Quality of Consumers Goods

Quality of Consumers Goods In recent years, consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about the quality, safety, suitability and environmental impacts of the goods that they demand. However, in many cases, consumers would not aware of the quality of a goods or products even after consumptions. These products are known as the credence goods. It is difficult to distinguish between two qualities of the same good, even after consumption. In such case, consumers are willing to pay a premium for the hidden attributes of the goods that they cannot observe. Such goods include ‘natural versus genetically modified (GM) food, ‘organic versus non-organic products, ‘fair-trade products, ‘suitable for vegetarians goods, ‘Kosher, and more generally ‘high-quality versus low-quality products. However, this paper is interested to study a special type of credence goods, that is ‘Halal versus non-Halal products or goods. Halal is an Arabic word which means lawful or permissible. It follows the Islamic ruling known as the Syariah law. Halal covers every aspect of Muslims life especially dietary. Halal food simply means that the food products are free from any elements which Muslims prohibited from consuming. Extended discussion on Halal is presented in Chapter 2. With Islam as the second largest religion in the world and the fastest growing, the world Halal food trade is estimated to be around US$ 150 billion to US$ 500 billion in 2007 on which US$ 80 billion alone is generated from agri-food products (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 2007; Brunei Halal, 2007). These factors hasten the investment in Halal products, and in some cases, producers cheat for easy access to the market. Analysis of Halal in this paper, distinguishes itself from other studies on credence goods, as it involves different levels of consumers interactions. Any credence goods, including Halal products, comprise a special attribute or characteristic. This characteristic is not verifiable and revealed unless by experts or other professional services. Hahn (2004) suggested that real or complete credence goods would be difficult to find as consumers would have some judgement on products or services after the consumption. This is not entirely true as in case of Halal food product, especially Halal meat. It is very difficult to check if the meat is entirely Halal as claimed, as there is no existing way to check after consumption whether say the meat purchased is really slaughtered in Syariah methods, even though there is non-existence of other non-Halal ingredients. Therefore, in this sense, Halal meat is an example of a real credence good. In many cases, consumers concern for the special or credence attribute (eg. environmental, fair-trade, organic, Halal, etc.) is evidenced by their willingness to pay a premium for the high-quality products. The willingness to pay opens up an opportunity for low-quality producers (those which lack the special attribute) to take advantage by pretending to be that of high-quality, especially when only the producers know whether the desirable attribute exist in their products or not. Moreover, it is too expensive for individual consumer to directly monitor or verify these attributes. Therefore, consumers could only decide their purchasing choice on subjective belief regarding the products quality, which are based on all available information such as press report, word-of-mouth and labels when such adverse selection in credence goods market exist. Hence, producers cannot build reputation when production of low-quality imitating goods could not be detected and punished. Delayed detection of low-quality products allows its producers to imitate the strategy of their high-quality rivals, which hampered signalling use. Like other credence goods, Halal food products, through certified Halal brand/logo would improve the information asymmetry, but may carry the similar issues. These issues are discussed in Chapter 2. It is common for credence goods to feature a communication scheme such as labels or brands to help consumers in making purchasing decisions. Moreover, these labels or brands often require authentication by legislator or a third-party organisations that have the proficiency in each field of specific credence quality attributes, thus involving additional costs. In the Halal market, there also exist regulations by the government (eg. in Brunei, under the authority of Brunei Islamic Religious Council, Ministry of Religious Affairs) or third party organisation (eg. in United Kingdom, by Halal Monitoring Committee and Halal Food Authority, to name some). In which they certify a product through monitoring and indicating some guidelines for producers before granting a recognisable label on the products. Hence, this label helps consumers to make better decision choice. Moreover, a quality label that improves pre-purchasing information would increase welfare, and high-quality producers would always be willing to go through the necessary inspection as to reveal the products quality to the consumers, unless the cost for verification is extremely high. The welfare affect of introducing Halal labelling is briefly discussed in the analysis, especially where Halal labelling opens up an opportunity to access additional consumers, ie. Muslims, also referre d to the primary consumers. The analysis of Halal in this paper is aimed to study the interactions of the market forces or what commonly referred to in economics as ‘invisible hand of the demand and supply in Halal market. At the same time, considering the effects on introduction of labelling upon the level of equilibrium, in addition to other factors such as the additional demand by Muslims of primary market. This is a unique or special aspect which might not be available in previous studies on credence goods. The following chapters are organised as follows. Halal concept is further discussed in the next Chapter 2. This chapter is intended as an expansion to the introduction (Chapter 1) in order to provide a deeper understanding on the concept of Halal, and to provide information regarding the current market for Halal food products and the issues pertaining in the Halal market on the use of Halal logo. The relevant literature reviews are discussed in Chapter 3, discussing the works by other authors on the area of credence goods which can be linked to Halal. Chapter 4 presents the economic analysis and application of Halal products as credence goods. Chapter 5 concludes this paper and provide a discussion on the policy implications generated by the study. CHAPTER 2 2.0. A Brief Concept of Halal Religion involves beliefs and the way of life, where group of individuals interprets and respond to what they feel is supernatural and holy (Johnstones, 1975, in Shafie and Othman, n.d.). Shafie and Othman underline that most religion prescribes or prohibits certain behaviour including that of consumption (n.d.). The concept of Halal is not new in the Islamic world, but only in recent years that its potentials have been realised by corporations and organisations around the world, which normally perform under the conventional economics. The word Halal comes from Arabic which means permissible or lawful. It is ruled by the Islamic law known as Syariah law which is based on the Quran and Hadith (records of the life, actions and teachings of Prophet Muhammad). By not fully understanding the concept of Halal, one (non-Muslim especially in Muslim-minority country such as United Kingdom) may think that Halal only refers to meat or something to do with ‘kebabs. Halal actually governs every aspect of life of Muslims, however, this paper only view Halal perspective on consumption of food. What is not Halal is called Haram or non-permissible. Any product which comes from swine and/or dog is strictly Haram. A special cleansing ritual must be done if a Muslim directly touched (although accidentally) these animals and/or the sources (eg. skin). Such products that contain strictly Haram ingredients or derivatives are termed as ‘non-transformable in the analysis in Chapter 4. Amongst other strictly Haram animal products include blood, birds of prey, and/or carrion (dead animals without slaughtering). Alcohol is also Haram, but in some strict case it could become or change into Halal, this is discussed later on in Section 2.3 of this paper. Un-slaughtered animals such as beef and chicken are also become non-Halal, unless slaughtered by a Muslim according to Syariah practice. Such products are termed as ‘transformable in the analysis of this paper. What lies between Halal and Haram is called Mashbooh meaning that the goods appear to be suspicious, questionable and According to Bonne and Verbeke (2007), as product attribute, Halal refers to the nature, origin and the processing methods of the food products, which entails similarity with organic foods and those taking animal welfare or sustainability into account. Strict procedure must be followed to obtain highest standard of Halal, and that Halal products must not contact with non-Halal products; as similar to vegetarian food should not be in contact with any meat. Halal concept covers both food and non-food product category, but as mentioned earlier, this paper would only focus on the first one. Studies show that about 70 to 75 percent of Muslim strictly follows the Halal standard for their dietary (Hussaini 1993a in Bonne and Verbeke, 2007; Minkus-McKenna, 2007). The next section provides an overview of Halal food market. 2.1. Halal Food Market The Halal market is considered as the fastest growing market globally as reported by the Borneo Bulletin (2008). The world Halal industry is estimated to worth between US$ 500 million to around US$ 2 trillion (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 2007; Borneo Bulletin, 2008; Brunei Halal, 2007). The market is growing around US$ 500 billion annually due to the rising Muslim population worldwide (Borneo Bulletin, 2008; Brunei Halal, 2007). It is reported that the Muslim population is known to be the fastest growing religion in the world (Bonne and Verbeke, 2007) and in Europe (BBC News, 2005). The global Halal food trade itself in 2007 is estimated to be between US$ 150 billion (Brunei Halal, 2007) and US$500 billion with 12 percent of this or US$ 80 billion generated from agri-food products (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 2007). In addition, Islam is the second largest religion in the world (Riaz and Chaudry, 2004) with nearly 1.5 billion people (ibid.; Bonne and Verbeke, 2007; Din, 2006). The National Statistics Census carried out by the British Government, shows that Islam is also the second largest religion in the United Kingdom, approximately 1.6 million Muslims (2001). The statistics also revealed that Muslims are the largest household in the United Kingdom. These factors would justify that the demand for Halal food products in the United Kingdom is expanding. The market for Halal can be divided into two namely, primary and secondary. Primary market arises from the demand by Muslims, whereas, secondary market refers to the demand by non-Muslims. These terms are used in the analysis of this paper. Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (2007) suggested that Halal is often referred to safety and of high quality by both markets. Besides these, factors for increasing Halal demand includes: increasing incomes in primary market, rising population of Muslim, and rising demand for variety in primary market (ibid.). For Muslims, consuming Halal food products are their religious obligation, however it is known that Halal food are also consumed by non-Muslims. The later often perceived as specially selected and processed to achieve highest standards of quality (Riaz and Chaudry, 2004, p. 14). Manufacturers or producers that sells Halal products would create significant advantage compared to those that do not (Shafie and Othman, n.d.). Riaz and Chaudry (2004, p. 16) suggested that the increasing demand for Halal products as well as expanding number of Muslim population can be an inducement for producers to provide Halal products. Nonetheless, it is safe to say that these views mostly look at Muslim-majority economies such as those in Asian region. Hence, this paper provides a study in relation to Muslim-minority economy such as the United Kingdom. However, like any other food labels, Halal labelling also have some issues. 2.2. Halal Logo and Its Issues The use of Halal logo in food products indicates that the products are Islamic or Syariah compliant. Similar to other food related logos such as ‘suitable for vegetarian V-logo, Halal logo intends to communicate with the consumers of this product that it is fit for their consumption. Initial finding shows that some companies may use this logo even though its products might violate some rules of the Syariah law. Such situation was reported in which, some meat and other processed products from Brazil imported into the country, were being inspected by Halal Monitoring Committee, to be found a violation (2007). Another comparable situation is reported by The Tribune (2008) that the biggest meat producer in Scotland is under investigation over the supply of so-called ‘fake Halal meat in the country. There are some issues to which cause the problem arises. Fischer claims that the lack of a state body that is capable of inspecting the unregulated market [in the United Kingdom] has left this market open to fraud, corruption and without any kind of standards, uniform certification and standard (n.d.). Study by Fischer also shows that many British Muslims and organisations call upon the state to help recognise and standardised Halal. However for the ease of this papers analysis, this situation is relaxed, meaning producers behave honestly when claiming their products as Halal. Having Halal logo does not mean the products automatically accepted to be purchased by consumers especially that of primary market. Research undertaken by a university in the United Kingdom, shows that consumers prefer small shops when buying Halal meat, rather than buying from supermarkets, due to factors mentioned earlier and others including lack of marketing of Halal food (Anonymous, 2006). Like any other goods, the credence of Halal food products has to be clearly communicated such as indication on pack or on-label (Bonne and Verbeke, 2007), in addition to conventional marketing strategies, for example advertising. Moreover, this would add some utility value to the consumer and useful in the purchasing decision (ibid.). Nonetheless, to make the analysis of this paper simple, having Halal labelling is enough to induce greater demand and consumptions. 2.3. Issues of Alcohol Alcohol is clearly not permissible, however it is essential for certain industry processes and religious scholars are aware of this — some of them suggested that some use of alcohol may be acceptable as long as it is evaporated and not exist in the final products (Riaz and Chaudry, 2004). However, if there is an alternative to alcohol for such process, it would be preferred, as majority of Muslims would avoid products that use alcohol at any stage. It is generally known by Muslims that wine (a Haram state product) which turns ‘naturally into vinegar thus the vinegar is considered as Halal. This situation is called Istihala or ‘change of state or properties. A reverse situation as such that, if wine is added to Halal food, as in common cooking practise in the Western, hence the food becomes Haram. However, this issue is not represented in the analysis, for simplicity argument. It is clear that Halal can be perceived as a credence attribute, although there are numero us literatures on credence goods, only few actually discussed in relation to Halal products. Next chapter will discuss the literatures on credence products. CHAPTER 3 3.0. Literature Review This chapter is divided into five interrelated parts or sections. The first section provides a (general) glance on the studies or literatures on credence goods, which is applicable in the study of the market for Halal products. This is followed by the second section, of discussions on the demand for such goods. Market failure arises due to the nature of credence goods, which is discussed in the third section of this chapter. In the fourth section, a review on the solution of the market failure problem is examined. The final section deals with the issue pertaining to some of these solutions. 3.1. Credence Goods at a Glance There are growing numbers of literatures on credence goods attribute since it was first mentioned by Darby and Karni in 1973. These literatures involve different assumptions which produce diverse outcomes. However, it is difficult to find economic literature that deals directly with Halal subject as a credence good. Nonetheless, studies on some of the credence goods can be applied to Halal concept. Most literatures on credence goods assume that consumers are homogeneous. Hahn (2004) showed the contrast to this, in which the author grouped the consumers into two namely those who have some expertise or informed and those who do not or uninformed; This paper is slightly differs from that of Hahn (2004), where the consumers in this paper are also divided into two, namely Muslims (those who only consume Halal goods, or primary consumers) and non-Muslims. The latter is further grouped into two, ie. conventional consumers—who only consume non-Halal; and secondary consumers—who prefer to consume Halal products. Some economists (such as McCluskey, 2000; Cho and Hooker, 2002) used game theory models on credence attribute to assess the interplays of stakeholders. These include whether producers decide to claim their products as those of high quality, then they have to decide whether to produce according to the claims or not. However, the use of game theory is out of the scope of this papers analysis. Nonetheless, producers are assumed to produce what they intended to, without dishonesty. Economists divide consumers perception of food quality into a three attributes, namely: search, experience (which were pioneered by Nelson in 1970) and credence attribute (in Darby and Karni, 1973; Innes et. al., 2007; Umberger et. al., 2008). Search attributes can be determined from pre-consumption and at point of purchase such as colour, shape, brand and freshness. Experience attributes, arise from taste, juiciness, and food safety which could only be determined during or after consumption. Lastly, credence attributes refer to the process and production aspects, which the author claims that it cannot be determined before, during or after consumption of that particular food product (Umberger et. al., 2008). These food products, especially Halal as credence goods emphasise and maintain a strict quality attributes, and failure to maintain this would result a loss in its credibility, hence would brings disutility to the consumers or reduction of welfare. Some economists such as Caswell and Mojduszka (1996, in Cho and Hooker, 2002) argued that by providing information as policy tool, credence attributes could be transformed into search attributes. However, this would require a strict environment where system of information provided is perfect and fraud could not taken place — these are less likely to be a (current) scenario of the real world. Nonetheless, this concept is used in the analysis of this paper, for simplicity reason. On the other hand, Cho and Hooker (2002) mentioned that credence goods could act like a (lagged) experience goods if they involve time duration for detection of risk (relatively quickly), eg. infected food, vice versa. Like any production or supply of consumer goods, it depends on the demand for such goods, for an equilibrium to exist in the market. The following section discusses the determinants of demand for credence goods. 3.2. Consumer Demand for Credence Attribute Individuals would consume goods or services that yields highest utility or satisfaction level and presumed to make rational choice. However, this is subject to physical (ie. how much they can consume) and economic (ie. budget) constraint that limits the consumers choices (Mas-Colell et. al., 1995). Moreover, the preference-based approach to consumer demand is of critical importance for welfare analysis in which, without it, evaluating the consumers level of well-being would have no meaning (ibid.). Dulleck and Kerschbamer (2001) identified credence characteristics in terms of utility, in which although consumers can observe the utility derived from consumption of such goods ex post, they are not sure if the utility they get is the ex ante needed one. However, in the analysis of this paper, the utility is considered in terms of welfare level obtained from consumers and producers surplus. In addition to the conventional determinants for demand such as income, taste and preference, consumer characteristics and quality attribute become increasingly important factors nowadays. According to Antle (1999, in Senauer, 2001, p. 4), the new economics is more concerned with the markets for ‘quality-differentiated products in which the author presented a stylised demand function which include quality factors (non-price attribute): X = D (P, I, N, C, Q) Where X depends on price and other goods (P), income (I), number of population (N), characteristics of the population/consumer (C), and non-price attribute of the product (Q). It shows that any product attribute which includes nutrition content, safety, production process and even inputs, would creates utility or disutility. The analysis in Chapter 4 directly deals with the two of these factors namely, consumer characteristics (ie. preferences, and religious needs) and product attribute (ie. Halal credence). Hoehn and Deaton (2004) provided a model where consumers choose either purchasing credence (high-quality) good or conventional (low-quality) goods by comparing the consumer surplus differences. If the gain from consumer surplus from credence goods is large, compared to the opportunity cost of surplus given up from not purchasing conventional goods, the former good would be purchased. Their studies are used as a foundation for the analysis in Chapter 4 of this paper. Most literature reflects credence goods as vertically differentiated products due to quality differences. Nonetheless, Bester (n.d., in Roe and Sheldon, 2001) provided a concept of unobserved quality into a horizontal differentiation model and suggested that unobserved vertical quality would reduce producers incentives for horizontal differentiation via relaxing price competition amongst producers, in a way which prices act as a signal and consist of a quality premium. This is related to the second part of this papers analysis (Section 4.2. of Chapter 4) involving a franchise market. Consumers demand and preferences for credence goods often perceived from their willingness to pay. 3.2.1. Willingness to Pay There are other factors why consumers might be willing to pay a premium besides the quality attribute, such that they perceive credence goods as fashionable, trendy, or it could be that the purchase the alternative to credence goods would offend other people (McCluskey, 2000). The later is pertinent to Halal goods, especially in a situation where the consumer lives with Muslims housemates, or in a Muslim-dominated country. Consumers would also prefer for the high-quality products, even not for the sake of quality itself but other factors. For instance, when consumers care about other quality or criterion such as animal welfare, environmental, ethical, and religious reasons, to what Antle (1999, in Carlsson et. al., 2004) referred as extrinsic quality. If the distinctions in quality were signalled efficiently, consumers would be willing to pay a higher price or premium for products of high quality, hence compensating the higher production costs, as suggested by Kola and Latvala (2003). In their research on the effects of information on the demand for beef products credence characteristics in Finland, 59 percent of the respondents showed their willingness to pay a higher price for additional information. Whereas, 41 percent of respondents had zero willingness to pay, in which 35 percent of them are satisfied with the existing information, and 17 percent considered the information is not enough or they did not trust the information. As credence quality of a product cannot be observed directly at a reasonable cost or without invasive testing, consumers would rely heavily on claims or information made by the producers via brands, labels or advertisements (Cho and Hooker, 2002). This papers analysis however, only considers that consumers fully trust producers. The next section provides discussion if the information provided is insufficient or inaccurate, resulting a market failure. 3.3. Market Failure It can be said that the credence market are prone to the problems of market failure. There are different ways for a credence market to result in inefficiency. It is mainly due to information asymmetry between producers and consumers. 3.3.1. Information Asymmetry In credence goods, consumers cannot directly observe the quality of the goods that they consume where only the producers know the exact quality, thus resulting information asymmetry. Common intuition indicates that the solution for an information asymmetry is by providing more information. Information, as conferred by Weiss (1995, in Cho and Hooker, 2002) is the central tenet of food safety economics. Brands, logos and labels most importantly serve as a signal to inform and communicate to the consumers about products attributes, hence alleviating information asymmetry between producers and consumers. According to Verbeke (2005), information is likely to be effective only when it addresses specific information needs of its target audience. It requires identification and detailed understanding of these needs, and proper management on the provision of the information in order to optimally address the needs (ibid.). Information regarding food quality and safety can be categorised as risk information and aims at reducing uncertainty faced by the consumers in making purchasing decisions. Hence, success would come from better understanding regarding consumers attitude, behaviour, motives, and their perceptions (Frewer et. al., 2004, in Verbeke, 2005). There exist welfare effects to consumers for providing (Marette et. al., 1999, in ibid.) or withholding (Mazzocchi et. al., 2004b, in ibid.) food quality information. The work done by Umberger (et. al., 2008), can be used as a foundation on the argument for the importance of Halal logo or labelling on food products in particular. The authors claimed that potential market failure would occur if consumers face limited choice and if the access to ‘innovative products is not available, or information regarding ‘product attributes, for example the production methods, is not transparent (ibid.). With this regards, Halal products would be seen as innovative products and carry some product attributes that must be fulfilled, otherwise there might exist market failure for Halal products. Halal logo especially from organisation for Halal certification, could be used to indicate these attributes. Consequently, lack of information becomes the key factor for the inefficiency of credence market. The followings are resulted from insufficient information. 3.3.1A. Failure due to Fraud In their studies, Dulleck and Kerschbamer (2001) divided credence attribute problems into two fold: inefficiency treatment, and overcharging. The first fold refers to the quality level (or service) of credence goods provided by producers, and inefficiency treatment can be either under- or over-treatment. On the other hand, the second fold refers to the pricing of credence goods, particularly as self-described, overcharging. When the signal is unavailable, especially in the case where labelling is not mandatory, sellers may have the incentive to fraud by supplying products of low-quality but claiming these products as high quality. Akerlof (1970) explains this situation with automobiles market as an example, in which with asymmetric information high-quality goods (‘peach) would be driven out by the low-quality goods (‘lemons) hence resulting market failure. Moreover, as argued by Liebie (2002), when producers of low-quality products claim to be of high-quality, this would raise doubt in consumers mind and would not be willing to pay a premium for the high-quality goods. This in turns, would lower the profits of high-quality producer hence reducing their incentive to invest in high-quality products, in which would create further doubt to consumer. The cycle goes on until only low-quality products would be sold, even though consumers prefer high-quality products, resulting market failure. Darby and Karni (1973) suggested that the amount of fraud depends on reputation, market conditions, and technological factors. Profit-maximising producers would have the incentive to fraud by claiming their products are of high quality if the probability of not being caught is high enough (McCluskey, 2000) or conversely if the probability of being caught is low. Such fraud issues bring uncertainty to consumers. 3.3.1B. Problems of Uncertainty Bonroy and Constantos (2008) concluded that uncertainty by consumers on the identity of producers which produce the high-quality products put the high-quality producers in disadvantage resulting from higher cost. They argued that this disadvantage would remain even when the consumption of high-quality products benefits are well worth the cost difference and all beliefs regarding the high-quality producers are in the right direction (ibid.). Their model explains the difficulty faced by high-quality credence products to acquire the dominant market share they should have obtained from efficiency perspective (ibid.). This is however beyond the concept of this paper, as to avoid complication in the model, it is assumed that producers behave honestly in producing the products and consumers fully aware the qualities. 3.3.1C. Non-Rational Behaviour Unavailability of credible food quality labelling, consumers would face uncertainty and would incur search cost on specific information (Hobbs, 2004, in Verbeke 2005). As a result some consumers would not behave rationally, being ignorant, or make decisions which are not maximising their expected utility. Such behaviour explained as a concept of â€Å"bounded and limited rationality† or â€Å"rationally ignorant consumer hypothesis† (as found in Kahneman and Tversky, 1973; Simon 1979a,b; Camerer and Loewenstein, 2004; in Verbeke 2005), is however beyond the concept of the study in this paper. Verbeke (2005) concluded that without quality verification, traceability was of little value to consumers, whereas quality assurances were much more valuable to them. The solutions to the problems of market failure are presented in the next section. 3.4. Solutions to the Problems This section examines some of the solutions to the problems mentioned previously which are mainly caused by lack of information. The most common solution this, as stated earlier, is providing more information through labelling or signalling. But this must be accompanied with efficient monitoring. 3.4.1. The Use of Labelling as a Signal It is generally known that labelling of credence attribute could be used as a way to certify the provision of valued attributes, hence to avoid market failure. Moreover, Caswell and Padberg (1992) claimed that information in the form of labels, word-of-mouth, advertising, and education would contribute to the co

Social Work Theories for Neglected Children

Social Work Theories for Neglected Children Critically evaluate the contributions of theory, research, legislation and policy to social work practice in relation to one aspect of practice in one of the following: Children and Families. In this essay I am going to critically evaluate the contributions of theory, research, legislation and policy to social work practice in relation to looked after children who experience neglect. Erickson and Egeland (2002) argue that there are five types of neglect; emotional, medical, physical, mental health and educational neglect and these can all impact negatively on a child. I have chosen to concentrate on middle aged children around the ages of five to ten years of age who have experienced neglect because neglect is one of the most identified forms of child abuse and can have serious effects on children of this age (Mennon et al, 2010). According to the DfES (2014) 62% of looked after children are looked after because of abuse or neglect. Therefore it is important to evaluate how theory, research, legislation and policy can contribute to social workers understanding of neglect and how social workers can support children in overcoming these effects. I appreciate that children wh o become looked after due to neglect often experience other forms of abuse and these can have further negative effects on children (Mennon et al, 2010), however because this essay aims to be prescriptive rather than exhaustive I have chosen to concentrate on middle aged children who experience neglect. Research has made a significant contribution to social work practice in relation to looked after children who experience neglect. The majority of research concentrating on children who experience neglect (Mennon et al, 2010; Trickett and McBride Chang, 1995; Hildyard and Wolfe, 2002) has tended to show that the risk factors associated with neglect can significantly hinder children’s growth and development. Children who are neglected tend to live in poverty, with a lack of parental care, parents may be misusing substances, parents may have mental health problems, one parent may be experiencing domestic violence, and poor prenatal and postnatal care can all lead to a child being neglected by their parents (Pelton, 1994). Research has shown that children who are neglected tended to have the lowest academic grades (Eckenrode, Laird and Dorris). Studies have found that children of school age who were neglected showed social and behavioural problems, they were socially withdrawn, un popular with other children and socially isolated (Erickson and Egeland, 2002 and Trickett and McBride Chang, 1995). Hildyard and Wolfe (2002) found that children who were severely neglected impacted detrimentally on children’s emotional well-being. Therefore, the factors associated with neglect can impact negatively on a child’s normal development and have adverse effects, which is why it is vital for social workers to understand the impact of neglect on children so they can target the most effective interventions to help children overcome the effects. However, it could be argued that there is a lack of research that specifically relates to children who are looked after and experience neglect. Many children who are neglected who are involved with child protection services will have interventions targeted at them in order to prevent neglect from continuing and children do not always become looked after. For example, a child who is being neglected because their parents have substance misuse problems may not end up being taken in to care because the parents seek help for their problems. Or a parent who is being abused may move away from the abusive partner which enhances their ability to parent the child. Much of the research tends to concentrate on how social workers in child protection services can help families where children are experiencing neglect. Arguably therefore there is a lack of research which specifically looks at how the two compounding issues of neglect and being looked after impacts on children. Despite this, the research exploring the effects of neglect on children help social workers understand the impact of neglect on children who are looked after and how this hinders their development which they can then consider when undertaking assessments. This can then help social workers decide what intervention is needed to promote a child’s health and well-being. Attachment theory for instance is invaluable in understanding why looked after children experience some of the adverse effects that they do (Trickett and McBride Chang, 1995). Howe argues that attachment theory is â€Å"very useful to child welfare and adoption workers† (1995: 136) because it can explain children’s behaviour which can help social workers target the most effective interventions (Howe, 2005). Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby, argued that children need â€Å"secure attachments to their mother in order for them to be stable individuals in later life† (Dunk-west, 2013: 42 ). Attachment theory suggests that children who grow up without a secure caregiver have difficulty forming stable social relationships in later life. The lack of a warm and secure relationship with a caregiver during early childhood can lead to a child experiencing adverse effects, such as delinquent behaviour and depression (Howe, 1995). Therefore children who have been neglected are likely to have insecure attachments because of the lack of care and nurturance they received growing up (Hildyard and Wolfe, 2002). Attachment theory can therefore contribute significantly to social work practice because it helps social workers in their assessments to understand the child’s needs. It also helps social workers understand the need to place looked after children who have experienced neglect in stable placements so they can develop secure attachments to their new caregivers (Howe, 2005; Cocker and Allain, 2008). This can support the emotional and social development of children and is central in building resilience (Crawford and Walker, 2007). To ensure placements are stable and secure attachments can develop; social workers must carry out good quality assessments and develop robust care plans (Cocker and Allain, 2008). Social workers must then frequently assess children in their new placements and assess the quality o f their new attachments with their new caregivers, continually updating the care plan to ensure they are supporting the child’s social and emotional development (Cocker and Allain, 2008). However, Dunk-West (2013) argues that whilst attachment theory is important, it is vital to assess children within their social contexts. The inequalities looked after children face can be more effectively explained by using an ecological approach. Walter (2007) argued in his study that a combination of risks and multiple stressors can lead to adverse effects for looked after children and therefore a holistic approach such as the ecological model can help social workers to do that. Using Brofenbrenner’s (1979) theory for example, within the micro system a social worker could assess that a looked after child who has been neglected is highly likely to have had very little parental support and there may have been family conflict and this could have been because of characteristics within the exo system of a child’s life. Their exo system is likely to have been characterized by poverty and living in a deprived neighbourhood. For example, parents may argue because of the stre ss of living in poverty or engage in excessive drinking or drug taking to try and cope with the stress of living in poverty which then affects their ability to parent effectively and provide children with adequate support or supervision. Furthermore, within the macro system looked after children are aware that society perceives them as a group of children that are deemed as at risk (Walter, 2007). For example, in Care and Prejudice (2009) an Ofsted study that interviewed three hundred children in care found that half the children in their study felt that the public held negative stereotypes about them, such as being delinquent and troublemakers. Looked after children felt heavily discriminated against and felt that this impacted on their ability to do well academically, build friendships and gain employment (Care and Prejudice, 2009). Therefore, it could be argued using an ecological approach that looked after children who experience neglect have poorer outcomes than other children because of the multiple social and environmental factors that impact on parents capacity to parent effectively (McAuley and Davis, 2009). It could be argued that attachment theory is matriarchal in nature. For example, Bowlby’s work in particular which was developed in the 1950s is arguably sexist because the primary caregiver is assumed to be the mother (Beckett, 2006). Yet more recent work on attachment theory has reframed attachment as not meaning attachment to the mother. In modern society as more women have entered the labour market, children are increasingly taken care of by multiple figures; this can include the father, childminders or grandparents (Dunk West, 2013; Nicolsen et al, 2006). Children tend to attach and bond to multiple key figures, male and female (Beckett, 2006). Despite this, research does tend to demonstrate how fathers are marginalized by social workers in children services and are poorly engaged. This can be particularly detrimental for children who are looked after because social workers potentially lose a valuable asset for children (Brigid and Taylor, 2000). Brigid and Taylor (2000) also argued that legislation and policy does not contribute effectively enough to guide social workers in how to challenge traditional gender assumptions, nor does legislation give clear guidance for engaging fathers. For instance, it was only from 2003 that fathers who were not married to the mother of their child acquired parental responsibility automatically even if he was on the birth certificate. Prior to this change in legislation a father could only acquire parental responsibility by a written agreement with the mother or by applying to court (Cocker and Allain, 2008). Therefore, it could be argued that the earlier work of attachment theory has heavi ly influenced social workers in children’s services. The importance of the attachment to the mother has been persistent and as a result social workers have often marginalized fathers (Brigid and Taylor, 2000). Attachment theory has therefore arguably contributed negatively to looked after children because social workers are still heavily influenced by its matriarchal nature. Legislation however underpins how social workers should support looked after children and therefore makes a huge contribution to looked after children who experience neglect, in particular the Children’s Act 1989 and Children’s Act 2004. Under section 22 of the Children Act 1989 there is a duty on the local authority ‘to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare’ (Branye and Carr, 2013: 291) it looks after. The Children’s Act 2004 added an additional duty on local authorities to promote the child’s educational achievements. When a child is subject to a care order or interim care order, social workers become the looked after child’s â€Å"corporate parent† and share parental responsibility with the birth parents. Therefore the local authority becomes responsible for a child’s care and achieving positive outcomes (Cocker and Allain, 2008). For example, ‘Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 states that parents hav e a duty to ensure their children are suitably educated’ (Cocker and Allain, 2008: 138), social workers as a corporate parent therefore share this duty with the birth parents (Cocker and Allain, 2008). As a result of this legislation looked after children are given a designated teacher who ensures they have a personal education plan which sets out developmental and educational needs and identifies targets (Cocker and Allain, 2008). Personal education plan meetings are then held twice a year to assess the child’s educational progress. Research has shown that looked after children tend to achieve lower grades at school than their peers and has therefore arguably heavily influenced legislation. In addition, local authorities have a duty to monitor children’s developmental progress and so children receive medicals once a year. This is all part of safeguarding and promoting the child’s welfare. CAMHS involvement may also be necessary if the child has additional therapeutic needs (Cocker and Allain, 2008). The Children’s Act 2004 made it mandatory for different agencies to work collaboratively and share responsibility for vulnerable children and this includes looked after children so social workers have a duty to work with a range of professionals in order to promote the well being of children. Legislation is therefore central to working with looked after children as it mandates how social workers should support looked after children. Despite parental responsibility being shared, the local authority can overrule birth parents but social workers must work in partnership with parents or anybody else with parental responsibility and consult them when making any decisions regarding the child’s welfare (Cocker and Allain, 2008). However, partnership working with parents in practice can be extremely difficult for social workers when parents do not agree with their decisions regarding the child. For example, a number of studies have highlighted how challenging it is for social workers to work in partnership with parents and take their wishes into account when a decision is made to permanently remove a child (Clifford and Burke, 2004; Charlton et al, 1998). Working in partnership with parents therefore becomes extremely challenging for social workers as they try to take the parent’s wishes in to account but also trying to act in the best interests of the child and gather evidence to explain why the child sho uld not return home. Furthermore, Wigley et al’s (2006) study found that social workers often faced challenges when trying to collaborate with schools, as they either did not implement personal education plans or they did not communicate effectively with social workers which made it difficult to work in partnership with educational professionals. In addition, social workers under Section 22 of the Children’s Act 1989 must also consult the child about their wishes before any decision is made and this is a key principle of the Children’s Act 1989. However, a number of studies have found that children felt they were not listened to by social workers. They often felt powerless and had very little say about their placements (Morgan, 2006; Wigley et al, 2006). It is vital for children to feel listened to so they can develop a sense of self-efficacy (Schofield and Beek, 2006) which Rutter (1985) suggests is a key factor in building resilience. It could be argued however that in many cases the child could not understand why they were being moved to a different placement and did not understand that social workers were trying to act in their best interests. Therefore, legislation although good in principle, is arguably not always effectively put in to social work practice in relation to looked after children. Care Matters: Time for change (DfES, 2007) is a major policy framework for looked after children and is similar to legislation because it stresses the importance of improving the educational, health and emotional needs of children (Cocker and Allain, 2008). In particular, Care Matters suggests that educational attainment needs to be improved, looked after children should be prioritised in school admissions, health outcomes for looked after children should be improved, and placements need to be more local and stable and this can be delivered through high quality assessment and care planning (DfES, 2007). In addition, Care Matters suggests that children should be helped to engage in leisure activities and hobbies, which can help children to build their self-esteem and build support networks and friendships. Rutter (1985) suggested that a sense of self-esteem and confidence is vitally important to help children build resilience. Jaffee et al (2007) defines resilience as â€Å"achieving normal development in the face of considerable adversity†. Therefore, policy has made a vital contribution to social work practice in relation to looked after children. However, with local authorities facing a fourth year of cuts to funding and with increasing numbers of children going in to care (McNicoll and Stothart, 2014) it could be argued that it is causing increasing pressure for social workers to implement policy effectively in to practice. In particular, some local authorities arehaving to make cuts to foster placements making it increasingly difficult for social workers to find high quality placements for children who have high level and complex needs (McNicoll and Stothart, 2014). This makes it extremely challenging for social workers to find placements that are local and stable for children. To conclude, it is evident that theory, research, legislation and policy have all made a major contribution to social work practice in relation to looked after children who experience neglect. Research has heavily influenced legislation and policy, which in turn underpins social work practice in relation to looked after children. In addition, attachment theory has helped social workers to understand why looked after children may behave in the way they do and the ecological approach helps social workers to understand why looked after children experience inequalities and tend to have poorer outcomes than children in the rest of the population. These theories help social workers when carrying out their assessments and finding the most effective interventions to support looked after children who have experienced neglect. However, it is evident that policy and legislation cannot always easily be applied effectively in to practice because of the challenges of working in partnership with bi rth families who may oppose the child’s permanency plan and children who may not understand that the social worker is acting in their best interests. In addition, attachment theory is arguably quite matriarchal in nature and this has influenced social workers and has resulted in fathers being marginalised. Furthermore, social workers may not have the time or resources to provide the most appropriate support to looked after children and this is a weakness of the ecological approach and policy. Despite this, it is evident that theory, research, legislation and policy have all made a significant contribution to social work practice in relation to looked after children who have experienced neglect.

The Causes and Consequences of the Russian Crisis of 1998 Essay

The causes and consequences of the Russian crisis of 1998 The period 1995 to mid-1997 was boom time for Russia’s financial markets. The value of the Russian bonds and stocks soared, with the participation of foreigners in these asset markets increasing rapidly. International investors’ optimism about the country’s future was lifted by stabilization policy that followed the advice of Western institutions. Russian crisis of 1998 were caused due to a number of factors, the investor risk aversion by foreign players, fall in oil prices put the ruble under a drastic downward trend. Russia at that point in time was heavily dependent on capital inflows which was eroded due to the external shocks e.g Asian financial crisis etc country stabilization program crumbled immediately due such triggers. The government at that time protected the exchange rate mechanism and the ruble, they took measures by reducing the supply of money which lead to drastic change in the interest rates.Turbulent change in the government where administration tried to stabilize the economy through drastic fiscal tightening and fresh foreign borrowings. These were drastically desperate measures they had taken which lead to volatility and instability in financial markets. The initial surge in bond and stock prices in 1995–97 owed to a highly ambitious monetary stabilization program, which compressed inflation much faster than other transition economies. Due to high dollarization, disinflation was based on the exchange rate. The program produced rapid real appreciation and a persistent need for capital inflows, while weak economic structures and lack of domestic political support prevented accompanying fiscal consolidation and foreign direct investment. The ga... ...tzer, and Brian Pinto. 2005. â€Å"Sargent–Wallace Meets Krugman–Flood–Garber, Or: Why Sovereign Debt Swaps Don't Avert Macroeconomic Crises.† Economic Journal 115:343–67 †¢ Gaddy, Clifford G., and Barry W. Ickes. 1998. â€Å"Russia's Virtual Economy.† Foreign Affairs 77(5):53–67 †¢ Government of the Russian Federation (2001a), Federal Government 2001 Borrowing Plan, Available http://www.akm.ru †¢ Astapovich, A., E. Gavrilenkov, L. Grigoryev, T. Maleva, A. Poletaev and S. Vasiliev (2000), ‘Overview of Economic Policy in Russia in 1999’, Bureau of Economic Analysis †¢ IMF (International Monetary Fund). 2000b. Debt- and Reserve-Related Indicators of External Vulnerability. March 23, 2000. Available at http://www.imf.org/external/np/pdr/debtres/debtres.pdf †¢ Government of The Russian Federation. 1998b. â€Å"Stabilization of the Economy and Finance Program.† June 19, 1998 The Causes and Consequences of the Russian Crisis of 1998 Essay The causes and consequences of the Russian crisis of 1998 The period 1995 to mid-1997 was boom time for Russia’s financial markets. The value of the Russian bonds and stocks soared, with the participation of foreigners in these asset markets increasing rapidly. International investors’ optimism about the country’s future was lifted by stabilization policy that followed the advice of Western institutions. Russian crisis of 1998 were caused due to a number of factors, the investor risk aversion by foreign players, fall in oil prices put the ruble under a drastic downward trend. Russia at that point in time was heavily dependent on capital inflows which was eroded due to the external shocks e.g Asian financial crisis etc country stabilization program crumbled immediately due such triggers. The government at that time protected the exchange rate mechanism and the ruble, they took measures by reducing the supply of money which lead to drastic change in the interest rates.Turbulent change in the government where administration tried to stabilize the economy through drastic fiscal tightening and fresh foreign borrowings. These were drastically desperate measures they had taken which lead to volatility and instability in financial markets. The initial surge in bond and stock prices in 1995–97 owed to a highly ambitious monetary stabilization program, which compressed inflation much faster than other transition economies. Due to high dollarization, disinflation was based on the exchange rate. The program produced rapid real appreciation and a persistent need for capital inflows, while weak economic structures and lack of domestic political support prevented accompanying fiscal consolidation and foreign direct investment. The ga... ...tzer, and Brian Pinto. 2005. â€Å"Sargent–Wallace Meets Krugman–Flood–Garber, Or: Why Sovereign Debt Swaps Don't Avert Macroeconomic Crises.† Economic Journal 115:343–67 †¢ Gaddy, Clifford G., and Barry W. Ickes. 1998. â€Å"Russia's Virtual Economy.† Foreign Affairs 77(5):53–67 †¢ Government of the Russian Federation (2001a), Federal Government 2001 Borrowing Plan, Available http://www.akm.ru †¢ Astapovich, A., E. Gavrilenkov, L. Grigoryev, T. Maleva, A. Poletaev and S. Vasiliev (2000), ‘Overview of Economic Policy in Russia in 1999’, Bureau of Economic Analysis †¢ IMF (International Monetary Fund). 2000b. Debt- and Reserve-Related Indicators of External Vulnerability. March 23, 2000. Available at http://www.imf.org/external/np/pdr/debtres/debtres.pdf †¢ Government of The Russian Federation. 1998b. â€Å"Stabilization of the Economy and Finance Program.† June 19, 1998

Comparing Relationships Between Gods and Men in Prometheus Bound and Job :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

The Relationships Between Gods and Men in Prometheus Bound and Job      Ã‚  Ã‚   The question of why bad things happen to good people has perplexed and angered humans throughout history. The most common remedy to ease the confusion is to discover the inflicter of the undeserved suffering and direct the anger at them: the horror felt about the Holocaust can be re-directed in the short term by transforming Adolf Hitler into Lucifer and vilifying him, and, in the long term, can be used as a healing device when it is turned into education to assure that such an atrocity is never repeated. What, however, can be done with the distasteful emotions felt about the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Surely the citizens of those two cities did not themselves directly provoke the government of the United States to deserve the horror of a nuclear attack. Can it be doubted that their sufferings were undeserved and should cause deep sorrow, regret, and anger? Yet for the citizens of the United States to confront these emotions they must also confront t he failings of their own government. A similar problem is found in two works of literature, Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and the book of Job found in the Tanakh. In each of these works a good man is seen to be suffering at the hand of his god; Prometheus is chained to a rock by Zeus who then sends an eagle to daily eat Prometheus' liver while Job is made destitute and brought to endure physical pain through an agreement between God~ and Satan. To examine the travails of these two men is to discover two vastly different concepts of the relationship between god and man.    The first question which must be addressed is, "Why have these men been made to suffer?" To simply say that Zeus or God is displeased is not enough, and to say that Prometheus and Job have sinned is confusing. Most Western readers approach these works with a pre-conceived notion of sin which has been born out of the Judeo-Christian theological tradition a tradition which dictates that there are specific moral rules which must be followed, and to transgress them is to sin. While this interpretation of sin may be functional for a reading of Job, it is useless for understanding Prometheus Bound. Comparing Relationships Between Gods and Men in Prometheus Bound and Job :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays The Relationships Between Gods and Men in Prometheus Bound and Job      Ã‚  Ã‚   The question of why bad things happen to good people has perplexed and angered humans throughout history. The most common remedy to ease the confusion is to discover the inflicter of the undeserved suffering and direct the anger at them: the horror felt about the Holocaust can be re-directed in the short term by transforming Adolf Hitler into Lucifer and vilifying him, and, in the long term, can be used as a healing device when it is turned into education to assure that such an atrocity is never repeated. What, however, can be done with the distasteful emotions felt about the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Surely the citizens of those two cities did not themselves directly provoke the government of the United States to deserve the horror of a nuclear attack. Can it be doubted that their sufferings were undeserved and should cause deep sorrow, regret, and anger? Yet for the citizens of the United States to confront these emotions they must also confront t he failings of their own government. A similar problem is found in two works of literature, Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and the book of Job found in the Tanakh. In each of these works a good man is seen to be suffering at the hand of his god; Prometheus is chained to a rock by Zeus who then sends an eagle to daily eat Prometheus' liver while Job is made destitute and brought to endure physical pain through an agreement between God~ and Satan. To examine the travails of these two men is to discover two vastly different concepts of the relationship between god and man.    The first question which must be addressed is, "Why have these men been made to suffer?" To simply say that Zeus or God is displeased is not enough, and to say that Prometheus and Job have sinned is confusing. Most Western readers approach these works with a pre-conceived notion of sin which has been born out of the Judeo-Christian theological tradition a tradition which dictates that there are specific moral rules which must be followed, and to transgress them is to sin. While this interpretation of sin may be functional for a reading of Job, it is useless for understanding Prometheus Bound.

Dead Men In Literature :: essays research papers

The Dead Man and the Cure   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The desert was the apotheosis of all deserts, huge expanding into dusty nothingness in all directions. The dying man walked and his footfalls puffed indifferently. He did not know how much longer his feet or his soul would carry him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His death was certain, for they all had told him. He knew his doom and the incurable pain of the world gone mad. He had visited the church and the ones in robes said he was damned by whatever gods they prayed to. He had studied at the academy in an attempt to find answers to his affliction, but found only the stench of scholarly bull-shit. He had placed his heart in the hand of whore-oracles in a quest for the one solution only to be shattered and sucked like a dry husk. He grew closed to the death and the depth of being, which he hated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He had come to the desert with dead eyes and will to burn. He walked the walk of the last rited and welcomed the sting of the dry sand when it would touch his lips.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He walked on and felt the last essence drain the will removing itself. He stared into the open space of a cold- fire heaven fell to his knees and performed the act of contrition for he had embraced the fate of the hollow empty man he had become. In gasp he fell total into the flatness of the wasteland and waited to die. The world was colorless to him before, but now it was black.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Later in the curious muse of time a dark natty haired French-man and his beautiful companion with a case came upon the fallen man. The French-man took one look at the man and knew what he must do. The French-man leaned over and placed a small magic plastic puck in the man’s flannel and showed him the life of fun and camaraderie like a brother. They showed him the gift of crazy times, the Zen of air-hockey, and appreciation of odd theatre. Still he lay and they walked away, but before the French-man left he yelled â€Å"SHOTGUN!† The dead man stirred the tiniest bit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Next a woman loud and wild came to the man. She picked up his head which where the skin had pulled tight against his body opened his lips and placed a small brightly colored piece of candy in his mouth.

Moi…Yeah What About It?

At this darkness blocked my blurry vision, and a warm coppery taste was my only comfort, it had been my comfort for so long now. It was only a friend and I'm nearly dead. But when you get accused of going with your cousin you'd expect it of a friend. I was fourteen when it started, just over a year, you'd think I'd be all cried out, but I've learnt, gradually, save them, save them for the nights when you close your eyes and he's giving you what you want, and what you need†¦ love. Corny you might think, but the good things make you cry more than the bad. Every time he's not smoked bit too much skunk, sput, or what ever else he does, we'll cuddle and he whispers those three little words every girl longs to hear from a tall dark and handsome older guy. ‘I love you' But where's the truth in it. Most guys of sixteen think those three word can bed a girl. Well if they're vulnerable enough it's a definite thing. That's where trouble starts. Sex its just another word for hurt, blood, committing yourself and signing freedom and friends away. And all to some guy that thinks you want to spend the rest of your life with cos they popped your cherry. Its not reality, not to me and it shouldn't be to you. Loves a trap, an evil thing. It makes me feel sick, even just thinking about the hell I was put through in as shorter amount of time as a year. I thought I was being brave every time I was alone and my cloudy green eyes cried. I was surprised myself, as every moment we spent in each other's arms was a good time. I thought I'd never have to be alone. But now I know the sparkles all gone, and the stitches are here. He wasn't scared to show anyone the hate and anguish he felt inside for me, not even my mother, the first time, he hurt me was in front of both our families we sat down to a meal, in my house, a time we all thought was good. But I was dragged by my hair into the kitchen viewable from the dinning table. I knew what was coming I had seen his eyes when he had fought previously with lads, those eyes looked straight at me. I began to run to the side door, which was positioned at the side of his masculine, strong aftershave smelling body; my head was spinning as I was thrown back towards the sink. My head in the bowl with the dishes from the pervious course, and he kicked me right in the spine. My father was no longer around he had left us when my brother and I were just three years old. My brother and I thought the same; people said it was just telepathic, I screamed as the broken dishes cut into my made-up face. The phone rang. I heard it, I heard it through the screams and shouts, of my mother and the warnings of that bastards family. My mother ran to the phone hoping and praying it was someone with power that could help, she wasn't let down, my brother, he said he felt something and Wiz was driving him down to the house, my mother yelled down the phone hoping Wiz would hear, I'll never forget the words she said it was the first time I had ever heard her swear, I heard them words over and over in my confused and unsure head, â€Å"GET YOUR BLOODY FOOT DOWN and HURRY THE FUCK UP† I'd had enough my body couldn't take any more of his beating, I lay collapsed on the cold tiled floor coated in warm blood clotted in little ball, coughed out of my tooth missing mouth. I heard the screeching of tyres out front, as my brother ran in followed by four sets of other heavy footsteps. Screams and shouts were all I heard nothing I could make sense of. I was kicked one last time in my stomach before everything went dead. I was alone. I was alone in a bed, with tubes pumping all kinds of shit into me, I tried to move but my body refused, to leave me only lying still. I was there for a few days unable to move my bruised limbs, my brother and his mates came in every so often and comforted me, I didn't feel safe around guys though and refused to speak to them. The one person that made me feel safe was a younger lad I had met on a holiday that year, my mother had paid for him to fly from his home near Stoke to be with me for a few days. My brother had told me I had called out his name numerous occasions. I was unable to remember. I still thought about him though, when visiting times were over, I still loved him. I thought that nothing could change that, not even a hospital bed. My mother had told me a million times that he was bad news for me. I knew she was right but I always had the last word. I always blamed it on my dad leaving though; I made my mum feel bad because I never had a man to tell me how really men were. But really I should take it out on him he's the one who couldn't keep his pants up, well his ankles always were cold, my mum said anyway. I kind of understand now though why my mother never got with another, she could have had any one. She was the most beautiful woman who graced the earth. My brother always use to boost my confidence when I was younger saying I was like her, but no one ever could be as pretty, so perfect. I loved her more than anyone could love anything in the universe. But my love for her was too deep I was told, he told me. I believed him too. I was gullible and he was charming. I HATE HIM SO MUCH. He changed my mother's perspective in my live; my whole world, and left me behind. My life was complicated, it always had been. No person, how sophisticated, how intelligent could understand my head, the way I would think. I used to write stories and draw strange looking picture, all the teachers thought I was ill in the head from the first day I walked through the school gates Primary and High. They can all drop dead just as every other down looking snob in this world can. They don't understand anything, half of them don't even have kids of their own, and how can they stand in front of a teenager and tell them how they should treat people with respect when they have no respect for us. Teachers always said I had a foul mouth†¦ and. So have 70% of the rest of the pupils in this school. That old line they spoon feed you every time their on their periods are just in a bad mood, â€Å"Miss Potts' you have the most dramatic and over active imagination I have ever had enter this room, now leave† That's meant to be an education don't be daft. I admit to the charges with my hands up but I've had a bad life, as have others but I took the easy way out and became a little bitch, smoking, drinking etc. It was just what school life has lead me into. I think about life doing things right sometimes but that's not me it isn't possible for me now. Things when I got out of hospital weren't any different between him and me; I'll call him that because his name sends shivers and spikes down my spine. I carried on seeing him, yeah I know I was stupid, but he told me he'd change just to spend a few moments of his life with me in his arms. My family didn't find out for a while, but when my brother caught me and him upstairs in my room he disowned me, I tried to cover up what we were doing but I think clothes all up the stairs were a clear give away. No one was meant to come home, my mother in London and my brother meant to be at a friends', what's the chances ay? Low High well shit happens doesn't it? I convinced my brother it was the best thing to do keeping it a secret from my mother as she was suffering from severe depression, give you a guess who it all started with. Lol. Obvious don't you think? We didn't talk my brother and I until I assured him it was all over. He believed me. I had tried to brake it off with him but his dark eyes seduced my mind hypnotising me, they told a story of that day when I nearly died. My life's never been perfect, and never will be now. I had dreams, ambitions. I was going to be an artist, I wanted people to know who I was and what I had been through but how do you tell the story, of getting beat up by a demon, that lived around the corner from your humble warm loving home. I had ideas but I'd have to find him again to make my work publishable, to kill me obviously. No artist I've ever heard of got famous when they were alive so I'd need some help wouldn't I? After I told my brother I had stopped seeing him, it was around three months until we finish properly, I had been in hospital again, slipped a disk in my back this time, it happened over three days, it started over a cig, how sad, my best mate of a few years wouldn't spare her last fag for him and I got bollocked for it. I tried to run but I was never a sprinter, my legs weren't long enough, he caught up to me within a few moments of me dropping my bags out side the schools gates, he dragged me to the floor by my long brown ponytail, I lay there frozen scared to move as his three best mate screamed at him to leave me alone because I was a cheap tart after a shag. Later that night though he found me, came down to another of my mates looking for a shag off of me. Yeah you know the story, I did it, a shags a shag as my mates brother told me. The next time he threw a paddy was the next night; guess what this was over as well, a lil bit of lippy, apparently I looked like a whore, and his mates would find it as an offer. It was a repeat performance of the previous day although a man dressed in a dark suit came to my rescue; he told me he was always there for me if I ever needed him. I didn't even know the guy, it was the first time I'd seen him but I thought I could come to some kind of arrangement with him. He was sexy and I was feeling low and on the rebound. The next time, I find it hard to talk about It was thought I would never be able to have kids, that broke my heart, I really wanted kids in the future lil boy and girl Cona and Carmel. I thought that they were cute names for kids and different for when they grew up. My story with him ended when a couple of weeks I found my self sat in a doctors surgery with a urine sample on the desk, and a pregnancy test boxed up lay next to it, along with that protein tester thing. I'd put on weight and me and the doctor both knew exactly what was going on. I sobbed as I told the doctor my life story; he was touched and offered me a tissue over the long wooden desk I leant on with one hand on my stomach. I quit my sobbing and stood up to leave. No appointments were made, no nothings were said.

Crime Against Women in Ncr Essay

The Delhi-NCR region has thrown up numerous such instances of police apathy in rape cases. When asked to explain the rising instances of rape, the cops have invariably blamed the women, an array of extraneous factors or resorted to specious arguments instead of looking inwards and focusing on police reforms. The most disturbing aspect of this is the rank misogyny that underlies it. Crime against National Capital Region is alarming. Usually every day a single case of rape is reported in every city area of India. So it is wrong to say NCR alone. But The National Capital Region has become a hub for rapes and sexual assaults. In 2010, as many as 414 rape cases were reported in Delhi, the highest among 35 major cities in the country. At least three women were raped or molested in the national capital. A total of 128 cases of molestations and rapes were reported from Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad in the first 45 days of the year. Delhi/NCR Often been called the rape capital of India. Why is Delhi India’s most dangerous city for women? May be because Chaotic growth, bad policing and a judicial system close to collapse. Recently A 23-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and gang-raped in a moving car by a neighbor and his friends in Noida A woman was gang raped by five youths, who also thrashed her boyfriend in Kamla Nehru Nagar in Ghaziabad.  A 14-year old girl was raped by a neighbor in Mehrauli in south Delhi. And The 23-year-old Girl, who worked at a pub in a mall in Gurgaon, had alleged that she was sexually assaulted by a group of six men. In view of gang rape incidents recently in Gurgaon Police tells women Don’t work after 8pm: Deputy Commissioner P. C. Meena has issued many Do’s and Don’ts to women to avoid eve-teasing and molestation. What tops his list is the criteria that women should not be out in the public after 8 PM. As per to his orders, now shopping mall and pub owners and those running shops and commercial establishments have been asked to not to keep women employees on duty beyond 8 in the evening. If women employees are detained on duty after that, it should be with the permission of the Labour department. Instead of implementing stringent laws to curb the few rapists out there, the Gurgaon Police decided to uproot all the women from their work places by 8’o clock in the evening. This curfew clearly reflects the authority’s attitude towards women. There is an obvious attempt to restrain women’s freedom, but apart from that legitimizing 8 PM as the standard time for women to be out of the public areas has rather put them in more danger. Instead of ensuring for safety for women, the Gurgaon police have imposed limitations on them. He said women employee are deputed on duty during the night shift, that is, after 8PM, her safe transportation from her home to place of duty and vice versa will be the responsibility of the employer who will have to keep a daily record of the vehicle used, its registration number, time of departure, name of driver who is entrusted the task of picking up or dropping the women employees. Meena made it worse by stating that if these instructions were not followed, then case will be registered against the pub and mall owner as well. What the Gurgaon police seems to have did is giving a free pass to the rapists to do their thing post 8 in the night. Any woman now who is out after the official curfew of 8 would do nothing but ‘invite’ men to sexually harass her. The police forces have shed their responsibilities of making Gurgaon safer by playing the classic card of holding the women responsible for being raped. Who are responsible for all this Our society is deeply gendered Apart from physical abuses, psychological violence against women in the form of social insults, coercion in family, eve teasing in streets and public transports on daily basis is not less humiliating, On the reason behind such violence against women, he says that violent behavior against women does not erupt all of a sudden. Men and women undergo different process of socialization. Men take up gendered roles that by themselves involve domination and control, where as women are assigned roles that involve submission.†Moreover, women are portrayed as an inferior sex which is the reason why many go for female infanticide, rape, molestation.IN rape cases, where the victim does not come out and report due to fear of humiliation, social stigma etc. laws not strong enough One can ask that why such incidental are taking place? Doesn’t the govt have enough laws to stop such atrocities? Isn’t the society is not mature enough to deal with such things. Combined with a judicial system on the point of collapse, where cases routinely take years to be processed, and an almost total lack of modern forensic capability on the part of investigators, it is easy to see why the stringent rape laws are not a major deterrent. â€Å"Government needs to contemplate devising three-prong policy. Drastic change in our legal system, strengthening law enforcement agencies to deliver quicker results have to be backed by social reforms and investment in social sector.† he further added. Our Policing: One main reason behind the crime against women in NCR is Lack of Police personnel. We don’t have sufficient police personnel to tackle the criminals. About Half number of police personnel are deputed in the service of our minister. The other reason is the thinking of our police, A great number of policemen believe that what a woman wears is one of the reasons for rape. They say â€Å"do rapes really happen†? Many policemen are not even sure. Recognition of a crime as heinous as rape is something the police in the NCR do not appear to have come to terms with. Some of the Statement of our Policemen which shows their thinking. . Many cops think that it is ok to judge the victim of rape and blame them rather than dealing with the crime. But, what about the numerous 2 year olds who are raped? what about the young school girls who are raped? what did THEY do to bring it on themselves? So it’s time the police wake up and make public spaces safe for women. Ways to reduce Crime Against Women Changing the outlook of the society is the best way. But it is a very long process. For immediate results girls have to believe that they are still living in a very conservative society. The place where they are living or their friend circle is not their society. One has to consider the whole area / city where they are moving to reach their off/ college as a society and then judge it. Girls should act accordingly. I do believe that precaution is always better than cure. women should take as much precautions as they can specially when they are moving alone using a public transport or a two wheeler. Following steps Should be taken : 1. Police and Government Sensitivity: State agencies should stop ‘blaming the victim’ and shift the responsibility onto the state agencies mandated to protect women’s rights. They should refrain at all times from making any gender-insensitive statements and character assault of women. Strict actions should be taken against such statements be made in the public sphere. We demand respect and dignity of all women. 2. Monitoring: CCTV’s in rape prone areas in Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon. CCTV Should also be installed in parking, the place from where the women employees boarded the vehicle, there so that it can be ascertained that the woman was not lifted forcibly. 3. Increase in deployment of police: Immediate and sustainable preventive mechanisms should be designed and adopted in the National Capital Territory Region, which can act as a deterrent to future such incidents. This should also include, increasing the frequency of the patrolling of the PCR vans and increased traffic vigilance in all areas 4. Sexual assault prevention and redressal policy: The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for sexual assault cases should be drafted with immediate effect and ensure that support from relevant other service providers (government & non-government) be effectively implemented in every case thereon. The SOPs should also ensure strict adherence for procedures to be followed and address any violations with strict actions thereon. Immediate actions against relevant police personnel on dereliction of duty should be made mandatory. Fast Track Courts on cases of Sexual Assault for immediate redressal and effective justice delivery to be ensured. 5. Women’s help lines: Emergency numbers like 1901 should be monitored by women – which makes it easier for the victim to explain her problem/situation. Victim’s privacy should be respected. These numbers should be advertised through posters and billboards in all three cities. 6. Workplace safety: The Government must ensure procedures for accountability in all workplace to follow strict safety mechanism. 7. Awareness: The state needs to campaign against sexual harassment – public messaging on women’s rights, shift male perspective of women, display hotlines and safety procedures all over the city. 8. Girls should Avoid Dangerous Situations: * Be aware of surroundings. Knowing where you are and who is around you may help you to find a way to get out of a bad situation. * Try to avoid isolated areas. It is more difficult to get help if no one is around. * Walk with purpose. Even if you don’t know where you are going, act like you do. * Trust your instincts. If a situation or location feels unsafe or uncomfortable, it probably isn’t the best place to be. * Make sure your cell phone is with you and charged and that you have cab money. * Try to think of an escape route. How would you try to get out of the room? Where are the doors? Windows? Are there people around who might be able to help you? Is there an emergency phone nearby? * If you and/or the other person have been drinking, you can say that you would rather wait until you both have your full judgment before doing anything you may regret later. Conclusion: The city being one of the most important metros of India should have been much secured for its citizens. However the main causes behind the increased crime rate in Delhi/NCR are the lack of awareness of its residents, careless approach of Delhi Police and indifference of Delhi chief minister who is herself a lady. Delhi police can put an end on the crime incidents by responding more promptly and sensibly to each and every case reported at the police stations. Also political intervention in criminal incidents should be strictly cut off to ensure the city’s safety and security.