Sunday, January 26, 2020

Level Of Immigration In London Sociology Essay

Level Of Immigration In London Sociology Essay Immigration is a topic that not every individual would like to discuss, but its an issue that we hear and see every day. There is a high increase in immigrants entering the United Kingdom from European Union countries. Immigration is a subject thats difficult to collect detailed data from as there is a lack of official statistics or evidence. As already mentioned, there are many immigrants from European countries but there are also immigrants entering London from many other countries (non-european). This depends on various reasons, as some may enter a specific country in order to escape from danger in their existing place or to claim asylum. So how do we know if immigration good or bad for the UK? I have conducted an ananymous interview and will use it to critically reflect on the journal article Immigration and Social Cohesion in the UK. The article mainly focuses on the negative aspects of migration in regards of population dimension. In this essay I will mention a few benefits tha t have been brought into London through immigration. I will make arguments in regards of economical and social benefits to the area. Ill be arguing against the journal article and will announce positive aspects and my own view of migration. I will use the answers given by my interviewee and also use some external secondary data. What is immigration? People who move from one nation to the other without being citizens to that specific national state are called immigrants. This is the movement of immigration (ImmigrationAssist, Undated). Immigration is an arguable topic in London as there are both, positive and negative aspects to it. I think that there are more positive aspects to immigration in London rather than negative aspects. London has become a popular place of immigration. People started migrating to London after the second world war (Migration Information, 2009). Immigrants are viewed as people who take over on jobs and houses and leave nothing for the existing citizens (Interview, Line). Criticisms of immigration to consider is that social solidarity gets weaker and secondly that immigrants do not adopt the culture and values shared in Britain, but rather express their own values within London. Immigration is viewed as a cultural eraser. Moreover the UK has a policy framework which prevents racial di scrimination and therefore allows minorities to be visible within the country. Immigration levels have been constant from 1990 onwards (The Guardian, 2001). However, today London is receiving an unimaginable rate of immigrants. Recently, there have been great arguments if there should be a limit introduced to immigration in London. Before attempting to give your own opinion it is important to consider both; negative and positive aspects of the topic. To announce it more accurately I think that it is difficult to maintain both sides at an equal level or to make a fixed statement for or against the matter. We, as the public have opinions about the limitation on immigration so do politicians. Let us consider some if these views. One of the main view is that the country is getting over populated. One of those over populated places in Britain is London. At present times there is a population number of 65 million people within London, however predicitions claim that within 70 years the population number will rise up to 108 million people (BBC, 2011). This means that immigrants will need houses to live in. The government is therefore building as many houses as possible. This means that the government is spending a lot of money on resources. Well end up having less countrysides but a higher level of pollution as houses increase. If there was a limit set to immigration, the government wouldnt need to spend money on building houses (Policy Network, 2013). Not everyone has the same view about immigration, every individual has a different thought about it. Some of us certainly believe that it is better if we closed our borders in order to decrease the level of immigration (Gov.uk, 2013). But what do we gain from limiting the number of immigrants entering the country? The common perspective of immigration is that immigrants enter the country in order to obtain social benefits, which my interviewee also thought of (Interview, Line). However, immigrants do not possess the knowledge of the native language that is being used in the country, as they come from a different culture with different religions and different languages. These differences can lead to serious problems, such as violence. Dishonest immigrants enter the country in order to sell drugs or to carry out illegal activities. This is not a subject to be concerned about in London as much as it is in the United States. On the other side, people view immigration as something positive, as I do. Immigration allows the society to be more diverse in terms of culture and religion. It is important to know the differences between various cultures, as it builds knowledge and may erase the issue of racism. Some believe that jobs are the countrys private property, whereas others claim that immigration is a key to spread a better economy to less developed countries. Immigration can therefore be announced as a tool that helps to overcome world property. Immigrants are known to be the most hard working and intelligent workers within the country. Its an advantage to them as immigration allows to express talents and skills to another country (Independent, 2009). Previous census results show that London has completely changed. The results clearly show that the number of immigrants entering Britain has gone up by 3 million. However, politicians claimed that this was not an issue to worry about. Moreover the 2011 census shows that London is now a place of multiculturalism; which means that the amount white population has decreased to a very low level (ons.gov.uk, interactive, 2011). This has also been mentioned in the dailymail, It is believed to be the first time that British whites have become a minority in any region of the UK (Dailymail, 2012). This certainly means that the country has a very low percentage of white population, however the population size seems to increase as the years go by. This is an outcome due to immigration. However, it is important to take into account that immigrantion is a not a bad thing itself. Immigration introduces many advantages to London, which can be gathered from the talents and ideas that have been brough t into the country through immigration. It was stated that English is a language that was made up of many foreign languages in Britain decades ago. Through immigration we see an increase in population and culture which has a positive impact on the society. Economically, the increase in population expresses the filled job positions within London, which allows an increase in tax input and therefore benefits institutions such as schools. However, a House of Lords report stated that immigration does not benefit London at all; Minister Liam Byrne says migration has added ÂÂ £6bn to the economy (BBC article, 2008). It does lead to a greater economy which is shared with a greater society which leaves us with nothing. My interviewee, stated that it is not fair on the existing population, as they work very hard to achieve. I certainly go against her saying as people dont move out of one country to another just for the fun of it but for various reasons. The reasons could be the desire for a better living, such as good education al and job opportunities. Its not easy to adopt a new athmosphere, and to seperate from family members and friends. Just like any other place, London expresses that it contains racism to some extent. Even though we think that legal immigrants are treated fairly, there are still people who discriminate others as they possess different values and norms. The BBC news magazine announces, for the most part legal immigrants are treated fairly but there are still racists out there, just cause someone is speaking a different language they start discriminating them (BBC Does Britains sense of fair play attract immigrants?, 2010). Illegal immigrants, however are treated not as fair as legal immigrants. Yet they are illegal residents, but they are here for certain reasons, such as the ideology of having a better life. This shows that London is a place of opportunity and freedom (BBC Does Britains sense of fair play attract immigrants?, 2010). The article also mentions that when people see someone from a different ethnic group, they tend to assume that they are illegal immigrants, when in reality they could b e legal UK citizens. The view is that London has economically benefited from immigration as the new workers (immigrants) agree to take over on low paid jobs, which the existing population may not desire to opt for. Another reason is that the new workers allow the defeat in skill shortages within London. A recent home office research (Glover et al, 2001) states that there has been very little attention in force towards migration within the United Kingdom, Immigration has been a market driven response to supply and demand, rather than policy-driven. Theres no solid solution for the increase of immigration in London, but there are some ways that could be used in order to reduce the amount of immigration. We already have security barriers at all British borders, although they are not strong enough. As I have already mentioned a method is to make those barriers stronger to prevent the high income of immigrants, this means that borders should be checked more frequently and strictly. There are actions taken at the border crossing, The final set of recent immigration policy changes are designed to reinforce security at the border (Focus Migration, undated). The British police should be more aware of illegal entrance into the United Kingdom, and should therefore check immigrants if they have the correct documents to enter the country. The police should also be able to arrest those who enable immigrants to cross countries illegally. My interviewee stated that the government should take some action to decrease the amount of immigration, by providing a lower amount of benefits. To conclude, it seems satisfactory to state that there are social and economic benefits and disadvantages to the UK through immigration, as migrant workers who recently entered London have brought such changes. The pressure on public services has been held responsible on immigration, moreover it is the government that was unable to set additional income into such services while obtaining the advantages of economic growth and greater tax profits. It is very difficult to follow an open-door policy (the scheme of allowing equal business opportunities to all countries) without supplying any help to the community to deal with a greater population level. Immigration can be beneficial if the rate of immigration is maintained to a certain level and if the government fulfills the needs of the population. UK Borders should only be opened up to those who are hard working and who are in real danger. It is for certain that the immigrant population within London will change our lives by creating m ore diverse alterations to the country. Word Count: 1,854 Interview transcription: Carried out on 12th April 2013 Q: Hi, how are you? 1. Alicia: Hiiii (big smile on face), not too bad actually, its just the weather thats irritating. Q: Let me just quickly explain what this is about, I will interview you and see what your opinion about immigration is. Im doing this for an academic purpose and will use this interview for a critical reflection on an artical. I will not collect any personal details from you, as this interview remains anonymous. Is that okai with you? 2. Alicia: Yep, deffoo. Q: Do you mind if I take a maximum of 15 minutes of your life? 3. Alicia: Haha, thats not a problem. I dont mind helping people you know. Q: Whats your favourite town within London? 4. Alicia: Wembley. Q: If you were to come from Wembley today, why would you get here, all the way from Wembley to Stratford? 5. Alicia: I like shopping, and Westfields is wow, it has a variety of shops. I dont mind travelling, 6. its way better than sitting at home, hehe. Q: How would you get here? 7. Alicia: I took the train. I drive but dont own a car yet. Im still looking for a part time job, coz I 8. dont want my parents to get me a car. If its something for me then it should be from my 9. own money. Q: Okai thats a sweet idea. Would you be able to list any difference between Wembley and Stratford? 10. Alicia: Erm, no. Q: Why not? 11. Alicia: Both places are pretty much multicultural. Erm, you can see people from everywhere, 12. erm you know like, ehhm, you see asians, whites and blacks, sorry Im not trying to be racist 13. here, just answering the question. Q: Interesting, do you prefer this country to remain multicultural? 14. Alicia: Yehh, curse I do. Its cool how we connect with people from different backgrounds. 15. Not only Wembley and Stratford but all over London. I would say that London has people 16. from all over the world. Q: What do you think, could be the reason for multiculturalism in London? 17. Alicia: Im actually not sure you know. Erm (pause), Im really not sure, maybe coz there are 18. better welfare services here..I think. Q: Would you say that immigration has an impact on multiculturalism? 19. Alicia: Oh yh, actually thats something to think about. Personally, Im from Germany. I was 20. born there and spent 13years there. Originally Im of a Pakistani background. I think there is 21. something about the government that makes immigration easier, coz in Germany you rarely 22. meet any people from different places. Immigration must be the reason, there must be 23. many people like me who migrated from other places to the UK. Q: What do you think about immigration? 23. Alicia: Erm, it actually doesnt matter of where youre from, but its good to do it legally 24. rather than illegallyhehe (quiet laughter). Q: Why do you say that? 25. Alicia: Well, illegal residents will of course call their children or relatives over and will opt for 26. benefits and free food and all that. Its so not fair on us, coz we might end up being in a 27. position of hardship.(Quite tensed, forehead creased) Q: What do you mean by hardship, do you mind expanding? 28. Alicia: Its just you know, there is always a time where we might end up not getting 29. jobs..erm, basically well be jobless. We grow up in this country, and do everything legally, 30. and you know work hard to get into a decent job. That cant be taken away from us by illegal 31. immigrants. Its seriously not fair on the ones who work their bottoms off. (Smile faded, head still creasedpretty much into the questionnaire) Q: But dont you think that people may settle here due to their personal reasons? 32. Alicia: Well yeah, erm I know some people who came over coz they have some war or some 33. sort of problem going on in their place. Q: Dont you think that they work really hard too, to remain in a safe place? 34. Alicia: Hmm (seems tensed) Q: Do you think that immigration and population growth go together? 35. Alicia: I think so, the more migrates we have the higher the population will be. Q: Is that something bad or good? 36. Alicia: Id say bad, coz well run out of houses to live in haha, Im kidding, but as I said well 37. experience hardship. Q: So dont you think that there are any good aspects to immigration? 38. Alicia: There are, as I said we connect to people who are of a different background. I would 39. say(little pause), say that immigration makes us learn different cultures. Erm, its kinda like 40. getting to know different values and life styles, were basically learningerm increasing our 41. knowledge. There could also be an opportunity to learn different languages. Q: So youre saying it allows cultural exchange? 42. Alicia: Er yeah, hehe. Q: Is that the only positive aspect or do you have more to add? 43. Alicia: I would say that London is more welcoming than Germany. Erm immigration shows that the country is treating people fairly, whatever their background. (Big smile) Q: Thats a really nice thought.

Friday, January 17, 2020

How the National Debt Crisis Affects My Life

How the National Debt Crisis Affects My Life Today the debate over the national debt crisis has many U. S. citizens concern about their financial future. With our national debt ceiling set at 14. 3 trillion dollars, and with debt rapidly accruing, the decision to raise the debt ceiling must be made soon. Although both the Democratic and Republican parties have their own opinions on how to fix the issue, a decision must be made before August 2, 2011. Without a solution, the Treasury would not have the authority to borrow any more money. This means that the nation will be unable to make the necessary payments on debt, and also will result in defaulting on prior obligations. While both Democrats and Republicans debate on what’s best, my worries of financial security and my future goals seem to be in jeopardy. As I watch the debates on whether to raise taxes, lower taxes, cut social security, or decrease funding, the more my stress levels seem to rise. As an enlisted member of the U. S. Air Force, my financial stability comes from the decisions of the government. The ability to provide food, shelter and clothing for my family is very important to me. Although I’ve managed to save money, it’s not enough to cover the effects of missing a full month’s pay. According to Dr. Alan Manevitz â€Å"As Americans continue to face rising gas and food costs, some individuals are actually becoming physically sick from financial worries† (Manevitz, 2008). When there’s no money to fill the piggy banks, I often ask myself â€Å"how will we survive†? The thought of not knowing where our next meal will come from sickens me to my core. The stress involved continues to rise as I wait. No one knows at this point what decision will be implemented. Either way, the need for tighter budgets within my internal and external family will need to transpire. Because of the current events involving the national debt crisis, we’ve been forced to cut back on the things that provide comfort to my family as a whole. Tighter budgets in my household means a lack of leisure activities, smaller meals, and cutting back on just about anything we can think of. All of the things that heighten moral will be replaced with more creative money saving aspects. Although this plan may improve our financial status overall, no one likes to live significantly below their means. If Congress doesn't raise the debt limit, all active duty members of the military would stop getting paid next month (O'Mara, 2011). Where the military was once the saving grace for financial stability amongst the middle class, the outlook is looking dim as we wait for a decision. This ultimately puts my plans of future endeavors at a standstill. Having goals and not being able to reach them makes me feel inferior. It is the glue-less fabric of my slow demise. My dreams of being financially stable are in the hands of lawmakers. Based on the odds, both ends of the spectrum are not pleasing to my heart. Like many of my fellow Americans, I would love the opportunity to live the dream. Finding funding to support my entrepreneurial endeavors seem slim to none or very vague. Without bootstrapping cash, my startup ideas cease to exist until further notice. Banks are now limited on the amount they can lend due to constraints. They also would like to know that I contributed a good percentage of the necessary startup capital into the business (Dun & Bradstreet, 2011). This seems impossible when making sure every penny is put into the best place. I can’t forget about my dreams of getting engaged to my beautiful girlfriend. Numerous studies have shown that money is the No. 1 reason why couples argue and many of the recently divorced say those battles were the main reason why they untied the knot (Todorova, 200,). That’s a scary thought when thinking about getting married. It’s an even scarier thought when thinking about having children. Knowing that we would be raising them to eventually incur our debts as a society is devastating. In conclusion, a decision on what to do next as a nation has to be made. The overall outcome of this decision will affect every person in the United States. From business owners to employees, we will all need to find our means to survive. Whether it’s through controlled spending or working multiple jobs, more money has to be put away in a secure place. It’s up to the Democratic and Republican parties to decide on a solution at this point, and hopefully the worries of financial stability will diminish in the eyes of many. It’s time for the government to take a stand and make the impossible possible. ? References Dun & Bradstreet. (2011, March). Bank Loans For Small Businesses. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness. dnb. com/business-finance/business-loans/2542-1. html Manevitz, A. (2008, June). Debt Stress Making People Sick. Retrieved from http://http://www. cbsnews. com/video/watch/? id=4181440n O'Mara, M. (2011, July 14). Debt Crisis Could Delay Military Pay. Retrieved from http://www. ktvb. com/community/blogs/maggie-omara/Debt-crisis-could-delay-military-pay–125566258. html Todorova, A. (200, June 11). The Six Financial Mistakes Couples Make. Retrieved from http://www. smartmoney. com/spend/family-money/the-six-financial-mistakes-couples-make-15414/

Thursday, January 9, 2020

College vs. University Whats the Difference

Many people, college students included, arent fully aware of the difference between a college and a university. In fact, while the names are used interchangeably, they often refer to completely different school programs. Before you decide to apply to a certain school, its good to know what distinguishes one from the other. College vs. University: The Degrees Offered   A common misconception is that colleges are private while universities are public. This is not the definition that distinguishes the two. Instead, it is quite often the difference in the level of degree programs offered. In general -- and, of course, there are exceptions -- colleges only offer and focus on undergraduate programs. While a four-year school may offer Bachelors degrees, many community and junior colleges only offer two-year or Associates degrees. Some colleges do offer graduate studies as well. Most universities, on the other hand, offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Prospective college students who wish to obtain a Masters or Ph.D.  will likely need to attend a university. Many university structures also include colleges that specialize in undergraduate programs or in a specific profession. This is most often a  law school  or medical school  that is under the umbrella of the larger university.   Two well-known schools in the U.S. offer perfect examples: Harvard College is the undergraduate school of  Harvard University. Students may earn their liberal arts Bachelors from the college and move into a graduate program at the university to pursue a Masters or doctorate.The  University of Michigan offers both undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees.  Students could, for example, get a Bachelors degree in Politics and then a law degree without changing schools. If you arent sure how things work at your particular institution or at an institution youre thinking of attending, do some investigating on the campus website. They will most likely break down programs based on the kinds of degrees they offer. University and College Sizes and Course Offerings In general, colleges tend to have a smaller student body and faculty than universities. This is a natural result of the limited degree programs they offer. Because universities include graduate studies, more students attend these schools at one time and more staff is required to handle the students needs. Universities also tend to offer a greater variety of degrees and classes than a college. This leads to a more diverse student population with a wider array of interests and studies. Likewise, students will find smaller classes within the college system than they would in a university. While universities may have courses with 100 or more students in a lecture hall, a college may offer the same course subject in a room with only 20 or 50 students. This offers more individual attention to each student. Should You Choose a College or a University? Ultimately, you need to decide what field of study you want to pursue, and let that guide your decision about what institution of higher learning you attend (if any). If youre trying to decide between two similar schools, its good to consider your own learning style. If you want a personalized experience with smaller class sizes, a college may be your best option. But if a diverse student body and a possible graduate degree are on your must-have list, then a university might be the way to go.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

What Is an Identifier in C, C++ and C#

In C, C, C#  and  other programming languages, an identifier is a name that is assigned by the user for a program element such as  variable, type,  template, class, function  or  namespace. It is usually limited to letters, digits, and underscores. Certain words, such as new, int and break, are reserved keywords and cannot be used as identifiers. Identifiers are used to identify a program element in the code.   Computer languages  have restrictions for  which characters can appear in an identifier. For example, in early versions of the C and C languages, identifiers were restricted to a sequence of one or more ASCII letters, digits, which may not appear as the first character, and underscores. Later versions of these languages support almost all Unicode characters in an identifier with the exception of white space characters and language operators. You designate an identifier by declaring it early in the code. Then, you can use that identifier later in the program to refer to the value you assigned to the identifier. Rules for Identifiers When naming an identifier, follow these established rules: An identifier cannot be a C# keyword. Keywords have predefined special meanings to the compiler.It cannot have two consecutive underscores.It can be a combination of numbers, letters, connectors, and Unicode characters.It must start with a letter of the alphabet  or an underscore, not a number.It should not include white space.It cannot have more than 511 characters.It has to be declared before it is referred.Two identifiers cannot have the same name.Identifiers are case sensitive. For implementations of programming languages that are compiled, identifiers are often only compile-time entities. That is, at run time the compiled program contains references to memory addresses and offsets rather than the textual identifier tokens—these memory addresses or offsets having been assigned by the compiler to each identifier. Verbatim  Identifiers Adding the prefix to a keyword enables the keyword, which is normally reserved, to be used as an identifier, which can be useful when interfacing with other programming languages. The is not considered part of the identifier, so it might not be recognized in some languages. It is a special  indicator to not treat what comes after it as a keyword, but rather as an identifier.  This type of identifier is called a verbatim identifier. Using verbatim identifiers is allowed but strongly discouraged as a matter of style.