Author: Andre Coleman

The world population is growing rapidly from 750 million in 1750 to 6,500 million in 2005. Respond to this evidence, people naturally enlarge their land for housing, food, and the need of resources such as oil, wood, and metal. Day by day, people damage the environment which contains a lot of living life, especially, wild animals. This caused many groups of animals to decline and even extinct. Perhaps to redeem this hideous mistake, people built more places, which are called zoos, to keep and protect wild animals. Zoos are probably the most complex forms of animal keeping in the world. Many animals from many areas over the world are kept together in a small region. People may think that zoos are good place for keeping wild animal, but in fact, it is not, and it also is unethical to capture wild animals and put them into the zoo.

Most wild animals are living in dense forest, mountains, or woods, where people do not easy access. Their lives are very isolated with the modern human’s life. They scared of people, guns, and the noise of metal of our developed industry. The more people open their land, the additional wild animal lose their territories, and so must move away. There is no such wild animal who dare to live near people. It seems very rare when people see a wild animal coming near their land. As Ursula K. Le Guin shows in May’s Lion, “there were plenty of deer in the Valley in the forties, but no mountain lion had been seen for decades anywhere near where people lived.” And if any, it should have the reason. In fact, May’s lion is too old and sick.

Most animals are very social by nature such as monkeys, wolves, elephants, tigers, etc. It has been shown that animals used to live in the same places in which they could easy share the food. They love their life as well as their freedom. They just want to live in peace among their family and friends. It is cruel to remove them away from their family, friends. In The Antlers, Suzie indicates that “cattle are like city people, cattle expect even deserve, what they’ve got coming. But wild animals are different. Wild animals enjoy life. They live in the woods on purpose.” Clearly, wild animals are different from cattle. They need to be free and live in the woods where considered as their country. Animals are not willing to leave their place to come to a new place such as a zoo.

Zoos are the place where living animals are exhibited in captivity. The most traditional form of maintaining wild animals in captivity is keeping them in cages constructed of concrete or metal, in aviaries, or fenced paddocks. Living in those places, animals do not behave like their wild counterparts. For example, a lion is given food in the mean time whereas they have to lie still and wait for prey and hunt for hours in their Africa home. Similarly, the Wolves, Leopards, Tigers, Elephants, etc are often confined in cages where they lack exercise and stimulation. Those animals will lose their hunting skills and soon become pets such as dogs or cats. In Rainer Maria Rilke’ poem, The Panther, he feels for the wild animal in this situation: “As he paces in cramped circle, over and over/ the movement of his powerful soft strides is/ like a ritual dance around a center/ in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.”

Zoos are just another word of animal prison. It provides plenty of cages which are constructed by concrete and steel. It limits the movement as well as the freedom of wild animals. When an animal is sent to the zoo, more likely, it will spend the rest of its life in cage. The animal has no choice but to be in the zoo and it held there. Zoos steal the freedom and provide unusual life to wild animals. Many animals develop unnatural habits such as pacing back and forth or swaying from side to side in their cages. Polar bears, for example, are given about 30 feet of walking space, whereas in their Arctic home they could roam freely for hundreds of miles.

The zoo is an unnatural environment that exposes animals to numerous dangers. Animals which would naturally live in very different parts of the world are brought together in the natural habitat of humans. Diseases often spread between species that would never live together naturally. Furthermore, zoo animals are often exposed to chemicals, solvents and other toxic substances. That is not natural for wild animals.

Most zoos have commercial and entertainment purpose in mind as well as financial profit. Animal from many areas of the world are brought together and put on display for the benefit of humans’ enjoyment. It is very common for visitors to tease and provoke caged animals.

Supporters of zoos argue that they help to conserve endangered species, but in fact they are not very good at this. Breeding programmers provide zoos with good publicity, but in fact most of them are failures. The world famous panda breeding program was a big example for this. This program is very costly but it is unsuccessful. Also zoo life does not prepare animals for the challenges of life in the wild. Many animals were died after they came back to the wild. For example, two rare lynxes released into the wild in Colorado died from starvation even though the area was full of hares, which are a lynx’s natural prey.

The best zoos argue that education is one of their most important features. That is using the zoo to teach people to respect the natural world, to show them what can be learned from the lives of the animals in captivity and to appreciate what conservation means. One of the major problems they face, however, is that the animals on display are both individuals and representatives of their species. So is not true to say that zoos are educational or that they help to protect endangered species. In reality, they only teach us how wild animals behave when they confined in small spaces.

Today, many modern zoos do not enclose animals in small cages but they are provided with habitats, modeled after their nature habitats. The aim for many zoos is to exhibit their animals in enclosures in which the setting is as natural as possible or at least looks as natural as possible. But it seems that they cannot easily move away from the image of being places of entertainment which is more closely to the circus and amusement park than to museums and education.

Wild animals are not like cattle, they don’t want to live near people, and especially, in zoos. It is cruel to remove wild animals away from their place. Furthermore, zoos are unsuitable environment for wild animals. It keeps animal in small area compare to the vast natural habitat, and also, zoo exposed too many diseases and dangers to wild animal. In the wild, animals live their lives for their own benefit; but in the zoo, they have to live their lives for the benefit of human. And since zoos are less successful in breeding programs and far from education purpose, zoos must be abolished. People should stop capture wild animals and put them into zoos.

The Effects of China’s Large Population

With the rapid development of science and technology, population and development have further become important issues, which are the general subjects of international community. By the end of 2008, China has reached a population of almost 1.35billion (excluding the population of Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions and Taiwan Province), accounting for about 21% of the world’s population. China has the largest and one of the densest population in the world. Although it offers the country abundant labor resources and broad markets, an excessive population also brings negative effects. China’s large population is undoubtedly the primary factor in causing these following problems and contradictions.

For one thing, an excessive population brings about a series of social issues. First, it restricts economic growing seriously. An unbalanced development has appeared in China for a long time. Economic disparities between different regions are increasing. China’s GDP stands at a high point in the world, but the amount on average still stays at a low level. Besides, an aging population has already affected the society. Stress on welfare becomes greater because of large expense on pension benefits and medical security. As a result, outlay on national defence budget will be influentially reduced. What’s more, populace which contains different minorities and religions will easily cause conflicts and contradictions, which can hinder the progress towards harmonious society. Finally, it’s hard for everyone to benefit from education, China’s lower quality of population leaves a negative image on many foreigners. That is another factor which inhibits development of the country.

In the second place, most environmental problems are closely associated with a large population. Chinese need huge requirements on food, accommodation and resources. Thus, trees are cut down and rivers are filled up with soil for farmlands and houses. People get water, coal, metal and other natural resources from underground, mountains and sea. Shepherds graze animals without limits. Consequently, we are facing water shortage and desert expanding. On the other hand, a large requirement leads to a large consumption consistently. Foul water, exhaust gas and waste solid deeply destroy China’s natural environment. As time goes on, we will continue to see how the environmental degradation impacts our country if we don’t change the way we live. Because of the large population, it’s really a tough work to accomplish environmental governance. Everyone should take action to protect the natural world.

Last but not least, the large population affects every person’s daily life, even the livelihood. First, traffic is susceptible to congestion. Private cars easily get suck in traffic block for long at rush hour. Public transportation such as trains, buses and subways gets increasing crowded. All above make it inconvenient for us to go around and travel. Moreover, it’s also very difficult to find a job due to a great deal of job-wanted persons today. The young, especially graduates, are suffering great pressure. In addition, residents have difficulty in entering schools and hospitals for education and treatments. We always keep waiting in endless queues for hours to get tickets or register. The worst thing is that many people can’t afford the high costs today. Housing and commodity prices become prohibitive in cities, which leaves citizens breathless with stress.

It is clear that the population is rising at a rate which is fairly alarming. Overpopulation is the most important factor that impairs China’s economic and social development. Therefor, the measures of population control should be taken as priority. Since the introduction of one-child policy, the fertility rate in China has fallen from over three births per woman in 1980 to about 1.8 births in 2008. In total, with one-child policy, the Chinese government estimates that it has three to four hundred million fewer people in 2008 than it would have had otherwise. With efforts made by the whole nation and the international cooperation, China’s population and development are surely going forward to a new stage.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, today am privileged to have this precious moment with you to discuss about the epidemic that has threatened to wipe away the youthful generation of African Americans. By the nature of ethnicity, the black community in United States is having a heavy burden due to the effects of the disease. Statistical results shows that by the end of 2007, nearly half (46%) of the infected were members of the black community. In the year 2006, the blacks accounted about 45 % of the new infections in fifty states as well as District of Columbia.

It is very sad to find out that up to now many members of the black community are still losing their lives in a disease that can be easily controlled. It is estimated that 230,000 blacks in U.S. have lost their lives as a result of AIDS. These deaths represent a 40% of all the deaths. Statistics also show that about one million people live with the virus in America today with half of them coming from the black community. To you members of the panel do you believe on the statistical reports that indicate African American citizens contributing to 40% of HIV AIDS epidemic deaths?

As a racial group, the blacks represent only 13% of the country’s total population. Estimations indicate that black males are exposed to the risk of being infected with I person in every six likely to be infected with the virus. For females, 1 out of every 30 of them is highly exposed than white males. Washington D.C has the country’s highest HIV prevalence with ? of its infected population coming from the black community.

Ladies and gentlemen, reports from the “National HIV/AIDS Strategy African American” makes up the biggest part of the HIV cases across many infected groups. These groups include heterosexuals, homosexuals, women, infants and drug users.

Before we embark in the journey of fighting the epidemic in the community, we need to ask ourselves why members of the black community are disproportionately infected by the virus and how do they view the disease. According to you members of the panel, what do you think is the reason behind this disproportionate infection of blacks? I would also like you the members of the panel to figure out question that demands our attention is to try and figure out strategies being taken to mitigate the number of cases being highlighted in clinics and other health institutions across the country. As facilitators what do you think are the necessary strategies needed to be undertaken to control the spread?

First and foremost, I would like to begin the discussion by looking at the first cases of the disease among the blacks. The epidemic first came into the public limelight in early 1980s. At first, the epidemic affected mainly the gay male population and drug users who used intravenous methods to inject drugs into their bodies. In the year 1983, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came out with the evidence of the first two cases of HIV in women. The two ladies acquired the virus through sexual intercourse with a drug user who used intravenous method to inject the drugs into his body. One of the ladies was of a Latin origin while her counterpart was a black.

Since then, the disease started spreading at a high rate among the members of the black community. Women especially, were affected and five years later, the blacks accounted for 50 percent of all the AIDS cases in America. I’m afraid to say that currently, sixty percent of women infected with the virus come from the black community (http://www.avert.org/hiv-african-americans.htm).

Earlier on, a bigger problem was the reflection of the epidemic by the American media as a disease typical to white gay men. The blacks were provided with few reasons to believe that the disease could also affect them, despite the large portion of the early cases in bisexual and gay community coming from the black men. From the outset, black American heterosexual children and adults were mainly infected by white heterosexuals. From your perspective, do you blacks are at a higher risk than the whites?

I’m delighted to inform you that the first group to confront the epidemic through the enlightenment of the members of the black community was the San Franciscan Gay community or Black and White Men Together (BWMT). This movement was significant not only for counting Reggie Williams as one of its followers, but also gave rise to an AIDS organization. I personally would like to salute Williams as one of the first gay black activist who worked for many years to deal with deaths and enlightened homosexual members of the black community. Do you think William’s contribution to addressing the disease had significant impacts on the fight against the disease? The lobby became successful and ultimately led to provision of first ever donation by CDC to prevent the spread of the disease among the black gay community in the year 1998.

The concern of the AIDS epidemic among the blacks in 1980s and 1990s was also raised by various highly influential members of the community who were infected with the disease or lost a friend or family members through the diseased. My salutation also goes to Max Robinson, the first black American news anchor. Max openly admitted that he was positive just before he died in 1988. Later on Arthur Ashe died of the same ailment in 1993 with rapper Eazy-E beaming another victim in 1995.

May be the most influential AIDS victim of black origin who is still alive today is the basket ball player Ervin Johnson. He admitted that he was positive in 199. His assertion that “any one can contract” the disease showed a significant understanding that the AIDS epidemic was not just a disease typical to gays. Other individuals who have contributed in raising the profile in the black community include Jesse Jackson who became another famous black man to join other well known blacks in addressing the epidemic.

The main risk factor among the blacks is sexual transmission. Having unprotected sex is the major likely cause of the disease. 43 % of the blacks living with the disease got the virus through male to male sexual intercourse. A research conducted showed that national HIV/AIDS policy showed that half of the black gay males and bisexuals in five well known cities in United States of America being HIV positive. A major study undertaken in 21 cities concluded that almost 1/3 of the black MSM had the AIDS virus. Among this category, the youth are mainly affected. In 2006, many black people in America who had sex with other men were infected with the disease. Also, the disease among this group has increased rapidly. Since 2001 and 2006, yearly HIV diagnoses among the African American MSM aged 13 and 24 went up by 93 % compared to twelve percent among the blacks of all ages. How many of you members of the panel agree with me that sexual intercourse is the leading cause of high rate of spread of the epidemic among the blacks?

Many theories have been however proposed regarding the vulnerability of the young black men to the disease through the activities of homosexuality, but none is actually decisive. One theory is the high prevalence of the disease among the many of the members of the community. The risk is enhanced in young men who partner with their older male counterparts since older MSM appear to have had a lot of sexual exposure and increasing the risk of contracting the disease.

Young African American MSM is also less likely to be informed about their status. This translates into less likelihood for them to take the necessary steps to stop the transmission of the disease. However, other studies have shown that young black take part in risky affairs to a greater degree than young Latin or White males.

Also, black women are mainly disproportionately exposed to the disease, with the likely transmission means being heterosexual sexual practices. Eighty five percent of the black women living with HIV virus were exposed to the virus by through this means and make up nearly 50 % of the country’s female population with the disease. Back men living with the virus makes up 22% and were infected through heterosexual means. More than 2/3 of infected men were exposed in this manner to the disease (.http://www.avert.org/hiv-african-americans.htm).

There are a lot of economic as well as social factors that come as a result of high levels of sexual HIV infections in the black community. However, higher phases of STDs in this group are also shaped by economic and social factors hence facilitating sexual transmission of the virus. The black Americans have eight times the number the level of Chlamydia, and eighteen times the level of gonorrhea compared to Whites. An evaluation by United States Centre for Disease and Prevention (CDC) discovered that nearly half (48%) of black females and about forty percent of African American men got infected by genital herpes in the country compared to 21% of females and 11.5%of men generally. Can anyone of you tell me the possible ways of reducing poverty in our society?

Drug use is one of the most likely causes of AIDS epidemic among the members of the black community. In the year 2008, use of drugs was found to contribute a significant portion of all AIDS diagnoses among the blacks. Many black men and women living with the disease were infected through drug injection compared to those of any other race or ethnic group. Blacks injecting drugs have a likelihood of acquiring the in a higher rate and do not live longer after the diagnosis.

Poverty also is another main factor that leads to infection of the virus among the black Americans. Poverty forces youths to drop out of school, stopping them from getting good jobs and good employment. Poverty also makes youths to lose a sense of value or self worth and attracted to illegal or socially ill habits that can expose them to the disease. Poverty symptoms also influence sexual patterns that enhance the spread of the disease. There is therefore need to pay a lot of attention to both economic and social perspectives in which the disease thrive. One person who has initiated such an idea is the current president Barack Obama. The president in his presidential crusade literature promised to tackle the poverty scourge where the victims of the disease proliferate.

It is a fact that about ? of the black American families lives in deplorable conditions, with a higher poverty rate for both single male headed and female headed homes making up to 30 and 40 percent respectively. A focus group that involved the blacks living in North Carolina showed that there is a connection between participant’s social environment and sexual connections within the community. These factors also included institutional stigmatization that lead to lack of employment possibilities and lack of capacity to obtain mortgage, lack of recreation and high imprisonment rates. Has any one of you experienced any form of stigma in the work place?

The common believe among the blacks is that the government is not doing its mandate to address the need of protecting them from the epidemic. By estimation, half of the CDC budget is aimed at fighting the spread of the disease among the blacks. It is debated that directing the whole CDCs budget to the epidemic in the black community is not enough. What needs to be improved therefore is the size of the budget itself. For the financial year 2009, $ 1.6 billion was required to prevent the spread of the virus. This reflected a far excess budget than $753 million allocated for the year 2008 (.http://www.avert.org/hiv-african-americans.htm).

Finally, ladies and gentle men, I would like to conclude my speech by saying that any sustained and effective attempt to tackle AIDS in United States of America should have positive results for the African American citizens as they make up such a large percentage of the overall infections. The CDC’s consideration of and study of entrenched social aspects, like poverty which are the main contributors to the current HIV infection rates, is positive stride and should be seen in all concrete acts taken to alter the trend of HIV infection in the African American community.

Racism has existed throughout human history, and it continues to represent significant problems for many people in the United States today. Racism is the belief that one’s race is primarily, the determining factor that reflects human traits and capacity. Racist ideology generally supports the premise that a particular race is either superior or inferior to another, and that a person’s social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics. The distinction of racial differences, gives way to the belief of an inherent superiority of a particular race(s), while simultaneously ordering other races in a hierarchy. Institutional racism causes large numbers of individuals, who are deemed inferior, to be denied even basic rights or benefits befitting mankind. Conversely, the group that is deemed superior has, historically, been elevated to positions that allow them to enjoy preferential treatment over the so called inferior group(s). Why do people from one social group oppress and discriminate against people from other social groups; and why is it so difficult to eliminate? The purpose of this study considers if racial discrimination continues to represent a significant problem for African Americans and other ethnic minorities in the U.S. Some race theorist feel compelled to assert the rather pessimistic view that racism is permanent, and even the use of politics and policy will not curtail the development of racial distinction and antagonisms. Racial inequality has become an enduring, deeply regimented means of knowing and organizing the social world, and thus it is unlikely to be completely eliminated. The Black experience in the United States has enriched the fabric of American history and society in a myriad of ways, many of which have only recently been recognized. However, the overarching theme of Black and other minority group experience has been one of misery, exploitation, inequality, and discrimination. It is to this end, that those who wish to understand the minority experience in America ask the following question: Are minorities making progress in the United States?

Recent battles regarding civil rights and race discrimination in the United States were fought on two fronts legal, and the public’s perception of race. Legal fronts consisted of lawsuits and amended legislation prompted institutions such as schools, banks, and government agencies to lessen race discrimination. Brown vs. the board of education, the civil rights act of 1964/65, and other subsequent battles brought race discrimination to the attention of the American public. The former front involves the public’s perception of race. Henry and Sears (2002) argue that public sentiment concerning African Americans is governed by a psychological blend of negative feelings and conservative values, particularly the belief that African Americans violate cherished American values. The perception of African American’s is rooted in an abstract system of early learned moral values and ideas that typically view them as social misfits.

Racial conflict has plagued the United States from its inception, in particular it has been primarily driven by racial prejudice of African-American (Allport, 1979). While overt forms of racial discrimination, such as “Jim crow” segregation has all been eliminated in the United States, and whites opinions regarding racial issues have become more liberal; nevertheless, racial discrimination remains a significant difficulty for many ethnic minority groups to contend with in the United States. Moreover, recent research shows that racism has evolved from these overt forms of Jim Crow segregation (older belief systems which incorporated social distance between the races). One form of research has developed around the basic idea that new forms of racism has taken root in America, is the symbolic racism theory (Sears, 1988). According to Kender and Sears (1981) symbolic racism is commonly described as a coherent belief system which supports concepts that, racial discrimination is no longer a valid point of contention for African Americans, and that their disadvantage stems from personal irresponsibility, and thus their continual demand for equal treatment is not valid.

Proponents of liberal optimism, on the other hand, contend that viable solutions to our nation’s race problems are possible. Robert parks (1950) clearly articulate key concepts of a race relation cycle. Park’s argues that race relations develop in a four cycle stage: contact, conflict, accommodation, and assimilation. The first stage occurs when two or more different races of people come together, and they are obliged to interact with each other. Competing for scarce resources, they fall into conflict, which eventually gives way to accommodation, where a stable but antagonist social order fosters a social hierarchy. Finally, Park’s asserts that accommodation is attained when different races assimilate through a process of cultural and physical merging. The end result of such a merger is the development of one homogenous race, where class supersedes race as the primary focal point of social distinction. Park’s ascertain that race relations invariably pass through the previously mention four stages, and that the present location of particular race of people, offers strong evidence to suggest not only their past but also the future path that a particular race of people will encounter.

Our society, like many others throughout the world, is organized by powerful dynamics that are often very difficult to interrupt. Privilege is a predictable precursor for such things as race distinction, because the privileged group must distinguish itself from other groups. Distinctions based on race may not always be carried out with malicious intent, however, to suggest that the effects of such characterizations are inconsequential, definitely deserves examination. But, how are we to understand the realities that both produce such distinctions and the ensuing consequences that they invariably produce? Do we view them as purely accidental, or as oddities that simply seem to happen? Or is race, in fact, reflective of designed dynamics that are sown into the very fabric of our society?

III. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

Does race affect income equality? In theory, income does affect the quality of life, in terms of having resources to insure ones success. The concept of income level should demonstrate rather racism remains a significant barrier for the economic advancement of African Americans and other minorities in the U.S. The issues here that are under consideration do not dispute the fact that the position of African Americans and other minorities has changed in the last generation; rather it is the less traceable issue of whether these changes can be summed-up as measurable improvement of economic equality, and consequently an improvement in the quality of life of minorities in the United States. The social economic status of Caucasians (the comparison group), African Americans, and other minorities African Americans and other minorities will be compared to discovery which group, on average, has a total family income below 25, 000 dollars. The context of relative total family income level of, individuals in a particular race, demonstrates to what degree, if any, racial equality has been achieved by considering which group is more likely to live in poverty.

IV. DATA AND VARIABLES

In order to empirically examine rather race remains a significant barrier for the equality of ethnic minorities in the United States, this researcher uses General Social Services (GSS) data. The GSS were designed as part of a data diffusion project in 1972. The GSS replicated questionnaire items and wording in order to facilitate time trend studies. This data collection includes a cumulative file that merges all data collected as part of the General Social Services Surveys from 1972 to 2004. The 2004 survey was composed of permanent questions that appeared on two out of every three surveys and a small number of occasional questions that occurred in a single study.

The DEPENDENT VARIABLE
Income Level

A comparative level of income between Caucasians (the comparison group), African Americans and other ethnic minorities over time will demonstrate rather racism remains a central hindrance to the advancement of minorities in the United States. That is, I hypothesis that Caucasians will show a higher mean income from that of minorities and, therefore, a lowered propensity for having a total family income of 25,000 dollars or less. If racial equality is present between races, then, we can expect to see a somewhat uniform distribution of income between the different ethnic groups, and an average number of people in different races, living in poverty. However, if we see a significant difference between mean incomes of different ethnic groups, then, we assume that there is no real equality. The continuous variable income was converted to a dichotomous variable (because of a skewed distribution of income) where if respondent’s total family income is 25,000 or less, then they are considered to live in poverty; conversely, if the respondent’s total family income was above 25,000 dollars per year, then they are coded as not being in poverty.

Income level is measured by the GSS variable (VAR: INCOME). Respondents were asked, “In which of these groups did your total family income, from all sources, fall last year before taxes that is?” A fifteen point response category was used to capture respondent’s answers: under $1,000; $1000 to 1,999; $2,000 to 2,999; $3,000 to 3,999; $4,000 to 4,999; 5,000 to 5,999; $6,000 to 6,999; $7,000 to 7,999; $8,000 to 8,999; $9,000 to 9,999; $10,000 to 14,999; $15,000 to 19,999; $20,000 to 24,000; $25,000 or over; refused; don’t know, no answer; not applicable. The variable “INCOME” was converted into a dichotomous variable: 1) 1= living in poverty (income $25,000 or less) 2) 0= not living in poverty (income above $25,000).

THE KEY INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
Race

The mere distinction of individuals by race invariably gives way to the belief that slight biological differences between certain groups of people predetermines the worth, intelligence, value, and other aspects of a person’s being. As a consequence, race distinction, is typically followed by the formation of preset stereotypes regarding a particular group of people, and the creation of a racial hierarchy. Distinction by race has been the catalyst, throughout mans history, for wars as well as hate-crimes, and it has caused untold human suffering not only in the U.S., but indeed, throughout the entire world. It is this author’s hypothesis that race continues to plague minorities in the U.S.

Race is measured by the GSS variable (VAR: RACE). Respondents were asked, “What race do you consider yourself?” Respondents were asked to select their appropriate race from a three-point scale: White, Black, or other (specify). The key independent variable “RACE” was dichotomized as follows: 1) Black or not, and 2) Other race or not.

THE INDENENDENT VARIABLES:

The independent variables in this study are: Age, Sex, Education, religion, political affiliation, and years of education and training.

Age

It is my hypothesis that the working age of an individual will be positively correlated with a higher mean income. That is, when people begin to work they will often start at the low end of the pay scale in their respective occupations. However, as they gain more experience on the job, their worth to their employer increases, and thus they can demand higher incomes.

Age is measured by the GSS variable (VAR: AGE). Respondents were asked to indicate their age by selection from the approximate eight point choice category. The categories are listed as follows: 10-19 years of age (y.o.a.), 20-29 (y.o.a.), 30-39 (y.o.a.), 40-49 (y.o.a.), 50-59 (y.o.a.), 60-69 (y.o.a), 70-79 (y.o.a), 80 or over, and No answer/don’t know.

REMARKS:

Respondent’s age: Data has been recoded into actual age in cols. 92 and 93. See Appendix D, and Appendix E. Age distribution, for the detailed response. The distribution for the first digit, col. 92 is given below. See Appendix N for changes.

SEX

Not only is income level stratified along racial dement ions, but, also by gender. Traditionally, the U.S. has always exercised patriarchal domination, and, as such men have characteristically held more prestigious employment positions that typically pay more. Therefore, I hypothesize that the mean income of men will be higher than that of women.

Gender is measured the GSS variable (VAR: SEX). Code respondent’s sex, they

were asked to indicate their gender by using the following two point response

category: “Male, Female;” Male=1, female=2.

Education Level

I hypothesize that higher individual levels of education will be positively correlated

with higher a mean income. Individuals who have higher levels of education will be

more valuable to their employers because of special training, job skills, and

knowledge allows them to perform specialized tasks.

Education is measured by the GSS variable (VAR: DEGREE). Respondents were

asked,

“What is your highest level of education?” Respondents were asked to select their appropriate education level from a six-point scale which is listed as follows: 1) Less than high school, 2) High school, 3) Associate/ junior college, 4) Bachelor’s, 5) Graduate, and 6) Don’t know.

Religion Raised with

I hypothesize those individuals who were raised in families that regularly attended religious services as children will have a stronger work ethic, than those who did not, consequently, those individuals who were raised with religion will possess a higher mean income than those respondents who were not raised in a family that attended religious services.

Religion is measured by using the GSS variable (VAR: RELIG16). Respondents were asked, “In what religion were you raised?” Respondents were asked to select the religion they were raised in by making a selection from the following five-point choice selection category: Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, none, other (specify religion, and/or church denomination. The variable “RELIGION” was dichotomized as follows: 1) Jewish or not, 2) Catholic or not, 3) Protestant or not 4) Other religion or not, and “None” or not raised with any religion, is the comparison group.

Political Affiliation

I hypothesize those respondents who are republicans (who typically hold more

traditional values) will be more positively correlated with higher mean income levels

than those of other political affiliations.

Political affiliation is measured using the GSS Variable (VAR: PARDYID). Respondents were asked, “Generally speaking do you usually think of yourself as Republican, Democrat, Independent, or what?” The variable “PARDYID” was dicothomised as follows: 1) Democrat or not 2) Independent or not 3) Other political party or not.

Hypothesis 1: Is there any significant gap in the income of African Americans and other minorities compared to those of Caucasians in the United States, and what ethnic minorities are more likely to live under the poverty level? If we find that a particular ethnic group is more likely to live in poverty compared to Whites, then, one might conclude that racism continues to remain a significant obstacle for the economic advancement of the aforementioned minority groups. In addition to race, this study will also consider the impact of age, gender, religion, political affiliation, educational attainment, and the number of years spent obtaining formal education and training, with respect to relative income and those who live in poverty. Poverty is defined as the total family income level of respondents that falls at or under 25,000 annually.

V. THE FINDINGS
Frequency Distribution of the D.V. and the Key I.V.

The main hypothesis of this paper singles out the dependent variable as total family annual income (VAR: INCOME), this continuous variable was converted into a dichotomous variable: 1) respondents whose total family income was 25,000 dollars or less are considered to be in poverty, and they were coded as “1”; and 2) those respondents whose total family income is above 25,000 dollars were coded as “0”and they are considered not in poverty. There was a total of 2,812 respondents.1, 764 respondents (71.1%) reported that their total family income was $25,000 or more (not in poverty), and 718 (28.9%) reported that their total family was income was below $25,000 (in poverty), and 330 (11.7%) respondents showed missing data for this question.

The Key Independent Variable
Race

The key independent variable for this study is race (VAR: RACE), and this nominal variable was dichotomized as follows: 1) Black or not, 2) Other race or not (White is the comparison group). The frequency distribution for “Black or not” is as follows: there was a total of 2,812 respondents in this study, 377 of whom (13.4%) reported that they were Black, 2,482 respondents indicated that they were not Black, and 333 respondents failed to answer the question. The frequency distribution for “Other race or not” is as follows: 2812 respondents took part in the survey, and 201 persons reported that their race was “Other” (7, 1%), and 2,611 respondents reported that their race was not “Other.”

Chart 1
Chart 2
Calculate Univariate Statistics.

The dependent variable “INCOME” was converted to a dichotomous variable (in poverty or not) and it has a frequency of 2482, a mean of 0.2893, and a standard

deviation of 0.45352. Most respondents in the survey had incomes that were 25,000 or more (not in poverty).

The key independent variable “RACE” was dichotomized as follows: Black or not, and Other race or not (Whites are the comparison group). The frequency for “Black or not” is 2812, with a mean of 0.1341, and a standard deviation of 0.34079. The frequency for “Other race or not” is 2812, with a mean of 0.0715, and a standard deviation of 0.25767.

“AGE” has a frequency of 2803, a mean of 45.96, and a standard deviation of

16.1801.

“RESPONDENTS SEX” has a frequency of 2812, a mean of 1.54, and a standard deviation of 0.498.

“RS HIGHEST DEGREE” has a frequency of 2811, a mean of 1.61, and a standard deviation of 1.207.

“RELIGION IN WHICH RAISED” was dichotomized as follows: 1) Jewish or not, 2) Catholic or not, 3) Protestant or not, and 4) Other religion or not (No religion is the comparison group). “Jewish or not” has a frequency of 2809, a mean of 0.0228, and a standard deviation of 14924. “Catholic or not” has a frequency of 2801, a mean of 0.2960, and a standard deviation of 45656. “Protestant or not” has a frequency of 2801, a mean of 0.5598, and a standard deviation of 49650. “Other religion or not” has a frequency of 280, a mean of 0.0421, and a standard deviation of 20092.

“PARTYID” was dichotomized as follows: 1) Democrat or not, 2) Independent or not, and 4) Other political party (no political affiliation is the comparison group). “Democrat or not” has a frequency of 2800, a mean of 0, 3425, and a standard deviation of 0.47463. “Independent or not has a frequency of 2800, a mean of 0.3539, a standard deviation of 0.47827. “Other political party or not” has a frequency of 2800, a mean of 0.0104, and a standard deviation of 0.10126.

Pearson’s Correlation Analysis

As hypothesized Pearson’s correlation supports the premises that the total family income of Blacks, on average, is likely to fall at or below 25,000 dollars (poverty). Pearson’s correlation is 0.175 (very significant); therefore we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the alternative. That is, there is a significant difference between the average total families incomes of Blacks compared to Whites.

Other races appeared to earn slightly more that Whites. Pearson’s correlation for Other is -0.003. Therefore, we fail to reject the null hypothesis for Others, and conclude that there is no significant difference between the average total family incomes of others as opposed to Whites.

Pearson’s correlation for income and other political party is -0.029, indicating a slight decrease in the number of other political party members who have a total family income of 25,000 dollars or less. Therefore, we fail to reject the null, and conclude that other political party affiliation does not significantly affect the total family income of these respondents, as opposed to Republicans.

Pearson’s correlation between poverty and Democrats show .064. Therefore, we reject the null, and accept the alternate hypothesis; Democrats are significantly more likely to show a family income of 25, 0000 or more a year. Democrats are less likely to have a total family income of 25,000 dollars or less.

Pearson’s correlation between Independent party and poverty is -0.064, which is significant, therefore we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. Independent party membership has a significant affect on poverty. That is Independent party members are more likely to have total family incomes of 25,000 dollars or less.

Pearson’s correlation between the Jewish religion and poverty is -.052 which is significant. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the alternative hypothesis. We conclude by stating that respondents who are Jewish are more likely to have a totally family income that is above 25,000 dollars.

Pearson’s correlation for Catholics is -0.55 which is significant. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, and conclude that Catholics are less likely to show a total family income of less than 25,000 dollars.

Pearson’s correlation for Protestants is -0.028 which is insignificant. Therefore, we fail to reject the null hypothesis, and reject the alternative hypothesis. We conclude that respondents who are Protestant are not likely to have incomes below 25, 0000 dollars.

Pearson’ correlation between other religions and poverty is 0.017 which is statistically insignificant. Therefore, we fail to reject the null hypothesis, and reject the alternative hypothesis. Respondents who coded as having Other political affiliation are not likely to have total family incomes below 25,000 dollars.

Likelihood Ratio Chi-Sq.

390.482**

Nagelkerke R-Square

.2093

*P<0.05; **P<0.01

/* You used standard errors to determine the level of statistical significance, which is incorrect. You have to use “significance” information from SPSS to determine a variable’s significance. In other words, your reading of SPSS is incorrect, which makes your interpretation incorrect as well. */

The main limitation of Pearson’s correlation is that the observed relationship between the dependent variable “In poverty or not” may be spurious due to the effects of other variables in the analysis. The multivariate analysis as opposed to Pearson’s correlation enables us to address such spurious relationships that may arise due to other control variables in the model. I used a dichotomous logistic analysis because my dependent variable “Income” was converted to a dichotomous value (In poverty or not).

Logistic regression analysis was performed using a dichotomous dependent variable: 1=”In poverty and 0= “Not in poverty.” An binary logistic regression analysis was performed and it yielded the following results (see table 3).

The likelihood ratio test is equivalent to “F”, and it is statistically significant at .05 levels. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, that is, none of the independent variables has a significant effect. The reported R-square is .2093, meaning that roughly 21-percect of the variance in the latent dependent variable is captured by the model.

The regression coefficient of “Black or not” is positive and statistically significant at 0.05 level, net of the other variables in the model. Therefore, /*it goes without saying*/ we conclude that being Black does significantly affect one’s income earning potential, and thus Blacks are more likely to live in poverty than Whites.

The regression coefficient of “Other race” is positive but statistically insignificant at 0.05 level, net of the other variables in the model. /* It must be insignificant. Check the SPSS.*/ We conclude that there is no significant difference between whites and other races in their probabioity of being in poverty. . /* Above I showed you how to phrase your interpretation. Use this template for other variables as well.*/

Standard error between “In poverty or not” and “Age” is 0,001 which was also found to have a very significant effect on one’s income earning potential, therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the alternative hypothesis. We conclude by observing that as age increases, the possibility that respondents will earn less income also increases, and thus older persons are more likely to live in poverty than their younger counterpart.

Standard error between “In poverty or not” and “Sex” was found to be statistically significant at 0.017, therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the alternative hypothesis. We conclude by noting that one’s gender has a significant impact on earning potential. Finally, women are statistically more likely to live in poverty than men.

Standard error between “In poverty or not” and “RS Highest degree” is 0.007, which is statically significant. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the alternative hypothesis. We conclude by asserting that respondent’s educational level has a significant impact on one’s income earning potential. Finally, we conclude that respondents who obtained higher levels of education are less likely to live in poverty, than the less educated person.

Standard error between “In poverty or not” and “Jewish or not” is 0.067, which is statistically insignificant. Therefore, we fail to reject the null hypothesis, and we reject the alternative hypothesis. Further, we conclude that the probability that one’s income is not statistically impacted by the fact that they are Jewish is not significant. That is, being Jewish does not appear to affect one’s chances of living in poverty; as opposed to individuals who were not raised in any religion.

Standard error between “Living in poverty and a person being “Catholic” is -0.034, which is statistically significant. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the alternative hypothesis. The relationship between living in poverty and Catholicism shows that individuals who are catholic are less likely to live in poverty than those who were not raised in any religion.

Standard error between “In poverty or not” and “protestant or not” is -0.033, which is statistically significant. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the null hypothesis. We conclude by asserting that people who were raised in the Protestant religion are significantly less likely to live in poverty than individuals who were not raised in any religion.

The relationship between “In poverty or not” and “Other religion” is 0.052, which is statistically insignificant. Therefore, we fail to reject the null, and we reject the alternative hypothesis. We conclude by stating that there does not appear to be a significant relationship between living in poverty, and individuals who were raised in other religious beliefs, as opposed to those who were raised with no religious belief.

The relationship between “Living in poverty or not” and “Democrat” is 0.022, which is statistically significant. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the alternative hypothesis. We can conclude by stating that, Democrats are more likely to live in poverty, than Republicans.

The relationship between “Living in poverty or not” and “Independent” is 0.022, which is statistically significant. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the alternative hypothesis. We conclude by asserting that people who are Democrat are more likely to live in poverty than Republicans.

The relationship between “Living in poverty or not” and “Independent” is 0.022, which is statistically significant. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis, and accept the alternative hypothesis. We conclude by stating that people whose political preference in the Independent party are more likely to live in poverty than their Republican counterpart.

The relationship between “Living in poverty” and “Other political party” is 0.086, which is statistically insignificant. Therefore, we fail to reject the null hypothesis, and we accept the alternative hypothesis.

VI Conclusion

/* This should be used as an introduction to your multivariate logistic regression analysis. So I moved it there. */

My initial hypothesis was that Blacks and other minorities are more likely to live in poverty than whites. In addition to race I further hypothesized that age, sex, degree of education, religion in which raised, and political party affiliation would have an effect on one’s income potential. The dependent variable in this study is income; however, it was dichotomized because the response categories were skewed. In addition, I hypothesized that if race remains a significant barrier for Blacks and other minorities, then, I expect to see a higher percentage of minorities living in poverty, compared to Whites. /* your conclusion should not repeat the findings section. Focusing on the multivariate regression outcome, what does it mean for your key research hypothesis? Then you can discuss the policy implications of these findings. */

Univariate Distribution

[]

The findings above can be viewed as both encouraging, and as a source of concern. On one hand, we can clearly see that most people in the United States have total family incomes above $25,000 that is most people in the U.S. are not living in poverty. On the other hand, however, as hypothesized there is reason for concern regarding the relative income of Blacks and other minorities in the U.S.

/* focus your discussion on the blacks because that’s your key hypothesis. */ In this study, the most troubling aspects of the findings belies the stastical significance of one being Black, , age, and one’s gender has a significant effect on income level. The key independent variable race, age, and gender continue to represent significant barriers which can be the catalyst for impoverished life as opportunities remains an elusive goal. Sadly, many minorities, women, and the aged are still plagued by apparent discrimination; consequently, these groups are often mired in despair, poverty, deprivation, and despair. Racism, no doubt, involves a complex set of factors that are beyond the scope of this study. For example, some factors that were not considered in this study that may contribute to lingering racism in America are reduced Federal funding of social programs, economic factors, cultural, and psychological damage that past racial discrimination has inflicted on minorities, especially Blacks. Thus, while this study does support my initial hypothesis, that is ethnic discrimination remains a central hindrance to the equality of opportunities for many in the United States, the subject of discrimination needs further investigation.

The effect of poverty on health

Let us first begin by asking the question what is poverty? Some people describe poverty as a lack of necessary materials such as food, water, clothing and shelter, all of which are needed for a basic standard of living. At the UN’s World Summit on Social Development, the ‘Copenhagen Declaration’ described poverty as “…a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information.”1 It is clear that if people do not have access to these essential requirements then they are without a doubt living in poverty. Next we ask the question what determines health? Some factors that influence health are outside a person’s control. Take age for example, it is a fact of life that the older one gets, the more likely he or she is of getting sick as the body can’t stay perfect forever. That being said a factor such as wealth also plays a huge role in the level of health that a society enjoys. It goes without saying that the relationship between poverty and health is a complex one. Many factors tie in with this, including poor diet, poor living conditions, lack of education, limited access to medical assistance and also the stress caused as a result of living in poverty. Looking overseas, the relationship between wealth and health is even more prominent. In third world countries, up to twenty percent of children die before the age of five versus less than one percent in richer countries, and fifty percent of children are malnourished versus less than five percent in wealthier nations.2 Even more shocking life expectancy is sixteen years shorter for men and twenty years shorter for women in poor countries than in high-income countries.3 People living in poverty have little or no income and as a result suffer severe distress trying to obtain the basic essentials in order to survive. One major factor to consider when discussing the effect of poverty on health is diet and the availability of food. The diet of those in the lowest socio-economic groups is likely to include insufficient levels of fruit and vegetables and to consist largely of high-fat intakes. High fat fast-foods provide a cheap source of food for poor people and consequently it often becomes the basis of their diet. As a result there is an increase in the cases of obesity, heart disease and cancer. Also these people have to live without basic sanitation; their water is unclean, unsafe and is often a probable source of infection. Infection is a common occurrence among undernourished and poor people. Dismal living conditions, overcrowding in shelters and a lack of immunisation and screening programs all add to the risk and development of infection amongst the poor.

Hunger can be defined as a strong desire or need for food and is considered as an extreme form of poverty where people cannot afford their basic nutrition requirements. According to a UNICEF report published in 2005 about 10.1 million children died before they reached the age of five4. The majority of these deaths occurred in developing countries, three-quarters of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two regions with high levels of citizens suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Hunger contributes directly but also indirectly in the death of these children as their immune systems were significantly weakened due to extreme hunger and malnutrition.

On the topic of child mortality, poverty is considered as the root of high rates of child mortality as well as morbidity. It is a known fact that children who spend a large amount of their childhood in poverty experience poor health at the time and in later years. This is as a result of their terrible living conditions, and severe shortage of basic materials needed for a basic standard of living. The list of problems these children face is a long, painful and tedious one. Such issues include poor nutrition, exposure to terrible living conditions, no access to immunisation programs,low life expectancy, limited and usually no access to primary health care. The UNICEF report previously mentioned states that one in three children do not have access to adequate shelter, one in five children do not have access to safe water, and one in seven has no access to essential health. Furthermore, over sixteen percent of children under the age of five lack adequate nutrition and thirteen percent of all children have never been to school.

Another factor directly linked to poor health is the lack of access to medical care and insurance to help cover the costs of health care endured by people of the lowest class. This factor jeopardises the ability of many low-income earners to maintain their health. Low-income workers are less likely to be offered insurance as an employment benefit in comparison to workers with a higher income. With no health insurance, the poor have little or no access to immunisation programs, cancer screening and tend not to have regular check-ups by their GP. The poverty stricken are forced to forgo or delay medical assistance until absolutely necessary, seeking assistance when in most cases it has become too late and their disease has advanced to a critical stage, often the poor never receive the help they needed and end up dying from an illness they could have been saved from with the right medical attention. This culminates in shorter life expectancy and increased cases of chronic and life threatening illnesses amongst the poor.

In relation to housing and living conditions, the effects of poverty on health can be seen clearly. Poor people are at a higher risk of dying during the winter months as a result of inadequate heating in their homes and in some cases a total lack of heating facilities. Also low-income people who are lucky enough to have a house tend to live in older homes, which often don’t comply with new health and safety regulations and people can find themselves so substance such as lead paint and asbestos, which causes developmental problems in children and can cause cancer. Inapt living conditions also give rise to problems such as inadequate sanitation, no access to pure drinking water and consumption of substandard food. From this it can be seen that diet, child mortality, housing and living conditions are all interconnected. They are all involved in a viscous cycle stemming from poverty which affects the wellbeing of mankind.

Stress is another effect on health that may not initially spring to mind. However there is increasing evidence that the burden and exertions of living on a low income demonstrates itself in biological changes in the body. During times of high stress related which trying to survive on dismal wages, our bodies react by triggering a flood of stress hormones that affect the immune system and cardiovascular system. This enables the human body to deal with immediate threat by increasing the heart rate, redirect blood to our muscles while also heightening anxiety and alertness. Although this is a natural sequence of events that occur in the body, it seems that if it happens too often and for too long it damages health. Symptoms of which include depression, increased susceptibility to infection, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and a greater risk of heart attack and stroke.6 When you combine the stress associated with living on a low income with a bad diet and poor liveing conditions, it’s no surprise that poor people experience more ill health and die younger than their wealthier counterparts.

To conclude, it is very clear that poverty has huge implications on the welfare of mankind. However one reason why the socio-economic dimension to health outcomes has been slow to develop may be inadequacy of information systems and the small amount of research that has been conducted on the health of people on low incomes. People tend to collect information about things that they consider important. The fact that we collect so little information about the impact of socio-economic factors on health suggests that the issue has had a low priority. This is ironic considering poverty is a sensitive subject but yet not enough is being done to target the problem. Factors such as diet, child mortality, living conditions stress and inadequate health insurance all have a negative effect on the health of a poor person. Increased education, better living conditions, immunisation programs, clean water and more government funding would all create a much healthier population and a safer environment.

The article presents a true overview in the case of working mothers. The article discusses how Cultural Restraints have forced Women to get into many hurdles during their lifetime. For instance, most of the mothers have been forced to leave their jobs by their husbands or families when the first child is born. The article highlights that it is not necessary that the women who are on work definitely harm their children and suggests that it is a myth which should not be believed upon. The article specifically highlights the culture of Pakistan and how the children benefit from living in a joint family system in absence of their mother. I would say that the article is very relevant to my research paper but it is generalized. The article cannot be used in my research paper before consulting some other sources to verify the information.

The article was written to highlight the myths prevailing in the Pakistan economy and to rectify them by providing some logical proofs. I used google to find this article and my key words were ‘mother employment’ and ‘mother care’.

Amelia. (2011, February 16). A look at Working Mothers. Retrieved from http://www.genderacrossborders.com: http://www.genderacrossborders.com/2011/02/16/a-look-at-working-mothers/

The article basically focuses on the working moms and their impact on family and children. This again gives very interesting findings about the impact on the children of working mothers. The author mentioned some study conducted to compare two kinds of children, those with working mothers to those with house wives. The article concludes by saying that when mothers go to work it has a very positive impact on their children. The conclusion was based upon the results from recent studies conducted by the author. The article will be of great help to me because the facts are based upon proper studies. Therefore, this article can be used in my research paper without any problem.

I extracted the article from Google and my keywords were ‘working mothers’ and ‘children’.

Annice D. Yarber, P. M. (2010). Focus on Single-Parent Families: Past, Present, and Future. California: GreenWood Publishing.

The book is related to the single parent families and their evolution over the years. The primary function of the author to highlight how the single parent families have been Affected by various factors over the years. The book contains a lot of articles written by various authors over the years on the effects on single children looking at the various scenarios provided. All the possible scenarios such as a single child of a widow, a single child of a father, life of the children of heterosexuals and homosexuals and effect of family structures on children and many more have been discussed and compiled by the author. The book is no doubt very informative and well explained but still fails to address my topic in the proper manner. Therefore, the book cannot be used in my research paper.

The book was issued to explain the real world trends and the key words used for my research include ‘working women families’ and ‘mother care’.

Bernard, J. (2008). Women, Wives, Mothers: Values and Options. Pennsylvania: Aldine Transaction. Copyright.

The books was issued in 2008 and discusses the various roles the women play in the society. The role can be of a mother, a daughter, a wife and even a sister. The book explains the fact that working women have a very prestigious role to play in the society and work helps them develop their own unique identity. A working mother might not be allowed to work by her husband and this can cause serious conflicts in the two. The book also speaks about the children of the working women and how they are effected by the mother’s work routine. The book has a lot of depth and many topics to choose from. The author of the book has given all the necessary descriptions in the different scenarios. The book is very helpful for the research paper as it has all the required variations of the women behavior in different situations.

I found the book using Google under the books section. The keywords for may research included ‘Mother employment’ and ‘Impact’.

Bittman., J. B. (2012, May). Mothers and fathers with young children: Piad Employment, caring and well being. Retrieved from http://www.fahcsia.gov.au: http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2012/sprp30_0.pdf

The article is basically a research paper of the highest quality. It is a High quality research for the fact that the research conducted by the author has been very descriptive and thorough. The research was basically about the awareness about recent trends in the family patterns that have affected family life either positively or negatively. The results concluded that the employment of mother has impacted the family life negatively and that the awareness about the effects of employment on family patterns has not been there to see the difference. This thorough research used a multivariate regression analysis and many other tests to determine the impact of little awareness about the family patterns on the family life and children. An increase in choice for parents in terms of work arrangements and jobs has impacted the family life as well. the social and economic policies of a particular country also impact the family life of an individual.

This article has a touch of gold and will be extremely helpful for me in my research paper. It covers all the necessary requirements to judge as to whether the employment of mothers impacts the children or not. The article was retrieved from ‘Fahcsia’ and the key words used to find the article were ‘Impact’ and ‘mother employment’.

Cheryl, B. M. (2011). Mothers’ Part-Time Employment:. Journal of Family Psychology, 895-906.

The journal is basically about family psychology and how mother’s part time employment impacts the family life of a person. The journal is basically a research article in which the part time employed mothers are compared to house wives and full time employed mothers. The sample size of 1364 was taken to test the hypothesis. And the results found showed that the part time employed mothers did have some benefits in their family life as they also get quality time to spend upon their children, and full time mothers donot have a lot of leisure time to spend with their children. The part time mother also came out to be a more sensitive and caring as compared to the full time mother. The crux of the article was that part time employed mothers have a better family life than the full time employed mothers.

The article is very useful to know the trend of different types of employment and how they affect the family life of an individual. This article can be very helpful for my research paper and will provide guidance about different kinds of employment adopted by the mothers today.

The article was taken from ‘APA’ web site and the key words used to find this article were ‘mother employment’ and ‘family patterns”.

Cohen, P. N. (2011, March 2). Family Inequality. Retrieved from http://familyinequality.wordpress.com: http://familyinequality.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/getting-the-story-straight-on-working-mothers-and-childrens-risks/

The article basically measures the impact of mother employment and no mother employment on the health of children. The article also addresses the kinds of health issue that occur when mothers are employed and unemployed. The kind of health issues included asthma problems, overnight hospitalization and injury or poisoning. The studies suggested that nothing can be clearly deduced from the given data because the difference between the percentage of variables such as asthma problem was slight for both the scenarios; one in which moms worked and the other one in which moms didn’t work.

Although the article is very focused and raises a relevant issues, yet it fails to provide clear justifications about the true difference in health issues for mom’s worked and moms didn’t work. Therefore, the article is not very useful for my research paper and I would rather prefer a different article in which the deductions are properly made. the article was written to associate health issues with mother’s employment , but the deductions made were not accurate at all.

I retrieved the article from ‘Family inequality word press’ and the key works used for article search were ‘family patterns” and ‘mother employment’.

Dr. Abdul Sattar Almani, A. A. (2012). Study of the Effects of Working Mothers on the Development of Children in Pakistan. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 164-171.

The article was basically a research paper based upon the study carried out by various Pakistani scholars using a sample size of 3600, using 1600 students, 800 teachers and 1200 mothers. The study was carried to find the association between employed mothers and children. The research was also conducted on different children to differentiate the views of children with employed mothers and the children with unemployed mothers. The study found out that the trend for women employment has increased significantly in Pakistan and that the children with both mothers employed and unemployed had a positive impression about their mothers. The study also found out that the attachment between the employed mothers and the children is decreasing which can have a bad impact on the relationship between the both.

The article is somewhat useful for the fact that it does address the problem of women employment briefly. The focus was basically on the correlation between employed mothers and children. According to me the research failed to prove any negative relation between mothers and children. The article is written to highlight the increasing trends of women employment in the world, and the impact of employed women on the family life.

The article was retrieved from ‘IJHSSNET’ and the keywords were ‘Impact on children’ and ‘women employment.’

Gassman-Pines, A. (2007). The Relationship Between Maternal Job Characteristics, Maternal Mood, Mother Child Interaction, and child behavior in low income families. New York: ProQuest.

The article basically focuses on various variables related to mother and the sample taken for the research has been the low income families. The research was conducted on association between maternal job characteristics, maternal Mood, mother interaction with child and the behavior of child. The studies suggested that the association between maternal job characteristics and the child behavior were not proved And the research failed to show a negative relation between maternal jobs and children.

The article will not be beneficial in my research paper because it failed to prove an association between maternal jobs and children. the article was written to associate different maternal aspects with low income families. The key words for may research were ‘maternal employment’ and ‘child behavior’.

Hubbard, M. N. (2008). The Effect of Mother’s Employment and Child Care Decisions on the Body Mass Status of Young Children. Job Market Paper.

The article was basically a research paper written to associate mother’s employment with Child care decisions regarding body mass. The research was to associate mothers working full time with different child problems such as obesity. The results showed very uneven results and were not verified. According to my opinion this research was senseless because any human being can have a problem of obesity, and secondly mother’s employment has nothing to do with obesity. The results showed that mothers employment and obesity were negatively associated. Therefore, it was a pointless research indeed.

The article was written to create an association of child obesity with mother’s employment. The article was retrieved from ‘UNC’ website and the keywords used were ‘Mother employment’ and ‘childcare’.

Luscombe, B. (2010, october 18). Working Moms’ Kids Turn Out Fine, 50 Years of Research Says. Retrieved from healthland.time.com: http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/18/working-moms-kids-turn-out-fine-50-years-of-research-says/

The article from a website is about a recent study conducted on working moms and their children. The studies showed that working moms did not have any problems with their children and their family life had no issue. Surprisingly the study found a positive relationship between working moms and their children. Children less than three years of age with working moms were later rated as higher achieving and less prone to anxiety and depression according to the recent research. This is an interesting finding and very helpful to prove a positive association between working moms and their children.

The article will be of great help in my research because it has a lot of interesting facts about the relationship between working moms and children. I personally liked the article and will rate it as one of the best I have read.

The purpose of the article was to inform the people that women employment is not bad for children and is perfectly safe. The article was retrieved from ‘health land’ and the key words used for search were ‘mother employment’ and ‘child behavior’.

Merry, A. (2012, december 2). Working Mothers and the impact on Children. Retrieved from http://www.essayforum.com: http://www.essayforum.com/research-papers-11/working-mothers-impact-children-45071/

The website also offers a research paper published on the relationship between working mothers and their impact on children. The research paper found no serious association between working mothers and their children. And it also found some interesting facts that mothers tend to leave a job within one year when the first child is born, and that worried mothers tend to leave the job as well when their children are in distress. The author said that it is a personal choice for the mothers to work for their families or to stay at home. Therefore, the article suggests that employment of the women makes no difference on the family life and children. The article will be of great help in my research because the research done is very good. The article was retrieved from Google and the key words used were ‘mother employment’ and ‘impact on children’.

Rucker C. Johnson, A. K. (2010). Mothers’ Work and Children’s Lives. New York: UPJOHN INSTITUTE.

This book is very detailed and studies all the aspects of mother employment and its effects on children. the book discusses the mother employment reforms, the women’s employment study, the impact of low income mothers on their children and some policy recommendations. The book does not say that the employment of mothers is a bad thing but it does say that the job enrichment and job rotation strategy should be implemented to make the jobs o working women more motivating.

The book can be of great help in my research paper and I really like the book for its in depth coverage of the main concepts of mother employment.

The book was retrieved Using Google and the keywords used were ‘mother employment’ and ‘child care’.

Pastoralism is the dominant occupation in the Horn of Africa simply because the arid environment, with its scattered, inconsistent and often short and intense rainfall (when it occurs) permits no other consistent food harvest (Herr, 1992). The pastoralists largely obtain their food from their herds of cattle, sheep, goats and in the drier regions, camels. Some of these people cultivate agricultural crops where they can, most do not.

Pastoralist societies in Kenya are in transition. This reality is confirmed by studies on the pastoralist communities particularly on the Maasai, Boran, and Rendille of Kenya (Evangelou, 1984; Fratkin, 2001). The same can be said of the Gabra, the Ariaal, the Sakuye, the Samburu, and the Turkana (Oba, 2001). The transition is due to population growth, loss of herding lands to farmers, ranchers, game parks, urban growth, increased commoditization of the livestock economy, out-migration by poor pastoralists, and dislocations brought about by drought, famine, and ethnic conflicts coupled with privatization and individuation of formerly communally held resources.

The region of Northern Kenya (with an area of 250,000 km.) is arid and semi-arid. Rainfall is highly variable from year to year and drought is recurrent. Pastoralism is the dominant economic activity, given that agricultural potential is low. Farming is only possible in the few localities with high and medium agricultural potentials. Economic survival of the peoples of the region depends on management of many species of livestock: camels, cattle, donkeys, sheep and goats. Drought, disease and a certain measure of insecurity are all realities. Northern Kenya also borders highly unstable states, including Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda, and the borders with these countries are porous, if they can be said to exist at all. The regional dimensions of conflict, and in particular the ease in which groups and arms cross borders has increased the incidences and severity of conflict in the region and led to a commercialization of cattle raiding and cattle rustling. The foregoing points to a near collapse of the traditional pastoral economy and fabrics of the social security systems thereby pointing to an uncertain future (Sobania, 1979; Kassam & Bashuna, 2004). Life in these environments is uncertain, dangerous and tenuous forcing many young people to migrate to urban areas in search of alternative livelihoods.

Given the harsh natural environment, pressure on natural resources, decline or collapse of , loss of livestock, lack of capital, and limited survival alternatives, encamped youths are for the most part destitute. Dislocated youths living in urban areas have to contend with rent, electricity, water and other bills, as well as buying food. This can be particularly challenging for those without a steady source of income. Many engage in petty trade, buying and selling vegetables, second-hand clothes and shoes (mitumba), food items, fuel (paraffin, charcoal, firewood), while others participate in itinerant hawking, boda boda (bicycle ‘taxis’), brick making, brick laying and selling water. A few work in factories, others have started small businesses such as brewing illicit liquors and tailoring. Some youths have been reduced to begging or crime in order to survive for lack of valid skills in the salaried sector. They find themselves isolated from family and friends in an environment characterized by inadequate amenities (Livingstone, 1986; Cernea, 1990; Bovin et al., 1990).

Pastoralist youths have suffered serious reverses in economic and social wellbeing such that they are unable to live up to established norms of supporting their households. This is because dislocation can devalue their shared survival skills whereby vital social networks and life support mechanisms for families are weakened or dismantled. Authority systems are debilitated or collapse (World Bank 1994, Cernea 1993b; 1994a). The proposed study will explore the causes and social consequences of the erosion of the pastoralist livelihood systems as exemplified in urban migration, urban crime, joblessness, substance abuse and other evidence of social and psychological anomie among youths with reference to Wajir District.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In Wajir District it is estimated that 80% or more of the population depends on pastoralism. The district is predominantly arid and semi-arid, has a history of conflict and internal displacement. These are harsh realities that are made worse by marginalization by the government largely due to the district’s perceived lack of economic potential as well as a deficient understanding on how to support and promote nomadic pastoralism as a viable and sustainable livelihood. The district is further characterized by chronic drought (RoP, 1965; RoP, 2005). The cumulative result is the breakdown of social support systems rendering the provision of positive opportunities for asset accumulation impossible (Amuyunzu-Nyamongo & Ezeh 2005, Rakodi 2002). These realities have made social dislocation and or urban migration attractive alternatives (Ellis, 2000; Fratkin, 2001). Youthful individuals who experience social dislocation are at risk of social impoverishment. They are exposed to social problems of urban life such as joblessness, urban crime, drug and alcohol addiction. Their experiences may also increase their dissatisfaction with existing orders leading to an upsurge in crime and violence, accompanied by other symptoms of social and psychological distress (World Bank 1994, Cernea 1993b; 1994a; Oba, 2001). This study seeks to probe the experiences of social dislocation in Kenya with reference to youths from pastoralist communities in Wajir District.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to probe the experiences of social dislocation in Kenya with reference to youths from pastoralist communities in Wajir District.

1.4 Study Objectives

This study will be guided by the following objectives:

To provide an overview of the present challenges facing pastoralists in Wajir District

To provide the patterns of displacement among youthful pastoralists in Wajir District

To examine the difficulties of adjustment socially dislocated youths face in Wajir District

To determine remedies to the problem of social dislocation among youths in Wajir District

1.5 Research Questions

This study will be guided by the following research questions:

What are the present challenges facing pastoralists in Wajir District?

What are the patterns of displacement in Wajir District?

What adjustment difficulties do socially dislocated youths face in Wajir District?

What are the remedies to the problem of social dislocation among youths in Wajir District?

1.6 Research Assumptions

The study will be guided by the following assumptions:-

All the respondents will give reliable information without fear or favor.

That major towns in Wajir District have socially dislocated pastoralists youths.

That the findings of this study will assist policymakers and stakeholders to address the pastoralist crisis.

1.7 Justification for the Study

This study is significant because of the following reasons:

There is limited literature (Ellis, 2000; Fratkin, 2001) on the demasculation and decline in the social capital of the pastoralist economy in Wajir District. This study, therefore, by documenting this aspect, could immensely contribute to knowledge and literature on the experiences of social dislocation and how it impacts on youths from pastoralist communities in Wajir District.

The findings of this study could be relevant to policy-makers and other stakeholders such as NGOs and CBOs in formulating viable policies and intervention programmes to remedy the problem of social dislocation among youths in Wajir District.

The local community will hopefully benefit when the problem of social dislocation among youths in Wajir District is addressed.

1.8 Scope and Limitation of the Study

These are the boundaries to any study (Mugenda and Mugenda, 1999). This study will be carried out in Wajir East District in NEP Kenya. This study was prompted by the fact that the issue of social dislocation is a major challenge in Wajir District. The research will not cover broad issues outside the issue of social dislocation in Wajir District.

The study will limit itself to Wajir District. For more conclusive results, all geographical locations inhabited by pastoralist communities would have been studied. However, this is not possible due to financial and other logistical constraints such as time and duration of the study. Other limitations in this study include the tough terrain, poor transport infrastructure and general insecurity making it difficult to traverse the district during data collection. The researcher will make special travel arrangements to overcome these challenges.

1.9 Theoretical Framework

This study will be guided by the theories of social geometry and social capital.

The theory of social geometry links socially-constructed places, socially-constructed time, and socially-constructed personages in order to grasp routine and ritual activities (Fabian, 1992). The social geometry of a people consists of infinite intersections of socially-constructed spaces, socially-constructed times, and socially-constructed personages. And, for many cultures, the geometry also defines “who are we?” Research on environmental memories has discovered the near universality of fondly remembered childhood places, representing the intersection of culturally constructed time and place (Altman et al. 1994; Marcus, 1994; Chawla, 1994). Mitigating social dislocation begins by reconstructing the social geometry (spatial and temporal dislocation) of the displaced. This is because attachment to space and time can be a powerful binding force for displaced social groups.

Moser (1996) is renown for making significant contributions to the social capital theory. He argued that communities’ ability to cope depends not only on their material well-being, but also on their social capital – the trust, networks, and reciprocal arrangements that link people with their communities. Rural and urban migration often follow long established patterns drawing on networks of information and contacts established by earlier waves of migration. Up to a point, such social capital may be strengthened by economic crisis, but beyond that threshold, networks become overwhelmed and social systems break down with disastrous consequences (Cousins, 1993; Amuyunzu-Nyamongo & Ezeh 2005, Rakodi 2002).

Studies (Moser and McIlaine 2005; Buvinic et al., 1999) were undertaken on the experiences of migrants in urban environments especially with reference to Latin America. These studies established that social dislocation is accompanied by an upsurge in crime and violence, accompanied by other symptoms of social and psychological distress. These study’s findings indicate that social dislocation that manifest through the apparent breakdown of collective responses to livelihood erosion is both the result of a decline in the social capital of many pastoralist communities, and a causal factor in accelerating that breakdown by reinforcing social differentiation and decreasing levels of trust between individuals. Traditional, or informal institutions can often no longer maintain order, and neither do the formal institutions of the state command any confidence.

Social dislocation weakens and helps dismantle vital social networks and life support mechanisms for families and communities. Authority systems are questioned or simply collapse in the face of the arising new challenges thereby groups lose their capacity to self-manage and the society suffers a demonstrable reduction in its capacity to cope with uncertainty (World Bank 1994, Cernea 1993b; 1994a). This coupled with the high rate of migration into urban centers and the speed of economic change (not necessarily growth) complicates pastoralists adjustment.

1.10 Definition of Significant Terms

District – a geographical area defined with a gazetted political boundary and comprises of a number of divisions, locations and sub-locations.

Stakeholders – people/ institutions that are directly interested in the functioning of a school.

Social Dislocation – The emotional, psychological or physical experience by persons who were forced to separate themselves from the circle of people, places and activities on which they had depended (for their livelihoods).

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction

This chapter review related literature under the following subheadings namely social dislocation, challenges facing pastoralist communities, difficulties of adjustment for socially dislocated pastoralists, remedies to the problem of social dislocation and gaps identified.

2.2 Social Dislocation

According to Sutro, Levingston and Downing (1988) people experience social dislocation when they are emotionally, psychologically or physically forced to separate themselves from the circle of people, places and activities on which they had depended (for their livelihoods). The debate on social dislocation revolves around the relationship between human activity and climate. The human-made dimensions of the pastoral plight are attributable to overstocking and other exogenous factors such as population growth, immigration, conflict and government policies. Climate related explanations revolve around drought, famine, decreased rainfall, floods, among others.

Sobania (1979) observes that each year drought results in dislocation of the poor, despite massive hand-outs of famine relief by governments and donors. For him, drought survival involves survival of the fabrics of the social security systems that must depend on survival of livestock, marketing of the produce and sharing the resources.

World Bank (1994) observes that each year, about 10 million people become involuntarily displaced and risk social impoverishment. Causes of social dislocation among pastoralists include limited access to water and pasture resources, loss of traditional grazing land, cattle raiding, lack of alternative sources of livelihood from pastoralism.

Fratkin (2001) observes that dislocations among pastoralist societies in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are brought about by drought, famine, and civil war. These problems are intensified by the current trend of government policies that encourage privatization and individuation of formerly communally held resources (Lane, 1989; 1996).

Getachew (1995) and Fratkin (2001) attribute the prevalence of social dislocation among pastoral communities to the deteriorating conditions of food security and the breakdown of the traditional pastoral economy. They further note that worsening conditions of food security are occurring as interventions by states and international NGOs are decreasing. Several reasons exist for this state of affairs. First, development took no notice of the indigenous coping strategies of the pastoralists, their goals and aspirations (Grandin and Lembuya 1987, Hogg 1990). Second, because coherent government policies on drought are lacking, failure to reduce drought losses is frustrating the development efforts. Third, programs designed to help the pastoralists do not integrate their coping strategies into drought management plans (Huss-Ashmore and Katz 1989).

Bonfiglioli (1992) identifies six factors that to him are responsible for social dislocation among pastoralist communities. First, is the issue of climate and ecology – the lack of rainfall tends to set the array of vegetation over time, directly affecting livestock populations and pastoralists. Change in this parameter has worked to push pastoralists of the Sahel south. Second, demographic growth – this factor contributes principally to the push of pastoralists into nomadism. Third, the agricultural impasse – an increased demand for agricultural products has led to less fallowing and the opening up of more lands for agriculture at the expense of pasture land. These practices have led to disruptions in local level farmer-herder interchange. At another level, mega-project agricultural development has expropriated large areas of former grazing land. Fourth, government development policies – this factor is one of central control serving state interests rather than local interests. Additionally, mismanagement, faulty policies and international trade has worked to impoverish pastoralists. Fifth, incorporation into the market economy – essentially, this has been a double movement of increasing dependency and marginalization because of national production/exchange structures and the resulting loss of control by pastoralists over the terms of trade. Finally, insecurity, wars, and conflicts – the interplay of political conflict, ecological stress and resulting food insecurity is present throughout the drylands. Pastoralists have borne the brunt of this crisis both as soldier and victim.

Bovin and Manger (1990) noted that the political and economic dimensions of social dislocation include state policies that are seen to favor agriculture and settlement at the expense of pastoralism.

2.3 Challenges Facing Pastoralists Communities

The Sessional Paper No 10 of 1965 on African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya presented the framework for development and equity in Kenya but also presented great dilemma when it noted public investment would go to areas of highest potential returns and people most responsive to change. This approach was to favour the former White Highlands while perpetuating the marginalization of areas like North Eastern Province and the malaria and tsetse fly infested western lowlands (RoK, 1965).

Little (1997) and Hogg (1988) documented a series of crises that led to losses and impoverishment among the Ilchamus pastoralists of Kenya. The Ilchamus crisis was attributed to loss of pasture to European settlers, market quarantines, farmer encroachment, use of communal grazing by absentee owner and the expansion of cultivation by herders. This reality could equally serve to describe the situation among pastoralists elsewhere in Kenya

Sperling and Galaty (1994) attributed the crisis among the Samburu and Maasai pastoralists in Kenya to the gradual truncation of pastoral relations and narrowing of their access to resources, in land use, labor and livestock networks. Such circumscription undermines the strength of a more collective specialized pastoralism – e.g. access to a range of pasture and an extensive shared labor pool – to the benefit of a privileged minority.

Fratkin (2001) used examples of the Maasai, Boran, and Rendille of Kenya to demonstrate that East African pastoralists are increasingly witnessing social and economic stratification, urban migration, and diminished nutrition for women and children as a result of increased economic diversification including agro-pastoralism, wage labor, and increased market integration.

Oba (2001) observes that pastoralists have to contend with environmental vagaries and conflicts over the exploitation of limited resources. While the traditional practice of cattle raiding was done seasonally as a rite of passage into adulthood, to obtain cattle for bride price, a means of restocking after calamities such as prolonged drought and raids were predictable, infrequent and controlled not to cause death or harmfully affect the lives or livelihoods of the society, today that is not he case any more. The Pokot, Turkana, Marakwet, Tugen and Keiyo raided each other, but lived harmoniously until the onset of multi-party politics in the 1990s, when the raids eventually acquired belligerent and criminal tendencies. As the practice gained political character, raiders disregarded the seasonal aspect of cattle theft. Whereas communities would organize missions to retrieve stolen animals, the introduction of small arms has changed the nature of such custom and undermined traditional conflict management arrangements. Increasingly, communities are amassing weapons for their own security, and to carry out raids and retaliation missions. Any number of armed young raiders can now go on raiding missions, with or without the blessing of the traditional elders who traditionally sanctioned raids

2.4 Difficulties of Adjustment for Socially Dislocated Pastoralists

Cernea (1990) revealed that social dislocation may lead to eight forms of impoverishment: unemployment, homelessness, landlessness, marginalization, food insecurity, loss of access to common property, erosion of health status, and social disarticulation. These findings were reconfirmed by a wider study conducted by the World Bank. Indeed, World Bank (1994) observes that following the drought of 1984, the phrase “new pastoralists” was coined to describe the growing number of stockless or near-stockless pastoralists clustered in and around prominent trading centers subsisting on famine relief. The implication is that those pastoralists who become involuntarily displaced and risk social impoverishment. Social impoverishment occurs when the displaced are unable to answer the primary cultural question – where are we? Or rather who are we?

Displacements in North Eastern Kenya has been due to resource conflict and security operation (Oba, 2001). For instance, in Manyatta Demo, Isiolo district, the pastoral economy has never recovered from the brutal government counter-insurgency activities in the 1960s and raiding by groups from the east in the 1980s and 1990s. Most residents have no capital or stock, and are obliged to produce and sell charcoal, an activity which is precarious, low return, and illegal. Women, on the other hand, have a much wider set of pursuits: collecting and selling of firewood, selling miraa (khat), milk, eggs and honey; gathering wild fruits, herbal medicines and incense; weaving baskets and mats; and making bread.

2.5 Remedies to the Problem of Social Dislocation

Studies (Bryceson, 1996; Ellis (2000) and Francis et al (2005) observe that livelihood diversification has been widely recognized phenomena in Africa in recent decades as households have sought to sustain themselves by means of a wider array of economic activities. While these processes can be a positive response to new opportunities, they may also reflect a forced shift into more marginal activities as assets become eroded and former livelihood systems unviable. Forms of diversification recorded in their study included shifts to new farm enterprises, to off-farm sources of income, and to non-farm activities.

Several studies in Kenya and elsewhere have laid this to rest (Green, 1987; Atwood, 1990; Carter, Wiebe and Blarel, 1991; Migot-Adholla, Hazell, Blarel and Place, 1991) the common belief that indigenous tenure systems impede productivity and the former mistaken notion of pastoralist overstocking and mismanagement.

McCabe (1990) and Ndagala (1990) recognized that the provision of certain developments such as boreholes and veterinary care have removed some constraints on the potential for herd increase with the possibility for localized forage depletion.

Behnke and Scoones (1992) and Scoones (1995) talked of ecological succession that captured fluctuating stocking rates and migratory patterns of forage exploitation that allow pastoral management to survive and even to flourish, sustaining livestock numbers in good years well beyond the conventional range management recommendations. These sentiments are supported by Bonfiglioli (1992) who argues that the image of eco-disaster and collapse should be tempered by the realization of the complexities, cultural resilience and the possibilities of pastoral viability. Besides, Sandford (1983) and Homewood and Rodgers (1987) observed that no satisfactory evidence was found for either declining for either declining productivity or overgrazing in either Baringo District, Kenya or the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania.

Oba (2001) also opines that development programs might alleviate problems of social dislocation on a sustained basis if the people are helped to revive indigenous means of coping. This has not happened because improved knowledge of indigenous coping strategies, which is essential for developing food security policy, is lacking.

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the research methodology for the study including the research design, the study site, target population, sample and the sampling techniques, data collection instruments, validity and reliability of the instruments, data collection procedures and data analysis.

3.1 Research Design

The study will use the survey design to explore the experiences of social dislocation in Kenya with reference to youths from pastoralist communities in Wajir District. A survey design is a technique where detailed information concerning a phenomenon is collected by posing questions to the respondents such that it becomes possible to find explanations for the social phenomenon in question (Wiersma & Churchill, 1995). Therefore, surveys design concerns gathering of facts or pertinent and precise information concerning the current state of a phenomenon and wherever possible conclusion from the facts discovered. The descriptive survey design is best suited for this study because it is aimed at description of state of affairs as they exist (Kombo & Tromp, 2006).

3.2 Study Location

This study will be conducted in Wajir District an administrative district in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Wajir. The district has a population of 319,261 and an area of 55,501 km?. Wajir district has only one local authority: Wajir county council. The district has four constituencies: Wajir North, Wajir West, Wajir East and Wajir South. Wajir District is divided into fourteen administrative divisions. The researcher collected data from two divisions, namely, Habaswein and Central. These are the divisions that host important urban centres namely Habaswein and Wajir town respectively.

Borg & Gall (1989) noted that the ideal setting for any study should be easily accessible to the researcher and should be that which permits instant rapport with the informants. Wajir District is chosen because it is easily accessible to the researcher. Wajir District is of importance in this study because it has the right composition of the target population given that it has urban centres that have become attractive to dislocated pastoralist youths.

3.3 Target Population

The target population is the number of real hypothetical set of people, events or objects to which a researcher wishes to generalize his/her findings (Borg & Gall, 1989). The target population will consist of all dislocated pastoralist youths in Wajir District. The study will involve local provincial administration (chiefs), Muslim religious leaders comprising of Sheikhs, Imams, mosque committees and madrassa teachers. Other categories will include representatives of NGOs, CBO officials, government officials and youth groups leaders.

3.4 Sampling and Sampling Procedures

By observing the characteristics of a carefully selected and representative sample, one can make certain inferences about characteristics of a population from which it is drawn (Kothari, 1995). Mugenda and Mugenda (1999) suggest that 10% of the accessible population is adequate to serve as a study sample. Probability sampling will be used to obtain a sample of respondents to participate in the study.

Since we are selecting two divisions, the figure 2 becomes the benchmark for selection of respondents that will Muslim religious leaders comprising Sheikhs and Imams, madrassa teachers, representatives of NGOs, CBO officials, government officials, youth groups leaders, and village elders.

3.5 Research Instruments

This study will be based on primary and secondary data. Fieldwork incorporating personal observation will be utilized to obtain primary data. Primary sources of data will comprise field notes and reports made by the researcher with the help of two research assistants, interviews and observation summaries in the selected areas. The researcher and the assistants will use self-administered questionnaires to collect pertinent information from a cross section of informants.

A selfaˆ?completion questionnaire is deemed most appropriate for the proposed study. This is because questionnaires are easy to administer, friendly to complete and fast to score and therefore take relatively very little time of researchers and respondents. The questionnaire enables participants to feel free to note down their responses without inhibition since they are not being observed.

The study will use closed-ended and open-ended questionnaires, interviews and observation to draw responses from various categories of respondents. Open-ended questionnaires will be used to elicit in-depth information from respondents.

Secondary data will be gathered from official documents, development reports and other published and unpublished materials.

3.6 Instrument Validity and Reliability

Validity of a test represent the extent to which a test measures what it purpose to measure what it is supposed to be measuring (Orodho, 2005). To enhance content validity, the research instrument will be appraised by the project supervisors. Their contributions and suggestions will be used to clarify ambiguous questions and add new questions that would be forgotten. This will help reduce error in data collection.

Reliability concerns the degree to which the same results could be obtained with a repeated measure at accuracy of the same result concept. A pilot study will be conducted to ensure reliability of the questionnaire and to identify any needs for revisions. Participants of the pilot study will be asked to complete the instrument and to provide comments or suggestions for revising any ambiguous items.

Orodho (2005) observes that if the scores obtained from each respondent in the two tests are identical or quite close the measurement will be perceived to be reliable. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation will be employed to compute the correlation coefficient in order to establish the extent to which the content in the questionnaires are consistent in eliciting every time the instrument is administered. A correlation coefficient of about 0.8 will be considered high enough to judge the instrument as reliable.

3.8 Data Collection Procedures

The researcher will seek a research permit from the Ministry of Education then notify the office of the district commissioner, the district education officer and the local administration. The researcher will then visit the respondents and give out the respective questionnaires to each of the respective selected respondents personally. The researcher will be available throughout to offer assistance to the respondents and make any necessary clarifications.

3.7 Data Analysis

Data collected from the field will be cleaned and prepared for data analysis. Data analysis will be done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Data presentation will take the form of descriptive statistics (i.e. frequency tables, cross-tabulations, pie charts and bar graphs).

3.8 Ethical Considerations

A permit will be sought from the Ministry of Education to carry out the research. The researcher will obtain informed consent from the institutions and participants. The respondents will be assured that the information obtained from the data will only b

Emile Durkheim was a sociologist who pioneered in the study of social order. He theorized how societies maintained social order on mechanical and organic forms as well as transitions to industrialized society form a primitive one.

In a primitive society, people act and think alike because of a mechanical solidarity. On the other hand, an advanced society will have its people in divisions of labor where they are allocated and rewarded accordingly. Both moral and economic regulations are necessary in order for social order to exist and can be achieved by putting in place laws. The transition, therefore from a primitive to an advanced society may cause a crisis which eventually ceases upon maturity into an advanced society.

Division of labor has an important role to play in the society since it does not rely on provision of economic services only, but also creates harmony between people. Economists would only look at division of labor as a means to increase production although much more need to be derived from it in form of living in new and better conditions. This fact contrasts with Marx theory which looks down upon division of labor as individualizing people and creating inequality in labor.

The core principal why division of labor is vital is that humans derive happiness in being free to possess material thing and to seek them. This makes its influence to be on a personal level and based on one’s psychological liking. Specialization in the face of division of labor creates a need in individuals to operate on a communal basis so that they may maximize the returns and hence increased happiness. As opposed to Marx theories, private property will not achieve much and he proposes a communal setting.

The application of Durkheim’s theory on division of labor may be of great value to modern society. He uses scientific methods to explain the source and evolution of an ordered society. This gave rise to sociology which envisions the society as being composed of several factors which must act in tandem. Wherever there is a common ideology between people living together, they tend to have creative thinking that can be of use to them. This works well especially if they are great in numbers since they can always support each other. Division of labor has had a history of revolution to what it is today.

Chapter 5: The Increasing Preponderance of Organic Solidarity and its Consequences

Durkheim, in his division of labor theory proposes an organic like solidarity. The presence of laws to govern and regulate the society in that solidarity is essential. But what is ironical is that laws governing a society are sometimes repressive and apply to specific parts. The relationships in a society that would require penal measures are few compared to areas where say domestic, contractual and commercial laws may find application. The solidarity that may be sought by a common conscious society does not get the fullest expression in law. Cooperative law does not meet the threshold to enable social cohesion to take place.

There is need to find relationships that exist although it has not been done previously. Organic solidarity contribution to the general harmony of a society need to be studied in detail and understood so that its application may be of benefit. An individual attachment to a society in dependent on a number of factors which includes forces and bonds which in turn may be strong or weak. This however may not be a reason why an individual may choose to remain in or leave a society.

A case in study is the traditional tribal chiefs who got left by their followers in case of misunderstanding or difference in opinion. Under division of labor, events are somewhat different since people tend to rely on each other to meet their needs. A society would never risk being isolated from the rest of humanity because what they lack in provisions is obtained from the other society. An individual in such a circumstance of isolation may feel isolated and disturbed. To counter this, some tribes have systems of incorporating new members into the society by naturalization or adoption. A good example is Romans who provided refuge for those conquered during the war and hence the primitive society grew.

The adopted individual was supposed to absorb the practices and beliefs of this new society. Solidarity ensures the person sticks if and only if there is harmony and relationships are maintained.

There are various rules forbidding acts contrary to the sentiments of the collectivity which are either positive or negative and may involve such fields as religion, nationality, domesticity, work, traditions and sexual relations. Others have to do with personal conduct and possessions. Each of these sentiments has respective rule which may change over time according to the society and its level of advancement.

In is notable that some of the rules have origin in the Ten Commandments or even in ancient civilizations like Greek and Romans. Morals were very important and an accusation of failure to comply was punishable. For example sentiments dealing with sexual relations are punishable according to the Pentateuch and various verses in the Bible support this. In addition, the Romans and Greeks too would define those acts they deemed immoral and either fine or punish the offender.

Many other civilizations like Egyptians and West African tribes had ways to punish crimes committed and in different ways. Each crime on the other hand has different punitive measures it attracted. In religion, a number of taboos, sacrifices and rites were observed to please the deities. An individual failure to follow the norm could be deemed an outcast or even killed. Sexual immorality too had set down rules defining for example the kind of normal relationships and abnormal ones.

The rules and regulations that existed sometimes ago were not always perfect and or applicable to each emerging situation. Slaves for example, despite being human, were excluded from justice whether they were against the society laws on not. In many societies, children are treated differently from adults and this can contribute their rights being denied. Modern society has nevertheless grown and so has the regulation that need to be in place. But what is evident is that no new rules have been introduced; only the intensity of their application has increased. The area of jurisdiction has also moved from the general society to be more individual oriented.

Religion has been the most complex factor contributing to differences in social life. Each religion has its own deity and ways of life which need not necessarily conform to other people in order for them to exist. Further, religion has seen people make choices on where to live, who to associate with, eating habits, dressing and many other aspect of life. In primitive societies, such issues brought about many conflicts albeit in modern society, they have declined due to emergence of other aspects and disciplines of life. Economics, politics and other sciences have led people to differentiate between religion and social life; these two used to be synonymous. Any problem can thus be dealt with according to the field it belongs.

Traditions have too been a hindrance because of the many and diverse teachings from the ancestors. Proverbs which encouraged or discouraged people in their endeavors still have power over people’s life. They in fact created a course on which an individual had to pass through out their life.

Comparing one society to another is important so as to learn the best ideals for the modern ones. Division of labor in the face of all progressions in societies has been forefront in defining if those societies survive or perish. It is the division of labor that has acted as a glue to stick individuals together and whole societies in general. Modern technology and studies will help in learning the best forms of societies to maintain.

Chapter 2: The Forced Division of Labor

Existence of rules does not necessarily mean harmony. It is the same rules that make it possible to have evil in society.

For example in a class was, division of labor created conflicts since those in the lower class may not be content with their share and contribution. This fact contrasts in other organisms which regardless of their position still maintain their class and work towards achieving goals assigned to them without desire to occupy other elements position or role.

The scenario is different when it comes to human society because of ambitions and desires. No one can argue that they were destined for a particular type of job or live. When such discomforts arise it is then inevitable to change course and seek fulfillment elsewhere. Division of labor as already discussed is meant to produce solidarity and since this can not be achieved in cases of imitation common to humans, change and adjustments are necessary. A good case was recorded between plebeians and patricians where division of labor existed. Sooner, the plebeians began to imitate the upper class and sought the same roles they had because they had reached a point to see everyone in equal times. Conflicts arose resulting to a conclusion that solidarity can only be imperfect for it to exist.

An individual nature must be in harmony with all social functions failure to which division of labor can not occur. This is achieved by realizing different abilities each an individual has and the skills they possess. But still there are some people who set higher goals beyond their abilities and therefore happiness is to them comes only after fulfilling their dreams. To such people, they should be made to understand that proportionality to ones means is important. Spontaneity becomes an element of use in every social setting where solidarity is implied.

Individuals must also be able reject forced labor and no obstacles should hinder their pursuit to fit in any position. Caste system has seen people with abilities prevented from accessing jobs even though they have ability to perform. In modern times a trend similar can be found in some careers where it becomes very difficult to be absorbed or as if one is not right to be found there. Inequalities of this kind however have been in decline as people embrace fairness in employment for instance in public sector. Organic solidarity is compromised by external inequalities and this is by far felt by higher societies.

Interesting enough is the fact that although individuals may feel dissatisfied because of inequalities; they will not be against the social order which is the root cause. They continue to support it considering that they derive beliefs and practices from the same society. The social order has also morals and religious systems that are deemed sacred. Inequalities are bound to be natural in such circumstances that an individual will suffer alone without raising eyebrows.

In contrast, every cause affecting organic solidarity weakens the social bond. If any condition is touched then the whole set up suffers greatly and it translates to individuals disengaging from the social order. Equality is vital in external conditions so as to secure an individual to his or her function. All higher societies may require a consensus and shield themselves from any disturbance. The main difference between primitive and higher societies is the presence of voluminous laws that govern them. Contractual solidarity comes into play for the society to continue to live in harmony.

Everything in any society has a social value that represents the usefulness of it towards meeting people’s needs. This value can not be measured mathematically but can only be felt. If it fluctuates, which can be caused by abnormal activities, the effort received must equal the effort given to create equilibrium. But generally humans would rather receive more than what they gave out thus a constraint need be in place to counter this effect. A sufficient condition for an equivalence to take place is that parties under a contract be placed under equal external conditions. When equality is achieved, complains become less and every individual therefore feels content. Contracts therefore will lead to consensus after having been through the necessary relations like ceremonies, intentions and formulae.

Just as in the ancient civilizations, Romans, the rule and application of law was important in determining if a contract is null and void. Modern societies tend to shy away from real application of law and refuse to accept certain aspects of contracts. Example is when one party is placed at the mercy of the other and therefore becomes oppressed because they are weak. The public conscience will demand equal treatment and also value for whatever transaction there was.

Economists have contributed by pointing out the spontaneity of social life should be devoid of constraint which only makes it deviate from natural causes. Morality and freedom are two values that ought to be checked so that they remain within the set limits. Regulation eventually brings about liberty.

Some areas where inequality is observed are, for instance, physical strength and domestic life where each man can be higher or lower in comparison to another. This means then that liberty is not present. All external forces must be subordinate to social forces for social life to develop. It requires a man to sober up and become a social being in order that he can live with nature in harmony.

Modern societies, unlike previous ones, need to work hard to mend social relationships. Moving away from the past where segmented social life was common to organized and developed societies. The earlier people depended on faith to survive and modern ones require justice. It is important to pursue these conditions as long as social revolution remains and no factors change.

Relationship between the two chapters:

The two chapters deal with organic solidarity and its merits and demerits in social life. As has been discussed in both chapters, division of labor is a very important feature in every social life. It ensures that people are left a choice to make the best out of their lives by embarking or playing on roles that would be beneficial to them. Both chapters encourage presence of division of labor with one insisting on presence of regulation and the other dealing with inequalities and external forces. Solidarity ensures unity so that whatever a person may wish to acquire can be achieved by depending on another say for assistance.

The individual person is also considered the most important in the society since he is the smallest unit that defines what that society will look like. Therefore, the individual despite being regulated in his endeavor for sustainability also need to have certain freedoms. Regulation can happen by putting in place laws that will govern the daily undertakings of man to an extent where nobody is liable to cause conflicts. These laws must therefore be just and fair to every member of a society.

Freedom in a society is also encouraged so that each individual acts in accordance with their abilities. This then means that systems which do not promote freedom of choice like the caste system need to be abolished to pave way to freer societies. Freedom can too be extended to material possessions whereby each person can possess as much as he may require in achieving happiness. Religion despite it playing a center stage in moral development should not be a hindrance to social progress.

Elimination of forced labor is essential so as to ensure a person makes his choices out of free will and they are not coerced to follow a direction against their wish. Employment especially in public places should be done by considering one’s abilities and skills and not the social background they come from.

Equality is another factor that has been emphasized in both chapters; be it in accordance to an individual in relation to another or to factors affecting social life. In regard to an individual, equality comes about when transacting goods and services with other people. It ensures that a service received is commensurate to the one rendered and that no party gets to oppress the other. Isolation of an individual by the rest of the society is also considered to ensure that they become as much part of a society as possible.

In conclusion, both chapters stress the need for division of labor in modern societies if they have to last. Such therefore can be attained in an environment where there is harmony, solidarity, equality, liberty, and just regulation. Durkheim, being the father of sociology, has made immense contribution and his theories if put to work can work for the benefit of mankind.

Geographical knowledge has a long history in human development. Throughout the history of geography, it mostly involved developing knowledge of the physical features of the world but this history is itself a kind of presentation of human history. In the 19th Century, geography became formally regarded as a discipline, and human geography became established as an essential branch of the natural science; it refers to both geographical information and human activities, i.e. it includes both human geography and physical geography (Johnston, 2000). This essay firstly discusses the meaning of the discipline ‘human geography’. Following this, it describes how human geography relates to development. Subsequently, it assesses the key themes/issues relevant to development as explored by scholars, and studies the research techniques used by researchers in this discipline. Finally, it gives an example of a published piece of work stating how it is relevant to our understanding of contemporary development.

1 The discipline of human geography

Geography can be divided into two major parts: physical and human. Both are branches of natural science, which encompass the study of the living world. Physical geography mainly deals with the processes of the atmosphere, biosphere and ecosphere, whereas human geography studies people, culture, population distributions, the urban environment, etc. It studies many cultural aspects and how they relate to their environment as well as why people migrate and how this impacts on their culture. Human geography is special in that the findings of the study of human geography may vary over time.

2 Human geography and development

Marston et al. (2005) referred to human geography as incorporating several sub-disciplines, such as globalization, urbanization, the environment and migration. These are interrelated as the condition of one of these can be reflected in the development of another. Human geography discusses the profound interaction of cultural, environmental and social evolution, and considers the views that societies adopt in addressing these issues (Robinson, 2006). Thus, the core of human geography engages directly with change and development, but can be extended to deal with the economic, social, institutional and environmental dimensions of sustainability.

Development can present diverse patterns, each with its own characteristics, as the different aspects of development, i.e. culture, economy and politics vary all the time. We can consider all these changing patterns as the results of development. The factors in development interact with each other, and change in one field can affect another or lead to changes elsewhere. Development transforms people’s lives, and as a result, development gradually alters human geography, particularly the aspects of human lifestyle, the political environment, the economic situation and even nature. Thus, the human geography of a place is its phylogeny, and that is how human geography relates to development.

3 Key themes/issues relevant to development

Human geography is an incomplete discipline without considering development, to which there are various branches, such as culture, economics, politics, health and history. However, we will discuss these aspects under the headings generally adopted by researchers, as below.

3.1 Culture

Culture is the norms and practices of people in particular places, and it encompasses language. It also reflects the region of settlement and other phenomena that may change or remain consistent. The first traces of the study of various cultures in different regions appeared in early 20th Century. At that time, the study of culture study was considered as an alternative to environmental determinism, which argued that human beings and societies are determined by their environment. It focuses on describing and analyzing the ways language, religion, economy, government, and other cultural phenomena vary or remain constant from one place to another and on explaining how humans function spatially (Jordan-Bychkov, et al 1994). Culture is a profound condition and is related to a region, and it has a significant impact on regional development. On the other hand, development can greatly affect cultural norms. The interaction of culture and development is just one aspect of human geography.

3.2 History

History is the study of a wide variety of topics, including physical, theoretical, human, fictional and real geographies as well as the past. Historical geography mainly discusses how a place or region changes through time, how people interact with their environment and how the cultural landscape is created. In essence, human history is the phylogeny of people, while human geography is the study development.

3.3 Globalization

Globalization is the process of worldwide integration derived from the interplay of world views, products, ideas and aspects of culture. It reveals the interchange of social and cultural forces, including economics, politics and religion. The Economics, politics and religion play an important role in the development of a region. (Al-Rodhan, R.F. Nayef and Gerard Stoudmann. 2006) Furthermore, the regional conditions of these factors are products of development. Advances in telecommunications, transportation and Internet business are key factors of globalization, and so development involves, in particular, industrial progress and national or international trade, and studying the close relationship between the environment, the economy and real estate. Trade is the exchange goods and services, and the ensuing economic development can improve the standard or quality of life; real estate is a reflection of the extent of urbanization. Therefore, only with all these developmental aspects can globalization become realized.

3.4 Migration

Migration is the movement of people from one region or country to another, where they are not ‘locals’ but settle there. Economic migrants generally seek better education, job opportunities, life conditions and so on; the status of development in the home nation/region is the most crucial factor in immigration. Political migrants generally seek freedom from oppression. Some migration is based on other, more personal reasons, and may be the product of culture and tradition. Immigrants can bring new changes and such interplay or intercommunication partly contributes to the evolution of human geography.

3.5 Urbanization

Urbanization is the development of cities, and many rural migrants concentrate in cities, resulting in the physical growth of the urban environment. The structure and experiences of the urban landscape are crucial to human geography. Urbanization is closely linked to modernisation, industrialisation and the sociological process of rationalisation. During the process of development, cities and towns grow, and urban population around the world have been soaring. Urbanization is not just a social phenomenon; rather, it is a historic reform of human behaviour on a worldwide scale. The rapid growth of some big cities, such as Chicago in the 19th Century and Tokyo in the 20th Century, is largely the result of rural-urban migration; it is commonplace in developing countries. People living in cities can take advantage of diversity, proximity and competition in the marketplace. With all these factors, the urban environment can develop rapidly.

3.6 Environment

Environment is a subfield of human geography and a reflection of development. Specifically, transformation of the environment is a result of physical and biological factors caused by the interactions of culture, customs, politics, industry and other aspects, i.e. development. Being part of human geography, the environment changes during the development process, and these changes also affect human geography.

4 Research techniques used in human geography

4.1 Social surveys

Social survey is a crucial method in obtaining human geography information. The object of the study of human geography is to comprehend the social environment, and in this, social investigation is key to understand the cultural landscape and social phenomena clearly, scholars use social investigation as a means of collecting information and opinions relating to particular social events or trends. To garner the views and thoughts of people, researchers can conduct surveys among the target population. Social surveys also entail consulting historical data or other materials to develop a picture of change, and thus, through social investigation, we can understand both the past and present ages better.

4.2 Document collection

Documents represent a priceless treasure of human history and geography, and can reveal the experiences and the scientific and technological achievements of ourselves and our predecessors. Current documents can be classified as paper and non-paper materials. Paper materials often refer to books, journals, reports and other data sources, from which people can gain knowledge of human geography. Non-paper materials mean the Internet, where researchers can access knowledge mostly relating to the present era. Searching on-line libraries or particular website-based information resources can assist in gathering a great deal of information quickly. With the development of science and technology, the means of document collection will become more diversified.

4.3 Exploiting data sources

Our predecessors left much precious information about human geography. We contemporary people can gather these materials together, assess them, compare them and draw conclusions from them. As a result, we can learn of the development of human geography. Examining historical data can help us understand the differing features of human geography in different regions. Through assessing the differences between historical and current data, researchers can determine how people, culture, economics, politics and other factors have varied over time, i.e. what changes have occurred in a location, what kinds of inhabitants have ever lived there and what traditions they had and have. All the information can be found through careful organization and collation of the data. These methods are different from but complementary to surveys and document collection, but involve a great deal of effort in handling the data.

4.4 Spatial analysis

Spatial analysis can be used in complex cases, and involves defining the varying spatial locations of the entities being studied. Applied to human geography, spatial data analysis can reveal population distribution patterns, the densities of structures at the human scale and spatial population dynamics. The characteristics of these issues are constantly changing in line with human development. Scholars often establish models by using spatial data to analyse the factors that impact on population distribution, etc. Spatial analysis contributes to assisting a deeper comprehension of the features of human geography, taking a spatial overview of the dynamics of population structures resulting from development.

4.5 Interviews

Interviewing stems from the desire to know more about the people around us and to better understand how the people around us view the world we live in.(Seidman,1998) Thus, interviewing is most effective when the goal of the given research is to gain insight into the “subjective understanding” of those around us. In the past, it was uncommon to use interview as a method to study human geography. Gradually, researchers realized the importance of people’s social background, education, cultural and traditional norms in decision-making. Only through interviewing special groups of people can researchers identify the factors that influence behaviour. In underdeveloped regions, people there may not be literate, and so interview is the best method for obtaining first-hand materials to study their history and culture. Not only can researchers learn about specific events in development, they can also gain insight into people’s interior experiences, specifically how people perceive their world and how they interpret their perceptions, and how events are affected by their thoughts and feelings. In this, researchers can understand the process of an event instead of what just happened and how the subjects reacted to it.

5 One example illustrating how human geography is relevant to development

An article entitled ‘Progress in Human Geography’ by (Radcliffe 2004) discusses the evolution of human geography, and argues that global networks and human rights are related to this discipline because it is now clear that these two factors have a great impact on national development. This is just one example of many, telling us that the development of one country is inextricably linked to human geography.

Conclusion

Human geography is a representation of economic, political and historical development, and it examines the interplay between people and the built, rather than the natural, environment (although environmental impacts are considered). The interaction of a wide variety of factors drives human history to move on, as people seek to improve their lives and raise their living standards. A multitude of changes have occurred and will continue to occur as human behaviour changes, resulting complex contemporary societies in which cultures and identities are transformed. Thus human geography is the study of the change, formation and transformation of people and nations over time, or the taking of snapshots of particular human events, behaviours or activities.

Earthquakes can have disastrous effects on humans and on the environment. An earthquake is the result of trembling, rolling and vibration of the ground triggered by the sudden release of energy that is stored below the surface of the Earth (Ford 2004). A scientific instrument called a seismometer is used by scientists to record, and measure strengthens of earthquakes (McNally 2007). The intensity or the size of an earthquake is measured by a number called the magnitude. Actually, earthquakes occur in everyday and everywhere and as a result, the estimate by scientists for each day is that more than thousands minor earthquakes happen without triggering any physical damage and mostly they are imperceptible. Earthquakes frequently occur in the following countries: China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, United States, Japan, and the Philippines. In these regions there are a lot of earthquakes and also they have numerous volcanoes. There are three main causes of earthquakes: tectonic plate movement, human activities, and volcanic eruptions.

2. Background

Earthquakes destroy property and cause death. On July 28, 1976, there was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the city of Tangshan (Rosenberg 1997). The strength of the earthquake was recorded by a scientific instrument called a seismometer, also known as a seismograph. It is an instrument that can detect and measure the ground motion from an earthquake (McNally 2007). At 0342 local time, the earthquake hit Tangshan and over a million of people were sleeping. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people were killed and many people were reported missing and presumed dead. There were a lot of people were badly injured. Tangshan is located in Northeastern China ?an area devastated by earthquakes. The earthquake was so strong that it triggered infrastructure collapse including houses, schools, shops, heath clinics, roads, railway station, factories, and bridges. The people in Beijing also felt the tremors. A lot of people lost their lives because most their houses were completely destroyed. The city of Tangshan is being rebuilt nowadays by its citizens.

3. Causes

3.1 Cause 1: Tectonic Plate Movement

The main cause of earthquakes is tectonic plate movement. The crust of the earth consists of many pieces called tectonic plates. There are plates along the outer layer of the earth which are floating on the molten magma under the crust of the earth. (Ganguly 2008) The convection current in the molten magma drive the plates to move inside the earth. They move continuously until they pass through each other. When the two plates meet together, they start to push and rub each other but they are not moving. After a while, the pressure beneath builds up and keeps on rising. Once they cannot contain the pressure, it will be expelled. This sudden release of energy and the strength of the plates cause the ground shake and the two plates start to break. (Why do earthquake happen? n.d.) For example, on December 26, 2004, an earthquake hit the Sumatra, Indonesia where the Indian and Burmese plates in India Ocean are broken and one plate is moved across the top of the other plate. (Magnitude 9.1-Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra 2008) The region that breaks on the crust is known as a fault which usually can be seen on the surface of the earth. The point where earthquakes begin and break the plates underground is known as focus and above the focus, on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter. During plate movement, one plate gets submerged into the molten magma and another plate is moved across the top of it. This plate rises up due to the heat of molten magma. The plates keep on moving until they get stuck against each other. Most earthquakes take place on the edges of the plates where one plate is forced further into the earth crust while another plate is moved across the top of the submerged plate.

3.2 Cause 2: Human Activities

Another contributing factor to earthquakes is human activities. There are many human activities that cause an earthquake. Building skyscrapers is a good example that may cause an earthquake. Many engineers and scientists are concerned about the types of buildings in construction. Skyscraper Taipei 101 with the height of 508 meters which is the world’s tallest building. According to the geologist Cheng Horng Ling (2005), from the National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 101 may cause an earthquake because the 101-storey skyscraper is built the stress on an earthquake fault. An ancient earthquake fault may reopen as the stress from the buildings exerting on the ground increases. Besides that, the injection of fluids in the mountain or into the crust of the earth also triggers earthquakes. A long time ago, the main purpose of humans injecting fluid was that the injection was the best way to dispose of toxic waste. For example, in the Rocky Mountains where there is a place for waste disposal. (Madrigal, A 2008) The injection of fluids into deep wells causes changing of the stress of the underground and the stress can generate an earthquake. Furthermore, the release of pressure when extracting oil and natural gas can also cause earthquake.

3.3 Cause 3: Volcanic Eruptions

In addition, volcanic eruptions can also cause earthquakes. Normally, earthquakes are very active in areas of volcanic activity where they can either occur on their own or with the eruption. (Presnell 2002) Most of the time, the earthquakes triggered by the eruption of volcanoes are within ten to twenty miles around the volcanoes. In order to release the huge pressure that builds up by the molten magma underneath the earth crust, it always tries to look for an opening or an area that is fairly weak. (Ganguly 2008) Therefore, areas that have active volcanoes accompanied by volcanic activities are always prone to the earthquakes because the pressure builds up by the magma has surpassed the limit that earth crust can sustain. If a volcano eruption produces acidic lava then it can be predicted that there will an earthquake with the strongest magnitude. It is because acidic lava will solidify once it contacts the air and block the volcano’s vents so that pressure cannot escape. As a result, pressure is developed inside and the resultant explosion can be destructive and destroying, producing an earthquake of significant magnitude.

4. Transition Statement

Having looked at the causes of earthquakes, its main effects will be discussed in the following. The effects can be in terms of social, environmental and economic. An earthquake can bring great impacts to the society. It is an unbearable scene as people die in the aftermath of earthquakes and leaving their love one to suffer from their death. Some of natural disasters like tsunamis and landslides can be triggered by earthquakes. Earthquakes can also have disastrous effect to the country’s economy.

5. Effects

5.1 Effect 1: Social Impacts

One of the biggest effects of earthquakes is the social impact on survivors. Earthquakes have short term impacts as well as long term impacts. The short term impacts can be seen in the aftermath of earthquakes. We can see thousands of people dying and many corpses. The 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, China, for instance, caused tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds thousands of people were injured. (Magnitude 7.9-Eastern Sichuan, China 2008.) A powerful earthquake can destroy buildings, factories, shops, roads, bridges and schools. These cause many people to become homeless. Furthermore, earthquakes can cause disruption to public services like transport systems and communication connections. (Earthquake n.d.) Worst of all, survivors face a lack of drinking water because water pipes burst and water supplies are contaminated. In the cases of long term social impacts, thousands of children became orphans as their parents are killed in the earthquake. Most of the parents are depressed and the town lost a generation because their children were killed in schools that collapsed.

5.2 Effect 2: Environmental Impacts

There are also environmental impacts. A tsunami, for instance, is produced by an earthquake. Tsunamis are tidal waves that are caused by the sudden movement of plates under the sea floor during an underwater earthquake. (What are effects of earthquakes? n.d.) This wave can move swiftly a long way across the ocean. (Effects of earthquakes n.d.) When a large scale of tsunami hits the seashore area, it can trigger enormous erosion as well as destroy buildings in its path. Worst of all, people will also be washed away by the tsunami. For example, on December 26, 2004, a tsunami hit some nations around the Indian Ocean and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. Earthquakes can cause landslides. It is very dangerous especially for buildings in unstable area on hillsides or mountains where soft soils can be liquefied by the tremors of earthquakes. During an earthquake, buildings can fall down hills with soil and bury people under the soil. People will be buried alive. In addition, aftershocks are also effects of earthquakes. Aftershocks are small tremors which disperse it to other places and other people can feel it after the main shocks of an earthquake. For instance, in Penang, Malaysia, there are no earthquakes, but when an earthquake happened in Sumatra it was so great that even Malaysians living in Penang experienced aftershocks. (See 2006)

5.3 Effect 3: Economics Impacts

Apart from social and environmental impacts, earthquakes also have negative effects on a nation’s economy. Governments have to be responsible for the damage caused by earthquakes. As we can see, earthquakes cause infrastructures to collapse, reservoirs dams, shops, and hospitals are devastated after an earthquake. (Earthquake n.d.) Governments have to spend sizeable amounts of money to rebuild the place. Earthquakes also cause spending of the capital to distribute food and medicine to victims. Markets in particular may be disrupted and this causes uneasy trade. Furthermore, investors whose money is in that particular area for development may decide to withdraw. Once the investors withdraw the investment in the particular country, it will a cause loss of job opportunities as well as the country’s income diminishing and an unstable of economy.

6. Conclusion

In conclusion, earthquakes are hard to predict and can happen any time. Tectonics plate movement, human activities and volcanic eruptions are 3 of the causes of earthquakes, whose effects can be felt socially, environmentally, and economically. As we can see, prevention of earthquakes is absolutely impossible, so, suitable action to reduce injury and death is of uttermost importance. Some safety action should take place, such as evacuation and safety build structures to resist earthquakes. Some countries, such as the United States and Japan carried out research about public buildings designed to resist earthquakes. (Moleworth 2008) The results are that the whole building will move to and fro without trembling. It is very important to have this facility in earthquakes zones as damage and lives are at risk.

(1775 words)

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