Private School Vouchers Essays - Education Economics,

Private School Vouchers Matchmaker.com: Sign up now for a free trial. Date Smarter! Private School Vouchers Proposals to use private school vouchers, a marketplace strategy, as a mechanism by which to improve the general quality of public education have produced a lively debate. Frequently, that debate has degenerated into a disagreement about whether public schools are as good as private schools or whether a given private school is better than a certain neighborhood public school. Other issues raised in these discussions include the appropriate use of public funds, the role of competition in improving public education, and the right of parents to choose a school for their children. Although these issues are of interest, they are not the fundamental questions which must be raised about the future of public schools in a democracy. Two Core Issues In their rush to the marketplace, the proponents of private school choice supported by public funds have chosen to ignore two core issues. First, the advocates of private school choice studiously avoid any discussion of the relationship between public schools and the common or public good in a democracy. As an example, the Governor of Wisconsin asserts that "any school that serves the public is a public school" and should therefore receive public funds through a voucher system. There is no recognition in this proposal of the distinct and unique purpose of public education in serving the public good. This rhetorical sleight-of-hand does not mean that a private school of choice becomes a public school in purpose simply by so defining it. The claim is merely a device to divert public funds for private purposes. The failure to recognize that public schools have a central responsibility in a democratic society is further evidenced by the work of John Chubb and Terry Moe, who argue that improving the efficiency and quality of public education will require the replacement of democratic governance by market mechanisms. The authors state, "The most basic cause of ineffective performance among the nation's public schools is their subordination to public authority. ... The school's most fundamental problems are rooted in the institutions of democratic control by which they are governed". Chubb and Moe deny the historic purposes of public schools when they reject the idea that educational policy should be directed by a common vision or purpose. They assert, "It should be apparent that schools have no immutable or transcendent purpose. ... What they are supposed to be doing depends on who controls them and what these controllers want them to do". The Thompson proposal for Wisconsin's schools embraces this belief system it is a denial of the fundamental role of public education in affirming the public good. A second issue which remains unexamined in the rush to the marketplace concerns the claims offered in defense of private school choice. Choice is offered as a "lesson learned" rather than a proposition to be examined. Advocates of private school choice have ignored its history. Despite the claims made for a market-based school restructuring strategy, the history of choice does not support the claims of its proponents. A Declaration of Crisis Willingness to abandon strong support for public schools and to turn to marketplace solutions is driven by a crisis rhetoric. This rhetoric, which suggests that public education is failing, is not only misleading, it is dangerous because it may erode public confidence in the very institutions on which our capacity for a democratic response depends. Criticism of public education has continued unabated since the publication of A Nation At Risk in 1983. Stimulated in large part by new international economic realities, by a domestic economy based on traditional production models, and by changing domestic demographics, the critics have sought solutions to these challenging problems by turning to schools and educators. The data cited by critics of public schools were accepted at face value until the late 1980's. However, since then, a variety of research reports have revealed that much of the criticism has been simplistic and has distorted and misrepresented the conditions of public education. The credibility of the crisis-in-education claim, in fact, rests not on immutable evidence of school failure but, rather, on a linkage which has been established by critics between education and other social problems such as violent crime, drug use, family instability, and economic uncertainty. Although schools are not charged directly with creating these problems, the public is turning to public education for solutions to broad and complex social conditions. This occurred in the 1950's in response to the Russian scientific and military challenge, in the 1960's in response to the challenge of racial segregation, and again in the 1980's in response to the challenges

Google IPO

Google IPO Initial Public Offering for Google Inc.A start-up corporation may have its inception through privately invested funds or through procuring funds through a venture capital firm or a composite of both funding sources. Venture capital is defined as "money invested to finance a new firm" (Brealey, Myers, and Marcus, 2004, p. 368). Venture capitalists often hold seats on the company's board of directors and provide input in the composition of the senior management team that leads the company (Brealey et al., 2004, p. 369). In the chronological development of a successful company, likely there will come a time when growth opportunities and expansion plans call for more capital than can reasonably be obtained through continued investment by venture capitalists. How does a company raise the capital it needs to continue its development? One option is to sell shares in the company to the public, which is an "initial public offering (IPO)" (Brealey et al.,India Inc book launch2004, p. 370).On A pril 29, 2004, the internet search engine company Google filed a Form S-1 or registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under its chartered name of Google Inc. As news of the pending IPO spread, speculation ran rampant about the potential earnings that Google might anticipate. CNN Money reported that, "Wall Street has been eagerly anticipating a filing from Google so investors could finally get a glimpse into the company's finances (LaMonica, 2004, p. 1). In addition, the already intense competition between Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft's MSN was projected to escalate substantially as a result of Google's intent to move into the public domain.Registration, Disclosure, and Compliance IssuesA business moving toward an IPO has a number of requirements that it must meet in order to satisfy the SEC standards for issuing common stock. In order to achieve its...

Term paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Term paper - Essay Example ber of Filipinos who play the guitar, it truly is the most common instrument in the country’s music industry, one musical contribution left by the Spaniards. As Professor Samuel Tan noted in his book â€Å"A History of the Philippines†, as the Philippines experiences neocolonialism in the coming of the US, Filipinos have come to embrace this new culture and tailor it to their current lives. The strength on the US influence spreads on two elements of music—rhythm and lyricism. Since the US introduced rock ‘n roll, R&B, and blues, Filipinos have come up with their own variations in musical style as they adopt it to their own culture. The rhythm could be rock ‘n roll, but with Tagalog lyrics; or famous Filipino singers with their own versions, or â€Å"covers† as it has been called, of hit singles in America. All these contribute to the richness of the Philippine music as mà ©lange of various influences in the country’s past. One of the leading forces that continue to shape the current Philippines music industry today is a quintet known as â€Å"The CompanY†. Critically acclaimed as the Philippines’ premiere vocal group, The CompanY, with a capital Y at the end of the group’s name is a quintet that started in the industry since 1985. For twenty-one years, the group has garnered most of the prestigious some 36 musical awards in the country. Its five members have had excellent background in music—they are theater actors, vocal instructors, composers, and members of some of the most prestigious internationally-awarded choral groups in the Philippines such as the Philippine Madrigal Singers, University of the Philippines Concert Chorus, University of the Philippines and Ateneo College Glee Club. The CompanY, as claimed in the group’s website, keeps their music from being confined into a single category; with their songs, they exude their vocal prowess and the range of musical possibilities their capabilities could carry by trying on virtually almost all

Art and the Artist Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8750 words

Art and the Artist - Coursework Example It is such an emphasis on individualism that usually lays the ground for a career in the arts and defines an artist's identity along the way. In the US, sponsors of an art enrichment program interviewed children aged 8-11 to explore how children perceive their own development in terms of artistic and creative identities. The answers are instructive and say a great deal about what it takes to develop an artistic identity. The youngest said they chose their subject matter based on what they liked or thought others would like if their artwork were a gift. The 9-year-olds in the group said they were focused on making their work look "real" by using their knowledge in a combination of work and enjoyment. The 10-year-olds expressed interest in subjects that pose a technical challenge, pointing out that an artwork did not have to look real to be considered art. The 11-year-olds, on the other hand, wanted to explore different painting styles and find something interesting and then persist in accomplishing this desired style. The oldest children demonstrated elements of artistic decision-making skills, selecting among these elemen ts and modifying their knowledge and skills to create the desired end (Rostan, 1998). All the children interviewed were unanimous in saying that being an artist involves a combination of knowledge, motivation and purposeful work. How this combination of these factors come in their order of importance differed according to age. The youngest children said knowledge or an inborn talent is the most important, the older ones believed it was motivation and the oldest said purposeful work should take precedence over the others. Any study of the rise to fame of contemporary artists would also show that family and friends and the milieu in which an individual grows up bear an influence on the development of an artistic identity. Childhood experiences also provide inspiration for one to take up arts. For example, Louise Bourgois is considered very effective in conveying such feelings as anger, betrayal and jealousy because of an adulterous father whose mistress the governess lived with the family even as her mother refused to acknowledge the immorality. The best way to capture the development of an artist's identity is to chronicle the odyssey of artists from obscurity to the halls of fame. Medium as Message Sculptors create things to express an idea or feeling, which may or may not be shared by others. For example, a classic creation of Barbara Hepworth called "Corinth" looks like a big red apple that someone took a bite out of, but it was really not meant to be a sculpture of an apple. Two colors and a variety of textures, which cannot be seen in apples, were used to add interest and certain meaning to the abstract shape. In effect, the artist merely used the figure of an apple to convey a personal message, with sculpture as medium. There are many known art mediums by which artists can express their own ideas or feelings and it is a popular belief that the identity of an artist emerges as result of his/her chosen medium. The medium may also be an art movement, such as Abstractionism and Cubism, which could give an artist his/her own identity. It appears that

Issues of Corporal Punishment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Issues of Corporal Punishment - Research Paper Example According to Farrell, the existence of corporal punishment has diminished in Western society, but the practice is still continued in non-western societies, and the politicians of the western society keep on trying to making this punishment method a part of their legal system. Corporal punishment has existed in schooling systems and questions have been raised against and support has been given in the favour of corporal punishment in educational institutes. Activities that are categorized as Corporal punishment includes: whipping, gagging, flogging etc. These activities were practiced in US as well as Europeans nations for several years. Graeme Newman, a supporter of Corporal Punishment has stated in his work that activities such as electric shocks that are listed under the corporal punishment regime should be assigned for even smaller degree of crimes (Howard, 2001, p.259). He supports this kind of punishment over prison period because he believes that this punishment is equal to the crime committed and prison period cannot be compare to the crime committed. He is even in favour of corporal punishment as he believes that punishment has lower economic costs as compared to prison period. Body History The history of corporal punishment can be traced back to the period of tenth century and its existence can be traced in the educational and legal system of Rome and Egypt. Certain nations were highly popular for using such way of punishing individuals, one of such nations was Sparta, and during this period this means of penalizing individuals was most commonly used. During the Roman period the minimum corporal punishment assigned to an individual was forty counts of strokes with a whip or lash on the back and in certain cases fasces were applied on an individual’s buttocks. Such punished were carried to the extent of making the criminal bleed and these punishments were made public with the objective of creating an example out of these punishments and to inflict fear in the citizens. During the 5th and the 15th century, same practices were conducted and encouraged by the churches of that period in Europe. Due to the educational system’s close attachment to the churches of that period, these methods of disciplining individuals were even adopted by educational institutes. This treatment was never opposed before the 11th century, during 11th century, it gain criticism as it was being used continuously to discipline children and the degree of this punishment was considered very high. Corporal punishment experienced a complete switch during the 16th century. During this period these punishments were made available for the public’s eyes to inflict fear in those who have never committed a crime or who were potential future criminals. During this period Roger Ascham was one of those who criticized the use of corporal punishment in educational institutes. Another popular criticizer was John Locke, he openly criticized its use in educa tional institutes and due to his continuous criticism, this way of penalizing children in educational institutes was banned by the policy makers and educators of Poland during 1783 and Poland gained recognition as the first country every to do so (Hastings, 1971, p.144). This way of punishing individuals gained further criticism during the 18th century by policy makers and

Age assessments for unaccompanied asylum seeking

Age assessments for unaccompanied asylum seeking DISSERTATION Age assessments for unaccompanied asylum seeking children: Policy, law and implications for social work. Abstract Methodology Literature Review Chapter One – Introduction Chapter Two – Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers Chapter Three – Age Assessment Policy, Legislation and Practice Chapter Four – Conclusion and Recommendations. Unaccompanied asylum seeking children arrive in the UK seeking refuge from often-horrific events in their home countries. The response of both national government and local authorities to this influx has been largely unsatisfactory with campaigners arguing that the focus has been on cutting costs and removing young asylum seekers rather than providing them with the care that they are entitled to. This study suggests that policy and practice around age assessment is central to this argument. There is significant evidence that local authorities are pressurising social workers to age assess children as older than they are in order to save them money. The haphazard way in which age assessments have usually been carried out only serves to encourage this behaviour. Even without financial pressure, the lack of a standard approach to age assessment is also leading to inconsistencies when age assessments are put into practice The focus of this dissertation has been to analyse how, why and when age assessments are used in processing unaccompanied asylum seekers and examine whether the process is fair and consistent. The methodology has primarily to adopt secondary sources and evaluate evidence from as wide a range of viewpoints as possible. The dissertation has been aimed towards a conclusion that the current process is unsatisfactory and has attempted to deliver recommendations that could improve the process. Literature for this dissertation has been gathered from a combination of academic books and journals, government publications, reports produced by independent agencies and articles from newspapers and magazines including The Guardian and Community Care. One of the most detailed reports on the subject of assessment is the 2007, When is a child not a child? Asylum, age disputes and the process of age assessment by Crawley. Much of the factual detail about the actual mechanics of age assessment has been gathered from this source. Of academic journals, the articles written by Kohli have been most useful as they delivering the results and analysis from a wide range of studies around unaccompanied asylum seekers. Each year, approximately 3000 unaccompanied children and young people arrive in the UK to seek asylum.[1] Many of these are subject to age assessment to clarify that they are entitled to services available to vulnerable children in the UK. The age of people claiming to be children can be disputed by a range of professionals, from immigration officers to police and social workers. It is important to define what an age assessment actually is at the beginning of this study. An age assessment is he method used by either the UK border and Immigration Agency or local authority social services departments to assess the age of an asylum seeker.[2]There is currently no method that is capable of defining the exact age of a child and the accuracy of the assessment will often be produced within a range of two years over or below the assessment age.[3] Some commentators have argued that many local authorities have proactively looked to avoid the cost of looking after young asylum seekers in need and have set up control measures to keep children aged 16-18 out of the territory.[4] One of the mechanisms for doing this has been attempts by social workers to stop classifying unaccompanied minors as children. There have been suggestions that many social workers became preoccupied with attempting to assess the age of applicants rather than providing services and that such an assessment was crude exercise based on the individual opinion of a single social worker. As Kohli writes â€Å"studies reported a growing disbelief in respect of those claiming to be under 18 and the treatment of anyone over 16 years as a de facto adult allowed access to food and shelter but little else.†[5] Professionals working in the highest echelons of childcare have expressed similar concerns, for example the Children’s Commissioner Sir Al Aynsley Green has stated: â€Å"Although Home Office Policy is for the immigration officer to apply the ‘benefit of the doubt’ in favour of the applicant in borderline cases, the evidence suggests that in practice this is frequently not adhered to. The result is that a substantial number of asylum seekers who are in fact unaccompanied children are excluded from the protection of domestic care regimes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [6] Government policy from the early part of the decade has been to work in partnership with local authorities and disperse asylum seekers of all ages around the country. The Home Office negotiated contracts with a number of authorities to receive and accommodate asylum seekers.[7] There also is evidence to support this. Central government has since 2005 looked to change the role of social work teams at ports of entry to work practically as adjuncts to the Border and Immigration Agency, deliberately narrowing the gap between immigration and social services functions. There is clearly a financial motivation for this – in 2005 the 6000 unaccompanied asylum seeking children offered services by local authorities comprised less than 10% of cases yet used up approximately 25% of the Home Office budget.[8]Social work teams have been set targets in terms of turning away age disputed asylum seekers and assessing clients claiming to be 15 as older.[9] This study looks at how the UK deals with unaccompanied asylum seekers and in particular examines policy and practice around age assessment. Chapter two focuses on the legislation in place and policy around it whilst chapter three looks more specifically at the age assessment processes and the general failings of the system in the UK. Chapter four concludes with recommendations on improving the system Unaccompanied asylum seeking children arrive in the UK for a number of reasons. A recent study of 218 arrivals found that half came from countries undergoing armed conflict or serious disturbances and over two fifths were victims of direct or indirect persecution. Deprivation, poverty or trafficking for exploitation were other primary reasons for seeking asylum.[10] Dealing with asylum seeking children, either with or without their families is a growing area of social work practice yet one in which there is relatively little understanding of the needs or circumstances of such children.[11] In legislative terms, legislation such as The Children’s Act 1989 and The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families remain central to issues around assessment and care for asylum-seeking children and they should also be included under the remit of the Every Child Matters agenda. The Children and Young People’s Plan 2005 for example makes reference to joint working between housing and social care bodies to meet the housing needs of unaccompanied asylum seekers. [12] For local authorities, there is a duty to provide services necessary to safeguard and promote the well-being of any children deemed to be in need under the Children Act 1989. Due to the absence of their parents, unaccompanied children are classed as vulnerable and therefore in need. The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 also reinforces the local authority duty to support unaccompanied minors. It is helpful to have a clear definition of what an unaccompanied asylum seeker actually is. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate definition is a young person under the age of 18(or who appears to be if there is no proof); who is applying for asylum in his or her own right; and who has no adult relative or guardian to turn to within the UK.[13] The age of an unaccompanied asylum seeker has historically been an important factor in respect of the Special Grant that the Home Office made available to unaccompanied minors. Prior to 2004 there were two levels of support available, with those supported under the age of 16 receiving a higher level and those first supported at age 16 or 17 receiving half that amount.[14] However, a judicial review – the Hillingdon Judgement – carried out in 2004 has significantly increased the impact on local authorities. The judgement ruled that, except in exceptional cases, all asylum-seeking children must be treated under section 20 of the Children’s Act 1989 which classes them as looked after children. [15] There is clearly an impact on service provision for both national and local government. Watters writes that â€Å"the arrival of significant numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children through the port of Dover thus presented very significant challenges to social care, health and education providers in the south east.† [16] Asylum seekers who after the assessment process became looked after children would be entitled to foster or residential placements, an allocated social worker and financial support. They may also have qualified for the benefits of leaving care status up to the age of 21, a further financial burden on local authorities. The question of age then is a crucial issue for local authorities. Many young people seeking asylum do not have official papers or documentation confirming their age so practitioners in both social services and immigration have difficult decisions to make. It can be difficult to draw information from asylum seeking children – research shows that when they are asked about reasons for their asylum request, they try and fit their stories into the narrow format that they believe are acceptable in their given country.[17]This in turn can lead to scepticism amongst officials and social workers, the same research reported instances of social services personnel being cynical about young Kosovan and African males claiming to be younger than they looked and thus worrying that their services were being exploited and their resources drained.[18] Ultimately, age assessment is a crucial tool for immigration officials and social workers. There are asylum seekers who try to abuse the system, so a method of asserting age is required. When the current practices serve this purpose will be discussed in chapter three. When and Why Most age disputes in asylum cases occur when an asylum seeker first applies for asylum, normally at their port of entry.[19]There is little in the way of formal assessment at this point, age disputes will be lodged primarily based on the basis of appearance, demeanour and documentation. Another issue of contention is the range of individuals or professionals that might dispute the age of an asylum seeker – this can include immigrations officials, social workers or police officers. Social workers may even dispute the age of a child who had not been queried by immigration officials. Age disputes may happen several months or even years after a child has entered the country. Crawley quotes a case study of a young girl who had been brought into the country at a young age to be used as a domestic slave. When immigration officials became aware of her five years later – still under the age of 16 – she was age disputed before eventually taken into the care of a social services department.[20] In contrast, many young people, perhaps some who are over 18, slip through the net and are classed as minors. Many social services departments simply do not have the resources to undertake formal age assessments and have concerns about the impact of multiple interviews and assessment on young asylum seekers. As such, decisions are made not to query age. Policy and Legislative framework Home Office policy in terms of unaccompanied minors is set out in policy documents including Policy bulletin 33, Guidance from processing applications from children and Guidance on age disputed cases 3rd ed which lays out specific procedures for professionals who dispute a claimant’s age and believe that it is an adult claiming to be a child. One of the most interesting aspects of policy and perhaps the most controversial in the light of what appears to be happening is that the INDs guidance on age disputed cases states clearly that when there is an age dispute â€Å"a claimant must be given the benefit of the doubt with regards to their age unless their physical appearance strongly suggests that they are aged 18 or over†.[21]It seems that this is not the case currently in practice – local authorities certainly are encouraging social work team to dispute age more regularly. Other aspects of the IND guidance can be confusing and it is not surprising that there are inconsistencies in practice. For example there is no actual duty for immigration officers to refer age disputed cases to the appropriate local authority, rather this is something that should be done in principle, a situation that can only complicate things for social workers further down the line. Overall, the current system seems disjointed and variable. As Crawley writes: â€Å"There is evidence of a significant gap between what is supposed to happen and to what happens in practice†[22] and some of the issues involves at age assessment units around the country highlight this: A general lack of care, including a lack of food and water, for young people waiting to be screened A failure to use the privacy of separate interview rooms Difficulties with microphones meaning conversations held through the glass screen in the public area are either overheard or not heard at all No responsible adult being present to support young person[23] Clearly age assessment is not a simple matter. All children vary in development, maturity and natural growth and there can be a wide range of supposed ‘normal findings’ at various ages. It is extremely difficult to accurately gather a young persons age and things such as race, ethnicity and local conditions such as disease and malnutrition have to be considered in any assessment. Whether children’s social workers are qualified to do this is questionable The organisation Youth Support which assists young refuges reports that in its own age assessment process it includes as many factors as possible including â€Å"height, weight, body mass, shoe size, developmental factors such as skin care and teeth, sexual development; mental and emotional age estimates including thought processes and general concepts. Also of great importance is the history and social milestones which the young person might have experienced – again talking culture and religion into consideration.†[24] There is clearly inconsistency in the process nationwide. Michie argues that one of the problems in the UK has been that a diversity of systems and guidelines has developed in assessing the age of unaccompanied minors, involving a combination of history collection, physical anthropometry and radiographs. He writes: â€Å"Their lack of uniformity identifies an underlying difficulty: there is no method by which chronological age can be precisely estimated in this age group. Paediatricians in the United Kingdom care for small numbers of individuals in late adolescence and early adulthood in graduate outpatient services, but often have little experience in this area.†[25] There are some success stories. At Heathrow Airport for example, Hillingdon Social Services have used a number of strategies to deal with large volumes of unaccompanied asylum seekers. These have included use of a dedicated police officer for child protection, a specific questionnaire for staff working at terminal 3 and the development of a specifics age assessment tool combined with specific training,.[26] Guidance for Social Work Practice Age assessment is clearly a difficult area for social work practitioners. There is little experience in this type of work and relatively little in the way of practice guidelines. The guidance drawn up by the Children’s Legal Centre is perhaps the most useful document for social workers to refer to when carrying out age assessments. Some of the points included are: Taking account of ethnicity, culture and customs of the person being assessed and well as the level of trauma, tiredness, anxiety and bewilderment present The asylum seeker may have had coaching prior to arrival. It is important for the social work to engage with the person in a process sometimes known as ‘joining’. The assessment framework should be led by open, non-leading questions The practitioner should note the verbal and non-verbal (body language) behaviour of the person A useful indicator is if the person seems uncomfortable talking to an adult A detailed family tree with ages of parents and siblings can help assessing likely age Questions about the activities and roles a person was involved in prior to entering the UK can be a good indicator Social workers may consider arranging for the person to be put in a social situation with people of the age stated and observing interaction Gaining detailed accounts of educational history can be a valuable source of information in making an accurate age assessment Assessment of life skills is useful – does the person have any experience of living independently, managing money etc[27] All of the above can be done in conjunction with opinion and input from other sources including foster carers, teachers, doctors, interpreters and residential workers. It is useful also to have input from paediatricians, dentists or optician although a social worker should take into account advice from paediatricians that there can be a five year error in age assessments.[28] Just as important is information and best practice sharing between professional involved in this type of work. A uniform approach to age assessment across the UK should be a shared objective. There are clearly huge improvements necessary in the way that social service departments across the country deal with unaccompanied asylum seekers. This includes both the process for age assessment and the subsequent services provided. Evidence shows that staff in the various agencies dealing with these children lack knowledge about the services available and how to deal with the emotional trauma that many of these children will have experienced.[29]Social workers dealing with age assessments are clearly lacking in the skills to do so accurately. One reported when surveyed: â€Å"We do them (age assessments) but we can be wrong five years either side – it matters a lot doesn’t it? They can end up with many dates of birth – social services, Home Office, their own..†[30] Practitioners need such understand the vulnerability of the young people they are dealing with and avoid taking a cynical approach. As Michie concludes: â€Å"The fairness, legality and ethical base of any national framework for age assessment has to take into account legal history, jurisprudence as well as the paediatric wisdom, â€Å"What if this were my child?†, Although it may be difficult to quantify the inadequacies of the current system, it clearly compounds abuse to a vulnerable group of children. We must do better.†[31] The are some positives in examining the UK response to unaccompanied asylum seekers . The more holistic approach developed in recent years seems to be more efficient are more aware of the sensitivities of the issues than for example the US and Australian governments. Bhaba et al write of the UK: â€Å"It has made extensive efforts to identify children in genuine need at the earliest possible stage and to institute programmes to target trafficking in children through training of in country border officials and the instigation of research. [32]This is a pleasing sign, yet problems still occur when age is disputed. Recommendations: There are a number of steps that can be taken to improve the way in which young asylum seekers are treated to ensure consistency. Protection of vulnerable children is crucial, yet it is also important that age assessments can be used to identify asylum seekers over the age of 18 who seek to abuse the system. The EU’s reception directive states that unaccompanied children seeking asylum should be appointed a legal guardian[33] and this should be adopted by the UK Helping vulnerable children through the process would be a welcome improvement. Trained, skilled age assessors should be employed at ports of entry. These may well be social workers, experienced in dealing with this age group, accountable to a child protection team with paediatric expertise open to them in some form. Another option would be to establish fully trained multi agency teams based in regional assessment centres, something that would produce holistic and better-informed outcomes. Ideally age assessors should be financially independent of local authority social services – this would limit the chance of pressure being put upon assessors to reach targets for the number of age assessments found to be 18+. The lack of statutory guidance on the process of age assessment should also be addressed – this would help alleviate some of the inconsistencies in the process. A final recommendation, supported by Crawley, would be for the age assessment process to be overlooked by an independent age assessment panel which could provide support and guidance, help with the auditing process and make it less likely that decisions could be challenged or influence by those holding the local authority purse strings. The most important thing is that age assessment is done fairly and consistently, and that young asylum seekers are treated in the same way, regardless of port of entry or the local authority overseeing them. At present this is not the case and there is work for legislators, policy makers and practitioners to do if this is to be rectified. Bibliography Bhaba J, Finch N, Crock M Schmidt S, Seeking Asylum Alone, Themis Press 2006 Chase e, Emotional Well-being of asylum seeking children, http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/07/29/108994/well-being-of-asylum-seeking-children.html accessed 15 October Children’s Legal Centre, Practice Guidelines for age assessment of young unaccompanied asylum seekers, http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/NR/rdonlyres/BAA6E134-7810-42C1-9634-2AC500D326DE/0/PracticeNotesKarenGoodman.pdf accessed 15 October Crawley, H, When is a child not a child? Asylum, age disputes and the process of age assessment, Immigration Law Practitioners Association, May 2007 DFES 2005, Guidance on the Children and Young People’s Plan, Hayes D, Humphries B, Cohen S, Social Work, Immigration and Asylum, Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2004 Kelly A, Minors Conflict, The Guardian Jan 31 2007 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jan/31/asylum.guardiansocietysupplement1 accessed 16 October Kohli R, The Comfort of Strangers: social work practice with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people in the UK, child and Family Social Work ,vol 11 2006 Kohli R, The Sound of Silence: Listening to What Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children Say and Do Not Say, British Journal of Social Work vol 36 2006 Michie CA, Age Assessment: time for progress? Archives of Disease in Childhood, 90(6) June 2005 Mitchell F, The social services response to unaccompanied children in England, Children and Family Social Work, vol 8 August 2003 Watters C, Refugee Children, Routlege 2008 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/05/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices accessed 15 October Asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/05/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices accessed 16 October http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/asylumprocessguidance/specialcases/guidance/disputedagecases.pdf?view=Binary accessed 15 October www.everychildmatters.com accessed 14 October http://www.ilpa.org.uk/infoservice/Info%20sheet%20Age%20Disputes%20%20Age%20Assessment.pdf accessed 16 October 1 [1] Chase e, Emotional Well-being of asylum seeking children, http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/07/29/108994/well-being-of-asylum-seeking-children.html [2] http://www.ilpa.org.uk/infoservice/Info sheet Age Disputes Age Assessment.pdf [3] http://www.ilpa.org.uk/infoservice/Info sheet Age Disputes Age Assessment.pdf [4] P2 Kohli R, The Comfort of Strangers: social work practice with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people in the UK, child and Family Social Work ,vol 11 2006 [5] p2 Kohli 2006 [6] p4 Crawley 2007 [7] p85 Watters 2008 [8] p84 Watters C, Refugee Children, Routlege 2008 [9] p84 Watters C, Refugee Children, Routlege 2008 [10] p179 Mitchell F, The social services response to unaccompanied children in England, Children and Family Social Work, vol 8 August 2003 [11] p132 Hayes D, Humphries B, Cohen S, Social Work, Immigration and Asylum, Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2004 [12] p22 Guidance on the Children and Young People’s Plan, DFES 2005 [13] P179 Mitchell 2003 [14] p179 Mitchell 2003 [15] Kelly A, Minors Conflict, The Guardian Jan 31 2007 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jan/31/asylum.guardiansocietysupplement1 [16] p85 Watters 2008 [17] p711 Kohli R, The Sound of Silence: Listening to What Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children Say and Do Not Say, British Journal of Social Work vol 36 2006 [18] p718 Kohli 2006 [19] p14 Crawley 2007 [20] p16 Crawley 2007 [21] p43 Crawley 2007 [22] p44 Crawley 2007 [23] p47 Crawley 2007 [24] Asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/05/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices [25] p612 Michie CA, Age Assessment: time for progress?Archives of Disease in Childhood, 90(6) June 2005 [26] p613 Michie 2005 [27] Childrens Legal Centre, Practice Guidelines for age assessment of young unaccompanied asylum seekers, http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/NR/rdonlyres/BAA6E134-7810-42C1-9634-2AC500D326DE/0/PracticeNotesKarenGoodman.pdf [28]

Pro Immigration Essay -- Pros of Immigration, Immigrants

Pro Immigration   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We live in the age where scandalous and controversial topics cover the news headlines. Such subject matters as homosexuality, A.I.D.S, and abortion are fiercely debated upon. Sides are always taken, with the conservatives battling the liberals. One such argument that has always been debated upon since the founding of this nation has been immigration. The fact that it has been argued over for so long makes it seem ironic. A country founded by immigrants perpetually arguing over immigration. The basis of this dispute runs deep and that is what will be discussed in this following paper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anti-immigrant sentiments have been circulating since the Alien Act of June 25, 1798 . The Act was the first federal legislation that dealt with the expulsion of aliens in the United States. Another landmark case was the notorious Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. That clause revoked all Chinese immigrants to emigrate to the States for a period of ten years. It is so infamous due to the fact that it was the first bill that discriminated against any one particular race. Restrictions on immigration may seem to have been eradicated from current history but that is an oversight. Even in the "politically correct" society we live in today allows for these discrepancies, for in the Immigration Act of 1990 which brought up controls for immigration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Behind all these legal documents there are reasons that spurred these causes. Certain prejudices against certain races or religion. The prejudices were not always a color issue as the current immigration problems are. In the beginning it was primarily Europeans. In particular the Irish and German were thought of negatively. The percentage of the Irish in the Mid-Atlantic went from 45.9% in 1870 to 48.5 in 1930. Germans in 1870 went from 31.4% to 35.6% in 1930 . The common belief was that the two races were against assimilation. They lived in their own communities and refused to learn the English language. But that belief like all others were false based. After the Germans and Irish started to finally assimilate we needed a new scapegoat. The next were the Italians and Jews, following them were the Catholics. Throughout history there were always someone who got the blame put on them. Lately the blame has been put upon Middle-Eastern, Asians and Hispanics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now that the b... ...ead a better life. Immigrants also by arriving to America they pass on knowledge of their own culture to help unify all the humans. Also by sharing their culture we are able to expand business further into other foreign countries. With the motivation and talent that they possess immigrants are the backbone for the continued growth of our country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My stand on immigration is probably lucid. I am pro-immigration. Being an immigrant myself I have personally felt the hardships and prejudices held against me, simply based on skin color. Immigrants that arrive here usually come with a goal in life - to succeed on it. With that kind of mentality I share the same view as Stephen Moore. Even the undocumented immigrants that seem to be numerous is false, they only constitute roughly 1-1.5% a very small margin to say the least. This country was founded by immigrants, built by immigrants and flourishes because of immigrants. It seems only in dire times that America tries to find a scapegoat to use as a justification of why they are failing, when the truth of the matter is that the fact that we have to blame someone else we have a much more serious problem than we think.