Indian Child Workers And Poverty Sociology Essay

Indian Child Workers And Poverty Sociology Essay As I visit my country- Pakistan, I see children on the streets begging, some selling flowers and newspapers to the people on the road. When I pass a car mechanic shop, I see boys as young as 5 years old covered in car grease fixing engines. While passing a street restaurant, I see young boys taking orders from customers. At the rubbish disposal site, I see young boys scavenging through waste to find food sometimes, or scrap metal. As I visit my relatives back home, I see Elizabeth, a twelve year old working as a domestic servant in the house, mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms. Child workers are everywhere in Pakistan, the critics of this claim need to open their eyes and heart to feel the troubles of their less privileged fellow countrymen. The factors contributing to child labor are interconnected; however it is mainly due to poverty and lack of education, that children are coerced into the labor force. In the Human Development Report, conducted under the United Nations Development Program, the human development index was measured to compare Pakistan to other countries in the world. According to the Human Development report (2009), The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income). The index is not in any sense a comprehensive measure of human development. It does not, for example, include important indicators such as gender or income inequality nor more difficult to measure concepts like respect for human rights and political freedoms. What it does provide is a broadened prism for viewing human progress and the complex relationship between income and well-being. In 2007, among the 182 countries examined, Pakistan was the 141th r egards to the HDI value. This clearly indicates the grave economic situation of Pakistan. According to the CIA World Fact book (2010), Pakistan has a GDP per capita of $2,600 and it is ranked 171 compared to other countries. With poverty rates as high as 24% and unemployment rate 15.2%, marked as 153 compared to the world, it is obvious that Pakistan is going through an economic downturn. According to Unicef (2009), Food and economic crises have increased food insecurity. Prices of essential food items rose over 35 per cent in 2007-08, compared to an 18 per cent increase in labour wages, the ongoing struggle to make ends meet is breaking the back of the poor. With a population of 175 million people, Pakistan is ranked 6th around the world in terms of population. 36% of the population of Pakistan lives in cities, the rest of the 64% lives in the rural parts of the country. Chaudhry, Malik and Hassan (2009) have examined that Punjab, one of the four provinces of Pakistan constitutes 5 6% of the countrys population and a 36% of Punjabs population is accounted being poor. Poverty is one of the main contributing factors of child labor in Pakistan, with almost a quarter of the nations population struggling to make ends meet, the children of poverty stricken families are left to no resort, but to mend their lives by helping their families in earning a living. ADB (2010) considers poverty the main source of child labor in Pakistan. According to Unicef (2009), it is estimated that Pakistan has about 3.3 million children aged under 14, working as child laborers. However, according to the United States Bureau of International Labor affairs (2010), it is stated that the rough estimate of child laborers in Pakistan could be from 2 million to a staggering 19 million. This could be due to the inability to address the issue of child labor and not performing surveys to determine up to date statistics. Ahmed (July 13, 2008) cites this issue by commenting that the latest survey o n child laborers was conducted 14 years ago and the population has increased by 30 million since then. Child laborers have their childhood stolen away from them; forced to work for long hours, these children dont have time to play or study as other privileged children of Pakistan. The United States Bureau of International Labor affairs (2010) cites the state of child laborers working in carpet industries which thrive on the nimble hands of these children, The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan states that work units in rural areas have more child labor than urban areas. In these village units, the children are mostly girls, some only six or seven years old; boys are barely eight. Working conditions are poor, lighting and ventilation inadequate, hygienic conditions substandard, and the work area hot and humid. Workers complain of coughs and sickness. The workers usually work 10-hour days, with no holidays and are paid on a piece-rate basis. Child workers pay is as low as 10 rupees ( approximately 37 cents) per day; teenagers, however, earned 20-30 rupees (74 cents to $1.13) per day, and can even get 50 to 75 rupees ($1.87 to $2.81) per day for superior quality carpets. With a meager amount of wages and the vulnerability of getting sick, these child laborers plights fall on deaf ears. Frequently abused and punished by their employers over small mistakes or delays in handling the work, these poor childrens miseries are never ending; Child weavers suffer work-related injuries and illnesses, such as injuries due to sharp instruments, respiratory tract infections, and body aches. They also remain uneducated, 42 percent never having attended school and 58 percent having dropped out (ILAB, 2010). One of the old and the harshest realities of bonded child labor is that the child laborer is indebted to its master till the bondage debt is repaid. Although bonded child labor is prohibited by the Pakistani law, but people find loopholes to find their way out. According to I LAB (2010), Bonded labor has long been a feature in brick kilns, carpet industries, agriculture, fisheries, stone/brick crushing, shoe-making, power looms, and refuse sorting. The Bonded Labor Liberation Front estimates that eight million children are bonded in Pakistan. Half a million are allegedly bonded in the carpet industry alone. Silvers (1996) writes that the hypocritical masters of the bonded child laborers use exploitive methods to employ these children, it is compliance, long productivity hours and inexpensiveness that make theses children a lucrative deal. A documentary by SPARC, a NGO working to raise the plight of child laborers shows Hyderabad, a city famous for its glass bangles. However, little is known that these bangles are made in factories that employ children. These child laborers work up to 16 hours a day for less than a dollar, in front of the scorching heat of the furnaces. Consequently, they develop diseases such as asthma, Bronchitis and TB. In another scen e, Javaid- a scavenger ploughs through rubbish to pick anything he finds valuable enough to sell and earn a living off; he says his parents find it difficult to support the big family, thats why he feels an obligation to help out with the earnings (SPARC, 2008). Silvers (1996), writes that children in rural parts of Pakistan are indoctrinated to work to help the family. The mindset of bondage is embedded in to the young minds at a very early age, thus these children dont find it wrong, but rather look up to it, unaware of what lies ahead of them. A twelve year old girl named Irfana worked under bondage before being set free; she reported that her master would treat them like livestock. Girls were often raped and the boys were severely beaten. Bonded labor is usually owned by feudal land owners and in Pakistan; most of these feudal landowners are working in the government or have a very strong backing. Bokhari (July 24, 1996) states, If bonded labor has a long history, it also has st rong political backing in Pakistan. Many critics claim that almost two-thirds of the members of the federal parliament in Islamabad and the four provincial legislatures are landowners who would resist any plans that are seen as hostile toward their fellow landowners. Most of the members of parliament in the Sindh [provincial] assembly belong to the Zamindar [landowners] class and it is in their interest not to raise their voices against the bonded labor, says Ali Hasan, a journalist à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Poverty is one of the factors that root from illiteracy. Unicef (2009) states that HYPERLINK javascript:void(0);PakistanHYPERLINK javascript:void(0);HYPERLINK javascript:void(0);s per capita expenditure on health is only US$18, of which US$4 is public expenditure, compared to the recommended US$45. Less than 2.5 per cent of GDP is spent on education, compared to HYPERLINK javascript:void(0);the recommended 2.8 to 3.6 per cent. According to the Unicef , from the year 1998 to 2007, only 1% of the central government expenditure was allocated to health, 2% to education and 16% to defense (2009). Poor access to quality education in the weak primary education system contributes to child labor. Primary education has been made compulsory in Provinces like Punjab, Sindh and NWFP, little is done to enforce the law. Either there are not proper facilities to accommodate children or lack of teachers in some areas. The most affected by this dilemma are the inhabitants of the rural parts of the cou ntry; primary school gross enrollment is 71%, with a large dropout rate (Unicef, 2009). According to Levi (1971), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦poverty has frequently been cited as a cause of primary school dropouts both because poor families can- not afford school fees or other expenses and because it is necessary for children to work to help support the family. The extent of the traditional agricultural sector may better reflect the need for child labor than does GNP per capita. Countries which have a greater segment of their population in the subsistence sector may have both lower incomes and a greater need for child labor. This proves the mindset of the parents who take their children out of schools or who dont send them to school at all. The main reason behind it being, that they cannot afford to run large family expenses on their own. High birth rate is considered an asset for the families, who look forward for the child to grow up and help out with family expenditures. In a survey conducted on Punjab, a total 3,708 questionnaires were filled in 309 households. Literacy of the household, irrelevant of the degree of literacy has a negative effect on child labor in the family (Siddiqi, 2009). In another analysis from the Pakistan Integrated Household Survey, conducted under the patronage of the World Bank in 1991, as a part of Living Standards Measurement Survey; 4,800 households were covered in 300 communities, divided between rural and urban localities. It was found that the cost of primary schooling is Rs 126 a year for a child who doesnt work and Rs 165 for a child who works. Lower school attendance was accounted for high transportation costs. In comparison to working and non-working children, the factors contributing to child labor were found to be lack of education among adults, less landownership and low per capita expenditure. It was also found that greater the distance of a community from other populated areas, the higher the chances of child labor. Among the sa mples, 61% had attended schools. From the total number of boys sampled, 81% has attended school at some stage and out of the girls proportion sampled, on 39% had ever attended school. In the final analysis, the primary schooling cost was directly proportional to the probability of the child working and indirectly proportional to school attendance. Education and child labor are interconnected, The International Labor Organization considers improvement in access to schools and school quality to be the most effective way of reducing child labor in less developed countries (Hazarika and Bedi, 2003) The Employment of Children Act of 1991 prohibits the use of child labor in hazardous works and environments. The Bonded Labor Act of 1992 abolished bondage labor and any bonded labor before the law was ordered to be set free. According to ILAB (2010), In Pakistan, a child is defined as a person younger than fifteen. The legal minimum age for employment is 14 for shops and commerce, industry, and work at sea, and 15 for mines and on railways. Though the laws are present, the enforcement has not been adequate enough to tackle the problem. Enforcement of child labor laws in Pakistan is hampered by the lack of manpower and expertise in the Department of Labor and a general acceptance of child labor, according to Professor Omar Noman (Ibid). The plights of the child workers usually go unheard, Tariq, a Bondage Labor Liberation Front worker inspected a carpet factory where bonded child laborers as young as eight and nine year olds work. The findings were then reported to the Police sergean t in charge, Tariq told him about the conditions in the workshop, about the children. The sergeant was perplexed. Is this a crime? he asked. No one has ever complained before. What do you want us to do about it? Tariq suggested sending officers to investigate, along with a medical-services crew for the children. The sergeant left to consult his superior. Two minutes later he returned with the superintendent, a gracious, mustachioed man of fifty. We are not unsympathetic to your complaint, the superintendent informed Tariq. But the place you describe is registered as a home enterprise. It is run by a small landowner, and the workers are his immediate family. Family businesses are exempt from the labor laws. This enterprise is not illegal. The superintendent opened a binder and showed Tariq the workshops registration certificate. Tariq attempted to correct him, but the superintendent said, What you say may or may not be true. Unfortunately, our jurisdiction does not include child labo r. I have no authority to investigate a private workplace. I have no evidence that the children are working there against their will or that their lives are in jeopardy. The mechanism for doing what you ask simply does not exist here. (Silvers, 1996) Police, with bureaucrats are involved in corruption and turn a blind eye on the child labor issue in Pakistan. Although the laws are present against it as the government lauds, but very little action is taken to enforce it. The lack of acknowledgment from the government and people is the result of the situation regarding child labor in the country. Some economists argue that the third world nations benefit from sweatshop jobs, by offering worlds poor release from malnourishment and destitution. Low wage factories that employ children to make clothes and shoes for foreign market are a first step towards prosperity in developing countries. However, these sweatshop workers are paid low wages for long working hours. They dont have any labor rights or unions to discuss their rights. Often child workers are abused so to force them to work for long hours. Prosperity is not measured by the low earnings from these sweat shops, it is by educating the child. Although, the child laborer brings little money back home, however, the child is deprived off its right of education and the right of living a normal childhood. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that all children get basic education and their human rights should not be violated. Bringing prosperity to a developing country is by uprooting corruption, which lets child laborers take this step to trade their childhood and innocence with the burdensome labor for petty wages. Due to a combination of factors, such as ignorance from the parents of not educating their children, selling them as bonded labor, poverty, corruption of the government and the employers. Child labor is detrimental to the society of Pakistan. It robs the child off its right of education and hence getting higher paying jobs. Child labor is a temporary solution to poverty and not the ultimate solution.

Inventory Accounting at Wal Mart Stores Essay

From the annual reports we can conclude that Wal-Mart operates its stores as mass discount retailers, carrying between 60,000 and 90,000 different merchandise items in each store. Wal-Mart purchases more than $22 billion in merchandise, turning its inventory over as often as 4.5 times per year. Sam Club carries between 3,500 and 5,000 different merchandise items, acquiring more than $2.6 billion in merchandise. Wal Marts operations grew from 2003 to 2005. For example, the number of Wal-Mart stores increased and the number of Sam’s stores increased. WalMart utilized an extensive distribution and tracking system to maintain optimal inventories at each store. They use the retail last-in, first-out (LIFO) inventory accounting method for the Wal-Mart Stores segment, cost LIFO for the SAM’S CLUB segment. For both financial reporting and tax purposes, Wal Mart used the accrual method of accounting and maintained a perpetual inventory system. Under the perpetual inventory system, the cost or quantity of goods sold or purchased is contemporaneously recorded at the time of sale or purchase. The system continuously shows the cost or quantity of goods that should be on hand at any given time. WalMart performed physical inventories to confirm the accuracy of the inventory as stated in the books, and made adjustments to the books to reconcile the book inventory with the physical inventory. WalMart’s physical inventories were taken at its stores in rotation throughout the year. They did not take physical inventories during the holiday season (November, December, and the first week of January). WalMart refers to this technique, which is common in the retail industry, as cycle counting. Cycle counting is necessitated by the difficulty in conducting physical inventories at every store on the last day of the year. This technique also provides management with feedback on the effectiveness of its inventory management and facilitates the use of experienced personnel to conduct the physical inventories. Forty-five days prior to conducting a physical inventory in one of its stores, Wal-Mart’s internal audit department sends the store a preparation package, which included instructions on how to prepare for the physical count. Each physical count is then conducted by a team of independent  counters (18 to 40 persons) and representatives from Wal-Mart’s loss prevention department (1 to 2 persons), internal audit department (1 to 3 persons), and operations division (1 to 2 persons). Wal-Mart’s independent auditors, Ernst & Young, also sent representatives to randomly selected physical counts to test their accuracy. The independent counters generally counted every inventory item. The results of the physical count were then reconciled with the book inventory. The reconciliations is reviewed by Wal-Mart’s internal audit department. Generally, Wal-Mart does not record the results of a physical inventory in its books until the following month. Sam’s Club conducs its physical inventories in the same manner except that physical counts are usually taken twice a year and recorded the very next day. Sam’s also periodically conducted item audits, counting the goods on hand for a particular merchandise unit and recording those results the next day. The physical inventories of both Wal-Mart and Sam’s usually revealed shrinkage. Shrinkage (or overage) is the difference between the inventory determined from the perpetual inventory records and the amount of inventory actually on hand. Because shrinkage reduces profits, WalMart has devoted extensive resources to monitoring and mitigating shrinkage. There are many causes of shrinkage, including employee theft, customer theft, vendor theft, damage, accounting and recording errors, errors in marking retail prices, cash register errors, markdowns taken and not recorded, errors in accounting for customer returns, and errors in accounting for vendor receipts and returns. Because Wal Mart does not conduct a physical inventory at year-end, its perpetual inventory records do not account for any shrinkage that may have occurred during the period between the date of the last physical inventory and the taxable year-end. The parties refer to this period as the stub period. Left unadjusted, the book records could overstate income because the stub period shrinkage results in a decrease to ending inventory, thus increasing the cost of goods sold and reducing gross income. In adjusting its books to reflect stub period shrinkage, Wal-Mart estimates  stub period shrinkage for each store monthly by multiplying a retail shrinkage rate by the store’s sales during that month. At new stores, the retail shrinkage rate fixed by management at 2% of sales. Wal-Mart used that fixed rate from the date the store opened until its first physical inventory. After taking the first physical inventory at a new store, Wal-Mart computed a shrinkage rate for that store by dividing the store’s shrinkage at retail, as verified by the first inventory, by the store’s sales for the period starting with the date the store opened and ending on the inventory date. Sam’s consistently estimates the stub period shrinkage at .2% of sales. That rate was determined by management based on their analysis of historical results from warehouse operations. Wal-Mart estimates shrinkage for each store, but not for each department within each store. It used a series of computations to allocate the estimated stub period shrinkage to each department. Once these allocations were made, Wal-Mart used the adjusted ending inventory to make its LIFO computations, which were made on a division-wide basis and not at the individual store level. The practice of estimating shrinkage as a percentage of sales is prevalent in the retail industry. A company may estimate year-end shrinkage if the estimate methodology (1) conforms to the best accounting practice in the trade or business and (2) clearly reflects income. There is nothing in WalMarts accounting for inventory that raise suspicion about their inventory not reflecting true numbers. Inventories are not recorded in excess of market value. Historically, they have rarely experienced significant occurrences of obsolescence or slow moving inventory. However, future changes in circumstances, such as changes in customer merchandise preference or unseasonable weather patterns, could cause the Company’s inventory to be exposed to obsolescence or be slow moving. The inventory system is commonly revered as the finest in the retail industry and WalMart is perhaps the best example of the importance of a high  inventory turnover rate to succeed in this industry. Increased turnover and increased sales at the same time — that’s great inventory management.

Manager Role-Henry Mintzberg’s Management Roles Essay

There are three type levels of managers which are top level manager, middle manager, and first-line manager. Managers carry out functions, roles and skills. Management functions are planning, organizing, leading and controlling as stated by Henri Fayol. However, Henry Mintzberg defined management roles into three parts which are interpersonal roles, informational roles, and decisional roles. Besides, Robert L. Katz states that managers need three essential skills or competencies which are technical skills, human skills, and conceptual skills. The objective of this essay is to discuss the roles of manager in practice relate to Henry Mintzberg’s management roles. Based on the interview, it was found that the manager actually put into practice the skill introduced by Henry Mintzberg. Following discussion will be relates the manager interviewed with Mintzberg’s management roles. Description of the manager interviewed The manager interviewed (Ms. Ong) is thirty-five years old and has a marketing degree. She had been involved in managerial position for nine years. Now, she is the Corporate Affairs Manager in her current company, which is a position of middle manager. This company relates to communications technology. It is a multinational company which operate local and internationally. Instead, she has to plan and organize events to enhance relationship with business partners and customers. This is to ensure the company keeps on track with the suppliers and buyers from time to time on the updated products and services. Besides, she plan and organize the customer’s satisfaction survey to ensure customers satisfaction maintained at all times. Due to the survey, it is to improve and maintain the company’s reputation among customers. Her greatest achievement in the company is developed a new website for the group. She is maintaining the website to ensure the news is up to date. Definition and introduction to Mintzberg’s management roles The term management roles refers to specific categories of managerial behaviour (Robbins et al, 2006). From this sagacity, it shows the different roles have different behaviours are expected in different position. In Mintzberg’s ten management roles, he grouped the roles in three categories. First, those who concerned with interpersonal relationships (Interpersonal), follow up with those who concerned with the transfer information (Informational), and those who concerned with decision making (Decisional). Firstly, interpersonal roles required to perform duties that involve people and other duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature (Robbins et al, 2006). There are three interpersonal roles, which are figurehead role, leader role, and liaison role. These interpersonal roles are primarily concerned with provide information. Secondly, informational roles are managerial roles that involve receiving, collecting and disseminating information (Robbins et al, 2006). There are three informational roles, which are monitor role, disseminator role, and spokesperson role. It is primarily concerned with the information process with the information aspects of managerial works. Thirdly, Mintzberg identified decisional roles which revolve around making decisions (Robbins et al, 2006). This is the unique access of using information to the organizational decision making. There are four decisional roles, which are entrepreneur role, disturbance handler role, resource allocator role, and negotiator role. The top managers will make the decisions for the organization as a whole, while the supervisor makes decisions for his or her particular work unit. Henry Mintzberg’s management roles with manager interviewed As described above, Ms. Ong is a middle level manager. Middle managers included all levels of management between the first-line level and the top level of the organization who manage the work of first-line managers (Robbins et al, 2006). Ms. Ong as a middle level manager is responsible to attain the goals set by the top management. The first roles, which is the interpersonal roles is implemented much in the manager management roles. The manager interviewed mentioned that she uses very much interpersonal skills to ensure the ability to work with individuals and groups. This helps the manager to communicate with first-line and top management to process the information. The manager takes the responsibility to motivate members of the organization and ensure the organization keep on track with their goals to be attained. In the liaison role, the manager interacts with media on publicity for the organization to maintain the reputation. The leader role helps the manager to maintain relationship on developing network with the subordinates and media. This role gives the manager a unique position to collect information for her job. Secondly, the informational roles is the role the manager uses very much in managerial roles. In the monitor role, the manager receives and collects information. The information collected will processes and hand to the top management for decisions making. As an example, the manager will develop the Marketing Communication plans, promotional strategies and communication programmes to improve customers’ relationship. Yet, these plans need approval from the top management before it launch in the market. In the role of disseminator, the manager will produce monthly and quarterly newsletters and all other company’s publications into the organization. Besides, the manager plays the role of spokesperson by compile corporate information for release to press or public. Instead, the manager liaise with business partners on events or promotions pertaining to each products and services. As a corporate affairs manager, the manager plays her informational roles very well in the organization. Thirdly, as a middle level manager, the manager involves moderate little amount in decisions making. The manager accesses the information to the top management while the top level management will analyse and decide the best undertakings for the organization. Yet, as the corporate affairs manager, she has the responsible to review and approve selection of promotional media and agencies, then evaluate the cost effectiveness of the advertising programmes and campaigns to ensure maximum publicity for the organization. This shows how the manager captures the role of disturbance handler. It shows the manager will do the decisions making for her particular job unit not other than that. Overall, the manager interviewed has good social communication skills to communicate with the customers and business partners. These will ensure the organization’s reputation is well protected. The manager plays her roles well by applying Mintzberg’s management roles in her job. A manager should always apply the ten roles in Mintzberg’s management roles to handle their job. In addition, the manger mentioned that human skills stated in Katz theory is very much needed to deal with subordinates and business partners. By having the best performance of the subordinates, the manager will take action on giving some motivation rewards. Somehow, the manager thinks that rewards lead motivation in the overall performance in their group. This will ensure the overall group performance to be more efficient and effectively. Two stakeholders that impacts on the work of the manager interviewed Stakeholders are any constituencies in the organisation’s external environment that are affected by the organisation’s decisions and actions (Robbins et al, 2006). From the manager interviewed, there are many stakeholders such as employees, customers, business partners, media, and others. In this case, two important stakeholders chosen are employees and media. The manager states, employees are the important stakeholders in the organization. Employees are the subordinate that will contribute a lot in the organization. Each employee contribute one information or data, meanwhile the manager will collect and analyse the information or data. In the end of the day, it will process as an important document in the organization. To ensure the good relationship between employees, the manager will organize a party when they had done their project. This is to motivate the employees due to the organization goals are attained. Other than that, the manager will provide subordinates a cup of coffee or tea during the tea time break. Without a good relationship with the employees, the manager’s work will be futile. In the same time, the employees will willing to sacrifice and support the manager when the manager making decisions. Secondly, as a corporate affairs manager, the manager deals a lot with the media. Media plays an important role in helping the organization to achieve the goals. Meanwhile, it may create bias to the organization as well. In brief, media divided to two which are mass and electronic. In mass media, the manager deal with the editors to prevent bad press. Additionally, the manager will build good relationship with the editors in mass media to do advertising on new product releases or successful projects in the mass media. In electronic media, the manager will post all press articles on organization in the company website. This is to keep the company’s stakeholders update information. In conclusion, keeping a good relationship with stakeholders, the manager can achieve the organizational goals effectively and efficiently. The stakeholders will fully co-operate with the manager in the decisions making. They will serve or obey the order in advance. Conclusion The main objective of this essay is to understand the work of a manager in practice relates to Mintzberg’s management roles. Based on the interview of a corporate affairs manager in a multinational organization, it was found that Mintzberg’s ten management roles are being applied in the organization. In brief, Mintzberg’s management roles is categorized in three groups which are interpersonal roles, informational roles, and decisional roles. Besides Mintzberg’s management roles, in real life manager should apply other skills and theories to be more effective and efficient. References List McShane, V. G. (2003), Organizational behaviour, 2nd edn, McGraw-Hill, New York. Robbins,S. P. , Bergman,R. , Stagg,I. & Coulter, M. (2006), 4th edn, Prentice Hall, Sydney.

Analysis Of Concrete Carnival, By Danner Darcleight And...

In America, everyone seems to have a different idea about what goes on behind the grey, dismal walls of prison. For many of us, the idea itself conjures images of coiled barbed wire fences, chains dragging across the ground, somber faces behind rusting bars and those bright orange jumpsuits. These visions come from a variety of sources-- movies we’ve seen, the stories that we’ve been told and our own imagination that is constantly at work. However, the reality of prison life in America can only come from those who have stepped foot inside. Through memoirs written by Danner Darcleight and Ted Conover, I’ve had to reconsider some of these previously held visions of prison life. While Conover writes about the abusive relationship between the correctional officers and the prisons, through Darcleight’s writing we see the rewarding powers of having social life and the hopeful possibility for anyone to attain redemption. The first chapter of Concrete Carnival, by Danner Darcleight, as well as Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover has led me to re-evaluate these previously held visions of prison life, including the relationship between guards and inmates, social systems, and redemption. At some point in my lifetime, I had learned that in prison, the correctional officers are naturally very tough, to the point of abuse on the inmates. I assume this was learned from watching â€Å"The Green Mile† years ago, where violence between guards and inmates make up a portion of the plot. Conover’s