MIT Gangnam Style

MIT Gangnam Style In case you havent been on the Internet recently, a music video called Gangnam Style was released over the summer by K-pop rapper PSY, and now has the third most views on all of Youtube.  560,719,326 views, as of 8:23am today. 560,719,327 a few minutes later, because a friend came into my room who had never seen it, and I had to educate her. For the rest of this post to make sense, you should probably catch up: Now youre ready.  On September 14, Chris Peterson e-mailed the bloggers, letting us know that the MIT Korean Student Association was filming an MIT Gangnam Style. At the beginning of October, I started seeing notices on the DanceTroupe mailing list about Gangnam Style rehearsals. On Sunday October 21, there was a Gangnam Style flashmob on Killian Court. This morning, the official MIT Gangnam Style music video was released to the public. Only an MIT Gangnam Style video could feature: the MIT Dean of Admissions, one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project and co-chair of President Obamas Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the father of modern linguistics, and one of  Times 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012 for his liquid metal battery research. Without further ado, prepare to be rendered speechless:

Essay on Thomas Morton and the Puritans - 2673 Words

Thomas Morton and the Puritans An anti-city on a hill with a maypole compensating for something? A pleasurable refuge for indentured servants freed from service and respected natives? A place where a man just wanted to annoy his uptight, religious neighbors? Those are the obvious conclusions, but with like most anything in history, theres meaning and significance that we dont catch at first glance. Thomas Morton had an agenda, puritan leader John Winthrop may have had a secret, and there are so many fictions surrounding their whole story, its hard to tell whats reality and whats not. Its time to sift through the parts, and piece together a bigger picture, asking one, main question: Why were Morton and the Puritans engaged in†¦show more content†¦But he became governor of Plymouth Plantation in 1621. He adorned Morton with the derogatory nickname, Lord of Misrule, who ran a School of Atheism (Bradford 321). In 1630, after the first time Morton was sent to England, accused of selling guns to the Indians and then returned (due to a knight, Ferdinando Gorges, who needed someone to spy on the Separatists because he wanted New England as his fiefdom), Governor John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Companys colony, joined with Bradford to keep Morton out of their hair (McWilliams 8-9). They charged Morton with the stealing of a canoe (10) from the Indians, and wrote letters to England accusing him of murder. That didnt work either -- he just told Gorges he was a persecuted Anglican (10). The men never settled their differences; after a third attempt at jailing Morton for a year, Winthrop, urged him to leave Massachusetts (11). He did, and died in 1647, at the age of 67, in Maine. That was only a quick overview of the key players. Since it started with Mare-Mount, lets explore the name itself. McWilliams explains the many, suggestive meanings: By playing upon the double meaning of mount and the four-fold connotations of mare (joyful, Mother of Christ, to join in matrimony, a female horse), Morton may have hoped to provoke his Puritan neighbors... (7). Was this all just to offend a peoples religious sensibilities? Of course not -- it was aShow MoreRelatedWilliam Bradford and Thomas Morton1110 Words   |  5 PagesIn the New World Bradford and Morton were both important men of our history. The stories of both great men give us an insight into the way religion and influence affected Puritan life. William Bradford said he believed, â€Å"Plymouth people were the chosen people to live out their last days in the earthly church† (Daly pg 560). Puritan settlers came to the new world seeking a better life and to get away from the rule of the Catholic Church they wanted to become a primitive Baptist church like in theRead MoreOpposing Views of Early Americans, Thomas Morton and John Winthrop1423 Words   |  6 PagesThere may not be two more contrasting characters of early America then Thomas Morton and John Winthrop. Morton was nicknamed, Leader of Misrule while Winthrop was seen as the model of [a] perfect earthly ruler (147). These two figures not only help settle a new land, they also had firsthand knowledge of each other. They are not two people that lived years apart from each other but rather they lived concurrently. With two such polarizing people living in a small new land, there was bound toRead MoreReaction Toward Natives And Puritans984 Words   |  4 Page sReaction toward Natives Puritans Thomas Morton and William Bradford lives started off very differently, which may indeed be the reason why they have very different views on the Natives and Puritans. Looking into these differences there is a definite reason why they choose the path they did. Morton taking interest in the Natives and disliking the Puritans happened due to his beliefs and his interest in new things. Bradford for intense was a Puritan, and came to dislike the Natives due to the factRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Rip Van Winkle 1527 Words   |  7 Pagesshort story as a new genre in American literature, as William Hedges observes, yet I find it surprising that this story could have been taught as utterly original. As Emerson and the Transcendentalists were able to synthesize the mystical aspects of Puritan thought with the rational and secular facets of Enlightenment thinking, so Irving weaves a new tapestry out of many existing threads of American experience. â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† is a mature v ersion of Franklin’s short fictional sketches, such as â€Å"TheRead MoreInterpreting Bias Within Historical Accounts1501 Words   |  7 Pagesopportunity to uncover â€Å"truths† that can be even more meaningful than the unattainable accurate representation of facts. A primary example of how history can be obscured by writers is the way in which two Englishmen, William Bradford (1590-1657) and Thomas Morton (1579-1647), provide two very different accounts of the same events in Of Plymouth Plantation and in New English Canaan respectively. Both men are affected by the desire to promote their beliefs and to make their tales appear authentic; thereforeRead MoreThe American Character Essay1814 Words   |  8 Pagesfreedom. This parallels history in that a monarchy must be extinguished for the colonists to ignite the freedom that a democratic society provides. Irving’s keen writing exemplifies his historical insight in the tale â€Å"Rip Van Winkle.† Strong puritan beliefs are discussed in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s piece of 1835 â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† An important question rises that ignites more questions on the role of God versus the devil in how we live our lives, the choices we make, and our uncertain salvationRead MoreThe History of American Literature3501 Words   |  15 Pagesbefore settlers arrived in America, explorers reported on their voyages to the continent. Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci provided some of the earliest European descriptions of the American continent. Before 1600 Sir Walter Raleigh, Richard Hakluyt, Thomas Harriot, and John White had published accounts of discoveries. The writings of Captain John Smith, an explorer whose travels took him up and down the eastern seaboard of America, represent a shift from exploration narrative toward early historyRead More Timeline of American Literature and Events Essay3022 Words   |  13 Pageskilled over 300 settlers. Jamestown only survived because of a last minute warning but burned down in 1698. Many colonists that survived celebrated May Day on May 1, 1628 with Thomas Morton dancing around a maypole, but the Plymouth Pilgrims were against this display of celebration, and Captain Miles Standish sent Thomas Morton back to England. Intolerance continued when Anne Hutchinson was forced to leave Boston because of her religious beliefs and influence to help establish Rhode Island in 1638Read MoreNavajo Creation Story Analysis1136 Words   |  5 Pagespleased God to smite this young man† (Bradford A: 131). He then reinforces the notion of God’s intervention when he follows the statement with the assertion that the young man’s friends believed what happened to him was God’s will. New English Canaan Thomas Morton’s book, â€Å"New English Canaan† has several literary figures dispersed throughout the chapters. Most notable is the use of a rhyming scheme in both of the poems, â€Å"The Poem† and â€Å"The Song†. The rhyme in â€Å"The Poem† is an iambic pentameter for exampleRead MoreEssay Utopia4252 Words   |  18 Pagesclarissimi disertissimique viri THOMAE MORI inclutae civitatis Londinensis civis et Vicecomitis’, translated into English would read, ‘ON THE BEST STATE OF A COMMONWEALTH AND ON THE NEW ISLAND OF UTOPIA, by the Most Distinguished and Eloquent Author THOMAS MORE Citizen and Undersheriff of the Famous City of London.’. Utopia (Latin: no-place) is a society of great planning and capability. A community where individuals compromised their rights for the good of the collective and focused on a communal

Whatever They Told You About Professional Academic Writing Services Is Dead Wrong...And Heres Why

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Making a killing Free Essays

In an unfortunate event Blackwater guards killed three civilians of Baghdad who were mistaken as terrorists. What is in the scenario is the strong reaction of the new Iraqi government. The next 24 hours saw the process of deportment of the troop. We will write a custom essay sample on Making a killing or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was reported that there was indiscriminate shooting and this is completely an unfathomable error. According to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki this was a complete criminal act. However there are many allegations against Blackwater and it is believed that they smuggle arms into Iraq. There is enough trouble in the region and it can well be stated that further problems can be avoided to restore peace in the region. (Scahill, 1) It can be remembered that each of the wars included major and minor battles.   They had varying and distinct reasons behind them.   Allies and foes were distinctly different in each case. Each of the wars had a level of analysis.   These levels were individual state, and system.   The levels of war analysis form a hierarchy.   The responsibilities of the hierarchy rely on the scale and nature of the operation. The individual level of analysis in war includes a basic idea of how human traits cause many of the social outcomes in historical instances, including war and peace. From the perspective of sociology it can be stated that there are variations of this idea as listed in a paper written by Wade L. Huntley, Ph.D. titled Causes of War and Paths to Peace written in May of 2004. Those variations include: basic human nature, varying features of human nature and both perception and misperception. His considerations behind this would include that in factoring basic human nature, people are basically aggressive, loving, greedy and fearful and so forth. People would be of all sorts of types, some aggressive, others peaceful, greedy or generous. Perception and misperception can result as bad decisions are made, especially in times of stress, which continually exemplifies the limits of human understanding of more than just human nature. The incident in Iraq, as depicted by Scahill is basically a view that was conducted from the US point of view the views or the sociological parameters of the residents of Iraq are fundamentally overlooked in the article. (King, 145-7) It can well be stated that some analysts argue that democracy in the Middle East will elevate Islamists, including radicals, who will use democratic institutions to gain power but then implement their autocratic agenda. Democracy can also lead to instability. In short, things may get worse before they get better, which may be bad news for the US. Many however believe that in the long run increased democratic governance or the break up of static autocracies will lead to a better outcome than the status quo even if the emerging governments initially oppose U.S. policies. Some furthermore argue that any type of somewhat democratic government would find more common ground with the U.S. than the existing ones even if rapprochement was gradual and difficult. But from the point of view of an Iraqi it can be stated that independence is all that is relevant and it can be mentioned that Scahill was unable to relate himself to this consequence. Traditional security policy emphasizes military means for reducing the risks of war and for prevailing if deterrence fails. Human security’s proponents, while not eschewing the use of force, have focused to a much greater degree on non-coercive approaches. These range from preventive diplomacy, conflict management and post–conflict peace building, to addressing the root causes of conflict by building state capacity and promoting equitable economic development.   The new dimensions of human security are well outlined by the United Nations Development Program in their Human Development Report of 1994. (Lamb, 288-9) Human Security has always been at issue in some format or another. You see it in the methods employed during peacetime and during war time. The methodology utilized might in fact be different from generation to generation, but the concept itself has hardly managed to evolve into something other than what its basics stem from. The pursuits of life and liberty, happiness and peace have been a part of the psyche of humanity since the beginnings of human existence and it would have been much better if the article had developed on these principals. Keeping in mind the developments in Iraq the only solution the USA is left with is one that most people connected to the White House consider absolute anathema. But the truth remains that a military ‘solution’ to the issue is no solution at all but rather a spiralling tunnel leading to a thousand other issues, all of which are far too dangerous to be contemplated. So what can USA do? Well, for starters it can seriously rethink some of its recent policies and shift its focus from military attack to some old fashioned diplomacy instead. But while that sounds simple enough for Washington it is a job unparalleled in its difficulty and, if present indications are anything to go by then, something that is hardly likely to happen and Scahill as a journalist must keep his position as humane and compassionate as possible in this context. Works Cited: Scahill, Jeremy; Making a Killing; The Nation; October 15, 2007 issue; September 27, 2007; retrieved on 24.11.2007 King, Herbert. Middle East Today Vol. IV Plymouth: HBT Brooks Ltd. 2005 Lamb, Davis. Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata. Wellington How to cite Making a killing, Essay examples

New Labour in the UK Era of Neo-Liberal Consensus on Economic and Social Policy free essay sample

Dhruva Murugasu Christ’s College Part I Economics â€Å"Under New Labour, Britain is witnessing a new era of neo-liberal consensus on economic and social policy. † Discuss The election of Tony Blair in 1997, it is commonly said, brought about a new era in Britain’s Labour party, with the party moving to the centre of the political spectrum and adopting very similar policies to the preceding Conservative government. Tony Blair coined the term New Labour to distinguish his government from the more socialist ones of earlier Labour governments and adopted a largely neo-liberal stance, similar to that of Margaret Thatcher. This ideological shift was actually already in motion after Labour’s heavy defeat in 1983, which was due to their extreme-left manifesto which was later referred to as the longest political suicide note in history. The Labour party more or less accepted that the median voter had shifted to the right, as suggested by Knight, and responded to that by doing the same. We will write a custom essay sample on New Labour in the UK: Era of Neo-Liberal Consensus on Economic and Social Policy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In most senses, there was a neo-liberal consensus, especially outwardly, although this was not always true as close examination of Labour’s policies will reveal. I will approach this essay by first outlining the main characteristics of the Conservative policy during the Thatcher and Major administration and then proceed to point out the similarities and differences between these policies and those employed by New Labour. No particular effort will be taken to discuss the desirability or effectiveness of the policies implemented but rather whether or not there was a consensus and whether it was based on neoliberalism. First, let me deal with economic policy, which can be divided into demand-side and supply-side policy. In terms of demand-side policy, there was a clear shift from Keynesian demand-management to Friedman’s monetarism with the coming to power of Thatcher. This also involved a shift in the focus of economic policy, from full-employment to the maintenance of stable prices according to Knight. A somewhat balanced budget obviously followed on from this and that was the core of the demand-side economic policy. On the whole, there was a consensus with New Labour on these issues. The creation of an independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, was, according to Knight, due to the reputation that Labour had for ‘poor economic management’. This act essentially removed monetary policy decision-making from the hands of the government, with the exception that the Chancellor still set the inflation target the MPC had to hit. This move, in my opinion, indicated that the government acknowledged the fact that monetary policy was ‘the principal instrument of macroeconomic policy’ (Knight) as the government saw the need for its determination to be independent and separated from the government’s poor reputation. In terms of fiscal policy, New Labour, outwardly at least, maintained the notion of fiscal prudence, and actually accepted the Conservatives’ spending plan for the first two years in power. The Chancellor’s introduction of the ‘golden rule’ illustrated this. This rule stated that the government’s expenditure, without its capital expenditure, must not be in deficit over an economic cycle. However, the ‘tax and spend’ policy was not fully absent from New Labour’s policies. While they did not raise direct taxes, they did raise indirect taxes in an effort to finance public spending. This was referred to as a stealth tax as it was much more subtle and less often blamed on the government as opposed to direct taxes. The golden-rule was also, as Knight argues, not as it was made out to be. In 2005, Brown extended the business cycle from 7 to 9 years allowing the government to borrow additional sums for current spending without violating the golden-rule. Thus, in terms of demand-side policy, there was some sort of a consensus but it was far from perfect. Next, let me deal with supply-side policy. The Thatcher government, and to a slightly lesser extent the Major government, were both in favour of supply-side policies, which it is argued, can improve productivity. This has the twin benefits of expanding supply allowing the economy to grow while stemming inflation. These policies included restricting the power of trade unions, privatising nationalised industries and reducing the top rate of income tax from the 98% it had been under labour to 40%. All these encourage work effort and remove inefficiencies in the market allowing the economy to become more productive, and are all consistent with a neoliberal stance. From a point of view of the taxation system, New Labour’s policy was widely onsistent with that of the Thatcher government. Brown did not raise the level of direct taxation after the election as promised and in fact cut the income tax and National Insurance Contribution of the lowest paid workers in an effort to encourage employment as opposed to living of security benefits. As mentioned earlier, this did not mean the end of the tax and spend policy as the government did seek to raise taxes through other means including windfall tax on privatised utilities and indirect taxes on consumption (most notably fuel). Nevertheless, what was more important is that these increases had a negligible impact on incentives to work unlike an increase in direct taxes and the increase in indirect taxes was actually undertaken by the Thatcher government as well to finance cuts in direct taxation without requiring additional borrowing. Thus, in terms of taxation policy, it would be quite fair to argue for a neoliberal consensus In terms of the labour market, Labour did maintain most of the policies of the Thatcher government, with a few exceptions. According to Steven Fielding, voters concern was mostly of a repeat of the experience from 1974 to 1979 which were dominated by unions. Blair quickly decided to distance himself from this claiming that his government would not be ‘held to ransom’ by trade unions. He also promised to maintain the legislation he inherited from the Conservative government especially the 1982 Employment Act, in which union funds were liable to sequestration if they undertook any illegal actions during a dispute (Taylor, 2001). Essentially, the Blair government initially adopted all Conservative legislation on this respect which constrained the influence of unions including postal ballots, the abolition of closed shops and secondary picketing. However, the Blair government did have to give in to the pressure of union lobbying and ended up releasing the Fairness at Work White Paper in 1998. This was strongly resisted by employers who had been used to the freedom they enjoyed in the Thatcher government. Nevertheless, after intense lobbying from both employers and unions, the 1999 Employment Regulations Act was passed. The recognition process was made more difficult due to employer lobbying but unions nevertheless were given more power than they were during the Thatcher government. In terms of the EU, one of Blair’s first acts in power was to accept the European Union’s (EU) Social Chapter. The Major government had opted out of this on the grounds that it resulted in labour market regulation (regarding unpaid leave and work councils among others), making it a threat to efficiency. Blair nevertheless promised to oppose any other measures that might undermine the flexibility of the labour market in an effort to assure the employers and opted in to the Social Chapter. New Labour was thus obliged implemented a minimum wage of as part of the Social Chapter, despite initial, opposition from employers who cited the possibility of a higher unemployment. This would clearly be against a Conservative policy of labour market flexibility and could be seen as leading to labour market imperfections as well as structural unemployment. Actual data however, showed there was no appreciable impact on unemployment and in fact, the national minimum wage only involved 4. 5% of the labour force. As a whole, while as a whole we see a policy stance quite consistent with that of a Conservative government, close inspection will suggest that yet again, the consensus was far from perfect. In terms of privatisation, it is a well-known fact that the Thatcher government actively pursued this policy on the grounds of efficiency, arguing that a privately lead company would probably be more efficient as it seeks to maximise its profits, unlike that of a nationalised industry. Thatcher privatised all principal industries except the railways (which were privatised by Major) and the Post Office. Her privatisation policy was thought to be largely successful as it the sale brought about income for the treasury (? 90 billion), most industries went from loss-making requiring subsidies from the government to profit-making ones, consumers benefitted from imported services as well as lower prices and managers were allowed to make investments without the constraints of the Treasury. The Blair government thus made no attempt to renationalise these companies and even privatised the air traffic control system, clearly supporting the privatisation policy of the Thatcher era. Only a series of rail crashes force it to set up ‘Network Rail’ which was a not-for-profit organisation and not a nationalised company to take over from Railtrack. No shift was made back to that of ‘Old Labour’ who sought to nationalise major public utilities. While Labour did accept the notion of the market operating these services better than if they were in public ownership, the Blair government id indeed call for regulation of these industries, which serves again to indicate that while there was a general neoliberal consensus, minor differences did still exist in economic policy as a whole. Next, let me move on to social policy, the first of which will be healthcare. Healthcare in Britain is and has been provided by the National Health Service (NHS) ever since the N ational Health Service Act of 1946, where health care was provided and paid for by the sate being free at the point of delivery. As argued by Knight, the Thatcher government realised that privatising the NHS would have been a highly unpopular policy (it would mean the service would no longer be free at the point of service) and did not seek to do so despite its otherwise neoliberal stance. However, the government did try to improve efficiency of the system by creating quasi- or internal markets, which essentially separated the demand (purchase) and supply (provision) sides of the market for these health services. This meant that District Health Authorities (DHA) would still purchase the health service from the tax pool but with NHS hospitals competing to provide the service. This competition between NHS hospitals as well as the fact that the DHAs were now monopsonies in the market suggested that this would reduce costs. Allowing NHS hospitals to acquire trust statuses (and the fundholder status for GPs) essentially made these hospitals operate like commercial businesses with ‘a high degree of autonomy’ (Knight). While Blair initially opposed these quasi-markets, he did later proceed to extend it. He further decentralised the NHS and had the Department of Health set national standards and undertake inspections. He also introduced the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to ensure cost-efficiency of drugs, set up Primary Care Trusts (in 2002) to replace DHAs and Fundholding practices, introduced foundation hospitals and created league tables for hospitals. The most notable of these is probably the foundation hospital which was accountable to a stakeholder board rather than the government. These hospitals enjoyed much greater flexibility and could raise capital in the financial market, sell land associated with it and retain the revenues as well as set up joint-ventures with the private sector (Knight), thus operating much more like a commercial firm. The main difference between Blair’s and Thatcher’s policy is that Blair’s health policy was designed to be patient-driven, in the sense that patients were given the freedom to choose where they obtained their health services from and the money essentially, followed the patients. All these policies were, in essence, extending and in some cases outdoing Thatcher’s semi-neoliberal policy of quasi-markets and there was a significant consensus on this although this consensus was not fully neoliberal as the NHS was still, in actual fact, not privatised. The only difference in the health policy is the fact that the Thatcher government was very much concerned in balancing the budget and thus sought many cost-minimising measures whereas New Labour, in 2000, did introduce a plan to increase spending on the NHS by 50% within 5 years. In all other aspects, there was a partially neoliberal consensus on healthcare in Britain during the era of Tony Blair and New Labour. A very similar picture appears when we consider education. Again, the Thatcher government, as we shall see, chose not to privatise education as that would mean it was no longer free at the point of delivery, but did implement other measures very similar to those done in healthcare. The Blair government again, chose to maintain these and further them slightly. Thus, it is more important than ever to consider the policies Thatcher implemented as they were subsequently accepted by Blair. The Thatcher government introduced the 1988 Education Reform Act in order to decentralise decision making in education. She created the Local Management of Schools (LMS) which meant that schools could apply to manage their own affairs and removed from the management of local education authorities (Knight). Knight suggested these could also have had political purposes rather that one purely for the sake of a better education system (local education authorities had become increasingly controlled by the Labour Party) but he also agrees that this policy was intended to improve the efficiency with which education could be delivered. The fact is that the LMS turned schools into quasi-businesses, just as Thatcher had done with the trust status for hospitals, and this meant that each school had a decentralised decision-making process, leading to what was believed to be better efficiency. Thatcher also removed the spatial monopolies of schools allowing parents to choose which school they wanted their children to attend, which would probably be those schools with the best reputation for education and discipline (Knight). The money then followed the demand, with funding being provided based on pupil numbers, similar to Blair’s healthcare policy. This competition it was suggested, encouraged schools to become more efficient in providing education and the less-efficient schools would probably end up closing. School league tables as well as a national curriculum both served to further this objective. The Blair government, while at first opposed these policies, basically eventually accepted almost all the policies of the Thatcher/Major government and this says a lot about New Labour’s stand on the issue. At first, Labour abolished the LMS or grant-maintained schools on the grounds that it was divisive and against the desire for social inclusion. Labour nevertheless eventually reversed this decision to improve the standard of schools and once again made decentralised decision-making a key characteristic of education policy (Knight). In facts, Blair even sought to further these policies of Thatcher. He introduced the City Academies which were well-resourced schools with partially private sponsorship and the rest from the state. These schools were allowed to set their own curriculum, pay scale as well as controlled the school’s assets, further reducing the influence of local authorities and continuing the de-centralisation process (Knight). On the whole, they seemed an extension of Thatcher’s City Technology College which were based on a similar principle (which Labour opposed on the grounds of its divisiveness) and the Labour Party had more or less embraced the policies of the Thatcher government. As Knight argued, in 2005, the Labour Party went a step further announcing that all secondary schools were to become independent, self-governing academies or trust schools by 2010. Parents were given the power to determine the curriculum of the school, to dismiss the head teacher if the school under-performed and even create a new school if they wished. Local authorities’ power was reduced further and the Blair government had essentially gone significantly further than the Thatcher government in this respect despite the initial opposition. In terms of higher education, both the Conservatives and New Labour sought to increase the proportion of children in higher education with the Blair government setting a target of 50% of young people to move on to higher education, and encouraged that through the system of university top-up fees. As a whole, it would be quite safe to conclude that there was a consensus on education policy which was mainly neoliberal with the exception of the fact that it was financed out of the tax pool so that education was free at the point of delivery. Lastly, let me discuss the policy on social security and pensions. Here, the Thatcher government was unable to reform the social security budget much as there was very high unemployment in the 1980s and more people thus claimed social security benefits. It did however, make several changes. Firstly, benefits and pensions were indexed to the inflation rate rather than the rate at which averaged earnings increased, which was the higher rate. This obviously widened the gap between the employed and the unemployed (and those on pension) but it did provide an incentive to search for employment as well as reduced the necessary government’s expenditure on this service. The Thatcher government also changed the basis on which these benefits were provided, from a more universal one to a means-tested one (Knight) and private pension schemes were encouraged as a result as opposed to the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme. Major introduced a jobseekers allowance, a flat-rate benefit for single people above the age of 25 actively seeking work, to replace unemployment benefits, probably in an effort to encourage an incentive to work. He did however; introduce statutory sick pay, maternity pay and an incapacity benefit (for long-term illnesses) all of which are hardly consistent with a neoliberal stance. The Blair government, in essence, made not many changes to this. There was an acceptance of a shift from the socialist ‘equality of outcome’ idea to ‘equality of opportunity’, where inequalities on the basis of effort applied were justified (Knight). The indexing of benefits and pensions to inflation remained although it was promised that pensions will be indexed to earnings by 2012. The jobseekers allowance was maintained as it was very much consistent with New Labour’s stakeholder notion (people should have an obligation to contribute to society rather than just take what they could get from it). Jobseekers had to attend an interview to determine they were indeed actively-seeking jobs and had to sign an agreement they would continue to actively seek employment in the specified sector with the help of the Employment Service. The New Deal was also introduced where people who had been claiming jobseekers allowance for 6 months had to accept a job subsidised by the state, work in a voluntary organisation or attend a training course or else, have their benefit cut. Again, this was very much consistent with the partly neo-liberal stance of Thatcher, although this policy was of limited success as many people chose to accept the reduced benefits. Similar encouragements were made to encourage single parents and the disabled to do the same but this was even less effective as there was no reduction in benefit for those who ignored it. Tax credits were introduced for those with children and those in employment but in low pay. In terms of pension schemes, the Turner Report suggested raising the age of pension entitlement to 68 by 2050, thus encouraging the people to work longer and reducing the cost of the pension scheme (people paid more contributions as well as received benefits for a slightly shorter period of their life). The National Pension Scheme was also introduced for those without secure private pensions or those ineligible for pensions at all. As a whole, the social benefit and pension policy was largely similar between the two partied. The consensus however, does a slight hint of socialism about it although many efforts were made where possible by both the Thatcher/Major and Blair governments to apply neoliberalism to it so as to reduce the overall cost of maintaining the system and to ensure there was minimal disincentive to work. In conclusion, in terms of economic policy, there was a consensus, although it was far from perfect, based on mostly neoliberalism between the Thatcher and Major governments with that of Tony Blair. In terms of social policy, the consensus was, it appears, slightly stronger, but this was based on partial neoliberalism in order to maintain the fact that health and education was free at the point of delivery as well as to maintain the benefit and pension system. As a whole, there definitely was a consensus to quite an extent over social and economic policy based on neoliberalism. Bibliography Knight, Governing Britain since 1945, 2006 Fielding, The Labour Party; continuity and change in the making of ‘New’ Labour, 2003 Powell, New Labour, New Welfare State? , 1999

Stimitizing Schizophrenics essays

Stimitizing Schizophrenics essays Stigmatizing opinions about mental illness are frequent in the community. People with schizophrenia are stigmatized by opinions that they will be dangerous, unpredictable and hard to talk to. The community gains most of their stigmatizing beliefs about mental illnesses from the media (i.e. movies, news, and newspapers). Few really know what its like to be in the footsteps of a person suffering from schizophrenia. Jane Doe* is a 34 year-old woman who has lived in Chino, California since she was born. For the first 15 years of her life, Jane was as normal as the girl next door. But Janes 16th birthday brought the news that would change her life, forever. Jane was diagnosed with schizophrenia. My parents just wouldnt accept it. They sent me to 100 doctors it seemed. All said the same thing. I had schizophrenia. I didnt fully understand what it was that I had until about a month after I had been diagnosed. Instead of denying the problem like her parents were doing, Jane began to research schizophrenia. She figured that it was a part of her that she needed to get to know, because it was going to be there for the rest of her life, or until a cure was found. Jane found out that symptoms of schizophrenia may appear suddenly, or they may progress gradually. Symptoms are divided into two groups, positive and negative symptoms. Negative symptoms usually occur first and are as follows: Problems with speech or disorganized speech, such as abruptly responding to questions or not being able to respond with enough information (for example, always giving a one-word reply to questions) Inability to experience pleasure, which is very common in schizophrenia. The person can no longer enjoy activities that once brought them pleasure, such as playing golf or visiting with friends. This symptom can be very depressing. Lack of emotion, which can lead to few friends or social contacts. The...

Free Online Public Schools for Tennessee Students

Free Online Public Schools for Tennessee Students Tennessee offers resident students the opportunity to take online public school courses for free; indeed they can get their entire education via the internet. Below is a list of no-cost virtual schools currently serving elementary and high school students in Tennessee. To qualify for the list, schools must meet the following qualifications: classes must be available completely online, they must offer services to Tennessee residents, and they must be funded by the government. Tennessee Virtual Academy The Tennessee Virtual Academy is for students who are in kindergarten through eighth grade. The tuition-free school offers courses in six core subjects and is specifically geared toward students with minds that might wander when traditional classes are too slow as well as minds that get lost in the shuffle, (and) minds that need a little more time, according to the academys website. Additionally, the school notes that its program features: State-certified teachers, who are available online and by phoneIndividualized curriculum, which covers both the core subject areas and electivesOnline planning and assessment tools, resources, and hands-on materials ranging from textbooks to microscopes, from rocks and dirt to illustrated classic children’s stories.A supportive school community, which organizes fun and informative monthly activities where parents, students, and staff share their successes, difficulties, and helpful hints K12 K12, which as the name implies is for kindergarten through 12-grade students, is in many ways like a brick-and-mortar school, in that it: Does not charge tuitionUses state-certified or -licensed teachersFollows Tennessee state education requirements for standards and assessmentsResults in a high school diploma upon completion But, K12 notes that it differs from traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms in that: Students receive individualized education and personalized one-to-one support.Classes do not take place in a building but rather at home, on the road, or wherever an internet connection can be found.Parents and students communicate with their teacher via online classrooms, email, and phone, (but also sometimes in person). K12 is a full-time program that follows the traditional school-year calendar. You can expect that your child will spend 5 to 6 hours per day on coursework and homework, the virtual program says on its website. But students are not always in front of a computer- they also work on offline activities, worksheets, and projects as part of the school day. Tennessee Online Public School (TOPS) Founded in 2012, Tennessee Online Public School is part of the Bristol, Tennessee City Schools system and is a statewide public virtual school serving Tennessee students in grades nine to 12. TOPS notes that it is accredited by AdvancED and uses Google Apps for Education to provide students with cloud-based services and email as well as Canvas, an open-access learning website that offers courses in a variety of areas. Families do not pay tuition for a student to attend an online public school, TOPS notes, but adds: Common household items and office supplies like printer ink and paper are not provided. Other Options The Tennessee Department of Education promotes online schooling and notes that parents can enroll their children in online virtual schools that are not based in Tennessee. However, parents need to ensure that the school has a legitimate accreditation status and provide evidence to the local school district that their child is enrolled in an accredited online school. The school must be accredited by one of the following regional accrediting agencies: AdvancEDSACS CASI – Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School ImprovementNCA CASI – North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement.NWAC – Northwest Accreditation CommissionMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA)MSCES – Middle States Commission on Elementary SchoolsMSCSS – Middle States Commission on Secondary SchoolsNew England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and affiliates (e.g., SAIS)National Council of Private School Accreditation (NCPSA) Note that many online schools do charge hefty fees, but there are just as many virtual schools that are free to public school students. If you find a virtual out-of-state school that sparks your interest, be sure to check for potential costs by typing tuition and fees in the school websites search bar. Then, fire up your PC or Mac and start learning online- for free.