Monday, January 27, 2020

To What Extent is the PM Free From Political Constraints?

To What Extent is the PM Free From Political Constraints? There are numbers of constraints on the Prime Minister. The main constraints are constitutional, political, administrative and personal. The decision making body in Britain is collective; the Prime Ministers role is to provide leadership within a Cabinet context in which collective responsibility remains the rule. Ministerial appointments require some recognition of the need for political balance and administrative efficiency, there is also pressure from colleagues or the media to promote certain people- The popularity of a Prime Minister depends, to some extent, on the media coverage they receive. Which party the Prime Minister represents can also affect media coverage. The press in Britain is biased in its coverage and editorials- some papers are committed to certain parties. This means in practice that Cabinets contain individuals whom the Prime minister would rather be without. All Prime Ministers at least listen to advice from senior colleagues before making appointments. The power of patronage enables a Prime Minister to hire and fire whoever he/she pleases. However, they must consider all types of party opinion when making their selection when allocating ministerial office, as it would not be wise for the prime minister offer cabinet positions to their loyal supporters. Ministers should represent a balanced team in terms of age, experience and forms of thinking within the party if they are not to become alienated from the backbenchers. Backbenchers may also be a constraint, though they risk loss of promotion prospects. Parliament as a whole should be a key constraint; and the Lords have been more active in opposing government bills since the 1980s, but their power is limited. The need to keep the cabinet balanced and to adjust its composition in the light of changing circumstances is illustrated by the cabinet reshuffle forced upon Margaret Thatcher in 1989. Nigel Lawson, the Chancellor of the Exchequer had resigned following conflicts with the Prim e Minister over economic policy and the role of her economics special advisor Alan Walters. There are also constraints on the dismissal of ministers. If the PM sacks too many ministers too frequently it implies poor judgement and the PMs authority will be undermined an example of this would be Macmillans night of the long knives in 1962 when he sacked seven Cabinet ministers overnight. This damaged his own standing and caused resentment in the party. A further constraint would be political e.g. John Majors government was constrained by ideological splits in his party, making it difficult to manage, especially as it had a small majority. The larger the government majority in the House of Commons, the stronger the governments position and with it the power of the Prime Minister. A minority government may be in the weakest position of all would need to compromise with parties on the floor of the house. This makes it much more difficult for the Prime Minister to take a strong line on any policy. Equally constraining, are economic factors e.g. in the early 1990s Britain suffered a bad economic recession, this led to falling popularity, which, in turn created stronger political constraints. The Conservative party illustrates the strength a prime minister can gain from the backing of a united party, it also shows the weakness that can overtake the leader of the same party when it is divided. The thing that divides a political party most, is unpopularity and fear of electoral losses e.g. this is true for the Major government which was seen as weak and divided. A leaders popularity is likely to depend on the state of the economy, the international importance of the country or the general mood of the country, all of which are, to a greater or lesser extent, outside the control of the prime minister. The party may remove a sitting Prime Minister but this is quite rare, this was however the case with Thatcher in 1990. Thatcher resigned after losing the support of senior colleagues (Lawson and Howe) and a huge section of the majority parliamentary party. Cabinet revolts limit a PMs policy-making power. Apart from drawing up the party manifesto, most Prime Ministers do not initiate policy- they have a small staff and most expertise and information and detailed information is located in individual departments. It is therefore difficult for PMs to interfere constantly in the work of a department. Consensus between PM and Cabinet over policies is normal. When revolt do occurs do occur they may suggest misjudgment or mismanagement by a Prime Minister e.g. policy toward Europe caused Major problems of party management. Major resigned the party leadership in 1995 in an attempt to put to rest persistent cabinet and party disagreement over Europe. The Prime Minister can attempt to keep certain issues off the cabinet agenda in order to avoid difficult discussions. The period of time in which an issue may be left off a cabinet agenda depends partly on the personalities of the cabinet ministers. On occasions the Prime Minister will be defeated in cabinet. As Primus inter pares (first amongst equals), the Prime Minister, unlike the American president, is not able to overrule the cabinet. Prime ministers cannot make policy without the support of cabinet colleagues because they do not have the time to control every issue. Moreover, the Prime minister cannot implement policy without the backing of ministerial departments. A final constraint on the Prime Minister is personal constraints; the PM is limited in terms of energy, resources and time. The PMs special concerns (foreign affairs, the economy and security services) are vulnerable to setbacks e.g. Security service disasters undermined Macmillan and problems over Europe destroyed the authority of Thatcher and Major. Overall, the constraints on the Prime Minister are very effective because they prevent the PM from being too dominant a figure. Collective responsibility makes sure there is a balance of power. It can be argued however, that even a strong Prime Minister such as Margaret Thatcher is subject to constraints both inside and outside the cabinet. The constraints that arise depend upon the state of the Economy, the size of the government majority, the character and length of tenure of the PM him/her self. The most effective constraint are those that act upon the cabinet from outside Whitehall, such as the state of the economy, as the Prime Minister has no way of controlling theses. It should certainly have a great effect on the relationship between the Prime minister and the cabinet.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Ten Minute Time Sample Observation

Ten minute child's observation Observer: someone Aim: To do a ten minute time sample observation of a child engaged in a play activity. Date of observation: 29 11 2011 Observation started: 9. 55 Observation completed: 10. 05 Child's Initials: AWDate of Birth or Age: 4 years 5 months Legend: Child observed = AWOther girl = ESG = small group P= pair of childrenSOL = alone Evaluation : During the observation I did, AW was engaged in play all the time. She was playing with other children most of time. She is confidently interacting with other children while playing. She speaks clearly, in simple sentences. Asks simple questions. In ten minutes time she used even five areas in the nursery; so she’s very confident in there. Also, she doesn’t like staying in one area for a long time and she engages in imaginative play. Interested in shapes while in gluing activity. From this observation, I can tell that she has a good social skills, but, also, that she likes to dominate and tell other children what to do. Plays very well with E, likes to spend time with her, but sometimes doesn’t want to take turns. Time Setting Language Social group Comments 9. 55 In a construction area, going to play hide and seek. AW Â ® E ‘see if you can find me. ‘ E Â ® AW ‘I'm sure I will' P AW is going to find some place where to hide, E is not looking. 9. 56 In construction area hiding under the table. None SOL AW is hiding and E is trying to find her looking in all the nursery areas. 9. 57 In house corner – AW is hiding in the wardrobe None SOL AW has changed area, E didn’t notice her. Finally E finds AW in the wardrobe. AW is very happy. 9. 58 Music area AW Â ® E ‘can you please turn the music o? ’ E Â ® AW ‘sure, I can’ P AW is in music corner together with E again. She has a suitcase full of things. She found a remote control and gave it to E. 9. 59 Music area Whispering to each other P AW and E are hiding behind the armchair and laughing silently. 10. 00 New experiences area AW: ‘I want to be a dog; I want to be a dog!!! ’ SG AW, E and to other girls are playing in new experiences area. AW finds a dog bed and she’s pretending that she is a dog lying in dog’s bed. 10. 01 New experiences area E Â ® AW ‘let me be a dog now? ’ AW: ‘no, I am a dog!!! ’ SG AW doesn’t allow E to be a dog, because she wants to be a dog and she is still lying in a dog’s bed. 10. 02 New experiences None SG AW is still in a bed, pretending sleeping. 10. 03 New experiences AW: ‘sssh, I am sleeping’ SG AW is telling other girls to be quite, because she is sleeping. Other girls are quite now. 10. 04 Gluing area None SG AW is taking some card boxes from the shelf, measuring them and comparing shapes. 10. 05 Gluing area None SG AW took some boxes from the shelf and she put some glue on it. Later she took decorations from the box and started to decorate her art. She plays silently

Saturday, January 11, 2020

European Industrial Revolution

In this era of modernity and high technological advancement, the conveniences and efficiency that it brought can be credited to the birth of the Industrial Revolution. The first wave of this phenomenal social, economical, and cultural event came from the European coast at around the 18th century. From the moment the revolution came into its climax, it spread around outside Europe and progressively steered the world into the path of modernity.A new era has been born by the moment the Industrial Revolution took place. Like all things in this world, the revolution has its own negative and positive attributes but despite whatever hazards it may have incurred in today’s societies, this essay will look at the good news which the Industrial Revolution brought. Before its inception, European societies were under the rule of feudalism. It is in this context where lands were owned by the landlords given as a reward by the monarchy.The era of feudalism can be described as a period of soc ial and economic organization where the economy and politics of the feudal states were autonomous and the power of the feudal lords were derived from close relations with the aristocrats (Morrison 13). This period provides a fixed structure in the society where laborers will eternally serve the feudal lord in exchange for a piece of land. The people belonging to the working class do not have much opportunity to prosper or to get out of the social ladder to which they belong. The lifetime rule of the lord over his workers will not let the masses free from poverty and slavery.By the time feudalism was destroyed, urban societies started to develop. The need for individual independence gave birth to the rise of the cities where everyone can work, can gain education, and can have political and social participation within an equal status in the society (Cipolla and Woodall 121). It is in this light that the Industrial Revolution was born. The construction of factories and the start of imp lementing division of labor made the mark for efficient and mass production of goods and services. The system of factories became the instigator in developing more machines to maximize production and profit.The production in the Industrial revolution shifted from manual labor to the usage of machines and from human and animal power to steam power (Barron’s Passware 382). Contrary to the constricting and limited context of feudalism, the growing economic activities within the Industrial Revolution provided more freedom to the masses to earn their own profit by mean of the entering in the growing demands of factory labor. To earn independently entails opportunity to save salary to be able to own properties and to educated themselves, having a chance to climb up the social ladder.The job specialization that the division of labor implemented on factories paved the way for training more people in those fields providing the workers a chance for promotion. Education thrived in sync with the needs of the Industrial Revolution focusing more on scientific education to expand the knowledge in machine cultivation (Mokyr 10). Subsequently, as more rural places in Europe became urbanized due to this revolution, the standard living of the people improved and gradually shied away from poverty.Aside from the drastic changes that the Industrial Revolution inflicted to labor and the economy, the continuous progress in the development of machine and technology produced convenient means of transportation and communication which made transactions in the government, education, and businesses much easier and quicker. The innovation of machines became one of the main results of Industrial Revolution where the demands of making things faster and more efficient became the consistent objectives.The cities became the center of political and economic activities during this time and as the Industrial Revolution flourished, banks became active in giving out loans to people who wanted to venture on small-scale businesses. Seeing the economic growth that the revolution caused, people from the labor sector took risks in building up their own business made possible by these bank loans (Hudson 26). The Industrial Revolution was not pure success. It was an era where most – if not all- of the technological innovations have been made formulated and made.As European societies enter a new social context, its adjustment to current condition of the revolution became a rigorous trial and error process. This can be considered as the transitional and at the same time, an experimental period for most of the European societies where most of its processes were tested and perfected before it has been spread to the world. Most of the positive effects that have been brought by the revolution are manifested for the following decades – a progress where its effects were long-term and provide stability to its people.Comparing the conditions between Feudalism to the Industr ial Revolution, the birth of the latter became a path for the European citizens to individually gain autonomy in terms of social participation in the economy. It can be said that the living conditions of the people drastically improved compared to the limited rural lifestyle that the masses had under serfdom. The slaves were able to see an opportunity to get out of that status and improved their conditions. There maybe hazards weighing more than the advantages but the fact that the Industrial Revolution was a world phenomenon which brought the kind of progress that we have now.Based from the arguments discussed on this essay, this implies that the Industrial Revolution changed the world for the good. The aspects of equality that was provided for people to participate in labor can serve as a mark for the pursuance of equality in terms of justice, freedom, and individual rights. It opened up new roads for human liberation where each individual are not just free to participate for econ omic progress but to live a good life enjoying the rights that a citizen should receive.

Friday, January 3, 2020

A Broken System Of My Mother - 1716 Words

Brenda Murillo Mr. Hart English III 09 December 2014 A Broken System Like for many people, my mother is one of the most important people in my life. My mother has sacrificed so many things for me and would sacrifice so much more without hesitation. The thought of losing her never crossed my mind until one night where I truly believed she was going to be taken away from me. One late night, from basketball game, my mom was driving me back home when out of nowhere behind us we saw blue and red flashing lights, telling us to pull over. In that moment both of our hearts stopped and we both knew what was going happen. The police officer told us he had pulled us over for not have a turning signal on when we switched lanes. While we waited for the officer to check her license and insurance, my mom and I had already resigned that she was going to be taken, so with a worried look on her face she told me to call my dad. I was about to call my dad, when the officer came back and told us what we already knew, that my mom’s license had expire d two month ago and she could be taken to jail for driving without a valid license. But the officer let us go, with just a ticket and a warning not drive anymore, I do not know if it was because it was really late and the officer saw that I could not drive myself home or because he saw my mom did not any kind of record or maybe just luck, we knew that night could have had a really different outcome. My mom is only one of many peopleShow MoreRelatedJuvenile System1063 Words   |  5 Pagessociety if more and more teenagers commit delinquent crimes. Focusing on what spawns delinquency in juveniles today, parenting is essential. During my visit to family court with fellow classmates I was honored to observe real live cases involving teenagers, and their parents. It was obvious that one main issue in the U.S. Juvenile Delinquency system is the lack of family structure. Family and delinquent relationships interconnect, ultimately, resulting to the core of delinquency. The articles †Å"JuvenileRead MoreThe English Language899 Words   |  4 Pagesthe english language. In the story Mother Tongue, Tan talks about her mother broken english. Her mother feels nothing is wrong with her speech but Tan thinks differently. â€Å"I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality if what she had to say.† (Tan 491) It made it hard to try to think of other words to replace her broken english. She had heard the term â€Å"limited English†, but it made her feel the same way. Personally, In my family all of us speak so what of limitedRead MoreSolving The Criminal Mind From A Grander Perspective941 Words   |  4 Pages The best way to prevent crimes in the community is to have all agencies affected by crime, working together to minimize the influence of it. I call this theory, ONE SYSTEM. The numerous theories mentioned in chapter one of the criminology theory book have one common goal, to understand. Theories such as macro level theories try to explain the criminal mind from a grander perspective. Where micro theories attempt to bring an improved perception on an individual level. Have we mastered the evolutionRead MoreI Am A Black Atheist1187 Words   |  5 Pageshousehold and raised by wonderful chocolate and caramel colored Catholic women that I called mother, grandmother, and aunt. I was one of two children. My mother adopted my sister before I would know her by any other name. I’d say that we were products of a single parent household, but it’d be years into my adolescence before I’d know what that meant. I belonged to the Black church though somewhat different than my friends’. I grew up in Brooklyn in a neighborhood where the smell of curried goat maskedRead MoreMy Bloody Life, By Randall Shelden, Sharon Tracy, And William Brown Essay1264 Words   |  6 PagesThe Book, My Bloody Life, the Making of a Latin King by Reymundo Sanchez is sad, horrifying and eye opening. Consequently, it makes a person think about the role of society and the social reasons or theories that can explain involvement in gangs or gang activity. I think there may be several theories used to explain involvement in gangs, but I think the best theory used to explain why there are gangs is the â€Å"control or social bond theory†. Sanchez illustrates several instances of this theory throughoutRead MoreMy Mother s Resilience Inspired Me Day By Day887 Words   |  4 PagesSteam filled the dense cubicle apartment as my mother cooked, cleaned, showered and dressed. Despite her exhaustion and swollen ankles from hours spent on white floors of the hospital, she’d stand erect as a building, asking me to recite the words learned that day and review my homework. I knew daren’t turn on the TV during the weekday. When managing me and work became too much, she’d take me to work. During the commutes she whispered little words of wisdom, one was to â€Å"be still, listen and be vigilant†Read MoreBeing Greeted with Deaths Sting758 Words   |  3 Pagesof the loved ones left behind are broken with despair. I have sent flowers and consoled love ones. But, I didn’t fully understand death’s sting until took my beloved Mother and Friend from my family. She was the glue that held me and my siblings together throughout our adult years. It was our ritual to speak before I started and ended my day. My Mother encouraged me to continue on through my storms. During my deployments, I could count on her prayers. My Mother knew what words to speak to sootheRead MoreMy Family Is My Strength And My Weakness732 Words   |  3 PagesAishwarya Rai Bachchan an actress said that:† My family is my strength and my weakness.† Indeed family has always been the surroundings of security, mores and where values are passed from generation to generation .Parents are educating their children and try to give them all they will need to manage themselves in the society. However, we notice a radical change due to the dysfunction in a the family system that lead to the decrease of mores and values. We see that from 1950 till todays changesRead MoreThe s Stage Of Development Of Generativity Vs Stagnation973 Words   |  4 Pagesinto the hospita l with a right fractured femur due to falling off the porch of his home while intoxicated. He has a history of hypertension, migraines, and has had a DVT. SRA would be in the Erikson’s stage of development of generativity vs stagnation, my patient was once married and had children who he helped raise and become responsible adults. SRA found pleasure in working, gaining new knowledge, and planned ahead for retirement. Although, SRA eats healthy he hasn’t healthy life style choices as evidenceRead MoreI Was Snow On The Ground And Snowflakes Covering My Window999 Words   |  4 Pagescovering my window. The trees were left bare and shivering. What was it that had brought me here? For all my life I had lived in California, in the center of urban life, and now I was living on the east coast, near no major city and inside miles of woods. It was my parents’ ambition that brought us to Pennsylvania. They hoped moving would give us a better life, one where my father wou ld not be away from the family weeks at a time, traveling around the world for business. Despite our hopes, my father’s