Multiattribute Theory of Wal-Mart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Multiattribute Theory of Wal-Mart - Essay Example The relative personal importance of each attribute was considered on a scale of 1-10 and indicated. Similarly, each belief about the establishments was scored on a scale of 1-10. Finally, the Multiattribute index for each firm was computed using the Fishbein model’s formula. The purpose of this study was to determine whether scored attributes and beliefs of establishments correlate to the purchasing behavior of the consumer (Deb & KÃ ¶ksalan, 2010). The study revealed that the scored attributes and beliefs do not correlate to the purchasing behavior of the consumer. Kmart was found to have the highest index of 298 followed by Wal-Mart with a score of 271. The establishment with lowest score was Sears with 187. So, there was a perceived difference in the overall score of attributes. This means that the beliefs concerning various attributes vary from one establishment to another. In terms of the price, which is rated as highly important, of the various establishments, K-Mart is believed to have fair prices, followed by both Wal-Mart and Sears, which have equal ratings. The belief that a certain store charges lower or higher prices as compared to other stores influences the purchasing behavior of the buyers (KÃ ¶ksalan & Sagala, 1995). Convenience, quality, guarantee of satisfaction and job security were also rated highly in terms of importance, with each having a score of at least 7. However, their scores of believes vary from one establishment to another. Wal-Mart has the highest score in terms of quality followed by K-Mart, while Sears has the lowest score of 3. Both Wal-Mart and K-Mart are rated equally in terms of convenience and satisfaction guarantees. Variety, wages, good neighbor, and environment protective are all rated with scores of not more than 5, in terms of importance. Even in terms of believes, they still rated below 5. This means that these attributes may not matter so much to a buyer when making a purchase. This attributes are clearly known

The Unredeemed Captive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Unredeemed Captive - Essay Example Young as she was, she was taken to Canada along with other 100 captives from Deerfield. The raid was later named the Deerfield Massacre. The story of Eunice reveals the experiences of New England including how the colonial events impacted the Indians, English, and French or colonists both negatively and positively. Eunice, a daughter of a crucial person, was captured by French soldiers to be used in a part exchange deal. The raid was organized by the governor of New France, who wanted to rescue a British captive named Capt. Pierre Baptiste. Captain had attacked British ships on the Atlantic Coast on behalf of the French authorities. In an attempt to save the captain, the New French decided to capture an important British prisoner. French authorities obtained Eunice in order to get the captain from the British authorities. Capturing the daughter to one of the powerful and influential people in England was an effective and logical that would prompt the English authorities to negotiate with the French. Eunice’s captivity had an adverse impact on the people of Deerfield. According to Haefeli and Sweeney, they had lost a daughter to their prominent minister and some of their populations. They grieved and were in sorrow.2 In an attempt to free his daughter, John Williams tried to convince the French authorities to release her daughter, but his attempts proved futile. To add to that, Eunice, after being fully assimilated into the Indian culture, decided to stay away from home. Her decision was followed by numerous futile attempts by both his brother and father to convince her to come home. Consequently, her refusal to go back home became the primary source of her family’s misery. Apart from Eunice, several young Deerfield captives never returned to their families, but instead joined either the French authorities or the Native American society. The captivity of Eunice had a positive impact on the Indian people. They were overjoyed and

The Effects Of Teenage Childbearing Children And Young People Essay

The Effects Of Teenage Childbearing Children And Young People Essay Sadly, pregnant teenagers in society today are too often labeled as sluts . While the majority of gilrs become pregnant by accident, a small number become pregnant on purpose. These girls feel that they will be loved, or have someone to love, or that a missing void in their ife will be filled. Worst of all some girls plan to become pregnant to heal a relationship or to hold on to a boyfriend. The fact is, if two people are in a unstable, struggling relationship, having baby will just bring on more stress and turmoil. For the other girls who become pregnant by accident this is due to carelessness, lack of knowledege, the it can t happen to me attitude, or just really by accident. For many girls, they are under the false pretense thatthey cannot become pregnant the first time they have sex. Not only is this false, but one out of twenty girls become pregnant the first time they have sex, and ninty percent of all teen pregancies occur within the first year of having sex (Guernsey 19-20). Pregnancy is a very serious situation for teenagers, because young teenage bodies are not developed enough then the bodies of women who are over twenty. Due to this, the death rate is sixty percent higher among pregnant teenagers under the age of fifteen than among older girls and women (Gutman 24). Babies born to teenagers are twice as likely to die before their first birthdays than are the babies that are born to women in thier twenties,also teenage babies run a hihger risk of being born premature or being born with mental and physical handicaps (Gutman 25). Some teenagers are afraid to tell someone about their situation, so they do not get pre-natal care which harms both the mother and the baby. When a teenager finds out that she is pregnant, she has three choices: give it up for adoption, keep it, or have an abortion. A large number of these teens choose to have an abortion. Twenty five percent of all abortions are among the teen age population (Bender and Leone 58). For many girls this is an easy way out of a difficult situation and they feel that know one will know that they do not want to know. For some those feelings stay true, but for others a deep sense of depression falls over them for killing something that they made. For other girls that choose not to keep the baby but are against abortion, they give the baby up for adoption. For many girls adoption is a stressful and heart breaking experience, after carrying a baby for nine months and then handing it over to strangers, I don t see how it wouldn t be a heart breaking time. There are agencies that allow mothers to keep in touch with the family, but most girls know that they will never see there baby again. For other girls, they may make all the arrangements for adoption and then after giving birth may change their minds completly and take on their motherly role. For the teens that keep the baby,they encounter a very challenging situation. They have to get proper health care for example. Many girls are forced to drop out of school and get jobs or the father of the baby drops out of school to support his family, if he stays with the mother. Less than one third of teens who have babies finish school before the age of eighteen (www.teenpregnancy.org). Once a teenager has a baby they have to focus on someone other than themselves, which means they can not do what they want when they want anymore. Their lives revolve around their baby and its needs. Many unmarried teen mothers end up poor or on welfare. Every year the federal government spends about forty billion dollars to help teenage mothers (Flinn Hauser 15). However for some teenagers watching their baby grow or the bond that they share is a reward for their hard work. An often over looked part of teenage pregnancy is the role of the father. About 1.1 million males father babies every year (Ayer 27). Approximately ten percent of fathers marry the mother of their baby. Some fathers care for their baby and pay child support but do not stay with the mother, or sadly some fathers refuse resposibility and do not give support in any way. A fatherly role is very important in child raising, so some communities and schools are now starting programs for teenage fathers and educating boys about teenage pregnancy. Many teen fathers may at first feel out of place, scared, and not educated enough to become a father. They may feel that a whole financial burden is now being placed on them, or that they will not be able to provide for their family. This leads to many fathers skipping out on their responsibility. Programs are now being designed to give fathers emotional support so that they will be able to handle becoming a teenage father, and to realize that there are benefits and obligations of fatherhood. As the article states the benefits to children, families, and society of the commitment of fathers are undisputed. Therefore, it is worth the time and effort of schools and community organizations to implement programs for young fathers that will enable them to develop into responsible adults, meet thier obligations, and create a generation of well-nutured and effectively educated children (www.ed.gov.html). For the unfortunate teen that has no support there a teen pregnancy houses that house both mother and child. Many clinics such as Planned Parenthood give free or low cost care to mother and child and offer services to help ease the teens time of confusion. Community-wide teen pregnancy prevention efforts are also underway (Dryfoos 214). The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregancy was organized in 1996 and is focused on reducing the rate of teen pregnany in the United States,to improve the well being of children and to try to reduce child poverty. In conclusion, teen pregnancy is an issue that should be taken seriously. With the growing rate of teenagers getting pregnant every year more steps should be taken to try to eliminate teen pregnancy. Perhaps these steps should be educating children while their younger or a better sense of birth control for teens or showning pictures of abortions, like they did in my high school. This may be cruel, but how many people who see the pictures will want to get this done after they see what it does.Teenagers are using abortions as a way of birth control , they feel that if they become pregnant there is always an abortion. Abortions can not be like that. If more teens are serioulsy educated then possibly less teens will be careless and the rate of pregnany will decrease. It might sound ridiculous, but maybe parents should really give the birds and the bees talk , because if children hear it from their parents they may take sex more seriously. Some children have sex to feel cool or just to fi t in. It cannot be like that and children need to be taught that.Teen pregnancy is a serious risk for both the mother and the child. Many teenagers do not know about these risks and they need to know before it is to late and they are stuck in a situtaion that they can not get out of. The programs for teen fathers are wonderful because they really tell the boys how it is. Many boys do not know the risk of pregnancy and everything that it entails, these prograns will help to work with them and possibly scare them or at least give them a little more knowledge. Having a baby will change a teens whole life and the steps that are being taken will hopefully work to help teen mothers and fathers and help to lower the birth rate in teens. There is many books out that show cases of teen pregnancy, they should be read to get to know the effects that a baby has on a teens life. With the statistics and facts givin, I really learned so much on teen pregancy and hopefully others will to. The amount of school completed for a women affects her life. It also affects her opportunities for marriage, her circle of friends and her income from work, which can also lead to poverty. Girls who give birth during their adolescent years tend to function less effectively in numerous ways than their peers who delay childbearing (Hofferth et al., 2001). However, recent research indicates that many of the negative outcomes of adolescent motherhood, such as low educational achievement and consequent poverty, precede rather than stem from early parenthood (Hofferth et al., 2001). In essence, teenage childbearing adds to the limited prospects of already disadvantaged adolescent girls. These outcomes include poorer psychological functioning, lower rates of school completion, lower levels of marital stability, less stable employment, greater welfare use, higher rates of poverty, and slightly greater rates of health problems for both mother and child as compared to peers who postpone childb earing (Hofferth et al., 2001). Other consequences of teenage pregnancy and motherhood are low-achievement, low-motivation, the teenagers immaturity and lack of success in school which are also linked to the fact that teenage mothers drop out of school (Hofferth et al., 2001). Therefore Hofferth et al. (2001) would expect early child bearers to be less likely than their childless peers to complete high school or at least college. Moore, Manlove, Glei, Morrison (1998) studied adolescent mothers and concluded that early parenthood had a strong negative effect on the educational attainment of girls, such that young mothers were unlikely to continue their education beyond giving birth and thus obtained lower total levels of education than their peers who delayed childbirth. In large part because of low educational attainment, teenage mothers have lower incomes as adults and are more likely to be on welfare than their peers who delay childbirth (Moore et al., 1998). Overall, young mothe rs with a high school degree and work experience, may provide the needed incentive to obtain and maintain stable employment. Mothers with low education skills and poor functioning, or with other family problems, may have great difficulty maintaining stable employment, and thus may suffer a substantial loss in income (Moore et al., 1998). However, parental involvement in their daughterà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s school such as attending school meetings, participating in school activities, going to their daughters honor ceremony are not related to whether their daughters will become pregnant. Furthermore, adolescents who are involved in religious organizations are less likely to bear a child. Teenage girls who belong to a club or attend church are those who most likely will not bear a child in high school (Moore et al., 1998). Several techniques have been developed to attempt to separate out the effects of background factors which influence both the probability of a teenage birth and the future functioning of the young mother from the effects of early childbearing. For example, a number of studies have compared sets of sisters, one of whom had a child as a teenager and one of whom delayed childbearing until adulthood, in order to control for differences in family background factors commonly found between teenagers who do and do not become young parents (Hoffman, 1998). Such studies found that the effects of teenage childbearing on high school completion and total educational attainment are much smaller than previous studies had indicated. For example, Hoffman, (1998) found that postponing a teenage birth to after the age of 20 would increase the total educational attainment. This study found that having a child before the age of 18 reduces the likelihood of graduation from high school but attaining a GED ( General Equivalency Degree). However, a GED may carry a lower return in future earnings than a high school diploma (Hoffman, 1998). This seems to be possible because of some teenage mothers that have a child and atten school at the same time. This is due to the fact that there all several programs that exists for this matter. There are day cares in the school which watch the child for the teenager while she is in school. There are multiple negative consequences associated with teen pregnancy (Moore et al., 1998). Teenagers who have babies at an early age are less likely to complete high school, and more likely to be on welfare or to work at a job with a low income and experience poverty than women who delay childbearing until an older age (Moore et al., 1998). The disadvantages for teenage girls who bear a child at such a young age reduce their education or employment opportunities. For women who delay pregnancy and childbirth, there are some advantages (Hofferth et al., 2001). The mother is more experienced with life itself, has a better education background and often has a steady job and steady marriage. As life progresses, such factors integrate themselves with life and having a child.

Faust Essay -- essays research papers

The legend of Faust was a legend that occurred in the 1500’s in Europe. Over time, as the story was told and passed on through generations, many different ideas on what happened were brought up, but the main idea of the story is the same in most cases. One of the most interesting things about this legend is the fact that though this story is more than four hundred years old, it is still told in some contemporary films to this day. All though it is not always as direct as a deal with the actual devil, the same basis of the story can be seen in present day films. In one of the most successful movies of the year 2000, The Matrix, a Faustian theme is evident. The Matrix is a science fiction movie directed by the Wachowski brothers. The old legend of Faust is, in short, about a young scholar who made a deal with Mephistopheles, the devil. Faust was seeking ultimate knowledge and in the deal the devil said he would grant Faust ultimate knowledge in return for his soul. Faust agrees to the deal and after a certain time period of possessing ultimate knowledge Faust suddenly dies. There are many different versions of the story as to exactly how he died, and some versions of the story go into more detail than others. As time passed, Faustian legends were being told in many different stories, many different ways. To have a Faust story, four basic elements should be present: a Faust figure, a devil figure, some sort of temptation, and a price.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Matrix is about a man, called Neo, who was living an average life, and was heavily into computer hacking. One day he receives messages appearing on his computer leading him towards a meeting with a powerful man named Morphius. Morphius alerts Neo that the reason that the reason that all of federal agents were chasing him and all of these other things were happening to him because he was â€Å"the one†. He was searches for a greater truth in the world than what was just there in his face, and Morphius says that he could show Neo that truth. Morphius then holds two pills in his hands, one pill would lead him to the truth, the other would just take him back to his regular life as if nothing ever happened. Neo wanted the truth about the world so Morphius explained it. He said that the perception is that our day-in, day-out world is real; in reality, that world is a hoax, an elaborate deception spun by al... ...ant to make Faust a hero of some sort.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If someone could go back in time and show this film to people that know of the Faust legend back in around the 1700’s, it would make absolutely no sense. It would seem like a whole lot of unrealistic garbage to those people, but in present times, though the Matrix is very futuristic, it almost seems as if it could be possible. The whole idea of the movie plot seems brilliant and makes people question themselves to whether or not this concept could actually be possible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The links between the Matrix and the Faust legend can be seen throughout the entire film. Even though the storyline of the legend has gone through a number of changes over time, it is truly amazing how a story that probably is not even true still comes into use in society today. The Faust legend is used in other situations besides just films, stories, or plays; it is also seen in everyday situations for people. There are many ways in which a Faustian theme can come into play in everyday life. For example, any one who has ever sold themselves out for something, gambled, or done drugs has been in a Faustian situation.

Change through Events in a Novel Essay

In many novels, characters experience first hand the challenges they must go through as the transition from who they portrayed to be in the beginning as opposed to how they change their personalities, actions, and life style in the end. In the novel, The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks, the author uses certain events from the novel to change the characters personalities and ways of life. This is demonstrated through the main characters Julie Barenson who changes from a nice, loving woman to an afraid and unstable woman because she finds out Richard is stalking her and Richard Franklin who changes from nice and an at times jealous person, to a crazy, possessive stalker because Julie doesn’t love him. By exploring these two characters, it is evident that change in characters through different events in the novel is depicted through how they change their lives, ways of action and personalities. During the early years of Julie’s life, she has many problems and is not stable. Julie’s mother is an alcoholic and they live in a trailer. Her father moves away to Minnesota when she is two year old. She runs away when she is sixteen and lives on the street until she meets Jim, who takes her to Swansboro and marries her. At the beginning of the novel, the author portrays Julie as a woman who has been through a lot, but does Ankoma-Mensa 2 not let that stop her from being a nice, loving person. Julie also moves on after Jim’s death, because it was a hard time for her, with regards to her past: â€Å"Now when she thought of Jim, she remembered him with a smile, thankful that he’d been part of her life.† (Sparks 1) She always helps other and does the best she can to be respectful and sincere to other characters. Unfortunately, Julie does not stay so nice and caring throughout the whole novel. This transition from being nice to becoming a scared is demonstrated when she realizes that Richard is stalking her. Julie becomes very afraid after she is informed that Richard is stalking her and she starts to act paranoid: â€Å"So she did again and come up with the conclusion that Richard wasn’t lurking by. But is still didn’t help. She began to hyperventilate.† (442) Even though Richard deserves the insults he receives from Julie, the reader does not expect her to try and hurt him in such means ways: â€Å"‘I don’t want to talk to you.’ She said, hating her plaintive tone. ‘Why can’t you get that through your head?'†(448) Julie ,herself, does not like how she is sounding and the way she is acting but she feels that the only way to get Richard to leave her alone, she has to be rude to him. Julie transforms from her regular personality beca use of what Richard is doing. Not only is Julie’s transformation in personality a big difference, but Richard’s transformation is even larger than expected. Richard, whose real name is Robert Bonham, is a man from Cleveland and is Julie’s boyfriend at the beginning of the novel. Richard, also, has been through a lot in his life just like Julie has. His father and mother were alcoholics, his mother is beat every night from his father and he hates his parents. Richard struggles because his parents die and he goes from house to house in search of a Ankoma-Mensa 3 family. In the beginning of the novel, the author portrays Richard as a caring and at times manipulative man, who has been through many struggles in his life, but unalike Julie, Richard allows his past to resurface in his future. Richard’s mothers’ struggles get to him and he allows them to interfere with his concept of how he and Julie should live: â€Å"If Julie stayed, he knew she would grow weak, just as his mother had grown weak. And in time, there would be nothing to respect.† (175) Richard feels that if Julie stays in the country, she will end up like his mother and he despises his mother. As well Richards manipulations are demonstrated when he tries to get Julie to feel guilty because she did not wear his necklace: † Manipulated, as though he’d wanted her to promise that she’d always start wearing the locket to work again and that she would feel guilty that she hadn’t.† (143) Even though Richard personality is not perfect, he worsens near the end of the novel. Richard becomes obsessive and the reader finds out that he is a murderer. Richard kills his mom; dad, wife and the real man named Richard Franklin to steal his identity. As well, the reader finds out the Richard is abusive because he hits his wife: â€Å"‘stop acting crazy’ ‘What did you say?’ ‘Ow†¦let me go†¦you’re hurting me†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘WHAT DID YOU SAY?’ ‘Ow†¦please†¦Ow!'†(432) Richard hits his wife because he is a controlling person and wants her to do what he says. He also feels that he is the best thing for Julie even thought he is not and treats all women as if they are his mother, who is beaten by her father, and tries to control or change them to prevent them from his mother’s way of life: â€Å"Just like his mother. The victim. Always the victim.† (175) Richard becomes a stalker when Julie dumps him and starts to date Mike. Richard is goes crazy and Ankoma-Mensa 4 convinces himself that Julie’s hatred is love: â€Å"Yes, he knows she cared for him, for weren’t anger and love opposite sides of the same coin? Great anger wasn’t possible without great love†¦and she’d been so angry† (433) Richard uses his mothers life as a bad example of how he wants to live not knowing that he is causing the women he loves to be like his mother: subject to abuse by a controlling man. Richard changes from how he was at the beginning of the book because Julie does not love him, farther demonstrating the change is characters through events in a novel. Like in many novels, The Guardian uses events in the novel to demonstrate how each character changes their personalities, actions and ways of life. This is demonstrated through Julie’s transformation from a nice, loving, stable woman to an afraid, hate-filled, vulnerable woman because Richard is stalking her, and as well, through Richard’s transformation from a nice, controlling at times man to a sick, twisted, crazy and controlling man because Julie doesn’t love him. Characters in novels either change for better or for worst depending of the events that have taken place. In The Guardian’s case, one of the characters transform into a hate-filled ,scornful person, whereas the other transforms into a evil criminal because the events were not positive ,but were negative.

Key Provisions of Contemporary Social Policy

â€Å"Social Policy is the way that governments attempt to ensure that all citizens can lead a fulfilling and responsible life. † (Mullard, 1995) So what is Social Policy? – When asked this question I find it quite difficult to explain in terms that are easy enough for everyone to understand, therefore I have done research in order to find a simple explanation. I particularly like Hartley Dean’s definition, ‘Social Policy is the study of human wellbeing’ he also states that ‘Social Policy, involves the study of human wellbeing, the social relations necessary for wellbeing and the systems by which wellbeing may be promoted. In my opinion this explanation is clear, concise and makes it easy to understand. (Dean, 2005). Our thoughts and ideas of childhood as a social construction have altered noticeably over the last ten years. The development of constructions of childhood has steadily become more intricate as the numbers of theories rise. Through research of early examples of childhood this essay sets out to describe how contemporary thinking of childhood has developed through complex patterns of sociological deliberation and political, cultural and historical pressures. (Kehily, p. 2-12). During the past 10 years, the changing attitudes and arising problems within the state-parent-child relationship has stirred a vast amount of concern leading to the need for further research; which in turn has lead to new policy proposals. It is widely believed that the lack of support given to families, due to the collapse of communities working together in harmony, is impacting on the current, wider spread, social problems within our families. It has become more predominant that state-parent-child relationships play an important role in the wellbeing of today’s children. Barnes et al. 2006). Having an understanding of Social Policy offers us guidelines which in turn promotes our abilities to ensure the well-being, needs and rights of children are being met. Working towards these guidelines set by the government we are able to help change and reduce the power disparity between children and adults; allowing children to have a say on decisions that will impact on their future l ives through listening to the individuals thoughts and opinions whilst considering that children have rights too. It is of upmost importance, that those working with children use this approach, continually keeping up-to-date with current laws and legislation within this area. Having an understanding of how social policy has changed over the years is also an important factor to consider; giving us a clear understanding of how policies and legislation have changed in order to improve outcomes for children in relation to available resources, shared responsibilities and managing risk. Yet social policy, unlike law, has the potential to be proactive – to set in place a series of principles that define a just and inclusive society and practical but flexile ways of implementing them†. (Hendrick, 2008, p. 336) In the UK, Parliament is responsible for making changes to law. Parliament is made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Queen, they must all agree to any new law before it can be passed and become an Act of Parliament. There is not just a single law in place to prote ct children but a multitude of laws, legislation and guidance which cover all aspects of children’s care in the UK. (Alcock et al. 008, p. 19-25). Past information about social policy offers us a view of the past and how it has changed, as Harold Perkin said â€Å"We want to know not only what laws were made or battles fought or even how men [sic] got their living, but what it felt like to be alive, how men [sic] in history – not merely kings and popes, statesmen and tycoons – lived and worked and thought and behaved towards each other. † (Perkin, 1981, p. 24) In 1945 the Welfare State was created, this offered a new focal point towards the children’s physical health to coincide with earlier worries about the mind and mental health of children’s development. At this time a rising importance on preventive care became prominent, looking at the family and its relationship with the State. These ideas developed slowly during the 1960’s – 70’s and it was recognised that a child should be dealt with â€Å"as a whole and continuously developing person† (Hendrick, 1994, p. 263). At this point in time the child became more permitted to have individual rights, giving them responsibilities and freedom from â€Å"traditionally passive and often repressive protection† (Hendrick, 1994, p. 57). Worries cropped up with regard to the â€Å"balance between too much and too little intervention† and particularly between â€Å"competing claims of parents, children, social workers and local authority social services departments† (Hendrick, 1994, p. 273). The Prevention of Cruelty to and Protection of Children Act 1889 was the first law to enforce criminal penalties in the hope to discourage abuse and neglect of children. This legislation is contained within the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 which was introduced to protect children from ‘cruelty and exposure to moral and physical danger’ (p. ), some parts of this act are still used today but more current guidance can be found in the newer Children’s Act 1989. (Youth Justice Board, 2006). This act was set up to help improve and simplify the overabundance of laws concerning children. Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern had said it was â€Å"the most comprehensive and far-reaching reform o f child law which has come before Parliament in living memory†. The Children’s Act 1989 set out to help keep children safe and well, within their environment and to provide the necessary provisions where possible, to allow the child to live within their own family structure. Today’s child protection system has been developed from the Children’s Act 1989. The Children’s Act 1989 requires local councils to make available a variety of services to all children especially those with disabilities, health and development issues; these services are intended to help keep children safe and well. Following the Children Act 1989 many new laws have been passed to improve the ways in which children are protected. (NSPCC, 2010) In September 1989 the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was introduced – as the first legally binding treaty that was to be used internationally. This treaty gave children and young people under 18 years, throughout the world, human rights (civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights) equal to those over 18 years; giving them the extra care and protection which was much needed. The UNCRC set out what rights children have, along with how the government should safeguard those rights. This allows children and young people around the world to have an authoritative way to preserve their human rights, allowing them to act in accordance with the law if their rights within this act are not met. The UK Government did not agree to follow the UNCRC until 1991. Below are just a few of the rights of children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child which can be found at http://www. unicef. org/crc/files/Rights_overview. pdf. (Fact Sheet) Article 3. The best interests of children must be the primary concern in making decisions that may affect them. All adults should do what is best for children. When adults make decisions, they should think about how their decisions will affect children. This particularly applies to budget, policy and law makers. Article 6. Children have the right to live. Governments should ensure that children survive and develop healthily. Article 27. Children have the right to a standard of living that is good enough o meet their physical and mental needs. Governments should help families and guardians who cannot afford to provide this, particularly with regard to food, clothing and housing. Article 36. Children should be protected from any activity that takes advantage of them or could harm their welfare and development. There are a total of 54 articles contained within the UNCRC, all of which are equally important and linked with each other, therefore working well together and easy to understand. Every child should be made aware of their rights (article 42), as it is our duty to safeguard their rights and ensure they have opportunities to live in a safe environment with all of their needs being met. In my opinion if a child is aware of their rights they are less likely to be exploited, giving them an understanding of how they can expect to be treated and hopefully have a voice that can be heard. A child friendly poster has been produced with the articles set out in laymen’s terms allowing children to understand their rights more easily. (UNICEF). Children around the world are subject to neglect and abuse and all because adults are failing to protect them. Throughout the UK during the past years progressions in human rights and civil rights have improved alongside those rights of the child. The eradication of physical punishment in schools and attempts to ban the smacking of children by parents shows us that the rights of the child are being listened too. It has been argued by Kay that until recently children didn’t really have individual rights; she believed that their rights were ‘conferred via their parents’ (2001, p. 14). This is where children’s rights were ignored, not allowing the child to have a say or be listened to. Social work has been critiqued by Smith for ‘lagging behind legal expectations of consultation with children’. (1996, pg 55). Some of the criticisms have been focused around the lack of taking into account the needs of each child as an individual and not fully listening to the child’s own wishes during proceedings. Social services have regularly been criticised for failing some children through lack of support and services to the families when they were needed. Even turning a blind eye in some cases, thus having a detrimental effect on children, predominantly ‘looked after’ children and those in need, unfortunately some cases have resulted in devastating circumstances for some children. Victoria Climbie is one of those unfortunate children; she died at the age of 8 years in February 2000 while living with her carers. She was subjected to physical and mental abuse but no-one noticed. Her death led to an independent inquiry which helped shape and change safeguarding polices for children in England. The inquiry was chaired by Lord Laming in April 2001 (alongside 4 other professional assessors). Laming carried out his research by contacting all that were involved in the care of Victoria before her death, this involved 277 witness statements and 158 witnesses. Through these inquiries it was established that her bereavement was avertable on 12 individual instances. Through Laming’s inquiry it came to light that services involved in the care of children were not working together or sharing information, some difficulties had arisen due to low staffing levels and available resources. Lord Laming gave a speech about his inquiries on 25th January 2003 saying â€Å"I well recognise that the frontline services charged with the protection of children have a difficult and demanding task. Adults who deliberately harm, neglect or exploit the vulnerability of children often go to great lengths to conceal their behaviour. (Laming, 2003). Laming found that if services had intervened just a little in the case of Victoria her death could have been avoided. As a result of the inquiry, 108 recommendations were made to change to local services; these recommendations had to be acted on swiftly. Following Lord Laming’s report on Victoria Climbie’s death the government responded by writing two reports, the Keeping Children Safe report (DFE, 200 3) and the Every Child Matters green paper (DFE, 2003) which resulted in the Children Act 2004. This act introduced further laws and legislation in respect of protecting children from harm and neglect, particular emphasis was put onto safeguarding children requiring local authorities to implement Local Safeguarding Children Boards. The Children Act 2004 did not substitute or modify much of the Children Act 1989, but improved and expanded it, offering guidance on how services could work together to improve outcomes for children. (Barker, 2008) The Every Child Matters green paper was intended to look at how to prevent incidents like that of Victoria’s instead of picking up the pieces nd was built around four key issues. (Cleaver & Walker, 2004, p. 7) * Strengthen the support available to those around the child, families and carers. * Make sure intervention takes place before it’s too late for the child, protecting them from harm and slipping through the net. * Looking at the problems acknowledged and failings for Victoria within Lord Laming’s report. * Making sure that those working with children are valued, rewarded, trained and kept up-to-date with current policy. It also identified five outcomes for children; this set out guidelines to enable every child to reach the Every Child Matters outcomes: to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being. The themes and outcomes set out within the Every Child Matters were put in place to ensure that no child/young person should fall through the net again and so all children have opportunities to achieve their full potential no matter what their circumstances. This has been done by looking at failures in education, reducing health problems, addressing substance/drug abuse and tackling anti-social behaviour amongst young people and adults. Research shows that early involvement and support is vital in improving the well-being of children. Proposals set out to offer much needed support for parents and carers so that children can receive the protection and assistance from the onset of difficulties no matter what their background. Services were improved by setting up Children’s trusts with multi-agencies working closely together with other services, offering better services to families in local areas. Through the closer network of services (multi-agency) working together information can be closely monitored and shared between all professionals connected to the child, giving a clearer picture of the child’s story. (Barker, 2008). Hopefully as services are now working closer together, the case of Victoria will not be repeated, Lord Laming’s report highlighted so many poor judgment calls that could have been avoided. â€Å"On each occasion that Victoria was admitted to hospital vitally important information went unrecorded and staff failed to act on their suspicions and observations. Telling marks on Victoria were seen and then all but ignored†. (Laming, 2001) To make certain the Every Child Matters targets are met, the government established a new set of regulatory plans and forms of inspection using the Care Standards Act 2000. This act created the National Care Standards Commission, setting out national minimum standards which were to be used in children’s homes, fostering services, boarding schools and residential special schools. Regulatory frameworks were also created, e. g. National Service Frameworks to be used for children in health care settings. (DFE, 2003). The Warner Report set out new guidelines for recruiting staff to work within child care homes at the end of 1992. This report set out to lessen the risk of abuse to children who were in care and was produced due to a string of high profile court cases. It was hoped that by introducing a Criminal Record Check on possible staff would help to find the ‘right’ kind of person to work with children in care. CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checks are used to verify details of the individual, establishing whether a perspective employee has any convictions that prohibit them from working with children or other vulnerable members of society. Anyone that works regularly with children or is in contact with children (including foster care, adoption or childminders) must have a CRB check to ensure there suitability in order to protect the child. In 1999 the Protection of Children Act was approved and offered a legal foundation for lists to be produced of unsuitable people who had in the past been registered on an informal basis. The Department of Health was satisfied that all councils had produced policies and procedures in 2002 which met the requirements of the Warner Report but not all were consistent in their implementation of these requirements. Wilson & James, 2007, p. 186-8). The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 arose from the Government’s White Paper, Care Matters: Time for change, (DFE, 2007), the purpose of the act was to offer higher quality care, outcomes and services for those children in care. The intention of this Act was to modify the legislative framework for the care system in England and Wales, it formed part of the Government’s programme to guarantee children and young people are always able to access high quality care and support. It also included the requirements set out so that children and young people’s well-being needs were met in all forms of care. It requires public officials to notify the Local Safeguarding Children Board of all child deaths so they can be fully investigated to ensure there has been no wrong doing, allowing the Secretary of State to carry out research and requests for the release of Emergency Protection Orders. (The National Archives, 2008) The Equality Act 2010 was brought in to replace all previous equality legislation, providing some of the changes that schools should be aware of. The majority of the new laws and legislation are the same as previously, for example, schools must not ‘unlawfully discriminate against pupils because of their sex, race, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation’. Some changes include; it is now unlawful to discriminate against a transgender pupil, it is now ‘unlawful to discriminate against a pupil who is pregnant or has recently had a baby’. Further details can be found through the Department of Education. (DFE, 2011). In June 2010 Professor Eileen Munro was commissioned to write a review report on the current issues surrounding Child Protection the completed report, named the Munro Report, was published in May 2011. The completed report set out radical changes to improve the current systems in place for the protection of children. It was recommended that local areas should be given more freedom to build up their own effective child protection services, instead of having to concentrate on meeting central government targets. The report also outlines her concerns that â€Å"a one-size-fits-all approach to child protection is preventing local areas from focusing on the child†, highlighting the need for agencies involved in the protection of children to have a more open mind, dealing with cases individually and using past incidents for learning and development, ensuring future training is compliant with the new regulations making it easily accessible to all involved. It has come to light through the Munro Report that the needs of the child should come first, the amount of paperwork previously involved has been getting in the way of important children’s outcomes. (Munro, 2011) As Professor Eileen Munro said â€Å"A one-size-fits-all approach is not the right way for child protection services to operate. Top down government targets and too many forms and procedures are preventing professionals from being able to give children the help they need and assess whether that help has made a difference. (2011) Gordon Brown described child poverty as a ‘scar on the soul of Britain’ (2000). The lives of children and families living in poverty throughout the the UK are subjected to social exclusion. ‘In Britain and other English-speaking countries, the general public and its political representatives expect the child protection system to anticipate and prevent child abuse. Yet a major factor in many cases of child maltreatment is so mething that, except in marginal ways, child protection professionals can do very little about: poverty and social exclusion. ’ (Beckett, 2007, p. 69). Unfortunately professionals working in the child protection circle have their hands tied when it comes to dealing with ‘poverty and structural inequalities’ and are unable to do much about it, saying this it is of upmost importance that child protection workers do have an understanding of the implications poverty brings so that they can be supportive and considerate to the families they come into contact with. ‘Poverty is a source of stress – and stress, we know, can push people who otherwise would have coped quite adequately into abusive or neglectful parenting’. Beckett, 2007, p169). As we look at the social systems in place, it is more often than not impractical to expect to discover a prime cause of why neglect, abuse or poverty has emerged. It is an understandably known fact that poverty i s responsible for high levels of stress within the family and it is often found that stress is definitely a major cause of child abuse and neglect, leading us to possibly believe that children who are abused and neglected often do come from poor families. Children that do come from socially deprived backgrounds appear to suffer with considerably inferior mental and physical health issues, poverty is experienced in so many areas but do we really know how to deal with it? It is thought that the UK is a rich country with a high level of wealth compared to many international standards but many people in the UK are still tormented by economic and social deprivation. Child poverty levels within Britain are a particular cause for concern, with varying issues such as single parent families, unemployment and the cost of child care all of which play an important role, contributing to the ever increasing risks of poverty. Poverty has a detrimental effect on many aspects of people’s lives, from unemployment, leading to lack of money, poor housing, low or no self-esteem etc. , it doesn’t just affect the adults but children feel the knock on effect often suffering in silence. How can child protection workers protect the children of poor people without contributing to the stress that may be one of the major causes of child maltreatment in the first place? ’ (Beckett, 2007, p. 180). Understandably parents / carers often find the intervention of social workers too much to take, making them feel inadequate in caring for their own children, thus having a detrimental effect on the work social workers do to try and make family life more man ageable, giving children the pportunities to thrive within their family circle. Although the Convention on the Rights of the Child was introduced over ten years ago there are still areas in the UK which are still struggling to put into practice all of the guidelines. It is clear to see there have been vast changes for the better surrounding the protection of children over the years. Laws and legislation have improved dramatically placing a clearer awareness of children's rights since the Children Act was first put into practice. Typically, authors write from their own national perspective, with an historical overview of policy developments being presented along with a more detailed treatment of the most recent policy developments’. (Hudson, Kuhner ; Lowe, 2010, p. 7) It is interesting to see that some of the original ideas and guidelines are still in place today but it is equally important to remember there will always be room for further improvements. So therefore it is of u pmost importance to continually reflect on and act upon new laws and legislation as they arise. I particularly like the wise words of Sir Francis Bacon ‘knowledge is power’ and acting upon the knowledge we are given gives us the opportunities to help and improve the lives of children in our care. As Lord Laming said at the end of his report into the Victoria Climbie inquiry â€Å"I hope it will be used in the training of staff not least as a stark warning of the damage that can be done to children as a result of bad practice. Too many inquires have had to be held following terrible harm to a child. I and my colleagues hope that this will be the last†. (2001)