In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

Class divisions persist

(TIMESONLINE) A report out of the UK says that the educational gap between the rich and the poor is growing. The study by the University and College Union showed that working age people with degrees in the most affluent areas grew 8.4 per cent in the last four years where the least affluent areas showed a dip of 0.5 per cent. The report comes out a day before the government announces new initiatives to increase opportunity for access to higher education.

1.

British class divisions in the 1800s and the birth of communism

Marxists Internet Archive
In 1844, Friedrich Engels was a German social scientist living in Manchester, England. In The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, the father of communism gives a detailed account of what he calls appalling labour conditions and issues a warning about the evils of capitalism. The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 appears online here in its entirety.

2.

Government strategy for increasing social mobility in UK

HM Government
This website outlines the New Opportunities initiative undertaken by the current UK government under Gordon Brown. The press release says the program will bring fair chances for economic success to all British people by providing funding for families, schools, and workplace initiatives for the underprivileged.

3.

New Opportunities, really?

British Medical Journal
The British Medical Journal analyzes the application of the government’s New Opportunities initiative. While the cash transfer scheme model has been successful in Latin America, the paper examines its feasibility and applicability to its first world target: the United Kingdom.

4.

History and future of Canadian healthcare system

National Centre for Biotechnology Information
Healthcare is available to all Canadians regardless of race, gender or social class. While many take pride in this universal system, many worry that the current model is becoming unfeasible. This website gives a history of healthcare and points to possible solutions and directions for the future.

5.

Facebook is classy like me

danah boyd
On this website, social media researcher Danah Boyd examines United States class division in relation to social media. She says that Facebook is used by the middle-to-upper-classes where MySpace is used by the poorer classes. In her analysis, she looks at income, geography and education levels for each group.