The Problem of Poverty: Welfare in America Essays -- Poverty Essays

The Problem of Poverty: Welfare in America For centuries, nations, cities, and individual families have dealt with the problem of poverty; how to remedy current situations and how to prevent future ones. For most of history, there have been no government controlled poverty assistance programs. The poor simply relied on the goodness of their families or, if they did not have a family, on the generosity of the public at large. In the United States, this situation changed in 1935 with the passage of the Social Security Act. The Social Security Act has seen many successes, but it also faces many critiques of its structure and function. In the past, most governments did little to actively aid their poor population. This duty was understood to fall on the families of the poor individuals, charity groups, and generous individuals. Some governments aided their needy in indirect ways. One of the first government-mediated assistance programs was passed by the English Parliament in 1601 as the Act for the Relief of the Poor. This act s et up local 'parishes' that were responsible for taking care of the poor in their own district. However, the government provided no funds to facilitate this program?the parishes were responsible for levying and collecting taxes to finance their programs. Though it would be considered a very primitive form of welfare by today?s standards, it was a large step toward government-mediated welfare compared to the English system 250 years before that. In 1349, Parliament forbade charity on the grounds that it might encourage laziness. Since then, public attitudes have changed about the responsibility of the citizens and the government to provide for the assistance of the needy. Limited federal assistance was given to war veterans and their families beginning during the Civil War, but large scale assistance to the general needy community was not available for almost 75 more years (Komisar 48). A large contribution toward the assistance of the poor in the United States came during the Progre ssive movement around the turn of the century. Activist groups championed not only workers rights in the form of unions, but also the right of every citizen to have access to decent living conditions (Komisar 67). The Progressive movement slackened during the prosperous ?20s, but the social welfare issue was forcefully placed back into the public con... ...banks could meet the needs of the increased number of people who seek their services. Although it is probably impossible to achieve complete freedom from poverty, society need not sit idly by in the face of such a monumental challenge. Indeed, it is the public duty of each individual to aid in the improvement of the lives of poor persons around the nation and around the world. Large-scale, complex systems such as the one now in place in America, only serve to create an inefficient, costly effort that could be achieved with less manpower and fewer dollars. Government oversight and subsidizing of private contributions toward the elimination of poverty is a far more efficient, adaptive, and economical way of working toward the eradication of the problem of poverty. Bibliography Garfinkel, Irwin. ?Welfare?, World Book Encyclopedia, World Book Inc., New York, Vol 21, pp. 191-193, Â ©1988. Komisar, Lucy. Down and Out in the USA: A History of Public Welfare. Rev. ed. Watts, Chicago, Â ©1977. Patterson, James. America?s Struggle Against Poverty, 1900-1980., Harvard Press, Boston, Â ©1981. Segalman, Ralph. Poverty in America: The Welfare Dilemma, Greenwood, Los Angeles, Â ©1981

Essqy

The perks of being a wallflower The Perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is about a boy named Charlie he finds a group of friends sort of like him, who became his friends and introduced him into experience common to many teens. His new group of friends gives Charlie something precious he has never had before: a sense of belonging because he is a lonely teen. For example, Charlie is lonely when he is at home â€Å"it has been very lonely because my sister is busy being the oldest one in our family. My brother is busy being a football player at pen state† (pg 8).He clearly wants to spend time with his family because he loves them. He doesn’t want to be alone. Charlie speaks about his life and says â€Å"so, this is my life and I want you to know that Im both happy and sad and Im trying to figure out how out how that could be† (pg 2). There are certain things that make him sad and happy he wants to know what those things are but Cant. â€Å"In the silence , I remembered this one time that I never told anybody about the time we were walking. Just the three of us. And I was in the middle†¦I just remember walking between them feeling for the first time that I belonged some where† (pg 198).When Charlie is alone he was thinking about how lonely he was and how he felt that he mattered and wasn’t a lone. I think Stephen Chbosky did a good job showing all the emotions and feelings Charlie had because a lot of people and relate to how he is feeling. According to the mental health foundation research shows that one in then people often feel lonely (11%) and half think that people are getting lonelier in general (48%) the report says the way people now live is impacting on their ability to connect with others.More people live alone: The percentage of households occupied by one person doubled from 64% in 1972 to 12% in 2008. (1) In recent years, social psychologist has expressed concern about the friendless male. Many studies h ave concluded that women have better relational skills which help them to be more successful at making and keeping friends. Women on the other hand, are more likely than men to express their emotions and display empathy and compassion in response to the emotions of others. (2) The effects of depression, suicide, drug addiction, alcohol addiction and acute and chronic illness. 3) Many people who are lonely can get help from doing research or going to a professional doctor who can help them they can also try to socialize with family or friends. The Perks of Being a Wallflower shows a boy who deals with loneliness and how he tries to make friends. Feeling alone is bad for your health and if you feel alone you should talk to someone about it and get help. Sources: 1) http://m. ivy-rose. co. uk/Articles/modern-life-leading-to-loneliness 2) http://www. leaderu. com/orgs/probe/docs/lonely. html 3) http://www. psychologistanywhereanytime. com/realationships_psychologist/psychologist_lonelin ess. htm

Compare and Contrast Authors

Alan Alexander Milne and Alexander McCall Smith are two of the world’s most beloved authors, and share much more than the name Alexander. These two authors wrote several children stories, and were quite famous. Although, their writing styles may differ, they share the ability for you to unhinge your mind and let it be free. Milne started out as a comedian writer for a magazine in New York, and he eventually evolved into a champion for children’s. Both Smith’s and Milne’s written work is currently viewed on TV around the globe.The portion of Milne’s work that is broadcasted on television is the famous â€Å"Winnie the Pooh† series. â€Å"Winnie the Pooh† was the story that engraved Milne’s name into history books, and was even made into several other products. Now, Smith’s book â€Å"No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency† is one of the world’s most popular series, and a very well known television show. Unlike â€Å"Winnie the Pooh† Smith’s series won several awards including New York Bestseller and Booker Prize for Fiction Judges. Inspiration can come in many forms.It may come as a bird with a tied message, a child, war, or even your own home. As for Milne’s inspiration it came from different sources, such as WWI and his son. One of Milne’s stories, â€Å"Peace with Honor†, was written after his resignation from the army, and is a reflection on war. As for â€Å"Winnie the Pooh†, it was originally written for adults in order to bring out the inner child. The inspiration behind the Pooh books was Milne’s child. Milne’s inspiration is very different from where Smith derived. For Smith, many of his stories are enthused from African folk tales. The â€Å"No. Ladies’ Detective Agency† was inspired from watching a woman chase a chicken in her front yard, and at that moment McCall Smith literally wanted to write about an Afr ican woman, thus the â€Å"No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency† was born. But even now Smith writes a series known as â€Å"44. Scotland Street†, which is inspired from†¦nothing. Smith was merely dreaming up an interesting story at the time, and had no need for some great inspirational event to happen. A writer’s style is always identified by reading a majority of his/her books, and is usually found to have a narrow writing style.Whether it be mystery, comedy, adventurous, or drama, Milne seemed to write whatever he felt like writing, even if the public’s opinion opposed it. Many of Milne’s stories seemed to have a plot of a child’s book, but as we all know many were meant for the child within us. Smith’s style of writing is similar to Milne’s; they’ll both make you form a slight grin on your face because you might find the situation a bit humorous. However, in â€Å"No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency†, Smith wrote about adventurous mystery solvers, who would grab your attention on every page.After a story is read there is always some reflection to what was just read, and even compared to another book that was just read. In this situation A. A. Milne would win. Even though McCall Smith may be more adventurous and silly (much like me) I find having the child brought out within is much more surreal when reading one of A. A. Milne’s book. Neither fame nor an interesting birth place will help Smith, for his stories are too simple and plain much of that of a child’s brain. As for Milne, his wide view of writing style, and interesting characters are key to a reader’s enjoyment.

Crime and Its Relation to Poverty

Haime Hurrissa 04th – 03 – 13 Dr. Lydia Balderamos Loskot English Composition (ENGL 101) Does Poverty have a direct relationship to crime? Poverty is defined by the Webster dictionary as â€Å"the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions†. Poverty is the root cause for spikes in criminal activities in Belize, due to crime, lack of education and drugs. Many argue that poverty does not have a relationship to crime because there are countries where poverty levels are high but crime is relatively low.Belize has been infested with an outbreak of crime and violence affecting the country by bringing fear into both tourists and us Belizean presently; it appeared to be at its peak last year. The reason for the infestation of the criminals are many but the principal and most evident of them all would be the increasing rate of poverty that Belize has been experiencing, In addition to this would be the high rate of unemplo yment that exists in our society brought about by lack of education. This causes some individuals to see no other means to survival but to resort to their last alternative, crime.Some may argue that the cause for crime is due to psychology of criminals, their mental state or drugs. Crime in its simplest term is defines as any act that defies constitutional law and is separated into two main categories: a minor offence which as referred to as misdemeanors and serious acts which as referred to as felonies. A crime can range from simple offences such as public drinking to murder which is considered to be one of the most serious of crimes which claimed one hundred and twelve (112) lives in 2011 according to the annual police release statistics report.It is important to note that not all crime is related to poverty, although there are many who see crime as a means of survival. There are others who indulge in criminal acts simply for fun and pleasere, such as members of color gangs, mainl y Crips represented by the color blue and Bloods represented by the color red, which are based on American color gangs. These gangs choose to live a life of crime and violence for personal pleasure. Unfortunately young Belizeans, mainly, teenagers account for most f the criminal acts that occur in Belize. The primary reason that should be taken into consideration is poor home conditions and lack of education, which plays a major part in the cause of young criminals because many of these young men mostly, come from homes where resources are very limited and their parents may take little or no responsibility for them. Many of them on the other hand are dropouts or those who cannot afford the cost of education, which results in them finding unconstructive things to do with their time. Idle time is the devils playground† and â€Å"idle hands are the devils workshop†, are both phrases I heard many times by my elders while growing up, and are words which I believe to be very true, especially in the case of those facing poverty. They are the ones facing the cold heart of today’s society and in order to survive they resort to crimes and violence as a mean to survive. A job can seem to be one of the hardest things to find and even when a job is found the pay is not always sustainable, especially for those without a proper education for example a primary school degree worker earns the minimum wage in Belize which is little above 3. 0 Bz$ per hour. The uses of both legal and illegal drugs often contribute to crime and ultimately poverty. In Belize where the legal age for drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco is eighteen, there are many who indulge in these activities from a much younger age due to lack of implementation of stores who sell these drugs to underage people. Drugs affect the psychological aspect of a person and in the case of certain drugs the way how an individual thinks. Over the past two years, personally I witnessed firsthand underage i ndividual who due to intoxication from drugs and alcohol, commit serious crimes such as; theft and attempted murder.People affected by poverty often resort to the use of drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and marijuana which are the most accessible of all drugs in Belize. I asked the question; why do you drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes excessively, to a man I know who faces poverty daily from my village, he answered that life for him is extremely hard and be he uses those drugs as a way to cope with his daily struggles. Drugs are substances that cause young people to get bonded, and that bond often times cause them to do whatever it takes, which in some cases are criminal activities to supply themselves with the drugs they desire.Getting out of poverty should then be focused on the aspects that not only deal with the economy and getting people jobs, but the root causes of crime in our country which are mainly; drugs, lack of education and crime. Prisons should be focused on and the r ehabilitation process should be altered to create a more positive individual by providing them with education and trade skills before placing them back into society, as opposed to our present system we have in place which just has them serving their time and then release them into the same situations which got them there in the first place and causes a never ending cycle.With that said the root factors that contribute to this devastating problem in society should be improved so that not only our present but also our future generations have a brighter future. Refrence Webster, Merriam. â€Å"Poverty† â€Å"Crime† Web. 1 Mar. 2013. Centaur Cable Network, CTV3 Belize News. â€Å"2011 Crime Statistics. † Web. 1 Mar. 2013.

Communication Style Case Study Essay

Communication style can vary among individuals. Common communication types include assertive, passive, and aggressive. Assertive individuals communicate confidently and speak up for themselves. Aggressive individuals communicate with verbal attacks; they speak their feelings without regard to others, often in a condescending manner riddled with superiority tones. Passive individuals communicate out of fear of displeasing others; they avoid conflict often denying their own feelings or needs (Hansten, 2009). This paper will be discussing three case studies and a scenario from my own personal experience. In the first case study Rashad was passive and Robin was aggressive. Rashad an aide and Robin a RN attended a team meeting. Rashad spoke about role clarification during the meeting stating that he thought it was part of his role to anticipate some of the needs of the patients. Robin was aggressive with her tone toward Rashad and disregarded his feelings and undermined his ability to do his job. Robin stated that he was only an aide and that he should only do what he is told. Rashad then planned on being passive-aggressive toward Robin in the future by not doing his job on his own, and only doing the things he was told to do. Robin’s condescending manner when speaking to Rashad did not take into account his feelings and she spoke with a sense of superiority. Rashad, fearing losing his job if he defended against her assault, was passive and quiet while devising a plan to make her pay for the way she treated him. This type of communication between Robin and Rashad is toxic and will lead to vengefulness and hostility among coworkers. Robin could have been assertive and clarified the role of RN and aide and the expectations of both parties. Rashad could have been assertive by being confident enough to stand up for his rights and expressing his feelings a bout how Robin treated him. The second case study a school nurse named Pamela was passive or non-assertive  when dealing with a volunteer Brigite who had administered some vision and hearing tests. Pamela noticed that the previous screens results and the results from the tests that Brigite administered differed. Pamela was concerned that they were not accurate. Instead of communicating to Brigite, and possible educating Brigite on proper technique for administering the tests, Pamela decided to redo all of the tests herself. This passive type of communication lead to a lot more work for Pamela and denied Brigite the opportunity to learn. If Pamela had communicated assertively with Brigite they could have retested the students together; with Brigite learning proper technique and building a trusting relationship between Brigite and Pamela. When dealing with delegated tasks, being assertive about how to do the task with clear expectations can build a trusting relationship among staff. Failure to be assertive lead s to one party feeling like they need to do all the work; this can lead to overtime, burn out, and decreased job satisfaction. The party who was denied the opportunity to learn because of the fear of the delegatee may feel underappreciated or not a part of the team. Feeling that you have to do it all for it to get done correctly can lead to multiple people being dissatisfied with their job. In case study three, Rosa is a surgical center manager and Mabel is a surgical technician. Mabel was aggressive to Rosa with regards to her job description by stating that her grandparent was the chairman on the board and that she would have Rosa’s head on a platter. Rosa was assertive in making sure that Mabel knew that what she was refusing to do was in her job description. Managers need to be assertive and treat everyone fairly regardless of who they know or are related to. Not being assertive with Mabel could have lead to hard feelings among other coworkers. Mabel’s aggressive behavior was threatening to Rosa; not only to Rosa’s authority but for her job in general. Mabel may feel entitled due to her grandparent’s role on the board, or she may just be a lazy employee, but whatever her motivation she has created a difficult situation for her manager. Rosa needs to continue to have the confidence to remain assertive in order to maintain the respect she needs to do her managerial duties effectively. If Rosa becomes passive and lets Mabel manipulate her, she will lose the respect of the employees she manages. In my own personal scenario I was dealing with an aggressive family member whose mother was very ill and the prognosis was poor. I had to remain  assertive and not let my feelings of anger get the best of me. This family member had been caring for her mother at home for about a year. When her mother was brought to the hospital she was emaciated, weighing only 70 pounds, she had 17 pressure sores, aspiration pneumonia, and was contracted into the fetal position. The patient flinched every time her daughter came near. Although Adult Protective Services had been notified, the daughter (family member in question) was allowed to stay with the patient. Any time a staff member would try to do any care for her mother the daughter wou ld aggressively try to tell us how to do our jobs, and made accusations that we were the ones who created the sores. She often sabotaged dressing changes but inserting herself into the process often contaminating the area. Despite her aggression the staff remained assertive that we were trained to do our jobs, and that we were following policy. I was the patient’s nurse on the day that she was rapidly declining after her lung collapsed and she was actively having a heart attack. The patient’s daughter became very aggressive with me and I had to be very assertive. The daughter wanted the patient deep suctioned; she was sure that would fix her. I had to continue to be assertive and explain that suctioning would not help in this case but could make her mother worse. I involved respiratory therapy and the doctor; we had a meeting before meeting with the patient’s daughter to explain the severity of the situation. We were able to medicate the patient and the patient calmed down with her breathing. At this point the daughter accepted what the situation was and thanked me for helping her mother. I saw an opportunity to sit down beside the daughter and discuss realistic expectations and set some boundaries. By remaining confident and assertive and involving the team to join I gained the daughters trust, therefore decreasing her aggressive behavior. If I had been passive or avoidant the patient would have suffered. If I had gotten defensive and aggressive the patient would have suffered. By having good communication skills the situation was diffused and all parties came to an agreement. If I could do it over again I would have set boundaries earlier. I felt that the daughter was aggressive due to her stage in the grieving process or due to her guilt of her mother deteriorating while in her care. I was assertive when the patient’s daughter became aggressive toward me, but I was also avoidant of conflict by â€Å"choosing my battles.† Among the communication types assertive  communication is the most productive. Passive or aggressive behavior can lead to difficulty managing others, hurt feelings, and stress. To effectively communicate in the healthcare setting, assertive co mmunication is key for dealing with colleagues, patients, and their families. Reference Hansten, R. (2009). Clinical Delegation Skills: a handbook for professional practice. Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook collection database.

Critique for a Quantitative Research Article Paper

Critique for a Quantitative Article - Research Paper Example Because each instrument has both merits and demerits, a researcher has to choose only appropriate tool to apply in his/her study. This paper reviews an article that describes evaluation study of an Advance Care Plan (ACP) in the Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF). The evaluation follows implementation of various strategies to improve outcomes of ACP. In-depth Review of the Article Introduction Section Purpose of the â€Å"Advanced Care Planning: How does current practice compare with best practice† study is clearly explained. The author of the article, Elizabeth van der Spek, explains that the study is a post-implementation audit to determine whether ACP outcomes have actually improved. In the abstract section, the author says that after the Getting Research Into Practice (GRIP) phase of the project, it was necessary to evaluate effectiveness of strategies implemented. Main problem of the study was, thus, determining whether GRIP really had an effect in the RACF. The author exhaustively gives details of what she is doing. As a proof, the author, in the background section, introduces her subject by comprehensively discussing importance of planning for end of an individual’s life. ... However, after the GRIP phase, there is need to check whether the shortcomings have been eliminated. In page two, the author include an audit question to reveal what the study attempts to answer. Through the question, the author generates her study variables. Three types of variables are used; specific GRIP strategy, specific post-implementation ACP outcome, and standard ACP outcomes. Based on findings of the study and using similar variables, the study can effectively be used to solve any clinical problem. Literature review, Theoretical Framework, Study Hypotheses In literature review, the author carefully introduces the concept of planning for end of a person’s life. As basis of the study, the author uncovers significance of â€Å"End-life wishes.† Spek, thus, did a wide research about her study topic. However, the author does not clearly relate her study with previous studies. In fact, the study does not quote a similar research that had studied ACP. Consequently, th e author does not describe literature gaps. That is, the study is geared towards improving services of RACF and not filling any literature gap. Theoretically, no plain study rationale is stated. Based on this fact, the entire project can be nullified. Ambiguity of the study is also evident in forming hypotheses. The study is a comparative research but no postulate is made about possible outcome of ACP in the facility. Because of vagueness of hypotheses, the study does not allow easy testing procedures. Methodology Even though three classes of variables are used in the study, they are, nevertheless, not easily measurable. The strategies are considered as independent variables, which after implementations, lead to a change in the

Policy change memo Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Policy change memo - Assignment Example e training division, I am proposing that the current policy of training customer service representatives for only one week after recruitment and placement be increased to two week to incorporate the need to discuss topics such as addressing complaints and techniques for conflict resolution. The one week training only discussed orienting new personnel on the policies and procedures of the organization, including codes of discipline and an overview of the customer service function. The need to extend the training for another week is crucial to assist them in communicating effectively to the customers in areas were conflicts and complaints need to be resolved. May I hereby forward this request for change of policy to be endorsed by you for proper approval by our CEO, Mr. John Smith. The approval of this change in training policy would be instrumental in improving productivity, performance and the corporate image of our organization. For your immediate evaluation and