Theories of Nationalism and Ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Theories of Nationalism and Ethnicity - Essay Example This is what they call the â€Å"Toyota Way†. Whatever characteristics it may carry, it must be systemic, truly lasting and valuable to them. Along this line, the main concern of this paper is the Japanese ethnicity prominent in the Japanese-based Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC). The intended framework is to scrutinize the uniqueness of the much researched management style_ the â€Å"Toyota Way† at the same time determine which sociological perspectives and paradigms that would apply to the characteristics of Toyota’s Japanese ethnicity as well as determine how it has given great impact to the success of TMC. This paper seeks to draw some answers to questions like has Japanese ethnicity posed more of a problem or an advantage to TMC? What techniques does TMC use on its people to be able to build and attain such reputation which won the confidence of the public to patronize TMC’s quality-made vehicles and services within a Western-dominated work area? What i s this Toyota Way? How does Japanese ethnicity affect the quality performance of TMC? This academic exercise would attempt to relate selected socio-ethnical principles to the established ethos or principles used by TMC as well as possibly draw out some answers whether these principles overlap, contradict or complement each other? It is then within these parameters that the discussion on this paper will revolve. On the other hand, the limitation of this paper will only be on the time frame used to feature actual conditions of TMC as this paper uses data and time series, specifically a year before to date or prior to the March 11, 2011 tsunami disaster and nuclear meltdown. Keywords: Toyota Way, Ethnicity, Ethnocentrism, Corporate culture Toyota Motor Corporation’s Domain Before interpolating the sociological perspectives of ethnicity to TMC’s management principles and to understand better the subject understudy, it is important to have knowledge first of Toyota Motor Co rporation, its corporate philosophy, values, vision, and how it operates. TMC’s domain belongs to the automotive industry and thus, its main product is the automobile. However, â€Å"TMC today has expanded its business to other non-automotive related business activities to include: community livelihood support, education, financial services, among others. Their stakeholders include: customers, business partners (dealers and suppliers), investors, consumers, nongovernmental organisations government, community, stockholders.†(â€Å"Toyota Company Overview†, 2011) A Window to Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Toyota’s Significant Achievements Through the years, â€Å"Toyota has repeatedly outperformed its competitors in quality, reliability, productivity, cost reduction, sales and market share growth, and market capitalization† (Spear, 2010). TMC, within its domain, has gained public confidence in the quality of its luxurious, economical and environmenta l-friendly vehicles and other hi-tech products it produced. It has also expanded to venture on enhanced advanced technology products like robotics, prototyped environment-friendly electric cabs; spearheaded activities that lessen carbon emission in the environment and in its other involvement related to its aspiration to actualize its corporate social responsibility. Not to forget, TMC has expanded also its non-automotive activities like community education and livelihood support packages as

The Basic Universal Laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Basic Universal Laws - Essay Example Going to the grocery store or paying for gas can be a difficult task if a person is not entirely fluent in the language.   Attempting to learn new ideas, such as when I began high school in the US, can b,e seemingly impossible at first.   Struggling with concepts that a person knows because of language can be an incredibly trying and frustrating task.   Relearning various aspects of mathematics and chemistry, only in English this time, made me wish I hadn’t moved to the US at times.   The only choice that I had was to persevere and continue making progress little by little. Beyond language, there were many cultural practices that I had to acclimate myself to.   When you grow up in a culture, you simply learn these small customs.   Foreign language classes might attempt to prepare students for various aspects of these cultural differences, though they can in no way totally prepare students for the vast differences in cultures such what exists between Chinese and Ame rican cultures.   There were many times in which I was positive I was using my English language skills appropriately, but because of cultural differences, I was being understood improperly.   These times could be even more frustrating than a simple language barrier.   Often times these episodes could even be embarrassing, though I was able to pretend that I either hadn’t picked up on that aspect of the exchange or simply ignored it.   Unless people have experienced events such as these themselves, they are simply incapable of truly understanding the difficulties of cultural differences.  I did have support from my family.   They helped me with the phrases and concepts that I was having difficulty comprehending.   Eventually, I was able to help my family members with various words and concepts that I was learning and utilizing on my own.   I do know that I would not have been able to adjust to my new life in the US if it had not been for the comfort of having m y family with me.   The external force of my immigration to the US forced many changes upon me, but it did not completely take away everything that I had previously known in my life before.

Theories of Nationalism and Ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Theories of Nationalism and Ethnicity - Essay Example This is what they call the â€Å"Toyota Way†. Whatever characteristics it may carry, it must be systemic, truly lasting and valuable to them. Along this line, the main concern of this paper is the Japanese ethnicity prominent in the Japanese-based Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC). The intended framework is to scrutinize the uniqueness of the much researched management style_ the â€Å"Toyota Way† at the same time determine which sociological perspectives and paradigms that would apply to the characteristics of Toyota’s Japanese ethnicity as well as determine how it has given great impact to the success of TMC. This paper seeks to draw some answers to questions like has Japanese ethnicity posed more of a problem or an advantage to TMC? What techniques does TMC use on its people to be able to build and attain such reputation which won the confidence of the public to patronize TMC’s quality-made vehicles and services within a Western-dominated work area? What i s this Toyota Way? How does Japanese ethnicity affect the quality performance of TMC? This academic exercise would attempt to relate selected socio-ethnical principles to the established ethos or principles used by TMC as well as possibly draw out some answers whether these principles overlap, contradict or complement each other? It is then within these parameters that the discussion on this paper will revolve. On the other hand, the limitation of this paper will only be on the time frame used to feature actual conditions of TMC as this paper uses data and time series, specifically a year before to date or prior to the March 11, 2011 tsunami disaster and nuclear meltdown. Keywords: Toyota Way, Ethnicity, Ethnocentrism, Corporate culture Toyota Motor Corporation’s Domain Before interpolating the sociological perspectives of ethnicity to TMC’s management principles and to understand better the subject understudy, it is important to have knowledge first of Toyota Motor Co rporation, its corporate philosophy, values, vision, and how it operates. TMC’s domain belongs to the automotive industry and thus, its main product is the automobile. However, â€Å"TMC today has expanded its business to other non-automotive related business activities to include: community livelihood support, education, financial services, among others. Their stakeholders include: customers, business partners (dealers and suppliers), investors, consumers, nongovernmental organisations government, community, stockholders.†(â€Å"Toyota Company Overview†, 2011) A Window to Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Toyota’s Significant Achievements Through the years, â€Å"Toyota has repeatedly outperformed its competitors in quality, reliability, productivity, cost reduction, sales and market share growth, and market capitalization† (Spear, 2010). TMC, within its domain, has gained public confidence in the quality of its luxurious, economical and environmenta l-friendly vehicles and other hi-tech products it produced. It has also expanded to venture on enhanced advanced technology products like robotics, prototyped environment-friendly electric cabs; spearheaded activities that lessen carbon emission in the environment and in its other involvement related to its aspiration to actualize its corporate social responsibility. Not to forget, TMC has expanded also its non-automotive activities like community education and livelihood support packages as

Int Econ Term Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Int Econ Term Paper - Essay Example The paper attempts to examine how far the economic growth in Vietnam and the Czech Republic in recent years is attributed to a large scale FDI received by them. The paper also explores about the impact created by FDI on exports from these countries. Impact of FDI in Vietnam Vietnam moved to market economy in 1986. Since then Vietnam has been able to witness exponential growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita income. Vietnam's average growth rate between 1986 and 1990 is estimated at 4.4 percent that went up dramatically to 8.18 percent during 1991-95. This resulted into almost threefold increase in per capita income between 1988 and 1995; however, Asian financial Crises in 1997-98 acted as a dampener and the GDP growth rate slumped to 4.8 percent in year 1999. During the five-year plan of 2001-05, economy of Vietnam grew at the average rate of 7.48 percent doubling per capita income at US $639 when compared with 1997 level. And all this is attributed to the huge FDI tha t Vietnam received during the period. Between 1988 and 2006, total 8,266 FDI projects were registered with capital outlay of over US$ 78 billion. In 2006 alone, Vietnam attracted FDI to the tune of almost US$ 12 billion (Hoang and Tubtimtong, 2010). Varamini and Vu emphasize, "There is a statistically significant relationship between FDI and the rate of economic growth in Vietnam" (137). They strongly recommend that Vietnam should further revise their economic policies. If the Vietnamese government forays reforms in banking and financial sectors then huge portfolio investment may flow in Vietnam supporting FDI inflows. It is important to note that all in all 76 countries have provided FDI inflows in Vietnam in past two decades. Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea form a largest group of countries having invested in Vietnam comprising over 46 percent of the total FDI (Varamini & Vu). Anwar and Nguyen argue that substantial economic reforms and trade liberalization policies has c aused massive inflow of FDI resulting into substantial economic growth in Vietnam. Their findings reveal that a relationship does exist between imports and FDI and exports and FDI in Vietnam for the period between 1990 and 2007; however, the impact of FDI on exports is significant during the post-Asian crisis period rather than pre-Asian crisis period. Not only exports but also imports surged during the period with the rising FDI. Foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in Vietnam have played a significant role in increasing export base. While counting for FIEs share in total manufacturing goods export, it has gone up from only 20 percent to over 50 percent during the same period (Athukorala and Tien, 2012). Weakness in having global distribution networks, lack of brands and economies of scale are principal reasons restricting the growth of exports in developing economies. The crux lies in export-oriented manufacturing activity. That is why export-oriented FDI has done miracles in Vietn am; the Vietnam’s case reveals that transitional economies can serve as a strong export platform for MNCs. Authors emphasize that cheap labor and an improved legal environment has made Vietnam a potential place for multinational companies. It is estimated that a 1 percent rise in FDI inflows is expected to increase Vietnamese exports by 0.13 percent (Xuan and Xing). Impact of FDI in the Czech

Gender Roles and the Perception of Women Essay Example for Free

Gender Roles and the Perception of Women Essay There was a time that having a daughter born to a family evoked more pity than congratulations from the community. Sons were valued more for they were viewed to bring practical help towards augmenting the family income through physical labor, as well as ensuring that the family name lives on with his progeny. (Feminism) Daughters were valued only for the potential honor they could bring the family with a good marriage. In olden days, a good marriage was not necessarily defined by the couples happiness but rather was deemed as such if both families stand to benefit from the union. Usually benefits would be measured in wealth, alliance or business. Marriages then were basically mergers. Women were not expected to accomplish anything other than the mastery of domestic duties and union with a suitable husband. After marriage, the only duties that a woman is supposed to fulfill are to look after the needs of her husband and give birth to as many children as possible with preference to the birthing of sons. The 1920s and 30s saw a wave of feminism that sought to overturn the traditional gender role assigned to women. They viewed patriarchy as oppressive to women and advanced the thinking that women are complements of males and therefore should be treated as equals. The 1920s also saw a major victory for women in the United States with the passage of a law that allowed for womens suffrage. (Feminism) The Second World War in the 1940s also provided women with the opportunity to prove their worth outside their duties as homemakers. They started signing up as army nurses, members of womens corps and workers in factories that provided supplies and ammunition to the boys overseas. Even with this however, women still experienced discrimination at the hands of employers who believed that it was the mens role to earn money for their families. Those that were hired still had to face inequality in wages as their work were deemed easier compared to the mens. (Acker 46) It has continually been an uphill climb for women in the assertion of their rights and the fight for identity and equality. Despite the many progresses made by women since the olden days, some cultures still place more premium on males. Sandra Cisneros account (Kirszner, 96-99) of being and born and living in a traditional, patriarchal society in the 1950s show that even with the many new freedoms and rights accorded to women, their roles were still defined by marriage and domestic duties. What I didnt realize was that my father thought college was good for girls good for finding a husband. After four years of college and two more in graduate school, and still no husband, my father shakes his head even now and says I wasted all that education. (Kirszner 97) The selection further goes on to relate the attempts made by Cisneros in getting her father to acknowledge her achievements and herself as more than only a daughter. She wanted to BE his daughter in every sense of the word and enjoy the same pride her father has in her brothers achievements. I often witness the hunch posture, from women after dark on the warrenlike streets of Brooklyn where I live. They seem to set their faces on neutral and, with their purse straps strung across their chests bandolier style, they forge ahead as though bracing themselves against being tackled. (Kirszner 242) In Brent Staples observations in the Black Man effect in altering a public space (Kirszner 240), he presents the image of a woman who is determined to move forward yet remains aware of the possible challenges to her progress. While in the story the context women is defined in is couched in terms of potential threat from street violence and crimes, one could almost picture the same description as applicable to the grim and set determination of the feminists who steadfastly battles for womens rights and progress. It has been many years since women achieved a major victory in suffrage and set about to establishing their identity in society. Yet in some cases, there seem to be some women who remain oblivious or at least, not benefited by the new stature and rights women have been able to claim through years of struggle with a male-dominated society. In Anna Deavere Smiths Four American Characters monologue (2005) she shares a conversation she had with an elderly philosopher friend she had, Maxine Green. In the conversation, Smith asked Green: What are two things that you dont know and still want to know? Green replies: Personally I still feel that I have to curtsy when I see the president of our University and I feel that I ought to get coffee for my male colleagues even though Ive outlived most of them. Smith follows this up with the characterization of Maryland convict Paulette Jenkins. Paulette Jenkins represents the women in abusive relationship who suffer in silence. She never spoke out because she didnt want people to know that there was something wrong with her family. She took her husbands abuse and allowed him to do the same to her children†¦children that she had in the belief that it would soften her husband. What would make a man do such a thing? At the same time, what would make a woman stand by helplessly as her husband beats up her children and herself? Conflict in relationships between men and women are believed to stem from four main reasons: mens jealousy, mens expectation of women and domestic work, mens sense of right to punish their women, and the importance to men of asserting and keeping their authority. Women on the other hand, are kept silent due to feelings of shame and responsibility (Dobash, and Dobash 4). More often than not, the women feel that they deserved whatever the husband did to them. This acquiescence may be due to their cultural orientation of women as subservient wives. Upbringing and cultural orientation can do much to influence a persons understanding and acceptance of gender roles. (Dobash, and Dobash 4) However, there is always the freedom of choice and personal introspection, which should allow individuals to reason out right and wrong and the applicability and rationale of traditions for themselves. The case of Sandra Cisneros is the perfect illustration of this. Despite being brought up in a highly patriarchal household and culture, she chose to follow her own desire and achieve in her own right. In the end, she managed to earn her fathers respect and acknowledgment that she, as a woman, can accomplish and gain honor and pride for the family. Regardless of background, doctrine or culture, everyone, man and woman, has that same choice in choosing how their manhood or womanhood will be defined in their lives. Works Cited Acker, Joan. What Happened to the Womens Movement? -An Exchange. Monthly Review Oct. 2001: 46. Questia. 28 Sept. 2007 http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=5002421932. Feminism. The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2004. Questia. 28 Sept. 2007 http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=101243850. Dobash, R. Emerson, and Russell P. Dobash. Women, Violence, and Social Change. New York: Routledge, 1992. Questia. 28 Sept. 2007 http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=107605974. Kirszner, Laurie. Patterns for College Writing 10th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins. 2006. Mcneill, William H. Violence Submission in the Human Past. Daedalus 136. 1 (2007): 5+. Questia. 28 Sept. 2007 http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=5019968515. Smith, Anna Deveare. Four American Characters. 2005 TED. com. 27 Sept 2007 http://www. ted. com/index. php/talks/view/id/60

Link Between Social Class and Health Inequalities

Link Between Social Class and Health Inequalities The Relationship Between Social Class and Health Inequalities Introduction The birth of the NHS in 1948 was greeted with considerable optimism. It was believed that a fully comprehensive welfare state where people had their needs taken care of from the cradle to the grave would bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots. Governments were optimistic that increasing social equity would lead to a healthy and long living population, it was not envisaged that demands on the health system would increase rather than decrease. Those who founded the NHS believed that a lot of people were ill because they could not afford to pay for healthcare. This group had got bigger over the years and it was believed that once the backlog had been dealt with then there would be a reduction in the number of people who needed health care (Moore, 2002). However, instead of decreasing the number of people using the NHS continued to grow, this was partly because the idea of what constitutes good health changes over time. People demanded better and higher standards of healthcar e and medical advancements meant that conditions that people would have died from could now be cured. All of this cost money, more money than the founders of the health system had ever envisaged and therefore the health service lurched from one financial crisis to the next with its biggest shake up occurring in 1990. During the last twenty years there have been significant changes in healthcare policy making and in the way in which the NHS operates. Most of these changes have occurred because of politician’s concerns over the rising cost of public health. In the 1980s Margaret Thatcher’s Government introduced marketing and business strategies into the NHS to control expenditure on healthcare and to change the health service. The most important factor here was that of the internal market. Rather than health professionals and patients it was now purchasers and providers of healthcare. This created a two tier system that created inequalities between hospitals and between patients. It split the NHS into competing NHS Trust organisations and parts of the health service were privatised. In 1990 the Community Care Act came into force and many people who were previously institutionalised were released into the community. Most of this type of care is undertaken by social services in conjunction with the health service and with voluntary organisations. The Act placed extra burdens on families to care for ageing or disabled relatives (Walsh et al, 2000). Opponents of the system argued that marketisation would lead to greater inequalities in healthcare provision and the poorer sections of society would be even worse off. It is arguably the case that the people most affected by these changes have been those in the lower classes of society. At the start of the 1970s the mortality rate for working men in the lowest social class was twice as high as for those in the highest, but by the late 1990s the figure was three times higher. This was mainly due to a decrease in the mortality rate for the most well off members where between 1970 and 1990 the rate fell by 30% but only by 10% for members of the lower class (Walsh et al, 2000). The Conservative Government’s failure to address the recommendations of the report commissioned by them to investigate the relationship between social class and health inequalities has meant that class inequalities in the standard mortality rate and the rate of morbidity continue to be matters of substantial concern, and thus, areas for continuing research. Epidemology Epidemology is the study of health across populations rather than in the individual. It studies diseases and their spread, and how to control them. Within the study of health and illness social class is associated with physical risk factors including birth weight and obesity. It is also associated with economic factors and standards of housing and with the social and familial structure.There are detectable patterns of morbidity or illness associated with social class and death or mortality rate statistics also vary widely depending on a person’s class. Those who belong to the higher (capitalist) classes tend to live longer than those who are members of the working class. There is also a strong relationship between a person’s occupation and their life expectancy.[1] Standard Mortality Rates Browne and Bottrill (1999) have identified some of the major inequalities in health and they contend that unskilled manual workers are twice as likely to die before the age of 65 as are white collar workers in the highest class. Analysis for life expectancy differences across England and Wales from 1972-1999 found that there had been a noticeable growth in inequality in this area. During 1997-1999 males in professional occupations tended to live 7.4 years longer than males in unskilled manual occupations. The differences for women in the same period and with respect to the same categories had risen to 5.7 years from 5.3 years in the period 1972-76 There are also regional differences, males born in Glasgow between 1999 and 2001 have a life expectancy of 69 years whereas males born in North Dorset may expect to live until they are 79. Cause of death also varies by social class the major areas of health which showed such differences were, Ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease , respiratory diseases andlung cancer. Semi-skilled and unskilled workers were five and half times more likely to die of respiratory diseases between the period 1986-1999 than were managerial and professional workers. Patterns of limiting illness are also affected by social factors such as class. Forty three percent of all men were long term unemployed or had never worked and this group were five times more likely to suffer from limiting illnesses than were the nine percent that consisted of males in professional and managerial positions. During the twentieth century, as a result of improved living conditions and availability of healthcare, infant mortality had fallen substantially this is a useful indicator of the state of the nation’s health. Nevertheless differences do exist based on the economic status of fathers, birthweight, and mother’s country of birth. There was a 16% overall fall in infant mortality between 1994 and 2002 for babies whose fathers were in managerial and professional occupations, the mortality rate was highest among those babies who were registered by single mothers, for babies registered by both parents but whose fathers were in routine occupations, this fall was only 5%. The different rates within a thousand births across England and Wales are shown in figure 1 below. The figures for the standard mortality rate, although lower than previous periods in the twentieth century, tend to show a noticeable increase during the late nineteen nineties. Morbidity Rates Asthana et al (no date given)[3] undertook secondary analysis of the 1991-97 Health Survey for England found that there is a strong relationship between class and morbidity rates, although this is sometimes overshadowed by the effects of age The researchers also looked at other studies undertaken between 1984 and 2002 and again found a strong relationship between social class and self-reported morbidity. The study found that health inequalities by social class were not usually not the same for men as for women and concluded that there needed to be a separate class analysis by gender. The relationship between class and health inequalities therefore will vary by sex and will vary significantly by age. The study focussed on 16+ with respect to age and class was determined by the occupation of the head of the household. The study found that the impact of class differences was lower for the lower age groups, particularly those between 16 and 25.[4] For every one professional man who suffe rs and later die from coronary heart disease there are three unskilled workers who suffer the same. Manual workers make up 42% of the workforce but account for 72% of work related accidents. Obesity is a killer and twice the number (28%) of women in unskilled work compared to 14% of professional women were obese, and suffered from related symptoms.[5] Stomach cancer also varied with 2.2% of professionals suffering from this and 3% of manual workers, the figures were the same for cancer of the oesophagus. However deaths from cancer (of the alimentary system) varied widely. McCormak et al (1995) found that there was a strong positive relationship between social class and incidences of musculoskeletal disease such as osteoporosis. People of the lower social class were also at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes (Ismail et al, 1999).Littlejohns and Macdonald (1993) identified a strong link between social class and respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis, more unskilled workers tended to suffer in this way than did those from the professional classes. There is a strong relationship between class and angina between the 45-75 age group and this increases with age. The difference is less marked for women but tends to peak in the age band 45-54.[6] There is quite a significant class difference between women suffering from raised blood pressure, 17% of professional women reported this condition whereas in unskilled occupations 24% of women said they suffered from hypertension.[7] People from the higher social class may be healthier because they tend to use medical services more often and also because they are more likely to eat a healthy diet. Most studies tend to take the view that although reported morbidity appears to have increased across the population generally the relationship between morbidity and social class has tended to remain much the same for the last ten years. Strategies to Deal with Inequalities Between Social Groups There have been a number of strategies that the Government has introduced since 1998 to combat ill health. In 2005 the Government published a report entitled Tackling Health Inequalities in an attempt to deal with the inequalities evident between different social groups. The Public Service Agreement states that by 2010 the Government will publish a progress report on whether and in what ways the measures to tackle health inequalities have been successful. In 1998 the Government introduced Health Action Zones and twenty six of them were set up in 1999 in under-privileged areas, and where the health status of the population was particularly low. The notion behind the introduction of these zones was that tackling ill health and inequalities in health was not just a job for the NHS but should be tackled by different agencies such as social services, local housing departments and primary health trusts working together to combat inequalities and improve health. Health Action Zones work in two ways, firstly they try to reduce health inequalities by addressing the wider factors associated with ill health and secondly they attempt to improve the quality of health services and increase the access to them. There is, for example a strong link between asthma and cold, damp housing, one health action zone made improvements to heating systems, insulation and damp proofing in council and private homes where children had asthma. As a result of this th ere was a reduction of hospital admissions for children with asthma and they also had less time off school (Moore, 2002). The Government also introduced something called NHS Direct, a telephone based helpline which gives advice to people who are unsure what to do about a health problem. The line not only makes health advice more accessible but in the long run saves money on unnecessary doctor or hospital appointments. NHS walk in centres are located in shopping centres and supermarkets as well as by the side of AE Departments. They are staffed by nurses who give advice and treat minor health problems (Moore, 2002). In 2002 the Government set targets to reduce health outcome inequalities by 2010 with the standards of measurement being the infant mortality rate and the life expectancy rate overall. This standard was chosen because the long term trend in the gap in mortality between professional and manual workers evidenced the fact that it had increased by two and a half times since the period 1930-32. The latest figures on infant mortality and life expectancy show a continuing of widening inequality in t hose areas with the routine and manual work group being 19% higher than the total population in the period 2001-3. Certainly the Government are aware in this report that class inequalities are in health are a result of a number of inter-related factors including diet and housing. Government claim to have invested in the area of housing so that there are less people living in housing that is not suitable to positive health outcomes. They have also taken steps to ensure that vulnerable groups can afford to heat their homes properly in winter. In their 2005 Report the Government say that their efforts to reduce child poverty are showing signs of success and that this will also contribute to children from less well off families having better health. The report claims that the number of deaths from heart disease and strokes is falling, that health inequalities generally are being reduced, and that the gap between disadvantaged areas and the country as a whole has fallen by 22% over the last six years. The Government aims to develop its Healthy Schools Programme in the most deprived communities which are measured by the number of children in receipt of free school meals.[8] The introduction of Sure Start Centres and Healthy Living Centres provide pre-school education for nearly half a million children under four at over five hundred local centres and delivering health and social services to hard to reach groups. Government have increased their campaign to get people to give up smoking with massive advertising campaigns, smoki ng clinics and a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants comes into force in the summer of 2007. Community and school initiatives to back the five a day campaign for consumption of more fruit and vegetables shows that class five families are eating more than similar families in other areas. The report claims that all new policy proposals by government departments also have to take into account health impacts and also how that might have an effect on health inequalities. There are some indications to assume that the gap in health outcomes is beginning to narrow, teenage pregnancies are beginning to fall and there has been an increase in the take up of flue vaccine among vulnerable groups since 2002. Local exercise action plans have been set up in some disadvantaged areas to encourage people to take more exercise and Government have managed to provide intermediate care for more people. Government seem to be taking a much more integrated approach to the problem, an approach which rests on the findings of the Acheson Report. The Acheson Report The Acheson Report needs to be seen in its historical context. In 1978 the Tory Government commissioned the Black Report to investigate the health of the nation. The Report was published in 1980 its brief had been to examine the reasons behind inequalities in health between different groups of people so that policy could be tailored to meet health needs. The report found that there were significant and worrying differences in health outcomes between the social classes. Research has come up with a number of different explanations for the relationship between social class and health inequalities. These are: Artefact explanations The artefact explanation is based on the argument that the growing gap between the classes is the result of a misreading of the statistics and claims for any relationship between the two should be treated with suspicion. Social Selection explanations The social selection explanation is that people who are in poor health are more likely to be unemployed or in low paid work whereas those who are healthy are more likely to have better jobs and living conditions. Cultural explanations Cultural explanations identify consumption and lifestyle as the main causes of poor health. Thus the individual must take responsibility for the sake of their health. Certainly some government campaigns have planted the suggestion that a change in lifestyle can leader to better health and greater longevity (Walsh et al, 2000). Material explanations Materialist explanations regard the cause of health inequalities as the result of wider structures of power, poor working conditions, low pay and associated living standards such as bad diet and poor housing and lack of education. The Black Report concentrated heavily on materialist explanations of health inequality. It recommended that there was a need for a more effective anti-poverty strategy and for better education to combat such inequalities. Since that time there has been a considerable amount of subsequent research e.g. Macintyre (1997) that supported these recommendations, but Margaret Thatcher dismissed the findings on the basis that its recommendations were unworkable because of the amount of public expenditure that would be required to do this. The Conservative Government concentrated on cultural explanations and placed an emphasis on individual life style choices as being the result of inequalities in health. The Black Report was highly influential on later health research and its findings have been used extensively to measure inequalities. Almost twenty years later in 1997 the Labour Government commissioned a similar report, the Acheson Enquiry. The resultant Acheson Report, published in 1998, also recognised the wider factors that contributed to the relationship between class and inequalities in health. The Acheson Report reiterated the fact that materialist explanations of ill health recognise the wider context of material deprivation and inequalities can only be reduced by addressing its root causes. Thus the Report recommended that any attempt at policy making across government departments had to pay attention to any particular health impacts, particularly as they affected those who were disenfranchised, and to legislate in favour of the less well off. The Report argued that the Government take an approach that used what it called both ‘upstream’ and ‘downstreamâ⠂¬â„¢ approaches. Upstream work is characterised by initiatives such as Health Action Zones which attempts to improve health and reduce inequalities by working on the wider factors that contribute to poor health, such as insufficient income and poor standards of housing. There was a particular focus on the inequalities that faced young families and pensioners. There was a recommendation that an automatic Income Support top-up be paid to the poorest pensioners, i.e. those totally reliant on the state pension and who might not recognise their entitlement to further benefits. Such people are also at risk of what the report termed fuel poverty and they may feel unable to heat their homes properly. Government have now substantially increased winter fuel payments to all pensioners in an attempt to lessen inequality in this area. The Acheson Report recommended that there should be an increase in benefits for parents with young children, or a decent living wage for those in unskilled occupa tions, because bringing up a young child entailed more expense than when children got older. The Report also recommended that Government should address housing problems to ensure that people at the lower end of the social scale had decent living conditions. These recommendations were taken on board by the current government who have made inroads into addressing inadequate housing, have introduced a national minimum wage, and have restructured the tax and benefits system. Downstream work is connected with improvements in the NHS and easier access to health services, particularly in deprived areas. The Government has also made inroads in this are through the use of NHS Direct, Sure Start Centres, and Healthy Living Centres. There were recommendations that health inequalities should be monitored and should take account of those groups who were often ignored in policy making, those from ethnic groups and in particular women who for too long had been seen only in terms of their husbands class and occupation.[9] It was further recommended that Government improve conditions for pregnant mothers and for all women of child bearing age to reduce health inequalities and inequalities in infant mortality rates. Conclusion Medical researchers and social scientists investigate why people have poor health, what factors contribute to this and what might be necessary to improve people’s health. Social scientists in particular are interested in all aspects of social life and in the structures that govern society. They investigate why some people have better health than others, why we are a society of rich and poor stratified into classes, and what the wider social effects of the inequalities that result from stratification might be. This paper has looked at epidemiological evidence which indicates a strong and enduring relationship between class and health inequalities. It has found that when the aims of the welfare state for healthy nation and an end to inequity were not realised and Governments found the cost of providing healthcare for all was spiralling out of control. The answer has been, what some people describe as a gradual dismantling of the welfare state and of the health service. However, while such policies may have had adverse effects New Labour’s response to the recommendations of the Acheson Report offsets some of these effects and demonstrates an integrated attempt to reduce the inequalities in health outcomes that exist between social classes. Things are not yet on the decline but there is evidence to suggest that life expectancy and morbidity figures have remained much the same for the last ten years. With new policies coming into play, and Government promises to substantially reduce health inequalities by 2010 it might be said that there is some cause for optimism that the most worrying of these inequalities may, in the future, be satisfactorily addressed. References Acheson, D. 1998. Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health Report London, HMSO Asthana, S Gibson, A. Moon, G. Brigham, P and Dicker J (no date given accessed 18/3/06) The Demographic and Social Class Basis of Inequality in Self-Reported Morbidiity: An Exploration Using the Health Survey for England http://eprints.libr.port.ac.uk/archive/00000016/01/jechdiv3.pdf Black Report Inequalities in Health London, DOH 1980 Browne, K. and Bottrill, I. 1999. â€Å"Our unequal, unhealthy nation†, Sociology Review,9 Giddens, A. 2001 4th ed. Sociology, Cambridge, Polity Press. Ismail, A.A., Beeching, N.J., Gill, G.V. and Bellis, M.A. (1999) ‘Capture-recapture-adjusted prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes are related to social deprivation’,  QJM: Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians, vol 92, no 12, pp 707-10. Littlejohns, P. and Macdonald, L.D. (1993) ‘The relationship between severe asthma  and social class’Respiratory Medicine, vol 87, pp 139-43. McCormick, A., Fleming, D. and Charlton, J. (1995) Morbidity statistics from general  practice: Fourth national study,1991-1992, London: HMSO. Macintyre, S. 1997. â€Å"The Black Report and beyond: What are the Issues?† Social Science and Medicine, 44 Moore, S. 2002 3rd ed. Social Welfare Alive Gloucestershire, Nelson Thornes Townsend, P. Davidson, N. and Whitehead, M. (eds) 1988 Inequalities in Health, the Black Report and the Health Divide Harmondsworth, Penguin Walsh, M. Stephens, P. and Moore, S. 2000 Social Policy and Welfare. Cheltenham, http://www.sochealth.co.uk/history/black.htm http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/fosi2004/SocialInequalities_summary.pdf accessed 18/3/06 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/fosi2004/Health.pdf ch. 6 p.4 accessed 18/3/06 http://eprints.libr.port.ac.uk/archive/00000016/01/jechdiv3.pdf accessed 19/3/06 http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:STDauFm9KtQJ:image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Society/documents/2002/11/20/TacklingHealthInequalities.pdf+class+inequalities+in+morbidityhl=engl=ukct=clnkcd=30 accessed 19/3/06 http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/doh/ih/part1b.htm accessed 19/3/06 http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/76/98/04117698.pdf p.6 accessed 19/3/06 Tackling Health Inequalities 2005 http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/doh/ih/part2a.htm part 2 no page number given accessed 19/3/06 1 [1] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/fosi2004/SocialInequalities_summary.pdf [2] Source http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/fosi2004/Health.pdf ch. 6 p.4 [3] http://eprints.libr.port.ac.uk/archive/00000016/01/jechdiv3.pdf [4] Ibid p,8 [5] http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:STDauFm9KtQJ:image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Society/documents/2002/11/20/TacklingHealthInequalities.pdf+class+inequalities+in+morbidityhl=engl=ukct=clnkcd=30 [6] Ibid p,8 [7] http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/doh/ih/part1b.htm [8] http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/76/98/04117698.pdf p.6 accessed 19/3/06 [9] http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/doh/ih/part2a.htm part 2 no page number given accessed 19/3/06

Using Lies to Define Morality of Characters in Adventures of Huckleberr

Mark Twain once said, "Lie--an abomination before the Lord and an ever present help in time of trouble." Twain's description of deceit gives it a type of double meaning. This idea of lying being used for good as well as evil is not unheard of. Many time people find it necessary to lie to maintain a greater good or save a life. However, all too often, people lie for self-serving, immoral purposes. In this quote, Twain elegantly shows the delicate balance between good and evil in the performance of the same act. Furthermore, Twain also shows this complex thought in his portrayal of characters in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twains novel emulates his quote, juxtaposing the good and bad aspects of stretching the truth. Throughout the novel, Twain provides numerous commentaries on the morality of characters. His display of deception in the story continually serves to improve the reader?s understanding of a character?s moral integrity, based on the nature and intent of the lie. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses the lies of numerous characters to better define the moral ambiguity of those characters. Twain portrays the complete lack of moral fiber in the King and the Duke through their cons and deceit. On numerous accounts, the King and the Duke lie to others exclusively for self-serving and wicked motives. From the first meeting with the King and the Duke, Huck knows that, ?these liars warn?t no kings nor dukes at all, but just low-down humbugs and frauds? (ch. 19), knowledge obtained via the utter disregard for others in the King and the Duke?s scams. Huck?s use of ?fraud? (ch. 19), for instance, highlights the duo?s use of fabricated personas to rob others of their possessions, acts of such low ... ...n contrast to those of the King and Duke expose the dichotomy between good and evil present in everyday life. Traditionally, a dark shadow has loomed over the art of deception, and rightfully so in regards to the King and Duke. However, when in the face of a greater evil, a small number of noble people can use lies in a dignified manner, as demonstrated by Huckleberry Finn. By observing the motives someone has for straying from the truth, the morality of that person emerges, becoming ever more discernable . Lying, however, has evolved into an archetype for immorality and evil, only to be slightly redeemed by those who are fighting for a greater good. In this light, Twain portrays the dichotomy nested within deceitfulness within numerous characters in his Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a dichotomy that is too often slanted toward one, immoral side. - cdyoung