Effects of Information Systems on Decision-Making Process Research Paper

Effects of Information Systems on Decision-Making Process - Research Paper Example Influence of internet in the decision making process â€Å"When it comes to driving consumer decisions about a range of products and services, the Internet is by far the most influential media channel† (Hillard & Harris, 2010). People explore details on in internet before they take most of their purchasing decisions. Since internet has reduced the distance between people and place, it is possible for a consumer staying India to purchase a product from America or Europe. So they will compare the prices of a product in domestic market and international market before taking decisions about whether to purchase that product from domestic market or international market. Moreover, people take purchasing decisions after analyzing the product reviews published on internet. For example, iPhones and Samsung Galaxy S2 are fast moving cellphones in the market at present. People rely heavily on internet to read the reviews of these products from internet before taking their purchasing decis ions. â€Å"Internet users report that online resources not only allow them to quickly and easily compare options, but also to seek out expert and peer advice that enables them to act with greater confidence†(McRoberts, 2010). ... For example, today, many of the Americans were asked to work in China on deputation in order to help their organizations to establish its business units there. Before taking a decision about whether to proceed to China or not, these people search the internet to know more about the political, social and professional climate in China. Before advancing further in education, teenagers leaving from schools will often search internet to decide about the courses they wanted to study in colleges. It is not necessary that all the courses offered in a college have equal job potentials. So people often search internet to know more about the job potentials of certain course before taking decisions about whether to accept it or not. Internet can advise people in taking their healthcare decisions also. For example, keloid is a severe skin problem which occurs due to repeated injuries at a particular portion. Even though surgical removal of keloid is possible, the chances of reoccurrence are immen se. There are other therapies also for keloid like laser treatments, radiation therapy etc. However, all these treatments have some kind of side effects. A person suffering from keloid can search internet to know more about the pros and cons of each keloid treatment before opting for a particular treatment. In other words, internet can help people in taking decisions about using certain drugs or therapies for removing some of their health problems. Internet can help a person to plan his journey properly. â€Å"Internet can now be used to inquire about the flight timings and delays which make it easier to plan for the departure time† (Effect of Internet on our daily lives, 2008).

Stereotypes of women in the play Essay Example for Free

Stereotypes of women in the play Essay Woman in Aeschylus’s Agamemnon are perceived as untrustworthy and ignorant characters. The role of women in ancient Greek life, was considered to be insignificant compared to that of Greek men. And yet, in tragedies, women were often written as major characters, revealing insights on how women were treated and thought of in society. Many well-known Greek plays contain several well-written, complex, female characters. Each female character takes upon herself, the role of villain, the role of victim, and the role of heroine. Drama and theatre in the ancient Greek world expresses the communities’ concerns in regards to their ambitions, fears, hope and their deepest sympathy. In Greek drama, playwrights often included pivotal female roles, despite the fact that the cast was strictly male. The role of women in ancient Greek life is deemed irrelevant compared to that of Greek men, however, in tragedies, women are often written as major characters, revealing important insights on the perceptions and treatment of women in society. For a woman to possess qualities such as leadership and strength is not typical, in fact it is seen as masculine and un-ladylike. Many Greek plays contain several complex female characters; Aeschylus is a playwright whom incorporates a very complex female character, Clytemnestra in his play Agamemnon. Although Clytemnestra is one of the most recognizable and noted female villains due to her involvement in the murder of her husband and his concubine, one can argue that her actions are justifiable. Whether her vengeful actions are triggered by the death of her daughter Iphigenia, her love for Aegisthus or the jealousy of her husband’s mistress Cassandra, either is motive enough to make her turn to evil. There is a quote made by the chorus that suggest evidence that women are incompetent and over emotional for leadership, It is very like a woman in command to concede gratitude before the facts appear: too ready to persuade, a female ranges beyond her boundary, quick to move; but doom is quick for rumour when a woman spreads it, and it is destroyed. (483-487) With these words, the Chorus expresses a stereotyped view of women as emotional and irrational. From my reading of the play as a whole, I asked myself the question did the female characters in the play actually live up to this stereotype? As I pondered upon this I knew the answer was No. The women in this play are fierce and merciless, and do as they wish. Even though they have a dark cloud of gender prejudice overhead they go against this and stand above all. As for the male characters, their are clearly some who are very rational and dont get their hopes up too early; both the Watchman and the Herald seem to fit this description. Based on the way all of the characters in the play are depicted I personally think Aeschylus does not agrees with the Choruss opinion of women. Just like many explore argumentative themes, Aeschulus decided to explore gender inequalities and hierarchies in a time when this topic was importantly relevant. In a patriarchal society like that of ancient Greece, it would be pretty hard to have a play with a fearsome female villain like Clytemnestra and not have the issue of gender play a prominent role. At many points in Agamemnon, we hear characters utter stereotyped views about women, but it isnt clear how much Aeschylus endorses these. For example, the Chorus frequently remarks on how women are irrational and dont pay attention to the facts. The Chorus members intend this as a criticism of Clytemnestra, but do we really see her being irrational or making factual mistakes? Evil though it is, Clytemnestras murder plot definitely required careful (i. e. , rational) planning, and she was right about the signal fire from Troy, which the Chorus doubted. Also, the Chorus is majorly wrong in mistaking the appearance of Clytemnestra for what it really means, when they cant believe she will be Agamemnons killer. Clytemnestras actions do, however bear out another cultural stereotype in the play: that women are untrustworthy. (Of course, it could also be said that Agamemnon is untrustworthy, since he sacrificed his own daughter. ) At the end of the play, when the Chorus makes fun of Aegisthus by calling him a woman for not going to war and using deception to get back at Agamemnon, does this question or reinforce stereotypes? Absolutely. There is many similarities between Aeschules’s Play on gender inequality and stereotyping and experiences of those of the 1950’s. The role of women in the 1950 was repressive and constructive in many ways. Society placed high importance and many expectations on behavior at home as well as in public. Women were supposed to fulfill certain roles, such as a caring mother, a diligent homemaker, and a obedient wife. The mother was supposed to stay at home and nurture so society would accept them. The basics of the inept woman were: the woman driver, the over-spender who cannot budget, and the basic downfall of man. This all ties back to the women in Agamemnon, despite the male characters never ending humility and doubtfulness of intelligence the women, there is a strong prevalence and honor for the female sex among woman. Here is a poignant example of strong clystamnestras femininity†¦ I cried out my joy long ago, when the first night-messenger of fire came telling of Ilions capture and destruction. And someone said in reproof, Have beacon-watchers persuaded you to think that Troy is now ransacked? Truly like a woman to let her heart be lifted! Words such as those made me seem astray; nevertheless I went on sacrificing, and people in all parts of the city shrilled cries of joy in womens custom, in grateful triumph, lulling the fragrant flame that devoured their sacrifice at the gods seats. And now, for the longer account, what need have you to give it me? I shall learn the whole story from my lord himself; and I must hasten to give my revered husband the best of welcomes now he has come back. For what light of day is sweeter to a wife to see than this, with the gates opened up when god has brought back her husband safely from campaign? Take this message away to my husband, to come as soon as possible; he is the citys beloved darling. As to his wife, I wish he may find her when he comes just as faithful in his home as the one he left behind, the houses watch-dog to him while hostile to ill-wishers, and similar in everything else, with no seal broken in the length of time; and I know no more of pleasure from another man, nor talk of blame, than I do of dipping bronze. There you have my boast; its fullness with the truth makes it no shame for a woman of my nobility to proclaim. (587-614)| | I’ve quoted this entire long speech by Clytemnestra because of the sheer wealth of conflicting images of femininity it offers. At the beginning of the speech, we see her offering a counterargument to the sexist stereotypes presented by the Chorus in the previous quotation. Contrary to how they claim women typically behave, Clytemnestra says that she was right about the fact that Agamemnon was coming home, and so hadnt gotten her hopes up for no reason. She drives this point home by saying that she doesnt want to hear any more secondhand information, but will wait to hear what her husband has to say when he gets home. For the rest of the speech, she interweaves various ideas of traditional femininity, pointing out how much she loves her husband, and how faithful she has been to him while he was gone. Aeschylus’s Greek tragedy, Agamemnon stereotypes of women in the play are quite evident. There is no rug sweeping of this topic at all, instead the reader is greeted with this issue at the beginning of the play. It seems like every male character especially the chorus are brash on the females and encounter them is unworthy, unintelligent and forgetful subhuman. Male characters in Agamemnon do not in the slightest take anything women say seriously and believe the right place for them in caring for baby and the home, similarity to that of the stereotypical housewife of the 1950’s. To much astonishment the women in the play prevail against all preconceptions about them. Probably the most is Clytamnestra, who killed her husband because he sacrificed her beloved daughter to succeed his army. Clytamnestra was a strong woman and never apologized for what she did, but admitted to it with dignity and honor. Women of Agamemnon serve as a fine example to the idea that even though women might be placed in a situation that has placed in a unfair hierarchy of gender, we women must triumph and overcome biases just like our sisters have done for millenniums; we must be brave and endure so we can succeed and show that we can do and be just about anything.

no pretty pictures :: essays research papers

"Nominated for a 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War is Anita Lobel's gripping memoir of surviving the Holocaust. A Caldecott-winning illustrator of such delightful picture books as On Market Street, it is difficult to believe Lobel endured the horrific childhood she did. From age 5 to age 10, Lobel spent what are supposed to be carefree years hiding from the Nazis, protecting her younger brother, being captured and marched from camp to camp, and surviving completely dehumanizing conditions. A terrifying story by any measure, Lobel's memoir is all the more haunting as told from the first-person, child's-eye view. Her girlhood voice tells it like it is, without irony or even complete understanding, but with matter-of-fact honesty and astonishing attention to detail. She carves vivid, enduring images into readers' minds. On hiding in the attic of the ghetto: "We were always told to be very quiet. The whispers of the trap ped grown-ups sounded like the noise of insects rubbing their legs together." On being discovered while hiding in a convent: "They lined us up facing the wall. I looked at the dark red bricks in front of me and waited for the shots. When the shouting continued and the shots didn't come, I noticed my breath hanging in thin puffs in the air." On trying not to draw the attention of the Nazis: "I wanted to shrink away. To fold into a small invisible thing that had no detectable smell. No breath. No flesh. No sound." It is a miracle that Lobel and her brother survived on their own in this world that any adult would find unbearable. Indeed, and appropriately, there are no pretty pictures here, and adults choosing to share this story with younger readers should make themselves readily available for explanations and comforting words. (The camps are full of excrement and death, all faithfully recorded in direct, unsparing language.) But this is a story that must be told, from the shocking beginning when a young girl watches the Nazis march into Krakow, to the final words of Lobel's epilogue: "My life has been good. I want more." (Ages 10 to 16) --Brangien Davis From Booklist Gr. 6^-12. The truth of the child's viewpoint is the strength of this Holocaust survivor story, told with physical immediacy and no "pride of victimhood." Lobel's ebullient, gorgeously colored illustrated books--from the Caldecott Honor Book On Market Street (1982) to Toads and Diamonds (1996)--give no hint of her dark, terrifying childhood.

Capital Investment Decisions: the Case of Diamond Plc

Capital Investment Decisions: The case of Diamond PLC CONTENT PAGE PAGES 1. 1 – Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 1. 2 – Literature review†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4-6 2. 1 – Advantages and disadvantages of Net Present Value†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6-7 2. 2 – Advantages and disadvantages of Internal Rate of Return†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7-8 2. – General formulas†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9-14 3. 1 – Critical Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15-17 4. 1 – Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17-18 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19-20 1. 1 – Introduction This assignment is based on Capital investment deci sions: the case of Diamond Chemicals plc. A critical analysis of this case study will examine the characteristics and concerns in the case study. This research will discuss the use of Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) techniques known as Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR), which are the two most popular and important techniques in investment decisions. Although these two techniques are closely-related, they have fundamental differences between each other. â€Å"The IRR is the discount rate that makes the present value of a future stream of cash flows equal to the initial investment(s). Arnold 2008. Whereas, NPV is the â€Å"difference between a project’s value and its cost† Breadley, Myers and Allen, 2006. 1. 2 – Literature Review Three research articles will be reviewed focusing on the performances of NPV and IRR relating to real cases in investment evaluation. â€Å"Do managers of South African manufacturing firms make optimal capital investment decisions? † †“ E. Gilbert, 2003. The purpose of the study was to investigate capital budgeting behaviour of firms in South Africa. It reveals that majority of manufacturing firms use only the NPV technique when evaluating their capital investment projects, and of the DCF techniques used, the NPV technique is used more often than the IRR. Research shows that manufacturing firms adjust the discount rate used in their NPV calculations to incorporate the project specific risk; according to the results of this research, majority of firms do this. It considers that the majority of firms use only the NPV technique when evaluating their capital investment projects (i. e. no other techniques are used at all). However, on average, the IRR technique is used more often than NPV (48% versus 47%). Nevertheless, in summary, the study suggests that manufacturing firms in South Africa deviate from the behaviour prescribed by corporate finance theory because they do not use NPV in isolation with projects specific risk adjusted discount rates when evaluating capital investment projects. The next article titled â€Å"Capital budgeting practices in the US. Forest product industry: A reappraisal† – L. S. Hogaboam and S. R. Shook, 2004. This study observed the capital investment practices of publicly owned forest roduct firms in the U. S. in 2001by replicating research reported by Cubbage and Redmond in 1985. In this research Baile et al (1979) conducted a survey and case study of capital budgeting in the forest products industry and found that most forest products companies had formal budgeting systems, but these companies lacked post audit procedures, did not account for risk and utiliz ed primitive risk adjustment methods. The researchers correlated the use of NPV and IRR to the size of the firm, finding that firms that had smaller gross sales revenue primarily used payback period for their projects. Nine firms ranked NPV either first or second in evaluation criteria importance, whereas IRR was considered most important evaluation criteria in the Idaho survey mutual exclusive projects. Financial literature indicates NPV is best for capital rationing, and 7/15 of firms indicated that IRR was their primary choice in case of rationing. This survey specifies that the IRR technique is most popular for the evaluation of mutually exclusive projects, even though most financial literature considers it to be inaccurate when compared to NPV. The third article â€Å"Capital Budgeting Practices: A Survey in the Firms in Cyprus† investigates: 1. the methods used by the Cyprus companies to evaluate investments, and 2. the approach adopted to handle important estimation problems inherent to the use of these methods. It was found that 54. 43% of projects evaluation is done by means of a simplified evaluation technique and that 36. 71% of the companies use the payback period technique. Among the methods that take into account the time value of money concept, the NPV method is the one most companies prefer, and only 8. 86% of them use IRR. In this study Hatfield, Horvath, and Webster (1998) investigated the importance of payback, average rate of return, IRR, and NPV capital budgeting techniques for the performance and value measures of firms. They found that firms analyzing all projects have higher share prices on average. They also found, in contrast to the theory of finance, that the NPV technique is not maximizing the value of the firm. Their results indicated that it is best not to rely on any single capital budgeting technique but instead to apply all of them or as many of them possible for a project evaluation. 2. – Advantages and Disadvantages of Net Present Value (NPV) NPV is a very popular method of project appraisal; starting with the advantages; According to Pike and Neale (2006), the NPV rule accepts all investments offering positive NPVs when discounted at the equivalent market rate of interest. This results in an increase in the market value of the firm and thus the increase of the shareholder†™s stake in the firm. NPV takes into account the time value of money – It recognises that ? 1 today is greater than ? 1 tomorrow; Breadley, Myers and Allen explain that it is because today can be invested to start earning interest immediately. They also argue that NPV rule allows thousands of shareholders who may have vastly different levels of wealth and attitudes toward risk to participate in the same enterprise and to delegate its operations to a professional manager. â€Å"One of the rules of Capital budgeting demands that managers be able to consider one project independently of all others – this is known as the value-additivity principle, it implies that the value of the firm is equal the sum of the values of each of its projects. † – Copeland, Weston and Shastri (2005). Arnold states that NPV finds out not only which project gives a positive return, but which one gives the greater positive return and that one of the major elements that leads to the theoretical dominance of NPV is that it takes into account the scale of investments. NPV is a superior technique to IRR because it has fewer limitations. Those limitations include the fact that both inflows and outflows are measured in form of present dollars, not as percentage, many people find it complicated to work with a dollar return rather than a percentage return. Another limitation would have to be the requirement of an estimate of the cost of capital to be able to calculate the NPV. William Megginson considered that financial managers find it hard to use NPV because it does not measure benefits relative to the amount invested. Though the NPV formula is constructive in evaluation of investment opportunities, the process is not faultless. 2. 2 – Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Financial managers prefer IRR because it is attributable to the general isposition of business people toward rates of return rather than actual dollars as interest rates, probability and so on are most often expressed as annual rates of return, making it an advantage of this technique. The calculations of IRR is an advantage, meaning the fact that IRR is simply the discount rate that make the NPV equals to Zero is important because it tells us how to calculate the returns on more complicated investments (Ross, Westerfield, Jordan â₠¬â€œ 2006). IRR indicates the rate of return receivable when money is put into a project. Arnold (2008) acknowledges that IRR describes how much the cash inflows exceed the cash outflows on an annualised percentage basis, taking into account of the timing of those cash flows. Like NPV, IRR also has the advantage of being a ‘time-adjusted’ measure of profitability. ‘Financial Theory and Corporate Policy’ by Ross, Westerfield and Jordan recognises that â€Å"the IRR rule errs in several ways. It does not obey the value-additivity principle, and consequently managers who use the IRR cannot consider projects independently of each other. Second, the IRR rule assumes that funds invested in projects have opportunity costs equal to the IRR for the project. This implicit reinvestment rate assumption violates the requirement that cash flow be discounted at the market-determined opportunity cost of capital. Finally, IRR rule can lead to multiple rates of return whenever the sign of cash flow changes more than once. † may give the wrong ranking of mutually exclusive projects that differ in economic life or in scale or required investment. 2. 3 – General Formulas for Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Net Present Value (NPV) formula Where CF0 = cash flow at time zero (t0), and CF1 = cash flow at the time one (t 1), one year after time zero. The decision rules for net present value are: NPV[pic]0 Accept NPV < 0 Reject Formula applied to cash flow suggested by Frank Greystock |Year |Cash flow (? m) |Discounted cash flow (? m) | |0 |-9 |-9 | |1 |1. 4 |? 1. 27 | |2 |2. 66 |? 2. 0 | |3 |3. 09 |? 2. 32 | |4 |3. 06 |? 2. 09 | |5 |3. 02 |? 1. 88 | |6 |2. 49 |? 1. 41 | |7 |2. 47 |? 1. 27 | |8 |2. 45 |? 1. 14 | |9 |2. 43 |? 1. 03 | |10 |2. 1 |? 0. 93 | |11 |1. 68 |? 0. 59 | |12 |1. 68 |? 0. 54 | |13 |1. 68 |? 0. 49 | |14 |1. 68 |? 0. 44 | |15 |1. 68 |? 0. 40 | | | |Total (NPV) ? 9. 00 | Internal Rate of Return (IRR) formula The internal rate of return, r, is the discount rate at which the net present value is zero. It is the value for r which makes the following equation hold: Formula applied to cash flow suggested by Frank Greystock The following tables show the percentages utilized for the trial and error phase, in order to produce an NPV of zero. |Table 1 | | | | | | | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? ) |Discounted Cash Flow (? m) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 00 |-9. 00000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 11111 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 67549 | | |3 |3. 9 |1. 54471 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 21406 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 95094 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 62227 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 48990 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 8566 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 30358 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 23895 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 13220 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 10492 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 08327 | | |14 |1. 8 |0. 06609 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 05245 | | |26% |Net Present Value (? m) |-0. 02441 | | | | | | Table 2 | | | | | | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? m) |Discounted Cash Flow (? ) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 0 0 |-9. 00000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 12000 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 70240 | | |3 |3. 09 |1. 8208 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 25338 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 98959 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 65274 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 51800 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 41104 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 2615 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 25877 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 14431 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 11545 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 09236 | | |14 |1. 68 |0. 07389 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 5911 | | |25% |Net Present Value (? m) |0. 29926 | | | | | | Table 3 | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? m) |Discounted Cash Flow (? m) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 00 |-9. 0000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 07692 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 57396 | | |3 |3. 09 |1. 40646 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 07139 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 81337 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 1587 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 39363 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 30034 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 22915 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 17482 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 09374 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 7211 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 05547 | | |14 |1. 68 |0. 04267 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 03282 | | |30% |Net Present Value (? m) |-1. 14726 | | | | | | | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? ) |Discounted Cash Flow (? m) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 00 |-9. 00000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 09375 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 62354 | | |3 |3. 9 |1. 47343 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 13994 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 87894 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 56616 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 43876 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 34001 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 6346 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 20413 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 11117 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 08685 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 06785 | | |14 |1. 68 |0. 05301 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 4142 | | |28% |Net Present Value (? m) |-0. 61758 | | | | | | Interpolation illustrates that there is a yield rate (r) which lie between 25 per cent and 26 per cent which will produce an NPV of zero. The way to find that discount rate is to first find the distance between points A and B as a proportion of the entire distance between points A and C. 3. 1 – Critical Analysis â€Å"Greystock included in the first year of his forecast preliminary engineering costs of ? 00,000, which had been spent over the preceding nine months on efficiency and design studies of the renovation. † The preliminary costs of ? 500,000 were irrelevant because it would not have been incurred if not for the possibility of Greystock going ahead with the renovation; therefore it was a sunk cost. The development cost of ? 500,000 should be ignore because they are bygones and are of the past as it was incurred nine months before and does not need to be added into the cash flow. â€Å"The corporate manual stipulated that overhead costs be reflected in project analyses at the rate of 3. % times the book value of assets acquired in the project per year†. According to Arnold (2008), not all overhead costs are incremental; when trying to assess the viability of a project only the incremental costs are incurred by going ahead are relevant. Those cost which are unaffected therefore irrelevant. Meaning that the capital projects which should reflect an annual pre-tax charge amounting to 3. 5% of the value of the initial asset investment for the project – it should be entered in the incremental cash flow because it is an irrelevant overhead cost. Rotterdam sales are producing negative results due to the decision made by Greystock to shift capacity to Rotterdam away from Merseyside. His new business decision is having a negative effect on Rotterdam because all the expenditure is coming from Merseyside as he has decided to renovate it, cannibalizing Rotterdam. Even the director of sales recognised there was â€Å"oversupply in the works†, which means that too much is being supplied for the project. In view of adjustment of cash flow must be consistent with inflation forecast imbedded in discount rate. The treasury staff was concerned because the project would impound a long-term inflation of 3% per year. The unrelated EPC project is not relevant as it would only increase prices when recession ended despite the ? 1 million pound renovation ; the criterion is that each individual investment promises an IRR greater than 10%, not that multiple projects promise an average return above this hurdle. Before submitting a project for senior management, at least three performance â€Å"hurdles† had to be met in order for proposal to be considered. -Impact on earnings per share = ? 0. 018 -Payback = 3. years -Discounted cash flow (NPV) = ? 9 Million Although the Merseyside project met all the criteria, Morris should have considered dividing the proposal into requires and desire expenditure ( relating to April Novelties). Concerns and characteristics – Merseyside The main concern for Merseyside is the old production process and how it is not continuous at times, and it has a â₠¬Å"higher labour content than its competitors’ newer plants. However, regardless of these limitations the Merseyside plant has many good characteristics such as: †¢ Receiving positive cash flows immediately Higher cash flows in the beginning †¢ Relatively short payback period Concerns and characteristics – Rotterdam The lack of flexibility and commitment to plant project are concerns for the Rotterdam plant as it is not being renovated and we remain unsure as to whether Greystock will take on the project of renovation at Rotterdam. On the other hand, the fact that the polymerization process has become continuous is major strength, and also that the payment schedule is flexible (over four year period). In addition the Japanese technology has proven to be successful in Japan. . 1 – Conclusion This assignment has summarized the Case study while emphasizing important details of the concerns and characteristics of the Merseyside and Rotterdam plant. Opportu nities such as Land value and Use of right of way can enable Rotterdam to develop positively, despite German technology posing as a threat and also losing right of way. Overall the Merseyside plant offers numerous opportunities to increase outputs and lower costs, while also increasing competitiveness for their competitors. Nevertheless Merseyside faces a very big threat where they would have to close for 45 days causing their customers to buy from their competitors, although the lost market share can still be regained. The investment appraisal process requires the use of sophisticated evaluation techniques such as Net present value (NPV) and Internal rate of return (IRR). These techniques help ensure that all relevant cost and other factors have been considered. The calculations of NPV and IRR are quite challenging, especially regarding the trial and error method IRR. The calculations to obtain –NPV=0- was time consuming and more than twice as long as the NPV method. If risk adjustment is made through the discount rate there may be more than one cost of capital and the sponsor then has to classify the project into say high or medium or low risk categories etc. Finally, it can be argued that the process of capital budgeting is a time-waster because the fundamental information used is seen to be undependable. As the estimates of cash proceeds are just guesses and that the use of anything other than the easiest technique of capital budgeting is as unsuccessful as making use of any complicated formulas. For example, in 1974 K. Larry Hastie published his classic paper, â€Å"One Businessman’s View of Capital Budgeting. † His position is that firms should avoid excessively complex measurement techniques. He states: â€Å"Investment  decision making  could be improved significantly if the emphasis were placed on asking the appropriate strategic questions and providing better assumptions rather than on increasing the sophistication of measurement techniques† (1974, p. 36). This research establishes that NPV and IRR are two major investment decision methods, which gratifies the criteria for the accurate evaluation of capital projects. REFERENCES Hogaboam, L. S. , Shook, S. R. (December 2004) ‘Capital Budgeting practices in the U. S. forest product industry: A reappraisal. ’ Forest products journals. Gilbert E. (May 2003) ‘Do managers of South African manufacturing firms make optimal capital investment decisions? ’ Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. Lazaridis T. L. October 2004) ‘Capital Budgeting Practices: A Survey in the Firms in Cyprus’ Journal of Small Business Management Richard A, Breadley, Stuart C. Myers, Franklin Allen (2008) ‘Principles of Corporate finance’ 9th edition McGraw-Hill, London Richard Pike, Bill Neale (2005) ‘Corporate finance and investment: decisions of strategies’ 5th edition Financial time prentice hall Thomas E. Copeland, J. Fred Weston, Kulde ep Shastri (2005) ‘Fiancial theory and Corporate policy’ 4th edition Pearson Addison Wesley, London Megginson, William L. (1997) ‘Corporate finance theory’ Addison Wesley Stephen A. Ross, Randolph W. Westerfield, Bradford D. Jordan (2006) ‘Coporate finance: Fundamentals’ McGraw-Hill, London Glen Arnold (2008) ‘Corporate financial management’ 4th edition Financial times prentice hall, England Investopedia (2010) Available at: www. investopedia. com/study-guide/cfa-exam/level-1/corporate-finance/cfa13. asp Fao corporate document repository (1997) ‘Chapter 6: Investment decision – Capital budgeting’ Available at: www. fao. org/docrep/w4343e/w4343e07. htm QFinance (2007) Available at: www. qfinance. com/cash-flow-management-best-practice

Isobel Dixon uses language Essay

Explore the ways in which Isobel Dixon uses language and other poetic devices to present her ideas of freedom and restriction in â€Å"Plenty† Isobel Dixon went to heaven and hell, she is one woman who knows what it is to suffer. She went from humble beginnings as a child living in the extremely poor and dry region of Karoo in South Africa. To an affluent and successful poet, Dixon manages to write a poem about freedom and restriction, a poem where she goes from having ‘Plenty’ of suffering to ‘Plenty’ of money. Using language and other poetic devices we can precisely analyze how Dixon presents her ideas, and if it is possible to have both, plenty of money, and happiness. When Dixon introduces her family in the first paragraph, she uses rhymes, making the text have rhythm and a twist to it, but what is most important is that Dixon rhymes the two most important words in the second line, it was a â€Å"running riot to my mother`s quiet despair†. It is important to note how she linked these two contradicting words, she is indirectly admitting her guilt to the reader, and how her mother restricted her feelings, and remained calm, when there was always a â€Å"running riot† going on inside the house. Their bathtub was in an awful state, â€Å"age-stained and pocked†¦ † which is parallel to the state of the family. The tub became a central symbol in the poem for the memory of her family. The bathtub is not only â€Å"age-stained† but it is also â€Å"pocked/ upon its griffin claws,† the claws helps us picture the old bathtub, but it also gives us the image of claws holding down on the ground, as if it was going to fly, because it â€Å"was never full†. â€Å"Mommy`s smile† presents the idea of restriction perfectly, where she tries to smile, but it was anchored down, as if it was â€Å"a clasp to keep [them] all from chaos† . Her mother`s smile also can be seen as a â€Å"lid clamped hard† upon all the small amounts of resources and worries that spill out, it is a simile that holds the family together. Her mother is stoic and a survivor, she cannot therefore show what she actually feels inside, she must clasp it with a smile. The third stanza gives us the adult perspective, Dixon’s present day thoughts of her difficult childhood. She feels guilty, because only now she is mature and can understand what her mother had to put up with when raising her children, only now she understands why her mother spared every gram of aspirin, every millimeter of porridge and every crumb of bread. Dixon uses sibilance, to present the idea of restriction as well as freedom, whereas the ‘s’ sound represents water flowing smoothly, † She saw it always, snapping locks and straps,/ the spilling: sums and worries, shopping lists† as if it was free, the strong consonance alliteration cuts the ‘s’ sound, as if the water is restricted to flow. The author, in the fifth stanza, explains how she used to feel about her mother, how â€Å"[she] thought her mean. † Dixon did not understand what her mother was going through, and now that she does, she feels sorry. Consequently, she wishes to forget those memories. Dixon omits the personal pronouns when informing the reader what she used to do with her mother, she wrote simply â€Å"Skipped chores,/ swiped biscuits† not â€Å"We skipped chores,/ We swiped biscuits†. Dixon also uses â€Å"precious† to describe an inch of water, which is in turn a very effective adjective. Moreover it portrays just how much her family is poor and humble. Dixon presents her ideas of freedom and restriction in the sixth stanza by the use of an oxymoron, â€Å"†¦ such lovely sin,† which gives us an idea of the complexity of her guilty pleasure. The seventh and eighth stanza’s Dixon compares her rich life of freedom, to her restricted and difficult past: â€Å"Now bubbles lap [her] chin. † She no longer has to spare precious inches, she can now take bubble baths, with water up to her chin, Dixon is now self-indulgent in her fondness for sensuous luxury. The water is no longer â€Å"disgorged from fat brass taps†, it is now a â€Å"hot cascade†. She presents her ideas of freedom by demonstrating how a rich person takes a bath, how she is free to let the hot cascade fall on top of her, with not the slightest sense of guilt. On the other hand, she is not completely happy. After having everything, she still misses her now â€Å"scattered sisters†, who were no longer cramped up in a single age-stained bathtub, but spread across the globe, and her mother’s smile was finally â€Å"loosed from the bonds. † She is now really smiling, not preventing chaos. Dixon walked the long path of life, living the most difficult conditions one could have, until she finally managed to make her way to the doors of richness. She had indeed plenty of suffering as well as luxury, but having both was the real challenge. There is a bittersweet feeling in the end, as she is now materially sound but alone in her tub.

Collateral Victims of Cultural Conflicts The WritePass Journal

Collateral Victims of Cultural Conflicts Abstract Collateral Victims of Cultural Conflicts AbstractChap 1: Introduction.Chap 2: Literature ReviewChap 3: Research MethodologyChap 4: Social PolicyChap 5: Research Findings and Analysis.Chap 6: Comparative element (secondary materials)Chap 7: The Role of the Youth and Community Worker.Chap 8: Conclusions and recommendations.Related Abstract The main aim of this piece of work is to explore the views and opinions of young people of African origins (especially those from the DR Congo) who have come to settle in the United Kingdom, on how they would cope with being raised in a country with a different culture. Though the study emphasized more the reactions and attitudes of young people on being raised by their parents in an African manner, the views of parents on trying to educate their children in an African manner in a country with a different approach, understanding and different principles, are also taken into consideration. The introductory chapters give a brief overview of the reasons why this topic was chosen, the study aims and objectives and also the research methodology. The following chapters focus more on the complexities of multiculturalism and of the different styles of educating children both in the DR Congo and in the UK. Despite the work finally closing with a summary conclusion and key recommendations for ways forwards, further research may still be necessary to determine if the opinions and views of the participants may be representative of the majority. Chap 1: Introduction. This paper will be an attempt to critically look at the lives of children of asylum seekers/refugees/migrants living in the UK, especially those coming from Central Africa and more particularly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). While parents of Congolese origin will tend to think that the Western society has brain ‘spoilt’ and/or ‘damaged’ their children, turning them into ‘little rebels’, the western world will instead have the perspective that these parents are simply abusing their children with their way of educating them or dealing with their issues.   Victoria Climbià © is one such example that many living in the United Kingdom will still have in mind. The main reason for these different perspectives will be the respective cultures of the two parts. The innocent children would therefore find themselves in the middle as ‘collateral victims’ of a cultural conflict. Do these parents have the right to be harsh on thei r children because of their beliefs/culture? Do they really understand how things work in the UK, with the evident problem of language being the first barrier for their integration? What is the right balance between the two extremes? Is a certain type of media which is stereotyping parents of African origin as ‘child abusers’ helping? And finally, what should be the contribution of a youth and community worker to both the lives of young people and parents finding themselves in these situations. These are some of the questions that this piece of work will attempt to answer in an impartial way. Coming from the same background (the African one), reasons for prioritising this topic is the fact that both as a youth and community worker and as an African of origins, personal hope is that some change and challenge will be made to, if not necessarily the way children are being treated by some African parents, but to the way they believe is the best way of dealing with children, on the one hand. In fact, from personal experience, being born in Africa and having being raised there until the age of 30 when I then permanently moved to the United Kingdom, personal understanding and perspective is effectively that parents of African origins will generally tend to give their children very little ‘voice’ and/or ‘space’ or simply no voice at all in the all process of their education. They will, more than their European counterparts, appear to use ‘reasonable chastisement’ to ‘discipline’ their offspring, a practice still permitted by the law in most African countries. Considerations of matters such as children/young people’s rights will generally have very little importance or even in some extreme cases no importance at all in the sights of some/many parents of African origins. Many parents of DR Congo origins will only effectively hear about children/young people’s rights when arriving in the UK as these are not ‘popular’ topics in African contexts and countries, where issues of power, equality, respect and social justice are highly placed at the rear plan due to political, economic and cultural factors. Conversely, on the other hand personal hope is also that, some serious reflexion on the negative sides of giving ‘too much voice and/or space’ to children/young people will also be honestly and critically examined. In fact, so many times emphasis will be put on parents (of African origins) being ‘rude’ with their children. But little or even nothing at all would be done in cases where so many parents (of African descents) will go through depression, rejection, abjectness, misery and even physical assaults, all due to the fact that their children/young people would be ‘excessively using their rights of being children/young people’. Finally, another expectation of this work is to try and get the British/Western society to understand better where these parents of African origins are coming from in terms of their culture and consequently stops stereotyping/stigmatising them. There would tend to be more assumptions than real insights/knowledge when it comes to African cultures amongst the British/western public opinion. From personal experience of living in the UK for more than ten years now, it would appear that native form the UK would know very little about African cultures and would generally show very little interest in knowing what’s going on beyond the UK’s boundaries, particularly in Africa. Overview of following chapters The following are some of the issues that will be addressed in this dissertation: Chapter 2:   Literature review This part will propose a comprehensive and extensive review of relevant literature on the topic area, including reliable internet sources, academic texts and journals articles. It will be an attempt to relate the chosen topic to existing knowledge, finding the gaps in them and eventually necessary future research/works to be done. Chapter 3:  Ã‚   Research methodology In this chapter, principles and rules employed for the study will be analysed. The main issues to be discussed will include: The research design Procedures for data collection Why some specific procedures would have been preferred to others Participants observations Ethical considerations The process of interviews, its advantages and difficulties. Chapter 4:  Ã‚   Social policy This piece of work will move on trying to link the issue to current and/or contemporary social policies. A particular focus will be on the ‘Every Child Matters’ (ECM) policy though others social policies such as ‘Aiming high for children’ may also be taken into consideration. Chapter 5:  Ã‚   Research findings and analysis This is obviously the most important part of the work where all live conducted interviews will critically, carefully and impartially be analysed. Their results will then be related to the main topic of this piece of work to try and learn something from them. Chap 6: Comparative element (secondary materials) This is where issues of power and/or differences in relation with raising children of DR Congolese origins and children of Indian origins/culture will be analysed and compared. Results from primary research will also be compared to secondary materials where possible. Chap 7: The Role of the Youth and Community Worker. This chapter will look at the crucial role the youth and community worker can particularly play with young person finding themselves in such complex situations, but also what support can they bring to the parents involved in the same process. Chapter 8:  Ã‚   Conclusion and recommendations After some considerations on the limitations of the study and some useful recommendations in relation to the exploited topic, a general conclusion will finally be drawn. Chap 2: Literature Review This chapter’s main aim will be to critically review the points of current knowledge on the study’s topic, generally looking at relevant literature/materials in connection with the study. From outset, it might be important to signal here that not much has been previously written in the specific area of the DR Congo’s children being raised in the UK. Especially in Greater Manchester where the study has been conducted, same studies or research work to do with children/young people from the DR Congo being raised by parents of African origins are very difficult to find. But from an initial internet search, the few relevant materials in connection with this dissertation’s topic have been some articles on children from the DR Congo been maltreated by their parents mainly due to religion which is sometimes infused with elements of the traditional in many African countries. One particular case was a story on many newspaper front pages, of a young boy branded by a hot iron because his father thought he was a witch (BBC website, 2007). Looking at most of the newspapers and websites in relation to this story, what came out was that there was a general feeling of in crimination rightly based on the horrible act committed by this DR Congolese father without looking any further at ways to try and help the parents involved if not to recommend their community leaders to some kind of child protection courses. One may rightly confirm that there was no sympathy at all from the general public. Some materials in relation with children/young persons of other African countries such as Ivory Coast which is a country close to the DR Congo in terms of cultures have been considered. One really notable case resulting is the one of the Victoria Climbià ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Inquiry Report from the House of Commons Health Committee (2002-2003). Victoria Climbià © was a young girl who died on 25th February 2000 as I just arrived in the UK on the 2nd February 2000. The case, which is still fresh in my memory as it really shocked me at the time, will be another key point of this literature review. The reporting committee found that this young girl from Ivory Coast who came to live in London with her great-aunt, Marie-Thà ©rà ¨se Kouao and with her grant- aunt’s partner, died because of multiple injuries arising from months of ill-treatment and abuse by her great-aunt and her partner who were both convicted and sentenced later on. Without going back into the details of this traumatic an d shocking story, something to be noticed in the report is the Inquiry’s findings of staff making assumptions that because people originated from a particular culture, that behaviour could be described as being culturally determined when in fact they knew nothing about that culture and had never visited the country. The report clearly suggested that Victoria’s African culture (and religion) were the reasons why the all regrettable tragedy happened, while acknowledging that this culture misled some of those who came to deal with the case directly. On this one, African culture (and religion) was clearly be put on the bench of accused as having a very bad influence and bad consequences on the education, safety and protection of children. Moving from there and looking at books/materials on multiculturalism, a theme closely linked to the main title of this study, one point of focus was the excellent study of Taylor et al (1994) on multiculturalism in which they made the point that cultures deserve admiration and respect, even if it is accompanied by much that we have to abhor and reject.   Similar point of view could also be found and read in others books and authors writing on the same theme. Many writers while agreeing on the necessity of multiculturalism in today’s society would however always make sure that those coming from outside should to some extents be ‘assimilated’ into the new culture they were joining. A very recent study on multiculturalism from the Journal of Intercultural Studies (2011) rightly pointed out that Contemporary popular debates around multiculture – or even worse multiculturalism – have tended to take a sceptical stance, to the extent it is understood as a ‘failure’. This will join in agreement with Thomas (2011) who argued that Since the 2001 ‘race riots’ in the North of England and the 7/7/2005 horrific events in London bombings, the botched attacks two years later on a Glasgow airport and a number of very serious foiled plots, Britain appeared to reject multiculturalism. One critic called it ‘the death of multiculturalism’. One thinking moving a bit in the opposite direction was the work of Paul Gilroy (1993) ‘The Black Atlantic’ who made a strong liberating call to the forces of cultural nationalism trapped in their respective camps. He made the interesting point that being both European and black requires some specific forms of double consciousness. McCalla (2003) seemed to argue in the same sense, going even a bit further in her book ‘Black Success in the UK’, suggesting that one of the strategy utilised by mothers of Caribbean/African origin in their childrearing to challenge racism is to provide their children with a sense of cultural belonging and a collective racialised identity that they can draw strength from in times of difficulties. She seems to make the point that the original culture of the child of African/Caribbean origin can be ‘positively’ used for their success in the British society, giving them some kind of strong identity. Despite all the above considerations, it might however be reasonable enough to say that most of these books/writings/materials have one major weakness: they don’t really understand African cultures and in some cases don’t even want to understand them. For the few who have attempted to get some deep insight on them, it is mainly about acknowledging and recognizing their existence without real will of practical understanding/knowledge of them. Personal concern when doing this literature review was also that no matter long could have a study conducted or a book written by a non African taken, it would still be very difficult for such a writer or researcher, despite all their willingness, to deeply grasp and understand some complex elements of African culture. Moreover, for some books/materials, by trying to protect the (African) child (only), it seems like the parents’ point of view (and culture) is simply ignored in many material relating to the subject. Assumption has instead always been made as to the conclusion that these children are being held ‘captives’ without their own consent. Very little has been done to try and find if the child themselves prefer the parent original culture. There is like a ‘taxation’ of the western culture and an obligation to renounce at one’s original culture. By trying to protect the British/European culture, the African culture is generally ignored. Not much help and effort to understand where the parents come from and try to help them as others in similar situations would benefit and get some compassion from the general public. In fact, Looking at an article from the Guardian (2009) ‘Tracey Connelly: the story of a woman defined by abuse’- on a simila r horrible similar story to the Victoria Climbià ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s one, committed by the parents of baby Peter Connolly can reinforce this stand point. The Guardian effectively tried to look at the reasons why Tracey Connelly, the mother of this lovely innocent baby, would commit such an atrocity on her own child and came to the conclusion that the fact that she had had a similar childhood (of abuse) which consequently led her into a drinking and pornographic life should be into consideration. Looking at a blog/debate linked to this article got to personal conclusion that many in fact became a bit sympathetic with Tracey, arguing that it would be important not only to look at what had happened but to try and find the reasons/roots and try and fight them from there to ensure that such events do not re happen in the future. Personal expectations are now that the following chapters of this work will give a better balanced view of the topic and hopefully suggest some positive recommendations related to the main theme of the study. Chap 3: Research Methodology This third chapter of the paper will explore the process of information gathering, including a rationale for any specific research methods chosen and relevant ethical issues. This study has drawn on a wide range of sources. However, for the purpose of information gathering, it has mainly used ‘qualitative’ methods. As Bedford and Wilson (2006) argued, while quantitative research collects facts and study the relationship between one set and another, gauging public opinion, qualitative research, almost the opposite of quantitative research, is more concerned with trying to gain an insight into human perception of the world and, as such, recognize that it is not wise to generalise about human reactions, opinions, attitudes and so on. In the qualitative research, the hypothesis or theory comes after the data collection. For the purpose of qualitative research, the strategy mainly consisted on organising face to face interviews with different members of the public who were susceptible to bring any kind of contribution to the study. Most interviews were live and were recorded. The original idea was to conduct interviews with some young people of African origin and others interviews with parents of the same backgrounds. But after the first interview with one young person, some serious difficulties due to disclosure and maturity problems led to a change of approach. As a matter of facts, after consultation with the university tutor, it was then agreed to only interview adults of African origin who came in the United Kingdom as children, who would then relate their experience of being raised by parents of African origins in the a British context/culture. This strategy was found as being more reasonable and protective for the interviewer, and was consequently used. Insistence was on asking them to try and be as honest as possible and give their feelings/thoughts/perspectives of those times when they first arrived so young. This was because in the due process of growing up and becoming parents, some of them slightly/completely shifted their position today on the subject of being raised by African of Congolese origins. This was so important not to allow the research to get wrong answers, consequently wrong data. All together, 6 interviews have been conducted, recorded and transcripted. Four interviews were conducted on the experience of being raised in the UK by parents of African origins and the other two were done with parents of African origins raising children in the UK. Two of the six interviewees are people with whom previous rapport was established in the past. Difficulty wise, as said a bit above, one key problem was the one of disclosure. In fact, the topic being a very sensitive one, it was not easy to find people ready and happy to talk about such difficult and private things. For some reasons, 2 of the interviewees consented to be interviewed at the condition that they would not be recorded live. The methodology with them was to take note straight as they were answering the interview’s questionnaire. African beliefs and culture in general and specifically DR Congolese’s one was also a serious problem. In fact, coming from the same ground, personal strong knowledge and experience have usually shown that people from the DR Congo are very sceptical whenever it comes to anything like interview or similar things. It took a lot to convince interviewees about the well founded of the all thing and its benefits for the general society. Personal privilege of being able to speak many DR Congolese main languages really helped in the all process. In fact, in the absence of financial support/vouchers to encourage those taking part into the research, the technique used to convince people was to speak to them in their respective dialect. This put them into confidence and made them more relaxed. The interview questions were agreed in consultation with the university tutor. One vital element in conceiving them was to avoid using ‘leading’ and/or ‘misleading’ questions. General questions were to be used instead of questions which were susceptible of leading into private areas of the interviewees lives. An example of an interview questionnaire can be found in the index at the end of the work. In terms of ethical issues, it is important to note here that ‘respect’ of both human being and opinions of people either interviewed or simply approached to get an interview was vital and capital, constituting the basis of all research process. When for example there was a strict refusal for the interview to be recorded as the interviewee as said above, the interviewee not wanting their voice and/or answers to stay somewhere, it was important to show total respect of their opinion and not to insist on recording the interview. The specific context of African mentality being difficult and also because of the sensibility of the topic which may lead to some legal persecution, consent forms were used before all interviews. Permanent consultation took place with the dissertation tutor about the right decision to take in case of incertitude or in complex situations. Again as said a bit above, because two of the interviewees were of people with whom previous contacts were estab lished in the past and because of personal social position in the DR Congolese community in Greater Manchester doing that many people know me, the aspect of confidentiality was essential in the all study. Despite the use of consent forms at the beginning of all interviews, it was really necessary to make strong assurances to each interview that none of the collected information would be used without their consent. Finally, from recent work undertaken during a university placement in a local non for profit organisation in Greater Manchester mainly working asylum seekers/refugees/migrants from the DR Congo, some information were also gathered from that experience. The placement took place in an organisation called African Francophone Integration Project Ltd (AFIP). This organisation located in Beswick, has as main objective to help asylum seekers/refugees/migrants newly arriving in the UK in their integration process. Most service users of the organisation are form the DR Congo, some form different countries of Africa. Some personal non recorded informal talking with the first Director of the organisation on the subject also gave some interesting elements which this work will at some point draw on. The first Director related some of his personal experience in dealing with some personal cases in relationship with this study theme, notably one case of a parent and their child who were referred to them by the Central Manchester social services. Summarizing this important topic on the methodology used for this research, one key point may be that despite all difficulties encountered when conducting this research, the certitude is that the information harvested during this entire project have provided a strong base for analysing the main topic. Another important point in closing this section is that all research was really conducted in a professional and ethical way. Chap 4: Social Policy This chapter will outline the key reference to historical and contemporary developments in social policy, legislation and welfare interventions relative to this paper’s topic. It will also briefly explore wider policies that take into consideration the well being and/or protection of young people (of diverse backgrounds). The main piece of legislation which this piece of work is concerned with is the ‘Every Child Matters’ (ECM) policy. The Government Department for Education Website (2011) explains that the Every Child Matters policy is a set of reforms supported by the Children Act 2004. Its aim is for every child, to have the support they need to: Be healthy Stay safe Enjoy and achieve Make a positive contribution Achieve economic well-being Still from the department of Education Website on the origins of this policy, it can be understood that the ECM policy came into power after the horrendous death of a young girl called Victoria Climbià ©. This case was briefly evoked in the literature review. At the hands of those entrusted with her cares, Victoria suffered appallingly and eventually died. Her case was a shocking example from a list of children terribly abused and mistreated. Every inquiry related to this specific case has brought forwards proposals for change and improvement to the child protection system. There have been reforms. The Green Paper, Every Child Matters, which sets outs the government’s proposals for reforming the delivery of services for children, young people and families, builds on existing measures to ensure that children at risk of harm and neglect are protected from negative outcomes and support all children to develop their full potential. Beyond this, this Green paper also address the p roblem of children falling through the cracks between different services, emphasizing that child protection can not be separated from policies to improve children’s lives as a whole. The document looks at the progress towards a framework of services which will support every child, using this as a context in which to consider the specific need of children at risk. It stresses the importance of information sharing between different government agencies and of a higher level of accountability. One may rightly agree that since the implementation of this social policy, there have been so many positive improvements in the protection and well being of children, though much still need to be done. Trying to link this wonderful social policy which has certainly brought more protection and safety for children and young people to the DR Congo culture of raising children, one certain fact is that they unfortunately don’t always walk along. In fact, most parents really close to the culture of ‘discipline’ will tend to think that this policy has given children/young people to much space for ‘rebellion’ against their parents, despite the fact that most of them would acknowledged that cases such as the Victoria Climbià ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s one are not to be encouraged at all or to be repeated, ever. The reasoning beyond this from the perspective of African parents is that policies such as the ECM have unfortunately treated all parents as being Victoria’s parents, not recognizing that all parents are not as evil as Victoria’s tutors were. The ECM would however acknowledge that all parents are not to maltreat and suffer their children as Victoria Cl imbià ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s tutors did, but would instead prefer ‘safety than being sorry’. Another really inescapable social policy that is certainly linked to the study’s topic is the ‘Aiming High for Children’ Policy. The Department for Education website (2011) summarizes this policy in these terms: The government’s aim is to ensure that, every child irrespective of race, gender, backgrounds or circumstances, gets the best start in life and the ongoing support that they and their families need to allow them to fulfil their potential. It wants to do this in a partnership with active, responsible parents and empowered communities, supported by public services that delivered packages of support tailored to families’ needs. To support parents to meet their responsibilities in raising their children and to help strengthen the role of communities in supporting parents, the government has made tackling child’s poverty a priority since 1997, has created a network of Sure Starts Children’s Centres to support children and their families in the vital early years. The government wants to ensure that the primary role of public services is to support families and communities to improve children’s outcomes. This great policy which has effectively ensured that many children, especially those from low income families, a group where many asylum seekers/refugees from the DR Congo would find themselves, have a real good start in life. However, there would appear again to have some conflicts in terms of what children of Africans origins receive as early education which some parents believe sets them on a wrong path from start. As this will be soon explored in the next chapter on the results and analysis of interviews one parent complained that their children are taught from very early ‘how to dial 999 for anything they might think their parents do to them which they would not approve’. The debate may go on for so long. Closing this chapter, it might be of help to recall that the UK government social policies in relationship with the education and protection of children/young people have made such a great difference in so many lives, though they don’t always go along with some parents of African origins opinions, and also though much still need to be done to improve them. Chap 5: Research Findings and Analysis. This chapter, obviously the most important part of the dissertation, will focus on all live (recorded) interviews conducted for the purpose of this study. The chapter will be composed of two main parts: in the first part, all conducted interviews will be reported and explained. The second part will mainly focus on critically analysing their results. All together, a total of 6 interviews were conducted. All of the six persons interviewed live in Greater Manchester, UK. There were 4 females and two males. As said a bit above in the third chapter on the methodology of research, because of some complications to do with disclosure and age, it was decided after consultation with my university tutor to only interview adults, but who had come to the UK as children/young persons. The study being interested not only with the experience of young people of African descent being raised in the UK by their parents/tutors but also with the parents themselves, four interviews were related to the experience of young people and the other two were of the parents talking about their experience of raising up children/young people in the UK. All of the six persons interviewed were aged between the age of 25 and 35 at the moment of the interviews taking place. Most of the participants relating their experience of young people came to the UK when they w ere aged between 8 and 14. Three of them were living with their direct biological parents and one with an uncle. All of their parents/uncle was originally from the DR Congo. One particular point which may be important to signal here is that one of the interviewee, who gave their experience of young person of African origins living in the UK, first came to live in the UK themselves as a young person and has now become parent themselves at a very early age when still living with her parents. She’s now living alone and has consequently the double experience of have been in both positions the study was interested with. Carefully looking at all answers given by all the persons interviewed, one key thing to be noted first was that the answers of ‘young people’ were diverse/different from one to another while in the answers given by parents, many similarities could be found. Young people. Answering the key interview question of briefly relating their personal experience of being rose in the UK by parents of African origins, two amongst the four ‘young persons’ interviewed thought the experience was negative and difficult. One striking point was that all two mentioned the fact that at the very beginning when they first came to live in the UK with their parents, there was no problem at all. But it is only after a few months (for one of them) or a few years (for the other one) that difficulties started arising. They all raised the point that when they got used to the way their peers were living and started imitating/copying them, that’s when they got into disagreement with their parents who were for all of the two persons interviewed very ‘traditional’ (according to the term used by one of them) or very ‘old fashion’ (according to the second interviewee). The two ‘young people’ found really painful and difficult the fact that they, at the same time loved their parents and loved their ‘new world’, as they put it. They reported that they found it difficult to try and choose between the British way of life and what their parents were asking them to follow as strict rules. They all unanimously thought that they were misunderstood by their ‘old fashion’ parents and would sometimes not know what to do as they had originally been raised (in Africa) in a way of total submission to their parents with no rights to argue with their decisions at all. The third ‘young person’ answering the interview questions came to live in the UK at the age of 9 with her parents of African origin. Her parents were strict on the fact that the way to ‘live her life’ was the African manner but were more understanding’ when she had different opinions. The parents were well educated persons since back in Africa where the dad had a BA from a DR Congolese university. They would however clearly state to her that the British way of life was ‘dangerous and wrong’ has it could leads her into a lot of trouble in the future. She reported that she eventually got into a ‘bad group’ of friends from school/college and ended up with becoming pregnant at nearly 16 years old. Her words were that the all experience of been raised by parents of African descent was not too bad because of the fact that her parents were more ‘open minded’ than most African parents who would give very little time to listen to their children and discuss with them. She nevertheless tried and made the point that, reflecting on her life after the pregnancy, she thought that despite the fact she thought at some point that her parents were too much like ‘village people’, had she followed their ‘way of life’ tough she didn’t like it much, she might have had a (positive) different life today. Answering the same crucial interview question on the personal experience of being raised by parents of African culture in a British environment and culture, the fourth ‘young person’ however went a bit in the opposite direction. In fact, he related that the all experience was a very good one without any ‘difficulty’ as he completely stayed in the line of what his parents told him to do. He continued saying that because his personal understanding of the all thing was that the British way of life was ‘deceptive’ and could potentially lead into a lot of troubles, he decided to stick with his parents way of education and didn’t find any problem with being raised in Europe/the UK by parents educating her in ‘an African manner’. Parents. As said a bit above, both parents who were females for the two them, have many similarities. As a matter of facts, they both made the common point in their answers that raising children in Europe/the UK is not easy at all, according to them. The reason why was about exactly the same. According to them, when they would like to raise their children in a disciplinary way as they had themselves been raised since back in Africa, they would encountered ‘the resistance’ of their child (as they put it) who would in many cases not listen to them anymore because they would have ‘known their rights’. One of them insisted on the fact that giving a sense of discipline to children doesn’t necessarily mean using physical punishment. She gave an example of the way of being dressed which she tried to inculcate to her daughter since they moved to the UK 11 years ago. In a DR Congolese context, she said that it would be such an embarrassing thing for a young girl to be dressed with ‘revealing clothes’. According to the point she made, a woman in the Congo with a trouser/skirt revealing her underpants or with a too short skirt would be ‘badly looked at. These types of things are completely normal in Europe she said. She made the point that the way of life in UK has encouraged her daughter to dress ‘freely’, forgetting her origins and/or culture. Her daughter would sometimes embarrassed her in front of her husband as she wouldn’t listen to anybody, copying her peers at school, on TV, on the streets etc. The second parent though a bit more ‘flexible ‘on such issues, however still made the point that she sincerely thought that the Congolese’ way of educating children would teach them to have more respect towards society in general and towards grown up/adults specifically. One clear point she made on the difficulty of raising her daughter in the UK was effectively emphasized on the fact she noti ced a complete change in the sense of lack of respect towards them when they moved to the UK and that their daughter started ‘being assimilated’ (according to her words by her friends styles of life. She reported how her daughter would simply threaten them to dial 999 and ring the police for any ‘little’ thing she would disagree with. Her most serious concerns was raised in these terms: if seems as they (meaning the police, the social services, the government, those in powers, those making law etc) only care about protecting children, which is right. But what about us parents the children are also giving us a terrible time. You’ve nothing to say and nothing to do as for any little thing not only she may call the police but also you may easily end   up as listed on a child abusers list somewhere. Linking with the above question, both parents were asked about their knowledge of children/young people rights. Both parents acknowledged that they had nev er heard about children/young people rights back in the DR Congo. As Bedford and Elizabeth (2006) pointed out, no matter how interested the researcher is interested in her/his topic (which was my case), she/he do have to keep an open mind about the subject and be careful not to pre-judge the answers. Impartially and critically analyzing the above findings from all interviews, and without trying to over generalize, many may join in agreement with the statement according to which the all process of passing from being educated in an African context with different legislation, beliefs, culture etc to being raised in a very democratic western country such as the United Kingdom must be a really confusing one for the child/young person. In fact, as the answers of most young people appear to suggest they would at some point, agreeing with the parents’ culture or not, have to make a difficult decision on the best way to follow. And unfortunately some of them have had to make such decisions being as young as 7 or 8. The parents, who for most of them w ere raised up in a specific way of seeing things for all their lives, would be of no help at all, giving their children, as one of the young lads said, no space at all for dialogue. This ‘waterproof’ and ‘no openness’   attitude of parents combined with the hidden desire to enjoy the British way of life will eventually make of these innocent young people without any kind of voice ‘collateral victims’ of a cultural conflict which they have never asked for. They have just unfortunately found themselves at the wrong place and at the wrong time, one may say. However, trying to read carefully between the lines, from interviews done with the ‘young people’, one important factor is that all young people do not necessarily think that the African way of raising children is ‘old fashion’ and wrong. Even though amongst the ‘young people’ interviewed, only one of them went in that direction, it is still a very important fact to be considered. This is really important because the general impression of the general audience/public may generally be that these poor children are being held captive despite their own will to do things which they think is detrimental to their good causes. Turning sights towards the parents, one who might have read their answers reported above will certainly conclude that they also feel like being misunderstood by the general society and being treated unfairly. As said at some point at the opening of this chapter, contrary to the young people’s answers which were sometimes completely different form one youngest to another, the parents however, despite some minor differences in opinions, seem to be of the point of view that the western culture and/or way of life is causing ‘more damages than good’ to children education. Reading their answers will understand that they, of course, are coming form an African point of view on the education of children. Even tough, they were no clear allusion to the use of physical chastisement as the best way of education children, the certainty was that they are formal on the fact that the British way of raising up children, tough with so many positive aspects, seem instead to lack â₠¬Ëœsome discipline taste and/or flavour’ in it. They both thought that combining the actual wonderful way of educating children with some ‘authority’ would make a better job. Chap 6: Comparative element (secondary materials) This chapter, as one may deduct by its title, will essentially be about a comparison between the DR Congolese culture/way of life, way of educating children in the UK the Indian’s ones. This comparison will be placed into the context of this paper main topic to try and get some lessons. While many or most of children and young people will generally tend to behave the same way and/or have same attitudes/reactions/feelings because of the simple common fact that they are all just ‘children’, it may however be right to confirm that each child/young person’s original backgrounds, culture, beliefs, religion etc., will have a strong influence in the way they perceive society. This may lead to say that children of African origins will to some extent be different to those from Asia, in their understanding of how they are being educated by their parents of DR Congolese/Indian descents. Both parents (of DR Congolese and Indian origins) will in the same way, tend to educate their respective offspring accordingly to their respective cultures. From an initial comparative study on DR Congolese culture and the Indian’s one, it was noticed a lot of similarities between the two. From a study on the Indian child website (2011), here are some of the most important characteristics in Indian culture (family culture, values, clothing etc) which will also be found in DR Congolese culture: Indians are highly flexible in the sense that they would like to imbibe the changes dictated by western influence and yet clearly affirms their beliefs in tradition. Indian dress etiquette discourages exposure of skin and wearing transparent or tight clothes. Family culture in Indian is about joy and sharing. Generally India is patriarchal Indian culture is diverse and rich Ancient Indian culture believes in a lot of dogmas and rituals that can be termed as false beliefs. It is customary to respect elders and seek their blessings. Hindu rituals are all about dance and songs. Indians are known for their hospitality and level of tolerance. Observing the belief that there is one God prevailing despite so many religions is a value in India. Family and religion are so closely linked. Trying to compare the rights of children in both countries (DR Congo and India), the following results from the UNICEF’s website on the rights of children in India: In India, children’s vulnerabilities and exposure to violations of their protection rights remain spread and multiple in nature. Parents’ attitudes and perceptions about child’s labour and the value of education is one of the cause underlying child’s labour, though poverty may be one the main reason. The government of India ratified the UN Convention on the rights of the child in 1e November 1992. Most of the rights detailed in the Convention are guaranteed in the Constitution of India. Ensuring that child rights are met for every child is a daunting challenge for India. Reflecting on the above reports on the culture and the rights of children/young people in India, one clear conclusion when comparing them with the same in the Democratic Republic of Congo is that there many similarities not to say that they are totally identical, despite some minors’ differences. Linking this with this study’s main topic/ideas, understanding that both DR Congolese and African culture having strong indications of the child’s being an element with very little voice in the family setting from early and being raised in that context, it will be logical that many parents when coming to the UK would tend to try and keep educating their child in the same way. This will certainly put the innocent children in the same position of being collateral victims of a cultural conflict. Chap 7: The Role of the Youth and Community Worker. What should be the role of the community worker involved with young people of DR Congolese origins founding themselves in a position of ‘collateral victims’? Does the youth worker have to take part for the young persons because that’s their work? Do youth workers have to ignore the parents? What should be their positions in the cultural conflictual situation? These are a few questions this chapter will attempt to address. The first part of the chapter will try and explain what’s youth work is while its second part will critically examine the role of the worker in this situation. As a personal experience undertaken during a very recent university placement (January to April 2011) done in an independent organisation in Beswick once again revealed, the general public doesn’t seem to know much about the entire discipline of youth and community work, not to talk about its invaluable contribution. In fact, at a first meeting with colleagues and volunteers working within the association which usually work more with all parts of the local community and not specifically with young people, I was introduced as a youth and community worker. This visibly raised some unexpressed questions as to not only how I would fit in their work, but further as to ‘what I really was’ (as a youth and community worker), as some of my colleagues confessed to me later on when we got very close. After explaining to them what youth and community work really was, they again confessed that all they knew was that it was about keeping young people happy with Nintendo, footba ll table-tennis etc. Introducing me as a youth and community worker to the 6 interviewees who kindly gave their time to answer a few questions for the purpose of this study seemed also to raise the same questions. Two of the parents told me at the end that they thought that it was ‘social workers’ who were supposed to be dealing with such issues. This introduction may easily take one to confirm that many still don’t know or wrongly assume to know what youth and community work is. Batsleer (2008) rightly pointed that youth and community work is about dialogue, about conversation. She keeps on saying that it is about enabling young people to ‘come to voice’.  Ã‚   This aspect of coming to voice is effectively a very crucial one when talking about youth work. As a matter of facts, may be because of what was seen and/or passed through generation after generation, until nowadays, people would wrongly tend to think of youth workers as people whose sole role is to ‘animate’ young people with different games, to keep them out of the streets. While youth work can indeed involve some recreational activities in the course of accomplishing its mission, that’s definitely not the primordial role of this noble profession. Because society will hardly listen to young people, youth work has as one key mission to give them a voice by creating safe space in safe place where they would be able to have a voice. Youth work is there underpinned by a set of strong values and ethics. These allow our work to be guided by anti discriminatory practice, equality, social justice, a commitment to harnessing participation. The National youth Agency (NYA) website (2011) gives a more complete definition of youth work is the following terms: The main purpose of youth work is the personal and social development of young people and their social inclusion. Youth work helps young people learn about themselves, others and society through non-formal educational activities that combine enjoyment, challenge, learning and achievement. We believe youth work methods can be applied in a range of settings by a wide range of professionals, support staff and volunteers, and we are committed to helping people understand and use these approaches. Youth workers will always aim to make their spaces safe for all young people, regardless of backgrounds, race, class, sex, ability, religion etc. in creating safe space in safe places for young people, we acknowledge that young people will feel better equipped to learn, share and influence society. What can then be the role of the above defined youth and community worker involved with persons/parents in a cultural conflict. To both the young person and the parents, it is first of all important to underline that, as seen in the definition of youth work, emphasis should always be put on ‘fairness’ in dealing with all matters. Despite the fact youth workers will have a sense of ‘alliance’ with the young persons for which they are advocating even for which they ‘are alive’, it may however be very important not to become ‘too emotionally involved’. Clear boundaries must always be traced between personal beliefs, values, opinions and professional ones. Youth and community work should remain as ‘neutral’ as possible, professional, ‘identifying’ the community first. This should apply to parties involved in the ‘conflict. In fact, as Belton (2009) argued, if we are to educate a community we must first identify it. He rightly insisted on the fact that youth workers should not label it or prejudice it as this would badly affect the ir work. Having critically and impartially examined the all situation, the youth and community worker will then have to take a decision on either refer the case to the appropriate services when necessary or either continuing to work between the two parties to get to some kind of resolution of the dispute. In everything, the youth and community worker will ‘peacefully’ challenge any form of discrimination, inequality, lack of respect etc. without being ‘pre judgemental, the role of the youth and community worker will basically be the one of encouraging debate et open/mature discussion between all parties. They will therefore encourage inclusion and promote social justice in doing so. Chap 8: Conclusions and recommendations. After going through a series of considerations on the very complex issues of children/young people of African origins, especially those from the DR Congo, the following can be said in conclusion: Many parents of African origins moving to the UK with their children will usually know very little about the way of life in Britain. They would generally tend to assume that they should keep giving their children the same education they were giving them when at home. The problem of language would evidently be the first barrier for them as for anyone moving to a country with a different language. This would unfortunately put the innocent children in a position where they are between the wraths of their inflexible, traditional and ‘old fashion’ parents and the hidden love of enjoying the British way of life. Some have precedent tried to look at the subject of the complexity of multiculturalism. Though this is generally considered as a good thing for society in principles, it is however taken with a lot of precautions. Recent activities of terrorism in the past few years have unfortunately increased the sense of rejection of multiculturalism. This study did use qualitative methods to try and get a better insight into the subject. For this, six interviews were conducted with members of the general public, originally from the DR Congo on living in the UK on their experience of being raised by parents of DR Congolese origins and on raising children in a DR Congolese manner, in the United Kingdom. Some UK social policies relative to the subject were briefly looked at and put into the context avec the main topic. From this exercise, the conclusion is that parents of African origin will struggle to adapt to these specific social policies, despite agreeing on their numerous positive sides. The reason again is found in those original ‘flames’ of fire profoundly imbedded within them since so many years, since their childhood, since hundreds and hundreds of generation. Analysing the results of all conducted interviews has provided the sense that most of the children being raised by parents on DR Congolese origins will struggle with the situation of being in between two cultures and will consequently especially suffer from a lack of understanding and/or support of a ‘too old fashion’ parent, who would give them very little support and voice/space for discussion, though they would not necessarily think that the African/Congolese way of raising children is a bad one. Comparing the way parents of DR Congolese origins deal with their children to the way those from India do the same has been a fruitful point as well. In fact, from that comparison, it emerged that both cultures have many similarities. This led to the understandable point that both parents raising their children in the UK will tend more to hang on to their original culture, not giving much ‘space’ for a shift into cultures to their children. Looking at all the above, it may be right to conclude by saying that though the debate on the complex issue of multiculturalism will certainly keep going on for as long as no one knows, it is a very good thing as it helps society in becoming a more diverse one. However, if the newcomers don’t necessarily need to completely be assimilated by the new culture they embrace, it may however be correct to give some thoughtful and honest considerations to their new homeland’s way of doing thing. This applies to the new homeland’s way of educating children. Conversely, on the other side, the new homeland or its inhabitants may or would definitely also benefit form, not rejecting the new comers’ culture straight away, but by trying to be open to them and try and learn from them, on what they may consider as being positive points. Those being in position of communication may help more by passing around this type of message than one focused more on the negative sides of the culture/actions/deeds of people from abroad. Finally, the children/young who have the privilege of finding themselves in a western country where their rights are properly protected and where they have got a bigger voice and more space for dialogue, should in no case find there an opportunity to willingly become a cause of pain for their parents, despite their Africa beliefs. While it is perfectly true that children have the right to be children on the one hand, it is also perfectly correct that parents have got the rights to be parents, on the other hands. Things can work properly if there are clear boundaries. Recommendations Once again, stressing the fact that though the above interview and the entire study is not to be necessarily as the reflection of the general public, the findings here my certainly informed many on what should be done. Amongst the most recommendations:    Putting more emphasis on educating the British general public on others’ cultures may have a significant impact on the acceptance of multiculturalism    More efforts may be needed in educating parents coming from abroad (especially from the Democratic republic of Congo) on the way of life/the culture in the UK will certainly help a lot.   Ã‚   Educating children living in the UK on the difference between using the right to use their rights/freedom and the respect they are expected to show respect to society is of the key recommendations this study would strongly suggest. The youth and community worker whose main role is to fight for social justice and promote a society where social exclusion is completely eradicated one day will have a major role to play in this complex situation. Staying impartial, the youth and community worker will have to help all parties involved in trying to find a right balance for a better society. BIBLIOGRAPHY    Batsleer, J. (2008). Informal Learning in Youth Work. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, p. 5. Bedford, D. and Wilson, E. (2006) Study Skills for foundation degrees. London: David Fulton Publishers, p. 61, 62 and 64. Belton, B. (2009) Developing Critical Youth Work Theory. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers, p. 39 Clements, P. (2008). Policing a Diverse Society. New York: Oxford University Press. Department for Education Website (2011). www.education.gov.uk /childrenandyoungpeople/sen/earlysupport/esinpractice/a0067409/every-child-matters. Aiming high for children. Accessed On line 27 April 2011. 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