Recent orders
Social Science Research
Social Science Research
Introduction
Growing up as a child of parents who have immigrated can be a very challenging experience to the child. The child gets intense pressure from the parents to succeed in the new country which can be viewed as a better country in terms of opportunities as compared to their native country. More often than not the children of immigrant families face intense challenges because of the difference between their cultural background and the community that they are trying to fit into; all of this put together with the pains of growing up make the situation more awkward and complicated for the children.
Statement of problem
There are various aspects surrounding the life of an immigrant child and therefore it is necessary to carry out a research on the children of immigrants in schools. This research will focus on the immigrant child and look at their life in the new country particularly when it comes to the way they settle into their new schools.
Purpose of the research
The research aims to look at the life of an immigrant child in the new country. Its objective is finding out how the children settle into the schools and what challenges they face as they settle in the schools. It will look at the ease of settling into the new school as well as the performance of the children in the schools. It will also look at the efforts made by various parties when it comes to trying to settle into the schools. Specifically it will look at how the parents of immigrants, the teachers and other students in the schools influence the process of settling in as well as the performance of the children in the schools. In general the research is purposed to try and find means of helping the immigrant child in the schools.
Significance of Research
The research to be conducted is very significant as it will look at the immigrant child in schools and the challenges they face. After getting the challenges then there can be proposals made on how these children can be helped when it comes to their life and stay in schools. The results from the research can also be used by teachers and parents when it comes to understanding and treating the immigrant children in the schools. The research is therefore very significant and is a course worth taking.
Background
Immigrants tend to move to new countries so that they can be able to build their lives afresh with new opportunities that present themselves in the new area. They specifically keep in mind the welfare of their children .the idea of a new life is pleasant the reality however dawns on the children as they face various issues that are negative and long lasting. They experience difficulties in relationships, in homes and particularly in schools. There have been various research carried out by different people on immigrant children in schools. These include the challenges these children face in schools and their performance in schools. The education systems are not designed to meet the needs of the immigrant children’s needs. The immigrant children face various challenges in schools the basic being language barriers. It is expected of the children to take in the educational standards for their age and at the same time learning new languages and new social norms in the country. Schools are knitted in bilingual educational debate that seeks to establish whether children should obtain instructions in the language that is dominant or in the native language while learning English. The immigrant children face poverty at their homes and this can be detrimental to the experience they have in school particularly those children that are not receiving proper nutrition. There have been registered high drop out rates of immigrant children As compared to the natural-born citizens this is according to a study conducted by Princeton University (Dalcour, 2010).
Immigrant children that are from socioeconomic backgrounds that are low face many challenges in schools such as learning difficulties, high drop out rates, communication skills, poor academic performance, summer loss and many more academic related issues. Researchers have clearly stated the limited access to resources is a clear mark of difference in preparation for schools as well as the emergence of literacy among the immigrant children. There have been growing numbers of studies on the correlation between low SES and the learning of children. This however can not be used to make generalized observations across all immigrant groups. For instance Asian groups adjust faster as compared to Hispanic groups. This is due to the fact that there are multifactor’s apart from SES that in close interaction have an effect on the achievement of the different immigration groups. It should the responsibility of schools to ensure that immigrant students that have problems in schools are located, provided with support in terms of available academic interventions. There should also be initiation of communication between schools and immigrant families on the available programs so that they can be able to plan for the learning needs of the students. As a response a parent should be actively involved in the encouraging as well as giving support in the performance of the children in school. Parents are also called to monitor the children when they come from school at every opportunity they get.
It is fair to state that any new child in a school no matter if they are immigrants or will have various challenged to overcome when they are in anew school. The difference with the immigrant children is that the normal or usual problems faced by new children can be exacerbated due to their status. They might face bullying and due top their difference it is usually easier to attack them. Parents should also have a role to play; they often focus more on the academic achievements without acknowledging that their children are actually struggling socially (D’Souza, 2011).
The success of integrating immigrant children is an enormous task to the entire society and the education system has a crucial role to play in the entire process. Different nations have different approaches towards the immigrant students in schools and there have been various programs put in place to ensure that there is improvement of the understanding of the role education institutions have as well as policies when it comes to the integration of immigrant children.
The children fro immigrant families are also socially segregated in the world. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development immigrant children are clustered in schools that are disadvantaged as compared to their counterparts. There are also incidences where immigrant children are seen to be outperforming the native children in schools. Researches Hao and Woo carried out a research that showed that a comparison made between children with similar social economic status and school conditions the best students were those from foreign countries. This shows that despite the challenges the immigrant children face in schools they still work hard and become meaningful people in life.
Research Design
The research design that will be used is a flexible research design. The specific flexible research design that will be used is Ethnographic study. This involves the study within a group, community, culture or organization. In this the research will involve group of immigrant children, the institution will be the schools this students are enrolled and while the community will be the parents of the immigrant students as well their teachers and fellow students. The research will therefore be conducted in schools and homes of the immigrant students.
Data collection methods
There are various methods that will be used in collecting data for the research this include questionnaires. There will be formulation of questions that will be required to be filled by the respondents. The respondents in this case will be teachers, immigrant students, other students and the parents of the immigrant students. These questionnaires will only be issued to a sample of the population that will be taken as a representation of the entire population. The respondents are expected to fill the questionnaires themselves. The questions in the questionnaire will be simple in structure so that it can be easy to get answers and hence analyze the data collected. The other method of data collection is interviews. Interview questions will be formulated and interviews organized among the target population. This will be group interviews as well as personal interviews. Observation is another tool that wil be used, there will be visits to schools where immigrant children are enrolled and their behavior in class observed. This observations will then be noted down and analysis done at a later time.
Data analysis plan.
After data has been collected it will consequently undergo analysis .the data will be taken through a process of data analysis that will involve several processes. Data cleaning is the first phase where the data collected will be inspected and any errors found corrected. Initial data analysis phase follows, at this stage there will be refraining from analysis that aims to answer the initial research question. The initial data analysis phase therefore will be guided by four questions the quality of data that should be checked at the early stages of analysis as possible. Quality of measurements, initial transformations as well as if the implementation of the study fulfills the initial intentions of the research designs are the remaining questions that will be asked at this initial phase. The data sample will also be characterized and the structure of the sample will be put into consideration .at the final stage of the initial data analysis the findings are documented and any corrections that are deemed important are made at this stage. The main data analysis phase follows that is aimed at answering the actual research question as well as any analysis that will be important when it comes to writing the first report of the research.
Future application of the research
The data that has been collected and analyzed can now be put into use. This information can be used to help immigrant students when it comes to their stay in schools. The data will be used in helping them overcome the challenges that might face them in schools so that they can be better students. The information can also be used to giving directions to schools so as to know how to treat the immigrant students and hence make them perform better. And finally the information can be used to improve the performance of these students in schools as well as sustaining those students that perform well.
Conclusion
The research will be conducted in a month and analysis done in just a few days. The findings will then be relayed to the relevant people or institutions that will put it into use. This is a research that is very important as this is an issue that is faced by many people due to the fact that the number of immigrants is continuing to rise.
References
D’Souza, J.B. (2011). Children of immigrants and their challenges.Retrieved march 7, 2013 from
http://canadianimmigrant.ca/family/children-of-immigrants-and-their-challengesDalcour, J. (2010).Problems of immigrant children. Retrieved March 7, 2013 from
http://www.ehow.com/info_8391989_problems-immigrant-children.htmlDavies, L. (2011).Children from immigrant families ‘face significant challenges’ in UK schools.
Retrieved March 7, 2013 from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/sep/11/childrenimmigrant-families-uk-schools
Effects Of Changes In The International Economy, In The Development Of London As A World City, Since 1960s
Effects Of Changes In The International Economy, In The Development Of London As A World City, Since 1960s
Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc377964876” Introduction PAGEREF _Toc377964876 h 1
HYPERLINK l “_Toc377964877” Effects of Changes in International Economy to the Development of London PAGEREF _Toc377964877 h 2
IntroductionLondon is the capital city of the 5th largest economy in the world (Bernería, 43). It is a major centre for commerce and international business and commands the global economy together with Tokyo and New York cities. London is a political, physical, moral, intellectual, literacy, artistic, social and commercial centre in Europe and the entire world. It is the only city in the world that possesses the importance, wealth and abounding population that makes it so unique. It is the true centre of the world, that receives ships of nature’s production, labour results, prince merchants, commerce fruits, and its financiers determine the destiny of empires and make and unmake nations.
One of the major backdrops to London’s economy is urbanization. In the 1960s, planning proliferated sociologists and architects were determined to change the world, town halls and campuses supported by modernization, morphology, networks and central places. It was therefore confidently believed that London provided a good key to creating a future city and an environment that was wholly planned (Sassen, 106). Since 1960s, changes in the international economy have greatly affected the development of London as a world city.
The success of London in business and service industry is founded on its native language, English. The city also had a good track of openness and space for the other dominant international business languages used in Europe and major business destinations across the globe. Coincidentally, it was the choice of the British Empire for the headquarters as it is situated strategically in relation to other countries of the European Community central time zone thus acting as a bridge between Asian and US markets.
Perhaps the international image and symbol held by the city regarding the country’s diplomatic ideology contributed to its popularity among the international community as well. The strong relationship between US and United Kingdom, and the UK’s good historical relationship with Middle East, African and Asian countries have boosted its success. It is therefore in line to refer to London as victor regarding business positioning in both local and international domains. As such, its status in this context must be considered as an occupant of rare niche held only by a few elite cities whose fortunes can be observed from different angles illustrating how class and might can surpass limitation.
Effects of Changes in International Economy to the Development of LondonDespite the earlier fame and grandeur that London boasted of within a promising prospect of brilliance into the future, especially at a time many other European cities lagged behind, its downfall was too soon in the offing. Flanked by its strategic location that tapped from a myriad of industries, London was not prepared for the bad news of a possible decline. Apparently, as discussed below, it was difficult to tackle early indicators of a decline, partly due to the fact that the city’s leadership was oblivious of any strong force that would bring down such a mighty project in Europe.
Decline in the docklands was caused by negative cumulative processes like development in infrastructure, leaving its ships and harbors outdated. This has had a negative effect in the development of London as a world city. The closure of the docks negatively impacted on London’s economy. According to Inwood (43), in the late 1990s, 20% population decline unemployment increased due to job losses and the wider area was in a horrendous situation. Such severe social and economic problems led to the formation of docks regeneration program. The aim of the program was to improve the public amenities and social infrastructure too.
London has become the number one city in the world in tourism for several times and has managed to maintain its status as one of the leading destinations in the entire industry. A trip to London by foreign tourists as well as domestic tourists must be one a kind considering the status that it occupies in the tourism domain. Nearly every prominent tourist would have London as first choice destination to match with the status and accolade it possesses. This is because of its stable economic nature, mailing it a very developed city in the world. In 2006, London was visited by 15.6million visitors, the number one city visited in that year (Bremner, 1). Port of London is the largest port in the world. This is because it is able to import a lot of raw materials from other unstable economies of the world. Since the cost of raw materials is very cheap, it is able to enjoy a surplus in the balance off payment, from the high sale of expensive finished goods and services.
The scope of business platform can be used as a marker of the level of sophistication and elegance that a city enjoys. This is particularly so when the economy of a country or city is analyzed in terms of the revenue foundation. Globalization is a major aspect in international economy that has had an impact in the development of London. Aspects of globalization are industrial, economic, financial, job market, political, health policy, information, language, cultural, technical, and religious among others. Industrialization has led to mass production in world markets and increased the accessibility of foreign goods for companies and consumers. Movement of goods and materials within and between national boundaries has also been made much easier. International trade has increased more than a 60 times, in manufactured goods (Roy, 115).
The profile of a city’s economic foundation can be used to reveal how responsive it to different economic forces of the market, especially in a global picture. Labor or capital intensive economies are descriptive terms of the balance that exists in the sources of revenue with regard to industrial or service wings of the economy. In Doreen (82), it is recorded that London was the first European country to shift to service-based economy. With the recent changes in the economy of many developing countries, the economy of London has been developing. This is because, the developing countries are usually unable to process their raw materials and therefore export them to service based economies like London. Unfortunately, they sell the primary products at throw away prices while London processes them up to tertiary levels and then sell them at very high prices. This positively leads to the development of London’s economy.
Another effect of changes in international economy to the development of London as a world city is exploitation of impoverished workers from foreign countries. The protection for economically weak countries by stronger and industrialized countries is deteriorating resulting into exploitation of people from such countries. London uses cheap labour from poor countries, whose economy is deteriorating. With cheap labour force, the cost of production becomes very cheap while the out put is very expensive. This greatly benefits the development of London economy.
Changes in international economy have made London take advantage outsourcing. In this case, it has moved its service and manufacturing jobs to locations with low cost of wages from locations with cost of wages and benefits of workers. However, this has resulted to job losses in the high cost locations. In such a situation, the middle class is forced into the lower class, which is very hard to climb to climb from poverty. This creates two distinct and extreme classes in this economy; the elites and low classes. Free exchange of capital and goods has been triggered by changes in international economy. Therefore, collapse of one economy could affect another economy.
Additionally, it has led to competition in the job market because with changes in international economy, the workers are not tied to the fate of economies of their nations. London has negatively been affected by this. This is because; they now compete in a global market and can move to the country offering the best wages. Therefore, London has had to equally increase its wages so as to attract and maintain its labor force.
Changes in the world economy have left many countries in an unstable economic situation. An unstable economy means high cost of living and unemployment. People will therefore move to more stable economies like London. This consequently increases the population density of London city due to the high influx of foreigners. These people positively influence growth and development of London economy, since they offer cheap and ready labour in the manufacturing and service sectors. In the wake of strong economic shakeups at the global economic front, London, Just as many mega cities of the world of today has therefore not been spared. Interesting news is the relatively better recovery progress when compared to some of the leading cities in the pack of great modern cities. Whether the status remains is a fact of time.
Furthermore, influx of people into London city has increased the cultural diversity of this city. Sharing among people from different cultures has increased the development of the economy of London. People share ideas, foreign products, adopt new practices and technology and take part in a world culture. Furthermore, it makes London city a metropolitan city, hence attractive to different races. It also acts as an incentive to tourism and this positively impacts on the development of the economy.
However, the international economic crisis in 1960s onward has had a major blow in the manufacturing and industrial sectors of London. In 1960, London was a major industrial town but this has been declining from then onward. Today the only plant remaining in London, that is substantial, is Ford Dagenham which manufactures diesel engines, and body panels. During this period, London had a 2.8% employee’s proportion, which was the lowest percentage in manufacturing in UK (Shaxson, 53).
Changes in the world economy have made many affected economies so unfriendly to foreigners. However, London has remained very friendly to foreigners that it charges them lower taxes while the domiciled non UK residents are never taxed on their foreign earnings. London offers a friendly environment and hence, London is a city of democracy. In London, the local government is elected by business as opposed to resident population.
With economic crisis in many countries, especially developing countries, the economy of UK has financially remained stable. This has contributed to surpluses in the balance of payment, thus developing the economy (Bernería, 61). London has largely invested in finance and its exports. It is the home to insurers, banks brokers, legal and accounting firms. In 2005, London handled transactions of global currency, which was about 31% (Roy, 174). Its daily turnover amounted to an average of US$753 billion with more Euro and US dollars traded, more than any other European city.
Works Cited
“Top 150 City Destinations: London Leads The Way.” Euromonitor International, Bremner, Caroline, 2007. Web. 15 March 2011.
Bernería, L. Gender Development and Globalization: New York, NY: Routledge, 2003. Print
Inwood, Stephen: A history of London, Oxford, UK: Oxford Publishers, 1998. Print
Massey, Doreen, B. World City. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2007. Print.
Roy, P. London: A Social History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998. Print.
Sassen, S. The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo (2nd edn.) Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001. Print
Shaxson, Nicholas. Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole the World. UK: Random House UK, 2011. Print.
Social Science Project
Social Science Project
Social science is a discipline that deals with the society and human nature. This paper will therefore look at a social science research project conducted and a developed plan on addressing ethical considerations of the subjects that will take part in the research.
Research project
The research project is based on children of immigrants in schools. This research will be conducted to find out the role of institutions of education when it comes to the policy of integrating children of immigrants. This research will be conducted in private as well as public school .the main objective of the project will be finding out how the children of immigrants cope in the new country especially in a school setting. Another objective is to find out any difficulties or problems that an immigrant child faces in the school. The research will also find out how well the immigrant’s children perform in the schools and if their performance has been influenced in any way by the change. It will finally seek to come up with solutions to any problems that they come across during the research that pertains to children of immigrants in schools.
Ethical considerations of subjects
In order to combat the sense of arrogance that has been rampant in various fields of research there should be ethical considerations made when any research is conducted especially a research that involves human subjects. There have been violations of research ethics that have made it necessary for the setting up of official codes of ethics. Therefore before conducting any research there should be a sound plan developed that will ensure that one considers any ethical concerns of the subjects taking part in the research. The plan includes voluntary participation; this means that the research subjects should take part in the research voluntarily. Anyone who will take part in the research will do so on their own free will and they will not be forced or lured into taking part in the research in any way. The immigrant children and their parents have a right to know that they are part of an ongoing study and they have the option or agreeing or disagreeing to take part in the research (University of Washington, 2010).
Avoidance of harm is another important aspect that is incorporated in the plan. The research will be conducted in such a way that the subjects will not be harmed in any way. In this particular research project it will be ensured that the subjects are not emotionally harmed or create conditions whereby harm can be caused by others. In the research it will also be ensure that the subjects remain anonymous. Anonymity is coupled with two other concepts confidentiality and privacy. Anonymity ensures that a subject has a right to have his identity shared or not. Therefore just as the decision to take part in the research is ones choice so will be the decision to disclose their identity remains their choice. In the research the issue of justice will also be considered as there will be efforts made to distribute any risks and benefits that are got from the research fairly without being bias. It’s therefore very sensitive to decide who to include or exclude in the research. Therefore the students and parents should all be given an equal opportunity to participate in the research and no form of favoritism of any way when it comes to the choice of subjects should be made. It will also be important to ensure that there is no manipulation so that the desired results are found. Invasion of privacy is another factor that will be considered when designing the questions that the subjects will be asked. In case a subject feels that their privacy is being violated then they can skip a question or withdraw from the research. Deception is another aspect that will not appear anywhere in the research, this means that every intent of the research will be made clear to the subjects (Resnik, 2011).if all this things are considered then the social research conducted will be ethical.
References
Resnik, J.D. (2011) what is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important? Retrieved February 28, 2013 from http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/University of Washington.(2010). Research Ethics.retrievd February 28, 2013 from http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/resrch.html