According to the Oxford Dictionary, ‘crime’ is defined as “an action that is against the law” or “illegal actions as a whole”. (Lexico 2019) This definition could be argued as too simplistic as it does not apply to all criminal offenses. In 1884, the criminal law system was made to reconsider what was seen as a defence to murder, when the case of R v Dudley and Stephens revealed four men had to resort to cannibalism while stranded at sea. This case demonstrates how defining crime so objectively can be complex as although the men involved committed a criminal act, the death penalty they were sentenced to was commuted to six months imprisonment due to the societal norms or customs associated with sailing at sea in the 19th century. Defining crime too objectively or subjectively is an issue, as social deviance does not always result in criminal activity, for example, if an individual has been hired to spray paint public property in contrast to someone spray painting graffiti on public property without permission.
Deviance is defined as “Behaviour which is disapproved of by most people in a society or group, which does not conform to shared norms and values” (Roberts et al, 2014, p.36). Acts such as public indecency and shoplifting are criminal offences and socially deviant behaviour. Deviant behaviour can sometimes be punished by the legal system, as a result, we see the alienation or societal rejection of those who are deviant. This is how social order helps maintain conformity and pushes for social control in two main ways; the first example is formal control, which is typically “carried out by the government, the armed forces and the criminal justice system, including the police, the courts and the prison service” (Roberts et al, 2014, p.36). This type of control tackles deviant behaviour that can cause harm to businesses and the general public by enforcing public laws and ensuring the punishment of those who break them. Informal social control can be seen as more important than formal control, as the behaviours and social rules learned this way have more of a day to day impact. Informal control can be carried out by small communities such as religion, or by the education system or family members.
From a functionalist point of view, a certain amount of crime is beneficial for society as deviance can lead to social change and crime can bring the wider community together. Emile Durkheim (1982) believed that society has a “collective conscience” which develops from a mutual understanding of shared values which help guide the way people act. He believed that crime helps reaffirm the boundaries of society, an explanation of this being “every time a person breaks a law and is taken to court, the resulting court ceremony and the publicity in the newspapers, publicly reaffirms the existing values.” (Moore et al, 2006, p.53). He also points out that horrific crimes that have taken place result in a widespread public outrage, strengthening the community. An example of this happening is the 2017 suicide bombing in the Manchester Arena, which resulted in multiple businesses offering the attendees help. Finally, he believed that the levels of sympathy for those who have been prosecuted aid in changing the values of society. Widespread public outcry shows this, and those who are in positions of power such as MP’s help change the law. This reflects the changing of values whilst showing that both crime and deviance are social constructs and that these constructs, in most cases, are extremely political.
When focusing more on deviance, Ken Plummer (1979), argues that there are two distinctions between deviance, the first being societal deviance. “Societal deviance refers to behaviour which breaks the law or which is seen as deviant by most members of society” (Langley et al, 2005, p7). Examples of this include acts such as murder or armed robbery. Society agrees that these acts are both deviant and criminal, and the law ensures that these acts receive harsh punishments. Situational deviance highlights the distinctions of deviance by focusing on the context or the situation. In one society an act may be seen as the norm, however in another society it could be seen as extremely deviant. An example of this is homosexuality, as before the 1960’s sexual relationships between men were deemed deviant and criminal in the United Kingdom, however homosexuality is now widely accepted in a lot of communities, allowing it to become the norm. In other countries or societies however, homosexuality is still criminalised and homosexual acts between men are heavily frowned upon.
Crime and deviance are relative to the norms, values and rules of specific cultures. This example highlights the issues that occur when trying to define deviance, as it is challenging to explain that different subcultures or different areas have different definitions and examples of deviance that may differ from those of a wider society. These groups or subcultures can potentially develop norms that may be at odds with a wider society and can possibly see societally deviant behaviour as acceptable. Situational deviance occurs quite often, for example violence and the use of fire arms is seen as acceptable to gangs but is seen as deviant and sometimes criminal to those from a wider society.
Legal deviance is arguably the most widely accepted form of deviance, as the actions that fit into this definition are solely considered as abnormal or are frowned upon but do not break the law and are unable to be punished as such. This subtype could be compared to informal deviance, which violates the norms of society that are not coded into law. Examples of this are belching or picking your nose, which can also be described as rude behaviour. Open or public deviance links into both of these categories by being defined as a group of people who do not conform towards the views of a wider society. This, in turn, can create subcultures which may have a different definition to deviance altogether such as gangs or cults. Illegal deviance intertwines with the law, as the acts that fall under this this category are criminal and will be prosecuted against if the individual is caught performing an illegally deviant act. You could compare illegal deviance to formal deviance since an act that violates a formally enacted law, such as theft, murder or rape fits into both categories. This description defines formal deviance, however and highlights the fine line between deviant behaviour and criminal behaviour. Individuals who participate in deviant behaviour but choose to conceal it from a wider society fall under private deviance. Several reasons could be behind the individual’s choice to hide their deviance such as embarrassment or shame. Some would say private and secret deviance are similar since both are hidden away from others. Whether they are societal rules or legal rules, secret deviance actively goes against them, meaning these acts can be illegal. A legal example of secret deviance is cheating, which most societies frown upon and an illegal example is the possession of child pornography, which is punishable by law.
Crime statistics are a way of recording crimes. There are a number of ways to do this, the first way being police records. Police records provide the public with official statistics of crime that are analysed, available for free and can be accessed online by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website. Because these records are published by the police, the statistics are up to date and the statistics cover the whole of the UK. (Roberts et al, 2014, p.37). However, according to the ONS website “police recorded crime statistics do not provide a reliable measure of levels or trends in crime” (Crime in England and Wales 2018). These limitations raise some concerns such as their inability to measure and record unreported or undetected crimes and that they do not provide information such as the offenders employment status. Self-report studies focus on asking people if they have committed a crime and if so, which. There are flaws to this method, the main one being that some people might lie about the crimes they have committed. This could be due to embarrassment or to them not seeing that particular crime as an offense, however both of these reasons decrease the validity of attempting to record crime this way. These surveys also fail to address white collar crime, as well as some areas of society all together, crimes that take place in employment. Another way to record crime is by looking at victim surveys. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is carried out yearly and focuses on those who have been the victims of crimes. Issues that come with these surveys are that they do not include crimes that have no victims, such as shoplifting. Another issue these surveys have is that not everybody responds to them and that in the past only people who were sixteen years old or older were asked to respond to the surveys, decreasing the validity of their results. However, these surveys offer victims a lot more emotional security whilst discussing crimes they were the victims of and respondents may feel more comfortable sharing these incidents this way as opposed to recording them with the police.
In conclusion, it is difficult to define crime and deviance due to the societal changes that occur over time. These changes are subjective to different areas and what one culture define as deviant another culture may not. Crime and deviance are perceived in different ways and there have been many approached formed to try to answer why. These crimes are recorded officially and individually; however, it is not possible to keep track of every offence that takes place.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, ‘crime’ is defined as “an action that is against the law” or “illegal actions as a whole”. (Lexico 2019) This definition could be argued as too simplistic as it does not apply to all criminal offenses. In 1884, the criminal law system was made to reconsider what was seen as a defence to murder, when the case of R v Dudley and Stephens revealed four men had to resort to cannibalism while stranded at sea. This case demonstrates how defining crime so objectively can be complex as although the men involved committed a criminal act, the death penalty they were sentenced to was commuted to six months imprisonment due to the societal norms or customs associated with sailing at sea in the 19th century. Defining crime too objectively or subjectively is an issue, as social deviance does not always result in criminal activity, for example, if an individual has been hired to spray paint public property in contrast to someone spray painting graffiti on public property without permission.
Deviance is defined as “Behaviour which is disapproved of by most people in a society or group, which does not conform to shared norms and values” (Roberts et al, 2014, p.36). Acts such as public indecency and shoplifting are criminal offences and socially deviant behaviour. Deviant behaviour can sometimes be punished by the legal system, as a result, we see the alienation or societal rejection of those who are deviant. This is how social order helps maintain conformity and pushes for social control in two main ways; the first example is formal control, which is typically “carried out by the government, the armed forces and the criminal justice system, including the police, the courts and the prison service” (Roberts et al, 2014, p.36). This type of control tackles deviant behaviour that can cause harm to businesses and the general public by enforcing public laws and ensuring the punishment of those who break them. Informal social control can be seen as more important than formal control, as the behaviours and social rules learned this way have more of a day to day impact. Informal control can be carried out by small communities such as religion, or by the education system or family members.
From a functionalist point of view, a certain amount of crime is beneficial for society as deviance can lead to social change and crime can bring the wider community together. Emile Durkheim (1982) believed that society has a “collective conscience” which develops from a mutual understanding of shared values which help guide the way people act. He believed that crime helps reaffirm the boundaries of society, an explanation of this being “every time a person breaks a law and is taken to court, the resulting court ceremony and the publicity in the newspapers, publicly reaffirms the existing values.” (Moore et al, 2006, p.53). He also points out that horrific crimes that have taken place result in a widespread public outrage, strengthening the community. An example of this happening is the 2017 suicide bombing in the Manchester Arena, which resulted in multiple businesses offering the attendees help. Finally, he believed that the levels of sympathy for those who have been prosecuted aid in changing the values of society. Widespread public outcry shows this, and those who are in positions of power such as MP’s help change the law. This reflects the changing of values whilst showing that both crime and deviance are social constructs and that these constructs, in most cases, are extremely political.
When focusing more on deviance, Ken Plummer (1979), argues that there are two distinctions between deviance, the first being societal deviance. “Societal deviance refers to behaviour which breaks the law or which is seen as deviant by most members of society” (Langley et al, 2005, p7). Examples of this include acts such as murder or armed robbery. Society agrees that these acts are both deviant and criminal, and the law ensures that these acts receive harsh punishments. Situational deviance highlights the distinctions of deviance by focusing on the context or the situation. In one society an act may be seen as the norm, however in another society it could be seen as extremely deviant. An example of this is homosexuality, as before the 1960’s sexual relationships between men were deemed deviant and criminal in the United Kingdom, however homosexuality is now widely accepted in a lot of communities, allowing it to become the norm. In other countries or societies however, homosexuality is still criminalised and homosexual acts between men are heavily frowned upon.
Crime and deviance are relative to the norms, values and rules of specific cultures. This example highlights the issues that occur when trying to define deviance, as it is challenging to explain that different subcultures or different areas have different definitions and examples of deviance that may differ from those of a wider society. These groups or subcultures can potentially develop norms that may be at odds with a wider society and can possibly see societally deviant behaviour as acceptable. Situational deviance occurs quite often, for example violence and the use of fire arms is seen as acceptable to gangs but is seen as deviant and sometimes criminal to those from a wider society.
Legal deviance is arguably the most widely accepted form of deviance, as the actions that fit into this definition are solely considered as abnormal or are frowned upon but do not break the law and are unable to be punished as such. This subtype could be compared to informal deviance, which violates the norms of society that are not coded into law. Examples of this are belching or picking your nose, which can also be described as rude behaviour. Open or public deviance links into both of these categories by being defined as a group of people who do not conform towards the views of a wider society. This, in turn, can create subcultures which may have a different definition to deviance altogether such as gangs or cults. Illegal deviance intertwines with the law, as the acts that fall under this this category are criminal and will be prosecuted against if the individual is caught performing an illegally deviant act. You could compare illegal deviance to formal deviance since an act that violates a formally enacted law, such as theft, murder or rape fits into both categories. This description defines formal deviance, however and highlights the fine line between deviant behaviour and criminal behaviour. Individuals who participate in deviant behaviour but choose to conceal it from a wider society fall under private deviance. Several reasons could be behind the individual’s choice to hide their deviance such as embarrassment or shame. Some would say private and secret deviance are similar since both are hidden away from others. Whether they are societal rules or legal rules, secret deviance actively goes against them, meaning these acts can be illegal. A legal example of secret deviance is cheating, which most societies frown upon and an illegal example is the possession of child pornography, which is punishable by law.
Crime statistics are a way of recording crimes. There are a number of ways to do this, the first way being police records. Police records provide the public with official statistics of crime that are analysed, available for free and can be accessed online by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website. Because these records are published by the police, the statistics are up to date and the statistics cover the whole of the UK. (Roberts et al, 2014, p.37). However, according to the ONS website “police recorded crime statistics do not provide a reliable measure of levels or trends in crime” (Crime in England and Wales 2018). These limitations raise some concerns such as their inability to measure and record unreported or undetected crimes and that they do not provide information such as the offenders employment status. Self-report studies focus on asking people if they have committed a crime and if so, which. There are flaws to this method, the main one being that some people might lie about the crimes they have committed. This could be due to embarrassment or to them not seeing that particular crime as an offense, however both of these reasons decrease the validity of attempting to record crime this way. These surveys also fail to address white collar crime, as well as some areas of society all together, crimes that take place in employment. Another way to record crime is by looking at victim surveys. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is carried out yearly and focuses on those who have been the victims of crimes. Issues that come with these surveys are that they do not include crimes that have no victims, such as shoplifting. Another issue these surveys have is that not everybody responds to them and that in the past only people who were sixteen years old or older were asked to respond to the surveys, decreasing the validity of their results. However, these surveys offer victims a lot more emotional security whilst discussing crimes they were the victims of and respondents may feel more comfortable sharing these incidents this way as opposed to recording them with the police.
In conclusion, it is difficult to define crime and deviance due to the societal changes that occur over time. These changes are subjective to different areas and what one culture define as deviant another culture may not. Crime and deviance are perceived in different ways and there have been many approached formed to try to answer why. These crimes are recorded officially and individually; however, it is not possible to keep track of every offence that takes place.
Select a current event that relates to Communities and Social Change. Describe the current event and give your opinions about it
Changes in the community are inevitable given the rapid rate of globalization. Almost every country in the world has contributed to the invention of new technologies and ideas that put them on the same level as the rest of the world. Among the noble ideas brought up are those that aid in community and social changes. These help in solving problems in the community that were a hindrance to development. For instance, the field of education has had tough problems that have barred developments in most nations. Thus, most of the technological advancements in the 21st century have been geared towards education. In this paper, one of the most recent events relating to communities and social change in the education sector will be looked at. This is the innovation of K-12 learning. The increasing unprecedented challenges in the education system are what lead to the need for an efficient learning system that will shape the future of global education.
K-12 learning innovation is a form of virtual learning that is bound to bring technological advancements to the education system. For instance, under this mode of learning, students are tutored in groups of few students to enable increase efficiency in learning. The chance of having one-on-one interaction between the tutor and the student is increased. As such, tutors are able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each student thus working on the weaknesses to come up with an excellent performing student.
In addition to this, K-12 learning innovation entails working with goal-based instructions to the students. This makes it easy for the tutors to track the progress of the students hence intervene in cases of deviation from the expected trend. Parents of the students are also able to get the progress of their children and help in areas they can. Another major characteristic of the K-12 learning innovation program is that it offers online learning especially to students outside America. This is in fact the greatest achievement of K-12 learning in the field of education. Virtual learning is a new option for people who are committed in regions where they cannot access valuable education. The only requirement for this is a computer connected to the internet. Thus, the students get notes and access classes online. In some cases, exams are also conducted online through video connections such as Skype.
In my opinion, the invention of the K-12 learning innovation brings about community and social change as it transforms the lives of students in a positive way. Additionally, it simplifies the learning curriculum, which has been deemed difficult by most students in the past years.
What three technological innovations during the past fifty years or so have most influenced changing social patterns, in your opinion?
As technological innovations emerge in various fields like computing, energy, communication, infrastructure, and medicine, it is difficult to determine which one of them will have a transformative effect on its respective field. It is, however, possible to predict which one is likely to make human life better, and which one is likely to be successfully implemented on large scale. A single technological advancement may have the capacity to grow the world’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) significantly and bridge the material deficit created by an ever-growing global population. New technologies can also reduce the pressure that the production of goods exerts on the environment, and consequently help in conserving the environment. Human society, therefore, needs to be constantly evolved to make it more rewarding, more productive, and more responsive to the conservation requirements of the natural environment. Most of the technological innovations influence the social patterns of people in the community. Some of the three key technological innovations that I think have influenced social patterns to include the following:
The invention of social media
Universal translation
Remote sensing
Social media invention
Social media is a group of web-based and mobile communication technologies that are interactive between the clients. Commonly used social networks around the world include My Space, Twitter, Facebook, and Wikipedia among many more social sites. With the help of social networks such as Facebook with over 750 million users spending 22 percent of their time on the site, it makes it easy to make known to the world new products, events, and services within a short time at a minimal cost. The radio back in the 1990s was commonly used, unlike today where the coming generation has no interest in the radio anymore making business people and the community switch to other media which are increasingly becoming popular such as the social networks. Traditional media is slowly being phased out while the internet and social media quickly taking over the communication industry. Print media still exists, though only a small percentage read their newspaper online while the rest depends on the print. For those who read newspapers, they read pages with articles they are interested in and tend to ignore the rest.
Universal translation
The language was for a long time a common hindrance in the communication sector acting as a barrier to communication. This was overcome by the invention of the universal translation software, which has the capability of translating different languages of the world to the common ones such as English thus making communication easy.
The software is capable of gleaning meaning from words spoken in any language and conveying the message in any other language that the user desires. It has therefore enabled people from various cultures to communicate effectively. A Chinese scientist, who developed software capable of understanding spoken Mandarin Chinese, and replying in spoken English language, started the project. Universal translation software has influenced social patterns as it has increased the rate of interaction in the social, business, and economic world. For instance, it has significantly revolutionized the tourism industry by enabling all people to communicate with each other regardless of their languages.
Remote sensing
The use of sensors, which allow responses to certain stimuli, is likely to change human responses to the environment. This technological innovation may have a widespread application in health because such sensors can be used to monitor the function of the body and initiate corrective measures if necessary. For instance, sensors could be used to check blood sugar levels and initiate insulin provision if the sugar levels are not normal. The aforementioned emerging technology depends on communication between devices using wireless technology, sensing technologies that do not consume high amounts of power, or active harvesting of energy. Another possible application of the emerging remote sensing technology is the installation of a remote sensor system in vehicles, aimed at enabling vehicles to sense each other. The latter application can potentially lead to a substantial reduction in the number of traffic accidents, thereby saving human lives in the community.
The issue of race discrimination is familiar to many non-white Americans even though the authorities of the country emphasize the equality of the population. In some cities, this problem is not critical, and its adverse influences can hardly be observed but the community of Raleigh, North Carolina, does not belong to them. Both African American men and women experience discrimination, racism, and racial profiling on a daily basis. In order to overcome this issue, it is significant to develop a social change that can alter people’s minds.
Main body
It can be advantageous to start with the creation of a volunteer organization that supports African Americans who live in Raleigh. It should include the representatives of various professions who suffer from race discrimination or are interested in making all citizens equal. As this organization will consist of individuals of different races, it will be possible to show the rest of the population that they can coexist without any conflicts. It will be important to target diverse citizens to increase the exposure of the intervention (Wilkins 27). For instance, teachers will influence the minds of their students, employers will hire people from different ethnic groups, social workers will offer free consultations for discriminated individuals while lawyers and policy-makers will support the vulnerable population and look for a possibility to benefit it. The members of the organization will regularly gather to discuss currently observed problems and develop a step-by-step solution to them. These individuals will not only offer psychological support but will also use their authority and power to affect the rest of the population of Raleigh.
In order to involve fellow colleagues in the development of the intervention needed to resolve the issue of race discrimination in the selected community, it is important to craft an appropriate appeal that can make them interested and willing to change the current situation. It can be advantageous to use flyers that can be both printed and uploaded on social media. In this way, the possibility to minimize expenses, as well as to reach a large population, can be obtained. It is also beneficial that flyers will be observed not only by fellow colleagues but also by those individuals who would like to join a new volunteer organization because they are willing to make citizens equal and fight the issue of race discrimination.
Conclusion
Due to my personal experiences in this course, my perspective on race discrimination has evolved significantly. Initially, I considered that this problem could be resolved only with the help of interventions developed by policy-makers and other local, state, and national authorities. However, now, I realize that every person can affect this situation. It is critical not to wait for a change but to initiate it, contacting people who share your ideas and are willing to make the world better. To my mind, my understanding of an individual role in the development of social change will enhance with the course of time.
Work Cited
Wilkins, Karin Gwinn, et al. The Handbook of Development Communication and Social Change. John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Martin Luther King is a renowned civil rights activist who used a nonviolence approach to achieve social change in America (King 42). King understood the predicament of the black people in America, but also understood the importance of peace for all races. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, King resorted to a civil right movement that protested against racial discrimination.
The nonviolence approach included boycotts to social amenities and industrial strikes. King is known for his role in the infamous Montgomery bus boycott. Apparently, black people were not allowed to access the front row seats in a bus. This social injustice was a common occurrence in Montgomery, Alabama.
A nonviolence boycott of this injustice led to changing of the infamous rules, and black people were able to integrate with the rest of the people in social places. King beseeched his fellow black people to integrate with white people in the pursuit for social justice. King argued that black people success was bound to that of the white people. In fact, the success of nonviolence approach led to enactment of civil and voting rights acts in 1965 and 1964 respectively.
Advantages and disadvantages of nonviolence
The advantage of using nonviolence is that the approach justifies the moral behavior and philosophy of its proponents. Nonviolence is usually perceived to be an integral aspect of a country’s moral foundation. Nonviolence can be used as a way of life by its proponents as it preserves life and safeguards social values.
However, nonviolence is sometimes abused by its proponents when they mix elements of violence as a defense mechanism. Sometimes, nonviolence tactics are used to provoke violence. In addition, people resent participating in strikes and peaceful demonstrations. King’s approach was heavily criticized and undermined as ineffective by Malcolm X.
Violence and black militancy
The use of violence and black militancy was advocated by the Malcolm X. Violence as a tool for advancing social and civil rights involved taking up weapons and fighting as a defense mechanism (Malcolm X 139). Malcolm X understood the plight of the black Americans in terms of socio-economic aspects.
Besides languishing in poverty, descendants of black slaves were poor and discriminated in a society that was progressing economically and politically. Black people were neglected by the government that never provided security. In this context, black people who resisted the white man rule were killed, tortured and their homes were burned.
According to Malcolm X, the only way to preserve the dignity of the black men was through rebellion. Malcolm X idea of violence and black militancy led to the creation of the cultural nationalism. Cultural nationalism focused on liberating black people from white people. This led to isolation and segregation of the blacks from the whites. Resistance to this segregation led to killing of members from either party.
Preservation of the black man culture was of importance since the white man was an oppressor and resented black culture. The main objective of violence and black militancy was to secure jobs for its people and end social conflict between the black and white people. Malcolm X’s philosophy also considered freedom and voting rights. Malcolm X preferred self-defense against police brutality, and self-governance.
Advantages and disadvantages of violence and black militancy.
The advantage of violence and black militancy is that it can be used as the last resort if all nonviolent means fail. Sometimes, violence evokes a need to intervene and understand the cause of the problem. However, violence is destructive and distorts the meaning of social and civil rights.
Moreover, violence and acts of cultural nationalism promote hatred among people of different races. National healing and reconciliation are ineffective, when the impact of violence is horrendous. Sometimes, acts of violence lead to genocide as evidenced in countries like Kosovo and Rwanda.
Feminism
Feminism is a renowned approach in realizing social and civil rights. Sojourner Truth is a renowned activist who used feminism to advocate for women’s rights. During her time, racism and gender discrimination against women was not protected by the constitution. In this regard, she rebelled against the constitution by voting despite the fact she was a black woman.
When Truth was arrested and aligned in court, she expressed her displeasure with a constitution that does not protect a woman. In her speech called “Ain’t I a Woman”, Truth narrates how she worked like a man yet not respected and treated like a woman. Truth advocates for equality between men and women. Feminism approach appreciates that women are human and are inclined to work and contribute to the society just like men.
Advantages and disadvantages of feminism
The advantage of feminism as an approach to achieving social and civil rights is that it elevates women’s position in the society. Women are now engaging in politics and economic growth of a society. Unlike in historical times, women now have rights to vote, work and influence the society. However, feminism has caused discomfort among men who no longer protect women. Emergence of anti-male ideology has resulted from feminism and promotes sexist concepts.
Works Cited
King, Martin Luther. I have a dream. New York: Random House Children’s Books, 2012. Print.
Malcolm X. “To Mississippi Youth”. Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements. Ed. George Breitman. New York: Ballantine, 1964. 137-146. Print.
Martin Luther was a German priest and a person who initiated the Protestant Reformation. Though he was also known for his antisemitic claims which turned out to be controversial for his reputation, Martin Luther contributed greatly to the political and social changes that began in Germany and spread all over the world. The first change that can be seen as the first step to liberation of people from the power of Pope and the Roman church is the translation of the Bible into German.
The thing is that the Bible was read and understood only by people that knew the Latin language whereas the interpretation of it was in accordance with the principles, goals, and intentions of the church and the Pope. In other words, social movement that began after translation and spread of the German variant of the Bible can be seen as the positive change that made people aware of what they can do according to the words of God reported in the Bible.
It also notable that no one actually questioned whether the variant suggested by Martin Luther was authentic and adequate in terms of the equivalents in Latin and competence of this priest to interpret the Bible while being completely involved into the dispute between him and the clerical powers of Rome and Germany.
So, it is questionable whether he translated the Bible into German so that people could interpret it in their own way or he translated the Bible using his own subjective understanding of the Holy Writ making people take it for granted.
The second contribution by Martin Luther into the political and social changes was his initiation of the Protestant Reformation. Liberty of people was first reached through the translation of the Bible to make the universal truth more available for ordinary people rather than limited for the rich men only.
As reported by Mullet (2004), “…the Reformation was coming to be seen as a beginning and specifically as an overture to broadening human liberty” (p. 258). In other words, liberation of people and their empowerment in terms of knowledge was the main change achieved by this German priest though he was antisemitic and had no right to spread his ideas in the framework of a conflict.
In other words, he had to introduce his position in a way that does not raise any controversies whereas he and his views were full of controversies and questionable ideas. Finally, his actions led to political and social changes in Germany and Europe though this was also a matter of long struggle against the church.
The United States leaders can be seen as a group of people who knew what they wanted and considered it possible to achieve because the laws were new for this country and it was easier to alter them.
However, it took many years for Martin Luther King, Jr. to achieve positive changes in the perception of black people by whites and vice versa as discrimination was mutual in that case. In other words, it is necessary to evaluate the activity of Martin Luther King, Jr. in terms of the political and social changes that could be traced in the United States.
The first action or, it is better to refer to it as, a chain of actions is the activity of Martin Luther King, Jr. against racial discrimination and segregation towards black population of the United States of America. One of the notable cases of segregation on the buses and struggle against it was the “Claudette Colvin case [that] had come to sparking a challenge to segregation on the buses, since she was the only person to be charged under the city segregation ordinance and… to plead ‘not guilty’ in court” (Kirk, 2005, p. 13).
Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most active supporters of non-segregation policy and he contributed greatly to release of Claudette Colvin. In other words, the activity of this Baptist priest was aimed at having an active position of a citizen who strives for changing the situation in a peaceful way making it possible for many people to change their lives and social status without being harmed in a conflict.
Another social change was the aggressive attitude of the black people against the whites and vice versa. Special rise of such attitude was given by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. who tried to achieve non-segregation and non-discrimination in a peaceful way.
As suggested by Elbaum (2002), many black people wanted to join a rather radical movement of Black Panthers after assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. because they saw that a peaceful way of making deals does not lead to any positive changes. As such, aggressive attitude of black people is the result of actions by Martin Luther King, Jr. or, to tell it clearly, the result of his failure in achieving the goal.
Promoting social change is important for enhancing the social well-being. There are numerous social issues that need to be addressed nowadays, and the disenfranchisement of ex-felons is one of them. In this paper, we will describe this problem and, after providing a brief review of advice from literature, will offer some recommendations about how to deal with it.
Ex-Felons Disenfranchisement as a Societal Issue
The U.S. is one of the strictest countries in the world when it comes to disenfranchising ex-felons. While disenfranchisement is not obligatory on the federal level, many states choose to strip ex-felons of their voting rights. The U.S. has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world (Bisman, 2004, p. 110), and most criminal sentences in the U.S. are the result of a plea bargain; it is estimated that many innocents go to prison this way (Pilkington, 2012). In addition, it is clear that poor people are more probable to be imprisoned, because they are more likely to become suspects of a crime and to be offered and accept a plea bargain (without the trial) than e.g. members of the middle or upper social classes.
It is important to “enhanc[e] the general well-being of society and of the individuals and groups within it” (Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, 2000, para. 6), “to enhance the quality of life in the society” (American Counseling Association, 2005, p. 2), and “to enhance human well-being… with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed” (National Association of Social Workers, 2008, para. 1). Contrary to what happens in practice, the prison should be a rehabilitation institution. Because the ex-felons disenfranchisement strips many people of their basic political rights instead of providing rehabilitation, it is our opinion that it should not be practiced.
The Expert Recommendations from Literature
According to Abramovitz (1998), many people working with social problems are often forced to either adjust people to circumstances or promote change in the existing system. Hyde (2004) states that leadership development (in particular, cultivating new leaders) is one of the ways of promoting change (pp. 12-13). When promoting change or acting upon various social issues, it is also essential to “mak[e] your efforts known” (Homan, 2016, p. 323). With regards to the issue of ex-felons disenfranchisement, it appears that the only way to deal with it is to promote change in the existing system (on the federal level or at least on the level of separate states), because the voting rights are stripped according to the state laws. Therefore, social advocacy methods need to be used to address this problem.
Applying Change, Leadership, and Advocacy to Implement the Recommendations
From the recommendations given in the literature, it is possible to see that social advocacy (i.e., promoting change within the political and social system) can be used to deal with the problem of ex-felons disenfranchisement. Leadership development and promoting new leaders who would address the problem can be employed (Hyde, 2004); but it appears faster, easier and more realistic to gather some people who would be against the disenfranchisement (it is possible to do so in the environment of social workers or by using e.g. the social media) and organize a political campaign (e.g., peaceful demonstrations, petitions, etc.) demanding that the disenfranchisement should be banned. It is crucial to spread information about these activities (Homan, 2016), preferably through large media (e.g., newspapers, the Web, television), for instance, by inviting journalists to demonstrations, in order to make the issue the spotlight, gather more followers, and gain more influence on those who are responsible for adopting laws.
Conclusion
To sum up, ex-felons disenfranchisement is a harmful practice that strips numerous people of their basic political rights. It is important to ban this practice, and social advocacy can be employed for this purpose. In particular, it is possible to gather a politically active group that would organize social campaigns against disenfranchisement. While doing so, it is crucial to make this group’s activities known, preferably via the (large) media.
References
Abramovitz, M. (1998). Social work and social reform: An arena of struggle. Social Work, 43(6), 512-526. Web.
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. (2000). Code of ethics. Web.
American Counseling Association. (2005). ACA code of ethics. Web.
Bisman, C. (2004). Social work values: The moral core of the profession. British Journal of Social Work, 34(1), 109-123. Web.
Homan, M. S. (2016). Promoting community change: Making it happen in the real world (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Web.
Hyde, C. A. (2004). Multicultural development in human services agencies: Challenges and solutions. Social Work, 49(1), 7-16. Web.
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Web.
American society has been experiencing some sort of dynamism which has been marked by various aspects of the people’s lives. In this article the author highlights the issues that have brought about social change in the American society. Decline in congregations by the people for instance in clubs for social endeavors has been noted to be on the decline with the passing of a few decades. The author of this article aims at bringing out the picture of the changing phenomenon of social capital in the American society. He achieves his objectives by first of all distinguishing social capital from the other forms of capital like the human capital and the physical capital. The author raises the fact that just like the other forms of capital that have value to the society social networks too are of value and have indeed being undergoing transformation. The origin of social capital is explained in this article and furthermore there is an explanation on what kind of society can be said to be in possession of social capital. This according to the author started in the 20th century and was meant to reiterate on how human life can be made even more productive by the use of social connections between the people of America. The various aspects of social capital are well elaborated in this article with the writer pointing out that there are individual and collective components of social capital. The private and public aspects of social capital are also mentioned with the author explaining that the benefits of social capital are varied and can come in different forms for instance there are certain external factors that affect this phenomenon and they touch on the wider community other than the individual who makes the social connections that characterize social capital. There is emphasis on the fact that social capital benefits both the public and private entities. This is evidenced when the author mentions that even bystanders stand to benefit from an investment that has been made in social capital. Issues of reciprocation are also characteristic of the social change in the American society. This is because there is a norm that someone does the good for others in anticipation that they will do the same in return. For instance it has been mentioned that if one does not attend other people funerals then they too will not appear in his funeral. With this kind of reciprocity efficiency in the society has been greatly enhanced because of the trust that is associated with such connections. The various forms and sizes of social capital have also been highlighted ranging from the family, Sunday school class, community and even internet chat just to mention but a few.
Discussion
Social capital has also been pinpointed to be directed towards antisocial behavior like bombing and other ill motives. This is true because a number of gangs in the American streets present a form of social capital that is misplaced in agenda and thus ends up engaging in unlawful behavior. It has also been brought out how some other forms of social capital come from formal organizations for instance the Parents Teachers Association which is formulate for the benefit of the students.
The differences between Bridging social capital and the boding social capital have also been pinpointed in this article. That bridging capital has an overall intention of benefiting the whole society while on the other hand the bonding capital can be viewed to be focused on individual well being. There is also statement of the fact that bridging capital has a long sustained impact connection and ties than the bonding capital which can be said to be short-lived within the individuals of the society. Social dimensions such as the spirit of religion has been pointed to be the ones that bond people together for instance the Black church in the United states brings together people from different races. The author does not go very far in terms of describing the distinctiveness between the two forms of social capital. But still he sticks to his endeavor to get into the evolving social trends in the entire book. There is emphasis on the need to keep the conceptualized differences in the minds for the sake of the future information. In intellectual circles the debate about social capital in not a very interesting issue as mentioned in this article because politics have dominated all spheres of the people’s life such that issues that regard to social capital have been neglected. This can be attributed may be to the fact that politics in the society have proved to be taking center stage and prominence because of the impact they have on social and economic lives of the people. In my view this has made people to divert their attention from the fundamentally essential social capital factors that can even rise up against politics if at all they were to be given the adequate attention they deserve. The author has also underscored the fact that the role of national myths has also created influence because they emphasize so much on what individual heroes are capable of doing while not mentioning that collective efforts can even take the community to greater heights.
Though not admitting to it, what comes out clearly from this article is that social capital in the American society has been on the decline with marked weaknesses in the way people make connections and ties with one another.
Throughout the history there has been a weakness in the community connections in America. But this is in contrast viewed from the civil engagements that Americans have been involved point of view.
Conclusion
Social change in the American society is a phenomenon that has come out to be quite uneven because of its polymorphous nature. It requires adequate resources and evidence so as to come up with more valid information concerning the social dimorphism that has shaped the social capital in American society. Such evidence needs to pinpoint on the emergent issues that are actually responsible for social change in America. In my view this is quite essential because it is from such premises that one can come up with a valid argument that indeed American social capital has been experiencing weakening with time. Such an argument should incorporate all aspects of the society and its people. This is so because overlooking some aspects of the people would not amount to an all inclusive ideas that can substantiate on the fact that social change in American society has been characterized with declining power of social capital. I think in this line of thought it will become so easy to demystify the uncertainty behind social change in the American Society.
References
Putnam , Robert 2000,’ Thinking about Social change in America’, Chapter 1, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, New York and London, Simon and Schuster, pp. 15-28.
Adult education encompasses the alternative educational curriculum designed for adults who, for one reason or another, dropped out of school before acquiring essential basic skills needed in life. Adult education has profound social benefits and as such, an agent for social change.
Adult education is of significant value as a means of addressing social problems and providing solutions to issues affecting disadvantaged groups in society. It provides means of bridging the social inequalities that exist in contemporary societies with regard to reproductive health and social empowerment, especially in relation to economic, cultural and political engagement.
Adult education, when considered according to the practices and principles of community-based education has the potential of reducing and even eliminating existing social inequalities. Community-based education for adults is based on the assumption that any community, urban or rural, has the capacity to generate solutions to its own problems. It serves as an instrument for promoting and strengthening social capacity to address various social challenges.
The United Chinese Enrichment Services Society (SUCCESS) is one such a program that involves diverse community development initiatives to foster adult education for a Chinese immigrant community (Guo 107). The organization, based in Vancouver, Canada, provides accessible adult education and social services to new Chinese immigrants. Success has created a community of immigrants that plays multiple roles in relation to the provision of adult education.
These include provision of adult education programs, facilitation of community development, and advocating on behalf of the Chinese immigrants in relation to citizenship. The ‘SUCCESS’ education programs and services addressed the needs of the adult immigrant community, and as such, facilitated social change.
History of SUCCESS
Immigrant communities in countries such as Canada face challenges such as the language barrier and social skills that deter them from fully participating in the society. Additionally, mainstream government agencies may not efficiently provide services that meet the social and cultural needs of immigrant communities. It is against this backdrop that SUCCESS was established. It saw its dawn in 1973 to enhance accessibility of adult education programs and other social services to new adult immigrants from China (Guo 111).
Initially, SUCCESS started out as a Chinese Connection Project (1973-1979) funded by Health and Welfare Canada to enhance accessibility of social services to new immigrants primarily from Hong Kong, China. The services provided during this period comprised of language skills, taught through the English Language as a Second Language (ESL) classes and settlement services.
Between 1979 and 1989, the immigrants from Hong Kong substantially increased following the Sino-British pact. This meant that SUCCESS had to increase the volume of its services to match the high number of immigrants. SUCCESS also had to expand its services to different locations as the immigrants continued to settle in different geographical locations beyond Chinatown region, Vancouver. From 1989 to 1998, SUCCESS expanded tremendously both in its program offerings and scope.
It incorporated a number of services and programs for immigrant communities (Chinese and non-Chinese immigrants). The high numbers and the changing composition of the immigrant population forced SUCCESS to expand its program offerings to suit immigrants from other regions. Currently, SUCCESS offers a number of professional programs to immigrant communities mainly from China, enhancing community development and education for citizenship, and providing advocacy services for the immigrants.
Issues Addressed by SUCCESS
Since its inception, SUCCESS has played a pivotal role in promoting community development for the Chinese Community. In particular, the organization primarily addresses issues to do with citizenship and settlement procedures of new immigrants, adult education to enhance social participation, and advocacy services.
With regard to citizenship, SUCCESS provides educational programs that enable new immigrants to acquire citizenship and settle in Canada. The organization also directs immigrants to the appropriate service providers, including translation services to overcome the language barrier and enable them to seek services from immigration agencies in Canada. The organization also advocates on behalf of immigrants in relation to public participation and discrimination.
For instance, SUCCESS initiated a nationwide protest campaign against stereotypes broadcasted in Canadian mainstream media that satirized the accent of new Chinese immigrants. To address social exclusion, language barrier and facilitate participation of new immigrants in community development, SUCCESS programs cover six broad areas.
These include language and settlement procedures training, reception of immigrants at airports, training on employment opportunities, counseling services, training on small business ventures, and community services.
The stakeholders of this organization include various Chinese organizations, the media, volunteers involved in providing interpretation services and the federal government. The Chinese organizations such as the Chinese Benevolent Association, the Chinese Cultural Centre and the Chinese Merchants association provide social services, business training and language training services to new immigrants. Many mainstream organizations also provide a variety of services to immigrants under the auspices of SUCCESS.
These organizations include the law enforcement, the healthcare institutions, schools and the media. “The different classes of government in Canada (municipal, provincial and federal) are involved in funding of SUCCESS’s immigrant services” (Guo 109). In particular, the provincial governments fund educational and health services for immigrants.
The Role of Adult Education in Social Change
In the context of Chinese immigrant community, the lack of services that address the social needs had a significant impact on their social development. Thus, SUCCESS’s educational programs and services served to transform the social status of the immigrants by improving accessibility to economic opportunities in Canada. According to Derwing, adult education geared towards social change involves educational activities that transform the society within which they are implemented (194).
As such, with an objective of transforming the society in which they operate, there should be an organization of educational activities. Adult education can serve as an instrument for transmitting new values with an aim of bringing about social change.
CIT perceives adult education as a means of creating a renewed sense of motivation and transmitting fundamental values and attitudes that allow people to tackle new challenges in whichever social context they find themselves. SUCCESS educational programs instill new forms of perceptions that enable new immigrants cope with cultural change and participate in community development.
The main purpose of adult education is to equip adults with necessary skills and knowledge that enables them to manipulate their social environment well and attain individual and community development.
In this sense, adult education confers social freedom for the survival and development of individuals and by extension, the community. SUCCESS recognizes that adult education can serve to expedite social/community development, hence the provision of necessary skills to immigrants to enable them participate in community development.
Grossi examines the lack of participation by the public in their community development (123). He argues that cultural stereotypes facilitate a sense of indifference in oppressed populations with regard to seeking solutions to their plight. This prevents them from actively seeking a solution to their own problems.
Thus, participation is a crucial process that involves the masses in formulating their own goals and working together to achieve them. Among the stakeholders in SUCCESS’ educational initiatives are Chinese organizations such as the Chinese Benevolent Association and the Chinese Cultural Center, which understand the needs of the immigrant community. This means that the educational programs and development projects undertaken by SUCCESS reflect the social needs of the Chinese community.
Derwing argues that the planning and implementation of the adult educational initiatives should not rely entirely on expert opinion; rather it should involve a needs assessment that involves the participation of the individual members (201). The challenges faced by new Chinese immigrants, including language barrier, and citizenship and settlement difficulties were identified by the Chinese organizations that form the principal stakeholders of SUCCESS.
The idea is to enable the new immigrants to participate in their own development and as such, be agents of social change. Through SUCCESS’s adult education programs and services, the immigrants are able to inquire and obtain necessary information that enables them to address their problems in the context of the larger Canadian society.
Since adult education facilitates the development of the community within the larger society, it is, therefore, an instrument for social change as community development reflects social mobility and transformation. In the context of Vancouver, the immigrants have less skills and knowledge resources to participate in the development. Thus, being a minority, they are prone to challenges such as unemployment, lack of opportunities and social alienation from the mainstream society.
Social change means changed perceptions and lifestyle patterns with regard to providing solutions to problems and making life better for the entire community. According to Derwing, the role of social change is to transform attitudes, values, knowledge and skills (192).
Accordingly, the purpose of SUCCESS concurs with Derwing’s assertion. It facilitates the acquisition of language skills and knowledge by immigrants that enable them to operate in Canadian society. Additionally, SUCCESS advocates on behalf of immigrants to eliminate social exclusion and foster their participation in the larger community development.
The Principles and Values of Community-Based Adult Education
Friere suggests that education for the oppressed or minority in the society helps them to become conscious of the social determinants in their lives (93). He argues that social change only occurs “when each individual becomes aware of the social determinants in his/her life and undertakes to transform them for the common expedient”. In other words, to effect social change, it requires both the learner and the instructor to engage in the process of reflection, dialogue and action, i.e. praxis.
Friere defines praxis as “a reflection on a particular action that translates into an improved action” (94). In this regard, the social stereotypes and the lack of skills such as language skills can impair the minority individuals’ reflection on an action often because of lack of motivation to pursue social justice in the context of mainstream society.
In Vancouver, prior to the inception of the SUCCESS program, the lack educational programs and services to cater for the needs of the immigrants, means that they were socially disadvantaged. The SUCCESS programs equipped the immigrants with fundamental skills and advocated for a social environment conducive for their development to improve the quality of their life.
Therefore, praxis is an essential principle for adult learning. It entails stimulating individuals’ inbuilt reflection to bring about an appropriate action. Praxis can serve much in transmitting skills, knowledge and attitudes to adult learners and as they put the new attitudes and skills into practice, they reflect on their actions (Derwing 202). Central to the theory of adult education is the vital role played by reflection on subsequent actions.
Adult learning process involves four cardinal stages; firstly, the individuals encounter with a particular experience, which in this context was a language barrier, limited opportunities, citizenship, and settlement difficulties experienced by early Chinese immigrants into Canada. The second stage involves reflection and analysis of the experience; this influenced the early Chinese immigrants to establish SUCCESS to assist other immigrants to cope with new challenges.
The third stage involves seeking action in response to the experience. Hence, SUCCESS’s provision of programs and services tailored to meet the diverse needs of the new immigrants. The last stage involves the use of a new approach to tackling issues; SUCCESS’s programs enabled the new immigrants to integrate in the community and seek solutions to challenges they faced in the wider Canadian community.
The principle of praxis enables adult learners to develop their learning plans in such a way that participants are able to apply what they learn. In this way, the members are able to reflect their actions both as the decision-makers and as subjects in their cultural contexts. SUCCESS involved Chinese organizations and individuals in the development of the training programs.
Thus, in this case, the educators and the learners interacted directly in any of SUCCESS’s programs. Additionally, the staff comprised of immigrants settled in Canada, who understand the native languages and culture of the new immigrants. This ensured the meeting of the diverse needs of new immigrants, especially with regard to settlement procedures.
The development of the counseling services had the cultural and linguistic aspects of immigrants in mind. A multilingual staff English, Cantonese and Chinese Mandarin) offered the counseling services to the clients’ native languages. Additionally, the Chinese organizations, in partnership with SUCCESS, offered the advocacy and community development services.
Immigrants, who once participated in SUCCESS’s programs offered support for this cause in the grassroots. Thus, the principle of praxis results to a designed approach with set objectives such that the content taught reflects these objectives. In other words, the members of the community have to take an active role in tackling the social problems that they face.
The expansion of SUCCESS to incorporate non-Chinese immigrants reflects a multi-sectoral approach to community development. Grossi describes the best practice principles for adult education organizations (124). He contends that the organization must formulate multiple goals and actively involve most participants in community development.
SUCCESS involved multiple Chinese organizations, former participants as volunteers, mainstream organizations and the government to achieve its three-pronged goals; providing adult education programs, advocacy and liaison services and facilitation of citizenship and settlement for immigrants. Additionally, Rose suggests a multiple approach to adult education in order to have maximum impact on the community.
This is the contingency approach, which requires the analysis of the cultural values, the community characteristics and the nature of the social problem in order to design appropriate educational programs. SUCCESS’s programs and services address the challenges that face new immigrants to Canada.
Analysis of Oppression
Oppression in the context of the immigrants involved cultural stereotypes and social inequalities arising from limited opportunities and necessary skills by immigrants relative to the rest of the population in Vancouver. This form of oppression is known as marginalization, where individuals especially minority population are excluded from the mainstream social and economic activities. In Canada, the 13.4% of the general population are minority groups (Derwing 197), with the majority born and raised in foreign countries.
Their language skills and knowledge do not match those required in a contemporary Canadian society owing to the cultural differences. As such, the minorities cannot participate fully in their community development. Derwing contends that marginalization is the worst form of oppression as it excludes individual from social life (198). This has the potential of resulting to material deprivation, especially when the ‘oppression’ extends to the economic sector.
Additionally, Grossi identifies two injustices that arise from material deprivation in contemporary Western societies. The first injustice relates to the provision of social welfare services (121). In Canada, prior to the establishment of SUCCESS, government-funded welfare services, e.g., language training programs to enable new Chinese immigrants integrate into the society were lacking.
This amounted to oppression; a practice SUCCESS sought to combat through various adult education initiatives that impart necessary skills to immigrants to enable them participate in their own development. The second injustice regards the exclusion of particular individuals or groups from full citizenship rights.
This makes these groups to depend on bureaucratic institutions for social support services, and as a result, they are subject to punitive treatment by policies imposed by these institutions. Additionally, this denies the marginalized group the right to satisfy their social and health needs in a culturally appropriate way. SUCCESS combats this directly through its advocacy and liaison services and programs, job training and culturally appropriate counseling services.
Social exclusion is oppressive in the sense that it prevents individuals from participating in social cooperation and community development. It denies the oppressed group access to social and health services of high quality as those for the mainstream society. In this way, social exclusion creates social inequalities with regard to the provision of services. Derwing contends that with or without social support, marginalization breeds a sense of uselessness and disrespect for the marginalized groups (201).
Thus, while marginalization primarily encompasses injustices in resource distribution, it extends to cultural and social deprivation by limiting social interaction and cooperation. SUCCESS’s programs and services aimed to bridge the social gap between the immigrant community and the mainstream society. It also gave the Chinese immigrants an opportunity to interact in economic and social contexts in order to foster their development as a community.
Conclusion
Adult education is a vital instrument for addressing social problems affecting disadvantaged groups. SUCCESS’s programs and services aimed at providing necessary skills and knowledge to new immigrants primarily from Hong Kong, China, who faced difficulties integrating in the mainstream society.
The immigrants faced language barrier and lack of welfare services, which amounted to oppression. SUCCESS’s service offerings were three-pronged; language training, facilitation of citizenship and settlement procedures and enhancing community development. SUCCESS’s approaches concur with Friere’s praxis principle that regards community-based education as an agent for social change.
Works Cited
Derwing, Tomy. Instilling a passive voice: citizenship instruction in Canada. Toronto: The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 1997. Print.
Friere, Petr. The Politics of Education. Massachusetts: Bervin and Gravey, 1985. Print.
Generally, the social, economic, and political morphology of a society sets the context for an individual’s behaviour. Normally, these sets of behaviour seek to provide individuals with the means and ways to survive in these dynamic societies. Emotional confidence and social justice are exceptionally instrumental in ensuring that these social constructs bring the most in satisfying the basic human needs (Maiese 2003). The preserve of a society’s ideologies is traceable in what the society and it members cherish.
Gender and adulthood, for example, are concepts that denote social and cultural constructs. A society usually assigns to every individual a tag on the expected behaviours individuals must pose in line with the values and physiognomies that are attributable to both males and females separately. How these perceptions reinforce the society as an institution depends on the values, laws and the aspirations shared by society and its members collectively. The popular perception that all people living in developed nations have higher living standards than those in developing countries is a total fallacy. The discourse expounds on the existence of people living ordinary lives even in these high-end regions.
Structural realignments
In most cases, political exclusion, exploitation, marginalisation and inequity between men and women, or among different members in a society characterise these relationships. These structural forces give rise to a system of winners and losers where individuals are defined within a particular social setting (Plumwood 2009). Structural realignment usually results in power struggles, contentions, and movements that aim to bring humanity to their expectations.
The metamorphosis of gender relations in Australia, for example, has been rapid, yet profound, especially in bringing socio-economic and political changes in the history of humanity. Early in the 20th century, both the genders practically took different roles in the society. For instance, the place of a woman in the society was viewed generally to be somewhere at home, while a man occupied a vocational place in the public sphere (Gibson 2002, p. 51). Noticeably, the inequality aspect begins out rightly at the family unit.
Moral concepts
The ethics of every society though, is embedded in the ideology of what is wrong or right, what is bad or good, especially with regard to individual’s character (Gibson 2002, p. 48). Societal ethics as explored in the traditions of old parochial societies embedded in the origins of the agreeable social relations and attitudes cherished by the society. Additionally, these relationships were expressed in the patterns or forms of behaviour that the society considers to bring about ethical interaction between members of different sex in the society.
The essence of which was tied to social harmony in especially in light of what favours men (Hogg 2001, p. 349). The beliefs and ideas about moral and social constructs were the prototype of the ancient Australian society, and were stipulated in the decorum of the unwritten laws of the day, analysed and inferred upon the people by the moral thinking of the time. Relationships, especially marriage have been sacred duties not only in the Australian context, but also in other civilised societies across the world today (Lieberman 2012, p. 23). Gender interactions seen under these lenses are the foundation stone that bond relationships that enrich communities by bringing forth new life into the world and new hope for the society
Gender roles
While the differences, especially in the gender roles offers that many women in the society are confined in the domestic net, the tussle against gender equality represents the many men in the society who are adept at their masculinity and would always want the status quo unchallenged (Mayberry, Nicewander, Qin, and Ballard 2006, p. 113).
This is so because the common rule that informs these unbiased structures favours them. Unbiased legislation of the position of women in the society in general is a perpetuation of how this society loathes gender equality. Expressly, the much of the agitation for gender equality has been upped in Australia to explore the general concerns of women in the society, singling out the role of women against their male counterparts.
Knowing that the family unit is a mirror presentation of the society, Hogg (2001, p. 355) opines that the core of the society is equality of purpose, and sums it up within the scope of marriage, parenting, and domesticity. Women’s symbolic confinement at homesteads, being victimised and dominated by men highlights the numerous inequality instances all over Australia (Mayberry et al. 2006, p. 115). The Australian gender equality factor has been thought provoking; it has been filled with the richness that explores feminine determination despite their fate. This quest has often been used to castigate the status of men in the society as being strategic to the extinction of the feminine situation.
The populists’ movements
In the American politics, both the populists and the progressive movements shared several similarities within their body politic, although they had differences that spring from ideological variances (Wacquant 2002, p. 43). The populists’ movements developed from the Agrarian spirit informed by the fear that Communism was rapidly gaining excessive influence and control over the political rivals in America. Eventually, the Democratic Party was later consummated by populism while the Republican Party absorbed the progressive’s mainstream.
Over time, the progressive adherents have skipped ship abandoning the Republican Party, as it perceived seizure by religious groups and other right wing factions affected its image. Of significant mention is that both of the movements emerged in America in the late 19th and 20th centuries, and it was during this time that these realignments took shape (Stromquist 2005, p. 145). However, it must not escape mention that there still exist deeply basest differences that informs the foundation of the two movements. The basis of the progressivism opinion sprung from scientific innovation, as well as the thirst to advance urban settlements.
Populism mirrored progressives opinions for the better part of the 21st century though it was a movement for a popular course characterised by the advancement of the masses determined to scale up the ladder of class system. Essentially, it was from this movement that inspired the Grange and Farmer’s Alliance, which eventually gave birth to the modern day labour movement (Johnston 2003, p. 31). These developments show how determination even in the face of adversity can empower humanity in very special ways.
Progressive movements
Progressive movements had much of the success due to their focus on reforming the American political landscape rather than rooting entirely for economic dispensation (Stromquist 2005, 155). According to Johnston (2003, p. 32) the progressive think tank saw the wickedness of the state and was disgruntled by the unchecked corruption which was almost, all pervasive — the business sector was rotten. Moreover, the legal system had no moral authority to check the deprivation of man and the exploitation of women and children as farm and domestic labourers became a major concern (Wacquant 2002, p. 47).
The spark behind the American population dalliance with the progressive party was its formidable stand against unfair electoral system, which had practically poisoned the American political fabric. The composition of the progressive movement, as Stromquist (2005, p. 156) notes, was mainly made up of the middle class, bringing together both men and women who partook of the interests of both the rich and the poor whose aspirations might have been left out of the populism vendetta (Johnston 2003, p. 35). The big brains behind the progressive movement saw and utilised the large corporate interests of the greater American population who feared their displacements considering the influx of a huge number of immigrants who were there to offer various services.
During this time, the labour unions were increasingly losing momentum, with majority of the American workers turning to the progressive movement as a substitute for their course. In addition, much of the American population viewed the progressive movement as a formidable force to block the spreading wave of socialistic aggression. According to Stromquist (2005, p. 175), the progressives viewed their principal objective in terms of transforming the lives of ordinary American citizens by virtually reforming every institution that affect the American public life.
Limitations of the movements
According to Johnston (2003, p. 30), the main limitation of the populist movement was that the individuals who were championing its course were neither part of the working class nor from the socialist movement. This unbecoming stand, according to Johnston (2003, p. 33), never allowed the populist movement an opportunity to have much influence on the already established capitalistic society. Secondly, the movement had its own internal wrangles emanating from leadership concerns and the control of its resources (Johnston 2003, p. 35).
These persistent internal wrangles never augured well with the smooth running of its affairs, making most of its adherents to shift allegiance to the Progressive movement, which seemed well organised and composed. Given its strong inclination to the ruling class, its opponents, especially the democrats took this advantage to demean their standing on various reform agenda (Johnston 2003, p. 37). In an attempt to build a popular movement, the populist movement also engaged in radical activism that did not endear it to the right thinking American public who viewed change as a legal process that must be pursued through the laws of the land.
Discussion
Despite the tremendous expansion of the society to open up opportunities for all, women not only in Australia, but also in various parts of the world continue to receive compromised attention including schooling and access to other facilities. This scenario seems to propel the ideologies of most societies, yet there is promising evidence that opportunities for women can promote the well-being of the society as a whole. A case situation is the sturdy link between the education of a girl, her subsequent employment, and income (Signorelli, Taft, and Pereira 2012, p. 12). Records have it that women with better education bear few children with higher probabilities of surviving infancy. This reflects on their healthy later life, hence their likelihood to attain better education, acquire better jobs with better pay. Therefore, whenever the society denies women these opportunities, children, families, and communities suffer altogether.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is true that a society develops within social constructs. The foundation of these social constructs revolves around the notion that they are ordinary in essence or that they are intrinsic within a society and for that matter, unalterable. On the other hand, gender constructs as well as the conceptualisation of adulthood are shaped primarily by ideological, socio-economic, and interpersonal relationships. Under these lenses, adult human females rightly qualify to be as women while grown-up boys would be called men.
This no doubt is the preserve of every society’s ideology. However, it is important to understand that the social constructs that the society uses to evaluate and assess individuals are based in the lenses of the right-thinking members of the society, which sometimes may not be right. The world is characterised by different social, economic, and political affairs that cause huge stratification in the society. The social aspect is a broad subject that analyses displacements and social changes. Forceful displacement of the low class is a negative effect of gentrification, which can lead to homelessness; these people are forcefully displaced from their historical habitats.
Those who decide to remain experience a high increase in the prices of basic services, which is a viewed as exploitation of the local inhabitants. Additionally, gentrified people lack political and economic power to demand their rights, as they are unable to meet the new targets. Again, there is loss social diversity with the coming of the middle and upper income earners. These groups of people are always reserved; therefore, little engagement in societal issues that bring people of different races, religions and ethnic groups together. With the constant changes in the socio-economic and political systems, ordinary lives are evident across the world.
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