19th century England Essay Example for Free

19th century England Essay In this essay we will be discussing the life and times of the one and only Charles Dickens. He was an author. A very famous and popular author. Firstly we shall discover the background of Charles Dickens; we shall also discover how powerfully Dickens background affected him as an author and child.  Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and grew up in Portsmouth. His farther was a clerk in the navy pay office. At this time Dickens also worked as a clerk with his farther. But when Dickens turned 12 years old his farther started to have problems, very serious problems, financial problems. The reason for this is that he had quite a large family. In the year of 1824 Dickens whole family was sent to prison and Charles had to give-up all his home life and school because he was sent off to work in a shoe polish workhouse. Dickens was so sad and hurt because of his familys imprisonment, so what he did was write about his early life in novels, but before all of this had happened Dickens family was released from the Marshal Sea prison in 1825. Straight after this his farther sent him to the Wellington house academy (a school). When he had grown up in 1827 he worked as a clerk for a firm of solicitors in Holborn, but he hated the law so he was drawn into journalism. In 1831 Dickens was writing short hand reports of parliamentary debates for the London papers. After this Dickens started life as an author he wrote many novels such as: Bleak house, The old curious shop, Master Humphries clock, and Great Expectations.  But the most popular and famous out of the novels above is probably Great Expectations. The novel Great Expectations begins with the protagonist Pip strolling through the graveyard, in which his mother and farther are buried, what the author is trying to tell the reader is that Pip is an orphan. After this scene Dickens introduces the next character Magwitch. Magwitch is an escaped convict; we know this because in the novel it says, A fearful man, all in coarse gray, with a great iron on his leg. Dickens deliberately creates this type of tension to get the audience interested and to suggest that the fearful man is an escaped convict. When Magwitch appears in front of Pip he starts to threaten the poor little boy. Magwith said to Pip that he would cut his throat and rip his heart out and eat his liver, keep still you little devil, or Ill cut your throatyou bring them both to me or Ill have your heart and liver out. Yet again Dickens deliberately means to do this to create a mood of tension so that the audience feel sympathetic towards Pip but think that Magwitch is a violent, intimidating and aggressive character, the author also makes the audience think that Magwith is a cannibal because of the threat he made to Pip. After this encounter Magwitch asked Pip where is his mother and then Pip replied, There sir. He meant in the graveyard (tombstone). After a while Magwitch realised that Pip was an orphan, so he asked Pip who does he live with, Pip said that he lives with his sister Mrs Joe Gargery. The escaped convict is starving because of his long journey from the Hulk ship (prisoner ship). So Magwitch asked Pip to bring him some food but did this in an unusual way, he bribed him by saying that there is another escaped convict on the loose much worse than he is, Pip agreed to meet Magwitch the next day.  Gradually we discover that Pip thinks that Magwitch is like a ghost haunting him as Magwitch walks toward the Gibbet. At the end of the chapter we discover that both Magwitch and Pip walked off into the distance, but Dickens also makes the audience feel sympathy for Magwitch because of the way he was dragging his feet with the iron piece of metal on it. The author creates another mood of sympathy towards Magwitch when he hugs himself. This identifies that Magwitch is lonely and cold and Dickens leaves the chapter on cliffhanger. He leaves it with Pip, But now I was frightened again, and ran home without stopping. What the reader would want to know next is, when will Magwitch and Pip meet again. In chapter 3 we discover that Magwitch and Pip meet again, but in the first paragraph Dickens creates a sinister atmosphere, It was a rimy morning, and very damp. This explains that Dickens wants to make the audience feel a degree of tension. As the paragraphs go on, we discover that Pip sees another escaped convict that appears to be Magwitch to PipI saw a man sitting before meI went forward and touched him on the shoulderand it was not the same man, but another. What this means is that Magwitch seemed to be telling the truth about the other escaped convict, but was only trying to bribe Pip, so now we realise that there is another convict on the marshes. When Pip had stolen the file and food and running through the marshes he was considered to be as bad as Magwitch because since Pip has such a vivid imagination he imagines that the cows and animals are talking to him, A boy with somebody elses pork pie! Stop him. This shows that Pip has a vivid imagination and is guilty of theft.  When Pip meets Magwitch Dickens creates sympathy towards Magwitch, the right hand man hugging him-self and limping. Magwitch seemed to be very weak and cold, drop down before my face and die of deadly cold. His eyes looked awfully hungry. The author creates this mood of empathy so that the audience begins to think that Magwitch can be weak and pathetic and therefore we are interested to see whether he will survive or not. When Pip gave Magwitch the food, he saw Magwitch eat the food ravenously but there was a bit of a bond between Magwitch and Pip. This bond is that they are both lonely and scared. But all of a sudden Magwitch started to act nicely to Pip, I am glad you enjoyed it did you speak; I said did you enjoy it, thankee my boy. I do. The audience now think that Magwitch is not much of a villain. The other reason why Dickens did this was because he did not like the penal system in those days, he also wanted to show society that prisoners were human too.

Company background and overview of Coca Cola

Company background and overview of Coca Cola Coca-Cola is one of the world famous and largest brands in beverages industry. The company was established Doctor John Pemberton who was a pharmacist in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia USA. The brand has since become household drink in over 200 countries across the globe. Carbonate drinks are the single largest component in Coca-Cola Company which account for about 78% of the total volume sold in the 2008. The company has over 3000 beverages products and has about 500 brands in its portfolio these includes Coca-Cola/Diet Coke family, Coca-cola enterprise (CCE) wide range of carbonates includes Fanta, Lilt, Sprite and PowerAde, plus the Schweppes brand in the UK according to keynote report. The Coca-Cola brand has been adopted the strategy of global marketing. They are considering the whole world as single market place and uniform marketing strategy was being used Coca-cola for many years, but now the trend is changing and different marketing campaigns are being designed for different regions of the world. . Business decisions are made on a domestic basis to fit in with the culture and needs of the domestic community. In 1919 Coca-Cola decided it was time to go global. The Coca-Cola Company decided to take its operations beyond national boundaries and marketing research was started in central America, china and many other countries of the world. Because of successful and efficient marketing research Coca-cola was able to produce globally in different regions of the world Coca cola in UK The carbonate market in the UK is dominated by relatively few companies. These are, In the main, subsidiaries of global conglomerates such as the coca cola company and Pepsi CO. Indeed, Coca-Cola, BSD and own label alone account for well over two thirds of the carbonates market volume in the UK.The purpose sale of BSD, In which PepsiCo already has a 10% share, is likely to make one of the these groups even stronger in the UK market. Coca -Cola Companys major brand in the UK and in the world is coke or simply Coca-Cola. Other major brands of the Coca-Cola Company in the UK portfolio include Diet Coca-Cola, Cherry CoCa-Cola,Fanta,Lilt,Sprite,Dr Pepper and Schweppes.Dr Pepper,Wich has been on sale in the UK since 1982,is reported to most popular among the younger and teenagers in the UK. The companys operations in the UK are divided between CCE and Coca-Cola Great Britain (CCGB). CCE is the manufacturer and distributor, whereas CCGB owns the brands and is responsible for marketing. The companys beverages are generally for all consumers. However, there are some brands, which target specific consumers. For example, Coca- Colas diet soft drinks are targeted at consumers who are older in age, between the years of 25 and 39. PowerAde sports water target those who are fit, healthy and do sport. Winnie the Pooh sipper cap Juice Drink target children between the ages 5-12. Coca cola in Nepal Coca-Cola was first introduced into Nepal in 1973, when it was imported from India, but local production would only begin in 1979, with the establishment of Bottlers Nepal Limited (BNL). Coca-Cola Sabco acquired bottling rights from The Coca-Cola Company for Nepal in 2004. BNL, which has plants in the capital Kathmandu and Bharatpur, is the only bottler of Coca-Cola products in Nepal. The Marketing, Sales and Distribution strategy for BNL is titled Refresh the Marketplace and includes a robust Consumer Response System to address any consumer concerns, ideas and suggestions. BNL is also committed to strengthening the community through various programmes, particularly in the health sector, as the country has the lowest per capita public health expenditure in the world. In association with the local community, BNL assists by supporting a Free Health Check-up Clinic at Bharatpur. The Nepalese enjoy Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite Advertisement   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If we look on advertising perspective of Coca-cola, advertising has created a demand for Coca-Cola worldwide. However, advertising has to be in line with the domestic culture. An adapted marketing mix means adjusting the mix with the prevailing culture, geographic, economic and other differences in different countries. Different languages and cultures caused problems. COCA COLA ADVERTISMENT Add 1 Bottlers Nepal and Bottlers Nepal (Tarai) on lat week announced the launch of their summer promotion campaign Coca-Cola Football Maha Utsab targeting soccer fans across the country. . According to Bottlers Nepal, consumers need to purchase Coca-Cola, Fanta or Sprite and SMS the 10-digit unique code under the bottles crown to 4477. The scheme is applicable to all 200 ml and 250 ml returnable glass bottles or all sizes of PET bottles from April 1 to May 31, 2010. During the scheme period, consumers will also get a chance to win attractive Coca-Cola t-shirts, caps and free drinks, said Pranaya Sthapit, country marketing manager of Bottlers Nepal. Coca Cola Advertisement in Rural Area of Nepal Coca Cola Advertisement in Rural Area of Nepal, Wikimedia Commons Figure: 1.1 Market Segmentation in Nepal : The supplier driven Nepalese market generally practiced mass marketing approach with product variations in the past. The socio-economic changes and developments in transport and communication system have made Nepalese marketers conscious of market segmentation. The marketing strategies of global organizations like Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nepal Lever and Standard Chartered Bank have reinforced this consciousness. The following points describe the practices of market segmentation in Nepal. 1: Non-systematic: Segmentation is generally not based on systematic market research. Past experiences, hunches of management and competitors strategy have influenced segmentation. 2: Variables for Segmentation: The variables mostly used for consumer market segmentation are: Geographic Demographic Psychographic Behavioural 3: Lack of Information: Nepalese marketers lack comprehensive information about consumer characteristics. They tend to regard marketing research as a wasteful cost. This has constrained the effective evaluation of market segments in terms of their attractiveness and appropriateness. Risks are not properly assessed. 4: Government Policies: Government policies in Nepal are not very supprotive of marketing. They do not regard businessmen as partners for development. Restrictions of movement of goods and controls have discouraged market segmentation. 5: Lack of Ethical Considerations: Environmental and welfare considerations are generally disregarded for market segmentation in Nepal. The above points clearly indicate that the concept of market segmentation is at an initial stage in Nepal. However, the importance of market segmentation is likely to increase in the years to come Positioning Positioning is the process of creating, the image the product holds in the mind of Consumers, relating to competing products. Coca cola and Pepsi both make soft drinks, Pepsi may try to compete but they will still be seen as down market from coke. coke has been positioned based on the process of positioning by direct comparison And have positioned d their products to benefit their target markets. Most people Create an image of a product by comparing it to another product, thus evident Through the famous battles between Coca-cola and Pepsi products. Product life cycle: When referring to each and every product or service ever placed before the consumer i.e. in the long term all the existing products and services are dead. For e.g.:- Replacement of Ford Cortina ( a highly successful car) by Ford Sierra, the replacement of sierra by the Ford Mondeo and the replacement of the old Mondeo by the new Mondeo in 2001. So every product is born, grows, matures and dies. So in the commercial market place products and services are created, launched and withdrawn in a process known as Product Life Cycle. To be able to market its product properly, a business must be aware of the product life cycle of its product. The standard product life cycle tends to have five phases: Development, Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. Coca-Cola is currently in the maturity stage, which is evidenced primarily by the fact that they have a large, loyal group of stable customers. Furthermore, cost management, product differentiation and marketing have become more important as growth slows and market share becomes the key determinant of profitability. In foreign markets the product life cycle is in more of a growth trend Cokes advantage in this area is mainly due to its establishment strong branding and it is now able to use this area of stable profitability to subsidize the domestic Cola Wars. Insert the picture of the product lifecycle. Future financial objective In uk Coca-Cola Enterprises, the worlds largest bottler of Coca-Cola products which will soon be focused purely on some of the largest but also most mature soft drinks markets in Western Europe, is optimistic about the long-term growth prospects for this territory. The group aims to achieve in currency neutral terms: revenue growth of 4% to 6%; operating income growth of 6% to 8%; earnings per share growth in a high single-digit range; and return on invested capital improvement of 20 basis points or more per year. These metrics reflect the solid growth opportunity that lies ahead in Europe, says John Brock, chairman and chief executive of Coca-Cola Enterprises. They exceed our current long-term objectives. We are committed to these financial objectives, and in turn, to creating real value for our shareowners, our customers, and our employees. Financial Market share of coca cola in uk. Coca-Cola has reported strong second-quarter profits, beating market expectations, thanks to rising international sales. Total profits were $2.37bn ( £1.56bn), up 16% from a year ago and narrowly above forecasts of $2.3bn. The beverage makers share price jumped 2.3% in the first 15 minutes of New York trading. Revenues were up 4.8% to $8.67bn, thanks to rapid sales growth in Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia. Among the best growth markets were Brazil, where sales volumes were up 13%, and India, up 22% since last year. The producer of Fanta, Sprite and Vitamin Water also reported a pick-up in growth albeit at a more sedate 2% pace in its home market of North America. In Europe, however, sales were down 1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10716077, 21 July 2010 Last updated at 15:42 Competitors Analysis Coca-Cola Enterprise is the UK subsidiary for the Coca-Cola Company. In 2008 UK carbonate was valued about  £6billin; with which Coca-Cola (GB) hold about 60% value in both retail and on-trade. Britvic soft drink which is UK subsidiaries of PepsiCo and is the main competitor was second place in terms of market shares of 15% retail sales according to mintel. PepsiCos flagship brands in soft drinks are Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Diet Pepsi, Gatorade and Mountain Dew, and the company also owns Tropicana and Dole, the worlds leaders in fruit juice. GlaxoSmithKline PLC, a giant in healthcare products, is the UK third largest carbonate drink and is also on a different scale from most drinks companies. The company specialised in medicines and oral care, as well as three famous drinks brands: Lucozade, Ribena and Horlicks. CCE, had a turnover of  £1.43bn in the year ending 31st December 2006, up 2.4% on the previous year whereas For the year ending 30th September 2007, Britvic PLC recorded total branded revenues of  £716.3m, up by 5.7% on 2006. According to John Sicher of Beverage Digest (2009), Coca-Cola was the number one brand with around 42.7% in 2008. PepsiCo was second, with 30.8%, however these market shares for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have slightly decreased from 2007 to 2008. Coca-Colas volume has also decreased 1.0% since 2007, whereas PepsiCos volume has increased 0.3%. Strong growth of Coke range in the UK is probably due to the introduction of coke zero and Diet coke product. Coke Zero is the most significant of KOs new innovations. This beverage is marketed as a calorie-free version of Coca-Cola Classic, omitting the diet label in an attempt to appeal to new demographics. This brand alone accounted for nearly one third of all 2006 growth for beverages bearing the Coca-Cola trademark. http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/08/strategic-analysis-coca-cola.html RECOMMENDATIONS After completing our project we have concluded some recommendation for the coca cola company, which are following. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Coca Cola Company should try to emphasis more on providing their infrastructure in the market to facilitate their customers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢According to the survey, conducted by the international firm Pakistani people like little bit sweeter cola drink. So for this coca cola company should produce their product according to the local demand. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Marketing team should try to increase the availability of Coke in rural areas. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢They should also focus the old people. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Now young generation has a trend to drink a coke 2 regular bottles at same time, so providing more satisfaction to them company should introduce  ½ liter disposable bottle. Coac- Cola Market Share The UKs Top 10 Soft Drinks by take-home sales value in 2009. Coca-Cola. Lucozade (GlaxoSmithKline). Robinsons (Britvic). Pepsi (Britvic). Tropicana (PepsiCo)   Red Bull. Ribena (Glaxo SmithKline). Schweppes (Coca-Cola). Actimel (Danone). Volvic (Danone Source: Nestle Worldwide The Top 10 Soft Drinks Companies in 2009 by market share. Coca-Cola ( bottling partners) PepsiCo ( bottling partners). Nestle. Suntory. Dr Pepper Snapple. Red Bull. Danone. Kirin. Asahi Breweries. Ito En. Coca-cola is number one for the 11th year http://www.financenews.co.uk/uncategorized/coca-cola-still-on-top-of-the-world/ (note;i need to search and type on this id) For 11 straight years, Coca-Cola has retained its spot as No 1 in Interbrands annual ranking of the 100 Best Global Brands followed by IBM, Microsoft, Google and GE. The 2010 report estimates the Coca-Cola brand value at $70.5 billion, up by two per cent since 2009, said the Interbrand that uses a combination of analysts projections, company financial documents and its own qualitative and quantitative analysis to arrive at a net present value. Top 5 Global brands in 2010 Rank Company Brand Value 1 Coca-Cola $70.452m 2 IBM $64,727m 3 Microsoft $60,895m 4 Google $43,557m 5 GE $42,808m The Himalaya Times ,Added At:   2011-02-14 12:18 AM The market share of Coca Cola and its rival Pepsi might be 50-50 in many parts of the world but when it comes to Nepal, the market share structure would be 3:1. The factor which needs to be credited for this data of Coca Colas market share cannot be determined that easily. As far as I know, the factors could be, the management and the quality it has maintained. The company with the largest paper work in Nepal had Bottlers Nepal, the sole distributor for Coke in the second spot. This also proves that the management is good and the quality maintenance needs no description at all. There were ups and downs in Coke. A couple of years or so, the workers went on for a strike all over Nepal in Bottlers Company resulting the distribution and production into halt. To worsen this case, this halt was in existence in the peak season which was finally solved. The year 2008 could be different and nothing is predictable. The number one spot could be snatched by Microsoft in this present age of information technology. If only Coca Cola could come up with some beverage for chilling cold with the same brand, who knows they might still be at the number one spot for the next ten years or so. Friday, January 11, 2008 | The carbonate market in the UK is dominated by relatively few companies. These are, In the main, subsidiaries of global conglomerates such as the coca cola company and Pepsi CO.Indeed, Coca-Cola, BSD and own label alone account for well over two thirds of the carbonates market volume in the UK.The purpose sale of BSD, In which PepsiCo already has a 10% share, is likely to make one of the these groups even stronger in the UK market. Financial objectives On September 7, 2010, CCE announced updated long-term financial objectives, including the following: Revenue growth of 4 percent to 6 percent; Operating income growth of 6 percent to 8 percent; Earnings per share growth in a high single-digit range; and Return on invested capital improvement of 20 basis points or more per year. Coca cola market share by area Area NORTH AMERICA LATIN AMERICA EUROPE MIDDLE EAST ASIA AFRICA Volume 30% 25% 22% 17% 6% RANKING 1 2 3 4 5 Figure: 2 Sources: Business plan on coca-cola 8/8/2010 MARKETING STRATEGY Our local marketing strategy enables Coke to listen to all the voices around the world asking for beverages that span the entire spectrum of tastes and occasions. What people want in a beverage is a reflection of who they are, where they live, how they work and play, and how they relax and recharge. Whether youre a student in the United States enjoying a refreshing Coca- Cola, a woman in Italy taking a tea break, a child in Peru asking for a juice drink, or a couple in Korea buying bottled water after a run together, were there for you. We are determined not only to make great drinks, but also to contribute to communities around the world through our commitments to education, health, wellness, and diversity. Coke strives to be a good neighbor, consistently shaping our business decisions to improve the quality of life in the communities in which we do business. Its a special thing to have billions of friends around the world, and we never forget it. Processes of Communication in a coca-cola The process of communication would be as follows: Message conceived decision made to send message and reasons why. Message encoded information for notice and what sort of layout is going to be used etc. Communications medium selected communication method selected, in this case notice. Message decoded language and knowledge used to send out the right message. Message interpreted meaning of notice, recipients view. Feedback supplied feedback supplied to sender e.g. opinions, response etc. Sample of communication process of coca-cola N N Massage . Feedback Figure: Schramm (1955) Note:Communication process copy from book http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KKp3Hg5vmVsCpg=PA276dq=marketing+communication+theory+/coca+colahl=enei=69phTZj6G9HssgbEqKC2CAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=3ved=0CD4Q6AEwAjgK#v=onepageq=marketing%20communication%20theory%20%2Fcoca%20colaf=false Coca-Cola market share and sub product in Nepal Bottlers Nepal said it is planning to invest $10m in the next three years to expand its bottling operations and launch a brand of mineral water for the market. The bottler of Coca-Cola in Nepal will use the funds to modernise its bottling plants in Kathmandu and Bharatpur. The company, which posted a 20% growth in 2009, said it will start manufacturing the Kinley brand of mineral water following standards prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Coca-Cola Sabco, one of Coca-Cola Companys bottling partners, has invested about $45m in the last five years, and annually produces one million bottles of carbonated soft drinks. Coca-Cola has a 67.8% market share in Nepals carbonated soft drinks business, according to global marketing research firm ACNielsen.

Socio Political Context Of The Welfare Policy Social Work Essay

Socio Political Context Of The Welfare Policy Social Work Essay According to the World Health Organisation, most developed world countries have accepted the age of 65 years as a definition of elderly or older person. (WHO: 2012) However, in the UK, the Friendly Societies Act 1972 S7(1)(e) defines old age as, any age after fifty, where pension schemes mostly, are used, it is usually, age 60 or 65 years for eligibility. (Scottish Government: 1972) The term ageism, is defined as process of discrimination and stereotyping against people because of their age. Around a quarter of older adults in the UK, report having experienced age discrimination. (Age Scotland: 2012) It affects many institutions in society and has a number of dimensions, such as job discrimination, loss of status, stereotyping and dehumanization. Ageism is also about assuming that all older people are the same despite different life histories, needs and expectation. (Phillipson: 2011) The policy, All Our Future also (Scottish Government: 2007) indicates that over the age of fifty, is a stage where life circumstances start to change in ways that can be significant for the future. An example of this can be; children leave home, change in working patterns, people have less work and more time for themselves. In addition, from fifty onwards, this can be a time when physical health may deteriorate, causing possible health problems, such as, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis or coronary heart disease. What is more, the state of general health overall, decreases substantially, people face changes in appearance, their physical state deteriorates and they are not as fit as they used to be. Surely, this must be difficult to accept! However, ageing can also cause some psychological effects, such as, changes in memory function, a decline in intellectual abilities, or even memory loss. As a result of a degenerative condition of brains nerve cells or brain disorders, many people may develop dementia, Alzheimer or Parkinson disease. Wilson et al. (2008) who draws attention to physical, biological and psychological effects of the ageing, pointing out that ageing is not itself a disease, but some specific diseases may be associated with this process. Older people are a group that used to be in a marginal concern in the social work profession, but has recently moved to one of central importance. (Phillipson: 2011) This is caused by the remarkable speed of demographical change. The number of older people is increasing, both in absolute numbers, and as a proportion of the total population. The ageing of the population indicates two main factors: the downward trend in the birth rate, and improvements in life expectancy. (Phillipson: 2011) In Scotland, in 2010, there were an estimated 1.047 million older people age over 60, with older people being one fifth of the Scottish population. (Age Scotland: 2012) In the last hundred years, Scotlands life expectancy has doubled from 40 in 1900, to just over 74 for males, and just over 79 for females in 2004. By 2031 the number of people aged 50+ is projected to rise by 28%, and the number aged 75+ is projected to increase by 75% (Scottish Government: 2007) This issue requires to be deeply anal ysed in terms of how society will be able to respond effectively to the complex needs of older people. This part of the report takes into account the socio-political context of the welfare policy. Social work underwent fundamental changes from the 1960s, following broader ideological, political and economic developments. To understand the current role of social work within society and wider policy framework, particularly with older people, it is important to analyse the past that has reflected on contemporary practice. By the 1960s, more attention was beginning to be paid to the social consequences of capitalism, that started to be seen as the economic order of an unequal and unfair society. The strong critique of that system is known as radical social work, that grew on the ideology of Marxism. (Howe: 2008) The publication of the Kilbrandon Report (1964) consequently led to the introduction of Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. This embedded social work firmly within the state sector, with the voluntary sector as complementary. (Ferguson Woodward: 2011) Social work wanted to be seen a s a unified profession, that offered generic services, to overcome earlier fragmentation and overspecialisation of services. Social workers were obligated by law, to assess needs and promote social welfare by providing services. However, the government of Margaret Thatcher began to weaken the state welfares responsibilities to help people in need, leading to the major ideological shift in 1980s called neoliberalism. As a result, the Barclay Report (1982) intended to clarify the role and task of social workers employed within statutory or voluntary sector. The later Griffiths Report (1988) was similar to Barclay Report, in terms of promoting greater choice, participation and independence of the service user and carers. However, neoliberalism undermines the role of welfare professionals, allowing the rich to become richer, and marginalise the poorest and most vulnerable individuals. (Ferguson Woodward: 2011) Woodward and Ferguson (2011) argue that the neoliberal trend has been contin ued under the new labour government, leading to managerialism and bureaucratisation. Therefore, contemporary practice is drawn by extreme pressure of marketisation and managerialism, leading to a profession dominated by stress, frustration and strongly focused on meeting deadlines. The labour government has also been driven by the developments associated with consumerists ideas, such as, personalisation that places the service user at the centre of service design and delivery, or direct payments that emphasise independence and individual choice, through giving service users their own money, to buy their own services. (Woodward Ferguson: 2011) For a long time, neoliberal economic and social policies in the UK speculated a very different concept of what social work should be about. The Changing Lives report of the 21st Century Social Work Review (Scottish Government: 2006) has brought a significant shift within social work polices, through an expression of dissatisfaction of social w ork, that was mainly caused by a lack of opportunity for relationship based working with service user. The policy has reshaped the profession, providing social workers with additional space to develop good social work practice. There have been initiatives to improve recruitment, and increase professionalism and standards within the workforce, as well as improve integration in the planning and provision of social work services. (Scottish Parliament: 2008) Integration has been developed through Modernising Community Care: An Action Plan (1998) and Community Care Joint Future (2000) that introduce Single Shared Assessment (SSA). In Scotland, Joint Future is the driving policy on joint working between local authorities and the NHS. The other key policy themes are personalisation, self-directed support, early intervention and prevention as well as mixed economy of care. (Scottish Parliament: 2008) Another significant report that brought about change in policy, and later, in Scottish legi slation, is the Sutherland Report (1999). This provided free personal and nursing care on the basis of assessed needs. (Petch: 2008) The above review of social work policies framework, is a good illustration of the constantly changing role and function of social work. Social work operates within the wider context of a constantly developing policy, ideology and legislation. The reality and ideology has changed people and society to face a new challenges. Social work makes a key contribution to tackle these issues by working with other agencies to deliver coordinated support to increase the wellbeing of older people. In terms of needs and issues when working with older people, the first thing to consider is the partnership of health and social care, especially within areas such as: assessment, care management, intermediate care and hospital discharge. The main problems are, tight budgets, resources and reconciliation of financial responsibility between bodies. Which always raises dispute who should pay for services? Wilson et al. (2008) stresses the importance of rationing services in social work, due to a low budget, which leads to delays in provision of services, and lack of time to develop more creative forms of practice. This causes unnecessary delays and constraints. One might expect that new Integration of Adult Health and Social Care Bill (Scottish Government: 2012) will resolve these problems by the joint budget and equal responsibilities of Health Boards and Local Authorities. The next issue is the assessment and intervention process, that are seen as balance between needs and resources, evidence and relationship based practice. It can be an issue to find appropriate resources that will meet the needs of the individual. A major element during assessment is the relationship with service user, and that the appropriate methods of communication are adopted to identify the needs of older people. The practitioner must take the time to get know the older person and resist pressure from other professionals to do a quick assessment. (Mackay: 2008) In social work there is constant need to utilise evidence based practice on the grounds that it is empirical knowledge which guides the decision making process, such as three stages of theory cycle (Collinwood Davies: 2011) There is no doubt evidence based practice is important, but this view may undermine relationship based practice, which is equally important. Rightly, Wilson et al. (2008) refers to relationship-based as a main feature of social work practice, that shapes the nature and purpose of the intervention. It is a unique interaction between the service user and the practitioner, that helps to obtain more information and define the best way of intervention. The problem of autonomy and protection is another factor in the relationship when working with older people. This raises the question of capacity, consent and the deprivation of liberty of older people. This group of service users is often a subject of legislation that deprives their human rights, this is because they are likely to be affected by cognitive disorder such as dementia. The term dementia, includes Alzheimers disease, vascular and unspecified dementia, as well as dementia in other diseases such as Parkinsons. It has been estimated that in the UK the number of patients diagnosed is 821,884, representing 1.3% of the UK population. (Alzheimers Research Trust: 2010) The assessment of incapacity or mental disorder is not straightforward and proves ethically and morally difficult for both service user and social worker. Social workers have to manage the balance between acting in accordance with the wishes of the individuals, and what is in their best interests. It has been sugg ested by policy and legislation that the views and wishes of people expressed through self-assessment would remain at the heart of intervention. (Wilson et al.: 2008) Another issue is abuse of older people, which may have many forms, and can be very severe in extend. Older people are vulnerable to abuse, or indeed, not having their rights fully respected and protected. The problem came to public awareness not as long as few years ago. Despite the fact that legislation came into force through Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007, it is estimated that elder abuse affects 22,700 people in the Scotland each year. (Age Scotland: 2012) Older people are a subject of physical, psychological abuse, neglect, sexual or financial harm, that normally takes place at home, in hospital, residential care or day centre. (Ray at al.: 2009) Age discrimination is next issue one wish to consider, older people are disadvantaged because of their relatively low socio-political and cultural status in a contemporary society. They are repeatedly presented as a drain on resources as they no longer actively contribute to the growth of society. They do not work and do not pay taxes anymore. Older people are systematically disadvantaged by the status they now occupy within society. Wilson et al. (2008: p. 620) rightly suggests that old age is socially constructed. A good example of this is retirement, which officially, makes people old and unavailable to work, despite the actual physical and emotional state of the individual. Other forms of social construction that significantly affect the experience of old age are class, gender, race and ethnicity. (Wilson at al.: 2008) An illustration of this can be the statement that older people have much more in common with younger people from their class, than they do with older people from other classes. (Philipson: 2011) Disadvantages and inequalities, experiences during life can magnified during the process of ageing, through differences in access to health facilities, health status and lifestyle that may influence life expectancy. There is no doubt that experience of ageing is subjective, and depends on many factors, but it seems to be a matter to firstly, consider class, gender and race at the first place. When discussing poverty and inequalities, the points to bear in mind are issues of discrimination of older women, who are less likely to have as great a pension as a male partner, due to the fact many women are paid a lower wage then men. Moreover, women tend to live longer than men, therefore, are potentially more vulnerable to live alone and in poverty. (Age UK: 2012) There are many forms of disadvantage associated with older people in poverty such as; low income, low wealth and pension, debts or financial difficulties, feelings of being worse off, financial exclusion, material deprivation and a cold home. The first three are experiences by around 20% of older people, half of older people experienced at least one of the nine forms of poverty described above, and 25% had two or more. A minority 3% suffered from three or more forms of poverty. (Age UKa: 2012) In terms of ethnicity and race there are significant inequalities in the process of ageing. An illustration of this can be the black community of older people, who are more likely to face a greater level of poverty, live in poorer housing and have received lower wages. In addition, they are more susceptible to physical and mental illness often due to heavy manual work, racism and cultural pressures. (Phillipson: 2011) All these discussed factors must be taken into account when working with the older person. It can be argued that one of the main needs of older people is the importance of active listening to this group of service users, who are often because of age ignored or disregarded. This is supported by Kydd et al. (2009) who highlights how important it is for older people to feel that they are being listened too. Another important need of this group of service users, is the need to stay at home as long as possible, which is supported by the policy, All Our Future (Scottish Government: 2007) that offers; free personal care, telecare development programme, care and repairs services or travel scheme free bus passes. The policy aims to improve opportunities for older people, foster better understanding towards this group of service users, create better links between generations to work together and exchange experiences. Improve health and quality of life by promoting well being and an active life within the community; enhance care support and protection of older people. Improve housing and transport as well as promote lifelong learning. The last part of the report identifies policy framework and organisational responses. The discussion about social care for adults began in the UK through Green paper Independence, Well-being and Choice (Department of Health: 2005) and the subsequent White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say (Department of Health: 2006) these documents set out the agenda for future. This is based on the principle that service users should be able to have greater control over their own lives, with strategies that services delivery will be more personalised than uniform. The contemporary social work is driven by emancipatory issues such as social justice, empowerment, partnership and minimal intervention. (Dalrymple and Burke: 2006) Empowerment theory is the process of helping people gain greater control over their lives. Empowerment is not simply a matter of enabling or facilitating but it involves helping people to become better equipped to deal with challenges and oppression they may face. (Thompson : 2009) On the grounds of empowerment grew the idea of service user participation that came to law in 1990 through NHS and Community Care Act. (Ray et al.: 2012) There is still increasing acceptance that people who receive services should be seen as own experts in defining their own needs. This is in accordance with the exchange model of assessment presented by Smile and Tuson et al. (1993), where the social worker views the individuals as experts of their own problems. The role of the practitioner is to help the service user to organise resources in order to reach goals that are defined by the service user. The Scottish Governments policies and initiatives addressing to older people, highlights the importance of developing services that focus on maintaining independence, encouraging choice and promoting autonomy, such as; Changing Lives (2006), All Our Future (2007), Independent Living in Scotland (2010), Reshaping Care for Older People (2012a). These policies highlight the importa nce of service user participation in the process of decision making and intervention. These tendencies of improving choice and autonomy of older people, have resulted in the creation of personalisation and self-directed support programmes. Personalisation enables the individual to participate and to be actively involved in the delivery of services. Personalisation also means that people become more involved in how services are designed by shaping and selecting services to receive support that is most suited to them (Scottish Government: 2009) The programme directly responds to wants and wishes of the service user regarding service provision. Personalisation consists of a person centre approach, early intervention and prevention, and is based on mentioned above empowering philosophy of choice and control. It shifts power from the professionals, to the people who use services. (Department of Health: 2010) However, it could be argued that approaches which extend to service user control, in realty, can be seen as transferring risk and responsibilities form the local authority to the individual service user (Ferguson: 2007) Another option, recently promoted by the government, is Self Directed Support (SDS), a Bill that was introduced into the Scottish Parliament last year, and recently has passed stage three. The bill seeks to introduce legislative provision for SDS and the personalisation of services and to extend the provisions relating to direct payments. (Scottish Parliament: 2012a) The SDS approach had been brought into Parliament previously, and was reflected in many reports and policy initiatives such as: Changing Lives, Reshaping Care for Older People. SDS allows people to make informed choices about the way support is provided, they can have greater control over how their needs are met, and by whom. Social workers, working on behalf of local authority, will have a duty to offer SDS if the individual meets the eligibility criteria. The four options to consider are; direct payment to the individual in order that that person will arrange their own support, the person chooses the available support and the local authority will make arrangements for the services on behalf of that person, the social worker will select support and make arrangement for provision, the last option is a mix of the above. (IRISS: 2012) The idea of SDS is a great opportunity for service users to expand their control over which services provided. However, this raises a question of how many people will be ready to utilise option one of SDS. Would an ordinary person, who uses the services, have the skills and knowledge to take responsibility for their own care, for example to employ their own carers, a personal assistant or to buy their own services. One could envisage that it could be possible if the role of social worker changes from care management, to brokerage and advocacy. A potential care broker will provide assistance to obtain and manage a support package, drawing on individualised funding. It can be questioned if social workers who are mostly accountable to local authorities are reliable to perf orm this task whilst working across three sectors. (Wilson at al.: 2008) In conclusion, there is a shift from a paternalistic stance of social workers to viewing service user as experts of their own lives. From institutional care, through service led and needs led, to outcomes focus provision. A fundamental part of working with older people is to recognise and respond to the way in which they may be marginalized. This can be achieved by a deeper understanding of the process of ageing, and the issues that older people may face. Working with older people, based on new premises, will be focused on to maximise resources, and the role of the social worker will be transferred from care management to advocacy and brokerage. One may expect that active involvement and participation of older people in service provision will have a crucial role not only by exercising more control and choice but also in challenging social exclusion.

Irony as an Instrument Essay -- Ironic Irony Essays

Irony as an Instrument Its 7:09 am and Olivia is woken up by a wetness between her legs. She looks down and finds that the wetness is actually her water that broke. She anxiously wakes up her husband John, and the two of them quickly gather their things. After nine long months of waiting, John and Olivia are finally on their way to the hospital to welcome their first child into the world. The two have already chosen Jacob Alexander as the baby's name and have the nursery ready for him at home. Once at the hospital, Olivia and John meet with their doctor, Dr. Rodriguez, who assures the anxious couple that everything will be fine and their new son will be in their arms in just a matter of hours. It is now 8:22 am and the pain from Olivia's contractions is beginning to grow stronger. Several hours later, Olivia is in crucial pain but is only dilated 4 1/2 centimeters and is beginning to bleed. Knowing that something is wrong, Dr. Rodriguez realizes that the baby's heart rate is declining and that Olivia's blo od pressure has significantly dropped as well. Worried about the health of both the baby and Olivia, Dr. Rodriquez decides that emergency surgery would be the only way to have a successful delivery. Before preparing for surgery, he once again reassures the family that everything will be just fine and shows John to the waiting room. After hours of surgery with several complications, Dr. Rodriguez has successfully delivered baby Jacob but unfortunately could not save Olivia. Soon after Jacob was born, Olivia began hemorrhaging and there was no way for Dr. Rodriguez to stop the bleeding. She simply lost too much blood and he was unable to save her. With his pounding heart caught in his throat and a feeling failure, Dr. Rodri... ...on why readers respond to irony is because it catches them off guard. By incorporating the element of irony, the author has an opportunity to provoke desired emotions within the reader then change them within an instant. In both stories, the thoughts and expectations of the reader were altered and the truth was revealed. No matter who the author, one truth about irony remains: there will always be an inconsistency between what you predict and what will actually transpire. Now isn't that ironic? Works Cited Bierce, Ambrose. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th Edition. Eds. Dana Gioia, X.J. Kennedy. New York: Longman, 2002, 513-520. Gioia, Dana, X. J. Kennedy. "Glossary of Literary Terms." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th Edition. New York: Longman, 2002, G1-G32.

The Best Candidate for the Presidency :: American America History

The Best Candidate for the Presidency As this election 2000 is coming, each candidate is working very hard. They are doing debates, electoral campaigns all over the country in order to get more popular votes and therefore get the electoral votes they need to be the next president of the United States. In all of the inquiries that the media did in most of the states, Al Gore seems to be the favorite one, because he knows what he is doing, he has enough experience to rule our country, and he also has very interesting positions in the issues that he proposed to the American people. Albert Gore, Jr., was born in Washington D.C on March 31, 1948. His mother was Mrs. Pauline Lafon Gore and his father was Albert Gore, Sr. As Governor Bush, Al Gore has a father who was in the political business; his father was a Democratic congressman and senator from Tennessee. Gore graduated from Harvard University in 1969 with a Bachelor's degree in government. While he was studying in Harvard, he was linked with drugs like marijuana that made his father mad at him, and he almost lost everything he got, so he decided to quit and never do that again. Although Gore opposed U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, he accepted induction into the United States Army and served as a military reporter. Upon his return home, and until 1976, he worked as an investigative reporter and editorial writer for the "The Tennessean" a Nashville newspaper. Gore married Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Aitcheson on May 19, 1976 and they have four children. Gore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives se veral times and he also was elected to the U.S. Senate and as member of Congress, he earned a reputation as an authority on arms and environmental issues. After that, Gore ran unsuccessfully for the democratic presidential nomination 1988. In 1992 Al Gore was the running mate of Bill Clinton, also in this year he wrote "Earth in Balance" which is a book that talks about environmental issues. Clinton defeated the incumbent Republican President, George Bush, and Al Gore became Vice-President in 1993, finally they were reelected in 1996 and in 1999 Gore announced his candidacy for President in the 2000 election. Al Gore has stated his position on a number of issues; some of his position more important are in education, health care, taxes, and Social Security.

Death of a salesman on the American Dream

The American dream has stood to be each person's idea of success. The American dream is usually associated with 1940's America depiction of the ideal family, as can be depicted from television shows such as Leave it to Beaver. However, this is one aspect and shallow analysis of the American dream that is not appropriate for all reaching to achieve their American dream. In Arthur Miller's Death ofa Salesman, Miller succeeds in portraying this through the characters Willy and Biff.Their conflict represents two varying perspectives of the American dream, and this very struggle eads to the conclusion that the American dream is rooted in the pursuit of a better life. Throughout Death of a Salesman, Miller portrays two ideas of the American dreams and it is definite that they are â€Å"American dreams† as they both deal with success and that character's idea of success. Though, this is where characters' views differ and conflict with one another.Willys American dream is to have his children succeed and to leave his imprint on the society which he was unable to succeed in doing so in a life long career as a salesman. Furthermore, Willy lived in the ideology that being well liked† was far more important and and necessary than being a Bernard type of person and make a living based on his studies. Willys belief and encouragement of this ideology upon his sons influenced Biff immensely. As a result, Biff did not put the effort into his studies that would have enabled him to pass math and graduate high school and move on to a university.Willy says, â€Å"Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want. You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. Willy Loman is here! † That's all they have to know and I go right through. † (Act 1) According to Willy, someone who is capable of invoking personal interest in tho se around them will be more successful regardless of one's knowledge or intelligence.Biffs American dream is to free himself from the barriers of expectations, specifically those of his father. To free himself from his father's desired dream for him and move towards his own chosen life which is to live and own a ranch is the country. However, Biff only came to realize his dream later in his adult life as opposed to only pleasing is father as he did as a child. It was only after the calamity of discover his father's affair did Biff drift away from Willys expectations.It is as he becomes resolute to follow his own dreams rather than his father's expectations he says, â€Å"Will you let me go, for Christ's sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens. † (Act 2) This statement come from his final conversation with his father as Biff shows his last attempt to show Willy the he is not the person he thought Biff would be. Nevertheless, it was fear of Bif f defecting from becoming the ideal person Willy dreamed Biff would be that lead Willy to his downfall.As well as the crumbling of Willys American dream for Biff. The final message of Death of a Salesman is that a person's American dream is whatever one perceives it means be successful. Fear of displacement from that Biff not becoming successful defined by Willys expectations for him, and such fear can destroy one's American dream. Had it not been for Willys insistence on Biff to follow his ideology and become his father's expectations, Biff would not have disregarded his studies and would have been able to graduate high school, and ecome successful in his own way.Biffs American dream differs from that of the standard set by the†American dream† of 1940s America. The lifestyle viewed as being the family of an American citizen of that time would be a young man, a young woman, with three adorable children in the suburbs. However, Biff seems content with living like this, as the lifestyle depicted to be the goals of the American people are not suitable to him. The American dream depicted by the society of that time is Just one of many interpretations of the true American dream: the pursuit of a happy life.

Stereotyping Using Racial Profiling

Kiara Jacobs Dr. Benie Colvin English 1101 M, W, F 4 November 2012 Stereotyping using Racial Profiling As a society, people play into the looks, culture, and beliefs of a person and within minutes people make an assumption of who they are. Society takes one look at a person and based on their race, instantly draw a conclusion upon them without even asking them their name. Stereotyping has been around for centuries; the most commonly used stereotypes involve race.People use racial stereotyping based on what society deems that race to be, without first getting to know that person in order to draw individual valid conclusions about them. When people are using racial stereotypes, they often think that they are better than the other person based on the color of their skin. In the article â€Å"Stereotypes† by Saul McLeod, he uses research on stereotypes by Katz and Braly which states, â€Å"Not surprisingly, racial stereotypes always seem to favor the race of the holder and belitt le other races† (McLeod,Katz,Braly).A person who is set on pre-judging someone is that they are better than someone of another race. Some feel as though no one of another racial background can equal to them or is not even worthy to sit and eat with them, all because they do not have the same skin color. People cannot choose what race they want to be. As people belittle each others races, those that they belittle may be left thinking, together they are really better because they are black, white, Latino, or Indian. The media also plays a significant role in racial stereotyping.It is known to influence the minds of many from children to adults. They set forth an image of different racial backgrounds and portray it to the public. In a hosted article by New York Amsterdam news called â€Å"Media Blamed for Negative Stereotyping of Black Males,† it states, â€Å"This false image not only affects race relations†¦ can be predetermined for them by suggestions in the media †(Media Blamed for Negative Stereotyping of Black Males. ). The media adds to racial stereotyping because it gives people more reason to continue to judge a person from of their skin color.It also gives the motive for judgment because the media reflects how contemporary society is shaped. They categorize African Americans with drugs and crime, Caucasians with living the life of luxury, and all Hispanics with being in the United States illegally. Societies may absorb these opinions in their head by viewing television, and automatically think they know a person. The media puts different racial backgrounds in certain categories and makes it hard to change the perception of that racial background because that is all they portray them to be.However, the images that may be shown on television, in a magazine, or on the news does not define a whole set of people. Regrettably, stereotyping someone seems much easier than actually getting to know them. People look at an individual race a nd quickly identify the characteristics that are forced upon them, when in actuality they are nothing like the label society has associated them with. As a society, people should take the time and opportunity to get to know a person as an individual instead of placing them into a category. Stereotyping: Seeing Beyond First impressions,† an article from the Boston College states , â€Å"Just like when people are stereotyping you, you should get to know them better because there is a lot more to a person than first impressions† (Stereotyping: Seeing Beyond First impressions. ) Taking time out to get to know person intimately as an individual may be difficult for some in their head they already have drawn a conclusion about them. However, few minutes of conversation can change a person’s perspective.A barrier can be broken and opinions can change allowing realization to set in and determine that all people who have the same racial background are not the same. A pers on may look at all African Americans as rude and illiterate. Their entire perception of African Americans may change after getting to know one who is the opposite of what society claims them to be. Therefore, taking a couple of minutes to get to know someone can break a person’s racial stereotypical barrier. Stereotypes in general are hard to overcome. People who are used to hearing stereotypes repeatedly conform to them. Stereotyping: Seeing Beyond First impressions† also states, â€Å"One thing to be careful of is becoming more like the stereotype because another person labeled you† (Stereotyping: Seeing Beyond First impressions). Conformity to stereotypes may occur because individuals may feel that they are destined to be the way society has claimed them to be. Racial stereotyping is very difficult to defeat. Individuals have to stand up and claim that they will not be what society may label them to be. Individuals have to prove that they are their own person and not what someone has labeled them to be.It is a difficult task trying to defy the odds of conforming to a stereotype, especially when it is everywhere. Racial stereotyping has a significant impact on the world. It affects the way individuals may treat one another and how communication and ideas may deteriorate just because two people do not represent the same race. Some individuals miss a good opportunity of getting to know different aspects of good people. They are blind to the fact that learning new things about a different culture or race could broaden their knowledge in the world. No one should be looked at differently because of their skin color.For society to make a change for the better, people have to be smart and strong to form their own opinion. People should not let the media, other people or family members influence their thought on a person just because they do not look like them. Works Cited â€Å"Stereotypes. † Stereotypes. Trustees of Boston College, 29 Ma r. 20010. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. . Media blamed for negative stereotyping of Black males. New York Amsterdam News [serial online]. May 31, 1997:13. Available from: MAS Ultra – School Edition, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 5, 2012.