British Welfare State Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

British Welfare State - Essay Example This essay discusses that for those in power, it had the benefits of gaining socialist support. Not only liberal politicians but both Lloyd George and Churchill encouraged social policy as a means of avoiding socialism and when labor came into power they were criticised for, ‘failing to introduce a distinctively socialist policy in the field of education.’The government response to poverty in the 1940s is the culmination of different attempts to overcome and replace the Poor Law since the 1820s. The legislation before the 1940s is similar in character to the legislation in the 1940s. It is so similar that most historians and even those bringing about the new laws have commented on the welfare state being just a socially acceptable version of the Poor Law. In addition, the Acts passed can be shown to be a result of the political maneuverings and practical responses to the events of that decade. However, there are some revolutionary aspects that lie behind the governmentâ €™s response. These are the fundamental changes in the perception and understanding of the nature of mankind, the state and the relationship between them. The state took on a responsibility for welfare that involved a greater involvement in its citizen’s lives. Furthermore, the general definition of poverty expanded to include everyone in need, not just those who could not subsist. Beveridge’s report is revolutionary as being the first completely planned social document which envisages Disease, Idleness, Want, Squalor and Ignorance as being the state’s responsibility.... All the features of liberal social policy were actually already covered by the older law yet the reorganisation made using the services socially acceptable. 'A person who was sick, hungry, unemployed or old could in fact turn to the Poor Law for help, and almost all the categories of social need for which the Liberals were now catering for were already being dealt with by the Poor Law Guardians.' (Fraser, 162) Significantly Beveridge himself formulated his proposals around, 'the pre-war system of contributory insurance No other system was seriously considered on the ground that it would be a 'departure from existing practice''. (Lowe, The Welfare State in Britain since 1945, 122) Chronological development before the Welfare State Moreover, the policy developments in the 1940s look like the result of the increasing intervention of the state in issues of welfare alongside the increasing awareness of poverty that had been taking place since the 1830s. The search for a replacement for the Poor Law began as early as the 1820s. In 1834 a report on the law was published investigating and suggesting solutions for the escalating problems of the Poor Law. Moreover in the 1840s a society of doctors envisaged a system of free health care. Movement later in that century began to provide assistance, outwith the Poor Law, for the sick and temporarily unemployed. This was through the Medical Relief Act (1885) and Chamberlain's Circular (1886). Here were the beginnings of assistance from a source outside of the Poor Law. This is the drift which could still be recognised in 1940s policy. More legislation was passed at the beginning of the twentieth century including more and more people in

Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Supply Chain Management - Essay Example Thus, the concept as well as the process of SCM encapsulates all the methods and procedures needed â€Å"for the comprehensive configuration, planning and control of cross business and company wide supply chains† (Thaler, 1999; Walther and Bund, 2001). Among all the ‘tools’, various modes of transportation forms an integral component, without which Supply chain cannot function and can even collapse. This was visible during the volcanic eruptions in Iceland in 2010. The ash in the clouds impacted the air transportation, which not only affected the passenger traffic, but also the movement of goods in the supply chain. The ash emitted by the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption in Iceland spread far and wide, particularly over many of the European countries, causing the closure of airspace and grounding of flights. â€Å"British government closed the country's entire airspace, grounding all flights at five airports, including the flights whose journeys originated elsew here in Europe, North America and beyond and who would have only passed through Heathrow.† (Walsh 2010). ... â€Å"World container traffic in 1970 was virtually zero, today it is around 500 million tons per year.† (Short 2010). In addition, when there is need for quick transportation and delivery, air transportations are the best option, and this is particularly relevant in the current times with the manufacturing supply chain being quickened through various processes. â€Å"Iceland’s volcanic ash disrupted air transport across Europe and gave the world’s manufacturing supply chain one of its biggest tests since the advent of the low-inventory, just-in-time era† (The Economist). The grounding of the flights impeded the flow of raw materials to the industries in Europe from all over the world, as well as vice-versa. In addition, the finished goods could not also reach the customers within the stipulated deadlines, in both the ways. These restrictions on the supply chain resulted in heavy losses to the involved organizations as well as the airlines industry. The In ternational Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that due to wrecking of the supply chains as well as passenger traffic, airline industry lost at least $200 million per day (Banham 2010). This type of disruptions not only affects the major players but also the small local players in the supply chain, particularly the small retailers who sell the finished products to the customers. This can be seen during the Icelandic volcanic eruptions as well. That is, many retailers located in the UK and other European regions were affected by the lack of supplies and also delayed supplies. With many retailers not receiving â€Å"the goods needed to keep their stores in stock†, it led to

Great Northern Hotel Refurbishment Project Construction Essay

Great Northern Hotel Refurbishment Project Construction Essay A risk management report was undertaken to determine potential risks that may occur alongside the refurbishment of Great Northern Hotel. The chief executive of RAM-led consortium, which has been selected by Kings Cross Central to refurbish the Great Northern Hotel, appointed our team to identify, analyze and develop proper recommendations for managing potential risks. Our team used a cause-effect analysis based on a set of conclusions identified after several meetings with experts and brainstorming sessions to highlight areas of possible concern for the project. Another method used was to analyze historical records and reports from previous construction projects. The results of the report outline the fact that, without an accurate risk management applied before setting the baseline for the project, various factors may affect the overall duration and the necessary budget to refurbish the Great Northern Hotel. 2. INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY This report was requested by the chief executive of RAM-led consortium, before the beginning of Great Northern Hotel refurbishment. Our team was asked to submit its findings by 26th of May, 2010. The purpose of this report is to investigate what are the possible threats for this refurbishment project and to analyze how their impact can be minimized. Our team has responded to this request by developing a list of potential risks that might affect the refurbishment project and by carrying out a thorough risk analysis, as understanding the nature of risks is a precondition for a proper response, and also by suggesting appropriate recommendations for minimizing negative impact on the project. The objective of this report is not to eliminate risk or uncertainty, but to take a fundamental look into the future of the refurbishment project and to identify possible threats. By risk, our team understands the possibility of something happening that can affect the prospects of achieving project goals (Maylor, 2003, page 192). Nevertheless, our team also took into consideration several other risk definitions, all of them underlying the same idea. Some examples of definitions our team has worked with are listed bellow: Risks are those factors that may cause a failure to meet the projects objectives (Burke, 2003, page 253) Risk is the expected consequences of an event and the probability that the event might occur (Kendrick, 2003, page 2) The possibility of suffering harm or loss (Maylor, 2003, page 192) Considering its limitations of identifying all risks that might affect the refurbishment project as it is almost impossible to foresee all future events our team used these definitions in order to outline major areas of risks for construction projects, especially for the refurbishment project. To tackle risks, our team applied the risk management plan proposed by Burke (2003), which included the following steps: Identify and categorize risks Quantify and prioritize risks Develop risk response/managing risks Risk identification is considered to be the most significant part of risk management process (Burke, 2003), as risks that are not identified can have negative consequences on the project. For this step, our team chose to consider multiple techniques in outlining major areas of risk for the refurbishment project. Our main method implied categorizing risks, as this method can lead to the identification of specific problems (Kendrick, 2003). Our team mainly looked at projects objectives to define potential external and internal sources for risks. In doing this, our team focused on some of the methods indicated by Burke (2003), such as having meeting with experts and with members of the personnel to share risks experiences as previous experience can contribute to risk identification -, having constant brainstorming sessions and also analyzing historical records and reports on previous construction projects. After collecting results from the methods mentioned, our team applied a cause-effect analysis to identify risks for the refurbishment project. After having identified a range of potential risks, our team tried to measure the impact they could have on the project. Assessing how likely an event is to occur and determine the extent of the effect of the event (Maylor, 2003, page 195) is known in project risk management as risk quantification procedure. Risk quantification also implies undertaking a risk priority analysis (Burke, 2003), in order to establish what areas of risks to address first. For this maneuver, a Probability/Impact Matrix has been created to measure the level of risk and to prioritize potential risks. Final step undertaken by our team was to develop responses for the identified risks. In risk management, after identifying risks, they can either be reduced or mitigated in some way (Maylor, 2003). There are several procedures to respond to risks (Burke, 2003), among which: Eliminate risks avoiding the risk by removing cause (Burke, 2003, page 262) Mitigate risks reducing risk probability and impact (Burke, 2003, page 262) Deflect risks transfer the risk to another party (Burke, 2003, page 263) Accept risks As eliminating risks completely cannot always be a successful procedure, our team has chosen to combine the above mentioned procedures and offered solutions for eliminating, mitigating and deflecting risks. 3. FINDINGS 3.1 GENERAL CONSTRUCTION RISKS Before listing the results of the analysis undertaken for the refurbishment project, this report will outline some of the risks that are generally affecting construction projects. This information will contribute to a better understanding of potential risks a construction project may imply and it can influence part of the decisions concerning further risk monitoring and control for the refurbishment project. Based on data collected from meetings with experts and with members of the personnel, from brainstorming sessions and from the analysis of different reports of previous construction projects, out team concluded that there are several ways of classifying risks in construction projects. Our team has elaborated the following classification to underline possible areas of risks for construction projects: Financial risks which can include labor and material work or extra charges from contractors or suppliers Time risks which can include delays caused by different factors, major discrepancies between estimate and actual durations Technological risks which can include misinterpreted construction procedures or design assumptions or unplanned site conditions Socioeconomic factors such as environmental organizations or economic instability Organizational factors such as communication between workers, contractual relations Operational risks such as construction defects, labor risks, quality insufficiencies Generally, data analyzed revealed the fact that construction projects are more inclined to risks, as they rely on multiple factors to achieve their goals, such as material suppliers, labor force, site conditions, quality surveillance and fixed budgets. Moreover, results also suggested that construction projects have a higher degree of uncertainty than other types of projects, as they can be easily influenced and affected by weather condition or political and economic climate. The conclusion our team reached is that the refurbishment project can also be affected by the above mentioned factors and that a detailed risk management plan is compulsory to be developed for the project to reach its goals. 3.2 IDENTIFYING RISKS FOR REFURBISHMENT PROJECT Results collected from our meetings with experts and personnel members, from our brainstorming sessions and from the analysis of previous reports on construction projects indicated that for the refurbishment of Great Northern Hotel multiple areas of risks should be taken into consideration. From the areas identified, our team will outline through this report the first major categories of risks that could affect the refurbishment project. These categories are: Time risks Costs risks Quality risks A cause-effect analysis has been undertaken in order to identify time, costs and quality risks by considering the objectives of the refurbishment project. The findings are listed in the following pages. For a better understanding of our analysis, our team included the objectives of the refurbishment project. The project has three main objectives: Refurbish the Victorian-build Great Northern Hotel by early 2011 Constructing a new boutique hotel, with 94 luxury bedrooms, a bar and a restaurant by late 2011 Open the hotel in time for London Olympics 2012 By applying a cause-effect analysis, our team identified risks on time, costs and quality, their causes and effects. The risks are listed in the following pages: I. Time risks Severe delays in refurbishing the hotel Major differences between estimate time and actual time in constructing the new boutique, the bar and the restaurant Grand opening postponed with two months Workers strike Causes: Personnel causes illness, deaths Technical problems problems with work equipment Problems with suppliers equipments not delivered on time Weak communication among personnel Changes in contract between client and contractor Lack of risk management among workers Organizational culture conflicts Weather volatility Lack of detail work plans from contractor Necessary approvals not given on time Effects: Severe delays Slow progress Delays in money allocation for work equipment Project failure II. Costs Risks Insufficient budget for refurbishment Higher costs for construction of new boutique Currency fluctuation Hotel not opened in time for the Olympics Causes: Increases in labor and material costs from suppliers Higher bills from contractor on work progress Instable economy Emergency situation, such as extra equipment or extra personnel Effects: Over-budget Slow progress Activity stopped Project failure III. Quality risks Poor building condition Low quality refurbishment Weak structure for new construction Law quality of material used Causes: Unstable structure of old building Lack of professionalism Misinterpretation of work tasks Incorrect design assumptions Effects: Delays caused by additional works Objectives not achieved on time Over-budget Project failure RISK QUANTIFICATION Next step undertaken by our team was risk quantification, in order to measure risks probability and to establish their priority. This report includes a Probability/Impact Matrix for the risks identified. The Matrix has been developed using the analysis results following our meetings with experts and staff members, our brainstorming sessions and from the analysis of previous reports on construction projects. Risks Probability/Impact Matrix Probability and Impact have been rated on a scale from 1 to 4, where 1 = Unlikely/Minor, 2 = Possible/Moderate, 3 = Likely/Major, 4 = Almost certain/Critical Risks Probability Impact 1. Severe delays in refurbishing the hotel 3 4 2. Major differences between estimate and actual time in constructing new boutique, bar and restaurant 2 3 3. Grand opening postponed with 2 months 2 2 4. Workers strike 2 1 5. Insufficient budget for refurbishment 2 3 6. Higher costs for construction of new boutique 2 2 7.Currency fluctuation 2 1 8.Hotel not opened in time for the Olympics 3 4 9.Poor building condition 3 4 10.Low quality refurbishment 1 2 11.Weak structure for new construction 2 3 12.Low quality of materials used 1 1 By rating Probability and Impact for the identified risks, our team also prioritized them, as follows: I. Major risks (Major Impact, Likely Probability): Severe delays in refurbishing the hotel Hotel not opened in time for the Olympics Poor building condition II. Moderate risks (Moderate Impact/Possible Probability): Major differences between estimate and actual time in constructing new boutique, bar and restaurant Grand opening postponed with 2 months Insufficient budget for refurbishment Higher costs for construction of new boutique Weak structure for new construction III. Minor risks (Minor Impact/Unlikely Probability) Workers strike Currency fluctuation Low quality refurbishment Low quality of materials used RISK RESPONSE AND RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the results of risk identification, quantification and priority, our team makes the following recommendations: For eliminating risks, the client/contractor should: Obtain necessary approvals before starting the refurbishment Check material quality before beginning the refurbishment Before signing contract with suppliers, include statements on fixed costs and material delivery schedule/replacement Have more meetings between client and contractor before signing the contract, to clarify each detail Severely check workers background before hiring them For mitigating risks, the client/contractor should: Name a risk management committee and include a risk management plan Carry out condition surveys and measure surveys to establish building condition Elaborate a risk management plan focused on individuals Monitor timetables and ask for weekly detail work plans and proof on progress Include weekly quality controls Allocate extra money for unplanned events in the tendering period Include morning meetings with workers to explain details on tasks Offer common lunch for workers to improve communication For deflecting risks, the client/contractor should: Hire an Audit company to keep track of accuracy in billings and work progress 4. CONCLUSIONS This report outlines what potential risks can a refurbishment project encounter alongside its duration. By using appropriate methods for identifying the risks and their causes, the report highlights what impact these risks can have on the project and to what extent they can be measured and prioritized. The report also includes a set of recommendations for eliminating, mitigating or deflecting potential risks. By making this report, our team reached the following conclusions: Most decisions in construction projects are based on incomplete information with an associated level of uncertainty about the outcome (Burke, 2003, page 252) In construction/ refurbishment projects, level of uncertainty can reach a high level in multiple areas No project should start before developing a risk management plan Managing risks should follow fixed steps Identification, Quantification, Prioritizing and Risk response and use as many sources as possible when reaching these steps Risk response should combine different procedures to eliminate, mitigate, deflect or accept risks Before deciding for one of these procedures, a cost/benefit analysis should be undertaken For refurbishment projects it is very difficult to identify all risks, as they are more inclined to risks than other types of projects and can be easily affected by politics or by economic climate This report also includes outputs from Microsoft Projects on project scheduling, resources, task and finances developed by our team, in the Appendices chapter. This report counts 2365 words.

The Gates Essay examples -- essays research papers

The long awaited project phenomenon that is due to make art history, The Gates, by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Given permission by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on January 22, 2003, the project is set to be mounted in Central Park in New York City February 12th of this year. The planned project is to resemble a golden river. Thus consisted to 7500 gates in total standing 16 feet (4.87 meters) high with a width changing from 5' 6" to 18 feet (1,67 m to 5,48 meters) going along the edges of the Central Park pathways. Saffron colored fabric panels suspended from the horizontal top part of the gates will come down to approximately 7 feet ( 2,13 meters) above the ground. Each gate will be spaced at 12 foot (3,65 meter) from each other, but might vary where trees expand above the walkways allowing the synthetic woven panels to wave towards the next gate and be seen from far away through the leafless branches of the trees. The construction itself is a big development in itself. There are to be hundreds of residents to help in the project for temporary employment doing the following things: Manufacturing and assembling of the gates structures, Installation workers, Maintenance teams around the clock, in uniform and with radios, Removal workers. The work is consisted of a lot of materials that, in the end, will be recycled at an assembly plant in Queens,NY. The materials are as follows: †¢ 5,290 US Tons of steel (4,799 Metric Tons) (10,580,000 pounds) (equal to 2/3 the ste...

The Effects of Bullying on Academic Achievement

THE EFFECT OF BULLYING ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF LEARNERS IN HIGH SCHOOLTHE BACKGROUND TO THE STUDYBullying has become a challenge that numerous schools are battling with. Olweus (1995), noted that bullying happens at schools during times when a person is exposed over and over again to negative behaviour which can be either verbal or physical to one or more learners. Olweus also noted that a bullying relationship requires an inequality of strength or power over the other person. Dillon and Lash (2005) made a similar explanation about bullying, showing that bullying involves repeated aggressive behaviour being done by learners who have seem to have an advantage in terms strength over their victims. Providing a precise definition as to what bullying is can be a bit difficult because bullying has evolved and continues to evolve with the societal changes taking place in the society that we now live in. With the new developments in technology, it creates more platforms for bullying to also develop and change. Cyberbullying is bullying that uses technology such as emails or social media platforms to taint and ruin the reputation of a person (Wong, 2009). Research has shown that bullying does have a bad effect on the victim physically and socially. Learners fear being bullied so much so that they would rather stay at home (Vail, 1999). Therefore, if bullying causes learners to become absent then the effect it has on academic performance can be assessed through learners grades, tardiness and absenteeism. A study performed by (Glew, Fan, Katon, Rivara and Kenric, 2005) pointed out that victims and bullies were prone to having poor academic achievement than by-standers. There are also emotional effects that are caused by bullying, it causes so much stress for the victim that it ends up showing through physical symptoms, which then leads to the increase in absenteeism of the learner. Those physical effects of bullying experienced by learners or the victim of bullying along with other psychological issues caused by bullying leads to the poor academic performance. Canter (2005) confirms bullying is a present-day phenomenon in most schools in the United States and is said to affect over 70% of learners (as cited in Beaty & Alexyev, 2008). Several researchers, Borg (1999), Boulton & Underwood (1992) and Olweus (1993), assert learners that are victims of bullying have lasting emotional, academic, and behavioural problems (as cited in Whitted & Dupper, 2005, p.167). A recent study has shown that when learners are teased and bullied frequently the learners lose interest in school, and this then affects learners commitment and also their involvement in school activities (Mehta, Cornell, Fan, & Gregory, 2013).It has been reported by principals and teachers that when the school environment is seen as a negative place to be by the learners, it leads to poor school achievement (Cornell, Gregory, Huang, & Fan, 2013; Johnson & Stevens, 2006; Kon- ishi, Hymel, Zumbo, & Li, 2010; MacNeil, Prater, & Busch, 2009; Ripski & Gregory, 2009). Bradshaw et al. (2007) found that over 49% of learners said that they have been bullied, while over 70% of learners witnessed bullying. While boys bully their victims physically, girls bully their victims through gossip, spreading rumours, or excluding them from social groups (Peckham, 2007).The Statement of the Research ProblemBullying is a problem that affects all learners either as the person being bullied, the victim, or by-stander. Bullying can take many forms from verbal to physical assaults, threats, jokes or language, being mocked and criticized, to being insulted or given funny facial expressions. These factors work either individually or together in leading to a learners being bullied. Bullying has several impacts in the school and one those is the impact it has on academic achievement. For many years now evidence has shown that bullying does have a negative influence on a learners well-being. With so many learners experiencing the effects of being bullied, many schools in the province have decided to act on the problem. The effects of bullying within the school environment and persistent pressure from legislators and the community as a whole for an increase in the academic performance of learners, is a concern for school administrators, teachers and the parents. This research aims to investigate the link between bullying and the academic performance of learners.Research questions/HypothesesHow does bullying affect the academic performance of learners?Does bullying have an effect on the academic performance of learners?What are the forms of bullying that take place at the school?What are the effects of bullying on the victims, the bullies, by-standers and the school environment?What are the characteristics of a bully?Purpose of the StudyThe aim of this study is to investigate the effect that bullying has on the academic performance of learners' achievement in schools. The more we are informed about bullying in schools the better equipped the school and district will be and also the school leaders wil l be able to minimize the bullying from taking place and bring about changes that are positive to the schools, district and also the community. There is evidence that bullying is a serious problem for schools and this has been found in professional literature and the local setting. The goal of this study is to provide better understanding of the effects of bullying on the academic performance of learners in the school district.The Significance of the StudyBullying is a problem that affects many learners lives. Problems linked with bullying have grown over time due to the increased access to technology and social media allowing more opportunities of cyberbullying (Patechin ; Hinduja,2006).Bullying is complicated and is linked to cultural, social, family and personal aspects of our lives (Pepler et al.,2006). This study attempts to reveal the nature of the relationship between bullying and academic achievement with the use of multiple regression technique and examine whether academic performance levels can be predicted by the frequency of bullying in a given school district. This study is aimed to at helping the district and the schools to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the frequency of bullying in a school and learners academic performance.Definition of Key TermsAcademic performance: The extent to which a student , teacher or an institution has achieved their short or long-term educational goals.Bully: A person who intentionally causes harm to another person whetBullying: Repeated aggressive verbal or physical behaviour with the intention of harming or hurting another person. This happens frequently and involves an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim.By-stander: A person who sees the act of bullying taking place.Learner: A person who is learning a skill or subjectVictim: A learner who is harassed by another learner or a group of learners two, three or more learners leading to suffering physical or psychological harm.Delimitation of the StudyThe study only includes incidents that were reported in the school distri ct and will be based only on high schools in Bloemfontein. Participation in this study will be delimited to Grade 10 learners and their teachers. The amount of unreported bullying is beyond the scope of this study. Bullying might affect other variables but for this study only academic achievement will be measured.

Discuss Changing Family Structures in the Uk and Give Examples of Sociological Theories That Provide Explanations as to Why and How Families Have Changed.

Discuss changing family structures in the UK and give examples of sociological theories that provide explanations as to why and how families have changed. This essay will discuss the various family structures in society. It will give theoretical explanation as to why and how families have changed. The essay will also bring statistical, historical and political evidence to back up the reason for these changes. During the pre-industrial society the ‘extended family’ was the most common family structure.This family structure involves three generations including the parents, children and either the grandparents (vertical-extended) or uncles and aunts (horizontally-extended). The extended family structure was essential for this society as families were a ‘unit of production’ so they needed as many workers as they could get. Michael Anderson (1971) argued that in ‘critical life situations’ there was a dependence on the extended family for help and sup port. Then Parsons (1949) said large families were economically beneficial, so the extended family was the most suited structure.However, during in the industrial revolution family life changed. It was no longer seen as a ‘unit of production’ but now a ‘unit of consumption’. The ‘nuclear family’ emerged and became the main family structure. However, the extended family may become popular again as in our current society people are living longer and state funding on residential care has decreased so this has shifted the care and responsibility onto the family. Also, there has been an increase in Multi-generational families. ‘The earlier age of child-bearing reducing the age gap between generations’ (Fulcher and Scott, 2011: 446)The ‘nuclear family’ consisted of two generations, the mother, father and their children. Parsons (1949) argued that industrialisation resulted in a shift from the extended family to the nuclear f amily, as its characteristics are more typical for a capitalist society. Parsons (1956) believed that you must move where there is work and that you should only take your immediate family with you not everyone. This is why nuclear families were more beneficial as it was easier to move for work with just your immediate amily. With the industrial revolution and the growth of capitalism, production was no longer carried out by family members, but by workers. Public policies were put in place during 1940-1970 such as the welfare state, which was designed to support family roles (breadwinner and caring mother). Since then there has been significant changes in public policies such as the divorce reform act (1967), the abortion act (1967), the equal pay act (1970), the sex discrimination act (1975) and maternity leave was introduced.This gave women more freedom and more opportunities especially within employment and lifestyle choices. This lead to social change; postponement of marriage an d childbearing, the number of divorces in England and Wales increased from 6,000 in 1938 to more than 48,000 in 1968, and in 1960 the fertility rate was 2. 72%, dropping to 1. 93% in 1998. Due to these rapid increases in divorce cohabitation has become more preferable for couples as there are no legal ties, the couple can see how it goes before making any major decisions such as marriage.Also couples may marry later as weddings are expensive and they don’t have the money to afford one due to the recession, however living with each other saves money. This was the democratic and educational revolution and the era of the nuclear family. However, with new policies in place and such major social change, from the 1970s onwards it became the ‘post-industrial society’ and the rise of post-modernism. This society brought new family structures, and units that were previously perceived as unacceptable became acceptable.Since the divorce reform act (1967) divorces have rapid ly increased resulting in many re-marriages, introducing the reconstituted family unit. This family includes children that live with one biological parent and a step-parent. These families may also include step/half brothers and sisters. Divorce has also meant there are many more single-parent families. This is a family structure where only one parent takes care of the children. This can be due to birth outside of marriage, divorce and death or imprisonment of a partner.Murray (1990) would argue that the rise in single parent families is due to the underclass and fatherless families. Boys without fathers are inadequately socialised and don’t have a male role model. When they have their own children they wont have an understanding of a ‘dad’ role, so this may result in them being absent in the child’s life and separation from the wife/partner. Marx (1848) would argue that the breakdown of marriage is due to the conflict that the capitalist society is creati ng and this is affecting relationships.Feminist, Delphy (1977) argues that the exploitation of women’s labour is rooted in ‘the domestic mode of production’ within the household, not in the capitalist mode of production. ‘Men hold a superior position within the domestic mode of production and exploit women through marriage’ (Fulcher and Scott, 2011: 435). This exploitation could create conflict and domestic violence may occur resulting in separation/divorce. Lastly, some individuals blame single-parent families on the permissiveness of the sexual revolution.Jeffrey Weeks (1989) believes that post-war changes in capitalism has led to a new pleasure-seeking attitude in females, which resulted in sexual behaviour as a source of pleasure rather a means of producing children. This can relate to why there are so many single-parent families headed by women from births outside marriage. Finally the most recent type of family structure is ‘same sex fami lies’. This involves a homosexual couple (gay or lesbian) that take care of children. This is the newest family unit as the civil partnership law was only passed in 2004.Since then 45,000 have been formed up until 2010. Homosexual couples have been apparent for a long time however only recently have the attitudes towards them become more acceptable resulting in the civil partnership law. Beck (1992) says this is because of individualisation; people are designing their lives based on their own choice not expectations. Also, people have very different attitudes now to previously in history, so homosexuality is more widely accepted. In conclusion, family structures are constantly changing and there is never only one type.Family structures tend to base around suiting the type of society there in. Policies can increase or decrease certain family structures. For example the divorce reform act (1967) increased single parent and reconstituted families and decreased the nuclear family . Also new family structures, same sex families have been introduced because of policies and change in attitudes. There may be new family structures in the future as society progresses. References- Fulcher, J. and Scott, J. (2011) Sociology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.