essay on problems of homemakers

NOW and the Displaced Homemaker

In the 1970s, NOW began to ask hard questions about the women who were no longer “homemakers”, displaced from the only role they were thought to need.

What’s the economic value of housework? For a generation of middle-class women who raised families on their husbands’ income after World War II, the question wasn’t much asked. Many felt it didn’t need to be asked. Until it did. In the 1970s, a new social problem was brought to the nation’s attention: the “displaced homemaker.” This was an older woman who, widowed, separated, or divorced, lost her breadwinning husband and became stuck in a limbo of little or no income, no benefits, no experience in the labor force, and a job market with no interest in her.  

“The displaced homemakers campaign represented a pivotal moment in the history of the modern women’s movement in which feminists sought to shine a spotlight on the economic value of housework and the concerns of middle-aged housewives.”

Scholar Lisa Levenstein explores how the National Organization for Women’s (NOW) Task Force on Older Women, chaired by Tish Sommers, drew “ attention to to the ways ageism combined with sexism to limit women’s opportunities .”  Sommers, an erstwhile leftist of the Popular Front era, came up with the term “d isplaced homemaker” after her own divorce and discovery of feminism. She and other advocates “convinced thousands of older women to demand recognition of their unpaid labor in the home and to lobby for programs to meet their needs.”

The “family-wage ideal” of a male breadwinner and female homemaker “never accurately reflected life for many U.S. women,” but it was strong in white, middle-class households in the mid-twentieth century. By 1970s, however, major changes were well underway: each year of that decade saw an average of a million mothers joining the workforce. By the end of the decade, half of all white, Black, and Latina women held jobs, and “fewer than a one-quarter of all U.S. households had a breadwinning father and full-time mother.” The rules seemed to have changed, and a generation in their fifties and sixties was stranded.

The displaced homemakers campaign brought “unprecedented attention to millions of middle-aged widows and divorcees and instigated a national conversation about the economic value of housework.” The federal government, and thirty states, responded with services to help homemakers enter the labor force. Changes in Social Security and divorce law moved towards some recognition of the value of housework. The National Displaced Homemakers Network “coordinated four hundred programs serving women in need.”  

But then, in the 1980s, NOW—“the largest membership-based explicitly feminist organization in the nation”—turned its energies to passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution. Sommers’s campaign, criticized for its racial and class biases, largely faded from public view. Social reactionaries like Phyllis Schlafly counterattacked, arguing that feminists were anti-homemaker and would force women and girls to get jobs. (Schlafly, a lawyer who worked tirelessly outside the home for her conservative causes, helped frame the debate over the ERA, which ultimately failed to be adopted.)

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Levenstein writes that the “feminist goal of defining unpaid labor as economically productive remains largely unfulfilled.”

Noting that “one of the hallmarks of the modern women’s movement has been its highly generative yet almost constant culture of self-critique, frequently centered on questions of inclusion and exclusion,” Levenstein also points to one of the major problems with Tish Sommers’s approach. Sommers correctly identified how overlooked widows, divorcees, and older women were—but she concentrated on middle class, mostly white women. Sommers was “unabashed” in refusing to include welfare recipients in the displaced homemakers campaign.   A campaign built to “remedy an age-based exclusion in feminist politics foundered in part on its own exclusion of poor and minority women”—a fault-line other scholars and feminists of color have found to have been fundamental in second-wave feminism.

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• Family , Fatherhood , Feminism , Motherhood

Homemaking Isn’t Just for Stay-at-Home Moms

• July 6, 2023

In her outstanding essay published yesterday at Public Discourse , Ivana Greco argues that the federal government should do more to support homemakers.   

She makes the case first on economic grounds, describing how and why the economic contributions made by homemakers—such as the care of children and the elderly—are so often uncounted in measures of financial growth. She then shifts to a cultural angle, pointing to the ways that homemakers create and support the intermediary institutions and social cohesion on which a healthy society depends. She concludes by exhorting conservatives, in particular, to prioritize well-crafted support for homemakers. Although she doesn’t get into policy details in this essay, Greco has argued elsewhere for changes to the structure of retirement and insurance benefits, for example, that would remove the governmental thumb on the scale that currently pushes  families toward having two full-time working parents, whether they like it or not.  

In this response, I’ll focus on the cultural side of Greco’s argument. In particular, I want to underscore Greco’s point about the ways in which homemakers build social cohesion. But I’d like to complicate the picture a little bit, urging couples to think creatively about the best way to structure their division of labor. I t’s true that many women would leave the paid workforce and become stay-at-home moms if it were financially feasible for them to do so. But, in my view, that’s not the only—or the most likely—way to rebuild the networks of social connection that were once maintained by a nation of homemakers.

Rather, the key principle here is that of margin . On both a social and individual level, we should structure our work in ways that leave margin for relationships, allowing us the space to respond to the unpredictable needs and gifts of the people we encounter in our homes and communities.  

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Making Work Serve the Family   

Efforts to create more margin for relationships should acknowledge that homemaking and caregiving come in many forms. Greco primarily focuses on parents who have left the paid workforce entirely, yet many mothers who act as their children’s primary caretakers still perform some paid work.  

After having my second child, I completed a journalism fellowship focusing on the growing contingent of women who blend work and motherhood in unconventional ways. In particular, I focused on the identity shift that results from cutting back on paid work and focusing on childcare. In an autonomy-obsessed culture, the intimate connection between mother and child can be destabilizing. It disrupts carefully cultivated plans and pulls high-achieving women away from the types of work and accomplishment that earn both paychecks and accolades. 

Part of the difficulty is that the most powerful and transformative parts of “care work” are, by nature, private. They are illegible in the language of power and uncountable in the ledger of economic growth. Spotting my nine-month-old as she holds onto the coffee table, giving her just the right amount of freedom as she unsteadily but stubbornly stands; unraveling and soothing the tangled feelings fueling my six-year-old’s emotional outburst; seeing that my seven-year-old needs not just a philosophical answer to the scary question of why God lets bad things happen, but also a tight, long hug: these little challenges and opportunities happen countless times every day, but they aren’t discrete tasks on a to-do list that can be checked off.   

Part of the difficulty is that the most powerful and transformative parts of “care work” are, by nature, private. They are illegible in the language of power and uncountable in the ledger of economic growth.

An excessive focus on productivity can make this kind of patient presence more difficult to cultivate. Still, that doesn’t mean that there can ultimately be “ no happy harmony ” between work and motherhood. In psychological literature , the framework of “work-family enrichment” analyzes under what circumstances and by what means work and family roles enrich one another, as opposed to conflicting. In particular, there is a wide variety of “resources that can be generated in a role: skills and perspectives, psychological and physical resources, social-capital resources, flexibility, and material resources.” The “resources developed or nurtured in one role can increase performance in another role.” In other words, under the right conditions, your work can make you a better parent, and being a parent can make you better at your work.  

In my view, one of those necessary conditions is a well-ordered relationship with technology, particularly smartphones. In spite of their many benefits, the same tools that allows remote work to coexist with parenthood can also undercut the conditions that allow families to flourish. Technology is not neutral, and our phones are engineered to command our attention, to keep us scrolling on and on, always working more, buying more, wanting more. These habits of mind and heart conflict with the virtues called forth by parenting. It takes conscious and consistent effort to keep tools like smartphones in their place, serving the end of family life rather than subverting it.  

The unique skills and insights that emerge from working parenthood suggest that we shouldn’t relegate homemaking only to those who have left the paid workforce entirely.

These dangers are real, but so are the benefits that come with remote work. By setting limits on tech usage and focusing on the concept of margin, parents can structure their paid work in ways that allow them to prioritize responsiveness to both family and community. What’s more, the unique skills and insights that emerge from working parenthood suggest that we shouldn’t relegate homemaking only to those who have left the paid workforce entirely.

Embracing the Centrality of the Home  

Creating margin for relationships necessarily requires us not to maximize our economic productivity . That’s one reason why, as Phil Jeffrey has explored, there’s an uneasy relationship between the family and the market.  Greco’s description of the economic value of homemaking is certainly more nuanced than that of activists who call for wages for care work. Yet the urge to quantify the value of caregiving and homemaking in financial terms can only go so far. Taken to the extreme, this approach reduces the relationships of mutual dependence within families to sites for mere market exchange.  

Succumbing to the intrusion of market logic corrodes the family. We’ve seen this play out over the latter half of the twentieth century: mainstream feminism’s corporate-friendly embrace of the male experience as normative—not only in terms of career advancement but also in terms of relationships, sex, marriage, and childbearing—has not served women or children well, even as it has left men foundering without solid social scripts.   As Erika Bachiochi has argued , the solution is not to reject feminism wholesale. Rather, we should seek a solid grounding for both the equality of and differences between the sexes and return to a conception of domestic life as a school of virtue for men and women alike.  

Our society’s undervaluation of the home is unsustainable. It’s easy to downplay the importance of homemaking, kin-keeping , and community-building when these things are being done widely and well. The effects of their breakdown—from skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression among teenage girls , to rising suicide rates, to widespread loneliness and political polarization—are harder to ignore.

It’s time to embrace the centrality of motherhood and fatherhood to our identities as women and men, working to restore a cultural sense that home and hearth are important sources of both personal fulfillment and social flourishing. These are things that deserve our time, attention, and respect: not just caring for small children, but also maintaining an orderly home with a strong family culture; cultivating the habit of hospitality within our homes; investing in local institutions like churches and schools; maintaining a neighborhood network of ties beyond our immediate family; and perhaps even choosing to prioritize geographical proximity to extended family over maximal career advancement when choosing where to live.  

It’s time to embrace the centrality of motherhood and fatherhood to our identities as women and men, working to restore a cultural sense that home and hearth are important sources of both personal fulfillment and social flourishing.

Recentering life around the home isn’t easy. It can take a lot of creativity, intention, and financial sacrifice to structure a household so that one or both parents maintain sufficient margin, in the form of a substantial number of hours that are not devoted to paid work. That’s especially true if husband and wife discern that a set-up other than “full-time-working dad and full-time-stay-at-home mom” will best serve the good of their family. Some families will discern that the mother should be the family’s primary breadwinner, perhaps with the father as a stay-at-home parent. Government programs should allow this flexibility. Still, it’s simply a fact that motherhood is much more physically demanding than fatherhood, particularly in the early years. As a result, it is often most sustainable for the husband to have the lead career, at least for a time, and for the woman to pursue the type of flexible, serial career that Greco has advocated elsewhere.  

Thankfully, the economic changes Greco advocates for the sake of homemakers would make it easier to maintain margin through a variety of parental work configurations. If health insurance and retirement benefits weren’t linked to full-time employment, for example, both father and mother could work part-time jobs.  

These kinds of policy adjustments are an important first step in recovering margin in our lives. But a broader shift in thinking is needed, too. By shining a light on all the valuable, quiet, rewarding work it takes to make everyone in a family thrive, we can slowly make shifts in our culture that help to build a family-first culture: one that elevates the essential space of the home while also making space for both men and women to pursue their vocations both personally and professionally.  

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The economic value of a homemaker’s contribution  

Traditionally in Indian society, the contributions of homemakers towards the development of their houses and the economy have been undermined and often not recognised at all. Many in this patriarchal setup claim that women ‘fit’ the role of a homemaker and hence it is not important to recognise their contributions. However, times have changed and different legislations and judgments have been passed in favour of recognising people of different sexes as equals. But what was not recognised was the contribution made by different people in different ways on both the micro- and macro-economic scale. 

Interestingly, it took a completely unrelated statute to understand a homemaker’s contribution to society, at least economically. This is not the first case where such income is determined on a notional basis but a thorough analysis with reasons in the instant judgment warrants commendation. Recently, the Supreme Court of India in Kirti and Anr. v. Oriental Insurance Company has recognised the value of calculating the notional income of a homemaker while awarding compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

There are different factors that are taken into account while fixing the compensation, such as the age and income of the deceased, the number of surviving dependents, the future prospects of earning and the like. The deceased couple in the instant case were survived by three dependents. While fixing the compensation, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal had awarded a compensation of Rs 46 lakh, which was challenged in the Delhi High Court, wherein the compensation was reduced by approximately 50% and it was fixed at Rs 22 lakh. This verdict was then challenged in the Supreme Court.

It has been held by the courts time and again that the compensation awarded always has to be just, fair and reasonable and should be governed by the principles of equity, and that the standard of living of the family should be taken into account. The court unanimously applied these principles and applied the reasoning in National Insurance Company Limited v. Pranay Sethi in adding 40% of the income over future prospects as both deceased were below 40 years of age.

Justice N V Ramana in a separate concurrent judgment pronounced a well-reasoned verdict on the question of notional income of the housewife and calculation of future prospects. No doubt, it is a difficult task to arrive at a just compensation based on the notional income. However the court is faced with such tasks, especially in cases where the victim is understood as non-earning. For instance, in M R Krishna Murthi v. New India Assurance Co. Ltd., the court took into account the academic proficiency, course being studied and family background when fixing the notional income of a student.

Previously, in Arun Kumar Agrawal v. National Insurance Co. Ltd., it has been held that “in India the courts have recognised that the contribution made by the wife to the house is invaluable and cannot be computed in terms of money. The gratuitous services rendered by the wife with true love and affection to the children and her husband and managing the household affairs cannot be equated with the services rendered by others. … It is not possible to quantify any amount in lieu of the services rendered by the wife/mother to the family i.e. the husband and children. However, for the purpose of award of compensation to the dependants, some pecuniary estimate has to be made of the services of the housewife/mother.”

The statistical analysis in the present judgment reveals that the majority of the women spend a major portion of their time doing unpaid household work and the verdict also brings out the gender disparity in the same. The judge categorically notes that the notion that housemakers do not ‘work’ needs to be overcome as it is a problematic idea. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women vide General Recommendation No. 17 has affirmed that the “measurement and quantification of the unremunerated domestic activities of women, which contribute to development in each country, will help to reveal the de facto economic role of women”. 

The most pertinent observation is in relation to the fact of ‘acceptance’ of such work. This will result in a broader change in attitudes of people in order to ingrain what is actually meant by social equality, which forms an important feature of a civilised society with a constitutional framework in place. Of course, the amount of compensation based on notional income varies from case to case and there can be no formula for the same. But recognising the efforts not only within the household but on a broader level of contribution towards the GDP is a step in the right direction.

Kavya Lalchandani 

Legal scholar based out of Delhi

([email protected])

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Life of Homemakers in Indian Households

“She is just a homemaker”

A homemaker can be a man or woman who is in charge of their household. Taking care of children, cooking, cleaning and maintaining the home, housekeeping, managing etc. are some of the things done by homemakers. In Indian households, homemakers are entitled to ‘ just a homemaker ‘ because all the works mentioned above are supposed to be the responsibilities of any woman.

They are obliged to do these without expecting any acknowledgements in the form of salary or appraisals. There are some fallacies that homemakers don’t work from nine to five, they do not contribute to the economy of a family and they are enjoying their life doing nothing.

The Truth of Being a Homemaker in India

According to the age-old culture of India, women are presumed to be homemakers and men are deemed to be breadwinners. The 21st century has brought about some mild changes. Some women started working and contributing to their families. But the idea of women being supposed to be homemakers didn’t change. Developments in the mentality of the people in a country also serve an important job apart from the technological developments in a country. It also defines the standard of a country and its people.

Laws and schemes are made to strengthen women in India, but a majority of women folk are not aware of this. The minimum legal age for marriage has been 18 for women and 21 for men. This action has made a crucial change in gaining a basic education for women before marriage. Once women turn eighteen society entitles them as ‘ ready for marriage commodity ‘. Being married at a young age also makes them eligible for motherhood at a young age.

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Most of the women who get married at an early age settle as homemakers instead of resuming their education. Early motherhood also provides them with post-pregnancy related issues, stress, and responsibilities of small children etc. Even a working woman who goes for a sabbatical during or post-pregnancy, when she decides to return to work she might find difficulty in finding a job since workplaces believe that a sabbatical might have compromised her efficiency and might have debilitated her productivity. Women who return to employment typically see their chance of moving up the occupational ladder decrease.

Lack of endorsement from the family, workplace, and society also turns out to be an important reason for women to settle as homemakers instead of workers.

A Typical Day in the Life of a Homemaker

Homemakers are full-time workers. They wake up early in the morning, cook breakfast, snacks, prepare tiffins, cleans the home, women with babies have to take care of them, feed them, buy groceries, maintain home, being left alone in a home also bring in anxiety, loneliness and depression, once children come back from school they have to take care of them, be a listener, teacher, therapist and motivational speaker for their family.

In a basic context, they are eligible for the salaries given to cook, cleaner, therapist, motivational speaker, teacher and a lot more. But at the end of the day, they are given the title ‘just a homemaker’.

Don’t They Deserve A Better Treatment?

More Indian homemakers suffer from depression and anxiety disorders than men. Women with depression are more likely to commit suicide than men with depression. Homemakers accounted for the second-highest percentage of all suicide victims in India after daily wage labourers. The major reasons for the same include early marriage, young motherhood, domestic violence, economic dependence etc. The mental health and physical health problems of homemakers in India are to be discussed and solutions have to be made for the betterment of their lives.

Step towards creating India a Better Place for Homemakers

In Indian households, children are provided complete care, protection and economic assistance until they get married or paid. Undertaking part-time jobs or any efforts to find their way of living from the age of 18 is not a common sight in India. The merits of finding one’s way of living include perceiving society, creating a distinct identity, work experience and also improves skills like decision making, time management, problem-solving etc.

Financial security can bring about a commendable difference in the current situation of women in India . After settling for a homemaker a fixed amount should be paid to them by their partner. Most of the women are tolerating abuse and domestic violence as they are dependent on their husbands. Homemakers have the right to be paid and to enjoy the fruits of their labour. It is not the happiness of their partner and children which is to be counted as homemaker’s happiness.

“Value of woman’s work at home is no less than that of her office-going husband” – This is the statement made by the Supreme Court of India. Actions need to be taken to make homemakers financially secure. (Read More: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/value-of-homemakers-work-same-as-hubbys-at-office-sc/articleshow/80125241.cms )

Although the practice of dowry has been illegal in India since 1961 , it continues to thrive in the names of gifts and aid to cover the expenses of marriage etc. Women regardless of working status are falling prey to this age-old practice which is highly demeaning. Women are becoming a business deal between their parents and the groom’s family. The problems faced by homemakers due to dowry dissatisfaction goes from domestic abuse, harassment and some ends in dowry death. These problems only become a part of the mainstream discussion only when victims commit suicide or are murdered.

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It is the need of the hour to take stringent actions to put an end to the dowry system. Women have equal rights and status like any men in society. They should not be considered as a burden or an object.

The physical health of homemakers should be given important concern. Schemes like Ujjwala Yojana, an initiative put forth by the Modi government in India was a great success initially but later on, the allegation regarding lack of refillers and the corruption in the middle ground made it a partial success and it couldn’t fulfil the aim of this initiative. If this initiative is made transparent, without the intervention of middlemen it can bring about visible changes. It is also important to ensure people are receiving the cylinders without any delay. This initiative can raise the quality of living and can also save the homemakers and their family from indoor air pollution and other health problems. (Read More: https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/pm-narendra-modis-ujjwala-yojana-scheme-provided-lpg-access-but-failed-to-promote-its-use-says-study/1833877/ )

Most of the homemakers in India are suffering from lifestyle diseases and obesity. Lack of physical activity is one of the important factors which leads to these problems. Work such as cooking, washing, and cleaning in a confined manner can’t burn enough calories.

Developing an exercise culture in Indian households can create drastic changes in the health of homemakers and also their family. Physical fitness rejuvenates the mind and body of a human being. It reduces the risk of lifestyle diseases and obesity.

Enjoy Being a Homemaker!

The job of homemaker is not less in standard compared to any other jobs. It should be acknowledged by society.

One’s career should be their own decision without being biased by family pressure or social norms. Homemakers can consider income-generating ways like giving tuition, starting small business etc. which can make them engaged and financially secure. Society should acknowledge and respect them. Families should support them in the decisions they make. The role of a homemaker is not something to shy away from. Playing the role in an effective and enjoyable manner makes it even more beautiful.

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Home > Books > Anxiety, Uncertainty, and Resilience During the Pandemic Period - Anthropological and Psychological Perspectives

The Psychological Aspects of Home-Makers and Women during Pandemic

Submitted: 01 March 2021 Reviewed: 12 April 2021 Published: 11 May 2021

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.97687

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Depression and anxiety are two faces of a coin and we unfortunately fail to understand the plight of a person suffering from any one of these mental conditions. However, nowadays people have started considering mental health as a serious and complex issue, but still, those suffering from it tend to shy away and hide in arrears their own dark curtains. Sometimes, a very normal looking person may also be a victim of mental breakdown and anxiety. He may be working out fine, laughing, smiling, talking and all, but somewhere deep inside and within, he may be crying his heart out. It just does not visibly appear so on the outside. Moreover, in the phase of COVID, this situation has aggravated a lot because of various reasons like loss of jobs, work from home, salary reductions and cost cuttings etc. The effect of these problems fell on the families overall, but the most suffered category was – THE HOMEMAKERS, or in other words, THE HOUSEWIVES. Housewives have usually higher resilience when it comes to handling problems and family issues as they have an inbuilt capacity and trait to handle and adjust themselves in any atmosphere and ambience after marriage, but this COVID period was equally tough to handle for them as well. Specifically, if we talk about housewives, the entire COVID period was difficult for them to handle because of multiple reasons which will be mentioned point by point.

• psychological

Author Information

Samina firoz wagla wala *.

• Techno India NJR Institute of Technology, Udaipur, India

*Address all correspondence to: [email protected]

1. Introduction

The title chosen for the chapter is deliberately explained in a very simple yet effective manner because as a part of the global community, now we all are aware of what the word PANDEMIC means. So, let us first try to understand the term “Pandemic” and then see the effects of the COVID pandemic on the society in general and then the housewives in particular.

Pandemic. Pandemic defined by the dictionary as a disease that spreads over the whole world or a whole country. In the remarkable year 2019, the whole world found itself waking up to this brand-new pandemic – COVID.

COVID-19 has been one of the most widespread diseases the world has ever witnessed in the past century. This pandemic stretched its arms wide across the world, people died in every corner, some even very untimely, but in addition to all the visible destructions due to COVID, there were numerous invisible effects of this pandemic as well.

Usually, when we talk about the negative or destructive impact of such an event, we consider only economic losses, decline in GDP of the country, poverty etc. Although, these impacts are also heart-breaking and pathetic, but what we often forget to pay heed to is the mental breakdown people have who suffer from such problems.

People commit suicides, relationships fail miserably, families break down and depressed minds and increased struggles snatch the mental peace bit by bit with each passing day. Now when we consider all these impacts which relate to the psychology of a person, we do not usually see it as a visible difference to the society overall, but if people who institute any society are not fit mentally, then what good can be extracted from such a societal sect?

This is a question which is vital for all of us to understand but unfortunately, many of us fail to even comprehend this as a serious matter and people do not consider mental or psychological impacts as harmful as any other visible impact.

What people usually fail to understand is that if a person is mentally unfit or mentally in a bad state, then he or she will not be able to perform any task assigned to him efficiently. But generally, people do not promote mental health and fitness as much as they appreciate physical fitness.

Physical fitness is required to perform any task physically, but mental health and fitness is equally necessary to ignite motivation to do any task – waking up after a nap, taking off shoes after coming home, cleaning dishes, washing and ironing clothes and even the toughest of jobs like reading a book, talking to a friend or playing with a child.

The latter are also not very difficult to perform, but just when someone is mentally depressed or anxious, when the person cannot breathe or when it feels like the heart is somewhere breaking into pieces inside, these easy jobs also appear very difficult and complicated. People forget how to talk to others, how to read a good book or watch a good movie. People are unable to cherish the smile of a toothless milk-dipped lips of a child. Depression does not have anything to do with a gender in particular, but when it exists in someone, then it makes people wonder and question their existence. People often suffer from existential crisis and this indeed makes them neurotic.

2. The stature of housewives in the society

The concept of housewives is quite twisted in our society. Any woman who nurtures a family is a home-maker and not a housewife. Whether or not the woman is working professionally somewhere or handling her household entirely, the psychological impact of these things is equal on both. But if we critically examine the psychology of both the categories, then we can clearly gather that both of them have their own battles to fight.

Majority housewives suffer from this kind of abuse on daily basis and become a victim of their husband’s anger and frustrations. All these episodes, even if they occur just once, leave a dark and negative imprint on the mind of a woman.

3. Impetus behind the problem

The emphasis by this study is on the shifting psychological stability of a woman. Many working women who were tied up at home during the COVID phase were also facing the same issues as those women who were not working and were totally dedicated to their households. In addition, the newly married women also faced the many issues because of which their relationships suffered from crisis. We cannot consider using the phrase ‘the main problems were …’ because there were so many issues and all of them were equally complicated.

3.1 Shortage/decrement in the total family income

The difference between the ratios of the income of the household and the expenses of the household increased to such an extent that it became very difficult to supplement the basic needs of the family. All this led to an additional burden on the housewives as they had to adjust with the scarcity of money, look after the basic needs of the family members like food and medicines, and most importantly, handle the educational expenses of children and to handle their tantrums. Obviously, the prime responsibility of handling the financial matters mostly lies in the hands of the husband, but handling and managing the children, especially the young ones who are not established enough to take care of themselves and rely entirely on parents is a rather more difficult job. Women who are totally soaked up in house chores are relatively more vulnerable to depression and anxiety because of the fact that their life revolves around just this one aspect – family and family members.

In most traditional families, who are deeply rooted into the quagmire of cliché societal rules mostly see housewives as the thread which binds the family members together. And for this one reason, whatever happens within a family becomes the prime responsibility of a housewife. If the man of the family loses his job or earns inadequately, it becomes the responsibility of the housewife to manage the expense and feed everyone according to that [ 1 ].

In fact, housewives are burdened with so many responsibilities that they hardly get any time to look after themselves or pay attention to their mental wellness even in normal conditions. Topping that, the lockdown period during the pandemic was like a cherry on the top of a cake.

The loss of jobs and massive fall in the economy during the pandemic resulted in the shortage of money due to which many families started quarreling within themselves.

The basic expenses of the household like groceries, medical expenses and various other incidentals like electricity, water and rent were also too much and the restricted income of the family was a big concern for the housewives during the pandemic.

3.2 Housewives: victims of domestic violence

In various households, the housewives also fell prey to the frustrations and aggression of their male counterparts. The frustration and foiling mindset of husbands, especially those who were out of jobs were incited to behave violently and become aggressive and misbehave with their female counterparts [ 2 ].

Many cases were reported where husbands beat their wives ruthlessly and even many children became witness to this at a very young and tender age. Usually, this behavior arises from the ruined psychological process of the various men who believe that feeding their families is their primary job and somewhere deep within they knew they are lacking in it. But, keeping in mind the egoistic characteristic of the male mindset, they reciprocated this frustration on their wives and blamed them for spending too much and not being able to survive in tough conditions [ 3 ].

3.3 Burden of nurturing the entire family

During this pandemic, the world witnessed exponential deaths and fatalities, families were infected and as a measure for safety, people were maintaining physical distances from one another and constantly sanitizing and so much more. But distances were increasing at a rapid pace not just physically, but also mentally. Another reason why housewives suffered psychological stress during the pandemic was that all the members of the family came under one roof [ 4 , 5 ].

Now, prima face if we consider, this should be a good thing. But the case was not so appealing in most families. When joint families came together, in-laws came under one roof, most of them could not adjust with each other.

In addition to this, housewives were expected to bear the responsibility to make peace with the in-laws no matter how tortured they felt from within.

This perpetual burden of keeping the family tied up together along with bearing the financial issues and still keeping the family happy together by taking care of all the members of the family – husbands as well as the in-laws was a very challenging task for housewives.

If we talk about Indian families, the psychological ill-impacts on housewives were even worse. In Indian families, it is believed that joint families stay happy and family members should stay together as much as possible and because of this notion of a “happy family”, many families end up “unhappily”. Many such cases prevail where if we observe, women are not happy with their in-laws and are victimized badly – both physically and mentally.

Additionally, women faced issues with in-laws in terms of dominance also. Women who were working from home needed to spare time for working as well as for doing house chores. But with families living together under the same roof, division of work was not equal and all the pressure was on the shoulders of housewives.

4. The effects of migration on housewives

In addition to all this, there was one more issue we witnessed – MASS MOVEMENT. Now when we hear the word mass movement, we picture migration. But this migration is of a different kind altogether. During the pandemic, there were thousands of people who had to move to their home towns i.e., they had to shift from the place they worked at to their home towns or villages due to work from home policy and decreased income and increased expenses [ 6 , 7 ].

Those who were unmarried, were a bit safe from the household problems, but those who are married, especially married women, faced a lot of difficulties in adjusting in their home towns and villages again.

The main issue was that women belonging to a village first adapted themselves with the ambience and lifestyle of the cities due to their husbands’ jobs in the cities. Now, when they were finally settled there, away from the daily hustles of in-laws and neighborhood, they were again compelled to shift to their native hometowns or villages.

Now going back there and adjusting with the same old typical conservatism and living up to the expectations of in-laws and society was one hell of a challenge for housewives during pandemic. Husbands could still comparatively adjust because they were living in their own family environment which wasn’t new for them. But housewives faced difficulties because most of them were not treated as a part of the family but as a DAUGHTER-IN-LAW who will work and contribute towards the family’s well-being in every way.

The husbands also did not understand their wives’ conditions and the negative psychological impact on their minds as they were too much involved in other things like job and income.

All these factors led to a massive mental breakdown and negatively propagated the emotional dissatisfactions within families.

5. Sexual deprivation in housewives

Apart from all this tedious house-job, there was a perpetually rising tension of sexual dissatisfaction between husband and wife.

According to some researchers who conducted research in this area, 70% Indian women do not have orgasm during sexual intercourse. Sexual dissatisfaction leads to many mental disorders like neurosis and even Oedipus complex sometimes in worse cases. In a novel called Cry, the peacock by Anita Desai, the protagonist Maya suffers from psychosis and a grave neurotic disorder. This leads her to madness and results in heinous crime. Maya ends up murdering her husband Gautam and killing herself soon after [ 8 ].

Many women who were exhausted by their day’s labour during pandemic and wanted some relief looked up to their male counterparts for sexual pleasures and satisfaction. But 7 out of 10 men do not pay heed to a woman’s sexual satisfaction. During pandemic, women were mentally exhausted due to many reasons and the only mode of pleasure or relief was sexual intimacy. But housewives suffered from sexual disharmony also [ 2 ].

So, if we consider all these factors and reasons, we can easily imply that women were psychologically affected to an extremely disastrous degree. The psychological impact on housewives during the pandemic was so traumatic and serious, that it affected the overall functioning and mental makeup of women, especially housewives.

6. The cause-and-effect theory

Now, when we consider such reasons and the consequent effects of these, we can acknowledge very well how the conditions of the housewives would’ve been like during the pandemic. While we acknowledge and come to terms with these conditions, we realize that these were the conditions of those women who were unpregnant ( Table 1 ) [ 3 , 7 ].

Reasons and effects of common problems faced by housewives.

7. Pregnant women during pandemic

Now considering the other paradigm of femineity, i.e., when we look at those women who were pregnant during the pandemic period, we will know and we will realize that how difficult it was all the more for those women who were facing pregnancy along with the other stresses of household. In fact, there were some women who did not only go through repeated pregnancy disorders and other stressful episodes but also went through many physical as well as mental disorders which we call Post-partum Stress Disorders. This disorder results in post-partum psychosis which is usually prominent among 20–25% pregnant women [ 9 , 10 , 11 ].

8. Pre- and post-partum disorders

The most common symptoms of this disorder are rambling speeches, elated mood swings, erratic behavior and repeated episodes of crying over past guilt and much more. The summary is that, the longer it takes to treat them, the bigger the problem becomes. Sometimes, the stressful disorder also leads to having much serious effects that can harm the child as well as the mother herself and can be very aching for the family members as well. Now, when we talk about the treatment of such disorders, the first step which needs to be followed is to keep the woman happy during such times. But, pandemic and especially, the lock-down period was so stressful for everyone that it became very difficult and almost impossible for the family members to take care of the pregnant woman.

The financial and other crisis made the proper medication and psychiatric assistance also difficult to afford. The only method to keep the woman healthy was to keep the woman happy and the overall ambience of the family also happy but that was not possibly happening everywhere.

A similar research study conducted during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014–2015, reported that women were more likely to be infected because of their primary role as caregivers inside families and frontline health workers. The resources for reproductive and sexual health were diverted to emergency response. This led to an increase in the maternal mortality rates as well.

So, the pandemic had combined negative effects on housewives as well as women who were either pregnant or working from home.

9. Effects of pandemic on female domestic workers or house-maids

The image is taken from a leading Indian newspaper article, which captures the image of a young domestic worker who was deeply unhappy with the lockdown. She reported that the few hours she used to spend away from home was the only time she had to herself in an otherwise full day. She’d get to work early, finish the chores quickly and efficiently, and once her employer left for office, relax with a cup of tea and something to eat, and watch television ( Figure 1 ) [ 12 ].

https://bl.thgim.com/blink/cover/oxgaep/article31244743.ece/alternates/WIDE_615/BLINKWOMANMIGRANT

But everything changed amid lockdown in pandemic. She would stay home in a joint family all day long and the entire burden of household chores were placed on her shoulders. She had to look after, her child, husband, parents-in-law, not to mention the regular cleaning and swabbing and the ceaseless reprimand. The husband who was not violent, but like many men, apathetic and mostly uncaring.

For women who live in violent households, and those hundreds who cooped up in cramped spaces things became much more difficult during the pandemic.

It’s a fact that count and degrees of domestic violence increased during times pandemic lockdown. Men who were caught between the clutches of the State and local militia, men turn more and more to the violent abuse of their wives and children.

The knowledge of how pandemic impacted housewives is less common. The studies that exist, however, are consistent in their findings.

The signs of the negative impact of the pandemic on women are quite clear.

There are various research reports from mid-Asian countries like China, Malaysia and Indonesia show a sharp rise in domestic violence in recent months.

According to a recent case reported in China’s Jingzhou district, there was a sharp rise in domestic abuse reporting in February 2020 as compared to the previous year.

For a country like India, it’s difficult enough for women to report domestic violence in ‘normal’ times; if they wanted to do so in pandemic, how would they? Would their complaint be taken seriously? With social interaction down to nothing, there’s no alternative to compassionate neighbors, NGOs or the community.

10. The lack of proper sanitation facilities for women

Across the world, at least 75 per cent — and the figure is higher in some countries — of caregivers are women. In India, we already know that nurses are at risk; they are being thrown out of their rented accommodation, targeted in the areas they live in [ 8 , 13 ].

A recent piece in The Lancet asks a question that is seldom addressed — that of women’s sanitary needs at times like this. Among the concerns for protective equipment, gloves, masks and so on, should there not be concern for menstrual supplies such as sanitary napkins?

A Chinese activist, Jiang Jing, who runs the Coronavirus Sister Support campaign, recently said, “Not many people thought that the frontline female health workers engaged in the battle against Covid-19 could need sanitary products for their health.” [ 4 ].

Another tragedy which unfolded during the pandemic was the dolefully scarce compensation packages announced by the government which were limited only to registered workers, a minuscule number in a largely unregulated situation.

The chances were that there were few women among the registered, while many were working as part of families, and many were simply uncounted.

The urgency of dealing with pandemics took away attention from what were seen as ‘smaller’ issues at the time.

Lack of attention to women’s needs and short supplies in such difficult times was one of the major casualties. It is however worth mentioning, that if it would have been done effectively, then it’d have had a long-term effect.

For example, when domestic violence went up, so did the sexual activities. In India, one sector that had been badly affected by the lockdown is the production of contraceptives. Factories have shut down as workers were unable to commute. While the contraceptive pill is manufactured in one state, for example, some of the ingredients are sourced from another. With borders closed, this too had to stop and with the global supply chain under stress, the implications were felt nationwide as well as globally.

11. Pandemic: a positive outlook

However, there were some positive aspects of the pandemic too. Many women who were physically and mentally strong enough to handle to the pressures and burden of household chores, were engaging in self-enhancement activities too like grooming themselves, exercising regularly and spending quality time with their families and friends.

Although, due to many restrictions all the clubs and other leisure-seeking places were closed down, but people still were able to host gatherings constituting limited number of people, like only family and close friends. Many women were engaging in these activities with their family members and were really bonding well with them. In fact, for those families who usually did not get enough time to spend with their families were enjoying this time period in a very well manner. For those women, who are usually always tied up at work and their husbands also busy in their offices were able to spend time with their children and bond with them well [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].

On the other hand, some joint families having senior citizens were also able to spend time with their sons and daughters, daughters-in-law and grand-children. The reason behind this is as the schools and colleges were closed, students were studying online. So, those students who wanted to prepare for higher studies got ample time to prepare due to the decreased burden of school activities. Additionally, school-going children who are usually so burdened with the loads of home work and assignments were also relieved for some time and got to spend quality time with their parents and family members.

12. Enhancement in relationships within the family

Usually, when husbands left for work and children for schools, housewives were left with no other option than to pass their time doing house chores all the time or may be going hither and wither to keep themselves engaged. This resulted in a reduced level of bonding within the families. Weather we talk about joint or nuclear families, those women who were resilient and buoyant enough to handle their families and the changed environment due to pandemic and were constantly supported by financial aids were far away from any depressing or anxious episodes.

Many housewives after getting free from basic household work like cooking and cleaning engaged themselves in many recreational activities with their families like playing games, crafting with children and DIY home making items and much more [ 16 ].

Reportedly, The Hindu, an Indian editorial showed several pictures of children as well as parents engaging into various recreational activities which benefitted the environment as well like making best out of plastic and other wastes using social media and YouTube tutorials, planting trees and many other activities of the similar kind. Below are some pictures which evidently display the positive sides of the pandemic for those who were resilient enough to handle the situations in a robust manner ( Figures 2 and 3 ).

https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/j71xx2/article31181375.ece/alternates/FREE_615/iStock-688400020-2

https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/9h3jcg/article31207944.ece/alternates/FREE_320/Komal-Narang

Komal Narang at @myhappinesz says in the MOMS SPEAK section of The Hindu, “Earlier, my three-year-old was an outdoor kid and never had screen time. Now that I allow him to watch YouTube (mainly our family vlogs), he is taking some time to adjust to the change. Apart from his sleeping and eating schedule, which remain the same, we take each day as it comes. We’ve even started our own book club! It is restricted to six picture books or so a day. We used to read page after page, but now that we have the time, we have slowed down. We take time to look at the illustrations, I ask him what he sees … It is a more mindful way of reading.”

This testimonial statement by Komal Narang evidently proves the argument that how working women belonging from relatively well-to-do families were enjoying their quality time with children. Many mothers who otherwise were unable to spend much time with their children and family members were keenly involved and engaged in teaching their children various art of living activities and were getting to know them better.

13. Engagement of women in social activities during the pandemic

Another example of people engaging in social works is given below where we can see how women were helping the underprivileged children and families by visiting the nearby non-government organizations and donating various books and other stationary items to those children who could not afford them otherwise so that they can do something creative and can utilize the time of quarantine ( Figures 4 and 5 ).

https://humanitariansupport.wordpress.com/2019/07/29/rural-education-in-india-challenges-of-rural-area-students/

http://www.governancetoday.co.in/incentives-teachers-remote-areas-khattar/

These images are a clear evidence of how housewives and other social workers were engaged in helping the less privileged children and people in educating and feeding them as well.

14. Research studies in support of the argument

According to a study known as ‘Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)’ which is a 21-item self-rated scale that evaluates the key symptoms of depression including mood, pessimism, sense of failure, self-dissatisfaction, guilt, punishment, self-dislike, self-accusation, suicidal ideas, crying, irritability, social withdrawal, indecisiveness, body image change, work difficulty, insomnia, fatigability, loss of appetite, weight loss, somatic preoccupation and loss of libido (Beck and Steer, 1993; Beck, Steer & Garbing, 1988), women, especially housewives suffered from extreme levels of depression and anxiety during the pandemic period [ 18 , 19 ].

Another study conducted by the NPHEC in 2020 on the acute impacts of COVID on the mental health of women, psychological abuse is one of the most widely occurring reason behind depression in women [ 20 ]. The organization assessed the mental wellness of women by conducting an online survey using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21). After this survey, the observations were that those women who had a history of mental illness and who were allegedly abused during lockdown were found to have more severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Around 40% of housewives reported problematic social media use. Violence against women also reportedly increased significantly during the lockdown [ 1 , 4 ].

Psychological abuse was the most frequent type of violence during the pandemic which was approximately 96%. Women who had experienced abuse before the lockdown were at an increased risk of violence during the period of lockdown. It is widely accepted that women are the most affected, given that they are known to have a more anxious temperament and a higher emotional quotient. The emotional index of a woman is highly refined as compared to men and housewives are more vulnerable to any psychological impact because their time was engaged completely in their family and house chores surrounded by these situations all the time. Working women still could divert their mind for a little while but housewives had no options at all to do so.

In the above image, it is quite clear that a woman, especially the one who is designated as a HOUSEWIFE had to perform multiple tasks.

15. Conclusions

Considering the entire argument and various causes and its effects discussed above, we can summarize the entire discussion in a nutshell saying that the pandemic had a two-way effect on people around the globe, especially working women and housewives – both negatively and positively.

For those who could withstand such an unusual time and were resilient in such harsh situations came out with a neutral psychology, but for those who were not so strong and robust psychologically were impacted in a much worse way than one could ever think of. The chapter also tries to emphasize on the fact that being psychologically strong and being able to resist and withstand in such difficult times was a boon to many. Psychological strength is more important as compared to physical strength because a physical problem can be cured by medications, but a psychological disorder or imbalance lasts longer in a person’s mind than expected. This is a bit more complex in women because of their higher emotional quotient and involuntary responses towards any emotional tension. Women and especially housewives are relatively more prone to any kind of family issue because they are more inclined towards keeping the family bound together and they are usually solely responsible for nurturing the family, being given the role of the “Mother” in nature.

Hence, this chapter concludes that the effects of the pandemic were global and worldwide but had far more deeper and complex effects on women – housewives and working women. The researches or the arguments taken up for the same prove how a woman’s psychology - positively and negatively, was affected during the pandemic episode and especially during the lockdown.

Acknowledgments

This paper is based on my own experiences and somewhat on the experiences I witnessed during the pandemic and the following lockdown. I am highly grateful to my mother, Mrs. Tahira Wagla and father, Mr. Firoz Hussain who supported the family in every possible manner with their immense support and patience.

Also, I would like to thank my sister, Insiya Wagla for her calm and motivating attitude towards me and my researches.

Since, I spend most of my time away from the family, but still somehow my mother, more than my father manages to keep the family together despite of her own physical ailments and weaknesses.

This one fact motivated me a lot to contribute for this chapter and that is the sole reason why I chose to write about the plights and struggles of home-makers and women during the pandemic.

I would like to thank the Almighty for giving me such a beautiful family and the intellect to be able to write on such issues.

Lastly, I extend my gratitude towards my organization for supporting me in writing for this book, especially my beloved Aaditya M, without whom, I would not have been able to understand what guidance and support truly means.

Declaration

I, Samina Firoz Wagla Wala, hereby declare that my work entitled “The Psychological Aspects of home-makers and women during Pandemic” submitted as a chapter contribution to the book entitled “Anxiety, Uncertainty, and Resilience During the Pandemic Period - Anthropological and Psychological Perspectives” for Intech Open Publication is an original work done by me under the guidance of my family and friends. The work is submitted to be published as a research/review paper and I take complete responsibility for unfollowing any compliance(s) or protocol(s) of the publishers.

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Coronavirus Disease-2019

Gross Domestic Product

Non-Government Organization

Do-it-yourself

Beck Depression Inventory

Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales

Nature Public Health Emergency Collection

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It is traditionally accepted that homemaking is a woman’s job, adversely affecting them.

March 26, 2023 01:51 am | Updated 01:51 am IST

Although a homemaker is expected to take care of household chores such as cooking, cleaning, buying groceries, caring and nursing, the work is not considered an economic activity. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/IStockphoto

There are about 160 million women in India who are occupied as homemakers. On average, a woman spends 297 minutes daily engaged in household chores while a man contributes only 31 minutes daily, according to data from the National Sample Survey Organisation. A homemaker’s job comprises day-to-day household chores such as cooking, cleaning, buying groceries, caring and nursing, managing domestic staff, budgeting, etc. However, homemaking is not a profession. It is not considered an economic activity. This not only dilutes the importance of the job but also alienates those who partake in it, mostly, women. The words woman and homemaker are often used interchangeably in India.

We often overlook the fact that if we were to hire professionals to do the jobs mentioned above, we would have to pay them a salary. So, what should we pay the millions of homemakers who go about these chores daily? On careful examination, one can notice that the activity of homemakers directly influences macroeconomic performance. For instance, homemakers navigate the fruits and vegetables market and also decide on the consumption of dairy products for their families. These are two of the largest markets in India, worth trillions of rupees. The products from these markets are used in every household across all sections of society. This makes homemakers the largest consumer base in the economy. Additionally, it is the homemakers who do the budgeting and saving in a household. Since household savings are the largest contributor to gross domestic savings, this reflects the impact of homemakers on national savings. This saving propels investment expenditure and, in turn, the GDP. Therefore, the two major determinants of the economy — consumption and saving — are directly dependent on homemakers.

Our society narrows down homemaking to a handful of stereotypes. It is traditionally accepted that homemaking is a woman’s job. This adversely affects the nature of a woman’s life. For instance, in rural areas, girls are deprived of education and vocational training but prepared for tending to their families after marriage. They are seen as dependent on their husbands. However, these men who act as economic agents and receive monetary compensation for their work are directly dependent on their wives for their nourishment. Therefore, it follows that the physical and mental health of homemakers is linked to the well-being of men, and consequently to the productivity of the economy.

Women being engaged in domestic work is also the reason for their reduced participation in the labour force across all sectors. Despite an increase in GDP, education levels, and household income, the country’s labour force participation of women is very low. Over 90% of women do unpaid domestic work compared to only 27% of men. On the other hand, only 22% of women were employed as opposed to 71% of men. The data are based on a National Sample Survey of 2019.

Domestic work should be formalised and quantified in monetary terms. This would give clarity about the magnitude of economic activity in India. Prabha Kotiswaran (Professor, King’s College London) explains how Indian courts offered compensation to the families of homemakers who died in road accidents. The courts considered the opportunity cost of women’s work at home, the minimum wage for workers, educational qualifications, age, number of children, etc. Based on this, they calculated the monetary compensation that the deceased’s family would receive.

Furthermore, as household savings are generated by women, they should also learn evolving aspects of personal finance. Previously, savings were either invested in real estate or gold, but today there exists a vast array of financial assets. Women must be actively provided with vocational skills to ensure their employability. This would uplift the socio-economic status of women and encourage men to participate in domestic work. We must ensure that domestic work is considered an economic activity and, like any other paid job, becomes a choice for everyone and not just women.

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-warnings-from-democrats-about-project-2025-and-donald-trump

Fact-checking warnings from Democrats about Project 2025 and Donald Trump

This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact .

Project 2025 has a starring role in this week’s Democratic National Convention.

And it was front and center on Night 1.

WATCH: Hauling large copy of Project 2025, Michigan state Sen. McMorrow speaks at 2024 DNC

“This is Project 2025,” Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, said as she laid a hardbound copy of the 900-page document on the lectern. “Over the next four nights, you are going to hear a lot about what is in this 900-page document. Why? Because this is the Republican blueprint for a second Trump term.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has warned Americans about “Trump’s Project 2025” agenda — even though former President Donald Trump doesn’t claim the conservative presidential transition document.

“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” Harris said July 23 in Milwaukee. “He and his extreme Project 2025 agenda will weaken the middle class. Like, we know we got to take this seriously, and can you believe they put that thing in writing?”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, has joined in on the talking point.

“Don’t believe (Trump) when he’s playing dumb about this Project 2025. He knows exactly what it’ll do,” Walz said Aug. 9 in Glendale, Arizona.

Trump’s campaign has worked to build distance from the project, which the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, led with contributions from dozens of conservative groups.

Much of the plan calls for extensive executive-branch overhauls and draws on both long-standing conservative principles, such as tax cuts, and more recent culture war issues. It lays out recommendations for disbanding the Commerce and Education departments, eliminating certain climate protections and consolidating more power to the president.

Project 2025 offers a sweeping vision for a Republican-led executive branch, and some of its policies mirror Trump’s 2024 agenda, But Harris and her presidential campaign have at times gone too far in describing what the project calls for and how closely the plans overlap with Trump’s campaign.

PolitiFact researched Harris’ warnings about how the plan would affect reproductive rights, federal entitlement programs and education, just as we did for President Joe Biden’s Project 2025 rhetoric. Here’s what the project does and doesn’t call for, and how it squares with Trump’s positions.

Are Trump and Project 2025 connected?

To distance himself from Project 2025 amid the Democratic attacks, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he “knows nothing” about it and has “no idea” who is in charge of it. (CNN identified at least 140 former advisers from the Trump administration who have been involved.)

The Heritage Foundation sought contributions from more than 100 conservative organizations for its policy vision for the next Republican presidency, which was published in 2023.

Project 2025 is now winding down some of its policy operations, and director Paul Dans, a former Trump administration official, is stepping down, The Washington Post reported July 30. Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita denounced the document.

WATCH: A look at the Project 2025 plan to reshape government and Trump’s links to its authors

However, Project 2025 contributors include a number of high-ranking officials from Trump’s first administration, including former White House adviser Peter Navarro and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

A recently released recording of Russell Vought, a Project 2025 author and the former director of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, showed Vought saying Trump’s “very supportive of what we do.” He said Trump was only distancing himself because Democrats were making a bogeyman out of the document.

Project 2025 wouldn’t ban abortion outright, but would curtail access

The Harris campaign shared a graphic on X that claimed “Trump’s Project 2025 plan for workers” would “go after birth control and ban abortion nationwide.”

The plan doesn’t call to ban abortion nationwide, though its recommendations could curtail some contraceptives and limit abortion access.

What’s known about Trump’s abortion agenda neither lines up with Harris’ description nor Project 2025’s wish list.

Project 2025 says the Department of Health and Human Services Department should “return to being known as the Department of Life by explicitly rejecting the notion that abortion is health care.”

It recommends that the Food and Drug Administration reverse its 2000 approval of mifepristone, the first pill taken in a two-drug regimen for a medication abortion. Medication is the most common form of abortion in the U.S. — accounting for around 63 percent in 2023.

If mifepristone were to remain approved, Project 2025 recommends new rules, such as cutting its use from 10 weeks into pregnancy to seven. It would have to be provided to patients in person — part of the group’s efforts to limit access to the drug by mail. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to mifepristone’s FDA approval over procedural grounds.

WATCH: Trump’s plans for health care and reproductive rights if he returns to White House The manual also calls for the Justice Department to enforce the 1873 Comstock Act on mifepristone, which bans the mailing of “obscene” materials. Abortion access supporters fear that a strict interpretation of the law could go further to ban mailing the materials used in procedural abortions, such as surgical instruments and equipment.

The plan proposes withholding federal money from states that don’t report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention how many abortions take place within their borders. The plan also would prohibit abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid funds. It also calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the training of medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, omits abortion training.

The document says some forms of emergency contraception — particularly Ella, a pill that can be taken within five days of unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy — should be excluded from no-cost coverage. The Affordable Care Act requires most private health insurers to cover recommended preventive services, which involves a range of birth control methods, including emergency contraception.

Trump has recently said states should decide abortion regulations and that he wouldn’t block access to contraceptives. Trump said during his June 27 debate with Biden that he wouldn’t ban mifepristone after the Supreme Court “approved” it. But the court rejected the lawsuit based on standing, not the case’s merits. He has not weighed in on the Comstock Act or said whether he supports it being used to block abortion medication, or other kinds of abortions.

Project 2025 doesn’t call for cutting Social Security, but proposes some changes to Medicare

“When you read (Project 2025),” Harris told a crowd July 23 in Wisconsin, “you will see, Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.”

The Project 2025 document does not call for Social Security cuts. None of its 10 references to Social Security addresses plans for cutting the program.

Harris also misleads about Trump’s Social Security views.

In his earlier campaigns and before he was a politician, Trump said about a half-dozen times that he’s open to major overhauls of Social Security, including cuts and privatization. More recently, in a March 2024 CNBC interview, Trump said of entitlement programs such as Social Security, “There’s a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.” However, he quickly walked that statement back, and his CNBC comment stands at odds with essentially everything else Trump has said during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump’s campaign website says that not “a single penny” should be cut from Social Security. We rated Harris’ claim that Trump intends to cut Social Security Mostly False.

Project 2025 does propose changes to Medicare, including making Medicare Advantage, the private insurance offering in Medicare, the “default” enrollment option. Unlike Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans have provider networks and can also require prior authorization, meaning that the plan can approve or deny certain services. Original Medicare plans don’t have prior authorization requirements.

The manual also calls for repealing health policies enacted under Biden, such as the Inflation Reduction Act. The law enabled Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers for the first time in history, and recently resulted in an agreement with drug companies to lower the prices of 10 expensive prescriptions for Medicare enrollees.

Trump, however, has said repeatedly during the 2024 presidential campaign that he will not cut Medicare.

Project 2025 would eliminate the Education Department, which Trump supports

The Harris campaign said Project 2025 would “eliminate the U.S. Department of Education” — and that’s accurate. Project 2025 says federal education policy “should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.” The plan scales back the federal government’s role in education policy and devolves the functions that remain to other agencies.

Aside from eliminating the department, the project also proposes scrapping the Biden administration’s Title IX revision, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It also would let states opt out of federal education programs and calls for passing a federal parents’ bill of rights similar to ones passed in some Republican-led state legislatures.

Republicans, including Trump, have pledged to close the department, which gained its status in 1979 within Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s presidential Cabinet.

In one of his Agenda 47 policy videos, Trump promised to close the department and “to send all education work and needs back to the states.” Eliminating the department would have to go through Congress.

What Project 2025, Trump would do on overtime pay

In the graphic, the Harris campaign says Project 2025 allows “employers to stop paying workers for overtime work.”

The plan doesn’t call for banning overtime wages. It recommends changes to some Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, regulations and to overtime rules. Some changes, if enacted, could result in some people losing overtime protections, experts told us.

The document proposes that the Labor Department maintain an overtime threshold “that does not punish businesses in lower-cost regions (e.g., the southeast United States).” This threshold is the amount of money executive, administrative or professional employees need to make for an employer to exempt them from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In 2019, the Trump’s administration finalized a rule that expanded overtime pay eligibility to most salaried workers earning less than about $35,568, which it said made about 1.3 million more workers eligible for overtime pay. The Trump-era threshold is high enough to cover most line workers in lower-cost regions, Project 2025 said.

The Biden administration raised that threshold to $43,888 beginning July 1, and that will rise to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025. That would grant overtime eligibility to about 4 million workers, the Labor Department said.

It’s unclear how many workers Project 2025’s proposal to return to the Trump-era overtime threshold in some parts of the country would affect, but experts said some would presumably lose the right to overtime wages.

Other overtime proposals in Project 2025’s plan include allowing some workers to choose to accumulate paid time off instead of overtime pay, or to work more hours in one week and fewer in the next, rather than receive overtime.

Trump’s past with overtime pay is complicated. In 2016, the Obama administration said it would raise the overtime to salaried workers earning less than $47,476 a year, about double the exemption level set in 2004 of $23,660 a year.

But when a judge blocked the Obama rule, the Trump administration didn’t challenge the court ruling. Instead it set its own overtime threshold, which raised the amount, but by less than Obama.

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A new ‘AI scientist’ can write science papers without any human input. Here’s why that’s a problem

Dean, School of Computing Technologies, RMIT University, RMIT University

Disclosure statement

Karin Verspoor receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Medical Research Future Fund, the National Health and Medical Research Council, and Elsevier BV. She is affiliated with BioGrid Australia and is a co-founder of the Australian Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare.

RMIT University provides funding as a strategic partner of The Conversation AU.

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Scientific discovery is one of the most sophisticated human activities. First, scientists must understand the existing knowledge and identify a significant gap. Next, they must formulate a research question and design and conduct an experiment in pursuit of an answer. Then, they must analyse and interpret the results of the experiment, which may raise yet another research question.

Can a process this complex be automated? Last week, Sakana AI Labs announced the creation of an “AI scientist” – an artificial intelligence system they claim can make scientific discoveries in the area of machine learning in a fully automated way.

Using generative large language models (LLMs) like those behind ChatGPT and other AI chatbots, the system can brainstorm, select a promising idea, code new algorithms, plot results, and write a paper summarising the experiment and its findings, complete with references. Sakana claims the AI tool can undertake the complete lifecycle of a scientific experiment at a cost of just US$15 per paper – less than the cost of a scientist’s lunch.

These are some big claims. Do they stack up? And even if they do, would an army of AI scientists churning out research papers with inhuman speed really be good news for science?

How a computer can ‘do science’

A lot of science is done in the open, and almost all scientific knowledge has been written down somewhere (or we wouldn’t have a way to “know” it). Millions of scientific papers are freely available online in repositories such as arXiv and PubMed .

LLMs trained with this data capture the language of science and its patterns. It is therefore perhaps not at all surprising that a generative LLM can produce something that looks like a good scientific paper – it has ingested many examples that it can copy.

What is less clear is whether an AI system can produce an interesting scientific paper. Crucially, good science requires novelty.

But is it interesting?

Scientists don’t want to be told about things that are already known. Rather, they want to learn new things, especially new things that are significantly different from what is already known. This requires judgement about the scope and value of a contribution.

The Sakana system tries to address interestingness in two ways. First, it “scores” new paper ideas for similarity to existing research (indexed in the Semantic Scholar repository). Anything too similar is discarded.

Second, Sakana’s system introduces a “peer review” step – using another LLM to judge the quality and novelty of the generated paper. Here again, there are plenty of examples of peer review online on sites such as openreview.net that can guide how to critique a paper. LLMs have ingested these, too.

AI may be a poor judge of AI output

Feedback is mixed on Sakana AI’s output. Some have described it as producing “ endless scientific slop ”.

Even the system’s own review of its outputs judges the papers weak at best. This is likely to improve as the technology evolves, but the question of whether automated scientific papers are valuable remains.

The ability of LLMs to judge the quality of research is also an open question. My own work (soon to be published in Research Synthesis Methods ) shows LLMs are not great at judging the risk of bias in medical research studies, though this too may improve over time.

Sakana’s system automates discoveries in computational research, which is much easier than in other types of science that require physical experiments. Sakana’s experiments are done with code, which is also structured text that LLMs can be trained to generate.

AI tools to support scientists, not replace them

AI researchers have been developing systems to support science for decades. Given the huge volumes of published research, even finding publications relevant to a specific scientific question can be challenging.

Specialised search tools make use of AI to help scientists find and synthesise existing work. These include the above-mentioned Semantic Scholar, but also newer systems such as Elicit , Research Rabbit , scite and Consensus .

Text mining tools such as PubTator dig deeper into papers to identify key points of focus, such as specific genetic mutations and diseases, and their established relationships. This is especially useful for curating and organising scientific information.

Machine learning has also been used to support the synthesis and analysis of medical evidence, in tools such as Robot Reviewer . Summaries that compare and contrast claims in papers from Scholarcy help to perform literature reviews.

All these tools aim to help scientists do their jobs more effectively, not to replace them.

AI research may exacerbate existing problems

While Sakana AI states it doesn’t see the role of human scientists diminishing, the company’s vision of “a fully AI-driven scientific ecosystem” would have major implications for science.

One concern is that, if AI-generated papers flood the scientific literature, future AI systems may be trained on AI output and undergo model collapse . This means they may become increasingly ineffectual at innovating.

However, the implications for science go well beyond impacts on AI science systems themselves.

There are already bad actors in science, including “paper mills” churning out fake papers . This problem will only get worse when a scientific paper can be produced with US$15 and a vague initial prompt.

The need to check for errors in a mountain of automatically generated research could rapidly overwhelm the capacity of actual scientists. The peer review system is arguably already broken , and dumping more research of questionable quality into the system won’t fix it.

Science is fundamentally based on trust. Scientists emphasise the integrity of the scientific process so we can be confident our understanding of the world (and now, the world’s machines) is valid and improving.

A scientific ecosystem where AI systems are key players raises fundamental questions about the meaning and value of this process, and what level of trust we should have in AI scientists. Is this the kind of scientific ecosystem we want?

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• Paper mills

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Jennifer lopez has filed for divorce from ben affleck.

Jennifer Lopez and husband Ben Affleck are officially parting ways, according to an entry on the Los Angeles Superior Court docket.

Lopez filed for dissolution of their two-year marriage in Los Angeles on Tuesday, which coincides with the anniversary of their Riceboro, Georgia-set wedding ceremony in 2022 after they first eloped in Las Vegas a month prior.

The breakup comes after reports the two had been living separately, Lopez canceled her summer tour to spend time with her family, and they put their Beverly Hills home on the market.

CNN has reached out to representatives for Lopez and Affleck for comment.

Their divorce marks yet another turn in a love story between two superstars that has played out in the spotlight over decades.

Lopez and Affleck’s marriage came more than 20 years after they first met on the set of the comedy “Gigli,” where they played criminals stuck on a job together and struck up a real-life friendship which eventually turned into a relationship.

Over the years, they both married others and had families.

But Team “Bennifer” rejoiced in Bennifer 2.0 when they reconciled in 2021.

Even the pair seemed overjoyed.

Related article Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s relationship clues are all there, you just need to know where to look

“You know, one of the things I really value across all facets of my life now is that it was handled in a way that reflected that,” Affleck told The Wall Street Journal in December 2021. “My life now reflects not just the person that I want to be, but the person that I really feel like I am – which is not perfect, but somebody who tries very hard and cares very much about being honest and authentic and accountable. It’s hard to say who benefits more, without going into gossipy detail.”

The couple initially got engaged in November 2002 after Affleck popped the question with a custom 6.1-carat pink diamond ring from Harry Winston. He also appeared as Lopez’s love interest in the music video for her 2002 single “Jenny from the Block,” the storyline of which takes on the paparazzi treatment of their relationship.

Days before the pair were set to wed in September 2003, they postponed their nuptials, citing “excessive media attention” surrounding their wedding.

Sources told CNN at the time that the couple was “taking a break.”

In January 2004, they officially split.

So it appeared to be a fairytale when the couple went Instagram official in July 2021, months after Lopez ended her engagement to baseball legend Alex Rodriguez.

“I feel so lucky and happy and proud to be with him,” Lopez told People magazine about reuniting with Affleck weeks before he proposed a second time around in April 2022. “It’s a beautiful love story that we got a second chance.”

In 2024, Lopez released “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” a documentary which told the story of her independently produced album “This Is Me… Now” and her decades-long quest for self-love.

In the film, Affleck said he learned to “compromise” with Lopez about her desire to be more public about their private life.

More recently, the pair have been seen on separate coasts, with Lopez celebrating her birthday at the end of July with a Bridgerton-themed party that did not appear to include Affleck among the attendees.

Lopez shares two children with her ex-husband Marc Anthony, while Affleck is father to three children with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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A Nonlinear Decoupling Method for Wheel Force Transducer with High-Order Polynomial Model 2024-01-5085

Wheel force transducer (WFT) is an important device used for real-time monitoring of forces and moments acting on the wheels. However, the device faces a major challenge in vehicular applications—coupling problems between its multiaxis channels, leading to inaccurate measurements and limiting its important role in the study of vehicle dynamics, the assessment of vehicle safety performance and autonomous driving. The study of decoupled models with few parameters and high accuracy is important for low-cost devices with limited computational power. This paper presents a nonlinear decoupling method for WFT with high-order polynomial (HOP) model to effectively improve the measurement accuracy of WFT with eight-beam spoke elastomers. The method is based on a three-axis decoupling model of WFT designed with an eight-beam spoke structure, employing a multiple linear regression model to refine the physical model, resulting in a quadratic curve that enhances the nonlinear fitting capability and improves measurement accuracy. The experimental results show that the maximum decoupling error of the method is less than 44%, which proves the effectiveness and applicability of the method.

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Issue of Homelessness in America Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Literature review, research methodology, recommendations.

Homelessness is the condition in which individuals or families lack permanent shelter. In other words, the individuals or the families lack a place to call home. Homeliness is not only a condition associated with the minorities but also people with regular income. However, the income cannot afford a decent housing. In most cases, homeless is caused by lack of adequate income to cater for a decent housing.

However, extreme poverty and lack of affordable housing has been attributed to increased cases of homelessness. Actually, minorities constitute the largest percentage of the homeless people. In most cases, the homeless families are composed of single mothers having children of less than six years. Low education levels, poor job skills and limited job opportunities that could pay for a livable wage characterize the single homeless mothers. In fact, such families experience increased rate of domestic violence, mental health problems and high costs of medical care. Even though not all homeless people have similar experience, studies indicate that majority are found within the descriptive bracket.

Generally, most of the homeless families and individuals go through a traumatic experience. In fact, the circumstances in which the individuals and families have no shelter coupled with the disconnections from support services are stressful. The problem is exacerbated in single motherhood where mothers have multifaceted roles ranging from being the breadwinner to parenting. Based on the longitudinal studies that have been conducted, single parents with no homes have increased vulnerability to sexual and other abuses as well as exposure to other form of violence particularly within the family or in relationships.

Currently, the government and various agencies are collaboratively focusing their efforts towards preventing and ending the problem of homelessness among the population. The efforts are backed by a policy framework that provide clear guidelines and responsibilities to the governments at all levels as well as various agencies on how to manage the preventive measures and stop the problem of homelessness. Moreover, the current policy framework focuses on all groups of homelessness particularly the families.

Problem Statement

Currently the numbers of homeless families have significantly increased compared with the number in 1980s and earlier. The number of homeless in 1980 accounted for less than one percent. However, the numbers of homeless individuals and families have considerably augmented by over thirty percent in the last ten years. Given the number of homeless families, the increasing rate of homelessness is alarming calling for appropriate interventions from the governments at all levels. However, studies on homeless families indicate that other problems the families face obfuscate the pressing need of having a decent place called home. Moreover, interventions methods have not been focused on addressing the related problems rather on real issues concerned with homelessness.

The Purpose of the Study

The main aim of this study is to establish the manner in which US government is aiding various local government agencies in the prevention and ending the problem of homelessness in their various jurisdictions. The study will be critical in the understanding of the manner in which the federal government helps their local counterparts in alleviating the problem of homelessness among the various city populations.

Research Question

Upon completion of the study, the following question will be answered.

• Is the federal government helping local governments reduce homelessness within their cities?

Hypothesis Testing

The study tends to test the assertion that the US government is helping the local governments reduce homelessness in their various cities. As such, the hypothesis of this study include

• H0: US government is helping local government reduce homelessness
• H1: US government is not helping local government reduce homelessness

Definition of Terms

Homelessness refers to the situation in which an individual or families lack permanent shelter or descent housing.

Affordable housing refers to less expensive rental houses provided by the government or any agency to the public. In most cases, affordable houses are normally targeted for the low-income earners.

Homeless families are families that have no pace to call home. In fact, most of the homeless families normally lack adequate income even to rent affordable houses.

Studies indicate that factors such as the mental illness, the childbirths, hospitalization of parents are not the causes of homelessness. Essentially, these factors are associated with individual susceptibility of being homeless (Bassuk, 2010). In addition, these factors simply indicate individuals that are likely to be affected by structural issues related to homelessness. In fact, this review is chosen due to its focus on the stated topic and its ability to answer directly the stated study question. In other words, the review tends to provide a broader view of the topic while directly answer the research question.

Causes of Homelessness

Various factors have been cited to cause homeless in America. Studies indicate that acute shortage of basic needs and deficiency in reasonably priced housing are the major causes of homeless (Bassuk, 2010; Guarino & Bassuk, 2011). Statistics indicate that the number of affordable rental housing units have reduced drastically by approximately 23%. The percentage represents an estimated number of 1.2 million housing units.

Besides, over six million Americans both individuals and families are at the level of increased risk of being homeless (Guarino & Bassuk, 2011). Such kinds of families are characterized by huge amount of their income being allocated to housing. Even though the families spend over fifty percent of their income on housing, they still dwell in substandard private residences. Besides, such families have little or no resources for other important necessities including food and clothing (Guarino & Bassuk, 2011).

To make it worse such individuals have no housing vouchers. In the circumstances that the vouchers are available, they still face difficulties in turning the vouchers into decent housing. The vulnerable economic conditions and increased levels of housing for disclosures worsen the housing situations of these families. Studies indicate that during the 2008 economic recession, the number of homelessness increased by over nine percent (Herman, Conover, Felix, Nakagawa & Mills, 2007).

In fact, families that find themselves homeless normally experience residential instability as well as community disconnections. Further, studies indicate that families headed by women have increased vulnerability of becoming homeless (Guarino & Bassuk, 2011; Geller & Bassuk, 2006). The reason is that single woman parents have insufficient access to programs geared towards eradicating poverty as well as childcare support. Moreover, single mother have increased multiple roles to play ranging from being the breadwinners to homemakers. The reasons explain why over single families headed by women account for over 84% of the homelessness.

Strategies Applied by the Government to Address Homelessness

Given the current situation of homelessness, policy makers often find it difficult to formulate a comprehensive policy framework that would completely address the current needs of the homeless individuals. Before, the federal policy on homelessness focused its efforts towards ending acute homeless among individuals of advanced age or the elderly (Geller & Bassuk, 2006). In most cases, the federal government through the policy supported the states or local governments plans geared towards ending acute homelessness among the elderly individuals.

The support was being provided through Housing First Approaches (HFP) that rapidly provided housing to the needy individuals. Through the program, chronically needy people have been provided with decent shelters regardless of whether they have met certain conditions (Geller & Bassuk, 2006; Herman et al., 2007).

The Corporation for Supportive Housing (TCSH) argues that approximately over eighty percent of supportive housing leaseholders tend to preserve their housing for a minimum of one year and engage in meaningful and productive services (Herman et al., 2007).

The agency further noted that the use of more expensive services such as criminal justice system and emergency healthcare decreases. The Federal Collaborative Initiative to end Chronic Homelessness (FCICH) indicated that the provision of descent housing contributes to the family stability and reduced usage of public utilities as well as reduced healthcare costs (Geller & Bassuk, 2006). Even though the federal policies were aimed at accomplishing the stated benefits, fewer quantities of funds were allocated to only one group of homeless people. The policy framework assumed the statuses of the homeless families.

In 2010, the Interagency Council on Homeless (ICH) issued all-inclusive strategic plan aimed at preventing and ending homelessness. In fact, the strategic plan majorly focused on homeless families particularly with minors. The strategic plan called upon the government agencies at all levels to put their resources collectively towards providing descent housing to the homeless families (Guarino & Bassuk, 2011). The policy framework was supported by various legislations allowing government agencies at all levels to adopt collaborative approach in order to prevent and stop homeless within the population. Within the last five years, the policy has made remarkable achievements regarding the provision of descent housing particularly to the acute needy families.

In fact, the policy framework has increased the collaborative efforts between the private and public sectors geared towards reducing chronic homelessness. Besides, the pubic-private sector partnership have contributed hugely to the reduction of chronically-ill sub-group of homeless individuals as well as persons that have experienced homelessness for longer periods (Guarino & Bassuk, 2011). The strategic plan has also provided a roadmap through which tragic housing problems can be addressed among the sub-groups of homeless people. In fact, the policy ensures interagency collaboration at all levels of government, help in strengthening the collaborative efforts of the private-public sectors partnerships both at the state and local government levels and align mainstream resources towards stopping and preventing homeless.

Local Government Intervention Programs

At the local government level, the policy provides a framework on how various projects and programs should work to attain the desired outcome. In fact, all programs focusing on homeless families should emphasize on activities that address the need of individual families. At minimum, the programs at the local government level should focus on rapidly re-housing the families (Geller & Bassuk, 2006). Local governments are supposed to participate on funding the programs efforts geared towards rapidly re-housing the families. In addition, local governments should support programs that rapidly respond to the immediate requirements of the families.

Moreover, the local governments have the responsibility of linking housing projects with government services and support (Geller & Bassuk, 2006). Collaboratively, the local governments and various programs operating within the jurisdiction are supposed to assess families and come up with individualized housing and support services plans that take into consideration the needs of individual homeless families.

The section of the study provides the methods of gathering the required information to answer the research questions and hypothesis. The methodology used in any study should be judged by the manner in which it informs the research purposes. Essentially, the aim of the research methodology is to provide data that responds to the research issues, present logical background assumptions and to ensure that techniques used account for the credibility of the study results.

The Study Design

As indicated, the study will utilized a survey as the method of data collection. The survey method of data collection is chosen due to its effectiveness in reaching out to the respondents and the quality of the obtained data. The desired data for this novel study will be obtained through administering self-designed survey questionnaires..Moreover, the data will be gathered from respondents selected through random sampling procedures.

In other words, the empirical data will be collected within the specified number of participants. In addition, the number of participants will be limited to a few numbers of respondents and will be chosen through simple random sampling procedures. Besides, in terms of data analysis, integrated statistical analysis tools including Microsoft office applications and statistical software have been applied. The analyzed data will be presented through the application of Line graphs, tables as well as statistical bar charts. Further, the methods of data collection are chosen due to the reliability and validity of the obtained results.

Population and Research Sample

The study focused on whether the federal government is supporting local governments to reduce homelessness. Moreover, the study is focused on actions taken by various local government agencies to reduce the homelessness. Therefore, all the representatives of various agencies focusing their efforts towards reducing homelessness were deemed viable for the study. However, only a small number of participants were selected through random sampling procedures and depending on the frequency with which they were involved in the actions geared towards reducing the homelessness. In addition, other attributes including type of the organization particularly the government sponsored were also taken into consideration. From the total number of representatives that could have been sampled, just 10 participants from various agencies particularly from homeless outreach Miami Beach were selected via a technique dubbed as convenience simple random sampling strategy. The self-administered survey was conducted, which helped in addressing the formulated research questions.

The study procedures are divided into various activities that are allocated certain duration in which they are supposed to be completed. Besides, the study is divided into four main parts including preparation, data collection and analysis as well as writing the research paper. In preparation, sequential activities begin with the consultation of the supervisor to provide guidelines on selecting the research topic, designing the study, creating the study questionnaire as well as acquiring the study literature.

Data Collection Procedures

As one of the most important studies, the required information were collected through administering properly well-designed survey questionnaires to unbiased selected participants. The soundly designed survey questionnaires were administered to 20 participants. Each part of the questionnaires constituted of key items that suitably attend to the research questions. For instance, part one constituted the possible causes of homeless in Miami while other parts will generate insights on the government intervention methods and aids towards reducing homelessness. Some items in the questionnaire threw light on efforts of various agencies towards doing away with the problem of homelessness.

Data Analysis

To obtain the best correlation approximation values, the study quantitative data analysis were carried out by utilizing the integrated Statistical Analysis Tool (WISAT). In addition, the data were also analyzed through the application of various techniques including statistical analytical software such as the SPSS to come with measures such as percentages, frequency distribution and deviations to help in the understanding of the type of correlation between the variables. The techniques were used to determine the research respondents’ proportions that chose various responses. The methods were also applied for each group of items available in the questionnaire that ideally corresponded to the formulated research question and objectives. Line graphs, tables as well as statistical bar charts were used to make sure that quantitative data analysis is simply comprehensible.

Assumptions

The major assumption in this study is that all the procedures would be successful. However, various problems have to be encountered and sorted out. In addition, it was assumed that the methods applied would provide the desired data. Further, the study assumed that there would be one hundred percent response from the survey questionnaires. In other words, the study assumed that all the respondents would return the questionnaires with all the questions answered.

Limitations

Given the kind of research study that were carried out, the stipulated timeframe might hindered the full investigation and covering of all the required aspects as well as the parameters. Moreover, most of the factors were not easily measured since such variables are non-quantifiable. The limitations were anticipated to pose considerable threats when the gathered research data were to be evaluated and consequently analysed.

The findings indicate that the federal government is hugely supporting the local governments in their efforts towards reducing homelessness in their various cities. In fact, the federal government is supporting the local governments through various interventions particularly providing a policy framework and guidelines, which the local government agencies base their operations. In addition, the federal government support the local government programs through the provision of funds and technical capabilities critical in attaining their set objectives. However, the findings indicate that the federal government still focus on the chronic cases of homelessness.

Various government agencies are currently focusing their efforts towards reduction and prevention of homelessness in US. In particular, the federal government through policy intervention and promotion of private-public sector partnerships have managed to support the local governments on their efforts aimed at reducing the cases of homelessness among all groups. Therefore, the hypothesis that the US government is supporting the local governments to reduce homelessness in several cities of jurisdiction is supported by the findings of this study.

The study is very limited in terms of scope design and resources. In fact, the anticipation of this study is that it should inform further research. Therefore, further studies should increase the scope of the study to make the results have reliable and valid conclusions. In addition, the study is limited to only one organization dealing with homelessness. In other words, many government and non-government agencies need to be studied in order to come up with valid and reliable conclusion.

Bassuk, E. L. (2010). Ending child homelessness in America. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80 (4), 496–504. Web.

Geller, S. & Bassuk, E. L. (2006). The role of housing and services in ending family homelessness. Housing Policy Debate, 17 (4), 781–806. Web.

Guarino, K., & Bassuk, E. (2011). Working with families experiencing homelessness. Journal of Zero To Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, 30 (3), 11–20. Web.

Herman, D., Conover, S., Felix, A., Nakagawa, A. & Mills, D. (2007). Critical time intervention: An empirically supported model for preventing homelessness in high risk groups. Journal of Primary Prevention, 28 , 295-312. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2020, June 1). Issue of Homelessness in America. https://ivypanda.com/essays/issue-of-homelessness-in-america/

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IvyPanda . 2020. "Issue of Homelessness in America." June 1, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/issue-of-homelessness-in-america/.

1. IvyPanda . "Issue of Homelessness in America." June 1, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/issue-of-homelessness-in-america/.

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The Homemaker's Society

The Role of a Homemaker

A while back, on a post on my Facebook page , there was quite a discussion about the wife’s role in homemaking. Someone suggested that it was unfair and sexist for me to talk to women about homemaking or sexist to assume the wife was the homemaker . So let’s talk about the role of a homemaker for a bit.

First, I’d like to point out that my website is intended for a female, Christian audience. While I do have the occasional male reader, statistically speaking far more women read my website than men. And truth be told, I don’t intend to write for men.

It’s not because I don’t love men (I do!!) or because I think men can’t or don’t need to be helpful around the house (of course they do!!) or that I think men deserve more respect than women (everyone deserves respect!).

Rather, it’s because my writings are written with women in mind and obviously my blog is titled, A Virtuous Woman (not A Virtuous Man).

So, having said that, I would like to challenge the idea that having and serving in different roles in your home and marriage equals inequality. It does not.

Can one spouse have more power than the other? Sure. It happens. It’s sad and not representative of a healthy relationship.

related: Anger and Emotional Abuse within Marriage

But serving in different roles or traditional roles doesn’t mean one person is less valuable than the other.

If my husband and I decide I will be a full-time homemaker then that is my job. I have several hours every day to work at my job. Just like my husband has several hours to go work at his job. We have different jobs.

That doesn’t mean his is better than mine.

Caring for children, scrubbing toilets, doing the laundry, and any other variety of household tasks is not demeaning to a woman who cares for her home. It’s a noble role. It’s an act of service, duty, and responsibility.

Jesus said He came to serve, not to be served. We have the opportunity as women to be Jesus to our family every single day whether we work full time in the home or outside the home. When we serve out of love and tender care, we are not only serving our family and all who enter our homes, but we are ultimately serving the Risen Savior. Because He said, whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40)

She looks well to the ways of her Household

Proverbs 31:27 tells us, “She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”

The role of a homemaker is incredibly important. She not only cares for her home but she also cares for all who enter her home. She sees that the details are taken care of. She organizes her day so those seemingly small details are taken care of. Details like fluffed pillows on the bed or warm blueberry muffins cooling on the counter.

It’s the sweet and thoughtful gestures of a homemaker that bring life and love to the heart of a home.

But it’s also the mundane and ordinary tasks that a homemaker oversees on a daily and monthly basis that give life to the home. Fresh, clean laundry, folded and placed in drawers. Floors swept of crumbs. Bathrooms tidied and wiped clean.

You see, the role of a homemaker may be to scrub and sweep and clean. But the role of a homemaker can also be to manage and delegate and organize.

I love how Mystie from Simply Convivial talks about the duties of a homemaker . She says:

“A homemaker may or may not be the one washing her sheets, but she is the one ensuring its done. She may or may not be the one washing the dishes, but she is the one who sees to it that there are dishes, that they are clean, and that there is cause for using them (i.e. regular meals)… “The duty of the homemaker is to take the resources of the family and distribute them as required to care for the family. A homemaker provides comfort and a base of operations for not only her family but also her community.” Mystie at Sumply Convivial

I’ve been incredibly blessed to be a homemaker for the last 30 years. During that time I’ve raised five children. My youngest is almost 18 years old now. I’ve cooked thousands of meals, folded so many loads of laundry, and cleaned my house so many times you’d think I’d be a pro by now.

Homemaking is a lot of work. But even after all of these years, I can honestly say I love homemaking more today than ever. I’m thankful for the opportunity to care for my family. I love feeding them good food. I love making our home a warm and inviting space. I love being a homemaker!

Serving your family is not “less than” a career outside the home. If your husband goes to work each day, appreciate his hard work. Being a homemaker is an important and equally valuable job.

Having said that, if you work outside the home, you can still consider yourself a homemaker! If you are single, you can still consider yourself a homemaker! If you have a home to care for – you are a home- maker .

related: Who is a Homemaker? | The Value of Homemaker

Is Homemaking The Wife’s Job?

For some reason, lots of people are offended by the idea that a woman would take care of the home. If a wife is the primary caretaker of the home, does that mean the husband has no responsibility to care for the home as well? Of course not. If a husband is able to offer help, he should.

There are many men who cook, clean, and care for the homes alongside their wives. That’s awesome! Not a problem. A wife does not have to do it all.

There are times when it makes sense for a husband to help around the house. If your husband likes to cook and you don’t – that’s okay. If you decide together that certain chores around the house will be done by one or the other – that’s okay.

The main thing here is not how the chores are divided, but rather the attitude you demonstrate about the chores. If you as a wife have an attitude of pride, selfishness, and power – demanding your way – that’s not any way to have a kind and loving marriage. Just like if your husband demanded you do certain chores and had power over you.

Having consideration for each other, being willing to go the extra mile, working hard in the role you have taken on whether it be working outside the home (full-time or part-time) or working inside the home full time – will make for a happier marriage.

Dividing up the chores in a way that seems fair and equitable to the both of you is a good idea. Many husbands who take care of the outside yard work while the wife manages the inside chores. Or perhaps your husband has an incredibly taxing job so that he comes home completely exhausted. In that case, as a wife, you might do the majority of the household chores.

There are so many jobs that men do that few women ever do. I’m so thankful for strong, hard-working men that keep our country running. I would never want to go out and do some of the jobs I see men (husbands) doing!! I’m not physically able to do some jobs nor would I want to. Being a kind and generous wife, thinking of his needs, caring for him with tenderness and appreciation is a precious way to serve your family.

I think the assumption that helping women find the tools, resources, and encouragement they need to be better homemakers is sexist is a rather absurd assumption. And I don’t mean that to be brash.

However, if I want to write for women and encourage them in their role as a homemaker, it shouldn’t be offensive to other people. If men need or want resources to learn how to be better husbands, I’m sure there are resources out there for them. My site is not written for men. I write for women.

• That does not mean I believe men should take advantage of their wives.
• That does not mean I think men should never help care for their homes.
• That does not mean I think that women should take care of all the household and family responsibilities.
• That does not mean I think men deserve more respect than women. In fact, I believe that men and women deserve to be treated with equal respect.

I don’t believe that being a homemaker or striving to be the best homemaker you can be is undeserving of respect. I believe that women who care for their homes and families deserve the utmost respect and appreciation for the love, care, and tenderness they put into their homemaking efforts.

I believe that if you are a full-time homemaker and your husband goes to work each day and works hard that you should take your job at home seriously.

I want to say this with as much grace and understanding as possible. I am not saying that being a homemaker is easy or that you should have a perfectly tidy home all of the time. Being a full-time homemaker is hard work.

But, if you know you struggle with time management, pray about it and work on it. If you feel unorganized or surrounded by clutter – work on it. Read books and blogs and magazines that encourage you in your homemaking. Read works that help enrich and edify your role as a homemaker.

You can always be learning how to be better at your job – your role as a homemaker.

If you were to work outside the home, training, and learning on the job would be a natural part of it. The same applies to homemaking. Appreciate the work you do at home as worthy of time and effort and learning.

The truth is, if we want to elevate the role of a homemaker, we have to raise the bar. Our grandmothers took pride in their homes. They took their role as a homemaker seriously. Anything worth having is worth working for.

If you desire a neat and tidy home that is full of love and laughter, warmth, and good food – it will require diligent and persistent effort. Truly .

You cannot live and work and play in a space and expect it to be easy. There will always be work to do because all people, families, and furry friends dirty things up. We use dishes and laundry and toilets. We track mud in from outside. We shed hair and fur and dead skin cells. We spill things. We get careless and leave messes out instead of picking them up right away.

Life is messy.

But it’s also beautiful.

There is so much beauty in the care and keeping of a family.

Home is where the precious, private moments of family life happen. It’s where we live and grow and worship together.

Home is the heart of the family.

Your home deserves a dignified daily response to it’s care.

Your role as a homemaker is valuable and worthy and incredibly sacred. You are called to the ministry of homemaking :

“to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” Titus 2:5

I understand my website doesn’t appeal to everyone. And that’s okay. I’m totally okay with that. It actually does not bother me one bit.

I’m proud of my role as a homemaker.

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My name is Melissa Ringstaff and I've been blogging since 2001. I'm a pastor's wife and homeschooling mom living in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Southeastern KY. I believe you can create a home you love and I'm here to help you do exactly that. I'm so glad you're here with me. I hope we can be friends!

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Melissa, I enjoyed reading this post. I’m a happily married husband, to a very happy housewife/homemaker. Call it what they wish. Well, we share your thoughts as well. I work outside the home, 60-80+ hrs a week. My wife has chose to stay at home. At the time we made this decision, we were recently married. I had 4 grown children, Adults then. She had a 12, 16 yr old. Also, she comes from Colombia, South America. She n her children moved here, to be a family. The 4 of us. So, her older brother, who lives in New York. He continued to encourage her to get a job, outside the home. She wanted to do as as he suggested. When she discussed it with me. I explained to her, that u don’t get the job, the job gets u. I’m 64 yrs old, have I believe, a good income. Then again, I work a lot of hrs, for it. Anyway, I asked her what she wanted. To get a job, and be constantly controlled by it. Or, to be home with her, then children. Her response was, to be home, with, for, her children. We- chose this. My income is plenty enough to pay the bills. It gave her the option, to do as she wished. Well, it’s 10 yrs later. I still work more hrs, than I should. She takes care of the house, and everyone that enters our lives. The kids are gone. She has time to visit her mom, in Colombia, for weeks at a time. Has coffee with her friends, any time she chooses. There are those times that it would be great, if she had some outside job. It could possibly be another source of medical insurance. I could then consider retirement. We have made our choices, I’m satisfied with where we are, in life. Giving her the ability to enjoy being able see/help her mom, gives me everything I need. What we have chosen, has brought us closer together. We do what we do, for each other. Continue doing, what makes u happy. Gene

I am so thankful that I’m able to help my aging parents right now too! Being a homemaker gives women the freedom to care for everyone they love. It’s such a blessing and a privilege! Thank you for sharing your story! And thank you for being a good husband and provider for your family. 🙂

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Ruth Johnson Colvin, Champion of Literacy, Is Dead at 107

Working out of her basement, and with no teaching experience, she created a nonprofit that helped people around the world learn to read.

By Robert D. McFadden

Ruth Johnson Colvin, who founded what became one of the world’s largest organizations of volunteers tutoring basic language skills to functionally illiterate peoples in America and other lands, opening doors to citizenship and better lives, died on Sunday at her home in Syracuse, N.Y. She was 107.

The death was confirmed by her daughter, Lindy Webb.

In 1961, Ms. Colvin, a middle-aged, college-educated Syracuse homemaker and mother of two, was appalled to discover that the recent census had counted 11,055 residents of Onondaga County, N.Y., who could not read or write. She had no experience teaching, but felt passionately that she had to do something about it.

A year later, after consulting reading specialists and service agencies, she opened an office in her basement, began recruiting volunteers from churches to be tutors, wrote training manuals, and set up a small group to reach out to residents, many of them immigrants, to teach them basic English, offering pathways to jobs, education and rising standards of living.

It was slow going at first. In 1967, the group, Literacy Volunteers, was chartered by New York State as a nonprofit with 77 tutors, 100 students and Ms. Colvin as its first president. In succeeding decades under her guidance, the organization won federal and private grants, created programs in many states, won national recognition and changed its name to Literacy Volunteers of America.

After a 2002 merger with Laubach Literacy International, the organization became ProLiteracy , with hundreds of programs and 100,000 tutors in 42 states and 60 other countries, offering lessons in scores of languages at homes, workplaces, prisons and other sites. For 60 years, Ms. Colvin remained a teacher and administrator, traveled widely and wrote 12 books on her work.

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