Nickel and Dimed Essay Example for Free

Nickel and Dimed Essay In the book â€Å"Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America† Barbara Ehrenreich writes of her experiences working and living in what is considered mainstream America. In the sociological perspective the method of research Ehrenreich used was that of participant observation in which the researcher participates in the research setting while observing what is happening in that setting. The type of people studied were the lower middle class, the working class and the working poor. Lower middle class is about 30 percent of the population and members of this class have jobs that call for them to follow orders given by those who have upper middle class credentials. Their technical and lower level management positions bring them a good living, but is usually constantly threatened by taxes and inflation. In Ehrenreich’s book she discusses how these groups of individuals will feel secure in their positions and anticipate being able to move up the social class ladder. The distinction between the lower middle class and the working class on the next lower rung are more blurred than those between other classes, but members of the lower middle class work at jobs that have slightly more prestige and their incomes are generally higher. The focus on the book was more on the working class and the working poor. Another 30 percent of the U. S. Population belongs to this class of relatively unskilled blue collar and white collar workers. Compared with the lower middle class, they have less education and lower incomes. Their jobs are also less secure, more routine, and more closely supervised. One of their greatest fears is being laid off during a recession. With only a high school diploma, the average member of the working class has little hope of climbing up the class ladder. Job changes usually bring more of the same, so most concentrate on getting ahead by achieving seniority on the job rather than by changing their type of work. Ehrenreich worked mainly in this class but in order to make ends meet, she also took a job, cleaning houses that the working poor would normally be employed at. The working poor make up about 22 percent of the population and work at unskilled, lower paying, temporary and seasonal jobs, such as sharecropping, migrant farm work, house cleaning and day labor. Most are high school dropouts. Many are functionally illiterate, finding it difficult to read even the want ads. They are less likely to vote because they feel that no matter what party is elected to office their situation won’t change. Many of these individuals work full time but still have to depend on help such as food stamps to supplement their meager incomes. But with the push to end social institutions in America the problem will only become huge. Ehrenreich’s book shows how easy to see how one can work full time and still are poor. This book shows clearly the workings of the capitalist society we live in. How most live day to day and if they are getting by don’t mind. The working poor are the one’s that will be affected the most by welfare reform and in my opinion no one is really paying attention. The only attention is the bottom dollar; the only thing that is looked at is how much this will increase money for the upper classes. It really wasn’t very shocking to me what was going on when you live and have lived within these social classes. I have always known we are just the indentured servants working for the capitalist class that only create about 1 percent of the population. Reference: Ehrenreich, B. (2003). Nickel Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New York: Holt Publishers.

Chaucers Canterbury Tales - Marriage as Portrayed in Merchants Prolog

Marriage as Portrayed in The Merchants Prologue and Tale  Ã‚   The story of Januarie's marriage to May and her subsequent infidelity with Damyan allows for not only Chaucer's view of marriage to come through, but also includes the opinions of contemporary writers. Chaucer allows his views to be made known as the narrator and his views could also be said to infiltrate the speeches of the Merchant. Justinus and Placebo's views are also accounted for as the fictional characters also air their opinions on the institution of marriage. In this way, Chaucer has allowed for a fair deal of discussion of marriage. Chaucer places the character of Januarie in Pavia, which has a reputation for brothels. In this somewhat uncouth place, Januarie is in a self-imposed race against time to find a wife. At 60 years old, Januarie is getting married simply because he feels that he should before he dies and believes that, like St Paul says, to get married purely in order to avoid sin, is perfectly reasonable. Januarie wants a wife of "warm wex" in order to be able to ply her to his own demands and needs. His friends would have liked to have advised Januarie further on his choice of wife, however there was no time. Januarie sees the marriage very much as a business transaction and he uses his friends to scour the land for suitable women as it is a quicker way of finding the best deal. Like Januarie, Justinus is concerned with the economic ideals of the union. However he does have further concerns as to the age difference that will occur. He soon sees the possibility of infidelity on the wife's part. Unlike Januarie who quite simply requires a pretty face and a weak character, Justinus advises that the woman should have "Mo goode thewes than ... ...nfidelity is wrong. The Merchant says little about the business like manner in which the marriage took place, but has more to say about the untrustworthy nature of women, his cynicism from his own relationships showing through his occasional selections of Biblical references to deceitful women such as Rebecca and Judith. The Tale's own deceitful woman, May, yearns for a more emotional relationship and believes that she finds this with Damyan. However, he holds what appears to be a more typical male view of marriage. It is much more enjoyable to be a bachelor and to have no ties. May's only emotional links with him, such as the letters they exchange, have to be disposed of in the privy. The mercantile, unromantic nature of marriage seems to be prevalent in most men's minds as women cannot be trusted unless perhaps under some kind of bond other than purely spiritual.

Graphic communication Essay

Sch 31: Promote communication in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings. 1.2 Explain how communication affects relationships in the work setting. Communication plays a massive part once building a relationship in the work setting. By regularly keeping effective communication between practioners, parents/careers and children makes a positive working environment. The relationships are mostly based on the type of communication between one another, communication is not just by verbally but also the body language we show, facial expressions and our gestures. Communication with children and young people is very important. When a child is new to the setting you would want them to feel comfortable and safe in your company away from parents/ careers. As of when the children and young people does feel positively about the new environment around then helps the parent/career of that child to feel relaxed and comfortable to hand over their child into your care knowing they will have an enjoyable experience. The main way to build positive communication with the child/ young person is through play, as you talk with them during activities the child would become more relaxed as you ask questions about their games and actions, by showing interest into the child’s/ young persons holistic development will then build a positive relationship with that child/ young person. By showing positive body language in the setting, shows an invitation to the child/ young person that you’re there to play games, do activities and be there to have a conversation. Lowering down to the child’s/ young person’s level which will then put you into the position to engage in eye contact, this will make the child/ young person feel like you are more approachable to communicate with for example; ask you questions. When verbally communicating between you and the child the tone of your voice is very important, the child will pick up on the way you say things more than what you said as this will tell them if you’re being positive towards them; talking with them, or either being direct; talking to them. Not only do you talk to them but also the child will response, or even approach you first to communicate; either for a general conversation or to ask a question. All children are different, either it is by the way they’re brought up, their culture, have different beliefs, and in the way they communicate for example; English is an additional language. If you had a child in the nursery who had English as a second language, and knew few words, verbally communicating with this child wouldn’t be the first thing you would do. There are loads of different ways to do this for example; using picture cars with words, not only will this technique help communicate but also help build the childs English vocabulary. Another being demonstrating, for example; in an activity, lets say gluing and sticking, show the child what to do by demonstrating the activity for them to then copy your actions. Communication is very important, not only with the child/ young person but also their parents/ careers. Parents and careers need to be kept updated with everything that happens with their child/children and information that they need to know about the nursery itself. The stronger the relationship between the practioners and the parent/ career the stronger the trust the parents/ careers have with their child/ children in your care. Information should be shared on a day to day basis between the practioner and the parent/ career abpout everything that happens in the nursery. This information can be shared in different ways depending on the confidentiality. Information for all parents to know who have children at the nursery should be notices such as for example; new children joining the group, allergies that children have prompting the parent/ career about the foods the child should be allowed to take into the nursery, changes to day plans (hours, activities, trips). This sort of information can be transferred by sending out a newsletter to the parents/ careers individually when they drop off of pick up their child/ children, a notice board inside/ outside of the nursery for everyone to read, emailing or texting to the parents/ careers as this could be an easier way for them. On the other hand information more confidential about an individual should just be kept between that parent/career of the child/ children and the practioner who is giving the information. This information can be transferred by a letter, email and a text but in my opinion this sort of nonverbal communication just doesn’t seem formal or appropriate. Information like this should either be told over a phonecall or even face to face at the beginning or end of the school day; Taking the parent / career aside to have a conversation in a private room away from other parents and practioners. The information given would be topics such as, the child’s behaviour; if they are being disruptive, not listening to the staff harming other children, or even if the child seems upset and won’t join in on different activities and games set. Sometimes communicating can’t always be as easy as having a conversation or written communication for example; a child’s information profile. A parent/ career can be harder to approach in different situations for example; the parent/ career has English as an additional language and knows some English but not enough to have a general conversation about the child, in this situation more verbal communication would be easier to approach than written communication. Also a parent/ career with dyslexia, verbal communication is easier to approach, especially when information is need on the childs profile for in the nursery, so in this scenario, the parent or career would have to verbally share this information with the practioner for them to record this information. As long as the parent/ career is knowledgeable of what is happening with their child and the nursery they will feel comfortable and trusting with their child in the care of the nursery. Keeping communication strong between yourself and work colleagues is very important as the information you share between one another is what will keep the nursery running where as if this communication was at a poor standard then no information will get told to everyone, people including staff, the parents/ careers and children. The sort of communication that would be between colleagues mostly on a day to day basis would be verbally, when in the work setting, such things being for example; about activities and games, day plans, child absences, food times and parents drop off and pick up times. Also this all doesn’t need to be verbally if it’s the same information to be transferred to each member of staff every day, there could be for example a chart e.g; in the baby room a chart been posted up on each child’s different feeding and sleeping patterns. Building a strong relationship with colleagues would make life in your setting more comfortable, easier to work with one another and just better to talk to each other. Also by having a stable relationship communicating with each other will keep all of the staff up to date with everything happening. Communicating with colleague to colleague is a different to which you would talk to a child or a parent/ career. Speaking to a colleague would be less formal than anyone else as in the work setting you would build a strong friendship as well as just a work relationship. On the other hand when speaking to a profession outside of the nursery such as a special educational needs coordinator you would communicate in a more formal way and confidentially would be strict. Of a profession like this you would communicate verbally face to face with them, or by even email, sharing the sort of information about a child they’re there to study. The different professions would need trust in you and the rest of the staff to make sure this child/ children don’t feel left out because they’re different and that you respect and look out for them. In conclusion, when working in a nursery setting you are to be prepared to strongly communicate with everyone involved in your work to build that trust and respect. Not only verbally and just speaking but also thinking about how to speak and how to show your body language and facial expressions.

The Streets of Pompeii - Photos of the Roman City