Definition and Discussion of Enlightenment Rhetoric

The expression  Enlightenment rhetoric refers to the study and practice of rhetoric from the mid-seventeenth century to the early part of the nineteenth century. Influential rhetorical works from this period include George Campbells Philosophy of Rhetoric, first published in 1776, and Hugh Blairs Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, first published in 1783. George Campbell, who lived from 1719 to 1796, was a Scottish minister, theologian, and philosopher of rhetoric. Hugh Blair, who lived from 1718 to 1800, was a Scottish minister, teacher, editor, and rhetorician. Campbell and Blair are just two of the many important figures associated with the Scottish Enlightenment. As Winifred Bryan Horner notes in the Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition, Scottish rhetoric in the 18th century was broadly influential, especially in the formation of the North American composition course as well as in the development of 19th- and 20th-century rhetorical theory and pedagogy. 18th-Century Era of Enlightenment Rhetoric Essays written on rhetoric and style in the 1700s include Of Eloquence by Oliver Goldsmith and Of Simplicity and Refinement in Writing by David Hume. On Conciseness of Style in Writing and Conversation by Vicesimus Knox and Samuel Johnson on the Bugbear Style were also produced during this era. Periods of Western Rhetoric Western rhetoric can be divided into distinct categories: classical rhetoric, medieval rhetoric, Renaissance rhetoric, 19th-century rhetoric, and new rhetoric(s). Bacon and Locke Thomas P. Miller, Eighteenth-Century Rhetoric British advocates of enlightenment grudgingly accepted that while logic could inform the reason, rhetoric was necessary to rouse the will to action. As propounded in [Francis] Bacons Advancement of Learning (1605), this model of the mental faculties established the general frame of reference for efforts to define rhetoric according to the workings of the individual consciousness...Like such successors as [John] Locke, Bacon was a practicing rhetor active in the politics of his time, and his practical experience led him to recognize that rhetoric was an inevitable part of civic life. Although Lockes Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) criticized rhetoric for exploiting the artifices of language to promote factional divisions, Locke himself had lectured on rhetoric at Oxford in 1663, responding to the popular interest in the powers of persuasion that has overcome philosophical reservations about rhetoric in periods of political change. Overview of Rhetoric in the Enlightenment Patricia Bizzell and Bruce Herzberg, The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings From Classic Times to the Present Toward the end of the 17th century, traditional rhetoric came to be closely associated with the genres of history, poetry, and literary criticism, the so-called belles lettres — a connection that persisted well into the 19th century. Before the end of the 17th century, however, traditional rhetoric came under attack by adherents of the new science, who claimed that rhetoric obscured the truth by encouraging the use of ornamented rather than plain, direct language...The call for a plain style, taken up by church leaders and influential writers, made perspicuity, or clarity, a watchword in discussions of ideal style during the ensuing centuries. An even more profound and direct influence on rhetoric at the beginning of the 17th century was Francis Bacons theory of psychology...It was not until the middle of the 18th century, however, that a complete psychological or epistemological theory of rhetoric arose, one that focused on appealing to the mental faculties in order to persuade...the elocution movement, which focused on delivery, began early in the 18th century and lasted through the 19th. Lord Chesterfield on the Art of Speaking Lord Chesterfield (Philip Dormer Stanhope), letter to his son Let us return to oratory, or the art of speaking well; which should never be entirely out of your thoughts, since it is so useful in every part of life, and so absolutely necessary in most. A man can make no figure without it, in parliament, in the church, or in the law; and even in common conversation, a man that has acquired an easy and habitual eloquence, who speaks properly and accurately, will have a great advantage over those who speak incorrectly and inelegantly. The business of oratory, as I have told you before, is to persuade people; and you easily feel, that to please people is a great step towards persuading them. You must then, consequently, be sensible how advantageous it is for a man, who speaks in public, whether it be in parliament, in the pulpit, or at the bar (that is, in the courts of law), to please his hearers so much as to gain their attention; which he can never do without the help of oratory. It is not enough to speak the language he speaks in, in its utmost purity, and according to the rules of grammar, but he must speak it elegantly, that is, he must choose the best and most expressive words, and put them in the best order. He should likewise adorn what he says by proper metaphors, similes, and other figures of rhetoric; and he should enliven it, if he can, by quick and sprightly turns of wit. Philosophy of Rhetoric Jeffrey M. Suderman, Orthodoxy and Enlightenment: George Campbell in the Eighteenth Century Modern rhetoricians agree that [George Campbells] Philosophy of Rhetoric pointed the way to the new country, in which the study of human nature would become the foundation of the oratorical arts. A leading historian of British rhetoric has called this work the most important rhetorical text to emerge from the 18th century, and a considerable number of dissertations and articles in specialized journals have eked out the details of Campbells contribution to modern rhetorical theory. Alexander Broadie, The Scottish Enlightenment Reader One cannot go far into rhetoric without encountering the concept of a faculty of the mind, for in any rhetorical exercise the faculties of intellect, imagination, emotion (or passion), and will are exercised. It is therefore natural that George Campbell attends to them in The Philosophy of Rhetoric. These four faculties are appropriately ordered in the above way in rhetorical studies, for the orator first has an idea, whose location is the intellect. By an act of imagination, the idea is then expressed in suitable words. These words produce a response in the form of an emotion in the audience, and the emotion inclines the audience to will the acts that the orator has in mind for them. Arthur E. Walzer, George Campbell: Rhetoric in the Age of Enlightenment While scholars have attended to the 18th-century influences on Campbells work, Campbells debt to the ancient rhetoricians has received less attention. Campbell learned a great deal from the rhetorical tradition and is very much a product of it. Quintilians Institutes of Oratory is the most comprehensive embodiment of classical rhetoric ever written, and Campbell apparently regarded this work with a respect that bordered on reverence. Although the Philosophy of Rhetoric is often presented as paradigmatic of a new rhetoric, Campbell did not intend to challenge Quintilian. Quite the contrary: he sees his work as confirmation of Quintilians view, believing that the psychological insights of 18th-century empiricism would only deepen our appreciation for the classical rhetorical tradition. Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres James A. Herrick, The History and Theory of Rhetoric [Hugh] Blair defines style as the peculiar manner in which a man expresses his conceptions, by means of language. Thus, style is for Blair a very broad category of concern. Moreover, style is related to ones manner of thinking. Thus, when we are examining an authors composition, it is, in many cases, extremely difficult to separate the style from the sentiment. Blair was apparently of the opinion, then, that ones style — ones manner of linguistic expression — provided evidence of how one thought. Practical matters..are at the heart of the study of style for Blair. Rhetoric seeks to make a point persuasively. Thus, rhetorical style must attract an audience and present a case clearly. Of perspicuity, or clarity, Blair writes that there is no concern more central to style. After all, if clarity is lacking in a message, all is lost. Claiming that your subject is difficult is no excuse for lack of clarity, according to Blair: if you cant explain a difficult subject clearly, you probably dont understand it...Much of Blairs counsel to his young readers includes such reminders as any words, which do not add some importance to the meaning of a sentence, always spoil it. Winifred Bryan Horner, Eighteenth-Century Rhetoric Blairs Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres was adopted at Brown in 1783, at Yale in 1785, at Harvard in 1788, and by the end of the century was the standard text at most American colleges...Blairs concept of taste, an important doctrine of the 18th century, was adopted worldwide in the English-speaking countries. Taste was considered an inborn quality that could be improved through cultivation and study. This concept found a ready acceptance, particularly in the provinces of Scotland and North America, where improvement became a basic tenet, and beauty and good were closely connected. The study of English literature spread as rhetoric turned from a generative to an interpretive study. Finally, rhetoric and criticism became synonymous, and both became sciences with English literature as the observable physical data. Sources Bacon, Francis. Advancement of Learning. Paperback, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, September 11, 2017. Bizzell, Patricia. The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings From Classic Times to the Present. Bruce Herzberg, Second Printing Edition, Bedford/St. Martins, February 1990. Blair, Hugh. Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, Paperback, BiblioBazaar, July 10, 2009. Broadie, Alexander. The Scottish Enlightenment Reader. Canongate Classic, Paperback, Canongate UK, June 1, 1999. Campbell, George. The Philosophy of Rhetoric, Paperback, University of Michigan Library, January 1, 1838. Goldsmith, Oliver. The Bee: A Collection of Essays. Kindle Edition, HardPress, July 10, 2018. Herrick, James A. The History and Theory of Rhetoric. 6th Edition, Routledge, September 28, 2017. Hume, David. Essay XX: of Simplicity and Refinement in Writing. Online Library of Liberty, 2019. Johnson, Samuel. The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: An essay on the life and genius of Samuel Johnson. G. Dearborn, 1837. Knox, Vicesimus. Knoxs Essays, Volume 22. J.F. Dove, 1827. Sloane, Thomas O. (Editor). Encyclopedia of Rhetoric. v. 1, Oxford University Press, August 2, 2001. Stanhope, Philip Dormer Earl of Chesterfield. Letters to His Son: On the Fine Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman. Volume 2, M. W. Dunne, 1901. Suderman, Jeffrey M. Orthodoxy and Enlightenment: George Campbell in the Eighteenth Century. McGill-Queens Studies in the Hist of Id, 1st Edition, McGill-Queens University Press, October 16, 2001. Various. Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition. Theresa Jarnagin Enos (Editor), 1st Edition, Routledge, March 19, 2010. Various. Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition: Communication from Ancient Times to the Information Age. Theresa Jarnagin Enos (Editor), 1st Edition, Routledge, March 19, 2010. Walzer, Arthur E. George Campbell: Rhetoric in the Age of Enlightenment. Rhetoric in the Modern Era, Southern Illinois University Press, October 10, 2002.

My Geriatric Assessment of Mr. Ta - 818 Words

Thank you very much for referring Mr. Ta for a geriatric assessment. The main concern is that of recurrent hyponatremia. He is an 86-year-old man who was born in Vietnam and came to Canada in 1995. He is married and lives with his wife, 2 sons and daughter-in-law and 2 grandchildren in a townhouse. He has 3 sons and 1 daughter. He speaks Cantonese. He has primary 3 education. He makes glass bottles. One of his sons, Wayne is with him for the interview today. Mr. Ta complained about having bilateral ankle sweating for a year. He has no orthopnea or paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. He uses only one pillow to sleep. There is no shortness of breath on exertion. He does exercise regularly. There are no recent falls. He had fallen about 2 years ago when he tripped on stairs. He sprained his leg, but was fortunately without any fractures or serious injury. He was previously on propranolol, but that has been changed to bisoprolol. He denied having any liver or renal problem. He denied having any memory problem. He is safe at the stove and the tap. He is independent in all aspects of basic ADLs. He bathes himself. For instrumental ADLs, he can prepare his own meals. He does the cleaning and can make telephone calls. His family helps with grocery shopping, laundry and financial management. He does not drive. He hand washes his underwear. He is an ex-smoker. He used to smoke less than a pack of cigarettes a day for over 40 years and stopped smoking in the year 2000. He

Human Resource In Global Economy †Free Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Human Resource Management In Global Economy. Answer: Introduction As organizations seek to improve their market share and presence, globalization has become an important consideration for organizations. Organizations have shifted their focus on capturing new markets in order to improve their profit ratios as well as gain competitive advantages in the modern corporate world that has been faced with high rates of competition. However as organizations diversify their operations and venture into new markets to gain a competitive advantage they still continue to face a number of challenges with the management of human resources within the global context .Majorly these challenges are related to management of human resources in the global context and organizational culture. Global human resource management refers to all sets of activities directed at managing human resources at the international level. The purpose of this report will be to analyze the various issues experienced by No Name Aircraft as explored in the case study. The report will first explo re the International management issues faced by the Aircraft, issues with training and performance management and finally provide conclusion on major issues and strategies and recommendations that can be used by the company. International management issues No name faces a number of international management issues such as customer-related issues, staffing issues, customer related issues and cross-cultural operation issues Cross-cultural operation issues Cross-cultural management refers to the study of behavior of people located in different cultures and countries around the world. As organizations become global the more they are faced with cross-cultural issues. It is important for organization operating in the global context to put in place measures to facilitate understanding, peaceful coexistence and collaborations among diverse employees at the workplace (Holden,2012). No name is facing a serious with regard to collaborations between and communication teams and the management .The main issue that is facing the organization is an unhealthy culture that is more focused more on individualism rather than teamwork as part of this communication has been majorly affected. No name has its headquarters in Australia and subsidiaries in three other countries including china, Vietnam and Singapore. These are countries possessing different cultures which need to be considered by the management. As part of globalization interaction of people from different cultures cannot be avoided. These Interactions can lead to conflict and cooperation at times. Communication challenges in global organization are not only because of language barriers but also because of different cultures among these people. The organization is faced with a major communication challenge that has affected communication that has affected communication not only at the headquarters but also between the headquarters and the subsidiaries (Barry, Dion Johnson,2008). Lack of integration among teams has made it relatively hard to function effectively within the organization. Lack of strategies to facilitate understanding between cultures has led to a disconnect both in communication and operations between the headquarters and subsidiaries. The low profitability of the company has been partly because of this Negative culture that has failed to promote cross-cultural operations in the organization. Customer related issues Customers are an important part of any organization, to some extent the success of an organization is dependent on the relationships that exists between the organization and its customers. Examples of customer issues include unsatisfactory services, unfulfilled promises, poor quality of goods and services, rude employees, being subjected to extra charges. Being given conflicting information among others (Knox van, 2014).These are serious issue which can cost an organization greatly because of its inability to attract and retain customers. No name is facing a serious issue from its customers related to the quality of products .The numbers of complaints from its customer who include both governments and non-governments have continued to increase. For an organization like No name which has established an international reputation customer complaints can significantly hurt its operations. Although complaints are natural in business operations but what matters is the extent and how organi zation react to them. Consumer complaints are used by organizations to establish their problems and be able to come up with strategies to enable retention of customers. It has been found out that customer who complain have a higher level of repurchase intention than those who do not complain. The organization is faced with a challenges of dealing with customer complaints emanating from poor quality of its goods for it to maintain global standards and reputation (Taleghani,et al,2011). Staffing issues Staffing refers to the process the management function that is concerned with the acquisition, training and development, appraisal and employee compensation. It facilitates having the right people in the right jobs and smooth operation of an organization. Due to the important nature of staffing as a management function, managers at all levels are required to continuously be engaged in the staffing function through recruitment, selection, training, appraisal and development of subordinates. No name is faced with a number of staffing issues. First the organization has a discriminative recruitment process whereby qualified people with disabilities are not considered for position within the organization. This is a serious issue that can lead the organization to legal disputes (Shen, 2009).Three is also a serious issue with the companys training and development. The level of performance in the organization indicates that there is a serious need for training and development however; there are no serious strategies to facilitate training and development. Employee training needs have not been met and there has been no attempt to understand each individual employees training needs. Training for expatriates is only undertaken for half a day which is hardly enough to facilitate effective functioning of employees in the new environment. Additionally there has been no attempt to understand each individual employees training needs with the assumption being that all employees have similar training needs. There has been an issue in that senior managers have not taken it upon themselves to develop junior employees to take up senior roles for fear of being sidelined for promotions. This is a serious issue that can hurt the organizations future success. Employee training and development can lead to increased job motivation and satisfaction among the employees, reduce employee turnover and increase organizational efficiency which generally contribute to financial success of an org anization (Korte, 2007).Lack of employee training and development has caused so much uncertainty among employees regarding their future career prospects and has resulted to poaching of some reliable employees from the company by other companies. Employee Intolerance issues Employee diversity means the act of possessing different attributes by employees at the work. Apart from cultural diversity teams within organization may possess other diverse attributes with regard to their age as well as their position within the organization (Dollard Bakker, 2010). There is a very high rate of intolerance among employees from different generations within the organization. Although there is a policy at the organization that requires employees to respect each other, the organization is particularly at its headquarters faced with the issue of intolerance towards working with employees from different generations in the organization. The most affected have been the apprentices whose relationships with senior staff have been strained. There has also been intolerance towards working with people with disabilities with their applications being ignored by the management. Every employee in an organization is important irrespective of the position that they occupy in the org anization. Employee intolerance hinders cooperation at the workplace which is quite important towards employee productivity. Lack of tolerance can also have an impact on organizational reputation and competitiveness (Markos Sridevi, 2010). Issue with performance and training management No name is facing a serious issue related to employee training and development .There is a general lack of emphasis on employee training and development. Performance Management Issue There are a number of issue that have led to the performance management challenges that are a facing the organization. Among the factors that have been attributed to improved performance in organizations are cultures, effective communication, an environment that encourages teamwork, employee feedback and programs that promote employee growth. However in order to manage organizational performance organizations need to have strategies in place that are aimed at improving the performance of employees. Performance appraisal is of the strategies that can be used to manage performance in an organization. Performance appraisal refers to the evaluation of employees performance in order to understand their individual abilities, identify areas of improvement and ascertain their training needs (Luthans, et al,2008) The organization has an inconsistent approach towards employee performance reviews where the organization subsidiaries have no performance reviews for their employees. While the orga nization is supposed to act as a unit that has employees doing similar roles in different countries, it is supposed to have similar strategies for employee performance management so that any expatriates find it easy adapting to new working environments. Lack performance reviews have also denied the abilities to understand the abilities of their employees in order to effectively meet their training and development needs. There has also been a disconnect as a result of poor decision making from the headquarters regarding performance management. As a result of having all decision making authority concentrated at the headquarters and having subsidiaries to rely on decisions made at the Australian headquarters has caused a lot of confusion in terms of performance outcomes. Performance management issues have also been caused by the organization's lack of policies to promote management within its Australian Branch as well as other subsidiaries as well as the lack of clear performance measures across the organization. Lack of cultural consideration when making a decision for the subsidiaries has also been a cause of the performance management issue facing the organization (Lin Lee, 2011). The cause of this has been a lack of effort towards achievement of similar objectives across the organization. Training and development There are a number of strategies that organizations can use to meet employees training and development needs. Performance management Employees form an integral part of organizations. Performance management is an integral part of organizational success, failure to recognize the important role played by employees in an organization can cause serious problems to an organization. It is the process through which a work environment or setting that enables optimal performance of employees is created According to ( Arguins , 2009) the main focus of human resource management in organizations is to optimally utilize an organizations human resources for the achievement of organizational targets. Performance management is meant to achieve this objective through maintaining, developing and motivating employees. An organization that focuses on performance management can attain a competitive advantage over its competitors. By adopting performance management as a strategy for fostering employee training and development the organization can be able to have an adequately motivated workforce attain better results, survive grow and e xcel in performance. The organization can focus on performance management to facilitate a meeting of both employee and organizational goals efficiently. This, in this case, can be achieved through focusing on employees performance. By creating an enabling environment the organization can be able to promote training and development of its employees (Jaksic Jaksic,2013). Mentorship Mentorship also plays an important role in improving the competencies of employees as it facilitates employees to become more competent in their jobs through skill advancement. According to (Hester Setzer, 2013).Mentorship facilitates a transfer of knowledge and experience from the very experienced in the organization to the least experienced in the organization. Mentorship facilitates demonstration performance of tasks, enables guidance through problem-solving or positive criticism of employees work. Mentorship may facilitate more engagement at work, facilitate career growth and enable network building within an employees profession (Mundia, 2014).The organization should adapt mentorship programs at the workplace to facilitate training and development of its employees. Conclusion and Recommendation Conclusion In conclusion, No Name is facing major challenges that have a likely impact on its operations. The organization is faced with issues such as unhealthy organization culture, lack of performance strategies, high levels of intolerance and lack of inclusivity the workplace. It is also faced with the challenge of quality maintenance, lack of employee training and development programs, especially at the subsidiaries. The organization can adopt mentorship programs, training and development strategies to solve the current issues affecting it. Recommendations Frequent performance reviews The organization should put in place strategies to facilitate regular performance reviews for its employees in both its headquarters and subsidiaries. The performance review programs should be similar. Performance reviews will ensure that the employees are able to check the progress of their performance besides facilitating identification of employee training needs. Promote diversity The management should also encourage diversity at the workplace. The can do this by setting an example by giving an equal chance to all people especially during the recruitment process. One of the issues identified is that the managements failure to consider applications for people with disabilities, by adopting a non-discriminative approach towards employment, the management can demonstrate the need for valuing diversity and establish an environment where diverse people can thrive. Holding regular meetings for all employees As identified in the case study there is a serious challenge of various groups of employees getting along well, additionally, employees to do not effectively understand each other. By coming up with programs where employees interact on frequent meetings where employees meet to interact and exchange ideas can create the much-needed cohesion at the work and promote more understanding between the diverse teams t the workplace References Hester, J. P., Setzer, R. (2013). Mentoring: Adding Value to Organizational Culture. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 6(1), 4. Barry, J. M., Dion, P., Johnson, W. (2008). A cross-cultural examination of relationship strength in B2B services. Journal of Services Marketing, 22(2), 114-135. Holden, N. (2012). Cross-cultural management: A knowledge management perspective. Pearson education. Taleghani, M., Largani, M. S., Gilaninia, S., Mousavian, S. J. (2011). The role of customer complaints management in consumers satisfaction for new industrial enterprises of Iran. International Journal of Business Administration, 2(3), 140. Knox, G., van Oest, R. (2014). Customer complaints and recovery effectiveness: A customer base approach. Journal of Marketing, 78(5), 42-57. Markos, S., Sridevi, M. S. (2010). Employee engagement: The key to improving performance. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(12), 89-96. Dollard, M. F., Bakker, A. B. (2010). Psychosocial safety climate as a precursor to conducive work environments, psychological health problems, and employee engagement. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83(3), 579-599. Shen, J., Chanda, A., D'netto, B., Monga, M. (2009). Managing diversity through human resource management: An international perspective and conceptual framework. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(2), 235-251. Korte, R. F. (2007). A review of social identity theory with implications for training and development. Journal of European Industrial Training, 31(3), 166-180. Lin, J. S., Lee, P. Y. (2011). Performance management in public organizations: A complexity perspective. International public management review, 12(2), 81-96. Luthans, F., Norman, S. M., Avolio, B. J., Avey, J. B. (2008). The mediating role of psychological capital in the supportive organizational climateemployee performance relationship. Journal of organizational behavior, 29(2), 219-238. Aguinis, H. (2009). Performance management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Jaksic, M., Jaksic, M. (2013). Performance management and employee satisfaction. Montenegrin journal of economics, 9(1), 85. Mundia, C. N. (2014). Role of Mentoring Programs on the Employee Performance in Organisations: A Survey of Public Universities in Nyeri County, Kenya. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 4(8), 393

The Urban Underclass Challenging THe Myths ABout Americas Urban Poor

The Urban Underclass: Challenging THe Myths ABout America's Urban Poor Paul Peterson and Christopher Jencks, co editors of "The Urban Underclass," and William Julius Wilson, a contributor to the book, will conduct a public symposium from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, in the Brookings auditorium. Discussants will include James Johnson of UCLA, Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute and Isabel Sawhill of the Urban Institute. The conference is open to press and other interested parties. If you plan to attend, please call 202/797 6105. ____________________________________________________________________________ FOR RELEASE: April 16, 1991 CONTACT: Paul Peterson, 617/495 8312 or Christopher Jencks, 708/491 8724 or Lisa Pullen, Assistant Public Affairs Director, 202/797 6105 Palatino Conventional wisdom asserts that the United States is witnessing a significant expansion of its urban underclass, that chronically poor percentage of the population inhabiting Americas central cities. Among the trends cited: An inevitable rise in the percentage of teen agers who are unmarried mothers, exploding welfare rolls, and legions of high school dropouts consigned forever to joblessness. Yet none of these perceptions is true, according to a new Brookings book, The Urban Underclass. Edited by Christopher Jencks of Northwestern University and Paul E. Peterson of Harvard, this set of essays attempts to separate the truth about poverty, social dislocation and changes in American family life from the myths that have become part of contemporary folklore. According to a number of indicators the underclass is shrinking, writes Peterson in his introductory essay. A higher percentage of the minority population is receiving high school diplomas, a smaller percentage of teenagers is having babies out of wedlock, both blacks and whites are experiencing fewer crimes committed against them, and the use of drugs is declining. Perhaps it is not so much that the situation is deteriorating as that Americans' social expectations are rising. The editors find that the most troublesome aspect of poverty, the rise in the percentage of children living in poverty, is due to the rise in female headed households and the decline in the earnings of young men. The United States has more children living in poverty than seven other industrialized nations used for comparison. In 1987, University of Chicago sociologist William Julius Wilson book, The Truly Disadvantaged presented systematic evidence of a growing concentration of the minority poor in large cities, economically and socially isolated from mainstream society. The Urban Underclass brings together 19 essays by sociologists, economists, political scientists, and policy analysts in a test of Wilson's theories, as well as those in other recent works, including Charles Murray 1984 book entitled Losing Ground. In his essay, editor Jencks shows that poverty rates declined from 1959 to 1974, but then progress stopped. Poverty has not become increasingly confined to blacks blacks constituted 31% of the poor in 1988, the same percentage as in 1967. Black poverty has, however, become more urban, making it more visible to opinion leaders, Jencks writes. A Different Kind of Underclass Jencks finds that poverty has not increased, but has simply changed. The proportion of individuals with family incomes below the poverty line, which had fallen steadily from 1940 to 1970, has not changed much since 1970, Jencks writes. Only the character of poverty has changed. It has become less common among the elderly and more common among children. Poverty has also become more concentrated among families in which the head does not work regularly. He argues that while some problems plaguing the poor male joblessness and increasing numbers of single parent families have gotten worse, others such as welfare dependency and teen age pregnancy have gotten better. Jencks finds that blacks, often seen as making up the underclass, constituted 45% of all welfare recipients in 1969. By 1987, the percentage had fallen to 40%. What has changed, Jencks writes, are the reasons for being poor. In 1968, 74% of the poor had what Americans consider socially acceptable reasons old age, physical disability, school enrollment and low hourly wages for being impoverished. This figure dropped to 54% in 1987, thus diminishing public sympathy for the poor, he argues. The essays acknowledge the impact of recent changes in American society, particularly the increase in female headed households during the past 20 years. The trend leaves too many children with impaired financial support, inadequate adult supervision and instruction, compromised security, fewer alternatives for establishing intergenerational relationships and fewer adult role models, writes Peterson. Additional essays in The Urban Underclass examine a wide range of issues concerning the poor, including the impact of economic change, the importance of labor market conditions and patterns of