The Job Role Of A Social Worker

The Job Role Of A Social Worker A social workers role is to provide support for people who have been socially excluded or are experiencing crisis. They maintain professional relationships with service users by acting as guides or critical friends. There job includes working with people as well as working closely with other health and social care staff, such as nurses when a child has been in hospital. Social workers job includes working in a range of settings with relevant legal laws and procedures, supporting individuals, families and groups within the community. The different settings they might work in may include clients home, schools, hospitals and other public sectors and voluntary organisations. There job also includes working with young people and their families, work with young offenders, people with mental health conditions, school non-attendees, drug and alcohol abusers, people with learning and physical disabilities and also the elderly. The Government legislation focus on the combination of health and social work services, which means that social workers often work in multidisciplinary teams. Duty of a Social Worker The duty of a social worker is to ensure that all families are together and are in the best relationship possible, they also ensure that all children are treated well, and if not they try their best to find a home for children. They also have the duty of keeping children safe from harm that has previously been attacked. There duty is to provide guidance and support for all users of the service and helping the users to gain confidence and support in them. Day to Day Activities The day to day activities of a social worker includes carrying out interviews with service users and their families to access and review their situation. They also offer information and counselling support for the clients and their families, they also recommend and sometimes make decisions about the best course of action for the client. Social workers also make referrals for their clients for example referral to rehab if they have drug issues. They also maintain records and prepare reports for legal actions, by for example giving evidence to court and participating in meetings to provide the best service possible. Skills and Characteristics Social workers need to have certain skills and characteristics in order to full fill their duty. Having the qualities of a social worker enables them to gain job satisfaction. The skills, characteristics and qualities that a social worker needs to have is to be good at problem solving, this is because there are many situations that will occur which need good problem solving. They also need to have the skills of being a positive person, being committed to their job, being socially competent, good time management and good communication. Being able to negotiate is a vital skill which is needed to have the skills and characteristics of a social worker and being able to work in a team and co-operating when necessary. Social workers also need knowledge and understanding of legislations and legal procedure, but if not then this can be known whilst in training or in education. Responsibilities Social workers have variety of different responsibilities that they need to carry out professionally. They work with different aged clients and therefore their responsibilities differ from age groups. However the main responsibilities that they need to carry out are supporting clients, guiding them, advising them and helping people accept that some situations cannot be changed. They need to ensure that they maintain confidentiality about all clients and do not share any information without the permission of clients or they are able to share information with who they think its important to see. Social workers are able to work either private or public sectors. However are commonly employed in the public sector by local authorities. This is because there is always a need for social workers as there are not many left The Independent [2001] states that children are in danger because of the lack of social workers. Social workers are funded by the government through the local authorities. This is because they work in different locations such as, social services, hospitals, homes etc and therefore these departments have the major component of British local government expenditure. Teamwork Teamwork is very important during life as working with a shared group of people helps to gain success. Teamwork can be done by anyone; it can work for social workers or clients. Teamwork is very important in terms of the role of a social worker because they need to take care of all clients in the workplace and make sure that everything is up to professionally standard. Teamwork is important to maintain confidential information on the development of clients with themselves and other co-workers who need to know all this. They also need to write reports on the progress of clients and families. Without teamwork social workers will not be able to help clients progress, the better a social worker knows their client and the situation, the better they are able to help them progress and support themselves. Social workers need good communication skills as they work closely with doctors, health visitors and child psychologists. An example where social workers did not work as a team was the case of Victoria Climbie who died because of severe physical abuse. Images of social workers: The above images show that social workers work with young people helping them through their problems. They also work with people with mental health conditions, school drop outs, drug and alcohol abusers, people with learning and physical disabilities and also the elderly. Status Status means a persons position in a particular job. Their value in society, it is based on peoples success, gender, money and education. Questionnaire I carried out a questionnaire to find out what society thought about the status of a nursery nurse. To do this I had asked 10 candidates to complete my questionnaire. The results showed that 10 out of 10 candidates said that the job role they consider to hold a higher status between a social worker and nursery nurse was social worker. This indicates that social workers have a high status. In addition to this I found out that 10 out of 10 candidates said that social workers have more social importance in society, because of better pay, better terminology and they have more responsibility, this shows social workers are better than nursery nurses. Furthermore I found that majority of the people said that having high level of qualifications gives you a boost on the status ladder because they are then more experienced in what they do. When a person has a degree in such a subject they are seem as ,more important in society than a nursery nurse because you can be a nursery nurse at only doing GCSEs whereas social worker you need to be a graduate. They also said that status refers to how skilled you are in the society because if a person has been in educa tion for a long time they think that, that person has more knowledge in the specific area. Therefore having a job role title has an effect in society on the status ladder so from a social worker and nursery nurse the majority said social worker. Overall my questionnaire shows that majority of my candidates consider the job role of a social worker to have a higher social importance than a nursery nurse. The variety of reasons why this is the reason is mentioned in the above paragraph. Therefore this questionnaire indicates that social workers do have social importance in society than a nursery nurse, mainly because social workers need more education in their specific work area. Approval I have researched 5 articles from different newspaper and websites that referred to what the media thought of social workers. I have done this to see how the media might portray a social worker to the general public. This will affect status. The Guardian, (2010), implies that social workers are not carrying out their job properly. This shows that social workers are looked at negatively. The article is based on Baby P who died at 17 months due to being physically abused in 2007. The Guardian (2010), states Staff at Haringey council in north London wrongly concluded that the toddlers injuries were probably caused by lack of supervision and so used wholly inappropriate methods in his case. This suggests that social workers are not carrying out their job properly. In addition the BBC (2002), also implied that social workers are failing to do their jobs correctly. The BBC (2002), informs two social workers at the heart of the Victoria Climbie child abuse scandal have been sacked for gross misconduct. The Free Press (2010) states A social worker that admitted failings across the whole range of his practice, while part of a team working with Blaenau Gwents most vulnerable children, is beginning a two-year suspension. This shows another negative view of social workers. However, The BBC (2010) shows that social workers are doing there very best in order to ensure that a child is safe at home, this shows a positive side to a social worker. In conclusion the above evidence suggests that the media perceive social workers as not carrying their jobs out correctly. Although there was some positive articles found the majority articles were negative, therefore this shows that the media can strongly affect the status of a job role through the way it is communicated to people, it might be said the job role Social Worker has a low status, therefore the media affects status. Qualifications The qualifications that a social worker needs to have a three-year honours degree or a post-graduate qualification in social work. They need to have 200 days of practice learning. This ensures that people have the practical skills required of them, they also have the first 6 weeks of employment social care workers will be given initial education training, which helps to extend skills and experience for social workers. Other qualifications that are needed is the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ), which has now become a part of the qualifications needed for employees who want to have a career in social care. Qualifications that may benefit social workers are being educated further in the specific area they are working in and obtaining experiences. This is because the more a person knows and understands about being social workers the more they will be able to achieve satisfaction in their job. The more qualified a social worker is the more they are able to go up in the status ladder. Career progression Having a social worker career gives many opportunities to go into a different route for a career such as being a counsellor because of they can use the skills that has been gained from social working, they can become a team leader or manager in the setting. Social workers can progress in their career by choosing to gain some other qualifications such as working in different settings e.g. working with public, private and voluntary sector as this can progress their career. By working in different settings this can help in understanding how to carry out different job roles in different settings for example working directly with the people e.g. as a councellor. They can also progress by taking other different roles such as more managent roles e.g. working as a team leader. They can also change and progress career by working in the same role but working with a particular group of people to be able to widen their experience and specialise in a apraticular area such as working with children with learning disabilities. Local factors In this section I will be evaluating what I have researched about local factors that affect job opportunities in my area. Local factors, which influence job opportunities, are; job vacancies, transport such as buses, taxis, cars or cycles. It also can influence or affect job opportunities because of housing, the workplace and also because of jobs. In the Lancashire area there are many Social workers jobs available in large places. Therefore, social workers from smaller towns are able to access larger communities were more jobs are available. Qualified social workers in the public sector in England are eligible for help so there are able to buy homes near or away from work. Housing is a problem for all most every job if they are in big cities such as London, Manchester. This is because the housing prices are high and therefore some people cannot afford it and so they might lose out on the job or they pay extra on transport to get to and from work, and therefore this affects job opportunities. However if workers receive help from the government then this can enable social workers to get jobs in bigger areas such as London where jobs are always available. However forensic social worker jobs are available because they are recruiting qualified forensic social workers. These are provided by a private hospital in Bury. This gives social workers a possibility to provide services to the patients in the hospital. In Lancashire there is a shortage of social workers due to previous cases such as Baby Peter and Victoria Climbie, because of these cases social workers are not put under pressure as they cannot allow the same situation to happen again as this will result in extreme measures such as public not being able to trust them and they all lose their jobs. As a result of shortage of staff there is workload on all staff because there has been a high rise in cases. As mentioned before in the approval section, many people do not want a career in social working because of the negative images that the media has portrayed about them. There are around 323 children in Lancashire are being cared for in other parts of the country, as there arent enough social workers in this area. Research has been done on social workers and to see what has happened due to the shortage of them, and from the community care case-load survey [2010], it can therefore conclude that social workers have 40case loads each because of the rise in cases. This can affect job opportunity because this can cause problems for clients and social workers themselves because they may be under stress leading them in not being able to provide the best service for clients. This can affect job opportunity because some workers may not be able to cope with the workload and therefore leading them in not staying in a job like this. National and Political Factors In this section I will be evaluating what I have researched about the National and Political factors that affect job opportunities. The 2010 spending review states that about 490.000 public sector jobs are likely to be lost. Social workers faced 25% cut in October 2010 spending review, it results in a funding gap of  £2.2bn and this way only one in four elderly people will receive help from the council. This shows that social workers will not be able to care for all clients that need help and support. As a result of the job cutsjob opportunities have been affected because social workers job are not be available in smaller areas. 1,000 jobs are expected to be cut in 2010 and 2013, so  £80million can be saved. This shows that job opportunities are affected because there will be jobless workers who might not be able to find available in smaller areas. The 2005 European directive stated that social workers need to operate at both local and global levels. This means that they need to be aware of both local and global levels so they are able to work in different settings. The 2005 European directive introduced a new degree level professional qualification. After this was introduced almost, 10,000 social workers had applied to the UK, in order for them to gain the practice that is needed for this job. This shows that job opportunity has been affected because many social workers applied for this degree level professional qualification and therefore there will be many of them applying for jobs however they may not be enough for everyone. Many people may be attracted to this job role because social workers are entitled to non-repayable bursaries through the NHS Business Services Authority Prescription Pricing Division. This affects job opportunity because more people will want to work as they dont need to pay for their courses as it is NHS funded. Public sector workers face pay freezes and potential job cuts in the emergency budgets. This hits around four in ten workers including social workers. This shows that social workers are not getting paid for their job which affects job opportunity because they are not getting paid. Demographic Factors: Demography means the study of human population in a country for example in the UK, this research would include aspects such as world population, composition, birth, ageing, migration, race, death and change over time. This is used by governments and other non governments organisations because the government need to understand and study more about the populations so they are aware of the countries condition such as the economic market research. For example if there are a rise of births in the UK then there might be a rise in child abuse therefore they need to ensure enough social workers are available. The changes in the population affects job opportunities because as the population keeps growing then the more people there will be wanting jobs, therefore there may be lots of people who want the same job, however cannot get the jobs because the job availability may be limited. Social workers are more known for having female gender workers as high as 79% whereas male workers as low as 20%. This might be because people think females have better connection with people, as they are fairly positive and are good at problem solving and multi-tasking. Research shows that in 1993 women aged 20-24years were in cohabited relationships and having children. Therefore this shows that there are a number of children increasing, this can lead to more social workers needed if there are children e.g. getting abuse or have drug issues etc. This also can suggest that if there are not enough social workers then the workload for social workers can become high because in some areas such as in Lancashire there is a shortage of social workers. The BBC News [2009] suggested that there is a lack of social workers because in 2008 there was up to a third of posts that were unfilled. This shows that social workers are needed but people are not taking these posts, maybe because of the pressure it puts them under. This shows that job opportunities are affected because there are people who are not taking the available jobs. The social workers that have a high age have more experience in the social worker industry. The diagram shows that 25years or more have 20% more experience and therefore this may stop from younger workers in getting a job because the elder generation are not leaving their job because they need to provide [look at appendices]. The more experienced social workers the more experienced circumstances will be seen and be able to act accordingly without fail. Development of New Technology: It is important that everybody who works in both public and private sectors to gain new technology skills as this is created to help people in their daily lives. Therefore it is important that social workers use the skills required, this is because social workers can use computers to gain better access to their case studies rather than looking through a pile of papers. It is also important that even though new technologies are created for both work and home purposes it is important they have a back-up of what they do. This can affect job opportunities because there may be social workers who are much older and are not aware of the new technologies and therefore they cannot carry out their job properly or they may be made replaced. Social workers need to have IT skills because they will be able to update, change remove any information very quickly and easily. Social workers can just type a name in their database and all the information that is required will be there depending on who inserted the information. Conditions of work Social workers have choices whether they want to work full time or part time, this is because they will have different job opportunities. For example a social worker who is doing a part time job, can also complete a part time qualification such as a masters degree. The working conditions that a social worker, works in are part-time or full-time. There working hours are normally 37 hours per week. However in residential settings this may be different hours, depending on which clients they are working with. Social workers have a lot of paper work that they need to do and interviews that they need to do and review and therefore this can be both emotionally rewarding if they win a case but there job can also be very demanding. Therefore the work conditions are different depending on the person and the work place, for example in some areas there is a shortage of social workers and therefore other social workers have a heavy workload. Pay Social workers get a good pay, however the more the experience and qualifications the more pay they are entitled to. For example a social workers starting salary is approximately  £19,500 in the UK. However the more experience and qualifications some social workers are entitled to get a pay of approximately  £40,000 per year. This shows that they pay is good for beginners and the more experienced and also for the public sector because they get paid more than those in the private sector, research showed this. Holiday Social workers who work full-time have a statutory right to 28 daysHYPERLINK http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/employment.htmHYPERLINK http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/employment.htm paid annual leave, including bank and public holidays. Other workers who are pert time also have holidays but this may not be paid leave. They also get paid on paid leave, this is approximately 5.6 weeks. This is similar to what a teacher gets when they are on holiday however primary teachers, high school teachers etc get more holidays, this is because when students have holidays, teachers do to, even though it may not allow them to have a holiday because of the amount of work they might need to mark. Therefore this is good for social workers because there has been research done and shown that social workers in the public sector have more days than those in the private sector. Hour/Work pattern Working hours are normally 37- 40 hours per week, 5 times a day. They work from 8am 5pm every day. Job security Social workers all have good job security because the telegraph showed that there is a continued high demand and pressure on social services and healthcare, However though there is a high demand for social workers, there are many workers who have left the job because of the pressure and stress that has been put on them and therefore they left. Therefore this shows that to some extent there is job security, however this is not the case all the time. Pension rights When social workers work in the public sector some of their wage gets taken of them and straight into their pension account for future needs, this is money that workers in a public sector do not see. However in the private sector the workers themselves have to inquire on their pension schemes. However research has shown that social workers have to pay an extra  £75 a month in to their pensions if the governments plan to increase employee contributions goes ahead in 2012. Over time Four in ten social workers have unmanageable caseloads therefore they work overtime and some organisations give overtime pay whereas some do not give overtime pay. However sometimes, some organisations pay social workers if they work overtime however its not very easy to get. Job satisfaction Job satisfaction is when an individual is content with their profession. When someone feels he/she is capable and has value within their job, this helps them feel worthy of recognition. One way to achieve job satisfaction within a company is to promote the employees teamwork qualities, as this motivates the individual and is a good way to build his/her satisfaction. It is crucial that his/her colleagues help handle work problems and offer support. Consequently, this encourages people to feel their work is meaningful, honourable and so it allows the individual to respect others surrounding him as well as build a close relationship with colleagues. In order for a social worker to gain job satisfaction they need to be assertive and be able to negotiate on behalf of their clients and co-workers. Being able to analyse and assess situations shows that an individual is good at their job and shows they enjoy it, as they know what they are doing, this shows that social workers can gain job satisfaction by being fairly confident in the way they carry out their job, managing their time well and at the same time being reliable to finish a task when given. Another way for an individual to not have job satisfaction within a company is when they are not promoted by the employees teamwork qualities, as this stops motivating the individual. Also when there pay is not enough for them, they may start to slack in working, as they want to get the pint across that they are not getting paid enough for the job they are carrying out. Or someone can not be satisfied in their job because they havent got any friendly co-workers and the atmosphere is not a great place to be, therefore this can lead to dissatisfying job role. For an individual to gain satisfaction in their job they can improve the environment by trying to communicate with other co-workers and see whether they have any similar attractions or dislikes, they may work together on a case given to them to work as a team, they can listen to each others ideas to help the case to be finished. Client outcomes The outcome that social workers want is for all service users to have the best service provided. Their outcomes also includes offering and referring clients to relevant services, to be able to support and guide their clients and make them able to be on their own at times. It is important that social workers achieve all their outcomes because if they have not then it can lead to unprofessionalism and cases like Victoria Climbie and Baby Peter. Stressors Stressors means when an individual is taking on an activity, experience, condition, or a job situation, which causes them to stress. For example; Social workers have a lot of stress and things on their mind because of the amount of workload they have to deal with, role conflict, role ambiguity and family conflict. Other pressures related to being a social worker are having a tight schedule and also job performance as social workers are stigmatised by the media for not doing their job properly so this puts more pressure on them. The Guardian, (2010), implies that social workers are not carrying out their job properly. The article is based on Baby P who died at 17 months due to being physically abused in 2007. The Guardian (2010), states Staff at Haringey council in north London wrongly concluded that the toddlers injuries were probably caused by lack of supervision and so used wholly inappropriate methods in his case. Another stressful factor is trying to maintain a good relationship with bosses, colleagues and their clients. If job-related stress is severe this can result in physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. This type of job related stress occurs mainly in individuals who feel that they as a person and the work they do are not recognised. Research from oxford journals shows social workers who found their job satisfying felt that it was much pressured and that this adversely affected the service they provided. Social workers have indicated high levels of general anxiety. The psychological health measures have also found that in these professions if people do suffer from exhaustion they can perhaps go on a sick leave as they are known to take twice as much sick leave from work. The Daily Mail (2009) social workers take more sick days than any other public service professional. Anti Discriminatory Practice Anti Discriminatory Practice is a system to help fight against discrimination in the workplace. This practice helps prevent discrimination against race, class, gender, disability, age, homosexuality, domestic status, transgender, carers responsibility and others. This practice takes into account how an individual behaves towards other individuals in the work place and out of work places. All employees in the social worker sector take on this practice so there is no discrimination on the work grounds and promote equality for the employees and its clients. Sex Discrimination Act The Sex Discrimination Act helps protect females and males from discrimination. This Act protects people from being discriminated on the basis of gender, marital status, pregnancy, work accommodations, services, facilities and many more. This act also creates quality for both males and females in the work place. This is an important law within the social work grounds because it is important for all employees to treat everyone equally without discriminating who they wish to work with. Race Relations Act The Race Relations Act is a Law in the work place that prevents discrimination on the grounds of race. This law includes protection from discrimination of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, and many more. This is so that males and females from any ethnic background have the same equality as others in the work place. Social workers work with different people around the country, they will meet different people with different ethnic backgrounds and it is their job to make sure that all people are safe from abuse and discrimination. DDA 1995 The Disability Discrimination Act is a civil rights law, which prevents discrimination of disabled individuals, and has the same equal rights as others in the work place. It is important that people maintain these rules and regulations for the protection of the workers in the work place. Social workers help different people, these can be able-bodied people or disabled people and it is their job to take care of everyone from abuse and other forms of violence as disabled people are more prone to it. The health and safety (first aid) regulation Health and safety presents regulations on the responsibilities to preserve safe, clean and protected work surroundings. In the social worker department it is necessary for them to carry out first aid, risk assessments, working safely in the kitchen and many more to keep themselves and others from risk of infection and disease. Workplace (Health, safety and welfare) regulations The workplace regulations 1992 state that the workplace should be safe and secure for the employers and others who are present at the work place. Therefore it is important for social workers to take care of co-workers as well as clients who are present in the building or they will be responsible to what happens. Criminal Records Bureau (CRB check) The CRB service enables workplaces in the public, private and voluntary sector to make safe rec

Implications of the Internet – moral, social and commercial disadvantages of the Internet

Pornography – although pornography itself dates back hundreds of decades, the mass media availability of pornography is rather modern; however, Internet pornography evokes various problems. Online pornography is so popular partly due to the level of anonymity it offers as certain individuals can use this privacy to hide their dubious activities. For example: * A married man could be unsatisfied with his sex life, however rather than tell his wife, he can anonymously achieve sexual gratification without his wife discovering his dissatisfaction through pornography via the Internet. * Alternatively, online pornography can be a teaching tool to the likes of teenagers who do not have the confidence to ask others about sex – nonetheless as the vast majority of pornography is edited in ridiculous ways, e.g. making certain assets bigger, this can be more hindering than helpful * However, the biggest problem with anonymity is PAEDOPHILES! Disgusting individuals can use technology and the Internet to conceal their illegal activities and therefore massive child pornography rings exist – nevertheless it is incredibly hard to prevent such actions as no one really owns the Internet, as it is an international free network, so centralised control cannot be implemented to censor such filth The Internet also offers an astonishing amount of various explicit materials for very cheap costs and psychologists believe that the concept of ‘too much of a good thing' leads to a serious addiction to online pornography. Potentially, this addiction can cause problems in other aspects of life e.g. careers, family relations, friendships and issues with ones self-esteem. Read also Twitter Case Study Of course, when morally speaking there are the typical issues concerning pornography that it is exploitative in nature. Many argue that pornography teaches people to view others as objects of lust rather than someone with feelings and unique personality traits. Consequently the threat of harming the way in which we view others increases as the Internet has made pornography much easier to consume in large quantities. Alternatively, many view the claim that pornography makes people view others as ‘sex objects' slander, saying that very few are actually affected in this way and in fact most consumers are well-adjusted individuals. For example, they assert that an increase in high levels of online pornography has not increased any country's rape or domestic violence levels. Another issue to discuss is that thousands of people below the legal age are able to access pornography on the Internet. Contrast to stores where you can prove your age, online you simple ‘agree' you are above the legal (18 in most countries) and so many youngsters are viewing explicit material illegally, which in some ways, if rather graphic and serious alter ones outlook. [1] Chat rooms – it is indisputable that chat rooms have revolutionized social communication way before social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter. People across the globe can escape the burdening aspects of life's reality to hang out online typing away to online friends, participating in random theme-based discussions. However, the widespread use of the chat rooms has brought a certain level of threats and dangers to users. Read also Recording General Fund Operating Budget and Operating Transactions * Online Threats / Illegal Activities – Cyber criminals, drug dealers and other unsocial individuals lurk in chat rooms to lure in unsuspecting victims, as well as the willing, to participate in various illegal activities. Once done so, participants are left vulnerable to police enquires and could even be arrested for their crimes. * Example: An advance-fee fraud such as the Nigerian Letter, also known as 419 fraud, is a type of scam where victims are convinced that someone is stranded in a country – Nigeria – and that they cannot get their passport back until certain bills are paid. Therefore, vulnerable people are targeted, in some cases through chat rooms, and are then contacted via email to ask for help. A 2006 BBC article stated that at the time this â€Å"style of incidents alone cost the UK economy à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½150m a year – with the average victim losing à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½31,000†. * Paedophile Predators – The greatest threat of chat rooms in my opinion is the presence of paedophiles, online stalkers and other repulsive predators constantly looking for ways to exploit the vulnerabilities of pre-teens and young teens. * Example: Recently in Australia, (June 2011) an alleged US predator Stephen Vosilla was arrested for â€Å"going into video chat rooms and talking to minors and convincing them to take their clothes off or do sexual acts and he was recording and taking screen captures of what they were doing.† (As said by Morristown Detective Michael O'Keefe) * Harmful Addiction – Addiction to chat rooms can cause users to spend hours on different forum at the cost of other life activities. Human behavioural scientists and clinical psychologists have even considered chat room addiction to be almost as damaging as alcohol or drug addiction on the human psyche and health. * Hacking Threats – Too much time spent on chat rooms can also lead to the possibility of your computer being hacked by the universal threats of semi-automatic spyware, adware and various human-related viruses, or even receiving spam emails via your chat room accounts * Social Disengagement – Spending hours online in chat rooms can ruin your interaction with people in the real world. Becoming too familiar with online-only friends can leave you detached from outside relationships and make you incredibly social awkward. Therefore, not only personal hindering your life, but this can make getting and holding down a job very difficult. Social Dominance of the English Language Some argue that the exponential growth of the Internet has caused considerable damage to language: * Firstly, language usage and written proficiency is gradually deteriorating with online ‘slang' ruining the need for correct spelling and good grammar. * Secondly, the Internet threatens national borders through the apparent foreign influence and hegemony. * Thirdly, the Internet threatens to oppress the language of linguistic minorities and the linguistic identity of minor communities and nations. Although across the globe there are more native speakers of Chinese, Spanish or Hindi, it is English that they use to communicate across cultures, and it is English they teach their children to help them become citizens of an increasingly intertwined world. Ultimately, it could be argued that English is the ‘lingua franca' on the Internet (and in the world). Although one widely quoted figure stated that 80% of online content is in English, other sources argue showing figures 5 to 15% lower. However, it is evident that well over 50% of the Internet's information is in the English Language; hence overall English does dominate the Internets data. Historically the English dominance on the Internet is understandable as the Internet was basically developed in America, therefore naturally the Internet predominantly spread in the other English-speaking countries of the world. Nevertheless, many have bitter views of the Internet due to the English language: * The director of a Russia Internet service provider has at one point referred to the Internet as â€Å"the ultimate act of intellectual colonialism.† * Former French President Jacques Chirac was far more apocalyptic stating that the prevalence of English on the Internet is a â€Å"major risk for humanity,† which threatens to impose linguistic and cultural uniformity on the world – and as a result the French government inflicted a mandate that all Web sites in France must provide their content in French. Alternatively, there are some positive aspects of the Internet when concerning language. People in foreign countries can now access online versions of nearly any resource, so if French speakers in non-Francophone regions wish to read the French newspaper they can do so thanks to the Internet. People unable to speak English are provided with search engines in their own language, in 2008 Google owned around 800 domains, here's just a few: * www.google.com (USA) * www.google.co.uk (UK) * www.google.com.af/ (Afghanistan) * www.google.cn/ (China) * http://www.google.com.ng/ (Nigeria) Whatever country you are in Google will provide the best results in your spoken language; therefore even if you cannot speak English, you can still search the Internet. More importantly, online users can now get remote access to government information, educational materials, scientific journals, and, ultimately, the digitized collections of the major national libraries in an array of languages, enhancing learning capabilities. Of course the Internet cannot prevent the global dominance of the English language but it does provide the opportunities to communicate with other members of geographically dispersed communities. Today more than 100 different languages are used in discussion groups, including not just the major national languages but Catalan, Gaelic, Navaho and Welsh, among so many others. People now have the opportunity to speak in their native tongue with others all other the world who before could only talk in Welsh or Yiddish with older relatives. Therefore, despite the indisputable dominance of the English language the Internet provides so many opportunities for other language speakers. Web Addiction Due to the constant use of the Internet in today's society, such as using emails relentless at work or video conferencing with business partners or teenagers spending ridiculous amounts of time online for social networking, the possibility of becoming an addict is highly likely. There have been several cases of people being addicted to the Internet features such as chat rooms, or to certain websites, such as eBay. Like any addiction, Internet addiction must be taken very seriously as resulting financial and social problems can sincerely destroy people. Case Study: China In China Internet addiction is treated as a mental illness and sufferers are sent to military-style training camps where severe discipline ensues in order to rehabilitate. It was been estimated that up to 10% of China's millions of web users could actually be addicts and as a result the Chinese government shut down almost 2,000 Internet cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s in 2001 because of the concerns over the influence of the countries teenagers. As of yet there is no proven way to treat the addiction, however in July 2009 China's Ministry of Health formally banned the use of electroshock therapy. An incident concerning one of the Internet addiction training camps happened in august 2009 at Qihang Salvation in China. A 15-year-old boy called Deng Senshan was sent by his father to receive ‘treatment', nonetheless, within less than 24 hours of being their Deng was out in solitary confinement and horrendously beaten. Deng was later found vomiting and was then taken to a clinic however, having received such brutal injuries (marks were found on his body), Deng unfortunately died. Of course this is an extreme case, but the fact that China has taken such extreme measures emphasises how serious the increase of Internet addiction is becoming. Society will not be able to function properly if our people are addicted to the web and therefore, this serious problem of a need to be online must be stopped before other countries start following China's inhumane methods. Commercial – The concerns with e-Commerce The past decade has shown a revolutionary increase in business transactions online, however despite e-commerce modernizing the world of business, the developments have also brought along an array of problems. * Privacy and Security issues: Privacy of personal information is a highly significant issue for consumers. Each legal jurisdiction has varying laws when concerning consumer privacy, and as a result there are different levels of enforcement. The vast majority of consumers wish to avoid spam and telemarketing that comes with supplying contact information to an online merchant and therefore many merchants promise to not share consumer details for these purposes, or they provide options to ‘pot-out' of such contacts. Many websites, like Amazon.com, track consumer purchases in order to suggest other items or websites for the customers to view. Although this can be a useful service, however, if this was done across companies this could be viewed as an infringement of privacy. The biggest security risk with shopping online is someone obtaining your credit / debit card details and then running up huge bills, spending your money. Although today secure payment methods are many and varied, there are still risks of hackers and malicious software's obtaining such information. Online merchants need to have high security as hackers many try to illegal breach the software to obtain all the personal details of consumers to not only use their credit cards but also open up new accounts in their names. The old clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½: ‘If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is' becomes highly relevant with credit card fraud. Ridiculous bargains and suspicious looking sites should be treated with vast caution, as these could be a front for stealing credit card details. * Products: Misinterpretation and misunderstanding of items bought online is a common problem nowadays, hence a problem with online shopping is that you are unable to physically see and touch the item before purchase: for instance, Items can be of poor quality or items may differ significantly from the description given or clothes cannot be tried on or tested. * Delivery and Returns: Waiting for you items to arrive can be in some cases frustrating. Once your order has been placed, you have to wait for ‘processing' and finally when it is ‘dispatched' you have to wait for the courier or postman to delivery it. By the time you actually received your item the ‘thrill' of shopping is practically gone. Furthermore, there are risks of the item never arriving as it can get lost or stolen, or the couriers could damage your package. Both resulting in a series of extensive phone calls to resolve the problems. Moreover, although some sites may offer free shipping, many only offer free delivery if your spent over a certain amount, meaning buying ‘cheap' items is pointless as you end up paying more. Buying items that you need immediately is a problem, unless you pay extra costs for ‘next day delivery', which can be substantially high. Additionally, if you decide to return your item, this requires even more phone calls or emailing and you could als o be charged for the shipping back costs. Diminishing physical stores – better deals online Another significant problem when concerning commerce is the Internet has diminished the value of certain ‘brick and mortar' stores, and combined with the current economic climate, has resulted in numerous chain stores having to shut down, such as Woolworths, Jane Norman and TJ Hughes. In October 2010, over 89% of people had reported that they shopped online and Verdict Research experts estimate that by 2014 online shopping spending will grow by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½14 billion (61%) – in 2008 people already spent à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½14.7bn online. [18] The increase use of online stores like Amazon, which allows individuals to find goods at the lowest price, means people are benefiting from the so-called â€Å"flight to value†. In todays economic climate average people can no longer afford to go out on a massive shopping spree and instead stay at home surfing online for a bargain. However, another factor of the Internet that diminished the value of stores like HMV is the ability to illegal download music, movies and TV shows. People can no longer afford to buy their favourite songs or films and therefore resort to illegal download them from various websites via the likes of torrents. Hence, HMV is now going through tough times, being very close to closure, if it weren't for a Russian investor.

American Mania: When More Is Not Enough Essay

INTRODUCTION It takes immense courage to question something that has been so firmly etched into one’s mind or something that everyone accepts as normal, it also takes great insight to be able to see past the monotony and mundane details of life and observe something that is greatly and equally affecting a nation. Mr. Whybrow accomplishes this with great eloquence in his book American mania. Adam smith’s American dream of depth and desire† The book begins with the chapter titled â€Å"Adam smith’s American dream of depth and desire† in which Mr. Whybrow gives an account of his taxi ride on the way to the airport to catch a flight from Los Angles to New York, he tells his story in almost a poetic manner describing the myriad of scenes that he observes. He points out everything that makes him reflect on how rapidly the world is moving and how everyone is being swept away with this storm and how no one stops to think about where they’re actually headed and how everyone has less and less time for the small things in life, things which once were considered to be the essence of life. The author seeks to explain â€Å"the dramatic shift away from social concern and toward competitive self-interest that occurred during the closing decades of the 20th Century† (p. 257). Whybrow, himself a British immigrant, advances the hypothesis that Americans are a nation of â€Å"migrants† who are outfitted not just with the self-seeking genes but also with the restless, risk-taking genes of those who have risked all to look for a new land of opportunity. Whybrow argues that highly migrant people are novelty seekers, restless and optimistic risk-takers, CONCLUSION Whybrow’s theories are provocative because they not only revisit the possibility of psychoanalysis in the alliance of culture, speculating beyond the anthropology and identity politics that all cultures are just as advantageous, but also challenge us to reassess the insufficiency of our psychological descriptions. Identifying a culture as hectic or obsessed is somewhat useful in attempting to avoid the idea of national character but to propose a basic personality as the repository of a society’s values, from which individual character differentiates is a mammoth task Mr. Whybrow manages to make the reader question the values and beliefs that we have come to cherish so dearly. WORKS CITED Peter Whybrow (2006) American Mania: When More Is Not Enough. Retrieved on 18th October 2006 from : http://www.amazon.com/American-Mania-When-More-Enough/dp/0393059944

The Pros And Cons Of Social Contract - 1004 Words

Social contract denotes that a government or sovereign body exists only to serve the will of the people because the people are the source of political power that is enjoyed by the entity. The people can choose to give or withdraw the power. Not all philosophers agree that the social contract creates rights and obligations; on the contrary, some believe that the social contract imposes restrictions that restrict a person’s natural rights. Individuals who live within the society gain protection by the government from others who may pursue to cause them injury, in exchange, the citizens, must relinquish individual liberties like the capability to commit wrongdoings without being reprimanded, and they should contribute to making society†¦show more content†¦Hobbes believed that in nature people had to do whatever was necessary to survive and that even if living together, people were still likely to fight. His view of people was dark and most likely due to the horrors of a series of political schemes and armed conflicts he had seen during the English Civil War. He believed that a contract was necessary. Hobbes felt that people were not capable of living in a democratic society. Instead, a single dominant ruler was needed, and if everyone did their part, then the community would function smoothly. Hobbes’ theory is unlike Locke and Rousseau’s. He believed that once the people gave power to the government, the people gave up the right to that power. It would essentially be the cost of the safety the people were seeking. John Locke argues that people deserve life, liberty, and property which are all an essential part of the social contract. The government needs to guard individuals’ lives and safeguard the freedom of prosperity and impose laws that are structured to reward efforts which improve society economically. 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