Sociology

Being a parent in the current American society is not something to take lightly. The future of the society depends on the role played by parents in the live of their children. If it was a requirement that has to obtain a license in order to get a child, it would be better if the license carried the same seriousness, though and questioning with it just as other licenses do for example, marriage license. The world has experienced too many deaths of children out of parental negligence or abuse (Mohler, 2010). 

The requirement of one to obtain a license in order to have a child would have saved too many children as well as infants from dying due to abuse and neglect of cruel parents. Parents would become more respectful of their duties if they were to obtain a license to have a child. The license would put a number of minimum requirements for parenting, stand for the significance of parenting and emphasize the idea of childrens rights. Though parenting skills are natural, a license would elevate it to another level and increasing peoples awareness about things they could learn concerning parenting. Licensing acts as an authoritarian response to the problems arising due to abuse and neglect. If knowledge was to be increased, in addition to licensing, it would enhance positive parenting (Levine, 2009).

Conceptualization of parenting style usually occurs along two dimensions parental responsiveness and parental control. These two can be combined to develop four categories of parenting- authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent and indifferent. Authoritative parenting involves high levels of adjustments, self esteem, psychosocial maturity, and academic success. Parental indulgent is a very important feature of parenting which lead to academic excellence of a child. During my childhood I witnessed a circumstance that I will never forget in my life. My brother was a very antisocial as well as violent person. It has come to my realization that he had taken after my father who was also very harsh. My brother used to violently take everything he saw a child holding whether it was money, play equipment or books. When this behavior was reported to our father by a certain neighbor, he confronted my brother with so much hostility that was not fit for a child. This hostility went on from that time till my brother grew up. This behavior depicted my father as an authoritarian person who wanted things done his way (Paulson, and Sputa, 1996).

It is very important that parents take the first initiative in establishing associations with their children due to the fact that it is at this stage that childrens life is directed to a third party or the outside world. If I was faced with a similar problem today I would take it up on myself to establish a relationship with all my children. Rather than just providing my children with the basic as well as physical necessities, I would build a strong base for my relationship with my children. I would establish strong communication with my children in order to find out their emotional needs in addition to the basic needs. I would encourage my children to have positive relationship with their friends as this would help them grow in to social maturity. It would have been very good if my father talked to my brother in order to find a solution to his problem.

Dr Michele Borba is a parenting expert. Dr Borba just like other parenting experts realized that there is a gap that needs s to be filled because parent were getting answers to their questions, but these answers did not deliver long lasting results. The same way as other experts such as Dr. Spock, and Dr. Phil, Dr. Borba provides information that any parent may require for proper rearing of a child. Alyson is another parenting expert who provides parents with parenting principles and discipline methods in dealing with modern children.

White collar crimes are in a category of criminal offenses that usually occur in businesses or corporations. They include insider trading, antitrust violations, computer fraud, securities fraud and money laundering (Larson, 2000 para.1). White collar crimes are non-violent in nature and normally involve some form of fraud or dishonesty. These crimes as Larson States are committed through apparently legitimate businesses (2000, para.1). Sometimes, the principals of the business are involved in the crime and on other occasions the crime is committed by an individual or employee within the business without the knowledge of others.

Apart from the criminal or the perpetrator, the first entity to become aware of the crime is the corporate which employs the criminal. This is because the corporate employer is the victim of the crime. When an employer becomes aware of the fraud, his priorities will be mostly to achieve compensation of the missing funds and termination of the perpetrators employment. Reporting the crime to the police or any other suitable authority is not necessarily the highest of the employers priorities. An employer may prefer dealing with the matter in-house without involving the police or any other authorities which is dangerous since failure to report the crime may itself constitute to an offense.

This essay looks into a number of reasons why these crimes go unreported or why they are under reported to the respective authorities. Buchanan (2008) identifies bargaining chip as one of the reasons why a corporate or a business organization may not report a white collar crime. In this case, he notes that an employer may just want the reimbursement and termination of the perpetrators employment. As Buchanan puts it, white collar crime may generate additional leverage in the settlement negotiations and may cause the employer to lose more than he or she has already lost as a result of the fraud.

According to Buchanan, a corporation may want to avoid damaging its reputation since white-collar crime is a very serious matter with the potential to bring negative publicity (2008). On the other hand, customers and shareholders may lose confidence in the corporation if it becomes widely known that a criminal activity has occurred within the organization. The management may feel vulnerable to personal criticism because its internal mechanism has failed to prevent fraud.

Another reason that Buchanan points out is that the management may have some reservations as to whether the offense will be able to be proved or whether it is serious enough to warrant the participation of the police (2008). The corporation may fear that once it reports the crime to the police its management loses control of what happens next. This makes the corporation reluctant to allocate time and resources to assist the police with any inquiries. Consequently, this might end up making it difficult for the police to continue with investigations.

It is important for an organization not to trivialize the conduct of any employee since where a white collar crime is committed the organization is the victim and it may end up losing money and time. Such an organization may also end up losing customers since they might no longer trust the employees of that particular organization. In spite of that, the reputation of the company is completely destroyed taking the management to task trying to rebuild it.

Nonetheless, it is prudent to report all forms of a white collar crime since it is a law requirement. According to Buchanan (2008), a person who fails to report an offence that is indictable is liable to imprisonment for a period of two (2) years. It is worthwhile to note that an employer has not option of whether to report or not to report an employees conduct especially if the conduct can cause the employee to be indicted.

Q1.  Books Incs model embodies small autonomous booksellers. They are different from box stores like Amazon. Com, Wal-Mart and Costco as this are big.  Books Inc do provide proficient marketing strategies to help people sell and endorse more books. They spotlight on both internal and external spheres where by in external they focus on books and try to uphold customer service. The internal sphere is meant to prepare the system of well- structured independent booksellers in solving current crisis for the well being of the future generations. According to Carolyn, it proves to be challenging for Books Incs model to compete with big box stores because keeping a smaller footprint will require them to situate in environs with bounteous foot traffic. The other challenge is on costs as they are now keen than before on payrolls and such as the issue of expenses nearly led them out of the market in 1990s.

Q2 As much as Book Inc has gone through challenges we can assert that it is a rationale of ecology theory. Unlike Barnes and Noble Inc it has tried to stay away from places like malls and at the same time has tried to be very keen as far as costs are concerned to keep them in the market. Instead of purchasing everything at a go they have made it their priority to buy for each individual store instead. Unlike those big stores who sell first run books at knock-down prices, Books Inc are doing much better.

Q3 Universitys new revenue sources have led to the deepening of stratification on campus
as far as disciplines are concerned and the funding from federal research grants as UC whose budget is from the state is not a reliable source of money. The highest priority in campus is the subunits that have defined their reputation thus they have decided to allocate money where it is most needed. The new construction that the University has planned is in the electro engineering computer science, biological sciences and Chemistry. Less space has been allocated for humanities and social sciences due to reflection on the investment. The stratification is basically a limelight to show how much income is gotten from these subunits to the university. We can therefore declare that the stratification between industrial and research activities are deepening as far as campus is concerned.

Q4. Money gotten from funding does not go to instructional activities as external subsidy only comes from the grants that are federal related. Therefore the reason why the tuition fee is still compelled by the University is because the instructional activities are still in the retreating state.

Q5. To achieve both excellence and access, Chancellor Birgeneau asserted that Berkeley must follow a strategy that is unswerving with character and mission. They must also retain and recruit top faculty to maintain brilliance in order to compete with other prestigious universities. The university is at present limiting the number of faculty the university hires and diminishing the quality of instructions each student get from the lecturer in order to maintain the access of low- come in state students to the institution. Giving up access and increasing the number of out- of- state students should be executed to keep excellence.

Q6. One of the most trendy food menus in McDonald is chicken McNugget. The reason why it tastes the same everywhere is for the simple reason that every McDonald franchisees are used for the same recipes everywhere.  The beef extracts and tallow were the main ingredients that led to the creation of the same tastes which enables people chew easily making it the most favorite food for the children.  Just like the French fries they apply same beef chemicals to McNuggets.  Franchiser according to the fast food nation provides brand name, access to equipment, expertise, business plan and a new idea. Every franchisee follows the same ingredient, recipe and equipments for selling Mcnuggets by following companys rules. Keystone has done a great job to do a background research in order to uniformize McNuggets. They then be helped in applying the modernized technology for manufacture of small pieces of reconstituted chicken called McNuggets which constituted of white meat held by stabilizers, fried, breaded, frozen and heated. The main advantage of this industrialization is that in the kitchen the workers do not have to work. At the heart of franchise agreement is the desire  from the two parties to make money while avoiding risks to be incurred. On the other hand the franchisor is after expanding of existing company without having to spend funds thus making the relationship quite peculiar.

Q7. When Chinese restaurants began to run as independent small businesses they did not know whether they shall win or lose. Managers of these organizations live in the world filled with uncertainty as they hardly know what tomorrow holds for them. To overcome this vagueness they draw models and choose the environment fit to emulate who will in return influence them. The uniformity in America as far as menus are concerned is as a result of Isomorphism theory which refers to facing uncertainties.  Organizations have a tendency of copying the model that works even with other organizations.

Q8. In producing Big Mac, certain organizations are involved. The process start from the cattle rancher, meatpacking companies to finally the workers organization in the local MacDonald restaurant. Basically it starts from the American cattle, and then the meat is packed, processed, manufactured and finally rendered to industries.

Q9. McDonalds purchase their cattle from the ranchers situated in Oklahoma and Taxes thus the relationship between cattle ranchers and meat processors is fairly low. The reason why the cost of Big Mac is low in the U.S is because the dismal close relationship between ranchers and processors from Lopez Foods Company aids in keeping their trucking costs stumpy.

Q10. As a result of the development of technologies businesses related with fast foods became a congregation line thus butchers were no longer hired and all meat needed was pre-cut. This led to the process of producing beef fast and simple. Meatpacking plants hire young people and illicit aliens to reduce wages which are much less compared to 1900s due to hiring of unskilled and cheap labor. This has helped to save the company from incurring expenses since they do not have to pay insurance or vacation time. To recruit new employees this companies go for illegal migrants across the border to provide cheap labor.

How do Race, Gender, Sexuality and Class Intersect to create Obstacles for Immigrants
The history of the United States of America has been evident for witnessing the impact of race, gender, sexuality and class as the prominent aspects that create obstacles for the immigrants to access the rights of citizens. Among these aspects race is the most prominent one that has been creating problem of discrimination in the access of the basic rights of a citizens including education, employment, children welfare, health facilities, voting etc. In New York alone the rate of the people of colors deteriorating economic condition has made many from the Human rights development to nod worryingly over the seriousness of the issue. The non- white community makes 80 of New Yorks population but they are living below the federal income poverty level. According to the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD, a human rights treaty) in the United States of America, the elimination of racial distinction is obligatory. It is important at first to see how the very word immigrant is defined. The term immigrant encompasses conditions of immigration, constellation of risks, crossings, in betweens, fragmentations, otherness, insecurities, survivals, resistances and creativity after the events of September 11, 2001 (Gupta, 2006, p.4). Immigration is the process of developing an identification with another country and is often followed by an application of citizenship (Charles, 1999, p.76).

Some researchers have presented the case studies to show how an immigrant family faces problems for getting their children admitted in public schools to benefit from cheap education that is the very basic right of a person. The children would face problem if their mother tongue is not understood by others. They not only face obstacle in progressing in their class but also would fail to intimidate with their fellows. Similarly Gender can act as an obstacle for children from immigrant families. In the school a girl is told not to wear a religious symbol that is important to her or if the girl is an accomplished dancer and she is told that she can not apply to the districts special school for the performing arts because there is no English as a second language she would face problem (Muy  Congress, 2009, p.231).

The issues of sexuality also pose problems for the immigrants for accessing the basic rights. Many people(gay and lesbians, transgender) originated from other countries who wish to join their partners in the U.S face many problems in the legitimatization of their partnership. Antiimmigrant feelings regarding the deviance in sexual relationships is not novel in the policies of the United States of America and the identity of the immigrants had been a question mark only due to the policies of the U. S. The opposition was not as severe in the early 19th century when the U.S needed labor at any cost so the government attracted the immigrants but paid very little. The government also fear the mixing of the immigrants with the citizens through relationships and some conservative politicians have denounced them for they would out breed Anglo Saxons. Immigrants became a biological threat for their sexuality. When in 2003 sodomy laws were legitamized it was seen as a fruit of the vast immigration in the countries assuming that it was the values of other countries that have taken place in the U. S.

Immigration Policies and Legislations in the U. S History-
Many laws and policies have been presented solely to determine the status of the immigrants but the fact remains that these were restrained to limit the immigrants under certain demarcations while denying the basic rights as equal to the citizens. Some of them are discussed briefly.

Naturalization Act in 1790-
The law prevented the right of citizenship to the people of color that also included slaves. And for those of white people were obliged to stay for two years in order to apply for citizenship.  Simpson-Mazolli Act (1986)-

Another act that affected the lives of the poor immigrants in the United States of America was Simpson-Mazolli Act or the Immigration Reform and Control Act(IRCA) that aimed to prevent the granting jobs to the illegitimate immigrants and demanded the immigrants verification of their status. The legislation not only changed the hiring process as it became through subcontractors as mediators which further lowered the wages of the immigrant employees.

California Proposition (1994)-
In the U. S history many legislations and policies have affected the immigrants. The one very prominent was California Proposition 187 in 1994 that aimed the prohibition of benefits by the government to the illegal immigrants in California. The proposition was also criticizes as based on racism and xenophobic reactions of Hispanic immigrants. The immigrants were not found of any serious violation of the rules except crossing the border as a result of poverty but they worked hard and contributed in providing valuable services to the people of California at low wages. These immigrants were denied equal rights as well as they were the victims of abhorence of the citizens.

Illigal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996-
This very legislation formed the notion of illegal immigrants as well as the barriers of staying in the country for applying for citizenship regardless of having a spouse or children with citizenship. The violators of the legislation could face deportation including detention as well.

Social Welfare Policies-
As the U. S history is replete with events as wars, economic depression, and many other political decisions that have served to influence the social welfare policies of the U.S that also resulted in Personal Responsibity Act that aimed to curb the fund after a limited period of time. It also included the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program. The Personal Responsibity and Work Opportunity (PRWO) was criticized for its being to the point of racism and misogony which marginalized the unpaid labor and single mothers. The case of the immigrants was thus worsened as the government did not had money for the citizens so it could not pay the migrants as well. The non- qualified immigrants are denied the enrollment in most federal public schools (Muy  Congress, 2009, p. 313).

Das Guptas Concept of space making Versus place taking politics-
Das Guptas concept of the politics of space making and place taking are important in the discussion of the rights of the immigrants and the impact of the aspects like race, gender, sexuality and class that correspond to the obstacles for the immigrants in alien countries. Monish Das Guptas book Unruly Immigrants Rights, Activism, and Transnational South Asian Politics in the United States is a fertile ethnography that describes the practices of South Asian American organizations and how the rights of the immigrants are conceived and studied in the United States. She emphasizes the way the organizations are trying to claim rights as immigrants, not citizens, in order to challenge the various forms of exploitation unleashed in this current phase of globalization (Gupta, 2006, p. 4). There she makes the distinction between space making and place taking clear. The different organizations, she finds out, are attempting to get the citizens the rights as improved wages or protection from violence but ignore to claim the rights as equal citizens. Citizenship for immigrants, says Gupta, guarantees their place in the national community or their rights that must accompany the access of the migrants to have civil, political, social, and economic rights (Gupta, 2006, p.14). Gupta argues that the organizations demand the rights for the immigrants not for a place as citizens but for their recognition of basic rights as migrants. She maintains that over the last three decades, we have been able to denaturalize gender, race and sexuality so that we can see them as principles that organize power relations in society and she demands to see citizenship as similar structure of power (Gupta, 2006, p. 256-7).  She argued that the immigrations must be provided the rights equal to the citizens.

Conclusion
Although in the history of America immigrants have been facing problems and obstacles for accessing the rights of citizenship that included facilities and funds from health to education from the days of slavery but the condition of the immigrants in the United States of America worsened after the September 11, 2001 attacks that precipitated a long sequence of amendments in the established legislations while making the lives of the immigrants petty with the passage of time. The immigrants, including slaves, Jews and alien communities were regarded as the violators of the American values in the past but after the events of September 11, the Muslims were included in the line of the inferior ones. It was, thus not only the race, gender, sexuality and class that created obstacles for the immigrants but religion also became a prominent aspect that served to pose obstacles for the immigrants in the access of the rights of the citizens.

In Asia and the Pacific, thousands of women suffer from complications directly associated with pregnancy and childbirth. According to Maine (1993), around 75 percent of womens death is caused by such childbearing complications such as bleeding, infection, unsafe abortion as well as hypertension accompanied by severe convulsions.

Based on the World Health Organization data in the year 2000, out of the 529,000 estimated deaths due to lack of proper maternal care, 253,000 of those death cases are from Asia. Majority of the women who risk and even lost their lives during the process of childbirth are usually coming from the poorest of the poor who were not well-educated and were not empowered to fight for their own rights to survival and proper healthcare.

Because maternal mortality is highly unacceptable, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals make it a point that the issue on deaths caused by mothers giving birth must be given a priority. One of the important action points that the United Nations emphasized is the meeting of womens contraceptive needs. The United Nations (2008) emphasized this point stating that
Meeting unmet needs for contraception alone would reduce up to a third of maternal deaths globally. Having fewer pregnancies and spacing births increases the survival rate of both women and their children. However, achieving the Goal 5 target of universal access to reproductive health remains a distant dream in many countries (www.un.orgmillenniumgoals).

Most couple desire to have and raise children the best they could. However, many couples especially in the developing countries are not equipped with enough knowledge, awareness and support they need in the maintenance of their healthy sexual and reproductive health. In the Philippines for instance, data from the National Statistics Office (2003) shows that more than half of pregnancies are either unintended, occur too soon or are having very close gaps. As a result, many women give birth to more children than what is planned or what they wanted and can care for.

Consequently, women who do not want more children resort to unsafe abortion. Abortion in the Philippines is illegal due to the fact that the Christian faith plays a major role in shaping their values and perspectives in life. The Catholic Church in the Philippines urges its followers not to support the governments effort in promoting contraceptive-related efforts and other related legislation. It has been apparent that the very strong conservative position of the Church has created fear, confusion and dilemma among the faithful followers. Government leaders on the other hand lack political will to enact laws related to contraceptive as they would be labeled as immoral by the church thereby losing their charisma to the general public.

But it is crucial for the Philippine government to promote full access to reproductive health so as to attain their commitments in the Millennium Development Goals. That is why the United Nations Development Program (2005) has repeatedly emphasized that
Reproductive health care which includes quality contraceptive support services enables women and couples to make responsible choices about pregnancy, enabling them to have healthy babies and provide ample care for their families. Full access to reproductive healthcare would help a lot in the Philippine governments effort in improving maternal health, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, improving educational attainment, reducing child mortality, and promoting womens empowerment and gender equality.

The World Health Organization (2000) reported that in the Philippines, for every 100,000 live births, an estimated 200 women die from pregnancy-related causes such as abortions or miscarriage, obstructed labor, infections, severe bleeding and other birthing complications. Aside from that, an estimated 52,000 babies died in 2008 before their first birthday due to lack of child-bearing aftercare services to both mother and child.

Given this situation, the use of contraceptive is highly valued so as to prevent unwanted or unintended pregnancies thereby preventing maternal and child mortality. Accurate, timely and complete knowledge on contraceptive use and pregnancy risk has to be advocated. The government should provide better if not full access to quality healthcare services for women and children while also encouraging an equal and respectful decision-making between women and men about family planning, birth spacing and other reproductive health related matters so that they can improve the ability of women to safe and healthy pregnancy. In this way, couples can plan their future well, raise healthy children and foster a family based on their planned family size and children pacing.

To advance womens reproductive health and rights, several strategies have to be employed. To help reduce if not eradicate cases of maternal and newborn mortality, a community health and development program must be developed in the community level. The community health and development program would include conducts of orientation on community health, maternal and newborn health care as well as family planning methods to both men and women. The government in particular must spearhead the advocacy on family planning and the use of more effective contraception through trainings and seminars for community health workers.

Also included in the community health and development program are trainings on the immediate treatment of maternal and childhood illnesses so as to support mothers and newborns in their critical situations. Seminars on Responsible Parenting as well as breastfeeding must also be conducted as part of the program.

On the areas of prevention, massive information drive have to be conducted in the grassroots level so that young people will also be aware and educated on the importance of reproductive health. Reproductive health lectures and capability-building must be encouraged.

For adolescents, age-appropriate reproductive health and sex education must be implemented in the schools and at the same time involve the youth in community and outreach programs. Gender and development must be part of their lessons and daily activities.

For maternal and child health related programs to be sustainable, the initiative must come from the community people itself. When projects and programs are community-driven, there is a high possibility that such programs and services will be sustained and institutionalized. It is imperative that community people be given the chance to participate as they are the ones more knowledgeable about their situation. Women in particular should play active role in the community programs so that their needs will be met. In doing so, women will be empowered will have equal access to opportunities and in equal footing in terms of decision making in the household.

Achieving the Millennium Development Goal is not an easy task. It takes time and effort on both the government and the local people. Nevertheless, investing on contraceptive use as one of the many ways in advancing womens health and rights may prove to be very effective in preventing maternal and newborn mortality.

Welfare Reform Analysis
Introduction

The policy in question with respect to this analysis is related to welfare, a critic favorite in the Obama administration.  The legislation in consideration is the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 1996 which was enacted under the Clinton administration.  The reform came through at a time when legislation actually encouraged state welfare systems to increase their caseloads resulting in increasing government dependency.  The early 90s was an era of American socialist reform when the unemployed Americans were engaged in the urge to abandon government dependency and find jobs to support themselves and their families.  While Americans sought to become independent, the government realized the rift in American thinking and took steps to encourage this surge of citizens to seek work and responsibility.  Thus, the then president Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 1996 in his quest to assist and change the way of thinking of Americans in need of financial assistance by limiting the budget for individual States, giving them more autonomy in making decisions with regards to restrictions of eligibility, and urging the employers to hire from the class of welfare dependent citizens.

The 1996 reform replaced the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children program which had been around since 1935 and essentially gave the state agencies an incentive to increase welfare caseloads since doing so would mean that they would get a corresponding increase in federal funds whereas a decrease in caseloads would result in a similar decrease in funds.  This lure extended the welfare services to as many as 1 in every 7 children (Rector  Bradley, 2009). Not only was this a great incentive for immigration, but also resulted in a rise in taxation.  Before the reform America was engulfed in a system of welfare that was riddled with loopholes leading to frauds causing the Republicans to mandate plans to dismantle it (Hays, 2004).  The country seemed to have given rise to generations of slackers leading to a culture of poverty (Zuckerman, 2000).  Thus, Clinton sought to put an end to this system and on August 22 1996, signed what was to be a revolutionary changeover for the system of welfare amidst incredible criticism.

The goals of his policy were simple.  He aimed at moving the existing number of dependent low-income or unemployed individuals to seek work in order to be able to support themselves better while at the same time reducing the burden on the State and consequently on the federal budget.  The AFDCs funding structure was the primary reason the states were liberally administering welfare, a plight Clinton countered by fixing the welfare funds for individual states at a constant regardless of their caseloads (Rector  Bradley, 2009).  With the advent of the 1996 reforms, Clinton mainly displayed concern for those that belonged to the middle to lower class, those that formed a body of people that had the ability to work but not the requisite skill and would thus become the first to lose their jobs in case of a recession (On the Issues, 2010).  His policy was designed to instigate pro-work and pro-family sentiments so that the single mother and the single father were better protected but still encouraged to work.

The original AFDCs funding structure was such that although more than 50 of the funds originated at the hands of the federal government, the administration of those funds was controlled by the state themselves who formulated their own policies, restrictions and eligibility criteria.  Even though low-income was a deciding factor for welfare compensation encapsulating most of the population of poor children and mothers, the state decided the quota for the monthly benefits.  This created 50 different systems of welfare governance, virtually all of which had considerable oversight by the federal government.  Clinton proposed to increase the Earned Income Tax Credit by a large amount, from 15.9 to 21.2 billion, a move that went unnoticed by the masses because of the prominent but subtle nature of its benefits.  Although it cut taxes for 15 million families, it was a move that went unnoticed by many a member of the media mainly because of the complicated nature of its effects at the time of its advent.  The EITC increase was designed to provide the hard working low-income citizens a means of acquiring more disposable income, but there was no way to judge if the hoards of waitresses, janitors and hospital staff that were buttressed actually received the distinct advantages or whether they remained unaffected (On the Issues, 2010).

There was to be a new incentive for responsible fatherhood entitled Fathers WorkFamilies Win which involved an infusion of 225 million to enable those with low wages support themselves and their families, aimed squarely at reducing child poverty.  The democratic way involved imparting this aid to business-led local and state workforce investment boards who work in partnership with community and faith-based organizations, and agencies administering child support, TANF, food stamps, and Medicaid thereby connecting low-income fathers and working families to the life-long learning and employment services created under the Workforce Investment Act and delivered through one-stop career centers (On the Issues, 2010).  The policy also awarded states for successfully moving the unemployed into jobs as an incentive to ease the transition into work.

At the time the reformation acts were enacted in 1996, there was a wealth of criticisms highlighting its negative effects.  Members of the senate complained how it would raise poverty, make life increasingly harsh for the single parent and indulge the unemployed into further misery.  Some of the protesting officials resigned as a result.  It was a sight too hard for them to bear as an age old program of aid for the poor was coming to an end (Wolf, 2006).  Liberals warned how it would result in starvation with the masses of children sleeping on grates (Allen-Mills, 2009).

However, Clinton proved that he knew better.  He began these efforts before he became president, as the Governor of Arkansas, which was reflected in the success Arkansas saw in reducing homelessness.  The state became a national leader in welfare reformation (Zuckerman, 2000).  The effects of the 1996 reforms were much the same on other states as well.  In Tennessee, more individuals moved off the welfare programs and into jobs leading to decreased cases of reentry on the rolls (Barbour, Donald,  Thacker, 2001).

In 1994, caseloads peaked at 5.1 million only to have gone down steadily as a result of the policy changes (Wolf, 2006).  A decade later this number had gone down to 2 million (Allen-Mills, 2009).   Millions have departed from their welfare rolls in pursuit of low paying jobs. Another million had been disqualified for not adhering to the rules or had either worn out their time limits rendering them ineligible.  The round up was as follows 1.9 million families get cash benefits in one-third of them, only the children qualify for aid.  About 38 of those still on welfare are black, 33 white and 24 Hispanic (Wolf, 2006).  This figure was a marked improvement from pre 1996 times and goes to prove the critics wrong.  However, this success rate cannot all be attributed to revolutionary welfare policies.  The economy had fared fairly well during the decade following the advent of the bill and a strong economy is just as much responsible for the success if not more.  Some republicans attribute the drop in caseloads solely to the blistering pace at which the economy boomed.

Conclusion
Analyzing the entire set of facts, it may even be suggested that the policy making had reached its peak in 1996 when it came to welfare reforms.  It brought a world of positive changes, all evidenced by figures and a drop in welfare bills for the federal government and a consequent drop in taxes.  However, in a recession such as the one facing the American economy right now, this much praised system of welfare may be under threat as Obama administrations current stimulus package seeks to infuse a similar AFDC system by injecting 800 billion into the economy.  This concerns the tax payers as the federal government would have to bear 80 percent of cost for each new family that a state enrolls in welfare (Rector  Bradley, 2009), a rate much higher than the original AFDC system.  Giving similar incentives to states to add more families to the welfare system has proved to be flawed in the past although Obama argues it as a necessary move to assist the jobless through difficult times.  If history is any testimony, the original policy is far more effective in the long run than Obamas socialist stimulus.

Organized crime has various features that characterize it. Firstly, it has a distinct organizational structure with different ranks or levels which have a highly developed division of labor that facilitate its criminal activities. Secondly, it engages in violence to protect its interests, gain power and increase its sense of pride. Membership is highly restricted and depends on ones kinship or ethnicity. Furthermore, its members are extremely disciplined, committed and loyal as they have to go through initiation rituals, swear to secrecy and take oaths (Abadinsky, 2002). Though extremely structured, organized crime lacks an ideology and its members are only motivated by the prospect of making money regardless of the cause. Organized crime is also tainted with efforts to corrupt law enforcers, government and corporate officials in an effort at maintaining the continuum of permanence of their activities from generation to generation. The types of crimes committed by organized criminals vary form one organization to another. Some of their major activities include money laundering, loan-sharking, extortion, gambling, drug trafficking, smuggling of weapons and human beings, prostitution and infiltration of legitimate businesses (Abadinsky, 2002).

Mentally ill people are more likely to be victims of violent crime than its perpetrators.  They are eleven times more likely to be victims of crime than the general population. Due to the fact that they are a vulnerable population, perpetrators of crime take advantage of their impulsivity, poor planning and problem solving and their disorganized thought process which compromises their ability to recognize danger and protect themselves (Schizophrenia Daily News, 2005). Victimization therefore greatly increases their likelihood of being revictimized. The situation of the mentally ill should be addressed in the same way as other health disparities are addressed using the available tools and resources. The society should ensure that mentally ill persons go through systematic screening and monitoring. Additionally, programs aimed at inculcating prevention based skills ought to be implemented to enable such individuals learn how to minimize the risk of being victims of crime. This however will require the collaboration of the mental health, criminal justice system and advocacy for improved housing (Schizophrenia Daily News, 2005).

Post-traumatic stress is the type of stress commonly associated with children who have been abused by their parents physically, sexually or verbally. Distress is the type of stress that most people often refer to and has a negative implication on a persons life. It can be caused by negative incidences like abuse or neglect, unemployment, interpersonal conflicts or death of a loved one (Mills et al, 2008). It is therefore characterized by anxiety, unpleasant feelings, decreased performance and it usually long term. Eustress on the other hand is a positive form of stress, usually related to desirable events in a persons life such as a promotion, marriage or having a child hence characterized by feelings of excitement, improved performance and motivation and is mostly short term (Mills et al, 2008).

Children may manifest various physical problems as a result of abuse. The physical problems may manifest themselves in the form of bone fractures on the ribs, hands or legs or chronic head, abdominal, pelvic pain as a result of being hit with blunt objects or being banged against hard surfaces. They may also suffer from sexually transmitted diseases in their adulthood as a result of high risk behavior in an attempt to achieve intimate connections that they lacked as they were growing up (Hillis et. al, 2001). The most significant variable that can buffer the negative effects of stress from child abuse is through social relationships with the family members and other people in society. This is because children who have been abused tend to isolate themselves from social interactions which increase the impact of the stress. However, social connectedness within and outside the family greatly buffers and minimizes the impact of the stress and provides healing through social support (McDonald, 2009).