Dickens presentation of the four spirits Essay

In ‘A Christmas Carol’ four spirits meet Scrooge and they haunt and warn him of how he disregards Christmas and how people look upon him. Dickens uses his own unique writing skills in portraying the spirits, making the appearance relevant to the purpose of the each spirit. The first supernatural being to visit Scrooge is the ghost of Jacob Marley – Scrooge’s deceased working partner. The appearance of this spirit is directly similar to what Marley wore in his first life when he was a slave to money – exactly like Scrooge. These same working clothes show how he is still chained down by the burden of money and that his afterlife has been made rather painful by being a slave to work. Marley’s ghost is warning Scrooge that if he doesn’t change his character, he will too be burdened in his afterlife. The spirit also foretells the appearance of three more ghosts. The chains ‘clasped about his middle’ and all the different items that are wrought to the chain all symbolize money and greed of the spirit. The cash-boxes and the keys all represent the hiding away of money and keeping the wealth to themselves and not sharing the abundance of money. The imagery of heavy objects such as the ‘padlocks’ and ‘steel purses’ show how laden the ghost is with the weight of the money. The ‘ledgers’ and ‘deeds’ show the detailed accounts of money and proper ownership and this is a symbol that everything has to be accounted for, no money can pass by the scrutiny of the accountant which is so true to Scrooge’s life. Apart from being immensely weighted down by his possessions of greed which held back his life, Marley was transparent. This was so obvious that Scrooge could see the two buttons on the back of his coat. This transparency conveys the sense that this person was never a normal human, he was a chilling figure who lacked some human qualities that most usual persons have. This is a ghost which freezes the presence around him with his ‘death cold eyes’ and his ‘chilling influence’, he is cold, like his life. He has no real substance and the only apparent clear images Scrooge can see of this spirit are the symbols of hoarding, selfishness and greed. The ‘Ghost of Christmas Past’ reveals itself to Scrooge, shortly after the affair with Marley, and the purpose of this ghost is to show Scrooge of the times of his past life which involve his school and family life as well as his relationships with Fan and Belle. The first line of the description portrays excellently the appearance of this unusual spirit: ‘It was a strange figure – like a child; yet not so like a child as like an old man’. Dickens shows that even though this spirit is a child, representing youth and looking back in to the past, it is strong bodied being able to be firm with Scrooge. This strength, and the indication of the spirit being old, shows that the ghost is wise and experienced, able to lift Scrooge out of the window with considerable ease and make the miser look up and pay attention. The spirit is also strangely attired with stark contrasts in its dress for the spirit has a holly branch in his hand and summer flowers lining the end of its dress. This displays the progression of time and the seasons which in turn reflect the stages of Scrooges past life and the progression of a mans life, which is slowly been clutched by the grasp of money. The spirit also possesses another unusual quality in that a ‘bright clear jet of light’ springs out from his head as well as having extensive description of the whiteness of its being. This clear whiteness and the jet of light symbolizes the simplicity of what the spirit is showing – It is making thing apparently clear to Scrooge. This ghost is not satisfied with a complicated face and bizarre attire for it also changes the form of its being from ‘being now a thing with one arm, now with one leg, now with twenty legs†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and the changes vary so much that at one point the spirit has no head. This unusual distinction, I feel, represent the change in emotions and I think Dickens is trying to portray the alterations of Scrooges past and of all the feelings and events that changed him in to a tight-fisted businessman. The ghost of Christmas present is a bit simpler to understand for he represents the things and spirit of Christmas. His purpose is to show Scrooge the way people celebrate Christmas at present and to point out the abundance of Christmas joy there is in families, which is alien to Scrooge. The spirit is introduced with a large range of different Christmas foods such as long plum-puddings, mince pies, ‘cherry-cheeked apples’ and ‘immense twelfth cakes’, just to mention a few of the items layering the floor. The abundance and feeling of plenty is conveyed with the magnificent quantities of tangible items on display, with the ‘barrels of oysters’ and ‘wreaths of sausages’. Dickens eloquently describes the food making the reader feel tempted by these appetizing descriptions. All this is completely foreign to Scrooge. He has never seen this type of thing for he never shares his money to make these things happen, therefore this is appropriate so to open Scrooge’s eyes to the celebration of Christmas. The actual spirit is huge, happy and incredibly relaxed which is shown by his ‘easy state’ upon which Scrooge finds him. This peaceful, kind and generous spirit holds Plenty’s horn which is a sign of abundance and a richness of possessions and atmosphere. He is full of Christmas spirit and he knows what it is like to have a good time and a laugh, he is only haunting Scrooge with good things he has not seen before. The spirit is radiant, full of light for it pours on to Scrooge, he cannot escape the joyous plentiful atmosphere. He cant run away for the light is so strong it grasps him. The spirit is kind to Scrooge yet he is not passive telling Scrooge in a firm manner to look upon his wide, inviting eyes. The ghost has clothes of a simple nature with a ‘simple green robe bordered with white fur’. This shows just how relaxed and unpretentious the spirit is, he is even bare-breasted showing that he just wants to present himself as he is with no false attachments – even his feet are found without covering. The holly wreath which is seen on the spirit, is a symbol. Jesus once wore a similar wreath and he was peaceful and kind, just like the spirit who is compared to the son of God for they are both cheerful and immensely unconstrained. The ultimate peace of the spirit is displayed when Scrooge notices that in his scabbard there lay no sword but a hole of air polluted by the aging rust. The spirit is a provider, feeding his immense family of 1,800 well, with the full stuffing of Christmas spirit and all the joyous aspects this brings with it. This open hearted spirit is showing the true meaning of Christmas to Scrooge who has only ever lived for money seeing Christmas as a wasted day. There is a very stark difference between the ‘Ghost of Christmas Present’ and the ‘Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’ for the spirit which foresees the future is firstly described as moving ‘slowly, gravely, silently’. This is more a haunting spirit, he is meant to be scary and menacing and he certainly is introduced in this fashion for he is to show the grim tales of Scrooges future which are not pleasant. The overwhelming fear in Scrooge is seen, in that he quickly bends down on one knee and the atmosphere disperses in to one of ‘gloom and mystery’. There is definite sense of fear for the words convey ghostly imagery such as ‘shrouded’ which is a dark word in that it is often associated with a funeral or a burial. The deep, piercingly solemn appearance of a hand is all Scrooge needs to fill him with ultimate fear for the ghost is incredibly hard to distinguish and the outstretched hand is all one can see. This mysterious invisibility makes the ghost even more harrowing for there is only one hand which brings about this dark and undistinguished presence, the ghost is a shape which is horribly not complete. As well as not being able to see all the parts of the ghoul, the spirit does not even talk which makes him even more fearful for it is impossible for Scrooge to communicate to this haunting phantom. Scrooge is desperate for the ghoul to utter a word but Dickens purposely does not let the figure talk for it adds to his mysterious and chilling demeanor. This spirit is one which people dread, it is of an appearance of a phantom which chills the surrounding air which others choke on in fear. The description continues, with Dickens using metaphorical speech to describe the ghoul: ‘but a spectral hand and one great heap of black’. The effect of the metaphor is once more of absolute fear and terror. The description ends with Scrooge requesting speech from the ghoul but it is not going to respond which rounds off the passage with a feeling of fear. Dickens shows skill in describing these ghosts so relevantly to what there immediate purpose is. Each ghost has its own specific meaning and Dickens presents this effectively giving each spirit a unique appearance which tells a story with a true moral which still applies today. Dickens is a storyteller with unique gifts and this is shown in these descriptions of the four spirits.

Impact of martin luther king on civil rights Essay

Eyes on the Prize, American’s Civil Rights years, 1954-1965, Juan Williams Eyes on the Prize, Juan Williams On the bus boycott â€Å"When the trial of the boycott leaders began in Alabama, the national press got its first good look at Martin Luther King Jr., the first defendant. Four days later, King was found guilty. The sentence was a $500 fine and court costs, or 386 days of hard labour. The judge explained that he had imposed this minimal penalty† because King had promoted non-violence. King was released on bond; his indictment and conviction became front-page news across the nation† Eyes on the Prize, Juan Williams, pg 130 from an Interview with Diane Nash who led the campaign to desegregate the lunch counters of Nashville’s department stores ‘I think it’s really important that young people understand that the movement of the sixties was really a people’s movement. The media and history seem to record it as Martin Luther King’s movement, but young people just like them, their age, that formulated goals and strategies, and actually developed the movement.â⠂¬  pg195 â€Å"Kennedy delivered a new civil rights bill to Congress on June 19. Stronger than the bill that had died in Congress at the beginning of the year, the new bill would outlaw segregation in all interstate public accommodations, allow the attorney general to initiate suits for school integration, and give the attorney general the important power to shut off funds to any federal programs in which discrimination occurred. It also contained a provision that helped ensure the right to vote by declaring that a person who had a sixth-grade education would be presumed to be literate. King, the SCLC, CORE the NAACP, SNCC, and other civil rights groups had no intention of allowing this bill to die in Congress. To demonstrate the strength of public demand for this legislation, they would march on Washington. pg262 â€Å"On February 4 the militant Black Muslim minister Malcolm X came to speak in Selma at the invitation of SNCC. At first, King’s colleagues feared that the controversial leader might incite the local people and jeopardise King’s control of the movement. King was still in jail was Malcolm X told a capacity crowd at Brown’s Chapel that â€Å"the white people should thank Dr King  for holding people in check, for there are other (black leaders) who do not believe in these (nonviolent) measures.† Access to History – Civil Rights 1945-1968 â€Å"Birmingham was the first time that King had really led the movement†¦.’There never was more skilful manipulation of the media than there was in Birmingham,’ said a leading SCLC staffer. While little changed in Birmingham, SCLC had shown America that Southern segregation was very unpleasant†¦In the summer of 1963 protests throughout the South owed inspiration to Birmingham. King had shown that he could lead from the front and force desegregation, if through rather artificially engineered violence.† â€Å"The historian Stephen Oates described Selma as ‘the movement’s finest hour. King thought the national criticism of ‘Bloody Sunday’ was ‘a shining moment in the conscience of man. There were sympathetic interracial marches in cities such as Chicago, Detroit, New York and Boston. Johnson and Congress probably would not have delivered the Voting Rights Act without Selma.† â€Å"The best way to judge his significance might be to look at what followed his death: the national direct action phase of the civil rights movement died with him. The Poor People’s Campaign fizzled out under his successor Ralph Abernathy. Without King SCLC collapsed. However it is not certain that the civil rights movement would have progressed any further had King lived. We have seen that King failed in Chicago. Other black activists were becoming more impatient and their frequent extremism was important in generating a white backlash.† â€Å"If King had never lives, the black struggle would have followed a course of development similar to the one it did. The Montgomery bus boycott would have occurred, because King did not initiate it. Black students†¦had sources of tactical and ideological inspiration besides King.† Professor Claybourne Carson – Access to History â€Å"Whites and blacks became increasingly critical of him. When he toured riot-stricken Cleveland, Ohio, black teenagers mocked and ignored him. He knew he has raised their hopes but failed to fulfil them. Many blacks thought him too moderate.† â€Å"King admitted that SCLC achieved little in the three years after Montgomery. Then the civil rights movement exploded into life again in February 1960. Initially King had nothing to do with it†¦When  a Greensboro SCLC members contacted him, King quickly arrived to encourage the students and assure them of full SCLC support, saying ‘What is new in your fight it the fact that it was initiated, fed, and sustained by students.’ Atlanta students persuaded King to join them in sit-ins. As in Montgomery, King was led rather than leading.† Adam Fairclough, Better Day Coming. Blacks and Equality, 1890-2000 (Penguin, 2001) ‘In some ways it was the obstinacy of the whites in Montgomery, not the deliberate planning of the blacks, that turned the boycott into an international cause cà ©là ¨bre. After all, blacks in Montgomery asked only for a fairer application of â€Å"separate but equal,† not an end to segregation itself†¦ In a similar way, Martin Luther King Jr., only emerged as the symbol of the protest when whites began to persecute him. Whites calculated that by breaking King, they could break the boycott; instead they made King a martyr, a hero, and the outstanding symbol of black resistance.’ (227-228) ‘The sit-in movement made a massive dent in the structure of segregation. In the Deep South, crushed by violence and arrests, they failed to integrate lunch counters. But in the upper South, and in the â€Å"rim South† states of Florida and Texas, they proved effective. The disruption caused by the sit-ins themselves, and the economic impact of consumer boycotts, hurt the dime stores: the profits of Woolworth, the main target, plummeted. Downtown merchants as a group also suffered. The cash-register logic of the sit-ins proved hard to resist: on March 19, 1960, San Antonio, Texas, became the first city in the South to desegregate its lunch counters; Nashville did so in May; by the end of the year, store owners in at least eighty towns and cities had agreed to serve blacks.’ (245) ‘The force of the 1963 demonstrations so surprised and disturbed white Americans that the Kennedy administration decided to fundamentally revise its approach to the civil rights question. The nonviolent revolt had riveted the attention of the nation onto the South, revealing the underlying ugliness of the Jim Crow system. The federal government realized that segregation was destabilizing the South and embarrassing the United States in the eyes of the world. The government also worried that racial conflict and violence might engulf the entire nation.’ (279) William H. Chafe, Raymond Gavins and Robert Korstad (eds), Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South (The New Press, 2001) Mai Young on the inequalities in segregated education: ‘Lots of these youngsters now don’t remember. They really don’t. You tell them things that happened, they just can’t believe it. That’s why they can’t appreciate Martin Luther King because they don’t know what happened. They really don’t know what happened during those days. Hard to visualize it.’ (187) Charles Gratton: ‘To challenge white people was just the wrong thing to do. You just automatically grow up inferior, and you had the feeling that white people were better than you†¦ Most blacks in the South felt that way until the late fifties and sixties when Dr. [Martin Luther] King [Jr.] come along with his philosophy, and it started giving black people some hope that the way we were being treated wasn’t right and this thing can change. Just some hope that we were waiting on. Whenever I would hear Dr. King talk, it seemed like he was touching me from the inside. He could touch your feeling from the inside, things that you would want to say but you just didn’t know how, things that were right and wrong but you kept inside of you because you didn’t know how to express it. So he was a really good leader and a great man, and I think he done a wonderful job in what he done for our people as a whole.’ (8) Howell Raines, My Soul is Rested: Movement Days in the Deep South Remembered (Penguin Books, 1977) Franklin McCain (involved in student sit-ins): ‘We knew that probably the most powerful and potent weapon that people have literally no defense for is love, kindness. That is, whip the enemy with something that he doesn’t understand.’ Raines: ‘How much was the example of Dr. King and the Montgomery Bus Boycott on your mind in that regard?’ McCain: ‘Not very much. The individual who had probably most influence on us was Gandhi, more than any single individual. During the time that the Montgomery Bus Boycott was in effect, we were tots for the most part, and we barely heard of Martin Luther King. Yes, Martin Luther King’s name was well-known when the sit-in movement was in effect, but to pick out Martin Luther King as a hero†¦ I don’t want you to misunderstand what I’m about to say: Yes, Martin Luther King was a hero†¦ No, he was not the individual that we had upmost in mind when we started the sit-in movement.’ (79) Laurie Pritchett (police chief of Albany Georgia in 1961): ‘They came to Montgomery, and I was in Montgomery when they marched there†¦ I will never forget one day there I heard the clap, it sounded like thunder, and we looked up, and it was the sheriff’s posse on those horses, and the sparks were flyin’ off of the shoes as they came down the street. And they went into the crowd with bull whips, they run up on the porches†¦ some of the horses were cut at, which I can’t much blame the people. But this created that problem there, and, as I stated before, Dr. King, when he left Albany, in his own words and in the words of the New York Heral Tribune, was a defeated man. In my opinion, right or wrong, if Birmingham had reacted as Albany, Georgia did†¦ theyd never got to Selma. Dr. King, through his efforts, was instrumental in passin’ the Public Accommodations [Act] but the people that were most responsible was â€Å"Bull† Connor and Sheriff Clark†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (366) Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters The SNCC leaders were in a bind. They wanted a â€Å"people’s movement,† like SNCC itself, and yet without King, the Wells march had had little impact on the outside world, and without such impact it was nearly impossible to inspire more of Albany’s ordinary people to take up the crusade. What they needed was the use of King’s influence without his suffocating glory, and it was all the more galling that they were obliged to ask to King to reform himself accordingly – Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters, p. 614 As President Kennedy and the Attorney General had anxiously awaited the outcome of the showdown with Governor Wallace, a telegram came in from Martin Luther King on the â€Å"beastly conduct of law enforcement officers at Danville.† Asserting once again that â€Å"the Negro’s endurance may be at breaking point,† King implored the Administration to seek a â€Å"just and moral† solution†¦. Given his recent sensitiv ity to King’s opinions, these urgings may have influenced President Kennedy’s extraordinary decision to make†¦ a civil rights address on national television.† Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters, p. 823 Professor Eleanor Holmes Norton, â€Å"reviewing Parting the Waters†, in the New York Times, November 27th 1988 http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/06/specials/branch-waters.html By the  time Mr. Branch left home to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1964, †the people I met were already more interested in Vietnam.† In his view, however, †the civil rights movement was why they cared about Vietnam.† It was King and others, he believes, who first opened the door for his generation to †look at the world from a moral perspective. It occurred to me that the most fundamental political questions were, in fact, moral questions.† It was the awareness of those moral questions that steered Mr. Branch away from his premed major in college and toward political philosophy and an eventual writing career. In †Parting the Waters† Mr. Branch aims to re-create for others the same sense of King as a man of power and complexity that he experienced in his college years. †King was considered passe by 1966, even before people like Stokely Carmichael; he was considered almost an Uncle Tom. I knew there was something wrong with that attitude. If he was that shallow, then how did I get here?’ The autobiography of Martin Luther King, JR. Edited by Clayborne Carson, published in 1999 In 1960 an electrifying movement of Negro students shattered the placid surface of campuses and communities across the South. The young students of the South, through sit-ins and other demonstrations, gave America a glowing example of disciplined, dignified nonviolent action against the system of segregation. Though confronted in many places by hoodlums, police guns, tear gas, arrests, and jail sentences, the students tenaciously continued to sit down and demand equal service at variety store lunch counters, and they extended their protest from city to city. Spontaneously born, but guided by the theory of nonviolent resistance, the lunch counter sit-ins accomplished integration in hundreds of communities at the swiftest range of change in the civil rights movement up to that time. This was the time of our greatest stress [when the children were used in Birmingham], and the courage and conviction of those students and adults made it our finest hour. We did not fight back, but we did not turn back. We did not give way to bitterness. Some few spectators, who had not been trained in the discipline of nonviolence, reacted to the brutality of the policemen by throwing rocks and bottles. But the demonstrators remained nonviolent. In the face of this resolution and bravery, the moral conscience of the nation was deeply stirred, and all over the country, our fight became  the fight of decent Americans of all races and creeds. Selma brought us a voting rights bill, and it also brought us the grand alliance of the children of light in this nation and made possible changes in our political and economic life heretofore undreamed of. With President Johnson, SCLC viewed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as ‘one of the most monumental laws in the history of American freedom’. We had a federal law which could be used, and use it we would. Where it fell short, we had our tradition of struggle and the method of nonviolent direct action, and these we would use. Hodgson, Godfrey (2009) Martin Luther King, Quercus p. 5 The speech was at once sermon and political argument. He was talking to several audiences at once. He was directly addressing the thousands who were there in front of him in Washington’s Mall. Over their heads he was reaching out to southern blacks and northern whites, to the tens of millions of undecided white Americans, willing to be persuaded that the time was ripe to end the embarrassing southern folkways of segregation, yet reluctant to be carried away on radical paths. He was reaching out to the powerless in southern plantations and the angry in northern ghettos, and most of all to the powerful, only just beyond the reach of his voice a mile or so up the Mall on Capitol Hill. So he wove together difference languages for different listeners. He borrowed the emotional power of the Old Testament with an echo of the stately music of Handel’s Messiah. He also appealed to the sacred texts of the American secular religion, echoing the grand simplicities of Jefferson†™s Declaration of Independence and Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. p. 67 Seven years after the Brown judgement, progress for black people was still frustratingly difficult. To be sure, although the white South, or at least most of its leaders in the Deep South, had said ‘Never!’ to school desegregation, schools had begun to desegregate, especially after President Eisenhower’s reluctant decision†¦to send in the 101st Airborne Division to protect nine black children admitted by court order to Central High School  in Little Rock, Arkansas. Around the edges, the segregated south was shrinking. p. 75 second paragraph The Southern Christian Leadership Conference found itself, almost immediately after its foundation, the third major Negro organisation [the other two were NAACP and National Urban League]. It was southern, it was dominated by ministers, especially but not entirely Baptists, and it had the advantage of being led by someone as gifted, as dynamic and as well known nationally as Martin Luther King Jr. It lacked the membership and financial strength of the two older organisations, as well as suffering from less obvious disadvantages. King was an inspiring leader and, if pointed in the right direction, an effective fundraiser. But he was neither a particularly good administrator, nor especially interested in administration. p. 79 The freedom rides represented a new and hard test for Martin Luther King. More than once the SNCC demonstrators raised, directly and in the most personal terms, the question of his personal courage. He argued, and Wyatt Walker argued for him, that he must stay out of jail to raise money, to direct the movement and to lead his people. He was on probation, he said. They said they were on probation too. They expected him to go with them. When, on May 27 in Montgomery, he refused to join them on the bus to Mississippi, he said he must choose ‘the where and when of his own Golgotha’. They accused him flatly of cowardice. King had already shown, and would show again and again, that he was no coward. But he did not want to be told when and where he should risk his liberty and his life by a group of passionately committed by somewhat unfriendly students. The freedom rides no only marked a widening gap between King and the students, which grew into institutional rivalry between the SCLC and SNCC and raised deep and dangerous disagreements about the tactics and the strategy of the movement; they also prefigured the way the struggle would develop over the next five years, and set the course for the rest of his life. p. 82 From the spring of 1961, King found himself between two fires. He had to deal, now , not only with the intransigence of southern white segregationists, but with the impatience and suspicion of young Negroes who  wanted to go faster than he was yet ready to go.

Anthropology, psychology, history, sociology, education, political Research Paper

Anthropology, psychology, history, sociology, education, political science, gender studies, economics, legal studies - Research Paper Example The word slum connotes an area where no ethnic community dominates. Poverty levels are high in slums, barrios and ghettos. It should be noted that not all African- American and Hispanic neighborhoods are poor. Discussions of underclass associate the residents of those inner cities with certain types of behaviors and attitudes. Excessive focus on poorest inner cities can redirect attention from the broader structural aspect of poverty. As a result they may fail to see the important contributions to reducing poverty that straightforward measures like Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) can achieve. Painting a picture of obstinate poverty in inner cities can cause hopelessness among policy makers Most alarming social evils in the society, ranging from use and sale of illegal drug to violence, take place in the inner cities of America. Even though today poverty in the inner cities of America is still a major concern, most Americans do not talk about it. However, when asked about poverty directly, many people will admit that poverty, especially in inner cities of America, is still a major concern. Poverty is a complex phenomenon which is hard to define. It is also difficult to differentiate forms, causes and consequences of poverty. Further, many people do not agree why poverty is a problem in America. Neither do they agree on the causes or consequences. It is therefore difficult to agree on a solution. There are those people who believe the poor are responsible for their condition. Mostly, people who feel the poor are responsible for their circumstances are the middle and upper income earners. They believe the poor can change their circumstances by working hard. This class of Americans feel poor people should not receive welfare benefits from the government. The middle and upper class Americans are careful to avoid working, living or even driving through the inner cities. Inner cities

New product development and product innovation charter Essay

New product development and product innovation charter - Essay Example Therefore, a white product manufacturing company must understand that technological advancements are the key to success in the market (Avlonitis & Papastathopoulou, 2006). 1. a) Product innovation charter entails product planning and strategizing prior to its development. PIC charter summarizes all the necessary tools that a company’s development team should draft to come up with new products. The charter ensures that a product developed under it targets to achieving the company’s goals and objectives. Thus, the specialists must abide to PIC if they target to ensure their development is for the best of the company once it is in the market. It enables the team to set the product’s objectives in accordance to sales forecasts. A product will product will be of critical importance to a company if only it will draw positive attention from the consumer markets, as this is the only way of improving sales margins (Annacchino 2007). Similarly, sales should be profitable t o the company at the long run as far as the company is a profit making organization. Further, a significant development is that which enables a company acquire a higher market share relative to its previous one. Managers and product developers should focus on improving the market share competently and profitably (Avlonitis & Papastathopoulou, 2006). b) Every company has a mission and vision in its business field. Therefore, to come up with the best results of every innovation, the team should consider the goals and objectives of the company. For example, if a company’s mission is to enhance economic growth and customer satisfaction, the new product should entice the consumer to feel closer to the company and on deriving satisfaction from his purchase, will mean profitability to the business. Since perfect market competition is a rare case, a brilliant innovation will enable the company to grow in the market and undermine competitive threats. Eventually, a company shall pose a positive image to the society and other business affiliates if only the charter refines its image through healthy innovations (Karniel & Reich, 2011). c) The challenges that come with every innovation are as well overwhelming. Managers should understand that product charters only reveal prospects and not certainty. The criterion often tends to control development teams to operate within distinct procedures. Therefore, the team may develop a product that suits specific needs. This results to reduction of sales prospects, profitability, and market segment. The company finds realizes to be loosing worth an investment to a nonperforming product. It is advisable that companies should endure on practicing the best details a product innovation charter can offer in relation to the company’s goals and objectives (Karniel & Reich, 2011). 2. a) The key factors to that influence companies to concentrate in new product development programs are diverse. Companies find that all markets pos e competition and to ensure co-existence they must come up with products that place them above per. Other companies seek to maximize profits and after careful revision of the products that they already offer in the market, they realize the need of a new product that will profitably benefit the company in its operations. Companies notice that, whenever new products hit the target market profitably economies of scale reflect positively, and the rate of growth draws a positive view from their affiliates (Avlonitis&

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Marketing - Essay Example Positioning strategies aims to ensure that an organization’s names pops up in the minds of consumers whenever services in their field of expertise are required. Differentiation strategies ensure that the products and services offered to the market are unique compared to those offered by their competitors. This gives an organization the edge over their competitors when battling for consumers in that particular market (Guidry, 2011). These strategies are implemented in a number of businesses, including hospitals and other health care facilities.   An example that can is used to showcase their use is the comparison between Bon Secours St. Mary's Hospital and HCA Henrico Doctor's Hospital that are both located in Richmond VA. Both of these hospitals function independently but are part of larger organizations that have other hospitals in the Richmond area and throughout the United States.   Though these two organizations essentially offer similar services to their clientele pos itioning and differentiation strategies are used to ensure that they stand out from their competitors as they strive to develop a better grasp on the region’s market. ... This hospital has created marketing strategies that have ensured its survival over the years most notably in this case positioning, and differentiation strategies. The differentiation strategies used by the hospital is seen in the types of services that it offers the clients who visit their premises. One service includes: Bon Secours for Women. This is an initiative launched by the hospital and aims to offer specialized healthcare services to the women who visit the hospital (Bon Secours Health System, Inc., 2012).   Bon Secours for Women deals with medical issues that solely affect women, such as giving birth and parenting issues that follow afterwards.   Classes and education is offered and presented to consumers on  breastfeeding, parenting  and management of any complication that may arise after the birthing process, such as the care of wounds for women who have had to undergo a Caesarian section. Though these services are offered by other hospitals as well, St. Mary's Ho spital has gone a step farther by setting it aside from the other medical services on offer, thus making the women who seek these services from their hospital believe that they are cared for and appreciated, unlike other healthcare facilities whereby these services are alligned with the rest of the medical care that they have to offer.   Bon Secours for Women  concentrates on a particular niche in the market, which is women, and their needs.   They aim their marketing toward women customers who prefer specialized care when dealing with any medical issues. Home care services are another specialized area for Bon Secours.   This is also another clever way of differentiating the hospital’s services from those offered by other

Marketing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Marketing - Term Paper Example It is considered a revolutionary advancement that has been made in the field of customer services. The root of CRM process can be traced back in sales where CR managers study customer buying patterns and trends in order to match service levels to revenue expectations alongside satisfying the needs of the customers. The underlying rationale behind this management process is to bring down the rate of customer complaints thereby addressing their issues at the earliest and henceforth rewarding customer loyalty and maintain a high customer retention rate. In order to carry the process effectively special computer programs have also been designed. Driven by customer economics, companies have been implanting the CRM process for a long time. The CRM initiatives are directed towards formulating effective CRM strategies in order to support the overall business strategy as well as the sales and marketing department. A better coordination and synergy between these elements process proves that th e CRM process has delivered its promise of increasing the customer loyalty and maximizing the shareholder value (Raihan, Hamid & Akhir, 2013). The primary objective of CRM as explained by the author is to obtain a better understanding of customer requirements and preferences which are directed towards offering the customers with high quality buying experience as well as services thereby leading to customer loyalty. CRM system involves processes such as data warehousing and mining, online order tracking, multi-channel ordering system, call centre and so son and so forth are used as the means to deliver the expected result. During the age of mass production, business world involved competitions that catered to widen customer bases for companies by carrying out efficient production (Oztaysi, Sezgin & Ozok, 2011). New competitions and structural modifications in the process of exchange have led to the establishment of the relationship archetype for the creation of long term relationship s between suppliers and customers. The reasons that can be attributed to this fact are globalization of business, deregulation and internalization, shorter product life cycle, information technology advancements and the evolving association between customer retention and company profitability (Osarenkhoe & Bennani, 2007). CRM involves the planned usage of process, information, technology and people in order to manage customer’s relationship with the company thereby supervising the marketing, sales, services and support division of a company. This process is carried out across the whole customer life cycle (Tu & Yang, 2013). Customer knowledge is a crucial aspect that plays a major role in ensuring a successful CRM process. It is a critical asset and thus, proper collection, sharing and managing and sharing of customer knowledge can help a company to gain competitive advantage over its peers. However, over the past few years it has been witnessed that customer knowledge receiv ed very little attention while CRM strategies were formulated. Customer knowledge/data i.e. the knowledge from customers can be obtained by interacting with them in order to understand their needs and requirements in order to provide them with superior quality services (Khodakarami & Chan, 2013). CRM system comprises of a group of information sources that enables a company to gather, store and analyze customer data in order to provide an exhaustive view of their customers. As can be seen from the theories provided above,

Evaluate the evidence that regulatory T cells maybe be successfully Research Paper

Evaluate the evidence that regulatory T cells maybe be successfully used to prevent graft versus host disease - Research Paper Example A main immunological technique that is used to measure regulatory T cell frequency is flow cytometry; other methods used are immunohistochemistry staining involving studying skin biopsies and ELISAs. All evidence proved strong in correlation with the hypothesis and suggests that CD4 CD25 FOXP3 Tregs could provide a future for the treatment of GvHD. Transplantation is the process of obtaining tissues or organs or cells and placing them in the same or different individual. The organs, tissues and cells that are transferred from one individual to another are called grafts. The person who donates the graft is called donor and the one who recieves the graft is called recipient. Heart, kidney, cornea, liver, pancreas, lungs and bone marrow are transplanted from one person to another. There are two types of transplantation: autograft (transplant from one region to another of the same indivudual and Syngraft or Isograft (Transfer of graft between individuals of same species). ( Khan, 2009). Graft versus host disease is the series of events that occurs after the transplantation of the donor T –cells with the stem cell graft. This is a donor T-cell mediated syndrome where the T cells in the graft shows their immune response. This response creates tissue damage. ( Beres and Drobyski, 2013). This is the major difficulty after the stem cell transplantation. The T-cells can recognise the minor and major histocompatibility antigens that are expressed at the host antigen presenting cells. The T-cells gets activated and expands and finally infiltrates and destroys the Graft versus host disease target tissues. The major tissues targeted are liver, gut and skin. This graft versus host hematopoiesis effect is the target for the allogenic stem cell transplantation. (Edinger, 2009). The rejection of the host may occur in first 100 days, where the donor immune cells recognize and attack the host tissues. As

The Field of Loss Prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Field of Loss Prevention - Essay Example As a consequence my early life experiences were molded by a blend of a â€Å"doing right† and a â€Å"doing well† philosophy. I thus grew to understand to importance of doing the right thing in life and doing it well. From my father’s perspective, what was right was related in part to what was right legally, but also what was right from a moral standpoint. One factor that influenced me towards law was the sense of strength and duty that I learnt from my father. As a consequence of his job, there was always the chance that one day he wouldn’t come home, and I deeply admired the strength and courage that drove him to take those risks. A particular incident that I remember vividly was the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York. Although my father was not involved at all, I remember watching the heroic attempts of the officers of both the New York Fire Department and the New York Police Department and the risks that they took. Many of these lost their lives in the World Trade Centre, and whenever I think of them, I feel a strong sense of duty and purpose and am determined to follow the example that they set and to put my chosen career above my own personal desires. The idea of law and justice was strong in my family, not only was my father a firefighter, with strong opinions about what was right and what was just, but also three of my uncles work with the police, two work in New Jersey, one as a police officer and the other as a County Sheriff’s Officer and the last one is a Police Detective.

Historical Example of Labor Supply and Demand Essay

Historical Example of Labor Supply and Demand - Essay Example Following this depression, demand for labor in the United States declined, and employers retrenched workers in order to remain operational. As a result, employment in the United States hit 25% while other countries around the world recorded unemployment of up to 33% (Cravens, 2009). Moreover, the persistent decline in labor demand led to an increased level of labor supply, with few employment opportunities available in the labor market. The labor market trends experienced during the Great Depression were explained by the economic performance of the United States and that of the world in general. Stock market failures around the world meant that consumption and investment were adversely affected. Business operations deteriorated and the need to hire labor declined significantly. On the same note, the profit motive exhibited by firms had to have a negative effect on labor demand and supply in the light of the

Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Food Assignment

Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Food - Assignment Example This is done by making the crops or plants resistant to diseases and or increasing their tolerance to herbicides. The future genetic modification aims at modifying the plants and or animals’ nutrients and reducing their allergenic potential mainly through improving food production efficiency. With these modifications, it is apparent that the production of GM foods are not healthy for the environment and their consumption is not good for the human health. There are many reasons why the production and consumption of GM foods should be minimized. Different research studies have indicated that the production of GM foods has numerous environment effects and health hazard to the consumers. For instance, GM food has been associated with multiple toxins that have been detected specifically in the fetal and maternal blood. This danger was shown in 2010 studies on the effects of the GM foods (Wolfensohn & Lloyd 158). The research identified the presence of Bt proteins the Cry1Ab in the fetal and maternal blood. This protein is usually found in the GM food products. This experiment was based on a research to detect the presence of Bt’s Cry1AB proteins in plants. In connection to the research, the same proteins were found in the blood of pregnant women who had taken several of GM foods specifically corns (Freedman 186). Notably, human beings usually have no receptor for this protein; thus, it might have fatal effects to the body. The GM foods are generated from modification of crops’ DNA, there are possibilities that these modifications can be transferred to the consumers. These conclusions were drawn from a 2013 study that detected a whole new gene in the human plasma. However, this realization did bot means that these foods were integrated into the human body system, but rather floating between cells (Liang & Skinner 177).

How to Be Professional Engineer Essay Example for Free

How to Be Professional Engineer Essay Hong Kong is many large-scale infrastructures in future. There are many job chances. Chances are often but my lower educational background may not be able to secure. If I want to fight for more chances, I must continue to enhance me. Become a professional engineer, experience and education are same important. When I success join the HKIE member, it can certificate I have professional qualifications because become corporate membership need definite experience and education and after different assessment. That is a long way, cannot short time to complete. In route to membership, there are two way, it is Corporate Member and Associate Member. Corporate Member there is two types. It is Fellow and Member Fellow is a senior Corporate Member who is usually at least 35 years of age and has achieved positions of responsibility to which he/she has brought superior knowledge and practice in an engineering discipline. Member is a qualified professional engineer who has attained the age of 25, obtained an accredited/recognised degree or the equivalent in an acceptable engineering discipline, received adequate training, had sufficient responsible experience, and successfully completed the Institutions Professional Assessment or the equivalent. Associate Member is an engineering technologist who has attained the age of 23, obtained a Higher Diploma or Higher Certificate accredited/recognised by the Institution, or an acceptable equivalent in a recognised engineering or technological discipline, received adequate practical training, had appropriate responsible experience, and successfully completed the Institutions Assessment Interview In my own choice, I will think out join Associate Member, after Promotion to Member because I will have Recognised Higher Certificates, it is one of the main factors while I have Minimum of 3 to4 years experience. I can take the last step to Assessment Interview.

The Culture Of Cambodia Cultural Studies Essay

The Culture Of Cambodia Cultural Studies Essay There is a different work hours between government and private offices. For government offices, the routine work hours is on Monday- Saturday since 7.30am until 4.30pm with breaking for the lunch time while private offices normally have no break by use working on ones shift instead to keep longer hours for example; shops, supermarket, etc. Cambodian have customs and tradition to have long and suitable relationships in any business. They trust having proper behavior is more important than work performance for example; if you are honest, responsible for your tasks, polite and respect to the superiors or the higher powers, etc. The higher power will concern and give some rewards to the good employees such as money or power. To give and opinion, Cambodian employees prefer to follow the superiors opinion than against them. Cambodians prefer to improve their English skills to enhance themselves to the internationally therefore, the English books, magazines or language tapes are popular to be the gifts for any business. Shoes and socks are unsuitable for the gifts because cultures they believe that the foot is the lowest of their body according to Buddhist cultures. Cambodia has a long history of culture and civilization which mainly influenced by Indian country. Notice from the Cambodians life involve with the religions of Buddhism and also Hinduism. Cambodia population around 95 percent is Theravada Buddhist according to relies on reasonableness, personal experience, and critical analysis. This is the main Buddhist in Southeast Asia including Cambodia which affected Cambodians culture and etiquette in nowadays and the other are Islam, atheism, or animism respectively. For example; the conceptual ideas about karma, collectivism, and saving face plays and important roles in the daily life of Cambodians. For karma, this idea involves with the rationality and law of action. If you do something, something will be happened follow things that you did. For collectivism, Cambodians prefer give priority to family, group, and society rather than the individual. This idea also concerns about saving face which tries to avoid losing someones face in any transactions. Losing face can be occurred when someone is criticized or is given compliments in the public. Therefore, if you want to do business with Cambodia, you should be aware of this action to assure that you are not misunderstanding this concept. The followings are the tips for saving Face; Normally the monks in Cambodia always highly respect in the society because they are faithful and admirable. They have similar ways to Thailand for example; they dressed in the color robes, women must avoid touching or handing to the monks even though she is a monks mother. To have a conversation with the monks, you should press the hands together at the chest  level for showing respect to the monks. For the daily routine of monks, they are allowed to eat only to times per days which are in the morning and lunch. Normally, when the Cambodians greet, they usually bow their head to show respect with press the hands together at chest level which is quite similar to Thailand. This gesture is known as Som Pas. However, when they greet with the foreigners, they usually adapt the greeting of western style by shaking hands. Typically, it is improper for the men to shake hands with Khmer women and to hug, kiss, or touch the body of a Khmer woman are not allowed and unsuitable in this society. To address the name of Cambodians, they use Lok instead of Mr. for the man and Lok Srey instead of Ms. or Mrs. for the woman before the first name and surname. Proper dress is an important for Cambodians for both men and women. It can show their position in the society for example, shorts are considered as the proper dress only for school children and it is not proper for both men and women if they want to go inside the official places or temples. Doing business in Cambodia also consider about the proper dress. Generally, to do business or working in Cambodia men wear collared shirts and long pants. For women, they wear dress or blouse instead short skirts and should not show their shoulders. It is a typically in Cambodian society to bring the gift for the host if you are invited to have lunch or dinner at someones home. Normally they give flowers, fruit, cookies, etc. Knives or sharp things are not popular to be the gifts. Moreover, gifts are preferred to wrap with colorful paper rather than the white because it means the sadness or mourning. Moreover, when you want to give the gifts, you should use both hands for showing care and gifts are not opened when you received. Cambodians emphasis on the formal dress when they are doing business for both domestic and international transactions, contact with the government sectors or enter to the official places. Moreover, having proper and formal dress show the respect to the people who are doing business with or the places that you will go there. Normally, both men and women wear a lightweight tropical suit in formal situations. Shorts and skirts are not suitable in the public. For less formal occasions, it is enough to wear casual shirts and blouses with collars. Cambodians culture in communication is very indirect and non-verbal behavior therefore, the person who want to do business in Cambodia should understand about this culture and be aware of it for example; they prefer silent when they disagree instead of complain in front of others, smiling in Cambodia has many meanings not only in the positive ways but also in the negative ways, etc. Time is also important in doing business here. If you arrive late, it means you ignore and do not respect to the person who you are doing business with. Business Cards Presenting the card in doing business is general in Cambodia and it should be exchanged at the beginning of introduction. For the business card, it is better if one side is translated into Khmer. When you present your card or receive the card, remember to use the right hand or both hands. Meeting and Greeting The followings are some guides for meeting and greeting in Cambodia; For Group meeting you should introduce people in order to rank. Handshakes are general however you should be careful not to be too tight which can be considered as aggressive. It is the tradition that if the man is doing business with the woman, they should keep distance to avoid misinterpret from the others because Cambodians has a strongly traditional in sexuality for example eye contact should be kept to a minimum. Cambodians address them with the title Lok for a man and Lok Srey for a woman with the first name only or both the first and the last name. CULTURAL DIMENSIONS Nowadays the world is separated in different countries and culture and many people still dont know much about their international business partners and how to deal with them in the right way. Therefore business people should need to know how they can cope with the foreign partners. This part is emphasized on the cultural dimensions and communication in South East Asia including Lao and Cambodia. It is an important to know about the fundamental facts of these countries if you want to do successful business in SE Asia. Cultural Dimensions from Hofstede High power distance Societies have significant gaps between the higher power and the weak. There is related distinguished to unfairness between the rich and the poor. High level of uncertainty avoidance The cultures in SE Asia tend to reduce risk and ensure financial securities, many written rules, less risk taking by managers, lower labor turnover and less ambitious employees. Collectivism People are very interested in long lasting relationships and give priority to a group, family or society. They care each other in change for loyalty and tend to show less individual. High feminity (low masculinity index) Care each other and quality of life for both men and women. Managers give their employees more credit if they have high responsibility for their tasks and allow them more freedom.

Effect of Single Parent Household on Child Education

Effect of Single Parent Household on Child Education ABSTRACT The question of whether different family structures affect the educational achievement of children is one that has been debated over a vast amount of years and is still under scrutiny today. This theoretical study aims to contribute to our understandings of the links between single parent family structures and the affect it has on adolescents education (12 17 year olds). It particularly gives emphasis to single parent families, however also considers other family structures, such as, families that consist of two parents, step families, etc, which enables comparison between the data and gives an illustration of the educational differences between single parent family households and other family structures. This comparison has facilitated an analysis on positive or negative effects single parent families can possess on education. Lastly the study assesses the data available between educational attainment of adolescents from single-mother families and adolescents form single-father fam ilies. Research data has been collated from secondary sourced materials about single parent family structures and education, which were mainly in the form of journal articles all written by credible authors over the past 15 years. These statues of the sources used that influence the establishment of knowledge and policy are highly credible, as they are acknowledged by the accredited organisations that have allowed the primary research to be conducted and the data published. An analytical review has been conducted on all the research data examined and enabled the following findings; although adolescents are at increased risk of adverse outcomes when living in a single parent family structure, the differences between adolescents from two parent and single parent families is fairly insignificant and adolescents will predominantly, not be affected in terms of educational achievement and occupational success. CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH PROCESS Prior to starting this study, a comprehensive and detailed research process around the area of interest on single parent families was undertaken, to provide the core foundations of the study. It was necessary to engage with a wide variety of secondary sourced materials, which needed an extensive and analytical review, in order to carry a successful theoretical study on the chosen title; A Critical Review: The Educational Performance of Adolescents from Single Parent Families. There was a vast amount of literature and different methods of conduct in the way the information needed could be obtained, therefore a search strategy was devised [Refer to Appendix 1 Research Journal Book; Page 5], which included a clear and logical plan to collating the necessary research data. The starting point for the research process was a search for relevant literature on the Manchester Metropolitan University library website. This enabled access to the basic electronic books, articles and on-line journals to provide the basic background reading around the topic under analysis. Later, a search for various journal articles that were not available on-line was carried out and copies were made of the relevant ones that could help with the study. Also, after conducting a library search on the books required, the ones that were unavailable were reserved for later, and once obtained, it was necessary to read them. Comprehensive notes were made of the issues acknowledged around single parenthood and the information perceived to be of high significance. Although, now a lot of background knowledge and data on the subject matter was established, it was noticed that the materials used were not very contemporary, as some of the books and articles were published over 30 years ago. T herefore it was essential to engage with various online articles, including, The Times and journal databases, such as Demos to allow an analysis of a wider range of contemporary materials on the topic of interest. After collating and examining all the research attained, the materials were synthesised to the most relevant ones that were produced over the past 15 years and those that were published by credited authors and organisations, to allow the study to hold validity. In addition, a timeline was created, which consisted of dates as to when certain tasks and research would be carried out, in order to ensure the research tasks and study was completed before the submission deadline. After the research process was complete, it was officially time to commence in a detailed critical analysis and evaluation on the role of single parent families and adolescents educational attainment. CHAPTER 2: INTRODUCTION Research Interest The nature of this research is to find out whether the educational performances of adolescents (12 17 year olds) living in single parent households is different (better or worse) to those adolescents living in other family structures. The area of research interest is based around single parent families, particularly in relation to education and how children growing up in one parent households can affect their educational attainment. The focus is specifically on adolescents, as it has been argued by some practitioners who have studied single parent families that; adolescence in particular is a crucial time in which to study school success because educational achievement in the teen years has a direct influence on indicators of overall attainment, such as high school graduation and college attendance (Heard, 2007; p.320). The curiosity for this subject matter has stemmed from an individual standpoint, through personal experiences of being raised in a single-mother household, and holding positive educational achievements, as average academic grades have always been met. However, there seemed to be negative expectations from people in society (teachers, extended family members, etc), who considered individuals from single parent households to be less intellectually capable and to perform less well in education than those children from stable two parent families. Hence, the nature of this study and the hoped outcome after the review of literature is; that adolescents are often stereotyped because of their family structure which may have no or little relevance to their educational performance. In the process of conducting the research required, a personal interest on this topic area has developed furthermore, because a lot of different and altering views on single parenthood were found, which were not considered at first. For example, different explanations were discovered on how a boys educational achievement is affected when he is living in a single-mother household, which can be significantly different to him living in a single-father household. As previously stated, the research was conducted by collating relevant research data on the topic area and reviewing each article and information in depth to allow a detailed analysis of the main contentious issues, which included; the notion that adolescents from single parent households perform less well in education than those living with two parents, single parent families have a lack of funds to invest in educational resources, boys are adversely affected than girls from single parent households, boys growing up without a father are more likely to do less well in education, same with girls without their mother, and, lastly, the idea that living in a single parent family consequences very little parental involvement in the adolescents education. After underlining the main contentious issues, a number of 3 questions were formulated to guide the study and allow a successful analysis and evaluation of the secondary research data. These comprised; are adolescents from single parent families at a disadvantage to those of two parents in educational achievement? Secondly, are there any similarities or differences of the educational performance of adolescents between single-mother and single-father households? Lastly, do single-parents have little involvement in their childrens educational attainment? Report Structure The structure of the report firstly consists of an abstract to give the reader an insight to the study and what it deals with. Chapter 1 consists of the research process undertaken to allow the analysis of the research data. The section outlines the necessary steps taken when collating the research materials and provides the reader with a notion of the type of primary research previously conducted on the topic of single parent families. Chapter 2 is the introductory chapter to clarify the nature of the research. It includes information about where the curiosity in this subject matter stemmed from, the main contentious issues discovered from the secondary source materials, the questions developed to guide the study and lastly, an overview of the main conclusion drawn. Chapter 3 compromise a critical analysis on reports identified that deal with research and statistics conducted by governmental bodies, including the Institute of Education. It evaluates the effectiveness of the secondary sourced materials used to complete the study and takes into account the strengths and weakness of the materials analysed; also indentifying the gaps within the topic area under scrutiny. The analysis on these reports allows the subject matter to be put into a contemporary context. Chapter 4 consists of an analysis and critique of academic literature conducted by various authors and publishers. This part identifies other issues, ideas and competing theories related to children from single parent households and enables further arguments to be constructed. It also analyses the sociological data collection and analysis methods used to obtain data to form the studies on single parent households. Chapter 5 deals with an examination of the previous sociological theories devised around single parent families and also the contemporary ones. This analysis allows an insight to theorists opinions and explanations of the differences in educational attainment. Chapter 6 includes the addition of a comprehensive conclusion, compromising a brief summary of the research and independent conclusions related to the study are offered. This section allows an understanding of personal arguments and ideas made to contribute towards the concepts of the study and competing theories or interpretations. It also consists of a section that outlines the future work and study that can be implemented to develop the study of single parent families. Chapter 7, the last section contains a personal reflection on the engagement of the research conducted. It includes how and what has been learnt throughout the course of the study, as well as, how personal interests have been impacted and changed as a result of the research process and the completion of the study. Main Conclusions The critical review has drawn together the evidence on adolescents educational attainment from single parent family households. There is evidence to show that although adolescents are at increased risk of adverse outcomes when living in a single parent family structure, the differences between adolescents from two parent families and single parent families is fairly insignificant and adolescents will predominantly not be affected in terms of educational achievement and occupational success. The analysis has also exposed that family functioning and economic factors have a higher influence than the type of family structure on an adolescents educational success. Furthermore, various sociological theories have been devised on the matter of single parent families, which can be used in context with the topic in hand. Lastly, research indicates, the lack of educational success of adolescents being brought up in single parent families is not limited to one cause only; a lot of altering factors play apart. CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS OF REPORTS There are a number of reports published by governmental bodies, such as, the Institute of Education, that deal with research and statistics established around single parent families and education. This chapter compromises a critical analysis of 5 major reports published in the last 15 years, which are all acknowledged by governmental bodies. Causes of Single Parenthood Over the space of a single generation the number of people marrying has halved, the number divorcing has trebled and the proportion of children born outside marriage has quadrupled (Lewis, 2001; p.37). It can be suggested, that all of the above contribute to the factors related to the causes of single parenthood. The context of this statement has been assembled from data provided by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) from the 1970s to the year 2000. However Lewis (2001) fails to look at contemporary data and statistics around the subject matter, which could alter the statement he has made. National statistics actually declare that the number of marriages in England and Wales steadily rose between 2001 and 2004 (Office for National Statistics, 2010), therefore although the number of marriages may have halved over the space of a single generation (Lewis, 2001; p.37), Lewis (2001) does not look at the rise of marriages in certain periods and does not offer any rationalisation for such trends [Refer to Appendix 2 Statistics Graph; Page 48]. In 2006 in Great Britain, 25% of dependent children were found to be living in single parent households with little or no contact with the second parent (Mooney et al, 2009). This figure holds credible status as it was obtained from the National Office for Statistics, however Mooney et al (2009) are unsuccessful in explaining how little or no contact is determined. There is no thesis or evidence of chapters that attempt to make clear how they approached and justified their declaration made, therefore making it questionable. Lewis (2001), Mooney et al (2009), amongst others also offer alternative explanations to single parenthood that are recognised within the majority of the reports under analysis, which will be addressed throughout the course of this study. Effects of Single Parenthood The levels of single parenthood are continuously rising; the effect that this has on the adolescents living with a single parent is contested. Some argue there are no adverse consequences, whilst others suggest that there are clear implications for the adolescents, arguing; evidence indicates unequivocally that those children whose parents separate are at significantly greater risk than those whose parents remain together, for a wide range of adverse outcomes in social, psychological, and physical development (Pryor and Rodgers, 2001; p.73). These two positions offered are both backed up with evidence, firstly showing the consequences for adolescents, mainly pointing at the fact that there is a considerable difference in educational achievement between those individuals from single parent families and those from nuclear family structures[1]. This evidence is mainly shown through the comparison of statistical data; those who were brought up by single parents were almost twice as likely to lack formal qualifications (Kiernan, 1997; p.9). Again, the contradicting argument also uses similar procedures, such as statistical data to illustrate the evidence that argues individuals form single parent families are not negatively affected; the difference between children from intact and non-intact families is a small one, and the majority of children will not be adversely affected (Mooney et al, 2009; p.3). Although both of these grand claims provide evidence to back up their statements, they are not a 100 per cent warranted as gaps within their claims still remain. For example, Mooney et al (2009) acknowledge that there is a small difference between single parent and nuclear family structures and claim the majority of individuals from single parent families are not affected. However they fail to recognise the small proportion of individuals who are affected, forgetting to address the reasons to how and why only a minority of adolescents from single parent families suffer the alleged adverse consequences. Separation or Divorce It is argued that adolescents whose parents separate have the double probability of experiencing long-term negative outcomes in education than adolescents from nuclear family structures (Mooney et al, 2009). The long-term studies that have been conducted to show this include the analysis of statistical data throughout a certain period of time and longitudinal studies, monitoring adolescents from single parent households over a course of their lives. There is no specific definition of the long-term outcomes, and studies have taken place over a variety of periods, including, 5, 10 and 20 years. There is also no precise measurement of a negative outcome, they tend to be the general opinions of the researcher or author rather than a factor defined through research or study; there are various chapters throughout all the reports that constantly refer to the negative child outcomes following parental separation (Mooney et al, 2009; p.13), however there is no mentioning of the measurements u sed to define these negative outcomes. A variety of research studies have indicated that adolescents who witness the breakdown of their own parents marriage in comparison to those who have not, hold lower educational qualifications, lower part-time or full-time incomes and more expected to be unemployed in later life (Kiernan, 1997). This expectancy is reasonably vindicated as Kiernan (1997) uses various statistical data from England to compare the educational achievements and employment roles of adults aged 33 who had been raised by single parents to those who had not. From her study, she found that there were a lower percentage of adults who experienced their parents separation than those brought up in nuclear family structures to commit to further educational studies. Also, there was a higher percentage of adults brought up by single parents who were unemployed than those brought up by both parents (Kiernan, 1997). Although, she provides some statistical evidence to indicate those from single parent families possess lo w levels of educational attainment, Kiernan (1997) does not take into consideration the fact that her statistics show; there was a higher proportion of individuals brought up by single parents holding O-Level qualifications in comparison to those who lived in a nuclear family structure [Refer to Appendix 3 Table of Statistics; Page 49]. She fails to provide an explanation for this statistic and in a sense seems to ignore this odd occurrence. The ignorance of this statistic suggests Kiernan (1997) is judging and concluding in a manner that does not necessarily match the evidence, which may indicate towards a personal or professional agenda. This personal agenda may simply be stereotypical views of those from single parent families, which can include the expectancy of academic failure and low employment prospects. Also, teenage girls who have witnessed their parental divorce or separation have a higher probability than their peers to begin early sexual relations, to cohabit at early ages and commit to teenage pregnancies. To start early sexual relations and conceive children young is one reason why a vast percentage of adolescent girls from single parent families perform less well in education than those living in nuclear family structures. The stresses of sexual relationships and pregnancy can often leave very little or no time to focus on study, commonly resulting in teenage mothers leaving education early and gaining little qualifications (Kiernan, 1997). Although Kiernan (1997) makes such claims, she does not provide any evidence to justify them. There is no evidence of statistical data showing that teenage pregnancies are the result of being brought up by a single parent and no mention of any imperative measurements used to suggests such outcomes can occur; thus her explanations lack in v alidity and can be contested in numerous ways. Economical Factors One economical factor that is argued to be common in single parenthood is the issue of living in poverty. In comparison to nuclear families, single parents tend to be considerably financially worse and statistics show 70% of single parents live in poverty (Evans et al, 2004). This is an accredited statistic obtained from the Department of Work and Pensions, which gives an insight of the scale of financial difficulties faced by single parents. Poverty has been identified as one major factor that affects educational attainment at schools and used to explain the low educational performances of adolescents from single parent households, as a vast number of children living in single parent family structures are only supported by one parental income or through welfare benefits. In Britain in the 1990s, approximately 80% of single mothers relied on governmental benefits to support themselves and their children (Kiernan, 1997). Again, this statistic is credited and provides a sound context t o the argument being made, however it is not a contemporary piece of research. Today in modern Britain a lot of people are facing financial difficulties because of different factors that can affect educational attainment, regardless of the type of family structure an individual is from. For example, in the current financial climate and the issues of the recession, many people are finding it difficult to maintain jobs and fund their familys educational needs, such as, university tuition fees, college expenses, etc; therefore adolescents from all family structures may have a lower educational attainment. Consequently there are more individuals today relying on governmental benefits to support their financial needs; from the start of 2008, 800,000 individuals were claiming Job Seekers Allowance, then rose rapidly in 2009, where there was 1.5 million claimants (National Office for Statistics, 2010: Refer to Appendix 4 Statistics Article; Page 50). Thus, Kiernans (1997) examination on f inance does not give a valid insight to the contemporary issues affecting educational achievement. Also, Kiernan (1997) suggests that single parents do not have the financial support from the second parent without any suitable evidence. Conversely this is not necessarily true, if parents have separated or divorced, the second parent is obligated to contribute to the finance of his/her family if any dependent children are involved; therefore although some single parents may face financial strain, there are others who still receive financial help from their ex-partners. Financial difficulty increases the chances of other variables connected with negative outcomes for the adolescents, including; poor nutrition, inadequate housing, health issues and limited access to educational resources. Adolescents with poor nutrition will find it significantly difficult to concentrate at school during lessons, limiting their educational performances. Evidence shows a balanced diet and the consumption of adequate vitamins and nutrients can boost the concentration levels of pupils at school, making them more alert and attentive during class sessions (Welsh et all, 2004). This evidence offered is of widespread knowledge and supported by nutritional specialists, such as, the British Nutrition Foundation (Stanner et al, 2010). Poor nutrition can also lead to various long-term health problems, including Anorexia, Cardiovascular Disease, etc, which may require adolescents taking a lot of time off school compared to those not living in poverty, therefore, again, limiting their educational performances (Mooney et al, 2009). A viable argument is made here, however there is a lack of evidence to support the suggestion that these health problems is a definite explanation as to why adolescents from single parent families can do poorly in education. Health problems can lead to taking time off school, however there is no reasonable clarification to why it specifically affects those from single parent families; Anorexia and Cardiovascular Disease can affect any individual, not just those who lack a balanced diet and may be living in single parent families; the causes of Anorexia range from a variety of factors, including, the media, social pressure and genetics (Russell, 2007). Inadequate housing conditions may make it difficult for adolescents to concentrate and complete coursework at home when required, resulting in another limitation in educational attainment (Mooney et al, 2009). Another viable argument, however, again, there is a lack of evidence to support this claim; it is not sufficient enough to suggest inadequate housing only affects those of single parent families, move valid knowledge and research is required to support such claims. Furthermore, it is contested; limited funds can often neglect the extra requirements of educational resources and materials to help during courses. For example, single parents may not be able to afford home computers, books, sportswear, etc that assist success in schools. Without the access to these resources adolescents from single parents are at a disadvantage in educational attainment compared to those adolescents living in nuclear families, supported by both parental incomes, thus an explanation for the questionable differences in educational achievement (Mooney et al, 2009). Although this is an explanation, Mooney et al (2009) fail to acknowledge the initiatives and support available for all family structures to overcome barriers when accessing educational resources. For example, public libraries are available to borrow books instead of buying them, libraries also facilitate free access to computers and schools also provide support free access to educational materials. Therefore the claim that adolescents from single parents do not have the access to resources available in order to perform well in education is not credible and lacks knowledge of contemporary support. In addition, it is also argued, adolescents living with single parents may leave education early to gain employment to help with the financial circumstances, or work long shifts whilst still at school to fund their own wants and needs, which can ultimately result in low educational attainment. Low qualifications and an early entry into employment can increase the prospects of low occupational achievement, little income, unemployment and state dependency (Kiernan, 1997). This argument is supported with evidence, as Kiernan (1997) uses statistical data to show that a lot of adolescents form single parent families do enter early employment to assist their familys financial needs. However, she has no evidence to suggest that an early entry into employment can increase the chances of low occupational achievement, this is an assumption made, that without further education individuals cannot succeed in the labour market. However this is not necessarily accurate, there are individuals in the media who have excelled within the labour market without an education to college or degree level, for example, Sir Allen Sugar, a successful business entrepreneur (BBC, 2009). Although there is a certain lack of acknowledgement of various factors when arguing poverty is a major factor of adolescents academic failure from single parent families, there has been a study conducted of 2 nuclear families in America who experienced a substantial decrease in income. This identified that the financial pressure lead to increased depression in both parents, conflicts throughout the family, behaviour changes in the adolescents and a drop in their educational success in schools and in exams. (Conger et al, 1992). Therefore, there is some valid evidence to associate single parent poverty with educational success. Never the less, consideration must be given to the fact that educational failure in single parenthood is not only limited to financial strain. Social Factors The single parent family structure is frequently associated with social factors, such as a decrease in the quality and quantity of personal contact between adolescents and their non-residential parent. This can affect a teenagers educational attainment due to the lack of support from both parents to perform well in school (Kiernan, 1997). Although this statement is made, there is no substantial evidence or research conducted to support the argument. There is the assumption that teenagers will automatically have a decrease in the quality and quantity of personal contact with their second parent. However, this is may not be the case, parents after separation can still have daily contact with their children on a regular basis; thus the support from both parents to do well in education may not decline. Misleading conclusions are being made, which suggest the author may hold biased views on this subject matter. It can be argued, single parents providing childcare may also have limited time and energy they can dedicate to their children, particularly if longer hours of paid employment is necessary to maintain financial stability. These decreases in parental resources, for example, help with homework, support and attention they can offer to their children, can increase the possibility of educational failure (Kiernan, 1997). Although the long working hours may have an impact on parental time available, there is no verification that declares a lack of parental time has a definite effect on educational attainment. Kiernan (1997) also ignores social networks that can provide support with educational attainment, such as, family, friends, neighbours, relatives, etc. It has been argued by many that social networks and support is crucial for the development of individuals intellectually, emotionally and socially; strong networks allow the foundations to achieving success in academic and occupational careers (Hooyman and Kiak, 2008). Psychological Factors Amongst these social and economical explanations are psychological explanatory factors that attempt to clarify the educational differences between teenagers from single parent and nuclear family structures. It is argued that the notion of family stress during bereavement, divorce, separation, etc, can provide a vast amount of strain on the children, which can add onto the predominant stresses of educational attainment. A number of studies have exposed that parental conflict during separation can have a harmful impact on the adolescents well-being. This can result to lack of concentration during school class sessions, less motivation to complete designated assignments and a lack of class participation, which usually lead to academic failure (Kiernan, 1997). There is substantial evidence to suggest stress can be related to educational achievement and affect academic results obtained; for instance there have been various observational and longitudinal studies that have discovered trauma tic stress can lead to a decline in academic success (Hall, 2000). Whilst Kiernan (1997) takes into consideration the stresses of parental separation, she fails to acknowledge the relief some marital breakdowns can have; for example, one where the child or partner was suffering physical abuse. In this situation a positive outcome could occur in educational attainment rather than the negativities of academic failure. Also research suggests that the parental ability to recover from distress of bereavement, separation and divorce can affect the childrens ability to adapt to new changes. Effective communication and frequent contact between the adolescents and both the resident and non-resident parents are important in assisting teenagers to adjust and adapt to change. If change is not accepted and the adolescents do not adapt, studies have discovered that there is a higher possibility of poor educational outcomes for teenagers from separated families than those from intact ones. The distress teenagers may face fro Effect of Single Parent Household on Child Education Effect of Single Parent Household on Child Education ABSTRACT The question of whether different family structures affect the educational achievement of children is one that has been debated over a vast amount of years and is still under scrutiny today. This theoretical study aims to contribute to our understandings of the links between single parent family structures and the affect it has on adolescents education (12 17 year olds). It particularly gives emphasis to single parent families, however also considers other family structures, such as, families that consist of two parents, step families, etc, which enables comparison between the data and gives an illustration of the educational differences between single parent family households and other family structures. This comparison has facilitated an analysis on positive or negative effects single parent families can possess on education. Lastly the study assesses the data available between educational attainment of adolescents from single-mother families and adolescents form single-father fam ilies. Research data has been collated from secondary sourced materials about single parent family structures and education, which were mainly in the form of journal articles all written by credible authors over the past 15 years. These statues of the sources used that influence the establishment of knowledge and policy are highly credible, as they are acknowledged by the accredited organisations that have allowed the primary research to be conducted and the data published. An analytical review has been conducted on all the research data examined and enabled the following findings; although adolescents are at increased risk of adverse outcomes when living in a single parent family structure, the differences between adolescents from two parent and single parent families is fairly insignificant and adolescents will predominantly, not be affected in terms of educational achievement and occupational success. CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH PROCESS Prior to starting this study, a comprehensive and detailed research process around the area of interest on single parent families was undertaken, to provide the core foundations of the study. It was necessary to engage with a wide variety of secondary sourced materials, which needed an extensive and analytical review, in order to carry a successful theoretical study on the chosen title; A Critical Review: The Educational Performance of Adolescents from Single Parent Families. There was a vast amount of literature and different methods of conduct in the way the information needed could be obtained, therefore a search strategy was devised [Refer to Appendix 1 Research Journal Book; Page 5], which included a clear and logical plan to collating the necessary research data. The starting point for the research process was a search for relevant literature on the Manchester Metropolitan University library website. This enabled access to the basic electronic books, articles and on-line journals to provide the basic background reading around the topic under analysis. Later, a search for various journal articles that were not available on-line was carried out and copies were made of the relevant ones that could help with the study. Also, after conducting a library search on the books required, the ones that were unavailable were reserved for later, and once obtained, it was necessary to read them. Comprehensive notes were made of the issues acknowledged around single parenthood and the information perceived to be of high significance. Although, now a lot of background knowledge and data on the subject matter was established, it was noticed that the materials used were not very contemporary, as some of the books and articles were published over 30 years ago. T herefore it was essential to engage with various online articles, including, The Times and journal databases, such as Demos to allow an analysis of a wider range of contemporary materials on the topic of interest. After collating and examining all the research attained, the materials were synthesised to the most relevant ones that were produced over the past 15 years and those that were published by credited authors and organisations, to allow the study to hold validity. In addition, a timeline was created, which consisted of dates as to when certain tasks and research would be carried out, in order to ensure the research tasks and study was completed before the submission deadline. After the research process was complete, it was officially time to commence in a detailed critical analysis and evaluation on the role of single parent families and adolescents educational attainment. CHAPTER 2: INTRODUCTION Research Interest The nature of this research is to find out whether the educational performances of adolescents (12 17 year olds) living in single parent households is different (better or worse) to those adolescents living in other family structures. The area of research interest is based around single parent families, particularly in relation to education and how children growing up in one parent households can affect their educational attainment. The focus is specifically on adolescents, as it has been argued by some practitioners who have studied single parent families that; adolescence in particular is a crucial time in which to study school success because educational achievement in the teen years has a direct influence on indicators of overall attainment, such as high school graduation and college attendance (Heard, 2007; p.320). The curiosity for this subject matter has stemmed from an individual standpoint, through personal experiences of being raised in a single-mother household, and holding positive educational achievements, as average academic grades have always been met. However, there seemed to be negative expectations from people in society (teachers, extended family members, etc), who considered individuals from single parent households to be less intellectually capable and to perform less well in education than those children from stable two parent families. Hence, the nature of this study and the hoped outcome after the review of literature is; that adolescents are often stereotyped because of their family structure which may have no or little relevance to their educational performance. In the process of conducting the research required, a personal interest on this topic area has developed furthermore, because a lot of different and altering views on single parenthood were found, which were not considered at first. For example, different explanations were discovered on how a boys educational achievement is affected when he is living in a single-mother household, which can be significantly different to him living in a single-father household. As previously stated, the research was conducted by collating relevant research data on the topic area and reviewing each article and information in depth to allow a detailed analysis of the main contentious issues, which included; the notion that adolescents from single parent households perform less well in education than those living with two parents, single parent families have a lack of funds to invest in educational resources, boys are adversely affected than girls from single parent households, boys growing up without a father are more likely to do less well in education, same with girls without their mother, and, lastly, the idea that living in a single parent family consequences very little parental involvement in the adolescents education. After underlining the main contentious issues, a number of 3 questions were formulated to guide the study and allow a successful analysis and evaluation of the secondary research data. These comprised; are adolescents from single parent families at a disadvantage to those of two parents in educational achievement? Secondly, are there any similarities or differences of the educational performance of adolescents between single-mother and single-father households? Lastly, do single-parents have little involvement in their childrens educational attainment? Report Structure The structure of the report firstly consists of an abstract to give the reader an insight to the study and what it deals with. Chapter 1 consists of the research process undertaken to allow the analysis of the research data. The section outlines the necessary steps taken when collating the research materials and provides the reader with a notion of the type of primary research previously conducted on the topic of single parent families. Chapter 2 is the introductory chapter to clarify the nature of the research. It includes information about where the curiosity in this subject matter stemmed from, the main contentious issues discovered from the secondary source materials, the questions developed to guide the study and lastly, an overview of the main conclusion drawn. Chapter 3 compromise a critical analysis on reports identified that deal with research and statistics conducted by governmental bodies, including the Institute of Education. It evaluates the effectiveness of the secondary sourced materials used to complete the study and takes into account the strengths and weakness of the materials analysed; also indentifying the gaps within the topic area under scrutiny. The analysis on these reports allows the subject matter to be put into a contemporary context. Chapter 4 consists of an analysis and critique of academic literature conducted by various authors and publishers. This part identifies other issues, ideas and competing theories related to children from single parent households and enables further arguments to be constructed. It also analyses the sociological data collection and analysis methods used to obtain data to form the studies on single parent households. Chapter 5 deals with an examination of the previous sociological theories devised around single parent families and also the contemporary ones. This analysis allows an insight to theorists opinions and explanations of the differences in educational attainment. Chapter 6 includes the addition of a comprehensive conclusion, compromising a brief summary of the research and independent conclusions related to the study are offered. This section allows an understanding of personal arguments and ideas made to contribute towards the concepts of the study and competing theories or interpretations. It also consists of a section that outlines the future work and study that can be implemented to develop the study of single parent families. Chapter 7, the last section contains a personal reflection on the engagement of the research conducted. It includes how and what has been learnt throughout the course of the study, as well as, how personal interests have been impacted and changed as a result of the research process and the completion of the study. Main Conclusions The critical review has drawn together the evidence on adolescents educational attainment from single parent family households. There is evidence to show that although adolescents are at increased risk of adverse outcomes when living in a single parent family structure, the differences between adolescents from two parent families and single parent families is fairly insignificant and adolescents will predominantly not be affected in terms of educational achievement and occupational success. The analysis has also exposed that family functioning and economic factors have a higher influence than the type of family structure on an adolescents educational success. Furthermore, various sociological theories have been devised on the matter of single parent families, which can be used in context with the topic in hand. Lastly, research indicates, the lack of educational success of adolescents being brought up in single parent families is not limited to one cause only; a lot of altering factors play apart. CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS OF REPORTS There are a number of reports published by governmental bodies, such as, the Institute of Education, that deal with research and statistics established around single parent families and education. This chapter compromises a critical analysis of 5 major reports published in the last 15 years, which are all acknowledged by governmental bodies. Causes of Single Parenthood Over the space of a single generation the number of people marrying has halved, the number divorcing has trebled and the proportion of children born outside marriage has quadrupled (Lewis, 2001; p.37). It can be suggested, that all of the above contribute to the factors related to the causes of single parenthood. The context of this statement has been assembled from data provided by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) from the 1970s to the year 2000. However Lewis (2001) fails to look at contemporary data and statistics around the subject matter, which could alter the statement he has made. National statistics actually declare that the number of marriages in England and Wales steadily rose between 2001 and 2004 (Office for National Statistics, 2010), therefore although the number of marriages may have halved over the space of a single generation (Lewis, 2001; p.37), Lewis (2001) does not look at the rise of marriages in certain periods and does not offer any rationalisation for such trends [Refer to Appendix 2 Statistics Graph; Page 48]. In 2006 in Great Britain, 25% of dependent children were found to be living in single parent households with little or no contact with the second parent (Mooney et al, 2009). This figure holds credible status as it was obtained from the National Office for Statistics, however Mooney et al (2009) are unsuccessful in explaining how little or no contact is determined. There is no thesis or evidence of chapters that attempt to make clear how they approached and justified their declaration made, therefore making it questionable. Lewis (2001), Mooney et al (2009), amongst others also offer alternative explanations to single parenthood that are recognised within the majority of the reports under analysis, which will be addressed throughout the course of this study. Effects of Single Parenthood The levels of single parenthood are continuously rising; the effect that this has on the adolescents living with a single parent is contested. Some argue there are no adverse consequences, whilst others suggest that there are clear implications for the adolescents, arguing; evidence indicates unequivocally that those children whose parents separate are at significantly greater risk than those whose parents remain together, for a wide range of adverse outcomes in social, psychological, and physical development (Pryor and Rodgers, 2001; p.73). These two positions offered are both backed up with evidence, firstly showing the consequences for adolescents, mainly pointing at the fact that there is a considerable difference in educational achievement between those individuals from single parent families and those from nuclear family structures[1]. This evidence is mainly shown through the comparison of statistical data; those who were brought up by single parents were almost twice as likely to lack formal qualifications (Kiernan, 1997; p.9). Again, the contradicting argument also uses similar procedures, such as statistical data to illustrate the evidence that argues individuals form single parent families are not negatively affected; the difference between children from intact and non-intact families is a small one, and the majority of children will not be adversely affected (Mooney et al, 2009; p.3). Although both of these grand claims provide evidence to back up their statements, they are not a 100 per cent warranted as gaps within their claims still remain. For example, Mooney et al (2009) acknowledge that there is a small difference between single parent and nuclear family structures and claim the majority of individuals from single parent families are not affected. However they fail to recognise the small proportion of individuals who are affected, forgetting to address the reasons to how and why only a minority of adolescents from single parent families suffer the alleged adverse consequences. Separation or Divorce It is argued that adolescents whose parents separate have the double probability of experiencing long-term negative outcomes in education than adolescents from nuclear family structures (Mooney et al, 2009). The long-term studies that have been conducted to show this include the analysis of statistical data throughout a certain period of time and longitudinal studies, monitoring adolescents from single parent households over a course of their lives. There is no specific definition of the long-term outcomes, and studies have taken place over a variety of periods, including, 5, 10 and 20 years. There is also no precise measurement of a negative outcome, they tend to be the general opinions of the researcher or author rather than a factor defined through research or study; there are various chapters throughout all the reports that constantly refer to the negative child outcomes following parental separation (Mooney et al, 2009; p.13), however there is no mentioning of the measurements u sed to define these negative outcomes. A variety of research studies have indicated that adolescents who witness the breakdown of their own parents marriage in comparison to those who have not, hold lower educational qualifications, lower part-time or full-time incomes and more expected to be unemployed in later life (Kiernan, 1997). This expectancy is reasonably vindicated as Kiernan (1997) uses various statistical data from England to compare the educational achievements and employment roles of adults aged 33 who had been raised by single parents to those who had not. From her study, she found that there were a lower percentage of adults who experienced their parents separation than those brought up in nuclear family structures to commit to further educational studies. Also, there was a higher percentage of adults brought up by single parents who were unemployed than those brought up by both parents (Kiernan, 1997). Although, she provides some statistical evidence to indicate those from single parent families possess lo w levels of educational attainment, Kiernan (1997) does not take into consideration the fact that her statistics show; there was a higher proportion of individuals brought up by single parents holding O-Level qualifications in comparison to those who lived in a nuclear family structure [Refer to Appendix 3 Table of Statistics; Page 49]. She fails to provide an explanation for this statistic and in a sense seems to ignore this odd occurrence. The ignorance of this statistic suggests Kiernan (1997) is judging and concluding in a manner that does not necessarily match the evidence, which may indicate towards a personal or professional agenda. This personal agenda may simply be stereotypical views of those from single parent families, which can include the expectancy of academic failure and low employment prospects. Also, teenage girls who have witnessed their parental divorce or separation have a higher probability than their peers to begin early sexual relations, to cohabit at early ages and commit to teenage pregnancies. To start early sexual relations and conceive children young is one reason why a vast percentage of adolescent girls from single parent families perform less well in education than those living in nuclear family structures. The stresses of sexual relationships and pregnancy can often leave very little or no time to focus on study, commonly resulting in teenage mothers leaving education early and gaining little qualifications (Kiernan, 1997). Although Kiernan (1997) makes such claims, she does not provide any evidence to justify them. There is no evidence of statistical data showing that teenage pregnancies are the result of being brought up by a single parent and no mention of any imperative measurements used to suggests such outcomes can occur; thus her explanations lack in v alidity and can be contested in numerous ways. Economical Factors One economical factor that is argued to be common in single parenthood is the issue of living in poverty. In comparison to nuclear families, single parents tend to be considerably financially worse and statistics show 70% of single parents live in poverty (Evans et al, 2004). This is an accredited statistic obtained from the Department of Work and Pensions, which gives an insight of the scale of financial difficulties faced by single parents. Poverty has been identified as one major factor that affects educational attainment at schools and used to explain the low educational performances of adolescents from single parent households, as a vast number of children living in single parent family structures are only supported by one parental income or through welfare benefits. In Britain in the 1990s, approximately 80% of single mothers relied on governmental benefits to support themselves and their children (Kiernan, 1997). Again, this statistic is credited and provides a sound context t o the argument being made, however it is not a contemporary piece of research. Today in modern Britain a lot of people are facing financial difficulties because of different factors that can affect educational attainment, regardless of the type of family structure an individual is from. For example, in the current financial climate and the issues of the recession, many people are finding it difficult to maintain jobs and fund their familys educational needs, such as, university tuition fees, college expenses, etc; therefore adolescents from all family structures may have a lower educational attainment. Consequently there are more individuals today relying on governmental benefits to support their financial needs; from the start of 2008, 800,000 individuals were claiming Job Seekers Allowance, then rose rapidly in 2009, where there was 1.5 million claimants (National Office for Statistics, 2010: Refer to Appendix 4 Statistics Article; Page 50). Thus, Kiernans (1997) examination on f inance does not give a valid insight to the contemporary issues affecting educational achievement. Also, Kiernan (1997) suggests that single parents do not have the financial support from the second parent without any suitable evidence. Conversely this is not necessarily true, if parents have separated or divorced, the second parent is obligated to contribute to the finance of his/her family if any dependent children are involved; therefore although some single parents may face financial strain, there are others who still receive financial help from their ex-partners. Financial difficulty increases the chances of other variables connected with negative outcomes for the adolescents, including; poor nutrition, inadequate housing, health issues and limited access to educational resources. Adolescents with poor nutrition will find it significantly difficult to concentrate at school during lessons, limiting their educational performances. Evidence shows a balanced diet and the consumption of adequate vitamins and nutrients can boost the concentration levels of pupils at school, making them more alert and attentive during class sessions (Welsh et all, 2004). This evidence offered is of widespread knowledge and supported by nutritional specialists, such as, the British Nutrition Foundation (Stanner et al, 2010). Poor nutrition can also lead to various long-term health problems, including Anorexia, Cardiovascular Disease, etc, which may require adolescents taking a lot of time off school compared to those not living in poverty, therefore, again, limiting their educational performances (Mooney et al, 2009). A viable argument is made here, however there is a lack of evidence to support the suggestion that these health problems is a definite explanation as to why adolescents from single parent families can do poorly in education. Health problems can lead to taking time off school, however there is no reasonable clarification to why it specifically affects those from single parent families; Anorexia and Cardiovascular Disease can affect any individual, not just those who lack a balanced diet and may be living in single parent families; the causes of Anorexia range from a variety of factors, including, the media, social pressure and genetics (Russell, 2007). Inadequate housing conditions may make it difficult for adolescents to concentrate and complete coursework at home when required, resulting in another limitation in educational attainment (Mooney et al, 2009). Another viable argument, however, again, there is a lack of evidence to support this claim; it is not sufficient enough to suggest inadequate housing only affects those of single parent families, move valid knowledge and research is required to support such claims. Furthermore, it is contested; limited funds can often neglect the extra requirements of educational resources and materials to help during courses. For example, single parents may not be able to afford home computers, books, sportswear, etc that assist success in schools. Without the access to these resources adolescents from single parents are at a disadvantage in educational attainment compared to those adolescents living in nuclear families, supported by both parental incomes, thus an explanation for the questionable differences in educational achievement (Mooney et al, 2009). Although this is an explanation, Mooney et al (2009) fail to acknowledge the initiatives and support available for all family structures to overcome barriers when accessing educational resources. For example, public libraries are available to borrow books instead of buying them, libraries also facilitate free access to computers and schools also provide support free access to educational materials. Therefore the claim that adolescents from single parents do not have the access to resources available in order to perform well in education is not credible and lacks knowledge of contemporary support. In addition, it is also argued, adolescents living with single parents may leave education early to gain employment to help with the financial circumstances, or work long shifts whilst still at school to fund their own wants and needs, which can ultimately result in low educational attainment. Low qualifications and an early entry into employment can increase the prospects of low occupational achievement, little income, unemployment and state dependency (Kiernan, 1997). This argument is supported with evidence, as Kiernan (1997) uses statistical data to show that a lot of adolescents form single parent families do enter early employment to assist their familys financial needs. However, she has no evidence to suggest that an early entry into employment can increase the chances of low occupational achievement, this is an assumption made, that without further education individuals cannot succeed in the labour market. However this is not necessarily accurate, there are individuals in the media who have excelled within the labour market without an education to college or degree level, for example, Sir Allen Sugar, a successful business entrepreneur (BBC, 2009). Although there is a certain lack of acknowledgement of various factors when arguing poverty is a major factor of adolescents academic failure from single parent families, there has been a study conducted of 2 nuclear families in America who experienced a substantial decrease in income. This identified that the financial pressure lead to increased depression in both parents, conflicts throughout the family, behaviour changes in the adolescents and a drop in their educational success in schools and in exams. (Conger et al, 1992). Therefore, there is some valid evidence to associate single parent poverty with educational success. Never the less, consideration must be given to the fact that educational failure in single parenthood is not only limited to financial strain. Social Factors The single parent family structure is frequently associated with social factors, such as a decrease in the quality and quantity of personal contact between adolescents and their non-residential parent. This can affect a teenagers educational attainment due to the lack of support from both parents to perform well in school (Kiernan, 1997). Although this statement is made, there is no substantial evidence or research conducted to support the argument. There is the assumption that teenagers will automatically have a decrease in the quality and quantity of personal contact with their second parent. However, this is may not be the case, parents after separation can still have daily contact with their children on a regular basis; thus the support from both parents to do well in education may not decline. Misleading conclusions are being made, which suggest the author may hold biased views on this subject matter. It can be argued, single parents providing childcare may also have limited time and energy they can dedicate to their children, particularly if longer hours of paid employment is necessary to maintain financial stability. These decreases in parental resources, for example, help with homework, support and attention they can offer to their children, can increase the possibility of educational failure (Kiernan, 1997). Although the long working hours may have an impact on parental time available, there is no verification that declares a lack of parental time has a definite effect on educational attainment. Kiernan (1997) also ignores social networks that can provide support with educational attainment, such as, family, friends, neighbours, relatives, etc. It has been argued by many that social networks and support is crucial for the development of individuals intellectually, emotionally and socially; strong networks allow the foundations to achieving success in academic and occupational careers (Hooyman and Kiak, 2008). Psychological Factors Amongst these social and economical explanations are psychological explanatory factors that attempt to clarify the educational differences between teenagers from single parent and nuclear family structures. It is argued that the notion of family stress during bereavement, divorce, separation, etc, can provide a vast amount of strain on the children, which can add onto the predominant stresses of educational attainment. A number of studies have exposed that parental conflict during separation can have a harmful impact on the adolescents well-being. This can result to lack of concentration during school class sessions, less motivation to complete designated assignments and a lack of class participation, which usually lead to academic failure (Kiernan, 1997). There is substantial evidence to suggest stress can be related to educational achievement and affect academic results obtained; for instance there have been various observational and longitudinal studies that have discovered trauma tic stress can lead to a decline in academic success (Hall, 2000). Whilst Kiernan (1997) takes into consideration the stresses of parental separation, she fails to acknowledge the relief some marital breakdowns can have; for example, one where the child or partner was suffering physical abuse. In this situation a positive outcome could occur in educational attainment rather than the negativities of academic failure. Also research suggests that the parental ability to recover from distress of bereavement, separation and divorce can affect the childrens ability to adapt to new changes. Effective communication and frequent contact between the adolescents and both the resident and non-resident parents are important in assisting teenagers to adjust and adapt to change. If change is not accepted and the adolescents do not adapt, studies have discovered that there is a higher possibility of poor educational outcomes for teenagers from separated families than those from intact ones. The distress teenagers may face fro