Great Expectations Essay

Great Expectations is the story of distortion expectations cause to judgment. Pip was by nature more inclined towards the stable and moral nature of Joe. It took a long journey of life with some very interesting interludes to make him realize that the influence of Mrs. Havisham was a passing cloud while the influence of Joe was the bellwether that defined the values he can identify his life with. It is an established fact that Dickens uses very obvious doubles and symmetry-building coincidences in his novels. But in this context, it can be argued that Dickens has created two antithetical characters that define the dilemmas of Pip. Joe and Mrs. Havisham can be considered antithetical in almost all respects. In gender, in temperament, in the ways that they handle the hand dealt by fate and the way they go about spreading their life’s philosophies. They are diametrically opposite and this causes the under-current of the Yo-Yo effect experienced by Pip through out his life. In the end it turns out that Joe’s influence on Pip’s character is stronger and that enables the young man to acquire and maintain equanimity in the face of severe odds. It is important to understand the motivations of the two primary characters that have influenced Pip’s perception of the world around him. In his initial days he was Je was his best friend. In spite of his lowly station in life of a blacksmith and the misfortune f beng tied to a shrewish wife, (Pip’s sister), Joe could retain a sense of contentment with his life and he instilled the pleasures of small gestures of Joy in human life and the value of honest, and dedicated effort towards one’s vocation. Where as Mrs. Havisham is stuck in a time warp and insists on having all the clock’s the â€Å"Satis House†, her mansion stuck at twenty minutes past nine, the same time she learnt that she had been unceremoniously dumped on the day of her wedding. She clings to the fading wedding dress more to remind herself of the injustice her bride groom inflicted on her. Further she adopts Estelle, only to groom her to break men’s hearts and grow insensitive to the possibility of true and faithful love. This is a basic difference in the characters of the two primary influences on young Pip. To the young mind of Pip, the melancholy haunting of the Satis house and the perennial mourning of Mrs. Havisham carry more romantic appeal than the robust and lively philosophy of his brother-in-law. While Joe advocates the cheer of accepting the cards dealt by destiny, Mrs. Havisham chooses to make her misery the constant chant of her life and the driving motivation. In the first stage of expectations, Pip is enamored with Estelle and he sees acquisition of a higher standard in life surrounding the existing class system and the presence of money power to be a prerequisite to happiness. He goes on to forget his station in life until a rude reminder comes in the form of Mrs. Havisham’s instructions that he should be taking up apprenticeship with Joe. This rude jolt leads Pip to unreasonably resent the kind hearted Joe and his own low living standard. He then discovers that he has been left a sizable fortune and leaves to London to be groomed to become a gentleman. It is here that he meets people like Brentley Drummle, who remain brutish in spite of the inherited wealth and apparent grooming and culture. This stage in the expectations for Pip is marked by the absence of Joe but it is the influence of Joe’s grooming that he is constantly plagued by guilt when he learns that his benefactor is the same convict who had induced him to steal form his own house when he was a kid. The reference points for the values to be followed in life, in the case of Pip are steeped in the common justice notions of Joe. Towards the end of the novel, however, Mrs. Havisham recognizes her folly and confesses to Pip that in her hunger for revenge, she inflicted the same pain as she had experienced on Pip by making Estelle be aloof to him and ultimately marry Drummle. It is worthy to note that the confession comes at a time when Pip is highly disturbed by his aspiration of a higher standard in life and the attached disappointments ad uncertainties he experiences in its quest. If he is able to forgive Mrs. Havisham and even make a heroic effort to save her from fire, it is the rustic goodness instilled in him by Joe, not through long lectures but by example of a fruitful life, led with contentment in the service of others. The reconciliation at the end of the novel, the second and the most popular ending (the characteristic happy ending of Dickens). Mrs. Havisham lives all her life by the terms of remorse, revenge and recrimination. While Joe leads his life in an uncomplicated way to enable people around him to blossom on their own. This during the early years of Pip helps form the moral core that makes Pip a heroic character. It is important to notice that the two characters or the two major influences are majorly contradictory. Mrs. Havisham mourns while Joe makes peace with his world. Ms. Havisham wants revenge, while Joe would rather forgive and forget. Mrs. Havisham is ready to sacrifice another life to further her dearly held wishes of retribution on male species, while Joe still retains faith in his ability to love even after having a shrewish wife in whose care he leaves no stone unturned. After her death and without undue haste he remarries Biddy reaffirming his faith in human goodness. Pip’s actions and his motivations of kindness towards the convict, Mrs. Havisham, and later towards Estelle in the end of the novel speak more about the positive and warm influence of Joe Grager, his brother-in-law, than the scheming or desolate influence of Mrs. Havisham

Using an example of an organisation, identify how the change in legislation was implemented and evaluate the impact of this on the service delivery

Our role as social workers is one of an empowering nature; we are or should be committed to equality and re-establishing equal power bases. Promotion of independence is fundamental to our role, for this reason I have decided to look at the implementation of the Direct Payments scheme, for disabled people; brought in under the Community Care (direct Payments) Act 1996. This was brought in as legislation, because of disabled peoples pressure groups, and in order to give disabled people further ‘independence and choice' (Abbot, D (2003)) further to this the Disabled Children Act 2000 extended the access to Direct Payments to 16 – 17 year old disabled people. Within this paper I will analyse the role of social services departments for disabled people before and after the implementation. In analysis I will identify issues that have arisen from this change in relation to the organisation of social services, the social workers and service users, analysing issues of interpretation, and cultural change. The legislation empowered local authorities to set up ‘Direct Payment' Schemes for disabled people that are entitled to community care services, under the community care act but discretion was given to local authorities on how to implement it. (Community Care, (1999) sept, 8th). Because of this discretion the take up and the manner of take up to the scheme differed which resulted in very little movement for a number of years. Husler (no date given) states ‘this legislation is permissive, which means councils can not ignore it, but they have discretions on how to implement it' (Ibid). This lack of guidance to implementation led to discrepancies in the implementation of the Direct Payments scheme Prior to the implementation of the direct payments scheme, the role of social services was to assess the needs and risks of the disabled person, and through this process of assessment seek to minimise or control risk and elevate need. This was done through the provision of services directly controlled or distributed from central government of local social services departments. We see in this situation the relationship of power was one of retention by the social worker within a culture of ‘Role' and ‘task' rather than person. Although many would argue with this point and state the cultural work base of this time was one of a ‘person' culture as defined by Burnes (2000)p.164), where the service users needs and wishes are prominent with the minimisation of the structural highrachy base. Handy (1986) would disagree with this notion and further argues that western organisations work predominantly from a role or task orientated cultural work base. This is evident in many of the recently published documents on working practices and guidelines on legislation interpretation, such as the ‘Working Together Document 2000 and the Assessment Framework 2000. Further, if look back to the development of the social services and the then Charity Organisation Society (COS) founded in 1869 we see evidence of similar practice in relation to current assessment of needs. This was also done by a COS worker who made judgements based on his of her knowledge, this is clearly an earlier form of means testing (Glasby & Littlechild (2002)). From this assessment a payment was given to the person or which then was referred to as ‘relief.' This was technically abolished in 1834; it continued to be paid in practice well into the twentieth centaury, as a range of complex measures for the support of the poor as unemployment soared (Thane. P (1996). The Poor Law was finally abolished in 1948 putting an end to payments to the poor by social services departments, and replaced by a national scheme for the payment of social security benefits and the provision of welfare services to the elderly and the Disabled. This allowed the practitioner to distance themselves from cash payments and the stigma of poverty, further this led to as Becker (1993) states ‘practitioners having little poverty awareness (p93) and further viewing money problems as being the problem of other agencies (Davies & Wainwright (1997) quoted in Glasby & Littlechild p 61) This desire for the social work profession to distance it self from the nineteenth centaury roots has, resulted in the resistance to the implementation of the Direct Payment Schemes. Although the Direct Payment Scheme is very different from the early payments made by the COS and earlier forms of social services departments. This resistance has been from the shop floor social workers to MPs such as Virgina Bottomly, who wrote to the MP introducing the Private members bill prior to its introduction to legalise direct payments â€Å"Social services legislation is concerned with†¦.services and not with direct payments which is the province of the social security system† (Quoted In Hatchett W, (1991): pp 14 – 15). Governmental ideology for the implementation of the Direct Payments scheme was to reflect the principles of participation, inclusion and equality through offering choice and independence. Because of the lack of clear guidance on interpretation this agenda has been misinterpreted and further resulted in the slow take up of the scheme. Roles and procedures have changed in departments which require operational changes, and a further shift in the approach to the concept of risk and control (Dawson (2000) quoted in Carmichael & Brown (2002) p.804) The involvement in service users lives by social workers has shifted away form one of assessment and the in house provision of services, to one of assessment and the provision of monies to purpose individual care form the quasi market place. This can be tailored to meet the individual needs and life of a person, rather than the one ‘size fits all' attitude of previous service provision (Glasby & Littlechild (2002)) this is in comparison to earlier payments being made by the Independent Living Fund indirectly through third parties (Brindle, D. (2000)) further key points to the misinterpretation and slow take up of the scheme is due to the ambiguous wording of the legislations guidance the ‘willing and able criteria' (Clark & Spafford (2002)) this point argues the service users must be able to ‘choose' direct payments, problems such as ability the to choose have arisen from this guidance as well as to whom the allocation of payment should be made. Who should have control over the money? Is a question the local authorities have struggled with when assessing people with severe disabilities and people with mental incapacitates. Authorities have taken this grey area of the legislation and effectively excluded people with mental incapacities because of the legal implications which resulted in the rejecting of an application. Further to this councils have adopted a top down model in which local disability organisations are not closely enough involved within. This bureaucratic model is arguably necessary because of the complexity of the system, the workforce need clearly structured role, responsibilities and lines of command for effectiveness (Coulshed & Mullender (2001)) this is for the purposes of accountability and stability in the system (Ibid).although this can restrict professional autonomy and offer further resistance to change (Aldridge (1996) quoted in Coulshed & Mullender, p 31) With the implementation of this scheme, there was a shift away from the old system of social worker control to that of user control, which social workers saw as a danger and who have voiced concerns of â€Å"vulnerable people managing their own services and whether it is right to risk such payments' (Snell, J. (2000)). This is clear indication as Cyert & March (1963) state ‘confusion over how political constraints on policy make a rationalist approach to decision making impossible (quoted in Burnes. B (2000)) This has led to social workers becoming uncertain as to what is needed from them, because of the role and responsibility change, as well as the cultural change in the departments, which has further left social workers feeling disempowered. Power and control is reduced from the social worker, and rebalanced with the service user, social workers have seen this as a perceived loss of their identity and status. (Clark & Spafford (2002) p 252) Confusion and lack of participation in the planning stages of the delivery of services has left social workers resenting the direct payments scheme, this has further led to slow take up and slow information distribution to service users. Etienne d'Abouuville (1999) states the schemes are floundering because local authorities are using social workers to advice on direct payments, rather than Disabled peoples organisations which can provide peer support. This is further evidence in the change of role change in the role of the care manager Glasby & Littlecihild (2002) argue workload implications and the low ratio of staff is a strong and potential barrier to the independence of disabled people. Mullins (1993) comments on this and states ‘commitment and cooperation to organisational goals will depend on how these are perceived to be in their own interests'. If we look at this in the context of the social worker who has been giving advice to the service user on, employers' responsibility, obligations and legal ramifications without training and on top of their ‘normal' workload we see why social workers are feeling stressed. Further too this reluctant to work in with the scheme (Hosler (1999)). Social worker having little involvement in the change has led to this resistance; this is perpetuated with the burdening of further responsibility on the worker. Mullender and Coulshed argue ‘where structures are going through change this is adapted to more quickly where there are open lines of communication and decentralised structures. If we analyse the impact of the organisational change to the service user we see a clear recondition of the social model of disability which as Oliver argues ‘It is not people impairments which limit people's ability to participate in society and to exercise their rights, but the organisation of society it self which causes the disability† (Quoted in Stainton, T. (2002) p 752) This social model articulates not how to find a way of compensating for the natural disadvantage, but how society can accommodate a range of differences (Ibid). Service users have stated they have rights and autonomy furthering the ability to be recognised as full citizens (Stainton, T (2002)). Many disabled people prior to the introduction of the Direct Payments Scheme were given little or no choice in relation to who provided the care, and to what extent. This was reflective of the funding structures and mechanisms of the social services departments (Statinton, T (1998)), here the departments or the family would access and commission the service, which resulted on many occasions being put on a waiting list. In this analysis we see little or no choice or control on the part of the service recipient, and further if criteria for service were not met then no service was offered. This coupled with resource constraints and tightly specified service contracts can together restrict the remits and activities of services (Glendininig, C, (2000)) With the new system the service user retains overall control on who to commission to carry out the work and for what period of time, the service user defines what needs are to be met and to what extent. A shift away from the social worker led assessment. With a recondition of the Disabled person's rights the Direct Payments Scheme also brought with it the responsibility of being an employer and with that obligation to contractual agreements. This could be seen as a potential barrier, but many disabled people have commented, â€Å"All the stress is worth having control of your own care† (Clark and Spafford (2002)) In conclusion we see how the change has resulted in a cultural change within the social services departments and further a shift away from the ethos of the social worker as the expert. This is welcomed by Disability groups who have campaigned for the Direct Payments Scheme, but resented by those whose job's it has affected with added workload and change in role. Change is a natural occurrence and some would argue inevitable to human evaluation, it is about recognising where sociality shortfalls are and actively seeking to rectify them. As with a majority of pieces of legislation they are based on social justice principles, but interpretation results in oppression and discrimination

Environmental Economics Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Environmental Economics Analysis - Term Paper Example Environmental economics is a subfield of economics concerned with environmental issues (other usages of the term are not uncommon). In using standard methods of neo-classical economics, it is distinguished from green economics or ecological economics, which include the nonstandard approaches to environmental problems, environmental science/environmental studies, or ecology. (Wikipedia) The economic growth is, in fact, good for the environment, and there are limits to the contribution that economic growth can make to human well being. Forests are being depleted throughout the world since this is the economically optimal strategy for the owners. However, forests not only provide timber but also perform global ecosystem services. Forests absorb carbon dioxide, preserve biodiversity, prevent soil erosion, maintain hydrological cycle, etc. Hence, global environmental sustainability, a prerequisite for economic sustainability, might require that limits be placed on the depletion of natural resource stocks, even if it appears that this means sacrificing some of the monetary value of these stocks As the market cannot reflect all the values of the services provided by the natural environment, this implies that environmental sustainability places a constraint on economic growth. Because the services provided by natural resources are not traded in the markets, they are not reflected in the value of conserving natural resource stocks. In economic terminology, these are examples of market failures, and that is an outcome, which is not efficient in an economic sense. Here the inefficiency is caused because too much of the polluting activity will be carried out, as the polluter will not take the interests of those adversely affected by the pollution into account. This has led to controversial research into measuring well being which tries to measure when pollution is actually starting to affect human health and general quality of life.  Ã‚  

Does North Korea truly desire war with the U.S Research Paper

Does North Korea truly desire war with the U.S - Research Paper Example 4. Ever since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, North Korea has suffered the consequences of dire economic straits2, which, in turn, would most likely lead to the collapse of its totalitarian government; hence directing the tensions outwards would prevent such an event. 5. The apparent development of nuclear devices and the ballistic missile tests, both accompanied by menacing rhetoric and unyielding behavior3, seemingly speak of North Korea’s intention of going to war with the US. CONS: 1. Despite decades of isolation and obviously overestimating the strength of its armed forces, Pyongyang is well aware of the risks of eventual war against the US; moreover, it’s not that clear whether North Korea actually possesses a deliverable weapon4. 2. It’s pretty unlikely that North Korea’s establishment, most notably the dictator, Kim Jong Un, will risk everything in a destructive armed conflict with the US. 3. The threat of nuclear and ballistic missiles tes ts proved to be a very effective maneuver so far5. 4. China’s patience is about to come to an end, which would adversely affect the Sino-DPRK alliance6. 5. What the regime in Pyongyang is really aiming for is its own survival, i.e. ... Eventually, China’s intervention and the overwhelming American naval and aerial superiority brought the war to a stalemate, which, in turn, made both sides to go to the negotiation table8. On the one hand, the present-day North Korean regime – personified by Kim Jong Un – seemingly based on precedents from the 1950 war which didn’t turn fatal for their predecessors, and encouraged by the size of the contemporary North Korean armed forces, might seek a historical revenge. Obama administration’s policy of restrained pressure in regard to saber-rattling regimes, like North Korea and Iran, is probably considered a weakness, which would also boost Kim Jong Un’s desire, if any, to strike the US. On the other hand, Pyongyang is well aware that the regime would pay the price if embarked on such an adventure; as well as should be able to understand the difference between the American military capabilities and those of their own. Somewhere at that poin t of the equation appears the people’s perception of war in both countries, hence the number of eventual casualties that the general public would swallow; which, in turn, would make the war no option for the American public opinion. An act of aggression, however, changes the whole equation; therefore, the regime in Pyongyang probably takes into consideration that could not stake on this card. In case of war between North Korea and the US, Pyongyang would understandably hope for Chinese support, just as in the 1950s; moreover, Beijing’s assistance is currently of vital importance for the North Korean regime. China, for example, goes to great lengths to ameliorate the effects of the extreme UN sanctions on North

Scholarly Article Review Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Scholarly Article Review - Term Paper Example Studies of teacher’s shortages date back to the 1950 when the returning war veteran’s children began to tax the capacities of local schools. In the 1980, studies described both the types and extent of teacher’s shortages with emphasizes on the special education teachers. According to an article by the Robinson (2008), the reason behind the shortage is the high exit rates of the special education teachers. Due to the shortage, alternative licensure programs have come up. For example, army personnel are getting trained for a second career in education and radically intensified summer programs are replacing the four year licensure programs. Although these programs have assisted in placing more special education teachers in the classroom, the quality of both the newly licensed teachers and the teacher’s education programs is questionable. A closely related issue that according to the article by Education Commission of the States (2014) is the current merger of the special education teacher program into the overall education program. This will integrate with the already existence policies of education to fully cater for the students with the special needs to avoid any form of omissions or discrimination in the school curriculums. According to Eiken (2011) accountability of teachers working with special education students is becoming more dangerous and difficult since many of the students have severe problems. Due to the shortage of staff and the crowded classrooms, the students are prone to violent outbursts that frighten and even injure teachers. These impacts and controversies amount to only a small portion of the many issues related to special education. Teacher shortage, school reforms and inclusion are often heard in the news national wide. Although every story has two sides, extra effort is needed from teacher, the government and even the student to ensure that every story has a happy

Fall Protection in Residential Construction Essay

Fall Protection in Residential Construction - Essay Example However, a number of Federal rules have recently been enacted to protect residential construction workers from falls as well as limit the occurrence of such accidents. The OSHA fall protection in residential construction requirements particularly describes a number of methods that can be used by residential construction employers to protect their workers against fall related injuries and deaths during the construction process. Despite providing a number of potential benefits including preventing loss of lives due to fall related accidents, fall protection in residential also comes with a number of challenges and limitations. This paper critically discusses fall protection in residential construction with particular focus to the examples advantages, disadvantages and consequences of the various fall protection regulations for residential construction. Fall Protection Standards and Regulations There are a number of both Federal and state regulations that have been primarily designed to provide technical measures aimed at reducing the number of fall related accidents and fatalities. Prior to the issuance of the new directive, OSHA’s interim fall protection compliance regulations provided most of the fall protection guidelines used in residential construction. ... One of the new compliance directives that were recently issued by OSHA is the requirement that all employees working at heights of six feet or higher must use safety nets, guardrails and fall arrest systems as part of their protection against fall related accidents. According to the new OSHA directive, fall arrest systems include wearing a full body harness, lanyard, deceleration device and an anchor point. The use of scaffold protects the workers from the falling related accidents during construction. The scaffold used in any construction must be unbending and appropriate in the weight it carries to prevent construction materials and workers from falling. The scaffold is advantageous for it is only in rare cases where it usually falls. These scaffolds are on the other hand of a disadvantage nature especially in cases of overload, where it has caused death of workers as a result of the falling materials. Well-fixed ladders and other important personal fall protection systems protect workers from falling while constructing buildings. The use of ladders enhances the workers can move to very high heights of the buildings without falling. The use of ladder is a technical means of construction for it requires a correct ladder for any chosen task. It on the other requires a capable person both visually thus making the ladder use disadvantageous. It is preferred in most cases because it a cheaper protection measure from falling. Additionally, depending of the circumstances, alternatives such as warning lines or restraint systems are often part of OSHA requirements for fall protection in residential construction. Nevertheless, OSHA can exempt construction employees from the full requirements of fall protection regulations if they are able to document and prove

The European Central Banks Targeted Inflation Rates Assignment

The European Central Banks Targeted Inflation Rates - Assignment Example Inflation is a rise in the price of soothing ds and services within an economy which results in a decline in the purchasing power of every subsequent unit of currency and this causes a loss in the real value of exchange within an economy. The main measure of inflation is the Consumer Price Index which provides an indication of the price level of consumer goods and services which are purchased by households, business firms, the government as well as the rest of the world (in case of an open economy). The CPI in the United States is defined by the  Bureau of Labor Statistics  as â€Å"a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a  market basket  of consumer goods and services.† This paper helps to provide an insight into the inflation that is currently taking place within the German economy. As per the current happenings within the German economy, the prices of goods and services naturally saw a hike due to the holiday season; this period mostly witnesses an increase in demand of goods and services which is met by an almost equivalent amount of supply. ... Most governments, especially in the European zone, had been able to recover well from the financial crisis that took place world over in 2008-2009 but the repercussions of that are lingering on as inflation in the same economies. German consumer prices nonetheless, harmonized to compare with other European Union countries, showed a rise of 2.4 percent on the year in December, down from 2.8 percent in the previous month. The following graph helps to show the Consumer Price Index in Germany and the changes that the same has undergone over a decade. The graph thus helps in interpreting the various changes within the German economy with respect to fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index. By understanding the ups and downs within the graph it may be understood that the demand and supply situation of a consumer base within Germany has never been a constant; it varies according to the variations of the need for goods. Thus, putting the same to thought, it may be comprehended that a hike is usually seen during the peak holiday season when the demand and supply of goods and services see a huge rise. Chart - CPI inflation Germany 2011 (yearly basis) Interest rates refer to the rates at which a borrower is able to borrow money in order to have greater purchasing ability. (Parkin, Michael) Since loans and smaller debts can be taken from the European Central Bank at lower rates, consumers have been able to increase their purchasing powers and have been thus causing the economy to slow down considerably. Due to increased spending by the consumers, the economy has witnessed growth and expansion which has almost led in the demand outpacing the supply.