The Social Problem Of Homelessness

The Social Problem Of Homelessness In this essay, the social problems I have chosen to write about is Homelessness. I will also be exploring different perspective of Homelessness and the policy responses and the impact it have on the society. The groups I will focus my discussion on are young people and rough sleepers as the evidence indicates that young homeless people experience rough sleeping before securing temporary accommodation. There are wide ranges of definition Homelessness and it varies from country to country or among different institutions in the same country. According to |Liddiard, M (2001:119) the immediate sense of the term as regularly employed by the mass media and politicians, simplistically equates homelessness with rooflessness or literally sleeping rough on the street. This is can be a straightforward and easy to understand definition but this does not reflect the true scope of the problem so a broader definition of homeless peoples include those lacking permanent residence and living in a range of unsatisfactory housing conditions. They can include those living in temporary hostels, bed and breakfast, night shelters and squatters. However, the legal definition of someone homeless is if they do not have a legal right to occupy accommodation or if their accommodation is unsuitable to live in. They also include families and peoples who do not sleep rough and some are accommodated by friends and family on temporary basis. So from the above definition the social construction of homelessness are not the small amounts of individual that sleep on the street, looking dirty and smells of alcohol and drugs but comprises of all individual who do not have a permanent decent place of accommodation or without a regular dwelling and are on a waiting list or takes housing benefit and in temporary accommodations. (Giddens 2007) The cause of homelessness varies as many are of the view that homelessness is a result of personal failings and consider if the economy is going on well, there is no excuse to be homeless. Shelter (2007) is of the view that homelessness is cause by a complex interplay between a personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s individual circumstances and adverse structural factors outside their direct control. Among the individual factors include social exclusion, thus when a person lack of qualification because they did not have access to good education and decent job. Ones misuse of drugs and alcohol which result in lack of personal control, lack of social support and debts especially mortgage or rent arrears. Having mental health problems and getting involved in crime at an early age also contribute to homelessness. Family breakdown and unresolved disputes are a major factor of homelessness as a result of divorce and separation and a greater number of men and women are affected. People from institutiona l background like having been in care, the armed forces are likely to be affected. Ex-offenders who come out of prison and lose their friend and families can become homeless and the majority from ethnic minority or ex-asylum seekers who have the right to stay but have no accommodation. Structural causes of homelessness are mostly social and economical in nature often outside the control of individual or family concerned. These may include poverty, lack of affordable housing, unemployment and the structure and administration of housing benefit. According to the shelter (2007) the number of households found to be homeless by local authorities increased 31percent between 1997/98 and 2003/2004. Historically, homelessness had low publicity until the 1966 when the BBC screened Ken Loachà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s film about homelessness Cathy Come Home. This was watch by 12million people and the film alerted the public, the media and the government to the scale of the housing crises and then Shelter was formed. Another policy response was the 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Acts was the first measure to place responsibilities on local authorities to rehouse homeless families and individuals permanently. (Liddiard, M .2001) The 1977 legislation had Priority Need which included women with children or pregnant, vulnerable due to age, mental illness, disability, and loss of home by natural disasters. This did not cater for everyone who was homeless and the criteria by which local authorities accepted someone as homeless was complex and rest ricted. Hence the 1996 section 177 amended to include domestic violence as a priority need but strict eligibility remains (Hill, M: 2000). Young people were not covered under the existing legislation and the number of young homeless increased. Existing data on youth homelessness has significant limitation; in particular it is only possible to count young people who are in contact with services. According to ONS (2007) it can be estimated that at least 75,000 young people experienced homelessness in the UK in 2006-07. This included 43,075 aged 16-24 of which 8,337 were 16 -17 year old who were accepted as statutorily homeless in the UK and at least 31,000 non-statutorily homeless young people using supporting people services during 2006-2007. The Homelessness Act (2002) changes significantly the way in which homeless in England and Wales is tackled. The priority need categories was extended to includes 16/17 years rather those who social services are responsible for accommodating, care- leavers under the age of 21 who were looked after by social services when they were 16/17 and ex- prisoners, former soldiers and young p eople leaving care. This act also introduces greater flexibility with regards to social housing allocation giving more people the right to be considered for a council or housing home. The local authorities had a statutory duty to care for all the homeless people but no extra resources were added. This had a great impact on the number of homeless people who were able to relocate permanently at a given time and especially those under priority need. Young people experiencing disruption or trauma during childhood who may be from socio-economic background are at increased risk of homelessness. The main trigger for youth homelessness is relationship breakdown usually parents or step-parent. Among the impact of homeless on young people is poor health as they cannot take care of their health being. They lack basic food and shelter to help them grow to become healthy adults and they may suffer from depression. Homelessness can lead to increased levels of non- participation in formal education, training or employment. At times leaving school early without a qualification and a decent job may lead some young people into the misuse of drugs and some have mental health problems. Another homeless group of concern is the rough sleepers who were in temporary accommodation but some choose to roam the streets, sleeping rough free from the constraints of property and possessions. But a large majority has no such wish at all but they have been pushed over the edge into homelessness by factors beyond their control. Once they find themselves without a permanent dwelling, their lives sometimes deteriorate into a spiral of hardship and deprivation. ( Giddens 2009:503) The Homelessness Act 2002 extended the definition of the priority need to include new groups of vulnerable people, and requirement that all homeless people receive advice and assistance. In addition, Local Authorities are requires to periodically develop homeless strategies, including an assessment of levels of homelessness and conduct an audit of those sleeping rough. In 1998 there were around 1,850 people sleeping rough on the street of England on any one night. This follows on from the government drive to reduce rough sleeping by two-thirds in 2002. The Rough Sleeper Unit was set up in April 1999 to take the lead on delivering this challenging new target and help thousands of people to escape fro good from the humiliation and misery of life under a blanket in a shop doorway. One of the key principal of the strategy was to understand the cause of rough sleeping, why people end up on the street and what could be done to stop this from happing in the future. The strategy also place t he emphasis on encouraging rough sleepers to become active members of the community, to build self esteem and bring on talent as well as helping the individual to become prepared for the life away from the street. Positive result soon follows as reductions in rough sleeping were achieves around the country in December 2001 the target set by the government was met ahead of time. The target was met amid the controversy about how rough sleepers were counted and concern about the emphasis on street homelessness, which campaigners claimed was only tip of the homelessness iceberg. According to BBC New Magazine, housing minister Grant Shapps believes that the government figures on the count of rough sleeper is low and the system of counting is flawed. He argues that, under previous governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s system, councils with fewer than 10 rough sleepers were not obliged to count them, and that vagrants sitting up in sleeping bags were not counted as homeless. After Mr. Shapps insisted that councils provide estimates, the England wide figure rose to 1,247, this comprised 440 from 70 authorities that count and 807 from 256 authorities that provided estimates. Despite government investment in hostels to accommodate rough sleepers many are on waiting list as resources and financing is limited. Overcrowding, lack of bed space and sharing rooms or limited facili ties with others are also identified as a problem especially if you have a partner or a dog, your choices narrow considerably. Although the quality of hostels has improved considerably, hostels are often considered unsafe. Over 57 percent of those who stayed in hostels mentioned problems with other residents, including drug and alcohol use, violence, theft, bulling, noise and arguments. And some are of the view that it is not a place to go if you want to stay clean of drugs. People are under the same legislation and the local authorities are unable to permanently house all in priority need. In addition to the above, there are certain groups who are excluded from hostels, such as people from the EU and asylum seekers from non-EU countries who are homeless and destitute in the street of the UK. Their entitlement to benefits is restricted until they have lived and worked and paid into the UK system through national Insurance and tax for one year continuously. Such laws bring about social exclusion as street homeless people have reduced access to health care and dental services. They face discrimination and general rejection from other people and may have increased risk to suffering from violence and abuse. The impact of rough sleeping is limited access to education, not being seen as suitable for employment and loss of usual relationship with the mainstream. Most of all, living on the streets is dangerous as rough sleepers die young with the average life expectancy at 42. Inequalities among the population still remain one factor of homelessness. Privatisation and residualisation of the council housing meant that fewer houses are available for council tenant. This imposes greater long term risks on the former council tenants while also generating considerable costs for the taxpayer. The process also excludes the many tenants who either reject transfer or are not given the choice and therefore exacerbates inequalities. There are 1.4 million unfit home in England as the majority of homeowners are in the private sector. The increase of housing association rents and increases in house prices means most people cannot afford a decent accommodation. Low income families are the most affected as 4 million people receiving housing benefit. ( Quilgars D. et al 2008) In conclusion, the problem of homelessness has been tackled by the governments over the years through policies and legislation. However, the problem require long term policy solutions such as changes in the benefit system, the building of more affordable homes and ensuring that a wider cross- section of society benefits from the fruits of economic growth. For many people, there is no single event that results in sudden homelessness; instead homelessness is due to a number of unresolved problems outlined above building up over time. The achievement of one government policy on rough sleepers indicates much could be done to reduce the impact of homelessness as the number still rises. Ministers are now focusing on the prevention of rough sleeper and youth homelessness through a new government homelessness strategy.

Explication From Hamlet :: essays research papers

Assignment 1: Explication from Hamlet (1.3.111-137) (â€Å"My lord, he hath importuned me with love† †¦ [end of scene]. Ophelia and Polonius have a father-daughter discussion toward the end of Act 1 where Polonius, concerned father that he is, warns his daughter Ophelia of becoming too involved with Hamlet. This warning comes just as Laertes, brother and son, has bid farewell. Laertes has just warned Ophelia himself of getting involved with Hamlet—this is the first time the audience is alerted to the romance. What have we seen of Hamlet so far? He is deeply grieving his father’s death; he resents the rapid marriage of his uncle and mother bitterly; and he has been told of the ghost of his father. The plot is building faster than Claudius could say, â€Å"I do!† in these first few scenes, and I would imagine the first audience of Shakespeare’s play would have been absolutely gripped to see what it all will come to. Hamlet so far has been portrayed as passionate and earnest, but not necessarily mad. When he says to his mother, â€Å"Seems, Madam? I know not seems†¦Ã¢â‚¬  we are given the impression of a man who is who he is, without pretence or acting. We know little of Polonius so far except that he is a well meaning, good-natured, and for all appearances honourable servant of the king. This scene casts the first shadow of doubt upon Hamlet’s character. It is curious that Shakespeare warns Ophelia twice: once through Laertes, and once through Polonius. Reading Laertes’ speech we can see the perspective of an understanding, though cynical young man. He essentially says, â€Å"Be careful of Hamlet because he’s young and his passions are burning. When the passions die down he’ll realise his desire for you can’t be fulfilled by marriage because of political constraints, and you’ll be left behind, scandalised.† Both Laertes and Polonius recognise that Hamlet, being young and foolish, is also not subject to the same consequences of reckless behaviour as Ophelia: â€Å"with a larger tether may he walk.† But there are two main differences in what Polonius says and doesn’t saw: his warning lacks the political slant, and he attacks Hamlet’s integrity. Ophelia’s first protest to Polonius was that Hamlet had made his affections known to her â€Å"with love in honourable fashion,† and it is this statement that evoked Polonius’ response: â€Å"Ay, springes to catch woodcocks!† A springe is a type of trap or snare.

Critical Path Analysis: Its Use and Limitations Essay

Introduction As firms begin to realize the need to improve on their project management capabilities, many companies and software developers have charged to fill this need by offering tools and techniques for a variety of projects. Some are tools for portfolio management, and some focus on particular disciplines within the project management field. Tools for resource planning, task and time management, communications management, resource allocation, or other project needs abound. Being a mature academic and practical course, Project Management has developed many tools and methodologies to assist in the planning, execution, evaluation and closeout of various types of projects. Varied tools can be used throughout many categories of project needs, while some tools are specific to certain types of projects. Some of the benefits of using project management tools and techniques as opposed to general management procedures, as mentioned in this week’s lecture, are that they have been proven to work particularly in a project environment and the uniformity of terms and approaches allows for better understanding and communication between members of the project team and the stakeholders. Tools such as Decision Trees, Cost-Benefit Analysis and programs such as Agile and Prince2 have proven to be particularly useful in producing best practice and expert results for projects that have employed them. CPA Utility and Limitations Critical Path Method (CPM) or Critical Path Analysis (CPA), as a project management tool, operates as the basis for a project work schedule, and likewise of resource planning illustrating shortest possible time to complete a project. The tool outlines critical events noting their sequencing, precedence relations, and strict timing requirements (Shtub, Bard and Globerson, 2005:395). The authors further note that PERT and CPA approaches treat ‘Finish to Start’ precedence relations using ‘zero’ as lag time between finish of last activity to start of next task along the critical path. The CPA map shows what activities cannot begin without accomplishing the preceding task, it is dependent on and also defines parallel tasks or ‘non-dependent’ tasks which can be performed simultaneously. By plotting activities using circles to represent activities noting earliest start (EST) and end times (LFT), and arrows showing sequencing of tasks, CPA clearly defines the flow of tasks, timings and therefore resources that must be allocated to accomplish activities and timelines. CPA has similarities to a GANTT chart as both tools show tasks that need to be done and the corresponding time to accomplish each. However, unlike a GANTT chart, CPA activity timings are not drawn to scale in that arrows represented with the same length may correspond to differing measures of time (e. g. same size arrows may represent 1, 2 or 4 weeks). A GANTT chart will have the tasks on a vertical axis while the time required for each task is easily identified along its horizontal axis. For both GANTT and CPA, the plan’s ‘critical path’ is the longest and has no spare time or ‘slack’/’float’ in any of the tasks. If any delays between dependent tasks in the critical path are encountered, the whole project will be delayed unless the manager makes changes to bring the plan back on track. Bringing a project back on track may be done by possibly adding resources to cut delivery time of tasks (‘crashing’) affected by the delay. Obviously, adding or re-allocating resources usually mean additional costs to the project. A sample for a 10-week computer project using a CPA map is as below. Upper left numbers within nodes represent the EST and lower left numbers on nodes represent LFT. Number on the right is the activity number and task description and duration is along the arrow lines: Source: www. mindtools. com In managing a project, a CPA map allows the project team to monitor attainment of goals and assists the project manager to see where corrective action is required to get the project back on course. Shtub, Bard and Globerson (2005:381) reiterate preparation and use of the tool requires a complete understanding of the project’s goals and structures. As most projects will have a number of stakeholders with different requirements, it must be assumed that a thorough knowledge and understanding of all these requirements are known and considered by the project manager in order to utilize a CPA approach. Moreover, considerable expertise is required in order to estimate the duration of each project task as performance and resource allocation are dependent on the accuracy of the ame. While CPA is recognized as an important part of project management, projects which may not benefit from use of this tool are those where there is a requirement for high flexibility in project tasks and schedules. ‘Project Flexibility’ is described by Maylor, (2010:86) as the capability of a project to adjust to changes. As CPA assumes that activity times are ‘deterministic’ – having a predictable outcome as all of its causes are clear and rigid, it is unlikely that the CPA tool can easily take in many adjustments during the execution stage without jeopardizing the project. Since only parallel tasks are afforded time slack within the plan, a project may experience detrimental delays and spiralling costs should situations arise where the schedules are not met, or resources cannot be re-allocated to a later or earlier timeline. In particular, R&D projects, where results of new technology or a new drug cannot be easily predicted, or may need further testing and numerous changes, may suffer from a very rigid CPA map. Moreover, project work on innovations will not have the benefit of historical basis for correctly estimating time requirements of many tasks involved which is ssential in using the CPA. The United States Food and Drug Administration (2004) comments, â€Å"A new product development toolkit — containing powerful new scientific and technical methods such as animal or computer-based predictive models, biomarkers for safety and effectiveness, and new clinical evaluation techniques — is urgently needed to improve predictability and efficiency along the critical path from laboratory concept to commercial product†. This lack of knowledge and systems in drug research and development negatively affects the proper implementation of a CPA as a project management tool. Conversely, Construction industry projects benefit widely from the use of CPA maps as there is a considerable body of knowledge, experience, and repetition in many of the tasks performed in such projects. Another weakness in the utilisation of the CPA tool highlighted by Woolf (2008) is the observation that there is as yet no â€Å"universally accepted definition of the term ‘critical path’†. He argues that this lack of consensus poses a problem in determining what is critical, nearcritical, or non-critical in nature when preparing a CPA map. Since parallel tasks falling outside of the critical path can still have grave effects on the total project should they fall behind in schedule, Woolf argues there is nothing ‘non-critical’ about a parallel activity which has -17weeks as float. It is suggested ‘criticality’ must be measurable and objective, free from comparisons which will make it subjective. Moreover, as a completed project is one unit, it is contended all tasks within the project are important/critical and contributes to its completion. This agreement in understanding and measure of terms is an important issue as one of the advantages of utilising tools and methods is its universality of understanding. In the case of R&D and highly innovative tasks in projects, this question poses an issue as unknown tasks at the start of the project which may arise and have significant implications on the project would not have been accounted for in the ‘critical path’. Shtub, Bard and Globerson (2005:382) cite overdependence on the CPA as a potential threat to project success. When pressure in sequential schedules is the primary focus, a team may cut short or totally exclude certain tasks in order to stay within timelines. This negative manner of management can be harmful to the project’s final outcome. This last observation though is not a weakness of the tool itself but is a case of weak project management. Conclusion and Recommendation: As with any tool, the user’s skill is key to its effective employment and management. CPA has been proven to be a valuable tool in project management for determining: Activities which must be performed, sequencing, prioritising, and timing Tasks which can be performed parallel to save time. The shortest time a project can be successfully delivered What and when resource will be required Remedial measures will be required and when during the performance of the project. As such, it is an integral part of the project management toolbox which can be harnessed efficiently in a variety of complex projects with proper inputs derived from experience, research, modelling and sound judgement.

Diagnostic Imaging Essays

Diagnostic Imaging Essays Diagnostic Imaging Essay Diagnostic Imaging Essay Diagnostic Imaging: X-Ray Diagnostic Imaging is medical tools used by doctors to see inside our bodies without actually opening the body. Diagnostic imaging can involve the use of radiation which could be dangerous if exposed to large amounts of. Diagnostic imaging allows doctors to find tumors, broken bones, pneumonia, etc. In general, diagnostic imaging is very helpful. X-Rays: This was one of the first types of diagnostic imaging. It uses radiation called Electromagnetic Waves. These images appear in black and white. The calcium found in the bones absorb the radiation, which makes our bones glow white on the x-rays. The person who is getting the x-ray wears an apron that covers certain parts to protect the patient from the radiation. The person doing the x-ray also puts on an apron to protect them as well. X-Rays can also be dangerous because of the amount of radiation that is being exposed to the patient. The x-ray machine is finally placed on the place on the spot where it is needed and is turned on for a brief moment to capture the picture. You are required to hold your breath Just for a small amount of time to not mess up the scan. MRI scans: Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI, is a type of diagnostic imaging that shows mages of the organs and structures inside your body. Doctors use MRIs for multiple uses such as location tumors or seeing torn ligaments. A MRI is a painless procedure, but it also takes a good amount of time to complete. Patients are placed into a tunnel like machine. Patients are also required to remove all metals on them and to notify the doctors if they have metal inside their skin or body. If not the metals will be pulled off from you and your body. Also they also have inform doctors if the patient is pregnant. Once the MRI has begun, the patient has to remain still. Also the machine s a bit loud so doctors offer the patients earplugs. CT scans: Computed Tomography or CT, is like a type of x-ray but the process is different. It takes pictures of bones, but it also takes images of blood clots, cancer, internal bleeding and signs of heart disease. No special equipment is required to be worn for a CT scan. A patient is lying down on a table during a CT scan and it moves the patient to the center of the X-Ray machine. Before the procedure begins, the patient is given contrast dye so the body parts will appear in the image. These are also more expensive than X-Rays. Nuclear Medicine: Nuclear Medicine also uses radiation. They determine the location and severity of the illness instead of developing images of the skeletal structure. These illnesses include heart disease, cancer, etc. Because it has the involvement of radiation, the patient is required to wear protective vests and inform the doctor performing the procedure if they are currently pregnant. Patients are also required to remove all jewelry during the procedure. Ultrasounds: Ultrasound is a type of imaging that uses high-frequency sound waves to look at the structures of the human body and organs. They are commonly used to view idneys, livers, vessels, hearts and other organs. Ultrasounds are also used on women expecting a baby to view the fetus. Ultrasounds are safe and d o not use radiation making it one of the safer diagnostic imagines. A gel like substance is placed on the place where the ultrasound is going to be used and a transducer is used. This transducer sends out a sound wave and then it is bounced back to display an image. Procedure on giving a chest x-ray to find pneumonia: Pneumonia can be hard to diagnose because it may seem like a cold or a flu. You may not notice its more serious until it lasts longer. If your doctor thinks you have pneumonia, he may recommend you do a chest x-ray. This is a painless test that creates pictures of the structures inside your chest, such as your heart, lungs and blood vessels. The patient is required to take off any Jewelry and to put on an apron to not be exposed to harmful radiation. Then the patient is to stand in front of the x- ray to begin the process. The patient will be asked to stand still and to hold their breath for a short period of time, while the x-ray is processing the image. The doctor will now be able to tell if the patient has pneumonia based on the patients lungs.

Similaraties with PTSD and OCD essays

Similaraties with PTSD and OCD essays PTSD and OCD have some similarities. A person who has PTSD has to go through a severe trauma in order for them to have PTSD, and it affects them because they try not to think or reflect on their trauma. A person with OCD is a little similar too that. However, they have to disregard those compulsive thoughts or routines they do during the day. They both go through the same process of treatment. Basically, its just exposing them to their rituals (OCD) or exposing them to the traumatic event ( PTSD) and to overcome those fears and compulsions. When OCD has an image of their compulsion it actually triggers them to their ritual and they try to avoid it, because obviously it affects their personal lives in every aspect. And when PTSD has flashbacks or nightmares those images or so intense and vivid that they feel that theyre in that traumatic event right then and there. So whenever they are close to that object or event that was part of their trauma they do the same thing as OCD they avoid it! The behavior that PTSD has is over aroused, quickly frightened, and very aggravated. And OCD has different types of behaviors because it varies on their compulsion. But they have sexual aggression thoughts and catastrophic thoughts and even consequences if their ritual wasnt accomplished that day. PTSD at some point builds a ritual too. Or maybe a habit however, this habit isnt intentional. PTSD patients tend to build up anxiety as well and start doing things they didnt do before. For example, if there is a man and he went to a barber shop and his ear was cut off and from then on he developed PTSD he will probably avoid hair parlors for the rest of his life and everything that it has to do with beauty and hair (scissors, combs, hair spray etc.) if he doesnt receive treatment. OCD and PTSDs cause is a little contradictory in this case. PTSD is caused by a traumatic life event. And OCD is caused ...