Urban poverty: Causes and solutions

Urban poverty: Causes and solutions Urban Poverty I. Introduction Historically, poverty belonged to rural areas, but nowadays it is the same in mega cities and it is estimated that a quarter of the worlds urban population is currently living in a poverty situation (Perlman, 1998). In last several years, by the population growth explosion and more and more people choose to living from countryside to city, this phenomenon was becoming more and more serious. At same time, it made social problems stand out. Deepening of urban poverty has becoming an unsafe factor in social and economic. The new problems mix with old problems lead to a variety of complex social effects. In this report will present the problems which urban poverty, and try to find the solutions to solve it. The reason for urban poverty is complicated, such as population, employment and social service. This report will state as follow. II. Methodology III. Discussion 1. Causes of poverty 1.1 Population Since the 20th century 50years, along with the accelerated process of urbanization and urban population density increased, the population of world from 30% to about 50% now, is approach to 60% by 2030. Because of this, the urban poor and slums have become increasingly prominent. Todays megacities are reaching the limits of their carrying capacity to sustain human life, as urbanites increasingly face lack of access to safe water and sanitation, inadequate waste management, poor drainage, air pollution, excessive noise levels, and ineffective and inadequate service provision(Perlman, J., Hopkins, E. Perez, R. 2008). 1.2 Employment It is means that people who living in the urban poverty, it will easily lacking to employment. According to Perlman(1998) said that women who is worked in poverty areas is overstrain, without the safety property. What is more, less working opportunities contribute to low-income household struggling for survival (Baker and Schuler, 1997), and therefore, the gap between rich and poor is widening (Perlman, 1998). 1.3 The social base installation and social service Due to the problems of urban poverty is more seriously, it is effect the social base installation and social service. According to the research from Practical Action(2008),there are 2.2billion people around world scarcity access to proper sanitation, the sewers are created by rubbish and human defecations, and more than 420 million do not have access to the simplest latrines (Perlman, 1998) and lack of solid waste disposal services (Masika, 1997). On the other hand, they lack of access to community services and low-income communities have no control over new facilities (Perlman, 1998). 2. Effects of poverty 2.1 Personal Firstly, due to the urban poor and their families, the reality of poverty has a certain degree of damage on their health, education, employment, housing, family life and other aspects. In the commercial city, poor people have low purchasing power. It is not only leading urban poor to difficulties on their material life, but also refusing them to have equal access to urban education, health care and other services. The urban poor in these areas will lag behind their culture and physiological quality than the non-poor, thus indirectly leading to decline in their social class status, so that their children may still face the dilemma of poverty. 2.2 Societal When the situation of urban poverty become aggravate and rules break down, as Power, A. and Houghton, j. said â€Å"defensive anti- social behavior takes root, people carry knives, young people from gangs, people dump their bulk rubbish where it has already accumulated and outsiders abandon cars in run-down streets where fines are not enforced†. 2.3 Criminal Civil Unrest in the French is a typical example. Every country has objective issue of Urban wealthy polarization, developed countries are no exception. The poverty and The interests of the division lead to social conflict, the French phenomenon of urban poverty and social conflict have some representation. In November 2007, the French railway strike broke out in succession and social unrest. However, in the suburbs of Paris in 2005, two boys were accidentally dead, had a similar outbreak of unrest. The riots in 2005 and 2007, most people in group were living in poor conditions, unemployment and poverty population. The content of the performance reflected were migration, unemployment, and poverty. It was widening gap between rich and the poor led to the split of the deep social contradictions, reflecting the rich-poor divide is real resentment. 3. Solutions to poverty 3.1 Government The government has duty to concern about the poverty problem, to take extremely care about their children to school, and basic health. Make sure urban poor can get special price about urban water, electricity, gas price and so on, so that their living condition do not deteriorate. And the government is have to design a income mechanism to mitigate distribution gap, such as controlling taxes and social welfare system to make the strong revenue transfer to the weak. 3.2 Societal Fairness in economic activities there are two concepts, one is income equally, all participants in economic activities more consistent revenue; second is a fair chance, that mean economic agents have a fair competition and fair opportunity to participate. Income may be unfair, but everyone should have the right to compete fairly.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krauker Essay -- Into Thin Air, Jon Krauker

The book Into Thin Air, written by Jon Krakauer, explores the struggle of man versus man and man versus nature. The very different personalities proved costly to everyone involved on the expedition. The team of climbers that were hiking toward the summit of Mt. Everest on May 10, 1996, was oblivious to what lay ahead of them. No matter how advanced the hikers were, Everest on this day would test the will and endurance of everyone attempting to reach the summit. The one element that no one person could elude was pain. Jon Krakauer stated in his book, â€Å"I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain† (136). At this point in the book, Jon was unaware of the events that would soon transpire. Even the most well-trained climber was at the mercy of the great mountain. The temperature change had a big effect on everyone. The temperature was well below freezing during the night and the wind chill dropped to one hundred degrees below zero. When the sun came up, the temperature would change dramatically. The ultraviolet rays were much stronger on the mou...

Social Class and Redneck Neighbor

Marketing 542 January 23, 2010 Clash of the Classes: Middle vs. High Proles What was once categorized by the rich and the poor, it is undoubted that society today cannot be so easily defined. In the words of Jennifer Steinhauer, â€Å"One thing modernity brought with it was all kinds of identities, the ability for people to choose who you want to be, how you want to decorate yourself, what kind of lifestyle you want. † With this vast amount of â€Å"identities† comes the need for a more structured class designation as well as a process for de-blurring the lines between them. While Paul Fussell has recognized nine classes in this country, the focus of this analysis will rely on two of them: Middle and High Proletarian, or High Proles. The researched differences between these groups will be examined and then related to the real-world example of Redneck Neighbor. Marketing practices and how they can be applied to this situation will also be referenced. As noted, Fussel recognizes nine classes and has them separated into three segments: high brow, middle brow, and low brow. At the top of the high brow segment lays Middle class and then High Proles just below it. While the two classes may be adjacent to one another, the fact that Middle is just one class away from the high brows says enough for them to have a completely different set of distinguishable attributes. It is this â€Å"so close, but not close enough† mentality of the Middle class that explains their desires and state of mind. According to Fussel, the Middle class is the most insecure class and practically obsessed with doing the right thing. Not only do they try to keep up with the high brows in what they consume, but also by how they consume it. Thorstein Veblen says it best with â€Å"Closely related to the requirement that the gentleman must consume freely and of the right kind of goods, there is the requirement that he must know how to consume them in a seemly manner. † The Middle class is constantly worried about their own style and associate themselves (sometimes imaginably so) with money, power and taste. Conversely, High Proles are â€Å"†¦not consumed with worry about choosing the correct status emblems, these people can be remarkably relaxed and unself-conscious. They can do, say, wear, and look like pretty much anything they want without undue feelings of shame, which belong to their betters, the middle class†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Fussell, pg. 46). It appears as though the Middle class works very hard to hide the fact that they aren’t in the high brow segment while High Proles are proud to be who they are and don’t care what others think. The middle class is petrified of falling down in ranking and the High Proles aren’t really striving to get ahead. It is this clear contrast between the classes that makes the Redneck Neighbor story so relevant and support the findings of various researchers. Based on the above information, it is clear that the author of the website is a member of the Middle class while the neighbor, or John Doe #8 (JD8), is a High Prole. Coinciding with their obsession to look the part and not â€Å"fall down† in class, it makes sense that the author is terrified of being associated with his lower classed neighbor. He makes complaints to the police on numerous occasions, tells his friends every single detail of his neighbor’s existence to the point where he feels the need to start his own website documenting it for the whole world to see. This is his attempt to save face and let everyone know that he disagrees with the â€Å"manner of consumption† by his neighbor. This supports Veblen’s quote â€Å"Since the consumption of these more excellent goods is an evidence of wealth, it becomes honorific; and conversely, the failure to consume in due quantity and quality becomes a mark of inferiority and demerit. † While talking to the builder, the author quotes â€Å"†¦ the builder starts referring to the neighbor in a less-than-amicable fashion – someone else on my side! Perhaps he feels a bit guilty for his privacy invading actions but is able to justify himself by hearing someone with the same demeanor. One of the biggest mistakes the author makes is associating JD8’s social class with money and the car he drives. As Fussel points out, â€Å"It’s not riches alone that defines these classes† (pg. 27). And we know from Steinhauer’s example of entry level luxury ca rs that in these days, the kind of car you drive cannot be directly related to your worth or class. Additionally, Veblen’s idea of consumption in the city versus country comes into play. Since the residents are in the suburbs (or country), it is pretty much known throughout the town the value of each home/family. This fear is expressed by the author when he says, â€Å"I can see the property value falling faster than his mailbox post. † Even with all of the accused faux pas, it does not appear that JD8 is intentionally trying to provoke others. Contrary to the previous statement of High Proles not trying to get ahead, it does appear that the neighbor is making an attempt to update his property with the common items found in the neighborhood: mailbox post, fish pond, herb garden and flagpole. But going back to the research findings of Fussell and Veblen, it is not the fact that he is trying to install these items but that he is doing them in the â€Å"wrong† way. And coinciding with the attributes of a High Prole, JD8 is not ashamed and obviously doesn’t care what others think. An interesting aspect of the Redneck Neighbor case was the small hints that the author was a bit of a redneck himself. Calling the basketball hoop a â€Å"basketball goal†, telling the police officer â€Å"the next time we have a problem some damn body is going to jail†, and feeling the need to clarify what livestock is, gave the impression he was not as high class as he hoped to portray himself. What does all of this mean for marketers? It means that it is getting harder to categorize customer segments in which to market. As you can see from Redneck Neighbor, today’s consumers have unpredictable buying patterns. JD8 spends money on a luxury brand car, but not on household items. This somewhat new phenomenon is not unique to JD8. Many people splurge on higher end items like Godiva, BMW, and Whole Foods yet still go to Costco for their day-to-day needs. According to Steinhauer, â€Å"Where once they pitched advertisements primarily to a core group of customers, now they are increasingly fine-tuning their efforts, trying to identify potential customers by interests and tastes as well as income level. † Author Douglas Holt believes that the best way to capture consumers is to create stories that affect how they think about themselves in the world. This technique could be very beneficial for Middle class customers since marketers could play up on the idea of high brow society. With High Proles, marketers could take advantage of their independent mindset and pride in their advertising campaigns. Hardly anyone can argue that the classification of consumers has become more difficult over the years and the population as a whole is harder to reach. Marketers constantly need to think of new ways to get their message across and have it register within consumer minds. It is unclear what the future holds for marketers, but it is an exciting challenge to move away from the old teachings and tailor them to the constantly clashing classes of our time. Word Count: 1,277

Can You Name the First 10 Alkanes

Alkanes are the simplest hydrocarbon chains. These are organic molecules that consist only of hydrogen and carbon atoms in a tree-shaped structure (acyclic or not a ring). These are commonly known as paraffins and waxes. Here is a list of the first 10 alkanes. methane CH4 ethane C2H6 propane C3H8 butane C4H10 pentane C5H12 hexane C6H14 heptane C7H16 octane C8H18 nonane C9H20 decane C10H22 Table of the First 10 Alkanes How Alkane Names Work Each alkane name is built from a prefix (first part) and a suffix (ending). The -ane suffix identifies the molecule as an alkane, while the prefix identifies carbon skeleton. The carbon skeleton is how many carbons are linked to each other. Each carbon atom participates in 4 chemical bonds. Every hydrogen is joined to a carbon. The first four names come from the names methanol, ether, propionic acid, and butyric acid. Alkanes that have 5 or more carbons are named using prefixes that indicate ​the  number of carbons. So, pent- means 5, hex- means 6, hept- means 7, and so on. Branched Alkanes The simple branched alkanes have prefixes on their names to distinguish them from the linear alkanes. For example, isopentane, neopentane, and n-pentane are names of branched forms of the alkane pentane. The naming rules are somewhat complicated: Find the longest chain of carbon atoms. Name this root chain using the alkane rules.Name each side chain according to its number of carbons, but change the suffix of its name from -ane to -yl.Number the root chain so that the side chains have the lowest possible numbers.Give the number and name of the side chains before naming the root chain.If multiples of the same side chain are present, prefixes such as di- (two) and tri- (for three) indicate how many of the chains are present. The location of each chain is given using a number.The names of multiple side chains (not counting di-, tri-, etc. prefixes) are given in alphabetical order before the name of the root chain. Properties and Uses of Alkanes Alkanes that have more than three carbon atoms form structural isomers. Lower molecular weight alkanes tend to be gases and liquids, while larger alkanes are solid at room temperature. Alkanes tend to make good fuels. They are not very reactive molecules and do not have biological activity. They do not conduct electricity and not appreciably polarized in electric fields. Alkanes dont form hydrogen bonds, so they arent soluble in water or other polar solvents. When added to water, they tend to decrease the entropy of the mixture or increase its level or order. Natural sources of alkanes include natural gas and petroleum. Sources Arora, A. (2006). Hydrocarbons (Alkanes, Alkenes And Alkynes). Discovery Publishing House Pvt. Limited. ISBN 9788183561426.IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the Gold Book) (1997). Alkanes. doi:10.1351/goldbook.A00222