The poor in the UK

The poor in the UK Discuss whether the poor in the UK are to blame for their poverty and social exclusion? The purpose of this essay is to discuss the question of whether the poor in the UK are to blame for their poverty and social exclusion. In order to do this, a variety of perspectives will be analysed, in particular looking at political and economic perspectives. We will also consider Levitas approaches in the area of social exclusion, looking at the three models of social discourse, and also a critical examination of Murrays thesis concerning the underclass. Definitions of poverty have traditionally been divided within two subcategories, absolute poverty or relative poverty. Each definition is based on different experiences of poverty. Absolute poverty sees there is a basic need for survival and this is measured objectively and comes in forms of statistics. This is mainly used in government statistics. Relative poverty is different in that it counts on an opinion of people in society. Relative poverty uses the idea of what society or a culture sees as the norm. The earliest attempt to research poverty was by Rowntree, who conducted a study in York, in 1899. Rowntree adopted the measurement of absolute poverty in 1901 based on a minimum weekly income which was thought to be needed to survive. Therefore, a definition of absolute poverty is; Absolute poverty occurs when people fail to receive sufficient resources to support a minimum of physical health and efficiency (2006 dictionary of sociology) p304 This absolute measure was not popular with the government as measuring poverty based on falling below a certain benefit level. When the benefits level increased so did the amount of people living in poverty. This problem was solved when the 1985 conservative government scrapped the Family Low Income Statistics in favour of the Household below Average Income (HBAI). This saw the decrease of poverty in terms of figures because of the change in the way poverty was measured. The term poverty is not mentioned in any of these official government terms, therefore shows that poverty is not acknowledge as a problem to the government. The feminist argument on using this type of measurement is that it uses statistics taken from the household with a male breadwinner. Females appear invisible in these statistics and very much implies that women are dependent upon men. However, there is no suggestion that the male breadwinner equally shares his income with the household. Scott (1994) discusses the strengths and weaknesses of absolute poverty. Firstly the strengths, the measurement of absolute poverty can be used universally across cultures and societies. It can be used to draw up comparisons so Policy makers can use this to assess and distribute the income that is needed to eliminate poverty. These policies can then be taken on by researchers to look at if what is being done and if it is helping to reduce poverty. A Weakness of this measurement is that it is extreme. In todays society it is dominated by consumption and a consumer lifestyle. Some cultures deem it necessary to be able to take part in the consumer society. The goods that can be bought often have several uses other than just to survive, for example a television is not an item of survival, however to function in society the television plays a major part and a sense of unity is formed in neighbourhoods if people can relate to and discuss items featured on television. The absolute measure ignores this social process as it cannot be scientifically measured as it involves some form of opinion. Poverty measurements need much more than just relying on saying how much money is needed to live. Relative poverty can be defined as, comprehensive, should depend as much as possible on independent or external criteria of evaluation, should involve the ordering of a mass of factual data rational, orderly and informative fashion, and should limit, through not conceal, the part played by the value judgement (Townsend 1979:33) This means that it can be measured statistically; however include some form of judgement. This relative measurement would include more than just income and look at consumer society and culture. Townsends, who states individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the type of diet, participation in the activities and they have the living conditions and the amenities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged or approved in the societies to which they belong. (Townsend, 1979, p.31) This definition covers adequately the link between poverty and social exclusion. Townsends research of relative poverty conducted in 1968-9 could compare people based on the national average. An important result to come out of this research was the deprivation index which stated the 12 items essential for people in society, for example clothing, diet, fuel health and education. In 1985 more items were included such as a persons taste, lifestyle, and economic social factors. Using the measurement of relative poverty does come with strengths and weaknesses. It does acknowledge subjectively and are honest in that some form of opinion is needed. Knowledge of peoples culture can be explored in terms of what their standard of living is. It explores the kinds of feeling some people have that they may be deprived more than others. Weaknesses of this relative measurement is that if fails to acknowledge those people who chose to go without the items stated in the deprivation index. It does not address the issues of real poverty in that those living in absolute poverty do not having enough to survive. Comparisons with other countries are difficult as others still use the absolute measurement and use statistics rather than opinions. Piachaud reviews Townsends deprivation index as a good measurement as it included people that make the lifestyle choices such as being a vegetarian. He claims that not having a fridge for instance is more significant than not having meat. However, this suggests that Townsends index is not as scientific as it claims. (Piachaud 1981) There is not only one kind of poor people but many that are or could fall into poverty at any point in their life. The underclass is a term used to stigmatise people and was used in the 1980s early 1990s. Charles Murray worked on the concept of the underclass and characterised them by three things; illegitimacy, violent crime, and drop out from the labour market by young men (Murray 1990) Murray wrote in 1990 that Britain has a growing population of working-aged, healthy people who live in a different world from other Britons, who are raising their children to live in it, and whose values are now contaminating the life of entire neighbourhoods. (Murray, 1990, p.6) Murray spoke of those who chose not to work, and instead to rely on benefits as a means of survival, as opposed to joining the labour market. In Murrays view, this reliance on benefits was considered as a superior option, not as a last resort. A statement by Murray to describe the underclass using a very simple and stigmatising definition by underclass, I do not mean people who are merely poor, but people at the margins of society, unsocialised and often violent. (Murray 2001). The term Underclass is a way of stigmatising a group and that Margaret Thatcher denied there being absolute poverty as there was no official government definition. Deprivation irresponsible underclass. John Moore secretary state of social security relative poverty was simply another term for inequality he claimed that poverty had disappeared from Britain altogether. (John Moore 1989) Conservative government at the time used the term underclass to categorise and deny there was absolute poverty in Britain. This view of the underclass supports the idea that the poor are to blame for their poverty and inequality than those structural inequalities at the time. With this negative concept the conservatives were set to cut welfare if the underclass did not change their ways. This widened the poverty gap and the conservatives were thought to be irresponsible and didnt address the problem of poverty in society Rather than seeing inequality as potentially damaging to the social fabric, the Thatcher governments saw it as an engine of enterprise, providing incentives for those at the bottom as well as those at the top. (Walker 1997:5) This phenomenon of the underclass tries to address them as and actual class in society being at the other end of the scale such as the upper-class. However, to be compared with as a class it would suggest there are shared values that are unique to the underclass, there are no evidence of this and should not be a class. (Bagguley and Mann 1992). This underclass perspective draws attention away from the actual cause of poverty and tries to set the notion that this class is biological when there is no evidence. Field 1989 viewed the underclass from a structuralist view and supported the view that the underclass did not stem from the individual, but from the ideologies that maintained and shaped inequality. These structural causes were stated as; record post war unemployment, widening class difference, exclusion of rapid widening living standards and public attitudes falling in Thatcher Britain. Direct criticism of Murrays underclass is that it fails to be proven by scientific methods and relies on opinions. The underclass cannot be measured accurately as the group is sometimes made to look huge or small depending on the outcome needed. The underclass perspective can be misleading and not address the real problem that poverty is causing to Britain. (Walker 1990:49) However, many writers were critical of this view, including MacDonald, who asserts that both young people and adults wanted work. They would fail with flying colours the test Murray sets to prove the underclasss existence: offer them jobs at a generous wage for unskilled labour and see what happens. (MacDonald, 1997, p.195) Crompton has been even more dismissal in her criticism of Murrays view, in that much of Murrays caselay in his attempts to demonstrate the individual moral and cultural inferiority of the least well-off members of society. In some ways then, Murrays underclass thesis, can be seen to be elitist and dismissive of those at the bottom end of the social ladder. Byrne (Byrne, 2005, p.1) notes the pejorative nature of the term underclass and the much preferred and more commonly used in the UK term of social exclusion. The term social exclusion was coined in the 1970s following research by French Civil servant, Rene Lenoir, who published The Excluded, which said that as much as 10% of the French population were excluded from mainstream society due to factors like mental illness, poverty and disability (Beland 2007). This definition of a broad category of people who, for a variety of reasons, dont fit into the social mainstream was picked up by New Labour, which created a Social Exclusion Unit when it came to power in 1997. It was based on the idea that Social exclusion is about more than income poverty. It is what can happen when people or areas face a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, discrimination, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime, bad health and family breakdown (ODPM, 2004, p. 3). New labour used many terms throughout their time, stakeholder society, communitarianism, third way and social exclusion. (Hindmoor, 2005). They can be accused of only selecting terms that would win elections (Stoker, 2004). The Labour government blamed three main causes for social exclusion: the dislocation caused by the breakdown of industry in Britain in the 1980s, the Conservative indifference to the social consequences of these economic changes and the failure of the welfare system to effectively address the needs of those who were affected by the downfall of coal, steel and other heavy industries (Davies, 2007). Storrey and Childs have commented on the political agenda of the early 1990s, whereby arguments came to a head over Britains high proportion of single-parent families when a government minister claimed that an over-generous state benefit system was encouraging young, single mothers to marry the state and embark on a benefit career. (Storrey Childs, 2002, p.126. These arguments were soon rebutted by organisations such as the Association of Single Parents, but it highlighted the way that discussions on social exclusion and poverty can be seen from a purely political perspective. Of the three models of social discourse to be discussed later, the MUD discourse is seen as largely right wing, while the other two are more centrist or to the left. One recent government minister has emphasised the SID view, claiming that Work is the only way out of poverty the benefit system will never pay of itself (enough to lift people out of poverty) and I dont think it should (Alcock et al., 2008, p.335 ) Social exclusion is seen in the growth of homelessness or urban slums, the declining hopes of the long-term unemployed, the lack of access to jobs and incomes of migrants and some ethnic minorities, the increasingly precarious nature of jobs on offer to new labour market entrants. (Rodgers 1995:43) Ruth Levitas, in her 1998 book, The Inclusive Society: Social Exclusion and New Labour, suggested three models of discourse in terms of how we look at the issue of social exclusion, and how those models are applied in politics in particular to economic and social policy, as well as sociological discourse in general. (Levitas, 1998) RED. This is known as the Redistributionists Discourse. Pierson (2004) observes that those holding this view argue that only through the redistribution of wealth across society as a whole, through taxation, benefits and services, will poverty and inequality be eradicated in Britain. (Pierson, 2004, p.5). This model rejects the idea that attitudes towards work or moral issues are responsible for social exclusion. Some have noted that a vital component in the RED model of social exclusion discourse is the raising of benefits to an adequate standard as one means of eradicating poverty. (Gordon Townsend, 2000, p.359) This model is significantly different from the Moral/Underclass Discourse (MUD) SID. This is known as the Social Integrationist Discourse. This model focuses on the value of importance of work. Paid work is seen as a key factor, with entrance into the labour market as the result, providing income, a boost to the economy, and social inclusion by way of paid employment. Levitas argues that this view differs from RED discourse in that it tends to equate social exclusion with exclusion from the labour market. (Levitas 1998, Pierson, 2004, p.6) MUD. This is known as the Moral/Underclass Discourse. The fundamental argument of the MUD discourse is that individuals or groups, through choices of their own choose a method of social exclusion. Such a method may be a deliberate choice not to try to enter the labour market but instead to rely on benefits solely as a means of income. Gordon Townsend comment that MUD tends to replay recurrent themes about dangerous classesto focus on the consequences of social exclusion for social order, and to emphasise particular groups, such as unemployed and potentially criminal young men, and lone parents, especially young never-married mothers. (Gordon Townsend, 2004, p.360) We see therefore, three discourses with different answers to the question of whether the poor in the UK are to blame for their poverty and social exclusion. The RED discourse would point to the need to redistribute wealth to the poor in order to end their social exclusion. The SID discourse would like social exclusion and unemployment and would link employment to being the key to the end of poverty and social exclusion. The MUD approach would suggest for many poverty, or certainly social exclusion, are a choice that is made and then potentially taught to the next generation. We have examined Levitas three models or approaches to social discourse, and we have critically examined Murrays theory of the underclass in the context of the UK and of these three models. We have come to the conclusion that there are other factors to play in poverty and social exclusion than the choices of the poor in the UK or any blame that may be attached to them, and we have seen the elitist nature of Murrays thesis. Poverty about people social exclusion about structure of society The UK government defines poverty as having an income of 60 per cent or less of the median: using this measure, 13.2 million people in the UK lives in poverty that is 22 per cent of the population. (Oxfam)

The Worst Day of my Life

The Worst Day of my Life BY challenge It started out as a great summer day with my band class. Than all of a sudden something happened that has not happened In 16 years while the class was on a trip. What had happened had ruined everyone's day of fun. In June of 2011, we went to Kings Island to have a fun day before school started back up in August. We had planned to be there until pm. We split up into small groups and did our different things. I was walking around with my best friend, Taylor. We went and rode the Vortex, which was the first time that I had rode it since the last year of going with the class.It was about 9:30 when we got done riding the Vertex and Taylor wanted to go and ride the Fire hawk. I decided that I would ride It with her. We were walling In line talking until it was our turn to ride. When we got on and started buckling up, the seat belt wouldn't go around me so I was told that I had to get off. Taylor said she would get off too but I told her to go ahead and ride because she was the one who wanted to ride it in the first place. I went to get off and the two people on the other side of her wouldn't move their feet, so I had to climb over their feet and when I did, I tripped and fell.When I fell I heard my ankle pop. I tried to get up but I couldn't move my feet. While the people that were watching the ride was on the phone with the Meet's, Taylor had called our teacher to let him know that I fell and that they were taking me to the hospital. After she got off the phone with him, she called my mom to let her know what had happened and that I was on my way to the hospital. When the Meet's got there, they had to carry me down the stairs In a chair. They put me In the back of one of the trucks that they use and took me to the clinic at Kings Island, where they put me Into the ambulance and got y teacher to go with me.He had to go since he was the one In charge of me for the day. When we got to the hospital, they took me back to get x-rays o f my ankles. While we were waiting for the results, my teacher called my mom and let her know that I was at the hospital. She told him that she was already notified and that she was on her way there. The doctors came back with the results, they told me that I had fractured my left ankle and sprained my right one. My teacher had called the bus driver and let him know what had happened. He gathered up all of the other students and faculty; and come to the hospital.My teacher had stayed there with me until my mom got there. My mom had got to the hospital when the nurse was putting my ankle into a half cast. After my mom got there, the bus had pulled Into the parking lot. My teacher had left with the rest of the group to go back home. When they released me to go they were going to have me walk out to the car, but I wasn't able to walk. They finally brought a wheelchair in for me to go out in. I had a hard time getting into the car because of the cast, so I had to sit sideways in the car . My mom wasn't very happy because she had to come and get me from the hospital at 0:30 pm.We got back home around midnight, which was about an hour before the rest of the class did, because the teacher had the bus driver take the long way home. Another x-ray done to see how my ankle was doing. The doctor told me I was able to get the half cast off, but I had to wear a boot until I could walk without it. A few days later Taylor had come to my house to see how I was doing. I was doing better but my ankle was still hurting. I had gotten a lot of calls from faculty that went on the trip to see how I was doing, but I really didn't mind them calling because that gave me money to talk to.I knew that they were all worried about me. I went to church the second Sunday after it happened and everyone there asked me what happened. I told them that I fell at Kings Island and fractured my left ankle and sprained my right one. That is one thing that I love about my church family because I know tha t they will always care about me. They always know when there is something wrong with me because of my facial expressions. When it came time to sign up for school the next year I was still in the boot and everyone kept saying â€Å"you're still in that thing.I said â€Å"yeah and I am tired of it. † It was getting a lot easier to walk with the boot on. I was able to stop wearing the boot two weeks before school started up, which I was very glad to get the boot off. That was the day that had ruined everyone's day of fun. I will never forget that day at Kings Island when I had hurt both of my ankles. Now every time that I go to Kings Island I will find a way to get hurt. This past summer, which was my last year going with the band class, I stepped in a hole; and fell and skinned my knee while walking with my group to go ride a ride. The Worst Day of My Life In my life the most thrilling and funniest days I have spent were when I used to be in a primary school. They were also probably the scariest and most troublesome days of my life. I used to get into a lot of trouble in those days; it was mostly due to bad luck, because it was mostly my friends' fault for doing anything bad. Despite this, I actually quite enjoyed doing troublesome things with my friends. These were my thrilling mates with whom I've spent, not the literally worst, but the scariest day of life. They were Imran, Rubel, Minaz and Jamie and the reliable and decent person in the crew was, Argha. And that's me. To start of my story I'll talk about something normal like the games we played. I used to love playing football, tennis, pool and cricket with my friends. Nowadays, I only put my effort and concentration into cricket because I'm good at it. The only thing I couldn't stand was racing. This was because I was a disgraceful runner. I was never able to keep up with my friends. Leaving a distance of less than five metres between my friends and me was a target I never achieved. Even if I was the first to start I was surely the last to finish. Luckily, I was never disgraceful enough to get beaten by any girl who wanted to join us, or by any boy who play with dolls manufactured for girls. When we were a bit out of breath from playing games or had just come out of lunch with our stomachs full we chucked stones at the window of an apartment accommodated by an old lady in a flat just beside our play ground. Whenever she looked out we hid behind the walls. Once the window cracked and the lady came over to our school, luckily none of the other kids gave us away. It was Monday. The first day of a school week. As usual, my friends and I did something to lighten up our boring day of school after the final bell rang to relieve us all. We were walking round the neighbourhood, full of narrow alleyways, where there wasn't a chance of police patrol to be present. I was chatting with my friend Imran never expecting what would happen behind us. We heard a small explosion. We turned around to see a blown up car tyre and Jamie with a big screw in his hand. Beside him was Rubel. Just as we finished shouting â€Å"why the hell did you guys do that?† an old lady screamed out of the window from the second floor, â€Å"you bloody hooligans, you're gonna get it this time†. Realizing that it was the same lady whose window which we often cracked, we started running with our faces covered. As I was obviously running like a tortoise behind all my friends I looked back. I screamed making my friends also look back to see a man chasing us with a machete and another man with a long lead pipe. That day, my fear actually brought out the best in me, because my heart was beating so fast that it made my legs work faster, I crossed my maximum speed without feeling any pressure or pain on my legs because all I was thinking about was not getting caught by them. Plus, I needed to sprint faster because they didn't seem like boys who play with Barbie dolls. I didn't think that they would really crack our skulls with that lead pipe or slash us in half with that machete. They were probably trying to scare the living daylights out of us to avoid any more of their properties getting damaged, but I just couldn't believe that a normal life like mine could be at risk of bleeding heavily to death. With people like these after us our only hope was to get out of these narrow streets and alleyways and into the main road, where there were more people and police patrolling everywhere. Then there wouldn't be a chance for them to wave their weapons about and chase eleven year olds. Thank God, we did make it to the main road and before we did they stopped and walked away. My body was shaking so much; it was as if I was in the middle of a snowstorm with only a pair of shorts on. I walked back home with my friends shivering like this. They dropped me off. I got home and went straight to bed to stop myself from trembling. It's likely my friends did the same. They sure did scare the hell out of us. Having a fight in school unarmed is one thing, getting chased by men with weapons in another. We left that matter behind our backs because even if our school is in their area, they didn't get a glimpse of our faces. It was ably the scariest day of my life, but my life has lots of years still to go, therefore no-one can tell, maybe this day will not be considered as the scariest, or the worst, in the future.

Toefl Writing Topics: No Longer a Mystery

Toefl Writing Topics: No Longer a Mystery The New Angle On Toefl Writing Topics Just Released Movies are popular all around the world. Question 25 People do many diverse things to remain healthier. They learn in different ways. They should sometimes do things that they do not enjoy doing. What You Must Know About Toefl Writing Topics If you're feeling overwhelmed just keep in mind that you're being tested on your capacity to comprehend and use the English language. There are a few unique means by which you might structure an essay like, but the simplest one might be the very best. As a conclusion, our group of skilled experts also provides a last verdict which will help you make a well-informed choice. To make certain you will discover a complete answer to every question, we've got a support team that's always online. Toefl Writing Topics Ideas If people succeed, it is due to hard work. Other people would rather travel alone. Some folks choose friends that are diffe rent from themselves. They say that the Internet provides people with a lot of valuable information. Provide a succinct overview of your most important ideas The subsequent sections will explain each paragraph in detail and supply you with a sample TOEFL essay. Each section should have a minumum of one separate paragraph. Below are a couple of the best. Topics in the next list may appear in your true test. All you need to do is glance at your Venn diagram to find a feeling of the things which you could write about. Note the way the details you listened to differs from the information which you read. Take notes on the information which you read. You have to write just on the topic that's assigned to you. You might have to write on this issue you're given. The topic is going to be a comprehensive surprise. Nevertheless, the topics will most likely be very similar overall. If you only use a good deal of words and sentences which don't really support the points you're making about this issue, or in case you develop empty ideas not about the subject, you'll obtain a very low score. Giving an explanation may also be called Making an Argument in some situations. Speaking about your opinions will help it become much easier to write about them. Nowadays it's quite difficult to locate a trustworthy essay writing service. Writing is a rather important element of the English language. Writing about a different topic is a simple approach to receive a minimal score. Don't immediately begin writing. Brainstorm before you begin your response. Your response ought to be around 150-225 words. It should be 150-225 words. What Everybody Dislikes About Toefl Writing Topics and Why For each one of the tasks, you're anticipated to present an essay. Every student demands help with homework from time to time. Many students have trouble thinking of particular examples, but it's a valuable part of great writing. Therefore, among the lowest scores students may receive is for missing the topic. TOEFL raters look over your capacity to create unique kinds of sentences. Eventually, you are going to want to have a comprehensive TOEFL practice examit's the only method to be fully ready for the TOEFL. Be aware that the paper based TOEFL doesn't have a section on writing. Teaching TOEFL is similar to teaching. How to use the right essay structure is the initial step in upping your TOEFL writing score. With the appropriate use of the subsequent communicative activities you can better your general writing skills for TOEFL iBT test. These topics may show up on your actual TOEFL. This list of questions appears right on the TOEFL practice website and could show up on your real TOEFL writing test. For each one of the categories that you select, select one place or product to be the very best and compose a quick review. Instead, you've got to think of your own subject from a huge pool of possibilities. It is possible to even check out several reviews and opt for the business which best suits your requirements and very affordable budget. Our reviews contain details like the score of the clients, our rating, starting prices, Discounts, and grade of the papers. You might also get in touch with your writer to supply some excess recommendations or request information regarding the order's progress. The review is going to teach you whatever you will need to understand and then it is possible to place your purchase confidently. As soon as you inform us about all of the paper information, we'll begin searching for a proper writer for your paper. You've got to compose several academic papers over the duration of a year.

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