Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management Essay
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management - Essay Example Implication of Current Global Financial Crisis on Innovation of Firms Since innovation relies on resource allocation in terms of research and development, it is likely to be affected by current global financial crisis (Nakagawa,pg.258). A closer scrutiny of various European firms has revealed a significant change in innovation investment amidst the economic crisis. A survey conducted in 2009, revealed significant shifts in innovation investments across various firms in Europe where innovation investment and expenditure in firms declined from 40.2 percent to 10.6 percent (Filippetti and Archibugi,pg.2). The reduction in innovation investment and expenditures was attributed to direct effects of global financial crisis and recession. The economic crisis and recession reduces the short-term willingness of firms to engage to invest in innovation due to adverse macroeconomic environment that firms operate within (Archibugi, Filippetti and Frenz,pg.2). The mode of financing channels for Eur opean enterprises has been through bank loans and stock and bond market. In fact, most European banks have reviewed and tightened their money supply regulation due to global financial crisis (Fasnacht,pg.73). ... Most firms rely on profits and extra revenues for their research and development initiatives. Since the global economic meltdown is directly related to earnings of companies, any slight reduction in companiesââ¬â¢ profits can affect their innovation approaches and incentives (Savona, Kirton and Oldani,pg.140). All business sectors and companies in Europe have felt the effect of the ongoing financial crisis in varying degrees thus leading to deterioration of their revenues and profitability. The reduction in financial results of European companies is linked to reduction in consumerism, export cut back or reduction and shifting demand in domestic consumers. Cash flow and increased profitability and revenues are crucial for the survival of companies in relation to engagement in innovative activities. Robust and increased cash inflow in terms of profitability and increased revenues provides the safest protection of companies to engage in innovation. Research and development initiative s in European firms have hence been affected by the ongoing global recession due to the fact that their commitments to innovation have been pegged on success in revenue and profit growth. On the other hand, the ongoing financial crisis and economic turmoil has not affected the commitment of other European companies to innovation. This is particularly evident in high performing businesses that continue to invest in innovation amidst the economic turmoil (Heinrich and Betts,pg.34). Although other firms and businesses have panicked and reduced investment on research and development, some high performing firms have remained calm and are continuing to invest in innovation even though there has been pressure for such companies to reduce capital expenses (Shahzad, Ullah and Azam,pg.6). The
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
1990 Dial Soap Vintage Ad-Rough Daft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
1990 Dial Soap Vintage Ad-Rough Daft - Essay Example This paper discusses the website of an advertising agency to find out what effects the company has employed in the website to make it attractive to the customer. The choice of colour gives the first impression of the website to the customer. The advertising agency has to employ a basic, but professional design such that the website will have a moral and attractive layout (Plummer et al, 2007). The colours must have a strong contrast. This website has employed proper mixture of colours, which make the website have an attractive, classic design (Plummer et al, 2007). The colours that the website uses are three brown, white and black. The only different colour that the website employs is where the advertisements are displayed at the centre of the page. These colours are separated appropriately so that the contrast is valid to the function of the site. The website has employed the classic moving images that flow in with the advertisement. This brings in effect of a quality website design. The images move in a manner that indicates professionalism, this is such that images are not nagging the customer as he/she browses through the website (McGrath, 2008). The images are also hyperlinked so that when a customer likes an item in display he or she just has to click on the image and is switched to the webpage that has the items details (McGrath, 2008). The website employs the use of a suitable font that enables a customer to read whatever is on display without any hindrance (McGrath, 2008). One should not have to struggle to read thing that are displayed in a website, the website designers have to incorporate an appropriate font that will make the website use without requiring magnification. This website is an excellent example of a website that has employed quality fonts to pass across the message (McGrath, 2008). The use of appropriate colour, images, and font has a drastic effect on the customerââ¬â¢s impression of the
Monday, October 7, 2019
Distinguish between price elasticity of demand, cross elasticity of Essay
Distinguish between price elasticity of demand, cross elasticity of demand, income elasticity of demand and price elasticity of - Essay Example Section 1: Explanation of important terms 300 Price elasticity of demand Price elasticity of demand shows the relationship between the changes in the quantity demanded of any specific product with the changes in the price of that specific product. The terminology of price elasticity of demand is generally referred to analyze the sensitivity of the prices of the product (Hanushek, & Quigley, 1980). Price elasticity of demand can be calculated using the following formula: If there is a little change in the prices of the good and this small change can cause a large change in the demand of the product, then such a product is said to be elastic. However if there is a significant change in price level of the product but even this significant change in price level cannot cause a small change in the quantity demand of the product then such a product will be said as price inelastic. Cross elasticity of demand In order to analyze the responsiveness of demand of one product when the price is ch anged for another product then it is called as the cross elasticity of demand. ... The following formula is used to calculate the price elasticity of supply Section II: actions that are to be taken to reduce price fluctuations Price is one of the most important factors that influence the purchasing decision of the consumers. It is also the most important factor that influences the production decision of the producers. Therefore changes in price of commodity can influence both the demand and supply of products. Therefore the role of the government is to offer stability in the prices of commodities so that the overall economy can be stable and more stable decisions are taken. There are number of reasons why price level should be stable and one of the most important reasons is that if the prices are more constant and stable then the producers would be able to plan their production accordingly. As producers plan production at a specific level at a constant price, but if the price changes then it can influence supply. For instance, if the price is increased then it will increase the supply of the commodity as shown in the graph below: As the prices have increased, producers want to increase their production so that they can earn more and sell more products at the higher price. However with increase in price, the demand of the products have reduced and thus it is showing that the consumers are not willing to buy the same amount of commodity at the higher prices. Therefore it is showing that the increase in price has increased the supply but it has decreased the demand. Thus a new equilibrium has been formed at Price level P1 and Quantity Q1. Changes in the price level influence the demand and supply of the goods and therefore it is shown that
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Explain How Helicopters Fly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Explain How Helicopters Fly - Essay Example Its flight features allow movement in all direction: upwards, downwards, sideways, forward as well as in reverse direction. This flexibility allows the helicopter to be flown in small and congested areas where it is not possible to land the airplanes. Since it can fly in any direction, it has a lot of parameters to take care of while flying. Therefore, the pilot needs to be very skilled and capable and must give full attention while flying. Helicopters not only move in all three dimensions but can also rotate and hover at one point in air. These features, although, make it a unique mode of transport, also make it a very complex machine to understand as well as to pilot. The main parts of helicopter are: ïÆ'Ë Main Rotor ââ¬â The vertically mounted rotor in center ïÆ'Ë Fuselage ââ¬â The main body of helicopter ïÆ'Ë Transmission system ââ¬â Speed control mechanism of rotors ïÆ'Ë Tail boom ââ¬â Rear portion on which the tail rotor is mounted ïÆ'Ë Tail rotor ââ¬â Small horizontal axis rotor at the rear ïÆ'Ë Engine ââ¬â Main engine used to spin the shaft To understand the flight of a helicopter, we can begin from the simple vertically up and down motion. For a helicopter to move upwards, it needs wings that have air moving on its surface in one direction. In case of an airplane, the wings are fixed and the whole plane moves forward for the air to move on the surface of wings and generate lift. However, in case of helicopter we keep it on the same spot. Instead, the wings are rotated to generate the desired lift effect. Wings are shaped in such a manner that they deflect the air downwards and as a reaction, the helicopter is lifted. This shape of the wings is called airfoil. Two or more wings are mounted on a shaft and the shaft is made to rotate thereby, giving a continuous motion to the wings. This rotating wings and shaft are collectively called the main rotor. The main rotor is the most important part of any helicopter. It not only generates the lift force required for the helicopter to fly but also provides for the lateral moveme nt, spinning and changing the altitude. The rotor has to be very strong as it supports all the forces on the helicopter and its weight. The wings have a swivel mechanism at the point where they connect to the rotor. This swivel functionality allows for changing the angle of blades, which changes the path of air. To affect lift, the angle of blades needs to be altered with respect to the oncoming wind. This is known as the angle of attack. The angle alteration mechanism for all wings is collectively called the hub. A device known as the swash plate assembly makes the adjustment of the angles of the rotor blades. The swash plate assembly has two plates, fixed swash plate and a rotating swash plate. The swash plate assembly has two main functions: Firstly, it changes the angle of all the blades simultaneously. It increases the overall lift, thereby gaining or losing altitude. Secondly, the swash plate can change the angle of individual blades while revolving. This gives the flexibility to a helicopter to move in any direction. This alteration of angle, called pitch, is carried out by means of the pitch control rods, which control the function of rotating swash pl
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10
Project Management - Essay Example By doing so, it ensures that the business will continuously work towards achieving a stable production process, which gives some predictable results (Adams, Gupta & Wilson, 2003). Furthermore, the integration of the strategy requires that there is an active participation and commitment of all the members of the organization towards achieving perfection. It helps to seek the commitment of the organizationââ¬â¢s top management towards achieving quality products. Integrating the Six Sigma strategy also serves to ensure that a business organizationââ¬â¢s leadership makes decisions based on verifiable information, other than assumptions (Keller, 2001). In the Six Sigma process, project management skills are important. The necessity for such skills is to ensure that those individuals involved in the project are in a position to set the vision and the target of the Six Sigma strategy. Project management skills also ensures that those individuals take a leadership role and assists the other stakeholders in consistently applying this strategy in their functional departments, so that the whole organization can move together towards achieving the set targets (Tennant, 2001). Project plans under the Six Sigma strategy provide details about how the project will be accomplished. Such details includes: Process time reduction, controlling spending, forecasting with accuracy, risks avoidance, eliminating errors in design and lowering employee absenteeism. The importance of such planning details is to ensure there is consistency in the whole process to achieve the best products and eliminate all chances that may bring failures or defects (Keller, 2001). In my project, I will study which subjects are performed better at the University, between the science and the humanity categories. Through my research, I want to find out the answers to the following questions; What is the nature
Friday, October 4, 2019
Evaluate Research on Conformity Making Reference to 2 Studies Essay Example for Free
Evaluate Research on Conformity Making Reference to 2 Studies Essay Conformity is the tendency to adjust oneââ¬â¢s thoughts, feelings or behaviour in ways that are in agreement with those of a particular individual or group, or with accepted standards about how a person should behave in specific situations (social norms). It is also the key ways that a society or culture passes down its values or behaviours to its peers through an indirect form of social influence. Deusch and Gerald (1995) first presented that the reasons of people conforming is due to two factors that are information social influence and normative social influences. Information social influence is based on the ways people cognitively process information about specific situations. Normative social influence is based on our nature as social animals, and our need to be accepted and to ââ¬Ëbelongââ¬â¢ in society. Individuals often conform to avoid rejection and gain social approval within society. Festinger (1954) also agreed that people evaluate their own opinions and judgement through social comparisons, which is when the individual compares themselves to the peers around them When one realizes that others are not behaving in the same way, or think differently, it leads to anxiety, which is known as cognitive dissonance. In order to test for conformity, Asch carried a test where the subject was given a simple task of matching a length of line to one of three other comparison lines. The control subjects (who were able to take the test alone without any confederates) that served as the comparison to the variable (the individual who was tested for conformity) made almost no errors. In the experimental condition, one individual was tested but were surrounded by seven other confederates of the experimenter, who were told to give wrong estimates almost 70% of the trials. The subject was also second to last giving their answers, so that they were faced either giving their own opinion or conforming to the group. The average rate of conformity was 32%. 74% conformed at least once and 26% never conformed. In order to identity factors influencing conformity, Asch conducted variations to his experiment. Asch found out that with only one confederate, only 3% of the participant conformed, and with two confederates the rate rose to 14% and with three confederates, it rose to 32%. Larger groups did not increase the rate of conformity. Unanimity was an another factor, where conformity was more prominent when all the confederates agreed. If one of the confederates disagreed, the participant was less likely to conform. The difficulty of the task also increased conformity. Also when the participant was given the choice to write down their response, conformity decreased. Confidence and self-esteem was another significant role in influencing the participants, as people with high confidence strongly believed in their opinion, and were less likely to conform. However, even the participants that did not conform still felt strong social pressure. Although these results were quite reliable to a certain extent, there were multiple criticism towards the experiment. The experiment was considered ââ¬Ëartificialââ¬â¢ with low ecological validity. There were also ââ¬Ëdemanding characteristics,ââ¬â¢ where the participant may have changed their behaviour in order to please researchers. Also there was a lack in cultural diversity as the experiment may only represent the US in 1940-1950s. Because the individuals were placed in deception and anxiety, it also resulted in ethic concerns. Also, there were ethic concerns as the individuals were placed in deception and anxiety. Berry (1967) suggested that conformity is required by their respective survival level economics. Low food receiving societies tend to produce self-reliant independent individuals, while high food producing societies are group reliant and dependent. He also proved his theory by using a variation of Aschââ¬â¢s experiment through using samples of the Temne Sierra Leone and the Inuit people of Canada. Hunting and fishing in Eskimos show great tolerance in disciplining children, therefore resulting in independent and risk taking individuals. Rich farming Temne people apply strict disciplinary measures, resulting in more dependent and group reliant individuals. Therefore the experiment resulted that the Temne people of Sierra Leone conformed significantly more than the Inuit people of Canada, probably because of the economic differences. The Temne people usually had to survive on a single crop that is harvested by all the people in the society, therefore requiring each otherââ¬â¢s trust and coordination of effort. . The culture also mainly focuses on agreement and harmony. Consensus is less present in Inuit culture as their economy is based on continual hunting and gathering on a relatively individual basis. However sometimes, there have been several examples of minority commitment to a view not held by the majority throughout the 20th century. This includes womenââ¬â¢s rightââ¬â¢s to vote in civil rights movement, environmental movement etc. Also research proved that minority opinions are significant in a groupââ¬â¢s decision-making process. Groupthink happens when someone in a group suggest an idea, and everyone accepts the idea without considering other possible opinions It represents the group members having concordant opinions in an issue, resulting in not seeking alternative or disagreeing opinions, often because optimism prevents their decisions from becoming successful.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Dispersal Policy Of Asylum Seekers And Refugees
Dispersal Policy Of Asylum Seekers And Refugees The essay will look at dispersal policy; a brief background and description of the dispersal policy. Critically analysing the policy in relation to asylum seekers, elaborate the role of NASS and arguments on welfare and asylum seekers in relation to Britains changing laws of seeking asylum. Outline how ideologies have used those policies and the impact they have caused. Critique the policy; explain the Implications and challenges for social work practice in relation to the policy. A policy is a concept developed by government or political party to put down decisions 0r performance and matters that will prove advantageous to society in general. Dispersal is the process of moving asylum seekers to different areas of residence, to share the call on resources and public services amongst a wider range of local authorities across the UK instead of one particular area of the country. Under the immigration and Asylum Act 1999, any asylum seeker requiring support and accommodation may be dispersed anywhere in the UK while their applications are being considered (www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk). Asylum is protection given by a country to someone who is fleeing persecution in their own country. It is given under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. To be recognised as a refugee, you must have left your country and be unable to go back because you have a well-founded fear of persecution. The person claiming for protection is an asylum seeker. If the claim go through the person becomes a refugee (ww.homeoffice.gov.uk). In Britain, legislation and social policy in relation to asylum and refugees has been a priority for long. Britain gave attention to the refugees they had drafted in the1951 UN convention to provide protection to people who are at risk of persecution in their own countries. People from common wealth countries were invited to fill in gaps in the labour market following the economic boom in 1960sand thus settled in the Greater London. Dispersal has a history in UK, though it is only in recent years that it has come to be used routinely for asylum seekers. Before the 1990s, it was used to distribute specific groups of refugees such as the polish resettlement in 1950s, the Ugandan Asians in 1972, the Chileans in 1974-1979, the Vietnamese as an attempt to de-concentrate ethnic minority families whose numbers had had been considered too high in relation to resources such as housing and schools. (Griffiths, Sigona and Zetter, 2005). The concentration of asylum seekers in London and south east generated localised social and economic costs that those areas were not willing to accept. As a result of local tensions, the practical problems of housing, and supporting large and unexpected numbers of additional residents, some LA started to disperse asylum seekers. From 1996 on wards, London boroughs such as Harrow sent asylum seeker to Teignmouth in Devon (Robinson et al 2003 p: 122). This inspired dispersal and more local authorities were encouraged to do so voluntarily. More so, the policy was also inspired by dispersal of Bosnians in 1993, which was hailed as an example of effective settlement based up cluster areas and the principle of ethnic community formation (Griffiths et al 2005). Initially the policy applied to asylum seekers who are destitute. If they asked for accommodation, they could only refuse to go if they have a medical support in London, risk of domestic violence and have relatives around. The main aims of the dispersal are to relieve pressure on councils in key areas of South East and London which have been over burdened with asylum seekers and to distribute the load more evenly around the count. Those requiring accommodation would be dispersed to areas with housing to spare (www.bbc.co.uk/news). Dispersal was also seen as a means of improving the access of minority ethnic groups to improving life chances and a way of reducing prejudice through the deconstruction of stereotypes that these groups with areas characterised by overcrowding, poverty. The dispersal would encourage informal connection between neighbours of different races who might then begin to see each other as individuals rather than as stereotypes. The objectives of the policy were to control asylum seekers to enter the UK, increasing speed of the decision making for asylum seekers, refurbishing the financial support method of welfare benefits (Griffiths et al 2005). However, to supporters of dispersal policy, the issue is one of costs and equity: if society has made the democratic decision admit migrants, then the whole of society should bear the costs (Robinson 2003, P: 163). When you look at dispersal, it is not about cutting costs, sharing the burden or addressing racism, but about soothing the fears of some voters who want to believe that immigration, and who is allowed to stay in their cities is under control. The government needs to embrace asylum seeking, shift in the tone of public debate away from illegal immigration and deterrence, using the educational system to change public perceptions, and promoting community involvement, active engagement and sponsorship (www.migrationyorkshire.org.uk). Dispersal as a form of enforced population control is primarily a means of reducing the social visibility of asylum seekers and their potential pollution of social space. If the concentration of asylum seekers in the community is constructed as a problem for race relations, then their social dispersal is both a valid and desirable outcome (Griffiths et al 2005). By 1990s the number of asylum seekers had increased sharply and public opinion had turned against them, racialising the issue and labelling them as bogus and undeserving (Robinson et al 2003 P: 122). They are perceived to be economically motivated. Today immigration is perceived by many in Britain as a problem for our society which stems from a fear of unknown. Refugees and asylum seekers create an unwanted entity of the otherness in the margins of UK. From the moment they arrive they face an unpredictable and often aggressively hostile local public with racist political sentiment openly engaging in intimidation and local press making accusations of bogus claims and a drain on national resources (Pierson, 2002,p: 203, Dobrowolsky and Lister 2005). This othering resulted in discriminatory policies, which lead to the social exclusion, and discrimination of the asylum seekers, and refugee communities to the extent that their basic human rights have been challenged and their very existence has been criminalized (Dominelli 2002). I think devising strategies to prevent refugees coming to the country are a threat to the civilisation as it violates the basic human rights. The media could be partly to blame for this concept as they often wrongly imply that all asylum seekers for example, are criminals. Glasgow suspended its participation in the scheme in the wave of press hysteria. Media portrayals are often confusing and unreliable as they represent a gloomy impression about asylum seekers. The media blow up the insecurities of the public to sale more papers, as they are the only visible group in the local communities to blame for the ill health of the welfare system in the country. They have been an easy target for all as they are po werless, dislocated, silent, and do not even having the right to be here (Robinson et al 2003). Before 1996, asylum seekers were entitled to use the same social services as the rest of the population for example, if they had had been homeless, they would go to a homeless person unit, for support. The conservative Government introduced the asylum and immigration Act 1996, which meant that asylum seekers were cut off from mainstream welfare benefits. This left asylum seekers with no access to services. However, this was against the 1948 National Assistance Act which requires local authorities to provide welfare support to those destitute asylum seekers. Some local authorities started providing support to asylum seekers and their dependants if they appeared to be destitute. But, this was done on ad hoc basis and there were no clear guidelines of the local authorities responsibilities. In 1999, a new policy had been formulated for asylum seekers and refugees, which is called immigration and asylum Act 1999. The immigration and asylum Act 1999 gave the National Asylum support service (NASS) the responsibility to provide services and meet needs of asylum seekers. This was due to the problems encountered by the social policy of UK regarding asylum and refugees, the policymakers have decided to establish the NASS in April 2000. NASS was set up to alleviate the pressure on the LA, and also to meet the government view that access to social security benefits creates a pull factor on economic migration. The major role of NASS was to provide support and accommodation for those asylum seekers who are poor while their claim is still being considered. Individual will be given accommodation in the UK, which is usually located and on a no choice basis. This meant that NASS has the sole right to decide for the asylum seekers will be moved (Griffiths et al 2005). In 1999 the dispersal policy marked a fundamental change in British asylum approach by Introducing new procedures for the reception and accommodation of asylum seekers pending their claim for status determination in the UK (www.fmreview.org). Failed asylum seekers are often destitute when support is cut off 21 days after a final claim for asylum is refused (Refugee Action 2006). The Red Cross estimate some 26,000 are living off food parcels although the figure could be far higher (www.rcn.org.uk/). Dispersal failed to relieve pressure on London. It is possible that up to 2/3 of asylum seekers decided to remain in London and stay with friends and relatives rather than take up accommodation in other parts of UK while this does not add pressure to housing, it creates problems a with health and education www.school.gov.uk/policyhub/asylum_dispersal). There were many draw backs, in the dispersal, as there was miscommunication between NASS and agencies concerned. There was no sufficient accommodation in the dispersal areas and the whole situation was in shambles as reported by the for example, councils did not know how many people were sent to them and what language they spoke so that they arrange translating services. In general, principles of the policy were not effectively adhered to. NASS should work closely with other agencies to coordinate action to ensure the presence of asylum seekers do not harm community relations. NASS has been criticised by Fekete as being oppressive and institutionalised racism in her report Crimes of NASS: What is so alarming about the approach of NASS is that they do not consider it their duty to protect asylum seekers from racial violence, or ensure racial harmony, NASS is probably the only body in the country with no coherent policies against racial harassment and no apparent overall strategy to promote good race relations (Fekete, 2001). Since the year 2000, the NASS took the responsibility of asylum seekers to disperse them, wherever there is accommodation without considering their culture, language or any individual needs. Those who are vulnerable were left without support or information (Cohen, 2002, p: 119). Ethnic minority people suffer from linguistic deprivation in areas they are dispersed to. Initially, the idea was to send asylum seekers to established communities who shared a common language and provided comfort and support. However, due to limited resources and scarcity of accommodation in some places, most asylum seekers were sent to places away from the communities. Breaking up families and then dumping asylum seekers in sub-standard accommodation in some of our poorest communities was always bound to backfire. It is a policy that was neither human nor practical (www.independent.co.uk/news). From 1996 onwards, the responsibility of asylum seekers was given to voluntary organisations, for instance, NASS who dispersed refugees away from their countrymen and families. In so doing, their networks are sabotaged and left in isolation where they do not share any ownership or sense of belonging. They are unable to convey information or attain financial assistance from their communities, and that keeps them in a state of tension. There are questions about the long-term impacts on social cohesion, because clustering can deprive these groups of people of integrating in the community. Also, clustering led to emergency of Ghettos in deprived areas of asylum seekers. This may in turn hinder refugees future integration into communities (The Guardian 2005). In addition to that, dispersal has led asylum seekers being sent to live in the very poorest areas where there were large numbers of people living on either benefits or in the lowest-paid jobs where they were not only more likely to face assaults but were also twice as likely to face racial harassment. More so, the accommodation of these dispersed people is made with no choice as to the location and anyone leaving the accommodation offered to them will lose the right to support. As a result, they are will be impoverishment, poverty, exploitation, ill health and sometimes death. Secondly; some of them whose claims are still pending are sometimes taken to detention centres where they are dealt with brutally with discrimination and abuse (Cohen, Humphries Mynott, 2002). In relation to housing some private landlords force asylum seekers to live as a family with people they do not even know. Overcrowding has become an issue for larger families, which are given smaller accommodation. Others return to their homeless charities after failing to cope with the situation (Audit Commission 2000, p: 3). NASS housed accommodation has no legal protection from eviction and the legislation of 1999 deteriorated in relation to housing conditions for asylum seekers and where by landlords growing richer on contracts in order to accommodate asylum seekers (Cohen et al, 2002). One of the worst impacts of the Asylum and Immigration Act is the extension of immigration checks to housing and to all homeless applications. If the Home Office learns that a refuge has received public funds, he might lose the right to stay in the country or fail to renew their permission to stay (Cohen et al 2002). Again, the vouchers are stigmatising, as they are used in fewer shops and less on public transport. Asylum seekers and Refugees who are skilled, experience high unemployment and low pay as there are not as many jobs in rural areas as the cities, and the policy sabotage them from their networks that would help them. As a result of this, asylum seekers are discriminated against instead of being offered opportunities and strategies for help (Ibid). The government initiative towards asylum seekers preserved within the 2004 Asylum Act did not include the children welfare or to ensure that their human rights were thought of. On the contrary, children of asylum seekers whose claims failed are threatened to be removed from their families due to the powers of this act. A government which sets out to make the children of failed asylum seekers destitute cannot seriously argue, Every child matters (Lavalette and Pratt, 2006, p. 200). It destabilizes the domestic and international human rights commitment and undermines the Third Way ambition of every child matters. The detention centres, prisons and enforcement of dispersal programmes together with the 2002 Nationality Immigration and Asylum Seekers Act are all stereotyping asylum seekers as criminals, agree to be dispersed anywhere to get support, accommodation taken off them if they try to choose, taken in to isolation with high levels of crime directed to them, lack of legal representation. According to the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigration: These policies are not only discriminatory against one of the most vulnerable sections of our community but also, of the worst kinds of social engineering which is destined to fail (www.lga.gov.uk). More so, the Audit Commission has reported that asylum seekers and refugees get poor health care though they are entitled to free healthcare. Some of the GPs have taken their names off the lists as there is a tendency that it might impact on their surgeries. On the other hand, the examinations refugees take at ports of entry, have no follow ups due to poor health check ups. They are again registered temporary which does not allow keeping frequent medical records and cannot put their needs into account due to the rights and responsibilities of healthcare. For instance, most refugees experience post-traumatic stress disorder as they escape. (Audit commission 2000a). The dispersal is reported to have improved recently, but this is down to the NASS working closely with other agencies like police, landlords, and local councils. They had all been included in the deciding in the area that was to be used, monitored the impact of the arrival of the asylum seekers on schools and other services and monitored community tension (guardian 2005). The policy has some success; this is evidenced by the larger number of refugees and asylum seekers in Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester areas, and Birmingham hosts a sizeable refugee population in Wet midlands. There has been a corresponding growth of refugee community organisations (RCO) in these areas compared to before the dispersal policy of 1999 (Griffiths et al 2005). In this section the will look at implications and challenges of social workers face in their work with asylum seekers and refugees in the context of dispersal policy in the UK are: Social workers tasks include giving assistance and proper attention to these individuals and ensuring that they receive the services which are included in the immigration and asylum Act. NASS is responsible for identifying who among the asylum seekers have the right to be given the services offered by such agency. The NASS should coordinate with the social workers, and the members of the enquiry lines to know if there are asylum seekers who need assistance of the government (Dominelli, 2008). Hayes and Humphries (2006, p: 44) argue that it is often the most vulnerable who suffer from lack of additional support; parents worry for the health and well-being of their children. For example, a mother who can not breastfed her child because she is HIV positive and cannot afford to buy formula milk for her child. This puts social workers in a dilemma as they are forced to decide on eligibility based on immigration status, and the tension between social work values of providing for those in need and the requirement to exclude people from services. Social workers are forced to negotiate between this role of controlling access to support and that of providing care. In addition to that, social workers working with asylum seekers experience a growing demand for the services as a result of new arrivals in a period of the budget constraint and their work tended to be dominated by assessing eligibility and providing for immediate needs rather than a broad social work role. Social workers need to understand the impact of negative stereotyping on asylum seekers. Thompson (2009, P: 158) the need to recognise the significance of discrimination and oppression in clients lives and circumstances has been emphasised. As we have seen that asylum seekers will be subject to racist media portrayals and hostile views from members of the public, these factors will not help to integrate them into the community once an application has been successful. Thompson (2009, p: 18) argues that the role of social work is to contribute to social stability, to ensure that the level of social discontent does not reach a point where the social order may be threatened. Therefore, it is the role of social workers to help asylum seekers to integrate into local communities and adjust to a new culture. They will need to help asylum seekers to become more empowered as individuals and groups so that they can better represent themselves in the wider community. Empower involves practitione rs having to reinvent their practice and their perceptions of particular problems and solutions (Trevithick, 2005, p: 219). Social workers were under pressure as Social Services are using their already over stretched budgets to provide for asylum seekers. Following the negative media portrayals; the local populations made the assumption that the social services budgets were drained, not as a result of government not providing enough money, but because of the asylum seekers. A discussion about who pays the taxes for public welfare and costs of migration devalues immigrants contributions to economic growth (Dominelli, 2008). In some cases social workers were seen as supporting asylum seekers and neglecting the rest of the population. The role of a social worker is to address issues of oppression and discrimination on a daily basis yet their involvement is too little. Emphasis on the health and welfare of children allow social workers to become focused on specific issues such as safe case transfer of unaccompanied asylum seeking children, while not focusing on the needs of the vulnerable adult. (Hayes et al, 2006). Instead of the centralised NASS service provision, it would be better if asylum seekers could use local Social Services teams and benefits offices as these are more accessible. However, limited resources and staffing, the government should provide more support within the existing mainstream structures. Instead of training more social workers and community workers to support the asylum seekers, the government set up NASS, whose staff are not trained in anti-discriminatory principles, and had not got enough experience in housing and settlement issues. NASS work practices lead to more discrimination and social exclusion of the asylum seekers. Social workers must seek clarification within their services concerning the issues related to asylum seekers. As the most asylum seekers do not speak English or cannot command the language well, social workers should make good use of interpretation services and make sure that these services are available for the asylum seekers and able to communicate appropriately. Patel and Kelly (2006, p:5) suggest that ensuring access to interpreting services, and more equitable access to language learning opportunities, is essential for the appropriate provision of social care to Asylum seekers. It is my belief that all human beings deserve respect and dignity and should be treated will equal concern; however, looking at the media it is evident that the UK is struggling to sustain the support required for asylum seekers, which is becoming a growing problem within the UK today. The Human Rights Act 1998 applies to anyone living within the UKs borders regardless of circumstances or nationality; until an asylum seeker receives refugee status they are often in a state of limbo and regularly their equal rights are denied. Therefore, anti discriminatory practice and humanitarianism is vital within Social Work practice. Social workers should be involved in campaigning for the rights and ensure that they are observed (Dominelli 2008). The role of a social worker is to adhere to enhancing an atmosphere of acceptance, tolerance and equality for all individuals no matter what their background is. It is essential that Social Workers and those accountable for providing services and support to the most vulnerable in our society do not lose sight of the fact that asylum seekers, regardless of their immigration status, are human beings, with fundamental and basic human rights, needs and aspirations. In conclusion, although dispersal policies are always understood as ways of temporarily accommodating asylum seekers as they wait for their decision on their asylum claims, the government needs to look at things on a long-term basis so that they are dispersed where they are able to integrate. Therefore, policy makers should also think of the future employment probability and service as they are most of the requirements for the future. NASS should work together with agencies concerned to make sure that asylum seekers are not put at risk. I have critically describe the policy, explained the implications of the policy into social work practice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)