Saturday, January 25, 2020

Choice based letting system

Choice based letting system Committee report on the advantages and disadvantages of choice based letting. Summary This report sets out the advantages and disadvantages of moving to a choice based letting system. 1. Introduction. 1.1. The Communities and Local Government Department introduced the Choice-based Letting (CBL) scheme in 2001 as a pilot programme. The programme was intended to offer ‘choice and make more ‘transparent the letting procedure to the consumer. Based on the Delft model, it was intended to â€Å"replace the points-based allocation system with a lettings service that home seekers could understand†. The Delft model was developed in the Netherlands as a replacement for distribution model or the allocation of social housing via a waiting list. 1.2. This report is intended to highlight the 2. Needs based allocation and its issues. 2.1. Choice in the public service sector has been on the British political agenda since the late 1990s which in turn has forced a revaluation of needs- based allocations. The social rented sector, which consists of local authorities and housing associations, since the 1970s has based housing allocations on ‘need. This has been achieved by allocating ‘points to indicate if a household was living in temporary accommodation, inappropriate accommodation due to overcrowding and/or unacceptable accommodation due to disrepair and condition. 2.2. The ‘needs based system of allocation has become established within the social housing sector as the method for allocating council houses, and with the use of other criteria such as waiting time has endured for over thirty years within the sector including the shaping of guidance and legislation. Needs based allocations were based upon a list of ‘reasonable preferences categorised as †¢ families with dependent children and pregnant women; †¢ people occupying temporary or insecure accommodation; †¢ persons with a particular need for settled accommodation on medical or welfare grounds; †¢ households whose social and economic circumstances mean that they have difficulty securing settled accommodation; and †¢ Statutorily homeless households. 2.3. Within the research some critics have expressed issues with the needs based allocation system. The above categories show the concept of ‘need is narrowly defined and as such has not been implemented correctly, the ability to wait for a better house ensures that those in less ‘need can obtain better quality housing. Discrimination of the sort that is unconnected to housing needs, such as racism, is still present within the system . Specific issues regarding needs based allocations include the unpopularity and complexity of the points system, the suspected tendency of applicants or landlords on a points based system to exaggerate their need in order to secure additional points. Another issue is the idea that this system results in an area becoming overrun with poor and disadvantaged households occupying a single tenure, social rented housing. 2.4. Other, more general inefficiencys relating to the needs based system include the amount of offers to the consumer that are turn down, the large proportion of applications that are of date but still remain on the waiting list, areas of low demand that bureaucratic rationing fail to address and the opinion that the need based system is highly coercive and gives the consumer no real prospects to articulate their opinions or chose accommodation that is to their preference. 2.5. Overall the needs based or bureaucratic rationing system to some commentators and consumers is unpopular and overly complex. The consumer has no concept of the points system and those that do adopt a regime of points chasing. 3. How Choice-based Lettings works 3.1 Choice-based Lettings (CBL) replaces the traditional way of allocating housing under which housing officers seek to match applicants who have priority on the waiting list to available vacancies. CBL allows applicants for social housing (and existing tenants seeking a move) to apply for available vacancies which are advertised widely (eg in the local newspaper or on a website). Applicants can see the full range of available properties and can bid (ie. apply) for any home to which they are matched (eg a single person would not be eligible for a three-bedroom house). The successful bidder is the one with the highest priority under the scheme. Authorities provide feedback that helps applicants to assess their chances of success in subsequent applications. 3.2 Choice Based Lettings is a new approach to letting homes which will make lettings arrangements more transparent and give prospective tenants more control over the lettings process. Rather than homes being allocated by the council, choice based lettings allow tenants and prospective tenants to bid for the available properties they are interested in. Available homes will be advertised on the internet and a bi-weekly property magazine, which will allow applicants to see what Council or housing association housing is available in the area and enable them to play a greater role in the process of selecting their home. 3.3 Choice based lettings will not increase the amount of available social housing. However, people seeking re-housing will have accurate information on how many homes are actually available, where these homes are located and their chances of being housed. As the system is much more transparent, housing applicants will have all the information necessary to make their own informed choices. Bidding All registered home-seekers will be able to ‘bid for the homes advertised. Bidding can be done through the internet, by phone, by text or by coupon. The property magazine will list many details including a photograph of the property, its location and the size of household that the home is suitable for. People will only be able to bid for a property suitable for their household size. A shortlist of bidders will be drawn up and the home-seeker in the highest priority will be offered the property. If they do not want to accept the property it will be offered to the next highest bidder and so on. Other Options One of the advantages of the transparency of choice based lettings is that it helps people understand the likelihood of being re-housed, and consider options other than being housed by the Council or housing associations. There are many other alternatives to social housing available to home-seekers in Thanet and we will regularly publicise alternative options, such as the Councils Rent Deposit Scheme, and promote the role of the Housing Options Team in working with home-seekers to resolve their housing difficulties. Information Applicants have more information on their housing opportunities. They will see the number of properties available and the level of priority of successful bidders. Choice based lettings will also provide a place to advertise opportunities for shared ownership, and hopefully in the future private rented options. While creating greater choice for people seeking re-housing, choice based lettings encourages people to take greater responsibility for their future housing. It helps people who are unlikely to get into social housing to consider other options to meet their housing requirements. Support Other statutory and voluntary agencies that support vulnerable members of the community will have an important role in ensuring their clients benefit from Choice Based Lettings. We will help train these agencies so they can support their clients to bid for properties. Our Housing Options team will also provide advice and support. There will be a variety of ways to bid. People will be able to choose a method which suits them. Information will be available in public areas and we will also have a procedure where people can bid on the behalf of others, e.g. relatives and friends, staff or support workers, who may have problems otherwise. We will monitor people who do not bid to find out why this is happening and see if there is anything we can do to help them. There will be more publicity on choice based lettings before the launch so that everyone is aware of the new system, and where they can go for more information and help.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Point of View in Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson” Essay

Point of view is an essential element to a reader’s comprehension of a story. The point of view shows how the narrator thinks, speaks, and feels about any particular situation. In Toni Cade Bambara’s â€Å"The Lesson,† the events are told through the eyes of a young uptown girl named Sylvia. The reader gets a limited point of view because the events are told strictly by Sylvia. This fact can influence the reader to see things just as she does. The strong language gives a unfamiliar reader an illustration of how people in the city speak. Bambara does this to show a different kind of life that may be new to the reader and may aid in the comprehension of the street life. The reader gets a sense of Sylvia’s personality in the very beginning of the story as she talks about Miss Moore. Sylvia’s opinion of her is not one of fondness. She says that she hates Miss Moore as much as the â€Å"winos who pissed on our handball walls and stand up on our hallways and stairs so you couldn’t halfway play hide-and-seek† (307). By comparing the hatred to something she enjoys, we see what a kid in the slums does for fun. Sylvia feels that Miss Moore always plans â€Å"boring-ass things for us to do† (307). Miss Moore seems to be different from what Sylvia is use to. Sylvia harps on the fact that Miss Moore is educated. This shows that Sylvia is not use to being around educated people. She dislikes the fact that Miss Moore is a woman with â€Å"nappy hair and proper speech with no makeup†(307). Sylvia continues to describe her as a â€Å"nappy head bitch and her goddamn college degree† and would rather do things that are fun instead of listening to her. Miss Moore attempts to teach the children about the difference of how some people spend money. Sylvia feels insulted and thinks Miss Moore is calling them â€Å"retards† when she asks the group do they know what money is. The first lesson is to figure out how much of a tip they are suppose to leave the cab driver. Sylvia wants to keep the money and jump out of the cab and spend the money on some barbeque. Theft seems to be a common feature within the group. Later, when they are at the store, Sugar asks â€Å"can we steal† (308). Miss Moore shows the kids the prices of several objects and they are amazed at some of the costs. They try to figure out how long they could save up to buy things such as a thirty five-dollar birthday clown. The children think about how thirty-five dollars would be used to buy necessities instead of luxuries. The kids think that only white people would buy the objects that they see. Rosie Giraffe says that â€Å"white folks† are crazy in the way they spend money. This exemplifies the difference in the standard of living from one part of society to another. Ultimately, Bambara wants to show the reader that there is a different view of life through the eyes of someone from the city. The attitude of Sylvia and her friends is an attribute to their surroundings. The lesson that they learn is one that the reader receives also. Bambara shows how some people can spend money on items that seem unimportant to the kids. Sylvia appears to brush off the whole experience by constantly criticizing Miss Moore and thinking negative thoughts of her. In the end, the reader can see that Sylvia has soaked up some of the events and wants to strive to have some of the finer things. The fact that â€Å"ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin† shows that Sylvia is going to be the best of anything she pursues (312). Bambara wants the reader to see that there is another type of lifestyle in the city. It is not to belittle Sylvia and her peers just to show that there is a difference of values. In this novel, that value is the difference of spending money.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Taking a Look at Culture Shock - 743 Words

Culture shock can be described as a psychological disorientation caused by a misunderstanding or disagreement arising from cultural differences. Though there has been numerous discussions on the most contemporary definitions of culture shock, it is commonly agreed that it is a normal reaction when an individuals with core values, beliefs, customs and behaviours experience when encountered with new environment and, more importantly, new culture. The term ‘shock’ is, though its degree varies with people and may not be recognised at all, normally used to describe discomfort, stress, anxiety and even confusion and disorientation individuals may experience while undergoing cultural adaptation. A number of factors can arouse culture shock, including a loss of familiar signs and symbols such as words, facial expressions and customs. Another important factor is cultural incompetence resulting from insufficient exposure to different culture. In that sense, while culture shock is the term mostly implied to visitors or immigrants who arrived to another country, and hence another culture, this indicates that a local community can be culturally shocked to another local community as well. For example, cultural differences between Aboriginal people in Australia and the country’s dominant social population could invoke culture shock between one another. â€Å"Crossing the line† features a number of examples of culture shock. This one-hour long documentary highlights this by exploring eightShow MoreRelatedCulture Shock By Peter L. Berger990 Words   |  4 PagesL. Berger once said, â€Å"The sociologist routinely experiences culture shock in his own home.† The definition of cultural shock is when someone finds himself or herself in an environment that’s unfamiliar and someone doesn’t really know how to act or do. 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Canada is seen as the country of mosaiques because we fit everyone in, everyone is welcome. Freedom: in Canada everyone has human rights, such as, the right to speak up, wear whatever clothing you like, practicing another faith, we do not have a dictatorship, and are against violence, etc. Free health care: everyone has access to it Equality: Men and women are seen as equalsRead MoreSepsis : A Systemic And Response Of The Immune System1244 Words   |  5 Pageskidneys and the heart, which often results in multiple organ failure with the possibility of death. Sepsis can develop into septic shock which is the point where the patient’s blood pressure drops to a dangerous level due to the presence of bacteria in the body. 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Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Code of Ethics Essay - 2083 Words

The organization I work for is a Multi national corporation, for now we are a business unit of a publically traded company. This assignment came at a unique time as we the business unit I work in was just purchased by a private equity firm based in England. Our corporate headquarters is based in California and we have offices in South America, Europe and Asia. We are a unique organization as most of us work from home offices and rarely set foot in our offices, but visit our customer’s offices quite often. This model provides a unique challenge for developing a Code of Ethics (CoE); we must take into account the customs and norms of the regions we are working in. The CoE I have developed is based on the following core principles:†¦show more content†¦We must ensure proper Communication. Communication is an area of concern in my organization, it is easy to miscommunicate with our customers about what our products can and cannot do. This can be an issue internally as we ll, since English is second language for a large percentage of our development team. Proper communication also involves setting and managing the customer’s expectations. Many issues can be avoided by keeping the customer and project managers aware of issues or delays. I have been involved with projects where the sales team led the customer to believe that our software had certain functionality that it did not have. When this occurs it puts the consultant in a sticky situation, and can make everyone look bad. Proper communication can also help prevent puffery and implied falsity. This will also help to prevent complaints similar to what Stock Value Inc. and Comstar Communications had filed against them by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), for making false claims about a product they marketed to for cell phones (Ferrel, et al., 2011). Confidentiality is key, we must be careful discussing the projects we have done with other customers. 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Such procedures exist in general unconnected on or after lawful or organizational processes an d shielded on or after the lawful assessment or proceduresRead MoreThe Ethics Of A Code Of Ethics1648 Words   |  7 Pagesmajor stakeholders can be proud of, codes of ethics are created as a set of guidelines for every involved stakeholder to follow and adhere to. In his conclusion (Lambert, 2009) states that the development and subsequent implementation of a code of ethics is a critical part of establishing a value system within the commercial crime prevention discipline. He further goes on to say that, as a value system, the success of this endeavor lies not in whether the code makes staff behave, but rather moreRead MoreCode Of Ethics And Ethics1203 Words   |  5 Pagesissues will arise that will force you to educate yourself further with the AAMFT Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics are beneficial to the well-being of the therapist and can prevent them from getting into a legal bind. I will be discussing the outcomes to several issues given, and also addressing what I would do personally when faced with these oppositions. The questions require me to constantly review my AAMFT Code of Ethics and apply them to the issues that have arisen. I will have to consult withRead MoreEthics And Code Of Ethics815 Words   |  4 Pagesincluding no windows or running water - were against his personal definition of right, good and fair. Even though the case study does not describe clearly, one could easily assume that these practices do not comply with the key values and the code of ethics and conduct that Felipe’s company is likely to have. The fact that Felipe was immediately shocked with the labor conditions shows that it goes against what his company practices in his home country, triggering the filters of â€Å"policies† and â€Å"universal†Read MoreCode Of Ethics And Ethics Essay1527 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction. This code is important for our employees, customers, shareholders and partners. This code explains and summarizes our stander that protects the company s reputability and its business from any risk. Moreover, it shows how we deal with our partners. We believe that our success depends on the actions of our members and partners. Because of that, we are committed to make sure that everyone in our company is compliance with this Code and other law. †¢ Binding scope. This Code of Ethics is written