Pian an individual state's TANF program to discuss and in general,AND Research Paper

Pian an individual state's TANF program to discuss and in general,AND discuss how this welfare reform changes behavior and labou - Research Paper Example This paper aims at discussing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and how it affects behavior and labor force participation. Critiques of Aid to Families with Dependent Children program had claimed that the program was highly ineffective and was only encouraging dependency on the government. This argument was backed by the high rate of increase in case load that was experienced in between 1990 and 1994. This led to the introduction of welfare-work programs. These programs were found to have highly increased employment rates and reducing welfare rolls. However, the programs had very minimal effect on the income of former welfare recipients. This proved that the programs were not efficient in poverty eradication. The government then made the decision to turn welfare into a transitional system. Under this system financial assistance would be provided to the needy just for a certain period then they would be required to work and earn their own money by using the knowledge they go t from the training offered to them during the welfare (Moffitt, 2002). The congress reforms that led to the enactment of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families had five main themes. The welfare was supposed to undergo reform in order for them to promote time limits and work. They also aimed at reducing federal spending on financial aid to the needy families with dependent children. ... Encouraging work amongst welfare recipients was one of the major aims of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Before the reforms that brought about the introduction of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, there was no increase in the rate of employment amongst the welfare recipients (Brockman, 2013). In between 1994 and 1999 there was a labor participation increase of about 10% amongst the welfare recipients. This is encouraged by the requirement of the welfare recipients to work. With this they were able to be of greater labor significance to the country’s economy. One of the contributing factors to the increase in employment amongst welfare recipients is the period restriction. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families states that no individual would be allowed to receive welfare for more than 5 years. Some of the states have even made the number of years less (Falk & United States, 2008). This policy makes the recipients to want to involve themselves in income ear ning activities in preparation for the end of welfare assistance. Given the fact that the recipients are financially needy the only legitimate income generating activity that they would effectively involve in is an employment and provision of labor. Through this they increase the country’s general labor force. The fact that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families encouraged devolution also contributed to the increase in the rate of employment amongst welfare recipients. Through devolution states were able to design and implement programs that would encourage employment amongst the policy recipients. This is majorly because of the diversity of the industrial

Social criticism through science fiction literature

Social criticism through science fiction literature Science fiction frequently involves social criticism. The use of social criticism is an author’s interest in addressing specific political, social, cultural, economic or religious issues in their work. When reading or critiquing these stories, it is necessary to see what the author might be saying about our lives, our society, our political and power relations, gender roles, or sexuality. Every author has a point to make, and may make use of social criticism as a means to this end. In the short story, â€Å"Baby, You Were Great!† by Kate Wilhelm, she employs one of the best ways to critique society, by playing with gender roles. This story was written in 1967, when sexism was rampant and her interpretation of women as commodities seems very timely. The story also works as a commentary on the future of media, celebrity, and the various forms of vicarious pleasure that can be acquired from our new technologies and the myriad fantasies that these technologies permit. Obviously, this story predates our current reality shows, which have become so popular. Nonetheless, it was a harbinger of things to come. This seems to be attributable to the universal human need to feel and experience novelty, and technology’s ability to allow humans to do so much more than their physical bodies may allow. Who doesn’t wonder what it is like to have some of the experiences that people have on these shows? Another, more obvious way that science fiction comments on society is through the relationship between man and technology. These stories are usually used to caution us against an over-dependence on technology. Humanity is seen as always searching for the next thing that can make our lives easier, but sometimes things can go radically wrong. For instance, in â€Å"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream,† by Harlan Ellison, computers were created by humans to fight their wars. Somehow they join together into one linked and unified computer called AM, who discovers sentience. He quickly runs data to kill everyone on Earth except for five survivors with whom he plays out his sadistic and revenge-filled mind games. The goal of his game is not to actually kill them, but to torment them and to continue to torture them forever. Moreover, AM has acquired hatred for his creators. Obviously AM is only reflecting the traits that were inherent in the society that created him. The story demonst rates that there is a little piece of AM in all of us. AM is the watcher and Punisher. He is the terminator that cannot stop, for that is his job. The reader can feel and empathize with the survivor’s ongoing state of misery, apprehension and fear. In conclusion, the ending is pretty horrific with Ted ending up a slug-like, mouthless blob with no extremities. It is nice to know that Ted does care about the others because he frees them by killing them, leaving himself alone to face the music. The story shows us what we can look forward to if we choose to hand over our choices and our control, to the semi-sentient machine of government. This whole catastrophe happened due to a global world war. It is a warning as valid today as it was when this story was written, back when people realized that we should not be in Vietnam and anti-war sentiment had finally begun to spread on a mass scale. We lost that one too. Finally, Harlan Ellison comments on social control and regulation in the short story â€Å"Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman, which was published in 1965. The story describes the Marxist perspective of the inherent class warfare and contradictions that are part and parcel of a society subjugated and oppressed by a dominant ruling class. In any class society, there will be a dominant ideology, made up of the ideas and institutions which favor the ruling class. Ticktockman and Harlequin personify the struggles between law and order and personal freedom, as well as the paramount conflict between forced discipline and creative individuality. Specifically, it seems to have been written to protest the rigid bureaucracy ruled by an equally unfeeling social elite. It shows what can happen in the future if the world resorts to coerced labor forces and obsession with time. People then were already addicted to mass consumption and many countries were/are under totalitarian rule. At the e nd of the story, it is ironic that Ticktockman is even guilty of not being on time. The Harlequin is the solitary person who refuses to be controlled. Indeed, disruptive and rebellious, Harlequin is the obvious deviant because he is the only human being who goes against the powers that be. In short, the theme of the story basically shows how useless protest usually is in achieving social change. Only the great, tragic, jelly bean showering clown had the guts to go against the status quo of the government, only to be forcibly reprocessed by the ruling hierarchy and forced into conformity. All three stories exemplify the authors’ use of particular social issues to comment on and criticize many of man’s ongoing dilemmas that underscore the volatile state of the world and our place in it. Of particular importance is how we treat one another in a world so obsessed with consumerism, sex, power, and money. It is time for a reassessment of what is truly important as we trudge into an uncertain future. Question 3 During the 1950s and 1960s, the United States was in the midst of the Cold War with Russia, also known also as the Red Scare and McCarthyism. Americans had a fear of the communist regime taking over the U.S. Senator McCarthy investigated government employees and the Hollywood film industry in search of communist sympathizers. America had also gone to war with Korea, and the Vietnam War was spiraling out of control. In addition, the Soviets had launched Sputnik, so we were rivals in many areas. Subsequently, these mostly unfounded fears spurred conservatism and the compromising of many civil liberties. Many of the science fiction stories played on these fears. According to many people, the 1950s and 1960s is when science fiction â€Å"grew up.† I concur with this assessment. During the 1950s, science fiction was finally getting some respect by literary scholars. People were beginning to see that science fiction fantasy was actually becoming scientific fact. Many inventions which had been predicted in earlier pulp novels, such as the atomic bomb, transistor radios, ATM’s, the computer mouse, and television were now a reality. With the coming of the 1960s a radical change, known as the New Wave, took place in science fiction. These stories were about everyday people being influenced by science and concerned itself more with sex and violence than with the science itself. Without a doubt, it was a reaction against earlier science fiction. This New Wave created a more urbane and metaphoric style of science fiction much different from the past. Also, during this time, America was going through a cultural revolution known as the â€Å"Psychedelic Sixties.† Young people broke society’s rules in every imaginable way, especially through rock music and fashion. They rejected the establishments mores and manners. The hippie counter-culture was born. They were embracing new ideas, thoughts, and inspiration from the world around them because they had grown up in a changing society influenced now by drugs, as well as science and technology. They saw the first space flights and watched as the first man walked on the moon. Thus, science fiction matured along with society, incorporating these new influences which now appealed to adults, not just kids. Based on what we have read so far, I am in total agreement with the notion that it was during this time period that science fiction â€Å"grew up.† In short, these last series of stories demonstrate this maturation process. Stories such as â€Å"Baby, You Were Great,† which dealt with sexism, reflected the 1960s women’s rights movement, and the changing cultural and social climate of that era. Repent, Harlequin! Said The Ticktockman,† by Harlan Ellison, can be seen to epitomize the young hippies and other young adults’ aversion to being forced to be puppets of the ruling elite and drafted into the military as agents in a war they did not believe in. According to Timothy Leary, people were advised to Turn On, Tune In, and Drop Out. That is what the Harlequin did, but to no avail. Like the hippies, he succumbed to the powers that be. At least he valiantly tried, and who doesn’t like a clown?

Humorous Wedding Speech by the Groom -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeches

Humorous Wedding Speech by the Groom Thank you for your kind words, I am very proud to be your son-in-law; I hope I can live up to your expectations. I would sincerely like to thank you for welcoming me into your family, for bringing up such a lovely daughter, and for giving me your blessing to marry her. In addition. due to the number of phone calls between my wife and her mom, the phone company would also like to thank you both. On this date in history in 1889 the Boer War ended, and maybe after my speech you'll think it's started again, although this day will go down in history as the day you all heard the best ever speech. It will be read shortly by one of my best men. It is said that a great speech has a good beginning, a good ending, and most importantly, the two are as close together as possible. (Have a thick wad of paper in hand) Well tough! (Unfold notes, pause, and smile at all tables) That, of course, was a cracker of a speech of my own worked out for you today, but as I am now married, my wife has handed this to me to read instead. (To the father-in-law) By the way, I haven't forgotten, I'll sign that receipt for you (Produce bit of paper with the writing on saying) Received, one daughter in perfect condition, full- guaranteed. Care note: gets bored easily keep busy with constant supply of chores. Comes complete with all extras. (My favorite’s the nurse’s uniform). Not to be outdone though my dad also has a receipt for my wife to sign. It reads: (Again, pull out anothier bit of paper) Received, one son, sold as seen, no refunds under any circumstances. We've redecorated the room and changed the locks so you're stuck with him. Care Notes: dehydrates easily, top up regularly with b... ...ccasion for both my parents who, as well as putting up with me and pointing me in the right direction, have prepared me well, supported me through my life and taught me the difference between right and wrong, so as that I know which I am enjoying at any given time! A Final and big thankyou goes to our bridesmaids who looked lovely and I thank them all for doing such a wonderful job today. (Give them gifts) (Toast bridesmaids) Ladies and Gentlemen, please stand. I would like to propose a toast to the bridesmaids. Well, I could stand here and give you a load more stale old jokes. but instead I think I’ll leave that to one of my best men who has cut his speech by quite a lot so as not to be Tottenham's first case of foot in mouth disease, just remember he's never been one to let the truth get in the way of a good story. Ladies and gentlemen, the best man.

Metacognition Student Achievement Essay

Metacognition has generally been described as thinking about one’s own thoughts. The realization that a human being cannot exist in isolation of his inner self, that he is constantly probing that dam of his very essence to evaluate situations and resolve the never-ending puzzles that daily confront him. Kornell (2009), has described metacognition as self-reflection and conscious awareness. An even more elaborate definition is that given by Serendip (2009). He defines it as â€Å"a reflective practice that helps one discern general patterns in one’s own views and abilities†. Whichever definition one feels comfortable with, it cannot be said to be superior to the other, because metacognition deals with the intangible and cannot be weighed on a scale. It has, however, been the subject of widespread research all over the world. Psychologists are now asking themselves, what causes that tip of the tongue experience, when you are sure you know someone’s name but cannot recall it? Or what is at play when one conveys a feeling of uncertainty? Why is it that humans are able to have certain cognitive abilities that animals apparently do not have? For example, if asked what year America gained independence, one may readily recall with certainty, or one may say with complete uncertainty that he does not know. The answer may also lie in between, showing a certain degree of uncertainty by replying, for example, I think it was 1776. Whatever answer one gives, it demonstrates an ability to question one’s memory and experience. According to studies that have been done, this ability can be improved. Thus, the science of metacognition is now rampant, with studies being carried out on the cognitive abilities of monkeys, children, students, and ways in which they can be improved. Metacognition 2 One study which was carried out to test the cognitive abilities of rhesus monkeys, was that conducted by Kornell, Son & Terrace (2007). In this trial, the monkeys were initially trained to select a given picture from a sample of six pictures by touching the image on a touch-screen monitor. After this training period, they were shown six sample pictures which were then simultaneously removed and replaced with nine, one of the previous six being among them. As soon as they selected the sample they thought was among the previous six, they were required to bet on their choice by depressing an icon on the screen for certainty, with a reward of redeemable food tokens, or loss of tokens, if wrong. A further icon for a low risk bet was also there. After carrying out this experiment for a suitable period of time, they concluded that the monkeys would invariably only bet when they were sure that they knew the correct answer. The researchers were therefore of the opinion that the monkeys were guided by a cognitive ability. They also tested two monkeys on metacognitive control. This is the ability to use metacognitive ability to influence behavior. An example would be requesting for a hint when one is unsure of an answer, a common trait with humans. In this trial, two monkeys were presented with a few sample pictures to place in a certain order. They were also availed of onscreen visual hints if they needed. The penalty for using the hints was a less appetizing banana flavored pellet, instead of the more attractive M&M candy. As the test progressed, it became apparent that the monkeys were using the hints less and less, and would only resort to them when they were sure that they did not know the right answer. This ability to have control over one’s metacognitive ability had been tested on humans for many years, and it was only now that it was becoming clear that it was also present in animals. However, how prevalent this is among them, cannot be clear and it cannot be generalized from this study that only involved rhesus monkeys. Metacognition 3 Smith & Washbum (2005) have taken animal research a notch higher and carried out trials that probe the memory, referred to as monitoring the memory. In the test, animals which were given various tasks to do based on what they had done before, declined to engage in the more difficult tasks, a result that was the same as similar tests carried out on humans. The animals were selective and seemed to have the same analogous capacity as human. There was no doubt that they were using their metacognitive abilities to seek in their memories, and when they remembered that the task was arduous, they declined to take the test. Kornell & Terrace (2007) also carried out some trials seeking to find out if monkeys benefited from learning. They did this with two rhesus monkeys which were given two problem sets to solve. In one difficult set, they were given hints to assist them after a suitable training period. In the other set, they were given no hints. The number of hints they used to solve the problem set steadily declined over time, the performance, however, did not change, it stayed the same. The monkeys were solving the problem with skills they had acquired from the hints and were using them less and less because they had â€Å"learned†. This is fascinating and opens up very interesting questions about the training of animals. There are other areas of animal metacognitive behavior which have been studied. Hampton, R (2009), carried out studies on rhesus monkeys to determine if they made decisions when they had information, or sought information when ignorant and immediately made a decision. The results were quite revealing. They carried out two sets of tests. In one test, the monkeys witnessed food being inserted into some opaque test tubes. These tests were referred to as the seen trials. In the other test, the food was inserted into test tubes without their knowledge. Metacognition 4 The monkeys were then required to identify the tubes which had food in them. In trial after trial, they would first look down the tubes to ascertain if the food was there and if it was, they selected the tube. What was evident from these tests is that the monkeys sought information first, by peering down the tubes, when ignorant, and only immediately selected the correct tubes without investigating, when they knew the food was there. That means they knew when they knew and only sought information when they knew that they did not know. This is a characteristic which is prevalent among human children, orangutans and rhesus monkeys. It is, however, not clear with capuchin monkeys when they were exposed to a similar trial about a decade before. There is room for more research on animals. According to Smith & Washbum, a lot needs to be investigated regarding the gifts different animals have. For example, monkeys and dolphins seem to exhibit more cognitive abilities than pigeons, whose reactions appear to be more stimulus based. Further research in this area can yield very important information which may stimulate a whole spectrum of research into cognitive abilities of different animal specie. Additionally, there is a lot of room into studies on the ability or lack of ability of animals to make quantitative judgements, for example, their mood. Metacognitive abilities is also a subject of importance in developing learning capabilities for children. Loh, A (2009), has made suggestions on methods to use to improve metacognition learning for children as young as two year olds. Since parents spend the most amount time with children of this age, they are best placed to practice the techniques recommended by Loh. He says that children should be encouraged to think about their thinking process in order to develop their intellect and intelligence. Children should be engaged, soon after an activity, to gauge their Metacognition 5 thinking process and the techniques they used for a task. Immediately after this activity, they should be asked certain questions, for example : 1. They should be asked about the process they used to achieve the result. This way, they will recall the steps and learn the process. 2. What strategies did they use? This will engage them actively in the thinking process by beginning to adopt strategic thinking of alternative techniques they can use to achieve better results. 3. What do they think about the end result? Is it good or bad? This will help them to evaluate their work. 4. Offer them puzzling tasks that have more than one solution. This exposes them to cognitive conflicts 5. Engage them in debates and discussions with other children 6. Allow them to practice reciprocal teaching where they form groups and one child teaches members of his group. 7. Once they engage on a task, allow them to continue undisturbed. Help them with clues if they get stuck. Further, they can be assisted with questions that will incline them to probe their mind even more, for example, what they learned from the task and what they found difficult. Additionally, they can be probed to find out if they have a next goal and what will help them to achieve it. Metacognition 6 There has been more research in the field of metacognitive abilities of children. Young children’s understanding of mental life, or â€Å"theory of mind†, is an area that is currently being explored by various scientists. According to science daily (2008), a new study had made a link between theory of mind as assessed in kindergarten children and their metacognitive abilities in elementary school. Early theory of mind competencies positively influenced metacognitive abilities acquired later. 174 children between the ages of three and four were used as study subjects to investigate this relationship. Wolfgang Schneider, P. H. D. , of the University of Wurzburg, who carried out the trial, said that knowledge from this research can be used to develop training programs for young children. For all the progress that has been done on metacognition in animals and children, none can rival that of learners. The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (2009), says that students with metacognitive needs have difficulties in setting priorities and planning their tasks. Additionally: 1. They are poor at strategizing in order to accomplish a task methodically 2. They procrastinate and are unable to start their work. 3. They are inattentive and make careless mistakes. 4. They are not able to identify their faults or know how to seek help. With these type of students they recommend the following teaching strategies : 1. Teachers should tutor them on how to plan and show them the scoring rubric for the assignment. 2. They should be taught on estimation of time needed to complete a task. 3. They should be assisted with think-aloud strategies. Metacognition 7 4. They should be cajoled to get engaged actively in their work by asking them how they are doing the work and how they will remember to solve the problem. 5. Teachers should be specific in their assignments to students by providing scoring rubrics for each question and how they have been calculated. However, Pierce (2004), dealt even deeper in metacognition for students. He was of the opinion that study strategies were generalized and teachers did not teach them in class. They assumed that students had already learned them. When they taught a strategy, students used the same strategy taught for all subjects. According to him, students needed to acquire three types of knowledge in order to improve their metacognitive abilities. These are : 1. Declarative knowledge which is having at their grasp factual information, for example, speed is distance divided by time taken. 2. Procedural knowledge which is knowing how to do something. Using the previous example of speed, they should know the formula for speed and the steps required in its calculation. 3. Conditional knowledge – This is knowing when to use a certain procedure and why one strategy is better than another. In applying the three types of knowledge for study strategies for example, students need declarative knowledge to know that a high school history textbook is different from an article analyzing the same textbook. They need procedural knowledge to take notes from such a textbook and conditional knowledge to know when such notes should be taken. According to Pierce, study techniques improve learning but are hardly ever taught. Additionally, many students do not internalize success as caused by ability and effort. Metacognition 8 Lippman, Danielsson & Linder (2005), differed slightly with some researchers of metacognition. They claimed that most studies taught metacognitive skills and then measured the effects of training. Instead, they should quantify the use of metacognition. In a study that they carried out at an American university, their aim was to find out how much metacognition is used in a laboratory and how the setup encourages the use of metacognition. Three groups of students were used and their proceedings videotaped and their verbal comments recorded. In one group, students were given a set of instructions to follow. The same was done for the second group and in addition, they were expected to explain their reason. The third group was given a question to answer and expected to explain, in a presentation, the method they had used to get results. In analyzing the results, Lippman et al (2005) saw no difference in the amount of metacognition in the different groups. However, the most important finding was that there was a difference in how metacognition made students change their behavior in tackling the lab assignments. For example, in the third group, the verbal exchanges revealed that the use of metacognition made the students more creative. This was a different approach as was the one used by Mevarech & Kramarski (2003). In this study, 100 eighth graders, studying algebra in four classrooms, were divided into two groups. One group was exposed to cooperative learning and also given metacognitive training. The other group was given cooperative learning but without metacognitive training. At issue was mathematical modeling and problem solving skills. After tasks to perform were given, the results showed that the group which had been given metacognitive training did outperformed the other that only had a cooperative setting. There was significant difference with the two groups with regard to planning, processing and reflection. They concluded that the cooperative Metacognition 9 setting is not enough to enhance modeling skills. Metacognitive skills are important in how to approach a problem, how to control and monitor the solution and how to reflect on the final answer. As a result of such studies, Mevarech & Kramarski (2003) designed the learning tool called IMPROVE, whose letters stand for : Introducing the new material Metacognitive questioning Practicing Reviewing Obtaining mastery on higher and lower cognitive processes Verification Enrichment and remedial The important thing in IMPROVE is the approach in problem solving. Students are able to approach a scenario with a systematic method which first and foremost addresses the question of what is the issue at hand. They then investigate to find out how different the problem is from others and what the best strategies are to solve it. As can be seen from all the studies mentioned, metacognition is an area of development that has a lot of room for growth. Animals which have been shown to have metacognitive abilities can be researched further in order to discover if this is something widespread within the animal kingdom, and if not, then what actually determines metacognition of a species. With children too, the theory of the mind is interesting and further studies should be carried out to determine if there are other areas of their lives that can benefit from improved research on Metacognition 10 metacognition. For example, are high levels of metacognition genetic? Does diet affect levels of metacognition? What role does disease play in metacognition? It would also be interesting to see new research in the study techniques of students. More than anyone else, their place in society is critical because they take over reins in business, government and the civil society within only a few years after leaving college. Their overall performance in school is therefore a top priority. Of serious concern should be when study techniques should begin to be taught and how they would be standardized. Additionally, quantifying the use of metacognition as advocated for by Lippman (2005), needs to generate more study. If his research is anything to go by, then the approach to metacognition training must also address, not just the amount of metacognition ability gained, but also how it is channeled to productive use. This is an area that can prove very challenging and rewarding because teaching metacognition techniques is one thing, but being able to teach the type of techniques that can produce quantifiable measures cannot be easy. However, it is possible that the same metacognition graduates will discover new methods and strategies to impart more abilities in metacognition. Metacognition 11 References Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (2009). Metacognitive Skills. Retrieved on July 29, 2009 from http://www. etfo. ca/Multimedia/Webcasts/SpecialEducation/Pages/Metacognitive%20Skills. aspx Hampton, R (2009). Multiple demonstrations of metacognition in nonhumans: Converging evidence or multiple mechanisms? Retrieved on July 29, 2009 from http://psyc. queensu. ca/ccbr/Vol4/Hampton.pdf. Kornell, Nate (2009, February). Metacognition in Humans and Animals. Retrieved on July 29, 2009 from http://www3. interscience. wiley. com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122212734/HTMLSTART Lippmann, K. , Danielsson, A. & Linder, C. (2005, August). Metacognition in the student Laboratory : Is increased metacognition necessarily better? Retrieved July 29, 2009 from http://www. anst. uu. se/rekun676/meta. pdf Loh, A (2009, July). Using Metacognition Learning to Make Children Smarter. Retrieved on July 29, 209 from http://www. brainy-child. com/articles/metacognition-learning.shtml Mevarech Z. & Kramarski, B. ( 2003). Mathematical Modeling and Meta-cognitive Instruction. Retrieved on July 29, 2009 from http://www. icme-organisers. dk/tsg18/S32MevarechKramarski. pdf Metacognition 12 Mevarech, Z. & Kramarski, B. (2003). Metacognitive Questioning and the use of Worked Examples. Retrieved July 29, 2009 from http://www. memory-key. com/StudySkills/IMPROVE. htm Peirce, W (2004, November). METACOGNITION: Study Strategies, Monitoring, and Motivation. Retrieved on July 29, 2009, from http://academic. pgcc. edu/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/metacognition.htm ScienceDaily (2008, August). Young Children’s ‘Theory Of Mind’ Linked To Subsequent Metacognitive Development In Adolescence. Retrieved on July 29, 2009 from http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2008/08/080814154429. htm Serendip (2009). Metacognition. Retrieved July 29, 2009 from http://serendip. brynmawr. edu/exchange/wfrankli/ii09/metacognition Smith, D & Washbum, D. (2005, February). Uncertainty Monitoring and Metacognition by Animals. Retrieved July 29, 2009 from http://www3. interscience. wiley. com/cgi-bin/fulltext/118706297/HTMLSTART

Compare and contrast how the directors of ‘Titanic’ and ‘A Night to Remember’ portray the sinking of the Titanic

Using the factual accounts of the sinking of the Titanic, compare and contrast how the directors of ‘Titanic' and ‘A Night to Remember' portray the events that occurred. On Monday April the 14th 1912, brought an event which was to change thousands of lives and change the course of history. The ‘unsinkable' Titanic – the pride of the White Star fleet struck an iceberg and sank within hours causing a massive loss of life. This disaster has caught the imagination of many generations and has provided the source of many books and films both fact and fiction. The Titanic was on its maiden voyage to New York. It was the largest and greatest ship of its age, it was said to be like a floating city that carried 332 first class passengers in absolute luxury, 276 second class passengers and approximately 708 Steerage class or lower class passengers that suffered most casualties over the hours Titanic sank. The most famous films of the events surrounding the sinking of the Titanic are ‘A Night to Remember' by Roy Baker in 1958 which was based on the true story of Titanic, and most recently the 11 Academy award winning film ‘Titanic' by James Cameron in 1997 which is one of the most successful films of recent times. A Night to Remember' and ‘Titanic' approach the telling of the story in totally different ways, but have very similar themes running throughout. ‘A Night to Remember' is based on the book also called ‘A night to Remember' by Walter Lord. The film follows a chronological order of events with the central character of Lightholler the 2nd officer who survived the disaster. It focuses on him from when he boards the ship to when the ship is sinking. He is portrayed as a calm well respected leader, this is showed even more so when he shows courage and intelligence through his actions in keeping control of events and helping save lives. He plays a huge role in bringing the film together as he is someone who the watcher can focus on. The film highlights some of the mistakes that contributed to the disaster. It spends a large proportion of the time focusing on the radio room and how the operators where spending more time sending passengers personal business messages than listening to vital warnings from other ships of the danger of floating icebergs in the area. Throughout ‘A Night to Remember' the development of characters is very limited and many of them are focused on to show general scenes of passengers and crew and how they react to the events in different ways. In the opening scenes of ‘A Night to Remember' Baker, combines real footage of the launching of the titanic with acted scenes, he accomplishes this as he was so committed to telling the true story. However Cameron uses fake footage of the people waving goodbye to their loved ones, he fools us into believing it is real footage by changing the color contrast to a yellow to make it look old and historic. There are many stereotypes in the film, particularly the portrayal of the wealthy classes in first class, who appear to spend most of the film dressed in evening dress enjoying the splendor and luxury of the state rooms, and not realizing the severity of the situation when the ship strikes the iceberg. Many of them show little respect for the crew when asked to move to the lifeboats, and many resent having to wear life jackets. As the situation develops, and it becomes more apparent that the ships is really sinking then the mood changes and many develop an attitude of self protection. This is particularly shown by the Chairman of the White Star Line – Mr. Ismay who sneaks onto a lifeboat before many of the women and children have had a chance to leave the ship. This is noticed by Lightholler whose look of disgust shows his feelings towards his boss. Women in ‘A Night to Remember' are portrayed as thick and stupid as they make comments such as ‘You won't get back on board tomorrow without a pass' when the ship is about to sink to the bottom of the Atlantic. Throughout the film, a lot is shown of the class difference between the first class passengers, living in luxury, and the steerage class passengers who are accommodated in very basic accommodation below the waterline, with many sharing overcrowded rooms. Many of the gangways are locked during the sinking to prevent them getting on deck to have a chance of survival, as the crew know that the ship does not have enough lifeboats for everyone, and priority is being given to the first class passengers. Most of these steerage class passengers appear to be foreign immigrants to the USA, and thus of less value than the wealthy First Class passengers. Throughout the film the crew are shown to be professional and polite throughout, especially Lightholler, as the developing scenes of the film increase and when there is a rising tide of panic amongst the passengers and crew, Lightholler leadership qualities still stand out, as he is able to think in a calm and logical way, and overcoming many difficulties. However in ‘titanic' Cameron portrays him as a crew member who can only keep order by using weapons and treats ‘Order, order or I will shoot you all like dogs. ‘ The Captain of the Titanic, Captain Smith is portrayed in both films as a very stereotypical captain, with his white beard, and powerful presence, at no time during either film is it suggested that he is responsible for the disaster. In ‘Titanic' at the beginning he is shown as a dream maker and when the ship is sinking he is portrayed as lost and not in control. However in ‘A night to Remember' he is shown to be in control even when the ship is sinking as he gives the orders and in ‘Titanic' they are suggested to him by the crew. A Night to Remember' unlike ‘Titanic', spends some time on the two other ships in the area – The California which is only ten miles away, and could have reached the sinking Titanic quickly enough to save many of the passengers, but instead with its Captain asleep and the incompetent crew ignoring the frantic distress flare from the sinking ship, and turning off its radios. The Carpathia on the other hand is some sixty miles away when it hears the calls for help, and immediately starts racing towards the scene. The Captain is portrayed as efficient, and concerned in the way he prepares his ships to receive the casualties. The Titanic film makes no reference to the California, and The Carpathia only appears in the closing scenes of the film. The final scenes of ‘A Night to Remember', when the ship finally begins to sink beneath the surface is dramatic but without the benefit of computer graphics and animation available to Cameron, baker cannot possibly compete in terms of the drama that Cameron achieves in his modern film. In Cameron's film the ship is shown as breaking in two, with the stern rising vertically in the water before plummeting to the bottom. This was what actually happened according to eye witness accounts, but it is not portrayed like this in Bakers film. The sinking scenes in Cameron's film are some of the most dramatic and realistic in modern cinema. Cameron's ‘Titanic' makes a totally different approach to telling the story as it is based on fictional characters which are developed over a long period of time. It is basically a dramatic love story interwoven with the story of Titanic. The story develops between Rose, a rich girl who is forced into engagement to a multimillionaire steel baron – Cal Hockley. She feels trapped inside her own world causing her to feel like death is the only way out. However she is saved by Jack, a 3rd class passenger who makes a living out of pencil drawings. They soon fall into forbidden love as Rose's fiancie and her mother try to separate them several times. It uses flash backs from current times to the events in April 1912 through the eyes of a survivor of the disaster. The opening scenes of Titanic shows a salvage squad looking for a precious diamond that would be worth millions of pounds today. They finally find the safe which they believed it was kept in but they soon find out that the safe is empty apart from a drawing of a beautiful young girl wearing the diamond. This leads to a report on television which is seen by Rose who is now 104 years old as she recognises herself as the girl in the drawing. The salvage squad determined to find the diamond fly Rose out to the site where she recounts the events that lead to the sinking of Titanic. Throughout Titanic Cameron uses many different methods to represent the different classes by showing the contrast by focusing on the higher class to the middle class then to the lower class. In the opening scene Cameron focuses on the higher classes when the ship is being loaded with all the expensive cars, paintings and possessions and luggage. They are all dressed very smartly and are well presented. He then shows the different contrast between classes when moves the camera to show all the 3rd class passengers waiting to board. Many of them are in old ragged clothes with all there possessions in just one or two bags. He also shows how the lower classes are getting checked for fleas and lice before they board the ship. It is quite evident that many of the third class passengers are immigrants, heading for a new life in America. This class divide is repeatedly shown throughout the film, and it is more striking in Cameron's film than Baker's. After Jack talks Rose out of jumping overboard, Jack is invited to eat with Rose, her fianci, and the rest of their party, this is supposed to be a reward for saving Rose's life. It is a very grand dinner, in the first class dining room, and Cal and the rest of his party try to humiliate Jack, because he comes from a poor background and has no money ‘Mr. Dawson, well its amazing you can almost pass as a gentlemen'. Jack however does not seem to be affected, and it is clear that Rose is attracted to Jack, and finds him far more interesting than her self-centered fianci. Jack then leaves the dinner, shortly followed by Rose, and he takes her to ‘a real party' in steerage. Here the third class passengers are having a fantastic party, with dancing, and singing. Rose seems to be enjoying herself extremely as we also see her drinking pints of beer, which is a severe contrast to the expensive wine served from crystal classes, she has just had upstairs. It is clear that Rose is far more interested in Jack as a person, than Cal. This class divide is further shown when Rose and Jack, who by now are in love, are discovered by Cal and Cal's personal assistant/bodyguard, in Cal's state room. Jack has just done a pencil drawing of Rose lying down naked and wearing the expensive diamond that plays a large part of the film's plot. Jack and Rose run off, with Cal's bodyguard running after them. They run from the luxury of the stateroom with its own private walkway deck, probably the most expensive accommodation on the ship, through different levels of accommodation, through steerage class, with its overcrowded accommodation. Cameron even takes them through the engine room, which is represented, almost as a hell, with sweaty stokers shoveling coal to feed the boilers that are driving the ship. There is noise, fire, steam, and oil which together creates an immense contrast to the wealth and luxury of the staterooms at the top of the ship. Cameron's film has spent over half the film developing the main characters of Jack, Rose, and Cal. It is over one hour and forty minutes before the ship strikes the iceberg. From this tragic moment, there are many similarities between the two films. Of course Cameron's film, with its multimillion pound budget is far more effective, however the basic order of events remain the same, and it almost as though Cameron has made direct copies of some of the scenes from ‘A Night to Remember'. The scene when Mr. Andrews, the ships designer, who is on board, relates to the Captain that the ship will unavoidably sink ‘that's five compartments! She can stay afloat, with the first four compartments breached, but not five, not five, she will go down by the head and the water will spill over the tops of the baulk heads from one to the next' This is what Mr. Andrews says in ‘Titanic' and it is almost exactly identical to ‘A Night to remember'. There are many other examples of similarities from the point the ship strikes the iceberg. We see how at first passengers are unaware of what has happened, and how some are told (in both films), that the shuddering that was heard was ‘a propeller blade' being shed. We see in both films how the first class passengers are unwilling to follow the instructions of the crew to get into their life jackets. We see in both films how the third class passengers are locked down below decks, and the first class passengers are given priority in boarding the limited number of lifeboats. We see how there are examples of cowardice by men in both films, and how the chairman of the White Star Line, sneaks aboard a lifeboat before his turn. We also see how Cal tries bribing the crew to allow him aboard the lifeboat, when this fails he even uses child. This scene is not shown in Bakers film because Cal Hockley is a fictional character; however it does show how heartless Cal is and how men may have behaved during the event. In both films, even during the rising disaster, there are elements of humour, but these are very different in both films. In Baker's film we keep returning to a chef who is getting more and more drunk, as he drinks a whole bottle of whisky, not that amusing today, but forty years ago, it would have been. There is also a scene when some bell boys are told off for smoking in a public room, which is quite incredible when you think about the events unfolding around them. There is also another scene that is similar in both films, when the panicking third class passengers break down a barrier, and are accused of damaging ‘White Star property! ‘ This is said when the whole ship is about to sink to the bottom of the Atlantic! Cameron however is slightly more subtle with his humour. This is shown in the scene where Jack has been handcuffed to a pipe, and the only way that he can escape is if Rose can chop through the chain with a fire axe. As he is concerned that she might miss he asks her to practice on a cupboard, by hitting the cupboard, and then trying to hit the same spot for a second time, she misses by several feet, but as the situation is now frantic Jack urges her to chop through the chain. She manages it successfully, and they escape. Another example of humor is represented in the scene where the ship has sunk and jack says to Rose ‘I don't know about you, but I intend to write a strongly worded letter to the White Star fleet about all this. Cameron uses this comment to lighten the mood of the audience after witnessing such tragedy. Both films follow the same basic factual accounts of the sinking, and portray them in a similar way: the separation of children and women from their fathers; lack of life boats; priority given to 1st class passengers over 3rd class passengers to board the life boats; acts of cowardice, and the fact that the life boats did not return to help those in need. The main differences between the two representations are that ‘Titanic' follows a forbidden love story, and a ‘Night to Remember' focuses purely on the factual side of events. As ‘A Night to Remember' is presented in a way that it frequently fools us into thinking that it's a documentary, I believe this makes the story less interesting. In my opinion as a film ‘Titanic' is overall more successful in capturing the attention of the audience due to advantages of modern day special effects and the added striking love story.

Marks Spencer Essay Essay Example

Marks Spencer Essay Essay Example Marks Spencer Essay Essay Marks Spencer Essay Essay This assignment will examine how Marks Spencers strategies have changed in the past 10 years, from 1998 to 2008. These strategies include management strategy, corporate social responsibility, advertising strategy, competitive strategy, and green strategy. However, the most important strategy must be the recovery plan of these ten years. Marks Spencer is the largest clothing retailer in the UK. It is also an international retailer which operates around 760 stores in more than 20 countries around the world. The company provided quality products with affordable prices and they offer a board range of products, such as womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, babywear, and homewares. [Mintel, Retail Review March, 2008] In 1998, the company was hit by falling sales and loss of market share. They suffered 23% decrease in profits, and by 2001 Marks and Spencer was no longer even in the Financial Times list of the top 500 global companies. It was even in danger of being taken over by another company. The reasons of decreasing sales include the failure of the changing needs of its core consumers, boring design and styling and fashionable competitors, such as Gap and Zara. Since then, the company used different strategies to recover the company lost. By the end of 2002, the market share of the clothing market raised up sharply to 14.8%. Marks and Spencer were able to bring back the customers temperately. However, they experienced another rapid drop in market share again in the 2 following years, which was between 2003 and 2004. Fortunately, the company picked up the market share in 2006 with strong performances from menswear, womenswear and childrenwear. The Christmas sales even rose up by 9.2% in 2007, which was officially recovered. Therefore, the question about how the company went down, how it recovered and the presence strategy will be discovered. [Marks Spencer annual report, mintel 2002] First of all, management strategy is involved during these ten years. Marks Spencer has been changed their director board many times since1998. For example, Luc Vandevelde recruited as a chairman in 2000 and now, Stuart Rose is the current executive chairman since 2008. The organisational structure has been changed to be flatter over these ten years They company has been cut down some layers of management since 1998. This would enable their employees at the remaining levels to be more responsible and have more accountability than before. Quicker decision could be made by this strategy which means that the employee has to be ready to give good reason for the decisions that they make. In 2001, Marks Spencer made attention on implementing the changes about adding highly talented retail specialists to the company. Started from 2000, the company have put in place a strong leadership team, which has developed a very good progress in its implementation. They were trying to improve the value of the core market. [Marks Spencer annual report, mintel 2002] From 2003 to 2007, the number of Marks Spencer stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland has increased from 335 to 472, which is a strategy of market penetration, as Marks Spencer marketed the same products to its exciting consumers that are in the UK and Republic of Ireland for increase sales. In addition, launching loyalty card is another activity of market penetration. (Ridder, K.,2003 , Mintel, 2007) Many of Marks and Spencers strategies can be defined by using Ansoffs matrix, which is one of the most useful planning aid. This helps identifying alternative strategies based on products and markets. There are four main growth strategies of possible combinations for products and markets. They are market perpetration, market development, product development and diversification. [Ansoffs Matrix, 2008] Product development is the process that involved the development of new products for current customers. For instance, the David Beckham range of childrenswear, DB07 was launched in 2004. A brand is an empty vessel you imbue with value.(Wally Olins, 1988) This quote relates to Marks and Spencer, because of it was an opportunity of adding value, quality and leadership by having David Beckham to be one of their ranges, DB07. This helped the company to attract new customers in the new market, which is another example of Diversification. Market Development means the process of developing new markets for existing products. Targeting new segments or expanding new geographical markets can achieve the company growth. However, Marks Spencer did not enter any new geographical markets, since the sale of Brooks Brothers in 2000 and King Super Markets in 2006 for their recovery plan. The company tried to focus on Europe, because the company mainly owned stores in the UK, Republic of Ireland and franchises in Continental Europe. The numbers of stores in the Continental European countries are even expanded from 82 to 131 in total between July 2004 and July 2007. Online shopping is one another activity of market development. Marks Spencer started launching online retailing in 1999. By the end of the year 2000, they had expanded 3,000 products on their website. Then, they kept developing their online shopping through partnerships with different companies, such as MSN in 2000 and Amazon in 2005. (mintel, fashion online 2006) Diversification is the most risky strategies in the Ansoff matrix, as it means the company markets new products to new customers, which may not be relevant. For instance, Marks Spencer had a great idea of hiring a famous football player, David Beckhamd and granting him his own clothing range. Their marketing focus is on their clothing range which is probably the right idea due to competitors such as Sainsburys were introducing their own clothing range. The company had incorporated their own style and image which their competitors could not comprehend to. Therefore, it was a big step in the right direction for the company. [Marks Spencer annual report 1999] The recovery plan on 2000/01 was focusing on UK retail business, cutting down cost and businesses and improving capital structure. The strategy of focusing on the UK retail business which included expanding the growing businesses, such as food, home and beauty, but also concentrating on clothing business, accelerate of store renewal programme for more intensive use of space, and getting closer to the consumer, in terms of better marketing communication. The cutting down unprofitable strategy were involved selling the business in Hong Kong to become a franchise, closing down some unprofitable overseas business and the unprofitable clothes catalogue and reducing cost of goods that by using foreign supplier in Asia, which enabled to reduce sales price and to raise profit. After the recovered of the company, the company was planning to drive their core business, such as product, service, environment and brand stretch. Also, they wanted to develop their international business. On the stra tegy of improving capital structure, the company tried to reduce the investment in inventories by 10%, which helped for a reduction of  £90million. Competitions with other retailers, such as Gap and Zara, Marks Spencer has been changed from managing their business as a whole, rather than alone product lines, to Marks Spencer started focusing on the UK market and its core clothing business in 2001. The same year, George David, who is the founder of Next appointed to create a new womens fashion collection for Marks Spencer in February, which called Per Una. This product lines reflected the original Marks Spencers values of quality, value and innovation as well as the modern requirements for fashion. In 2004, the company suggested to change it direction of its clothing. They wanted to attract younger customers and the company bought Per Una from George Davies for  £125m in September. [Marks Spencer annual report, 2001and 2004] Marks Spencer have changed a lot in their childrenswear department in 2002. They have been using high technology of health and safety testing on their ranges of childrenswear, which gave a better quality to their products. As mintel report suggested that the biggest threat to the retail scene at that moment (2002) was Marks and Spencer. Marks and Spencer was very interesting, as they have suffered for period but they were more of a threat if they get their act together and get things right in childrens clothing they could make a huge difference much bigger than any foreign retailers entering the marketplace. [Mintel report, 2002] In addition, since Marks and Spencer believed that children-wear should involved more personalities and style, in February of 2002, they decided to sign David Beckham to help with their boy-wear range. In September of 2002, Marks and Spencer introduced their new cloth-wear DB07 which gave a boost to with stronger ranges by expanding and introducing a fast fashion element to its Limited Collection range in 2006/07. [mintel, Retail Review UK March 2008] Since the dramatic sales drop, Marks Spencer started spending a huge amount of money on their advertising strategy. In 1999, they spent around  £2 million on the advertising campaign which included television commercial. In 2001, the companys Christmas advertising was launched on the national television. Some of the celebrities were featured saying what Christmas means to them and some of the Christmas gift, products were featured either. In 2004, text marketing was firstly used by Marks and Spencer, which means sending the company brand name to target customers. Also, David Beckham was featured for the collaborated collection, DB07 at the same year, which showed a family men image for the brand and suits the image of Marks Spencer In 2005, an advertising campaign Not just Food was launched in April and the advertising campaign for clothing which Twiggy featured in was also launched in October. In 2006, they launched of Get This Party Started Christmas campaign featuring Shirley Bassey. Marks Spencer has been using different celebrities, media, images and idea to advertise their brands and products. [Barrett, S., 8 Dec 1999] Nowadays, Marks Spencer is more concerned about green and ethical issues than it used to. They were trying to become the most environmentally friendly retailer in the world. In 2006, Marks Spencer has launched a new ethical image, called Look behind the label campaign. The company has been started selling 100% fair-trade cotton since then. In the early 2007, the company planned to spend  £200 million on green strategy in the following 5 years, which included climate change, waste, sustainable raw material. The name of the plan, called Plan A, with a tag line Because there is no Plan B. The implementation of paying 5p for standard sized vest carrier bag when purchasing is one of the commitments of Plan A in 2008. [Marks Spencer.,,Annual report, 2006,2007 and 2008] In conclusion, Marks Spencer has been experienced a period of decreasing sales and had acknowledged numerous issues for their recovery strategy, which mainly on their clothing range with pricing quality, fit, segmentation, product appeal and availability. Then, the company was aiming to offer something for everyone with better price, better quality of products and deliver quicker. For example, the Zip, Blue Harbour and Classics range of clothing, they have a big range of clothing lines to offer new and current customers. Marks Spencer is doing well at the moment and officially has been recovered already. The sales of these two years have been increased. However, the market and consumer behaviour is always changing rapidly. The company should not be too proud of their sales profits. It is recommended for Marks Spencer continues to concentrate on their marketing communication to build up a long term relationship with their customers and to regain more competitive advantages such as online or telephone delivery for food in the future. Moreover, hopefully more creative designs with a cultural based can be seen in Marks Spencer soon which to match their demanding consumers. Finally, the green strategy would help Marks Spencer into another stage by not just offering us better products, but also improving a better world.

Alfred Hitchcock essays

Alfred Hitchcock essays Alfred Hitchcock was born in London, England on April 13, 1899. He was the son of an East End Grocer named William and mother Emma. His father died when he was fourteen and he was raised Catholic attending a Jesuit run school for scholastic upbringing. In 1915, he secured his first job as an estimator for a telegraph and cable company. Then, in 1920 he earned his opening job within the movie industry as a title designer in a London studio. Subsequently, he worked as an assistant director, writer, and art director, until Hitchcock was offered an opportunity to direct his first film, The Pleasure Garden. His work continued over the next fifty years, influencing both film and the direction of cinematography throughout his career (Alfred Hitchcock - Filmography Hitchcock movies were always created in a thorough manner often using storyboards with mock ups of each scene before filming. In his early career, Hitchcock directed nine silent films including The Lodger where he introduced his first cameo appearance in a movie, later becoming a trademark of Hitchcock films. He would always make his appearance in the beginning of the film so as not to deviate his viewers attention from the plotline. Another of Hitchcocks preferences in films were blonde female stars, always seeking the icy look, he stated that the audience would have greater sexual interest in the character. Two of his favorite female stars were; Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly (Personality, Pathology, and the Act of Creation: The Case of Alfred Hitchcock). Hitchcock also often used bathrooms as a device for murders, hiding places, or lovemaking scenes. He frequently used the letters BM in his movies (Alfred Hitchcock - Filmography ...

Overview of Minimum Wage in Canada

Overview of Minimum Wage in Canada When Canadas federal minimum wage laws governing all 10 provinces and three territories were eliminated in 1996, the minimum hourly wage rates for experienced adult workers were set by the provinces and territories themselves. These minimum wage rates have periodically changed, and the new minimum wage laws usually take effect in either April or October.   Exceptions to Canadas Minimum Wage Some circumstances circumvent the general minimum wage, applying different minimums to some workers. In Nova Scotia, for example, employers can pay an inexperienced minimum wage to workers for the first three months of employment if they have less than three months prior experience in a field; that wage is 50 cents lower than the general minimum wage. Similarly, in Ontario, the minimum wage for students is 70 cents less than the general minimum wage. Different work situations affect the minimum wage in some provinces, too. In Quebec, the minimum wage for all workers who receive tips is $9.45, which is $1.80 less than the minimum wage of general workers, and the minimum wage for liquor servers in British Columbia is $9.60, more than $1 lower than the general minimum wage. Manitoba has separate minimum wages for security guards ($13.40 per hour in October 2017) and construction workers, whose pay depends on the type of work and experience. Liquor servers in Ontario earn $1.50 less than the minimum wage but home workers earn $1.20 more. Minimum Weekly and Monthly Wages Not all occupations are covered by the general hourly minimum wage. Alberta, for example, passed a three-stage wage increase for sales workers, from $486 per week in 2016 to $542 per week in 2017 and $598 per week in 2018. The province did the same with live-in domestic workers, raising the 2016  wage from $2,316 per month to $2,582 per month in 2017, and to $2,848 per month in 2018. Examples of Minimum Wage Increases in Canada Most provinces have periodically revised minimum wage rates since Canadas federal mandates were eliminated. For example, in 2017 Saskatchewan tied its minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index, which adjusts for the costs of goods and services, and plans to announce on June 30 each year any change to the minimum wage, which will then take effect on Oct. 1 of the same year. In the first fiscal year of this plan, the 2016 minimum wage of $10.72 was raised to $10.96 in 2017. Other local governments have scheduled similar increases based on other criteria. Alberta scheduled its $12.20 rate to rise to $13.60 on Oct. 1, 2017, the same date Manitoba ($11 to $11.15), Newfoundland ($10.75 to $11) and Ontario ($11.40 to $11.60) scheduled minimum wage rate hikes. Province General Wage More Employment Standards Alberta $13.60 Alberta Human Services BC $10.85 B.C. Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Manitoba $11.15 Manitoba Family Services and Labour New Brunswick $11.00 New Brunswick Employment Standards Newfoundland $11.00 Labour Relations Agency NWT $12.50 Education, Culture and Employment Nova Scotia $10.85 Labour and Advanced Education Nunavut $13.00 Ontario $11.60 Ministry of Labour PEI $11.25 Environment, Labour and Justice Quebec $11.25 Commission des normes du travail Saskatchewan $10.96 Saskatchewan Labour Standards Yukon $11.32 Employment Standards

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Reflection - Essay Example The accent has to be on what one has learnt measured against the outcomes for that particular course. This forms the basis for the paper and what I have learnt as far as the requirements for the degree are concerned. As I reflect on the learning’s and the way in which the course has been taught, I feel that the course has equipped me with several skills that can be used in any real world setting. Apart from the theoretical foundations of what I have learnt, the practical skills that I have picked up would stand me in good stead. The course outcomes are geared towards preparing us for positions of leadership in educational and non-profit sectors with the expectation that we would be able to fulfill the roles in these sectors to the satisfaction of the stakeholders. As with any program that prepares students for managerial roles, the learning outcomes for this degree are tailored in such a way so as to equip us with analytical and problem solving skills. That is the bottom line requirement for this course and one that I hope I have mastered to a certain extent. This particular outcome relates to the analysis and use of data about the student community in decision making and its subsequent use by the teachers in forming opinions and perceptions of the students that they teach. The outcomes from this course for me have been training in researching data about students and applying them to aid in decision making. I have benefited enormously from this particular outcome as the course taught me to bridge the gap between theory and practical application. The gap between theory and practice has to be bridged and one can aspire to be a leader in any field only when they have successfully mastered the art of applying theory to real world scenarios. I have learnt to use several models of decision making and the inputs that go into each of them along with the necessary tools that aid them. As I have mentioned before, applying research data to real world models

Systems and Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Systems and Operations Management - Essay Example This study tries to bring to light important aspects of the shift from physical to a digital economy and how this digital economy has led to crucial development in the economy of the republic of Korea. A new breed of technology springs out every 60 years or so of which without noticing this new breeds tends to affect the economy positively as a whole; hence, developing it. It introduces new social classes and leads to a different approach to business. In current times, the economy is highly digitised which is characterized as vast, automatic and invisible with adverse effects on employment. An example given is the digitisation of air travel, whereby 20 years ago one had to visit the airport to book a flight, but in current times one can book a flight and pay for it using online services. It is estimated that in less than two decades the digital economy will be as huge as the physical economy (Sears, 2007, 41). It is growing at an alarming rate and people should not underestimate the rate at which it is changing due to the simple fact that unlike the physical economy, the digital economy has no limits. ... As the global economy is interconnected and integrated it is significant to understand the effects of information technology on the economy in general and establish frameworks that will lead to the prosperity of the global economy as a whole (Eui-Hwan, 1999, 2). Information systems and technology has led to crucial and evident development on the economy. In macroeconomic perspective information technology has affected and enhanced the factors and patterns of productions, investment and employment. In a microeconomic perspective, it has enhanced business transactions in that it has led to effective and efficient modes of communication and an interpretation of information among employees who are key players in economic development (Eui-Hwan, 1999, 2). In Korea informational technology has led to direct and indirect development of its economy. In 1995, the value of its information and communication industry was 30 trillion won, this figure rose significantly to 43 trillion won three yea rs later in 1998. Surprisingly enough its GDP also from 7.9% to 9.6%. Consequently, that year employment in that industry increased to 507,000 from 395,000 in 1995. In the information and export industry exports increased to 30billion dollars in 1998 and price increase rates in this industry services and equipment are -0.2% and 6.7% in 1998 which is lower than the national average (Eui-Hwan, 1999, 1). The role of the Korean government while dealing with economic failure has also changed from solving market failure to solving system failure, where system refers to the players involved such as the corporate, the individual person, university etc, and the environment which includes banking systems, labour

Analyze and assess the significance of Francis Bacon's New Atlantis Essay

Analyze and assess the significance of Francis Bacon's New Atlantis - Essay Example The New Atlantis may not be considered as a work of literature comparable to the classics that were produced during that time. However, the Baconian or scientific method which it asserts on is the most important content that has been serving as the framework for the succeeding experiments and practical scientific activities. It is apparent that without the Baconian method explicitly outlined, The New Atlantis would certainly be less relevant as a book of science. Neither would it even be significant as a literary work of fiction. The focal point that Bacon wishes to portray in The New Atlantis is that if his scientific method is applied scientists, it would be possible to construct a society similar to that in a fictional land which he called Bensalem. Such a society as described by Bacon is actually a utopia. Nevertheless, it clear that what he wants to impress on the readers is that a utopian society is possible for as long as the scientific method that he is proposing would be put to practice in all fields of science, be it natural, physical, or social. It is apparent in the novel though that even as Bacon insists on a certain framework for establishing scientific truths, he never goes to the extent of negating the very essence of the supposed antithesis of science: religion. In fact, even as Bensalem’s inhabitants and leaders follow a precise scientific method, they retain their belief in the supernatural. As a consequence of adhering to a system of studying scientific truths and applying these in governing Bensalem, the inhabitants in this society are described by Bacon to be very contented with their lives. The problems of hunger and strife common in societies in Europe are virtually non-existent; a utopia no less. In the world outside Bensalem, people have to work in order to obtain the most basic necessities. Satisfied with their economic conditions, they no longer desire to earn more than what they are already getting. A Bensalem inhabitant who welcomed the sailors said that â€Å"he must not be twice paid for one labor† (Bacon, 2007, p.7). Since he is already paid by the State for the service he offers to the guests, he explains that he should no longer accept anything from the guests themselves. Such gesture may be construed as honesty but such attitude would certainly not be developed if want and misery exist in Bensalem. It is clear that the society of Bensalem as described by Bacon is governed by what may be considered as an ideal welfare state. There are no private businesses mentioned all throughout the story. It is the state that ensures that the people are provided for according to their needs. The office governor of the House of Strangers articulates this when he tells the sailors that â€Å"ye shall also understand that the strangers’ house is at this time rich and much aforehand; for it hath laid up revenue these thirty-seven years, for so long it is since any stranger arrive in this part; and th erefore take ye no care; the State will defray you all the time you stay† (Bacon, 2007, p.11). It is evident here that Bacon’s utopian Bensalem bears the semblance of the society dreamt by the early socialists. However, it is also important to point out that this kind of society would not be possible if its level of economic advancement has not been bolstered by an accurate system in discovering scientific tru

Appreciate Differences and Similarities in Texts Essay

Appreciate Differences and Similarities in Texts - Essay Example These articles directly targets rudimentary readers. Level of education of readers and their class These types of readers mostly belong from upper senior, high school level where their main task is to do straightforward analysis. Get the relationships between the documents, do a critical analysis and make general conclusions from this. Students in this level of education get mainly interested in entertaining articles that they can easily put into practice their reading and understanding analytical skills. The two articles in question are admirable examples that high school level students may be materially interested in as they go along with their basic reading abilities that vary from independent, instructional and frustration. Writing techniques used by the writers In the two given articles, just like other written materials, they contain a wide variety of writing techniques that help to appeal t the readers and help convey the intended message with a clear understanding. There is m any writing technique s that writers involve in their works of writing. These writing techniques need to have a deliberate impact to the readers. ... The first article is ironical. It is not logical for humans to complain on the violation of animals rights when involved i8n testing of new medicines, while the medicine that is being tested is for ensuring human survival. In the same article, it is rather ironical that humans complain on animal’s torture in medical tests, while humans do them in order to ensure that the animals too also can survive as animals medicine do exist too. â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.yet it is not only humans who benefit from medical science. Researching on animals has also led to many advances in veterinary medicine practices. Dogs can now be protected against distemper†¦.cats can now be immunized against enteritis and cat flu.† The writer portrays verbal irony in this article as the writer contradicts the human party stand. Different impressions created by the two texts The writers in the two articles give an array of mixed fillings. The writer in the first article gives the reader no clear pe rspective on his article. In addition to giving mixed emotions, they are also widespread all over the article. In the first paragraph, he talks about humans and death and makes no substantial deal out of it. He makes it look like a normal thing and gives it some improvement that life expectancy has improved from the past times. However at a point in the article, he talks tells how humans make use of animals for their own benefits. He questions it to be either a matter of animals right or human ill. At this point, the writer creates an impression that humans are being unfair to animals. The writer portrays this, as an act of selfishness by humans. Before this the writer says,

Employment Business Law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Employment Business Law - Coursework Example Firstly, eliminating redundancy amongst individuals and departments increases the overall productivity per employee (Lewis, 2014). As a result, employees’ full potential is fully exploited in order increase output. To achieve this, maximum supervision is fundamental. Secondly, employers should encourage sharing of work amongst employees to finish tasks in a timely manner. Thirdly, automating departments and outsourcing minor tasks would reduce the available work and save money that would be paid as overtime to employees (Lewis, 2014). Several measures can be adopted to structure the above arrangements. Firstly, appointment of supervisors helps in ensuring that employees work to their optimal level. Secondly, sharing work amongst employees is achievable through exchange programs amongst the workers and training the employees on different fields. Office automation involves the increased use of machines to simplify work. As a result, more machines should be purchased. It is important that all employees be covered under the 401(k) plan. The plan is a profit-sharing plan through which employees contribute a certain amount of their wages to individual accounts. In addition, it acts as a retirement benefit plan. As a result, all employees should be enrolled as long as they serve the business. The plan is dependent on performance and age difference. For instance, aged employees should be encouraged to be part of the plan since their service period to the business is relatively less. In addition, young employees should be incorporated in the plan since they ought to serve their employers for long a time. The situation leads to accrual of more individual benefits in the

Canopy Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Canopy Research - Essay Example To cater to this emerging problem, the need to research in forest canopy by identifying and mapping biodiversity in forest canopies, quantifying canopy-atmosphere and canopy-soil fluxes, and educating the public about both the economic and ecological aspects of forest conservation intensifies. Ecology education through canopy science can be fostered and this can be done via the Jason Project which includes the challenges of access and data collection in the treetops. Students can also learn about the complex linkages among biodiversity, biogeochemical cycling, and global environmental conditions through the Science curricula developed specifically for the canopies of Panama. In addition, Live broadcasts of researchers conducting canopy studies into classrooms throughout the world, provides a unique model that integrates research with ecology education. Canopy research has also created local economic incentives for conservation of forests through ecotourism. With the modern technology of creating a swaying bridge for instance, it allows the public to personally experience the treetops. While this may have slightly negative consequences to some wildlife, ecotourism does more good than harm by educating a new generation about the canopy.

Employment Business Law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Employment Business Law - Coursework Example Firstly, eliminating redundancy amongst individuals and departments increases the overall productivity per employee (Lewis, 2014). As a result, employees’ full potential is fully exploited in order increase output. To achieve this, maximum supervision is fundamental. Secondly, employers should encourage sharing of work amongst employees to finish tasks in a timely manner. Thirdly, automating departments and outsourcing minor tasks would reduce the available work and save money that would be paid as overtime to employees (Lewis, 2014). Several measures can be adopted to structure the above arrangements. Firstly, appointment of supervisors helps in ensuring that employees work to their optimal level. Secondly, sharing work amongst employees is achievable through exchange programs amongst the workers and training the employees on different fields. Office automation involves the increased use of machines to simplify work. As a result, more machines should be purchased. It is important that all employees be covered under the 401(k) plan. The plan is a profit-sharing plan through which employees contribute a certain amount of their wages to individual accounts. In addition, it acts as a retirement benefit plan. As a result, all employees should be enrolled as long as they serve the business. The plan is dependent on performance and age difference. For instance, aged employees should be encouraged to be part of the plan since their service period to the business is relatively less. In addition, young employees should be incorporated in the plan since they ought to serve their employers for long a time. The situation leads to accrual of more individual benefits in the

Offshore Outsourcing in Service Sector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Offshore Outsourcing in Service Sector - Essay Example This essay stresses that  firms face complex decisions as they outsource reorganize the value chains as offshore outsource some activities. The firms consider the cost reduction, standardisation of product quality, human capital and risks involved in reorganizing their value chains. The reorganization of value chains have tended to retain the knowledge oriented skills in the industrialised nations while the lower value added functions are transferred to developing or less advanced countries. Certain industries demonstrate ‘path dependent’ tendencies towards concentration of the processes and people in certain localities of the advanced countries such as the Silicon Valley in California.As the paper highlights  the geographical concentration is driven by the access to talented software engineers and programmers. The proximity to large pool of sophisticated users also driven the locality concentration of such firms. The firms have realised the economic gains of geograp hically separating the programming functions to lower cost countries overseas while the introduction of networked computer terminals have added more impetus for relocation of the routine functions.  Offshoring software development in Ukraine is driven by the culture of research and availability of highly talented personnel due to reliance of IT technologies. The increased competitiveness has forced firms to reengineer in order to seek new knowledge and arbitrage costs.

Postmodernism Effect on Family

Postmodernism Effect on Family CONTEMPORARY PARENTING ESSAY Contemporary Parenting? The post-modern society has been created out of a backdrop of pluralism, democracy, religious freedom, consumerism, mobility, and a plethora of technological advancements. Participants in this post-modern era are able to see that there are many structured and unstructured beliefs, multiple concepts of reality, and an a wide construct of world views; a society that has lost its faith in absolute truth, where it is cool to have doubt as a constant companion and in which people have the right and necessity to choose what to believe (OHare and Anderson 1991). The decade of the 1970s, Shorter (1975) appears to have been the first to deconstruct the concept of family for a more liberal emerging post-modern family. Shorter to this end, cited three clearly conceptualised characteristics: adolescent indifference to the familys identity; instability in the lives of couples, accompanied by rapidly increasing divorce rates; and destruction of the nest notion of nuclear family life with the liberation of women. In that 70’s era, Shorter cited limited reconstructions in patterns of child socialization. The liberating movement for women in the deconstruction of mothers caring for young children in the home to the use of state subsidized paid child care providers, with the mother entering once again into the world of paid employment. ‘The Children’s plan: Building Better Futures’ offers clear and comprehensive explanations of ‘why’ such legislative procedures are necessary to engage parents in ensuring that children are, educated and protected in a 21st century Britain. This groundbreaking report concentrates on several aspects of children’s rights, in particular having listened to the needs of parents, in particular, the now common diversity of ‘family’ and ‘parenting’ that is no longer ‘cereal packet’, nuclear or indeed symmetrical in models, that was bespoken of previous generations (Abercrombie Warde 2000). What is apparent, is that ‘family and ‘parenting’ is not vastly different and extremely contemporary. Through the ‘Every Child Matters’ pilot programme, it has been proven by substantive research that: â€Å"Families are substantively, the bedrock of society and the place for nurturing happy, ca pable and resilient children: â€Å"In our consultation, parents made it clear that they would like better and more flexible information and support that reflects the lives they lead† DfCSF (p.5). There are five core principles of these directives to engage and protect children’s rights offers carefully planned concepts that will become the foundations for better children’s services that are enshrined in law to be protective. The specific principle that supports parents is simply: ‘Government does not bring up children – parents do – so’. This fundamental tenet is of importance in the decoding and reconstruction of the notion of parenting in which the new concept in deconstruction of the notion of ‘family’, in particular the heterosexual family unit, for a more liberalised notion of family that embraced, single-parent, surrogate-motherhood, and gay and lesbian families, and other less popular variants of the post-modern family; in some quarters, these have been viewed as the negative results of the changed noted above, or more fundamentally, as the breakdown products, of a pluralist society. Other conceptual factors can be noted as follows: Despondence with the societal norms of human progress that had embedded modern society, with the unifying benefits and regularity of the comforting moral fabric; affecting the notion of a lack of faith in the previously established order. The study by Edwards Gillies (2005), is mindful of core factors in parenting practices, albeit, lack of. ‘Resources in Parenting: Access to Capitals’ conducted to conceptualize an explicit policy focus for parenting, and the fundamental need for a meaningful gathering of cohesive norms and values about responsible parenting practice, as well as significant worries about the reality and creation of social capital. Moreover, they saw social change as the causal effect of weakened and broken support systems that, involved a greater failure in maintaining, parental/family and community reciprocal obligations, that saw a divergence of widespread uncertainty in new parents understanding their roles and responsibilities. But, the most stark consequences of poor parenting, amongst, younger single parents was a lack of professional instruction in learning/understanding the skills comprising good parenting practices. The deconstruction of economic foundations underlying social conformity, for example, the need for women to marry well to stand against hardship financially and to stratify their class status to the next generation, or the need to become mothers in wedlock for them to be benefactors of family estate, that would be their core foundation of livelihood. The fundamental re-construction of the electronic age, through access to computerised media, which both inspired and legitimise the post-modern new era family reconfiguring and in doing so the conceptualisation of modern parenting which at best can be seen as contemporary; that may involve single adults, same sex parents or indeed older grandparents taking on parental role in later life, where younger parents, who formed ‘comprised ‘contemporary parenting models’ are less able to cope with parenting in which they were subjugating responsibilities close friends and even less able friends, which in effect, makes some cla rity of Edwards Gillies (2005) study, in which the closeness of the extended family was seen to be diluted and in many case study examples, notional or non-existent. With the ability to bring the world closer together in a plethora of technological advancement, one might see the advent of contemporary support networks for parents, accessible, but, where it has reduced the separations effect that was imposed between people by physical distance, physical barriers, and social barriers, electronic communications and other media has created a ‘global village’ world that in the post-modern era, contrives to foster anonymous intimacy through internet talk, virtual advice columns, electronic mail, computer bulletin boards. In some part also providing provided advisory/counselling and other personal services available through a wealth of mediums, which are not necessitated through face-to-face contact or encounter. The focused anonymous and instant intimacy has encroached into the world of contemporary parenting in which instant advice for parents in crisis can come from a wealth of ‘do good ad-hoc advisors’ where in-experienced parents, moreover, single parents, are engaged in anonymous social support, networking, and telecommunications, in which no names are mentioned, and anonymity is the key concept in this technological age. Thereby, creating a virtual world in which the poorly skilled parent grasps at ‘ad hoc’ advise that is often misleading, creating a systemic growth in poor practice and engagement of child protection systems, that in recent periods have been seen to be lacking. Moreover, we are seeing in some recent cases (Clembie, Baby P etc), the professional engaged in ‘child care support structure’ are not parents, and often work to ‘textbook’ scenarios to aide real families, stringent target drivers and outcomes, which result in many cases of neglect, poor practices and care (Utting 2007). Therefore, with the demise of the ‘cereal packet’, nuclear and symmetrical family models, parenting in part is becoming another casualty of modern society, in which the state is engaging in providing incentives to stemming the tide of poor childcare practices through projects like: Every Child Matters, Sure Start and First Start, in the hope of engaging contemporary less able, less economically viable parents to be ‘good parents’ (Gillies 2005, Utting 2007 DfCSF 2007). Utting’s study in 2007 for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) found many situations where contemporary parents were unable to cope of feel secure in asking for professional assistance, for fear of reprisals. Moreover, he found that those parents in most need were less likely to access support, for a plethora of reasons: trust, access, availability, venue, age of professional, prejudice and even poor recommendations. But, starkly, ‘fear’ of professionals taking over childcare was a predominant factor where single younger parents lived in significant levels of poverty. Gergen (1991) once described the post-modern family form as the saturated family, whose participants feel their lives scattering in intensified busyness. In addition to taking in an explosion of exposure to a world of deconstructed values, attitudes, opinions, lifestyles, and personalities, family members have become embedded in a world that has enshrined the conceptualisation of multiplicity of relationships. The technologies that now embed our social saturation (e.g. the car, telephone, television, and jet plane) have created deconstructed, and in part, dysfunctional concept of what is family, in a soup of consistent turmoil and a sense of fragmentation, chaos, and discontinuity. The concept of ‘family’ is no longer a ‘cereal packet’ picture of a cosy environment in which parenting is a gentle and professional time honoured art, with extended family involvement. We are now seeing the demise of the family as previously known, with more diversity in the parenting model, for a more fluid and protracted notion where children are raised in contemporary parenting models: singles, teenage, unmarried, same sex etc. Some such models are sound; in particular where the parents are engaged and proactive in ensuring strong values and child raising practices, this is seen in may aspects of single professional parent households. Gay/Lesbian adoptive parents are often slighted by fundamental groups as poor models, or indeed, dysfunctional models, but, on the contrary, many gay/lesbian parents are proving to be stricter and more disciplined raising children who are well rounded and more able to cope with a contemporary world (Gillies 2005 Utting 200 7). Nevertheless, in comparison in often teenage/less educated households, where poverty is a clear factor, remarkably it is not the ‘poverty’ that tends to be the rationale for poor parenting, it is the causal effects of: stress, depression, illness, low income and poor networks that impact of disturbing and disrupting good practices (Utting 2007). Utting’ found in his extensive study of academic case studies, that at best, most contemporary parenting models were sound, and where they were not, significant dysfunctional factors like alcohol and drug dependence by parents was a contributing factor, but, in the main, where parents were in diverse less affluent circumstances: poor housing, dysfunctional communities, health/care issues, nevertheless, desire the best for their children. With the diversity in childcare provision, where it in shared between the contemporary family and day care, new problems have arisen. While some children thrive on dual socialisation, others fail, unable to grasp either the environment or to the demands of daily transition from one environment to the other. The young child may be unable to form the necessary communication link between the two environments. Responsibilities now blurred and are seen to be divided between home and care centre; as a result, neither may be providing some crucial aspects of child development. For example, neither the care centre nor working parents may perceive themselves in charge of helping the child to develop the capacity to exercise self-control nor of teaching the child basic social comportment, such as table manners, greeting rituals, narration of daily events, and interview skills required for social orientation. This interesting conceptualisation has led the state to provide clarity and support th rough its extensive children’s legislation, regulation and project provision, in the hope that those parents who are able to retain employment are enabled to ensure safe and professional support for their children. Equally, those less enabled parents are encouraged through projects like ‘sure start’ to offer, guide and support learning in parenting skills, whilst improving education and learning that potentially will empower the parent to seek new skills and employment/advancement. The focus of parent education was development of the whole child. In contrast, parenting in the post-modern world is perceived as a learned technique with specific strategies for dealing with particular issues. The target has shifted from the whole child to developing the childs positive sense of self-esteem. In the modern era, parents made the effort to fit advice to the particular needs of the child; Elkind (1992) points out that the directive post-modern techniques may be easier for parents but the child may be deprived of customized treatment. Moreover, he strongly believes that the focus on the whole child should not be lost. Interestingly in this era of contemporary parenting, we are finding diversity at the core of parent development (Utting 2007). The family home, is found to be no longer a refuge of harmony, serenity, and understanding, as a once cosy modern era projected, has become in many post-modern constructs the site of confrontation between people of different ages and genders, who have personal ideologies and social constructs that are as diversely suspended as misplaced objects in an untidy drawer. Many self-help organizations, cash in on this deconstructed and dysfunctional family to bring ground rules, re-focus and construction in the often tense overload by holding workshops, reality television counselling in which the participants learn to take on their personal past history, social dysfunctions and deconstructions, to try to rebuild the sense of value and purpose that was once so clearly focused in the once modern era. The sense of loss for a society that was constructed with family values, rules, and concepts, has become the loss and bereavement counsellor’s (the professional child care worker) nightmare clients, a post-modern family in reality meltdown; a cast off society, has thrown away the foundational fabric for a less picturesque reality, that is here today and gone tomorrow. In conclusion, it is clear that the nuclear family was not at all perfection. The revolution that led to post-modern life corrected old imbalances in society through de-differentiation of parental and gender roles. Yet these radical social changes may have created new imbalances by increasing demands on children and adolescents. In so doing the concept and notion of the contemporary family, with all its flaws is here to stay. The noisy debate of the ‘back to basics’ lobby with its moralistic overtones in both political and religious circles, remains hollow in its effect, for a return to the foundational and constructed past of cereal packet family values, societal constructs of right and wrong, balance and harmony; in part a re-construction of the modern era, with a plethora of the post-modern era with foundational ground rules, constructs and concepts that knit together the very fabric of society. In part, having all the joys of the post-modern era with the sense of res trictive citizenship and responsibility of the modern, in which diversity and inclusion is purely ‘tokenism’. Furthermore, in part the post-modern deconstruction clears the slate for the fundamental regrouping or reconstruction of reality into new underlying constructs and new paradigms that reveal a model of family life that is contemporary, viable and refreshing. However, the stark consequential tenets of which must be the state providing cohesive available sound parenting skills for those that are struggling and support where necessary like safe child care provision for those who are not. Nevertheless, the academic debate will continue, on the validity of the contemporary parenting models revealing themselves in society. But what is abundantly clear in academic literature, published enquiry report and news media; where some professionals remain practically unskilled as actual parents and ‘textbook’ models are proactively used, where in the formative, ‘cereal packet’ concept of family/parenting, the professional health visitor, social worker etc were mainly middle aged former nurses who as mothers themselves, could draw upon their own learning, balanced with textbook learning to support new parents. Sadly in an era where the ‘back to basics lobby’ cry for formative values to be reinstated, we are still finding professionals, reasoning and supporting a ‘one textbook model fits all’ to some parenting techniques that are significantly failing struggling/dysfunctional parents and children. Notwithstanding this, the lesson s being currently learnt from recent child protection enquires (Clembie Baby P etc), serve as stark examples of how professionals who support parents need to fully understand the workings of our now contemporary parenting and family unit with all their diversity. Only in doing so, will contemporary parenting become a safely embedded model for a modern contemporary British society. REFERENCES ABERCROMBIE’ N, WARDE; , (2000) Contemporary British Society; Polity Press; Cambs. BLOOMFIELD; L. et al. (2005) ‘A qualitative study exploring the experiences and views of mothers, health visitors and family support centre workers on the challenges and difficulties of parenting’, in Health and Social Care in the Community 13(1): 46-55 BRINKENHOFF; D, et-al (1992) Essentials of Sociology Second Edition West St Pauls Minns ELKIND; D (1981) The Hurried Child. Reading Mass Addison-Wesley. ELDKIND; D. (1992) The Post-modern Family, A New Imbalance New York: Knopf. EDWARD; R, GILLIES; V, (2005) ‘Resources in Parenting: Access to Capitals Project Report’; Families Social Capital ESRC Research Group; South Bank University; London. GERGEN; K, J, (1991) The Saturated Family Networker September/October. GILLIES; V, (2005) ‘Meeting parents’ needs? Discourses of ‘support’ and ‘inclusion’ in family policy’,in Critical Social Policy, Vol. 25, No. 1, 70-90 (2005) HOLLINGSWORTH; L, (1999) ‘Promoting Same-Race Adoption for Children of Colour’ in EWALT; P, et-al (1999) Multicultural Issues in Social Work: Practice Research; NASW (pp: 406-422). OHARA; M, ANDERSON; W, (1991) Welcome to the Post-modern World Networker September/October. PATTERSON; J, et al. (2005) ‘Parents’ perceptions of the value of the Webster-Stratton Parenting Programme: a qualitative study of a general practice based initiative’, in Child Care, Health and Development 31(1): 53-64 SCOTT; S, (2005) ‘Do parenting programmes for severe child antisocial behaviour work over the longer term and for whom? One year follow-up of a multi-centre controlled trial’, in J. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy 33(4): 403-421 SHORTER; E, (1975) The Making of the Modern Family New York Basic Books UTTING; D, (2007) Parenting and the different ways it can affect children’s lives: research evidence; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; York. URL http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/ WELSH; E, et al. (2004) ‘Involved fathering and child well-being: Fathers’ involvement with secondary school age children’, published for the JRF by the National Children’s Bureau as part of the Parenting in Practice series