Social Problems in the UK | Analysing the British Welfare State

Social Problems in the UK | Analysing the British Welfare State IS THE BRITISH WELFARE STATE RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PROBLEMS? Introduction The idea of a welfare state can be taken to have different meaning depending on the way it is applied. The welfare state in all countries is however supposed to meet some basic objectives or needs of a state and therefore takes care of the welfare of all the members. There are some basic ideas that pertains the formation of any welfare state. The welfare state is taken as the ideal model of provision of comprehensive and universal welfare for the citizens which means the state is responsible for the needs of its citizens. Another idea on a welfare state is the concept of the welfare that is provided by the state, for example, in the USA. Welfare state takes also an idea of the social protection that is delivered by the state. In this case protection is provided by a combination of independent and voluntary government services. This paper will look closely that the welfare state in British and look into how it has strived to address some of the contemporary issue that continue to be a burden to the society. (Deacon 2002, p. 71) British Welfare state British social welfare date back to many years ago when the Beveridge Report of 1942 proposed for the formation of a National Insurance that would help to address the needs of the oppressed and the most poor in the state. In particular it was to look at family allowance, National Health Service and full employment. This was followed by the enactment of 1946 National Insurance Act, National Health Service Act of 1946 and the 1948 National Assistance Act which abolished the Poor Law and made some provisions for welfare services. The welfare state after 1948 was aimed at addressing some issues like social security, health, housing, education, and welfare of children. British welfare state is based on three main principal elements. They include: A guarantee of minimum standard The welfare state ensures that there are minimum standards that the citizens can have or are guaranteed to have. This is in order to ensure that there is social equality among all the citizens of the state. These minimum standards include even minimum income for all people. This is in order to ensure that all the citizens are ensured of at least the lowest living standards that they can live under in the society. As a part of the society, this principle is meant to ensure that there are not individuals who are live a high standard of life while there are others in the same society who lives in deplorable state. Social protection This is an element which is aimed at giving sense of security to all the people in the society. This is meant to ensure that all individual living in the society have a sense of security as pertain to various issue in the society. It is also means to avoid the exploitation of individual in the society in the sense that the rich can exploit the poor. Therefore social protection in this context goes beyond providing security to all people but also protecting individual and especially the children. In this regard this element takes a more broad approach and considers everyone as their brothers keeper. (Kaplan 2007, p. 15) Providing services at the best level As welfare state, it has a responsibility of providing basic services to its citizens. This means that the state has the duty of seeing that all those living in the county have access to basic services that they need for their survival. This element states that the role of the state doesnt not end in provision of these services but it extend to provision of the services in a more equitable manner. The services have to be availed to all the citizens and provided in the best way possible. In other worlds, it means that the state has the duty of serving the citizens rather than the citizens serving the state. These are the three elements that characterize the British welfare state. These principles define the role of the state and the duty that the state has toward its citizens. The British Welfare state has been identified in its practice with the â€Å"institutional† model of welfare. The key elements in the social welfare of the state include social protection and the provision of welfare service to the citizens on the bases of ensuring that there is observance of individual rights. (Murray1996, p. 72) But unlike what has been highlight above, the social welfare in the UK is not implemented on the bases of the three principles. The coverage of the welfare is very extensive but on the other hand the benefits and the services are delivered at a low level. This means that it is not all those who are target who get the right services or who benefit from the coverage of the service. The social protection principle is very patchy and the services that are provided are very much rationed. As such the welfare state in Britain may have succeeded in coming up with a very comprehensive social welfare policy but it is one thing to come up with such a policy and another thing to make it work altogether. From the above analysis we have seen that though the coverage of the state is quite large, the deliver of service is not well covered and the benefits are not felt by many people. Then could it be the weakness in the delivery of the three principles could be attributed to many of the contemporary issues that the state is facing currently British Welfare state and contemporary issues Currently there are many issues that have been highlighted in the British welfare state which can be directly attributed to the failure of the state. This has been due to failure by the state to put in place policies that address the needs of the citizens appropriately. As a result, there has been changing perspectives of the role of the state on its citizens and the capitalist approach has encroached in the society. Slowly, the welfare state has been turning to a man eat man society though many of us are unwilling to accept this concept as we consider ourselves right as compared to others. But there is a general concession from all the citizens that there are contemporary issue that were not there before that have suddenly surged into our society. Though there are other issues that can be attributed to this, the overall cause of these has been the failure by the state to address the needs of its citizens well. The tide of globalization has come up with many changes in the society like the change in our culture and our traditions but the fact remains that these issues have come to and the state should not take it as wave that will eventually end. There should have been systematic efforts aimed at addressing some of these issues. For example, some of the issue like teenage pregnancy has been caused by the breakdown of our culture and the mix up with the outside culture. (Haralambos and Holborn 2004, p. 142) However, we cannot attribute this to the wave of globalization alone as there are other factors at the interplay. For example, if the state realizes the change in our culture, what has it done to prevent the occurrence of such issues? Are there strict laws that have been drafted that try to address the issue? And most of all can the state look at the patter of these occurrences and try to address the root cause? It has been shown that the rate of teenage pregnancy is quite high in low income areas than in high income areas. Has the state done anything to address such an inequality? These are some of the questions every time we point at a particular contemporary issue that the society is facing. There are so many questions that the state ought to have addressed but which it has not. The first important way to address this issue it to first find the root causes of the contemporary problems that we are facing. One of the root causes of the problems that we are facing is inequality in the society. This inequality is not vested only in the level of income of the citizens but also in the way the citizen access resource from the government. It all goes back to the issue of political representation in the country. Our political system has it that most of the regions which are not well represented political do not access resources the same way as other areas. Most of the areas which are inhabited by people not of original British results are usually not well represented in the political arena. Therefore those areas do not receive services the same way as other areas. (Lavalette and Pratt 2003, p. 9) One of the areas that have witnessed most inequalities is the health sector. There have been many studies which have shown inequalities in the way the British citizens have access to health services. The Black Report was especially crucial in highlighting how the state has failed to address the health needs of the citizens. This report and others gave an account of how those areas which are politically represented in the government have access to health services while those coming from areas which are not politically well represented have problems accessing health services. Therefore the evidenced difference in health care can be directly attributed to demographic inequality in the provision of health service. This is likely to have a lot of implications on the citizens since it will affect the heath status of the citizens. Therefore there are many other ways in which social welfare of the state has failed to address the needs of the citizens. This has led to a massive inequality in the way the public have access to services. Lack of these basic services can be attribu4ed to a number of issues that are facing the modern society. For example there is a close association between economic inequality and the rate of crime. In this regard there has been increased rates of crime in the low income regions that in the high income regions. It has become difficult for the welfare state to address the needs of those coming from low income areas and therefore they have resulted to criminal activities. Instead of the state moving to address the root cause of increased crimes in these areas, it concentrates more on putting in place measures that ensure that those who are convicted of crimes are held in jails. In case they were the bread winners of their families, the cycle continuous as their wives and their children are caught in the same trap of crime. (Wilson 1990, p. 62) Conclusion Therefore we can say that the failure by the British welfare society to address the needs of its citizens can be directly attributed to be the root cause of many social issues that the country is facing right now. One of the root causes of all the contemporary issue has been the failure by the state to address the high rates of inequalities in the society. This inequality has apparently been the cause of many other problems that the society is facing right now. Reference: Deacon, A. (2002). Perspectives on Welfare. Buckinghamshire, UP. Haralambos, M. Holborn, M. (2004). Sociology: Themes and Perspectives. London: Collins. Lavalette, M. Pratt, A. (2003). Social Policy: A Conceptual and Theoretical Introduction. London: Sage. Murray, C. (1996). Charles Murray and the Underclass, London: IEA Health and Welfare Unit Wilson, W. J. (1990). The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, The Underclass and the Public Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press Kaplan, G. (2007). Health Inequalities and the Welfare state. University of Michigan

Discussing Unemployment In A Theoretical Perspective Economics Essay

Discussing Unemployment In A Theoretical Perspective Economics Essay Unemployment is phenomenon which happens when we find people available without work. It is a big social and economic problem which is very common nowadays in developing and developed countries; Unemployment is usually measured using unemployment rate. Unemployment in Abu Dhabi is phenomenon which has many rates, reasons and results. Before the independence of the U.A.E., The economy was under basic economic control. Fishing and little agriculture were in use as the main activities in UAE. With the breakthrough of oil UAEs economy extended and the oil sector represented more than 35% of UAEs GDP. In 2005, the U.A.E. produced about 2.4 million barrels per day, 85% of it was Abu Dhabis own product. The oil income permitted the government to spend charitably on infrastructure, education, and job creation. The ascending of oil prices in the 1970s provided the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries with the financial funds which made vast economic development programs that required invasion of non-national labor available. However, the slump in oil prices in the mid 1980s and the inhabitants expansion made unemployment an issue in GCC countries. This project assesses unemployment in the UAE and measures the unemployment rate in Abu Dhabi; the capital of the United Arab Emirates. As for the beginning, Unemployment is the incapability for workers who want to find profitable employment. The extent of unemployment in a nation is an indicator of the economic strength of that country. Many causes can negatively affect the unemployment rate counting corporate downsizing, mergers, implementation of automation technologies, and job outsourcing to other nations. UAE unemployment generally Unemployment in the UAE is seen one of the lowest in the world (Kawach 2002). It was initiated to be 2.4 percent by the end of 2001, where the estimated labor force was around 2.1 million and 2.0 million were employed. Due to the increase in population and the expansion in the number of national graduates from universities and higher education schools, unemployment along with nationals turned into a sensitive problem in latest years. Unemployment in the UAE has severe harmful effects on the society and the economy as well. The government will be under political force. It will spend more on social repayments. The economy will be wobbly and wealth misallocated. As a result, the government set a new labor policy to situate nationals in civic and private division jobs, which were up until that time overflowing by non-Emiraties. This policy alerted on a fussy sector, such as finance, in order to accomplish an aim of 30 percent nationalization. According to the Ministry of Planning, the number of working nationals did not surpass 9 percent of the total labor force in 2003. This shows the lack of the proper credentials of nationals to compete labor market requirements. In order to defeat this structural crisis in the 2 labor market, the government requested the educational foundations to put up the shutters of the breach between academic series and labor market through convenient and specialized schooling. Unemployment in UAE is determined in the middle of youth, where more than 50 percent of whole unemployment is involving those with an intermediary level of education and low level of expertise. Unemployment Labor Force We should know which people wants job and which dont in order to evaluate the scope of the unemployment problem. A lot of people dont have a job but people such as those are not part of our problem. Students which study in full-time bases are not among the labor force which is defined as People between 16-65 who are actually working plus all those who arent working but actively looking for a job. For example, old people who live through their retirement are not considered as part of a labor force. Moreover, prisoners who condemned in jail are not among the labor force. Housewives are not a part of the labor force except if they seek a job. Nevertheless, children under the age of 16 who are actually concerned about their play station are also not considered as parts of the labor force. So, actually labor force is about people who look for a paid job outside their houses which also means that people working voluntarily are not considered as part in the labor force. In the other hand, people who are neither employed nor actively looking for a job are called nonparticipants. In labor force we count both the employed and unemployed people who seek jobs. LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE: The amount of the total of no institutionalized and citizen population over 16 years old, we count them citizen labor force. The labor force participation rate is basically equal to the ratio of citizen labor force to the total of no institutionalized citizen population over 16 years old. To estimate the labor force participation rate we used the data that obtained along with other labor force data from the monthly current population survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of labor statistics. Labor force participation rate = civilian labor force total no institutionalized civilian population Labor force growth Figure: P1.a (NOT real just assumption to make it easier to be understood for a reader) Since the labor force continues to grow each year and the population increases with continuing immigration as well, this will expand the production possibilities which cause us to produce more job vacancies in every year. That is such a bad news because then we will have to produce almost millions of jobs more every year to close up the gap. Once the economy finds itself unable to provide jobs to the increasing population UNEMPLOYMENT will be faced as a serious issue. UNEMPLOYMENT has several definitions; one of these definitions is the people who are searching for a job and cant find it through a precise sum of time. Unemployment can be weighed up through dissimilar ways. One of them is taking in thought the amount of people who are employed and those who are fired. (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Macroeconomics/Definitions_of_Unemployment) Measuring Unemployment. Measuring Unemployment is one of steps which help us to study, analyze, evaluate and put solutions for this occur, economics are the most people who focus on the unemployment rate. A main reason for this occurs is the normal increase in the number of people employed due to population and labor force increasing. Statistics of the unemployment serve many different purposes, we need some information which essential to macroeconomic and human resources development planning and policy formulation , this information like measures of labor supply, the structure of employment and the extent to which available labor is actually utilized. Data Sources of Measuring Unemployment : Administrative Records Statistics of unemployment can be drown from administration records , in this way we can registration data which derived from records are based on complete counts, so they will not affected by sampling errors , in addition they are cheap to obtain. But also this way is limited because it only cover small part of the population which uses employment exchanges or is qualified for unemployment insurance benefits. 2. Household Surveys In this source statistics of unemployment can also be obtained from household or labor force surveys, this survey composed sample of household and asking people of working age about their employment activities and also about availability for work by using standard questionnaire. This way also was limited because it depends only on nature replies of people in the household survey , so it will contains many different kind of errors . Reasons of unemployment. Discouraged workers In economics, a discouraged worker is someone between 16 and 65 years old who is not keenly looking for employment. This usually happens because the person has given up searching or has had no accomplishment in finding a job, which is why he is called discouraged. His belief may be obtained from a mixture of factors counting: a lack of jobs in their area or line of work; apparent discrimination for reasons, for example, age, race, sex and religion; a lack of required skills, training, or experience; or a disability. Discouraged workers, who are categorized as marginally attached to the labor force, on the margins of the labor force, or as part of hidden unemployment, are not regarded as to be element of the labor force and are consequently not counted in most official unemployment rates, which persuades the exterior and explanation of unemployment statistics. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discouraged_worker) Underemployment The expression underemployment has three different separate meanings and functions. All meanings involve a state where a person is working, unlike unemployment, where a person who is searching for work but cannot find it. All meanings involve underutilization of labor that critics say [weasel  words] is neglected by a large amount of official (governmental agency) classifications and measurements of unemployment. Underemployment can mean: The employment of recruits with high skill levels in small wages occupations that do not require such abilities, for example a trained medical doctor who works as a taxi driver. Involuntary part-time workers who would like to be working for a full time work but can only hit upon part-time occupation. Overstaffing or hidden unemployment, the practice in which businesses provide work for people who are not fully occupiedfor example, workers at present not being used to produce goods or services due to legal or social limitations or because the work is highly seasonal. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underemployment). The Human Cost of Unemployment The unemployment causes the human cost, and there are many kinds of human costs. Because we are part of this world ,we must accept that there are casualties caused by unemployment and should be affected by losses. All the people going through these problems , but not all of them have a way to solve it. For the Psychological Study of psychological problems and disorders multiple passes by individuals as a result of these negative experiences and some of these psychological studies to mention talk that the psychological symptoms continue even after the economy improves which leades for men and womens problem to start getting worse. This stigma makes them away and cautious from the society, and perhaps makes them more faded. This increases the psychiatric unit that is the beginning of a psychological disorder at the other, and resorts of ignorance or desperation to relieve the pain do not like initially, including drugs or alcohol. After a long period of self begins Bloom, hates itself in a way that we cannot imagine. This ball will be circulated again and will be the beginning because the hate of others and resent them .., and the worst may retaliate against them (which means that the idea moved to negative behavior or criminal etc. Moreover, the negative aspects in the behavior for the unemployment people are sleeping for a long times and they become lack of sense in time or social and personal responsibly. The work make the person feel of his own personality and his impotents in the society and when he lost it he feel that he lost his social life and his personality as well. Full Employment It is clear that full employment is one of our major Goals in a countrys economy. It is also logical that there is no such a thing as (zero unemployment). That is why the term, Full Employment, is carried by other factors. In fact, There are some reasons why full employment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   zero unemployment. Seasonal Unemployment Seasonal unemployment is defined as unemployment resulting from a fall in aggregate demand in some economic sectors (and not the economy as a whole). It could see some economic sectors (ex. tourism as a sector, agriculture, or fishing), periods of recession, leading to loss of personnel in these sectors to their jobs temporarily. Frictional Unemployment It is a temporary cessation of work due to the transition from one job to another, or pause to search for another job or to study and so on. Structural Unemployment Economists often use the term structural unemployment for employment problems that arise because of a mismatch between the needs of employers and the skills and training of the labor force. For example, if music schools were to educate many more oboe players than could get positions playing the oboe, we might find that many of them would have to get jobs in other fields. Lacking training for other skilled fields, some oboe players might be unable to get any jobs at all. This would be an instance of structural unemployment. Structural unemployment raises some questions. If an oboe player were offered a job as a disk jockey, at very good pay, and refused the job because it was not the field for which he was trained, what should we make of that? Is the oboe player really willing to work at the going wage? Or should we consider the would-be oboe player as being out of the work force unwilling to work in the opportunities available to him? On the other hand, people with little in the way of training suffer more than average unemployment in most of the industrialized countries. This suggests that structural unemployment is really quite an important problem in the industrialized countries at the end of the twentieth century. Cyclical Unemployment It is the unemployment resulting from the volatility of aggregate demand in the economy, where economy is facing periods of low aggregate demand, resulting in the loss of part of the workforce functions and consequently; a higher unemployment rate in the economy. But it starts to decline when demand starts to rise again overall. The natural rate of unemployment scientists have agreed that the natural rate of unemployment or as they call IT, full employment, the rate of unemployment between 4 to 6%. UAE Unemployment The oil price boom of the 1970s resulted in vast economic development programs in the UAE and a shortage of national labor who are mainly employed in the public sector causes to dependence on foreign labor In 1980 there were more than 80% employment in the use and all of them were non national. In 1986, the falling oil made in United Arab Emirates to the high unemployment rate for the non national and it rise the number of the unemployment national people they search for a job. In doing research in the 2003 show that there are 2.4 per cent is prepared for total unemployment in the UAE national and non national, either at another level, the unemployment rate among the national people of the State is 10.4, its also shown The unemployment rate for women than men, where the percentage of women compared to men, 16.5 percent and accounted for 8.4 The unemployment in UAE has a lot of negative effects on the society and the economy As a result of the ill effects of unemployment in the UAE society government decided to draw up laws that employ citizens in public areas for both. Based on the lack of sufficient qualifications of national have asked the state government educational institutions n upgrading the level of education among students in order to reduce the high level of riparian State Estimating Unemployment in Abu Dhabi The United Arab Emirates has the lowest rate of unemployment of only three percent between its citizens on the Arab words. Dr. Khalid Al Khazraji, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, has said that the unemployment percent between UAE citizens go beyond three percent. On the other hand he noted that the country is almost lacks a lot of statics on the size of the unemployment between UAE citizens. This rate is basically calculated prediction on which the governments build its plans and stratagems for the employment of the UAE nationals in the public and privets sectors. However the fact remnants that the influence of the UAE citizens to the private sector still weak for many reasons, some accredited to the unwillingness of national job seekers, while others to the unwillingness of companies. Although the unemployment rate in 2004 was about 20.60%, but this percent of the unemployment doesnt affect the UAEs position. The Survey Here is a simple survey analysis which is used to guess the unemployment rate in Abu Dhabi. And the questionnaire is promoted to cover the geographical area of Abu Dhabi. Actually the survey obtains the needed information on age, sex, level of education, family size, employed and unemployed members of the family, and why they are not employed, duration of unemployment, and types of jobs preferred. However the survey has been conducted by many ways such as mail distribution, phone cells, and personal interview on 500 families And the face rationality of government officials from the Ministry of Labor. The sample we selected it was depend on Cranachs Coefficient Alpha(0.83), the degree of confidence of the sample survey is tested using t- statics which are averaged 2 at 0.05 level of confidence. For the other statistical displays were measured such as frequency, mathematical average, and percentages. Results and analysis The results that are calculated from the returned survey are presented in Table 2. The unemployment rate along with nationals in Abu Dhabi was found to be 16 percent, and that is superior to the official approximations of 10.4 percent and 6.5 percent for the UAE and Abu Dhabi in that order. This is because rather to the tiny trial size, and can be also clarified by the diverse schemes used for assessment, and the reality that many families who have members that are at working age were barred from the labor force because they were not actually looking for jobs or were constant economically by social aid from the government or from unmitigated families. As anticipated, the result shows a high percentage of nationals that favor working at public sector managerial jobs, and this will enlarge the unemployment rates. The analysis proposes that unemployment rate is tend to boost for many explanations, such as the amplified number of graduates, the quality of education which market demand do es not meet with, and the work surroundings at the private sector with value to working hours and close performance dimensions which does locals are not attracted to. Finally, nationals still do not accept certain jobs because of society or that the jobs are not socially tempting. Conclusion The examination recommends improving the educational and training system to fit labor market requirements. It is also suggested to produce more exact and modernized data on the labor market including (job seekers, employers, and job opportunities), and for more information to be provided and an educational campaign to be carried out to change the approach of the UAE young people in the direction of working at the private sector. Further research is needed to revise the impact of unemployment on UAE economy, women contribution in the labor force and recognizing jobs favored by them, and measuring nationals efficiency weighted against to that of the expatriates, and finally restudying the labor law and rules in light of globalization and new scientific expansions. Resources Kqwach Nadim (Dec. 8, 2002), UAE Unemployment one of the lowest UAE Economic, Abu Dhabi. MENA Development report (2004), Unlocking the Employment Potential in the Middle East and North Africa. Toward a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Social Contract. The World Bank, Washington, D.C. UAE Ministry of Planning 2004, UAE, Abu Dhabi. Muwia E. Ilbrahim, (Jan. 22.2004), Unemployment Spirals among UAE Nationals, Khaleej Times Online. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Unemployment-rate.aspx?symbol=AED http://www.ipsnotizie.it/wam_en/news.php?idnews=1486 http://emirateseconomist.blogspot.com/2007/03/unemployment-in-uae.html http://lmi.state.oh.us/laus/laus.html http://www.bls.gov/cps/ http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr98-99/english/sec/library/989rp05.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_unemployment http://1426.blogspot.com/2009_04_19_archive.html http://www.ctcdubai.org/images/Charts/infl_n_unempl.gif http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-seasonal-unemployment.htm http://www.ikhwanonline.com/Article.asp?ArtID=326SecID=391 http://www.ikhwanonline.com/Article.asp?ArtID=326SecID=391

Gender Theory Essay -- Gender Issues

Gender Theory Gender Theories can be related to a person’s emotional stability, status in society, work ethics and most important their ability to relate to others. As the sources of text, personal experience, research books, articles and websites are used to explain the importance of male and female communication, in itself it is only a theory based on the historical and internal learning that influence me as a student (Wood, 2011). In the end, the theory that best describes my gender characteristic will influence the outcome of opinion. That is what makes Gender Theory so interesting, it is a theories based on personal bias. In order to explain the differences and similarities in gender several theories have been established and researched with each having its own validation. Biological Theory Research has established that the biological theory regarding genders relies heavily on the chromosome makeup of individuals. Body chemistry makeup plays a large role in this; chromosomes are a significant factor in the physical, emotional, and social aspect of gender. Men having the chromosome XY are the determining factor in the sex of children they produce yet women having the XX according to the text are the dominant in social, heredity, and passing of some intellectual skills. Because the differences in not only social skill and physical skills there is evidence that relates the increase in hormonal influence to how men and women interact emotionally. Interpersonal Theory This theory focuses on the interpersonal relationships formed by individuals based on their sex makeup. There are three sub theories listed within this theory psychodynamic, social learning and cognitive development with each having its own argument... ...female goes to work and is the financial provider. As this occurs, it is possible new theories will be developed but communication will always be a factor between gender groups, this is because in general we are all different and come together with varied backgrounds, beliefs and predisposed opinions. There is not necessarily a right or wrong, in reality migration of people with the same interest, cultures, and beliefs will continue to form pocket communities where they can communicate with like in kind. References †¢ (2012). Anthropological theories. Alabama: DOI: http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php?culture=Feminist Anthropology †¢ Standpoint theory. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://users.ipfw.edu/lakes/Standpoint Theory.html †¢ Wood, J. (2011). Gendered lives: Communication gender and culture. (10th ed.). Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning

Skepticism and the Philosophy of Language in Early Modern Thought Essay

Skepticism and the Philosophy of Language in Early Modern Thought ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the importance of skeptical arguments for the philosophy of language in early modern thought. It contrasts the rationalist conception of language and knowledge with that of philosophers who adopt some sort of skeptical position, maintaining that these philosophers end up by giving language a greater importance than rationalists. The criticism of the rationalists' appeal to natural light is examined, as well as skeptical arguments limiting knowledge such as the so-called 'maker's knowledge' argument. This argument is then seen as capital for favoring a positive interpretation of the importance of language for knowledge. The revival of ancient skepticism in early XVIth century has been considered one of the major forces in the development of modern thought, especially as regards the discussion about the nature of knowledge and the sciences. Richard Popkin in his History of Skepticism from Erasmus to Spinoza (1979) has shown that skeptical arguments were influential in the attack against traditional scholastic conceptions of science, opening the way to the development of the new scientific method. The dispute between those who embraced skepticism and those who tried to refute or surpass it was central to the philosophical scene well into the XVIIIth century. However, the importance of the discussion of the nature and role of language in this process and its relation to skeptical arguments has scarcely been examined. My objective in this paper is to extend Popkin's analysis of the role of skepticism in the formation of modern thought to the consideration, in general lines, of some of the main features of early modern theories a... ...ld,A. et Nicole, P (1981). Logique, ou l'Art de Penser, Paris, Vrin. Descartes,R., (1996) RÃ ¨gles pour la direction de l'esprit, Principes de la Philosophie, in Ouevres, Paris,Vrin,. Kant,I. (1952) Critique of pure reason, Great Books of the Western World, Chicago, Encyclopedia Britannica. Jolley,N. (1988) The light of the soul, Oxford, Clarendon Press. Lennon, T. (1993) The battle of gods and giants, Princeton Univ.Press. Montaigne,M. (1952) Essais, Great Books of the Western World, Chicago, Encyclopedia Britannica. Perez-Ramos,A. (1988) Francis Bacon's idea of science and the maker's knowledge tradition, Oxford Univ.Press. Popkin,R. (1979) The history of scepticism from Erasmus to Spinoza, Berkeley & Los Angeles, Univ.of California Press. Zagorin, Perez (1984) "Vico's Theory of Knowledge: A Critique," Philosophical Quarterly, vol.34, no.134.

Analysis of Closing Speech in Dr. Faustus :: Christopher Marlowe

Analysis of Dr. Faustus' Closing Speech Doctor Faustus’ closing speech is unquestionably the most emotional scene in Dr. Faustus. His mind moves from idea to idea in desperation. It highlights the many times that Faustus could have repented, but did not. Yet he shows remorse, calling upon the Christian view that all who repent will be saved, however, this does not hold true for Faustus, indicating that Marlowe is not writing this scene from a Christian point of view. Faustus’ mind is fraught with despair in his final, closing speech. It jumps frantically from thought to thought: one moment he is begging time to stop, or slow down, the next second, he is pleading to Christ for mercy and salvation. He asks to be hidden, the next instant he is asking for his punishment in hell to last ‘A hundred thousand [years], and at last be saved’ (1.13.95). These various attempts to escape his imminent doom ultimately lead to him to realise that the situation is entirely his fault, just before midnight, he finally realises to ‘curse [him] self’ (1.13.106). This extremely passionate remorse leads to a recurring theme in the play, namely, the reasons behind him not repenting at earlier stages. Faustus’ arrogance, perhaps, is the chief reason behind the rejection of penitence. He deceives himself into believing either hell is not so bad, or that it does not exist at all. Perhaps he is afraid of Mephastophilis tearing his body apart. Even close to the end, in the penultimate scene, Faustus is seen, eager to ‘confirm/ [His] former vow’ (1.12.62-63). This suggests that Faustus’ delusion continues until his time is up, perhaps he has served the devil for so long he has lost any thought of breaking free of his pact. In the speech, Faustus turns to Christ, asking that the Christian doctrine that repentance can be accepted at any time in one’s life be granted to save him. Significantly, he is not rescued. This shows that this play is not written from an entirely Christian perspective, as Faustus would have been saved. However, it could be argued that something within Faustus ‘pulls [him] down’ (1.13.71) from leaping ‘up to [his] God’ (1.13.71), and therefore keeping the Christian principle intact. The pathetic actions that Faustus performs when he gets ultimate power seem to indicate that Faustus has wasted his soul.

A Review of Laser Processes Used in Solar Cell Fabrication

A Review of Laser Processes Used in Solar Cell Fabrication Abstract There are many different laser techniques that can be used in the production of solar cells. By examining the research which the various solar cells were fabricated with laser technique, it is possible to understand the pros and cons of using laser for produce the cells. The following paragraphs will list which process the laser technique have been used in this review. Introduction The buried contact solar cell was invented at University of New South Wales by Green et al. in 1983. These solar cells have a relatively high efficiency approximately 25% and present a possibility of cost-reduction with applying this technology to the manufacturers’ production lines. The following are the general main steps of forming the buried contact solar cell: 1. Texturing of surfaces 2. Top surface diffusion 3. Oxide growth 4. Groove cutting and diffusion 5. Aluminum deposition and sinter 6. Metal plating 7. Edge isolation The key parts of this process, which result in the cells become more efficiency than the standard screen printing solar cells are the laser grooving and groove diffusion to reduce the cell shading and contact resistance and the texturing which reduce the surface reflection. A schematic of a buried contact solar cell is shown in the figure below (Green 1995). [pic]Figure 1: Cross-section of buried contact solar cell Research continues working on the ways which could further improve the efficiency of the buried contact solar cell. With the statistics obtained from the experiment, they can try to figure out the effects which using different methods and materials in solar cells would cause. These parts include different diffusion profiles to form the p-n junction, surface passivation using different materials, and the different methods of grooving of the silicon, rear surface treatment, metallization and so on. Laser texturing In order to reduce the reflection effect of the solar cells, front surface texturing is one solution. There have many methods to increase the light trapping, such as mechanical scribing and reactive ion etching. However, laser texturing could effectively texture the multicrystalline surface, providing isotropic etching that other techniques cannot do. Abbott and Cotter (2006) revealed that with deeper laser texturing, the less the front surface reflection is. More detailed results are shown in figure 2 (adapted from Abbott and Cotter 2006). Note that with very shallow texturing (10mm), they cannot trapping very well, as a result behaving like the planar one. Figure 2: Front surface reflection of laser textured samples with different ablation pit depths (0) 10mm, (? 20mm, (? ) 30 mm, (*) 40 mm, (x) 50mm with residual slag, (+) planar silicon and (line) random pyramid textured silicon. It is straightforward that we should texturing deeper pit, however, this will increase the surface recombination rate, which is detrimental to solar cells. Even though the pit depths 50mm have the lowest reflection, it will leave some slag in the pits that acting like defects. These residual slags will enhance t he surface recombination rate, reducing the open-circuit voltage as well as the efficiency of the solar cells. Finding better parameters of operation to texture the wafer properly without the appearance of slag is therefore becomes the main issue for the manufacturers. Top Surface diffusion The conventional method for doping materials is the thermal diffusion which performed at high temperature (over 800? ). The process is so-called solid state diffusion and has various methods, for instance physical vapour deposition, to control the doping profiles. Also there is a considerable alternative method of forming doping areas in silicon solar cells by using laser-doping. With the Nd:YAG pulsed laser, the doping profiles can be controlled with the desirable doping area. Ogane et al. (2009) asserted that by using the laser doping technique with 0. 5W output, it can fabricate the solar cells with comparable efficiency to those fabricated by thermal diffusion methods. Some statistics of the result from their research are shown in figure 3 (adapted from Ogane et al. 2009). Note that a large number of the oxygen atoms are induced to the solar cells owing to the operation is in air. This increase the sheet resistance and as a result, reducing the efficiency of the solar cells. The advantages of the laser doping process are that it can be operated at room temperature, in the atmosphere, as well as the easier process forming a selective doping area without any lithography pre-set processes. With these advantages, even though the properties of these solar cells are slightly worse than the cells handled by thermal diffusion, it is acceptable to some manufacturers and worthy to work on it. [pic] Figure 3: The average of six solar cells properties of cells with emitters fabricated by laser doping as a function of laser output power, compared with the case of thermal diffusion (TD). Laser groove The most common device which is used to form the laser grooved front surface contacts is the Nd:YAG pulsed laser, operating at a high frequency. The depth of the laser groove after lasing is typically 30 microns deep and approximately 20 microns wide. During the process, laser will vaporises silicon through the oxidation layer, and this will induced the thermally damaged to silicon. Such this damage will acts as recombination sites of carriers when operating the solar cells, minimised this defect is therefore necessary in order to improve the efficiency of the solar cells. Studies on this part (Schoonderbeek et al. 2007) have revealed that using the shorter wavelength of the laser, i. e. the higher power output can reduce the thermal damage induce by the laser. [pic] Figure 4: Increased lifetime ratios (decreased laser damage) are obtained when scribing lines using short-wavelength lasers. Figure 4 (adapted from Schoonderbeek et al. 2007) above shows that by using lasers with short-wavelength at either 532nm (green) or 355nm (UV) will have better properties in comparison to 1064nm (IR) laser. Nevertheless, the lower cost of the IR laser is more favourable to the manufacturer. Thus the solar cell research of this part is undertaken at institutions and companies in order to find out the better trade-off point. Back surface field and laser-fired contacts The technology which usually used for rear contact passivation in solar cells is that highly doped region near the back contact. This is called back surface field. Normally aluminium is applied to it by evaporation, following by sintering to make aluminium atoms diffuse into the silicon. For reducing the cost per watts generated by solar cell, some different methods were tested for the feasibility analysis. One of the ways for reducing the cost is doping aluminium locally (Meemongkolkiat et al. 2006). It is obviously that doping less metal could reduce the cost, however the efficiency should not be diminish too much. In this process the oxide on the back surface is partially etched prior to aluminium were screen-printed on it. In their research, with choosing the aluminium screen-printing pastes properly (the composition is not provided in their paper), the efficiency of the solar cells are adequately (16%) compared to the normally full back surface field (16. %). Alternatively, aluminium deposition can be applied to the solar cell with the passivated emitter and rear contact, followed by fast scanning laser firing to reduce the rear surface recombination rate as well as improve light trapping. With this so-called laser-fired contact technique, Schneiderlochner et al. (2002, p. 32) demonstrated that the efficiency of the laser-fired contact solar cell can reach up to 21. 3%. Some result s from their research can be seen in figure 5, which are adapted from Schneiderlochner et al. 002. Note that the silicon nitride passivated layer has a lower efficiency maybe due to degradation in passivation quality during laser firing. [pic] Figure 5: The solar cell results with the laser-fired contact technique compared with conventionally processed passivated emitter and rear cells The main advantage of the laser-fired contact is that after possessed a passivating layer and depositing the aluminium, there is only one step needed (laser firing) instead of several processes of photolithography. Hence by using Nd:YAG pulsed laser system for laser-fired contact processing, the cost per watts can be reduced due to less handling steps, as well as the expensive chemicals. Summary There are some different techniques with respect to laser that applied to the fabrication of the solar cells are discussed above. With the laser system applied to the back surface field and laser-fired contacts, the cost can be reduced by using less costly chemicals, whereas shrinking the cost of instruments and operation for the case that laser system induced to the top surface diffusion. The aims of both grooving and texturing using laser technique are improving the properties of the solar cells. The laser system provides the possibilities of reducing the cost per watts without decreasing too many characteristics of the solar cells, which is the most important issue for manufacturers. Therefore, studies focus on these techniques will continue while some of them are already used in fabricating solar cells with other techniques. The ultimate aim of these is make the solar cells as cheap as possible so that public are willing to having it, thus minimizing the environment impact. Reference Abbott, M. and Cotter, J. 006, ‘Optical and electrical properties of laser texturing for high-efficiency solar cells’, Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Volume 14, Issue 3, pp. 225-235. Honsberg, C. and Bowden, S. 2009, Buried Contact Solar Cells, Photovoltaics CDROM, accessed 12 September 2009, . Meemongkolkiat, V. ; Nakayashiki, K. ; Dong Seop, K. ; K im, S. ; Shaikh A. ; Kuebelbeck, A. ; Stockum, W. and Rohatgi, A. 2006, ‘Investigation of modified screen-printing Al pastes for local back surface field formation’, Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on, Volume 2, pp. 1338-1341. Nd:YAG laser’, wiki article, 3 July 2009, accessed 14 September 2009, < http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nd:YAG_laser>. Ogane, A. ; Hirata, K. ; Horiuchi, K. ; Nishihara, Y. ; Takahashi, Y. ; Kitiyanan, A. and Fuyuki, T. 2009, ‘Laser-doping technique using ultraviolet laser for shallow doping in crystalline silicon solar cell fabrication’, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Volume 48, Issue 7, pp. 071201. Schneiderlochner, E. ; Preu, R. ; Ludemann, R. and Glunz, S. W. 2002, ‘Laser-fired rear contacts for crystalline silicon solar cells’, Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp. 9-34. Schneiderlochner, E. ; Grohe, A. ; Glunz , S. W. ; Preu, R. & Willeke, W. 2003, ‘Scanning Nd:YAG laser system for industrially applicable processing in silicon solar cell manufacturing’, Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 2003. Proceedings of 3rd World Conference on, Volume 2, pp 1364-1367. Schoonderbeek, A. ; Stute, U. ; Ostendorf, A. ; Grischke, R. ; Engelhart, P. ; Meyer, R. and Brendel, R. 2007, ‘Laser technology in silicon solar cell production’, Proceedings of the 4th International WLT-Conference on Lasers in Manufacturing, pp 693–698. [pic]

A Women Of No Importance Essay

Explore the ways Wilde presents late nineteenth century women. What he is saying about the fashionable women of the time, their interests, ideas, attitudes and treatment in A Women f No Importance? A woman of no importance is a play about the upper and middle class. Wilde uses the women to portray is attitudes and views on the society of the nineteenth century. He portrays women in a way women would not have behaved at that time; this gives a comical atmosphere to the audience. In 1893 A women of no importance would have been very entertaining to watch, the audience would have found the play amusing however they would have been laughing at themselves as Wilde wrote the play to criticize the society. The play’s first setting is a female home with conversation between women; Wilde may have done this to show the importance of women. Lady Caroline is the first character the audience meet; Wilde may have also done this for a purpose. From the title ‘Lady’ we know Lady Caroline is a wealthy and high up in the aristocracy in England. She is a typical member of the high society; she has a very dominating overbearing personality and shows pride in her position. The Audience would have immediately recognised this from Lady Caroline’s conversation with Hester. She speaks down to her American guest, Hester who is travailing alone, â€Å"you have no country houses, I am told, in America?† Another theme that Wilde conveys through women is the theme Hypocrisy and double standards. This is again shown through Lady Caroline and her attitudes towards the puritan Hester. Lady Caroline criticises lady Hunstaton choice of guests â€Å"But Mrs Allonby is hardly a very suitable person† but then praises Lady Hunstaton for inviting her to a pleasant party, Wilde is effectively satirising members of high society. Hester vocalises her opinion that she dislikes Mrs Allonby but Lady Caroline patronises Hester â€Å"I am not sure, that foreigners like yourself should cultivate like or dislikes.† suggesting that Hester is not a valued member of society. Wilde mocks the attitude of the high society through the ignorant women. Lady Caroline is not as knowledgeable as she likes to make out, she continually keeps getting the name of the politician wrong, mistaking him for ‘Me kettle’ â€Å"Kevil, my love kevil.† The audience would mock Lady Caroline for this foolish mistake she keeps making. Hester Worsley’s title is changed as the play progresses. Hester is first referred to as ‘Miss Worsley’ then she becomes known as the ‘American’ and finally ‘A puritan’. Hester is a contrast to all the other women in A women of no importance and all the women take a dislike to her she told me yesterday, and in quite a loud voice, that she was only eighteen. It was most annoying.† She has strong morals, values and opinions which she is not afraid to express ‘I dislike London Dinner Parties’. Wilde may have used Hester’s character to present his on views on the English aristocratic society. Members of the high society frown upon those who are unmarried â€Å"I don’t think that England should be represented abroad by unmarried man† being married is more socially accepted. This gives the audience an impression of how shallow the society was and how status and social position dictate how people lived their lives. Lady Caroline’s and Sir Johns is very different to a traditional Victorian marriage. Usually the man is the dominant one and women were known as men’s property. However Wilde contrasts this view, by Lady Caroline having control over her husband, being the dominant one in the relationship â€Å"John you should have your muffler. What is the use of my always knitting mufflers for you if you don’t wear them?† Their relationship is clearly showing a lack of love and affection. Their relationship is more like a child and parent relationship because of the idea of Lady Caroline ‘spoiling’ Sir John. Wilde is suggesting that they are together out of convenience and presentation. Lady Caroline gives her husband orders in the same way lady Hunstaton orders her servants â€Å"you had better go and put your overshoes at once.† During the Victorian times when A women of no importance was written, women rights were begging to increase. In 1857 the matrimonial causes Act was established, in 1882 married women’s property act was confirmed, which gave women more rights and power over themselves, property and their children. These factors contributed to the way Wilde presented certain women especially Lady Caroline and Mrs Allonby. Mrs Allonby is very similar to lord Illingworth they are both described as ‘dandies’ they use language which is intended to shock the audience. At the end of act one is it clear that Mrs Allonby is flirting with Lord Illingworth â€Å"What a thoroughly bad man you must be!† Wilde creates Mrs Allonby as a character who considers being a person who restricts the morals and norms of the society, in Victorian times there would have been very strict morals and social codes. â€Å"Women adore failures, they lean on us† Mrs Allonby is going against the stereotype, the man having control within Victorian marriages. At the end of Act one Lord Illingworth reads Mrs Arbuthnot’s letter, he says â€Å"no one in particular A Woman of no importance†, the title of the play, which demonstrates Wilde’s views on the treatment of women in society. Act 1 ends giving the audience an impression of a self-concerned, hypocritical society. Wilde presents these ideas through the use of comedy which give a strong message to the audience.