Class Structure and Welfare

The class structure in the UK is divided into three parts namely the  Upper,Middle and working class.The Upper class is made up of the rich and influential and this class includes the Royal family,Noble men,Bishops, Senior politicians and top entrepreneurs who have a sense of power and huge land owning and also enjoy incomparable extravagance of display of their wealth.

Next is the middle class which includes the professionals, doctors, lawyers and those in managerial jobs while the working class consist of cleaners,store keepers and low income earners.

In Nigeria we also have three classes namely the upper class,middle class and lower class.The upper class is divided into upper class and upper middle class. The upper class comprises of the president, the people in the office of the presidency, top government officials, the wealthy royal families, formal presidents, elders in council. While the upper middle class is made up of top military officers, top entrepreneurs, top politicians, top academicians.
Just like the upper class, the middle class is also divided into upper-middle class and lower-middle class. The upper middle class is made up of the professionals, top business men, lecturers while the lower-middle class comprises of small business men and women, public servants and teachers.
The lower class, this can also be called the working class. This is where the majority of population of people in my country can be found. This class consists of the petty traders, brick layers, temporary job workers and so on.


Welfare is a lot better in the UK in terms of basic amenities, social security, health insurance, security of lives and property and access to the justice system.In Nigeria as well as almost every African nation such things are still a mirage and non existent due to corruption,backwardness and many other factors.The politicians make sure they are none existent so the citizenry will continually remain under their control.


REFERENCES


Class and Culture (2012) BBC Two Television, 25 February. Available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01cmxck/Melvyn_Bragg_on_Class_and_Culture_Episode_1/
(Accessed: 12 March 2012).

Quality of life

Going to a new university comes with a lot of changes especially in a situation where one is going to school in a foreign country where you are not familiar with the culture,style and environment.In such a case there are a lot of factors that can determine the quality of life in that new environment.

There are a lot of factors or determinants both positive and negative that can affect the quality of  my life at the University of Glamorgan.These factors could determine how good or bad the quality of my life in Glamorgan would be.

FOOD:Food for me is a big factor for me and as someone who does not play with how I feed,the fact that I cannot get my local food here is a negative factor.

RACISM:Racism is a negative factor for me because it has happened to me once and I did not feel good for the rest of the week and I fear that if I ever experience it again I might break down.

COST OF LIVING:The cost of living in the UK is very high compared to what is obtainable in my country and this  could affect me negatively.I have to work part time to support myself and I think this might affect my studies.
HOMESICKNESS: The tendency to always remember loved ones and friends is always there for someone travelling abroad to school and this has happened to me quite a few times but I hope to overcome it soon.
Let's take a look at some of the positive factors

TEACHING STYLE IN SCHOOL: The style of teaching in Glamorgan  is very different from what I am used to and that is a good factor cause it will help me develop and equip me for the future.

HEALTH CARE:The quality of health care and emergency response in the UK is good and very high.This is one of the factors I think is going to affect my quality of life positively.

SECURITY:Security of life and property in  the UK is high and this is a big plus for me as a student.

In conclusion,I think that the quality of life that one lives in Glamorgan varies individually and it is a matter of what you choose to be a major factor that will determine whether things turn out good or bad.

London Riots

The riots in London last summer were as a result of the shooting of a 29 years old man named Mark Duggan by officers of the Metropolitan Police in Tottenham.It became evident as the riots went on for days and spread to other cities like Birmingham,Manchester and Liverpool that the riots had gone beyond the killing of Mark Duggan.Many people joined the protest to protest against other issues in the society,looters both young and old,male and female saw a chance to break into stores and cart away valuable goods that they could not afford hitherto the riot.
 
According to Lewis et al.(2011) a research by The Guardian in collaboration with the London School of Economics into the cause of the riots showed that some of the reasons for the riots were:

• People saw it as an opportunity to vent their anger and frustration towards the police.
• Most of the people that participated in the riots were young and unemployed people who saw it as an opportunity to loot.
• The poor handling of the shooting by the Metropolitan Police also angered people to join the riots.
• People saw the riots as an avenue to vent their anger towards government and some of it's policies.

Personally I feel that most of the reasons above are purely personal.People saw this as an opportunity to protest against the government.Some of the rioters might have had experiences with the police that is why they were eager to partake in the protests that led to the riots.If the police can look into its relationship with the citizenry and also check indiscriminate use of firearms future occurrences such as this can be avoided.

REFERENCE:
Lewis,P.,Newburn,T.,Taylor,M. and Ball,J.(2011),'Reading the riots:Rioters say anger with police fuelled summer unrest',The Guardian, 4 December [Online]. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/05/anger-police-fuelled-riots-study (Accessed:09 March 2012).