. It can be noted from the speech errors that speakers need to adhere to a certain set of linguistic rules. For instance, phonetic constraints prescribe the possible sequences of sounds. Additionally, the studies on speech error have found that there is existence of rules that stipulates the manner in which morphemes are pronounced or how they need to be used together with other morphemes. According to Garrett (1980), the examples below show that speech errors also observe these rules. From the speech errors it can be deduced that elements that interact with each another have a tendency to semantically or phonetically to be same to one another. This means that vowels and vowels exchange and consonants with consonants, the slips are consistent with the language phonological rules, and lastly, in speech errors there are consistent stress patterns. Primarily, both interacting segments receive minor or major

Characteristics of the Kingdom Animalia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Characteristics of the Kingdom Animalia - Essay Example The kingdom Animalia consists of over thirty different major phyla including Mollusca, Arthropoda,Cnidaria, and Chordata. The Chordates are the ones that are most popularly thought of as animals, but insects and mollusk-like creatures are just as much an animal as a koala bear and giraffe. Interestingly, the insects make up 87% of all the animal species on the planet. Members of the group Chordata are indeed special within the Animal kingdom though. They have in common five unique characteristics which distinguish them from other animals. At some point during their development Chordates have the following body structures: a notochord, gills, a hollow nerve cord, a tail past the anus, and a digestive tube behind the mouth. All animals have the ability to move around at a relatively rapid pace because of the presence of muscle tissue within their anatomy. In contrast members of the plant kingdom are generally rooted to one spot during their entire adult life.The Animal kingdom contains more members than any other kingdom with likely over a million different species on the planet. They range in size from just a few cells to whale-sized. Most of the animals on the earth live in the sea, some live in fresh water, and the smallest percentage of the Animal kingdom live on land. The Animal kingdom includes all amphibians, birds, bugs, fish, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, and even prehistoric creatures such as dinosaurs and mammoths.

Food Safety Management Systems exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Food Safety Management Systems exam - Essay Example One of the main factors that results in organizational change is the desire for growth (Branson, 2008). Organizations which want to attain certain levels of growth or expansion are always forced to change how they operate so that they are can align procedures with the new status that they want to achieve. A very classic example in the food industry is Subway sandwich chain that began its operations using different names in the 1960s. During this time, the company struggled to achieve its goals or even grows. After changing its name to Subway and also aligning its operations to be able to allow for franchising, it was able to open up several units in the United States of America. This however required the employees to also change the way they carried out their duties so that it was in line with the new desired status. The second factor which results in organizational change is the need to improve processes (Kotter & Cohen, 2002). A food business or venture which wants to implement new production process in order to be more efficient is required to carry out changes that will facilitate this. There are also food production and selling enterprises like Kraft Foods which have implemented leaner production procedures such as sigma six so that they can reduce their costs of operation and enhance efficiency. Food retailing stores like Walmart have also come up with high level service delivery systems which ensures not only the provision of quality services but also enhance and improve the entire operations and processes. The third primary factor for organizational change is the government regulations. Wyman (2001) states that the changes in government regulations directly impact on how businesses are run. Among the food processing organizations, when safety and quality regulations are changed and implemented by the government, it is usually important for the organization to change its