The Scramble for Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Scramble for Africa - Essay Example 5). The impact of globalization on Africa has illustrated its dangers. Just as capitalism needed to be regulated in the United States and other market economies in the industrial age to protect people from the abuse of companies in the name of profit, a worldwide effort arguably needs to be made to protect the most vulnerable people in the world from corporate abuse when their own governments will not do so. According to Simon Taylor, director of Global Witness, a globalization watchdog, G8 countries need to take the lead in preventing this kind of abuse, as their companies are the most likely to be benefiting from it. He asserts, "Western companies and banks have colluded in stripping Africa's resources. We need to track revenues from oil, mining and logging into national budgets to make sure that the money isn't siphoned off by corrupt officials" (par. 4). The potential for Africa to produce huge profits for foreign investors is undeniable. The continent is shaping up to be the highest potential investment area in the world. "Sub-Saharan Africa may be the poorest region in the world but it is also its most profitable investment destination. According to the World Bank's 2003 global development finance report, the continent offers 'the highest returns on foreign direct investment of any region in the world'" (Wright 2005, par. 7). It is only a matter of time before this fact will influence the behavior of foreign companies. "At the moment only around 1% of the private capital that is sloshing around the globe finds its way into sub-Saharan Africa. But there is an increasing band of intrepid international companies that are initiating a new scramble for Africa. Like the colonial pioneers before them, they have found that the strategy can be risky but the potential rewards are enormous" (par. 8). The African continent's wealth of oil and diamonds is the primary target of this latest "scramble." Oil in particular has led developed nations to eye Africa, particularly given the recent escalation of prices. "Spurred by rising global oil prices and depleting reservoirs nearer home, the world's biggest energy-consuming countries have re-discovered Africa. Oil production across that least-developed continent is set to double by the end of the decade, with the US alone importing more than a quarter of its requirements from there. Africa is expected to supply one-fifth of global output by 2010" ("Oil exploration" 2005, par. 2). Competition for this African resource is fierce, and threatens to inflict serious injury on local populations. "As the world's oil becomes depleted, the energy-intensive developed countries face each other in mounting competition for the remaining resources. This trend could have major economic, political, social and environmental implications for regions such as Africa" (par. 1). Unfettered by the kind of government regulation constraining huge multinational oil companies in developed countries, there is a grave risk that they could fail to implement environmental and other safeguards, thereby risking the health and safety of the local populations. Further, an environmental disaster such as an oil spill or refinery explosion could have tremendous economic

Fresh Foods versus Canned Foods Essay Example for Free

Fresh Foods versus Canned Foods Essay Eating is an activity that we as humans do at least two times a day. We live in a world where the variety of food is immense, and we are responsible for what we eat. We decide what we are about to eat and how it will affect our bodies. However, each food differs from one to another. For example are the fresh food and the canned food. Fresh foods and canned foods are two kinds of different types of food that have their own benefits and disadvantages. The most notable difference between these two kinds of foods is their flavor. Fresh food have great flavor because they keep their natural conditions. Canned foods however, lack a lot of its flavor characteristic because there are some other chemical products added to the natural foods. Comparing both types of foods we can notice another difference. Â  That is the health factor that affects our bodies. While the fresh food keep their original freshness and flavor, canned foods lose some of the original fresh food nutrients when stored, and also it has chemical ingredient when consumed too much will become toxin in our bodies. Another difference between these two types of food is the cost. Canned foods are much more expensive than the fresh foods. In contrast to the cost, canned foods are easier to find, they also require less work to prepare than fresh food. As we can see there are three main differences between the fresh foods and the canned foods. However, the main reason we chose our foods lies on our personal choice, based on time each person has, the money and the importance we give to our nutrition and health. Therefore it is important that you consider your possibilities and choose the best type of food for your convenience and life style.

Womans Triple Role Within The Family Sociology Essay

Womans Triple Role Within The Family Sociology Essay Work and family are central part of family life and society. All over the world, women and children are entering and staying in the workforce in greater numbers than before and Mauritius is no exception. Despite the cultural norms and traditions, most women work outside the family to maintain a certain quality of life. For some, work can be a source of employment and creative opportunity as well as income. For others it is a personal satisfaction, status and for integration. Traditional family structures have prevented women from enjoying meaningful work experiences. Their labour was mostly confined to their home and family rather than enjoying the rewards of paid employment. Thus, womens primary responsibilities were childcare, the preparation of food and clothing for the family and general household tasks. But nowadays, with the changing social and economic forces, there has been a dramatic increase in womens labour force participation rate. The factors which has lead a greater proportion of women in Mauritius in paid employment are due to educational opportunities and it has become socially acceptable for married women to work. Modern age womens tasks have been facilitated with the provisions of child-care services and labour saving electrical devices in the home. However, all these have not lessened the burden of inequality within the family. Even the World Bank (2001) report states that gender inequality in various forms is still prevalent around the world. 1.2 Womans triple role within the family Women play a very important role within the family and the society. They are the pillar of the house and they play a crucial role in sustaining the family. They have to take charge of the order, the matter and the health of all the family. Thus, Women are associated with the triple roles of reproductive, productive and community. In the same context, Dunscombe and Marsden (1995) parted that women in paid employment bear the burden of working a triple shift. In addition to their paid employment, they are engaged in domestic and emotion work and mother in a male dominated society. Even though they go out to work in order to contribute to the family budget, they still have to take care of the household which, most of time are inequitably shared. 1.3 Changing functions of the family Modernisation and industrialisation have brought about the breakdown of the extended family to the emergence of the nuclear family, where family are more independent and there is less contact with kins. Nowadays, another form of family which is becoming very popular with the rising rate of divorce is the single-parent family. The past two- decades have brought a great increase in the number of families with responsibilities both at work and at home. Nowadays, single-parents, working women and dual-earner couples are heavily involved in parenting (Carnier et al., 2004). Therefore, today families are stressed by the pressure of work, family and community demands. It is argued that the family in industrial society is losing many of its functions. Sociologist Ronald Fletcher (2000) claims that, the familys functions have increased in detail and importance. The role of the family has changed from a producer to a consumer. Goods and services are increasingly being bought and consumed houses, cars, furniture and education. Hence, the highly materialistic world demands that both husband and wife go out to work. The controversy is that women would then contribute to the family budget while men would not contribute to the household work. The result is that less time is spent in the family. At times, children are unattended and social problems crop up leading to instability and turbulence in the family. 1.4 Changing status of women across times There has been a gradual improvement in the status of women. They have achieved more political equality with men and they have equal rights in education. Most types of job are suitable for women today. Equal opportunity act has helped discard discrimination. The Economic Miracle of Mauritius is largely dependent on the growth of the manufacturing sector which was introduced in 1970s. It has been the main engine of economic development in Mauritius and has absorbed large numbers of unemployed labour. The traditional women who were uneducated represented an important pool of labour for the industrialists. The new economic leverage has welcomed the earning of second salary amidst the family. Everyone at all levels of society is becoming aware of the stress families face these days so as to struggle to balance their responsibilities at home and at work. Too often families have to choose between the demands of work and family, elderly parents and relatives. In Mauritius the two demographic trends in the increase participation rates for working mothers and dual-career couples have a profound effect on the spheres of work and family. It is generally recognized that the extensive pressure arising from work environment and from family environment can produce high-levels of work-family conflict for many employees. Development is good for any country but at the same time it has added extra burden on women particularly balancing the conflicting demands of family life and career. 1.5 Functionalist perspectives on work and family According to functionalist, family are living in a post modern way of living which is very good for the society as they prefer not to have children because of their career and some prefer to stay-single and they are going according to the needs of the society. P and B Bergers argue that the bourgeois family already teaches children what the society want that is, strict moral values and value economic success. E.Leach (1996) argues that the Nuclear family is stressed. They are exploited by the capitalist and they are alienated; they work because they have no choice. Family are nowadays privatized, they do not want people to know what is happening in their yard. Parents also inculcate fear and suspicious in children that they fear to revolt with the actual system. 1.6 Problem statement According to the Honourable   Ã‚  Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, in a workshop on A sensitisation programme on strengthening Family ties organised in 19 May 2007, the Mauritian society is being affected by the ageing population, changes in the structure of the family and the erosion of family values. She rightly pointed out that the family has an important role to play in terms of addressing the emotional, material, social and economic needs of its members. It is principally through the family that social values and knowledge are transmitted from generation to generation and hence this reinforces the social fabrics. Like any other country, the Mauritians Government is playing an important role in trying to maintain the balance between work and family life. If the family is stable, this will have a direct impact on the society and hence on the country. On one hand, the family life in Mauritius is being eroded in the face of the demands of work and increasingly long hours in at work. Practically, many members of the Mauritian family return home after work at different times and the traditional family meals that were customary in the past, are now reserved for weekends. Many parents strive to find time to spend with their children during the working week. The twin pressures of work and family life are raising stress levels within the home and creating much pressure. Parents are struggling to fit all their chores into shorter time frames because of lack of time. Due, to the constraint of time imposed by work schedule, various social problems have cropped up. There is increasing divorce rate (0.47 per 1000 people) and children are having recourse to drug, alcohol and cigarette smoking. On the other hand, despite the so called equality of sexes advocated by feminists, it is seen that the responsibility of looking after the family relies mostly on women. Hence, housework and looking after children remain predominantly womens work. Womens works have been marginalised throughout the history. Women are more likely to concentrate on their work than family. Therefore, family being an important institution it is very important to know what is causing the breakdown of the family, how children are able cope with it and its negative effects on children especially adolescents. 1.7 Research aim and objectives This project aims to make an assessment as to whether the impact of the relationship between work and the situation of children within the modern family really affects children and does work leads to the breakdown of the family. Thus, the objectives of this study are to: Probe into different occupational sectors in Mauritius to measure the impact of work on family life balance; To see whether women are able to handle their triple role within the modern family; To see whether the notion of family being functional in the society as advocated by functionalist really stand in the Mauritian society, To see whether children belonging the middle class family or upper class family who are more affected; Find out respondents views on does social problems like Juvenile Delinquencies are occurring due to lack of supervision of parents in the modern family; and Propose findings and solutions. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1.0 WOMEN AND THE FAMILY 2.1 Introduction This part opens up with: The family acts as a primary socialization of children whereby the child first learns the basic values and norms of the culture they will grow up in. A child needs to be carefully nurtured, cherished and moulded into responsible individuals with good values and strong ethics. Therefore, it is important to provide them the best childcare so that they grow up to be physically, mentally and emotionally strong individuals. 2.1.1 Definition of the Family According to Sociologists, the family is an intimate domestic group of people related to one another by bonds of blood, sexual mating, or legal ties. It has been a very resilient social unit that has survived and adapted through time. So, the element of time referred to above, is again present here. Similarly, The United States Census Bureau (2007) defines the family as a relatively permanent group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage or adoption and who live under the same roof. Stephen (1999) defines the family as a social arrangement based on marriage including recognition of rights and duties of parenthood, common residence for husband, wife and children are reciprocal economic obligations between husband and wife. Similarly, The United States Census Bureau (2007) defines the family as a relatively permanent group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage or adoption and who live under the same roof. The family is seen as the main pillar block of a community; family structure and upbringing influence the social character and personality of any given society. Family is where everybody learns to love, to care, to be compassionate, to be ethical, to be honest, to be fair, to have common sense, to use reasoning etc., values which are essential for living in a community. Yet, there are ongoing debates that families values are in decline. George Peter Murdock (1949) defines the family as a universal institution. According to him, the family is a social group characterised by common residence, economic corporation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children owned or adopted of the sexually cohabiting adults. However, K. Gough (1959) criticises Murdock definition and argues that the family is not universal. The critics were founded in the Nayar society. 2.1.2 Women and the Family The main role of women according to John Bowlby (1953) is particularly to act as mothers and as such their places are at home to take care of their children in their tender age. He states that juvenile delinquencies among young children are the result of psychological separation from mothers. The mental stability of children rests solely on their mothers. Therefore there is a need for a close and intimate mother and child relationship. However, Oakley (1974) uses the example of Alor, an island in Indonesia to refute Bowlby statement. In small-scale horticultural societies, women are not tied to their offspring, and there is no apparent side effect to it. Moreover, she does not see the intimate and close relationship necessary. Research has proved that mothers return to work after childbirth and that the children of working mothers are less likely to be delinquent than non-working mothers. Crouch (1999) describes the benefits gained by wives and mothers as the mid century social compromise. Duncan et al. (1998) argue that women who define themselves as primarily mothers are located at all points on the social spectrum. Patricia Day Hookoomsing (2002) states that, plans and projects are designed and implemented by men. It is assumed that if men as heads of the family will reap the benefit from projects designed, automatically women and children will benefit. 2.1.3 The Darker Side of the Family / Erosion of Family Life Earlier in this review of literature, it is shown that the family is warm and supportive. However, many writers have questioned the darker side of the family. The fact that women spend most of their time either at work or doing household chores can lead to emotional stress in the family. The twentieth century family is mostly nucleus and thus children at times feel isolated and lacking the support of their extended kins: grandparents, aunts, cousins etc. They become introvert and their stress level rise to such an extent that when explosion occurs, it can have dramatic results. This may lead to violence, psychological damage, mental illness, drug intake, crime etc. The breakdown of children may lead to quarrel between parents. In the long run, marriages may fail and consequently lead to divorce. Incidence that may appear trivial can blow out of proportions and cause drastic consequence within the family. The mass media is increasingly bringing to people attention the sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children through neglect. Similarly, The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2000) parts that around 10% of children suffering from serious abuse or neglect at home by natural parents. 2.1.4 Conception about Family and Work Families and work have often been illustrated as separate entities, with women being linked to the home and men to the workplace. This separation unfortunately emanated by the sociology of the family being carried out as a separate domain from the sociology of work and occupations. However this assumption does not stand good in view of the increased participation of married women in the workplace. Early work by Rhona Raraport and Robert N. Raraport (1969) on dual-career families has talked about the benefits and strains of families with dual-earners. There are, however, many questions still to be answered concerning the interaction of family and work. Harkness and Waldfogel (1999) advocate that the formation of a family touches mostly female rather than male labour force behaviour. The withdrawal from labour after childbirth may lead to a depreciation of human capital. This may affect career commitment to employers and affect career progression. There are changes in family arrangements which prompt changes in production arrangements (Zaretsky 1976). Consumption was favoured to production within the household. Market relation became overruled by a capitalist market society and instead of economy being embedded in social relations, social relations are embedded in the economic system (Polanyi 1957). Dapne Johnson (1982) relates that the hours of work and schooling are organized at such time that it has become difficult to single-parent and dual-worker family. Moreover, school holidays add up to the problems of who will look after the child. Full-time married or cohabiting women generally have less time for leisure, as they are often expected to do two jobs their paid work and unpaid housework inside the family, Ken Brown (2008). 2.2.0 PART II WOMEN AND WORK 2.2.1 Definition of Work According to Ken Brown (2008), work is the production of goods and services that usually earns a wage or salary or provides other rewards. The work may be effected in the formal or informal economy. He argues that work is an important element in occupying, directing and structuring the individuals time the demands of working life involve a high degree of self discipline if jobs are to be kept. It is, for most people, the single biggest commitment of time in any week, and it is perhaps one of the most important experiences affecting peoples entire lives. Work affects the amount of time and money available for family life. Pauline Wilson and Allan Kidd (1998) refer to work as a distinctive and clear cut activity. Work refers to the job or occupation undertaken. Work is both the place where one goes in order to do ones job and the activity that ones does. Sociologies increasingly recognise however that it is not easy to define work. The definitions concentrate solely on paid employment and are too narrow. Keith Grint (1991) also states the same thing and even presents a number of definitions to prove what he says:- Work can be seen as that which ensures individual and societal survival by engaging in nature. The problem is that many activities which cannot be seen are often regarded as work. Work cannot be defined simply as employment. Activities in which people are employed are also performed by people who are not employed. Examples include washing, ironing. Work cannot be defined as something which can be done whether it is liked or not. Work can finally not be seen as non-leisure activities. Activities may be leisure for some but work for others. Work and leisure would be hard to separate if it goes together. The changing nature of workforce and the increasing proportion of employees with family responsibilities suggest that employees, especially working women might demand more family-friendly benefits or policies to assist them in dealing with family demand beyond their paid work (Hon 2002; Hin, 2001; Yu, 1999). The societal and economic changes brought about by womens increasing participation in the paid workforce have placed pressure on Governments to legislate on work-family benefits and organization to provide them. 2.2.2 Reasons for working in paid employment Women work in paid employment for a number of reasons. These are as follows: Job satisfaction Money Company and friendship Status and identity To get out of the home and feel free To be independent 2.2.3 The Impact of Development on women and their participation in different sectors Women account for an increasing proportion of the workforce and today more women are resuming work after having children than 2 decades ago. Despite various legislations in favour of women, womens and mens positions on the labour market remain different. Hakim (2000) stated that contemporary changes in womens employment arose mainly because of the difference which arose out of work choices. The author states that there are three categories of women: home/family centred, work centred and adaptive drifters. Home centred women give priority to their families, work centred women give priority to their employment careers, and adaptive women shift their priorities between family and career over their life cycles. Because the proportion of home centred and work centred individuals is higher amongst women than men, womens employment patterns are different. The EPZ sector has profound impacts upon the structure of the Mauritian Society. Industrialization has enable women to take a much active role in society. The traditional house wives were liberated to go out to work. Men were no more the sole breadwinners in the house. Thousands of women left their houses and took employment in factories. This new economic leverage of women had beneficial effect and raised their standard of living. The docile dependent housewife thus was transformed into an independent income earner. 2.3.0 PART II- WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT 2.3.1 Defining work-family conflict Work and family represent two spheres in adults social life. Howard (2008) in summarizing the definition put forth by prior scholars (Greenhaus Beutell, 1985; Boyar, Maertz, Pearson, Keough, 2003) conceptualized work-family conflict as a type of interrole conflict where both work and family issues exert pressures on individual. Greenhaus and Beutell (1985, as cited in Dealen Willemsen Sanders, 2006) also define WFC as conflict in which the role pressure from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible in some respect. Just like (Greenhaus, 2002) has said that WFC is bio-directional it thus, create conflict where compliance with family matters the difficulty of complying with work matters. Conflict is understood to arise when an individual has to perform multiple roles such as worker, spouse and parents. Each of these roles imposes demands of their incumbents, requiring time, energy and commitment. Conflict occurs when the demands from one of these domains (home, work, personal and family) interferes with each other and causes imbalance (Frone et al.,1992, 1997). In todays hectic society, home and work are two colliding forces (Greenhaus and Powell, 2003) that has often lead to an imbalance, where women lives to achieve fulfillment and satisfaction (Auster, 2001,Chalofsky,2003). Moreover, (Zedeck,1992) also suggests that a persons work experience influence his or her behavior at home, influencing basic behaviors towards self and family members. WFC has also been shown to be related to negative work outcomes such as job dissatisfaction, job burnout and turnover (Greenhaus, Parasuraman Collins, 2001,Howard, Donofrio Boles, 2004), as well as to outcomes related to psychological distress and marital dissatisfaction (Kinnuen Mauno 1998,Aryee et al.,1999) 2.3.2 Types of work-family conflict Greenhaus and Beutell (1985) identified three major types of work-family conflict: Time-based, Strain-based and Behavior-based conflict Time-based conflict occurs when time devoted to one role makes it difficult to participate in another for example, when mothers have to do overtime at work with little notice might make it difficult for them to meet family obligations, like picking up children from school. Time-based conflict, is also the most common types of work-family conflict when multiple roles reduce the time energy available to meet all role demands, thus creating strain (Goode,1960) and WFC (Marks,1977). Strain-based conflict arises when strain or fatigue is experienced in one role and therefore, hinders performance or exploits resources which would be otherwise available for another role (Bryon,2005; Carlson,1999 as cited in Mauno, Kinnunen Ruokolainen,2006). For instance, negative emotional reactions to workplace stresses may lead to expression of irritability towards family members or withdrawal from family interaction in order to recuperate (ODriscall,1999 as cited in Jones, Burke Westman,2006) Behavior-based conflict occurs when specific behaviors required in one role are incompatible with behavior expectations in another role (Carlson et al., 2000). It has been suggested for example, that the male managerial stereotype emphasize self-reliance, emotional stability, aggressiveness and objectivity (Schein, 1973). Family members may thus, expect a person to be warm, nurturing and vulnerable in his interaction with them. (Carlson et al., 2000) also argue that another form of work/ family conflict is the Worry-based conflict in modern industrial society. On the other hand, increasing living cost, marital distress and parental stress may erode the stability of the family life (Lu, in press), causing worries which interfere with work. (Carlson et al., 2000) thus, defined worry-based conflict in terms of pervasive and generalized worries experienced in one role into and interfering with participation in another role. In a study, Fu and Shaffer (2001) identified several family and work specific determinants of FWC and WFC conflict, respectively. Testing these across the three forms of conflict-time, strain, behavior-based they found that the family- specific variables were only effective in predicting time-based FWC conflict. As a group, the work-specific variables had much stronger effects and role conflict, role overload and hours spent on paid work were especially influential in explaining both time-based and strain-based forms of WFC conflict. Family conflicts were to be strong risk factor for the onset of elevated need for necessary need for recovery from work and fatigue. 2.4.0 CAUSES OF WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT 2.4.1 Hours of work Time is an important aspect that has been associated with work-family. As time is a limited resource (Frone et al., 1997b) argues that working more hours means that the employee is at work for more hours and may have more work duties and has less time for other activities. Hence, work hours have been consistently, linked to difficulties in balancing work and personal lives (Mohen andYu, 2000; Guerts et al., 1999; Batt and Valcour, 2003; Tausing and Fenwick, 2001). Time pressure can be measured by the number of hours worked. Arora et als,.1990 study (cited by Kim Ling, 2001) examined the effect of the time pressure on WFC of women entrepreneur and the majority of the women entrepreneurs agreed that their long hours deprived them of the time they would have liked t spend with their families. Long hours of work may also relate to parents feelings of time inadequacy with children. However, regardless of hours spent or the kinds of activities engaged in with children, because of the intense conflict or spillover between worker and parent roles. Employment makes parent less able to be spontaneously available and make them miss certain events that are scheduled during work times (Milkie Peltola, 1999). Moreover, children may also notice when parents bring conflict work conflicts home, and may feel that parents pre-occupation ith work makes them less psychologically accessible (Galinsky, 1999). Reynolds and Aletraris (2005) conducted a research on work hours and work-family issues by examining whether WFC is associated with a desire for more or fewer hours of work and whether the relationship is moderated by age of children is the home. Their survey revealed that family-to-work conflict doesnot makes people to change their work hours. Work-to-family conflict however, is associated with a desire to fewer hours of work. They also find out that work-to-family conflict is more likely to make women want fewer hours when there is a young child at home. Moreover, Barnett (2004) in a study of work hours as predictor of stress outcomes, it was mentioned that long hours of work is associated with: High experienced job demand, High emotional exhaustion, High marital tension and High work-family conflict In a research published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (vol.5,No,1,2002), Gerzywacz and Nadine Marks found that employees who work more than 45 hours a week report more work-to-family conflict. However, participants who work less than 20 hours per week were less likely to report that their work benefited their family life. On the contrary Ganster and Bates (2003) conducted a study on the effect of the number of hours worked on WFC and general well-being. They found that work hours had no significant associations with job stress and WFC. Similarly the findings of Haar (2001) indicate that the number of hours worked, as a conflict source, may not be the current work demands of organizations, families are now more forgiving of the time burden associated with working long hours. 2.4.2 Dual-earner family The dual-career phenomenon has become increasingly prevalent worldwide. For couples juggling multiple demands, this lifestyle often generates stressors and strains at home and at work, which can have negative consequences for organizations (Elloy Smith, 2004). On one hand, in dual-earner families husband are more likely to care for children when their wives are at work during non regular shifts (Presser, 1988). On the other hand women who earn more are likely to hire domestic help, since their time is more valuable (Goldscheider and waite, 1991). (Elloy and smith 2004) study, based on data from an Australian sample of 62 Lawyers and accountants, analyzed the antecedents of WFC among dual-earner couples. The results confirm that overload, role conflict significantly effect WFC. Similarly Flosehan and Gillbert, 1979 study (cited in Kim Ling, 2001) on dual career couples found a positive relationship between the number of hours worked and job spouse conflict as well as job-parent conflict. Moreover, Voydanoff (1994) interviewed married dual-earner parents of children age 10-17 from the 1992-1997 National Survey Children of Families and Households to examine relationships between work and community resources and family demands. In this study, marital quality was conceptualized in three dimensions: activities with spouse, marital disagreements and marital happiness. The problem is therefore, one of overworked couples rather than overworked individuals. 2.4.3 Work overload Major et al., (2002) suggest that overload occurs when the perceived magnitude of work overwhelms an individuals perceived ability to cope. An empirical evidence suggests that the growing sense of overwork in the United States is relates to the increases in the working hours of couples (Clarkberg and Mohen, 2001; Jacobs and Gerson, 2000). Since, women perform a larger share of household labour than men (Coltrane, 2000), family responsibilities should be more likely to create a desire for fewer hours among women than men. On one hand, Godbey (1977) argued that Americans had not increased the amount of time devoted to work, but that the pace of their lives had quickened, with the results that many felt overworked. On the other hand, Hochschild (1977) argued that for many workers, work had become home and home had become work with the result that worker were putting in increasingly long hours in the workplace as a way to avoid family time. Lu, Gilmour Kao and Huang (2006) have conducted a cross-cultural study of work/family demands, work/family conflict and well-being outcomes and to contrast employees from individualistic (UK) and a collectivist (Taiwan) society. Their findings show that work demands such as hours of work and work load were positively related to WFC, whereas family demands were positively related to family work conflict. Both WFC and FWC were negatively related to well being (job satisfaction and life satisfaction) for employees in the two countries. More important findings was that for British, there was a stronger positive relation between workload and WFC,

An Annotation of Emily Dickinsons The Last Night that She Lived :: Poem Poetry Poet Essays Dickinson Last Night

An Annotation of Emily Dickinson's The Last Night that She Lived Dickinson's The Last Night that She Lived presents a meditation on the reaction of the speaker and those with her while they are confronted with the death of a female friend. Strangely, in dealing with the subject of death, Dickinson steers away from the metaphysical aspect of such a heavy situation and remains firmly anchored in the tangible world. The speaker makes no references to God or the afterlife, and her allusions to nature are fleeting. The poem is anything but an attempted justification of the death of her friend, rather it is resembles a catalogue of the human responses of those who remain in the earthly realm after the death of a loved one. The Last Night that She Lived by Emily Dickinson The last Night that She Lived It was a Common Night Except the Dying--this to Us Made Nature different We noticed smallest things-- Things overlooked before By this great light upon our Minds Italicized--as 'twere. As We went out and in Between Her final Room And Rooms were Those to be alive Tomorrow were, a Blame That Others could exist While She must finish quite A Jealousy for Her arose So nearly infinite-- We waited while She passes-- It was a narrow time-- Too jostled were Our Souls to speak At length the notice came. She mentioned, and forgot-- Then lightly as a Reed Bent to the Water, struggled scarce-- Consented, and was dead-- And We-We placed the Hair-- And drew the Head erect-- And then an awful leisure was Belief to regulate-- It is noted immediately that nothing spectacular is taking place within the speaker's natural surroundings in response to the situation. The universe has not paused for the departing soul of a woman, or those left behind. It is clear from the first lines that the Dickinson will make no leaps to paint nature as an intelligible or responsive force. The speaker is all too aware that it is the confrontation with the death of a loved one that causes "Those to be alive" to view their surroundings with a different slant. The event of death has jarred them into a state of heightened awareness. Previously inevident things; "smallest things" have been brought into focus. It is not the world that has changed, but their perception of it. It is also important to note that the speaker refers to "Us". For the remainder of the poem she will only refer to herself as part of a collective. The word "I" is absent from the poem.

Affordable Care ACT

The patient protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) is expected to have a major impact on the financing of healthcare, principally by expanding insurance coverage to approximately 32 million of the current 50. 7 million uninsured by 2014. If the goal is reached, 95% of all Americans will have health insurance (Kovner& Knickman, 2011). The Affordable Care Act will expand coverage in two key ways: expanding Medicaid eligibility and through a blend of subsidies and mandates that encourage the working class to purchase affordable insurance coverage in the private market.Medicaid eligibility rates will be expanded so that most people who earn less 133% of the federal poverty level will be covered. Furthermore, the Affordable Care Act is one of the biggest changes to our Health care system since the introduction of Medicaid and Medicare. However, there still will be 29 million Americans who will still lack healthcare insurance even after the Affordable Care Act is fully instituted (Andrews,Darnell,Mcbride& Gerlert,2013) fundamental goals of the ACA are to decrease the cost of healthcare, increase quality of healthcare, services, and make healthcare assessable to all Americans, particularly the uninsured.One of the largest changes to healthcare through ACA is that everyone must have insurance this is the largest positive factor of the ACA (Hayes, 2011) The ACA is meant to target insurance policies that have limitations based on preexisting conditions the goal is to eliminate this kind of policy and improve access to quality health care(Hayes,2011). The fundamental goal of the ACA is that by making insurance available to millions more Americans that this will hopefully decrease healthcare cost by allowing more people to receive preventative care.In the long run, it is generally cheaper to prevent healthcare problems than it is to treat active diseases (Cleary, Brenda, and Peggy Wilmoth, 2011). Beginning in 2014, most individuals will be required to maintain mi nimum essential coverage or will be required to pay a penalty of 95 dollars the first year 350 dollars in 2015 and 750 dollars in 2016 ,and indexed thereafter for those under 18 years of age the penalty will be one half the amount for adults(Robeznieks& Andis,2011).For individuals who make over 10, 0000 dollars a year the cost of health care cannot exceed 8% of your yearly income (Hayes, 2011). The drafters of the ACA believed that increasing insurance coverage would not only improve quality of life, but also help reduce medical bankruptcies currently the leading cause of bankruptcy in America. Additionally, ACA will establish state based health insurance exchanges. The exchanges are regulated online market places administered by either the federal or state governments, where individuals and small business can purchase private insurance plans.Individuals with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level who purchase insurance plans via the exchange will be eligible to receive federal subsidies to help m pay premium costs (Robeznieks& Andis, 2011). The ACA is a step forward in decreasing health disparities in our country by decreasing the influx of chronic diseases on patients and thereby decreasing the amount of preventable diseases that occur in this country. However, opponents of the law want to argue that the individual mandate is unconstitutional.Ethically for individuals and organizations this is the right thing to do by providing the less fortunate with insurance coverage (Hayes, 2011) . The ACA is a golden opportunity for our country to decrease a lot of preventable diseases from occurring by decreasing preventable diseases hopefully it will bring down the cost of healthcare for every American. Conclusion In conclusion, the ACA is not a cure for all that ails our health care system it is going to take several years to realize the full implications of the law, but is a step forward in improving Healthcare in our country.Moreover, there will remain some injustices and health disparities for example, there will 29 million Americans will still be without insurance even after the ACA is instituted among those who will lack insurance coverage are: Illegal immigrants an estimated 23 million will be ineligible for insurance subsides and Medicaid, citizens not enrolled in Medicaid despite being eligible Citizens who whose insurance would cost more than the 8% house hold income are exempt from paying ,and Citizens not otherwise covered and opting to pay the annual penalty instead of purchasing insurance.Under the ACA more North Carolinas’ will be eligible for Health care prior to the ACA only children, the elderly and disabled qualified for Medicaid. I n January of 2014, all North Carolinas’ whose income is below 133% of the Federal poverty level will be eligible for Medicaid this will drastically improve access for North Carolinas’ working class single parent homes and those previously uninsured.

Accept and Parents Essay

Explain what is meant by partnership model of working with careers: A partnership model works around the theory of collaboration, coming together with understanding and effectives ways of communicating. It’s a way that helps to recognise how the very best outcomes can happen for children when their care, development and learning provision ie. a setting, a home, individuals and groups/family all work cooperatively. Give one example and then evaluate how your work in the setting reflects the need to work in partnership with parents or careers Cypop 1:5. Learning journeys are given to parents every six weeks, it gives the parents an in-depth account of the child’s, work, activity’s, development stage and interests, it shows pictures and examples of work. This reflects the partnership with parents. What reasons might parents and carers have for not working in partnership with the early years setting: There could be a range of reasons why parents and carers have for not working in partnership with the early years setting such as; fear of communicating, a lack of time due to a job, personal reason e.g. bereavement or divorce, knowing the teacher outside of school. How might these barriers to participate be overcome: These barriers could be overcome by positive communication- a parent to teacher conference, gain there confidence and trust by spending time with them, make time for working parents, time that suits them- home visits, meet their additional needs. Some parents may react negatively to partnership opportunities. W hat strategies could you use to encourage and support them In this area? It’s important to understand that not all parents wish to take part with working in partnership and some parents may react in a negative manner but by not putting any pressure on them it may result in them having a more positive attitude. Some carers may find it difficult to accept their child needs assessments to identify possible learning difficulties this can be helped with being sensitive and listening to any concerns the parent may have and offering lots of support and information and give plenty of time for discussions, explain that they will be informed about any changes and that their child will not be singled out. If parents/carers are still not happy get SENCO to offer advice and also the head teacher to offer support to the parents and staff. Parents tend to accept it more if it’s about their child’s learning but find it more difficult to accept if it’s about their child’s behaviour. It’s important to listen to what the carers and the child are saying and trying your best to explain it’s in the best interest of the child giving lots of advice and answering any questions they may. Explain that by getting outside agencies in they too can give advice to staff and parents in the best ways to deal with the situation in order for their child to reach their full potential, and hold meetings in school if its more convenient for the parents/carers. Some parents or careers are very keen to take advantage of partnership opportunities how could you ensure that they remain positive about this? Don’t turn people away: try to accommodate what’s being offered. If it seems difficult work out what your restrictions are, the benefits of the offer and how a solution can be organised. Type of events ; requesting input: how do you know what parents want to be involved with? eg. their child/ren’s development, health, well-being, fundraising, resource suggestion, skill provision, learning activities. Methods of contact: do you overcome communication barriers and fit means of contact to suit a parent/carer: email, txt, large print, audio, send newsletters, post events on a website, have access to resources written/signed for additional language needs. Request feedback: how do you engage thoughts and feelings on things about to happen, that have happened, plans for the future. Explain the primary importance of carers in the lives of babies and young children Cypop1:5,1-They know their child the best, they know their likes and dislikes as well as their needs. They see them at night time and evening. Parents are the nurturers and should love and care for their children

Gambino cleaning products salesman Essay

Description of the proposed system Description of the problem A new system of calculating and reporting on cleaning products salesmen is to be designed and implemented. Cleaning products salesmen commission is based on a set of data which is the monthly sales of cleaning products sold by the salesmen. Objectives The new system must: Â  Be automated as far as possible, needing no thorough knowledge of spreadsheets, databases or any other software in order to operate it. Â  Have fitted controls to ensure precision and completeness of data input. Â  Take into account commission payments from monthly sales. Print commission reports for each of the salesmen, and a summary report showing total paid to each salesman and overall total. Include an option to delete commission records previous to a given date so that the file does not increase for an indefinite period. The proposed new system can be shown in a level 0 data flow diagram as follows: A level 1 Data Flow Diagram of the proposed system is as follows: User functions 1. The Commissioning Salesman in the Sales Department will be responsible for entering all details of new cleaning products salesman and new products. 2. An Accounts clerk will have special responsibility for the commission system. 3. The Accounts clerk will enter each month the sales of each product, giving quantity sold and gross sales value (i. e. quantity X cover price). 4. Every 6 months, the Accounts clerk will produce the Commission reports for each cleaning products salesman. This will show the commission that has been earned in the previous 6 months. A payment is then recorded and a cheque issued to each cleaning products salesman to whom commission is due, together with the Commission statement showing sales details, and the statement from the Accounts system the total amount due. Database specification Menu structure The many functions of the Commission System will be accessed by means of a front-end menu, which will have the following structure. The data model There are three main entities in this system related in the entity relationship diagram shown below. Because a many-to-many relationship cannot be applied in a relational database, an additional entity named Salesman/Product is introduced. The ERD can now be drawn as follows: The database for Gambino cleaning products salesman system specification will have the following tables: tblSalesman (SalesmanID, Surname, FirstName). Foreign key in tblSalesman/Product ProductName Text (40) Product title tblProduct SalesTeam Text (40) All salesman who sell a product tblProduct Price Currency Product price tblProduct StandardCommission Number Percentage commission on each product sold 1-10 tblSalesman/Products BonusCommission Number Bonus percentage commission on each products sold 11-20 tblSalesman/Products SalesNumber Number 1=Standard commission 2=Bonus Commission 1 or 2 tblSales QuantitySold Number Number of products sold tblSales GrossValue Currency Data Dictionary Input Specification Three input forms will be required. frmProducts. This will be used to enter product details. frmSalesman This will be used to enter details of a salesman and all products on which they receive commission. The commission percentages for each product will be entered in a subform of the main form. Validation methods: The Product ID will be selected from a drop-down list of existing Product ID’s. Once a Product ID is entered, the product name will be automatically displayed. frmTransaction This form will be used to enter transactions. Validation methods: Only valid dates will be accepted. The Product ID will be selected from a drop down list of existing Product ID’s. Once a Product ID is entered, the product name will be automatically displayed. Selecting a radio button so that only a valid alternative can be selected will choose the transaction type. Process Specification Commission Calculations To calculate the commission for a given transaction, a query has to be performed to combine attributes from tblTransaction, tblProduct, tblProduct/Salesman and tblSalesman. The calculation of the commission is performed as follows: If TransactionType = 1 (i. e ‘sales’) ThenRate = StandardCommissionRate ElseRate = BonusCommissionRate endif Amount = Rate * GrossValue. These processes will be carried out in qryCommission. This query will be the source of both the commission report and the summary report. Maintenance Each year, transactions prior to a given date will be removed from tblTransactions. This prevents the transaction file from becoming too large and slowing down the system. The maintenance will be carried out as follows: Run a Delete query to delete records from tblTransaction. Test Plan Tests will be carried out using valid and invalid data and data at the extremes of acceptable values. The following test data will be used. tblSalesman Salesman ID Surname Firstname STEVED Stevens David. Test urpose Expected result 1 Select enter data from main menu, then select Products. To check if the menu options work and that a Products form opens at a new record. Products form opens at a new record. 2 Enter data from test data set. Try entering an invalid date i. e. 3/9/2001 To check the menu options work and that the Salesman form opens at a new record. Salesman form opens at a new record. 3 Select Enter Data from Main menu and then select Salesman. To check if the menu options work and that the Salesman form opens at a new record. Salesman form opens at a new record. 4 Enter data from test data set. To check if valid data is accepted. All valid data accepted. 5 Try entering product ID of BB113. Test that no product can be entered unless it exists on product table. Record rejected. 6 Select Enter Data from Main menu and select Sales To check the menu options work and that the sales form opens at a new record. Sales form opens at a new record. 7 Attempt to enter a new sale with date 3/9/2001 To test if date is validated. Error message will appear on leaving field. 8 Select reports from Main menu then select Product details. Test to see if the Product details display all products entered. All products appear on the report. 9 Select report from the Main menu then select Commission report. Check to see if Commission report details are correct. User is asked to enter start and end dates for report. All commission is calculated correctly. 10 Select Reports from Main menu the select Summary report. Check that Summary report is correct. User is asked to enter start and end dates for report. All totals are calculated correctly. 11 Add 2 transactions for dates in 1999. then select Maintenance from Main menu and identify deletion of records prior to 31/12/1999 Check that Maintenance option deletes records prior to date user enters. The two records are deleted from table. 12 Add a transaction for 31/12/1999. then select Maintenance from Main menu and identify deletion of records prior to 31/12/1999. Check that maintenance option deletes records for date user enters. The record is deleted from table. 13 Select Exit from Main menu To check if the main menu option works correctly. Database closes. Development Plan The planned schedule for development is given below. Week beggining Task Comments 29/01/2004 Detailed design spec 29/01/2004 Tables created 01/02/2004 Input forms created 15/02/2004 Queries and reports created Reports on products and salesman 21/02/2004 Standard commission report created 27/02/2004 Procedures for clearing file developed Clearing records prior to given date 29/02/2004 Testing and modifications 03/03/2004 Testing and modifications 06/03/2004 Documentation 08/03/2004 Installation and entry of master file data. A period of parallel running will follow with reports produced from old and new systems. Conclusion The system will be implemented by Microsoft Access 2000. It will run on any existing PC. The database will be accessible from any of the Departments which are responsible for keeping the data up to date. These departments include Accounts and Sales departments. The system is expected to be tested and installed by the end of April 2004. Sunit Dhadra 12K AVCE ICT AVCE ICT Unit 1 Sunit Dhadra 12K AVCE ICT.