Video rental and sales system

Video rental and sales system A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the University of Greenwichs Bsc (Hons) Software Engineering Abstract In the current business functions, an especially rental resource is on of the main challenging part. So that, utilising the resources that are implemented by the companies. The business processes are the major task according to the project budget as well as time limitation. So that software solutions those managing and controlling the functions has to be analysed in a proper way to obtain the successful use of them. The report illustrate about the project that analyse the problem of renting and how to gain the solution for those procedures. Video rental and sales is a complete software solution for controlling and managing rentals of customers. This research is all about controlling and managing resources for everyday rentals. Based on the client needs the resources could be rented. An excellent desktop application has been processed and implemented in order to manage that resource that is currently used by the video rental system. This system solution has been implemented using the technologies of front-end Microsoft Vb.Net and back end SQL Server. Preface This thesis is partial fulfilment of university of the Greenwich undergraduate programme, prepared and submitted by me. This software project helps me a lot to gain knowledge in different parts such as software design and development.   During this project research and development period, I get the clear understanding, how these software engineering principals, technologies can be applied in real time projects. This project approach as a practical way in all stages of software development and make me clear in every stages that software engineering techniques could be applicable.    I am a software engineering student. In this case, this project is closely related to my programme of study and other subjects. My current study is helps me each stage of this project such as system analysis, designing, coding, testing, implementing, Etc, to a develop a final solution for this business. I use MicrosoftVb.Net programming language in order to develop the proposed system. I implemented desktop application the help with Microsoft.net framework based on the customer requests. Moreover this project gives some ideas to access the a range of software engineering techniques and tools for the successful project. Acknowledgements This work carried out for this project would not have been a success without the good guidance a given to me by various people and various time. There are many people helped me. First, special thanks to my project Supervisor Mr. Alexander M. Fedorec and Second Marker. Who helped me in the literature review part and guide me to get the Approval for the Ethical Research application. His comments and guidance helps me to make this report according to a professional standard. My thanks to all the lecturers and University staffs specially library staffs who guide me to get good online journals from the Student portal. In addition, thanks to the authors of articles and magazines which are really helps to my final Document. At last, I wish to thank my Colleagues, their reviews and proof reading about my project helps me to do   more reliable and useful last time. 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Information At present world, widely the uses of software solutions for the companies are considerably increased. The reason is they might get whole solution for their entire services in a single software application rather than doing sub services. It will save lots of money, time and human resources, etc. Therefore most of companies are likes to computerize for their business operations. The melodius company Current situation is they do not have any improved technology. They are spending a lots money, time consuming, extra workers, etc to run their business operations. As a result of these the melodius company has decided to computerize their business. They are trying to make a new revolution in the video rental market. 1.2 Overview The melodius video rental (pvt) Ltd started its business operations as a small size in 2000.And gradually extend out their business to length and breath. Video rental main purpose is renting and selling Video DVDs, Audio CDs, etc. Purchase the products from the supplier and Allocates the products (CDs, DVDs) for sales and rental is the main area of concern for this company. Each staff of the company from top level to bottom level has a typical, free and unique role to play for their company needs. If we have a look in the project proposal ,the main aim of this project is carry out a deep investigation about rental, sales operations and resources allocation for an integrated Movie rental and sales system. The proposed software package gives some improved facilities to the Staffs and the users To run their business smoothly. This could be an entire solution for movie rental and sales functions problems. According the company needs operations are able to divide in to two main types. Such as Sales and Rental. At present the company keeps all the paperworks, documents in manual form. The Following modules are currently in process in the system, Member, Employee, Supplier, Sales, Rental, Payment, product. These existing operations are linked to each other of the modules. Due to these reasons, management faces lots of difficulty. Generally, the overall existing system is slow and unsystematic. The current system and those issues have driven to the top management (Owner of the business) in order to choose for an alternative option. That will enable the company to improve its operations and good progress. There for the management has decided to computerize their existing manual operations. Here my duties and responsibility was to develop a video rental system and sought out these kinds of administration problems, give freedom to the management level people and let them do their central part activities. Moreover, giving an excellent customer service and user friendly product. 1.3 Scope of the project At present in real world, the new technologies are developed in every field. According to these changes, we have to adjust our business activities. This project overall target was design an excellent desktop application and implement for the melodius video company. This helps a lot to the Management and the staff to work for this company freely and pleasurably. The main purpose of this project creates a user friendly, unique and modern software package. With higher security facility (User levels, Password encryption). Make easier to use the forms with navigate Buttons. User could feel free and comfortable when he uses the system. 1.4 Aims and Objectives When the project was begun its cover the whole business operations and benefits of the system. In order to achieve these benefits a few objectives were initialized. Such objectives are. A deep investigation about the existing manual system and their accessible process measurements. Write   a system analysis report based on the system requirements Understand the requirements and the principles when developing a software application Design and develop a video rental system using software engineering techniques. Testing the video rental system using available accessible data. Evaluate the final product and think about new ideas to improve further development. 1.5 Project Management Methodology The successfulness of the project is depends on the selection of the technology, tools and how we are applied in the project. If we take our project, it was a long-term project and its takes more than six months time. The traditional waterfall model is most suitable for long time projects. According this project the waterfall model is most suitable. The following reasons are easy to identify the requirements that enable to develop the system is In. We require a life cycle system. That is before being the system; the requirements are studied through the interview. It is not need to make the changes in the system and it is not advisable while creating the system or modifies the system. Hence since the steps to create this system is in co-ordination with the waterfall model. Therefore I have chosen this waterfall model. Which is follows. The Waterfall Model Each stage related into the next Feedback in the Waterfall Model The Advantages of using waterfall model is By far the most commonly used approach up to now. The waterfall model underpins all the most widely used methods. The stages are clear-cut. The innovative ideas were behind that documents are produced at each stage Consequently preferred by managers as easy to manage. All research and design done before coding starts, it means better quality program design. Well suited for developing stable and well understood computer-based applications. Feasibility study This feasibility study main aim is depth analysis and decides the melodius video rental company and about its businesses operations whether it will be operationally, financially or technically feasible to develop the software product. These studies involve analysis of current issues and gather the relevant informations. Here I have selected three important types of studies for measure the system success as the operational feasibility, technical feasibility, and economical feasibility. Operational feasibility The operational feasibility is discuses about the company performance, information, economy and control. 1. The management is not happy with existing the manual system. Because that is very slow and it is having many mistakes. So he doesnt like to work with the manual system. 2. The manager is unable to produce the day to day transactions and other business information from the departments. 3. They have to spend more time consuming to send information and to get information from the other departments. 4. Receipts or invoices are not in a clear format, when giving after the business transaction to a customer or supplier. 5. The economy level is poor which means its hard to get good benefits from the system. Because of the resources (Rental, communication, and electricity bill) cost is very high now days. For these reasons they have to reduce the cost. In order to increase the benefits. 6. The business datas handling is not a secure way. Anyone can handle the records. And higher possibility of data loses. 7. The management have to spend more time to search the information and produce the reports about their transactions. 8. The existing manual system is not flexible and more complicated there for they must have to computerize the existing system. Technical feasibility The technical feasibility analysis, what the technical resources are available in the system, and what are the technical resources are need for the new computerized the system. Available technical resource: Air conditions facilities, Fans, Tables, Chairs, Shelfs They have limited technical resources. Earlier they have done all operations manually so they didnt need any technical resources. When they have work with computerized system they must need some all the relevant technical resources and the trained staffs. Following resources are needed in order to develop the system. Computers Processor: Pentium 2.2GHz or more Hard drive: 40GB or More. RAM: 512MB or more. Network cables switches CD-ROM drive. Monitor 15 colour colour printer black white printer Software requirements: Windows operating system. Special software for sales rental Microsoft Visual basic .Net SQL Database Economical feasibility The economical feasibility analyses about the cost and benefits of the company existing system and proposed system. Such as Software development coast, Hardware coast, as well as the system running coast. Schedule feasibility study The aim of the Schedule feasibility is analysis the planning and assessing the time period for the completion of this project Analysis-This analyse part, the problems and objectives were identified and the user requirements for the project. It takes two weeks time. Design-Based on the user requirements this part focuses on the system design. It could be divided in to two main parts. It takes three weeks time. Development-This part took six weeks time to develop the software product. Testing-In this testing part, two testing types took place. First, is unit testing and second is Acceptance testing in order to find out errors and solve the errors. This takes one weeks time. Implementation-The implementation section will show how section implemented. This takes one weeks time. Maintain-This part checks the objectives of the project and that it has met the user requirements. And this tells the project successfulness. 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction A large amount of analytical and theoretical works discovers new things, thorough that can encourage Effective improvements. However, it is essential to study the direct connections based on observation and research in order to get in to the related various type of efficiency achievements. In this literature, review I analysed based on research and observation straight away in the video rental business in order to find the key points and drawbacks. At presents the video rental business being the main topic of deep concern from the operations management community (Drezner and Pasternack, 1999; Dana and Spier, 2001; Pasternack, 2001; Lariviere and Cachon, 2002) Re: Coordination of quantity and shelf-retention timing in the video movie rentalindustryGerchak, Y; Cho, RK; Ray, S | IIE TRANSACTIONS | 2006-0738:7, | 525-536 | Description: Times Cited: 6 Because people are thinking now a days home video is very good leisure and it is a valuable entertainment expenses, which is make movie rental as a big business.   Normally video DVDs or CDs available on hand to the public, after a few months from release. These materials are available to public in two ways; first one is renting DVDs or CDs from rental Stores second one is selling DVDs form Retail Stores. My project deals with both Rental and Sales. According this system three main type of people will work Admin and staff who control the system. Supplier who providing the resources (CDs, DVDs) Member who renting or buying the CDs. Normal Customer who only buying CDs Companys main focus is video rental and sales. Currently the company give services to their customers through their manual system and handling all the transactions by manually. Its inconvenient to the customer often. For this reason the company has lose the customers in past and their turnover is shrinking when compare other stores. So the management has decided to computerize the transactions instead their existing manual system in order to give the efficient and improved services to their customers. This literature review will carried out the problems and make sure the work is going right way and valuable. Problems identified in the current system 1. Handling customer They are handling their customers manually. This will cause them difficulty and time consuming to search a Customer card. In case if a record has not been entered in to the required file or a book, there may be some disagreements between the customers and the employees of the company. This leads to shrink the fame of the company. Solution:-Handling and maintain of the customers in a glowing comportment. 2. Maintaining the sales records The sales records of the company are not kept very effectively. Records cannot be easily track in case of future reference. The company cannot have a well planned future business because it cant go through the past records and most of the records are not very accurate. Solution:-Well organized method of handling of all the sales. 3. Maintaining the information of their products The details of their products are not kept in a well organized manner and cannot be referred when needed. The products sold, and the stock balance is not easily tracked, hence the shortage or some time certain important products maybe out of stock, then in such a circumstance customer satisfaction will be very much reduced. Solution:-All the products and its brands are clearly following a path. 4. Problems on maintaining the Payment Sometime they may ask the customer to pay for one product twice by mistake, such incident will make to shrink the good relation and the trust of the customer, making to lose customers confidence as well loosing the customer. Solution:-Product balance can be tracked time to time. 5. Maintaining the supplier information There would be a lot of suppliers. Its difficult to find a supplier detail without being delayed or maybe in some cases they might loss a contact detail of a particular supplier, which might be an important contact for a special product or a Brand, loosing this sort of information will make the company to have problems of finding products of famous brands. Solution:-All the supplier information will be collect then and there. 6. No updated information available Updated information is not very easy to provide to customers if the company runs manually. Solution:-Brands and latest editions that are being handled by the company can be tracked without doubt. 7. Payments can only be made by cash or credit payments Running manually, the company could have only the payment methods of cash and cheques. This is a great disadvantage for the customers who use the credit payment card. Solution:-Payment can be made in cash or credit, and efficient and quick service can be provided. 8. Problem:-Dissatisfaction of customers While the business is running on the manual system, the customers would not be satisfied of the services provided to them. They might have to wait in a long queue to pay for the items they bought. This may be due to the absence of the employees or maybe due to the slow system of the company. Solution:-Membership form will be filled automatically, according to the sales that are made and this would only be for the required sales. Some additional solutions Make sure the integration, integrity and independently for the video rental system and reduce as soon as possible changes for human errors by introducing database concepts. Introduce high secure functionality. It is important that customers and the suppliers information be prevented from leaked out. System will also enables the management to do accurate calculation as well as obtain reports such as total income for the given time period. Better utilization of storage space. Doing away with manual will reduce the space taken up by the data storage. This can be utilizing the better for other purpose. A comprehensive project database that act as a central repository to track the below mentioned needs. Define work in progress. Easy access for the items short shipped on the order. Easy to scheduling and tracking records Easy of maintaining, schedules, monitoring, reporting of progress. 2.2 Legal Social Ethical and Professional Issues and Considerations In this project, I am used copyright material, such as Microsoft products, and Adobe products. Im used university of Greenwich licence to use the other related soft wares. As a university student, I have the rights to use university resources. Some Interviews and questionnaire done by me with Owner of the business, staffs and some customers. In the project there are no any personal datas did not collected. Therefore, the data protection will not affect my project. All the collected data is stored in my personal computer with password protection. All the information will be deleted after completion this project. 4 Requirements Analysis 4.1 Introduction When consider about software development projects, requirement analysis is a most important part. In this part, be able to collect informations together about current situations in order to indentify the drawbacks about the system. This requirement analysis should be correct, testable and relevant to the company requirements. Moreover, it must be significant to system designing part. 4.2 Requirements Gathering In this part requirements can be collect in to the system boundary by contact the users to find out their requirements. In this part used to gather different types of techniques such as interviews, questionnaires, observation, etc 4.2.1 Questionnaires   Questionnaires are quick gather information from large amount of people in a certain period. It is possible to do paper based document either electronic copy. In addition, it is very cost effective method when compare with interview. Major advantages are most of the people are familiar to questionnaires and very easy to analyse.   This questionnaire has been used to gather informations from the customers. Questionnaires with customers    Melodius video 1. Role of person completing this form a. Manager (other company) b. Administrator c. Computer Programmer d. Customer 2. When you contact a melodius video representative, is he/she courteous? Are you satisfied with the way your problems or questions are handl? a. Most Satisfiedb. Satisfied b. Ok  c. Dissatisfied 3. How you feel other music centre compared to melodius video? a. Excellentb. Very good c. Good  d. Poor 4. How do you feel when you pay by using the membership card? a. Most Satisfied      b. Satisfied b. Okc. Dissatisfied 5. Who is the person in our organization you contact most frequently? a. Company Owner   b. Sales men b. Manager  d. Others 6. How you are, feel about our payment system? a. Excellentb. Very good c. Goodd. Poor 7. Comments (Please write us on the back of this form) Questionnaires with customers Answer sheet Melodius Video 1. Role of person completing this form a. a. Manager (other company)-16   b. Administrator-5 b. c. Computer Programmer-3 d. Customer-26 2. When you contact a melodius video representative, is he/she courteous?    Are you satisfied with the way your problems or questions are handle? a. Most Satisfied   -5    b. Satisfied-15 b. Ok -25    c. Dissatisfied -5 3. How you feel other music centre is compare to melodius video? a. a. Excellent -15  b. Very good-10 b. c. Good-20  d. Poor-5 4. How do you feel when you pay by using the membership card? a. Most Satisfied   -10   b. Satisfied-12 b. Ok -8 c. Dissatisfied-20 5. Who is the person in our organization you contact most frequently? a. Company Owner -6    b. Sales men-24 b. Manager -10   d. Others -10 6. How you are, feel about our payment system? a. a. Excellent-5  b. Very good-5 b. c. Good -15   d. Poor-25 7. Comments? (Please write us on the back of this form) 4.2.2 Interviews Interviews are one of the most common and powerful techniques to find out the requirements. This brings to face-to-face contact with customers or staffs to discover their requirements. And interviews are makes a higher response rate. Also, make clear about doubts and make sure that perfectly understood by repeating questions. Appropriate People 1. Company Owner 2. Company manager 3. Payment Division manager 4. Stock division manager 5. Purchase division manager 6. Sales division manager 7. Lending manager Interview with Company Owner: Objectives: 1. Get the permission to analyze the system. 2. Identify the people who are participating the system. 3. Study about the problems of the existing system. 4. His/her expectation about the new system. Questions: 1. What are the major departments you have? 2. What are they doing? 3. What are the problems are you facing with in the current system? 4. How should be the proposed system? 5. What are the facilities you want to include with the proposed system? 6. Do you have enough money for the new system? Interview with Company manager Objectives: 1. Study the problems with the existing system. 2.   Study about manager work. 3.   Study about what are the difficulties he/she facing his/her work. 4.   Who are the people involved with each departments Questions: 1. How you are working for current system? 2. What are the problems you are facing for the current system? 3. Are you satisfied with other staff work? 4. What are you expect of the new system. Interview with payment Division manager Objectives: 1. Know the problems with the existing payment system. 2. Study about his/her work. 3. Identify the difficulties with his/her work.   Questions:   How you are working for existing payment system? What are the problems are you facing for the current system? When more customers come to make the payment, can you manage? How will your action if a customer is not made his payment? 5. How you handle your payment database? Interview with stock Division manager Objectives: 1. Know the problems with the existing payment system. 2. Study about his/her work. 3. Identify the difficulties with his/her work. Questions: 1. How you are working for existing system? 2. What are the problems are you facing for the Stock activities? 3. When more and more items come to the stock, how can you handle? 4. Do you like increase stock division people amount? What are the reasons? 5. How you handle your stock database? Summarize of the interview Interviewer: Company owner Subject: Study of the company Duration: Two hours Mr. Thanushan is the owner of the melodious video company. He likes to build the manual system to the computerize system, because the company staff have to work quickly and accurately. For that, he is satisfied to have a centralized database. He is not satisfied to have an online computerize system. In addition, he likes to have good quality software for the company sales, inventory rental activities. Thanking interview. Interviewer: Company Manager Subject: Study of the complete system Duration: Two hours Mr. David is company manager. He likes to work with computerize system, because the company staff have to work quickly and accurately. In addition, he is unable to get the information from the sub divisions. He is not satisfied to have an online computerize system. Moreover, he likes to have good quality software for the company sales, inventory rental activities. Thanking interview Interviewer: Payment division Manager Subject: Details of the payment system Duration: Two hours Mr. Suresh is the manager of the payment division. He likes to work with computerize system, and centralized database system, because he feel very difficult to work with the manual system. In addition, he has to generate the report quickly and accurately. Thanking interview Interviewer: Stock Division manager Subject: Details study of the stock activities Duration: Two hours Mr. Rohan is the manager of the stock division. He likes to work with computerize system, and centralized database system. Moreover, he likes to increase the stock division employees. In addition, he likes to have more shelves to keep the stock. Because he have difficult to keep the items without damages and the staff have to spend more time to find out the place of the items. Thanking interview Interviewer: Purchase division Manager. Subject: Details of the purchase activities Duration: Two hours Mr. Kishan is the manager of the purchase division. He likes to work with computerize system, and centralized database system, because he have to work quickly and accurately. And he likes to purchase the cds from good quality Product Company. For that, he likes to contract some good quality companies. Thanking interview. Interviewer: Sales division Manager Subject: Details analysis of the sales activities Duration: Two hours Mr.Roys is the manager of the sales division. He likes to work with computerize system, and centralized database syst

Nursing Leadership Paper Essay

They have an open concept design, select menus, and our outside landscaping that allows their residents to enjoy a comfortable setting during either their short or long term stay. Their care is directed by an interdisciplinary team of professionals that includes a Medical Director, attending physicians, 24 hour licensed nurses, a dietary manager, activity director, social worker, and therapist for physical, occupational and speech rehabilitation. At Park Manor, the goal is to provide the care and services to meet the physical, emotional and social needs of each of our residents. I got to work with the MDS nurse, an MDS nurse is the nurse in the long term care facility who schedules and completes the RAI-Resident Assessment Instrument, a detailed assessment done at least quarterly on every nursing home resident. The MDS nurse is also usually responsible to coordinate the completion of the care plans for the resident based on the results of the assessment. We were collecting data from a whole bunch of sources; from the nurses, aides, resident, families, doctors, progress notes, therapy notes, etc. Then we completed the paper/computer MDS form based on our complete assessment (using the data collected). A RUG score (or resource utilization grouper) score is generated based upon our answers which is used to determine medicare/medicaide reimbursement rates for the facility. The MDS is used to create the care plan, determines reimbursement rates and determines quality measures/indicators per federal standards. State Surveyors pull these reports prior to inspection visits and to know who is losing weight and who may have pressure ulcers, etc.

New Labour claims to be ‘tackling domestic violence on every front’ (Home Office 2000)

In 1999, the Government published ‘Living Without Fear: An Integrated Approach to reducing domestic violence', outlining their commitment to reducing the incidence of violence against women and the strategy for accomplishing this. Safe housing is a basic human need. As many women are dependent upon a man for this necessity, the choice between unsafe housing or homelessness is often unrealisable. The majority of safe accommodation for women escaping violent relationships is provided by the voluntary sector with little support from the state. Safe housing is a crucial element for women leaving violent partners. ‘The need for both temporary and permanent secure accommodation for women and children who have left home because of violence must be paramount' (Harwin and Brown 2000 p219) In this essay, I plan to review the history of safe housing provision for women in the UK and look at the influence of the Women's Aid movement, the role of local authorities and the influence of the Conservative governments. Then I will assess the welfare needs of vulnerable women and children – what housing support do women escaping violent relationships need? Do different ethnic groups have different needs? Following that, Labour's focus upon domestic violence will be analysed and I will assess whether this emphasis has produced any real changes for women in terms of housing and homelessness. In term of housing, Dobash and Dobash (2000) developed four conditions under which an abused woman is able to be safe: 1. Her male partner ceases his violence and lives peacefully; 2. The woman escapes to refuge where she can live free of violence, albeit only temporarily; 3. The man is successfully evicted from the matrimonial home, remains away and does not harass her, or; 4. The woman is safely rehoused in another home and is not pursued or harassed in her new location. (Dobash and Dobash 2000 p200) The Government's pledge represents significant statutory commitment to this issue for the first time – do Labour's promises reflect real change? Firstly, to look at the history of safe housing provision for women in the UK. Traditionally, it has been thought that the state ought not to interfere in family life; domestic violence therefore raises questions about the position of the state in the private sphere of the family (Wasoff and Day 2000). Even relatively recently, the prevalence of this attitude can be identified. During the thirteen years of Conservative government during the 1980s and 90s, an emphasis was placed upon the important role played by the nuclear family unit and policy encouraged ‘traditional family values' and stigmatised groups such as single parents. Policy objectives of the time were directed at ‘tackling the problem' which tended to express a ‘problem family' orientation towards reducing recurrences of abuse of violence. Consequently, this approach underplayed policies aimed towards prevention or the enforcement of victim's rights. The feminist refuge movement was established in the 1970s, previous to this there was no provision and women leaving a violent partner had to rely on the informal sector for support from family or friends. Domestic violence was not regarded as a sufficient reason for homelessness and any input from statutory agencies such as the police or social service departments was geared towards reconciliation (Morley 2000). The women's refuge movement began with a few houses offering sanctuary to women organised on ‘self-help' principles. Somerville (2000) notes the influence of the movement upon public perceptions of domestic violence that led to major changes in public policy. Consequently, there has been a huge amount of legislative change. This began with the Domestic Violence Act (1976) which allowed a woman to obtain a court order to excluded her violent partner from the home and the Housing (Homelessness) Act (1977) made it a duty for local authorities to house women made homeless as a result of domestic violence. However, whilst this was an enormous step forward, in reality women had a difficult time ‘proving' violence. Due to the nature of domestic violence, there are rarely witnesses. The wording of the1977 Act was ambivalent and open to misinterpretation, less than half of refuge groups felt that it had improved women's housing prospects (Morley 2000 p233), this was largely due to inconsistencies in legislative interpretation. Surveys such as Jayne Mooney's study into domestic violence in North London (1994) revealed high levels of domestic violence, this put pressure on the government to make more legislative changes. Changes in policing emphasised the importance of protecting the victim and taking strong positive action against the perpetrator. Similarly, social service departments made an ‘about face', recognising the importance of empowering mothers, rather than threatening them with the removal of their children. However, whilst the 1990s have been regarded as a period of significant development in terms of public awareness of domestic violence (Hague 1999), The Housing Act (1996) has been seen by some as a step backwards. This legislation removed the right of those defined as ‘statutorily homeless' to be housed permanently. Local authorities can only offer permanent accommodation to those registered on the council housing list; those escaping domestic violence are now merely entitled to temporary accommodation. The legislation gave local authorities the power to refuse housing to any person believed to have suitable accommodation elsewhere, this especially affects women from ethnic minority groups who could be assessed as having access to housing in another country (Harwin and Brown 2000). Obviously, this had consequences for many made homeless as a result of violence. Section 180 of the 1996 Act made local authority funding for refuges a duty. As a result, an average 37% of refuge income is received from this source but has brought with it its own disadvantages. Women's Aid (2000a) note that some local authorities fail to comply or set conditions which ‘undermine strategies for ensuring the safety of abused women and children' as well as putting pressure upon refuges to only take local women. That aside, as mentioned earlier, the trend towards appropriate intervention and support for those escaping violent relationships has been upwards. A 1992 Home Office Enquiry resulted in a co-ordinated national response and emphasised multi-agency co-operation. There are now over 300 refuges throughout the country offering a wide range of services with specialist provision for women and children from differing ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Before I move on to examining the role New Labour have played in terms of safe housing provision it is important to look at exactly what it is that is needed by women and children escaping violence from men. The Conservative government's introduction of the ‘right to buy' programme has resulted in depleted council housing stock and social renting has developed into a residual sector (Conway 2000). Local authority housing has increasingly catered for a smaller range of people marginalized from mainstream society. Combined with the fact that households headed by women are at a disadvantage as a whole in the UK this results in further social inequality for those escaping domestic violence. Women need good quality housing in a safe environment with a responsive housing management. Access to suitable housing would include: ? A sensitive response to all applicants ? Day-to-day management support ? Specialist support staff ? Liaison with other services and agencies ? Benefits advice/debt counselling (Adapted from Conway 2000 p102) McGee (2000 p91) identified three main areas of support wanted by women escaping domestic violence: 1. Easily accessible information regarding sources of support. 2. Counselling. 3. Help for mothers in supporting the children to deal with their experiences. This final point is a particularly important one. Refuge financing does not take into account the numbers of children using refuges. There is no recognition of the existence of children, and the cost of providing for children, when there may be up to 18 children in a six-bedroom project (Women's Aid 2000a). Additionally to this, children are often extremely disturbed by the violence they have witnessed and the disruption in their lives, yet a quarter of all refuges have no funding for a specialist children's worker. Women from minority groups can face increased difficulty when escaping a violent partner. Racism especially plays a large part in dissuading black women from taking action to address violence from a partner. The reputation of the police is a significant factor in this. Mama (2000) notes that the police appear more ready to investigate cases of illegal immigration than to respond to cases of domestic violence. Despite attempts to challenge racism within the police force, officers on the ground have still been found to perpetrate the abuse via racism. The belief that violence against women is part of the black culture is one that appears especially resistant (Mama 2000). In terms of housing it is imperative for black women to be housed in an area which not only places her in an area away from the perpetrator but also ensures her safety from racism. Women, especially those with children, are more likely than men to be dependant upon social housing; for women from ethnic minority backgrounds this is even more so. The most crucial need of women, overwhelmingly in evidence, is that of safe permanent housing. The refuge movement has improved service provision for women considerably, but is limited by their ability to solely provide temporary housing for women and children. Only by statutory provision can this need be met. This would necessitate significant statutory change. Women who continue to live with a violent partner often give their fear of being homeless as their reason for remaining (Mama 2000), a valid one as evidence suggests. If New Labour is ‘committed to tackling domestic violence on every front'; this is the key area they need to be addressing. So, to evaluate the progress being made. Since coming to power, Labour have been keen to adopt a more progressive stance towards domestic violence than the Conservative rhetoric for supporting traditional families that arguably promoted male control over women. Publications such as ‘Living Without Fear' (1999) and the ‘Break the Chain' (1999) campaign were some of the platforms used by the Government to address this issue and encourage people to access help and support. Early evaluations of Labour's policy response to domestic violence have been cautious in supporting the Government's proposals. Hague (1999) acknowledges that both before and after election, Labour have been clear in their commitment to improving services for victims of domestic violence. However, she notes that there have been contradictions and lack of consistency in policy. Both Hague (1999) and Harwin and Barron (2000) draw attention to the fact that there are discrepancies between local authorities in terms of practice guidelines. There is no national policy to govern their practice and whilst many local authorities have recognised the serious nature of domestic violence, some less liberal authorities adopt a harsh view of the law, leaving many women and children in insecure and vulnerable positions in terms of housing. There is no single government office directly responsible for policy in this area; it falls between the Home Office, the Department of Environment and the Department of Health. A clear example of this is the research discussed later in this essay. This reiterates the findings published by the Government in ‘Tackling Domestic Violence' (1998) which considered how local authorities dealt with domestic violence and partnerships with other agencies. Based on evidence from local authorities it discovered evidence of inadequate funding and incomprehensive coverage (Wasoff and Dey 2000). In the publication ‘Government Policy Around Domestic Violence', little attention is paid to housing and accommodation despite the actuality it is recognised as a key issue. The key point states the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions has worked with other Government agencies to commission research into accommodation and support services available to those suffering domestic violence. Harwin and Barron (2000) assessed the research in terms of accommodation provision; their key findings, published by the Home Office, include: ? Leaving the family home is a last resort and some would have stayed if security was improved ? Good practice by local authorities needs to be examined and assessed ? Problems with service provision still exists ? Official figures on homelessness due to violence are inaccurate and underestimate the extent of the problem ? In term of temporary accommodation, much is not appropriate for women with children and the length of stay in temporary accommodation is unacceptable The paper concludes that monitoring of domestic violence need to be improved in terms of how many applicants for housing as a result of violence are rejected and support services need to be improved, particularly resettlement services. A key area only to be addressed this year has been that of the Housing Act 1996 in relation to homelessness. Hague stated ‘If it [the Housing Act 1996] remains on the statute book under Labour, [it] is a license for less liberally-minded authorities to adopt harsh measures.' (Hague 1999 p144) With the Homelessness Act 2002, Labour has brought major changes to the statutory program of help for women who are homeless as a result of domestic violence (Delahay 2002). Whilst it makes no new environment for homelessness or housing allocation, the Act does contain some tangible revisions to the terms of the Housing Act 1996. Introduced is a new category of priority need for housing for ‘a person who is vulnerable as a result of ceasing to occupy accommodation by reason of violence from another person or threats of violence from another person which are likely to be carried out' Homelessness Act 2002 s10 Additionally, the proposed Code of Good Practice emphasises the safety of the applicant and maintaining confidentiality. The need to ‘prove' violence has been repealed and it has been accepted that the impact of violence or threatened violence can be cumulative. The impact of this legislative change is impossible to evaluate at present but it does represent a significant shift towards supportive measures for those experiencing violence. The Government has placed a great deal of focus upon developing a co-ordinated response towards domestic violence in terms of multi-agency partnerships. ‘Our overall goals are†¦to see effective multi-ageny partnerships operating throughout England and Wales' Living Without Fear (1999) Local authorities have been particularly responsive to these initiatives (Hague 1999) Examining the wider picture, increasing women's eligibility for housing will not have a real impact if this is not backed up by addressing the problem of residualisation. Labour is doing little to address this (Morley 2000) and could even be seen as exacerbating the issue by announcing in Autumn 2002 their intention to grant housing association tenants the right to buy which will further deplete social housing stock. In conclusion, there have been huge improvements in terms of support for women experience violence in the home, much of this directly attributable to the work of Women's Aid and other feminist groups. The Government's commitment to addressing this issue can only be positive but the overall picture remains one of ambivalence and lack of consistency in policy implementation. Continued lack of funding appears to remain the key issue in terms of housing and is holding back comprehensive intervention. Domestic violence is about control over women, a sentiment that thrives within the larger system of patriarchy within our society Our social order is antagonistic to the female gender. If domestic violence is about control, then our society enables men's control over women. As a whole, Labour's policy has a tendency towards liberalism (with a small ‘l'!), thereby neglecting policies that might encourage equality. It is important to acknowledge the increased prominence of domestic violence, however, fundamentally the Government falls short on its claim to be ‘tackling domestic violence on every front'. When a woman makes the important step of leaving an abusive relationship she faces a society that opposes her at every turn – lower pay, little accessible childcare, and significantly inadequate housing – no wonder the relationship begins to look attractive again.

Analysis Of The Article Why Colleges Shower Their...

Counterfeit academics, counterfeit grades, and in fact, counterfeit universities are the theme of a scathing commentary by one Philadelphia professor. Brent Staples, a long time college professor often writes excerpts for big name magazines like The New York Times. Brent Staples article â€Å"Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s† is very well written but lacks extensive evidence for some of his emotionally driven statements. Before one can truly dig in and unpack this texts, we first need to get to know the author. The author of the article, â€Å"Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s† Brent Staples, born on September 13, 1951, grew up an unpretentious boy in Chester Pennsylvania with nine siblings (â€Å"Brent Staples† 1). Staples grew up very financially challenged and â€Å"was accepted to Widener University through a program called Project Prepare (â€Å"Brent Staples† 1). By receiving his PhD in Phycology he then went on to teach at local universities in Pennsylvania and Chicago. Staple’s article, â€Å"Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s,† by the use of ethos gains instant credibility as he has personal experience in the field to back up his arguments. Also coming from such a poor family with so many siblings Staples work ethic had to be sickening to become as successful as he has. This has imprinted a moral of working hard for what is received, which explains his anger towards this undeserved sense of accomplishment that college students are receiving. Brent StaplesShow MoreRelatedPurpose of Evaluating Customer Service Policies26269 Words   |  106 PagesManual on Module II Introduction to Hospitality By Authors Mr Murray Mackenzie School of Hotel Tourism Management The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Dr Benny Chan Hong Kong Community College The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Consultant Mr Tony Tse School of Hotel Tourism Management The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Introduction to Hospitality Copyright  © The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region All rights reserved. The copyrightRead MorePurpose of Evaluating Customer Service Policies26276 Words   |  106 PagesManual on Module II Introduction to Hospitality By Authors Mr Murray Mackenzie School of Hotel Tourism Management The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Dr Benny Chan Hong Kong Community College The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Consultant Mr Tony Tse School of Hotel Tourism Management The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Introduction to Hospitality Copyright  © The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region All rights reserved. The copyright of this manual belongsRead MoreMonsanto: Better Living Through Genetic Engineering96204 Words   |  385 Pagesthe case analysis I N T R O D U C T I O N Preparing an effective case analysis: The full story Hearing with the aid of implanted technology: The case of Cochlearâ„ ¢ – an Australian C A S E O N E high-technology leader Delta Faucet: Global entrepreneurship in an emerging market C A S E T W O DaimlerChrysler: Corporate governance dynamics in a global company C A S E T H R E E Gunns and the greens: Governance issues in Tasmania C A S E F O U R Succeeding in the Sydney indie music industry C A S E F I V