Family Structure Policy

Family Structure Policy HOW CHANGES IN THE FAMILY STRUCTURE HAVE AFFECTED POLICY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM INTRODUCTION An introduction to social policy Social policy refers to the study of social welfare and how it relates to politics and the society. The United Kingdom is a unitary state where the central government controls all the activities of government. Demographic changes in the society have strong implications on government policy as far as sound decision-making is concerned. These changes come in form of divorce rates, decline in marriage as the fundamental institution of society, rise in cohabitation and many others. Irwin, S. (1999) In each administrative region we have a secretary of state and administrative departments situated in the central government with respective assemblies and executive. Laws in these administrative regions differ from one region to another. For example laws which apply in England and Wales tend to differ from those in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Social services in the UK are under the health board but changes do occur frequently. The main government departments dealing with social policy in the UK are as follows. Central government The central government is in charge of National organisations and Local government Parliament is responsible for Primary legislation, Local authorities and London boroughs Cabinet Office undertakes reforms in the Public service The Treasury in charge of economy policy of the government and financing Department of Health provides healthcare, social services and community care. Department for Work and Pensions Is responsible for national insurance, social assistance and creation of employment. Department for Communities and Local Government is in charge of Local government; Urban policy; Housing and environmental health Ministry of Justice Law and order Department for Children, Schools and Families -manage Schools; Education welfare; Learning disability (5-18); childrens services The administration of welfare in the UK The administration system in the UK has undergone major reforms with the first phase covering the 1960s and 1970s where by planning and control of public expenditure was shifted to treasury. The second phase between 1980s and 1990s saw the restructuring of the civil service and the administration of welfare. The British social policy was dominated by poor laws way back from 1598 to 1948 for instance the Elizabethan poor law of 1601 provided for a compulsory poor rate, creation of overseers of relief and â€Å"setting the poor on work†. FAMILY STRUCTURE According to research there has been notable decrease in the percentage of people living in households comprising the traditional family unit. Around 2001 Chinese and Asian communities had families with greater proportion of married couples; while on the other hand other ethnic groups like the black, white Caribbean had the greater proportion of cohabiting couples. In the year 2004 according to statistics eight out of 10 people in the UK lived in a family household but however the same statistics indicate the there is a decline in this form of structure because for past 40 years there has been an increase in the number of people living alone. This trend has been accelerated by high divorce and cohabitation rates. Increase in the number of breakouts and the number of births occurring outside marriage has had a hand in this trend. Since 1972 the proportion of children living in larger families has declined Different ethnic groups differ in terms of size of household for instance Asian households tend to be bigger that other ethnic groups and can comprise of even three generations. About 12% of births in the UK in the year 1980 were outside marriage. By the year 2000 the figures had increased to about 41% making UK the leading country with such births in the EU. Most of these births are as a result of cohabitation. About household chores, women spend about four hours in activities such as washing, cooking, and ironing. This is about one and a half hours more than that of men. CHANGES IN THE FAMILY STRUCTURE Changes if family structure comes about in terms of composition and size of households. For instance there is change from 2 parent families to single parenthood. Maternal employment is also evident in the UK whereby mothers go out to look for paid employment. Other changes are in form of: Changes in employment and household resourcing In the UK for the past decades there have been trends in polarisation especially for women at individual level and at the level of household. There has been a notable alteration of gender in relation to education, employment and household resourcing. Growth in participation of post-compulsory education has also been witnessed for the past few decades party associated with employment opportunity structure family relations of partial dependence and obligations. Some of the factors contributing towards income inequalities include: The rising gap between the highly paid and the lowly paid with increasing premiums for skills and qualifications. The numbers of workless households increase faster than the overall official unemployment rates. Marriage cohabitation and divorce A steady decline in marriage has been noted since early 1970s in the UK.Postponement of marriage has been observed in some household and it is mainly contributed to by cohabitation. Continued growth has had an impact on peoples perception concerning morality and living arrangements. Within cohabiting unions child bearing has become very common. The UK has the highest divorce rates in the entire European union .Marital ties are increasingly being based on emotions and romantic love rather than material necessity. Living apart together -this is a term used to refer to people having a partner in what is understood to be a sexual relationship. It is similar to co-residential cohabitation or living together because the two parties regard themselves as a couple (Murphy and Wang 1999). Lone parenthood Sociologists have continued to regard lone parenthood as an indicator of family change. By 1991 around 20% of all families with dependent children were headed by a lone parent. This growth was due to increase in divorce rates, single parents and never married parent. ( McKay and Marsh 1994). Fertility In the UK there was marked rise in fertility during the post war period then a decline in fertility. Two major components of the rise in fertility are the change in family size and the period for parenthood. Most women born in Britain in the late 1940s have remained childess.This trend has been cited by sociologists as important. (ONS 1997; and Irwin 1999). EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN THE FAMILY STRUCTURE ON SOCIAL POLICY Key in the implications of these changes in the family is the explosion of the non-marital child bearing. Changing of family structures has led to legislations by the government for instance the family law in Scotland. Poverty and disadvantage have serious implications on the social policy that seeks to create a level playing field in the nation and especially for the children Boheim, R. and Ermisch, J. (1998). Child poverty is firmly on the agenda of many European countries. It entails strategies which aim at increasing the income for low income earners with children. This is by promoting policies which will increase employment for poor families. Hall, R., Ogden, P.E. and Hill, C. (1999) A successful strategy should seek a balanced approach whereby improved benefits and improved incentives. For many years the rights of a child have been on top of the agenda for EU recently measures have been put in place to establish a comprehensive strategy to promote and effectively implement the rights in both internal and external policies. Women with high qualifications are likely to enter into partnership at later years than those at low levels of education or the non- educated. Also those women who are less educated are likely to have high divorce rates than those with high education. Working mothers have an impact on the Childs well- being. It brings additional income and lifts many families out of poverty. Those who grow up poor early are likely to leave home early and are likely to be less educated. Despite widespread economic growth and progress in poverty reduction, in the UK the child remains the most vulnerable population. This because they are at high risk of living in poverty with the changing structure and composition of the family. Children are missing out on the on political and economic agenda. Participatory approaches should therefore be initiated involvement of all stakeholders including particularly the children and young people. The perspectives of children from single parenthood should be included in policy formulation and implementation so as to combat poverty. CONCLUSION In the UK today households are made in many different ways and people have a variety of patterns of working. The current patterns and trends in familial lifestyles are key determinants of the level of developments in employment and patterns of inequality. Changes in composition of households are key demographic indicators of changing living standards and lifestyles. These changes remain top on the agenda for the government so as to institute measures aimed at reducing poverty levels for instance the government has put children at its centre of its social policy agenda. This is evident by increasing the levels of in-work support for low -income parents and initiating programmes to support parents from disadvantaged areas. REFERENCES www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/uk.htmDownloaded 28/04/2008 www.agf.org.uk/pubs/pdfs/1383Ageingweb.pdf Downloaded 28/04/2008 www.leeds.ac.uk/CAVA/papers/wsp7b.pdf Downloaded 29/04/2008 www.deafnessatbirth.org.uk/content2/support/diversity/03/index.html Downloaded29/04/2008 Cooper, W. (1999) LFS Household Data: Spring 1998 Analyses Labour Market Trends (January) 31-40. Hutton, S. (1994) Mens and womens incomes: evidence from survey data Journal of Social Policy 23 (1): 21-40.

Analyzing Notes of a Native Son Essay -- James Baldwin

Analyzing â€Å"Notes of a Native Son† James Baldwin is a highly renowned African-American essay writer who is best known for his ability to interweave narrative and argument into concise well-written essays. He had his first book published at the early age of 19 and has published some astounding literature during the time of civil rights activism. He succeeded himself to rise out of his poverty to become an amazing writer through self-determination and courage. In his essay entitled, â€Å"Notes of a Native Son†, Baldwin does an excellent job making use of binaries and repetition of words and phrases as well as switching back and forth from narrative to analysis. He also cleverly connects his progressively raising maturity and understanding of the world to the unique style in which Baldwin writes throughout his work. We will now dissect this essay and see how Baldwin uses special writing techniques to make for a very powerful and meaningful composition. The essay starts strongly with Baldwin providing insightful narrative in order to set the stage of his writing. By the second page of his essay, Baldwin has already developed his first binary. He emphasizes the black/white relationship. He continually refers to the â€Å"blackness† of his father and how his father was a proud, beautiful and powerful black man in his day (Baldwin 64). He then tells of his discovery of how â€Å"white people† helped to kill his father (65). Soon after, Baldwin addresses another binary, this one being life and death. His mother realizes that it was James’ father who â€Å"kept the family alive† (66). All the while, Baldwin’s father is slowly dying. Another example of the life/death binary occurs when Baldwin acknowledges that his â€Å"father had spent too much of his ener... ...ather really is as a person and is ready to express his inner feelings to his father. At the end of the essay, a strong message is conveyed. Baldwin learns that love, which is synonymous to his constant use of the word hatred, must prevail and that with love, acceptance and equal power can finally be attained (84). He also says that bitterness is pointless and that life and death are far more important and significant than the black/white power struggle. The end of the essay closes gracefully because Baldwin has now revealed the use of his writing techniques of â€Å"Notes of the Native Son† and he has also fully matured and is now able to see his father in a positive light for the very first time in his life. Works Cited Baldwin, James. â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84.

Culture Studies for Fashion Essay

This essay discusses how fashion helps convey the social identity of the rich and wealthy. Status includes class, gender, and ages. Status is important in today’s society. As Coco Chanel said, †women should dress as plainly as their maids† (Davis 1992:57). A person who is wealthy is a symbol of a person who is successful and of high income in the society. Being wealthy can upgrade one’s status to a higher class, and to be associated with the upper class society. Being wealthy will bring about better lifestyle and standard of living, which allows one to move to a better place and area of residence. Naturally, it creates a bigger opportunity to mingle with societies of a different class. This essay will discuss about status and wealth followed by the history of fashion and how important the type of fabric is in differentiating status and classes. We will then discuss about how technology in the 21st century has helped in the development of fashion. In the late 13th and 14th century, the fabric and gem trade brought back from the east started and spread throughout Europe. These fabric and cloths could only be afforded by the rich, thus wearing these clothes showed the status in the society. This was as Davis (1992; 58) said, ‘Wearing one’s wealth on one’s back’. Different classes of people had very different lifestyles and attended different activities. For example the upper class people went shopping, had afternoon tea, attended evening balls, and were presented the chance to have an education in school. The standard of living was very vastly different as lower class people had to suffer, go through hunger, and possess no extra money for anything other than their basic necessities. Their source of income were either by working day and night in the factory, working as maids for the rich or operating small business stalls. Aristocrats and upper class people communicated their wealth by wearing luxurious brands, expensive accessories, jewelry, and unique apparels from famous designers, and the men talk about business, cars, property, and women. In the eighteenth century, male and female of the aristocracy, and of the upper Bourgeoisie who emulated it, were equally partial to ample display of lace, rich velvets, fine silks, and embroideries, on appease. To highly ornamented footwear, to coiffures, wigs, and hats of rococo embellishment, and to lavish use of scented powders, rouges, and other cosmetics (Los Angeles Country Museum of Art 1983 in Davis 1992). In the twentieth to twenty first century, technology started to become more and more advance. People started to be more reliant on computers. Internet has become a very useful gateway to immediate information. The mass public has fast and direct access to information through the Internet, as an example they can also now browse luxury brands website, watch fashion shows, and do online shopping. Therefore with the ease of access to information, marketing and publicity of a product can reach the consumer level faster than ever before. When a jewelry or luxury brand’s product is worn, people can easily recognize the product and have an idea of a person’s wealth through the worth of their attire. According to Arvanitidou and Gasouka ‘Dressing is an important and controllable way to communicate one’s values, particularly rich in emotional and psychosocial consequences’. People are willing to pay for luxury brand as the brand name is associated with fashion, elegance, class and value. Some example of the designer brands under the luxury category are such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hermes, Versace and others. These luxury brands have been well known in the fashion retail market for a long time. Buying branded goods is like insurance for women as it can easily be sold in the second hand market apart from it being fashionable and trendy. The other reason luxury brands sell well is due to is timeless, evergreen design. Some classic designs will stand the test of time. Shopping to women has a therapeutic effect, be it in shopping malls, luxury shops, or department stores. They indulge in the moment and make themselves happy, especially when buying from luxury brands. Upper class people have the financial capability to purchase most of the things that they like. They also like to compare amongst themselves, so they are ometimes under peer pressure to have the latest and the most fashionable product in order to show off and convince people of their status in the society. With this, they would be able to show that they are wealthy enough to enjoy the luxury brand’s quality products and prove their status. Drama and television advertisement has become a major influence in marketing and publicity of products, especially to the young people. Young people in the twenty first century like to idolize film stars, celebrities, and Korean pop stars, following closely their news, styles, actions, and lifestyles. As the Internet now is very advanced, young people can see live news on the Internet and share the news out to their circle of contact. The standard of living today has changed globally and young people today have higher disposable income. This allows them to chase after branded goods as we are living in a much commercialized world today. We are hit with commercials and advertisements in every direction, from the television, to the radio, magazines, billboards, sponsors of sports, etc. Therefore young people today are also chasing after luxury brands to be associated with status and class. Young children in the twenty first century are more matured thinking; they use make up, wear sexy dresses, and make themselves looks like an adult. They make up a big portion of market share for new technology products which is in trend such as Ipad mini, Iphone5, and Samsung note two. Possessing either one of these product, people will easily recognize their wealth through the product’s worth. In conclusion, wealth is an important factor complementing status. Historically, there was a big difference between aristocracies, upper class people and lower class people in terms of lifestyle and attire. Wearing the right clothes, the appropriate dress for the occasion, fitting in rather than standing out, is the dominant concerns of most people’ (Twigg 2009: 4). Wearing a classic, elegant gown in an evening party is very important in forming the impression of yourself on status and class. Internet and the latest technological products are very useful in helping people receive firsthand information. The products of latest technology are most of the time expensive, and holding the latest items will show that one is wealthy.

Quotations by King Alfred the Great

Alfred was extraordinary for an early medieval king in several respects. He was a particularly wily military commander, successfully keeping the Danes at bay, and he wisely shored up defenses when the enemies of his kingdom were occupied elsewhere. At a time when England was little more than a collection of warring kingdoms, he established diplomatic relations with his neighbors, including the Welsh, and unified a substantial portion of the heptarchy. He displayed remarkable administrative flair, reorganizing his army, issuing important laws, protecting the weak, and promoting learning. But most unusual of all, he was a gifted scholar. Alfred the Great translated several works from Latin into his own language, Anglo-Saxon, known to us as Old English, and wrote some works of his own. In his translations, he sometimes inserted comments that offer insight not only into the books but into his own mind. Here are some notable quotations from the notable English king, Alfred the Great. I desired to live worthily as long as I lived and to leave after my life, to the men who should come after me, the memory of me in good works. From  Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius Remember what punishments befell us in this world when we ourselves did not cherish learning nor transmit it to other men. From  Pastoral Care by Pope Gregory the Great Therefore he seems to me a very foolish man, and very wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world, and ever wish and long to reach that endless life where all shall be made clear. From Blooms (aka Anthology) Very often it has come to my mind what men of learning there were formerly throughout England, both in religious and secular orders; and how there were happy times then throughout England; and how the kings, who had authority over this people, obeyed God and his messengers; and how they not only maintained their peace, morality, and authority at home but also extended their territory outside; and how they succeeded both in warfare and in wisdom; and also how eager were the religious orders both in teaching and in learning as well as in all the holy services which it was their duty to perform for God; and how people from abroad sought wisdom and instruction in this country; and how nowadays, if we wished to acquire these things, we would have to seek them outside. From the preface to Pastoral Care When I recalled how knowledge of Latin had previously decayed throughout England, and yet many could still read things written in English, I then began, amidst the various and multifarious afflictions of this kingdom, to translate into English the book which in Latin is called Pastoralis, in English Shepherd-book, sometimes word for word, sometimes sense for sense. From the preface to Pastoral Care For in prosperity a man is often puffed up with pride, whereas tribulations chasten and humble him through suffering and sorrow. In the midst of prosperity the mind is elated, and in prosperity a man forgets himself; in hardship, he is forced to reflect on himself, even though he be unwilling. In prosperity a man often destroys the good he has done; amidst difficulties, he often repairs what he long since did in the way of wickedness. ― Attributed. In recent years, the veracity of Alfreds authorship has been called into question. Did he really translate anything from Latin to Old English? Did he write anything of his own? Check out the arguments in Jonathan Jarretts blog post, Deintellectualising King Alfred.