Net Neutrality Paper

Capitalism is an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market. (Merriam-Webster Online, 2010) The United States of America is considered a â€Å"free market†, in some cases. Internet Seen,'ice Providers own the tangible cables and pipes providing the service of connectivity to the internet. They are the bridge. They own the bridge. In a free market, they can regulate heir bridge how they see fit, within the parameters of the law.This same model is expressed by cell phone companies in the communication industry as well as cable companies in the television industry. Cellular phone companies own all the variables that make up their network. They then sell you service to connect to their network based off of their interpretation of what the market will allow. They dictate wha t you pay, how much usage you are allowed and what types of usages are allowed. Cable companies evolved in the same manner. Once a free entertainment source is now a billion dollar year industry marked with the footprints of capitalism.Cable companies put forth the ground work to make the cable experience what it is today. In return, they profit from their investments to do so. They also dictate what we pay and what types of usage we are allowed. These cable and cellular communication companies have thrived in our free market mentality but in the same instance have been regulated by government when it applies to the internet. In the same way they own the physical cables, the pipes underground, the satellites and the air space, they are providing the bridge.Without their bridges, the consumer cannot access the internet. In a free market society, we tell companies to manage their business according to what the market will allow. The market has allowed the cell phone industry to operat e without regulation. The cable companies have thrived without regulation under the allowance of the market. The internet is no different. Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned or possessed by a person or jointly by a group of people. Property is synonymous with ownership.Ownership is the exclusive right to possess and dispose of what oh own. â€Å"When you pull out the government, you take out socialism, and when you remove the rights of ownership and place the benefits broadly on the least able to pay for them, you have communism. It isn't yet clear if socialism will work in the U. S. , and it is doubly doubtful that communism (aka â€Å"Net neutrality†) will ever work. † (Ender, 2010) In economic terms, calculability is the ability to exclude others from use of a good. Rivalry is when one person's use of a good diminishes another's ability to use that good.When you have a resource that doesn't have calculability but does display rivalry you hav e what is known as ‘Tragedy of the Commons† which is an overused, under maintained resource (aka â€Å"the free-rider problem†). In Africa arose the possibility of the elephant becoming extinct from humans killing them for their hides and tusks. Two countries decided to act against this problem, Kenya and Rhodesia. Kenya took the approach of placing a ban on elephant poaching while Rhodesia gave property owners Private Property Rights to the elephants with incentives for elephant maintenance.Jenny's elephant population decreased while Rhodesia increased dramatically. The conclusion of when property rights are given, ownership of property motivates protection and care for the property more efficiently than federal regulations. In economic terms the internet would be classified as an Clubbable resource. The classification of rival or non-rival is debatable due to bandwidth. However if we look at this example from the rival standpoint, it bears identical resemblance of the private goods industry.When property rights are given with incentives, the elephant will prosper. If ownership is revoked and regulations are implemented by government, we have Tragedy of the commons. Sip's currently don't have incentives to make broadband bandwidth accessible in all parts of our country due to lack of profitability. Therefore our elephant population (internet) will decrease. This is a simple example of how capitalism is a great model for economical success. It is the same model that has molded our country for over two centuries. Why the model is continually changing I do not know.The Internet is not public property. Telecommunications companies have spent billions Of dollars on network infrastructure all over the world. They did so in the hope of selling communications services to customers willing to pay for them. The government has no right to effectively nationalize Sip's by telling them how run their networks. Proponents of net neutrality love to invent hypothetical scenarios of ways companies could abuse customers. It is true that a free society gives people the freedom to be stupid, wrong, and even malicious.The great thing about capitalism is that it also gives people the freedom to decide whom they want to do business with. A socialized Internet takes away that freedom and turns it over to politicians and lobbyists. Why do â€Å"net neutrality' advocates ridicule politicians for impairing the Internet to a â€Å"series of tubes,† and then trust them to regulate it? (vessels, 2007) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the ability to regulate wireless network providers by reclassifying them as Title II common carrier services, essentially equating them with cable and phone companies.That type of regulation would allow the FCC to impose traffic equality laws on all carriers, where under Washman's proposal wireless providers would have been exempt. Verizon, AT and wireless association ACTA have opposed the PC's m easures, while Google, Faceable and Keep, among various public interest groups strongly supported them. (Prism, 2010) Phone and cable companies have argued that increased regulation of Internet practices could have a detrimental effect on the industry. They argue that tough regulations could deter network investments and hinder the expansion of broadband infrastructure.The free-speech objection to net neutrality has also gained some ground recently. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCAA) and AT&T began citing First Amendment objections to net neutrality in public discussions and in filings with the FCC this year. The free-speech argument states that, by interfering with how phone and cable companies deliver Internet traffic the government would be manipulating the free-speech rights of providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Compass. Jerome, 201 0) The Federal Communications Commission first established rules in 1 965 for cable systems which received signals by micro wave antennas. In March 1 966, the Commission established rules for all cable systems (whether or not served by microwave). The Supreme Court affirmed the Commission's jurisdiction over cable in United States v. Southwestern Cable Co. , 392 US. 157 (1968). The Court ruled that â€Å"the Commission has reasonably concluded that regulatory authority over CATV is imperative if it is to perform with appropriate effectiveness certain of its responsibilities. The Court found the Commission needed authority over cable systems to assure the preservation of local broadcast service and to effect an equitable distribution of broadcast services among the various regions of the country. In March 1 972, new rules regarding cable television became effective. These rules required cable television operators to obtain a certificate Of compliance from the Commission prior to operating a cable elevation system or adding a television broadcast signal.The rules applicable to cable operators fell into se veral broad subject areas franchise standards, signal carriage, network program non-duplication and syndicated program exclusivity, non-broadcast or cable casting services, cross-ownership, equal employment opportunity, and technical standards. Cable television operators who originated programming were subject to equal time, Fairness Doctrine, sponsorship identification and other provisions similar to rules applicable to broadcasters.Cable operators were also required to maintain certain records ND to file annual reports with the Commission concerning general statistics, employment and finances. In succeeding years, the Commission modified or eliminated many of the rules. Among the more significant actions, the Commission deleted most of the franchise standards in 1 977, substituted a registration process for the certificate of compliance application process in 1978, and eliminated the distant signal carriage restrictions and syndicated program exclusivity rules in 1980.In 1 983, th e Commission deleted its requirement that cable operators file financial information. In addition, court actions led to the deletion of the pay cable programming rules in 1977. In October 1 984, the U. S. Congress amended the Communications Act of 1 934 by adopting the Cable Communications policy Act of 1984. The 1 984 Cable Act established policies in the areas of ownership, channel usage, franchise provisions and renewals, subscriber rates and privacy, obscenity and lockers, unauthorized reception of services, equal employment opportunity, and pole attachments.The new law also defined jurisdictional boundaries among federal, state and local authorities for regulating cable elevation systems. Following the 1984 Cable Act, the number of households subscribing to cable television systems increased, as did the channel capacity of many cable systems. However, competition among distributors of cable services did not increase, and, in many communities, the rates for cable services far ou tpaced inflation. Responding to these problems, Congress enacted the Cable Television Consumer protection and Competition Act of 1992.The 1 992 Cable Act mandated a number of changes in the manner in which cable television is regulated. In adopting the 1 992 Cable Act, Congress dated that it wanted to promote the availability of diverse views and information, to rely on the marketplace to the maximum extent possible to achieve that availability, to ensure cable operators continue to expand their capacity and program offerings, to ensure cable operators do not have undue market power, and to ensure consumer interests are protected in the receipt of cable service.The Commission has adopted regulations to implement these goals. In adopting the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress noted that it wanted to provide a pro-competitive, De-regulatory national policy ramekin designed to accelerate rapidly private sector deployment of advanced telecommunications and information technologies and services to all Americans by opening all telecommunications markets to competition. The Commission has adopted regulations to implement the requirements of the 1996 Act and the intent of Congress. General Cable Television Industry and Regulation Information Fact Sheet, 2000) In the end life contains complex decision making decisions that come from those with opposing opinions. If we take positive economic results from the past and try to replicate them today, it might begin with clear and concise repertory rights pertaining to the internet. Let the free and open market drive competition to fuel creativity and innovation.

Public transport

Are there more advantages or disadvantages to this change? In many countries around the world there is considerable debate about the role of public transport. One suggestion that is commonly put forward is that it should be made free of charge. My belief is that while this policy might be difficult to implement in practice, there are at least two strong reasons for considering it.The ne significant problem with making public transport free of charge is financial. Councils and local governments need sufficient revenue not only to pay bus drivers and other ancillary staff, but also to maintain the transport infrastructure. There is a real danger that allowing people to travel for free would deprive transport authorities of much needed funds and lead to a lower standard of service. This financial difficulty in free public transport is counterbalanced by a potential benefit to the nvironment.The fact that so many people use cars nowadays means that our cities are suffer from rising level s of pollution from car exhaust emissions. One way to address this problem would be to encourage more people to use buses and trains by abolishing fares. If more commuters chose to travel to work on public transport, our cities would almost certainly be cleaner places to live in. Another way in which free public transport could improve our quality of life relates to congestion.Currently, the trend is for increasing numbers of people to choose to drive to work. This means that in many cases the rush hour is several hours long and it is sometimes almost impossible to travel across a city. It is probable that this level of congestion would be reduced by making public transport free. My conclusion is then that there are more advantages than disadvantages to free public transport, but this policy may be financially impossible to implement.

ANNOTATION [Marking the Text] GUIDELINES Essays - Reference, Writing

ANNOTATION [Marking the Text] GUIDELINES Annotation consists of brief notes, symbols or markings that highlight key points of a piece of writing. It is a study tool to review large qualities of information with minimal effort. The goal is to be able to glance at a page of text and pick out the main points without having to re-read the whole page. Annotation should be consistent so that it always makes sense and allows you to work quickly. Any annotations you make on a page of text should be neat and easy to read. Here are some common ways of annotating. Text Summary & Notes This strategy requires short summaries or notes in the margin for every paragraph of text. This requires a lot of thinking and writing; however, the notes you create make it easier to find the main idea and summarize the text. Highlighting This strategy works well for students who are very visual and respond to colors. It works best when it incorporates a multiple color coded system. For instance, you might use one color for main ideas and another for supporting details. The disadvantage of this system is that you can't erase the highlighting. This is risky if you're just starting out. Symbols & Markings This strategy is preferred by most note takers. It is quick to make notes and quick to review. It is very easy to glance at page, find important information and evaluate what needs a closer look. Like highlighting, a system should be adopted and stuck with so that it always makes sense. Below are some suggestions for symbols and markings: Circle unfamiliar vocabulary *Stars for important or key ideas, main points _______ Underlining/Highlighting for important quotes or points to use later >Arrows connecting ideas and topics-maybe a sentence in one paragraph that reinforces a sentence in a different paragraph or clearly supports the main idea. = Equal signs indicate definitions Boxes for key terms Ex., R., Stat. Abbreviations show types of support: examples, reasons, statistics 1, 2, 3 Numbers itemize examples, reasons, steps (Ex. #1 or Reason #1) ! ! Exclamation points show surprise Question marks indicate an unclear idea or section-something you want to ask about Really? Margin notes record comments or questions

Communication Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Communication - Annotated Bibliography Example Barret and Davidson (2006, p.38) have also observed that gendered thinking has to replace male paradigms of interpersonal communication. Suggesting that language is also a tool for the oppression of women in almost all native cultures, Longmire and Merrill (2001,p.1 ) have said that â€Å"our native language depicts the normative, the generic, as ‘male,’ women are necessarily defined as ‘other.† For example, when one uses the word, ‘mankind’, â€Å"man is to mean all people, both male and female† (Longmire and Merrill, 2001, p.1). And also, it has been concluded that non-verbal communication constitutes almost seventy percent of any interpersonal communication (Hartley, 1993, p.164). And it is often found that in an interpersonal communication between two people of different gender, the possibility of sexually loaded non-verbal communication to happen even in contradiction with the verbal message that is imparted, is far more ( Fulham, 1995). This leads to misunderstandings. Another interesting aspect of the impact of gender in interpersonal communication is that men â€Å"tend to interrupt, take long, sole-speaker turns, and use direct forms while women tend to use indirect or modalizing strategies, use inclusive communication techniques and encourage collaborative turns and floors (Barret and Davidson, 2006,

Case Analysis Part IV Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Case Analysis Part IV - Lab Report Example Therefore, nondelivery of the certificate does not intervene in any way with passing the title. The same conclusion has been reached by the Court in the case of Wood Chevrolet Co. v. Bank of the Southeast3, where it was held that: â€Å"†¦non-delivery of a certificate of title at the time of a sale does not prevent the passage of title from the seller to the buyer.... This is true even where a state's certificate of title act provides that no title can be acquired in an automobile until the certificate of title has been issued.†. In conclusion, title to the car passed to Mann at the moment of physical possesion of the car being transferred to him. CHAPTER 17 CASE 3 I believe that in this case, Frank’s Nursery & Crafts, Inc. must be held liable for the damages caused to Young and it should certainly cover the damages caused to the plaintiff. Frank’s Nursery & Crafts, Inc. has certainly breached the contract concluded with Young. Due to the fact that Frankâ₠¬â„¢s Nursery & Crafts, Inc. ... v. Johnson4, the Court held that, in order to avoid the injured party not recovering her losses, â€Å"Ohio law allows a damaged lost volume seller to recover its lost profits from the breached sale in addition to traditional breach of contract damages†, thus applying the lost volume seller theory. According to Goldberg, V.P., â€Å" In cases in which the seller is a retailer, the conclusion is (a) yes, the seller does suffer damages, (b) the damages are the market price of the service of selling the goods, (c) the market price of selling is approximately the gross margin, (d) even though the damages are incurred, full compensation would probably be inefficient, and (e) the law ought to encourage the parties to use nonrefundable deposits as liquidated damages.†5 Therefore, I believe that the Court ought to apply the lost volume seller theory in this case and, thus, reduce Young’s damages to minimum. CHAPTER 18 CASE 6 I strongly believe that the Benfers did have c ause of action against the retailer – Thomas, along with the manufacturer - Town & Country Mobile Homes, Inc. Thomas was the one who actually convinced the Benfers, by showing them a model mobile home, that the mobile home had the one-quarter-inch sheathing on the siding that made it better than cheaper units, by this intentionally misleading the couple and creating for them a misrepresentation on the product they were about to purchase. Moreover, Thomas, by knowingly proposing the Benfers a more expensive unit, which supposedly had the sheathing desired by the potential buyers, actually lied to them, by taking the price for a more expensive product and offering them a cheaper one. Moreover, by delivering to the purchasers the written warranty, which stated that the mobile home had the

Worker's compensation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Worker's compensation - Case Study Example The workers’ compensation law favors workers’ case and employers feel cheated as the law does not allow them any leverage. The amendments in the law have given it more teeth, allowing employers to contest and put their case for fairer judgment. Spurlock asserts that employers’ spend considerable amount of money in promoting safety measures including training of employees, providing safety devices and even conducting drug and alcohol testing for workplace safety. Thus, they have legitimate reasons to get upset when the workers’ are awarded compensation unfairly as the injury occurs due workers’ violation of safety rules. He has analyzed safety misconduct defenses in the three states so that insurers and employers can anticipate the essential issues while raising the safety misconduct defense. In Kentucky, worker’s compensation statutory favors workers’ case and provides 15% reduction in compensation if the worker had failed to utilize the safety appliances or overlooked safety rules. Intoxication must be the primary proximate cause and employee’s culpability must prove ‘willful misconduct’ in order to strengthen the case of employers. Safety misconduct in Indiana provides complete affirmative defense for failing to use safety devices or obey safety rules. It also incorporates employees’ intoxication but does not emphasize on it being primary proximate cause and refers to ‘knowing’ of the rules. In Tennessee, the statute provides complete affirmative defense for intoxication, drug use or willful violation of safety rules. But it is silent on obeying safety rules pertaining to the use of safety devices and Tennessee’s courts have not found the non usage of safety devices as willful misconduct. In both the states, there is subtle importance that is placed on the proximate cause, especially in cases of intoxication for awarding or denying compensation to the workers. Spurlock article has analyzed multiple cases of workers’

Sexual Offence Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Sexual Offence - Case Study Example It was held that the judge ruled that the evidence was inadmissible and the appellant was convicted on a majority verdict5. The appellant was consequently fined 50 and ordered to pay 100 for the fees of prosecution. He later appealed inter alia, that the judge's ruling was incorrect. On November 13, 1979, between the hours of 4:45 and 5 p.m., five officers of the law from the South East Area Vice Squad kept plain clothes observation on a public convenience store in Portsmouth6. For the duration of this time, the appellant, aged 22, entered and exited the shop on four occasions. Two times he followed two officers inside the restroom of the store where the plaintiff masturbated for approximately one minute near the urinal. Both officers reported that the appellant masturbated openly, noisily and violently and while staring at them for the duration of the episode7. The appellant was asked to leave the store and was then cautioned outside. The officers reported that the appellant stated that he had been satisfying his lust due to the fact that his girl friend was away. The officers reported that the appellant then denied that he was attempting to attract other men and explained that he felt the urge to masturbate as he passed the convenience store. The appellant cou ld neither explain the reason why he failed to go to his house nor why he had failed to use a stall. He conceded to the officers that his actions looked bad and he later repeated this defense at his trial8. The jury failed to reach a consensus at the appellant's first trial and on the re-trial, the appellant sought to tender comprehensive evidence regarding his heterosexual relationships with females in order to refute inferences from witnesses9. The appellant appealed via a certificate of the trial judge under section 1 (2) of the Criminal Appeal Act 196810. His appeal was based on terms of whether on a trial for persistently importuning for an immoral purpose, if evidence regarding the appellant's heterosexual disposition would be admissible. Also, if this is the case, whether this evidence should be limited to general evidence of reputation or whether it could include specific evidence regarding heterosexual relationships11. It was held that though a defendant would be able to call evidence to show that he did not commit the acts alleged against him, he is not allowed to call evidence that he was of a disposition that brings about the unlikelihood that he would have committed the offence charged12. Applying the case of Rowton (1865), the trial judge ruled as he did arguing that the construction of the type of evidence in the present case would have been inadmissible and undesirable, and in addition to this, the appeal would be dismissed13. History The appellant had originally been tried on March 31, 1980 and the present trial was a retrial. During the first trial, under his Honor Judge Brodrick, the appellant produced five bundles of documents described as love letters14. Included in the documents were images of the plaintiff with five girls. The images were taken in contexts to suggest that the plaintiff was on intimate terms with the girls. During the first trial, the appellant alluded to the fact that he had had sexual intercourse

Finance Management in Multinational Organizations Essay

Finance Management in Multinational Organizations - Essay Example Thus the overall uncertainty related with multinational firms require that such organizations must develop and implement financial strategies which help them not only to successful manage the risk but also ensure that consistent profits are streamed into the firm from its operations. Due to increased risk, multinational organizations often use financial derivatives to hedge themselves against certain risks also so that the overall financial interest of the organization remain intact. There are different areas which multinational organizations look to manage in terms of managing the financial resources of the firm. For example, use of debt is one of the most critical aspects of availing and managing it besides ensuring that firm generates enough cash flows to repay the debt too. Similarly, setting up adequate dividend policies is another area of importance which needs to be taken care off as shareholders of multinational organizations often place a larger premium on the overseas operations of multinational organizations. One of the most important characteristics of financial management at multinational organizations is the dealing in foreign currency. Multinational organizations often deal in more than one currency and also have to translate their earnings and revenues into one base currency therefore besides running other risks; multinational organizations also have to deal with the risk arising due to movement in foreign exchange rates. (Stopford & Wells, 2007). Similarly management of debt is also an important aspect of financial management as it directly correlates with the tax management also. In a bid to manage taxes in more efficient manner, multinational organizations often shift the debt to high tax countries in order to free up some liquidity as well as avail overall reduction in cost of debt. This also supports multinational organizations to achieve optimum level of capital structure

London Life Insurance Company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

London Life Insurance Company - Assignment Example Sales and administrative operations of the company were supported by a professional team of around 2,700 and 2,600 working as the sales and administrative workforce for the company respectively. The product mix of London Life Insurance Company was duly optimized through encompassing a large number of benefits pertaining to life, disability, medical and group insurance products with also existence of other retirement and saving plans. Through the use of the Group Insurance Plans the company was able to enhance its sales network with the corporate client base encompassing around 16,000 different concerns. The management and administrative functions within the London Life Insurance Company was effectively synchronized through the use of information technology connecting the activities of the different branches. Moreover, London Life Insurance Company being a member of the Trilon Financial Corporation concern an its enhanced affiliation with the Royal Trust in the region contributed in d evelopment of its network base in gaining potential customers in the region. Strategic activities carried out by the company relating to market and product development along with restructuring the organizational objectives contributed to the gaining of assets amounting to around $ 8.5 Billion. Enhanced focus rendered to the parameters of customization and personalization helped the company in becoming a market leader pertaining to financial and insurance products in Canada (London Life Insurance Company 854-855). Problem Statement The main problem that Ralph Simon faces relating to the salespersons pertains to the failure in understanding of the process of motivating them to sustain and enhance their sales activities pertaining to insurance and financial products. The compensation received by the people in terms of commissions and bonuses failed to effectively distinguish between the new sales force and the old thereby reflecting a lack of motivation in terms of enhancing the spirit of the new members. Ralph Simon also countered a problem relating to the Monthly Activity Report for the Points rendered refer more to the ‘Efficiencies’ of the individuals in gaining appointments and closed and open deals rather than assessing the ‘Effectiveness’ of the individuals based on the amount of insurance business sourced from the market. This feature was inferred by Simon in reducing the operational effectiveness of the company for increasing the inability of the company in gaining new leads. Simon also visualized the existence of a problem wherein the new sales persons were required to handle surmountable amount of work loads and responsibilities pertaining to the meeting of targets and gaining new contacts while the experienced sales people enjoyed over the existing contacts and other renewals carried out by the customers. This feature reflected the existence of role conflicts and role ambiguity that in turn contributed in reduction of the mot ivation of the sales people and thereby required adequate management intervention (London Life Insurance Company 858-859). Analysis of Alternative The first alternative that can be sought relates to the creating of a basic salary slab for the sales people in the concern. This salary slab can range from $20,000 to $52,000 relating to the composition of new and old people in the sales tea

Evaluating Truth And Validity Exercise Essay Example for Free

Evaluating Truth And Validity Exercise Essay The argument â€Å"a mature person is self-directing, so parents who make all their children’s for them are doing their offspring a disservice† has allot of validity to it, and in more ways than one is true. A child whose parents or guardians make all of his or her decisions for them, are in a way hindering the child because the child does not have the opportunity to think for himself. When that child grows up and needs to be able to make important decisions such as what college to go to, who to marry, or what kind of job to apply for, that child will more likely than not, not know how to properly decide based on the information or facts provided to him or her. For instance if a child grows up and is faced with what college to go to and that child has never had to make any important decision for himself, that child may end up in a college going after a degree program that is not truly what he or she wants to do with their life based on what his or her parent tell them they should go into. That child has then wasted four to five years of his or her life and has to start all over searching for the proper degree or job where he or she can thrive financially and be happy. There is a minute percent of children who will be able to overcome the mentality of not having to think on his or her own and be able to make the important decisions that need to be made, but at what price? How many times will that child have to make the wrong choice and suffer because they were not allowed to think on their own? The constant failure and rejection could possibly make matters worse for the child, and could lead to relinquishing all hope. The argument â€Å"the Bible can’t be relevant to today’s problems; it was written many centuries ago and is filled with archaic phrasing† is another argument with some validity and non-validity. There are people who claim since the Bible was written over 2,000 years ago that it does not apply to today’s standards, and there are people who say the teachings in the Bible  are meant for all people to follow as a general guideline. The argument can go either way, but if you look at what the Bible really is, it is a book with stories, such as a history book, about people who lived 2,000 plus years ago and the things they went through. If you were to say because it was written back a long time ago it does not apply to today’s standards, would be the same thing as saying because our history books teach about Abraham Lincoln and when he lived in the 1700’s, that those stories are irrelevant. The Bible is a book for Christian based people to read, and is intended as a guideline for these people on how to properly live their life. There are many stories in the Bible that may or may not apply to today’s standards, such as the Old Testament teachings, but that is not to say the entire Bible is not relevant to today’s problems. The Bible teaches not to kill and steal, and if 90 percent of people who are in prison followed these two teachings, they would not be in prison today. The other stories about the people who lived in the Bible days are interesting to some, and not to others, as are most history books ever written about the history of the world. Does this mean we need to stop teaching our children about the history of the world because the teachings in the history books occurred over three centuries ago? I think it just because the Bible represents a faith based book, and that is why it is so ridiculed. The argument â€Å"it’s ridiculous to think that there will be fewer deaths if we ban handguns. Handguns don’t kill people; people kill people† has no validity to it in that an actual handgun itself cannot do anything on its own, it is an inanimate object. A handgun or any other type of gun requires a person to physically pick it up, point, and shoot in order to make it operate; a handgun cannot just fire on its own. When people say that handguns kill people, it is the same as saying that a spoon made another person fat, or a car made another person steal it. These are objects that must have an operator or some sort of life force to operate these inanimate objects. Did handguns assist in the killing of a person is a more proper question to ask. If a person wants another person dead and there is not a handgun around, that person will be creative and come up with another means to kill that person. Take John Wayne Gacy for instance, he did not need the use of a handgun to murder hundreds of young boys, he used rope and scarfs  to strangle his victims. There are people who claim without handguns certain crimes would not take place, and that may be possible, but if the person wanting to perform the crime was adamant on doing it and did not have a gun, that person would use alternative measures to finish the crime.

Impact Of Education System On Social Class Opportunity Sociology Essay

Impact Of Education System On Social Class Opportunity Sociology Essay What is social mobility? Drawing on different perspectives, assess the impact of the education system on opportunities and life chances on the basis of social class. What implications does this have for the work of helping agencies? Social mobility simply describes how people move along the social ladder. For this to happen there must necessarily be some form of social class in place. Social class occurs everywhere, even in the poorest communities. Take a typical village in Ghana for example, you will find that probably the village palm wine tapper or renowned farmer may be at the top of the social ladder; by village standards, they are the rich guys; these in addition could also serve as money lenders or movers and shakers. In the middle of the social ladder in the said village you might find the middle class who constitutes probably the majority of villagers with average incomes making just about enough from their farming or other vocations to make ends meet. Of course, at the bottom of this ladder will be the lower classes that have no jobs or qualifications and are at the mercy of the rich palm wine tapper. Social mobility describes how the classes move from their level of class upwards or downwards. This movement could involve the acquisition of new skills or education in the bid to get better jobs and hence get more income. Sometimes movement is caused by for example winning the lottery, an inheritance from parents or relatives or any procedure either deliberate or accidental which moves a person from one class to another. Social mobility or intergenerational mobilityas economists prefer to call it measures the degree to which peoples social status changes between generations. It is seen by many as a measure of the equality of life opportunities, reflecting the extent to which parents influence the success of their children in later life or, on the flipside, the extent to which individuals can make it by virtue of their own talents, motivation and luck. (Blanden J et al 2005) The Sociology guide has described Social mobility as a vital part of social stratification and an inseparable part of social stratification system because the nature, form, range and degree of social mobility depending on the very nature of the stratification system. Stratification system means the process of placing individuals in different layers or strata. (http://www.sociologyguide.com) In a social mobility paper Stephen Aldridge describes social mobility as a movement or opportunities for movement between different social groups and the advantages that go with this in terms of income, security of employment, opportunities for advancement etc. (Aldridge, 2001) There are types of social mobility. Intra-generation is when there has been a change in a persons social position. A typical example will be clerical assistant who works his/her way up in an organisation. However, if a persons social position changes over a generation it is called inter-generation mobility. An example is Margaret Thatcher and many others. She became prime minister as a grocers daughter. There appears to be significant intergenerational mobility in the United States, although perhaps less than is sometimes believed. Origins significantly affect destinations. Specifically, adult sons and daughters are more likely to look like their parents in terms of occupation or income than one would predict on the basis of chance. Still, there is considerable mobility. Indeed, even when occupations or income categories are broadly defined, a majority of adult offspring occupy a different occupational or income category than their parents.(Daniel P et al 1997) Horizontal mobility is another type of social mobility where a person changes their job-related position but does not change social class. An example is where a clerical assistant moves from Wellingborough to London and becomes an administrative officer. Vertical mobility on the hand takes the stage where people change their job-related position and change their social class as well. An example of vertical mobility will be for example a street cleaner becoming a solicitor or an army officer becoming a cleaner. They have fundamentally changed their socio-economic position. There are types of vertical social mobility. If someone moves down the social ladder it becomes downward mobility. When they move up on the social ladder it becomes upward mobility. For example if an Army officer is promoted in rank it becomes an upward mobility. The magazine Business Week in 2007 wrote an article about how mobile phones in Africa are creating high standards of living and boosting upward mobility. Only a few years ago, places like Muruguru didnt even register in the plans of handset makers and service providers. What would a Kenyan farmer want with a mobile phone? Plenty, as it turns out. To the astonishment of the industry, people living on a few dollars a day have proven avid phone users, and in many parts of the world cellular airtime has become a de facto currency. The reason is simple: A mobile phone can dramatically improve living standards by saving wasted trips, providing information about crop prices, summoning medical help, and even serving as a conduit to banking services. (Business Week, 2007) Another recent example of downward mobility is in this article in the telegraph. Though she is married to a builder, the 27-year-old housewife has rickety wooden planks for walls and covers her roof with plastic sheeting to keep out the rain in Harares Hatcliffe suburb far from the neighbourhood where she used to live. Right now I dont have a housing lot, but we are paying money to local co-operatives (to save for a down payment) so we may get lots to build houses, Chama said. And she is far from alone. According to official estimates, around two million Zimbabweans in this country of 12.2 million need accommodation. (Reagan Mashavave, 2009) Another type of social mobility is structural mobility which involves vertical mobility but its movement is brought about by a major disorder. It can also be brought on by changes in society that brings improvement to a large number of people. Typical examples will be industrialisation, expansion of education and computerisation. These changes have all brought improvement to people in the UK and around the world. People have through it acquired higher social status and found higher paid jobs than their parents. There is also individual mobility which involves people being hindered from taking opportunities because of where they were live, their colour, gender, religion, their educational background, job, wellbeing and many others. The impact of the education system on opportunities and life chances on the basis of social class is enormous and hasnt changed much since education began. It is still difficult for working class children to access grammar and good comprehensive schools as the middle class and upper class have populated areas where these schools are placed. Childrens social class is still the most significant factor in determining their exam success in state schools, the Governments head of teacher training acknowledges today. In an interview with The Independent, Graham Holley, the chief executive of the Training and Development Agency, said: The performance of a school and a child in it is highly linked to social class. If you turn the clock back on pupils in school today 15 years and predict their outcomes from where they were born, you can do it. (Garner, 2008) Working class families are tied to the low paid jobs and often live in areas where schools are failing. Jobs are hard to find in these areas and its inhabitants are usually heavily dependant on benefits. Their lives are occupied with how to manage everyday living and not on reading to their children and giving them music and language lessons. The poorest children still have little chance of becoming lawyers, doctors, senior civil servants and financiers, a report published by the Liberal Democrats today shows. The Social Mobility Commission, set up by the party, said billions of pounds spent on improving social mobility over the past decade has helped middle-class rather than working-class children. Last year only 35% of pupils eligible for free school meals obtained five or more A* to C GCSE grades, compared with 63% of pupils from wealthier backgrounds.(Shepherd J, 2009) Disadvantaged children have little chance of watching educational programmes on television nor do they have the chance of reading the broad sheets. They are simply not patronised in their households. Libraries are rarely used and mobile libraries are not highly participated in working class areas. Areas in London for instance have seen various housing developments but they are not in the reach of the low paid. Overcrowding has many implications for the already struggling families as there is often no where to do homework. After school clubs charge for their services leaving low paid families out in the cold. Therefore chances of disadvantaged children reaching high levels of achievement in school are slightly dim. Young people in manual social classes remain under-represented in higher education in Great Britain. Despite increasing from a participation rate of 11 per cent in 1991/92 to 19 per cent in 2001/02, participation remains well below that of the non-manual social classes. Participation rates for the non-manual social classes increased from 35 per cent to 50 per cent over the same period. (http://www.statistics.gov.uk) The consequences of the manual or low class remaining under-represented in higher education is unthinkable as children from these background will experience either downwardly mobile or not move on the social ladder at all as a result of them not entering higher education. Todays job market is very competitive and even those with good qualifications are finding it difficult to hold onto their jobs. It means that most all white collar jobs will be held by the middle class and upper class families. All the independent evidence shows overall standards to be rising. But the bad news is that when it comes to the link between educational achievement and social class, Britain is at the bottom of the league for industrialised countries. Today, three-quarters of young people born into the top social class get five or more good GCSEs, but the figure for those born at the bottom is less than one-third. We have one of the highest university entry rates in the developed world, but also one of the highest drop-out rates at 16.(Independent, 8 September 2003) Anthony Giddens writes in Sociology and Social Mobility that education is not necessarily a means to an end. Education would have to work with other factors to foster social mobility. Education shouldnt be seen as a panacea for all societys problems. It has a significant role to play, but we cant hold schools and Universities solely responsible for promoting social mobility. Its important not to think of the education system as if it works in a vacuum factors like changes in employment and the economy, and the social determinants of childrens educational attainment, are critical in determining patterns of mobility.(Giddens, 2007) However, education definitely has opportunities for people to progress along the social ladder by providing relevant new skills, information, courses and therefore creating opportunities in life for them. A few years back a hair dresser did not need know too much about what she/he did as a hair dresser but in today environment he/she would have to know all the science there is to cutting, dressing and managing the business. Technology and other factors have raised the standard of work so high that without continuous professional development opportunities are not stretch far. In this new labour market, the value of college degrees overall is greater than ever before. Between 1984 and 2000, employment in jobs requiring a college degree grew by 20 million in the US, accounting for two-thirds of total job growth. Over the same period, wages for college graduates increased. In contrast, high school graduates in America who did not continue with education saw their wages fall below middle class levels for the first time. As a consequence, the opportunities for Americans with terminal high school diplomas are less than a generation ago.(Social Mobility Foundation, 2008) Although a small percentage of poor families are accessing higher education there is evidence that the UK government for instance is working frantically to improve the chances of the less privileged through innovations like Every Child Matters. This innovation is to give every child the chance of accessing education and other services in the community to give them better outcomes in life. Hence the establishment of Surestart Centres which is a one stop service for early education, childcare, health and family support. This Government has invested heavily in policies designed to give all children the chance to succeed. There have already been significant improvements in educational achievement, and reductions in teenage pregnancy, re-offending and children living in low income households. Todays children and young people experience wider opportunities and benefit from rising prosperity, better health and education than those in previous generations. (http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/about/background/backgroun)10) The implications on the work of helping agencies are many. Helping agencies like Childrens Centres pick up the brunt of any inequalities that lay in society. We bid or vie for large sums of money to run various courses and projects that underpin social mobility. In the bid of helping families read we have set up borrow a chattersack in our childrens centre. This is to encourage parents who might otherwise not access libraries or buy books for their children. The books and toys are expensive but we charge a very minimal fee for them. Often people bring to us various problems like divorce, debt and housing issues which we do our best to refer to other agencies for further assistance. We hold classes with Citizen Advice Bureau to advise people on budgets and other financial incapability. Many of our clients are lone parents or young families struggling on low incomes. They are often in debt and or have little financial knowledge. They often live on large council estates where aspirations are not that great. The recent recession has hit these areas hard and some people are experiencing downwardly mobility. This comes with various demands like counselling, retraining and financial loss. Equality of opportunity is a sine qua non for any modern society and, in Britain, is a principle supported by all mainstream political opinion. Despite this, household income remains the biggest single predictor of a childs future success, and a recent report by the Sutton Trust found that, all too frequently, young people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds end up in a cul de sac of opportunity. (Social Mobility Foundation, 2008) Below is an example of some the types of work some helping agencies do. They use government funds to bridge the gap between rich and poor by organising trips to parks, educational establishment to boost confidence and increase knowledge. Nearly 175,000 bright children on free school meals will be given a chance at the age of 11 to visit a university as part of a drive to lift the aspirations of working-class people and increase stalled social mobility in Britain. Young people in the top 20% of ability based on test results, and who are eligible for free school meals, are about half as likely to go to university as those who are not eligible for free meals. They will now be offered two chances to visit universities. (Wintour, 2007) We organise sporting activities that will encourage the less privileged to put their feet in door of expensive sporting activities. We work with other agencies to bring information and understanding to parents who in effect calve their childrens place on the social ladder. A new report by the British think-tank Demos has hit the headlines, with its claim that Parents are the principal architects of a fairer society. Based on research from the Millennium Cohort Study, the report argues that how children are parented has a more significant impact upon their future life chances than just about anything else, including poverty and the social class into which they are born. (Bristow J, 2009) Helping agencies are faced with many demands for services they can and cannot provide. At our centre for instance there is the demand for certain services like computer classes, some sort of back to work training, cooking classes but we havent got the facilities and the man power to run such courses. We are therefore forced to send clients to other childrens centres in that losing their business. If we do manage to run any of the courses that put pressure on our facilities then we have to limit the numbers which in turn causes us to run the courses several times to fit everyone in. There is also a steady demand for information on sensitive family matters like finance. Education seems to be one the important factors manipulating social mobility. In todays society, education is becoming increasingly important as it used to ascertain the jobs people will end up in. Education is also used to determine peoples social class position. The recent government for instance has introduced many initiatives. Free child care for two year olds was trialed for sometime and is going to be offered to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Back to work incentive of  £500 and the investment into early years, FE schools and workplace training are all initiatives which research has suggested that has not boosted social mobility. In 1999 Tony Blair told the Labour Conference: If we are in politics for one thing, it is to make sure that all children are given the best chance in life. A decade on, the Government has had to admit that billions of pounds of investment in nurseries and schools and on training has failed to bridge the class divide, and that social mobility in Britain has stalled. (Bennett and Bahra 2007) As mentioned before there are many factors contributing to this fact. One such fact is the advantage that middle class families have over poorer families when it comes to education.