Poverty in Australia Essay examples -- Poverty Essays

Poverty in Australia Before discussing the extent of poverty in Australia, it is first crucial to mention the difference between absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute Poverty is a situation where deprivation is extreme because people do not have access to the basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter. In contrast Relative Poverty is a situation in which the incidence of poverty is measured relative to things such as average weekly earnings or income per head. Therefore poverty, as talked about in Australia is the state where income is insufficient to meet the minimum needs of the household or individual. The Poverty Line is the level of income below which the income of the household or individual is inadequate to meet the essential needs of the household or individual as determined by society. The Poverty line is determined by a percentage of average weekly earnings. In 1966, the original poverty line for Australia, was set by Professor Henderson as basic wage plus the child endowment payable for two children. There is a definite lack of recent data on poverty in Australia, therefore we have to look back as far as reports from the 1970’s, in order to find any relevant information on poverty in Australia. In 1975 there was a report made on the extent of poverty in Australia by Professor Henderson. It has since been known as the Henderson Report. The Henderson Report found that 8.5 per cent of Australians were living under the poverty line. It also found that: â€Å"Most of the poor suffer from one or more of the following disabilities: old age, lack of a male bread-winner, a large number of dependant children, recent migration to Australia, or prolonged illness. The incidence of poverty was much higher in these categories than among those without any of these disabilities.†(Henderson 1975) At the time of this report average weekly earnings in Australia were $165 per week, the poverty line for a single person was set at $49.60 for a single person, and $93.20 for a couple w ith 2 children. (Jackson, McIver 1998) A report similar to the Henderson report was carried out in 1987, where the poverty line, still using the original method used in 1966, had been raised to $146 per week for a single, and $274 per week for a couple with two children. (Jackson, McIver 1998) Although the poverty line had risen due to economic grow... ... every fortnight without fail, and without the hassles of having to go to work every morning. Whilst the Australian Welfare System is not perfect it does without question assist in its main objective which is reducing inequality of incomes, and therefore the level of poverty. Although there is no current data on the amount of Australians living under the poverty line, and it is very difficult to estimate, it appears likely that using Professor Henderson’s original method, the increasing inequality in the distribution of household incomes has caused the percentage of Australians living below the poverty line to increased substantially. Bibliography: Collier, B. 1992. Introducing Economics. Sydney, New South Wales. Anzarut, D. 1985. Senior Economics. Melbourne, Victoria. Lipsey, R. Langley, P. Mahoney, D. Positive Economics for Australian Students, Sydney, New South Wales. National Coalition against Poverty. 10 September 2001. URL http://www.bsl.org.au/ncapwebsite Trends in Income Inequality in the 1990’s. 15 September 2001. URL http://www.natsem.canberra.edu.au/pubs/cpol.html. Pearce, Y. August 20 2001. â€Å"Poverty level ‘Just hot air’† The West Australian.

Decisions in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken Essay -- Analysis Road

Decisions in Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken Throughout our lives we are faced with a number of important decisions, decisions that determine an unseen future. The choices, though often virtually identical, lead to different destinies and often leave us asking "what if?" There are not always signs telling us the way to go or the choice to make; we must find out what lies ahead for ourselves. In his "The Road Not Taken," Robert Frost relates to the reader such a choice, symbolic, perhaps of any major decision in life. The traveler in Frost's poem must blindly decide between two similar paths, and this decision greatly affects his life thereafter. In the opening stanza, Frost takes the reader into a "yellow wood," setting the scene. Both this location and time of year are important in the description of the traveler's decision. The idea of being in a forest brings to mind towering trees and plants blocking everything but the path traveled. This image is a way of showing that even though we all are different, everyone must follow certain guidelines. The traveler then "looked down one [path] as ... ...and it has changed his life. As travelers on paths of life, we come to a number of forks each day, and the directions we choose there shape our unique lives. Sources Cited and Consulted Mike Bellah. "The Road Not Taken." Best Years. Online. World Wide Web. 29 Jul 2004. Finger, L. L. "Frost's 'The Road Not Taken': a 1925 Letter come to Light." American Literature 50. Online. World Wide Web. 20 Jul. 2004. Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." The Poetry of Robert Frost. Ed. Edward Connery, Lathem. New York: Hot, Rinehart and Winston, 1969.

Barry Glassner’s The Culture of Fear Essay

The murder of thousands of Americans on their own soil on September 11, 2001 created a new era in United States History: the era of fear. That is the finding Barry Glassner, author of The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things. In the book’s pages is found a thorough examination of why Americans are fearful, why they aren’t, and what this says about the average citizen. It is not to say that Glassner indicates that Americans do, or should, live in fear of unexpected terrorist attack. Rather, his purpose in writing is to illuminate why it is that Americans fear the wrong things and fail to act on the right fears: he cites examples such as fearing shootings on school grounds, but not limiting access to guns. In other words, he is attempting to describe what fear is like in the culture of America and what it says about reality and perception. That is his thesis. Summed up, Glassner writes that when it comes to fear, Americans live in a culture of false paranoia and irrational paradoxes. His methodology comes through clearly. He utilizes individual case studies to coherently and cohesively build a strong unified theory. Each story and topic becomes one more brick in the foundation of his thesis. In that way he easily compels and convinces all but the most cynical reader. Finally, it is Glassner’s point of view that really works wonders. He acts as if he is but a casual, though analytical, objective observer. What Does the Author Have to Say? Fear can be created – and manipulated. Time and again Glassner returns to the example of the events of September 11, 2001 for treasures with which to bolster his theory. It is indeed ripe ground for that. It seems to be the case study for just why American citizens are paranoid for all of the wrong reasons. Yes, the terrorist attacks were awful, and all the more so because 1) they were completely unexpected and unannounced, and 2) they targeted the innocent civilian populace. That being said, writes Glassner, they were also completely anomalous. The fear of such an attack in the future due to the fact that it happened once before is unjustifiable. It had been two hundred and twenty-five years from the beginnings of the United States for such an attack to occur, and as of this tenth anniversary edition of the book it has been another ten years without such attack. Sure, that is not to say that it couldn’t happen again. However, the point that the author makes is that it is just circumstances like this that are fertile breeding ground for manipulators. In this case, he cites the then ongoing efforts of President George W. Bush to convince the population that there was an active war on terror. This war, he reminded frequently, was directed at the American citizen, the mom and pop on the street. The war could reach every home, every business. The entire country was under various alert conditions at all times. This supports the first main point of The Culture of Fear. Fear can be a force of manipulation and creation. The second point of the book is closely related to its main premise. It is the ongoing effects of a mass media accentuating the most unlikely of crimes. Each and every day the media, including the press, the internet, and the television networks, blares out stories of kidnappings, murders and more. The chief aim seems to be that ‘it could happen to you. ’ In fact, it probably will happen to you unless you take precautions daily. Fingerprint your children. Update your photographs and dental records. Plant microchips in your children’s skin. Anything to do to escape the boogeyman, because undoubtedly he’s out there. Never mind the fact that more often than not, the statistics behind the reports are skewed mightily to prove these points ex post facto. The announcements alone are proof enough for most people. The culture of fear is encouraged, and bought into. After all, the media is a powerful presence. When it comes to the third point, it becomes somewhat murky as to how some things come about. Glassner relates example after example of public policy responses to these scenarios – and how they absolutely fail to deal with the actual situations that spawn the fear. In other words, ineffective public policy is the knee jerk reaction to fear. The author is quick to relate such failures. He points out the sheer number of dollars allocated to these efforts and the startling statistics that show the problem has not changed at all. Also, he is not shy at pointing out that this culture of fear and reaction provides great political opportunity for candidates that are ‘tough on crime’ to emerge, ready to raise the banners of various well-meaning causes. Once the candidates become elected officials, either the cause is dropped along with its passion, or new laws are passed that in essence are just excuses to spend money and advance political careers. Criticism of the Author I greatly enjoyed this book. I will be unequivocal about that. Perhaps it biases my review, but I do have points to support my response. To begin with, the book is well-paced. By that I mean to say that it reads well. Much of non-fiction – particularly educated and researched non-fiction – is dry, and fails to engage the reader in the sense that its subjects remain remote. Granted, Glassner has a subject that is much more accessible to readers than the typical tome, but he does not bore with statistics or inane stories. He moves the action right along by showing readers why this involves them, and why it should naturally interest them. Each chapter begins with a premise that is readily understandable. It also includes a counterpoint and then the fun begins. Every chapter delivers. There is a natural satisfaction to this and makes reading the book enjoyable. I never experienced a more well planned out book, in this regard. I was never left wondering why something was missing, or what the author’s point was after all. He provides vignettes that most every reader either has knowledge of, or direct experience with. In that regard, the book almost reads like a continuous narrative, full of intrigue and personal connections. What surprised me in particular were the findings of the author. He clearly exposed the myths behind much of the country’s fears – fears that turn out to be nearly entirely fictitious or so improbable as to be nearly laughable. Then he does something important and which caused my surprise. He listed the fears that all Americans should actually be concerned with. These are the issues that most citizens will encounter on a daily basis and should be giving their attention rather than the stories at the top of newspaper headlines. Motor vehicle injuries, drowning, fires, head injuries to children from bicycle accidents, these are the realities of danger in America. And these can be prevented. Safer vehicles, more restrictive drivers’ licenses, and bicycle helmet laws – these are the tools of the fearful citizen that can bring some peace to life. I never thought that Glassner would make such a strong point out of such mundane information. It made me want to actually change my personal living styles, and not in the manner of investing in gas masks or bunkers. Naturally, the book is not perfect. Probably the greatest weakness is the ability of it to be dismissed as a big government bashing book. It could be accused of having an agenda. It is fairly heavy handed when it comes to discussing the media and the government’s efforts at propagating fears among the population. Perhaps Glassner could have helped himself some by providing statistical analysis of actual terrorist linked events over the course of the century. This may have more convincingly pointed out just how anachronistic the terror attacks of Fall 2001 really were, and remain. Rather than describe the government’s reaction to it, he could have simply left it at that and trusted the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. But that is a small point. One area that could have been covered differently is that chapter on Youth at Risk. With a subtitle of Faulty Diagnoses and Callous Cures one would expect that it would be a medically related chapter. Indeed that it is. However, I feel that the chapter rather disregards the pervasive depression and angst that this generation seems to be finding themselves in. It would appear at least from common experience that these troubles which are leading to more and more suicides and bullying are real and worth a serious look. It is not as if Glassner just glosses over these things, but I think that his overall take on the situation is not serious enough. He instead appears to have it out for the medical establishment. Some could say that this trivializes the problems that teens today are undergoing. I think that would be an accurate indictment. The chapter could either have been more aimed that direction, or perhaps could be eliminated altogether as a general fear among the United States population at large. Summation Barry Glassner’s book The Culture of Fear is one to be read. It is quite easy to recommend. Primarily it is because the book’s audience is also the general population. Every reader would know a potential reader in a neighbor, co-worker, relative. Glassner makes his point very clear – the culture of fear is absolutely pervasive. We are all a part of this society that lives in near constant paranoia over things that probably will never happen; and we ignore what we probably should fear on a daily basis. That is what is so ultimately compelling about the book. It is nearly a handbook for peaceful living. The Culture of Fear makes promises through its introduction and its chapter titles, and it delivers. The prose is concise and clearly understandable. The scenarios, likewise, are situations in which nearly every reader can either imagine, or has actually experienced. This lends an instant authority and trustworthiness to the book. And after all, where there is trustworthy authority, there is careful consideration of fears itself.

P1 Identifying the Documents Used to Record Business Transactions

P1 Identifying the Documents Used to Record Business Transactions 1. Issue of a Purchase Order A  purchase order (PO)  is document issued by the buyer  to the  seller, indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller will provide to the buyer. Sending a purchase order to a supplier is a legal offer to buy products or services. If the seller agrees to selling to the buyer it forms a contract between the two. It should include: * The order number, so it can be traced and matched with invoices and statements * The purchasers name and address which is usually across the middle of the document * The price The name and address of the supplier * The catalogue/reference number * Authorisation i. e. signature and date * A description of the goods required The Delivery Address May Be Different Companies use Purchase Orders for several reasons: price * Purchase orders allow buyers to clearly and explicitly communicate their intentions to sellers * Sell ers are protected in case of a buyer's refusal to pay for goods or services * Purchase orders help a purchasing agent to manage incoming orders and pending ordersIf The Order Is Not Properly Authorised It Will Not Be Processed 2. Delivery Note This is the document is sent with the goods. It lists the items which have been sent. The buyer uses this to check the goods ordered have arrived. It is signed by the buyer and it is then sent back to the seller as a proof of delivery. The person receiving the goods signs it after checked the quantity of the goods delivered. Information on the Delivery Note: * The method of delivery * Purchase order number * The signature of the person receiving the goods * The catalogue number and quantity The Price Is Usually Not On the Delivery Note 3. InvoiceAn  invoice is a document issued by a  seller  to the  buyer, indicating the  products, quantities, and agreed  prices  for products or  services  the seller has provided the buyer. A n invoice indicates the sale transaction only. Payment terms are usually included on the invoice. The buyer can also have a maximum number of days in which to pay for these goods and is sometimes offered a discount if paid before the due date. This is probably the most important document. This is an official request for payment. It includes: * The Word  Invoice * A Unique Reference Number In Case Of Correspondence About The Invoice * Date of the Invoice. Tax Payments * Name And Contact Details Of The Seller * Tax Or Company Registration Details Of Seller * Name And Contact Details Of The Buyer * Date That The Product Was Sent Or Delivered * Purchase Order  Number * Description Of The Products * Total Amount Charged – optionally with breakdown of taxes, if relevant * Payment Terms – method of payment, date of payment, and details about charges for late payment * The Purchase Order Number – the invoice is checked against the goods ordered, the invoice and the goods delivered, the process is called â€Å"marrying up†. The buyer only pays if all three documents match exactly. Terms – this informs the buyer how long before he has to pay for the goods. The amount of cash discount for fast payment will also be stated. * Carriage – this states the cost of transportation the seller has to pay. Carriage forward means how much the buyer has to pay for transportation * E ; OE – â€Å"errors and omissions expected† this allows the seller to correct any mistakes on the invoice at a later date. * Trade Discount – this amount will be deducted from the invoice price e. g. buying in bulk. * Value Added Tax (VAT) – this is added to the cost of the goods on the invoice. Read also Recording General Fund Operating Budget and Operating TransactionsThe VAT registration number should be on the invoice, usually below the name and address. * Invoice Number – it will identify a specific invoice for the buyer and seller. Pro Forma Invoice VAT It means for forms sake. It is sent to a new customer, or an existing customer who has been late making a payment It is sent to the buyer before the goods are delivered The details are the same as on an ordinary invoice. The goods are delivered after the payment has been made.When the goods are paid for a normal invoice is issued. It sets out charges which have to be paid in advance. Debit Note This is issued by the seller and sent to the buyer. It Is Essentially an Additional Invoice It is used to correct errors e. g. if goods were invoiced at a lower price than it should been or if some goods were over charged. 4. Credit Note A  credit  note is a document issued by a  seller  to a  buyer. The seller u sually issues a credit memo for the same or lower amount than the invoice, and then repays the money to the buyer or sets it off against a balance due from other transactions.A credit note lists the products, quantities and agreed prices for products or services the seller provided the buyer, but the buyer returned or did not receive. It may be issued in the case of damaged goods, errors or allowances. In respect of the previously issued invoice, a Credit Memo will reduce or eliminate the amount the buyer has to pay. Reasons for issuing a credit note: * To correct a mistake e. g. being over charged * Goods are faulty or damaged * The goods were not delivered * The wrong goods were delivered Details on the credit note include: The date * The original invoice number * Date * The reason credit is being given * The addresses of the buyer and seller It Is Often Printed In Red 5. Statement The seller sends all regular customers a statement at the end of the month. This Is a Copy of The Cu stomer’s Accounts in The Sales Ledger. It lists all transactions with customers during the month: * Any payments received * All invoices issued * It shows outstanding balance * Any credit note issued Details include: * Date * Details of invoices issued * The name and address of the customers The customer’s account number * The name and address of the supplier * Any credit note issued * Any payments made * The amount outstanding i. e. the balance 6. Goods Received Note(GRN) This is an internal document used by the buyer, usually in the stock department to record goods being delivered. Copies are sent to various parts of the business: * The department that ordered the goods, to let them know that goods have arrived * The accounts department so they can â€Å"marry† the invoice, the purchase order and the GRN * The purchasing department who placed the order.

Discuss whether 'dress' (clothes and style) can be Essay

Discuss whether 'dress' (clothes and style) can be considered a form of communication. Does it make sense to speak of the language of clothes - Essay Example Again, the phrase appears to give an entire cultures implicit understanding of clothing and styles as communicative function. Normally, both clothing and the communicative function of style are perceived as a kind of being problematic and well understood in some culture. Majorly, an investigation into whether clothing behavior is, in general, a communicative adjustment to a particular culture will carefully be discussed herein. Basically, the paper examines the correlation in the communicative adaptability and the clothing tendency(Barnard, 1996). Clothing has a communicative function. In accordance to the understanding of the social psychology of dress, it is important that one understands that the total arrangement of outwardly detectable body modification inclusive of all material objects added onto it brings out the body supplement (May, 2013). In this case, the body modifications directly change the body, which includes making changes of the color appearance, supplements addition such as jewelry, clothing and hearing aids and a wide range of accessories. Some of the modifications in an individual may end up permanent like teeth straightening or even temporary such as deodorant. Thus, dress can alter how the body looks, feels, smells or even sounds. Clothing is taken to be a universal human behavior in that there are no societies where people do not engage in dressing behaviourism (Gott and Loughran, 2010). In defining clothing, it was noted that clothes provide to outright functions for humans, that is a modifier in the body process and as a medium of communication. When thinking about clothing in the dimension of modifier of the body process the focus is on the supplements and modifications that usually serve as interfaces between the general body and the large physical and the social environments in which human beings are found to live. When clothing protects the human body from

Aboriginal perspectives and science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Aboriginal perspectives and science - Essay Example The concept of indigenous science is very unfamiliar to most Canadian education systems. The education policies that was developed by the Ontario first nation was to provide a framework that will provide institutions with a strategic policy natural systems context within which Ministry of Education and school boards can work together to improve the academic performance of the non-aboriginal students. As described by Michell, Herman and Yvonne in ``Learning Indigenous science from place`` (pg. 6), ‘Aboriginal perspective of indigenous science is a study of natural system that contributes to a holistic view of the environment and the role of human beings in the environment’. This holistic nature of the indigenous science is composed of physical, intellectual, affective and spiritual domains of learning. For this reason the aboriginal community have wished to incorporate cultural teaching within mainstream or other institutional curricula, but there was a concern that was r aised based on the need to help universities systems to prepare students to choose their careers within scientific discipline. The framework provided in http://library2.usask.ca/native/ library website, also clarifies the roles and relationships of the ministry to Inuit students achieve their education goals and close the gap in academic achievement with the non-aboriginal students. A guideline emerged from a certain research project that aimed at fostering collaboration among a diverse range of group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators and scientist. The indigenous study has experienced acknowledgement within traditional ways and cultural practices as a method for sharing, learning, and collecting knowledge development and maintenance. The purpose of the group of Aboriginal students, educators and scientist is to begin the conservations to envision, discuss, and to clarify a philosophy and framework of aboriginal science. The aboriginal people of the 21st century have been so diverse such that their personal beliefs and ideologies as to any other cultural and ethnic group makes it important for educators to realize that these people have traditionally held and have maintained unique perspective that is much different from that of non-aboriginal peoples. The implications of the research have been anticipated to nature all learners in science schools regar dless of their cultural background. Aikenhead (2006, Pg. 7), states that the believe of incorporating Aboriginal perspectives in the school of science will help nature students’ and educators’ in understanding and appreciating indigenous knowledge systems that have not that been a major part of many institutions curriculum in the past. The primary connections of indigenous perspectives framework is aiming to accelerate science and literacy learning outcome for indigenous students and increase non-aboriginal students teachers awareness and understanding of the indigenous perspectives. It also acknowledges the contribution of those involved with development of the indigenous perspectives framework which is based on national research findings and collaboration with Aboriginal groups. Discussion Aboriginal people have viewed themselves to be part of intimately connected individuals and therefore they have acted as the guide to the way in which people and visitors in need a re to be helped traditionally. There have been a lot of aboriginal resources that have described and indicated the role of indigenous science. The need to integrate aboriginal perspectives into the science curriculum in most countries is clear and immediate. Aboriginal resources are used to help understand the knowledge of indigenous

Construction and Purpose of Chumash Tomol Coursework

Construction and Purpose of Chumash Tomol - Coursework Example The dimensions of the Chumash Indians’ canoe aimed at depth and speed with a minimum of materials. The resulting vessel was fully sea-worthy and it impressed even the early Spanish explorers. It could be used for fishing, transportation, and commerce around the islands. It was so efficient that some of the mission padres ordered construction to continue.The Chumash were a North American maritime culture, originally based on the mainland and Channel Islands on both sides of the Santa Barbara Channel in California. Even though the culture of Chumash living in the area today is not fully defined by maritime activities, the area is particularly rich in marine resources, and the Chumash used at least three kinds of boats to exploit them.At the time, cultural devastation was so rapid that canoe building was a dying art by the mid-nineteenth century. Fortunately, Fernando Librado, a Ventureno Chumash and one of the last members of the Brotherhood-of-the-Canoe, lived to the age of 111 , and even more fortunately, that ubiquitous ethnographer, J.P. Harrington2, discovered him. The two collaborated in constructing a replica of the plank canoe, which was exhibited for the first time during the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego on January 1, 1915.If Harrington had not taken detailed notes at the time, the elaborate art of canoe building would have been lost forever. As it was, it was moribund for fifty years until the vast collection of Harrington material became available. The editors sifted through box loads of Harrington's data in compiling the present volume, only those who have worked with these multilingual, cryptic and digressive notes can fully appreciate such a task.The book begins with a synoptic introduction. Precise instructions on plank canoe building follow, augmented by chapters on the tule balsa and the dugout canoe. There is an additional section on the uses of the canoe, one on myths and stories concerning the canoe, and another on the above mentioned Brotherhood-of-the-Canoe, the editors modestly attribute authorship of these chapters to Fernando or Harrington and Fernando. They conclude with an extensive bibliography and a set of photographs.The data on the construction of the canoe was tested by an actual construction of an actual canoe from driftwood under the sponsorship of the American Revolution Bicentennial Committee of Santa Barbara. The canoe builders were Chumash descendants, and the resulting craft, named the Helek, has been to see many times.