Government policies Essay

Describe, with examples, the impact of government policies on different public services P5 Identify how society is affected by government policies In the UK, policies are in place in order to protect us and help enforce diversity and equality. Sometimes they are not always positively impacted on our society and public services; they can be negative as well. In this assignment, I will cover both the impacts of government policies on the public services and how society is affected. Human Rights The most commonly known policy that has affected all of the services is the human rights policy. This act was passed in the UK in 1998 which protected us and gave us the right to life, education, liberty and security and freedom of expression. Whenever these rights are violated, the victim may take the service or person to take and challenge the actions of the violator. A Police Officer was accused of violating someone rights after hitting a student (Tony Jones) in the face. They violated freedom of assembly and association, freedom of expression and freedom of thought. Just like many cases- This one was also dismissed and the Officer wasn’t charged for the suspected violation. Equal Opportunities Very similar to Human Rights- Equal Opportunities also protect us. While this has been around for a while, the equality act was republished in 2010 which terminates any discrimination against â€Å"age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation.† If for example you are applying for the Public Service and you are bisexual then the service cannot refuse your application because of your sexual orientation. If you are a male Sikh and you wanted to join the Force, you are allowed to wear a blue police turban with the badge of your force being displayed. This policy stops people from becoming more ‘important’ than others which allow everyone to be treated fairly and not the same. Civilianisation As part of the financial cut back on the Public Services, more civilians are doing non-operational work. This includes more civilians working in the  communication control centre which dispatches emergency services to 999 calls. A key reason for civilianisation is because it is a lot cheaper than employing trained employees who can do the same but with little training or experience. Fire Station Closures Fire Station closures is apart of the Government’s plan to increase savings. In London alone, 10 Fire Stations have been forced to shut down which has led hundreds of Firefighters jobless. Even the oldest serving Fire Station in Clerkenwell has been shut down. This means- For anyone who dials 999 and asks for the Fire and Rescue service, the fire fighters will take longer to arrive to the scene compared to before where there might have been a Fire Station nearby. As a consequence, Communities are not feeling safe which results in protests. Increased use of Technology The use of advanced technology being used during modern warfare has not only saved our armed services from being killed or injured, it also allowed us to get surveillance over areas that we would have never been able to. Drones and satellites have allowed us to spy over our enemies and also kill them. Metal Detectors allowed the frontline to find improvise explosive device (IED) which would have saved hundreds of lives alone. Unfortunately, it isn’t always as expected. Drones are also responsible for thousands of civilians’ life during the Afghanistan War and they have even taken our lives (Green on Blue). In the UK, increase use of technology has also saved lives and helps prosecute criminals. The increase of CCTV in the UK allowed us to record and catch criminals and serves them justice. While some people believe they violate their privacy, some people feel a lot protected within communities. Examples of society affected by Government Policies They’re many policies that affect us both positively and negatively. Examples of a few are; Tuition fees VAT rises Sales of Council Houses Tuition Fees Tuition fees are probably one of the negatives about attending  further-education. If you’re attending University then expect an expensive fee after your course that you are required to pay back each month. Many graduates are still paying their fees even after 5-10 years. The main reason why society is affected by the fees is because less people are attending university purely because it’s too costly. Even after graduation, you are not guaranteed a job so some people become jobless while having to pay back the debt. VAT rises Every item you purchase legally has a VAT which increases the overall cost of the item. This is normally a 20% increase which is quite costly- depending on the item. If you were to buy a computer for  £500(no VAT) then the final price would be  £600. This means many families are forced into poverty while they have to struggle on surviving on minimum wage. Sales of council houses Selling of council houses is becoming an increasing issue in the UK as people and even businesses are buying the house out. This means hundreds of family homes are now owned by private landlords or individual people. As a consequence, families are finding it difficult to find family-homes to live in. How Society is affected by Government Policies When Society does not agree with a new policy that the Government put into place, it normally results in protests near Governmental Buildings with signs criticising the work of Government. However, protests are both peaceful and violent. There are several types of protests such as: -Sit-ins -Marching -Legal Action -Striking -Violating Laws Sit in This is one of the common types of protests. This means staying in one location while refusing to leave. An example of a previous sit-in is the protest outside the United Nations (U.N). Marching This involves walking from different locations while holding signs and normally shouting. One of the most famous marching was led by Martin Luther King in 1963. This protest was to promote civil rights and equality for the ethnic minority. Legal Action Though this isn’t a mass-protest, it is still a form which people still use. This involves taking a person or company to court in order to press legal charges against them. In 2012, the Democratic Party sued Florida because of the presidential election results. Striking This is commonly scene among Teachers who believe they are not paid enough or the Government plan on cutting their pay check. Striking means refusing to cooperate with your employer till your demands are met. This is normally a mass-protest since you are highly likely to be fired if you general didn’t listen to your Boss. Violating Laws (Riots) Riots are normally as a result of the Public feeling angry against the Government’s decision. Riots involve people burning down buildings, looting, criminal damage and even murder. During the 2011 Riot, 5 people were murdered, over 100 Police Officers injured and over 10 protesters injured.

Many of the characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’ have dreams Essay

Many of the characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’ have dreams. What are their dreams and how near are any of them to achieving what they want? ‘Of Mice and Men’, written by John Steinbeck is a classic novel set in a ranch town in Salinas Valley, California. The novel may have been set here as a result of most of Steinbeck’s childhood being spent on his father’s farmland. His descriptions of the setting will have been aided by his first hand experience of the ranches of the area. The novel itself documents the lives of Lennie Small and George Milton. With Lennie being mentally challenged he has the psychological capabilities of a five year old. This means he has to be cared for by George because he acts childish and irresponsibly. For this reason, he often causes commotion within the ranch he is working. On many occasions disruption has occurred and occurs, George and Lennie are forced to leave their current ranch and start again at a new one. As they are always moving around, they never have a secure job and are always staying in temporary accommodation. With each time they move to a different ranch they dream more and more of having their own piece of land where they can be their own bosses and live off the crops they grow. This is shown by this quote, â€Å"†¦and we can live off the fatta the lan'† said by George. This is only one of the many dreams that feature in ‘Of Mice and Men’, however not one of the dreams featured in this novel are achieved. This reflected the harsh reality of the ‘Great Depression’ and the racial prejudice in society at the time. Steinbeck set ‘Of Mice and Men’ during the ‘Great Depression’, in the late 1920’s and the 1930’s. Many migrants came to California, from other parts of the world looking for work as America was seen as the ‘Land of Opportunity’. This glimpse of hope inspired many Europeans to emigrate as Europe, at the time, was overcrowded and disease ridden. America was believed to provide cheap land and no rigid class structure existed. These characteristics gave Europeans the chance of a completely different way of life to what they were used to. In 1929, America entered a prolonged period of economic deprivation due to the collapse of the New York stock exchange, ‘The Wall Street Crash’. Following ‘The Wall Street Crash’, many Americans who had invested great deals of money into stocks and shares lost almost all of their investments. In some cases, people would have lost their houses and life savings. During ‘The Great Depression’, failed businesses and long-term unemployment were of the norm. The hopes of those immigrants, who came to America looking for a new life, were dashed by this tragic event. America was certainly not the ‘Land of Opportunity’. George and Lennie travelled from ranch to ranch together. This was unusual as most ranch workers would only usually work at one ranch for no longer than a month or two. They would literally not have the time for friendship. This was one of the reasons that the average workers dream was for some sort of companionship. The fact that George and Lennie had travelled together so long is significant as they lived the dream of so many other workers. It would give them the chance of having an alternative dream, one of owning their own land on which they could live off. When travelling from ranch to ranch workers could not carry many possessions and so had nothing to show for their years of working. They would work and work but not really achieve much. They would spend the money they earned and then earn some more and repeat. This is illustrated in the quote, â€Å"..work up a stake and blow the stake†. A dream would be important as it would give a worker something to work towards instead of working with no real direction in their life. Many of the characters in the novel have dreams. The dream is a form of escape from reality of life. As previously stated, George and Lennie’s dream is to have a piece of land that they can call their own, tend it, grow crops and raise animals. However, Lennie specifically dreams of caring for rabbits. This shows his immaturity. He says, â€Å"†¦An’ have rabbits!† George is always repeating this ‘dream’ to Lennie. When he does depict the dream to Lennie, he uses exaggerative language and gets involved in the dream almost as much as Lennie. Both George and Lennie become excited when the dream is recalled. They swear, â€Å"†¦We’ll just say the hell with going to work†¦Ã¢â‚¬  , animating their eagerness to fulfil their dream. George and Lennie’s dream eventually fails. This is for a number of reasons. It is mainly because Lennie is such a burden to George. Because of Lennie’s mental incapability, he has no idea that he is making George’s life miserable. George says, â€Å"Course Lennie’s a God damn nuisance most of the time, but you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him† George is being held back by Lennie as they are constantly forced to change jobs, because of situations the Lennie gets them in to and therefore they can’t stay in work long enough to build up any sort of savings. The result of this is that they can not save up the money to achieve the ‘dream’. Lennie has limited social skills and so does not know how to interact with people. Instead, he finds comfort in touching things and is too tactile. This causes trouble as Lennie often touches women’s clothes and is misunderstood and seen to be abusive. For this reason, George has to keep a constant eye on Lennie. When Candy makes the proposal of entering their ‘dream’ in exchange for three hundred dollars, George suddenly sees some possibility of the ‘dream’ succeeding. Before, he had merely used the ‘dream’ as a pacifier for Lennie and had lulled himself into believing that it may happen so that he could continue bringing hope to Lennie. I think that sub-consciously he always knew that the ‘dream’ would never be a reality. With Candy’s financial input, the ‘dream’ could realistically be achieved within the month. However, an abrupt end to their hopes arrives. Lennie, in his childlike way, cannot conceive of the line where stroking stops and hurting begins in terms of petting, and he ends up accidently killing two animals by petting them violently. Most horrifically, at the climax of the story, he kills Curly’s wife in the same way. The fact that he killed her was the final blow to the ‘dream’. â€Å"I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her†, George says as he realizes the dream is inevitable. Lennie was inevitably going to be hunted down and shot on site. George, who is forced to join the manhunt for Lennie, decides that the kindest way out for both him and Lennie is to kill him when he finds him. He does this by luring Lennie into a false state of trust by reciting their ‘dream’ to him one last time. This sends Lennie off into death with his dream in his head. You can argue in some way Lennie has achieved his dream. Curly’s wife has a dream common to the period and today. She believes that she has the talent to become a Hollywood actress. She was convinced of this as when she was younger; she acquainted herself with a Hollywood director who deemed her suitable to be an actress in the ‘movies’. This is shown in a quote taken from a passage spoken by Curly’s wife, â€Å"An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..An’ all them nice clothes they wear. Because this guy said I was a natural.† This ‘guy’ told her she would receive a letter from him explaining where to meet to develop her acting career. Her explanation of why she didn’t become an actress is idealistic at best. She believed that her mother stole that letter. However, this is an optimistic justification. It just so happens that shortly after Curley’s wife was given the hope of becoming an actress, she met Curley. When she realised that her dream of becoming an actress was truly over, she decided to marry Curley. She may have done this as, at the time, it was very difficult for a woman to get a job and live on her own. The main profession of women then was housewife. Most women would marry a modest worker but marrying a rich man who owned a ranch was a bonus. Life would be easy for Curley’s wife as she would not have to ‘lift a finger’. As there was such discrimination towards women, Curley’s wife found herself being ignored by the men on the ranch. She was not paid much attention by Curley and was seen by him as more of a trophy than a wife. These are the main reasons that Curley’s wife is not happy. She openly expresses that she does not even love Curley. â€Å"I don’t like Curley†. She regrets that she married him in the first place. She was not able to speak to anyone during the day as all of the men were out on the fields working. This causes her to be extremely lonely. At any chance she can she will speak to someone. When she speaks to Lennie in the barn, she says, â€Å"Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.† This shows that she craves friendship. She is often prying on the men just looking for someone to talk to. She justifies this by saying to Slim â€Å"Hi, good lookin’. I’m tryin’ to find Curley, Slim.† The fact that she does not even have a name and is instead referred to as Curley’s wife shows her status on the ranch. It shows that she is so insignificant that she is not even deemed important enough to warrant a real name. She is looked down on and shown no respect by most of the men on the ranch. She also has the dream to be treated as equal to the men on the ranch. This is similar to Crooks’ dream. He just wants to be accepted by everyone else on the ranch. However, both Crooks and Curley’s wife have similar dreams which would lead you to think that they would sympathise with each other. The reality is quite opposite. Curley’s wife approaches Crooks in an aggressive manor and speaks to him in a demoralising way. She says, â€Å"Well you keep your place, then Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny!† She perhaps speaks to Crooks with no respect as he is the only person on the ranch over whom she has a higher status. Crooks and Candy try to enter George and Lennie’s dream. They both do this for their own reasons. Candy is worried about his future on the ranch. He believes that is nearing the point of becoming useless to the ranch owner. He needs some security so that when he does become of no use, he can settle down somewhere. Crooks feels socially isolated and needs to go somewhere that he will be treated as an equal. George, Lennie and Candy do not discriminate against Crooks as much as most. This is the reason that he would feel comfortable living in a house with them. Candy, when he enters the dream, provides financial power. He has three hundred dollars that he is willing to invest in the dream. When he first tries to join the dream, George responds in a negative and coy way. He says â€Å"You know a place like that?† [Candy] â€Å"S’pose I do? What’s that to you?† [George]. However, when George considers Candy’s proposition, he starts to think that the dream may actually become a reality. Candy is afraid that if he does not get somewhere that he can retire to, he may have no one to care for him. Eventually he will be seen of no use and disposed of, much like his dog. Crooks joins the dream as he feels he needs a ‘shelter from society’, somewhere that he is accepted for the person that he is and not judged by his skin colour or his disability. Crooks has no status and is treated with no respect on the ranch. He is frustrated with all of the racism directed towards him. He says, â€Å"If I say something, why, it’s just a nigger saying it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Crooks had a taste of equality when he was a child. He was accepted by white children and has perhaps not accepted the fact that he is now a social outcast. He says,† The white kids come to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them was pretty nice† He remembers what it was like to be an equal and wants to experience that feeling again. This is one of the reasons the Crooks joins the dream. Candy will soon be too old and frail to keep his job at the ranch. The fact that he only has one hand means that his job opportunities are very limited. He, much like Crooks, has no one in his life. He just watches workers come and go from the ranch. He would have somewhere to belong if he joined the dream. This is a very important psychologically as having a ‘place to call home’ can give Candy a reason to carry on living. All of these characters have dreams and their dreams are important to them. They all give their character some sort of goal to aim for and a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. I believe Steinbeck is trying to make a point by including all of these dreams. I think he is trying to say that without dreams, we are all lost in our lives. We all need some sort of dream to keep us motivated. I think the novel was written to show the stranglehold that the ‘Great Depression’ had on America in the 1930’s. It also shows how hard the life of an itinerant worker was. ‘Of Mice and Men’ was very a descriptive and informative book. It made me realise that dreams, however small or big, are vital in life.

Why We Hate the Dumb Kids.

Magazine, or K Magazine, they wont read it. They can't spell. They spell in text. OMG, TTYL, etc. , They spend all their time playing online games and admiring each others Faceable lives. Its the truth simply put. The problem is much worse than you think. Not long ago, a high-school teacher in California handed out an assignment that required students to use a ruler ? and discovered not a single one of them knew how.I read that In an online article about â€Å"Kids these days† . What does that say about our society? What does that say about us? We as parent's are the ones ultimately responsible for encouraging our children's thinking and engaging ablest aren't we? Or have we dropped the ball and relied on the school system again. One English teacher actually denounced any textbook reading and suggested watching the movie! That's Insane. People wonder why homecomings has become more and more common these days, that's why.Its the parent's lack of Involvement In their children da y to day lives cause we too have put too much pressure on ourselves to make that effort to know that â€Å"Johnny† is being educated and we are doing everything we can to assist he properly utilizes all the tools he is given to learn with. Yes, it may be easier to watch a Youth video that will demonstrate in verbatim how to reprogram your Phone to albeit mode but if you were asked to demonstrate it on paper, these kids would be dumbfounded. We need to be more involved and help structure their theories of the now and impatient ways of learning versus actually learning.

Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Information Systems - Essay Example This may mean that there will be some adjustment to prioritizing incoming messages. Nurses will be expected to be more efficient in the way they manage their time, so it is important that this is part of their training too as the technology becomes more universal. 2. IT should be used not just to automate repetitive tasks and ease communications. It should also be used to re-engineer in-efficient administrative and managerial processes with the focus on quality of life for personnel and the well being of patients. The advantage of a WLAN over a LAN is that medical staff do not have to be fixed at a desk to view, modify and evaluate information. It should be accessible as soon as it has been input. If the WLAN is being used for data entry then there will be a time saving. Medical staff could benefit by sharing knowledge, to improve their personal skills and to add to the organization's knowledge.

Eat Local Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Eat Local - Assignment Example The mere appearance of the burger was enticing. On consumption, I articulated its tasty nature to the regular and fast deliveries covered from the farm to the restaurant. Further, the organic farming practices and sustainable strategies used by the farm in outsourcing other products contributed to the food’s value. I ate mashed potatoes served with beef stew on the second day, whose ingredients emanated from Buckleberry Farm. It was realistic from the cost analysis that the farm stipulated reduced prices for its products prices citing to the reduced costs of the meals (Miller, 2014). For instance, the burger sold at $7 compared to the other burgers that cost $7.9 in the competing restaurants. The perception held following the meal’s consumption was that â€Å"local† food represented any supplies bred under sustainable and socio friendly methods within the US (Schindler, 2014). I concluded that eating local food was a healthy and an economical practice worth embra cing. In the contemporary global community, the majority human population prefers organic to inorganic foods. The perception is that organic agricultural foods are healthy compared to those grown under inorganic practices. It is arguable that the former practices include toxic elements that harm flora and fauna. The highlighted aspect prevails amongst other benefits accrued from the solution to consume locally grown and processed foods. The production and processing of the food at Buckleberry Farm is subject to strategic measures that guarantee hygiene and fast delivery thereafter. Arguably, the locally produced food will cost less compared to similar foreign or distant products in Eugene, Oregon. The freshness of local foods is evident from the practices embraced by the stakeholders (Miller, 2014). Foreign foods are subject to costly processes from production to marketing. In the end, outsourcing of the foreign foods incurs

Introduce and critique Post-Modernism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Introduce and critique Post-Modernism - Essay Example Most of the postmodernists assume that â€Å"reality is a social construct†. It means that right after communicating with one another; the members of a given society can somehow come up with their own collective ideas and convince more people to believe them until such point that it becomes part of their cultural beliefs. For this reason, the postmodernists assume that there is really â€Å"no absolute truth† about anything in this world and that the truth that most people believe in is actually â€Å"relative to the community† they live in . In other words, postmodernists simply believe that anything that people believe in this world can either be destroyed or broken down into pieces. The postmodernists are also known for their inability to accept the idea that the truth is an end-result of rational thinking nor is a creation or discovery made out of using scientific method. In fact, the phenomenon behind postmodernism accepts the idea that it is possible to fra cture or break down what people used to believe is real during the modernism era into something that is beyond what people during the modernism period would not even think of possible. For example, given that everything in this world is subject to change, one can easily notice that the songs we hear changes from the â€Å"classic rock† into a â€Å"modern rock†. In the case of postmodern architects, this group of professionals is after exploring the need to build buildings using different â€Å"styles, form, and texture†. One can actually say that postmodernism is all about liberating.

The Pros and cons of The Globalization Process Essay

The Pros and cons of The Globalization Process - Essay Example This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of globalization phenomena, considering pros and cons of the process and assessing its role in the modern world of today. With the advent of the internet and massive computing systems that are nevertheless small in physical scale, the world is becoming an ever-shrinking globe. The concept of a shrinking world, a world wherein travel, trade and communications between countries is becoming easily accessible by all, is luring more companies into the worldwide market thanks to significant advances in transportation, communication and a recognition of the success of libertarian marketing systems. The globalization of markets has accelerated through universal acceptance of the democratic free enterprise model and new communication technologies, including satellites and the Internet. Changes in the way in which organizations conduct business have been rapid and wide-spread as the globalization concept has been introduced. It is the inherent nature of the marketplace to increase efficiency within the workplace by constantly striving to produce the most products with the least expenditure of resources. It is this concept that drove many corporations to join in the globalization process, frequently outsourcing their activities and production processes to less developed countries in which this process is less expensive and requires fewer restrictions, licensing, and controls. Global markets offer greater opportunity for people to tap into more and larger markets around the world.