Arc Elasticity

Let us calculate an easy PED:

Price(OLD)=10
Price(NEW)=9
QDemand(OLD)=110
QDemand(NEW)=150

PED formula: (%change in quantity demanded)\(%change in price)

the change in quantity demanded is 0.3636 (trust me, I use calculator) and the change in price is -0.1

PED = (0.3636)/(-0.1) = -3.636

ok, now lets do it opposite way:
Price(NEW)=10
Price(OLD)=9
QDemand(NEW)=110
QDemand(OLD)=150

the change in quantity demanded is -0.2667 (calculator is love) and the change in price is 0.1111

PED = (-0.2667)/(0.1111) = -2.4005

Wait a second, elasticities differ, but the data is the same!
When calculating a price elasticity, we drop the negative sign, so our final value is 3.636. Obviously 3.6 is a lot different from 2.4, so we see that this way of measuring price elasticity is quite sensitive to which of your two points you choose as your new point, and which you choose as your old point. Arc elasticities are a way of removing this problem.

Ok, using arc elasticity formula, we would calculate the percentage change in Quantity Demand the following way:

[[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) + QDemand(NEW)]]*2

This formula takes an average of the old quantity demanded and the new quantity demanded on the denominator. By doing so, we will get the same answer (in absolute terms) by choosing $9 as old and $10 as new, as we would choosing $10 as old and $9 as new.

The same transformations are happening with the price changes calculations when using arc elsticity:
[[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) + Price(NEW)]] *2]

Therefore the formula of Arc Price Elasticity of Demand is:
[[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) + Price(NEW)]] *2] over [[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) + Price(NEW)]] *2]

or, to make you imagine that, I found a fraction pic:


You can also count Arc Price Elasticity of Supply, Arc Income Elasticity of Demand, Arc Cross Elasticity of Demand of good X.

APES = [[QSupply(NEW) - QSupply(OLD)] / [QSupply(OLD) + QSupply(NEW)]] *2] over [[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) + Price(NEW)]] *2]

or



_________

AIED = [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) + QDemand(NEW)]] *2] over [[Income(NEW) - Income(OLD)] / [Income(OLD) + Income(NEW)]] *2]

AXED = [[QDemand(NEW) - QDemand(OLD)] / [QDemand(OLD) + QDemand(NEW)]] *2] over [[Price(NEW) - Price(OLD)] / [Price(OLD) + Price(NEW)]] *2]

Don't worry, it all looks scary and enormous just because I'm typing on my laptop and obviously I cannot use fractions - it would look much clearer and very nice!
If you want, I can explain it to you at school at any time, just ask (:

Source:
About: Economics

Further reading:
Wikipedia

Secondary socialisation in education

Explain how education is an agent of secondary socialisation

First of all, what is a socialisation process? The term socialization is used by sociologists, social psychologists and educationalists to refer to the process of learning one’s culture and how to live within it. For the individual it provides the skills and habits necessary for acting and participating within their society. For the society, inducting all individual members into its moral norms, attitudes, values, motives, social roles, language and symbols is the ‘means by which social and cultural continuity are attained’
There are two types of socialisation: primary and secondary. Primary education is usually a process conducted by parents of a child in order to show what values and actions are appropriate for individuals.
Secondary specialisation is the process of teaching a child norms, values, social accepted behaviour and social limitations and barriers. Children learn all these from their friends, mass media, teachers at school and many other sources outside a family.
But wait, at schools children are taught to use basic skills and to apply knowledge in a range of different subjects, officially it is not such a big part of secondary socialisation. However, sociologists see two types of curriculum at schools and colleges: formal and hidden. The formal curriculum is an amount of knowldge a student should learn about the subjects he or she is studying, while the hidden curriculum is the messages schools transmit to pupils without directly teaching them or spelling them out. It consists of ideas, beliefs, norms and values which are often taken for granted and transmitted as part of the normal routines and procedures of school life. It includes the unwritten and often unstated rules and regulations which guide and direct everyday school behaviour.
So, as it can be seen from the given definition, the hidden curriculum completely accomplishes the task of the secondary socialisation. However, some may argue that some schools (state schools in low-income regions, for example), fail to provide this to their students.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Sociology in focus textbook.

Further reading:
Differences between norms and values
Hidden Curriculum

Sociology hw

Assess the benefits and limitations of the 'new vocationalism'

New vocalionalism, also known as vocational education/training, is an educational process relevant to a particular job or career, usually non-academical and and based on practical activities. This kind of education is also called technical. Up until the end of the twentieth century, vocational education focused on specific trades such as for example, an automobile mechanic or welder, and was therefore associated with the activities of lower social classes. (source)
Many people argue whether new vocationalism is a legitimate response to the needs of a modern economy or it is an attempt to recreate a compliant working class.
Theorists in vocational training have emphasized that its aim is to improve the worker's general culture as well as to further his or her technical training. That policy is evident in the academic requirements of public vocational schools and in the work of public continuation and evening schools. Various academic courses are provided so that workers who have not completed the public school requirements may do so while engaged in regular jobs. In some localities attendance at continuation schools is compulsory for those who are of school age. While continuation and evening schools are often primarily vocational, they frequently include general courses that attract older workers. (source)
Despite all this, it may mean that people, who are involved in new vocationalism education, may become docile and accept low wages, bad working conditions and, in fact, being exploited. That's why the majority prefers usual education and a degree achievemnt, as they think that vocational education is for those, who are not bright enough to use their brains and are able only for hard production work.
Children from working class families or low-income families are more likely to have such an education simply because their parents have it. They see it as an obvious solution, as these colleges are not as expensive as universities and give them opportunity to start working earlier and have experience.
New vocationalism was extremely popular at the times of the industrialised society, however, changes have come. Nowadays more people doubt about the importance of new vocationalism: with technologies being developed really fast, such profeccionals are demanded less and, therefore, are paid less. However, it's too early to discuss the possibility of the disappearence of new vocationalism and for many people this type of education is the only way to avoid poverty.

Further reading: How Global Market Forces Drive the New Vocationalism

Is the IB Diploma Programme a realistic alternative to A levels?

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is an educational programme for students 15-17 years old, which now is competing with Advanced levels (or A-levels for short) for the popularity. As well as an A-level course, the IB Programme is a two-year course and its results are also accepted by universities as ‘an entrance ticket’, as the IB is a recognised pre-university programme. Nowadays the Programme is becoming more and more popular all over the world, and, for example, in 2007 the number of schools in the UK, which offer the IB programme, had doubled since 2004. Some people see it as much more challenging programme for gifted and bright students as opposed to A-levels, which become easier and easier each year. There are many differences between A-levels and IB programme and, in order to answer the question, first of all we should compare those courses.
The IB Programme is a two-year international programme, which is taught in more than 125 countries in three available languages: English, French and Spanish. The structure of the course completely differs from A-level’s one and it is more expanded and, I would say, it is a multi-area course whether a student wants it or not. A student is supposed to pick a subject from each of six areas of the educational programme such as two languages, social studies sphere, experimental studies, mathematics and arts. Each area gives a student an opportunity to pick a subject, however, no subject area can be ignored or replaced by a subject from another group (the only exception is the arts area, which can be replaced by another language or a science or a social study). Three of the picked subjects are studied at a high level (210 teaching hours), the other three are studied at a standard level (150 teaching hours). In addition to six subjects, an IB student is required to complete a four-thousand-word extended essay, take the Theory of Knowledge course and complete one hundred fifty hours of work in CAS (Creativity Action Service). If a student ignores one of those, he will not get the IB diploma. CAS is one of the most interesting features of the IB programme – it is an extracurricular aspect, which requires a student to participate in sports, show his or her creativity and do some community work. Theory of Knowledge course can be described as a critical thinking course for IB students and it takes 100 teaching hours. Extended essay can be written in any subject that a student studies and any topic can be picked if it is approved by a student’s essay supervisor. The IB programme is a successful programme, maybe it is the main reason why its analogies like the European Baccalaureate, the French Baccalaureate and the Welsh Baccalaureate have already appeared. The UK government is now thinking of introducing the British Baccalaureate based on the IB programme.
A-level programme is also a pre-university programme, however, it is taught mainly in the UK and Commonwealth countries and British Overseas Territories and some international schools all over the world, which makes it as widespread as International Baccalaureate. As we all know, A-level is also a two-year educational programme and has its pros and cons as well as an IB programme. The first year of A-level programme is called Lower Six (AS level) and the second year is Upper Six (A2 level). A-levels are usually taught in the so called Six Form Colleges and International Schools and Academies. At A-level (which is Years 12 and 13 at school) a student is able to choose any subjects he wants to study (however, he should take in account whether his or her school offer it) and study them for two years on advanced level. A student is able to drop one or two of his subjects on the second year. Usually students take 4-5 subjects at AS level and keep 3-4 subjects at A2 level. The results of A-levels are recognised by the all universities in the UK and other countries. The analogy of A-level is the American Advanced Placements.
It is obvious that each programme has its strong and weak points. The IB offers a bigger range of subjects and a student will probably have knowledge in all the areas of his study, which will help him with his future studies and life, however, it is difficult to concentrate on one or two subjects that you are really interested in. Also, on the IB programme some people will have to deal with subjects they cannot understand (for example, a student is really bad at sciences but has to pick biology or chemistry), it will distract from other studies and take extra time to understand. In this case, A-levels leave all the decisions up to a student, which means that he or she can either fully concentrate on a particular area of studies or pick some other subjects to develop knowledge in different areas. On the other hand, A-level finishes only with 3-4 subjects that student knows and no extra skills, while studying the IB programme means developing a set of skills and participating in activities, which is a helpful experience for any person’s life and study.
In terms of the University and College Admission System (UCAS), studying the IB is more effective than studying A-levels. For example, gaining three grades A on A-level subjects gives 360 UCAS points, while score 30 out of 45 on the IB is 419 UCAS points. Many IB students are predicted to obtain 40-45 points, which is 650-770 UCAS points (5-6 grades A on A-levels), which makes them more competitive when it comes to university applications. Pretty unfair, isn’t it? Many people argue that A-level knowledge is much deeper than the IB High level knowledge, while others are talking about grade inflation, too low passing rates for A-levels and that the A-level curriculum is becoming easier each year.
So, is the IB a realistic alternative to A-levels? It definitely is. It has many advantages and encourages personal knowledge development in all spheres as well as social and sport activities, from all of which a student only benefits. A-levels have strong points as well, but no doubt that soon the IB will be even more popular around the world as it opens the doors to the best universities.

Does poverty trap lead to under-achievements in education?

source

Across grades, children living in families below the Federal Poverty Level missed, on average, slightly over one day more than their non-poor peers. In kindergarten, 21 percent of poor children were chronic absentees, compared to nearly 8 percent of their non-poor peers.

Why is that? Well, a lot of things were said already about connection between your income level and you educational achievement level. Money enable children to go to private schools, use educational toys, read more books etc, therefore they are more prepared for learning and development than those who cannot afford all of these. In addition to that, we can also say that children from low-income families are less likely to be motivated to study because usually they have to start working as early as they can to support their family.

According to the data from Jan Flaherty's book, Poverty: the facts:
54% of children living in lone-parent households are living in income poverty.

85% of children living in a household where no one is in paid work lives in income poverty

20% of those children entitled to free school meals did not take them up through fear of stigma and bullying.

In his book Jan Flaherty analyses poverty rates in the UK and its influence on people and the country.
source


As we can see from the graph above, absenteeism rate is higher for those childen, whose families' income is below Poverty Level, which proves that poverty affects perfomance of children.
Source

Does poverty trap lead to under-achievements in education?

50 lessons

50 lessons of successful management and leading your business to success. I found this site very interesting and helpful. It's like a millionare CD but much more preсize.

Social control

Social control is one of the social mechanisms, which regulates behaviour of individuals or groups and leads to conformity and acceptence of the rules of a given society or a social group.

Two basic forms of social control are:
1. Internalisation of normes and values
2. The use of sanctions (positive - rewards, negative - punishments)

Informal social control
Informal social control produces social values that are presented in individuals. They are expressed through customs, norms and mores. Individuals can be socialised consciously or subconsciously. Usually conducted by society.

Formal social control
Formal social control is expressed through law (statutes, rules, regulations against deviant behavior). Conducted by the government and organisations using law enforcement mechanism and formal sanctions (fines, imprisonment etc)

Brief notes on Sociology

Cultural capital.

Cultural capital, as a sociological concept, was first articulated by Pierre Bourdieu in his work "Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction" (1973), where differences in educational outcomes in France during the 1960s were attempted to be explained. For Bourdieu cultural capital acts as a social relation within a system of exchange and includes the accumulated cultural knowledge that confers both power and status.
Cultural capital can be defined as a combination of knowledge, experience and connections gained by a person during his lifetime, which determines his position in the society.

Types of cultural capital:
- an embodied state (both inherited and acquired properties. NB: 'inherited' in this context is in sense of time, culture and traditions. this type of cultural capital is genrally gained from the process of socialisation)
- an objectified state (physically owned cultural capital such as paintings or sculptures, e.g. objects representing a culture)
- an institutional state (knowledge, generally accepted by society in forms if academic credentials or qualifications)



In addition to cultural capital, Bourdieu also distinguishes the following types of capital:
- economic capital (includes cash, assets)
- social capital (the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition - Bourdieu's definition)
- symbolic capital (resources available to an individual on the basis of honor, prestige or recognition)

Business Studies vocabulary

ok, high-quality blog concept is almost completely developed.. starting of later on today. While I'm finishing off my taxation essay (yes, it DOES exist!) I'm also trying to keep up doing my daily blog..

Market segmentation - analysing the market the identify different types of consumers.

Brand positioning - the distinctive position that a brand adopts in its competitive environment to ensure that individuals in its target market can tell the brand apart from others.

Advertising elasticity - measures the extend to which change in AD spending affects demand (%change in demand /% change in AD spending)

Cash flow - the difference between incashflow and outcashflow.

Loss leader - product sold at less than cost to attract consumer to a product range.

Adverse variance - a change from a budgeted figure that leads to lower than expected profit.

Net profit margin - net profit, which is a percetage of the sales revenue.

Organisation structure - the relationship between different people and functions within an organisation.

Off-the-job training - training provided by not the place of work

On-the-job training - provided by a company you work in to actually gain required skills for doing a job

Person specification - a set of characteristics by which a person is picked for a particular job

Induction - an introductory training programme designed to familiarise new recruits with their place of work and co-workers

Empowering employees - giving employees some responsibility and power (not over a company acually)

Job enrichment - where the job is expanded vertically by giving the worker more responsibility

Job enlargement - expanding the number of tasks completed by an employee

Capacity utilisation - the percetage of a firm`s total possible production level that is being reached

Rationalisation - reorganising resources in order to cut costs

Quality control - based on inspection of the product or a sample of products

Quality assurance - a system of agreeing and meeting quality standards at each stage of production to ensure consumer satisfaction

Productivity - output per person per a period of time

Product portfolio analysis - analysing the existing product mix to help develop a balanced range of goods and services

Price taker - a firm which sets its prices at the same or similar level to those of the dominant firm in the industry

Business Studies revision course

Ok guys..
Mr. Chris suggested me to run another revision course on study week, this time it will be Business Studies revision course.

We will cover the most important topics (which you will choose) and it will be not more than 40-45 minutes a day. It will be run on Wednesday and Thursday at our school.

If you are interested, please write a comment.

Trying to do daily blog..

Should taxation patterns be changed in order to both stimulate the economy and improve economic performance?

Yes.

Outlining the importance of perception in Business Studies

First of all, what is perception? In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information. In other words, our perception of an object is how we understand it, feel it and what we think about it. We percieve everything in this world, and our perception determines our actions and feelings. But, as we all know, our perception may trick us sometimes - not all that we see and feel is true.

Why is it important to pay attention to perception in Business Studies? Well, obviously, to sell a product. The perception of a product by a consumer determines the sales. Nowadays many producers try to create correct and profitable perception of a product by branding.

According to the Model of Brand, to have a famous name of a product doesn't mean that you have a brand. A brand means correct understanding and perception of a name, because brand includes not only symbols but also associations and expiriences. There is no such thing as a loyality to a name, but there is a loyality to brand. Perception plays the key role in the distinguishing a name and a brand. However, how the perception of a name appears? According to the model, the perception of a product appears due to experience of using the product. This should also be taken in account.
Secondly, perception is a part of measuring a brand - both Saussure and Peirce used it as a part of their brand-measuring models. Brand perception is a level of expectancy of customers to a brand achieved or, in other words, an image of the brand created.

Perception could be tricked - and it is used a lot in advertising and marketing. Subliminal messages in TV advertisements, hidden pictures and images, fashion - all these influence our perception. To create proper perception of a product I would do a market research and use well-planned marketing mix, which will increase the chances of the creation of the right (needed) perception of a product.


uh.. i hope it's 300 words..

Toyota's strategy

Ok, I'm sitting in the business studies room with Lex in front of a HUUUUUGE screen (bigger than 5 Lexes) and doing a task that Mr. Chris gave as. We are supposed to create a possible strategy for Toyota as its sales are falling because of the current economics situation. Credit crunch, you know, we are all gonna die from hunger and low income, our children are not going to have a bright future and etc... awful picture. It's even worse than going to Torquay.

So, going back to Toyota topic.

Ok, sales are falling, what are they going to do? We dunno for sure, but me and Lex had a long discussion (15 seconds long) about possible ways of improving the situation and came up with some interesting points.

1. Get money from various sources of finance. They can borrow money from a bank, as many banks in different countries (for example, the UK) are trying to increase confidence by offering a big amount of loans. Even in England, the MPC has reduced interest rates to 1% recently. Or, as an alternative, sell shares or assets. By selling assets I mean selling some machinery in one branch of Toyota in Japan, for example.
2.There is a possibility of a merge. But I don't mean a vertical or a horisontal type of merging cuz it will cause the diseconomies of scale (the average cost will rise). I'm talking about lateral or diversifying types.
3. Postpone the introduction of new products such as electro-hybrid cars. They cost, on average, 3000-5000$ more than usual fuel-using cars. People dun have money anyway and oil prices are lower now, so people will not buy it. And Toyota will have to advertise this new type of cars as well to avoid information failure. If we look at Ansoff Matrix, it will be a new product in an already existing market:

Ok, finished for this week today.

Oxford markets

Today our business studies group went on a study trip to the center of Oxford to compare two markets: the Covered Market and the Gloucester Green Wednesday Market!

The Covered Market
The Covered Market is really popular in Oxford - it has many shops, which offer a variety of different goods: food, clothes, decoration stuff etc. The food prices are lower than in Sainsbury's or Tesco's, however, I would rather buy food for a higher price in a shop then in this market. I don't know why, but I suppose it's because of my stereotype about markets, as in Russia we have really awful ones where the quality of goods isn't worth even trying. But I can't deny that there are some really good places there - mmm, the cake shop is precious (and expensive :( )! The place is located in the center of the city and has a big area, but it's also so dirty and on weekends it's full of people.

The Gloucester Green Wednesday Market
The Gloucester Green Wednesday Market didn't impress me at all and I saw it before only once - in September. It works only on Wednesdays, that's why I don't think that it's possible to compare the two markets: obviously, the covered one is much more profitable.
This market is full of people and goods, I had a terrible headache while being there. It is outside on the street, so it was really cold there.
The only advantage of this market is its low prices.

But still, I enjoyed our trip a lot and I think that it's important to have some practical tasks in Business Studies such as this trip!

Emotion work

Emotion work has been defined as the management of one's own feelings or as "work done in a conscious effort to maintain the well being of a relationship" (c) Wikipedia

oh ok.. what does this mean? Frankly speaking, I have only some thought about what it might be, but I hope to understand this while writing this blog about it.

Emotions are the base of any relationships - beginning from a work sphere and ending with family life. Our emotions (even if we don't show them) help us to participate in the society and communicate with people. Our emotions are determinants of our actions and functionalising as a part of society.

Strong emotions mean a strong connection. A family should be based on srtrong emotions such as love, trust and happiness. These emotions help a family to develop as a social institute, they determine all the actions happening within a family. Every relationship is defined by an emotion.

A family structure can be analysed basing on emotions. An emotion work in a family, to my opinion, is the process of an exchange of emotions within a family as a social institute and helps to research its structure in depth. An emotion work can be applied to a family to see how strong the relationships between the members of the family are and how this family acts as a part of the modern society.
Or, alternatively, emotion works of different generations in different times could be compared to see the progress (or regress?) of a family as a part of society.

How the government deals with feral youth

i found my original way to do this sociology homework.
Why should I write such obvious things as legislation, education etc in general? Everybody will do like this!
I think it's better to discuss some particular cases of dealing with feral youth. Ok, lets start.

Free films for teenagers
oh, how great it is!
One town is offering free cinema tickets for teenagers on Friday evening. It's a very good idea as Friday evenings are the time when teenagers are more likely to have nothing to do. So, to keep them away from thinking about stealing something or getting drunk or fighting with someone, you offer them a FREE cinema evening. 'FREE' is always a magic word, you know. First of all, almost all teenagers enjoy watching films. Secondly, many films also may educate and teach teenagers something new. Thirdly, it's better to pay for a free film for a teenager than to pay for a rebuilding a house which was set on fire by a bored teenager.
And this actually works!

Increasing government spending on regulating anti-social behaviour
This is a good idea as well. 200 000 pounds extra will improve situation only if spent rationally.
Street workers, who are mentioned in the article, may be very useful in preventing youth crime. However, they must be well-trained and well-payed to make sure that the work is done properly. It will bring results and, possibly, save someone's property.
Money may also be spent on educational programms or, like in the previous article, on providing extra activities for teenagers.

Finding new activities for teenagers
Hobbies are always interesing and develop personal characteristics and skills. If teenagers have a hobby, they are less likely to commit a crime. A participation in any helpful activity will make a teenager more mature and responsible and will keep him or her away from drugs and anti-social activities.
Having a hobby, in this case it's fishing, will make a teenager feel more social accepted.

Finding a job for teenagers
A hobby is good but a job is even better - it brings even more skills and, which is also important, money!
Working for Olympics 2012 is a reason to be very proud. Crime and alcohol cannot be compared with participating in such an event!
However, it will be only in 2012..

All of these are the most interesting and helpful ways of dealing with feral youth.
Legislation (as well as any other ways of restriction) is nothing compared with giving teenagers opportunity to do something new.

Evaluation!

Haven't done this for ages! loveitloveitloveit!!!

okok, what do we have here? oh, eco-consultants!

ok, nowadays more and more people want to live the so-called 'green life'. they want to save the enviroment for their children and grandchildren, they become vegans and vegeterians, they recycle things.. their enthusiasm is so enormous, that it has become very popular and those people, who don't actually care about the enviroment, do this only because it's popular.

I might say that all the house makeovers tend to be income elastic, as people are likely to do the refurnishing or a house makeover when their income increases and they want a better place to live in. Plus, the popularity of an 'eco-life' makes it almost price inelastic, therefore, it's a very profitable business in theory. BUT!

The price of this service makes me suspect something strange. Where have you seen a makeover PLUS 90 minute consultation for 99$? On 99$ in Russia a can buy a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, that's all! Maybe the entrereneur lowered the price to attract more customers? Maybe, but this means that his market research:

a) is primary and is totally inaccurate

b) is secondary and now it's useless as lot's of things have changed since it was carried out

c) is not done at all

Because he would knew that his product is highly demanded and even might be permanently price inelastic so he wouldn't put that funny psychological price - 99$!

Ok, maybe the materials are cheap or the amount of work is not so big (but it depends on each customer - some already have almost 'eco' houses, some have totally enviroment-unfriendly houses, therefore, different amounts of work should be done), but consultations.. uh, there is something wrong here. A consultation involving expectation of a house, looking through the bills etc cannot be effective if it's only an hour and a half long! A good consultation requires a good specialist, a good specialist requires a good wage.. therefore, either the company has 1-2 consultants or it has enormous costs! Price cannot be so low, otherwise the business will fail after a week or so. Even more, they are training consultants - more costs! uh!

To my opinion, the business idea is very good, but the business plan should be redone and something should be done to the price. Maybe some market research to find out the ideal price and to bring some improvements into a business, and some advertisement to attract more customers perhaps?

Sociology hw

Explain Oakley's rise of the housewife role

okok, that's pretty interesting.

Ann Oakley is a famous sociologist, feminist and writer. She got her PhD degree in 1969 and that time she was working on a study of women's attitude to housework, where she mostly focused on medical sociology and women's health.

"A housewife is a woman; a housewife does housework".

The role of a housewife is a family role, a feminine role and a work role. Men seem to ignore that fact that it's a work role - but it really is! Whatever a woman does - looking after a child, cooking, doing housework - it all takes time and powers! 

Why is the role of a housewife a family role and a feminine role? The housewife keeps the family together, she "manages and directs affairs of household", according to Oakley. Why is it a feminine role? Look at the word - "housewife", a man obviously cannot be called a housewife. He may do the housework (well, it is almost impossible to happen in industrialised society, but nowadays..), but he will never be a housewife!

The housewife is a misstress of a household. The stability and warm in the family depends on her actions. A man can work, children may learn, but they need a base and this base is the housewife.

The main mistake is mixing up two things - being a housewife and doing the housework! A woman might work but still be a housewife. Housework is associated with a low-status work and economic dependance on a male breadwinner and not appreciated at all! Housework might mean isolation from a social life, but it depends on how much time is spend on it. According to some data in Oakley's study, in an industrialised society it takes women 3000-4000 hours a year to do the housework!

But if you are not just doing the housework, you are being a housewife as well, only you decide how much time should be spent on each 'household supporting activity'. No-one can set rules for being a housewife except for the housewife herself!

In a society women are supposed to be good mothers, good wifes and good housewifes - this is their main role. But how fair is it nowadays? 

Now men and women are becoming more equal in rights in a social life and a working life, therefore, this structure is already changing. Maybe the role of a housewife will be reviewed pretty soon, but the main role for women will still be the same (however, some things might add up to those three). Yes, that's great. But can anyone name me the role of a man in a family then? Now the stereotype of a male breadwinner is going to be crashed, so what are they going to do? Hehehe.

Why feral youth occurs

This problem is becoming more and more serious each day - children are now more likely to commit a crime. Or even harm themselves because of being stupid. Why is that?

Well, there are many factors influencing teenagers' minds.

Violence on TV is one of the most obvious factors. Nowadays everything is connected with mass media, we live in the Information Age and mostly the generation Y is brought up by TV and the internet. No doubt all those blockbusters, encouraging violence and current world affairs like wars and conflicts are having a negative effect on minds. 

Some present subcultures also encourage young people to be more violent and break the law. As the process of socialising is important for every person, young teenagers may want to impress their friends and do something 'cool'. This is because they have a need of being 'socially accepted', which, in teenagehood, is determined by friends and people of the same age as a teenager.

Family problems might affect teenage behaviour as well. According to this website, the number of children and teenagers suffering from domestic violence is growing each year. This has a direct impact on feral youth, as it's know that the enviroment affects behaviour.