Journal week 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal week 4 - Assignment Example Based on the above perspective, this paper discusses the evolution that marriage has undergone since 1950s, with equally changing roles for men and women in marriages, an aspect that has significantly been influenced by the changing practices in the decades such as TV shows and fashion. The 1950s depicted a decade of changes in families and their modes of operation. Such, was a period after the end of World War II and, therefore, time to start up life anew. However, a serious problem arose, as there were numerous images to depict from in determining the kind of family befitted a couple, most especially from the numerous TV shows and magazines (Lamb, 2011). Media, through its communication aspect, has determined the kinds of families’ people establish since the 1950s, with women as the main targets. The 21st century on its part is the digital age and the magazines, and TV shows play a significant role in determining the kinds of decisions people make in marriages and the roles they play. In the 1950s, women had defined futures of one getting married, having children, and being a good homemaker to the husband and the kids. However, lately, something seems amiss, and the gender roles and attitudes have changed with most women beginning the fight for autonomy (Lamb, 2011). Such an aspect has had a shift with a fundamental alteration towards the establishment of gender equality for both the women and the men (Berger, 2012). TV shows such as ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ in the 1990s, depicts a clear picture of how run family matters have changed over time. In such shows, the man is central in the house, with all the concentrations on him; however, a problem the wife in the house who seems to attract attention equal to that of a man. In the previous TV shows, the traditional marriages depicted roles of femininity and masculinity performed conservatively, in which the man leads the home both economically and socially while the woman stays

Answsering law quesiton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Answsering law quesiton - Essay Example Jaime owed Simon and Davina a duty of care, being the owner of a restaurant which serves food to the public for a fee. Hence, he has the duty and obligation to see to it that clients are served well because he is engaged in the food business, and attached to this is the quality of service to his clients. Based on the facts of the case, there is clearly a breach of duty on the part of Jaime, the moment he forget to inform the chef that Simon and his guest only requested for vegetarian dishes. It was due to the fact that there were several guests that same night that kept him pre-occupied that he totally forgot to inform the chef of Simon’s request. As a restaurant owner, he owed a duty of care to all the clients and guests who enter and dine in his restaurant. In the case at bar, the fact that Simon informed Jaime only to serve them vegetarian dishes is an indication that Simon has already foreseen the damage or harm that will be inflicted upon Davina in case a different food, and not vegetarian dishes will be served to her. This act done by Simon in order to protect Davina is also known as the ‘neighbor principle’. He took the necessary steps to exert reasonable amount of care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure his guest, Davina. It is thereof without a doubt that a duty of care was expected of Jaime to Simon and Lavina There is also a proximity between the parties, as Jaime is the seller and Lavina and Simon are the buyers of his services. Under the law, is it fair, just and reasonable in all the circumstances to impose a duty of care in the case of Jamie. Here, Jamie is liable for the tort of negligence due to his failure to exercise reasonable care which caused a damage to Davina. His failure to inform the chef that only vegetarian dishes should be served is tantamount to negligence or omission on the part of Jamie. Therefore, he is liable to pay consequential damages to Davina because th ere is a strong connection between the cause of his failure to take reasonable care and that damages that Davina has suffered. Verily, there is a clear showing that Davina would not have been injured â€Å" but for† the Jamie’s act or omission. Hence, Davina entitled to an award of consequential damage because aside from the violent illnsess, she also suffered from consequential economic loss when she cancelled a photo shoot costs of the damage for a beauty campaign, which could have been an opportunity for her to receive economic gain. 2.) Jamie can raise the defense of contributory negligence on the part of Davina. This means that any award of damages may be reduced to the extent that the Davina, the claimant was to blame for the injury or loss inflicted to herslf. It is entirely Davina’s fault if she had too many glasses of champagne prior to her meeting with Simon and totally forgot to inform him about her allergic food reaction. This act shall hold her liab le for contributory negligence. The fault shall be shared by Jamie and Davina. There was also a mistake committed by Davina by coming to the restaurant in a sober mood, and totally disregarding to report to Simon about the allergic food reaction that she possesses. This act redounds to inaction, omission and oversight on the part of Divina. The Law Reform Act 1945(Contributory Negligence) provides for apportionment of blame between the

Political Parties Essay Example for Free

Political Parties Essay The five agents of socialization heavily influence a person’s political beliefs and views on different issues. Family and friends can influence a person on major political positions and even affect if that person considers themselves liberal, conservative, or moderate. A liberal is open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values. A conservative holds to traditional attitudes and values and is cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion. A moderate holds moderate views in politics and sits between the extremes of liberal and conservative beliefs. Because more Americans see both sides of complex issues and see both parties as overly ideological and wish politicians would compromise more, they identify themselves as moderates than as liberals or conservatives. The term political moderate can generally be used to describe someone who doesnt hold views on the far edges of the political spectrum. Moderates can be known to possess lower levels of political information and less likely be politically engaged than those who are closer to one of the ideological poles. Since they are so open to different ideas they may feel less involved in the political process; however, moderate is a favorable term in politics, one that condones pragmatism as opposed to extremists or radicalisms. Pragmatism allows for a variety of views on any philosophical topic. In the 2012 American National Election Study, 31 percent of Obama voters rated themselves and Obama as â€Å"moderate† or â€Å"slightly liberal,† while 21 percent of Romney voters rated both themselves and Romney as â€Å"moderate† or â€Å"slightly conservative. † Some of these people may identify with a particular party or describe themselves as independents. If they consider themselves members of a party, such as the Democratic or Republican Party, they will be open-minded about ideas from the opposition parties. One reason more Americans consider themselves moderates can be because of how open-minded the public is becoming on different issues, such as gay marriage and the legalization of marijuana. Americans sense there is not only black and white on issues, but also gray spots they want to explore and learn about. Being too extreme with a political ideology can be harmful, because the politicians will not open themselves up for compromise or too hear the other issues stance. Moderates can hold a few beliefs on the far edges of the political spectrum, but their overall philosophy is more centrist. Most moderates do not feel really comfortable with any political party, but their views can often lean in one direction or another or another to some degree. Political moderates are less active in politics overall when compared to people in the liberal or conservative ideologies, because they have more aggressive viewpoints. Moderates may feel less passionate about issues, or overall pay less attention to politics on a day-to-day basis. Since the average American knows very little about our federal government and the issues that take place, that can also be a reason why more Americans consider themselves as moderates. They may hear an issue form the liberals side and agree with it, then hear an issue from the conservative side and agree with it. Liberals overwhelmingly, with 75 percent, worry government is not involved enough in the economy, while conservatives mostly, with 60 percent worry government is too involved in the economy; moderates lean toward the liberal side of the argument, with 53 percent saying not enough involvement to 40 percent who say there is too much involvement. Only 23 percent of moderates favor a larger government that provides more services (liberal view) and 37 percent favor a smaller government with fewer services (conservative view). Majorities of moderates believe government should play a role in creating equal opportunity for every American (liberal view), but moderates also believe that government has created incentives for poor people not to work (conservative view). More moderates see undocumented immigrants as hardworking people trying to care for their families (liberal view) and a slim majority disagree with the idea that giving them citizenship would reward bad behavior (conservative view). Americans share a wide range of political and cultural values as we can see with these political view examples. They can agree with an issue on one side and disagree with an issue on the other side. They are open minded to each side of the arguments and take into consideration each factor to form their belief. Moderates think that parties, Democratic and Republican, are overly ideological and wish that the politicians would consider each side of the arguments on different issues to compromise more. They see both sides of complex issues and can have a range of different views from each of the liberal and conservative side. The American public has been more open than ever to different values and beliefs and that is why more Americans consider themselves moderates, than liberals and conservatives.

The arc welding of mild steel

The arc welding of mild steel Introduction The microstructure of a material is significant when it comes to the properties and characteristics of a particular material. It would be perfect if the properties and characteristics, which are related to the microstructure, of the parent metal, heat affected zone and the weld metal is the same. However the probability of occurrence of such a situation is very less since the parent metals are used in the wrought form and the weld metals are used in the cast form. Wrought materials got superior strength, ductility and toughness when it is weighed against the materials in the cast form. Even then the weld metal properties draws near the properties of the wrought material, since it is a minuscule casting which is rapidly cooled. This situation is particularly related with the ferrous materials, which includes mild steel also (Houldcroft and John, 1988). The report holds the information regarding the development of microstructure during the arc welding of mild steel plate, changes which occur in the heat affected zone and the change in the structure of the steel when the carbon equivalent of the steel was increased. Mild steel Steel with a low carbon content of 0.25% is known as mild steel. Mild steel is easy to weld and fabricate because of its low carbon content since it would not get harden by heat treatment. This leads to the lack of hardened zones in the heat affected zones and welds, even though there is quick cooling. As the carbon content increases, the ease in welding reduces because of the quenching action (Davies, 1993). Welding Welding is primarily classified into two welding methods and they are (1) Plastic welding and (2) Fusion welding. It can be further fragmented into eight divisions on the basis of its specific processes and they are (1) Cold welding, (2) Thermit Welding, (3) Gas welding, (4) Resistance welding, (5) Arc welding, (6) Braze welding, (7) Forge welding, (8) Induction welding. The welding processes such as Cold welding, Pressure welding, Resistance welding and Forge welding comes under the Plastic welding division whereas the welding processes such as Gas welding, Thermit welding, Induction welding and Arc welding belongs to the Fusion welding processes (Clark, 1962). Arc welding The electrode material and shielding technique are the basis of classification of Arc welding processes. In mass production, the automatic welding technique is very important and the Arc welding technique is well adapted to it. Added on to this, Arc welding technique imposes a lot of flexibility to the joining of both thin and heavy sections of a material. Another trait of Arc welding process is that the heat application in this particular welding process is highly concentrated when compared to other welding processes (Clark, 1962). Microstructure of weld metal The microstructure of the weld metal is primarily dependent upon the alloy content of the carbon steel. Whereas in carbon, carbon manganese and micro-alloyed steel, the weld metal microstructure is mainly affected by the welding procedure and composition of the weld. According to Lancaster, 1999, the microstructure of Carbon-Manganese alloy steel is affected by the aspects such as cooling rate, composition, plastic strain and the presence of non-metallic nuclei. Figure 2.1 shows the effect of cooling rate and composition on structures produced in the weld. The above details show that the steel containing less than 0.30% C will have similar microstructures after the welding process. During the Arc welding of mild steel a number of discrete structural zones, such as unaffected, transition, refined, coarsened, fusion and deposited metal zones are formed. These zones are shown in the diagram and it is compared with the relevant section of the iron-iron carbide diagram. Many of these zones will not be having discrete line of demarcation and they appear to be merged together (Clark, 1962). Unaffected zone In the unaffected zone, the parent mild steel is not heated to an adequate amount to reach the critical range. Therefore, the structure is unchanged and the unaffected zone represents the archetypal grain structure of the parent mild steel. The figure shows the microstructure of the unaffected zone of mild steel. It consists of a typical combination of ferrite and pearlite (Clark, 1962). Transition zone Next to the unaffected zone, there exists a region where there is a temperature range, between the A1 and A3 transformation temperatures, in which a limited allotropic recrystallization takes place and this particular zone is known as the transitional zone. The transition zone has a microstructure of both ferrite and pearlite. But the size of the pearlite region will be different from that in the unaffected zone. The pearlite region will be much finer which is due to the heating of the mild steel to the critical range and due to the cooling after the heating process. During the heating process, the pearlite will be transformed into austenite and then transformed into finer pearlite grains on cooling (Clark, 1962). Refined zone After the transition zone, comes the refined zone. In this zone, the temperature is heated just above the A3 temperature and the finest grain structure exists in this region as a result of the extensive grain refinement. The figure shows the microstructure of the refined zone of the mild steel. The microstructure consists of much finer structures of pearlite and ferrite. These structures are formed from the austenite which existed at a temperature just above the upper critical temperature (Clark, 1962). Coarsened zone The region next to the refined region is known as the coarsened zone. In this zone, the temperature is higher than the A3 temperature and the grain structure will be coarsened. When it comes to the coarsened zone, the microstructure will be dominated by pearlite grains and ferrite will be of smaller grain. Due to the prevailed rate of cooling, the pearlite will show a higher rate of finer grains than that existed in the original pearlite areas, when it is magnified (Clark, 1962). Fusion zone The actual melting of the parent metal takes place when the temperature is higher than the solidus and the zone in which this takes place is known as the fusion zone. In the fusion zone, the microstructure will be of a very coarse structure. This type of structure is common in mild steel where the particular structure is formed from the large austenite grains when the cooling rate is of a medium pace. The following figure shows the microstructure in the fusion zone (Clark, 1962). Deposited metal zone The deposited metal zone is a zone along with the fusion zone where there is a coarse grain structure and it happens when a filler metal is added to the weld. The structure of deposited metal zone is shown in the figure. As you can see in the figure, the microstructure consists of columnar structure of ferrite and pearlite (Clark, 1962). Heat affected zone The possibility of performing a welding process without building up a thermal gradient in the parent metal is almost negligible. The temperature and the speed of the welding process is very influential in deciding the spread of heat into the parent metal. The thermal gradient will get compressed by the high power welding at high speed (Houldcroft and John, 1988). The schematic sketch of a weld, heat affected zone and relevant portion of the iron-carbide phase diagram is shown in the figure 3.1. The base metal is heated up to a peak temperature and it varies along with the distance from the fusion line. If the lower critical temperature, A1, was surpassed by the peak temperature, then there will be a transformation from ferrite to austenite. This transformation will be complete and an austenitic microstructure is formed when the temperature goes beyond the upper critical temperature, A3. The ferrite structure is stable at room temperature and has bcc crystal structure whereas the austenite structure is stable at high temperature and has fcc crystal structure (Raj et al, 2006). The heat affected zone of an arc weld in steel is classified into three regions, such as supercritical, intercritical and subcritical regions, from a metallurgical perspective (Lancaster, 1999). The supercritical zone The supercritical zone can be classified into the grain growth region and the grain refined region. Coarse grain heat affected zone (CGHAZ) is the term which is used to refer to the region of heat affected zone where extensive growth of austenite grains takes place when the temperature goes beyond the temperature of 1300 degree Celsius. The region next to the CGHAZ, which is at a temperature range of 900 to 1200 degree Celsius, is known as the Fine grained heat affected zone (FGHAZ). In this region of the steel, the austenite grain size remains small (Raj et al, 2006). The intercritical zone The intercritical region is narrow when compared to other zones and partial transformation takes place in this zone. The region of HAZ, which is having a temperature range in between the critical temperatures A1 and A3 is referred as Inter critical heat affected zone (ICHAZ) (Raj et al, 2006). The subcritical zone In the subcritical zone, not much observable alteration in the microstructure will be there except the occurrence of a small region of spheroidization, which is difficult to detect. The tempered zone and unaffected base material comes under this zone (Raj et al, 2006). The microstructures such as ferrite and other metastable phases are formed during the cooling cycle of a welding process, from an austenite microstructure which was formed at high temperatures. For welds produced with adequate pre-heat or for high heat input welding, the cooling rate will be less and this leads to the formation of a mixture of ferrite and carbides whereas in a high cooling rate scenario, microstructures such as bainite or martensite are formed from austenite. The formation of bainite and martensite is also affected by the amount of carbon content and alloying elements. This particular trait of steel to form a hard microstructure such as bainite or martensite from austenite phase when cooled at high rate is generally referred to as hardenability and this increases with the austenite grain size and alloy content of the steel. Therefore in the case of mild steel, the microstructure of the heat affected zone (HAZ) is of carbide and ferrite after performing an arc welding even if it is performed without any preheating (Raj et al, 2006). The effect in the increase of carbon-equivalent of steel The carbon equivalent plays an important role in deciding the microstructure of the steel. Along with this, the cooling rate during the welding process too plays a decisive role in this regard. The probability of formation of martensite or bainite in high carbon equivalent steels is high and in order to avoid that situation, use of distinctive techniques, such as preheating and post-heating are required (Clark, 1962). Carbon equivalent calculation In order to discuss about the effect of carbon equivalent in deciding the microstructure of mild steel during the arc welding process, first we have to discuss the formula which is used to calculate the carbon equivalent of steel. The carbon equivalent can be calculated by the formula. CE= C% + (Mn%)/6 + (Cr%+Mo%+V%)/5 + (Ni%+Cu%)/15 (Davies, 1993). This formula is relevant to the plain carbon and carbon manganese steel but it is not applicable to micro-alloyed high strength low-alloy steel or low alloy Cr-Mo type. Due to Ito and Bessyo, the formula used by Japanese Welding Engineering Society is Pcm= C + Si/30 + (Mn+Cu+Cr)/20 + Ni/60 + Mo/15 + V/10 + 5B (Lancaster, 1999). As mentioned in the previous sections, the formation of hard microstructures such as bainite and martensite is dependent upon the cooling rate as well as the carbon equivalent in the steel. During the welding process of mild steel, the heat will be absorbed faster by the steel and creates a sudden fall of temperature (Raj et al, 2006). Here, steels with three different carbon contents are compared with the help of an Iron-Iron Carbide Equilibrium diagram. The steel with less than 0.83 percent carbon content is known as hypo-eutectoid steels, steel with 0.83 percent carbon content is known as eutectoid steel and steel with more than 0.83 percent carbon content is known as hypereutectoid steel (Clark, 1962). Steel with 0.1% carbon content This type of steel belongs to the hypo-eutectoid steel. As you can see from the Iron-Iron carbide diagram, when a 0.1% C steel is cooled at an appropriate rate from 2800 F to room temperature, a mixture of austenite and delta solid solution is formed from the delta solid solution and liquid. On further cooling, grains of austenite are formed from the former followed by formation of ferrite and austenite. By the time the cooling is done till the room temperature, a microstructure of ferrite and pearlite will be formed (Clark, 1962). Steel with 0.8% carbon content This form of steel has a composition which is very near to the composition of eutectoid steel. During the process of cooling of this steel from 2800F, the transformation starts from the molten state into a liquid and austenite form. Then on further cooling, formation of austenite followed by the eutectoid called pearlite will occur (Clark, 1962). Steel with 1.2% carbon content This form of steel belongs to the hypereutectoid steel. During the cooling process of this steel from 2800F, the transformation starts from the molten state of steel into a liquid and austenite form. Then on further cooling, there will be formation of austenite, combination of austenite and cementite, and ends with ferrite and cementite at room temperature (Clark, 1962). Conclusion Microstructure of steel is a very important deciding factor when it comes to its properties and behaviour. It is obvious from this report that the cooling rate during the welding process, composition of weld metal and the type of welding process plays a vital role in the formation of the different form of microstructures in the weld metal. The weldability and hardenability of the steel depends a lot on the carbon content of the steel to be welded. As the carbon content of steel increases, the weldability of that particular steel decreases and its hardenability increases. This proves that the composition of the weld metal plays an imperative role in the characteristics of a welded material. This report illustrates that the weldability of mild steel is quite good and the role of composition of mild steel in achieving so. It also gives you an idea about the various changes that occur to the microstructure of the mild steel during the arc welding process. References Clark, D. and Varney, W. (1962) Physical metallurgy for Engineers. 2nd edition New York: D Van Nostrand Company. Davies, A.C. (1993) The science and practice of welding, vol 2, The practice of welding. 10th edition Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Houldcroft, P. and John, R. (1988) Welding and cutting. 1st edition Cambridge: Woodhead-Faulkner Limited. Raj, B., Shankar, V. and Bhaduri, A. (2006) Welding Technology for Engineers. 1st edition Oxford: Alpha Science International Limited. Lancaster, J.F (1999) Metallurgy of Welding. 6th edition UK: Abington Publishing.

Men and Women: As Interpreted by Deborah Tannen Essay -- essays resear

Did you know, â€Å"men and women talk differently because they are raised in something like two different cultures: a male culture from which young men learn to speak like men and a female culture in which young women learn to speak like women?†(Cooper and MacDonald 9). Well, not actually from two separate cultures, but the idea of men and women being opposites as pointed out in the opening. Deborah Tannen has made her theory that a male culture and female culture each exist, very popular with the human population and has written an extensive book on her theory. To define these communication conundrums, Tannen discusses â€Å"rapport-talk† and â€Å"report-talk†. She defines â€Å"rapport-talk† as â€Å"For most women, the language of conversation is primarily a language of rapport: a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships† (Cooper and MacDonald 10). Rapport-talk has its strong points focused on showing similarities and matching experiences. Women choose private speaking as the best places for communication. They like small settings and small groups of people that they know well. Tannen uses â€Å"report-talk† to explain how men communicate. â€Å"Report-talk† is â€Å"For most men, talk is primarily a means to preserve independence and negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order† (Cooperand MacDonald 10). Men choose to communicate in public settings, they like to hold center stage by talking as much as possible and to be recognized and acknowledged as h aving a place in th...

The Reason Behind the Flooding of Great Salt Lake Essay -- Terry Willi

The Reason Behind the Flooding of Great Salt Lake In Refuge, Terry Tempest Williams blames a natural disaster—the overflowing of the Great Salt Lake in Utah--for the destruction of the place she loved most in the world, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. What Williams attempts to explain, however, is that this disaster wasn’t really â€Å"natural† at all. Refuge is critiqued by some for being over-dramatized, and Terry Tempest Williams is often criticized for blaming the world and others for the loss of the bird refuge. In fact, Williams is correct when she says that humans are responsible for the flooding of Salt Lake, which was caused by the construction of a railroad causeway that split Great Salt Lake into two bodies of water. The author is not a reckless finger-pointer, she is a realist. In describing the bird refuge before the flooding, Williams goes into great detail about the abundance of birds and vegetation that inhabited her paradise: â€Å"Avocets and black-necked stilts are knee deep in water alongside interstate 80. Flocks of California gulls stand on a disappearing beach†¦I inhale the salty air. It is like ocean, even the lake is steel-blue with whitecaps†(Williams 30). In a visit to the bird refuge with her grandmother, she describes the refuge as a place full of life, with countless birds among beautiful plants and wildlife. Indeed, the bird refuge was a sanctuary to her; there was something magical, she writes, about seeing the thousands of different birds in one place, a sight that kept her going back. The rise of Great Salt Lake engulfed the refuge, and as the flooding continued, the population of birds plummeted, Williams’ sanctuary turned into a graveyard filled with only memories of the birds she grew ... ...e the ones most affected by flooding, are also those where the poorest residents live. In 1987, three pumps were used to pump 800,000 acres of water into the West Pond of Salt Lake in an attempt to even out the water levels on the two sides of the lake. This effort to fix the lakes’ problems, which cost $60 million, became known as the West Desert Pumping Project. The project went on for more than two years, until 2.7 million acre-feet of water, containing 695 million tons of salt, were pumped out. (www.ugs.state.ut.us/online/PI-39/pi39pg08 ) These pumps were successful in balancing the lake’s water levels, and remain on standby in case of another disastrous rise. It remains to be seen, however, whether this corrective measure will restore Great Salt Lake’s wildlife—and particularly the birds that Terry Tempest Williams treasured—to their pre-causeway levels.

Income Security for Women Essay

The Employment Insurance (EI) is a leading insurance program that revamped the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program introduced in 1940. The EI reduces dependency on the state for income support. After being introduced in 1996, minor changes were done to the EI frequently. Earlier under UI, women’s jobs and unemployment risks were not covered or less covered. The EI focused mainly on women’s entitlement to increased maternity/parental benefits. The new Compassionate Care Benefit (CCB) benefits woman to provide end-of-life care to family members. Introduction of EI and Canadian Health and Social Transfer (CHST) are interpreted as a measure to consolidate a neo-liberal welfare state. It is a kind of market approach to social issues. Earlier, the liberal welfare state was built around the male bread winner model. During that time, adult women benefited only through male earners in the family. The adult worker model expected caretakers to work more to meet the care needs. Women suffered the consequences because of this approach and it resulted in falling birth rates and stress-related productivity problems. The EI addressed most of the issues concerning caretakers but then the 1996 EI reform hurt women more than men. Because, women were expected to meet the male norm to qualify for benefits and also the entrant/re-entrant (NERE) rules were tough on women. The motivation behind was to make people take any or all available work. Part-time workers and seasonal workers found it difficult to qualify for benefits. The self-employed – many women – were out of the system. The intention was to promote labor force attachment. Women workers in precarious jobs could not meet the NERE rules. Employees with irregular jobs could not meet the average insurable earnings based on the last twenty-six weeks of work. This rule was later relaxed in high-unemployment regions. Employees with dependants in the family qualified for family supplement (FM). Women were expected to work for a minimum of 35 hours a week (to meet 700 hours in 20 weeks) to qualify for maternity/parental benefits. Many women failed to qualify. The requirements were later decreased to 600 hours and the NERE rules were adjusted. The maximum parental benefits were received by 93% of women recipients though it is gender neutral. On the whole maternity/parental benefits are a positive measure liked by many. Compassionate Care Benefits (CCB) allows employees to take care of the gravely ill or dying child without putting their jobs or income at risk. 600 hours of insurable employment are needed to qualify for up to six weeks of compassionate Care Benefits. Here again, self-employed, part-time and non-standard work employees find it difficult to qualify. The state is more focused on resolving care giving issues. This created gender inequalities in insurance benefits. Though changes are done to fine tune regular benefits and to give impetus to special benefits, women are benefited only if they are mothers. Since labor force attachment is vital to access parental benefits, some women are restricted from access to benefits due to inequalities in work pattern such as part time employment. Suggestions according to the author on areas where EI can be improved: 1) Women’s income security needs to serve by better progress 2) Implicit use of a male work norm in setting EI parameters to be addressed. 3) Care related work has to be free from NERE eligibility rules. 4) Part time worker should be made available for benefits based on their hours of work. 5) Minimum devisor should be dropped. Benefit formula should use the best X number of weeks for a longer time frame. 6) Self employed workers should be considered for both regular and special benefits. 1) What did you learn from this piece? The Canadian government initiated Unemployment Insurance (UI) in 1940. This was gender biased and did not cover women’s jobs and their unemployment risks. As a result women suffered the consequences for long. A major reformation on UI came in the form of Employment Insurance (EI) Act in 1996. The EI was proposed to reduce the dependency of employees on the state for income. The gender biases and better access for women to the EI were addressed in the subsequent reforms of EI. Whenever there was a reformation of the EI, a particular group of employees were either not benefited or less benefited from the EI. For example, under UI, the EI maternity/parental benefits expected 700 hrs of work from an employee for 20 weeks. This criteria disqualified many women workers who worked less than 35 hours a week. Women who worked part time and women with children found it difficult to qualify. The new entrant/re-entrant (NERE) requirements were stringent for women who had already taken maternity leave. Later, in the reform process, the government reduced the 700 hours to 600 and readjusted NERE rules. At regular intervals the government improvised on EI and UI policies thereby consolidating the neo-liberal welfare state. The crux of the matter is that the women employees who benefit from the changes are largely mothers. There are many women in precarious jobs, self employed and live in high unemployment areas without access to the benefits of EI. The new programs of the state should try and bridge these gaps. 2) Is there anything in this writing that made you think differently? Explain. According to McKeen and Portar, the EI reforms are heading towards consolidating a neo-liberal welfare state. Well, this means that the state’s emphasis is on the primacy of market. It rewards ‘Good’ workers and punish ‘Bad’ workers. ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ alone do not determine the social well being. The prime concern is ‘Will the state insulate its economy from the globalization process? Will it prevent people facing higher levels of unemployment and job insecurity? ’ If yes, the next step is to bring more EI reforms by securing women’s employment without getting mired in the globalization process. Yielding to the international competitiveness of the market will have repercussions on the society. 3) What is the most significant contribution of this writing? The author Martha MacDonald has clearly pictured how women employees were caught unawares in the midst of the Unemployment Insurance (UI) that was built on the male bread winner model. The consequences led to falling birth rates and stress related productivity problems. Even the 1996 reforms of regular UI benefits hurt women more than men. Women had difficulty qualifying for new entrants/re-entrant (NERE) rules. The end of the 20th century has seen some good results in EI reforms by allowing women to have better access to EI benefits, however, the women who benefited are mothers than those in precarious jobs, self employed, part-time or seasonal workers and residing in high unemployment areas. 4) What is your ‘critique’ of this piece? â€Å"Procrastination is the thief of time† – Edward King The state waited all these years hesitating to bring quick reforms to allow women to have better access to EI benefits. As the author rightly says â€Å"The result was that the states broader social and economic feedback effects are now being manifested in falling birth rates and productivity problems. † Besides explaining women’s poor access to EI, the author explains the gradual developments in the EI chronologically with reference citations to reputed authors. As a scholarly piece of writing, â€Å"Income Security for Women: What about Employment Insurance? † has all the influence to promote her suggestions on how women’s income security could be better served through new programs. This short piece is a wealth of information for anyone who wants to know the real scenario on Employment Insurance with regard to women employers and their income security. In other words, it is a pool of data, a healthy interpretation of EI developments, a logical conclusion through scholarly effort and fruitful ideas for a prospective EI reforms. 5) Questions for class discussions: i) Do you think the neo-liberal welfare state and the EI reforms can go hand in hand benefiting each other? Explain. ii) What will be your stance on the latest EI reforms? iii) Imagine that you have talents and resources to get self employed. Will you hesitate to become self employed because of the poor access to EI benefits? iv) Is there any woman in your family who faced difficulties due to poor access to UI? Share your experience.