Author: Andre Coleman

The theory of social development and progress was the key concept of the Enlightenment [Ray,13]. The experience of Renaissance – recovery from the “dark ages”, rediscovery of antique philosophy, the expansion of colonialism and exploration of non-European cultures, violated established order and lead to expansion of new ideas doubting tradition. The Enlightenment recognized that human history changes, that societies experience material and mental, moral, or philosophical progress. That modernity is just another stage of development, that does not lead the end of history, but might be as well a beginning of some better, new society. Eighteen century thinkers considered reason as the leading force of change, believing, that human knowledge and consciousness may develop linearly. Since the Enlightenment was an age of science and reason, philosophers tend to classify and order possessed knowledge. That lead to a few theories of historical stages development of societies that arranged historical periods in progressive order, as Turgot and Condorset did [Ray, 13-15].

The Enlightenment’s attachment to the idea of progressive development of societies lead to the ideas of future utopia – final, goal stage of social evolution. It was a very optimistic concept of history, leading from dark, oppressive periods in the past, through ambiguous and chaotic modernity, to some “enlighten”, better, just future. Such utopian vision was described by Condorcet, for whom future society would prevail tyranny by changing tradition and superstition into reason [Ray, 15]. Delany wrote of the Enlightenment as “aˆ¦characterized by a certain utopianism, which was a reflection of the belief in the promises of modernity to bring about freedom. Unlike earlier social thought, it displayed a great belief in the power of human action to shape the future” [Delany, Blackwell, 23]. The same was true for Marx, who saw communism as the perfect and most of all – just social system. For Marx the end stage of human history – communism – represented the most desired and final phase of human development. As Sideman wrote: “Marx never gave up his Enlightenment faith in the coming of a new era” [Sideman, 1998, 36].

But contrary to the Enlightenment philosophers, for Marx the utopia was not to be obtained through evolution and development of reason, but through revolution of working class. The idea of revolution was not present in eighteen century before the experience of French revolution. Though it is sad that the Enlightenment prepared the ground for the revolt in France, works of eighteen century thinkers did not appeal to force or violent change. Marx shared the romantic vision of with socialist thinkers and activists supporting French strife. Moreover, unlike his eighteen century ancestors, Marx sought emancipation in proletariat – the working class of modernity. The Enlightenment was an age of intellectuals, giving special role to philosophers in the process of development of society [Szacki]. In eighteen century thought reason had the emancipatory force. Marx violent vision of revolution did not reserved place for intellectuals, though Marx was one of them. aˆ¦.

Ideologies and religion

The end of the Middle Ages ended the era of gods laws and theological explanation of social order. The Enlightenment separated religion form politics. Eighteen century brought to life the concept of public – private spheres. Religion became private matter of citizens. God’s rights no longer decided on political questions and social relations. Secular society was based on secular rules. The Enlightenment believed in reason and science, and through them sought emancipation from religion and superstition. “Social change required that cultural traditions be weakened to allow for new ideas and attitudes favoring social progress” [Seidman, 1998, 34]. Religion and tradition constrained social change and overruled the utopian vision of future. It does not mean that the Enlightenment was a truly secular area. Rejection of religion covered only public, political sphere. None of the great philosophers of the period – Becon, Diderot, Locke – postulated atheism [Ray, 13]. The issue was to separate religion from science, theology from logical reasoning. Religion intruded cognition, so had to be abandoned in the sphere of knowledge.

Marx also shared with the Enlightenment the concept of secular society. Though he brought the idea of secularization further. For Marx every ideology and meta-narration of society in every stage of its development was a product of current economic relations, so was the religion. Religion, internalized rules, regulations and prohibitions, served justification of the conditions of production and hence the justification of exploitation. In this sense religion was a mechanism of oppression. That is why, according to Marx, emancipation not only required rejection of theological order of the world, but also complete rejection of religion. Once again this emancipation required revolution – dramatic and sudden change of economic conditions that would change social relations, including execution of religion. In this sense religion was not a private issue, but a political one, that justified bourgeois order. As in the eighteen century – religion obstructed change – this time, though, it was not suppose to be withdraw from public life, but destroyed absolutely. Revolution guaranteed changing social order not only in the sphere of production, but also in the sphere of religion.

The role of science

The Enlightenment was the era of development of sciences. A great expand of sciences such as mathematics, medicine, natural sciences changed the view of modern philosophers on the world and human kind. Science revealed mystery of existence and the order of nature. That is why science become one of the ways to obtain individual freedom. Science lead to discovery of logical, rational order of human and societal relations. For Marx science also had an important role in revealing the rules of organization of society. Marx knew that “in order to change, it is necessary to understand the social forces – institutions, cultural traditions, social groups” [Seidman, 1998, 34]. In Marx’ theory science held the explanatory role by revealing the real nature of social order, gives information about social classes, modes of production and rules of historical development. According to Marx, science should be based on rational assumptions, logical laws, it should reject common sense and superstitions.

Economic perspective

Though Marx’ theory shares materialistic perspective, he was not the one to introduce economic interpretation of social life. Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson and others eighteen century thinkers saw the leading role of economy in social life. Those early economists wrote about dehumanization of work and disintegration of society through modern specialization of production and technical development of the production process [Ray, 15]. Capitalist revolution of eighteen century brought new phenomena that were not overlooked by present-day thinkers. Negative effects of industrialization, demographic explosion and urbanization were thoroughly discussed by that time.

As we can see, the importance of material conditions for human individual and collective life was not the Marx’ invention, though he also observed that technology destroys social relations. Innovations, machines and devices used in the process of production serve the dominant class for exploitation of workers [Ray, 65]. Nevertheless, with his materialistic view on society, Marx went further, with the idea that: “the reproduction of material life precedes the production of culture” [Seidman, 1998, 37]. For Marx material conditions of existence were the basis for all other characteristics of life. According to Marx, living conditions determine social structure, policies, rules and morality. Marx showed that certain social conditions shape certain forms of consciousness. That was a great contribution of Marx’ thought to social sciences. Since Marx, social scientists began research on the role of material conditions on human thoughts, believes and attitudes, giving a start to many disciplines of social sciences, as sociology of thought, sociology of knowledge or sociology of religion [Szacki, 231]. Moreover, since Marx, social scientists consider development process and ownership relations of societies as the most important criteria of social studies analysis.

The concept of state

Enlightenment – to find such origins of social order not to limit freedom. How to reconcile freedom and social order. Enlightenment the idea of individual in society – free form state, church and other collective forms of organizations. Civil society idea – freedom through civil rights. In search of order based on rational assumptions.

The role of philosopher as a leading role in creating social order, morality. Intelectuals [Szacki, 84, Ray, Enlightenment, 11].

All stages of development according to Marx were different social formations. Those formations were direct creations of economic relations within society. The most thorough fully described formation was bourgeois one. It was contemporary, most developed and differentiated mode of production. Capitalism stage of development was characterized by binary class structure, where one class was the group of society that sold their work and did not own other means of productions – the workers, while the other was the group of owners of means of production that benefited from workers work – the capitalists.

Individualism and collective action

In earlier philosophy status of human being in society was constant and determined not by human himself but by external forces – the world order, god’s will, some kind of justice and internal sense of social existence. Enlightenment and especially the French revolution, brought the idea of civil society and civil rights [Szacki, 85]. The Enlightenment claimed that all human beings share some common characteristics that are independent of external, historical or natural conditions. It was a kind of individualism, that claimed that human nature in general have some common characteristics inherited form the state of nature. That is what makes society egalitarian – differences between human status in society are merely secondary. In this sense that all (male) human beings are equal and share the same civic rights. Emancipation in this context was a political emancipation of citizens form feudal, traditional relations.

Marx connected human position in social structure with material conditions and idea of work and ownership. For him the idea of society was not based on the idea of civil rights but on the idea of economic relations between different social groups – classes. It was dichotomous vision of society made of workers and capitalists – the owners of means of production. Emancipation was possible not on the basis of civil rights but on the basis of changing economic relations. This was a revolutionary perspective leading to turnover of social order. Unlike the Enlightenment, Marx’ did not perceived emancipation and concept of freedom in individual actions. He clearly rejected individualism – both in terms of individual social actions and as the method of inference about human conditions. Marx claimed that every individual is rooted in his collective history and society, and his consciousness, as well as beliefs, goals and needs are shaped through that heritage. That is why not only analysis of human conditions, but also the projected change of social relations, has to take into consideration collective baggage and collective effort. That is why Marx shared the belief that “aˆ¦individuals do not act on ideas primarily because they are true of have been “proven” correct, but on the basis of their self-interest. Ideas may shape our actions, but our social interests determine which ideas we adopt.

CLASS AND DIVISION OF SOCIETY

Critical theory

Marx’ is perceived as the father of critical theory. As Bryan wrote it “aˆ¦classical sociology is a critical discipline, because it represents typically an attack on the taken-for-granted assumptions of bourgeois, utilitarian liberalism. This critical tradition is conventionally associated with Marxism [Bryan s. Turner, Blackwell, 9]. But one cannot negate that critical attitude was characteristic for the Enlightenment thought. XVIII century philosophers questioned traditions, religions, authorities, beliefs, metaphysics and everything else that was not perceived rational. Marx’ theory gave basis for future revolutions, but it was the Enlightenment thought that was a mother of French Revolution. In this sense the Enlightenment theories were the first revolutionary theories, revolutionary through their critique, doubt and rejection. Marx only developed further this critical perspective, but he was not the first one to neglect contemporary, well established order.

aˆ¦our social interests are determined by our social position, in particular our class status” [Seidman, 1998, 34]

“Marx and Engels aimed to shift the focus of social criticism from the analysis of consciousness and the evolution of ideas to that of the development of social institutions and conflicts” [Seidman, 1998, 37]

Historical materialism “class dynamics shape the organization of socioeconomic systems which in turn, determine the structure and direction of the whole society” [S, 38]

Class theory of society, class struggle

Power comes from the ownership of means of production

social theory becomes the “critique of political economy,” [Delany, Blackwell, 25]

New constructs: commodification, class-struggle, profit, surplus value

Marx’s social theory was a critical one. Critique does not try to explain or simply interpret society for its own sake, but is inherently critical of the prevailing social order and seeks to reveal the system of domination. [Delany, Blackwell, 25]

Karl Marx, effectively replaced philosophical analysis with an advanced social theory of modern society. [Delany, Blackwell, 23]

Conclusions

Reason vs. modes of production

Reason vs. false consciousness

Reason vs. ownership

This project is about investigating the biodiversity and the importance of preserving biodiversity. Each group have chosen an Arabian species to evaluate it and to investigate its status. Every member of the group has to write one part of the report. Investigating biodiversity, the status of the species and how can we protect this species from loss. And how can the society as a whole contribute to the preservation of the biodiversity and the specific species that we chose to write about.

Biodiversity is a very important subject, as today the world is facing a biodiversity crises. The biodiversity crises basically means the loss of many types of different species on earth that humans lives depend on (IUCN, 2010). Biodiversity is ‘the variety of life’ it is the variety of all species on the planet. Biodiversity contains all the different animals, plants, creatures, insects, microorganisms and it includes the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. Biodiversity can be divided into three types Genetic diversity, organismal diversity, and ecological diversity. The genetic diversity covers the components of the genetic code that makeup organisms and the variations between the individuals in the population and between populations. Organismal diversity includes the taxonomic hierarchy from individuals to genera and beyond. Ecological diversity includes the scales of ecological differences from populations, niches, habitats, up to biomes (Gaston, K. & Spicer, J. 2004).

We have chosen to write about a very beautiful and amazing animal. This animal lives in parts of the Arabian peninsula. People used to kill it to save their cattle from being eaten by this animal, and then they used its nice patterned fur for decorating their homes, and they were also hunted for their teeth and claws (McGregor, T., Spalton, A. & Hikmani, H. 2007). The animal that we will discuss is the Arabian Leopard, as we know that it is an endangered animal in the Arabian peninsula and we would like to explore more information about this gorgeous animal.

Kingdom
ANIMALIA
Phylum

CHORDATA

Class

MAMMALIA

Order

CARNIVORA

Family

FELIDAE

Genus

Panthera

Species

PANTHERA PARDUS

Sub Species

PANTHERA PARDUS NIMR The Arabian Leopard is one of the common names of this animal, the other common name is the South Arabian Leopard. The Arabian leopard is a sub species of the known leopard panthera pardus. The scientific name of the Arabian Leopard is Panthera pardus ssp. Nimr. The taxonomy of the Arabian Leopard is shown in the table below (IUCN, 2010). The trophic level of the Arabian leopard is Carnivore.

The panthera pardus nimr is considered the smallest subspecies of leopards. Its total length is between 160 cm – 220 cm, the length of its tail only is between 66 cm – 100 cm. The Arabian leopard weight is between 28 kg – 75 kg. The Arabian leopards has special small and widely spaced spots (Kingdon, j. 1991). The color of the Arabian leopards’ body is nearly pale brown or golden color. Its lower part of the body can be yellow or white. The spots are black and sometimes have the shape of a flower (Selim, M. & El-Batanouny, K. n.d.)

Hessa Aqab Shahin 200880840

The ecological niche means the species’ way of life or role in a community or an ecosystem and it includes everything that affects its survival and reproduction (Spoolman, S. & Miller, T. 2008). The Arabian leopards depends on livestock, domestic goats, Arabian Tahr, and other small birds and mammals as a food source. The Arabian Leopard is considered a very powerful predator in the region where it is on control. The habitat of the Arabian leopard is mostly in mountainous and hilly areas and its rarely venture into open plains (McGregor, T., Spalton, A. & Hikmani, H. 2007). Because of the lower numbers of the Arabian leopards in the region another predator has taken its place which is the Caracal (McGregor, T., Spalton, A. & Hikmani, H. 2007). So the Caracal has taken over the Arabian leopards’ place and is occupying its area, and this can cause the Arabian leopards numbers to become less because there is another predator that is taking its food and habitat areas. According to local people in Oman the Caracal is their enemy because it hunts their livestock in wadis and close to their homes while that Arabian leopard only preys on livestock in the mountains so they were aggressive towards that Caracal, they hunt it and kill it because it causes a lot of damage to them. Another thing that affected the Arabian leopards survival in the region is the constant civilization and building roads that reaches the top of the mountains, people also are taking its place by local housing expansion, over grazing, and farming (McGregor, T., Spalton, A. & Hikmani, H. 2007). All these human activities and “modernization” are endangering the Arabian leopards’ survival in the region.

Figure 1: http://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/images/stories/pdfs/reports/report-oman0607.pdf The Arabian leopard can only be seen in several areas in the Arabian peninsula. The distribution range of the Arabian leopard is shown in figure 1. Its distribution ranges from the mountains of Haqel in the north-west of Arabia, Yemen, the mountains of Hadramout to north-east of Oman, and the eastern mountains of the United Arab Emirates. The Arabian leopards extends from the rugged arid, to semi arid mountains along the coast of the Red Sea in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Al Johany, A. 2006). The figure below shows the distribution of the Arabian leopard in the Arabian peninsula and the neighboring region and it shows whether the Arabian leopard distribution is confirmed, probable, possible, or historical in that particular area.

Hala Ibrahim 200601460

Species classified by Biologists that heading toward biological extinction as threatened, extinct and endangered species. Firstly, threatened species is a species that still abundant in its natural range but they continues to decrease and most likely to became endangered in the future. Also, threatened species can known as vulnerable species and the example of this kind of species is Dugong dugon. Secondly, some species not known in wild, it only can found in zoos or private collection such as Arabian Oryx and that an example of extinct species. Thirdly, an endangered species is a few numbers of organism’s population that at risk to be extinct or threatened because of environmental changing or human impact and the Arabian leopard is an example of this species(Miller, T., & Spoolman, S). Endangered species include 1 in 4 mammals, 1 in 8 birds and 1/3 of all amphibians(The plight of endangered species). However, many scientists and some university’ courses are focusing in this type of species to preserve and protect them to not be extinction.

Arabian leopard is one of this endangered species which estimated to no more than 250 mature individuals. Also, this number is subject to decline in the future which mean that Arabian leopards are able to be extinct because of the small population they have. The Arabian leopard was spread widely in the mountains of Arab countries such as Haqel in the northern part of Median Mountains, in Hijaz and the Sarawat Mountains. In addition, this leopard existed in the northern Yemen highlands, in the mountains of Ras al-Khaimah and the eastern region of UAE and in the Jebel Samhan and Dhofar mountains in Oman(Arabian leopard- critically endangered(CR)). However, the lack of awareness amongst the people in the past lead to decrease the numbers of leopards.

What are the reasons that make species threatened and endangered? Hunting, killing and perishing are the causes of the reduction of Arabian leopard which mostly caused by people in a direct and indirect way. Sometimes leopards were killed accidentally when they was eating poisoned which is putted to wolves and hyenas. In 1986, four Arabian leopards killed in the Ras Al-Khaimah mountains in the UAE(Harman, A). Moreover, a recently killed leopard found in 1992 in the border area between Sultanate Oman and UAE, sadly, in the same area other two leopards found one of them killed and another injured. 50,000 leopard were killed during the early 1960s just in East Africa(Harman, A). In addition, some of farmers and cattle herdsmen are forced to kill the Arabian leopard to save them self and their livestock because they thought that leopard are attacking and killing their goats and may attack them and people who live around.

On the other hand, some people are killing and hunting the Arabian leopards because of the commercial value they have. Hunters take the advantages from leopards through selling their skins and the leopard furs and that happened with some traders in Africa and Yemen(Harman, A). This kind of illegal situation could increase the income of traders but affect negatively in Arabian leopards which make them endangered and threatens their population.

Habitat destruction it also considered as the most serious cause that threatens species when it mean the complete lose of areas with it all resources that species need to survive(Miller, T., & Spoolman, S). Unfortunately, the increase of people’s population has a negative effect in areas that mammal live in, there is always a new construction of shopping malls, parks, developed houses and factories. Also, there is a daily cut of forests and

Hala Ibrahim
200601460

grassland in areas that Arabian leopard and other mammals live in (Kirkland, G). Species are basically need food, shelter, water and the proper environment as human needs to survive and live in suitable environment (Bailey, R.) . Moreover, habitat fragmentation which represent the isolation of areas to many sections and make it difficult for species to feeding, migration and mating. Also, the number of Arabian leopard declined because of the reduction in numbers of deer and bucks that live in the mountain area that leopard live in and characterize as the main source of food for leopard(Arabian Leopard). Species affected by changing and rendering habitat and that changes come from draining wetlands, constructing flood-control reservoir and plowing native grasslands. Directly or indirectly, Arabian leopard can be affected and died because of the environmental pollution, that pollution can limiting and reducing the needs of the mammals. Some mammals die after drinking waters that contained a cyanide(Kirkland, G).

Endangered species has some certain common characteristics that shared with other endangered and extinct species such as the large size. Some of endangered species has a large size which need hundreds or thousands of acres to support their population , when other mammals such mice need a small woodlot to live in. Also, endangered species has a low productive rate because some mammals naturally produce just one offspring each year and it is difficult to recover rabidly if the mortality rate is high(Kirkland, G). Compared to small rodents, they are able to produce many large litters in each year. Endangered mammals and Arabian leopards can also considered as a species that has a small population, rare and has high trophic level. Mammals as Arabian leopard become threatened if the specialized habitats they live in is widely separated to many spaces and in small sizes, because these species need a large areas in order to find their priorities of food and water to survive.

Figure 2: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/oman/oman-yemen-tie-up-urged-to-save-leopards-1.18006

Haya Sultan 200520663

Over the last million years, nearly five mass extinctions have occurred since the beginning of the universe. They either determine the end of an era of time or the beginning of another. The Ordovician-Silurian extinction, the late Devonian extinction, the Premian-Triassic extinction, the Triassic-Jurassic extinction and the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction was the five mass extinctions. Figure 3

Figure 3

Each one of them had causes, in the end of the Ordovician extinction about 447 until 444 million years ago; mark the border between the Ordovician period and the period following which is the Silurian. In that extinction there were several important changes in the size of carbon isotopes of essentials of the reaction and the biology of oxygen. Those changes refer to classified different stages in a single event. At that time, complex multicellular organisms lived in the sea, and about 100 families of them covers about 49 percent of the marine. More reliable estimate of species of the animals has become extinct. The earth lost brachiopods and small bi-valve bryozoans colonials, along with many families of trilobites and graptolites (small colonial marine animals).

The late Devonian extinction was equivalent to the global cooling and has been suggested as a cause of extinction of the Devonian, as is also suspected of causing the extinction of the terminal Ordovician. Climate change and the drop of sea level caused the Premian-Triassic extinction also. In the Triassic-Jurassic extinction and the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, the scientist said that a volcano caused it. Volcanoes release a range of

Haya Sultan 200520663

gases into the stratosphere of which SO2 and CO2 are volumetrically the most important (Devine, J.D. Sigurdsson, H. Davis, A.N. (1984).

Those causes that happened in the past naturally happened. But nowadays, we might face another mass extinction but this time humans are the main cause of it. The causes nowadays are many. First on is the destruction of species habitat and fragmentation. We remove many forests either to use the trees in making furniture or papers or either to make papers, which destroys lot habitats of many kinds of species. Second thing is rapid human population growth. Which means more land to be cleared to build houses and facilities. Third cause is genetic pollution. Pollution caused by factories and transportations. Forth cause is Global warming.

According to wildlife Middle East news they said, ” The recent rapid decline of the Arabian leopard is due to a variety of reasons, most of which are caused by people. Rapid human population growth causes encroachment into wilderness areas, putting pressure on leopards and other wild. Depletion by hunting of natural prey such as Nubian ibex (Capra ibex), Arabian tahr (Hemitragus jayakari), Mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella cora), and rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) leaves little for leopards to eat so some are forced to prey on livestock. This leads to conflicts with villagers who kill leopards in order to protect their herds. Wealthy animal collectors who pay huge sums for Arabian Leopards encourage the trapping of leopards for the illegal market”.

Different sectaries in the UAE are taking action to protect the Arabian leopard. In 1993, the UAE set up the Arabian leopard trust which is planning to protect its habitat in the mountains, and conserving native Arabian wildlife in general. The Arabian Leopard Trust is trying to maintain the impact on the Arabian leopard locally and globally. Also in Sharjah there is a breeding center which successfully had the third litter of cubs born.

We as individuals we can help protecting the Arabian leopard by stop introducing non-native animals and leave them in the wild. Also recycling and reducing pollution helps. Not just the Arabian Leopard, but also all the species that are threaten and endangered. And government can help by protect the mountainous habitats and set laws to stop hunters from threaten the Arabian leopard. The media also have a very big impact on people. It can spread awareness among people about endangers animals and how can we help in protecting them.

Summary & conclusion:

Biodiversity means the variety of life on earth. The Arabian leopard is an Arabian animal that faces the danger of being extinct. Endangered species as Arabian leopard is a species that still abundant in wild but their population are able to decline. Human impact and environmental pollution has a significant role of the reduction of Arabian leopard’s population. This endangered leopard has some common characteristics such as low productive, small population and large size. There are also some initiatives done to protect this animal from loss. After doing research and writing this report we found out that animals and different species in the entire world are very important. Each and every animal, insect, plant, or even bacteria has an important role in this ecosystem and in maintaining the balance of life on earth. All these different species, both the ones we discovered and the ones we didn’t, are interconnected in a way or another. For example the species that we based our report about; the Arabian leopard, has mostly disappeared from many regions so another animal took its place in that area like the caracal who is now attacking cattle more than the Arabian leopard would do if it was in its normal region. And this thing affects the ecosystem there. So we noticed that if any species is lost it affects the ecosystem in some way; that’s why we should be concerned about saving the species and preventing them from loss, because we want to live in a balanced healthy world. And the species loss is breaking the balance and the harmony of life.

Islam is a very merciful religion for both humans and animals. For example there is “Hadith Sharif” a saying by prophet Mohammed peace be upon him “Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah’s Apostle said, “While a man was walking on a road. he became very thirsty. Then he came across a well, got down into it, drank (of its water) and then came out. Meanwhile he saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. The man said to himself “This dog is suffering from the same state of thirst as I did.” So he went down the well (again) and filled his shoe (with water) and held it in his mouth and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for that deed and forgave him.” The people asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?” He said, “(Yes) There is a reward for serving any animate (living being) .” (Good Manners and form, n.d.). That’s why we should protect biodiversity out of our religion, and even out of the person’s values also.

If the status of our species was reevaluated when we are 50 years old. We think that Arabian leopards will be extinct in the wild, but there will be some raised in captivities and wildlife preserves. As we notice this huge development and change in the habitat of this species which lives in the mountains. But if the concerns about its loss started from now the situation might improve and we might have an increase in the numbers of the Arabian leopards. But they would probably be raised in places far from this development and they might create more preserves to save what can be saved from its habitat.

Ghuman (2002) overviewed that women with higher freedom are those who retain their earnings compared to those who are unemployed and have no importance in the contribution to decision-making in households. He also added that working women occupy a better position and have a higher degree of authority as they earn money.

As said by Noeleen Heyzer, executive Director of the United Nations Development fund for Women(UNIFEM) efforts must be put together to empower women and take decision to eliminate gender inequality.

Carmen Moreno,Director of United Nations International Research and Training Institute of Women (INSTRAW) added that women must be encouraged to raise their voices in politics, participate in decision making and have access to education which will contribute positively in their development and for them to make better decisions on the different issues.

2.5 Empowering women through education

As stated in the report of the of the expert group meeting by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), education smooth the progress of women’s empowerment and for eradicating poverty among women as it enlarges women’s abilities. During the period 1980-1994 the gap between girls’ enrolments and boys’ enrolment at primary level decreased in developing countries. But there are some important differences that stand out. In the case of sub-Saharan Africa the declining of the gender gap in some countries is accredited to a fall in the enrolment of boys and only a minor rise in the participation of girls.

According to UNESCO data, girls’ net enrolment in secondary school decreased between 1985 and 1997 in 10 out of 33 countries in sub-Saharan Africa; 7 out of 11 countries in Central and Western Asia; 2 out of 21 countries in Asia and the Pacific; 6 out of 26 in Latin America and the Caribbean; 6 out of 9 in Eastern Europe; and 1 out of 23 countries in Western Europe and other developed countries..

According to Goutam Roy (2009), women education contributes in helping to reduce poverty. He added that empowerment and total emancipation are two major aspects that can help to alleviate poverty. Greater emphasis is being put on women education nowadays, as there are wider job opportunities and proper attention to the women in development programmes. He also mentioned that Scholarships are given by government in HSC level, technical of vocational education to motivate women students to become educated. Women teachers are being trained to improve the quality of education given and improved teaching methodology.

Goutam Roy research proved that Empowerment and development are inter- related. The slow speed of women education is boosting women empowerment resulting in women development. According to the last decade, many countries have decided to reach our women, understand their needs and include them in the development process. Survey which was carried out in 2000 shows women literacy is 66% higher than men in developing countries.

He analyses that the empowerment of women has become a social and political phenomenon. The development process is strengthening when both men and women participate and education is deeply related to women empowerment. Investing in education is one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty as Investment in girls in secondary education gives positive outcomes.

Stine Ankerbo & Karina Hoyda (2003) outlines that education is vital to women’s empowerment in so far as it enables women to be more productive. According to the World Bank, a mother’s education has beneficial impact on the size of the family, her children well-being and how effective she uses commodity services. Education is a mean to promote development in social, political and economic spheres. Studies and research prove that there exist a high correlation between an increase in women schooling and decline in infant mortality and fertility rates. Before the mid 1970’s little attention were paid to the economic benefit which can be related to women. Educated women contribute to economic development. For example, in Africa 46 percent of the female labour force is in agriculture. If they were given proper education they would have been increase in productivity that will hinder economic growth. With investment in education for girls and women significant progress in social and economic growth can be deduced according to economic analysis. An increase in girl enrolment in primary schools leads to lower fertility rate, higher GDP per capita and life expectancy.

Studies undertaken by a world bank on 20 developing countries find that when devote substantial resources to female primary education which leads to higher economic productivity, improved standard of living and life expectancy, lower infant and maternal mortality compared to countries where women do not benefit from proper education.

According to CSO reports, the earlier a child starts going to school every day, and the less risk of slipping into a spiral of poverty in adulthood. Therefore, the EAP program helps families who, for lack of money, do not send their children to school.

2.6 Feminization of poverty

The term feminization of poverty refers to the fact that women suffer from poverty much more than men. In countries and across the world, women live in poverty excessively in contrast to men. The term “feminization of poverty,” created in the 1970s by Diana Pearce, refers to the focus of poverty among women, mainly female-headed households. However, the feminization of poverty, in reality, refers to something broader than merely lack of income or a state of economic need for women.

She added that poverty is being feminized because of three main reasons, namely:

The growing amount of female-headed households.

Individual and cultural stereotypes about and inequity against women and girls.

Macroeconomic trends such as globalization and trade that fall short to take into consideration women’s position in economy.

While the very definition of poverty mean the lack of ability to meet essential needs such as food, clothing, or shelter, being poor also involve the lack of choice, little opportunity, the incapability to accomplish life goals, and eventually the loss of hope. In addition, the feminization of poverty influence more than just women as it affects children, who disproportionately live in female-headed households.

According to Bianchi, the increase in non marriage among women, especially those who were adolescent, restricted the income prospective of the family, but also make the legal aspects of child support difficult. The increase of divorce rate, and a rise in life expectancy among women further enhance a gendered poverty, while social programs and income transfers planned to remove individuals out of poverty were less successful in reaching this goal for women than for men.

Presently, research persists to prove the existence of a gendered component to poverty, one that has become more obvious and even more prominent with the increase in female-headed households, and perhaps even more noticeable among the young and elderly female population. Female heads of household are not only more likely to be poor, but their poverty is more likely to be elongated.

The majority of studies of the hardship of women point to two primary mechanisms that force women into poverty at higher rates: demographic change and the economy. Since the “discovery” of the feminization of poverty, the nature of social life has changed considerably, as has the structure and nature of the family. Demographic shifts have without doubt rise inequality for women and their children. The amount of children born to unwed mothers has seen a considerable rise since the 1950s.

Childbearing out of wedlock, high divorce rate, explain a drastically higher percentage of households headed by single women who are upbringing their children on their own. Moreover, the average lifespan for both males and females has improved and nowadays women are one step ahead of their male counterparts. With a longer life expectancy, women will require significantly more income to guarantee their survival in their later years.

Changes occurred in the constitution of family and general demographics have led women and mothers at a substantial disadvantage in terms of the monetary funds accessible to cater for themselves and their families.

Apparently the poverty rate among single-male heads of household was around 17.6%, while the rate for single-female heads of household was 36.9% in 2005.undoubtedly, the increase in the divorce rate has somehow affected women, who disproportionately assume the role of primary caregiver when divorce occurs. When coupled with women’s usually inferior incomes and less property rights, divorced women promptly became more vulnerable to poverty than men.

In the United States, most of the children living at or below the poverty line live in single-mother households. Furthermore, women are less likely to remarry after a divorce than men, which left them to single-income households with fewer resources for a long period of time. In 2005, there were 13.5 million divorced women in the United States-3.7 million, or 37.6%, more divorced women than divorced men.

2.7 Measuring the extent of feminization of poverty

Taking into account the extent to which poverty is feminized, one is mostly disturbed with whether or not women disproportionately experience poverty in contrast to men. Conversely, as considered by the Census Bureau and other governmental agencies, both in the United States and around the globe, poverty is a household concept. That is, individuals are classified as poor if they form part of a household in which the household revenue is below the poverty level for the household size. In households headed by married couples, the assumption is that both men and women presumably experience poverty at the same rate-either both members of the couple are in poverty, or neither of them is. According to Christopher et al., “the gender gap in poverty exists because single women are poorer than single men.”

Additionally, in many examples, women living in marriages where their partner is the wage earner are consequently more likely far from poverty.

2.8 Women in politics

During the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women on July 2010, some of the successes noted by Helen Hambling, Group Manager, and head of the Australian delegation stressed on the fact that women now comprises of almost one third of parliamentarians, while seven ministerial positions, including the Prime Minister, and the Governor General – the highest public position – were held by women. Since 1995, women’s position improved by three-fold, and of the seven High Court justices, three were women.

To enhance the participation of indigenous women in political life, the Government had started the indigenous women’s programme. It was a grant programme that supply financial support for actions that would aid lessens those women’s disadvantages and promotes their assumption of legislative and management roles.

Rachel N. Mayanja, special advisor to the secretary- general on gender issues reported that there are only a few women in politics, with women presently filling just 16.8 percent of parliamentary seats, a slight rise of 4 percent since 1999.

LIZ Chadderdon powell highlighted that There are only 19 female CEO’s running Fortune 500 companies. That is only 3.8%. Moreover there are seventy-four women in Congress out of five hundred and thirty five seats in both the House and Senate. That implies that women comprises of only 13.8% of Congress while being 52% of the voting population of America.

Sarah Brewer, Associate Director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University, states her study on female political consultants demonstrate women frequently work longer in the field before setting up their own firms.

three primary reasons for the political consulting industry’s glass ceiling: firstly Women are mothers and need to give time to their children, which make it difficult to serve their clients 24/7/365 and loose that edge to their male competitors, moreover being a committee ED or a partner in a firm one need to be powerful some women are shy and cannot be that aggressive and finally people in dominant positions (usually men) are reluctant to move out and give others a leg up.

2.9 Feminization of the labour force

The effect of neobileral structural adjustment & economic development on woman in the world’s workforces in the global economy is of great interest to policy makers.

Standing (1989, 1999) and Catagay and Ozler (1995) suggest that neoliberal structural adjustment generally leads to greater feminization of the labour force caused by both demand and supply side. supply may increase due to the fact that woman enter the labour force to offset declining household and demand may increase as firms may employ more women due to lower cost of female workers.

Different studies made on feminization of the labour force such as the modernization hypothesis suggest the economic development contribute to an increase in women labour force participation. On the controversy boserup(1970) who first propose the marginalization hypothesis found that economic development , urbanization & relative growth of the manufacturing can lead to a fall in women labour force in the market because their traditional roles in agriculture and home production lose importance.

According to the studies of Cooper & Lewis (1999),Mintzberg(1996) and Rosener (1990) there is the establishment of a more humane style of management with a rise in women occupying higher level jobs as women show much care to their employees and they are more concerned with their well-being.

2.10 Equal opportunity

A recent policy research report by the World Bank (2001) identifies gender equality both as a development objective in itself and as a means to promote growth, reduce poverty and promote better governance.

Research undertaken by the university of stellenbosch business school in south Africa found that top level positions is still uncommon ready to accept woman are professional equals as governments policies & legislation do not works .

In 1996 a Gender Policy Framework (GPF) was set by the African government to authorize the international convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against woman.

The GPF’s main aim was to integrate gender policies by ensuring that;

Women’s rights are perceived as human

They have equality as active citizens

Their economic empowerment is promoted

Their social uplift is given priority

They are included in decision making

They are beneficiaries in political, economic, social and cultural areas.

Turning to the labour market, Helen Hambling, Group Manager, Department of Families Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, and alternative head of the Australian delegation recognized that women in Australia still received 18 per cent less than men and were retiring with half the savings of men. The New Fair Work Act recently operated also intended at pay equity between women and men. In the private sector, however, women held one in eight executive management positions, and the number of companies with no women executive managers had increased between the years 2006 and 2008. To deal with that, the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency had developed a combination of regulatory and educative measures, and held round tables across the country

2.11 Role of micro finance in empowering women and reducing poverty

Akinyi Janet, Editor of The African Executive magazine reported that Women in Africa are not empowered because of poverty and negative cultural practices. Credit is not very accessible, which is the main restriction on women’s capability to earn income. The Microfinance sector is involving African women in the economy as they were in terrible need of income to enhance their small farms which hardly fed them. Statistics shows that women consist of 74% of the 19.3 million of the world’s poorest people now being helped by microfinance institutions.

She further said that In Africa, MFIs have witnessed remarkable gains. The sector offers financial services to the poor women in possible micro-enterprises make enterprising women more powerful through financial access and expertise and significantly lessen poverty.

Her research shows that more access to savings and credit facilities make women stronger in taking economic decisions. It also develops their skills, knowledge and in addition improves their position in the community. The increase in access to microfinance has made women’s path to social and political empowerment easier.

Moreover Akinyi Janet found that Women have shown that they are reliable clients especially in repaying loans in a specific time .empowering women has been a success as it increases individual family expenditure on health, education, improved nutrition and food security.

The UNDAW report (November 2001) microcredit and microfinance projects have been recognized as key strategies to tackle women’s poverty by offering women with the prospect to have their own businesses, augment their productivity and earnings and, attain greater empowerment.

However, there is increasing concern among women’s organizations, researchers and practitioners concerning the way in which microcredit and microfinance programmes are being encouraged. It is observed that there is limited empirical evidence to maintain a linear relationship between microcredit, poverty alleviation and gender equality and empowerment of women. There are also not many studies that investigate the extent to which microfinance programmes have helped non-economic dimensions of women’s empowerment.

Hulme and Mosley (1996) also reveal the relationship that exists between credit and poverty reduction is from new investments to the pattern of income change to poverty alleviation. A positive link can be generated between the two depending on whether projects yield high returns and if they can create jobs.

World Bank (2001) highlights that the poor can be helped through credit replacing productive assets damaged in a natural disaster. Therefore, microfinance programmes help the poor households to sustain income shocks. Moreover the majority of the micro-credit programmes help mainly women or households headed by women (Otero and Rhyne, 1994; Hulme and Mosley, 1996; Khandker, 1998; Murdoch, 1999b; World Bank, 2001).

Sadegh Bakhtiari, from Isfahan University in Iran stresses on the fact that Microfinance can be a helpful means for poverty reduction. However, it should be used thoughtfully -It has been proven that the link between microfinance and poverty alleviation is not simple, because poverty is not an easy phenomenon as there is many obstacles for the poor to cope with. It is important to know what form microfinance is appropriate for the poorest; the delivery channel, methodology and products offered are all linked together and affect poverty.

2.12 Political and economic constraint in empowering women

It is a fact that male dominates women under certain aspects like political, economic and socio-cultural and they are much well paid for the same work.

Henshall (2004) defines gender equality as the same opportunity given to men and women to be able to lead an enjoyable life. However this may not always be the case as according to Feinstein (1979), there still exists a large gap in female and male wages. For the same job performed women may earn less than men. In Pakistan female job is viewed as inferior and low grade. He also argued that women are obliged to carry out domestic job like household maintenance and child caring. The traditional thinking of people in Pakistan strengthens restriction over empowerment.

Khalid (1991) analyses that women are restricted from the political environment in the country. They are not exposed to social, cultural, political and economic participation in the community activities. Their works are unrecognized and they encounter problem with society’s attitudes which affect their working capabilities adversely.

Henslin (1996) finds that male are commonly paid more for the same work and they usually dominate the socio-cultural, economic and political aspects of the society. In contrast, females are discriminated against economically, politically and socially. Consequently this adversely affects them to emancipate and become independent in life.

According to Dr Naz (2009), in Pakistan male has much more power in controlling economic resources. Consequently women are regarded as inferior as they have no say in economic and political affairs as well as decision making also. Furthermore even if women are equally qualified as men yet their income tend to be lower than that of men. However, this type of inequality exists in other countries as well. Due to the complex structure in Pakistan, women face a lot of difficulties in taking part in the economic and political activities in a democratic way and to even exert their voting right.

Additionally Hafeez (1983) argued that the traditional thinking of husbands that is they are conservative and believe that women should remain at home as housewives prevents the participation of women in political and economic activities. The ego problem of the husband which restrict women employment have negative effects on their children and family life .At times the relatives (in-laws) are against women employment as they fear of losing their self-image as women may become too independent and neglect their traditional roles.

2.13 Barriers of empowering women through educational attainment

According to Amartya Sen (1999) the main focus of women empowerment in the process of development more precisely it includes female education, their employment prospect and the working of the labour market. She also added that difficulty to allow women empowerment through education is due to stereotyping in the formal education system which strengthens the traditional gender characters.

Apart from the every day life experience, women are discriminated in the field of education. Male members are seen as the prime source of earnings and parents usually prefer to educate their sons instead of their daughters. The higher one climbs the educational ladder, the more that learning is a masculine experience (Henslin, 1996).

Muzammil(2010) in his analysis validates the evidence that a barrier to acknowledging the significance of empowering women through schooling relate to stereotyping in the formal education system which further strengthens gender roles. He also found that it is taken for granted that women with lower level of education than men should earn less. In reality, patriarchy is an obstacle to women’s empowerment and it is inter related with the political system to dominate women.

Through the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW) meeting in 2001 A.Jacqueline emphasise on the fact that Women’s rights and gender equality is still an issue in African countries. Women are discriminated in different field such as access to social and economic services. Consequently this act as a barrier to women empowerment.

Research conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in

July 2009 found that media and other reports disclose that women re not allowed to participate in public life. Many working women are threatened or are intimidated. Women are therefore forced to remain at home. We can conclude that this type of behaviour restrict woman to participate in life and emancipate.

A forum on the role of women in Saudi Arabia suggest that However, women in the audience criticized the ministry for making it difficult for them to manage their own businesses without a male guardian or agent, which often allows men to wrest control of women’s money. Also women are not allowed to drive. Unfortunately, it is such extreme measures have stood in the way of women’s employment and narrow their business opportunities.

2.14 Conclusion

The literature on women in different field and how women empowerment has been a success till now is considerable. As far as possible the key theories have been analysed, supported by the empirical research that has been carried out on the different features. The subject continues to evolve and there is an interest to go further in empowering women to reduce poverty.

What social forces were at work that led to the emergence of sociology in the late 18th and early 19th Century?

Sociology can be defined as the study of societies and their development in terms of their political decisions, ethics, economic development, religion and laws. It consists of the organization of collections of human bodies into forms of social life. The end of the 18th century was marked by the French Revolution, the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution initiated in England. The purpose of this essay is to discuss these social forces in terms of their contribution towards the emergence of sociology.

The three major factors which influence the emergence of sociology as a sphere of study began in the late eighteenth century with the French Revolution, the period known as ‘the Enlightenment’ and the industrial revolution.

Each one of these influences has contributed to what Karl Polanyi , the Austro-Hungarian philosopher termed ‘the Great Transformation’ in his book of the same name, one of the results of this ‘great transformation’ resulted in the emergence of the science of sociology. History began to change in 1789 when the French Revolution broke out followed by the Enlightenment – the creation of a new framework of ideas about man, society and nature. In addition, further economic and social changes were brought forward with the industrial revolution firstly in England and then in the whole of Europe.

The French revolution had lasted for ten whole years and was the first modern and ideological revolution of its kind. It had a great impact on society because it changed its structure. It managed to eliminate the social distinctions between people and the feudal society.The power shifted away from the Church and came to hands of the people. This was the first time people were seen as citizens. In addition to this, the clerical hierarchy which had existed until then gave up its rights and property. These changes had a historical, political and social impact in the entire of Europe and not just France.Plato and Aristotle had become exterminally manifest in the social and historical world as a consequence of the revolution in France.

Additionally, the French Revolution brought significant changes to the family since it was followed by the Declaration of Human Rights which stated that all humans are born free and equal. Changes to family-related issues were also brought into force. At the same time the Church lost much of its tremendous influence and power, which devolved to the people. The clerical hierarchy that had existed until then gave up its rights and property. ‘Civil marriage’ and ‘divorce’ were established. Civil marriage was another way for people to project their doubts upon the Church. A couple blessed by God could now follow different paths in their lives with the ‘divorce’ being established and accepted. Education and religion were also subject to changes..

The second major event, that took place during the late 18th and early 19th century, was Industrialisation. The Industrial Revolution began in England in 18th century (1870) and brought several changes in societies, shaping them in the form they are today. It was “the major shift of technological, socioeconomic and cultural conditions in the late 18th and early 19th century that began in Britain and spread throughout the world” (Wikipedia, Internet encyclopaedia).

At the end of the 18th century the world was experiencing a rapid population growth which led to an economic boom. As the demand was increasing, more workers were needed to cover the increasing demand. Production of goods increased. This was a different type of work before Industrialisation people were working in a traditional forms.

Technology brought significant changes in the work place which led to great improvement and efficiency. Machines were now helping people in production and thereby improving time efficiency and production volume as well as the conditions under which people worked. Technological changes included the use of iron and steel, new energy sources. These changes in technology improved both the quality of the products being produced as well as the work-conditions of the workers in production. Fewer efforts were now required by the workers in terms of producing a good. Technology also improved transportation and hence trade and commerce between countries. Markets expanded even more since goods and raw materials that were scarce in one country could be supplied from another. Machines became the symbols of the new society and humanity could be seen to be all working into this machine.

In addition, the area of communication also saw great improvement during this time period and people could now travel easier and reach their destination quicker. In the past, the only method people could communicate between them was through letters. This way of communication however, was both time consuming and uncertain since the letters were often lost somewhere in between. Fortunately, during the late 18th and early 19th century letters could be delivered faster and new ways of communication were developed such as the telegraph. These improvements also brought people and societies closer to one another. People moved to the cities were the markets began to emerge.

The Enlightenment was a significant contributing factor to the emergence of sociology in the late 18th and early 19th century. The Enlightenment is considered to be the source of critical ideas, such as the centrality freedom, democracy, and reason as primary values of society. It is the “creation of a new framework of ideas about man, society and nature, which challenged existing conceptions rooted in a traditional world-view, dominated by Christianity” (Hamilton,23). The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement consisting of many philosophers. The most popular figures of this new framework were Charles Montesquieu (1689-1755), Jacques Tugot (1729-1781) and Jean Condorcet (1743-1794). They managed to challenge the traditional and existing conceptions of the world.

The thinkers of Enlightenment aimed to teach people stop listening and following blindly the church’s opinion and decisions, and start thinking on their own. Challenge what they hear and develop their critical judgment. People were now advised to try and solve their problems on their own rather than wait for God to provide a solution for them. This new way of thinking was a big factor in economic growth. The iincreased education, through the emergence of upper class philosophers, the publishing of newspapers and the emergence of new types of media resulted in the arts, such a writing and painting to only develop, improve and flourish during that time period.

Reaching to a conclusion, the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolutionand the Enlightenment were the three major factors that contributed towards the emergence of sociology in the late 18th and early 19th century. During this historical period,people’s lives became much easier and better. All these changes helped people become more open minded and created for them a life with more choices. , This important turning point in history led to a technological and economic boom. It also resulted in people learning to live in societies. “A person who cannot live in society, or does not need to because he is self-sufficient, is either a beast or a God”. (Aristotle, Politics)

Bibliography
Lecture and Tutorial notes
Wikipedia-online encyclopedia
Internet the rise of sociology
Morrison, K. 2006. Marx Durkheim Weber.
Bilton, T. Bonnet, K. Jones, P. Lawson, T. Skinner, D. Stanworth, M. Webster, A. 2002. Introductory sociology, 4th edition. Palgrave Macmillan

Emasculation of male has been said to gain its roots as from the World War II and the

Post war period (Faludi. S 1999). Traditional gender roles have been said to the most important indicator of emasculation. This is mainly based on its application in modern society as opposed to traditional society. Changes based on jobs, empowerment, independence of women, loss of

rugged individual, loss of G1 Joe ethics, Metrosexuals, Hollywood among others are important

factors to consider in emasculation of the male in the modern society.

According to Hillary, more effort is needed to eradicate emasculation of males in the modern

society. Faludi J. in her book, The Betrayal of the American Man refers to male emasculation as the male crisis. She proceeds to state that it is the cause of the great unhappiness, violence , anger and confusion in the modern man.

The thesis statement of this study is changes brought about by World War II and the post war Period. These had significant impacts on traditional gender roles more so the emasculation of the male. The problem is due to persists if men failed to recognize their gender roles meaning that it is very crucial for men to realize their gender roles before it is late. This state of affairs is not to be blamed on men or any particular person but on culture and society. These are the betrayers of men (Faludi S. 1999). Faludi identifies the reason why men are not able to pick themselves up as poor upbringing. During upbringing, they are raised to inherit a world they will exercise firm control over. Unfortunateltly, that world no longer exiats and all that remains an ornamental fa??ade of masculinity which Faludi refers to as ??male superdominance.??

Discussion

Emasculation refers to the deprivation of man??s masculinity, power and his manhood hence making him impotent of both identity and expression. Through emasculation, patriarchy has lost value in men thus demoting male dominance in the family and the society. Masculinity is associated with the male. With emasculation, the patriarchy that exists in the male is breached hence enabling the female to compete with man for existence. It is true that masculinity is a female centered realty in every society in the world. According to Faludi (1999) the laid off laboring which has caused man to lose his work mates and the many paranoid husbands insecure about their wives during the second half of the twentieth century is a clear indication of the male crisis. Masculinity crisis was evidenced in America stage whereby men discovered that women were advancing. The advancement of women has been seen as a driving force to men??s distress. According to faludi, men have discovered that masculinity and femininity are similar ornaments, that they do not essentially differ from each other as it were the case in the traditional society. Mass culture from Hollywood, Madison and pop psychology highlights the avenues of America man troubles .several American men have perceived the advancement of women as the major cause of their decline (Faludi,1999).

It was argued that men in stiffed did not miss male supremacy but companionship and social relevance. It was argued that emasculation of male has empowered women therefore being in a position to snatch jobs that were formerly made for men and dominated by men. Women have become independent.they have learnt to rely on themselves and not their husbands. A good example is that of divorced women who have managed to provide for their families in the absence of men or husbands.

It was argued that in modern society, women do not base male utility on finding work and appreciation but it is all about looking for one??s place in the society. Faulty refers modern society as a Media world, that the media influences everything. For instance, the media has played a major role in the feminization process. Through the media, the public has advanced feminism massively resulting into what is referred to as gender war. This is because it sets men against women whereby the two genders struggle for existence. In America, men were said to have been betrayed, a situation which was not unique. According to Faludi, American men have faced emasculation but to some extent, this has been highlighted by the fact that many women are working into men??s miserable production jobs but they still earn low wages. Emasculation of the male also depends on personalities. Some men clearly emasculated while others still have very strong male complex. The Economic system in Stiffed has highlighted aspect of emasculation of males through the manner in which it screws males in white working class jobs and their families in particular (Faludi, 1999).

The collapse of masculinity has left males uncomfortable since their gender roles have been violated. Culture reveals that emasculation of men resulted from men??s brutalality, violence and irresponsibility, which was of their nature and the nature of their hormones. Susan Faludi holds that in the modern world cultural forces are disfiguring men??s lives and destroys their chances to live happy lives.

Men??s attributes such as craft, social utility and loyalty are no longer honored as the traditional masculinity continues to decline or collapse. To Faludi, they have lost their loyalty and their economic power.

The way we never was a myth presented by Stephanie Coontz which illustrates the way of life experienced in the modern world or society. According to this author, none of the past moments presents workable models based on how people conduct their lives today. According to this book, dichotomous gender roles were developed in the early nineteen century with an aim of creating balance between the male individualism and the female altruism. It has been argued that economic and political trends have led to deterioration of traditional life values hence advocating for emasculation of males.

Male are said to be ignorant in that they believe that their reality is centered among females

without adhering to the fact that female also have their own reality. Male reality is determined

externally but not internally, because it has been noted that masculinity is measured based on

one??s wife satisfying behavior in the society. This is to mean that the male soul does not play any

part in individual reality. The selfishness implicated in the disregard of reality of females has

been considered as the major cause of both spiritual and emotional differences between the two

types of gender. As regards emotions, females are considered to be more emotional as compared to males. In the matter concerning spiritual backgrounds, female take the forefront as they are considered to be more religious than their male counterparts.

During the World War II and the period after the war, several changes occurred in society leading to the erosion of male masculinity (Clinton & Hillary, 1996).

Women learnt that their freedom had been barred by the patriarchy or the dominance of males in the society. Before then, love was a good indicator of the relationship between the male and female but with the onset of emasculation of male, love was replaced by economic foundation . In the absence of emasculation, women had a close attachment to their husband. Emasculation in most cases is said to germinate into what scientist call bacterium. Male are said to be have been disadvantaged by the emasculation which is said to shed off their powers hence are they unable to practice patriarchy in the society. According to the masculine logics, this breach in behavior calls for punishment or any other consequences in the society. Males are said to find it difficult to resist the use of what is referred to as physical force and that is why aggression has been considered natural to male as in their reptilian brain. When males are offended by their wives they tend to use their masculine to punish them but according to the recent research based on masculines, it has been noted that masculine prowess is under the counter of emasculation .

According to Stephanie Coontz, women tend to exercise powers above their husbands in the society, which is contrary to the traditional gender roles. They use state authorities like the police as their watchdogs and they have the powers of summoning them at a mere dial of 911. With increased emasculation of males, both the man??s reality and masculinity are irrepairably damaged. They will never at any given time be the same again as it was during the times of traditional society. To cover their emasculations many males have indulged themselves into drinking sprees. Alcohol has become the bandage for their masculine wounds. Emasculation is said to be worsening as the time goes on hence developing into a full-fledged kind of disease. This showed how emasculation of males had affected men and their families whereby women had rights to decide when to quit marriage. Males are said to have no alternative reality that they could rely upon as opposed to females in every society in the world. Emasculation of males has made them to result into alcohol taking which has made them lose consciousness of their males reality in favor of their imaginative realities. This imagination of their reality has had negative effects on their jobs meaning it interferes with their jobs to the point that they are unable to play their roles as breadwinners in the family. Many males think or consider alcohol as the best solution for their emasculation but it has negative effects to males roles since it made them lessconcerned to what is expected of them. Imagination reality and Alcohol are said to collide if and only if the males apply them both. Emasculation is said to reach what is called malignancy hence resulting to death when males lose their jobs because they believe that there is no life worth living .

The process of human evolution has been said to result to a more devastating form of emasculation since it led to feminization process through destruction of patriarchy organization and the old paradigm of expression of the masculine (Fricker, 2000).

In the process of human evolvion, several roles or features were made less useful in the

society. Things such as suppression, war, aggression, competition and brute muscle force are

no long inexistence today. Emasculation is argued to become stronger and stronger as males

escape the destruction imposed by nature. As time goes on, masculinity of males is viewed to

have been transforming into a situation considered by many scholars as a vanguard of femininity

in the society. According to Faludi, men have discovered that masculinity and femininity similar

ornaments meaning that they do not differ from each other as it were the case in the traditional

society. Mass culture from Hollywood, Madison and pop psychology highlights the avenues

of the American man troubles .several America men have perceived the advancement of women as the major cause of their decline.

Emasculation of males was good or bad depending on the side of human evolution one stood after the completion of feminization process. The feminization process is a complex and unstoppable process in the transformation of human beings since it is beyond people??s ability. This is to mean that human transformation is a process controlled by the spirit of God in every society in the world. This is a strong ascription of the natural law school of thought. In the early form of Christianity, females are said to possess values such as obedience, commitment, innocence, ability to sufferer silently and faithfulness (Fricker, 2000).

According to the transformation of human being and the impact of industrial revolution,it was argued that these values are no longer useful since females have realized their roles after the call for gender equity in the society. Feminization process has brought about rugged individualism in the world where by a man has become a master of his own fate but not the fate of others; men are now responsible to make their beds, cook and clean among others roles previously known as duties of women.

Rugged individualism has been implicated through several movies and television in the United States. The Hollywood culture is a good indicator of emasculation of males. Most of the American movies present a large number of female actors as opposed to males. In these movies female characters are empowered or play a dominant role in acting meaning that they are the most dangerous and armed characters as compared to the males. Hollywood culture had portrayed men as having adopted female characteristic. Men have taken up female habits such as trimming eyebrows, slim, tight abs, attractiveness among others. On the contrary, several researches have showed that females have embraced male??s characteristics and that is why they have ventured into roles that traditionally were made for males. On the issues of appearance conscious, it has been noted that with the onset of emasculation of males, many men have become more conscious of their appearance than it was before. Some sent a lot of times decorating their bodies through the use of cosmetics and other chemicals or substances that are said to bring about beauty in human beings. Traditionally men had a little concern on the issue of beauty but this seems to have ceased with passage of time (Lewis, 1975).

Younger men are the major victims of appearance conscious since they are said to adhere to fashion trends more often than in past .Emasculation of males have made women to become independent of them meaning that women are able to provide for themselves without depending on their husband who have become ignorant of their role as providers. It has therefore been discovered that many women or females are not willing to get married to men since they can take on the role of provider with ease than it was before. This is so because females are taking on the roles or jobs of males in the modern society a fact that has contributed male emasculation.

Professional fields are flooded since career equity has empowered female to compete males dominated jobs. In the past, that is before the world war two, females were not entitled to venture into certain fields such as drivers, engineers, doctors among others because nature prohibits them .

The world war empowered women or females to take part in economic activities in every nation in the world. This is to mean that females have the right to remain in the task force like any other human being. Traditional gender roles are no longer considered important in the modern society that came about because of the industrial revolution. This industrial revolution is said to have enlightened females thus ceasing from being victims of male exploitation in the society.

It was witnessed that emasculation of male has empowered women therefore being in a position to snatch jobs that were made for men. Women have become independent meaning that they rely on themselves but not their husbands. They are no longer silent sufferer and that is why they have become increasingly independent than in the past.

The Solution

According to Faludi, there is an opportunity for the two sexes to look above their adversarial relationship. That they can agree on a more suitable mechanism or paradigm of human progress that will enable both to excel.

Solution to emasculation of males is that gender is socially determined meaning that people perceive their role depending on the acquired knowledge that brings about equity in human beings. Through the book gender-neutral socialization, people are free to make choices that at some points made them stuck in certain social positions in the modern society. This is to mean that those choices people made on their lives contribute largely to their imprisonment in their conventional gender roles (Hilary, 2004).

According to Frazier, the solutions lays primarily in employment. He states that once a man has a job he behaves like a man and takes up both his sexual and social roles with adequacy.

Further, man should not measure his masculinity base on the female perception of his ability to perform his duties (Scott M. 1997)

1.1 Overview of the Topic

Income distribution is a frequency distribution showing number of persons, taxpayers or households classified by levels of income. The unequal distribution of income is a major issue in many countries, mostly in developing countries and in Pakistan it has been a burning since its birth. As the inequality in the distribution rises, it divides the population into small groups with various differences among them, thus fueling a conflict between them. The conflict arises due to difference in the income patterns, employment patterns, wage rates, difference in resources symbolic or material, social status etc. the difference in the lifestyle, wage rates, and the job opportunities in the rural and urban cities of Pakistan cause class conflict, as people living in various locations belong to different income groups. Feudal culture in Pakistan is among the major reasons of class conflict. Landlords have made monopolies which have increased the disparities among the various classes living. Class conflict is a serious problem which causes violent activities such as high crime. Unfortunately our government has been unable to solve this problem of uneven distribution of income, as they themselves are enjoying the class difference existing in our country. Over the past year this conflict has been boiling and will eventually erupt one day. With this segregation of the population into various classes, social gaps have increased and people have become more accustomed to other people who are of similar stature in the society. This is one of the major issues Pakistan is facing, unity among the population is a challenge to the government of Pakistan, but it all trickles down to the fact that the people who are causing this unequal distribution of income are the ones who are leading us. Over the past years, the income distribution in Pakistan has adopted an uneven trend, meaning that there is no significant increase or decrease, thus the notion that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and the result of this is a growing conflict among the various classes that exist in our society today. Other factors such as corruption also play a vital role in this unequal distribution of income, not only at higher levels but at the smallest and lowest level of the society as well.

1.2 Background Information

Since Pakistan came into being, the income distribution has been a serious issue. During the time of partition, many people were stripped of their lands, properties, valuables and other financial assets. The unequal distribution of income we are experiencing today has its roots from the time of the partition of India and Pakistan. Feudalism in those days was at its peak and remnants of it can still be seen in the modern society. Many powerful feudal lords claimed lands by force from people who were financially or socially weak, thus the wealth became concentrated and its effects can be seen today in our society, as the unequal distribution of income. Even today, many influential people such as politicians and local feudal lords all around Pakistan are in control of the major chunk of the income that is generated and flows through the economy, which is why Pakistan also faces extreme poverty. Pakistan has experienced an uneven trend in the distribution of income in the past years, as there is no significant trend of increase or decrease. This uneven pattern of income distribution has been the root cause of the division of the population into various classes on the basis of income inequalities. During the early years of Pakistan, the population was less divided, but with the passage of time and the uneven trend of the income inequality has caused the population to be divided into upper, middle and lower classes based on different employment patterns, wage rates, households, social status and limited resources etc. The formation of these classes has led to the widening of the social gaps between the people and has also led to social exclusion of people belonging to different classes. This has been a common practice in history that people belonging to a similar group or stratum, tend to socialize more i.e. people who share common resources either symbolic or material in nature tend to form stratums. As the general population is divided into these stratums, belief and ideals change, thus a conflict arises due to these changing ideals. Over the past years, since the birth of Pakistan, this conflict between the different classes has been slowly boiling and has erupted into a class conflict based on income disparity.

1.3 Importance of the Study With Respect To the World

The problem of unequal distribution of income exists in almost every country around the world, from the weakest to the strongest economies of the world; income disparity is clear and present. It is also one of the major problems that developing countries face and if not contained in due time, it paves the way for many other problems which are either directly or indirectly linked with it. One of these problems is the class conflict that arises due to income inequality among the general population. The relevance of this problem can be best understood with an example of East and West Germany. In World War II the Allies occupied West Germany and the Soviets occupied East Germany. The border between the two Germany’s was famously known as the Berlin Wall. Since the corporate and industrial might of the Allies was far superior compared to the Soviets at that time, the Allies started injecting billions of dollars in the economy of West Germany, resulting in higher living standards and plentiful jobs for the people. In stark contrast the jobs and living standards in East Germany were inferior, resulting in constant unrest which ultimately substantiated into a major class conflict. Thus throughout the world, we see many similar cases where the major chunk of the economy is concentrated at a singular point, that is the elite or the ruling class, leaving the lower classes with little or no financial assets. Concentration fuels the class conflict in a society and ultimately damages a nation as a whole. The inequality in the distribution is caused by many relevant factors, such as inflation, foreign direct investment, remittances, trade, corruption, feudalism etc. and these are all present in almost every society of the world. Thus the significance of this study cannot be denied with respect to the world.

1.4 Importance of Study With Respect To Pakistan

Since Pakistan’s Inception, the Populace has been plagued with the diabolical issue of income distribution. The seriousness of this issue cannot be denied, since it has been the root cause of constant upheaval in the society in general and also the catalyst of constant unrest, distrust and sometimes violent protests. In other words we have been compromised in a never ending stalemate, since there is no significant trend of increase or decrease of income distribution in Pakistan, thus this kind of uneven trend is giving rise to undesirable hybrid classes based upon this income inequality. The initiation of such classes has led to an avalanche of prejudice, discrimination and more disturbingly, exclusion of significant amount of people from the nucleus of the society. It has also led to the formation of different stratums among the people. With the passage of time this horrendous social exclusion, disparity and discrimination has manifested into an ugly class conflict amongst the people we see today in Pakistan. The mere presence of various classes based on improper income distribution is evidence of its existence. The increasing social gap, distrust and lack of communication between the people, nourishes the problem of income distribution and provides sustenance for its future. The prevailing feudal culture in Pakistan is also one of the major catalysts of the unequal distribution of income in Pakistan. The most influential people or the ruling class has the most concentration of resources; they also include the politicians of Pakistan who are responsible for making policies against this burning issue. Inflation is another factor contributing to the lowering of the purchasing power of the lower classes, which in turn induces a conflict among the general public, as inflation hits hard on the lower classes and has little effect on the elite class. All the foreign investment and the remittances are also controlled by the upper or elite class, thus the flow of money in the economy is limited to a set number of influential or powerful people, while the majority of the population is deprived even the basic necessities of life.

1.5 Research Question

The elements of class conflict in Pakistan.

The problem of class conflict is justified with the increasing gaps between the populations of Pakistan. Various classes exist due to this income disparity. It is due to this income disparity among the people different classes are formed. Thus, there is a clear and present conflict between the classes in our society.

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

The review of existing literature in the current study area of the income distribution patterns and the class conflict in Pakistan will help in appraising additional information on the subject matter and help in establishing a better understanding of the research that is to be undertaken.

Hasan (2002) made a study on the emerging trends of Pakistan’s upper or elite class which is under heavy influence of the west. The post Bhutto era changed all the pervious trends that the ruling class observed. The elite class now has separated itself from the middle and lower classes and with it, has also lost the trend to use public services. They are more inclined to private services and they are the ones who are embedded deep in Pakistan’s political lobby. They reflect the country’s politics, society and the culture as well. Today, Pakistan’s elite class enjoys the most as income and money is no object to them, they go abroad for vacations and education whereas the majority of the population has little to eat. This gives rise to a class conflict between the general populations and thus differences are uplifted.

Y. So (1991) studied the causes of stratification among people. The author focuses on the study of politics and history in accordance with the class struggle. The author makes the analysis based on three major components, the conditions of class struggle, the entire process of class struggle and the consequences that follow the class struggle both on micro as well as the macro level. By incorporating class struggle into the process stratification theory, the author opens up new a horizon for the analysis. The stratification theory groups people according to income distribution. People possessing similar characteristics form social groups or classes which give rise to social gaps. The Neo-Marxist theory focuses on the production sphere and is the advocate of conflict between the emerging classes. The aim of this study was to analyze the formation of different classes. The study looks at the various forms of class struggle and the ways in which classes are formed with special reference to reasons and causes of this phenomenon.

Strasser (1980) argues that there two principles which are involved in the social inequality, stratum and class formation. It is intended to substantiate the work by comparing the claims of the functional theory of social stratification and to uncover the frame of reference that underlies the analysis of social inequality in a society. The author calls attention to the recent finding of his time in anthropology and ethnology to further explain his thesis and looks at various theories of social inequality, functional, conservative and progressive. Stratum is a group of people sharing common characteristics such as income, occupation, status etc. Socialization is the major cause of the formation of various stratums. People belonging to a similar background tend to socialize more between themselves rather than with people who are different from them. Social inequality among the various classes takes the form of unequal distribution of resources. These resources either symbolic or material are responsible for the conflict among classes. Classes are formed as a result of grouping of similar people belonging to specific interests, whereas strata are formed due to similar lifestyles of various people.

Rashid (1985) examines the feudal culture that has existed since Pakistan’s birth and even now this culture prevails as many of the ruling elites and politicians are among them. Land reforms are imperative for a country like Pakistan, but the people who are responsible for the implementation are the ones who benefit the most out of land. The policy makers and the people who implement the policies are in the politics, and these people compromise the majority of the landlords here in Pakistan. Landlords enjoy the fruits of other people’s hard work which belong to the lower classes that tend to the lands which are not of their own. This tense relationship of worker and master gives rise to a class conflict which will erupt one day. The government is not trying to balance out this unequal distribution of land among the people. There is concentration of all the wealth of the land to one ruling class.

Chandra (1972) stated that since the earliest beginning, Pakistan has been dominated by the ruling class. The author gives a complete assessment of the class character of West Pakistan. Even the Muslim League consisted majority of two classes, the Zamindars and the traders, both of which belong to the upper or elite classes of that time. The study aims at living conditions of the lower or working class, which are still the same even after such a long time. There has not been any significant improvement in the living conditions nor other important sectors for these poor people, even though they comprise the majority of the total population of Pakistan. There has been a significant development in the industrial and the private sector, i.e., inflow of foreign investment, but to no avail, the landlords and the capitalists are only the ones who enjoy the fruits of life, as they comprise all the heavy investors in both the sectors. Landlords have made monopolies, and by doing so the disparities among the classes have further increased ever since.

Crenshaw and Ameen (1993) in their study of the different dimensions of social inequality in the third world, reveal that the modernization and the ecological-evolutionary theories provide more evidence regarding the social inequality than the either the dependency/world systems or the urban bias theory. They provide a cross national assessment of the determinants of income inequality. They also shed light on the various conclusions that can be drawn from various theories. Injection of foreign capital provides opportunities for some people, but it also widens the gap as many people are unable to capitalize on the certain amount of capital. Thus only the people who are strongly embedded and/or in the mainstream, are the ones who are able to capitalize. The analysis point towards the economic growth and the development of the rural areas to reduce mortality and stabilize the income inequality.

Ahmed (1996) in his study comments that in a rapidly progressing world, ethnic, religious and social conflicts are tearing states apart not only in the developed world, but also in the lesser developed third world countries. Pakistan is divided into many ethnic groups according to the author, the largest group being the Punjabis, who comprise mainly of the upper and middle classes. However social inequality in rampant in the whole country as there are small pockets of people who have similar access to resources, thus forming various ethnic groups and/or classes, which include Sindhi, Pushtoon and Balochi people, who are less developed and less embedded. Even though Pakistan is rapidly growing but there are elements that hinder the growth of people and inhibit potential factors which work to decrease this chasm between the people of Pakistan. National integration is a desirable goal but it has caused a lot of problems in the past, such as oppression. Even if national equity is promoted and there is harmony among the different groups, there would yet be emerging ideas of different stances, and this time around would have an adverse effect.

Bulir (2001) made a study using the traditional Kuznets model. Inflation reduces the purchasing power of the poor people; it also tends to decrease the general income thus increasing social gaps. The government can tax the rich to cover the gap but there are only a few honest taxpayers as opposed to the number of poor people in Pakistan. This ignites a certain conflict among the people, as a certain image is developed for the tax evaders, who are mostly the ruling class or the elites. People belonging to the lower class are hit heavily by inflation, as they are already short on resources, and after further reduction in their purchasing power, they are forced to corruption. Lower inflation rates, in addition to the level of development and fiscal redistribution are found to improve income equality and their impact is uniform for all levels of GDP per capita, thus low inflation rates improve the income inequality. Level of development; state employment, fiscal redistribution, and price stability are found to improve income inequality in a given country. The positive impact of price stability on income distribution is nonlinear. When inflation is reduced from hyperinflationary levels, there is a significant reduction in the income inequality also, while if it is decreased further, then there are small gains in the country’s gini coefficient.

Kentor (2001) observed the effects of globalization on the income distribution, population growth and the economic development. The goal was to develop the linkage between them, and it is evident that they are inter-related parts of a complex system of unequal economic, social and political relationships. Globalization has effects on the income inequality and income distribution, but there are no properly demarked good or bad effects to it. Where there is a negative effect of globalization on the per capita GNP growth, there is also a positive impact on the trade openness. Policies should be made according to the given circumstances at hand, not by prediction.

Hussain, Sharif, Hasan (2009) studied the impacts of openness of trade, FDI and remittances on the income distribution and the income inequality in Pakistan. Increased openness of trade leads to economic growth which reduces poverty and makes income distribution more equal. Trade liberalization has been a factor in reducing the income distribution as there is a significant increase in the total trade over the past years. Pakistan has also reduced tariffs from 200% to only 25%. Studies show that FDI has a positive effect on income distribution, but owing to the unstable political and economic conditions it has not risen considerably. FDI was restricted to only few areas but since it opened up to the industrial sector, Pakistan has witnessed a considerable amount of increase in FDI (poor in the 70’s and began rising in the 80’s). However the extent of FDI had good effects on income distribution in Pakistan. Remittances, also play a vital role in the economy, Pakistan had high remittances through the 70’s and 80’s but saw a decline after that, yet after 2000, Pakistan again saw rapid increase in the remittances, Pakistan is trying to open up the economy by privatization. This will ultimately cause growth in the economy and reduce poverty and equalize the income inequality. Thus their study revealed that the income inequality in Pakistan follows an uneven pattern, meaning that there is no significant increase or decrease.

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Type

My Research falls under the category of a quantitative research. I gathered data and put it through a series of statistical techniques to prove the hypothesis derived in the research

3.2 Data Type and Research Period

My Research was done by using the primary data. Primary data was collected to study the class conflict, as no historical data is currently available. Questionnaire provided me with relevant information to conduct the research

3.3 Sources of Data

A questionnaire was floated asking general questions related to the issue of class conflict in Pakistan

3.4 Theoretical Framework
3.5 Variables & Definitions
Inequality

The degree to which the distribution of economic welfare generated in an economy differs from that if equal shares among its inhabitants

(Dictionary of Economics, Graham Bannock)

Stratum

Division of people according to some variable

Feudalism

A European system flourishing between 800-1400 based upon fixed relations of lord to vassal

(www.thefreedictionary.com)

Income Distribution

The various levels of income existing within a given population

(Dictionary of Economics, Graham Bannock)

Class Conflict

Conflict between different classes in a community resulting from different social or economic positions and reflecting opposed interests

(www.dictionary.reference.com)

Income Disparity

In economic context, it refers to the difference in wages of people

3.6 Population, Working Population and Planned Sample

The questionnaire was completed by 50 people of Lahore. Questionnaire asked questions regarding the social class conflict existing in our society.

3.7 Research Hypothesis

H0: Class conflict is caused due to income disparity

H1: Class conflict is not caused due to income disparity

H0: Social gaps and social exclusion lead to the class conflict

H1: Social gaps and social exclusion does not lead to class conflict

H0: Division of stratums is a major reason for class conflict.

H1: Division of stratums is not a major reason for class conflict.

H0: There are social gaps between the various classes in Pakistan

H1: There are no social gaps between the various classes in Pakistan

3.8 Techniques

For the analysis of the data collected, the statistical technique of regression was used to build and establish linkages between the variables used in the research and finally deriving the conclusion from the results of the regression analysis.

3.9 Data Analysis

The statistical software Mini tab was used to apply the regression technique to analyze the data. The software provided with graphs, tables and charts after running regression.

3.10 Data interpretation

The data was interpreted using the regression results. Based on the current analysis the main aim of the study was to understand which element was the major one of class conflict.

CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Results

Multiple Regression Analysis

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Dependent variable: Class Conflict

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Standard T

Parameter Estimate Error Statistic P-Value

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CONSTANT -0.0519046 0.421089 -0.123263 0.9024

Income Disparity 0.24955 0.122053 2.04461 0.0466

Socialization 0.753118 0.148753 5.06289 0.0000

Stratification 0.0101818 0.092964 0.109524 0.9133

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Analysis of Variance

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Source Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F-Ratio P-Value

———————————————————————————————-

Model 4.90069 3 1.63356 10.81 0.0000

Residual 6.95066 46 0.151101

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Total (Corr.) 11.8514 49

R-squared = 61.3514 percent

R-squared (adjusted for d.f.) = 57.5264 percent

Standard Error of Est. = 0.388717

Mean absolute error = 0.318889

Durbin-Watson statistic = 1.52396

Class Conflict = -0.0519046 + 0.24955*Income Disparity +0.753118*Socialization + 0.0101818*Stratification

4.2 Findings & Analysis

The regression model describes the relationship of socialization, stratification and income disparity with class conflict. It explains how socialization, stratification and income disparity affect class conflict. As we can see from the above equation that income disparity, socialization and stratification is directly linked with class conflict as all three variables have a positive relationship. Since the P-value in the ANOVA table is less than 0.01, there is a statistically significant relationship between the class conflict and the 3 independent variables at the 99% confidence level. The R-Squared statistic indicates that the model as fitted explains 61.3514% of the variability in Class Conflict. The adjusted R-squared statistic, which is more suitable for comparing models with different numbers of independent variables, is 57.5264%. The standard error of the estimate shows the standard deviation of the residuals to be 0.388717. This value can be used to construct prediction limits for new observations by selecting the Reports option from the text menu. The mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.318889 is the average value of the residuals. The Durbin-Watson (DW) statistic tests the residuals to determine if there is any significant correlation based on the order in which they occur in the data file. Since the DW value is greater than 1.4, there is probably not any serious auto correlation in the residuals.

In the model the highest p-value on the independent variables is 0.9133, belonging to stratification. Since the p-value is greater or equal to 0.10, so this variable is not significant at the 90% confidence level. Therefore, we can say that stratification have little and no effect on the dependent variable, class conflict.

Questionnaire was floated by various people including students and professors of my university i.e. Lahore School of Economics, Doctors working in CMH hospital, Students of LMDC, Shop keepers of H-Block market DHA and people working as drivers and cooks in my colony. The main purpose of getting questionnaire filled from people belonging to various income groups was to clearly study and understand the relationship of socialization, stratification and income disparity with the class conflict issue. The only limitation of doing this primary research was that the sample size of 50 people was very low in order to draw a conclusion as the topic is very wide and each and every individual has his/her own views on the class conflict topic. Overall people surveyed, were of the view that class conflict did exist in our society and gave rise to problems such as income disparity and it divided the population into various stratums.

4.3 Hypothesis testing

H0: Class conflict is caused due to income disparity

H1: Class conflict is not caused due to income disparity

As the results show the p-value of income disparity to be 0.0466 which is less than 0.05 thus we accept Ho at 95% confidence interval. This means that income disparity causes class conflict. According to the respondents, class conflict is a result of the income disparities as these days in Pakistan the rich are getting richer day by day and the poor are getting poorer. Class conflict is dependent upon income disparities.

H0: There are social gaps between the various classes in Pakistan

H1: There are no social gaps between the various classes in Pakistan

The p-value of the information in the regression analysis is 0.0000. As the p-value is less than I± which is 0.05, we accept the null hypothesis and say that social gaps do exist between the various classes in Pakistan. It should be noted that the p-value is very small and is significant. Majority of the respondents were of the view that social gaps are present in the various classes of Pakistan.

H0: Social gaps and social exclusion lead to the class conflict

H1: Social gaps and social exclusion does not lead to class conflict

The p-value of socialization in the regression analysis is 0.000 which is less than 0.05 we accept Ho at 95% confidence level. This means that social gaps led to the problem of class conflict. Majority of people said that wide social gaps and differences and social exclusion led to class conflict. They were of the view that this separation between the classes will lead to a major conflict among the general public in Pakistan.

H0: Division of stratums is a major reason for class conflict.

H1: Division of stratums is a major reason for class conflict.

In the regression analysis we can see that the p-value of stratification is 0.9133 which is greater than 0.05 thus we reject the null hypothesis at 95% confidence level. This means that stratification is not a major reason of the class conflict problem. One of the limitations behind this result could be that the sample size is very small, which is in sufficient to draw a conclusion regarding stratification and its relationship with class conflict.

Conclusion

From the above argument, it is concluded that there is a marked class conflict in the population of Pakistan based on the unequal distribution of income in Pakistan. Corrupt officials, low number of honest taxpayers and resistance to change are some of the factors which contribute to fuel this ongoing conflict among the people. Pakistan is also facing a great threat from security point of view as well as inefficient monetary policies, which also hinders economic growth. Hence the people are divided into the various groups mentioned in the paper, according to difference in income, status, amount of resources and other contributing factors. According to the results, stratification among the people does not hold much importance, but it is a minor contributing factor in the class conflict. Socialization, however is an important variable in the class conflict, people of similar backgrounds belong to a similar type of social status tend to socialize more than people belonging to other classes. This is a common practice that people with similar resources either material or symbolic will from a social group and tend to exclude people who are different from them.

Irina Anderson explores the current rape perception of both male and female rape and whether the respondent’s gender affects this perception in a journal article called ‘What is a typical rape? Effects of victims and participants gender in female and male perception’ which was published in The British Journal of Social Psychology. This article also investigates the ‘cultural lag’ theory of male rape. The findings in this study demonstrate that, contrary to predictions made at the start of the article, when asked to describe a typical rape, male and female, it was the stranger rape stereotype that was the prevailing way most used to describe this. It was also shown that instead of ‘lagging’ behind female rape according to the stranger-acquaintance dimension, male rape was conceptualized in terms of other factor, for example sexual orientation, which were often deemed homophobic. I found this journal article interesting and accessible to read. After reading the hypothesis proposed at the beginning of the article, I was intrigued to see that many of the predictions were in fact proved false at the end of the article, for example it was predicted that when asked to describe a ‘typical’ rape participants would describe an acquaintance rape where as in previous years the stranger rape stereotype was the way most described a ‘typical’ rape. However the results of this study show that in fact the stranger rape stereotype is still the predominant way people imagine a ‘typical’ rape. This led me to question how much rape perception has actually changed in our society. I also found that both the aims and findings of the research were clear, accurate and relevant; they were clearly laid out and overall I found the article effortless to read. In addition the acknowledgment of the limitation to the research enhanced the article.

The article begins by giving a brief summary of previous studies and research which has been carried out to investigate the same research topic. The ideas of acquaintance rape, where the victim is raped by someone known to them e.g. boyfriend, date, relative, friend, and stranger rape stereotype, where the victim is raped by someone unknown to them, are introduced and the ideas surrounding them are discussed. For example acquaintance rape is usually expected to happen indoors and the victim having spent time with the perpetrator prior to the rape. In contrast stranger rape is expected to happen outdoors, usually at night where the victim is grabbed, overpowered and raped. Date rape s also briefly discussed and used to support predictions that rape perceptions has changed considerably in the last few years due to increased media coverage of the topic. The issue of male rape is then raised and questions are raised such as are men raped in the same circumstances as women? It is described as more frequent phenomenon than previously believed. The ignorance and disbelief surrounding male rape creates myths and misconceptions in society for example ‘Most men who are raped are homosexuals’. This makes some researchers believe that male rape perception is ‘lagging’ behind that of female rape, that is current male rape perception is at the stage female rape perception was at years ago in terms of the knowledge people have of it. I believe the author has succeeded in successfully introducing the research topic and conveying the main aims of the research. The one possible fault I have for the introduction is that the author does not discuss why she feels the topic of research is important and why she decided to carry out the study. I believe this would enhance the article even more for the reader.

In the ‘method’ section of this article Anderson explains in detail how the study was carried out. She describes how one hundred and nineteen undergraduate students were asked to take part; she also lists their gender and ethnicity. The participants were asked to describe what they believe to be a ‘typical’ rape. Both male and female were included. The gender of the participant and the gender of the victim were the independent variables. Participants were assigned randomly so that women could be assigned to either a female rape or a male rape. Similarly men could be assigned to either female rape or male rape. They were asked to include details that led to the incident, details of the incident itself and details following the rape. Characteristics of the victims and the perpetrator including feelings and thoughts were also asked for. Anderson then moves on to describe how these accounts of ‘typical’ rapes given by participants were analyzed. She describes the coding manuals given to coders who must sort the participant’s text into text which adhere to characteristics of the stranger rape stereotype and those which describe an acquaintance rape. This is the most important section of the article; any deficiencies would undermine the validity of the results. The only deficiency I could locate in this section was the fact that all the participants were university students; however the author recognizes this as a limitation at the conclusion of the article. Overall I found this section of the article to give a very comprehensive account of how the study was carried out. It covers all aspects that are important to the aims of the article.

In my opinion the results section of this article is excellent. The findings are clearly laid out for the reader. Headings help divide the finding into different sections for example ‘testing hypothesis 1 and frequency of category use in female rape’. These headings also help list the results in terms of the original research question and predictions given at the beginning of the article. Tables are also used which illustrate different types of categories of description used by participants and the number of female and male who used these categories. Direct quotations are also inserted to give the reader insight into the types of descriptions participants gave which I found very interesting e.g.: due to the physical difficulty of male rape the perpetrator would typically be larger and stronger than the victim’. The author acknowledges the results do not match the predictions made at the beginning and explains the possible reasons for this by stating perhaps researcher’s presumption that societies rape perception has evolved is in fact false and perhaps our perceptions have not progressed as much as it was thought. The cultural ‘lag’ theory of male rape was only partly supported by the findings. Although female rape was described more in terms of acquaintance rape than male rape, the other aspect of the theory, that male rape would be described in terms of stranger rape stereotype more than female rape, was not supported. In fact many ‘other’ factors played a part in the description of male rape such as penetration, the rapist’s strength and power over the victim and the victim’s shame and humiliation. Thus proving that female and male rapes are conceptualized along different continuums. The results overall highlight the importance of periodically examining rape perception and the effects of gender.

The discussion section addresses the main findings of the article and any new information gained which can be added onto previous information discovered in previous research. Anderson discusses the reasons behind the participants which described a typical rape in terms of the stranger rape stereotype. It is here blame attributions are discussed. Anderson notes it is a possibility that participant didn’t write more about acquaintance rape as they assumed the victim would therefore be more blameworthy. This is strengthened by the fact that women, when describing a female rape, used the stranger rape theory more than men and similarly men, when describing a male rape, used the stranger rape stereotype more than women. This perhaps proves that when writing about a victim of their own gender they preferred the stranger rape stereotype as they believed it would steer the blame away from the victim.

In my opinion this article contains all the key elements of a good journal article. From the beginning the author explains clearly the key arguments and main points of the text. She also includes relevant background information and makes concrete predictions. The method and results of the study are clearly laid out and are easy to follow. Another aspect covered in the text is the acknowledgment of its limitations. Any good journal article is aware of the limitations of the findings and in this article they are clear. The way in which male rape is discussed is quite interesting as it not a subject many articles discuss. The idea of the ‘lag’ theory was also remarkable, that the situation of male rape perception in society today was that of female rape years ago. Also the fact that males themselves described male rape in a homophobic and mocking tone intrigued me. For example, ‘one of the two bufties edge towards the lone man’. One of the very few limitations in this text is that all the participants were students from one university, a population which may be more aware of rape than the general population. It is noted that a study of the perceptions of rape held by police, medical personnel and juries may enhance findings in the future. Another fault I have with this article is that I believe the author should go into more detail on why she thinks this research is important and why she decided to conduct this study. In addition, while reading the findings of this research it struck me that another reason the majority of participants chose a scenario which adheres to the stranger rape stereotype is they may feel under stress to give certain answer or they may try to please the researchers by giving the answer they believe the researchers desire.

In conclusion, I found this article to be comprehensive, relevant and interesting. All main ideas are clearly stated and concrete predictions are made from the start. The results examine the effects of gender in rape conceptualization and the importance of examining male rape alongside female rape to gain further insight into the differences in gender perception. A broader source of participants is acknowledged as a future improvement that could be made to studies such as these. The results section of the paper is, to me, the most impressive section. The findings are examined in a concise manner, taking particular notice of the reasons the results contradict the predictions made at the start. Overall I think this is an excellent example of a psychological journal article, it adheres to all the guidelines which helps make a journal article impressive and overall I found it hard to fault

The purpose of this term paper is to explore the effects that were posed by the World War II and that experienced during post war period. The most important area of study is the traditional gender roles and how they have been altered during the war and after the war. Changes based on jobs, empowerment, independence of women, loss of rugged individual, loss of G1 Joe ethics, Metrosexuals, Hollywood among others will be covered in the research. Factors that contributed to the emasculation of male will be highlighted in the context of this course work. Since the study is all about the emasculation of men, things which should do in order to elude themselves from this problem will be an area of interest in this study. For better expoundation of these effects or impacts, the study will concern itself with definitions of gender roles and emasculation of male.

Thesis statement of this study is the changes that were brought about by World War II and post war period had significant impacts on traditional gender role more so those regard to emasculation of the male. The problem is due to persists if men failed to recognize their gender roles meaning that it is very crucial for men to realize their gender roles before it is late. Discussion

Emasculation can be defined as the deprivation of man’s masculinity, power and his manhood hence making him impotent of both identity and expression. Through emasculation, patriarchy is said to have lost value in men thus demoting male dominance in the family and also the society at large. Masculinity is for male and thus why when male are emasculated, the patriarchy that exists in male is breached hence enabling female to compete with men for existence. It is true that masculinity is a female centered realty in each and every society in the world. Based on this point, male are admired and also measured based on the beauty, loyalty of the wife, submission and the manner in which he controls his wife. This is to mean that the masculinity of the man is determined by the satisfying behavior of her wife. In addition to this, single men or bachelors can’t gauge their degree of masculinity since geared by the behavior portrayed by his wife. Masculinity and feminist are differently implicated in the gender roles and therefore they can be used to offer a better understanding of both male and female. Men are known for their ability to fulfill stressful roles that include husband role, the role of breadwinner and that of father. In the traditional and modern societies, women or female are expected to be under the rule of the male. They should adhere to the commands made by male and thus how patriarchy is practiced. Male are said to be ignorant in that they believe that their reality is centered among female without adhering to the fact that female also have their own reality. Male reality is determined externally but not internally because it has been noted that masculinity is measured based on one’s wife satisfying behavior in the society. This is to mean that male’s soul does not play any part in individual reality.

The selfishness implicated in the disregard of reality of female has been considered as the major cause of both spiritual and emotional differences between the two types of gender. In the issues of emotions, female are said to be more or too emotional as compared to male. In the matter concerning spiritual backgrounds, female take the majority vote since they are said to be more religious than their men. During the World War II and the period after the war, several changes have been observed to have taken place whereby the power of male became eroded. Women learnt that their freedom had been barred by the patriarchy or the dominance of male in the society. Before then, love was a good indicator of the relationship between the male and female but with the onset of emasculation of male, this was replaced by the economic foundation. In the absence of emasculation, female had a close attachment to their husband. When male came home late they were to be served with hot dinner since it was the responsibility of their wives or females. Real love by then was practiced as opposed to the period after the World War II. Males in most cases are blinded by the privileged that if they works and support their wives, every thing in their castles is expected to be well. Emasculation of males has given females the opportunity to venture into the roles that were made for male. It is not surprising to find that many males cook for themselves or in household there exists a duty Rooter. Meaning that if the wife cooks today tomorrow is the turn for the husband to cook of which this is contrary to the traditional gender roles. Emasculation in most cases is said to germinate into what scientist call bacterium.

Male are said to be have been disadvantaged by the emasculation which is said to shed off their powers hence unable to practice patriarchy in the society. For instance most men are not served with hot dinners when they came back at night since their wives believed that they are equal to them and that they should not woke up at the mid of the night and warm meals for their husbands. In other occasions their wives are not available to greet them with sweet names and also charming carelessly hence echoing their males masculinity. According to the masculine logics, this breach in behavior calls for punishment or any other consequences in the society. Males are said to find it difficult to resist the use of what is referred to as physical force and thus why aggression has been considered natural to male’s reptilian brain. When males are offended by their wives they tend to use their masculine to punish them but according to the recent research based on masculine’s it has been noted that masculine prowess are under the counter of emasculation.

In the modern society, several couples find it inferior to fasten their hands behind their backs when walking. The research showed that males sat in the back seats of a car while the wife is the drive meaning that masculinity of males has been violated by their wives. They tend to exercise powers above their husbands in the society which is contrary to the traditional gender roles. Females are now taking top positions in the government and are therefore provided with police men as her guards. They use police as their watch dogs and they had powers of summoning them at any mere dial of 911. According to the emasculation of males, both the man’s reality and masculine will never at any given time be the same again as it was during the times of traditional society. To cover their emasculations many males have indulged themselves into drinking springs meaning that alcohol has become the only bandage for their masculine wounds. Emasculation is said to be worsening as the time goes on hence developing into a full fledged kind of disease. There was a case whereby a man came home from work only to find a dog with a note tied around its neck the note was left behind by his who claimed that the man had another woman and that she had given him a chance to marry her. This showed how emasculation of males had affected men and their families whereby women had rights to decide when to quit marriage.

Men remained attached to the love in their marriage even after the divorce. This has been noted to have changed over the years meaning that the bond between wife and husband has become too weak than it was before the World War II and the period after. From researches that have been conducted in United States of America have showed that males are deprived of the meaning that is said to reflect their masculinity. Males are said to have got no alternative reality that they could rely upon as opposed to females in each and every society in the world. Emasculation of males have made them to result into alcohol taking which has made them to lose consciousness of their males reality in favor of their imaginative realities. These imagination of their reality has been said to have got negative effects to their jobs meaning that they interferes with their jobs to the pint that they can’t play their roles as breadwinners in the family. Many males think or consider alcohol as the best solution for their emasculation but it has negative effects to males roles since it made them less concerned to what expected of them. Imagination reality and Alcohol are said to collide if and only if they are both applied by the males. Emasculation is said to reach what is called malignancy hence resulting to killing when males lost their jobs because they believe that no life that is worth to living. The process of human evolution has been said to have resulted to a more devastating form of emasculation since it led to feminization process through destruction of patriarchy organization and the old paradigm of expression of the masculine.

In the process of human evolving several roles have or features have been made less useful in the society. Things such as suppression, war, aggression, competition and brute muscle force are no long inexistence today. Emasculation is argued to become stronger and stronger as males escape the destruction imposed by nature. As time goes on masculinity of males is viewed to have been transforming into a situation considered by many scholars as a vanguard of femininity in the society. Emasculation of males will be good or bad depending on the side of human evolution one stood after the completion of feminization process. The feminization process is not a simple process in the transformation of human being since it is beyond people’s ability. This is to mean that human transformation is a process controlled by the spirit of God in each and every society in the world. In the early form of Christianity females were said to possess values such as obedience, commitment, innocence, silent sufferer and faithfulness. According to the transformation of human being and the impact of industrial revolution, it was argued that these values are no longer useful since females have realized their roles after the call for gender equity in the society.

Feminization process has brought about rugged individualism in the world where by a man has become a master of his own feta but not the fate of others; men are now responsible to make their beds among others. Rugged individualism has been implicated through several movies and television in the United States. The Hollywood culture is a good indicator of emasculation of males. Most of the American movies are presents a large number of female actors as opposed to males. In these movies female characters are empowered or play a dominant role in acting meaning that they are the most dangerous and armed characters than males. Hollywood culture had portrayed men as having adopted females characteristic.

That is men have taken on female characteristics such as trimmed eyebrows, slim, tight abs, attractiveness among others. Several researches have showed that females have embraced male’s characteristics and thus why they have ventured into roles that traditionally were made for males. On the issues of appearance conscious it has been noted that with the onset or coming of emasculation of males, many men have become more conscious to their appearance than it was before. Some sent a lot of times decollating their bodies through the use of cosmetics and other chemicals or substances that are said to bring about beauty in human being. Traditionally men had a little concern on the issue of beauty but this seems to have ceased with passage of time. Younger men are the major victims of appearance conscious since they are said to adhere to fashion trends more often that in past. Emasculation of males have made women to become independent of themselves meaning that women are able to provide for themselves without depending on their husband who have become ignorant of their role of provider.

It has therefore discovered that many women or females are not willing to get married to men since they can take on the role of provider with ease that it was before. This has come as a result of females taking on the roles or jobs of males in the modern society a thing that made men to become emasculated. Professional fields are flooded since career equity has empowered female to compete males in jobs. In past that is before the world war ii, females were not entitled to venture into certain fields such as drivers, engineers, doctors among others because nature prohibits them. The world war empowered women or females to take part in economic activities in each and every nation in the world. This is to mean that females have the right to remain in the task force like any other human being. Traditional gender roles are no longer considered important in the modern society which came a bout as a result of the industrial revolution. This industrial revolution is said to have enlightened females thus ceasing from being victims of male exploitation in the society. This is to mean that females are no longer silent sufferer and thus why they have become increasingly independent than in the past.

In conclusion from the study it was noted that emasculation of males has affected males severely in the modern society and this has resulted from the industrial revolution. Females have taken on the roles of males hence boycotting the traditional gender roles in the society. Emasculation of males has been said to grow stronger with the passage of time since men are not a ware of their realty meaning that they are not willing to take their responsibilities. The selfishness implicated in the disregard of reality of female has been considered as the major cause of both spiritual and emotional differences between the two types of gender. In the issues of emotions, female are said to be more or too emotional as compared to male. In the matter concerning spiritual backgrounds, female take the majority vote since they are said to be more religious than their men. From the study it was showed that the patriarchy practice is no longer in existence.

The effects of technology on society

The term technology is derived from the Greek word ‘technologia’ which means “the practical application of knowledge, particularly in a specific discipline of study.” It is worthwhile to note that technology is an abstract term that lacks a single universally acceptable concrete definition. Nevertheless, it can be defined as the usage and application of knowledge concerning tools, crafts, techniques, methods or systems of organization, or a material end product of these things, such as clothing. It is a word that is used collectively to portray or describe the advancements, undertakings, creations, abilities, views and knowledge of a distinct group of people (Basalla 14-15).

On the other hand, a human society can be defined as a group of people who are delineated by their cultural identity, functional interdependence and social solidarity. A comprehensive definition of this term also takes into account the social status and roles of the people within society. By extension, a society may be taken to mean a group of people within a given region or country, or even the whole world in totality. As such, the meaning of society is closely linked to what is deemed to be social. It is also worth to note that members of any given society share some common characteristics, such as a common goal and a common interest or mutual concern (Jenkins 18-20).

Throughout history, technologies have significantly affected human beings and other species of animals in their ability to control and acclimatize to their natural environment. Historically, human beings started applying the use of technology with the improvisation of the existing natural resources into simple tools and equipment. For instance, the realization of the capacity to control fire augmented the existing sources of food, while the invention of the wheel helped human beings to control their environment and enhance transport. On the other hand, modern technological advancements such as the telephone, the printing press and the internet have minimized physical hurdles of communication. They have also enabled human beings to interact rapidly and freely on a global scale by transforming the world into a global village. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that not all technologies have been used by human beings for peaceful purposes. For instance, technology has been used to construct destructive weapons that range from clubs to nuclear weapons (Basalla 20-25).

Human beings are divided in their opinions about the general impact of technology on society. Some people believe that technology has really helped human societies while others disagree with this claim. Nevertheless, technology has influenced different societies both positively and negatively in various ways. For instance, technology has helped many societies, especially in the contemporary world to improve their economies as well as allowing for the creation of a leisure class. In addition, technological processes have often led to pollution of the environment and exhaustion of natural resources, thus harming the earth and its environment. Different modes of technological implementation also influence the values of different societies and in many cases, arrival of new technologies often raise new ethical questions. For instance, technological advancements have led to an increase in the idea of efficiency with regard to human production, a term which was in the past only applied to machines, and the challenge of conventional customs. This paper looks at how the use of machines has impacted on the capacity of workers, the effects of computer and the cell phone on society, and the general impacts of technology to the environment.

In the contemporary world, machines continue to automate most of the critical industrial and household processes. For instance, machines have taken up, and are continuing to substitute human workers in most of the mundane jobs in industries. This is because of the evolvement of technology such that machines can even perform tasks which cannot be done by man. The application of advanced technologies, like artificial intelligence and robotics has proved to be more effective in performing life-threatening tasks such as space exploration and mining. Nevertheless, there is an increasing concern in many countries about the deteriorating position of the semi-skilled and unskilled workers due to improved technology. It is argued that technological advancements have made many of these menial jobs obsolete or poorly paid. This situation has been mainly augmented by the growing modern computing technologies. Technological advancements have also impacted greatly on the value of the skills of workers. Old workers usually find it very difficult to adapt to new and complex technologies, while young workers rapidly and readily acquire and employ skills that are tailored towards new technologies. As a result, such technologies increase the value of young workers, while they reduce the productivity of the old workers (Edward 53-65).

Needless to say that computer technology has transformed the face of the world today (Edward 66). Computers are capable of storing, processing, managing and organizing large quantities of information and data. They have also given birth to the software industry, which is one of the most developed industries in the world. Internet technology seeded from the concepts of computer networking and has grown to be the most effective platform of communication in the world, with the largest information base that exists in the modern world. The internet infrastructure, through the worldwide web has made it possible for people to communicate through email, websites, downloads, media and file sharing, so transforming the world into a global village. The internet infrastructure has also made it possible for researchers, scholars and other people to share information across the globe almost instantly. The internet has also given rise to significant positive changes in the advertising and entertainment industries. Advertisements can therefore reach out to the populations within very few seconds and consequently, this has promoted the entertainment industry which relies heavily on advertisement. Simply stated, the internet has made it possible for societies in modern times to link up and promote the sharing of information and globalization (Edward 67-70).

Cellular communication has also transformed the communication industry and the larger society as a whole to a very great extent. One of the earliest technological advancements in communication was the invention of the conventional telephone which was followed by the telegraph. Mobile phones have expanded the horizons of communication in the modern world through their capacity to allow for expedient long distance communication. They have enhanced the communication process in society because they provide different ways through which people can use to communicate to others, such as through calling and sending text messages. Therefore, important information or message can reach the receiver in a few seconds. Mobile phones also help to develop and support communication, contact and communication processes within society. In spite of all of their advantages, they can also impact negatively on society. For instance, some teenagers share pornographic information and photos by sending them using their mobile phones and this has created a very serious concern. In general, inappropriate use of the internet and mobile phones for purposes such as pornography has really polluted the social culture of the modern world (Fox 89-92).

Most of the modern technological processes lead to the production of excessive waste products commonly referred to as industrial waste, and pollution. These wastes can be classified as either toxic wastes, electronic wastes or radioactive wastes. Even though some of the produced material waste is recycled and used in other industrial processes, much of it is released to the environment and the result is environmental pollution, degradation and lack of sustainability. Very few technologies in the modern world are designed with the contemplation of the environment in mind. Most of the technological advancements are directed towards economic gain rather than on environmental sustainability and this has caused a lot of direct detrimental effect on the environment, such as the depreciation of the ozone layer which has led to global warming. Historically, many societies sought to maintain their environments since they were the sources of wealth for the people. However, in the contemporary world, societies have failed to maintain and manage their environments and this has greatly affected the whole universe. The more delicate and obvious impacts of technology on the environment include the exhaustion of the world’s non-renewable natural resources such as coal, ores and petroleum, and the pollution of water, air and land mostly by industrial wastes and disposal. Effects of these impacts include global warming, loss of coastal wetlands, destruction of natural habitats and deforestation. While organisms are capable of recycling the wastes of other organisms naturally, there is no such mechanism of recycling for technological wastes and therefore they remain harmful to the environment for long periods of time (Fox 98-102).

In conclusion, the aforementioned are only but a few fields that can be influenced by technology. It is indeed not possible to enlist all the effects (both positive and negative) of technology on society. Even though technology is in overall beneficial to world societies, it is relatively clear that technological advancement may be accompanied by negative side effects and drawbacks. In fact, every new technology is accompanied by unwanted or unexpected side effects. Therefore, it is necessary for societies to adapt to technological advancements that have minimal side effects on them, the environment and future generations.

Works Cited

Basalla, George. The Evolution of Technology. New York: Longman Publishing Group, 1988.

Edward, McClellan. Science and Technology in World History. Washington: John Hopkins University Press, 2006.

Fox, Frank. Women, Gender and Technology. Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2006.

Jenkins, Reyes. Foundations of Sociology. London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002.

The Concept of Social exclusion tends to focus on those who experience exclusion and diverts attention from the persistent poverty and increasing inequality which characterize contemporary British society.

In order to understand the affect of the concept of social exclusion in relations to persistent poverty and equality we need to first answer 1) what does the concept of social exclusion denote? 2) Does the process of overcoming social exclusion take into account dealing with persistence poverty and inequality or does it overlook these aspects in particular persistent poverty and inequality of children in the context of the contemporary British society?

Below, section 1 will outline the provenance of the social exclusion concept, its’ relations to persistent poverty and inequality in the contemporary British Society particularly children, section 2 outlines the status of children in persistent poverty and equality in the British society.

The concept of Social Exclusion and in it’s relations to persistent poverty and inequality

Social exclusion can be referred to industrialized countries (notably France in the 1970) and can be taken back to Weber, who identified exclusion as one form of social closure (Parkin 1979) It has been defined as “the process through which individuals or groups are wholly or partially excluded from the society in which they live”. Similar but in different light (Jordan 1996) highlights the continuous exclusion of one group by another group. The term social exclusion where it is believed France it was used to identify those who fell through the web of the social protection/social insurance system and were excluded by the state (Lenoir 1974, Duffy 1997) known as (Le exclus – the excluded) in the 1970 included disabled persons, lone parent and the unemployed especially young adults (Evans 1998). “Social exclusion is described as a shorthand label for what can happen when individuals or areas suffer from a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime environment, bad health and family breakdowns” (SEU 1997) Also Duffy (1995) suggests that it is the inability to participate effectively in economic, Social, political and cultural life, alienation and distance from the mainstream society, this in a way clarifies the link between persistent poverty and inequality in the society and in particularly the unemployed are both poor and not in the same stature as others in the society and thus placing them in the process/institutions put in place to overcome these problems and help these individuals live within a society even though not equal creates a persistent poverty for the children that rely on the adults benefiting from these processes. At the same time the process or institutions put in place to overcome these social exclusions are not specifically designed to overcome persistent poverty or inequality.

Child Poverty and Inequality in the contemporary British society

Persistent poverty is defined as occurring when children experienced poverty (severe or non severe) in three out of five years for which they were analyzed i

Children experiencing poverty were all more likely to:

Have been in no worker household for one year

Lived in rented accommodation for five years

Had adults in the household who were ill for between three and four years

Lived in midlands

Received benefits for three to four years and lived in household with an average of three or more children (Adelman et al).

Impact of poverty in children includes, deprivation of education, lack of proper health and children below the age of five die each day due to causes that can be prevented. Poverty is related to negative outcomes like ill-health and shorter life expectancy and this is true for relative (average income, lack of materials to fully participate in an accepted daily life) and absolute poverty (absence of enough resources to make complete someone).

World Health Organization (2008) reports shocking inequalities within the countries and cities also persist. The life expectancy of child born in Carlton in Glasgow, Scotland is 28 years less than that of a child born few miles away in Lenzi.

The 2007 UNICEF report on child wellbeing ranked the UK bottom out of 21 OECD countries.

Bradshaw J argues that child poverty is the inevitable consequences of economic restructuring, globalization, demographic transitions. But it s then the consequence of policy-successive Conservative government ignoring rising child poverty, committed as they were to trickle down theories and their aspirations to reduce public expenditure and cut taxation?

Levitas (1998) identifies three different discourses of Social Exclusion, First approach is a redistributive Discourse (RED) which derives from critical social policy, and which sees social exclusion as a consequences of poverty, thus Peter Townsend argued that poverty should not be understood in terms of subsistence, but in terms of people’s ability to participate in the customary life of society:” individuals, families and groups can be said to be in poverty when their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities”(Townsend,1979,p32).the indicator for social exclusion in RED is low income. She adds Social integration Discourse (SID) is participation in paid work, therefore young people of working age should participate in labor market. Unemployment or economic inactivity indicates social exclusion. The third approach is a moral underclass discourse (MUD), which social exclusion is used as a substitute not for poverty or non employment, but for the underclass .This discourse presents the socially excluded as the morally distinct from the rest of the society and does not address inequality.

Since the election, there has been increasing tendency to talk about ‘poverty and social exclusion’, a shift which can only be welcomed, since it puts both firmly back at on the political agenda. But opportunity for all (Blair, 29 January 1996)

A reduction in the proportion of children living in workless households, for households of a given size, over the economic cycle.

A reduction in the proportion of children in household relatively low incomes

A reduction in the proportion of children in households with low incomes in an absolute sense.

A reduction in the proportion of children in household with persistently low incomes.

Makes no separation between ‘poverty and social exclusion’ nor does the poverty and social exclusion (National Strategy) Bill, introduced in parliament under the 10- minute Rule on 10th February 1999. Mud posits strong connection between poverty and social exclusion, but sees the causes of poverty as lying in cultural and moral/self exclusion rather than the other way round. (Levitas, 1998)

Conclusion

Referring back to the concept of social exclusion and it’s relation to persistent poverty and inequality, I would argue that although the concept of social exclusion concentrates on those excluded it does address the issues that lead to poverty and inequality but has not been designed to directly tackle the issues of persistent poverty and inequality in the contemporary British society and in particular the children.

Poverty is not only deprivation of economic or material resources but a violation of human dignity too. The UN provides a broader definition of poverty:

‘a human condition characterized by the sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.’ (UN, 2001).

The UN definition brings together two important and related themes in contemporary understandings of poverty: the ‘capability approach’ of Nobel-prize winning economist Amartya Sen and the ‘human rights’ approach.

Inequality is sometimes seen as a form of poverty, and the capability approach to poverty shows us why. By definition, any society with inequality means that some people have less money, resources or power than others do. These people will often be described as ‘relatively poor’ but there are sometimes questions about whether they are ‘absolutely poor’ (Barber, 2008; p3)