The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility Essays

The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility Essays The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility Paper The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility Paper The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility Dr. Karnani shows in this article from the Wall Street Journal, the pros and cons on whether businesses should be required to implement social welfare initiatives. For some companies, this idea is a win-win situation but there are other businesses that in order to promote these initiatives, they would have to lose profits. The idea of people helping people sounds very good but we have to be realistic, we are living in a capitalist country were people’s priority is their own well-being. The majority of the United States businesses are going to think of how to make profits; if a way to make profits is to improve social welfare then they are more likely to do it. But if by improving social welfare their profits are going to go down, then they are not going to care about the social welfare. Which also turns into a lose-lose situation, in where by increasing the profits will also increase social welfare. Dr. Karnani alleges different ways in which we can balance out both, business and social welfare. One way is where civil society creates nonprofit organizations and movements in where the common good is the main goal. These organizations are created to help the community in a variety of aspects. Some organizations can have as a main goal to protect the environment making sure that profitable companies get as close as possible to being environmental friendly while achieving their profit goal. Other organizations can have as a goal to help communities socially or cultural involved. Another way is what he calls â€Å"self control† in where companies would have to create their own regulations to voluntarily act in the public interest. Though in reality this is unlikely to happen, it would be good if someone were to do it. But even if a company were to do it, there were still have to be a third party involved that would have to supervise that the company is actually doing what it says to be doing. The more reasonable way that he mentions in this article, is for government to create a regulation to protect the public good. This is by far the best way to create balance. Government has the responsibility to help and serve people and it can do so by balancing the public interest and the businesses interests. In this article named The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility, Dr Karnani says â€Å"governments are a far more effective protector of the public good than any campaign for corporate social responsibility† (Karnani,  2010,  para. 23). The only way in which government can make sure that people help each other is by somehow punish the unacceptable behavior. Just as it has the power to give a citation to someone that has broken a traffic rule, it can make sure that companies help people and not only look for their own benefit. Even these ideas are great, we cannot expect for the people to apply them in their everyday life. The reality is that people and businesses have become selfish and greedy and it is hard to trust and help people without being cheated out or taken advantage of. In an article called Beyond Selfishness, Henry Mintzberg, Robert Simons and Kunal Basu said â€Å"A syndrome of selfishness, built on a series of half-truths, has taken hold of our corporations and our societies, as well as our minds. This calculus of glorified self-interest and the fabrications upon which it is based must be challenged. †   (Mintzberg, Simons, Basu,  2002,  para. 1). It is in human nature to think of your own well being before other’s people. Most of the rich people only think on making sure they stay that way, and poor people are left trying to survive the lifestyles the rich people have created. Companies hire people imposing rules and trainings to make sure the employees can help them achieve certain profit goal. In order to live up to the lifestyles that have been created, employees are in the necessity to follow this rules and act the way the companies want them to act. A lot of times employees are overworked and exploited by companies, up to the point that we are not even sure if we work to live or we live to work. Conclusion Government has the responsibility to ensure the well being of all the people, but sometimes we forget that the government is also made out of people. It is easy to blame someone for something but we need to start taking responsibility in our own actions and start with ourselves if we want to find balance in life and with each other. Reference Karnani, A. (2010). The case against corporate social responsibility. WALL STREET JOURNAL/MIT SLOAN, (), . Retrieved  from  http://sloanreview. mit. edu/executive-adviser/articles/2010/3/5231/the-case-against-corporate-social-responsibility/ Mintzberg, H. , Simons, R. , Basu, K. (2002). Beyond Selfishness. THE MAGAZINE, (), . Retrieved  from  http://sloanreview. mit. edu/the-magazine/articles/2002/fall/4417/beyond-selfishness/

The use of sexuality and gender in advertisements a close up of US advertisements and their effects on adolescents

The use of sexuality and gender in advertisements a close up of US advertisements and their effects on adolescents Introduction The media fraternity has perfected the art of promoting products. Through this, some advertisements are premeditated to associate the goods and services with feelings of desire emanating from imaginations based on sexuality or gender.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The use of sexuality and gender in advertisements: a close up of US advertisements and their effects on adolescents specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is noteworthy that advertisers take advantage of the consumers’ gender distinctiveness to escalate the sale of certain products. It is notable that companies, which seek to acquire market leadership and competitiveness, conduct promotional activities. Therefore, the use of gender and sexuality is one of the strategies of creating adverts aimed at gaining market leadership. Gender is a socio – cultural construction in every society and advertisers have applied it in the p ortrayal of differences between males and females. These portrayals include among others identity, disposition, social ideals, typecasts of masculinity and womanliness, and the sexuality related roles (Spade and Catherine 281). Furthermore, advertisers apply sexuality differences between males and females to promote products. The advertisers normally attempt to show the sexuality of men or women in such products. They have also achieved greater results by showing the sexuality of celebrities in the promotional activities. In the United States, the application of sexuality and gender variances in product promotion is a multibillion-dollar industry. However, advertisers seem to have turned a deaf ear on the effects of gendered and sexualised adverts among adolescents. This paper discusses the use of sexuality and genders in commercials to show the effects of such adverts on adolescents in the US. Sexuality and Gender in Advertisements Advertisers have developed massive experience in c ommercials. Depending on whether their target clients’ in the marketplace are males or females, advertisers normally develop their adverts to suit them. It is notable that men and women have different preferences for colour (MacKinnon 215). Therefore, advertisers can package their commercials in such a way to target their potential clients with gendered and sexuality appropriate messages using colours. Labelling people as being either male or female present strong cultural and ideological connotations, which advertisers exploit in making appropriate adverts (MacKinnon 215). Marketers apply information-generated form these labels to influence the behaviour of men or women towards others. Furthermore, such information may be used to develop commercials that influence self-behaviour or needs. Therefore, the use of gender and sexuality in promotional activities influences men and women to buy advertised products. They buy such products to enhance their masculinity and femininity respectively (William, Stephen and Sut 138).Advertising Looking for research paper on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Advertising agencies continuously communicate gendered messages to escalate sales of products. The advertisers portray men as more independent than women. They also portray men as providers in households by depicting the as they engage in different occupations. On the other hand, some advertisers portray women as homemakers and home carers (Davis 187). Therefore, the men would more likely feature in alcohol commercials, sports utility cars, and corporate management among others. The women normally feature in commercials depicting the use of domestic items. The advertisers also depict the sexuality of men and women perversely. They have shown their nudity and naked bodies differently. The products such as women bras and underwear depict their sexuality (Greenberg, Clint, and Sarah 323). On the other hand, men’s underwear worn on athletic bodies and bare chest also shows their strength and brevity. The increasing self-consciousness among men presently makes them less concerned about appearing attractive to others but to enhance their fitness and health. Marketers use such aspirations to create necessities and wants while also developing products to satisfy the needs (Greenberg, Clint, and Sarah 323). In the case of women, advertisers have negatively taken advantage of their weaknesses including lack of autonomy to sway their decisions. Effects of Sexuality and Gender in Advertisements on Adolescents There is rising apprehension about adolescents’ exposure to sexuality and gender commercials in televisions, print media, and other electronic sources. The concerns entail the potential impacts such adverts can have on their personality, sexuality, beliefs, and manners (Gruber and Grube 214). Indeed, research indicates that the adverts generate sexuality and gender stereotypes, which affects adolescents (Napoli and Murgolo-Poore 61). The researchers agree that youngsters are exposed to diverse sensual images and messages advertisements intended for adults but which eventually affect adolescents. Advertisements showing men enjoying alcoholic drinks and the presence of women affect the way adolescents utilize such images. Youths use media to get information regarding sex, sexuality, drugs use, and relationships among others (Gruber and Grube 215).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The use of sexuality and gender in advertisements: a close up of US advertisements and their effects on adolescents specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The adolescents’ exposure to advertisements with sexual content potentially influences their sexuality development. This has escalated the rate of pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Diseases among adolescent America girls. It is nota ble that many advertisements in the US both in print and electronic media contain sexual imagery watched by young people. The advertisements have increased the way they show sexual category appeals and sensual objectification (Pardun and Roberts 134). Presently, many of such adverts contain implied sexual interactions, fervent caressing and depicting provision of gifts in relationships as a norm. Young Americans who watch such adverts may develop interests of achieving similar outcomes (Bradshaw 129). Sexuality and gender-based commercials have influenced crucial issues about the lives of adolescents. The commercials may sway career planning, cherished relationships, romance choice making, and attitudes essential to child bearing and parenthood (Jamieson and Daniel 153). Furthermore, some adolescents making greater efforts to adhere to gender roles labels may develop mental health predicaments. The problems may arise from pressure among adolescents to fit within the societal norms a nd expectations. This may lead to substance intake, risky sexual encounters, and neglect of self-care responsibilities (Jamieson and Daniel 154). The advertisements have also affected the ideologies associated with teenage gender roles. Watching television commercials also influence sexism ideologies among teenagers. Sexuality and gender commercials have also influenced the actual behaviour of adolescents positively. It is notable that most adverts that portray males and females as liberated and confident have enhanced personality development among teenagers (Jamieson and Daniel 154). Indeed, some youngsters have developed into more confident, forward-looking, and morally upright because of watching individuals associated with certain products in the commercials (Jamieson and Daniel 154). Conclusion In summary, the use of sexuality and gender in promotional activities has made the advertising mass communication appear pervasive. The advertisements are intended to educate consumers a bout certain products in the marketplace in order to escalate sales. However, some commercials that contain explicit content have surpassed the intention escalating sales to influence cultural views and individuals’ personality development. The stereotypes associated with some advertisements have depicted men and women differently. Particularly, bigot and stereotypical commercials present undesirable outcomes among adolescents. The advertisements have encouraged sexuality and substance abuse indulgence in adolescents.Advertising Looking for research paper on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the positive side, the application of sexuality and gender to portray men and men as professionals in diverse sectors has affected adolescents objectively. Adolescents have been able to plan their career and develop their personality positively out of media influence. Bradshaw, Joe. African American Young Adults Perceptions of the Ideal Mate for Long-term Romantic Relationships and Short-term Sexual Relationships. New York, NY: ProQuest, 2008. Print. Davis, Simone. Living Up to the Ads: Gender Fictions of the 1920s. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000. Print. Greenberg, Jerrold, Clint, Bruess, and Sarah, Conklin. Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett, 2011. Print. Gruber, Enid, and Grube, Joel. â€Å"Adolescent sexuality and the media a review of current knowledge and implications.† Western Journal of Medicine. 172(3) (2000): 210–214. Web. Jamieson, Patrick, and Daniel Romer. The Changing Portrayal of Adolescents in the Media since 1950. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print. MacKinnon, Kenneth. Representing Men: Maleness and Masculinity in the Media. London: Arnold, 2003. Print. Napoli, Julie, and Murgolo-Poore, Marie. â€Å"Female Gender Images in Adolescent Magazine Advertising.† Australasian Marketing Journal. 1(1) (2003): 60 – 69. Web. Pardun, Carol, and Roberts, Kathy. Sexual Content of Television Commercials Watched by Early Adolescents. 2005. Web. Spade, Joan, and Catherine, Valentine. The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prisms, Patterns, and Possibilities. California, CA: Sage Publications, 2008. Print. William, Leiss, Stephen, Kline, and Sut, Jhally. Social Communication in Advertising: Persons, Products, and Images of Well-being. New York, NY: Routledge, 2003. Print.

The Consequences of Stratification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Consequences of Stratification - Essay Example The end of acquisition and accumulation is conventionally held to be the consumption of the goods accumulated--whether it is consumption directly by the owner of the goods or by the household attached to him and for this purpose identified with him in theory. This is at least felt to be the economically legitimate end of acquisition, which alone it is incumbent on the theory to take account of. Such consumption may of course be conceived to serve the consumer's physical wants--his physical comfort--or his so-called higher wants--spiritual, Ã ¦sthetic, intellectual, or what not; the latter class of wants being served indirectly by an expenditure of goods, after the fashion familiar to all economic readers (Grusky, 1994). It is of course not to be overlooked that in a community where nearly all goods are private property the necessity of earning a livelihood is a powerful and ever-present incentive for the poorer members of the community. The need of subsistence and of an increase of physical comfort may for a time be the dominant motive of acquisition for those classes who are habitually employed at manual labor, whose subsistence is on a precarious footing, who possess little and ordinarily accumulate little; but it will appear in the course of the discussion that even in the case of these impecunious classes the predominance of the motive of physical want is not so decided as has sometimes been assumed. On the other hand, so far as regards those members and classes of the community who are chiefly concerned in the accumulation of wealth, the incentive of subsistence or of physical comfort never plays a considerable part. Ownership began and grew into a human institution on grounds unrelated to the subsistence minimum. The dominant incentive was from the outset the invidious distinction attaching to wealth and, save

Critical analysis on Roald Dahl's writing style and his influence on Essay

Critical analysis on Roald Dahl's writing style and his influence on my writing - Essay Example (Propson, David 2007) Oddly enough, Dahl’s children’s stories required heavy rewriting by the editors, but they were naturally brilliant, and so were quite worth the effort. Dahl’s adult fiction was quite dark, and though satisfying, it seldom had any balance from humor. However, his children’s stories, though dark as well, always had a generous dollop of humor and fantasy. Even the characters in his children’s stories seem to balance. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory we have Charlie, his grandfather, and willie Wonka to represent the good guys and they balance out the three four awful children and their parents. (Amidon, Stephen 2006) He seems to have caught the exactly right tone for kids. He knew how they thought, how things worked in their heads. So, his children’s stories rang true for them, wonderfully parallel to their perceptions of the world. Yet, there was a wonderful quality of humor and fantasy which the illustrators, and later filmmakers, could play against in their work. The latest version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is fantastically done with the digital special effects of Tim Burton’s versi on of 2005. (iMDB 2005) (Mcmorran, Will, 2006) All of the lovely fantasy comes through and does justice to the author. However, it probably only matches the images which appear in the heads of the children who read the books. In fact, when one looks at Dahl’s children’s stories there is a core of frank truth at the center. He makes some strong points on the human condition and human psychology. His characters are extreme examples of all the foibles and character traits of real people. Even the Dahl’s childrens stories, even though he takes things to fantastic heights, his characters always wind up with their just deserts, as suits a story for children. Ambiguity is so0mething reader have to learn to tolerate, generally when we are very close to adulthood. Children require justice to be done. It does not

United States History Essay Example for Free

United States History Essay The political, economic and social background of English colonialism during the period of 1603-1763 in North America envisions the great thought of European period of exploration because of its ever-forgotten influence in the New World. In early sixteenth century, many colonies were established in North America and among them the Southern and Central areas of English settlement were discovered to benefit more profit from their landlords of English kingdom. As the colonies maintained the international plan of trade extraction, they have close allegiance with indigenous population. The importance of changing economic and political relationships between the Indians and Englishmen seemed to be an essential issue in the history of North America. It created a sensation to develop the growth of awareness in both Whites and Indians because of their business contacts. To protect themselves and to maintain the business of commercial extractions and to maintain the freedom of religious beliefs, the colonies were established a democratic government during their ruling time period in England. Because of close contact with indigenous population of North America, colonists were faced with varied set of societies who were fundamentally different from the societies in Europe. Most of the colonists treated the native people as ferocious and envisioned them as an icon to structure the society. In a work, The Rediscovery of North America (1990), Lopez says, †¦ the physical destruction of a local landscape to increase the wealth of people who dont live there, or to supply materials to buyers in distant places who will never know the destruction that process leaves behind . The main feature that resulted by English colonization was massive immigration, which brought out the concept of multiculturalism. Broadly speaking, colonialism forms the economic and political strategies of domination with the principles self-government over the population. The other essential feature of English colonization in North America in the period of 1607-1763 was the European global expansionism, which was treated in late fifteenth century with an emphasis on English expansionism in North America. Basically, the European immigration to the America had been studied in histories, diaries and classics. The main purpose of European immigration to America may be to get freedom from religious discrimination and to develop economic strategy. The negative aspect, by the European settlers when entered the America during fifteenth century was lose of population by dreadful diseases like small pox, measles. Because of this reason, European settlement drastically reduced the North America population. As the colonists brought a wide range of deadly diseases from European cities and spread in North America, most of the people of North America were suffered, as they had no immunity to protect from dreadful diseases. Because of the European settlement, the North America faced many critical situations by colonization. Thus the struggle between European imperial powers and the social, economic, and political issues of late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in North America were remained as the memorable milestone in American history. On the other side, the invasion of European global expansionism brought out the Western civilization in the New World, by the introduction of four major common languages. 1) English 2) Spanish 3) Portuguese 4) French. The colonies introduced many European concepts to the Americas such as European written form of communication, their form of government, and European technological knowledge of science, medicine and art to develop the world to a great extent. Hence the English colonization in North America was placed a dynamic position into the global political economy in the period 1603-1763 and became as a source of narrative to many authors to portray the ever last moment of American history. References: Lopez, Barry. The Rediscovery of North America. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Marx, Leo. The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral ideal in America . New York: Oxford University Press, 1964. McCall, Barbara. The European Invasion. (Native American Culture. Jordan E. Kerber, series editor. ) Rourke Publications, Inc. , 1994. Roger L. Nichols. The American Indian: Past and Present, 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill, 1992. Wood, Marion. DOttavi, Francesca, illus. Myths and Civilization of the Native Americans. Peter Bedrick Books, 1998.

Criticism of Jack Londons To Build a Fire :: London To Build a Fire Essays

Criticism of Jack London's To Build a Fire In her critique of "To Build a Fire" Jill Widdecombe assesses the personality and motivation of the unnamed man in the story. Widdecombe suggests a story of mystery, intrigue, and rationalization. I see it as a story about inner conflict and submit the mans inner conflict parallels Widdecombe's analogy of imagination versus rationalization. The conflict in the story is two-fold; the man struggles between his will and reasoning and second with the man's desires and abilities. The story places the man at odds with the elements, it is a conflict each of us may have encountered at one time in our lives. London in his writing attempts to simplify the ageless struggle by fashioning a tale that is understandable regardless of age. The tale is told by a mysterious narrator, centering on a nameless man and a nameless dog. In fact the story could be about anyone attempting virtually anything pitting themselves against the forces of nature and disregard of sound advice. I do not see the man as a egotist however I do see a lack of cognitive reasoning. The protagonist sets out in weather conditions far more severe then he could have imagined. He travels alone, except for the dog; ironically he is told by an old native to never travel alone when the weather is below fifty below. Disregarding the advice and reasoning while it is cold, it is bearable and appropriately dressed, the conditions are not life threatening. Unfortunately the weather and elements are the antagonist he faces. Somewhere past the midpoint of his trek the man breaks through the ice and his legs and feet become wet. Knowing he must dry his socks and boots or he will freeze to death he builds a fire. While attempting to light the fire he begins to realize just how cold it must be yet he attempts to rationalize the situation and stay focused. The man is quickly becoming disoriented and struggles onward to build a fire. After apparently succeeding he is devastated when snow warmed by the fire falls out of the tree he built it under and extinguishes the flame. Realizing his folly he moves his kindling and realizes his ability to function in the elements is quickly fading.

Social Consequences of Industrialisation in Britain

In this report I am going to discuss the social consequences of industrialisation in Britain between 1800- and 1850. I will analyse the trends in population movements from rural settings to the city and discuss their causes. I will also discuss social structures of the time and explain how they were affected by industrialisation. I will analyse wealth in regards to distribution amongst the classes and how they differed.Lastly I will discuss such social conditions as living and working conditions, health and sanitation, law and order and education and reforms and laws which were set up as a means of trying to better people’s lives. Introduction Poverty was a concept that people in Britain in the Victorian age struggled with. Were the destitute victims of circumstances, idle and work shy or the victims of industrialisation?There was also the question of who should be responsible for the poor, should society take care of them or as many believed should they simply be left to thei r own devices? The hymn ‘All things bright and beautiful show a typical view on poverty; ‘The rich man in his castle, The poor man at his gate, God made them high and lowly, And ordered their estate. ’ With the onset of industrialisation and population shift, people began to question their place in society and anticipate whether they could indeed change this. Population migrationThe reasons for migration from the country to the city during the 18th and 19th centuries is mainly threefold, for one the population in the country began to grow, this is attributed to the drop in infant mortality rate and the surplus in births over deaths, secondly the invention of farm enhancing methods drastically reduced the need for an agricultural workforce, that, in conjunction with the development of large mass producing factories within the cities drew people away as there was more employment opportunity.Lastly, the north became a hub for large scale industrialisation as it was i n abundance with raw materials such as coal and iron which fuelled the rate of growth, while the south was the bread basket of the country. The population of northern cities such a Manchester grew from 25,000 in l772 to 303,000 by l850. By 1850, Britain was the only country in the world to have a larger urban population than rural. Social and occupational structure At the beginning of the 19th century, British population was very much ranked in classes; this was a way of assessing ones wealth and developing a social structure.The land owners and nobility were at the top of this structure, these people were the ones in change of the county. This power derived from the fact that only the wealthy land owners were permitted to vote therefore they would only permit laws which benefited themselves. With the rise of industrialization a new ‘middle class’ was born. This was usually wealthy merchants who had invested in factories and become very rich. They were not however alway s land owners and therefore unable to vote.The mill owners began to feel they deserved the right to vote. They indeed paid taxes and contributed heavily to the economy and in many cases were far wealthier than the blue blood land owners. The Whigs saw the middle classes push for the vote as a way to gain power, they knew if they could get a reformation on voting passed they would gain masses of support from the middle class. The Tories however resisted this. After the Whigs came to power in 1830, they tried several times to pass a reformation act, which the Tories repeatedly blocked.This was only passed when Earl Grey appealed directly to the king, who agreed to create more Whig lords. This did not please the Tory lords who then gave in and agreed to pass the Reformation Act. The working class where unaffected by this reformation in voting and began pushing for power and began organising trade unions to stand up for their rights against employers. The employers however banned groups of workers congregating in order to prevent them from rising up. Distribution of wealth Workers at this time were treated very badly, there were no laws specifying working times or wages.Meaning employers could pay as little as they wanted and workers were usually expected to work up to 19 hours per day 6 days a week. Work conditions were usually dangerous and accidents could easily happen. Despite these bad conditions however workers had little choice but to put up with them as work was hard to come by and there were often long lines of unemployed people queuing for their jobs. Many woman and children as young as 3 were employed in the factories until 1819 Cotton Mills act was passed preventing children under 9 from working and children under 16 from working more then 12 hours.Due to this exploitation of workers, the mill owners became fabulously wealthy. In addition to exploiting their workers, areas such as the textile trade imported cheap raw materials and sold them on for a la rge profit. Life in industrial cities Law and order Due to the poverty of many crime rates soared in the 19th century, in 1800 75% of these were petty thefts such as pick pocketing many of these were children, this is explored in Dickens’s Oliver twist, with his depiction of Fagin’s gang of pickpockets.Many people were also involved in marches as a way as campaigning for their rights and gaining fairer wages /wanting the right to vote and actions such as the luddites revolt. The judicial system of the time was varied and punishments such as prison, hanging and deportation was given out. In 1829 the Metropolitan Police were set up and in 1835 towns were allowed to set up their own police force. Education Before 1870, there was no standardised way of educating children in Britain; there was no Free State education until 1891.Prior to this the majority of children receiving education were those of the wealthy they were often educated at home by nannies. Once the boys were old enough (around 10/11) they would be sent to public school i. e. Eaton then progress to law school or become doctors. . Children of the poor were sent out to work when they were deemed old enough, education was not as important as earning a wage. However with the poor law amendment act, children entering the workhouse were also to receive education. Living conditions:Due to the rate of urban expansion houses were built quickly and were of poor quality, with areas often being referred to as ‘slums’. There was often housing shortages which resulted in cramped living spaces were whole families often lived in one room. ‘Hideous slums, some of them acres wide, some no more than crannies of obscure misery, make up a substantial part of the, metropolis †¦ In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room’ Due to the high rent charges imposed by landlords and the growing demand for jobs many people became homeless an d ived on the streets. The streets were frightening places and this poverty and destitution gave rise to such social problems as alcoholism and prostitution as a way of escaping and making ends meet. Health conditions These cramp conditions also meant little to no sanitation which lead on to the spread of disease such as cholera, typhoid ad smallpox. In an article in 1849, author Henry Mayhew wrote how a ditch ran through the streets of London into which sewage emptied from this ditch the people would also drink. As we gazed in horror at it, we saw drains and sewers emptying their filthy contents into it; we saw a whole tier of doorless privies in the open road, common to men and women built over it; we heard bucket after bucket of filth splash into it’ Bad health for the poor can also be attributed to the corn law of 1804, in that the landowners imposed taxes on imported corn to protect their profits, thus making the price of bread, a staple of the poor mans diet, far more e xpensive. This in conjunction with a bad harvest in 1816 meant prices became higher still.Edwin Chadwick was a huge influence on the development of sanitation when he published ‘The Chadwick Report’ The Chadwick report In 1837, there were epidemics of influenza and typhoid. Edwin Chadwick was asked to compile a report looking at the living conditions of the poor. He conducted his report between 1839 and 1841. In his report he argued that disease was a direct result of poor sanitary conditions, concluding that reform must be made. In 1848 the ‘Public Health Act’ was passed. This act ensured that water and sewage supplies were clean as well as cleaning the streets and refuse collection was introduced.Chadwick was appointed Sanitation Commissioner and also president of the association of public sanitary inspectors in 1884. During his time in these roles he argued ways public health could be improved. These included the availability of fresh, clean water, water closets in every house and a sewage network which disposed of waste far away from inhabited areas. The old poor law The old poor law was introduced in 1601 and gave help to any poor person within the parish be it through monetary means, medical or the giving of food. This relief was paid for via poor rate, which was paid by local taxes.By 1832, the country was paying ? 7 million per anum to the able bodied poor and topping up low wages, something which the wealthy disagreed with. They argued that this encouraged laziness as a man knew he could work less and receive the same amount of money. They also argued it would have a negative effect on labouring, thus plunging the country into poverty. In 1834 a report was commissioned into bettering the welfare of the poor and reducing the government’s expenditure. The findings of this report lead onto the reform of the poor law. The poor law amendment act 1834Under this new act, the parishes were grouped into unions and each union wa s to build a workhouse. The unions were prevented from giving outside help to the poor and help was only accessible to those willing to give up their homes and enter the workhouses. The workhouses were deemed the ultimate humiliation to the poor and was meant to act as a deterrent to the able bodied poor. Conditions inside the workhouses were purposely bad and families were split up and sent to different living quarters. They were fed on basic food rations and children received education within the workhouses in exchange for several hours of daily manual labour.The workhouses were very unpopular and not all people agreed with the poor law. Richard Oastler referred to the workhouses as ‘prisons’ and several workhouses such as Andover Workhouse were published in the media for their horrific conditions. Charles dickens also sympathised with the poor stating in his novels that individuals in the workhouse were treated worse than criminals. ‘we have come to this absurd , this dangerous, this monstrous pass, that the dishonest felon is, in respect of cleanliness, order, diet, and accommodation, better provided for, and taken care of, than the honest pauper. Due to this the government set strict rules for the running of the workhouse. They were not always followed however. Conclusion It is evident that this period of history had a profound and ever-changing effect on the society of Britain, which can still be seen today. Many people suffered, sacrificed and fought for the rights to change their circumstances. New innovations and developments meant Britain became an industrial giant, and one of the wealthiest countries of its time. As well as a positive effect, like all things, there is also a negative. For the vast wealth created there were those who were exploited and became destitute.It can be argued however that this was necessary and without the suffering, progression would not have been possible. —————— ————————– [ 1 ]. C. Alexander 1848 [ 2 ]. Early Victorian Britain, J. F. C Harrison, Fontana press, London, 1988, Page 18 [ 3 ]. http://www. flowofhistory. com/units/eme/17/fc113 retrieved 20/01/12 [ 4 ]. http://www. spartacus. schoolnet. co. uk/Pwhigs. htm, retrieved 1/12/11 [ 5 ]. Early Victorian Britain, J. F. C Harrison, Fontana press, London, 1988, Page 39 [ 6 ]. Summary of the duties of a justice of the peace out of sessions, H Pye, J Butterworth and sons 1827, Page 43 [ 7 ]. ttp://vcp. e2bn. org/teachers/11466-timeline. html retrieved 28/1/12 [ 8 ]. http://www. bbc. co. uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/education_health/laissez_faire_07. shtml retrieved 28/1/12 [ 9 ]. The Victorian underworld, K Chesney, Penguin books, 1991 [ 10 ]. http://www. hiddenlives. org. uk/articles/poverty. html retrieved 28/1/12 [ 11 ]. http://www. spartacus. schoolnet. co. uk/PRcorn. htm retrieved 28/1/12 [ 12 ]. Edwin Chadwick, Poor la w and public health, R Watson, Longman group limited, England, 1990, page 6-15 [ 13 ]. A Christmas carol, C Dickens, Broadveiw press, 2003 page 204.