Author: Andre Coleman

This assignment looks at the Biomedical Model of Health, what it means, what its advantages and disadvantages are, and criticisms from other perspectives on health.

Definition of Biomedical Model of Health

In order to outline and assess the ‘biomedical model’ of health, we must first comprehend what it is, along with an understanding of the terms ‘health’, ‘illness’ and ‘disease’. The biomedical or medical (sometimes also known as the bio-mechanical) model of health, is a scientific measure of health and regards disease as the human body having a breakdown due to a biological reason. A patient is seen as a body that is sick and can be handled, explored and treated independently from their mind and other external considerations. The treatment therefore will be from medical professionals with appropriate knowledge, and must take place in an environment where medical technology exists (Giddens. 2009). A definition of ‘health’ from the World Health Organization (WHO – specialist to international public health for the United Nations) is: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organization. 1946). ‘Illness’ is what a patient suffers when they experience a breakdown in the way they are feeling or thinking, and ‘disease’ is an abnormality with the body and its component parts and is diagnosed and treated by doctors (Pool and Geissler. 2005).

Biomedical Model Advantages

The biomedical model of health is present in modern Western societies. Since it looks mainly at ill health being caused by biological factors, including lifestyle choices like smoking, unhealthy diets and lack of exercise, this could be seen as “blaming car breakdowns on poor maintenance and lack of proper servicing, or on bad luck” (Browne. 2011). This model underpins policies and practice of our NHS and is basically what defines our health care services, as scientific approaches to health have replaced older, more traditional approaches. Medical practitioners have had many years of training, and the biomedical model maintains are the only people suitable to deal with our sick bodies. Hospitals and other clinical environments with specialist medical equipment, is where treatment should be given and received. Doctors have power in the biomedical model and are also able to maintain it. Blaxter (2010) summed this up with the following quote; “There is an association with the definition of health as equilibrium and disease as a disturbance of the body’s functions, with the purpose of medical technology the restoration to equilibrium”. Specific advantages of the biomedical model, are that the patient’s main concern is for the best possible treatment and recovery, and this model shows clear guidance in this regard. Furthermore, this approach is supported by scientific research, much of which is impartial and proved beyond reasonable doubt. Some disadvantages however are, that patients are known not as the individual person they are, but as their diagnosis. Both patients and healthcare workers dislike the loss of the ‘care factor’, as more emphasis is on the modern technology used. Increasing evidence also shows that holistic care can have improved health results in its own right (Pearson et al. 1986). Field (1976) and Blaxter (1987) see illness as a social construction, as they have observed how it is possible to experience illness without the presence of disease and have a disease without feeling ill (Blaxter. 2010).

The regulation of women’s bodies by controlling their sexual expression and reproductive capacity is now conducted through medicine, whereas in the past religion played this role. For women, a healthy body is tied to healthy sexuality and reproduction within the confines of lawful marriage.

Interactionists are interested in how doctors and patients negotiate a diagnosis (ie a sickness label). Byrne and Long found that there is a conflict between doctors’ and patients’ views of the ideal consultation (not surprisingly, doctors prefer short, doctor-centred consultations).

Talcott Parsons was a Functionalist, known for his ‘sick role’ theory in 1951 (cited by Moore. 2008). Functionalism looks at the separate parts of society and how these parts strive together to provide strength to the entire society, so an effective society relies on social structures working well together within social hierarchy. Illness is ‘deviant’ behaviour that disrupts society. Parsons argued that when people fall ill they no longer function in their normal role, they now have a new temporary role of being sick, and therefore need a doctor to confirm they are ill, give permission to take time off work or from their normal duties, and use their medical expertise to make them well again (this will of course, not be the case with chronic illness). Should the doctor not confirm your illness, you could be perceived as evading your responsibilities by making out you are incapacitated. Consequently, doctors have social control and this perspective fits well with the biomedical model. Each individual has a mutual duty to get themselves well again, with little empathy if their illness is self-inflicted, for example drinking too much alcohol. We can therefore see how functionalism supports the biomedical view, where the medical profession are the only ones capable of diagnosing and curing illness. (Browne. 2011)

Biomedical Model Criticisms and Disadvantages

Criticisms of the biomedical model are that overall health is linked far more to environmental and social changes, rather than medical influences (McKeown. 1979. Cited by Moore. 2008). An example of this was the improvements to sanitation and hygiene; water supply; nutrition and food processing procedures, and better housing conditions. McKeown also argues that whilst medicine is at times very effective, it is also ineffective in the way that a patient may recover initially, whilst leaving underlying problems still present. An example of this would be a patient who had a liver transplant due to alcohol abuse, but the reasons for abusing alcohol in the first place may not have been fully addressed. A further point is that ‘alternative’ or ‘complementary’ medicine, that is not approved by the British Medical Association but which could be of benefit to patients, is seen as inferior by the medical profession – but to not even consider it, is not in the patient’s best interests (Giddens. 2009).

Marxism is the movement founded by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Frederick Engels (1820 – 1895) and is the political economy view, in which it argues the same as the functionalists on the concept of social control, but with the important difference that medicine operates for the controlling groups within our society – Capitalists. Marxist beliefs are that the capitalist society profit is more important than the people and the health care they received. The aim of medicine is just to keep people fit enough to continue working for capitalists. Navarro (1976) suggests that pharmaceutical companies (who make billions) do not really want to find cures, as this would result in cuts in their profits. A recent newspaper article was written about this and headed: ‘With a pill for every possible situation, pharmaceutical companies see patients as no more than pound-signs’ (The Independent. 2012). Furthermore, the true social aspects and poor health are not being confronted by the government, and businesses are allowed to carry on making money from products that are damaging to health, like cigarettes and tobacco (Browne. 2002). A materialist view proposes that the population’s welfare suffers from an imbalance in income and lack of investment in resources such as schools, hospitals and housing, and this equates to reduced health outcomes (Bradby. 2012).

According to Bilton (2002), the feminist critique on health looks at how over the last century the male-dominated medical profession has introduced the medical model to menstruation, contraception, pregnancy and childbirth. There was obviously an appeal during this time in creating a medical market by the developing medical specialists. However, in times of religion and lawful marriage and before any medical intervention, these areas were seen as ‘natural’ and were being dealt with by the women themselves with support from female family and friends. Having a doctor present at child birth was of little use, as evidence showed their lack of knowledge around the process of birth, and that this basically meant that the medical intervention often put both child and mother in danger. “Feminists argue that only by breaking with the malestream of orthodox medicine can women regain control over their own bodies” (Bilton. 2002).

Ivan Illich (1975) defined ‘health’ very differently to the biomedical definition, in that it is the capacity to cope with the human reality of death, pain and sickness. Medicine is seen by Illich as positively harmful. Using the concept of ‘iatrogenesis’ (a condition caused by the medical profession or medical procedure), Illich argues that medical treatments fail to bring about cures and also cause more illness through ‘side effects’ (clinical iatrogenesis). An example of this in 2004, was when Leslie Ash (English Actress) became ill with MSSA (Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, a common bacteria that can cause a wide variety of infections) after being admitted into hospital. The Daily Mail reported:

“She believes the MSSA set in when doctors inserted an epidural needle to relieve the pain while they put a drain into her chest. The infection caused a large abscess to form, putting pressure on her spinal cord and paralysing her.” (Daily Mail. 2005).

As medical treatments grow, an artificial need is created for them (social iatrogenesis). An example of this could be going into hospital to die, instead of staying in your own home. This in turn results in people becoming increasingly dependent on the medical profession for conditions they feel unable to cope with themselves (cultural iatrogenesis). This could include the ability to manage sickness, pain and death. (Giddens. 2009)

The social model of health sees illness and health in ways other than just scientific or medical facts. It looks at wider factors that can cause ill health: poverty; poor housing; job-related stress; pollution; deprived neighbourhoods and poor life choices. All of these factors can shape our physical and mental health, not just science. Health is seen differently between individuals and also depends upon culture and the society we are living within. What one person regards as being ill may not be what other people with the same or similar condition regard as ill. We have a choice about this, but only medical experts have the authority to class someone as ill. Social and environmental factors will show patterns within health. It has been shown that people from lower classes tend to make poorer life choices, for example with smoking, eating unhealthily and not exercising enough. This can be for a variety of reasons, often which lead back to financial restraints and the knock-on effect that this has. (Giddens. 2009). The lower classes are likely to be unable to afford the same access to facilities and choices as those who are of a higher class, and this can be within all aspects of society from leisure facilities to the medical treatment received. Cultural explanations for poor health basically blames the individual’s themselves, due to their poor life choices like smoking and drinking, as this can lead to numerous health conditions including cancer, heart disease and asthma. Although we should not take this as the whole picture, as some individual’s would make healthier life choices if they could afford to. The Black Report (1980) confirms that although cultural, behavioural and also genetic explanations play their part, it was shown in the study that there is a wide difference in health between the wealthy and the poor. Although health improvements are seen across the spectrum, the mortality rates on working age men is widening between the classes. (Moore. 2008). Illnesses within societies also change over time, for example we rarely hear about cases of German Measles (Rubella) any more due to vaccinations in the past for teenage girls, and also the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccination, which came out in 1988 and is advised for all babies around 11 months of age. We hear much more nowadays about ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and Anorexia. We need to realise however, that there are limits to the ‘social’ model of health. Medicine has greatly helped improvements in health through childhood vaccinations and we have seen cures from the medical profession with some cancers, for instance. However, it is clear that without social improvements, medical advances would not be sufficient.

Conclusion

It is evident that the biomedical model is the most dominant model of health and conflicts with the main opposition, the social model, as it doesn’t take into account the wide range of considerations, just the human body and its focus on the cure rather than prevention. Thomas McKeown’s (1912-1988) historical analysis on environmental factors is still relevant today.

It would appear that healthcare systems could review the way in which they work and include a holistic approach, including patient’s opinions being taken into account and choices given as to where recovery can take place, as this does not necessarily need to be in a hospital environment.

Gender differs in culture and personal circumstances, they shape the way men and women behave according to their society’s norms and values. Learning plays a major part in influencing gender roles, in what defines masculine and feminine, parents, teachers, friends, media, music, books and religion teach and reinforce gender roles throughout a lifetime. Gender roles are also shaped by the power of reward and punishment, as it’s used by some people to reinforce what they consider to be appropriate gender behaviour. In terms of influencing gender roles the influence of parents is significant as the family is the primary agency of socialisation. Gender roles are realities in almost everyone’s life. (Warnke 2008) This essay will discuss whether gender roles are determined by biological determinism; our genetics, or whether they are constructed by society; expectations in our environment. In addition theories explaining gender behaviours.

Freud and Parsons had theories based on Biological determinism which depends on the presence or absence of certain chromosomes, DNA, proteins and hereditary genes. Men and women have obvious biological differences- a man can produce sperm, and women can produce ovum, lactation and go through pregnancy and menstruation. Without those two different sexes reproduction would not be possible, and our biological sexes are needed for our society to progress.

A good example of this is the Bruce Reimer case. Bruce, an eight month old boy, underwent a circumcision that went terribly wrong, his penis was completely destroyed and with no hope of reconstructing the organ, his parents consulted Dr Money. Doctors and family decided Bruce would best function as a girl rather than a boy. He was surgically transformed into a girl, whom they named Brenda. From an early age Brenda felt she was a boy trapped in a girl’s body, she ripped off frilly dresses, rejected dolls in favor of guns, preferred to play with boys, and even insisted on urinating standing up. At fourteen she was so miserable that she decided either to live her life as a male or to end it, her father finally told her the truth. She underwent a new set of operations, assumed a male identity and later married and went on to become a father himself. Although Dr Money tried to apply the logic behind social determinism, Bruce revealed that despite dresses, social pressure, surgeries and female hormones he never looked, acted or felt like a female. (Colapinto 2000) This shows social factors do not always override biological factors in determining gender.

Social constructionism understands how gender roles are created by us in everyday lives. One sociologist, Margaret Mead, was one of the first to ground the distinction between the biological and social characteristics of men and woman based on her study in three civilizations. Each society displayed different gender role qualities. In one society both women and men were cooperative, in the second they were both ruthless and aggressive, and in the third the women were dominant and the men more obedient. (Mead 1935)

This shows masculine and feminine roles are learnt and shaped in cultural socializations and not inborn, biological specific roles (Bown, 2012).

Gendered behaviours are shaped especially in responses and reactions like in families, children and adult relations, workplace, groups, schools, media, texts, history, popular culture and social structures. During pregnancy and after birth people are divided into two sex categories, boy and girl, to which they received gender characteristics like colours, toys received as children by evasion, like football and trucks for boys, dolls and dresses for girls. In the course of her and his life the human being is then made into a girl or woman, boy or man. Many factors influence our behaviours such as education, social norms and values, stereotypes, identifications, images and traditions. Concept of woman and men are subject to change over time. What is to be feminine and masculine is historical defined. (Lavenda and Schultz 2011) These are all social contributors towards the way gender is shaped.

In the nineties relationships between men and women were followed by tradition and religious views, the natural differences between the sexes were emphasized throughout the influential years of childhood. In marriage young men would commit to protect and provide for the woman with whom they had agreed to spend the rest of their lives. Marriage was considered a lifelong partnership with Nuptial vows to be kept despite all obstacles. Although men and women had unity of purpose in progression with their lives, the roles of each were very different, women were expected to remain at home caring for the children, cooking and housework, despite any educational background or career she may have previously had. The husbands’ role was to provide financially for the family as sole breadwinners and to teach their boys to be courageous and brave, to be out in front, to provide, to be tough and to sacrifice, to perform heavy, physical work at an early age. Mothers educated their daughters to be gentle, modest, loyal, respectful and supportive, girls were assigned duties around the house assisting with cooking, sewing and cleaning. This behaviour reinforces the idea that gender roles are socially constructed.

Women were influenced to break away from the traditional gender roles with the emergence of icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Bell and Betty Friedan. They were very popular and influenced woman in various ways, their motivational work encouraged woman to break out of gender roles, be more independent, be inspired to take on a new role, empower woman to take control of their bodies and to fight for equal opportunities that lead us to the present- with equality between everyone, no matter their gender. (Penny Colman 1995) this is another example of how social construction defines gender.

Children, before they grow into adults, have been completely socially engineered and manipulated, generation by generation. Toys are the greatest influence in defining gender in children, as so often children are divided by stereotypes of toys. Children have a strong sense of gender identity and gender role expectations. Most two year olds know whether they are male or female and, by the age of four or five, not only do they develop gender constancy but often show rigid standards of what they believe is appropriate male and female dressing and behaviour. Young children appear to acquire gender roles stereotypes at about the same time they develop gender identity. Social construction has been pressed upon children from the moment they are born, so from an early age the signs of gender roles are already reinforced.

Many sociologists insist we now live in postmodern society; shaped by our personal experience, egocentric and mass media, rather than expectations of following a script. Roles in the family had some changes, couples now make decisions together, expressing opinions openly and encouraging mutually the male role in the home is progressing, men are now more supportive in the housework tasks and more child-centred. Male and female roles and identities, which were previously very distinct, are now much more blurred. Women are increasingly choosing to take on roles previously fulfilled by men. Most women and mothers are now employed and occupy 48% of the work force with both men and woman more likely to choose the careers they want. There may be more women in the workforce than there were before but there still exists some division and segregation between the sorts of occupation in which women tend to work and the sorts of jobs men have. Woman are often located in secondary labour market with unsecure jobs, low status, inferior work conditions, low salaries and lower chances of promotion, while men retained the primary labour market with high paid salaries, higher status, more secure job placements, good working conditions and easier access to promotion. This explains gender roles are socially constructed whether at home on at work.

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Biological determinism (in detail) dont describe, discuss analyse this argument what is it? Biological determinism (in detail) dont describe, discuss analyse this argument what is it?

Paragraph 3. Social construction, feral children, children of deprived and a-sexual (media influences)

Then next few are optional choose two or three to talk about……

Family Masculinity/Femininity The body Work roles Media…..

Conclusion- shouldnt be too long just refer and summerise back to questiTo conclude, society was previously shaped by society norms and values. Children tended to follow parents footsteps. In postmodern societies, male and female roles and identities, which were previously very distinct, are now becoming blurred. People do not follow a fixed pathway, women don’t assume they will become mothers and housewives, men and woman are much more likely to choose what to do in their lives and which identities to adopt. The activities traditionally assigned to members of each sex may no longer be needed and the traditional division of labour by biological sex no longer is appropriate. The traditional gender role for males prepares men for a world that no longer exists. Men no longer are the sole breadwinners in most families, and their traditional place of dominance in society no longer is assured.

Change is occurring in the definition of gender roles and identity for both men and woman, with female increasing the participation in a world of paid work, increasing economical independence and viewed as significant consumers. Young females are becoming more self determined preferring to pursue careers and decline marriage and children, with this, woman are more likely to see consumption and leisure as a key factor in their identity, this suggests female identity is being redefined. Traditional ideas and roles of female identity are being abandoned and redefined, becoming a mother and housewife is less significant. And men defining their identity, by being in touch with his feminine side, taking on share roles with partner in housework duties and childcare.

We now live in a society where anatomy is not a destiny, the roles and functions once so preserved are now fading in the past, and replaced by society in which true masculinity and femininity are no longer taught or understood. It is impossible to argue that gender is socially constructed or biologically driven because there is evidence that argue for both ways. Society and culture can no doubt shape the beliefs and standards for a certain society, however we cannot ignore our fundamental biological nature.

In 2007, around 280 000 mothers gave birth in Australia and around 175 000 of these were working mothers who intend to work again. Consequently, there is a significant number of working mothers who require taking leave from work. There have been debates in Australia over a proposal of a statutory scheme that would offer paid parental leave to parents. The concern of paid parental leave has been significant because of the increasing women’s part on jobs, family income sources and children carers. Women’s participation in work has increased compared to the past. Female aged 25 to 34 years had increased from 45 to 70 per cent from 1978 to 2008 whereas men’s participation in the same age range fell by 4 per cent (Commonwealth of Australia, p. 5.6). There are three proposed objectives for a paid parental leave, such as the wellbeing improvement of families, especially child and mother’s health, associated with leave from work around the baby birth and secured financial during that period; encouragement of women to return to the workforce by the social welfare and tax system; and by the norms of community, having family time is the basic human rights for many people including fathers and the importance of caring and valuing children. This paper will discuss the major issues and models with regard to paid leave and the methods to assess these models.

Paid parental leave provides benefits for parents, especially for mothers. From the mother’s point of view, paid parental leave allows her to take a longer leave from job than she could otherwise have afforded and to enjoy extra financial assistance. However, problems arise with the paid parental leave. The first major issue is that the mother’s attachment to the job might be deteriorated along with extended period a home; her skills will decline and as a result will create obstacles to her return (Commonwealth of Australia, p. 5.17). Moreover, the impacts of paid leave on labour market also broaden beyond parents too. For instance, paid leave affects employees’ wage rates and may discriminate against women because employers alert that female employees might have children in the future. There are incentives for discrimination on women if paid parental leave actually increases the costs to the employers. The absence of employee inflicts costs on employers, this may include leave administration costs, hiring and training replacement costs which will reduce the productivity level (Commonwealth of Australia, p. 24). However, on the employee side, the incentives to stay inside labour force and to choose occupation and employer are determined by the costs and benefits of these choices, which unnecessarily a monetary value. People outside the labour force get welfare transfers and benefits from untaxed work that they do, but they might be marginalized socially and economically. However, people inside the labour force get wages and benefits from parental leave and childcare rebates, but it might be difficult to balance between the importance of caring and working.

The second issue of paid parental leave is concerned with the impact of paid generosity and leave duration. More generous payments increase the financial support for women and encourage them to return to work. On the other hand, greater generosity increases the length of leave from work. At some circumstances, the employment benefits are eroded by excessive absence from work which would reduce work skills and productivity. Moreover, female labour wages would increase slowly if female labour supply increases while demand is not following due to the paid parental leave (Commonwealth of Australia, p. 5.2). Employers might also reduce wage when excessive absence from work increases costs for employers. Therefore, the productivity, wages and female labour skills rises as long as the duration of leave is not excessively long.

Third issue is the paid parental leave concerns with the equitably issue. In principle, paid leave should pay attention to the fairness in both horizontal and vertical dimensions (Commonwealth of Australia, p. 1.19). Horizontal equity refers to individuals and families in similar economic situations and being treated similarly whereas vertical equity refers to individuals and families in different economic situations and being treated in a different manner. However, equity is difficult to achieve in practice. People will be treated differently for different situations and it is inevitable. For instance, paying paid parental leave to working mothers may be seem as equitable but not equitable for women not working in the legal labour force. Replacement wages paid by employer seems to be more equitable for low income earners than a government-funded scheme that pays the minimum wage.

Fourth major issue of paid leave in Australia is that only one-third of women labour force is eligible for the paid leave because women in Australia is highly segmented and in part-time employment, all of which are reducing female’s eligibility to paid leave (Baird, M., 2002). Fifth issue is the payment of parental leave. A payment equivalent to their minimum weekly income is justified if the objective is to assure their demand. However, full income payment is justified if the objective is to assure their social and economic independence (Frank, M., p.317). The final issue is regarding the funding source. There is an argument over which parties responsible to fund the leave as small employers cannot afford and thus women will be discriminated in work force.

Australia has the lowest level of women labour force participation in the OECD (AEU Federal, p.2). If women labour force is declining, this will raise the inflation and reduce productivity and there will be a shortage of labour supply. Thus, women with paid leave tend to return to work than those without and will push-up the labour supply. To illustrate the paid parental leave, it is important to compare the different parental leave models in different countries. The Swedish parental leave system is seen to be a good model because of its commitment to developing equality between men and women and because of its generosity of payment. The Swedish allows parents a twelve-month of absence from work in regard to birth and parents – either father or mother – receive 90 per cent untaxed of their salary for their first nine months of leave (Allen, J.P., p.248). Whereas in Germany, parents are allowed to take leave for a shorter time of period only compared to Sweden because women in West Germany have not entered the labour force as many as other industrialized countries. Only women are eligible to receive the leave payment and that also depends on their incomes. However, the United States is among the few industrialized countries that do not provide employment benefits, including sickness benefit, health insurance benefits, and paternal benefits. Therefore, to compare the equality issue between these three countries, the paid parental leave provided in Sweden and Germany helps female labour force to enter and remain at work, whereas female labour force tend to exit the labour force in the United States. Sweden is the most generous in paid parental leave and should be considered as a model in Australia whereas the U.S. fails to provide equality and support for parents and children.

There are several models with regard to paid leave. First, 52 weeks paid parental leave starts with 26 weeks paid leave now, 39 by 2012 and 52 by 2016. Second, 26 weeks basic paid maternity and supporting parent leave as follows: (i) Basic Paid Maternity Leave (BPML) provision in which Australia should provide paid basic maternity leave of 24 weeks for all working women, and (ii) Basic Paid supporting Parent Leave (BPPL) provision in which Australia should provide basic paid partner leave of 2 weeks for all supporting partners. Third, the paid partner leave: ‘use it or lose it’ in which partners who do not use their paid leave will not be able to reallocate it to mothers. This system induces fathers to take leave efficiently. Fourth, the existing paid maternity leave. Fifth, the basic payments through employers in which government provide payment similar to employers for employee and taxable. Payment through employers is desirable because all factors of employment will not be missed out. Sixth, the simultaneous leave in which parents can take leave simultaneously. Finally, the provision of rights to be protected from discrimination and the rights to return to work after their leave (Hill and Pocock, p.11).

There are two methods to evaluate financial of paid leave and they have to be implemented simultaneously to provide the most effective paid leave policy. First, the income of financial contributor should not be affected. Second, the method should not create negative economic incentives. For example, an employer pays for his employee’s leave and financial method encourage the employer not to hire a female worker who would likely to take the leave (Frank, M., p.319).

To summarize, paid parental leave is a system that provides benefits for mothers who give birth to achieve specific social and economic outcomes. There are three proposed objectives for a paid parental leave, such as the wellbeing improvement of families, especially child and mother’s health, associated with leave from work around the baby birth and secured financial during that period; encouragement of women to return to the workforce by the social welfare and tax system; and by the norms of community, having family time is the basic human rights for many people including fathers and the importance of caring and valuing children. To help inducing the benefits of paid parental leave, it is necessary for financial assistance for mothers in order for them to spend time with their newborn babies, rather than just taking financial assistance, limit their leave and exit the labour force. The paid leave system has particular objectives that are valued differently to individual. In order to deliver those objectives efficiently, the system should provide incentives for mothers to increase the absence time from work to be with their child and to return and remain to the workforce. Parental leave would be a crucial system to encourage labour market efficiency and would represent the equality between men and women in the workforce.

Due to its purchasing power, the family is believed as the most important consumers buying unit by many marketers (Dalakas & Shoham, 2005). Therefore, a great number of previous studies have been done to understand how a family makes purchasing decisions over the years. As new social trends, the structure of family has changed dramatically in the past three decades in most countries in the world (Brace et al, 2008). The family is convinced as composing by parents and unmarried children in traditional mind. However, in the modern society, the definition of family has moved from only couple and children to family household. According to European Community Household Panel, a family household is a group of people who live together, share the bill and housekeeping arrangement (Askegaard et al, 2006). In view of most marketers, changes in family structures provide marketing opportunities. As the differentiation of the composition, families’ need and demand is diversified than before.

Changes in family structure and modern family

Family household types in modern society are diversified, such as single parent families, reconstituted families, unmarried cohabitation families, traditional families, couple with no children families and roommate family households. The reason of diversified family household type is that unmarried cohabitation, delayed marriage and delayed childbirth are trends for young people in the recent years. Furthermore, there have been increases in the proportion of the return of mothers to the workforce and the number of divorces and a decrease in the proportion of “intact” family unit (two biological parents and their dependent children). It is known that 76 per cent of UK children in 2004 lived in a family unit headed by a couple (UK Office of National Statistics, 2005). But, this official data does not differentiate families by couples who are intact or step parent. Also, it is acknowledged that 83 per cent of children in step parent families or single parent families live with their natural mother (Brace et al, 2008). Therefore, most of single parent households are headed by females.

Although the family types are diversified in the present day and age, intact families, step parent families and single parent families are three major types of composition for modern families. Haskey (1998) indicated there has been an obviously decline in the intact or traditional family household type and step families are more prevalent than single parent households. People are remarrying more often than before, and male is more likely to reconstitute a family than female. For example, step families are the fastest growing type of family in the UK (Mintel, 2005). There are totally 35 per cent British parents live as a non-traditional family unit. Concretely, 19 per cent of British parents are single parents. 16 per cent of British parents have children with ex-wife or ex-husband and now reconstitute families with new partners and the children (Mintel, 2005).

Family structures have changed, which influence family decision making. Thus, some researchers argue that family communication has become more open and democratic (Belch and Willis, 2001). Particularly, the role of women has changed in the present society. The changes include education, increasing number of double-income families and the advent of career women. Further to say, these changes have impacted on family buying decisions and the role structure between family members. An increasing number of women are contributing to the incomes of their families and more women are motivated to succeed in their careers. For instance, nearly 60 per cent of women in New Zealand are employed in the workforce (Beatty & Lee, 2002). This is much higher proportion than before.

Some previous studies indicated that a person’s power to make family purchasing decisions depends on his/her ability to satisfy his/her marriage partner’s needs (Beatty & Lee, 2002). Therefore, the more a husband contributes to the resources of the family, the more the wife will accept the husband’s buying decisions. In the same way, if the wife contributes significantly to the family income, then the wife’s impact on family buying decisions would be greater than in families where the wife does not provide income to the family. It does not mean the person who contributes a dominant income to his/her family must accounts for the completely dominant position in the family buying decision making process. It is more likely that there is more equality in double-income families. Therefore, a wife’s occupational status has an obviously effect on the family decision making.

The prevalence of women working outside the home is not only because of the necessity to help the family in finance, but also because of the changes in social and cultural trends. Therefore, women obtain more power in some families which both family members will make decisions jointly. This type of family is more likely to be called modern family and it has a more democratic influence structure. In contrast, a traditional family has a more dictatorial husband and the decisions are made more autocratic.

Family life cycle

There are many factors influence family buying decisions. Despite the family type and women’s role in the family, family life cycle (FLC) also significantly affects the family purchasing decisions. The family life cycle describes the changes that occur in family and family structures as they progress over time (Askegaard, 2006). The FLC shows the changes in both the family income and family composition over time. As the time passed, the needs and demands of families tend to change. Therefore, their preferences and behaviours will be changed. Families in similar stages of the life cycle share similar demographic, financial and buying characteristics. In contrast, families at different life cycle stages show different interests, needs and demands and use different communication strategies (Lee & Levy, 2004).

Children’s roles in family buying decisions

Since 1990s, the growing awareness on children’s role is largely because of children’s steadily increasing impact on family buying decisions and increasing spending power (Caruana & Vassallo, 2003; Dalakas & Shoham, 2005; Fan & Li, 2010). Many previous studies pointed out that children have became an extremely vital consumer group which influences family purchases of various products in many ways (Burns et al, 2007; Caruana & Vassallo, 2003). Thus, many marketers recognize children as a primary market, an influencing market, and a future market. For example, children in the USA directly spent over $60 billion and influenced over $380 billion of spending by other members of their family per year (Chou & Wut, 2009). In Australia, the adolescents’ market is estimated to be worth about $3.9 million, and in New Zealand the market size is about $800,000 (Wimalasiri, 2004). Therefore children are increasingly attractive targets for marketers.

Children as independent consumer

In the contemporary world, as primary market, children have increasing spending power in terms of being independent customers. They are seen as different from previous generations. Today, children are more connected, more direct and more informed. They have more personal power, more money, more impact on family decisions and attractive more attention than their parents and ancestors. Most of teenagers receive allowances from their parents or eldership. Also, a great number of adolescents have income from jobs. Past study showed 51.1 per cent of the high school students admitted that they get an allowance from family members in the USA and the median amount was $50 (Dalakas & Shoham, 2003). Moreover, Chou & Wut (2009) indicated children who between ages of 2 to 12 independently spent $29 billion per year by using their own money and further to say, they indirectly influence $320 billion worth of household purchase.

Children’s influence on family buying decisions

In addition, children are also major influencers within the family decision making unit. They attempt to and succeed in influencing family purchasing decisions. Several researches have shown that the children’s degree of influence in purchase decisions varies with the type of product (Beatty & Lee, 2002). They have the most influence on buying decisions when they are the primary users of the products, for example, toys, games, and school supplies. They are also influential in purchase decisions about products which for all family members, for example, vacations, furniture, movies, and eating out. However, they have less impact on these products than in the products which they are the primary consumers. According to Dalakas & Shoham (2003) reported, 34 per cent of nine to 14-year-olds acknowledged they influenced their parents’ purchasing decisions on videogame systems, 19 per cent affected decisions on vacation choice, 18 per cent have impact on stereo equipment, and 14 per cent participated the family decisions making process on computer equipment, VCRs, and televisions. Moreover, adolescents’ influence has been affected by the cost of the products on purchasing decisions. Their influence decreased for expensive family purchases. Furthermore, they have most influence as regards product type, colour and brand.

One of the areas where children have the major impact is food purchasing decision. Food plays a vital role in family life and it is the main expenditure for most families. Children have most influence on the food and the meals which are easy to prepare. US studies have shown that in the major categories of food and drinks, playthings and clothing and TV programmes, children have an obviously influence (Chou & Wut, 2009). In the UK, 84 per cent of parents said that their children decided what food to buy. 29 per cent parents admitted that their children impact on the choice of furniture. Even 20 per cent of parents said they like to listen to their children’s suggests about their own clothes when purchasing (Dalakas, & Shoham, 2005). Also, through a survey, cable television networks in the USA found that children affected average of 43 per cent of total purchases which are made the decisions by parents. Further to say, mothers who shop with their kids normally spend 30 per cent more than they originally plan and fathers spend 70 per cent more (Caruana & Vassallo, 2003).

The ways and factors for children to affect family decisions

Generally speaking, there are four different ways for children to influence family buying decisions. First, they hugely involve in affecting their parents to purchase products which they are the finally users. Second, older children buy the products which they want directly by using their own money. This money is received as allowances or salary. Third, children participated and affected their parents in family buying decisions making process for family products. Lastly, parents consult their children’s opinion for some of their own purchase. Therefore, children exert a certain influence on the overall family decisions.

Children have more influence during the problem recognition and information search stage, but their influence decreases at the finally decision making stage. Their influence can be direct or indirect. Young children more tend to impact family purchases by directly asking. However, older adolescents may use various strategies to impact their parents’ decision making. Except the direct requests, they also take other actions like bargaining, persuasion, or using emotional strategies.

A child’s age is an important related factor of the child’s influence on family decision making. Older children have fewer requests than younger children and their parents more tend to satisfy their request. The parents believe the older children have more experience with shopping and products, so they easily yield than before. Also, parents are convinced that their older children possess more understanding of economic concepts and have higher skills on shopping than younger children. Furthermore, children’s influence on family decisions is affected significantly by family type. Children in single parent families or one child families have more influence than others and the adolescents in modern families affect their families more obviously than adolescents in traditional families.

The reasons for children influencing family decisions

In the current era, family communication has become more open and democratic. Parents pay more attention to their children and spend more time to listen to their children’s opinions. These changes in family communication caused children can exert influence on family purchasing decisions making process. Furthermore, the influence of each child has increased because of the trends of smaller number of children in families. Because of the returns of women to workforce, most families’ economic status is in good condition. It not only means parents can afford enough money to satisfy their children request, but also pushes the children to take more responsibility for family decisions. This is because working couples have little time to make decisions and have to give their children more power.

The analysis of implication for marketing

There are many factors influence the children when they making purchasing decisions and shape their habits at the present. The top three influence factors are family, friends and media. All of them have outstanding impact on children’s shopping skills and behavior. In details, the family has been believed as it has the most influence on children in the purchasing process of food products, health care products and furniture. On the other hand, friends and the media play an extremely important role in affecting the discretionary purchase of the children. In fact, most of marketers consider the media as the most powerful affecting factor to impel the children to make purchasing decisions. They are convinced the television advertising is the greatest influence marketing communication tool. Moreover, previous marketing researches also suggested the companies to access the children seriously with child friendly amenities, colourful and playful displays and even credit cards (Caruana & Vassallo, 2003).

In addition, it is known that most of children have low brand loyalty for most products. Because of their strong curiosity, they are easily to be attracted by original and distinct products. However, once they build the brand loyalty for one particular brand, they will be lifetime consumers for the brand.

Furthermore, for the ethic thinking, the marketers ought to avoid displaying violent or pornographic pictures to children in their advertising. This is because children are not mature enough and cannot understand the meaning of this kind of advertising. Further to say, children very like to imitate what they saw. Thus, it is dangerous for children to access violent or pornographic advertising. For example, there was lots of news regarding that children did violent events after playing violent games, such as GTA, Counterstrike, or watching violent movie.

An analysis of the situation of children in China

Children in China have become the most significant target consumers for many marketers. This is not only because China has the largest population of children in the world, but also due to the fact that Chinese children have more economic power and influence in their families than children in other countries. Fan & Li (2010) mentioned that there are 1,321.29 million people in China at the end of 2007. Among others, 19.4 per cent (about 256.60) are under the age of 14. This made China become the largest potential market.

In the present China, children have more discretionary income compared with before and also exert a greater impact on family buying decision than other countries’ children. One couple – one child has been a basic state policy in China for a long time since the early 1970s. Therefore, as the only child in the family, both parents and grandparents give most of their love and attention to the child. Even it caused a seriously problem raised in China, the Chinese children have been considered as being like “Little emperors/empresses”. A part of parents would like to satisfy their children’s each request as possible as they can.

Due to the importance of Chinese children, marketers did many researches to seek the most relative information sources for Chinese children. Finally, they found that TV, parents, store visits and friends were ranked as the most significant sources to receive information for Chinese children (Fan & Li, 2010).

All societies place their members according to superiority, inferiority and equality. The vertical scale of evaluation, this categorization of people in layers is called stratification. Social stratification is a natural and controlled division according to race, religion, social and economic status. In sociology, social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of social classes, castes and strata within a society.

Anthony Giddens has defined social stratification as “the existence of structured inequalities between groups in society, in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards”.

According to Peter Saunders, in modern Western societies, stratification depends on social and economic classes consisting of three main layers: Upper class, Middle class and Lower class. Every class is further divided into smaller classes according to occupation.

1.1 BACKGROUND:

The notion of stratification came into existence in 1940’s. Social stratification is the basic cause of inequalities. The basis for social stratification are earnings, privileges, ethnicity, disability, education, access to benefits, sex, caste, wealth, religion, power, age, gender, occupation, race, region, language, party and politics. Stratification is a trait of society and not just individual differences. Indeed it is the outcome of the social arrangement and it has a great impact on everyone. Stratification is universal, but tremendously changeable in form. Stratification persists over generations. It is still prevailing in our society. Four fundamental forms of stratification are class, caste, estate and slavery. Stratification is common in the animal kingdom on the basis of power and gender and some form of stratification has most likely always existed among humans. With the progress of food and other surpluses resulting from hi-tech advances in agriculture and manufacturing, some people began to mount up more wealth than others. There could be many other things influencing social stratification. For the larger part of history, the on hand stratification arrangement was regarded as an undeniable feature of society and the implicit purpose of commentators was to clarify or rationalize that arrangement in terms of religious doctrines.

1.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:

Social stratification is social, universal, diverse in structure, very old and consequential. It is a trait of society, not merely a reflection of individual differences. Those at the top of the ladder ‘the higher class’ has more advantages in life than those at the bottom of the ladder ‘the lower class’. The upper classes have more opportunities to thrive in life; chances include such things as conditions of work, healthiness and accommodation. People at the top of the ladder may choose the area that they live in which will tend to have less crime, better schools and better living than those in the lower class. Social stratification moves from generation to generation. Each human being born into the world is involuntarily allocated to social strata. Their place is usually their parent’s place at that time. We are born with nothing so consequently we ‘inherit’ what our parents have. Children are influenced by their family members. Every family within the social order and within each social stratum has different ambitions, determinations and goals to be successful in life. A child will gain knowledge of these through the accomplishments of his own parents. Even though social stratification is universal, it is also variable which means that all different countries have different forms of stratification but its characteristics vary in every country. In the United Kingdom it is very much a class system, whereas in some Asian countries the stratification is on the basis of the religion. Social stratification involves inequality and beliefs. Everybody within society has to believe that stratification is fair otherwise there is going to be unrest in the society.

Social Stratification can be seen in all places around us from our schools to government agencies to even our homes. It is a definite part of our social system that represents the discrimination of opportunities that we experience and observe in our everyday lives. The idea of pecking order emerged in the 17th and 18th century by sociologist Hobbes and Locke and it was through these sociologists that people realized that inequality existed in the society.

On one hand, inequalities based on individual qualities (charisma, economic or social skills, etc.) do not add up to stratification, since they aren’t defined by membership in a particular category. So, if in a hunting band the best hunter or the spiritualist/sage is held in high regard and has privileged access to some resources, this isn’t social stratification.

Symbolic Interactionists reveal that symbols help to describe the meaning of all social actions, and a person’s self is developed socially through social interaction. Legitimating thoughts, expressed symbolically in the form of language give reasons for inequality, for strata, for the ways people are positioned in the strata and for changes in the stratification system. These sustaining ideas also strongly manipulate how people assess themselves within the system, influencing them to agree to their position in the structure as good and right.

1.3 MAJOR FORMS OF STRATIFICATION:

Primal collectivism characterized by an elevated level of sharing and negligible social inequality, Slavery involving enormous social inequality and the ownership of some persons by others, Caste in which a person is permanently assigned to a status based on his or her parents’ status, Estate in which peasants are required by law to work on land owned by the noble class in exchange for food and protection from outside attacks.

There are different forms of social stratification that are present in our societies i.e. Class society: In this society person’s status is ascribed to them by the accomplishments they have achieved. In the United States, the social stratification that divides the most is the class system, whereas in areas of Africa not only are there class differences to divide people but women are in a class by themselves. The class system is defined by the possessions of wealth or material possessions (Henslin, 2010, p.189). Even though we like to think of ourselves as a very progressive nation, we still look down on people that are below us in class.

1.4 REASONS OF EXISTENCE OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:

Natural predictability suggests that discrimination exists because of natural differences in people’s abilities and is a just system. Structural -functionalists states that stratification is helpful to society because it enhances strength and induces members of the society to endeavor. Conflict suggests that stratification occurs through conflict amid different classes, with the upper classes using greater power to take a bigger share of the social resources. Evolutionary states that people will share sufficient resources to guarantee the survival of the group until an excess exists at which point power determines how the surplus is distributed. Symbolic Interactionists calls attention to the significance of symbolic displays of wealth and power that influence one’s definition of self and the importance of ideas in defining social situations.

Inequality may originate from natural differences in people’s abilities. Structural-functionalists believe that societies have a tendency to be stable and are held as one through agreement. Stratification provides an important function to society by aiding this process because it lessens conflict and provides structure. Conflict theorists believe that society tends towards conflict and change and that stratification system compel the lower classes to benefit the upper classes.

1.5 ORIGINS OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:

In early societies, people shared a common societal position. As societies evolved and became more intricate, they began to elevate some members. To understand stratification, we must first understand its origins.

Though there is a lot that we don’t know about origins of stratification, it is apparent that it is a fairly recent development, as exposed through study of grave goods, and historical record of state expansion and conquest of more democratic societies. Once they come up, stratified systems lean to expand at expense of egalitarian systems, but this cannot explain origins of first stratified systems i.e. cases of “pristine” state formation. It is not simply survival mode, since some foragers are less democratic than many agricultural and most pastoralist societies

Attempts to elucidate cultural advancement of social stratification in ecological terms by and large rely on one or another of two basic approaches:

1. Stratification = solution to an ecological problem

2. Stratification = system by which one class extracts resources from another

These two approaches often termed functional and conflict theories, respectively. Functional theories focus on benefits to all parties; in contrast, Conflict theories argue that elites benefit at expense of commoners.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:

The book by Macionis, J and Plummer, K., 2007, called ‘Sociology: A Global Introduction’ defines “Social stratification as a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy and that one group has access to a disproportionate amount of money, power and prestige and stratification can be used as a lens to focus on social inequality”.

The books by Haralmbos, M., Holborn, M. and Heald, R., 2008, called ‘Sociology themes and perspectives’ defines, “social stratification to the presence of distinct social groups which are ranked one above the other in terms of factors such as prestige and wealth.”

The five societal pyramids explain how societies work.

This pyramid arrangement focused on how people were ranked by their financial positions, their power and their prestige. The way society effort with social division depends upon wealth and power, not on hereditary position. The open system based on personal accomplishment, where people have control over position between upper and lower class in society can lead to discrimination amongst each other. The stratification systems focused on other social divisions such as:

Gender stratification

Ethnic stratification

Age stratification

Health and disability

In the 19th and 20th century the structural functional paradigm argued that stratification systems are functional for society. The Davis-Moore Thesis argues that industrialized societies for the most part are prolific under a system of meritocracy. Under this kind of inequality, the stratification system rewards good performers with high salaries and punishes poor performers with fewer salaries. Davis-Moore argued that several jobs have to to pay more than others; they are important jobs, so their high salary will magnetize the most excellent performers. These top performers will be more inventive and this is functional for society. Functionalists also argue that stratification promotes in-group harmony.

Marx and Weber, who were Conflict theorists, alleged that the finest way to study social stratification was by using Conflict theory. On the whole, the main aim was to scrutinize and elucidate social inequality in society. Marx thought that there were two classes in the social order, owners and the workers. He wanted the workforce to become aware of this theory to ultimately bring down the owners.

Weber, in contrast, considered more about Marx theory and thought that there must be another class involved which is the middle class. Middle class inhabitants are ones with skills required for jobs but do not have ownership; this set them at a distance from blue-collars, because they had skills for certain jobs which gave them a sense of power.

Mills and Domhoff thought that there are little structured groups of people who stay out of political affairs so they are not estranged. This gives them a key to power in society.

Social Stratification allows people who have proficient varying competence and riches to function in ways that are appropriate for them.

This is a functionalist perspective supported by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore. They started by pointing out that “no society is classless or unstratified.”

4. CONCLUSION/SUGGESTIONS:

From the above mentioned things we can conclude that the basic factor that causes social stratification is poverty. Steps should be taken for its eradication which will bring change in the society.

In order to eradicate social stratification, we should try to eradicate things that are causing it including unequal education, facilities, opportunities, wealth, poverty etc. if all the citizens of every country will get everything in equal quantity and quality, only then change will happen. This is the basic right of every citizen and it should be given to them. More fortunate people should help the less fortunate ones. They should try to be empathetic towards poor only then they can help them. They should be motivated and interested in keeping everybody equal and everyone should try, on individual level, to see the needy around them. Other than this the only best solution to solve this vicious circle is to apply a Sharia law on national scale, which stipulates that each person should set aside 2.5% of the income each person earns monthly to help eradicate poverty and the money gathered can be used to purchase things needed for those who are in need as capital, like sewing machines or seeds etc.

There’s no way for the government to be able to reduce or let alone eradicate poverty as long as it tightly clings on to capitalism and those 99% Americans are the living proofs, who say capitalism can’t eradicate poverty.

Unfortunately the problems facing women in engineering are numerous. The female sex is widely seen as inferiors to the superior male sex. This has ultimately resulted in the world’s longest running battle, the battle of the sexes.

“Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not hard to do.” (Charlotte Whitton)

This ‘battle’, along with many other obstacles, has resulted in major problems for women with regards to employment, social standing and indeed many other areas. This is especially true in respect to a career in engineering, a challenging and non-traditional occupation for women. Due to the growth of jobs in engineering and the high salary it offers, whether and how well it accepts women into its ranks is an important social issue. Engineering provides the possibility of significant career opportunities for college educated women, thereby helping to improve women’s status in the workforce.

This report identifies the factors that impede and facilitate the success of women in engineering. The report is broken down into five parts. Firstly, the background to the problem is discussed (part 1) followed by the age old question “Are Women Better?” (Part 2). Part 3 discusses the factors that impede the success of women in the engineering profession and in contrary to that part 4 will demonstrate the factors encouraging the participation and success of women in engineering. Finally the accomplishments of female engineers will provide proof that women are just as capable for this job as men (part 5).

Overall this report will show the problem that women face in the engineering profession and prove that the attitude towards female engineers is unjustified.

1. Background to the problem

To become an engineer in 21st century Ireland one must achieve over 400 points in the Leaving Certificate Examinations, achieving a minimum grade of a C3 in Honours Level Mathematics, complete a degree in college and continue in college to do a PHD and Master’s Degree to become a Chartered Engineer. Male and female applicants are accepted into the profession however equal numbers of males and females apply to study engineering. Male applicants greatly outnumber female applicants. The roots of this problem stem from Roman times where the male was the head of the family and only male children were educated whilst the female children stayed at home and learned to sew with their mothers. It was the accepted norm that a women’s place was at home, there are those in the 21st century who still agree with this. In the 1600s women still had not found their place in the workforce as men dominated the positions of authority and preferably hired men. It was unheard of for a woman to contemplate a career in engineering. By the 1700s women had succeeded in finding employment however, as men still held all the positions of authority, if a women wanted to become an engineer the best that she could hope for was to become his receptionist or secretary. There was also an extravagant difference in salaries as women were being paid significantly less for doing the same job as men. Finally in 1792 women began to demand their rights and demand equality as Wollstonecraft published her most famous work “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”. The title reflects a legitimate response to many revolutionary supporters of the time who were urging the establishment of universal rights.

2. Are Women Better?

Figure 1C:UsersLaurainePicturesgraph.gifAs the battle of the sexes rages the age old question has yet to be answered. Are men better than women? In the demanding and challenging career of engineering the answer to why women are treated as inferiors and have problems in the occupation would be elementary if they were in fact the inferior sex. However judging this years and previous years Leaving Certificate Examination results, this theory is proved invalid as girls continue to outperform their male counterparts in the exam. At higher level, out of 38 subjects examined girls achieved consistently more As and Bs in all but 4 areas. Only in maths, applied maths, construction studies and agricultural science did male candidates do better. Girls favour languages and subjects like biology or art while boys are more likely to opt for technical subjects such as construction studies. As figure 1 shows women are apparently the smarter sex.

3. Impeding factors

There are many factors which impede the success of women in engineering and cause a deficiency of women in the profession. These factors have been around for years and the most worrying fact is that it is quite possible that they will be present in years to come.

3.1 Unequal pay

On average women are paid 17% less than men. In reality the pay gap, although it is decreasing still largely exists. This is because we still have women’s oppression. Although there have been immense changes in the past few decades within women’s and men’s lives, women are still oppressed. The main reason for this oppression is that women are still seen as the primary caretakers of children. It relates, again, to Roman Times where the place of the women was in the home. In the 21st century the women of the house takes care of the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and of course tending to the care of the children and the elderly. To employ someone to do all this unpaid work would cost over $60000 per year. Due to this unpaid work women are more likely to work part time and so do not reach the same levels in their professions as men. The study in Figure 2 focused on U.S. residents who were employed full-time as engineers, these included approximately 1.5 million college graduates of all ages in 16 engineering occupations. Within this population the median

Figure 2Figure 2. Relationship between years since first baccalaureate and median salary of U.S. engineers employed full-time, by sex: 1995salary for women was 13% less than the median salary for men. Therefore, according to the results, women in engineering earn 87cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.

3.2 Maternity Leave

In the engineering profession you must adapt to changing circumstances in order to learn and grow as an engineer. As women take periods off work due to maternity leave the fast pace occupation of engineering does not slow down and certainly does not wait for them. As thousands of college students graduate every year engineers are constantly forced to push themselves further. Having to leave to start a family results in women not reaching the same heights in engineering as men. Although it is against constitution it is not uncommon for employers to prefer men employees rather than women, particularly in women between the ages of 25 and 35 as they are likely to go on maternity. For this reason men are considered the ‘safer’ and more logical option for employment. Another result of maternity leave is that women very often do not return to work afterwards. Again this decreases the amount of women in engineering and also decreases the amount of women in positions of authority. Figure 3 shows the figures foe the amount of women returning to work after maternity leave. As part time work allows mothers to work and take care of kids a larger percentage returned to work part-time. However the figures decrease rapidly for full time

Figure3positions and although the amount of women who resigned are quite low in an occupation such as engineering where women are few these small percentages make a big difference. http://www.rba.gov.au/publications/annual-reports/ead/2007/images/women-parental-leave.gif

3.3 Sexism and stereotypes

Sexism can be toxic in workplaces where women are traditionally targets of discrimination. It is clear that women are a minority in the engineering profession. When males display sexual interest they tend to adopt a domineering posture. As female engineers are generally outnumbered this unwanted interest can result in women becoming isolated and uncomfortable in the workplace. On top of the pressure of trying to impress colleagues and employers women face an extra hurdle in the engineering profession. As many believe that women simply cannot do as well as men in engineering female engineers are constantly being evaluated and very often their performance is taken as a stereotypical reflection. A poor performance could provide evidence for the theory that men are actually better engineers. The stereotype threat is evident from the early stages of engineering as male students outnumber female students in the engineering courses in the majority of colleges. Figure 4 proves this theory and shows the distribution of men and women in college. Still in the 21st century there are certain professions that are considered for males only. DESCRIPTIONFigure 4

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRz84EQSDOz6YM8gk0KypbydcVDufOef8YLEgObckJ_WWfVmYE&t=1&usg=__Gb7045b7AAgXUzvKVhPR6lqFVA8=4. Counteractive Measureshttp://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRz84EQSDOz6YM8gk0KypbydcVDufOef8YLEgObckJ_WWfVmYE&t=1&usg=__Gb7045b7AAgXUzvKVhPR6lqFVA8=
Women in Engineering Program

The figures in Figure 4 show that only 22% of college graduates in engineering were women. Fortunately there are efforts in place to improve this number. There is an existing knowledge base that can and should be used to address this issue, however much is left to be learned. While work needs to be done to help more young women to become interested in engineering as a career, work also needs to be done to keep young women in engineering through college and beyond. One such effort to entice women into engineering is the introduction of grant and scholarship schemes as follows:

Programs to Encourage Middle School Girls in Engineering conducted by engineering educators and others that encourage them to prepare for and undertake careers in engineering. The Foundation is particularly interested in new programs or modules, which, if they are found to be effective, will be continued within the applying institution(s). These programs supported by the Foundation are expected to test their effectiveness, to examine program impact on participant educational and career plans and on their SMET participation and achievement. Grants may be made for up to three years and are expected to range between $5,000 and $15,000 per year.

Programs designed to improve the retention rate of undergraduate women in engineering. These may cover such diverse areas as classroom, climate, learning behaviours, classroom pedagogies and academic and social support programs. It is expected that the programs will examine their impact on SMET achievement. Grants are expected to range between $5,000 and $25,000 per year.

Women in Engineering and Computer and Information Science Awards are made available through the National Science Foundation. These graduate fellowships are provided for women studying in a program in math, science, engineering, or computer science

The Scholarship SFI Scholars will receive:

-An annual award of a‚¬2,000 administered through their host institution

-A DELL notebook computer

-The assistance and support of an active researcher as a mentor throughout their undergraduate career

-At least one funded summer research-internship in an academic research laboratory or an industry R&D laboratory in Ireland.

5. Women who have lit the way

Being elected to the National Academy of Engineering or NAE is one of the highest honours that can be given to an engineer. In 1965, Lillian Gilbreth became the first woman engineer elected to the NAE. In 1973, Grace Hopper became the second woman engineer elected. Mildred Dresselhaus was the third woman engineer elected in 1974. Betsy Ancker-Johnson was the fourth woman engineer elected to the NAE in 1975. To date, 2,330 male engineers have been elected to the NAE since 1964 compared to the only 37 women engineers that have been elected. There is no doubt that if more women were as intrigued by the engineering profession as these women were that women would have the same amount, if not more, places in the National Academy of Engineering.

6. Conclusion

Although the counteractive measures above have been effective in some way the stereotypical barrier has not yet been broken and still in the 21st century engineering is regarded as a man’s job. This report has demonstrated that women are equal in intelligence to men and are excelling in state examinations and even with minimal numbers there have been 37 women elected to the NAE which is an achievement in itself. Therefore this report has proven that the attitude towards female engineers is unjustified and that they deserve their place in the engineering profession.

The Archaeology of Knowledge is a comprehensive explanation of Foucault’s methodology. Within this book, he deals with fundamental terms like discourse, enunciative modalities, concepts, strategies, statements, and so on. According to Lindgren (2000:294), archaeology is a method of historical research aimed at the statements of discourses and statement processes, practices whose primary purpose is to reveal the discursive rules that constitute various fields of knowledge.

In that sense, we should begin by defining what discourse is for Foucault. Foucault (cited in Hall, 1997:44) defines ‘discourse’ as:

[A] group of statements which provide a language for talking about – a way of representing the knowledge about – a particular topic at a particular historical moment. …Discourse is about the production of knowledge through language. But… since all social practices entail meaning, and meanings shape and influence what we do – our conduct – all practices have a discursive aspect.

With the archaeology of knowledge, Foucault focuses on a new method, a systematic articulation of the meaning and role of discourses. He argues that knowledge is created through discourse. His main interest is how we should study the knowledge (from lecture notes). Related to this interest, he examines how we are made subjects, how we are being subjects. To answer these questions, he looks for the relation between power and knowledge. He points out that discourse is a means of controlling the social practices and institutions in a society. How is it done then? For him, controlling the social practices and institutions in a society is done by managing the knowledge of the society. In that sense, purpose of archaeological analysis is to reveal historical conditions that make knowledge possible and epistemic area where these conditions occur. In other words, according to archaeological analysis, knowledge is historically constituted within an episteme and due to the rules defining discursive practices of this episteme. Foucault says:

By episteme, we mean… the total set of relations that unite, at a given period, the discursive practices that give rise to epistemological figures, sciences, and possibly formalized systems; the way in which, in each of these discursive formations, the transitions to epistemologization, scientificity, and formalization are situated and operate; the distribution of these thresholds, which may coincide, be subordinated to one another, or be separated by shifts in time; the lateral relations that may exist between epistemological figures or sciences in so far as they belong to neighbouring, but distinct, discursive practices. The episteme is not a form of knowledge (connaissance) or type of rationality which, crossing the boundaries of the most varied sciences, manifests the sovereign unity of a subject, a spirit, or a period; it is the totality of relations that can be discovered, for a given period, between the sciences when one analyses them at the level of discursive regularities (Archaeology 191)

In that point, he is interested in statements. The primary analytical element of archaeology is the statement (Lindgren, 2000: 298). In The Archaeology of Knowledge, with the concept of archaeology, he is paying attention to discourse and a scrutiny of the statement. In that sense, there is a discussion about what Foucault’s statement includes. For example, according to Dreyfus and Rabinow (cited in Barrett, 2004: 176), Foucault does not deal with all statements but he deals with statements that have autonomy and include actual assertion. Foucault’s ‘statement’ is different from “the simple inscription of what is said” (Deleuze, 1988: 15). According to Barrett (2004: 176), statements of Foucault are not proposition or sentence. According to him, the statement is not as a linguistic unit like the sentence, but as “a function” (Foucault, 98). This example is mostly expressed to grasp how a statement is considered. AZERT, which is formation of letters on French typewriter, is not a statement. On the other hand, placing this formation in the instruction book as “alphabetic formation accepted by French typists” is a statement. In Foucault’s words: “…the keyboard of a typewriter is not a statement; but the same series of letters, A, Z, E, R, T, listed in a typewriting manual, is the statement of the alphabetical order adopted by French typewriters” (85-86).

With the method of archaeology, he attempts to define the actual statements as practices that are subject to certain rules, historically, and culturally determined rules that determine what statements are produced. In The Archeology of Knowledge, Foucault argues that the statement itself does not create meaning. Rather, statements create a network of rules that determine what is meaningful as we can see in the AZERT example. Briefly, the statement enables “groups of signs to exist, and enables rules or forms to become manifest” (Foucault, 99). The conditions of a statement point toward how claims of truth are constructed. In that sense, we can claim that he is not interested in essential truth. He is interested in the idea of “truth production.” Thus, we can see this aim in Madness and Civilization, The Birth of the Clinic, and The Order of Things.

In that sense, he tries to give us an idea about how his work is different from traditional understanding history. His attempt can be described as strategy of discontinuity. Instead of searching for homogeneity in a discursive entity, Foucault looks at ruptures, breaks to understand the production of meaning and knowledge. Thus, he argues that disciplines like grammar, medicine, and sexuality have no positive unity. The thing uniting them is the “rules of formation.” Rules of formation determine how new statements can be made. Such an analysis of discontinuous discourse does not belong to the traditional history of ideas or of science:

… it is rather an enquiry whose aim is to rediscover on what basis knowledge and theory became possible; within what space of order knowledge is constituted… Such an enterprise is not so much a history, in the traditional meaning of the word, as an “archaeology” (Order, xxi-xxii).

He explains this with a good metaphor.

The document is not the fortunate tool of a history that is primarily and fundamentally memory… history, in its traditional form, undertook to ‘memorize’ the monuments of the past, [and] transform them into documents… In our time, history is that which transforms documents into monuments. In that area where, in the past, history deciphered the traces left by men, it now deploys a mass of elements that have to be grouped, made relevant, placed in relation to one another to form totalities; it might be said, to play on words a little, that in our time history aspires to the condition of archaeology, to the intrinsic description of the monument (Archaeology, 7).

The main purpose is to study the document not what document represents. In other words, purpose of archaeological analaysis can be stated in three titles:

To show discontinuities in the history of thought.
He sees these discontinuities as normal not a stigmata.
…the theme and possibility of a total history begin to disappear, and we see the emergence of something very different that might be called a general history. The project of a total history is one that seeks to reconstitute the overall form of a civilization… The problem that now presents itself — and which defines the task of a general history — is to determine what form of relation may be legitimately described between these different series… not only what series, but also what ‘series of series’ — or, in other words, what ‘tables’ it is possible to draw up. A total description draws all phenomena around a single centre… a general history, on the contrary, would deploy the space of dispersion (9-10).

In other words, the purpose is to find rules working within different series. What we witness is not continuity without interruption but dispersion. We should examine objects, statements, and theme. He prefers to look into concepts, themes, and paradigms at all levels of discourse; the “discursive regularities.” These constitute discursive information. Task of archaeology is to study this. Responsible of the said is not the writer; it is history. Foucault summarizes this as:

Archaeology does not seek to rediscover the continuous, insensible transition that relates discourses, on a gentle slope, to what precedes them, surrounds them, or follows them… its problem is to define discourses in their specificity; to show in what way the set of rules that they put into operation is irreducible to any other… it is not a ‘doxology’; but a differential analysis of the modalities of discourse (139).

Secondly, to begin to comprehend a discursive formation, we have to question the speaker: who is speaking? The purpose of this analysis is to look at conventional and established discourses and institutions, such as medicine. Once we ascertain who is speaking, we must examine the document to see who they are speaking for.

The third set of rules of formation of a discursive formation is those that relate to the ‘formation of concepts.’ An attempt to define regularity in the process of the emergence of concepts has nothing to do with an effort to describe a chronological or hierarchical process. Rather, the rules of formation of concepts would describe the organization of the ground of statements where these statements appear and circulate. This organization, according to Foucault, entails ‘forms of succession’, ‘forms of coexistence’, and ‘procedures of intervention’ (56-58).

As far as I concerned from the book, The Archaeology of Knowledge, it is presented the methodology of archaeology used in Madness and Civilization, The Birth of the Clinic, and The Order of Things.

For example, while he examines the madness in Madness and Civilization, he studies the emergence of the discourse called psychiatry. He discovers that what made this discipline possible at the time it appeared was a whole set of relations between hospitalization, internment, the conditions and procedures of social exclusion, the rules of jurisprudence, the norms of labor and bourgeois morality. In short, he examines external relations that characterized for this discursive practice the formation of its statements.

As the title suggest, The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences investigate the history and the historic roots of the ‘human sciences’, having an interest in linguistics, biology and economics. Moreover, the book has a closing chapter on ‘history, sociology, psychoanalysis and ethnology’ (O’ Farrell, 2005:39).

Another example for archaeological analysis can be The Order of Discourse. This book corresponds to a summary of Foucault’s archaeological analysis. Within the book, there is a discussion about procedures, rules and principles, which regulate, control, and organize effects of discourse.

In The History of Sexuality, volume 1: An Introduction, Foucault focuses on the discourses based on analysis, statistics, classification, and specification centered around sex by turning upside down the traditional notion. He examines truth about sex expressed in a language that is based on power and knowledge.

If we do the study of archaeological analysis by referring to these works, we can stretch out the obvious elements of the theoretical framework, which Foucault articulates in The Archaeology of Knowledge. From them, he derives and illustrates the basis of the methodology. This method is distinguished by its doubts about of continuity and the search for meaning in history. Dreyfus and Rabinow point out that archeological analysis “shows that what seems like the continuous development of meaning is crossed by discontinuous discursive formations” (1986: 106).

After The Archaeology of Knowledge, Foucault began increasingly to be interested in the relationship between knowledge and power, and how this relationship can lead to the production of particular ‘truths’ about the human ‘subject’ (McHoul & Grace, 1993:57-58). In other words, Archaeology is not studying the history of ideas. On the other hand, it is an effort to focuse on the condition in which a subject (the mad, for example) is constituted as a possible object of knowledge. He says:

Studying the history of ideas, as they evolve, is not my problem so much as trying to discern beneath them how one or another object could take shape as a possible object of knowledge. Why for instance did madness become, at a given moment, an object of knoweldge corresponding to a certain type of knowledge? By using the word “archaeology” rather than “history”, I tied to designate this desynchronization between ideas about madness and the constitution of madness as an object.

Thus, as far as I understood from the quotation, power is no longer the conventional power of institutions and/or leaders, but instead the modes of power that controls individuals and their knowledge, the mechanism by which power “reaches into to the very grain of individuals, touches their bodies and inserts itself into their actions and attitudes, their discourses, learning processes and everyday lives” (Power/Knowledge, 30). It is in discourse that power is manifest to identify the mad.

Briefly, with archaeological analysis, he is against the humanist concepts of self and objectivity. we can summaries this opposition under two titles:

He is against the idea of an autonomous individual. The subject for Foucault is not a rational agent thinking and acting under its own self-imposed and self-created commands. Rather the subject is a product of social structures, epistemes, and discourses as we witness in discourse of the madness. For example, in Discipline and Punish, he examines new creations producing the criminal as a new type of person.
He is also against an objectivist epistemology, theory of knowledge. Our meaning, experiences, and truths are not simply prearranged to us as stable and fixed objects. Rather they are constructed for us by the same social structures, the epistemes, and discourse that give us our identity as we witness the identification of the mad or as we gain our sexual identity.

Thus, archaeology of knowledge is looking for the rules for the statements in a particular discourse which makes us a particular subject. The problem with the archaeological method is that on the one hand, it allows the comparison of different discursive formations of different periods, it helps suggesting the contingency by simply showing that different ages had thought differently. For example, he deals with the development of medical practice during period 1760 to 1810 to express a new kind of medical thinking. On the other hand this method cannot convince us to know more about the causes that fabricate the transition from one way of thinking to an other. Later, he uses the concept of genealogy to explain what makes this transition. He did not abandon archaeology but genealogy was given a clear superiority.

To sum up, importance of archaeology in discourse analysis can be summarized with Foucault’s words:

Archaeological analysis [of painting] would have another aim: it would try to discover whether space, distance, depth, color, light, proportions, volumes, and contours were not, at the periods in question, considered, named, enunciated, and conceptualized in a discursive practice; and whether the knowledge that this discursive practice gives rise to was not embodied perhaps in theories and speculations, in forms of teaching and codes of practice, but also in processes, techniques, and even in the very gesture of the painter. It would not set out to show that the painting is a certain way of ‘meaning’ or ‘saying’ that is peculiar in that it dispenses with words, It would try to show that, at least in one of its dimensions, it is discursive practice that is embodied in techniques and effects. … it would try to explain the formation of a discursive practice and a body of revolutionary knowledge that are expressed in behavior and strategies, which give rise to a theory of society, and which operate the interference and mutual transformation of that behavior and those strategies (193-195).

His method is important because Foucault calls into question the relations among statements in accepted categories in discursive fields, literature, psychology, philosophy, and politics, for example and the relations among statements. By this way, we can examine different subject positions and ask questions about suppression and deception. Moreover, we can ask ourselves how we can conceive of discursive unities in any form at all.

References

Barrett, M. (2004). Marx’tan Foucault’ya IDEOLOJI. Doruk Yayinlari.

Deleuze, G. (1988). Foucault. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Dreyfus, H. L., & Rabinow, P. (Eds.). (1986). Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.

Foucault, M. (1967 [1961]). Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason (R. Howard, Trans.). London: Tavistock Publications.

Foucault, M. (1972[1969]). The Archaeology of Knowledge (A. M. S. Smith, Trans.). New York: Pantheon Books.

Foucault, M. (1973[1966]). The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences. New York: Vintage Books.

Foucault, M. (1977[1975]). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Pantheon Books.

Foucault, M. (1979[1976]). The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction. London: Penguin Press.

Hall, S. (Ed.). (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London The Open University/Sage Publications.

McHoul, A., & Grace, W. (1993). A Foucault Primer: Discourse, Power, and the Subject. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

The essay below is on the death anxiety of the elderly persons who are independent and those who are dependent on others in life. Anxiety of death is defined by the British National Health Service as a feeling of apprehension, or dread that an individual encounters when thinking of the process dying. On the introduction part of the essay, there is a brief discussion of death anxiety in the society. The literature review of the essay has tackled two major aspects of death anxiety. The first aspect is the general discussion of death anxiety among the elderly persons. Many people in the society have a perception that at old age people tend to have anxiety of death as compared to the youngsters, which many psychological scholars oppose. The second aspect includes the two main variables that affect the level of death anxiety in old age. These variables include being independent in life, and being dependent on others in life. It has been argued that elderly persons who are dependent on others have high levels of death anxiety as compared to the individuals who are independent. The essay was based on the methodology and findings of a study conducted by Dr.Bharat H.Mimrot on A Comparative study of Death Anxiety of Old Persons in the year 2011. The sample size was 200 respondents who were randomly selected. The respondents were residents of Aurangabad city, and were selected from those living in institutions and those living with their families.

Introduction

Anxiety of death is considered as an abnormal or relentless fear in an individual’s mind of death. Anxiety of death is defined by the British National Health Service as a feeling of apprehension, or dread that an individual encounters when thinking of the process dying (DePaola, Griffin, Young, & Neimeyer, 2003). In the field of psychology, anxiety of death is considered as a psychological problem that is affected by a number of variables. Among the variables that affect anxiety of death, include the environment that one lives in, the age of an individual, the ego integrity, the religious faith of an individual, the personal sense that an individual has for self-worth. In studying death anxiety of an individual, majority of studies have indicated that the difficult part is the measuring of the anxiety an individual has in relation to other variables (Cicirelli, 2006). The below essay seeks to address the anxiety of death of the elderly individuals who are independent and those who are dependent on other people. For instance, the essay focuses on the age and the environment in which the individual lives as the main variables for the anxiety of death. Majority of studies have indicated that as people age, regardless of them being independent or dependent on others, they become less anxious about death. The essay will be supported by a study conducted by Dr.Bharat H.Mimrot on A Comparative study of Death Anxiety of Old Persons in the year 2011. This article has been extracted from the Indian Streams Research Journal.

Literature Review

Anxiety of death in old age

In the current society, the anxiety of death among individuals is a rampant psychological issue, especially the younger generation that should not be ignored. Many people in the society have a perception that at old age people tend to have anxiety of death as compared to the youngsters, which many psychological scholars oppose. When dealing with anxiety of death in old age, it is very important for one to understand old age in general (Banck, 1976). Generally, old age is considered to be consisting of ages that are nearing the average life span which human beings are expected to live.

Majority of psychological studies on issues that affect individual at old age referred old age as a late adulthood stage that tend to begin at 60’s and lasts until death. In her definition of death anxiety, a renowned psychologist Janet Belsky, considered death anxiety as the emotions, fears, as well as thoughts about the final event of life that an individual may experience under more normal conditions of life. In old age, people must deal with the possibility of their own death as well as the death of loved ones (Chernick, 1990). Death may also be looked into in terms of statistics, which supply us with significant figures and facts. Even though death most commonly occurs in later years, it may happen at any stage in life.

As a common phenomenon in the current society, majority of people are afraid of dying, especially the elderly who know that lifetime in world is ending. For instance, many perceive that death is always near when one is in old age; therefore, their perceptions make them believe that anxiety of death is a common condition for the elderly persons in the society as compared to the youngsters (Dever, 1998). On the contrary, most studies are against this particular perception in the sense that any person can be anxious of death due to the living conditions. According to a psychological theory done by Erickson, it is indicated that in the later stages of life, individuals experience what is known as ego integrity. In his theory, developmental psychologist Erickson pointed out that this particular theory explained that as people grow older in life, they go through a series of crises in life. The psychologist argued in his theory that a person tends to engage in life review when they reach the old age (Epstein, 1979).

Ego entry according to Erik Erickson is a state when an individual comes to term with his or her life and accepts it. On the other hand, when a person reviews his or her life in old age as a series of failed events and opportunities, then such individuals never reach the stage of ego integrity. This is when one becomes anxious of death at old age, whether they are dependent on other people, or whether they are independent in life. The elderly people who find life worth continue living tend to have less anxiety on death. In Erickson theory of psychology concerning anxiety of death, elderly individuals tend to have less anxiety of death when they reach the ego integrity level because, when they look back on their lives, they find meaningfulness in their lives, hence have a purpose to continue living (Langs, 1997).

It is with no doubt that anxiety of death is minimal to individuals who are elderly because majority of studies support the psychological theory done by developmental psychologist Erik Erickson. In a certain study, the Templer Death Anxiety scale was used to measure the level of death anxiety among individuals from 16 years to 83 years. N the study, it was found that the individuals who were 60 years and above had lower scores of death anxiety while the younger individuals had higher levels of death anxiety. This particular study was proved that the psychological theory of Erickson was true (Rheingold, 1967).

Another study still indicated that anxiety of death is minimal during old age. In the research study, it was found that anxiety of death normally begins to be prevalent in one’s life during their years of young adulthood. This is during the ages of 20 years to 40 years. During the next age phase, anxiety of death reaches its peak. This is between the ages of 40 to 64 years. At old age, that is 65 years and above, it was indicated that the anxiety of death tends to lower. Form the findings of this particular study; it is evident that the psychological theory done by Erickson is supported. This particular study tends to contradict with the expectations that people have towards anxiety of death at old age. As indicated in the previous text of the essay, many individuals in the society think that old people are always anxious about death due to the process of aging (Neimeyer, 1994).

Anxiety of death in the elderly who are dependent on others and those who are independent in life

As discussed above, death anxiety tends to lower when individuals become elderly. Though it lowers as one ages, there are two main variables that may affect anxiety at old age. The two variables include whether the elderly person is dependent on other people in life, or whether the individual is independent in life. Being dependent on other [people may entail receiving life support such as food, laundry activities, medication, house cleaning, and many other important activities that are crucial in life. On the other hand, when one is independent in life, it means that the individual supports him or herself in carrying out the crucial activities of life such as paying for their own bills, buying for himself or herself food, taking themselves to entertainment joints and many others (McCarthy, 1990).

For instance, majority of studies have indicated that elderly individuals who are dependent on other individuals in life tend to have higher levels of death anxiety as compared to their counterparts who are independent in life. This is because the elderly who are dependent on others tend to review their lives and find no meaning in living. They tend to reach this point especially when they feel that they are a burden to those who pay their bills, buy them food, as well as looking after them. They find no worth in continue living because they do not add any value to the society they live in but rather consume that available resources without replacement. They have a perception that when they die, the people they depend on would be free at last (Lonetto & Templer, 1986).

On the other hand, elderly individuals who are independent in life tend to have lower levels of death anxiety. As it is stated in Erickson’s psychological theory, as individuals reach their old age, they tend to sit back and make a review of their lives. When they reach the ego integrity level, they tend to find meaningfulness in their lives hence they find it worth continue living. This is because of the achievements they may have made in their entire lives. Therefore, they feel that they should continue living in order to enjoy whatever they achieved in their entire lives. This is unlike the elderly individuals who feel that they failed in life after they review their lives. For instance, elderly individuals who are independent in their lives tend to find the meaningfulness in living after they review their lives. This is because; when they review their lives they find that they have achieved so much in life that they should continue living to enjoy their prosperity (Mahabeer, 1980).

They find no problem with them continuing living because they pay their own bill, look after themselves, as well as buy themselves food and many others. As opposed to their dependent counterparts, the elderly independent individuals fail to have the feeling of being a burden to other people in the society because they do not depend on them for survival; hence they find it worth living. It is therefore evident that elderly individuals who are independent in life have lower levels of death anxiety as compared to those who are dependent on others in life. This is so since it is supported by a majority of studies conducted on anxiety of death in the elderly persons (Langs, 1997).

Methodology of the study

The study was specifically for the old person living at Aurangabad city. The study included institution sector units as well as family sector units. The hypotheses formulated for the purposes of the study were to be tested by collecting relevant data from the participants who took part in the study. One of the hypotheses tested by the study that is relevant to this particular essay is that the elderly individuals who live in institutions tend to experience more anxiety of death as compared to those who live in the family. The study included both the females and the males; it did not sideline participants from a certain gender (Mimrot, 2011).

The sample for the study included 200 old persons. These 200 old persons belong to both the sexes to various families and institutions, of Aurangabad city. Of the 200 people, 50 were male who lived with family, and 50 females who lived with family, as well as 50 males who lived in institutions and 50 females who lived with family. The sample for the study was selected by the use of random sampling technique.

In addition to the selection of the sample for the study, the tool used for the methodology was Death Anxiety Scale. The scale was made up of 10 units and was constructed and developed by Upinder Dhar, Savita Mehta, as well as Santosh Dhar. The split-half reliability coefficient was = 0.87. The scale reliability was determined by calculating split-half reliability coefficient, corrected for full length, on a sample of 200 subjects (25-55 years) Besides face validity, as all items of the scale are concerned with the variables under focus, the scale has high content validity. The reliability index was calculated by the reaserchers for purposes of establishing validity from the coefficient of reliability Norms for the scale were available on a sample of subjects belonging to the age range of 25-55 years (Mimrot, 2011).

The data analysis for the study was carried out with the help of descriptive statistics including Means, Standard Deviation, and multiple univariate 2 x 2 ANOVA for Death Anxiety.

Discussion

There are significant differences between mean scores of old people living in the family and institutionalized old people on death anxiety. (F = 11.875, df1 = 1, df2 =196 P< .001), old people living in the family scoring higher than the institutionalized old people do. Thus, old people living in the family exhibit more death anxiety than institutionalized old people do. Hence the hypothesis is rejected.

Based on the analyses that were interpreted in the study, there was a major difference between old age people living in family and old age institutionalized people in terms of their anxiety of death. Based on the mean value interpreted from the study, the elderly people living in the family have high death anxiety (6.00) than institutionalized old people (5.44). this is an indication that those living with their families are highly dependent on their family members as compared to those living in institutions since they have no family member to depend on. This particular interpretation of data from the study failed to support the hypothesis that ‘old age people living in the institution would experience more death anxiety than old age people living in the family’ (Madnawat & Singh, 2007).

The hypothesis was therefore rejected for the study. In connection with the above-mentioned findings, some of the psychological scholars found the ageing process is associated with a number of factors like economic independence, health status, their role expectation in the family and status accorded to the elders in the family.

From the results of the study conducted by Dr.Bharat H.Mimrot, it is clear that elderly individuals who are dependent on others have higher levels of anxiety of death as compared to the elderly individuals who are independent (Ens & Bond, 2005). In this particular case, the independent old people were represented by individuals who were living in institutions whereas dependent elderly persons on others in life were represented by those who were living with their families.

In support of Erickson psychological theory that states that the death anxiety of an elderly person tends to lower down suppose the individual reaches the ego integrity level. As discussed in the previous paragraphs, such a level is usually reached when an individual takes a full review of his or her life and finds that it is worth living. For instance, the elderly persons living with their families in this particular study were found to be having a higher level of anxiety of death as compared to their counterparts since they failed to find the essence in continuing living. The fact that they fail to have the urge of continuing living is due to them relying on their families for their upkeep. The individuals feel that at their age they are supposed to have made enough in their entire lives that would support them during their old age instead of being a burden to their family members (Epstein, 1979).

On the other hand, the results of the study indicated that the elderly individuals who live in institutions have a lower anxiety of death. This is according to their ego integrity level. These particular individuals find the sense of continuing to live after they review their entire lives. In the institutions where these elderly persons live, they do not rely on others for their upkeep but rather pay for the services that are offered to them, which is unlike the individuals who live with their families. They find the essence of continuing living because they feel that they are not a burden to any individual and that they achieved much in their entire lives that is worth continuing living. This particular discussion is supported by the psychological theory of Erik Erickson (Mimrot, 2011).

Conclusion

In conclusion, anxiety of death not only affects the elderly persons, as many in the society perceive, but can also affect children and the young adults. Among the variables that affect anxiety of death in one’s life, age seems to be the principle variable. The elderly persons are less anxious of death while the youngsters are highly anxious of death. As discussed in above essay, it is clear that the elderly who are dependent on other people in life have a higher level of death anxiety as compared to those who are independent in life.

INTRODUCTION

Systems thinking is a well organised approach of understanding the dynamic relationship between components of a system, so that we can make better choices and avoid unintentional consequences. It’s a conceptual framework for problem-solving which understands and considers the problems in their entirety (Hall, 1999 and Senge 1990). In other words, it can be defined as a view which looks at the ‘system as a whole’ first with its fit and relationship to external environment being a primary concern as compared to the constituent elements that make up the system (Morgan, 2005). It can be used to understand how systems work and how individuals can deal with them, while looking for patterns of interaction and underlying structures which shapes the systems behaviour. As system is a combination of several parts people who understand systems thinking keep one eye on the big picture (i.e. system as a whole) and one on the detail (i.e. constituent’s components), as they recognise that problem in one part of the system can impact other parts and forces patterns of behaviour in the system that lead to crisis (Morgan 2005).

Systems view is a way of positioning and looking into an organisational or systems issue where system boundaries are to be set to determine what parts are contained inside the system and what parts are considered external environment. The environment will certainly influence the problem solving capabilities of the system, but it’s not the part of the whole system (Ackoff, 1971). Outcomes will depend heavily on how a system is defined because system thinking investigates relationships between various parts of the system and its external environment (Montano et. al, 2001).

ADOPTION OF SYSTEMS THINKING

A number of methods, tools and principles cover the concept of systems thinking with a common goal of understanding relationships within the system, as systems thinking works on the hypothesis that there are certain evolving properties of systems that do not exist when systems are disintegrated into individual parts. For example consider a driver who is constantly hitting red lights on the road. If the driver is only noticing one part of the system i.e. red lights, then he will simply decide to speed up to in-order to make the next light before it turns to red. But, if he considers other parts of the system i.e. his car, condition of the road, driving style and the distance between two lights, he will notice that every time he tries to speedup to make a light, it changes to red. His speed is tripping the lights to force him to drive slower. So if he is observing this pattern, he can simply reduce his speed to drive thorough all green lights.

In systems view, the focus spreads in a variety of different directions compared to the conventional linear style of thinking. It focuses on processes, patterns and relationships and their flow and movement and puts much emphasis on understanding the effects of the interactions in the system as opposed to putting efforts to predict the outcomes (Morgan, 2005). It’s argued that the emphasis on systems view should begin when a project is started and should continue till the final lessons have been learnt even after completion (Stewart and Fortune, 1995).

Advantages of Systems Thinking

Adopting a view of system thinking can complement conventional styles of research in projects in certain ways:

It suggests different levels of analysis and synthesis for different kinds of problems, ranging from the simple activity levels to the more complex hierarchical levels.
Systems thinking complements reductionism (the principle that everything can be reduced to its individual parts), analytical analysis (breaking down a system to its smallest components), cause and effect thinking (environment-independent, linear but without feedback loops, closed and defined boundaries), complete determinism (illusion of control) with complexity (a sub-system of larger network), blended structure (explaining the whole system in terms of functions and inter-relationship between parts), circular contributing effects (explaining external environmental influences, performance and feedback) and belief in uncertainty which leads to probabilistic thinking (Schiuma et.al, 2012).
It provides a conceptual framework which utilizes different theories, tools and techniques like the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), which helps in constructing a holistic, reliant perspective and practise aimed at disclosing the relationships characterizing a system (Joham et al., 2009 and Pourdehnad, 2007). Such approaches use a non-linear model where different elements are connected through cyclical rather linear cause-and-effect chains. This shows how a system is structured and also shows the nature of interactions among components of the system, which helps in understanding the behavioural patterns characterizing the system under investigation (Schiuma et.al, 2012).
Having a reductionist thinking tends to push the project towards a closed systems view of the environmental i.e. the different phenomenon could be explained as individual and isolated events, which shows that the system and the context are separate, deterministic and predictable. In addition, the casual relationship between different elements is linear in the sense that A affects B which affects B, so such a approach can be used as a process or procedure to track and access results and performance on a operational level rather than on a broader system level.
Project managers can use systems thinking to assist them in the scoping of a project where the project and its relationship to the environment are examined to underline potential risk areas and also to look at the project performance and thus to facilitate organizational learning (Stewart and Fortune, 1995).

Disadvantages of Systems Thinking

Although adoption of systems thinking/view is beneficial in some aspects while executing consulting projects, there are still certain problems which are associated with this approach. Some of them are as follow:

Concept of systems thinking totally ignores or much worse destroys the most important aspects of human systems, for e.g. the interconnections or inter-relationships amongst and between the constituent sub-systems (Morgan, 2005). The project and its sub-tasks are totally ignored. Reductionism is no longer appropriate for dynamic projects which comprises of mostly human activities. It encourages fragmentation and isolation of the project which causes undue concern with the individual project activities or sub-systems. This method is makes us smart in micro-level thinking with regard to projects whereas on the other hand it’s allowing us to be dumb on the macro-level analysis. Under this thinking the project management loses the capability of making sense of how and why things work in a certain patter/manner.
Reductionism can’t be implemented in every project. It tries to deal with the issues of the project one at a time, which leads to the problem of backing up which make things much worse. Also it is not helpful in dealing with multiple or delayed causality, as it is leading us to the simplistic way of thinking where individuals instead of focusing on the core problem focus on ‘either-or’ choices and blame mentality (Morgan, 2005). The simple approach to cause and effect can’t be implemented in consulting projects with high level of complexity, as it can’t keep up with the complexity of the project. As systems thinking focus on dealing with symptoms of the problem, interventions aimed at fixing things can end up sometimes making things better in the short run but worse in the long term.
The over-reliance on reductionism will create an imaginary environment in which individuals think that prediction and control are the usable approaches to deal with complex projects. Endless varieties of tools and frameworks would be applied to ensure project success and when all such things fail they will try to explain the causes of system failure using the reductionist explanations of personal failure, resistance to change etc. So, the cycle goes on repeating itself and people, organisations get trapped into fixes which are doomed to fail.
Having a systems perspective enables the project to exert control over people and its processes. But such a view tends to act against innovation and adaptation which are fundamental qualities for long-term effectiveness.
Adopting a systems view can threatens some of the established policies and procedures in managing consulting projects, for e.g. in areas like monitoring and evaluation, performance management and assessment. Most of the practitioners have doubted its operational use, as it has not provided specific answers to the cases when the system has encountered problems. Some of its ideas such as emergence can be unattractive with project management teams, who are constantly under pressure to give results in short run.
Systems view can also have a disengaging effect on people and organisations that are used to a structured system where projects are planned and targets are met. So, adopting a system thinking view can increase the effect of uncertainty in project consulting and management rather than reducing it.
System thinking can also be demanding in terms of intellectual resources as it requires multi-disciplinary approaches to handle wide range of issues and patterns. It requires a significant investment in terms of skills, organisational structure where people are trained across a series of interrelated issues to make systems thinking work, because if they give up on the practise of systems views they will probably get back to much easier conventional approaches (Morgan, 2005).

Conclusion

The implications of systems thinking can be far reaching as it’s not clear how it will fit with other methods of analyzing situations. Questions will be asked about its contribution to monitoring and evaluation as the some of the sub-systems may be inadequate in generating data needed for analysis which leads to reluctance in trusting the conclusions (Morgan, 2005). Though it’s best in synthesis, it needs help in terms of practical analysis, so the question arises that can it supplement present methods of doing things or does it have to replace them in some way?

In conclusion, adopting a systems view can contribute in planning and controlling the complexity and uncertainty by embedding flexibility in consulting activities. When implemented and aligned properly, systems view can alleviate the flaws present in the existing frameworks to produce a more general framework which includes both prescriptive and descriptive elements (Montano et. al, 2001). Also, it facilitates the links between project management initiatives and the strategic goals and objectives of an organisation helping in maintain a clear vision of what is being done and why it is being done (Ackoff and Emery, 1972).

From the beginning of the first wave of feminism following through to the third wave of feminism women in the workforce has changed substantially overtime. From the beginning roles of women staying at home being housewives and there high expectations from men, to the current times of the working mom. With help from legislation a woman entering the workforce has increased. As women entering the workforce started to evolve so did the laws. It started with women gaining the right to vote which increased the education and job opportunity. As times pass the Equal Pay Act was passed that improved economic status of women. There were some barriers such as the glass ceiling act that effected the advancement of women. The most recent law that has affected the working women is the Lilly Ledbetter fair play act. I choose this topic because I think women have came a long way and have gained a lot more independence to go out and work a job with the barriers that were faced.

Beginning in the first wave of feminism and moving forward times have changed. Women went from being house wives to entering the work force. After the 19th amendment was passed giving the women the right to vote, may have been the opening door to end discrimination. Male politicians were enthusiastic about women’s right to vote and allowing them to hold public office and service or juries. Following the pass of the amendment there was still many struggles to come to gain equality.

The ideal role of women was to get married, have children and stay at home to keep things in order for the family. In another words they were considered a house wife. Betty Friedan who is considered the “god mother” of equality feminism stated that the statement of being a house wife can create a sense of emptiness, non existence, and nothing less in women (Iannone). She felt that the aspect of a housewife role was what made it impossible for women of adult intelligence to retain a sense of human identity and the firm care of herself (Iannone). While the women stayed home the men were responsible for running the country, being head of corporations and being the main provider to the household. There was fear that working women would compete for the men’s job. Women who did work had low paying occupations. Even the females who held the same occupations as men were paid less for doing the same job.

Beginning the 19th century there was and increase in the required educational preparation focusing on the study of medicine. In 1890, women constituted about 5 percent of the total doctors in the US. Not only were more women involved in the study of medicine they also focused on the teaching profession. During the first wave, and focusing on the 1920’s is when things started to happen with women rights. During the 1920’s, 1 in 4 women over the ago of 16 were part of the work force. The number of working women increased by 50.1 percent. As working women continued out in the workforce, they gained little opportunity to advance. They showed there success by demonstrating they were capable of economic independence. (Women’s History in America)

As the times progress and we move through the years into the second wave of feminism women entering the work force seems to increase. Since 1960 more women with children have been forced to work . For women with children under the age of 6, 12 percent worked in 1950, 45 percent in 1980 and by 1987 the amount increase to 57 percent. Over half of the mothers with children under the age of three were in the work force by 1987. During this time from 1950-1980 it was envisioned that women will educate themselves, pick a career path, and eliminate there dependencies on men. Women constituted more than 45 percent of employment in the US by 1989,and only a small share of those decisions making jobs. The numbers for women working as managers, officials, and other administrative has increase in 1989 they were out numbered by 1.5 to 1 by men. Women in 1970 were paid about 45 percent less than men for the same job. In 1988 the percentage for pay decreased to 33 percent less. Professional women did not get the important assignments and promotions given to the male (Women’s History in America).

Women who are not able to pursue a career or who do not earn enough money to have and adequate standard of living are dependent on the government agencies or their husbands for support. In the glass ceiling during the period from 1985- 1986, one out of every four women earned less than 10,000 per year these earnings are less than adequate wages for single mothers. On average women have a lower income even with a degree or certificate than men who have comparable years of work experience without a high school diploma (as sighted in Rhoodie, 1989).

The equal pay act of 1963 is the United States federal law amending the fair labor standards act. This law was aimed to eliminate wage level based on sex. It was signed into law on June 10, 1963 by John F. Kennedy. The law provided that no employers having employees subject to any provision of this section shall discriminate within any establishment where employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex and paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate that employees are paid of the opposite sex for equal work on the job (Wikipedia).

By passing the equal pay act the congressional intent was the first step towards and adjustment of balance in pay for women. The Equal Pay Act should be a starting point for establishing pay for women. The impact that this law provided according to the bureau of labor statistics, women’s salaries have increased from 62 percent of men’s earning in 1970 to 80 percent in 2004 (Wikipedia).

In 1991 the United States Department of labor used a term called the “glass ceiling”. The glass ceiling refers to a situation where the advancement of a qualified person within the organization is stopped at a lower level because of some form of discrimination, most commonly sexism or racism. This situation refers to the ceiling as there is a limitation blocking upward advancement and glass as transparent because the limitation is not immediately apparent and is normally an written and unofficial policy. This ceiling tends to affect working women the most. This barrier makes many women feel as they are not worthy enough to have high ranking positions, or that their bosses do not take them seriously or believe that they could be candidates for growth potential within the work place (Wikipedia).

As we move forward into the more current times, the amount of women in the work place have increased. Today over 46 percent of the work force is women, over 37 percent of business managerial positions and held by women. The economy can’t run with 46 percent of its workforce staying at home. All companies large and small recognize the value that women bring to their companies, and some have proven to run more successfully with working women (Pile). In addition, the average household needs two wages to meet today’s financial needs. Women are following right behind the men with there salaries (U.S. Department of labor). In 2004 women earned 80 percent of there males salaries compared to the 63 percent in 1963 (U.S. Department of labor). The economy can not run with 45 percent of its work force staying at home (U.S. Department of labor). All companies, big and small, recognize the value that women bring to their companies, and some have proven to run more successfully (Pile).

The existence of anti discrimination laws and the high cost of litigation have paved the way for many women to be promoted, and it is rare to find large established companies without written policies that help promote women to managerial positions. But even with the help of plan and anti- discrimination laws, women still run into a glass ceiling. One example is Deloitte and Touche, an accounting firm with a strategic plan to promote women. The firm found out that, although they had been hiring a workforce composed of 33 percent to 50 percent of women out of college annually, they retained a much lesser percentage a decade later. They found that only 14 percent of their partners were women. In the end they found out that women were not leaving because they were not happy with their jobs, they were leaving because the male managers had been favoring the male subordinates, and this frustrated women who were competing for these top assignments (Sommers).

On January 29, 2009, Barack Obama signed into law the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act”. This law is intended for fair pay of individual workers regardless of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability. This bill is for the women across the country that still are earning 78 cents to every dollar men earn, and women of a different race even less. This means today that women are still losing thousands of dollars in salary, income and retirement savings over the course of a lifetime. This bill was a simple step to fundamental fairness to American workers. (Obama Signs Lilly Ledbetter Act)

Women starting it the first wave had a very rough life starting out. They were confined to the house to raise the children and take care of the men. Women were not allowed to go out and make their own livings. They were to be there for the men and the family. Things starting out like this made it hard for women to enter the work force. Education levels of women were lower than men so therefore there pay was lower and that was something that escalated over time. Fair pay is still something that women face today. With the legislative rights such as the right to vote, equal pay act, and the fair pay act things have came a long way. Women are entering the work force now and making a living.